An: Epic sadness. XD
When Booth opened his eyes, Brennan was neatly tucked into his chest, her head rested calmly on his slowly moving chest. They both were still over the covers, and Booth tried his hardest to keep his chest movements regulated and keep Brennan asleep for as long as he could.
He knew she hadn't been sleeping well; evidence playing forth from last night, and truthfully, he never got to see her asleep. He never saw how relaxed her face was, and how her eyes moved behind her eye lids as she dreamed of something that didn't involve the Gravedigger.
She whimpered something quietly, and he looked down at her, her body moving against him as her eyes moved quicker behind her eye lids, and they quickly blinked open.
She looked around confused and looked up at Booth, blushing nervously and straightening up quickly.
"Bones calm down," Booth groaned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes "We both just fell asleep."
"I…I know," she whispered, nervous in the presence of the man she was dreaming about only seconds before. "I was just…caught off guard."
"It's alright," he breathed, pushing himself off her bed and leaning back on his fists to crack his back. "Even though your bed is super comfortable, I should probably get home and get ready for work."
"Oh," Brennan murmured, her eyes falling to her lap momentarily, soft disappointment in her voice. "Okay then."
"Do you need a ride to the lab or are you not going in today?" Booth asked, his eyes slightly curious when she spoke, but now darkening to complete sadness as he thought about not seeing her on their paperwork days.
"I think I'm going to take a couple days off," she answered, tilting her head in confusion as she saw Booth's demeanor change. "Is that okay?"
"It's fine Bones, and even if it wasn't, I couldn't stop you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, Bones, I've learned that you're going to do whatever you want to do, and I know I have a very slim chance of changing your mind. I learned that a long time ago, and the fact still hasn't changed," Booth ranted off, walking out of her bedroom and moving to the couch to lace up his shoes.
Brennan quickly followed after him, and came to stand in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Why are you so upset about my decision to take some time off, Booth? You suggested the idea in the first place."
"I suggested maybe a week off Bones, going to a beach, lying in the sun, not fully giving up murder and your life here," he growled, standing up and stalking to her table, grabbing his leather jacket and snapping it from the back of the chair.
"Booth, please explain your reasoning. I find that I'm failing to understand why you're so upset."
"Because Bones! You're my best friend. My partner! And…other things, BUT it doesn't matter what the hell happens between us, you should still have enough trust in me to talk to me instead of fully bailing out of our partnership and leaving me forever," Booth spat, his hands fisting as his full body tensed.
"Me talk to you? Booth, you came to my apartment last night, your face streaked with tears and you wouldn't even begin to tell me why," she shot back, her hands facing palm upwards in desperation.
"Because I know you don't want to hear what I said. My mortality is a sore subject for you since Pam shot me, and it's still a sore subject, especially with the Gravedigger's trial. And last night, my mortality was questioned, and like I said, the last thing I want you to do is pity me."
"How exactly, was your mortality questioned?"
"You know, I'm done. I refuse to speak further on this unless you are absolutely sure you want to leave," Booth said, walking to her apartment door and pulling it open, turning on his heels at the last second, and looking her dead in the eyes. "But I warn you now, if you decide you want to go, and leave this partnership forever, don't expect me to accept that easily."
Brennan tried calling Booth multiple times around noon, to try and make nice and ask if he would like to go out to lunch, but he didn't answer his phone. Knowing that Booth wasn't the pouting type, she assumed he was either in a meeting, or something was wrong.
Rushing to the J. Edgar Hoover building, she made her way to the floor of the agent offices, making her way down the hall towards Booth's office before she saw Charlie walking towards her, and she called out his name.
"Hey Dr. Brennan, what are you doing here?"
"I'm looking for Booth," Brennan said, crossing her arms casually over her chest "But he hasn't picked up my calls, and I don't know where he is."
"He's downstairs in the gym. He seemed pretty pissed so the guys invited him for a game of basketball. Well, you know how calm he is after playing some sort of sport," Charlie explained.
"Yes, with the increased endorphins released into the body during physical exercise, the exercised body is always calmer," she rationalized, nodding once. "Thanks Charlie," she finally spoke, turning on her heel and walking to the elevator, slipping between the doors, and pressing the button for the basement.
