A LITTLE FUN UNDER THE SUN
Disclaimer: We don't own Bones, wish we did though. :)
Author's note niah1988: Since we're posting this second chapter, I guess you people thought our partnership was quite successful! It's either that or we're just too pig-headed to stop writing. :P Once again, this story is meant to be fluffy and humorous. °scratches the back of her neck while taking a closer look at the chapter° Damn; Booth sure has a one-tracked mind!
Author's note Addictt: I'm having sooo much fun writing this fanfic! Hope you guys like this chapter too:)
For our reviewers: Loads of thanks to 2Bfan, 9ud9ir190ne6ad, a french reader, a911chic, Alphie13, Amasayda, amobd, angel6, bandbfan24, Becca, Bellabun, Binas, BitterKitten, BonesDBchippie, Caf-pow, canadianagurl, ditzyblonde73, Downwind-Sailor, estelsphere, French-Fan-OTH, house-luvs-cam, InfernoRed2937, jemb, kah154, krisnina77, mereva, muppetmadness, Northedebatedemon, PurplePicklesUnite, saz.90, skellingtonlover, SnoopGirl69, squaddleduck, squinter, Suddenly.Mii, tashoness, willgirl, wolfmyjic, x3 sierra and xSomeHeartsx!
Thank you QueenIsabella for the beta-job!
This chapter is written in Booth's POV.
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Chapter 2 - Never Underestimate a Girl
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This is not the vacation I had been hoping for. My back hurts, my feet are cold, and I'm grumpy thanks to a lack of sleep. You aren't supposed to feel like crap when you're on vacation with a beautiful and smart woman! But then again, that woman is Dr. Temperance Brennan. Nothing is normal with her around. And I'm not talking about the fact that she can make any man feel like an insignificant dot in the universe, Hell, she could even make Einstein feel like a nerd with the IQ of a peanut! Good thing that I have found the perfect defense against her ever flowing stream of knowledge: my smile! I just flash her my infamous "charm smile" - her words, not mine - and she stops spouting facts. Pretty neat defense system, don't you think?
I grunt and stretch my legs out. Just then I hear the woman lying in bed shift around. Is she finally waking up?
"Booth?" she mumbles, her voice thick with sleep.
"Yeah, down here."
I hear more shifting around before I see her head appear over the edge of the bed. I feel a sharp tug at my heart at the sight of her half-closed eyes and her tousled hair. I can't remember her looking so sexy the last time we spent the night in the same room. Oh right, she was already up and running about by the time I had found enough energy to crawl out of bed. I guess this time she's the one having trouble waking up.
"What the hell are you doing down there, Booth?"
I give her a sarcastic smile. "Dancing the tango, Bones. I'm dancing the frigging tango."
Her eyes slide over the make-shift bed I created sometime in the middle of the night. With avid interest I watch as her eyes pop open. Ha, I bet she's awake now!
"You slept on the ground." From the tone of her voice I can deduct that it's not a question but a statement. I slowly nod, waiting for the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. When I see a faint blush appear on her features, I know she's aware of what happened last night. "I didn't..." She's staring intensely at me now with those big blue eyes.
"Yeah..." I get up and rub my lower back.
Her stare descends to the pair of boxers that are hanging dangerously low on my hips. I decide to leave them there; that way she'll have something extra to stare at. Because she's staring; no doubt about that. And yes, I like being in the centre of her attention. She's with someone else but yeah, I enjoy catching her fleeting glances at my body. That's not something a good Catholic is supposed to think, right?
"I didn't..." she asks again, pointing at my boxers.
"Try to pull them off?" I continue. "Yeah. You tried but I managed to free myself from your grasp. You were pretty determined to get them off. Didn't know you wanted me that bad, Bones." The smile I toss her with my words seems to trouble her even more. I lean forward, putting my arms on the bed to support my weight. "I'm just kidding, Bones. Nothing happened. The only thing you did, was snuggle up against me."
And I liked every second of it. I liked it a bit too much, to be honest. That's why I made a headlong dive for the ground. I can handle her sneaking peeks at me but her snuggling up against me? Do you know how much effort it took for me to move away when she was pushing her soft curves against all the right places? Even though I've got a sore back now, I know I did the right thing. It would've been too awkward, not to mention very damaging for our relationship, if we had woken up in each others arms.
