Battlestar Galactica - Venting & Cleansing
Title: Venting & Cleansing
Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica, and its characters, don’t belong to me. Which kind of sucks, but I’m dealing with it.
Pairing: Roslin/Adama
Rating: M
Summary: Everyone needs a way to vent their frustration, with a little help from their friends.
A/N: I wrote this for the second MakeLauraHappy challenge.
--
“Laura!”
There was a voice yelling at her, some part of her mind did register that, but she couldn’t stop. Her opponent was no longer a person, it was a thing. The cancer that ate away at her from the inside, killing her quietly and there was nothing to be done. It frustrated her, angered her, to no end. It had come up in her mind, the cancer, and she couldn’t help but focus on it. She’d backed her opponent into a corner, hitting her with an uppercut and a right hook to the jaw.
“Laura! Stop it!” Kara yelled at her, holding her arms up in an attempt to block the blows. In the past couple of weeks they’d thrown a couple of hard blows at each other in the ring, but she wasn’t about to beat up the President. “Laura…” Just as Laura was about to throw another punch, Kara threw her arms around the older woman. She held her tight, blood from her mouth staining the tanks Laura had borrowed from her.
They stood there for a long time, Kara wasn’t exactly sure how long, but she still held onto her. Listening to Laura catch her breath. As she felt her bare shoulder becoming wet, it suddenly became obvious Laura had begun crying.
“Sorry…” Laura managed, pushing Kara away. She began ripping off her gloves and headed back to her corner.
“Laura,” she couldn’t help but follow after her. “I’m all for using these fights to take out your frustration, but what the frak has gotten into you?”
“I said I was sorry,” Laura muttered, wiping the tears from her eyes as she bent down to grab her water bottle.
Kara leant against the ropes, watching Laura carefully and studying her movements. “You were beatin’ the crap out of me…” She took off her own gloves, dropping them onto the ground. “Is it Galactica? A lot of people still haven’t adjusted to being back…”
“I never thought of you as the listening type, Kara…”
“Yeah well,” Kara shrugged off her comment, leaning her head to the side. “You’re the closest thing I have to a mother, you know, the closest thing I’ve ever had to a mother really. Neither of us have anyone to talk to…”
“You have plenty of people to talk to,” Laura countered, leaning in the corner to face the younger woman.
“No,” Kara shook her head and smiled sadly. “And obviously you’re not confiding in the Old Man.”
“It’s not something I want to discuss Kara,” Laura muttered, brushing her fringe out of her face. “Not right now. Not when I haven’t told Bill…”
“Practise on me,” Kara offered. “You can decide the best way to tell him. Unless it’s something about sex, then I don’t want to hear it.”
“Sex?” Laura spat out her water, suddenly very interested in the conversation. “Why would it be about sex?”
“I don’t know, you and the Admiral are pretty close. There have been rumours…”
Of course, a Fleet with nothing better to do in their off time then talk about their superior officers. The thought amused Laura but at the same time, upset her. If she told him about her cancer and then approached the subject of their relationship, it was possible he’d just go along with it to make her happy. But if she told him after they agreed to make such a big change in their relationship, it would crush him. In all, a relationship would be out of the question.
“There is something between you, isn’t there?” Kara flashed a sly smile.
“Maybe there is,” Laura shrugged. “But I have cancer again so it would do no good now.”
The admission stumped Kara for a moment. She shifted against the ropes and frowned. “Well definitely don’t tell the Old Man like that,” she muttered once she’d found her voice again.
It occurred to Laura that she’d never seen Captain Thrace speechless before, and there was no doubt in her mind people would have paid good money to see it. She sighed heavily, studying her drink bottle before looking up at Kara. “No I won’t tell him like that,” the sincere tone in her voice was almost as if she was promising a future step-daughter that she wouldn’t break her father’s heart. “Now you know Kara, I’m sorry I took it out on you.”
“At least you’ve told someone now,” Kara, unsure what to do, placed her hand on Laura’s shoulder in an attempt to be supportive. “I won’t say anything.”
