#more fluff

“’m sick,” she says, her voice raspy.

“I can see that. Come on, back into bed with you.” He ushers her back inside, following her. “I brought chicken soup, crackers, cheese, popcorn. Any of that sound good?”

“Soup?” she asks.

“I’ll warm it up for you.”

“Mulder, you shouldn’t be here. What about work?”

“The only plans I had for today were canceled.” There’s a smile on his face when he says it. “I have all day and all night. We were going to spend the day together anyway. I’m not missing out on it.”

“You’re only going to get sick too,” she complains, sitting down. Her whole body hurts. Her nostrils burn and tickle. For a moment, she forgets it all when Mulder sits down next to her and wraps a blanket around her shoulders. As if led by an invisible magnet, she leans into him.

“Scully, we spent all day together yesterday. I know you’re the medical doctor here, but I’m pretty sure it’s too late now. And I don’t care. We have a date tonight.”

“Can’t leave the house,” Scully murmurs against his shoulder. Her eyes feel heavy. He’s so soft and so warm. All she wants to do is sleep. She had been looking forward to their date. They’ve kissed, but they’ve not been on a date yet. She doesn’t know if they need to go on a date at all, but she wanted to. Wants to, still.

“You sound like a broken-down freight train,” Mulder informs her. “We’re not going anywhere. We’ll just have our first date right here in your apartment.”

“’s not a date.”

“Sure is. We’ll have dinner, watch a movie.” Their eyes meet. Her vision is a bit blurry, but she feels like he’s smiling. “Or maybe take a nap instead.”

“I’m sorry, Mulder,” she says. “I was looking forward to our date.”

“That’s why it’s still happening.” He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers brush her forehead. Even in her sick state she knows what he’s doing. “No fever.”

“Just a cold,” she says with a yawn.

“Rest a moment,” he says, pressing a kiss against her temple. “This will be the first date you’ve ever had, Scully.”

*

She doesn’t know how long she’s been asleep. Mulder is next to her, reading a magazine when she wakes up. With his help, she sits up.

“How are you feeling?” His hand is on her back, drawing small circles.

“A bit better. How long was I out?”

“About an hour. Do you need anything?”

“I wouldn’t say no to that chicken soup now.” Mulder grins at her.

“A bowl of chicken soup for the lady is coming up.” She tries to get up, but Mulder stops her. “Let me do it, Scully.”

“I want to use the bathroom.”

“Oh.” He runs a hand through his own hair. “Of course.”

By the time Scully returns, Mulder has the chicken soup and a cup of steaming hot tea waiting for her.

“Some aspirin for you as a side dish,” he says with a grin. She takes the small pills from him and swallows them with a glass of water.

“Thank you, Mulder,” she says earnestly. “You could be home right now and-”

“And do what? Be sad that we can’t go on our date?” He shakes his head. “I’m right where I want to be. This chicken soup isn’t too bad. I was thinking we could split some ice cream for dessert. If you’re willing to share.”

“I’ll share with you.” He’ll change his tune once he’s down sick with the cold she’s battling now. For the moment, though, he’s grinning at her.

So sharing ice cream is what they do- They’re on her couch, eating it straight from the tub. There’s a movie playing that Scully is barely paying attention to. She sneezes and Mulder hands her a tissue wordlessly. Once she can’t eat any more ice cream, Mulder takes it back to the freezer and returns to her a moment later.

“Do you want to lie down?” he asks and she shakes her head.

“Can we- can you?” She motions to the couch, not sure how to voice what she wants. She wants him next to her, holding her. Snuggling. Mulder nods before he sits back down. Their sides press together and Scully sighs.

“So how would you rate our first date?” Mulder asks after a while.

“Not a date,” she murmurs.

“Hey, it was dinner and a movie. You’re all dressed up, too.” He runs a hand over the sleeve of her satin pajama. The touch makes her tingle.

“If that’s a date, we've had a hundred dates already.” She thinks of all the times one of them has been hurt. The times they’ve shared hospital jello and watched Jeopardy on TV together. There have been so many moments they’ve shared. So many meals.

“Maybe we have. Do you think you want to do it again?” With some difficulty, she turns in his arms.

“Without either of us being sick,” she says.