My Brother's Best Friend
A story by Government Patsy
Chapter 5
Dana POV
Mulder and I spent a lot of time together over the next month - not nearly as much as we want to though. We see each other a few times a week but it's rarely for more than a few hours. Most of the time I come over to his place after school but I leave before Bill comes home from work. Sometimes Mulder picks me up in his car and we just drive around and talk - a few times we find a secluded place to park and move to the backseat.
The weather outside is getting nicer and nicer and Bill's 21'st birthday is coming up. He's having a big garden party at my parents' house - my parents are even staying at a hotel overnight with Charlie. My younger brother is very annoyed that he's not allowed to go but he's only 16 - my dad almost didn't allow me to the party and I'm 18. Luckily Bill convinced him to let me stay, promising to look after me. Melissa is going to be there too. And so is Mulder, obviously, being Bill's best friend. I'm quite nervous about being at a party with Mulder… I know that he and Bill dominated the party scene back in high school… I know that there'll be a lot of women at the party… and Mulder will probably be drinking… I'm just glad that I'll be there - that I won't be stuck in a hotel, wondering what he's up to. I know that Mulder wouldn't cheat on me, but realistically we're not even a couple… and he's very attractive, I'm quite sure he'll get some offers.
"Hey, Dana," Mulder's voice interrupts my thoughts. "I'm surprised your dad let you come to this!"
I'm filling up some balloons in the living room - they'll go into the tent in the garden when I'm done. Bill is busy setting up his music and speakers in the tent and I think Melissa is helping him out.
"Bill convinced him," I chuckle as Mulder takes a seat next to me - right next to me. "Why are you here so early?"
"I just wanted to help out," he says, his eyes moving up and down my body as his arm sneaks around my middle.
"Mulder!" I whisper harshly. "Bill and Melissa are right out there."
"It's been like three days, Dana, I missed you," he whispers back sweetly, moving a stray lock of hair out of my face and behind my ear.
I let go of the balloons I was fixing and we lean closer together, sharing a few tender kisses before I move away from him again, standing up from the couch so he can't trap me.
"Well," I say, trying to sound collected, but I can feel my cheeks are flushed from our kisses. "We're almost done actually - you can go see if Bill needs help with anything."
"Okay," he chuckles as he gets up. "We'll catch up later?"
"Sure," I say and give him a smile. "As long as you behave."
"I always behave," he says as he checks me out one last time before leaving the room - his eyes undressing me, leaving me very hot under his gaze.
Before long we've gotten everything ready and people quickly start to fill up the back garden. Bill and Mulder are manning the BBQs, cooking up burgers and hotdogs for everyone with a beer in their hand. I'm catching up with Melissa, sitting on one of the benches in the garden outside the tent. I look up and see quite a few women gathered around Bill and Mulder, hanging on their every word as they joke with each other. I never thought I'd be the jealous type but I'm quickly starting to realise that I'm no better than Mulder was when it came to Tyler… I don't want his attention on anyone but me…
"Are you eyeing up Mulder?" my sister grins at me and I immediately blush as I look back to her.
"What? No!" I lie, taking a sip from the soda can Bill has handed me - he might have wanted me at his party but he definitely doesn't want me to drink.
"Dana… I knew you had a crush on him back in the day…" she winks at me. "I think everyone could tell except maybe Mulder and Bill."
"Dad could definitely tell," I chuckle as I shake my head, making Melissa burst out laughing.
"Oh yeah, definitely," she agrees. "Well, he's quite attractive, I guess… do you think you'd go out with him if he wasn't Bill's best friend?"
"I don't know," I shrug. "I like Mulder, he's a good guy."
"Hey, I won't tell Bill… or Mulder," she says secretively, leaning in closer towards me.
"I guess I would," I roll my eyes at her and blush. "He was my first ever crush… he'll always be a bit special, I guess."
"I think you'd be cute together," Melissa winks at me, pushing me playfully.
"Melissa, stop it," I chuckle. "He's Bill's best friend and… well, you know how mom and dad never liked him."
"It's cute that you still have a crush on him," she grins. "After all these years, you still feel the same way about him?"
