"Its getting cold" she observes while hugging her arms to her chest.
He turns his head towards her and observes her red-tinged cheeks warring with her pale skin. Tendrils of her hair dances across her face and he really wants to place his warm hand on her cheek as he brushes back her hair.
Instead he makes a fist.
"Seems like it's getting colder earlier and earlier every year" he replies facing forward again as they continue walking.
"It used to be thought that the Earth was undergoing global cooling due to a projected timeline in accordance with the planets' history of glaciation. Some argue that the—"
His lips quirk into a small smile at her. In reality, he could care less about global cooling. You spend enough time in the desert and you don't tend to mind the cold. There were times when he thought he would never feel cool again. Even though he blasts his air condition below 68 degrees (and he has the electric bills to prove it—maybe she would be more concerned about how many trees it takes just for him to be billed), he still wakes up sweaty and gasping for air. These nights it's as if he never left; he's still drowning in sand as the sun watches overhead uncaring and unforgiving.
"Booth?" he knows he missed something. She's got a question in her eyes and it's so her that he finds his mind slam back into reality as he is grounded in her gaze.
"Want to try that new chocolate cheesecake? I'll get the pumpkin pie with some whip cream and if you're real nice, I'll let you have a bite" he deflects.
Her eyebrows drop and she is instantly on the defensive.
"Booth, I don't like pie! Why do you always try to get me to have some?"
"Aw, come on," a charming smile. "Its pumpkin pie, not even a fruit!"
She wears a bemused expression at his response, not really annoyed with his nettling and content to be in his presence. And she really did want that cheesecake.
"I still don't want it and you still keep asking"
"Some things never change, Bones" its déjà vu and he almost takes her hand.
But she is not unsteady on her feet and does not need him to keep her from falling. These impulses to touch her are growing more frequent. It doesn't help that she never turns them away; she does not find it out of the ordinary to be in contact with him. Oh, how far they've come.
She smiles at his comment, "Well, then you should know that I will never give in."
"Ah, that's where you're wrong, Bones. I have faith and patience that I'll wear you down. I was a sniper you know. I can outwait anybody."
"I know" and she graces his grin with a sweet smile.
She places her fork down, with a contented sigh. Her hand is resting on the table as she leans back with a cheshire smile. His neck burns beneath his collar and he leans back splaying his fingers over his knees and holds tight.
He smiles back. "That good?"
"That good" she confirms still smiling.
It's warmer in the diner and she has taken off her coat. Her hand still rests innocuously on the table. He can't keep his eyes from falling to it.
He leans forward and crosses his arm and rests it on the table while retrieving his fork from his plate and stretching across to nab a crumb off her plate.
"Hey!" she quickly sits forward and makes to swat at his hand.
"I'm saving you from yourself" and really he's saving himself from the desire to touch, but this way it doesn't seem so wholly selfish.
"My hero" she deadpans and he allows a soft chuckle.
He drops the fork back on his plate but maintains leaning towards her over the table. He really wants to push her hair behind her ear. They are still smiling, always smiling, and her eyes are flicking back and forth between his eyes. It wouldn't be hard to reach out. She might be surprised but she wouldn't shirk away from him. He leans back. She follows suit.
"You're right, Bones. It is that good" it is something to say.
"I don't see why you didn't just ask instead of trying to steal tiny tastes"
He tries not to be startled because they don't talk in double meanings. Well, she doesn't.
He sighs as his heads turns to gaze out the window and again distracts his hands by clasping his knees. The autumn leaves carelessly chase each other down the sidewalk and across the street. She sips her coffee and also turns to look outside.
"It's getting cold" she reiterates.
He stays silent.
The cool autumn air pushes her hair back as they exit the diner. He adjusts his coat while she adjusts the straps of her purse on her shoulder. Her arms encircle his right arm as they begin to walk back towards their cars and he clenches his jaw. It's a simple thing, but his neck is burning again and his eyes stay forward with purpose.
Their normal banter acquiesces to a comfortably silent stroll and Brennan doesn't seem so cold anymore.
At their cars, she releases his arm and smiles up at him as they slightly face each other.
"Would you like to get a beer?"
His eyes still have that hard resolve in their depths and she is once again looking back and forth between his eyes trying to discern his expression.
"Nah, I think I'm going to head back to my place and watch the Flyers game and call it a night"
Her face reflects surprise as she straightens up a bit. He didn't even leave her the opportunity to join him.
"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you later then" she recovers.
"Yeah" he lamely replies.
She leans up and kisses his cheek quickly and his jaw drops a little. She seems pleased with herself for wiping that hard edge out of his eyes.
"Goodnight Booth" she is opening her car door and tosses her purse inside.
It takes him a half-second to respond.
"Goodnight Bones"
She smiles at him again and that jolts him back into action and he stands straighter and smiles back. She climbs in and it isn't until she is out of sight that he moves from where his feet seemed to have rooted to the ground.
He drops his head and sighs before lifting it back up with a smile. Maybe his exercise in restraint was not necessary. He did not seem to be the only one enjoying the touch and feel of each other.
He whistled as he strode back to his car, stopped at a gas station to pick up a 6-pack of some imported beer he thought she would like, and dialed her number. Tonight he would teach her more about hockey.
After spending the first two periods of the game alternating from shouting at the TV and answering her questions, they returned to the couch with another cold beer for the third period.
"You know you shouldn't get so worked up over this game. Your blood pressure is skyrocketing"
"Its hockey. You're supposed to get worked up about it" he replied his eyes going back to the screen.
"Every time you get angry, your sternocleigomastoid tenses and the veins in your neck throb" she observed staring at his neck to prove her point.
He leaned back laying his arm along the couch behind her, the game momentarily forgotten as he turned to face her.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes-AH, BOOTH!" she yelped as he placed his cold beer against her unsuspecting neck. She leaned further into him to get away from the offending bottle, placing her free hand on the side of his chest to steady herself as she squirmed closer.
He laughed loudly, his movements bumping her up and down as she glared amusedly up at him and then proceeded to return the favor to his arm. He only slightly moved it away, nonplussed and still chuckling.
"That wasn't very nice"
"Yeah well neither is the Flyers being down 3 goals" he retorted good-naturedly.
She didn't adjust from her position and he didn't remove his arm as they continued to watch the game gently pressed against one another.
He rose to throw away the beer bottles grumbling at his team's loss. Brennan stood a tad awkwardly in front of his couch and looked to the front door.
"Thanks for the beer. I guess I will see you later" she said as she moved to put on her coat. She turned around to find him standing there with a small closed-lipped smile. He reached out and pushed her hair out from under her collar. Her eyes never left his face and she had a small smile of her own.
"Good night, Booth"
"Good night, Bones"
Still with that smile, he leaned around her to open the door and leaned against the frame with one arm as he watched her disappear around the corner at the end of the hall.