Questions of Science (Science and Progress) Did Not Speak As Loud As My Heart (1/1) - A Bones Fic.
Title: Questions of Science (Science and Progress) Did Not Speak As Loud As My Heart
Author: billpickle
Rating: K+
Pairing: S.Booth & T.Brennan
Word Count: 2,618
Spoilers: Episode 4x26 - The End in the Beginning. Although this fic takes place about a year afterwards.
A/N: 1/2 Post-Finale fics from me, so far. This one, purely a result of harbouring love for the fandom and for Bones, itself. Which I have learned to re-appreciate. :) Title comes from the Coldplay song, "The Scientist", which alongside this fic by _missmargaret_ provided inspiration.
Summary: Smiling to himself, he shuts off her laptop, watching as the screen fades to black, before switching off the last light in the house. His head turns to the open door in darkness and he mouths what, to him, is absolutely and positively... everything.
“Can we get those, Bones?” He beams, pointing excitedly at a box of Frosted Flakes dwelling on one of the supermarket's uppermost shelves. “Please?”
Pushing her cart to the side of the aisle, she lifts a box from off the shelf and proceeds to turn her attention towards the list of ingredients labeled on its side. “It's full of sugar, Parker. I don't think your dad-”
“But Boooneeesss...” He whines, his feet dancing circles across the polished linoleum of aisle five.
“Parker, don't you think that your Dad will get, you know, mad? If I buy these for you? They're incredibly unhealthy and-”
He shakes his head adamantly. “Frosted Flakes are his favourite too, you know, Bones. He's always sayin' how Tony the tiger's his favourite.”
She smiles at this before surrendering-- tossing the box of cereal into the shopping cart alongside their other groceries. “Fine Parks, but just this once, okay? And you're gonna have to promise me that the next time we go grocery shopping together, you're gonna pick something that isn't nearly 50% sugar, alright? For you and for your dad.”
Thinking he's won the war for now, he returns to her side then looks up at her with a goofy grin. “It's a deal.”
Solidifying their agreement with a fist bump, because nothing says: you and me are in this together, like a fist bump, Bones. She recalls a conversation in which Booth had mentioned how the gesture had kind of become a little secret of theirs.
Their thing, so to speak.
An inside joke of sorts, that was just between the three of them.
Her midday supermarket daydreaming is ultimately interrupted by a “Come on, Bones! Daddy's probably done making lunch, already!” and a “And the cookie dough ice cream... it's gonna meeeelt!”
*
It's about a half an hour later (give or take a few minutes), when they're standing in front of Booth's front door. The little Booth inside Parker, as usual, choosing his moments here and there.
“Bones?”
“Yeah, little buddy?”
“Will... will you teach me the names of all the important bones? I wanna impress... well, I wanna impress a friend at school.”
“A friend?” She raises her eyebrows, questioningly. Teasingly almost, yet undeniably motherly.
He blushes slightly, refusing to meet her eyes. “Mmm-hmm. Just a... friend.”
“Well, I'd be more than happy to help you out, of course, Parks. But I can't really just pick and choose bones that I think are more important, you know that. They all have special jobs to do and they're all important in their own right. They're like a team, you know? Working together to get the job done more easily and more effectively.”
“A team?”
“A team.”
“Like the Capitals and the Flyers... and like you and Daddy... right, Bones?”
“Right.”
He takes a moment to think about this, as she rummages inside her purse for her keys. She was sure they were in there somewhere...
Ah.
She slides the key, into the lock. “First things first though, Parks. By any chance, is this friend of yours that you're trying to impress... is it a... girl?”
“What? Noooo. No way. Girls are gross, Bones! Well not you, of course, you're not gross. But still-”
She smiles knowingly-- the rosy shades of pink, pocketing inside his cheeks, telling her otherwise. “Whatever you say, bud. Just make sure she never hears the word gross used as an adjective to describe her, alright? Especially not from you-”
“Bones!”
