017 - BSG: Five Times Kara Didn't Kiss Lee
Title: Five Times Kara Didn't Kiss Lee
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Pairings/Characters: Kara/Lee, slight Kara/Zak and Kara/Sam
Rating: PG
Summary: Set throughout the entire series. Possible spoilers for everything that aired (Pre-Mini to Finale), obviously.
Author’s Notes: I'm a sucker for the "5 Times..." meme, so here I go! :) Enjoy and please review.
I. It's late afternoon in the autumn and it's raining lightly, despite the weather man claiming there would be sunshine today. She lets out a huff as she stares out her apartment window at the way the leaves are glistening with rain drops. Zak is still in bed, sleeping off his hangover, so she grabs the phone and dials the first person she thinks of. His voice sounds alert and friendly over the telephone line and she smiles even though he can't see her.
"Wanna hang out?" she asks, and wonders when her voice became so high and girly.
"Uh, sure. Yeah," he stumbles, then adds, "your place or mine?"
Lee shows up 20 minutes later with a bag full of Caprican Delight take-out, a stack of movies, and a silly grin that makes her insides flip. She should wake Zak up to join them, but instead she just smiles back and steps aside to let him in. As she watches him descend the stairs, she presses her lips together and wills herself not to think back to the night she first met Lee Adama, and almost made the biggest mistake of her life.
- - -
II. She takes Lee's extended hand cautiously and he leads her to the dance floor where the rest of their friends and colleagues are already dancing and laughing. It feels odd to see everyone so Godsdamn happy for once, forgetting all that they had lost and sacrificed to celebrate Colonial Day and party together.
Lee's other hand that isn't delicately holding hers moves to gently rest on her lower back before he swivels around to face her. He can't seem to get that shocked look off his face and she thinks she may just be blushing under his intense gaze. The band strikes up another upbeat tune and he unexpectedly pulls her close before twirling her away. She giggles as the hem of her dress floats up a little with the spinning. Then they begin to dance and she can't stop grinning ear-to-ear.
Somewhere next to her, Boomer teeters for a moment before Felix grabs her hand and pulls her back and the two drunkenly laugh at each other. Lightweights. The song ends and a slower paced one takes its place. As if on cue, Lee's left hand drops hers and he settles both his hands on her hips, lightly brushing the blue fabric of her dress between his fingers. She instinctively slips her arms over his shoulders and laces her fingers together behind his neck. The change in stance brings them even closer than before so that she has to hold her head perfectly straight unless she wants to brush noses with him.
It's been a long time since they've been this close. And even back on Caprica they'd never been able to truly do this without it being wrong. A small smile spreads across his lips and when she meets his eyes there's something there she's spent the better part of four years running away from.
"What are you thinkin'?" she asks, holding her breath as she waits for his reply.
His gaze flickers over her lips for a moment before returning to her eyes. "I - ah - nothing. Just thinking about that bum knee of yours."
Out of the corner of her eye she spots Helo breaking out some truly horrendous moves from his Academy days that makes Lee look over as well. Someone yells out, "do the Raptor Dance, Helo!" and then everyone starts laughing, herself and Lee included. The intimate moment is shattered, but she doesn't care because the way Lee winks at her after sends tingles down her spine.
- - -
III. The air is humid, hot and all she can think about is the trickle of sweat that just ran down her spine. She wishes she could get out of her uniform and jump in a lake. Maybe float on her back and stare up at the clouds in the sky. But she can't. They've been on Kobol for a day and a half and the only thing keeping her sane is knowing that Lee's got her back and she has his. The frakkin' toasters are seemingly everywhere on this Gods forsaken planet so she grips her gun tighter and tries to focus.
She feels a light tap on her shoulder and when she looks around, Lee's staring at her with a mixture of determination and maybe just the slightest bit of fear. His eyes are steady as he looks at her and slowly, quietly raises his left hand to give her a series of hand gestures. Two toasters on the ridge. Right above us.
