Making Time
"Pizza?"
"No."
Temperance continued tapping at her laptop, glancing over briefly to her notes once or twice and then picking up her speed once again. From his spot on the revolving chair in front of her desk Booth sighed and spun around again.
"Burgers?"
"No."
Temperance frowned lightly and selected a large textbook from the shelf above her desk, flicking to one of the numerous pages that had been marked. She re-read a section of her work and then compared it with the text. Booth focused on her frown and sighed in defeat, before a flash of inspiration split his face into a smile.
"Curry?"
"No."
Temperance slammed the book closed and replaced it on the shelf. She saved her work and closed the laptop down, picking up her sheets of notes and making her way out of her office. Booth trailed a few steps behind, his car keys jingling as he spun them around his finger.
"Mexican?"
"No."
Temperance handed her notes to Zack who took them with a distracted thank you. She then made her way down to Angela's work station where an A4 envelope was waiting on the desk. Temperance read the post-it note stuck to the front and smiled, pulling out three sheets of paper with profile sketches on them. Booth took a few moments to study them before realising they were nothing to do with a case he was on.
"Kebabs?"
"No."
Temperance replaced the sketches and carried them back to her office. She faxed a copy to another department and filed the originals in a drawer. She sat down and began filing out a series of forms that had appeared on her desk in their absence. Booth collapsed with a sigh back in the chair opposite and gave an experimental spin.
"Sushi?"
"No."
"You know what, forget it. I give up." Booth slammed his hands down on the back of the chair and stood up, storming out of the door before Temperance had a chance to look up from her paperwork. She frowned at the empty chair and wondered just what she had done wrong. She was busy, she didn't have time to go out and get lunch. If he had a case to talk about that would be a different matter, but otherwise it was an unnecessary frivolity.
Angela appeared at the doorway with a frown. "You love Sushi."
"I don't have time for Sushi. Or pizza, or anything. I have a lot of work to get done." Temperance waved at the stack of forms. Angela sighed and sat down in the chair Booth had been occupying.
"Sweetie, lunch would take maybe half an hour. Just half an hour to keep him happy, and to make you happy." Temperance watched as she rose and left, even more confused than before her visit.
She shrugged and turned back to her form. After nearly five minutes she realised that she was still on the same question; and that the name Seeley Booth had entered her mind no less than fifty times. She groaned and forced her brain to concentrate on the task at hand.
-
Slam.
Temperance glanced up, and met with a dazzling pair of eyes. Booth was smiling and waved a hand at the paper bag that was currently sitting on top of her paperwork. A tantalising scent was wafting from an open corner.
"Chinese."
"Yes."
Temperance found herself smiling, and pushing the forms aside to make room for Booth to spread the take away out. He sat down in the swivel chair and opened the bag, pulling out cartons and serviettes. He handed her a pair of chopsticks with a smile and offered the vegetable noodles to her.
"I knew I'd get it right eventually."
"Yeah, me too."
Owari
Please review.
Completed: April 6th 2007
Mayoki
