The Truth that a Closet can Reveal (T-->M; B&B -Ange, Sweets; Romance +humor&angst) NOW COMPLETE!

Ok! I decided to post this story here. I originally posted it over at ff.net, but I'm so happy I finally got to be writing again that I feel like sharing!

This is my first attempt at a multichapter; I just hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. And, if you take the time to review it'd mean a lot-- It would help me get better at this! And, of course, I do work better under pressure

So, here it goes

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He sat in Brennan’s office, waiting for them to ID the last corpse they’d found. Not that he really needed it this time; he was quite sure of whom it was, but having and official ID would help him.

He needed help urgently in this case.

“These guys think they’re doing it great,” he mumbled, crunching the foam zumo figure hard in his hand.

He had to find something that would prove his gut right. He couldn’t fill any of the forms the Bureau requested of him saying he could feel these guys were the perpetrators of these horrible crimes. Just as he felt he just had to probe a bit more—just a bit more—and he’d find what he needed.

“Well. Probing means Plan B,” he mumbled again.

“What?” Brennan had barely caught what he’d said as she entered her office.

“We got our ID yet?”

“Yes. You were right.” And she still wondered how he’d done it. “Don’t brag. What were you saying?”

“I need a Plan B, Bones. These guys think they’re clever, but they just don’t know us,” he said, punctuating his words with a finger to the air.

She sat at her desk and looked at him as he left the zumo figurine on the coffee table in front of him. “They are clever, Booth. Otherwise they would have already been caught, or you’d have further evidence by now.” The look he sent her, a mixture of hurt and anger, made her feel a little guilty. Not that she’d say that out loud. After all, she was merely stating a fact. “Don’t get me wrong. I also think we’re cleverer than them.”

“Thank you,” he said distinctly. “I like to think so myself.” He stood up and walked to his jacket, having made a decision about what he was going to do. “So, I’ll go now and get into their place and see if I can get something. See ya later!” He tried to be nonchalant. He did try. He even thought that, if he walked away fast enough, she’d just stay in her office.

“What?!” she asked suprised and excited, going after him. “I’m going with you!”

He turned and walked backwards. “No, you’re not. But if you wanna help, check on the weapons used on the body. It may be mighty useful.” He turned again, saying loudly so the sound would carry to her, as he was sure he was leaving her behind, “Thank you, Bones. I’ll let you know how this little thing goes”.

***

He’d waited a while before even getting out of the car, watching for movement in or near the house. Then, he’d checked through the windows, making sure it was deserted. Of course, it didn’t mean no one would come once he was inside the house, but it’d be worse if he hadn’t checked and suddenly found himself face to face with someone.

Now he was kneeling in front of the back door, trying to force the lock open.

“Would you like some help?” his partner asked. He hadn’t been able to convince her to remain in the lab; she’d stubbornly insisted on going with him, using inventive—though she’d called it logical—arguments.

“Of course I would. Please make sure no one’s coming around, and I’ll—” the door opened “—have this door opened instantly.” He smiled at her.

“Ok, where do we go now? What do we do?” she asked loudly. She was enjoying this, and though he didn’t quite approve, he couldn’t help enjoying her reaction. That didn’t mean he’d let her ruin the operation.

“Shh! We don’t want to be heard, remember?” he scolded her, his voice low, trying to make her get the message.

“I still don’t understand,” she said mimicking his tone. “You could have gotten a warrant and been done with it, why are we breaking in instead?”

“It’s not a break in, ok? And we’re doing it this way ‘cause I don’t want them to know we’re after them, that’s why, Bones. Now, please be quiet. Stay behind, follow me close, all right?”

“Yeah,” she said, standing right next to him.

He made an exasperated face, took her by the arm, and forced her behind him.

He’d been in the house before, interviewing suspects who didn’t know they were considered as such. He passed the desks that filled almost every space available in an orderly way, now strangely first time, every single one of them had been occupied, everyone making calls or half hidden behind a computer screen. The difference was as palpable as a fist.

He went upstairs, dividing his attention between searching the house and making sure Bones didn’t risk herself or the operation. He quickly looked in the other rooms in the floor. Here, the spaces allowed for more room, with just the necessary furniture to decorate. The offices followed the same rules here, trying to make the hierarchy obvious. It was a nice distribution of things if you were to enter by the main door, which they hadn’t. Leaving that behind, he just tried to guess where else they could look for evidence if they had the time.

They reached the main office. As he got close to the desk, he saw Bones rest against the wall.

“You know, this isn’t as much fun as I thought it’d be, at least once the adrenaline rush begins to diminish.”

He rolled his eyes. “If you wanted fun, Bones, you could have thought of bringing some Anthropology Journal and use it to—”

First, he felt them. That alone would have sufficed to know someone was close. Then he heard them.

“What? What?” She saw his reaction, the way his body tensed all of a sudden, and knew something wasn’t right.