She nods in understanding and releases the safety off her gun, then pulls out another gun so she has one in each hand. They move closer to the face of the cliff and after a flick of her head and another hand gesture, she turns and opens fire on the Cylons. After downing one, she takes cover again, and then it's Lee's turn to take the other one down. His bullets ping off the metal Centurion but the angle is all wrong because it simply transforms it's arm into a machine gun and aims at the foot of the cliff. Lee dives back at the cliff face for cover, pressing Kara's back into the cold rock. They close their eyes and he instinctively raises his hand to protect her head from falling debris.
His breath is hot at her ear and even through their layers of clothing she can feel his taught muscles against her chest. She suddenly thinks of the way he impulsively kissed her on the Astral Queen and how he'd said he loved her and if they weren't under attack right now, she may just pull him down and kiss him back, impulsively of course.
There's more gunfire, Colonial sounding, and then silence and when she opens her eyes she see's Helo running towards them, Sharon not far behind him in the orange jumpsuit, his sidearm in his hand telling them it's all clear. As Lee steps away from her, it begins to drizzle and she instantly feels cold.
- - -
IV. She lies in her rack and tries to sleep. She's been granted leave, though it's more like forced leave, while her hands heal, but all she wants to do is pick off the bandages and jump in her viper again. She stares at her bandaged hands and sighs. She should get some sleep while her duty locker is empty and before the others get off duty and make a ruckus. She hears the hatch door being opened and quickly fumbles to turn off her light and tugs her curtain closed. Feigning sleep, she works on taking slow, deep breaths and hopes that whoever came in simply leaves her alone and keeps the noise to a minimum.
The hatch closes behind the unknown person and then there’s silence for a long while before her curtain is slowly drawn back and she can feel warm breath on her cheek. She fights to keep her eyes closed despite her curiosity and for a minute she thinks she might have succeeded in fooling this person.
“I know you’re not asleep, Kara,” comes Lee’s soft whisper. His hand gently strokes her cheek and she opens one eye to look at him. She yawns and continues to act sleepy as she rolls over onto her back.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, proud of how realistic and groggy her voice sounds.
He seems to give up calling her out on it and offers a small smile. “Just checking up on you,” he murmurs, then adds, “how are your hands?”
“Better. A little itchy, but Doc Cottle’s being an asshole and won’t give me anything for it.”
His hand moves to cup her face and she looks up at him and wonders what exactly they are doing. Over a year and a half ago she had married Sam and broke his heart and whatever bond her and Lee had left. It had taken a long time to return to speaking terms and an even longer time to be friendly with one another. Now they were frakking behind their spouses’ backs, complicit in an affair that had literally been born from their blood, sweat and tears in the boxing ring.
She isn’t sure if her lack of guilt should shock or sadden her. She can see the guilt written all over Lee’s face, however, in the shadowy overhead light, so she forces herself to pull away from his touch. “I should probably get some sleep before the other pilots get back and disturb the peace and quiet.”
“Yeah,” he agrees half-heartedly. “Sleep well.”
She nods and closes her eyes as he gets up to leave. Just as he’s opening the hatch, she opens her eyes again, and questions him in a soft voice, “How did you know I was pretending to be asleep.”
He starts to chuckle a bit before responding, “Because you snore when you sleep.”
“I do not!” she calls back, but grins despite her tone. He steps over the threshold into the corridor and continues to laugh, closing the hatch behind him with a metallic clank.
- - -
V. The music notes stare back at her and she taps out the beat with her fingers. She's got 4 empty shot glasses lined up in front of her on the bar and she taps each one, hearing the music in her ears, knowing that no one else can hear it but her. The notes build and clash until it's overwhelming madness in her head. All she can hear is the same melody played over and over, growing louder and louder and all she wants to do is scream.
She stops tapping and rest her head on her arms after motioning to Joe for another shot. He's probably wondering if he should pour her yet another drink, but he doesn't hesitate for too long because soon after she hears a shot glass hit the counter. Slowly, she raises her head, hoping that the least amount of movement she makes will help ease her pounding head. The music keeps playing in her mind, but if she just concentrates on that shot of sweet ambrosia maybe everything will go quiet again.
