Work Text:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Afraid Of The Dark
By Betty R and Jen lmr
Date: Oct 2001
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Category: Slash
Pairing: Starbuck/Apollo
Rating: NC-17
Feedback: er.br@sympatico.ca & jennylmr@yahoo.com
Summary: An old fear of Boomer's gets the better of him. Second story of the "Fear" series which began with "When Fear Takes Control" by Betty.
Part 1 (Betty)
Boomer`s eyes clouded over with fear as he heard the punishment the colonel had just assigned to them. Inventory, in the lower levels, today, have it done by evening meal.
The last place Boomer wanted to go on this ship was the lower levels. It was cold and dark down there. And where it was cold and dark you could find... oh he didn't want to think about what lurked in cold, dark places, didn't want to think about it at all.
Why did he listen to Starbuck last night? Why didn't he just stay in the BOQ and read his book. It was a good book, sure he had read it a million times before but it wouldn't have hurt him to read it again. But no he didn't do that, he went with Starbuck and Apollo instead, and now he was in trouble. Now those that lurk in the cold dark places were going to find him, and eat him.
Boomer knew his friends would laugh at him if they knew of his secret fear. Laugh and say it wasn't true, that there was no such thing. But Boomer knew the truth, his grandmother had told him stories about those who lurk in cold dark places, and Boomer`s
grandmother was no fool, she wouldn't have told him those stories if they were not true.
Boomer turned and silently followed Starbuck to their doom, he was always following Starbuck, just like Starbuck was always following Apollo. Hey maybe it wasn't Starbuck's idea to go to the Rising Star last night, or his idea to crash that party the
Commander was throwing for the Council Of The Twelve. Maybe it was really Apollo's idea to dance naked on that table top in front of all those old goats on the council. All those old shocked goats, well not all of them were shocked, the women on the council sure did seem to enjoy the little strip tease the three warriors did.
Boomer was surprised when the lift doors suddenly opened up at the floor they had to go to. Funny, he didn't remember getting on the turbo-lift.
"Come on Boom-Boom, lets get this over with. Apollo is already in the storage room waiting for us."
"I-I-I-I'm coming." Boomer stammered.
"You okay Boomer? You look scared." Starbuck asked.
"I'm fine. Lets just go and get this over with so we can get back upstairs." Boomer snapped.
Starbuck shrugged and headed down the corridor towards the room where Apollo was waiting, with Boomer close at his heels. If Starbuck had turned around he would have seen the fear grow in Boomer`s eyes, and noticed the way Boomer`s body shook more
violently with each step. As they approached the Storage room, they saw the amount of boxes that were stacked inside.
"Apollo you in there?" Starbuck called.
"Yeah someplace near the middle, its a damn maze in here." Apollo called back.
Just as the two lieutenants started into the room, the lights went out.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Boomer screamed.
***
Inside the storage room Apollo groaned in disbelief as the lights went out. Reaching for the flashlight he had brought with him he suddenly heard the sound of Boomer screaming and the way Starbuck teased their friend in reply.
"What's the matter Boomer, you afraid of the dark?"
"No, I am not afraid of the dark."
"Then what's the matter with you?"
Apollo gripped the flashlight and turned it on, as soon as its light went on he heard Boomer yell.
"OH MY GOD! IT`S A GHOST!"
Suddenly boxes were crashing down on top of him, and he was sure he heard Starbuck scream.
"*What the hell are you doing?!*"
***
Boomer had never been so scared in his life. Being in a cold dark place was bad enough, but now the lights went out and Starbuck was teasing him about being afraid of the dark. Then he saw it appear. The ghost was there in this very room!
***
Starbuck heard Boomer scream something about a ghost. Then all of a sudden he was shoved forwards into the boxes, sending them flying in all directions.
***
Boomer ran. He ran for his life. Never in all his born days had been this scared. A ghost, he saw a real live ghost. His grandmother had been right, just like he knew she had been.
Ghosts lived in cold dark places. Now there was ghost after him and his friends. He knew it was too late for Apollo. The captain had been right in there where the ghost lived, there was no hope of him surviving it's wrath. But there was for himself and Starbuck.
