Booth woke up first, and gently removed himself from the tangle of limbs and blankets that they had become. He replaced a pillow under her head where his chest used to be, and stood up, stretching his muscles and joints, which were complaining from being compacted on the tiny couch for so long. He scribbled a note reminding her not to work late, and put it on her pillow. He brushed her hair back and bent down to place a kiss on her forehead, pulling the blanket back over her.
The door closed quietly behind him as he walked down the near empty halls. He passed Angela's office, and stuck his head in. "I should have known that you would have a key and no qualms about using it."
"Oh. You saw that. Sorry." She grinned sheepishly at him. "Where is Sleeping Beauty anyway?"
"Sleeping. Can you wake her up in a few minutes, and make sure she's gone before you leave?"
"OK."
"And call me when she leaves?"
"OK. Anything else?"
He flashed a smile at her, and held out his hand.
"Right." She took the key out of her desk drawer, and dropped it in his hand. He dropped the key into his pocket, and turned to go. "You two finally figured it out. I am happy for you guys."
"You've made that pretty clear."
---------------------------------------
"You're here earlier than I thought." Booth kissed Brennan and took her bag.
"You're cooking."
"Yeah, we have to eat right?" He motioned for her to sit down, and dropped her bag in his room. "I figured you haven't had much to eat today."
"No, actually I haven't. I was kind of in a hurry to get out of the lab." She took a chair at the counter where she could talk to him while he was moving about the kitchen.
"That doesn't sound like my Bones." He slid an omelet onto her plate. "Leaving the lab early, taking the weekend off..." He leaned over the counter with his forearms resting on the table.
"You have never left 'your Bones' sleeping alone on a pillow that smells like you. I spent half the day wondering what you were doing, and the other half thinking about the weekend." She pointed her fork at him. "You are definitely a bad influence." He just watched her as she focused her attention back to her dinner. He tried unsuccessfully to keep from grinning madly. He had a feeling she knew she just rendered him speechless. "Are you eating, or are you just going to watch me?"
He ignored her question. "So you thought about me today?" He leaned closer, waiting for her to look up again.
"Once or twice... This is really good. You should have some. I didn't know you could cook."
"They're eggs, Bones. Anyone can cook eggs, and I already ate. I'll just watch you." She furrowed her eyebrows, looking at him curiously. "So when you were thinking about me today... what were you thinking?"
She stole another glance at him, and ignored his question, finishing the last bit of egg and cheese, and standing up to put her plate in the sink. She turned and leaned against the sink. "I was thinking that I never used to sleep better with somebody else in my bed, I used to sleep better alone. I was thinking that I have waken a few times to an empty bed, and before this morning, it never really disappointed me that much. I've never really spent the day noticing their smell on my clothes, and wanting the real thing."
He took her into his arms, holding her close. "If you only knew what I feel when I hold you this way, you wouldn't have any question of how long I would wait for things to fall into place." He saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes, but understood that he had plenty of time to convince her. He smiled at her mischieviously, raising his eyebrows. "I went shopping."
"I'm afraid to ask..."
"Do you want to take a bath?"
She was still looking at him skeptically. "I'm not sure..."
He took her hand, pulling her into his bedroom. He raised his hands innocently. "Just a bath. I know you like to clean up, unwind, after being at the lab all day."
"How do you know that?"
"I don't know. You probably mentioned it." He could see she wasn't buying it. "Or I may have noticed that a lot of evenings, when I came over after work, your hair is still damp and you smell like flowery bubble bath."
She smiled at him. "Very observant..."
"Just doing my job.... You stay here. I'll get it going." He turned back before disappearing into the bathroom. "The bottom drawer is empty, if you want to put your stuff away. He shut the door behind him, and she heard the water running. She smiled to herself as she unpacked the few things in her bag.
She pushed the door open slowly and saw him sitting on the edge of the tub with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. "Ready?"
She took in everything around her and felt her eyes filling with tears. Their were candles burning around the bathtub, a glass of wine, a red rose, and the scent of her favorite bath fragrance was floating up on the steam rising from the hot water. She picked up the bottle near the faucet. "More detective work?"
"I tried. I had to ask Angela. After you smell a few, they all start smelling alike."
"Thank you." She kissed him softly.
"You're welcome. I'll just..." He gestured toward the door.
