A/N: Just a little something based off of S07E11. I was going to go into more detail with this, but I kind of wanted to keep these snippets as brief as possible, I guess? They aren't really meant to be much more than this, but who knows at this point. It really depends on the feedback I get from you guys, so let me know what you think/want to see/don't want to see!
Beauty in the Breakdown
Lance still wasn't sure how he'd found himself spending his Saturday night sitting in Brennan and Booth's newly renovated house, Christine gurgling happily at him from his lap. He'd had to cancel plans with Daisy to babysit tonight—all because he couldn't stop himself from acting like a sniveling fool, pining for a scrap of Booth's attention.
It didn't help that his insecurity had been increased tenfold when Booth's irritation at his poor attempts for attention became too obvious for either of them to ignore. Or, too obvious for the part of Lance's brain that was interested on a strictly psychologically-based level to ignore. Some of his fears must have been rubbing off on Booth as well, because it was on the following Thursday after Lance's chat with Brennan that he walked into his office to find Booth sitting casually in his chair.
He wasn't flipping through Lance's paperwork scattered across the desk's surface, which was almost surprising to note. But while Booth was generally uncomfortable with long periods of inactivity and would find just about anything to fill the time, Lance was certain that breaking doctor-patient confidentiality was not something he was prone to doing. It filled Lance with a strange sense of pride at the thought of Booth's upstanding qualities, and he furrowed his brows at the thought—which Booth was quick to judge.
"What?" Booth asked cautiously, sitting up straight in the chair. "What is it?"
"Nothing, just... thinking. Is there anything I can help you with, Agent Booth?" There was something about the entire situation that was staunchly formal in comparison to his conversations with Brennan lately, and Lance felt like their roles should have been reversed. Even with hormones still pumping through her veins at a considerable rate, Lance wouldn't have expected Doctor Brennan to seek him out more often than Booth. His relationship with Booth relationship lately had been ridiculously strained; but Lance was hoping for some improvement, considering that he was here now, actively seeking Lance's company out.
That, or he'd just stopped in for some advice on a case.
"I want to take Bones out this weekend—"
"What?" Lance hadn't meant to sound so startled, and the sound made Booth scrunch his nose in the way he'd do when he was anxious.
He put his head in his hand and let out a sigh. "Really, Sweets. I actually made the effort to speak to you about this and you interrupt me for that." Lance smiled, probably a little too widely, he was sure, given the circumstances. Booth was falling back on old habits and stalling; for what particular reason, Lance wasn't sure. But he intended to find out, and soon.
"Sorry. Please, feel free to continue." He wasn't going to give Booth the satisfaction of following his lead—he was going to end the game here. Booth dropped his hand away from his face and looked at Lance critically, sizing him up.
"I—Bones trusts you. More than Max." Which wasn't saying much, after what happened with Christine and her grandfather disappearing for an entire afternoon. But Lance would take what he could get. "She'd be more comfortable if you were there."
"Are you asking me to babysit while you take Doctor Brennan out on a date, Agent Booth?"
"Oh, stop with the formalities, will you?"
"If you answer the question."
"Fine! Yes," Booth looked down at his hands as he braced them on the table and stood. "Would you mind looking after Christine for a couple of hours on Saturday? Bones really needs this." There was a quiet moment in the office, where the only noises to be heard was the steady hum of commotion on the other side of the closed door. And then Lance spoke once more.
"Does she need this, or do you?" It was more of a reflex at this point, to question the people around him. Lance wanted to retract the words as soon as he'd let them out. "I can—I will," he responded quickly, before Booth had a chance to snap at him.
"Great!" Booth made sure to clap him on the shoulder as he stepped around him to get to the door. "Christine will be happy to see you."
Lance couldn't wipe the smile from his face for the rest of the afternoon.
