Helloo! The post-Bones double ep overdose euphoria has now diminished, and I am craving another dose. Which is why I wrote this… like I did. You'll see ;)

If anyone owns a time-travel device of ANY kind, please contact me. Thank you very much.

Unfortunately, I don't own a time-travel device. Nor do I own Bones. So there.

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CHAPTER 12

"I'm going to go shower now. The sex you two are radiating is making me feel dirty."

And with this she left us, jaws (metaphorically) hitting the ground in unison.

I hadn't realised she was that angry. Angela could be very blunt sometimes, and if I frustrated her she would occasionally lose control and yell the truth at me without letting me realise it by myself.

But this time was different. Something bad must have happened. I felt oddly guilty; after all, she hadn't told me anything was wrong, and assuming I would find out by myself was irrational. But nevertheless I should have paid more attention.

"Uh, Bones…"

It was so fragile, this thing Booth and I had between us. So breakable, the momentary peace. Why did she have to take it and smash it so quickly?

"Bones, hello?"

Could such an intense physical bond really pull two people together until everything else was destroyed? I had never been a fan of dramatic scenes, or of exaggeration of circumstances. Even when I wrote, embellishing truths felt like lying.

But Booth and I…

It broke me a little, knowing that I… loved him.

"Bones."

He stood right in front of me, waving his hand before my eyes. Without me asking it to, my brain measured the approximate distance between our lips; fourteen to fifteen centimetres.

"What?"

"You blacked out there for a minute, Bones."

"Oh. Sorry, I was thinking."

"Yeah, God knows you don't do that enough."

He chuckled and leaned in, still smiling, to kiss my lips like we did it everyday.

I froze.

"What-?"

He immediately pulled away, but instead of giving me an opportunity to breathe and think like a normal, rational human being, he put his hands on my arms and rested his chin on my shoulder. As though he was so unbearably tired he had no lean on me.

A rush of air tasting of him sounded as loud as a storm by my ear.

"Sorry, I kind of wasn't thinking Bones…"

"I can see that."

"Yeah, stupid, wasn't it? Sorry. Wow."

I couldn't see his expression, because his face was right beside mine, and he whispered without turning to look at me. Somehow I knew his eyes would be doing that thing where they inexplicably swallowed light and didn't reflect it.

"It's okay, Booth."

He didn't move away even though, in my head, I screamed at him to let me try and gain a semblance of control. I could feel his muscles through his shirt, could hear every throb of his pulse as though it was my own. Every beat of his heart that was alive and pumping oxygenated blood to his organs and made Booth… he would never know how much I loved his heart for keeping him alive.

And for not failing me when I thought the anger would tear me in two. When I had to calculate my every move so as not to explode and hurt anyone with the force of what was packed inside my body. When I had thought his heart was silent forever.

"Booth, please." I breathed, hoping to convey my thoughts through tone and not have to actually say the words.

He only dug his fingers tighter around my arms, adding desire for more pressure, and not less.

I sighed, and pulled him gently but firmly away. "Enough."

For a moment he let the hurt and rejection show in his expression, but then it was gone.

"We should talk to Margaret Stoker ourselves. I want to hear what the hell she was thinking, not telling us her daughter had been captured. He probably threatened her…"

"Wait, what about Frank Bram? Is he out of the image?"

"Out of the picture, Bones. Picture."

"Is he?"

"No, not yet. Like I said, I hate coincidences."

*

The car ride was bad.

Very, very bad.

For one thing, it was the first time we were together, alone in the same car since our first little slip. I hadn't really noticed until now how loud sounds are inside a confined space. This is quite obviously based on phonology; sound waves rebound on the walls, creating the illusion of more noise. However, it wasn't exactly the sound Booth's eyes made as it was their existence.

The other thing was… well, night time isn't really like a great big sign saying 'STOP', and I could remember, a little too easily, every detail of what had happened, and how his kiss was like lightning but his touch like thunder.

My mind proved enough of a stimulus for my body, apparently, because the familiar ache demanded Booth all over me. Well, it would have to get used to being told 'No'.

If only the humming would stop. Like vibration deep inside me, calling out to him, beckoning, enticing… flirting with him, like something separate from me that wanted Booth and didn't care what I thought…

If only he didn't glance at me every ten seconds with a flash of that look of hunger in his eye… hunger for me, that mimicked my own crazy feelings. I couldn't help but notice the straining fabric in his pants, which really made everything worse.

If only.

"That's enough, Bones."

"Excuse me?"

Even though he tried to fight it, his eyes kept flashing, now with hunger, now with anger… just like they had before. The day we sat exactly like we did now.

"Stop that."
"What, Booth…?" The breathing thing again?

"The look on your face, Bones… my God… I don't want to crash this car!"

Suddenly the heat was replaced by another kind of fire. I was furious. Did it always have to be him? Bones stop this, Bones don't do that, you're killing me, Bones, kiss me, Bones… just another ten seconds, Bones…

"You know what? Stop the car, breathe for a while and then get back in. We'll get to the Hoover building in another five minutes, and we'll forget this ridiculous discussion!"

"Forget?" my anger flinched for a moment at his tone. He spoke lightly, and he even laughed, but something must be wrong. "Sure, I'll forget, Bones. I'll compartmentalise, deal with the issue and then, quite simply, forget. It's that easy, of course."

He slammed on the breaks and parked in a sunlit street. Then he got out of the car.

"Booth." Was it anger, that made me say what I did then? Or… love? Or just intense biological response to his own arousal? "Maybe it's counter productive for our cases if we are distracted like this."

"Really? Gee, I hadn't thought of that, Bones."
"Are you being sarcastic?"

"Yes!"

"Have you understood what I'm suggesting or will I have to say it?" I felt a bit more like myself as I said this. A bit more like my old self, anyway. Lately, it was difficult to remember the feeling of absolute certainty and security I used to have.

He actually had to lean on the car door. I bit my lip, which made him throw his hands in the air, as though asking the sky why I was doing this.

"Yeah, I think I just did."

"Perhaps it will bring the necessary release. Once we are satisfied…" we both flinched at the same time, and this action had us smiling widely at the other. Was it a mistake, this idea? Booth was my friend…

As I smiled, however, something a little more than friendly affection made me thrill at this special moment. So I plunged on. "… we may be able to concentrate again. I mean, this is all… biological…" it wasn't exactly a question, but he answered all the same.

"Of course. I value our friendship, Bones, more than anything."

"Me too."

He smiled again, although not like before. Now it was a melancholy, sad smirk.

"So you agree?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't. I understand the way you reason stuff, Bones, but I don't share your opinion in this matter. You should remember that."

How could I forget?

"That's true." Frustration had me rolling my eyes again.

"Sorry."

I raised my eyebrows. "Don't apologise. It's your loss."

For a strange moment, he simple gaped, as though he couldn't believe I'd just said that.

I couldn't either.

But then he did something completely unexpected. He laughed. He actually, genuinely laughed and shook his head at me. As he entered the car again, I grinned, feeling as surprised as he looked, and somehow…

… thrilled that I still had the ability to make him laugh.

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A bit of fluff there for you, mixed in with the angsty stuff. How was it? I'm not sure how I feel about the fluff… tell me what you thought about the fluff, okay? Review the fluff, fluff the fluff.

The word "fluff" is kind of cute, isn't it?

A bit like Booth wearing nothing but ice cream. But slightly different.

;)