Work Text:
Any second now the world is going to end. That’s the only explanation for how this day has been going. Or not been going, rather. Mulder didn’t oversleep, he didn’t spill coffee on himself or anyone else, he didn’t get stuck in an elevator, run into people he didn’t want to see, wasn’t reprimanded by Skinner, Kersh, or anyone else. There was no report he forgot to write and hand in, no case taking them out of the office, or perpetrators trying to kill them. He went to work, got the job done, and then went home. And that’s it. That is all that has happened today: nothing. Which is why he’s waiting, now. Clearly something is amiss. Days like these don’t happen to him.
“Scully, it’s me.” If anyone can make sense of this, it’s her.
“Mulder, is everything all right?” Immediately she sounds worried, probably thinking he hurt himself or wants her to meet him for some inane reason.
“Yes, everything is all right,” he says. “Or maybe not. That’s why I called you. Did today seem strange to you?”
“Strange? In what way?”
“Nothing happened,” he says.
“Did you want anything to happen?” Scully asks him, amusement slipping into her voice. There’s rustling on the other end of the line and he imagines her getting comfortable on her couch. He wonders what she’s wearing, if she’s already in her pajamas, maybe noshing on something sweet while reading, or watching TV. He’s so lost in his daydream about Scully that he almost forgets that he’s on the phone with her.
“No, I-… it was just so, so…” He can’t find the right word for what today has been.
“Normal?” Scully suggests.
“Too normal.”
“What does that even mean?” She asks him and he can hear her stifle a chuckle. He wants to hear her chuckle, he finds. Maybe the day has been normal – downright boring even – but talking to Scully, whether on the phone or in person is anything but. No matter how much they talk, it’s always a privilege. Hearing her voice in his ear, knowing she listens to him, and cares about him, is special. That’s not normal, not ordinary at all. Not to him, anyway.
“I don’t know,” he admits sheepishly. “I just thought it was weird.”
“Is that why you called me?”
“I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” Gone is his daydream about Scully sitting on the couch, eating ice cream, half waiting for a call from him. She might be getting ready for a date. Or the date is already in her apartment. Jealousy rears its ugly head, but Mulder shoves it down again, waiting for her reply.
“Hmm, I was going to start a movie.”
“By yourself?”
“Am I not allowed to watch a movie by myself?”
“Of course you are,” he says, trying not to sound too joyful about her being all alone. “What movie are you watching?” He asks, picking up his own remote control. “Maybe we can watch together.” The silence on Scully’s end is loud and Mulder is about to apologize when she does speak.
“You want to come over?” She asks him.
“I-” That hadn’t even occurred to him. All he thought was that they could stay on the phone and watch the movie together that way. “I-”
“Do you? I can put the ice cream back in the freezer so it won’t be melted when you get here.”
“I- you wouldn’t mind me coming over?”
“No,” she says and to his ears, she sounds almost shy. “Actually I think I’d really like that. We haven’t watched a movie together in a while.” The last time was on a case, forced to share a room together, and Mulder unable to sleep. They left the TV on all night and Scully fell asleep during The Maltese Falcon. Mulder had been up for a few more hours, torn between watching the TV screen and his sleeping partner.
“I’d love to come over. You sure you’re okay with that? We have work tomorrow.” But he’s already up from his couch, the phone tucked between his ear and his shoulder.
“Bring your overnight bag, just in case.”
He stops dead in his tracks. Is Scully propositioning him? And here he thought this day was eerily normal. There’s nothing normal about any of this after all. Maybe the world really is ending. Any second now she’s going to admit all of this was a joke, and that no, she doesn’t want to watch a movie with him. Except his Scully isn’t cruel. She doesn’t lie to him. She doesn’t use and abuse him.
“Mulder? Are you still there?”
“I am,” he says, with a smile. “Just thinking about what I’m going to wear tomorrow.”
“Don’t think too long about it,” she says. “See you in half an hour?” Those are the most beautiful words in the world, Mulder decides.
“See you in half an hour,” he confirms. They hang up the phone without saying goodbye, knowing they will see each other. Soon. Mulder tries to be quick and practical about it. Pack a suit, a toothbrush and… a t-shirt to sleep in? Scully said not to think too long about it. He throws in his yellow pajama pants and an old t-shirt. That will have to do. It’s all just in case. Isn’t it?
Just in case, he feeds his fish and switches off all the lights. He picks up his overnight bag, realizing he’s grinning. What an ordinary day this has been. But the night? That has the potential to be out of this world.