A Little More You, a bones fanfic

A/N: Okay, so this fic is like 'Whisper my Name'. It takes place between two muti-chapter fictions in the 'Cleverly Disguised' Trilogy. So, that means that 'A Little More You' takes place between 'Cleverly Disguised as a Responsible Adult' and the next muti-chapter fiction. And it takes the relationship between Booth and Brennan a little bit further. Oh, and the song is 'Little More You' by Little Big Town. So with all that said (and hopefully understood)….read on.

Rating: 'T' (note the change in rating here. Nothing bad happens, no smut or anything, but I thought I would be safe rather than sorry with a line at the end.)

3 weeks after Cleverly Disguised as a Responsible Adult

(putting it at 8 weeks after Cleverly Disguised as an Infant)

Don't you want to dive on in? Yeah the water feels right
Dancing on the edge of love you're a beautiful sight
So why are you still standing there in the half moon light?
Come on baby give me a little more you
Come on baby give me a little more you

Seeley Booth looked across the small, white linen draped table at his date. The flicker of the candles that filled the slightly darkened room played over her auburn hair, setting it on fire. Her blue eyes, when she looked up at him through her lashes, were dark and smoky against the mascara and blue-gray eye shadow she wore. The teal shimmer of her dress danced against the darkness, and Seeley thought that she had never looked more lovely, or scared. Slowly, he reached out and took one of her slender hands, his thumb brushing across her knuckles. "I'm sorry," he said softly, his voice fluttering over the murmur of the restaurant they were in. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Temperance." Seeley waited. He didn't want to rush her, didn't want to scare her more than he had already done, and so they sat like they were. Temperance with her eyes down cast, Seeley with his eyes watching for any sign and their hands clasped together in the middle of the table. As the minutes ticked away, their waitress returned with two cups of coffee and their check. Seeley gave Tempe's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and pulling out his wallet. He placed a credit card atop the bill, pushed it to the edge of the table and the picked up his coffee. He sipped it slowly as he watched his date, her hands resting in her lap, her eyes staring into the coffee. Finally, the waitress came by and took the check and returned a few moments later. Seeley signed his name to the merchant copy, took one last sip of his coffee, and then asked, "Are you ready to go?" Tempe nodded and, keeping her eyes down, stood. Seeley waited for her to come around the small table before placing his hand on her lower back. They left the restaurant in complete silence. "Please talk to me," Seeley begged as they made their way toward his SUV.

"I'm not sure what to say," Tempe said, lifting her head and glancing over at him.

"Anything," Seeley said. "Something." They stopped and Seeley reached out and opened the passenger side door. He moved his hand from her back to her arm, and then slide down and took her hand. She accepted the gesture, and allowed him to help her up. With a sigh, he closed the door and walked around to his side. The drive back to Temperance's apartment was done in silence, with only the whine of the tires filling the cab of the SUV. The walk up to her door was just as quiet. Seeley watched as Temperance pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. Then he followed her in, understanding that her silence wasn't a dismissal. Tempe placed her keys and small purse on her end table and then continued into her kitchen. Seeley put his hands into his pants pockets, let his head fall backwards and closed his eyes. This wasn't how he had imaged the night going.

"How do you know?" The question made Seeley open his eyes and look over at Temperance, who stood watching him, an open bottle of water in her hands. "I mean, it's only been eight weeks."

"It's been over a year," Seeley corrected, taking his hands out his pockets and letting them hang by his side. "A lot longer than that if you take into account when we first met." Tempe brought the bottle to her painted lips and took a drink.

"I guess really it's been five weeks," she went on with a shake of her head. She twisted the top back onto the bottle and sat it down on the counter.

"What does weeks have to do with anything?" Seeley asked.

You're batting those baby blues and honey I swear
The way you got me needing you girl it just ain't fair
You've given me a little bit yeah but don't stop there
Come on baby give me a little more you
Come on baby give me a little more you

"It's got everything to do with it," she answered looking up through her lashes, like she had done over dinner. Seeley closed the distance between them in three long strides.

"Why, Bones?" he asked, reaching out and placing his hands on her upper arms. "Why does five weeks or eight weeks or one year matter?"

"Because," Tempe began, pulling from his grip and walking over to the living room window. "It's just not possible to know so soon. I mean we haven't even…had sex." Her voice dropped as she spoke the last two words. She jumped slightly when she felt his hands on her arms again, slowly rubbing them up and down.

