"Do you have any fives?" Mulder asked, sorting though the cards in his hand. A breeze came thought the window and ruffled his hair and he breathed deeply, enjoying the crispness of the night.
"Go fish," Scully replied, crossing one leg over the other and blowing a strand of hair off of her forehead. It had been a long day of lectures and workshops, and they had managed to lay low, but they were still tired. They had returned to their cabin and immediately climbed onto their beds, no words exchanged. She felt like goo laying there, and it had been almost a half hour of silence before he handed her a partial deck of cards with the request to play Go Fish.
"Got any… uh… eights?"
His hand appeared over the side of the bed and he handed her the card. She smiled in triumph.
"Tens?"
"Stealer," he replied, handing her another card.
"Sevens."
"Go fish."
She reached up and took a card off the pile that was sitting on the bed ladder. She half pouted when she got a two.
"Hey Scully?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"Doing this with me. Taking the time. Not giving up."
"Right back at you, partner."
"Now that that's out of the way, can I tell you something else?"
"If you tell me that you're a Chippendale's dancer on the weekend, Frohike owes me two hundred bucks," she said, her tone completely serious.
"You're sick."
"Just trying to make life interesting. What do you want to tell me?"
"Last month, when you were working at Quantico, I had another partner."
She was quiet for a long time, staring at the cards in her hands, wondering if this jealousy was healthy. She swallowed hard. Another partner had always been her greatest insecurity in their relationship. She didn't like having a different partner herself and she certainly didn't want him to have one either.
"How'd that work out?" she finally managed to ask, wetting her lips nervously as she waited for the answer.
"Remember your first case with me? Let's just say she was lacking the patience necessary to deal with me. I didn't make it any easier on her."
She resisted the urge to congratulate him for that, instead nodding knowingly.
"It did make me appreciate what I've got though. I mean, she was smart and competent and the most un-green green agent I have ever met. She'll make a great partner for someone. But she wasn't you."
"I don't work well with others either."
"Two peas, one very strange pod."
"Proud of it."
"And wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China."
"Or anything else in the world."
"Ever."
She smiled and nodded her head.
"I'm glad that we've become so co-dependent. It's like a security blanket."
"We're emotionally stunted. You realize this, right, Scully?"
"Yeah, well we all have our issues."
"You seem pretty comfortable with that."
"I'm content."
He chuckled at her tone and leaned over the side of the bed to look at her.
"Want to go for a walk? I'm restless."
"You're always restless."
"That's not an answer."
"Okay, let's go for a walk. But if you push me in the lake or get me wet, I'm going to kill you."
"Long as we have a plan."
They left the cabin and headed for the lake, slipping their shoes off when they reached the sand. It was cold against her toes and she shivered, wrapping her arms tighter around her stomach.
"Shoulda brought a coat," Mulder said with a chuckle.
"Oh stuff it," she replied, kicking sand at him. They smiled together and continued to walk, listening to the small waves hit the shore. It was nice to be in silence together by choice rather than by circumstance.
"Hey Scully?"
"Yeah?"
"If we didn't work together, do you think we could still be friends?"
"I think we'd have to be, Mulder. We'd both be very lonely people if we weren't."
"Don't you think that without this job, you'd have more of a life? Friends, a man, hobbies besides catching up on sleep?"
"I don't know. None of that really appeals to me much anymore."
"Don't you think it could?"
"I don't know. It doesn't really matter though, does it?"
"Not really. I was just curious."
She nodded and they continued their walk for a few moments before he stopped and stood in front of her.
"Mulder, what-"
His arms wrapped around her and guided her to him, holding on tighter than he had in a long time. She let herself relax into it, partly because he was warm, but partly because he was him. They held the stance for several minutes before he pulled back a little and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Man I've missed you," he confessed plainly, dropping his head so she could hear his whisper. She just nodded and slid her arms more securely around his back, wishing to stay there for a good long time. He brushed his fingers through her hair, cradling her head gently against his chest. There was a lot to say, but they agreed silently to save it for another time. This moment now was too precious for disruption.