A Gift for Useyourlove

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

Title: Sometimes it Lasts in Love but Sometimes it Hurts Instead
Author: da_angel729
Summary: He rubbed his thumb in light circles over her palm, and it should've been relaxing, but all Kara could see was long, lonely days stretched out in front of her. It felt disloyal, like Zak wasn't the one she was in a relationship with.
Characters: Kara Thrace, Lee Adama, Kara Thrace/Zak Adama, Lee Adama/Kara Thrace
Rating: R
Warnings: infidelity

Author Notes: Written for useyourlove at the February 2012 Event at pilots_presents with a prompt of Kara and Lee at a Caprica Buccaneers game, pre-mini, though I'll admit the prompt fell to the angst. I hope you like it, useyourlove! Title is from "Someone Like You" by Adele, and I own nothing you recognize. As always, feedback and con crit appreciated!

Sometimes it Lasts in Love but Sometimes it Hurts Instead

It was halftime before Kara realized Lee wasn't paying attention to the game.

She'd been caught up in the game, the excitement, as usual—it was the championship game, and she'd managed to score two tickets at the last minute when her supervisor's wife went into labor—and normally Lee was the same. The C-Bucs were up, a lot, and there was no way the Panthers were going to win.

So Kara, instead of joining the swarming masses headed to concession to pick up more Ambrosia, beer, and snacks, sat down next to Lee, who hadn't even noticed the nearly empty seats around them.

Since he was staring at the court with a blank look on his face.

"Lee."

He didn't move, and Kara placed her hand on his arm, hoping to get his attention.

Lee jumped, practically out his seat, and turned to look at her. He seemed confused and glanced at the seats around them. "Kara?"

"Welcome back," she said. "What's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lee said, now staring at the court and avoiding her gaze, sitting stiff and unmoving.

"Lee."

He sighed, and slumped back in his chair, closing his eyes. He'd folded quickly, and Kara would be amused if she wasn't so worried. Lee could be moody—usually based on how long it'd been since he talked to his father—but he was normally positive around her.

"I’m leaving the Fleet."

She heard the words, she did, they flowed through her and wrapped around both of them, thick and heavy in the air.

But she wasn't sure she understood them.

"Leaving the Fleet," she repeated.

"Yes," Lee said. He was staring at the ground, not looking at her, and Kara didn't know what to do. He wasn't supposed to leave, to quit. The three of them, Lee, Zak, Kara, were supposed to conquer the Fleet, rapidly rising through the ranks as an unstoppable force.

She ignored the uncharitable thought that Zak would never make it—he was only in his second year of Flight School—and focused on Lee's face.

He looked tired, and weary, and Kara wondered how long he'd been considering this. If she knew Lee, and she liked to think that after a year of hanging out with him, both alone and with Zak, that she knew him very well, it had been for a while.

"What are you going to do?" Kara asked finally, after long moments of silence.

It wasn't the question she intended to ask, and she really meant What am I going to do without you here I need you around to keep me sane, but Kara understood she couldn't say that to Lee.

Not if he was serious about quitting the Fleet.

"Haven't decided yet, exactly," Lee said. "Got a friend in Picon City, said he'll let me help him at the bar for a bit."

"A bar?" Kara asked, somewhat skeptically, even as relief flooded through her at the thought Lee would be close to her—closer than he was now, actually, stationed on the Battlestar Solaria.

"It's temporary," Lee said, apparently reading the tone of her voice correctly. "I've been putting out feelers with one of my friends from school."

An innocuous statement, Kara thought with a small grin, until you realized that school for the Adama brothers had been the ultra-exclusive Caprican Center, which had the distinction of being the alma mater of the last ten Presidents of the Twelve Colonies. And the majority of the Cabinet and the Quorum of Twelve.

And she knew exactly which friend he was talking about—a first born son of a Caprican family whose claim to fame were three Presidents.

"And what is Mister Pompous and Grave up to?" Kara asked, and Lee finally turned to look at her, amusement on his face.

"He's not pompous," Lee said. "He's just…."

Lee's voice trailed off as he shrugged, and Kara grinned at him. "I believe boring is the word you're looking for."

Lee laughed—it sounded rusty, and what the frak was wrong with her that she was just noticing this now. "He's working in his dad's law firm on Aerilon, said he needed an assistant."

"Law," Kara said, mind spinning. To be honest, she could see it. He'd spent hours arguing with her and Zak about the differences in laws between the colonies and how every colonial law had a similar law on the planets, modified to reflect that planet's unique history and social structures. She'd always checked out of the conversation, let the words flow over her and enjoyed the passion that overflowed in his voice.

