Prologue: Chapter 4
Title: Prologue (chapter 4)
Rating: R
Genre: Romance/Angst
Character/Pairing: Kara/Zak and Kara/Lee
Disclaimer: Not mine!.
Summary: Daybreak flashbacks, extended edition. Lee and Kara get to know each other.
Kara drifts slowly awake late the next morning. Her legs have ended up outside the covers and she snuggles backward against the warmth behind her. Lee's arm tightens around her waist reflexively and she hums with contentment, tugs the comforter over her feet and relaxes into him. This feels different than it ever has before. There's no sense of urgency, no need to get him out of her bed and out of her space. It surprises her but she's too sleepy to pursue the thought.
"Good morning," Lee murmurs, leaning in so that his words tickle her ear.
"Morning," Kara replies in kind, slipping her fingers through his. "Have a good night?" she teases.
He presses a kiss to her shoulder. "Might be my favorite activity ever," he answers.
She twists to see him, eyebrows arching defensively. "Might be?"
Lee grins, and gods she glows with pleasure at the sight. "Definitely on the ground."
Her smile nearly splits her face as she realizes what he means. "Come on." In a flash she's out of bed, groping around for her underwear.
"Kara-" Lee starts to groan in protest, but she shakes her head.
"I promise you'll like this," she tells him in a sultry tone.
Lee frowns in confusion but follows her lead.
***
The way Kara drives, it only takes ten minutes to get to the base. She parks in the lot near the barracks and imperiously orders Lee to go in and change out of his civvies. His eyes narrow when Kara won't explain why, but he obliges.
Next she leads the way to the Flight Training Center. The campus is emptier than usual because of the training mission Zak's squadron is on, and the FTC in particular is vacant.
Kara squeals with laughter at Lee's expression when she finally unlocks the door and shows him where they're going. "I promised, didn't I?" she teases.
His eyes dance as he takes in the newest line of simulators. "Not quite like the real thing," he points out.
She shrugs. "The nuggets took all the training Vipers, so this is as close as you're gonna get today. Plus you don't even have to wear a flight suit!"
Lee frowns. "Really? When I trained-"
"When you were trained, you were a nugget. Did you really think there was vacuum in the simulator?" She looks at him skeptically. "Anyway, this is my domain." Kara waves her hands at the sims and the bank of computers that control them. Then she jogs over and begins typing, glancing up thoughtfully at Lee as he watches her. In a few minutes she's done and waves him toward one of the machines. "That one's yours, Lieutenant."
Lee mock-salutes and climbs up into it.
Kara settles into her own simulator quickly, tugging on the earpiece that will let her communicate with Lee without a helmet. "You ready to go?"
"Always," Lee promises.
She grins, and hits the button to start the simulation.
They're beginning with one of her favorites: the rings of Virgon. It's mostly a way of testing the adeptness of nuggets at responding to sudden meteoroids and shifts in atmosphere, but the scenery is gorgeous. She's tried to paint it more than once.
Out the window, she sees Lee's Viper flip adroitly toward hers. "You're it," he says over the comm, echoing her words from last night. And takes off.
Starbuck whoops and begins her chase. He must know this one, she thinks, and then her entire focus narrows to his Viper. They navigate the rings with ease, but eventually she loses him in the clouds. She cruises along, dipping over and under cloud layers. Then just a hint of motion and-there! With a laugh, she shoots and his Viper glows red on the screen. "Gotcha!" her voice rings out.
Apollo groans over losing, but he wiggles his wings at her playfully. "What next?"
"Hmm." Starbuck detaches from the Viper controls for a moment and switches between programs. "You ready for a fight?"
"You against me?" he asks with a hint of concern.
"Us against the cylons," Kara answers distractedly, still typing.
"Any time," Lee answers promptly.
Kara nods approval. "Here we go!"
The screens that have been showing them Virgon flicker and suddenly they're in an asteroid field in deep space. They float quietly for a moment, then an entire squadron of raiders comes to life, diving straight at them.
"What the hell, Kara!" Lee protests.
