Gift for Kdbleu
Dec. 13th, 2010 02:36 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
scifishipper.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
pilots_presentsTitle: Everyone Has a Skill
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nazkey
Summary: Ball’s in Kara’s court. Now what?
Characters: Kara/Lee
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Beta Thanks: tokag523 for helping me work through this.
Author Notes: The prompt was “Everyone has a skill” and I took it literally
Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. I’m just doing it for fun.
Standing under the shower, Kara let the water wash away the sweat from spending eight hours on CAP. As the water cascaded down, she felt herself relax and her thoughts began to wander. She thought about Caprica; the home that was no longer home. The eerie silence and the sick orange hue of a radiated planet that even now, was host to a rag-tag group of survivors, fighting against the Cylons. The motherfrakking Cylons! She touched the scars on her abdomen and remembered the horror of being stuck in that “pretend” hospital. Doc Cottle had confirmed that they had removed one of her ovaries. Kara had never been big on having children. With a mother like Socrata she’d feared she’d just damage them the way she had been damaged. But just the thought of her choice being taken away from her pissed her off. And she remembered the countless women who were being held captive right now, hooked up to machines, being experimented on for some sick, frakked up Cylon procreation plan.
She tilted her head back and let the water run over her face and thought of Sam Anders, who had sacrificed himself to save her. She could still remember his weak smile as he laid there in a pool of his own blood after being shot by a Centurian on the way back from the Farm. He’d told her everything would be fine and that she needed to get her ass back to Galactica. Back home. She’d squeezed his hand and told him that she wouldn’t forget her promise and would come back and rescue the rest of his people and godsdamn it, she was going to do just that. She said a silent prayer for Sam and turned, facing the wall, let the spray hit her back.
She stretched under the warm water and her mind wandered over to Helo and his love for that toaster. She’d watched them on the way back from Caprica. Watched how they looked at each other, how they brushed their hands together, how connected they seemed to be. Even now, with the toaster – Sharon, she reminded herself – in the brig, Helo was just as devoted as ever. She could see the love on his face when he talked about her.
The water was starting to get cold, but Kara didn’t want to leave yet. Even with all the noise from the crew, the head was still one of the most private places Kara could find to be alone with her thoughts. She thought about Zak and how much she had loved him. Or at least, how much she thought she’d loved him. Zak had been easy. He never questioned her, never judged her and just accepted her for who she was. But he never dug deep and challenged her either. She kept the Starbuck mask of cockiness on around him and he just went along with it. Some days, when Kara felt vulnerable, she would try to open up and break down some of her walls and talk to Zak, but he would always frown and look at her as if she’d sprouted horns on her head and she would retreat back into her shell. Some days she wondered if it was better that he was gone. She knew that sooner or later they would’ve broken up. Agreeing to marry him had been a spur of the moment decision on her part. Something out of a fantasy she’d had of having a “normal” life. But Kara wasn’t made to be a normal anything. She said a silent prayer for him too, turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.
Zak would not have been able to deal with the destruction of the worlds. He would’ve broken down. Not like Lee. Lee. Of course. Everything always circled back to Lee, didn’t it? She felt a smile creeping up as she thought of the way he looked when she turned the corner and stepped on the deck of the Astral Queen. His brilliant smile, his look of pure joy and relief had made her feel warm inside. He had hugged her tight and for that one moment, she’d remembered what it was like to feel safe. And then he had kissed her. Kara’s smile widened as she remembered the sensation of his lips on hers. That Lee would kiss her in front of everyone was unexpected, but the kiss itself had been a long time coming. Kara wasn’t stupid and she knew that she’d had a connection and attraction to Lee from the moment she met him. And she had known the attraction was mutual. They’d had an unspoken agreement to quell any feelings they had for each other because of Zak and then after his death, they had simply lost touch. But it had never gone away. The end of the worlds brought them back together again and the spark was right there. They’d been dancing around it for so long that neither of them had been willing to take the next step. Lee’s kiss had changed all that. He had taken the step and Kara, having switched to her Starbuck mode had made a teasing remark and he’d backed away. But then he had come to her and said he loved her. True, it was couched in a speech about friendship, but he had said it.
