New BSG Fic: Asterism, part 1
Title: Asterism
Author: widget285
Rating: R
Spoilers: pre-mini and mini though there are allusions to revelations made in season 1 episodes up through “Act of Contrition.” How’s that for oblique?
Warnings: Het sex of the canon variety
Summary: Kara sometimes wondered how she had ever managed to become so tangled up with the complicated knot formed by the Adama men.
Notes: My first fic written in this fandom, though not the first posted. 20,308 words. Well, never let it be said that I’m not deluded ambitious. Big thanks to thepouncer for the kick ass beta and a number of excellent suggestions that greatly improved the story
asterism: a group of stars, physically related or not
She’d hated him at first sight.
He was exactly the kind of guy who set her teeth on edge: smug, self-assured, just a little too good to be true. Winger had told her that his father commanded a battlestar and she’d just nodded knowingly. His daddy had probably pulled strings to get his darling boy one of the coveted slots at the Academy. She would have bet anything that he hadn’t had to fight and scrape and grovel every step of the way to walk through the exalted doors of the Academy and discover that he’d only just begun and had better adjust to the hard scrabble life.
She didn’t have much to do with him, really; he hung with one crowd, she with another. But the Academy wasn’t that big a place and it was inevitable that their trajectories would cross, in the mess hall, or the dorms or the rec rooms. And the classrooms, of course. There wasn’t much variation in the courses for first and second year cadets, so they had most of them in common. And Mr. Straight Arrow was always there.
Most of the classes were as dull and dry as dust. Colonial history, linguistics, mathematics, ethics. Astronomy was kind of interesting. A pilot needed to know the difference between stars and active suns, between meteoroids and asteroids. Bodies in motion. Their own solar system was a strange anomaly; many habitable worlds orbiting a single sun, some planets in their own right, others moons orbiting gas giants. Four moons circled Picon and each of the “Little Fishes,” had a unique ellipitical orbit that brought them into occasional random alignment with one another before the pattern shifted and they continued on their paths. If the night was clear you could see the moons overhead, alpha Pico hovering beside beta Pico, or beta Pico ghosting alongside of delta Pico or gamma Pico. Endless variations on a celestial quartet as they shifted but never strayed, always reunited by the inevitable, irresistible force of gravity. Implacable cosmic will.
It was physics she liked best, though. Physics was useful. Displacement, velocity, acceleration and force. Those things mattered; they helped you fly. You needed to understand them, what they were, how they interacted, otherwise you’d find yourself on the wrong side of an argument with gravity and end up as nothing more than a dark smear on the ground. So Kara listened closely, drawing neat little vector diagrams along the margins of her notebook, taking delight in the curve of the arrow as it arced upwards, like a jet taking off.
Kara sat in the back, finding it easier to slouch down in her seat and stretch her legs in front of her. She was less likely to get dirty looks if she decided to press her feet flat against the seatback in front of her, wedging her body in snugly. Better yet, if the lecture got too dull, she could entertain herself by watching the other cadets. Lee Adama, of course, always sat near the front. She could see him sometimes, when she took a desk near the wall. He always wore that earnest, thoughtful frown as he furiously scribbled notes. His eyes never strayed.
As soon as class was dismissed, Kara was making her way towards the exit. After sitting still for so long, she needed to move. She’d pass him sometimes on the way out. He didn’t race out; more often that not he stopped to speak to the instructor, that same earnest, thoughtful expression on his face. Suck up.
The best part of the Academy was the combat sims. Beginning combat tactics wasn’t exactly the most exciting course, but putting lessons into practice in the simulators more than made up for it. Gods, she loved being in the cockpit, even if it was just a simulated one. She loved the feeling of being enclosed, fitted securely inside the cocoon of cracked leather and metal and glass. She loved the blanket of (simulated, for now) stars stretched before her canopy. She loved the feel of the stick nestled in her hand and the press of the pedal beneath her foot and the way the lights from the cockpit controls bathed everything in soft, muted shades of blue and red and orange.
And best of all, Kara loved kicking ass.
Here, in the cockpit, she ruled. She was the queen. And anyone who tried to take her crown had better come expecting to get his ass handed back to him on a platter.
She liked going head to head with the smug ones the best, the high flyers who thought they were Icarus. They always forgot how that story ended and they never saw the fall coming until they hit the ground hard.
Kara was more than happy to remind them.
She’d been taking them on and taking them down one by one until it finally started to creep into their testosterone addled brains that they were no match for her in the cockpit. But still they came so she didn’t have any choice but to teach them a little humility before they got their asses shot off for good in a real fire fight. She was only doing her part for the good of the fleet, right?
They were two thirds through the semester before she found herself paired off with Lee Adama in a sim test. Winger had said he was supposed to be pretty good, but then weren’t they all? They’d eyed one another warily, weighing the other up, trying to see how their reps tallied with the person standing in front of them. He wasn’t anything she hadn’t seen before. Just another Icarus wannabe. She tossed the cubit and he - predictably - called seal. She smiled at the coin when it came to rest on the back of her hand; looked like she’d be playing Cylon this time around. Not that it mattered. Cylon or Viper, she’d be wiping the deck with him before he even knew what hit him. She winked at him and he quirked an eyebrow, half-startled, half-amused, in return before they separated and headed for their respective simulators.
She settled herself in and let her eyes scan the now familiar controls as the sim program loaded, the hard drive whirring softly. She flexed her fingers, took a deep breath, and got ready to kick Lee Adama’s ass all the way back to Caprica or whatever the hell colony he came from.
A clicking sound and then the blank screen of the canopy was replaced by a fairly realistic starscape. No one could ever say that the Academy didn’t have the best toys. The chronometer ran down 4…3…2…1 and then the sim began. Nothing in front of her but stars, of course, but then the dradus screamed a proximity alert and sure enough there he was on her tail. She smiled into the cockpit. Not for long.
She knew this game and she played it well, bobbing and weaving, dancing in and out of his sights before he could get a firing solution on her and then she pulled a hard turn, banking sharply until she was behind him, strafing fire across his stern.
A small laugh escaped her as she imagined him sitting in his cockpit swearing up a blue streak at suddenly finding himself the prey. He dodged her fire and did everything he could to shake her but she hung on to him like a terrier with a rat.
His ass was so hers.
She drew closer, almost tasting the victory…
The frak?!
Kara blinked as the sim Viper slammed into sudden reverse and Kara’s sim Cylon shot ahead, her momentum carrying her forward at high velocity so that he was back on her tail once more.
Kara blinked again, shaking her head even as her ship pulled a hard right to stay out of his line of fire. Okay, that was definitely not on the list of officially sanctioned maneuvers for first year cadets. You had a fifty/fifty chance of frying your afterburners unless you knew what the frak you were doing which was why that particular trick was strictly out of bounds for nuggets. If the flight instructor checked the sim logs and saw that stunt, he’d catch holy hell for it, even if they were only in a pair of sims rather than in actual cockpits.
A slow smile stretched across Kara’s face. This had gotten interesting.
She didn’t let him keep his position on her tail for long. Pulling back sharply on the stick, she pulled her ship into a wide, graceful loop, landing neatly behind him. This time she imagined him laughing at that trick. You could never do it in an actual firefight, of course; too much chance of actually ramming yourself into another ship, enemy or friendly. But since they’d pretty much thrown standard procedure out the window already, Kara wasn’t going to let the opportunity for a little showboating pass her by.
By this time it had well and truly become a game as much as a battle of wills and strength. They traded off position, prey and predator, leader and follower, each leading the other a merry dance, trying to get the upper hand. She was alternately laughing and cursing as she tried to pin him down and he just kept skittering away. She suspected he was in pretty much the same shape.
Kara lost track of how long their little game lasted but it had to end eventually and as far as she was concerned there was only one way for that to happen. She’d been looking for it, that moment of hesitation, that tiny miscalculation when he zigged when he should have zagged and finally she got it. She wasn’t even sure it was a miscalculation, but it hardly mattered. When she heard the beep confirming that she had a lock, she fired, guns blazing, and had the exquisite satisfaction of watching the sim Viper being projected on her canopy get blown to hell.
