![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
DS9 - I'm here to deliver a large order of silliness. Who's picking up the tab?
Title: 30-Day Cheesy Tropes Challenge - 06. Spin the Bottle
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Pre-slash/Humour
Rating & Warnings: G this part (alcohol), PG-13 overall?
Words: 919 this part, ?? overall
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Summary: At a slightly tipsy gathering of most of the senior staff of DS9 (plus Keiko and Garak), it's decided that they really should play an old Earth game Sisko recently read about.
Author's Notes: I had originally been intending to post something else today, but then I realized at the last minute that I had left out an important scene, and so that's been put on hold until I can, uh, actually write it.
Instead, I decided to post this, which is basically me having fun with historical mix-ups. I really enjoy the idea of people in our future getting things in the present day not quite right, because, you know, if we can mess up stuff that went on much less than a hundred years ago, expecting perfect accuracy three hundred years in the future is a bit much.
Also, I really like the idea of the senior staff (and secondary characters) socialising in large groups. We mostly saw them pair off on their downtime, which was really nice, but the occasional mildly awkward night at Quark's would have been fun to see too.
This is totally silly, so don't think much more than that about it. :Db;
Not for the first time, Julian was struck by how much his life had changed in only a few short years. When he had first arrived on Deep Space 9, he'd hoped for a more casual relationship with them all, of course, even for some friendships, but he had made very certain not to raise said hopes too high. For some reason, he'd always had a little trouble making and keeping friends; there had been no reason to expect anything else at this, his first posting.
And yet here he was, sitting down and having drinks with most of the senior officers of the station, plus Keiko and Garak—who was another surprise, for many reasons. On top of everything else, his past self would be astonished that not only did he spend time with a probable spy, but he debated literature with him several times a week. He would, in fact, be very likely to look at his future (er, current) self with awe.
At that thought, he brought his attention back to the present moment, just as Commander Sisko was saying, "There's an old Earth game I was reading about recently, Spin the Bottle. As you might expect, first, you take an empty bottle and spin it. Then, when it stops, whoever it points to has to either answer a question truthfully . . . or perform a dare given by the other players." He smiled broadly. "Who would like to try it?"
"Sounds fun," Dax of course said right away. "Count me in."
"We can count Jadzia in, but that definitely counts you out, Garak." Julian grinned at his friend. "Unless you only feel like doing dares tonight."
In response, Garak feigned injury. "Now, Doctor, that was unkind of you. I always tell the truth."
"Except for right now," he returned.
Major Kira pushed back her chair. "Commander, I really should get to bed."
"Oh, stay, Major—it's just a bit of fun," Sisko urged.
"I promise we won't ask you too embarrassing questions," Dax added.
The Major hesitated, then scraped her chair forward again. "Oh, all right. But you'd better mean what you say or I'm leaving."
"Don't worry. It's only a game," Sisko promised. "Here, I'll go first."
He picked up one of the empty bottles that sat on their table. He and Dax cleared a spot for it, then he turned it on its side and gave it a spin. Julian watched attentively as it slowed until the bottleneck pointed at—
"It's you, Miles!" Keiko announced on a laugh.
The Chief didn't seem nearly so amused. "Great."
"Let's see . . . ah." Sisko looked pleased. "Truth or dare: What was the biggest mistake of your life so far?"
"Coming down here for a drink," O'Brien muttered, earning himself a few chuckles and an understanding look from the Major.
"A real answer, Chief—unless you'd prefer the dare," Sisko said goodnaturedly.
The Chief was silent for a moment, his face growing increasingly red as he presumably went over the less pleasant parts of his life. But suddenly, he smiled.
"The biggest mistake of my life," he announced, "was not being faster about asking Keiko to marry me."
Julian joined the others in laughing as Keiko set a hand on his arm with an "Aww, Miles."
"Nice save, Chief!" he said to his friend.
"What? It's the truth!" the Chief protested. He looked down at the table and reached for the bottle, saying, "I suppose it's my turn now to spin this blasted thing, is it?"
Instead of waiting for an answer, he went right ahead with considerably more force than the Commander. Julian wondered if the bottle was going to end up smashing on the floor, but then it came to rest . . . pointing right at him.
His heart gave a little jump. "My turn?"
"How fortunate," Garak murmured, sounding pleased.
Not as pleased as the Chief, though. "Yeah. Okay, Julian, truth or dare: are you attracted to anyone at this table—
Oh, this was easy. He opened his mouth, ready to answer. . . .
"—who isn't Dax."
Julian shut his mouth. Ah. Not . . . nearly so easy, then, was it?
He caught Dax's eye for a moment; she smiled impishly. He ducked his gaze away, feeling his cheeks go hot.
Damn, the Chief had put him in an awful position, he thought while his gaze travelled around the table. As lovely as the Major was, he valued his life and limbs far too much to admit to finding her attractive. Commander Sisko might be handsome, but he was too much like a father—a proper father—for him to feel anything but admiration. Keiko was as gorgeous as she was gracious, and admitting as much would earn him a fist to the nose before he could finish his sentence. (Well, all right, he was exaggerating . . . probably.) The Chief was a brilliant engineer and a terrific friend, but he wasn't . . . precisely his type. That left . . .
Garak. He met his friend's eyes for a moment—and then his gaze lowered. Garak, who seem to be filling his thoughts between their lunches more and more lately. Whose overly long touches had begun to feel not long enough. Who had more than once appeared in the sorts of dreams he usually had about ladies who purred their words and whose legs went on nearly forever.