“Thank you,” Laura smiled. “I might go have a shower, don’t want to meet the Quorum smelling like you.”
“Oh, now that’s harsh,” Kara moved to punch her lightly in the arm and laughed, heading back to her corner to grab her stuff. “I might go for a jog before I hit the rack. So I’ll see you around, Madame President.” She grinned childishly and mock-saluted Laura.
“I’ll take you down next week,” Laura warned her as she collected her things and headed for the bathroom. “Just try and stop me.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it!” Kara called after her.
Once Laura had disappeared Kara sat there for a moment in her corner of the ring. Her mind questioned her beliefs, her hope, as she sat quietly and thought about what she’d just been told. If the President had cancer again, that at least meant that she was the dying leader again. But it also meant losing Laura, and what good was that? It seemed that the only person who even came close to running the remainder of their people successfully was Laura-frakkin-Roslin, and she was dying. It wasn’t right.
The Old Man was going to be heartbroken.
“Starbuck…”
His gruff voice broke through her thoughts and she looked up to see him standing near her corner. For a moment Kara considered just blurting out everything to him, her own emotions outweighing the promise she made momentarily. “Sir, I didn’t hear you…” She ducked under the ropes and dropped down to stand next to him.
“Is everything okay?” Bill asked slowly. “You don’t look well.”
“If the President just beat the shit out of you, you wouldn’t look too crash hot either.” Kara pointed out, wiping the blood that had been drying at the side of her mouth.
“Laura did this?” He reached out a hand to brush the hair out of face, checking the bruises beginning to show on her jaw. “What the frak were you two doing?”
“Boxing,” Kara shrugged. “We’ve been sparring every week for the last four weeks. She didn’t tell you?”
“She mentioned going to the gym, but I didn’t think she’d be boxing.”
“Is there something you wanted Sir?” Kara asked quickly, becoming uncomfortable. She wanted to tell him, hating that she knew and he didn’t.
“Where is the President now?”
“Showers,” Kara said quickly. “Just went in. I’m gonna go for a jog.” She punched him lightly in the shoulder as she passed, eager to get out of it.
Watching Kara leave, Bill frowned. Something was going on and it was upsetting Starbuck. He shook his head and headed towards the showers. Not really thinking about what he was doing as he walked into the steaming room.
Until he saw her…
--
Turning the water on in the shower, Laura pulled her hair out as she walked back to her clothes. In one fluid movement she pulled off her tanks and slipped off her bra, grabbing her towel quickly and wrapped it around her. She managed to drop her sweats and underwear quickly, folded them and laid them in a pile.
It was then that he walked in, freezing as he took in her appearance. She was bending over in nothing but a grey towel, which barely covered her backside, her hair hung in soft waves over one shoulder. Then suddenly she turned her head and looked straight at him. It was possible she’d been staring at him for some time before he had even noticed.
“Do you have a tendency to walk into showers and stare at women Admiral?” She asked as she stood up, raising an eyebrow.
“Ah…” He turned away suddenly, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, Madame President, I… Captain Thrace told me you were in here and I just didn’t think… I apologise…”
“It’s okay,” She stepped behind the partition. “You can look now.”
He turned back around, opening his eyes slowly. She’d turned her back to him and hung the towel over the partition, causing him to suddenly picture her naked. It took all his strength to keep his emotions in check. “I’m sorry…” he stammered. “I can come back at another time.”
“It’s really fine Bill,” Laura called over her shoulder before she stepped under the water.
If not for the fact that her hair was being flattened down by the water, he would have wondered if the water was even touching her. It was almost as if she’d just stepped under a spotlight. Water rolled down her back, caressing her porcelain skin and she moaned.
The heat felt good against her skin, easing out the tension of the morning’s meetings. She stepped out of the water again, running her hands through her hair. “Is there something you wanted Bill?” Turning to face him, she smiled. “I’m not used to showering for an audience.” She moved forward and rested her arms on the partition, watching him.
