This is brilliant, headcanon accepted. But also. But also, think about this.
After the events of DBIP, it becomes even more of a sore point. Julian's engineered brain retains things like new languages with ease. Julian could learn any language he wanted in record time, and oh, Klingon was worth the effort. But five years of friendship and lunches and debates and book club - that wasn't. Of course, Kardasi is difficult - more difficult than Klingon, in Garak's opinion - and it's not easy to get hold of learning materials, but Julian has spent five years in the presence of a native speaker (a very erudite native speaker) and he never asked. Not even once, not even as a joke or an off-hand comment. He never looked at Garak and said, I'm sure there's some nuance lost in translation, perhaps you could teach me; the way he is insisting on nuance of Klingon epic poems.
It smarts, especially once Worf says what Garak's been thinking out loud and draws a connection between the doctor's newfound fluency in Klingon and his--abilities.
"Learning Klingon was so necessary," Garak says and cannot hear the edge of bitterness over the buzz of all those glasses of kanar he's already downed that evening.
"It kept me from going insane in there," Julian replies, sounding entirely too sober, how unfair, "so yes, I'd say it was pretty necessary. Gave me something to focus on."
"You didn't bother with Kardasi."
"Martok offered to teach me. Can't say the same about Tain."
And oh, of course his father wouldn't but this wasn't about his father, this was about Julian, about Julian and Garak, and Garak would have been more than willing to--
"You never bothered with Kardasi." The bitterness of the words distorts the flavour of his drink, making it unpalatable. "All these years, all these books, you never bothered-- never even asked, and I would have--"
"/I know you would have,/" Julian cuts him off, but he does it kindly. He sounds softer than just a moment ago, too, and Garak almost bristles. "/And that's precisely why I never asked. I'm not good at faking inability to understand and you'd realise I was learning too fast, unnaturally fast. Couldn't risk it./"
"I'm finding it hard not to take that personally, Doctor."
He has the audacity to sound amused.
"There is nothing wrong with expanding one's horizons and learning more languages, one can never know when it might come in handy--"
"--but to know that you could have learnt my language and that all this time, we could have been reading Cardassian classics in the way they were meant to be read--"
The corners of Julian's lips quirk in a smile and it's almost dazzling to see him smiling again, and it would have been breathtaking if only Garak weren't so annoyed with him.
"/Oh, I think we can still do that,/" Julian says and that smile of his escapes containment and lights up his entire face, "/if perhaps you'd stop drinking and actually listen to me./"
"--but you couldn't even be bothered, Doctor, taking the time, taking the risk, it wasn't worth it to you? Wasn't--I--"
"/Garak./" As Julian takes his glass away from him, he lets their fingers brush, perhaps for a second longer than absolutely necessary. "/You're not listening. And I never said that I hadn't bothered, I said that I hadn't asked you./"
Relieved of his glass, Garak closes his hand in a fist and forces himself to pay attention to Julian, to really listen as the doctor is insisting he hasn't been. Listen to his amused voice, delivering words that sounded softer and more sibilant than usual, almost as if Julian was elongating his syllables, almost as if--
"Oh." Julian lets out a small laugh. "/That's. Kardasi./"
"/Indeed it is. Wonderful to finally be able to use it with another person./"
"/As you said,/" Julian says and now that Garak is listening to him and processing what he's hearing, the sound of his mother tongue delivered in Julian's voice is like music, "/all these books and all these years listening to you./"
"/We speak Federation Standard to each other, my dear doctor./"
"/That's true,/" Julian concedes, "/but those are not the only times I listen to you. You murmur under your breath when you work, sometimes, or sing, and always in Kardasi./"
"/And you've learnt--from that? Old books with archaic vocabulary and me muttering to myself?/"
"/Well, and some of those terrible holoprograms you've shown me. As I said. Fast and unnatural./"
He's not wrong. If Garak had learnt this before Zimmerman's disastrous visit to DS9, he'd have thought there was something exceedingly strange about Julian and he'd have been correct. Perhaps Julian did have a good reason to keep quiet.
Julian shrugs. "/Everyone already knows I'm fast and unnatural so I see no further point in pretending that I can't do the things I can do. Plus.../"
"/Yes?/" Garak prompts him when Julian trails off and then fails to pick up the thought.
"/You seemed... upset. On the runabout, when I was joking with Martok in Klingon./"
"/Your jokes were just bad. I speak Klingon too, in case you forgot. Had the displeasure of understanding everything you said./"
"/Kardasi is harder,/" Julian says and while correct, it is somewhat à propos of nothing, "/and I'm not as good at it, mostly due to not being able to practice--/"
"/Yes, to begin with, your pronunciation could use some work./"
"/--but I just. I want you to know that it was absolutely worth the time. And that, if you were willing, I would love to practice with you. My pronunciation, that is./"
Garak swallows. "/I'd be,/" honoured sounds too lofty, happy too positive, "/amenable./"
"Wonderful," Julian replies in Standard and now that Garak knows they've been speaking in a different language, the difference is jarring. "Can't wait."
"I have to warn you, my dear doctor, that I am a very strict teacher."
Julian's laughter warms the air around them.
"I have no doubt, my dear Mister Garak. But it will be worth the effort." Julian leans forward toward him. "/You are worth the effort./"
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