Tuesday: 6 AM
"Bones…"
Brennan swatted her hand in the general direction of the whisper.
"Bones…" Booth leaned closer to her ear, sliding his hand against her hair, "Bones…wake up. Come on, Bones."
Brennan rolled onto her back and peered up at Booth, "Again…?"
Booth chuckled and pulled her up by the shoulders, "Yeah, I wish. No, it's the case. Cullen called. There's a major lead out by the docks, and he wants me to check it out. Let's go."
"Why do I have to go?"
Booth just laughed at her and picked her up, carrying her to the bathroom, "Maybe because you insisted all those years ago on having full participation." He closed the door in her face, "How long will it take you to get ready?'
Brennan turned and looked in her mirror before turning on the water in her shower. "Fifteen minutes."
Booth grinned. "Great. I think we really might catch ourselves a crook today, Bones."
"That's good" Brennan's voice was muffled, and then she opened the bathroom door. "You can come in here, if you want, while I'm taking my shower."
Booth looked down to his suit. "But I'm already dressed."
"Not in the shower…" Brennan rolled her eyes, "I just meant…in here."
"Oh, yeah…sure. Okay" he shrugged and followed her inside, enjoying the way the bathroom smelled like a warm room version of Bones. A hint of lavender combined with clean towels and just…fresh and good. He took a seat on the chair she had by her vanity and poked his finger around her perfumes, picking out a couple he thought looked interesting. But when he smelled them, he frowned. They were definitely not Bones smells.
"How's come you never wear any of these perfumes?" he asked, trying to keep his mind on the day ahead and not the slick hands currently cleaning slicker skin just on the other side of a flimsy, oh, so flimsy shower curtain.
"I do wear them, sometimes…" Brennan said, "Not to work though, because I don't want to associate those scents with the smell of decomposing flesh.
Booth tilted his head to the side. "That's fair".
He opened one bottle that looked like it had never been used and sniffed. Pulling back, he stared at it for a moment. "My mom used this perfume."
"What?" Brennan called, poking her head around the shower curtain.
Booth blinked and looked up quickly, holding up the bottle in his hand. "I…I just smelled this one, and my mother used to smell like this. I haven't smelled it in years."
Brennan nodded and let the curtain slide back into place. "My mom also used it."
That's all she said, and as Booth looked back down to the bottle in his hand, he realized it probably really HAD never been used. It was just enough to have it around, he guessed. Liking this newest little intimacy he'd discovered about her, he set the perfume back into the basket, and leaned back in the chair, resting his head against the wall.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you" her voice called out over the splash of water against tile, "I have to leave tomorrow morning for New York. I'm doing a presentation at NYU, and won't be back till Thursday."
"What?" Booth groaned, "That's not fair. This is supposed to be my week." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I think I deserve an extra day for this."
The water from the shower shut off, and Brennan's arm reached out for a towel. Booth stood up quickly and handed her one from the rack.
"Booth, you're not being rational, and besides…you also aren't following your own rules."
Booth grabbed another towel for her to step into once she got out of the shower. "Oh yeah, Bones? How's that exactly?"
The curtain came back all the way, and she stepped over the ledge, letting him wrap the towel around her. "My being gone sometimes IS reality, so…we can't really make exceptions for it."
Booth grumbled a bit, but then tilted his head to the side, "I guess so."
Brennan smiled, pleased she'd won that argument, but also pleased that he wanted her around still. Booth leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "Good morning, by the way."
Brennan's hand slid down the front of his tie, and patted his side, "Good morning."
Booth kissed her again, and grinned against her lips. "I'll make some coffee while you get dressed."
Brennan dressed quickly and ran a brush through her hair, deciding to let it air dry on the way to the crime scene. She accepted the mug of coffee Booth handed to her, and then they were on their way.
"We're not late, are we?' she asked, pulling her mascara from her work bag and applying it while looking in the passenger side mirror.
Booth looked at her from the corner of his eyes, and a smile curved his lips. "No, we're not. In fact, we were able to save some time, since I didn't have to drive to your apartment."
