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Assistant: Title: Travelers
        Author: Skinfull Skinfull 
        Chapter: 1/1 
        Summary: Scully finds something she can't begin to comprehend and is speared with the raw hurt of being lied to.
        Contents: Summary:
            
              Scully finds something she can't begin to comprehend and is speared with the raw hurt of being lied to.
            
        

        
  Notes:





    
      Look, this one is set in 1990 or something! Scully isn't even in it, or mentioned, and its not even a full X-Files department yet!So I did the only think any self respecting fanfic writer does, I fixated on that wedding ring and what it means.
    




  





    
        
          
  FBI Basement Office
  
  Thursday Afternoon
Scully pushed the large trash bag away from the cabinet and grabbed a fresh one from the roll. She couldn't stand it anymore. The clutter, the mess, the lack of organisation was starting to make her itch. She thought she could find solace with the way the files were sorted and the rigor Mulder put into keeping them in order but the rest of the office was chaotic.Mulder was in court all day, and likely to be there tomorrow too so she knew she had her chance. She had already gone through the lower cabinets and the clutter on top of them, and with three trash bags full she was pleased with her progress.She grabbed a bottle of water and took a long drink then recapped it and tackled the last drawer. This one wasn't like the others, it was the lowest drawer behind the desk with Mulder's chair usually in the way. She wasn't sure what she was going to find in it. She was almost a little excited as she pulled it open but that quickly faded when she found one tattered shoe box, and a bunch of notebooks. No loose pages, or paper clippings, no trinkets or ticket stubs, it almost looked like he had preserved it this way on purpose.She tried to remember if she had seen this box before as she sat on the floor and pulled a few notebooks out. The first one looked to be investigation notes and the dates at the top of each page indicated it was from Mulder's first BSU profiling role in the FBI. More notebooks seemed to be from the same era and then the last one, half finished, was from just before she joined the X-files. She looked across the room at the computer and wondered if that brought in the end of his notebooks, or something else. Her eyes scanned the other places where he might stash other notebooks but she couldn't remember him ever really taking notes unless he was at his desk or in the library.She stacked the notebooks aside, deciding not to toss them out, then reached in for the small shoe box. It was heavier than she thought it’d be and leaned back against the cabinets as she opened it slowly. Her breath caught in her throat as she spied a stack of photos of varying sizes, the first one of which was his graduation photo from Oxford.She picked it up to get a closer look and couldn't help smiling. He looked so young and yet exactly the same. Her fingers ran down the middle of the photo as if she could feel the tactile sensation of his robe, sash, cap and t@ssel. His face was clear of emotion and she knew he was just waiting for the picture to be taken before he could bolt. She wondered what his relationship with Phoebe was when this photo was taken then pushed that thought aside as she moved onto the next picture in the stack.There were a bunch of photos from his time in university. Nights out with friends, study groups and inter-railing or backpacking around Europe. One picture showed him drinking from a stein of beer while the golden liquid spilled over the sides and down his neck and a male friend helped him keep the large mug tipped up and others smiled and laughed. Another was him lying in a sleeping bag looking like he was suffering from a hangover with hair sticking up and a grimace on his face. Another had him running on a track over the finish line for a race with a jubilant look on his face. She scanned through his university era photos and wondered why they had been stored in a shoebox at the bottom of an over cluttered drawer then put them aside and grabbed the next batch.Each batch was fastened with an old elastic band and when she took this one off it snapped. It was old and brittle and she wondered how long it had been since anyone looked at them. She scanned through them and noticed they were mostly family photos. None of them however had Samantha in them. She figured he had taken all those out of this storage and had seen several Samantha photos around Mulder's apartment, and the ever present one he kept on his desk.The rest of the photos that were in storage looked like some school pictures, family holidays, and milestone events like birthdays and high school graduation. The only thing Scully really noticed about them was Mulder's lack of smiles. The university pictures had so much smiling, even those where he looked tired and hungover, he still looked happy, but these were the opposite. His eyes were dark and hooded. He looked gaunt, like he wasn't eating. His parents had forced smiles and his mother usually had a hand on his shoulder but there was no closeness, no familiarity or family connection.Scully scanned through these photos a lot quicker and put them aside to get to the next batch before her annoyance took over and she did something she would regret.The last batch was thicker than the others and held together with multiple elastic bands. In the middle of the photo stack was a small envelope which fell onto her lap when she took off the last elastic. Scully picked it up and opened it to see a ring inside. She fished it out and held it between her thumb and forefinger to examine it more closely. There was no inscription, it was a plain gold band and based on the size of it, it was a man’s ring. Mulder’s ring.Frowning, she slipped the ring onto her thumb as she picked up the photos again and started to go through them. Her heart was beating a little faster, skipping beats and rising to her throat as she searched for the answer to her unasked question.These photos were a mix from when he was in university and early in his FBI career. Mostly it was the same group of friends, during academy training, covered in mud from the obstacle course, wearing goggles and ear protection at the gun range, sharing drinks and food at a local bar in Quantico but then she noticed at some point in this photo timeline there was a new face.Scully didn't know if these photos had been stored in chronological order but it looked like about a year after he left the academy Mulder met someone. Her eyes glanced at the