This one is for Kasper and mecedeme as they left me reviews. Reviews are good! They help me know if people like what I'm doing and whether I should continue. I hope people are catching the subtle hint here.
Once again, not mine...but I'm working on it.
The rest of the journey was completed in silence. The two kept going to say something and then catching the other one looking at them, resulting in both blushing furiously and neither saying anything. They arrived at the restaurant not having spoken for over ten minutes.
Booth hurried out of the vehicle and went to open Brennan's door. Once again, she made no comment but simply smiled. Feeling utterly confused, Booth lifted a hand to rest in the small of her back to guide her into the restaurant.
His mind was reeling. He was on a date with Bones. A DATE. Granted, neither of them had asked the other nor had either agreed to it per se, but Booth wasn't one to dwell on the particulars. A date with Bones. All of the times he had dreamt of this… Yet, he never thought they'd actually do it. He and Bones…just didn't seem like the dating type. But maybe they did. He sighed. His poor brain was flummoxed.
"Eh, Booth?"
Booth snapped out of his trance. Blinking in confusion, he realised they were both standing stock still in the car park, about two feet away from his car.
"What's up, Bones? What are we still doing out here?"
She shot him a curious look over her shoulder.
"You tell me."
Booth shook his head in confusion. Brennan decided to help him out.
"Booth, where's your hand?"
Convinced she'd lost the plot entirely, he nodded towards his hand and dropped his eyes down to it.
"It's right there on your…"
Apparently he'd missed his intended destination. He shot his hand off her body as though scalded.
Kicking the ground at his feet, he mumbled, "Sorry, Bones."
Her shoulders slumped slightly.
"Oh. I wasn't sure if it was deliberate or…never mind."
She began marching into the restaurant. Booth trailed behind, head more addled than ever. Was that disappointment he'd heard in her voice?
By the time he reached her, she was already talking to the man in charge of the reservations.
"Yes, a table for two. The name? Em…Booth, what name was it booked under?"
Turning a fetching magenta, Booth muttered, "Booth. It was booked under Booth."
Brennan swung around to face him, incredulity written on every inch of her face.
"They booked it under your name? They just assumed you'd win? That was a bit presumptuous of them, wasn't it?"
Not really sure how to answer without sounding boastful, Booth simply nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, shut it, opened it again, shut it again, reached out a hand to touch her and then dropped it down to his side once more.
Brennan stared at him a moment longer, then turned to address the maitre d'.
"Booth. The name's Booth."
The man scrolled down the list, found the name and made some kind of an official looking mark beside it.
Booth had since moved up behind Brennan and placed a hand on her shoulder. He figured that was safer. Less chance of putting hands places where they shouldn't go.
The maitre d' returned his gaze to Brennan, smiled warmly and gestured with one arm into the main part of the restaurant.
"Right this way, Mr. and Mrs. Booth"
Ignoring Booth's quiet little groan, Brennan reached around and tugged the maitre d's sleeve.
"Excuse me, but we're not married."
"Apologies, ma'am. You just seem so…"
Brennan's eyes narrowed.
"So what?"
"Nothing, nothing. I apologise for the assumption."
They were directed to their table in what was fast becoming familiar silence. The maitre d' stood, waiting for Brennan to sit so he could move in her chair. Booth made a quick gesture with his hand, making it quite clear he'd rather like that honour. The man stood back respectfully, but leaned in to Booth before returning to his post.
"First date jitters?"
"You have no idea."
Booth took his seat, smoothing his tie as he did so. A band was playing at the end of the room, light and sometimes jazzy pieces. Booth bobbed his head to the beat.
Brennan tried to meet his gaze but seemed to be having difficulty in doing so. He watched in astonishment and amusement as a pink glow suddenly flushed her cheeks. She promptly opened her menu, propped it up on the table and hid behind it.
"You ok back there, Bones?"
"Of course."
Booth grinned wickedly. "See anything you'd like?"
"It all looks delicious. I really don't know how to choose."
"You could start by turning the menu the right way around."
"Oh."
She laid the menu flat on the table, too embarrassed to fix it or even pretend to read it.
Booth kindly pretended not to notice as she pressed her cool hands to her reddened face and took a number of deep, calming breaths.
"So, the food looks great. I always love brie as a starter."
He flipped open her menu, turned it the right way around and pointed out what he was referring to.
She offered him a grateful smile and reached out to take the menu from him. Whatever way she did this, the tips of her fingers managed to travel up the length of his.
Both dropped the menu like it was a hot coal. It hit off Brennan's glass, sending it toppling to the floor where it smashed into a million glistening pieces on the polished wood.
The two jumped to their feet, pointing accusatorially at each other as a waiter hurried over with a sweeping brush.
