Authors note: this was written a while ago and hasn't been beta'd so any mistakes are my own and I apologise for them. This is a one shot but if anyones interested I could carry it on. Feedback would be great.
Life,marriage and bars
Lee stood behind the bar wiping down
Lee stood behind the bar wiping down. It had been another long but rather rewarding day in his eyes. He had opened the bar a little under a year ago and business had been booming ever since. He had finally achieved his life long dream, finally left the fleet and gotten out into the real world.
Although the transition had hardly been smooth and the result was him standing here brooding about it yet again. Tomorrow was the day that his little brother was to get married, but far from being happy about this Lee was feeling regret and loss.
The decision for him to leave the fleet had been made final for the need to run from what was happening in the rest of his life. In the fleet he had always been an Adama, out here in the real world he was just Lee. This was only part of the real reason but it was the public reason for why he had left. The real reason was slightly more sordid than that and very few people knew it. It was the real reason he no longer spoke to his family and the real reason they had no clue where he now lived.
His decision to leave the fleet had not gone down well with his father, who had attempted to talk him out of it. The Old man was military through and through and could not understand why his hot shot pilot son would want to give all that up. The last time they had attempted to talk a bitter argument had broken out between them and Lee had walked out and vowed never to speak to him again.
He had finished wiping down and began to walk round and turn off all the lights still lost in his memories, working on autopilot. With him vowing never to speak to his father again he had gone to visit his mother. It seemed however, that for the first time in ten years, his parents agreed on something. The fact that he should stay in the fleet. With the second row in two days ending much as the first had with him walking away from his a parent.
He took one more look around his bar before walking out and locking the door behind him. He walked to his bike, an impulse buy that he had grown rather attached to since he'd brought it. He climbed on and revved the engine and turns his bike towards home, once again getting lost in the painful memories that held him from going to his younger siblings nuptials tomorrow.
Zak had just finished his first tour of duty, when Lee had made his decision to leave the fleet. He had come to visit him in the apartment that Lee would soon be leaving. It seemed that Zak felt the need to try and talk to Lee about his reasons for leaving. He had fed Zak the line about not being able to be himself in the fleet, but Zak hadn't brought it. He called bullshit on him and demanded the real reason he was giving up a job he was good at. Lee could have told him the real reason but it wasn't something he was going to do. How do you tell your younger sibling that in fact the reason you're leaving is because you're in love with his fiancé? So Lee did the only thing he could do he lashed out at Zak telling him that he wasn't a good pilot and that maybe he should be the one looking for a new career. And with that his final family member walked away from him.
He reached home and pulled into the driveway. His house was a small modest house that had a comfortable amount of land with it. Lee had loved it the moment he had walked into it, it had felt like home and now it was his. The bar had been an instant success and now afforded Lee a very comfortable living. Leaving him wanting for little possession wise but the rest of his life seemed to have gone horribly wrong.
Once inside he made his way towards the kitchen, stopping to remove a beer from the fridge before wondering through and out onto the veranda at the back of the house. He settled himself on a chair there and looked up at the stars and remembers the final visitor he had received before he left his old life.
FLASHBACK
He was continuing to pack up his apartment. He had brought small premises with a small apartment he could live in until the bar started providing a decent living. He was half way through boxing up his book shelf when there was a knock at the door. He opened the door to find the last person he had been expecting to visit. Kara Thrace.
"Hey, Apollo!" She walked through the door without asking and collapsed onto the couch. "Long time, no see." All said with a matching Starbuck grin he had adored for years. It went straight to his groin. He had known Kara since they had been roommates in flight school. They had been put together to see if Lee's good behaviour could straighten out Kara's poor record of ending up in hack. It hadn't worked out quite the way the instructors had hoped. Starbuck had ended up in hack less but when she did she always had a cell mate in the form of Lee Adama who she had convinced to go along with whatever hair brain idea or drunken escapade she had conceived. Needless to say the two had become rather good friends, spending long nights in cells bonding. Then Lee had left for War College and Kara had stayed on to teach at the academy. They still kept in touch but didn't see each other as much. Then Kara had met Zak and their relationship had started. Leaving Lee with rather confused feelings. Of course he was happy for them, even if he was little shocked that they had taken up despite all the regulations. There again Kara had never bothered with them before. But he was also had feelings of jealousy, and because of these feelings of guilt. He hadn't realised quite what his feelings for Kara where until she had entered a relationship with the one person in all the colonies who Lee couldn't take her away from, his brother.
And now here she was slouching on his couch, grinning her Starbuck grin at him. "Nice to see you too Kara. Please come in and make yourself comfortable." He replied sarcastically before closing the door he was still holding. "So what the frak is all this crap with you not talking to your parents and Zak?" Straight to the point as ever Kara. He sighed mentally "Nothing, its just they can't seem to respect my decisions in life. And if you've come to try and talk me out of leaving, you can walk straight back out that door." He said starting to feel angry that she had come. "Easy there flyboy!" she held up her hands in surrender "I just came to see if you were ok. I know you were never gonna stay in the fleet forever, you always wanted your own bar." She paused and her voice dropped a little "I just thought it would take you longer than this." She sighed and settled even further into his couch.