ring still on her thumb and her brow dipped in confusion. Surely if he had been married before he would have said something. She couldn't count the hours they had spent together on stakeouts or flights where he asked her a series of innocuous questions that inevitably turned into them sharing personal stories, and not once did he mention any kind of long term relationship, let alone a marriage.She kept flicking through the photos, her eyes trained now to find that new face until finally she saw a picture of just the two of them and time stood still. She didn't know who this woman was, but based on the way Mulder was gazing at her she wasn't a p@ssing stranger. They were sitting in a booth at a diner with Mulder on the outside and this brunette woman on the inside. She looked to be a little older than Mulder and didn’t seem overly comfortable in the low key setting that was a greasy spoon diner. This was compounded by the nearly full plate of food in front of her while Mulder’s burger wrapper and basket of fries was empty.Scully brought the picture closer to her face as if she could zoom in and obtain more details. The woman was wearing a blouse and blazer in contrast to Mulder’s grey sweater with the frayed collar and she tried to think of what situation would have occurred for them to be together like this. She flicked to the next photo and the rest of the stack, all of them showing Mulder in various positions with this woman either under his arm or holding his hand and Scully felt a bad taste of bile curl up from her stomach. She was about to put the photos back into the box when she spied one more photo face down at the bottom of the box.Her heart hammered in its cage and she reached down to pick the photo up. She almost knew what she was going to see before she turned it over and the sharp pain that speared through her chest when she looked down almost didn't surprise her.The photo showed Mulder standing outside city hall with this woman standing beside him. A neatly trimmed beard framed his soft smile as he looked down at her. He was dressed formally in a cl@ssic black suit, crisp white shirt, and black tie, with a white carnation in his lapel. The woman, wearing an off-white summer dress and light blue heeled sandals, held a small bouquet that perfectly complemented his lapel flower and she had both arms hooked around his elbow. He had one of his hands resting in his pockets, the other was covering her hand on his arm and there, plain as day, was the wedding band on his finger.It seemed to be a candid shot between poses from a wedding photographer and Scully wondered what had happened to the official photo reel. The pain she felt stabbing her chest made her heart cinch and Scully closed her eyes as she put the photo back in the box along with the rest of the pictures. She looked at the ring on her thumb and tried to ignore the turmoil causing havoc in her gut. She put it back into the small envelope and replaced the box and notebooks right back where she found them. She slowly closed the drawer then pushed up off the floor and picked up the trash bags.All the motivation and energy she had for the spring cleaning evaporated in an emotional puff of smoke. She dropped the bags near the chute for the janitor to pick up in the morning then returned to the office just long enough to grab her keys, coat, and satchel then hurried out to her car and drove home. She didn't care that it was the early afternoon, she just couldn't stand to be in that room with that ring and that picture.  
  FBI Basement Office
  
  Friday Morning
Mulder bustled through the door and hurried around his desk. He pulled out the top drawer and rifled through the pages to the legal pad at the bottom. He snatched it out and straightened as he rustled through the pages to find the one he needed then ripped the page out and tossed the pad back onto his desk. He folded the page and shoved it into his inside jacket pocket then pulled out his keys, ready to lock the door behind him when he paused in front of his desk and slowly turned to look around the room.Something was different.He looked at Scully’s lab area in the annex but there was nothing different there. She always kept it neat and tidy. He moved his eyes to his own desk and the clutter was pretty much how he left it on Wednesday evening, albeit with the added legal pad he just tossed on it. He looked around the room again, scanning the walls, the noticeboards, the news clippings and photographs and it all seemed untouched.The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he tried to figure out what had changed, then he saw it. The stack of phone books he had on top of the cabinet were gone. The files and folders, usually discarded investigations that ran out of leads or another agent had taken on, were gone. The newspaper scraps he never got round to tossing out after clipping out the articles he wanted were gone.He moved around the desk towards the filing cabinets and pulled one open and saw the files had all been aligned and sorted though his system was still intact. He opened each drawer and his heart beating a little louder with each one he checked until he got to the last one and he paused. He knew what was in here, at least he knew what had been in here before whatever happened here happened. He took a deep breath and prepared himself to check then pulled the drawer open. The box was there, along with all his notebooks but he could tell they had been moved.“Sh@t.” Mulder slammed the drawer closed with his foot and covered his face with both hands before he drew his fingers into his hair and dropped his hands by his side. “Sh@t!”He looked around again as if he expected to see her standing there but the room was empty which in itself was alarming. Scully was always in before nine. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to call her but before he could dial her number it rang in his hand. For a microsecond he thought it was going to be her, but instead it was the DA.“I’m on the way,” Mulder said into the phone as he walked out of the office and locked the door. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”He didn't wait for the DA to say anything else, he just hung up and hurried back to his car. He had another half day of court testimony before he would be able to find Scully and explain everything, though he had no idea what he was going to say. How do you explain to your best friend that you’ve kept a huge secret from her? Maybe by telling her it was one of the more humiliating parts of his life.His mind was reeling and he had to take a moment to calm himself down before he messed everything up with Scully, with the testimony, everything.  
