Kara stepped out onto the balcony of her classroom at the Academy and shut her eyes as dangerous thoughts started creeping into her head; Zak should never have told her Lee was back in town.
Kara stepped out onto the balcony of her classroom at the Academy and shut her eyes as dangerous thoughts started creeping into her head; Zak should never have told her Lee was back in town. Now that she knew he was here, that old familiar feeling had started creeping up on her.
She had known Lee for a year now. Zak had introduced the two of them as soon as he and Kara decided to get serious with whatever was happening between them. He said that he knew once Lee and Kara met, they couldn't help but be friends. Zak was right. She and Lee were two peas in a pod the second their eyes met.
Kara was actually glad that Zak was already a part of her life before Lee. It made it easy to explain her relationship with the eldest Adama. Kara and Lee were like fire and ice when you got down to it. They were the same when it came to bragging about their skills in the cockpit or their dedication to the people and things they loved, but the similarities ended there.
Kara was a spitball when she got riled up, all passion and fire and spunk. Lee was a steel wall, keeping his lips tightly sealed and his eyes on the target. They would both lash out eventually with what inevitably would be a right hook, but they took separate paths getting there.
With Zak around, it was just the older brother laughing and joking with the girlfriend. That was easy to explain.
The breeze carried the voice of a rowdy group of nuggets to her ears, and Kara smiled. As much as she complained, she did love this job. It had hurt her at first when she couldn't get a battlestar commission after graduation, but she realized that the gods knew what they were doing. She had a flare for teaching.
"Lieutenant Thrace!"
Kara looked down to see the group of nuggets had paused underneath where she stood. She recognized a few of them from her new Basic Maneuvering class. "I thought I told you nuggets to call me god." Even one story up, she could see the students rolling their eyes. "What do you need?"
"Some guy down at the open simulators was asking about you."
Kara gave them a nod of dismissal. Some guy… that was an interesting way of putting it. The nuggets moved on, leaving her to her thoughts.
Lee hadn't always been trouble, not in the way most people assumed. She wasn't blind. She saw the way women turned to stare at him when he entered a bar, the way men glared when his eyes scanned the room. He was one of the most attractive men Kara had ever met, but he wasn't Zak. She loved Zak. She appreciated Lee.
Things had started shifting, though, so slow that she didn't even realize it until too late. Zak was right. Lee was the type of man that Kara gravitated to… as a friend. That was evidenced the second time he visited Picon for his brother's birthday. Kara got into trouble with a few thugs at her favorite bar, and before she could blink, she and Lee were in the Academy brig for drunk and disorderly. Zak had waited twenty-four hours before bailing them out. He thought it was funny.
Looking back, it was that day of freedom that started shifting things about in her head. She did her best to keep everything straight, but Zak kept insisting his brother use his leave passes to come to Picon. She managed to find reasons to keep her presence scarce when Lee was around. She had classes to teach, nuggets to flunk. She had to visit an old Academy friend on Leonis. She was recruiting on Virgon.
It had worked up until the last time Lee visited. Looking back, he really should have called ahead to let his brother know he was coming. Maybe then Zak would have canceled his trip to visit their mother on Caprica.
To make a long story short, Lee showed up on her doorstep to find the girlfriend at home but the younger brother nowhere in sight. Kara had apologized, and Lee had smiled. He told her he was going to stay at the Academy, maybe pick up a few extra dollars guest-lecturing a class or two. He had reached in to give her a small kiss goodbye and that was it.
Kara shook her head as her grip tightened around the railing. That was supposed to be it, but in the end, it wasn't. Kara's eyes slid shut as her mind went back six months to what had almost been.
Kara felt the sun fall on the side of her face as she woke up. Sighing, she shifted to stare up at the ceiling. A small voice was tugging at the back of her mind. "This is a mistake, Kara. Don't do it." She shut her eyes and wasn't surprised when sleep didn't come.
The exasperated groan also didn't take her by surprise as it echoed off the walls of her apartment. She was used to these knee-jerk, gut reactions to misbehave. They had been happening to her for as long as she could remember.
Her hands hit the mattress with a loud smack as she pulled herself up. Her feet touched the cold floor, but she didn't flinch. The shower was quick. She had made up her mind to do this, and something told her if she paused for even a second, she would realize how reckless she was being.
