nixmom
in
about_time
My Father Warned Me About Boys Like You
Title: My Father Warned Me About Boys Like You
Author: nixmom
Rating: T
Word Count: 1170
Prompt: Celebration
Oh yes, and thanks to bugsfic for the once over.
“You can dance,” giggled the President as Commander Adama spun her effortlessly around the floor. It was rare in her experience that a man knew dancing took place as much with the arms and shoulders as it did with the feet. He was a wonderful lead. “May I ask how you come by it?”
“Surprised?” he asked with a half grin.
“Quite frankly, yes.”
“Actually, you can thank my father. It’s the one thing he insisted that I learn to do.”
She gave him a questioning glance.
“He said, ‘Son, trust me, you don’t want to be looking at the prettiest girl in the room and then have to watch another man ask her to dance because you never learned how.’” He spun and dipped her quickly. “And thanks to him I never have.”
“Never have what?”
“Had to watch the girl I was interested in dance with another man.”
“So, you always get the girl?”
“No,” he said almost shyly. “But I’ve never been afraid to ask them to dance.”
She liked his honesty, even over something so trivial and she smiled as he moved them through and around the other couples, all the while never taking his eyes off her. She let her hand settle further up his shoulder, shortening the distance between them.
“You know, Commander, my father used to tell me to watch out for the boys that could dance.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmmhmm. But then my mother said pretty much the same thing, of course her reasons were quite a bit different from his.”
The commander laughed. “And which one was right?”
“They both were,” she admitted, feigning embarrassment over the tacit admission. He let out the first real laugh she’d heard from him.
“Lucky guy.”
His mirth brightened his eyes, which she had just noticed were unnaturally blue for someone with his coloring. The shift of their bodies had brought their hips closer together. When she made no move to reestablish the distance, she felt him adjust his hold on her and they kept right on dancing.
“So were you the type of boy my father warned me about?”
“I don’t think your father would have had anything to worry about with me. At that age the only thing I thought about was flying a Viper.”
“Really?”
“Really. We were at war.”
“No romantic thoughts about the girl back home?”
He shook his head. “Maybe. But that’s all they were. Thoughts.”
She hadn’t noticed the music winding down until she felt his hands shift.
“Song’s over,” she said.
“Yes, it is.”
“Thank you for the dance, Commander.”
“My pleasure, Madam President.” Her hand felt tiny, when he took it in his much larger one and tucked it into the crook of his arm to lead her through the increasing crowd.
She leaned into him to make herself heard over the new, much louder, song. “As much as I would have enjoyed another, it’s been a very long day and to be perfectly honest, my feet are killing me. If I am going to continue to make an appearance, I think I need to do it from my seat.”
He smiled at that. “Politicians are never off the clock are they?” He held her hand as she slid into her seat and joined her when she gestured to the empty seat next to her.
She shook her head. “No. But then neither are military commanders it would seem,” she said, indicating his dress grey uniform.
“We both have certain responsibilities.”
“That we do, sir.”
She noticed him gazing back out at the floor. “Looking for the prettiest girl in the room so you can ask her to dance?” She immediately cringed at her own words, realizing too late that her joke sounded suspiciously like she was fishing for a compliment.
She was relieved that he didn’t seem to notice. “No. Just watching them,” he said, his focus on a small group of his pilots, laughing and dancing together. “Even though we just talked about it, I don’t really remember being that young.”
“You were a veteran by the time you were their age, were you not?”
He nodded. “I was,” he acknowledged with a grin. “I’m surprised you knew.”
“Billy briefed me when he found out we’d be working closely together.”
“What about you? What were you doing at that age?”
Laura tipped her empty glass and looked into it, his question immediately dampening her mood as she thought about her illness for the first time tonight, oddly grateful that the truth gave her a convenient excuse for the change. “I was taking care of my mother. She died.” She wasn’t sure she should share the rest, but it was out of her mouth before she could stop it. “Breast cancer.”
His blue eyes softened in sympathy, something she was amazed they hadn’t run out of given the nature of their recent tragedy. “So you’ve been through your own war.”
I’m still in it. she thought, but she tried to sound commiserative, “Yes.”
“Now, so have they. Worse than anything we could have imagined back then.”
She nodded her head in solemn understanding, but then a slow smile began to ghost across her lips. “But that’s what’s amazing isn’t it?”
“What?”
“Our ability as humans to overcome. To adapt and move on.”
“To celebrate, even after what we’ve been through?”
“Exactly,” she said with a smile. “What else can we do? We go on. We fight. We laugh. We live life.”
“Make babies?” he joked.
She covered her face when she let out a snorting laugh. “You remember that?”
He gave her that half smile again. She decided she liked it. “It certainly made an impression,” he told her.
“A good one I hope.”
He gave a wry chuckle. “Not sure I would have said so at the time, but you were right,” he admitted with complete sincerity, his eyes confirming his words. “Now if you’ll excuse me Madam President, I’m due shortly in the CIC,” he said, rising from his chair.
She was surprised by both the suddenness of his movement and her own disappointment. “Oh, yes, of course.”
She stood to shake his hand, which he held and then covered with his other, adding softly for only her. “And, for the record, I would definitely say that I danced with the prettiest girl in the room tonight.”
She hoped he had turned before the heat of blush colored her cheeks. He was wrong; he was exactly the kind of boy her father warned her about. And as she watched him slowly disappear through the crowd, it struck her that she might not mind knowing if her mother would have been right about him, too.