*
He's in the kitchen humming along to Jack Johnson when she finally gets the door open. The click of the latch draws his attention and he looks up at the two of them with a goofy grin. Giving the delicious mystery set atop the stove one final stir, he sets the spoon down on the kitchen island before padding across the hardwood floor to lend them a hand.
“Bud, why don't you let me grab these... and Bones and I will put everything away while you go freshen up for lunch, okay? I made your favourite.”
“Chicken strips and mashed potatoes!?”
He grins, “That is your favourite isn't it? I even found that honey mustard sauce you love so much which, by the way, is practically impossible to find.”
A yelp and a fist bump later, Parker's in the bathroom freshening up and it's just the two of them in the kitchen-- various groceries being given homes in the fridge and in the cupboards.
“Where do the coffee beans go, Booth?”
“Bottom Cabinet. Left. Beside the chicken noodle soup.”
“And the tomatoes?”
“The fridge. Top sliding drawer on your right.”
He feigns disgust at several items, most of which are vegetables, as he skims through the rest of the items that they bought. The disgust though, temporary, as something unexpectedly sugary catches his attention at the bottom of one of the bags. “Wow! Frosted Flakes and cookie dough!? Bones, you really do love me, don't you?”
“Parker chose those, not me.” She smirks, pulling out several bags of frozen tofu simultaneously. “You do know that you're going to have to eat those in moderation though, right? And we can't buy them all the time, Booth. I mean, do you realize how many grams of sugar is in there? There's practically enough to-”
“Bones!”
“But-”
“Bones!”
*
A few chicken strips and tofu dogs (she's discovered that Booth makes the best ones) later, the three of them are sitting on the couch, channel surfing while carving a dent into the tub of cookie dough with their spoons.
Episodes of Friends? The three of them have seen 'em all already.
Hockey hi-lites? Nah, too depressing. The Flyer's lost last night. Big time.
They've essentially dug themselves half way into the tub, before finally deciding to watch a movie.
It's Parker's choice this time, so jumping off the couch, he runs towards their collection of DVDs and pulls out a well-used copy of Toy Story. A choice which could hardly come as a surprise, all things considered. That stuffed 'Rex' that they got him (the same one that they bought him for his year-ago Christmas present) pretty much tags along to anywhere and everywhere he goes.
Excitedly, he slides the DVD onto the tray, pressing the play button before hopping back up on the couch, settling in between them and under the blankets. Rex in good company, of course.
“Hey buddy, would you mind pausing it for a sec? I'm gonna go put the ice cream back in the freezer for later before Bones eats it all.” He gives her a wink, chuckling lowly, all the while successfully managing to dodge her swinging arm.
“Hey!”
“Sure, dad.” He complies (and giggles at Bones as well), grabbing the remote and pressing the pause button before resuming to walk Rex across the couch.
She, on the otherhand, pulls her laptop out, intending to get some writing done during the course of the movie. She gets as far as actually powering the damn thing on before-
“Hey, Bones?” Parker's face, somehow now mere inches from her own. “No working today. Daddy said you work way too much and way too hard and today's your day off-”
“Parker...”
“No, Bones. No working, okay?” He says with puppy dog eyes and a charm smile whose wattage could light up the entire city.
He's a Booth, alright.
“Fine, Parks. But I'm only doing this because of you.”
There's another fist bump before she closes the lid of her laptop and though she can't be quite sure, she thinks she sees Mini-Booth and Booth exchange a thumbs up out of the corner of her eye. Regardless, any suspicions she may have had fade away in the moments following, as Booth settles in beside her, an arm encircling her waist from underneath the quilted throw.
“Okay bud. I'm ready, let's watch.”
Finding the remote somewhere under cushions and blankets, Parker presses play before laying down, his head pillowing comfortably atop her lap.