“Shh.” He mimicked with his hand, looking around frantically. He saw a door and led Brennan that way, knowing they had to hide or the whole operation—he wouldn’t be calling it a breaking in—would be a complete failure.

He could hear someone climbing the stairs. He had to be quick. He didn’t have time to think, he had to act and act now.

He opened the door, tossed Brennan in with one hand and went in himself, closing the door right behind him in one single motion. He barely heard Brennan whisper, kind of panicked “Don’t close the door! There’s no handle on the inside!”

Too late.

“We’ll worry ‘bout that later, ok? Now be quiet, please, Bones!”

He tried to concentrate in whatever he could hear coming from the other side of the door. He knew Brennan was really close, but he couldn’t think of that right now.

“Booth.”

“Shh!”

“We’re...”

“Later, Bones, ok?”

Yep. They were very close. He could feel Brennan’s breath on his face. And parts of her were—no, he couldn’t think of that now. He had to know if they were in any danger of being discovered... He had to be ready in case he needed to take his gun out quickly.

He heard steps coming near. His senses were catching every little stimulation: the smell of dust and moth, underlined by what he could only guess had to be Bones’s own smell. You can’t think about that. The pressure of walls against his body. This is a really small place I got us into. Bones body plastered against his. Can’t think about that either. The sound of her breathing. Nope, what about those steps? He tried to make out the pattern, and realized that whoever was in the room—a single set of steps—had walked to the desk and was doing something there. He heard some clicks, something that sounded as... yeah, the guy must have been opening the desk drawers. A shuffling sound... looking for papers.

“Are you ready?!” someone yelled from the first floor.

“Yeah, found it! Let me close this—” came the reply from very close.

“Forget it, let’s go! We’re late!”

“OK, I’m going!” he yelled. “Bastard,” he added quietly.

Booth could hear the steps going down the stairs and then it all went deadly silent.

He let the air he just realised he had been holding out. And took it all in again as he looked at—rather tried to look at Brennan—for there was almost no light. Not that he needed any. There was nothing else that could have taken his attention away from the feeling of her, all of her, pressed right in front of him.

“Can I talk now, Booth?” she sarcastically asked.

“Err...yes,” he said hesitantly.

Their faces were just a couple inches apart. Couldn’t be otherwise, given the circumstances.

“We’re trapped. I tried to tell you.”

“Well, I’m sorry that I had more pressing matters in mind, Bones. Like saving us from being discovered.”

“I understand that. What I don’t understand is why you had to choose the smallest closet available in the house!”

“Yeah, right. Like I knew this was this small! I saw a door and thought it might be a good hiding place, that’s all”

“Oh, of course.” She added, “And you didn’t have the time to check that we could get out of it, either?”

“What do you mean? It’s all about—” She didn’t notice, but he opened his eyes in terror. He had just remembered what she had been saying while he was closing the door behind him. There’s no handle on the inside. “Oh,” he said, implying in that simple sound he’d just realised what they were into.

He tried to move his hand to his back and search for a handle. The movement, he was quick to notice, made him rub himself against his partner’s body. God, he thought. This is not the time.

“What are you doing?” she asked, quite breathless. She had felt the rubbing, too.

“Why, Bones, I’m trying to get us out of here.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“Looking for a handle, of course. There must be one.”

The feeling of their bodies rubbing was really disturbing, and there was no way of escaping it. He tried not to look in her direction, but that meant that he could feel her breath in his neck when she spoke.

“I told you there’s no handle, Booth. You better try to break down the door”. She was feeling...concerned. That’s how she felt. She was concerned they weren’t getting out of there quickly. That was why her heart was beating faster and her breath was coming shorter; and why his was coming shorter as well.

“There’s no room for that, Bones! Can’t you see this is some sort of cleaning... stuff... closet... of sorts?”

“No, I can’t see that, ‘cause there’s no light. Just as there’s no handle. This is obviously where they’re meant to keep things like brooms and such. Though there’s nothing like that in here. I doubt they even remembered this closet was here.”

“Well, I guess they just aren’t the cleaning type,” he said, giving up on the handle. There wasn’t one. “Ok, let me think.”

“No handle, I told you”

“Let me think, Bones!” Ok. There must be a way out. I can’t keep this up. Let’s just say I want to keep it down. We can’t stay here, like this. God, I must THINK! And not about the situation, but of how to get out of it. This is the time to pray, to remember about nuns and poverty. And famish. I am famished. I am just about to—no, no. That’s not helping me and— “What are you doing, Bones?!” He asked, this time quite scared. She was rubbing herself against him now, in what appeared to be a quest to find something. Not that knowing that helped him.

“I’m trying to get my cell phone. We might call someone to come and rescue us.”

“Please, there must be a non-embarrassing way out” he put his arms one on each side of her, trying to force the door open. Not that the movement did him any good.

