Cowritten with admiralty (Ao3), admiralty_xfd (Twitter), admiralty-xfd (Tumblr)

iv. rugueux

Rationally, she knew he hadn't meant anything by it.

Irrationally, and more pressingly in her mind, he had been infuriatingly inconsiderate.

When they took the elevator to the basement after their meeting with Skinner, the spike of her heel got caught in the space where the floor met the elevator, sending her toppling forward for Mulder to catch. Overall, it would have just been slightly embarrassing. However, as Mulder was helping her put her shoe back on, one of the older men in the elevator broadly stated to his captive audience, "What good are they in the field when they can't even manage to walk in their little shoes? Half my job is just making sure my pretty new partner doesn't kill herself."

She was used to her fair share of sexist comments in her time, but they never ceased to annoy her. It wasn't even a clever attempt this time as much as it was open sexism masquerading as humor, so she wasn't going to indulge it. She simply rolled her eyes and readjusted her shoe a bit while the doors closed and all the other men laughed at her expense and her partner's apparent burden. Her face only began to flush when she realized that it truly was all the other men reacting.

The little half-chuckle that left Mulder's lips had pierced her like a stake through the heart, and she knew the reddening of her cheeks wasn't just out of embarrassment.

It wasn't a laugh, but just a little noncommittal sound of acknowledgement. Not an agreement, but not a disagreement either. What one would give in response to a bad joke just so the person knew it was heard. But the joke being heard was her. Her as a woman, her as a partner, her as an equal. In that moment, the notion that she was less-than in those regards was rewarded by the man she trusted above all with a fucking little half-chuckle, and it was playing on repeat in her head.

She felt claustrophobic as she stood absolutely still, ignoring Mulder's attempts to put his hand on the small of her back by aggressively stepping out of the elevator, paces ahead of him. She heard the sounds of someone talking again, but she wasn't going to indulge them with a backwards glance. It took Mulder a few moments to catch up to her and the hurt part of her figured he probably just needed a few seconds to wipe the smile off his face before she caught it.

She found it ironic. Last week she'd been joking that most relationships hit a rough patch in the seventh year. The seven year itch. "More like the seven year itch we finally scratched," she'd laughed. Now, sitting across from him, she was starting to understand what that phrase really meant.

Why did he join in? It was the only phrase repeating in her head. It was the response unspoken on her tongue when he asked about the expense reports, when he asked for her to hand him the stapler, when he asked how she felt about the case. All she could think of was that fucking non-committed half-chuckle. She knew she was overreacting, but this was her one sore spot. She'd had plenty of people along her path critique her, make her feel small or weak, but never Mulder. She didn't think he'd ever thought less of her because of stupid sexist notions.

Even last week when they came back from their case bruised and bloodied, he'd even made a comment that she by far gave it worse than what she got. But now when she remembered his statement, she couldn't help but mentally finish it with "for a girl." Was that what he'd really meant? Now that she thought about it, as soon as the craziness dissipated, he'd ignored his own injuries to make sure she was okay. Initially she thought it was Mulder being sweet like he always was, but now she couldn't help but wonder if he saw it as a necessity. If he was hurt, clearly she must be on death's door.

She could see herself spiraling into self-doubt, but she couldn't help it. Everytime he talked to her she was short and curt with him and she could see him practically flinch. It would have been different if he'd kept his damn mouth shut, or even told them to knock it off. But he hadn't.

"Scully," he called out.

"What?" she snapped, irritated he couldn't just leave her alone for a second.

She didn't know if it was his original question or if her tone had sparked it. "Scully, did I do something to piss you off?" he asked, equal parts dumbfounded and exasperated. She passive-aggressively half-chuckled at him under her breath and his expression made it evident that no one was fond of that sound today.

He stared at her from across the desk, still singular she might add, and waited for an elaboration she was not intending to give. "You've been snapping at me all morning. I'm sorry I'm so stupid that I need you to spell out for me what it is I've done wrong, but I don't think I've done anything that warrants you being so...so..." he made a gesture with his hands like he could grasp onto the word he was searching for.

She realized she was playing into the very stereotype she was offended by, but at the moment she was operating solely from that exquisite pain that only comes from having your feelings hurt by someone you love. So she offered him some options for the word that seemed to escape him, something she was sure the men in the elevator would more than agree with. "Bitchy? Hormonal? Frigid? Like a real cun-"

"No!" he exclaimed, cutting her off, looking more shocked than anything.

