Hanging By a Moment--one shot songfic rated T--FLUFF by redrider6612

Posted 20/01/2008 06:07:55 PM

A/N: Songfic to this amazing song, “Hanging By a Moment” by Lifehouse—I recommend that you listen to it. It fits B&B perfectly.

Hanging By a Moment
By Lifehouse

Booth fidgeted while he waited for her to answer the door. He knew she was home because he’d called first. He tapped the file against his leg, painfully aware what a lame excuse it was for coming by, but he’d been desperate. He needed to clear this up between them before he went crazy.

I’m desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I’m closer to where I started
When chasing after you

It all went back to that damn mistletoe kiss. Things had been fine before that—they had worked cases together with easy camaraderie, each of them secure in the platonic status of their relationship. But since then things had been…awkward…their time together marred by uncomfortable silences and eyes avoiding eyes, words left unsaid lying there between them, causing a heaviness in his chest that was growing with each day that passed. It had to stop. Something had to change.

I’m fallin’ even more in love with you
Letting go of all I’ve held onto
I’m standing here until you make me move
I’m hanging by a moment here with you

Finally the door opened and she stood there smiling, a little breathless. “Sorry, I was in the bathroom,” she said with a little nervous laugh. “Come in.”

Stopping just inside the door, he waited while she closed it, then turned to look into her eyes, really look for the first time in weeks. Something in his eyes must have bothered her because hers fell away to look at the file he held.

“Thanks for bringing that by,” she said, reaching for it. He let her take it, his eyes glued to her averted face. Her cheek was slightly flushed and he wondered if it had anything to do with him. He had to know.

Forgetting all I’m lacking
Completely incomplete
I’ll take your invitation
You take all of me now

“Temperance,” he said with a crack in his voice.

He rarely called her that and it got her attention faster than anything else he could have said. Her wide eyes darted up to meet his, reminding him of a small animal caught in headlights. He didn’t wait for her to speak.

“I—I need to know…I mean, I’m sure you’ve noticed the strain…between us since we—“ he said haltingly.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she interrupted in an over-bright, too-loud voice. She turned toward the kitchen, but his hand caught her arm. He wasn’t going to let her get away from him, not until they got this straight. She stopped in her tracks, but didn’t turn to face him.

“Later,” he said gently. “Right now we need to talk.”

She half turned her head towards him, still not looking at him. “Why? We’re fine…it was nothing, I didn’t feel anything at all, there’s no reason to even—“ she said in a low, strained voice.

“Look at me,” he demanded a little more roughly than he’d intended. Her head jerked toward him and her startled eyes locked with his. “I need to know for certain…if there’s a chance you might be feeling what I’m feeling.”

I’m fallin’ even more in love with you
Letting go of all I’ve held onto
I’m standing here until you make me move
I’m hanging by a moment here with you

Her mouth went slack and she was speechless for an agonizingly long moment. He wished, not for the first time, he knew what was going through that logical brain of hers. Then she snapped out of it, straightening her spine and firming her lips. Her next words told him she had opted for playing dumb. To force him to say it?

“Feeling? How would I know what you’re feeling?” she asked with a breathless little laugh, trying again to turn away from him. He stopped her again, determined to make her see how serious he was. Catching her hand, he stepped closer to her, but not too close. He didn’t want her to bolt. Swallowing hard, he took a deep breath and took the plunge.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he said, holding her eyes steadily with his.

I’m living for the only thing I know
I’m running and not quite sure where to go
And I don’t know what I’m diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

Her eyes flew wide and her jaw dropped as she took an involuntary step back. “You can’t—what about—why are you doing this?” she finally asked desperately. He was going to spoil everything. How could they go back if he took them past the point of no return?

Somehow she’d forgotten to take her hand away, so he looked down at it as his thumb stroked her knuckles. His lips were firm when he looked back up to meet her gaze. “I need to know…if you don’t feel the same way, it’s fine…its the not knowing that’s making me crazy…but just tell me, I’ll find a way to deal.”

There’s nothing else to lose
There’s nothing else to find
There’s nothing in the world
That can change my mind
There is nothing else
There is nothing else
There is nothing else

She opened her mouth to deny it, but nothing came out. Her gaze skipped to lock on a point over his shoulder as she tried to gather her scattered thoughts. Could she lie to him? Should she? Would that be kinder than telling him how thoughts of him had kept her awake nights, not to mention how hard it was to concentrate on her work lately? How his proximity sent her pulse and respiration into double time?

I’m desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I’m closer to where I started
When chasing after you

Decision made, she looked into his eyes again…and she couldn’t do it. The lie just wouldn’t come as she sank into the warmth of his eyes. “Yes,” she finally whispered, not realizing that didn’t answer the question.

“Yes? Wait, what does that mean?” he asked, hardly daring to hope she meant what he thought she did.

“I—I think I might…” she began tentatively, then her courage deserted her as a smile broke over his face. As usual, when things got too emotional, she sought refuge in logic. “Booth, I’m not sure I even believe in ‘love’ as a concept in the first place, so how can I—“ she argued in her best Bones tone.

I’m fallin’ even more in love with you
Letting go of all I’ve held onto
I’m standing here until you make me move
I’m hanging by a moment here with you
I’m living for the only thing I know
I’m running and not quite sure where to go
And I don’t know what I’m diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

That was enough for him. His lips cut her off. He had no patience for logic right now.

For once she stopped arguing, even though she fought it at first, keeping her lips still and standing there stiffly. Undaunted, he kissed her tenderly, gently nibbling and sipping, giving her the first kiss they should have had. His reward was her surrender. She gave a ragged sigh and her lips parted as the tension left her. Her trembling hands touched his chest in an aborted attempt to push him away.

