As she sat at her desk, Temperance Brennan absently reached for an M & M candy. She picked up a green one and looked at it before popping it into her mouth. Hmm, green ones… Booth said the green ones are supposed to make you horny. I wonder why just the green ones? I mean, they all are supposed to 'melt in your mouth, not in your hands'… sort of reminds me of Booth!
Two weeks had gone by since Booth and Brennan had obliterated the line and became a romantic couple. Yes, there had been awkward moments – it seemed both had a difficult time keeping their hands off the other, even while at work. One or the other would end up stroking an arm, or putting an arm across the shoulders, it almost seemed an unstoppable force that they couldn't control. For that reason, they had decided to not keep their new relationship a secret from their friends at the Jeffersonian.
Brennan had called Angela into her office the Monday morning after the chocolate booths had been made, and gave her the cliff notes version of her weekend. Both Brennan and Booth knew that Angela would squeeze information out of her best friend – there really was no getting around that. Angela was like a bloodhound and once she got a scent – in this situation once she knew the pair had been together sexually, there was no stopping her until she got some details. So Brennan told her an abbreviated version of her weekend, knowing full well that she would either lose her hearing when Ange started to squeal, or suffocate in a bear hug from her best friend; or worst-case scenario, both of those things would happen. Sure enough, Ange couldn't sit still and gave Brennan one of the strongest hugs she'd ever received in her life! The squeals of joy were not as bad as expected, because Ange was practically jumping up and down at the same time and the physical effort took away some of the force of her joyous cries.
The rest of the team was very happy for them and a bit relieved. The FBI was another story, and one that had concerned both of them. Booth just couldn't be sure what ADD Hacker would say about him and Bones being in a romantic relationship. He didn't want to lie or hide the relationship, but neither one wanted to stop working together. In the end, Booth called his old boss Sam Cullen and asked him for advice. He was so relieved when Cullen told him that it shouldn't be a problem; the FBI contracted for services with the Jeffersonian Institution, not with Dr. Brennan directly. That meant that while she worked under contract, there was enough room for interpretation in the ruling, that the couple could fight any pressure to keep them apart.
Cullen even went so far as to write up some arguments that Booth could use if Hacker wanted to be stubborn about it. He and Booth had a good laugh at the idea that Hacker might want to keep them apart for his own personal reasons – Hacker wanting another chance to date Temperance himself. Cullen laughed because he knew the man had no chance with Dr. Brennan even before she and Booth became involved. Booth laughed a different kind of laugh, because he knew there was no way in hell he would ever let Hacker even think the man had a chance for his Bones. He would quit the FBI before he let anyone else get within shouting distance of his girlfriend – especially Hacker!
In the end, after a serious talk between Booth and Hacker, the boss told him that his partnership with Brennan was too successful to break up and that Booth would not be punished in any way for dating Brennan. Booth decided to stay quiet and not call Hacker on the obvious grandstanding he was involved in. The main objective had been reached, and he and Bones didn't have to worry about a professional break-up and that put them both at ease.
To celebrate the good news of being able to continue to work together, Brennan decided to make dinner for them. They had cooked for each other before, but the majority of their meals (even now that they were together) ended up being at the diner, or take out at one or the others' apartment. They had decided to withhold any serious discussion about moving in together, opting instead to move back and forth between the two apartments for the time being. So while they still had separate households, they spent almost every night together. Making up for lost time was going to take a while and neither one liked the idea of sleeping alone if it could be helped.
Tonight's dinner would consist of a tossed salad, Brennan's wonderful (if not famous) mac-and-cheese, red wine, and chocolate mousse for dessert. The wine was organic, and the salad, main course, and dessert were all home made by the world's leading Forensic Anthropologist. She was an independent woman, wealthy enough through her book sales that she could afford to have all her meals catered; but she was really looking forward to preparing this meal herself. She felt it was a special occasion, and she wanted a special feel for it so hands-on was the way to go.
Booth was told that dinner was at 7:30 and he was planning to be there early. He loved to watch Bones in the kitchen; not because it was domestic, but because she was relaxed and at ease. Little did he know that tonight, Brennan was anything but relaxed. She wanted this meal to be perfect, and had been fretting about it throughout the afternoon. It wasn't the mac-and-cheese that concerned her – that dish she could make in her sleep and it would turn out good. And Booth would eat it even if it wasn't fantabulous – she knew that he was so enamored with the dish that he probably didn't even taste it, he just enjoyed it! No, it was the dessert that had her concerned.
