The highway stretched out in front of Lee as he drove his brother and the new girlfriend back to the Picon Academy, but nevertheless he found himself silently thankful for the long stretch of road and the fact that Zak had been fast asleep for the last few hours of conversation.

The highway stretched out in front of Lee as he drove his brother and the new girlfriend back to the Picon Academy, but nevertheless he found himself silently thankful for the long stretch of road and the fact that Zak had been fast asleep for the last few hours of conversation.

This Kara Thrace was different. That was what his little brother kept telling him time and time again, but Lee honestly didn't believe it until now.

He turned his head to look at the woman in the passenger seat beside him. She was just as attractive as Zak's previous girlfriends even if it was in a less in-your-face kind of way. Zak said there was just something about her that was different, but Lee had yet to put his finger on what that was.

Kara was gesturing wildly, telling some story about her perfect simulator run back when she was a student. Lee found himself chuckling at her enthusiasm. He could remember back when he had stories to say that got him just as worked up. That was before his father left the family and he had to step up and be the man of the house.

Kara collapsed in a fit of giggle right in the middle of her story, and Lee's eyes darted up to the rearview mirror. He could not believe Zak was sleeping through this. They had been laughing and joking all the way in from the Picon countryside.

Lee looked over at Kara. She had gotten a hold of herself and was finishing up the second half of her story. He listened patiently as Kara proceeded to tell her tale using every possible form of the word frak and even some Lee had never heard before. Yeah, Kara was different, and Zak saw that as a good thing. But his baby brother had always been a little blind when it came to the important things, and this was no different.

Kara was a different type of girl from what Zak usually brought home, but she was familiar to Lee in a million unsaid ways. She might not be his baby brother's idea of what a girl should be, but for Lee, she was perfect.

Lee had no clue how, but Zak had managed to snag his big brother's dream girl. It was a good thing Lee loved his brother so fraking much.

"What are you staring at?"

Lee snapped back to the present and realized Kara was done with her story. "Sorry," he apologized, turning his attention back to the road. They were getting closer to the city.

"No problem," Kara said, laughing it off. Her eyes shifted to the side mirror. Zak was still sprawled across the back seat, dead to the world. She couldn't believe how easily he fell asleep. They had been in Lee's truck for only a few minutes before he passed out.

She stretched her legs out onto the dashboard and shut her eyes. Lee had rolled down the windows a few miles back, and the wind felt fantastic on this hot Picon day. There was a fresh smell to the air out here in the country that was never really there at the Academy. Zak had been smart to suggest they take this trip to see his brother.

Her nose caught a whiff of something familiar, and her mind went back to the memory of the guest bedroom she and Zak had spent the week bunking in. It had always smelled like clean laundry and grassy earth. She could feel the cool pillow against her cheek like she was still there.

A small sigh escaped her lips as she imagined the feel of Zak's arm coming around her. It would be so warm against the cool sheets. Kara felt herself shiver lightly at the idea. The sun was beating down on her skin as she felt his arm tighten and turn her to face him. She acted on instinct and pulled him into a kiss. His lips were softer than she remembered but more sure of what he was doing. She could feel his tongue running along her lower lip and giggled. It tickled.

She felt his smile against her lips and moved her hands up to run through his hair. It was getting long. She was about to tell him he needed a haircut when his hand pushed up the bottom of her shirt and skimmed the small inch of skin. She gasped, and he took advantage of her open mouth to deepen their kiss.

They kept a hold of each other, just kissing and smiling, for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, she felt him pull back and opened her eyes to see him beaming down at her, his blue eyes sparkling. "Morning, Kara," Lee whispered.

Kara snapped awake but managed not to jerk at all. She slowly turned to see Lee was watching the road. There was no way he could know what she had just dreamed.

She let herself look at him for probably the first real time since he picked them up a week earlier. His skin was tan from taking care of the farm. From what Zak told her, Lee's childhood best friend had to go visit his little sister in the hospital on Leonis, and Lee had agreed to watch the small farm his friend had out in the wilds of Picon. He had been there for two weeks before he invited his little brother to join him.

