Hello, and welcome to Readerfreak10's (preferably referred to as Rodi) first Bones fanfiction. Just a few things to note: I do not own any aspect of Bones nor do I own Starbucks. The only character I own is May and the fictional coffee shop Javana. Also, this story is AU because it was written ages ago before Daisy came into the picture. I have nothing against Daisy. I just never published it until now. I did tweak a few things to bring it up to date. Enjoy:
Story: Bystander Syndrome
Bystander Syndrome(Genovese Syndrome)- A social phenomena where people observe an emergency situation and yet do not help. The more bystanders the less likely someone will help.
Sweets just wanted coffee. Work had taken a toll and his book had been a particular point of contention within his life. He was going to have to rethink the greater parts of what he had been creating for a long time. So, here he was in line at the nee coffee shop, Javana, which had opened about two blocks from his house. The play on words was not lost to the young psychologist. Sweets wanted to change up his routine a bit. After hearing that his outlook on certain things was superficial, he decided that a little change was needed. Thus, he wanted start small and to try something other than Starbucks. However, he was starting to regret this decision.
Lance checked his watch impatiently as the woman before him ordered enough drinks to satisfy him, Boot, the team at the Jeffersonian, as well as the museum's security squad. Maybe it's not too late for Starbucks; Sweets thought as he looked at his watch once more. He tapped his Stacy Adams clad feet impatiently earning a mild glare from the woman before him.
Right as he was prepared to turn around and walk out the store, the woman finished ordering and he was then first in line. "Sorry about that," The barista apologized in a low voice. "She does that every day. It's been going on since we opened last month." Lance took a moment as she said this to take in her appearance. The young woman was short with green eyes and honey blond hair. Sweets shrugged and gave her a small smile. "That's no problem…" He trailed off to look at her name tag. "May."
"What would you like sir?" She asked pressing various buttons on the register, which he noticed looked like antique. The slider for credit cards gave it away. "I'd like a caramel Frappuccino with extra caramel and vanilla added in. Oh! And a chocolate muffin," Lance added as an afterthought. His voice came out a little rush and May laughed. "Coming right up." With discretion and quick moving, she was able to slip him his order before the woman before him could notice.
Having paid for his breakfast and escaped from the shop, Lance took the first bite out of his muffin. In that short transient moment from taking that bite to swallowing it, Lance knew that his likeliness of returning to Starbucks was slim to none.
~Bystander Syndrome~
Over the next few weeks, he returned to the coffee shop with near religious frequency. He pinpointed the perfect time to be able to avoid the "coffee guzzler" as he had so dubbed the woman who held up the line that first day. He also got the opportunity to get to know May. Her natural hair color was actually black. She was twenty-two and was about to start graduate school at the University of Richmond in the fall of the next year. She managed to start college as a sophomore thanks to the amount of AP tests she had taken and passed. According to her though, a bad chemistry grade almost cost her admission; but success in physics helped her make it. Barely. Her brother owned the coffee shop and needed help getting it up and running, so she took a year off school to help him out as he traveled looking to find new tastes for his coffee haven. In return for her work, he paid her part time and gave her a really small portion of the shares to go towards her college fund. She wanted to go into International Law, and had spent her undergraduate years getting a Bachelor's in international studies.
One morning he found May sitting in one of the chairs along the window of the shop. It was one of the two big arm chairs and was made out of maroon corduroy. "Lance!" She said putting the large textbook she had in her hands to the side. Her hair was in a messy bun and had a pencil pushed through it. Her glasses and sweatpants were the indicators that she had indeed been studying.
"Hey May, what's up with the text book?" Lance asked sitting down adjacent to her. He had taken a day off to recuperate mentally from a particularly stressful case. "Nothing too serious, just reviewing a few things before I start law school. I used to always tell myself every year that I would get ahead of my class and study things that we hadn't gone over yet, but I never really did until now. I'm glad too. This stuff is intriguing," She said opening her book and showing him some of the points she had highlighted.
"I think I'll stick to my own profession," Sweets said cheekily earning him a light shove from his friend. "Speaking of your profession, I realized how little I actually know about you Lance. What exactly do you do? You aren't all suited up today. I'm shocked; you actually own a pair of tennis shoes." May asked before abruptly standing and going behind the counter. He got up and shrugged before leaning against the counter as she got them a couple of drinks. He was wearing a pair of trainers and work out gear. "Headed towards the gym?" She asked side stepping a rather flustered employee.
