{chap3} Hate Crime PG-13
Hate Crime
Summary - Zack has returned to the Jeffersonian, just in time for a new case to solve. As they delve into the murder of a young gay man, things get a little awkward for Booth. Booth/Zack slash.
Disclaimer - I don’t own Bones. I don’t even understand half the things the squints say.
Warning - boyxboy, some controversial topics about LGBTQ
A/N - I recently discovered that Eric Millegan is an openly gay actor (new Bones fan here). That would definitely explain the gay vibes that I kept getting from Zack throughout the show. It doesn’t stop me crushing on him though. ^^”
Hey hottiee~
-
Chapter 3
“I’m investigating a gay hate crime,” Booth sighed, back at the wheel with Zack at his side. “Somehow I knew this might come up, but I hoped that they would all happen, I don’t know, somewhere down South or in the Midwest where someone else can take care of it.”
Zack’s eyes widened. Booth was prepared to call it fear in his eyes, but he wasn’t entirely sure why. “Zack? Are you okay?”
“Are you homophobic?” Zack blurted out. This led to a moment of unsure silence, as they both knew that this was a pivotal peak in their working relationship and it all mattered on how Booth answered that question.
“I…no, no, I’m just…” Booth wondered how he was going to explain this. “I’m just a little squeamish, you know? It’s like…” Booth searched his head for a comprehensive example. “You and Bones like dead people and I don’t. It’s kind of like that.”
“Oh, alright.” It seemed to really dawn on Zack. “I believe I see the connection. I just thought that, well, you are quite religious-”
“I might not chat up many gay guys for fun, but I do not approve of the way people use God to justify crimes like these,” Booth snapped. “Are we clear?”
Zack said nothing. They drove on for a while. At the next traffic light Booth turned, now effectively calmed down, and asked, “What information do we have to work with here?”
“His full name is Gabriel Simmons. He was enrolled as a full-time student at Burborn High School, making of course all one thousand and eighty-two students and fifty three faculty members suspects-” Zack ignored Booth’s groan of discontent “-Here’s a picture of what he likely looked like before his face was scraped off with a sharp metal object, the marks indicating that it was a smooth blade about five to seven inches long.”
Booth glanced at Angela’s sketch. Then, he couldn’t help but point out something. “His name was Gabrielle? Are you sure? Sounds like a girl’s name.”
“It’s pronounced Gabriel,” Zack corrected, “Gay-briel. As in I enjoy video games, they make me gay.”
Booth snorted in outright laughter. “That is the biggest most hilarious coincidence I’ve ever heard.”
“I’m positive we’ve come across more amusing coincidences in the past.”
“No, for the time being, this takes the crown,” Booth kept chuckling. “Gay-briel…” Zack shot him a look and Booth cleared his throat. “Alright, so did his face get chopped off before or after death?”
“Due to the significant amount of dried blood left on the muscle tissue, it’s been inferred that the skin, nose, and lips were scraped off prior to death when the victim’s blood was still flowing in a functioning circulatory system,” Zack said. “Dr. Saroyan believes that the victim suffered quite a lot; there’s evidence of heavy bruising at the pharynx and torso which are the most likely causes of death.”
“The victim was choked to death? Beaten?”
“He was definitely sexually and physically assaulted, and choked either during intercourse or shortly after. The blood loss from the face wound greatly decreased the flow of oxygen, thus increasing the rate at which he died.”
“Choked, face sliced off, and raped all in one night,” Booth shook his head gravely. “That sounds like a big agenda. We might be looking for more than just one murderer.”
“I’m not prepared to make that inference yet. We should refer to Angela once all the data’s gathered so that she can form possible scenarios,” Zack was quick to dismiss Booth’s suspicions. He studied the delicate features of Gabriel Simmons. The victim was half-Asian, as he had suspected, and had round eyes and soft cheekbones. “He was quite attractive,” Zack added before he could stop himself. “I mean-I was just commenting objectively about his physical appearance. The slicing of his face is, after all, involved.”
Booth blinked at Zack’s defensive tone. Zack frowned and stared at his knees. This wasn’t awkward at all.
“This isn’t the way to Burborn High School,” Zack pointed out, looking around out the window. “Why are you stopping the car?”
“Change of plans, I’m not sifting through a thousand students and teachers to track down this killer. We’ll visit his parents first, inform them of their son’s death, give them some alone time, get some background information that’ll help…”
“We haven’t finished reviewing the evidence.” Zack seemed majorly disappointed.
