lily_winterwood | Nine Years Later, a BSG fanfic (Reply)

I was tempted with more childhood-esque fics. And I'm a sucker for temptations. ~~Put those cookies away before I cave in again and pig out on them, please!~~
This is unbeta'd cos I'm a teenager and I know how teenagers function. ;]

Title: Nine Years Later
Author: Lily Winterwood
Rating: K
Fandom: BSG
Characters: Bill Adama, Laura Roslin
Pairings: A/R
Summary: Set nine years after "Child's Play". Laura and Bill, now teenagers, meet on a beach.
Disclaimer: If I was Ron D. Moore, I'd have made Laura and Bill get it going in the miniseries. x]

Nine Years Later

The soft tan sand masks her footfalls and the sea breeze stirs her russet curls. Gulls cry overhead as she runs across the beach, leaving footprints in her wake. To her left is a wide expanse of blue ocean, the waves constantly crashing upon the sand.

Laura Roslin is visiting her grandmother, who lives by the ocean in the little town of Qualai. This time, however, she comes alone. She is now thirteen years old and Grandmomma trusts her enough to let her out alone. Besides, Grandmomma couldn’t do much nowadays, being pratically confined to her house with the doctor dropping in nearly every other hour to check on her. Laura knows Grandmomma was sick, but she doesn't understand why.

Though Laura has grown, her attitude towards the world remains unchanged. Laughing, she turns and dashes into the whitewater. The cool water splashes around her legs, soaking the hem of her shorts. After a while she turns to face the beach, mentally debating over whether or not to return to her towel.

She decides to sit down for a while, and makes her way out of the water. Once on her towel and under the shade of her umbrella, Laura takes out a book and begins reading.

Bill Adama heads down to the beach, intending on getting some time away from his ever-bickering parents. He is now sixteen and is still an outcast at school. As soon as he becomes of age, Bill is determined to join the military.

He doesn’t care about that now. All he cares about is lying down on a towel and hearing only the roar of the ocean and the cry of the gulls. Sighing a little, he spreads his towel out a few feet away from a girl under an umbrella and lies down, staring aimlessly at the sky.

"Hello?” Bill hears. He turns his head and sees the girl, who seems to have noticed him. “Who’re you?”

"I’m Bill,” he answers noncommittally.

"Nice to meet you,” she says brightly, closing her book. “I’m Laura.”

Laura places her book away. “Do you really want to sit out in the sun all the time?” she asks. “You can move your towel over here.”

"Thanks,” the boy replies, taking her up on her offer and moving his towel closer to hers.

"No problem.” She smiles warmly, trying to make him feel more at ease despite the fact that they were complete strangers. “You from around here?”

"Yeah,” he replies.

"My grandmomma lives here. I’m from Caprica City,” she says matter-of-factly.

His eyes widen, almost as if he is impressed. “Really?”

Laura giggles, surprised by his expression. “It’s big and pretty, but the beaches are always crowded. Here you can hear the ocean and stuff so clearly. I like it.”

"I like it, too,” Bill admits, blushing a little and hoping she wouldn’t catch it. “Sometimes when I come here it’s just me and nature. I like it that way.”

"Oh, but today it’s just you, me, and nature,” Laura agrees. She stands up. “I’m going to go swim.” Without any further warning, she pulls off her t-shirt.

Bill hastily averts his eyes. “I think I’ll just stay here,” he mutters.

She laughs, and he looks at her again. Now clad only in her bathing suit, she smiles almost flirtatiously at him. “Come on, Bill. It’s such a hot day. A swim’ll do you good, I promise.”

Bill is still rather surprised at her boldness. Nevertheless, he finds himself nodding slowly.

Laura beams at him as he gives in. “Come on, then!” she calls as she runs towards the water.

Within a few minutes, Bill is alongside her in the water and a water fight commences. Laura initiates it; as soon as he is in the water she has splashed him, taking him by surprise and making her laugh in response.

He bounces back fairly quickly with a splash of his own. Thus it went, back and forth until they were both soaked and laughing, without a care in the world.

Then Laura accidently stumbles and falls back into the water, and Bill extends a hand to help her up. She takes it, but doesn’t let go after.

"You seem familiar,” she says quietly to him, taking in the sight of him, his dark hair and his blue eyes. “I think we met once.”

"You seem familiar, too,” Bill replies, taking in the sight of her, her red hair and her green eyes. “I’m certain we met once.”

Her eyes seem to light up and she suddenly lets go of his hand and stikes a pose. “Does this remind you of anything?”

It was almost as if someone had switched the lightbulb back on. “Laura Roslin!” he exclaims, remembering the little girl he had played with so many years ago.

"That’s me,” the teenager in front of him says. “I know your name, too. It’s Bill Adama, isn’t it?”

Bill nods dazedly. “I can’t believe it,” he says hoarsely.

"Neither can I,” Laura replies, moving closer to him. Their faces were now mere inches away, and Bill still can’t help but blush. He hopes she doesn’t notice.

Teenage love is an odd thing. It seems so innocent at times, and yet it isn’t. It is a child’s model, a replica of true love. But thirteen year old Laura Roslin and sixteen year old Bill Adama can’t really care less about that as they kiss for the first time on a beach in Qualai, where the only things you can hear is the roar of the ocean and the cry of the gulls.