From: Emily Heskett <melange86@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:46:43 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Peaches (1/1) by Topsy
Source: direct

TITLE:  Peaches

AUTHOR: Topsy

E-MAIL/FEEDBACK: melange86@yahoo.com

DISTRIBUTION:  Just let me know first before you post it 
anywhere.  I mostly write for myself, but if you think it 
deserves to be shared, I am flattered.  Just let me know.

SPOILERS:  "Millennium"

RATING:  PG

CATEGORY:  S, MSR

SUMMARY:  Scully takes Mulder home after the end of 
"Millenium" and they talk.

DISCLAIMER:  I do not own The X-Files, or Mulder, or 
Scully, or anybody.  I write for my own entertainment, so 
please don't sue me.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:  This takes place post-"Millennium" and I'm 
going to pretend that nothing after "Millennium" has 
happened yet.  I have this theory about the evolution of 
Mulder and Scully's relationship from platonic to not so 
platonic.  But that theory involves the events of "Per 
Manum," and with this story, I wanted to pretend "Per 
Manum" never happened.  So wipe your memory of all things 
post-"Millennium" and just roll with it.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Date Started:  July 19, 2006
Date Finished: October 24, 2006
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Mulder settled onto his couch, favoring his right arm, as 
Scully hovered over him.  Her skin was bathed in the soft 
orange glow of lamplight.  He wouldn't admit it to her, but 
he loved it when she hovered.  Dr. Scully was a sight to 
behold, especially when her attention was directed at him.

"Okay?" she asked, drawing his attention away from her 
glowing skin.

He met her gaze.  "I'm fine."

Her eyebrow lifted and he realized he had stolen her usual 
line.  "Do you need me to stay?"

"I'll be alright."  He smiled up at her, appreciating the 
new juxtaposition of their heights.  For once he had to 
look up to meet her gaze and he sensed that she enjoyed the 
change in scenery just as much as he did.  "Unless you 
wanna stay and help me out in the shower."  He raised his 
brows in a suggestive Mulder leer and grinned.

She rolled her eyes and only the quick upturn of the corner 
of her mouth suggested that she was amused.

"I'll get going then.  Call me if you need anything."

"If anymore zombies show up, you're the first person I'll 
call."

She smiled softly before turning to the door.  When she 
left his view, Mulder listened to her heels click across 
the hardwood floor, and visions of lips that tasted like 
peaches floated into the forefront of his mind.  "Happy New 
Year, Scully," he called out.

He heard her heels stop and hesitate at the threshold of 
the door before they changed direction and headed back his 
way.  His heart lifted.

She met his questioning gaze.  "Mulder," she paused, "Why 
did you kiss me?"

His stomach fell.  Shit.  "It's tradition, Scully," he said 
glibly, hoping to sound calm, even though his heart had 
suddenly started galloping in his chest in a race against 
his own fear.

She nodded once and quickly turned to leave again.

He jumped up from the couch as quickly as he could, despite 
the sling that suddenly felt like it was strangling him, 
and went after her.  He caught her wrist in his hand and 
turned her around.  He didn't want to lie anymore, didn't 
want to pretend it hadn't happened.  

"Wait."

She looked up at him and he could see fear and curiosity 
swimming in the blue depths of her eyes.  Well, at least 
we're on the same wavelength, he thought, and felt himself 
start to sweat.

"That's not entirely true, I... I guess I just want you to 
know how much I appreciate you.  There's no one else I'd 
rather be fighting zombies with, Scully.  There's no one 
else I want to spend New Year's Eve with, even if it is in 
our own... unique way."  He paused and took the time to rub 
his thumb over her wrist where he could feel her pulse 
speeding under his ministrations.  "It means a lot to me 
that you'd be there with me and... You were just standing 
there, acting like you hadn't just utilized your spot-on 
shooting skills to kill a zombie which you don't even 
believe in.  And that you weren't in the hospital, once 
again taking care of your sorry-ass partner.  You just 
looked... content, standing there, watching the ball drop.  
With me."

"Oh, Mulder," she glanced down for a moment, and a lock of 
fiery hair fell over her eyes.  

He let go of her wrist and reached up to tuck the strand 
tenderly behind her ear, letting his thumb stray to the 
edge of one scratch on her neck.  When his gaze traveled to 
her face again, she was looking right at him.

"We lead strange lives sometimes-"

"Sometimes?"

She smiled.  "Okay, the majority of the time.  But you do 
know that I want to be here, don't you?  You realize that 
I've made my choices and I'm sticking around and you 
couldn't get rid of me if you tried, right?"

"I want to believe."

She frowned a little.  "You're always searching for the 
truth, Mulder, and this time I'm handing it to you, so you 
better believe it."

He chuckled softly.  "Alright."  

"I am content, Mulder.  I'm content with zombies and New 
Year's Eves spent in hospitals.  All of it.  As long as 
it's with you."  She blushed a little and once again looked 
down, not used to spilling her heart to him in this way.  
"And if I'm being truthful, and you're willing to believe, 
I don't want to push this aside.  I don't want to pretend 
it didn't happen like we usually would.  I asked you why 
you kissed me because..." Scully met his gaze again.  
"Because I don't want to wait another seven years for it to 
happen again."

His heart skipped a beat.  "Me neither."

Honesty yawned opened in front of them and Scully felt like 
she could drown in the depths of it if she wasn't careful.  
"It scares me."

"Me too.  I don't want to ruin what we have, Scully.  
You're my partner, my best friend, my... touchstone.  But 
another seven years is a long time."

"We might not save the world in the next seven years."

He chuckled.  "Scully, if... if we did save the world, and 
there was no longer a reason for the X-Files, what would 
you do?"

"I don't know, Mulder.  It seems so intangible, an end to 
all this, that I've never really let myself think about 
it."