He cleared his throat then, and Brennan was surprised to see a slight flush rise up the side of his neck. She bit back a smile. "And we're saving gasoline, too. How economical of us."
Booth's nostrils flared as he tried to maintain a serious disposition. "Quite."
--b&b--
They arrived to the crime scene and could see the team already making rounds. Booth put the SUV in park, and then turned toward Brennan. "Hey" he placed a hand on her arm. "Be careful."
Brennan looked down to the hand and then met his eyes, surprised at the new anxiety she saw there. Normally, she would tell him he was being overprotective, but this time she just nodded. "I will."
He squeezed her arm once, and then opened his door, waiting until she came around the SUV before he led the way over to the crew. "Charlie, whattya got for us?"
Charlie motioned with his head over toward a loading dock, "This is Chip. He's the night foreman."
Booth nodded and shook his hand. "Special Agent Seeley Booth, this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan from the Jeffersonian Institute. If you don't mind, we've got a few questions for you."
"Sure, anything I can do to help" Chip nodded.
Brennan looked around the warehouse. "There have been a string of explosions, is that correct?"
"Yes" Chip nodded. "Normally I'm long gone by now, but they usually happen between now and 8 AM, so …"
Brennan walked away from where the men were talking, pulling on white gloves and trying to make mental notes of everything she saw. So far, there weren't any remains, at least, not human remains. But something caught her eye, and she wanted to investigate further. Realizing she'd left her forensics bag in the SUV, she turned and walked outside.
Just as she reached the passenger door, a huge noise and wave of pressure caused her to cover her ears. Brennan turned around and dropped everything, trying to see inside, to see if she could see…. "BOOTH!"
He wasn't visible in the crowd of people rushing out of the building. As many were rushing out, Brennan tried to push her way in, her stomach clenching in what she could admit was fear. "Booth!" she called again, hoping he could at least hear her and respond.
_ _
Booth waved his hand in front of his face, and searched in the direction his partner had gone off to. It looked like the explosion had taken place almost 100 feet from where she'd been, if he was correct. Now frantic, he spun around in circles, searching for anything that might give him a clue.
"Booth!"
He heard her voice through the noise of the crowd, and in a sea of people rushing for safety, she was moving toward him. His heart grew, and his breath caught in a way that had nothing to do with partnership, and he ran toward her. She was running toward him, and as soon as they reached one another, they froze, only centimeters apart. In his mind's eye, Booth could imagine himself grabbing her, pressing his lips against hers in a thankful kiss. Her hands would wrap around him and she would whisper his name in her ear. But instead, he could only look into her eyes, and even that became too much.
Brennan watched as he closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Her hands itched to grab his shoulders. She wanted to press her face to his chest to make sure his heart was still beating. This moment, this situation, was the exact reason for four years of steps back, of shrugged off looks,
"Are you okay" he whispered, his eyes still closed.
"I'm okay…" she answered.
His eyes opened, and they stared at one another for long moments. A slight buzzing interrupted them, and they both looked down to see they had a text.
"From Sweets" Booth opened his phone.
"Where are you guys?" Brennan read from hers. "We have a session."
Booth groaned. "Damn it."
--b&b--
"Hey, hey!" Sweets' chipper voice rang out as they entered his office. "I was starting to think you guys weren't coming. Everything okay?"
Booth and Brennan sat in their regular seats across from Sweets.
"Everything's great, Sweets. Just a regular day for us, out in the real world" Booth shifted in his seat, smoothing his hand down his tie.
"Excuse me, I work in the real world" Sweets asserted. "Just the other day, at the grocery store, someone asked me about the benefits of breastfeeding vs formula on the development of newborns."
"Did you get paid for that work?" Booth smirked.
Sweets frowned. "I got a free sample of Wheat Thins."
"How is this relevant to anything at all?" Brennan questioned.
"It's not" Sweets cleared his throat, "I mean…it is…I mean…let's get started." His eyes narrowed for a moment, "Everything okay between you two? Something seems different"
"What?" Brennan smoothed her hand down her leg, 'Of course it is. I mean, everything's fine."
