Apollo stood and just looked at Starbuck. The sun was glinting off his
hair. It shone brightly - just like gold. After what felt like a yahren to
the Lieutenant, Apollo stepped forward and entwined it around his fingers.
"There is most definitely gold here," he said. 

And he kissed Starbuck for the first time. But it would not be the last.
At least, he hoped not. It all depended on how Starbuck reacted to being
kissed by his best friend. His best male friend. 

At first, Starbuck seemed to be returning the kiss, when suddenly he
pulled away. "Whoa," he said, stunned. "Apollo, what brought that on?" 

Apollo shook his head, trying to clear it. His mind felt fuzzy around the
edges. "I don't know," he answered. "I saw you standing there, at the end
of the rainbow, and the sun was shining on your hair, and you looked -
look - so beautiful, I couldn't help myself." He turned to walk away. "I'm
sorry," he said. 

Starbuck grabbed his shoulder. "I wasn't objecting, pal," he said. "I just
wondered why now, why not yesterday, or a secton ago, or a yahren ago?" 

"I don't know," Apollo said again. "Maybe it's something about this place.
I've never felt like this before." 

Starbuck was crushed. Apollo had kissed him because he was, what, under
the influence of some sort of alien pheromone? He had to admit, his own
hormones had seemed to be in overdrive since they'd arrived here, but he'd
always been in love with Apollo. Whatever was in the air hadn't made him
do anything he didn't want to do. 

Apollo turned back toward him. "Can I kiss you again?" he asked, almost
pleadingly. 

The Lieutenant smiled. "Anytime," he replied, and Apollo was in his arms,
kissing him, holding him, driving him crazy with desire. The two men sank
to the ground, and almost before they knew what was happening, they were
making love in the long grass. 

When they were done, Starbuck pulled a handkerchief from his jacket pocket
and cleaned them off a bit. Then he kissed Apollo gently. "I love you," he
whispered. 

Apollo sat bolt upright. He looked around him, looked at Starbuck, then
grabbed his clothes and got dressed. "What the frack is going on?" he
asked no one in particular. "What just happened here?" 

"We made love, Pol," Starbuck told him. "You aren't sorry for that, are
you?" 

Apollo stared at him, stunned. Then he bolted. Starbuck grabbed his own
clothes and pulled them on, but by the time he was dressed, his friend had
vanished. 

On the shuttle back to the Galactica, Apollo sat on a seat in the corner
and wouldn't talk to Starbuck, or to anyone. Starbuck sat with Athena and
watched the school children comparing various 'souvenirs' they'd picked up
on the planet. "You look worn out, Thena," Starbuck observed. 

"You wouldn't believe the way these kids acted when we were on the
planet!" she exclaimed. "It was like they were drunk! Even the kids that
are normally the best-behaved were running wild.  Like they had absolutely
no inhibitions!" 

That last line sounded familiar to Starbuck. "Do you have any idea what
caused them to behave that way?" he asked. 

"It's one of the plants we picked up," Athena told him. "The kids were
going around smelling the flowers and one of them released some sort of
pollen or something that made them, well, I guess it made them high." 

Starbuck remembered Apollo stopping to smell a flower when they'd been
following the rainbow. "Do you think," he asked Athena, "that this
chemical or whatever it was, could make someone do something that was
against their morals or beliefs?" 

"No more than ambrosa or any other type of alcoholic beverage would, I
think," she replied.

"Do you think it's harmful?" he asked.

"I don't think so. But I'm going to get them checked out at the Life
Center when we get back to the ship, just to be safe." 

Starbuck accompanied Athena and the children to Life Center, but couldn't
stay. He had duties to attend to. Later that evening he stopped by to talk
to Cassiopia. 

"Hey, Cass, did the kids that Athena brought in today check out all
right?" he asked. 

"Oh, yes, they were fine," she assured them. "As were the dozen or so
other people that came in as well." 

"What, more people came in? Why?"

"Seems that a certain flower had interesting effects on peoples'
behavior," she answered him with a grin. "It affected the part of the
brain that inhibits what might be considered inappropriate behavior. In
some cases it stopped them from suppressing parts of themselves they
wouldn't normally express." 

"Like what?" Starbuck asked with curiosity.

"Well, Jolly started writing poetry. Boomer turned into a singer - he has
a nice voice, actually. A few unexpressed crushes suddenly got expressed.
And the Commander and Colonel Tigh - " she blushed. 

"What about the Commander and Colonel Tigh?"

"I really shouldn't be telling you this, but, oh frack, I have to tell
somebody!" She grinned from ear to ear. "They're lovers. As of this
afternoon."