He walked over and sat next to her. "You do realise that I'm gonna still see you right?" He looked at her, "Despite everything else Kara you and I've shared some crazy things, mostly your fault…" She chuckled at these words and he continued "And despite the amount of time I spent in hack because of you, I don't think I could have a life without you in it." She looked straight into his eyes and he sees something he couldn't quite make out in them. "I feel the same Lee." She stopped and continued to look into his eyes, then she shifted and the moment passed. "So does this mean I get to drink in your new joint for free?" She asked the grin back on her face.
END FLASHBACK
So he had left his old life. Walked away from being an Adama and from having to watch the woman he loved with his brother and moved to a new life. He finally felt at home and almost at peace with himself. Almost. Kara did indeed still come to visit. She had turned up at the opening of the bar and had drunk a small fortune, which he more than happily absorbed, grateful that she hadn't shunned him like his family. She had been back a couple of times since and they had regular phone conversation, where he filled her in on what was happening at the bar and she kept him up-to- date with the family gossip. He still missed her though, even though she was so close she was always just too far away from him.
He was startled out of his memories by a soft voice "Hey." He turned to look for the source and found the woman herself standing there. "Hey yourself. Figured you'd be too drunk to make it out here. It is after all your last night of freedom." He said all this with a small smirk on his face. "Well I thought about it but Helo couldn't keep up, thought I'd better come see my other best friend instead." She disappeared into the house for a few minutes and returned with two fresh beers. "Nice to know I'm second choice."
"Never, just you're always busy with that bar of yours. Had to keep myself amused somehow till you were done." They both smiled at this and sat staring at the stars for a few minutes, just enjoying the comfortable silence.
"So are you already for your big day tomorrow?" He asked, even if he did feel other things he was happy that Kara had found someone to love her, even if it wasn't him. "As I'll ever be. Who'd have thought I'd be the first one to get married out of the two of us? Figured you'd beat me down the aisle at least ten years in advance if I ever made it at all."
"Well I didn't, and here you are the blushing bride spending your last night of freedom with the black sheep of the family you're marrying into." He let out a small chuckle "You never did do things the normal way did you?" She smiled at this "And you love me for it. But seriously there is nowhere I would rather be. You are my best friend Lee, have been for a long time now. I just wish you could be there tomorrow."
"Yep well we both know I can't. As much as I would love to come and laugh my arse off at you in a dress trying to walk in heels…" This statement gains him a punch to the shoulder and he chuckles rubbing the affected area, before turning serious again "… We both know you don't want your day being ruined by family arguments. I couldn't do that to you." He turns his head back to the stars and sighs. "I'm sorry, Kara" he says so softly she almost misses it. "What for?"
"For missing your wedding day, for not being the friend and brother I should be, just for the last year really. You shouldn't have to be caught in the middle of this." He sighs again and turns to look at her face. "Don't apologise for that Lee, I don't feel in the middle, I love Zak, and your parents, but you were my friend first. And like I said to you I couldn't not have you in my life, I'd miss you too much. Besides without you I wouldn't have somewhere to drink for free when money's tight." She gins back at me.
The first rays of the sun had started to appear in the sky and they both sat back again watching the sun begin to rise. "I am going to miss you being at the wedding though, you and Helo would look so good in matching dresses."
"Shut up Kara, besides I don't think I've got the legs for it." They both burst out laughing and Lee thanked the Gods that he lived far enough from his neighbours as to not wake them. When they stopped Kara rose from her chair "I need to go, some of us need sleep before turning into a giant meringue." She pulled a face at this, he had heard of his mother's meddlings in the wedding plans constantly since they had announced the date. He got up from his chair and walked towards here, bent slightly and kissed her softly. He felt her stiffen before pulling away and tucking a small piece of hair back behind her ear and bringing his had to rest on her cheek. "Go be happy Kara, go enjoy your day." He whispered before turning and collecting the bottles scattered around. When he turned she had gone and he walked towards the house feeling like his world was balancing on the edge of cliff and it was about to disappear over the side.
BSGBSGBSG
He woke up when the alarm went off. He got up and began his day with a black cloud over his heard. Today was the day he lost Kara forever. He rode to the bar and walked in to find Liz already behind the bar. Liz had been his first employee and they had become fast friends as the bar took off. She had been there through it all with him and had proved to be a great choice for a bar maid and friend. She was also one of the few people he had told the real reason he had left his life behind and what Kara really meant to him, after she had stumbled in on him drinking his misery away after he received the wedding invitation. She had meet Kara at the opening, and a few times since and could see why Lee loved the woman. She and Kara had in fact become friends one night while Lee was busy serving customers.
