"Scully, you're standing too close."
She studied his face with a smirk, enjoying the fact that she still had this effect on him.
"When were you ever bothered by that?"
She replied, challenging.
His voice was low, almost a whisper.
"Never… But since you went away… when you're too close it feels like old times."
She smiled.
"Oh, does it?"
He nodded, his gaze telling her he was trying to figure out what she was thinking. She wouldn't let it go this time.
She placed one of her hands on his waist, leaning her body to the other side, pressing herself against him, to grab the pen she had been looking for and that had started this conversation. She heard him gasp in spite of himself. She almost laughed.
Then she returned to her original position, letting go of his waist and staring at him again.
"Anyway, I just came here to grab this pen."
She smirked and turned towards her place. She had never had a desk originally and she still didn't have one now, but there was a place at the office she liked to call her own and where she could work, right across from him. Just a chair and a shelf in which she used to place the papers whenever she needed to write. They mostly shared his desk, but sometimes she needed her space and that did it for her.
They had agreed that if they didn't find anything new about the case in 30 minutes, they would call it a day and continue tomorrow. So, he watched as she walked away slowly, as if she wished to turn around and get back to unfinished business, but she didn't. She kept walking until she reached her chair.
At this point in their relationship, he didn't know how to act anymore. All the sexual tension they had in the beginning was back and he didn't know what do with it. What had he done about it the first time around? Oh yes, he had waited seven long years to kiss her, and even then, it had been just a peck on the lips. It's true that things evolved fast after that, but still…
He watched as she put the pen in her mouth as she read the paper in front of her. He was pretty sure she was doing it on purpose, trying to catch his eye. So, is this the game you want to play, Scully? Well, guess what? I invented it!
He gave her one last glance, picked a sunflower seed from his desk and chewed on it for a while. Then he picked up a random file from his desk and skimmed through it quickly.
"Hey, Scully. Did you find anything on the woman that disappeared from that article of yours? Because I have something here I think you should see."
He walked to her until he was by her side. Then he bended over and put the file in front of her, his breath so close to her ear that he thought he saw her shiver.
When she spoke, her voice was cracked, as if trying to pull herself together.
"What did you find?"
"That the marks that were found in her window are the same marks another girl found on her windows the day before she disappeared, but she was miles and miles away from our victim here." He said, pointing to the picture of the victim.
Scully sounded annoyed this time.
"Mulder, that is exactly what we discussed this morning. Weren't you paying attention to a single word I said? Also, why are you saying all this so close to my ear?"
He whispered this time.
"For the same reason you came to me just now to grab a very replaceable pen. Your hair smells nice, by the way. New shampoo?"
She sighed as she felt his breath on her neck. She had missed that much more than she cared to admit.
"Yeah…"
She had to hold herself back in order not to gasp as his hand touched her side slightly.
"What do you say to dinner at my place, 8 o'clock tonight?"
She froze. She desperately wanted him back in her life that way, but she wasn't sure if they weren't taking things too fast this time. Apparently, he noticed she was uncomfortable, because he removed his hand from her side and stood up straight again.
"I don't mean to make you feel like you have to. It's just you and I, as friends, having dinner on a weekday after working long hours. Nothing more than that."
She turned to look up at him.
"What if I want more than that? Can I bring wine?"
He chuckled, surprised.
"After all these years, you still keep me guessing, don't you?"
She stood up, getting closer to him to speak in his ear.
"Keeping you guessing is what I live for."
She then grabbed her jacket and walked away, stopping at the door on her way out.
"You'd better have breakfast ready for me as well."