Childhood, Rewind
Angela walked into Brennan's office and froze at the doorway, where the sight of a confused Brennan greeted her. Momentarily she wondered if it was the apocalypse, then came to the conclusion that it must a social thing. The fact that she was here mulling over it and not grilling Booth was her queue to step in.
"Sweetie," she greeted, sauntering up to the desk. She sat across from her brilliant friend and eyed her patiently.
"Booth and Parker stopped by and forced me to leave work early with them," Brennan stated peevishly. Angela bit back a smile. She remembered Booth telling her that he was going to pick up Parker from Rebecca's and return to pick up '', as Parker had taken to calling her, and take them both to eat while Rebecca attended a late business dinner. She knew it must have been well after eight when they'd picked Brennan up, but wisely choose not to argue the point, knowing she had bigger fish to fry.
"Apparently, Parker attended his first party of mixed genders just recently," Brennan continued. "But when I asked him about it he just gave me this… weird look and Booth yelled at me."
"He yelled at you?" Angela asked in a tone in disbelief.
"Well… maybe not literally. But he was upset with me for asking. He was hissing at me behind his menu and glaring at me!" Brennan went on, her distress noticeably thickening with her confusion. Angela was silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to explain the Booth Boys' reactions.
"Well Parker's gotta be close to 13 now right?" She asked, and then continued without bothering to wait for a response. "Having mixed parties at that age in a big deal."
"That confirms my initial hypothesis! That's why I asked about it. Don't people want to share things that are important to them with people they're close to? Am I not close enough to them?" Brennan's eyes grew wide and venerable at the thought that the people she considered her closest friends didn't feel similarly. Angela quickly cut off her questions.
"Of course not Sweetie! Parker was probably embarrassed, and Booth was just trying to keep things from being awkward." Brennan stilled looked confused and upset so Angela continued, not giving her a chance to speak. "He probably got to play a kissing game, you know… like Spin the Bottle or maybe even Seven Minutes in Heaven." Brennan continued to look at her blankly. Angela sat back and surveyed her thoughtfully. A smirk slipped onto her full lips. The only way Brennan would understand would be to experience it herself.
Angela steered Brennan toward her front door rolling her eyes as Brennan continued to protest an early departure for the second night in a row. She'd been ranting about it the entire ride over.
"Honey, I'm home!" She sang out comically when they entered the foyer. Jack dutifully greeted her from the other room. He entered and kissed her hello passionately while taking her coat. He gave Brennan an amiable kiss on the cheek while retrieving her jacket as well. Angela shot him a questioning glace, to which he nodded.
Determined to help Brennan catch up on lost experiences, she'd recruited her husband to help gather up all of their male co-workers that evening and explain they were to give the upcoming game their all, or face the artist's wrath. Even Hodgins wasn't excluded from the semi-forced group of participants.
Excitedly, Angela led her best friend into the living room, where the men waited. She shot her husband a broad beam when she saw Booth standing near the fireplace, lips moving as he silently argued with himself. Jack responded with a borderline arrogant look that told her she was lucky to have him. She teasingly rolled her eyes at him in response.
"Now honey," she addressed Brennan. "Take a good look around, because these stud muffins are your fellow game participants. This is a game they often play at mixed parties like the one Parker attended. I think playing it will help you understand his and Booth's reaction to your questions last night." Her small speech effectively convincing Brennan to play as an experiment, as well as convincing the men to play to help their well-loved co-worker. "The rules are simple. You will be blind-folded, and each man will take a turn kissing you. Each will be known only by their number in the lineup, and I'll keep time of every kiss. At the end, you choose which kiss you liked most. Then they'll re-arrange the order they kiss you and you'll choose again. If you choose the same man twice, you get to spend 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' alone in the closet with him to do whatever you want." She ended with a mischievous grin and eyebrow wiggle.
Within minutes, Brennan stood in the middle of the room, her eyes effectively blinded. She shifted slightly and licked her lips, biting her bottom one lightly as she tested their increased sensitivity, resulting from her lack of eyesight. More than one man felt his mouth go dry at the sight.
