The BLTS Archive- Jealous Guy by melissa (meister@sprint.ca) --- DISCLAIMER: Paramount is God. --- I didn't mean to hurt you I'm sorry that I made you cry I didn't want to hurt you I'm just a jealous guy --john lennon, 'Jealous Guy' --- Garak brought the heavy litre of flammable liquid with determination into their bedroom and unceremoniously dumped its contents onto their bed. He lit a match and tossed it casually onto the now soaked bedcovers, watching as the flames erupted over the silken bedspread and moved onto the bedposts. He enjoyed the wafts of heat as they cascaded from the bed, and closed his eyes against the smoke which was now irritating his eyes. He shut the bedroom door, locking the flames and smoke in. He surveyed his earlier work. The coffee table had been suitably smashed, all of Julian's various awards torn or in shambles. Plants lay upturned out of their pots and the dirt lay in large piles all over the floor. The couch had been slashed. In the kitchen, Garak could hear the sound of the replicator quietly exploding in small electronic bursts. He smiled. Oh yes, this was how it was to begin. He should have known better. Julian didn't have the best of luck with the ladies for a reason, Garak discovered, and it seems to have been because of his rather 'flirtatious' nature. When they had married, Julian had declared that Garak was now his one and only true love, and fool that he was he had believed him. Certainly, in the beginning, he had appeared a truly devoted soul. Flowers every night, romantic poetry ( utter tripe, really, but he'd suffered through it for love), well planned dinners...It had been so perfect. Then he began working late, blaming the Dominion War for his new distractions. He spent more time at Quark's, and with playing the Alamo with O'Brien. Garak had weathered this, the dwindling lunches and the sudden loss of his beloved's undivided attention, hoping that once there was a lull his wonderful spouse would return to his arms, and all would be as before. That was, of course, before he found the hair. A long, blond hair, lying obscenely obviously on the top of Garak's pillow. He'd bit back tears of fury, and began his calculated plan of revenge. Oh yes, Julian was going to pay for this, he should have known, he should have been more careful with who he flung his heart at. Garak found his ember of fury and chewed on it lovingly, Julian Bashir was going to pay for this grand betrayal. "Put him through, " Garak said, forcing his voice to remain light, but instead it clung to some of its darkness. "Elim," Julian's happy voice echoed off of the ceiling, "do you have time for lunch today?" "No, I'm afraid I have some pressing business here at home, my dear," Garak replied, unable to keep the darkness of his anger from the words 'my dear'. Julian didn't notice. "Oh, that's too bad, " Julian replied, disappointed. "Tell you what, I know I haven't been spending a lot of time with you lately..." 'You monstrous bastard', Garak thought to himself. "...but I think a nice, intimate dinner, just the two of us would be really wonderful. How does Italian food sound?" "Wonderful," Garak spat. The flames from their bedroom were now licking the door, and tendrils of smoke were sneaking out of it. Garak walked a little further away from it, releasing the sound of crushing glass beneath his shoes as he walked over the destroyed contents of their quarters. "Okay, we'll make it a 'date', "Julian's voice said brightly, "Oh, and Garak?" "What is it, my dear?" Garak said through gritted teeth. "Did Engineer Davies come by?" Oh, Julian, to add this insult to my broken heart, you vile, wretched... "I'm not sure, " Garak replied. "She was supposed to fix the light fixtures in the bedroom. I told her to specifically check the one over the bed. Make sure she doesn't forget when she comes by and if you're still there, okay?" Garak hesistated. He looked around their quarters in alarm. "Light fixtures?" He questioned aloud. "Oh come on, Garak. You've been complaining about them for months. You know which ones I mean," Julian said, irritated. A light went off in Garak's memory, and a horrible, sinking feeling replaced the fury in his stomach. "Uh...Yes, the light on the right side of the bed. On...my...side of the bed." "That's the one. I'll see you later, love," Julian's delightful voice vanished from the apocalyptic room. Garak looked around him in panic, at the broken shambles of their home and the ever increasing smoke emitting from crack in the door of their bedroom. The kitchen was now thoroughly on fire. There was only one thing left to do, he reasoned. Go to his shop and pretend he'd never seen this. He'd reactivate the fire alarms once he was safely away. --- "Elim, I can't believe this!" Julian shouted, "Everything was reduced to ashes!" "Yes, it's a pity the fire alarms didn't go off earlier," Garak replied. Julian picked through the rubble morosely. "Well, I guess we're just going to have to start over," he said. "Yes, " Garak agreed, pensively, "what a wonderful idea." --- The End