Kara bought the little black dress on a whim from Racetrack when the pilot was cleaning out her locker; she had this vision of Lee's reaction in her head and the idea of that actually happening made the loss of her last bottle of ambrosia worthwhile.
Kara bought the little black dress on a whim from Racetrack when the pilot was cleaning out her locker; she had this vision of Lee's reaction in her head and the idea of that actually happening made the loss of her last bottle of ambrosia worthwhile.
And finally, weeks later, she found occasion to wear it. It was Cally's birthday, and a lot of the pilots wanted to treat their favorite deckhand to a night of debauchery on Cloud Nine. Kara was one of the first to volunteer her services. She was an expert in debauchery.
The dress felt like a second skin to her and went perfectly with the hand-me down heels she had traded her last Colonial Day dress for. Kara took one last glimpse of herself in the locker mirror and then, slamming the door shut, decided it wasn't nice for her to keep the others waiting.
"Got a date I don't know about?"
Kara wasn't surprised to see Helo hanging in the hatchway. "It's Cally's birthday."
Helo pushed off the wall and walked over to her. "I know that, Kara. I just didn't expect you to pull out all the stops for something as simple as a ladies night."
"I know you boys forget that I'm a girl and I like to do girly things sometimes, but I'm tired of having to defend myself."
Helo reached out to drag a finger across her bare shoulder. He had been the one to tell her that she looked better in strapless dresses, but he had never thought she would listen to him. "I never forgot you were a woman, and neither have a lot of men on this ship."
Kara swatted his hand away and turned her back to him. "Go away." She could hear Helo's laughter echoing off the walls as she made her way into the corridor.
"Oh, Kara?" Kara turned to look at where Helo's head was sticking out of the open hatch. "Don't think for one second that I'm not aware a certain someone we both know is supposed to be going over ship maintenance reports in the hangar bay with the Chief right now."
Kara could feel herself blush, but she kept walking. Frak Helo for knowing what this dress was really about.
She paused a few feet into the hangar. Cally, Racetrack, Seelix, and Kat were already there and ready to go, but it was who they were ready to go around that made Kara stop in her tracks. Lee was standing in the middle of the small group of girls, laughing at something Kat said. Kara took in what he was wearing. The pants were not military issue, but they perfectly complimented the blue striped shirt he was wearing. He was wearing a civilian jacket that seemed as if it was cut to his exact measurements, but there was no way that was possible. No one's clothes fit that well since the attacks destroyed everything they took for granted.
Lee was in the middle of telling a story when he finally noticed Kara. She heard his words trail off almost immediately. Ducking her head to hide her smile, she walked across the hangar bay to stand before him.
"What were you saying, Apollo?" Kat prompted.
Lee couldn't tear his eyes away from Kara as he shook his head. "Doesn't matter."
Cally rolled her eyes. Being a member of the deck crew, she was used to seeing this kind of thing. Starbuck and Apollo had a routine. "Let's go, people. It's my birthday, and I want to celebrate."
Kara waited until the other four women had stepped onto the Raptor to turn to Lee. She was about to say something when she realized he was still staring at her. She smiled, and that seemed to break him from his trance. "You look beautiful," he said with a grin.
"So what's with the getup?" Kara asked, scanning his civilian-clothed body again.
"My father heard about the assaults that have been happening. He thought you might need a little extra protection, and since the Chief had to reschedule our meeting, I offered to tag along."
Kara tried to hide the delight that suddenly surfaced at the thought of Lee coming along. "That's awfully nice of you."
Lee shook his head and glanced back at where the woman were beckoning them to hurry their asses up. "It's not really a huge sacrifice."
"Do me a favor and listen to the big brain tonight," Kara said, smacking his upside the head before grabbing his head and dragging him onto the ship.
The flight over to Cloud Nine was eventful. It seemed like every woman was vying for Lee's attention. It was evidence of how sex-starved the whole fraking ship was these days. There were issues of rank and propriety to be considered, and yet Kara sat back and watched every single one of those issues be ignored. She didn't say a word. She knew how fun it could be to flirt with Lee. Hell, it was practically a hobby for her.