Her brother had hired some more employees and she had been appointed to a higher position as store manager. In other words, she got to work on some studying only having to overlook any discrepancies.
"Yeah, I was going that way after I stopped by and got some coffee," Sweets said with a small smile and took his drink once she finished. "As for my job, well I work as a psychologist for the FBI. I mainly counsel some of the agents. I also do a lot of criminal profiling, and I examine multiple suspects to check for any mental anomalies or lying," Sweets said as they walked back to their window seats.
"Geeze, you're rather accomplished for your age though. I feel like I'm leagues behind compared to you. I'm feeling a bit envious right now," May said laughing good naturedly. "Don't. You're totally intelligent yourself from what I've seen. Plus, I get a lot of crap from my colleagues about my age. I'm constantly on the end of baby jokes," Lance admitted raising his hands in surrender making her laugh harder.
They both looked up at the jingling of the bell over the door as a new customer walked in. May, having not recognized the man, went back to her coffee. Sweets on the other hand found himself staring at the figure. He went a little white realizing that the squints would now know of his getaway. "Hey! Sweets!" The man called out abandoning his place in the line to walk over after noticing his friend. May's head snapped towards him. She raised both eyebrows questioningly at Lance and he shrugged.
"Hey Hodgins, this is my friend May. May this is Hodgins the entomologist at the Jeffersonian. He's on the team that I work with on some of my cases," Lance explained running a hand through his hair nervously. Hodgins grinned and shook hands with the girl. "Nice meeting you. Oh Sweets you may want to stop by the museum on Friday. Its Cam's birthday and we wanted to give her a little surprise party. I personally think the museum is the perfect place, with the cold temperatures and bones lying all over the place. The atmosphere is ridiculously festive," The entomologist said sarcastically before getting back in line. He just happened to take his former place back leaving a disgruntled man standing behind him.
Lance gave May a sheepish smile and apologized. "No need. He seems like an interesting guy," She reassured and gave the man a light pat on the hand. "Anyway, if you want to beat the crowd to the gym, you may want to go now. Oh, and mind dropping by before you head home later on tonight? I have something you might like to see."
He found himself growing excited at the idea and quickly agreed before hugging her goodbye. He walked briskly out of the store not noticing the light blush on her face.
~Bystander Syndrome~
Lance was not out of shape by any means. However, he found that he was experiencing a sort of adrenaline rush that allowed him to go a little beyond his typical border. As he ran on the treadmill, he pondered this new development and figured that his excitement caused his mental state of excitement lead his body to produce a large amount of adrenaline thus improving his stamina. Now, he sounded like Dr. Brennan.
After a two hour stint at the gym, he found his way back home and cooled down by watching a few movies. Lance found himself bored as time seemed to drag on and he busied himself by playing his piano and reviewing old case files to see if he would notice anything he hadn't seen before.
At about six-thirty, he finally abandoned all pretenses of patience and began to get ready to leave. He dressed in a simple outfit of dark jeans, his gym shoes, and a rather comical t-shirt. Grabbing his phone, his wallet, and his gun in an easily concealable holster, Lance left his home and hopped in his car. The drive took maybe two minutes, but he had no idea how long May wanted to keep him. The idea of walking home in the middle of the night had no appeal.
Lance parked in front of the small shop and walked in, taking a minute to examine the décor. During the day, the mismatched antique pieces in the shop made it seem cozy and homey. It had a light hearted air to it that didn't seem as forced as the earth tones of Starbucks tended to. Yet, at night the lighting of the shop made the atmosphere almost romantic and laid back. Judging from the multiple scattered couples, it was seemingly a hot pick for a date night.
"Hey Lance," May said walking from the back room. She had also changed from her earlier clothing and had on a sleeveless, knee-length blue sundress, and a white sweater. "I just got back from dinner with my parents. So, your timing is perfect. I'll be right back okay?" She told him before disappearing to the back once more. She had appeared and disappeared before he could even get a proper greeting out.
Lance made his way over to their chairs as he no considered them and stared out the window. The shop had a really decent view of city life as it was located on a relatively busy street. He was so enraptured with his view of the world outside that he didn't even notice May walk up. Grinning mischievously, she ran her fingers through his hair once. Noticing him jump, she let out a rather unladylike snort and sat across from him.
