From: twins@twinparadox.org
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 20:50:34 -0000
Subject: xfc: HAVOC 3: Truth or Dare (Sagan&Rah)
Source: xfc

Title: Havoc 3: Truth or Dare
Authors: Sagan & Rah
E-mail: sagan@twinparadox.org & 
rah@twinparadox.org 
Summary: The truth is in here (at the deep end of the Jacuzzi...); 
continued from HAVOC 2: Meeska Mooska
Classification: Series (not a WIP); humor, UST
Rating: PG
Spoilers: for the purposes of this series, Requiem and 
everything after do not exist; several general allusions to other 
episodes.
Archive: Auto-archive, KTF, & Spooky's ok; 
others, please ask.
Feedback: Always cherished.
Disclaimer: Never were. Never will be. Shit. 
Notes: (important) at the end

X

HAVOC, Part 3: Truth or Dare

XXXXX XXX

Scully read the card for the seventh time, and realized that she 
had been holding her breath. She let it out slowly and put the 
card down, shaking her hands to return the feeling to them. She 
could feel her pulse fluttering dizzily in her stomach. 

Oh my God...

She laughed a little at herself and sank onto the edge of her bed. 
She couldn't remember the last time that Mulder had been able 
to surprise her. Their relationship had taken on the easy 
predictability of long-worn habit lately. She found herself smiling 
at his gesture -- and blushing at the thought that he had 
remembered what kind of roses she liked best. When had she 
ever told him *that*? 

Her hand reached out to take the rose from her pillow, and she 
brought it to her nose. It smelled musky and sweet. Good Lord, 
she thought. What was going on? 

Her gaze wandered from the rose to the half-eaten strawberry 
she still held in her left hand, to the card on the dresser... and
all at once she knew that the shop downstairs didn't have any 
bathing suits she could wear. The idea of climbing into a hot 
Jacuzzi with Mulder had taken on a completely different tone. She 
felt her blush deepen, stealing over her face. 

"Oh my God," she laughed again, and she popped the rest of the 
strawberry between her lips.

x

Mulder came out of his room to answer a light rapping at the 
suite's main door. With a quick glance toward Scully's room -- no 
sign of her -- he opened the door to find George the bellman 
smiling brightly on the other side. Mulder held his finger against 
his lips.

"One ladies swimsuit, size two --" George whispered theatrically, 
handing the garment through the barely opened door, "-- and 
modestly cut."

Mulder took the swimsuit with a smile, and slipped his hand into 
his pocket. George smiled easily and pushed the offered tip 
away.

"Thank you, sir, but no thanks," he said.

"Aw, c'mon George. For the trouble." 

"No, it's all right, Mr. Mulder. The suit's on a separate bill at the 
desk, and *technically* I'm off duty for the night as of now anyway 
-" He shrugged. 

Mulder took the bellman's hand, somewhat surprised at the 
bellman's genuine good nature. 

"Good night, sir. Enjoy your evening," George said as he turned 
toward the elevator. 

Mulder closed the front door just as the door to Scully's room 
opened. They both stopped. He smiled sheepishly.

She pursed her lips and her face squidged up in an 
embarrassed smile. He stood in front of the door with a wide 
expression of amusement, anxiety, and expectation.

Scully let out her breath with one percussive syllable: "Hi." 

Mulder grinned.  "Hi yourself." 

She bit her lip, glancing away. "Who was at the door?" she 
asked, rocking forward on her toes.

Mulder watched, delighted at the discomfiture he had managed 
to produce in her. He held up the swimsuit, letting it dangle from 
the end of one finger. "Thought you might need this," he said. 

Scully felt another hot blush wash over her. Biting the inside of 
her cheek, she took the suit from his hand. "Pulling out all the 
stops, aren't you," she said.

"You don't have to wear it if you've changed your mind," he said, 
"but --"   

"No --"

"-- it'll be fun --"

They had spoken this last at the same time. Scully smiled, 
cocking one delicate eyebrow aslant. "Jinx," she said softly. 

Mulder laughed and ran his tongue along the back of his teeth.  
"Owe me a coke, Scully." 

Her eyebrow arched higher. "A *coke*...?" 

Mulder looked coyly away. "Well... shall we say... a glass of 
wine?" 

Scully's eyes sparkled.  "Deal," she said. "Go run the Jacuzzi. I'll 
bring the bottle." 

x

Scully emerged from her room again ten minutes later, clad in 
her new swimsuit and covered with the plush robe from the end 
of her bed. She stopped at the wetbar to grab a corkscrew and a 
couple of glasses from the cabinet, and called out, "Is the water 
warm?" 

"The water..." Mulder replied, "...is *fine*." 