The air was charged like static between them and she felt like she could hear the sound of her own heart beating. He stood there for a moment, taking in her words before seemingly getting offended, "Are you implying that's what you think I think of you?"

"You implied it yourself earlier," she muttered as she idly flipped through files on her desk, not paying an ounce of attention to them otherwise.

"Scully, you know damn well I would never talk about you like that," he barked, in defense of her almost as much as himself.

Another half chuckle, another look of anger.

This time the flicker in his eyes was followed by him standing up, startling her slightly, and she let the files drop from her fingers. "Are you kidding me, Scully?" There was something so self-righteous in his tone that she felt herself standing up without even trying to, her anger possessing her.

"Am I kidding you? Are you kidding me? Mulder, you laughed at me," she spat the word 'laughed' from her mouth like it was venom.

"What are you talking about?" he cried with his brow furrowing in confused defensiveness.

"That man in the elevator was irrefutably making fun of me. He was undoubtedly being sexist and misogynistic and you laughed alongside all of them at my expense!"

"No I didn't."

"You did too," she exclaimed. "You went-" and then she did a reenactment of his little chuckle, but drastically exaggerating his voice almost to the point of being offensive.

"I wasn't even paying attention. I was worried if you were all right or not." The way his eyes widened and he leaned forward pissed her off and nothing he said was going to help.

"What? I'm so fucking fragile I can't even trip? Do you think I'm just a liability to you?" she asked with rhetoric venom. He just stood there and stared at her like she had grown a third head. His silence only served to fuel her agitation. They finally have sex and then he drops this on her? For a moment she felt like she was trying to swallow lead and she knew she had to get out of there before her emotions overwhelmed her.

"Whatever, Mulder," she stated coolly, trying to end the conversation. She rolled her eyes and left without another word, her heels punctuating her anger as she walked down the hall.

She was grateful rarely anyone used the basement restroom because she just needed a moment to herself. She turned on the faucet and let it run until it was freezing, collecting some in her hands before splashing some on her face. Placing her hands on either side of the porcelain, she watched as the water swirled down the drain, her face visible against the white reflection.

Her body was still thrumming with agitation, so much so that she felt like her heart was beating so loudly that it was all she could hear. It wasn't until the bathroom door swung open that she realized it wasn't her heartbeat, it was Mulder's size tens stomping down the hall.

Her eyes darted up and she saw him standing angrily in the doorway, quickly making his way towards her. She whipped around so that her ass was leaning against the sink just in time for him to reach her. "Mulder, what the hell are you doing?" she yelled.

"You're not going to do this, Scully," he seethed with as much restraint as he could muster.

"Do what?"

"This!" he exclaimed gesturing to her. The cock of an eyebrow prompted him to continue. "Run away from me, hide how you're feeling. It was one thing back then, but it's different now."

"Why? You think you have some sort of claim over me because we're sleeping together?" she snorted, turning around so she could fix her shirt. She turned just in time to catch the look of primal lust that flickered in his eyes.

Her hands stilled against the sink, not quite ever reaching her shirt as he narrowed the distance between them, pressing himself flush against her back. Mulder's hands came up to her shoulders but only stayed there for a moment before roughly making their way down her arms until he was pinning her hands down with his own. Her eyes fluttered shut involuntarily as his nose nuzzled her hair until his mouth was right over her ear.

"Yes," he growled, and at the same time he dug his already growing erection hard into her back, grinding her waist against the rim of the sink. She gasped and he thrust against her in response, tightening his grip on her hands. His breath was hot against the shell of her ear and she couldn't help but shudder, a movement that created a ripple effect onto his body. "This is more than just sex and you know it," he growled.

The words barely registered because he followed the statement by possessively biting the delicate skin where her neck met her shoulder. She could feel the sharp edges of his incisors and it made her jump in surprise, not that he was giving her any room to move. The jolt just resulted in her pressing back against him.

He released his mouth and she could see the bright pink outline of his teeth on her skin. She also saw the pink of his tongue dart out of his mouth as he ran it flat against the mark soothingly. He retained a steady rhythm in his hips as he ground into her roughly. "You think I don't respect you?" he asked lowly, his breath feeling sharp against her wet skin.