“We can take care of that later. For now you’ll give me the kid’s address and we’ll let his parents know that he died.”
“57 Carroll Street,” Zack declared, finding the information in the folder almost immediately. “I memorized all of the street signs on the way here. Go back toward Jordan and turn left on Lipson. Carroll Street is further down Lipson.”
“That is not normal,” Booth muttered under his breath, but he drove on, grateful nonetheless.
-
“Alright Sweets, I gotta talk to you,” Booth announced as he strolled into Sweets’ office. The young psychologist looked up, completely startled, as his mouse darted forth to pause his game of Warcraft 3.
“Agent Booth, you can’t keep barging in like this, I was preoccupied-”
“So you know how I have to work with Zack in the next couple cases,” Booth said, sitting down. “And you know this new case we’re working on. The gay hate crime. High school boy killed. Well we went to see the victim’s family today and I’m beginning to get these…vibes.”
“Vibes? From the family? You want me to observe them for you?”
“No, no, from Zack.”
Sweets paused. This sounded interesting. Perhaps Warcraft 3 could wait. “Really…”
“Zack was pretty…empathetic,” Booth explained, “which is rare because it’s Zack and he’s, well, Zack. He’s like Bones, he just doesn’t get people. But we were talking to the parents about the way their son died. There was a little drama between them, because the mother knew her son was gay and the father didn’t and he left the room while she broke down a little…and suddenly Zack started trying to comfort her.” Booth finished his sentence with a note of confusion; not even he knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Did it work?”
“I-yes! The kid knew what he was talking about! He explained to the poor woman the biological difference in homosexuals, or whatever big science-y reason he had to offer to convince her that her son wasn’t abnormal or faking it or whatever.”
Sweets raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t that just another indication of his extensive knowledge? It sounds like his big science-y reasons are purely objective.”
“If you’d been there, you would’ve understood,” Booth shook his head. “The way he talked to her; he was nice about it. He was so…” Booth paused, searching for the right word, “knowing.”
“Knowing?”
“Knowing.”
“You’re suggesting first-hand knowledge?” Sweets said. “Oh wait…”
“And there are other things,” Booth added, “like joking about wearing bras and saying that the victim was, you know, a good-looking guy.”
“Agent Booth,” Sweets said sternly, looking as intimidating as he could, “I’m surprised at you. The Jeffersonian is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate against-”
“Why does everybody assume that I’m the bad guy here?” Booth exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air a little. “I’m not trying to get him fired just because I think he might-might-be gay. Look, think about it, say we catch the murderer or murderers or whoever did it. This is a hate crime; Gabriel Simmons was targeted because he was gay. Not only does that put Zack in mortal danger, but his bias might make it hard for him to continue the investigation. See?” Booth smiled victoriously. “I’m looking out for him. He can’t work this case.”
Sweets studied him intensely. Booth never did like being looked at like a lab rat. He squirmed a little in his seat. “Does Zack show any signs of fear for his life?”
Booth thought for a moment. “No,” He admitted slowly.
“Any emotional trauma? An unreasonable amount of pity for the victim? Any signs of working with you unwillingly?”
“It’s too early in the case to know that.”
“Exactly,” Sweets said, proceeding to proclaim, “You’re forming an opinion too quickly based on a loose collection of assumptions based off Zack’s behavior. Now, I can’t say that I haven’t suspected from time to time that he’s gay as well-”
“See? You thought so too!”
“-but! But, assuming that no one has knowledge of Zack’s sexuality, aside from close friends and family I imagine, and assuming that Zack’s performance isn’t suffering from his ‘bias’, I believe he’s not only very capable but quite safe as well.”
“Sweets,” Booth warned.
“Honestly, it sounds to me like you don’t want to work with him because you’re uncomfortable with his sexuality,” Sweets concluded bluntly.
A little staring match ensued. Booth’s slightly slacken expression glared at him apprehensively. Sweets looked back head-on, expectant and ready.
“Don’t make it sound like that, Sweets,” Booth frowned.
“What? I heard that initially you were very against the idea of working with him.”
“Alright, that’s just because Bones and I are partners and we work well together,” Booth snapped. “I enjoy working with Bones. I didn’t know Zack was gay and I still don’t know. But if he is, how do we know he’s not next to get tied up? Raped? Beaten to death?”
“Why don’t we meet tomorrow at ten to discuss your working relationship?” Sweets said with a smile. “I’m actually quite interested in the way you two might interact.”