“Don’t move! I can barely hold my—” He heard something fall to the floor. “My cell phone. Great job, Booth! Now I have to try to get it—” She squirmed, trying to reach the floor. Oh, God, oh God, he thought. I need the blood in my BRAIN, for God’s sake. I need to THINK. Don’t do this to me. “—from the floor.”

“You know what,” he said, taking her arms and trying to keep her up. He knew his voice sounded weird, what with being almost breathless, but he couldn’t help it. “Forget it. Forget your cell phone.”

“We need to get out of here, Booth! Tell me, how are we supposed to get out? Do you suggest we wait ‘til office hours tomorrow so that the people working here will take us out?” She started touching his waist.

“Hey! What are you doing?” In God’s name, stop that!

“Well, clearly I’m trying to get your cell phone, just try not to make me lose it this time. How else are we supposed to get out? I insist, the most logical answer is—oh.”

She’d noticed. He knew she’d noticed. He only hoped that being this mortified would stop him from embarrassing himself any more.

Ok, what do I do now? She thought. She remained perfectly still, which made her brain focus on the stimulation rather than denying it. She had to concentrate on something else. She could hear him breathing deeply and slowly, noticeably trying to control himself.

“Just... just don’t say anything, ok? Not now, not ever,” he said.

She couldn’t just accept the situation and leave it be. She’d never felt awkward before when facing a man’s reaction to her, but this time it was different. It was Booth. She had to use her best weapon against confusion. “It’s a normal bodily function, Booth, you shouldn’t be embarrassed. It’s an anthropological inevitability. You’re a healthy male, it’s obvious that you’re going to respond--”

“Just be quiet, ok, Bones?”

“But it is! It’s obvious you’re going to respond this way. Me, I find myself responding to the situation as well, it’s logical! Your body frame and your pheromones are—”

Suddenly, he put his arms one on each side of her head again, but this time he pushed with such strength that he finally broke down the door.

They tumbled to the floor. Not one second after hitting it, he was already standing up, taking her hand and helping her up.

They stared at each other for a moment.

“Just... just get your cell phone and let’s get the hell out of here.’

He reached for the desk, took all the papers left on it and walked fast and heavily for the stairs.

Oho together in a closet.....and in a very small closet too to make it all the more interesting.....
But isn't it strange that all Brennan had to do to make him break down the door was talking abut sex and bodily functions?
Can't wait for more!

Hot, hot, hot!

Toz? I'm not sure whether your question was rhetorical or not, lol. But hey... he gets flustered just by mentioning sex with her and well, he just couldn't stand it anymore! He was in a dire situation! Anyway, thanks for the review!
Same to you, Sara

So, here it goes... second chap!

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Angela didn’t need more than a glance at Brennan entering the lab to know something had happened to her. She followed her to her office, getting in just as her friend was sitting at her desk. She stood right in front of her, hands on hips, one brow raised.

“Talk. I want every little detail. I’m sure it’s about a man, I can see it in your face”.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”.

“Bren...” She put on her know-it-all, I-can-read-people’s-minds face. “It’s me you’re talking with. You should know by now you can’t fool me.”

Brennan held her eyes for a moment, trying to decide what to do.

“Ok, I know I shouldn’t be talking this with you, but I don’t see any other way around it,” she said to Angela.

“If I didn’t know you, I’d be hurt. What can be so confusing and amazingly unexpected that you can’t talk it out with me? It’s guys we’re talking about, and once you know one of them you know most of them.”

Most of them, she thought. Not all of them.

“That’s not biologically possible, Ange. We are all made by a statistically unrepeatable mixture of DNA, its genes activated by ambient and society which makes each of us a different person.”

“Oh, no. Now I’m worrying. You go scientific on me, it’s ‘cause something’s really bothering you.” She let herself fall to one of the chairs opposite to her friend’s.

Brennan looked at Angela. And gave up.

“Ok, something happened. With a man, you’re right.” She fell silent again. She didn’t know—for sure—what would Angela’s reaction be. Maybe she could keep the fact it was Booth they were talking about to herself?

“Bren, talk. You’ve never been shy about men-talk before. Let’s start simple. How did you meet him?”

Then the realization came to Brennan: she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide any of it. “Promise not to tell anyone until it’s all sorted out. Not that there’s much to tell, but anyway—I’ll tell you, but it doesn’t get out of these walls.”

Angela rubbed her hands together, smiling slyly. “This sounds like fun. Shoot.” Then, knowing she’d just gotten her friend confused, added “—talk.”

“Last night, Booth and I—” she started, just to be interrupted by her friend’s squeal. She just stared at her until she put both her hands over her mouth to stop herself.

“Sorry, Sweetie, but—please tell me you two finally did the deed!”

“No! No, Ange, nothing like that. Maybe simply ‘not that’. If by ‘deed’ you imply what I think you do. But there was a little accident.”

