Fic: Disappointment (#59 in ATLBU)

[only_more_love]

Title: Disappointment
Series:  All That Lies Between Us
Characters: Booth, Brennan
Rating: T for mild language
Timeline: Set during a scene in The Player Under Pressure.
Spoilers: For The Player Under Pressure
Word Count: 410
Feedback: is always appreciated. Thank you.
Notes: If you haven' t seen The Player Under Pressure, this might seem a bit confusing, as all the dialog is taken from that ep.

Click here for fic index.
Click here to read the other ficlets in this series.

“Anthropologically speaking, sports are a way for boys to practice their battle skills.”

Booth’s mouth dropped open, and he flashed a glance at Brennan before saying, “Yeah. Ok. So you just wanna focus straight up, get up on your toes and just...” He took another shot, nodding with satisfaction as the basketball swished through the net.

“The truth is, athletes are basically emotionally arrested in boyhood, acting out childish games as though they have adult importance,” she said from behind him, barely pausing to take a breath. He really, really hoped she’d stop there, but he knew his partner, so he steeled himself for whatever she’d say next. “You know, the only thing more juvenile are grown adults who watch sports,” she said, finishing her lecture in that know-it-all tone that never failed to jab at his skin.

He caught the ball on the rebound and spun to face Brennan, crowding into her space. “Why you gotta say stuff like that?” he said, no longer able to hide his irritation.

“What? You mean the truth?”

The world looked so black and white to her; sometimes he envied her her perspective.

Other times he hated it.

“All right. You know what? I’m a jock. So when you say those, you know, things that you say, what are you saying about me?” He couldn’t put it more plainly than that.

Brennan frowned, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Nothing. You grew out of it.”

“No, I didn’t, all right. My shoulder crapped out on me,” he said, leaning down and setting the ball at her feet. “Otherwise, I would have gone all the way with it.”

“What?” she said. Just one word, but he knew from her voice that she didn’t get what he was saying. Tough shit: he couldn’t always be the one to explain things to her.

“And another thing,” he said, grabbing his jacket off the gym floor, “I fought in a war. So if sports is a childish substitute, I can live with that.” Though there were other things he wanted to say, the tightness in his shoulders convinced him it was better to walk away. As he shoved the door open, and Brennan huffed a sigh behind him, Booth realized he was more pissed at himself than he was at her.

So what if his partner thought he was just some dumb jock stuck in childhood? Since when did it matter whether she understood him?

---

A/N: Hugs and thanks to everyone who commented on #58. :)

Comments

[mistletoe54.livejournal.com]

That's the trouble with showing a Season 2 episode now: they've moved on so much from then. Good that you can get back to that phase in the relationship. You really know these characters imho.

We've got Baby in the Bough tonight on Sky 1. *snerk*

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

I love you, Sara.

We've got Baby in the Bough tonight on Sky 1. *snerk*

Scratch that -- I hate you. *g*

[mistletoe54.livejournal.com]

I have no control over their programming! Maybe they didn't realise Fox was going to show the episode from Season 2 next. We just got the Santa in the Slush last week if it's any consolation. Anyway, I won't spoil you and look forward to your take on that episode when you see it. Ha ha.

Rats! They are showing The Man in the Mud instead and HD is not working. *gnashes teeth* I am hoist by my own petard: that or hate really works. Heigh ho.

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

Damn, that's too bad. I was only joking. And actually, I was hoping that you and the other Bones fans on your side of the pond would spoil us. Ok, so I guess this means we're all going to have to wait till next week. :(

[buffyangellvr23.livejournal.com]

Nice work...but I'm with you about hating her lol. The Brit I mean.

[mistletoe54.livejournal.com]

No need for that lol. They didn't show it. Wouldn't do for the Brits to be ahead of the game.

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :) Glad you liked it. And it's too bad, but it looks like Sky One didn't air Baby in the Bough after all.

[makd.livejournal.com]

Love the way you take a seemingly ordinary scene between them and bring insight to their characters.

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

What a lovely thing to say. Thank you and hugs. How's your daughter, by the way?

[witchofthedogs.livejournal.com]

“I fought in a war. So if sports is a childish substitute, I can live with that.”

More on this, please? I so desperately want that conversation, you know the one they never really have, to be had and have this be part of it.

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

Hey, you. Happy to "see" you. Sounds like you've been very busy recently. Hope you're doing well.

Out of curiosity, have you watched the new eps of Bones?

More on this, please? I so desperately want that conversation, you know the one they never really have, to be had and have this be part of it.

I'm with you. They haven't, and they need to. I'll do my best to deliver.

[witchofthedogs.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched, not really. I had hoped to catch some on re-run this summer (I think I bumped Bones from TiVo for Deadliest Catch, which is also on Tuesdays).

It's good to be back (sort of)... Things are busy and I'm trying to get a handle on clients (of which I have one right now), the ghost hunting (which I'm trying to limit to twice a month), work (which is killing me) and applying to school (which will hopefully be completed next week).

This summer will be easy - if and when I start classes next fall will be the hard part.

[pincita-lopez.livejournal.com]

Hi there! I've never commented on your blog before, but I've heard a lot about you from pinktealeaves. In fact, I'm here to deliver a message from her. Her computer had a major crash down the day before yesterday. At the shop she's been told that it may be several days before it gets fixed. So, she wants you to know that you're not to publish any of your stories until she gets her pc back and can log on, 'cos she can't live with the idea of knowing that there are new lerdo's fanfic out there that she can't have access to. :) Oh, and she's sorry she missed this week's wednesday smiles, too.

Take care,
Pinci

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

Hi, Pinci. :) Nice to "meet" you. I'm so sorry to hear about pinktealeaves' computer problems. Please tell her I am sending her hugs and good wishes for a quick fix for her computer. Also let her know that stories and smiles are waiting for her whenever she gets back online; neither one has a time limit or expiration date.

Thanks for passing on her message.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

So what if his partner thought he was just some dumb jock stuck in childhood? Since when did it matter whether she understood him?

To me, that was the crux of the episode, right there.

[lerdo.livejournal.com]

To me, that was the crux of the episode, right there.

We're on the same page. It was weird, though, seeing a "new" ep that was clearly set in Season 2.

[jadeakira.livejournal.com]

The text you used for the cut, would that be from Elsewhere by Sarah McLachlan?

/Random

[obsidianagirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I liked this episode because it was an eye opener about Booth and how Bones makes him feel, intellectually. I loved your take on that scene...THANKS!

Sid