*
What remains of the day, ends up being crazy, but productive madness. Somehow in between watching Toy Story and tucking Parker into bed, each with a kiss goodnight-- they manage to play a couple of rounds of air hockey, cook and eat dinner, and help Parker pack. So it's not until they're sipping on Bud Light Lime's (he's doing the dishes and she's catching up on some writing) later that night, when they actually don't have much more things to do on their to-do list.
It's silent. Comfortably, so. Until-
“You can kiss me in front of Parker, you know.”
She looks up from her laptop to see him scratching the stubble on the back of his neck. “Now where did that come from?”
“I just mean that you don't have to worry about making him uncomfortable, Bones. Brent and Rebecca kiss in front of him all the time and well, according to him, we're as good as married anyway, so... so it's not like we're doing anything wrong or anything...”
“Booth...”
“I'm just sayin', Bones. Really, you can kiss me wherever and whenever you like, okay? Sure, he may occasionally “ewww” us, since we'll probably kiss in front of him a lot... but, you know, he's a kid and he wouldn't be a good one if he didn't do that.”
“Well that is quite a large assumption.”
“What is?”
“Not only that we'll kiss in front of Parker. But that we'll kiss a lot, as you say.”
“Well come on, I'm right, aren't I?” He smirks, wiggling his eyebrows just a little bit. “I mean come on, Bones. You practically couldn't keep your hands off me the other day.”
“Me!? Oh, and as if you're any better?” She just rolls her eyes before returning them to her open word document. “Besides, I don't seem to remember you doing any complaining, Seeley.”
“Because I wasn't, I didn't say I don't enjoy you being handsy with me, Temperance. You can be handsy with me all you want. All I was saying is that, you and me... well, we've been together officially for like what, almost a year now? But to the rest of the world, we've pretty much been dating for three. I think, by now, it's more than okay for us to kiss in front of my son.”
Without a word, she just rises up off her bar stool, only to have him, happily meet her halfway.
There's a millisecond of smiling and staring and then there's this... kiss.
One in which both parties reluctantly separate as it ends, and one in which he finds his breath just the slightest bit taken away from him.
“I'm gonna go shower... before bed.” She says, her lips still hot against his ears.
“You always do.” He nods, still having trouble breathing. “I'll meet ya in there, you know... when I'm done out here.”
“Okay.”
He watches her pad towards the bedroom for her towel, before returning to do the dishes, listening to the rest of that Jack Johnson CD she said she was sure he'd love.
*
12:28 AM.
He doesn't blame Bones for falling asleep. Not really.
Tip-toeing down the hall, he sneaks a peek at her sleeping shape. She's curled into a slight ball on her side of the bed and she's wearing that silky lavender teddy of hers, as strands of hair transform into loose waves across her shoulder blade.
She's beautiful, alright.
He sneaks another peek, before making his nightly rounds.
He unplugs all the appliances, before switching off the lighting fixtures by the doorway and in the living room, and he's about to switch off the last of them, before he spots her laptop still humming on the kitchen counter. His fingers tap the touchpad lightly only to discover that she hadn't powered it down.
Awoken from the screensaver, an open word document appears on the screen. He quickly scans the draft for the familiar Andy's and Kathy's but all he sees instead are I's and you's. He scrolls to the top of the page only to discover that this definitely isn't just another one of her books.
In fact, it's something entirely different.
The stamped date reads the day of his release from the hospital.
The document itself is entitled “Booth.”
He holds a moment and then, despite his mind's (somewhat) reluctance, his heart dives in with both feet, fearless.
---
You smiled at me today.
You woke up, your lively eyes quickly taking in your surroundings before you found me. The first things you did: #1. Calling me Bones and #2. Asking for pie. Both of which, you did while smiling.
You were... you. For the first time in a long time, you were you.
I kissed your forehead sometime around breakfast and you slipped my hand into yours, pulling me down to sit beside you on the bed. For much of the day our hands remain intertwined-- you'd only let go of mine in spurts, but that's okay. I don't mind.