Her eyes were fluttering closed from the soothing ministrations, but that must've not been what Mulder wanted because he moved his hands to roughly cup her breasts, bringing them both to a fully standing position. "You seriously think I was laughing at your expense?" he asked, staring straight into her eyes through the reflection of the mirror.

She took a moment to look at herself and it shocked her how obviously she wore her arousal. Her cheeks were flushed pink, she was sure her chest was too, her gaze was glassy and unfocused, and she could see the rise and fall of her breath as she lifted Mulder's cupped hands up. Feeling daring, wanting to provoke him to see what would happen next, she looked at his reflection dead in the eye and said, "You were."

"Wrong," he reprimanded, lowering his hands away from her chest so that he could grip her hips, practically picking her up off the ground from rubbing her against him. She could tell he was enjoying watching himself touch her in the mirror because he wouldn't take his eyes off her. "I was laughing because you told me I'd fucked you so much last night that you wouldn't be able to walk straight. If we hadn't been in an elevator full of men, I would have pointed out that you were apparently correct."

She felt a jolt of arousal go straight to her clit with the roughness of his tone as he said "fucked you." Realization dawned on her as she recalled saying exactly that last night after a particularly extensive fuckfest and suddenly she felt embarrassed for how she'd reacted.

"I'm sorr-"

"You're sorry?" he repeated incredulously, cutting her off. She felt the fingers from one of his hands come to the nape of her neck before scraping their way up her scalp, coming to an end by clutching a handful of her hair in his fist and pulling her head back gently. She felt like every nerve ending was on fire as he tugged on her hair, mesmerized as she locked onto his gaze.

With his other hand, he grabbed the top of her shirt, tugging on it until the button came undone, repeating that action down her shirt while he lamented. "I'm sorry that I've apparently failed you."

"Mulder-"

"Shhh," he hushed, clutching his hand in her hair infinitesimally tighter, silencing her immediately. Satisfied by this, he continued, "I've obviously failed you if, even for a second, you think that I don't think the world of you."

He roughly tugged her shirt out of her skirt and she could practically feel herself dripping at this point. He'd never been so rough with her and it honestly was making her head dizzy with lust. "You are brilliant, strong, so fucking sexy," the last praise came out as a strained whisper as he tugged on the shirt one final time. The last button didn't give the same way the others had and it popped off, circling the drain before falling down with a plink.

She leaned forward so that her ass was pressing against him and she used the leverage of her hands on the sink to pump lightly into his erection. He returned the favor by gripping her hips and crashing into her, so that she was only a few inches from her painfully aroused reflection. Her anterior pubis bone was crushed painfully against the hard edge of the sink but somehow she knew the bruises would be worth it. The warm pants coming out between her parted lips started fogging the glass over.

"I owe you my life a thousand times over. You own me, Scully," he groaned, then added, "Every part of me," pushing his dick against her clothed arousal.

Then, in the single hottest moment of her life, he bent over her and huskily whispered, "And I have more than a claim to you." As soon as the word left his mouth, his hand shot up her skirt and fully cupped her sex. "But if you need me to show you just how tough I think you are, I'm more than willing."

She moaned loudly into the hollow of the sink and it echoed against the tiles of the restroom.

He kneaded her through the fabric of her panties as he used his other hand to rip down her tank top and bra, revealing her aching breast to the chilled air. His head dipped down to nip at her neck but it froze in mid air. He also stopped moving his fingers, so she impatiently ground into his hand, desperate for more.

She gasped when he lifted her up, one hand on her crotch, the other on her bare breast as he ran backwards into one of the stalls. He quickly sat down on the toilet, lifting his legs to kick the door closed as she sat on his lap and her feet dangled in between his. "Mulder, what the-" she whined, stopped by one of his hands clenching down over her mouth.

"Shh," he whispered at the same time the restroom door swung open.

Her heart raced as she realized how close they had been to being caught, not something she exactly wanted a repeat performance of. Luckily the woman didn't suspect anything as she just walked into the stall next to them.

