Spoilers: Eehhh.
Disclaimer: Whatever.
Author's Note: Okay, FLUFF!! I thought I'd make up for that total lack of fluff in the last chapter, so here it is! Tell me what you think! Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story!! You guys all rock, and you're giving me some awesome feedback, and some really, really good suggestions, and pulling me up on things I'd completely missed. You guys keep my writing going! Thank you!
Parker woke up early, as he normally did, and cast a glance around, checking out his surroundings. He remembered only his daddy taking him to "Bones' house". Turning over and seeing his daddy, who was still asleep, he hopped quietly out of bed and padded down the hallway to find the TV.
He looked at the first clock he could find, stopping for a few seconds to read it. 6:32; Perfect! His favourite cartoons started now. He wandered into the lounge room as quietly as he could, searching for the remote. He stopped when he saw Brennan on the couch, fast asleep, like his daddy was. Grown ups!, he thought, exasperatedly.
He flicked on the TV, turning the volume down as far as it would go yet still be audible. He sat as close to the TV as he could, casting a glance back at Brennan again. She remained asleep, and he lay down, chin resting on the heels of his hands, completely taken by the bright colours in front of him.
--
Brennan stirred; she could hear soft voices and music. She tensed automatically, opening her eyes to see two small feet waving back and forth above the coffee table. The rest of the figure was hidden behind it. Brennan sat up to get a better vantage point, and her memory came swooping back as she saw the bright pyjamas and mop of messy blonde hair. She smiled, not at all annoyed at having been woken up, but slightly confused as to what he was doing.
She looked up further to see the TV flashing colours happily. She remembered getting up this early when she was little, sneaking past her parents' room with Russ, to watch cartoons, or music clips. She pulled her blankets back up around her; it was freezing.
"Parker?" she started. The boy flipped his head around, wide eyed. Oops, thought Brennan. Just scare the child, why don't you, Brennan!
"Doctor Bones, I didn't mean to wake you up!" he said, a look of worry passing over his face. "Do I have to turn it off?" he asked, sadness taking over his face and etching itself in his voice. Brennan shook her head and smiled.
"No, Parker, you can keep it on. How about you come up here; it's cold. And I'll make us some hot chocolate?" she suggested, wondering what was possessing her to be so...parental. Parker nodded furiously and jumped up, walking over to the couch and crawled under the blankets just as Brennan was getting up off the couch, moving stiffly to the kitchen.
Brennan looked back at Parker and grinned as she scrounged in her cupboard for two mugs and the cocoa. It suddenly occurred to her that this was the first time she had been with Parker away from Booth. Fear suddenly gripped her. She'd never been good with children, and Booth had reminded her enough times that she always said the wrong thing. Children didn't like her.
She didn't want to tell him something that Booth would deem 'inappropriate'; then he'd just get mad at her. She carefully made her way back to the couch, holding the mugs, making sure she gave Parker the cooler one; she didn't want him to burn himself. He said a bright thank you, then turned his attention back the TV, unconsciously moving closer to Brennan, reaching out to play with her sleeve, laying his head on her shoulder.
Brennan tensed again; she wasn't used to anyone being so...comfortable with her, let alone a child. She forced her attention to the TV, quickly finding that she was actually fascinated by the bright, impossible little characters. As one ended, she found herself almost sad; then the next one would start up, and her interest was taken again.
She laughed uncontrollably with Parker when Heckyl and Jeckyll fought with an overall-wearing lumberjack over their forest.
--
Booth opened his eyes slowly, noticing easily that he was in a strange place. He flopped his arm over, confused when he didn't feel Parker. Was I seriously dreaming that? he wondered groggily. He shook his head, then glanced around the room. He was still in Brennan's bed, curled up against the cold. He tensed, the perfect statue, then drew an unsteady breath.
He was in Bones' bed. Bones. His Bones. He had been at her house, then suddenly in her bed...He caught himself before he let the thoughts progress any further; that wouldn't be a good idea. He decided against getting up, instead opting for staying cozily in Bones' bed. He wondered how she got up so early every morning; her bed was so comfortable. He shoved his head further into the soft pillow, breathing deeply.
