Chapter Text
She’s just settled herself down on the couch, her thick robe swallowing her bony frame and nausea tugging at her throat, when he storms in, ever representative of a man on a mission. Before she can even raise her eyebrows in query, he strides over to her.
“Shut your eyes Scully and hold out your hands!” He places a Tupperware container into her outstretched palms. She opens her eyes as the weight settles in her grip, unimpressed at the sight before her.
“Brownies, Mulder? You shouldn’t have.”
“Ah-uh Scully! They’re Langly’s special brownies”
“Pot brownies? You do realise we’re government officials right?”
“It’s medicinal, Scully,” he says with a wiggle of his eyebrows, “honestly Skinner seems like he partakes anyway.” He can’t help the grin that pulls at his lips when he sees the familiar roll of her eyes, a sight he’s missed sorely as of lately. It fades quickly when he sees the hesitation forming in her face. In a soft whisper she tells him, “I don’t think I can eat it, today hasn’t been a good one.”
“I suppose I should have given you the other container first, sorry. The one you’re holding is meant to be for me.” It’s then that she notices he’s holding another container, filled to the brim with a bright green jelly. It hits her out of nowhere sometimes, in moments like these, just how painstakingly kind he can be at times. How he always knows what she needs, she’ll never know. But he was right, of course he was, jelly would be perfect on her stomach right now.
With a sigh, she opens the box and passes off one to Mulder.
“Right well, if I’m doing this then so are you.”
“Ah scully, you know me so well,” he says as he shoves the slice into his mouth. She can’t help her tongue as it darts out to wet her cracked lips at the sight of his jaw clenching and chewing.
“Let me go get you a spoon,” he says with his mouth full as he plods off towards the kitchen.
An hour later, they’re sprawled out on the couch together, limbs entwined from head to toe. Scully’s head is tipped back onto the arm of the couch, a soft smile playing on her lips as she traces constellations onto Mulder’s back.
“When’s the last time you got high, Scully?” he asks, his face tucked into her neck.
“Hmm.. must have been med school I think. It was always a fun way to wind down after labs. Plus I had to keep up my rebellious appearance somehow. Make Missy proud and all. What about you?” A blush colours his cheeks as he mumbles something unintelligible into her dry skin. Her hand sweeps up and down his back, much akin to a mother soothing her babe.
“When you were abducted,” he says before nuzzling back in, embarrassed to look up. Her hand stills on his back as a soft noise of realisation passes through her lips. His fingers begin to fiddle with the soft fabric of her robe as he battles with the embarrassment of his admission. Ignoring the burn of tears behind her eyelids, she bends her head to press a soft kiss to his head.
A small hand tugs at his hair, pulling his face from the steady thrum of her neck pulse. The hand slips under his chin, forcing him to lock eyes with her. The soft sounds of the Cranberries fade into the background as the feel of her fingers on his skin take control of his senses.
“Mulder, when I’m gone -” Mulder pushes himself off her chest, words of protest and hurt brimming his lips.
“Listen to me,” she says, pulling him back into her arms, heart against heart, “when I’m gone, you need to look in on my mum. She’s all alone here Mulder. I’m all she has in this city. Promise me.”
Mulder promises, the pressure of lying to her pushing against his heart. He’d agree to anything she says though, if it were to ease her burden even in the slightest. For he knows full well that he’ll never be able to look her mother in the eyes again, for he will have killed both of her daughters.