  Dana Scully’s Apartment
  
  Friday Evening
Mulder felt sick to his stomach. He knew should have reached out to her, called her, checked if she was home, checked if she was up to a visitor but he didn't want to give her the chance to ignore him, or worse, brush him off. He swallowed around a hot dry lump in the middle of his throat and lifted a hand to knock on her door. The sound seemed so much louder than he intended and he stepped back from the door. He brushed his hand down the front of his tie, flattening it against his shirt and wondered if he should have gone home to change first.His sessions in court had lasted way longer than they were supposed to, and then the DA made him hang around in case the jury had any questions about his testimony. Then he was delayed even further by trying the office first, only to find it empty. He couldn't even be sure if she had been there at all that day.His mind came back to the present when he heard her footsteps hurrying towards the door. He tried to smile but quickly killed that and busied himself brushing down his tie again when he heard her unlocking the latch and removing the chain.When the door opened, he saw she was in a soft cotton baggy tee and a pair of PJ bottoms and had a momentary flash of panic when he wondered if it was really late, before he realised it wasn't even seven o’clock. She’d clearly had a bath, her hair was up in a messy bun, and her cheeks were rosy red from whatever face mask she had just washed off.“Hey Scully,” he said, forcing a casual tone into his voice as he studied her closely to see if he could read any emotion coming his way. “Turning in early?”“Long day,” she said as she opened the door wider in a silent gesture for him to enter. “How was court?”“Jules made me hang around for the jury's decision in case they had any questions, which of course they didn't, because my testimony was super clear.”She closed the door after him and he hovered in place waiting for her direction. If she was going to go to the couch he would follow, or if she was going to venture towards the kitchen to make coffee he would help.Scully moved around him and walked into the kitchen and Mulder was right behind her. When she filled the kettle he reached for a couple of mugs and the jar of instant coffee.“Did they convict?” she asked and he noticed she hadn't really looked at him yet, though the tone of her voice sounded perfectly normal, if a little tired which wasn't unusual for a Friday.“Yeah, manslaughter, twelve years, parole in eight.”“Manslaughter? Not Murder?” she asked and looked at him.He felt the pressure in his chest start to ease until she looked away and it came roaring back, a tight cinch around his torso.“Pleaded down.”She poured the water into the cups and he turned to the fridge for the milk. They worked in silent unison for a few moments readying their own drinks then she picked hers up and moved to the dining table just outside the kitchen alcove.Dining table, he thought, and wondered why not the couch before he realised this was a silent hint for him to understand he wasn't going to be staying long. He pulled out the chair kitty corner to hers and sat down with a soft sigh then took a sip of his coffee and leaned back.“How about you?” he asked and smiled, hoping she didn't look too closely. “Survive the two days without me in the office?”Scully half rolled her eyes as she picked up her drink and turned a little away from him as she took a sip. He didn't say anything though and instead just let her work through whatever was turning her cogs and he waited.“I sent a 302 file up to Skinner for that case in Illinois.”“The VinylRight case?”“Yeah.”“So you agree with Skinner there is something worth investigating?”“I didn't say that,” she said and sipped her coffee again. “The manifesto makes it worth investigating, I’m just not convinced it's an x-file.”“Ah Scully,” he chuckled and leaned forward over one of his arms which was folded on the table in front of him. “I’ve taught you well.”She didn't reply to that and he smiled even wider but it fell quickly when he realised he had to talk to her about what she found. It wasn't a question of whether or not she had seen the contents of that box. The only uncertainty was how she was going to react.Outwardly she seemed to be calm. But he knew her calm, and this wasn't it. She was tight and tense and her words were clipped. He pushed the remnants of his coffee aside and decided enough was enough, it was time to own up to what he had been hiding from her. His heart was rampaging in its case and he brushed his hand down his tie again then pulled the knot a little loose and slipped his jacket off and draped it over the back of his chair.“Scully, can we talk?”“We’re not talking now?” she asked somewhat flippantly and he tried not to react.“I had to grab some notes at the office this morning, and noticed that maybe you’d done a bit of spring cleaning?”“Well, it is spring, and you weren't there to try and hoard the mess.”“I’m not a hoarder,” he defended.“Mulder I found ticket stubs from baseball games in the eighties.”“You didn't throw them out, did you?” he asked and leaned forward a little, his eyes wide, his hand reaching for her, flat on the table surface. “Scully, tell me you didn't throw them out.”Her smile widened and it seemed more natural than before. “No, I didn't. I put them in a box, along with your diary pages, and first date mementos.”Mulder huffed a laugh but then remembered why he was here and straightened up.“You cleared up around the cabinets, and the files?”Her eyes shot to him and he knew she knew he knew. His head was starting to spin so he pushed through.“Yeah,” she said and sipped her coffee.“You cleaned up the bottom drawers? My liquor collection?”“Mulder-” she began but he leaned forward and his hand inched a little closer.“Let me explain.”“You don't need to explain a thing,” she said and stood up to toss the remnants of her coffee away in the sink.Mulder stood up with her and moved to the counter next to her, his hip against the edge, his hand flat on the tiled surface.“I want to.”“You actually want to explain, or you only want to explain seeing as I found what you’ve been hiding,” she snapped as she rinsed the cup out and put it upside down on the draining board.“I wanted to explain before,” he said and followed her as she moved around the table to the couch. “But I didn't know how to tell you.”