"Besides the fact that we just practically got blown up." Booth added, and they shared a small look. "Look, Sweets…"
"Knock, knock!"
Sweets stood up, "Um, first of all, saying knock knock, isn't actually knocking, and secondly…we're having a private meeting, so…"
Caroline Julian ignored him, and pointed to Booth and Brennan. "A word."
Booth and Brennan both stood up and made their way to the exit.
"But…hey, we weren't…finished" he called to an empty office. Great.
--b&b--
Caroline motioned for them to follow her into Booth's office, and then closed the door behind her. "So, let's just get this out of the way. How's the sex? Is it good? Because it looks like it would be good. Now that we've got that straightened out, let's move on to the case." She tossed a file of papers onto Booth's desk.
Booth sputtered, and Brennan's eyes widened.
"What?" Caroline waved her hands. "You, miss genius thing, have licked your lips in his direction no less than three times, on the way to this office." She turned to Booth, "and you sir have adjusted your tie four times since you've been in here." She shook her head. "That's a record, even for you."
When Booth opened his mouth to argue, she just lifted a hand. "Not to mention the humming."
"Are you going to say anything?" Brennan asked.
"Are you kidding me?' Caroline rolled her eyes and looked at Booth. "Is she kidding me?" She shook her head. "No I will not be saying anything. I've got a case to close. And so do you. That ring of illegal fireworks went off at the right time, in the right place, as far as I'm concerned. Here's your warrant. Now get out of here."
Booth cleared his throat. "Um, it's my office, so…"
"So?" Caroline put her hands on her hips.
Booth grabbed Brennan by the elbow and led her to the door, "Come on, Bones. Let's go."
As soon as they were out of the office, Booth dropped his hand and they made their way to the elevator. Neither saying a word as it descended, they quickly stepped off and then made their way to the parking lot and into the SUV.
Once it started, Booth shook his head. "Okay, so…what was that?"
Brennan cleared her throat. "Obviously, we are not a discreet as we think we are."
"But…Caroline, she's sharp. It might just be her that knows."
"True" Brennan conceded, "And she may have just been making a comment,"
"Which we confirmed" Booth interrupted.
"Also true" Brennan looked at him for a moment. "Are you upset?'
Booth looked at her quickly, "No…no, I'm not upset. Caroline's solid. She won't say anything. So long as it doesn't affect her case. Which it won't."
"Agreed" Brennan nodded.
Booth rested one hand on the steering wheel, and the other against the door. "Do you think Sweets knows?"
"I have no way of knowing that, Booth."
"I didn't ask if you knew, Bones." Booth sighed. "Do you THINK he knows?"
Brennan pursed her lips and looked out the window as they reached the Jeffersonian. "I think he thinks he knows, but he doesn't actually know." She turned toward Booth. "Does that make sense?"
"Perfect sense, Bones. If he found out, he'd say he knew all along, but…he doesn't know."
"Right, exactly."
Booth nodded. "So we're good there. I'm going to take the warrant back to the warehouse and round up everything I can. I'll come back later and see you."
"Yes" There was an awkward moment as Brennan paused with her hand on the passenger door.
He looked around, and then nodded, looking around again. He leaned down low, and motioned for her to join him. "Down here, Bones."
"What?" Brennan peered down at him, and he caught her lips in a quick kiss.
She smiled and pulled back, opening her door, "I'll see you later, Booth"
Booth sat up and straightened his tie, watching as she walked into the lab.
--b&b--
9 PM
Booth spotted his partner right where he thought she'd be, up on the platform, near the lab table. "Bones…"
She turned, "Booth…how did it go?"
He nodded. "We got him. Finally."
"So it was Chip?"
"I guess so, Bones" Booth leaned against the table. "His previous alibis were fake, and so once that was revealed…we matched his fingerprints along some of the fireworks, and…that was it."
