Title: Sun and Moon
Summary: We're like the sun and the moon, Bones.
Rating: K
Genre: Friendship
Characters: Booth and Brennan
Spoilers: None
Author's Note: Thought of this while staring at the full moon out my window on a Friday night. I was also remembering how I'd read in another fic that B&B were compared to Artemis and Apollo by a serial killer, and I remembered thinking at the time that the characterizations fit. Here's why I think they fit.
As usual, a big thanks to my beta :)
"We're like the sun and moon."
"What?" Brennan replied, whipping her head around to look at her partner, sending him one of her patented "I don't know what that means" looks.
"We're like the sun and the moon," he repeated, surprised that his genius partner didn't understand the simple comparison.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Booth."
"C'mon, Bones, you and me, we're like the sun and the moon. We're different, but we go together. And we make amazing partners." It was here that he flashed his signature charm smile, and Brennan couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"The sun and moon don't 'go together,' Booth. They're completely separate entities, totally different—"
He cut her off, "Of course they go together, Bones. You can't think of the sun without the moon, and vice versa," he paused. "And, come to think of it, they're actually kind of similar in their own way."
"I still don't see how we compare to them, Booth."
"Okay, well, for starters I'm the sun and you're the moon."
"Why?"
"The sun is hot and the moon is cold." He knew immediately that he'd misspoken, "Bones, wait—"
"Oh, so you think I'm cold?" She looked away, hurt.
"No! No, that came out all wrong, Bones. I don't think you're cold, not at all. Just…give me a minute to explain what I meant. I shouldn't have phrased it like that, I'm sorry. Please let me finish?"
She wouldn't turn back to him, but she made no move to leave, either. He took that as a sign to continue. "Okay, the sun is hot, and I am hot." She hadn't turned back to him, but he knew she was rolling her eyes. "Come on, that's not what I meant. Though, you've got to admit, I am pretty hot," he elbowed her in the side playfully, pleasantly surprised when she pushed back. "Seriously, though I'm the one who jumps into action, comes up with the crazy theories. I'm always moving, ready to fight or just fiddling with my poker chip. I'm hot, warm, whatever; always ready to go."
After a moment spent digesting this information, she conceded, "Okay, I can see that. So why am I the moon?"
"Well you, you're cool, calm, and collected. You keep your head when things get crazy, and you rein me back in when I go too far. You're methodical, you take your time. You stop to study and think, and you almost never announce a conclusion before you've thought absolutely everything through." He stopped to let her consider his words.
"So you've described why you think that you're the sun and I'm the moon, but what does this have to do with us 'going together' or being 'amazing crime-fighting partners'?" She was still baffled at how Booth had leapt to this conclusion.
"Well, the sun and the moon both provide light. You and I, we shed light on criminals." Booth's tone was laced with pride at this rather impressive allusion. Brennan, however, was more concerned with the scientific validity of his statement.
"The moon doesn't produce its own light, it merely reflects the light from the sun. So you're saying that without you, I wouldn't provide any light? This isn't your idea of a pep talk, is it, Booth? Because this sure as hell isn't doing anything for my self esteem."
"Well, you're right on the moonlight thing, but ignore, for the purposes of this conversation, the fact that the moon gets its light from the sun. Just pretend, Bones," he added as she opened her mouth to comment. She closed it, "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, we both provide light, but we provide different light."
"That's not possible."
"Yes it is. Tell me, can you see the same in sunlight and in moonlight? I mean, if you were looking at an object, the same object, in moonlight and then in sunlight, would it look the same?"
"Well, if it's the same object it will obviously look the same. But, I think I see what you're saying. Sunlight is brighter, so an object's qualities are more easily discernible in sunlight than in the dimmer moonlight."
"Eh, that's kind of what I'm saying. Not so much the brighter/dimmer thing, though. I'm not saying that my light is brighter than yours, just different. An object looks different in sunlight and in moonlight, in much the same way that you and I approach the same problem differently. It's like how kids are afraid of things in the moonlight that they'd never be afraid of if they saw again in the sunlight. Not that moonlight's scary, it's just different. We look at the same situation in different lights."
"You approach it from the 'hot' point-of-view, and I approach it from the 'cold' point-of-view."
"Yeah. Though you know that our points-of-view aren't hot or cold, right?" He was nervous.
"Yes, Booth, I understand that you're not ascribing the 'hot' and 'cold' qualities to me or to you as they are generally applied to people."
"Good. Though I'm hot and you know it." She rewarded him with another eye roll. Three times in one conversation, he noted silently. That's a record, even for her.
"So the fact that we shine different kinds of light on a problem allows us to see all sides of the problem. I know, I know, you're going to say that the sunlight is brighter so we can clearly see everything we need in it, but we can't. You can see better in the sunlight, but that doesn't mean you know how to look. In the moonlight you have to know how to look before you can see. I know how things should play out, but that doesn't mean I know how to get there. You know how to get there, and therefore things play out the way I know they should. There are some things that we can only see by moonlight, and without it we'd miss whatever those things are. And, to be honest, those moonlight-only things tend to be crucial," he said with a smile and a nudge to her shoulder.
"You're just trying to flatter me so I'll forgive you for insulting me earlier." Hmmm. Maybe I am rubbing off on her social skills, Booth thought wryly.
"Is it working?"
Brennan paused before shooting him a secretive half-smile and replying, "Maybe."
He laughed.
"Know why else you're like the moon, Bones?" he asked softly.
She shook her head, "No."
"You have phases. You used to be the New Moon, totally closed off from the world. Invisible. Hiding. Then you were the Crescent Moon, showing just a little bit of who you really are. Lately you're the Half Moon, though occasionally the Gibbous Moon. You've been showing more of yourself. Most of the time, though, you wax and wane between gibbous and crescent. Sometimes, rarely, you're the Full Moon. And let me tell you, Bones, when the full moon's out…it's amazing. The moon is beautiful to behold anyway, but the full moon? The full moon is absolutely stunning."
She looked down, embarrassed. He leaned into her side, not saying anything or looking at her, just leaning.
"Know why else you're like the sun, Booth?" she ventured after a few minutes.
"Why?"
"Because you warm everything you touch. Even the moon." She leaned back.