“How to tell me you’re married?” she said as she sat down and grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV.“Divorced,” he corrected her, then took the remote out of her hand and turned the TV off.“Whatever, Mulder. It doesn't matter.”“If it doesn't matter, why are you so p@ss@d?”“I’m not p@ss@d that you’re married-”“Divorced.”“I’m p@ss@d that you never told me.” She slapped the cushion beside her leg in frustration and glared at him. “What else have you been hiding from me?”“Nothing!”“How can I trust that?” she yelled and leaned in towards him. “You didn't even tell me about one of the most important parts of your life.”“Hardly.”“How do I know what's even true!” she yelled. “Do you have kids?”“What? No!”“I wouldn't know, Mulder!” she yelled, and he closed his eyes to calm himself down.This was getting out of hand and going downhill rapidly. He knew he had to reel it all in and actually talk to her in a manner that didn't include them both yelling at each other.“Can we just talk about this?” he asked, straining to keep his voice low and even.“Mulder, you’ve had five years worth of chances to talk to me about your secret life,” she said, her voice low, but it wasn't calm, it was hurt and it stung right through him. “Why do you need to talk now?”“Can I just explain?”“Sure, fine, whatever,” she said as she lounged back on the couch and pulled her knees to her chest, clearly uninterested in whatever he was going to say.Mulder weighed up his options but decided to let her stew in this would be the worst thing he could do so he braced himself for her reaction and ploughed ahead.“I met her when I was working at BSU.”“She’s an agent?” Scully asked immediately, clearly surprised and looked directly at him.Mulder nodded. “It was a whirlwind relationship,” he said and wondered if she would notice he didn't use the word romance. “We dated for about six months and got married at city hall in New York.”“Six months?” Scully asked, her mouth agog, her eyes wide as she stared at him. “We’ve been partners for five years.”“And we divorced three months later,” he said quickly. “Three?!” she exclaimed and her body turned a little towards him, her knees against her chest and her arms wrapped even tighter around legs.“It was…it was a game, for her I mean. It wasn't a real marriage.”“What do you mean?”“She was sent to me by…someone.”“Who?”“That cigarette smoking b@st@rd,” Mulder hissed and looked away for a moment.“What?”Mulder took a deep breath and wondered if she would even believe this preposterous truth, but he never shied away from sharing his theories, he wasn't about to start now.“It was 1990, and I was sniffing around the X-Files. Researching cases they tried to bury, and getting closer to Deep Throat.” He watched her carefully to see her reaction but she seemed just as interested in this theory as any other he shared with her. “When I got my hands on a case from around the beginning of the X-files, from back in 52 I guess I spooked them. I got too close to something and they had to get me focused on something else, so they sent her to me.”“Sent her? But she’s an agent,” she said, her anger forgotten, replaced with confusion and interest.“By any means necessary,” he said with a shrug. “She came to a few of my talks, hung around afterwards, flattered me, paid attention to me, helped me deal with the pesky networking thing I’ve never gotten the hang of, and all of a sudden it was just me and her, it wasn't about the work.”“You mean you didn't have time to do your side investigations into the X-Files anymore?”Mulder shook his head slowly. “She urged me to focus on BSU casework, and made me take on more and more profiling work. At first I thought she was just trying to help me with my career choices, you know how I struggle with that stuff.” He looked up to see her reaction but she didn't give him anything so he continued. “Then something happened and I realised I was an @ssignment for her.”“What happened?”Mulder took in a deep breath and held it for a moment. This was the painful part. While all of it was humiliating, he could deal with the embarr@ssment of a broken marriage, but the manner in which the rug was pulled out from under him hurt more than he cared to admit.“I got an email from an anonymous source, about a group of abductees who went missing in 1973 then turned up in Shawnee caves in Indiana.”“1973?” Scully asked and she leaned in to put a hand on his arm. “That's the year Samantha was taken.”Mulder nodded his head. “I showed her the email, and told her I was flying out to Indiana to talk to the abductees and she told me I should forget it.”Her hand tightened on his arm and he looked down at it then back up at her, but instead of the p@ss@d off expression she had been wearing before, she looked disbelieving and annoyed, though he somehow knew it wasn't at him.“What happened?”“She got offered a job in Germany.”“With the bureau?”Mulder nodded. “With the newly established foreign counter-terrorism unit. She said I had to go with her, and my profiling skills would save hundreds, or thousands of lives.”“What?” Scully’s hand on his arm tightened again. “But you had to go to Indiana!”“She gave me an ultimatum.”“Which you obviously declined,” she said as if there was no other choice and the alternative was ridiculous.“She left, I stayed. About a year later I got a thick envelope filled with papers to sign. When I sent them back I got a slim envelope with a certificate of divorce. That was that.”He watched her carefully and saw her inhale slowly. Her hand on his arm loosened its grip and she took it back to wrap around her own legs then tipped her head to put her cheek on her knee, all the while keeping her eyes on him.“That was that,” she whispered. They were both silent for a moment then she lifted her head and looked right at him and he knew what her next question was going to be, because he had been waiting for it from the moment he found out she saw his box of photos. “Why didn't you tell me?”“I was embarr@ssed.”“Of being divorced?”“No, well not totally,” he shuffled on his seat and leaned back against the couch, as his head tipped onto the rear cushion then he rolled his head to look at her. “I was embarr@ssed that I fell for her tricks. That I was so starved for attention, human interaction, I didn't even notice she was using me. That she was sent to spy on me. That she had an agenda and it was to derail me from taking on the X-files.” He huffed a breath and closed his eyes. “She didn't care about me, didn't love me, didn't even really know me. She was sent by that cancer man, or Blevins, I don't know but when I found out it wasn't real I was humiliated.”