Scully entered the bathroom to find her partner ensconced in one 
corner of the Jacuzzi, arms draped over the sides, head leaned 
back to expose his throat and Adam's apple. He had the jets up 
to full pressure, she noticed, and she could tell by the haze of 
steam that hung over the tub that he had the temperature on high 
too. She set the wineglasses on the sink counter, and twisted 
the corkscrew into the bottle. 

-POP-!

Mulder picked his head up in time to take the glass Scully 
handed him. She poured her own glass, and sat down on the 
edge of the tub. 

She held her glass aloft. "Here's to the best impromptu vacation 
I've ever taken," she said. 

"Hell, Scully," Mulder smiled, "I've *planned* vacations that 
weren't this much fun." 

"Cheers to that," she grinned, and they touched glasses with a 
*clink*. Scully sipped her wine, hovering on the edge of the tub. 
Mulder resumed his supine position. 

"Are you coming in?" he asked, without picking his head up or 
opening his eyes. "Or what?" 

Scully licked her lips and set her glass down on the rim of the 
tub, wishing she had gotten in first. She touched the soft lapels 
of her robe. She was having the most tremendous sense of deja 
vu -- 

"I promise I won't peek," Mulder said, doing exactly that through 
one squinted eye. 

"Jesus, Mulder." 

"Don't tell me you're too shy to let me see you in a bathing suit." 
Mulder had closed his eyes again. He let out an exaggerated 
sigh. "Oh Scully. After *all* we've been through..." 

Scully grinned as countless memories from their past flitted 
across her memory. This was silly, she told herself. She had 
'disrobed' in front of Mulder almost before they had known one 
another's names. She put a tentative foot into the Jacuzzi. 

"I'll warn you," Mulder said, squinting in her direction again. "It's 
hot in here." 


XXXXX XXXX

Scully let out a bark of laughter at what Mulder had just told her. 
"Nineteen?" She cried. "Oh, *come* on --" 

Mulder chuckled, giving the empty wine bottle a little nudge with 
one pruney toe. It toppled from the side of the Jacuzzi and landed 
with a thunk on the rug below.

"Oops," he said. He grinned at Scully. "Why 'come on'? What's 
wrong with nineteen?" he asked. 

She shrugged and scratched her nose. "I don't know. Nineteen? 
I just... I guess I just don't see it. I don't know." 

"Well, that's the answer," Mulder said, nodding sagely.  He sank 
into the water up to his chin and peered at her. "Your turn." 

"Ummm... truth." 

"'k." He sucked on his bottom lip and tried to think of a good one. 
His eyebrow shot up for a moment and his eyes narrowed 
slightly as an idea came to him. 

"Ok. Scully: what was your first impression of me?" 

Scully squeaked. "What, are you serious?" 

"Yeah." 

"Before we met *in person*, or --" 

"When we *first* met," he said. "When you first walked into the 
basement, fresh from Blevins' office and your reassignment from 
the Academy. What did you think?" 

She leaned her head against the side of the tub. "Oh wow, 
Mulder..." 

"Really? You thought *wow*?" 

She gave him an impatient splash. "*No*," she said. "I mean -- 
Mulder, that was more than seven years ago." 

"Come on, Scully. Senility hasn't set in yet." 

"Yeah, but half a bottle of wine has," she laughed. She glanced 
around the Jacuzzi. "Where is that bottle of wine?" 

"It's done," he said. "It's on the floor. And don't change the 
subject, or you'll have to do a *dare*." 

He nudged her gently under the water with his foot. 

"Ok --!" she said, defending herself with an ineffectual shove 
against his knee. "I thought... oh, God...! I thought you were -- I 
thought you were a little nerdy." 

"Ouch, Scully." 

"Well --! You had your glasses on, and --" 

"I thought you said the glasses made me look sexy." 

"I *never* said that." 

"But you *thought* it," he said. He nudged her again, slumping 
down and letting his foot rest over the jet nearest her shoulder. 
He taped her shoulder idly with the side of his foot. "So what was 
your second impression of me?" he asked. 

"I'm not sure." She thought about it for a second, bringing her 
arm up to rest on his leg. "I guess I thought -- wait a minute --!" 
she cried, taking a pinch of his leg hair and giving it a twist. 

"Ow!" he cried, grabbing her hand to keep it away from his 
leg-hairs. They laughed at each other.

"It's your turn now," she said. "You go. Truth or dare?"

He watched her suspiciously, moving his foot to safer ground. 
"Well, let's see. I took truth last time -- and was *soundly* 
ridiculed for my answer, thankyouverymuch," he said, up to his 
chin in the frothy water, eyes squinting at her while he chewed 
his bottom lip. "So how about a dare?" 

Arching one expressive eyebrow, she sank down level with him, 
her chin hovering just above the waterline. Their eyes met and 
held.