"Hey." He said walking behind the bar to join her. "Hey yourself. How are you doing this morning?" She had known that today was the wedding, had made a mental note of the date and knew he was not going to be in a good mood that day. "Not too bad." He sighed knowing he couldn't lie to Liz if he tried "Kara came to visit last night." She looked up sharply at him "And how did that go?"
"Fine I kissed her and told her to go and be happy." She absorbed the information before asking the question "You kissed her? On the Night before her wedding, you decide then would be the best time for your first kiss?" She was a little confused and slightly pissed he had decided to act then. "Yeah, and she always said she was the screw up between the two of us." He chuckled sadly before turning his back and going upstairs to the office, leaving Liz to open the bar.
He sat in his office doing paperwork for a couple of hours wallowing in his feelings before guilt over leaving Liz alone had driven him downstairs to help. He kept looking at the clock, watching the minutes tick by until 3 o'clock rolled around they were getting married now he thought to himself. Luckily the bar had just begun to get busy as people had started to arrive for pre-game drinks before the pyramid match started that day. At 5 o'clock with the match in full swing and Lee busy serving he didn't notice the door opening or the silence that fell over his bar until Liz had tugged his sleeve. There just inside the door to his bar stood Kara Thrace, complete with wedding dress and heels, looking for all the world like a lost little girl.
He walked out from behind the bar towards her. As her eyes met his he could see the tears that were waiting to fall. He had seen that look on her face before and every time it cut him straight to his core.
He walked straight up to her and pulled her into a hug. She held onto him for dear life and whispered in his ear "I didn't mean to hurt him but I couldn't do it." She started to shake and held onto him even tighter burying her face in his shoulder, and he in turn held her tightly. Part of him felt pure sadness and sympathy for Zak, even if he hadn't spoken to him in a year they were still brothers, but also complete relief that he had not lost Kara. He let go of her slightly when she had calmed down, scooped her up and carried her behind the bar and up the stairs to his office away from the preying eyes of his customers. He knew Liz would be able to manage without him. He set Kara down on the small sofa in the office walked over to his desk to pull out a bottle of ambrosia he kept there along with two glasses. He poured them both a large drink before returning to the sofa and handing her a glass. She down it in one and mumbled a "Thanks".
"So do you wanna tell what happened between last night and the wedding that made you wander into my bar?" He asked unable to restrain his curiosity any longer. "I was standing in that room waiting to walk towards Zak and the only thing I could think of was that it all felt wrong. I love Zak but standing there I realised I couldn't do it, I just couldn't marry him and ruin his life like that." Tears had begun to roll down her cheeks again. He reached out to brush the tears away from her face "Why would you have ruined his life?" He asked quietly trying to figure out what was going on inside the head of Kara Thrace.
She looked up at him, meeting his eyes before saying quietly "Because I feel in love with another man." She then dropped her head and begun to weep again. Lee froze as he heard the words leave her mouth. He wasn't quite sure what to say. There were two sides at war within him, one felt heartbreak for Kara and Zak what they had, had to go through. The other was so blissfully happy that he really hadn't lost Kara.
"Oh Kara." was his only response. He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arm. "You know I just want you to be happy. If that means not marrying Zak and being with someone else I'll support you fully. Just be happy Kara." He said all this quietly to her and she clung onto him tighter.
They sat like that holding each other. Letting their thoughts run through their heads and speaking only occasionally. It wasn't until Liz walked into the office and told them she was going home did Lee realise how long they had been sitting there. Kara had fallen asleep a little while ago exhausted from her day.
Lee gently removed himself and walked downstairs with Liz. He thanked her for looking after the place and let her out before shutting and locking the door. He looked around the place and realised not only had Liz looked after the bar all evening she had tidied up as well. There was only a few glasses left waiting to be washed and they would wait until the next day.
He removed the money from the till to lock in the safe to be counted at another time. He returned upstairs and checked on Kara before returning downstairs to tidy up and keep himself busy while he worked through things in his mind.
He had been working for about half an hour before there was a banging on the door. He looked at the clock and saw it was nearly one o'clock He made sure that the door to the office was firmly shut and walked towards the door. He cautiously opened it to see his father on the other side of the door. Lee stepped back and opened the door fully and stepped back.
"Hello Dad. Long time no see." He walked back behind the bar. Despite everything his father was still a large presence but here behind his bar he was the boss. It was the boost of confidence he needed to speak to his father.
"Hello Lee." His father stood there just inside the door looking around the bar. He had never been here due to their estrangement and if he was honest with himself Lee had liked it that way. This was his domain. The thing he had built himself and was proud of.