Drying herself off, Kara thought about that moment again. He really had said it. He loved her. That was new. The chemistry and physical attraction had always been there, but love? Now that a few weeks had gone by and they’d simply reverted back to their old game of push & pull, she realized how much that statement really meant. For Lee Adama to break down and admit how he felt was astounding. Pulling on her bra and panties, it suddenly hit Kara that she had dismissed his declaration with another smart-ass remark. She realized that the reason they were back to their old teasing, semi-flirting mode was because of her. He’d laid himself out there and she’d made a joke. As she got dressed and started walking out of the head, she finally admitted to herself that she wanted this. She wanted him. Not just for sex, although with a body like his that would be a huge bonus, but for everything. He was right. He was her best friend and the truth was she loved him too.
That realization slammed into her with such force that she sat down on the bench in front of the cubbies and earned a few curious looks from the other pilots. She was oblivious and just sat there with a distant look on her face. She loved Lee. There it was. Now what? Clearly the ball was in her court and she had a choice to either move forward or continue with this dance. She took a deep breath and decided that here, at the end of the worlds, she – they - deserved a chance to be happy, for however short a time they had. Yes. She was going to let Lee know how she felt and let the chips fall where they may.
By the time she’d made it back to the bunk room, a plan had formulated and she started getting ready for her shift.
_______ Part II _________
Sitting in his office, Lee was trying to make heads or tails of the CAP schedule. The list of available pilots was dwindling fast and as he flipped through the files on his desk, he was alarmed at the number of losses. Frustrated, he shoved the files away and leaned back in his chair, letting his thoughts wander. As usual, he started thinking about Kara. It had been a few weeks since Kobol … since his stupid declaration of love on the Astral Queen. She’d made a joke and he’d played along, brushed it off and buried his feelings deep down inside. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to that. Ever since that first meeting he’d had to constantly tamp down his attraction to the wild and crazy that was Kara Thrace. He sighed, pushed back in his chair a little more and propped his feet up on the desk.
What was it about her? She wasn’t even really his type. He’d always liked the quiet demure types. And then she’d come into his life and turned his world on its head. He’d never had trouble with the ladies so to speak. He knew he was good looking and that when he put his mind to it, could charm the pants off of any girl he’d wanted. But it was different with Kara. He turned into a tongue-tied school boy around her, wary and cautious. The thrill that ran through his body every time she was near had not diminished with time. In fact, it had gotten worse and he remembered days spent in frustrated longing with her and Zak. There had been times when he’d sensed something back from her. He never knew for sure, but there had been moments where he’d caught her looking at him with the same hunger. After Zak died and Kara took the post on the Galactica, Lee had severed his ties and moved on. At least, that’s what he thought he had done. But one look at her in the brig and he’d been right back where he started. Now, months after the end of the worlds, the only constant in his life had become his burning need for this woman.
The rational side of him barged in and took charge of his thoughts. Clearly, Kara did not feel the same way about him. Sure, they bantered and teased, but she had never given any indication that she was remotely interested in him as anything other than a friend. She’d even gone so far as to sleep with that crazy sleaze Gaius Baltar. The memory of the fight on the hangar deck still rankled and Lee felt himself starting to get angry all over again. Gaius frakking Baltar! Of all the people, why in gods names did she have to sleep with him? And then she’d just disappeared. Gone off on some crazy-ass Starbuck adventure and left him alone. Abandoned him. At first, Lee was hurt and angry but after a while, he just simply missed her in his life. He’d realized that more than anything, Kara was his one immutable reason to fight. Sitting there thinking about that day on the Astral Queen, Lee rationalized for the millionth time that his reaction and declaration of love had really been a moment of weakness. There was no other reason for him to have lost control like that. And of course, she’d turned around and made everything a joke and in the weeks since, they’d gone back to their old way of teasing banter. Nothing had changed.
Enough. Lee had had enough. He wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life pining after a woman who clearly did not feel the same way about him. He had meant it when he told Kara that he was her friend and godsdamn it, he was going to stick to being her friend and put all other possibilities out of his head. There weren’t too many people left in the world that he could count on and he was damned if he was going to screw around with a relationship that gave him, at the very least, some sense of comfort.
