31Many years ago I read a wonderful story written by the brilliant author "Threesquares". The title was "No Kissing" . Maybe some of you remember this story, too. Unfortunately, she eventually deleted it.
Now I have written a similar story, but only loosely based on the story of hers. I don't remember much, either. The only correlation was that it was also on New Year's Eve when her story took place and they agreed not to kiss.
My story takes place on New Year's Eve, Season 3, right after the Mistletoe Kiss and shortly before Christmas. For 99 episodes, we thought this was the first kiss between Booth and Brennan. In this story we assume that this was indeed the case and that the kiss in front of the pool hall never happened.
And guess who is the Beta for this story… no one less than Threesquares. I am over the moon that she agreed to Beta my work. [And SHE is over the moon to be asked! 3sq interjecting here!]
And because threesquares couldn't manage to beta the whole story, 554laura stepped in to beta the last two chapters. I am blessed with so many good friends here.
Disclaimer: Bones is still not mine. I only used the characters for this story.
But now have fun with the story.
oooooooooo
The Magic of New Year's Eve
"Bones, please." His voice was pleading and urgent. "Don't make me beg."
He was determined, and if pleading wouldn't help, the sad puppy eyed look in his dark brown eyes would have to do the trick. "You have to say yes."
Brennan leaned back in her chair, thinking over his request. They'd met at the diner to have lunch together. It was two days after Christmas and the Jeffersonian was currently closed until just after the New Year. They therefore did not have a current case.
Booth had returned from Vermont, where he had taken Parker after Rebecca unexpectedly allowed him to have his son on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On the drive back, Booth had plenty of time to reflect on the past few days: his surprise when Parker showed up at his office, and the boy's excitement over the two Christmas trees they decorated. He could still remember Bones' bright eyes as she opened the prison trailer's blinds and saw the Christmas tree and both of them waving happily at her.
Most of all, though, he thought of the moment when they had kissed under the mistletoe. He just couldn't forget the feeling that kiss had evoked in him. He'd always suspected that kissing her for the first time would be spectacular, but he'd still been surprised by the intensity of that kiss.
She took his breath away. He still felt the sensation of her lips on his…the moment she had grabbed him by his lapels and deepened the kiss. He couldn't forget it, and rarely had a kiss left such an impression on him.
His thoughts were soon interrupted. "Booth, how many times do I have to explain to you that I'm flying to Peru tomorrow? I planned this trip weeks before the holidays. National Geographic archaeologists in Peru have found a new step pyramid: an ancient ceremonial site known as El Brujo, which has yielded skeletal remains dating to 1500 years ago. It's part of a very mysterious culture called The Moche. It sounds very interesting, and I'm eager to see it." She took a sip of her coffee and stared at him with bright eyes.
"Bones, you can't do this to me." He grabbed her hand. "And besides, you don't go to a dig site on New Year's Eve. New Year's is not for working, it's for celebrating, okay?" He winked at her. "But you already knew that, right?"
She looked at him with wide eyes. "No, I do not know that." She stole one of the fries off his plate and shoved it into her mouth with relish. This move immediately drew his gaze back to her mouth and the memory of the kiss.
Of course, she didn't approve of his reasoning. "Why should New Year's Eve be different than any other day of the year?"
"Bones!," he moaned, "Of course, New Year's Eve is something special. How can you say such a thing?" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest. He wouldn't give up that easily.
"So the Earth has completed another revolution around the Sun. It's still just a day like any other. The only festivals mentioned in historical documents show that there was a fire festival celebrated by the Germanic tribes on that day. That's all." Brennan hesitated. "But the holiday has never really interested me. I'm usually on a dig somewhere, so for me it's simply another day. You go to bed at night and in the morning it's a new day in a new year.'' She shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing special."
Booth shook his head in disbelief. "Bones, that's so, so wrong . New Year's Eve…" He beamed at her and raised both palms up for emphasis. "New Year's Eve... it's magic."
"Booth, there's nothing magical about that evening, that night!" She laughed softly and shook her head. Sometimes he really was like a little child.
