#zack addy x seeley booth | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

greycoffee · 2 months

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Take My Hand, Give Me Your Soul and Fire

Pairing: Zack Addy/Seeley Booth

Summary: A rewrite based on 1x09 The Man in the Fallout Shelter where Zack finds it odd that he keeps bumping into Booth at every turn even though they're locked down in the lab. He discovers something about himself while observing him.

Part: 1/3

Word count: 4.5k

Song: Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol

My bones ache, my skin feels cold

And I’m getting so tired and so old

Zack winces as the needle pricks his buttock. He isn’t the biggest fan of getting shots but, if it means not dying of Valley fever, then he can set aside his feelings for the pointed instrument momentarily. He slides his pants back up, not that he had lowered them much, and glances awkwardly between his colleagues and the floor as they talk about what to do next now that they’re aware of side effects or symptoms they should look out for.

For now, they’re told to get some rest. Hal, the head of the hazmat team, bids them a good night and reasures them not to be too worried before packing up the equipment. Once they leave the medico-legal lab, it’s his team’s turn to complain about their ruined holiday plans. Well, everyone except for one person.

“You know what?” Booth says humorously. “I’ve never realized how pretty all this shiny stuff is.”

The others watch him with mixed feelings of awe and jealousy solely for the fact that Booth is the only one with the preferable side effects. There’s not much that they can do other than discuss how they should get some sleep and then regroup in the morning to examine the unidentified remains now that they have the time to do so. Once the sleeping bags are brought in, everyone grabs a sleeping bag before dispersing to their little nooks.

Hodgins claps the back of Zack’s shoulder. “I’m calling our workstation if you want to bunk with me.”

Zack doesn’t say anything but nods as he considers taking Hodgins’ offer, it’s the most logical seeing as they’re closer and more accustomed to each other’s presence. Plus, they’ve shared the same sleeping area before after having a few too many drinks while watching anticipated basketball games. There was no other reason as to why he shouldn’t.

He’s ready to follow Hodgins and grab a sleeping bag from the lone pile when his eyes latch on to the only other person who’s been quietly staring at the lab’s light fixtures. Booth turns away from the twinkling lights and locks eyes with him, the doltish smile still plastered across his face. Panic shoots up Zack’s chest and bubbles at the cusp of his throat as he looks for something to say.

Booth is acknowledging him, and although he might not be saying anything he’s maintaining eye contact, which is something he isn’t used to. He feels like he’s under some kind of spotlight.

“You see this?” Booth asks him as glances back at the lights, his eyes speckled with their reflection. “Wow, I mean these are… beautiful.”

Zack’s fingers twitch from where they hang uselessly by his side. His eyes flit from one side of the lab to the other in a last-ditch effort at shifting Booth’s attention from him onto something else. There’s no one else in the lab other than the two of them.

“Uh, Agent Booth?”

All he receives is a noncommittal, “Yeah?”

“Shouldn’t you be with Dr. Brennan?”

At the mention of the anthropologist’s name, Booth turns, his brown eyes on him once more.

“Bones?” he asks. Zack nods. “Should I be?”

“I suppose not, but you always accompany her wherever she goes.”

Booth lightly scoffs. “No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do,” he refutes. He’s not sure where his sudden burst of dissent is coming from but it doesn’t burrow itself back down immediately. “You tend to seek her out whenever you’re assigned to a case that requires the Jeffersonian’s resources.”

“Because the FBI and the Jeffersonian have an agreement.”

Zack shakes his head. “Although that’s true you never seek the others. You always seek out Dr. Brennan specifically.”

Booth’s eyes shift and there’s an odd emotion in them Zack can’t quite identify (not that he can recognize most of the looks people give him anyway). All he knows is Booth would never give him this type of look during their regular, albeit limited, interactions.

“Yeah well,” Booth scratches at the corner of his mouth and sniffs, “Dr. Goodman assigned her as the leader of your squint team, she’s the most qualified to be in and out of the field when it comes to our joint forces… we work well together.”

“We as in?”

“The FBI and the Jeffersonian,” Booth says quickly with an awkward smile.

Zack doesn’t know what to make of that so he agrees. “Right.”

“Right.”

Booth goes back to staring at the lights. Zack sighs and makes up his mind to get the man’s attention again. He carefully makes his way over and lays a hand on Booth’s arm. It works and he earns a mildly confused Booth staring at the sudden touch.

“Let’s go find Dr.Brennan,” he says with much effort. Zack feels like his heart’s going to shoot out of his chest; he’s sure Booth would be able to pinpoint his location with the sound alone if he had a gun trained on him in a dark room. “She’ll know what to do with you and I’ll get to keep all of my fingers.”

“Why wouldn’t you keep all of your fingers?” he asks, genuinely confused.

“Because I’m laying them on you?”

Booth’s eyes soften.“You know I don’t mean it when I threaten you and Hodgins, right? I’d never hurt you.”

Zack almost wishes the agent would threaten to shoot him and stuff his lanky body somewhere obscure where no one would find him. However, something inside of him grows fond of this side of Booth he’s never let him see and he learns why. It isn’t difficult to develop some kind of soft spot for him.

The corners of his lips twitch upward. “Of course I do.”

Booth returns his attention to look ahead of them, his eyes following the lights from time to time as they make their way to Brennan’s office. Zack’s sure he hears the FBI agent mutter some things under his breath but pays no attention to his hallucinogenic ramblings; he’s focused on getting Booth to Brennan in one piece and bruiseless… if only Booth could stop looking up at the lights every five seconds.

“Where are you going?”

“To the restroom,” Zack answers, showing Hodgins the packaged toothbrush and toothpaste they were provided with. “I just remembered that I haven’t brushed my teeth.”

Hodgins made a sound of acknowledgment before settling comfortably into his sleeping bag and tucking the fabric beneath his arms.

“If you find any eggnog that managed to survive the bone dust, bring it over.”

Zack gives a short laugh. “No promises.”

He can practically hear Hodgins roll his eyes and takes that as his cue to leave before he gets something thrown at the back of his head.

The bathroom’s empty like it typically is even in hours of service. Still, Zack waits a few seconds to see if anyone’s inside before walking over to a sink and running his toothbrush under the faucet. The bristles are harsh on his gums but he powers through it finding that he’ll find it considerably worse if he doesn’t brush at all.

He rests a palm on the cold counter and leans into it, humming to himself as he gets into every crevice that he can. Zack rolls his head onto his shoulder and eases into the peaceful quiet especially after the commotion where everyone had been so quick to point the finger at one another. The quiet felt duly needed and he’s grateful for it.

