bones!fic: the unwinding spiral around our broken spines;
boothe/bones;
1,876 words;
pg;
post!season 3;
wishing you all a happy new year!
she watches the flakes fall down softly from the sky, waiting for each one to melt into a puddle of water. it's fascinating, how an irregular drops of water could turn into a geometrical beauty. nature's power was reminiscent evermore as the snow continues to pile silently, but with a moving power, to the barren ground below.
sighing, she lets her mind waver to the bones lying on the table. it was only yesterday when she was telling him that there was a story inlaid, engraved into each fragment. and how when they all were assembled together, made a perfect tale. a tale of happiness. of deceit. of sorrow and passion. they all seem to weave into one immortal being.
"here- you asked for hot chocolate, right? the guy added more sugar than usual."
she turns around and brushes the snow from the opened window casually. he's wrapped up in two layers of sodden coat littered with white dust. a blue scarf snakes its way around his mouth and covers the thin line that she imagines would be his mouth. his eyes are wary; tired but strangely alive beneath the murky surface.
a hasty "thanks" comes out awkwardly of her mouth, as she closes her fingers around the warm cup, and he shrugs- he's used to it by now.
"you have to analyze that by tomorrow, right?" he asks, pointing to the unorganized bones.
she nods. "part of the scientific history department. they seemed to have found a load of Chinese immigrants' bones in the nineteenth century. i thought-"
he waves the rest of the words aside. "don't talk about that right now. i'm trying to have a peaceful moment here."
she pauses, then gives a silent agreement, watching him stare out the window. the flakes are now shrouded with a thin mist. the day seemed to have gone so quickly. moments would here and there take hours to realize. how he had waved her team goodbye. how she had clumsily tripped over the stool and how he had grabbed her by the shoulder and his nose was merely two inches away from her face-
she shivers, but not from the cold.
the apartment is much more cozier than she had expected. she rolls off her jacket, and hangs it in the closet before turning the shower on. the silent patter of the warm raindrops unnerves her, and she lets out a shaky sigh before undressing.
as she steps in, she tries remembering when she and him had first met. it was only about fifteen years ago when she had first stepped into the laboratory she now was well accustomed to. he was yelling at an assistant, she remembers, rubbing the soap vigorously down her skin. something about not getting the data right- then again, he was never good with the details. he had then turned, almost instinctively, toward her- and then he smiled. she never forgot that part. the shaking of the hands, the formal yet somewhat stiff and surprising greetings, and his hand wrapping around her slim waist- she didn't forget that part. the rest of the memory is unclear, vague- almost shrouded in the same cold mist that was outside, but she doesn't forget that smile, the shiny teeth that peeked behind his chapped lips that cold, winter morning.
there are times though, when she doubts her own memory. rational thought has it's own tiny miseries, that only become visible when everything else fades to dust. forgetting one's own identity, losing control over emotion's guidance; she had maintained herself over these trivial matters, but somehow, they never seemed to disappear. on the contrary, the only seemed to strengthen when he gave her that flecked grin as they solved another case and the husky voice of a hello when his arms were around his son. twinges of fate had strung themselves around her neck and made it almost impossible for her to breathe during those moments. she couldn't find out why. maybe her own eyes were shrouded in doubt from the truth. and for that, she had to hate herself- for being so-
she steps out of the shower and peers into the misty mirror. a menacing pair of intelligent, yet analyzing eyes stare back at her, thirsting for knowledge. she remembers Amanda telling her once-you should get out more. date guys a little more like Boothe, you know? take some time to explore the world in a more aesthetic way.
the rap rap rap of his knuckles banging against the door doesn't surprise her as she puts on her pajamas. gracefully striding around her dinner table, she opens the door and-
"i brought Chinese takeout food," he grins, and steps into her room informally. she can't help but suppress a smile; he just had to bring some kind of distraction every time.
"i'm glad," she replies, taking off his coat for him. "i was starting to wonder when you were going to come."
her hands curl around his rigid shoulders as she attempts to take off the second black jacket. to her uttermost surprise, they slide almost on their own, to his hands as they both attempt to wring off the soaked blue scarf from his neck. it takes a few seconds, but they manage to untwine it from the rest of the loaded clothes he's wearing and put them also on the wrack. underneath all the comfortable clothing, she notices, is a simple thin shirt that's plastered to his muscular body. as he twists and turns downward to untie his boots, she notices the visible ripples. there was one thing that never changed.
