Variations On A Theme Chp 1/4
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Summary: Kara sleeps with Laura instead of Baltar the night of the Colonial Day celebration.
Beta: fragrantwoods
Notes: Finally finished the damn thing. So... yeah.
-
Kara stared at the ceiling. It was a decent ceiling. Some would say it was a better view than a rack above her own bunk, but it was certainly less comforting. The mattress under her was firm, but supple enough to let her sink into it. The sheets and blankets wrapped around her were warm, smooth and smelled of last night's sex.
She had no idea what was supposed to happen next. Normally she just left. That seemed like the appropriate thing to do. Maybe she was just waiting for Kara to leave in order to get up? She turned her head, hoping to learn something from the state of the person next to her.
Laura Roslin was awake, and staring up at the ceiling just like she had been.
It wasn't particularly helpful. She looked as awake as someone could while still lying in bed. How long she'd been like that? Typically, Kara would have noticed a bed mate waking up.
Typical. This was far from frakking typical, wasn't it?
Seeming to finally notice her stare, the President turned to look at her. Bedhead made her hair curly and very frizzy, or maybe it was from the sex. Was that look supposed to be her cue to leave?
"Morning."
"Morning."
Roslin sat up, holding a sheet to her chest with one hand and trying to run the other through her hair. She grimaced at the tangles she encountered. "Tea or coffee?"
"What?" Kara scrambled to sit up as well, letting the blankets pool around her waist.
"Do you prefer tea or coffee?" She turned, swinging her legs off the bed. She abandoned the sheet and moved across the room to one of the armchairs, where a robe was laid across the back.
"Uh, coffee sir, thanks."
She turned back around before she finished closing the robe. The sides of her breasts, the dip of her navel down to the thatch of curls between her legs were framed just for a moment by the edges of the blue satin before they were covered. "Should I go back to calling you Lieutenant, or do you suppose if you call me Laura, I can call you Kara?"
"You can call me Kara." Right. Okay, that was good, wasn't it? Except if they didn't have their titles to go off of, what the hell was she supposed to think of the situation? She slid off the bed, but the only clothing she had was her dress. The blue fabric was pooled on the floor across the room somewhere. They had both completely stripped before making it to the mattress.
"You can take the first shower. I'll have a tray sent up."
Shower? She was going to let her use her shower? It was just her temporary one. The President's normal shower was back aboard Colonial One.
Roslin- Laura, had already picked up a phone, so Kara moved across the suite towards the bathroom. Was this her polite way of keeping Kara tucked out of sight? Whoever brought up the tray would hear the shower running, but have no idea who was in it. The guards last night had seen her, though. Maybe she didn't really care who saw her at all, and was just letting her take a shower.
Maybe the President wanted this to be a regular thing, and was plying her with gestures, and the idea of first name basis to get her to agree. Nothing was making a whole lot of sense at that moment. She really needed a shower and coffee before she could begin to untangle things.
The bathroom was about the size of the officers quarters on Galactica, and her eyes settled on the large tub a moment before she moved to the shower. A fancy crystal that barely fit into her hand served as a knob. Were they serious with this place?
She held her hand under the spray until it was warm enough, and jumped under it. Kara ran her hands through her hair, displacing any product that was still left in it. It was probably a good thing she had decided to work on her appearance so much last night; having ended up in bed with one of the most powerful people left in the universe. If she had known where she was going to end up, she probably wouldn't have left Galactica. Maybe.
Kara bowed her head, letting the water run down her neck and shoulders.
Her feet hurt. The low heels she had slipped into for the night's festivities were still a long ways away from what she typically wore. Pulling down the gunman had also left her knee a little sore. Not to mention the hours of dancing.
She ran her hands down her thighs, fingers tracing the path Laura's mouth had taken. She had gone down on Kara as if it was the last act she would ever perform, and was determined to do it perfectly. She cupped herself, the pressure from her palm producing a pleasant ache in her sex. The enthusiasm and the execution had Kara arching off the bed, so she figured Laura had succeeded in the end. She smiled at the memory, not having expected such treatment.