The woman shamelessly flirted with Lee all the way into the Starlight Lounge and even for a little while after. Then, Lee seemed to get serious about his job. He fell away from them, claiming they would have no fun if he was their constant shadow. From time to time, Kara would turn around to see him sitting at the bar. He was always watching them, making sure they were okay.
"It's fraking sexy."
Kara picked up on the tail end of whatever Racetrack was whispering to Seelix and found herself asking what exactly was sexy. Racetrack's face went white as she realized Kara had overheard. "N…nothing."
"Nothing my ass!" Kara exclaimed. She slammed her glass of ambrosia down and leaned in. "Tell Starbuck your little secret."
"We were just talking about Captain Adama," Seelix said, glancing over her shoulder to give Lee a wave.
"And?" Kara prodded.
"And that's it," Racetrack insisted.
"Liars. If you were talking about him, then why was 'it' fraking sexy?" Both women's faces went beet red, and Kara knew she had them. "Spill."
"Well, we've been watching the CAG on and off for the last hour or so. Tons of women keep coming up to him."
"He's an attractive man. That will happen," Kara said, rolling her eyes. "Gods, you two act as if you've never seen people try to pick each other up in a bar."
"We've never seen a guy glimpse over at our table each and every time a woman comes over to him, and then the woman politely leaves a few seconds later," Racetrack pointed out.
"He's obviously telling the woman he's working."
"If his work consists of staring intently at you, then I guess you're right," Seelix chuckled. "Because that's all he's been doing all night."
"If I had known Lee would like it so much, I would have kept that fraking dress," Racetrack grumbled.
Kara laughed and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes met Lee's, and she realized they were right. He was watching her. Before she could say anything, there was a loud slam. Cally had returned to the table with a full round of drinks. "The cute boys over at that table bought us a round," she exclaimed proudly. She gave the boys in question a small wave before turning back to the table. "And they want us to come join them, ladies."
Kat's eyes roamed the bodies of the men before she purred, "Yes, please." She grabbed her drink and stood up. The whole table laughed as Kat made herself right at home in the middle of the men's table.
"Well, I guess this is what we've been waiting for," Seelix admitted. She turned to give Lee a quick wink before leading the rest of her cohorts over to the table of men.
The men immediately launched in a string of compliments about how women in the military were so sexy, and Kara couldn't help but eat it up. She really didn't get enough appreciation these days. The cute blond guy who had been all over Cally finally got up the nerve to ask her to dance after a few minutes, and most of the other guys followed suit. When the crop engineer who had been sitting next to her suggested they join the others, Kara paused for a moment before politely declining.
The guy quickly asked Racetrack, and she agreed but said she would be there in a minute. Racetrack waited until she was alone and then turned to Kara. "You okay, Captain?"
Kara hesitated a moment before nodding.
"That guy seemed pretty into you."
Kara shrugged.
"Not feeling it?"
Racetrack's eyes went wide as Kara smiled and knocked back her whole glass of alcohol. "You know what they've been saying to us since the end of the colonies? That thing about living life to the fullest and not putting off what you want?"
Racetrack turned to look at where the cute engineer was waiting for her. "It's a nice concept, isn't it?" She turned back to look at Kara. "Are you sure you don't want him?"
Kara shook her head no. "I think what I want is to ask our bodyguard to dance."
Racetrack's face lit up in surprise, and Kara gave her a quick wink before sliding out of her chair. She felt everyone's eyes on her as she pushed her way through the crowd. Racetrack had given up a really nice dress.
She leaned up against the bar next to Lee and watched the crowd for a moment. Then she turned to him. "So are you going to reject me like the others if I ask you to dance?"
Lee kept his eyes fixed on the crowd as he responded. "Well, the women I'm supposed to be watching are on the dance floor, so I guess it's in my job description."
Kara laughed and moved in front of him. Her hands slipped around his waist, and it took Lee a second to realize that she wasn't just copping a feel. He felt the hem of his shirt come untucked and the cool metal of his gun met his skin. "Can't let everyone know you're armed. We might have a riot on our hands."
Lee smiled as she pushed his jacket off his shoulders and laid it on the bar. She looped her fingers with his and dragged him onto the dance floor.
It made her smile to see the cute way Lee fumbled as he tried to find a safe place to put his hands. Kara solved the problem by stepping in and placing one hand on his back and moving their still joined hands out to the side. Lee relaxed considerably and started moving their bodies to the slow beat of the band.
