From: USofney <usofney@aol.com>
Date: 20 Feb 1999 17:51:31 GMT
Subject: NEW: 'The Look'

Disclaimer: I dont own FM, DS, anyone else on the show, yadda yadda. 
Rating:PG, Im fairly innocent...not that my friends would never say that
Keywords: M/S UST
Spoilers: Little Green Men, Duane Barry, One Breath, Never Again
Dedication: To my dog, Pudge, the cutest pug in the world. The little mutt says
HI
Archive anywhere, just ask me first.
Note: This is my second posting, so Im still pretty new at this. Send me
comments, although if you are too brutal to me, I may have to beat you w/ my
cyberclub.

THE LOOK
  "Mulder, *why* are you staring at me like that? What, is there something
wrong with my face?" Dana Scully set her delicate face into a decidedly
unpleasant scowl and narrowed her eyes at her transfixed partner. Fox Mulder,
however, wasnt listening much to what she was saying. She could have been
telling him that she was in love with Krycek and was leaving him to join the
Consortium, and he wouldnt have noticed. Well, maybe not to that extreme, but
he was still very out of it, simply gazing (yes *gazing*) up at her with a
peculiar expression on his face. Eyes glassed over, head resting at a tilted
angle on his elbows, lips slightly parted, he looked as though he hadnt heard a
word she had said. Upon hearing no response from her semi-alert partner, she
grunted in frusteration. Narrowing her icy blue eyes, she purposely walked over
to Mulder and shoved him in the shoulder as hard as he could. A very surprised
and sore Agent Mulder resulted, as he toppled out of his chair and crashed into
the hard concrete floor. Oh, that wasnt a nice thing to do, but Scully had been
unsuccessfully trying to get her partner's attention for over 10 minutes, ever
since she had caught her staring up into her face with a look that she had been
seeing him with often recently. She had been noticing for a while now, and had
planned to ask him about it in fact, but the subject had never come up. But it
was happening all the time now! She would launch into an explanation debunking
one of his crack-pot theories, and upon hearing no resistance or arguing, would
look up and catch him mooning at her with this naked look of longing, or
*something* on his face that she couldnt put her finger on. It would only be
there for a second, until he realized that she was looking his way, but she
would still catch it. She had been constantly referring it privately to herself
as 'the look'. (no, not THAT look) and had been noticing it for quite some
time. Probably the first was early in the second year of their partnership. She
had looked up one day while filling out paperwork to find him wistfully looking
at her. At first, she actually thought he was looking BEHIND her, and
instinctively looked back. Seeing nothing behind her to merit attention, she
turned around and peered at his face. It was always back to normal by then.
And, like a crescendo starting at that very moment, the looks had been raising
in frequency and lenght until she had begun to think it strange if she DIDNT
see a look within the span of a week. By now, it was annoying her. The first
few years, she had the notion to just imagine that what she was seeing was some
kind of romantic feeling on his part. In a way,  the thought that Mulder was
"secretly pining after her" was amusing. Although she would never outwardly
admit it, she had been begun to feel some very strong feelings toward Mulder
since somewhere in the first half year of their partnership. When the looks had
started later on, she had actually hoped that something of a reciprocate was
behind it, but she never had a chance to analyze the thought fully. That was
right when she was abducted. Everything had changed drastically after that.
Reality struck hard, and she grew up. Realizing how dire and virtually
impossible a relationship would be, the thought hit her like a ton of bricks.
Ashamed at her feelings of what she now referred to as 'a childish crush', she
drew away from him. Eventually, the deeper feelings subsided and were locked
away. Friendship and trust grew in the void that was left, but it was never
completely filled. She was ashamed at feeling that way, but also knew deep down
that her feelings had been ludicrous and her hopings far-fetched. The times
that she had loved him and showed him affection werent exactly returned. In
fact, in all the times that she was most loving, right before the Duane Barry
incident, were the times he pushed her away the most. She never had forgotten,
to this day, how cold he was to her while they were seperated when the X-Files
had shut down. That night in the Watergate parking lot where he was so distant
to her. He treated her like a stranger then, she realized. But she had matured
now and had accepted what he had been willing to give. Friendship. In time,
Scully began to even doubt if Mulder was capable of long term romantic
relationships. She was actually sort of relieved she didnt have a fling with
him, not knowing what she would be getting into. She still was attracted to him
(who the heck wouldnt be?), she never decieved herself of that fact, but what
she wouldnt admit to anyone was that she still had those very unpartnerly
feelings for him. Out of sight, but never completely out of mind was how it
was. And how it would stay. 