"Well, when I was younger… he was the first guy I ever found attractive. He was the first guy I ever talked to seriously, the first guy who really listened to me. I mean, to him I was just a kid back then… but after he came back, now that I'm older… well, I'm not a kid anymore so things between us kind of changed…"
"Oh really?" Melissa seems very interested now. "I didn't even know the two of you actually talked!"
"Well, I visit Bill sometimes," I shrug. "And Bill is always busy so sometimes I hang out with Mulder."
"Does mom and dad know about this?" Melissa's eyes are glinting with mischief and I blush once again.
"Not really," I chuckle. "They don't really want me to visit Bill's alone so… I just tell them I'm going to a friend's house."
"Little Dana Scully, the wonderchild, the pre-med at Harvard, the saint herself… being a rebel," Melissa looks downright impressed. "Hey, good for you."
"Thanks," I chuckle. "Mulder's just a good friend though!"
"Yeah, it would be complicated going down that route," Melissa nods in approval and I just nod along with her - very complicated indeed.
We talk a bit more back and forth before Melissa joins some of the girls in the tent, they're playing some kind of party game. I walk over to the BBQ to get something to eat and Bill instantly pulls me into his side - I see a few of the girls surrounding Bill and Mulder look very annoyed by this, I think Bill has a few fans.
"My baby sister!" he says joyfully, a few relieved expressions make their way to the circle.
"Want a burger?" Mulder asks me, immediately fixing one for me, even though there's literally a line of girls all waiting for their food.
"Sure, thanks," I smile at him and accept the plate he's handing me.
I go sit down by a table in the tent to eat my burger when a few of Bill's high school friends join me. I remember all three of them, they were on the football team with Bill and they used to have lunch with him and Mulder every day.
"Well, if it isn't little Dana Scully, all grown up!" Henderson says as he gives me a big smile - all three of them dig into their own food and it feels like being back at the lunch table with them like during my freshman year.
"What are you guys doing here?" I wonder, it's been years since I've seen them - I think all three of them went on to the same college after high school.
We catch up for a few minutes before Mulder joins us. They all three seem excited that Mulder is joining us until Mulder pats Henderson's shoulder two times and asks him to make room. Mulder plops down between me and Henderson, the two guys on the other side of the table give each other a knowing glance and I feel my cheeks burn red.
"Weren't you helping Bill?" I ask him annoyed - it's very clear what he's doing here… I just watched him being surrounded by women yet he can't handle me catching up with three old friends who happen to be guys.
"Bill asked me to guard you from these hounds," Mulder chuckles and the three guys chuckle with him… what the hell?
"Oh, Mulder, don't act like Bill's sister isn't a babe now!" Henderson winks at me.
I just roll my eyes at them… okay, I'm quite glad Mulder is here now.
"So Bill sent you to make sure no one… makes a move on his sister?" I ask him, trying not to outright laugh at the irony of the whole situation.
"Of course," Mulder nods seriously.
Mulder ends up pretty much bodyguarding me through the whole party - which I don't mind one bit, to be honest. Bill even thanks him a few times, trying to be discreet about it but failing with the amount of beers he's had.
I sneak a few drinks when my brother isn't paying attention - I don't get drunk or anything, just slightly buzzed.
It's late in the evening when Bill asks Mulder to play beer pong with him - Bill is already partnered up with an attractive blonde and is looking around for a partner for Mulder, when I finally speak up.
"Can I play?" I ask them, making Bill's eyes widen in surprise.
"Sure, Dana," Mulder says, taking my hand and leading me towards the beer pong table in the back of the tent.
"Hey, Mulder, I don't know about this," Bill says, frowning deeply. "I don't want Dana drinking…"
"Well, I'll drink for her, of course," Mulder says, trying to appease his friend.
"Why don't you want Dana to join us?" Bill's blonde friend asks him, resting her hand on his shoulder.
"She's my little sister!" Bill states.
"So?" the blonde laughs at Bill, and looks me up and down a few times. "Dana looks old enough to make her own decisions."
"I am," I agree, instantly liking Bill's girlfriend for the night.
"Okay, okay," Bill finally gives, easing up.