Nurses are coming and going, checking in on you and making sure that you could leave today without any problems, and while all that happens, I sit here. With you. My head still spinning wildly with feelings and thoughts about that dream you had mentioned the other day.
The one where you and I were in love.
“If it was a boy,” You had told me, “we had agreed with Bradley. And if it were a girl... well, we'd probably go with Daisy.”
I didn't tell you that I wondered, just for a second, about how perfect those names actually were.
It's been a couple of days since then, since you had gone on in detail about what had happened in your dream. How we were us, only entirely different. And how you woke up, seeing me, confused as to what was real and what wasn't.
The look on your face when you didn't see a ring, eerily reminiscent of the way you looked at me when you thought I didn't want to work with you anymore.
I didn't tell you this, but I think a part of me kind of wish it was real. What a life, huh?
No dead bodies to analyze, no murderers to interrogate. No line. Yet, we'd still be more than best friends.
Even days after when I'm sitting beside you and you're holding my hand, the simple fact won't quite let me go.
---
His eyes, now heavy lidded, drift off the screen and onto the clock, hanging on the wall.
12:35 AM.
He really should be getting to bed.
He quickly scrolls towards the bottom of the page in search for the last paragraph. The few words that all these thoughts add up to. He finds it and begins to read, until-
I love you.
It isn't bold, but it pops out of the screen, catches his eye and squeezes his heart, hard. Oh so very hard.
I love you.
They're such little words, but the meaning behind them isn't little at all.
I don't know when I realized it, or whether I've always known and was just too scared to believe. Scared. That's what I was when I thought you were gone, and that's what I thought when you were here. Unmoving and so... un-you.
It's the truth and you deserve to know at least that.
I love you.
I can only hope I tell you when I'm ready.
Smiling to himself, he shuts off her laptop, watching as the screen fades to black, before switching off the last light in the house. His head turns to the open door in darkness and he mouths what, to him, is absolutely and positively... everything.
Three words, eight letters.
“I love you.”
/FIN
and thanks for reading! :)
Author: billpickle
Rating: K+
Pairing: S.Booth & T.Brennan
Word Count: 2,618
Spoilers: Episode 4x26 - The End in the Beginning. Although this fic takes place about a year afterwards.
A/N: 1/2 Post-Finale fics from me, so far. This one, purely a result of harbouring love for the fandom and for Bones, itself. Which I have learned to re-appreciate. :) Title comes from the Coldplay song, "The Scientist", which alongside this fic by _missmargaret_ provided inspiration.
Summary: Smiling to himself, he shuts off her laptop, watching as the screen fades to black, before switching off the last light in the house. His head turns to the open door in darkness and he mouths what, to him, is absolutely and positively... everything.
“Can we get those, Bones?” He beams, pointing excitedly at a box of Frosted Flakes dwelling on one of the supermarket's uppermost shelves. “Please?”
Pushing her cart to the side of the aisle, she lifts a box from off the shelf and proceeds to turn her attention towards the list of ingredients labeled on its side. “It's full of sugar, Parker. I don't think your dad-”
“But Boooneeesss...” He whines, his feet dancing circles across the polished linoleum of aisle five.
“Parker, don't you think that your Dad will get, you know, mad? If I buy these for you? They're incredibly unhealthy and-”
He shakes his head adamantly. “Frosted Flakes are his favourite too, you know, Bones. He's always sayin' how Tony the tiger's his favourite.”
She smiles at this before surrendering-- tossing the box of cereal into the shopping cart alongside their other groceries. “Fine Parks, but just this once, okay? And you're gonna have to promise me that the next time we go grocery shopping together, you're gonna pick something that isn't nearly 50% sugar, alright? For you and for your dad.”
Thinking he's won the war for now, he returns to her side then looks up at her with a goofy grin. “It's a deal.”