His hands bracketed her waist but he resisted the overwhelming urge to crush her to him. Too much too soon might scare her off. His tongue gently rasped across hers and she moaned softly as her arms went up around his neck, bringing her flush against him and threatening his hard-won self control. Okay, so maybe she was already ahead of him. Then she sucked at his tongue lightly and her tongue darted in to discover his textures and tastes and his knees went weak. Damn, she was hot!

Breaking the kiss, Booth stood there breathing heavily, looking down at her, stunned. She opened her eyes, dazed and breathless. ‘Wow,’ she thought, ‘if I had known it was going to be like that, I would have done that a long time ago.’

Just hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment
Hanging by a moment here with you

The only coherent thought he could muster was that they needed to step back so they could catch their breath. Action followed thought and her arms fell away as he put a little distance between them. He held up a staying hand when she made a move towards him.

“Hold on,” he said, struggling to get his hormones under control.

“Why?” she asked, obviously recovering more quickly than he was. “Have you changed your mind?”

“No! No, we just…we need to take it easy, give ourselves time to…adjust,” he said huskily, his lips quirking at her lightning change in attitude.

‘Speak for yourself,’ she thought wryly. A smile curved her lips. “Okay, then, what’s next?” she asked, but what she really meant was ‘when are we having sex?’

“Let’s just take one day at a time. There’s no need to rush. I wanna do this right.”

Her smile turned saucy and she stepped close to him and placed her hand over his pounding heart. “There’s nothing wrong with how it’s going so far,” she teased, tilting her face up to his.

‘God, if she was this uninhibited in bed, he was in trouble,’ he thought. He focused on her stunning eyes to keep his attention from wandering to her lips.

“I agree,” he murmured. It wasn’t working. She really had the most beautiful, expressive eyes and she was looking at him like…like she wanted to drop to the floor with him right then and there. That was not gonna happen, not today, he told himself sternly. Then his traitorous eyes strayed to her lips and he was lost.

She met him halfway, lips parted softly. He moaned as their mouths met and he allowed himself to indulge for a few blissful minutes as their tongues stroked and tangled. This time she broke it off, but only so she could trail kisses across his cheek to his ear. His eyes rolled back in his head as she nipped at his earlobe and her warm breath tickled his ear. His knees dipped and he took a deep breath, straightening by sheer force of will. Grasping her upper arms, he set her away from him.

“I gotta go,” he gasped, turning to grab the doorknob.

“Okay,” she said in that satin-over-sand voice that haunted his dreams. He could hear the amusement in her tone and he looked at her one more time.

“Dinner tomorrow night?” he asked.

“Seven o’clock,” she replied with a grin. With a jerky nod he left quickly as though he didn’t trust himself not to turn back. Closing the door behind him, she leaned against the panel thoughtfully. Things just got very interesting.
_______

THE END

A/N: Thank you so much for reading. Please let me know what you think.

Posted 20/01/2008 06:21:06 PM

flyersfan35

Red, that was awesome! I loved it, and love the song! Though I would love to be a fly on that wall for that date!

You rock, girl!

Posted 20/01/2008 06:37:46 PM

jerseybones

red i SO needed this right now and you did it perfectly. the characters were true to nature. the dialogue was spot on. the passion, smut and fluff were in full force and the ending was awesome as everything else is up to the imagination. thank you so much for your beautiful mind and sharing here with us.

Posted 20/01/2008 06:38:28 PM

jerseybones

are you going to post this on ff so i can save it to my favorites?

Posted 20/01/2008 06:40:37 PM

redrider6612

Thank you very much. Yes, it's posted on ff, that way I can get twice as many reviews, hehe musie is such a review slut!

Posted 20/01/2008 07:32:42 PM

A2BOREANAZ

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh red.............fantasticsuper wonderawesome woman..........so sweet and innocent....yet all sexy and saucy.......i like that word.......saucy.......and sassy.....it was perfect.......

Posted 20/01/2008 09:02:19 PM

jerseybones

musie is a review slut
but all is good when she writes smut

whatever keeps her happy keeps us happy so I am glad to help.

Posted 20/01/2008 11:23:40 PM

Susan1234

Sheer brilliance, red!!! I love that song, too, but B&B never came to mind whilst listening. I know, I know, where are my priorities?!? Anyhoo, great job. Totally hot.

Posted 21/01/2008 00:44:58 AM

fanofbones

totally hot red...excellent job...wonderawesome woman...
loved it and the song was perfection...

fab

Posted 21/01/2008 12:06:22 AM

ToZiKa

I like it when Booth seems to be so unsure of him self....and he is very cute when he is shy....
And the song was chosen perfectly...

Posted 22/01/2008 03:35:05 AM

CheeseBK

Red, I loved it!!!! soooo cute!

Posted 24/01/2008 10:11:27 AM

gimmeagun

haha...review slut!

red that was awesome! i love how they started out awkward then BAM it was all steamy and then they went back to being Bones and Booth. perfect song red! great job!

Posted 24/01/2008 10:51:16 AM

otismotis


This is one of my favorite songs by Lifehouse and I like the way you incorporated it into this hot, steamy, sexy little story. You always do a great job with your stories and this one captured Booth and Bones perfectly. Keep up the great work.

Posted 25/01/2008 01:39:48 AM

BonBon


hey red... i read this a while ago but time has been short... sorry.. I loved this one... I pretty much love everything you write I love that I can get on the aby and when I see you have written something... woo-hoo!!!

Posted 25/01/2008 06:41:21 AM

kiki


Hee hee hee...

*grins stupidly*

Just a puddle on the floor here, red. Don't mind me.

Brilliant and perfectly in character, as usual.