However, as if a testament to his dwindling luck, the door to the restroom opens and Zack looks up at the mirror to see a quiet and mild-tempered Booth waltzing in. Well, the mild-tempered part doesn’t last for long as the man’s entire demeanor changes the second he realizes he isn’t alone inside the men’s restroom. Zack almost finds it endearing actually. The sudden change in conduct reminds him of his sister’s golden retriever when he returns home for the holidays: bright, captivating eyes, perked ears, and a wagging tail that smacks him when she begs for pets.

No, he reminds himself. Booth isn’t a dog and he doesn’t have a tail — but if he did, it would definitely be wagging, he concludes.

“Zack,” the man breathes out a sigh of… relief?

Zack quickly looks away from the mirror to spit in the sink. “Booth, what are you doing here?”

“I was looking for —” he stops to look for the right words to say “— the restroom.”

Zack cups a hand of water and rinses out the toothpaste before using the sleeve of his graphic tee to wipe away the remaining water that clung to the corners of his mouth.

“Well, I just finished up here.” He finds that he can’t keep the eye contact Booth’s been so insistent on holding with him anymore and he looks down at the wet sink. “Restroom’s all yours.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m not rushing you.”

He rinses his brush and taps it against the edge of the basin all the while stealing a glance at Booth; he finds it odd that the man hasn’t moved. Zack decides to crack a little joke with Booth and see where he is in terms of reality while putting his toiletries away. No one really knows how long it’ll take for the effects to wear off.

“So, did you finally wear Dr. Brennan’s patience down or did Angela kick you out?”

No response.

Okay, maybe Booth’s back to ignoring him. That’s fine with him, he knows what to do when Booth isn’t acknowledging him anyway. It’s clockwork.

“I’m sorry by the way,” he muses. “I didn’t mean to blame you for keeping us here at the lab, I was just annoyed that you brought something for Brennan to —”

The sound of footsteps causes him to look up at the mirror and see Booth approaching him. There’s something off about him, an indecipherable look in his eyes. It’s quick, like the snap of a rubber band tenfold, but noticeable all the same. Zack barely has any time to turn around and face him by the time Booth’s standing directly in front of him, the proximity of his broad chest making him take a step back until he’s met with the cold countertop digging into his lower back. His eyes snap up to meet Booth’s own, who are watching him curiously.

“Why do you keep bringing up Bones?”

Zack feels like prey being stared down by a predator, save for the fear that would usually be instilled in the prey, he feels small. There was something else deep within him. The sensation roiling in his abdomen wasn’t dread he knew that much, but it was disquieting nonetheless. He swallows anxiously and the motion triggers something in the man in front of him.

Booth leans in closer and Zack feels his chest press against his own. It’s warm unlike the room they’re in, the dichotomy between his warmth and the cold marble drove him crazy, like a circuit on the fritz. He quickly shot his hands up and put them between them to stop the sensation. His palms pressed against Booth’s shirt while the pads of his fingers connected with exposed skin just above the seams. The feeling crackles and burns his fingers like exposed wire.

It did nothing to calm the feeling.

“Dr. Brennan this. Dr. Brennan that.” Booth’s breath fans over his cheek as he leans down, his arms caging Zack in. “You’re driving me crazy.”

Zack finds it odd that Booth’s breath is fresh and minty. He assumed Booth had also forgotten to brush his teeth, like he had, and had therefore entered the restroom to do so but now he isn’t sure.

“I’m sorry,” he pushes through a single breath and squeezes his eyes shut. “I just thought that, since the two of you work together, you’d appreciate spending more time with her. I’m surprised you’ve even acknowledged me for this long.”

“I already spend enough time with her during work, Zack.” His body trembles at the way his name sounds coming from Booth’s lips. “Ever thought that maybe I felt intimidated by you? All that knowledge stored inside that pretty little head of yours and I don’t know what to say without making a fool out of myself in front of you?”

Zack blinks. Huh?

Before he can ask what he meant, ask for some type of clarification, Booth withdraws his arms and takes a step back. Zack feels his skin prickle at the cold that rushes over him and finds that he misses the warmth, the way his body felt pressed against Booth’s, he craves its comfort and pulls closer — he snaps himself out of his thoughts and looks up to see that Booth is still standing close, brown eyes dark and piercing. His body betrays him and he shivers.

They stand there, looking at each other for a few moments, when Zack finally gains the ability to speak.

“It’s late,” he whispers. Booth nods. “I told Hodgins I was only going to go brush my teeth. He’s probably taken my sleeping bag hostage by now.”

Booth blinks and his gaze softens. “You were getting ready for bed?”

Zack nods, not fully trusting his voice.

“Sorry for keeping you up.”

Heat rushes up Zack’s face, he’s unsure why. He wants to jump off of the Jeffersonian’s roof.

“It’s okay.”

“What’s he doing here?”

Hodgins is no longer inside his sleeping bag by the time the two of them get back to the shared sleeping space. It looks as though his friend had been ready to go looking for him if he hadn’t come back the moment he had… he isn’t even sure how he’d attempt to explain why Booth had pinned him against the bathroom counter if he had found them. In all honesty, he still isn’t sure how to explain it to himself.

Some sort of display of dominance? Zack’s already seen Booth do that on a few occasions but he’s proven his dominance over him on multiple occasions through a multitude of ways. This time it felt different.

Ugh, he really — really — wants to jump off of the Jeffersonian’s roof. Lucky, or rather unlucky for him, they’re in quarantine and he didn’t have access to it.

“He followed me here,” he whispers to Hodgins as he makes his way over to his sleeping bag.

“You know I’m just high, not deaf, right?”

“Shut it, Shrooms.” Hodgins points at him and then shoots a mildly annoyed look at Zack. “I can’t believe out of all of us he’s the one who gets to be blissfully stoned out of his mind.”

So far, from how he’s seen Booth act, Zack’s not sure he wants to be blissed out of his mind. He’d rather be in control of himself, thank you very much.

Booth walks over to a shelf stocked full of all sorts of equipment and pulls something out of its proper place. He turns it over in his hands, reading the label if it has one before putting it back to grab something else. If it doesn’t have a label he proceeds to ask Hodgins, who only has so much patience before he’s itching at the band on his wrist, what it is. Zack steps in and answers a few of Booth’s questions to diffuse the situation.

Booth grows quiet for a few moments… before moving onto the next shelf and pulling something else to examine. Zack goes to take it out of his hand and shush him before he can ask but he’s too late.

“So what does this –”

“Alright, out.” Hodgins shoots up into a seated position. “Both of you need to go find somewhere else to sleep.”

Zack scrunches his brow in confusion. “Both of us? C’mon —”

“Yes, both of you. You brought your little friend here and he’s worn my patience down enough.”