She laughs raucously. "Did I mention this one's for a dozen nuggets to fly together?"
Lee snorts, whipping around to take out two raiders. "Cover me," he barks out.
Kara smiles through gritted teeth as she slips in behind him and starts shooting in the other direction. The sims are adaptive, so she's only at a slight advantage by knowing this program's parameters. She downs three raiders, then turns her attention back to Lee. He's setting up a shot for her and they fall into an easy rhythm.
By the fourth level, they're a fluid team. Kara was eager to fly with Lee, had heard about his records and scores from Zak, but she had no idea it would be like this. He's better than anyone she's ever flown with. In barely an hour they've learned to anticipate each others' movements, to trust each others' skills.
She catches sight of a hidden raider patrol and spits out his name, flipping her Viper end over end to be less of a target and then exploding through the cluster just as Lee comes at it from the opposite direction. They spiral around each other, back to back, wiping out the cylon force.
Her heart is racing as Kara proudly takes in the devastation they've wrought. Neither of them has taken a single hit.
"Starbuck," Lee says softly over the comm, full of awe.
It sends a shiver through her. Now he really knows her, the her she hasn't even had a chance to be in the time she's known Zak. And she knows him: where he hesitates, where he attacks, the way he listens to her even in the heat of battle. She didn't compare him to his brother last night, but she can't help it now. Zak will never be able to do this.
"Apollo," she answers, equally intense. It's as much an introduction as their handshake the night they met.
Level five starts to load up, further than any of her cadet teams have made it this semester, but Lee's voice growls in her ear first. "Enough."
Kara hears the hunger in his tone and shivers in a different way. "Yes, sir," she murmurs back huskily, reaching to turn off the controls. The aggression of the last hour is rapidly shifting to arousal. She hears Lee groan with impatience just before the comm system shuts down, and feels her body respond. As she unbuckles herself from the simulator, Kara's hands are impatient too, and she flips open the canopy, eyes already searching out Lee.
What she finds stops her cold. Kara wills her face not to respond as she takes in the room, full of returned cadets still in their flight suits and cheering at the screen that's been displaying her flight with Lee.
Zak is standing just between the two simulators they've been using, glancing back and forth between his brother and his girlfriend, grinning wildly. "You guys are incredible!" he shouts up to them.
Kara swallows hard and turns away as she slips down the ladder, forcing herself not to look at Lee in a way that will betray them to Zak. Gods, she's barely thought about him since he left yesterday evening.
As she reaches the ground, Zak glances over at his classmates, who are milling around as they head toward one of the lecture halls for the debrief on their overnight op. Once they're not paying attention, he hugs Kara quickly, then reaches over to greet Lee in turn, clapping him on the back. "That was amazing."
"Thanks," Kara mutters, moving to the computer to shut it down.
"We have our debrief, then are you guys up for lunch?"
She tries not to stiffen, hears Lee answer.
"Yeah. We should get cleaned up, but find us when you're done."
"Sure, man." Zak takes off after his classmates, leaving them alone.
Kara walks the other way without turning to see if Lee is following. "Come on. We really should hit the showers." She leads him toward the head and enters, shrugging quickly out of the BDUs she threw on for the flight. Behind her Kara hears Lee lock the door.
She can feel his presence, his eyes on her. But all she can think about is Socrata. For as long as she can remember Kara's been fighting Socrata's truth: that Kara's no good, that no one could love someone so selfish, so wild and hurtful and irresponsible. Right now it's all true. Zak has been nothing but kind to her, and if he knew what she's done it would crush him.
"Kara," Lee says softly as she reaches out to turn on the shower.
She shakes her head, not ready to look at him.
He sighs softly. "Flying with you was amazing."
It comes over her again in a rush and she turns, already smiling at the memory. "Yeah." Lee is standing before her, naked, his hands reaching for her but hesitating. His face is full of conflict She understands. The reasons they shouldn't are right down the hall, but Kara has never felt this kind of need to be so close to a person, just this one. She steps toward Lee, wild with the memory of flying, and leans in to kiss him.