An alarm announced that the simulation was over and then the canopy went blank, the blanket of stars winking out of existence. She exhaled a deep breath then jumped out of the cockpit, her body thrumming with adrenalin as she made her way over of the other simulator.
He climbed out of the sim cockpit and dropped gracefully to the deck. She watched him, her arms crossed over her chest, unapologetically smug. She was curious as to what his reaction might be. Most of the high flyers got their panties in a twist when they realized they’d had their asses kicked by a girl. They could sulk and whine all they wanted for all she cared. It wasn’t her fault she was a better pilot. And if any of them took it a little more personally, well, she was more than happy to apply a more literal ass kicking as the situation required.
He turned to look at her and she raised her chin in challenge, waiting.
A smile spread across his face. “Well, that was fun!”
She chuckled in spite of herself. “You’re taking your defeat rather well.”
He shrugged lightly. “You beat me, fair and square. This time.” There was a challenge and a promise in those words. She decided she didn’t really mind. At least he wasn’t being a total prick about it. Besides, it might be nice to fly against someone who actually seemed capable of keeping up with her for a change.
“I look forward to it. You know, that little maneuver, throwing the thrusters into full reverse is kind of against regs.”
“You gonna turn me in?”
He tried to look cool, but Kara thought she caught a flash of worry in his eyes. So, still a straight arrow despite that little stunt. She studied him for a long moment, letting him sweat before she flashed him her cockiest smile. “Nah. I figure I’ll let you slide this time since I whooped your ass so badly.”
“You were lucky.”
“Luck had nothing to do with it. Pure skill,” she boasted, feeling oddly light.
He snorted. “Yeah, well, we’ll see about that the next time.”
Next time. It had a nice ring, she decided.
“I’m Lee, by the way,” he said, extending his hand towards her.
She knew who he was of course, just as he already knew who she was. She looked down at the hand hovering in front of her and hesitated.
But only for a second.
She took his hand and shook it, smiling. “Kara.”
[][][]
It hurt to open her mouth.
Kara looked intently at the mug of coffee in front of her, the desire to avoid pain warring with her desperate need for caffeine. As always, the latter won. She winced a little as the throb in her jaw spiked, but then it faded as the essential liquid slid down her throat. She gave a small appreciative sigh. The coffee always seemed a little hotter and a little stronger on Firstday and she was pretty sure that was intentional. The Academy might officially discourage drinking and carousing, but the instructors weren’t stupid or naïve. If they couldn’t stop the drinking then at least they could make sure the coffee was strong enough to sober you up fast.
She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Ow,” Lee said, wincing sympathetically as he caught sight of the ugly blue and purple bruise currently gracing the left side of her jaw. He stood there looking down at her then dropped his tray to the table, flatware clattering loudly with impact, before he slid on to the bench across from her.
Her head started to throb like frak and her hands clutched more tightly around her half empty mug. She wondered if he’d done that on purpose. She didn’t know him well enough yet to decide if he really was that evil or not, so she glared balefully at him on principle. Lee smiled back sweetly. Well, at least she had her answer. Bastard.
“Looks like you had a busy night,” he said conversationally as he began to tuck into his breakfast with enthusiasm. The smell of eggs and bacon made her vaguely nauseous but she wrestled down the sensation.
“You should see the other guy.”
“I have. T-Bone bunks down the hall from me, remember? He woke up the entire floor when he stumbled back in last night.”
“He’s a wuss,” she sneered.
Lee shook his head, all traces of humor vanishing at once. “Lords, Kara, what were you thinking? He’s twice your fraking size!”
True enough. That’s how he got his call sign, after all. He was as big, brawny and brainless as a slab of beef. Kara still hadn’t figured out how he’d managed to get in to the Academy in the first place. Lords knew he was too ugly to have screwed his way in. Still, Lee’s words stung more than she’d expected.
“He started it!” Kara protested hotly.
“That I don’t doubt. He’s not exactly the brightest signal light on the control panel to begin with. But apparently neither are you. Are you trying to get thrown in hack?”
“I didn’t.” Her temper was flaring again.
“That’s only because you managed to clear out before the MPs arrived. Next time you might not be so lucky!” His voice was low, but there was no mistaking the heat underlying his words.
“Oh frak you, Lee!”
She’d expected his to temper to rise to match hers, was surprised when his expression turned strangely wistful.
“What?” she demanded sharply.
He shook his head. “I just don’t get you, Kara. T-Bone’s a moron. Everybody know he’s going to flunk out. But you…you’re better than that. Why do you do it to yourself?”
Lee’s words were more sobering than that coffee had been. He was looking at her, his expression serious and earnest and intense enough that she almost squirmed beneath that probing gaze. She couldn’t explain it to him, not when she couldn’t explain it to herself.
“I’m not going to let myself be pushed around, not by anyone.” That was as close to speaking the truth as she could bring herself to come.
Apparently it was enough to satisfy him, at least for now. Lee nodded slowly then withdrew something from his pocket and tossed it towards her. It landed on the table next to her mug and she smiled in spite of herself when she recognized the small blister pack of painkillers. She looked up at him surprised.
Lee shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I figured you could use them.”
“Where did you get them?” She asked as she broke the seal. It was damned near impossible to get any meds for headaches or nausea on Firstday morning. The Academy staff might want sober cadets, but hangovers were definitely considered due punishment. She’d downed them along with a long swig of coffee.
“I have my sources,” was all he said, but there was a flicker of a smile tracing his lips before he returned to eating his breakfast with an annoying degree of gusto.
He was still a bastard, but Kara decided she could live with that.
[][][]
She sometimes wondered why she even bothered.
The dorms were empty, but that was no surprise. It was a liberty day and the weather was fraking gorgeous, sunny and warm and bright. Only an idiot would be inside on a day like this.
Naturally, Lee was holed up in his room.
The door was closed, but he hadn’t locked it. There wasn’t any need to. Courtesy dictated that you knocked before entering, but Kara had long since decided that that particular rule didn’t apply to her, at least when it came to Lee. She slipped quietly into his room and sure enough, there he was, lying on his bunk, his nose in a book, clearly enthralled. If it had been anyone else she would have suspected it was some really hot porn, but this was Lee. She’d have wagered good money that it wasn’t wank material. Besides, Lee’s wanking habits were one topic she’d just as soon not think about too closely.
“Hey.”
Lee was so absorbed in his reading he practically jumped at the sound of her voice. She couldn’t help but smile at his startled expression, but there was something else there, a flicker of not quite panic, before he schooled his expression to neutrality. Alarm bells went off in her head.
“Watcha reading?” she asked as she strolled towards him, her voice light.
“Nothing.” His casual manner might have fooled someone else, but it only made those alarms in Kara’s head screech louder. Lee closed the book and made to put it aside, but before he could stash it out of sight, she snatched it out of his hand.
“Hey!”
Lee’s fingers grazed the back of her hand as he made a dive to retrieve it, but Kara danced out of reach, smirking in triumph. She turned the book over and read the title page and her smirk vanished at once. She turned shocked eyes on Lee.
“Frak, Lee! This book has been banned!”
Lee shot her a dirty look. “Why don’t you shout it a little louder, Kara? I don’t think they heard you all the way down at the end of the hall.”
Kara felt her cheeks warm at the rebuke, but she still had enough presence of mind to pull the book out of reach when he made another grab for it. She quickly closed and locked the door before turning back to him.
“You could get tossed out of the Academy for this, Lee!” she hissed urgently.
“Only if I get caught. You gonna turn me in?”
He’d asked her that once before. Then it had been an earnest query, now it was a provocation. She shoved the book back at him. “Of course not. Frak, this is nuts. If you get caught…”
“I won’t.”
“I caught you.”
“Only because you have all the manners of a Geminon farmhand. Civilized people knock before barging into a room.”
Kara punched him in the arm, pulling the force of the blow. Well, mostly. She shook her head. “If this is some kind of rebellion shit designed to piss off the old man…”
That remark earned her a glare that could have melted a power coupling. “This has nothing to do with him.” Lee’s voice was low and even and as chilly as an artic breeze.
“Then why?”
“Because I want to understand.”
