"Double Trouble in the Panhandle", 4x12

I know that this has been done a hundred times, but I just had to... :) Enjoy!

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Sharing a Bed

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Booth stepped out of the tiny shower and wrapped a towel around his lower half, trying to keep his mind off of the sleeping arrangements for the evening. He and Brennan were undercover as married circus performers. They were sharing a trailer which boasted a single lumpy bed. He wiped the condensation off of the mirror. He shaved and brushed his teeth. He was embarrassed to admit that he had taken extra care to wash every part of himself in anticipation of sleeping next to his partner. Not that he thought anything would happen. He just wanted to smell nice.

He pulled his clothing on and slid open the door. He was still toweling off his hair when he rounded the corner and froze. His eyes landed unintentionally on his partner's creamy white legs, bare all the way up to her underwear. She was turned away from him, digging in her suitcase on the bed. Her top was no better. Even from behind, Booth could tell that the thin white fabric would leave little to the imagination. Embarrassed, he quickly turned around and covered his eyes with his towel.

"Oh, whoa! Bones, I'm sorry, I thought you were dressed!"

"What?" Looking down at her tank top, Brennan said, "Don't be ridiculous, Booth. I am dressed."

"Whoa-ho, no, I don't think so! No, no, Bones. You are not wearing that to bed."

"What's wrong with this?" He couldn't see her, but he could hear the scowl in her voice.

"What's wrong? You're practically naked, Bones! That's what's wrong!"

"Booth, you have seen me in my bathing suit, which is far more revealing than-"

"No, that's not the same, Bones, okay? Bathing suits are for everyone to see. Underwear," he swallowed and lowered his voice, "underwear is... intimate."

"How is underwear any more intimate than bikini bottoms? I don't understand."

"Bones! Those underwear are most definitely intended to be used in... in intimate situations." He felt his ears redden as he remembered the flash of black lace that had lingered beneath the hem of her tank top and hugged her curves so perfectly. That image would be seared into his brain for the rest of his life.

"That is reasonable..." she mumbled. "I concede your point. I did not realize that we would be sharing sleeping quarters tonight."

"Well, I didn't either! So you don't have anything else you could wear?" His voice cracked.

"No, Booth," she said, as if it were unreasonable of him to expect otherwise. "This is what I would typically wear to bed."

She was killing him, trying to give him a heart attack.

Booth turned and reached into his duffle bag. "Here, Bones." He tossed a t-shirt and a pair of boxers onto the bed behind him. "They're clean, I promise."

"So it's okay for me to wear only your underwear to bed, but when I wear mine it's intimate?" she asked, clarifying.

Yes, she was actually trying to kill him. "Just put them on so I can turn around, alright?"

"I'm just trying to understand your reasoning, Booth."

"They'll be like shorts for you. You're smaller than me."

"I have seen you in your underwear many times, and you don't seem to-"

"Bones. Bones, seriously, drop it. It's just different, okay?"

She finished getting dressed and started pulling back the sheets of the bed. Booth turned around and began to help her.

"You seem uncomfortable," Brennan said, matter-of-factly. "Are you anxious about sleeping together tonight?"

"Okay, we are sharing a bed. Not sleeping together." He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks.

"Booth, you shouldn't be embarrassed. I am a very attractive woman. It's only natural that you would find it arousing to share a bed with me because sexual intercourse often occurs in a bed."

"We are so not talking about this right now."

"What? Of course we are talking about this right now." She pulled a small bag up from the floor and began rifling through it.

"That's not what I meant, Bones, okay? I don't want to talk about you-know-what."

"Sex? Booth, you can say sex."

"Seriously, Bones." He moved through the tight space between the bed and the wall to hang his damp towel on a hook on the bathroom door.

"Is this why it would be inappropriate for me to sleep in my underwear tonight? Because we're sleeping together?" She pulled her toothbrush and toothpaste out of the bag.

"Sharing a bed, Bones!" She was so good at getting under his skin.

"You are becoming very agitated, Booth. I am just trying to understand your rationale."

Then he saw it- a mischievous glimmer in her eye. She was toying with him. He wanted to punch the wall and laugh at the same time. She was intentionally winding him up.

"I have been told by many men that I am sexually appealing," she continued with a proud grin, squeezing past him in the tight hallway, "so I'm sure that you, also, find my symmetry and proportions pleasing. It's a biological response -"

Without warning, Booth put his hand on the wall in front of her face, forcing her to stop. He leaned his body close to hers, never quite touching, and trapped her against the faux wood paneling. She looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise. With his face just inches from her own, Booth could feel her holding her breath. In a low growl he said, "Bones, I find everything about you appealing. Everything." He looked right into her blue eyes, letting the heat of the moment hold her in place. Brennan swallowed hard. He smiled a little as she squirmed under his gaze.