As the sound of tinkling pee started, Scully became acutely aware of how hard and throbbing Mulder was right under her ass. Using the momentum she had, she began quietly rocking back and forth against him, consciously keeping her feet from looking too suspicious. She felt Mulder thrust against her as his hand on her mouth tightened. She almost yelped as he plucked at her nipples in retaliation.

She felt Mulder's fingers curve on her cheek as he pried her lips apart. As soon as she realized what he was trying to do, she opened her mouth fully and took his index and middle fingers into her mouth, hollowing her cheeks against him as she sucked on them, making sure to lubricate them as she did.

Mulder bit down on her shoulder again, presumably to keep from making a sound, before retracting his fingers and shoving them between her legs, using his ring finger to pull the crotch of her panties to the side so he could plunge into her tight heat without warning. She gasped loudly and the woman next to them quickly got toilet paper out and flushed, leaving the stall immediately after.

Scully couldn't have cared less. Instead, she placed her heels on the ground so she could rise up and down off of Mulder's curved fingers as he helped her, gripping the sanitary bin and the toilet paper dispenser with white knuckles. Scully could see through the crack in the door that the woman was washing her hands in the sink that would never be clean again after what they just did to it.

Then, as quickly as the woman had arrived, she was gone. Mulder, yet again, lifted Scully up by the crotch, wiggling his fingers inside of her as her pubic bone ground into the palm of his hand. He burst out of the stall and deposited her in front of the sink so that she was bent over with her bare sex exposed and swollen. "Stay there," he demanded.

She heard him lock the restroom door as she looked into her own face. Her lips were red and angry from her own teeth's assault. Her hair was mussed and disheveled and she looked mad with lust. Felt it too.

She heard the downward zip of his fly and her attention shifted to watch Mulder pull himself out of his pants. He was hard, red, and leaking. She knew what was coming and braced herself on the sink with her forearms. She jumped as she felt Mulder cup her sex, gathering her arousal so that it was coating his finger tips before stroking himself. "Ready?" he asked. Even in this whirlwind of roughness, he still felt the need to make sure it was what she wanted.

How could she ever have doubted him?

She looked over her shoulder, fixing him with a hooded stare and nodded, squeezing her eyes shut in ecstasy as he drove deep inside her on the first thrust. She felt her walls stretching to accommodate him, still vaguely sore from the night before, but it was an exquisite pressure.

Mulder must've sensed she needed a moment to accommodate, so he just remained inside her as he leaned over her back, reaching his hands around to tweak her nipples. "I never want you to think anything like that ever again."

"I won't," she replied in a husky voice, sincerity prominent in the inflection.

In response, he bent down and placed one sweet kiss between her shoulder blades. "Good."

Then he suddenly pulled all the way out and thrust back in without warning, causing her to cry out in a mix of shock and pleasure. She felt his hands curve into the bends of her elbows, grabbing her firmly as he drew her arms back so that her breasts pushed out and she was completely unable to grab at anything. He was in control, and all she could do was take it as she watched them both in the mirror.

"You. Are. So. Fucking. Hot." He praised between thrusts, sweat beading at his brow.

She couldn't move her hands, but she could move her legs, so she raised one up and draped it over the edge of the sink, letting him plunge deeper and earning a throaty moan from Mulder that she was sure the whole Hoover Building could hear. "Do the other one. I've got you."

Using leverage from her other leg, she hoisted the other up onto the other edge of the sink. Now the sight of Mulder's engorged cock pumping into her was visible in the mirror's reflection. She could even see her own arousal coating him, and it made her arch her back in ecstasy.

"Yeah that's it," Mulder whispered, almost to himself. Scully started matching his rhythm thrust for thrust from her position. There was something about the angle mixed with the visual stimulation that drove her crazy. This was also the first time in her life that she saw the impending orgasm building behind the fire in her eyes.

"Mm-muhlder, I'm gonna-"

"Me too," he groaned, picking up the pace. He let go of the grip on her arms and she shot out her hands to steady herself on either side of the mirror. He looped one arm around her waist as the other dipped down to circle her clit.

As soon as he began touching her, she came hard around him, her hands squeaking as she tried to grip the tile while she clenched around him like a vice. Almost instantly, she felt him grow big inside her before he came, crying out her name in reverence. They wanted to prolong their respective orgasms, so they kept up their movements with fervor, albeit, more haphazardly than before.