There wasn't a razor stocked, but she was able to use the miniaturized bar of soap to scrub herself. Even the classy places skimped on the toiletries. She slicked back her hair and made sure she was clear of suds before stepping out of the shower. Kara snatched one of the heavy towels from where it hung on the wall, but didn't wrap it around herself, stopping to stare into the mirror first.
How the frak had this happened?
Laura thanked her for taking down Valance, even with the disastrous ending to his capture. That's where it started. In an effort to change topics, Kara had brought up the dance Laura had shared with the Commander. Which lead to a comment on her dance with Baltar. He had wanted to pick up another song, and Laura had offered to hide her instead. It had been as amusing idea, an indulgence on Kara's part, because everyone deserved to have a little fun.
But it all came down to a hug, really. When they had successfully taken out the Cylon mining post. The President had hugged her, hugged her back.
It seemed important somehow, even if it didn't really all start there.
She ran the towel over her hair a moment before wrapping it around her body. Enough of this second guessing bullshit, she still needed caffeine.
The aroma of food and fresh coffee wafted towards her when she opened the door. She opened her mouth to compliment the speediness of the service, and then froze. Laura was sitting at the small couch, tray in front of her on the coffee table, and a bottle of pills open in one hand. She dropped one onto her palm, tossing it into her mouth, and quickly chased it down with a drink from one of the mugs in front of her. She had given her privacy while in the bathroom, so Kara waited until the bottle was tucked away before closing the bathroom door just loud enough to announce her presence.
Laura looked up towards her and smiled. She looked tired. "I put your clothes on the bed."
Her focus skittered over to the bed, where her dress was laid out. The pile next to it was her underwear. "Thanks." She would get dressed and then get the hell out of there. What was she thinking? Coffee with the President?
"There's what I think is some reconstituted eggs if you're hungry."
"I'm sure it's better than anything Galactica has in the mess." Frak. Did that mean she was staying? Was she staying now?
Kara pulled on her underwear, haphazardly drying herself along the way, and trying to keep the towel from getting anything damp when it fell out of her hands. She stared down the wrinkled dress, eventually deciding against putting it on. She was staying, apparently. Maybe she should try for a little protocol, but for frak's sake, what would that even mean in this situation? Laura hadn't made any effort to put on anything else other than her robe. Kara dropped the towel back into the bathroom, dragging it over her hair one more time along the way.
She should go over there and say something like, "Don't mean to be rude sir- Laura?- but I have to get back to my ship". Perfectly reasonable and completely true. She moved towards the President, trying to find a good line to rehearse so she would know what to say when she got to her.
Laura had taken over one end of the couch, mug in one hand and a report in the other, with a pen hanging loose between her fingers. Several other folders were spread out on the table next to the tray. When she leaned forward to put the report on her knee and make a note, her glasses slid down her nose and the top of her robe fell open to show her breasts. Kara hadn't had as much time with them last night as she would have liked. Her eyes followed the outline of a nipple as the fabric of the robe slid over it.
Kara took a seat on the other end of the couch, glad the older woman was absorbed in something and unable to see her stare. She quickly picked up the coffee and took a long drink. The food on the tray looked untouched. Laura nudged it towards her without looking up, almost spilling the contents of her mug. It was too light for coffee. Tea.
I'm sorry sir. I'm sorry Laura, but I need to-
"Someone should eat it."
Not feeling the need to be told again, Kara set down her coffee and pulled the tray closer. She yanked the fork out from where it was rolled up inside of a napkin, and quickly set about prodding the food to see what consistency it had. It seemed Laura was right about the eggs. She shoveled a few forkfuls into her mouth before a question sprang to mind. Still desperate to get some words out, she started speaking before she fully thought it through.
"Ma'am."
"I thought we'd moved past that?"
"I just..." This was her chance. She had been stalled, so now she could really say what she needed to. She had to go. "I need to know. Is this your way of thanking me?" Or just end up asking her frakking question. "For Valance?"
