Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or previous situations mentioned that have been seen in the episodes. All I own is my writing and original ideas. I wish I owed Sweets, but, I don't. Bummer :]
This is going to be a short multi-part fan fiction piece centered around Temperance Brennan and Lance Sweets. I've seen a few pieces written about them and since Sweets is in fact my favorite character, this was screaming to me. Each chapter is based on a song that I think fits the mood perfectly. If you want to listen, I encourage it! Hope you guys will enjoy!
Meeting Dr. Sweets
-Song inspiration: 'Enchanted' by Taylor Swift.
'Stay strong, Temperance,' she thought to herself. 'Just stay strong.'
Despite the solemn feeling within her being, Temperance Brennan was forcing the happiest smile she could possibly muster. In all honesty, she didn't want to be where she was, at a wedding. A moment of happiness had been turned into a night of remorse. She shouldn't have come, but she had. The only reason she was doing this was for her best friend.
Angela had asked her to be the maid of honor – again – and she accepted. It would have been great if Booth hadn't been the best man. Well, that wasn't exactly the problem. The problem was that she had to act happy while he was actually happy around his new blonde girlfriend.
She sat alone at the wedding party table watching the small amount of couples make their way out to the dance floor as a slow song began to play. When her blue-green eyes sought out her current partner and his girlfriend, she fought against the sickening feeling in her stomach and averted her eyes. Taking hold of her champagne glass, she saw them from the corner of her eye as they began to dance to the rhythm of the song. Temperance took a long sip of the bubbly liquid and, after almost completely diminishing the entire drink, she set the glass down.
She tried her hardest not to watch the people around her, however when she did, the knowledge of someone watching her was apparent. The dark-haired man leaning against the bar had his hazel eyes set on her. His usual crooked smirk was plastered on his face. He was analyzing her, she was sure of it. That was annoying, but she sent him a closed-mouthed and crooked smile in return.
That was enough for him to push himself away from the bar and move toward the wedding party table. Once he reached her, she lifted her head to greet him, but instead of seeing his face first she saw his hand. His palm was up and reaching out for her to take hold. Her eyebrows furrowed but her slight smile remained.
"You're not going to sit out every slow song and people-watch are you?"
Temperance laughed softly at his remark and shrugged her bare shoulders a bit. "It crossed my mind."
"No," he said softly, that crooked smile still there. "Don't torture yourself tonight."
"I'm not torturing myself by people-watching, Dr. Sweets. Now dancing? That's torture. I don't dance…in public."
"Tonight you do. And it won't be torture. I happen to be a great dancer." His hand stayed there for her to take, and in a single moment, he watched as she lifted her arm from her lap, slowly, and placed her hand gently into his own. Her cool skin against his, which was warm, felt soothing to the both of them. He gently pulled her to her feet and allowed her to walk slightly in front of him, which allowed him to place his hand lightly on the small of her back. As he led her onto the dance floor, his hazel eyes caught Booth's brown ones, which seemed cold and callous, almost like they were sending off a warning signal.
Sweets ignored it and lifted his arm, his one hand still in hers, and spun her around once before pulling her close to him. Their hands remained together and his free arm wrapped around her waist.
As they started moving side to side to the steady rhythm of the song, Temperance prepared herself for Sweets' so-called 'good dancing.' She figured it would be the equivalent of a baby taking its first few steps. However, she was pleasantly surprised when Sweets proved to her that he could keep a rhythm going and not stumble all over the place.
"You don't want to be here do you?"
"What? I don't mind dancing with you. You're actually not that bad."
The psychologist laughed and shook his head gently. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant you don't want to be here at the reception, with these happy couples."
"Well, technically, we're two people dancing, so we're a couple."
"But, you're not happy." Knowing how she'd respond, he kept speaking. "I mean overall, not just in this small moment of me making you dance."
"You didn't make me do anything," she said lifting her head back so she could look at him. "And I thought we weren't going to torture me."
"I'm in no way torturing you, Dr. Brennan."
"You kind of are," she said. "I mean not in the medieval way with their techniques of torturing, but in a completely mental way." A light smile played on her lips.
"No, I'm analyzing you."
"Exactly. Torture."
Sweets laughed and lifted an eyebrow, pulling her a little closer to him. "You hate me analyzing you, but you don't mind the dancing?"
"You're alright, for a baby duck."
"Oh really?" Letting go of her hand, he placed one arm against her lower back and the other against her shoulder blades. Smiling with a kid-like gleam in his eyes, he lowered her toward the floor in a 'dip' movement. Her laugh escaped her lips, louder than he expected, and then it was gone.
The reason? Booth was now standing next to them, hovering over Temperance's bent form.
Both of their smiles diminished quickly and Sweets tightened his grip on Temperance's back as he lifted her back to a straight and standing position. Clearing his throat, Sweets let go of her completely and pointed to the bar. "I'll leave you guys alone."
