Nine Hundred Words to Appreciation:
Especially Sundays
by Remi Craeg

"You want me over on a Sunday, Scully?"

"Sure, why not? I rented 2001: A Space Odyssey," she paused but he didn't make a noise, "Mulder? Hello?"

"Sorry, I couldn't tell if you were flirting or just screwing with me. I can never tell with you, Scully."

She smiled, "I want you to come over on a Sunday and waste the afternoon watching an old sci-fi."

"Okay. I mean, yeah, I'll come over after lunch."

"I'll make us something."

"Sure, okay. I'll be there in an hour?"

"I brought some soda," he said by way of greeting as he arrived.

"Thanks."

Scully watched him stow the cans in the refrigerator, smile quickly in her direction, then find his place on the end of her couch.

"Here, Mulder, let's eat something, and I'll start the movie."

Mulder craned his neck to find the source of her voice, which was lost in a sea of cabinets, but ultimately decided she'd meant for him to get up anyway.

Scully reached for her paper plate stack with one hand and motioned to the table with her other. "Sit, it's ready."

"What are we having?"

"Nothing fancy, some deli-meat sandwiches and potato salad."

Mulder nodded with a smile and followed her with his eyes as she grabbed the food and the drinks.

"Smells good."

Scully placed a platter of cold cuts in front of him and pulled out a pair of bread slices for herself.

"So, you got bored without me?" He forked the meat onto his plate. "I'm impressed, though, you lasted two whole days."

"I do live to impress you, Mulder," she said with a lit of sarcasm.

"I know, you do it quite well."

Scully smiled, not sure his voice was as sarcastic as hers had been.

"All jokes aside, Scully…" He pinned her with a serious look that pushed her eyes down to the table.

Did he expect her to finish his thought and answer? She knew what he was going to say. It seemed to her he'd been stealing her skepticism while she wasn't looking.

"You think I had ulterior motives, inviting you over like this."

He nodded infinitesimally before critically eyeing his newly formed double-decker creation. This is going to hit the spot, he thought proudly.

"Honestly, Mulder, you're paranoid about everything."

He smiled around his food and indicated with an upturned hand that he wouldn't let it drop. Well, it seemed to ask.

"I guess you aren't wrong very often…" This earned her a laugh, which dulled the burning embarrassment that flushed her cheeks.

It was scary how well he knew her, how well he could read her.

"Alright, I'll come clean." She paused to pull at the border of her bread.

"What?" he wondered when her eyes squinted at him.

She didn't know how much to divulge and still keep the conversation in a casual tone. She wasn't sure where the casual notion started anyway, it's not like there were rules on how to converse with your partner after eight years of monsters, aliens, mutants, and misguided shadow-men (maybe just how not to).

Screw it, she thought and decided to throw caution to the wind, "I wanted to show you that I appreciate you, that's all."

He gave her a funny look, one she couldn't define, so she ignored it instead. "I talked to my brother last night," she glanced at him quickly. His expression dropped, fear pinching his lips together. "Not that brother. Charlie. I talked to Charlie," she corrected with a chuckle.

"Oh," he cleared his throat, "I mean, oh?"

"I don't know why, but when he told me that he and his wife were going to Europe for their anniversary I remembered something I'd told him when they were still dating." She paused to chew a forkful of potatoes.

"Don't turn into an ass like big brother Bill?"

"Mulder," she warned.

"Sorry."

"Anyway, I did my best to give him relationship advice, considering."

"…Considering it'd be like 'the blind leading the blind?'"

Scully smirked, so he'd heard that…

"Something like that."

"You tell him 'no glove, no love?'"

She gave him another disapproving glare, which may or may not have included a small smile.

"No, I told him to let her know once in a while that he appreciated her. Needless to say he proposed to her later that week—"

"Are you proposing to me, Scully? I wish I'd known, I would've taken a shower before I came over…"

"You haven't showered today?" she scrunched her nose in disgust, but quickly shook it from her face. "Stop, Mulder. I'm trying to be serious."

"I know, I'm sorry." He offered her his palm apologetically.

"In this case I wasn't acting blindly, but hypocritically." She sighed, "I realize our relationship—our partnership—isn't of the norm and that by trusting me you show me how much you appreciate me, even if it's without words. Sometimes I forget that."

Mulder shook his head, "Then maybe it's not enough."

"No, Mulder, it is. It's more than enough…"

Silence roamed between them for a long moment. Scully expected him to respond, but he continued to eat, glancing up at her occasionally.

"I guess I just wanted to show you that I appreciate you, Mulder. Everyday—"

"Even Sundays."

"Yeah, even Sundays." She looked up, "Especially, Sundays."

Mulder smiled, "I appreciate you too, Scully."