I meant to post this before Halloween this year, but life and graduate school kind of got in the way. So enjoy this post-Halloween, pre-Thanksgiving fic!
Halloween is my favorite time of year, and Bones has done some pretty awesome Halloween episodes. So of course I had to do one myself! And it's going to be M-rated because, you know. Booth and Bones during Halloween. Just go with it. And in some of the flashbacks, I mention Brennan having some friends in college, and knowing a little bit more about pop culture than what is shown on the show. I don't believe that Brennan was as awkward as they started making her in like mid-season four, and if you know who Wonder Woman is, than you know at least a little bit about pop culture.
I have to say, I really love writing these sort of retrospective pieces after the whole series was over. It helps having the whole picture, instead of having to wait for another season or something, you know? I might have fudged the years a little bit, but I tried the best I could with the timeline. It might not be perfect, but I think it's pretty close.
According to the Bones wiki, Christine's birthday is in March or April. But when I re-watched 8x15, it was stated that Christine is 14 months old. That episode aired in February. So if the episodes air during that same timeline (which I assume is true because the Halloween episodes have aired in October), that would put Christine's birthday in December, which is what I went with. The Bones timeline barely makes sense on a good day, so I tried to match stuff up as best as I could.
Obviously I could not resist the Buffy the Vampire reference. It's cheesy, I know lol, but I loved it.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The story title comes from the song "I Put a Spell on You" by… well, by a million different people, but when I Googled it, I found that the original singer was Annie Lennox.
one.
Halloween, 1992
Halloween was Temperance Brennan's favorite time of year.
Being tired, hungry, and cold wasn't enough to take that away from her. Over the last eleven months, Temperance had lost a lot—her parents, her brother, her home, her friends, her school—but she hadn't lost the parts that made her Temperance Brennan.
She liked to read. She liked to learn. She would try anything at least once. She was quiet, but had been told that she was quite funny when she chose to be. She was curious, and she liked to ask questions. Knowing how things worked made her feel better, helped her understand what was going on in the world.
Temperance held on to her favorite things, as well. Her favorite color was yellow. She loved daffodils and dolphins. Jupiter was her favorite planet. Science and math were her favorite subjects, but she enjoyed English nearly as much and liked to get lost in a good book. She preferred sun rises over sun sets and wanted to travel the world. She loved to study with her father, bake with her mother, and learn about sports from her older brother. She loved the autumn season, and, more importantly, looked forward to celebrating Halloween.
For a girl who loved all things spooky and unusual, Halloween was the perfect holiday for someone like Temperance Brennan. Naturally, her parents indulged her, like they always did. Christene and Matt Brennan had always done everything up for Halloween. Their house had always been the best-decorated on the block, and the Brennans threw the best Halloween party. Temperance wasn't the most popular girl in school, but she did have a few close friends and they always said that they loved Halloween because of how her parents celebrated it. Temperance always had elaborate costumes, ones that were themed that the whole family got in on. Even Russ, for all of his grumbling, joined in. There was one particularly memorable year when they dressed as classic Hollywood monsters: Christine was a vampire, Matt was Frankenstein's monster, Russ was a werewolf, and Temperance had been Frankenstein's bride.
Normally, thinking about those fond memories of her family made her angry and withdrawn. Tonight, Temperance just felt sad. It had been eleven months, and she still hadn't properly grieved the disappearance of her parents, or the abandonment of her older brother—she had yet to address what the loss of her family had done to her. She was finally coming to terms with the fact that none of them were coming back for her. This was her life, now. All she had left were her memories.
With a shiver, Temperance rolled over on the flat mattress that served as her bed and tugged the thin blanket even more tightly around her body. She heard yelling downstairs, heard a glass bottle shatter against the wall. Temperance squeezed her eyes tightly shut and wondered what her next foster home would be like. This was her second one, and she doubted that she would be here much longer—not if the sounds of sirens in the distance were any indication.
Covering her ears with her hands, Temperance pressed her face into the mattress and attempted to block out all sight and sound. At least in her memories, on the day of her favorite holiday, she could pretend that everything was alright.
Halloween, 2005
Brennan was knee-deep in grading reports from her graduate students. In fact, she was so distracted, she missed her new partner silently sliding into her office.
Seeley Booth, in a move he found himself doing more and more often lately, wound up at the Jeffersonian to bother Dr. Temperance Brennan. After nearly an entire year, he had finally managed to convince her to start working with him. They had three solved cases under their belts (four, if you counted their very first one—which, he most certainly did), and were on track to become a rather successful team.
He hadn't really stopped thinking about her for an entire year. Since then, that particular issue had only seemed to increase—which didn't exactly bode well for the early, still-new relationship he had going with a blonde attorney. They'd been seeing each other casually for a couple of months now, but it was time for Booth to make a decision: make it exclusive and serious, or break up with her?
As his gaze traveled towards Brennan, staring so intently at the stack of papers in front of her with that little furrow between her brows, one answer was glaringly obvious. With the knowledge that Brennan was fairly recently out of a relationship herself, paired with fact that she had only just decided to start working with him again (after a completely spectacular kiss that he wasn't likely to forget any time soon), Booth knew that the odds weren't exactly stacked in his favor. And he did know something about playing against the odds.
Shaking those thoughts from his head, Booth moved silently across the office until he was able to duck down and get up close and personal with Brennan. She was either choosing to ignore him, or she still really hadn't noticed that he was there. He got his answer soon enough when she jumped in response to his whispered, "Boo!"
Pressing a hand to her chest, Brennan looked up to see Booth only a breath away from her, with those brown eyes of his sparkling and one of those annoyingly attractive charm smiles firmly in place. He chuckled as she blinked at him with wide eyes, and she pushed back from the desk and tried to compose herself.
"Did I scare you, Bones?" he teased.
"No!" Brennan immediately denied. And it wasn't a lie, technically. He hadn't scared her—he had just startled her. There was a difference.
When she told him so, Booth only laughed again and shook his head. Brennan rolled her eyes at him and turned to shuffle the stacks of papers on her desk into neat little piles. Booth peered down at them and then gave Brennan a look, complete with an arched eyebrow.
"Grading papers on Halloween, Bones? Really? Don't you have… better things to be doing?"
"Not at the moment, no," Brennan told him. "The Jeffersonian Halloween party isn't for several more hours. I have plenty of time to get the grading done before I need to get ready."
"Ah, that's right. The annual Jeffersonian Halloween party. I guess the Squints really know how to do it up."
They really did, it seemed. The Medico-Legal lab was generally creepy in the way of bones and human remains and creepy crawlies, but they really did go all-out for Halloween. Every available surface (not used for the study of evidence) was covered in gauzy, fake cobwebs in either black or white. Orange, black, and purple streamers covered the ceiling, and there were large, disturbingly realistic-looking fake spiders perched at strategic points throughout the lab. Skeletons (that Booth were sure were fake, but then again you never knew in this place) were being dressed in costumes and placed around in the lab. Some of the lights were being covered with purple gel inserts, and Booth had seen some of the squints setting up a fog machine. He had also heard Hodgins muttering about dry ice, so he was sure the atmosphere at the Halloween party would be pretty great.
"The Halloween party is a big deal here," Brennan agreed. "I thought Angela told you all about it."
"She did," Booth said. It had been after Brennan had somewhat awkwardly but sweetly extended the invitation to Booth to attend the Jeffersonian Halloween party about a month ago. She had covered it up by explaining that as the new liaison to the Jeffersonian from the FBI, it was only right that he be invited to such events. Booth had just smiled at Brennan and squeezed her shoulder in response, telling her that he wasn't sure what his plans on Halloween were yet.
That was right after Tessa had told him about a party she went to every year, at some bar in the city. It had been a month since then and he had gone on a couple more dates with Tessa, which made what his plans were on Halloween night pretty clear: he was going to that bar with Tessa.
"I can't go, actually," Booth explained. "So I wanted to stop by and see if you wanted to grab lunch before we went our separate ways for the night."
"Got your own party to go to, do you?" Now it was Brennan's turn to tease, since she didn't miss the faintest frown on Booth's face at the mention of their separate plans. Even as she spoke she rose from behind her desk and powered down her computer, wordlessly agreeing to go to lunch with Booth.
"Yeah." Booth grimaced a little but tried to smile at the same time. "Tessa is dressing up as a vampire slayer from some show in the 90s. She's making me dress up as the broody vampire boyfriend. Apparently I look like him, or something."
Furrowing her brow, Brennan said, "I don't know that means." She didn't watch television much in the 90s. Her time was spent going from foster home to foster home in the early 90s, and then in college studying over the later half. She didn't have time for television. Besides, she had stuck to the classics, or the 80s films her mother and brother had loved when she did find the time to watch something.