Laura stopped reading her report, and slowly reached up and removed her glasses. Kara's throat went dry. She folded her glasses and put them down on the coffee table before turned to look at her. "No, Lieutenant. This is not my way of thanking you for that. I think you already know, I am grateful."
"Yeah."
"But this? No, this is.."
Shit shit shit shit.What was she supposed to say to that? What had happened? "A good night?"
"Yes." She set down her mug, beginning to smile. "A good night, and... it's probably best if you keep this to yourself-" There was a curl to her lip, as if she were making a joke, but Kara got the impression she was being serious. "-but I'm quite used to people not hanging around the morning after, and I have absolutely no idea what to do next."
"That makes two of us."
She hummed, and it was a sweet sound Kara recalled from last night. The sudden awkwardness her question brought dissipated with the noise, and she returned to eating. Laura stacked her reports, pen and glasses going on top, and returned to her tea. The silence was comfortable, now that they both had admitted neither was sure what was supposed to happen. The urge Kara had to bolt even managed to fade.
The President was used to one night stands. Who knew they would ever have something in common?
The last fruit square crunched between her teeth. It was bland and flavorless, it had probably been kept in some kind of deep freeze. Someone needed to teach the cruise liner about canning. Setting aside her fork and the now empty tray, Kara picked up her coffee to finish it off.
She stretched out her leg, feeling the muscles twinge as she rolled her ankle. "Frakkin' shoes."
Laura chuckled, setting down her tea. "You haven't worn heels in a long time, have you?"
Kara's whole body tensed, and she was unsure if some part of her should feel insulted.
"Here." She scooted farther back into the corner of the couch, offering up some of her lap and holding out her hands.
Kara stared at the invitation. Was this really what she thought it was? She carefully lifted her foot into Laura's lap. "It's really mostly my knee acting up."
Laura's expression darkened at the comment, but her fingers quickly moved to start massaging her ankle. "How has that been going, the healing?"
"Good. The Doc says I should be able to get back in a Viper soon." Her fingers were a little cold, but they were able to seek out all the points in her muscle that needed attention. The President of the Twelve Colonies was giving her a foot massage. Frak, could this day get any weirder?
"You miss flying."
"Yes." She closed her eyes. The slim fingers on her ankle were rather nice. When was the last time someone had done something like this for her? Zak maybe?
"You were the one teaching the new pilots?"
"Yes."
"If you want me to stop asking questions, you can just say so."
Her eyes snapped open. "No, sir- sorry, Laura- frak.. I, sorry.. just.. frak.."
Kara's leg shook when Laura laughed. She had stopped her massage, and her hands just rested on her shin. "It's alright. I'm not going to have you put out an airlock for swearing."
She jerked her foot out of her lap before she realized what she was doing; trying to get away from the woman who had thrown a man-Cylon, out an airlock. Someone who had so quickly rescinded her word. Of the handful of encounters she had with this woman, one of them had been her ordering an execution.
Kara kept her gaze on the far wall, terrified to look at her. What did she think of her pulling away? "I should be getting back to Galactica."
Silence. Oh gods, she'd really frakked this up, hadn't she?
"Of course."
Startled by the response, Kara finally looked back at Laura. She had her arms crossed tight over her chest, and wasn't looking at her. Kara fumbled for something more to say. "It was..."
Her lip twitched and she looked at her from the corner of her eye. "A good morning?"
"Yeah." She felt her shoulders relax, and saw Laura's arms loosen. She hadn't frakked everything up. "It was a good morning." It really had been, all things considered. There were worse ways to wake up, and worse ways to eat breakfast, and worse people she could have woken up next to. And most mornings she didn't get a foot massage.
Instead of getting up, Kara moved down the couch. Laura watched her approach, head tilted slightly. She put a hand on her shoulder, leaned forward and kissed her. It was a little awkward, and Laura started at the contact, but she didn't pull away, and eventually rested a hand on her arm. She tasted warm and bitter, probably needing more sweetener for her tea.