We begin to play and Mulder teaches me the general rules of the game, which is fairly simple. I learn that Bill's blonde friend is named Tara and apparently she went to high school with Bill and Mulder - I don't remember her but I don't think she was a part of their crew back then. Tara seems really nice and she seems to genuinely like my brother - and even more surprisingly he seems to actually genuinely like her as well. I know my brother - I know he's a bit of a player but I also know that he does want to settle down one day… I feel like Tara would be a very good person for Bill to end up with.
We have a lot of fun playing beer pong and I even hit two of their cups - the first time I hit one of their drinks, Mulder gets so excited he picks me up in a hug and twirls me around. I can't help the blush on my face as he does this and I can tell that he wants to kiss me as he puts me back down but we both manage to restrain ourselves and laugh it off.
Mulder and I end up winning, mostly due to the fact that Bill and Tara are pretty drunk already as we begin the game. After the game they move into the house, probably going to Bill's old bedroom.
The party is pretty much over by now and people are starting to clear out. Melissa, Mulder and I begin to clean up. We all agreed to help Bill clean up tomorrow morning and decide that we might as well get most of it done right away. After a little while we see Tara come downstairs - she chuckles as she says goodbye to us all before leaving out the front door. A few minutes later Bill comes down too and he helps us clean up everything. It doesn't take us long at all but we're all pretty dead when we're finished. We sit down in the living room and talk for a little while but Bill breaks down first and goes to bed. Melissa follows not long after.
"I should probably go to sleep too," I sigh, leaning into Mulder's side as we're alone now.
"Do you think it'll be okay for me to crash here?" Mulder wonders in a yawn.
"Of course!" I chuckle, closing my eyes as I rest my head on Mulder's shoulder - my arm is loosely around his waist with his arm draped over my shoulders.
The next thing I know I wake up to the sound of my father's voice. Mulder and I must have fallen asleep on the couch. My neck feels really stiff but at the sound of my father's voice, I immediately move away from Mulder.
"What?" I say, feeling very disorientated, not able to make out what my dad is even saying.
"What the hell is happening here?" my father asks us, I can tell that he's seething with rage.
I look over to Mulder who's finally waking up too, he's half stretching before realising the situation we're in and his eyes widen as his whole body stiffens.
"We just fell asleep, dad," I quickly say.
"On top of each other?" he yells just as my mother comes into the room as well.
"Sir, I can explain," Mulder says, standing up but my dad immediately pushes him back down into his seat.
"Dad!" I yell, just as my mother yells: "Bill!"
"Maggie, he had his hands all over my daughter!" my dad seethes.
"He did not!" I say standing up, probably just as angry as my dad by now.
"Mom, we fell asleep next to each other!" I plead with my mother to understand at least.
"What's going on?" Bill asks sleepily, coming into the living room.
"Dad pushed Mulder!" I tell him, folding my arms over my chest.
"What the hell?" Bill immediately wakes up and looks in shock to Mulder and our father.
"He had his hands all over Dana!" dad yells again.
"His arm was over my shoulder!" I explain, my face completely red from anger and embarrassment. "We fell asleep next to each other… it's not a big deal!"
"Dad!" Bill says. "C'mon, Dana is like a sister to Mulder!"
Mulder looks down to his lap as he scratches his neck, his very red neck.
"I know you always thought the world of this guy but you know how I feel about him, Bill!" dad says sternly. "I don't want him anywhere near your sister!"
"Dad!" I object with him. "I'm 18 - I can hang out with whoever I want to!"
"Not as long as you're living in my house!" my dad says.
"Bill," my mother puts her hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're not overreacting, dear?"
"I'm sure, Maggie!" he says sternly and my mother just nods and backs down.
I feel betrayed. I know my dad is overprotective - I know it's hard for him to accept that I'm growing up. But my mom… why isn't she backing me up? Why doesn't she help me?
"Get out of my house!" he tells Mulder.
"You know what?" Mulder says, standing up and looking furious.
I feel scared. Mulder is quite protective of me as well - in some ways even more than my dad. I reach out for his arm, to try to calm him down - but when my dad sees my hand reaching out to him, the look he gives me makes me put it right back down.