Kara frowned. “Understand what?”
“Why it was banned.” Before Kara could respond he continued. “The Articles guarantee freedom of speech for all citizens and yet Zarek’s book has been banned. Why?”
“Because he’s a terrorist and is currently behind bars for blowing up a government building?” she replied, stating the obvious.
Lee shook his head. “That shouldn’t matter. Nowhere in the Articles does it state that criminals are stripped of the right to free speech. No matter what he’s done, Tom Zarek is still a citizen of the Colonies and as such he has as much a right to voice his opinions as you or I. He’s been denied that right and I just want to know why.”
“You’re frakin’ nuts, Lee.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but I just prefer to make informed decisions.”
“It’s still dangerous. You could get expelled. Or worse.”
Lee gave a short chuckle “I can’t believe I’m getting a lecture of appropriate behavior from someone who practically has her own personal cell down in the brig.”
“Hey! I’m just high spirited. I need to blow off steam every now and then. You’re the one who’s flirting with treason.” Kara gave him a serious look. “Is it worth the risk?”
Oddly enough, Lee quirked a smile. “I’ll let you know when I’m done.” He turned the book over in his hands before catching her gaze. “So, are you here for a reason or did you just decide your day was incomplete until you got in some quality time tormenting me?”
The subject was officially closed and Kara was grateful for it. She flashed Lee a bright grin. “There’s a pick up baatchi ball match brewing in the park. Livewire is operating under the delusion that I won’t be kicking his ass. I need you to help me apply a bit of much needed chastisement.”
“Sure, give me a second.” Lee opened his locker and then unlocked the small chest at the bottom where he stashed his few valuables. He carefully placed the book inside then locked it again. “Ready.”
Kara paused at the door and turned back to him. “Just a suggestion, Lee. You might want to get a new cover for the book. I’m thinking Pleiade Playmates might do the trick.”
Lee’s brows shot up at that. “Porn?”
Kara shrugged lightly “Hey, would you rather people thought you were wanking off or plotting treason?”
“Hmm…That’s a point, I suppose. I’ll think about it.”
“Good call. C’mon,” she said as she playfully shoved him out of the room. “We’ve got some ass kicking to do.”
[][][]
His smile was what caught her attention.
It was an engaging smile, bright and infectious, almost, but not quite, dopey. It sprang so easily to his lips, settled so comfortably upon his pleasant, open features, that she couldn’t quite imagine him ever frowning or looking serious or detached.
She couldn’t believe they were brothers.
She could see the family resemblance, sort of: dark hair, strong jaw, solid build, middling height. The kinds of inconsequential, superficial similarities born of blood, shared genetic material or the occasional, random fluke of nature. Lee had told her once that people said he favored his mother while Zak was more like their father. The words were spoken in that flat, neutral tone he always used when talking about the old man. Not exactly angry, but not warm, either. She’d taken him at his word and hadn’t pressed. Some battles weren’t worth starting.
The similarity was convincing, she acknowledged, provided you were willing to ignore the glaring differences.
She remembered Lee showing her a picture of the two of them that had been taken during a recent semester break. They’d had their arms slung around each others’ shoulders and they’d been smiling for the camera. Lee’s smile had been placid, almost reserved. Kara knew he’d been happy to be home visiting his mother and his kid brother, but his smile remained polite. But then Lee was like that; what you saw on the surface tended to be just the tip of the iceberg. The rest was hidden from view.
While Lee was looking at the camera, Zak was looking at Lee, his smile as exuberant as his brother’s was subdued. His eyes were dark, she noticed, not blue like Lee’s, and they flickered to the side, towards his brother and even in the slightly out of focus photograph, Kara could see the adoration shining in them. Lee was still dressed in his cadet uniform, looking very stiff and proper, his hair cropped short in accordance with Academy dress regs. The perfect little officer in training. Zak looked far younger, dressed in a loose fitting tee-shirt with the insignia of the Caprican Comets emblazoned across the front, hair falling in unruly waves across his forehead. Just a typical teenager, carefree and cheerful, nothing remarkable, really, apart from his smile.
The first time she’d met Zak Adama in the flesh had been oddly jarring. It had been the first day of classes and the Academy seemed to be overflowing with cadets, all fresh faced and eager and annoying as hell. Gods, but she hated the beginning of a new year. She had been crossing the quad, heading to the cafeteria to grab some late breakfast and then suddenly he was there, standing a couple of feet in front of her as they crossed paths in opposite directions. She hadn’t recognized him at first. In her mind, Zak Adama was still that easygoing, loose limbed teenager in an oversized tee-shirt smiling worshipfully at his big brother. It was weird jarring seeing him out of that context, tossed into another, dressed in a neatly pressed cadet uniform with his hair cut short and combed back from his forehead. For a moment he looked so disconcertingly like Lee that Kara had to blink and look again to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. And then he smiled, that bright, unrestrained grin that was his alone and the illusion shattered. Kara found herself smiling back at him before their trajectories took them away from each other.
She’d cornered Lee in the dorm later, asking him why he hadn’t mentioned that his brother was starting the Academy. Lee had just grunted and given her a look then slammed his locker shut a little more forcefully then necessary. The sound had made her jump in spite of herself but before she could ask what the frak was wrong with him, he’d stalked off to the head, a towel draped over one tense shoulder. She’d watched his retreating back, frowning. Lee could be moody as hell at times and she’d long ago learned that it was best to give him a wide berth when he got like this. The one time that she’d made a crack about it being his “time of the month,” his expression could have stripped paint off a Viper. It would have been almost funny if he hadn’t been so unnerving. After that, she’d decided that sometimes it was better to just let him be.
The next time she saw Zak Adama, he’d been with his brother. Seeing them standing side by side, she wondered how she ever could have mistaken him for Lee despite the physical similarities. Lee had introduced them and within minutes, it was if they’d known each other for years, which, she supposed was kind of true. Zak was the one subject on which Lee spoke freely and with undisguised warmth, a contrast to his usual reticence, so she actually knew a good bit about him. And he about her apparently.
“All those letters and Lee never once said how pretty you were,” Zak had remarked, smiling.
Kara had laughed and shot a look at Lee who just rolled his eyes. She wasn’t surprised; there were times when she wondered if Lee had even noticed those interesting bumps under her uniform jacket. It was one of the things she liked best about him, actually; he never made a fuss over the fact that she was a woman. Lee never got his nose out of joint when she beat him in sims (which she did often enough to fatally wound most male egos). He never tried to get her into bed, even when she was drunk enough not to care or even remember. Hell, he never even flirted with her.
Zak was flirting with her, though. It was nice, actually. She shot a quick look at Lee who was looking at them with a frown creasing his brow like he was trying to figure out what was going on. Or decide how he wanted to react.
There wasn’t anything to worry about, of course. Kara wasn’t interested in anything but flying. Besides, Zak was just a kid and whatever other faults she might have, Kara Thrace wasn’t about to add cradle robber to the list, no matter how nice his smile was.
In the months that followed, she found herself spending a lot more time with both the Adama brothers. She’d already been spending a fair amount of time with Lee, enough to spark rumors about what they did on their off hours. She, of course, found the very idea of them as a couple to be fraking hysterical and though Lee had never said as much, she knew he felt the same. They were both too competitive to be more than friends and too focused on getting their wings to waste time on romantic nonsense. Lee was the closest thing she had to a real friend and was pretty much the only person who seemed able and willing to put up with her crap. Kara had no intention of screwing that up.
The introduction of Zak Adama into the equation could have been a complication, but oddly enough he simplified things for all of them. Lee, she noticed right away, was very different with his brother around. He was more relaxed and tended to smile more often and more easily in Zak’s presence. Nor was the change entirely one sided. For his part, Lee seemed to exert a steadying influence on his younger brother that kept him clear of the worst of the wildness that caused so many cadets to crash and burn in their freshman year at the Academy. Zak had managed to steer clear of the brig entirely, unlike Kara who had gained an early and repeated familiarity with being in hack. Kara had teased Lee that he was depriving his brother of an invaluable life experience but Lee, being Lee, had just rolled his eyes at her.