After a few minutes if uncomfortable silence Lee finally spoke conscience of Kara asleep upstairs. He wasn't sure if she would want to see his father but felt it should be on her own time not his or his fathers. "What do you want dad?" He decided perhaps playing it dumb would be the best idea.
"I was wondering if you'd heard from Kara today?" Lee knew it was the reason his father was there but he was still a little shocked. Lee decided that avoiding an actual answer would definitely the way to go.
"I saw her early this morning. Then she left to get ready for the wedding I assumed she would be there." It wasn't quite a lie but it was close enough to the truth to be believable. Or at least that's what Lee told himself.
"She was at the wedding but she called it off at the last minute. Your brother is a little shocked as you would imagine. Actually he's completely devastated and more than a little confused. And Kara seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet." His father finished looking more than a little pissed off. This left Lee feeling more than a little annoyed himself. Kara was a grown woman and made her own choices. Even if they didn't make daddies golden boy happy. But as far as his father knew Lee hadn't heard any of this, so he took a deep breathe and calmed done before replying.
"Really? Well I haven't seen Kara recently. Is Zak going to be Ok?" Lee felt that drawing attention away from Kara would be easier than keep lying to his father.
"He will be as soon as he gets some answers. If you do hear from Kara will you let her know that we're looking for her?" With that William Adama turned and left. That was it no asking about Lee or how he'd been over the past year. He was just a means to an end.
Lee walked towards the door and locked it up again before turning to head back up to the office but as he reached the door to the stairs it opened and behind it stood the angel that was Kara Thrace in her wedding dress.
Before Lee could say anything Kara spoke "Thank you Lee." She walked up and kissed his cheek. Lee was a little shocked but accepted her thanks and walks to get some glasses. "Your welcome. You shouldn't have to face him on his terms it should be your choice. Drink?" He asked her.
"Just a soda thanks. I don't think alcohol would be a good choice right now." He prepared their drinks before leading her to one of the booths in the back of the bar. Once they had sat down he asked her the question he had been waiting to ask "Why did you wait so long Kara? Why wait until the wedding to call it all off?" He asked in a quiet voice. He wasn't angry just curious as to why she had left it so late. And why it was all so sudden.
"It didn't become obvious to me that I did love someone else till I left your house this morning. I got into my car drove home and lay there thinking about what you had said, about me being happy. I'd been thinking about it all day and it wasn't until I stopped in that little room by myself that I realised just what I could be giving up if I went through with the wedding." She paused to take a breath to steady herself "I do love Zak but I knew I couldn't marry him and miss out on the chance of being truly happy…" There was another pause she looked around took a deep breathe an almost whispered "with you."
Lee sat frozen next to her not quite believing what he had heard. "I'm sorry could you repeat that for me?" He had to ask to make sure he hadn't miss heard her.
"I said I won't want to miss being truly happy with you Lee. You're the one who knows me best, the one who was willing to let me go and the one who I ran to when I frak up. I truly thought I loved Zak but you telling me to be happy and the kiss made me realise that you were the one who I wanted to stay with tonight not Zak."
Lee found that he hadn't heard her incorrectly. She had just said that she wanted to be with him not Zak. He did the only thing he could think of he kissed her. It took Kara a moment to respond but once she did it was like everything they did full on and passionate. Their tongues duelled for battle and it was only the need for oxygen that made them break apart.
He pulled back, hand still in her hair, and looked her in the eye. "Kara I love you." She looked back at him her eyes shinning with tears "I love you too Lee. I can't believe it's taken me this long to realise it."
They sat there looking at each other, talking and kissing their way the next few hours. One of the main topics of discussion was what they were going to do about the rest of Lee's family. "I'm not going to hide this Lee. I'm not afraid of this anymore and to be honest you haven't talked to them in a year so what's a few more?" As much as Lee wanted to disagree with her, he couldn't.
"Kara I know all that but still… what about Zak? You ran out on him today and tomorrow we're going to turn round and tell him that you love another man? Not only that but the other man is his brother? Come on Kara even you're not that insensitive and you know it." He leaned in after this and kissed her, "You are lovely… and kind… and beautiful. Let's do this properly ok." He kissed her after every compliment.
She looked him directly in the eyes searching for something, finally she answered "OK but I think it maybe time to go home now." She said looking out the window and seeing the first rays of sunlight starting to appear. "We'll decide what to do after we're had some sleep. Take me home fly boy." She said getting up pulling Lee with her.
"You have picked up that I don't fly anymore right?"
"Yeah but you'll always be my fly boy. Now get your keys to that lovely bike."
Once they had arrived back at Lees' Kara finally took off her wedding dress and climbed into one of his t-shirts. If it were possible Lee thought she looked better in the t-shirt than the dress. And from now on she was his, well as much as anyone could have Kara. They climbed into bed and Lee turned and pulled Kara to him "I love you Kara Thrace" he said before kissing her head and following her into the land of dreams.