Chapter Text
“You smell, Scully.”
Mulder’s words rang clearly in her head, though it had been several hours since cleanup after the dung factory explosion. Dana Scully ran a towel one last time through her damp auburn hair, perhaps a little rougher than she intended.
She sighed bleakly. “I’m sorry I was rough on you,” she called out into the dim hallway of her cottage, “And…I’m sorry I was rough on Dr. Bamb–on Dr. Berenbaum.” Of course, Mulder wasn’t there to hear it, and of course, she wouldn’t admit it ever again, but there it was.
Scully crossed the hallway into the dining room and plopped into one of the oaken chairs. She pinched her nose. Looked up at the clock. Just around noon. Her stomach grumbled on cue, having consumed nothing since last night’s dinner before Mulder had called her. She was always being called by Mulder. Scully go to this abandoned warehouse. Scully find this contact. Scully check that place out. All of which inevitably led to her being in dire need of Mulder’s rescue.
And, inevitably, he’d come just in time.
To be completely honest, she didn’t feel like eating, really. Her day off yesterday had been dissatisfactory, having called Mulder frequently for updates on the cockroach case. With every call, he grew more dismissive. He didn’t need her. He didn’t want to talk to her. “ Whatever ,” had been the end of their last call.
Shaking her head, she left the dining room and made a beeline for the front door. Scully shoved on her running shoes and opened the front door. The warm spring air rolled into the house. A jog would bring her back to her senses. Mulder was occupying her thoughts far too much. She was a grown woman, and needn’t be concerned with her partner’s apparent lack of friendship, not to mention his romantic interests.
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“I’ve been too isolated…I need some space away from the X Files…Yes, just a few weeks on a different assignment…That’s right. Thank you. Likewise. Goodbye.”
Scully hung up the pay phone in the hall and walked back downstairs to X Files headquarters. Mulder refused to even spare her a glance from his perch on the chair, aiming sunflower shells at the I Want To Believe poster that decorated their shared desk space. She knelt down to pick up a dropped sunflower seed and pop it in her mouth, only to feel his eyes on her. So he heard. She should have expected her partner’s borderline-paranoid curiosities would drive him to eavesdrop on her conversation. When she looked up at him, Mulder’s eyes met Scully’s with such intensity that she couldn’t quite look away without the sharp guilt beginning to coat her stomach.
“Scully? What’s this about?”
She feigned normalcy. Really, it was quite normal for partners to require time away from each other. In fact, it was almost unnatural how long they’d remained with each other without taking a hiatus up until this point.
“Oh, nothing to worry about, Mulder.” She cracked open the sunflower seed in her hand.
He raised an eyebrow. “You just had a day off. Now you want three weeks.”
Irritation burned in her stomach. Why should she have to be guilted like this?
“I’m still working . Just…not on the X Files. For two weeks.” She rolled her eyes at his narrowed expression. “It’s not a big deal.”
Her partner stood up to his full six feet, dwarfing Scully’s five feet. “You mean you’re not working with me .” Sharp, analytical hazel eyes searched her blue ones.
“Yes…” She drew out the last consonant, staring him down. “That could be it, or…I just need some space, Mulder. Okay?”
He backed off, but only just. “Of course. Yeah. That’s fine. I don’t know, you seemed kind of off ever since the roach case, so…”
Flaring up at his suggestion, Scully bit back a retort about a certain girl named after a Disney character, and inhaled. “I think you misread me.”
“Hmm,” is all Mulder replied. He broke their eye contact, waving his hand dismissively at her. “Go.”
Like I needed your permission.
“You’ll miss a lot of good sightings, though.”
She scoffed. “I’ll pass. See you around, Mulder.”
“Hm,” again. Her partner turned back to his game with the sunflower seeds, as if the conversation had never happened.
But, why should his reaction matter?
Scully inwardly groaned. She was appalled. These weren’t the thoughts of a rational mind. She tapped her toe restlessly against the concrete floor, and then left the basement. Somehow, Scully felt more dissatisfied than ever as the space between her and Mulder grew by the second.