"Lee."
He doesn't need to look to see that it's Kara, but he turns to her anyway. Judging by her red face and rapid breathing, she probably ran all the way to the bus stop.
She unbuttons her uniform jacket, focusing on her hands as she asks, "You weren't going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?"
He would be lying if he said no, and it would be cruel to say yes, so he decides not to say anything. In the awkward silence, Kara takes off her jacket and hugs it to her chest, looking oddly uncomfortable for the legendary Starbuck. Finally, he makes an effort: "I hear you're going to the Galactica."
"Yeah."
"She's a good ship," he adds unconvincingly. Even ignoring who commands the battlestar, Galactica is hardly a prize posting.
"Yeah," Kara agrees anyway. Another silence follows while he shifts his bad from his shoulder to the ground. He isn't looking at Kara, so he doesn't see her expression shift from uncomfortable to angry before she demands, "What did you say to him?"
He knows what she's asking despite the abrupt change of subject. "Nothing that wasn't true," he insists with a stubbornness that dares her to challenge him.
"What, that he was a terrible father and got Zak killed?"
"Don't start, Kara."
"For frak's sake, Lee," she yells. He's seen her angry plenty of times before, but she's not usually this mad at him, especially when he hasn't done anything to her. "You don't know how lucky you are!"
He has nothing to say to that. Kara rarely talks about her parents, but he knows enough to feel guilty. Lucky is all relative, though, and just because William Adama is a better parent than people who could raise a bundle of issues like Kara Thrace doesn't mean Lee has no reason to hate him.
She's still fuming, and he doesn't want to leave with her still mad at him. "Look, Kara"
"Forget it," she interjects before he's even figured out what he's going to say. Her anger has evaporated as suddenly as it appeared, and now she just looks sad. "It was good to see you again," she says after another silence.
"You too," he responds, and he really does mean it.
The bus is pulling up, and he's grabbing hold of his bag when Kara steps forward and puts her arms around him. He hasn't hugged her in all this time, even though that's what you're supposed to do for a friend who's grieving, even though (or maybe especially if) she was your brother's fiancee and it's him she's grieving over. It's awkward and uncomfortable, but he wraps his free arm around her anyway.
Then the bus is there, and she pulls away quickly without looking at him. "Goodbye," she mumbles, then hurries off before he can respond.
"Bye," he echoes, but she probably doesn't hear him.