"This is the best part!" Mulder slurped his pork lo mein and
grabbed the remote, pumping up the volume.
"Mulder..." Scully sighed. As she watched the TV screen,
The Amazing Colossal Man hurled the hypodermic needle like
a syringe at the well-meaning surgeon, impaling him on the length
of thin steel. Mulder burst into laughter, nodding his head
enthusiastically. Scully rolled her eyes. "That was just great,
Mulder. Just...great. You realize this movie defies every law of
physics."
"Scully, it's a movie. You really need a better appreciation
of the finer things in life. Are you gonna finish that?" he asked,
stabbing the air with his chopsticks in the direction of her beef
with broccoli.
"No, go ahead." She pushed the plate toward him and watched
as he consumed the rest of her food like a starving man. I wonder
where he puts it all, she mused, admiring his lean physique. She
stretched out on the couch and marveled for the hundredth time at
how unbelievably messy his place was. Old newspapers littered
the dull grey carpet where dirty clothes weren't already taking up
space. Here and there was a dirty dish, and peeking out from
under a raggedy towel she saw what looked suspiciously like
some sort of porno magazine. I don't even want to know, she
thought. She grabbed the remote from the table and pressed
pause, eager for a distraction. "Hey Mulder, you got anything
to drink around here?"
"Why Agent Scully, are you trying to get me drunk?" he
asked dryly, then cracked a grin. "Well, it's entirely possible
mI have something lying around..."
"Lying around would probably be accurate."
"Sorry. It's the maid's year off." He rose from the couch
and loped over to the kitchen area, opening and closing cabinets.
From where she was sitting Dana could see that most of them
were pretty much empty. "Aha!" He held up a bottle of burgundy.
"Will this do?"
"Sure." She watched with amusement as he hunted for two
clean glasses. "Mulder, your kitchen is a case for the X-Files."
"You're just full of the witticisms tonight, aren't you, Scully,"
he mumbled. "You should be on TV. You should be on Letterman."
She raised an eyebrow at him, smiling.
His search for clean receptacles over, he sat back down on the
couch next to her and filled their glasses, then handed one to her.
"Do you want to make a toast?"
She thought for a moment. "To...the truth?"
He nodded solemnly, but his eyes were dancing. "To the truth."
Scully drank, not taking her eyes from his face. She enjoyed
being with him like this, when they weren't under pressure from a
case, when they weren't risking their lives out in the middle of
god-knows-where, on the trail of god-knows-what. She had
discovered that Mulder was at his most endearing when he wasn't
on a self-driven mission, when he wasn't searching for E.B.E.s,
when he was just hanging out, watching bad movies and drinking...
whew, strong wine. She choked a little as her throat burned.
"This is deadly stuff, Mulder."
"Nothing but the best for my Scully," he deadpanned, knocking
it back, savoring the warmth spreading through his belly.
"So, are you ready for more exploits from The Amazing
Colossal Man?"
"That's going to take a little more wine," she smiled, reaching
for the bottle.

Hours later, the TV was silent, empty plates scattered across the
table in front of them. Scully had lost track of how many glasses
of wine she had downed and Mulder was becoming increasingly
more amused at the way he could practically see her defenses
lowering, inhibitions loosening. Time to have some fun, he thought
deviously. "So tell me about your first love, Scully."
She started out of a semi-drunken reverie about John F. Kennedy
Jr., nearly spilling her wine. "Why?"
"Why not? I'm interested. I want to know about the first man
to capture the heart of Dana Katherine Scully." He smiled as her
brows knit, considering the challenge. Teasing her was impossible
to resist. "Come on, Scully, who was the first man to light
your fire?"
"Peter Carroll," she said finally, letting out a sigh. "College,
freshman year. On paper, he was perfect. Dean's List,
basketball team, pre-med, just like me."
"You played basketball?"
She shot him a withering look. "You know what I mean.
Anyway, we started dating, and then it got really serious.
He was...he was my first."
"This is starting to get interesting."
