Disclaimer: Bones and all the characters therein are owned by FOX, Hart Hanson and Kathy Reichs.

Author's note: Inspired by the the Dutch song "Betekenis" by Jeroen van der Boom.

Against Better Knowledge

The bright morning light of the sun streaming into the bedroom through the curtains and lighting up the room caused him to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw were the contours of her well-structured face. Thinking back to the night before and what they had done was reason enough for him to close his eyes again. He reminisced every little detail—every scent, every move, every whispered word—for he longed for more. Not for more than what had transpired between them as it had been even better than he had imagined it in his dreams, but for more of the same passion and bliss. He'd had a taste of the magic, of the miracle of two becoming one together, of true love, and he was addicted to it now, to her. Just thinking about her made his heart ache like it never had before.

His thoughts about last night's events were interrupted when he felt her place a soft kiss on his mouth, which simultaneously unveiled that she was leaving his bed. Leaving him. His heart screamed out because this was the part he'd dreaded. He wished she would tell him this wasn't the end and assure him it was, instead, just the beginning of something beautiful. That, yes, they had crossed the line, but that it didn't matter because the line had become a dot anyway and erasing it altogether had been the right thing to do. It had definitely felt right last night.

He finally opened his eyes again and watched her climb out of the bed. She scrambled for her clothes and then hastily put them on. When she was fully dressed, she finally glanced over at him. He looked back at her, meeting her eyes for the first time since their awakening, and intended to ask her to stay, to come back to bed, to make love again, but somehow the words remained stuck in his throat, unable to come out. She looked down at the carpet, away from him, muttering that she needed to go. She didn't tell him where, but he assumed it would most likely be the lab for he knew that she threw herself into her work when a personal issue was bothering her and she didn't know how to deal with it. The expression in her eyes had told him that, no matter how much she had enjoyed their time together, she didn't know what it meant. He knew she needed time to adjust to the change in their relationship, which was why he didn't rush her back into his bed even though it cost him all his willpower to refrain from doing so.

"Temperance," he finally called out, using her first name, but it was in vain as she had left the bedroom already.

He closed his eyes again and heard the solid thud of a shutting door. She had left. Left his bed, his house, but her scent remained embedded in the pillow next to him and he moved closer to inhale and wallow in it. He released a deep sigh. Against better knowledge, disregarding everything, he had followed his heart, but at the same time he knew he had asked for too much too fast and for something too meaningful. She wasn't ready to give in to love, yet, to give in to him and trust him with her heart. He understood perfectly well that with her history she was terrified to do so and he would give her time, because he believed in her. Believed in them. Last night was the final proof he had needed to confirm what he already knew. They belonged together.

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