Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Maybe it’s the humidity. The heavy heat makes it difficult to think of anything other than removing her suit jacket and shirt, of the sweat slowly trickling down between her breasts.  Her core temperature is enjoying highs not seen before Leonard Betts. Maybe it’s the work: the way her partner always chooses the unconventional path, or the novelty of hearing ‘this is your Captain speaking’ when she had thought the next journey she’d make would be something entirely different.

Either way, she finds herself standing in Mulder’s motel room opening a mini bottle of wine while he talks. And talks.  

‘The answer is none,’ he says, answering his own rhetorical question. ‘Not one of the over 4,000 species native to North America will attack the strongest when the weak is vulnerable.’

She purses her lips and nods before taking a sip of wine. A gulp, really. His shirt is unbuttoned, his tie loosened, and she can see the faint shadow of a pectoral muscle. Swallowing the wine, she takes off her jacket and high heels, but his bright eyes are focussed on external mysteries.

‘I think what we’re dealing with here is no ordinary predator. It’s more than what the local authorities realize. The scenario described by that boy sound to me like a primitive culling technique.’ Mouth open, she steps towards him ‘Those woods are as old as anything in the south and there’s 800 square miles of them. There’s no telling what’s –‘

She tilts his chin up towards her and kisses him. His lips are slack and surprised. He tastes of concentration. She pulls back, and he blinks.

‘Sorry,’ she says, ‘I just thought you’d never stop talking.’

‘I … uh… is this… are we doing this now?’

‘Well, I don’t know,’ Scully replies, suddenly shy, and takes another gulp of wine. ‘What were you saying before? About the woods?’

‘I wasn’t … it was nothing important, nothing that we need to focus on tonight…’ Mulder leans towards her. ‘Are you … shall we do that again?’

‘What, this?’ she asks coquettishly before kissing him again, so clearly delighted with herself. ‘Yes, I think so. I’d quite like that, actually. I’d like that a lot.’

Chapter Text

He enters her, and years of furtive glances and licked lips crystallise into something weighty and permanent. Her cry is guttural as he reaches deep within her. He seeks to know every part of her.

She throbs around him and arches her hips back. He moves faster and faster until she shudders, head spinning into freefall. She buckles onto her elbows. It’s different. It feels like the moon is raining silver beams directly onto her back.

‘Are you ok?’ he asks gently, afterwards. His fingertips graze her shoulder blades. ‘You’re sweaty. Was it too much?’

‘It’s never happened like that before,’ she pants, still recovering. ‘It’s doesn’t usually happen that way.’

‘There are so many things which never happened to me before you,’ he murmurs, kissing the taut skin over her ribs. ‘I’m so glad I could give you this.’