fic: Requital (BSG) for Spuffyduds
Title: Requital
Author: Hazelwho
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Pairing: Leoben/Kara (one-sided)
Rating: Teen for dark (though canonical) themes of torture, imprisonment, and some really frakked up ideas about love
Words: 1016
Note: Written for
spuffyduds as part of the Due South/c6d Homecoming/Thanksgiving Mini-Exchange. The rest of the stories can be found here. Huge thanks to
sage for beta reading my first BSG fic this morning on top of organizing and running this whole shebang.
“I’m looking for Kara Thrace.”
She knows what it means the moment she hears that voice - payback for what happened on Gemenon Traveler. She knows it’s the same Leoben even before she looks into his eyes and sees an awareness of their history mirrored back at her. She’s been waiting for this since she saw the first Cylon raiders in the sky over New Caprica, knowing it was only a matter of time before she found herself in an interrogation room with him again. As she is dragged into the back of a truck, Kara wonders if he’ll have water. It’s a luxury here, but there’s a sick symmetry to it that she thinks would appeal to him. She tries to ready herself as best she can, hoping her strength lasts longer than his patience, that she still has her pride when he inevitably kills her. She closes her eyes and braces herself for what’s to come. Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer…
The cell she was expecting. The door inside the cell that led downstairs, she was not. It looked like her old apartment in Delphi, but with someone else’s art on the walls and much nicer furniture than she had been able to afford. She is dying to ask what the frak he means by all of this, but doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He smirks at her, and she thinks he must have seen her curiosity.
“Would you like something to eat, Kara?”
He sets two places at the table and brings a salad and some bread out of the kitchen.
“Sit down, please,” he tells her. She refuses. He wraps his hand around her wrist and pulls her toward the table.
“So much for the polite act, huh?” she sneers at him.
“You respect strength, and you need to be reminded of mine.” He shoves her into a chair and dishes greens onto her plate. “That won’t always be the case though. Someday you’ll respect me for my faith and insight, and you will seek my counsel over all others.”
“Don’t hold you breath for that one.”
“I’ve been sent by God to help you, Kara. I’m supposed to show you the truth of your life, and help you on your journey.”
A snort of disgust and a sneer are her only reply.
He sits down across the table and bends his head in silent prayer over his food. He remains quiet as he makes his way through his dinner. When he is finished, he looks over at her full plate and glass disapprovingly. “You should eat. These vegetables were grown -“
Kara puts on her cockiest voice and interrupts him. “Look, how about we skip all this bullshit and get to the part where you ask me questions?”
His brow furrows and he stares at her for a long moment before a small smile twitches across his lips.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Starbuck. I know you’re not comfortable facing an enemy unless it’s from behind the gun controls of a viper, but I am not your enemy. You many not believe it yet, but the threads of our fates are entwined and we must walk our path together.”
“Oh gods, don’t start in on the paths and streams again. If you’re going to do that, I’ll take my chances with the food. At least poison would be faster than you talking me to death.”
“You have a special destiny, Kara, and God has put me here to help you discover it. I love you, and you will come to love me too. I have seen-“
“Oh my gods, he’s delusional!” she crows to the beige ceiling
“You will hold me in your arms,” Leoben shouts over her. “You will embrace me,” he tells her with fiery faith in his eyes, “and you will tell me that you love me. It happens here, in this apartment. I have seen it, Kara, there’s no point in fighting it!”
Leoben sighs and Kara feels a petty swell of pride in having made him lose his temper. He continues in a much softer voice, “However, I am a patient man, and I can wait until you accept the truth of what I’m telling you. I’m going to bed now. It would be nice if you would join me.”
“Oh,” she snarls, “Is that how it’s going to be? What, you need to pretend I’m your girlfriend to get it up?”
He smiles sadly and turns away. “Goodnight.”
She hurls invective at his back, but he walks to the bedroom and shuts the door without responding. Kara keeps herself awake and alert, listening carefully for any sound from his bedroom as she tries to work out what his strategy is. While she waits for his next move in this game they’re playing, she works on bending the tines of her fork into a more useful shape. He can swear he doesn’t want to hurt her until the last stars burn out, but she never made any promise of the sort.
When morning comes, she is standing next to the door of his room, weapon raised over her head. As soon as he slides open the door she strikes, tackling him to the floor. She stabs her modified fork into his chest repeatedly, surprised he hasn’t overpowered her and crushed her windpipe yet. She unleashes all her rage onto his body, but he just smiles serenely up at her.
“What the hell have you got to smile about, you sick frakking toaster?”
“You’re beautiful like this,” he gasps, choking on his own blood. “So much passion.”
She recoils in shock, dropping her weapon and backing away from the body. Her back hits the wall and she lets herself slide down it as the horror sets in. He really isn’t going to kill her. He thinks he loves her, and he’s going to keep her.
She looks back at the body, now seeping blood into the carpet. Leoben’s eyes find hers and he draws one last breath.
“I’ll see you soon, Kara Thrace.”
