Mulder and Scully sat close together on the sofa, as Scully told the tale of her weekend. She relayed her story of Daniel, the affair, the break-up and the strange events that followed after seeing him again in the hospital that weekend. Mulder listened intently with a solemn expression. Two half-drunk mugs of tea sat on the coffee table, where a drowsy and exhausted Scully propped her shoeless feet. They had been talking for a while.
"I just find it hard to believe," said Mulder, and Scully asked what part. He couldn't believe that while he was in England for two days, Scully's whole life changed. She argued that her whole life didn't really change.
"You speaking to God in a Buddhist temple? God speaking back," said Mulder incredulously. Lazily, Scully reminded him that God didn't really speak back, but that she did have some kind of a vision.
"Well, for you, that's like saying you're having David Crosby's baby," Mulder deadpanned, eliciting a small smile from Scully. The next moment, she turned quiet and pensive. Mulder asked what was wrong. Scully told him she once considered spending her whole life with Daniel and wondered what she would have missed if she did. Mulder countered that we can't really know how many different lives would we have been leading if we had made different choices.
"What if there was only one choice and all the other ones were wrong? And there were signs along the way to pay attention to?" Scully questioned.
"Mmm … and all the choices would then lead to this very moment. One wrong turn, and … we wouldn't be sitting here together. Well, that says a lot. That says a lot, a lot, a lot. That's probably more than we should be getting into at this late hour."
"Scully?"
Mulder looked down and found she had fallen asleep against his shoulder. In slow motion, he tenderly brushed a strand of hair out of her face, then gazed at her a moment while soft music played in the backround. He pulled his colorful wool blanket over her and carefully tucked it around her.
Being careful not to wake her, Mulder stood and softly walked to bedroom. He threw off his shirt, pulled off his socks and headed for the bathroom for his usual pre-bedtime ritual – pee, brush teeth, splash his face with water, strip down and climb into bed.
He was moving slower tonight than he usually did, lost in thought over the conversation he had just had with Scully. He had been feeling a bit anxious when they were talking and, he had to admit, a bit excited too, at the direction their conversation had been going. But she fell asleep!
Mulder smiled inwardly. It was probably good she fell asleep, he mused. He might have said – or done – something stupid. That conversation was starting to stray into dangerous territory. Territory that he and Scully had tried to avoid for the past couple of years.
The words played over in his mind. "What if there was only one choice…there were signs along the way to pay attention to," Scully's voiced echoed to him. And his response, "All the choices would lead to this moment. One wrong turn, and we wouldn't be sitting here together…" In his mind, the conversation kept going.
"One wrong turn," he mumbled aloud, splashing water onto his face. He grabbed a towel and scrubbed it over his face, looking at himself in the mirror. He noticed the few grey hairs that hadn't been there just a year ago.
Mulder hung up the towel and padded back into his bedroom. He looked out into the living room and saw Scully dozing on his couch. The lamplight shone on a shapely leg poking out from under the blanket. Mulder wondered if her leg was warm or cool. He imagined her skin would be warm and soft. He gazed up and noticed Scully's lips were parted slightly and her neck was angled awkwardly on the couch.
"That's gotta be uncomfortable," he whispered. Mulder turned to his bed and retrieved a pillow. He walked with it into the living room and looked down at a sleeping Scully. Her breathing was very quiet. Her lips were very red. Mulder admired her ability to always look so well pulled together.
She was so tiny, he thought, taking the time to gaze at her delicate hands and feet. He was no foot fetishist, but he had always been attracted to her perfect little feet. He had once joked that her feet might not make it to the pedal for driving, but he never told her about his secret desire to hold those very feet in his hands and caress them. The only time he really saw them was when they both had their guard down, visiting each other's hotel rooms at night while on a case, or rare moments like this, relaxing in his apartment. Mulder felt a tight, tingling sensation in his core and suddenly shivered. His mind came back to the pillow he held and why he was there.
He placed one hand on the sofa behind Scully and gently slid it down to cup her head and shoulders. He carefully placed the pillow behind her head with the other hand. He was careful not to touch her with his body as he pulled Scully down onto the flat surface of the sofa so she could sleep more comfortably. He pulled his arm out from beneath the pillow and looked down at her legs, which were still draped over the side. He placed an arm behind her knees and a hand under her ankles to lift them up.
On his knees, Mulder let his hand linger on Scully's ankle. As he suspected, it was warm. Very slowly, he stroked his hand along the top of her foot, letting it rest there for a moment. His hand was still cool from the water he splashed on his face and her foot radiated heat into it. Mulder grimaced. His heart was racing. It felt wonderful. It also made him feel like a total pervert. Stroking his partner's foot while she was asleep.