When she pulled back, Laura's eyes were open and her lips still parted. Her tongue moved to where Kara's lips had pressed the hardest, teeth just managing to scrape against her. Kara's hand went up from her shoulder, fingers tangling in her hair behind her neck, and pulled her closer for another kiss. Laura's other hand rested against her bare ribs, sending a shiver through her as her fingers rested on the bottom of her bra. Her tongue broke through her lips and suddenly Laura was in her lap. There was a rush through her body, like she'd just jumped into a cockpit of a viper, about to launch. Heat flared under her skin, and she pulled the other woman closer. The robe was barely staying shut, so Kara slipped her free hand under the fabric and rested her palm against her spine. Laura's grip tightened on her side, then she suddenly broke the kiss, resting her forehead against Kara's.
"Gods, I'm sorry. You need to go back to your ship."
Frak. Okay, she did, but this was much better. And wait, was she the one apologizing?
"Right." Kara slowly disentangled her fingers from her hair, keeping her other hand in its warm place on small of her back.
Laura's thighs tensed on either side of her own, and for a moment it seemed she was just going to push her back onto the couch and continue, when she moved herself off of her lap and stepped to the floor. She caught Kara's hand as it fell from her robe, and stared at it for a moment. Her thumb ran across her knuckles before she let her go, and then she re-secured her robe.
Kara's lungs released a breath she hadn't been aware they were holding. "I suppose you don't know the shuttle schedule off this ship?"
"One leaves for Galactica at seven-thirty, I'm sure they can give you a ride."
She brought her feet to the ground, testing her toes in the carpet before standing. She didn't want to walk away from this. Kara moved for the bed, ignoring Laura's eyes as they tracked her progress. She'd probably asked one of the people outside the door for the schedule, not expecting her to stay.
"Kara?"
"Huh?" She dropped the dress over her head, checking to see if anything had gotten torn during her haste to get out of it.
"If someone saw you with me, or sees you leaving, they'll probably go after you. Try and figure out what happened, anything we might have talked about."
What would they have talked about that any reporter would want to hear? Laura had thanked her again for stopping the gunman, and after that there really hadn't been talking. Just chapped lips, wet tongues and steady fingers. Well, alright, someone would probably be interested in knowing that the President was a great lay, but really. State secrets hadn't exactly come spilling out of her between moans.
"Even if-" Kara tugged the fabric so the dress wasn't laying crooked across her body. "-I never would-"
"I'm not saying you would, but I imagine you'd like to avoid the situation. Dealing with reporters is stressful, and if it can be avoided, I think it should."
Laura had managed to sneak up on her, and when she turned around, she was less than a foot away. So she didn't want anyone to see her. Fine.
"I'll keep that in mind when I sneak out the back, Madame President."
Her whole body seemed to pull in on itself, and suddenly it felt she was miles away rather than within arms reach. She was suddenly glad they hadn't had titles between them earlier, as the woman before her disappeared to be replaced by a president.
Kara wished she'd kept her mouth shut when she spent the next ten minutes in a suffocating silence trying to locate her shoes.
-
"You arrived on a late shuttle."
Despite already having a shower, when she had gotten back on Galactica, Kara had decided to take another. She didn't want to smell like cruise liner soap. That seemed like a good reason. Water dripped from the ends of her hair onto her nose.
"Yeah, well, sometimes the gods present you with a once in a lifetime opportunity." She didn't look at Lee, staring into her mirror while pulling her tanks over her head instead.
"Do they."
He was interested, but she didn't elaborate in the silence he offered.
"Hot Dog is in the infirmary after too much fun last night, I need you on CAP."
"Cottle grounded me."
"I talked to him, he said you're clear."
"You couldn't find anyone else while I was gone?"
"Kat is filling in, but you were the one who was late."
"Right." She slammed her locker, then remembered she still needed her flight suit. She could hear Lee take a step towards her. Frak.
"Kara, is everything okay?"
"I'll report to the flight deck as soon as I'm dressed." There was a small hickey under her jaw, just above her pulse point. It looked more like a bruise.
"That's not-"
"Is there anything else, sir?"
"No Lieutenant."
