Epilogue: Sweets

Lance Sweets rolled over on the Wolverine sheets of Parker Booth's bed and lifted his pillow off of his ears briefly, testing to see if the cacophony of moans coming from the bedroom next to his had ceased. He sighed with relief, ready to finally try to go to sleep when it started up once more.

"Booth… more.. I need– I need–" Dr. Brennan's disembodied cry sounded nearly tortured. "Don't stop." she continued, and Sweets groaned inwardly.

"Bones… baby… uh…I know. I got you…" Sweets slammed the pillow back over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. He'd never be able to look at his friends the same way again.

It wasn't like he didn't know they had sex, and after years of repressed feelings, he was sure it was pretty great sex, it was just… he couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't like he hadn't had roommates in college who brought women home to have boisterous sex with on the bunk above his head. Maybe he was bothered because he hadn't ended up having sex tonight himself, or maybe the repressed memory of being ten years old and walking in on his parents after having a nightmare was resurfacing. The psychologist in him wanted to sit down and unpack all of those thoughts, but the exhausted friend wanted nothing more than for the couple in the other room to just finish what seemed to be a damn marathon sexcapade.

Squeezing the pillow even tighter over his ears, he tried to chase away an intrusive musing about the fact that Booth called Dr. B Bones even in their most intimate of moments.


Sweets awoke, unaware he'd even fallen asleep and when, to the welcoming familiar aroma of coffee wafting and the dulcet sound of pans and plates moving about in the kitchen below him that indicated breakfast was in full swing in the Booth-Brennan-Sweets house.

He opened his mouth as he approached the kitchen, ready to greet his housemates as he rounded the corner, but was interrupted by the soft murmurs.

"Good morning, Beautiful." Booth's baritone voice was gravelly and sounded like he was still half-asleep.

"Morning." Dr. B sounded flirty and like she was more awake than Booth. She must have been the first one up, the one starting the coffee and beginning the pancake batter preparation. "I thought you could make me pancakes." she murmured, and Sweets smirked, deciding he'd better make his presence known now.

"That was so nice of you." Booth murmured back with humor evident in his tone.

"Yes, but you slept in, so I had to make them myself." she muttered in mock disdain.

Sweets took a seat at the bar behind them, watching as Booth, his back to Sweets still, wrapped his arms around Dr. B from behind and swayed, burying his nose in the side of her neck as she flipped a few pancakes off the griddle and onto a growing stack. They clearly hadn't noticed him yet, and he smirked, clearing his throat.

"Good morning." he said awkwardly, resting his chin on his fists when the pair turned in unison, Booth's arms still wrapped snugly around Dr. B's waist. It was an intimacy they rarely showed in public, and it made him smile… It felt like home. He chuckled to himself as the realization hit him.

"What?" Dr. B asked, squirming out Booth's grasp. He'd probably made her uncomfortable, so he shook his head.

"Just… I just realized how much you guys remind me of my parents." He admitted. "They just loved each other so much… unabashedly." he added with a shrug, feeling suddenly exposed and vulnerable.

"We're definitely not old enough to be your parents, Sweets." Booth commented as he slid a stack of pancakes in front of Sweets.

"Oh thanks. I think I'll just have cof–." Sweets had started, earning a glare from Dr. B. "Pancakes sound good."

"Eat some fruit too." Booth demanded, which was strange coming from the guy whose girlfriend had to hound him to eat his fruits and veggies.

"I thought you had a date last night." Dr. B commented, and Sweets nodded as they joined him with their own plates.

Sweets nodded, chewing a big forkful of his pancakes before he could speak. "Yea, did not go well." he said, shaking his head as his eyes widened at the memory.

"Couldn't seal the deal, huh, Kid?" Booth commented with his mouth full, receiving a swat in his arm from Dr. B.

Rolling his eyes, he explained that they had gone for drinks, and he'd planned on buying her a very nice dinner, but she had suggested they return to her place instead. "I understand that people have all kinds of living arrangements with perfectly good explanations. Look at us." he commented, "I just think that 8 people in a studio apartment is, like, 7 people too many. It was wicked crowded in there. She invited me to her sleeping bag on the kitchen floor." he said, shaking his head again. He had excused himself to use her restroom to find a quiet moment to gather his thoughts. After several long minutes in her bathroom, she had come looking for him, and he'd had to make up an excuse to get out of there.

"You told her ya had the shits?" Booth laughed at him when he explained how he made his escape, shaking his head as he continued to regal them with his tale.

"That was wise, Sweets. Very few people ask for further information when you tell them you're experiencing explosive diarrhea" Dr. B explained, ever the pragmatic thinker, as Booth continued to laugh at Sweets' misfortune.

"Yea, well, needless to say, I came home a lot earlier than I expected." Sweets chuckled, pouring himself some orange juice from the carafe on the counter next to them.

"How early?" Booth's voice deadpanned, and Sweets froze, looking up slowly at the two sets of eyes shifting from each other's faces and back to his several times.

"Uhm… no… not that early… like earlier than I thought I would, but not… not early, early… just…I didn't hear anything." He stammered as his face heated up. He imagined he was about as red as Booth was.

"That's probably a good thing. I was becoming concerned that you might have heard Booth and I having extremely boisterous intercourse. We were quite loud and uninhibited with the understanding that nobody else would be home." She stated so casually both he and Booth whipped their heads around to look at her. She shrugged one shoulder, spearing a strawberry from her plate and taking a bite.

Staring down at his pancakes like they were the most interesting thing in the world, Sweets wondered if looks really could kill because he could almost feel Booth's eyes burning a hole into his head.