It's nothing like last night. That was about hunger and attraction and was satisfying to be sure, but this is much deeper. Lee's arms wrap around her as they kiss, slowly, intensely, like if they just get close enough they can really merge. Then the eagerness of their bodies takes over, reminding them that despite Zak's interruption they've been craving each other for hours.
As the heat builds between them, Lee pulls Kara with him into the shower enclosure, sits on the long bench and tugs her down to straddle his lap. He groans as she slides over him and Kara forces her eyes open. Lee stares back at her. She's startled by how much more intense sex is, just knowing it's with him. As he starts to move she gets lost in Lee's moans, the feel of him inside her, the awe in his eyes as he touches her. Somehow flying together has made them better at this, too; they seem to know just how to work against each other, to anticipate each other's responses. It's the most intimate thing she's ever felt.
When it's over, Kara pulls away, overwhelmed, her legs still trembling, and begins to shower.
"They'll be done soon," Lee says softly.
She nods, blinking furiously as she tries to understand why the thought makes her heart ache.
Lee's hands rest on her shoulders for a minute, then rise, taking over washing her hair. Kara leans into his touch. As he finishes, though, she darts away, twisting the shower-head to spray him. Lee laughs, and they play for a minute, then separate. Kara starts to relax. As they dry themselves off and redress, she looks back over at him. She has no idea what this all means.
A knock sounds just as Lee reaches to unlock the door, and they both jump. He unlocks it and opens it in one smooth motion, keeping whoever it is from realizing the it was dogged.
"Hey, guys," Zak says brightly, his hand still raised. "Lunch?"
Lee slides an arm around his shoulders, turning him down the hall. "How about you and me go catch up?" he suggests, even as his brother looks back at Kara.
"I'll see you later," she says softly to both of them. "Have fun." She pretends not to notice the way Lee doesn't want Zak to touch her. To be honest, she's too overwhelmed and confused for either of them right now.
As they leave, Zak waves to her and Kara smiles back, watches the Adama brothers head down the hall. And wonders which of them she's going to hurt worse.
***
Chapter 5
Rating: R
Genre: Romance/Angst
Character/Pairing: Kara/Zak and Kara/Lee
Disclaimer: Not mine!.
Summary: Daybreak flashbacks, extended edition. Lee and Kara get to know each other.
Kara drifts slowly awake late the next morning. Her legs have ended up outside the covers and she snuggles backward against the warmth behind her. Lee's arm tightens around her waist reflexively and she hums with contentment, tugs the comforter over her feet and relaxes into him. This feels different than it ever has before. There's no sense of urgency, no need to get him out of her bed and out of her space. It surprises her but she's too sleepy to pursue the thought.
"Good morning," Lee murmurs, leaning in so that his words tickle her ear.
"Morning," Kara replies in kind, slipping her fingers through his. "Have a good night?" she teases.
He presses a kiss to her shoulder. "Might be my favorite activity ever," he answers.
She twists to see him, eyebrows arching defensively. "Might be?"
Lee grins, and gods she glows with pleasure at the sight. "Definitely on the ground."
Her smile nearly splits her face as she realizes what he means. "Come on." In a flash she's out of bed, groping around for her underwear.
"Kara-" Lee starts to groan in protest, but she shakes her head.
"I promise you'll like this," she tells him in a sultry tone.
Lee frowns in confusion but follows her lead.
***
The way Kara drives, it only takes ten minutes to get to the base. She parks in the lot near the barracks and imperiously orders Lee to go in and change out of his civvies. His eyes narrow when Kara won't explain why, but he obliges.
Next she leads the way to the Flight Training Center. The campus is emptier than usual because of the training mission Zak's squadron is on, and the FTC in particular is vacant.
Kara squeals with laughter at Lee's expression when she finally unlocks the door and shows him where they're going. "I promised, didn't I?" she teases.
His eyes dance as he takes in the newest line of simulators. "Not quite like the real thing," he points out.
She shrugs. "The nuggets took all the training Vipers, so this is as close as you're gonna get today. Plus you don't even have to wear a flight suit!"