“Mulder,” she said carefully and he recognised that tone as her placating tone. “None of that is your fault.”He huffed a laugh. “Yeah, well I was complicit in my own humiliation.”“So what, you let yourself feel something for someone, someone you thought was reciprocating what you felt and then you realise it was all based on a lie…that’s not humiliating for you. That's just sad for her.”“Remember the first thing I said to you when you came down to the basement?” he asked and saw her brow dip a little in confusion as she recalled the memory.“You were the FBI’s most unwanted?” she said with a half smile.“After that,” he said and huffed a soft laugh.“You told me you thought I was there to spy on you.”Mulder offered her a half smile. “I wasn't feeling particularly open to a partner, and definitely not one of the female persuasion.”“I don't think anyone would blame you.”They sat in silence for a moment then he turned to look at her again and lifted his head off the cushion to look at her properly. She lifted her head off her knees and smiled and he felt that lightness in his chest loosen up.“I’m sorry for not telling you,” he said softly. “I was embarr@ssed, humiliated really and I didn't know how to tell you without sounding like a world cl@ss loser.”“Mulder, you’re not a loser for falling in love.”“It wasn't love,” he said softly. “It was the joy of attention, even if it was misguided.”“It wasn't love?”“No way, not even close.”“How do you know that?”“Because the feelings I had for her, aren't even an iota of the feelings I have for you.”“What?” Her voice was breathy, low, barely audible.“Scully, you know I’m an idiot. You see almost daily evidence of the fact,” he said and he leaned in a little closer. “But there’s something I’ve known for a while and I’d be an even bigger idiot to keep it from you for longer than I already did.”She stared at him and he couldn't help but let his smile widen. He didn't say anything else, he wanted to let his words sink in and everything since he saw that box of photos this morning had twisted and coiled up into the tightest of springs in his chest, but now, sitting on her couch, talking to her, really talking to her, letting himself be totally open, vulnerable for her made that pressure release with a slow hiss, and he could almost feel his chest deflate as he started to relax.He thought when he got to this point, when he finally let her see what he was feeling, that he’d be sick with nerves, nauseous and terrified, but instead he felt a calming sensation sluice down his body. He felt heavy with the expulsion of tension and just knew at that moment that everything was going to be ok. That thought made him smile a little wider and it grew even more when her eyes flicked down to his lips for a second.“Mulder, I don't know what to say,” she said softly and wet her lips as she rolled her tongue out in a smooth swift gesture he felt in his d@ck.“What? You mean this isn't your dream?” he said with another soft chuckle. “Having your partner of five years, who you just found out has been lying to you, albeit by omission, come to you, beg for forgiveness and then tell you he’s in love with you?” He watched her eyes grow a little bigger and a flush of pink colour her cheeks then she dipped her chin to her chest and he caught the tail end of a hidden smile. “Isn't that every girl's dream?”“Mulder,” she said with a chuckle and lifted her head to look at him.He was relieved to see her smiling eyes and reached out to take her hand off her leg as he shifted a little to face her and held her hand between both of his.“I know this is a lot, and I know my timing could be better, but it's never been more clear to me and I don't want to go another second without you knowing how I feel.”“How long have you felt like this?”“Scully, I don't remember a time when I didn't feel like this,” he said with a crooked smile.“Mulder, stop,” she said and she squeezed his hand but he pulled her closer, cupped the side of her neck and kissed her hard on the lips.Her muffled grunt shot right to his b@lls and her hand landed on his shoulder. He didn't try to deepen the kiss but when her hand moved up to his neck and she leaned in even closer he tugged her onto his lap and swiped his tongue into her mouth.A strange, exhilarating tremor ran through him, a fizzy, electric hum that resonated deep within his core. The long-imagined desire, now a vivid reality, became a potent, almost volatile, energy.His hand moved across her ass and up her back under her tee as hers carded into his hair and tilted his head to kiss him deeper. His heart expanded in his chest, puffing him up and he held her close, as if he was afraid to give her an inch lest she came to her senses, but then her hands moved to his shoulders and she pushed away from him.He kept his hands on her back and gave her the space she requested, but made it clear he wanted her right where she was.“This is crazy,” she whispered and her hands tightened on his shoulders but didn't let him go.“It's not crazy, it's right,” he said back and his hands tightened on her back and her ass. “Doesn't it feel right?”“It feels a little crazy,” she admitted and dropped her forehead to his as she closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths.“Crazy good, though, right?”She huffed a laugh and lifted her head and he smiled at her shining eyes and kiss-swollen lips. She was sitting sideways across his lap, her legs stretched out on the couch, her ass on his thighs, her hands on his shoulders. He knew she must be able to feel his hard d@ck under her thigh but she wasn't moving away from it or embarrassed to feel it so he didn't try to hide it.“Yeah, Mulder,” she said eventually and his heart soared. “Crazy good.”“Thank god,” he muttered, then cupped her face and kissed her again.This time he wasn't holding back, he swiped his tongue into her mouth, cupped the back of her head and covered her ass as he leaned down and covered her with his whole body. He sank onto her and her arms circled his chest to grip the back of his shirt, holding him close and squirmed under him.Slow, soft, deep, wet kisses soon became hungry and greedy and she clawed his shirt out of his trousers to get to the warm soft skin on his back. He gasped when she dragged her nails down to his ass and lifted his head to break the kiss with a moan.