Smiling warmly at her, Booth grabbed Brennan's jacket and held it out to her. He really did find her so refreshing, in the best possible way. He hadn't watched the television show much, himself, but he did know enough about it. It wasn't the couples' costume that bothered him, really. It was more of the fact that it was Halloween, which was meant for dressing up. How would putting on a leather jacket and spiking his hair with too much hair gel be considered a costume?
Even though she tried to be annoyed, Brennan couldn't keep the small smile from playing on her lips as she allowed Booth to slide her jacket over her arms "Angela and I were vampires for Halloween, once." Though Brennan had a very specific costume that she liked to wear to the Jeffersonian party, Angela had dragged her out a few times over the years in different costumes. "Though I doubt that your costume will involve a leather bustier."
Booth coughed in an attempt to hide the slight choking sound he made at the thought of Brennan in that costume. "Ah, no." Which begged the question, of course. "Bones, what are you going to be for Halloween?"
She sent him a smile that could only be called coy. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased before she strode out of the office.
Grinning, Booth moved quickly to catch up with her. Damn, he was really wishing that he wouldn't be missing the Jeffersonian Halloween party.
two.
Halloween, 1995
Temperance knew that she had been lucky when she had gotten a single dorm room as a freshman at Northwestern. Hell, she knew that she was lucky to even be in college at all. It had taken plenty of hard work—and several scholarships—to get her in, and she was thankful that for the next four years, she had an actual place to call home… even if it was a small, cinderblock room.
She had fairly quiet neighbors on either side of her, which she appreciated. Brennan was on an accelerated track to complete her Master's degree a year and a half after her undergraduate degree. She planned on going for her doctorate not long after that, as soon as she had completed an internship.
Needless to say, Temperance was busy, and was choosing to focus most of her attention on school. Given that college was a place where they absolutely insisted on making people participate in group projects. So Temperance was essentially forced to socialize with peers. At the very least, she understood the need for those, especially from a community point of view. These students, who would eventually be with her in the field, are people that she needed to learn to work with and build a rapport with.
Again, luckily, her peers seemed to be just as serious and dedicated as she was. She was only a few months into her first year, but had been paired with other students who were determined to excel, just as she was. One of her classmates was her next door neighbor, and when Temperance heard a knock on her door on the Saturday night before Halloween, she opened it to find her neighbor there.
Haley James was quiet, just like Temperance, and studied nearly as intently as Temperance did. Temperance knew that she wasn't always the most sociable person, but Haley James just happened to be one of those people that was easy to get along with. So even though Temperance's main goal was graduate with her degrees at the top of her class, she had to admit that it was nice to have someone to talk to.
"Hello, Haley," Temperance greeted with a small smile. "Is everything alright? Do you need anything?"
Haley smiled in return. "I was just wondering if you had any plans for tonight."
Gesturing to her Superman sweater (that she had stolen from Russ long ago and had managed to hold on to through her many foster homes), Brennan said, "Not much, honestly. I was going to get some reading done…" Trailing off, she shrugged her shoulders. It wasn't exactly the most exciting thing for a Saturday night, and she knew it. Since Haley was more interested in teaching and was on track to work in universities, she studied just as much as Temperance did.
"My mom and my aunt sent me a Halloween care package, and I was going to watch a bunch of classic Halloween movies," Haley explained.
"Which classics?" Temperance asked, curious. Ever since entering foster care, she hadn't had very much access to televisions. Before that, watching shows or movies hadn't been very high on her list of priorities. In fact, most of the films Temperance had watched had been shown to her by her mother, who had exclusively watched classic, black and white films.
"Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Mummy—"
Temperance couldn't help an interruption at the mention of her favorite film. "I love The Mummy!" For a girl who loved all things involving Halloween—after all, Brennan wanted to be able to look at human skeletal remains and be able to identify who they were and what happened to them—classic horror movies like that ranked up among her favorites. Plus, it was the movie that made her want to be an anthropologist, anyway.
"Great!" Haley beamed. She was going to school far away from her family and didn't know very many people, much like Temperance. "My mom sent a lot of Halloween candy and my aunt sent some really neat costumes from the thrift store that she owns. I don't want to go out and party, but being alone is kind of depressing on Halloween, you know?"
Once Temperance had ended up in foster homes, the other kids hadn't exactly gone out of their way to invite her to things. More often than not, she spent all of her time studying, knowing that it was her ticket to better opportunities. Besides that, she was just trying to survive. Making friends wasn't exactly at the top of her priority list.
College was a new time for her, though. It was a chance to be a new person. Temperance didn't have to be the girl that was abandoned by her family, the girl from foster care. She could be whoever she wanted here, and she could make a few friends.
"Sounds like fun," Temperance agreed. She did love Halloween after all, and this was the first time in three years that she would really be able to celebrate it. She wasn't going to pass that chance up.
Haley had already ordered a pizza, and another girl from their pre-requisite first year classes, Samantha Carter, was also there. She was more interested in chemistry and physics, but was equally as dedicated to her studies as Temperance and Haley.
"Oh, thank God," Sam said when she saw that Haley had brought Temperance to their movie night. "I was worried that we were going to have to eat all of this pizza and candy by ourselves."
It was a lot of candy, Temperance saw. Halloween candy was a luxury that she hadn't been able to indulge in a very long time, and she quickly reached for a Twix bar. While she knew that candy had entirely too much sugar and no nutritional value, she didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. Besides, everything in moderation was reasonable enough.
"Why don't we pick out costumes, and then we can eat?" Haley suggested. "My aunt scours auctions for these authentic costumes, and I'd hate for them to go to waste."
Sam had been searching through the box of costumes and said, "I already found mine." She held up a brown leather jacket with patches on it and pulled it on. She grabbed a pair of reflective aviators and struck a pose. "I feel the need for speed."
"From Top Gun," Temperance said. She felt a small pang of sadness at the reminder of her brother—he had loved that movie mainly for the action scenes, and that was when he had gone through a phase where he wanted to be a pilot. Temperance had watched that movie with Russ a few times.
"I'm pretty sure my aunt got that from an auction on set. It belonged to an extra," Haley explained. She searched through the box for a moment before she pulled out a vintage red and white cheerleading outfit, along with a letterman jacket. She smiled sheepishly and said, "My mom and my aunt were cheerleaders in high school. It's not something I ever got into, but… it's fun."
Sam and Temperance both smiled at their friend, without any judgment at all. Halloween was all about dressing up as something you weren't, in the end. It was the perfect holiday to go out of your comfort zone, as they were all discovering.
"I have the perfect costume you for you, Temperance," Haley continued as she dug through the box once again. It was one that, once again, Temperance had easily recognized: the blue skirt with the white stars, the red leather top… it was Wonder Woman.
Sam nodded her head as she reached for a slice of pizza. "It's totally perfect for you, Temperance," she agreed. "Since you're so into superheroes."
It took Temperance a moment to make the connection, but she realized that Haley and Sam thought it would be the perfect costume for her because of the Superman sweatshirt she was wearing. Shrugging her shoulders, Temperance took the costume and held it up to her body. Her two new friends nodded approvingly, and Temperance decided to go for it.
Now, she could be whatever she wanted to be.
Halloween, 2007
As they settled into their seats at the diner, Brennan grimaced at the way that Booth was moving carefully. He was hiding his pain well, but she could tell that he was certainly feeling some discomfort. Not that it was surprising, given that he had been shot less than three hours ago. It had been just a graze, but still a wound like that would be painful either way. He had barely let the paramedic at the scene patch him up before he was demanding to be allowed to leave—the fact that they were able to get it bandaged at all was a miracle.
She had managed to distract him earlier by asking him what Parker was dressing up as for Halloween. Booth's son was now six years old and still loved Halloween just as much as any other child. He had dressed up as a cowboy, and Booth had proudly showed Brennan a picture on his phone earlier. She had to admit that the miniature Booth looked quite adorable dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans, and faux leather vest, along with his little cowboy hat.
Brennan was only thankful for the fact that even though they looked dirty and essentially like they had been through a battle, they still fit in. A number of customers in the diner were dressed for Halloween, some in costumes that were significantly more gruesome than theirs. In fact, as Brennan took in some of the couples that were dressed up, she couldn't help but observe that there were pairs in coordinating couples' costumes.
Which brought her back to the fact that she and Booth were in decidedly couples' costume territory, as well. Given that Brennan was such a fan of dressing up as Wonder Woman, she knew quite a bit about the history of the character. They could have easily passed as Wonder Woman and Clark Kent after rescuing the city—or a date gone wrong, depending on how you looked at it—so it didn't escape Brennan's notice that they fit in easily with the other couples. She had a feeling that Booth knew it as well, given that he picked up on details like that just as easily as she did.
Booth settled into his seat, taking up much more space than he usually did by stretching out his injured leg on the empty chair next to Brennan's. He let out a little sigh of relief, and it made Brennan bite her lip as she watched him with concern-filled eyes.
