Disclaimer: X-Files and its characters are owned by 20th Century Fox and Chris Carter. I just borrowed them for a few hours :)
Author's Note: I wrote this story and my other X-Files fanfic a number of years ago and thought it time to upload to this community.
Kiss Goodnight
Chapter 2: A Wink and a Smile
Scully felt the morning sunlight burning against her eyelids, urging them to open, but she felt too well-rested and too comfortable to break her pleasure just yet. She snuggled closer against the couch, questions of why she never made it to bed slowly drifting into her mind and memories of a late night working reminding her. She shifted her head to face another direction and as her mind adjusted to waking up, she became increasingly aware of someone stroking her hair gently. Then, she remembered Mulder, the small gentle kiss, falling asleep in his arms and feeling more relaxed than she ever felt in her life. She allowed her eyes to open and raised her head, meeting his eyes with her own.
"Morning," he whispered.
"Hi," she replied, finally taking in the fact that she was sprawled across his body. "I'm sorry," she said, pushing herself up, afraid she was bothering him.
"Please." He caught her back with his hand. "Don't get up."
"We've got to get ready for work," she said, biting her lower lip.
"Just a few more minutes?" he whispered, his eyes displaying a little bit of hurt. "This feels too nice." He smiled at her and pushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.
Though this could be dangerous, especially since she was still sleepy and not completely sensible, a few more minutes certainly couldn't hurt. She returned his smile and responded by laying her head against him and stretching her arms across his shoulders. She felt him nestle one hand in the small of her back while the other held her head. She couldn't remember when she last felt so close to someone, in every possible way, if she ever had. Against her back, she felt his fingers tracing abstract patterns, leaving trails of warmth. She closed her eyes and listened to him. The gentle rhythm of his heartbeat and breathing almost lulled her back to a pleasing, tingling sleep, but she resisted as much as she could, wanting to commit this moment to memory. At one point last night she'd thought she'd need an excuse for why they fell asleep together, but she should have known that really wouldn't matter. Mulder had stayed with her all night holding her because he wanted to, as much as she'd wanted to hold him. She sleepily sighed, taking in the gentle weight of his hand on her back. "You're right," she whispered into his chest, "This does feel nice."
X X X
Scully rushed through the security check at F.B.I. Headquarters, hoping to make the elevator. She was nearly an hour late after falling asleep again at home. That plus not completing the report wouldn't please A.D. Skinner, so she hoped she could slip by without seeing him. She sprinted for an open elevator, silently cursing the high heels she wore, as she saw the doors closing. She yelled, "Wait!" lunging forward and thrusting her hand between the doors, only to have them slam against her wrist. A slight pain stung up her arm making her wince. "Damn it," she mumbled, pulling her hand away. But then she noticed someone gripping a door and pushing on it to let her in.
The re-opened doors revealed Mulder, his face contorted in concern. In one breath he blurted, "Are you okay, Scully? I tried to press the 'open' button, but it didn't work and by then it was too late. I didn't see you coming."
"I'm okay, Mulder." Scully rubbed her arm. "It just stings a little."
"Are you sure? Let me see." With that, he took her hand in his and lifted her arm to inspect it. He circled a finger over her wrist then ran it up and down her arm. "Seems okay."
His touch was so light, it tickled her. She found herself watching his inspecting touch as it little by little became a full caressing hand. She smiled. "I told you."
He met her eyes and cocked his head. "You're the doctor." Then, he raised her hand to his face and kissed her palm.
Any lingering pain she might have had disappeared at the touch of his lips. Their eyes were still locked together, and she felt the irrepressible urge to squeeze his hand so he couldn't let go with the childlike notion that the kiss would be sealed between their palms for as long as they remained joined.
The elevator opened, and Mulder smiled at Scully. "Our stop." Still holding her hand, he led her out and guided her towards their office.
The sight of a small note attached to their office door broke Scully's reverie. "Uh, oh."
"Are we in trouble?" Mulder asked.
"Well, not only did we not even start the report for Skinner, we showed up for work an hour late."
Mulder raised his eyebrows and said, "We could just tell him the truth." He paused for a moment, smiling mischievously and locking his eyes with Scully. "That we didn't get anything done because we slept together."
Scully rolled her eyes and pulled on his arm. "Let's go."