"Up first is contestant numero uno," Angela announced cheerfully.
Dutifully, Jack stepped forward and rested his hands on Brennan's shoulders. She froze and directed her attention in his direction. He cupped her cheeks and drew her to him, gently touching his lips to hers. He lightly alternated between kissing her upper and lower lips. She responded mildly, one of her hands reaching up to touch his forearm. When he heard Angela call time, he nipped her lower lip, just lightly, before stepping back. It was, overall, a hesitant, but curious kiss. Different from what she was used to when she either took the lead on dates, or with her amorous suitors that read her sexual desires with ease and were glad to comply.
"That was stud muffin one." Angela reminded her, handing her a bottle of water. She gave Jack a light kiss on the cheek while Brennan took a sip. Jack squeezed her hand, understanding her silent thank you. He knew how important it was to Angela that Brennan understand and experience everything she missed out on. The fact she didn't understand upset her, which upset Angela and that, of course, upset Jack.
"Next up, stud muffin two," she announced, taking the water from Brennan's hand and nodding at Clark. Clark took a deep breath to steel himself and clasped his hands together, leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was awkward, not only for the participants, but also for the witnesses. Angela shifted, wishing time would move quicker so she could call and end to it.
"And that was number two!" she finally yelled. The room let out a collective sigh of relief. She handed Brennan the bottle of water again, which Brennan quickly downed entirely. Angela nodded her thanks, to which Clark responded to stiffly. With the help of his girlfriend, he'd loosened up a great deal, but he was still very loyal to his girl.
"Next is contestant number three." Angela said, taking the now empty bottle of water from Brennan. Several eyebrows quirked and rose at the sight of Sweets nervously stepping forward. He was sure that doing this was important to Brennan. His resolution to participate was furthered by Daisy's well voiced support in his decision. Aware of her forced vulnerability, he gently clasped one of her hands in his. Once she relaxed a bit and accepted the contact, he leaned in and brushed hips lips over her. It was then that Angela called time and handed Brennan a new bottle of water. The kiss was nice. Just… nice. She took several gulps of water as Angela announced that stud muffin number four was up.
Wendel stood before Brennan and reached his hand up to cup her cheek and neck. He tilted his head and pressed his lips to hers. He moved his lips over hers in a light, teasing manner. His tongue lightly traced her lips and slipped between them to teasingly tickle her mouth and tongue. The kiss was playful and flirty. So far it was her favorite, followed by kiss number one.
"Time that was stud muffin number four. And last but not least, contestant number five." Angela announced eager to see the Dynamic Duo kiss. The air in the room noticeably changed as Booth rubbed his chin and stepped forward.
Brennan seemed to sense the tension and shivered slightly. Booth ran his hands up her arms and rubbed his thumbs over her shoulders, not missing the goose bumps that rose over her skin. One of his hands continued up to mold around the side of her neck tenderly. His thumb pressed to the bottom of her chin, tilting her head up. Finally, their lips met, in a gentle, chaste kiss. Adrenaline pumped through Booth's veins making him repeat the kiss and second and third time. Each time, the rush continued to building up in his veins. Inexplicably, every one made Brennan's heart pump faster and head grow lighter. Feeling his control slip, Booth wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. A hand slipped up her back and buried itself into her hair, tugging at it slightly to pull her head back so he had easier access to her mouth. He sucked in her bottom lip into his mouth, running his tongue over it and scraping it with his teeth. By now, Brennan's arms had wrapped themselves around his neck, and were pulling their bodies impossibly closer. The attention he laved on her lip caused her mind to go blank and a small gasp of pleasure to escape her lips. Immediately Booth took advantage of her parted lips and slid his tongue between them to stroke against her own tongue slowly, confidently, and very sensually. He continued to explore her mouth slowly, committing it to memory. He tantalizingly nipped her lip, and then dragged his tongue over it, eliciting a groan. Enjoying the vibrations it sent to his lips through her own, he did it again.