Kara let the towel fall to the ground and pushed open the closet. She should be walking over to her bureau and taking out two of her endless supply of tanks. Her cargoes from the day before were sitting on the floor. Sighing, she ran her hand along the soft material of the skirt hanging in front of her. "This is such a mistake."
It only took her a few minutes to dress. Lee wasn't the type of guy to care if she applied makeup and styled her hair. He probably wouldn't even notice. Besides, she felt a lot less guilty about this if it was spur of the moment.
Kara shook her head as she grabbed the keys to her apartment and headed out the door. Real spur of the moment, Thrace. You knew this was going to happen the second you woke up half an hour ago. You knew it the second you remembered Zak mentioning his big brother liked to go out for these rows in the early, early morning.
The walk to the lake on the Academy campus was relaxing. It felt like no one was around, and that was something Kara had never experienced. Her eyes drifted across the water until she saw him.
Lee was maneuvering the only boat on the lake. She could feel his concentration as he worked to keep the boat under control. Her eyes drifted over the tanned skin of his arms and torso as the muscles strained through the motions. If anything, she suddenly understood where the call sign had come from.
Kara knew the exact moment he spotted her. There was a small falter in the rhythm, barely noticeable if she hadn't been watching him so intently. She felt her right hand come up in a small wave. His lips turned up in the start a smile, and Kara watched him angle the boat towards the shore.
The boat slid to a stop, and she waited until he pulled the oars up out of the water before taking the last few steps to the lake's edge. "Want to go for a walk?"
Lee gave a small nod and jumped down into the water. He pulled the boat up onto the shore before reaching in to grab his shirt. Kara focused her attention on the calm breeze flowing through the trees surrounding the lake until she felt him beside her.
"Early morning?"
"Couldn't sleep," she said, knowing it was a lie.
"I hope you don't feel obligated to entertain me."
"I don't."
"I should have called."
Kara looked at him out of the corner of her eye and smirked. "Yeah, you really should have."
"How's Zak been doing?"
"He's struggling, Lee, but I'm sure you already know that."
"Still can't get the landings?"
"No, and I can't figure out why. He knows the necessary maneuvers. He practically recites the sequence in his sleep. Get him in a simulator, though, and it all just slips away."
"Do you think he'll ever get it?"
Kara paused, wondering if she should lie. Lee was the whole reason Zak entered flight school. He was desperate to prove to himself and to his family that he could be just as successful as his older brother. The least she could do is play the part of supporting girlfriend, tell his brother that he was going to be just fine. "I don't know."
They continued on in silence, and Kara wondered when things had gotten so heavy between them. Why, no matter how hard she tried, could she not pinpoint the point of change? Granted, she knew that it had changed during their twenty-four hour stint in the brig on Zak's birthday, but she had no idea why that particular moment had snowballed into this hot discomfort.
Not knowing what else to do to break the awkward moment, Kara focused on the way the sun was heating her skin. "Is it always nice this early in the morning?"
"Yeah, it is. You should really try to cut down on the drinking and brawling. Maybe you could have figured it out on your own."
"Ha fraking ha," Kara hissed. She meant her tone to come out as slightly annoyed but instead found it to be slightly amused. Lee had that effect on her.
"So I heard your class got canceled for this weekend?"
"I figured the children needed a break. I've been running them pretty hard."
"What excuse did you give them?"
Kara paused to give him a strange look. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I think your authority would seriously be undermined if your students actually knew you had feelings. I mean, a weekend off because they were bottoming out? That's awful compassionate of a woman who insists they refer to her as god."
She let him worry for a minute that he had gone a little too far before smiling. "I told them even god needs a break from their incessant whining. They think that I'm off catching the Panthers away game on Gemenon."
"I see." Lee gave her a small nod and started walking again, assuming now that the misunderstanding was cleared up they would be continuing on.
Kara had one of her sandals off before he realized she wasn't following. "I like to feel the grass between my toes," she explained. Smiling, she jogged to his side and together, they settled back into the lazy rhythm.
"My mother always used to do that. I can remember walking in our backyard with her when we were little. She would tell me stories about the wonders of being up in space and how exciting my father's job was." Lee paused for a moment before continuing. "That was before Zak was born and before they got divorced."
"It sounds wonderful," Kara whispered.
"It was."
Her fingers tightened around the loops of her sandals. Zak never really talked about his mother. Kara knew he loved her to no end. It just seemed like most of his focus was on his father and Lee, so much so that Kara hadn't even met Caroline Adama. There just wasn't time, what with Lee's frequent visits and Zak's classload.
