BSG - Gleaming Auction

[hackthis_archive]

a) Who doesn't love gossip about Jake Gyllenhaal? No one! Especially when it's all about men being sweaty and bitchy, and you know, manly.

b) ethrosdemon wrote Tyrol-fic, which is very in keeping with my BSG theme day...

Battlestar Galactica
Lee, Dee, Kara, Billy
Gleaming Auction






There's someone else in Kara's heart now. Lee doesn't ask and Kara doesn't tell, but she's missing one of her tags, and sometimes, Lee catches her staring off into space. Starbuck is many things, but a day dreamer isn't one of them. She's more grounded in reality than Lee is. Lee doubts that Kara even remembers their kiss anymore. She's moved on, away from him, like always.


*


Lee likes to think he's a good man. Lee likes to think a lot of things -- but delusion is an expensive luxury when you're trapped on a Battlestar and you may never leave. The fact of the matter is that Lee's just as valiant as the next guy, but times are hard, and people need comfort. Lee needs comfort. He can't keep doing this alone. It's starting to wear on him. He's cracking.


*


The fight starts with Kara, because it always starts with Kara. The difference –- this time -– is that he ends it. He doesn't want to know about Anders. He doesn't want to know that she loves someone else who isn't him. Lee's had enough of not being the chosen one.


*


Lee doesn't even realize he's past cracking until Dee finds him talking to himself in the showers. He's fully clothed and talking to Zak, but everyone knows that Zak is gone.


*


Lee loves Kara, but Kara will never be his. He will always think of her as Zak's girlfriend. He can't even think of touching her without a big sign flashing that she belonged to his brother first. He doesn't see it in her eyes, or even on his father's face, but when he looks in the mirror, Zak's ghost is over his shoulder, and Lee loves Kara more than she will ever know, but he can't be haunted for the rest of his life.


*


Lee has known Dee forever -- if forever started with his first tour of duty on the Battlestar Delphi. He pretends he doesn't remember his fear of frakking up every time he took off and every time he landed, but he does remember Dee's voice in his ear, soothing his frayed nerves and guiding him back to safety. In a way, Dee has always symbolized Lee's home.


*


Dee is stronger than she looks. Lee's never thought of her as weak or feeble; he's always just thought of her as Dee. Smaller than Kara, almost tiny, except for her eyes, which a poet might call luminous. Lee's no poet though, he's just a CAG on a Battlestar, who's lonely and frakked up, and Dee's voice makes him feel safe. Sometimes, when he's in his Viper, he radios Galactica just to hear her say his name.


*


He doesn't go out of his way to come between Billy and Dee; he's not deliberately cruel that way. He's not a homewrecker. He never came between Kara and Zak, and he's not trying to frak things up now. There's something about Dee that reminds him of Kara though; she has that same silent strength, and Lee's drawn towards that. She doesn't take his shit, and when he touches her, she touches him back. Lee's forgotten what it's like to feel someone else's bare skin against his own. Sometimes they do nothing but sleep.


*


Kara's doesn't say she's jealous of Dee and he doesn't say he's jealous of this Anders. Instead, they fight about this like they fight about everything, indirectly, physically. Their fists say everything that their mouths are too afraid to get into, and if Dee knows what they fight about, she doesn't ask. She doesn't seem surprised at his black eye though, she just shakes her head and goes to take a shower.


*


At night Lee kisses the back of Dee's neck and holds her tight. She's the most solid thing he has, and he won't crack as long as she's keeping him together. Where Kara tore him down, Dee builds him up.


*


Lee tries to steer clear of Colonial One, because every time he sees Billy, he looks like a ghost of himself. Lee knows the feeling; he's had his heart broken by the same woman often enough. The difference, now, is that Lee has Dee in his life, and she makes him whole again. So, no matter how bad Lee feels for Billy, it's not worth giving her up.

Lee has paid long enough -- he's keeping his prize.



-end-

Beta by serialkarma. Inspired by the letters K and H. Title from the song by Snow Patrol, which really is quite fitting.

Comments

[serialkarma.livejournal.com]

"You take away their family, their women, their children...their lovers. The only thing they have left is this kind of physical thing."

reeeeaaalllly? Physical thing? And what might *that* be, hmm?

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Dude, I almost tripped over my jaw hitting the ground.

[ethrosdemon.livejournal.com]

can he be gay now, please?

I see I missed my chance on my remarks. This is still lovely. YAY

[notworthy.livejournal.com]

I haven't even seen BSG, but I'm loving all of these like I have been the KC fics, which is a hell of a lot.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Now that just warms the cockles of my undead heart. Really. Also, BSG is magnificent telly. You should see it if you get the chance.

[quiet-rebel.livejournal.com]

Ok. I want BSG back like NOW!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

OMG it's been frakking years!

