Fic: The Gift
Well, this might be the fluffiest AU ficlet thing ever. Like it might make your teeth ache it's so sweet. *shrugs*
Blame it on the holidays!
"Okay, Kara, close your eyes and hold out your hands.”
She raised an eyebrow at Lee, a smirk curving her lips. “A little kinky, that request, don’t you think? I mean with your brother here and all…”
Zak snorted with laughter, as Lee narrowed his eyes at her. “KARA-“
“Alright, alright. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.” She closed her eyes and held out her hands, cupping them together in front of her. “I swear you’re worse than Scrooge.” She felt something soft against her palms and wondered if Lee had succumbed again to the lures of that little claw game with the stuffed animals at the local supermarket. Like she didn’t have enough stupid panda bears holding hearts.
“You know what your gift’s gonna be this year? A shirt that says ‘Bah Hum-YIKES!” Her eyes flew open as she felt a sharp pinch to her thumb.
Lee’s hands shot out, cradling hers. “Hey, don’t drop her!” Kara didn’t respond, just stared wide-eyed at the wriggling little animal in her hands. Not stuffed this time. “What the hell am I going to do with this?” She looked at the ball of fur, white all over, save for four tiny black paws.
Lee stared at her, the smile falling off his face and a look of irked confusion replacing it. “What do you mean what do you do with it? It’s a KITTEN, Kara.”
She glared. “Yes, Lee, thank you. I can SEE that. But…” her brow creased, as she stared at the animal, which was now happily licking the thumb it had just bit, “what do you want me to do with it?”
He dropped his hands and swiveled to perch on the arm of her chair. “Keep it. Feed it. Love it.” He shrugged. “You know, all the things you do with a pet?”
Her gaze flicked up to his face, blank and trepidatious, before she turned her attention back to the little kitten. Kara sucked in a breath, her lower lip getting trapped beneath nibbling teeth.
Lee watched her face and it hit him suddenly that she probably didn't know what you did with a pet. Kara didn’t say much about her childhood, but what she had shared about her mother…well, it didn’t seem like Socrata Thrace was much of an animal lover.
Their parents weren’t exactly Mom and Dad of the year, either, but he and Zak had grown up with a dog. A big fluffy one that Zak had insisted they call Pilot, even though Lee kinda hated the name. He’d loved that dog though. On the worst nights, when Zak had gone to bed after his mother's third glass of ambrosia and even an animal knew better than to stick around for the aftermath, he'd jump into bed with Lee, shoving a wet nose under his arm and shedding fur all over the coverlet. Lee never once minded cleaning up after it.
He slid an arm around Kara’s shoulders. She was still sitting frozen, hands outstretched as if she were afraid to move. Lee bent and kissed the top of her head. “I just thought you might want some company when I ship out.” He had another reserve weekend coming up soon and immediately afterwards he was going to be dispatched for a special training course with the Atlantia. He’d only be gone a month or so but already it was niggling at him and she’d kick his ass if she knew he’d already asked Zak privately to keep an eye on Kara. “I mean, besides this one here, sacking out on your couch and eating all your food like usual.” He nodded to his brother who was doing just that, one hand extended with remote control pointed at the television the other digging deep into a box of cereal he’d liberated from Kara’s pantry.
Zak grunted and grinned. “Please, she loves my company. Who else is gonna fill her in on all the dirt on her nuggets?” Lee shook his head, wondering still if there wasn’t some conflict of interest in his girlfriend being his brother’s flight instructor. He supposed it was fine; it wasn’t like he and Kara were engaged or anything. Yet. His mind skittered to thoughts of a small velvet box stashed away in his underwear drawer-the one place he could be reasonably certain Kara wouldn’t find it. His girlfriend had many skills, but laundry wasn’t one of them. Not to mention she tended to have a no-underwear policy she liked to enforce when they were alone in his bedroom.
Kara pulled her arms in close to her body, lifting her hands to peer at the kitten. The little cat seemed to look back, then let out the most pitiful mew Lee had ever heard. The kitten stretched in her hands, extending its furry little head with big green eyes that seemed almost too large for her body, and a little pink tongue flicked out and licked at Kara's nose.
