Fix It Before It Breaks, fic, by Hagar

[hagar_972]

Title: Fix It Before It Breaks
Author: Hagar
Fandom: Bones
Rating: G
Relationship: Angela-Brennan friendship, Hannah-Seeley, building towards B^3
Summary: alternative take on The Body in the Bad. in which Angela negotiates Hannah's awkwardness
Notes: in Undo/Redo continuity. (Link goes to AO3; first part on DW here.)

Hannah wasn't used to being awkward. Other people's awkwardness, that was one thing. Easing people out of it was part of Hannah's job. Being awkward herself annoyed her, and then she'd gotten annoyed at her being annoyed. The entire thing was irrational, really.

The mere thought of the word 'irrational' was enough to irritate her even further, so she called Bones, apologized nicely, and said that computer trouble were holding her back and she won't be able to make it to the gallery show. Half an hour later, eaten up by guilt, she called to say that the issue was solved, and it would all be all right.

An hour after that she had to call and cancel again, claiming that the story about the Appropriation Committee gained an unforeseen twist, because the irritation made it impossible to think.

She stared at the screen of her laptop for all of ten seconds before slamming it shut, getting up, picking her coat and heading out the door. Maybe it wasn't broken, yet, but she had to fix it before it broke.

She didn't foresee Clark Edison, of all people, holding her with a stream of loud chatter, but she might as well have known that Angela would intercept her.

"Hannah!"

"Angela, hi." Hannah turned and offered a smile that looked considerably less faked than Angela's. "Oh, wow, I think you're beginning to show."

Angela snorted and covered her abdomen with her hand. "Thank you. I was beginning to think I'm hallucinating."

"The highly perceptive forensic scientists are a bit behind, huh?"

"You could say that. You just missed Brennan," she said, removing her hand, "she went to join Booth for an interview in Chinatown."

"Chinatown."

"Yeah, the case is getting curious and curiouser."

"Don't they always."

"Come on, join me for coffee," said Angela. "I was going to have a snack break again," she rolled her eyes, "and otherwise you would've made the trip for nothing."

"So," she continued once they were out of earshot of the lab crew, in a much more no-nonsense tone. "What with the LWLC?"

"What with the what?"

"Little white lie code," said Angela, and the matter-of-fact was beginning to make Hannah even more uncomfortable than she already was. "Three changes of plan within a day? Nuh-uh. I'm not buying it."

Remarkably, Angela really did fetch a sandwich from the fridge before sitting down on the couch. Hannah reciprocated by grubbing two mugs.

"Two cream, two sugar, don't tell Hodgins and don't change the subject."

"I wasn't going to."

"Which one?"

"Both." She turned around, placed both mugs on the table and sat down across from Angela.

"So," said Bones's best fried. "Spill."

"This is really awkward."

"No lie." Angela leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and picked up her mug. "You're smoother than that, Hannah. What's up?"

"It's just that – um – " Hannah knew she was squirming. "Seeley and I had this conversation. Sort of a conversation."

"Oh." Angela put down the mug and leaned back. "Oh," she repeated. "The conversation. About Brennan finally coming out about having been in love with him for years."

She winced. It was an instinctive reaction. "I don't want to hurt her," she blurted out. "More than I must have already have. But I love Seeley, and I know he –" Burrying her face in her hands would be childish and overkill, but she allowed her shoulders to drop and she knew her eyes looked twice as big as usual as she repeated, "I don't want to hurt her."

"Then don't disappear on her," said Angela, and there was steel in her voice. "Brennan makes a new friend, like, once every five years. Try to be among the 50% who don't break her heart."

"But she –"

Angela cut her off. "She's a grown woman," she said, "and believe me when I say that she did not forget that you and Booth live together when she told him what she did. Don't act jealous and don't distance yourself and you won't do anything seriously wrong."

Hannah blinked, and then blinked again. "I'm not jealous," she said.

"Your live-in lover's partner who's been in his life for six years is in love with him, and you're not jealous?"

"That's stupid."

Angela crossed her legs, put down the plate with the crumbs and picked up the coffee mug again. "Well, I wouldn't be," she said, "but that's me, and I'm told I'm a bit unusual."

It was went to be funny, so Hannah shared in Angela's snicker.

"You really aren't," said Angela. She sounded speculative, interested – like herself, rather than like a cagey, protective person.

"No, I'm really not."

"Huh."

"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

"Honey, I'm not the one you should be asking that question."

Hannah shrugged and finally picked up her coffee. For a few minutes, they sat in a silence that was significantly less uncomfortable than Hannah would've expected it to be.

"All right," said Angela finally, "this is what we're going to do. You're going to go home, or wherever it is you need to go to. This little visit never happened. You're not going to change your plans again, and I'm going to make sure that Clark doesn't spill. And in a day or two, when you fixed your head, you're going to make it up to her."

"But I –"

"And you will not," the steel went back into Angela's voice, "be the one to start this conversation. When she's ready to talk about this with you, she'll bring it up. And you can totally tell her that I told you to wait, if that's what's bugging you. All right?"

"Thank you."

"I like you, but I'm not doing this for you."

"I know. That's what I was thanking you for."