[mydorkside.livejournal.com]

Also : Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal are together?! That's fantastic!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, they've been together for a few years now.

[msloserrific.livejournal.com]

I won't have to ask you to post this on open_com, will I? ;) (sorry if I sound pushy!)

Now for my comments --

I love the way you followed Lee and his private thoughts. How he's not exactly the golden boy because face it, no one's perfect.

I also like the aknowledgement of Zak and the potential roadblock that he creates for Starpollo - the ignoring of his influence was one of my major peeves with them.

I love how Dee is strong and his rock, she's so good and understanding like that. :D

Aww poor Billy. He'll find someone. :P

A touch I liked was how Anders was referred to as "this Anders". LOL!

At night Lee kisses the back of Dee's neck and holds her tight. She's the most solid thing he has, and he won't crack as long as she's keeping him together. Where Kara tore him down, Dee builds him up.


Not only did I love the adorable intimacy, but that paragraph defined what I like about D'Apollo. :)

Wow, this has become quite the comment! I'd better wrap it up, lol, it's getting a little out of hand!

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

No, no, I'm going to open_com, mum, really. ;)

I also like the aknowledgement of Zak and the potential roadblock that he creates for Starpollo - the ignoring of his influence was one of my major peeves with them.

I can't imagine ignoring something like that, I mean dude, it's not like Zak was this random guy who Kara dated once and didn't really care about.

Any road, I am so very pleased that you enjoyed this, your commentary made my day!

[violentmedusa.livejournal.com]

I really, really like this. I like how you take the pertinent parts, the passive parts of your narrative, and ignore all of the usual adverb-ridden crap that you COULD go into, but don't, you keep it clean and direct. I like how you reflect the show's acceptance of banal violence, not just physical, but emotional.

I wondered about the use of the word 'prize' at the end, though - I didn't see it coming, thematically. For me, it wasn't about prizes - it was an almost flippant, defensive ending for him - and I wanted to see Lee as better than that. But of course, there's the part where he thinks he's a good man - it questions his motives, definitely. Just thought I'd bring it up.

AND ENOUGH RAMBLING FOR ME. I LOVED IT. THANK YOU.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

My stories tend to be less on the flowery side and more on the stream-lined, unless I have something in particular that I'm working towards. This is my third Lee/Dee story, err, snippet, and so I'm still working on the dynamics of how they work. The prize bit at the end wasn't in the original copy and I stuck it in there at the last minute, not necessarily becaue I think Lee sees Dee as a prize, but because he's so competitive about everything. It's not as deliberate as it is with Kara, but it's still there when you think about Lee and Zak, and Lee and his father, and pretty much Lee and himself. You have Lee as he is, and Lee as he thinks he's supposed to be. There's nothing harder than competing with yourself.

Also, thank you :)

[plumtastic.livejournal.com]

and Lee loves Kara more than she will ever know, but he can't be haunted for the rest of his life.

Yes! You do such good work and I love love love the whole "Dee as home" thing, because outside of being a regular chick, that's what she is, and to make it a long-standing thing with Lee is even better.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I enjoy the Lee/Kara as much as they next person, but that doesn't necessarily exclude the rest of the world, you know?

[plumtastic.livejournal.com]

I'm not hating on the Dee/Lee thing at all. It's a completely different dynamic to explore, one I'm not familiar with. That means it's harder for *me* to deal with, but not in a bad way.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I reckon that at some point I'll write something more in-depth to explore the idea.

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

I really liked this. I am a Kara/Lee shipper (I guess that's what I'll call it), but I loved how you made this work. I wouldn't mind if this happened on the show. Wonderful.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

I was going to say something, but your icon has me all distracted, I mean DAMN.

[meganlynn09.livejournal.com]

Tell me about it.

[ancarett]

Sparse and human -- this was a lovely, spare story that takes you through the toughest points of retaining humanity at the end of the world.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading and commenting!

[smonsterbite.livejournal.com]

Their fists say everything that their mouths are too afraid to get into, and if Dee knows what they fight about, she doesn't ask.

Yup. That's my peeps. Fight first, talk never. Or something. 'Cuz when you talk, you end up saying crazy shit like 'I love you' and that never ends well.

I think my favorite bit is him calling the ship, just to hear her say his name. That's awesome. Such a small, believable, poignant detail.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

'Cuz when you talk, you end up saying crazy shit like 'I love you' and that never ends well.


See, you speak the language!

[musing-mia.livejournal.com]

At night Lee kisses the back of Dee's neck and holds her tight. She's the most solid thing he has, and he won't crack as long as she's keeping him together. Where Kara tore him down, Dee builds him up.

I loved this because this is the fundamental difference between Lee's relationships with Kara and Dee, IMO. I want to see Lee happy, loved for who he is, and I think Dee is up to the challenge of bringing Lee out of his shell.

Thanks for writing.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading!