You look constipated, actually.

*Fic Complete*

Find it: a03 / Fandom: The X-Files / Rating: E

Part of my Do You Like Scary Movies? series

Tagging; @today-in-fic

What It's About? A case surrounding a missing research team sends Scully and Mulder to remote Alaska, where a sudden snowstorm leaves them stranded and cold. Forced to take shelter with a local family, a bizarre mystery and huddling for warmth push the boundaries of their new partnership.

Chapter 7 (Snippet)

She stepped forward and squeezed his hand. "Maybe some secrets should stay buried, Mulder. Maybe the world wasn't ready for whatever was buried under the ice. Maybe it would destroy us."

"What about our secret?"

Her stomach dropped. "Perhaps it's similar. Maybe we aren't ready for that yet. Maybe it would destroy us, too."

His mouth pulled into a thin line, the weight of her words tugging it into a frown. "So, it really was just about staying warm, then?"

"That's not all it was about." She replayed how he felt inside her—the way he'd pressed on her stomach and sent the world somersaulting. Commitment begged to rise from her throat. Even now, she wanted to turn what happened into something more. But they had a partnership, a friendship, and jobs to do. "Sex would only complicate things," she said. 

"I suppose it would." He started walking toward the exit, pulling her along. Hand in hand, they meandered through the empty research station like they didn't have a plane to catch in just a few hours. "So, what you're saying is that asking you on a date would be a foolish endeavor at this time?"

She rolled her eyes, but a small smile played on her lips. "At this time, very foolish."

"Hmm. That's what I thought."

"But, as you said, Mulder, we eat dinner together all the time. Nothing is stopping us from catching a movie, either."

"What about drinks?"

"We could do drinks," she said. "But it wouldn't be a date. It would just be as us. Two—"

"Friends?" he finished. 

It's fluffuary! Day one: Gift Giving

Tagging @today-in-fic

Set after "Millennium".

~

His shoulder throbs and his body feels sore, but Mulder can’t stop smiling. With his good arm around Scully and the night air surrounding them, he feels drunk. Or high. If he were to mention that to Scully, she’d raise an eyebrow, check his temperature, and check his prescription. They haven’t given him anything strong. No, the feeling of being high comes from the woman next to him. From their first kiss.

They’ve kissed. Finally.

Yes, the grin will stay on. In his dreamy stupor, he hasn’t noticed Scully’s eyes on him. She is not worried, or even contemplative. There is a smile on her face, too. And it’s directed at him.

“Are we going home?” he asks her. All he wants is to kiss her again. He wants to do more than just kiss. Hell, they’ve just escaped zombies. It’s a new year. They deserve to just be for a couple of hours.

“Home?” she asks as if it were a foreign concept to her.

“Yours or mine?” He can’t help himself. She rolls her eyes, but there’s no heat behind it.

“Mulder.”

“I’m not high,” he says quickly. “You know I’m not.”

“You’re in pain.”

“No, I’m- wait, Scully. We haven’t done gifts yet.”

“You want to do that now?” He nods.

“We have to.”

Hey you A touch of your hand On my shoulder Fluff, on your jacket.

Hey you A sideways glance Lingering there Just stretching my eyes.

Hey you Your hand On the small of my back As we enter the room Just guiding you in Or ladies first Whichever you find Most believable And least offensive.

Hey you Your breath Against my neck Hot and dense There’s not enough room In these elevators And Also You’re short.

Hey you Your fingers curled Around my necklace Grazing my skin You daren’t look up Is this real gold?

Hey you Unravelling in the hallway Hands at my neck Eyes on my lips The space between us Isn't big enough for your excuses now.

J. Edgar Hoover Building As seen in The X-Files

Chapters: 1/22 Fandom: The X-Files Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully Characters: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Original Characters Additional Tags: Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Regency, Alternate Universe - Historical, First Kiss, UST to RST, MSR, Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s07e17 All Things (X-Files), Episode: s07e15 En Ami Summary:

When Scully puts aside her better judgment to join Mulder in search of crop circles in England, a far wilder journey is about to begin than either of them could have imagined. Flung into a reality where every aspect of life is altered, knowing there may never be a way back home, they have no one to turn to but each other - and must put faith in the most extreme possibilities to keep hope alive.