Brennan bit her bottom lip and then reached out a gloved hand. "Very good". She patted him on the shoulder. Booth looked at her hand, and then at her again, leaning a bit closer to her. "Let's get out of here, Bones--"
"Hey, hey, the G-Man!" Hodgins scanned his card and hopped the steps to the lab platform. "Long time, no see." He smiled wide and looked between Booth and Brennan. "We're all getting ready to grab a drink, and you should come. Tuesday is all you can eat wing night, and karaoke, so…it's going to be awesome."
Booth and Brennan looked at one another.
"Sounds great" Booth shrugged a less than enthusiastic shoulder, "Bones?"
She smiled and pulled off her lab coat. "Sure. I just need to get my purse."
"Great, see you guys there." Hodgins smiled and whistled as he walked off the platform toward the exit.
Booth followed Brennan to her office, and once they were there, he playfully pulled her to his side. "Finally"
She smiled and accepted his kiss, letting her hand press against his chest. "Mmmm…"
They broke apart, and then pulled apart, the moment slightly awkward. But they both smiled at one another, glad that the feeling was mutual.
"How long do you think we will have to stay, Bones?" Booth nuzzled against her throat as she pulled on her coat.
"I don't know, not too long, I don't think. Since we rode together, that will be a good excuse to leave, and I have to leave early tomorrow, so that can be our reason." Her eyes widened in pride at their shared secret, and Booth laughed, tracing her lips with his finger.
"Let's go, Bones. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave."
Brennan nodded and led the way, "I like your logic."
--b&b—
Brennan made her way back from the restroom to see her partner sitting at the bar, nursing a scotch. But she just re-joined the rest of the group at the table, and picked up her glass of wine.
"Dr. Brennan" Cam smiled. "Tell us about your speech tomorrow."
Brennan set down her wineglass and smiled, her gaze moving once again toward Booth. He was looking at her too, as he took another sip of his scotch. His lips curved against the thick glass, and Brennan shivered, knowing exactly what it felt like to be that glass.
She blinked and drank more of her wine, anxious to be done with it. "Well, actually…I have to fly out early tomorrow, so…maybe I should leave pretty soon."
"Oh, don't leave yet" Angela pouted, "We need to celebrate. Another case closed! Three beautiful, single women without a care in the world, that's who we are."
Cam spared Brennan a look and rolled her eyes. "Right! Actually" Cam groused "I think that's my cue to leave"
Brennan watched Cam go and then clinked her glass against Angela's, wondering if she could see the lie in her expression. And that gave her pause. Was she identifying herself as not single any more?
Her eyes found Booth again, and by this point, he was openly staring at her. His white dress shirt clung to his shoulders and narrowed to his slim hips. She'd seen him like this many times in the past, and each time had felt a tiny stirring of curiousity. Would his face be a smooth as it appeared? Would he smile at her, or be serious?
And while she had some answers, she still wanted more. More of Booth. And if the look in his eyes was any indication, he wanted more of her too. He set his empty glass on the bar and made his way over to the table.
"If you're ready to go, Bones, I'll give you a ride. It's getting kind of late."
Brennan nodded. "That sounds quite practical, thank you, Booth."
She bent down and gathered her purse, but then felt a hand on her arm. "Bren, sweetie…don't go!"
Brennan looked up and saw Angela begging with her eyes and a smile.
"Please, Brennan…I'll give you a ride home. I want to talk to you about something."
Brennan looked to Booth, but his face was expressionless. She turned back to Angela, whose eyes showed hurt. "Please?" Angela repeated. "It's important."
"I…" Brennan paused. "Okay, I'll stay." She met Booth's eyes. He didn't say anything, but his jaw worked back and forth a bit before he turned and walked out of the bar.
Sighing to herself, Brennan turned to Angela… "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Angela tossed back a shot and then pressed her face to her hands dramatically. "It's just so confusing, you know? Hodgins, and the whole celibacy thing, and Roxie, and…I just want to know when it will be my turn to be happy, you know?"