And Kara? Well, she just liked the guy. Zak was fun and easy going and had a way with people. A natural charmer.
Things were good between the three of them and they settled into a strange, but comfortable three-cornered friendship. No one else seemed to get it, but then it wasn’t any of their business, was it?
That wasn’t to say that there weren’t the occasional problems. While she and Zak got on effortlessly, her relationship with Lee was had always been a bit more tumultuous. Zak liked to joke that they were like a bag of cats and he was probably right. She knew that she could-on occasion-be a little difficult, but then Lee wasn’t exactly the easiest guy to get along with either. She had a tendency to provoke him but really it wasn’t her fault. Not entirely. Lee was too uptight. He needed to let off some steam before he exploded and Kara was always happy to provide a handy release valve. It was for his own good, really. Besides, it was fun getting him all wound up and turned around until he finally lost control. Kara took great pride in the fact that no one else could render him cross eyed with annoyance with such speed and efficiency. It was a gift.
As for Zak and Lee, they never argued, as long as they stayed clear of two topics: their father and Zak’s decision to attend the Academy.
That had been a bone of contention between them from the very beginning. She’d only seen Zak genuinely angry once and that had been why.
“No!”
“Zak…”
“No, Lee! How many times do I have to say it before you’ll actually believe it? It was my decision. Dad didn’t bully me into anything and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you bully me out of it!”
Kara slammed to a halt at the dorm room door. Zak stood, arms crossed over his chest, his features set in an uncharacteristically resolute expression. Lee was turned away from her so Kara couldn’t see his face, but she saw his back stiffen as if his spine had been replaced with a durasteel rod. Kara felt an unexpected flash of satisfaction at the sight of Zak standing up to his older brother. Zak was so good-natured, so content to follow his brother’s lead for the most part, it was nice to know that he would stick up for himself, especially when Lee was being a stubborn, interfering jerk.
She was about to slip back out and leave them to settle things in peace when Zak caught sight of her. His eyes widened and a flush spread across his face and when Lee turned to see what Zak was staring at, he went pink as well. Deciding to brazen it out, she strolled into the room with an exaggerated swagger to her hips, more than a little amused by the twin expressions of embarrassment they were currently wearing.
“Hey guys,” she greeted breezily, noticing the way they shifted nervously and tried to avoid her gaze. “Can one of you lend me twenty? There’s a hot pyramid game in the rec room.”
Zak recovered first. He smiled at her, shaking his head, his posture once again relaxed. “Sorry, I’m tapped out.”
Kara held her hand out in front of Lee who eyed it with suspicion. “What are you looking at me for?”
“Because I know you’ve got it, so give.”
He crossed his arms and gave her a stern look. “And why should I?”
“Because you’re a sucker for my devastating charm and good looks?”
Lee snorted.
“Because I’ll kick your ass if you don’t?”
“I’d like to see you try,” he shot back.
“Ooh, catfight!” Zak teased then jumped out of the way to avoid the playful slaps aimed at him from opposite directions, laughing the entire time.
Kara held out her hand again, waggling her fingers in a universal sign of “gimme.” Lee sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, but he dug out his wallet and slapped a note into her outstretched hand. Kara beamed at him.
“Don’t worry, Lee. You’ll get it back tomorrow, I promise. Slo-Mo and Juice are both supposed to be playing and neither of them can bluff worth shit.” She reached up and patted Lee on the cheek. “Thanks for the loan. See you guys later.”
Kara sauntered out of the room and when she cast a quick look over her shoulder, she was pleased to note that the earlier tension was gone, replaced by an air of contrition. Satisfied with her exceptional skill at peacemaking, Kara headed to the rec room to relieve her fellow cadets of their hard-earned cubits, whistling tunelessly as she went.
[][][]
Everything had changed with graduation.
It had been a good day. Lee and Zak’s mother had flown in from Caprica City to attend the ceremony and she had beamed with pride as her eldest got his wings, predictably graduating at the top of their class. Afterwards, a smiling Zak had dragged Kara over to meet her. She was classy, that had been Kara’s first thought. Tastefully dressed in a dark blue dress that accented her slim figure and set off her blond hair perfectly, she matched her sons’ descriptions to a tee. She greeted Kara warmly, smiling and extending her hand without hesitation. It was a placid kind of smile, polite without being chilly, restrained without being disingenuous. It was, Kara realized, very much like Lee’s smile, and Kara found herself looking for the resemblance between Caroline Adama and her eldest son. Lee definitely had her eyes, and her nose. Any other similarities had been lost in translation. Lee’s face was all angles and planes with none of the delicacy of his mother’s fine boned feminine features. Of Zak, Kara found no trace, except perhaps in the shape of the mouth. But then, Lee had said he was the one who favored their mother.
Their father hadn’t been able to attend. He’d sent a subspace congratulating Lee, a short, perfunctory message about the honor of getting his wings and the privilege of serving. Zak had been disappointed; Lee, however, looked relieved.
Three days later they received word of their first duty assignments. Lee got posted to the Battlestar Atlantia, which came as a surprise to no one, least of all Kara. Getting assigned to Admiral Nagala’s flagship was a plum, the fast track to command and everyone knew it. Kara would have laid odds that Lee would be wearing captain’s insignia within three years. If she were the jealous type, she might have been annoyed, but Kara knew how hard he’d worked for the spot, one she would have hated. She might be the better pilot, but he was the one who looked like he’d just stepped out of a recruitment poster for the Colonial Fleet. Spit and polish suited Lee but chafed her. And if his father’s name and rank had anything to do with it, well, that was one topic she was never going to raise with him.
Her own posting, however, came as a shock. She’d been dreaming of flying and instead she was going to be trapped dirtside, stuck at the Academy, teaching basic flight to nuggets. She’d seethed with resentment until Commander Reid had taken her aside and explained with more patience than she probably warranted under the circumstances, that it wasn’t an insult: her assignment was a reflection of her skill as a pilot. Skill, he said, that they wanted to try to pass along to new recruits.
She wasn’t entirely sure she bought it, but she didn’t really have any choice. Apart from walking away, which was too much like quitting as far as she was concerned, the fact remained that she was an officer in the Colonial Fleet and had to go where she was posted.
She took consolation from two things. First, that this was only a two year posting; and second, that Zak would be there. She found that thought far more reassuring that she’d expected and suddenly the prospect of being dirtside didn’t seem quite so unbearable anymore.
Two days later she said goodbye to Lee Adama.
She and Zak both accompanied him to the shuttle that would take him to his new ship. He was actually pretty lucky; the Atlantia was in orbit around Picon, so he’d have a quick hop. Poor old Winger had been posted to the Colonial military base on Sagitarron. Four days in a military transport followed by a crap assignment. He probably should have spent less time partying and more time studying.
The goodbyes were more awkward than anticipated. Neither she nor Lee were the touchy feely type. Thankfully Zak was and he eased the way for both of them. Zak stepped forward and gave Lee a quick hug. Lee stiffened for a moment, but only a moment. When he stepped back, his eyes were soft.
“You’ll take care of yourself?”
Zak nodded.
“And you’ll remember to write to mom?”
“I will.”
Lee nodded the looked over at her wearing his best “big brother” expression. “And you. Stay out of trouble, all right?”
Kara shot him a look of feigned innocence that made Lee chuckle, though he quickly sobered. “I mean it. I won’t be around to bail your ass out of hack any more. Just remember: the Academy takes a dim view of its instructors getting tossed in the brig.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You are such a prude, Lee.”
“Well one of us has to be.” He pulled her into an unexpectedly fierce hug. She wrapped her arms tight around him and let herself breathe in the familiar scent of his aftershave to memorize his reassuring solidity.
“Take care of him,” Lee whispered. Kara nodded against his neck.
He pulled back slowly, letting his hands rest lightly on her shoulders. She was pleased that she could meet his gaze squarely. He looked at her for a long moment, nodded, and then turned to walk towards the shuttle’s ramp. He took a step, then another before he turned and gave his brother one last hug. It might have been her imagination, but before Lee turned and walked away, she could have sworn that his last whispered words to Zak were “Take care of her.”
She was pretty sure that Lee wasn’t talking about their mother.
