Thank you for keeping up with that story!
Originally, I just wanted to push the plot with this chapter, but it then turned out so much more fluffy and sad than I actually intended.
I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Disclaimer: I don't own BSG; the quotes about long distance love are adapted and originally by Tom McNeal and E.M. Forster.

Trigger warning: Period typical racism/class thinking.

March 1804

Relationships

Bill Adama

Spring was coming, he could smell it, see it, feel it. The birds were chirping excitedly in the trees that already showed the first leaves as he strolled through the meadows in Kensington, Laura's hand in his. It had become natural, in a way, taking her hand, so it also became increasingly hard not to do it when they were in public. That would very likely raise some questions that neither wanted to answer right now.

"Look, Bill, there will be tulips and daffodiles soon," his friend called out excitedly, pointing at a sunny spot in front of them.

Indeed, there were small, green plants just struggeling to get through the soil.

"Well, they will still need a couple of weeks but it will surely look lovely," he agreed.

"I used to pick flowers outside Caprica Manor, big bunches actually, and try to decorate the house with it," Laura admitted, "my sisters wanted to help, but they were too little. My mother always scolded me though when I had got another dress dirty, so I always took the same dress for picking flowers. My father used to call it my "flower dress", he actually had a picture commissioned of me in it. I am rambling, am I not?"

She looked at him a bit flusteres.

"No, well, maybe a little, but I like listening to you, keep on," he answered with a smile.

"Alright, well, you see, we always put the flowers down and expensive decorations were arranged when visitors came. My parents said they would not understand the way we lived, that they would expect us to be a certain way and that we should use that to an advantage."

"And you kept on doing it until today," he concluded earnestly.

She nodded. "We became quite good at pretending from a very young age. At some point, it was second nature, running free when nobody was looking and putting on a show for guests. Now it is impossible to shake off. Or rather, I have no reason to. It has served me well so far."

"I can tell," he commented, a bit more dryly than intended.

She ducked her head a bit in a gesture very unusual for her and Bill instantly regretted his words.

"So, what are your plans for the upcoming weeks?" he changed the topic.

"Well," she followed his lead, "I should make some inquiries concerning Karl Agathon, he seems to have taken a fancy to a very special girl. Kara hasn't told you by any chance something about it?"

"No, I am sorry," he answered, "but I could ask whether she has heard from him, maybe she will let something slip that migth help you."

Laura hummed in approval.

"There are a couple of invitations I should follow, nothing to tedious. A soiree at the house of the Faust family, a dinner with the Cooks' and then calling on some other families - the usual. The only exhausting event will be a huge dinner at Lord Adar's house, to welcome back a Mr. Valerii. Admiral Can and his lovely wife will also be there. You are not, by any chance, coming?"

She looked at him hopefully.

"It would make my evening a lot less horrible."

Bill smiled.

"Indeed, me and my children will be attending. Lee will be back by then, I am glad he will be able to join us. I had not dared to hope to see you there, though."

"Bill, by now you should now that I am nearly always invited to these kind of functions. People want my favour and my good graces so I might recommend them to others. It is a simple strategy."

"Does it work?" the man wanted to know.

Laura grinned a bit mischiviously.

"Depending whether it suits me or whether it doesn't. Or whether I like the person or not. Which is the rarer case."

She nodded towards their clasped hands.

"As I said, this is special."

Bill was struggling for words after this declaration, it was hard to decipher how she had meant it.

"Well, I am glad to hear that," he finally answered.

Laura simply smiled in that enigmatic, if not slightly sad way of hers.

"Anyway," she went on,"do you know him, this Mr. Valerii? He is in trade and has lived in Hong Kong for years. I mean, for decades! Apparently, he did such a good job that they simply "forgot him there" because they didn't find anyone better. At least that is what I have heard."

"I have heard of him," Bill answered, " the man has quite a reputation. I will be very much interested in meeting him in person."

"I believe some eligible girls will be, too," Laura remarked after a while, giggling a bit when she saw Bill's confused facial expression. "For Lee," she explained casually, then she sighed. "Oh my goodness darling, you are still at loss when it comes to this, aren't you?"

Feelings welled up in his chest with the casual use of the term of endearment, so he pulled her closer by the hand he still held in his. She followed willingly and ended up standing in front of him, looking up through her lashes. Only a second after, his lips were on hers and warmth began spreading through his whole body, from head to toes, like the sunshine had intensified tenfold in just the blink of an eye. Laura let go of his hand to wrap her arms around his neck, getting as close to him as their coats allowed. She playfully nipped at his bottom lip before soothing the sting with the tip of her tongue. Before he could react, Laura changed the angle of the kiss again, keeping him busy trying to catch up with what she was doing. It was a bit of a challenge and impossible to figure out her next move, mirroring most of their interactions and their underlying uncertainty. Bill found he didn't mind being kissed like that, it made an exciting change and only left him wanting more. And more. It ended far too soon with his friend leaning back slightly to get some air, quite out of breath. He took in her adoribly reddened cheeks and dove in to steal another short kiss before the two of them went on on walking, hands interlaced once more.
It was frustrating if comforting at the same time how they could go from casual to steamy and back in just a couple of minutes.

"You have been awfully quiet about Lee," Laura remarked after a while.

"Well," he began, "I suppose there is not much to tell. We exchange the occasional letter, but other than some general military information, there is nothing to it."

"Oh, I see," she nodded in understanding, "in any case he will be back so you will see him more often now, I suppose."

"Yes, though I don't know how that will turn out," he admitted.

"I guess you can only wait and find out," Laura commented, "I believe he still has some reason to visit Kensington, hasn't he?"
She raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't know, this is not something we actually talked about," the father explained, indirectly refering to Lee's rather unconventional relationship with Dee, "though I hope you understand when I say I wouldn't mind if it wasn't the case. I have thought a lot about it, if it was just about me, I would have no objections, Dee is lovely and I wish her all the best, but as it is they are always in danger of causing talk she wouldn't want. Also, more importantly, I don't believe their characters actually suit each other. I think it is more a match of convenience than anything else. "

"Hmm," Laura agreed, "additionally talk of that kind would affect Kara negatively as well, I don't believe they are aware of it. Or care, for the matter. Let's hope with Lee being away so much, things will sort out themselves."

"You don't believe in long-distance love? That distance can mean very little when someone else means very much to you?"

She gave him a funny look.

"I don't really know whether I believe in love at all. So don't ask me about love of long distance." She thought again. "Well, I suppose I can agree in terms of platonic love, like among family members. But I am really not sure about romantic love. Because when someone comes back, they will not be the same as when they left. And the person who remains might not be the same either."

"So? Why would you accept that in a family member but not in a say lover or husband?"

She looked at him earnestly. "I am not talking about acceptance. I am talking about love. And I know I can love someone platonically and therefore I think I could keep on loving them, even though they changed."

"I still don't understand."

"Let me finish, Bill!" She sounded slightly annoyed at his interruption, but mostly sad when she went on, not looking at him. "You have to understand, I don't think that I can love romantically at all. Not before and not after."

Thank you for reading!