"I'll have one of those, Joe," his voice calls out behind her and if she could muster up the energy, she'd look over, but she keeps her back to him and reaches for her glass as Joe plonks down a shot for Lee.
Out of the corner of her eye she can see him taking the seat next to her and his hand comes into view for a moment, clinking glasses with her. It's a little too forceful and Joe must really have a heavy hand because Lee's glass is filled to the brim, and the green liquid splashes over the edge onto her fingers and his.
"Cheers," he says and his voice sounds like the old Lee. The Lee who called her up on a Sunday morning at 7 o'clock to go jogging even though he knew she'd be hungover from the previous night's shenanigans. The Lee who would tease Zak about marriage but then looked completely shocked when his brother announced their engagement. The Lee who made her heart skip just that teeny little bit that made her feel uneasy whenever Zak wasn't around to keep her grounded. The Lee who she almost frakked on her dinning room table.
They both throw back their shots at the same time and when she slams her down, everything seems oddly clearer. She finally looks over at him and realizes that his bar stool is scooted dangerously close to hers. His face is so close she can see the pores of his skin and the flecks of grey in his eyes. His mouth is wet with ambrosia and she raises a hand to wipe it away, only noticing too late that her own fingers are damp and sticky. Her fingers brush along his lips and hover there long enough for his tongue to flick out and lick them.
His tongue is hot on her cold fingers and Kara pulls them back, her hand in midair between them. She bring her fingers to her mouth and sucks her index finger clean, followed by her middle and ring fingers. Lee watches her the whole time, eyes transfixed on each finger as it disappears into her mouth and emerges wet and glistening. She dries her hands on the front of her tanks and notices how he leans forward just a touch. He is so close to her now. So close she would give anything to lean in that extra inch. But something holds her back and she can't quite put her finger on it.
"Thanks for the drink, Starbuck."
She blinks at him, sees the young Lee vanish before her eyes and the new Lee come back into view. His suit may be crushed, but he still looks every part the politician. She opens her mouth to say something but the words just sit on the tip of her tongue. It isn't until he gives her a parting smile and walks away that she realizes that the music has stopped.
- - -
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Pairings/Characters: Kara/Lee, slight Kara/Zak and Kara/Sam
Rating: PG
Summary: Set throughout the entire series. Possible spoilers for everything that aired (Pre-Mini to Finale), obviously.
Author’s Notes: I'm a sucker for the "5 Times..." meme, so here I go! :) Enjoy and please review.
I. It's late afternoon in the autumn and it's raining lightly, despite the weather man claiming there would be sunshine today. She lets out a huff as she stares out her apartment window at the way the leaves are glistening with rain drops. Zak is still in bed, sleeping off his hangover, so she grabs the phone and dials the first person she thinks of. His voice sounds alert and friendly over the telephone line and she smiles even though he can't see her.
"Wanna hang out?" she asks, and wonders when her voice became so high and girly.
"Uh, sure. Yeah," he stumbles, then adds, "your place or mine?"
Lee shows up 20 minutes later with a bag full of Caprican Delight take-out, a stack of movies, and a silly grin that makes her insides flip. She should wake Zak up to join them, but instead she just smiles back and steps aside to let him in. As she watches him descend the stairs, she presses her lips together and wills herself not to think back to the night she first met Lee Adama, and almost made the biggest mistake of her life.
- - -
II. She takes Lee's extended hand cautiously and he leads her to the dance floor where the rest of their friends and colleagues are already dancing and laughing. It feels odd to see everyone so Godsdamn happy for once, forgetting all that they had lost and sacrificed to celebrate Colonial Day and party together.
Lee's other hand that isn't delicately holding hers moves to gently rest on her lower back before he swivels around to face her. He can't seem to get that shocked look off his face and she thinks she may just be blushing under his intense gaze. The band strikes up another upbeat tune and he unexpectedly pulls her close before twirling her away. She giggles as the hem of her dress floats up a little with the spinning. Then they begin to dance and she can't stop grinning ear-to-ear.
