Just Partners
A collection of moments where B&B had people wondering about their relationship status.
It's Just Puttanesca
Booth smiled as he snaked one arm around his date's waist and fumbled with his free hand to unlock his apartment door. "I had a lot of fun tonight." she whispered, so close to his ear that he could feel her warm breath against his skin. He had had a lot of fun tonight too, and was looking forward to even more fun.
It wasn't like he was blind; she was a bit of a puck bunny, having dated a few members of his hockey team and probably a couple guys on a few of the other teams too, but he wasn't here to judge. She was an attractive woman with whom he'd had an interesting conversation and had invited out for a beer after the game. Subsequently, he had then invited her back to his place for another beer and some take out, but that was neither here nor there.
"Why don't you make yourself comfortable, and I'm just going to run down to the mailbox and grab this week's takeout flyers." he suggested, eyeing the short walk to the end of the hall and flashing her a patented Seeley Booth charm smile. She nodded, entering his apartment. As soon as the door closed, he scurried down the hall and snatched up the flyers set next to the mail boxes before hurrying back up the hall to his apartment, absently browsing the takeout menus in his hand.
"This Chinese place looks like–" he started, stopping as he entered his apartment and froze. "Oh, uh, hey Bones." he greeted his partner. "What, uh, what're you doin'?" he asked, feigning casual curiosity. In reality, he was completely taken aback as he took in the sights and smells of his kitchen.
"I'm cooking." she answered, her tone almost a question, as if it was completely normal for her to have entered his apartment to cook… whatever it was it smelled amazing.
"Uhm, okay… why are you cooking?" he asked, casting a sideways glance at his date who was standing awkwardly near the counter, giving him a questioning glance of her own.
"Because it's dinner time." she told him with an irritated shake of her head. "It's puttanesca." she added, lifting the saucy spoon up and blowing on it gently before holding it out to him.
Without thought, he leaned forward, tasting the sauce and nodded appreciatively. It was delicious, and served to distract him from his original line of thought, but only briefly.
"It means in the style of the whore." she explained, and he sputtered, spraying droplets of sauce out of his mouth and onto the counter and his shirt. "Honestly, Booth." she reprimanded him. "You have company." she added with another annoyed shake of her head.
"I– should go." his date spoke in a confused tone, her eyes moving from Booth to Brennan and back.
"No, no. I've made plenty!" Bones explained, turning to the cupboard behind her and retrieving three of his large pasta bowls. "You're going to love this." she told them, and it was almost hard to be irritated with her when she seemed so excited about it. "I just learned this recipe, but I think I've done exceptionally well."
Booth opened his mouth to speak, glancing over at his date with an apologetic grin. This was definitely not how he expected the night to end, and he was pretty sure it wasn't how she expected it to end, but it was Bones. She'd been his closest friend and partner for the last three and half years. What was he going to say – thanks for the food, now get out so I can have some sexy time with my date?
"You have sauce on your shirt. You should go and put the pre-treatment on it right away, or it may never come out." Bones said, interrupting his thoughts. He looked down, realizing the red sauce was indeed speckled about the front of his grey flyers t-shirt.
"Uh… yea. Thanks. I'll be right back, Lindsay." he told his date with another apologetic smile. He was quick to swap out his shirt, filling his bathroom sink with warm water and some hand soap. It was probably not going to get that stain out, but he was too flabbergasted to try to find the right concoction.
Taking a deep breath, he reentered his kitchen and looked around. "Where did Lindsay go?" he asked, glancing around and noticing her handbag and jacket were missing as well.
"Oh, she said she wasn't interested in this." Bones explained, and Booth felt his eyes narrow as he sat down in front of the bowl of pasta Bones set out on the counter for him.
"Interested in what?" he asked, wondering what they could have talked about in the short time it took him to change his shirt.
"I'm not sure." Bones explained, taking a bite of her pasta. "It's a shame, because I made plenty of puttanesca." she commented, sliding a beer across the counter to Booth.
"Thanks." he muttered absently, popping the top off and taking a long swallow. "Why did you come here to make your whore sauce anyway?" he asked, filing that fun little tidbit away.
She rolled her eyes, exasperated by his antics. "I told you. It's a new recipe. I wasn't going to make an entire pot of sauce, and eat it myself, and how will I know if I correctly executed the recipe if I alter the proportions before attempting it as it was initially intended?." she muttered, as if that was the most logical explanation.
He nodded, pretending that it made sense because in some sort of distorted Bones logic, it probably did. On the upside, he was getting a homemade sauce, and he'd learned a fun fact about this particular sauce that he would throw around liberally. It almost made him forget about the fact that his partner had just stopped him from having sex. Almost.
"Did you guys go dancing?" Bones asked between sips of her wine, bringing back from his thoughts again, and Booth shook his head, explaining that they'd both been at a buddy's hockey game and decided to grab a beer afterwards. "Oh, I just assumed. She mentioned something about being uninterested in swinging. I enjoy swing dancing very much, if you ever need a partner."
"What– what exactly did she say before she left?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"So… did Seeley tell you he was bringing me here?" Lindsay asked, and Brennan shook her head. It seemed an odd question. Why would Booth tell her? He was exactly forthcoming with information about his sexual life, even when probed.
"No, he didn't mention it." she explained to Lindsay, as she stirred the sauce. "You look very nice. That costume certainly accentuates your breasts and encourages thoughts of sexual intercourse." Brennan commented with a friendly smile.
"Uhm.. thank you." Lindsay stuttered, and Brennan frowned, wondering if she'd said something inappropriate. "So… he just goes out on dates with other women, and then brings them home… clearly to have sex with them, and you're just fine with it?" Lindsay asked, and Brennan frowned. Why wouldn't she be okay with Booth bringing his dates home for sex. He was a healthy male, it would be more strange if he wasn't finding sexual partners.
"Isn't that typically why you go on dates with men? It's certainly my intention when I do." she commented conversationally.
"He just… didn't seem like the kind of man who– who would be interested in that." Lindsay said, staring at the glass of wine that Brennan slid across the counter toward her.
"Oh, I assure you, he is very much interested. You can tell by the dilation of his pupils that he is attracted to you and prepared to mate." she explained, and watched as the woman nodded slowly.
"I– I don't think we are on the same page." Lindsay said slowly, placing the wine glass back down on the counter. "I'm not into… swinging or being some couple's scratch for the seven year itch." she continued. "Please tell Seeley I said thanks, but I'm not interested in this." she told Brennan, waving her hands vaguely in front of her.
"Okay." Brennan agreed. "Would you like me to wrap up your puttanesca?" She offered, reaching under the cupboard for Booth's reusable containers.
"Ugh. No. I said I'm not interested." Lindsay snapped and Brennan watched as she made a hasty exit from the apartment.
"It's just puttanesca…" she muttered to herself, sampling the sauce again. It truly had turned out superb.