AN: Okay, I've had this idea running around in my head. This is a fic based off the song "A Little More You" by Little Big Town. I had forgotten about it completely, then I read "Lyrics and Love" by krazegirl (a must-read, btw) and it came back. So here it is. The lyrics don't appear in the story, but if you know the song you'll see some references. If you don't, I recommend you find a way to hear it because it's awesome.
Another note, it does get a little steamy toward the end, but nothing graphic. I'm working my way up to writing M rated material, so any feedback would be great.
AN3 added on 26 Oct 07: This started a series of fics I've titled "Inspired." For more info, go to my bio page.
Bones is going to break my arm.
That was the only thought going through his mind as he led her carefully through the thick woods to their destination. He eyed his companion warily, noting her alert eyes taking in their surroundings. He knew she recognized the area; they had just pulled a body from very close by. A girl had been shot during a hunting trip and her terrified father had hidden the body hoping no one would find her. Obviously, he hadn't counted on the area being a very popular hunting ground.
But now, Booth was leading his partner to another spot; one the locals had promised him was worth the trip. He glanced sidelong at Brennan once more, hoping to catch a glimpse of her thoughts through her eyes. This case wasn't too difficult, but sometimes Bones couldn't understand why people acted the way they did. And when that happened, she distanced herself from everyone including him. He fought back a chuckle as he shook his head. Just when you think you're getting somewhere.
Booth thought back to the night they'd received the call. They had been lounging in her apartment, listening to music and going over backed up paperwork – though to be fair she was reading and he was contemplating the best way to arc the paper wads into the trashcan twenty feet away. She had opened up to him and was laughing at him, even shoving him playfully a few times when he got too distracted. He enjoyed the care-free side of his partner he saw all too infrequently, and scooted a little closer than he usually dared. When their eyes locked they had both felt it, the connection they had been adamantly denying for over two years. Just as she had leaned forward toward him, the shrill ring of his cell phone bit through the silence and startled both of them back a few feet. Cursing silently, he answered the phone call that had brought them out to the thick woods of North Carolina.
Now, after they'd closed the case and they were all ready to catch their plane in the morning, Booth decided to step things up. He knew, in his gut, that Bones had been leaning in to kiss him and he couldn't shake the feeling that something marvelous would have happened. The small voice in his head that preached about lines and partners was slowly being drowned out by his much louder 'I want Bones' voice.
"Booth, where are we going?" her voice cut through his thoughts and he shot her a charming smirk purely out of habit.
"You'll see, Bones," he said simply, the same thing he'd told her half an hour ago when he'd kidnapped her from her evening of final reports in her hotel room. He couldn't take sitting in his room brooding about what to do. He was a man of action and it was time to stop stalling. He was about to take a big leap of faith and he just prayed she'd take it with him.
He stopped walking for a moment, allowing both of them to catch their breath. It was humid and warm, though the sun was setting behind the trees. He got his bearings and started off again, this time pulling her through a thick grove into a clearing. Several feet away, there was a sharp drop off into a small spring. Steeling himself and putting on his most charming smile, he turned on his partner.
"Thought we could enjoy a picnic," he said proudly, dropping the backpack from his shoulder. He took in her defiant glare, her hands on her hips, and her pursed lips. She was not as amused as he was, nor was she in the mood for a picnic. Just as she opened her mouth to spout something rational about being out in the woods completely alone when they could be finishing their work, Booth took two steps and invaded her personal space. He was still amazed to this day that she didn't deck him or throw him across the room every time he got this close to her. He'd seen what she did to those who dared touch her without permission and he cringed as he thought about Epps and his broken wrist. But he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and he was currently enjoying seeing her squirm at his proximity but making no move to distance herself.
"Bones, we've been working really hard and the sheriff promised me this is the best place to wind down. We won't stay long, I promise, I just needed to get out of hicktown for a while." He thumbed back in the general direction of the town and he watched as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth, obviously thinking it over. "Don't think," he told her, "Just relax and enjoy some quiet time with a friend, okay?" She took a deep breath and fought the urge to roll her eyes, something Booth had warned her she'd been doing a lot lately.
