IX. The Happiness in Hugs and Socks

Around noon, Booth got a call from his landlord: The snakes had been caught. He should be relieved to be able to go back to his own apartment. He should be glad not to burden his partner anymore. He shouldn't feel that strange hunch of loss at the thought of moving out of her guestroom.

He shared the good news later that afternoon, but Brennan didn't manage to hide that brief flicker of surprise. Had she thought that he would stay as long as he was handicapped?

You have to give the man credits... after all, his partner was this incredibly smart and brilliant scientist. You can hardly blame him for not guessing the true reason for her surprise... because for once Temperance Brennan hadn't thought at all. Honestly, she had forgotten – at least for the fraction of a moment – that there was an actual reason behind him staying at her apartment.

And later that day, the past two evenings it had been "pizza time", he was standing in her living-room with his small bag, ready to say goodbye.

There was no reason for him to stay except that he wanted to.

There was no reason for her to hold him back except that she didn't want to let him go.

"So..." She tilted her head.

"So?" He played with his keys.

"They are positive they got each and every snake?"

"They counted to ten."

"Right, there had been ten of them."

"My neighbor is no druggie or something like that. If he says ten..."

Another pause.

"They were pretty fast in catching them."

"Yeah... I thought they'd take longer."

"I know, right? They're so quick and slippery..."

"Thanks for letting me stay, Bones. That was really nice."

"No problem. You're my friend."

"Friend... yeah."

He leaned towards her but stopped himself before it had been a real move. She lifted her hand but never touched him. They were two people saying goodbye to each other on a warm summer night. Neither of them was in danger. They weren't saying goodbye for good. Nobody was leaving town. Was it appropriate to hug? What else could they do?

"Let me check your wound one more time," she finally said, and he obeyed almost enthusiastically.

"Sure!"

Letting go of his bag and rolling up his sleeve happened in the blink of an eye, and then her delicate fingers where whispering over his skin, checking bandage, stitches and the healing flesh underneath. She was standing so close that he could smell her, and, leaning in one careful inch, Booth inhaled deeply, wishing that one could bottle up scent.

"Looks good," she murmured, and maybe her hand was lingering a tad longer than necessary on his warm skin.

Tilting her head, she met his eyes, and his grin triggered her own.

"This is ridiculous," he finally said while rolling his eyes, and outstretching his good arm, he pulled her into a hug.

"I wasn't sure if hugging was appropriate in a situation when neither of us is sad, hurt or in danger."

His shoulder muffled her serious voice, and he groaned.

"We are pathetic. New rule: happy hugs."

"Happy hugs?"

"Yup."

He could hear the smile in her voice.

"I like that."

Tilting his head, he rubbed his stubble against the silkiness of her hair, one more moment of sweet contact, before the appropriate duration for happy hugs seemed to be stretched and gone.

"See you on Monday?"

"Yes, Monday."

She did not sleep in her guestroom that night, it would have been too pathetic. However, she had considered it.

-BONES-

Saturday morning found Seeley Booth in his snake-free apartment. Opening his eyes to bright sunshine, he lolled in bed, waiting for a few minutes before realizing what he was waiting for, but since he was back in his own bed, no Bones would bring him coffee this morning. Through half-closed eyelids he tried to imagine her standing in his door frame. Bare feet, unruly hair. His morning Bones. Except for... there was no "his" and she wasn't there. He almost laughed at his own mushiness, wondering what she was doing this morning. It was Saturday. What was she doing on a sunny Saturday morning?

Brennan was writing. A cup of coffee was standing next to her on the table, and while outside the day unfolded, inside of her a story blossomed. Would it be too much to make Andy homeless because of poisonous snakes? Would Kathy offer him a place to sleep? Would Booth ever stop teasing if she wrote that? Probably not. Hitting the delete button, Brennan settled on uncomplicated and hot sex against a wall. Her characters could do that, could have string-less sex without drowning in emotions. However... Kathy and Andy didn't have happy hugs.

Taking a sip of coffee, Brennan decided that she preferred happy hugs to string-less intercourse. When had that changed?

The first time she had come undone beneath her partner? Or even earlier? Or... maybe just yesterday? Would their night have been so intense if it hadn't been for the emotions unleashed by Vincent's killing and her grief? Would sex with Booth always make her feel that much?

Gnawing her lip, Brennan pondered the questions. As a scientist, there was only one way to get answers: conduct an experiment, test a theory. As a scientist, she should try happy sex with Booth in order to gain a satisfying result.

The idea made her chuckle, and she almost spilled her coffee. Satisfying result. She imagined the expression on his face upon proposing happy intercourse in order to get some answers, and it made her laugh even harder.

As a woman, she realized that acting as a scientist could be quite dumb at times...

Deciding that she was not in the right mood for writing anymore, Brennan closed her laptop. What now? The heat wave wasn't over, yet, thus outdoor activities not an option. Taking her mug with her, she strolled around in her apartment, looking for something to do. The guestroom door was only half-closed, and after a brief moment of hesitation, Brennan gave it a soft kick with her bare foot. It refused to fall open, though, and she kicked a little bit harder. Now it wasn't coincidence anymore but purpose.

The first thing she noticed was that he had made the bed. From what she knew that was quite unlike him, and she smiled into her mug. Apart from the used sheets, there was no trace of him left in this room, and Brennan couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. With a sigh, she put her mug on the shelf next to her. She should really change these sheets.

She withstood the impulse to bury her nose in the pillow he had used, but upon tugging at the covers, something colorful fell to the floor. Something that wasn't hers. And she started to grin, as an idea formed in her mind.

-BONES-

Seeley Booth was officially bored. It wasn't his Parker weekend, with a bullet hole in his upper arm his physical options were limited, the cartoons on TV were reruns. He had spent the better part of the afternoon browsing silly YouTube videos, glancing longingly at his cell every once in a while. Where are those bodies when you need them to kill a boring Saturday? Kill... hehe.