She was in such bliss, she didn't really notice the cracking sound that broke through the air. Even when she felt wetness spread all over her front, she thought for a second she'd just squirted for the first time in her life. It wasn't until Mulder pulled her back and she opened her eyes that she realized they'd completely broken the sink off the wall, and it dangled awkwardly as they backed away.

"Fuck!" he screamed as he rushed to suppress the stream shooting out like a fire hydrant all over them. His attempts only resulted in him getting even wetter than before, and she almost fell when she slipped running towards him while trying to help.

"Mulder, I think it's beyond help!" she yelled over the roar of the water.

Mulder nodded and tucked himself back into his pants. "We should go!" He used a hand to wipe dripping water from his eyes as he squinted, extending his other out to her.

She nodded and quickly re-buttoned her shirt. It was a little harder this time around since she was drenched from the water. Ironically, five minutes ago she swore to herself she couldn't possibly get any wetter.

She grabbed his hand as he unlocked the door, and as they rushed back to the office she was reminded of a couple years ago when they'd run from a swarm of bees. Only this time, rather than their lives, only their dignity was in jeopardy.

She silently cheered that luck was on their side and no one was in the hallway to see them. Once they were back in the sanctity of their office, they realized there was absolutely no way they could stay there.

"What do you say about calling it a week and going back to my place?" Mulder asked, his decision clearly already made. He was packing up his stuff, careful to hold it away from him to avoid it getting wet, and heading towards the door.

"Mulder, we need to call maintenance about the sink, it's probably flooding," Scully called out after him.

He stopped and looked at her, grimacing. He looked more pissed than anything else. "Shit. Do we have to? Someone else probably will soon, right?"

"I think Skinner would be royally pissed if we just left without reporting this."

"Not at you," he teased. "He likes you."

She rolled her eyes. "No he doesn't."

Mulder narrowed his gaze at her and pouted, "Well he's never kissed me before."

She laughed before reminding him, "It was one time, and I kissed him."

Mulder made a gagging sound, but she was serious. "Unless you want the X files under water, you should probably reconsider. It's Friday, Mulder. It's a miracle anyone else came down here this afternoon at all."

He sighed. "You're right. Go ahead, call them."

As she reached for the phone and lifted it to her ear she muttered "I just hope someone gets down here before we're knee deep." She moved her fingers to dial maintenance when she heard an extremely unwelcome voice.

"Agent Scully? Knee deep in what?" Skinner's gruff tone was so loud even Mulder heard it and his eyes widened.

Shit. "Um, sir…? I'm sorry, I… I meant to dial maintenance, and-"

"I was calling to make sure you two were all right, someone reported hearing screaming in the basement."

She grimaced. "Um… yeah, we're fine. I'm not sure… what they heard. Agent Mulder and I just ran into a leak in the basement and … I was trying to call someone to come down to take a look at it," she attempted to explain, playing with an old nail groove she made, marring the wood of the desk. It probably matched the ones she left on Mulder's back last night.

"Ah, okay, I'll call it in for you," Mulder must've heard Skinner's immediate flight to her aid because he rolled his eyes mockingly. "Is the leak in the office?"

She hesitated. "Um. No, actually, it's… in the women's restroom."

He paused. "What kind of leak?"

"The sink, sir, it's…" she put her hand to her forehead, picturing the bathroom flooding as they all danced around this.

"You and Agent Mulder discovered this leak?" he said, Mulder's name dripping with sardonicism.

She paused, realizing too late her mistake. "Uh, well, I discovered it. In the bathroom. ...As did Agent Mulder."

Skinner paused, and she suspected he was trying to put the pieces together. She looked at Mulder, who was wearing his panic face, and mouthed sorry at him.

"I uh, I screamed, and- yeah, that must have been what someone heard…? And he ran in… to help," she grasped.

The line was silent.

"The water was very... cold, you see." She knew she was rambling, but while she was trying to escape the hole she dug for herself, she only dug deeper. Skinner didn't say anything for a few seconds and she wanted nothing more than to get a handyman on the way and get the hell out of there. "It's pretty bad, sir, I think you should send someone right away."

"Stay where you are, I'm coming down."

"No! Sir-" Scully protested, but Skinner's line went dead. She replaced the receiver and looked wearily up at Mulder.

"What?" he asked.