Author: nixmom
Rating: T
Word Count: 1170
Prompt: Celebration
Oh yes, and thanks to bugsfic for the once over.
“You can dance,” giggled the President as Commander Adama spun her effortlessly around the floor. It was rare in her experience that a man knew dancing took place as much with the arms and shoulders as it did with the feet. He was a wonderful lead. “May I ask how you come by it?”
“Surprised?” he asked with a half grin.
“Quite frankly, yes.”
“Actually, you can thank my father. It’s the one thing he insisted that I learn to do.”
She gave him a questioning glance.
“He said, ‘Son, trust me, you don’t want to be looking at the prettiest girl in the room and then have to watch another man ask her to dance because you never learned how.’” He spun and dipped her quickly. “And thanks to him I never have.”
“Never have what?”
“Had to watch the girl I was interested in dance with another man.”
“So, you always get the girl?”
“No,” he said almost shyly. “But I’ve never been afraid to ask them to dance.”
She liked his honesty, even over something so trivial and she smiled as he moved them through and around the other couples, all the while never taking his eyes off her. She let her hand settle further up his shoulder, shortening the distance between them.
“You know, Commander, my father used to tell me to watch out for the boys that could dance.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmmhmm. But then my mother said pretty much the same thing, of course her reasons were quite a bit different from his.”
The commander laughed. “And which one was right?”
“They both were,” she admitted, feigning embarrassment over the tacit admission. He let out the first real laugh she’d heard from him.
“Lucky guy.”
His mirth brightened his eyes, which she had just noticed were unnaturally blue for someone with his coloring. The shift of their bodies had brought their hips closer together. When she made no move to reestablish the distance, she felt him adjust his hold on her and they kept right on dancing.
“So were you the type of boy my father warned me about?”
“I don’t think your father would have had anything to worry about with me. At that age the only thing I thought about was flying a Viper.”
“Really?”
“Really. We were at war.”
“No romantic thoughts about the girl back home?”
He shook his head. “Maybe. But that’s all they were. Thoughts.”
She hadn’t noticed the music winding down until she felt his hands shift.
“Song’s over,” she said.
“Yes, it is.”
“Thank you for the dance, Commander.”
“My pleasure, Madam President.” Her hand felt tiny, when he took it in his much larger one and tucked it into the crook of his arm to lead her through the increasing crowd.
She leaned into him to make herself heard over the new, much louder, song. “As much as I would have enjoyed another, it’s been a very long day and to be perfectly honest, my feet are killing me. If I am going to continue to make an appearance, I think I need to do it from my seat.”
He smiled at that. “Politicians are never off the clock are they?” He held her hand as she slid into her seat and joined her when she gestured to the empty seat next to her.
She shook her head. “No. But then neither are military commanders it would seem,” she said, indicating his dress grey uniform.
“We both have certain responsibilities.”
“That we do, sir.”
She noticed him gazing back out at the floor. “Looking for the prettiest girl in the room so you can ask her to dance?” She immediately cringed at her own words, realizing too late that her joke sounded suspiciously like she was fishing for a compliment.
She was relieved that he didn’t seem to notice. “No. Just watching them,” he said, his focus on a small group of his pilots, laughing and dancing together. “Even though we just talked about it, I don’t really remember being that young.”
“You were a veteran by the time you were their age, were you not?”
He nodded. “I was,” he acknowledged with a grin. “I’m surprised you knew.”
“Billy briefed me when he found out we’d be working closely together.”
“What about you? What were you doing at that age?”
Laura tipped her empty glass and looked into it, his question immediately dampening her mood as she thought about her illness for the first time tonight, oddly grateful that the truth gave her a convenient excuse for the change. “I was taking care of my mother. She died.” She wasn’t sure she should share the rest, but it was out of her mouth before she could stop it. “Breast cancer.”
His blue eyes softened in sympathy, something she was amazed they hadn’t run out of given the nature of their recent tragedy. “So you’ve been through your own war.”
I’m still in it. she thought, but she tried to sound commiserative, “Yes.”
“Now, so have they. Worse than anything we could have imagined back then.”
She nodded her head in solemn understanding, but then a slow smile began to ghost across her lips. “But that’s what’s amazing isn’t it?”
“What?”
“Our ability as humans to overcome. To adapt and move on.”
“To celebrate, even after what we’ve been through?”
“Exactly,” she said with a smile. “What else can we do? We go on. We fight. We laugh. We live life.”
“Make babies?” he joked.
She covered her face when she let out a snorting laugh. “You remember that?”
He gave her that half smile again. She decided she liked it. “It certainly made an impression,” he told her.
“A good one I hope.”
He gave a wry chuckle. “Not sure I would have said so at the time, but you were right,” he admitted with complete sincerity, his eyes confirming his words. “Now if you’ll excuse me Madam President, I’m due shortly in the CIC,” he said, rising from his chair.
She was surprised by both the suddenness of his movement and her own disappointment. “Oh, yes, of course.”
She stood to shake his hand, which he held and then covered with his other, adding softly for only her. “And, for the record, I would definitely say that I danced with the prettiest girl in the room tonight.”
She hoped he had turned before the heat of blush colored her cheeks. He was wrong; he was exactly the kind of boy her father warned her about. And as she watched him slowly disappear through the crowd, it struck her that she might not mind knowing if her mother would have been right about him, too.