Booth caught her watching him and shot her a charm smile. "What?" he said, completely unconcerned. "I'm fine." Given the fact that they had managed to survive a pretty disastrous situation earlier that night, Booth actually was doing alright. Plus, there was the fact that Brennan hadn't changed out of her costume yet.
What? He was a guy who had been shot and could have been killed by some psycho dressed as a clown. He was going to take whatever he could get, when he could get it.
Brennan chewed on her bottom lip for a long moment and took a sip of her coffee. Then she said, "I really am sorry for shooting you. The last thing I want is to hurt you."
Booth's eyes softened even further, and he reached across the table to squeeze Brennan's hand. "I know that, Bones." He said it with such conviction that Brennan really believed that he knew that to be a fact.
Brennan watched him for another long moment, taking in the way he had his injured leg propped up on the seat next to her, and the tired lines around his eyes. It made her more than a little sick to know that he had to kill someone again, especially because it was in part to save her. He had already done that for her several times over the course of their partnership, and she hated that it cost him a piece of his soul every time he did it. She might not have shared the beliefs that Booth had, but she understood them, and him.
"Okay." Shaking his head, Booth stood up and went to talk to one of the waitresses at the counter. He was back a few moments later, and he gestured for Brennan to stand up. She furrowed her brow as she quickly tossed back the rest of her coffee and joined Booth. Putting his hand on the small of her back, he guided her towards the counter.
"Booth?" Brennan questioned.
"We're getting our food to go," Booth explained. "We're going back to my apartment, and we're going to get good and drunk."
"Alright," Brennan agreed readily. His plan really felt like the best way to improve their night. When Booth grinned at her, she felt just a little bit lighter.
Half an hour later, they were back at Booth's apartment. He had a bowl of candy set up on a little table outside of his door, and it was three-fourths of the way empty. With a smile playing around his lips, Booth unlocked his door, reached for the giant bag of candy he had placed just inside, and filled the bowl to the top once again.
"You just leave a bowl of candy outside of your door?" Brennan questioned.
"The kids are pretty good about taking a couple of pieces, so there's enough for everyone. And there hasn't been a lot of times that I'm here on Halloween night, since I'm generally working. The families in the building know that, but I want to put candy out anyway. Halloween is fun, you know?" Booth explained.
Smiling at that, Brennan followed Booth into his apartment and grabbed a blanket off of the back of his couch. She wrapped it around her shoulders, huddling in close to the corner. She loved her Halloween costume, but now that all of the adrenaline had completely worn off, she was feeling rather chilly in her superhero costume. It didn't really have much in the way of pants. Or sleeves.
Booth took one look at her and immediately cranked up the heat. "Jeez, Bones," he said as he quickly moved across his apartment, limping only the slightest bit. "Let me grab you a change of clothes."
Reaching up, Brennan managed to snag Booth's hand and tugged him to a stop. "Don't worry about it, Booth. I'm fine with the blanket," she assured him. "Just… can you get that drink, please?"
"Sure thing, Bones." Booth grabbed two glasses from his bar, along with his best bottle of scotch. He poured a generous measure in each of their glasses, handed her one, and then clinked his glass against hers. "Cheers."
He tossed his back quickly, which cued Brennan into the fact that he wasn't as okay as he was pretending to be. Her heart ached for him, and she tossed hers back as well, to match him. Booth quickly poured them each some more scotch, with each pour being as generous as the one before. Booth tapped his glass against Brennan's once again, and drank this glass a little more slowly.
"Booth, please—" Brennan began, but he quickly cut her off.
"Look, Bones, I don't really want to talk about what happened tonight, okay? Can we just.." He lifted his glass, indicated exactly what he wanted to do.
Brennan was more than alright with that. She quickly gulped down half of her second glass and couldn't resist adding, "You don't even want to talk about the snakes?"
Booth finally cracked a genuine smile. "I can't believe you had that reaction to snakes, Bones."
"Oh please!" Brennan immediately protested, as he knew she would. "I wasn't exactly prepared to walk into a room with that many snakes, alright? My body reacted without much thought. It was the classic fight-or-flight response!"
"Oh, it was fight-or-flight that made you jump on to my back?"
"Yes!"
By that point, they had both finished their second glass. Booth poured some more scotch and shared a look with Brennan. She raised her own glass in a salute. This was exactly what they needed.
Almost two hours later, Booth and Brennan were pretty much past drunk. They had turned on a marathon of classic Halloween movies to provide some background noise, and had filled the candy basket once again—after they had their own fair share, of course. They had eaten their takeout from the diner and had moved on to beer instead of finishing off Booth's best bottle of scotch. Booth tried to argue that they wouldn't have as bad of a hangover the following morning that way, but they both knew that that wasn't necessarily true.
By now the trick-or-treaters were long gone, so neither of them had to worry about what any impressionable ears might hear through the door. Bolstered by the courage that the scotch had provided her, Brennan said, "You know, Booth, the glasses aren't a bad look for you."
Booth pulled the black-framed glasses out of the shirt pocket he had tucked them into earlier and slid them back on. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not. But thanks, I guess."
"You carry the squint look well," Brennan added. A small smile played around her lips as she said Booth's nickname for their team at the Jeffersonian. It had come to mean as much to her as Booth's own nickname for her. It was Booth's way of claiming them as his own, which she appreciated.
Booth frowned a little and rubbed the back of his neck. "I… I wasn't trying to be mean, you know. This was the first year that I could actually go to the Halloween party, and I didn't know what to dress up as, and I always call you guys the Squints, so I figured…"
"It would help you fit in." Brennan didn't need a psychology degree (nor did she want one) to figure that one out. She knew that Booth often felt out of place at the Jeffersonian, though he hid it well most times. At this point, two and a half years into Booth and Brennan's partnership, the nickname had become almost affectionate. If her team had really hated it, they would have let Booth know long ago.
Booth's choice of costume was almost an apology of sorts to them. In a way, marking himself as one of them helped them relate to one another. Brennan appreciated the gesture… and she could also appreciate the way that Booth looked in glasses.
Booth studied Brennan for a long moment before he disappeared into his bedroom. He returned a few moments later with a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, both of which he held out to Brennan. She had still been on the couch, with the blanket now tucked around her lap, instead of her shoulders. The alcohol went a long way in helping to make her feel warm.
Brennan stood, allowing the blankets to fall from her lap as she accepted the change of clothes from Booth with a smile. She noticed that his eyes fell to her feet and started a very slow trek upwards. She paused, feeling his warm, brown-eyed gaze almost like a caress.
"You know…" Booth's voice seemed rather husky, and he cleared his throat. He didn't exactly lose that husky quality, though. "You look good, Bones. Really good."
Brennan knew that she looked good. She'd been rocking this costume for a few years and was well aware of the reaction it garnered. Still, she said, "Yeah?"
There was something about the look in Booth's eyes that Brennan liked. A lot.
"Yeah," Booth agreed. "Not that you don't always look good. Because you do. It's just…" He looked her over again, and his gaze heated Brennan from the inside out. "Yeah."
She knew that they had been through quite a bit that night. Even Brennan was aware that she had a connection with Booth that she wasn't able to adequately describe with words. It was times like these that that connection really seemed to stand out the most, and it would be so easy to give in.
It took everything in Brennan to smile warmly at Booth and move away to get changed. But a part of her always wondered what would have happened if she had lingered just a little longer, and returned Booth's slow look-over gazes with one of her own. Because she so wanted to.
three.
Halloween, 1999
Staring at the basket overflowing with treats, Temperance wondered out loud, "Do we have enough candy?"
Dr. Michael Stires brushed past her in the entrance hallway to their apartment, shuffling through a stack of papers. He barely spared a glance at the basket of candy, made a non-committal noise, and kept moving towards his office.
With a frown, Temperance plucked a Reese's peanut butter cup from the pile of candy. She could debate with Michael for hours about something in her studies, but he couldn't answer one simple question she asked outside of the subjects that had brought them together in the first place. Still, she supposed that the response she had gotten out of him was better than nothing at all… even it could barely be considered one.
Temperance tried again, since she was not one to be easily deterred. "Did you want to go to the party tonight?"
Michael stopped leafing through his report long enough to look up at Temperance. "You know, I don't quite understand your obsession with Halloween," he said. His tone was good-natured enough, but she could see in the way he tilted his chin up—he didn't approve of her desire to celebrate the pagan holiday.
He smiled at her again and went back to looking at his report. Temperance bit her lip, taking note of the fact that he hadn't really answered her question. Michael was quite popular with the students, Brennan knew this. Now that they were together, though, he didn't seem all that keen on going out with Temperance among her peers.
