If you think it looks familiar, it probably isn't mine

Dr. Temperance Brennan wasn't sure how she had managed all these years without kissing Seeley Booth. He had he pressed up against her car as he tried his hardest to persuade her to let him drive. She had given up resisting at the first taste of his persuasion, but there was no need to tell his that just yet.

Seeley Booth took great pride in the soft whimpers he had reduced his normally talkative partner to producing. He had to admit persuading her to let him drive had never been quite this enjoyable in the past, though he wouldn't trade their bickering for anything in the world. He pulled the keys gently from her hands and removed his lips from hers with a grin of triumph. Gallantly he pulled the passenger side door open, gesturing grandly for her to take her seat as she promptly stuck her tongue out at him.

Chuckling slightly to himself at the scene that had just played out before him he took his time walking to his side of the car, deciding carefully where he wanted to drive to. He couldn't resist placing one more kiss on her pouting lips as he started her car, laughing again at the shocked expression on her face as he gently eased the car into the afternoon traffic.

She looked up from her diligent task of tracing patterns on his thigh through his dress pants as he pulled into the parking lot at Wong Foo's. He answered the question in her eyes with a teasing smile and another kiss in her lips, the action was quite addicting after all, "a man's gotta eat Bones." And she shook her head with a smile before following him inside.

What he didn't tell her was that he needed time to decide how he wanted to continue their evening. Seeing her, on their bench, waiting for him had been the undoing of month's worth of heartache. They had been working together slowly for months now, not to repair their partnership because he refused to admit that it had broken no matter how fragile the thread holding it together had been. But they had been working to build something uniquely theirs, cracks and all, which he knew they both wanted to hold. But he wasn't sure if they were there yet, he wasn't sure if he was there yet and after all that had happened the last time one of them wasn't ready he wasn't going to take any chances. He just had to figure out how to explain all this to Bones.

One look at the partners single-handedly responsible for most of his takeout business as they entered his restaurant looking simultaneously more disheveled and content than he had ever seen them and Sid's eyes lit with a soft smile. They took their usual seats at the bar, the seats that had been unoccupied by them for far too long, and waited patiently for him to bring their food seemingly lost in themselves.

Unable to resist teasing them, he placed a steaming bowl of soup in front of Dr. Brennan, "I've been told this is quite the aphrodisiac" he said with a wink placing an extra large plate of spring rolls in front of the now sputtering Agent.

"Well that was very thoughtful, though with the history of sexual tension we share I'm sure Booth and I won't need any form of assistance when we decide to take that step," Dr. Brennan responded with a casual smile as she reached in front of Booth to grab a spring roll.

Sid returned her smile knowingly as he left them to themselves. Agent Booth was now gaping open mouthed; looking rather like a goldfish as his partner causally munched her spring roll. Some things never change with good reason, he thought to himself with a smile as he filled other orders never quite taking his eyes off the insufferable partners back at their rightful place in his bar.

.

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Booth wasn't sure why he was driving back towards Brennan's apartment, it was her car after all shouldn't she be dropping him off? But easy comfort of this afternoon had pushed much of the doubt out of his mind and he wanted to hold onto that feeling as long as possible.

He smiled at Brennan as she caught his eye, humming along with some song on the radio he was sure he had never heard before, though he had to admit it was peaceful how easily they had fallen back into this pattern. The teasing and touching between them remained the same, Brennan's confessions earlier had, so far, only brought about kissing between them and even that was easy.

Still he couldn't shrink the nagging feeling in the back of his mind, the cautious reminder that all the good things in his life had never managed to last. It was that feeling that had stopped him from opening his mouth on the mall that afternoon, choosing instead to force his feelings into action and emotion, trusting Brennan enough to read him and see them lurking just below the surface.

It was a cruel role reversal, that he was now the one too scared to open himself up to the love his partner was offering, a love that a year ago he hadn't even thought she knew existed. And yet here they were once again facing off in a moment, ready to catch fire.

Bones had been mercifully quiet as they drove home, recognizing his need to sort through his reactions to the day, the way he had for her for so many years in their early partnership. As he parked her car and turned to follow her upstairs there was no question between them what was going to happen once they got upstairs. He placed his hand gently on her back, seemingly guiding her gently as he had done for so many years though he truly just needed the connection to calm his racing heart. She leaned into his guiding hand with a simple innocence, trusting him in the way she had learned to.

As she unlocked the door to her apartment and turned into his embrace there was a gentle smile on her face, she looked almost nervous, something Booth normally would have found endearing, but now it simply amplified his own nerves. As she initiated the kiss between them, for the first time since that Christmas so many years ago, Booth couldn't help the appreciative groan he let slip out. Whatever else he was feeling there was no denying that kissing Bones was the greatest thing he had ever experienced.

He let her control the kiss and his enthusiastic response seemed to spur her into a slightly more aggressive approach. As they finally pulled apart, the lack of oxygen leaving them slightly dizzy she whispered to him so gently he was almost convinced he was making it up. Not deterred by his lack of response, she leaned her forehead against his, staring into his eyes as she caught her breath and asked him again, her voice strong enough that there was no mistaking her request.

"Make love to me Booth."

Welcome back everyone for round two. As you can see this piece is going to be much more Booth centric, which should help clear up any lingering doubts about his actions in The words on the shelf. For the purpose of storytelling I'm taking the timelines on the show and tweaking them a little bit. More to come on that as it becomes relevant. Enjoy.

Sarah