Brennan was a decent cook, but no expert. She had made pudding plenty of times in her life, but the mousse was a little trickier. Adding to her worry was the fact that she was using egg substitute, and she was beginning to wonder if she should have picked a different item for dessert. The more she thought about it, the more she fretted that it wouldn't turn out perfect. And so to help calm her nerves, Brennan poured herself a glass of wine from a bottle that was already open. She had a nice California Cabernet that had been opened the night before, but still had plenty left in the bottle. The large wine glass was more than half full when she started sipping on it.
The next half hour was spent melting chocolate in a double boiler, getting the other ingredients ready, and finishing the glass of wine she had poured. A second glass in hand, and Brennan began combining ingredients. It didn't take very long and she was done and the chocolate mousse was chilling in th4e fridge. As she started working on the mac-and-cheese, the doorbell rang. "Come in Booth" she called out.
"Bones, how many times have I told you not to do that? It could have been a stalker or a killer out there" Booth said with a dismayed cry.
"Well, hello to you too" Brennan said in a sexy voice, as she wrapped her arms around his waist and moved to give him a welcoming kiss. Soon, Brennan was forgetting about her worrisome dessert, and Booth's concerns for her front door etiquette was a thing of the past. All he could focus on was the present – and at the present his Bones and her tongue were dueling with him and his. It was a battle that neither one was anxious to concede, and if it wasn't for the timer in the kitchen ringing them back to their senses, they might have forgotten all about the meal. They broke away reluctantly, each with hair mussed and cheeks a pinkish hue.
Booth followed her into the kitchen, like a puppy following its master. He was just so happy that she had pushed past her fears and given 'them' a chance. Booth had known for a long time that Brennan would be her own stumbling block to happiness. He had wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless for so long, that he often worried that they would never get a chance to be together. He was just deliriously happy that in a moment of pure reaction, she had made a move to lick the chocolate off his face – and from that one small act they had given in to their desires and were now so unbelievably happy together.
In the past two weeks they had had plenty of discussions. Brennan had lots of questions and concerns about going into a relationship with him. They had talked out a lot of her fears, and she was definitely more comfortable now and more at ease. Tonight was a way of showing him that she was at ease in this new relationship, cooking dinner and doing something just for him. The dessert was her concession to his sweet tooth; after all it was the chocolates that had brought them together!
Brennan turned her attention to the main course, and offered Booth a glass of wine. Once the casserole was in the over, Booth took their wine glasses in one hand, and her hand in the other, and moved to the living room. They were sitting so close their sides were touching. Brennan got a slight smile on her face as she leaned back and relaxed with her head on his shoulder. "What's that grin all about Bones?"
"I'm just enjoying the physical side of our relationship, Booth. Now I can touch you and not have to worry about what you'll think of it, or if it's appropriate or not." Brennan looked into his chocolate-brown orbs and got lost in them, letting out a contented sigh.
His eyes were dilating at the comment she had just made – she could make the most innocent statement and Booth would find something arousing in it. And when she said things like being able to touch him, well Booth could hardly contain himself. He wanted her morning, noon, and night – and he felt like a blessed man for the time when he had been able to have her like that one day last week! Thinking back to that day, Booth couldn't help but break out in a full grin, and now it was Brennan's turn to ask what the smile meant.
Instead of answering her question with words, he let his hand dip down from where it had been on her shoulder. He pushed her tank top strap off her shoulder, leaned over to the now bare skin, and began to nibble it with his teeth and lips. "Mmmm Bones, you taste so good, I could just eat you up" he said in the most seductive tone Brennan had ever heard. The sound of his voice, and the feel of his teeth scraping her shoulder, sent goose bumps all over her body. Booth noticed the effect it had on her - her breathing was rapid and shallow, her eyes so dilated that there wasn't much blue to be seen; and the raised skin on her arms was met with the higher peaks of her nipples. Booth was looking them over, ready to forgo dinner and move right on to Brennan. He swore he could live on his love for her alone. She was his air, his water… she met his needs like no one had ever done before – and he knew that no one else ever could in the future. She was his future, and that thought was overpowering.