"He…!"
"She…!"
The waiter smiled at them, apparently rather amused by something.
"Don't worry. Happens all the time."
A few minutes later, the pair was seated once more. Having refused alternative seating arrangements (they'd drawn enough attention to themselves as it was), they were now grinning goofily at each other from across the table, thoroughly pleased with the evening's proceedings.
A waiter decided the time was right to start taking their orders and tentatively made his way over.
"What can I get you?"
Booth wrenched his gaze from Brennan's face, an insanely wide smile spread across his features.
"What?"
Ten minutes later, Matt, the waiter, dragged himself into the kitchen and relayed their order to the kitchen staff. His voice was so deadpan and he was acting so weary that other employees felt the need to ask him what was wrong. He recalled, with painstaking attention to detail, the bickering of the two, their inability to make decisions, their constant need to interrupt each other, how when one finally decided on something, the other would make some snide comment that would put proceedings back to square one and resume the gentle arguing.
"Man, those two need to get a room."
Meanwhile, out in the restaurant, Booth and Brennan had had their choice bottle of wine delivered to the table. Booth was attempting to explain how to swirl the liquid around in the glass to test its 'body'. Brennan wasn't following at all so Booth took it upon himself to show her. Unfortunately, he was a bit too eager, and managed to splash himself in the face. Brennan thought this was the funniest thing she had ever seen and collapsed into giggles, clutching her stomach helplessly.
Booth took his revenge by flicking some of the crimson drink at her. With an outraged gasp, Brennan retaliated. A harassed looking waitress hurried over and requested that they please stop acting like children or they would be asked to leave. Sufficiently humbled, the two murmured inarticulate apologies.
The time until the food arrived was spent in comfortable silence, occasionally punctuated by superficial small talk. Once the meals were placed before them, the two energetically ate their fill, quickly sating their appetites. Every now and then one of them would exclaim rapturously about whatever it was they were eating. Whenever this happened, it was more often than not accompanied by that person feeding the other a taste of the food in question, unaware of the knowing smiles and nudges of the waiting staff strategically placed around the room.
The dinner plates were removed and desserts ordered. After much deliberation (poor Matt was now giving serious consideration to early retirement), both decided on ice cream. The partners used the waiting time to relax and listen to the band.
Both responded to their sweet tooth's demands and ate heartily once the final course arrived. Brennan finished first and angled her body towards the band, fingers tapping off the table in time to the music. Booth couldn't take his gaze off her. Her eyes were sparkling and the soft lighting was making her hair shine more than Booth had thought humanly possible. A healthy glow stained her cheeks and her mouth was curved into a small smile. She looked breathtaking…even with a dollop of ice cream over her lips.
Booth reached across the table and wiped it gently off with his fingertip. Brennan's breath hitched in her throat as he put his finger to his lips and licked it.
"Delicious."
The moment was shattered, however, when the band's lead singer announced into the microphone that this next song was for a Mr. Seeley Booth and a Dr. Temperance Brennan, courtesy of a Ms. Angela Montenegro. Choking loudly, the dedicatees turned to face the music just in time to see Matt slink away, having successfully delivered the message after countless, increasingly high-pitched, phone calls.
The opening bars of The Bangles' 'Eternal Flame' filled the room. Brennan lowered her head onto the table with a strangled cry, muttering darkly about the many different ways of killing someone and leaving behind no substantial evidence.
Booth attempted to make a joke of it. He gave a quick, somewhat unconvincing, burst of laughter and kicked back in his seat as though this was all perfectly fine and not in the least bit uncomfortable. Unfortunately, he managed to run a foot up Brennan's leg, causing her to yelp and Booth then to give a startled yell. The two hurriedly gathered up their belongings and departed, shame faced, before the second verse had even begun.
The journey home was somewhat uneventful. Neither could think of anything relevant to say other than a comment or two on the quality of the food or the intricacies of the décor. Needless to say, conversation wasn't very lengthy.
They pulled up to Brennan's apartment and Booth turned off the ignition. Brennan turned to face him, eyebrows raised and a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Well, Booth, it was…"
"Interesting."
She nodded.
"Definitely interesting."
Booth took hold of her hand and raised it to his lips. He kept it pressed to him for a number of seconds before gently releasing it.
"Never a dull moment with you, Bones."
Giving his forearm a quick squeeze, she unbuckled her belt and opened the door.
"Thanks for a lovely evening."
He leaned over towards her side as she stepped out.
"So, do you think there's any chance it could happen again?"
She cocked her head at him, lips pursed.
"I think at five grand a pop it's a bit too steep for me…even if it was completely worth it."
She closed the door and gave him a small wave through the window.
That was good enough for him.