HEY, BONES pals! How art thou? Good, I hope. I'm doing pretty well. My life has been very crazy lately, but this is not a diary, so I'll stop there.

Anyways...I decided a few weeks ago that it was a good idea to continue the Naked Booth on top Holiday series, and when I considered a good holiday, St. Patrick's Day came to mind. This story will be three chapters long, and I admit two things to you.

1. It's probably the most frivolous of all of the Naked Booth on Top Holiday stories. I am not ashamed of this.

2. It didn't quite turn out the way I had in mind, but I can't figure out how to change it. It sort of has one chapter of plot, and then a chapter of little drabbles, almost, and then the third chapter with the M rated goodness. I am slightly ashamed of this lack of continuity in the flow of the story, but i hope in the end, it mostly feels okay. The point is to have fun, and to get Booth naked, so...win, win, win.

Drop me a line and let me know how you're doing!

-b&b-

March 10, 2010

"So…" Sweets nodded and opened up his desk log. "Same time, next week?"

Brennan pursed her lips and nodded, sparing a small glance toward Booth. "That works for me."

"Ah…" Booth clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Sorry. No can do."

When he didn't offer up a reason, Brennan looked toward him with raised eyebrows. "Why can't you meet next Wednesday?"

Booth's lips curved up into a secretive smile. "I have plans."

Sweets' eyes narrowed on Brennan for her reaction, but she was mostly calm in appearance.

She leaned closer to Booth and lowered her voice, just a fraction. "Booth, are you…are you sick?"

Booth's head reared back, and he tossed a quick, but nervous glance toward Sweets. "What? No. No, I'm not sick." His voice lowered as well. "It's something with Parker. For school."

"Is he in trouble again?" Sweets interjected.

Booth's eyebrows rose, and he opened his palms between Brennan and Sweets. "What is with you two? Can't you mind your own business? Can't a man have a secret?"

"Is it a secret?" Sweets asked.

"What?" Booth scoffed and shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "No. What? No, I don't have secrets."

Brennan blinked at his logic pattern, but then turned more toward him. "Well then why can't you tell us what it is?"

He exhaled through his nose and once again looked between his partner and their psychiatrist. "Fine," he huffed. "I'll tell you." Rolling his shoulders back, he tossed his stress ball up in the air. "Parker's school is hosting a St. Patrick's Day festival next week, and I'm helping with that."

"St. Patrick's Day?" Brennan frowned. "What's the significance of that?"

"Catholic, Bones?" Booth tilted his head to the side. "Parker goes to Catholic school, so…"

Brennan looked to Sweets for a moment. "I still don't understand the significance."

When Booth sputtered, Sweets leaned forward. "Dr. Brennan, many Catholic communities embrace their heritage and their roots from Ireland. Sometimes Catholic schools will often choose an Irishman of sorts for their mascot."

"Right," Brennan conceded. "But you're not Irish."

Booth smirked. "But…I'm Catholic, so…"

"So," Brennan argued. "It doesn't make sense."

"I'm not…" Booth waved his hand in the air and stood up. "I'm not having this discussion with you. Not like this. I can't meet next Wednesday, because I'm helping Parker at school. That's all." He shrugged a shoulder and pointed to Sweets. "I'm sure his little black book there is completely empty, so come on, Bones, let's get out of here, and we can come back and see Dr. Embracing our Heritage some other time next week, okay?"

Sweets chuckled, but stood up. "Interesting that although you're annoyed with Dr. Brennan, you choose instead to lash out at me, in order to protect your partnership."

Booth tensed, and then tossed a glance toward Brennan. She looked at him just as quickly, but then scoffed. "That's…that's crazy." She offered, and then looked down before he met her eyes. A fraction of a second later, she looked back up to see that he was just looking away from her again.

Sweets took in that little show, and leaned against his desk. "And now, I'm really curious as to just what you'll be doing at this school festival."

Booth rolled his eyes and motioned toward the door, but Brennan didn't move. Her eyes were wide, and he made a face at her. But she was nonplussed. "What, Booth? I'm curious too."