Zack groans and, not wanting to put up a fight, pulls both his sleeping bag and pillow off of the observation table. He doesn’t even attempt to roll it back up and lets it drag across the floor as he makes his way to the door. When he doesn’t hear footsteps behind him, Zack turns to look at Booth and glares at him.

“You heard him.”

Booth falls into step with him. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to my office.”

“You have an office?”

“Kinf of… not really,” he says as he tries to find the right words to use. “I call it my office but it’s more of a workstation than an actual office. There’s a couch thrown in there by the Jeffersonian but it’s nothing like Dr. Brennan’s.”

“Huh. For some reason, I never entertained the idea that you'd have an office.”

Zack spares him a glance. “Not sure why you’d waste a second of your day wondering if I had an office or not.”

Booth hums as if reminding himself of something. “Right.”

Zack looks up to see him staring straight ahead, a pensive notch carved on his brow. He decides not to question what that look meant, it’s far too late and Booth’s been enough of a pain in the ass as of tonight. He just wants to sleep and hopes that somehow they will all be given the green light to go home when they wake in the morning.

Zack smiles at the sight of his ‘office’ door and pushes it. Thankfully, it’s a part of the quarantine zone and it opens without much resistance. Booth follows close behind and gives a quick look around, not that there’s much to look at.

He doesn’t have much in there, not many personal things at least. He keeps most of his belongings in his apartment, of course, but a few things are scattered throughout his workspace like his favorite books mixed in with research texts and trinkets from shows or comics he enjoys. Besides that, he has a throw pillow his little brother made him a few years back when he first moved out to DC. It was one of the first sewing projects he made in his art class that had sturdy enough stitches in it to have not fallen apart during the move. He makes his way over to the couch and fluffs the pillow before returning it to its rightful spot.

Right, they still need to figure sleeping arrangements out. There’s enough room for Booth to set up his sleeping bag parallel to the couch if he moves the cart of tools closer to the shelf. Zack turns to instruct him to do as such when he realizes a crucial detail.

“Where’s your sleeping bag?”

“My what?” Booth’s confusion only serves to raise Zack’s eyebrows… until he remembers and snaps his fingers. “Oh right, I left it with your boss.”

“You left it with Dr. Brennan?”

He shakes his head. “Your boss’ boss.”

Was that who Booth was with prior to finding him in the restroom? He hadn’t spoken much with the others after they had all gone their separate ways but it wasn’t too far of an assumption that Booth would’ve bunked with Dr. Goodman; Booth never did fit the type of person that likes being alone.

“If you left it with Dr. Goodman, then why aren’t you with him?”

“I – good question – I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Eh.”

Zack smacks a hand over his face. “Okay well you can either return to Goodman so you can sleep in your own sleeping bag, or –” he raises the sleeping bag “– you can stay here and take mine.”

The gesture surprises both him and Booth. He’s not sure why he’s giving Booth an option; knowing Booth, he would take the option to spend as little time with the socially awkward assistant anthropologist. But this new side of Booth? Zack isn’t sure what he’d do now… and he’s a little curious as to what he’ll do. Besides he would feel bad for kicking him out after Hodgins had done the same.

“You’re letting me bunk with you?”

Zack shrugs and furthers the man into making a decision by motioning Booth to take the lump of fabric in his hand. “I’m being nice and letting you take this rather than the cramped couch.”

Booth smiles in that dopey way he’s been doing since receiving the shot. Even his eyes have this odd attentiveness to Zack in a way he’s still not used to… he’s not quite sure what to make of it or how it’s related to the side effects of the shot.

“You are nice.”

Zack’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “That’s what I just said?”

“I –” Booth sighs and fails to continue his thought before taking the sleeping bag. “Never mind.”

Silence falls over them as they tend to their sleeping arrangements. Zack plops the pillow on one end before dropping himself onto the couch and hugging his brother’s throw pillow to his chest. He stares up at the ceiling and listens as Booth zips himself into the sleeping bag, the rustling fading as he settles into it.

“These are far more comfortable than the army–mandated ones we got in Kosovo.”

Zack stays quiet for a good second before something in him prompts him to blurt out: “Army–mandated?”

“Yeah —” he hears Booth take a deep breath “— we never got much sleep but when we did, and if we were lucky, we’d get a few hours of sleep in these really thin sleeping bags. We were extremely lucky to even get them sometimes.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“It was terrible,” he chuckles quietly. “You wouldn’t believe the places we used to get some shut-eye.”

“Try me. I’ll listen,” Zack says quietly when he doesn’t say anything else. Booth looks up and they lock eyes, curious eyes chipping at his to find some answer. “Where else did you sleep?”

A faint smile graces Booth’s lips.

“Anywhere we could. We’d sleep inside our operation vehicles, sometimes on or under them. Depending on where we were, sometimes we’d dig a trench and bunk there. And sometimes, if you wanted some space away from the others, you would go look for an isolated spot in some shrubbery or other foliage.”

“What if you overslept? Wouldn’t you be left behind?”

“Yeah, well… it happened to me once.”

Zack turns on his side and peers over the edge with an alarmed look on his face. “What?”

Booth snorts, entertained by his outrage. “I mean yeah, but they found me not long after. I woke up to see the OV gone and none of my teammates there.”

“Weren’t you terrified?”

Booth’s eyes flit to the ceiling above them. “Of course I was. We were close to enemy territory and we had been very close to being spotted a few times but we toughed up, we pulled through. We were trained for those kinds of situations.”

“I’m assuming you found each other again.”

“Maybe half an hour later they realized I wasn’t in the vehicle and they hauled ass to turn around and find me.”

Zack feels the need to lighten up the mood a bit. He’s sure that what Booth just told him is something extremely personal that’s probably left him feeling vulnerable, so telling him a story from his own past might be helpful. From what Angela’s told him about interacting with other people, replicating conversation or body language is beneficial to forming a connection with someone. It wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot.

“One time when I was twelve, my brother thought it would be funny to prank me by taking me out of our shared tent and leaving me out on an open field in the middle of January.”

Booth does this sound like he doesn’t know if he should laugh but does anyway. “Older brother?”

“Third oldest, just by three years.”

“Sounds about right. Older brothers can be a pain in the ass like that.” The smile on Booth’s face turns mischievous. “So what happened?”

“Luckily we were only camping in the woods behind our house, but he pulled out the air mattress I was on and packed everything up just before breakfast was called,” he explains and stops for a second to brace himself. He’s not sure why he feels embarrassed telling him now and curls into the pillow. “I woke up buried in a pile of blankets and snow with a deer licking my face.”

Booth breaks out into a fit of laughter and Zack feels his face burn hot. He presses his face against the pillow in a poor attempt to hide it. Rarely does he see Booth this talkative and unabashedly open so hearing his boisterous laughter tugs at something in his chest.