"Screw you!" Mulder tells my dad and my heart stops beating.
Everything is quiet in the living room. My dad looks completely shook. My mom, Bill and me - we're all holding our breaths. Mulder doesn't look the least bit scared, he just looks angry as he stands in front of my father.
"Excuse me?" my dad says, taking a step closer to Mulder.
"I'm sick of you treating me like this!" Mulder says seriously. "Bill is my best friend and I've helped him in ways you can't even begin to understand! I've always been there for him! And Dana… she's my friend too! They're probably the two most important people in my life outside my family! And you know what? They like me! Your kids like me - they want me in their lives… shouldn't that tell you something? Bill and Dana are good people - if they like me so much… then maybe I'm not all bad?"
There's a long silence. I love Mulder so much - he's standing up to my father in a way that I wish I would have done a long time ago.
"My daughter is still in high school," my dad says and I know where this is going. "You're an adult, Fox! And I don't trust you around my daughter and I never will!"
"Fine!" Mulder says angrily and moves towards the door.
He slams the front door behind him as he walks out of the house. The living room is completely quiet. My mom is shaking her head. Bill looks almost as angry as I feel.
"Nice, dad!" he says and leaves as well, presumably going after Mulder.
I want to leave too. But I know I can't. I'm trapped here. At least for one more month. I love my dad but I've lost some respect for him… I don't know how he can treat Mulder the way that he is…
"Why do you have to be so mean to him?" I ask him and sniffle - I didn't even know I was crying until I started talking.
"Oh, Dana," he says sweetly, trying to pull me into his arms but I walk away from him.
"How can you treat another person like that?" I wonder out loud, feeling my heart breaking a little bit - I've always thought the world of my father but I don't right now.
"You'll understand when you're a parent, Dana," he sighs.
"Will I?" I doubt that. "Because I don't think even mom knows why you hate him so much!"
"You know what happened back then," my mom says, trying to back up my dad but I can hear the doubt in her voice.
"Yeah, I do know," I say. "Do you? Do you have any clue what happened?"
"Well, of course," dad says confidently.
"Well, whatever you think you know, I hope it was worth losing the respect of your daughter over," I tell him and walk out of the room.
"Dana!" he says sternly and I stop and look back at him.
"You're not seeing him again," he says seriously. "From now on I always know where you are, at all times!"
"I can't wait to get out of here!" I say furiously.
"Me neither," my dad says, nodding his head. "Just one more month and you'll be 3000 miles away from that guy!"
"And 3000 miles away from you!" I fire back and finally leave the room.
x
Mulder POV
Dana's father has her on a short leash after the party and the following morning. I feel like shit. If I had any hope of ever being with Dana, really being with her… it's dead now. Her father would never accept it - meaning Dana would have to choose between me and her family. I could never ask her to do that.
But I can't just turn off what I'm feeling for her. I still want her more than anything. We talk on the phone almost every evening, when her parents have gone to sleep. But we don't see each other anymore. We can't. Dana's father doesn't allow her to go anywhere unless he drives her there. It's been three weeks since I've seen her. I feel miserable. It's nearly 6 PM on a Saturday evening. And that's when she texts me.
My parents aren't home. Come over?
I shouldn't. I really shouldn't. But in an instant I'm out the door and starting up the BMW. I drive straight to her house but park a few blocks away. I let her know I'm on my way and she instantly lets me inside as I arrive.
I pull her into my arms and plant my lips on hers the moment the front door is closed behind us. She's surprised at first but she quickly gives into it and lets her fingers roam through my hair as we make out against the door. I reach down and give her ass a firm squeeze before picking her up and thrusting against her eagerly.
"God, I missed you!" I whisper to her as we finally break apart for air, I caress her face tenderly, looking at her closely - she's so insanely beautiful.
"Me too," she sighs deeply. "Charlie's home, but he's playing x-box with his headphones on - let's go to my room!"
We quickly make our way up the stairs and into her room. We eagerly begin to undress each other as we continue to kiss heatedly. We're both very eager and soon we're naked on the bed, having pretty heated sex before coming together. I don't think it lasts more than ten minutes but neither of us seemed able to slow down today and I'm just glad she came with me.
