Cinderella (III): A Frakked-Up Fairy Tale
Title: Cinderella: The Other Glass Slipper Drops
Author: innibis
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3,581
Pairing: Kara/Lee, Kara/Sam
Genre: Completely AU
Disclaimer: I am not RDM or any of his cohorts. I do not lay claim to BSG in any way, shape or form; especially the finale.
A/N: workerbee73! workerbee73! She's our (wo)man! If she can’t beta it no one can!
Part I
Part II
The Other Glass Slipper Drops
It had been five months. Five months without going to The Ball, without laughing with Zak. Five months of parties with Sam, her picture in the papers, of an uncomplicated and even keeled relationship with laughs and good sex. Five months without going to the brig.
Colonel Tigh had been discharged from the military. Ostensibly, he had retired, but Kara knew, everyone knew, that it had been Lee Adama’s doing. All those times that Kara had told him that Tigh had been drunk on duty, all the abuses of power and inappropriate conduct-Lee had recorded every one. She could almost see it in his illegible scrawl, every detail meticulously written down in his ever-present notebook. Dereliction of Duty. Conduct Unbecoming an Officer. Drunk and Disorderly. Rather than leave in disgrace without pension, Lee had offered his father's dearest friend the opportunity to go quietly and Saul Tigh had taken it.
In Kara's bleaker moments, she wondered if Lee had done it to make sure that she never called him again. Most of the time though, it was yet another example of him taking care of business. Taking care of her. Gods, she missed him. She still could see his destroyed, pale face looking up at her from her parking lot if she thought about him too long. What a frakking mess of a misjudgment. She should have followed him. Should have raced back to the club and fixed things. Should have at least called him. At the time she had simply assumed that he didn’t want to see her, hear from her, so she didn't do anything. She had told herself he'd call when he wanted to. Told herself she'd give it a day, a week, a month. He never came to her and she never went to him and now they were so broken by the silence that Kara didn’t know how to put the pieces back together.
She needed Lee's advice though and didn’t trust anyone else to give it to her straight. Her orders were up soon, and Sam had asked her to get out of the military and stay with him. The idea of no longer being in the fleet was not as appalling as it once would have been, bur Kara found herself resenting the fact that Sam had asked her to stay, despite the reasonableness of his request. She was up for a three year battlestar tour. She loved to fly but didn't really love the life anymore. She would miss the privacy of her own space and Sam's constant and pleasant presence.
She would miss Lee.
She stared out the windshield of her car at the Adamas' club. It was still a little early and a Tuesday night, so there wasn't a line to get in. It wouldn’t be easy, but she needed her friend back. Her life was simply less without him in it. Kara Thrace loved Lee Adama, whatever that meant. She could still feel the heat of his kiss when she wasn't careful, could still see the challenge in his eyes for her to be better, something more, still hear the devotion in his voice. Sam was easy smiles and sunny days and buzzed, giggling kisses after happy hour. Lee was whispered confessions of life-long shame, a safety net when she flew too high. He was another jagged soul and, somehow, when they twined the broken bits of themselves around each other, it was just enough to form one decent sort of person.
Kara was many things. A coward was not one of them. She resolutely climbed out of her car, sailed past the bouncers who waved in surprised welcome and went into The Ball.
* * *
"Captain Thrace." The chilly words sounded in her ears. Kara raised her eyes from their rapt contemplation of the bar.
"Zak," Kara said. "Hey. How's it going?"
"Fine, thank you," Zak answered. "What can I get you?'
"Is Lee here?" she blurted out.
Zak's face shifted from polite disdain to stone. "I'm sorry, my brother is not on the menu tonight. May I interest you in ambrosia or Caprican Ale?"
"I really want to talk to him," Kara said. "Look, I appreciate the whole protective brother thing, but Lee can take care of himself."
"Why don't you talk to me?" Zak invited with false cheer, planting his forearms on the bar and leaning into it. "Why don’t you tell me how my brother had stars in his eyes one minute and looked like he had been kicked in the gut the next?"
"None of your business, Adama," Kara said softly, with edge, nervousness having given way to irritation.
"Everything about Lee is my business," Zak said, all pleasant pretense gone. "We only have each other. We've only ever had each other."
"Must be nice to have someone," Kara said. "I wouldn’t know. I've always had to make it on my own-"
"You had Lee!" Zak shouted and the crowd at the bar stilled for a moment before resuming respective conversations. "You had Lee," Zak said more quietly.