Summary - Zack has returned to the Jeffersonian, just in time for a new case to solve. As they delve into the murder of a young gay man, things get a little awkward for Booth. Booth/Zack slash.
Disclaimer - I don’t own Bones. I don’t even understand half the things the squints say.
Warning - boyxboy, some controversial topics about LGBTQ
A/N - I recently discovered that Eric Millegan is an openly gay actor (new Bones fan here). That would definitely explain the gay vibes that I kept getting from Zack throughout the show. It doesn’t stop me crushing on him though. ^^”
Hey hottiee~
-
Chapter 3
“I’m investigating a gay hate crime,” Booth sighed, back at the wheel with Zack at his side. “Somehow I knew this might come up, but I hoped that they would all happen, I don’t know, somewhere down South or in the Midwest where someone else can take care of it.”
Zack’s eyes widened. Booth was prepared to call it fear in his eyes, but he wasn’t entirely sure why. “Zack? Are you okay?”
“Are you homophobic?” Zack blurted out. This led to a moment of unsure silence, as they both knew that this was a pivotal peak in their working relationship and it all mattered on how Booth answered that question.
“I…no, no, I’m just…” Booth wondered how he was going to explain this. “I’m just a little squeamish, you know? It’s like…” Booth searched his head for a comprehensive example. “You and Bones like dead people and I don’t. It’s kind of like that.”
“Oh, alright.” It seemed to really dawn on Zack. “I believe I see the connection. I just thought that, well, you are quite religious-”
“I might not chat up many gay guys for fun, but I do not approve of the way people use God to justify crimes like these,” Booth snapped. “Are we clear?”
Zack said nothing. They drove on for a while. At the next traffic light Booth turned, now effectively calmed down, and asked, “What information do we have to work with here?”
“His full name is Gabriel Simmons. He was enrolled as a full-time student at Burborn High School, making of course all one thousand and eighty-two students and fifty three faculty members suspects-” Zack ignored Booth’s groan of discontent “-Here’s a picture of what he likely looked like before his face was scraped off with a sharp metal object, the marks indicating that it was a smooth blade about five to seven inches long.”
Booth glanced at Angela’s sketch. Then, he couldn’t help but point out something. “His name was Gabrielle? Are you sure? Sounds like a girl’s name.”
“It’s pronounced Gabriel,” Zack corrected, “Gay-briel. As in I enjoy video games, they make me gay.”
Booth snorted in outright laughter. “That is the biggest most hilarious coincidence I’ve ever heard.”
“I’m positive we’ve come across more amusing coincidences in the past.”
“No, for the time being, this takes the crown,” Booth kept chuckling. “Gay-briel…” Zack shot him a look and Booth cleared his throat. “Alright, so did his face get chopped off before or after death?”
“Due to the significant amount of dried blood left on the muscle tissue, it’s been inferred that the skin, nose, and lips were scraped off prior to death when the victim’s blood was still flowing in a functioning circulatory system,” Zack said. “Dr. Saroyan believes that the victim suffered quite a lot; there’s evidence of heavy bruising at the pharynx and torso which are the most likely causes of death.”
“The victim was choked to death? Beaten?”
“He was definitely sexually and physically assaulted, and choked either during intercourse or shortly after. The blood loss from the face wound greatly decreased the flow of oxygen, thus increasing the rate at which he died.”
“Choked, face sliced off, and raped all in one night,” Booth shook his head gravely. “That sounds like a big agenda. We might be looking for more than just one murderer.”
“I’m not prepared to make that inference yet. We should refer to Angela once all the data’s gathered so that she can form possible scenarios,” Zack was quick to dismiss Booth’s suspicions. He studied the delicate features of Gabriel Simmons. The victim was half-Asian, as he had suspected, and had round eyes and soft cheekbones. “He was quite attractive,” Zack added before he could stop himself. “I mean-I was just commenting objectively about his physical appearance. The slicing of his face is, after all, involved.”
Booth blinked at Zack’s defensive tone. Zack frowned and stared at his knees. This wasn’t awkward at all.
“This isn’t the way to Burborn High School,” Zack pointed out, looking around out the window. “Why are you stopping the car?”
“Change of plans, I’m not sifting through a thousand students and teachers to track down this killer. We’ll visit his parents first, inform them of their son’s death, give them some alone time, get some background information that’ll help…”
“We haven’t finished reviewing the evidence.” Zack seemed majorly disappointed.
