Away Isn't Far Enough

4. Truth or Dare - Without the Dare Part

"The personality test section where we had to tell our favorite color, our favorite time of day... The one where we had to name all of our family pets?"

She shook her head. "The other one."

Booth thought back. He had answered that thing forever ago. Then it hit him.

"Oh."

He took a mouthful of pie. It tasted funny. It tasted like heartburn. He set it aside and wiped his lips with a napkin.

"How do we proceed?" she asked. "I read yours, you read mine..."

"I'll take mine, you take yours and we will read our answers."

"So... it's a trust exercise now? I'm supposed to just believe you won't change your answers?"

"Will you change yours?"

"No!"

"Neither will I. Ok! Question 1..."

"Wait!" she said, taking one last sip of coffee before opening her questionnaire to the first page. "Ok."

"Ok. Question 1: Describe your partner as you saw him/her the first time you met," Booth read. "Oh yeah. I remember now. Why would Sweets want us to..."

Brennan interrupted him and read her answer word for word.

"Agent Seeley Booth was arrogant, pushy, annoying and immature," she said grinning.

"Well, that's nice..." he commented. "And I said: Bones was stuck up, weird, nerdy, beautiful and passionate."

She tried not to blush.

"See? We can already see I'm so much nicer than you are."

"Hence the arrogant in my answer," she mumbled.

He thought I was beautiful?

"Question 2," she continued. "Were you attracted to the other?"

Booth heart skipped a beat. Aw, man! He didn't want to answer. Brennan wanted to know.

"What did you write?" she asked. This is fun.

"I wrote... yes," he said, taking another spoonful of pie, avoiding her eyes.

"And I wrote no," she said. "Question number 3..."

"Hey, hold on!" he almost shouted. "You were sooo attracted to me when we first met."

She laughed out loud. "What, are you nuts? I hated your gut."

"No, the gut thing came later. You..."

"I mean, I didn't like you. At all."

"The question is not about liking the other it's about..."

She interrupted him again.

"I know what the question is, Booth. And my answer is still no. I wasn't attracted to you."

He snorted. "Right. That's why you never stayed away for more than an hour."

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"For an FBI agent, your memory stinks! You were the one always bugging me to..."

"You always wanted to be out in the field with me, missy."

"Yeah! Out in the field, not with you."

"Fine. Never mind," he mumbled.

She let the silence sooth them a little before asking him.

"But... you were attracted to me?" She didn't recognize her voice. And it bothered her a little.