From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: 20 Oct 2003 01:19:27 -0000 Subject: Brevity 4 by multiple authors by ML Source: direct Reply To: msnsc21@aol.com Title: Brevity Challenge IV Author: FBIWhistleBlower, Piper, Artemis, and foxhunt2blue Email: author email is on each story, or email to msnsc21@aol.com (editor) and I'll pass along Feedback: yes, please! Individually or collectively, it's all good Distribution: Yes to Ephemeral and Gossamer; for individual stories, ask individual authors; otherwise, please ask. Spoilers: none Rating: from G to NC-17; please read responsibly Classification: Vignettes Keywords: angst, humor, romance, etc. Summary: A series of scenes and stories in answer to a set of elements. Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to any of the authors below. They belong to the actors who portrayed them, their creator Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen and FOX. We mean no infringement, and we're not making any profit from them. ==== Nina's elements: Winnie the Pooh eyeglasses purple rose snowflakes leopard print boxers music box REPLIES: * * * Story #1 Title: UNBRIEF II by FBIWhistleBlower (Sequel to "Whatever It Was I Wrote Before That Used Char's Elements But Was Unfortunately Left Untitled And More In The Realms Of True Brevity, Unlike This Description") First'n was fer Xphilernj Nina. This'n's fer RTCarp an' Sallie, cuz they ast me nice-like. (Yup. I be from the south. Just like Nina. Who mispronounciates her own fust name and don't realize it. Poor, unedjumacated soul.) * * * * * When he'd discovered her "stash," he was so overwhelmingly flattered that he actually cried. Right in front of her. And then he surprised the hell out of himself when he grabbed her and nearly kissed the life out of her. When she hadn't argued and joined in, started pulling off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt, he ended the evening by making the slowest, most glorious, agonizingly sweet love to her for the first time ever, for what seemed like hours and hours. Then *she* cried. Right in front of him. Okay, so it wasn't really *that* much of a "stash," as stashes went, but then he'd always felt inferior. Nothing she could tell him could convince him otherwise, until he found her stash. But there it was ... on the side of her dresser: all the little offerings and gifts he'd ever given her. Even from before they were lovers. The perfectly preserved Sterling Silver long-stemmed tea rose he'd bought for her on a whim one morning on the way to work because he could actually see its color, even though he was told later it really looked purple. He didn't care. It was pretty, it had a nice scent, it reminded Fox Mulder of Dana Scully and so he left it on her desk. Her smile was worth it. That evening was more so. Then there was the tiny Winnie the Pooh music box he'd given her. It was, ostensibly, for her friend's daughter's birthday, but he'd heard her talking to her mother and then he'd called Maggie Scully and found out *Scully* had actually collected Winnie the Pooh items when she was a child and was really thinking about getting it for herself. She just didn't want Mulder thinking of her as a weenie. As if. Tigger was her favorite, and this one was a Tigger music box. When he gave it to her and she opened it, his clothes were ripped off faster than hers and he was dragged to her bedroom, music box in one hand, Mulder in the other. Just before they had begun to make love, Scully announced, "I want to hear it, Mulder." She thrust the music box into his hands, which really had no place in his mind in terms of what should be thrusting. Mulder looked pained because, frankly, he *was* pained. "*NOW,* Scully? *Right now*?" She nodded. He looked perplexed but wound up the box, waiting to hear Tigger sing about what a wonderful Tigger he was. Instead, it sang, "It's a small world after all..." Scully tried hard not to, but started laughing and barely stopped Mulder from getting his Sig and blasting the crap out of it because he felt the damned thing was commenting on his manhood. As it turned out, the music box simply had the wrong music player in it, which made it that much more precious to Scully ... just because it was exactly the kind of thing she'd expect from Fox Mulder. Scully made exquisite love to *him* which more than made up for the music box's shortcomings. Tigger survived the night. So did Mulder. With a goofier grin than Tigger. There was the basketball of his that she'd kept on the day she actually beat him at the game ... at least he *claimed* she beat him, though she'd never known for certain. But she'd loved him just as fiercely in his bed that sweaty afternoon. Among the other items was a small bottle of water. But it wasn't just *any* water. After they'd become lovers, on a day, much like today, when the snow had gotten just too deep to go to work, he'd made it to her apartment anyway for hot homemade cocoa and marshmallows and then they'd walked to the park at the end of her street and