starlight

“I fell flat on my ass, and was never able to live it down,” Mulder finishes. Some childhood story on the vineyard. Before Sam, when life was sweet and the only thing that knocked down his spirit was embarrassing himself in front of a crush.

Scully stifles a laugh behind her hands.

“It’s okay, Scully. Laugh at me. You know you want to,” he continues, shaking his head.

She erupts into a fit of giggles even she doesn’t expect. And then he’s laughing too. His head falling towards his chest, leaning his tall form into hers. Their peals of laughter like two mischievous friends who spend long summer days attached at the hip.

He leans in further as they settle down, wipes an errant tear from her cheek. “You know you’re my best friend,” he says, as if he just realized it.

“You’re my best friend too,” she sighs, leaning into his touch for just a second longer.

“Which makes it hard when I really wanna do this,” he whispers, placing his feather light lips on her cheeks. If she blinked, she would’ve missed it. Or thought it was just a figment of her imagination.

She doesn’t have to see herself to know she’s blushing. It’s silly really, blushing in front of this man who’s seen through her from the moment she met him.

With a clarity she’ll attribute later to the alcohol, she whispers back. “Do it again.”

“This,” he mumbles into a spot on her neck. “Or this,” he tries, slipping the lobe of her ear into his mouth.

“No,” she sighs, taking his face into her hands. “This,” she insists, covering his mouth with her own. The sweet taste of his lips, the lower one that’s plump and firm like her own forbidden fruit. She thinks maybe for the first time she understands desire, because she wants to inhale him whole and never let go.

“Scully,” he murmurs as he slips his tongue into her mouth. And she moans with everything she has. Or maybe that’s just her ears ringing from the shitty 80s rock playing over the speakers. Either way, she doesn’t care cause this is Mulder, Mulder, Mulder.

“Baby,” he whispers, almost inaudibly as he pulls back.

And then she can’t help herself, she’s giggling again, like she’s 13 and just heard the word dick for the first time.

“Are you laughing at me?” he scoffs with a suppressed smile on his face.

“No, no, no, I just—” she attempts, but her laughter keeps bubbling over. “I’m sorry, I know it’s silly. I just—it’s been so long since I’ve heard that word.”

“It’s been so long since I’ve heard your laugh,” he replies sincerely, holding her gaze. “I never wanna go another day without it.”

“Mulder,” she hums. His endearing honesty cutting through the haze of the alcohol.

“I was too stupid to tell you then, but I’m not too stupid to tell you now,” he presses.

“Mulder,” she implores, the last of her laughter gone now. “Just kiss me.”

And he does. His hands on her waist and small of her back, pulling her towards him. “Baby, baby, baby,” he sings into her ear.