Temperance moved a section of her hair away from her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her body. "Where's Hannah?"
"Restroom," he said flatly, his eyes still hard and accusing. But he held out a hand for her to take, just like Sweets had, however it felt different. When Sweets had done it, it seemed soft and reassuring, helpful. When Booth did it, it was almost like an order and expected. But she did it anyway, resting her small hand in his larger one. His free right hand rested on her lower back and even that felt different from how Sweets had done it. However, she forgot all about Sweets in a matter of seconds when the side of Booth's head pressed up lightly against the side of her own.
Her eyes fluttered closed and her body relaxed just a little. His touch was enough to do that to her and she would be lying if she said she hadn't missed it. She forgot somewhat how it felt to just be there in silence with him and have her problems go away for the time being. For a short moment she felt that again, but of course nothing good could last in her life. She was ready to face reality, just not at that moment in time. Booth, however, couldn't.
"So, Sweets, huh? As soon as I'm distracted he comes in for the kill?"
"It's just dancing, Booth. You know, like you and I are right now. A friendly dance."
"I know a friendly dance when I see one, Bones and that wasn't a friendly dance."
Temperance's eyes searched behind her current dance partner for the psychologist and she spotted him talking to another guest to the reception. "It's just Sweets. There's no harm in dancing with him."
"Just like there was no harm in dating Sully, or going to that event with my brother, right?"
"That was different, I was attracted to Sully and Jared is just Jared. This is Sweets we are talking about. Besides, shouldn't you be dancing with your girlfriend instead of me?"
"I'm just looking out for you, Bones. I care about you." Pulling her a little closer, close enough for her to feel his warm breath trickling down her neck, he slowed the pace of their dancing until they had almost come to a complete stop. "I still love you."
Her eyes opened after having closed when she felt his breath on her skin. Her blood began to boil and the pang in her heart reappeared like it had every time she looked at him. Temperance dropped her partner's hand immediately and took a few small steps back. "Stop," she said quietly, trying hard not to cause a scene. Looking up toward him, a bewildered look in her light-colored eyes, she fought hard to keep her voice down and the tears back. "You can't say things like that to me and expect me to be fine with it. You can't walk into any kind of relationship I have with a person and prevent something from happening because you can't stand to see me with someone else." Taking in a shaky breath, she walked back to the wedding party table and grabbed her black clutch, knowing all too well that Booth would be following her. "You need to know how it feels, Booth," she said in a low and harsh tone.
Gripping her hand bag, she made her way through the dance floor. She avoided talking to Angela and Hodgins; she didn't want them to see her on the verge of breaking down. It would only put a damper on the evening. She'd explain everything at a later time.
Once she made it out of the reception room and outside into the fresh and cooler night air, the tears slowly began to betray her and the questions piled into her head.
Why was he doing this? Why did he care? Why did she still love him?
When she heard the doors of the reception hall open, she groaned out loud. "Why can't you just leave me —" When she had turned around in the middle of her sentence she didn't see Booth standing behind her, instead Sweets had joined her outside. "Alone," she said quietly, feeling like an idiot for yelling at the wrong person. "I'm sorry," she said softly, quickly wiping the tears away from her fair-skinned face. "Go back inside, Sweets. I'll be in shortly."
"No you won't," he said, shoving his hands in his suit pants, walking slowly up to her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said, turning her attention back to the slightly busy street.
"I'm a psychologist, Dr. Brennan. I'm trained to know when people aren't fine."
"Stop analyzing me. You know I don't believe in psychology. If I say I'm fine, I'm fine."
Sweets approached her side and looked out onto the busy street with her, stealing sideways glances every so often. "I'm not coming to you as a psychologist. I'm coming to you as a friend, like Angela would do. Off the record, no analyzing whatsoever, I'm here."
Temperance turned her head away from the headlights and streetlights and allowed herself to really look at the man at her side. Despite the baby-face, she could tell he was sincere. Taking in a deep breath, she looked back to the reception hall and groaned softly. "I came with Angela; my car is back at her place."
"I came with Hodgins and Booth," he said, diminishing any ideas of him giving her a ride. "We could take a cab, or I can walk you home," he said, watching her face for signs of distaste.
Feeling the night breeze hit her bare shoulders, she shivered just a little but knew she would be warmer if they were walking. "A walk would be nice." She turned in the direction of her apartment, which really wasn't that far from the reception hall, and began to walk slowly. There was no need to rush the walk.
The wind was just a little colder than she had predicted and the goose bumps that had risen on her skin proved just that. No sooner had she begun to rub her arms in order to keep them a bit warmer did she feel complete warmth overcome her. Turning her head in the direction of which it came, she saw Sweets as he finished draping his suit jacket over her shoulders. It was slightly big on her, but not by much.
