Thank you all for the amazing reviews! And thank you to everyone who alerted as well. A very special thanks to Angela, Candace and Sam for their constant support and patience with my badgering. This story wouldn't even be here without them, so thanks guys! Now, without further ado, we march on. With:
Inglenook- A cozy nook by the hearth
"Come on, it'll be fun!" Booth insisted for the fiftieth time that afternoon as Brennan bustled around her office.
"What, exactly, is fun about sleeping outdoors in less than hygienic conditions while running the risk of encountering a dangerous wild animal?" she inquired, not slowing her pace as she zipped from one end of her office to the other.
"Oh come on, Bones," Booth whined. "Aren't you the same Temperance Brennan who brags constantly about the third world countries she's visited for months on end with no indoor plumbing?"
"I don't recall ever bragging about the lack of indoor plumbing in developing nations, and that was out of necessity. I don't see the point of sleeping outdoors when we can have a perfectly satisfying weekend while staying in a hotel."
"There's just something about camping," Booth argued. "It's an experience you can't get anywhere else. It's freeing and primal and… rustic! Plus, I only have the one sleeping bag…" He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she couldn't fight the smile spreading across her lips. She leaned in and kissed him softly.
"Now that sounds fun," she agreed. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "According to Angela, spending a weekend away together puts us in 'stage 4' of our relationship. Although I've already told her numerous times that there are no such things as relationship stages."
"Stage 4… How many stages are there?"
"Eight." Booth grinned and kissed Brennan soundly.
"Well, I look forward to the next four."
"We'll never get any further than stage 6," Brennan stated matter-of-factly. Booth's brow wrinkled in confusion.
"How come?" Brennan shrugged.
"Because we're not getting married." Booth had about a thousand responses to that, but he bit them back. She was already nervous enough about the two of them. He didn't need to throw the marriage card out there.
"What's stage 6?" he decided to say.
"Living together."
"So… you're planning on us living together someday?" he asked cautiously. Brennan gave him a look. It was the look he liked the least, but still somehow loved. It was the look that said 'Booth, you're a moron and wouldn't make it a day without me.'
"Yes, of course. I was under the impression that this was a permanent arrangement." She broke eye contact and he could practically feel her slipping away from him.
"It is!" he promised. Brennan's features softened.
"Then it wouldn't be practical if we didn't share a domicile."
"Right," Booth began, knowing that when he opened his mouth again he would officially be on thin ice. "So… why wait?" Brennan looked at him quizzically. "You know, why wait to move in together?" he clarified. "If we're just gonna do it anyway, I mean. What are we waiting for? It's silly for us not to."
"Silly," Brennan repeated and Booth saw a flash of something in her eyes. It was gone as quickly as it came and she smiled at him again. "That seems like a rational position. I will consider what you said."
"Great. So, if we're going camping this weekend I should get some s'mores stuff."
"Some more of what?" Booth chuckled lightly and fought the urge to make a Sandlot joke. Instead he leaned in and gave her a kiss.
"I love you," he said earnestly when they parted.
"I love you too but that doesn't answer my question."
"It's not some more, it's s'mores," Booth attempted to explain. "It's a snack. Toasted marshmallow and chocolate between two graham crackers. It's the best, Bones." Brennan made a face.
"That sounds incredibly unhealthy."
"That's part of the fun!"
"Lining my arteries with plaque while avoiding all nutritional value is fun?" Brennan challenged and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Yes!" Booth insisted. "You'll see. I'll have you addicted by Saturday." Booth glanced at his watch and frowned. "I have to get going. I'll see you tonight." He gave her a lingering kiss and an extra peck on the nose before winking and walking away. "Love you!" he called behind him.
"Love you too!" Brennan called back and felt that now-familiar flutter in her chest when she did.
-BONES-
Booth arrived at Brennan's apartment that Friday evening and rapped on her front door. She opened it and immediately laughed at his appearance. "What are you wearing?" she asked, looking at the hat decorated with lures sitting on his head.
"What? It's a fishing hat. What about you?" He gestured to the belt she wore around her waist that held a canteen, a flashlight, and God knows what else. "Is that your camping gear?" She looked down self-consciously.
"I wasn't sure what I would need," she admitted softly. "I was about to call you. It's raining rather heavily. I don't think it would be wise for us to go on this trip."
"It's just a little rain, Bones."
"I don't see how we could have much fun camping in the pouring rain. Let's just do this another time." Booth sighed and walked past her into the apartment.
"I wanted this to be perfect," he complained and plopped himself onto the couch. Brennan joined him and began caressing his knee soothingly.
"We can go another weekend. It's not that big of a deal, Booth." He was still looking at her with that puppy dog face and she nuzzled his neck. She kissed him in a trail from his shoulder, up his neck, and to his ear. She began nibbling at his lobe and he tilted his head in reaction to the sensation. "How about… We go camping… Right here?" she asked between nibbles and kisses. Booth smiled seductively at her.
"I like the way you think."
A while later, Brennan dressed out of her 'camping gear' and into her pajamas. She walked into the living room to find Booth starting a fire in the fireplace. "Booth, it's the middle of June," she chided. "It's going to get too hot in here."
