*Chapter 4*
Mulder guided Scully back to the middle of the dance floor.
"Listen, about what I said back at the table. I-" Mulder was silenced by a soft finger on his lips.
"Let's not talk about that right now, OK. Let's just enjoy the music," Scully said softly, taking away her finger.
Mulder had no problem with that request. He had no idea what he was going to say to her anyway.
He put her right hand in his left and his right arm around her waist. Her left hand went to his shoulder tentatively, almost as if she was unsure what she wanted to do. Which, in reality, was true. Once the union of the dance couple was complete, they started dancing slowly to the rhythm of the music.
This is perfect, he thought. Now why didn't he go last year? Well, he would not make that mistake again. If her could persuade Scully to be his dance partner, he'd make it his mission to attend every single function for the rest of his life. Hell, he'd even sponsor the damn things if he could spend one night every year with her in his arms. He gently rested his cheek on her forehead. Jasmine. Her hair smelled like jasmine. It must have been a new shampoo. He'd have to remember to comment about it to her later. Right now he was in heaven with Scully in his arms in an embrace that was perfectly innocent but oh so intimate. He wished the dance could go on forever.
There was nothing innocent about the thoughts that were going through Scully's mind. What was she doing? This was neither the time nor the place to be thinking those things. Home, alone, where nothing or no one could jumble her emotions into an incomprehensible mess was the only place to safely think dangerous thoughts. What she had to do now was figure out exactly what was happening between the two of them. On the outside, it was just two friends sharing an innocent dance. But on the inside, it was an emotional roller coaster. Maybe she should stop this right now and say that she was involved with someone. And when would she have met this mystery man? She was only with Mulder twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Well, she could always say that she was involved with Frohike. She shuddered at the thought. Besides, Mulder would probably know about that little tidbit even before she did.
Mulder felt Scully shudder. He wondered if she was cold. He should have warned her not to wear that thin blue spaghetti-strapped dress to this function. It was freezing outside, and the bureau was sometimes too cheap to spring for heat. Not that he was complaining, mind you. She looked absolutely breathtaking. There was a lot of Scully skin to take in all at once. He brought her closer to him to try and warm her up a little bit. To accomplish this, he had to shift his hips slightly against hers.
Scully felt this shift and her legs turned to butter. What was he doing with his hips? Was he trying to drive her completely insane with desire? Because if he was, he was doing a pretty damn good job of it. Now how was she going to get out of this position? No way could she be this close and still have focus and control. She had to somehow move her hips away from his. But the only way she could do this was to press her chest against his and subtly push away. Maybe she could do this in one fluid motion so that he wouldn't even notice that her chest had made contact with his. Sounded logical. Well, here goes nothing, she thought. She took a deep breath and ever so slightly leaned into his embrace so that her chest touched his. She was just about to push her upper and lower body away from him when she felt Mulder's arm lock into place. Damn. She was caught with no way out. She was intimately pushed against his body and there was no way to explain herself.
"What are you doing, Scully?" asked Mulder hoarsely.
"I was just, um...I was trying to...well, you see..."
"I think we should sit this next song out." He needed to sit down. The dance had gotten entirely out of hand. He had to reorganize his thoughts and hormones and he couldn't very well do it while Scully was intimately pressed against him. She was the reason he had to reorganize.
"I think that's a good idea." It was a great idea. Anything to get her out of that position, no matter how much she liked it. Which, of course, she didn't. Not Scully. Not with Mulder.
He followed her back to their seats with his hand pressed lightly against her back. At that moment, it was the only thing keeping her standing upright.
Once both of them were seated, he clasped his hands together on the table and said, "We have to talk."
"No, we don't," Scully said, a little too quickly.
"Yes, we do."
She sighed. She knew he was right. Something had happened on that dance floor, and neither of them knew exactly what it was, nor were they ready to admit it. Or, at least, she wasn't. She knew something like this was going to happen to them some day. Two people who experienced so much together and who deeply cared for each other like they did could not easily keep a strictly platonic relationship. She never knew the importance of the quote from When Harry Met Sally until now. "Men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way." How true that really was. She had acknowledged the intellectual attraction in the beginning. She had simply made note of the physical attraction but could not afford to dwell too much on it. Despite this lack of thorough exploration, Scully thought that she was prepared to handle this situation when it finally did surface. Unfortunately, "finally" had come up way too soon and she had no idea what to do.
"Why? What do we have to talk about?" Scully asked.