"Now go brush them choppers," he said brightly, suddenly leaning away from the wall and releasing her from his trap. Brennan cleared her throat and quickly slipped into the bathroom, sliding the door shut behind her. Booth laughed quietly as he crawled into the lumpy bed.

When Brennan emerged from the bathroom, she acted as though nothing had happened. Booth smiled at her with a victorious twinkle in his eye, knowing that he had gotten to her. She ignored it.

"We should get up early tomorrow to practice our routine," she said, pulling the covers back.

"Yeah, we need to figure out our costumes, too. I saw a Halloween store a few miles back on the interstate."

Brennan chuckled. "You should wear an ushanka, Booth." She laid her head down on the pillow and turned towards him, giggling. "Oh, and a fur coat!"

He couldn't help but smile at her giddiness. "A what?"

"Ushanka. It's a popular style of Russian hat."

"You had to go with Russian, didn't ya, Bones?" Booth shifted onto his back and groaned. "This bed sucks."

"Yes, it seems that this mattress is quite worn. Would you like to switch sides?"

"Nah, I'm sure that side's just as bad. Thank you, taxpayers of America." He arched his back a little, trying to find a comfortable position.

"If you lay on your side, I'll massage your back," she offered.

"Really?" Booth asked. "That's really nice of you, Bones. Thanks."

He flipped to his side as Brennan scooted nearer. She began to run her hands along his neck and shoulders. Booth felt his muscles immediately tighten at the feel of her so close to him.

"Booth, you need to relax," she said soothingly. "I can feel the tension in your trapezius muscle."

"I am relaxed," he shot back tersely.

Brennan chuckled, digging her fingers even harder into the brick wall of Booth's back. "Obviously," she murmured.

"Sorry, Bones," he sighed. "There's just a lot... going on... with this case."

"This case isn't too out of the ordinary, apart from us going undercover."

"Well, it feels different, Bones. I have to throw knives at you tomorrow." He let out a low groan as Brennan moved down to the center of his back. "And there's... other things.." he trailed off under his breath.

"You mean because we are sleeping in the same bed tonight?"

Booth didn't answer. A low, throaty laugh sounded inches from his ear, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "You're thinking of me in my underwear."

"I am not!" he said too quickly.

"I know if I were a male, I would be thinking of me in my underwear." Her hand drifted lower on his back.

Booth clenched his teeth. She was egging him on again. He flipped over to face her.

"What are you doing, Bones?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said with a straight face.

"Oh, yes. You absolutely know what I mean. What are you trying to do? Are you trying to kill me?"

She was smirking. "Booth, of course I'm not trying to kill you! I was just trying to understand the reason behind your muscle tension. Sexual frustration could very well manifest-"

In one swift motion, Booth was over her, pinning her down without touching her. This time, though, she grinned up at him with laughter in her eyes. It was all Booth could do to not devour her right then and there.

"You want to know what I was thinking about, Bones?" he asked huskily. "I was thinking about you in your underwear. And you without underwear. And you and I in a hundred different scenarios that are completely inappropriate for professional partners." She was all but laughing out loud beneath him. She bit her bottom lip flirtatiously and her eyes lingered on his mouth.

"But do you know what I was thinking of most of all, Bones?" Booth leaned down even further. His lips grazed her ear as he spoke in a low growl. "I promise you this- one day, you will be mine. I am going to make love to you like no one ever has before. You and me? We're going to break the damn laws of physics. I am going to ruin you for any other man, I swear to you. You think you know what sex is? What love is? You have no idea. One day I'll show you, Temperance. One day you'll be completely and totally mine." He placed a single hot, wet kiss behind her earlobe.

Feeling her tremble, Booth leaned his head back and looked into her dilated eyes. "But tonight, right now, in Buck and Wanda's trailer? Tonight's not the time. So tease me all you want, baby." Now he was the one smirking. "But know that your day is coming."

And with that, Booth rolled back over onto his side. He could hear Brennan's quick breathing. Now who's sexually frustrated? he thought with a grin.

They were silent for a long time. Booth could tell she was still awake by her restless fidgeting.

"Booth?" her voice was timid. "You win."

He laughed and turned back towards her. "C'mere," he offered with an extended arm. Brennan laughed and rolled closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Her hair smelled incredible. He held her close and sighed contentedly, "Night, Wanda."

She giggled against his chest. "Night, Buck."

Relaxed by the other's presence, the partners drifted off to sleep.

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Yes, slightly out of character, I know. But I just had to. Please review :)