"Come on, Bones," he said cheerfully. "I'm gonna introduce you to the wonders that are s'mores one way or another." Once he got the fire going he patted the floor next him in invitation. He offered her a kebab skewer and a marshmallow. "Okay, Bones, watch and learn. Roasting a marshmallow is an art form, and I'm a master."
"Are you now?" she asked and nudged his shoulder with hers playfully.
"You bet. The key is to get it nice and brown without burning it. You can't leave it in for a second too long or too short."
"It really can't be that complicated, Booth." She stuck her marshmallow on her skewer and placed it in the fire.
"Hey, easy, Bones!" Booth warned. "You've got it way too close to the log!" She just laughed at him and his eyes widened as the marshmallow caught fire and slid off the skewer and into the fire. "See? That's what happens!"
"You're getting very agitated about something that is relatively meaningless." He sighed heavily.
"Let me show you how it's done." He put his own marshmallow on his skewer and held it just above the fire. "See? You have to get it evenly on both sides…" He pulled it out of the fireplace with a satisfied grin. "The perfect marshmallow." Brennan rolled her eyes and Booth reached for the graham crackers and chocolate. "Here, take a bite," he offered and held the sandwich up to her mouth. She leaned forward tentatively and took a small bite.
"It's okay," she appraised with a shrug.
"Okay?" Booth repeated incredulously. "Bones, nobody thinks that s'mores are 'okay.'"
"Well I do, so apparently that statement is incorrect." Booth shook his head.
"Okay, buzz kill." He stood up. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I know how much of that s'more is left and you better not eat any of it," he warned playfully.
"I don't think there's any danger of that." Brennan waited until he was out of sight and crawled over to the s'more he had left behind. She picked it up and, checking over her shoulder one more time, took a large bite. She practically moaned as she savored the flavor. It was one of the best things she'd ever tasted. It bordered on a spiritual experience. But she'd never give Booth the satisfaction of knowing that. She chewed hastily and swallowed just seconds before he returned. She put the s'more back on his plate and quickly crawled back to her spot.
Booth reclaimed his seat next to the fireplace and reached for his s'more with anticipation. He frowned when he saw that half of it was missing. "Bones? Did you eat my s'more?"
"No," she replied innocently. Booth's eyes narrowed and he scooted closer to her. He smiled and leaned in to kiss a spot on the corner of her mouth. He leaned back and licked his lips seductively. "You had some chocolate," he explained.
"Oh," was the only response Brennan could muster.
"See? I told you. S'mores are like Seeley Booth. No one can resist. Especially hot forensic anthropologists." Brennan laughed lightly and kissed him. The chaste kiss soon developed into something more and any thoughts of s'mores or perfectly toasted marshmallows were instantly forgotten.
Sometime later the two found themselves, after some initial protests from Brennan about it already being hot enough in the apartment without the added factor of body heat, tucked into the same sleeping bag. "Explain to me how we play this game again," Brennan requested as she cuddled in closer to Booth.
"It's really easy," he promised. "I tell you three things about me. Two of them are true, one is a lie. You have to pick which one is the lie."
"Okay." There was silence for a moment as he thought.
"Alright, got it," he announced finally. "Number one, the day I got my driver's license I ran over Jared's foot and broke it in three places. Number two, when I was six I found a snail in a ditch. I kept it as a pet and named it Larry. Number three, a couple years before I started at the FBI, I just barely lost a baseball at an auction signed by the 1980 Phillies." Brennan didn't hesitate at all with her answer.
"Number two is false, although I think you should be disqualified for trying to trick me." Booth looked down at her, eyebrows raised. "While at the age of six you did find a snail in a ditch and took it home, you did not name it Larry. You named it Fred, after Fred Flintstone, because you already had a pet turtle named Barney Rubble."
"How… how did you know that?" he asked with an amused chuckle.
"You told me a few years ago," she answered casually. "When we were at the diner and discussing our childhood pets."
"How do you remember this stuff, Bones?" Brennan shrugged and snuggled closer to him, if that were possible.
"I love you," she responded simply. "And I make a point of memorizing details about the things I love."
"But I told you years ago," Booth pointed out with a satisfied smirk. "Does that mean you loved me then and were already memorizing every detail about me?" Brennan rolled her eyes at his cocky grin. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Perhaps," she began cautiously, "I've always loved you." Booth didn't respond and instead simply planted a kiss in her hair.
"Your turn," he told her softly.
"Okay. One, I once engaged in sexual intercourse, outdoors, in plain sight, in Yellowstone National Park." Booth's eyes widened.
"Whoa! You know, Bones, I could arrest you for that."
"I'm not aware of the statute of limitations on National Park sex, but I'd imagine that it's run out by now." Booth chuckled and kissed her on the head again.
"I guess that rules that one out as the lie."
"Oh, you're right. I'll amend it." She thought a second. "Alright. One, I've had rather awkward intercourse in a full swimming pool."
"Are these all gonna be about sex, Bones?" Booth interrupted. Brennan shrugged and kissed him on the chest.
"It's difficult to think of anything else when I'm naked and in a sleeping bag designed for a single person with you." Booth growled in response and crushed his lips to hers. Brennan smiled as they kissed fervently. She rolled them over so she was on top of him and inches from his face.
"I love camping," she said before covering his mouth with hers once more.
2 down, 98 to go! Please tell me what you thought! I love hearing from all of you! Thank you again to everyone who reviewed and alerted last time. Until we meet again!