"Scully," Mulder said reaching across the table to claim her right hand in his, "something happened out there. Something neither of us can explain. Something that was years in the making and only clearly coming out now. That is what we have to talk about."
"Mulder, you are blowing this thing entirely out of proportion. You are making the situation out to be more than what it was. It was a simple dance where a few moves were misread by both of us. It was absolutely nothing so could you just forget about it?" Scully looked down at their hands clasped together.
"Can you?"
She blushed furiously and looked away, hoping he hadn't just seen her reaction. Once she had composed herself again, she looked back and said:
"Mulder, it's not like we kissed so I really don't see the importance in all of this nonsensical talk."
"Would your opinion of this talk change if I did kiss you right here, right now?"
"Mulder, no..."
"Scully, I don't know why we haven't before. Was it because we were afraid that once we started, our raging hormones would kick in, and we would never stop? Maybe go a little too far?"
"The reason that we have never kissed is because it is not part of our relationship. We are just friends who care dearly for each other. If we did kiss, it would ruin our remarkable friendship."
"Or make it better." Scully shot him a look. "OK, OK. What would happen if I kissed you...platonically."
"I think that when it comes to us, there would be no such thing as a platonic kiss."
"So, what you are saying is that there is something between us that is more than platonic."
"No, that's not what I meant. I meant that, at this point in our relationship, a kiss on the lips would probably be, like the dance, misinterpreted."
"Who said anything about the lips? I meant a platonic kiss on the hand. Well, now I know where your mind has been all this time."
Ignoring the last comment, Scully calmly said, "Normally, when one asks for a kiss, they usually mean a kiss on the lips."
"Well, this is not a normal time nor am I a normal guy. So, what do you say? Do I get to try this platonic kissing thing?"
"Mulder, what you have just proposed is the most outrageous thing that I have ever heard. So, what I'm saying, is no. Can we drop this topic now?"
"That's an intelligent answer, Scully, but I'm afraid that it is the wrong one," Mulder said as he brought her hand up closer to his face. "Let's find out what the right answer is."
Juliet: Well, as we are all very aware of, during this time of the show, they sure weren't moving closer on their own. Someone has to kick them in the butt. I hope that you continue to read and enjoy.
NeverAgainSmallPotatoes: I'm trying to bust out a chapter a night, but I make no promises. But your feedback definitely encourages me to try harder.
Mulder guided Scully back to the middle of the dance floor.
"Listen, about what I said back at the table. I-" Mulder was silenced by a soft finger on his lips.
"Let's not talk about that right now, OK. Let's just enjoy the music," Scully said softly, taking away her finger.
Mulder had no problem with that request. He had no idea what he was going to say to her anyway.
He put her right hand in his left and his right arm around her waist. Her left hand went to his shoulder tentatively, almost as if she was unsure what she wanted to do. Which, in reality, was true. Once the union of the dance couple was complete, they started dancing slowly to the rhythm of the music.
This is perfect, he thought. Now why didn't he go last year? Well, he would not make that mistake again. If her could persuade Scully to be his dance partner, he'd make it his mission to attend every single function for the rest of his life. Hell, he'd even sponsor the damn things if he could spend one night every year with her in his arms. He gently rested his cheek on her forehead. Jasmine. Her hair smelled like jasmine. It must have been a new shampoo. He'd have to remember to comment about it to her later. Right now he was in heaven with Scully in his arms in an embrace that was perfectly innocent but oh so intimate. He wished the dance could go on forever.
There was nothing innocent about the thoughts that were going through Scully's mind. What was she doing? This was neither the time nor the place to be thinking those things. Home, alone, where nothing or no one could jumble her emotions into an incomprehensible mess was the only place to safely think dangerous thoughts. What she had to do now was figure out exactly what was happening between the two of them. On the outside, it was just two friends sharing an innocent dance. But on the inside, it was an emotional roller coaster. Maybe she should stop this right now and say that she was involved with someone. And when would she have met this mystery man? She was only with Mulder twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Well, she could always say that she was involved with Frohike. She shuddered at the thought. Besides, Mulder would probably know about that little tidbit even before she did.
Mulder felt Scully shudder. He wondered if she was cold. He should have warned her not to wear that thin blue spaghetti-strapped dress to this function. It was freezing outside, and the bureau was sometimes too cheap to spring for heat. Not that he was complaining, mind you. She looked absolutely breathtaking. There was a lot of Scully skin to take in all at once. He brought her closer to him to try and warm her up a little bit. To accomplish this, he had to shift his hips slightly against hers.
