Kiss, Kick, Kill
In my life why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" - The Smiths
The first year at the academy hadn't been exactly what Kara would call pleasant. She had the brains to be there, the drive, and more than enough guts, but something just wasn't quite right about the whole situation.
The problem, as anyone with two seconds to spare would be sure to tell her, was that Cadet Kara Thrace just never knew when to quit. Kara burned under the admonishment, because they were right.
Her big mouth and her brashness had bought as many friends as enemies over the years. Now it seemed that her over-enthusiasm was threatening the possibility of a career in the Colonial Fleet. Kara couldn't help it; she just wanted everything so badly, had since she was a little kid.
The other children in her neighborhood had spent countless hours playing in the sun. Meanwhile, Kara Thrace, too small for her age in many ways, poured over specs for Viper Mk II's, trying to learn the plane inside and out.
While other little girls had dolls to play with, Kara had her set of model Mk II's. She used to engage them in mock dogfights to impress the boys. Then there she was, almost all grown up, and that dog-fighting trick wasn't working any more. Hell, not much of anything was working.
Her advisors knew she just needed to mellow a bit. And then one of them had a brilliant idea. The only problem was, no one bothered to inform Kara of the plan.
Kara was in flat shock when the legend's kid walked into the lab. She had scheduled it for a private project; no one else was supposed to be there. Then, of course, those rules would never apply to the son of the almighty Adama.
She let him stand there, at the bottom of the stairs, while she finished up her work. Finally, she turned slowly to regard him with barely contained spite. Kara had heard about Lee Adama while she had been at the academy; it was a subject that was hard to avoid. He was the hotshot on Sigma Flight – cool, calculating, giant stick up his ass. Oh yeah, Kara thought, that had to hurt.
The young man standing in front of her now, at parade rest no less, didn't disappoint. He looked exactly like the picture, the Colonial's poster boy. Well, Kara was having none of it.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, taking no effort to hide the iciness of her tone. Kara leaned against the lab counter, waiting for him to answer. She'd play relaxed to his starch.
"Someone said you were doing a mock up of the new drive system. I was interested in seeing how you planned to solve the power overload." Taking a few steps towards her, Lee indicated the piece she had been working on when he came in. He pointed to it, asking permission to pick it up, and Kara assented with a nod.
"This is very good work."
"Thank you," Kara said, smiling a little too sweetly. " I try." If he had been standing just a bit closer she would've looked up at him and fluttered her eyelashes. This was ten levels of ridiculous. What was he even doing here?!
Oblivious to her sarcasm, Lee was blathering on about the power distribution problem he'd had when he'd built the same piece a month before.
"Wait," she said. Kara snatched the small metal box out of Lee's hands. "You already built this?"
"Yeah."
"And you made it work?"
"Yes, with a few minor modifications to the specs you were working from."
Lee was perfectly calm while Kara could feel her face turning red. Her voice was high when she spoke again. "Then why are you here?"
"To see if you wanted some of my spare wiring," he turned, and threw his arm back toward the stairs, indicating he could go and get it for her. "It'd be a shame to waste it. Can't use it on much else anyway."
Kara had no idea why, but she squeaked. Squeaked, dammit. It was an action of truly embarrassing proportions, squeaking because some tight-assed wonder boy offered you his wire – and not in the fun, sweaty sheets sort of way either. Frak!
"You want to give me your wire?" Kara stammered. Kara Thrace never stammered. What was going on here?
A slow, broad smile spread across Lee Adama's face. "That would all depend on whether you were interested or not. And if you were going to buy me dinner beforehand. Despite my looks, I'm not that easy."
Bastard.
"That's not what the girls from Sigma Flight say."
Lee's eyebrows shot upward, and he leaned a little toward Kara. "Oh, really? I got the impression that you really wouldn't care what anyone said about me."
"It's hard not to eavesdrop in the showers, Adama. A girl gets to hear things whether she gives two cubits about the subject or not." Kara moved a little closer and smiled. Playing with him was more fun than she'd have thought. Even if he was a self-important ass.
"Only two?" Lee smiled smugly. "I'm offended. I paid five cubits to some of the guys from Kappa Flight to hear about you."
Kara could only stare in shock, her mouth hanging open in a quite unflattering manner. She didn't know whether to kiss him or kick him in the eye.
Lee must have seen something in her expression. He started to back away slowly, but still grinning madly.
"And that didn't even buy me the story about you, that Mark IV, and the Commandant's prized Tauran fumarellos...."
Winking at her, Lee Adama ran for the stairs with Kara hard at his heals.
By the time she had reached the first landing, Kara had made up her mind.
Kick him in the eye. Definitely.