-
Next Chapter
Summary: Kara sleeps with Laura instead of Baltar the night of the Colonial Day celebration.
Beta: fragrantwoods
Notes: Finally finished the damn thing. So... yeah.
-
Kara stared at the ceiling. It was a decent ceiling. Some would say it was a better view than a rack above her own bunk, but it was certainly less comforting. The mattress under her was firm, but supple enough to let her sink into it. The sheets and blankets wrapped around her were warm, smooth and smelled of last night's sex.
She had no idea what was supposed to happen next. Normally she just left. That seemed like the appropriate thing to do. Maybe she was just waiting for Kara to leave in order to get up? She turned her head, hoping to learn something from the state of the person next to her.
Laura Roslin was awake, and staring up at the ceiling just like she had been.
It wasn't particularly helpful. She looked as awake as someone could while still lying in bed. How long she'd been like that? Typically, Kara would have noticed a bed mate waking up.
Typical. This was far from frakking typical, wasn't it?
Seeming to finally notice her stare, the President turned to look at her. Bedhead made her hair curly and very frizzy, or maybe it was from the sex. Was that look supposed to be her cue to leave?
"Morning."
"Morning."
Roslin sat up, holding a sheet to her chest with one hand and trying to run the other through her hair. She grimaced at the tangles she encountered. "Tea or coffee?"
"What?" Kara scrambled to sit up as well, letting the blankets pool around her waist.
"Do you prefer tea or coffee?" She turned, swinging her legs off the bed. She abandoned the sheet and moved across the room to one of the armchairs, where a robe was laid across the back.
"Uh, coffee sir, thanks."
She turned back around before she finished closing the robe. The sides of her breasts, the dip of her navel down to the thatch of curls between her legs were framed just for a moment by the edges of the blue satin before they were covered. "Should I go back to calling you Lieutenant, or do you suppose if you call me Laura, I can call you Kara?"
"You can call me Kara." Right. Okay, that was good, wasn't it? Except if they didn't have their titles to go off of, what the hell was she supposed to think of the situation? She slid off the bed, but the only clothing she had was her dress. The blue fabric was pooled on the floor across the room somewhere. They had both completely stripped before making it to the mattress.
"You can take the first shower. I'll have a tray sent up."
Shower? She was going to let her use her shower? It was just her temporary one. The President's normal shower was back aboard Colonial One.
Roslin- Laura, had already picked up a phone, so Kara moved across the suite towards the bathroom. Was this her polite way of keeping Kara tucked out of sight? Whoever brought up the tray would hear the shower running, but have no idea who was in it. The guards last night had seen her, though. Maybe she didn't really care who saw her at all, and was just letting her take a shower.
Maybe the President wanted this to be a regular thing, and was plying her with gestures, and the idea of first name basis to get her to agree. Nothing was making a whole lot of sense at that moment. She really needed a shower and coffee before she could begin to untangle things.
The bathroom was about the size of the officers quarters on Galactica, and her eyes settled on the large tub a moment before she moved to the shower. A fancy crystal that barely fit into her hand served as a knob. Were they serious with this place?
She held her hand under the spray until it was warm enough, and jumped under it. Kara ran her hands through her hair, displacing any product that was still left in it. It was probably a good thing she had decided to work on her appearance so much last night; having ended up in bed with one of the most powerful people left in the universe. If she had known where she was going to end up, she probably wouldn't have left Galactica. Maybe.
Kara bowed her head, letting the water run down her neck and shoulders.
Her feet hurt. The low heels she had slipped into for the night's festivities were still a long ways away from what she typically wore. Pulling down the gunman had also left her knee a little sore. Not to mention the hours of dancing.
She ran her hands down her thighs, fingers tracing the path Laura's mouth had taken. She had gone down on Kara as if it was the last act she would ever perform, and was determined to do it perfectly. She cupped herself, the pressure from her palm producing a pleasant ache in her sex. The enthusiasm and the execution had Kara arching off the bed, so she figured Laura had succeeded in the end. She smiled at the memory, not having expected such treatment.
There wasn't a razor stocked, but she was able to use the miniaturized bar of soap to scrub herself. Even the classy places skimped on the toiletries. She slicked back her hair and made sure she was clear of suds before stepping out of the shower. Kara snatched one of the heavy towels from where it hung on the wall, but didn't wrap it around herself, stopping to stare into the mirror first.
How the frak had this happened?
Laura thanked her for taking down Valance, even with the disastrous ending to his capture. That's where it started. In an effort to change topics, Kara had brought up the dance Laura had shared with the Commander. Which lead to a comment on her dance with Baltar. He had wanted to pick up another song, and Laura had offered to hide her instead. It had been as amusing idea, an indulgence on Kara's part, because everyone deserved to have a little fun.
But it all came down to a hug, really. When they had successfully taken out the Cylon mining post. The President had hugged her, hugged her back.
It seemed important somehow, even if it didn't really all start there.
She ran the towel over her hair a moment before wrapping it around her body. Enough of this second guessing bullshit, she still needed caffeine.
The aroma of food and fresh coffee wafted towards her when she opened the door. She opened her mouth to compliment the speediness of the service, and then froze. Laura was sitting at the small couch, tray in front of her on the coffee table, and a bottle of pills open in one hand. She dropped one onto her palm, tossing it into her mouth, and quickly chased it down with a drink from one of the mugs in front of her. She had given her privacy while in the bathroom, so Kara waited until the bottle was tucked away before closing the bathroom door just loud enough to announce her presence.
Laura looked up towards her and smiled. She looked tired. "I put your clothes on the bed."
Her focus skittered over to the bed, where her dress was laid out. The pile next to it was her underwear. "Thanks." She would get dressed and then get the hell out of there. What was she thinking? Coffee with the President?
"There's what I think is some reconstituted eggs if you're hungry."
"I'm sure it's better than anything Galactica has in the mess." Frak. Did that mean she was staying? Was she staying now?
Kara pulled on her underwear, haphazardly drying herself along the way, and trying to keep the towel from getting anything damp when it fell out of her hands. She stared down the wrinkled dress, eventually deciding against putting it on. She was staying, apparently. Maybe she should try for a little protocol, but for frak's sake, what would that even mean in this situation? Laura hadn't made any effort to put on anything else other than her robe. Kara dropped the towel back into the bathroom, dragging it over her hair one more time along the way.
She should go over there and say something like, "Don't mean to be rude sir- Laura?- but I have to get back to my ship". Perfectly reasonable and completely true. She moved towards the President, trying to find a good line to rehearse so she would know what to say when she got to her.
Laura had taken over one end of the couch, mug in one hand and a report in the other, with a pen hanging loose between her fingers. Several other folders were spread out on the table next to the tray. When she leaned forward to put the report on her knee and make a note, her glasses slid down her nose and the top of her robe fell open to show her breasts. Kara hadn't had as much time with them last night as she would have liked. Her eyes followed the outline of a nipple as the fabric of the robe slid over it.
Kara took a seat on the other end of the couch, glad the older woman was absorbed in something and unable to see her stare. She quickly picked up the coffee and took a long drink. The food on the tray looked untouched. Laura nudged it towards her without looking up, almost spilling the contents of her mug. It was too light for coffee. Tea.
I'm sorry sir. I'm sorry Laura, but I need to-
"Someone should eat it."
Not feeling the need to be told again, Kara set down her coffee and pulled the tray closer. She yanked the fork out from where it was rolled up inside of a napkin, and quickly set about prodding the food to see what consistency it had. It seemed Laura was right about the eggs. She shoveled a few forkfuls into her mouth before a question sprang to mind. Still desperate to get some words out, she started speaking before she fully thought it through.
"Ma'am."
"I thought we'd moved past that?"
"I just..." This was her chance. She had been stalled, so now she could really say what she needed to. She had to go. "I need to know. Is this your way of thanking me?" Or just end up asking her frakking question. "For Valance?"