This entry was originally posted at my dreamwidth. Comments are welcome either place.
Author: Hazelwho
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Pairing: Leoben/Kara (one-sided)
Rating: Teen for dark (though canonical) themes of torture, imprisonment, and some really frakked up ideas about love
Words: 1016
Note: Written for
spuffyduds as part of the Due South/c6d Homecoming/Thanksgiving Mini-Exchange. The rest of the stories can be found here. Huge thanks to
sage for beta reading my first BSG fic this morning on top of organizing and running this whole shebang.
“I’m looking for Kara Thrace.”
She knows what it means the moment she hears that voice - payback for what happened on Gemenon Traveler. She knows it’s the same Leoben even before she looks into his eyes and sees an awareness of their history mirrored back at her. She’s been waiting for this since she saw the first Cylon raiders in the sky over New Caprica, knowing it was only a matter of time before she found herself in an interrogation room with him again. As she is dragged into the back of a truck, Kara wonders if he’ll have water. It’s a luxury here, but there’s a sick symmetry to it that she thinks would appeal to him. She tries to ready herself as best she can, hoping her strength lasts longer than his patience, that she still has her pride when he inevitably kills her. She closes her eyes and braces herself for what’s to come. Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer…
The cell she was expecting. The door inside the cell that led downstairs, she was not. It looked like her old apartment in Delphi, but with someone else’s art on the walls and much nicer furniture than she had been able to afford. She is dying to ask what the frak he means by all of this, but doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He smirks at her, and she thinks he must have seen her curiosity.
“Would you like something to eat, Kara?”
He sets two places at the table and brings a salad and some bread out of the kitchen.
“Sit down, please,” he tells her. She refuses. He wraps his hand around her wrist and pulls her toward the table.
“So much for the polite act, huh?” she sneers at him.
“You respect strength, and you need to be reminded of mine.” He shoves her into a chair and dishes greens onto her plate. “That won’t always be the case though. Someday you’ll respect me for my faith and insight, and you will seek my counsel over all others.”
“Don’t hold you breath for that one.”
“I’ve been sent by God to help you, Kara. I’m supposed to show you the truth of your life, and help you on your journey.”
A snort of disgust and a sneer are her only reply.
He sits down across the table and bends his head in silent prayer over his food. He remains quiet as he makes his way through his dinner. When he is finished, he looks over at her full plate and glass disapprovingly. “You should eat. These vegetables were grown -“
Kara puts on her cockiest voice and interrupts him. “Look, how about we skip all this bullshit and get to the part where you ask me questions?”
His brow furrows and he stares at her for a long moment before a small smile twitches across his lips.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Starbuck. I know you’re not comfortable facing an enemy unless it’s from behind the gun controls of a viper, but I am not your enemy. You many not believe it yet, but the threads of our fates are entwined and we must walk our path together.”
“Oh gods, don’t start in on the paths and streams again. If you’re going to do that, I’ll take my chances with the food. At least poison would be faster than you talking me to death.”
“You have a special destiny, Kara, and God has put me here to help you discover it. I love you, and you will come to love me too. I have seen-“
“Oh my gods, he’s delusional!” she crows to the beige ceiling
“You will hold me in your arms,” Leoben shouts over her. “You will embrace me,” he tells her with fiery faith in his eyes, “and you will tell me that you love me. It happens here, in this apartment. I have seen it, Kara, there’s no point in fighting it!”
Leoben sighs and Kara feels a petty swell of pride in having made him lose his temper. He continues in a much softer voice, “However, I am a patient man, and I can wait until you accept the truth of what I’m telling you. I’m going to bed now. It would be nice if you would join me.”
“Oh,” she snarls, “Is that how it’s going to be? What, you need to pretend I’m your girlfriend to get it up?”
He smiles sadly and turns away. “Goodnight.”
She hurls invective at his back, but he walks to the bedroom and shuts the door without responding. Kara keeps herself awake and alert, listening carefully for any sound from his bedroom as she tries to work out what his strategy is. While she waits for his next move in this game they’re playing, she works on bending the tines of her fork into a more useful shape. He can swear he doesn’t want to hurt her until the last stars burn out, but she never made any promise of the sort.
When morning comes, she is standing next to the door of his room, weapon raised over her head. As soon as he slides open the door she strikes, tackling him to the floor. She stabs her modified fork into his chest repeatedly, surprised he hasn’t overpowered her and crushed her windpipe yet. She unleashes all her rage onto his body, but he just smiles serenely up at her.
“What the hell have you got to smile about, you sick frakking toaster?”
“You’re beautiful like this,” he gasps, choking on his own blood. “So much passion.”
She recoils in shock, dropping her weapon and backing away from the body. Her back hits the wall and she lets herself slide down it as the horror sets in. He really isn’t going to kill her. He thinks he loves her, and he’s going to keep her.
She looks back at the body, now seeping blood into the carpet. Leoben’s eyes find hers and he draws one last breath.
“I’ll see you soon, Kara Thrace.”
This entry was originally posted at my dreamwidth. Comments are welcome either place.