Chapter Text
A warm strip of light falls through the half-closed blinds. Angela sits at her desk, one hand supporting her head, lost in thought, while the other draws rhythmic lines on the paper with a pencil. A sketch emerges - fleetingly, not for the files, but for herself. Perhaps a face, perhaps just a feeling. She hums softly to herself. The sound is soft, almost like a lullaby that she unconsciously sings to herself.
Then - footsteps. Softly, carefully. Angela doesn't look up immediately, but she knows who it is. She senses it before the door opens, as if the atmosphere is changing. It's a familiar feeling that she recognizes immediately.
The door opens slowly and creaks barely audibly. Temperance stands in the doorway, her gaze initially directed towards the floor, as if she is unsure whether she should enter the room. She doesn't look stiff as usual, but a little softer, more vulnerable. Her shoulders are upright, but not firm. Her fingers, gliding along her sides, keep touching them as if they are looking for support.
"Do you have a moment?" Her voice is quiet, almost shy and has a fragility that Angela has never heard from her before.
Angela looks up in surprise, but her face immediately shows a warm note. A smile spreads across her lips as she looks at her best friend. Her eyes flash as she realizes that something is different, something new is in the air.
"Always. Come in, darling." Angela pushes the pen aside and taps the chair in front of her desk, signaling Temperance to sit down.
Temperance walks in, closes the door with a soft click and sits down in the visitor's chair. She does it almost deliberately, as if to remind herself that she will now remain seated. Her posture is upright, but at the same time she seems to be searching the room for words. Only her hands betray her restlessness - they turn, tug at each other, touch again and again.
Angela immediately realizes that now is not the right time to ask too many questions. She puts her pen aside, observes and waits patiently. In these moments, she knows that she doesn't have to speak, that it's her presence that counts.
"Whatever it is - you can tell me," Angela finally says calmly. Her voice is gentle, but full of warmth - an invitation to open up. "At your own pace."
Temperance looks past her briefly, out of the window, at the light gently reflecting on the office floor. She takes a deep breath. Then she speaks, but her voice is barely audible.
"In the Moluccas ... something has changed. And it's still changing."
Angela straightens up a little, her gaze now fixed on them, not curiously, but full of compassion. She senses that what Temperance has to say is important - that it's not about gossip, but about a part of herself that she wants to share with her best friend.
"What do you mean?" asks Angela softly, her voice remaining calm, as if she wants to let Temperance say everything at her own pace.
Temperance thinks for a moment before answering. "I don't know what to call it. It wasn't a sudden realization. It was more of a ... quiet change. Something has changed."
She looks at Angela, her eyes are clear, but also vulnerable. A small spark of uncertainty flashes in them, almost as if she's afraid that what she's saying now might be too much, that it could change their relationship.
"Someone," Temperance finally says. Her voice becomes even softer, almost a whisper. "Someone has come closer."
Angela tilts her head slightly, her expression softening as she understands the meaning behind the words. "You've fallen in love?"
Temperance hesitates for a moment. "Not right away. First there was just trust. Then ... warmth. I was looking for him. His closeness. His voice. And he saw me. Not analyzing me - but seeing me as I really am."
Angela can feel it, that slight tremor in her voice. She is not only curious, but also moved. It's the tone of voice that makes her heart beat faster. It is the change that Temperance senses, which gives her the feeling that something new has begun. She looks at her friend, her voice gentle but firm.
"And how was that for you?"
Temperance lowers her eyes. A small smile, so delicate that it seems almost invisible, touches her lips.
"Peace and quiet. Security. And... yes, attraction too. But not only. It was intense and gentle at the same time. I could just be. It was... the feeling that nothing else had to be important."
Angela closes her eyes for a moment, a small smile playing around her lips. When she opens them again, she looks at Temperance with deep affection.
"That sounds like love."
Temperance takes a moment before she nods. Hesitantly, but sincerely.
"Yes. It is love."
Angela laughs softly, relieved. "So, are you seeing him again?"
Temperance smiles a little mischievously now, too, as the glint in her eyes becomes clearer. "Tonight. At my place."
