A/N: Hey, long time no see! I know, I know…I've been slacking. But what better time to get my fan fic groove back than at Christmas!
And in that spirit, this one shot is my submission for the Bones Secret Santa gift exchange, for the delightful ArielBrennan. She asked for Booth and Brennan in a relationship, possibly at Christmas, maybe some smut…and I thought, hey I can do that! I'm feeling quite fluffy this holiday season, so be prepared.
And to ArielBrennan…I hope this is everything you wished for…Merry Christmas!
*Special shout-out to my beta, Jaime…thank you, thank you, thank you! I couldn't have finished this without you!
The Yes in the Yuletide
"Bones, I understand why you want everything to be perfect, but Christine isn't going to remember any of this, you know." Booth shook his head in frustrated amusement as Brennan continued to move ornaments around on their massive 15-foot Christmas tree, clucking her tongue as she found yet another hanging candy cane that didn't live up to her exacting "holiday spruce-adornment" standards.
His partner turned and regarded him with what he secretly called her "Booth, you're a moron" look, eyebrows knitted together furiously. "I am aware of that, Booth. She is only nine months old. But it is still her first Christmas season and while I acknowledge that her cognitive abilities fall far short of being able to adequately process the festivities, we will be taking several pictures as well as video and…well…" She stopped and tipped her head sideways, gnawing her bottom lip. Booth took that as his cue and moved to pull Brennan into his arms, smiling when she wrapped hers around his waist.
"You want everything to look perfect because your Christmas memories weren't always that great. I get that." He murmured. "And I'm not complaining, Bones." He pulled back and turned her so they were still connected as they faced the beautiful tree. "You've done a fantastic job. Really. It's any kid's Christmas fantasy." He took in the train that chugged around the tree skirt. "Even if Christine doesn't remember any of this, when she sees the pictures she's going to wish that she did."
Brennan visibly relaxed against him, her voice small and a little unsure. "Really?"
"Yes, Bones. Really. It's gorgeous." He turned her again so that they were facing each other. "And so are you." Brennan rolled her eyes at his sentimentality, not quite able to hide the delighted flush that graced her cheeks at his compliment.
"Alright. I respect your opinion and I know you wouldn't lead me astray when you are aware of how much this means to me. I do not require you to kiss back to accept what you say as fact." She leaned up slightly to kiss him and then settled back against his side, arms still intertwined.
"Kiss up, Bones. Not kiss back." Booth grinned naughtily and leaned over to brush her lips with his one more time. "Not that I wouldn't ever kiss back." He sighed and looked up at the tree again. "This is going to be the best Christmas any of us has ever had."
Brennan smiled up at him, a gleam in her eye that Booth attributed to the lights twinkling. "Oh, I added your mother's ornament." She disengaged from his arm and pointed. "It's just there, on the left."
Booth nodded, returning her smile. "Thanks, Bones. It means a lot to me." He kissed her briefly before moving towards the tree, taking in the delicate snowflake ornament Brennan had purchased for the baby before she was born. He grinned, remembering how embarrassed she had been at what she termed a "moment of irrationality fueled by hormones." He had only thought it was incredibly sweet, a description that caused her to wrinkle her nose in that cute way she did when she disagreed with something he'd said but didn't have the heart to argue about.
Gazing past the sweet proof of his partner's love for their daughter, he was searching for the 24 carat angel ornament passed down from his maternal grandmother when another glint of gold caught his eye. Dangling from the hook holding the 'Baby's First Christmas' Tiffany bauble that Cam had purchased for them was a delicate ring. Upon closer inspection, Booth realized that it was a pave-set solitaire, set into a diamond-accented band with a circle of sapphires surrounding it. He touched it tentatively, setting it spinning, the tree lights highlighting the twinkle of the gemstones.
Booth was a smart man. He knew, without even asking, what that ring meant and why Brennan had placed it on the tree for him to find. But deep down, despite his outward bravado, he was an insecure man when it came to this kind of thing. After all, he had been burned rather badly in the past when it came to the women in his life and the prospect of forever. And even though this woman had given him every indication of wanting a future with him, he couldn't help but worry that he was misinterpreting her intentions. He turned slowly, taking in her timid smile, hands clenched together in front of her defensively.
"Bones?
Brennan took a tentative step forward and tilted her head as if she were gathering her thoughts. "Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the wife of Charles Lindbergh, said everything I want to say, and much better that I ever could. These are her words, but the sentiment is mine." She pulled a small scrap of lined paper from her pocket, smoothing the edges nervously. Clearing her throat, she read, "When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return." Brennan reached forward suddenly to clasp Booth's fingers with hers, giving a squeeze that was immediately returned, each remembering wistfully their own ebb and flow. "We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity — in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern," She finally looked at Booth, who was staring at her inscrutably. "The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now," She swallowed and wet her lips before continuing. "Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits — islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides." She refolded the paper she had been reading from and stood back slightly so that she could look Booth in the eye.
