Mulder sat behind the steering wheel as he drove from El Rico Air Force Base. He was unnerved by Scully's silence as she sat beside him, so he fiddled with the radio. Resigned, he settled on The Bad Touch by the Bloodhound Gang, only because he knew Scully hated that song. He waited for her to protest as he pulled up in front of her apartment.

Scully remained silent, however, so he spoke. "Do you want to order Chinese?"

She could not even look at him, but pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "I just want to be alone right now."

"Um, okay," he said, shrugging in an effort to feign indifference.

She moved to leave, her fingernails clicking against the metal release on the car door. She hesitated, and then spoke, still facing away from him. "You smelled like her."

"What?"

She turned to him, then, and he could see the moonlight bewitching the sapphires of her eyes.

"You reeked of her sickly sweet, floral perfume."

The fabric of his dress shirt caught the streetlight as he tensed. She was obviously referring to his tryst with Diana, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Scully shook her head and opened the door, her shoes clicking against the pavement as she walked away.

Mulder stared at her in regret as she made her way towards her apartment. Damn her, he thought. She wouldn't get the last word, not tonight. He moved his car into a parking spot, turned the keys to stop the ignition, and followed her trajectory. He knocked at her door under the pretense of formality, but was already reaching for his keys to her apartment. He let himself in and came face-to-face with a startled Scully.

He didn't care to exchange pleasantries, and spoke furiously before she could voice her reaction. "How dare you get angry at me for sleeping with Diana. What right do you have?"

Scully turned away. He shut the door behind him and followed her into the living room. "Were you jealous?" He taunted her.

She faced him, then, her upper lip curled in disgust. "Don't flatter yourself, Fox." She spat the name with which Diana had the privilege of addressing him. "Your extracurricular activities are your own business."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and exhaled. "That's funny, because you seem to be making them your business."

She realized that in her anger, she had revealed too much. She hurried to cover it up and rubbed her forehead and spoke, "I'm tired, Mulder. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He wasn't about to buy her contrived nonchalance. He stepped closer to her, lifted her chin, and forced her to look into his eyes. He lowered his head and his lips were so close to hers that she was sure he was going to kiss her. Unconsciously, she parted her lips in anticipation. Instead, he spoke softly, "I've been in love with you my entire life."

Scully had expected him to mutter in self-defense, or to angrily reiterate that this was none of her goddamned business. The last thing she expected was a declaration of love.

She pulled back and out of his grasp. "You haven't known me your entire life, Mulder." she stated.

"Goddamit, Scully! For once in your life, quit being so damned rational. I just told you that I loved you!"

She stood silently, suddenly fascinated by the pill of her carpet.

His voice was raw, now, and came out as a growl from the back of his throat. "Look me in the eye," he stated, then took a deep, shaky breath, "And tell me you don't love me back."

Scully could not look him in the eye. Her face contorted as it did in his hallway when she told him she was being reassigned to Utah. Her eyes were full and glistening and her lips pursed against tears.

"That's what I thought," he asserted as he grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her. She put up a fight at first, pushing her arms against his chest. He deepened the kiss and abruptly she was embracing him with the same ferocity, running her hands over the muscles of his shoulders, arms, and back. He ground his pelvis against her hips and she squirmed in response, moaning at the unexpected but pleasant assault.

She pulled her lips from his long enough to breathe, and he took this as an opportunity to kiss her cheeks and neck. He buried his nose between her button-down shirt in an attempt to get closer to her breasts. Any modicum of self-control he may have possessed was destroyed when he tore at her shirt in a frenzy of need. She gasped and clutched at his hair, her thumbs stroking his temples in an attempt to soothe him. Her gentle fingers served only to invigorate him. He leaned over her, bending her backwards so that he had to support her weight. His hot mouth on the lace covering her breasts became the fulcrum of her reality and she sank to the floor with him.