Scully felt this shift and her legs turned to butter. What was he doing with his hips? Was he trying to drive her completely insane with desire? Because if he was, he was doing a pretty damn good job of it. Now how was she going to get out of this position? No way could she be this close and still have focus and control. She had to somehow move her hips away from his. But the only way she could do this was to press her chest against his and subtly push away. Maybe she could do this in one fluid motion so that he wouldn't even notice that her chest had made contact with his. Sounded logical. Well, here goes nothing, she thought. She took a deep breath and ever so slightly leaned into his embrace so that her chest touched his. She was just about to push her upper and lower body away from him when she felt Mulder's arm lock into place. Damn. She was caught with no way out. She was intimately pushed against his body and there was no way to explain herself.
"What are you doing, Scully?" asked Mulder hoarsely.
"I was just, um...I was trying to...well, you see..."
"I think we should sit this next song out." He needed to sit down. The dance had gotten entirely out of hand. He had to reorganize his thoughts and hormones and he couldn't very well do it while Scully was intimately pressed against him. She was the reason he had to reorganize.
"I think that's a good idea." It was a great idea. Anything to get her out of that position, no matter how much she liked it. Which, of course, she didn't. Not Scully. Not with Mulder.
He followed her back to their seats with his hand pressed lightly against her back. At that moment, it was the only thing keeping her standing upright.
Once both of them were seated, he clasped his hands together on the table and said, "We have to talk."
"No, we don't," Scully said, a little too quickly.
"Yes, we do."
She sighed. She knew he was right. Something had happened on that dance floor, and neither of them knew exactly what it was, nor were they ready to admit it. Or, at least, she wasn't. She knew something like this was going to happen to them some day. Two people who experienced so much together and who deeply cared for each other like they did could not easily keep a strictly platonic relationship. She never knew the importance of the quote from When Harry Met Sally until now. "Men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way." How true that really was. She had acknowledged the intellectual attraction in the beginning. She had simply made note of the physical attraction but could not afford to dwell too much on it. Despite this lack of thorough exploration, Scully thought that she was prepared to handle this situation when it finally did surface. Unfortunately, "finally" had come up way too soon and she had no idea what to do.
"Why? What do we have to talk about?" Scully asked.
"Scully," Mulder said reaching across the table to claim her right hand in his, "something happened out there. Something neither of us can explain. Something that was years in the making and only clearly coming out now. That is what we have to talk about."
"Mulder, you are blowing this thing entirely out of proportion. You are making the situation out to be more than what it was. It was a simple dance where a few moves were misread by both of us. It was absolutely nothing so could you just forget about it?" Scully looked down at their hands clasped together.
"Can you?"
She blushed furiously and looked away, hoping he hadn't just seen her reaction. Once she had composed herself again, she looked back and said:
"Mulder, it's not like we kissed so I really don't see the importance in all of this nonsensical talk."
"Would your opinion of this talk change if I did kiss you right here, right now?"
"Mulder, no..."
"Scully, I don't know why we haven't before. Was it because we were afraid that once we started, our raging hormones would kick in, and we would never stop? Maybe go a little too far?"
"The reason that we have never kissed is because it is not part of our relationship. We are just friends who care dearly for each other. If we did kiss, it would ruin our remarkable friendship."
"Or make it better." Scully shot him a look. "OK, OK. What would happen if I kissed you...platonically."
"I think that when it comes to us, there would be no such thing as a platonic kiss."
"So, what you are saying is that there is something between us that is more than platonic."
"No, that's not what I meant. I meant that, at this point in our relationship, a kiss on the lips would probably be, like the dance, misinterpreted."
"Who said anything about the lips? I meant a platonic kiss on the hand. Well, now I know where your mind has been all this time."
Ignoring the last comment, Scully calmly said, "Normally, when one asks for a kiss, they usually mean a kiss on the lips."
"Well, this is not a normal time nor am I a normal guy. So, what do you say? Do I get to try this platonic kissing thing?"
"Mulder, what you have just proposed is the most outrageous thing that I have ever heard. So, what I'm saying, is no. Can we drop this topic now?"
"That's an intelligent answer, Scully, but I'm afraid that it is the wrong one," Mulder said as he brought her hand up closer to his face. "Let's find out what the right answer is."
Juliet: Well, as we are all very aware of, during this time of the show, they sure weren't moving closer on their own. Someone has to kick them in the butt. I hope that you continue to read and enjoy.
NeverAgainSmallPotatoes: I'm trying to bust out a chapter a night, but I make no promises. But your feedback definitely encourages me to try harder.