Brennan looked into Ange’s eyes, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. Then, measuring each word at first, she began to tell her what had happened. “Then, I noticed that he... well, that he—”

“Did he kiss you?”

“No, he did not. He wouldn’t. I’m his partner.”

“Don’t put that crap up to me. Did he bite you then?”

“Ange!”

“But he must have done something to you!”

“Well... No, he didn’t. Quite. Something happened, I never said he did something to me. And what happened was...” she had to stop looking at Angela, her stare was so... fixated. She looked at her desk instead. “Well, he was caught in the fact that we were really close and we’re both adult, healthy people with certain biological urges, which makes our bodies ever receptive to certain kind of stimuli—”

“Wait... you’re saying he went all hot, and that you noticed that you—that he—oh... oh!”

Brennan looked at her friend again, and saw her eyes going huge by the second. “Yes,” she replied. “I noticed.”

“Bren! But that’s—was he—how relevant and interesting was this thing you noticed in him?”

“I’m in no way telling you that. It’s Booth we’re talking about.”

“But that’s exactly why! It’s been more than 3 years waiting!”

“I haven’t been waiting nothing at all, you know that.”

“Maybe you don’t want to think you do, but you do have to concede that I have been waiting for you to have the knowledge to be able to let me know.” She looked at Brennan a second, seeing if she’d cooperate. But she didn’t say a word. “Anyway, by your reaction I gather he’s rather not impressive, so maybe you don’t want to tell to protect him.”

“What? No! He’s absolutely—” she stopped when she heard Angela’s laugh. Then she realized she’d been caught. She had to laugh as well.

“So good, I knew he wouldn’t let us down.” Angela clicked her nails against Brennan’s desk a few times, a look of deep appreciation on her face. “And then? What happened?”

“Nothing, really. I tried to explain him that what had happened was completely natural, but I think I didn’t convince him... I don’t know. But he finally broke the door open and we got out. Then he drove me home. He didn’t say a single word, Ange.”

“He was silent? Booth, silent? Wow. And you?”

“We were both silent. I didn’t know what else to say, and it seems he didn’t know either or he just wanted to forget about it. But then we got to my house and well... this time I didn’t offer him a cup of coffee or a beer at my place, and he just remained there in the car, seated and looking through the window. It was an awkward situation, Ange. I didn’t know how to act.”

“Why didn’t you kiss him?”

Brennan rolled her eyes. “I expect you know how I’ll answer to that. We’re just partners.”

“...partners,” Angela finished at the same time, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, keep thinking that. After what just happened, I don’t think you two will have many more excuses. After all,” she added while standing up and leaving her friend’s office, “You just admitted that the only reason for not kissing him was that damn line of yours.”

***

Booth was at his office, a file containing further evidence on the case and some info he’d requested opened in front of him on the desk. His eyes kept running over the same paragraph over and over again, and yet its meaning didn’t sink in.

His mind was full of Bones.

He was quite used to having her on his mind most of the time. “We’re partners,” he mumbled trying to convince himself. The thing was, it sounded like a mantra already, he’d used it so much. We spend more time together than with any other people or even alone. I’ve shared a lot with her, we’ve been through many things together. It’s obvious why she’d be on my mind. There’s nothing to think of it.

He felt the usual worm of doubt creeping in him anytime he tried to convince himself of that.

You know better than that. She’s the one with trouble accepting her true feelings. You might as well accept what is really there once and for all.

NO. I WON’T RISK US THAT WAY.

But the issue of what had happened the night before remained there.

“God... what am I going to do?” We have to go and see Sweets in a little while. And if we didn’t, I’d still have to go to the lab. So, sooner or later, I’ll have to face her. And it seems it’ll be sooner than I’d like.

He wasn’t sure what troubled him the most, if the fact it had happened at all or that he hadn’t acted in a better way.

He knew she was right when she told him it was a natural thing to happen. They were, after all, to use her words, two healthy and grown up people. The problem was that the female part of the pairing was Bones.

He’d long ago accepted he had the hots—that he really liked the way his partner was structured. But one thing was to know that—and maybe sometimes even look at her when she wasn’t noticing to appreciate her—and other was to start having these kinds of encounters with her. It was dangerous. He could be a good man, one that longed to do everything right, whose conviction was that he had to do things right—but he was a man, a very human male. He had weaknesses, and he would never forgive himself if he risked what he had with her just because he had the hots.

Bones is a weakness of mine.

He made the effort to redirect his thoughts to a different line.

If something like that happened again—first the kiss, then the closet. Never mind the fact there have been months in between—it’d be more difficult to stop himself from doing something they’d both regret afterwards. The slightest mistake, and he could lose her—he could lose what they had forever.

He knew she knew what they had was rare. He knew she’d understand.

That’s why he should have been smarter and laughed about the whole thing, but no. He hadn’t known what to do and he had shut her out, making it more important than it should be. Now he had only two choices: he ignored it and acted as if nothing had happened, or talked to her about it.

