Just a small fluffy two parter I came up with for you to enjoy. Not much else I can say except its BB fluff, of course.
It started with a hug. Up until that point, Brennan had maintained a physical distance from Booth. She allowed him to touch her arm or place an open hand on her back, which was more than she afforded any other man she knew, but the thought of allowing this man to hold her was something Brennan would not consider. She knew what it would mean to her, where she would want it to go and how it would change the way he thought about her. Even when she was distraught she would stand across the room, an invisible wall in front of her. Booth knew why she did it and he didn't push…much. He knew that with every touch, every gesture, he was breaking down that wall and one day she would let him in.
The first time he held her it was more for himself than for her. He had come within seconds of losing her and all he wanted to do was feel her body next to his, reassuring himself that she was alive. He knew she needed it too. She needed the comfort, the assurance that she was safe and only he could provide that for her. The physical contact itself had been painful for Booth due to his injuries from the explosion in her apartment, but when he saw that smile on her face the pain all but melted away. She was safe and in his arms.
xxxx
Their second hug was equally as emotional. Brennan was struggling with her identity and that of her parents. Booth was there to offer her reassurance that regardless of her birth name, he knew who she was. He knew what made her laugh, what made her sad, where she liked to spend her free time and who she spent that time with. He knew her favourite novel, her most played CD and her secret love for Jazz music. He knew her. She had buried her face in his jacket, her tears falling almost silently and he rubbed her back and held her tight.
xxxx
It wasn't that the partners started hugging all the time. In fact it was a long time before they hugged next. But when it happened, it wasn't because of a physical or emotional trauma like before. They had been out for dinner with the rest of the squints after a big case ended. Booth and Brennan were the last to leave the restaurant and it happened as they parted. Booth bid her goodnight, Brennan wished him the same. Then he opened his arms and she stepped towards him. His arms closed around her as she wrapped her arms around his back. They embraced for no more than a couple of seconds but it had felt like a lifetime.
xxxx
After that, hugs seemed to become a natural part of their relationship. Some were just a quick squeeze around the shoulders, some celebratory and others were for comfort. Brennan knew that with every hug she was opening herself up to the possibility that Booth might become more than just a friend and partner to her but that thought didn't scare her as much as it had when they first started working together. If anything, it had become something she wanted. But Booth was involved with Cam and Brennan knew his hugs were only friendly. He even called it 'a guy hug' when she was upset about falling for a murderer. Guy hugs are not what you give women you are interested in.
xxxx
Booth relished every opportunity to hold Brennan in his arms. He may have been seeing Cam but he didn't love her, not like he loved Brennan. Booth started to find reasons to hug Brennan and soon they almost always parted with a hug. Each time he felt her body flush against his, he wondered if she felt the same pounding in her heart that he did. But if she did, she didn't show it, at least not to him.
xxxx
The night everything changed, Brennan didn't even know why she had gone to his house. She had been driving home from the lab after a tedious week with no break from limbo bones. She had only seen Booth a couple of times when he stopped by to pick up evidence packets for a couple of cases they had finished and she had missed him. Maybe that's why she drove straight past her turnoff and kept going until she pulled up at his house. His lights were on so she knew he was home and it wasn't late enough for him to be in bed, or so she hoped. She found herself at the front door without really remembering the walk up the path. Her hand seemed to rise of its own accord and knock three times on the wooden door.
When Booth opened his door that Friday night he was expecting a pizza delivery, not Temperance Brennan. She didn't look upset, she didn't look happy, she was just there.
"Uh, hey Bones." He greeted her.
"Hi." She replied nervously.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you Bones, but what are you doing here at…" he paused to check his watch. "…nine on a Friday night?" Brennan glanced down at her feet, wondering what Booth was going to think when she told him why she had come. "Bones?" Booth probed when she remained silent. She finally looked up at him and Booth was confused by the expression on her face.
"I need a hug." She stated. If Booth thought he was confused before, he was more confused after hearing what she just said.
"Is something wrong, did something happen?" he asked. He couldn't think of any other reason Brennan would come all this way just for a hug.
"No, nothing is wrong." she said. As he watched her, Brennan began to think she had made a huge mistake. He thinks I'm crazy.
"You just wanted a hug?" he checked.
"Yes." She stated, with false confidence.
"Uh come on in." Booth stood aside and let Brennan walk into his home. Something told him that this visit wasn't just about a hug. "Bones, seriously, what's going on?" he asked.
"I don't know." Brennan admits. "I was driving home and I just…" she trailed off and took a deep breath. "I wanted you to hug me." She lifted her eyes to find Booth's and was a little surprised to see how intensely he was staring at her.
"You wanted me to hug you?" Brennan nods. "Why?"
"Because you always make me feel good when you hug me." She explained, making it sound like it should have been the obvious answer.
"And others don't?"
"Not like you."
"Oh." Booth feels his chest swell with pride. "So uh, you want that hug now?" Brennan nodded and stepped towards Booth's open arms. As soon as he closed them around her she felt better, like when a painkiller gets rid of a headache and you can think straight again. Is Booth like a drug to me? She wondered for a moment. She found herself flush against him, her head resting on his shoulder as he rubbed comforting gentle circles on her back. Something about this just felt so right but it was far from a normal friendly hug. It lasted too long and they were too close. Finally she pulled back from him.
"Thank you." She said.
"That's it?"
"There should be more?" she asked in return.
"Do you want there to be?" Booth couldn't bring himself to be the first to answer.
"Do you?" Brennan responded with yet another question. Booth stood watching her, feeling very mixed up. He wasn't really sure what he was just asking her or what she was asking him.
"I'm confused." He stated.
"Me too." She sighed.
"Why are you confused?" Booth asked. Brennan took a moment to think before replying.
"Because I don't think about hugging you the way a friend should." She saw Booth's eyebrows rise in surprise at her statement.
"You don't?" his voice confirmed his surprise.
"You do?" Brennan cocked her head to the side, trying to work out what Booth was thinking by the emotion in his eyes. He wasn't giving anything away.
"Um, well, no I guess I don't." he admitted finally.
"So what does that mean?"
"I don't know Bones." He shook his head and watched as she took a few steps away from him towards the door.
"I should probably go home." She said quietly. "It's late." For some reason she thought Booth would be able to explain all this and having him admit he didn't know what was going on made her doubt herself. When that happens, she runs.
"Don't you think we should talk about this?" Booth asked, a little worried about why Brennan seemed so desperate to leave.
"Talking just seems to make us more confused Booth." Her voice was heavy, tired.
"Bones." He tried one more time to get her to stay.
"I'll see you at work Booth." She added before she slipped out of the door and hurried to her car. She got what she came for but then things took on a whole new direction, one she had not been prepared for. When that happens, Brennan pushes people away. She knew she had just pushed Booth away but at the time she didn't know what else to do.