Somewhere next to her, Boomer teeters for a moment before Felix grabs her hand and pulls her back and the two drunkenly laugh at each other. Lightweights. The song ends and a slower paced one takes its place. As if on cue, Lee's left hand drops hers and he settles both his hands on her hips, lightly brushing the blue fabric of her dress between his fingers. She instinctively slips her arms over his shoulders and laces her fingers together behind his neck. The change in stance brings them even closer than before so that she has to hold her head perfectly straight unless she wants to brush noses with him.
It's been a long time since they've been this close. And even back on Caprica they'd never been able to truly do this without it being wrong. A small smile spreads across his lips and when she meets his eyes there's something there she's spent the better part of four years running away from.
"What are you thinkin'?" she asks, holding her breath as she waits for his reply.
His gaze flickers over her lips for a moment before returning to her eyes. "I - ah - nothing. Just thinking about that bum knee of yours."
Out of the corner of her eye she spots Helo breaking out some truly horrendous moves from his Academy days that makes Lee look over as well. Someone yells out, "do the Raptor Dance, Helo!" and then everyone starts laughing, herself and Lee included. The intimate moment is shattered, but she doesn't care because the way Lee winks at her after sends tingles down her spine.
- - -
III. The air is humid, hot and all she can think about is the trickle of sweat that just ran down her spine. She wishes she could get out of her uniform and jump in a lake. Maybe float on her back and stare up at the clouds in the sky. But she can't. They've been on Kobol for a day and a half and the only thing keeping her sane is knowing that Lee's got her back and she has his. The frakkin' toasters are seemingly everywhere on this Gods forsaken planet so she grips her gun tighter and tries to focus.
She feels a light tap on her shoulder and when she looks around, Lee's staring at her with a mixture of determination and maybe just the slightest bit of fear. His eyes are steady as he looks at her and slowly, quietly raises his left hand to give her a series of hand gestures. Two toasters on the ridge. Right above us.
She nods in understanding and releases the safety off her gun, then pulls out another gun so she has one in each hand. They move closer to the face of the cliff and after a flick of her head and another hand gesture, she turns and opens fire on the Cylons. After downing one, she takes cover again, and then it's Lee's turn to take the other one down. His bullets ping off the metal Centurion but the angle is all wrong because it simply transforms it's arm into a machine gun and aims at the foot of the cliff. Lee dives back at the cliff face for cover, pressing Kara's back into the cold rock. They close their eyes and he instinctively raises his hand to protect her head from falling debris.
His breath is hot at her ear and even through their layers of clothing she can feel his taught muscles against her chest. She suddenly thinks of the way he impulsively kissed her on the Astral Queen and how he'd said he loved her and if they weren't under attack right now, she may just pull him down and kiss him back, impulsively of course.
There's more gunfire, Colonial sounding, and then silence and when she opens her eyes she see's Helo running towards them, Sharon not far behind him in the orange jumpsuit, his sidearm in his hand telling them it's all clear. As Lee steps away from her, it begins to drizzle and she instantly feels cold.
- - -
IV. She lies in her rack and tries to sleep. She's been granted leave, though it's more like forced leave, while her hands heal, but all she wants to do is pick off the bandages and jump in her viper again. She stares at her bandaged hands and sighs. She should get some sleep while her duty locker is empty and before the others get off duty and make a ruckus. She hears the hatch door being opened and quickly fumbles to turn off her light and tugs her curtain closed. Feigning sleep, she works on taking slow, deep breaths and hopes that whoever came in simply leaves her alone and keeps the noise to a minimum.
The hatch closes behind the unknown person and then there’s silence for a long while before her curtain is slowly drawn back and she can feel warm breath on her cheek. She fights to keep her eyes closed despite her curiosity and for a minute she thinks she might have succeeded in fooling this person.
“I know you’re not asleep, Kara,” comes Lee’s soft whisper. His hand gently strokes her cheek and she opens one eye to look at him. She yawns and continues to act sleepy as she rolls over onto her back.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, proud of how realistic and groggy her voice sounds.
He seems to give up calling her out on it and offers a small smile. “Just checking up on you,” he murmurs, then adds, “how are your hands?”