I turn my focus back on her, just in time to see relief wash over her features. "It's not nice to tease me, Booth."
I shrug and walk over to the adjoining bathroom. "You don't like me teasing you? Then sue me."
Not nice to tease her? We've always teased each other! Or is this one of those subjects she doesn't like to be teased about? Like, for example, the fact that she can't carry a gun? That would mean she is genuinely concerned something has happened. Hold it right there, Seeley boy. Let's not go down that road. She's with Sully. I'm staying behind my line. Period. End of story. Got that?
But I can't help but to tease her some more. Just before I shut the bathroom door behind me, I say to her "You owe me a back rub, Bones!"
When I get out of the shower, I quickly dress myself before brushing my teeth. When I'm done, I look into the mirror and smile. Looking good, I think, flashing myself a charm smile. I put some gel into my hair, check myself again and wonder when I've become so vain. With that thought in mind I walk into the combined living room.
"Morning Booth," Angela says melodiously. She's standing behind the kitchen counter, together with Temperance. "Morning," I reply and smile at them.
"Breakfast is almost ready," Temperance announces and returns my smile. The beauty of her rare smiles still takes my breath away, even after all those months we've been working together. She and Angela both have a flower in their hair, which obviously is one of Angela's crazy ideas. I catch myself staring, so I avert my gaze towards the dining table. It's filled with all sorts of fruit.
Hawaiian theme. Nice.
"Looking good, ladies," I say grinning at the two women behind the counter before joining Zach and Hodgins at the table. I sit down next to Hodgins; Zach's is perched on the edge of the table.
"Your back hurts," Zach notes, staring at me with narrowed eyes. Sometimes that little squint really freaks me out. Nothing escapes his 'super squint' stare.
I see Temperance's head shoot up which causes Angela to look at her, then at me and back at Temperance again. She's onto something and that's bad. Really bad. Trust me, you wouldn't want Angela around when you're trying to cover up something that involves the bedroom.
"How do you..." My voice betrays my confusion. I should know better, I really should, after spending nearly two years with these people. "Never mind."
Angela and Temperance join us at the table, placing a basket of toasted French rolls in front of us.
"Mmm..." Hodgins hums mouth-watering as he picks up the scent spreading through the room.
"How come, Booth?" Angela probes, with an 'I-know-you-two-had-sex' grin and completely ignoring Hodgins.
"I uhm..." I see Temperance glance at me. She's probably worried I'm going to fill the squints in about her little dream-episode. I take a piece of pineapple, smiling my infamous charm smile at Angela. "Different bed from the one at home." Temperance relaxes and Angela sighs. Sorry Ange but I'm not about to give you all the juicy details. I'm not a tattletale.
I chew on my piece of pineapple. It's delicious. I should consider eating this for breakfast more often. We all enjoy the silence for a while, eating our lovely meal.
"So..." That's just typical for Angela, breaking the silence with a useless word. We all stare at her but she doesn't notice, or she pretends not to notice. "Jack and I saw the sunset this morning," she continues with a mouth full of bread. Hodgins nods and smiles.
"Yeah, it was beautiful," he adds, and both of them have this faraway look in their eyes.
I turn my attention to Temperance, who also looks a bit distracted. Within seconds she's aware I'm staring. A blush appears on her cheeks. I can't help but smile, an embarrassed Temperance is a very cute looking Temperance. I cast a downward glance at my plate, still smiling but trying to control my thoughts. I was raised well; I can't steal things from other people. I have already stolen too many lives as a sniper; I'm determined to be a better man now. I can't steal Temperance away from Sully. Hands and eyes off, that's my new motto. Maybe if I keep telling myself that, it will become a bit easier to follow my own words...
"So, what's everybody's plan for today?" Angela breaks the silence again, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Catch up on my reading." Zach.
"Go for a run." Me.
"Not sure yet." Temperance.
"Whatever you want, baby." Hodgins.
"Ah, come on people!" the artist exclaims. "We're on the Bahamas. Have any of you ever heard of a little something called the beach?"
I shrug. "I'm in."
Hodgins nods.
Temperance shrugs too. "Sure."
