Dec. 4th: Luverofthings chose the word: "pen". Season four, just because I said so.

OOOOO

"What are you doing tonight?" Brennan asked as she finished the last of her wine.

"The Pens are on tonight. I was gonna watch." Booth replied as he popped a cashew into his mouth. "What about you?"

"I have to finish my manuscript tonight. It's due next week and I don't know when I'll get a chance to finish the last chapter."

"Finished manuscript! Can I read it?" He prodded her ribs with his finger, asking the age old question just to annoy her. She knew this game and promptly changed the subject.

"I've always wondered: is the singular of Pens 'Pen'? Would you say that an individual on the team is a Pen? And wouldn't that give the impression that they were, in fact, playing for a team that had a writing utensil as a mascot instead of a flightless bird? Wouldn't it be better to call them 'The Spheniscinae' to avoid confusion?" She asked, hitting him where it hurt. He raised his hands in surrender and she laughed heartily at his pained face.

"Message received." He said as he stood up and began fishing his wallet out of his pocket.

"This one's on me." She said as she waved him off. He paused and even she recognized his interrogation face.

"Yeah?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah. I'm going to stay here for a while, see if inspiration strikes." She informed him.

"I can stick around and keep you company if you want. I mean, just until it does strike." He offered.

"What about your game?" She asked.

"DVR." He shrugged. "I can watch it another time. Besides, what kind of gentleman would I be if I left you alone in a bar."

"I've been alone in bars before. This very one, in fact." She informed him as he sat back down. The bartender brought over another glass of wine and Booth ordered another beer.

"It's just the principle of the thing." He said, not going into specifics. "Go ahead, write away. I'll just sit here quietly and watch the game up there." He said as he motioned to the TV on the wall.

"Silently?" Brennan raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. Scout's honor." He said. She debated questioning whether or not he was even a scout, and if so, what the statute of limitations was on the honor of their code but something told her that they had moved beyond the teasing. He was being serious, so she let him sit next to her as she pulled out her laptop and began to type.

OOOOO

Four hours later, the game was over, Brennan's manuscript was long forgotten and Booth and Brennan were drunkenly arguing over the best place to get tacos at one AM in the city.

"I'm just saying, I've had better." She maintained.

"These are the best tacos outside of… you know what? I'm done. I swear; you do this just to provoke me." Booth said seriously, but a big, happy smile was plastered across his face and his eyes were sparkling at her, just as Agent Perotta had observed a few weeks before. Brennan felt herself warm from the inside out at the knowledge that she was the cause for such obvious joy.

"We should have taken a taxi." Brennan commented. "It has to be below freezing."

"Well it's…" Booth stopped to check his watch, unable to look down and walk at the same time, "1:30 in the morning. Taxis are hard to come by. Besides, we're nearly there." He said as he pointed to her building. Brennan hurried up the steps and slipped on a bit of ice on the top step.

"Whoops." Booth said as he caught her in his arm and pulled her close to save her from hitting her head on the cement railing of the stoop. "You okay?" He asked quietly as he got her back on her own two feet.

"Yeah." She replied breathlessly. "A little dizzy." She confessed, but something told her it wasn't the wine. He brushed the windblown hair out of her face to examine her better. But as Booth stared into her eyes, checking her for injuries, Brennan felt her stomach clench. Before she knew what she was doing, she was pushing him up against the stoop and kissing him senseless. Much to her surprise, he kissed her right back and she felt her body ringing with a depth of pent up energy that she didn't know she had inside her until that very moment.

"Inside." Booth suggested, his lips still attached to hers as if removing them would break the spell between them. Brennan kissed him one more time and turned around to unlock her front door. She took his cold, rough hand and led him up the stairs to her apartment. She quickly unlocked her apartment door and ushered him inside after her.

She took a passing glance in the mirror and noticed her cheeks were flushed, either from the cold or the kiss, she couldn't tell. When she turned around again, Booth was removing her winter coat from behind her.

