Disclaimer: I am sick of writing these things.
Spoilers: Up to Chinga.
She'd totally gotten him with that poster thing. The wistful look, the tiny smile, the breathy way she said his name.
"Just a guy. Jack."
She'd seen the look on his face. Knew exactly what he was thinking. And even though it was an immature move, the moment she heard the knock on her door, she knew he had taken the bait.
It had been an easy trap to set. All she wanted was to spend some time with him. All he wanted was to make sure she wasn't "leaving him" for some guy, Jack. She dangled it right in front of his nose and he leapt for it like a starved puppy.
"Hey Mulder, what's up?"
"Nothing, I just figured since you've been on vacation, you probably didn't have much in your fridge, so I thought I would bring you dinner."
She didn't mention that food doesn't completely spoil in one weekend. She didn't mention that she had been grocery shopping on her way home from work. She didn't even mention that she had managed to bring home a lobster, and it was sitting in a bucket in her kitchen. Instead, she smiled, took the pizza box from him, and let him inside.
"I got half meat lovers, half plain cheese."
"Fox Mulder, you're the soul of compromise."
"That, and I really didn't want to get on your bad side. You might run off to New England again."
"Ouch."
They regarded each other silently for a moment.
"That was out of line, Scully. I'm sorry."
"It wasn't out of line. I did run."
"Well, you did call first."
"I did, but only because I know how worried I get when you disappear, and I didn't want you to feel that way," she explained, sitting down on the couch and putting the pizza box on the coffee table.
"Oh. Well... thanks."
He sat down too, looking a little out of place.
"That was a bad fight," she said, tucking a leg up underneath her.
"Our worst ever."
"And it wasn't even about work."
"I shouldn't have said those things," he said, lifting his eyes up to hers.
"But I shouldn't have pushed you."
"Well I shouldn't have yelled."
"Are we about to get into a fight about whose fault the last fight was?"
He chuckled and opened the pizza box.
"That sounds like us."
"I wish it didn't," she remarked, taking the slice he offered her. "I'm sorry about what I said. It was uncalled for and untrue and I only said it because I knew it would hurt you."
"I'm sorry too. None of what I said was true."
"Are we okay?"
"I think we already were, but it feels good to clear the air, doesn't it?"
"I'll eat to that."
They smiled together and settled back into the couch.
"So the part of your vacation where you weren't chasing after the psychotic girl and her doll, were you able to relax?"
"What part of the vacation? Because everything started before I even checked into my hotel."
"Poor Scully."
"Yeah poor Scully. I really wanted a vacation."
"Maybe someday you'll get one."
"I don't think it's going to happen until I start collecting retirement, and that's not going to happen until I have successfully conned a nursing home into taking you off my hands."
"Who says I will need a nursing home and you won't?"
"Nursing home was my kind way of saying that you're probably going to end up in the loony bin."
"As long as you don't forget to visit."
"Of course, just not on my vacation."
"You gonna run away with that guy named Jack?"
Hook, line, sinker.
"Of course not. He was old."
"You like older guys."
Her face flushed just a little, and she had half a mind to smack him for the astute comment.
"No. No Jack."
"I guess I can forget the background check then."
"Background check?"
"You think I wouldn't run a background check on someone you were interested in?"
"Well…"
"I just want you to be safe you know."
"I know."
"It's not like I'm trying to control you or anything. If you wanted to date someone you could. I would just want it… I would… I don't know."
"That's okay. I know what you mean. And you don't have to be worried about me."
"Okay."
"I don't have time for any of that anyway."
"I didn't think you did. There's no shame in making time though. You know that."
"I know."
They fell into silence and she reached over to take his hand.
"It does bother you though, doesn't it?"
"Will you believe me if I say no?"
"Not even close. Because in the opposite situation, it bothers me too."
"Why do you think that is?"
She shrugged and chewed her lip before speaking.
"I think maybe we've always assumed that the other is going to be there at our every beck and call, and if someone else were to enter the equation, it would muck up our balance."
"So it's a comfort zone thing?"
"Partly. And it's also that we're so deep into each other's lives, we don't want other people in there. We're possessive."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"I don't know. Do you think it is?"
He sighed and leaned back on the couch.
"I don't know. I think if we're both okay with it, then it's fine."
"Maybe we don't even need to be talking about this until the subject comes up."
"I thought that's why you dangled the Jack thing in front of me."
She could feel her cheeks turning red, but knew there was nothing she could do about it.
"I don't know what I wanted, Mulder. Maybe I wasn't looking for a resolution to the conversation as much as I was looking for the conversation. Does that make sense?"
"Lots."
"Good."
They smiled together and let the conversation fade there. Their hands were still joined and she looked down at them, knowing that they always would be. And that was more than enough.