Brennan felt a slight twinge of annoyance. She had heard this from Angela many times. There had been several late night phone calls or afternoon lunches where Brennan had tried to explain to Angela that what she was looking for, a perfect soul mate, just didn't exist. "Angela, you need to just stop being upset by it. Stop trying to make something work out, and just be yourself. There's no such thing as soul mates, okay?"
Brennan could hear the frustration in her own voice, and she tried to relax. "Stop listening to Sweets, and do what you want."
Angela smiled and lolled her head toward Brennan, then patted her hand. "Thanks Sweetie. I needed that."
"Okay…" Brennan smiled. "Are you ready to go, then?"
Angela tossed back another shot. "Are you kidding? We're just getting started!"
Brennan groaned and pulled out her cell phone to call a cab.
--b&b--
10:30 PM
Brennan paused outside Booth's door, wondering if he'd even still be awake. Deciding to knock just once, she did. If he didn't answer, she would just go home. But she could hear his footsteps inside, and soon heard him unlatch his lock.
"Hey" he opened his door in a pair of boxers and white tshirt, and motioned for her to come in.
"I wasn't sure you'd still be up, but…" she ran her hands down her thighs.
"I'm up" he tilted his head to the side. "Everything okay?"
"Yes" Brennan nodded. "But I need to know something. Are you mad that I stayed with Angela?"
Booth looked to the living room, and shook his head. "Nah, I'm not mad. I guess I was a little jealous, but…it's not like I'm the only person in your life, so…I got over it."
"I see" Brennan bit her lip, unsure of what to say.
Booth took her hand and led her into the living room. He sat down on the couch and pulled her onto his lap. "What was up with Angela, anyways?"
Brennan rolled her head back against his shoulder and sighed. "She's confused, about a lot of things, I think. But I think mainly, she's just lonely."
"Well that's her own fault" Booth scoffed, and Brennan turned to face him.
"How's that?"
He shrugged and sat up, "Well, she kind of sabotages every romantic relationship she's in, and now she's doing this celibacy thing for all the wrong reasons. I mean, Sweets isn't her doctor; he's her friend, or work colleague or whatever. So if she is blaming her lack of love life on him, that's crazy. And she's not doing it for the right reason, which Sweets claims was that she would learn more about herself and human one on one relationships."
Brennan frowned, and looked at her hands.
"What's wrong, Bones?" Booth smoothed her hair from her face, "You don't agree with me?"
"No, I do agree with you, Booth" Brennan met his eyes, 'I just have a feeling that we are agreeing for completely different reasons, though."
Booth's eyebrows rose. "What are you thinking, then?"
"Well…" Brennan paused, "Angela has this idea about a soul mate, and true love, and she's being irrational. She's trying to manufacture this…thing that doesn't exist, and she gets disappointed over and over when it doesn't work out."
"Hmmm…." Booth rested his arm along the back of the couch. "Interesting."
"You don't agree with me, do you." Brennan stated, moving to rise up off of the couch.
But Booth just pulled her back down on to his lap, "Hey, wait a minute, Bones. I didn't say that." He paused and looked away. "Honestly? Yeah, I don't agree with you 100%. You know I believe in love. But I guess I just don't think that my version of it and Angela's version of it are the same. So, I'm not trying to judge her, but I just don't see her methods as very effective, that's all."
"What about you?" Brennan asked, a hint of challenge to her voice. "Are your methods effective?"
Their eyes met, and Brennan saw a flash of hurt. "Sorry" she apologized. "I shouldn't have said that. I think I'm just…"
"Just what, Bones?" Booth asked, letting his fingers rub gently along her spine.
She sighed and leaned into his touch just a tiny bit more. "Angela said something to me tonight before she got out of the cab that was actually rather hurtful. And she was drunk and all, but…I think she meant it."
"What did she say?"
Brennan felt Booth's hand slide up her back to cup her neck where he began a relaxing massage of her muscles there. She closed her eyes, and, "She said the only reason she asks me for advice in personal matters is so she'll know what to do…the exact opposite."
Booth's hand paused, just for a second, but then picked up the soothing massage. "Ouch. Did you tell her that it hurt your feelings?"