Kara reared back, but she was laughing, her nose crinkling at the kitten and Lee grinned. He’d be damned if the tiny thing hadn’t charmed Starbuck. There’d been something about this one, the runt of its litter but the kitten had climbed right up the side of the cardboard box, digging its claws in and pulling its weight up until she was high enough to bat her paw against Lee’s hand.
“She needs a name.” He looked at Kara.
“How about Viper? Or Raptor? Or, ooh I know, Dogfight?” Zak piped up lazily from the sofa, not tearing his eyes from the C-Bucs game on the TV until a minute of silence greeted his suggestion. Lee and Kara were both staring at him with disdain on their faces.“What? Dogfight because she’s a cat. Get it? It’s ironic!”
“Like naming our dog Pilot was ironic? I still can’t believe I agreed to that, you know.” Lee shook his head.
“That wasn’t ironic, that was cool! Pilot’s an awesome name for a dog!” Zak preened, then snickered. “Besides you wanted to call him something lame like King or Master or something? Who ever heard of a person naming their dog Master!”
Lee tossed a cushion at his head, muttering “Those are very traditional canine names!”
Kara rolled her eyes at both of them and focused on the kitten again. She cradled it to her chest and stroked its fur. “Don’t worry, Kitty, I won’t let either of the stupid boys name you.” Lee nudged her with his thigh and she smirked, her eyes raking over the kitten’s white fur and black paws. “I think you look like a little ball of snow someone left in the mud.” Kara nodded, pleased with herself. “I’m calling you Snowball.”
Zak cackled again from the couch. “Snowball? Really? It’s so…girly, Kara.”
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. “Yeah, remember what I said about calling me Kara away from class? I take it back. Refer to me as Sir.” Snowball sunk her little teeth into Kara’s thumb again and she flinced. “And go get the cat some tuna or something.”
He got up muttering about “No takebacks!” as he padded over to the kitchen flinging over the pantry door. Kara called after him, “Don’t make me tell you to call me God, nugget.”
She grinned up at Lee and grabbed his arm, tugging him down to sit on the oversized armchair with her. Kara scooted sideways and slung her legs over Lee’s lap and he wrapped one arm around her waist and rested the other across her thighs, pulling her closer. Carefully, she set Snowball on her lap and leaned into Lee’s chest, sliding an arm around his neck. Then she bent her head and kissed him soundly, her tongue just barely brushing over his bottom lip and hinting at the promise of more later, before she pulled back.
“Thank you for my present.” Her free hand scratched idly behind the kitten’s ears and Snowball purred. Kara beamed. “I think we’re gonna get along just fine.” The kitten stretched and padded forward trying to climb up Kara’s leg, her claws sinking through denim. “Ooh OUCH,” Kara winced, rubbing her leg. “You making a liar out of me already, cat?”
Lee frowned. “Maybe I should have gotten her declawed.”
“Nah, I like her like this. She’s feisty.”
“Mmm, like someone else I know.” Lee said with a smile, sliding his hand up the back of her shirt. Kara grinned and cocked an eyebrow at him, her mouth poised to say something incredibly dirty when Zak walked back in from the kitchen, interrupting them.
“She better be with a name like Snowball,” he said, sauntering over with a saucer of milk and a little bowl of tuna. He took the kitten from Kara and placed it on the floor in front of the bowls and she noted with amusement that he’d even mashed the tuna a little with a fork so the chunks wouldn’t be too big for the six-week-old cat. Clearly, all three of them were going to spoil Snowball beyond belief.
As the kitten nibbled at the food and Zak petted her fur, Lee pulled Kara closer, his lips claiming hers in a more passionate kiss. She was just getting into, one hand creeping under the hem of his T-shirt when Zak sighed dramatically, and they broke apart, eyes flying open. “Gods, you two are relentless. I’d say get a room but technically I suppose this is Kara’s apartment. Still, you think you could take pity on the horny single guy here. You’re determined to make me sorry I ever introduced you, aren’t ya?
Kara and Lee grinned, and without taking their eyes off each other, in unison, they said. “Every day.”
-fin-