"Sorry to frighten you," She said and set a rather large book on the table. "It's fine. I was totally going to tell you that you look nice, but I'll just keep it to myself," He joked and smiled when she blushed a bit. "Thanks Sweets. You look good too," She told him and turned the book to face him. "Take a gander at this! This book is about fifty years old and it profiles the worst European serial killers from the 1800s until the 1930s. I went to an auction to get some things for the shop, and this came up too. I figured you'd enjoy this. Don't worry about paying me back, no one really seemed interested so I got a good deal."
Sweets had already started flipping through the pages and skimmed over some of the articles. "Okay, this is by far one of the most wicked things anyone has ever bought me. Despite the fact that most would find this to be extremely macabre, I freaking love this," He said leaning over the table to hug his much shorter friend. May laughed and waved him off. "Not a problem Lance."
The two spent the rest of the night laughing at their conversation and skimming through various backgrounds on some of the criminals in the books. It was not until after she finished closing that the two began to part ways. "How are you getting home?" Lance called after May after she began to walk away. "I was going to walk," She called over her shoulder.
With a couple of fast paced steps, Sweets caught up with her and grabbed her hand. "Not this late you aren't. I'm going to give you a ride," He asserted and half dragged, half carried the bemused blond to his car.
~Bystander Syndrome (2 days later)~
Lance drummed his fingers against his steering wheel and checked his watch impatiently. It was Thursday and he was running a little late for Cam's party. Well, late by his standards. In lieu of trying something new, he wanted to make it a point to arrive early to everything. He got up early, he was at work early. He even made it early to dates. In fact, his earliness was the reason why he was sitting out in his car, waiting patiently until he felt it was proper to go retrieve his date.
After dropping May off a couple of nights before, he extended an invitation to have her accompany him to Cam's party. She agreed emphatically and they agreed on the appropriate time for him to pick her up, because as it turns out, she was car-less. Not that he hadn't planned on picking her up anyway. Sweets quickly shot out of the car and up to her brother's apartment. She was staying there during her time off as there was no real need for her to try to buy her own.
Knocking quickly and bouncing from one foot to the other, his Oxfords making a tapping noise, Lance could barely contain his excitement. The seams on his blue dress shirt seemed too tight as he felt just about ready to burst out. Despite having taken the time to brush his hair, it was soon again a curly mess thanks to its constant agitation. Right as he was going to attack her door with more knocking, it flew open and there she stood. May stood taller in a pair of black heels and wore a one shouldered, nude cocktail dress. Her hair, which she usually had up in a ponytail was down and fanned down below her shoulders.
Sweets smiled as he took in her appearance. "You look beautiful May!" He said and kissed her cheek. Other than a few hugs, this was the most affectionate thing that had occurred between them, and they both blushed. "I bought some flowers for the birthday girl earlier. I'm a strict believer in showing up with some sort of gift. Think she likes sunflowers?" May asked nervously holding up the bouquet. "I'm sure she will," Sweets reassured her even though he wasn't really sure himself.
"C'mon let's go," He said and offered her his arm. She laced hers through his, but soon found they were holding hands because of the odd height difference. This didn't seem to faze them as they both chattered incessantly from the moment they got into the car, until they were walking hand in hand into the Jeffersonian.
Everyone was there with the exception of Cam. Angela had already staged a fake emergency call to get her over to the museum. They were simply playing the waiting game. Most of the bones had been relocated or had white tarp covering them.
May looked around in mild interest as they walked through to the lab. She had stopped talking as soon as the others turned to face them. Most of the squints looked on in curiosity, others in confusion. "Hey Sweets!" Booth called out to the younger man. The agent's hand was discreetly held by Brennan who had begun to show just a little.
Sweets steered the woman in their direction wanting to start off with the people he knew the best. "Hey guys. May, this is Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan. You guys this is May," He introduced them as May shook both of their hands. "Lance talks about you two a lot actually. They're all good for the most part," She said with a bright grin on her face. Brennan smiled back but Booth faked a frown. "The most part?" He asked crossing his arms.