made snow angels. By the time they returned, Mulder had announced his ass was frozen and he was making lurid remarks about how she could warm it. She laughed and looked up at him just as he was about to take off his coat in her foyer, but she stopped him. She reached up and grabbed a handful of snow from his collar, went into her kitchen, found a small bottle and cap and put the snow inside. She put the jar next to the bed where she promptly warmed him up and they watched the snow melt together. After that, she'd called them Mulder's Liquid Snowflakes, labeled it as such, dated it and had kept the jar with the other things she found precious and rare and altogether Mulderesque. Tonight, he let himself into her apartment as quietly as possible, hoping against hope that she'd still be in her "boudoir," as he liked to call it. Yes, he could smell the scent of her favorite floral bubble bath, the appropriate splashing and even her off-key humming. He smiled. Tonight, she was actually humming "Joy to the World." The Three Dog Night version. And she wasn't forgetting the chorus. A few minutes later, he set himself down in the dark corner of her bedroom and waited. It didn't take long. Scully was pretty set in her schedule. She wandered in, her body wrapped tightly in a towel, her hair tied up in another. He stayed perfectly still. Scully pulled the towel off her hair and ran her comb through it, then she reached for the towel around her body. "Keep goin', G-Woman," Mulder said quietly. He could swear she jumped three feet in the air, turning 180 degrees and landing on her feet, staring straight at him. "MULDER! DAMMIT! You *SCARED* me!" she shrieked. "I know," he said quietly. "But I wanted to see you." "Mulder, tomorrow is a work day ...." "I know that Ms. Scully. I go to the same school as you do. We're in the same class. We have the same teacher. Remember?" he said with a silly grin as he stood. "Then what do you want?" her fists were on her hips. Scully truly did not take well to being surprised in such a way. "Well, you left something at my apartment last night and I thought you might need it," Mulder replied. Scully's forehead scrunched into cute little lines as she thought about it. "I didn't leave anything..." until she look at his outstretched palm to find the Cracker Jack toy surprise. "Sure you did, Scully," he said, still smiling, "you forgot this." "Mulder. This was just an excuse to come over here tonight. Go get your shoes on and your coat and GO HOME." "Scully," Mulder intoned, "You never know what you might find in a Cracker Jack toy surprise. Could be something important." "Could get you a black eye, too." She folded her arms. "Humor me, Scully," Mulder said. "Remember? We fought for it and you won fair and square. I have the bruised ribs to prove it. The toy surprise is yours." Her arms dropped to her sides. "Will you go home if I open it?" "I hope not." "You will or I won't open it." "Okay, I'll go home. I'll be a good boy." He extended his hand further. She kept eyeing him, as if he'd sprouted three more mouths on stalks and maybe a gallbladder or two out each ear and she sat on the edge of the bed. Mulder sat next to her. "Go on, Scully," Mulder nudged her, "open it." "This couldn't wait until tomorrow in the office?" "A perfectly good Cracker Jack toy surprise? Scully, that's ... that's un-American!" he intoned solemnly, hand over his heart. "Okay," she said finally and pulled the package up for closer inspection. Not seeing any exploding snakes, whoopee cushions, blow ticklers or anything else of that nature, she slowly tore the paper. Every second was an eternity for Mulder. After she pulled the pathetic paper pieces apart and the ring fell into her hand she simply stared at it. And stared and stared. When she finally looked up, Mulder was undressing, staring into her eyes and continuing to undress. When he stood up and started off with his pants, the next to the last stitch of clothing he had on, she stopped him. "Mulder? What's going on?" "Scully," he said, sitting next to her again, "I've told you I love you so many times and you didn't believe me and I asked you to marry me more than once. I asked you one time what it would take for you to believe me. And you told me. I listened." He stood again, dropped his pants, put on his glasses, got down on one knee, took the ring from her hand and said, "Dana Katherine Scully, I am madly in love with you. I will *never* love anyone else the way I love you. I will love you until the day I die and there will never be any one else." He held the ring near her left hand, "Now I haven't been hit in the head by Krycek, compromised by the Consortium ... lately ... stung by green alien blood, abducted by aliens -- not that I'd know, what with that lost time problem and everything -- but I am in love with you and I am asking you to marry me." Scully blinked exactly once. Her mouth in an O. "Wh-what?" "Scully, you told me just about two years ago that the ONLY way you'd ever take me seriously about being in