She didn't rise to the bait. "I loved him, Mulder. I loved him so
hard it hurt. And then, one day, he decided he was done with me.
Just like that."
"Come on, Scully, there must have been more to it than that."
She closed her eyes, lips parted slightly. "No. No, there really
wasn't." Her mind wandered for a moment, remembering, Peter's
chiseled face materializing before her. The ride's over babe. It was
fun while it lasted, but there's a whole world out there. Why don't
you go see for yourself? She tried to shake loose of the memory,
but everything was so hazy, so thick. Her head felt like it weighed
a ton. "Mulder?"
"Yeah."
"Mulder, I think I'm...I'm drunk."
He smiled into his wine glass at the unsteadiness of her voice.
"I'd have to agree with that diagnosis, doctor." He was feeling quite
lightheaded himself. He had forgotten just how strong this particular
brand of wine was, and the bottle he had opened a couple hours earlier
was now almost empty. Dana was lounging on the couch, one hand
holding the wine glass, the other absentmindedly playing with a strand
of auburn hair. Her feet were propped in his lap, her sneakers on the
floor beside her. "But you haven't finished your story." He looked
down, fought a suddenly overwhelming urge to massage her feet.
He blinked at them for a moment, then looked back up at her face.
"Oh. Well...there's not much more to tell. He just stopped calling."
She winced at the memory and drained her glass to deaden the
unwelcome feelings it stirred up. See ya, Dana. Have a nice life.
"That's sad."
She shot him a dirty look. "Thanks."
"You want me to beat him up?"
She paused, shocked, then started giggling at the image.
"Yeah, Mulder. He lives in L.A., I think. Go get him for me.
Right now." She tried to stop giggling, but couldn't. The wine had
officially taken control, and the room was swimming, but if felt so
damn good. And God help her if Mulder wasn't looking downright
adorable, his face alight with amusement.
"I'll do it Scully." He pushed her feet off his lap and got up,
headed for the door. "I will avenge you. I'll fuck that bastard up
good!" He tried to keep a straight face, but her giggling got to him,
and he burst into laughter. "How big is this guy?" he finally managed.
"Bigger, bigger than you," she gasped between laughs, her face
turning red.
"Bigger than me? Seriously?" He paused for a moment,
considering. "Aww, who cares? I'm the FBI! I'll kick his ass!
I know how to kill a man using only two fingers!" He fell down
next to her on the couch, his face close to hers, her wine glass
between them like a barrier. He stopped laughing abruptly. He
just watched as she continued to giggle, holding her hand over her
mouth, her eyes sparkling like he had never seen before. Or just
never noticed before. I hope this is just the wine, he thought.
"Dana?"
She tried to get herself under her control. "Yes?" And then she
let out a hiccup.
They both fell into hysterics, Scully continuing to hiccup
loudly. "Mulder, help - hic - me!"
"Hold your breath and say three Hail Marys." She took a deep
breath and held it, her cheeks ballooning. "Or better yet, I'll scare
you. I'll go into the other room and come back when you least
expect it! They don't call me 'Spooky' for nothing, you know."
He started to get up, but she pulled him back down.
"Don't," she said, letting out her breath. "I hate being scared."
She paused. "Wait, I think they're gone." Silence. She hiccuped
again, and laughed.
He laughed too as an idea formed. "Hey, Scully." She
continued to laugh, caught up in the haze of alcohol and giddiness.
"Scully!" He took her face in his hands.
Her laughter subsided. "What is it?" she asked, letting out a
soft, baby hiccup for punctuation. He was so close, and she could
smell the wine on his breath, smell his sweat, see the sudden
determination in his hazel eyes. She held her breath for a moment.
"I think I know a way to stop your hiccups." He leaned in and
pressed his lips against hers, softly, questioning. At first she
didn't respond, couldn't, as she forced her brain to wrap itself
around what was happening. And then, her body did the thinking
for her, as she slipped her arms around his neck and returned
the kiss fully, slipping her tongue into his mouth and tasting
the tang of the wine. The kiss grew more passionate, urgent,
until they were both breathing hard, clutching each other fiercely.