"No, what was I supposed to say? She acted like it was this amazing revelation and then she proceeded to hug me and thank me." She sighed and rested her hand on Booth's chest. "I feel like we're making Angela out to be a flake, and I don't want that."
Booth grabbed her hand and twined his fingers in hers. "Hey, you know I like Angela, and I know she's a good friend to you."
Brennan paused. "Last week, Angela told me that you were my best friend now."
"She did?"
"Yes…I had forgotten about that until just now." Brennan's expression grew distant. "Perhaps she is also feeling like I am not there for her anymore."
Booth tilted his head to the side, "It sounds like you are right, but mainly, I'd say it sounds like Angela is just really confused."
"But she doesn't have to be, that's the thing!" Brennan exclaimed and stood up suddenly, "That's…that's the problem with 'love' and all of that. It sets these unrealistic expectations that can never be met. I mean…what is love, anyways?"
She was pacing the living room, and she turned to Booth.
He knew this was an important moment, "I…it's hard to explain. It's…romance, and trust, and passion…I don't know how to explain it…it's just more."
"I refuse to believe that" Brennan paused. "And I resent being made to feel as if I'm somehow lacking because I don't feel this mysterious 'extra' thing that only seems to bring about more pain." She huffed out a breath, her eyes begging him to understand. "If love is made up of commitment and trust, and passion, and loyalty, and all of those things I already have for you…why do I have to have anything else? To me, it's about trust. Trust is the most important thing. Because, I have seen the way 'love' treats people who believe in it, and I just…I don't know."
Booth stood up then and met her in the living room. For a moment, they just stood there. His hand came up to brush her hair behind her ear, and he leaned down to press his forehead against hers. "You're not lacking, okay? I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. But Bones…I still believe in love. I see your point, and I still love you. I can't explain it."
He pulled back and chuckled. "And maybe you're the one who's got it right, and it's just us mere mortals who need the word love to help figure things out. We don't all have genius vocabularies" he teased.
Brennan smiled, "I'm still not convinced…but I promise to at least keep thinking about it."
"And I promise" Booth kissed her lightly, "That that is good enough for me."
He pulled her arms around his neck, then bent down and picked her up clear off the floor.
"Hey!" She protested. "What are you doing?"
Booth chuckled and began walking toward his bedroom. "I'm carrying you to my bed"
Brennan wanted to protest at his highhandedness, but instead, appealed to him another way, "What about your back?"
Booth walked into his bedroom and sat on his bed, moving her to stand in front of him between his legs. "It survived."
His hands went to her waist, and hers remained around his neck. "I'm glad you're here tonight, Bones"
He leaned into her stomach and pressed his face there for a moment. The past two nights he'd been swept away by lust for her, and love, but tonight, he was going to take his time and show her how much he cared for her. Leaning back, he began unbuttoning her dress shirt, smoothing it off of her shoulders. His fingers traced from her shoulders to her elbows, then down to her wrists before moving back up. "I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."
Brennan let one of her hands caress the back of his head. "That's highly unlikely."
Booth scoffed and let his fingers move toward her waist. "I think I'm the judge of that, thank you very much."
Brennan chuckled, and then sucked in a breath as his lips and fingertips made soft unpredictable patterns over her bare stomach. "Booth…"
He kissed her belly button and then smiled against her stomach, and Brennan remembered the look in his face from the bar, and she trembled.
His hands grew purposeful then, as he unbuckled her pants, smoothing them down her waist, past her thighs and knees. Brennan helped by kicking them away until she stood in just her light pink bra and panty set.
Booth's fingers traced over the satiny material, "Pretty. Very pretty."
His hands went around her waist and up to unclasp her bra. Brennan moved her hands to her sides, and allowed him to peel the straps from her arms. Even though he'd seen her like this quite a bit recently, he still pulled in a sharp gasp at her sweet curves. Smoothing his hands down her waist, he worked his thumbs into the waistband of her panties and pulled them down as well, admiring her tone legs in the process. "The prettiest" he whispered as his hands came up the backs of her legs to cup her rear end.