love with you or me wanting to marry you was if I got down on my knee in 'nothing but tight leopard print bikini briefs for men, with my glasses on and if I gave you an amethyst and diamond engagement ring at the same time.' I think that's verbatim." He looked down at himself, pathetic as he felt and knew he looked, then looked back up, "Scully, PLEASE say yes. I've met all the requirements. PLEASE, Scully! I'm begging you! PLEASE make my trip to Nina's Stud Boys' Love Muffin Shoppe worth it for these damned briefs. PLEASE marry me? I'm not even drugged!!!" Scully stared at him, then tears formed and then flowed like a waterfall. "Oh. My. God. Mulder. You really *DO* love me! I never thought ANYONE would do anything so wonderfully stupid! And just for ME!!" "So will you marry me, Scully?" Mulder asked. "You're making me nervous and my ass is getting cold down here." "God, YES, I'll marry you, Mulder." She thrust her left hand out at him and he carefully guided the ring to its proper place. Scully held it up, watched it glitter for a moment ... then looked at him through her tears of happiness, then grabbed his head, feeling for tears or bumps and knots. "Oh, God, Mulder! You really *aren't* sick! You're not doped up! There's not a flukeman or a liver-eating mutant under the carpet! No one's holding a gun to your head. You're definitely NOT wired! Oh God, Mulder; yes, I'll marry you!" It was at that moment that Dana Katherine Scully jumped her fiancee's bones and fervently wished she'd never used the word "tight" in conjunction with 'leopard print bikini brief underwear for men.' Damn his eidetic memory! Much later, Mulder discovered that those said same briefs (what was left of them) had earned a sacred place of honor, push-pinned in place on the basketball, along with the Cracker Jack toy surprise wrapper laminated and propped up on what he now called the Mulder Love Shrine. And every time he passed Tom Colton in the halls of the Hoover Building, Mulder stared right at him, cracked a huge, knowing grin. Colton ducked his head and hurried by like a rat after cheese, without so much as a "by your leave" much less a "hi, Spooky-Boy." Oh no. *Those* days were OVER. It didn't matter anyway. Mulder had what *he* wanted. But there was *some* satisfaction to be had in the knowlege that he sure as hell wasn't going to tell anyone HOW he knew what Tom Colton had bought at Nina's Stud Boys' Love Muffin Shoppe. He seriously doubted Colton would tell on Mulder either. Not if he knew what was good for him, that is. ------------ BACKGROUND TRIVIA: For those of you unfamiliar with tea roses, "Sterling Silver" is a real rose, a prize winner, looks pretty much as described, and *is* considered a BLUE rose. It is a stunningly gorgeous rose but very, very difficult to cultivate to maturity. I know; I used to grow tea roses as a serious hobby, and THAT one was a real pain, but absolutely gorgeous when it deigned to bloom for me. My personal favorite is an "antique" tea rose called "Talisman." I have two of them just outside my bedroom window and the scent is delightful. Constructive criticism and comments are welcome at FBIWhistleblower@AOL.COM * * * Story #2 Author: Piper feedback: gotthebug@aol.com * * * * * * * * * * * Scully stares open-mouthed at his gift; an Eeyore music box complete with snow-caked scarf and grumpy, nobody-loves-me expression, his purple and blue body rising en pointe in an endless ballet. She suddenly feels like a pervert with her gift of silken leopard print boxers and a note requesting his dinner attire consist of nothing but it and his glasses. After all, Christmas is a 'family' holiday, is it not? * * * Story #3 Author: Artemis Title: Worldly Gifts feedback: artemisx5@hotmail.com * * * * * * * * * * * "Back to Pooh corner, Scully?" She started when he spoke, nearly knocking her glasses off. She'd been unaware that he was watching her. She set the small invitation down. "I don't know why Tara always sends me these invitations. I live across the country." "Matthew's birthday?" "I have to find a present," she murmured absently, tracing the edge of the gaudy music box Matthew had picked out for his Aunt last Christmas. The plastic roses clinging to its lid were a range of purples and pinks that would have shamed living flowers. "He has exquisite taste," Mulder smirked, "I can see why you'd worry." "Mulder. He's three." He stood, joining her near the shelf where she collected Matthew's varied offerings to his only aunt. Mulder picked up a San Diego snow globe and sent the fake flakes whirling. "Isn't there one of these of the Hoover building in the gift shop at work? I'm sure that would make his daddy happy." She just gave him the eyebrow. "I guess I'll try Toy `R' Us. Do you want to come with me?" "Does Skinner wear leopard print boxers?" he grinned. She froze, then shuddered. "You concern me sometimes, Mulder." "Just sometimes? I'll have to double my efforts." He smiled at her, tapped her nose with the snow globe and soothed the spot with a kiss. "Come on