"Wrong, Bones, wrong." He pointed his finger at her. "And I can prove it to you." He leaned back smugly. "You just have to go to the party with me, and you'll see. MAGIC." He had both hands clenched into fists and held them out to her, then spread his fingers wide to illustrate the word magic again.
"Booth, admit it…you just don't want to be the one who shows up that night without a date.," she giggled. "I know what you're up to." A smile crossed her lips as she stole another fry.
"Bones, this is an important event. The head of the FBI's Washington office has transferred to New York, so he's throwing a big going away party at the Hoover Building for the occasion, in conjunction with New Year's Eve. All the heads of the individual departments are invited." He nervously ran a hand through his hair. "And Cullen, as my boss, has insisted that I show up... and he's expecting to see you there, too."
Brennan still shook her head in disbelief. "Booth, I'm not FBI! What makes you think he's expecting me to show up?"
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a card, pointing to a specific spot. "Look at the invitation…it says right here…it's for me and my partner." He grinned, pleased that he had actual proof. "You see, you were specifically invited." He pointed his finger at her. "...because you're my partner."
"Booth, you can't kid me. Partner could mean life partner, wife, fiancee, or maybe even lover. Not necessarily a partner from work." She shook her head. "And you know that perfectly well." She grinned as she stole another french fry. "You can go there alone just fine."
"But Bones!" he wailed. "I don't want to go to the party alone! I've been through this before. The older ladies will mother me, okay? They feed me special food and pinch my cheeks, and constantly ask why such a handsome young guy like me doesn't have a date."' He took a deep breath. "And the few women who'll be there alone will hit on me." He sighed quietly. "It's hard to persuade them that I'm not interested if I'm alone. So you see I've already 'been there, done that', and I don't want to do it again." He looked at her pleadingly. "You can't do this to me! You have to save me!" Seeing that she was still unconvinced, he drew his trump card.
"And besides, I don't want to spend this evening with anyone else but you…only you, my beautiful partner in crime fighting." He gave her his best Booth smile and let his hands glide over his chest. "By the way, I look gorgeous in a tuxedo. You can't say no to that."
She had to admit, Booth could be very persuasive with his charm.
He leaned into her across the table. "Like I told you...magic."
She hesitated, not wanting to immediately give in. He had to give her more.
"If…. ' She raised her hand. "IF I agree, what can I expect?" She looked a little uncertain now. "I really haven't spent New Year's Eve here in Washington for ten years. I'm always on the go, as I said. There wasn't anything special about it for me."
"It'll be very special this time, I promise." He was getting enthusiastic now, seeing there was a chance that he might get her to go to the party with him on New Year's Eve.
He continued in a husky voice. "The invitation says formal dress, so a tuxedo is mandatory for me, and evening gowns for the ladies. There'll be delicious food…fancy cocktails…soft music. We'll dance cheek to cheek. It'll be great." He winked at her, briefly considering what else he could tell her. "Just before midnight we'll go outside to count down the last seconds of the year." Grinning broadly he added, "And when the New Year has started and the fireworks go off, you wish each other good luck for the new year and seal it with a hug and a kiss." He winked. "It's traditional."
Brennan looked at him, and when their eyes met, the world around them seemed to stand still for a moment. She couldn't help but think of the kiss they had shared under the mistletoe. If she was honest, she'd thought about it a lot in the last few days. His lips on hers for the first time had been intoxicating, and it felt like she'd been waiting her whole life to be kissed like that. It had touched her deeply…something she had never felt when a man had kissed her.
At the same time, she was aware of how dangerous it was to indulge in these thoughts, these feelings. His words were still present in her mind from when they'd sat on the bench after Howard Eps had tried to kill Cam. People in high-risk situations can't be involved romantically, because it leads to things like what happened. Every single day it's with us. There's this line, and we can't cross it. A long time ago, Booth had made it clear to her that a romantic relationship between them could not happen. She had to protect herself. In fact, she had to protect them both.
"No, no kiss..." It just burst out of her. "We are partners working together, we shouldn't kiss." She gave him a sad look. "But you can give me a guy hug, okay?"
