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Chapter Twelve: The Monumental in the Night

Brennan couldn't explain the thoughts or emotion that ran through her body, and only once before had she felt like that. She'd always felt as though she had an answer for everything, that everything could be explained, could be rationalised. After she kissed Booth for the first time, alcohol and anger had burned away what she had felt then, what she had instinctually felt for Booth. She had recognised then that kissing him had felt different to every other man she'd kissed, even being with him – simply spending time with him; was more satisfying than it was than with any other man. Yet she had ignored it, and she had finally realised that that was hardly rational.

She had feared this unknown quantity, what was unexplainable, yet so very evident; to the extent it was almost tangible. Despite the fact that she had felt it course through her veins and drift through her thoughts, she had disregarded it. When she finally recognised it, she denied it. And that denial had forced her to live the past few months in regret: of her cowardice, and her inability to take the leap.

She'd taken that leap now, and she finally felt fearless.

They finally broke apart, but he refused to let her go. Their foreheads remained connected, and he had his arms linked firmly around her waist. She saw his eyes twinkle, and despite the lack of light, a broad, unrestrained smile on his face.

He was at a loss for words, for actions even. He just knew he didn't want to let her go, now that she was finally in his arms, and the way she was looking at him made him feel that she was there to stay.

'Shall we go inside?' She asked, quietly.

He nodded, taking her by the hand and leading her inside, closing the door quietly behind him. As soon as that door closed, he was bombarded with uncertainty, not sure what he was supposed to do now, or if that kiss had even meant to her what it had meant to him.

Am I supposed to talk about us now? Kiss her again?

He looked at her, and she saw the uncertainty on his face. She frowned slightly, wondering if she'd done the wrong thing by kissing him, if she'd made yet another mistake. She turned away, trying to hide her sadness, but Booth saw the emotion on her face.

He went over to her, caught her hand, and turned his face to look at him. He lifted her chin up, stroking her cheek.

Please, God, let this finally be our time.

She smiled a small smile, her eyes less sad.

'Do you still want this?' She asked, turning her eyes away, as if she was waiting for rejection.

He waited until she looked back at him, so that she could see the warmth in his eyes, and so that he could look into hers.

'There's nothing I want more, Temperance.'

And she smiled. With pure, complete happiness. She pulled him into a tight embrace, holding him tight to her, and he squeezed her back. He'd never felt closer to anyone in his entire life, he'd never felt more complete. It felt as though the universe was shifting around them, as if it was accommodating for a new entity that they'd created, because they were now one, two people that fit together perfectly. When they pulled apart, that lingering connection remained – the bond that had been there for so many years now, but which had finally been fortified by them both.

He was surprised to see her turn away, wiping at a few tears that had fallen, and he instantly pulled her back into a hug, cradling her head to his chest.

'Are you okay, Bones?' he asked, terrified that in that embrace they'd shared, we're he'd thought that everything was starting to make sense, she'd been rationalising and considering everything from her scientific point of view and decided that they shouldn't be together after all.

He felt her nod, and laugh quietly. 'It would appear that my body's reaction to this onslaught of happiness and emotion is to cry,' she mumbled into his chest.

He held her tight to him, touched by her frankness, and what almost seemed like innocence.

Then he realised, regardless of her experience, she was innocent to this. Too love.

The realisation that so too was he hit him soon after.

He released her from his grips, holding her at a slight distance. He wiped away the tears from her cheek with his thumb, before kissing her forehead. She smiled up at him, tentatively.

Everything before them was such an unknown.

He put his arm around her, and headed over to the double-bed, sitting down. She followed suit, but instead leaned back against the wall, watching him.

If it had been any other man, they would have both been undressed by now, and she would have most likely found herself on top of him. But this was Booth, and it didn't feel right to jump into such a thing. She was ashamed to admit to herself that her head was reeling from what had happened this evening, almost as though her head couldn't keep up with all the emotion and thoughts.

That had certainly never happened before.

He'd already decided that it wouldn't be right to sleep with her now, to push her even further this evening than maybe she wanted to go. Despite the fact they were both adults and sex was hardly a knew thing for either, the thought of it with the other felt like some sort of monumental decision that couldn't be taken lightly, that was almost as important to them as their decision to be together in the first place.

He wasn't going to deny that his desire for her was so outrageously tempting that he practically had to sit on his hands to keep them off her. But he so desperately wanted to be the gentleman, to treat her right, to show her that she was so absolutely precious to him.

He shifted on the bed, so he too was leaning back against the wall next to her. She looked at him, smiling. Neither of them could really keep from smiling.

