So obviously season six has been weighing on my mind (err, muse) lately. As I have just wrapped up The Hurt in the Words, I wanted to write something a bit lighter that has been noodling around in my brain. All in the name of BB love. Enjoy! – Mac
The Best Man in the Wedding
On a Christmas – many, many moons ago, Jared handed his big brother his gift. And he was ready to laugh because he'd gone out of his way to prank his older brother, who was always messing with him. He'd gotten him coal.
The two brothers walked down the stairs and their parents were fighting. Their dad was in a rage and finally stormed out of the house. Their mom was in tears and just sat on the couch, trying to reclaim the day by putting on a CD with Christmas music.
Jared walked over to his gifts and began opening them, mostly to try to get her to smile. Seeley looked around but there didn't seem to be any gifts for him. Their mom blinked back tears.
"I'm sorry, honey – your dad broke the gift I got you." Seeley hugged her and said it was fine.
But Seeley had found one gift. And Jared could see his eyes light up, happy for at least one gift. And as he began opening it, Jared's stomach clenched. Because the joke suddenly seemed all off. Sure, his brother messed with him. But… he'd gotten him his favorite baseball card. And Seeley was opening… God, he was opening coal! When Seeley's eyes fell on the rock, Jared saw his eyes. That look. He saw it.
Before Seeley could show his mom or Jared the look, he'd retrained his expression and looked up, a small smile on his face. "Very funny, little brother."
Jared's heart sunk. He hadn't meant to hurt his brother. But he could see that he had.
He'd tried for years to get him a good gift. But he'd always seemed to fail. His gifts always ended up being sore reminders that he didn't pay a whole lot of attention to Seeley. He never knew what to get.
He promised himself that someday…. He'd get him the best gift ever.
PRESENT DAY
Jared Booth walked out of Founding Fathers, a strange feeling in his stomach. He'd just had a few drinks with Seeley and his fiancée. He was eager to come tonight. Eager to meet her. To see…
Because for a couple of years now, he'd been sure that if his big brother ever decided to get married, it would be to someone else entirely. In fact, he couldn't completely wrap his mind around his brother's news when he'd called him to share it. Seeley was getting married… and it wasn't to Temperance?
But… he'd bitten his tongue. Said nothing. Because when he'd shown up in DC with Padme, Seeley had let his feelings be only too clear and it had nearly broken the brothers apart. And… they were basically all each other had. So. He remained quiet. Though, for the first time, he understood his brother's need to meddle. To get involved. To try to make absolute sure that he was making the right decision. Because it was marriage and it was life. His brother had been protecting him. And as annoying as it was – it bothered him down to his bones, to the point of being ready to walk away – in this moment he got it.
Because Seeley had wrapped an arm around Hannah. He'd pulled her close. He'd kissed her gently. They'd shared a few inside jokes. Jared had sensed genuine attraction. Some light fun. He'd even sensed… was that love? He wasn't sure. But it was something fond passing between them. Very fond. But…
His brother's eyes.
In those eyes, he saw something else. He wasn't quite sure what it was. Or maybe what it wasn't. There was an absence of something that Jared had seen before. That visit when he'd introduced Padme, for example. Tempe had come along and she'd done that thing she tended to do. She spoke casually about the topic that his brother had been treating as if it were a major secret – his wife's former career as a stripper. His heart warmed remembering. He knew Tempe could be socially awkward and honestly? He kind of loved that about her. There weren't enough people in the world who told you exactly what they were thinking. Seeley! Seeley definitely didn't. He ran background checks on his own brother's fiancée before he bothered to share his actual thoughts with him. He kept quiet, stewed and showed his protectiveness by using his FBI resources to try to… what… save him, perhaps, from a major mistake. Tempe, though. She held no reservations or judgment for Padme's former career. She accepted her and, more importantly, Jared's decision to marry her. And when she spoke, their little table bristled for a moment, but his brother…
His eyes.
Jared had never seen his brother look at anyone that way. Ever.
Tonight, he wanted to see it. He was desperate to see it. Because Seeley made a living out of protecting him – at least, for awhile. There was nothing he wouldn't do for him and Jared knew that. He'd even taken advantage of that.
So right now – he needed to see him look at this new woman… and that look (or better yet, a better, stronger look!) needed to be in his eyes.
And it wasn't. He thought back to when he say goodbye to Hannah and Seeley.
"How long are you in town for?" Hannah had asked. "We're having an engagement party in a few days."
Jared had smiled and nodded. "I wouldn't miss it."
With a quick hug to his brother, he'd left. And now… he headed to his hotel where a few people were waiting for him.
B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B*B
"Okay, Jared – what is this all about?" Camille Saroyan asked. He'd called her – she was the only person whose full name he knew, aside from Tempe's. But he couldn't call Tempe. He could only call this crew. And Camille had done a great job gathering everyone at the last minute.
Because standing in the lobby were all of Seeley and Tempe's friends. He needed their help.
Because he was determined to give his brother the perfect gift. Finally.