It smells like her...he thought wistfully. He closed his eyes, pulling the blankets up further, snuggling down into them, when he heard laughter coming from another room. His brows furrowed. He instantly distinguished the laughs; it was Brennan and Parker. His confusion deepened. Bones...and Parker...
He forced himself to get up and leave the calm of Brennan's bed. He walked down the corridor, crossing his arms against the cold. He stopped dead when he looked into the lounge room, leaning against the doorjamb for support. Brennan and Parker sat at ease, Parker's head on her shoulder, holding mugs, covered by Brennan's blankets. But this wasn't what caught Booth's attention.
What caught his attention was that they were both laughing, near hysterics, staring at the TV. Booth heard some muffled high-pitched chatter followed by a louder bang!, then Brennan and Parker burst out laughing again. He had never seen Brennan laugh so hard before, not even when he was being his most charming. Not even when they were both a little drunk. Not even when Hodgins made some lame geek-joke.
It fascinated him that she was this at ease with Parker, too. She normally couldn't even relate to children if he told her what to say. But here she was, giggling like a child, watching cartoons with his son. His stomach fluttered and a huge grin spread across his face as he pulled away from the doorjamb and made his way over to the couch.
Brennan spotted him, and her laugh faltered a bit, embarrassed being seen this uninhibited by a colleague. Her smile stayed, though, and Booth moved over to the couch, shooing her over. Brennan looked at him strangely.
"Move over," he repeated, a Charm Smile adorning his face. Brennan rolled her eyes, and Booth gave up, lifting up the blanket and pushing her out of the way a little, placing himself happily next to her, effectively trapping her between himself and Parker. She stared at him in disbelief as he slung an arm across the back of the couch so it was just touching Brennan's shoulders.
He leaned around in front of her, touching as much of her as he could without being shot. "Morning Parker! Whatcha watching, Buddy?" he asked casually as he ruffled the little boy's hair affectionately. Brennan fidgeted.
"Move, Booth, I can't see the TV!" she said as if she were talking about her work table. Booth chuckled and leaned over further to place a kiss on top of Parker's head. Brennan had to restrain herself from pushing him off the couch. She found it extremely difficult to concentrate when Booth was this close, pressed against her like this.
She breathed deeply, trying to focus, but misjudged Booth's closeness and could only smell Booth as she breathed. He smelled good; damn good for first thing in the morning. She smelt something familiar as well, and it took her a while to figure out what it was; her shampoo. He slept in my bed, she reminded herself calmly, forcing the images away, ignoring the dozen or so other meanings behind her thoughts.
Booth moved suddenly, and he was back beside her, still touching as much of her as possible. "Cartoons, Bones?" he asked, one eyebrow cocked, slinging his arm back around her. A loud 'shh' came from the other end of the couch and they both turned to face Parker, smiling when they saw his annoyed expression. Booth handed Parker Brennan's empty mug and asked him to take it to the kitchen. He obeyed with a little grumble and hopped off the couch still watching the TV.
"I didn't know you liked cartoons. If I had, I'd have made you watch them with me some time," he whispered, moving closer, knowing full well Brennan could have heard him anyway. "I've Charm Smiled you, I've made jokes, I've shown you funny movies...Hell, I've gotten you drunk! And never," he paused, staring her in the eyes and pointing at her. "Never have I seen you laugh so hard..." He raised his eyebrows.
"Well, anthropologically speaking, these cartoons are just play-ups of things that happen in the real world," she stated desperately. "I mean, here, this is a perfect demonstration of alpha male tendencies, and territorial-"
She was silenced by Booth's hand on her mouth, covering about half her face as well. He gave her a please-don't-bite-me look. She rolled her eyes, frowning at him as angrily as she could in her current situation. "Nice try," he stated simply. "You just like cartoons, admit it." Brennan shook her head furiously. He chuckled deeply at her little act of defiance and leaned in so his lips were brushing her ear.