“Well…” Bill moved forward, the partition remained the only thing between them as he closed the space. “I was going to see if you wanted to have lunch with me. It’s a rare occasion that I have time on my hands around lunch time, and I thought you could use it.”
“I could use a meal?” She asked playfully, resting her chin on her hands. “Just what are you implying Admiral?”
“I meant you could use the chance to relax,” Bill chuckled.
“That would be nice,” Laura smiled brightly. “I’d love to have lunch with you.”
“Good,” He nodded, watching her for a moment longer and taking in that gorgeous smile that he barely saw. Her wet skin glistened under the light, and her lips looked so tempting. Unable to stop himself, he moved to touch her cheek and run his thumb against her lips. “I’ll see you when you’re finished then,” he told her softly, relieved that she didn’t pull away. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against hers.
She welcomed the kiss, relishing how good it made her feel. For a brief moment she didn’t have cancer, she was simply loved and it felt so liberating. The kiss deepened, neither sure who exactly initiated it. There was so much more to it than the kiss they’d shared so long ago. “Why go?” She asked as she pulled back in an effort to catch her breath. “Stay with me…” she breathed, kissing him again softly.
“You should have showered in my quarters,” He chuckled.
“I think, from now on, I will.”
“On second thought,” He kissed her again, sucking on her lower lip. “A shower sounds really good right now…” He growled into her mouth, as his fingers worked to unbutton his jacket.
Laura began to giggle as she drew back, smiling seductively as she turned back to the water. The hot spray caressed her skin once again. She ran her hands up under her hair, moaning slightly as she felt his arms slide around her waist. “Bill…” Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered that she had cancer. She turned in his arms, feeling his erection pressed against her. “I know this is not a good time to say we shouldn’t be doing this, but there’s something that you have to know before… before this.” Her hands ran against his chest, fingers brushing over his scar.
“What’s wrong Laura?” He ran his hands up her arms and over her shoulders, hands coming to a rest against her jaw.
“Just know that I don’t want to hurt you,” She said softly. “I was worried about telling you, because I do love you and I didn’t want to…”
“It’s back.” He said simply, reading her mind.
All she could do was close her eyes and nod. The cancer was back and, again, she was dying. She kept her eyes closed tight, waiting for the moment when he would step away from her. But she was surprised to find his lips brushing against hers again.
“I love you,” He growled, his hands moving down to her waist and drawing her closer to him. “I’ve loved you for too long to let you push me away. So don’t try it.”
“I was scared any relationship would be born out of pity…”
“Well you were wrong,” He tipped her chin up as she opened her eyes. Crystal met emerald, and she smiled as a tear slipped down her cheek. “I love you Laura.”
“Bill,” She breathed, her hand brushing over his cheek. “I’ve waited too long to hear you say that.”
They moved together beneath the shower, allowing a moment of desperate hunger to pass with the water. The hurt they both felt washing down the drain, until they moved together again.
He pressed her against the wall, biting at her neck as his hands pulled her legs up around him. They were too determined to feel each other to care about anything else. As he thrust into her, she cried out. Her hands ran through his hair, holding him close to her. Neither of them wanted space between them as they pushed towards the edge. It was desperate but, at the same time, full of a passion that neither of them had ever experienced…
…true love.
They came within moments of each other, gasping for air. Her legs were shaky, but he supported her. Just as he always had, and just as he always would. As they stared into each others eyes, he made that silent promise. There was no turning back, and he wasn’t going to let her down.
After a moment Laura grinned and buried her face against his neck. At first it seemed as though she was crying, until she moved to cover her mouth. “I still need to have an actual shower, you know.” She managed to say through a fit of giggles.
“Of course,” Bill grinned as he stepped backwards into the water, still holding her arm firmly. “Let me help you.”
Still giggling Laura allowed him to lead her under the shower again. Her giggles subsided as he began to carefully wash her entire body. He washed away the sweat, the tension, and the pain. The only thing he left behind was her smile, and he had every intention to make it stay there for the rest of her life.