"Thank you," she said, giving him a sideways glance when he joined her pace. "You really didn't have to leave the party, you know. I could have managed just fine by taking a cab."
Sweets shrugged his shoulders and let his usual smile dance on his lips. "I can only take so much at a wedding," he admitted. "I know it's been a year without Daisy in my life, but the pain is still there when I even hear about a wedding."
Looking up slightly at him, her brow furrowed a little in empathy. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot."
"Don't be sorry. Only if I could forget, right?"
"I understand," she said, bringing the front of the jacket closer to her chest to keep out the wind.
They were quiet for a few minutes and the silence wasn't awkward this time around like it usually was in his office. As she kept her words to herself, she could feel the emotion bottling up inside of her. Everything Booth had said to her during their dance was racing through her mind and she could feel it slowly eating away at her.
"It's a façade you know."
Sweets turned his head quickly to the woman who had just spoke, a confused expression on his young face. "What is?"
"This strong, independent woman act I have going on. Well, I mean I am strong and independent, I can live by myself and I could go a while without having social interaction, but I'm weak on the inside. This thing with Booth, I haven't felt this worn down since my parents left. I hate feeling weak, I hate feeling alone like this, and he knows it."
It was new to Sweets – seeing Brennan completely unfold her emotions in front of him. He had to admit it was refreshing and he felt like he was getting somewhere with her, but this was just one night and one outburst. Who knew, maybe in the morning she would close herself off and go back to just staring at him in his office. "He may know it, but he cares."
"It's hard to believe that, Sweets."
"Why do you say that?"
"Someone who cares shouldn't say things to make themselves feel better, not in this kind of situation. Some things are better left unspoken."
The psychologist felt it was best to leave it at that. He could think of a few things Booth had told her when he interrupted their dance, his actions spoke louder than the words he hadn't heard from across the floor. It was obvious in the way he looked at them, in the way he held the anthropologist while they danced, even in the way he had almost ran after her until Sweets took over. The man loved her and the feeling was mutual. Now they just had to cope with not fulfilling that love.
After another few minutes of silence, Temperance began to rummage through her clutch for her apartment keys. Once she found them, she began to ascend the few stairs to the main doors. Turning back to Sweets, she couldn't help but smile at him. She was looking at him differently now after the quick night's events. His hands were in his pockets like always and his face was pleasant but not overly happy and kid-like. He seemed must more grown up, like during the course of the day he had matured physically and somewhat mentally. Chuckling at the thought, she shook her head a little, sending her brown locks in the same directions as her head was moving.
"What?" Sweets asked, a small smile breaking through as his lips moved when he spoke.
"Nothing," she said, slight laughter apparent in her tone. "It's just- it's like I'm meeting you for the first time. You're different somehow."
"I feel the same," he said simply, his usual smile lying at an angle. "Goodnight, Dr. Brennan," he said with a soft nod of his head before turning away from the stairs.
Temperance bid him a goodnight and turned toward the main door to open it, but quickly dropped her hands and descended the stairs. "Sweets!" The dark-haired man turned around and stood still as the woman quickly walked over to him. "Your coat," she said, taking it from her arms and handed it forward for him to take.
"Oh right, I forgot all about it. Thank you."
"It was a sweet gesture, so thank you." Turning back to her apartment with just her head, she sighed softly. "Did you want me to get you a cab?"
"No, thanks. I'm fine walking. I'm not living far from here anyway. But I'll see you in the morning?"
"Of course," she said with a smile. Moving closer to him, she placed her hands firmly on his shoulders to steady them both as she reached up and placed a light kiss on his cheek. When she pulled away her blue eyes made contact with his hazel ones and she smiled almost instantly. "It was nice meeting you tonight," she said, referring to the difference he had shown her throughout the night.
"Pleasure's mine," he said, taking her hand softly and kissing the back of it. Letting her hand slowly slip from his grip, he gave her a little bow, showing her he could still be that little kid inside if he truly wanted to. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she returned with amusement in her voice, watching him make it halfway down the block before returning to her residence.
Temperance tried hard to focus on her writing, but instead was greeted by the black vertical line that was blinking on the white, blank page. Nothing was coming to her and again, she was feeling slightly hopeless.
Putting her head down on her arms, she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Maybe a break from her office would do her some good. She pushed herself out of her chair and walked out of her office. She made it to the upper level of the lab where the coffee was waiting, as was a certain psychologist.
She got her coffee, leaning against the counter as the two struck up a conversation. Laughs were heard as well as light banter, and it was all being observed by the male agent who had just walked into the facility.
The way she looked and spoke to Sweets reminded him of how she had acted with him before their relationship completely changed. In a way it upset him, he wanted that to be him again. However, he wanted her to be happy, even if that meant he wasn't. Shoving his hands in his pants pockets, Booth turned around and made his way back to the entrance of the building.
Work could wait for a little while; his partner's happiness meant more to him.