Scully, take me to the toy store." * * * Story #4 Title: She Never Dreamed... Author: Foxhunt2blue Summary: Written for Nina's Brevity challenge on Believe the Truth. See Author's note for the challenge elements. Rated: PG Feedback: Please? *sad puppy eyes E-mail: foxhunter2blue@yahoo.com Keywords: MSR Author's Note: Well I'm on a roll now! Hope you like it Nina. *** Snowflakes the size of her palms drifted down coating the yard and trees outside with a carpet of silvery white. This was going to be their first Christmas since they had returned to Washington and it made her heart tingle to think it would be a white Christmas. Snuggling deep into the folds of her flannel robe she smiled to herself. This was what she had missed as they hid away in the dessert. In it's own way it was beautiful, but she loved seeing the changes in the seasons. "Mama...mama!" Her gaze lowered to the bundle of energy that was tugging at the hem of her robe. William had gotten so big and with each passing day she saw more of his father in him despite the crystal blue eyes that melted her heart. All arms and legs in his grey footed pajamas he tried to climb into the window seat while clinging to his Winnie the Pooh. Grabbing the back of his pajamas she tugged him up onto her lap---Pooh and all. "What is it Will?" She planted a soft kiss on one chubby cheek. "Dadda wants you." He crossed his arms with a grunt of finality. Oh, he was definitely his father's son. "Where is daddy?" William buried his face into his Pooh, then he giggled. "In bed." Came the muffled answer. "Come on let's go see daddy." Standing she swung William up on her hip and headed down the hall. When she finally made it to the bedroom she wasn't at all suprised with what she saw. Lowering William to the floor she patted his head and smiled. "Go get in bed sweetie." The lip made it's appearence in ten seconds flat. "Go on now." She raised one brow as he grunted again, then turned and toddled off to his room. Shaking her head she turned back to the bedroom, leaning in the doorway she just took in her husband. Mulder lay on his stomach wearing nothing but a pair of leopard print boxers his head at the foot of the bed. His reading glasses sat on the tip of his nose making her think of a time long ago. Her smile stretched even wider as he shifted the muscles flexing in his back. This was one hobby she enjoyed. "Hey Scully." Busted, she thought, as Mulder sat up closing the book he had been reading. Reaching over he sat the book on the nightstand, then grabbed the remote turning off ESPN. "Hey...Will told me you were in bed." "So of course you came running." Mulder waggled his brows with a soft snicker. "In your dreams!" She yelped pouncing on the mattress and a half naked Mulder. For the next five minutes they wrestled like wild animals until the sheets and blankets were tangled. Falling back on the bed they both lay staring at the ceiling panting in exaustion. "So...what did you want?" She rolled over propping herself on an elbow. Reaching out she let the fingers of her other hand trace across Mulder's heaving chest. "You do know what day it is?" He questioned as he adjusted his glasses. "Christmas Eve. Have I ever told you how sexy you look in your glasses?" "Really? What about the boxers?" He tugged at the silky yellow material. Scully smacked him playfully on the shoulder her smile making a reappearence. "So what did you...," her words trailed off as she saw the small package in his hands. "Merry Christmas Scully." She took the box from her hand laughing at the messy wrapping job. The wrapping paper was smeared with sticky fingers both small and large. Then there was the bow---lopsided and frayed, but it didn't matter. "It's from me and Will." Carefully she slipped off the ribbon with its lopsided bow, then unfolded the smudged gold paper. Inside was a plan brown cardboard box. With a deep breath she lifted the lid revealing a mound of bubble wrap. "This isn't an alien fetus in a jar is it?" Mulder's laughter was rich and sweet in her ears. "You'll have to open it to...," "Oh, my God. It's beautiful Mulder." Laying in the protective embrace of the bubble wrap was a porcelain music box shaped like a conch shell. It's edges were trimmed in gold that moved with the sculptured curves of the box. "Open it Scully." Lifting the lid her tears finally fell as the first notes of 'Beyond the Sea' drifted on the still air. Nestled on a bed of snow white velvet was a pin made of crystal---a deep purple rose. "Merry Christmas baby," he whispered as their lips met in a gentle kiss. "Mama?" Swiping at her tears she smiled as William toddled to the bed. "Come here little guy." Mulder reached out sweeping William on to the tangled sheets between them. "Why you crying?" His brow knotted as she began laughing. "These are happy tears baby boy...happy tears." She wrapped her arms around her two beautiful men laughing even as the tears fell. She had never dreamed after so much pain and loss it could be like this. The End * * * Thanks for reading!