He shook his head, pressing his palms to his hips. "Fine. Fine, okay?" He swallowed hard and pressed his tongue to the inside of his mouth, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "It's no big deal, but Parker kind of volunteered me to help out the PTA with this event, that's all. Now, can we leave?"

"Doing what?" Sweets crossed his arms over his chest. "Working a concession stand?"

Booth eyed him, and then his partner, who somehow, and he was so sure it wasn't on purpose, was actually blocking his exit. "No." His chest puffed out and he palmed the back of his neck in agitation. "It's a booth."

Brennan frowned. "What kind of booth?"

He scratched his chin and his nostrils flared. "A kissing booth."

Sweets snickered and Brennan tilted her head to the side. "A kissing booth?"

"So, what?" Sweets asked. "You'll be taking tickets or something?"

"Yeah" Booth grunted. "Something like that."

Brennan blocked the door with her arm. "Well, what is it?"

"What is with you two?" Booth's eyebrows rose. "Do you have to know everything?" When there was no response, he shook his head. "Fine, okay? Like I said, it's a kissing booth. And since my last name…"

"Ah…" Sweets laughed. "Classic."

"What?" Brennan frowned. "What's classic?" She leaned toward Sweets. "What's classic?"

Sweets motioned for Booth to explain, but the agent just stood in silence, an annoyed look on his face.

"Well, Dr. Brennan." Sweets sat back down in his chair. "Have you ever seen a kissing booth before?"

When she shook her head, Sweets nodded. "The general idea is that one person is in a small booth and people can pay money or give tickets they have previously paid money for to kiss the person in the booth."

"Oh…" she turned toward Booth. "So you'll be accepting tickets?"

When Sweets laughed again, Booth's cheeks grew flushed.

"No, Dr. Brennan," Sweets explained. "He'll be accepting the kisses."

"Yeah" Booth cleared his throat. "Kissing booth…Kissing Booth" he motioned to his chest. "Get it?"

"Oh" Brennan repeated. "Well, it's quite clever, actually. Except for the kissing random strangers part."

"Look, once I arrived at the PTA meeting, well…they said I'd be perfect. I mean, I wanted to help out, right? It's not like I could go in to my first PTA meeting and say no, you know?"He looked to his partner for support, but was surprised to see her staring at him, wide eyed, a look of concern on her face. "Ah, come on, Bones. It's not that big of a deal. It's a fundraiser. I stand in a little wooden booth, and take tickets or tokens or whatever, and get kissed. It's as simple as that."

Brennan blinked and then stood up straighter. "Well, it sounds like fun. I think I'll go along."

"What?" Booth chuckled. "No, come on, Bones. You don't want to do that." His hand shoved into his pocket to meet his poker chip.

"Why not, Booth?"

The agent tossed Sweets a look, but the younger man just shrugged. "I don't see any harm in Dr. Brennan going to the festival."

Booth sighed and shook his head. "Fine, Bones. You really want to go?"

She played it cool and shrugged casually. "I mean if you want me to, then yes…if I am available. I have a very busy schedule after all." Her wide eyes and slight flush didn't fool either man, but neither felt like making a big deal out of it.

"Of course I want you to come, Bones" Booth opened his hands to her in mock agreement. "Why wouldn't I want you to come?"

Brennan missed his tone, and turned toward Sweets. "Do you want to come, too?"

"Bones!" Booth huffed.

Sweets looked between the two of them, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'd love to come."

-b&b—

March 17th, 2010

"Ah…" Sweets sighed as he sank into a chair across from Booth and beside Brennan at the diner. He motioned with two fingers toward the waitress and smiled as she brought him a quick cup of coffee. "It is so nice outside. It's practically perfect."

"Mmmhmm…" Booth nodded noncommittally, tracing the slim circle of condensation around the base of his water glass.

Sweets looked between him and Brennan. "Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt a fight?"

"A fight?" Brennan shook her head. "We don't fight. Right?"

Booth nodded. "Right. We were just talking. And Bones here was being irrational."

