a rose bi any other name

Mulder stumbled out of the bedroom, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and stopped in the threshold of the living room. His heart settled when he saw Scully sitting cross-legged on the couch, Afghan draped over her shoulders. She was staring straight ahead, seemingly lost in thought, the green from the fishtank dancing over her face. Even in the middle of the night – no makeup, hair ruffled, worn pajamas – Scully was so beautiful and Mulder couldn’t help but to lean against the wall and observe her for just a moment.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked softly, trying not to startle her.

She looked over at him slowly and gave him a small smile. “I’m okay, Mulder.”

“Do you want some company?” he offered, not wanting to disturb her solitude.

Scully responded by lifting one side of the blanket, an invitation to join her on the couch.

Mulder stepped around the coffee table and sat in the space Scully created for him. She immediately leaned in, resting her head on his chest. He snuck an arm around her, under the blanket.

“Bad dreams?” he guessed.

Scully nodded against his body and Mulder felt something tighten in his chest. He hated how nightmares and insomnia had gotten their claws into both of them. He wondered how many nights she had woken up and sat on the couch alone without him knowing?

He gave her a squeeze. “Let me know if there’s something I can do for you,” Mulder said. "As you know, I do have a cure-all for insomnia.”

“Again, Mulder?” Scully looked up at him incredulously.

“I can be persuaded,” he said with a shrug and a wink.

Scully smiled, but she didn’t rise to the bait. She settled back against him. “Mulder, can you tell me a story?”

“What kind of story?” he asked. Mulder had many cryptid myths and legends he could share, but he wasn’t sure if that’s the kind of bedtime tale she wanted to hear.

“Tell me the story of when we first met,” Scully requested.

Mulder chuckled. “Not much of a story, seeing as how you were there too.”

“Yeah, but I want to hear it from your perspective.”

“Okay,” Mulder said, and he pulled her closer so that he could speak softly but still be heard. He brought his hand to her head and started gently stroking her hair.

He started from the beginning.

“I knew I was getting a new partner because I had the Lone Gunmen monitoring official channels for any references to me and to the X-Files. The higher-ups were debating a couple candidates, but when you were selected, the Lone Gunmen sent me your file.”

“What was in it?” Scully asked.

“Oh, a little of this, a little of that,” Mulder joked. “It was basically your personnel file, your resume, transcript from Quantico, that kinda stuff.”

“My thesis?” Scully added.

“Well, that wasn’t in your FBI file,” Mulder admitted. “When I saw that you majored in physics as an undergrad, I was intrigued. So, the Lone Gunmen worked their magic and got me a copy of your thesis.”

“Wow, did they get my exam scores too?” she asked drily.

“Well, they didn’t need to because after reading your thesis, I realized you probably aced every exam you took.”

Scully scoffed.

“I’m not kidding! I’m not an expert in physics but I could tell that you were very smart, definitely smarter than me. Only one of us graduated from medical school, if you recall. But I was impressed that you took it upon yourself to rewrite Einstein as a lowly undergrad and I thought that might mean you would be amenable to some of my outlandish theories. I was wrong about that part, though.”

Scully laughed quietly. “Okay, so you knew a lot more about me than I did about you. Did you know what I looked like?”

Mulder thought back to the time that Scully was first assigned to the X-Files. “Yes, the Gunmen sent me your FBI badge photo. But it was in black and white, so I had no idea the color of your hair or how big and blue your eyes were going to be. I remember the first time we met that you were wearing an ill-fitted skirt suit, and I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”

“Really?” Scully asked skeptically. “I was hardly your type.”

“First of all, I don’t have a type, and second of all, I’m the one telling the story, not you! This is supposed to be a bedtime story, so shhhhh.”

Mulder continued, “Anyway, you came into my office wearing that ugly plaid thing, but you smiled at me and wanted to shake my hand, and I was a goner. What really struck me, though, was how you weren’t intimidated by my slideshow or my questions and were so confident in challenging me. It was very refreshing.”

“Refreshing in a collegial sense, or…?” Scully asked shyly.

“Well, I am a paragon of professionalism” – Scully snorted – “but maybe some of my feelings weren’t so professional.”

Scully fidgeted a little. “I may have had some not-so-professional feelings towards you as well, Mulder.”

Mulder was surprised. “Really? That early in our partnership?”

“Yes, but that’s for another night. I’m hearing your story right now.”

“Okay, fine, but tomorrow I want to hear all about this crush you had on me.”

“Alright,” Scully agreed. She snuggled in closer. “Keep talking, Mulder.”

At her request, Mulder proceeded to detail the entirety of their first case, making sure to keep his voice low and slow so that hopefully Scully would fall asleep. It seemed to do the trick, because once he was done, Scully’s eyelids were drooping, and she was heavy against his chest.

“That’s a good story,” she murmured.

“It’s my favorite story.”

“Mmmm, I’m tired, Mulder.”

“Let’s go to bed.”

“Don’t wanna get up,” Scully mumbled.

“Okay, baby, you don’t have to,” Mulder said, and he easily gathered Scully into his arms and brought her back to bed. She didn’t often let him carry her, but half-asleep Scully was a little more open, a little more vulnerable. He gently placed her on the mattress, smoothing the hair from her face and kissing her forehead, one of his good night rituals.

Really happy with how this turned out! Redbubble here and Kofi here, commissions open soon I swear! its actually an amalgamation of two images although I ended up only really using the the stake from the second image as I realised the lighting wouldn't work