“I just thought of the perfect nickname for you and it’s better than Mini Bones,” he says between gasps of air. “It’s perfect.”

Zack’s aware of that nickname, Booth’s called him as such before and he found no offense to it. If anything, it was an honor, he is her assistant after all. (Even if the name was at the expense of Dr. Brennan.) Still, he’s intrigued as to what Booth could’ve come up with so quickly.

“You did?”

Booth tilts his head away, stifling (poorly, may he add) more laughter. It’s an odd gesture to do, seeing as he’s already laughed a couple of times inside the enclosed space, but Zack says nothing and studies his features. The stretch of his neck, the slight crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes, the lightly scarred tissue stretched over his knuckles and forearm as he hides his laughs behind his hand, the scrunching of his nose. He takes it all in.

He knows this won’t last. The effects of the shot will wear off by morning and everything will go back to normal. Booth will go back to ignoring him and Zack will go back to stealing little glances when they share the den during cases.

“You ready for it?” Booth regains enough breath and turns to look at him with teary eyes. “Bambi!”

Zack groans and rolls onto his back. He takes it back, he really hopes it goes back to normal after tonight so Booth wouldn’t have to call him that.

“Oh, c’mon it’s great!”

“I should’ve taken you back to Dr. Goodman. Let him deal with you.”

“Don’t be mean, Bambi.”

“Do not call me Bambi, it’s demeaning. I’m a Ph.D. student and deserve the utmost respect.”

“But you look just like him: lanky, fluffy hair, big brown eyes, long eyelashes… all the reason to call you Bambi,” he teases with a stupidly charming grin. “Y’know, you’re cute when you’re annoyed.”

Zack freezes, astounded by the comment, and unsure how to respond to something like that. Booth just said he’s cute — scratch that — he said he’s cute when he’s annoyed. He’s merely saying this to get a rise out of him. Zack opens his mouth to tell him just that but finds that Booth has already closed his eyes and is humming to himself, the notes later replaced with soft breathing within a matter of seconds.

“Booth?” Zack asks and receives a soft grunt. He can’t help but smile softly. You only have tonight, he reminds himself. And that’s fine. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Bambi.”

#bones tv #zack addy #seeley booth #forced proximity #literal sleeping together #light angst #like its barely there #getting together #getting to know each other #zack addy x seeley booth

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incorrect-multiverse · 11 months

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Booth: Can I be frank with you guys?

Brennan: Sure, but I don’t see how changing your name is going to help.

Zack: Can I still be Zack?

Hodgins: Shhh, let Frank speak.

#incorrect multiverse #incorrect quotes #source: tumblr #bones tv #seeley booth #temperance brennan #zack addy #jack hodgins #booth x bones #hodgins know the expression he just wants to give booth grey hairs

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shelbgrey · 4 months

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Can you do a Zack Addy x gn reader where reader goes to the Jeffersonian to bring him food and eat with him and everyone is confused because they didn't know Zack had a partner please?

Who's got him smiling like that?(Zack Addy)

Paring: Zack Addy x reader.

Summary: while y/n has lunch with their boyfriend Zack, the Jeffersonian tries to figure out what's going on between the two of them.

A/n: sorry this took so long and that it's shorter than my usual content. I hope you enjoy though.

MasterList

Seeley, Cam, Temperance, and Angela looked down from the balcony on the second floor of the lab. They leaned against the railing confused as they watched Zack laughing with y/n while they ate the lunch y/n brought.

“gotta be a sibling” Booth said, rubbing his hands together. In his eyes Zack was just a child genius that didn't have time to date.

“all of Dr. Addy's siblings are in New Jersey, but that could be a possibility,” Brennan said, looking at Booth then back down at Zack. Something about seeing Zack laughing like that with this beautiful person made her heart swell with happiness.

“Maybe it's just a friend,” Cam shrugged.

“No. I've never seen him laugh like that, he's definitely in love with whoever that is” Angela smiled. She felt so happy seeing him laugh. She could tell all that mattered to him tight now was y/n.

--------(1st pov)--------

“So, how's work?” I asked, nibbling on the last of my fries.

Zack nodded, munching on his onion rings. “well we found some very interesting set of particulates, something neither me nor Hodgins have seen on a victim before, and the humerus…” he stopped mid sentence.

Even though I never really understood all the science mumbo-jumbo I still like hearing him talk about it. There's something about seeing him get all excited and talk about something he's passionate about.

“no, no, keep going. I love it when you talk Science-y” I said resting my chin on my fist.

“'Science-y' isn't a word… And it's fine” Zack said, putting the rapper his burger came in and his napkin in the brown paper bag. “on another note, how's everything in the animal kingdom?”

I worked at the local animal shelter in town, it was an amazing job and I got work and take care of all kinds of dogs and cats. “well… Now that you mention it…” I started and gave him an innocent look. Zack tilted his head and gave me a warning look. “no! I know that look” he said, pointing his finger at me.

“Aw, but he was so cute”

“we already have two dogs... And a cat, that cat still dislikes me” he mumbled the last part.

“It's a small dog though,” I said, giving him a pouty lip. “it's a weiner dog mix, he'll stay tiny” we already had a black lab and a golden retriever, then on top of that I brought home a white cat home three months ago.

Zack playfully rolled his eyes. He always said he admired my love for all animals and loved how compassionate I was for all of them. Not so much when I keep bringing my ‘work’ home with me as he says.

“just imagine a cute little sausage dog curled up in your lap, helping you read Science stuff for work”

Zack sighed playfully.

“I'll let you name him” I smiled and gave him the puppy eyes he can't refuse. He sighed again. “don't give me the look”

“Please”

Zack groaned in a very monaton way. “... Fine”