"Irrational!" Brennan sputtered and leaned forward before slapping the back of her hand against Sweets' arm. "I was merely informing Agent Booth of the health risks he'll be taking at the festival."

"Health risks?" Sweets grinned and reached over Brennan for the creamer. "What kind of booth is this?"

"Very funny," Booth drolled. "It's just kissing. Bones thinks I'm going to contract some disease."

"Well, you will be coming into contact with many strangers, Booth." She argued. "How do you know what those people have been up to, and what their personal hygiene methods are?"

He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "It's just a kissing booth."

Sweets hid a smile at Booth's 'we're just partners' tone of voice, and said nothing.

"Booth…" Brennan continued. "Just because you'll be in some wooden structure made with cheap labor and good intentions does not mean that you won't be at risk."

"Just drop it, Bones." Booth leaned forward. "Or, if it bothers you so much, then don't come."

Brennan tensed at that and then her shoulders relaxed. "It would be irrational to let something like that prevent me from attending the festival."

"Mmmhmmm…" Booth repeated, but this time, his tone was amused. "Something like my imminent death, you mean?"

Brennan ignored that but looked to her watch. "I should go back to work. But I was thinking that it would make the most sense for us to ride together. I can meet at your apartment and ride with you."

Booth's eyebrows rose. "How exactly is that rational?"

She stood up and pulled her bag onto her shoulder as she moved past Sweets. "I assume that parking will be at a premium and it will be courteous to arrive in as few vehicles as possible."

With that she left, and Booth watched her go before remembering that Sweets was there too. He turned back and met the psychiatrist's eyes and shrugged a shoulder. "I suppose she's right about that."

"Oh yeah, yeah." Sweets agreed right away. "Totally. Totally rational."

"Hmmm…" Booth pondered. "What about you? Are you going to come over too?"

Sweets tilted his head down and stirred his coffee. "Sure."

Booth nodded. "Great." He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. Sweets could tell from his tone and posture that he was less than excited about having company at the festival.

"You know…" he couldn't help but offer. "It's quite fascinating that Dr. Brennan is so opposed to you participating in this kissing booth."

Booth blinked and then looked Sweets in the eye. "Shut up." He rolled his eyes, even as he rolled from his chair, leaving Sweets with his fries. And the bill.

-b&b-

Brennan pulled up to the curb outside of Booth's apartment in time to see Sweets pull up behind her. She quickly got out of her car and nodded toward him. "You're early."

Sweets smiled and motioned toward Booth's door. "You were here before me," he muttered.

"What?" Brennan turned back with a glance.

"Oh, nothing, nothing."

Brennan knocked on the door, and Sweets stood back and watched with interest as Booth opened the door, his shirt unbuttoned down the front. Booth blinked and stared at his partner for a moment, a slight flush creeping against his cheeks as she blinked and stared right back at him.

"Is that what you're going to wear?" she accused, and then Booth shook his head.

"What's wrong with this?" He motioned down to his waist and began buttoning up his black dress shirt, tucking it into his jeans.

"Nothing, intrinsically," Brennan conceded. "But you should consider the impression you are giving off. You look like-"

"A healthy, attractive, single man?" Sweets interrupted, then hid a smile at the frown on Brennan's face.

Booth made an annoyed face toward Sweets. "Come in," He called over his shoulder as he turned back into his apartment. Sweets once again motioned for Brennan to precede him.

"You guys can have a seat." Booth was saying. "I just need to finish getting ready."

Sweets took a seat on the couch, but Brennan waited a few seconds before following Booth back toward his bedroom.

Booth didn't notice, though, and was busy leaning over his sink, spitting out toothpaste.

"You should brush in circular motion for optimal plaque removal."

Booth's eyes widened and he looked at her incredulously. "Do you mind?"

She shifted uncomfortably, but didn't move away, motioning with her hand toward the mouthwash on Booth's sink. "What's so personal about brushing your teeth?"

Booth didn't answer and just shut his bathroom door in her face.

But she stayed put, leaning closer to it. "Are you nervous about bad breath? Is that why you are gargling twice?"