Angela grins involuntarily. "Okay, Bones. Now you have to tell me. Who is he?"
Temperance hesitates briefly, then looks Angela in the eye - open, honest, ready to finally share the secret.
"Wendell."
Angela blinks. There is silence for a moment. Then she blurts it out. "Wendell?"
Temperance nods quietly, a small smile on her lips.
Angela literally jumps forward, her eyes widening as she realizes. "Oh my god! You mean Wendell Wendell? Our Wendell? The one with the baby face and those ... incredibly strong arms?"
Temperance raises his eyebrows slightly and then grins. "The one with the arms, yes."
Angela stands up, sits down again and laughs breathlessly. "I can't believe I didn't see that! That explains so much! The way he looks at you ... the way you don't look at each other when someone is watching ... that controlled non-noticing."
Temperance laughs. A genuine, full laugh that bursts out of her in such a way that it's almost infectious.
"It wasn't always easy," she then says. "But it was ... right."
Angela stands up, walks around the table, kneels down in front of her and takes her hand. She looks at Temperance with an honest, open gaze.
"Okay, I'll be honest with you, baby - I always thought that you and Booth would eventually ... well, you know."
Temperance nods slowly and says nothing, but the look on her face speaks volumes.
Angela shrugs gently, almost apologetically. "But you know what? The most important thing for me is that you're happy. And the way you look now - damn, you're happy."
Temperance returns the pressure of her hand. There is complete silence between them for a moment, until Angela breaks the silence.
"I'm so happy for you, Bones. You really deserve this. I hope you enjoy every moment."
Temperance looks at her, deeply moved. "I will, I promise."
But then, almost casually - but with an almost guilty undertone - Temperance says softly:
"It's not just emotional ... it's also very intense physically."
Angela raises her eyebrows, her expression remaining curious but not judgmental.
"Seriously?"
Temperance nods slowly, her voice remains calm, matter-of-fact - and therefore touchingly open.
"It surprises me how much I enjoy it. How good it feels. I had expected ... intimacy to become rationalized over time. But with him, it's ... instinctive. I don't think about it. My body just reacts. It's ... liberating."
Angela looks at her for a long time, as if trying to grasp the full extent of it. Then she puts a hand on her heart.
"Darling. You're in love. And you're having damn good sex. I think that's what you call a bull's eye."
Temperance smiles - tentatively, but sincerely. "Maybe you're right."
Angela nods with conviction. "Oh, I'm so right."
Then, in a moment when she realizes she has one last thing to share, Temperance lowers her voice and adds with an almost apologetic look:
"We've decided to keep this a secret for now. Just for us. It needs to develop in peace. So that it can become what it really is."
Angela nods, her expression gentle, but her eyes reflect a deep affection.
"I understand that, darling. No problem. You and Wendell - you have all the time you need. And I will always support you."
All is silent for a moment before Angela says again with a broad smile: "I'm so proud of you, Bones. And honestly - it's nice to see you so happy."
Temperance smiles back and squeezes her hand once more before standing up to continue on her way.
Angela's office - later
The light in the room was warm and soft, dusk settled over the windows like a gentle veil, and outside the last rays of sunlight shimmered through the trees. Angela was sitting at her desk, her feet relaxed on the edge, a glass of orange juice in her hand - a rather unusual choice for her, but today everything was a little different. A smile played around her lips as she swirled the ice cubes in the glass and her mind seemed to drift away from work. The quiet was welcome, a short break from the hustle and bustle of the lab and the exciting news she had heard from Temperance this morning.
The door opened with a gesture that was typical of him. Hodgins, slightly disheveled and with a stack of files under his arm, entered as if he had just escaped a storm. A few papers fell out of his pile and sailed to the floor.
"Please tell me you have something sticky for me," he murmured, not looking at her. "I'm about to volunteer to search the nearest insect nest with my bare hands just to get away from this paperwork."
Angela turned to him slowly, a mischievous grin on her lips. "No, baby. Nothing. But ... maybe you should sit down."
He lifted his eyes, frowning. He knew that face - a mixture of excitement and mischievous anticipation - all too well. And it never meant anything trivial.