When he reached the turbo-lift, its doors still open at this floor, he jumped inside.
"Come on Bucko lets get out of here! Bucko? Starbuck?
STAAAAAARRRRRRRBUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!"
As the doors closed Boomer sobbed uncontrollably, the ghost had gotten Starbuck as well. Now he had lost both of the best friends he had ever had. Lost them to the wrath of an angry ghost.
When he reached the upper levels he ran to the BOQ, crying all the way.
"*GHOST ATE APOLLO AND STARBUCK!!!!! GHOST ATE APOLLO AND
STARBUCK!!!!!!!*"
***
Part Two (Jen)
Using his flashlight, Starbuck waded through the mess of crates and boxes trying to reach his wingmate. Just as he spotted him, he tripped over a piece of fabric that was protruding from an open lid of one of the overturned boxes. He pinwheeled his arms wildly trying to regain his balance but ended up colliding forcefully into a very surprised Apollo anyway and sending them both sprawling into a heap on the floor.
"Umph! Starbuck! What the frack?" The dark-haired warrior wriggled underneath his wingmate.
"Don't ask me," Starbuck replied as he returned Apollo's wriggle, "Boomer just started screaming something about ghosts and shoved me out of the way. The next thing I heard was the sound of the turbolift leaving the floor."
Starbuck could feel Apollo begin to shake beneath him. Concerned, he reached out and grabbed his flashlight from where it had fallen nearby on the floor and shone it into his friend's face. Tears were running down the captain's cheeks and he was laughing uncontrollably.
"You... you... mean to... tell... me that... that..." Apollo was rendered momentarily speechless by a fit of the giggles. "What your saying is that... Boomer thought he saw a ghost... shoved you out of the way... and left us both down here as monster food? Ha ha ha ha!"
"Well, I guess thats one way of putting it." The blond couldn't control his own laughter. "Who'd of thought? Level-headed, sensible Boomer... freaking out over ghosts!"
By this time the two men were rolling on the floor with laughter. They stopped laughing when they simultaneously realized that spirits weren't the only things that were rising in the dark room.
"Starbuck?" Apollo gasped in surprise.
"Shhhh..." The blond silenced him with a long, deep kiss.
***
In the BOQ, the other warriors were trying to calm a hysterical Boomer down enough to find out what had happened.
"Ghosts!" The dark-warrior calmed down enough to try to explain. "Lower level!" A deep breath. "Apollo and Starbuck! Ghosts got Apollo and Starbuck!" Boomer finished with a wail.
The idea of ghosts eating Starbuck and Apollo seemed preposterous (did ghosts even eat?) but something had gotten the usually unflappable Boomer this upset and they figured they had better check the situation out.
The other warriors decided to have Boomer show them where he had last seen Apollo and Starbuck. Boomer became so hysterical at the thought of having to go back down to that horrible place that they had to call a med tech to come and sedate him. All the while Boomer kept babbling "ghosts ate Starbuck and Apollo..." until the medication took effect and he fell into a deep and troubled sleep.
Checking the duty roster, Giles found that the three warriors had been assigned to do inventory in the lower levels that day. 'Its a wonder thats all the punishment they got,' he thought. 'They've done some crazy stunts in their day but crashing a Council party and dancing naked on the table?' He shook his head. 'Man, I wish I had a video of that!'
Taking Greenbean, Jolly and Bojay with him, the four men headed for the lower levels to investigate.
***
In a dark storage room in one of the lower levels, Apollo and Starbuck were doing some investigating of their own.
Starbuck had always appreciated the way Apollo's uniform clung to his muscular body. He often drank in the sight of the other man with his eyes whenever he could be sure his wingmate wasn't looking. He appreciated the glimpses he'd gotten of Apollo *out* of his uniform even more. Now alone in the dark with only the dim light from the flashlights, Starbuck was determined to explore his unprotesting captain's body thoroughly the way he'd so often imagined doing.