Booth yanked the door back open, wiping his mouth with a towel. "I'm not nervous. I'm just being…considerate. That's all." He shoved past her and checked his reflection in the mirror in his living room. "Gotta give the ladies their money's worth, you know."

Sweets snickered from his position on the couch, and Brennan followed Booth into the living room, almost running into him when he stopped suddenly.

"Okay, that kind of thing?" Booth held up a hand. "You guys can't be like that when we get there. All anthropology-y and psycho-y."

"I won't be." Brennan quickly agreed, looking to Sweets who nodded.

"Hmmm…" Booth shook his head as he grabbed his keys from the bowl near the fridge. "You see, you both say that now, but…once we get there…"He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, hoping he made it through the night.

-b&b-

"Oh…" Brennan's voice was slightly breathless as she took in the large signs and brightly colored balloons. Booth was surprised at her innocent reaction and spared a glance toward her from the driver's seat. But then he saw Sweets' smug look in the rearview mirror. Booth blinked and then opened his door. "Ready?"

"It's quite interesting, anthropologically-" Brennan began, but Booth held up a hand in her way.

"No, no…come on, Bones. You promised. Nothing to examine here. It's just a festival."

He kept to fingers at the base of Brennan's elbow, keeping her close as they made their way through the already teeming crowd. "See, Bones? It's fun. There are booths for lots of goofy stuff. Kissing, bingo, food…"

"Absolving of sins?" she offered, and Booth froze. His eyebrows widened and he tossed a desperate look to Sweets, but the younger man just laughed at him.

"Bones! You can't go around saying things like that." he hissed. "Maybe you shouldn't stay here."

"What?" Brennan looked hurt. "You can't un-invite me to a public event, Booth."

Booth exhaled through his nose and looked to Sweets once again.

"I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thanks, man." Booth nodded and slapped him on the shoulder as he walked toward his assignment.

Brennan frowned after him. "What? I don't need looking after!"

When Booth didn't so much as turn around or reply, she frowned more and looked back at Sweets. He smiled slightly and then tilted his head to the side. "Cotton candy or funnel cakes?"

-b&b—

An hour later…

"Hi Sweetums!"

Brennan and Sweets turned around to see Daisy coming their way. Brennan watched as Sweets smiled and leaned in to kiss his girlfriend. Daisy's eyes closed, and she rubbed her nose against Sweets'.

Brennan cleared her throat. "Hello, Miss Wick. I didn't know you would be attending."

"Oh, Dr. Brennan" she gushed. "It's so good to see you! Are you having a good time? I am. This is so cute, and so quaint. It's absolutely adorable, this entire festival. And I just know that my Sweetmuffin here will be absolutely amazing at the ring toss, won't you schnookums!"

Sweets flushed and grinned, wrapping his arms around Daisy. "I suppose I could show off my amazing skills."

Daisy giggled and then looked at Brennan. "Are you having a good time, Dr. Brennan?"

Brennan nodded warily. "Yes. It's quite fascinating. I must admit." She blinked and then turned her head to the side.

Sweets didn't miss the way she slightly strained her neck to look around him to where Booth was. He turned as well to look at what she was looking at. "Ah, it seems Agent Booth is quite popular."

"Well, of course he is." Daisy gushed. "I mean he is completely…" she paused and bit her lip, looking back at Brennan. "Oh, sorry, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan tilted her head to the side. "What are you sorry for?"

Daisy smiled and looked to Sweets before answering. "Well, everyone knows that he's your-"

"Partner" Sweets interrupted, and pressed his hand to Daisy's back. "Dr. Brennan is protective of Agent Booth."

Daisy opened her mouth to answer, but then stayed quiet as Sweets pressed harder. "Oh." She nodded and looked at him conspiratorily. "Oh."

Sweets winced and looked to Brennan, but he needn't have worried, because she was still concentrating on her partner.

"You know, Dr. Brennan," he began, "you could go stand in line."