"You know, Bones; there's one thing I haven't tried yet..." he said suggestively, letting his mouth linger on Brennan's cheek as he pulled away, removing his hand from her mouth. Brennan's eyes widened in fear and shock, and he grinned when he saw her terrified expression. She tried to say something to diffuse the situation, to distract him, to play dumb, anything. But she couldn't. She thought of getting up and leaving, but she couldn't do that, either.
Not with Booth so close to her like this.
Her expression wavered, then came back in full force when Booth's hands moved to her waist. He leaned in closer, so his face was barely an inch from hers, a smile lighting his face. Brennan's expression faltered as a look of anger, confusion and shock took over. Booth's smile only widened as he leaned his forehead against hers and her breathing stopped instantly.
Brennan looked into his eyes carefully, trying to dissuade him with her eyes. He kept grinning, and before Brennan knew it, he began to tickle her crazily. Brennan tried to gasp, but couldn't breath in properly, she was laughing so hard. Booth grinned in victory as Brennan writhed, throwing herself back onto the couch, trying in vein to escape Booth's hands. She only succeeded in pulling Booth partially on top of her as she shrieked hysterically.
"Booth - Booth!" she yelled, crying with laughter, not able to form sentences. "Get off - Booth! - I can't - breathe!" she tried between pants and laughter, grabbing at Booth hands. Booth fought off her hands, not wanting to stop for fear of what she would do to him. He was straddling her now, pinning her to the couch. He figured it was the safest place to be if she was going to try and kill him.
He stopped after her ninth attempt at stilling his hands, breathing heavily, laughing as she tried to make a serious face. She failed miserably, only continuing to laugh and pant. Her laughter subsided slightly as she realized he was still on top of her, his hands around her waist. She looked at his face, and he was staring at her intently, still panting, with a huge grin on his face. "Wow, Bones, I didn't know you were so ticklish!"
Even if Brennan couldn't look irritated, she could still sound irritated. "Yes, Booth. Now we've established that, can you get off me?" she said, pushing at him. She didn't really want him to, she knew that. But if he didn't, she wasn't sure she could control herself. Booth shook his head, looking at her in amusement.
"No," he said simply, moving his hands up to her face. Brennan's heart pounded and her earlier expression returned; she was terrified again. Booth continued to smile, and he wiped the tears from her face, bringing his hand close to his face and mock-examining one. "You really are ticklish, Bones!" he teased, replacing his hands on her face, as if they belonged there.
"Booth, I don't want to hurt you; get off me," she warned half-heartedly. Booth chuckled and she could feel his body shake. She closed her eyes tightly. Big mistake. Booth took the opportunity to lean in closer and again put his mouth to her ear, all but paralyzing her.
"You wouldn't do that in front of an innocent, would you?" he asked playfully.
She struggled to speak. "Booth, you are hardly innocent," she retorted, a world less playful that Booth. Booth laughed as he pulled away and his breath tickled her cheek.
"I'm not talking about me," he said cryptically as he flashed his eyes to the kitchen. Brennan followed his gaze, causing her to lean up into Booth. She let out an 'oomph' as her chest his, and turned around to see Parker standing in the kitchen, a very confused look on his face. He was glancing between Booth and Brennan.
Brennan couldn't look at him any more out of guilt, and she went to flop back down onto the couch, out of sight of the little boy. She was stopped by Booth's arm around her back, the other arm supporting them. He looked at Brennan, then back at Parker, as if gauging something. He smiled at her softly, nothing like his earlier mischievous expressions, then pulled a stray bit of hair out of her face affectionately. She looked at him, confused, but fearless. He wasn't going to kiss her, she knew that now.
She stared back, a mirroring smile playing on her face. Booth broke the gaze, and then looked back to Parker. "Who wants breakfast?"
So, fluffy enough? For all of those who requested snuggling, there will be much more in the next chapter, I should say. Tell me what you think!