"I know," Kara said, all anger draining away as suddenly as it had come. "I just-" She started as a hand covered hers and she looked up into Zak Adama's kind brown eyes.
"My brother is a stubborn pain in the ass, especially when he's been hurt" Zak began, "but I also happen to know that when he loves you, he'll forgive you anything. It just takes time."
"I know, but-wait, what?" Kara asked.
Zak pulled his hand back, panic flickering in his face. "I, uh, said that Lee will forgive you when he's ready-"
"You said he loves me," Kara said.
"I didn't," Zak said moving quickly toward the other end of the bar.
"Lee Adama loves me," Kara called, lighter than she had felt in days, months really.
"You're dreaming it," Zak shot over his shoulder, turning to serve the couple in front of him.
She was still smiling when he came back to her, eyes serious. "Look," Zak said quietly. "I told him that if he made a move and you weren't interested, it wouldn’t ruin your friendship because you mean too much to each other. But I forgot what stubborn, nervous frakkers you two are. Are you happy, Kara?"
She blinked at the sudden question. "Sam's a great guy."
Zak nodded. "He seems to be, but that isn't what I asked." She looked warily at him. "Just something that you should think about." He stared directly at her until she nodded her understanding. "Lee's outside changing a few bulbs on the balcony. Upstairs is closed right now, so no one's out there but him."
* * *
"Son of a bitch!" Lee swore as the tiny bulb slipped from his fingers. Helo or Zak should have done this in the daylight, but Lee suspected that they were trying to keep him away from the paying customers. He had been somewhat less than pleasant lately. He paused in his efforts. This had to stop. Kara didn’t love him. So what? "Enough," Lee said out loud and went back to changing the bulbs on the little white lights that ran around the balcony.
"Need some help?" His heart stopped at the softly spoken words. He braced himself and saw Kara standing uncertainly in the doorway.
"Nah," Lee said over the sound of blood rushing through his ears as he straightened too quickly. "It isn't going to be crowded enough for us to open the balcony tonight so I'll leave it for Zak to take care of in the morning."
He watched Kara approach him slowly. "Lee," she stated his name as if affirming his presence. "I'm sorry. I should have called, I just-didn’t know what to say."
"Why are you here Kara?" Lee asked warily.
Kara stopped about ten feet away from him. "I needed some advice from a friend," she said.
"What can I possibly give you that Anders can't?" Lee snapped. He winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
Kara snarled. "Just forget it, Lee. Sorry I bothered you." She turned on her heel.
Lee moved quickly, catching her arm. "Look-I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." He tightened his fingers on her skin slightly before letting her go. "Don’t leave," he said softly.
Kara whirled suddenly and threw her arms around his neck and he hauled her in close.
They leaned against each other, holding each other up, and Lee felt the tension flee his body in the close presence of Kara. And, gods, he just didn't care any more. Life was just grey without her.
Kara pulled back so she could look into his eyes and he smiled at her earnest expression. "Are we okay?"
"Yeah," Lee said, leaning his forehead against hers. "We are just fine." Kara sighed her relief into his face. "You needed some advice?" She nodded and stepped away from him.
"I'm up for new orders in a couple of months," she said. They were both studiously avoiding standing at the railing.
"It’s been five years already?" Lee asked. "That went by fast." He had wasted time by not talking to Kara, by not making the first move back to her and now she was getting ready to leave again.
Kara nodded, "I'm thinking about getting out."
Lee tamped down the surge of jealousy. He knew this was about Anders. Kara wouldn’t have thought about it otherwise. "Alright. Pros and cons." Kara grinned suddenly and brightly. "What?"
She shook her head, big smile still plastered on her face "It's just-I missed you. Pros and cons," Kara parroted obediently. "Cons-no more flying and I’d have to find a real job. Pros, I'd have my own space, get to drink for free every night at my favorite bar, and be with the people I care about." She froze, but Lee didn’t so much as twitch so she relaxed again.
"Cons," Lee contributed, leaning against a wall and folding his arms. "Loss of the best full coverage medical care around and a clear career path. Pros-You'll have time to join The Balls' club pyramid team and clean that pig sty of an apartment for once."
Kara countered, "Pro-I can stick around to make sure your life doesn't get too boring.”
