December 7th: Sunsetdreamer chose the word "tattoo".

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"Can I ask you a personal question?" Brennan asked.

"How personal?" Booth asked without looking up from his sports section.

"I'm not sure. You've never brought it up." She said. "But now that we are sleeping together, I thought..." She stopped as Booth set down his paper with an exasperated sigh. He knew when he was beat.

"You would bring it up?" He finished for her as he turned to give her his attention.

"I'm wondering about your tattoos." Booth glanced at his right wrist, as if he had forgotten a tattoo was there.

"Oh." He said, as if that were way too easy. "Soul and Destiny." He explained as he held each wrist up for her. She smiled.

"I find those to be incredibly appropriate for you."

"Oh yeah?" He said absent-mindedly, preparing for the anthropological rant that she was about to go on regarding the history of tattoos.

"You work hard every day to ensure that you are a good man, a worthy man. Your soul is your most prized characteristic and it shows." She said as she stood up. "You also have a strong belief in destiny. In fact, the very first thing you ever asked me was if I believed in fate." She reminded him as she sat down next to him on the couch. Booth smiled at both her assessment and the memory of their first meeting. "When did you get them?" She asked, interested in hearing more. Booth's smile faltered.

"Um, after I was kidnapped in Somalia." He said, trying not to make it into a thing. Still, he felt the slight hitch in Brennan's breath at the apparent serious turn the conversation had just taken. He had only discussed it with her once, while he was lying in a hospital bed many years ago. "When I was rescued, it felt like a second chance, you know? Like there was a greater reason that I had been saved. I didn't know what that reason was, but I did know that I had to make up for the lives that I had taken. So, I got one that represented the unknown reason: my destiny and I got the other that represented the known reason: my soul."

"Why haven't you ever told me this before?" She asked.

"I don't know; maybe because you think the ideas of destiny and a soul are ludicrous." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I do." Brennan agreed as she reached for his hand. He watched as she intertwined her fingers in his and brought his wrist to her lips, kissing the tattoo softly. "But you don't." The caring action sent chills down Booth's arm and he couldn't resist cupping her face in his free hand and kissing her. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers, silently saying a prayer of thanks for her. It was a rare moment when he let down his guard like this but when he did, he was grateful that she took him seriously, even if she didn't agree with him.

"You were the reason." He whispered as he looked into her eyes. "You were my destiny." She felt the now all too familiar tingling in the bridge of her nose but she didn't bother fighting it. She had gotten used to crying for no apparent reason, it was about damn time she had a good one. "I love you." He said as he wiped a runaway tear off her cheek. Brennan wanted to tell him that she loved him too but her words felt weak in comparison so she kissed him instead. When she finally pulled away, she stood up and reached out for his hand. He gave it willingly and stood up next to her. Without a word, she started walking backwards towards the bedroom. He caught up and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close as they went. If an image was worth a thousand words, she hoped that her actions would be worth at least the three she needed to convey.

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