Lee frowns. "Really? When I trained-"
"When you were trained, you were a nugget. Did you really think there was vacuum in the simulator?" She looks at him skeptically. "Anyway, this is my domain." Kara waves her hands at the sims and the bank of computers that control them. Then she jogs over and begins typing, glancing up thoughtfully at Lee as he watches her. In a few minutes she's done and waves him toward one of the machines. "That one's yours, Lieutenant."
Lee mock-salutes and climbs up into it.
Kara settles into her own simulator quickly, tugging on the earpiece that will let her communicate with Lee without a helmet. "You ready to go?"
"Always," Lee promises.
She grins, and hits the button to start the simulation.
They're beginning with one of her favorites: the rings of Virgon. It's mostly a way of testing the adeptness of nuggets at responding to sudden meteoroids and shifts in atmosphere, but the scenery is gorgeous. She's tried to paint it more than once.
Out the window, she sees Lee's Viper flip adroitly toward hers. "You're it," he says over the comm, echoing her words from last night. And takes off.
Starbuck whoops and begins her chase. He must know this one, she thinks, and then her entire focus narrows to his Viper. They navigate the rings with ease, but eventually she loses him in the clouds. She cruises along, dipping over and under cloud layers. Then just a hint of motion and-there! With a laugh, she shoots and his Viper glows red on the screen. "Gotcha!" her voice rings out.
Apollo groans over losing, but he wiggles his wings at her playfully. "What next?"
"Hmm." Starbuck detaches from the Viper controls for a moment and switches between programs. "You ready for a fight?"
"You against me?" he asks with a hint of concern.
"Us against the cylons," Kara answers distractedly, still typing.
"Any time," Lee answers promptly.
Kara nods approval. "Here we go!"
The screens that have been showing them Virgon flicker and suddenly they're in an asteroid field in deep space. They float quietly for a moment, then an entire squadron of raiders comes to life, diving straight at them.
"What the hell, Kara!" Lee protests.
She laughs raucously. "Did I mention this one's for a dozen nuggets to fly together?"
Lee snorts, whipping around to take out two raiders. "Cover me," he barks out.
Kara smiles through gritted teeth as she slips in behind him and starts shooting in the other direction. The sims are adaptive, so she's only at a slight advantage by knowing this program's parameters. She downs three raiders, then turns her attention back to Lee. He's setting up a shot for her and they fall into an easy rhythm.
By the fourth level, they're a fluid team. Kara was eager to fly with Lee, had heard about his records and scores from Zak, but she had no idea it would be like this. He's better than anyone she's ever flown with. In barely an hour they've learned to anticipate each others' movements, to trust each others' skills.
She catches sight of a hidden raider patrol and spits out his name, flipping her Viper end over end to be less of a target and then exploding through the cluster just as Lee comes at it from the opposite direction. They spiral around each other, back to back, wiping out the cylon force.
Her heart is racing as Kara proudly takes in the devastation they've wrought. Neither of them has taken a single hit.
"Starbuck," Lee says softly over the comm, full of awe.
It sends a shiver through her. Now he really knows her, the her she hasn't even had a chance to be in the time she's known Zak. And she knows him: where he hesitates, where he attacks, the way he listens to her even in the heat of battle. She didn't compare him to his brother last night, but she can't help it now. Zak will never be able to do this.
"Apollo," she answers, equally intense. It's as much an introduction as their handshake the night they met.
Level five starts to load up, further than any of her cadet teams have made it this semester, but Lee's voice growls in her ear first. "Enough."
Kara hears the hunger in his tone and shivers in a different way. "Yes, sir," she murmurs back huskily, reaching to turn off the controls. The aggression of the last hour is rapidly shifting to arousal. She hears Lee groan with impatience just before the comm system shuts down, and feels her body respond. As she unbuckles herself from the simulator, Kara's hands are impatient too, and she flips open the canopy, eyes already searching out Lee.
What she finds stops her cold. Kara wills her face not to respond as she takes in the room, full of returned cadets still in their flight suits and cheering at the screen that's been displaying her flight with Lee.
