Dinner with Dana's parents had gone surprisingly well, despite Mulder's unfamiliarity with such a relaxed family setting. As Mr. Scully questioned Mulder throughout dinner, Scully squeezed his hand reassuringly. Everyone escaped alive.
After dinner, Mulder and Scully helped with the dishes before excusing themselves to retreat back to the attic.
"Just a second, I have to get something," Scully said bef
ore she and Mulder left her house.
While he waited for Scully, Mulder walked into the living room to thank Mr. and Mrs. Scully once again for dinner.
"Fox, you are always welcome to dinner," Mrs. Scully said, smiling.
"You ready to go?" Scully asked, touching his arm. Mulder had not realized she had entered the room.
Mulder smiled down at her and nodded. "I'll bring her back by curfew, sir," Mulder promised, turning towards Mr. Scully. Mr. Scully gave him an authoritative nod.
"Bye Mom, Dad. See you later," Scully hollered back into the living room before closing the front door behind her.
Mulder respectively opened and shut the car door for Scully before scurrying around the front of his Chevy before hopping into the car himself.
"It is freezing!" Mulder said, rubbing his hands together before starting the ignition.
Scully murmured in agreement.
"Hey Scully?" Mulder broke the silence just as they were turning onto his street.
"Huh?"
"Do you think your dad liked me?" Mulder asked, letting more of his insecurity escape through his tone than he intended to.
Scully smiled reassuringly, "He loved you. You would definitely know if he didn't like you. Besides," Scully laughed, "What's not to love?"
Mulder glanced nervously at her. Scully returned a scared, deer-caught-in-the-headlights-look, not meaning to drop the dreaded L bomb on him.
"I uh…didn't mean it like that…I mean, not to say that…OH!" Scully threw her hands up in nervous frustration.
Mulder reached over and grasped her left hand in his right and ran his thumb over the top of it. "Don't worry about it."
Scully smiled weakly. Even though Mulder's reassurance had been genuine and she had not actually spoken the unspeakable, the sinking feeling did not dissipate.
Mulder tried to lighten the mood. "I am absolutely stuffed. You mom is an absolute genius in the kitchen!"
Scully smiled to herself at Mulder's thinly veiled attempt. "Yep, she's a regular Julia Child."
Mulder got out of the now-parked car and opened Scully's door. Scully grabbed the bag she had grabbed from her closet before stepping out of the Chevy and into the cold night air. Together, they silently walked up to the attic, Mulder's arm casually wrapped around her waist.
Mulder had a mischievous grin on his face as they mounted the stairs. When Scully gave him a questioning glance, he replaced the grin with an innocent smile, only to drop the innocence as she dropped the inquiry.
Scully gently (luckily) placed the bag down next to the bed before Mulder blind-sighted her with a sideways tackle onto the mattress, pinning her down with his body. Scully's suspicious astonishment returned with Mulder's playful gaze.
Mulder lowered his mouth onto hers, his hands on either side of her for support. Scully's mouth involuntarily formed into a smile before opening in invitation. She wrapped her arms around Mulder's neck, pulling him closer. Mulder dropped from his push-up stance to his forearms in response.
Scully suddenly shifted her position and successfully rolled them across the bed. Now she had him pinned down. She pulled away from him triumphantly, smiling down at him. Mulder's fingers danced across the small of her back, drawing invisible lines all over her.
"I win," Scully grinned.
"I was not aware we were playing a game," Mulder teased.
"Oh, but we were. And it appears to me, Mr. Mulder, that you have lost."
"Pray tell, what is your reward for winning?" Mulder replied playfully.
Scully scooped down, capturing his lips with hers. She pulled away, the goofy grin plastered to her face.
"With a prize like that, I'll gladly lose any day," Mulder leered. Scully unsuccessfully attempted to suppress a giggle.
She rolled off of him, preferring to now lie next to him. Mulder pulled her close, kissing her hair. "Scully?"
"Mhmm?"
"I want to give you your Christmas present today...I have to go to Chilmark to visit my grandparents for, well, Hanukah, actually. My dad told me yesterday that we're leaving Saturday."
Scully rolled onto her side, facing him. "But that's in two days," she pouted.
Mulder brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear. "I know. I'm sorry. I'll call you."
Scully smiled, "I have your Christmas present, too. Who gives which first?"
Mulder sat up. "You give me mine, first, because your present is more, um, needy, I think," Mulder said ambiguously.