He nodded.  "Well, if it did happen, I would do everything 
I could to keep you in my life, as my partner, my friend, 
or something more.  I don't want you with me just because 
of this search for the truth.  You're more than that to 
me."  He stroked the back of his fingers gently over the 
slope of her cheek.

"It could take years, Mulder.  Seven years, ten years, 
twenty."

"That's a lot of wasted time."

She nodded.  "I'm scared of ruining this, what we already 
have, but I'm scared of never knowing, too," she whispered.  
"Is it worth the risk?"

"We could find out."

"Together?"

"Always," he promised.  He wiggled his eyebrows, trying to 
lighten the mood.  "Hey, Scully?"

"Hmm?"

"How does seven seconds sound in comparison to another 
seven years?"

She grinned.  "Much better."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Mulder leaned forward and Scully tilted her head back, 
raising her lips towards his in anticipation, but he moved 
away, nuzzling her cheek with his nose.  Her lips parted 
and he brushed his mouth softly over her cheekbone, nudging 
her temple with his nose.  Her eyes fluttered shut and he 
smiled slightly, delighted that she was relenting to his 
need to discover her.  He outlined an eyebrow with the tip 
of his nose, wondering momentarily if she realized how much 
her brows could turn him on with one skeptical arch.  He 
trailed his mouth to her other cheek, taking his time.

"Mulder," she finally sighed, her hands clutching his waist 
for balance as she swayed towards him.

"Yes, Scully?" he murmured, his mouth just millimeters from 
hers.

"Hurry up."

He chuckled, delighted with her impatience.  "Good things 
come to those who wait."

Her eyes blinked open slowly.  "Hurling clich‚s again, 
Mulder?"

His lips lifted in a smirk.

"I won't sit idly by."  She grinned.  "Kiss me, you fool."

He laughed and wrapped his good arm around her in a quick 
hug.  She circled his waist gently with her arms, careful 
to not bump against his injury.  They were pressed fully 
together, chest to feet, and her eyes sparkled up at him 
when he met her gaze again.

"Seven years isn't a long enough wait, Mulder, for good 
things to come?"

He smiled and cupped her cheek with his left hand.  "I 
think, in this case, it's safe to say that's long enough."

"So what are you waiting for? I think your seven seconds 
was up awhile ago."

He rested his forehead against hers and rubbed her lower 
lip with his thumb gently.  His expression grew serious.

"No regrets?" he asked quietly.

"Not with you."

The honesty and trust he could see in her eyes enabled him 
to finally lower his mouth to hers.  At the first brush of 
lips, Scully let out a soft sigh and eased closer to him.  
Mulder cradled her neck with his uninjured hand and rubbed 
his thumb gently over the silky skin under her ear.  Her 
hands crawled up his back and he dipped his head lower to 
take the kiss deeper.

He ran his tongue gently over her lower lip, seeking 
permission for entrance.  She granted it, opening for him, 
and he slipped inside.  His tongue curled around hers and 
they moaned simultaneously at the contact.

Peaches, he thought, for the second time that night, before 
losing his mind to the kiss.  The fingers of her right hand 
trailed through the soft hair at the nape of his neck, as 
he stroked his tongue over her teeth.  He brought his own 
teeth into the kiss, nibbling gently on her full lower lip 
before soothing the spot with a swipe of his tongue.  Her 
tongue followed his and he backed off, allowing her inside.  
She stroked her tongue over the roof of his mouth and he 
groaned, feeling his knees go weak.  His fingers slid into 
her hair and pulled her even closer, crushing their lips 
together, as the fire inside him built.

Moments later, she pulled back, her breath coming quicker 
than before.  "Mulder," she murmured, leaning her forehead 
against his.

He chuckled softly, amazed at how strongly he had reacted 
to her kisses.  "Seven years was good enough."

She chuffed out a laugh and hugged him closer, trying to 
avoid putting pressure on his arm.  He shifted, trying to 
grow more comfortable, so she pulled back a little and he 
immediately missed the warmth of her.  For such a small 
woman, she emitted quite a lot of heat.  

Scully reached up, running her fingers through his mussed 
hair, and let out a soft sigh.  "I should probably go."

"You could stay," he offered.

She met his gaze.  "I don't know if I'm ready for that 
yet."

He smiled and stroked her cheek with his thumb.  "It 
doesn't have to come to that tonight, Scully.  I've waited 
seven years and I'll wait as long as you need.  I just 
thought maybe you could stay the night, just... sleep here.  
I'll take the couch."  He grinned.  "After all, I'm quite 
used to it.  I never did figure out where that waterbed 
came from.  Frohike denies it to this day."

She shook her head immediately, ignoring everything but his 
offer.  "No, you're injured; you need a decent night's rest 
in a real bed, Mulder."

"You could join me."  He lifted his good hand into the air 
in a gesture of peace.  "I promise to behave."

She arched an eyebrow at him and his groin jerked in 
response.  "That's hard to believe coming from you, 
Mulder."

He chuckled and brushed his hand down her arm.  "I promise, 
Scully.  No hanky-panky."

She laughed.

"I'd just like to feel you beside me, that's all, welcoming 
the new year."

She looked up at him shyly and nodded.  "Okay.  I'll stay."

He smiled.  "Ready for bed?" he asked eagerly.

She laughed.  "Mulder!"

"Hey, it's a legitimate question.  It's after midnight, we 
just finished slaying some zombies, we're pooped, let's 
go."  He took her hand and began to lead her to the 
bedroom. 

She trailed behind him, giggling as she went.  "I need a 
toothbrush, and something to sleep in, and-"

"Got it, let's go!"

He tugged her into the bedroom laughing and gently closed 
the door behind her, effectively shutting out the rest of 
the world.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o