"Come on! Let's see that Seeley Booth jump shot!" Brennan heard one of the agents yell, once the multiple sounds of scuffing shoes against basketball court floors lowered considerably.
But Brennan stopped when she reached the court, her breath leaving her quickly as she took in the sight before her.
Half of the players were shirtless, Booth being one of those players, but with him poised in the air, muscles gleaming from sweat under the multiple gymnasium lights, Brennan was once again reminded how attractive she thought he was.
He seemed to hold himself in the air, a basketball leaving his hand as his wrist flicked and his arms were directed towards the basketball hoop at the far end of the gym. The orange ball fell through the net easily, and his fellow team mates called out happily.
"48 to 35 suckers!" one of the agents called out in the swarm of people running towards the other end of the gym. "One more shot and we win baby!"
A man Brennan barely recognized tried to shoot from far away, but missed completely and one of the shirtless agents grabbed and held the ball over his head.
"Down here!" Booth yelled, bolting to the other end of the gym, and catching the ball near the foul shot line when his team mate pelted the ball down the court. Booth cockily jogged forward only two steps before jumping up and slamming the ball into the net, holding onto the rim and flexing his muscles when he pulled himself up, and jumped away, being surrounded by his team.
"Hey Booth!" one of the agents called, nodding towards Brennan. "You're girlfriend's here!"
"I told you for the last time Caster, she's not my girlfriend, she's my partner," Booth growled, slapping his hand across Caster's head, before he jogged over to Bones, whose eyes were considerably darker. "Bones, what's up?"
"Why are you shirtless?" Brennan asked, her voice holding a breathy tone he never heard before.
"It's a shirts and skins basketball game Bones," he explained, turning his fingers towards his uncovered chest. "Obviously, I'm on the 'Skins' team."
"Oh, okay," she whispered, before shaking her head and looking at the commotion the guys were making on the other side of the court, trying to pelt the ball into the net from the half court line. "God this is like high school gym class all over again."
"Yes it is, helps take the mind off things. Did you need something? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just wanted to call and see if you wanted to go out to lunch, get away from the paperwork, but you didn't answer your phone, and assumed something might be wrong, so I came down here and Charlie told me you were down here playing basketball. I now see your immense skill, especially when it comes to a 'jump shot' and whatever you just did there," Brennan ranted on, a crooked smile on her face as she anthropologically broke down the game in her eyes.
"It's called a dunk Bones, I dunked the ball, and sure, I'd love to get away from this place, but where are we going to go? Founding Fathers or the Diner?"
"You can decide that," Brennan said "I'll pay, you can choose where you want to eat."
"Aw, that's sweet Bones. Just give me a few minutes to clean up and we'll head to the Diner," Booth nodded, clapping his hands and turning around. "Guys give it up, you can't launch the ball!" he screamed, standing at baseline and clapping again, an unknown agent throwing a ball to Booth.
Booth breathed deeply and tossed the ball in his hand, loosening his arm and backing to the wall before he stepped forward and shot the ball down the court, sinking the ball easily, and shooting his arms into the air in triumph.
"See Bones!" Booth yelled, walking backwards towards the locker rooms "THAT is why I would have gone all the way."
"You probably shouldn't do that again Booth; it could be very detrimental to your previous shoulder injury."
"Why aren't you eating Bones?" Booth asked quietly, purposely leaving out some of his fries for her.
"I just, find I'm not as hungry as I thought I was going to be," Brennan whispered, her fork held loosely in her hand as she chased a piece of lettuce around her plate.
"Bones you hardly ate anything," he murmured, picking up one of his French fries and making the sound of an airplane as he dived the fried potato through the air, before making it still before her face. "I even saved French fries for you."
She smiled and opened her mouth, allowing Booth to feed the French fry to her, a shiver running down her spine as his fingers brushed against her lower lip; his pinky shooting out and catching the ketchup that landed at the corner of her mouth.
He smirked and brought his finger to his mouth, sucking the digit between his lips and allowing the Bones seasoned ketchup to explode on his tongue.
Her breathing became shaky, and despite the shot to her libido, Brennan laughed and shook her head. "You're crazy," she murmured, looking down to her plate once again.
"Bones, what's on your mind?" Booth whispered, dipping another French fry in ketchup before bringing it to her lips again.
She opened her mouth again and ate the fry gently, his fingers once again brushing against her lips, but this time, ketchup didn't find a spot in the corner of her mouth.
She allowed him to feed her, but eventually she had to stop, and shake her head when he tried offering her another French fry. Her insides seemed to be on fire, and her fingers curled against the table top, confusion making its presence even more known.
"Now, please, tell me, what's going on Bones? What's bothering that big brain of yours?"
"I'm just thinking," Brennan whispered, shaking her head and nervously dancing her nails across the top of the table top. "I have so much on my mind lately I don't really know what to think anymore."
"Talking helps," Booth whispered, reaching across and resting his hand comfortingly over hers.
She smirked, and her fingers brushed against the bottom of his hand. She sighed and looked down to her still nervously tapping fingers, a gentle shrug in her shoulders. "I don't really know what to talk about."
"Come on Bones, let's get out of here. Take a walk. Help clear your mind," Booth offered, picking up another fry and feeding it to her.
"Alright," Brennan muttered, moving to pull money from her pocket, but Booth tugged on her hand.
"Let me buy this time, and later tonight I'll personally treat you to your favorite ice cream to make you feel better, then later, as a deal, you can make me your famous Mac and cheese," he whispered, smiling his charm smile and feeling the tension in his chest lighten when that beautiful lop sided grin he loved graced her features.
"Fine," she agreed, standing up and throwing a few bills on the table. "But I'll still get the tip."
"Deal Bones, let's go," Booth said, paying the bill and holding the door open for her before he rested his hand on her lower back and guided her to the monumental parks.
"Hey Booth," Brennan whispered, reaching out and resting her hand on his arm, stopping them in front of the Lincoln Memorial steps.
"What is it Bones?" Booth asked, bringing the ice cream cone to his mouth and licking up some of the organic ice cream made from rice.
"Can we sit here," she asked, pointing to the setting sun "Watch the sunset?"
He smiled and nodded, walking up the steps closely until they sat on their normal step, and watched as the pale orange sky began to elaborate itself with pinks and reds and yellows.
Their shoulders and knees brushed like normal, and they laughed once their ice cream started melting and covered their hands, trying desperately to lick up the concoction before it became sticky against their hands, but as the sun started dipping under the horizon, and the sky erupted with purple, pink, orange, yellow, red, and blue they were silent, looking at the phenomenon while stealing glances of each other.
Angela's words echoed in her mind once again, and she found herself breathless as the colors danced before her eyes, and the scent of his cologne seemed to intoxicate her, once again.
It really was beautiful, and she never saw it like this before. Sure she had watched the sunsets, sometimes in the most beautiful corners of the world, but no experience could compare to the sunset she was observing at this moment, with her partner, and best friend at her side.
A tear dropped from her eye and she quickly stood up, walking down the marble steps while Booth ran after her, gasping when his hand caught her wrist, and spun her around to face him.
"Bones, Shh, what's wrong?" he whispered, holding her face in his hands and using his thumbs to tenderly wipe away her tears.
"I…I just, can't…Booth no," she cried, grabbing his hands and tearing them from her face. "I need to just get away from everything and think. I'm too confused here."
"Why are you confused? We haven't even said a word to each other, what are you confused about?"
"You have physically disrupted my thinking process. You've imposed yourself too much upon me and it's scaring me. I just…need away from this…here…"
"Me?" Booth asked, making sure to not move his arms and have to break the contact of Brennan's hold on his wrists.
"Yes." Brennan stated defiantly, her eyes widening slightly as his eyes lowered in sadness. "I don't understand what is happening, and I'll never figure it out if you're always around, screwing up my thinking."
He sighed and his shoulders fell, his wrists tearing from her grip, before he stepped back and nodded, looking up at her and biting his lower lip. "I've got it Bones. You've been working on this for about a month now anyway. Alright, I'm done. I'm done trying to break down your walls of rationality. If you want to talk to me, you know my number."
Hurt was slamming in her ears with her heart and the first question that popped into her mind, left her mouth. "But…what if I want to see you?"
"Well Bones, I don't know where I'm ever going to be now, so like you, I'm not going to make any promises," he whispered, stepping forward and resting the palm of his hand against her cheek before he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, turning and walking away, leaving Brennan in a confused daze, barely able to see, with tears still trekking down her face.