Garak smiled. Julian's face flooded with heat.
He swallowed, his tongue dry. "Dare."
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Pre-slash/Humour
Rating & Warnings: G this part (alcohol), PG-13 overall?
Words: 919 this part, ?? overall
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Summary: At a slightly tipsy gathering of most of the senior staff of DS9 (plus Keiko and Garak), it's decided that they really should play an old Earth game Sisko recently read about.
Author's Notes: I had originally been intending to post something else today, but then I realized at the last minute that I had left out an important scene, and so that's been put on hold until I can, uh, actually write it.
Instead, I decided to post this, which is basically me having fun with historical mix-ups. I really enjoy the idea of people in our future getting things in the present day not quite right, because, you know, if we can mess up stuff that went on much less than a hundred years ago, expecting perfect accuracy three hundred years in the future is a bit much.
Also, I really like the idea of the senior staff (and secondary characters) socialising in large groups. We mostly saw them pair off on their downtime, which was really nice, but the occasional mildly awkward night at Quark's would have been fun to see too.
This is totally silly, so don't think much more than that about it. :Db;
Not for the first time, Julian was struck by how much his life had changed in only a few short years. When he had first arrived on Deep Space 9, he'd hoped for a more casual relationship with them all, of course, even for some friendships, but he had made very certain not to raise said hopes too high. For some reason, he'd always had a little trouble making and keeping friends; there had been no reason to expect anything else at this, his first posting.
And yet here he was, sitting down and having drinks with most of the senior officers of the station, plus Keiko and Garak—who was another surprise, for many reasons. On top of everything else, his past self would be astonished that not only did he spend time with a probable spy, but he debated literature with him several times a week. He would, in fact, be very likely to look at his future (er, current) self with awe.
At that thought, he brought his attention back to the present moment, just as Commander Sisko was saying, "There's an old Earth game I was reading about recently, Spin the Bottle. As you might expect, first, you take an empty bottle and spin it. Then, when it stops, whoever it points to has to either answer a question truthfully . . . or perform a dare given by the other players." He smiled broadly. "Who would like to try it?"
"Sounds fun," Dax of course said right away. "Count me in."
"We can count Jadzia in, but that definitely counts you out, Garak." Julian grinned at his friend. "Unless you only feel like doing dares tonight."
In response, Garak feigned injury. "Now, Doctor, that was unkind of you. I always tell the truth."
"Except for right now," he returned.
Major Kira pushed back her chair. "Commander, I really should get to bed."
"Oh, stay, Major—it's just a bit of fun," Sisko urged.
"I promise we won't ask you too embarrassing questions," Dax added.
The Major hesitated, then scraped her chair forward again. "Oh, all right. But you'd better mean what you say or I'm leaving."
"Don't worry. It's only a game," Sisko promised. "Here, I'll go first."
He picked up one of the empty bottles that sat on their table. He and Dax cleared a spot for it, then he turned it on its side and gave it a spin. Julian watched attentively as it slowed until the bottleneck pointed at—
"It's you, Miles!" Keiko announced on a laugh.
The Chief didn't seem nearly so amused. "Great."
"Let's see . . . ah." Sisko looked pleased. "Truth or dare: What was the biggest mistake of your life so far?"
"Coming down here for a drink," O'Brien muttered, earning himself a few chuckles and an understanding look from the Major.
"A real answer, Chief—unless you'd prefer the dare," Sisko said goodnaturedly.
The Chief was silent for a moment, his face growing increasingly red as he presumably went over the less pleasant parts of his life. But suddenly, he smiled.
"The biggest mistake of my life," he announced, "was not being faster about asking Keiko to marry me."
Julian joined the others in laughing as Keiko set a hand on his arm with an "Aww, Miles."
"Nice save, Chief!" he said to his friend.
"What? It's the truth!" the Chief protested. He looked down at the table and reached for the bottle, saying, "I suppose it's my turn now to spin this blasted thing, is it?"
Instead of waiting for an answer, he went right ahead with considerably more force than the Commander. Julian wondered if the bottle was going to end up smashing on the floor, but then it came to rest . . . pointing right at him.
His heart gave a little jump. "My turn?"
"How fortunate," Garak murmured, sounding pleased.
Not as pleased as the Chief, though. "Yeah. Okay, Julian, truth or dare: are you attracted to anyone at this table—
Oh, this was easy. He opened his mouth, ready to answer. . . .
"—who isn't Dax."
Julian shut his mouth. Ah. Not . . . nearly so easy, then, was it?
He caught Dax's eye for a moment; she smiled impishly. He ducked his gaze away, feeling his cheeks go hot.
Damn, the Chief had put him in an awful position, he thought while his gaze travelled around the table. As lovely as the Major was, he valued his life and limbs far too much to admit to finding her attractive. Commander Sisko might be handsome, but he was too much like a father—a proper father—for him to feel anything but admiration. Keiko was as gorgeous as she was gracious, and admitting as much would earn him a fist to the nose before he could finish his sentence. (Well, all right, he was exaggerating . . . probably.) The Chief was a brilliant engineer and a terrific friend, but he wasn't . . . precisely his type. That left . . .
Garak. He met his friend's eyes for a moment—and then his gaze lowered. Garak, who seem to be filling his thoughts between their lunches more and more lately. Whose overly long touches had begun to feel not long enough. Who had more than once appeared in the sorts of dreams he usually had about ladies who purred their words and whose legs went on nearly forever.
Garak smiled. Julian's face flooded with heat.
He swallowed, his tongue dry. "Dare."