"No. Stay." She unbuttoned her blouse, sliding it off her shoulders, and then did the same with her pants. She stood before him in her sheer black bra and panties. "Are you going to join me?"
He put his hands on her waist, shaking his head, pulling her closer, and placing a kiss on her stomach. He stood up, holding her at arm's length taking in her uncovered body.
"What's wrong? Not a bath person?"
"Not a contortionist. I would rather watch."
She unhooked her bra and slipped it off, along with her panties, and stepped into the water. She slid under the water until only her head broke through the bubbly surface. Booth sat on the edge of the bathtub, leaning against the wall. He moved the nearby candles to the ledge of the window near the tub. He turned off the lights. The only illumination in the room came from the candles and the occasional flash of distant lightning from the storm outside.
"I know I haven't said it, but I hope you know." His voice was barely a whisper. "I love having you close, and I love knowing that you want me around. I love having you with me when I fall asleep, and knowing you will be there when I wake up. I love that you can make a really rotten day better just by being there. I love knowing that I can make you feel safer just by wrapping my arms around you and holding you, and that you can do the same for me. I love you, and I know the risks involved by taking this step. I know what you went through, and what you gave up to even make any of this possible. I just want you to know that I will do anything, give anything to make this work.
She watched him with wide eyes. A tear slipped out unnoticed. The storm crashed outside, but neither of them was startled by it. She reached a bubbly hand out and wrapped it around his wrist. "I do know. I know that you love me the same way I love you."
Time seemed to stand still as she reached up, pulling him closer. She wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling his face still closer, water dripping around his neck, and down the front of his shirt. She kissed him, leaving no question regarding her feelings.
He supported himself with one arm on the side of the bathtub, holding her face with his other hand. The taste of the wine on her lips, the fragrance of lavender bubbles, and the sight of those bubbles slipping from her body back down into the water were enough to make him feel dizzy. "Are you almost finished in here?"
"What? I haven't even been in here five minutes. I'm just getting started."
"Sometimes I wonder if you realize that everything you say has a double meaning, and one of them always drags my thoughts directly into the gutter." He slipped his hand into her hair.
"I'm not coming out yet. You're already all wet, you might as well just come in." She ran her hand down the front of his shirt.
"See what I mean?" Before he could get out his complaint, she had wound her arm around his neck, and pulled him off the edge of the bathtub. He was unprepared, and splashed down, just as she slid back to make room. Water was displaced, sloshing water and bubbles over the side and onto the floor. He sat stunned and speechless, the only dry part of him, his feet, still hung over the side of the tub.
"I thought you weren't coming in." She was laughing so hard she could barely get the words out. She slid forward, wrapping her legs around him and crossing her ankles in front of him in his lap. She circled her arms around him, pulling him back against her, and leaned against the back of the tub.
"I can't believe you just did that." He leaned his head back on her shoulder, looking up at her.
She slipped her hand inside his shirt, running it across the tight muscles of his chest and abdomen, and tightened the hold of her legs around his waist. She rested her chin on his shoulder. "I asked you nicely first."
Booth couldn't help but laugh as he pulled his feet over the side of the tub and into the water. "You will pay for this." He ran his hands over the length of her legs.
"Just sit back and relax."
"Relax? You're not the one sitting fully clothed in a steaming vat of bubbles." He turned slightly to look at her. "Are you still laughing at me?"
"I'm sorry." She tried unsuccessfully to keep the laughter out of her voice. "You don't think this is the least bit amusing?"
He suddenly flipped himself over, sending more water over the side of the bathtub. He positioned himself over her, his knees against the sides of the tub. With the weight of him gone, she slid further down into the water.
He leaned over, running his hands over her slick body, trailing kisses over her face and neck. Water was dripping from his wet hair and clothes onto her like rain, and she had her hands tangled in his wet shirt holding him close. "I always knew, with you, it would be just like this. I knew that once I got a taste of loving you, I would not want to give it up, and I would not want to be away from you. I probably should have warned you." He smiled at her and touched her face. "I knew it would be this way."
"So you knew too. It seems everybody knew what I was missing out on but me."
A/N: The End! I actually intended on ending it last chapter, but I realized he never told her he loved her. We can't end the story without that! So, sorry if this chapter kind of missed the flow of the rest of the story. I added it later, after many struggles with it, and after I already started a companion piece, so I was having trouble with the timeline and where to start the next piece. Anyway.... Thanks for reading and reviewing!
