The Vessel & The Prophet - BSG Kara/Leoben

[krickets]

Title: The Vessel & The Prophet
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Characters/Pairings: Kara/Leoben (Lee)
Summary: Post Crossroads. Kara faces Leoben once again.
Rating: pg13
A/N: No beta. Written for Dayln on her first week back to school. Spoilers up to 3x20. Author's choice @ un_love_you.


There's a moment of hesitation when he enters the cell. Just who and what is giving pause, isn't exactly clear. It's everything. And nothing. It's her breath, his steps, Lee's gaze, the blackness beyond the wall, the empty space between them, the broken trust she carries in her pocket, even fabled Earth, so far away, but so clear in her memories.

The sound of boots clunking metal floor echoes just as far as her mind goes, all the way back to that cold and dusty planet where he kept her... just kept her, really - made her question who she was, made her feel things she'll never admit to, pushed her beyond, made her helpless as no one or thing ever had, reached deep inside of her and pulled out the throbbing heart that Kara Thrace discarded long ago, and gave it back to her.

Her voice is low and dark. It comes from her gut. "You can't put him in here with me," she growls. And even if she were a cylon, she's still her, and the memories of New Caprica weigh heavy on her soul.

What soul?

That's what they'd say. Because as far as they're concerned, she and Leoben are one and the same.

She looks at Lee, and he is just as broken as before, eyes so far away. She'll never get them back. She could call his name, beg, deny, swear, but she knows by now it's useless.

And then they're alone.

"Kara," he says finally, and the sound of his voice, gravelly and kind, is so many things to her. It's hate, and fear, and reverence, and even want.

"Shut up," she pleads, but it's too late. He takes her in, and gods, it feels safe there. She knows better. She does. She remembers his warm blood on her hands, his breath on her lips, his voice in her head, the way he made her believe in something that was never hers to begin with.

Leoben once told her he was God, said it like he meant it, like he believed the truth of those words. And she had looked him in the eye and laughed at him.

How absurd.

Today she is a believer. She; the vessel. Leoben; the prophet. Chosen. Equals.

Salty taste on her lips, and she pulls away, like he'll infect her, like he'll make all those accusations about her true.

"Why are you here?" she asks, tries to ignore how cold she feels without his warmth, pushes back against the wall. She doesn't mean this cell, or Galactica, or even the fleet, she means here, everywhere, when she closes her eyes and when she opens them.

"You shouldn't be alone, Kara," he says in that way of his, like he knows more than he's saying, means more than his words. "There is so much more to do."

There is so much more to do.

-fin

Thank you so much for reading! This is my first BSG fic so all comments and any concrit is most definitely welcome!

Comments

[zefire2.livejournal.com]

This is kindof confusing. With the Kara/Leoben tags and icons and notes and such I think I'm supposed to be thinking that Lee is sticking a Leoben in the cell with Kara*. The way it reads though is that Lee and Leoben are overlaid on each other or some such, it really is rather confusing. Maybe if a few of the pronouns were replaced with a name or a physical description (ie a reference to dark hair or blond hair)?


*Which I just can't see happening even if he believed she was a cylon and was really truly hating her. Slow psychological torture just doesn't seem to be his thing.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Your first instinct is correct. I'm pretty sure, even if it is more vague in the beginning, which is definitely the intent, that it becomes explicit in the second half, when I say "And then they're alone."

The vagueness, the bluntness, that's kind of my writing style. I don't feel the need to over-explain, in fact I loathe it. I guess people either get it/enjoy it or they don't. There's supposed to be a sense of mystery in the beginning. Kind of, saying it but not saying it. (I would hope Kara's reaction to him, my characterization of him, would show who he is much more than a name would.)

That being said, I'm not lost on the art of using proper names. Haha. So I get your point. But creatively, I wanted the mystery. (I didn't want you to confuse Lee with Leoben, however... whoops!)

As to what Lee is thinking here, Hate is entirely the wrong word. More like, pained, dutiful (he's not doing this to torture her, he's just doing his job), confused and finally detached. He's not THERE anymore. Which is the reason for the line about how far away he is and how Kara can never get him back. If it were Lee, full unbroken Lee, you're right, he wouldn't ever be a part of this. But it's not him anymore.

Part of my fascination with this is, what happens after Crossroads? How do dynamics change? How are relationships altered? Do they, as Cain said, do horrible things they never would before because if they don't they don't survive?

(Although, she's being kept and questioned, not tortured and raped, so the similarities end there.)

And re: canon, My personal theory is that after Baltar's trial, Lee is going to become some kind of cylon crusader. Everyone gets a fair trial and all that? You know? (So my fic is taken in a direction totally different from what I think is actually going to happen on the show.)

My reference point for both of them being in the same cell together is Tyrol and Boomer sharing a cell in season 2 when they suspected he was a sleeper agent as well.