I immediately wrapped my arms around him and kissed his forehead. “thank you babe”

~~~~~~~~(.......)~~~~~~~~

“what are you doing?” Hodgins asked, walking up to the others. He looked over the balcony to see what everyone was staring at. He smiled when he saw y/n and Zack together.

“trying to figure out who's with Addy,” Booth said.

“Oh, that's y/n” Hodgins smiled.

Everyone gave Hodgins a confused look as Hodgins yelled down at the couple “Hi y/n!”

Y/n left Zack's arms and happily waved at Zack's best friend. “hey, Hodgins”

“soo… Who's y/n?” Angela asked Hodgins.

“Zack's partner” Hodgins smiled like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“your telling me Zack… Our little child prodigy is y/n's boyfriend” Booth asked, shocked but at the same time impressed Zack snatched up a beautiful person like y/n.

“trust me I didn't even know y/n existed until Zack tried to seek them in one night when he was still living with me” Hodgins said.

“Well, y/n seems to make him happy,” Cam smiled down at the couple.

“y/n's great… Zack just seems so much happier now”

The team smiled at the couple, Zack and y/n were in there own little world talking about the knew puppy and the case Zack was working on. Hodgins was right, he was so much happier with y/n in his life, he felt more alive and human. He just couldn't help but smile everytime he was in y/n's presents.

#Zack Addy #Zack Addy x reader #Zack Addy imagines #Bones x reader #Bones imagines #Bones TV show #Jeffersonian #Seeley Booth #Temperance Brennan #Jack Hodgins #Angela Montenegro #Camille Saroyan

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the-creative-lie · 7 months

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listen i know theres no demand for it but ive been rewatching bones and i *need* to write for dr zack addy

#zack addy x reader #bonestv #zack addy #temperance brennan #seeley booth #jack hodgins #angela montenegro #lance sweets #camille saroyan

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cupidmydarling · 10 months

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I need more Bones fanfic for literally anyone. There's just not enough. It's outrageous.

#bones tv #temperance brennan #seeley booth #special agent seeley booth #temperance brennan x reader #doctor brennan #bones #zack addy #zack addy x reader #jack hodgins #jack hodgins x reader #angela montenegro #camille saroyan #jeffersonian #Vincent Nigel-Murray #Wendell Bray

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insidethejeffersonian · 4 months

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#bones tv #bonestv #bones (2005)#temperance brennan #bones on fox #emily deschanel #seeley booth #booth x bones #david boreanaz #zack addy #eric millegan

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breakingbranchesbella · 6 days

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The BAU team, nbc’s Hannibal crew, and the Jeffersonian team as incorrect quotes

+ Cassandra Lorayne, an original character from my Criminal Minds, Hannibal, Bones, etc crossover fanfic! Found on my blog.

#criminal minds #bones tv #hannibal #dr spencer reid #spencer reid #jason gideon #hannibal lecter #will graham #seeley booth #david rossi #derek morgan #temperance brennan #montenegro #zack addy #elle greenaway #oc #x reader

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idkimrllynerdy · 2 years

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➝ Bones characters as this audio.

Booth: Oh, we’re like a big, happy family! And, I’m the dad, and Bones is the mom!

Brennan: Why am I the mom? What gender roles are we pushing here?

Zack: I know they’re probably thinking I’m like the son, but I’m not. I’ll be the gay, emo cousin.

Sweets: I will be the son! The hotshot whose only dream.. is to be a star.

Hodgins: I feel like I’d be a fresh-out-of-jail uncle.

Angela: And I’m the sassy aunt who talks shit about everybody.

#i’m on a bones kick #and i’ll could think of when i heard this audio was them #so enjoy #bones #bones tv #seeley booth #temperance brennan #zack addy #lance sweets #jack hodgins #angela montenegro #brennan x booth #booth x brennan #*idkimrllynerdyedit

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queen-of-the-lab-447 · 3 months

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How it feels looking at other tv options that aren’t #bones

#zackaddy

#bones #jack hodgins #zack addy #temperance brennan #bones tv #seeley booth #booth x brennan

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number-0-iz · 1 year

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I made a Bones discord server so if you want to join, let me know!

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vino---delectable · 1 month

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Our unintelligent squint (Ep 1, part 1/?)

Summary: the beginning of the pilot case, Zack chickens out speaking about the new intern.

Character pairings: Zack x reader, Booth x Brennan, Angela x Hodgins

Word count: 4.6k

Warnings: none

A/N: yay!! I told you I'd get to it! Btw, none of the sayings that don't have anything to do with y/n, or anything that goes to the case obviously don't belong to me.... I just find them necessary for my fic! If you haven't read my prologue, there is going to be a link at the bottom of the chapter. Enjoy!

[No one's pov]

It was late in the night. Zack and Dr. Brennan were still outside at the crime scene, Brennan looking over the remains, and Zack was shooting pictures. They felt in their hair a warm moist breeze blowing from the pond.

Dr. Brennan started speaking in her usual direct tone, "Remains are wrapped in four milled, flat poly-construction sheeting."

"PVC coated chicken wire," Zack added.

Brennan lifts the tarp, "weighted," She looks over the muddy remains, "That's why the body didn't surface during decomposition. The skeleton is complete but the skull is in fragments."

Booth rushes in to ask, "what can you tell me?"

"Not much," Brennan says, a little disappointed, "She was a young woman, probably between-," she takes a small breath, thinking over her best factual guess,"18 and 22, approximately 5'3, race unknown, delicate features."

"That's all?" Booth said, being sarcastic.

Brennan did a shrugging gesture with her hand. "Tennis player," she said.

"How do you get a pretty tennis player out of that yuck?" Booth sounded a little irritated.

"Epiphyses fusion gives age, pelvic bone shape gives sex…" Zack stated factually.

Brennan took over and said, looking over the spot on the body's shoulder, "Bursitis in the shoulder… Somebody this young, must be an athletic injury."

"when did she die?" Booth said wanting more facts. Also wanting to skip past her reasoning.

"Eeehhh," was the quick response.

"Eeehhh," was the even quicker, mocking response, "what does that even mean," he says in a frustrated manner.

Zack responds defensively toward Booth while simultaneously snapping another photo, "it means wait until our bug and slime guy takes a look," the light shines everywhere for a brief second, secretly flashing Booth in the eye.

"No clothing." Dr. Brennan notices.

"well you know, in my line of work, No clothes usually means a sex crime." Says Booth, acting like he knows the situation

And Dr. Brennan gives more insight, "In my line of work, it could also mean the victim favored natural fibers."