"Thank you." She said as she slipped from it. He took off his own coat and hung it up. As soon as she was able, her hands began to wander. His suit jacket was shoved off his shoulders as she ran her hands over the white dress shirt longingly. The tie around his neck had disappeared ages ago, shoved into a pocket somewhere.

"Bones…" Booth said as he removed her hands from his body. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I gotta ask… would this be happening if we were sober?"

"I don't know." She said honestly. "I have found you sexual appealing for quite some time and I've definitely considered…" She trailed off, letting his imagination fill in the blanks. She glanced down at his hands and she could practically see them itching to undress her. "Haven't you thought about this? After that first time, I mean…" She asked as she closed the distance between them, inviting him to put his hands on her. "Haven't you had those moments where you just wanted to reach out and touch me, kiss me, fuck me?" She purred, teasing him in a way that was almost cruel. His fingers drummed against his thigh, desperate to stay occupied as he fought the answer that she could so clearly read on his lips.

"Oh God yes." He said as he finally broke and grabbed her face and kissed her. He pushed her up against the wall of the hallway and she curled her leg around his, encouraging the action. He pushed her arms up against the wall and they locked hands. A low moan involuntarily broke from the back of her throat and Booth swallowed the sound, taking the vibration into his own body.

"Oh yes, touch me." She begged, wanting to feel his hands all over her. She ground into him, using the wall as leverage as she pressed herself against him. Booth unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt and pulled it over his head and threw it aside. Brennan let out another long moan at the sight of his perfect chest. Her hands wandered over his abs as she reached for his belt and dropped his pants to the floor. While he was stepping out of his pants, Brennan removed her shirt and bra and lost her skirt.

"Wait." Booth murmured, wanting to finish undressing her himself. He took a step back and ran his hands down her torso. His hands once again nearly made her go dizzy with need. How could one pair of hands drive her so crazy? He kissed her breasts, and then her torso as he slowly lowered her panties around her ankles. Brennan had to lean against the wall as her legs spread, her body expecting his mouth to continue its path directly to her swollen clit. She whimpered as he stopped just under her belly button, kissing the flat expanse of her stomach and pausing.

"Booth." She cried, unable to stand it. "Please…" She begged. Her entire body was craving him and she knew that she was already broken by him. She would do anything he asked of her.

His hands ran back the way they had come as he moved up her sides and pressed her arms above her head again. Her entire body shivered at the action. He moved in and they were left completely against each other, even the palms that were locked above their heads were squeezed tight.

"Kiss me." He requested and Brennan couldn't explain why it felt like a test. She hesitated before closing her eyes and kissing him slowly. She felt her body melt into his, removing the space between them until she couldn't distinguish whose body was whose. She felt so connected with him that she barely registered that she had wrapped her legs around his waist. And when he finally, finally, thrust deep and slowly inside of her, she was certain the space between them disappeared entirely. She moaned as he moved slowly and confidently, triggering every nerve ending in her body. She kissed him desperately, her tongue unable to stand still when he was evoking such passion from within her. She clutched at his back and he sped up, the desire between them dissolving into unadulterated need. Her back left the wall as she arched forward, her body too wrought with tension to behave. Booth dropped her hands and held onto her by the ass, pressing her into him even tighter and she felt herself begin to unravel. She pulled him close and gasped sharply into his shoulder as she came, hurdling through the most intense sexual experience she could remember. She panted through the aftershocks as Booth exploded inside her, pulsating through his own climax.

As they both slowly came to their senses, Booth lowered her to her feet again and pressed his forehead to her shoulder. Her fingers danced along the nape of his neck as she held him tightly. When he finally looked into her eyes, she was surprised by the uncertainty she saw reflected back at her. The man who had just made sure and steady love to her in her hallway was gone and in his place was the insecure man she had only seen a few vulnerable times. She could practically hear the question he was asking her.

What happens next?

Unable to answer, she kissed him once more and took his hand. She led him slowly back to her bedroom.

For now, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and lull him to sleep.

They could figure the hard parts out tomorrow.