Final Frontier

Chapter Eighteen

"Jesus! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Lex grumbled distractedly, pushing herself from the door and heading to the kitchen, head spinning.

"Who was that at the door?" Bones repeated, rising from the sofa, and following her pausing on the other side of the breakfast bar.

Turning towards him she sighed but didn't answer, immediately averting her eyes when she realised, he was shirtless clad only in his jeans from last night, sitting dangerously low on his hips.

"Why are you avoiding the question?" he asked pointedly, drawing her attention back to his face momentarily.

Shaking her head Lex knew she couldn't put it off, leaning back against the counter she sighed again "My almost boyfriend, I suppose, if you want to get technical"

Bones' eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, eyes widening fractionally "You never told me you were seeing someone" he muttered, a slightly accusatory note to his voice.

"Yes, well it's still rather new" Lex shrugged, reaching out to flip on the coffee machine and turning away again.

"I see" Bones stated flatly "What are you going to tell him about last night?" he continued cautiously.

Without turning round Lex shrugged offhandedly, hated how squeaky her voice was sounding to her own ears "Why would I tell him anything?"

"We slept together" Bones pointed out, a rough edge to his voice that she chose to ignore.

"We were drunk" she dismissed, grabbing a cup from the rack, and setting it under the machine.

He remained silent for a moment, finally retorting quietly "Doesn't make it a mistake"

She knew she was being mean but for some reason she couldn't help herself, snorting she whirled around "No, but everything else does"

"Dammit Lex" Bones roared suddenly, slamming his fist down on the counter as his temper flared "We belong together, and you know it"

Lex flinched the volume and flash of violence catching her by surprise "My but you've changed your tune" She sneered "What happened to I can't look at you, I can't get past it, you betrayed me"

Abandoning her coffee, she stormed back to her bedroom, Bones hot on her heels "I overreacted I know that, and I've apologised again and again. What's it going to take?" he shouted allowing his anger to override the sting of her rejection.

Grabbing up her hoodie she hauled it over her head, a sudden need to be more covered to continue this discussion, a fabric barrier that would do nothing to stem the pain but futilely she tried.

"Apologising doesn't undo the damage Bones" She stormed at him "We might be friends again but that doesn't mean I don't see it, that I don't feel it every time I look at you" she choked out bitterly, stamping her feet angrily when she felt her eyes begin to sting, she refused to cry in front of this man again.

"Look it's a mess I know that" Bones murmured quietly, calming in the face of her frustration. Slowly he approached her hands out in front of him treating her unconsciously as a wild animal threatening to bolt with any sudden movement "But feelings like that don't go away overnight" he added softly, drawing her eyes to his face, screwed up in pain on the threshold of tears himself. Lex had never seen him like this before, she knew him to be overly emotional at times, but he demonstrated that with sudden bursts of rage, not tears.

Strangely the sight calmed her, reassured her he was hurting just as much as she was, but it was all too little too late.

"But it's not overnight Bones" she murmured sinking down onto the end of the mussed bed "It's close to two years later. You can't just expect to snap your fingers and for me to come running back" she sighed staring up at him dejectedly "That's not fair" she added in a whisper.