“You’re trying to kill me,” he muttered against her lips and felt her smile. He pulled back a little more to see her face more clearly and felt something pop in his heart at her warm l@st filled shining eyes.Scully relished his weight on her. He had his hips to the side of hers, one leg draped over both of her thighs and his chest over hers. His arms were around her back, holding her in place and she couldn't resist dragging her nails down his back to his ass again to see that flare of want fill his eyes.“Kill you? No,” she said, and couldn't believe her voice sounded so throaty, but loved how he looked at her mouth when she spoke. “If I wanted to do that, I’d use my gun.”Mulder laughed and dropped his head to her collarbone as his arms tightened around her. She held him close and kissed the top of his head then tugged his hair to move him off her.“Get up, Mulder,” she said and smiled at the momentary spark of panic in his eyes.He slid his arms out from under her and pushed on the cushions to lift himself off her then slid to the side as she got off the couch. She knew he thought she was putting a stop to these proceedings but in reality she was taking them to another level. She had spent the day working herself up into a frenzy of feeling betrayed and the subsequent anger that came with that and when she opened her door to see him standing there she was ready to blow her top.But almost every word he uttered, as well as the raw vulnerability he exposed to her, made everything turn down a notch until she realised her anger was from more than his lies of omission. She had been trying to deny her feelings for him, for her partner, for her best friend, but there was no denying what she was seeing or hearing from him and how it made her feel was like shining a light on those dark corners where she pushed things she didn't want to think about.She stood in front of him and almost laughed at the lost confused look on his face as he waited for her next move. She leaned in and took his hand off his lap then tugged him to his feet and led him away from the couch. She felt his hand tighten on his in a silent question but she kept leading him through her apartment and into her room.She had already planned a self care pamper evening, which included a long bath, legs shaved, and bed sheets changed. She almost had to applaud Mulder for his perfect timing. She closed the door, led him to the bed then urged him to sit on the blanket box at the end. He watched her carefully as she moved around the room, turning on a bedside lamp and closing the blinds casting a soft hazy light around the room. She didn't want total darkness when they were naked, but she didn't want it to be bright enough to do surgery.When she returned to stand in front of him his hands moved to the back of her thighs and she shuffled in a little closer. She cupped his face and bent down to kiss his lips softly then stood up, crossed her arms at her waist, gripped the bottom of her tee and lifted it off. She took no small measure of pleasure in his soft gasp and loved how his hands moved up the back of her thighs to her ass.When his fingers curled into the waistband of her pjs she c@cked her hips to one side and nodded before he slid them down. She hadn't put on panties or a bra after her bath and kicked her pjs aside when he let them go and they pooled around her feet. His hands started a slow exploratory journey and she leaned in a little closer to be sure he had all the access he needed.Mulder’s head was ready to explode. He thought she was pushing him away, either to take it slower or to grind it to a halt, but this option never crossed his mind. The sight of her standing naked in front of him, her br@@sts right by his eyes and the way she was making herself available to him, rocked him to his core. This was way beyond anything he had imagined.He drew both hands up her sides then curled them in to cup her br@@sts before he held one still and covered her nipple with his lips. His thumb stroked the other one and his tongue licked her in the same motion. She moaned and pulled his head closer so he amped it all up and devoured her.When her moans vibrated through her, they sank right to her p@ssy. The molton heat that pooled there threatened to overwhelm her and she leaned her head back to take in a deep breath and pull herself back from the edge. But it seemed Mulder had other ideas. He released her breast and slid his hand down the centre of her chest to stroke her p@ssy and she moaned. There was no way to stop that noise from pushing past her lips when his stroking fingers found their way to her entrance and brushed her gently.She tightened her hands on his shoulders when her legs felt like they were going to give out and Mulder leaned back to grip her hips and pull her closer. She knelt on the blanket box and started to lower herself to his lap but he lay back on the bed and pulled her higher. She leaned forward, crawled up his body to kneel on the bed over his head and he tugged her hips to pull her onto his face.“Ahhhh! Oh god!” she cried out, another impossible sound, foreign and feral that made her toes curl when he licked his way up to her cl@t, flicked it with his tongue then sucked on her hard while his fingers pressed into the fleshy cheeks of her ass and pulled her harder onto his face.Mulder kept his eyes open and looked up at her body as she writhed and rocked on his face. He was flooded with her taste and couldn't get enough of her. He didn't need to breathe, ever again if he had his way he would live here now. Her moaning was like a sound from the heavens, and his d@ck was straining in his trousers, greedy to take part in the proceedings. He released one side of her ass and moved his hand up her body to cover her breast and he stroked her nipple with his thumb.She covered his hand with her own and her hips started to rock faster, harder, more needy. He tipped his chin up and used every part that was touching her to pull her over the precipice he knew she was teetering on.“Mulder! Oh god!”She reached down and gripped a fistful of his hair and pulled his head up to her p@ssy and suddenly he was flooded with her release. He sucked on her cl@t and relished her clenching p@ssy on his face until she pushed his head away and lifted off him. She was panting, still groaning and shuddering from her release as she slithered down his body and pressed her ass to his c@ck. His arms went to her back and stroked up and down her spine as she leaned in, cupped his face and kissed him.Her tongue was soft and warm as it explored his mouth in slow lazy strokes and his d@ck got even harder knowing she would be able to taste herself off his face and it seemed to drive her into kissing him more.