We all look at Zach. "I guess I can read on the beach," he says, raising his eyebrows.
"All right, that's settled then," Angela concludes, utterly content with our easy approval of her suggestion. "In one hour you're all ready, no excuses accepted," she decides, pointing at everyone. "Make sure to put sunscreen on." Her finger stops to point at me. "You're driving."
We all mumble our acceptance and finish our meal.
Fifteen minutes later I'm running along the shoreline. I'm trying to sort my thoughts out but with every damn step I take, images of her flashes trough my head. Bones sleeping, Bones trying to snuggle up against me, Bones with a flower in her hair... For eight miles she haunts my mind.
When I return to our beach house, Angela and Hodgins are sitting outside. They're laughing and talking. We greet each other as I walk into the house. Zach's watching TV, almost possessed with the images flashing across the screen. Some sort of documentary. I guess he's not into TVs, much like his mentor, and he's trying to catch up now.
I pass by in silence and walk into the bedroom. I sit down on 'my side' of the king size bed, breathing in and out as steady as possible. What the hell, I think and I drop myself all over the bed. When my heavy breathing has slowed down, I become more aware of my surroundings. First, I realise I smell some kind of perfume. I sniff around before I shake my head, smiling broadly. It's Bones' perfume. It's all over 'her side' of the bed. Then, I smell something else. I sit up straight and look around me. The shower. Someone must have turned it on less than a minute ago because I could have sworn the room was silent when I entered it. I hear the water falling down on the showers surface. In a strange way it tickles my senses. There's something intimate about hearing a shower run while you're in another room, wondering who could be standing under that steady stream of warm water (or cold water in some very specific cases).
I lift my weight on my arms, stretch my legs and push myself off the bed, landing on my feet. I tiptoe to the door of the bathroom, all the while listening closely to the sound of the shower. I'm sure I hear something else besides water cascading down. I place my ear on the door and try to concentrate. I listen for half a minute and when I recognise the tune, I'm having a lot of trouble not to laugh out loud. I never pegged Bones as a person who whistles tunes when she's in the shower. Hawaii Five-O. How very... 60's of her. I've told her before that she's like my grandmother. Now she's just provided me with extra proof. It's charming though if you count in where we are and the breakfast we've had.
Suddenly I hear the shower being turned off. My first thought: Oh God, she's probably naked. My second thought: Run! I quietly walk away from the door and begin searching trough my bag for my swim trunks, like I've never eavesdropped on her. I smile at my own hypocrisy. I allow myself to invade one of her personal moments without her knowing but I'm too scared to let her find out.
Ten minutes later I'm behind the wheel of the SUV with Temperance beside me. Now I'm sure what the second scent was when I sniffed around earlier. Shower gel with the aroma of oranges. It's all over her. And I can't get enough of it. It's amazing how I sometimes get turned on just by picking up her perfume. It's quite annoying really, because... well... because I can't do a damned thing about my urges! She'd kick my ass straight into the hospital.
"Take the second on the right," she tells me. Normally I wouldn't let her tell me what to do but hey, this is her vacation. Anything the lady desires, right?
So, I follow her directions and soon we're at the parking lot of Snow Bay.
"Snow Bay; where the sand is as fine as snow," Zach reads out of the brochure.
"Booth, Jack, Zach... Could you please?" Angela spreads her arms out over the all the stuff she brought with her.
I sigh and put a bag over my shoulder. I pick up the parasol, the picnic cooler and a heavy - a very heavy - bag. Zach and Hodgins follow my lead and we walk onto the beach. I keep wondering why women do that, you know, asking us to carry their stuff. Or how they succeed at convincing us. Now Zach, Hodgins and I are carrying all the stuff we didn't drag along with us and they are carrying one simple, light bag. Filled with towels. And to top it all, they're carrying it together.
We keep walking on for what seems like forever until Angela finally tells us to stop. We start unpacking our bags and unfolding our towels. Angela and Temperance choose to sit next to each other. Hodgins places his bath towel on Angela's left. So, I have a choice: Hodgins or Temperance. I pick the safest option and place my beach towel next to Hodgins. I'd rather have a boring day than risk giving in to my urges and jump Temperance's bones. Because yeah... that really wouldn't go down the right way, don't you think?
