Disclaimer: this is unnecessary. I really doubt the real authors to stuff would do something like this.

--------------------

"I'll see you on Monday," Angela said to her friend when they reached her door. "Oh, and sweetie? Don't show Booth that dress until the Gala."

"Why? I'm sure he'll want to see what took us an entire day to find," Brennan responded with obvious confusion.

"One, it didn't take us the entire day, just most of the morning. And second, we want that jaw to drop. No jaw dropping if he's already seen it. Of course, if he's already seen it, he'll be even more excited. You know what, do whatever you think is right. But be sure it's what you want. If you show him that dress tonight, you will be all but begging for you two to take a test drive on that bed of his."

"Right. I'll keep that in mind."

"Good luck finding your keys."

With that Brennan walked in to her apartment. The apartment smelled vaguely of spices and something homey. Brennan didn't want Booth to see all of the things she got just yet, so she went strait to her room to put her bags away. That done, she went to go see what was making that wonderful smell. Booth was in the kitchen chopping zucchini. She smiled, recognizing the dish as stir-fried zucchini with onions and green peppers. In another pot on the stove rice was cooking. It was one of her favorites, so she could tell that he wanted to get some information from her. This was sure to be an interesting night.

"So, how was the shopping?" Booth asked when he saw her standing there looking at him.

"Tiring. But Angela found a great dress for the Gala in a couple of months."

"Can I see it?" Booth asked, just as she knew he would. But she didn't know what to say. It wasn't like she wanted a relationship with Booth, but showing him the dress would have been what she would have done a month ago.

"I think it will be better to make you wait. Angela wants you to be surprised," Brennan said, deciding to use Angela as the scapegoat in this situation. Until she figured out what she really wanted from her relationship with Booth, she would keep it as platonic as possible.

"Knowing Angela, that's probably because it's a very… interesting dress," Booth said carefully. In truth, he knew that the dress Angela had chosen for Bones was sure to be very irresistible in a less than platonic manner. Bones was probably just thinking, like him, that it would be better to keep their relationship as platonic as possible. There were just too many risks for if they had a more intimate relationship. They were put in danger all the time, and many would be able to use their relationship to their advantage. Epps had done that very thing to Cam when he was sleeping with him. He wouldn't be able to wake up in the morning if he knew that someone else would do that to his Bones. He would already do just about anything for her safety, he did not need anyone else using that to their advantage. That probably wasn't true, but he wasn't about to let his thoughts run in that direction.

"Interesting. That's probably the best word to describe it. I'm sure you will love it. But I did get a new necklace." Brennan was gone before he could even ask about it. When she came back she was holding a large necklace with blue stones that slowly got larger and larger. At the center was a pendant with some sort of a Celtic design.

"The blue matches your eyes almost exactly," Booth said distantly. It was like his mind wasn't there.

"That's what Angela said."

"She was right."

"I was thinking of wearing it to work on Monday with a blouse and my brown corduroy jacket."

"I think that jacket's at my house."

"Really? I thought I brought it back," Brennan said.

"No. You wanted to bring it back, but you didn't have your keys because it was the weekend and I didn't want to drive all the way to your place just because you wanted that jacket at your house, and you didn't have anything to wear with it, so you couldn't wear it to work on Monday. And you couldn't just bring it to work with you for fear of Angela."

"That's right. But I really wanted to wear it to work on Monday. I'll drop it off on Monday. You can just say you left it in my SUV and we always forgot to take it out. There, problem solved."

"Sure," Booth said. "I'm almost done, why don't you set the table."

--

Dinner was spent in light conversation and comfortable silence. Both were mainly concerned with their thoughts. Brennan was thinking about how she would be able to get her keys back that night and about how far their relationship had gone and where it was going. Booth was thinking about how intimate their relationship had become. It was like they were all but sleeping together, and that scared him. He was afraid of the danger she would be in if they were involved.

After dinner Booth went into the guest room to get his things for bed. She seemed a little preoccupied on her keys earlier, so he went into her room while she was taking a shower to see that they were still there. He had hidden the keys behind one of the masks in her room. Sure enough they were still there. He had hidden them in her own room because he knew she would never look there. Content that they were safely hidden, he went back to the living room to pull out the sofa-bed.

Their evening routine usually consisted of them sitting on his bed in their pajamas talking until they were about to fall asleep. One time Brennan had actually fallen asleep, and he had had to carry her into her bed. He had noticed how calm she looked. She didn't look like she had to defend herself and why she did what she did when she was asleep. She looked content and comfortable with herself.

This evening was unlike any other. They sat on his bed with drinks and snacks and talked. It was about midnight when Brennan said that she should probably get to bed. She picked up the food and their drinks, put them away in the kitchen, and went to bed. Booth smiled and climbed under the blankets to go to bed.