This was technically their first holiday together, and it was clear that Michael didn't understand her fascination with Halloween. He definitely didn't subscribe to doing the more traditional "couple" things, like spending holidays together anyway. That was fine, Temperance assured herself. She didn't need him to understand why she loved Halloween so much, and she didn't want to have to explain her rather tragic past. Here, she was the superstar student nearly ready to get her graduate degree early, quickly followed by a doctorate. She was even in a relationship with one of the most respected members of the field, even though she certainly didn't measure her success by that.
They had chosen an apartment close to campus, since both of them spent so much time there. Their building was full of people that worked in the city, many of which had families. Temperance wanted to be prepared for the trick-or-treating event that took place in the building, so she had admittedly gone out of her way to by an excess of candy.
She had also bought mini boxes of raisins in an attempt to encourage healthier choices, though she had a feeling that no one would really go for those. After all, she remembered what it was like to trick-or-treat when she was a child. She certainly had not been fond of the houses that had anything other than sweet treats, and she didn't want to be known as one of those places that gave out the worst things on Halloween.
Michael didn't seem to share her thoughts, though. Temperance had been invited to a Halloween party at a local bar with Haley and Sam (whom she was still friends with). She didn't think she'd be able to talk Michael into doing a costume to match her Wonder Woman costume, but Temperance had wondered if they could go as mad scientists, or something.
As Michael disappeared into his office, Temperance resigned herself to the fact that she would likely be celebrating her favorite holiday by herself, instead of sharing it with the man she was now living with. It shouldn't have bothered her as much as it did, and she wasn't particularly a fan of the way that Michael was currently making her feel.
Halloween, 2011
"Ugh." Resting her hands on her ever-expanding belly, Temperance made her way over to the couch and sat down. It was more of a flop, really, but she wasn't about to admit that to anyone.
She was still approximately two months away from giving birth, but it seemed that her stomach grew a little bit more every day. Booth loved it, of course. He often spent a good forty-five minutes measuring the size of her bump with his hands at least twice a week. Brennan loved it.
Since she was coming off of a pretty brutal stretch of morning sickness (that tended to occur throughout the day, and not just in the morning, Brennan had discovered), she had begged off of the usual Jeffersonian Halloween party. It wouldn't have been much fun any way without Angela and Hodgins, since they had decided to stay home with Michael Vincent for his first Halloween, as well.
Though Brennan normally loved the party, she truly didn't mind skipping it this year. Booth actually managed to get home at a reasonable hour that night, so they were able to see Parker off in his costume—he had dressed up as Batman that year. Even though he insisted that he was too old be called "cute," Brennan couldn't help but tell Parker that he was that very thing. Of course, he took in stride and let Brennan get away with it.
They were lucky that they got to have Parker for this holiday. He had insisted, though, stating that he was not about to spend his first Halloween since moving in any place other than the United States. Booth, of course, was only too happy to host his son for the fall holiday.
He was off with his friends now, and Brennan had already ordered pizza for when they came back with their candy haul—that was she was totally going to steal some of, because the baby was definitely craving chocolate.
"Alright!" Booth had arrived home on time to see Parker off, but had disappeared into his bedroom with the insistence that he needed to "get changed." Brennan, since she loved the holiday so much, had already changed into a black and orange striped sweater. Now, seeing Booth, she couldn't help but laugh. He matched her and clashed with her, all at the same time.
He was wearing an orange hoodie with the printed face of a jack-o-lantern on the front. He looked very festive, and Brennan told him as much.
Grinning, Booth posed for her. "Well, I couldn't let you be the only one to dress up, now could I?"
Brennan pushed up from the couch and crossed the living room, stopping only when she stood directly in front of Booth. She tugged on the strings of his hoodie playfully, smiling up at him. "You like Halloween, don't you?"
"Well, sure." Booth seemed surprised that Brennan hadn't already guessed that fact. Four years ago, he had gone all-out dressing up as a Squint, after all. Still, he liked that after all these years together, he could still surprise her like this. "Halloween is awesome, Bones. You get to dress up in cool costumes, plus there's awesome candy. What's not to like?"
Brennan hugged Booth tightly around the waist then, pressing her face into his neck. His arms came around her immediately, pulling her even tighter against him. She still fit to the contours of his body, even with the curve of their baby between them. He stroked his hands over her back, closing his eyes as he pressed his nose to the top of her head. He still couldn't get over the fact that he got to hold her like this whenever he wanted to. They had been together for a little over seven months now, and had certainly done everything they could to make up for lost time. It was moment like these, though, that got to him the most.
"I love Halloween," Brennan whispered, like it was some big secret.
Tangling his fingers in her hair, Booth smiled. "I know." It hadn't been hard to figure out—especially not with the way he saw how excited she got to dress up during their third year of partnership. It had been the first year that Booth had actually been able to attend the Jeffersonian Halloween party, and she had been so eager to share it with him.
What they had shared after they had solved their case with the mummified girls had been much stronger, of course. It had been yet another building block in their relationship, solidifying the fact that they would likely be in each other's lives forever.
He held her for a long time, feeling a thud against him as their baby kicked. Finally, Booth got the courage to say what had been on his mind since he walked in and found Brennan wearing that Halloween sweater, looking completely relaxed and at home on the couch.
"I'd like to find a house, you know?" Booth admitted. "In a neighborhood that we could really take our baby trick-or-treating. One where we could carve pumpkins and answer the door and give out candy."
"Or other healthy alternatives," Brennan interjected. Booth patiently went along with it, because now that they were expecting a little baby of their own, she was all about finding the healthiest way to get nutrition.
It wasn't the first time that Booth had brought up moving in together, but it was the first time that Brennan didn't come up with some excuse as to why they couldn't do it yet. Maybe it was because it was sort of an abstract, a little less concrete than what he had been mentioning over the past few weeks.
Or maybe it was because she loved Halloween so much, and wanted to celebrate it with Booth. Truthfully, Brennan was glad that Booth shared her enthusiasm for Halloween. The thought of having their own house to celebrate it at, in a neighborhood they could take their daughter around in, warmed her to her very center.
"That would be nice," Brennan finally said, and she tilted her face up towards Booth's. Her lips brushed across his, but he didn't kiss her fully—not yet.
"Yeah?" he asked, a bright, Boothy smile forming on his lips.
Brennan playfully rolled her eyes and slid her arms around Booth's neck. "Yes," she agreed. Not because it was what Booth wanted to hear—but because it really would be nice to have that. Someday. "It would be."
She tugged lightly, and Booth happily bent to meet Brennan's lips in a tender, deep kiss.
four.
Halloween, 2003
"You're not going to make me go to this thing alone, are you?"
Brennan glanced up at her new friend and was barely able to hold back her amusement. It was Halloween, the staff at the Jeffersonian had already started decorating the lab in preparation for the annual party that was thrown. Angela was already celebrating by wearing a headband that had two bobble antenna attached to it, with little sparkly jack-o-lanterns on each end.
"What, the party tonight? Of course not," Brennan answered.
"Oh, thank God." Angela sank into the chair across from Brennan's desk in relief. "Now, the only crisis I'm having is the one where I can't decide what to wear. Should I be a sexy nurse? Or a sexy police officer? Or a sexy fire fighter? Hmm, maybe I should be a sexy witch—"
Brennan stopped flipping through a paper she was reviewing long enough to send Angela a confused look. "I don't understand why each of your costume choices are prefaced by the word sexy."
"Hello? Because it's the one night of the year a woman can dress however she wants and get away with it. Not that I usually have that problem." Angela waggled her eyebrows and then reached over the desk to poke her friend's shoulder. "What are you dressing up as? Maybe we can coordinate."
"Wonder Woman," Brennan answered absently.
"Oh, I love it!" Angela immediately exclaimed with a squeal. "We can do a whole sexy superhero thing. Yes, I'll be Supergirl. Wait, that might be too obvious. Maybe I should be The Flash instead. Yes, I'll be The Flash."
Brennan blinked at Angela's audible thought process, spoken at a mile-a-minute. After a long moment, she said, "So you decided what you're going to dress up as tonight, then? Will you be able to get a costume at the last minute?" Something told Brennan that her new friend wouldn't do anything less than go all-out for Halloween.
Angela waved her hand dismissively. "My dad has a friend that does costumes, so I can get some really good ones. I'll tell her to get one for you, too."
"Oh, I already have one—"
"Just in case," Angela said. She smiled and added, "Why don't we get ready for tonight together? We can pregame, too."
Brennan found herself agreeing, but only if she was left alone for another hour and a half of work. Sure enough, at five o'clock on the dot, Angela was dragging Brennan out from behind her desk and to her apartment, where they could get ready for the party.
Thankfully, Brennan had packed her costume in her car. It had been the same one she had gotten from Haley eight years ago, and had held up pretty well since then. While they had still been in school, they had their Halloween movie nights every year. Once they had each gone on to their more advanced degrees, they had still managed to keep in touch. The Wonder Woman costume that had been gifted to her that first year of college had remained Temperance's favorite.