Zach deposits his towel next to me what causes me to have double feelings. One; it's Zach - the Supersquint - lying next to me, only clad in a T-shirt and Bermudas. He'd better live up to our "guy thing" and keep his mouth shut. Second; I'm glad he's not lying next to my Temperance. With his unhealthy fixation and all...
This is going to be one quiet afternoon. I can already tell.
Carrying all that heavy stuff over what seemed like ten miles combined with the heat really isn't doing us guys any good. I notice that Hodgins and Zach are, just like me, gasping for air. There should be a law against the abuse of men on vacation! Just because we've got more muscles than the average woman, doesn't mean that they can make us carry their bags! Although I didn't mind portraying my strength in front of my favourite anthropologist... I should smack myself for thinking that thought. I'm being an alpha male again. Damn, that sounded just a tad too squinty...
Hodgins is the first to remove his clothes and to strut around in his swimming shorts. Navy blue. You'd guess the lab coats are enough blue for a human being, but na-ah. I remove my shirt and in the corner of my eye, through my sunglasses, I see Temperance staring. I command my lips not to curl into a smile, otherwise my 'I don't care you're looking' cover would be blown away, just like that. I just keep watching her from the position I'm in. My heart does a little flip in my chest when I see her smile because of my swimming shorts. White with red flowers. I knew she'd like it when I packed it.
It doesn't take Zach long to follow Hodgins and me. In less than a minute, he's undressed as well. Green - that's not too bad. At least he isn't trying to bring the blue of his lab coat to the beach.
I really attract attention around these guys with my flashy swimwear, but I don't mind. Certainly not if I attract the attention of a certain female forensic anthropologist. I should really smack myself over the head for always seeking her attention.
The girls however, don't undress. They sit down, Angela wearing a little dress and Temperance a tank top with shorts. And the short in shorts doesn't fail his value here, believe me. They start chatting about unimportant stuff. Hodgins is lying on his stomach with his eyes closed. I begin putting some sunscreen on my arms and chest. When I look to my left, Zach is already absorbed in his book. In a glance I see the book's title: 'People watching, The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language'. Typical, I snort quietly. When I'm done rubbing, I take off my sunglasses and lie down. I close my eyes and relax my body.
That is until I hear Angela exclaim "Come on, honey. Let's go for a swim."
Her words wake me up momentarily from the lovely daydream I was having - trust me, daydreaming about Bones doing the dance of the seven veils is a very nice way to entertain a man's mind - but I immediately doze off again. Angela's probably asking Hodgins to tag along.
"Sure, Ange. Just let me get rid of these shorts and my top."
I don't think my eyes have ever popped open that fast. I'm still staring at the blue cloudless sky when I hear Temperance rummaging around two towels away from me. Slowly as not to arise any suspicion, I prop myself up and pretend to study the waves that crash onto the beach a bit further. Angela quickly strips down from her dress and reveals a dark blue bikini with white polka dots. Blue seems to be the favourite colour of that couple.
I mentally prepare myself for what I'm about to see. Witnessing Temperance run around in a skimpy bikini isn't something I think I could handle without preparation. Relief washes over me when I see a pair of shorts and a not-too-revealing swim top appear from under her clothes. Good old Bones, thank God she's not into skimpy swimwear! My imagination - not to mention my libido - wouldn't survive!
Angela gasps. "Where did you dig that thing up? In your grandmother's closet?"
Temperance huffs. "No Ange, I did not ..."
"I told you that you were like my grandmother, Bones," I interrupt them, chuckling. All I get in return is a scowl. Ouch, bad move there, Seeley boy.
"Let's go, Angela." She defiantly tilts her chin up and gives me one last glare before she stomps off towards the sea with Angela following closely. I shake my head and begin chuckling again. But the laughter quickly dies on my lips when I catch sight of her swaying hips. Even though she's just lost the argument, she wins. It frustrates the hell out of me!
Later that afternoon...
Well into the afternoon I find myself turning around on my beach towel for the umpteenth time. The only time I've left my towel was when I went for a quick swim. You would go for a swim as well if you had seen Bones jogging over the beach, completely wet. When there's no cold shower around, the sea's a great alternative.