Part 2
Author: widget285
Rating: R
Spoilers: pre-mini and mini though there are allusions to revelations made in season 1 episodes up through “Act of Contrition.” How’s that for oblique?
Warnings: Het sex of the canon variety
Summary: Kara sometimes wondered how she had ever managed to become so tangled up with the complicated knot formed by the Adama men.
Notes: My first fic written in this fandom, though not the first posted. 20,308 words. Well, never let it be said that I’m not deluded ambitious. Big thanks to thepouncer for the kick ass beta and a number of excellent suggestions that greatly improved the story
asterism: a group of stars, physically related or not
She’d hated him at first sight.
He was exactly the kind of guy who set her teeth on edge: smug, self-assured, just a little too good to be true. Winger had told her that his father commanded a battlestar and she’d just nodded knowingly. His daddy had probably pulled strings to get his darling boy one of the coveted slots at the Academy. She would have bet anything that he hadn’t had to fight and scrape and grovel every step of the way to walk through the exalted doors of the Academy and discover that he’d only just begun and had better adjust to the hard scrabble life.
She didn’t have much to do with him, really; he hung with one crowd, she with another. But the Academy wasn’t that big a place and it was inevitable that their trajectories would cross, in the mess hall, or the dorms or the rec rooms. And the classrooms, of course. There wasn’t much variation in the courses for first and second year cadets, so they had most of them in common. And Mr. Straight Arrow was always there.
Most of the classes were as dull and dry as dust. Colonial history, linguistics, mathematics, ethics. Astronomy was kind of interesting. A pilot needed to know the difference between stars and active suns, between meteoroids and asteroids. Bodies in motion. Their own solar system was a strange anomaly; many habitable worlds orbiting a single sun, some planets in their own right, others moons orbiting gas giants. Four moons circled Picon and each of the “Little Fishes,” had a unique ellipitical orbit that brought them into occasional random alignment with one another before the pattern shifted and they continued on their paths. If the night was clear you could see the moons overhead, alpha Pico hovering beside beta Pico, or beta Pico ghosting alongside of delta Pico or gamma Pico. Endless variations on a celestial quartet as they shifted but never strayed, always reunited by the inevitable, irresistible force of gravity. Implacable cosmic will.
It was physics she liked best, though. Physics was useful. Displacement, velocity, acceleration and force. Those things mattered; they helped you fly. You needed to understand them, what they were, how they interacted, otherwise you’d find yourself on the wrong side of an argument with gravity and end up as nothing more than a dark smear on the ground. So Kara listened closely, drawing neat little vector diagrams along the margins of her notebook, taking delight in the curve of the arrow as it arced upwards, like a jet taking off.
Kara sat in the back, finding it easier to slouch down in her seat and stretch her legs in front of her. She was less likely to get dirty looks if she decided to press her feet flat against the seatback in front of her, wedging her body in snugly. Better yet, if the lecture got too dull, she could entertain herself by watching the other cadets. Lee Adama, of course, always sat near the front. She could see him sometimes, when she took a desk near the wall. He always wore that earnest, thoughtful frown as he furiously scribbled notes. His eyes never strayed.
As soon as class was dismissed, Kara was making her way towards the exit. After sitting still for so long, she needed to move. She’d pass him sometimes on the way out. He didn’t race out; more often that not he stopped to speak to the instructor, that same earnest, thoughtful expression on his face. Suck up.
The best part of the Academy was the combat sims. Beginning combat tactics wasn’t exactly the most exciting course, but putting lessons into practice in the simulators more than made up for it. Gods, she loved being in the cockpit, even if it was just a simulated one. She loved the feeling of being enclosed, fitted securely inside the cocoon of cracked leather and metal and glass. She loved the blanket of (simulated, for now) stars stretched before her canopy. She loved the feel of the stick nestled in her hand and the press of the pedal beneath her foot and the way the lights from the cockpit controls bathed everything in soft, muted shades of blue and red and orange.
And best of all, Kara loved kicking ass.
Here, in the cockpit, she ruled. She was the queen. And anyone who tried to take her crown had better come expecting to get his ass handed back to him on a platter.
She liked going head to head with the smug ones the best, the high flyers who thought they were Icarus. They always forgot how that story ended and they never saw the fall coming until they hit the ground hard.
Kara was more than happy to remind them.
She’d been taking them on and taking them down one by one until it finally started to creep into their testosterone addled brains that they were no match for her in the cockpit. But still they came so she didn’t have any choice but to teach them a little humility before they got their asses shot off for good in a real fire fight. She was only doing her part for the good of the fleet, right?
They were two thirds through the semester before she found herself paired off with Lee Adama in a sim test. Winger had said he was supposed to be pretty good, but then weren’t they all? They’d eyed one another warily, weighing the other up, trying to see how their reps tallied with the person standing in front of them. He wasn’t anything she hadn’t seen before. Just another Icarus wannabe. She tossed the cubit and he - predictably - called seal. She smiled at the coin when it came to rest on the back of her hand; looked like she’d be playing Cylon this time around. Not that it mattered. Cylon or Viper, she’d be wiping the deck with him before he even knew what hit him. She winked at him and he quirked an eyebrow, half-startled, half-amused, in return before they separated and headed for their respective simulators.
She settled herself in and let her eyes scan the now familiar controls as the sim program loaded, the hard drive whirring softly. She flexed her fingers, took a deep breath, and got ready to kick Lee Adama’s ass all the way back to Caprica or whatever the hell colony he came from.
A clicking sound and then the blank screen of the canopy was replaced by a fairly realistic starscape. No one could ever say that the Academy didn’t have the best toys. The chronometer ran down 4…3…2…1 and then the sim began. Nothing in front of her but stars, of course, but then the dradus screamed a proximity alert and sure enough there he was on her tail. She smiled into the cockpit. Not for long.
She knew this game and she played it well, bobbing and weaving, dancing in and out of his sights before he could get a firing solution on her and then she pulled a hard turn, banking sharply until she was behind him, strafing fire across his stern.
A small laugh escaped her as she imagined him sitting in his cockpit swearing up a blue streak at suddenly finding himself the prey. He dodged her fire and did everything he could to shake her but she hung on to him like a terrier with a rat.
His ass was so hers.
She drew closer, almost tasting the victory…
The frak?!
Kara blinked as the sim Viper slammed into sudden reverse and Kara’s sim Cylon shot ahead, her momentum carrying her forward at high velocity so that he was back on her tail once more.
Kara blinked again, shaking her head even as her ship pulled a hard right to stay out of his line of fire. Okay, that was definitely not on the list of officially sanctioned maneuvers for first year cadets. You had a fifty/fifty chance of frying your afterburners unless you knew what the frak you were doing which was why that particular trick was strictly out of bounds for nuggets. If the flight instructor checked the sim logs and saw that stunt, he’d catch holy hell for it, even if they were only in a pair of sims rather than in actual cockpits.
A slow smile stretched across Kara’s face. This had gotten interesting.
She didn’t let him keep his position on her tail for long. Pulling back sharply on the stick, she pulled her ship into a wide, graceful loop, landing neatly behind him. This time she imagined him laughing at that trick. You could never do it in an actual firefight, of course; too much chance of actually ramming yourself into another ship, enemy or friendly. But since they’d pretty much thrown standard procedure out the window already, Kara wasn’t going to let the opportunity for a little showboating pass her by.
By this time it had well and truly become a game as much as a battle of wills and strength. They traded off position, prey and predator, leader and follower, each leading the other a merry dance, trying to get the upper hand. She was alternately laughing and cursing as she tried to pin him down and he just kept skittering away. She suspected he was in pretty much the same shape.
Kara lost track of how long their little game lasted but it had to end eventually and as far as she was concerned there was only one way for that to happen. She’d been looking for it, that moment of hesitation, that tiny miscalculation when he zigged when he should have zagged and finally she got it. She wasn’t even sure it was a miscalculation, but it hardly mattered. When she heard the beep confirming that she had a lock, she fired, guns blazing, and had the exquisite satisfaction of watching the sim Viper being projected on her canopy get blown to hell.