Solidifying their agreement with a fist bump, because nothing says: you and me are in this together, like a fist bump, Bones. She recalls a conversation in which Booth had mentioned how the gesture had kind of become a little secret of theirs.
Their thing, so to speak.
An inside joke of sorts, that was just between the three of them.
Her midday supermarket daydreaming is ultimately interrupted by a “Come on, Bones! Daddy's probably done making lunch, already!” and a “And the cookie dough ice cream... it's gonna meeeelt!”
*
It's about a half an hour later (give or take a few minutes), when they're standing in front of Booth's front door. The little Booth inside Parker, as usual, choosing his moments here and there.
“Bones?”
“Yeah, little buddy?”
“Will... will you teach me the names of all the important bones? I wanna impress... well, I wanna impress a friend at school.”
“A friend?” She raises her eyebrows, questioningly. Teasingly almost, yet undeniably motherly.
He blushes slightly, refusing to meet her eyes. “Mmm-hmm. Just a... friend.”
“Well, I'd be more than happy to help you out, of course, Parks. But I can't really just pick and choose bones that I think are more important, you know that. They all have special jobs to do and they're all important in their own right. They're like a team, you know? Working together to get the job done more easily and more effectively.”
“A team?”
“A team.”
“Like the Capitals and the Flyers... and like you and Daddy... right, Bones?”
“Right.”
He takes a moment to think about this, as she rummages inside her purse for her keys. She was sure they were in there somewhere...
Ah.
She slides the key, into the lock. “First things first though, Parks. By any chance, is this friend of yours that you're trying to impress... is it a... girl?”
“What? Noooo. No way. Girls are gross, Bones! Well not you, of course, you're not gross. But still-”
She smiles knowingly-- the rosy shades of pink, pocketing inside his cheeks, telling her otherwise. “Whatever you say, bud. Just make sure she never hears the word gross used as an adjective to describe her, alright? Especially not from you-”
“Bones!”
*
He's in the kitchen humming along to Jack Johnson when she finally gets the door open. The click of the latch draws his attention and he looks up at the two of them with a goofy grin. Giving the delicious mystery set atop the stove one final stir, he sets the spoon down on the kitchen island before padding across the hardwood floor to lend them a hand.
“Bud, why don't you let me grab these... and Bones and I will put everything away while you go freshen up for lunch, okay? I made your favourite.”
“Chicken strips and mashed potatoes!?”
He grins, “That is your favourite isn't it? I even found that honey mustard sauce you love so much which, by the way, is practically impossible to find.”
A yelp and a fist bump later, Parker's in the bathroom freshening up and it's just the two of them in the kitchen-- various groceries being given homes in the fridge and in the cupboards.
“Where do the coffee beans go, Booth?”
“Bottom Cabinet. Left. Beside the chicken noodle soup.”
“And the tomatoes?”
“The fridge. Top sliding drawer on your right.”
He feigns disgust at several items, most of which are vegetables, as he skims through the rest of the items that they bought. The disgust though, temporary, as something unexpectedly sugary catches his attention at the bottom of one of the bags. “Wow! Frosted Flakes and cookie dough!? Bones, you really do love me, don't you?”
“Parker chose those, not me.” She smirks, pulling out several bags of frozen tofu simultaneously. “You do know that you're going to have to eat those in moderation though, right? And we can't buy them all the time, Booth. I mean, do you realize how many grams of sugar is in there? There's practically enough to-”
“Bones!”
“But-”
“Bones!”
*
A few chicken strips and tofu dogs (she's discovered that Booth makes the best ones) later, the three of them are sitting on the couch, channel surfing while carving a dent into the tub of cookie dough with their spoons.
Episodes of Friends? The three of them have seen 'em all already.
Hockey hi-lites? Nah, too depressing. The Flyer's lost last night. Big time.
They've essentially dug themselves half way into the tub, before finally deciding to watch a movie.