Zack speaks to Booth to demonstrate, making it an unknowing comeback, and walking around trying to get more angles, "your suit, for example, will outlast your bones by decades." Booth clearly couldn't tell, because he doesn't know this "squint," that Zack secretly had something on his mind. Brennan noticed, she's noticed it all that day… She just didn't know how to respond to it, so she focused on her work more intently, pretending not to notice.

"collect silt," Brennan orders to Zack, pushing herself up to her feet, "Three meters radius, to a depth of ten cm."

This time, right after taking another shot of the body, he looks at her anxiously and quickly. Before she gives Booth permission for the forensics team, she has to pause herself mid way, as he approaches closely to her.

"Mr. Addy, is there something that you need to say, because there's work to be done?" Brennan was startlingly frustrated, she clearly wanted things done quick and a hurry.

Zack gets in a whispering position, "you know about the new intern you wanted working beside me?"

"Yes, and I hired one. Miss y/n y/l/n. She starts tomorrow morning. I only did it because she was the only one you full heartedly recommended last year."

"Mm." Zack tried to hold in being squeamish, "I did. But are you completely sure of her qualifications for thi-"

"Are you saying you made a mistake in saying that she was the best interview you had? Because I gave you the assignment of hiring another intern with hopes that you would be the one to find one that matches all the qualifications yourself, it was also to test your true reasoning, and good decision making, for those are the type of people fit to work at the Jeffersonian. If you were being lazy, or unsure, means I was wrong, and you weren't really ready. Is this what you're trying to tell me?" Well, she's not one to beat around the bush.

Zack thought, swallowed the lump in his throat, and replied rather standoffishly, "No, Dr. Brennan. I have no doubt in Ms. y/l/n's intelligence, expertise, capabilities and ambitions. I just hope I was right , and didn't look over her resume or personal background too soon."

"Well, that's rather unlike you Mr. Addy. You need to adjust your self confidence to match your work." She turns and informs Booth that the forensic team can take the Plastic and chicken wire.

"Yes Dr. Brennan." Zack sighs, mainly to himself. Now that he pushed himself into it. He had to fix this. This means he must do his best to see y/n first thing , before anyone else gets the chance to. He has to, before it is made known what he hired into the Jeffersonian…

(Click for prologue)

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byersbootyshorts · 1 year

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Bones Masterlist

Requests for this fandom are currently closed

Any of my works marked * contain explicit sexual content. Minors DNI

Zack Addy:

One shots:

The Breakfast Anomaly After a long week at work you decide to start your day off by making breakfast for Zack. But when he tries to help you it takes a disastrous turn.

Blurbs:

Comforting Zack when he’s upset

Lance Sweets:

One shots:

Missed Reservation You and Lance get a little distracted before your Valentine’s Day dinner reservation, meaning you end up having to order takeout.

#bones #bones tv #bones tv show #masterlist #temperance brennan #seeley booth #jack hodgins #angela montenegro #camille saroyan #lance sweets #zack addy #vincent nigel murray #wendell bray #x reader #smut #fluff #angst

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milfbrennan · 3 months

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Everything Good Happens After Midnight (Is It The Club Lights?)

quirky horny bones fanfic is becoming my brand teehee

Everything Good Happens After Midnight - AO3 link (One-shot, 4.2k words)

Characters: Temperance Brennan, Angela Montenegro, Seeley Booth, Camille Saroyan, Jack Hodgins, Zack Addy

Pairings: Temperance Brennan/Camille Saroyan, Temperance Brennan & Angela Montenegro, Jack Hodgins/Angela Montenegro (Background), Seeley Booth/Temperance Brennan (Mentionned/Implied)? Seeley Booth/Camille Saroyan (Past)

Summary: Sometimes, Brennan finds some people attractive. It's important to acknowledge that.

(And sometimes, it feels even more important to ask their alledged partner if it's okay to kiss them because you've had one too many drinks.)

Tags: Chappell Roan's debut album inspired this, Pining, gay as shit, bisexual temperance brennan, big queer polycule vibes coming from these very hot accomplished world renowed female scientists, Humor, Attempt at Humor, In Vino Veritas, Hooking Up With Your Boss, No cheating just raw queer energy in this club, no smut, just a lot of swearing and mild sexual jokes, Making Out, Season/Series 02

#bonestv #temperance brennan #camille saroyan #brennan x cam #angela montenegro #seeley booth #zack addy #jack hodgins #ao3 #fanfic #bones fanfic

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cardassianvole · 3 months

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In this week's blog post, I review the best Bones episode of all time, according to literally everyone -- Aliens in a Spaceship!

No matter how many times I see this episode, it brings me to tears.

#bonestv #bones tv #temperance brennan #seeley booth #booth x brennan #angela montenegro #jack hodgins #zack addy #aliens in a spaceship #bonesblog

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olindabell · 2 years

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The Knight and the Necromancer ch. 2

chapter 2/?: The Start of the Adventure – read on ao3 or below

fandoms: bones x dungeons and dragons

pairings: seeley booth x temperance brennan, jack hodgins x angela montenegro, lance sweets x james aubrey

summary: when a cannibalised skull is thrown from a bridge in waterdeep, necromancer temperance brennan and paladin seelie booth are tasked with assembling their adventuring party and hunting down the prime suspect, the lich gormogon.

warnings: general fantasy violence, angst, slow burn, description of dead bodies.

---

‘Do you make a habit of waking people up at the crack of dawn?’ ‘I don’t have to answer that.’ Jameson Aubrezar yawned, a long, loud yawn, his orcish tusks on full display. Booth turned away, stifling his own. ‘Was that a yawn I just saw?’ ‘No.’ Booth’s jaw clenched. ‘Alright, yes, but I was working all night. You know, work? The thing we get paid to do?’