"Really? How interesting. You know, Apollo got some of that flower today
himself." 

"Did he? I'm surprised he didn't come in."

"I think he was embarrassed," Starbuck told her. "But I think I'll go
check on him, make sure he's okay. And tell him he's not the only one who
did some things he might not normally do." 

When he knocked on the door to Apollo's quarters, his friend answered from
the other side of the door, "Go away, Starbuck." 

"We have to talk, Apollo."

"No, we don't. Go away."

Starbuck knew the lock code for Apollo's quarters, so he let himself in.
"Apollo, we have to talk about what happened this afternoon." 

"This afternoon should never have happened. It was a mistake. I don't know
what came over me - something in the atmosphere, maybe." 

"Actually, it was a flower. It released some sort of hormone that makes
people let go of their inhibitions, do things they've always wanted to do
but were afraid to do. Ask Cassie - she's seen quite a few people who had
the same sort of reactions you did." 

"What, they had sex with their best friends?" Apollo asked bitterly. 

"In at least one case, yes," Starbuck told him. "Look, from what they've
discovered about the plant, it doesn't make people do things they don't
want to do - just things they're too self- conscious or repressed to do. I
know you wanted me as much as I wanted you, Pol." 

"Even if I did, I can't have a relationship with you, Starbuck. My father
would never approve." 

"How do you know that? Have you asked him?"

"Well, no. It's not the kind of thing I normally talk to him about." 

"Well, then, you don't know he wouldn't approve, do you?" Starbuck asked. 

"I guess not," Apollo admitted. "But I'm not going to tell my father that
I had sex with you!" 

Starbuck was stuck. He couldn't tell Apollo that his father had suddenly
started having an affair with Col. Tigh. It wasn't his place. If only
Apollo would ask his father how he felt about same- sex relationships, it
would solve their problem. 

Just then the door chime sounded. Apollo went to answer it and discovered
his father at the door.  "May I speak to you for a few centons, Apollo?"
Adama asked. 

"Uh, sure, come on in," Apollo told him. "Starbuck was just leaving."
Starbuck took the hint and departed. 

"What did you want to see me about?" Apollo asked his father. He was
suddenly afraid that his father had somehow found out about him and
Starbuck. 

"After the various things that happened during today's shore leave, there
are bound to be quite a few rumors circulating. I wanted you to hear the
truth, and hear it from me." 

"What truth is that?" Apollo didn't know what his father was talking
about. 

"This afternoon, Colonel Tigh and I became lovers. And we've decided to
remain lovers. I don't know how you feel about men who have relations with
other men, but Tigh has been my closest friend since your mother died, and
it just seemed ... right to take our relationship in this new direction." 

Stunned, Apollo didn't know what to say at first. When he found his voice,
he said, "I won't say I'm not surprised, Father, but if this is what you
want, then I'm happy for you. I didn't know how you felt about same-sex
relationships. I think I may have jumped to a few wrong conclusions." 

"What conclusions were those?" Adama asked.

"I just assumed that you wouldn't approve of men who became lovers with
other men. And because of that, I'm afraid I hurt Starbuck." 

"How did you hurt Starbuck?" 

"When I was under the influence of that flower, I made love with him. And
then I was so afraid of what it meant, I pushed him away. I was afraid
that you wouldn't approve," Apollo told him. 

"I probably should have made my feelings clearer in that regard when you
were younger,"  Adama said. "But the subject never seemed to come up.
However, now that you know, I think you need to go find Starbuck and talk
to him." 

Apollo did just that, finding his friend in the Officer's Club. "Starbuck,
can we talk?" 

"Do we have anything to talk about?" Starbuck asked him.

"I think we do. Would you come to my quarters? Boxey is with my father and
sister right now." 

So Starbuck followed Apollo back to his quarters. When they were inside,
Apollo turned to him and said, "Starbuck, I'm sorry if I hurt you today. I
should never have pushed you away after we made love. I was scared." 

"What were you scared of?" the Lieutenant asked.

"You said that you loved me. It was one thing to have sex, but love -
that's something else entirely. It meant that you wanted more from me than
just a quick frack, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to give it to you.
I was afraid my father wouldn't approve, and I didn't know if I could keep
up a relationship without the support of my family." 

"And now?"

"And now, I have just found out that not only does my father approve, but
he has entered into a relationship with Colonel Tigh." 

"So what does this mean for us, Pol? What happens now?"

"It means that I love you, too. As for what happens now - why don't we go
into my bedroom and see what happens there?" 

Later that night, as Starbuck lay in his arms, Apollo thought over the
events of the day. It had all started when they'd seen a rainbow, and he'd
ended up finding his pot of gold. 

END