Zak is standing just between the two simulators they've been using, glancing back and forth between his brother and his girlfriend, grinning wildly. "You guys are incredible!" he shouts up to them.
Kara swallows hard and turns away as she slips down the ladder, forcing herself not to look at Lee in a way that will betray them to Zak. Gods, she's barely thought about him since he left yesterday evening.
As she reaches the ground, Zak glances over at his classmates, who are milling around as they head toward one of the lecture halls for the debrief on their overnight op. Once they're not paying attention, he hugs Kara quickly, then reaches over to greet Lee in turn, clapping him on the back. "That was amazing."
"Thanks," Kara mutters, moving to the computer to shut it down.
"We have our debrief, then are you guys up for lunch?"
She tries not to stiffen, hears Lee answer.
"Yeah. We should get cleaned up, but find us when you're done."
"Sure, man." Zak takes off after his classmates, leaving them alone.
Kara walks the other way without turning to see if Lee is following. "Come on. We really should hit the showers." She leads him toward the head and enters, shrugging quickly out of the BDUs she threw on for the flight. Behind her Kara hears Lee lock the door.
She can feel his presence, his eyes on her. But all she can think about is Socrata. For as long as she can remember Kara's been fighting Socrata's truth: that Kara's no good, that no one could love someone so selfish, so wild and hurtful and irresponsible. Right now it's all true. Zak has been nothing but kind to her, and if he knew what she's done it would crush him.
"Kara," Lee says softly as she reaches out to turn on the shower.
She shakes her head, not ready to look at him.
He sighs softly. "Flying with you was amazing."
It comes over her again in a rush and she turns, already smiling at the memory. "Yeah." Lee is standing before her, naked, his hands reaching for her but hesitating. His face is full of conflict She understands. The reasons they shouldn't are right down the hall, but Kara has never felt this kind of need to be so close to a person, just this one. She steps toward Lee, wild with the memory of flying, and leans in to kiss him.
It's nothing like last night. That was about hunger and attraction and was satisfying to be sure, but this is much deeper. Lee's arms wrap around her as they kiss, slowly, intensely, like if they just get close enough they can really merge. Then the eagerness of their bodies takes over, reminding them that despite Zak's interruption they've been craving each other for hours.
As the heat builds between them, Lee pulls Kara with him into the shower enclosure, sits on the long bench and tugs her down to straddle his lap. He groans as she slides over him and Kara forces her eyes open. Lee stares back at her. She's startled by how much more intense sex is, just knowing it's with him. As he starts to move she gets lost in Lee's moans, the feel of him inside her, the awe in his eyes as he touches her. Somehow flying together has made them better at this, too; they seem to know just how to work against each other, to anticipate each other's responses. It's the most intimate thing she's ever felt.
When it's over, Kara pulls away, overwhelmed, her legs still trembling, and begins to shower.
"They'll be done soon," Lee says softly.
She nods, blinking furiously as she tries to understand why the thought makes her heart ache.
Lee's hands rest on her shoulders for a minute, then rise, taking over washing her hair. Kara leans into his touch. As he finishes, though, she darts away, twisting the shower-head to spray him. Lee laughs, and they play for a minute, then separate. Kara starts to relax. As they dry themselves off and redress, she looks back over at him. She has no idea what this all means.
A knock sounds just as Lee reaches to unlock the door, and they both jump. He unlocks it and opens it in one smooth motion, keeping whoever it is from realizing the it was dogged.
"Hey, guys," Zak says brightly, his hand still raised. "Lunch?"
Lee slides an arm around his shoulders, turning him down the hall. "How about you and me go catch up?" he suggests, even as his brother looks back at Kara.
"I'll see you later," she says softly to both of them. "Have fun." She pretends not to notice the way Lee doesn't want Zak to touch her. To be honest, she's too overwhelmed and confused for either of them right now.
As they leave, Zak waves to her and Kara smiles back, watches the Adama brothers head down the hall. And wonders which of them she's going to hurt worse.
***
Chapter 5