"Hey."

"Hey. You wanted to talk to me?" Starbuck sprawled comfortably across the seating unit.

"Yeah." Apollo sighed. "Um..."

"What? Something wrong? I could always go get captured again..."

"No!" Apollo ran a hand through his hair. "No, please don't," he said, in a more normal tone. "I... I have something to tell you."

"Unless it's that you missed me, I don't want to hear it." Starbuck grinned.

"You know I missed you."

The look on Apollo's face, unguarded and vulnerable, sobered Starbuck. "So what is it?"

"I got sealed."

"Come on now, you can tell me. What's wrong?" Then Starbuck blinked. "Wait a minute—Pol, that's not funny."

"No, Starbuck, you're right. It isn't funny."

Starbuck sat up, casual attitude gone in a heartbeat. "You really just said that. I didn't imagine it." He blinked, face empty of expression. "Sealed."

"I'm sorry, Starbuck," Apollo said, shoulders hunched miserably. "You were dead. She pushed me too hard. Took advantage of how I wasn't thinking clearly, threw some felgercarb at me about how she loved you too, but she needed me—"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Emotions wormed their way through the shock: anger, denial, and worst of all, betrayal. "Sealed, Apollo? Why? I mean, I know you were pissed at me, you made that abundantly clear, but this—this—" He gestured wildly, unable to articulate his thoughts.

"It's not because of... what happened before, Starbuck." Apollo looked away. "That, um, unfortunate incident was forgotten as soon as I realized you were missing. Really, it was stupid. And I hurt, I really, really hurt, thinking that you had died mad at me... I know that's stupid, and I can't tell you how glad I am that you came back—"

"So glad that you ran off and got sealed at the first frackin' opportunity, right?" Starbuck glared at Apollo, whose gaze never wavered from the floor. "So glad you couldn't wait to wash your hands of me, to replace me with—"

"No!" Apollo looked up, all hell in his eyes. "No, it's not like that at all. I never wanted.... but she did, and she had me in front of an altar before I really knew what was happening."

Starbuck regarded him in silence for a moment, the pain of his reaction shut away safely behind those old Starbuck walls. Then he rose, eyes steady on Apollo's face. "But nobody forced you to say yes."

With that, he turned and walked out of their quarters... his alone, now.

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