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He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel melodically, as if a slow song was playing that only he could hear.
She watched him under the veil of the dark night sky, “Mulder, I’m going to have to ask you again, where are you taking me?”
He grinned, amused by her interrogation-like tone, but kept his eyes on the road, “You’ll see.”
“Is it an X-File?”
He shook his head, grin only getting wider, “I’m not that easy to read, Scully.”
“You insisted I come with you in the middle of the night, you won’t tell me where we’re going, and you’re being incredibly vague,” she gestured wildly, “Excuse me for noticing a pattern.”
“You’ll love it,” he beamed at her, “I promise.”
Against her better judgement, she smiled and turned her eyes to the road, shaking her head lightly.
———————————————————
Mulder pulled a cozy, plaid blanket out of the backseat and opened the car door for Scully, motioning for her to step out. She stared at him, eyes full of questions, but only sighed and took off her heels, eyeing the muddy ground.
“Close your eyes,” Mulder smirked.
“Mulder, this is ridiculous!”
She closed her eyes anyway.
His hand landed in the small of her back and led her up a hill, past a wooden national park sign. A glossy dew shone over the trimmed grass in the moonlight as Mulder stopped, laying the blanket down wordlessly.
He looked at Scully for a smidge longer than he would normally allow himself, “Lie down.”
“Mulder if this is another UFO sighting location,“ she warned.
He chuckled and laid down on the blanket, guiding her with him. She rested her hands on her stomach, her eyebrows tense.
“It’s October.”
She raised a brow, eyes still shut, “I’m aware.”
“Open your eyes.”
She sighed and opened them, immediately seeing a thick, jagged line through the dark sky with branches swiveling out. A blue blush along the middle, and millions of little white freckles, all joined to form a gooey glow in the centre.
She suddenly remembered Mulder’s passing comments in the basement. “It’s Milky Way season,” she breathed.
Mulder turned his head to her, “What do you see?”
Scully didn’t look back at him, still staring at the sky, “Dust, gas, and 100 thousand million stars, all forming a galaxy that we can see in the absence of the sun’s light.”
He smiled contentedly at her answer, “I see beauty and wonder.”
Now she turned to face him, his eyes meeting hers.
“We’re both right, aren’t we?” he said in a low, honey-like tone, “We’re both looking at the same sky, despite our differing accounts of it. We’re both riding the same train, despite our diverging destinations.”
She smiled in understanding as he continued, “Without the dust, gas, and millions of stars, there would be no beauty and wonder.”
She watched him under the veil of the dark night sky, now a little less dark, “without beauty and wonder, there would be no point of looking.”
They both lied there in comfortable silence, watching the dusty beauty and gassy wonder until morning came.
He tapped his fingers against the somewhat dry grass melodically, as if a slow song was playing that only he could hear. But this time, she heard it too.
Wish I knew what you were looking for
Might have known what you would find
And it's something quite peculiar
Something shimmering and white
Leads you here despite your destination
Under the Milky Way tonight