But he released her then, and stood up. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it over by his nightstand and then bent over to take off his boxers, leaving him as bare as her.
Pulling her onto the bed, they kneeled and faced each other. Their eyes met, and both were reminded of that morning, of the emotion they'd felt but had been forced to conceal.
In an instant, his lips were on hers, and her fingers clutched his biceps.
"Booth…today, it was…" she panted into his ear as he slid his hands down her back.
"I know…I know, Bones" he leaned down and whispered kisses against her chest, enjoying the way she strained toward him, the way her fingers pressed to his head to encourage him. It was easy to give into her, because what she wanted was what he wanted, and his lips opened to suckle lightly on her skin.
She gasped, even as she let her hands roam over his chest. Her fingers explored his every muscle, his every breath.
Booth increased the pressure on her breast and let his hands slide down her stomach to either side of her sex. He cupped her thighs and applied pressure there, pleased when she began a needy little bump and grind, desperately trying to get him closer to what she wanted.
Taking matters into her own hands, Brennan reached between them and began smoothing her hand up and down Booth's aching cock, and he tossed his head back on a deep groan. "Okay, okay, I get it" he panted, and knocked her hands away from him.
Booth turned and made his way to the headboard of his bed, sitting upright against it. He motioned for her to join, him and enjoyed the view when she crawled over to him. Locking her arms and legs around him, he entered her slowly, loving the way her eyes glazed over, the way her lips parted. He was sure it was just for him, and as he began to move, he knew his passion was just for her.
It was slow and meaningful and passionate. They began to rock back and forth together and their eyes locked together. No words were needed as they moved fluidly, her body a welcome haven for his pistoning strength. But his strength was reflected in her as well, in the way she maintained his rhythm, the clench of her arms around his shoulders. And her acceptance was matched by him, too, as his eyes warmed with approval, his hands tender as they stroked her back. Equal participation, he'd reminded her, this morning, and this moment was over four years in the making.
Booth felt a momentary pause as he felt himself begin to gather, but he shouldn't have. Because just as he was about to warn her of his impending explosion, her neck fell back and her nails raked his shoulders. Her body began to clench and unclench around his in time with her moans, and her name fell from his lips just as his release reached a tipping point inside of her.
Breath shuddering, he pulled her closer and kissed her, frantically at first through the last stages of their mutual orgasms, but as they both began to settle, their lips grew softer.
It was hard for him to put words into the way he felt at that moment. And as he took her in his arms and tugged her to lay down beside him, he felt like they'd reached a milestone. He grabbed his discarded tshirt from the nightstand and pulled it over her body, kissing her lazily as the soft cotton covered her down to her upper thighs. He pulled on his boxers and tucked her close to his side. They'd survived an official day together, and all of those other nights after hard cases of sleeping alone, or even with someone else just to get by, for Booth, it almost seemed worth it to get to this point. But they'd talked a lot tonight, about emotions, and he didn't want to put more pressure on her. Not now. He could only hope that she felt the same way.
Brennan enjoyed the way the smooth cotton clung to her body, the way she felt enveloped by Booth, both in his shirt, and by the way his arms wrapped around her shoulders. It made her wonder about the past. About who else he might have done this will, after a long day at work and a quick drink at a bar. Knowing she didn't have a right to feel jealous, but still acknowledging the twinge, she pulled back, looking into Booth's eyes. His inherent goodness was evident there, and she wanted to express how she felt, even if it might not be enough.
Rising up slightly, she leaned over him to turn on his side table lamp, wanting to ensure he could see her as well as hear her.
"Everything okay, Bones?" he asked, rising up on to one elbow.
But Brennan stopped him with a hand on his lips. She let it curve down to his shoulder, and she pressed him back into the mattress. "I trust you, Booth. I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone, in my whole life."
Booth knew what it cost her to confess that, and he nodded, pulling her head down for a sweet kiss of affection. "Thank you, Bones. I feel the same about you."
Satisfied that he understood, she pulled back and turned off the light before letting him pull her back into his arms, both drifting off to a contented sleep.
--b&b--