That was it. Kara was just a friend. Nothing more. He would work on getting rid of his longing for her to be more. Maybe he’d even take Dee up on her offer and go for a drink on Cloud 9. Yeah, that’s what he needed. He needed someone else to take his mind off of Kara. Having decided, he got up, stretched, grabbed his files and headed over to the ready room to update the board.
______ Part III ________
Kara walked into the ready room to find Lee staring at the board with that adorable crinkle between his brows, concentrating on the schedule. She leaned against the doorframe and just watched him for a few minutes, wondering how best to approach this.
“You should pair Skulls with Heckler. They fly well together,” she drawled from the doorway.
Lee turned around and smiled at her, “yeah?”
“Yeah,” she said as she pushed off the wall and walked towards him. She stood just a little too close and tried hard to hold back a smile when she saw him blush just a little. How had she not seen this before? This immediate effect she had on him? Sure, it had been there when she was with Zak, but she hadn’t realized that it was still there, stronger and more potent than it had ever been.
“And … um … you might want to put them, “ she reached over and brushed against him as she pointed to a set of names, “over here.” She looked back at Lee and smiled a cocky, I-know-this-better-than-you smile and felt a little flutter in her chest as he smiled back.
“Seriously Lee,” she said as she reached over and brushed off an imaginary speck of dust off his shoulder, “you’d think after all this time, you’d have figured it out.” She looked him straight in the eye with her hand still on his shoulder and her body leaned in to his. “Come on,” she thought. “I’m here, I’m taking the step. Just meet me half way.” But Lee’s brow furrowed and he stepped back and cleared his throat, “Very funny Starbuck. Don’t you ever get tired of that joke?”
Kara was stunned and a bit embarrassed. She’d expected Lee to pick up on her obvious gesture and kiss her … or, something. She didn’t expect him to pull back and actually call her by her call-sign. Rocking back on her heels, she slammed the Starbuck mask firmly in place, turned and started walking away. “No Lee, I actually don’t! See you on CAP!”
After she left, Lee stood there in shock, trying to bring his treacherous body under control. What in all Hades was going on? Was Kara actually flirting with him? She had always messed around and goofed off, but she’d actually looked like she expected him to … what? Kiss her? That couldn’t possibly be it. Lee knew Kara. He knew that she got a kick out of rustling his feathers and plus, he had decided to let her go so he had to just chalk this little episode up as just another one of her little mind fraks. He turned back to the board and started writing again but he couldn’t forget the feel of her hand on his shoulder, her breath on his face and the warmth of her body as she’d leaned in to him. Gods this was going to be harder than he’d thought. He’d just begun to calm down when the claxons went off.
_____ Part IV ________
It turned out to be one helluva dog fight. Two basestars and an endless stream of raiders had shown up out of nowhere and the fleet had scrambled and jumped away with seconds to spare before the Cylons descended on them. As always, the Galactica was left to take out as many of the frakkers as possible before jumping away. They lost five vipers and as Lee gave the order for combat landings, he watched in horror as Kara’s ship got hit by a piece of flying debris. Sparks flew and he heard her scream “FRAK, I’m hit! I’m hit!” over the comm.. In that moment everything else faded away. All he could see was her bird as she struggled to control and bring it in to land. Nothing else mattered. No one else was important. The only thought running through his head was that he just couldn’t lose her. Not again. He wouldn’t survive without her.
Somehow she landed the bird as only Starbuck could and as they waited for the jump Lee realized that no matter what he did and no matter how many times he told himself that she was nothing more than his friend, the truth was she was everything. Without her, his world was just a vast emptiness. He couldn’t help the way he felt. He loved her so completely that she’d simply become a part of him. When the deck crew finally popped open his canopy, he sat there and decided that today, right at the moment, he was going to tell her again. He was going to tell her – no, show her – that he loved her and this time, he wouldn’t let her laugh it off.