He realized the last option made him nervous. After all, what could he say? Nope, no way he was talking to her about it. He had a right to let things go by with no explanations in between. She did it all the time, why should he have to force himself to an awkward situation, when she would rationalize it and never talk about it again? It happened with the kiss. Ok, he’d dismissed it as well, but she, she acted as if it was of no consequence. In front of Caroline and in front of Sweets, as well. God, she’d even dismissed the fact he’d taken a bullet for her. He’d do it again if necessary, but it didn’t mean he didn’t want her to be at least a little bit thankful and, at least, not take it against him. He’d been just following protocol, after all...

He felt much better, much more confident. Being a bit mad at her was a good protection against the insecurity of facing her again.

With this new frame of mind, he headed for Sweets’s office.

The best solution was simply to deny everything. Bones, being the best at it, would surely understand.

whattttttttttttt??????????? deny everything??????? no.........he cant do that........i wont allow it........they both need to deal with this..........i love this loe.......keep it coming............

A2BOREANAZ wrote:whattttttttttttt??????????? deny everything??????? no.........he cant do that........i wont allow it........they both need to deal with this..........i love this loe.......keep it coming............

Thank you!! I'm really glad you're liking it!
But now, seriously... you think they CAN deny it?? That would only happen if it were written by the official writers, which it's NOT. So don't worry... Your wish is my command (at least for now, lol) and just wait and see what happens in the next chap!

okay denying it is so not gonna happen!
I don't think they would even be able to try and deny it if they really wanted.....and deep inside they don't even want to deny it....so not gonna happen.....

I liked the girl talk with Ange. Especially the part about how "relevant and interesting this thing" was.....don't we all want to know that?

Can't wait for more!

Aloemilk wrote:

A2BOREANAZ wrote:whattttttttttttt??????????? deny everything??????? no.........he cant do that........i wont allow it........they both need to deal with this..........i love this loe.......keep it coming............

Thank you!! I'm really glad you're liking it!
But now, seriously... you think they CAN deny it?? That would only happen if it were written by the official writers, which it's NOT. So don't worry... Your wish is my command (at least for now, lol) and just wait and see what happens in the next chap!

whoooo hoooooo so glad to hear that........and i cant wait for what is going to happen............ahhhhhhhhhhh.....see...this is why i dont like getting hooked on the fanfiction........now i have to wait....dont you know that princesses dont like to wait............hmmmmmmmmm?

Thanks Toz and A for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chappie too
I promise it'll get better!!

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Chap 3
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They both sat on the couch in Sweets’s office, completely silent, staring at the psychologist as if waiting for him to save them.

And that was a new experience for him.

He played at being silent a bit more. He knew that being observed made them nervous, especially Agent Booth. But there was more than nervousness in them today.

She simply sat there, staring into emptiness, bland face showing no interest. But her arms and legs were crossed defensively, and her breathing was just a bit shorter than usual.

He... well, he was a bit more obvious. His forehead was furrowed, his teeth clenched. He had the foam figurine in his hand and he was... suffocating it.

“Are we going to discuss whatever you consider is important or not, Sweets? I’d be rather someplace else getting the job done rather than sitting here doing nothing,” Booth finally said, as if he couldn’t take the situation anymore.

“I’ve been thinking that we should analyze the anger you’re so clearly feeling, Agent Booth.”

“Anger? Why should I be angry? There’s nothing to be angry about.” He stole a glance at Brennan, who looked at him as if what was happening wasn’t of any interest to her.

“I would like to remind you that you have to work on accessing your feelings.”

He noted how Agent Booth looked at Dr. Brennan, asking for help. But she still looked uninterested. Well, that is new, he thought.

“Is there anything you would like to say, Dr. Brennan?”

She looked at her partner briefly before answering, a hesitation Sweets registered with no problem. “No, not really”.

“Not really, Dr. Brennan? Because I sense some tension going on in here.”

“Tension? There’s no tension at all, Sweets. Really, where did you get your degree, again?” Booth said, obviously looking for a way to release whatever negative emotions he had.

“He asked me, Booth. You could have thought of respecting that, even if you are not willing to respect him and his various qualifications.”

Both he and Booth looked at her in surprise.

“Dude, what was that?” the psychologust let escape before he could stop himself.

She reacted at the men’s stare, needing to defend herself. “I just thought Booth was being rude and that he needed to be... reminded of some basic social rules, that’s all”.

“You wanted to teach me social rules?” Booth asked his partner in a doubtful voice.

“That was rude, again. You’ve been acting really weird, lately.”

Sweets decided to remain silent and observe this... conflict. He’d learned by now that if he interrupted, they’d find a way to turn the problem back around on him and end any chance for asking questions about them. He could see Dr. Brennan was getting rapidly upset and that Agent Booth was half nervous—half upset himself.