Aubrey chuckled. They were crammed into two little chairs in the foyer of Castle Waterdeep, chairs which were definitely made for rich pansies and skinny servants, not for a human and a half-orc, both in full plate and armed to the teeth, or the tusks. Booth tried to shuffle closer to the gnome sitting beside him and away from Aubrey’s strangely pointy pauldrons. Aubrey yawned, again, and this time, Booth couldn’t hold his in. Aubrey sniggered. ‘Shut up,’ Booth said, through the yawn. ‘I didn’t say anything!’ ‘Seelie Booth?’ A nasally halfling with skin like an old lemon called from across the foyer. ‘The Open Lord of Waterdeep will see you now.’ Booth sprang to his feet, Aubrey glumly trailing behind. Booth turned and said, ‘Stand up straight.’ ‘I’m tired,’ Aubrey moaned. Booth sighed. ‘Can you at least try and look like you enjoy your job?’ ‘I didn’t know when I signed up that I’d have you dragging me out of bed before dawn.’ The halfling cleared his throat pointedly, then knocked on the huge wooden doors leading to the Lord’s office. Booth made a motion like be quiet, then turned, plastered on his serious talking-to-my-boss face, and followed the halfling inside. Piergeiron Paladinson sat behind a ridiculously huge desk in a room made entirely of dark wood and glass. Behind the desk, windows overlooked the city outside, framed in thick, dark purple curtains held aside with gold cord. The left side of the room was crammed with thick historical tomes, while the right side sported two paintings, one of Piergeiron and another of a bloody battlefield, an alter to Piergeiron’s god Tyr between them. The room smelt faintly of pipe smoke and incense. The Open Lord of Waterdeep watched them enter with his sharp black eyes, his fingers steepled and elbows on the desk before him. He was draped in diplomatic clothes instead of armour, dark purple and white robes with gold trim and a red collar. Booth strode to the desk and held out his hand, and Piergeiron grasped it and shook it firmly. ‘Please, sit,’ the Lord said, gesturing to the chairs before the desk. Booth and Aubrey sat, armour squeaking. Piergeiron said, ‘So, this skull.’ ‘Bones completed a preliminary examination during the night,’ Booth said. ‘She found evidence of cannibalism, sir.’ Aubrey paled. The Lord said, ‘Is she certain of this?’ ‘I’m afraid so. Her assistant, Mage Zackryn Addlepatch, agreed with her findings.’ ‘I see.’ Piergeiron pressed his steepled fingers to his chin, his eyes fading into the distance, and fell silent. Aubrey raised his eyebrows. Booth gestured be quiet again. Aubrey rolled his eyes. Booth kicked him. It was a good kick, right under the greave, to the soft part of Aubrey’s ankle. The half-orc screwed up his nose but said nothing. ‘Well,’ Piergeiron said, ‘I was going to ask you to go to Asbravn, to help the Red Cloaks with that snake monster.’ ‘Send Flynn, he’s more than capable.’ ‘I want my best man on this, Booth.’ ‘Respectfully, sir, I believe whoever did this is a greater threat to Waterdeep than a monster miles away from here.’ Piergeiron narrowed his eyes. ‘You’ve heard the reports from Fort Morninglord.’ ‘I have, sir.’ ‘I haven’t,’ said Aubrey. Piergeiron studied Booth for a moment, then said, ‘Fine. I’ll ensure the Lords don’t get in your way, but you won’t have any official backup on this one, unless you can prove there’s a legitimate threat to Waterdeep. I take it you have a party in mind?’ ‘Yes, sir, I do.’ ‘Good luck to you then.’ Booth stood, shook Piergeiron’s hand and left the room, Aubrey scrambling behind him. ‘Now what?’ ‘Now,’ Booth said, ‘we get our people.’

Booth shouldered his way through the thick Waterdhavian crowds, past street vendors and loud merchants and nobles with their servants trailing behind. ‘Fort Morninglord have had undead wandering out of the Wood of Sharp Teeth for months now.’ He had to shout to be heard over the endless conversations, gull screeches and ship bells.

‘You think it’s related?’

‘Some of them had been chewed on.’

‘Oh, gross.’

‘And, two weeks ago, they sent some scouts in to have a look around. Only half came out, and they said they saw a man, seven and a half feet tall, thin as a skeleton, with grey skin, red eyes and teeth like a shark.’

‘Great.’ Aubrey closed a fist around the pommel of his sword

Booth stopped at the edge of a small circle of people watching a bard who sat on the edge of a fountain, plucking a quiet tune on his lute and reciting poetry in Elvish.

‘Sweets,’ Booth called. ‘You got a minute?’

The bard glanced at Booth but continued the poem.

‘You know what he’s saying?’ Booth asked.

‘You don’t speak Elvish?’

‘No, I speak practical languages, Common and Dwarvish. Not that flowery stuff.’

‘It’s the second-most spoken language in Faerûn.’

‘Do you speak it or not?’

Aubrey listened.

‘Mortals still worship his beauty as they watch his golden climb into the sky. But when he staggers away, old and feeble, from his highest point with weary horses, the eyes that were dutiful before, now turn away from him and look elsewhere. So, you, yourself, declining from your noonday glory, will die disregarded.’

The bard finished, bowed his head to the quiet applause, and thanked the few watchers who tossed coins into the hat by his feet. Aubrey turned his face away from Booth, hiding the rush of emotion there.

‘What was it?’ Booth asked.

Aubrey shrugged, then cleared his throat.

The bard came over, emptying the coins into his purse. He was a half-elf, his ears slightly pointed under a nest of dark curls. His face was boyish, and he carried himself with a spring in his step, an excitement contained beneath the surface.

‘Sweets, this is Aubrey, one of my men. Aubrey, Sweets is an … associate of mine.’

Sweets pointed to the medallion strung around Aubrey’s neck, a gold circle pressed with the image of a road leading into sunrise. ‘Lathander,’ he said. ‘You’re a paladin too?’

‘Cleric,’ Aubrey said.

‘It’s not important,’ Booth interrupted. ‘We’ve got a job, and I’m putting the party together. You up for an adventure?’

‘Depends how long it’ll take. There’s a flute player who keeps trying to steal my fountain.’

‘Not long,’ Booth said. ‘We’re hunting a cannibal.’

Sweets’ face fell. ‘Seriously?’

‘Are you in or not?’

To Aubrey’s surprise, Sweets looked over at him, then said, ‘Who can say no to adventure?’

‘Good man.’ Booth clapped him on the shoulder, causing his knees to buckle slightly. ‘Let’s go meet the others.’

‘Others?’ Aubrey asked.

But Booth was already striding away. Sweets patted Aubrey’s lower back and followed, leaving him to trail behind in blushing confusion.

‘And then, watch closely…’

Angelica leant over Jack’s shoulder, her tall tiefling frame towering over the dwarf. Jack pushed some of her long black hair out of the way, then gently opened his hand and blew across his fingertips. Tiny spores, glowing with faint blue light, rose from his skin and settled on the dead rat’s body. He muttered something in Dwarvish and made a shape resembling a triangle with his fingers, and, with a sound like pudding hitting the floor, the rat’s body bloated, collapsed, and began to disintegrate. Blue lacelike mushrooms sprouted from beneath its skin, unfurling into a network of soft, delicate fronds. ‘Cool, huh?’ Jack said.

They were in Jack’s lab, a long thin room crowded with glass cases containing glowing flowers, brightly coloured funguses, chittering insects and flowers that waved in non-existent winds. The room was bathed in the blue light of the enchanted candles dotted around the room.

Angelica nodded, masking her disgust behind a big smile. ‘Yeah, so cool. Shouldn’t we get going though?’

‘Get going where?’

Angelica sighed. ‘Lunch, Jack. You promised.’

His face moved through several emotions – confusion, scepticism, realisation, then fear. ‘Oh, shit.’

‘You forgot?’

‘The skull, and then the teeth marks.’

Angelica raised her eyebrows.

‘And Zack needed my help with–with his notes!’

‘Seriously?’

‘And Cam’s going to be here soon–’

‘You got distracted by a dead rat!’

‘It’s a new spell!’ Jack waved his hands at the mushrooms. ‘I just learnt it.’

Angelica rolled her eyes. ‘Let’s just go. Maybe we’ll have time to drink half a cup of tea.’

