A Compendium of Lost Moments

By: dharmamonkey & Lesera128
Rated: T
Disclaimer: We're still waiting for that special envelope to come in the mail announcing that the creators of the Bonesverse and Angelverse have signed over their rights to us, but alas, all we seem to find when we check the Dharmasera mailbox are Bed Bath & Beyond coupons, Lands End catalogs and bills from our cell phone providers saying they're losing money on our unlimited data plans. We don't own jack. But we sure do rock what other people own.

Summary: Random moments plucked from the centuries-long lives of Temperance Brennan, Angel, Max Keenan and others inhabiting Dharmasera's Angel/Bones crossover universe (the other stories from which have posted under Lesera128's profile).

A/N: Dharmasera, Inc. wanted to prove, once again, that we are capable of writing chapters that can be read in the course of a fifteen minute coffee- or tea-break. There is no rhyme or reason to this collection aside from the fact that all chapters are self-contained one-shots that feature Angel, Brennan, or other characters from our Angel/Bones crossover series. These pieces, since they are completely taken out of context, will include a dateline so you know where/when we're talking about. Sound like fun? We think it is.

Chapter 1: "A New Morning Routine"

Chicago ~ Armistice Day, 1923

Angel's eyes fluttered open and, for several seconds, he felt a swirl of panic as he tried to figure out where he was. The first thing he noticed was the way the warm, faintly lavender scented sheets felt like liquid silk against his cool skin, and he was cocooned in a warm goosedown duvet with a dark maroon corduroy cover. There were four large, square plump, firmly stuffed pillows scattered around the head of the king-sized bed, two of them on her side of the bed and one on his side, with a fourth minding the middle, braced up against Brennan's stack of two.

He blinked a couple of times and glanced over at the clock gently ticking on the wall opposite the bed. It was a few minutes past nine o'clock, and he could see a tiny crack of sunlight peeking through the heavy, tightly-drawn matching burgundy drapes. A smile broke his face as he remembered waking her up around four the night before, pulling the drapes open so he could see the moonlight on her ivory skin as they made sleepy, languid love, the soft ticking of the clock drowned out by the sound of her sighs and moans as she shattered beneath him. A low hum sounded in his throat as he remembered how good she felt around him, but his attention was suddenly drawn back to the present as he heard a clattering in the kitchen outside that made him finally sit up in bed.

"Bren?" he called out, his voice clear but hesitant on the edges as he threw the covers off his hip, exposing his skin to the cool air of the autumn morning.

"Out here," she called back, her reply firm in its instant response. "If you're getting up, I'll put the kettle back on for your tea," she added in a casually upbeat voice.

"Okay," he replied, pushing the bedroom door open with his hand and greeting her with a smile as he stood naked in the doorway, watching her flit around the kitchen in her black silk robe, her hair twisted into a mess of knots that she'd later unwind into luxurious pin curls that would make her shiny auburn hair seem even more voluminous than it already was.

"You just going to stand there all morning?" she asked with a crooked grin as her eyes devoured the sight of him.

"Would you like me to?" he retorted, returning her grin with a cocky one of his own.

"I would," she admitted, "but I do have to get going. I have an eleven o'clock meeting with Dr. Breasted at the Oriental Institute, and I really should—"

She stopped abruptly when she realized Angel had disappeared from the doorway. Her breath caught in her throat as she wondered if she'd somehow said something wrong, but a wave of relief washed over her when he reappeared, clad in a snug-fitting white tank T-shirt and a pair of brown wool trousers with suspenders.

He wandered into the kitchen with deliberate, sleepy steps. Although his body took the form of a man's, the struggle with which he moved around in the morning betrayed the full extent of his nocturnal nature.

Brushing past her with a smile as she handed him two bags of Irish breakfast tea, he walked over to her cabinet and opened it, reaching for what had quickly become his favorite of all her coffee cups—and for all of the lovely china cup and saucer sets she had, Angel preferred to take his tea in a bigger, more robust coffee cup rather than a dainty, floral-patterned teacup—just as the copper kettle on the stove began to whistle. Angel yanked the noisy kettle off the stove and poured the boiling water over his two bags of tea, glancing up to catch Brennan looking at him.

"What?" he said as he set the kettle on the back of the stove.

"I still can't quite believe you're here, with me, after all this time and that you're staying," she said, walking up behind him and snaking her slender arm around his waist as she leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the nape of his neck. "You really aren't going anywhere."

Angel turned his head and grinned at her, a sparkle in his dark brown eyes as she kissed his cheek, dotted with a faint morning stubble. "Nope, I'm sure not," he told her with a small kiss on her lips. He then added with a wry smile as he pulled away and confessed, "I'm still getting used to the idea myself." He flashed his eyebrow and licked his lip as he saw the soft curve of her bosom disappear under the gaping neckline of her Chinese silk robe, then added with a quiet laugh, "But I'm pretty sure I'll find a way to adapt somehow.

"Hmmm," she murmured, tickling his belly button with her finger as she pulled her arm away and turned to make her way back to the bedroom to get ready. "What are you going to do today?" she asked. "You know, while I'm out..."

Angel dunked his teabags in his cup as he followed her into the bedroom. "I don't know," he said wistfully. "Guess I'll get a bit more sleep, then read some. Do you have time to go down to the corner and grab me a copy of the Tribune before you go to meet with the professor? Because, uhh, well..."

Brennan sat down at her vanity and reached back to remove a curler, unwinding it from her hair before turning to him with a smile. "I know, Angel," she said. "And yes, I think I'll have time to do that before I head down to the University."

"Thanks," he said, unable to suppress a smile as he watched her remove the brown bobby pins from her hair one at a time. He was fascinated by the process she followed to get ready each morning, and though he would never admit it to her, he was grateful she allowed him to watch. "I really appreciate that, Bren," he told her.

"You're quite welcome,"she said, setting the last of her curlers down in the little wicker basket before reaching for her brush. "You know, Angel. I'm very happy right now...I'm very glad that you're here, with me, and that you're staying."

"Me, too," he replied from his perch, leaning against the doorframe. "Me, too..."

A/N: So there you have it, the first entry into our Compendium series.

Next up, another pairing in a piece entitled "The Houseguest."

Let us know what you think. If this were an ordinary Dharmasera chapter, you'd still be only 1/4 the way through our chapter, so we think you can afford to invest a tiny bit of that extra time into leaving a review. Pretty please? *blinks prettily*

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