This is a very short one-shot. Very short. But I love seeing the Brennan family together, and I just thought of this a little while ago, so I tried to give it a shot!
Disclaimer-I own nothing, although I did own a toy toolbox…
"Dad told me about the toolbox." Temperance Brennan looked over at her brother, who gave her a questioning look. "On Christmas, you got a toolbox, but I liked it, so you let me have it." She smiled at him.
He laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You loved that thing."
Tempe smiled at the memories. "Did I ever thank you?"
Russ looked up and smiled, "I don't remember, but you were a good kid, so probably."
Tempe seemed to consider it, "Well, thanks."
Russ scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, but they turned to sympathetic after a moment. "Why are you thanking me? I should be apologizing to you." He looked down, trying to avoid her eyes.
"What? Why?" She looked at him, genuinely confused.
He took a deep breath and, still not looking up, he mumbled, "For leaving."
A look of understanding passed over her face as she remembered those last few days with her brother when she was 15. "You don't have to apologize. You did what was best, and I was horrible to you anyway."
"Tempe! You were 15! You're parents just left you and you were upset and confused, and then you thought they'd come back, only to find out that I was the only one there! I should've taken care of you!" He looked her in the eyes, trying to get her to accept the fact that he was in the wrong, and pleading her not to argue.
"Russ, that's hardly fair. You were only a few years older then me, and you were going through the same crap! You left because that's what you thought was best! That's what was best." She looked down, hoping he understood that she didn't mean it in a bad way.
"I know it's just…God, Tempe, I…I mean…You're my…you're my sister, for God's sake! And I just left!" His regretful tears had turned to angry ones when he thought again of what he'd done to her, as he did many times since it'd happened.
Tempe seemed to realize and understand this and she hopped up from the chair she was sitting in. Wrapping her arms around him in a hug she whispered, "I love you, Russ."
Alright, short and stupid, I know. But it just kept eating at me, so I had to!
Bones12