Apollo moaned helplessly underneath his lieutenant's expert touch. He could have sworn he'd seen Starbuck looking at him with longing a few times in the past but whenever he'd tried to return the look the blond had quickly turned away. Disappointed, Apollo contented himself with his solitary fantasies. He knew it was foolish to think a ladies man like Starbuck would be interested in another man. He'd never been so happy to have been wrong before in his entire life.
"Too many clothes..." Starbuck panted, struggling with the fastenings of Apollo's pants.
"Mmmm." Apollo moved to help him and soon they were both naked, grinding their hips together and sending shock waves of pleasure through their groins.
The feel of Starbuck's tongue licking a path along his jawline then moving to nibble on his ear caused the Captain to arch into his wingmate even further. Just went he felt he might exploded from the overload of sensations Starbuck pulled away.
"No! Starbuck! Please..." Apollo made to grab for his partner.
"Don't worry," Starbuck whispered. "I just want to taste more of you."
Apollo almost screamed in ecstasy when he felt the wet heat of Starbuck's mouth engulf his cock. He began whimpering uncontrollably when that mouth began slowly sucking him in an up and down rhythm, stopping every so often to tease the slit with the tip of his tongue.
The insistent throbbing of his own organ demanding attention caused Starbuck to reach down with one of his hands and stroke himself in a rhythm that closely matched what he was doing to his partner. Apollo's incoherent cries of need only served to heighten his pleasure further.
The two men were so caught up in the intensity of their coupling that they didn't hear the doors to the lift open or the sound of footsteps approaching.
***
When the doors to the lift opened the four warriors stepped out into the darkened area.
"What's with the lights?" Jolly wondered aloud.
"Never mind the lights, what's that moaning noise? Boomer couldn't really be right about ghosts, could he?" Greenbean shivered.
"Don't be ridiculous! I'm going to find the control panel. You three go look for Apollo and Starbuck," Bojay said impatiently.
The three warriors turned on their flashlights and headed off in the direction the noises were coming from.
"I hope Starbuck and Apollo are okay." Jolly said. "You don't think they could be hurt, do you?"
Giles snickered from up ahead of them. "Oh, they're *definitely* not hurt!" He aimed his flashlight at the pair of writhing lovers. The other two men came up beside him and their mouths dropped open.
Just as the lights came on Apollo let out a loud yell as he filled his lieutenant's mouth with hot jism. Starbuck swallowed greedily as his own orgasm overtook him and he spurted his seed onto the floor. After he was fully spent, he moved up to rest his head against his lover's shoulder in a haze of bliss.
It was then that they heard the sound of applause and noticed that the lights were on again. Two pairs of impossibly huge eyes gawked in shock at their audience of three, then scrunched tightly shut at Bojay's sudden appearance behind the group of warriors.
"Well, I got the power fixed..." Bojay's voice trailed off as he took in the sight of the Galactica's leading ladies man lying naked with the Commander's son and the obvious signs of sex. A huge grin spread across his face. "I knew it!" He crowed.
***
In the BOQ, Boomer continued to sleep fitfully, troubled by terrible dreams of ghosts chasing him and trying to eat him.
***
Apollo and Starbuck quickly scrambled into their clothes.
"It's not what you think." The Captain assured the other men.
"We think the two of you were down here having sex." Giles grinned widely.
"Okay, then it is what you think but it was all Boomer's fault!" Starbuck protested.
Bojay laughed. "Boomer made you two have sex?"
Starbuck could only flush at that.
Giles took pity on the two embarrassed warriors. "Oh, relax. Bojay and I have been lover's for sectars now and Greenbean and Jolly are certainly not strangers to male/male sex either."
Starbuck and Apollo stared speechlessly at them.
"So what's wrong with Boomer anyway? He came up to the BOQ in hysterics screaming about ghosts." Greenbean changed the subject.
Apollo gave him a grateful look before explaining. "The three of us were sent down here to do inventory..."
He was interrupted by a number of discreet snickers.
"Wonder why that was?" Jolly couldn't resist commenting.
Starbuck ignored him and continued where Apollo had left off. "Anyway," he glared at the snickering warriors, "Boomer had been acting pretty weird all the way down here. The lights went out and he started screaming about ghosts, shoved me out of the way, then just took off."