Lee smiled. "Pro-You'll be close enough for me to keep you out of trouble." He took a deep breath, "and you'll be near Anders."
"Lee-" Kara started.
"Here's my suggestion, Kara," Lee interrupted. "Zak's getting restless and wants to expand. He has his eye on a really casual bar near base. We're well in the black so I don’t see why not. Helo wants to spend more time with Sharon and the baby. I'm here sporadically. So if you want to get out, we can bring you on as the night manager and Helo can switch to days, deal with deliveries and unruly happy hour goers. Zak'll be busy at the new place and we'll all bounce around as needed to keep our heads above water. In the meantime, join the reserves, they'll fly you enough to keep your quals current and will recall you if there's real action so you won’t miss anything fun."
Lee squirmed a little under Kara's scrutiny. He had forgotten how hard she could look at him sometimes. He was out of practice. "Got it all figured out, don't you Lee?" she asked, tone neutral.
"No," Lee said, "It's just the first thing that came to mind. Seems to split the difference, combine the most pros on the list."
Kara was suddenly right in front of him, both hands on his shoulders. "I knew there was a reason to keep you around," she said. The words were flippant, but her tone was serious. "Thank you."
"Well, to be fair, I have to talk to Zak and Helo first-"
"Thank you," Kara interrupted firmly. "I don’t say it often so take it where you can get it."
"You're welcome," Lee said, raising his hands to cover hers.
* * *
"I told you last week that I had to work."
Lee was trying really, really hard not to listen in. He and Kara were on their own at The Ball tonight, relatively speaking, of course. The usual flock of servers and bartenders were around, but Lee still felt a little lost at the club without Zak, and Zak needed to be at their new place, Husker's. Kara had her cell phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear and was all quick hands and efficient movements as she poured drinks, motioning Lee to dole them out.
"Well what did you expect would happen, Sammy?" She came to a complete stop. "What?" he was not listening, not hearing her sharp tone. "Did you just give me a frakking ultimatum over the phone?" Lee started listening. He may not have liked the idea of Sam in Kara's bed, he might hate the way Sam put his hand on the small of her back like he had a right to her, but Lee was now concerned for Sam's safety. "We will talk about this tomorrow," Kara said in a low, dangerous voice and she hung up.
"Are you. . ." Lee trailed off. He and Kara had come a long way, but Sam was still a difficult topic between them.
"Fine," she bit off.
"Heads," Lee warned and tossed her a bottle of water. Kara caught it and smiled her thanks, although the anger was still in her eyes. "If-"
"No."
"Okay."
* * *
Kara welcomed the rage as she drove her truck recklessly to Sam's place. He had some nerve…. It actually excited her a bit, ramped up her feelings, gave edge to a relationship that was all easy curves. She fumed in the elevator up to the penthouse and stormed in without knocking. "Sam!" she shouted.
"Right here, Kara." For once, Sam was not smiling. His eyes were hard and his arms were folded. Kara's lips curved in a cruel smile. This she could work with. This was good.
"Got a problem, Sam?" she asked, strutting into his personal space. He didn’t back down.
"Yeah, I do," he said. "When you said that you were getting out of the military, I thought it was for me."
Kara blinked. "You think that I'd make a decision like that based on a relationship that was less than half a year old at the time?"
"Stupid of me to think that my girlfriend would want to stay with me, I realize that now."
Kara rolled her eyes. "Spare me. You know you were part of the decision. That was months ago, why the sudden attitude problem?"
"I see you less now then when you were in the fleet!" he shouted, frustrated, running his hands through his hair.
"Well you really would have seen me less if I had been stationed on a battlestar," Kara said in exasperation. "What the hell is your problem, Sam? Why the sudden concern? Why the demand to find another job?"
"I'm tired of you not being able to go places with me at night like we used to," Sam said.
"I am a night manager," Kara said slowly. "Night. That's when I work. It isn’t like you aren't welcome to come to the club."
"Kara," Sam said, suddenly right in front of her and holding her hands. "Kara, you don’t need to work. You could live with me. Marry me. You could fly all frakking day if you wanted to."
Kara stepped back and deliberately pulled her hands from Sam's. "Did you just propose to me in order to get me to quit my job?" The anger wasn't fun anymore. It was real.
"Of course not," Sam backpedaled. "I proposed because I love you."