The momentary lapse of intensity caused by Booth's internal conversation made Brennan turn to look at him. Booth had such a look of desire, combined with another look that Brennan couldn't identify. It worried her for a moment, until Booth focused his attention back to her. "Hey, I think I just got a little out of control for a moment, but I'm ok now. Don't worry Bones. " he took his thumb and ran it over her eyebrows, which were furrowed in a questioning look. He kissed her nose, her eyes, and her chin and then in one move rose up from the couch and grabbed her hand. "Come on Bones, I smell the mac-and-cheese, I think it's done. Let me at this wonderful dinner you made, because I want to make love to you for dessert."
"But Booth, I already made dessert" Brennan said. "You wouldn't want it to go to waste, would you?" Wisely, Booth chose not to answer that question, and instead opened up the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. They both helped to bring the food to the table, and after Brennan had doled out the salad and casserole, they ate in relative quiet. They chatted about mundane things – they had decided a few days earlier that if they weren't eating while working on a case, that they would try to talk about topics other than work. Their work was a consuming part of their life, but they had decided to try and limit the shop talk at times. Booth wanted them to expand their relationship beyond just work, and so far it was going well. They both used the time to tell the other stories from their past, little bits of information about each other that hadn't been brought up before.
After the plates were cleaned – Booth volunteered to remove the plates from the table because he wasn't about to let a single noodle or glob of cheese remain on either plate, Brennan got up and went to the fridge. She brought over the bowl of chocolate mousse and two cups. She put some in each container and before she could sit back down, Booth was digging into his bowl of chocolate. "Oh god, Bones!" he couldn't finish what he was trying to say, because he was enjoying the dessert so much. Brennan didn't understand him at first and wore a look of concern. She was about to ask him if it was any good when Booth finally pulled the spoon out of his mouth and grinned at her. "This is wonderful Bones! I don't think I've ever tasted anything so good before" he remarked.
Brennan knew that Booth was prone to exaggeration, but she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding while he'd had his first taste. Now that she new he liked it, she relaxed and got comfortable in her chair. She dipped her spoon in the bowl and took a taste as well. The mousse had turned out very well; it had a creamy texture that was pleasing to the tongue as well as the taste buds. Brennan took another spoon and closed her eyes as she focused on the taste. While her eyes were closed, Booth had been watching her. An idea came to him and he dipped his finger into the bowl of chocolate and began to seductively draw his finger down her arm.
Bones opened her eyes at the sensation, the shock of the cool pudding causing her to gasp. She didn't say a word though, as she watched Booth paint her other arm with more chocolate. He painted a swirly line on her upper chest, as if drawing a necklace on her. All the while, Brennan couldn't take her eyes off of Booth. The sensation of the cool pudding on her skin, and the look in his eyes as he painted her, was putting Brennan's senses on overload.
The next pass with Booth's finger was intercepted by Brennan's mouth, as she gently bit at his finger. She sucked it into her mouth like she had done with the chocolate a few weeks back. When she closed her eyes at the taste and feeling of Booth's finger, he moved in and slowly began to lick the chocolate off of her arm. Again Brennan was hypnotized by his actions. All she could do was watch and feel. By the time Booth had moved to her chest to lick the mousse necklace off of her, Brennan had found her voice but all she could manage was a guttural moan from deep within her chest. Actually, she felt as if the moan had risen from her lower belly – her whole body was tingling with sensation from what he was doing to her, and she was helpless to stop it.
After Booth had finished cleaning Bones up from his chocolate painting, he picked up the bowl of mousse and turned to face the bedroom. He would have taken her there on the floor, but didn't want to risk getting chocolate all over the carpet. Bed sheets are much easier to clean, he thought to himself!
"Let's continue this in the bedroom, shall we" he asked. With a smirk and a glance to the bowl of chocolate, Brennan looked back up to Booth and commented "channeling your inner Angela, Booth?" When he looked a bit confused, Brennan explained, "you want to do some more painting, am I right?"
"Yeah Bones, I want to paint this pudding ALL OVER your body, and then lick it off. " Brennan walked ahead of him into the bedroom, turned down the comforter and top sheet, and waited for the fun to begin.
Hours later, after the pudding was all gone, the sheets had been changed and the couple had coupled in shower, they lay in bed holding each other. Booth kissed the top of Brennan's head, snuggled in, and said in a tired voice," Bones, the dinner was great, and the dessert was fantastic!"
Brennan was half way gone in a sex-induced sleep, and all she could muster was an "a-huh, mmmm," for an answer. Booth smiled and held her closer. That was just the kind of answer he was looking for. He and his full belly (from eating all that chocolate) would sleep well tonight with Bones by his side.