Title: One – Epsilon Sentence Ficlet
Author: Monti
Date: December 01, 2007
Rating: PG
Pairing: Lee/Kara
Word Count: 2543
Category: Fun/Romance
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Author's Note: Just wanted to try some thing a little different so I pulled out the sentence sets.
Summary: Just plain fun…when Kara thinks she'll trounce Lee but he surprises her.
07 – One
'The name of the game is: one bulls eye or one shot…you miss, you drink," Kara topped off two glasses, 'You up for it?'
ONE
Lee thought he might be in trouble when he found himself alone in the rec room with Kara. He knew she was up to something when she turned toward him with a sly grin and produced a bottle of Tyrol's finest. The question was what would it cost him this time…cubits or a strip of dignity?
Raising an eyebrow in question, he figured he probably better find out.
Smiling wide, Kara pulled two tumblers off the shelf, placing them on the table. "You play darts?" Nodding toward the set on the next table, she looked up at him, slowly unscrewing the cap off the bottle. "The name of the game is: one bull's eye or one shot…you miss, you drink," Kara topped off two glasses, "You up for it?"
Oh…he was up for it.
He wasn't sure how, especially when she seemed to know more about him than he was comfortable with, but Kara didn't seem to be aware that he held the record at the Picon Academy for most bull's eyes in a row.
This could be fun.
The trick would be not letting her know that.
Keeping his face impassive, Lee took a moment before answering. "So…I don't hit the target, I down a shot, right?" He considered the board for a full minute as if contemplating his decision, then glanced down at the full shot glasses before lifting his gaze to hers. "I don't know, Kara…this could be all kinds of trouble." For her.
Kara's voice dropped low, daring him. "Com'n Lee…it's just for fun…" Her head tilted sideways, eyes full of challenge. "Don't go soft on me now." The smirk she sent his way decided it for him.
He'd bet anything her plan was to get him drunk, make him do something bug-frak stupid, then crow about it for all eternity.
He was going to have to turn the tables on her just this once.
Kara Thrace was about to go down in flames.
Feigning reluctance, Lee heaved a sigh. "Still think this is a bad idea…" He scooped up the darts, weighing them in his hands, getting a feel for them. "But okay…I'm in." Separating the missiles by color, he held up both sets to let Kara choose. "Why don't you go first…show me how it's done?"
Stepping back, he caught her wink at him then watched while she settled into a relaxed stance as she concentrated on the target.
Breathing in, she fired off the three darts in rapid succession, exhaling when the last one landed.
The first two hit close but missed. The third found its mark…hugging the outer most edge of the center circle…but still a bull's eye.
Turning towards him, Kara's smirk was huge, but she didn't say anything. Lee shrugged as if admitting potential defeat.
Picking up his darts, he nodded congratulations. "Nice shot." He took his place behind the line and quickly fired off his three…purposefully missing this time around…and it gained him Kara's cackle of laughter.
Kara slid one of the shot glasses his way, the look on her face saying it all. She thought she'd have him drunk on his ass in under ten rounds. Good thing it was what he wanted her to think.
As he tossed back the shot, Kara attempted commiseration. "Don't worry…first shot's always the hardest." She grinned at his answering snort…the double meaning not lost on him.
She'd get hers.
All in due time.
He flashed a smile. "Just throw your darts, Kara." She laughed and turned around, focusing her attention on the board again.
Maybe it was the quiet in the rec room with only the two of them present…or maybe it was him leaning casually against the wall watching her with unabashed interest that threw Kara off but she missed the bull's eye this round.
With a good-natured shrug, she picked up the glass. "I was thirsty anyway." After downing the shot, she refilled it then waved her hand indicating that Lee should take his next turn.
Lee stared at the target, drew in a breath and let his darts sail…again missing the center circle, but not by much.
Kara shoved the glass toward him. "Oh. So close." Strutting past him, she took her place behind the line then looked back over her shoulder. "And yet so far away." She squared her shoulders to take her shot and completely missed the raised eyebrow and quick shake of Lee's head.
Failing to hit the bull's eye again, she drank…but only after she sent a mock toast in his direction. Lee decided he was going to enjoy turning the tables on her. The shots he'd downed were making him very mellow and he was having more fun than he'd had in a very long time.
