A/N: Well, here I am, sneaking in just under the deadline--again :-) The hard part this month was finding a movie scene that I could borrow for our favorite cast to play with. Then one day on the way to work, the Righteous Brothers came on the radio, and I just knew I had to go with Top Gun. I'm probably dating myself by using that movie, but it's always been one of my favorites, and I absolutely adore the scene when Maverick and Goose are singing in the bar. Then I had a Bones-inspired vision, and the rest is...well, the rest is below!
Booth and Sully walked into the bar, pausing a few feet in to grin at each other. The normally staid cop bar had recently instituted Ladies' Night on Thursdays in an effort to expand its client base. To say that the idea had taken off would have been a drastic understatement—the place was wall-to-wall women, some dressed in business attire just off work, some dressed in outfits suggesting they meant business of a different kind.
Sully rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Now this is what I call a 'target rich environment'," he declared.
Booth merely laughed, steering his exuberant pal over to the bar for a couple of beers. He checked out the occupants of the room more subtly, wondering what the evening would bring. He must have been contemplating too seriously, though, because he caught Sully staring at him, one eyebrow cocked in confusion. "Okay, I guess it's my turn isn't it?" he said quickly, smiling brightly. "Alright. The bet is twenty dollars."
"Twenty dollars!" Sully echoed enthusiastically.
"You have to have carnal knowledge—of a lady this time," Booth teased. "…on the premises."
"On the premises," Sully repeated, eyeing the crowd. He took his time selecting the object of tonight's affection, and Booth became impatient.
"Come on Sully," he cajoled, "a bet's a bet."
Sully's gaze roamed the sea of people for a moment more until he found the perfect woman. "I don't know. It just, uh…" Bingo! There she is! "It just doesn't seem fair…for you I mean." He flashed a sly grin at Booth, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "But, uh, she's lost that lovin' feelin'."
Booth knew what that meant. "She's l—no she hasn't," he shook his head.
"Yes she has," Sully insisted, turning away from the bar, ready to begin his mission.
Booth remained adamant. "She has not lost that l—"
Sully merely smiled, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder and bowing his head in mock sadness. "Booth, she's lost it."
Booth sighed heavily, tossing the cap from his beer bottle onto the bar. "Man! Come on!" he whined. "I hate it when she does that." Because it works every time, and I always lose the bet!
He shook it off and put his game face on, watching Sully make his way over to the small stage and grab the wireless microphone that sat atop a small amplifier. The two men then casually walked in the same direction toward the intended woman, who was about to get the surprise of her life.
Booth followed Sully's gaze, studying the woman they were about to ambush. Temperance Brennan was sitting a little uncertainly near the corner of the bar opposite the place the agents had just vacated. She wore hip hugging blue jeans and a low cut tank top, so clearly she knew what the bar scene was all about, but her facial expression spoke volumes of her uncertainty.
This ought to be interesting. I wonder if he knows what he's getting himself into.
He got the signal from Sully and nodded back, laughing mentally at his own ignorance. Of course he does—I taught him everything I know.
Sully approached the woman in question, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Excuse me, miss." I hope this works!
That was Booth's cue. "Hey, hey, hey!" he intervened, grabbing Sully's hand away from Brennan. Then, directing his voice to her, he continued, "Don't worry, I'll take care of this."
She brushed it off as nothing more than juvenile behavior and went back to her drink. But Sully had other plans. He switched on the mike and brought it to his lips.
"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips," he sang, a little off key. Brennan's head whipped around, her reddish hair sliding smoothly from her shoulders and into her face.
Booth took the next line, much more in tune and with a little soul. "And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips."
Brennan brushed the hair from her face and stared first at Booth, then at Sully, with wide, unbelieving eyes. Are they singing to me?!
Sully picked up the third line, just as they'd done a hundred times before, with Booth joining in about halfway through, rocking back and forth, snapping their fingers in rhythm with the music in their minds. "You're trying hard not to show it, baby."
Brennan sat in a mild state of shock, trying hard to process what she was seeing. I never knew men that acted like this. If this is what Angela meant by meeting new people, I really should go out with her more. Maybe I could do a field study…
They took deep breaths for the next part, but to the agents' surprise, this performance turned out to be different than their previous routine. Rather than the two men singing a badly harmonized version of the last line of the verse, the twenty people nearest the action joined in with gusto. "But baby, believe me I know it."
The what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here look returned to the Brennan's face at the sound of dozens of people singing to her, but it was quickly replaced by a smile and a genuine laugh. They're crazy! But for some reason I'm really enjoying all the craziness.
The serenade continued, the entire bar now belting out the chorus of the old Righteous Brothers tune.
"You've lost that lovin' feelin'.
Whoa that lovin' feelin'.
You've lost that lovin' feelin' now it's gone, gone, gone.
Whoa whoa whoa."
Sully flashed a sweet smile at his quarry, gesturing to the stool beside her that had opened up during the singing. The woman's own smile faded a bit with uncertainty, and Sully trotted out the puppy dog eyes.
Booth, melding with the rest of the patrons and soloing the second verse, was laughing inwardly at the sight of Sully having to put so much effort into this catch. He hasn't worked this hard for a girl in a while. Usually they're mush by the third line. Of course, I usually hook 'em by the second.
The puppy dog eyes worked. "Sit down," Brennan told Sully, wanting to study him further. When he had made himself comfortable, she smiled at him again. "I love that song," she confessed. Then, unable to contain her questions any further, she asked, "I have never seen that approach. How long have you two been doing this…act?"
Sully brushed it off. "Oh I don't know. Since, uh…"
"Puberty?" she finished.
I hope that was a joke, he thought. But something tells me it might not have been. "Yeah. Puberty," he affirmed. And now to get back on track. "Actually we've only done this, uh, twice."
"Oh yeah? How'd you do?" she wondered, interested in the outcome like she would be that of an experiment at her lab. Even if it is only anecdotal evidence, it's a place to start.
Sully shook his head slowly, playing the part of the heart-broken guy. Women like to comfort a sensitive man in pain. "Crashed and burned on the first one. It wasn't pretty."
"And the second?" she probed further.
"I don't know, I'll tell you tomorrow," he winked. "But it's looking good so far."
What does he mean by that? How does he know he'll see me tomorrow? I'll have to ask Angela about that one. As if on cue, Brennan heard her name and saw her friend waiving a few yards away. "Well, uh, my friend just arrived, so it's been great talking to you." She turned on her stool and stood, reaching back for her drink before her curiosity got the best of her once more. "Listen, can I ask you a personal question?" I remembered to ask this time, instead of just blurting it out. That's progress.
Sully eyed her suspiciously, wondering how personal the question was. "That depends."
"Are you good at your job?"
Whew. That one's not so bad. At least she didn't ask me how big my feet are...with that not-so-subtle grin. He shuddered mentally at the memory of his last pursuit, the re-focused on his current companion."I can hold my own," he replied with his usual abundance of confidence.
"Great," she responded, relieved. "Then I won't have to worry about you making a living as a singer."
Leaving the bar to join her friend at a table, Brennan quickly slipped into the crowd, leaving Sully alone for a precious few seconds until Booth came over to gloat.
Ouch, that one hurt. I thought I had her. "I'm gonna need a beer to put these flames out," he muttered, calling the bartender over for a second bottle. And now I owe Booth twenty bucks! I wonder if he'll go double or nothing with me…there was that pretty blond over by the pool table…