Debating whether it was a wise idea or not while still on painkillers, Booth opened his fridge and ogled the beer bottles standing there. Cool and tempting... Brennan had had his favorite brand in her fridge, neatly stocked away between juice (orange) and salsa (red). He loved the fact that she organized her fridge content by colors. He loved the fact that she had bought, let alone known, his beverage of choice.

He missed her. Left aside the fact that he was bored and she was entertaining, he just missed her.

Last night, while lying in his bed and waiting for sleep, her words about hugs had come back to him, and he had recalled their years of friendship. They had had so much fun together, but she had been right, and the realization had saddened him. Except for that very first time... the moments he had held her in his arms had been accompanied by hurt of grief.

The death of a dog... or a mother. A trial. Murderers, nightmares, tears, blood, farewells. He could come up with one blackmailed kiss and two or three welcome-back-hugs, but since the latter had just been at the other end of goodbyes, they did hardly count.

Even their first and only time of making love had been born out of sadness.

Somehow, this didn't seem fair, didn't seem right because despite her awkwardness, she was quite amusing, and despite the ghosts haunting him, he could be a very funny guy. They deserved to have more happy moments.

Deciding to send her some very colorful flowers, he fetched his phone. What would she like? Daffodils were too pale, and he wasn't sure if she still liked daisies after having met Miss Wick... A knock on the door interrupted his musings, and scratching his head, Boot set himself in motion to open the door; open the door to his partner.

"Hi!"

His eyes widened in surprise, but Brennan was almost sure that it was a joyous kind of surprise. Almost.

"Am I disturbing you?"

"No, not at all. In fact, I was just about to send you some flowers and I was wondering... do you still like daisies?"

Her nose wrinkled.

"I might have changed my mind about them. Why would you send me flowers?"

He shrugged.

"Just because. Happiness, you know. Bones... not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here?"

Outstretching her arm, she offered him a big box.

"Pizza. Three's a charm, right?"

Accepting the pizza box, he chuckled.

"Did you look that one up?"

She blushed.

"Maybe... Plus, I found these in the guestroom."

Rummaging around in her bag, she presented him a pair of checkered socks in bright colors.

"They're freshly laundered, and I thought you might need them."

Biting his lip, he thought that it was best not to inform her that those socks had been a "buy one get one free" deal.

"Hey, my favorite pair! Thanks!"

A bright smile lit up her face.

"You're welcome."

"I have an idea... but first, do you want some beer?"

"Sure."

"Do you think it would be irresponsible for me to-"

"Yes," she cut him off, and he sighed.

"I've thought so."

Grabbing one water and two beer bottles on his way, Booth nudged her out of his apartment.

"Where are we going?"

"The roof."

"The roof? Why?"

"It's nice up there. Come on, humor me."

It was indeed nice "up there". The heat of the day had given way to a mild sunny evening, the last rays of daylight touching the city with their golden shimmer.

"Wow," she exclaimed, and he laughed out.

"You never 'wow'."

"I do 'wow' sometimes. This truly is beautiful. Why have we never been here before?"

Turning his head, he took her all in. Loose black pants, a pale top, ponytail and ballerinas. She looked like a summer evening and she deserved a summer evening.

"I don't know, Bones. Seems as if we've missed a lot of beautiful things over the years."

Tilting her head, she registered the sudden earnestness in his voice.

"Like happy hugs?"

"Yes."

"Your socks look very happy."

"My socks?"

She nodded, and he furrowed his brow, not knowing what to do with the compliment.

"Well... thanks I guess. Come on, let's eat."

"Here?"

"Here."

She took a seat next to him on the rooftop, their backs leaned against some kind of low wall, and munching their pizza, both of them enjoyed the sunset. Every once in a while, his gaze flickered longingly to her beer bottle; every now and then, their hands brushed each other in the pizza box.

"Your pizza has been better," he finally stated, and she wiggled her head.

"This one is less burned."

"We should do that more often."

"We share several meals a week, but... I know what you mean."

"I have a confession to make."

Next to him, she sucked in a breath, and the grip on her beer bottle tightened.

"Yes...?"

"I'm so glad you're here. I've been totally bored."

"That's the big confession?"

Tilting his head, he grabbed one more slice of pizza.

"Yup."

She laughed out.

"If I hadn't found your socks, I would have come up with another excuse."

"Really? You wanted to see me?"

"You've grown on me," she nodded, her ponytail bobbing in the last rays of golden light. "Like a fungus, only better."

"Like a fungus?"

Careful baby blues met his stern eyes, but she couldn't quite hide the playfulness in hers.

"I said, 'Only better.'"

"I'm better than a fungus. Jeez, Bones, you know how to make compliments."

Now she was giggling, and the sound went straight under his skin.

"How would you do it?"

"What? Compliment you?"

She nodded while taking another swig, and his fingers played with the water bottle.

"Hmm... Your laughter is as warm as the sunrays on my skin, and when I look at you, I feel like summer. You are," he shrugged, " the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Slowly, very slowly she put down her bottle, like spellbound by his dark gaze.

"Booth," she whispered, blinking once, twice, but then he started to laugh, a rumbling kind of belly deep laughter, and she slapped him unceremoniously before joining in.

"Gotcha!"

"That was mean."

-BONES-

The sun set, and she opened another bottle of beer. They talked, they laughed, and when she began to shiver, he put his good arm around her shoulder. It was a summer evening like it should be, and when she hugged him goodbye later, much later that night, he leaned in to whisper softly into her ear.

His voice was still vibrating in her head when she opened the door to her own apartment twenty minutes later.

"I've meant every word..."

To be continued...