From: MD1016 Date: 04 May 2000 11:49:08 GMT Subject: New: Weird In A Good Way by MD1016 Gossamer: SR Rated: PG-13 Spoilers: 6th Season Keywords: none Summary: Sequel to Maybe Yes Weird In A Good Way By MD1016 The bathroom was all mist and warmth when she stepped out of the shower. She cracked the door to let the heat vent, and she heard the shrill call of her cell phone. Grabbing the towel from the back of the toilet, Scully hurried to the nightstand and flipped her phone open. "Scully." "Hey, G-woman. How's the packing coming?" "Haven't started yet." "You're slipping," he said good-naturedly. "There was a time when you'd be packed, dressed, and ready to go by now." "Mulder, the flight's not until seven tomorrow morning." He chuckled. "Which is why I've rented Babes in Boyland. Wanna join me and this bowl of hot buttered popcorn?" "You're asking if I want to watch a porn movie with you?" "Well...I also rented that Harrison Ford flick, but you wouldn't be interested in that." Scully smiled. "I'll be over in ten." She tossed the phone on the bed and turned to her open suitcase. She had planned to slip into her pj's, but now... Everything was up in the air. It had been six days since she and Mulder had taken that jog together, six days of a strange tension that she couldn't describe and didn't want to end. She was more aware of his casual touches, the glances she wasn't supposed to notice, the banter that had now taken on a deeper, more dangerous context. But in that week, they'd played it cool, focused on the work and solved the case. What does one wear to the adjoining motel room to watch a movie with one's partner who may, or may not be getting ready to say Yes, with a capital Y? Certainly not shapeless pajamas. It was after eleven, though, and putting on a suit seemed over-kill, and Scully had long ago gotten out of the habit of packing jeans and sweatshirts when away on a case. Which left her with the lavender pj's. "Stop thinking about this," she chastised under her breath. She was over analyzing. There was no way Mulder was worrying about what he was wearing, so, neither would she. When she knocked on his door, hair still damp, feet bare, she held her breath. It was ridiculous to be nervous, she tried to tell herself. This was Mulder. The man she'd already spent nearly every day of the last seven years with. And this wasn't a date, it was two friends watching a movie together during some much deserved down time. She'd watched movies with him before, it was no big deal. Though, for the life of her, she couldn't think of a single title. "Hey!" Mulder opened the door wide for her. He'd changed out of his suit, too, and wore a tight white t-shirt and grey sweats. "You're just in time for the Feature Presentation." "I bet I am," she quipped, and walked in past him. An enormous bucket of popcorn sat in the middle of the bed. "Where'd you get the popcorn?" "The movie house next to the video store." He plopped down on his stomach on the far side of the bed and handed her a small bottle of water. She took his lead and stretched out beside him just as John Williams' overture for Raiders of the Lost Ark began to play out on the TV. Scully didn't know how long it had been since she fell asleep, but long enough for the TV to be nothing but static, and Mulder to be softly snoring next to her. At some point he'd thrown a blanket over the two of them. He still had the clicker in his hand, so Scully gingerly slipped it from his fingers and turned the TV off. The room went dark. It was weird lying with her head at the foot of the bed, on top of a stiff comforter with her partner sound asleep just inches away. But not weird enough for her to do anything about it, apparently, because she placed the remote on the floor by the bed and then burrowed back beneath the scratchy cover. She was tired, they both were, and the bed, with its occupant, was too pleasant to leave. So, she closed her eyes and relished the ease of the moment. For the first time in a very long time, Scully felt content. She woke that way, too. It was early when the alarm went off; the room was still dark and the highway outside wasn't yet harboring the sounds of the morning commute. The bed shifted as Mulder sat up to repeatedly hit the clock until he beat it into submission. The he flopped back down and burrowed between Scully's side and the mattress. At four in the morning, Mulder didn't seem to worry about breaching personal space. Or maybe this was his way of slowly closing the gap between them, like the movie the night before. Regardless, the warmth of him pressed up against her back was enough to send a thrill of excitement spiraling through her belly. She tried to swallow it down. "Mulder. We have to catch a 7 a.m. flight." He groaned, and his head came out from the crevice of her shoulder and settled at the bare nape of her neck His breath was hot and moist as he mumbled, "We'll get a later flight." She was about to coax him awake again when his arm snaked around her middle and pulled her back until her ass pressed into his torso. He yawned and then relaxed heavily against her, seemingly oblivious to the storm of emotions and physical responses he'd awakened in her. Mulder was drifting off to sleep again, and she was melting from the inside. The flat of his hand rested limply across her lower belly. Scully slowly ran her fingers down his bare arm and over his wrist until they rested over his. He responded with a slight pressure of his own, pressing his palm into the very spot on her stomach that tingled with anticipation. His hand began to caress under hers, moving slowly, languidly, creating warmth wherever he touched. She sighed through the pleasure, needing to keep her arousal at bay. She knew the man touching her, and while she often didn't understand why he did what he did, at that moment she knew all too well that he was only testing the waters. Not that she minded the delicious, tingly tendrils that wove through her abdomen. Or the scarcest touch of his lips on the back of her neck. "If we get a later flight we'll miss the debriefing." It was embarrassing how breathy and high-pitched her voice was. "You don't want to miss the debriefing, do you?" His hand slowed, and then smoothed a hot path to her hip before it stopped. "No," he said in a low, sleepy gravel. "Skinner's got a new case for us." "What is it?" She could still feel him, solid and warm, pressed against her back, but she already missed his roaming hand. "Out of town?" "Maine Missing elderly." "Hmm. That's new." "Yeah." He sighed and pulled away from her. Scully rolled to her back and watched his dark form as he sat up and scratched the back of his head. "We should leave in twenty minutes. Will you be ready?" "Ready and waiting." The shadows in the room hid his expression from her, but the sudden stillness of his form told her he'd caught her double entendre. The moments of silence afterwards worried her. She sat up and reached for him, needing to break the tension, but when she touched his arm she didn't know what to say. "Mulder " "I'm not good with down hill." He chuckled painfully. "You know me, Scully, always careening out of control." "Then we'll take it slow." "Slow is good." His fingers laced through hers. "There are things you have to understand that I've been here before -" "So have I." She squeezed his hand. "But this time will be different. This time it's for real." "Did you mean it when you said I meant everything to you? Or was that maybe really a maybe?" She wanted to tell him the truth, wanted to put his fears to rest, but Scully couldn't bring herself to lower any more protective walls while he continued to waffle. The promise of a relationship was too new, and the memory of heartbreak far too fresh. The darkness helped only so much. "Scully ?" "I'm not very good with downhill, either. Let's take it slow." He snorted in quiet amusement. "I can't believe I'm so..." "Scared? I know. It's weird." "But weird in a good way." "Very good," she assured him. He tugged her hand to pull her closer. "Come here," he said playfully. She let him pull her into his arms. They held each other in the dark for a while, Scully with her head on his shoulder, and his cheek against hers, until the shrill of the alarm clock broke the tender moment and they were forced to deal with the reality of the day Neither of them turned on a lamp until they were safely back in their separate rooms, but they left the door between them slightly ajar. End. http://members.aol.com/msrsmut/MD1016.html