New Fic: Lost Somewhere in Your Mind

[gabolange]

Title: Lost Somewhere in Your Mind
Universe: Bones
Character/Pairing: Seeley Booth, Temperance Brennan
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Set in the future and assumes knowledge of the series through 6x03.
Word Count: 1,172
Beta: pellucid, who might be amused by my conflicted relationship with punctuation. All errors are mine.
Disclaimer: Bones does not belong to me

Comments

[kita0610]

See, I kinda think they'd be better off this way. It's sad, but honest.

Which is to say I loved the way you told this story.

[gabolange]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

And yeah, there's a part of me that thinks that this ending would be more true to the characters; it might not be happy, but it might be right.

[kita0610]

It's such an unpopular opinion in this fandom, but honestly, the two of them together MAKE NO SENSE to me.

I mean, they're cute and sweet occasionally, but. I have so much platonic love for them. And not much shippy love. I WANT TO. I WANT TO BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

Alas.

[gabolange]

Well, you'll get no judgment from me! And certainly no reason to be like anyone else! :)

The thing that always worked for me with this pairing is, I think, exactly what makes it not work for you: that it doesn't make sense in so many ways. I always enjoyed the idea that this was about the realization that you don't get to choose who you love, and that despite all the reasons it didn't seem to fit him, Booth loved Brennan. And I still feel that way, but only if it ends up being true: he has to love all of her, even her quirky way of thinking about love, or else it isn't really love at all, and the better thing for Brennan--for both of them--will be for her to walk away.

[makd]

Nicely done.

Frankly, much as I love B/B, I am coming around to accepting that Booth's love of her may be on his terms, not something freely given (and accepted), in which case, your scenario may be best for them.

I just don't want her to be lonely - I love the character - so I hope she finds someone who'll accept her for herself, for whatever she "brings to the table".

[gabolange]

Thank you!

I don't want a Booth and Brennan relationship to be only on his terms. For me, that would disrespect Brennan, who has so much to bring and so much to bring and could be great in a relationship--if it's what she wanted, and if it was with someone who accepted her and the way she thinks about the world.

[pellucid]

You know, of course, that I find that this hits exactly the right tone (and that if Booth can't figure out what meeting her halfway means, he doesn't begin to deserve her anyway). I also feel--and I don't think I said this--like this is a story with a happy ending, at least for Brennan. She knows herself and knows what she wants. She isn't running because she's scared; she's refusing to settle for someone who won't accept her as she is, no matter how much she might love him (today) and he her. I will never not cheer for that! (Yet I've just got a pairing icon for them; I think I need one of Brennan looking triumphant alone or something.)

And I noticed something I missed in beta: is it Zack or Zach? I have no idea, but you've got one of each, so you might look up which is correct and then make them match.

[gabolange]

Now that I've had a chance to sit with this for a few days, I agree with you: this is a happy ending for Brennan. And better yet, it's not the only possible happy ending for Brennan: she might take this path and refuse to settle for anything else than full partnership, or Booth might learn what it means to meet in the middle, or someone else might meet her where she is. But yes, I will always cheer for Brennan (and everyone) to stand up for the respect she deserves; just because she isn't like the other girls doesn't mean she shouldn't hold out for someone who loves her precisely as she is.

Yeah, it's Zack. I had them both at Zach, tried to fix it, and missed one. All better now. :)

Here's a great Brennan triumphant icon! :)

[kita0610]

Ok, I promise I am not being snarky. PROMISE. But...what?

He gave her YEARS to - do/be whatever she needed and she rebuffed him at every turn. I don't blame him for finding someone else. I never saw him say she had to be one way or the highway, all I heard was a desire to have someone who can promise to try and love him for the rest of his life- that's really not asking anything out of the ordinary.

[pellucid]

I would basically echo what gabolange said above: what Booth wants isn't out of the ordinary, but then again, Brennan isn't particularly ordinary, and in this particular case, he may not be able to have his cake and eat it (that is, have Brennan and also have marriage and forever). I think the fundamental difference I see between the ways each of them face their relationship is that Brennan has always been pretty straightforward about what she thinks about all these questions: she doesn't believe in love, she doesn't want to get married, she has rebuffed Booth at every turn, as you say. It's not like this is news to him. Yet he still expects that she's going to change her mind somehow, if he just wears her down or is patient enough or whatever. And I find that a slightly frustrating attitude of his. If he hasn't figured out by now that this is who she is, and he can either accept her like that or decide he can't, then he hasn't been paying attention. So they are at an impasse: someone has to compromise on this, or it is an irreconcilable

[zinke]

Umm....ouch. That said however, this rings very true for me. In some ways, I think this is the only resolution between them that can make sense. Bittersweet, but true.

[gabolange]

Yeah, that was kind of how I felt as I wrote it: it hurt a bit, because I really do like the idea of them together. But it might be more true to both characters if it doesn't work, not because they don't love each other, but because the way they think about, define, and experience love is so different.

[mystizan]

u abt broke my heart with ur final sentence, but this was an engaging piece.

[gabolange]

Thank you for commenting! I'm glad you found the story engaging, even if it was heart crushing.

[mystizan]

ur welcome :)