“Weird? I haven’t been acting weird.”

“You have, especially after the little accident in the closet last night.”

Psychology be damned. He forgot his decision almost as soon as he’d made it. “Closet? What closet?”

“No closet,” Booth said with a none-too-concealed warning.

“What, you forgot about the closet already?” To Sweets, she seemed genuinely confused, and he seemed genuinely pissed.

“No, I haven’t. But it didn’t matter, it wasn’t important. I don’t see why Sweets would have any interest in it.”

“Oh, I am interested, man.”

“Sweets, I’ve told you to get your own sex life before.”

“Sex? You two had sex in a closet?”

“No!” Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan said at the same time.

“But something happened in a closet.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t of a sexual nature,” Booth said quickly.

“What? But... Your body reacted to mine. Sexually. We were very close and—”

“Bones!”

“This is better than cable!”

“Sweets!” Booth added.

That brought him back to professionalism. “I’m sorry,” he said. He cleared his throat, hoping to be back to his serious self. “Let’s analyze this newly arisen issue. You, Agent Booth, were sexually stimulated by what I understand as a situation where you two were involved.”

“Oh God,” was all Agent Booth could seem to muster as he rubbed his face and massaged his skull with a hand, clearly troubled.

“Dr. Brennan?” Sweets decided to direct his questions to her, instead. It seemed she would be able to handle the conversation better. And would let him know what had happened.

“I tried to tell him it was a natural biological response!”

“And it is, I know that, but...” He seemed to be having problems gathering his thoughts. Sweets had to bite his tongue to stop from inquiring into the subject, waiting to see what kind of explanations Booth decided to give; it would be highly valuable information. “Ok. It’s a natural thing. I am a very, very healthy male, after all, right? A human male with human weaknesses and a body that has always answered to any task I have ever put it to. I know it would have probably happened no matter who it had been. That’s not a problem in itself...Had it been any other woman, probably it would have happened as well and maybe it would have even been a much stronger biological answer as my partner here likes to call it,” Agent Booth said loosing his control over words, getting excited to the point of almost babbling. “Or maybe it would have even gotten beyond, if you know what I mean. I have even been thanked for the way my body reacts, for God’s sake! So no, my problem is not about my body but about hers!”

“What? My body? My body has no problem whatsoever, Booth. My body is very healthy, too!” Dr. Brennan answered rather agitated.

“Please calm down, Dr. Brennan. My guess is Agent Booth didn’t mean your body physically but rather figuratively. Am I right, Agent Booth?” Sweets had decided to give the poor man a little break. It would be one thing for him to read into the Agent’s words what he couldn’t even remember thinking, and another entirely to expose him openly to her reactions, for which neither of them was ready. Booth wasn’t ready to let her know he wanted her, just as she wasn’t ready to know it either.

Booth’s face changed from mildly panicked—from the realization of what he had just said, was Sweets’s guess—to a more relaxed frame. “Yeah, Sweets. You’re right. I mean figuratively. I mean her body as her self.” He looked at Brennan with more calmed eyes, if only with a slight frustration. “As her being my partner.”

Sweets wondered if he had any idea of how much he’d just let show there. His devotion for his partner was only more confirmed by this simple sentence after the previous speech. Maybe he’d gotten used to thinking Dr. Brennan as a safe depositary of these kind of veiled and half told truths, safe from her insights by her troubles in reading people and forgetting he was in front of a trained psychologist. Or simply dismissing that as important.

“So you have a problem with me because I’m your partner?” she asked, a little hurt.

“Well, yeah, Bones. I mean, no. It’s not that I have a problem with you being my partner, I only had a problem with that fact yesterday because—somehow—it’s like... you’re you. You’re my partner.”

“I don’t understand. That doesn’t make any sense.”

They both looked frustrated, not knowing how to communicate. It was rather interesting, how two people so connected, so tuned, could build these spontaneous walls whenever the I-want-you issue made its appearance. They could handle the caring and tender situations—at least most of the time, from what Sweets had gathered—, but they weren’t able to manage the I-want-something-more thing. He knew it was a defense mechanism: it was better to ignore the situation, than confronting it and being rejected.

Sweets decided to help them again. “What Agent Booth is saying, Dr. Brennan, is that he’s not comfortable mixing the concept of you being his partner with the concept of you being a woman.”

“If that’s what he’s trying to say, it’s still not logical. I am a woman and his partner. But I’m willing to concede that encounters like these tend to blur the line.”

“Not that the line is really needed,” Agent Booth added. Sweets couldn’t help but notice that for once he was avoiding her gaze. “It’s just that it’s easier to imagine one’s there.”

“I know what you two mean by the line. I remember when you explained it to me,” he said keeping to himself the knowledge that very same opportunity had given him: that line was just another symbolic wall that they erected every time things became too close to forcing them to accept what they didn’t want to deal with.