"Uh huh," Kara said, jaw set and eyes hard, "And if I said yes but still wanted to work at The Ball?"
"You wouldn't have to-"
"But I want to!" Kara shouted. "What do you want, Sammy, because I'm thinking that we're coming at this from different angles of attack."
Sam growled his frustration. "I want you to want to be with me, not to spend every frakking minute of every frakking day in a bar with your buddies, is that too much to ask?"
Kara felt the fight coiled up in her fizzle. "No," she said. "No, it isn't." Sam smiled and moved towards her with his arms outstretched. Her beautiful beginning. Her blank slate, still without a mark on him. "But I can't give it to you." Her heart sank as his smile faded. "I don't want to hurt you, Sam, but I'm not the person you want me to be."
"I don’t want you to be anyone but yourself," Sam pleaded.
Kara reached out and touched his cheek. "That's because you don’t really know who that is."
Sam grabbed her hand. "You never told me. Not about the scars or your past or anything," he said, betrayal in his voice.
Kara shook her head and pulled her fingers away. "You never asked."
* * *
It was a Saturday afternoon and Kara was sitting on the floor with her back propped up against the sofa, watching a movie on Lee's enormous television. It had become something of a ritual in the last month, ever since Kara had flatly told Lee that she and Sam were over.
"That would so not happen," Lee's lazy voice washed over her and she twisted her neck to see him sprawled on the couch behind her.
"This is why I shouldn't watch movies with you," she said, throwing a handful of popcorn at him.
Lee looked over. "It's completely ridiculous," he insisted.
"I got it, Lee."
"She can't just-" Lee raised an eyebrow at Kara's hand suddenly clamped over his mouth.
"Shut up," Kara admonished. "I know that witnesses aren’t really allowed to make speeches, but it's a good one." She leaned in closer, enjoying the way his eyes darkened in response. "It's all about democracy and civilization and stuff. You know you get off on that, so I'm going to back it up and you are going to listen and not ruin it for me by talking through it. Yes?" She felt him smile against her palm. "Good boy," she said, dropping a kiss on his forehead and removing her hand. She settled back down and rewound to the beginning of the scene.
Lee rolled over to his side and shuffled down the couch. He propped his head up on one arm, and wrapped his other arm around her, forearm firm across her upper chest, hand holding her shoulder. She could feel her hair catching in the stubble of his chin and suddenly Kara wasn't paying attention to the movie anymore. She felt his breath rushing against her cheek and she leaned her head back so that it would move with the rise and fall of his chest. Her heart was in her throat and she sat very still.
"That night, on the balcony," Lee's voice was soft in her ear. "I-I just didn’t know that it was possible to be that happy. I never thought that someone like you would want someone so predictable and dull. And then it turned out that you didn't." Kara tried to turn around, but Lee held her firmly. "That was my fault Kara. I never told you how I felt. Never asked you out or did anything to let you know how much you mean to me. And then I made the biggest mistake of all, letting you walk out of my life." He nuzzled her ear. "So what I'm getting at is that in about fifteen seconds I am going to tell you that I love you and if you don’t say it back, we are going to sit here and finish our movie and then grab dinner on the way to work and we will be fine."
Kara's breath caught in her throat, and in the pause between one heartbeat and the next she turned her head, locked eyes with her best friend, leaned forward and sucked his bottom lip into her hot mouth.
Lee made a muffled, desperate sound deep in his throat and his arm tightened against her chest, fingers flexing on her shoulder as his other hand tangled in her hair. Kara ran the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip, pausing to nip it and tug gently with her teeth. His mouth opened obediently and she slid her tongue inside, sighing at the way they locked together. She dragged her nails up and down the nape of his neck, smiling when she provoked a full body shiver.
He pulled back, pausing to flick her top lip with his tongue before sliding his raspy cheek down hers to press open mouthed kisses along her collar bone. "Lee?" Kara breathed.
"Yeah?" he whispered back.
"You were saying?" Kara licked the shell of his ear.
"I was saying?" Lee's hand had drifted from her shoulder and was now cupping her breast. He ran a thumb teasingly across her nipple.
"Your fifteen seconds are up, Adama." Kara tried to sound stern, but her head dropped back and she arched more fully into his hand.
"Oh, that," Lee said. He dropped a gentle kiss in the hollow of her throat and moved his hand back up to clasp her shoulder firmly. "I love you Kara Thrace," he said directly into her ear.
