A/N: Happy Bones Day! Here's a little gift in honor of the occasion. The promo for the Blackout in the Blizzard got my mind racing. I know this isn't what is going to happen but rather what I really wish would happen. Just a quick one-shot to get it out of my system, especially after seeing The Santa in the Slush Tuesday on TNT. For those following my stories, I will get back to Two Months Later as soon as I can.
As alway, I don't own Bones or any of the characters.
After the Elevator
"...we both have excellent stamina, making love would be quite satisfying."
Shocked by this audacious assertion and nonplussed by his partner's matter-of-fact delivery, Booth could do little more than stammer. "Yeah."
Encouraged by his apparent agreement, Brennan continued. "The way I look at it, neither of us has been very lucky in relationships and our timing, yours and mine, has been incompatible up until now. I don't believe in fate, of course, but someone of your faith system might see it as meant to be that we never have that kind of relationship."
She tried to keep the regret out of her voice, the unhappiness out of her eyes. This was her fault, she knew, for refusing Booth a year ago. Logic told her that it would be a very long time before he would take a chance on anyone again and she worried that, given their history, he would never again choose her, even if somewhere deep down he wanted to.
It was ironic, she thought. Her fear of a relationship with Booth had so dissipated that she could barely recall how she had justified it for all those years, while Booth had evolved from a man with little fear of offering his whole heart, to someone certain that his heart would be broken if he ever crossed that line again.
She had been pondering this conundrum for weeks, ever since Booth and Hannah had broken up. Logic told her that proposing a casual sexual relationship between the two of them might serve as an unthreatening starting point for Booth. If she promised no expectations, perhaps he'd be willing to indulge his desires without the fear of putting his heart in jeopardy. She just couldn't be sure of her hypothesis. Would his desire for her outweigh his reservations? It would if the desire were strong enough. Given the surrepticious looks, the casual touches that had escalated over the past weeks, she believed he still wanted her.
She sincerely hoped that once the two of them were linked sexually, they might be able to have a very fulfilling life as partners with benefits, never again worrying about third party interference. Of course, she knew that Booth would ultimately want more in his life - marriage, children - but she would defer those issues until such time, if ever, that he raised them. In the past she'd wanted a child with Booth, so she didn't see that as a stumbling block down the road should it come up. But all of this was getting way ahead of herself. She needed to convince him of the wisdom of starting down the path she had plotted out as the reasonable next step.
"So," she concluded "I don't see any impediment to giving a sexual relationship a try."
Booth took an abrupt step back and his shoulders banged against the metal wall of the elevator. Thwarted in his retreat, he sputtered, "What? Here in the elevator?"
Brennan smiled, glancing up at Booth indulgently from her seated position on the floor in the corner. "Of course not. There are no walls and, even if we could ignore that fact," she glanced pointedly at the stadium seats occupying the entire middle section of the elevator, "these chairs take up entirely too much space for this elevator to be a conducive location. I am just suggesting that, instead of meeting with Sweets for couples ther-"
"We are not doing that!" Booth interjected with heat.
"I agree completely," Brennan said, unphased by Booth's outburst. His emotions had been running rampant since they realized they were stuck alone in an elevator for the foreseeable future. She had no idea what that signified but knew that at least it meant he wasn't totally immune to her.
"I do however think that we could benefit from a modification to our relationship. We've been through a lot, both together and separately, in the past year and it might be a good idea to, as Angela might say, hit the reset button. I am just proposing that when we do restart - if you agree with that premise of course - that we start from a different point. I believe that a purely physical relationship between us would be not only very enjoyable, but would allow us to become acquainted in a wholly new way."
Booth expelled a deep breath and shook his head. "I honestly don't know how you do that, Bones."
"Do what?" Brennan replied, confused.
"How you can so effortlessly draw a line between different aspects of your life. We are partners. We work together every day. Don't you think a sexual relationship would have to have an impact on that?"
"Not if we don't let it. I would never do anything to jeopardize our friendship or our working relationship. If we give this a try, and it doesn't work, we'd have to do another reset. Just like you did with Cam. At the very least, it would end our curiosity once and for all."
Booth didn't respond. He appeared to be staring through the wall of the elevator but seeing nothing other than what was going through his head. After a moment, his eyes refocused and he once again looked down at his partner.
"Look, I am not going to deny that I am sexually attracted to you. Despite all that has happened, that has not gone away."
"Then we can-"
Booth held up a hand to silence Brennan. "It's not that simple, Bones."
