Author's Note: This is more me yielding to all of the comments about wanting more of a certain something. It's on the same seam as a previous chapter. You could say that instead of the first chapter happening, this one happened. But I'm not gonna tell you what chapter it is. That would spoil it.

Setting: I feel like I shouldn't even say anything. Most of you know the drill by now; mostly irrelevant from when Sweets enters the picture on. Although, I think definitely this happens before the S5 finale, but could very well happen well before that. The other chapter happened later, sometime in S6, and this is S5 or before. Just remember that so you don't say "That doesn't work."

Only one more. I cannot believe it. Wow. Hey... who would win at poker? Booth or Brennan?

Yielding
Giving away under pressure; inclined to give in; submissive; compliant: a timid, yielding man.

Seeley Booth is a stubborn man by nature. He is willing to argue his point until there is nothing left to say. He doesn't change his thoughts because someone tries to convince him to, even if that certain empirical woman's evidence overwhelms his premises and means he should.

He doesn't give into the jeers fellow agents throw his way about Bones or succumb to that pressure. He doesn't always do everything he should, even thought it would be the right thing to do. Most importantly, he prides himself on not caving in because of guilt or a beautiful, innocent, and occasionally pouty, face.

Well, at least he used to pride himself on that. Now he's not so sure it is something he can claim.

With his arms tightly crossed over his chest, his foot impatiently bouncing, he stole another sideways glance at his partner. When he saw she was looking at him with the same, undeniable look of an innocent child, he quickly looked straight ahead at the young psychologist in disgust.

"Come on, Sweets," he groaned, breaking the unbearable silence. After he had refused the first time, both Brennan and Sweets resigned to silently looking at him, forcing Booth to squirm in his seat.

Sweets, with his big pouty lips and doughy eyes, even when his eyebrows are furrowed, and Bones with her eyebrows raised, long eyelashes blinking—that's what annoys him.

"Please, Booth?" She sounded like a sad child. Booth felt his resolve flee. In a more "Bonesy" fashion, she added, "I believe I will find it quite enlightening to hear what you have to say in response to my selections."

He looked between her and Sweets a few times before yielding to her wish. "Fine. But," he said directly to Sweets, "only because she wants to. Not because you want us to."

Sweets made a steeple with his hands and leaned back in his seat. "Interesting," he remarked.

Booth wanted to shake the "interested" look right off the kid's face, but turned to Brennan instead. Like a pathetic teenager, he muttered, "Let's get this over with."

Brennan made her back even more erect and Booth was able to picture what Brennan was like in high school. "Humerus."

He didn't think at all before replying, "Hillarious."

She quashed her instinct to tell him she meant the bone in the human skeleton's arm. With another attempt at random, pointless words, she said, "The zygomatic arch."

"Fancy," he mocked in a faux-British accent, making it sound like he said "fawn sea." If all she was going to do was name squinty terms, he was not going to leave this session happy.

Brennan looked at him and he knew she was mentally complaining about his answers. He shrugged his eyebrows on purpose to signify that he may or may not be purposefully annoying her. She considered herself too intelligent to play his games and throw out random, purposeless words. If she did, the exercise would have no meaning for her and she wouldn't allow that.

So, instead, she wanted to choose words that had meaning. It was her opportunity to ask or prompt things without having to explain the cause. Booth couldn't ask questions about her choices, and with that knowledge, she dove into a quickly planned list.

She tried to start off easy to allow him to be eased into the more personal and difficult answers, knowing his tendency to overreact or blow answers off. "Airports."

His mind wandered to the day Brennan blackmailed him to let her be his partner after he had airport security detain her. He chuckled before realizing his answer wasn't immediate like Sweets wanted. "Hectic," he lied. Of course, his first thought was her, Bones.

She had expected him to say something about the first day of their partnership. Frowning, she reminded herself that in every experiment there are deviations. Her next choice was one she knew he would have to answer accordingly. "Hot."

He gulped, grateful he was able to stop himself from blurting the first thought. Sweets noticed Booth tense, but with a slight glare from Booth, the younger man remained silent. "Blooded," he answered, instead of "you."

With her next prompt, "Ludicrous," he saw her game. He didn't want to take part in the word association exercise at first, but gave in because of how badly she did. Now, looking at her again, he felt the need to play along.

She was studying his face for any of his tells. He looked relaxed, which reassured her that he would be giving her unscripted, reflex answers. This way, she thought, Booth couldn't hide.

"Fate," he replied, bringing them back to the day they met.

Mentally, he rubbed his hands together in anticipation, his back hunched to signify his ready and alert state. Outwardly, though, he carefully remained composed, unfazed, and completely at ease. Booth knows from being a father when to let the child have their moment even though the parent saw it coming. With Brennan, this was one of those times.

Sweets couldn't discern why Booth answered like Brennan, and when she prompted, "Dancing," and Booth answered with, "Phalanges," he was especially perplexed.

She, however, knew exactly what all of his answers meant. After all, she wouldn't be giving out words if they wouldn't garner the appropriate reply. Something else Sweets wasn't catching on was the reason behind her choices. Brennan wanted to give her partner a hint to her feelings by bringing up all of the milestone and important moments between them.

"Christmas."

He could sense the importance and thought she was putting into it and, for whatever reason, he couldn't deny her this. Maybe he couldn't ever deny her and had just convinced himself he could—he didn't know. But, in this very moment, with that adorably passionate and inquisitive look on her face, he couldn't resist. "Puckish," he admitted, the smallest hint of a grin on his lips.

She smiled back at him, cheeks slightly flushed, and suddenly giving into her was so worth it.