It'd always reminded her of the way she felt about flying.

Oh.

"I’m going to miss you," she said softly.

He looked at her, eyebrows raised, and reached over to take her hand. "We'll still see each other. We're friends."

Right. Friends.

He rubbed his thumb in light circles over her palm, and it should've been relaxing, but all Kara could see was long, lonely days stretched out in front of her. It felt disloyal, like Zak wasn't the one she was in a relationship with.

She couldn’t deny, however, that the moment she'd met Lee, their immediate connection had felt like fate clicking into place.

"And you're with Zak, who I make a habit of seeing regularly."

Kara nodded, grinned in response to the sarcasm in his tone. "Lucky me," she said, and it was supposed to match his tone, but it came out heavy and almost mournful, and she turned away when he glanced at her, frowning.

"Hey, hey. Kara, look at me." His hand had tightened on hers, and she looked over to find his eyes locked on her face. "What's going on?"

He sounded worried, that was normal—Lee was always stressed about something—but she'd never seen that panicked look on his face before.

She shook her head, helplessly, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

Lee stayed perfectly still, and Kara started to push back because holy frak she was kissing her boyfriend's brother, when Lee's hands braced themselves on her waist and pulled her closer.

Onto his lap.

This was much more agreeable, Kara thought as they practically devoured each other, his hands roaming aimlessly over her back.

"Excuse me," an annoyed voice said above them. "I need to get back to my seat."

Kara pulled away so fast she nearly tumbled off Lee's lap. "Sorry," she mumbled, feeling Lee's hands on her waist, steadying her. She took a deep breath and slid into her own seat. Lee's hand was now resting on her leg, warm and heavy.

She wanted to shrug him off, but it felt so good that she didn't say anything as his hand inched higher, skimming the edge of her shorts, and she couldn't take it anymore.

"Let's go," Kara said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up and out of his seat, and toward the end of the row.

They'd barely made it inside the nearest door—a storage closet, Kara thought dimly, and thank the Gods it was unlocked—before she had Lee pressed against the door, her hands sliding under his shirt to lift it above his head.

Her own shirt was gone, too, and she didn't know when the hell that had happened, and her bra fell to floor and then they were skin to skin and she was sighing into his mouth as they fumbled shorts and underwear off before tumbling to the floor, Lee on his back with Kara sprawled on top of him.

Lee was solidly built—she'd always loved looking at his arms—and didn't complain when they landed, though it must have hurt because Kara was no lightweight. Kara skimmed her lips over his jaw, under his ear, and Lee tilted his head back and thrust up against her, cock pressing into her. She sat up abruptly, sank down, hands braced against his chest, and began to move.

Lee's eyes were open, locked onto hers, as he thrust to match her movements, hands on her hips gripping hard enough to leave bruises.

"Frak," he gasped out, in between panting breaths, and Kara laughed, nearly breathless herself.

"We are," she said, the short sentence ending in a loud moan when Lee pulled her down, rolled them over, and pushed her legs up and out in a move Kara recognized.

"Advanced hand to hand," she managed as Lee braced his hands on either side of her head, thrusting forcefully, and Lee's laugh turned into a strangled groan when she bit his neck just under his ear.

"Kara," he said. "Gods, Kara."

She hummed against his throat, the broken sound of his voice shattering her control, and she fell apart, shaking and arching against him as he stilled and emptied himself into her.

Kara heard Lee's gasping breaths above her, knew her own breathing sounded awful, and then the cheers began, which struck her as odd until Lee leaned down to kiss her, wiping out all other thoughts.

The kiss was slow, and sure, and she felt an odd click in her head that said fate and danger and get out, and she sat up abruptly, pulling away, scrambling onto her hands and knees and then picking up her clothes.

"Kara?"

He sounded confused, and then his eyes widened and he stared at her, realization dawning on his face.

At least it wasn't horror, Kara thought, a little wildly, and turned to look at him. He was standing, shorts on, just watching her.

"We can't do this again," she said. When he moved toward her, hand outstretched, worry on his face, she whispered, "Please."

He stopped, instantly, and she pulled open the door and exited the closet, into the crowds of people leaving the stadium, and hoped he wouldn't follow her.

He didn't.

A month later, Zak was dead, and nothing had changed.

Everything had changed.

She ran to Galactica, the one place she knew he wouldn't follow her. He didn't leave the Fleet, took another posting on a ship. He didn't try to contact her, and Kara told herself it was for the best, and ignored the clock ticking in her head.

When she heard "this seems familiar" the clock stopped.

And whispered destiny.