It had all started with an innocent bet over a rather interesting hand of triad and ended in the middle of the night with an intimate dance in the center of the hangar bay with only the empty Vipers to guard them from prying eyes.
Lee had never been one to beat big on a hand he didn't know he could win, but there was something in Kara's laugh, in her smile, that told him he had her. He had her trapped in a stone, cold bluff.
"I want something from you, Starbuck."
Lee turned to look at the man next to him. For a second, he had forgotten Helo was still in this hand. He had only know Karl Agathon for a few days now, but he felt like he could read the Raptor ECO like a book. He had something, but it wasn't good enough.
"You always want something from me, Karl," Kara countered.
"I was talking to some of the pilots in the mess, and they were telling me what a shame it was that I missed the Colonial Day celebrations. It seems there was a particularly attractive blond lighting up the dance floor. Very unbecoming of a Fleet pilot, but I would have liked to have seen it."
"I'm not putting that dress on for you."
Helo chuckled and shook his head. "That's okay. I'd rather see you dance."
Kara narrowed her eyes. "You want to see me dance?"
"Yeah. I have two hundred cubits here that will match the promise of a dance."
"I have the cubits," Kara said, pointing to her stack.
"I don't want the cubits," Helo insisted.
Kara rolled her eyes, and Lee realized with a start that she was going to give in. He couldn't understand this relationships she had with Helo. For a man she seemed to be treating like her best friend, she hadn't talked about him that much after he was lost in the attacks.
Kara scribbled her agreement on a piece of paper and slid it into the center of the table. She waited a moment before looking over at Lee. "You going to go in on this?"
Lee thought it over. This dance was Helo's request, not his. He felt almost as if he was intruding.
Helo leaned over and whispered, "Go in, Captain."
Lee smiled and threw a handful of cubits into the middle. "Only because my hand is so good," he insisted.
The rounds of betting wound down quickly after that. Everyone wanted to see who was going to win. They didn't care how much the person won.
It was only when Kara went all in that things got interested. Helo waited a few seconds before throwing down his cards. He claimed he didn't want to lose all his money on his first night back at the tables. The start of a smile danced at the corners of Kara's lips, and that cemented it. She was bluffing.
Lee pushed his whole stack of cubits, cigars, and miscellaneous clothing to the center of the table. "I call."
Kara's face went white. She hadn't expected him to do that.
Everything went to chaos as soon as Lee laid down the full colors. Kara flung her cards at his head, screaming lucky bastard, and Lee knew it was her way of not being caught in a bluff. He let her get away with it.
People were congratulating him for hours. He took down the mighty Starbuck. Lee was so busy fending off the praise and trying to make a graceful exit that he didn't notice when Kara made hers. People kept handing him drinks, and Lee did his best to give the impression that he wanted to be here. In reality, he just wanted to go back to his bunk. He had to fly CAP in six hours, and then he had a high stack of paperwork to get to Colonel Tigh. There were hours of medical updates to be sorted through, not to mention he had to review Kara's latest report on the nuggets. He would need his rest.
An hour after the game ended, Kat gathered his earnings up and pushed them into his chest. "There's an opening, sir. You should take it and get the frak out of here." She took the piece of paper that was on the top of all the cubits and tucked it between his two tanks. "You might want to hold on tight to that one."
Lee gave his pilot a smile of thanks and slipped out the door within seconds. He enjoyed spending time with his pilots, but he couldn't deny that things were different now that he was CAG. There were responsibilities, especially now that his father was working at half capacity. He needed to be the strong son and focused CAG like everyone expected him to be.
Sighing, Lee tried to put his winnings away in his locker without waking anyone up. It was deep into the third shift and quite a few of the bunk curtains were closed. He shrugged out of his tanks and cargos, shoving them somewhere in the bottom of his locker. He'd straighten them in the morning.
Grabbing a pair of sweatpants, he was about to gently close the locker door when he noticed a piece of paper by his feet. As he bent down, he suddenly remembered that Kat had shoved Kara's I.O.U. between his tanks.
He turned the worn piece of paper over in his hands a few times before setting it on the shelf above his pillow. He sat down in his bunk and slid his sweatpants on one leg at a time. His eyes kept drifting back to the little piece of paper. He wasn't sure what to do with it.