His excuse is that someone took some polaroid of Scully and gave it to Mulder because he was closer and Scully was distracted by a crime scene and he knows she wouldn’t want him to hand it to her in front of the other officers like a kid being handed a lollipop, so he needs to pocket it but then he worries that he’ll crinkle it so he stealthily pulls out his wallet to put the photo somewhere safe and if he puts it in the little photo holder then he doesn’t run the risk of scratching it up with a card.

But then he just. Leaves it there.

The case was long and difficult and so Mulder doesn’t want to give it to her lest it become a mere reminder of a shitty case. But the longer he puts it off the more suspicious it is that he still has it and it’s weird to just be like “hey here’s this photo of you I’ve been hoarding for since that once case.” It devolves into Mulder being comically guarded about his wallet around people.

Scully naturally gets suspicious when they go out for food on cases and he goes out of his way to make sure she can’t see inside his wallet.

His wallet slips out of his pocket while in a meeting with Skinner and not five minutes later he nearly gets a bullet to the face when he bursts into Skinner’s office all panicked.

He’s at a Scully family dinner for like Thanksgiving or something and loses some bet against Bill and nearly has a heart attack when his panic-rushed hands drop his wallet.

The Apartment

By PiecesOfKate

The X-Files / MSR / fluff / humour / 2,743 words

Following an indiscretion in the cab, our tormented duo unravel in the summer heat.

Inspired by the heatwave we’re currently having in the UK. And because I wanted to use the AO3 character tag for Fox Mulder's fish.

Read on AO3

The afternoon sun spills through the window, resting on the nibbled surface of a time-eaten rug. Particles of dust dance on the beams, ethereal and undisturbed. The only sound comes from the corner of the room, where a goldfish swims its familiar path, a stretched figure of eight. A delicate trail of bubbles swells and then dissipates in its wake.

The apartment waits patiently. It sits still and humble. A poised stage. The furniture, present and correct. The stiflingly hot air thick with anticipation.

And then, the footsteps.

The fish stills.

A shadow under the door. A squeak of the handle. The players are here.

Mulder bursts into the room, flanked by Scully as she topples against him and grips his shoulder, steadying herself. Their breaths come in short, sharp bursts, filling the air with moisture.

Mulder reaches around her and pushes the door shut. He keeps his hand there, arm outstretched, as he catches his breath.

Scully’s eyes burn into his. Her chest heaves as she tries to speak. “Mulder…”

Mulder meets her gaze. “Scully,” he pants. “In the cab just now…”

“That was reckless,” she replies.

Mulder nods, his hand rising reflexively to the patch on his neck where her mouth had been moments ago. Her eyes follow. She can still taste his salty skin.

Blinking away the memory, she takes a step backward. This is okay. She is Dana Scully. A level-headed, measured, methodical person. In the cab she was a confused, tired, irrational mess.

Slowly and thoughtfully, “I think we're just really jetlagged.”

“So jetlagged.” Mulder nods his head rapidly in agreement, grateful for the reprieve.

Scully feels reassured. They had just travelled for 13 hours straight. Anyone would feel this way on so little sleep.

She watches his mouth curl into a schoolboy smile.

Anyone. Even… Skinner. Yes, think of Skinner.

“What are you thinking about?"

“Skinner.”

Mulder's eyes narrow.

Scully starts to speak, then suddenly she's reaching for a smudge of lipstick on his face. She grazes her thumb over the skin below his eye, like she's wiping a tear.

Mulder tingles under her touch. His mind is back in the cab too now, their hands everywhere, his body pressed against hers, devouring each other like water in the desert.

He closes his eyes, trying to detach himself from the moment but it only makes the flashback more intense. How did it even start? Did he initiate it or did she? It didn't seem to matter because their trains were on the same one-way track, there was no dispute at all, no room for blushed faces or frantic apologies, just a jumble of limbs and heat and desperation and the cab could have been on fire while they merely fanned the flames.

Back in the present, Mulder turns his face into her hand. He inhales and gets a rush of vanilla and coffee and what must to hell be some sort of aphrodisiac body spray or some other witchcraft, and honestly how long does it take to wipe some make-up off a person's face anyway?

He remembers karate classes in sixth grade and ‘kime’, meaning power and focus, a decisive moment of control. He's got this. He's got kime.

Read the rest on AO3