It's Parker's choice this time, so jumping off the couch, he runs towards their collection of DVDs and pulls out a well-used copy of Toy Story. A choice which could hardly come as a surprise, all things considered. That stuffed 'Rex' that they got him (the same one that they bought him for his year-ago Christmas present) pretty much tags along to anywhere and everywhere he goes.
Excitedly, he slides the DVD onto the tray, pressing the play button before hopping back up on the couch, settling in between them and under the blankets. Rex in good company, of course.
“Hey buddy, would you mind pausing it for a sec? I'm gonna go put the ice cream back in the freezer for later before Bones eats it all.” He gives her a wink, chuckling lowly, all the while successfully managing to dodge her swinging arm.
“Hey!”
“Sure, dad.” He complies (and giggles at Bones as well), grabbing the remote and pressing the pause button before resuming to walk Rex across the couch.
She, on the otherhand, pulls her laptop out, intending to get some writing done during the course of the movie. She gets as far as actually powering the damn thing on before-
“Hey, Bones?” Parker's face, somehow now mere inches from her own. “No working today. Daddy said you work way too much and way too hard and today's your day off-”
“Parker...”
“No, Bones. No working, okay?” He says with puppy dog eyes and a charm smile whose wattage could light up the entire city.
He's a Booth, alright.
“Fine, Parks. But I'm only doing this because of you.”
There's another fist bump before she closes the lid of her laptop and though she can't be quite sure, she thinks she sees Mini-Booth and Booth exchange a thumbs up out of the corner of her eye. Regardless, any suspicions she may have had fade away in the moments following, as Booth settles in beside her, an arm encircling her waist from underneath the quilted throw.
“Okay bud. I'm ready, let's watch.”
Finding the remote somewhere under cushions and blankets, Parker presses play before laying down, his head pillowing comfortably atop her lap.
*
What remains of the day, ends up being crazy, but productive madness. Somehow in between watching Toy Story and tucking Parker into bed, each with a kiss goodnight-- they manage to play a couple of rounds of air hockey, cook and eat dinner, and help Parker pack. So it's not until they're sipping on Bud Light Lime's (he's doing the dishes and she's catching up on some writing) later that night, when they actually don't have much more things to do on their to-do list.
It's silent. Comfortably, so. Until-
“You can kiss me in front of Parker, you know.”
She looks up from her laptop to see him scratching the stubble on the back of his neck. “Now where did that come from?”
“I just mean that you don't have to worry about making him uncomfortable, Bones. Brent and Rebecca kiss in front of him all the time and well, according to him, we're as good as married anyway, so... so it's not like we're doing anything wrong or anything...”
“Booth...”
“I'm just sayin', Bones. Really, you can kiss me wherever and whenever you like, okay? Sure, he may occasionally “ewww” us, since we'll probably kiss in front of him a lot... but, you know, he's a kid and he wouldn't be a good one if he didn't do that.”
“Well that is quite a large assumption.”
“What is?”
“Not only that we'll kiss in front of Parker. But that we'll kiss a lot, as you say.”
“Well come on, I'm right, aren't I?” He smirks, wiggling his eyebrows just a little bit. “I mean come on, Bones. You practically couldn't keep your hands off me the other day.”
“Me!? Oh, and as if you're any better?” She just rolls her eyes before returning them to her open word document. “Besides, I don't seem to remember you doing any complaining, Seeley.”
“Because I wasn't, I didn't say I don't enjoy you being handsy with me, Temperance. You can be handsy with me all you want. All I was saying is that, you and me... well, we've been together officially for like what, almost a year now? But to the rest of the world, we've pretty much been dating for three. I think, by now, it's more than okay for us to kiss in front of my son.”
Without a word, she just rises up off her bar stool, only to have him, happily meet her halfway.
There's a millisecond of smiling and staring and then there's this... kiss.
One in which both parties reluctantly separate as it ends, and one in which he finds his breath just the slightest bit taken away from him.