--

Brennan really couldn't fall asleep. She had thought she had finally figured out how Booth had managed

to keep her keys hidden from her, and if she could get them back then he wouldn't have to stay over every weekend. It wasn't that she didn't mind his company, she really rather enjoyed it, but she missed being able to go to the lab on the weekends.

After about an hour and a half Brennan figured she would see if Booth was asleep. She snuck out of her room and went to the living room to peek. Booth was sprawled about the sofa-bed, ensuring that he was in fact asleep. She would have waited until she was sure he was in a deep sleep, but she wanted her keys back so badly she would risk him waking up to find them.

Quietly walking over to his bed, Brennan looked at him, wondering where he would be able to hide them. The first option would be between the springs and the mattress. She stealthily looked there, but without any luck. For a second she was afraid that he would wake up, but he just rolled over. Brennan breathed a sigh of relief, and continued with her search. The next place that she would have to look would be Booth himself. She leaned over the bed, and looked over his body. He didn't have much on, so she figured it would have to be on his back. Brennan had to climb onto the bed to roll him over, and for a second she was afraid that he would wake up. Fortunately he didn't. He was lying on his back, so she had to carefully try to roll him over. Quick as lightning, Booth's hands were suddenly on her wrists and she was straddling him with her hands on the sides of him. His hands were still on her wrists, and she realized that he had been very conscious of what she had been doing.

"Bones, what are you doing?" Booth said quietly. Brennan's face was seconds from his, and he was only vaguely aware of the position they were in.

"I was – I was looking for my keys," Brennan said timidly. She, unlike Booth, was very conscious of the fact that she was straddling him with her hands confined next to his body and her face but seconds from his.

"Well, I think I should be the one to tell you that they aren't here," Booth said with a smile.

"I'm beginning to realize that."

"What gave you the idea to look here?" Booth asked.

"Angela."

"Angela?"

"Yes, Angela. She said something about how you would probably have to keep them pretty close for me not to find them."

"No, I just need to know you. And I happen to know you very well."

"Really?"

"Yes. You have to know where you would look, and I know where you would look. I'm surprised you managed to last this long without searching me." Booth was still smiling; he still had her wrists in his hands beside his head. Having her so close so late made him realize how beautiful she was. And the fact that there wasn't much blocking his way. His eyes gazed down and he realized just how close and how intimate their current position was. A glint in Brennan's eyes showed that she had noticed that he had finally come to the realization that she had probably come to quite a bit ago.

Brennan saw Booth's eyes darken as he did a cursory glance of her and their position. Ah, he's noticed. At first she wasn't sure if she wanted to continue, but then she was reminded of her conversation with Angela earlier that day. They were so close, and if she was to have a boyfriend at this exact point of her life, she would feel strange and it probably wouldn't go anywhere. And she just realized why. Booth was such a part of her life and had taken the roll of significant other without the intimacy. But would having the intimacy change anything? Her body was the one who answered that for her.

Booth could see Brennan's calculating stare, and could tell that she was trying to figure out what to do. He had long decided that he wouldn't mind it, because it wouldn't really change much in their relationship. They were already so close, to add intimacy wouldn't change how much he would do for her or how anyone would be able to use their relationship to their advantage. It would just be a little more obvious. Before he could voice anything Brennan had made the decision for him.

Brennan was surprised as she moved in and kissed Booth. For a second she thought she should pull back, but Booth's response instantly silenced any such ideas. It wasn't like any first kiss she had ever had. It was like he knew everything, and there wasn't any hesitation. There wasn't any tentative exploration, it was like they both knew what was there. But that isn't to say there weren't fireworks. On the contrary, every nerve in their bodies thought they were in sensory overload. If you could orgasm from a kiss, this would be the one to it.

The need for air was what finally broke their kiss. Booth let go of Brennan's wrists, and lifted her up to carry her back to her bed. He wanted nothing more than to continue more of those kisses, but he knew that it would be a bad idea in the morning. His Bones needed to think, and he didn't want this to be purely recreational. After all, there was always tomorrow. He moved the blankets and tucked her into her bed.

"Goodnight, Bones. Your keys are behind that mask next to your vanity." He smiled and went back to his bed in her living room. It took him a while, but he finally got to sleep, dreaming of his Bones and what tomorrow would bring.

Brennan had equal difficulty falling asleep, but when she finally fell asleep it was a deep and dreamless

sleep of content.

-----------------

Tehehe… I loved that a little more than I should. Go push that button now. If you don't, I won't be offended; I'll just be disappointed that you couldn't come up with anything for me to mull over for the next installments. And a little sad.