“We can take care of that later. For now you’ll give me the kid’s address and we’ll let his parents know that he died.”
“57 Carroll Street,” Zack declared, finding the information in the folder almost immediately. “I memorized all of the street signs on the way here. Go back toward Jordan and turn left on Lipson. Carroll Street is further down Lipson.”
“That is not normal,” Booth muttered under his breath, but he drove on, grateful nonetheless.
-
“Alright Sweets, I gotta talk to you,” Booth announced as he strolled into Sweets’ office. The young psychologist looked up, completely startled, as his mouse darted forth to pause his game of Warcraft 3.
“Agent Booth, you can’t keep barging in like this, I was preoccupied-”
“So you know how I have to work with Zack in the next couple cases,” Booth said, sitting down. “And you know this new case we’re working on. The gay hate crime. High school boy killed. Well we went to see the victim’s family today and I’m beginning to get these…vibes.”
“Vibes? From the family? You want me to observe them for you?”
“No, no, from Zack.”
Sweets paused. This sounded interesting. Perhaps Warcraft 3 could wait. “Really…”
“Zack was pretty…empathetic,” Booth explained, “which is rare because it’s Zack and he’s, well, Zack. He’s like Bones, he just doesn’t get people. But we were talking to the parents about the way their son died. There was a little drama between them, because the mother knew her son was gay and the father didn’t and he left the room while she broke down a little…and suddenly Zack started trying to comfort her.” Booth finished his sentence with a note of confusion; not even he knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Did it work?”
“I-yes! The kid knew what he was talking about! He explained to the poor woman the biological difference in homosexuals, or whatever big science-y reason he had to offer to convince her that her son wasn’t abnormal or faking it or whatever.”
Sweets raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t that just another indication of his extensive knowledge? It sounds like his big science-y reasons are purely objective.”
“If you’d been there, you would’ve understood,” Booth shook his head. “The way he talked to her; he was nice about it. He was so…” Booth paused, searching for the right word, “knowing.”
“Knowing?”
“Knowing.”
“You’re suggesting first-hand knowledge?” Sweets said. “Oh wait…”
“And there are other things,” Booth added, “like joking about wearing bras and saying that the victim was, you know, a good-looking guy.”
“Agent Booth,” Sweets said sternly, looking as intimidating as he could, “I’m surprised at you. The Jeffersonian is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate against-”
“Why does everybody assume that I’m the bad guy here?” Booth exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air a little. “I’m not trying to get him fired just because I think he might-might-be gay. Look, think about it, say we catch the murderer or murderers or whoever did it. This is a hate crime; Gabriel Simmons was targeted because he was gay. Not only does that put Zack in mortal danger, but his bias might make it hard for him to continue the investigation. See?” Booth smiled victoriously. “I’m looking out for him. He can’t work this case.”
Sweets studied him intensely. Booth never did like being looked at like a lab rat. He squirmed a little in his seat. “Does Zack show any signs of fear for his life?”
Booth thought for a moment. “No,” He admitted slowly.
“Any emotional trauma? An unreasonable amount of pity for the victim? Any signs of working with you unwillingly?”
“It’s too early in the case to know that.”
“Exactly,” Sweets said, proceeding to proclaim, “You’re forming an opinion too quickly based on a loose collection of assumptions based off Zack’s behavior. Now, I can’t say that I haven’t suspected from time to time that he’s gay as well-”
“See? You thought so too!”
“-but! But, assuming that no one has knowledge of Zack’s sexuality, aside from close friends and family I imagine, and assuming that Zack’s performance isn’t suffering from his ‘bias’, I believe he’s not only very capable but quite safe as well.”
“Sweets,” Booth warned.
“Honestly, it sounds to me like you don’t want to work with him because you’re uncomfortable with his sexuality,” Sweets concluded bluntly.
A little staring match ensued. Booth’s slightly slacken expression glared at him apprehensively. Sweets looked back head-on, expectant and ready.
“Don’t make it sound like that, Sweets,” Booth frowned.
“What? I heard that initially you were very against the idea of working with him.”
“Alright, that’s just because Bones and I are partners and we work well together,” Booth snapped. “I enjoy working with Bones. I didn’t know Zack was gay and I still don’t know. But if he is, how do we know he’s not next to get tied up? Raped? Beaten to death?”
“Why don’t we meet tomorrow at ten to discuss your working relationship?” Sweets said with a smile. “I’m actually quite interested in the way you two might interact.”