He jumped down the ladder, pushed past the deckhand and ran to her viper. “Kara!” he yelled. She was standing with one hand resting on her bird, her head bowed and Lee knew that she’d been shaken up by what happened. She turned at the sound of his voice and took a step towards him as he came up and crushed her in his arms. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, do you hear?” He said in her ear. “I can’t lose you Kara. Not again. You’re all I have. You’re everything.” He leaned back, caught her face in his hands and kissed her. He heard her surprised gasp and smiled against her lips as he deepened the kiss. With a sigh, Kara relaxed in his arms and kissed him back. Suddenly his heart was soaring. Kara was kissing him back! She wasn’t pushing him away or making a joke. He trailed kissed across her cheek to her ear and whispered, “I love you Kara Thrace. The gods help me, but I love you and I don’t care who frakking knows.” He felt her shake and looked back to see her laughing softly. She caressed his cheek, looked into his eyes and said, “I love you too Lee Adama. I love you too.” And then she leaned in and kissed him again.
The sound of applause throughout the deck finally broke them up. They’d been oblivious to their audience and turned to see deckhands and pilots all smiling and clapping. They both blushed and Kara buried her head in Lee’s chest before pulling away and giving him a friendly shove. “Looks like we put on quite a show, huh Lee?” Lee turned to the crew and gave them a dramatic bow before slinging his arm over her shoulder and smiling back, “Yeah, well, everyone’s got a skill.”
Author:
nazkey Summary: Ball’s in Kara’s court. Now what?
Characters: Kara/Lee
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Beta Thanks: to
kag523 for helping me work through this.Author Notes: The prompt was “Everyone has a skill” and I took it literally
Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. I’m just doing it for fun.
Standing under the shower, Kara let the water wash away the sweat from spending eight hours on CAP. As the water cascaded down, she felt herself relax and her thoughts began to wander. She thought about Caprica; the home that was no longer home. The eerie silence and the sick orange hue of a radiated planet that even now, was host to a rag-tag group of survivors, fighting against the Cylons. The motherfrakking Cylons! She touched the scars on her abdomen and remembered the horror of being stuck in that “pretend” hospital. Doc Cottle had confirmed that they had removed one of her ovaries. Kara had never been big on having children. With a mother like Socrata she’d feared she’d just damage them the way she had been damaged. But just the thought of her choice being taken away from her pissed her off. And she remembered the countless women who were being held captive right now, hooked up to machines, being experimented on for some sick, frakked up Cylon procreation plan.
She tilted her head back and let the water run over her face and thought of Sam Anders, who had sacrificed himself to save her. She could still remember his weak smile as he laid there in a pool of his own blood after being shot by a Centurian on the way back from the Farm. He’d told her everything would be fine and that she needed to get her ass back to Galactica. Back home. She’d squeezed his hand and told him that she wouldn’t forget her promise and would come back and rescue the rest of his people and godsdamn it, she was going to do just that. She said a silent prayer for Sam and turned, facing the wall, let the spray hit her back.
She stretched under the warm water and her mind wandered over to Helo and his love for that toaster. She’d watched them on the way back from Caprica. Watched how they looked at each other, how they brushed their hands together, how connected they seemed to be. Even now, with the toaster – Sharon, she reminded herself – in the brig, Helo was just as devoted as ever. She could see the love on his face when he talked about her.
The water was starting to get cold, but Kara didn’t want to leave yet. Even with all the noise from the crew, the head was still one of the most private places Kara could find to be alone with her thoughts. She thought about Zak and how much she had loved him. Or at least, how much she thought she’d loved him. Zak had been easy. He never questioned her, never judged her and just accepted her for who she was. But he never dug deep and challenged her either. She kept the Starbuck mask of cockiness on around him and he just went along with it. Some days, when Kara felt vulnerable, she would try to open up and break down some of her walls and talk to Zak, but he would always frown and look at her as if she’d sprouted horns on her head and she would retreat back into her shell. Some days she wondered if it was better that he was gone. She knew that sooner or later they would’ve broken up. Agreeing to marry him had been a spur of the moment decision on her part. Something out of a fantasy she’d had of having a “normal” life. But Kara wasn’t made to be a normal anything. She said a silent prayer for him too, turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.
