AN: This is a short little one shot that can take place anywhere, season 4 and beyond. I wanted to flesh it out, but I've now faced the reality that it's not going to happen. Enjoy.

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Eye of the Storm

There's stillness in their interaction tonight, a quiet calm that Sweets finds intriguing. Normally, he sees them locked in an argument, each one scrambling to cow the other into submission, fighting to be the declared winner, usually by a third party- an innocent bystander who can only sit back and watch in either amusement or exasperation. Probably a mixture of both.

But tonight, it's not the worn out predictable steps of two people who have been locked in a dance of denied attraction and dominance. It's as if they've called a truce, and one that comes naturally, ebbing and flowing with their unspoken needs and wants.

They are having a calm conversation about a neutral topic- which he didn't think could exist between these two- something about travel, and different cultural blunders they've both experienced. Brennan's face lights up in amusement over Agent Booth's poor Spanish skills, and Booth grins in … what can only be described as adoration as Dr. Brennan babbles on about some tribal convention that she broke- which she has to explain, like she usually does, and as per usual in a tedious amount of detail. But Agent Booth does not rush her like usual, he seems to be wrapped up in the sound of her voice, her expressions and wild hand gestures.

Sweets can't help but be a little drawn himself. In the low, soft lighting of the bar, Dr. Brennan's hair is an almost burning red, her cheeks flushed prettily and a her smile that could stop any man dead at 20 paces has flashed more in the last hour than Sweets thinks he's ever seen in the few short years he's known her.

There's no tension tonight, romantic or otherwise; just the light happy conversation between two people savoring the break from the roles they've carved out for themselves within the team. Sweets suddenly sees the potential between the two of them. He's been an unofficial cheerleader for the two of them getting together since he first met them, but this? It's altered his view entirely on how their relationship would pan out. True, they are not being themselves, but this is what he imagines they'll be like once they resolve their issues.

A little wave of melancholy resignation hits him at that thought, because he can't help but wonder how long that will take.