I can't help but smile when I remember how I annoyed Temperance by pulling out my disposable camera and by taking a picture of her in her 'grandma bikini'. She probably didn't expect me to drag the thing with me to the beach. You guessed wrong, Bones! I would be crazy to let the opportunity slip to snap a shot of you in your bikini, even if it covered too much to my liking.
Zach and Hodgins are wandering about a couple of yards to my left. They're trying to get their humongous kite in the air. Angela's lying on her beach towel, catching some sun. Suddenly I feel the sand beside me move. I crack one eye open and am met with the sight of a slightly sunburned Temperance gazing down on me.
"Bones?" I ask, holding a hand up to block the sun from shining in my eyes.
"I was wondering if you could rub some sun cream on my back." Crap, that's a question I really didn't want to hear from her.
I sit up straight. "Uhm... Sure." She hands me her bottle of sunscreen. I put some on her back and start massaging it into her skin. This is one of those situations where my army training comes in handy.
"Thanks for not telling the others about our night," she softly says. Now Bones, you can't go around asking people to rub sun scream on your back AND make those statements at the same time. You're making it sound like something has actually happened! Talk about stimulating testosterone...
I continue my massage on her back. The sun cream's already completely rubbed in but hey, she seems to be unaware of that fact so who am I to fill her in? "No problem, Bones." Without asking I put some sun cream on her arms too. She doesn't seem bothered at all by my attention even though she only asked to do her back.
Loud shouts coming from my left get me to abandon her skin for a minute. It seems that Hodgins and Zach have actually succeeded at getting their huge kite to fly. Angela, Temperance and I watch them, amused smiles plastered on our faces. All of a sudden the kite seems to take a life of its own. It sails through the air at a dazzling speed, pulling the young man along who's holding the handles at the end of the strings. Enthralled by the sight of Zach first being dragged through the sand and then being pulled into the air where he floats around for a few seconds before he touches the ground again with a thud, I feel a deep chuckle rumble in my throat. I burst out into laughing when I see Hodgins run after Zach, trying to catch him. When Hodgins wraps his arms around Zach in an attempt to keep him grounded but ends up being lifted into the air as well, I completely lose it. I'm bent over double, laughing my head off, when Temperance taps my shoulder.
"Go help them, Booth."
"What? Why? They're hysterical!"
"Booth..."
I wipe the tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks away and get up, mumbling "You're being bossy again, you know that?" Women! I'm telling you, there should be a law against the abuse of men on vacation!
Sighing deeply I make my way over to the dubious pair who's trying to stop the kite from pulling them into the sea. I reach out to tug at the strings.
"No! Don't touch the strings, man! They'll break!" Hodgins exclaims. "We worked too damn hard to build that thing to let it fly away now."
"Fine," I grumble, putting my arms around Hodgins' waist. Oh boy, I never imagined getting into this position with bug boy. It's everything but acceptable. "I'll keep you two down. Just... pull that damn kite back."
I seem to have overestimated myself. A sudden whoosh of air pushes the kite even higher in the sky. I dig my heels deep into the sand, trying very hard not to be lifted up in the air as well, like the two squints that are currently dangling at the end of the strings connected to the kite. One moment I'm doing my best at keeping us all grounded, the next moment a look of horror washes over my face as I witness the kite starting a very steep descend. Somehow the humongous thing has managed to turn its tip downwards, straight at us.
"It's coming down!" Zach shrieks, completely unaware of how stupid it is to point out the obvious.
He immediately lets go of the strings and huddles down on the sand. Hodgins pushes the handles at the end of the strings which you normally use to control the kite into my hands and dives down too. I stand there, my gaze switching between the handles and the rapidly approaching kite, unsure of what to do. Then the ridiculousness of this whole scene dawns on me. Why the hell am I still standing here? I throw the handles away and make a mad dash for my beach towel. No way am I going to let that thing flatten me like a bug!
I've just reached my towel when I see the kite crash into the sand. Not one, not two but at least seven yards away from where I was standing three seconds ago and where Zach and Hodgins are still lying curled up. Crap, I ran away from something that wasn't even close to flattening me like the bug I compared myself with. I glance at Angela and Temperance who are all but rolling over the ground, laughing and clutching their sides. No doubt our little display of manliness is the cause of their laughing fit.