She never smiled enough.
Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica, and its characters, don’t belong to me. Which kind of sucks, but I’m dealing with it.
Pairing: Roslin/Adama
Rating: M
Summary: Everyone needs a way to vent their frustration, with a little help from their friends.
A/N: I wrote this for the second MakeLauraHappy challenge.
--
“Laura!”
There was a voice yelling at her, some part of her mind did register that, but she couldn’t stop. Her opponent was no longer a person, it was a thing. The cancer that ate away at her from the inside, killing her quietly and there was nothing to be done. It frustrated her, angered her, to no end. It had come up in her mind, the cancer, and she couldn’t help but focus on it. She’d backed her opponent into a corner, hitting her with an uppercut and a right hook to the jaw.
“Laura! Stop it!” Kara yelled at her, holding her arms up in an attempt to block the blows. In the past couple of weeks they’d thrown a couple of hard blows at each other in the ring, but she wasn’t about to beat up the President. “Laura…” Just as Laura was about to throw another punch, Kara threw her arms around the older woman. She held her tight, blood from her mouth staining the tanks Laura had borrowed from her.
They stood there for a long time, Kara wasn’t exactly sure how long, but she still held onto her. Listening to Laura catch her breath. As she felt her bare shoulder becoming wet, it suddenly became obvious Laura had begun crying.
“Sorry…” Laura managed, pushing Kara away. She began ripping off her gloves and headed back to her corner.
“Laura,” she couldn’t help but follow after her. “I’m all for using these fights to take out your frustration, but what the frak has gotten into you?”
“I said I was sorry,” Laura muttered, wiping the tears from her eyes as she bent down to grab her water bottle.
Kara leant against the ropes, watching Laura carefully and studying her movements. “You were beatin’ the crap out of me…” She took off her own gloves, dropping them onto the ground. “Is it Galactica? A lot of people still haven’t adjusted to being back…”
“I never thought of you as the listening type, Kara…”
“Yeah well,” Kara shrugged off her comment, leaning her head to the side. “You’re the closest thing I have to a mother, you know, the closest thing I’ve ever had to a mother really. Neither of us have anyone to talk to…”
“You have plenty of people to talk to,” Laura countered, leaning in the corner to face the younger woman.
“No,” Kara shook her head and smiled sadly. “And obviously you’re not confiding in the Old Man.”
“It’s not something I want to discuss Kara,” Laura muttered, brushing her fringe out of her face. “Not right now. Not when I haven’t told Bill…”
“Practise on me,” Kara offered. “You can decide the best way to tell him. Unless it’s something about sex, then I don’t want to hear it.”
“Sex?” Laura spat out her water, suddenly very interested in the conversation. “Why would it be about sex?”
“I don’t know, you and the Admiral are pretty close. There have been rumours…”
Of course, a Fleet with nothing better to do in their off time then talk about their superior officers. The thought amused Laura but at the same time, upset her. If she told him about her cancer and then approached the subject of their relationship, it was possible he’d just go along with it to make her happy. But if she told him after they agreed to make such a big change in their relationship, it would crush him. In all, a relationship would be out of the question.
“There is something between you, isn’t there?” Kara flashed a sly smile.
“Maybe there is,” Laura shrugged. “But I have cancer again so it would do no good now.”
The admission stumped Kara for a moment. She shifted against the ropes and frowned. “Well definitely don’t tell the Old Man like that,” she muttered once she’d found her voice again.
It occurred to Laura that she’d never seen Captain Thrace speechless before, and there was no doubt in her mind people would have paid good money to see it. She sighed heavily, studying her drink bottle before looking up at Kara. “No I won’t tell him like that,” the sincere tone in her voice was almost as if she was promising a future step-daughter that she wouldn’t break her father’s heart. “Now you know Kara, I’m sorry I took it out on you.”
“At least you’ve told someone now,” Kara, unsure what to do, placed her hand on Laura’s shoulder in an attempt to be supportive. “I won’t say anything.”