"We have about ninety seconds to either get dry or come up with something, fast."

Mulder knew from her eyes alone what that meant and dropped all of his belongings on the desk. "Shit. Fuck." Neither of them could think of how to explain Mulder being soaking wet when the leak was in the women's restroom.

"Maybe you came in to rescue me?" she suggested lamely.

Mulder's eyebrow met new heights that put her usual eyebrow lifts to shame. "Rescue you? From the sink?"

She knew it was a long shot, but it was the only thing she could think of. The elevator dinged and Skinner rounded the corner to the sight of his two favorite troublemaking agents, bedraggled and drenched from head to toe.

"What the hell happened?" he barked. He turned from them and headed down the hallway towards the bathroom, and Scully looked helplessly at Mulder. She followed behind Skinner, desperately thinking of something to say.

"It's.. I was, um, was washing my hands, and… um…"

Skinner opened the door and the scene would be practically humorous if she wasn't sure she'd die of embarrassment. The sink was detached from the wall, spraying everywhere. A full inch of water had already collected on the floor.

"You were washing your hands ?" Skinner looked at her with a degree of skepticism that rivaled her own on any other day.

Just then, Mulder rounded the door jamb and Skinner took in the sight of the two of them, undoubtedly connecting every dot. Mulder grinned sheepishly, his hand darting to scratch the back of his head and he looked for all the world like a kid that got caught stealing Dad's Playboys .

Skinner just stared at them both agape. They all knew what had happened, but no one said anything.

"Sir, we don't have any… changes of clothes here, and, well… it's 4:30, so we were hoping maybe-" Scully stuttered.

"Get the hell out of here, both of you," he grumbled, more in annoyance than anger. They both obeyed more quickly than they ever had.

They collected their things from the office and scampered into the elevator, the sounds of Skinner's attempts to stop the leak echoing through the hallway.

"He knows, Mulder, he has to," Scully mumbled out of the corner of her mouth as the doors closed.

"If he gives me more paperwork to fill out in jealous revenge, then we'll know for sure," Mulder joked. She rolled her eyes at how blasé he could be about Skinner, knowing as she leaned against the cool metal of the elevator, how much their day had been affected by a thirty second encounter in this very space.

Mulder must've sensed where her mind drifted because he followed her thought process. "As soon as I realized what happened I felt guilty."

"What do you mean?" she asked, not sure where he was going with this.

He raised a hand up to scratch the back of his neck like he often did when he was uncomfortable. "I promise I was too busy laughing at my own dumb joke to realize what the guy actually said. I honestly was just trying to help you up. I figured from how you were acting that he must've said something rude. I just didn't really know what." She couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face as he started rambling.

"Mulde-"

"When you stormed off I realized how bad it must've been and I told them to go fuck themselves." She burst out laughing at his confession, amused by the prospect of Mulder telling a group of people to go fuck themselves based only on the context of them having irritated her.

Her laughter must've instilled confidence in him because he dropped his hand and met her gaze, the sincerity she saw in his eyes halting her laughter in her throat. "It wasn't until later I realized you were mad at me, too. I'm sorry you spent all day thinking I laughed at a sexist joke."

She shook her hands in front of her face as if to dispel the notion once and for all. "No, Mulder. I'm sorry. I treated you like shit for something you didn't even do."

He simply shrugged, understanding as always, before walking the few feet it took for him to be standing in front of her. He raised his fingers up lightly and brushed a damp lock of hair behind her ear, leaning down to whisper, "We're partners now, Scully. In every sense of the word. I just want you to be certain of how much you mean to me..."

Her heart was hammering in her chest with an emotion she wasn't even certain of. Fear? Anticipation? Something she didn't even want to consider - Hope? She could practically hear the three words they'd been avoiding falling off his tongue. Luckily, she was quite literally saved by the bell as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. He backed up immediately, stopping his prior sentiment and moving it to something a little more light hearted. "Hey, we didn't even break any of our rules this time. It wasn't technically in the office."

"Shut up, Mulder," she laughed, walking past him and into the Hoover Building lobby which just so happened to be filled with fellow agents whose mundane Friday was now stopped in its tracks as Mr. and Mrs. Spooky Mulder did a sopping wet walk of shame to their cars.

If the rumors had been bad before, they were legendary now.