"Make this one count, Scully," he said, nudging her with a knee. 

"Don't rush me, or you'll regret it," she said, eyes glinting. He 
smiled in anticipation. "Your dare is to..." she said slowly, 
"...hmmm. Your dare is to... give me a foot massage," she said, 
bringing her foot up from the bottom to touch his chest lightly. He 
cocked his head at her, his eyes narrowing.

"Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?"

She gave his chest a push with her toes. "Wise ass," she said. 
"We walked all over that park tonight. My arches are aching."

"Well," he said, taking her foot gently in his hands, "maybe if you 
wore more sensible shoes --" 

He leaned back into his corner of the Jacuzzi, smiling devilishly, 
and pulled her foot out of the water. She wiggled her toes at him 
as he pulled her foot closer and higher, until, with one little yank, 
he dislodged her from her seat and she slipped under the water 
completely. 

"Oops --"

He let go of her foot and she popped back up, sputtering and 
swiping wet hair from her face. Hiccuping from a mouthful of 
chlorinated water, she reached for the side of the tub. His eyes 
squeezed shut and his shoulders shook with silent mirth.

"I'm sorry --" he giggled. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist --" She 
narrowed her eyes at him as he continued to laugh at her, 
mischief twinkling in his eyes. "It's just -- you've got little legs, 
and I couldn't reach your feet --" 

She made a quick grab under the water and gave the hair on his 
leg another long twist. He yelped. 

"Oh, that's all right," she said as he wriggled out of reach. "But
for that I get a backrub too."

"That's not fair --" he said. Holding her hand up at him, she 
pinched the air threateningly. He shrugged away from her, 
laughing. "Okay -- okay. It's fair, it's fair. Now, come a little
closer so I can reach your toes. Shorty."

She maneuvered herself onto the seat nearest him, and they 
lapsed into silence as he brought both of her feet onto his lap 
and began to manipulate the tender skin beneath her toes.

"I hadn't pegged you for a red toe-nail polish kind of girl, Scully," 
he teased softly as he ran his thumbs up the arches of both feet 
simultaneously. She closed her eyes, allowing the warmth and 
the wine seep into her body. She smiled at his comment. 

"Oh?" she said softly. "What were you expecting? Beige? Pink? 
Or, maybe you thought I would be a closet Goth, black polish and 
a spider web toe ring..." 

Her voice was husky and relaxed. He found himself watching her 
as she reclined next to him, a dreamy expression smoothing her 
features. The heat had brought a soft glow to her skin, and her 
cheeks and eyelids glistened with the humidity rising from the 
water. He smiled. "I believe that *that* was a question asked out 
of turn," he said, his fingers concentrating on the little bubbles of 
tension he could feel along the base of her toes. "It's my turn to 
ask. Truth or dare, Scully?" 

She let out a little groan as he rubbed a spot on her heel. His 
smiled broadened. Lolling her neck along the rim of the tub, she 
rolled in his direction. "Dare," she said, eyes still closed. 

"Hmmm," he murmured, watching as she drifted, knowing she 
wasn't really paying attention anymore. He pressed his thumb 
into the ball of one foot, eliciting another little sigh, and let his 
hand slide along the inside of her ankle. "Let's make this 
something good," he said. She hummed her agreement, a slow 
and slightly wicked smile spreading across her lips. Mulder held 
his breath for an instant. Make it good, he thought. "I know," he 
said. "Tell me what you're thinking right now."

Her eyes fluttered open and met his. They both breathed as 
Mulder's hands stopped moving on her feet.

"That's not a dare," she said, watching him. 

"Sure it is," he said. "I *dare* you to tell me."

She looked at him, her eyebrow arching slightly. Her mouth 
opened and she touched her tongue briefly to the corner of her 
mouth. She blinked and looked away.

"I'm thinking," she said, "about how much I'd like that backrub 
right about now." 

He was quiet for a moment before he released her foot and got 
up and out of the tub. She looked up to see his outstretched 
hand holding out a towel for her. 

A chill ran across her as she rose from the heat of the water, 
causing her to shiver slightly. Allowing him to wrap her up in the 
huge towel, she flexed her toes, enjoying the achy limberness 
his massage had produced. "My feet are like jello," she told him, 
smiling.

"C'mon, Scully" he said, pulling her by the towel toward his 
bedroom. "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

TO BE CONTINUED

X
Look for HAVOC, Part 4: Test Track (PG) to be posted on 
Thursday, January 18, 2001.

NOTES: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

Today the birthday of this story, which appeared in its first 
incarnation as "M&S Wreak Havoc on Disney Wd" at the X-Files 
Official Site Fan Forum on January 17, 2000. For more 
information about this series, how it came to be, and who was 
involved, go to www.twinparadox.org.