X X X
Skinner's tirade had seemed to start before Scully and Mulder even entered his office. When they'd approached his secretary's desk, Scully had noticed the noise of pacing footsteps and had thought she'd detected a few choice expletives. After asking the secretary if the Assistant Director was busy and should they come back later, Scully had received a rather unwelcome, "No, he's been waiting for you," along with an embarrased smile. A chivalrous Mulder had offered Scully a 'ladies first' hand gesture which she regretfully took since she ended up being the one Skinner had decided to attack first.
"Agent Scully, explain to me why you and Agent Mulder weren't in your office at 9 this morning."
"Well, sir, I--"
"I don't think you understand." Skinner had stopped his pacing and dropped into his chair with a thud. "There should be no explanation for why I had to come find you to get a report that was supposed to be on my desk. That kind of behavior. . ."
Scully was used to her boss' reprimands by now. Working on cases as strange as the X-Files, she and Mulder received such reprimands on almost a weekly basis. Most of the time, she tuned out most of what Skinner said and simply tried to pay attention if anything significant came up. Since nothing he was saying now seemed of any importance, she focused on the window behind Skinner's desk and the clear blue sky and clouds drifting slowly by. Sunlight shone through in such a way that she could see her reflection in the window as well as Mulder's standing next to her, a few feet away. She watched him, his gaze seeming fixated on Skinner, though not necessarily his full attention. His eyes displayed a defiant glint and his mouth carried his trademark smirk. That and his wrinkled white suit shirt and pants slung lazily over his hips reminded her of the image she'd always had of the boys she'd been taught to avoid while growing up. "Stay away from the rebels, the renegades--they're too unpredictable, too dangerous," so many had said to her in so many ways. For years she'd wondered why they were dangerous, what carnal acts they'd done in their spare time that warranted such a description. It wasn't until she got to know Mulder that she understood that the danger wasn't in the men, but in herself. Thinking of that, she watched his reflection with the full knowledge that she would do anything for this man. The mere sight of him stirred feelings deep within her that she'd never felt for anyone--feelings that made her do things she'd never imagined before knowing him. That, she knew, was the danger and precisely what she loved most about him.
Still focusing her gaze on Mulder's reflection, she studied his face. His smirk had faded and his lower lip pushed out in a pout that reminded her of a little boy in trouble. She smiled and caught Mulder's reflection winking at her own.
Her smile grew.
He winked again.
She felt a giggle coming on, but did her best to repress it since Skinner had moved directly into her field of view.
"Is there something funny about what I've said, Agent Scully?"
She pursed her lips together, still afraid of laughing. "No, sir."
"Well then, I'll ask that you and Agent Mulder play your little games outside the office." Skinner sat on the corner of his desk and waved his arm at them. "Dismissed."
Scully turned quickly and bolted out of the office, followed by Mulder. She passed the secretaries, other agents and offices and didn't stop until she reached the elevators which were a safe distance from the general office hubub. All the winking and smiling in Skinner's office gave way to laughing she couldn't control, and the last thing she needed to overhear was another joke about the odd behavior of Mr. and Mrs. Spooky.
Mulder placed his hand on her shoulder. "You okay there?"
Scully turned to face him, still laughing. "Yeah, it's just no one's played winking games with me since I was about 10. I found it funny."
"I had to do it." He squeezed her shoulder. "I watched you standing there smiling, and I wanted to get your attention."
She playfully touched his tie. "Well, we ended up getting Skinner's attention, too."
"He's just envious." He placed his hand over hers and held it against his chest.
Her laughter subsided as the sensation of his warm chest reminded her of falling asleep with him and waking up with him. "Why?" The memories made her voice unusually quiet.
"He has no one to play little games with outside the office."
She had wondered what Skinner meant by that, besides what Mulder thought he meant.
Mulder bit his lower lip, then grazed his thumb back and forth over her hand. "Are you busy tonight?"
"No."
"How about dinner?"
"Sounds nice."
They stared at each other for what seemed like a glorious eternity to Scully. She felt the already small space between them growing smaller as if one of the unseen paranormal forces they might investigate were pushing them together. She hadn't quite realized when it happened, but they'd grown so close, her whole arm was now pressed between herself and Mulder's chest and she could feel his breath against her face.
Mulder leaned his head towards Scully and whispered against her ear, "I'll pick you up at nine."
She thought she felt his lips brush against her ear, but couldn't be completely sure. She only knew that whether it was a kiss, his breathing, or his whisper, it simply felt wonderful.