Zak would not have been able to deal with the destruction of the worlds. He would’ve broken down. Not like Lee. Lee. Of course. Everything always circled back to Lee, didn’t it? She felt a smile creeping up as she thought of the way he looked when she turned the corner and stepped on the deck of the Astral Queen. His brilliant smile, his look of pure joy and relief had made her feel warm inside. He had hugged her tight and for that one moment, she’d remembered what it was like to feel safe. And then he had kissed her. Kara’s smile widened as she remembered the sensation of his lips on hers. That Lee would kiss her in front of everyone was unexpected, but the kiss itself had been a long time coming. Kara wasn’t stupid and she knew that she’d had a connection and attraction to Lee from the moment she met him. And she had known the attraction was mutual. They’d had an unspoken agreement to quell any feelings they had for each other because of Zak and then after his death, they had simply lost touch. But it had never gone away. The end of the worlds brought them back together again and the spark was right there. They’d been dancing around it for so long that neither of them had been willing to take the next step. Lee’s kiss had changed all that. He had taken the step and Kara, having switched to her Starbuck mode had made a teasing remark and he’d backed away. But then he had come to her and said he loved her. True, it was couched in a speech about friendship, but he had said it.
Drying herself off, Kara thought about that moment again. He really had said it. He loved her. That was new. The chemistry and physical attraction had always been there, but love? Now that a few weeks had gone by and they’d simply reverted back to their old game of push & pull, she realized how much that statement really meant. For Lee Adama to break down and admit how he felt was astounding. Pulling on her bra and panties, it suddenly hit Kara that she had dismissed his declaration with another smart-ass remark. She realized that the reason they were back to their old teasing, semi-flirting mode was because of her. He’d laid himself out there and she’d made a joke. As she got dressed and started walking out of the head, she finally admitted to herself that she wanted this. She wanted him. Not just for sex, although with a body like his that would be a huge bonus, but for everything. He was right. He was her best friend and the truth was she loved him too.
That realization slammed into her with such force that she sat down on the bench in front of the cubbies and earned a few curious looks from the other pilots. She was oblivious and just sat there with a distant look on her face. She loved Lee. There it was. Now what? Clearly the ball was in her court and she had a choice to either move forward or continue with this dance. She took a deep breath and decided that here, at the end of the worlds, she – they - deserved a chance to be happy, for however short a time they had. Yes. She was going to let Lee know how she felt and let the chips fall where they may.
By the time she’d made it back to the bunk room, a plan had formulated and she started getting ready for her shift.
_______ Part II _________
Sitting in his office, Lee was trying to make heads or tails of the CAP schedule. The list of available pilots was dwindling fast and as he flipped through the files on his desk, he was alarmed at the number of losses. Frustrated, he shoved the files away and leaned back in his chair, letting his thoughts wander. As usual, he started thinking about Kara. It had been a few weeks since Kobol … since his stupid declaration of love on the Astral Queen. She’d made a joke and he’d played along, brushed it off and buried his feelings deep down inside. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to that. Ever since that first meeting he’d had to constantly tamp down his attraction to the wild and crazy that was Kara Thrace. He sighed, pushed back in his chair a little more and propped his feet up on the desk.
What was it about her? She wasn’t even really his type. He’d always liked the quiet demure types. And then she’d come into his life and turned his world on its head. He’d never had trouble with the ladies so to speak. He knew he was good looking and that when he put his mind to it, could charm the pants off of any girl he’d wanted. But it was different with Kara. He turned into a tongue-tied school boy around her, wary and cautious. The thrill that ran through his body every time she was near had not diminished with time. In fact, it had gotten worse and he remembered days spent in frustrated longing with her and Zak. There had been times when he’d sensed something back from her. He never knew for sure, but there had been moments where he’d caught her looking at him with the same hunger. After Zak died and Kara took the post on the Galactica, Lee had severed his ties and moved on. At least, that’s what he thought he had done. But one look at her in the brig and he’d been right back where he started. Now, months after the end of the worlds, the only constant in his life had become his burning need for this woman.
The rational side of him barged in and took charge of his thoughts. Clearly, Kara did not feel the same way about him. Sure, they bantered and teased, but she had never given any indication that she was remotely interested in him as anything other than a friend. She’d even gone so far as to sleep with that crazy sleaze Gaius Baltar. The memory of the fight on the hangar deck still rankled and Lee felt himself starting to get angry all over again. Gaius frakking Baltar! Of all the people, why in gods names did she have to sleep with him? And then she’d just disappeared. Gone off on some crazy-ass Starbuck adventure and left him alone. Abandoned him. At first, Lee was hurt and angry but after a while, he just simply missed her in his life. He’d realized that more than anything, Kara was his one immutable reason to fight. Sitting there thinking about that day on the Astral Queen, Lee rationalized for the millionth time that his reaction and declaration of love had really been a moment of weakness. There was no other reason for him to have lost control like that. And of course, she’d turned around and made everything a joke and in the weeks since, they’d gone back to their old way of teasing banter. Nothing had changed.