Of course, most of that had to do with Kara. It didn't matter what frightfully stupid payoff she came up with, he usually ended up carrying out her instructions to the letter. Her insane need to put him in awkward situations gave her so much glee it always lit up when she presented her latest method of torturing him.
He was almost disappointed she wouldn't have the chance this time. Almost.
Lee landed his second dart in the center ring…the other two hit the wide area between the inner and outer circles. Cocking his head sideways, he looked at the target, playing it off as a lucky shot.
They were drink for drink and even up for now, but the next three rounds had Kara belting back two shots to his one. On the next turn, Kara missed again meaning she had to slurp down another drink…putting her two ahead of Lee. She didn't say anything, but she was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol and wondered why Lee seemingly wasn't. The buzz she had going kept her from thinking about it too hard though.
Lee stepped up and made the center circle on his turn, but drank a shot anyway. When she glanced at him in question, he only shrugged. "I was thirsty." He followed up with a smug grin.
Kara let out a snort and rolled her eyes. "Right. Thirsty." There was something about the way he was looking at her, not to mention acting that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Sorta like he knew something she didn't…it was a little unsettling.
When she went up to take her eighth throw, Lee posed a question. "Do you remember that bar on Picon…The Dirty Deed?" Time to move things along.
Kara waited until she launched her darts, landing one in the target before answering. "Yeah…place was a dive." She had a hard time picturing Lee in that rough and tumble joint…more because it catered to bikers over military personnel than because he couldn't handle himself. Interesting.
Grabbing his set of darts, Lee lined up with the target. "I had a flight instructor who took me there after I blew my landings the first week of flight school." He threw three times, hitting his mark on the third throw. "Told me I was trying too hard and needed to relax." Collecting his darts, he stopped beside Kara as she stepped up to take her turn. "He also made a suggestion that got me through hitting the trap…" Seeing that she was ready, he broke off so she could concentrate, but stuck close by instead of waiting at the table.
His close proximity put Kara off her game. Trying to shut out the sound of Lee's breathing, she almost succeeded until she felt the wisp of air he expelled. It curled around her neck like a caress before shooting straight down her spine. Shivering slightly, Kara threw her darts knowing they were way off the mark. Hell, one missed the target entirely.
Shaking her head, she went to retrieve the darts, yanking the one stuck in the wall with more force than necessary. This was so not going the way she'd planned. Lee was talking about traps and breathing in her ear…and neither had anything to do with throwing darts.
Making her way back to the table, she picked up her glass and slugged the liquid down. She grimaced as it burned along her throat. "You gonna take your next shot or what?" She enjoyed listening to academy day tales, but right now it was too distracting. Lee was too distracting.
Lee bit back a grin and nodded…moving to stand behind the line. "I'm going. I'm going." Taking his time, he pretended to consider the board while he continued with his story. "Anyway, the instructor told me my problem with landing was putting too much focus on control…I needed to go more by instinct." Concentrating on the target, he threw. One. Two. Three.
The darts landed in a neat arc just outside the center circle. It took considerable skill to make that happen and he turned to see Kara's eyes narrowed as she looked at the target. Walking back to the table, he saluted her with his glass before downing the drink.
Scooping up her darts, Kara went up to the line and haphazardly threw them. She didn't care when they all landed outside the center circle…she'd been had. She had to hand it to Lee…she hadn't seen it coming.
Moving back to table, Kara drained her glass. "Finish your story, Lee." She topped off the glass again…a sneaking suspicion telling her she'd be toasting his success.
Lee stood beside her while he continued talking. "There's not much left to tell. Seems he blew his landings, too…back in the day…so he made me meet him every night for a month…to throw darts." He moved away from her, positioning himself up behind the line. "The guy was a champion thrower…and he used that skill to make the traps." Lee tossed his first dart…hitting the center circle. "Control and instinct go hand in hand, when you do something over and over…you start to feel it instead of see it." The second shot landed beside the first in the tiny ring. Looking up at Kara, he readied himself to make his third throw. "When you get a feel for something, the control comes naturally and instinct takes care of the rest." The last dart landed in the bull's eye with Lee still holding her gaze. "In my case, the student surpassed the teacher…you're looking at the record holder for the Picon base."