"Oh yes!" Daisy nodded and clasped her hands together. "I am sure Agent Booth would like that. I know that you think we should all keep things very professional in the lab, and trust me when I say that I take that very seriously. I'm professionally serious and serious about being professional. DON'T worry about that at all, Dr. Brennan, but sometimes I have noticed, that…"

"What Daisy is trying to say" Sweets interrupted. "Is that it's up to you. No one would think anything out of the ordinary about you kissing Agent Booth. For charity of course."

Daisy's eyes were wide as she stared at Sweets, catching on to his intent. She nodded emphatically to Brennan. "For charity."

Brennan smoothed her hands down her sides, and when she opened her mouth to reply, Sweets held up a hand.

"Neither Daisy nor I would mention it to anyone else. Not that it would matter, because it's for charity. You just need a token."

Daisy practically threw one in her direction, and when Brennan just stood there, her eyebrows raised in surprise, Daisy gasped and got on her knees, searching for the token in the grass. She stood up quickly and used her sweater to clean off the token before lifting Brennan's hand and placing it inside. "Here you go."

Brennan stared at the token, and Sweets saw the need to leave her with some time to think.

"Come on, Daisy" Sweets put his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go check out the cake walk. Dr. Brennan…want to come with?"

"Yes!" Daisy encouraged.

Brennan pursed her lips to the side, and then nodded. "Sure."

When Sweets and Daisy turned and walked away, she placed her new token in her pocket.

-b&b—

Another hour later…

Booth took the bottle of water that the head of the PTA handed him and stepped outside his booth, glad for the 15 minute break. Not that he wasn't having a good time. He had to admit that this was kind of fun, if not a little weird. Things had certainly been surprising, like some of the single moms standing in line more than…twice. Or the grandma who had leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, but also reached around to pinch his butt. What was most surprising, though, was that he hadn't seen Bones. He didn't exactly have the best range of vision inside that wooden claptrap, but when he'd gotten the chance, he'd tried to look for her, hoping she was having a good time.

"Hey, Dad!"

"Hey!" Booth grinned, looking down to his son tugging on his arm, "Park-o, my man! What's shakin?!"

"Shakin?" Parker scrunched up his nose. "You're silly, Dad."

Booth smiled and reached over to rub his head. "Where's your mom?"

Parker shrugged a shoulder. "She's over there, talking to Bones. And Sweets." He pointed with his hand and Booth followed with his gaze, and sure enough, Rebecca was talking with his partner and Sweets. As if they knew he was looking at them, they all turned. Booth watched as Brennan bit her bottom lip and then waved at him quickly.

He smiled and lifted his hand in a quick wave. It was crazy, but just a wave from her felt better than kissing anyone else. His cheeks felt warm, especially when he saw Rebecca smirking in his direction and Sweets looking on with an intrigued look. Then Booth saw that Daisy was behind him; she must have come on her own to hang out with Sweets. He flashed a quick glance back to Bones, wondering how SHE felt about that.

"Dad, this is so awesome!" Parker was saying. "I had some cotton candy, and Bones showed me how to figure out the probabability of bingo, and stuff, and…"

Booth smiled at his mispronunciation. "She did, hmmm? Like what, with math or something?"

"Yeah, Dad." Parker grinned and showed Booth the candy he had won. "It was awesome."

"Come on, Parker!" Rebecca called, and Booth walked Parker over to her.

"Hey Rebecca," he nodded to her. "How's it going?"

She shrugged. "It's going. And speaking of going…" She tapped Parker on the head. "WE need to go, because it's getting late, and you have school tomorrow."

"Aw, Mom…" he groaned. "Can't Dad take me home later?"

Booth smiled, and tugged Parker close. "Hey, buddy, that would be fun, but I can't, because I have to give Bones a ride home, right, Bones?"

"I…" she opened her mouth to refute him, but when she saw his wide eyes, she swallowed and cleared her throat. "Um, yes…correct."

Booth gave her a half a grin and rubbed Parker's head again, "Go on, buddy. Go with your mom, and I'll see you this weekend, okay?"

"Will we make green eggs and ham?" Parker asked and held out his fist.

Booth bumped it with his. "You better believe it."