-Back to Reality-

"Geez Scully?! What was that for?!" exclaimed Mulder, still surprised at being
so brutally forced out of his chair. Scully actually sneered at him, which was
uncharacteristic for her, and set her small manicured hands upon her hips,
giving him her infamous evil eye. "What are you giving me the look for Scully?"
For a moment, his choice of words almost threw her off and she momentarily
looked confused until she realized that he was refering to her glare. 
"I should ask you the same thing!" Realization half way dawned in his eyes,
which didnt get completely past Scully. Pulling himself up to his feet with the
help of his desk, Mulder stood up to his full height so that he towered over
her. So why did it still seem like the opposite? He guility shifted his weight
between feet and avoided her eyes, instead staring at a point directly above
them.
"What exactly do you mean?" he asked in faux-innocence.
Fine, if that was the game he wanted to play.... The ante had just been booted
up and Scully wasnt backing out now. She was feeling particuarly brutal at that
moment; it had been an awful day full of paperwork and scoldings from Skinner
about their recent expendatures. The tension had been building all day and she
felt very much like a cobra ready to strike. Mulder was the perfect scapegoat.
"Mulder, you know *exactly* what I mean." sensing the puppy dog look
approaching, she quickly added,"And dont pout at me! It wont work this time."
Mulder stopped and shrugged his shoulders.
"Fine, whatever." He swiveled in his rolling chair and went back to some
paperwork. For a couple of naive seconds she actually assumed that he was going
to let the matter drop. Yeah, *right*! Before she was about to say something
else he spun around and interjected with, "And just where do you get off acting
like this? Here I am, sitting and working quietly at my desk, when you come
barrelling over and shove me out of my chair. What is your problem? Is this a
womanly problem? Geez, Scully you act like a dragon when you're on the rag."
With that last comment, any self restraint must have had went flying out the
window and steam began to shoot out of her ears. Eyes darkening to near royal
color, her eyebrows narrowed, she grabbed the nearest object, which just
happened to be one of Mulder's magazines (yes, one of the ones that "didnt
belong to him") and hurled it at his head. Quickly ducking, it sailed over his
hair and went into a mile high stack of paperwork that had recently been
completed. Shock registering in his eyes, Mulder watched as Scully swore loudly
after seeing the damage she had caused. "Damnit!" Quietly kneeling down to pick
up the scattered papers, he looked up at her apologetically.
"Sorry, I didnt mean to get you that angry."
"Fine, all right. Just forget it." she hissed. Sick of the issue, she sat down
in her chair and attempted to start on some paperwork. Mulder shrugged his
shoulders and finished picking up the documents off the hard floor. Scully sat
quietly at her desk, stewing in her own misery. She could almost feel Mulder's
intense eyes on the back of her head. An X-File maybe, but she just knew. After
being stared at for quite some time it was becoming second nature. Worse, she
couldnt even consentrate. It was as if his gaze was burning a hole in the back
of her head and erasing everything else from her functioning mind. 
"Mulder," she growled "Stop staring at me *please*?" If she could have seen his
reaction, Scully would have laughed. Mulder reeled back and an unmistakable
look of a boy whose been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, appeared on
his face. 
"This must be some kind of X-File, Scully. Some sixth sense," he joked
nervously, running his tongue quickly across his mouth.
"Sure."
Mulder took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, but for some unknown
reason stopped. Perhaps he was contemplating what he was saying to her, Scully
didnt know, but at least he was giving her some sort of quasi-acknowledgement
that he had been staring at her. Ignoring him for the time being, she went back
to her paper work, exciting as it was. 
"You know, I still want a desk," she said suddenly. Mulder's eyebrows rose.
"Havent we had this discussion before?"
"Yes, Agent Mulder, and I seem to remember you ditching me to go to Graceland
and leaving me to run your errands."
"Errands?! Thats what you think these are?" Mulder's voice rose in volume, and
Scully clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent from saying anything else to
set him off. She could slap herself. Here come's the speech...These files are
my life, yadda yadda, you were just assigned, and so on. While Mulder was
stalking around the room raving, Scully pulled out a nail file. It would be a
looonngggg time. Finally, after a few minutes of the trying testimonies of her
partner, Scully grew tired of it.  Always the same routine, always the same
dance. He would rant on, he would bitch on, she would "listen" and she would
ignore him. But she was sick of the whole damn thing.
"Mulder, in case YOU havent noticed, we do have work to finish." He stopped
talking and looked at her almost like seeing her for the first time. 
"Do you not think this is important?!"
She yawned,"It was the first time around. But not the...lets see, what number
is this? I think I lost count back at 50!" That shut him up. 
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"I have heard this speech all before. You would think that after 5, no wait, 6
years together, you would have something new to say to me."
He looked stunned for a moment, like a deer caught in headlights. Finally,
sitting down and running a hand through his unruly hair, he looked back up at
her.
"You have a really nice waist line." he said.
Scully wasnt sure she heard him right,"Excuse me?"
"I never told you that."
Scully wasnt sure where this was heading.
"No..you never did." she eventually answered.
"That was something new to say."
"Yes, I guess it was..."
"And I never told you what beautiful eyes you had, did I? Why havent I?"
"I dont know, why havent you?"
"Thats my question. I dont know why, either. Why didnt I ever tell you how
pretty hair is? Or how I admire your intelligence. Did I ever say how
incredibly brave and strong I thought you were? You're such a fighter, Scully,
have I ever told you that?"
She slowly shook her head no, but reached out and put a hand on his arm.
"But I havent ever told you any of those things, either Mulder, and I think the
same thoughts about you too." Mulder smiled.
"You think my hair is pretty?" he asked. Scully grinned, and lightly stroked
his hair.
"Yes, I think your hair is very pretty." 
"Damn, we would have good looking children, wouldn't me?" 
"Only if they looked like you Mul-"She stopped talking when she realized how
that must have sounded.
"Ooo, you think Im good looking?" he asked, leer unmistakable. Scully punched
him lightly on the arm.
"Its lunchtime. Im starved, let's go get some food."
Scully walked to the door and grabbed her long trench coat. Mulder, doing the
same, followed her. Turning to him she added,
"And in answer to your question, yes, I think you are *extremely* good
looking."
She couldnt keep the smile off her face as his mouth dropped open before giving
her a huge grin. Putting a possessive hand around her small waist, he led her
over to the elevator and ushered her inside. As the doors closed, he quickly
commented,
"You know how many people have sex in elevators a year?"
He was answered by a small elbow in the ribs. Dang, he was going to be sore in
the morning. Too many beatings for one day...but it was all worth it!

END
Hope you liked!