"God, I missed that!" I say exhausted as I bury my head in her hair, spooning up to her, naked under the covers in her bed.
"Me too," she chuckles as we're pretty much replaying our last conversation.
"You're leaving soon," I say sadly.
"I know," she sighs. "I'm glad I got to see you one last time…"
I feel empty inside as she says this.
"Last time?" I have to ask.
"Well, I leave in a week," she clarifies, as if that's what I was second guessing.
"Yeah, I know," I sigh. "So this whole thing is over when you leave?"
She sighs deeply and she's quiet for the longest time.
"Wasn't that what we agreed?" she asks me.
I wish I could see her face. I wish I could read her mind. I wish I knew what she was really feeling right now.
"I guess," I just say, playing it safe. "Are you excited about college?"
"Yeah, I am actually," she says and I'm truly happy for her - I know these last three weeks have been hell for her. "But I… I will miss you, Mulder."
"I'll miss you too," I say happily, kissing her neck. "Do you think you'll visit your family during the holidays?"
"Of course I will," she chuckles. "My dad might be an ass but I still love him…"
"Of course," I acknowledge and feel happy that I might see her a few times a year still. "Do you think you'll have time to see me then? When you come home?"
"If…" she hesitates. "If you're not seeing anybody else."
"I don't think I will be!" I say surprised and then I feel quite nervous. "Do you… do you think you'll be seeing anyone?"
"Of course not," she chuckles. "But you can if you want to, Mulder… I'm not… I don't want you to pause your whole life for me!"
"What do you mean?" I wonder.
"Well, don't you want a future with someone? Like getting married… house, kids, the whole shabang."
"Sure, one day I want that!" I tell her - not telling her that I never even thought about getting married before I met her.
"You should be open to meeting new people then… Mulder, I'll be gone for at least four years! And after that it's four years of medical school - if I can even get in! Then at least three years of residency!" she sighs deeply.
"Stanford is really close to here though - they have a great medical program, maybe you could get in there," I say enthusiastically - four years apart will be brutal, but it sure beats the alternative of never being with this woman again!
"It's my dream getting into Stanford!" she sighs. "But it's one of the hardest medical programs in the whole country to get into, Mulder!"
"I'm sure you can do it, Dana," I say honestly, kissing her shoulder and neck.
"Okay - if I do get into Stanford… and if you still want to do this in four years…" she begins.
"Yes!" I interrupt her. "In four years! That's a deal!"
"Okay, Mulder," she chuckles. "But until then, don't stop living because of me, okay?"
"Whatever, Dana," I chuckle and tickle her sides. "Four years!"
We banter a bit more back and forth - thoroughly enjoying being back together again. I don't know when it happens but we must have fallen asleep. Because next thing I know, I clearly hear a car pull up in front of the house.
"Ehm, Dana…" I rub her tummy with my hand and she stirs in her sleep, slowly waking up. "I just heard a car!"
"Oh fuck!" she quickly makes her way out of bed and picks up her clothes from the floor, putting them back on. "Mulder, hurry!"
I get out too and just as I pull on my boxers, we clearly hear the front door open and close. Our eyes meet and she looks as stressed as I'm feeling.
We manage to gather the rest of my clothes up from the floor and she pushes me backwards into her closet. I try to object but there's really no alternative. I'm now standing inside her closet in just my boxers with all my clothes in my hands. She's making her bed eagerly and just manages to sit down by her desk when the door to her bedroom opens and her father walks in. Fuck!
"Dad?" she says, trying to be nonchalant but I can tell that she's stressing from just watching her through the shutters of the closet.
"Hey, Dana - we're back home," he says sweetly.
"How were the Smiths?" she asks as her dad just hovers, looking at the framed pictures on her wall.
"Very well," he nods, still just looking around.
"So…" she says after a small silence. "Did you want anything, dad?"
"I…" he sighs and sits down at the end of her bed. "I wanted to apologise to you, Dana."
"Yeah?" she seems skeptical.
