(no subject)

[adifferentpath]

The truth of the matter is, Lee's still trying to figure this place out.

Grounded for two months, and he's still not sure what the frak he's doing. In a lot of ways, it feels like those first few days after he gave his pins back to the Commander. He still wakes up early, 0500 in most cases, and lies awake in his apartment. But there's no briefing to go to, no flight rotation to plan out.

There's not even a defense to research for the trial.

For the first time in a long time, he feels almost free. Free and empty at the same time, and it's frakking weird.

He stares at his ceiling for almost an hour before he finally gets dressed in sweats and running shoes and heads out for a run.

Some habits die hard, he supposes.

Comments

[frakkup]

She still sees them sometimes. Star fields were there should be only gray stone walls, planets wheeling where there should be only sky. She's stopped cold on the park path, morning fog still swirling at her ankles, but Kara's a million jumps away, watching the slow spin of a nebula when she hears it, running steps in a pattern that she recognizes.

Turning, Kara pushes her hair back, a half-smile on her face as he approaches. "Frak sleep, right?"

[adifferentpath]

Lee slows to a stop as Kara comes into view, a little out of breath from the exertion. It's been a while— months, feels like— and his body's not about to let him forget it, lungs burning a little though the morning air is cool.

"Tried sleep. Wasn't working out too well," Lee replies, wiping sweat from his forehead, "Don't tell me you were managing eight hours when you first showed up."

[frakkup]

"I haven't managed more than four hours at a time in years," Kara scoffs, but it's good natured, her eyes fixed on a rivulet of sweat that winds its way down his cheek. It's the little things that make Lee's presence here real, and Kara smiles faintly. "You just need to drink more, is all."

[adifferentpath]

Lee laughs. It's just a chuckle, but it's genuine.

"That... that's probably the most familiar thing I've heard since I got here," he says, "Starbuck suggesting someone drink more. Sounds about right."

He might have to take her advice. Gods know there's frak else for him to do in Darrow besides think about how to get off it. And he's finally beginning to think that's as impossible as everyone else says it is.

[frakkup]

"Failing that, run until you fall over," Kara replies, grinning for his laugh. Even before the Colonies fell, his laughter always felt like something hard won, and sometimes Kara wondered if half her acting out on the Galactica wasn't just to see him smile.

"Or I could let Tommy at you," she adds. "You've never seen carnage until you've seen him in the ring."

[adifferentpath]

"Doesn't exactly sound like my idea of a fun afternoon," Lee replies, "getting my ass handed to me by your tank of a boyfriend."

Lee's boxed before, but he knows he's out of practice and he doesn't have any illusions about being able to hold his own for very long when it comes to something like that.

[frakkup]

"He's more of a bear," Kara says, lips pursed in thought, "A tank can't wrap two arms around your torso and squeeze it into mush. But seriously. He's a better fighter than I've seen, and you know I've seen a lot. If you want to keep on your toes..."

[adifferentpath]

"I'll keep that in mind," he says, but as hard up as he may be for something to fill the hours, he's not sure that he's reached that point just yet.

Gods, he should be glad for the free time. It's not like that year before the occupation, wasting away the days on a mostly abandoned battlestar. This is... this is something else.

[frakkup]

"Okay," Kara says with a short laugh, "You do that." She's been idle for a while now, and it's making her antsy, body ready to move again. "I'm gonna run on. Unless you're going my way?"