Angela, though, hadn't been terribly impressed by the costume. Oh, she had thought the story was sweet, but she thought Brennan could have done much better in the costume department. And so, Brennan found herself wearing a version of the Wonder Woman costume that was more 1987 than it was 1941.
"You're hot, Bren," Angela encouraged. "Work it. Own it." She fluffed up her hair and double checked her own costume, which was of a similar version to Brennan's. It was a leotard with the legs cut high on the side, done in the red and gold colors of The Flash. The lightning bolt was emblazoned in the center of her chest, and she had a wide gold belt around her waist, along with gold, knee-high boots.
Turning to study her reflection in the mirror, Brennan had to admit that this new version of the costume looked pretty good. She especially liked the red boots, which was not a look that she usually went for. Brennan didn't generally have a problem with confidence—not anymore, anyway—but she liked the extra added boost this costume gave her.
"Strike a superhero pose, Bren!" Angela said as she thrust one fist in the air and made what she had been calling her "superhero face."
Brennan put her hands on her hips and tilted her chin up, and she laughed at the picture she and Angela made. This was fun. This was the Halloween that she had been missing once her family had disappeared, and she was so glad that she got to have it again.
Angela glanced at Brennan with an amused look. "You really like Halloween, don't you?" The previous year, when they had tried to decorate Brennan's lab for Christmas, she had nearly bitten a poor intern's head off. This year, for Halloween, Brennan hadn't said a word when they had decorated the outside of her office. In fact, she had seemed to love it.
"It's my favorite holiday," Brennan sheepishly admitted.
Wrapping her arm around Brennan, Angela squeezed affectionately. "It's my favorite holiday, too."
"Every holiday is your favorite holiday, Ange," Brennan said with a playful eye roll.
"So?" Angela was completely unapologetic about that. "That makes it way more fun. Now come on." She linked arms with Brennan and began to tug her away from the mirror. "Let's go drink too much and eat way too much candy."
Halloween, 2012
When Booth got home from a late work meeting, he found his partner in the living room, looking like the Spirit Halloween store had thrown up all over the place.
"Um, Bones?" Booth moved slowly, cautiously. He was well aware that Halloween was his partner's favorite holiday. Since she had been cleared of all chargers and had returned with Christine from on the run for a little over two months now, she had been going all-out for just about every milestone.
Booth knew that this was Brennan's way of making up for the three months they had been away. After the case with the divorce lawyer, they had worked out a lot more and were in a much better place. He understood that she had gone into survival mode, doing absolutely everything she could to stay under the radar and keep their daughter safe. He knew that she hadn't wanted to burden him with having to choose between going on the run with them, staying and helping to solve the case, or agreeing to let them go. She made herself the bad guy (even though Booth had told her repeatedly that she wasn't), because she hadn't wanted to make Booth choose. She understood how he had felt, how the anger and loneliness and helplessness had affected him.
Brennan already loved to go all-out for Halloween, but it seemed that she was doing even more now. This was Christine's first Halloween, after all. Booth had already bought a ton of candy in preparation for the trick-or-treaters they were going to get. He was determined to be the best house on the block. Brennan had briefly argued for passing out dried fruit and apple slices. Booth said the only way that they were passing out apple slices was if they also gave out caramel to dip it in.
Booth had been wondering why Brennan had let that particular argument go so easily. Now, it all made so much more sense. She had been occupied with getting every single baby costume under the sun.
Putting her hands on her hips, Brennan turned distressed eyes towards her partner. "I don't know what costume to pick for Christine!" Her voice was as near a whine as it ever got, and Booth had to actively fight a smile.
"Bones, she can barely go trick-or-treating. Plus, she'll look adorable in whatever we decide to put her in."
"Please." Brennan wrinkled her nose. "I would hardly allow our daughter to consume that much candy. She is far too young for that, anyway."
"Wait, hang on. We're still going to go trick-or-treating right? At least on our street? I wanted the candy, too."
"Booth." Now it was Brennan trying to fight a smile. "You already bought so much candy. Do you really need more?"
"It's not the same as going out on Halloween night!" Booth explained for what felt like the hundredth time. He loved his partner and while she certainly wasn't against trick-or-treating, she seemed determined to steer it in a healthier direction.
Knowing that neither of them would really ever win this argument, Booth picked up an adorable pumpkin costume and held it out to Brennan. "What about this one? Christine would make one cute pumpkin."
Brennan smiled at the way Booth was so obviously pleased about their daughter's Halloween costume. He was right, of course—Christine would look precious no matter what they dressed her in. Still, that didn't stop Brennan from wanting it to be perfect.
"Everyone dresses their baby as a pumpkin. Or a cat."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Booth pointed out mildly. Those costumes were cute and classic, and there was a reason that so many parents picked it. "Parker was black cat for his first Halloween."
"He was the cutest black cat ever, I'm sure," Brennan said immediately, with a bright smile. She looked at all of the costumes that she had laid out all over their living room and let out a sigh. "I just want the right one for Christine."
Booth, knowing that Brennan's desire to have everything perfectly planned for Halloween stemmed from her own experiences celebrating the holiday, both with her family and after she was put in foster care. She was slowly starting to feel the same way about Christmas—especially since they got to celebrate it with both Christine and Parker. She was already much better about birthdays.
Booth shifted through the pile of costumes, passing by a unicorn, a superhero, and a fuzzy bear costume. When he got to one near the bottom, he grinned and immediately knew it was the best choice.
"What about this?" he suggested as he held it up.
Brennan grinned and reached out for the costume Booth had chosen. Trust Booth to reassure her and find the perfect thing to ease her anxiety. "I hadn't even realized that I had ordered this one."
"What did you do, Bones, order the whole catalogue?" Booth teased with an affectionate smile.
Brennan's sheepish smile said it all—she had, in fact, ordered the entire infant catalogue. In doing so, she and Booth had managed to find the perfect costume for their daughter.
It was a black one-piece with the imprint of a white skeleton on the front and back. It came complete with a little black tutu, and it was the most darling choice. Clearly, it was the perfect costume for the daughter of someone whose nickname was Bones.
"Our little skeleton," Booth said with a grin. He slid an arm around Brennan's waist and tugged her towards him so that he could drop a kiss to her lips. "Hey, is there any chance that you'll bust out that Wonder Woman costume again this year?"
"For our daughter's first Halloween? I think not." Brennan looked up at him with a smirk, her eyes twinkling. "But I could be persuaded to bring it out tonight."
Burying his face in her neck, Booth murmured his agreement heartily. Laughing, Brennan wrapped her arms around her partner and held him close.
five.
Halloween, 2008
"Oh, Bones," Booth said as he and Parker happily tucked into their steaming plates of macaroni and cheese. "You're seriously the best."
"Mmhmm," Parker heartily agreed around a mouthful of cheesy pasta.
Brennan smiled brightly, and could feel her cheeks heat with a slight flush at the praise. She dug into her own dish, knowing that they had to eat up since they had a big night of trick-or-treating ahead of them.
For once, Booth and Brennan found themselves free on Halloween night. They didn't have any active cases, and had actually managed to catch up on a significant amount of paperwork. Rebecca had been invited to an extravagant Halloween party with her new boyfriend, and Booth had only been too happy to step into trick-or-treating duty. He had invited Brennan to come along with them, and after Brennan had checked to make sure that Parker wouldn't mind her tagging along ("Of course not, Bones! Parker loves you!"), Brennan had agreed.
She had offered to make macaroni and cheese, knowing that it was a favorite of both of the Booth boys. That, along with the prospect of eating candy later that night, had Parker very excited for this Halloween. He had been wearing his costume all throughout dinner—this year, he had dressed as a Flyers hockey player. Booth had been beaming ever since Parker had showed up in his costume.
Parker and Booth quickly wolfed down two helpings, and Brennan even managed to convince them to eat some salad. As soon as Parker had helped to clear his plate from the table, he jumped up and ran over to his bag, eagerly searching for something.
"What'cha looking for, Parks?" Booth asked as he put the dishes in the dishwasher. Brennan was putting the food away, and watched in amusement as Parker pulled out two wads of balled-up orange and white fabric.
"We gotta match, you guys. It's Halloween!" He shoved one at his father and then one at Brennan, and they both held them up. Parker had brought them Flyers jerseys to wear.
"Did you take these from my closet? Booth asked with a chuckle.
"Yup!" Parker confirmed, completely unapologetic. "Now hurry up and put them on! I want to get started before all of the good candy gets taken!"
"You can only have some after I check it, Parker!" Booth reminded him. He knew that some kids let the excitement get the best of them and might try to sneak a piece of candy. Booth's job made him that much more weary, and he was sure that Parker had the best-checked candy in all of DC.
