With the moonless night all around them, they sat on one of the chaise lounges, perfectly comfortable in their nudity; she between his legs, her back to his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder, his head on hers. His hands exploring her body lazily, her hands on his bent knees, running up and down his upper legs.

"I'm so happy I accepted your invitation, Temperance."

"Me too. I thought you wouldn't, for a while."

"I thought I wouldn't, either. But here we are." A few moments passed by. "The stars look wonderful here."

"There's no city lights or pollution to stop their feeble light from reaching us," she explained, looking up to the darkened skies herself. "There's no way we could see the stars shine this way at home."

"Home?" he wondered.

"Yeah... back in Washington."

"I know," he replied, letting a small sigh scape. "It's just... It feels like we had a home, our home, to get back to. I mean, the way you just said that, you know."

"Booth," she said, getting a bit uncomfortable.

He felt her stiffen a bit between his arms. He just held her tighter.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. But you know I just want to share more with you... share it all with you."

"We already share almost everything, Booth. Why do you think moving in together is necessary?"

"You said it there, Bones. Almost everything. But what can I say, it doesn't seem to be enough for me."

"How can that be, Booth?" she questioned him, still not looking back. "We sleep with each other every night, we have half our things in each other's place. We see each other or speak over the phone every few hours... And you want to move in together?"

"Yes, that's what I want. I want to be with you always. I'm not asking you to marry me—just look how you react," he added when he felt her stiffen further.

"I'm sorry, Booth. But you know what I think about marriage."

"Yeah, I know. And that's why I'm asking to just move in together. I know you don't want to marry, and I'm ok with that. I really am. But tell me: would it really be that terrible to actually be able to say we live together? Is it that bad an idea for you to think of me as a permanent person in your life?"

She jumped at that, leaving him alone on the chaise lounge.

"Don't run away, Temperance. Where are you going?"

She walked to the jacuzzi, turned it on and stepped in.

"I thought this would be a good idea..." She looked up at him and saw him not only disappointed, but also sad. She knew she wasn't being fair to him leaving him alone there, when he'd just been trying to understand. "I'm sorry. That was a cheap lie."

"Yes, it was," he answered, honestly.

She sat so the water would reach her clavicles and the jet directly hit her deltoids, but angled so that she could still look at him.

He was resting his elbows on his knees, his head turned to her. His face was serious, but his eyes betrayed just how hurt he was.

"Booth... I'm really sorry. It's just that I don't seem to feel comfortable with the idea of actually living with someone."

"I like to think I'm not just someone."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it. Our relationship is highly ranked in my hierarchy. And I'm ready to concede you're right on the top of it," she replied, hesitant in choosing each word carefully.

"Your hierarchy," he repeated while he rubbed his face with a hand. "God, why did I have to fall in love with the Queen of the Rational Squints?"

He got up, his body reflecting how tired his emotions were, and entered the jacuzzi so he could be next to her.

"Come here," he said taking her and making her sit on his lap. "Temperance... Wanting to be together? That's what couples do. They have a plan, they share things and they expect a future together... at least when they love each other. And you know I love you, even if you still don't understand what that means. It doesn't matter; I still want all those things with you because I can't see my life without you in it. I know we can't be certain of what will happen to us or between us... but we can have hope and trust each other to at least try and make it work."

Listening to him talking like that made her want to hope and trust him to try. She really wanted to believe they'd be together, that their future held each other in it. But... but.

Seeing the doubt and fear still clouding her eyes and wanting to make her understand someway, somehow, he hugged her tighter and lightly kissed her lips. The contrast between his strong arms and his soft mouth caused a shiver to run up her spine.

"You know how hard it was for us to be brave enough to acknowledge what's between us and make something with it. We started our relationship on faith because there was too much to lose... now here we are, several months into it and with no reason to think it'll come to an end."

Trying to understand and too confused to say anything, she only caressed his face with a hand, looking directly into his eyes. Maybe he'd understand what she couldn't yet verbalize if she put all her might into it.

He did. He saw her vulnerability, her fear of commitment: not because she didn't want to be with someone—with him and share her life, but because she was afraid in believing it was possible.

"Bones... I wish I could show you the future as I see it. I wish you could accept me as a constant in your life. I am a constant, have been for a while. You just haven't realized that things don't have to change," he said, his voice barely audible as he ran his fingers through her hair as it cascaded down her back, arriving at the nape of her neck and bringing her down for another kiss. "All I want is the chance to prove it to you."

"Booth..."

He kissed her yet again, taking his time. "Shh. Think about it—some more. But please give me the chance... and do it soon."

Full of something she wasn't able to name guilt—at not being able to give herself completely to him, to do what she knew would make him happy—she held his face between her hands again and kissed him as if it were the last time she would, pouring herself into it.