Great, now Bones will have something to tease me about until the end of our days. I'm never going to live this one down.
A while later…
After we've sunbathed for an hour or so, our very active artist gets a little bored.
"Come on guys, what do you say? Let's play a little card game," Angela proposes.
"Sure, baby. Anything you want," Hodgins immediately agrees. He and Angela share a smile and a kiss.
Zach's still grieving over the loss of his precious kite. The thing shattered to pieces the second it hit the ground. I guess he likes building kites next to robots. Temperance's shrugging and agreeing pushes me to agree as well. I cringe at her words though. "Sure, but not poker or any other type of card game that can be associated with gambling." Some things are private, Bones!
"That doesn't leave us much choice," the artist says, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"What about Hearts?" Hodgins suggests.
Angela grins. "Perfect! You boys against us girls. When either Bren or I have the lowest amount of hearts, you three prepare dinner. Otherwise, when one of you wins, we cook."
We play the game three times and Zach starts adding the scores.
I didn't play very well, but I wasn't bad either. Until Zach gave me the Queen of Spades. Followed by Temperance who gave me a few hearts in a row.
"All right," Zach sighs. "Angela: 26 penalty points. Booth: 19 points. Me: 14 points. Hodgins: 9 points and the winner is Dr. Brennan with 6 penalty points."
"That means we've got an extra hour left before dinner to do some shopping!" Angela nudges Temperance with her arm.
"What do you mean, shopping? We bought groceries this morning," Temperance mutters confused.
"Sweetie, believe me, we've got to buy some decent swimming clothes for you," Angela explains. Her mouth contracts for a second and her eyes narrow. "Or even better, less decent."
While Temperance resists a little bit more, Zach and Hodgins bend their heads towards me.
"You can cook, right?" Hodgins asks and they stare at me with big blank eyes. I put on my sunglasses and while letting out a deep sigh, I lie down on my towel and close my eyes.
That evening, in the kitchen...
I'm in my element. Ordering about Hodgins and Zach while keeping an eye on the cooking pots on the cooking-range is the kind of thing I like to do. I should've become a chef instead of an FBI agent. But then I wouldn't have met Temperance. Right, glad I went for the job of cleaning up the streets of Washington D.C. as a crime fighter.
Thanks to losing that card game I get to show off my cooking skills. They're not back from their shopping trip just yet but when they do, they'll see our - technically mine but hey, I don't want to take all the credit - achievement and won't know what divine cooking wonder they've called upon themselves!
Later that evening...
"Dinner was delicious, Booth," Temperance praises me.
"Thanks Bones, I really appreciate that," I answer and we exchange a small smile.
Angela and Hodgins are outside on the beach. They're probably... Wait, I don't even want to think about what they're doing. Zach is sitting at the dining table, absorbed in his book again. Bones and I... We're just watching some TV and having a beer. Enjoying each other's company, that's for sure.
When Temperance finishes her second bottle of beer she stifles a yawn. Five minutes later, she stands up.
"I'm off to bed. Are you coming?"
A shiver runs up my spine. She's being her usual blunt self again. Sometimes she really pushes my buttons, even if it's unintentionally. One of these days I'm going to ignore the better part of me and take advantage of her ambiguous statements.
"I... uhm..." Focus here, cowboy. She's not into you. You know you can't lie next to her in one bed with her awake, tipsy and only wearing that tank top and that pair of shorts you desperately want to pull off. You can crawl into bed later tonight; just not right now, with all that sexual energy racing through your veins.
"I'm just going to watch the end of this movie. I'll be up in fifteen minutes."
She shrugs and wishes Zach goodnight.
I'll be up in fifteen minutes? What was I thinking? Her taste for ambiguous statements must've rubbed off on me.
I absentmindedly watch the movie for half an hour. That way I'll know for sure that she's asleep. Afterwards I clean up some stuff and walk into our bedroom where I find a soft snoring Temperance. I pull off my clothes and crawl into the bed.
"Sweet dreams, Bones," I whisper before I close my eyes.
niah1988: Hey Addictt, do you think we're... you know... crazy?
Addictt: I think we most definitely are.
niah1988: Oh right, was just checking... Anyone who thinks we're out of our minds, just click that button on the left. We'll be immediately escorted to the nearest Mental Institution :)