Bones Drabble: "Brittle"

[farmerliz]

In later years, Booth looks back on this time as just about the worst of his life.  That troubles him, really, because he’s fought in two wars, killed countless (except he counts) men for his country, and conquered an addiction.  So what does it say that watching Bones open herself to him just a little more, reach out to him just a little bit too

Comments

[tempertemper]

Oh this is perfect. Ouch.

[farmerliz]

Thank you!

[buffyangellvr23]

*cries*

nice job.

[farmerliz]

Thank you!

[cleaninggirl]

Woah . . . you hit it right on the nail there

[farmerliz]

Thank you! I'd been trying to put my finger on Booth's characterization since I saw "The Couple in the Cave." For once, Brennan is open and it's Booth who's closed off.

[makd]

ITA. totally.

[farmerliz]

Thank you!

[amilyn]

Oh. Oh, SUCH a perfect description of Brennan right now.

Gorgeous.

And the list of what he's done that *should* be worse...so perfect.

[farmerliz]

Thank you so much!

[farmerliz]

Also, love your "Brittle" userpic.

[amilyn]

Thanks! I made that before SJA was greenlighted. I love that moment when she's walking away, so deliberately, every step clearly painful, every breath coldly painful, clearly trying so hard to convince herself that she's making the right decision and doing the right thing. And the appearance of K-9 behind the TARDIS, that bittersweet moment when it gets a little better and her chest can expand without pain, even if the wistful regrets still tug at her. I LOVED that ending for that ep. LOVED.

And that...that's what I feel (as you did so well in this drabble) about this season so far...that bittersweet wistfulness and pain are laced through both of them so far...Booth's anger that it's the Wrong Time and over the missed opportunities and her bad timing...Brennan's oh-so-painful attempts to be happy for him while realizing that the life she's living is exactly what she planned and expected...and is very, very lonely.

[ayiana]

Oh, this is lovely.

In later years, Booth looks back on this time as just about the worst of his life.

I totally buy this. Because yeah, this is so, so hard on both of them.

He’s happy, dammit, so how can he explain that her brittle smile leaves him cracked in a thousand places?

Do you think he really sees that she's hurting? Or has he blocked all of that out in his quest to move on? They so rarely even look at each other now. Booth is doing interrogations without her. She's working at the lab without him. And when they are together, it's like they're looking past each other more often than not (with a few notable exceptions). I'm sure it's because she doesn't want him to see how much she's hurting, and he doesn't want to risk falling back into that connection he's always had with her. So painful.

[farmerliz]

Do you think he really sees that she's hurting? Or has he blocked all of that out in his quest to move on? You know, I think he does see it. Brennan's manic denial is pretty obvious (like when she walked away, slightly hysterical, insisting that Hannah couldn't possibly affect her work), but Booth has some edginess going on, too. He's just better at hiding it, because, let's face it, the end of season 5 was the exception, not the rule. In some ways, he's back to business as usual with a vengeance because he knows that the road he was on late S5, after Brennan's rejection, could only lead to madness. So, yes, he's absolutely acting out of self-preservation, but I think if he didn't see through Brennan to some extant, he wouldn't be Booth

[farmerliz]

Also: Thanks for the feedback! :-)