"Fine, I guess we have to eat anyway," she moved around him gracefully and began pulling things out of his backpack. She was happy to note he had skipped the cliché checkered blanket and dove right for the two sandwiches and bottles of water he'd thrown in.
He grinned as she began unpacking and went to join her. He thanked her as she handed him a sandwich and they ate in relative silence. Occasionally, one of them would comment on the scenery or the anomalies in the case or nothing in particular, but nothing about their companionship was uncomfortable. The sun had been setting as they walked and now Booth could make out the full moon peering through the trees, giving them more than enough light. He had packed two flashlights for them for the walk back, but as he sat there he couldn't bring himself to take her back just yet.
When the sandwiches and water were gone, Booth stood up and dusted himself off. Brennan joined him, glad for the distraction but happy to be getting back to her hotel room. It was past sunset and though the moon would give them enough light to walk back by (not to mention the flashlights she'd seen in the backpack) she shivered at the thought of walking through the woods in the dark.
But Booth didn't head for the grove that would lead them back to the path. Instead, he walked quickly over to the edge and peered down into the cool spring. Without a word, he crossed his arms and pulled his t-shirt off in one motion. Brennan could not help herself; she took in his muscular form, the definition in his biceps and his sculpted abs he hid underneath FBI-mandated suits. She had once commented that he would make a good breeder – healthy and in relatively good shape. But she'd had no idea how much of an understatement that had been. Thankfully, his head was still turned away from her and she shook her head clear before he caught her staring.
Before she could protest, his hands found the buckle on his pants and those, too, joined his shirt on the grass beside him, leaving him only in his dark blue boxers. He threw her a smirk and a wink before jumping feet first from the ledge into the water. The splash pulled her thoughts from their disastrous path and she carefully edged over. He was swimming around slowly, testing the waters, before he turned and looked at her.
"Come on, Bones," he said slyly, "you only live once. Dive on in. The water's great."
"Booth, we need to get back," she protested, dancing back a little in case he decided to take matters into his own hands. Smiling a little because she hadn't outright refused him, he took a chance.
"Temperance," he said, staring into her eyes. The moonlight streaming through the canopy reflected back at him in her eyes and he thought he'd never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. Her gazed locked with his and she felt it; the same connection they'd shared in her apartment a few days ago. "Take your clothes off and get in here." His voice was low and steady and the request was simple, and Temperance found that the rebuttal she'd had on her tongue had completely vanished. She knew it, and he knew it. It was time to take that leap.
She had never been ashamed of her body; she spent many hours a week working out to keep herself in shape. But she found that she couldn't help the blush creeping up her cheeks as Booth watched her take her shirt and pants off, leaving her in nothing but her underwear. She toed forward, looking into the dark water.
"Is it cold?" she asked quietly, knowing she was stalling, putting off the moment that would change their lives.
"No," he said simply, and she took a deep breath. She closed her eyes as she stepped off the ledge and was only mildly surprised when Booth's arms came around her as she came up for air. Almost immediately, he moved back again, and she found herself cold in the warm water from the loss of contact. But she also knew that they needed to take it slow, though the urge to throw the slow and steady approach out the window and jump him was almost too much to resist. She brushed her hair back and tread water, envying Booth his height that allowed him to stand on the bottom and still have his head above water.
Booth took in the sight before him and felt his breath hitch. Her eyelashes held droplets of water that fell back to the surface as she batted her eyes. As he watched her, he realized her eyes were a shade of blue he'd never seen before. He loved how they sparkled as she laughed with him, or how they lit up as she uncovered some obscure fact that would solve whatever case they were on. But now, as he stared at her in the half-moonlight, he could swear he saw something more. Though he had never said the words, he had proven time and again that he needed her, not only at work, but in his life. He had shown her in a thousand touches, a hundred glances, and he briefly wondered if she felt the same need for him.
