Booth and Brennan sat together on that bench for almost an hour, most of it spent in quiet. The cake had been consumed long ago; within ten minutes. Now, the partners just shared a companiable silence, neither feeling the need to move. Brennan would've liked to say many things, but settled on, "Happy Birthday, Booth."
Seeley Booth looked over appreciatively and gave her a little half smile. "Thanks." After a moment, he continued. "My parents drank." He gazed into Brennan's eyes, and when she made a characteristic move to insist this confession wasn't necessary, he went on, "All the time they would beat both Jared and myself, most always after a rough night out. It wasn't their fault, but I grew up as the protector. I took all their blows with a hard face, hoping that Jared would be spared from the violence. Whenever he did stupid things, which was often, I would keep my mouth shut. I thought we had enough problems to deal with. But then my parents died, and we grew up. But Jared just kept getting in trouble. I would get a call in the middle of the night, and I would go bail my brother out; often with personal sacrifices. But I thought it was my duty as family. I was wrong. He'll never learn."
Booth took a long shuddering breath. Brennan looked over at him and found herself at a loss for words; the speech inside had taken almost all she had. "Booth, you know I don't believe in all this, but," she paused, "when Jared kissed me at the gala, all I could think about was the fact that he wasn't the right Booth." She blushed just a bit. "And now, here, it's your birthday. Plus you've opened yourself up to me, which had to take immense willpower, so I am going to do the only thing I know how." She leaned in close, and tenderly placed her lips on his.
He responded quickly, and when they pulled apart, he laughed, and reached over to wipe something off her lip. "You've got something right….here. Got it!" he licked a bit of frosting off his finger. Brennan laughed to, and put her head down so it was resting on his shoulders and she could gaze at the stars.
Brennan thanked those beautiful pieces of flaming rock that while she and Booth might never enter a relationship, they would always and forever be partners. And that was good enough for her. Booth leaned over and whispered, "Happy Birthday to me."