Scully smiled, "I'm confused. But lemme get your present..." She dug through the bag she brought with her, finally sitting up with a huge, colorfully wrapped box. "I hope you like it."
Mulder quickly kissed her. "I already do."
They smiled at each other for a moment. "Okay, okay, now open it!" Scully exclaimed.
Mulder laughed as he started to rip the wrapping paper off the box before opening the box. Inside the box, a thin layer of tissue paper covered what looked like a T-shirt. Mulder glanced at Scully before pulling the shirt out.
"It's a New York Knicks T-shirt," Scully explained as he unfolded it.
"Scully, we said we weren't going to spend a lot of money on each other," Mulder admonished with a smile in his eyes.
"I know, but I kind of cheated. I am just replacing the Knicks T-shirt I borrowed from you a couple weeks ago."
Mulder cocked his head to the side, urging her to go on.
"I couldn't bring myself to give it back to you. So, I still have it," Scully admitted with a laugh, which Mulder joined in.
"I love it Scully. Well, maybe not so much the T-shirt as the idea of you wearing nothing but my shirt for bed," he grinned.
Scully opened her mouth in protest, but she closed it quickly as she realized that what he said was true. Mulder laughed.
"Oh, there's something else!" Scully exclaimed, "It's at the bottom of the box."
Mulder fished through the tissue paper to pull out a picture frame. It was a series of six wallet-size photos. Upon closer inspection, Mulder saw that the pictures were the kind you take in the photo booths at the mall. All of the black and white pictures were of Mulder and Scully. The first one showed the two of them looking at each other, smiling. The second picture was of them sticking their tongues out at the camera. The third was of Mulder licking her cheek, her mouth in a small "o," feigning shock. The fourth picture caught the two of them laughing at their own silliness, Mulder resting his forehead against the side of hers. The fifth showed the two of them smiling into the camera. The final picture was of them kissing, eyes closed, mouths partially open.
Mulder looked up at Scully, who awaited his reaction. "That was our second kiss," she pointed to the last picture.
"Wow, Scully, Dana, this is...I love it. It's perfect," Mulder said softly.
"You really like it?" she asked.
Mulder nodded, "Very much. Thank you."
Scully smiled. A beat. "Okay! What about my present?"
Mulder jumped up, "I almost forgot! It's in my room, I'll be right back."
Scully waited patiently, falling back against the pillows. Mulder returned to the attic, but he stopped before he came into her view.
"Okay, Scully, I couldn't exactly wrap this present, so you have to close your eyes for this one, okay?"
She sat up. "Okay, eyes are closed."
Mulder walked over to the bed and sat next to her. "This is, um, alive, so hold out your hands, but be gentle."
Scully hesitated. "Mulderrrr," she warned.
"Do you trust me, Scully?" Mulder asked.
"Infinitely," she replied as she obediently held out her hands. He placed her present in her hands as she opened her eyes.
She let out a sigh. "Mulder, what is this?"
"What's it look like, Scully?" he asked, grinning like an idiot.
"A bowl."
"Yep," he said, still grinning.
"Alive?"
"Well, this is the first part. You have to guess the second part."
Scully gave him 'the look.' "What's a bowl gonna tell me about my gift?"
"Com'on Scully, where's your sense of adventure? You said you trusted me," Mulder pouted.
"I do. Fine. Umm, do I get to ask questions?"
"Three 'yes or no' questions. And it is alive."
"Is it furry?"
"Yes."
"Small enough to fit in my hands."
"Yes."
"An indoor animal?" she asked, doubt in her voice.
"Yes."
"Okay...is it...." Scully's eyes lit up, "Oh, Mulder, is it a cat?"
Mulder smiled and walked across the attic to the box he had brought up when Scully wasn't looking. He pulled a tiny, gray tabby kitten out of the box. If Scully were to ever squeal in delight, it would have been at this point. Mulder handed the cat to her, which she cradled like a baby.
"Oh, thank you SO much, Mulder. But I don't think I can keep it. My mom won't let me have it."
"I know. That's why I bought it for you. You can keep it here. In the attic."
Scully gently put the kitten on the floor to observe it's new home and threw her arms around Mulder, "Thank you," she gushed.
Mulder kissed her squarely on the lips, "Merry Christmas, Scully."
"Merry Christmas, Mulder."
a/n: thank god i have survived the hells of the end of senior year. I'm back!