Kara raised her glass. "Impressive." She slurped down the contents, hiccupping as she turned the glass upside down then looked at him askance. "How did I not know this about you?" She swayed a little, the last shot kicking in before she expected making her laugh because her plan to have Lee drunk off his ass had completely backfired.
Laughing with her, Lee threw his arm around Kara, steadying her. "I have no idea. Zak was notorious for telling that one." Dropping his head, he spoke quietly in her ear. "Sorta ruined your fun though…didn't it?"
Kara wasn't so sure about that. "I dunno, Lee. Can't say I'm not having a good time." She pushed away to head for the hatch, weaving as she walked.
Catching up with her, Lee put a guiding arm around her waist and made sure she cleared the threshold. "Not what you planned though, is it?" Enjoying himself immensely, Lee led her through the corridors toward the pilot quarters.
Kara kept pace with him, chuckling. "What do you think I had planned?" Little did he know, she'd had a very inspired idea for embarrassing the hell out of him.
They arrived safely at quarters and Lee undogged the hatch. "Oh…I don't know. Probably me...singing in the showers about the Arrow of Apollo or something." Making sure she cleared the threshold, he got her over to her rack where she plopped down, pulling him down beside her.
Kara snorted. "I would have come up with something way better than that." Okay, maybe not…that was damn good.
Lee nodded in agreement. "Ah…I'm sure. Starbuck doesn't do anything by halves" Having first hand experience…he should know.
Kara grinned…then sobered. "You kicked my ass in darts." She might have a solid buzz going on but she realized his skill level far surpassed hers. Who knew?
Lee flashed a smile. "I did. Yes." She swayed again and Lee figured he'd better let her sleep off the alcohol. "Okay…I need to go. Paperwork's waiting."
Kara nodded and started to lie down…then sat back up again. "Wait." Fisting her hand in his tanks, she stretched the fabric by twisting it effectively keeping him seated. "C'mere a minute." Dragging him forward, she leaned in, planting a surprisingly hot kiss on his lips.
Lee lost himself in the warmth of her mouth. His tongue slid over hers as his hands cupped her face, thumbs caressing her cheeks. Gods, she was incredible. His lips moved down to her throat teasing at the pulse point before coming back up to capture her mouth again.
The kiss was more than he expected and it shook him, changing up the way he felt about Kara. It would be so easy to let her haul him into her rack. So simple to peel off their clothes and let passion ignite.
But they'd both regret it in the morning.
Okay…one of them would regret it and it wouldn't be him.
Purposefully, he slowed things down but kept a gentle pressure on her lips until his pulse rate returned to normal. With reluctance, he eased back hoping he wouldn't see regret on her face. He cracked a smile when he caught her dazed expression…no regret…only surprise.
Feeling better, he decided this was definitely something worth exploring at a later date…when no alcohol was involved.
Kara felt like she'd smacked into a Raptor. "Wow." She had no idea what possessed her to kiss Lee…but damned if she was going to complain. The man had some serious talent in that area also. "Really. Wow." She blinked…then shook her head as if she wasn't sure everything was real.
Lee grinned. "You said that already." Giving her shoulders a gently push, he rose to gather up her feet. "Come on…into the rack with you." Sitting on the edge of the bunk, he tucked the blankets around her then paused to brush his fingers down her cheek before standing to take his leave.
Kara snagged his hand before he could walk away. "Lee." She sat up on her elbows so she could see his face. "When I'm not spinning…you know…I mean when I'm sober? We need to do that again…'kay?"
Lee bent down to drop a kiss on her nose. "If you remember this conversation tomorrow…I'm game." Straightening up, he tugged the foot end of her curtain closed.
Oh…not a problem…she could still feel the tingling burn of the kiss. "I'll remember…and I'm holding you to it." She plopped down and settled back against the pillow.
Smiling, Lee reached for the second panel. "I'll be around…you know where to find me." He tugged the curtain closed. "Night, Kara." Shoving his hands in his pockets, he whistled quietly as he exited quarters.
Ten hours until tomorrow…he couldn't wait.
FIN
Crossposted to LJ: mlsky