Mulder forced himself to withdraw his hand and looked up at Scully. The blanket had slipped to the floor when he moved her. He crept forward and pulled the blanket up, leaning in to tuck it around her side. He was so close to her mouth that he could feel her breath on the side of his neck. Mulder turned to gaze at her face. He felt an involuntary shiver go through him again. Her lips were so very close to his. Mulder closed his eyes and concentrated on the warm smell of her breath and skin.
He imagined what it might feel like to touch his lips to hers. Mulder had a great imagination. The softness. Lips brushing lips. The imagined scenario swept over him like a wave. He could actually feel it.
Wait a minute. He could actually feel it!
Mulder opened his eyes ever so slightly. He saw Scully's eyelids fluttering. He felt a hand tracing its way along his left side and sliding across his lower back. He felt lips move beneath his. Elation and fear crashed through him. He was actually kissing Scully. And she was kissing him.
Mulder moved his lips to the edge of Scully's mouth and down the side of her throat, drinking in the warm smell of her flesh as he tried to compose himself. His heart was racing and he could swear he could hear it. He felt Scully's hands creep up his body and to the sides of his head.
Mulder lifted himself slowly onto his elbows and met Scully eye to eye. There was so much in his head, so many words, but they were swirling and dancing and not making much sense. He opened his mouth in an attempt to speak but closed it again when Scully slowly shook her head from side to side. She ran her fingers through Mulder's thick dark hair and pulled him in to kiss his forehead. Scully then dragged her hands down his cheeks and extended her thumbs to caress his lips.
Mulder flashed back to the last time she had done this. It was just a few months ago. They were both standing in his apartment doorway. She had told him Diana had been murdered. His head had been bandaged. Mulder remembered the ache he felt in his chest when she placed a lingering kissed his forehead just below the bandage and then brushed his lips with her thumbs. He had wanted so badly for her to just go one step further and replace those thumbs with her lips. But she didn't; she just smiled and left him in the doorway, filled with desire.
Mulder attempted to speak once more, but felt Scully press down gently on his lips with her thumbs. She shook her head again.
The partners had been together so long, they could have constituted their own X-file, as they had their own version of telepathy. Mulder understood exactly what she meant and knew it would be more difficult for him than her. "No words." That's what she was saying – that they didn't need words – that they had talked enough. Mulder nodded in agreement and Scully gently smiled up at her partner – the smile that made him melt.
Scully slowly dragged her hands around to the back of his head and pulled him toward her. There was no holding back now, no need to hide the passion they both felt. Their lips crushed together in a hungry kiss, lips parting and tongues probing. Mulder wanted to explore those lips from every angle, gliding his mouth around smoothly to taste every corner of hers. He could feel himself growing hard, but some part of his brain mused that if even just kissing her was the last action of his life, he would die happy.
Still on his knees, Mulder slid his arms under Scully's back and legs and lifted her with him as he rose. He had fantasized about this moment so many times. He was actually carrying Scully to his bedroom, their lips locked in a passionate kiss.
Mulder lowered Scully slowly onto his bed and stood. The room was cool but he felt a flush of heat spread through his extremities. The dim light accentuated the blue in Scully's eyes, which were looking straight up at him. The smile was gone – it had been replaced by a look of unmistakable desire. It was a fierceness he had never seen in her face before. The partners stared at each other, locking eyes, the only sound in the room their perceptibly louder breathing.
Never losing her lock on his eyes, Scully pulled her jacket off and green sweater over her head, tossing it aside, and unzipped her skirt, wiggling out of it. She slowly pushed down her pantyhose and it soon joined the pile of clothing beside the bed. Mulder quickly disposed of his remaining clothing and kicked it across to join Scully's. The partners kept eye contact as Scully shuffled into the middle of the bed and Mulder lay down close beside her. Scully unclasped her simple white bra and pulled it forward off her body. Mulder was the first to break eye contact, as his gaze shifted to her breasts. Her nipples were pink and erect.
Mulder looked up at Scully hopefully and saw permission on her face. He brought both his hands up and placed them gently on her breasts. He heard a small sound escape from her lips, followed by a soft moan and really wasn't sure if it was coming from him or her. Mulder languidly caressed her breasts, letting his fingertips linger on her nipples. He was already feeling overpowered with desire and they had done little more than lay down together. His eyes closed, Mulder buried his head between her breasts and began nuzzling with his nose and lips. He found a nipple and opened his mouth wide over it, sucking and licking. He felt Scully's hands slowly stroking his hair, as he moved on to the other breast and covered it with kisses.
