more BSG ficlets
Gaeta reacts to Helo becoming a dad. Gaeta/Helo, Gaeta/Baltar. Prompt by kappamaki33 (I hope you like the pairings :)). Wordcount: ~ 370 words. Set in season two. Rating: teen.
Parting of Ways
“Haven’t you heard? It’s supposed to be classified but all the pilots know it anyway. She’s pregnant from him. Looks like he knocked her up on...”
Felix spilled ambrosia all over the table.
“She’s what?” he managed, choking. Racetrack eyed him in bemusement, the corners of her mouth twitching when she leaned over to help him out with a couple of liberal pats on his back.
“Pregnant,” she repeated, grimacing in sympathy. “It’s creepy, if you ask me.”
“No kidding,” Felix said, still coughing.
Unbelieving, his eyes traveled through the room to focus on Karl, who was sitting at the other side of the rec room with Starbuck and Apollo. It didn’t even penetrate his mind that it should be impossible, a Cylon being impregnated by a human... a Cylon being impregnated, period. It was incredible enough to hear that Karl was about to become a father.
They hadn’t really talked ever since Karl had come back aboard. Felix had been busy in the CIC... the fleet had been reunited and everything had to be reorganized. And Karl had probably been busy re-establishing himself on Galactica. It had been a year. Felix had thought Karl was dead. Karl had probably thought Felix was dead, too. It had been a long time ago.
And yet he had two thoughts at once, both entirely beside the point: He’ll make such a great father and, Don’t be surprised, you knew he forgot about you right away. It twinged, just a bit. Even now.
But it had been a year. And when Karl looked up, noticing him and throwing a smile his way, Felix found himself smiling back despite himself. He’ll make a great father, he thought again.
Life had gone on, and they’d never had that kind of relationship, either. If Karl had found the real thing, Cylon or otherwise, that was great, and Felix wished them the best of luck. He really did.
“I have to go,” he said to Racetrack. “Dr. Baltar is waiting for me in the lab.”
After all, Felix was pretty sure he’d found his real thing, too.
Gaeta visits Sharon, bearing a gift. Gaeta, Sharon, Hera. Wordcount: ~ 350 words. Rating: teen. Set in late season three. Prompt by kappamaki33.
Treasures
Gaeta cleared his voice, looking impish. “We found it in a corner of the engine room,” he said. “Behind the absorbers, there’s a ventilation spot that’s always deep-frozen. Uhm, the knuckledraggers used it to cool beer, back in the day, but I guess the person who used it last died early on...” He blushed. “The admiral wants me to keep it quiet because people would just fight over it if we gave it to somebody officially, and... I thought, some of the children aboard don’t even know what real food tastes like...”
Clearly he was feeling uncomfortable. Like he thought that putting some thought into other people’s situation was some kind of intrusion. Sharon, however, had an abrupt desire to adopt Felix Gaeta into her family and to never let him go.
“Thank you,” she said wholeheartedly. “Thank you so much. I really don’t know what to say.”
That seemed to do the trick because he reciprocated by giving her a shy smile. She smiled back, and it was the most heartfelt and honest smile she felt she’d ever given anybody on this ship, outside the family.
Wondrously, she again looked at the icy little cup she was currently holding. Her fingers were covered in trickles of melting ice already. And she swore she could smell it, too, a smell she couldn’t recall from any of her memories, because once upon a time this would have been too unimportant, too random to be even noted. A sharp cold smell of strawberry and vanilla and chocolate.
“Hera, honey,” she said, crouching to face her daughter, who’d been hiding behind Sharon’s leg, eyeing the stranger suspiciously. Now she narrowed her eyes at the very strange thing her mother was holding out to her. “Mr. Gaeta brought you a present. This is called ice cream. It’s food.”
She’d forever treasure the look of brilliant delight all over Hera’s face when she found out that she loved ice cream. Judging by the nostalgic gleam in the eyes of Felix Gaeta, who watched on lounging in the doorway, looking more comfortable by the minute, so would he.
Helo and Gaeta bond over a bottle of ambrosia. Wordcount: ~ 270 words. Rating: adult (because you probably wouldn't want your child to listen to this conversation). Set at some point after “Collaborators” but before “Rapture.” Prompt by lls-mutant.
Misconceptions
Helo was amazed. He’d invited Gaeta out for a drink on a whim, mostly because Gaeta had looked like he needed it, while Helo himself had nothing better to do, not with both Sharon and Kara flying patrol. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected of an inebriated Felix Gaeta but he had braced himself for the possibility that the other man would end up growing clingy and morose, because the Gods knew he had all kinds of reasons for that.
But, not so much. And while his own head felt very light from too much ambrosia, Helo was still fascinated. Not so much by the subject but rather by the fact that Gaeta acted like it was the most normal conversation to have with your superior officer in the middle of the bar.
But the subject was very interesting, too.
“Really?” he said, unbelieving. “An electric toothbrush?”
“Sure,” Gaeta said, making a dismissive motion with the hand that currently held a cigarette and a glass ambrosia at once. “Remember, this was in temple school. It wasn’t that you could just leave and buy your toys in town. There wasn’t a town. Me, I’ve never seen the allure of a toothbrush.” He shrugged. “But I have a cock, so it’s different for me. I understand it was done all over the girls’ dorms.”
It was amazing, Helo thought, how you could think you’d worked with a person for almost six years, fighting at their side and truly believing you knew all about them, until a bottle of ambrosia was all you needed to learn that you really, really didn’t.
“So what did the guys do instead?” he asked because, well, he was drunk, too, so he was entitled. Besides, it didn’t look like this liberated version of Felix Gaeta would mind.
Gaeta paused, shooting him a glance. The corners of his mouth twitched. “Alright, this is a longer story. Let me start by saying that those robes worn by the choirboys? Are very spacious.”