Kara closed her eyes and smiled. "I love you too."
Author: innibis
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3,581
Pairing: Kara/Lee, Kara/Sam
Genre: Completely AU
Disclaimer: I am not RDM or any of his cohorts. I do not lay claim to BSG in any way, shape or form; especially the finale.
A/N: workerbee73! workerbee73! She's our (wo)man! If she can’t beta it no one can!
Part I
Part II
The Other Glass Slipper Drops
It had been five months. Five months without going to The Ball, without laughing with Zak. Five months of parties with Sam, her picture in the papers, of an uncomplicated and even keeled relationship with laughs and good sex. Five months without going to the brig.
Colonel Tigh had been discharged from the military. Ostensibly, he had retired, but Kara knew, everyone knew, that it had been Lee Adama’s doing. All those times that Kara had told him that Tigh had been drunk on duty, all the abuses of power and inappropriate conduct-Lee had recorded every one. She could almost see it in his illegible scrawl, every detail meticulously written down in his ever-present notebook. Dereliction of Duty. Conduct Unbecoming an Officer. Drunk and Disorderly. Rather than leave in disgrace without pension, Lee had offered his father's dearest friend the opportunity to go quietly and Saul Tigh had taken it.
In Kara's bleaker moments, she wondered if Lee had done it to make sure that she never called him again. Most of the time though, it was yet another example of him taking care of business. Taking care of her. Gods, she missed him. She still could see his destroyed, pale face looking up at her from her parking lot if she thought about him too long. What a frakking mess of a misjudgment. She should have followed him. Should have raced back to the club and fixed things. Should have at least called him. At the time she had simply assumed that he didn’t want to see her, hear from her, so she didn't do anything. She had told herself he'd call when he wanted to. Told herself she'd give it a day, a week, a month. He never came to her and she never went to him and now they were so broken by the silence that Kara didn’t know how to put the pieces back together.
She needed Lee's advice though and didn’t trust anyone else to give it to her straight. Her orders were up soon, and Sam had asked her to get out of the military and stay with him. The idea of no longer being in the fleet was not as appalling as it once would have been, bur Kara found herself resenting the fact that Sam had asked her to stay, despite the reasonableness of his request. She was up for a three year battlestar tour. She loved to fly but didn't really love the life anymore. She would miss the privacy of her own space and Sam's constant and pleasant presence.
She would miss Lee.
She stared out the windshield of her car at the Adamas' club. It was still a little early and a Tuesday night, so there wasn't a line to get in. It wouldn’t be easy, but she needed her friend back. Her life was simply less without him in it. Kara Thrace loved Lee Adama, whatever that meant. She could still feel the heat of his kiss when she wasn't careful, could still see the challenge in his eyes for her to be better, something more, still hear the devotion in his voice. Sam was easy smiles and sunny days and buzzed, giggling kisses after happy hour. Lee was whispered confessions of life-long shame, a safety net when she flew too high. He was another jagged soul and, somehow, when they twined the broken bits of themselves around each other, it was just enough to form one decent sort of person.
Kara was many things. A coward was not one of them. She resolutely climbed out of her car, sailed past the bouncers who waved in surprised welcome and went into The Ball.
* * *
"Captain Thrace." The chilly words sounded in her ears. Kara raised her eyes from their rapt contemplation of the bar.
"Zak," Kara said. "Hey. How's it going?"
"Fine, thank you," Zak answered. "What can I get you?'
"Is Lee here?" she blurted out.
Zak's face shifted from polite disdain to stone. "I'm sorry, my brother is not on the menu tonight. May I interest you in ambrosia or Caprican Ale?"
"I really want to talk to him," Kara said. "Look, I appreciate the whole protective brother thing, but Lee can take care of himself."
"Why don't you talk to me?" Zak invited with false cheer, planting his forearms on the bar and leaning into it. "Why don’t you tell me how my brother had stars in his eyes one minute and looked like he had been kicked in the gut the next?"
"None of your business, Adama," Kara said softly, with edge, nervousness having given way to irritation.
"Everything about Lee is my business," Zak said, all pleasant pretense gone. "We only have each other. We've only ever had each other."
"Must be nice to have someone," Kara said. "I wouldn’t know. I've always had to make it on my own-"
"You had Lee!" Zak shouted and the crowd at the bar stilled for a moment before resuming respective conversations. "You had Lee," Zak said more quietly.
"I know," Kara said, all anger draining away as suddenly as it had come. "I just-" She started as a hand covered hers and she looked up into Zak Adama's kind brown eyes.
"My brother is a stubborn pain in the ass, especially when he's been hurt" Zak began, "but I also happen to know that when he loves you, he'll forgive you anything. It just takes time."
"I know, but-wait, what?" Kara asked.
Zak pulled his hand back, panic flickering in his face. "I, uh, said that Lee will forgive you when he's ready-"
"You said he loves me," Kara said.
"I didn't," Zak said moving quickly toward the other end of the bar.
"Lee Adama loves me," Kara called, lighter than she had felt in days, months really.
"You're dreaming it," Zak shot over his shoulder, turning to serve the couple in front of him.
She was still smiling when he came back to her, eyes serious. "Look," Zak said quietly. "I told him that if he made a move and you weren't interested, it wouldn’t ruin your friendship because you mean too much to each other. But I forgot what stubborn, nervous frakkers you two are. Are you happy, Kara?"
She blinked at the sudden question. "Sam's a great guy."
Zak nodded. "He seems to be, but that isn't what I asked." She looked warily at him. "Just something that you should think about." He stared directly at her until she nodded her understanding. "Lee's outside changing a few bulbs on the balcony. Upstairs is closed right now, so no one's out there but him."
* * *
"Son of a bitch!" Lee swore as the tiny bulb slipped from his fingers. Helo or Zak should have done this in the daylight, but Lee suspected that they were trying to keep him away from the paying customers. He had been somewhat less than pleasant lately. He paused in his efforts. This had to stop. Kara didn’t love him. So what? "Enough," Lee said out loud and went back to changing the bulbs on the little white lights that ran around the balcony.
"Need some help?" His heart stopped at the softly spoken words. He braced himself and saw Kara standing uncertainly in the doorway.
"Nah," Lee said over the sound of blood rushing through his ears as he straightened too quickly. "It isn't going to be crowded enough for us to open the balcony tonight so I'll leave it for Zak to take care of in the morning."
He watched Kara approach him slowly. "Lee," she stated his name as if affirming his presence. "I'm sorry. I should have called, I just-didn’t know what to say."
"Why are you here Kara?" Lee asked warily.
Kara stopped about ten feet away from him. "I needed some advice from a friend," she said.
"What can I possibly give you that Anders can't?" Lee snapped. He winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
Kara snarled. "Just forget it, Lee. Sorry I bothered you." She turned on her heel.
Lee moved quickly, catching her arm. "Look-I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." He tightened his fingers on her skin slightly before letting her go. "Don’t leave," he said softly.
Kara whirled suddenly and threw her arms around his neck and he hauled her in close.
They leaned against each other, holding each other up, and Lee felt the tension flee his body in the close presence of Kara. And, gods, he just didn't care any more. Life was just grey without her.
Kara pulled back so she could look into his eyes and he smiled at her earnest expression. "Are we okay?"
"Yeah," Lee said, leaning his forehead against hers. "We are just fine." Kara sighed her relief into his face. "You needed some advice?" She nodded and stepped away from him.
"I'm up for new orders in a couple of months," she said. They were both studiously avoiding standing at the railing.
"It’s been five years already?" Lee asked. "That went by fast." He had wasted time by not talking to Kara, by not making the first move back to her and now she was getting ready to leave again.
Kara nodded, "I'm thinking about getting out."
Lee tamped down the surge of jealousy. He knew this was about Anders. Kara wouldn’t have thought about it otherwise. "Alright. Pros and cons." Kara grinned suddenly and brightly. "What?"
She shook her head, big smile still plastered on her face "It's just-I missed you. Pros and cons," Kara parroted obediently. "Cons-no more flying and I’d have to find a real job. Pros, I'd have my own space, get to drink for free every night at my favorite bar, and be with the people I care about." She froze, but Lee didn’t so much as twitch so she relaxed again.
"Cons," Lee contributed, leaning against a wall and folding his arms. "Loss of the best full coverage medical care around and a clear career path. Pros-You'll have time to join The Balls' club pyramid team and clean that pig sty of an apartment for once."
Kara countered, "Pro-I can stick around to make sure your life doesn't get too boring.”
Lee smiled. "Pro-You'll be close enough for me to keep you out of trouble." He took a deep breath, "and you'll be near Anders."
"Lee-" Kara started.
"Here's my suggestion, Kara," Lee interrupted. "Zak's getting restless and wants to expand. He has his eye on a really casual bar near base. We're well in the black so I don’t see why not. Helo wants to spend more time with Sharon and the baby. I'm here sporadically. So if you want to get out, we can bring you on as the night manager and Helo can switch to days, deal with deliveries and unruly happy hour goers. Zak'll be busy at the new place and we'll all bounce around as needed to keep our heads above water. In the meantime, join the reserves, they'll fly you enough to keep your quals current and will recall you if there's real action so you won’t miss anything fun."
Lee squirmed a little under Kara's scrutiny. He had forgotten how hard she could look at him sometimes. He was out of practice. "Got it all figured out, don't you Lee?" she asked, tone neutral.
"No," Lee said, "It's just the first thing that came to mind. Seems to split the difference, combine the most pros on the list."
Kara was suddenly right in front of him, both hands on his shoulders. "I knew there was a reason to keep you around," she said. The words were flippant, but her tone was serious. "Thank you."
"Well, to be fair, I have to talk to Zak and Helo first-"
"Thank you," Kara interrupted firmly. "I don’t say it often so take it where you can get it."
"You're welcome," Lee said, raising his hands to cover hers.
* * *
"I told you last week that I had to work."
Lee was trying really, really hard not to listen in. He and Kara were on their own at The Ball tonight, relatively speaking, of course. The usual flock of servers and bartenders were around, but Lee still felt a little lost at the club without Zak, and Zak needed to be at their new place, Husker's. Kara had her cell phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear and was all quick hands and efficient movements as she poured drinks, motioning Lee to dole them out.
"Well what did you expect would happen, Sammy?" She came to a complete stop. "What?" he was not listening, not hearing her sharp tone. "Did you just give me a frakking ultimatum over the phone?" Lee started listening. He may not have liked the idea of Sam in Kara's bed, he might hate the way Sam put his hand on the small of her back like he had a right to her, but Lee was now concerned for Sam's safety. "We will talk about this tomorrow," Kara said in a low, dangerous voice and she hung up.
"Are you. . ." Lee trailed off. He and Kara had come a long way, but Sam was still a difficult topic between them.
"Fine," she bit off.
"Heads," Lee warned and tossed her a bottle of water. Kara caught it and smiled her thanks, although the anger was still in her eyes. "If-"
"No."
"Okay."
* * *
Kara welcomed the rage as she drove her truck recklessly to Sam's place. He had some nerve…. It actually excited her a bit, ramped up her feelings, gave edge to a relationship that was all easy curves. She fumed in the elevator up to the penthouse and stormed in without knocking. "Sam!" she shouted.
"Right here, Kara." For once, Sam was not smiling. His eyes were hard and his arms were folded. Kara's lips curved in a cruel smile. This she could work with. This was good.
"Got a problem, Sam?" she asked, strutting into his personal space. He didn’t back down.
"Yeah, I do," he said. "When you said that you were getting out of the military, I thought it was for me."
Kara blinked. "You think that I'd make a decision like that based on a relationship that was less than half a year old at the time?"
"Stupid of me to think that my girlfriend would want to stay with me, I realize that now."
Kara rolled her eyes. "Spare me. You know you were part of the decision. That was months ago, why the sudden attitude problem?"
"I see you less now then when you were in the fleet!" he shouted, frustrated, running his hands through his hair.
"Well you really would have seen me less if I had been stationed on a battlestar," Kara said in exasperation. "What the hell is your problem, Sam? Why the sudden concern? Why the demand to find another job?"
"I'm tired of you not being able to go places with me at night like we used to," Sam said.
"I am a night manager," Kara said slowly. "Night. That's when I work. It isn’t like you aren't welcome to come to the club."
"Kara," Sam said, suddenly right in front of her and holding her hands. "Kara, you don’t need to work. You could live with me. Marry me. You could fly all frakking day if you wanted to."
Kara stepped back and deliberately pulled her hands from Sam's. "Did you just propose to me in order to get me to quit my job?" The anger wasn't fun anymore. It was real.
"Of course not," Sam backpedaled. "I proposed because I love you."
"Uh huh," Kara said, jaw set and eyes hard, "And if I said yes but still wanted to work at The Ball?"
