AN: Pointless, plotless Sweets-Angela fluff/friendship. Sometimes you don't notice when you've taken on too much.
Also, if anyone has any requests/prompts I'd be glad to hear them (no guarantees though).
Enjoy :)
Shrinking the Shrink
Sweets smiled and nodded his thanks to the waiter as their food was set down in front of them, and then looked back at Angela. He'd come to the diner on his lunch break on a request from the artist. He was on a tight schedule, but he always tried to make a point of making time for a friend in need. If this meeting meant staying an extra hour at the bureau at night, he was more than willing to do so. He was always honoured when the people he considered his friends came to him for advice.
"So, what's on your mind, Angela?" The artist sipped her coffee, looking over the rim of her mug at the psychologist. She raised an eyebrow. "What?" Sweets frowned.
"Can't I invite you out to lunch without having something I need to discuss?" Sweets gave a small smile at that.
"Yes, but you… never do." Angela's expression turned sad.
"I don't?" Sweets, having become aware of her change in mood, hastened to reassure her.
"It's perfectly alright, Angela. I like having you guys come to me for help. It's what I do. It's why I got this degree and this job."
"Yeah, but you need… other stuff, too."
"I'm very satisfied with my work." Angela shook her head.
"Come on, sweetie, you're a shrink. You should know that it's not healthy to not live outside of work." Sweets picked up his spoon and started to turn it around in his hands. He was quickly becoming uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading.
"I do, though."
"Do you?" Angela raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Who was the last person you went out to eat with?"
"That's a personal question, Ms. Montenegro, I don't think…"
"See?" She cut him off. "You're avoiding the problem. 'Ms. Montenegro' – you've been calling me Angela for ages now, even I know that you're reverting to 'Ms. Montenegro' to keep me at a distance."
"Ms. Montenegro… Angela… I…" Sweets sighed, rubbing his forehead with his thumb.
"Who did you go out to eat with? It's a simple question, Sweets." The psychologist sighed again, and was silent for a moment before speaking up.
"Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan."
"And was this a social call?"
"I… We discussed a case." Angela reached across the table and put her hand on the psychologist's.
"I don't know what you see us as, Sweets, but I know that we – everyone at the Jeffersonian – really do appreciate your help, and enjoy your company. I don't know if you just see this as a work arrangement –"
"I don't."
"Well, good, because we don't either." Sweets blushed slightly.
"I wasn't sure… sometimes… I…yeah." His blush deepened.
"Sweetie, we do like you. And I know Jack is sometimes a bit harsh, and that Brennan sometimes seems overly clinical, but I know for a fact that they, and I, and Cam, and especially Booth really do like you. So don't be afraid to make plain old social calls, alright?" Sweets smiled shyly.
"Yeah." He paused, fiddling with his napkin. "So you really had nothing to talk about?" It was Angela's turn to blush, then.
"Well…" Sweets's smile faded at that, and he put his napkin down.
"You know I'm always here for whatever you need to talk about, right? I…" He trailed off as Angela took his hand in both of hers and squeezed it gently.
"I actually wanted to talk about you."
"I…what?" Sweets frowned, confused.
"Sweetie, everyone's worried."
"What?" Sweets seemed unable to comprehend what was going on. "Why?"
"Honey, look at yourself." Sweets looked down at himself, still utterly confused. "You're thin."
"I… yes?" He picked at the top button on his shirt, feeling exceedingly uncomfortable with the situation.
"You haven't noticed that you're looking thinner?" Angela shook her head. "Anyway, we hardly ever see you around the lab anymore unless you're working directly on a case." She grinned. "Believe it or not, even Hodgins misses you badgering him with psychobabble." Sweets's pale cheeks darkened into a blush again, and he looked down at the table, wringing his hands. "So what happened?" For a moment, Sweets was silent, unable to string together the necessary words. "Sweets?"
"I've… been busy."
"Sweetie, we're all busy, we still see each other. We also still eat."
"I… but you guys work together. I work at the bureau. Different place, so I don't…"
"Sweetie, you need to take some time to yourself. How old are you, twenty four?"
"Yeah."
"Honey, when I was twenty four I was having the time of my life, partying all the time, meeting new people… I'd just finished with school, was doing odd jobs and drawing caricatures for some money on the side… I was having fun. You, on the other hand, don't seem to do much other than work." She looked at him worriedly. "You gotta loosen up a bit, sweetie. Be young while you are." Sweets picked at a fingernail.
"I just… I need to work. It keeps me… I dunno, sane. Purposeful." Angela gave him a sad smile.
"Yeah, but you also need to eat, and you need to relax, and you need to interact with other people." Sweets quirked a smile.
"Angela, I work as a psychologist – my job is to interact…"
"Yeah, but you need to do it, you know… casually." Sweets raised an eyebrow.
"So you're here to talk about my lack of a social life?" Angela slapped the table lightly.
"Yes."
"Angela… I appreciate your concern but…"
"But nothing, Sweets. We are going to sit here, and we are going to have a casual lunch with some casual conversation that isn't at all psychological or related to a case, alright? And you are not going to ask leading questions and you are not going to psychoanalyze me."
Sweets just blinked. "Um… alright." He cleared his throat, uncomfortably. "I'm… I'm sorry if I psychoanalyze you too much. I'm sure it's annoying, and I really do apologize if I've ever made you uncomfortable or pried too much or just…"
"Sweets." She cut him off. "Sweetie, don't apologize for it. You've helped all of us through a lot, you know." Sweets looked at her apprehensively. "Hey. Don't give me that sad puppy look, with your ginormous brown eyes and…no. Just stop. This is a happy, casual meal." She shook her head, organizing her thoughts. "Alright, first off, you've helped us all through lots of stuff, and we're all grateful. And a shrink, a psychologist, is who you are – and with the people that love you you should never have to apologize for who you are. So don't apologize… because we love you… in case you didn't get where I was going with that." Sweets smiled.
"Yeah."
"Right. Secondly… well, I don't really have a secondly, but now I'd really like you to eat that," she pointed at the mostly untouched plate of food in front of the psychologist, "and tell me what's got you wound up like one of those giant balls of rubber bands… you know what I mean?" Sweets grinned.
"Yeah, I had one in college."
"But seriously, sweetie, what's up?" Sweets started wringing his hands nervously again.
"I… um… I've just had a lot of work to do." Angela nodded.
"Lots of cases?"
"Yeah, I've been profiling for several different agents, and most of them are high profile cases. It's… hard, sometimes, to find time to myself." Angela nodded understandingly.
"Sometimes, with the work we do, it's tough to put personal things above a stressful case."
"Yeah. Exactly… I just… yeah."
"But you can't keep running yourself ragged, sweetie. You need to sleep, you need to eat…" She looked at him seriously. He nodded.
"Yeah, I know…Sometimes I don't even notice…" Angela gave him a small smile.
"Well, that's what friends are for, sweetie. To notice that you're in trouble, even when you don't."