Helo leaned forward in interest. “Go on.”
It was never too late to correct a false impression.
Parting of Ways
“Haven’t you heard? It’s supposed to be classified but all the pilots know it anyway. She’s pregnant from him. Looks like he knocked her up on...”
Felix spilled ambrosia all over the table.
“She’s what?” he managed, choking. Racetrack eyed him in bemusement, the corners of her mouth twitching when she leaned over to help him out with a couple of liberal pats on his back.
“Pregnant,” she repeated, grimacing in sympathy. “It’s creepy, if you ask me.”
“No kidding,” Felix said, still coughing.
Unbelieving, his eyes traveled through the room to focus on Karl, who was sitting at the other side of the rec room with Starbuck and Apollo. It didn’t even penetrate his mind that it should be impossible, a Cylon being impregnated by a human... a Cylon being impregnated, period. It was incredible enough to hear that Karl was about to become a father.
They hadn’t really talked ever since Karl had come back aboard. Felix had been busy in the CIC... the fleet had been reunited and everything had to be reorganized. And Karl had probably been busy re-establishing himself on Galactica. It had been a year. Felix had thought Karl was dead. Karl had probably thought Felix was dead, too. It had been a long time ago.
And yet he had two thoughts at once, both entirely beside the point: He’ll make such a great father and, Don’t be surprised, you knew he forgot about you right away. It twinged, just a bit. Even now.
But it had been a year. And when Karl looked up, noticing him and throwing a smile his way, Felix found himself smiling back despite himself. He’ll make a great father, he thought again.
Life had gone on, and they’d never had that kind of relationship, either. If Karl had found the real thing, Cylon or otherwise, that was great, and Felix wished them the best of luck. He really did.
“I have to go,” he said to Racetrack. “Dr. Baltar is waiting for me in the lab.”
After all, Felix was pretty sure he’d found his real thing, too.
Gaeta visits Sharon, bearing a gift. Gaeta, Sharon, Hera. Wordcount: ~ 350 words. Rating: teen. Set in late season three. Prompt by kappamaki33.
Treasures
Gaeta cleared his voice, looking impish. “We found it in a corner of the engine room,” he said. “Behind the absorbers, there’s a ventilation spot that’s always deep-frozen. Uhm, the knuckledraggers used it to cool beer, back in the day, but I guess the person who used it last died early on...” He blushed. “The admiral wants me to keep it quiet because people would just fight over it if we gave it to somebody officially, and... I thought, some of the children aboard don’t even know what real food tastes like...”
Clearly he was feeling uncomfortable. Like he thought that putting some thought into other people’s situation was some kind of intrusion. Sharon, however, had an abrupt desire to adopt Felix Gaeta into her family and to never let him go.
“Thank you,” she said wholeheartedly. “Thank you so much. I really don’t know what to say.”
That seemed to do the trick because he reciprocated by giving her a shy smile. She smiled back, and it was the most heartfelt and honest smile she felt she’d ever given anybody on this ship, outside the family.
Wondrously, she again looked at the icy little cup she was currently holding. Her fingers were covered in trickles of melting ice already. And she swore she could smell it, too, a smell she couldn’t recall from any of her memories, because once upon a time this would have been too unimportant, too random to be even noted. A sharp cold smell of strawberry and vanilla and chocolate.
“Hera, honey,” she said, crouching to face her daughter, who’d been hiding behind Sharon’s leg, eyeing the stranger suspiciously. Now she narrowed her eyes at the very strange thing her mother was holding out to her. “Mr. Gaeta brought you a present. This is called ice cream. It’s food.”
She’d forever treasure the look of brilliant delight all over Hera’s face when she found out that she loved ice cream. Judging by the nostalgic gleam in the eyes of Felix Gaeta, who watched on lounging in the doorway, looking more comfortable by the minute, so would he.
Helo and Gaeta bond over a bottle of ambrosia. Wordcount: ~ 270 words. Rating: adult (because you probably wouldn't want your child to listen to this conversation). Set at some point after “Collaborators” but before “Rapture.” Prompt by lls-mutant.
Misconceptions
Helo was amazed. He’d invited Gaeta out for a drink on a whim, mostly because Gaeta had looked like he needed it, while Helo himself had nothing better to do, not with both Sharon and Kara flying patrol. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected of an inebriated Felix Gaeta but he had braced himself for the possibility that the other man would end up growing clingy and morose, because the Gods knew he had all kinds of reasons for that.
But, not so much. And while his own head felt very light from too much ambrosia, Helo was still fascinated. Not so much by the subject but rather by the fact that Gaeta acted like it was the most normal conversation to have with your superior officer in the middle of the bar.
But the subject was very interesting, too.
“Really?” he said, unbelieving. “An electric toothbrush?”
“Sure,” Gaeta said, making a dismissive motion with the hand that currently held a cigarette and a glass ambrosia at once. “Remember, this was in temple school. It wasn’t that you could just leave and buy your toys in town. There wasn’t a town. Me, I’ve never seen the allure of a toothbrush.” He shrugged. “But I have a cock, so it’s different for me. I understand it was done all over the girls’ dorms.”
It was amazing, Helo thought, how you could think you’d worked with a person for almost six years, fighting at their side and truly believing you knew all about them, until a bottle of ambrosia was all you needed to learn that you really, really didn’t.
“So what did the guys do instead?” he asked because, well, he was drunk, too, so he was entitled. Besides, it didn’t look like this liberated version of Felix Gaeta would mind.
Gaeta paused, shooting him a glance. The corners of his mouth twitched. “Alright, this is a longer story. Let me start by saying that those robes worn by the choirboys? Are very spacious.”
Helo leaned forward in interest. “Go on.”
It was never too late to correct a false impression.