Enough. Lee had had enough. He wasn’t going to spend the rest of his life pining after a woman who clearly did not feel the same way about him. He had meant it when he told Kara that he was her friend and godsdamn it, he was going to stick to being her friend and put all other possibilities out of his head. There weren’t too many people left in the world that he could count on and he was damned if he was going to screw around with a relationship that gave him, at the very least, some sense of comfort.
That was it. Kara was just a friend. Nothing more. He would work on getting rid of his longing for her to be more. Maybe he’d even take Dee up on her offer and go for a drink on Cloud 9. Yeah, that’s what he needed. He needed someone else to take his mind off of Kara. Having decided, he got up, stretched, grabbed his files and headed over to the ready room to update the board.
______ Part III ________
Kara walked into the ready room to find Lee staring at the board with that adorable crinkle between his brows, concentrating on the schedule. She leaned against the doorframe and just watched him for a few minutes, wondering how best to approach this.
“You should pair Skulls with Heckler. They fly well together,” she drawled from the doorway.
Lee turned around and smiled at her, “yeah?”
“Yeah,” she said as she pushed off the wall and walked towards him. She stood just a little too close and tried hard to hold back a smile when she saw him blush just a little. How had she not seen this before? This immediate effect she had on him? Sure, it had been there when she was with Zak, but she hadn’t realized that it was still there, stronger and more potent than it had ever been.
“And … um … you might want to put them, “ she reached over and brushed against him as she pointed to a set of names, “over here.” She looked back at Lee and smiled a cocky, I-know-this-better-than-you smile and felt a little flutter in her chest as he smiled back.
“Seriously Lee,” she said as she reached over and brushed off an imaginary speck of dust off his shoulder, “you’d think after all this time, you’d have figured it out.” She looked him straight in the eye with her hand still on his shoulder and her body leaned in to his. “Come on,” she thought. “I’m here, I’m taking the step. Just meet me half way.” But Lee’s brow furrowed and he stepped back and cleared his throat, “Very funny Starbuck. Don’t you ever get tired of that joke?”
Kara was stunned and a bit embarrassed. She’d expected Lee to pick up on her obvious gesture and kiss her … or, something. She didn’t expect him to pull back and actually call her by her call-sign. Rocking back on her heels, she slammed the Starbuck mask firmly in place, turned and started walking away. “No Lee, I actually don’t! See you on CAP!”
After she left, Lee stood there in shock, trying to bring his treacherous body under control. What in all Hades was going on? Was Kara actually flirting with him? She had always messed around and goofed off, but she’d actually looked like she expected him to … what? Kiss her? That couldn’t possibly be it. Lee knew Kara. He knew that she got a kick out of rustling his feathers and plus, he had decided to let her go so he had to just chalk this little episode up as just another one of her little mind fraks. He turned back to the board and started writing again but he couldn’t forget the feel of her hand on his shoulder, her breath on his face and the warmth of her body as she’d leaned in to him. Gods this was going to be harder than he’d thought. He’d just begun to calm down when the claxons went off.
_____ Part IV ________
It turned out to be one helluva dog fight. Two basestars and an endless stream of raiders had shown up out of nowhere and the fleet had scrambled and jumped away with seconds to spare before the Cylons descended on them. As always, the Galactica was left to take out as many of the frakkers as possible before jumping away. They lost five vipers and as Lee gave the order for combat landings, he watched in horror as Kara’s ship got hit by a piece of flying debris. Sparks flew and he heard her scream “FRAK, I’m hit! I’m hit!” over the comm.. In that moment everything else faded away. All he could see was her bird as she struggled to control and bring it in to land. Nothing else mattered. No one else was important. The only thought running through his head was that he just couldn’t lose her. Not again. He wouldn’t survive without her.