He ran to look at the mirror in Booth's room so he could re-adjust the pads that were a part of his costume. Chuckling, Booth tugged his jersey over his head, more than happy to match with his son. When he saw Brennan pulling on the other Jersey as well, he felt a low pull in his stomach at the sight of her in his jersey.
"You don't need to wear it if you don't want to, Bones," Booth said, trying to give her an out. He kind of figured that she loved Halloween, but he had also heard that she was partial to the Wonder Woman costume. Not that Booth would mind seeing it again, but it wasn't exactly the sort of costume that she could wear while trick-or-treating with his son.
"I want to," Brennan said quickly. There was that flush to her cheeks again, and Booth was pleasantly surprised to catch it. She straightened out the orange and white jersey and held her arms out. "How do I look?"
Booth did that thing where his eyes started at her feet and moved slowly to the top of her head. Brennan was more than familiar with that look, but she herself had given her own version of it to Booth plenty of times—and she knew that she had been caught, as well.
"Good," Booth said. "Really good." They smiled at each other, and then Booth cleared his throat. "Thanks for humoring my kid, Bones."
"Any time, Booth," Brennan told him. "Any time."
Halloween, 2013
Studying her reflection in the mirror, Brennan gave herself a satisfied nod. It had been six years since she had worn it, but she had to admit that she still pulled it off pretty well. The Wonder Woman costume was making a comeback at the Halloween party Hodgins and Angela were throwing (the Jeffersonian Halloween party had been banded after an unfortunate incident with grain alcohol and dry ice).
Booth and Brennan had already taken Christine trick-or-treating. At almost two years old, she still wasn't quite old enough to be out very late, and neither was Michael Vincent. Billy and Max had taken their grandchildren for the night, and each set of parents was only mildly concerned about the potential outcomes of that.
Still, Brennan was excited to let loose a little tonight. They were only about a week out from their wedding—which she still couldn't believe came together so beautifully. Booth and Brennan had pushed their honeymoon to the first week of November, so that they could celebrate Halloween with Christine, and attend this party. Brennan wasn't about to pass up anything Halloween-related, and Booth was thrilled when Brennan had mentioned the return of the Wonder Woman costume.
He had dressed to match, and Brennan knew that Booth was planning on wearing a Superman costume. Brennan was quite excited to see Booth in spandex… especially since she knew that Angela had pretty much threatened Booth if he didn't show up in the authentic costume she had found for him. And, once Christine had heard that her father was going to dress up as Superman, she got so excited that Booth pretty much had to dress up in the costume.
A knock that she recognized immediately as Booth's sounded at the door. "Bones, are you almost ready? This party is already hopping, and I'm pretty sure that someone's doing flaming shots."
Brennan laughed at that and swung the door open. They both stopped to stare at each other with open mouths, and the matching look of heat in their eyes pretty much said it all: they were both wondering if they could just skip the party all together.
For Booth, even though he had already seen Brennan in this costume once before, there was something entirely knew about seeing her in it now, when he was allowed to stare and touch as much as he wanted. The fact that she was now his wife made it that much better. Booth didn't think that he would ever get over the fact that he could now call Temperance Brennan his wife. He knew that they had been committed to each other in every sense of the word before this, but Booth couldn't help but feel that there was something a little more special about it now. He was still only a week out from the wedding, and was still riding the newlywed high.
For Brennan, she had always known that Booth had a fantastic body. She had known it before they had officially gotten together (she would never, ever forget the time she had charged into his bathroom while he had been in the tub) and she especially knew it now that she got to touch that body every night. There weren't any fake muscle inserts in Booth's Superman costume… no, those cut muscles were all his. Angela, who was once again in charge of procuring costumes, had gotten a movie-quality costume for Booth (based off of Man of Steel), instead of one that was just the red and blue spandex. He looked amazing in it. Plus, Booth had always been something of a superhero, so the costume was very fitting for him.
"I'm going to need a lot of alcohol," Booth muttered as he tugged at the cape on his shoulders.
"Come on, Booth," Brennan teased as she stepped close to her husband and slid her hands up his chest. "This can't be any more embarrassing than the year you had to dress up as a vampire. This is an actual costume, after all."
Booth laughed out loud at the first Halloween they had shared as partners, when he had been made to dress up as a TV vampire. "I can't believe you remembered that," Booth said as he settled his hands on Brennan's hips. The spandex of her costume was soft under his hands, and she looked as amazing in it now as she did six years ago.
"I remember everything about you, Booth," Brennan murmured. She was still smiling, but she was a little more serious now.
Grinning, Booth rested his forehead against Brennan's. "Me too, Bones." They shared a tender, lingering kiss, and it made Booth groan when they pulled apart. "Do we really have to go to this party?"
"We do," Brennan confirmed with an amused smile. "Angela did threaten us within an inch of our lives if we tried to skip, remember? She said that now that we're parents, we need to have a good time every now and then."
Booth grumbled under his breath but didn't bother arguing. Besides, he didn't want to piss Angela off enough to find out if she was going to carry out her threat. Angela could be pretty scary when she wanted to be, as he knew all too well from earlier in the year.
"Besides, I'll make it worth your while," Brennan told him before she stretched up and laid a kiss on Booth that left him breathless.
"Okay," he agreed a little dazedly.
The party itself had turned out to be quite a good time. Themed drinks were flowing freely, there were spooky snacks. Everyone looked amazing in their costumes, and they had all adhered to the movie costume theme that Angela had set in the invitations.
Angela and Hodgins were dressed as Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean. It was pretty funny to see Hodgins walking around, imitating Jack Sparrow's mannerisms. All of the rum that he was consuming to "stay in character" might have had something to do with that. Cam went the American Hustle route, dressing in a strappy white dress from the 1970s. Sweets had used his height to his advantage, dressing as Legolas from The Hobbit, which had a sequel coming out later that year.
Caroline Julian was there living it up, and had made everyone laugh loudly when she had shown up in an FBI jacket, based off the movie The Heat. She walked around imitating Booth, and it was actually fairly accurate. Since Marvel was becoming so huge, the interns had all dressed in various superhero costumes as well: Clark was Captain America, Fischer was Loki, Wendell was Thor, Finn was Iron Man, and Daisy had dressed up as Peggy Carter, complete with the 1940s uniform.
They were having a blast, and Brennan and Booth, still happily basking in their newlywed phase, could hardly keep their hands off of each other—not that they hadn't already been like that since pretty much the beginning of their partnership. During the party, Booth and Brennan frequently pulled one another aside to exchange increasingly passionate kisses. No one was really surprised when they left the party a little early.
They managed to restrain themselves (mostly) during the ride back to their house. As soon as the front door had been shut and locked behind them, however, all bets were off.
Brennan pressed Booth up against the door, kissing him deeply as she rubbed her body against his. His costume didn't hide a single thing, and now that they were at home, Booth could unleash the full force of his passion. He grabbed her hips, grinding her even harder against him.
"Christ, Bones," he murmured as his lips moved down her jaw to the spot right below her ear. He bit down gently and sucked, and Brennan inhaled sharply, growing even wetter as his hands moved down to cup her bottom. "Do you have any idea how hot you look in this thing?"
"I think I can tell," Brennan said on a moan as he slipped a hand between her legs and rubbed at her core. "God, Booth, please…"
"Upstairs," Booth grunted. "I need you. In our bed." He was about to live out one of his biggest fantasies, and it had been six years in the making. He was going to do it right, and he sure as hell was going to take his time and enjoy it.
"Booth, I—" Brennan let out a gasp as he slid his hands underneath her thighs and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around him, moaning again as her center came in contact with Booth's impressive erection. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck, nipping and sucking.
Booth wasn't entirely sure how they made up the stairs, but he finally deposited Brennan on the bed. She reached into the back of the costume, ripping at the zippers and tugging until Booth was able to peel it off. Due to the tight nature of the costume, he had gone with boxer shorts, which molded to him nicely. Brennan went to unzip her boots, but Booth grasped both of her wrists and moved them up above her head.
"Leave it on," he ordered huskily. "Leave it all on."
"Oh my god, Booth," Brennan panted. Her body completely melted at his order, her chest heaving over her costume. Booth eagerly tugged down the bodice of the costume, just enough so that her breasts spilled out. His lips immediately closed around one perked nipple, and Brennan tangled her fingers in his hair as she arched up beneath him.
He moved his lips to his other breast, trailing his tongue across the upper slope before raking his teeth over her other nipple. He didn't spend nearly as much time there as she wanted him to, but he quickly moved his lips down her body, stroking over the red and blue spandex. He wedged his shoulders between her thighs and tugged her costume out of the way, revealing her to be wet and bare for him.
He groaned at the fact that she had forgone underwear with the costume, staring at her for a long moment. Brennan moaned and brought one hand down to tangle in his hair, tugging pointedly. Grinning, Booth attached his mouth to her soaking center, running his tongue through her wet folds.