“I'm gonna go shower... before bed.” She says, her lips still hot against his ears.
“You always do.” He nods, still having trouble breathing. “I'll meet ya in there, you know... when I'm done out here.”
“Okay.”
He watches her pad towards the bedroom for her towel, before returning to do the dishes, listening to the rest of that Jack Johnson CD she said she was sure he'd love.
*
12:28 AM.
He doesn't blame Bones for falling asleep. Not really.
Tip-toeing down the hall, he sneaks a peek at her sleeping shape. She's curled into a slight ball on her side of the bed and she's wearing that silky lavender teddy of hers, as strands of hair transform into loose waves across her shoulder blade.
She's beautiful, alright.
He sneaks another peek, before making his nightly rounds.
He unplugs all the appliances, before switching off the lighting fixtures by the doorway and in the living room, and he's about to switch off the last of them, before he spots her laptop still humming on the kitchen counter. His fingers tap the touchpad lightly only to discover that she hadn't powered it down.
Awoken from the screensaver, an open word document appears on the screen. He quickly scans the draft for the familiar Andy's and Kathy's but all he sees instead are I's and you's. He scrolls to the top of the page only to discover that this definitely isn't just another one of her books.
In fact, it's something entirely different.
The stamped date reads the day of his release from the hospital.
The document itself is entitled “Booth.”
He holds a moment and then, despite his mind's (somewhat) reluctance, his heart dives in with both feet, fearless.
---
You smiled at me today.
You woke up, your lively eyes quickly taking in your surroundings before you found me. The first things you did: #1. Calling me Bones and #2. Asking for pie. Both of which, you did while smiling.
You were... you. For the first time in a long time, you were you.
I kissed your forehead sometime around breakfast and you slipped my hand into yours, pulling me down to sit beside you on the bed. For much of the day our hands remain intertwined-- you'd only let go of mine in spurts, but that's okay. I don't mind.
Nurses are coming and going, checking in on you and making sure that you could leave today without any problems, and while all that happens, I sit here. With you. My head still spinning wildly with feelings and thoughts about that dream you had mentioned the other day.
The one where you and I were in love.
“If it was a boy,” You had told me, “we had agreed with Bradley. And if it were a girl... well, we'd probably go with Daisy.”
I didn't tell you that I wondered, just for a second, about how perfect those names actually were.
It's been a couple of days since then, since you had gone on in detail about what had happened in your dream. How we were us, only entirely different. And how you woke up, seeing me, confused as to what was real and what wasn't.
The look on your face when you didn't see a ring, eerily reminiscent of the way you looked at me when you thought I didn't want to work with you anymore.
I didn't tell you this, but I think a part of me kind of wish it was real. What a life, huh?
No dead bodies to analyze, no murderers to interrogate. No line. Yet, we'd still be more than best friends.
Even days after when I'm sitting beside you and you're holding my hand, the simple fact won't quite let me go.
---
His eyes, now heavy lidded, drift off the screen and onto the clock, hanging on the wall.
12:35 AM.
He really should be getting to bed.
He quickly scrolls towards the bottom of the page in search for the last paragraph. The few words that all these thoughts add up to. He finds it and begins to read, until-
I love you.
It isn't bold, but it pops out of the screen, catches his eye and squeezes his heart, hard. Oh so very hard.
I love you.
They're such little words, but the meaning behind them isn't little at all.
I don't know when I realized it, or whether I've always known and was just too scared to believe. Scared. That's what I was when I thought you were gone, and that's what I thought when you were here. Unmoving and so... un-you.
It's the truth and you deserve to know at least that.
I love you.
I can only hope I tell you when I'm ready.
Smiling to himself, he shuts off her laptop, watching as the screen fades to black, before switching off the last light in the house. His head turns to the open door in darkness and he mouths what, to him, is absolutely and positively... everything.
Three words, eight letters.
“I love you.”
/FIN
and thanks for reading! :)