Love is fire. But whether it's gonna warm your heart or burn your house down you can never tell.
- Jason Jordan
Booth rested his forehead against the door; the little whimpers of sadness he could hear echoing through the wood were torturing him. "Bones, of course it's not that. Can you just open the door?" He tried to remain calm but his normally collected state was crumbling and he thought that he might cry himself if he wasn't careful.
"I think it's best if you just go to the guest room now," she said, her voice conveying her exhaustion. Booth shook his head against his arm.
"Bones, please. I'm begging here. I can't explain things to you without us being face to face." He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration when he heard no movement on the other side.
"There's nothing to explain. Besides, I can still hear you through the door. I don't see why you need to face me when you speak," she argued, her insides caving on the other side. She longed to have Booth's arms wrapped securely around her like they had been earlier, making her feel safe and secure, but she couldn't bear to expose her face to him after what had just transpired between them.
"Just trust me on this one, or can you no longer do that?" His heart thumped so loudly in his chest that he was sure she would hear its steady rhythm through the door. She'd stopped replying and he was rapidly losing hope.
"Bones, I don't know how to make you understand how beautiful I think you are. I know I might have been considered a jerk back in high school but do you actually think I'm that shallow? When are you going to realise that I'm not going anywhere? I care about you regardless of how you look, though I've told you that you're still breathtaking," Booth professed, on the brink of tears. "Even your voice is gorgeous. Please, Bones, just open the door."
He heard her shuffling on the other side and then heard a key turning in its lock. As the door peeled back, it revealed a quivering Brennan on the other side, stood silently whilst staring at her feet. Booth strode forwards, wrapping his arms around her centre without meeting any resistance.
Brennan sagged against him, her hands resting on his shoulders as she tried to maintain her balance. He nudged her chin upwards so that he was looking directly into her eyes. "You're everything to me, Bones. I'm not sure how you fail to see it because I'm fairly certain that most of D.C. knows how I feel about you." She choked back another sob, trying to retain her normal composure as he pressed on.
"I need you to see where I'm coming from. I know that you are scared at the moment; you feel like no one could ever find you attractive again, despite how much I disagree with that." He loosened his hold on her but remained in the embrace. "If kissing me is a way of proving to yourself that you aren't completely undesirable then I can't let you do that, Bones. My relationship with you means the world to me and I don't want to throw it away on a whim. I don't want you to have any regrets when we take the next step."
"When we take the next step?" Brennan whispered, her voice tinged with hope. Booth's face was flushed and he removed one hand from her waist, running it through his spiky hair.
"I meant to say 'if'," he corrected. Brennan's face fell slightly and he observed her intently. "No. That was a lie. I did mean 'when'." Her eyes sparkled with a mixture of curiosity and joy. He was about to attempt to justify his response when Brennan pressed her finger to his lips, urging him to be quiet.
"Do you mean to tell me, that you pushed me away because you were worried that I just needed a substitute until I am desirable to other men again?" Brennan's brow arched, regarding Booth closely. He shrugged sheepishly and she prodded him sharply in the chest.
"Booth, I wanted to kiss you. When are you going to realise that to me you are the real thing? I know that I might not deserve you but--" She was cut off by Booth as his lips swept down, capturing hers. He cradled her head in his hands, cupping her unaffected cheek and the nape of her neck.
Brennan felt like she was floating. Every single kiss of her life drowned in comparison to this one, and for a woman who didn't believe in magic she was pretty darn close to making a wish. Her lips were soft and malleable as Booth ran his tongue along them, begging for entrance to her warm mouth. She complied readily and their kiss deepened, their enjoyment heightening with their senses.
Brennan was slightly overwhelmed with the intensity of it all; she had never experienced anything remotely close to the feeling swelling in her chest as their kiss continued. For her, kissing was always a somewhat pleasant but rather tiresome experience, a prelude to the final act. This was different. She could feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes but she was determined not to let Booth see them.
For Booth, the kiss was perfect. He had imagined kissing Brennan in his dreams for so long, but no amount of wondering could have prepared him for how he felt right at that moment. Brennan's mouth tasted sweet, a combination of honey and strawberries and another flavour that nature had yet to give name to.
As their mouths parted they stayed close together, their arms locked around each other as if both were afraid their partner would disappear if they so much as moved. Brennan grinned, leaning her head against his shoulder and breathing in his masculine scent. It was mostly so that he didn't see her silent tears.
"Bones, don't you dare say that you don't deserve me. You are a beautiful woman, a best selling novelist, a world renowned forensic anthropologist and you have the kindest heart I've come across. I was a sniper, Bones, I've done so many things that I regret, but being with you, it makes everything I've done seem worth it. Every single twist and turn that brought me to this place, I am thankful for." Booth's cheeks turned red as he finished, realising how sappy he sounded.
Brennan smiled, standing on her tiptoes so that she could place another soft kiss against his lips. "You are a good man, Booth; the best I know. I… I… care about you, a lot," she mumbled, her voice shaking as she spoke. The liquid in her eyes was did not go unnoticed by Booth who knew every single contour of her face.
He held her close for a few moments in complete silence, stroking her hair gently. "We will get through this, Bones. I'm going to be here every single step of the way. We've had worse things than this to deal with in the past and we've always managed to get through it, as long as we're together," he told her, speaking into her ear.
She pulled back, looking down at her hands for a few seconds before tilting her face up to look at him. "It's one of the flaws, isn't it?" Brennan whispered. Booth frowned. Brennan waited a few minutes before clarifying. "In the scientific theory about love."
Booth beamed, tugging her closer and crushing her against him. She grinned, hugging him tightly. He understood that this was her way of admitting how she felt and he was barely able to contain his happiness. He knew that she wasn't yet ready to say the words aloud.
"Yes, Bones. That is a very good example," he answered, lifting her off the floor and swinging her around in his arms. She screamed, laughing as he pressed his lips against hers once more and for once in her life, she didn't protest against his antics.
This chapter is extremely bad, I know. I've had a lot of revision and things and I just couldn't decide what should happen in this chapter. I'm off to do some history revision. It makes me want to cry. Spare me some kind words to cheer me up?
Hopefully you got your fill of fluff and don't hate it too much.
Next chapter will be a little more... gritty.
A review would be scrummy.
Thanks, dears.
