Disclaimer: Bones and its affiliated characters do not belong to me. I mean no copyright infringement.
In the Beginning: A collection of short one-shots (some are more like drabbles) of Booth & Brennan learning to live together. They are in no particular order. Please let me know what you think!
Author's Notes: Although I had been contemplating this one-shot for awhile, it was giving me trouble. It finally unfolded after I read the early September challenge on Bonesology. A New Situation: There are new relationships all over the Bones world. Pick any one of these new situations and explore it in a one-shot. The characters must be 'in crisis' regarding their new situation. There must be an argument or conflict. There must be a happy resolution.
#4 - Laundry Days
The first time Booth left his boxers on the floor of the bathroom, she hadn't thought much of it. After all, they were eager to "shower." Depending on where the biological urges hit, clothes were dropped anywhere and everywhere and they were picked up later. However, that didn't apply to the boxers in the bathroom. They started accumulating. Apparently, it was habit to let them fall to floor right outside the tub even when he was showering alone.
She chose not to say anything at first since she wasn't there every night in the beginning. But once she moved in, she knew things had to change. Of course, it led to some bickering and thankfully only that. For a few days, all was well and he was dropping them in the hamper. But it didn't last. She began kicking his boxers out of the way refusing to pick them up for him so she wasn't reinforcing his habit.
When it came time to do the laundry, she left them on the floor. Intent on teaching him a lesson, she removed all of his remaining clean underwear from his dresser drawer the next morning. She laughed when she found a pair of black boxers with mini white skeletons on them. They looked like they were dancing which she found ludicrous. She found a pair of red boxers with dog bones on them and a third pair that were blue with skulls and bones. And he thinks my bones are creepy?
She quickly finished clearing the drawer when she heard the shower turn off. She left the bedroom before he knew what he was facing for the day. She also needed to hurry so she could meet with her publisher before she went to the lab.
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Booth swiped his card and walked up the stairs to the platform. Never making eye contact with Angela, Cam, Hodgins and Clark, he made a bee-line to Brennan. She was bent over examining a new set of bones intensely. Booth bent over to whisper in her ear.
"Bones, we need to talk. Alone."
"Booth, I'm working. My team is waiting for me to finish so they can start their work on this victim."
He let out a long suffering sigh and absently clutched the back of his neck with the palm of his hand. He leaned back down. "Bones! What did you do with my underwear?" Without even realizing it, his anxiety and frustration made his voice rise slightly in volume. Booth realized it when Cam's eyes grew big and she started to stare at his crotch. Booth instantly blushed. She knew he was commando and she also knew what he looked like underneath his clothing.
"Cam!" he said sternly.
She looked up and smirked at him. "Sorry, big guy," she said coyly knowing he would understand the double meaning of her nickname for him.
His jaw dropped slightly in surprise that Cam would refer to that in front of their colleagues. He hoped to God no one else knew what she meant. He needed a distraction.
"When do you squints think you'll have an ID?"
"That's hard to say, Booth. You know that. I'll call you as soon as we have something to report."
"Fine," he pursed his lips. "Lunch at the diner?"
She nodded and told him she would meet him there and then he quickly left. Again he refused to look at anyone on his way out. God, that was embarrassing!
"What was that all about?" asked Angela.
"You two have a fight? I haven't seen him that agitated in awhile," added Hodgins.
Brennan finally took a break from her bones and looked conspiratorially at Cam.
"Did Booth actually run out of clean underwear?"
Brennan chuckled.
"What does that mean? He isn't wearing…?" asked Angela
Brennan and Cam shook their heads before she could finish her question. Angela threw her hands over her mouth and her face grew red as she tried to hold in her laughter. Hodgins and Clark winced.
"God, I need a new job," groaned Clark.
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Shortly after noon, Booth walked into the diner to find Brennan sitting at their table with Cam and Angela. Is this some kind of punishment? What the hell did I do?
He quickly sat down next to Brennan and glared at her. He once again tried to have a private conversation with her. "What the hell, Bones? Is this some kind of joke? Did I do something to piss you off?"
She finally acknowledged his problem and whispered back. "What do you think a hamper is for, Booth?"
He instantly understood. He was indeed being punished. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He ate his meal in relative silence and let the women talk.
"No pie, Booth?" asked Brennan in surprise.
"I'm not really that hungry." It was true. He had lost his appetite.
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The day seemed to drag for Booth. Even though he knew it was irrational, it felt like everyone he encountered knew about his predicament. Later in the afternoon, he and Sweets brought in a suspect for interrogation, but not before he had to tackle, frisk and cuff him.
"Hey, watch it there!" cried the suspect. "I'm not wearing any underwear to hide anything in."
Booth temporarily froze. On the way back to the Hoover, Sweets made a joke. "I guess he didn't have any clean underwear." Sweets laughed and it sounded more irritating than usual. He couldn't wait for the day to be over.
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Booth shut their apartment door with a little more force than usual. "Bones!" he called. "We seriously need to talk."
She wasn't in the living room or the kitchen. He thought it was strange that she had closed the bedroom door. Brennan never did that even when she was changing. She was very comfortable with her body and Booth loved that about her. He opened the bedroom door and stopped in his tracks. All thoughts and irritation were suspended. There on the bed was his Bones dressed only in a lacy black bra and a pair of his boxers. They were black with dancing white skeletons. A predatory grin formed on his face. He slowly walked towards her and reached for her hand silently asking for her to stand.
He gathered her into his arms holding her close. He kissed her gently and then stepped back to get a good look at her. "You are so hot," he said with reverence.
She chuckled. "Wearing your boxers?" He nodded. "You know that skeletons can't dance, right?" He chuckled and fell onto the bed bringing her down with him.
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A couple of hours later, Booth and Brennan were lounging in bed eating Thai food.
"So, you wanted to talk?" asked Brennan nonchalantly.
"Do you know what hell you put me through today?"
Looking as innocent as possible, she answered him. "I didn't think it was anything new. Do you always get that anxious when you're going commando?"
"No. But that was because no one knew. Today, people definitely knew."
"You mean other than your squints?" she asked in genuine surprise.
He groaned. "They all knew? What the hell, Bones? Did you talk about it after I left?"
She hopped out of bed, turned around and smirked at him and left the bedroom. Booth's jaw dropped as he thought about the embarrassment he was going to suffer. How the hell am I supposed to go back there?
But he wasn't thinking about it for too long because Brennan returned. She stopped and leaned against the opening of the door looking sexy holding a plate with two pieces of apple pie and two forks in one hand and a can of whipped cream in the other.
"Can I make it up to you?" she asked using her Roxie voice.
He chuckled as he got up and walked to her. Much to her surprise, he took the plate and the whipped cream back to bed with him. "All mine!" he said with a grin.
"Hey!"
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An hour later, they laid in bed cuddled together in a sticky mess. The empty whipped cream can had been tossed on the floor by Booth. At the time, she couldn't care less.
"You are picking that up, right?"
"Of course! But you're changing the sheets." He chuckled at the glare she gave him. "But let's jump in the shower first."
Author's Notes: I received a question in one of my reviews on fanfiction. It was regarding Bones not liking her fruit cooked. My answer: I should probably edit my story a bit for an explanation of the pie. I remember Sweets saying in an episode that the pie had become something of a seduction for Booth. I can't remember his exact wording. Anyway, I always thought she was too adament about it like when someone protests too much. My thought was now that Booth has her and the seduction is done, Brennan would give in and try the pie... maybe even like it enough to eat it occasionly with Booth on special occasions? Just speculation.
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