"Okay," he said, slamming the files down on the table. "If you're looking like that, it either means someone's dead - or you know something that shakes my universe."
Angela tilted her head slightly and her grin widened. "Ready?"
Hodgins sank to the edge of her chair with feigned drama. "Enlighten me."
"Temperance has a boyfriend."
Hodgins blinked, but then stumbled. He'd had a sneaking suspicion all day, ever since he'd seen the two of them together on the last case. Still, it was a surprise to hear Angela's confirmation. "What - Bones? A friend? You mean ... a real human friend? Not hypothetical or in the context of a historical bone analysis?"
Angela nodded with a broad grin that seemed almost arrogant. "Pretty real. And pretty hot, if I do say so myself."
Hodgins narrowed his eyes. He'd been silently thinking it, but still ... he hadn't expected this. "Wait - Booth?"
"Wrong."
"Don't ... Please tell me it's not Sweets."
Angela grimaced and then shook her head, laughing. "Of course not."
He shook his head as if trying to sort out the options. And then - it was like a flash of inspiration - he froze. "Wendell?" he said, as if he could barely grasp the thought himself. He had suspected it, but it had never felt like a clear truth until now.
Angela raised her eyebrows triumphantly.
Hodgins stared at her for a moment. It was as if a truth had solidified in his mind that he had always repressed a little in his thoughts. Wendell? Her Wendell? The fun-loving colleague who always had a smile on his lips and was known as the "buddy next door" who scored more points with his muscles than with his words?
"Wendell?
"Wendell?! Our Wendell? The blond, taciturn guy with the six-pack who pretends he doesn't care that he looks like Captain America on his way to the washing machine?" His tone was a mixture of astonishment and amusement.
"That's it." Angela grinned even wider.
"But ... Bones and Wendell?" He paused, as if he couldn't quite grasp the words himself. "That's ..." He searched for the right words and could hardly imagine what it would be like to see Wendell and Bones as a couple. "Like when your favorite book suddenly runs off with your favorite pizza. It makes no sense - and yet somehow you want to know all about it."
Angela laughed heartily. "Oh my God, that's exactly the right metaphor. And you know what? She's happy. Really happy. She even said the sex is great."
Hodgins froze, his gaze traveling from Angela to the files on his desk and back again. Then he blinked, as if she'd just revealed a secret space mission. "Bones talked to you about ... sex?" His voice sounded almost reverent. "Our Bones? Missing the 'biological reproduction as a reproductive strategy'? I think I've just stepped into a parallel universe."
Angela looked at him, her expression softening. "She's in love, Jack. And she's opening up. It's really beautiful. She told me Wendell is just giving her the space she needs. She's never felt like this before."
He was silent for a moment and let his head sink against the back of the chair. "I never thought she'd let anyone get her down. Not like this. But with Wendell ..." He shook his head, as if still trying to make sense of it all. "And, honestly? I always thought she and Booth would get together eventually. I've been waiting all this time for it to finally work out. But ... now ... Wendell?"
Angela grinned and nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean. It always kind of looked like Booth, but ... Wendell is different. And he makes her really happy."
"Maybe I was just too fixated on the idea of Booth and Bones. But Wendell ..." He chuckled, half in disbelief. "What a surprise."
"Maybe it was just the right moment for her to find someone like Wendell," Angela said softly, "who understands her and still appreciates her without changing her."
He looked at her, and his gaze softened. "Like us."
Angela smiled tenderly. "Just like that."
A moment of silence spread through the room, a small, silent pause. Only the muffled chirping of crickets could be heard outside, and somewhere in the distance, a wind chime rattled in the evening breeze.
"You know," Hodgins murmured after a while, "I like Wendell. I really do. But now I don't know whether to admire him or intimidate him. Bones isn't exactly an easy person."
"And yet he makes it easy for her."
He chuckled softly, half in disbelief. "I'll never be able to look at him again without thinking that sentence."
Angela raised her glass and toasted him. "Welcome to the club."
He leaned forward, his voice a mere whisper. "Okay. But if he breaks her heart, I swear - I'll give him live bugs for breakfast."
Angela grinned. "And I'll give you the plate."