Kara sighed and let herself enjoy. She could hear the giggles of her crewmates as they flirted their way through the dance. She was glad she didn't have to do that. She had gotten tired of being the cute, flirty type years earlier. It only got her a one-night stand and another notch on the bedpost.
Lee inched their joined hands closer until his fingertips gently brushed her collarbone. Kara was extremely happy she had listened to Helo when he told her how big of a turn-on bare shoulders were. Lee was staring at the movement of his fingers across her skin, and it almost felt like he was devouring her with his eyes.
She let her eyes drift shut. She trusted Lee to watch her back.
"Excuse me, sirs."
Kara snapped her head up off Lee's shoulder and looked around. The whole bar was deserted. Kat and Racetrack were across the room, saying goodbye to those men from before. Cally and Seelix were standing beside her and Lee, looking rather amused. She must have lost track of time.
"Highbar just called to say he'll be docking the Raptor in a few minutes. We should probably make our way down to the docking bay."
Kara nodded and, pulling herself away from Lee, went to the bar to settle the tab.
The walk down to the docking bay was rather uneventful. Kara spent most of it trying to keep Kat from falling over. The girl would be nursing one hell of a hangover in the morning.
Racetrack and Cally filled Kara in on all the fun she had missed while she was dancing with Lee. It seemed like the men had bought the women of Galactica quite a few rounds and were rather determined to take someone home. "The frakers were too stupid," Seelix pointed out from the back of the Raptor.
Kara turned to see the poor specialist had a half-conscious Kat leaning on her shoulder. "How so?"
"Well, they didn't compare any of our answers. Every single one of us told them that Lee was our boyfriend, but he was doing a favor and keeping the Fleet wallflower occupied while the rest of us had some fun."
Lee shook his head from up in the co-pilot's seat. "They must have been pretty stupid if they actually believed someone who looked like Kara could be a wallflower."
"Was that a compliment, Captain?" Kara said, feigning shock.
Lee winked and turned back to his conversation with Highbar.
Kara smiled to herself and focused back on the story Racetrack was telling.
The Raptor landed a few minutes later, and Racetrack and Seelix volunteered to get the other two women to their respective bunkrooms. Kara found herself hanging back as Lee helped Highbar with the landing checklist. She took secret pleasure in watching Lee while he was in CAG mode.
Lee didn't say a word to her as they walked side by side down the corridor. It was the middle of the late shift so not many people were around to question what they were doing dressed in civvies. Kara felt Lee's hand slip into hers halfway to their bunkroom and smiled.
It had been a good night.
The bunkroom hatch came a little too quick for Kara's liking. She was about to turn the handle when she felt Lee's hand tighten in hers. She turned to give him an inquiring look, but the words on the tip of her tongue caught in her throat. He looked like he was about to…
Kara's thoughts drifted off as Lee leaned towards her. His lips brushed against hers gently for a few seconds. When he realized she wasn't pushing him away, he gripped her waist and pulled her in closer. The kiss stayed simple and innocent, and it felt right to Kara. She was prepared to stay in this corridor, openly kissing her CAG, for as long as he would allow, but a small, playful nibble on her bottom lip made her giggle and pull away. Lee was smiling down at her.
She gave him a wink and pushed the hatch open. They stepped into the bunkroom and went to their respective lockers. Kara did her best not to glance in his direction. He was in some state of undress, and she wasn't sure she could handle that right now.
Kara grabbed a hair tie and pulled her hair back out of her face. Hearing him move away from his locker, she angled her locker door so she could see Lee in the mirror and smiled. As much as she loved seeing him in civilian clothing, she would take a pair of running shorts any day.
The smile was still plastered on her face as she slid into the bunk. Her mind started processing the night, and she realized what had just happened.
He picked her up. He danced with her. He walked her home. He kissed her on the doorstep.
They had just had their first date.
Kara smiled to herself and twisted to pull her curtain back a few inches. "Lee?"
It took a couple seconds, but she did hear the soft scrap of Lee's curtain being drawn back. She held his eyes for a few seconds before smiling. "Good night."
He reflected her smile right back at her. "Good night."
Kara gave him a wink and shut her curtain. She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. It had been a nice night.