Laura stopped reading her report, and slowly reached up and removed her glasses. Kara's throat went dry. She folded her glasses and put them down on the coffee table before turned to look at her. "No, Lieutenant. This is not my way of thanking you for that. I think you already know, I am grateful."
"Yeah."
"But this? No, this is.."
Shit shit shit shit.What was she supposed to say to that? What had happened? "A good night?"
"Yes." She set down her mug, beginning to smile. "A good night, and... it's probably best if you keep this to yourself-" There was a curl to her lip, as if she were making a joke, but Kara got the impression she was being serious. "-but I'm quite used to people not hanging around the morning after, and I have absolutely no idea what to do next."
"That makes two of us."
She hummed, and it was a sweet sound Kara recalled from last night. The sudden awkwardness her question brought dissipated with the noise, and she returned to eating. Laura stacked her reports, pen and glasses going on top, and returned to her tea. The silence was comfortable, now that they both had admitted neither was sure what was supposed to happen. The urge Kara had to bolt even managed to fade.
The President was used to one night stands. Who knew they would ever have something in common?
The last fruit square crunched between her teeth. It was bland and flavorless, it had probably been kept in some kind of deep freeze. Someone needed to teach the cruise liner about canning. Setting aside her fork and the now empty tray, Kara picked up her coffee to finish it off.
She stretched out her leg, feeling the muscles twinge as she rolled her ankle. "Frakkin' shoes."
Laura chuckled, setting down her tea. "You haven't worn heels in a long time, have you?"
Kara's whole body tensed, and she was unsure if some part of her should feel insulted.
"Here." She scooted farther back into the corner of the couch, offering up some of her lap and holding out her hands.
Kara stared at the invitation. Was this really what she thought it was? She carefully lifted her foot into Laura's lap. "It's really mostly my knee acting up."
Laura's expression darkened at the comment, but her fingers quickly moved to start massaging her ankle. "How has that been going, the healing?"
"Good. The Doc says I should be able to get back in a Viper soon." Her fingers were a little cold, but they were able to seek out all the points in her muscle that needed attention. The President of the Twelve Colonies was giving her a foot massage. Frak, could this day get any weirder?
"You miss flying."
"Yes." She closed her eyes. The slim fingers on her ankle were rather nice. When was the last time someone had done something like this for her? Zak maybe?
"You were the one teaching the new pilots?"
"Yes."
"If you want me to stop asking questions, you can just say so."
Her eyes snapped open. "No, sir- sorry, Laura- frak.. I, sorry.. just.. frak.."
Kara's leg shook when Laura laughed. She had stopped her massage, and her hands just rested on her shin. "It's alright. I'm not going to have you put out an airlock for swearing."
She jerked her foot out of her lap before she realized what she was doing; trying to get away from the woman who had thrown a man-Cylon, out an airlock. Someone who had so quickly rescinded her word. Of the handful of encounters she had with this woman, one of them had been her ordering an execution.
Kara kept her gaze on the far wall, terrified to look at her. What did she think of her pulling away? "I should be getting back to Galactica."
Silence. Oh gods, she'd really frakked this up, hadn't she?
"Of course."
Startled by the response, Kara finally looked back at Laura. She had her arms crossed tight over her chest, and wasn't looking at her. Kara fumbled for something more to say. "It was..."
Her lip twitched and she looked at her from the corner of her eye. "A good morning?"
"Yeah." She felt her shoulders relax, and saw Laura's arms loosen. She hadn't frakked everything up. "It was a good morning." It really had been, all things considered. There were worse ways to wake up, and worse ways to eat breakfast, and worse people she could have woken up next to. And most mornings she didn't get a foot massage.
Instead of getting up, Kara moved down the couch. Laura watched her approach, head tilted slightly. She put a hand on her shoulder, leaned forward and kissed her. It was a little awkward, and Laura started at the contact, but she didn't pull away, and eventually rested a hand on her arm. She tasted warm and bitter, probably needing more sweetener for her tea.