An alarm announced that the simulation was over and then the canopy went blank, the blanket of stars winking out of existence. She exhaled a deep breath then jumped out of the cockpit, her body thrumming with adrenalin as she made her way over of the other simulator.
He climbed out of the sim cockpit and dropped gracefully to the deck. She watched him, her arms crossed over her chest, unapologetically smug. She was curious as to what his reaction might be. Most of the high flyers got their panties in a twist when they realized they’d had their asses kicked by a girl. They could sulk and whine all they wanted for all she cared. It wasn’t her fault she was a better pilot. And if any of them took it a little more personally, well, she was more than happy to apply a more literal ass kicking as the situation required.
He turned to look at her and she raised her chin in challenge, waiting.
A smile spread across his face. “Well, that was fun!”
She chuckled in spite of herself. “You’re taking your defeat rather well.”
He shrugged lightly. “You beat me, fair and square. This time.” There was a challenge and a promise in those words. She decided she didn’t really mind. At least he wasn’t being a total prick about it. Besides, it might be nice to fly against someone who actually seemed capable of keeping up with her for a change.
“I look forward to it. You know, that little maneuver, throwing the thrusters into full reverse is kind of against regs.”
“You gonna turn me in?”
He tried to look cool, but Kara thought she caught a flash of worry in his eyes. So, still a straight arrow despite that little stunt. She studied him for a long moment, letting him sweat before she flashed him her cockiest smile. “Nah. I figure I’ll let you slide this time since I whooped your ass so badly.”
“You were lucky.”
“Luck had nothing to do with it. Pure skill,” she boasted, feeling oddly light.
He snorted. “Yeah, well, we’ll see about that the next time.”
Next time. It had a nice ring, she decided.
“I’m Lee, by the way,” he said, extending his hand towards her.
She knew who he was of course, just as he already knew who she was. She looked down at the hand hovering in front of her and hesitated.
But only for a second.
She took his hand and shook it, smiling. “Kara.”
[][][]
It hurt to open her mouth.
Kara looked intently at the mug of coffee in front of her, the desire to avoid pain warring with her desperate need for caffeine. As always, the latter won. She winced a little as the throb in her jaw spiked, but then it faded as the essential liquid slid down her throat. She gave a small appreciative sigh. The coffee always seemed a little hotter and a little stronger on Firstday and she was pretty sure that was intentional. The Academy might officially discourage drinking and carousing, but the instructors weren’t stupid or naïve. If they couldn’t stop the drinking then at least they could make sure the coffee was strong enough to sober you up fast.
She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Ow,” Lee said, wincing sympathetically as he caught sight of the ugly blue and purple bruise currently gracing the left side of her jaw. He stood there looking down at her then dropped his tray to the table, flatware clattering loudly with impact, before he slid on to the bench across from her.
Her head started to throb like frak and her hands clutched more tightly around her half empty mug. She wondered if he’d done that on purpose. She didn’t know him well enough yet to decide if he really was that evil or not, so she glared balefully at him on principle. Lee smiled back sweetly. Well, at least she had her answer. Bastard.
“Looks like you had a busy night,” he said conversationally as he began to tuck into his breakfast with enthusiasm. The smell of eggs and bacon made her vaguely nauseous but she wrestled down the sensation.
“You should see the other guy.”
“I have. T-Bone bunks down the hall from me, remember? He woke up the entire floor when he stumbled back in last night.”
“He’s a wuss,” she sneered.
Lee shook his head, all traces of humor vanishing at once. “Lords, Kara, what were you thinking? He’s twice your fraking size!”
True enough. That’s how he got his call sign, after all. He was as big, brawny and brainless as a slab of beef. Kara still hadn’t figured out how he’d managed to get in to the Academy in the first place. Lords knew he was too ugly to have screwed his way in. Still, Lee’s words stung more than she’d expected.
“He started it!” Kara protested hotly.
“That I don’t doubt. He’s not exactly the brightest signal light on the control panel to begin with. But apparently neither are you. Are you trying to get thrown in hack?”
“I didn’t.” Her temper was flaring again.
“That’s only because you managed to clear out before the MPs arrived. Next time you might not be so lucky!” His voice was low, but there was no mistaking the heat underlying his words.
“Oh frak you, Lee!”
She’d expected his to temper to rise to match hers, was surprised when his expression turned strangely wistful.
“What?” she demanded sharply.
He shook his head. “I just don’t get you, Kara. T-Bone’s a moron. Everybody know he’s going to flunk out. But you…you’re better than that. Why do you do it to yourself?”
Lee’s words were more sobering than that coffee had been. He was looking at her, his expression serious and earnest and intense enough that she almost squirmed beneath that probing gaze. She couldn’t explain it to him, not when she couldn’t explain it to herself.
“I’m not going to let myself be pushed around, not by anyone.” That was as close to speaking the truth as she could bring herself to come.
Apparently it was enough to satisfy him, at least for now. Lee nodded slowly then withdrew something from his pocket and tossed it towards her. It landed on the table next to her mug and she smiled in spite of herself when she recognized the small blister pack of painkillers. She looked up at him surprised.
Lee shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I figured you could use them.”
“Where did you get them?” She asked as she broke the seal. It was damned near impossible to get any meds for headaches or nausea on Firstday morning. The Academy staff might want sober cadets, but hangovers were definitely considered due punishment. She’d downed them along with a long swig of coffee.
“I have my sources,” was all he said, but there was a flicker of a smile tracing his lips before he returned to eating his breakfast with an annoying degree of gusto.
He was still a bastard, but Kara decided she could live with that.
[][][]
She sometimes wondered why she even bothered.
The dorms were empty, but that was no surprise. It was a liberty day and the weather was fraking gorgeous, sunny and warm and bright. Only an idiot would be inside on a day like this.
Naturally, Lee was holed up in his room.
The door was closed, but he hadn’t locked it. There wasn’t any need to. Courtesy dictated that you knocked before entering, but Kara had long since decided that that particular rule didn’t apply to her, at least when it came to Lee. She slipped quietly into his room and sure enough, there he was, lying on his bunk, his nose in a book, clearly enthralled. If it had been anyone else she would have suspected it was some really hot porn, but this was Lee. She’d have wagered good money that it wasn’t wank material. Besides, Lee’s wanking habits were one topic she’d just as soon not think about too closely.
“Hey.”
Lee was so absorbed in his reading he practically jumped at the sound of her voice. She couldn’t help but smile at his startled expression, but there was something else there, a flicker of not quite panic, before he schooled his expression to neutrality. Alarm bells went off in her head.
“Watcha reading?” she asked as she strolled towards him, her voice light.
“Nothing.” His casual manner might have fooled someone else, but it only made those alarms in Kara’s head screech louder. Lee closed the book and made to put it aside, but before he could stash it out of sight, she snatched it out of his hand.
“Hey!”
Lee’s fingers grazed the back of her hand as he made a dive to retrieve it, but Kara danced out of reach, smirking in triumph. She turned the book over and read the title page and her smirk vanished at once. She turned shocked eyes on Lee.
“Frak, Lee! This book has been banned!”
Lee shot her a dirty look. “Why don’t you shout it a little louder, Kara? I don’t think they heard you all the way down at the end of the hall.”
Kara felt her cheeks warm at the rebuke, but she still had enough presence of mind to pull the book out of reach when he made another grab for it. She quickly closed and locked the door before turning back to him.
“You could get tossed out of the Academy for this, Lee!” she hissed urgently.
“Only if I get caught. You gonna turn me in?”
He’d asked her that once before. Then it had been an earnest query, now it was a provocation. She shoved the book back at him. “Of course not. Frak, this is nuts. If you get caught…”
“I won’t.”
“I caught you.”
“Only because you have all the manners of a Geminon farmhand. Civilized people knock before barging into a room.”
Kara punched him in the arm, pulling the force of the blow. Well, mostly. She shook her head. “If this is some kind of rebellion shit designed to piss off the old man…”
That remark earned her a glare that could have melted a power coupling. “This has nothing to do with him.” Lee’s voice was low and even and as chilly as an artic breeze.
“Then why?”
“Because I want to understand.”
Kara frowned. “Understand what?”