"I said some things that I shouldn't have… I know I treat you differently than your siblings… I'm sorry, Dana! You've just always been my little girl… you've always been the first to run into my arms when I come home… when your siblings preferred your mother, you always asked for me… and you don't really need me anymore and that's hard for me to accept."
"Dad," she says, her voice breaking slightly. "I'll always need you! Maybe not in the same way as when I was younger… but I do need you!"
"Yeah?" her dad sniffles happily. "I'm sorry, Dana!"
"I forgive you," she smiles at him and sits down next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder.
I feel bad. I was too harsh on him. Will this man ever accept me now? If I ask him for his daughter's hand in marriage one day… would he ever be able to say yes? Would he decline walking his daughter down the aisle if she was marrying me? Do I even have a future with Dana if I can't get along with her old man?
Realistically, I've only been seeing Dana for a few months - and we're not even really together right now. But if she wants me in four years, I feel quite certain that we're in it for the long haul.
"What did I ever do to deserve such a perfect daughter?" he asks her, kissing her forehead.
"I'm not perfect, dad," she chuckles.
"You are to me," he says as he gets up and walks towards the door - as he reaches the door he turns around, smiles and says: "I love you, Starbuck!"
"I love you too, Ahab!" she chuckles.
He leaves the room. Dana falls backwards onto her bed as she sighs deeply. I drop my clothes and shoes and slowly open the closet door.
"Close one," I sigh, scratching my chest.
"You heard everything, didn't you?" she wonders out loud, sitting back up on the bed.
I just nod and give her a little smile.
"Are you mad at me?" she asks seriously.
"What?" I chuckle. "Of course not! I'm happy you're on good terms with your dad again!"
"But I forgave him…" she says, standing up and walking towards me. "He treated you like shit and I forgave him…"
"Hey," I take her hands and give them a few tender kisses. "You can only forgive your dad for what happened between him and you… what happened with your dad and me is between him and me... and I'm so happy that you don't let it affect the way that you see your dad - I couldn't bear it if I broke the bond you two have!"
"You could never break anything, Mulder," she whispers, her hand caressing my face, pushing my hair back. "You make everything better!"
"Do I?" I say in disbelief - it certainly doesn't feel like that to me.
"Come here," she sighs and walks backwards towards her bed - I silently follow her.
She eases out of her clothes and I help her along. As she's naked in front of me she pushes me back on the bed gently and I sit down, dragging her down with me so she ends up on top of me. We languidly kiss as my hands gently stroke her sides and back.
Something has changed between us. There's no rush. After our talk earlier, it's pretty clear that this is the last time we'll be together for quite some time… maybe forever. Dana can't put into words how she feels about me… so she's showing me, she's conveying her feelings physically. And it's overwhelming. The way she kisses me. Touches me. It's almost too much to handle. But I feel the same. And I try to convey that. I'm gentle and affectionate in a way that's totally new for me. We tumble around a bit as we kiss and push against one another - I end up on top of her, moving down her writhing body. My kisses are feather light. She's squirming but trying desperately not to make a sound. I circle her nipples with my tongue as my thumb finds her clit. Her hand clasps her own mouth as she strangles her cries of pleasure. I do everything slowly and gently and it's killing her. At long last I move my head down between her thighs and she begs me to finally put my tongue on her. I kiss her thighs and labia for the longest time, before finally giving in. She sucks in a breath of air as my tongue finally flicks her clit, her hips thrusting upwards, pushing herself against my face. I hold her down and continue to flick gently against her clit before circling it as I did with her nipples earlier. I'm holding her down with my left hand so I move my right hand downwards, gently pushing two fingers into her opening and circling them around. I continue to gently move my tongue against her clit as I stimulate her opening with my fingers. She's thrashing underneath me and I can tell she's just about to come when I stop. I move my tongue and fingers away from her erogenous zones and she whimpers in distress.
"Mulder, please!" she begs me in a whisper.
"Not yet," I whisper back hoarsely as I move my way back up to her face, hovering over her.
"I hate you!" she whimpers, her nails digging into my chest as I move on top of her.
"I don't think you do," I whisper and smile as I lower my head down to her neck, kissing her just below her chin as I ease my erect length into her.