The occupants of the room watched silently. It was obvious that the two had completely forgotten the others were there. Angela sat on the couch fanning herself wildly, a broad grin plastered on her face. Hodgins eyed the stopwatch in her hand and, when it ran nearly a minute overtime, realized she'd forgotten all about it.
"And time," he called out, pulling Angela from her trance. She stood to hand Brennan the bottle of water. Brennan and Booth separated slowly. Booth took a deep shaky breath, staring at Brennan; Brennan swayed slightly and licked her now slightly swollen lips.
"And that was studly five," Angela announced enthusiastically. She waited for Brennan to finish the rest of the bottle and then asked her to choose her favorite kiss. There was no amount of surprise when she murmured her choice was the fifth kiss. The men mixed the order they kissed her in, and repeated the process. Once again, she choose Booth. Hodgins ushered the others out while Angela placed a slip of paper in Brennan's hand.
"Have fun," she drawled, winking at Booth. He blushed and nodded his thanks. There was momentary silence as Angela left the room, during which Brennan came to the conclusion she'd chosen the same person each time.
When Angela finally exited the room, Booth walked up to Brennan and reached behind her head to gently untie the blindfold. Just before removing it completely, he dropped a kiss lightly on her lips. He pulled the blindfold away, and cupped her cheek with the hand not holding the cloth. Her eyes fluttered open as he rested his forehead and nose against her forehead and nose.
"Booth," his name escaped her lips as a whisper.
"Yeah, Bones." He murmured. They stared into each other's eyes in intimate silence until Brennan's eyes flickered away in uncharacteristic shyness. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her face. He didn't need any more prodding to lean down and take her lips again. Their kiss grew more heated and passionate until Booth felt something scrape the back of his neck. It was the paper Angela had given Brennan.
On the paper was a rough map with an 'X' in a room. The note identified the 'X' as the location of a room in a private wing of the house. It also informed them that she and Booth would be called in sick tomorrow, courtesy of the master of the house, and that they were to enjoy themselves and feel free to sleep in the next day. Brennan read the note with growing suspicion, but her train of thought was broken when she realized that Booth was leading her out of the room by her hand.
"Booth?' She questioned hesitantly, quickly concluding that he was leading her to the 'X' on the map. His speed at reading, understanding and memorizing the note was a testament to how well honed her kept his skills from his days as a Ranger.
He drew to a halt at the front door and clasped her hands between his tightly. He place a kiss on the inner wrist of each hand and looked directly into her eyes. Brennan felt exposed, as though he could see into her soul, and surprisingly… it was nice. If it were anyone else, she'd panic at being so exposed, but this was Booth, and that was enough to make her feel completely comfortable and at peace.
"Bones," Booth's voice was low and husky. "The choice is yours."
Brennan understood the underlying meaning. If she wanted, she could leave now and they'd continue on, just as they always had. It was the safe thing to do – no one could get hurt that way. But Brennan didn't want to be safe, she was sick of being safe. She gazed at Booth, who returned her gaze. His eyes showed his hesitance and hope that she'd stay. Unsure of how to voice what she was feeling, she simply stood on her toes and gave him a shy lingering kiss on the jaw. He seemed to understand what he was saying because he grew very still and his eyes fluttered shut. Brennan's hands rested on his chest as she pulled back, her eyes still glued to his own. In silent understanding, he intertwined their fingers and led her the rest of the way for the 'X' on the map
The next evening, Angela and Hodgins returned home to find a note on the table. The top was a thank you from Brennan for arranging the game and the use of the room. The bottom was from Booth, also thanking her for the room and helping with his impromptu plan.
"He planned it?" Hodgins gasped in her ear. He had been reading the note over her shoulder.
"It appears Agent Studly is more conniving that you realized." Angela smirked at Jack's dumbstruck expression, and the memory of Booth telling her the plan after she confronted him about the night with Parker and ordered him to attend the game.
AN: I wrote this a while ago and just rediscovered it my accident. So Here it is! I hoped you liked it. I tried to make the kisses match the personality of the giver... I hope it worked! Please review and let me know what you thought :-)