Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Note: This is my first fic in a long, long time; apologies for things left unfinished and loose threads untied. I also apologize for the roughness of this piece, but I wanted to put it out today, seeing as the timing is just right. Inspired by the recent snowstorm in D.C.
Let It Snow
It had all looked so perfect on paper. Leave on Christmas Eve, spend two weeks studying ancient human remains in Argentina, and return to D.C. and work at the Jeffersonian just after the new year. No complications, no distractions, just Dr. Temperance Brennan and her bones. But that was before the snowstorm.
"Bones!" Brennan looked up from her desk at the sound of her partner's voice. Booth bounded into her office, grinning like a little child. She smiled, not just because she was happy to see him, but because she was happy to see him happy, too. Booth had been close to giddy for two days now, ever since his ex Rebecca had dropped their son off for Christmas and flitted away to New York.
"Booth," Brennan greeted him calmly, knowing his presence could only mean one thing. "Do we have another case?"
"What? Oh, uh, no." This surprised her. Then what was he doing in her office on Christmas Eve? Everyone else had already left. Daisy had been swept away by Sweets. Cam had scurried off to bake cookies with Michelle. Even Angela had gone, Hodgins' arm wrapped tightly around her waist, but only after Brennan had assured her that she would be fine by herself in the Jeffersonian. Brennan closed the file on her computer containing her latest book and diverted her full attention to Booth, who stood right in front of her, leaning eagerly on her desk.
"Then what are you doing here?" She didn't intend to sound rude, but rather, curious. Why was he here, when he could be spending time bonding with his son? "Where's Parker?"
"Oh, Parker's with Pops," Booth answered cheerfully. "I wanted to pick up a couple last minute presents this morning."
"But it's almost five o'clock," Brennan pointed out. "Surely it didn't take you that long." Her partner shrugged.
"You'd be surprised at how poorly people drive when there's snow on the ground." Brennan's features wrinkled into a frown at the mention of the snow, which didn't go unnoticed by Booth. "Hey," he said softly, reaching out to place his hand gently on hers; Brennan was startled by the gesture, but she didn't pull away. "Bones, Argentina will still be there for you after this storm clears."
"I didn't plan for a snowstorm," mumbled Brennan dully, the closest to outright complaining that she was going to get. She hadn't bothered to prepare for a holiday in D.C., so her apartment was cold and empty. Yet it seemed impractical to do anything now; it would all just come down tomorrow.
"Come home with me," Booth murmured as if he had read her mind, scooping her hand into his own and squeezing it gently before pulling her up from her chair. "Spend Christmas with Parker and me." Not only was Brennan again startled by the action, but this time she felt the skin of her neck and face warm in a blush as well.
"I don't want to intrude on your time with him," she began to protest, her voice low, but she was interrupted by Booth, who had come around to her side of the desk, taking her in his arms and kissing her gently. Brennan didn't dare do anything but kiss him back; though she'd waited for this moment since their first kiss under mistletoe years ago, she hadn't wanted to make the first move, scared of rejection.
Booth began the kiss, and it was Booth that ended it. Brennan gazed at him, hopeful and vulnerable and starry-eyed all in one.
"It wouldn't be Christmas without you, Bones," he told her, his voice tender. She laughed at that, not quite scornful and not quite dismissive, but certainly amused.
"Yes, it would, Booth," she countered. "Christmas is just another day of the year. It would be Christmas here even if I didn't exist." He sighed in mock exasperation before kissing her again.
"Then it wouldn't be as wonderful without you," he amended, and Brennan smiled.
"I suppose Argentina can wait until after Christmas," she admitted, before leaning in to kiss Booth once more. Outside, the snow began to fall even harder, its whispery sounds assuring all that any trip beyond one to Booth's apartment remained far, far out of the question for quite some time.