Kara let her eyes roam up his tan skin to his hair. It was rather long and was slick back with sweat from the hot car. He had apologized when they got into the car. There had been a problem with the livestock that morning so he didn't have time to take a shower after working with the animals. For some reason, Kara found the slightly dirty look intriguing. Working on a farm suited him. Maybe he should think of it as a second career.

Lee let out a sigh and turned the wheel slightly as they entered the highway into the city. Kara's attentions fell to his hands. They were the hands of a Viper pilot, through and through. Callused at the finger tips and palm from too much time in the cockpit. Dirt under the nails, though this time it probably wasn't engine grease. They were tough, very sure of themselves, a reflection of the man they were a part of.

She saw Lee's eyes dart over to her and then back to the road. He knew she was watching him. "How long did I sleep?" she asked.

"Only a few minutes. I have to say I missed the company," Lee admitted.

"That's not a phrase I hear a lot."

Lee's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"I'm not the type of person people find it easy to be around."

"I don't know what kind of people you're around, but they have to be crazy not to warm up to you."

Kara shook her head. "I'm a rather abrasive person, Lee. I'm not likable."

"I like you."

Kara felt her face go red and hoped to the gods that Lee would keep his eyes on the road. They were already nearing campus. Kara couldn't figure out where the time had gone.

The silence remained between them as Lee pulled through the Academy gates. Kara held back a smirk when the guard recognized the great Apollo and motioned for them to proceed. She had to admit she had been surprised to find out that this attractive nugget who was in her apartment-mate's basic flight class was actually the brother of the man who set all the Academy records. At least he had set the records until Kara showed up.

Kara directed Lee through the winding roads of the campus until they were parked in front of her home.

"Wake up, bro," Lee called. He rolled his eyes when Zak didn't even move an inch. He looked over at the passenger seat to see Kara mirroring his expression. "He does that for you, too?"

"It usually takes me bribing him," Kara admitted as she opened the door and slipped out of the truck. Lee met her around back and hopped up into the bed to hand her the bags.

As her hand brushed Lee's when she grabbed the last bag, the words came falling out of her before she could think twice. "You should come stay with me during your next shore leave."

Lee's eyes went wide, and he found himself glimpsing through the back window at his little brother, still dead to the world.

"No!" Kara said, dropping the bag and shaking her head. "I didn't mean it like that. I just… I wasn't lying when I said people don't really take to me. I mean, I have my friends here at the Academy, but I'm not sure they would be my friends if we didn't work together. I don't think I'm the kind of girl they're used to being around. I try really hard to show them that I'm not a complete waste to be around, but I never know if it's working. And then you show up, and it's so fraking easy. Like I'm telling you these stories and you're laughing and asking questions and you don't have to, but you are. So I just thought that maybe you might want to listen to some of my stories again and now I realize that sounds completely stupid and I should have kept my mouth shut." Kara kept wincing as she stooped down to pick up her bag. "Sorry," she added as an after thought. She made the mistake of glancing up at Lee to see his reaction, and she felt her face fill with confusion. He was smiling at her. "What?"

"I have some time off a few months from now," Lee said, hoping down off the truck. "I'll give you a call."

Kara felt a smile spread across her face. "Great."

Lee reached down to pick up his brother's bag. "One condition, though. I want to fly simulators with you."

Kara nodded. "I think I can sneak you on campus."

"It's a date then." Lee held out the bag. "Hold this for a second."

"What are you going to do?" Kara asked as she took the bag from him.

"Just watch." Lee walked around to the driver's side and, leaning in the open window, laid on the horn.

Zak jumped up off the seat. His head banged against the roof of the truck with a loud thump. When his vision cleared, he saw his brother and girlfriend practically rolling on the ground laughing. "Very funny."

"It was," Lee wheezed through the tears and laughter.

"What'd I miss?" Zak said slipping out of the backseat.

"Not much," Kara replied.

"I'm dating your girlfriend," Lee pointed out. "I think that might be new."

Zak's eyes went wide, and he turned to look at Kara. She shrugged. "It was a long drive back, Zak. You know I get bored easily."

He watched Kara hand Lee his bag, and then his brother and girlfriend started chatting as they made their way into her home. It took him a few seconds to snap back to reality, and then he was running to catch up. "You two were kidding, right?"