A/N: Hi everyone! Been a while since I wrote a fanfic, and being the die-hard Hodgela fan that I am, this immediately sprung to mind! (: This is based on a song from the early production of Rent in 1994, which can be found here: http://www. youtube .com /watch?v=Xe1gJDuWrfs (remove the spaces)! I'd recommend listening to it, not only because you'll understand the fic better, but also because it is awesome!
Enjoy :D
Angela Montenegro was often called 'a technological genius', and she really was - computers pretty much did anything she told them to do. However, this gift had never extended to audio equipment. Angela was also one of those people whom irony liked to mess with frequently, as proven when Roxy had asked her to set up the sound equipment for her art show, and Angela had accidently broken her mixer.
Angela had then been left with two choices - swallow her pride and contact someone who could actually fix the sampler (read: Hodgins), or be murdered by a vengeful girlfriend. She chose option one.
So here she sat, waiting for her ex-boyfriend to arrive, and fiddling in vain with the machinery. The sampler made a weird choking noise and then shut off, sending up a shower of sparks. Angela groaned, working very hard to refrain from kicking the stupid machine. Instead she let out a little sarcastic laugh. "It's times like these I really appreciate - Jack!" she waved to the approaching figure and ran to hug him. He was here. He'd actually come. "Dear, I'm so glad you're here! Honey, baby, you've lost some weight!" she said appreciatively. Hodgins raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, you always looked great -"
Hodgins dropped his backpack and bent to examine the sampler. "I try, Ange."
The awkwardness was here. Angela fiddled with the bottom of her blouse, searching for a conversation topic. "Back when we used to date -"
"You lie, Angela." Hodgins cut her off again. Angela winced at the coolness of his tone.
"Now, let's not get irate here." Angela said hastily. She could read the danger signs on his face.
He flicked a few switches experimentally. "Why, Angela?" he grumbled.
"Um," Had it always been so hard to talk to him? Common ground, she needed a common ground. "Roxy ran for cable but of course she's late." she laughed nervously, inwardly cursing herself. Of all the things she had to talk about, she'd chosen her new girlfriend.
Hodgins glared at her. "I don't know why I even try, Angela."
Angela turned her attention back to the sampler. "I just don't understand why it's not working. I mean, the samples aren't delaying, but the cable is -"
"There's another way." Hodgins reasoned. "Just, ah, say something into the mic. Anything."
"Right, okay." Angela mumbled. "Um, test one two, test one two three?"
He shot her one of his 'looks'. "Anything but that." he rolled his eyes.
"Right." The awkward silence fell once more. Angela watched skeptically as he fiddled with the wires, eyebrows pulled together in concentration. At last, his head jerked up again.
"Tell me what it's like."
Angela looked at him, confused. "What?"
"Tell me what it's like for a girl with a girl." he shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Whoa! No way was she going there. "No!" Angela snapped.
"Tell me!" Hodgins whined, before grinning mischievously. "You have to tell me - or I'll walk away."
Angela was torn. She glanced at her ex-boyfriend, then at the rundown mixer and back to Hodgins once more. Roxy would freak if she found out Angela had broken her sound equipment hours before the 'biggest art show of her entire career'. She sighed.
"It's amazing." she finally spluttered, not daring to meet his eyes.
His derisive snort made her glance up again. "You can't be serious about all of this, Ange. I mean, who's on top, who wears the pants?"
"What are you -"
He plowed on. "Who even leads when you dance?" he threw his hands out dramatically.
"It's none of your -"
"Just - just give me one more chance, Ange." he said, tone more gentle, like the Jack she was used to. "This isn't real! It's just a phase, you know, like girls with those 'My Little Pony' toys!"
Angela shook her head. "I am being serious, Jack, I swear -"
Hodgins played his trump card. "But you never even wore a flannel shirt! You'll get over it." Angela couldn't contain her giggle at this. His face drooped slightly, and he busied himself with the sound equipment once more.
The seconds seemed to crawl by. Angela cleared her throat loudly. "So, how's it going?"
"Not good, I'm depressed." The entomologist remarked bitterly.
Don't do this to me, Jack. "I meant the sampler."
He rolled his eyes. "I know what you meant - two doctorates, remember?" he gestured toward the mixer. "I'm adapting, repatching. It should be fine."
"Oh, thank God!" Angela had planted a large kiss on his cheek before she realised what she was doing. He stiffened. She pretended not to notice - she had to leave him his pride. "Really, Jack, you're the best for doing this!"
"Sure, sure." he was back to his snarky self.
"Don't be depressed!" Angela sighed. He thought she didn't give a damn about him, but it wasn't true. Jack was - and (most likely) always would be - close to her heart. "Um, tell me how you've been."
"Why?" Hodgins jumped back from the sampler as it emitted more sparks.
"Because I care, Jack. I feel like I haven't seen you since I... since we..."
"A month today." His voice was hollow.
"A month? That long? God, time flies!" Angela forced the peppiness into her voice, smiling.