"Well, you do apparently lay the age jokes on thickly. It's okay though. He does look like he's still in high school," She whispered the last part conspiratorially earning a light scowl from Sweets who still heard everything. "You're one to talk tiny. You look like a high school freshman," He retorted and the two began to verbally spar about who looked younger.
Hodgins, Angela, and Wendell looked on at the two friends. "Is that Sweets' girlfriend?" Wendell asked and Hodgins shrugged. "I saw them together at that coffee shop before but he didn't introduce her as his girlfriend. With the way they're acting though, no one can know for sure."
"I guess we'll be finding out then," Angela said and walked over to the still bickering friends. "Excuse me! Sorry to interrupt this little tryst but, hi I'm Angela," Angela interrupted the two. "Hi," May began grinning. "I'm May, you must be another friend of Lance's. Nice to meet you." She shook the other woman's hand and discreetly jabbed at Lance. "So May, how long have you known Sweets?" Angela asked curiously.
"Nearly three months or so. He just walked into my brother's coffee shop one day and got our most sugary drink and a muffin. We haven't been able to get rid of him since," May deadpanned at the last part and the psychologist scowled. "You make it seem like I'm totally a nuisance or something," He muttered.
"Only when you're on a sugar high," She countered breezily making him pout. Angela exhibited a rather vulpine grin as she watched how they interacted. "Wait, your family owns that coffee shop? I thought you were just another customer," Hodgins said trying to seem truly interested in the conversation, though deep down he was trying to get more information about the girl.
"Actually it's just my brother's. I started out as a regular employee to keep it up and running while he was traveling around looking for new products. I would have been starting graduate school, but I took a year off to help out. Plus, he's paying me for my work so that I can save a bit for school. Now, that we hired some people, I can supervise the employees and get ahead on my studies at the same time," May explained and leaned back against the table behind her.
"Family," interjected Colin bitterly from the other side of the room making the girl jump. "They are always detracting from our dreams and distracting us from our goals. His mother had called the museum three times that day. May looked taken aback. "No, it's not like that. My college years were rushed as I had started off as a sophomore. I double majored to get prepped for law school. Jameson just provides an escape for when I'm too proud to admit that I'm burnt out," May finished explaining. Sweets had a bewildered expression as the entire time he had assumed that she was the one doing her brother a favor; not the other way around.
Before anyone could say anything else, Angela's phone started to ring. "She's here!" Angela wailed and everyone rushed into motion. May found herself standing there awkwardly not really sure what to do. Sweets had walked away and was conspiring with an intern about how to avoid the balloons flying to the ceiling. Angela was pacing back and forth on her phone talking about a baby while Hodgins tried to calm her down. "What else would you expect if your dad is babysitting?" He said but his words failed to console.
Brennan watched the younger woman and walked over. "You are going to feel out of place here," She began, and caught herself at May's dismayed look. "What I mean to say is that you won't be comfortable until you get to know us better. You are still new. However, if Dr. Sweets continues to bring you around then you will be more comfortable." The anthropologist shrugged. It was simple really. "Oh, and with the way you're looking at him, anyone could tell that you are attracted to him. It seems to be mutual," She said in a low voice glancing up at Lance who seemed to be observing them, or rather May.
May could not focus beyond small talk for the rest of the party. Even when the birthday woman, a beautiful black lady named Cam, showed up, May's focus was pulled by the words of Brennan.
As she and Sweets pulled into a parking space in front of brother's apartment complex, he asked, "Are you alright? You've been kind of quiet this evening. I understand if it was a little awkward being around a lot of new people. I'm sorry I put you in that position."
May shook her head. "No, no. I enjoyed myself. I guess I was much more tired than I first thought," She muttered, and fortunately she yawned to strengthen what had originated as a lie. "Allow me to walk the lady up then. Just to make sure she reaches her bed safely," Lance joked and quickly got out of the car and opened her door. May could not help but grin and they both joked during the elevator ride and the walk to the apartment door.
"Well, I fear lady; this is where I must take my leave of you. I foresee no dangers for you here," Lance said smiling down at May. "Then, I must bid you goodnight," She responded. He reciprocated, and before he could walk away, she pressed a kiss to his mouth.
~Bystander Syndrome~
So, what did you think? Review please? I originally wanted this to be a one-shot, but I couldn't stop writing to keep it concise. It should not be more than three chapters hopefully, and then the choice of title will be explained within.