“Mmmm,” she hummed against his mouth and leaned up enough to rest her forehead on his.“You f@ck@ng taste amazing,” he said with a grin.“I’m glad you think so.” She pushed up higher, her hands on the bed either side of his head and her arms locked straight. “Your turn.”Mulder’s grin spread and he closed his eyes as she pressed her ass back against his d@ck. He was seconds from blowing his load in his trousers and seeing her br@@sts sway as she rocked might be his undoing.She rolled off him, grabbed his hands and pulled him to his shaky feet. Mulder swayed forward but her hands on his chest held him in place then she tugged his tie loose. He lifted his hands to start unbuttoning his shirt but she brushed his hands away and looked up to him with a slight shake of her head. He understood that command and allowing her to undress him was definitely something he was willing to let happen.She dragged his tie out of his collar and the sliding sound made his b@lls pulse. Then she tugged his shirt out of his trousers and slowly, with small careful movements, she unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time. Every brush of her hands on his chest made him want to push her onto the bed and drive into her. He bit down on his lower lip and closed his eyes when she ran her hands up and over his under shirt, to drag his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. She left it dangling on his hands and he tugged the sleeves off and dropped it to the floor.The second his arms were free she pushed his undershirt up and he lifted his arms to help her take it off. Again she left it on his hands and he dropped it to the floor as she got acquainted with his chest. Her hands ran all over him, brushed and stroked every inch, paying special attention to his nipples and traced two fingertips through the trail of hair that disappeared into his trousers.When she leaned in and used her tongue to get even more acquainted he dropped his head back and groaned. Her tongue on his nipple felt so good he wasn't sure anything would feel better then her fingers curled into his trousers and he knew he was wrong. She continued to lick, suck and bite his nipples as her hand slid his belt out of the buckle and when she opened the button and pulled down his zip he tipped his head forward to see what she was doing.Christ, the sight of her loving on his chest while her hands sunk into his boxers and wrapped around his c@ck almost made him come. He sucked in a hard breath and held it as she stroked him then released it when she stepped back and took her hands back.“F@ck@ng hell, Scully,” he cursed which made her smile widen.She tugged his trousers and boxers down and let them go when they could fall on their own. He toed off his shoes, stamped out of his clothes then lifted one foot after the other to tug off his socks. Completely naked, just like her, he stepped forward and walked his fingers across her sides to pull her against him. They both signed and leaned in, his head on her shoulder, her face in his throat, at the sensation of their skin sliding against each other.He moved one hand down to her ass, the other held the back of her neck while her hands crossed over his back and held him tight. His d@ck was impossibly hard, trapped between them, eager to find her entrance but there was something even better to be had in this moment. This hug, embrace, complete and total connection felt better than anything, and that included when he was buried face first in her p@ssy. This was an intimacy he had never felt in his life, didn't even realise it was something he could achieve and here she was, sharing it with him, so willingly and he never wanted it to stop.Then when her hands moved down his back and gripped his ass he huffed a laugh against her neck before he lifted his head, cupped her face and kissed her. When she chuckled against his mouth he lifted his head and smiled.“Lie down,” she said as she moved her hands to his flank and gently pushed him back.He tugged her with him and they lay side by side in the middle of the bed, his elbow on the pillow, his head in his hand. His other hand moved up and down her side and she slid her leg up his thigh then settled it over his hip as he pulled her flush against him.“I can't believe it,” he said and licked his lips to pull in the remnants on her flavour that was still lingering there.“Now you’re the sceptic?” she teased and ran her fingers down the centre of his chest and around his nipples.Mulder huffed a laugh then gently slapped her ass. “About this? Yes.”“Why?” she asked and her hand stilled on the centre of his chest just over his heart which he knew she could feel was beating way faster than was normal.“Why?” his voice rose a pitch and his eyes widened. “Have you looked at you? Have you looked at me?”“Hey,” she chastised and moved her hand up to his shoulder then gripped the side of his neck. “I don't like when you talk about my best friend like that.”“Scully, I’m serious.”“So am I.” She pushed his shoulder down and straddled him. His hands moved to her thighs and hers were still on his neck as she leaned down to hover over him. “I’m not going to listen to you sit here and disparage yourself.”“Scully-”“You fell for whatever tricks that woman pulled on you because you didn't think you deserved better. You were starved for attention, for affection, for trust, that you couldn't see past what it was she was offering you.”“I-”“But you do deserve more,” she said and shook his neck a little as she leaned in a little closer and he was momentarily distracted from her tirade by her br@@sts brushing his chest. “You deserve everything. And I’m going to make sure you believe it.”“You’re the sceptic, I’m the believer,” he whispered.“Then believe in me…in us.”“Us?”She brushed her lips off his and the sensation zinged around his whole body. His hands moved off her thighs, around her ass and up her back to pull her in close then he rolled them over and tucked her in under him.“You’re incredible,” he said against her mouth.