Coffins And Caskets

Summary: Sometimes we're forced to do some things we don't want to. Sometimes Angela forces us to do them. BB. Possibly AH.

A/N: Its goldpiece's fault, writing stories about holidays out of season.

And yes, I'm sulking because for Chapter 16 of Desert Caves and Arabian Nights I only got two reviews. I have become reliant on them. For everything. They cook my meals dammit! You want me to starve?

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Part I.

"Brennan! For goodness sake!"

Angela's voice rang throughout her friend's apartment and Hodgins and Zach, who were sitting in the living room, looked at each other, slightly worried at what could be going on in the bedroom.

"I'm not wearing that."

It was the fourth time she'd repeated this, and neither of the two women would back down.

"Look, Sweetie. Halloween is the one night a year when you don't have to worry about looking different, because everyone looks different."

Hodgins wondered exactly what Angela was trying to force on Brennan to make her get this snarky about it.

"Are you two done yet?" asked Zach.

There was a knock on the front door as a reply. Hodgins got up to open it and found Booth standing on the other side.

"The chaperone is here."

Hodgins was about to greet him back when he was cut off.

"Temperance Brennan, you have five seconds to put this on, or I'm going to do it myself!" Angela almost shrieked.

Hodgins grinned. "There's something I wouldn't mind catching a glimpse of."

Booth smiled, though it was slightly sad. Today wasn't exactly the day it could have been. Sure, he was going to see Brennan out of a lab coat and into something utterly not her, judging by the conversation going on in the bedroom, but he wasn't allowed to say anything about it. His partner had a boyfriend, and it wasn't him. He ached at the thought and tried to brush it and the mental images of Brennan and David together away, the green-eyes monster growling in his belly.

"Thank freaking God," Angela's voice floated in.

Apparently her threats had been enough.

There were some strangled noises and a sharp intake of breath, and Booth wondered what an earth they could be doing.

There was a mumble, then Angela's amused reply.

"Charming, Bren. I didn't know your vocabulary was so colourful." Angela walked out of the bedroom, fairy wings in hand.

"Hi, Booth," she grinned at him.

"Hi…Fairy Princess, I presume?"

"You'd be correct. Vampire Brennan had a little trouble with her corset." She grinned evilly when she saw Booth's surprised expression.

So that's what the strangled noises were.

"Corset?" Zach asked, trying to peer around Angela to get a glimpse of the bedroom.

Booth checked his watch. If they didn't hurry up, they'd be late. The Halloween party was being held at a hall just down the road from the Jeffersonian, and Angela had invited him, since anyone attending was allowed to bring a partner. He had an inkling as to why she had invited him, since he knew underneath her acceptance on the surface, she didn't like David.

His jaw almost dropped to the floor a few seconds later, and he felt that perhaps a detour to a cold shower was in order on the way to the party.

Brennan cautiously stepped out of the bedroom behind Angela, nervously tucking stray hairs behind an ear as she did so.

Her legs were clad in knee-length boots and black fishnet stockings that disappeared into a black skirt that started mid-thigh. She was indeed wearing a corset, and the straps of a black bra were visible beneath it, which her arms were uneasily thrown across, hiding the lacy black material, and a thin, translucent black jacket was over the top of it. Her makeup was darker than usual, eyeliner stroked beneath her eyes and her lashes thick with mascara, making her eyes more striking than usual. Her hair was in a bun, loose strands hanging about her face. Her lips were blood red, the only colour in her whole outfit.

She looked extremely uncomfortable and blushed when Booth caught her eye, smoothing down her skirt.

Angela picked up a cape off the back of an armchair and helped her friend tie it up. She immediately pulled it around herself, hiding what Angela had forced upon her.

"Are we going then?" asked Angela, oblivious to the looks all the men in the room were throwing Brennan's way, eager to get to the party where there could possibly be men, or alcohol.

Booth managed a strangled yes and led the way out the door, first into the elevator. He took a deep breath and willed any unprofessional thoughts out of his mind.

Brennan stood beside him as everyone else piled in, and Angela pressed the button for the first floor.

"So what are you supposed to be anyway?" she asked Booth, looking him up and down. He kept calm and platered his charm smile on.

"I'm an FBI agent. Cool huh?"

"You're so unoriginal."

"Ah, but you just stole my idea. Though I didn't think of the corset."

Brennan blushed but couldn't help thinking about what her partner would look like dressed in a corset.

-

The drive from Brennan's apartment to the party hall wasn't long, but long enough to let Booth get his emotions under control. At least until they arrived, anyway, since seeing David outside the door immediately made a pool of jealousy rise in his stomach. He tried to rein it in, but catching a glimpse of Brennan in the rear-view mirror, his resolve crumbled.

They piled out, and Brennan kept to the back, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. Booth went beside her, a hand on her back, his feelings other than jealousy forgotten as soon as he stepped out of the car and made his way toward the entrance. And David.

She gave him a sideways glance, but didn't pull away despite her embarrassment. He leaned toward her slightly, his mouth close to her ear.

