[Next entry: "BSG fic: Multiplicity of Life (Hera, Sharon, Helo, Starbuck, Tyrol, Baltar, Roslin; PG)"]
07/28/2007: "BSG fic: Focus on the Plan (Helo, Starbuck)"
Title: Focus on the Plan
Prompt: Helo, Starbuck, on Caprica, in Starbuck's apartment.
For: jayneaintagirl
Words: 950
He's dry, he's inside, and there's light coming through the windows. It's warm, and Karl's almost tempted to stay in the apartment forever, curl up and pretend that the Cylons don't exist, and that he doesn't need regular anti-radiation dosages to keep himself alive.
It's a pretty picture, except that there's nothing true about it. And anyway, he couldn't stand spend the rest of his short life eating the foul noodle packages Kara's got stashed around everywhere – under pillows, in rickety drawers.
She could've afforded better than this dive. Karl's seen some of the homes of some of the other pilots, and they're all better than this.
"What the frak did you spend your money on?" He kicks at a wall, and it crumbles a little under his boot.
Kara smirks, her eyes closed. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She lights a second cigar, twirling a third one in her fingers.
Karl slumps down beside her, pushing her until she shoves over. "So. You got a plan?"
"Get off the planet?"
He sighs and lets his head fall back. "That's been the plan for months now. Hasn't been so successful."
She shifts, moves closer, and then blows smoke in his face.
"Frak!" He waves it away, trying not to cough. "You're such a pain in the ass, you know that?"
Settling back, she grins, that annoying almost-smirk that Karl's seen get her into too many fights. "Yep. But at least I'm not a Cylon." She takes another drag of the cigar. "And that might mean that you can actually get off this frakking planet. Come home."
Home. Home to his rack and his friends, and to another Sharon. "Right."
She punches him in the shoulder.
"Knock it off! Anyone ever tell you you've got boney knuckles?"
"I'm going to do that every time you start thinking about her."
He scowls. "What? You can read my mind now? That some kind of mystical power from the frakking Arrow?"
"Like I need something like that. It shows all over your face." She narrows her eyes, gazes off to the side, her mouth pursed and miserable. "See? This is what you look like."
"Starbuck –"
"Helo. Get it together. She's a frakking Cylon. She was frakking with your head, and maybe you thought you loved her, but you've been down here too long. Maybe you just forgot what a human actually looks like." She stubs her cigar out on the armrest, grinding it into the worn fabric. "Wake up. You've got me now."
"You."
"Yep. And I'll get you off this rock."
She never stops bragging. One day she just started, and she's never, ever stopped. Karl has to smile, even if it's weak, even if he feels almost joyless. "And you'll be bragging about it the whole time."
"Frak yes. And then when we get back to Galactica –"
"Yeah, you'll let the whole world know."
"Nah. You will. It'll be the payback."
"Starbuck –"
She sighs, exaggerated and annoyed. He's seen her that way with nuggets one too many times. "Look," she says, grabbing the collar of his jacket with both hands, "stop thinking about her." She pulls herself up, straddling his legs, hovering over him, not quite sitting. "Focus on getting off alive. They're coming. And she knows you, we'll be easier to track now. So pay attention, or I'll leave you behind."
He knows that tone, the tone Kara saves for when she's completely serious, utterly unwilling to compromise. "Leave me behind."
"If you frak with my mission."
"Maybe I don't –"
She leans close, and her breath smells like smoke, harsh and acrid. "Don't you dare say you don't want to go. Don't say it, Helo, because I will not be responsible for what I do if you piss me off that much. So don't."
Karl isn't sure how long they stare at each other, because it feels like an age, a year, longer than he's been stuck on Caprica. Finally, he breaks, looks away from her, says, "Fine. All right. I'm focused."
Cocking her head, she asks, "You sure?"
"Yeah. I'm sure." He grabs her arms, pushes her away slightly. "Get off me."
"You're sure. Really sure."
"Yes! Frak!"
"Because we can, you know," she says, letting go of one side of his collar, sliding her hand down to his waist. "Frak, that is. If it'll get you with me."
She can't be serious. "No."
"What? You wanna stay loyal to your little toaster? You –"
"Kara. Shut the frak up and get off me." This time he pushes hard enough that she loses her balance, falls back to the floor.
She pulls him down with her, hands slippery, grasping, and they land in a heap, messy and tangled, both winded.
She starts laughing. "Gods, Helo, there was a time you would've taken me up on that, no questions asked. Now look at you!" She grins, hard and bright, catching her breath. "You are so frakked."
"Maybe."
"And heavy! Get up." She gestures with one hand, "Go!"
He does, heaving himself upwards and onto the couch. Kara stays on the floor, still grinning a little wildly. "Don't do that again."
Her smile turns innocent. "What?"
"You know."
Standing, she walks to a drawer and pulls out another cigar. She lights it up, smirking around it. "You wish. That was a one time offer. I was clearly out of my mind."
Karl settles back into the cushions, offers her is own smirk, his own almost-laugh. "Yeah, flying that Raider must've done something to you. Frankly, I'm concerned."
"Don't be." She turns to stare out of the window. "I'm focused."
"Yeah," he says. "Me too."
And he is.
End