"You wouldn't have to-"
"But I want to!" Kara shouted. "What do you want, Sammy, because I'm thinking that we're coming at this from different angles of attack."
Sam growled his frustration. "I want you to want to be with me, not to spend every frakking minute of every frakking day in a bar with your buddies, is that too much to ask?"
Kara felt the fight coiled up in her fizzle. "No," she said. "No, it isn't." Sam smiled and moved towards her with his arms outstretched. Her beautiful beginning. Her blank slate, still without a mark on him. "But I can't give it to you." Her heart sank as his smile faded. "I don't want to hurt you, Sam, but I'm not the person you want me to be."
"I don’t want you to be anyone but yourself," Sam pleaded.
Kara reached out and touched his cheek. "That's because you don’t really know who that is."
Sam grabbed her hand. "You never told me. Not about the scars or your past or anything," he said, betrayal in his voice.
Kara shook her head and pulled her fingers away. "You never asked."
* * *
It was a Saturday afternoon and Kara was sitting on the floor with her back propped up against the sofa, watching a movie on Lee's enormous television. It had become something of a ritual in the last month, ever since Kara had flatly told Lee that she and Sam were over.
"That would so not happen," Lee's lazy voice washed over her and she twisted her neck to see him sprawled on the couch behind her.
"This is why I shouldn't watch movies with you," she said, throwing a handful of popcorn at him.
Lee looked over. "It's completely ridiculous," he insisted.
"I got it, Lee."
"She can't just-" Lee raised an eyebrow at Kara's hand suddenly clamped over his mouth.
"Shut up," Kara admonished. "I know that witnesses aren’t really allowed to make speeches, but it's a good one." She leaned in closer, enjoying the way his eyes darkened in response. "It's all about democracy and civilization and stuff. You know you get off on that, so I'm going to back it up and you are going to listen and not ruin it for me by talking through it. Yes?" She felt him smile against her palm. "Good boy," she said, dropping a kiss on his forehead and removing her hand. She settled back down and rewound to the beginning of the scene.
Lee rolled over to his side and shuffled down the couch. He propped his head up on one arm, and wrapped his other arm around her, forearm firm across her upper chest, hand holding her shoulder. She could feel her hair catching in the stubble of his chin and suddenly Kara wasn't paying attention to the movie anymore. She felt his breath rushing against her cheek and she leaned her head back so that it would move with the rise and fall of his chest. Her heart was in her throat and she sat very still.
"That night, on the balcony," Lee's voice was soft in her ear. "I-I just didn’t know that it was possible to be that happy. I never thought that someone like you would want someone so predictable and dull. And then it turned out that you didn't." Kara tried to turn around, but Lee held her firmly. "That was my fault Kara. I never told you how I felt. Never asked you out or did anything to let you know how much you mean to me. And then I made the biggest mistake of all, letting you walk out of my life." He nuzzled her ear. "So what I'm getting at is that in about fifteen seconds I am going to tell you that I love you and if you don’t say it back, we are going to sit here and finish our movie and then grab dinner on the way to work and we will be fine."
Kara's breath caught in her throat, and in the pause between one heartbeat and the next she turned her head, locked eyes with her best friend, leaned forward and sucked his bottom lip into her hot mouth.
Lee made a muffled, desperate sound deep in his throat and his arm tightened against her chest, fingers flexing on her shoulder as his other hand tangled in her hair. Kara ran the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip, pausing to nip it and tug gently with her teeth. His mouth opened obediently and she slid her tongue inside, sighing at the way they locked together. She dragged her nails up and down the nape of his neck, smiling when she provoked a full body shiver.
He pulled back, pausing to flick her top lip with his tongue before sliding his raspy cheek down hers to press open mouthed kisses along her collar bone. "Lee?" Kara breathed.
"Yeah?" he whispered back.
"You were saying?" Kara licked the shell of his ear.
"I was saying?" Lee's hand had drifted from her shoulder and was now cupping her breast. He ran a thumb teasingly across her nipple.
"Your fifteen seconds are up, Adama." Kara tried to sound stern, but her head dropped back and she arched more fully into his hand.
"Oh, that," Lee said. He dropped a gentle kiss in the hollow of her throat and moved his hand back up to clasp her shoulder firmly. "I love you Kara Thrace," he said directly into her ear.
Kara closed her eyes and smiled. "I love you too."