"God!" she hisses, sucking in a deep breath of air.
"Shhh," I remind her, covering her mouth with my hand - this only seems to excite her more though.
I continue to gently ease in and out of her, covering her mouth with my hand as she whimpers and moans, while I make sure to rub against her clit every time I enter her, prolonging the contact between us as much as I can. A few times she's very close to climax and then I stop moving in and out of her altogether, simply kissing her shoulders and neck and face, until she's calm again, then I begin to move anew.
In the end her near climaxes are closer and closer together. I can feel the sweat drip down my back and forehead. She's begging me.
"Please, Mulder!" her muffled voice pleads me through my hand over her mouth. "Please, please, please!"
I can't hold back any longer. I don't want to hold back any longer. I speed up my thrusts very slightly and she comes around me instantly. She comes like she's never come before. She's shaking beneath me. Her whole body is pulsing. Her legs are crossed behind my back. Her nails are digging into my scalp and shoulder. Her voice is vibrating against my hand. I can't hold back my own climax any longer either. I bury my head in her shoulder, muffling my own groan against her skin as I empty myself inside of her, my whole body trembling.
Her body is still spasming slightly as we move under the covers and cuddle up together. I hold her in my arms and kiss her forehead, cheeks and nose.
"I don't want to leave you, Mulder," she whispers, her voice shaking.
"I know, Dana," I give her a gentle kiss on the mouth and her eyes find mine. "But you have to. You're gonna do great things."
"I…" she loves me? Is that what she's gonna say? My heart stops beating. "I… I'm scared."
"Of what?" I sigh, tightening my hold of her.
"Of losing what we have… and never finding it again…"
"Well, you can never lose me," I whisper, stroking her back soothingly. "I'm here for you, always."
"Will you call me every day?" she asks hopefully.
"Of course not," I chuckle. "I want you to have a life, Dana. Emerge yourself in your studies. Become the best pre-med at Harvard. Get into Stanford. And then come back to me."
"You make it sound so easy," she sighs. "Everyone has these high expectations of me because I got into Harvard! What if I let everyone down?"
"You can't," I assure her. "People only have high expectations because they know you, Dana. You're so dedicated to everything that you do. It's impossible for you to halfass anything - which is why we know you'll be successful with whatever you put your mind to."
"And if I'm not successful?" she wonders.
"Not a chance," I sigh. "But if… everyone will welcome you back with open arms and help you back on your feet."
"Yeah?" she sighs content.
"Yeah," I assure her.
x
Dana POV
I wake up with a stir, my heart beating away. I manage to break free from Mulder's arms and grab my phone to check the time. It's a little after 6 AM in the morning… and Mulder is still in my bed… fuck!
"Mulder!" I try to stir him awake but not be too loud. "Mulder, you need to leave!"
"Mmmh," he groans and buries his face in my chest. "Why?"
"Jesus Christ," I sigh and push him back. "Mulder, my dad will be up soon!"
"Oh," he blinks slowly, finally realising where he is and what's going on. "Will your dad come in here, you think?"
"No, I don't think so," I sigh. "But you need to get out of the house without him noticing you've been here, Mulder…"
"Ohhhh, right!" he yawns, sitting up in bed. "What time is it?"
"It's like ten minutes past six," I tell him, sitting up next to him, grabbing a t-shirt from the nightstand to cover myself up a little bit. "You don't have much time, Mulder."
"Your dad gets up this early?" he asks in disbelief, leaning in to give me a kiss.
I meet his lips with my own and sigh as I run my hand through the hairs at the back of his neck.
"Yeah," I answer him breathlessly. "He gets up pretty early."
"I suppose I should leave then," he smiles at me and gives me another sweet, little kiss. "Good morning by the way."
"Good morning, Mulder," I chuckle and push him out of bed.
"Alright, alright," he smiles back at me as he gets out of bed and stretches his back, before picking up his boxers and stepping into them. "Are you checking out my butt?"
"What?" I look up from said part of his anatomy and meet his eyes. "Oh, shut up!"