Somehow she landed the bird as only Starbuck could and as they waited for the jump Lee realized that no matter what he did and no matter how many times he told himself that she was nothing more than his friend, the truth was she was everything. Without her, his world was just a vast emptiness. He couldn’t help the way he felt. He loved her so completely that she’d simply become a part of him. When the deck crew finally popped open his canopy, he sat there and decided that today, right at the moment, he was going to tell her again. He was going to tell her – no, show her – that he loved her and this time, he wouldn’t let her laugh it off.
He jumped down the ladder, pushed past the deckhand and ran to her viper. “Kara!” he yelled. She was standing with one hand resting on her bird, her head bowed and Lee knew that she’d been shaken up by what happened. She turned at the sound of his voice and took a step towards him as he came up and crushed her in his arms. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, do you hear?” He said in her ear. “I can’t lose you Kara. Not again. You’re all I have. You’re everything.” He leaned back, caught her face in his hands and kissed her. He heard her surprised gasp and smiled against her lips as he deepened the kiss. With a sigh, Kara relaxed in his arms and kissed him back. Suddenly his heart was soaring. Kara was kissing him back! She wasn’t pushing him away or making a joke. He trailed kissed across her cheek to her ear and whispered, “I love you Kara Thrace. The gods help me, but I love you and I don’t care who frakking knows.” He felt her shake and looked back to see her laughing softly. She caressed his cheek, looked into his eyes and said, “I love you too Lee Adama. I love you too.” And then she leaned in and kissed him again.
The sound of applause throughout the deck finally broke them up. They’d been oblivious to their audience and turned to see deckhands and pilots all smiling and clapping. They both blushed and Kara buried her head in Lee’s chest before pulling away and giving him a friendly shove. “Looks like we put on quite a show, huh Lee?” Lee turned to the crew and gave them a dramatic bow before slinging his arm over her shoulder and smiling back, “Yeah, well, everyone’s got a skill.”
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Date: 2010-12-13 07:51 pm (UTC)So cute. Pilots finally getting a frakking clue!
And damn, but that's a pretty efficient solution to the Second Banana problem and one that, believe it or not, I don't think I've ever seen before. <3
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Date: 2011-01-04 05:22 am (UTC)Also, I have to say, every time someone says Second Banana, I smile. I coined a name for the fandom!
Thanks for your support Tara. It really means a lot &hearts
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Date: 2011-01-04 05:30 am (UTC)I love to call him Second Banana. Did you see the "original Sam Anders" icons I made today? They suck but they amused me.
<3 <3 <3
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Date: 2010-12-13 07:55 pm (UTC)Lovely fic - I particularly like the hints of angst (because frankly I'm all about angst) - specifically this bit:
Some days she wondered if it was better that he was gone. She knew that sooner or later they would’ve broken up. Agreeing to marry him had been a spur of the moment decision on her part. Something out of a fantasy she’d had of having a “normal” life. But Kara wasn’t made to be a normal anything...
That really encapsulates so much of who she is. Really nicely done. :>)
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Date: 2011-01-04 05:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-13 09:26 pm (UTC)What a nice way to start my week, with a present. *squee*
Without her, his world was just a vast emptiness. He couldn’t help the way he felt. He loved her so completely that she’d simply become a part of him.
This made me just swoon. *grins*
I love the little bits of angst, the lovely and darn near respectful elimination of Sam and applause! I love appaulse!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
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Date: 2011-01-04 05:24 am (UTC)*MWAH*
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Date: 2011-01-04 05:29 am (UTC)Feel free to edit the end. I will still ove it. *g*
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Date: 2011-01-04 06:21 am (UTC)Did I mention I can't type tonight?
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Date: 2010-12-14 01:32 am (UTC)Thanks for sharing!
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Date: 2011-01-04 05:28 am (UTC)&hearts
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Date: 2010-12-14 03:24 am (UTC)*SUPER SATISFIED SIGH*
WOW! Such a wonderful ending. I love you, pilots, and I don't frakking care who knows!!!
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Date: 2011-01-04 05:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-14 02:03 pm (UTC)It's so nice to see the pilots getting it right for a change. There was a little bit of drama but then again they wouldn't pilots if there was no drama.
Great job!
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Date: 2011-01-04 05:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-16 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-04 05:51 am (UTC)