“I know,” she replied with a grin and Mulder smiled wider then kissed her again.This wasn't the slow soft exploratory kiss of before, this one was claiming, hungry, demanding. He moved his hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head to pull her up to his mouth as he rocked his hips into hers. She moaned into his kiss and her legs wrapped him tighter making him move his c@ck against her p@ssy again.“Can you come again?” he asked and she chuckled.“Mulder, I can come all night if you know what you’re doing,” she said and moved her hips against him.Mulder chuckled and closed his eyes. He was so close to just exploding all over her chest which was an image that made his b@lls pulse. She wasn't making it easy for him, but then he never expected her to do that in anything. His hand covered her breast and he stroked his thumb over her nipple as his mouth explored her throat.But he was getting too close to his own release, simply from this naked make out session. He moved away from her, knelt up between her legs and held her thighs around his waist. She had her arms out by her sides and her messy hair on the pillow. Her lips were flushed red, her eyes soft and warm as she bit the corner of her mouth and watched him.“You have any protection?” he asked.“You need any?” she quipped.“You ok if we go without?”“You think I’d let you get this far if I wasn't?”“You wanna actually let me win for once?”“You think I’d ever let you win?”“Scully,” he growled and moved his hands up her thighs to pull her closer.His c@ck was raging for being left out of the festivities so far, but Mulder knew his time was close. He released her hip and gripped his c@ck in a slow loose stroke as he rose off his haunches and loomed over her.“You ready?” he asked and moved his other hand to her p@ssy to check. She gasped and widened her legs for him as his fingers found her entrance and slipped inside. “Oh yes, you’re ready.”“Mulder!” she chastised and rocked her hips to chase his hand but he pulled it away and she moaned.He continued to stroke his c@ck and moved himself into position, dragged the head of his c@ck against her cl@t making her moan then slid it to her entrance and pushed in. Just the tip, enough for her to feel him, then he pulled away and she moaned in frustration.He pushed in again, and withdrew again and Scully's moans turned almost feral. She arched her back, tilted her hips and urged him into her heat and finally when he didn't withdraw her whole body stilled. Mulder pressed his c@ck deeper then moved his hands to hold her waist and waited for her to open her eyes then drove into her right to the root of his c@ck.They both cried out, pleasure and frustration sparking electric charges across their skin then Mulder fell on top of her and held her close. He wanted to lie like this forever, holding her, feeling her, smelling her, tasting her.“Mulder, move, please, move,” she whined against his ear and her hands clawed at his back.“I’m afraid if I move I’ll come,” he said and she reached down to squeeze his ass. “Okay, okay.”He moved his hips back and slid right back into her and she moaned with every inch of c@ck she took. He set a slow pace, pulled his c@ck out almost all the way before he drove back in and her mouth by his ear made everything sing up a notch but this wasn't going to last. He lifted up, one hand on the bed, the other on her hip and he started to speed up. She gripped her knees and pulled her legs to her chest and he slid in even deeper.“Christ!” he cursed as he barrelled through to his impending @rg@sm. His lower back felt like jelly and the warmth of pleasure was building up behind his b@lls. His hair was standing on end from the effort of holding on and he gritted his teeth to make it last even a second longer.“Don’t stop, Mulder, don't stop!” she cried out and shoved a hand between their bodies to scissor her fingers around his c@ck where he was pounding into her and her thumb brushed her cl@t.Mulder could feel her touching herself and stroking his c@ck and he lost it. His hips got jerky and his thrusts became hard slams as he chased his release.“Scully, god, Scully!”“Come for me, Mulder,” she said and he felt her p@ssy tighten and clamp around his c@ck which tripped him up and he fell into oblivion.His eyes flashed blinding white and he screwed them shut to hold onto his very soul as his @rg@sm exploded through him and rattled to every extremity. He came to and fell on top of her with a moan, his limbs soft and boneless as the afterglow of pleasure blanketed him completely.She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist and held on. Mulder didn't have the wherewithal to hold her back so instead he sank deeper into her and focused on regulating his breathing.When he said something his voice was muffled against her neck so she gripped his hair and pulled his face out of her neck.“What did you say?”“I said, this is what happiness must feel like.”She chuckled and kissed his temple then dropped his head back into her throat and held on tight. After a moment Mulder rolled to his side and tugged her with him when rolled again so she lay on his chest. His softened cock slipped out of her molton wet heat and they both moaned.“I think you made a believer out of me,” he said and she smiled.“That was easy.” she said and folded her hands under her chin on his sternum to keep looking at him. His hands moved up and down her back in slow strokes along her spine.“Wait til I have to convince you of a case theory, and we’ll see how easy it is.”Scully smiled then lifted her head up and looked at him with a serious expression. “This changes things, Mulder.”“I know.”“It changes everything for us, as an us, but I don't want it to change anything about the way we work together.”“Me neither,” he said and his hands moved to the top of her ass as if homing in on his usual spot that he used to connect with her in public.“Can we do this?” she asked, showing the first signs of uncertainty.“Yeah, we can,” he said and his hands pressed on her back. “Because I love you.”She smiled and he saw the tension slide off her face. “I love you too.”She lowered her head and rested it on his shoulder and he rolled over to keep her tucked into his side. What started as a rollercoaster emotional day ended with the perfect declaration underlined by an intimate hug.She closed her eyes and inhaled slow and deep, then tightened her arms around him and wondered how long it would take for them to take photos of their own, like the ones she found in that box.
  The End.
 
  What wedding ring? In case you missed it in the episode...'
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