She turned to leave, but the lab door was blocked by a beautiful half-elf, her dark hair cut in a sharp bob, wearing a tight yellow and black dress.

‘Oh no,’ said Angelica.

‘Oh, yes,’ said Camille. ‘Duty calls.’

The sun was high in the clear spring sky; light poured through the glass ceiling into the lab. Temperance stood on the platform, the skull mounted on a stand, frowning at a set of white glyphs hovering in the air before her. Zack perched on his stool by her side. She ran her fingers softly over the surface of the skull, feeling the barely perceptible grooves left by the cannibal’s teeth. She knew what the results meant – the glyphs were incapable of lying – but they yielded no motives, no suspects, no leads, only pure facts. She closed her eyes, searching for something, anything, that would tell her more about this man and how he died.

‘Mage Brenwynn?’ Zack said.

Temperance said nothing.

‘Mage Brenwynn, they’re here.’

‘Who’s here?’ she muttered.

‘Bones!’ Booth yelled from across the lab. ‘Found anything?’

She jumped out of her reverie and turned to see a crowd of people hovering at the edge of the platform steps. Grimjack Hodgemoss, the dwarf druid, bearded and stocky and surrounded by a cloud of mushroom spores, and Angelica, the tiefling bard and resident artist, her skin the colour of bronze and her horns as jet black as her hair. Camille Saeroyan, the half-elf sorcerer who ran the Waterdhavian Mage’s Institute, stood to the side in one of her smart dresses, her posture perfect as always. Another half-elf with a lute strapped to his back – Lancelot Sweetwater, a bard and one of Booth’s crime-solving consultants – lounged with his hands in his pockets next to a tall but thin half-orc wearing the blue cloak of a City Watchman – Jameson Aubrezar, only recently recruited to Booth’s team of associates. And Booth, at the front of them all, grinning and puffing out his polished gold chest plate.

Camille stepped over the wards and muttered the enchantment that permitted access to outsiders. ‘Don’t touch the remains,’ Bones said to Booth.

‘Why’re you singling me out?’

‘You’re impulsive.’ She pulled off her gloves and waved at the glyphs in the air, which drifted to the side of the platform.

‘So,’ Booth said, ‘did you find anything?’

‘Yes, actually.’ She pointed to the glyphs.

‘Come on,’ Booth sighed. ‘We both know I can’t read that.’

‘I used an enchantment that highlights markings, one that Angelica invented to restore degraded artworks,’ Bones said. ‘I took a magical mould of the teeth marks.’

She took a sprig of sage from her component pouch, scrunched it in her fist, and drew a square in the air with her thumb. A white screen appeared and hovered over the obsidian slab. Bones waved the glyphs over to the screen, where they dissolved into two images, side-by-side comparisons of enlarged teeth marks.

‘Oh, that is not good,’ said Camille.

‘Someone explain, in Common, if you don’t mind,’ Booth said.

‘This skull was gnawed on by two different people,’ Bones said. ‘This cannibal,’ she pointed to the teeth on the left, ‘has some kind of implant in one of his canines. The other has … unique dentition.’

‘Unique?’

She hesitated. ‘It seems that the second cannibal has a full set of canines.’

‘Teeth like a shark,’ Booth murmured.

‘You have a lead?’ Camille asked.

Booth sighed. ‘More of a hunch that Bones just confirmed.’ He turned to face the party. ‘I know everyone has work to do here, but I’m taking this case, and I’m not getting any help from the Lords or the City Watch because some lizard monster is more important. I get to choose my people, and I choose everyone here.’

‘Are we going on an adventure?’ Jack asked, nearly bouncing on the soles of his feet. Angelica rolled her eyes.

‘It shouldn’t take longer than two months,’ Booth said.

‘Two months?’ Sweets cried. ‘But my fountain!’

‘I’m in,’ said Aubrey.

‘Me too,’ said Jack.

‘If he’s going, then I’m going too,’ said Angelica.

‘Same here,’ sighed Sweets.

‘I would like to go on an adventure,’ said Zack. ‘Even though my strengths are not physical.’

‘If all my best mages are going, then I guess I’m coming with,’ said Camille.

Everyone turned to stare at Bones.

‘What about the lab?’ she said.

‘The lab will still be here when you get back, sweetie,’ said Angelica.

‘And we’ve all got enough adventure leave,’ said Camille.

‘And we can’t do this without you,’ said Booth.

Bones took a deep breath. ‘No, you most certainly cannot.’

Booth knocked on the door to Bones’ office, his gauntlet harsh against the wood. ‘Come in,’ she called, in her lilting elven voice. Booth ignored the familiar skip of his heart at the sound.

She was crouched in front of a bookcase, pulling out stacks of leather-bound tomes stamped with runes and held shut by buckles stained with verdigris and rust. ‘I have a question,’ she said.

‘Shoot.’

‘No, I don’t want to shoot you.’

‘It means ask, Bones, just ask me the question.’

‘Oh.’ She stood and faced him. A white lace-up shirt was just visible under the black leather coat worn by all necromancers at the Institute, the collar sticking up lopsided. Booth had a sudden urge to reach under her coat and pull the shirt down–

‘The other cannibal, the one with the tooth implant.’

‘What?’ Booth flushed, then said, ‘Oh, that guy. What about him?’

‘He’s here in Waterdeep, isn’t he?’

‘He’s probably long gone by now. Why?’

Bones picked a sheet of parchment off her desk. ‘While you were preparing to leave, Jack swabbed the groove made by the implant and ran it through a series of ritual spells. The implant is a diamond. Were there any witnesses at the bridge?’

‘Two. They both described a half-elf with brown hair, maybe in his twenties.’

‘Combined with the diamond implant, that might be enough for Angelica to cast locate creature on him.’

‘As long as he’s close by.’

‘Yes. But you think he’s left the city.’

‘Anything’s worth a try.’ Booth nudged the stack of tomes with his boot. ‘What’re these for?’

‘I’m bringing them.’

Booth gaped. ‘All of them?’

‘Of course. You said we could be gone for two months, I need reading material.’

‘Surely you can find books on the road, in libraries or something.’

‘These books are the most detailed accounts of spellcraft in all of Faerûn, there are no books like them.’

‘But you’ve read them before!’

‘Books are very important to me, Booth. I’m bringing them.’

‘You can bring two.’

She shot him a glare. ‘Five.’

‘Three, and that’s all we’ve got room for. You’ll tire the horses out within the first mile.’

She continued to glare, then relented. ‘Fine, but only because you asked.’

Booth blinked. ‘What does that mean?’

She simply dropped three massive tomes into his arms. ‘Those can go out to the wagon. I have to finish packing. I’ll see you in the morning.’

As he staggered out of the lab and round the back to the stables, weighed down by the books, Booth’s mind ran circles around what Bones had said. Where was the emphasis, on the ‘you’ or the ‘asked’? I didn’t even ask, I negotiated. Does she think of me … like that? Does she think of me at all?

But when he reached the horses, he banished those thoughts from his mind. ‘Adventures are dangerous,’ he said to himself. ‘There’s no room for distractions.’

One of the horses whinnied.

‘Exactly, Muffins.’ He let the books thud into the wagon, then left Bones to her packing.

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