A/N: Hart Hanson owns Bones.
September 4, 1991.
Temperance sighed as she sank down on her bed. She couldn't help but smile as she looked around the familiar purple themed bedroom. As much as she had loved having a vacation for the first time in years, and had enjoyed her time in California with Booth and his family, she had to admit that she'd missed her bedroom in Pops' house these past couple of weeks.
They had left the beach house early in the morning, Lydia and Debbie driving them to the airport to say goodbye. It had been like the first day they'd arrived there all over again for Temperance – an outsider looking in at a family affair. Lydia had barely looked her way, let alone spoken to her. Debbie, however, in her emotional theatrics, had been sobbing as she hugged Temperance along with the Booth brothers and Pops.
Hours later, they were back home, things unpacked.
Well, her things were unpacked, anyway. She knew Booth had a tendency to procrastinate when it came to things he loathed to do, often waiting until the last possible moment. Putting things away and laundry were definitely not things he enjoyed doing – at all.
A knock on her door made her look up. She smiled when she saw Booth standing at her door, his hair wet and plastered to his forehead, decked in a pair of basketball shorts and a matching red and black jersey, basketball tucked underneath his arm.
"Hey, beautiful," he greeted her with a wide smile, stepping into her room and sinking down onto the bed next to her. His eyes found her empty suitcase on the floor, still propped open and not properly put away underneath her bed. "You've put away everything already?" he sounded incredulous. He'd been so tired after the flight that all he'd done since they'd reached home was take a short nap, call up his friends to ask if they wanted to meet at the lakeside court and showered to get ready.
Temperance scoffed. "Of course I have," she replied, her tone a tad haughty. "It really isn't good to pick up the habit of procrastinating things, you know?" Her eyes regarded him knowingly. "You haven't touched a thing in your suitcase, I assume?"
Booth made a protesting noise at the back of his throat. "'course I did," he said, in a tone that suggested she was being ridiculous for thinking otherwise. "These shorts were stuffed in there somewhere."
Temperance wrinkled her nose in disgust. "God, that's disgusting, Booth," she complained.
Instead of defending himself, Booth merely grinned cheekily at Temperance, unashamed. He leaned in closer to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek, loving the soft, sweet-smelling skin. "I'm going to go to the court," he informed her.
She nodded. "I figured," she answered, gesturing towards his outfit.
"Do you want to come with me?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "I think I'm just going to stay home…Maybe do a little light reading," she shrugged.
He rolled his eyes. He couldn't remember a time during their vacation when she had been without a book – well, during the day, anyway. The hormonal, teenaged boy part of his mind leered slightly as he remembered the way their nights together were spent in California. During the day, however, no matter where they went or what they did, she'd always brought a book with her to read.
"Are you sure?" he asked, trying to tempt her. "I know the guys missed you."
His basketball friends were quite fond of her, if he'd say so himself. She had become such a permanent fixture whenever he went to play with them that they had not only gotten used to her presence, but they'd come to expect it; adored it, even.
The only thing he hated whenever she came around was how the guys teased him mercilessly about her – just because they didn't know Booth and Temperance were seeing each other now didn't mean that they were blind to the attraction between the pair – and how his buddy Jimmy would constantly hit on Temperance.
She laughed. "I'm sure," she remembered his friends' playful banter whenever she was around. She liked them for making her feel welcomed in their tight knit group, even when she so very obviously didn't fit in. "But I'm just going to stay home…I'm sure they missed you more."
"You sure?" he couldn't help asking again, giving her an appraising look as though he was afraid that she was pulling one of those female tricks where she said one thing but meant another. "You don't mind?"
Sometimes they say they don't care but the moment you take their word at face value, you're in the dog house…He was wary of that happening with Temperance. She had a temper like he'd never seen before. Three days out of a month were horrendous enough for him. Worse than torture, he'd imagine.
She shook her head. "I'm sure," she assured him. "Go on."
They both stood up at the same time, Temperance winding her arms around his neck to squeeze him a hug. He, in turn, buried his nose in her hair, smiling into the silky strands as he hugged her back. Pulling back, he gave her a saddened pout she knew he didn't mean by the happy, mischievous glint in his eyes. "Aren't you going to give me a kiss goodbye?"
She rolled her eyes as though she was annoyed by him though a faint blush painted her cheeks and an indulgent smile spread across her lips despite her best efforts to bestow upon him an aggravated frown. She reached up, fingers caressing his scalp through his short hair, her smile growing soft as she stepped closer to him, pressing her front to his.
He returned her smile as he brushed the tip of his nose against hers, loving her husky chuckle as he gave her Eskimo kisses. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers, tangling his fingers in her hair. Her lips were parted slightly and she was still chuckling into his mouth, which was a sort of funny feeling since it made his lips tingle. Their kiss was sloppy and playful and it still made his heart pound fast and hard.
Her fingers fisted the soft material of his jersey and yanked his upper torso even closer to her, giggling a little until he deepened the kiss.
Their short, playful goodbye turned into something much more, making the both of them forget just where they were and who could potentially walk in on them.
That was, until Jared's voice called out, "Seeley! Seeley, where are you!"
They sprung apart just in time as the younger Booth boy bounded through Temperance's open door. Booth hastily wiped at his mouth to remove evidence of her strawberry flavored lip gloss.
Jared, who had stopped short at the door the moment he'd noticed Booth's and Temperance's flushed cheeks and shifty eyes, narrowed his eyes suspiciously at them. Crossing his arms over his chest, he glared at Booth and asked, "What were you guys doing?"
He had figured out two things during their family vacation in California: one, his older brother had snatched up the hot older girl living with them, and two, every single person in his family except him knew about it and, for some reason, had neglected to tell him.
It had angered him, mostly because he felt like he was being treated like some untrustworthy little kid they were all afraid would blab about some huge secret to anyone and everyone who would listen. And, also, because Temperance was really pretty and he thought it was really unfair that his ladies' man of a brother had gotten to her.
Although, he had to grudgingly admit. Ever since Temperance had come into their lives, Jared had never seen Booth with any other girl other than her. There was that cheerleader he was dating but she was gone almost as soon as Temperance had showed up.
Booth shrugged. "Nothing," he lied. "Just asking Bones if she wants to come with me to the court."
Jared almost scoffed out loud and asked Booth if he thought he had an idiot for a brother. He knew exactly what it looked like after two people had made out with one another. He had never done it but his friend Jeremy – who had turned thirteen recently – had made out with Camilla Danes once, for a whole fifteen minutes. She was an entire grade above them, too. Jared had been there when they had joined the rest of the group after their time alone together – they looked almost exactly like Booth and Temperance did, minus the slightly panicked expressions on their faces.
Instead, he merely nodded his head, the suspicious look still on his face. "Uh-huh, sure," he answered dryly. "Pops said that you have to put away everything before you go anywhere."
Booth's face fell. "What!" he sounded dismayed. "Aw, come on…! That's hardly fair! The holidays aren't even gonna be over for a whole week! I'll go talk to him, make him see sense…No point rushing it today…"
He was muttering nonsense underneath his breath as he snatched up his basketball from Temperance's bed and stalked out of her room. Temperance rolled her eyes as she watched him go. I'll bet he hasn't done a single thing to prepare himself for school starting next week, she thought to herself.
Jared watched Temperance, whose eyes were fixed on Booth's retreating back, a soft indulgent smile he didn't think she was aware of curled on her lips. He had to admit, he was slightly envious of Booth. Why does he get all the girls? Jared couldn't help but sulk silently.
Giving Temperance a smile of his own – remember the Booth charm, bud, he thought to himself, remembering what Pops had told him the first time he had ever taken notice of a cute girl and wanted desperately to impress her – he cleared his throat to get her attention. "Wanna watch a movie, Tempe?" he asked her, hoping that he hadn't sounded overeager. "We didn't get to our last night in Cali."
Temperance gave him a smile, much less impressive than the one she had given to Booth. "I'd love to, Jared," she began, about to inform him that she'd had prior plans to rest and have a good read. However, one look into those familiar sparkling brown eyes and the happy smile he wore and she began to relent. She had promised him she was going to watch a movie with him someday soon, after all.
She followed him out of her bedroom and they made their way down the stairs. They were halfway through 'Home Alone' when the house phone rang.
Temperance was the closest to the phone, which was sitting on the side table right next to her. "I'll get it," she called out so that Pops wouldn't have to stop whatever he was doing to get it. She reached for the phone and pressed the receiver to her ear. "Hello, Booth residence," she greeted the caller pleasantly.
"Temperance?" she heard a familiar voice on the other end.
Her eyes lit up and a smile graced her lips. "Amy?"
"Hi!" Amy's enthusiastic response made her laugh. "I know you said you were coming back today and I just wanted to call and say hey."
Temperance felt a little pleased by this. She didn't have many friends, let alone good ones. In fact, other than Booth, she wasn't actually close to anyone unless she counted Booth's basketball buddies. It felt nice to have a connection to someone who liked her well enough to call her a friend, and not because they were an acquaintance of Booth and had gotten to know her by default.
"Well, thank you," she told Amy. "That was very thoughtful of you. We just reached here a few hours ago, actually."
"I didn't mean to disturb you," Amy sounded concerned that she had done just that.
"Not at all," Temperance was quick to assure her. "I'm glad you called…How was your summer?"
Amy sighed a little. "Not that exciting," she admitted ruefully. "We had plans to go on vacation but mom got really sick and it took her over a week to get better. We drove down to my aunt's house to make up for it but she lives just outside of Chicago so it didn't really make a difference...What about you? How was California?"
Temperance pursed her lips. "Quite interesting," she answered slowly, choosing her words carefully as she reflected on the summer she'd had. "I was appreciative of the heat as opposed to how cold it usually is in Chicago…The beach was quite enjoyable, as well."
Amy had to laugh – she had almost forgotten how very formal Temperance could be at all times, even when they were talking about something completely casual. "Well, good," she said, happy for her friend. "Did you have fun with Booth?"
A shot of panic went through Temperance's body. She hadn't told Amy about her relationship with Booth, no matter how much she liked Amy as a friend. She'd gone so far as to avoid talking about anything involving Booth as much as she could. However, much to her dismay, Amy never failed to make little suggestive comments about Booth and Temperance together every time they saw each other. She wasn't overbearing or pestered her for any information, she just loved to tease Temperance until she was a blushing, spluttering mess.
"Booth?" she choked out.
Amy giggled. "Yeah," she said laughingly. "Did you have fun with Booth, too?"
Temperance chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds before attempting to answer that, "He took me to the beach to meet a few of his friends from California…"
Amy rolled her eyes. Not what I was hoping for, she sighed to herself. Oh, well. "Oh…That sounds like fun," she murmured. Temperance couldn't be happier when Amy changed the subject, "Hey, do you want to hang out before school reopens?"
Temperance brightened. "Sure, that seems like fun," she agreed.
They made plans for Temperance to go over to Amy's house after lunch since her little cousins were going to be around until then and neither girl wanted to attempt to spend time together in a house riddled with crying, screaming, tantrum-throwing children.
After lunch, where Temperance spent fifteen minutes trying to persuade Pops, Booth and Jared not to have another calorie-loaded meal, Booth drove Temperance to Amy's house. They left Pops' house forty minutes earlier than they needed to so they could make a pit stop on the way to Amy's to have a little time to themselves – it had barely been a day since they had left California and already they were missing the freedom they had while they were there to be together whenever they pleased, with plentiful places where they could escape to.
"When should I pick you up?" Booth asked, one hand on the steering wheel while the fingers of his free hand twined around hers. As he drove, he would lift their twined fingers up to his lips, pressing kisses onto the back of her hand.
Temperance shrugged. "I'm not sure," she mused aloud. "Amy didn't say how long I would be allowed to stay."
He cracked a grin at that.
"You don't have to pick me up, though, Booth," she assured him, turning her head around to look at him.
"Oh, yeah? Amy's sister gonna drive you again?"
She shook her head. "No, I believe Amy mentioned that Lynn was already back at her college campus," she replied nonchalantly. "I meant I'd just take the bus."
He gave her a dubious look she wasn't very fond of. "It isn't like I've never taken public transportation before, Booth," she pointed out, annoyed.
He frowned, "What if you end up going home late?"
They continued a steady stream of banter the rest of the journey, with Booth asking if she knew how many psychos were out on the streets late at night and with her pointing out that the bus wouldn't even be available that far into the night, even if she was planning on staying out that long.
When he pulled up in front of Amy's house, Booth ducked his head slightly to peer up at the house from the windshield. "Do you think anyone's watching?" he asked her, his voice automatically slipping into a quiet whisper even though he knew no one outside his car would be able to hear him had he had spoken at a normal volume.
Temperance frowned as she ducked her head as well for a fraction of a second. "No, I highly doubt it," she answered. "Why?"
He looked back at her, offering her one of his charming boyish grins. "Because," he said, unbuckling his seat belt and leaning in as close as he could towards her with the gear shift digging painfully into his skin. "I wanted to make sure it was safe to do this," his hands cupped her cheeks gently and his mouth descended on hers, mindful that he had to keep the kiss short – just because they thought no one was watching didn't mean it was a definite thing.
She was blushing as she climbed out of the car, waving goodbye before turning to walk up the steps to Amy's front door. She was glad that when she rang the doorbell, Amy took a few long moments to get it – that meant that Amy probably hadn't been watching her through the window or something like that.
Right? She questioned herself before shaking her head. Stop being so paranoid, Temperance.
Amy greeted her with a wide smile and a friendly hug Temperance wasn't really sure what to do with. She ended up patting Amy's back lightly, awkwardly. "Hello, Amy," she said pleasantly, smiling a little uncomfortably. "It's good to see you, as well."
Amy grinned, not noticing her previous discomfort, and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the house. "My cousins have all left," she informed Temperance. "So it's way quieter now. Wanna go up to my room and listen to some music?"
Temperance shrugged. "Sure," she agreed.
They passed the living room, where a woman in her early forties was sitting on the couch, knitting something that might've been a sweater and watching TV at the same time. "Mom," Amy called the woman's attention. "This is my friend Temperance."
The woman smiled as she met Temperance. "Hi, Temperance," she said pleasantly, standing up and putting her knitted sweater aside. "It's nice to meet you – I've heard nice things from Amy and Lynn."
Temperance blushed slightly. "Really?" she asked, completely taken aback. She hadn't thought that she had made any sort of lasting impression on Amy, let alone Lynn whom she had met only once before.
"Mom, we're going upstairs, okay?" Amy said, tugging on Temperance's arm to get her attention. Temperance waved at Amy's mother and followed Amy up the stairs. Amy's room was twice as big as hers and was painted in mostly pinks and yellows, and Temperance secretly thought that she loved her own bedroom more. "Make yourself comfy," Amy invited, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the radio on her nightstand. "I'm just gonna turn on the radio."
Temperance nodded, settling herself down on the floor at the foot of Amy's bed. She raised an eyebrow as she noticed the magazines piled messily on the floor next to her. Picking one up, she read the title: 'Cosmopolitan'.
Hmm, she mused silently. I've never read Cosmo before, though I've seen girls at school read it…I wonder what's so interesting about it.
Her eyes traced over the cover, reading things like 'What Season Are You – Take the Test Now!', 'The Foreplay Quiz' and 'The Good Girlfriend Guide'.
Amy, who had turned on the radio to the music of Trisha Yearwood, went to sit next to Temperance. Seeing the magazine in her hands, Amy smiled sheepishly. "Those are Lynn's magazines," she nodded at the pile. "After Lynn left for campus, I sorta stole 'em from her room…"
"I didn't know you were interested in reading these sort of things," Temperance wondered out loud.
Amy shrugged. "I'm not," she defended herself. "Not really…I mean, it's kinda fun sometimes, just to see what's in there. But I don't take it seriously or anything."
The two of them shared a long glance with one another before slow smiles began to spread across their faces. Amy lunged over Temperance and grabbed another one of the magazines before settling in right next to her so they could read whatever the other was holding.
An article on the supermodel Elaine Irwin and two Pat Benatar songs later, Amy tossed her magazine aside and stood up to stretch her muscles. "Hey, I'm gonna go get a pop," she told Temperance. "Do you want anything?"
"Just water, please."
Temperance placed her own magazine on top of Amy's – they were done with both of those magazines – and extended her legs in front of her, stretching them. As a Selena song came on the radio, Temperance reached for another magazine from the pile, not even looking at what she had taken until it was right in front of her.
The first thing she noticed on the cover of the magazine were the words printed in bright red letters, "Sex- When You Know You're Ready".
Temperance's head immediately reared back and she stared open-mouthed at the cover for the longest time. A loud noise that was so obviously from the TV downstairs jolted her out of her shock. She deliberated for one quick second before scrambling to her knees towards her bag. She rolled up the magazine and stuffed it into her backpack.
She sat back down in her previous position on the floor, heart racing and eyes wide, just as Amy stepped back into the room, an unopened can of soda and a bottle of water in one hand and a plate of sandwiches on the other. "My mom sent this up," Amy said as she sat cross-legged next to Temperance, placing the plate on the floor. "In case we get hungry."
Heart still racing, Temperance could only smile nervously and nod. "Oh, thank you," she mumbled.
Amy didn't notice her anxiety as she popped open her can of soda and took a swig of her drink. "Hey, you know, I think I saw an article about manicures in one of the magazines in there…" she said, reaching for the pile they hadn't read yet.
"Manicures?" Temperance looked at her confusedly. "Why would you be interested in an article about manicures?"
Amy shrugged. "Well, I was just thinking…Maybe we could have like a mini-makeover thingy before school starts up again, you know?" she suggested. "Just little things…Like our nails and I've been thinking of changing my hairstyle though that might not be so little."
Temperance frowned. "Do you think I should change my hair?"
Amy glanced at her. "No," she shook her head. "Your hair's all pretty. Mine is getting boring for me, though. You think I should go blonde?"
Temperance grimaced but tried to smile. "Um…Whatever you want, Amy. It's your hair…"
Amy chortled. "I was just kidding, Tempe," she assured. "You should've seen your face."
Temperance offered her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. It's just that I can't remember a single blonde girl in my life that I've ever been friendly with…It might've nothing to do with hair colour at all but it just tends to make me wary," she explained.
Amy laughed once more. "That's hilarious," she commented. Sighing, she frowned, "You know…I can't find that magazine…I remember it was in Cosmo. Do you see it?"
Temperance's eyes had gone round and wide in shock, her calmed heart rate picking up again until it was galloping. "Um…Cosmo?" she pretended to look around her for the magazine. "No, no, I don't see it."
Amy huffed, sitting back on her heels. "Damn," she cursed quietly. "I thought I had it in here…Maybe I should go look in Lynn's room."
As soon as she could without seeming suspicious, Temperance dissuaded Amy from looking for the magazine she wanted. She tamped down the guilt by reminding herself that it was only a magazine she was taking and it wasn't as though she was stealing – she would return the magazine as soon as she was done reading the article, in the most discreet manner possible.
She and Amy spent the rest of their time in Amy's house talking – it was called 'girl talk' and not at all something Temperance was adept at; thankfully, all she needed to do was sit still and nod sporadically while Amy told her all about her newest crush – and Amy's mother even invited her over for dinner, which she accepted only after calling Pops and confirming that it was alright with him if she stayed a little while longer.
While she waited for Booth to pick her up, she and Amy sat together on the steps of her front porch. "Are you ready for school?" Temperance asked her.
Amy nodded, smiling when she saw the excited sparkle in Temperance's eyes. "You know, you're the only person I know who gets excited about school," she observed.
Temperance laughed at that. "Booth tells me the same thing," she confided. "Only, he normally says it in this sarcastic tone…" she smiled fondly at the memory of him 'lecturing' her on how teenagers were supposed to behave, including their general hatred for high school.
Amy watched her, adoring smile and pink blushing cheeks and all, and shook her head. "Tempe…I know I always tease you about Booth," she started slowly, choosing her words carefully. Already the smile on Temperance's face had faded, replaced by a wary, guarded look. "But is there something going on between you two?"
Temperance ducked her head so that Amy couldn't look into her eyes – she had never been a very good liar. When she was a little girl and had tried lying to her father about breaking one of her mother's glass vases, he had told her that her eyes always gave her away. "No, not at all," she lied as smoothly as she could manage.
Amy wasn't sure if she should believe that or not so she pushed ahead gently, "Because I'm your friend, Temperance. You can tell me anything."
Temperance wasn't sure if that was true, at least on her own end. She liked Amy and was grateful for the help Amy had given her before – when she had clarified Booth's and Temperance's roles in the fight that had occurred in school, and when she had easily accepted Temperance as a friend after that – but she wasn't sure that she could trust Amy with intimate details of her life, not yet anyway.
Even so, she merely nodded. "I appreciate that," she said politely.
Amy nodded. "And if there isn't anything going on between the two of you…" she added delicately.
"Which is true," Temperance added quickly. "There isn't."
"If that's the case, then…" Amy trailed off, sighing. Temperance eyed her with narrowed eyes, confused. She wasn't sure what point Amy was trying to make. "Then I don't want you to get your hopes up. I mean, I know you and him are close…"
Temperance nodded again. "We are – he's my best friend," she clarified quickly.
Amy smiled. "It's just that…Look, no doubt he's a great guy…"
"He's the best guy," Temperance said, her voice taking on a defensive edge.
"But he's still a jock…"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Even more so – he's still a boy. A teenage boy."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I just don't want you to get hurt," Amy held up both her hands. "If you're feeling something and he's not feeling something or if he starts to date some other girl…It would be painful and messy, what with his grandfather being your guardian…I just worry for you."
Temperance gave her a small smile, a confusing mix of unpleasant heart-pounding bitterness at the thought of Booth being with another girl, and a nice warmth spreading through her chest at the thought of Amy caring for her enough to worry about her heart getting broken.
"Well, thank you," she said, sincere this time. "But everything's fine."
Amy gave her a knowing look, "He's a very charming boy."
A tiny spike of envy made itself known before Temperance shook herself out of it. Of course Amy would think Booth was charming. Any female who'd met him would say the same. He had a certain charisma about him that was undeniably attractive.
"I won't get hurt," Temperance assured Amy, not a single doubt in her that her words were true. "Booth would never let that happen."
Of course, being her, she had no idea that by stating her blind faith in Booth, she had only confirmed to Amy that she did have feelings for Booth. Whether those feelings were unrequited or even recognized by Temperance herself, Amy didn't know.
When the familiar Impala pulled up in front of the house, both girls stood up, Temperance reaching for her library bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "It was really good to see you again, Tempe," Amy grinned. "See you soon?"
Temperance nodded, promised to call her the next day and waved goodbye as she half walked, half jogged to Booth's car.
"Did you have fun?" Booth asked as she slid into the passenger's seat. He wanted to pull her close and kiss her but Amy was still standing on the porch steps, watching them.
Temperance nodded. "Yes," she replied distractedly, her mind having gone back to the magazine she'd stashed in her bag and the article she desperately wanted to read. "We talked about nail polish and cute boys. It was some sort of bonding experience, I believe."
He chuckled, shaking his head as he started to drive again. "You missed out on dinner tonight – Pops, uh, sorta burned the spaghetti so we had grilled cheese," he informed her. "You know, he can't cook pretty much anything but grilled cheese. He's a master at it."
Temperance nodded her head slightly as she gazed out her passenger's side window. "Yes, he makes good grilled cheese," she said, still sounding like she was barely paying him any mind.
Booth shot her a few quick glances as he drove. When they stopped at a red light, he turned his head to look at her. "Is something wrong, baby?" he asked concernedly.
She jerked her head around, looking at him with wide eyes she desperately hoped didn't bely her guilt at lying. "No, not at all," she lied. "Why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "You seem kinda distracted," he explained.
She sighed. "I have something on my mind," she admitted freely.
"Oh?" he said and when she didn't take the hint, he prompted further, "What is it?"
She shook her head, turning to gaze out the window again. "I…It's confusing," she murmured. "I don't even know if it's a something or a nothing yet."
"Uh-huh," he muttered. "You know that doesn't make any sense?"
She smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. "Don't worry about it, okay?" she gently caressed his cheek with the back of a finger, only settling back in her seat when the light turned green once more.
Booth was a little disappointed that they couldn't really find the time or place to have some alone time like they had on the way to Amy's house earlier in the day. Jared had already burrowed himself in his room when they got back home but Pops was wide awake in the living room, watching The Odd Couple.
"Hey, you two," Pops greeted them with a smile. "Had fun with Amy?"
Temperance nodded her head. "Yes, I did. Thank you for letting me go," she replied.
Pops waved his hand as though to dismiss her gratitude. "'course, honey," he said gruffly.
"I'm just going to head up to my room," Temperance said, looking from Pops to Booth as she said this. "I'm sort of tired."
Booth nodded, eyes still assessing her worriedly as though he knew there was something heavy weighing on her mind. "Okay," he murmured as Pops turned back to the TV. He shot a look up at the stairs, and spared a glance towards his seemingly occupied grandfather, before stepping closer to her to press a soft kiss to her cheek – he didn't dare kiss her right on the lips in front of Pops, even if the old man was fine with the two of them dating. It didn't feel right to him. "Goodnight, baby," he smiled.
The smile she offered him was completely genuine, her worries forgotten as she took in his simply, sweet gesture. "Goodnight," she returned, squeezing his hand once before turning to head up the stairs.
Giving in to her paranoia, she stashed her bag in her closet before she went into the bathroom to wash up for bed. Once she had showered and changed into her sleep clothes, she locked the door to her bedroom, afraid that someone would come in if she didn't, before taking out the magazine from her bag. She turned off her bedroom light to give off the illusion that she had gone to sleep before making her way to the desk in the corner of her room.
She placed the magazine on the desk and gently, quietly, pulled out the chair, making sure it didn't scrape on the floor and make any noise. She slid into the chair, turned on the table lamp and exhaled as she held the edges of the magazine with her fingers. The red letters stood out to her, even in the relatively dim light of the lamp.
She stared at the cover for what seemed like ages before taking a deep breath and flipping the pages. She looked at the index and ran her forefinger down until she found what she was looking for. "Sex – When You Know You're Ready; features; page 37."
She turned the pages quickly, heart pounding as she came to the article. Page 37 didn't actually have an article on it, just the same title of the article that had been on the cover and a picture that filled up the entire page, of a blonde teenage girl who was probably a few years older than her, and a handsome teenage boy. They were wrapped in each other's arms but though their embrace seemed intimate, their expressions seemed unsure.
Page 38 held the real article, and she begun to read the article that had been written by a supposed 'expert' with anxiety and what had to be skepticism.
There was at least three paragraphs worth of words describing love, what it felt like and how to know when you really loved someone, when you cared for them enough to want certain things when it came to physical relations.
Then there came the section on emotions and hormones and how to control them.
Then there was a larger section on being prepared – condoms and birth control pills and other forms of birth control that can be acquired from the doctor's.
There was also a large part involving talking with a parent or an appropriate adult figure so that they could give advice and even information that could be useful.
None of what Temperance read, she concluded as she closed the magazine with a deep scowl, had any real benefit to her. It didn't pertain to her and Booth at all. In fact, it was much too impersonal to be compared to her unique situation with Booth.
Sighing, defeated, she stared at the cover blankly, more confused than she had been before she'd read the article at all. The heavy question on whether she and Booth should take the next step had been weighing on her mind for some time now, ever since their physical relationship had started to escalate. It was only common sense, to her. After all, what would they be escalating to if it wasn't the actual act itself?
When before, however, she had felt completely unprepared and unready for sex, lately, she had been thinking more and more of it. She wasn't fantasizing about it, not really, since she didn't have any experience in it, but she did wonder what it would be like.
She worried about it, mostly.
She worried if it would hurt – she had heard it would from some of the girls at school when they talked in the locker rooms or the bathrooms, and there was even a mention of the pain in the magazine article – and she worried if she would know what to do. Maybe it was something natural, since intercourse was a biological imperative after all, but maybe it was something that she'd have to learn. She worried she'd be terrible at it.
Then she would think about if she would be enough to bring pleasure to Booth.
On one hand, she was so skeptical of it, so self-deprecating. She wasn't experienced in the least; Booth had been her first everything – her first crush, her first kiss, her first boyfriend and, if it were to happen, her first lover. While she knew Booth had never had sex, either, she also knew that he had dated other girls before her and wasn't as inexperienced. She didn't particularly like to think about him doing anything remotely sexual with other girls, but it was a fact she had learnt to face.
On the other hand, she had seen for herself what pleasure she could bring him. They hadn't gone all the way of course, but they had done some things. During his nightly visits to her back in California, especially, they had both gotten pleasure out of their…Physical explorations. Hadn't they?
Temperance blinked a few times, her heart as heavy as ever with unanswered questions, and slowly stood up from her seat. She made her way quietly towards her closet, rolling up the magazine and placing it in her bag once more, feeling quite foolish for stealing it in the first place. It wasn't like it had helped her at all and now she was beginning to see just how childish her actions had been.
Turning off the table lamp, she climbed into bed and settled underneath the covers. There's nothing left to do but sleep, she tried to convince her weary mind. Resolved to push her questions aside until the morning when she could talk to Booth about it somewhere private, she closed her eyes and burrowed her head deeper into her pillow. Perhaps we could take a trip to the lake.
She laid perfectly still for ten whole minutes, waiting to fall asleep. Huffing, irritated, she tossed and turned, punching her pillow and the mattress beneath her in an attempt to get more comfortable.
This isn't working, she thought miserably some time later. Raising her head from her thoroughly punched and fluffed pillow, she snuck a look at her alarm clock. She groaned as she caught sight of the time. It's only ten thirty? Oh, God, this is going to be a long night…
She scowled at the clock, turned on her side facing away from it and snuggled deeper into the cool sheets, bringing the covers up to her chin.
Even though her eyes were closed and her body was curled up, Temperance found that her mind remained alert and wide awake. She kept her eyes shut tight in hopes that the darkness would lull her to sleep but her mind was far too awake, her thoughts buzzing around at top speed.
She wasn't sure if she had dozed off unknowingly and woken up still thinking about the next step she might want to take with Booth, or if she had been awake the whole time, but the next time she looked at the clock, it was fifteen minutes past three in the morning.
Resigned, Temperance let out a low growl that sounded like it had come from a wounded animal, literally threw the covers away angrily and climbed out of bed. She almost tripped on the same covers she'd thrown on the floor before she steadied herself with a hand on her wardrobe chest.
Chewing on her lower lip, Temperance glanced at her door, contemplating.
He's obviously fast asleep by now, she argued against her desires, which were screaming for her to go to Booth. Even if she couldn't bring herself to start a conversation that made her incredibly nervous, at least his presence would comfort her enough to lull her to sleep. She knew it would be enough.
I'll just go in for a minute, she bargained with her disapproving subconscious. It'll be fine. I won't even disturb him from his sleep. Her feet were already making their way to her door.
Of course, the decision to leave him undisturbed was changed the moment she stepped into his room, quietly closing the door behind her and moving on tentative tip-toes until she reached the side of his bed.
She sunk down on knees on the floor next to his bed, her worries momentarily forgotten as she took in his slumbering form. As he usually did during the night, he had kicked the covers half off of himself. She could see the multi-coloured boxers he was wearing, peeking out from underneath his lower body that the covers weren't blanketing.
His upper body was completely bare though he was lying down on his stomach. His arms were spread eagle on either side of him and his head was turned towards her, snuggled deep into his pillow as he snored on, oblivious to her inability to fall asleep.
She reached out and brushed away a few limp locks of his dark brown hair from his forehead. He snorted in his sleep and shifted a little on the bed though he remained still in slumber. While her fingers had frozen, tangled in his soft hair, and her heart had started racing at the unexpected noise and movement, she couldn't help but chuckle a little.
She made a split second decision and acted upon it before she could change her mind, "Booth..." He didn't rouse from his slumber at her soft coo so she tried again. "Booth? Booth, wake up," she urged, trying to wake him with soft kisses pressed all over his face and gentle fingers stroking his bare shoulder blades. "Booth!"
Booth shifted once more, turning his body so that he was lying on his side now, facing her. His eyes remained shut though he mumbled sleepily, "Mmm…Bones…"
She grinned a little. "Yes, it's me," she answered his sleepy mutterings earnestly. "I need you to wake up and have a serious conversation with me."
She wasn't sure if he heard what she had said but he groaned nonetheless and turned again so that his entire body was facing away from her. "M'sleepin…Shh," he mumbled into his pillow.
Temperance sighed, frowning at him. "Booth," she complained. "I have a very important question to ask you."
"Mm-hmm," he moaned, half-asleep.
He was determined to get more sleep and as much as he loved Temperance, he was pretty sure she was insane if she thought the dead of the night was a good time to have a conversation, no matter how serious it might be. If no one was on the verge of death, he wanted to go back to sleep and talk about whatever it was when the sun was actually up in the sky.
Of course, he hadn't counted on Temperance blindsiding him by blurting out, "Are we going to have sex?"
His sleepiness was shaken off entirely, Booth jolted awake straight away. Completely shocked, his head shot up at her question and his body twisted around to face her. However, he'd moved too fast and too erratically and he ended up falling off the edge of the bed, landing with a loud thump on the floor.
"Booth!" Temperance hissed, glaring at the other side of the bed even if neither of them could see each other at the moment. "Shh! Someone might hear you!"
He rolled his eyes at her words. Your concern for my well-being is so touching, he thought sarcastically. Out loud, he groaned at the pain shooting up his side. "Oh, God," he groaned, rolling from side to side as he clutched at his hip. "That's gonna bruise…"
Temperance, whose attention had gone back to the thoughts that had been troubling her all night now that she was certain no one had heard him fall, continued on as though she hadn't heard him, "And if we are, when will that happen because I'm pretty sure we need to be prepared for it."
Booth, who was still bleary from being awakened from his sleep so rudely, was totally confused. His head popping up from the ground, he peered at Temperance over his mattress. "What?" he was sure this was either a nightmare or the start of a very weird wet dream.
But then she continued to talk and her words made him realize that it was worse than a nightmare. It was reality. His beautifully insane girlfriend was really in his bedroom at god knows what time in the middle of the night, asking him if they were going to have sex.
"Not, you know, about the sexual stuff because I think we know what to do," she mused, a frown on her face as she contemplated that. A thought occurred to her and her cerulean eyes found his brown ones for the first time that night. "Unless you think we don't…I'm pretty sure they have books on this kinda stuff…" she assured him.
This time, his voice had raised an octave and with his eyebrows shot straight to his hairline, he asked incredulously, "What!"
"But I meant the more traditional, the more practical kind of 'prepared'," she continued to say. "Like contraceptives-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Bones…"
That was the end of the tether for him. Jumping to interrupt her, glad now that his smarting hip and side seemed fine now, he climbed shakily onto his feet, more unsteady due to the shocking conversation topic she'd picked out of nowhere rather than the fall he'd taken earlier.
Sitting back down gingerly on the edge of his bed, Booth decided that he would take this on with the patience and the tone of someone speaking to a mental patient. Low, slow and steady, Seeley, he advised himself. "What is all this about?" he asked her gently.
With the most somber expression he had ever seen on her, Temperance blinked once at him and answered bluntly, "Sex, Booth. Haven't you been paying attention?" She threw her hands up in frustration. "I mean, honestly! I don't think we should we treating this lightly, do you?"
"No, no, I'm not treating this lightly – at all," he rushed to assure her. "I just meant…" he chuckled nervously, his entire face feeling like it had been sunburned as he blushed a furious red color. He raised his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, hoping to alleviate the burning he felt there, too.
"Why did you sneak into my room in the middle of the night to ask me this question out of the blue?" he clarified.
Her reply, delivered in such a flustered tone while her eyes shifted away from his, somehow reassured him even if it had nothing to do with what he'd asked. It made him realize that as insane as she was, she was also as nervous as he was about this particular subject.
"Technically, it's three thirty in the morning," she corrected him on a mumble, a pink tint covering her cheeks.
He barked out a short laugh. Giving her a knowing look, he said, "Bones," urging her to be unafraid and just speak her mind – something he knew she rarely had a difficult time doing when it was just the two of them.
"It's just…" she sighed. When tried again to explain herself, she spoke so fast that he could barely catch all her words. "I sort of stole this magazine from Amy because there was this article in there about how to know when you're ready for sex and most of what was in there was kind of stupid and it made me really confused but it got me thinking and I couldn't sleep since I couldn't stop thinking about it – not in a perverted way or anything – but my mind won't shut down so I came in here and now…"
Much more relaxed now that he knew his girl hadn't been invaded by some weird succubus, he settled back in bed, sitting up against the headboard. He reached out to grasp her hand, chuckling when she needed to take in a deep breath following her speech.
"Bones…" he said gently, his sparkling brown eyes smiling as he gazed down at her. "We can't just…Do it because of a magazine article."
Temperance nodded her head slowly, agreeing with him – the article, she firmly believed, was far too generalized for her to apply to her relationship with Booth. "No, we can't," she acquiesced. "But we are in a committed relationship, aren't we? And we are in an age group where most people start having sex in. Besides…We've been working up from slow kisses to touching under the clothes, using that ridiculous baseball guideline you're so fond of…"
Booth, interrupting her, defended, "It's not actually a guideline."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever it is, isn't the goal of increasing contact to someday reach fourth base?"
"Homerun," Booth corrected her, even as he avoided answering her question.
Frustrated, Temperance almost growled, "Why can't we just say 'have sex'?"
Booth grimaced. 'Sex' just seemed a little too awkward for him to say. It didn't make him cringe like it did whenever she said things like 'intercourse' or 'copulate', but it still didn't feel right to him.
His parents hadn't been the ones to give him 'the talk' or teach him how a man should behave towards the woman of his dreams.
His grandfather had been the one to do so and his grandfather had treated his lady love of nearly sixty years as though she had been the queen of the world, the centre of his universe, the reason why he even existed in the first place. He hadn't been the richest man in the world but if there was something Booth's grandmother had wanted, Pops would work his hardest to make sure she got it.
While his own parents' dysfunctional relationship had made him wary of ever being in a long-term relationship and put off the idea of marriage altogether, he had then been privileged to a much loving, softer, beautiful side of love. The kind that didn't hurt and wasn't violent in any way.
When Pops had approached him a few years ago and said that it was time for them to have a talk, man to man, Booth had been apprehensive. The birds and the bees talk had been painful but the talk about how important it was to cherish that wonderful woman once you had her…That talk had changed his life, he was man enough to admit.
Now he had her.
This beautiful, awkward, wonderfully weird girl who made his days brighter and made his dreams that much sweeter.
So, it was with this in mind that he suggested, "How about we call it 'making love'?"
That brought her up short. Frustrations and questions pushed aside, she shot Booth an inquiring look. "'Making love'?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow at him.
He nodded. "Well, that's what it would be, wouldn't it?" he tugged at her hand gently, coaxing her to sit next to him, her back against the headboard. "It would be two people who are in love with each other, showing one another that love by physical means. We would be making love."
Temperance eyed him as he made his speech and the goofy grin he wore at the end of it – mostly to take off the unexpected serious edge this impromptu visit had brought on – made her smile. "Booth…" she shook her head, but he wasn't done.
"And when we do make love, Bones," he interrupted her before she could say anything else. "It's not going to be because of some article or whether we're in an age group."
He leaned closer to her and rested his forehead against hers, smiling softly. Their eyes were locked on one another and she stared, mesmerized, at the chocolate swirls of his irises. "It's going to be because we're both ready and we're in love – "
"We are in love," she interrupted him.
" – and because we're trying our best to get that special connection," he finished.
"Special connection?" she asked, furrowing her brow at him. "What are you talking about?"
Booth shrugged. "That special feeling you get…You know?"
Seeing her confused expression, he realized he needed to elaborate. He pursed his lips, trying to find the right words to describe it. In the end, he figured it was best if he went with what he knew.
"I feel it when you kiss me," he confessed, his voice sounding quieter than usual in the still of the night. "Like…It's as though we're two people trying to occupy the same space. Like there's nothing more I'd wanna do than to become one with you."
Temperance, who had been gazing unblinkingly into his eyes from the moment he had started explaining to her all about making love, bit her lip against the shiver than ran down her spine. Silently urging herself to stick to logic in an attempt to regain her composure, hopefully before Booth had noticed she had been affected at all by his words, she cleared her throat quietly.
Her eyelids fluttered for a moment. "That would mean us trying to break the laws of physics," despite trying to be firm, her voice came out husky and almost whisper-soft. "That's impossible."
He took that in stride. "That's what we'd be trying to do, then," he insisted. "The impossible. We'll, uh," he started to blush again now, frankly surprised at his ability to hold off on that particularly embarrassing reaction 'til now. "We'll try and try to get closer to breaking the laws of physics."
Why is it that her odd science-y speak seemed so sexy? I think there's something wrong with me…
Temperance smiled, loving that embarrassed, pinched look on his face. It appeared on his face anytime they spoke about something remotely sexual – she'd briefly mentioned 'teat' once when they were discussing an article she had read on breastfeeding and he had blushed, stuttered, knocked over four different things and scrambled to change the topic all in under a minute.
She reached the hand that wasn't entwined with his and cupped his cheek, lovingly stroking his cheek with the pad of her thumb. "You know, you have a terribly romantic view on sex," she murmured fondly.
"I'm not sorry about it in the least," he stated boldly, his hand snaking up to grasp her hand on his cheek. He turned his head slightly to press kisses on her palm. "I can't look at it like it's just meaningless sex. Nothing with you could ever be meaningless."
The gaze he fixed her with was intense as he asked, "Does that bother you?"
The look in his eyes was making her shy suddenly, even after she had so boldly interrupted his sleep to ask him about the possibility of the two of them having sex. Instead of answering him verbally, Temperance shook her head, a shy smile on her face as she tried her hardest to tamp down the fierce blush that had spread over her entire face.
Clearing her throat, she decided that the best way to stop being flustered was to get him flustered instead. "You know, you still haven't answered my question," she pointed out.
"What question?" he seemed genuinely confused.
"Are we going to have sex?"
Booth cleared his throat, giving her a meaningful look.
She rolled her eyes in response. "Fine," she acquiesced. "Are we going to make love?"
Booth gazed at her, taking in the smooth, porcelain skin he loved so much and the beautiful blue eyes that always looked far too ethereal to be ordinary.
If he were completely honest with himself, he had to admit that he had thought of it before. There were times during their previous…encounters when his mind would spiral towards the dizzying possibility of the two of them taking that final step. There were times after that he'd think about it, too. He'd feel like a pervert, to be honest, wondering about making love while she was fast asleep, and would try and shake it off as best as he could.
He'd tell himself it wasn't proper; she wasn't ready. After all, she was only fourteen. No matter how mature she might be in other aspects of life, this was one of those things they had to take very seriously. It wasn't something they could take back if it ended up being a mistake.
Her fingers begun to play with his hands, pulling them onto her lap, and it drew his attention back to the present, reminding him that she was still waiting for an answer.
"What do you think about it?" he asked, curious to know her answer. At least, this way, if she said she thought about it, too, he wouldn't seem like a total jerk.
She pouted, however, and gave him a glare. "I asked you first," she pointed out stubbornly.
Booth rolled his eyes at her first grade retort. Ducking his head, he gave her a fond kiss on the forehead, anyway. "I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought about it," he admitted with a slight blush.
"Really?"
He couldn't tell from her tone or her expression if she was happy or angry about it, but he replied, "Yeah…" He cleared his throat once more, just because he felt incredibly awkward admitting something like that. "Why, don't you?"
"Yes, I do, actually."
He wished he could say he was surprised but how could he when she was the one who had initiated this conversation? He wasn't surprised, no, but he was relieved to hear her say that.
Not that her admission made everything clearer all of a sudden. He still had no idea what to do with that.
The two of them fell silent, shooting nervous, shy sideway glances at each other for a few minutes before Booth dared to break the silence.
"Do you…" he trailed off, raising a hand to rub at his left ear, feeling the skin burning due to his blush. "Do you think that maybe we are ready?" he blurted out quickly.
Temperance bit her lip, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I don't know," she said, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her stomach was fluttering nervously – she believed the expression she'd read about mentioned something about metaphorical butterflies. "I…Shouldn't we know for certain if we are? Isn't there some sort of tell-tale sign?"
"I don't know."
"Or maybe," she theorized. "We're just really nervous and that's why we're not sure."
He shrugged. "I don't know that, either," he gave her an apologetic smile. He knew she wanted him to give her a definite answer but he was just as clueless as she was when it came to this particular topic. "I'm nervous, sure…Do you want to, though?"
Her ivory cheeks flamed, making her skin look as red as a tomato. He reached out and brushed her heated cheek with the back of his finger. He was surprised when she lifted her head, looking him straight in the eye and unwaveringly answered him with a bold, firm, "Yes."
"M-me, too," he stuttered, a little taken aback by her bluntness. "So…What do we…?"
She allowed a crooked grin to spread over her face. "Maybe we could work up to it?" she suggested.
He laughed a little. "Haven't we been doing that already?"
She nodded, "Yes, but this time…Maybe we could intentionally…I mean…Maybe we'll see if we're both ready to go all the way?" She raised an eyebrow at him, that unexpected shyness creeping back in as she questioned, "If you…If that's okay with you?"
Booth nodded his head slowly, as though he was afraid if he was too eager in agreeing with her proposition, this new development in their relationship might get cruelly yanked away from him before he could even get started on it. "Yeah," he smiled at her. "Yeah, that's okay with me."
"Okay," Temperance said on an exhale, looking far more relaxed now that she had gotten this particular concern out of the way. "Alright, then! That's settled."
Booth gave her a weak, knowing smile. "So does this mean you can finally go to sleep now?" he teased.
She sighed. "God, I hope so," she murmured. "I'm exhausted."
Booth chuckled, sitting up on his knees and reaching down for the covers that had fallen onto the floor following his fall out of bed earlier. "Come on," he urged her, settling the comforter back onto the bed properly, folding the top so that it lay at her feet. "Lay with me for a bit."
"I can't," she gave him a look, as though he should already know this and shouldn't be tempting her with irresistible offers she would find hard to say no to.
He waved off her refusal. "Sure, you can," he insisted.
Temperance sighed. "We're not in California anymore, Booth," she reminded him. "Pops or Jared, even, might easily walk in and catch us."
"They won't – what reason would they have to come barging into my room?" he countered. "Lay down. Come on. Please?"
She was still hesitant, so he did the only thing a self-respecting boy who wanted the girl he was in love with could do to get her to stay with him.
Quickly scrambling as fast as he could on his knees, he made his way across the mattress until he was right in front of her. He wrapped his fingers around her slim ankles and pulled her down until she was lying flat on her back. She squealed at the sudden movement, giggling.
Her happy response made his efforts to quieten her half-hearted, as he laid down vertically on top of her, careful not to crush her, and placed his hand over her mouth.
"Shh, Bones," he whispered, unable to stop smiling even as he 'reprimanded' her.
"I have to go back to my room," she whispered back.
He frowned at her unhappily. "Aw, come on…What, do I have to kiss you into submission?"
She shook her head. "That wouldn't work," she stated smugly. A cheeky smile crossing her otherwise innocent-looking face, her eyes sparkled as she said mischievously, "But I wouldn't mind the effort."
Their laughter mingled together as he pressed his palms flat on the bed and leaned down to do just that. Temperance's arms went up to twine around his neck, holding him closer as their tongues tangled in slow, lazy strokes.
"Mmm…" Temperance hummed as they pulled away, smiling when Booth brushed, brief, feather-light kisses to her lips every few seconds. "Okay, I'll lay with you," she agreed lazily, making him chuckle. "Just for a few minutes," she warned without heat.
The two of them laid down side by side, spooning one another with Booth's arm wrapped around her middle, his fingers splayed across her womb, and Temperance's back pressed to his front.
Booth smiled as he felt her snuggling into him and lifted his head to press loving kisses to her hair. "You smell good," he complimented on a murmur.
Her laugh was low and husky. "Thank you," she whispered softly, turning her head slightly so she could steal one last kiss from him.
"God, I'm so sleepy," he yawned on that last word.
"Mmm," Temperance hummed, telling herself that she was only going to rest her head for a minute. She closed her eyes, unable to resist the pull, and unable to help it, she slipped into peaceful dreams, fast asleep.
Thank you for reading and for those who reviewed last chapter. It meant a lot to me.
Juliet.
