The Necessity of Having a Spotter
Title: The Necessity of Having a Spotter: An Ikeaverse Installment
Rating: T
Characters: Helo (Karl), Starbuck (Kara)
Word Count: ~700
Disclaimer: don't own them.
Summary: Kara learns there are benefits to having a spotter around... Or Kara and Helo in gym class...
A/N: Written for kleenexcow for her successful completion of the pentathlon. Great job, hon, and thanks for the prompt. It was time to open the 'verse up to the other characters. :D :D :D
Kara was on the bench press, lifting the bar off her chest, when it started to slip. It was her own fault. She added too much weight and did too many reps. That was why the gym teachers kept pushing for spotters. Whoops. She’d take that under advisement in the future. In the meantime, how the fuck was she going to get out of this mess?
Then she felt the weight lift off of her. There were now four hands on the bar. She looked up to see Karl. “Easy, Starbuck,” he said, in that soothing voice of his. The one that made her feel like everything was okay-even when she knew it wasn’t.
Together, they returned the bar to its rack. Kara sat up, and Karl moved next to her. “You really should use a spotter, you know.”
She shot him a look. Sure, he was a great guy, but he had that annoying tendency to say things like that-and be absolutely right. “Are you volunteering?”
He grinned. “I could, sure.”
There were certain advantages to that arrangement. His strength meant she could push herself even harder without fear. She nodded. “That could work.”
“Okay.” He shook his head. “Why do I always find you alone?”
She rolled her eyes. Was it her fault she was the only girl in the class who actually wanted to work out? She didn’t have time for their drama. Boyfriends, nail polish. No thanks. And the boys. The boys had their own drama. In fact, they were worse than girls in some ways. She didn’t have time for that either. Instead, Kara made up her own work out routine: The bench press, crunches, pull ups, push ups, the lat pull down. It would have been different if Zak and Sam were in her class, but neither of them were in her grade, so she was alone. At least she was. Karl was there now, and he didn’t seem to be leaving. “What’s it to you?”
She knew that sounded harsh even to her own ears. She was surprised to see him smile. “That’s my Starbuck.”
“Right. Well, if you’re gonna be my new spotter, let’s get to it.”
“Sure.”
He followed her as she moved to the pull up bar. “You ready for tonight’s practice?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t actually practice, remember? Why wouldn’t I be ready?”
“Just small talk, Starbuck.”
“Right, Helo.”
He bristled. She knew he was still getting used to the name. The Old Man mentioned callsigns during practice the other night. Apparently, the silly nickname Ms. R gave her was what the Old Man called a callsign. After he revealed his had been “Husker,” Kara insisted Zak, Sam, and Karl get callsigns. The way Billy remained perfectly silent and stood even closer to Ms. R than normal indicated that he wasn’t interested in having one. Felix said he liked being called Mr. Gaeta, so they all honored that.
Sam was easy to name. He was “Longshot” because of his skills on the basketball court. Zak was “Hephaestus” because of the foot injury he’d sustained the year before, which the Old Man was clueless about. She shook her head. He was a good guy, and she tried to cut him some slack.
She decided on “Helo” for Karl because of his sunny disposition. She seriously never saw him in a bad mood. It was unbelievable. The Old Man said the name was short for helicopter, which also fit. The guy was always hovering, ready to swoop in and “help” at anytime. It was kind of annoying-even if she was happy to see him when he did.
He smiled. “You know, I kind of like it.”
She lifted herself up, her chin above the bar. Karl stood by. A helicopter indeed. She completed 10 reps. Then the warning whistle blew. It was time to change for next class. She gave Helo a little punch in the arm. “See you later. And…”
He grinned. “I know. Anytime, Starbuck.”
She nodded and turned to leave the weight room.
Next Installment
Rating: T
Characters: Helo (Karl), Starbuck (Kara)
Word Count: ~700
Disclaimer: don't own them.
Summary: Kara learns there are benefits to having a spotter around... Or Kara and Helo in gym class...
A/N: Written for kleenexcow for her successful completion of the pentathlon. Great job, hon, and thanks for the prompt. It was time to open the 'verse up to the other characters. :D :D :D
Kara was on the bench press, lifting the bar off her chest, when it started to slip. It was her own fault. She added too much weight and did too many reps. That was why the gym teachers kept pushing for spotters. Whoops. She’d take that under advisement in the future. In the meantime, how the fuck was she going to get out of this mess?
Then she felt the weight lift off of her. There were now four hands on the bar. She looked up to see Karl. “Easy, Starbuck,” he said, in that soothing voice of his. The one that made her feel like everything was okay-even when she knew it wasn’t.
Together, they returned the bar to its rack. Kara sat up, and Karl moved next to her. “You really should use a spotter, you know.”
She shot him a look. Sure, he was a great guy, but he had that annoying tendency to say things like that-and be absolutely right. “Are you volunteering?”
He grinned. “I could, sure.”
There were certain advantages to that arrangement. His strength meant she could push herself even harder without fear. She nodded. “That could work.”
“Okay.” He shook his head. “Why do I always find you alone?”
She rolled her eyes. Was it her fault she was the only girl in the class who actually wanted to work out? She didn’t have time for their drama. Boyfriends, nail polish. No thanks. And the boys. The boys had their own drama. In fact, they were worse than girls in some ways. She didn’t have time for that either. Instead, Kara made up her own work out routine: The bench press, crunches, pull ups, push ups, the lat pull down. It would have been different if Zak and Sam were in her class, but neither of them were in her grade, so she was alone. At least she was. Karl was there now, and he didn’t seem to be leaving. “What’s it to you?”
She knew that sounded harsh even to her own ears. She was surprised to see him smile. “That’s my Starbuck.”
“Right. Well, if you’re gonna be my new spotter, let’s get to it.”
“Sure.”
He followed her as she moved to the pull up bar. “You ready for tonight’s practice?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t actually practice, remember? Why wouldn’t I be ready?”
“Just small talk, Starbuck.”
“Right, Helo.”
He bristled. She knew he was still getting used to the name. The Old Man mentioned callsigns during practice the other night. Apparently, the silly nickname Ms. R gave her was what the Old Man called a callsign. After he revealed his had been “Husker,” Kara insisted Zak, Sam, and Karl get callsigns. The way Billy remained perfectly silent and stood even closer to Ms. R than normal indicated that he wasn’t interested in having one. Felix said he liked being called Mr. Gaeta, so they all honored that.
Sam was easy to name. He was “Longshot” because of his skills on the basketball court. Zak was “Hephaestus” because of the foot injury he’d sustained the year before, which the Old Man was clueless about. She shook her head. He was a good guy, and she tried to cut him some slack.
She decided on “Helo” for Karl because of his sunny disposition. She seriously never saw him in a bad mood. It was unbelievable. The Old Man said the name was short for helicopter, which also fit. The guy was always hovering, ready to swoop in and “help” at anytime. It was kind of annoying-even if she was happy to see him when he did.
He smiled. “You know, I kind of like it.”
She lifted herself up, her chin above the bar. Karl stood by. A helicopter indeed. She completed 10 reps. Then the warning whistle blew. It was time to change for next class. She gave Helo a little punch in the arm. “See you later. And…”
He grinned. “I know. Anytime, Starbuck.”
She nodded and turned to leave the weight room.
Next Installment