Negotiation (Double Drabble #35)

[only_more_love]

Title: Negotiation (Double Drabble #35)
Characters:  Booth, Brennan
Series:  All That Lies Between Us
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Timeline:  Future
Prompt Table:  Romance
Written for:  drabble123
Prompt: #19 (Surprise)
Word Count: 200
Disclaimer:  Bones and its characters belong to FOX, not me.  This story is purely meant to entertain.  No copyright infringement is intended.

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Click here to read the other drabbles in this series.

Please note that this is a companion to Stalemate (Chapter 17).  This won't make much sense if you don't read that first.

As Booth gets ready for bed, he brushes his teeth and tries not to see the pieces of her that are scattered around his place--like the mousse sitting next to his gel. 

Though the sheets are icy when he climbs into bed, he forces his eyes closed.  He sleeps for only a few minutes at a time, and that feels worse than not sleeping at all.

When a shadow melts out of the blackness, he doesn't reach for his gun.  Three breaths later, the bed dips.  He remains still; it's her move. 

The silence nearly breaks under the weight of their words.

"I don't want to hurt you--" she finally says.

"Too late."

"--But I can't give you up either."

The words fill him with hollow satisfaction.  Why should he be the only one to want what he can't have?

"What do you want, Bones?" he asks, his voice unrecognizable.

"You."  Her answer surprises him.

"What if you can't have that?"

"Is that the case?"

Though not doing so still might cost him everything, he isn't ready to call her bluff yet.  "No."

She exhales.  "I'm...sorry."

Nothing's resolved, but he believes her.  "I know. Come here."  He opens his arms.

Author's Note: Does this seem like a copout, or can you feel the ambiguity?

Comments

[rollsofrice.livejournal.com]

I'm sure this is going to sound awfully shallow compared to the excellent mini-essay comments everyone else has made, but I would prefer(rather paradoxically, because I am inclined towards B/B) not to see Brennan and Booth "get together" on the show, solely because what they have now(in my opinion) is their special relationship and it cannot be sustained in romantic involvement.

Then again, you should ignore that. Ships are a hope for the future, anyway. :-) This is a wonderful companion to Stalemate, though I enjoyed the first one more.

Thanks for sharing!

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

Your comments aren't shallow, and I appreciate your sharing them with me. :) I think they could work romantically, but there's no doubt in my mind that it would change their relationship in certain ways. As for getting together on the show, I think they could do it and still keep the show interesting, but I don't know if the writers believe that. If they don't believe it, it's likely the writing wouldn't be believable either, in which case I'd rather they NOT get together on the show.

No idea if any of that made an ounce of sense. *g*

Thanks for reading and commenting.