Simply Bewitching
by: Eyes-of-Pearl
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Bones belongs to its respective owners.
Author's Note & Synopsis: My first entry to a CBPC Challenge. The first time that Seeley Booth fell in love. AU.
Challenge: This is a story featuring only one of the characters on the show. It is about a first in their life that has helped shape who they are today. And it can be any first, a first kiss, first job, first date, whatever. But it has to convey how it has helped to shape who they are today. This piece cannot however be a first meeting between the characters. So no Temperance meeting Seeley years before they work together.
Simply Bewitching
Booth: You know what ever happened to seeing someone across a crowded room, eyes meeting, that old black magic gets you in its spell?
Bones: There's no such thing as magic.
Booth: Oh, it is magic.
– Two Bodies in the Lab, S1E15
There were times in your life where you felt as if you were on the edge of the precipice and the entire world stood still. And in that single moment as you fell into eternity, you realized that there was something so surreal that it could only be described as magic.
The first time that Seeley Booth saw Rebecca Stinson, it wasn't at some seedy nightclub where the music was always too loud and the people were too rowdy. The day wasn't particular bright and sunny, instead, the sky was covered by an ominous downcast that threatened to rain upon Washington D. C.
He was in one of his trademark Armani suits - flawlessly tailored, a three-button piece. The black contrasted with his unostentatious white dress shirt.
He was over by the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, after spending the better part of the morning at a service at Arlington National Cemetery. He didn't remember his exact thoughts or whether he was facing East towards the US Capitol Building. He was only conscious of the fact that when he turned, he caught movement just off to the side of his peripheral vision and there she was.
He didn't notice her face first, and as strange as it may sound, he felt drawn by her walk. It was more than just putting one feet in front of the other, rather, it was the way she carried her entire body. With her back erected, and shoulders squared, one of her hands was clutching her briefcase and the other shouldering her handbag. In heels, she transformed flamboyance to a polished grace with a the gait that exuded confidence and assertiveness. It was as though she had spent her entire life gliding effortlessly across gravel streets.
Then, she stopped momentarily and turned to look behind her. The simple motion was perfected liked the swing of a pendulum, the swoosh of her dress followed the twist of her body. He was able to take in her entire profile. The hand that was previously holding onto her handbag, reached up to tug a stray of blonde hair behind the ear. He was too far away to discern the colour of her eyes but even from this distance, he could distinguish the colour of her lipstick - an elegant shade of pink.
If there was a single moment for two people where they could catch fire (1), then this was it when their eyes met across the Reflecting Pool – his raw umber against her soft russet. He felt gravitated towards her, or her towards him. Whatever the case maybe, they were now standing within conversation distance of each other.
"What is this?" she asked.
He shook his head, not trusting himself to come up with a plausible logical explanation, and replied, "I don't know, maybe it's magic."
Fin
Note: I don't really consider Rebecca as an official character on the show and this is not a first meeting between Temperance and Seeley.
AN: As you can see I was inspired by S1 E15 and also this conversation between Brennan and Rebecca but I don't remember which episode:
"Hey, can I ask you something? Why did you say no?"
"Excuse me?"
"When he asked you to marry him ... he seems like an ideal candidate - strong alpha male, good protective instincts."
"And, I should discuss with you, why?"
"It's just ... I'm not sure he knows and I think it bothers him."
"I've always taken care of myself, to a fault sometimes. When we got pregnant, Seeley proposed. But, I didn't want to become one of those women who married out of need, so I said no.
"I can see that."
"By the time, I realize that I had made a mistake, that I still be the same person. I think there is a moment for two people, a single moment where they either can catch fire or ... Seeley and I ... we missed our moment. Do you understand?"
"I'm trying but this single moment thesis doesn't explain ..."
"Why we get together ... fall together, really, because I think we just feel what used to be there and we missed it."
I just want to use this little one-shot to illustrate the whole idea behind the "single moment" when people fall in love.