He smiled as he watched Rebecca and Parker walk away, and then he turned toward Sweets, Daisy and Brennan. "Are you guys having a good time?"

"I am…" Sweets nodded. "But Daisy has some homework…" he tilted his head toward Brennan. "And I think I'm just going to go with her. She'll take me back to your place, Agent Booth. And I'll get my car. Dr. Brennan, you're welcome to come with us, if you want."

Booth shrugged a shoulder. "Sure, Bones. It's up to you, but I'm just going to go back into the booth for another hour or so. You'll kind of be by yourself."

Brennan's eyes gave away no emotions, but she looked down to her hands. "I'll stay."

That was all she said about it, and Sweets raised his eyebrows toward Booth. "Okay, then." He nodded, and took Daisy's hand into his. "I'll see you guys, later, then."

He and Daisy walked away, and Booth shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Hey, I should probably…" he hitched his thumb back to the kissing booth.

Brennan nodded. "Sure, I understand. I'll meet you back here in about an hour."

"Great" Booth nodded.

"Great" Brennan repeated.

Booth nodded again and actually took a step backward. "In an hour. Right here. Great." He added unnecessarily.

-b&b-

Brennan watched him re-enter the booth before she turned and began walking down the crowded path of people. It was loud and noisy, but fascinating. As she continued walking, she almost ran into a table set up along the pavement. "Oh, sorry…" she frowned, trying to read the brightly colored posters taped to the front of the table.

"That's okay!" the woman sitting behind the table assured her. "We're kind of in the way here, but that's also kind of the point. We're trying to get people's attention."

"Well…" Brennan observed. "You are an attractive woman, and so I'm sure that your sexual appeal is also a factor in why you were chosen to sit there."

The woman's eyes widened, and an amused smile crossed her lips. "Well, okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Brennan answered sincerely.

"Um…" the woman held out her hand toward the top of her table. "I'm Connie, and I'm with the school's science committee. We're trying to raise money for new textbooks. We're doing raffle tickets, and also selling tokens here, too."

Brennan's eyebrows rose. "Science textbooks. Interesting."

She picked up one of the sample books on the table and began to look through it. "Well, despite the fact that the vocabulary in this book is quite basic…this does seem to have the rudimentary building blocks necessary for quality scientific inquiry." She set down the sample book and pulled out her checkbook. "How much do they cost?"

"The tickets?" Connie asked. "They are $15 each or two for $20."

"No" Brennan shook her head. "Not the tickets. The textbooks."

Connie laughed. "Oh, I don't know. Five thousand dollars?"

Brennan nodded and began writing.

"Whoa!" Connie stood up quickly. "What are you doing?"

"Um…" Brennan turned her open checkbook toward Connie as if it were completely obvious what she was doing. "I am making a contribution."

"Five thousand dollars?"

"Is that not enough?"

"Not enough?" Connie scoffed. "It's an amazing contribution. Do you…do you want the raffle tickets? Um, the prize is a new TV."

Brennan's nose scrunched up. "I have no need for a TV." She tore off the check and handed it over.

Connie stared at it, and then at Brennan. "This is…wow…thank you, very much. I mean…wow." She opened up her small cash box and scooped out some tokens. "At least take these." She shoved them into Brennan's hand.

Brennan reacted by taking a step backward, but some of the coins still fell into her open palms. It seemed like the right thing to do to just accept them, so she tried to smile and then turned and walked away, shoving the coins into her pocket as she went.

-b&b—

Thirty minutes later.

Booth smiled to the last woman in front of him and leaned forward, smiling wider at the taste of cherry lip gloss. He wasn't sure if she was being considerate to him, or what, but she was kind of cute. Dark hair, pretty eyes.

He leaned back and felt his chest expand with air. But from the corner of his eye, he saw Bones watching him. She was so far away that he couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like she might be frowning. Booth wasn't sure what to think about that, but then she was looking away, and there was a knock on the back of the booth.

He turned and saw the head of the PTA. "Is it over?"

She smiled. "Yes, I think so. What do you think?"

Booth shrugged and blushed. "I don't know. It's kind of fun."