“Why it was banned.” Before Kara could respond he continued. “The Articles guarantee freedom of speech for all citizens and yet Zarek’s book has been banned. Why?”
“Because he’s a terrorist and is currently behind bars for blowing up a government building?” she replied, stating the obvious.
Lee shook his head. “That shouldn’t matter. Nowhere in the Articles does it state that criminals are stripped of the right to free speech. No matter what he’s done, Tom Zarek is still a citizen of the Colonies and as such he has as much a right to voice his opinions as you or I. He’s been denied that right and I just want to know why.”
“You’re frakin’ nuts, Lee.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but I just prefer to make informed decisions.”
“It’s still dangerous. You could get expelled. Or worse.”
Lee gave a short chuckle “I can’t believe I’m getting a lecture of appropriate behavior from someone who practically has her own personal cell down in the brig.”
“Hey! I’m just high spirited. I need to blow off steam every now and then. You’re the one who’s flirting with treason.” Kara gave him a serious look. “Is it worth the risk?”
Oddly enough, Lee quirked a smile. “I’ll let you know when I’m done.” He turned the book over in his hands before catching her gaze. “So, are you here for a reason or did you just decide your day was incomplete until you got in some quality time tormenting me?”
The subject was officially closed and Kara was grateful for it. She flashed Lee a bright grin. “There’s a pick up baatchi ball match brewing in the park. Livewire is operating under the delusion that I won’t be kicking his ass. I need you to help me apply a bit of much needed chastisement.”
“Sure, give me a second.” Lee opened his locker and then unlocked the small chest at the bottom where he stashed his few valuables. He carefully placed the book inside then locked it again. “Ready.”
Kara paused at the door and turned back to him. “Just a suggestion, Lee. You might want to get a new cover for the book. I’m thinking Pleiade Playmates might do the trick.”
Lee’s brows shot up at that. “Porn?”
Kara shrugged lightly “Hey, would you rather people thought you were wanking off or plotting treason?”
“Hmm…That’s a point, I suppose. I’ll think about it.”
“Good call. C’mon,” she said as she playfully shoved him out of the room. “We’ve got some ass kicking to do.”
[][][]
His smile was what caught her attention.
It was an engaging smile, bright and infectious, almost, but not quite, dopey. It sprang so easily to his lips, settled so comfortably upon his pleasant, open features, that she couldn’t quite imagine him ever frowning or looking serious or detached.
She couldn’t believe they were brothers.
She could see the family resemblance, sort of: dark hair, strong jaw, solid build, middling height. The kinds of inconsequential, superficial similarities born of blood, shared genetic material or the occasional, random fluke of nature. Lee had told her once that people said he favored his mother while Zak was more like their father. The words were spoken in that flat, neutral tone he always used when talking about the old man. Not exactly angry, but not warm, either. She’d taken him at his word and hadn’t pressed. Some battles weren’t worth starting.
The similarity was convincing, she acknowledged, provided you were willing to ignore the glaring differences.
She remembered Lee showing her a picture of the two of them that had been taken during a recent semester break. They’d had their arms slung around each others’ shoulders and they’d been smiling for the camera. Lee’s smile had been placid, almost reserved. Kara knew he’d been happy to be home visiting his mother and his kid brother, but his smile remained polite. But then Lee was like that; what you saw on the surface tended to be just the tip of the iceberg. The rest was hidden from view.
While Lee was looking at the camera, Zak was looking at Lee, his smile as exuberant as his brother’s was subdued. His eyes were dark, she noticed, not blue like Lee’s, and they flickered to the side, towards his brother and even in the slightly out of focus photograph, Kara could see the adoration shining in them. Lee was still dressed in his cadet uniform, looking very stiff and proper, his hair cropped short in accordance with Academy dress regs. The perfect little officer in training. Zak looked far younger, dressed in a loose fitting tee-shirt with the insignia of the Caprican Comets emblazoned across the front, hair falling in unruly waves across his forehead. Just a typical teenager, carefree and cheerful, nothing remarkable, really, apart from his smile.
The first time she’d met Zak Adama in the flesh had been oddly jarring. It had been the first day of classes and the Academy seemed to be overflowing with cadets, all fresh faced and eager and annoying as hell. Gods, but she hated the beginning of a new year. She had been crossing the quad, heading to the cafeteria to grab some late breakfast and then suddenly he was there, standing a couple of feet in front of her as they crossed paths in opposite directions. She hadn’t recognized him at first. In her mind, Zak Adama was still that easygoing, loose limbed teenager in an oversized tee-shirt smiling worshipfully at his big brother. It was weird jarring seeing him out of that context, tossed into another, dressed in a neatly pressed cadet uniform with his hair cut short and combed back from his forehead. For a moment he looked so disconcertingly like Lee that Kara had to blink and look again to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. And then he smiled, that bright, unrestrained grin that was his alone and the illusion shattered. Kara found herself smiling back at him before their trajectories took them away from each other.
She’d cornered Lee in the dorm later, asking him why he hadn’t mentioned that his brother was starting the Academy. Lee had just grunted and given her a look then slammed his locker shut a little more forcefully then necessary. The sound had made her jump in spite of herself but before she could ask what the frak was wrong with him, he’d stalked off to the head, a towel draped over one tense shoulder. She’d watched his retreating back, frowning. Lee could be moody as hell at times and she’d long ago learned that it was best to give him a wide berth when he got like this. The one time that she’d made a crack about it being his “time of the month,” his expression could have stripped paint off a Viper. It would have been almost funny if he hadn’t been so unnerving. After that, she’d decided that sometimes it was better to just let him be.
The next time she saw Zak Adama, he’d been with his brother. Seeing them standing side by side, she wondered how she ever could have mistaken him for Lee despite the physical similarities. Lee had introduced them and within minutes, it was if they’d known each other for years, which, she supposed was kind of true. Zak was the one subject on which Lee spoke freely and with undisguised warmth, a contrast to his usual reticence, so she actually knew a good bit about him. And he about her apparently.
“All those letters and Lee never once said how pretty you were,” Zak had remarked, smiling.
Kara had laughed and shot a look at Lee who just rolled his eyes. She wasn’t surprised; there were times when she wondered if Lee had even noticed those interesting bumps under her uniform jacket. It was one of the things she liked best about him, actually; he never made a fuss over the fact that she was a woman. Lee never got his nose out of joint when she beat him in sims (which she did often enough to fatally wound most male egos). He never tried to get her into bed, even when she was drunk enough not to care or even remember. Hell, he never even flirted with her.
Zak was flirting with her, though. It was nice, actually. She shot a quick look at Lee who was looking at them with a frown creasing his brow like he was trying to figure out what was going on. Or decide how he wanted to react.
There wasn’t anything to worry about, of course. Kara wasn’t interested in anything but flying. Besides, Zak was just a kid and whatever other faults she might have, Kara Thrace wasn’t about to add cradle robber to the list, no matter how nice his smile was.
In the months that followed, she found herself spending a lot more time with both the Adama brothers. She’d already been spending a fair amount of time with Lee, enough to spark rumors about what they did on their off hours. She, of course, found the very idea of them as a couple to be fraking hysterical and though Lee had never said as much, she knew he felt the same. They were both too competitive to be more than friends and too focused on getting their wings to waste time on romantic nonsense. Lee was the closest thing she had to a real friend and was pretty much the only person who seemed able and willing to put up with her crap. Kara had no intention of screwing that up.
The introduction of Zak Adama into the equation could have been a complication, but oddly enough he simplified things for all of them. Lee, she noticed right away, was very different with his brother around. He was more relaxed and tended to smile more often and more easily in Zak’s presence. Nor was the change entirely one sided. For his part, Lee seemed to exert a steadying influence on his younger brother that kept him clear of the worst of the wildness that caused so many cadets to crash and burn in their freshman year at the Academy. Zak had managed to steer clear of the brig entirely, unlike Kara who had gained an early and repeated familiarity with being in hack. Kara had teased Lee that he was depriving his brother of an invaluable life experience but Lee, being Lee, had just rolled his eyes at her.