"What-" Booth swallowed reflexively, a question he suddenly couldn't vocalize in his tear-dampened eyes that begged her to understand. "I…Bones…" He shook his head in frustration and pulled her closer.
With a soft smile, Brennan took pity on him. She reached up and laid one warm palm against his cheek, her thumb caressing his strong jaw. "What I am trying to say, Booth…that is, what I am asking you, is…will you be my island and allow me to be yours?"
His breath hitching in his chest, Booth looked in her eyes and saw only sincerity and trust and love. He leaned towards her, resting his forehead on hers, their shallow breaths mingling between them. Reaching for the delicate hand that was cradling his jaw; he pulled it to his lips and kissed her palm lightly.
"Bones, I would be honored to be your island…and for you to be mine. As long as there are fruity drinks with umbrellas and you naked on a white sandy beach, of course." His smile allowed Brennan to finally release the breath she hadn't even known she was holding, and she jumped into his arms, holding him tightly.
She pulled back abruptly and stared into his eyes. "You understand that I am asking you to marry me, correct?"
Laughing deeply and fully, Booth grabbed her around the waist and spun her around, ignoring her half-hearted protests as she swatted at his chest. "Yeah, I got that, crazy woman."
Brennan returned his laugh along with the requisite eye roll that usually accompanied Booth's gentle teasing, then leaned up and kissed him deeply, breaking the contact suddenly with an intense look crossing her features. "I do love you, for however long our forever is."
Booth swallowed over the lump in his throat and nodded. "I know that, Bones. I love you, too."
"Good." With a satisfied nod, she began to unbutton her blouse. At Booth's slack-jawed look, she smiled. "I believe it is customary to celebrate an engagement with intercourse, is it not?" She let her hands drop to his belt buckle, toying with it gently. "To…seal the deal?"
Booth chuffed out a surprised laugh. "You're getting better at the metaphors, Bones."
"Well, we do spend an inordinate amount of time together; eventually I was going to start picking up new things."
"Yeah?" Booth's voice rumbled low and sexy as he moved to remove his own shirt. "So, tell me Dr. Brennan…" He dropped down in front of her on his knees and began unfastening her jeans. "What new things have you learned?" He placed a wet kiss just above her exposed belly button. When her breath hitched, he grinned against her damp skin. "Tell you what…let me show you what I've learned…" And with that, he reached for her slack hands and pulled her down to the carpet in front of the twinkling Christmas tree, stretching his long, muscled body over her softer one.
For a moment, Booth paused to take her in as she lay beneath him. Her long, soft hair was fanned across the deep carpeting, surrounding her head like a pagan halo. Her eyes were bright and wide, following along as he continued to let his gaze drift over her.
"You're beautiful, you know." He breathed the declaration even as his eyes continued to move down her prone body.
Brennan nodded, bringing a smile to Booth's face at her innate lack of modesty. The grin dropped off when she brought her eyes to his and spoke. "For you, I am. Not just…outside, where everyone can see. But, inside as well." She reached up and cupped his jaw. "You make me feel beautiful. Everywhere."
His eyes closed tightly, the emotion of her words overwhelming him and leaving him breathless. When he finally reopened his eyes, they caught a flash from the Christmas tree above them and he realized that in their haste to celebrate, they had forgotten why they were celebrating in the first place. With that, he reached up and snatched the still-dangling ring from its place and lay back down beside his partner.
Booth picked up Brennan's left hand as he twirled the most important piece of jewelry he had ever held in his right. "Bones, you need to know that when I put this ring on your finger, you are mine. Forever. No running, no hiding, no holding back. It's a done deal for me."
"Booth…" Brennan breathed, caught up in the intensity in his eyes. "I never would have asked you if I wasn't completely sure." She couldn't help the little smile that crossed her lips. "You should know I never do anything unless I am completely sure of myself." At his returning grin, she turned serious. "I mean it, Booth. I am…yours." She looked almost stern as she continued. "But you are mine, as well. This has always been an equal partnership and it will remain so, no matter how we define it."
After sliding the ring onto Brennan's finger, Booth exhaled in wonder. He stared at her hand for a moment before shaking his head slightly.
"What is it, Booth? Do you not like it? I…I know it's mine to wear, but I wanted you to love it as much as…"
"No!" He placed both hands on her face and kissed her deeply. "No, that's not it at all, Bones. Really. It's just…well, I guess I expected to feel different, somehow. You know?" She shook her head, not understanding at all.