Hodgins wasn't fooled. "Don't patronize me, Angela."
Angela gritted her teeth. Hodgins could be the sweetest, most thoughtful guy on earth, but he knew exactly how to get on her nerves. "Just tell me! We used to be friends, Jack." she reminded him.
"You really want to know?"
She nodded.
"Fine then. I'm lonely, bored, and horny." he said, tone deadpan.
"You mean you haven't found someone new yet? It's not like it's to late, Jack! Have you even had one date?" she eyed him pitifully. "You just need some time, and you'll be fine. I promise."
Hodgins eye rolls were becoming more frequent and pronounced. She ignored him.
"Anyway, I treated you like dirt," she joked. He didn't crack a smile. Big surprise there, sunshine. "You'll get over it!"
She heard him mumble something like 'easy for you to say'. She clenched her fists. This breakup wasn't entirely her fault - he was the one who'd been jealous in the first place, after all. He was to blame just as much as she was. And yet, here Angela stood, offering him words of encouragement.
"Just, I don't know, think of all the things you hate about me!" she suggested. "Though it may be hard." she added as an afterthought.
Hodgins finally snapped. "How can you be so content like this?!" he demanded. "How can you disregard all that we had?"
"Dysfunction." Angela shrugged.
"All those things we said?" he crossed the soundstage, so that they were almost nose-to-nose.
"I'm - I'm over men!" she faltered, but stood her ground.
"All we did!" he spat.
Angela took a step back. "I slept around, okay?"
He laughed snidely. "And you will again! I know you, Ange." He did. He knew her all too well. "And then what are you going to do?"
This brought her up short. "When?"
"When you're bored!" he exclaimed. "Tell me what you're going to do when you get tired of girls!"
"I won't!" she shrieked back immediately, but inwardly... she wondered if she could get tired of Roxy - the way she'd become tired of Grayson, of Hodgins...
"I'll tell you," Hodgins continued on, unaware of the artist's inner turmoil. "You'll come running back to me!"
"You and your fantasies." Angela dismissed.
"You always do."
She couldn't deny that, she did seem to cling to Hodgins when things got hard. "I... Don't hold your breath." she murmured.
"I know your kind, you always change your mind!" he smirked.
Angela was getting irritated now, couldn't he just give it a rest? Be happy that she'd moved on? "Can't you see?" she asked, softer. "All my life I've known this is how I was meant to be."
Hodgins's mouth opened and closed several times, searching vainly for an argument. "But - but you never even liked KD Lang!" he finally shouted, a little hal-hearted.
"You'll get over it." They said in unison, glaring at one another.
"This is just a fad - it's going to fade! You'll get over it!" he intoned, letting his handful of cables fall to the floor.
"Sweetie," Angela put a hand on his shoulder. "All you need is to get laid, and you'll get over it."
He shook her hand off, returning to the sampler.
"Hey, in time, we'll laugh about this!" Angela said brightly. "You'll get over it, Jack."
"Oh yeah?" Hodgins moved in closer, so that there was only a few centimetres of space between them. "In time you'll beg for my kiss."
Angela rolled her eyes, leaning in to touch his lips with hers. Hodgins grinned, puckering his mouth, waiting... and nothing came. "Don't bet on it." Angela smirked, drawing back. Hodgins' eyes narrowed.
"Try it now." he grumbled, sulky once more, nodding his head at the mixer.
Angela cleared her throat before singing, "You'll get over it!" into the mic, flashing him a sardonic smile. The entomologist glared at her, a vein pulsing in his temple as the words echoed around the space.
"It works! Jack, you're my hero!" Angela squealed, forgetting the very clear line she'd drawn between them, and throwing her arms around him. Hodgins stiffened, but she didn't notice. She let herself relax against his familiar form, losing herself in him. Before she could stop it, a little moan escaped her lips. Horrified, she broke away from him, a hand clapped over her mouth.
The Almighty Smirk had returned. "I'd call this cause for hope." Hodgins tightened his arms around her.
Angela rolled her eyes, trying to disentangle herself from his grasp. "I would call this platonic - don't grope!" she slapped his hands away from her chest, giggling.
"Angela?"
"Roxy!" Angela shrieked. "You're back."
"Yes, I am." Roxy raised an eyebrow.
"Um, we're patched!" Angela said weakly, twisting away from Hodgins.
A vein was pulsing in Roxy's temple. "I can see that."
Hodgins laughed loudly, picking up his backpack. "I'll see you at work Ange. Enjoy your art show, Roxy." he winked at her as he walked past. Roxy glared at him, giving him a curt nod.
Angela watched the entomologist's retreating form, head leaning on her girlfriend's shoulder. "You'll get over it." she mumbled.
But that was proving to be easier said than done.
A/N: Yay! Loved it? Despised it? You're only a click of a button away from telling me what you thought (; I love reviews, they light up my day! (hint, hint)
Peace,
Ellie (: