December 21, 11:45am- Royal Diner
There was no conversation at the table at the moment, and for now there didn't have to be. Temperance's head was buried in a menu that she never, ever looked at, hiding her face from the man across from her a bit bashfully. Temperance's cheeks were a ruddy pink hue, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She stared at the font on the menu, not the words, for several moments, when she felt a heavy foot slide up next to hers, nudging her slightly.
Her bright blue eyes looked up, staring over the top of the menu at the pair of brown eyes staring over at her lovingly, a slight smile at his lips. She watched one of his eyebrows lift slowly, and her eyes closed tightly, looking down as she felt her blush deepen, and swore there was a giggle deep in her chest fighting to escape. She listened to the sound of his gentle laughter across from her, and sighed happily.
She opened her eyes to the menu again, and his hand appeared at the top of it, gently pulling it down. "We never look at the menu, Bones." He said softly.
"No. But perhaps something has changed in the past seven months." She said, keeping her eyes on the plastic sleeve of the menu, finally lifting her eyes to his, she shrugged. "Things have changed, haven't they?" She asked, though she didn't expect an answer. "I mean, what if there's something now that I want, that wasn't available then?" She asked, looking at the menu again, she refused look up at him. "What if I order something that I've never had before, and... and it doesn't agree with me?" She swallowed, a bit of fear in her eyes, though she kept her focus down.
"Bones, if you don't want to…" he started.
"No." She said firmly, looking up at him, dropping the menu to the table, her hands falling flat over the plastic cover. "I want to." She said, staring into his eyes. "I do." She smiled. "I very much want to. It borders on need, Booth." She whispered.
"I do too." He said, scooping her hand up in his, he squeezed her hand tightly. "I really do."
"Then it's settled." She replied, looking up at the waitress as she approached, she smiled. "We'll each have a cup of coffee to start." She said. "We're waiting on one more person."
The waitress nodded and walked away to get their coffee. "Thanks for letting me have lunch with you." He said softly, still reaching across the table, his hand warm in hers, he gave it a gentle squeeze. He watched her eyes move to their hands, his thumb rhythmically rolling over her skin. She could feel the warmth in her face as she remembered their morning, and how tender and gentle they were with one another as they discovered one another's bodies, joining together finally in a loving embrace.
"I'm glad you're here." She said, swallowing hard, she could see in his eyes that he knew exactly what she was thinking about, and that he was thinking the same. "I'm sorry that we missed breakfast." She said, a small mischievous smile on her lips that told him otherwise.
"I think that I can speak for both of us, when I say that breakfast would have been wasted time." He said, watching Temperance's eyes darken slightly to a color that he recognized as her response to passion. "The time that we spent together was far more important, and definitely more satisfying than breakfast." He whispered. She was focusing on his touch, and just as he was about to say something further, the bell on the door clanged loudly as Max entered.
Temperance turned her head, and with another reassuring squeeze of Booth's hand, she released his hand and lifted hers to wave toward Max.
Max came shuffling through the diner, his eyes lighting up as soon as he saw his daughter. She stood up and faced him, her arms out slightly. "Tempe, it's so nice to see you." He said, taking her in his arms in a big hug, his eyes fell upon the man at their table and he and Booth exchanged a glance. "Booth? What the hell are you doing in town?" He asked a bit brusquely, but with good humor. He pulled from his hug with Temperance, he kissed her cheek and reached a hand across the table toward Booth.
Booth shook Max's hand, watching the older man sit down beside Temperance. "On leave for Christmas." Booth said, leaving his explanation short and sweet.
"Well, you look good." Max nodded. "You both look good." He smiled. "I'm so glad you called me." He said, focusing on Temperance. "Russ was planning on coming to town to keep me company with Amy and the girls. Now he doesn't have to." Max winked.
"Don't change your plans on account of me." Temperance replied. "It would be nice to see Russ." She said softly, her eyes flicking across the table at Booth, watching her with a tender expression. "I have plans for Christmas Eve, but perhaps we can have dinner at my place Christmas day." She said, swallowing hard as if she expected Max to decline immediately, rejecting the idea of spending the holiday with her. She must have conveyed that fear of abandonment to the man across the table, because before she could take back her invitation, she felt his leg beneath the table, gently bump into hers. It was clear that it was purposeful, and she looked back toward him. "Do you think Rebecca would join us with Parker?" She asked, letting Booth know just by that simple question how much she appreciated his support and love.
"We could ask." Booth said, glancing to Max. "What do you say, Max? You going to spend Christmas with us?" He asked.
"Us?" Max said, letting out a puff of laughter as he glanced between his daughter and her partner, his face grew serious. "Are you two serious?" He asked, trying to hide the knowing smirk on his lips as he watched Temperance's eyes widen a bit, focused on the man across the table. It was clearly something they hadn't discussed, but he could see that Booth was wasting no time in letting people know his intentions toward Temperance.
"As serious as a heart attack." Booth said, letting his eyes meet Max's, he felt Temperance's leg against his again, and her hand was on the table, fingers tapping lightly. Booth reached across and grasped it, looping his fingers in hers, calming the nervous movements of the woman he loves.
"That's pretty serious." Max said, glancing between the two of them. "I'm happy for you both." He said sincerely.
Booth didn't respond, and gave Temperance's hand another squeeze, noting that she had no hesitation in her hold. "So what do you say, Max? Christmas dinner?"
Max looked between the two of them for a moment, his daughter's blue eyes sparkling across the table at her partner, before they focused back on him. "Yeah." He nodded. "Dinner sounds nice."
"Good." Booth said, glancing up to the waitress as she set their coffees on the table. He looked across at Temperance, who seemed a little distracted. "You ready to order, Bones?"
"Hm?" She said, her attention shaken a bit by Booth's admission to her father, her mind was running in fast forward, her heart pounding in her chest. She realized that he had asked her a question and finally was able to focus. "Oh." She said, feeling the blush once again rise up in her cheeks, she looked up at the waitress and smiled. "I'm ready." She said, glancing to Booth, she smiled. "I'm ready." She said, as they all proceeded to give their orders for lunch.