Maybe there was a way to show him she really wanted to see the future as he saw it... she simply didn't know how.

He responded to her kiss immediately, spreading his hands on her back and pressing her against him. The intensity of the kiss told him what he needed to know: she felt just like him; she only didn't know it yet.

And that annoyed him to hell.

With a smooth movement, he lifted her from the Jacuzzi and laid her back on the floor of the terrace, her legs still in the water. Standing next to her knees, his upper body rising from the jacuzzi as a triton would from the foam and waves, he looked at her and tried to control the way the impatience was growing in him.

Running a finger over the drops of water on her skin, he concentrated on who was there lying in front of him: the woman he loved, with all her complexities and stubbornness... the fact she wasn't yet able to know she loved him back was part of what made her what she was.

If she wasn't ready he'd just have to wait until she was.

She let him do as he wanted, seeing his eyes go darker by the moment with thoughts she wasn't sure she'd like to know. She felt him open her legs so he could stand between them, changing his touch so he was using not only his fingers now but his hands to explore her. They traveled from her knees up her legs, her waist, her belly, spreading a thin film of water on her skin. The sensation caused by the contrast between the coldness of the air on her and his warm hands reaching her breasts made her close her eyes in wonder, trying to give her full attention to the pleasure rising in her and embrace the hope and trust he told her about—maybe if she let herself be filled by them she'd find the certainty she needed.

Kneading her breasts and teasing her nipples, he saw the reaction it caused on her and felt the arousal grow in him. He knew if he was a lesser man it would be easy to just walk away from her and the difficult emotions that being close to her aroused. But he was no lesser man, and he was going to stay with her for good. He was willing to show her over and over again if necessary... but he would not abandon her.

"Believe me when I say I'm not leaving. Not now, not ever, Bones," he stated, his voice low with frustration and a love so strong he knew that it didn't matter how difficult being with her was, he wouldn't change her for the world.

He bent from the waist so he could lay lightly on top of her and looked deeply into her eyes. "As long as it is in my power, I'll always be close to you, for you, with you."

He held her face strongly with his hands, kissing her deeply as she surrounded him with her legs, trying to have him the closest to her physically as a replacement of the emotional closeness she still couldn't guarantee. Running her hands along his back, she let her fingers take residence in his hair while he nibbled at her jaw, her ear lobes, and neck. She felt the heat irradiating from his body and the sweat start to appear on her as she was no longer in contact with the water and their movements augmented in their intensity, which kept the slickness between them whenever their skins rubbed together.

Suddenly, he stopped. Slowly, letting his hands keep the link between them as they grabbed her neck, her ribs, her waist, her hips, he stood again in tandem to her. As if knowing the way their bodies worked together, how they fit together, he positioned himself in her entrance without the need to look or use his hand.

The look on his face was of such longing for her—she knew—that she found it impossible to not believe him when he said he felt everything he said he did. She knew that he felt everything he described as love for her. And was determined to learn how to allow herself to do the same for him.

As he entered her with a single powerful thrust, she realized it all went down to the fact she didn't want to be the one to give him more pain—she wanted to be the one to give him joy.

With that last thought dissolving in the midst of the emotions their joining brought, she finally forgot herself in the feeling of him filling her. She marveled at their ragged breaths rising to the darkened skies and at the growing strength of his grip on her hips. She reached down and put her hands over his, arching her back as he moved in her.

The way they were when physically connected felt like perfection to him. To feel her velvet walls surrounding him and clutching him as if wanting to keep him in would be flawless... if only he were able to show her how much he loved her. If only she trusted him to love her forever... If only she felt the certainty he felt.

If only she felt the connection he felt when he was in her. If only she felt the overwhelming love.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he gave his full attention to the pure feeling and the way their bodies danced to the same rhythm. He let himself be swallowed by the sensations of their impending orgasms and, as he felt her fall, he allowed himself to follow her.

Spent by the force of their emotions and climaxes, they had to make a conscious effort to move and get into the water again. Holding each other, they let their breathing calm slowly down until they could be there, quiet and still, trying to make their hearts recover the peace they'd lost... both physically and symbolically.

"No matter what it takes to love you... I'll love you anyway"

And, as they held each other tight, still trying to convey their emotions in the proximity of their bodies, she knew that no matter how beautiful a man he was for feeling the way he did, it was also unfair to expect him to be the one to support them that way.

Some angst here on your screen, uh?

Sorry about the delay... but had a busy and highly demanding weekend. I should finish the last details of the 3d and final chap during the day, so I'll be posting it tomorrow at the most.

Thanks to SherlockBones for betaing this story!