He beamed at her. "So you'll go with me?" They had gotten up from their seats, Booth had left some money on the table and they were heading towards the exit. His hand rested in its usual place on her back, and he was leading her out the door and in the direction of his car.
She turned back to him and raised her finger as if to underline her words.
He smiled at her. "I got it. No kissing."
She just nodded and walked to the passenger side of his car. Watching her, he sighed deeply. How was he supposed to keep that promise? All he'd thought about for the past few days was how wonderful that kiss under the mistletoe had felt, and how he was dying to kiss her again…but this time without an audience.
Now he'd promised not to kiss her so that she'd consent to go to the party with him. Life just wasn't fair sometimes.
§§§
"Angela, I can't wear this." Brennan was standing in front of the mirror in the clothing store where Angela had taken her shortly after her best friend had stated that she was going to the FBI's New Year's Eve party with Booth.
Angela had insisted that she would need a new dress for that event…something that would knock Booth off his feet, a term Brennan hadn't really understood.
"Isn't this too revealing?" Brennan looked with concern at her bare back. The dark blue dress was only connected to the front part with a few delicate ribbons at the back. In the front the dress had a long slit over the right leg, reaching almost to the top of the thigh. The silky fabric wrapped around her like a second skin . "Booth won't approve of this. It will irritate him greatly." She looked over her shoulder in Angela's direction.
"Yeah, and we wouldn't want to do that, would we?" Angela gave her a meaningful smile. "I mean we don't want to irritate Booth, am I right?"
Brennan rolled her eyes. "Angela, you know exactly what I mean." She checked herself again in the mirror. "I'm going with him because he doesn't want to go to the party alone. I'm just his partner, not his date." She turned again to check the front of the dress in the mirror.
"But this dress has the potential to change that, don't you think? ' Angela walked up to her. "And you know, there's something magical about New Year's Eve." She gave her an approving nod as she studied the reflection.
Brennan shook her head. "Angela, you're the second person to say that….I mean about 'the magic'. Where does that even come from?"
Angela winked at her. "And I bet Booth was the other person who told you that, right?"
"Yes, but I still don't understand why you two are making such a fuss about that night." Nevertheless, she went to the clothes rack and got the matching stole for her outfit and wrapped it around her shoulders, still turning in front of the mirror..
"Brennan, it just is. You're happy, you're relaxed. It's romantic." She winked at her. "It's statistically proven that New Year's Eve is the night when most people have sex. That's according to a study by Stanford University." Angela was convinced that hard facts would convince Brennan best. "Even more than on Valentine's Day."
"Angela, Booth and I will not have sex! He even promised not to kiss me."
Angela put her hands on her hips. "How did you come up with that stupid idea?"
"Angela, believe me, it's better this way. I'm just afraid that we might not be able to stop." She looked at her friend with uncertainty.
Angela reached out and shook her friend a little. "And what would be wrong with that, huh?" She knew there was nothing Brennan was more afraid of than allowing herself feelings she couldn't control. but it was time to push these two stubborn people in the right direction. "It's not like you two aren't head over heels in love with each other."
Brennan shook her head in disgust. "Angela, you're wrong! We're just partners! We don't love each other."
Angela raised both hands. "Okay, okay! You keep telling yourself that. I'm about to give up."
"Besides, Angela, we're colleagues. A romantic relationship wouldn't be allowed by the FBI."
"Bullshit." Angela crossed her arms over her chest. "They would never separate you. Besides, you're not FBI. That's just an excuse, isn't it?" She stared at Brennan.
"Angela, it's complicated."
Angela knew the moment had come to stop hassling her best friend. She took her in her arms. "Sweetie, I know it is, but just have a bit of courage, okay?"
Then she let go of Brennan and pointed to the dress. "And this gown will be packed up immediately, no arguments. Let's go."
AN: I am a lucky girl with two betas who make my poor writing lots better. Thanks again to threesquares and 554Laura. If you like this story and would like to read some more, please let me know in a review.