“So we’re clear,” the Agent asked, looking at him in a rather forced, too-straight way. “We’re partners, so it’s easier if we just keep it all sexless. And private.” Sweets heard the thin strain of anger in the last part, but decided to ignore it. The session was getting rather long, and he needed to start winding it down.

“Yes, it is, just as it has always been. I’d say this is just an accident, as you both have already stated. Everything should be normal from now on. Unless there’s something else any of you would like to talk about? Something you feel has not been resolved?”

“I can’t think of anything else,” Dr. Brennan said.

“Nothing else I’d like to talk about here, no,” was the other answer.

With that, Sweets let them go.

As he saw them close the door behind them, he hoped he had made the right choice in not dwelling on the renewed anger he’d seen develop in Agent Booth. He knew that what had happened could lead somewhere just as it could evaporate into nothing, so trying to get deeper into it and what its consequences seemed to be wouldn’t necessarily be for the better.

Of course, he wasn’t oblivious to the ethics of the situation. He knew that he was supposed to work in the Bureau’s interest rather than in his patients’s, looking for a balance between everyone involved. In that sense, he’d have had to look deeper in the situation, to make sure their partnership could still work as fluently and as succesfully as it had in the past. And, if he sensed they were losing professionalism or starting to work badly together, he’d have to advise the Bureau to sever the partnership. That was his duty, and he knew it.

He walked to the window and looked to the small plaza his office had a view of. Hands in his pockets, brows furrowed, he had to accept that in this case he wasn’t thinking in the bureau’s interest first. He cared a bit too much about this couple—sorry, partners, considering what his position was as a professional.

If he’d had to explain it, he would have said that they were an interesting case and then he would have listed the many reasons why this was so. But the other reason would have remained hidden.

He would never say aloud to anyone that, deep inside, he knew he was just another helpless romantic.

Loe! I am loving this... They need to admit what is really going on though... It'll happen soon, right?

oh sweets is a romantic?
who knew....
I really like it so far
Can't wait for more

Well... It's going to be a trip full of bumps... But I'm a helpless closet romantic and there WILL be a happy ending!

I just hope you enjoy convoluted stories!

But something tells me there are high probabilities of you liking the next chap!

Well then post the next chapter so we can REALLY like it!

Aloemilk wrote:Well... It's going to be a trip full of bumps... But I'm a helpless closet romantic and there WILL be a happy ending!

I just hope you enjoy convoluted stories!

But something tells me there are high probabilities of you liking the next chap!

you will have to post it to find out about that

Fun! Fun! Fun! Booth in denial - Brennan oblivious - Sweets in cahoots. Sounds like quite a story you have brewing there!

I'd post more often if I had already finished the story, but I've just finished the 8th chap and it's being beta'd, and I'm currently writing the 9th. So, If I post this too often, you'll have to wait much longer from the 9th chap on (I think there'll probably be 10 or 11 eleven chaps)!

So, what do you prefer? more often now and longer waiting period after... or somewhat equal waiting times?

Oh, btw... thank for the reviews!!

...sigh. I thought you updated. lol

I guess I'd say equal time in between. =(

I really do enjoy reading this!

OMG.......what are you trying to do to me?????? you have to fix them......quickly.....oh i feel so bad for the both of them........just tell each other how you feel already...........i know...........i could send them a memo........would that help.......

and i loved the line......'this was better than cable'.......lmao...........loe....i am so loving this.......cant wait for more.......you rock....

Aloemilk wrote:I'd post more often if I had already finished the story, but I've just finished the 8th chap and it's being beta'd, and I'm currently writing the 9th. So, If I post this too often, you'll have to wait much longer from the 9th chap on (I think there'll probably be 10 or 11 eleven chaps)!

So, what do you prefer? more often now and longer waiting period after... or somewhat equal waiting times?

i am going with deb...........equal waiting times.............

new chapter new chapter new chapter!!!!!

Thank you for the revieeeeeews!
I'm really, really glad you're liking it. I just hope you like this chap as well. It's a little bit shorter than the rest, but I felt I had to end it where I did.

I'll be waiting to see what you think of it!

--------

They reached her office at the lab. He took his coat off, using much more force than necessary.

“I know I’m not good at reading people’s emotions, Booth, but I’m pretty sure you’re mad at me. I’d like to know what I could have done to make you so angry.”

He looked at her. She was pretty mad herself, and he wondered if she noticed. “I can’t believe you told him, Bones!”

“I don’t see what’s so terrible about it.”

At least she wasn’t doing as if she didn’t know what he was talking about. “If you wanted to talk to me about it, then you should have at least waited ‘till we were alone!”

“We were alone before when we were in Sweets’s waiting room, and I still didn’t have the chance to say more than ‘hello’ to you.”

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, confused and angry.

“You weren’t talking to me, Booth! You were there physically but you were completely closed off to me the whole time. You were making distance between us.”