'I'm going to get ready for bed,' she said, pecking him on the cheek before getting up, grabbing the pyjamas which she'd set over a chair, and disappeared into the bathroom.

He lay back on the bed, still grinning broadly. He'd been smiling so much this evening he was surprised his jaw didn't hurt.

He undid his shirt, pulling it and his wife-beater off. He then pulled off his pants, dropping them on the floor next to him. He wondered if maybe she'd be affronted by his lack of clothing, if she'd think he wasn't respecting her by wearing more?

He doubted it, but decided to pull on the t-shirt and track pants he'd worn for breakfast this morning, before heading over to the bathroom door and knocking. She opened it, wearing her no-nonsense cotton pyjamas, and brushing her teeth. He indicated to his toothbrush, and she let him in.

Once they exited the bathroom, she wondered if they were going to take the bed together, or if they would sleep alone. She headed over to her bed, pulling back the covers to get in. She saw him watching her, as if waiting for an invitation.

She smiled, drawing back the covers of the other side of the bed. Happily, he followed after her, sliding into her bed. They remained silent a moment, both leaning against the wall, thinking. His hand lay upon the covers, and she reached out for him, interlocking her fingers in his.

He looked at her, smiling at her tentativeness, before kissing her fingertips. He wanted nothing more than to tell her that he loved her, and to show her, too. But he had decided to take this at her pace.

'We should get some sleep,' he said, noncommittally. 'We still have that case to solve, after all.'

She nodded, surprised at herself for not thinking of that fact earlier.

'Sleep well, Booth.' She said, reaching out to turn of the light.

'Sweet dreams, Bones.'

.-.-.-.-.

Neither could sleep. Booth could feel his body buzzing with energy, which only fed of the electricity that lay between them both. She couldn't keep her heart from racing; she couldn't help but let her mind wander to the beautiful man that lay beside her, and more than that, exactly what she wanted to do with him.

She was cradled in his arms, her head resting against his chest, his heartbeat loud in her ears. She distracted herself from her thoughts by the sound of it, the strong, steady beat calming her mind. She breathed deeply, absentmindedly tracing patterns on his stomach with a fingertip.

Too her surprise, she felt his heart rate speed up slightly.

She continued to trace patterns until his heartbeat went back to normal, before she innocently snaked her hand under his shirt, tracing patterns along his lower abdomen.

His heartbeat became quite erratic.

'What are you doing?' He breathed, and she looked up at him, smiling almost mischievously.

'I couldn't sleep,' she said, as if that were an answer.

'Me either,' he said, reaching down for his hand and placing it safely on his chest, just above his heart. He closed his eyes again, hoping that she would stop tempting him. It was hard enough to have her pressed up against him like this, so it was hardly fair of her to start teasing her with her electrifying fingertips!

She grinned, feeling more mischievous than she could ever remember feeling. She could see that he wanted to play it safe with her, be a gentleman, and maintain all of his old fashioned, slightly Catholic ideals.

She had decided she didn't want any of it.

'Booth?' She whispered, running her foot up the inside of one of his legs, dragging up his track pants with it.

'Yes?' he asked carefully, as if trying to ignore the sensations her wandering foot was giving him.

She stopped, before propping herself up on her elbow, gazing directly at him.

She didn't actually have anything to say. She just wanted to get his attention.

She reached out to trace her fingertips over his cheekbones, his mouth, his chin. She could only just make out his features by the moonlight that streamed through the crack in the curtains.

She ran her fingers over his mouth again, and he kissed her fingertips, almost uncertainly, as if he wasn't entirely sure what she was up too. She thought it was entirely obvious.

He captured her hand in his, carefully pulling it away from his face.

She was driving him insane. He'd decided that he didn't want to do this, because he didn't think she wanted to do this. It was too much, and too fast.

Yeah. Six years is way too fast, Seeley.

He sat up, and she straightened out, her eyes bright.

He reached out to cup her face in his hand, now running his thumb over her lip. She tantalisingly kissed it, with a naïveté he knew she didn't have, yet he knew it wasn't an act, either.

Her actions were literally causing him to ache, and sitting on his hands would no longer make a difference, as she seemed set on having her own way. So he leaned forward, crushing her lips to his, and finally, finally, showing her exactly how he felt, how he'd felt for so long now.

Despite his convictions, it would appear that two monumental events were going to occur that night.

Now, I'm going to leave this up to what you readers want, so please leave a review telling me - do you want me to write you a chapter detailing their sexy fun time, or shall I leave that to your imagination and just have the next chapter as the morning after, and straight back into the case? I leave that too you... but ultimately I get veto power :P I'm not sure if I want to make this an M rating, but I'll take readers desires into account, of course.

Hope you enjoyed :)