"This is what has become of the infamous Dr. Brennan? Walking out of the spotlight and actually self-conscious?" he whispered, a grin spreading across his face.

She sent him a death glare and sped up, leaving him behind her. He just grinned, especially when he caught the look on David's face. They walked inside, the party already in full swing, and Hodgins, like the pirate he was, immediately headed for the tables filled with food.

Zach stuck close to Angela, who didn't seem to mind, she always felt sorry for Zach and liked helping him out.

Booth averted his gaze from his partner when she greeted her boyfriend and hung onto his arm, and focused his eyes on something else.

They sat at a table, and Brennan, oblivious to Booth's discomfort around her, sat next to him and didn't think there was anything different about the night.

Her leg brushed his thigh and he swallowed. It was going to be a long evening.

He smiled slightly when after David had gone to get drinks Angela sat down at his vacated seat, immediately beginning to converse with her friend.

"So, aren't you glad you came now?"

Booth watched as his partner smoothed down her skirt, her hands shaking slightly. Her elbow bumped his arm and her gaze flicked toward him before answering Angela's question. "I guess so."

Booth couldn't help but think she was lying.

He watched her carefully from then on. She seemed calm enough; she had relaxed back into her seat and no longer had a worried crease between her brows.

He saw David returning out of the corner of his eye, and slid his arm along the back of the seat, resting it behind Brennan. Leaning toward her again, he whispered a question in her ear and she looked at him, answering quietly, a shadow of a smile crossing her face. He didn't fail to notice the look that David threw at him and felt satisfied that he had made the other guy jealous.

His attention was taken elsewhere when a pretty blonde asked him to dance, batting her eyelashes and giggling.

He politely declined, resisting the urge to roll his eyes when he thought that Brennan would never in her life use that ploy to get a man's attention. He grinned slightly when he thought she probably didn't even know how.

Angela gestured to him a little while later and pulled him into a quiet corner.

"Interesting way to what did you say you were going to do? 'Keep your distance because she's in a relationship'?" Angela crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I know, it's just…"

"David is an asshat?"

"Well, yes, if you want to put it that way."

Angela patted his arm. "Its okay, sweetie. I know if I were after Brennan I'd want David down a well or somewhere equally hard to get out of."

Booth grinned.

"And look, I know as well as you that they aren't meant to be together. You both know your feelings for each other, its just getting Brennan to know how you feel about her. She wants you, but I think she also wants a push in the right direction.

"Now that I've said that, I have a wonderful idea that I'm sure will get Brennan to do whatever you want her to," Angela nodded slowly, a grin spreading over her face. How she had known what he was thinking about amazed him.

He took a guess. "Does it involve getting her so drunk she can't walk?"

"Its not a good idea?" she asked, slightly despondent he'd guessed her plan so quickly.

"Not particularly. I was thinking more of an 'accident'," Booth put air quotes around the word.

"Ahh…" Angela nodded, a mischievous grin now in place. "Any ideas?"

Booth looked blank.

"I'm taking that as a no. Never mind, I'll think of something soon."

They returned to the table and Brennan immediately began to question Booth.

"What were you two talking about?"

"Bones, you know that thing where you don't go poking your nose into other people's business?"

"I'm not poking my nose anywhere, you can see that," said Brennan, slightly bewildered.

Booth sighed. "Just…don't worry about what we were talking about."

Brennan gave him a strange look and returned to running her finger around the rim of her glass.

"If you're bored I can take you home."

She looked at him sideways. He hadn't known where it had come from either.

"You think we can get out as unnoticed as possible?" she asked.

"Depends, are you good at being sneaky?" he waggled his eyebrows at her and she grinned at him, shaking her head.

"You know I'm not."

"Well, there's only one thing to do."

She quirked an eyebrow at him and he whispered something in her ear. His eyes flicked to David who had previously been engaged in conversation with Zach, but had caught Booth talking to his girlfriend less than platonically once again.

When he finished, Brennan nodded to show she understood and got up, brushing past Booth on her way around to talk to David. He averted his gaze again when she kissed him goodbye, and then followed her out the door. David stared daggers at him, but he just grinned to himself. He waved to Angela, who gave him a thumbs-up, and returned to pursuing the anthropologist on her way out to his SUV.

He flicked on the heater as he started the ignition, warming the car up as Brennan had wrapped her arms around herself against the chilly night air.

"Thank you for getting me out of there," she said after a while.

"What, it wasn't fun?" he asked teasingly.

She didn't answer, just looked at him.

"I'm teasing, Bones. I know parties aren't really your thing."

She settled back into her seat, the cape around her shoulders falling away, leaving him a decent view of the milky skin of her chest, constricted by the corset.

Forcing himself to concentrate on other things, like the road in front of him, he tried to think of something to say. Failing miserably, he gave up and turned on the radio for the rest of the ride back to Brennan's apartment.

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You've probably realised by now there is no point to this story, it's just an excuse for Booth and Brennan to get it on.