"You'll meet her soon."
Kara glanced over at Lee. It unnerved her when he read her mind like that, but it never really surprised her. "She sounds like an amazing woman."
"She is." Kara watched Lee chew on his bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "She already thinks the world of you."
"She does?"
"Between Zak and I, she probably knows every single wonderful thing about you."
Kara had to fight back a smile as his words sunk in. "You talk about me with your mother?"
A small blush crept up Lee's face, but he didn't pause. "You are an amazing woman, Kara. I can't help but feel it's my duty to let my mother know how much you fascinate me."
Even though she knew better, the smile worked its way free. She watched Lee's eyes lit up. He always did that when he made her smile. She wasn't even going to begin to think of the way he grinned when he actually got her to laugh out loud.
A distant rumbled filled the air around her.
"What is th-" Kara barely got the words out of her mouth before the skies opened up and the rain started pouring down. Before she knew it, Lee had slipped his hand into hers and was dragging her through the rain. The grass was wet beneath her bare feet, and Kara let out a laugh at being caught so unawares.
Lee pulled her underneath the cover of a large oak tree and, putting his hands on his knees, leaned down to catch his breath. Kara followed suit, letting her shoulder rest on the large trunk of this temporary shelter.
"I don't know how I didn't see that coming," Kara laughed, shutting her eyes to focus on the sound of the rain.
"I should have warned you," Lee apologized. "The sky is only that beautiful in the morning when it plans on cooling off. The rain should only last a few minutes."
"Yet another surprise about this planet I call home."
"I find myself constantly surprised when I'm here."
Kara opened her eyes slowly to see meet his. A chill blew through the air, and for the first time, she realized she was soaking wet. The material of the skirt she never should have worn was clinging to her body, and she could just imagine what the tank was doing. She was about to say something to break the quiet tension, but the words caught in her throat as Lee moved to stand before her. Her eyes fell to the crook of his neck where a few droplets of moisture were pooling, and she had to fight back the flare of desire starting in the pit of her stomach.
Lee reached out to brush the hair back from her eyes. His fingers lingered for a moment before sliding down to play with the end of a wayward tendril. The palm of his hand brushed gently against her waist, and Kara suddenly wondered why she hadn't pulled her hair back this morning. She never left it down, not during these hot summer months. His eyes darted up to meet hers, and her mind went completely blank. The way he was looking at her was nothing short of dangerous. "Lee…"
"You look beautiful," he whispered.
She felt his hand come up to cradle her cheek and knew she should say something to stop this. "I look a complete mess."
"Not possible."
His mouth was inches away from hers when she finally understood he was going to kiss her. All she had to do was shift to the side and the mood would be broken. She would be safe.
Her body wasn't complying.
He kissed her first on the forehead, a light touch she barely even felt. That would have been it if only Kara hadn't felt her toes dig in to the grass as she pushed herself up the last few inches.
Their lips met, and the struggle to stay in control was over. It was a kiss that mirrored what she already knew. For months, she had been teasing Zak that there was no way he and Lee could be brothers. They were too different. Zak had always agreed and then pulled her into a kiss. Their kisses were smooth. They were safe. He made her feel wanted.
This kiss was not that kind of kiss. She didn't feel wanted. She felt needed.
Their lips melted in a kiss full of pent-up desire. There were no uncertainties. Lee's hand came up under her hair to cradle her neck. He paused the kiss for only a moment to whisper her name. The sound was muffled as she crushed her lips against him once more.
A boom of thunder was what finally wrenched Kara back to reality. Her hands drifted up to her stinging lips as her eyes went wide.
"Kara…"
Lee's voice was a silent plea, one she knew she couldn't answer. Not now. Not when she couldn't remember what to think.
Kara stumbled back a few steps before turning completely and fleeing back out into the pouring rain. She could hear Lee calling her name, begging her to come back. She forced herself to ignore it.
This had been a mistake. It had all been a huge mistake.
But she already knew that, didn't she?
Kara opened her eyes to see the sun was about to set. Her hand came up to run through the short crop of hair the breeze was currently batting around. She had cut it six months earlier, her long hair becoming too hot for the Picon summer, and she just never let it grow back.
The phone in her office started ringing. Sighing, she stepped inside, turning the lock on the balcony door. Something told her it was Zak. He would be wanting to go out to dinner with his brother like always.