Brennan crossed her arms and looked away. "If you don't want -"
Booth walked over and squatted down in front of Brennan, tilting her face back to him with a finger under her chin. "That's the problem, Bones, I do want. Your suggestion has gotten me so rattled, I can't think straight." He grinned shyly at her and she smiled back, a beaming smile that took his breath away. "I just don't think we can rush into this."
"Six years is hardly rushing Booth. You wanted to sleep with me as far back as our first case, remember?"
"What I remember is that you were the one who brought it up the minute I fired you as a consultant."
Her smile broadened. "That just proves my point. We have waited for six years. We are consenting adults. A purely sexual relationship between us would hurt no one and might be a lot of fun. It would certainly alleviate the sexual tension between us that seems to arise from time to time."
Booth dropped his hand and stood up abruptly. The idea of acting on her suggestion, even in an open elevator, was becoming more appealing by the moment.
He paced away from her to the opposite corner of the elevator. "How would we...I mean... we can't just." He spun around. "My God, Bones, this is too awkward to even talk about. How could we possibly start...?" His voice trailed off.
"I have actually anticipated that Booth, knowing that you'd likely be uncomfortable at the outset." She stood up, brushing off her pants. "I, of course, have no such qualms."
"Of course," Booth said dryly.
"So. I thought we'd start slowly." She walked towards him. "Remember a few years ago when Caroline demanded at least five steamboats in exchange for getting the conjugal trailer for my family's Christmas celebration?"
She reached up and clasped the lapels of his coat as she had done all of those years ago. Her voiced softened to a throaty whisper. "I thought this time we might start with just one or two steamboats and see where it might go from there."
"One or two steamboats," Booth repeated as if in a trance, feeling heat rush through him at the brush of her body against his, "I think I could try that."
He leaned slightly forward as she did the same and their lips met, tentative at first, then with intensity. Brennan gripped his lapels even tighter and pulled him hard against her, increasing the pressure of their lips. As one, they opened their mouths, Brennan welcoming Booth's exploring tongue with a sensual moan. Booth's arms encircled her pulling her even more tightly into his embrace.
"I'm back!"
At the sound of Sweet's voice, Booth and Brennan leapt apart like teenagers caught necking on the living room couch. Their eyes remained locked on each other's though, and each wore the same silly, satisfied smile.
"What?" Sweets asked, taking in the secretive looks passing between the partners.
"Nothing," Booth said, a little too quickly.
"Business," Brennan added in an uncharacteristically inarticulate manner, "It was...we were...um talking about ...uh...business. Boats..."
"Yes," Booth said, more slowly with a sexy half smile and a very pointed look in Brennan's direction. "We were talking about unfinished business involving a lot of boats, more than we first thought." Receiving an ecstatic grin from his partner, he turned his head to look through the elevator wall at Sweets.
"Boats?" Sweets repeated skeptically.
"Nothing that concerns you Sweets, so we'll just pick it up later once we're out of here."
"Oh, yeah," Brennan agreed with enthusiasm, looking only at Booth. "We'll need to get back to those boats."
Again, Sweets looked back and forth between Booth and Brennan. When he'd left an hour or so ago, Booth had been testy and uncomfortable with the forced intimacy of the elevator. Something had clearly changed. For the better it seemed.
"Well," Sweets said, "I just came by to see if you need anything. Power is slowly coming back on and when I last called Pepco, they estimated that this neighborhood will be restored by this evening, if not sooner."
"We're good, thanks," Booth replied.
Brennan nodded in agreement.
"Not cold? The temperature in here seems to be dropping."
"Has it? I hadn't noticed." Brennan said, the flush in her checks supporting her assertion. "I am going to sit back down though. Booth, why don't you come sit with me over here in the corner. That way, we can share body heat."
"Good idea, Bones." Booth bounded to the other side of the elevator, sat next to his partner and put an arm around her shoulders.
"We'll be fine here for a few more hours, Sweets. You don't have to keep us company. I'll call your cell if the power goes back on. If you don't hear from me in a few hours, you might want to come back with some blankets and coffee."
Recognizing Booth's words as a dismissal, Sweets said goodbye and left.
"So, where were we?" Booth asked, cupping Brennan's check in his hand.
Brennan laughed, "I think we were up to at least twenty steamboats, but I lost count."
Booth moved his hand to the back of Brennan's neck and caressed her nape, all the while moving his lips closer to hers.
"I never was very good with math." With that, he closed the gap between them.
When the power went on forty-five minutes later, they didn't even notice.
The End (or more optimistically, the beginning...)