He broke off suddenly.
"I'm sorry, that was way out of line, I shouldn't have done
that," he said in a rush, not looking at her, not daring to touch her.
"Mulder, I..." she didn't know what to think, what to say.
"Mulder..." She did the only thing she could do. She reached
out to him, pulled him back into her embrace, and kissed him,
hard. He buried his fingers in her hair, then kissed her forehead,
her eyes, the tip of her nose. "You know what?" she whispered.
He didn't pause in his trail of kisses, moving down to her ear,
her neck. "What?"
"I think my hiccups are definitely gone." She sighed as he
nuzzled the spot where her neck met her shoulder. "Most
definitely." She methodically began unbuttoning his denim
shirt. He pulled back a little, surprised, his eyes searching hers.
"Are you sure this isn't just the wine?" he asked, breathless.
"Mulder, at this point I don't give a damn." She finished
with the buttons and pushed the shirt open, sliding it down his
arms, then ran her fingers over his bare chest. "I want you
Mulder. God, it's been so long for me..."
He felt himself harden at her words, at the desire fairly
shimmering off of her. Thrusting all rational thought aside,
he kissed her roughly, pulling her sweatshirt up over her
head and caressing her breasts, then carefully removing her
bra. He rained kisses on her, taking each nipple in his mouth
one at a time and sucking fiercely. She arched her back and
pulled him closer to her, then reached to undo his belt, then
his jeans. He knew he should stop, knew what they were
doing was wrong, but didn't care anymore. All he knew
was that he wanted this woman beneath him, wanted her
more than he had ever wanted anyone. Wanted her for
more than just her body, wanted her for her mind, her
soul. She let out a gasp as he slipped a hand inside her
sweatpants, probing, searching.
"Mulder, if you don't make love to me right now,
I'm going to scream," she breathed, frantically pushing
down his pants, at the same time trying to wriggle out
of her own.
He laughed. "Give me a second..." He impatiently
got up and stepped out of his pants, then pulled hers the
rest of the way off and threw them behind him. He eased
himself down on top of her, his eyes boring into hers.
"Mulder, now..." She gasped as he slipped inside
her and began moving slowly. She clasped his head in
her hands, bit his lower lip. "Oh God, Mulder."
"Dana." He moved faster, twining his fingers in
her hair and pulling her head back to expose the ivory
curve of her neck. He ran his tongue up and down that
sweet skin, biting, licking, as he drove deeper into her.
"Jesus, Dana."
"Don't stop, don't stop," she whispered so he could
barely hear her. She tilted her hips so that he went in
deeper, as deep as he could go, slamming her into the
edge of the couch. "Faster, Mulder." Her voice was
getting steadily louder, and his excitement grew every
time she opened her mouth. "Oh God..." She tensed,
then let out a series of cries as she slipped over the edge,
shaking, contracting around him. He tried to hold out
longer but couldn't, and his cries joined hers as he climaxed
as well.
When it was over, he collapsed on top of her, wrapping
his arms around her slim waist and holding tight. He
tenderly kissed one breast as she ran her fingers through his
hair, holding him like a child. "Mulder..."
"Mmm." He lifted his head so his eyes were level with
hers.
"I've never been that loud before," she groaned. "I
feel like I should apologize."
He laughed softly, intimately, and it nearly took her
breath away. "Apologizing is the last thing you should
be doing."
"Really?" she asked, unsure.
He shifted so that they were almost lying side by side
on the narrow couch and cupped her face in his hands.
"Are you kidding? That was a huge turn-on. You were
driving me crazy."
"Really." This time it was a statement, not a question,
and there was seduction lurking in her voice. She twirled
a lock of his hair with her fingers. "Mulder..."
"Mmm." He was back to kissing her breast, finding it
impossible to stop touching her, kissing her everywhere.
"Don't you have a bed?"
"Of course I have a bed, Scully. I just never sleep there."
"Sleep is not what I had in mind."

End.