“Thank you,” Laura smiled. “I might go have a shower, don’t want to meet the Quorum smelling like you.”
“Oh, now that’s harsh,” Kara moved to punch her lightly in the arm and laughed, heading back to her corner to grab her stuff. “I might go for a jog before I hit the rack. So I’ll see you around, Madame President.” She grinned childishly and mock-saluted Laura.
“I’ll take you down next week,” Laura warned her as she collected her things and headed for the bathroom. “Just try and stop me.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it!” Kara called after her.
Once Laura had disappeared Kara sat there for a moment in her corner of the ring. Her mind questioned her beliefs, her hope, as she sat quietly and thought about what she’d just been told. If the President had cancer again, that at least meant that she was the dying leader again. But it also meant losing Laura, and what good was that? It seemed that the only person who even came close to running the remainder of their people successfully was Laura-frakkin-Roslin, and she was dying. It wasn’t right.
The Old Man was going to be heartbroken.
“Starbuck…”
His gruff voice broke through her thoughts and she looked up to see him standing near her corner. For a moment Kara considered just blurting out everything to him, her own emotions outweighing the promise she made momentarily. “Sir, I didn’t hear you…” She ducked under the ropes and dropped down to stand next to him.
“Is everything okay?” Bill asked slowly. “You don’t look well.”
“If the President just beat the shit out of you, you wouldn’t look too crash hot either.” Kara pointed out, wiping the blood that had been drying at the side of her mouth.
“Laura did this?” He reached out a hand to brush the hair out of face, checking the bruises beginning to show on her jaw. “What the frak were you two doing?”
“Boxing,” Kara shrugged. “We’ve been sparring every week for the last four weeks. She didn’t tell you?”
“She mentioned going to the gym, but I didn’t think she’d be boxing.”
“Is there something you wanted Sir?” Kara asked quickly, becoming uncomfortable. She wanted to tell him, hating that she knew and he didn’t.
“Where is the President now?”
“Showers,” Kara said quickly. “Just went in. I’m gonna go for a jog.” She punched him lightly in the shoulder as she passed, eager to get out of it.
Watching Kara leave, Bill frowned. Something was going on and it was upsetting Starbuck. He shook his head and headed towards the showers. Not really thinking about what he was doing as he walked into the steaming room.
Until he saw her…
--
Turning the water on in the shower, Laura pulled her hair out as she walked back to her clothes. In one fluid movement she pulled off her tanks and slipped off her bra, grabbing her towel quickly and wrapped it around her. She managed to drop her sweats and underwear quickly, folded them and laid them in a pile.
It was then that he walked in, freezing as he took in her appearance. She was bending over in nothing but a grey towel, which barely covered her backside, her hair hung in soft waves over one shoulder. Then suddenly she turned her head and looked straight at him. It was possible she’d been staring at him for some time before he had even noticed.
“Do you have a tendency to walk into showers and stare at women Admiral?” She asked as she stood up, raising an eyebrow.
“Ah…” He turned away suddenly, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, Madame President, I… Captain Thrace told me you were in here and I just didn’t think… I apologise…”
“It’s okay,” She stepped behind the partition. “You can look now.”
He turned back around, opening his eyes slowly. She’d turned her back to him and hung the towel over the partition, causing him to suddenly picture her naked. It took all his strength to keep his emotions in check. “I’m sorry…” he stammered. “I can come back at another time.”
“It’s really fine Bill,” Laura called over her shoulder before she stepped under the water.
If not for the fact that her hair was being flattened down by the water, he would have wondered if the water was even touching her. It was almost as if she’d just stepped under a spotlight. Water rolled down her back, caressing her porcelain skin and she moaned.
The heat felt good against her skin, easing out the tension of the morning’s meetings. She stepped out of the water again, running her hands through her hair. “Is there something you wanted Bill?” Turning to face him, she smiled. “I’m not used to showering for an audience.” She moved forward and rested her arms on the partition, watching him.