He groaned against her at her taste, first tonguing at her clit before he thrust his tongue inside of her. Brennan, who had been aroused for hours, screamed Booth's name and rolled her hips against his face.
She was pleading, begging for him to push her over the edge but he kept her there for a while. His tongue moved over her and in her fast and hard, until she was about to go over, and then he would back off and stroke her with slow, teasing licks. Finally, when Brennan was sure that she couldn't take it anymore, Booth clamped his lips around her clit and sucked while he slipped two fingers inside of her.
Brennan came with a shuddering orgasm, her thighs quaking around Booth's head as she bucked against him. He held on to her hips to keep her steady, bringing her down with soothing strokes of his tongue.
Booth scattered kisses over Brennan's bare thighs and then moved back up, covering her body with his. He pressed his erection between her legs, rocking against her, and groaned in satisfaction when her legs curled around him.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this?" Booth murmured hotly in her ear. "I've wanted you, in this costume, just like this."
Brennan strained against him and reached up to nip at Booth's lower lip. "Did it live up to your fantasies?" she panted. Her body was still throbbing, and despite her spectacular orgasm, what she really wanted now was to feel Booth inside of her.
"Oh, Bones. You're better than any fantasy." Booth ducked down and kissed her deeply, passionately, and their tongues tangled together. They both worked to get Booth's boxer shorts down, and he kicked them off. Before Booth could take his next breath, Brennan reached between them and wrapped her fingers around his throbbing cock.
Booth cursed harshly and thrust into her hand, biting down on the soft skin of her collar bone. He soothed the sting with a stroke of his tongue, allowing himself to get lost in the feel of Brennan pleasuring him for a moment before he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her hand away. Booth kissed her again and then pulled Brennan up, guiding her into a kneeling position on the bed.
Kneeling behind her, Booth helped Brennan hold the bottom of her costume aside, until he could slide into her. They both moaned loudly, and Brennan fell forward, just until she could grip the headboard. Booth wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her as he began to move in side of her.
Booth kept his thrusts slow and measured, hitting a spot deep inside of her that made Brennan pant with every press of his hips. She moved against him in perfect time, doing everything she could to hold on because Booth just felt so amazing inside of her.
"So good, Booth," Brennan gasped. She clenched around him and he bit down lightly on the curve of her neck as he brought his other hand up to cup her breast. Brennan cursed and arched into his hand, pleading incoherently.
"How good does it feel, baby?" Booth murmured in her ear. His thumb rubbed over her nipple, his touch just a little rough.
"Oh, fuck." Brennan sat up, covering Booth's hand on her breast. Her head lolled against his shoulder, her eyes rolling back in pleasure. "Right there, Booth."
With Brennan's body fully being supported by Booth, his thrusts were a little shorter, but no less deep. Booth slid the hand on her breast down to her core, slipping under the spandex of the costume to rub in tight circles over her clit.
Brennan screamed in delirious pleasure, bucking against Booth as her orgasm hit her out of nowhere. She shuddered, clenching wetly around Booth. She reached behind her, tangling her fingers in Booth's hair as she tilted her face up to his for a deep kiss. As soon as Booth's lips touched hers, he came as well, his fingers digging into her hip.
Neither of them were sure when, but they had both collapsed to their sides, limbs still tangled together. They were both trying to catch their breath, but Booth realized first that Brennan was still wearing her entire costume, wrist cuffs and lasso of truth included.
With a chuckle, Booth sat up and lifted one of Brennan's legs into his lap and unzipped her red boot. She lifted her head, blinking at him with sated eyes as he slowly peeled first one boot off, than the other. He smoothed his hands up hers legs and carefully tugged her costume and panties off, while Brennan removed her headpiece and wrist cuffs.
That seemed to take all of the energy that Booth had left, and he collapsed next to Brennan once she was as naked as he was. He tossed an arm over her waist and pulled her closer. Brennan curled against his chest, flattening her palm over his heart.
A few long moments passed before Brennan finally managed a singular word: "Wow."
Booth chuckled as he moved his hands in slow circles over her back. "I really love that costume, Bones," he said by way of explanation. "I mean, I've been dreaming about having my way with you in that costume since the minute I saw you in it."
Smiling against his bare chest, Brennan asked, "Really?" She had pretty much guessed that, of course, but it was still nice to hear it.
"I've made up quite the list over the years," Booth told her. It wasn't the first time that he had brought up the list of fantasies that she had inspired over the years, and even though they had been in a relationship for almost three years now, they apparently hadn't hit every one of them yet.
Which was fair, because Brennan had come up with a few of her own. His gray suit, the leather holster, the way he looked in jeans and a leather jacket, his hockey uniform—hell, Brennan even had a special place for his Buck Moosejaw disguise when they had gone undercover at the circus. His arms had looked simply spectacular in that ridiculous vest, and she had not forgotten it all these years later.
Slinging a leg over Booth's hip, Brennan shifted so that she was straddling him. Booth inhaled sharply when her soft, still wet center came in contact with his. His hands fell to her hips, holding her tightly against him.
"I have a list as well, you should know," Brennan murmured as she stroked her hands over his chest. She leaned down to kiss him, thankful that it was still on the earlier side of the night. They had plenty of time to live out a few more of their fantasies.
"Oh yeah?" Booth grunted as she shifted against him, but then he smirked. He knew that Brennan was quite appreciative of his shoulder holster, three-piece suits, and the gray suit, but the spark in her eye when she mentioned her list intrigued him. This was the first he had heard about it. "You gonna tell me about it, Bones?"
She leaned down until her breasts were pillowed against his chest and whispered in his ear. "I could be persuaded."
six.
Halloween, 2009
Brennan twisted on the couch, watching as Booth added the perfect mix of gummy, sticky candy and chocolate candy to a bowl shaped like a pumpkin. For the second year in a row, they didn't have to work on Halloween, and Booth was looking forward to a quiet night at home, handing out candy to the kids in the building. Brennan, who lived in a building that didn't have very many children or families in general, was pleased when Booth had invited her to hand out candy with him. She wasn't even that annoyed when he had told her that she couldn't bring mini bags of apple slices, either.
Brennan was glad that they had a well-deserved break in cases, given how impactful their last one had been. They had legitimately changed history, all while solving a present-day murder. Anything else that had been happening, Booth had been able to relegate the work to the agents in his department, and Brennan had split the forensics work among her interns. Booth and Brennan had taken the opportunity to train and teach the people in their respective departments, and had even managed to conduct a few exercises on how the Jeffersonian and the FBI worked together.
Any time Brennan had seen Booth since the night of the gala to honor their find with Princes Anok and Meti, she thought back to the moment he had brushed her hair back from her face. He had been tender in a way that Brennan hadn't been expecting and whenever she thought about it, she swore that she could still feel the tips of his fingers brushing against her neck.
"Think we'll have any kids dressed up as mummies this year thanks to your big find?" Booth asked as he set the bowl of candy by the door before he sat next to her on the couch. He accepted the beer she handed to him and took a long swig of it.
Brennan shrugged her shoulders, but couldn't stop the pleased smile that formed on her face. "The find is rather well-known in scholarly circles, so I suppose it would depend."
"Hey, I would consider a school a scholarly circle, huh? Parker even heard about the find at school. Mummies are a big deal, especially when you change history for the better." Booth sent Brennan a wide smile, obviously proud of the work she had done. "Plus, you know. Mummies are cool to a bunch of middle school kids."
Brennan was aware that the work that she and Booth did was very important, and mattered to the friends and families of the victims they had. Brennan and Booth had solved many, many cases together over the last four and a half years of their partnership, and Brennan was grateful that Booth had chosen her to be his partner.
Still, there had been something about working with ancient remains that thrilled her, and she knew that during some of the interrogation, she had essentially blown Booth off. She had been so excited to work with something pertaining to her first love of anthropology, she had let it get away from her.
And Brennan didn't think she would ever forget the look on Booth's face when he had confronted her about the egg and meatloaf story. He really had been hurt, and Brennan wished she hadn't been the person to put that look on his face. She really did enjoy that story, and always thought fondly about it whenever Booth ordered the meatloaf at Founding Fathers.
She knew that the way he had reassured her at the gala had been his way of apologizing. His awe and pride for her had been shining clearly in his eyes, and she had tried to apologize in her own way back to him. It was true, after all; as much as she had changed history, he had done the same with every case that he solved. Of course, he was quick to assure her that she played as big a part in that as he did.
They had officially made up after that, and had spent a wonderful night together. They had danced together several times, and with every glass of champagne, they had moved closer together. Alone in the exhibit together, Brennan had been sure that Booth was going to kiss her. And she would have let him.
A knock on the door disrupted Brennan's train of thought. She and Booth both jumped up from the couch, with Brennan grabbing the bowl of candy in anticipation of their first trick-or-treaters. It turned out just to be their delivery of Thai takeout, and Booth tipped the delivery guy while Brennan set the bowl of candy aside and took the bag of food.