"And what does sex have to do with it?"

"Because, Booth, we don't know if we're compatible."

"Sex doesn't have anything to do with being compatible," he said, forcing her to turn and face him. "Being compatible means being able to talk about anything and everything. It's accepting the other person for who they are. It's wanting what's best for them. Being compatible means that you can sit together in an empty room and be perfectly content with the silence. It's being comfortable in your own skin around the other person. It's knowing that you'll die for that person." As he talked, he watched emotion play over her face. "Compatibility has more to do with who you are when you're with the other person than it does with sex. And anyhow, we will never have sex, Bones." Seeley reached up and trailed the back of his fingers down her jaw line. "We'll make love."

I'm here falling for ya my heart's calling for ya
I know I never can get enough
Don't hold back one bit of your love
Strong and steady for ya I'm all ready
Come on baby give me a little more you
Come on baby give me a little more you

"How can you be so sure?" Seeley smiled and cupped the cheek he had just caressed.

"Because I love you, Temperance," he said. "When I said it back at the restaurant, it wasn't the wine talking." Tempe blinked rapidly and dropped her eyes, but Seeley held her head still. "I'm completely and utterly in love with you, Bones, and my heart is calling for you, if you'll just listen."

"It's not that easy, Booth," she said, making eye contact with him again.

"Nobody ever said love was easy, Temperance," he said, dropping his hands back to her arms. "It's a lot of hard work and long hours. And I can't promise you that you won't get hurt, but what I can promise is that I'll do everything in my power to make you happy. I'm going to be here to catch you when you fall. To carry you until you can stand again on your own. And if you ever feel like the love is slipping away, like you just can't take anymore, like you're falling out of love, then I'm going to be there, wrapping my arms around you and rocking you until you feel that love return."

"You talk like we're getting married," Temperance said around a half-hearted smile.

"Not getting married," Seeley said. "But making a commitment that's even bigger. Don't you get it? I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. With or without wedding rings, I want to know that I'm your one and only. I want all the love you can give, and I want to return it to you."

"That sounds nice, Booth, but what do I have to offer you?"

"Yourself," he answered. "All of your love and your future. I want to share your memories. Your happy moments and your sad ones. I want you there by my side when I solve a case, and when the bad guy goes free. I want you there when Parker gets married and I want you there to share grandchildren with me. I want to walk hand in hand with you until we're too old to walk. I want to look over from my rocking chair when I'm ninety and see you smiling back at me from yours." Seeley paused for a breath. "I don't want to push you, Temperance," he said. "I'll give you as much time as you need. Because that's what love is all about." He offered her a tight smile, gently kissed her check and began to turn away from her.

You're teasing me with a touch and the whole world shakes
Keep holding that river back and the levee may break
There's only so much of this a boy can take
Come on baby give me a little more you
Come on baby give me a little more you

"Seeley," she said, placing a hand on his arm, causing him to turn back to her and search her eyes for a clue. "Does it…love, does it feel like a river? Like your heart is a dam and it's about to break? Does it feel like your whole body is being warmed from the inside out, and you feel happy and sad and worried and joyful all at once?"

"Do you feel like that?" he asked, hoping that she was saying what he so desperately wanted to hear. Temperance licked her lips and then nodded.

"I feel like my blood is boiling and my heart is about to jump out of my chest."

"Then either you're coming down with the flu," he said with a smile. "Or you love me back." Tempe drew her bottom lip in between her teeth and nodded again. "You're coming down with the flu?" he teased.

"I love you back," she said quietly as a smile spread over her features. Seeley wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, his lips capturing hers without a word.

When he finally broke the kiss, he smiled and told her, "And I wouldn't worry about us being compatible is bed."

"And why's that?" Tempe asked. Seeley tightened his arms, pulling her body even closer to his, and her eyes went wide when she felt the hardness pressed against her.

"And that's not a pickle in my pocket," he said, and then caught her lips before she could say that she didn't know what that meant.

A/N #2: when I started writing this one-shot, I had it planned to go somewhere else. However, once I began, Branwyn took complete control. After I finished it, I went back and read it and was like, "Dang. Where did that come from?" Anyhow, I hope ya'll liked it as much as I do. Between you and me, it's one of my favorite pieces.

Random shout-outs: Goldy, Siapom, Ash, Ava and 18lzytwner