“Better. A little itchy, but Doc Cottle’s being an asshole and won’t give me anything for it.”
His hand moves to cup her face and she looks up at him and wonders what exactly they are doing. Over a year and a half ago she had married Sam and broke his heart and whatever bond her and Lee had left. It had taken a long time to return to speaking terms and an even longer time to be friendly with one another. Now they were frakking behind their spouses’ backs, complicit in an affair that had literally been born from their blood, sweat and tears in the boxing ring.
She isn’t sure if her lack of guilt should shock or sadden her. She can see the guilt written all over Lee’s face, however, in the shadowy overhead light, so she forces herself to pull away from his touch. “I should probably get some sleep before the other pilots get back and disturb the peace and quiet.”
“Yeah,” he agrees half-heartedly. “Sleep well.”
She nods and closes her eyes as he gets up to leave. Just as he’s opening the hatch, she opens her eyes again, and questions him in a soft voice, “How did you know I was pretending to be asleep.”
He starts to chuckle a bit before responding, “Because you snore when you sleep.”
“I do not!” she calls back, but grins despite her tone. He steps over the threshold into the corridor and continues to laugh, closing the hatch behind him with a metallic clank.
- - -
V. The music notes stare back at her and she taps out the beat with her fingers. She's got 4 empty shot glasses lined up in front of her on the bar and she taps each one, hearing the music in her ears, knowing that no one else can hear it but her. The notes build and clash until it's overwhelming madness in her head. All she can hear is the same melody played over and over, growing louder and louder and all she wants to do is scream.
She stops tapping and rest her head on her arms after motioning to Joe for another shot. He's probably wondering if he should pour her yet another drink, but he doesn't hesitate for too long because soon after she hears a shot glass hit the counter. Slowly, she raises her head, hoping that the least amount of movement she makes will help ease her pounding head. The music keeps playing in her mind, but if she just concentrates on that shot of sweet ambrosia maybe everything will go quiet again.
"I'll have one of those, Joe," his voice calls out behind her and if she could muster up the energy, she'd look over, but she keeps her back to him and reaches for her glass as Joe plonks down a shot for Lee.
Out of the corner of her eye she can see him taking the seat next to her and his hand comes into view for a moment, clinking glasses with her. It's a little too forceful and Joe must really have a heavy hand because Lee's glass is filled to the brim, and the green liquid splashes over the edge onto her fingers and his.
"Cheers," he says and his voice sounds like the old Lee. The Lee who called her up on a Sunday morning at 7 o'clock to go jogging even though he knew she'd be hungover from the previous night's shenanigans. The Lee who would tease Zak about marriage but then looked completely shocked when his brother announced their engagement. The Lee who made her heart skip just that teeny little bit that made her feel uneasy whenever Zak wasn't around to keep her grounded. The Lee who she almost frakked on her dinning room table.
They both throw back their shots at the same time and when she slams her down, everything seems oddly clearer. She finally looks over at him and realizes that his bar stool is scooted dangerously close to hers. His face is so close she can see the pores of his skin and the flecks of grey in his eyes. His mouth is wet with ambrosia and she raises a hand to wipe it away, only noticing too late that her own fingers are damp and sticky. Her fingers brush along his lips and hover there long enough for his tongue to flick out and lick them.
His tongue is hot on her cold fingers and Kara pulls them back, her hand in midair between them. She bring her fingers to her mouth and sucks her index finger clean, followed by her middle and ring fingers. Lee watches her the whole time, eyes transfixed on each finger as it disappears into her mouth and emerges wet and glistening. She dries her hands on the front of her tanks and notices how he leans forward just a touch. He is so close to her now. So close she would give anything to lean in that extra inch. But something holds her back and she can't quite put her finger on it.
"Thanks for the drink, Starbuck."
She blinks at him, sees the young Lee vanish before her eyes and the new Lee come back into view. His suit may be crushed, but he still looks every part the politician. She opens her mouth to say something but the words just sit on the tip of her tongue. It isn't until he gives her a parting smile and walks away that she realizes that the music has stopped.
- - -