V.

There were people watching them, had been for years; kind eyes, bored eyes, the eyes of enemies. There was one thing they all had in common, one truth all of them had seen long ago: she was his biggest strength and his greatest weakness, just like he was hers. Together, they were in perfect balance and greater, so much greater than just the sum of their parts.

Almost everyone around them had known it for years, the universal truth Mulder and Scully were just beginning to grasp...

X

She tried to read. She went for a walk in the snow. The book couldn't hold her attention and she only met couples and families on her walk.

No matter what she did, every time she closed her eyes, she saw Mulder. His dark head between her legs, his face so innocent in sleep, his gorgeous cock thick and hard right in front of her. They were arousing, her memories and they were sweet. What should have put her mind at ease after Comity, should have satisfied long-standing curiosities, had worked in the opposite direction. She craved more and even more of him.

Scully knew that she should probably change the sheets on her bed, but she didn't have the heart to wash away his scent, their scent, at least not yet. She allowed herself to postpone doing the laundry for one more day.

Sex with Mulder had been unprecedented, and Scully could almost see Melissa taking a seat right next to her, giving her a somewhat pitiful look while taking her in her arms. "Oh Honey," she'd say, and the memory was so vivid that Scully was almost able to smell her sister, lemons and a trace of incense sticks.

Saturday evening found her in a bubble bath, soothing her sore body, and finally she was able to admit that it had been more than – albeit spectacular – sex. She remembered getting all emotional in his arms after her second orgasm, remembered the sheer awe on his face as he'd looked at her; and she remembered four years of chasing him, shining a light in the darkest corners, having his back just as much as he had hers.

"Oh no, no, no," she uttered while sliding down until her head was underwater.

She had a problem.

X

Unbeknownst to her, in another part of the town, her partner had just the same problem. He'd played basketball, he'd gone to the supermarket. Ever since he'd promised her breakfast, he made a point to have fresh food in stock, just in case. The chicken sandwich he had for dinner reminded him of the meal she'd prepared for him, just like a million little things and more brought back an onslaught of memories.

Memories of happiness, designed to torture him because of one thing she'd said: one more time. They'd shared one more night, one more night to get over their star-crossed encounter, but that one night had opened the floodgates, at least for him.

Mulder didn't want "one more time" anymore, he wanted her all the time, wanted her in his life in more ways than a partner, than a friend.

He had that epiphany sometime between lunch and cleaning, but he had no idea what to do about it. After all, she'd asked for one more night and he'd delivered. He couldn't just call her and change the parameters, could he?

Just to take his mind off Scully, he called his mom, and the conversation was as awkward as always, but at least they managed ten minutes of politeness before hanging up.

Then there was nothing left to do, and he plopped down onto his couch, bracing himself for an evening of channel surfing and...

…two hours into it...

…there was a knock on the door...

…and there she was, snowflakes in her hair, her gray sweatshirt way too big for her graceful frame, wearing a mixture of determination and panic on her face.

"Scully," he said, his heart beating in his throat, and she stepped into his apartment, kicking off her shoes before turning to him.

"I'm glad you're here," he continued and some of the panic left her expression.

"You are?"

He nodded wordlessly.

"Can I stay?"

"One more night?"

Gnawing her lip, she looked away, but he caught her chin with his fingers, lifting her gaze to his.

"One more night and then some," she finally confessed, and the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders, as he could feel a huge grin splitting his face.

"You like that?" she asked incredulously while observing his reaction, and he spread his arms for her. Without hesitation, she stepped into them, finally able to breathe.

"I like that a lot," he reassured her before burying his face in her hair, breathing in her beloved winter scent.

"I have to say this 'one more time' thing didn't work so well for me. Well, it did last night, but in retrospective…" she murmured into his chest.

He chuckled, and his hands moved over her back with a new sense of liberty.

"Scully, I have feelings for you. Deep and scary feelings."

Inhaling deeply, she nodded, tightening her hold on him, and he continued, "You're the last person I wanna talk to before falling asleep and the first one I want to see in the morning. I want you as my partner, I want your respect, your trust. But I also want to kiss you every day. I want to hold you at night. I want to make you come using nothing but my fingers. I really can't let go of that one, thank you very much."

Now it was her turn to giggle, even though there were unshed tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Mulder, I think I love you," she finally blurted out, and he inhaled a shuddered breath, enveloping her completely, as the purest kind of joy overwhelmed him.

"Yeah, me too. Me too. You mean the world to me, Scully."

"Is that gonna be a problem?"

He hummed.

"I've already loved you three weeks and three years ago. In the grander scheme of things, it doesn't change a thing."

Lifting her head, she looked up into his eyes, and he took her face in both hands, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, as he lowered his mouth to hers, and right before he met her, a smile broke out on her face, and he caught it with his kiss.

But just when her tongue grazed his bottom lip, he pulled away again.

"Scully, please don't leave me when I forget to bring flowers on Valentine's Day or when I run off chasing yet another x-file or when your brother tries to talk some sense into you."

"I haven't left, yet, have I?"

She gave him a mischievous grin, before pulling his head down to resume the interrupted kiss.

"I love you," he said again, "I love you so much," and hearing it was still so new that her heart overflowed with warmth.

Bending down, he surprised her by lifting her up, walking in the direction of his bedroom, and as her head fell onto his shoulder, Scully had the reassuring feeling that everything would be okay.

He would make her come with nothing but his fingers, he'd hold her at night. Tomorrow after breakfast, they'd take a walk in the snow together, maybe even build a snowman. In a week or two she might tell her mom about him, pretty sure that Maggie would be over the moon.

During their next case they might realize that compartmentalizing their feelings for each other was nothing new, and he would forget neither Valentine's Day nor her birthday.

After all, they were Mulder and Scully, and they had already chased stranger things than romance.

The end.

As we're all approaching the end of a year that has redefined normality, let me just say: thanks for reading my story. I've had so much fun writing it, and there's nothing "just" about fanfiction. It's not "hiding from reality" because this, too, is real. The joy it brings, the feeling of being a part of a warm and loving community. Take care and have a safe and merry Christmas!