Here's a fanfic that is completely separate from my other oneshots. Not sure how long this will end up being but I hope you all enjoy!
Gum
Wonderful World
It was late.
Special Agent Seeley Booth suppressed a yawn as he steered his SUV in the direction of his partner's apartment.
"If you are weary, Booth, I can always drive us the rest of the way," Dr. Temperance Brennan offered from the passenger's seat.
"No thanks, Bones," he shook his head, "We're only a few minutes out, I can make it."
She settled back into her seat and they made the rest of the trip in silence.
"Would you like to come up for a drink?" she asked when he pulled into the complex's parking lot, "I have some beer left over from the last time my father visited."
"Sure, Bones, thanks," he replied.
He would have walked her to her door anyway and this gave him an excuse to do so without her chewing him out for being overprotective. For the number of times that the scientist's life had been threatened in her own apartment building over the past four years you would think that she would appreciate it.
"You were planning on accompanying me anyway," she shrugged as they headed in the building; it was not a question, "So I decided I may as well offer you refreshment for your trouble."
He grinned, "My company isn't so bad is it?"
"Not at all," she replied, "Though you telegraph your intentions rather clearly you know?"
"How so?"
"Booth," she sighed, turning the key in her deadbolt and flipping on the lights, "I cannot think of one time in the past four years that you have not accompanied me to the door of my apartment. Your body language was no different tonight than it has been any other night, so I assumed that you intended to escort me to my door as usual."
"Again, is that so bad?" he accepted a beer from her and they sat on opposite ends of her couch.
"Not particularly," she smiled at him teasingly.
"Just think of it as me fulfilling your wishes," he tipped the bottle in her direction, "Following your new credo as it were."
She looked at him quizzically, "What in the world are you referring to, Booth?"
"'Always swim with a buddy.'"
"We aren't swimming," she pointed out.
"No," he threw back his head and laughed, "No we aren't."
They each settled into the couch, nursing their beers.
"Now," Booth stood up, stretched, and moved over to the stereo, "Let's put on some tunes."
"What does that mean?" Bones asked him.
"It means that while you've managed to move into the 21st century and buy a TV, you don't have cable and I don't think I'd be up for any of your documentaries or chick flicks at this hour. The only thing left to play is music."
"You could hardly call 'Pride and Prejudice' a 'chick flick,' Booth," Brennan scoffed as he paged through her CD collection.
"Bones," he gave her a knowing look, "There is not a woman I have met that doesn't like that movie and the guys who like it are few and far between."
"It's an on-screen presentation of a classic novel," she protested, "Virtually the only scene missing from the book is the epilogue. Nearly every other scene is transcribed verbatim."
"Chick book made into a chick movie," he waved her off, flicking on the stereo and popping in a CD that he had found.
"Now here's a classic," he grinned as the strains of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World" filtered through the speakers. He pressed the 'repeat' button so that it would play several times.
He swept her off of the couch and into his arms in one smooth motion and began swaying to the music.
"Booth," she looked up at him, laughing slightly, "Are you inebriated?"
"Nope," he said, humming along to the music, "But you've gotta live a little, Bones."
He twirled her around in a tight circle with one hand and then brought her back into his embrace. She laughed and they continued dancing around the room.
I can't believe she's letting me do this, Booth thought as the song continued, Two years ago she would've slapped me an sent me on my way. Even last year I'm not sure I could've gotten away with this. Guess she was serious about the 'surrogate relationship' thing.
He inhaled deeply, taking in the fragrance of her perfume, her shampoo, and her soap all mixed into one. It was a scent that comforted him after all of their years together- anumber of well-known brands that combined to produce a scent that was uniquely 'Bones.'
"This song could not apply to me at all, Booth," her soft voice cut through his reverie.
He looked down at her with a smile and they continued around the room, "How so, Bones?"
"Well," she cocked her head and he knew he was in for a mini lecture, "I do happen to know quite a bit about biology and science books, you know? And, I remember quite a bit of the French I studied while working as an intern in Montreal."
"What about history?" he said as the song began again.
"Of course," she matched him step-for-step, barely noticing that the song had restarted, "Anthropology is nothing if not the study of human behavior throughout history."
"And I assume you were always an A-student?" he commented lightly, twirling her again.
"Not always," she shook her head, "My grades suffered a bit after my parents left."
"Aw, Bones," he halted their dance and cupped her face in his hands, "I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault they left," she said quickly and pulled back from him.
"I know," he captured her hands again and resumed the dance, "But I didn't mean to bring that up."
She nodded silently and he felt her shift just a tad closer to him.
"So do you know what a slide rule is for?" he asked.
"Yes," she dragged the word out and looked up as if asking why he wanted to know.
"From the song," he cocked his head toward the stereo.
"Ah."
As the song faded for the third time, Booth wondered what kind of world it would be if she loved him. He supposed that she would let him run his fingers through her beautiful hair as much as he wanted and capture her soft lips in his own.
He shivered at the remembrance of their only shared kiss. His tongue instinctively seeking out her own to the point that her gum ended up in his mouth.
It was times like this- when she was so close and so relaxed with him- that he dared to dream what it would be like to come home to her every night. He decided he would like it a lot.
"So does it do it more for you then?" she cut into his thoughts yet again.
"What?" he shook his head.
He'd heard what she'd said, but didn't think her mind was going the same direction as his.
"The song," she looked up at him innocently, "Does it apply to you more than it does me?"
"Yeah, I guess," he cleared his throat and dredged his mind out of the gutter, "I mean, I'm not dumb, but I definitely wasn't an 'A' student. 'B's', sure, but not 'A's' really."
"I never thought you were dumb," she murmured so softly he almost didn't hear her.
"Thanks, Bones," he whispered in her ear.
It may have been involuntary, but he felt her shiver in his arms, and the rooms' temperature rose suddenly.
They stopped in mid-step and stared at one another. In the background Sam Cooke crooned about knowing that he loved his girl. Time stood still.
Grey and brown orbs met, each probing the other. Auburn hair rose as short brown hair descended until mere centimeters separated their lips.
"Booth?" he could hear the weight in her voice as her breath passed through his open lips.
"Yes, Bones?" he returned softly.
"What are we doing?"
"Nothing," he could feel the longing in her gaze, "And everything."
She nodded slowly and closed the gap between their lips.