Thank you reviewers, and all the people who have favorited or alerted this story, I love to know people are reading. I've been getting a lot of hits but not that many reviews, so remember... they feed my soul! Lol, enjoy this random shot. It was fun to write.
Words: 839
Spoilers: None
Time: After Santa in the Slush
Genre: Romance/Humor
EDITED
Booth stared down at the half-empty bottle, twirling the alcohol aimlessly. Another sip? Another bottle? Closing his eyes, he raised the bottle to his lips again, ignoring the little, annoying voice in the back of his head that told him this was a very bad idea. Late at night, alone, and exhausted, he needed his alcohol, right?
A soft, familiar hand suddenly closed around his, gently pulling the bottle down. Booth opened his eyes, seeing his smirking partner sitting across from and prying his fingers off the bottle. He needed his alcohol – or his Bones.
Booth frowned. "What're you doing here at this hour?"
"I could ask the same of you," she replied lightly, taking a sip from the bottle, then turning and dropping it in the trash. Her eyes twinkled.
"Hey," said Booth, annoyed. "I wasn't done with that."
"You don't have a ride home, Booth, you shouldn't be drinking."
"I do now," he said, nodding towards her. "You're not drunk. Neither am I, by the way."
"How do you know I'm not drunk?" Brennan said, a smile curving the corner of her lips.
"Three reasons," stated Booth confidently. Brennan raised an eyebrow, daring him to continue. "One. I've seen you drunk. By the way, did you have a ride then, when we were taking down all the shots together?"
"Yes. Angela. Did you?"
"Number two," he started loudly. Ignoring her question. "If you were drunk, you wouldn't have let yourself drive over here from the lab at midnight by yourself."
Brennan nodded, looking very bemused. "True. Good reason."
"And thirdly," he finished, leaning forward towards her and grinning teasingly. This was incredibly entertaining. "If you were drunk, you'd lose your sense of inhibition, and you would kiss me."
She was completely silent for a moment, her face lit up with suppressed laughter. "I'd kiss you only if I lost all my inhibitions?"
"Yeah," he said casually, placing his elbows on the table and resting his head on his hands so he could keep his face close to hers. No denying it; he liked it when she looked happy like that. "See, you're scared of me, so-"
"I am not scared of you," Brennan replied, incredulous. "I kissed you before."
"Only because we were blackmailed so you could spend Christmas with your family."
"Still. I kissed you. You were the terrified one."
"Those are details," Booth muttered, keeping his eyes on her. Either way, it wasn't like he could really be irritated with her anyway – Bones smiling and talking about kissing him? Didn't get any better. "You're still scared of me."
Brennan stared back at him, unmoving, except for the slight twitch of her lips and the narrowing of her eyes. In a split second she reached up and took the bait, grabbing Booth's tie – vibrant as always, of course - and pulling him towards her. She pressed her lips to his, flicking her tongue out incredibly teasingly. Not fair. Sliding his hands up to her hair, Booth grinned as their lips moved smoothly together, feeling the kiss last much longer than five stupid "steamboats."
Too soon Brennan pulled her lips away, but she left one hand fisted around his tie, keeping him close, and Booth kept his hands tangled in her soft hair. Their breaths mingled in the air between them. With a smirk, Booth noticed Brennan swiping her tongue across her lips, and he smiled even wider. The one thing better than seeing Bones smiling and talking about kissing him? Actually kissing her. She was good. And better yet, there was no audience composed of puckish prosecution lawyers.
"Sure you don't want the rest of that beer, Bones? You're drunk, after all."
"I am not drunk," she insisted, blowing a short breath towards his face that was just barely tinted with alcohol. "I just proved that I am completely and totally unafraid of you." A flat, definitive statement.
Really, now?
"Fine," Booth accepted, smirking. No need to argue – hell, he had her face inches away from his and her breath tingling across his cheek. Something to enjoy while it lasted. Brennan stared at him, skeptical, but obviously pleased.
"What? That's it? I win?"
"Sure. You kissed me, after all, without being drunk or blackmailed."
She didn't drop her gaze, her mouth open only slightly. Then she leaned in to rest their foreheads together, smiling. "Wasn't that almost blackmail?"
"No, and you fell for it either way," said Booth lightly. Their eyes met, with their noses barely touching and Brennan's hand still grasping his tie. A moment of silence hung in the air between them, and then at the same time, they both started laughing.
Is this really happening? Must be drunk after all.
"I'll get you back for this, Booth."
"I look forward to it."
"You are a bad man."
"You have no idea."
"Shut up."
On impulse Booth pressed a quick kiss to the corner of her lips, still laughing. With her. "I do what I have to do, Bones. I do what I have to."