"Are you sure we don't have time to…"
"Mulder!" I whisper harshly, sliding further down into bed. "Please, just…"
I'm cut off by the sound of the door from across the hallway opening up and closing again… my dad is now up and on his way down to the kitchen to put over the morning coffee so it's ready by the time my mom wakes up.
"Shit!" I sigh and sink even further into bed, covering my face with my duvet.
As I get out from the covers, I find Mulder looking out the window, looking down to the roof below the window.
"Mulder!" I chuckle. "You can't jump out the window!"
"Well, there's a chance I'll make it if I go out this window… if I walk downstairs - I don't think I'll leave this house alive!" he's dead serious but I can't help but laugh at him.
"Mulder, you can't be serious?" I ask as he pulls on his socks and jeans.
"Dana, I can easily walk onto the roof, go to the edge and hoist myself down - it's not a big deal!" he says confidently.
"Okay then," I sigh and reach out for my phone - I open up the camera app and slide it to video mode and start recording.
"What are you doing?" he chuckles as he zips the zipper in his jeans.
"Any last words?" I ask him, teasingly.
"Oh, very funny!" he rolls his eyes at me as he picks up his t-shirt and sweatshirt and pulls them both over his head. "Just wait till you see this - oh, ye of little faith!"
"You're really gonna jump out the window, Mulder?" I still doubt that he'll actually do this.
"Well, it sure beats what your dad will do to me if he finds out I spend the night here!" he shrugs and smirks, stepping into his old worn down sneakers.
"And you really have no last words?" I chuckle.
"Well," he looks pensive before a grin spreads across his face. "If I kill myself jumping off the roof… after last night… well, I'll die a happy man, at least!"
"Is that so?" I smile at him as I watch him through the camera on my phone.
"Definitely," he smirks and moves closer to the window, opening it before looking back at me. "Come over here - this will look pretty cool!"
"Okay," I chuckle and get out of bed, walking over to the window as I continue to record whatever crazy stunt he's about to do.
He climbs out the window and steps onto the roof - he looks back at me and leans in for a kiss through the open window. My phone is against his chest and my other hand is against his cheek as we kiss a few times. He pulls back and looks me over one last time before sighing deeply and giving me the cutest smile. I just smile right back at him.
He jogs to the edge of the roof, sits down with his legs hanging over the side. Then he puts his hands down next to him and carefully hoists himself over the side of the roof. He's holding himself up with his hands, his legs hanging down the side of the roof, I can just see his face and upper body. He looks up at me and winks, before lowering himself down until he's hanging off the roof. I can only see his hands now and then he lets go. I hear him land on the ground but I can't see him anymore. Through all of this my heart has been beating fastly.
He comes into view and he looks up at me happily and I can't help but smile back at him, relieved and quite honestly impressed. He raises his hands over his head and punches the air a few times in triumph. I can't help but laugh. I end my recording and put the phone down. I'm freezing in just my t-shirt but I wave down at him, smiling uncontrollably. He waves back at me before walking out of my view.
I sigh and put on some more clothes after closing the window. My phone beeps and I immediately pick it up and check the message he's just sent me.
Impressed yet?
He's so damn cute. I message him back immediately.
Very impressed!
A few days after this night I finally graduate high school. I'm on my way to Harvard. My whole family is at my graduation but obviously Mulder can't be there. A few days after my graduation, I'm finally going to Harvard. That night and morning with Mulder was the last time I saw him before leaving. As I'm on the plane to Boston I can't help but think of him. I'm gonna miss him so much. It hurts leaving him like this. I'm excited for college, being pre-med at Harvard is a great accomplishment and a dream come true. But my heart… my heart is with Mulder. I never even told him that I love him… but I really think I do. He wanted to commit to me, he tried so hard… why couldn't I commit to him?
I already know the answer. If I'd committed to Mulder, I never would have been able to leave him. If I truly give myself to him… I wouldn't be on this plane right now. And if I gave up Harvard, Mulder would never forgive himself for that. Hell, I would never forgive myself for bailing on Harvard. I know it was the right decision… but I also know there's a risk I'll lose him. There's a big chance that he won't feel the same way in four years. But then again, maybe he will.