"So that's when you and Apollo decided to have sex?" Bojay smirked.
The blond lieutenant glared at him. "I tripped over something that fell out of one of the overturned boxes and I happened to land on Apollo."
"Then you decided to have sex?" Giles prompted with a falsely innocent look.
"Something like that." Starbuck mumbled and began studying his feet.
"The point is," Apollo came to his wingmates rescue, "that Boomer just ran off and left us here!"
"You should have seen him!" Jolly started laughing. "He was as white as a sheet when he ran into the BOQ!" Jolly took a couple of steps towards Apollo and went sprawling. "What the frack?!"
Bojay went over to see what Jolly had tripped over and started laughing uncontrollably.
Giles gave him a puzzled look. "What?"
Pointing to the contents of an overturned box, he said, "I just had a very evil idea."
Going over to the box, Giles dumped its contents out onto the floor and started laughing himself. Sheets. White sheets. Lots and lots of white sheets.
***
Part 3 (Betty)
Boomer ran through the dark corridors of the Galactica`s lowest level , sweat pouring out of every pore in his body until he was drenched with it. Faster and faster he ran, but still he could not escape the evil phantom that chased him. The few lights that hung from the ceiling on bare threaded wires cast an eerie glow on the floor and walls, making it look like every doorway he passed contained an apparition from hell. Turning the corner ,
hoping that at last he had found the lost turbo-lift that would take him out of this hell hole and deliver him to safety, he ran smack into the ghosts of his now dead friends.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Boomer woke up with a scream.
He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. Looking around he saw he was alone in the Bachelor officers quarters, and although it was the day shift, or what passed for the day shift when your out in deep space, the lights were all turned off.
"I guess the other guys just wanted me to get some sleep, but Lords I never want to have a dream like that again, oh Sagan, what have I done, poor Starbuck and Apollo." The dark skinned warrior moaned to himself as he thought of his two best friends and the horrible death they must have faced at the hands of the demon in that cold dark room.
Suddenly Boomer heard a rustling on the other side of the room.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
"Booooooooooooommmmmmmmmmer, Boooooooooooommmmmmmerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Why Boooooooommmmmerrrrrrrrrr, why?" Boomer was sure that was Starbuck's voice.
"Starbuck? is that you?"
"How could you just leave us like that Booooomerrrrrrr?"
"Oh Gods, Apollo? "
"You should have warned us betterrrrrrr Booooooommerrrrrrrr."
"*Giles*? Oh lords it got you too?"
"Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhh, the pain, the pain." Boomer then heard a moan he was sure belonged to Greenbean.
"Why did you guys go down there? I warned you, I told you what was down there!" Boomer cried.
"I'm so hungry, there's nothing to eat here." That moan was the most pitiful sound Boomer had ever heard.
"I'm sorry Jolly, I'm sorry." Boomer now was just shy of wailing.
"We can eat him, get our revenge on him." Boomer now shook with fear, he had never heard Bojay sound so unholy.
"No please, you don't wanna eat me, I'm too tuff, you'll choke on me."
Boomer ran for the door, but that's where the ghosts of his friends were. He tried to skirt around them, but they jumped with their ghost speed and blocked his way. Then Apollo said the one thing that scared poor Boomer half to death, and his voice was so sinister when he said it.
"I want his brains."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Boomer screamed, peed his pants, and fainted, dropping to the floor in a heap.
Taking off the sheets the other six warriors gathered around him.
"Think he's okay?" Greenbean asked.
"Well he's still breathing," Jolly replied.
"Yeah but look at his face," Giles gasped.
"I've never seen such a sight, didn't think it was possible," Bojay said with awe.
"We scared him so bad he turned white." Starbuck's shocked voice added.
"It's just temporary, he'll return to normal when he wakes up," Apollo said, his voice a little shaky.
"You think so?" the other five all asked.
"Well yeah, but just in case he doesn't lets take off to my quarters before anyone sees us, we'll dump the sheets in the garbage shoot on our way out."
***
The End