She reached around him and grabbed the tin of tokens, jingling it. "Financially successful fun."

Booth laughed and followed her from the wooden structure, shaking her hand. He craned his head to look for Brennan and saw her standing near the ring toss, close to where they'd agreed to meet. A smile on his face, he snuck up behind her. "I bet you five bucks I can get all of the rings onto the pins."

Brennan whirled around and looked at him. "I don't care if you can, and besides, you shouldn't be betting."

A chuckle escaped his lips at her reasoning, and he shook his head. "Jeez, Bones. I guess you're right." He casually tossed an arm around her shoulder. "Good thing you are here, I guess. I might have succumbed to the pressure."

She nodded to him. "I'm glad you didn't."

Booth paused and looked at her, and she looked back.

"Are you done kissing strangers for money?"

"Ah!" Booth gasped. "Stop saying it like that."

"Why not?" she asked and began to walk forward. "Isn't that what you were doing?"

Booth jogged after her and pulled his keys from his pocket as they made their way to his SUV. "Well, I mean… I guess it's what it was, but it's not like I'M getting the money, you know?"

"Hmmm…" she tilted her head to the side as she walked around to the passenger side. "I suppose."

Booth laughed to himself and got in the driver's side, smiling as he started the ignition. "Did you at least have a good time?"

Brennan nodded. "Yes, I did."

"Mmhmmm…" Booth eyed her suspiciously. "And did you stay out of trouble?"

"Booth!" Brennan insisted. "Of course. I never get into trouble."

Her chin tilted up just a bit in disbelief of his question, and Booth clicked his tongue against his teeth, waggling one index finger in her direction. "You see, you say that, Bones. But I know you."

His eyes narrowed when he thought he might have seen a flicker of hurt at his words. When she didn't say anything, he figured he'd just imagined it. He turned to face the road, concentrating on his driving.

The rest of the ride was mostly quiet, and when he pulled up to the curb, he turned off the engine and watched as Brennan got out of the passenger side and waited for him to walk around the SUV.

Booth walked up to his door and opened it, stepping aside to let Brennan enter in front of him. But she just stood where she was.

"What's the matter, Bones?"

He watched as she bit her bottom lip, and then she took a small step toward him, lifting up her hand. When she opened it, his eyes widened at the single token she held.

"Um…okay," he laughed nervously. "What's that?"

She blinked and tilted her head to the side. "It's a coin, Booth. I purchased it at the festival tonight."

Booth looked to his left and his right, wondering if someone was playing a joke on him. "And…does it mean what I think it means?"

She frowned. "How could I possibly know what you think it means?"

An exasperated sound escaped his lips. "Are you saying you want to kiss me?"

"Well…"

Booth watched, amazed, as a slight flush crept over her cheeks.

"It's for charity," she explained. "I didn't feel like standing in line, and I figured you would prefer that I might kiss you privately, and…"

Though her words had trailed off and her voice had gotten quieter, Booth's heart rate had sped way up, wondering if this was really happening. "You want to kiss me," he reiterated. "For charity."

"Yes" she shrugged a casual shoulder, as if it was the most natural request in the world.

Booth felt his throat begin to close up, like it had once before. At the time, he'd wondered if maybe he was allergic to mistletoe, but now he knew it was just nerves. "Um, well…okay. For charity, I guess."

She didn't reply, but offered him the token. Feeling slightly bewildered, Booth accepted it and placed it into his pocket. He tried to relax as much as possible, but couldn't help tensing just a bit when Brennan took a small step forward, invading his personal space.

And then before he was quite ready for it, she cupped his face with both of her hands and leaned up, pressing her lips against his.

It was sweet and soft and over before he knew it.

She took a step back and then another, placing her hands back to her side, looking calm and collected. "Well, goodnight, Booth."

He felt his body lean into his doorjamb, as if it knew it needed the support. Trying for casual himself, he shoved a hand into his pocket. "Yeah." He swallowed and cleared his throat. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Booth watched her turn and walk down his hallway, as his thumb brushed over the token in his pocket.

-b&b-

See you in a few hours with chapter two!