Booth sat up a little, pulling his body back over hers. As he spoke, he began to divest her of her clothing, one piece at a time. "Alright, it's like…all this time, what I thought I wanted, what I thought would really make me happy, was to get married." Her already-open blouse slid from her arms and he threw it over his head as he continued. "Then, when we became…well, what we are now, I figured that since I wasn't going to ask you, knowing that you weren't ready and might not ever be, that I could be perfectly happy with you by my side, no matter what." Her jeans were the next casualties of his measured assault on her clothes, following the path her blouse had taken to somewhere in the middle of their living room. "But deep down, I always thought that when you did ask, something would just click into place…like the last piece of a puzzle we had been working on for years, right?" Booth slid his wide shoulders between her thighs, breathing hotly on her panty-covered center, eliciting a deep groan from the woman below him. "But now…" With a flourish, he pulled her panties down her mile-long legs and then sat back on his haunches to stare at her completely uncovered form. "Now, I realize that you were right all along."
Brennan sat up slightly to reach for him, helping him to remove all of his clothing as well, breathless in anticipation to hear his conclusion. "What, Booth? What was I right about?"
After yanking his shirt over his head, his belt made a satisfying clink as it hit the floor, his pants and boxers following soon after. Both sets of clothes now decorating the floor, they took a moment to press themselves together, enjoying the feel of naked skin sliding against equally naked skin, each suppressing a shudder at the sensation.
"This, Bones…you were right about this." He inhaled the skin of her throat before laving the slight indentation with the tip of his tongue as he slid one hand down to skim her already damp folds. "I put that ring on your finger, and nothing changed." He reared up and braced his hands on either side of her head, letting her see all of him, inside and out. "I love you, I want to marry you, and I want to spend the rest of my time on this earth with you at my side…and no piece of paper will ever make me want that more than I do right at this moment." And with that he lifted her slightly, slid into her, then pulled her close and pressed his entire body against hers. "Hold still, Bones. Let me…just, look at me."
Brennan opened her lust-clouded eyes and looked. Booth was staring at her more intensely than she had ever seen. Even during the first time they'd made love, when he was so intent on going slow and making a real connection with her…that intensity was nothing compared to this. He didn't move, he simply held her, letting their breaths sync up and become one. He breathed in, she breathed out…over and over, until her head began to spin in the best way imaginable. It was the most erotic moment of her life.
Soon, however, their breathing started to speed up and his hands began to roam, finding her firm buttocks and squeezing gently. He used his grip to lift her slightly; filling her up completely and making her groan his name desperately.
"P-please, Booth….please. I need to move. I need to…" Brennan found herself without the words to explain how she was feeling, and not for the first time when Booth was involved. "I-I can't…"
"Mmmm….Bones…love you." He sighed and tipped her until her back was flush with the floor and then he lay over her, brushing hair from her forehead and gripping her thighs to wrap around his waist. "You'd better hang on, sweetheart."
Brennan threw her head back, almost keening as Booth began to move swiftly and deeply…the sensation of his body moving through hers completely overwhelming in its white hot need. She gripped his biceps in desperation, her moans spurring him on and causing sparks of pleasure to slice through his body from toes to scalp. He watched her facial expressions as he loved her, cataloguing her reactions to each thrust of his body, each swivel of his hips, each nip of his teeth on her throat…every emotion that spilled across her beautiful face taken in and filed away for later use, even as his own passion threatened to overwhelm him.
Finally, he felt the tell-tale tightening of her thighs on his waist and watched, enthralled, as her eyes widened and the color darkened in time with her peak. Her breath hitched and was immediately followed by a litany of 'Oh God's and 'Yes, Booth, yes's, as her entire body locked around his inside and out, and she toppled over the precipice, his name on her lips like a prayer and the waves of her orgasm the most amazing thing he would ever swim through as he joined her in bliss.
B&B
Lying, still naked and entwined, underneath the branches of their Christmas tree, Booth held Brennan's left hand up as they both took in the light that reflected off her ring. "Are you disappointed that you did not purchase the ring?" She asked tentatively. "I know you were willing to let me propose, but if I overstepped and insulted your alpha-"
"Bones." Booth's voice was low and slightly amused, but she heard the certainty in his tone. "I love that you picked something out for yourself. I do. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have done as good a job."
Brennan sat up, ignoring the ringing bell ornament that she knocked off the low tree branch in the process. "Booth! Don't say things like that, you have wonderful taste." Her glare softened as she looked down at his cowed expression. "You really do. In fact, when I picked the ring, I tried to choose something I thought you might buy yourself. For me." She clarified. "I have no doubts that, had we done this the traditional way, you would have chosen well."
"Yeah?" His smile was still a little uncertain, his insecurity shining through, and she fell just a little more in love with him because of it.
She nestled herself back into his side, throwing her leg over his and snuggling in. "You know that I do not lie."
With a contented sigh, Booth pulled Brennan even closer, accepting her faith in him. "Yeah, I do know that." He looked down at the top of her head, where it was lying on his chest. "Thank you for asking, Bones."
"Thank you for saying yes." She turned her head to look up at him. "Merry Christmas, Booth."
He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Bones."