“Well, at least now you know what it is like to be with you,” he said.

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Yeah, well. Why is it that doesn’t surprise me?” he rolled his eyes. “Anyway, that’s no excuse for you letting me down!”

“Letting you down? How could telling Sweets your body reacted to mine be even near to letting you down?”

“Shh!! You want everyone to know?” She was going to talk, but he interrupted her. They were leaning towards each other, their faces inches apart, whispering rather loudly, their anger evident. “Shh. Let me finish. I can’t believe you don’t understand why I’m mad, Bones. I see why you say it’s normal it would happen. But Sweets... he’s gonna read more into it than he should, for his own good and for our good. AND, commenting on it in front of him... well, you weren’t on my side! We’re supposed to be as one when in there, Bones. We’re an item, a single front against him and his scrutiny.”

“Right. Nice. People are always telling me how I should try and compartmentalize less and when I try to do it you get mad at me.”

“I have no problem with you being more open, I’d just prefer you were when with me, not when in front of that kid.”

“I probably would have, if you’d showed even a little bit of interest for my well being.”

“What do you mean? I’ve always cared about your well being, Bones!”

“You want me to list the times you haven’t cared about how well I’m doing? ‘Cause I can readily tell you two: when you died and now when you wouldn’t even say hello to me properly.”

“There you go again. I’ve explained to you about my death so many times already, I’m getting pretty tired of it. And I did say hello, Bones.”

“Yeah, with attitude.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You said hello with your face as contorted as Parker’s when you make him eat vegetables.”

For a moment, he felt at loss of words. That he didn’t expect. He’d bet she didn’t realize how easily she could read him. He still felt betrayed, though. “Ok, I’m sorry if I wasn’t in the best of moods this morning. That make you happier? I just had a bad night, started the day on the wrong foot or whatever. The thing is, you should know by now you can talk about whatever you want with me; that if you have a problem with me, you talk about it with me. We’re two grown ups and as such we shouldn’t need someone else’s help to deal with our own problems. At least not Sweets’s help! I swear, you couldn’t have chosen anyone who would have made me feel more embarrassed!”

“But you said there was nothing to be embarrassed about, you completely dismissed it! You said that it was like having any other woman, that it would have happened no matter who it had been and that probably it would have been better if it had been other woman!”

“You said that kissing me was like kissing your brother!”

Thinking about the kiss again made him realize how close in proximity they were. He felt the knot in his gut, the need pumping from deep inside of him. The look in her eyes didn’t help, what with the heat that was still radiating off of them, their breathing still ragged from their discussion, the way her anger had colored her skin and—he couldn’t help looking—her lips.

“What does that have to do with it?”

“Shit,” he said, barely hearing her. Then, before he could realize what he was doing, he was holding her face in his hands and planting a furious kiss on her lips.

She didn’t respond to the kiss. She was too stuned to do more than realize Booth was kissing her. He was just about to insist, touching his tongue to her lips, when he realised what he was doing.

He began to retreat, painfully ashamed that his hormones had cheated on him in such a way that he hadn’t been able to do the right thing—getting hold of his need once more. But the distance didn’t grow between them, as some force seemed to keep Bones attached to his mouth. When she threw her arms around his neck, it dawned on him that it was her now kissing him, her tongue now trying to deepen the kiss.

He put his hands on her ribcage, trying to get some space between them. But she let escape a sound of frustration that came from her throat so distinctly sexual that he forgot everything beyond the kiss, which he was suddenly very much into. Mouths open to give more contact space, lips pressing onto the other’s, tongues probing, tasting, tangling. His hands on her lower back, pressing her against him. Her hands messing with his hair. His hands fisting a handful of her blouse to keep them from reaching for flesh. Her hands traveling down his body in search of a way to his skin. Hearts beating fast, trying to get blood to every cell of their bodies, blood filled with hormones and passion. And almost not air. That had to be why she was feeling dizzy and the world seemed to revolve around her. Just as she had pressed for the kiss, she ended it.

“Now I know what they mean when they say a kiss can be intoxicating. Clearly my CO2 levels are higher than they should be.”

“Uh? What?” he quickly assessed the situation and didn’t falter in repeating himself. “Shit.”
----------

did the previous A/N sound innocent enough?? lol

Aloemilk wrote:“Now I know what they mean when they say a kiss can be intoxicating. Clearly my CO2 levels are higher than they should be.”

Definately a kiss I'd like to have!

I'm so glad you updated. I love this! Good job

whatttttttttttttttt???????????? i mean so glad they had the great kiss.......omg.......that was hot..........but leave it at that............i tell you........you are mean............but so leaving us wanting more............oh you rock woman.......this is really great............need more.........more...............more..............but i will remain patient...............maybe.............lol

Whahooo. Nice chapter! but waay too short! Will you update soon?? Pleeeeease!??!