Mulder began to explore Scully's torso with his hands, gliding them over the softest skin he had ever felt. His left hand made its way to the back of the waistband of her high cut briefs and slid inside. He felt Scully shiver as he dragged his hand across her ass, along her hip and around to the front. Tentatively at first, Mulder reached down and let his fingers graze across her pubic hair. As he heard Scully's moan and felt her hands stroke more firmly through his hair, Mulder boldly let his fingers roam, finding the crease in the hair and running them up and down the silky, moist flesh. He reached further with his fingers, finding her wettest spot, and explored inside.
Scully groaned as Mulder worked his fingers in and out and up and down. He sucked on her right nipple at the same time and she started to move her hips, thrusting them up to meet the rhythm of his hand. He continued to play with her for several minutes, relishing the noises he had longed to hear for so long. Her breath was becoming ragged. Scully untangled her fingers from his hair and reached down to push off her panties, working them off her legs and pushing them with her feet to the end of the bed. Mulder pushed his body into her side, his hardness reaching the side of her hip for some much desired skin-to-skin contact. He felt an uncontrollable growl coming from his throat.
Never letting his hand leave from between her legs, Mulder kissed his way up to Scully's collarbone and along the side of her neck. She was starting to squirm and that not only turned Mulder on even more, it made him smile. He lifted his head and looked into Scully's face. The intensity of her gaze sent shots of adrenalin through his body. His cock, which was rubbing itself into Scully's hip, was throbbing. Despite their mounting bodily desire, Mulder smiled at Scully and she smiled back.
Scully's eyes opened wide, inviting Mulder to enjoy her body. Mulder nodded almost unconsciously as he withdrew his hand and wiped her slickness onto his tip and shaft. When Mulder had imagined this moment, he had pictured the two of them kissing ferociously, moving in a frenzied state of desire, but as he moved his legs between hers and lowered himself onto her body, they began to kiss softly and tenderly. Mulder entered her slowly. Both of them stopped moving entirely and drew out those first few moments of ultimate togetherness silently looking at each other's faces.
Mulder felt like exploding, but he held himself still and enjoyed the moment for as long as he could before his body started to take over. He thrusted slowly and deliberately, pressing and holding himself to her mound each time to pleasure her most sensitive area. He kissed her gently and Scully began to move her hips upward to meet his thrusts, her breath escaping in little bursts. Her hands trailed up and down his sides as he moved.
He suddenly had the urge to shout out how good it felt and how he long he had wanted her, but looked into her eyes and saw it wasn't necessary. She knew. He could tell she knew. And he could tell she felt the same way. It felt so natural. It was happening and there really were no words necessary. The path they had travelled together had led them to this moment.
Mulder felt something change beneath him. Scully was quivering and her cheeks were flushed. Her breath was coming out in ragged little bursts. She was writhing under him. Her hands had stopped and were tightening on the sides of his body. With one deliberate movement, Scully thrust her hips upward and held them there against Mulder's. She shut her eyes tightly and her head and shoulders arched back. A moan escaped her throat. It hit Mulder just as much as it did her – like a shock wave going through his body as he felt Scully tighten beneath him and grip his cock, pulsating over and over around it. He looked down at Scully's face, every little muscle taught, and marveled at how beautiful she looked in her perfect moment of ecstasy.
Mulder was so close, but wanted to wait and drink in every second of her pleasure before he satisfied himself. A full minute passed before Scully opened her eyes again and gazed up at her partner. Her mouth was closed, but her lips were turned upwards and her eyes were a fiery blue. Mulder had never seen anything sexier. Part of him didn't want this to end, but his body was screaming for release.
His breath was rapid and he tried unsuccessfully to slow it down. He dipped forward and plundered Scully's mouth with deep kisses. Scully wrapped her legs and arms around Mulder's back as he moved in and out of her. Mulder kept his thrusting slow, knowing that he was teasing himself to the point of near madness in an attempt to draw out their togetherness as long as possible. He tried to stop altogether but that didn't last long. Within seconds he was moving again and he felt a thrill start low in his belly.
He wanted to see Scully's face while it happened, so he willed himself not to close his eyes. He looked down at Scully and saw her encouragement. She looked as excited as he felt and that threw him right over the edge. He looked her full in the eye as he came, waves of emotion spilling through him as he filled her. The moment was still and crisp and so perfect that, for once, no aliens, no conspiracy and no words clouded his brain. The moment was all that mattered.