When she pulled back, Laura's eyes were open and her lips still parted. Her tongue moved to where Kara's lips had pressed the hardest, teeth just managing to scrape against her. Kara's hand went up from her shoulder, fingers tangling in her hair behind her neck, and pulled her closer for another kiss. Laura's other hand rested against her bare ribs, sending a shiver through her as her fingers rested on the bottom of her bra. Her tongue broke through her lips and suddenly Laura was in her lap. There was a rush through her body, like she'd just jumped into a cockpit of a viper, about to launch. Heat flared under her skin, and she pulled the other woman closer. The robe was barely staying shut, so Kara slipped her free hand under the fabric and rested her palm against her spine. Laura's grip tightened on her side, then she suddenly broke the kiss, resting her forehead against Kara's.
"Gods, I'm sorry. You need to go back to your ship."
Frak. Okay, she did, but this was much better. And wait, was she the one apologizing?
"Right." Kara slowly disentangled her fingers from her hair, keeping her other hand in its warm place on small of her back.
Laura's thighs tensed on either side of her own, and for a moment it seemed she was just going to push her back onto the couch and continue, when she moved herself off of her lap and stepped to the floor. She caught Kara's hand as it fell from her robe, and stared at it for a moment. Her thumb ran across her knuckles before she let her go, and then she re-secured her robe.
Kara's lungs released a breath she hadn't been aware they were holding. "I suppose you don't know the shuttle schedule off this ship?"
"One leaves for Galactica at seven-thirty, I'm sure they can give you a ride."
She brought her feet to the ground, testing her toes in the carpet before standing. She didn't want to walk away from this. Kara moved for the bed, ignoring Laura's eyes as they tracked her progress. She'd probably asked one of the people outside the door for the schedule, not expecting her to stay.
"Kara?"
"Huh?" She dropped the dress over her head, checking to see if anything had gotten torn during her haste to get out of it.
"If someone saw you with me, or sees you leaving, they'll probably go after you. Try and figure out what happened, anything we might have talked about."
What would they have talked about that any reporter would want to hear? Laura had thanked her again for stopping the gunman, and after that there really hadn't been talking. Just chapped lips, wet tongues and steady fingers. Well, alright, someone would probably be interested in knowing that the President was a great lay, but really. State secrets hadn't exactly come spilling out of her between moans.
"Even if-" Kara tugged the fabric so the dress wasn't laying crooked across her body. "-I never would-"
"I'm not saying you would, but I imagine you'd like to avoid the situation. Dealing with reporters is stressful, and if it can be avoided, I think it should."
Laura had managed to sneak up on her, and when she turned around, she was less than a foot away. So she didn't want anyone to see her. Fine.
"I'll keep that in mind when I sneak out the back, Madame President."
Her whole body seemed to pull in on itself, and suddenly it felt she was miles away rather than within arms reach. She was suddenly glad they hadn't had titles between them earlier, as the woman before her disappeared to be replaced by a president.
Kara wished she'd kept her mouth shut when she spent the next ten minutes in a suffocating silence trying to locate her shoes.
-
"You arrived on a late shuttle."
Despite already having a shower, when she had gotten back on Galactica, Kara had decided to take another. She didn't want to smell like cruise liner soap. That seemed like a good reason. Water dripped from the ends of her hair onto her nose.
"Yeah, well, sometimes the gods present you with a once in a lifetime opportunity." She didn't look at Lee, staring into her mirror while pulling her tanks over her head instead.
"Do they."
He was interested, but she didn't elaborate in the silence he offered.
"Hot Dog is in the infirmary after too much fun last night, I need you on CAP."
"Cottle grounded me."
"I talked to him, he said you're clear."
"You couldn't find anyone else while I was gone?"
"Kat is filling in, but you were the one who was late."
"Right." She slammed her locker, then remembered she still needed her flight suit. She could hear Lee take a step towards her. Frak.
"Kara, is everything okay?"
"I'll report to the flight deck as soon as I'm dressed." There was a small hickey under her jaw, just above her pulse point. It looked more like a bruise.
"That's not-"
"Is there anything else, sir?"
"No Lieutenant."
-
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