Booth had turned on some Disney Halloween movie in the background—something with three witches that he claimed was a classic—and they ate in a companionable silence. Brennan frequently tried to sneak a peek at Booth, and she could have sworn that, more than once, she caught him quickly looking away from her when she looked at him.
Finally, Booth said, "You really liked working with that mummy, didn't you? Prince Anok, I mean."
Brennan had very rarely ever been able to lie to Booth. "I really did," she confirmed. She watched the small smile remain on his face, but saw the way his eyes tightened. Brennan was quick to add, "But I will always enjoy changing history with you, Booth."
Booth watched her for a long moment, and she could swear that those warm brown eyes could see to the very center of her. She hoped that he could see the truth of what she was saying. Despite her somewhat antsy nature as of late with solving murders, she still enjoyed the work. And Temperance Brennan would always want Seeley Booth as her partner.
Finally, Booth smiled at her. His hand brushed against her knee, and she smiled back at him, shifting further into his touch. They stayed that way for a long moment, until there was another knock at the door.
Booth grinned at her and jumped up from the couch. "Ready to hand out some candy, Bones?"
Smiling, Brennan stood as well and went to join him at the front door. "Sure, Booth."
Maybe next year, she would be able to convince Booth to hand out some mini boxes of raisins.
Halloween, 2015
"What a day, huh?" Booth sank back on the couch next to Brennan and slung an arm over her shoulders. "We solved a murder, found some secret underground tunnels beneath DC, and took two adorable kids trick-or-treating."
Brennan arched an eyebrow at her husband but curled into his side anyway. "Hank and Christine fell asleep?" she asked. As always when they had finished a case, they split some of the work when necessary. Brennan had kissed her son and daughter goodnight and, since it was her turn, had gotten a head start on their paperwork. Booth had done the nighttime routine and put the kids to bed. Brennan was going to check on them later, before she and Booth went to bed.
"Out like a light," Booth confirmed as he lifted the glass of scotch that Brennan had poured for him. He set aside the monitor that switched between Hank and Christine's rooms, and he could see that both of their kids were tucked in and sleeping peacefully.
"I understood that," Brennan said with a smile.
Booth just grinned at her. They both knew that at this point, Brennan really knew more colloquial sayings than she let on, but after all these years, it had sort of become a game between them. Of course, they always tried to outdo one another, much like they had with their Halloween prank war earlier that week.
Brennan got her phone and pulled up one of the many pictures she had taken of the kids in their Halloween costumes that night. "They really did look adorable, didn't they?"
Christine had posed in khaki shorts, a blue button-down shirt, and hiking boots, with binoculars around her neck. She was holding Hank's hand, who looked positively sweet in his chimp costume. Both kids were smiling brightly, clearly having the time of their lives.
"The cutest scientist and chimp I have ever seen," Booth agreed.
Smiling, Brennan reached up to kiss Booth's cheek and then scrolled to the next picture on her phone. Parker was dressed up in a suit, complete with one of Booth's old, garish ties. He and a few friends he knew from the States got together to dress up and watch scary movies on Halloween to have a night of fun. He looked like such a clone of Booth that it was impossible to miss, and it made Brennan smile. Hank was going to look just like the two of them, as well.
"I'm still not sure what Parker dressed up as," Brennan said. "Was it you? An FBI agent?"
Booth chuckled and scrolled to the next picture that Parker had sent them, which was a group photo of him and his friends. They were all dressed the same, all eating pizza and the contents of the care package that Booth and Brennan had sent them, which had contained American candy (Brennan had been sure to add bags of dried fruit as well, and she was pleased to see that a bag of dried mango slices was open in the picture).
"Close," Booth told her. "They're dressed as the Men in Black."
Brennan furrowed her brow in confusion. "I don't know what that means," she said.
Grinning, Booth pressed his lips to Brennan's in a tender kiss. Things had changed over the past ten-plus years of their partnership, but it was nice to know that there were some things that never would. "I don't know what that means" was one of Booth's favorite phrases.
"It's a movie, Bones," Booth explained. He took the phone from her and set it aside before putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him more fully. "You sure you're okay, though? No damage from the Greek fire?" He ran his hands up and down her arms, then sent one down her back while the other cupped the nape of her neck.
"I'm fine, Booth," Brennan assured him with a soft look in her eyes and a smile. That didn't stop his thorough, gentle checking of her, and then Brennan wrinkled her nose. "Though I don't understand what a secret tomb was doing underneath DC, let alone why it was armed with Greek fire."
Booth shifted closer to her, the line of his thigh pressing against hers. "Listen, Bones, I'm gonna be honest with you here. I don't think we're ever going to understand what that tomb was about. Something tells me that there's a lot more going on with Crane and Miller then we'll be able to guess." His gut was telling him that there wasn't going to be a satisfactory scientific explanation to what they had uncovered over the past few days, but he wasn't about to say that to Brennan. Sometimes, it was better to leave these things alone.
Of course, Brennan could pretty much read his mind. "Is that what your gut is telling you?" There was a teasing quality to her voice, but her eyes were serious. She had long ago learned to trust Booth's gut feelings.
"It is," Booth said. Then, his eyes grew dark and he slid his hand from the small of her back and to her bottom, tugging until Brennan was suddenly straddling his lap.
Smiling, Brennan slid her hands up Booth's chest. "Booth?" she questioned playfully. The reason he pulled her into his lap was pretty obvious against her bottom, and she rolled her hips against him. His hands tightened on her, holding her even closer to him. She nuzzled against his ear and then asked, "Agent Miller said that you shot out the puzzle that was acting like a lock to get us out."
"I did," Booth confirmed. "I know it was probably an important artifact or whatever, but I wasn't about to wait to try and figure it out to save you."
"That shouldn't please me, but it does," Brennan said as she pressed kisses to the strong chords of Booth's throat. It was right up there with the thrilling feeling she got any time she watched Booth kick in a door.
He easily stripped her t-shirt off, groaning as her unbound breasts spilled into his hands. She arched into his palms and with a quick glance at the monitor to make sure the kids were still sleeping, she ducked down to press a deep kiss to Booth's lips.
"I love you, Bones," Booth murmured against her lips. As odd as this case had been, it had still been too close of a call. He hated the thought that she had been in danger at all, and he was glad that he had been able to get to her so quickly.
Brennan pulled Booth's shirt off as well and ran her hands all over his chest. She could swear, Booth only got better looking with age. "I love you too, Booth."
It took some maneuvering, but Booth was able to get Brennan's pants and underwear off without removing her from his lap. She settled snuggly over him, and he could feel the heat of her through his sweatpants. Booth ran his hands up, cupping her breasts again, and she ground down against him.
Ever since that Halloween party two years ago, the holiday had become an anniversary of sorts for them, one that was celebrated with their favorite costumes—the ones that they had first worn eight years ago. Panting against him, Brennan asked, "Should we go find some costumes to celebrate in?"
Booth kissed his way down her throat and to her breasts, and he pulled her nipple into his mouth, sucking strongly. Before kissing his way over to the other one, he lifted his head and said, "I'd rather go without the costumes, if you don't mind."
His lips closed around her other nipple, and Brennan gasped. She fumbled between them, doing her best to push down his sweatpants and boxers down and past his hips. He slipped a hand between her legs, running his fingers through her wet folds. She moaned his name and wrapped her own fingers around his hard length.
"I like your idea better," Brennan agreed.
Booth slipped two fingers inside of her and pumped a few times, making sure that she was ready for him. She was, and he could feel her arousal coat his fingers. Sliding his hand out from between her legs, he slipped his fingers between his lips. Brennan watched him with heated eyes, and she was so distracted by watching him that she hadn't realized he had positioned himself at her entrance until he grabbed her hips and thrust up.
"Happy Halloween, Bones," he murmured as he pressed kisses along her jaw.
Brennan gasped, moaned, smiled as she clutched at Booth's shoulders. "Happy Halloween, Booth."
I always thought it was interesting—and showed a lot of growth—that in season 11's Halloween episode, Brennan had acknowledged that the remains from the Revolutionary War were interesting, but they had to turn their focus to their present-day victim. In season 5, Brennan had used her way of trying to remove herself from solving murders as a way to distance herself from Booth, to try and avoid her feelings for him. Obviously by season 11, she was completely over that. It was just an interesting parallel. :)
My timelines were probably off a little, but please forgive me. I did the best I could, and I actually kind of like where these episodes fell in Booth and Brennan's relationship. I know I kind of glossed over Brennan's whole thing about candy and trick-or-treating, but come on—anyone who's that excited to dress up in a costume loves Halloween. And Booth will clearly do anything to celebrate any holiday and have a blast while doing it.
Thanks for reading!