So @stopthatbluecat and I have been discussing her Siskoshir au. I had an idea that she isn’t going to use, so I’m writing this post. It’s too fun not to share!
Julian and Ben are dating. But then, the Changeling comes, and the first thing he does is break up with Ben. This creates distance for the Changeling to hide, but Ben still has this nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right. He can’t quite pin it down.
Then Garak gets the signal from Tain, and something clicks for Ben. He suddenly is nearly sure Julian is a Changeling. Little things start to make so much sense. He doesn’t want to spook the Changeling until he knows the real Julian is safe. He tells Dax and Kira to keep an eye on “Julian” while he, not Worf, goes with Garak to the Gamma Quadrant.
(Oh also Julian is dating Ben but he still has feelings for Garak which Ben knows about and is fine with. Garak doesn’t know about Julian’s feelings but he of course harbors feelings for Julian)
Ben and Garak still fly into that nebula and get captured. Garak has his whole moment with Tain. Then, Julian walks in, and Ben has to hold himself very still not to rush up and hold him. Julian, for his part, isn’t quite sure which one of them he is happier to see. But he falls into Ben’s arms once the Jem'Hadar leave the room. (Tain probably says some homophobic shit bc he’s Tain, but he dies soon so fuck him)
Julian watches over Garak during his shifts in the wall. But Ben can’t tolerate fighting the Jem'Hadar as well as Worf could. So Julian makes a decision. He volunteers himself to fight. At first no one wants to let him, because he looks like this waif of a man, but then they figure he will be fun for an appetizer. But! Obv it turns out Julian is an augment and he can take much more of a beating, and dish it out, than anyone expected. And that is how Ben, Garak, and Martok find out Julian’s secret.
Ben ends up being the one keeping an eye on Garak while he’s in the wall and Julian is fighting. Julian is still there when Tain dies tho. I wouldn’t take that away from them. But this way Ben and Garak develop a bond and a higher respect for one another. Also Garak’s feelings for Julian become more apparent in his reactions to Julian’s injuries.
I think they don’t all form a happy poly triangle right away but they might make the first steps toward such a thing. Julian realizes that Garak has feelings for him which is something he has to reconcile along with the fact that Ben was the only one to suspect the Changeling wasn’t him.
They all decide not to tell Julian’s secret. When his parents arrive, Julian gets much more support and understanding from Ben and Garak. They do their best to keep Richard and Amsha contained, but the secret still gets out. Events play out mostly as they do in the show, but Julian is less alone through the whole mess. And he is never expected to forgive or reconcile with his parents.
And that is how I would do Purgatory’s Shadow/Inferno’s Light and Doctor Bashir, I Presume differently assuming Julian and Sisko were dating.
