The rustling of the sheets from Mulder's subtle movements as well as the warmth of his closeness keep Scully awake. After about thirty minutes of trying to force herself to forget about her bed companion and relax, she turns around and looks at him. The covers are bunched at his waist and her eyes can't help but linger on the defined musculature of his chest, wrapped in a grey t-shirt, before travelling upwards to his face. His eyes are wide and staring up at the ceiling, his profile shadowed from the sparse light filtering through the windows.
"Can I do anything to help?" she says.
Mulder looks over at her, an apology in his eyes. "Sorry Scully, didn't mean to keep you awake."
"S'okay. I mean it though, can I do anything to help?" She reaches out a hand, grazing it on his shoulder.
"That's not going to help." Mulder eyes her sheepishly. "Not much does, I'll just drink some extra strong coffee in the morning and be right as rain."
Scully sees his eyes twinkle at his joke and she can't help cracking a small smile at how corny he's become during this case. He's certainly lowered the bar for acceptable jokes, though she finds herself smiling more easily at them regardless.
She turns around again with a soft sigh, resting on her side facing away from him. She closes her eyes, but behind her closed lids she still sees his lean body lying so comfortably next to her, not helping her to relax at all.
"There is something..." The bed moves slightly, and his voice is nearer. She pictures him leaning up on one arm, the other one moving slightly towards her. Her tongue dips out and wets her lips but she doesn't open her eyes or turn around.
"What, Mulder?"
"Can I, uh, hold you?" He says, his voice small and hesitant. When she takes a few moments to respond, she feels the movement of the bed as he settles back and hears his muffled sigh. "Sorry, Scully, that probably wasn't what you meant."
"You can hold me." The words are out of her mouth before she can stop them. Her heart is thumping in her chest and she feels irrationally scared that he'll hear it.
Mulder doesn't say anything, just scooches closer, wraps a strong arm around her. His front isn't quite touching her back but she feels his comforting warmth anyways, wishes she was brave enough to press closer to him. She feels him take a deep breath, feels the warm exhale on the back of her neck. Is he nuzzling her hair, smelling her?
"Thanks, Scully." He mumbles. He's sharing her pillow and she can't quite believe they're doing this, feeling her heart starting to pound harder. She wants to grab his arm, pull it tight against her chest, wrap herself in a Mulder blanket. Instead, she lays stiffly beside him, not yet able to do anything else except what he asked and just be a comfort to him.
She feels his breathing steady, his body sink heavier next to her. It takes her another several minutes before her tiredness takes over and she falls into a deep slumber herself.
As Scully wakes, she finds herself entwined intimately with another person. It takes her a few moments before his scent triggers her memories - Mulder. His strong arm covers hers and their hands are pressed together next to her cheek. Their legs are completely entangled and his erection is pressed indecently into one of her thighs, dangerously close to the spot she wishes it would be.
As she tenses and attempts to shake the fogginess of sleep from her mind, she tries to think of a way to move without waking him. Before she can do so, however, Mulder breathes into her neck.
"'Mornin', Scully." He grazes a thumb across her cheek before extricating himself from their embrace. "Sorry about, ah…"
She shivers when he leaves but he wraps the covers around her, tucking in the edges.
"Can I grab a shower first?" Mulder asks.
"Yeah." Her voice is rough from sleep. She peeks at him with one eye. He's strategically holding some clothes in front of his crotch. His hair is sticking up every which way and his overnight growth of beard makes him look endearingly scruffy. She melts into the bed a bit more, closes her eyes and hides her smile with the covers.
"I'll wake you when I'm done, grab breakfast when you're in the shower." Mulder says.
"Mmm."
She feels him moving towards her again, and his scratchy cheek presses against hers as he kisses her on her mouth before leaving for the bathroom.
"Don't use all the hot water." Scully mumbles.
She hears him chuckle. "Don't worry Scully, it's a cold shower for me this morning."
Scully grins and sighs contentedly, turning around and wiggling into the warmth left from Mulder's presence. She breathes deeply, smelling him on the sheets and trying to pretend he hasn't left. She could get used to this.
A few moments later, her eyes fly open. Did he just kiss her?