I'm not sure the directors ever did want it. The heavy subtext in their first scene together was 100% a choice by Andy Robinson (who has said in interviews that when he first saw Alexander Siddig and realized he was "one of the most beautiful young people I have ever seen," he knew he was going to play it as sexual desire, because he knew how to play that, but "all that spy stuff, I don't know about that," and Siddig caught on and played into it perfectly. If it hadn't gone that way, Garak would probably have just been a one-off character (they had no intentions of reusing him at that point), but their chemistry was so perfect that the writers loved to write for them.

​@@tabithahiggins5075 at least the actors and many writers had planned on them being a queer couple, but the showrunner being the conservative twat he is scratched it. Now we only have some of the subtext we would've have if they had been allowed to be together.

Oh my goodness, watching DS9 for the first time? I envy you. I love this show.