And Kara? Well, she just liked the guy. Zak was fun and easy going and had a way with people. A natural charmer.
Things were good between the three of them and they settled into a strange, but comfortable three-cornered friendship. No one else seemed to get it, but then it wasn’t any of their business, was it?
That wasn’t to say that there weren’t the occasional problems. While she and Zak got on effortlessly, her relationship with Lee was had always been a bit more tumultuous. Zak liked to joke that they were like a bag of cats and he was probably right. She knew that she could-on occasion-be a little difficult, but then Lee wasn’t exactly the easiest guy to get along with either. She had a tendency to provoke him but really it wasn’t her fault. Not entirely. Lee was too uptight. He needed to let off some steam before he exploded and Kara was always happy to provide a handy release valve. It was for his own good, really. Besides, it was fun getting him all wound up and turned around until he finally lost control. Kara took great pride in the fact that no one else could render him cross eyed with annoyance with such speed and efficiency. It was a gift.
As for Zak and Lee, they never argued, as long as they stayed clear of two topics: their father and Zak’s decision to attend the Academy.
That had been a bone of contention between them from the very beginning. She’d only seen Zak genuinely angry once and that had been why.
“No!”
“Zak…”
“No, Lee! How many times do I have to say it before you’ll actually believe it? It was my decision. Dad didn’t bully me into anything and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you bully me out of it!”
Kara slammed to a halt at the dorm room door. Zak stood, arms crossed over his chest, his features set in an uncharacteristically resolute expression. Lee was turned away from her so Kara couldn’t see his face, but she saw his back stiffen as if his spine had been replaced with a durasteel rod. Kara felt an unexpected flash of satisfaction at the sight of Zak standing up to his older brother. Zak was so good-natured, so content to follow his brother’s lead for the most part, it was nice to know that he would stick up for himself, especially when Lee was being a stubborn, interfering jerk.
She was about to slip back out and leave them to settle things in peace when Zak caught sight of her. His eyes widened and a flush spread across his face and when Lee turned to see what Zak was staring at, he went pink as well. Deciding to brazen it out, she strolled into the room with an exaggerated swagger to her hips, more than a little amused by the twin expressions of embarrassment they were currently wearing.
“Hey guys,” she greeted breezily, noticing the way they shifted nervously and tried to avoid her gaze. “Can one of you lend me twenty? There’s a hot pyramid game in the rec room.”
Zak recovered first. He smiled at her, shaking his head, his posture once again relaxed. “Sorry, I’m tapped out.”
Kara held her hand out in front of Lee who eyed it with suspicion. “What are you looking at me for?”
“Because I know you’ve got it, so give.”
He crossed his arms and gave her a stern look. “And why should I?”
“Because you’re a sucker for my devastating charm and good looks?”
Lee snorted.
“Because I’ll kick your ass if you don’t?”
“I’d like to see you try,” he shot back.
“Ooh, catfight!” Zak teased then jumped out of the way to avoid the playful slaps aimed at him from opposite directions, laughing the entire time.
Kara held out her hand again, waggling her fingers in a universal sign of “gimme.” Lee sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, but he dug out his wallet and slapped a note into her outstretched hand. Kara beamed at him.
“Don’t worry, Lee. You’ll get it back tomorrow, I promise. Slo-Mo and Juice are both supposed to be playing and neither of them can bluff worth shit.” She reached up and patted Lee on the cheek. “Thanks for the loan. See you guys later.”
Kara sauntered out of the room and when she cast a quick look over her shoulder, she was pleased to note that the earlier tension was gone, replaced by an air of contrition. Satisfied with her exceptional skill at peacemaking, Kara headed to the rec room to relieve her fellow cadets of their hard-earned cubits, whistling tunelessly as she went.
[][][]
Everything had changed with graduation.
It had been a good day. Lee and Zak’s mother had flown in from Caprica City to attend the ceremony and she had beamed with pride as her eldest got his wings, predictably graduating at the top of their class. Afterwards, a smiling Zak had dragged Kara over to meet her. She was classy, that had been Kara’s first thought. Tastefully dressed in a dark blue dress that accented her slim figure and set off her blond hair perfectly, she matched her sons’ descriptions to a tee. She greeted Kara warmly, smiling and extending her hand without hesitation. It was a placid kind of smile, polite without being chilly, restrained without being disingenuous. It was, Kara realized, very much like Lee’s smile, and Kara found herself looking for the resemblance between Caroline Adama and her eldest son. Lee definitely had her eyes, and her nose. Any other similarities had been lost in translation. Lee’s face was all angles and planes with none of the delicacy of his mother’s fine boned feminine features. Of Zak, Kara found no trace, except perhaps in the shape of the mouth. But then, Lee had said he was the one who favored their mother.
Their father hadn’t been able to attend. He’d sent a subspace congratulating Lee, a short, perfunctory message about the honor of getting his wings and the privilege of serving. Zak had been disappointed; Lee, however, looked relieved.
Three days later they received word of their first duty assignments. Lee got posted to the Battlestar Atlantia, which came as a surprise to no one, least of all Kara. Getting assigned to Admiral Nagala’s flagship was a plum, the fast track to command and everyone knew it. Kara would have laid odds that Lee would be wearing captain’s insignia within three years. If she were the jealous type, she might have been annoyed, but Kara knew how hard he’d worked for the spot, one she would have hated. She might be the better pilot, but he was the one who looked like he’d just stepped out of a recruitment poster for the Colonial Fleet. Spit and polish suited Lee but chafed her. And if his father’s name and rank had anything to do with it, well, that was one topic she was never going to raise with him.
Her own posting, however, came as a shock. She’d been dreaming of flying and instead she was going to be trapped dirtside, stuck at the Academy, teaching basic flight to nuggets. She’d seethed with resentment until Commander Reid had taken her aside and explained with more patience than she probably warranted under the circumstances, that it wasn’t an insult: her assignment was a reflection of her skill as a pilot. Skill, he said, that they wanted to try to pass along to new recruits.
She wasn’t entirely sure she bought it, but she didn’t really have any choice. Apart from walking away, which was too much like quitting as far as she was concerned, the fact remained that she was an officer in the Colonial Fleet and had to go where she was posted.
She took consolation from two things. First, that this was only a two year posting; and second, that Zak would be there. She found that thought far more reassuring that she’d expected and suddenly the prospect of being dirtside didn’t seem quite so unbearable anymore.
Two days later she said goodbye to Lee Adama.
She and Zak both accompanied him to the shuttle that would take him to his new ship. He was actually pretty lucky; the Atlantia was in orbit around Picon, so he’d have a quick hop. Poor old Winger had been posted to the Colonial military base on Sagitarron. Four days in a military transport followed by a crap assignment. He probably should have spent less time partying and more time studying.
The goodbyes were more awkward than anticipated. Neither she nor Lee were the touchy feely type. Thankfully Zak was and he eased the way for both of them. Zak stepped forward and gave Lee a quick hug. Lee stiffened for a moment, but only a moment. When he stepped back, his eyes were soft.
“You’ll take care of yourself?”
Zak nodded.
“And you’ll remember to write to mom?”
“I will.”
Lee nodded the looked over at her wearing his best “big brother” expression. “And you. Stay out of trouble, all right?”
Kara shot him a look of feigned innocence that made Lee chuckle, though he quickly sobered. “I mean it. I won’t be around to bail your ass out of hack any more. Just remember: the Academy takes a dim view of its instructors getting tossed in the brig.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You are such a prude, Lee.”
“Well one of us has to be.” He pulled her into an unexpectedly fierce hug. She wrapped her arms tight around him and let herself breathe in the familiar scent of his aftershave to memorize his reassuring solidity.
“Take care of him,” Lee whispered. Kara nodded against his neck.
He pulled back slowly, letting his hands rest lightly on her shoulders. She was pleased that she could meet his gaze squarely. He looked at her for a long moment, nodded, and then turned to walk towards the shuttle’s ramp. He took a step, then another before he turned and gave his brother one last hug. It might have been her imagination, but before Lee turned and walked away, she could have sworn that his last whispered words to Zak were “Take care of her.”
She was pretty sure that Lee wasn’t talking about their mother.
Part 2