Lee laid down in his bunk and stared up at the ceiling. He hadn't wanted this stupid dance. It was Helo's idea. Things had been tense between Kara and himself. Stuff happened on Caprica that she wasn't telling him about, and they both knew it. The last thing they needed was something as private as a dance where all they could do was talk.
Or maybe that was exactly what they needed. He wasn't quite sure.
Lee shut his eyes and tried to push those thoughts from his mind. It only took a few minutes for him to start tossing and turning. His relationship with Kara had always been a hard one to define, but ever since the attacks on the Twelve Colonies, it had gotten impossible. He never knew if he was overstepping his bounds or if she wanted more from him. They blew hot and cold, and Lee found himself just wanting it to be warm.
He wanted them to be back to whatever chaos they liked to call normal.
Then, it hit him. His eyes shot open and immediately focused on the small piece of paper hanging over his head. He couldn't sleep. He had an apology to make.
Lee slid out of bed, being sure not to make a noise, and walked to the bunk directly across from his. He pulled the curtain back and smiled. Kara was laying there, her arm flung over her head, completely oblivious to the world. It was refreshing.
"Kara," he whispered. He reached out to gently shake her shoulder. "Wake up."
She didn't startle awake like he thought she would. Instead, her eyes kind of glided open and went wide as she stared at him. Her voice came out sleepy and low. "Lee?"
Lee reached into the bunk to grab her hand. "Come with me."
Kara let him pull her to her feet, and they were halfway out the bunkroom before she asked where they were going. Lee shook off her question with a smile. She didn't ask again.
Lee was grateful that it was the middle of the night. The hangar bay was near deserted, and the crew that was here knew to turn away at the sight of them. He felt Kara lean her body in closer to his as if she could hide behind him. He suddenly realized how odd they must look, Kara in her tank and running shorts, him with only his sweatpants on.
Tightening his hand around hers, he pulled her out of view between two Vipers. His free hand came out to run along the letters of Kara's name and rank. Of course it would be her Viper they would end up next to.
He felt Kara pull away from him and turned to give her the explanation he knew she would be demanding any second now. He expected her to look annoyed which was why the content smile made him stop in his tracks. She leaned against the ship behind her. "This one's yours."
Lee's eyes went wide. She was right. They were standing between their two ships.
"Did you plan this, Lee?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"No… I… no." Lee shook his head. Their Vipers were never kept next to each other. They were the two most qualified pilots on this ship, and when an alert was raised, they were the first to be sent out. Having their Vipers close to separate launch tunnels made it easier to get them out there. Their Vipers were never kept next to each other.
"So you pulled me away from a very nice dream, Captain," Kara teased. "Are you ever going to explain why?"
Lee watched her for a few seconds before moving to stand in front of her. "I wanted my dance." He held his hand out for her to take and waited.
Her protest was soft as she slid her hand into his. "Lee, I'm not wearing shoes."
"Neither am I," he pointed out. He gave her a little spin before starting to sway. The sounds of the hangar echoed off the walls, giving them a nice rhythm. Kara's body relaxed into his after a few seconds.
Lee took a moment to dip her low to the ground, and Kara's laughter made his heart soar. He had missed her.
He pulled her close to him again and was thankful to feel her hands wrap around his waist. They were swaying more than dancing now, but it didn't matter. He was just happy to be close to her.
"I'm sorry," Lee whispered as their motions slowed.
"For what?"
"For leaving you."
"Lee, you didn't leave me. I left you," she corrected.
He shook his head. "No. Before that, on Colonial Day."
Kara pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Is that what this is about?"
"I wanted to give you the dance I should have."
Kara smiled and tightened her grip. "Thank you."
Lee pushed her out into another ridiculous twirl, making her laugh again. This was what had gone wrong on Colonial Day. They had tried to be something they were not.
This, dancing barefoot in the hangar bay, was what they were. Lee was happy to get back to that.
Shutting his eyes, he chuckled softly. This was an apology, all right. Starbuck and Apollo style.
It had all started with an innocent bet over a rather interesting hand of triad and ended in the middle of the night with an intimate dance in the center of the hangar bay with only the empty Vipers to guard them from prying eyes.
