Research (Ficlet #26)

On a Sunday afternoon in early September, Brennan sits on Booth's living room couch with a red pen in one hand and a draft of her next book in her other hand. She promised her editor she would have the manuscript ready by Thursday, and she intends to keep her promise. But one particular section niggles at her; she hasn't articulated Kathy's emotions in a satisfactory way. However, the concrete words Brennan is searching for don't come.

Booth sits on the floor, his hair gilded by the autumn sunlight coming from the window they kept open because the air hasn't turned chill yet. As she watches, he takes off his t-shirt and pulls another one from the laundry basket in front of him. The shirt musses his hair as he pulls it over his head. He sighs happily and tugs it down.

"Booth?"

He looks up from the red boxers he is folding. "Yeah?"

"Would you come here for a moment?"

"Sure." The couch dips as he sits down next to her. "What's up?"

After setting down her pen, she wraps an arm around him. Her fingers register his t-shirt, warm and fresh from the dryer. She inhales and rests her cheek against him. He smells clean--like dryer sheets. When she pulls back, she finds him gazing at her with his eyebrows raised. "What was that for?"

"Research."

"What kind of research?"

Slowly, she smooths her hand over Booth's jaw and feels her fingertips catch on his weekend stubble. It makes her smile. "I'm trying to describe what Kathy feels when she looks at Andy."

"Any luck?"

"Perhaps."

"Well don't hold out on me, Bones. As your test subject, aren't I entitled to know the results of your research?" His gaze is warm as it settles on her face, as is his hand where it cups shoulder. "It's only ethical. Or something."

Brennan tilts her head, not looking away, and laces her fingers through his. "I'm not certain, but I think she feels... hopeful." Though she intends the last word to sound like a question, it doesn't.

"Hopeful, huh?"

She nods; he turns over her hand and presses a kiss to the center of her palm. A slow smile spreads across his face and warms her somewhere inside that she can't quite pinpoint—though that doesn't stop her from trying.

"I bet Andy'd be happy to know that."