She moved through the water gracefully, ending up only feet from him, and though his feet were on the ground he felt himself falling. Their eyes spoke to each other what they couldn't vocalize, and he gave her a soft smile of encouragement. She was scared, he could see that plainly, but he willed his strength to her, to hold her up even as she fell with him.
Suddenly, he realized she could not reach the bottom and had been swimming in place for a while to keep herself afloat. Wordlessly, he reached out to her and grabbed her arms, pulling her to him. As their bodies contacted, his hands moved to her waist and held her up against him. She stilled immediately, her eyes conveying the worry and surprise she felt. He knew she was holding back, unwilling to take that last step. But she had jumped in with him after only a moment's hesitation, and that thought gave him the necessary courage to push her along.
"Don't think," he repeated an earlier comment, though now it took on a whole new meaning. Her hands were resting lightly on his shoulders, as if she were trying to maintain only the barest of contact above water, though from the waist down they were completely entangled. Her right leg had drifted between his as he held her up and her left leg had wound itself around his right of its own accord. Her hand was only barely shaking as she moved it around his neck, giving his nape a light caress. She noticed his eyes flutter instantly, and she heard the faintest beginning of a growl emanating from his throat. She knew she was playing with fire, but she took a breath and rubbed a little more firmly, massaging his neck. This time his eyes stayed closed and she felt his hands squeeze her hips a little harder.
He was waiting, she noted, waiting for her to feel safe enough to move forward. Like a bolt of lightning she realized that as long as she was here, in his arms, she could do anything. He would always be there to catch her, to steady her, whenever she needed him. He had never failed her and she thought a life without him in it would be an empty one. She needed him – that much was clear now – needed him much more than a partner. Her life, her very existence, would be less without him and that thought was the only thing she needed to pull herself flush with him.
His eyes opened in surprise as their skin connected. He could feel every inch of her on his body and her breath on his face. Her blue eyes shone with the moonlight and he could just barely make out the desire that burned behind them.
Lifting her hips slightly, she wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling his reaction instantly. His resolve broke like a raging river through a levee and he crushed his mouth to hers. Her response was immediate as her arms snaked around his shoulders, pulling herself even closer. The water around them suddenly became colder as their bodies reacted to each other, heating up with an intensity she had only ever associated with the sun.
She felt his tongue brush her lips and she moaned as she let him in, tasting him fully. She shimmied a little, grinding her hips against his and he bucked involuntarily. The growl that rose from his throat vibrated to her core and she felt the goosebumps creep down her arms as she shivered. He pulled his mouth from hers and set upon her neck, sucking and nipping as she tilted back to allow him better access. She felt his hands move from their position on her waist to circle her back. The third time they passed over her bra, he grasped both sides and yanked it off, tossing it into the trees behind them as he attacked her mouth once more. She was vaguely aware of them moving through the water and he surfaced for air as he climbed a gentler slope on the other side of the spring.
His gaze was tender as he laid her down on the grass, shucked their drenched underwear quickly, and stretched out on his side beside her. He saw a flash of apprehension in her baby blue eyes and he brought his hand to her face. Running his knuckles down her cheek lovingly, he conveyed with his touch just how much he treasured her. He knew in that instant that he would move heaven and earth for this woman, and he prayed that God would allow him the time to prove it to her.
Temperance watched as he stared down at her longingly. She realized he was allowing her time to acclimate, to reason things out in her head. Did she really want to go back to the way things were? Could she? She stole a glance at the moonlit grove and realized that nothing in her life had ever felt this right. She reached up and cupped his face and he turned slightly to place a feather-light kiss on the pulse point on her wrist. That one simple, loving gesture was all she needed to let go, and she pulled him down to her.
"Don't think," she whispered in his ear, earning her a face-splitting grin. Seeley bit back his response, knowing she wasn't ready to hear it – not even sure if he was ready to say it. But he showed her in every touch, every kiss, just how much he needed her.
AN2: Okay, this was originally a one-shot but as I was writing this I got inspiration from another song that could go with this. So what do you think? Continue?