“Well…” Bill moved forward, the partition remained the only thing between them as he closed the space. “I was going to see if you wanted to have lunch with me. It’s a rare occasion that I have time on my hands around lunch time, and I thought you could use it.”
“I could use a meal?” She asked playfully, resting her chin on her hands. “Just what are you implying Admiral?”
“I meant you could use the chance to relax,” Bill chuckled.
“That would be nice,” Laura smiled brightly. “I’d love to have lunch with you.”
“Good,” He nodded, watching her for a moment longer and taking in that gorgeous smile that he barely saw. Her wet skin glistened under the light, and her lips looked so tempting. Unable to stop himself, he moved to touch her cheek and run his thumb against her lips. “I’ll see you when you’re finished then,” he told her softly, relieved that she didn’t pull away. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against hers.
She welcomed the kiss, relishing how good it made her feel. For a brief moment she didn’t have cancer, she was simply loved and it felt so liberating. The kiss deepened, neither sure who exactly initiated it. There was so much more to it than the kiss they’d shared so long ago. “Why go?” She asked as she pulled back in an effort to catch her breath. “Stay with me…” she breathed, kissing him again softly.
“You should have showered in my quarters,” He chuckled.
“I think, from now on, I will.”
“On second thought,” He kissed her again, sucking on her lower lip. “A shower sounds really good right now…” He growled into her mouth, as his fingers worked to unbutton his jacket.
Laura began to giggle as she drew back, smiling seductively as she turned back to the water. The hot spray caressed her skin once again. She ran her hands up under her hair, moaning slightly as she felt his arms slide around her waist. “Bill…” Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered that she had cancer. She turned in his arms, feeling his erection pressed against her. “I know this is not a good time to say we shouldn’t be doing this, but there’s something that you have to know before… before this.” Her hands ran against his chest, fingers brushing over his scar.
“What’s wrong Laura?” He ran his hands up her arms and over her shoulders, hands coming to a rest against her jaw.
“Just know that I don’t want to hurt you,” She said softly. “I was worried about telling you, because I do love you and I didn’t want to…”
“It’s back.” He said simply, reading her mind.
All she could do was close her eyes and nod. The cancer was back and, again, she was dying. She kept her eyes closed tight, waiting for the moment when he would step away from her. But she was surprised to find his lips brushing against hers again.
“I love you,” He growled, his hands moving down to her waist and drawing her closer to him. “I’ve loved you for too long to let you push me away. So don’t try it.”
“I was scared any relationship would be born out of pity…”
“Well you were wrong,” He tipped her chin up as she opened her eyes. Crystal met emerald, and she smiled as a tear slipped down her cheek. “I love you Laura.”
“Bill,” She breathed, her hand brushing over his cheek. “I’ve waited too long to hear you say that.”
They moved together beneath the shower, allowing a moment of desperate hunger to pass with the water. The hurt they both felt washing down the drain, until they moved together again.
He pressed her against the wall, biting at her neck as his hands pulled her legs up around him. They were too determined to feel each other to care about anything else. As he thrust into her, she cried out. Her hands ran through his hair, holding him close to her. Neither of them wanted space between them as they pushed towards the edge. It was desperate but, at the same time, full of a passion that neither of them had ever experienced…
…true love.
They came within moments of each other, gasping for air. Her legs were shaky, but he supported her. Just as he always had, and just as he always would. As they stared into each others eyes, he made that silent promise. There was no turning back, and he wasn’t going to let her down.
After a moment Laura grinned and buried her face against his neck. At first it seemed as though she was crying, until she moved to cover her mouth. “I still need to have an actual shower, you know.” She managed to say through a fit of giggles.
“Of course,” Bill grinned as he stepped backwards into the water, still holding her arm firmly. “Let me help you.”
Still giggling Laura allowed him to lead her under the shower again. Her giggles subsided as he began to carefully wash her entire body. He washed away the sweat, the tension, and the pain. The only thing he left behind was her smile, and he had every intention to make it stay there for the rest of her life.
She never smiled enough.