"why the hell is it so warm in here?" is his first question as he plops down on her sofa.
"i'm not sure- i think i might have accidentally let the heater stay on when i left in the morning." she pulls two beers from the fridge and sits down next to him.
he shakes his head sadly. "you really were busy today."
"i had three bones to identify, and one murder to solve. of course i was busy." her reasoning sounds petulant, almost whiny, but she ignores it and goes on. "the weather didn't help at all either. the snowstorm made me get stuck in traffic twice, each one about an hour and a half long. you can't blame me-"
he begins to laugh and she stares, confused. what was so funny? she didn't get him. she never got it. there would be times were they were in a serious situation, and then he'd just start making jokes and passing it off as if it were all some kind of humorous play they were enacting, and it just made her so mad-
"i'm not laughing at you," he smirks, realizing her unappreciative stare. "i'm laughing at myself for realizing that the whole week's been tough on you, and i myself, for one thing, haven't made it better." his breath tastes of alcohol, but she doesn't mind. it's one thing that she's managed to get used to whenever he came here. time at home was for relaxation. it was a proven point within every household.
his hand curls around his, and she takes another sip of her drink. strangely enough, it was comforting. the warmth is unmistakable. how many times had they done this? she remembers when she had first cried in front of him. he never bothered holding her, hugging her, playing teases and punches at her- it was all amusement.
she doesn't know what to think anymore. her mind's blank, befuddled by some magic spark that's been withheld for sometime now. it's as if her body knows what's happening next, and is preparing for it. she watches herself, almost as if in a lucid dream, as her hand rises toward his jawbone. it's not real anymore.
"i guess it's just the stress," she whispers, as his hands cup her cheek. he pulls in forward, grabbing her waist (in such a way that it looks like he's been doing it for a long time) and stares back into her eyes. it seems so natural, every moment balanced and fluid.
it's not real anymore. she's sure of it now. but there are no restraints, no moments of doubt in her mind. the haze is gone now. it all came up to this moment, didn't it?
"i don't think this is rational" is all that comes out of her mouth before his lips press on hers.
it's a smooth kiss at first. there are no hesitations, no disturbances. soon though, she begins to feel herself untwine, unhinge, as he leans in and dips his tongue back and forth. it's a warm sensation, unlike anything she's ever had before. different, but the same. however, he begins to hold the reins more securely as their lips dance back and forth, back and forth on this night she wishes would end soon. it's not a bad feeling. she just doesn't want the lines to be broken.
"should we be doing this?" she manages to gasp out as they break apart, panting. he pulls back his hair and takes another sip of his beer. he doesn't answer. he never does.
the silence is awkward, but when she looks up at his eyes that stare back at her with a clear conscience, it's clear they haven't broken any unmistakable boundaries. it was just that-
it breaks away, that thought, and she begins to laugh with him, because they know that soon, tomorrow will be another day and this will all be forgotten. it's just passing time. amusement. a game they desperately try to cower in. an illusion. so she arches backward as his finger traces her collarbone, his lips dabbing away at the edges of base of her neck.
"let's just forget about morals here, okay?" he whispers into her ear, and she nods understandingly. this night will never happen again. it's a wise decision, pushing the thoughts into the back of your skull. never letting the events resurface again, just letting them lie at the bottom, sinking and slowly decaying there for another lifetime or so before they finally turn into sand. the bones of her memories are still there, but does she really want to add another one? especially when the fragrance of it was so sweet and tender?
it's only a couple of minutes later that she sees that he's noticed her stiffness in the duality. sighing, he leans backward, his body pressing into the cushion of the sofa.
"it's late," he says, a bit lamely. she only can shake her head up and down, because at the moment, she's dumb. she can't speak, let alone think. the silence and the haze has built up in her head and she doesn't know what to say.
"you'll be okay, right?" he pulls his jacket from the rack as he gets up and throws the empty bottle into the trash. "you won't comatose, promise?"
she smirks (it's the only thing she can do, she can ever do). "i…..don't...think so," she says at last, breaking the awkward silence. "it was only one bottle."
he smiles as he finishes tying his boots, and then stops himself. his hand is curled around the knob on the door at last. "happy new years…Bones."
with a flash of black, he's gone.
fin.