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He wouldn’t stop yawning.
She’d seen the bags under his eyes—in hindsight she knew she shouldn’t have let him drive, she should’ve insisted on doing it herself—and she knew that he’d struggled with his sleep for far longer than she’d known him. But here they were, and she was badly wishing that she had insisted on taking the keys and driving them herself.
The only real sounds in the car were Mulder’s yawns, and she hated to admit it but she missed the sharp split of sunflower seeds between his teeth and their usual banter.
He yawned again and she could see his eyelids drooping slightly. She glanced at the road before looking back at him, “Mulder, pull over at the next stop.”
“You need the bathroom or something?” He glanced at her, stifling a yawn once again.
“Just pull over. Let me drive for a while.” She looked at him, taking one of his sunflower seeds and crunching it quietly.
“Scully, I’m fine—” He started, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
“No, pull over, before you drop off in the middle of the road,” She insisted, “It’s not safe and I can drive, just pull over.”
Mulder looked like he wanted to protest for just a moment, before yawning loudly, unintentionally, and nodding. “I’ll pull over at the next gas station.”
He did as he said, although she had to point out the turn off and remind him to use the indicator—he was really out of it.
“When was the last time you slept?” Scully asked as they got out of the car to switch, making a mental note of how he was leaning almost dependently on the car.
“What do you mean? I slept last night,” He shrugged a little, although the action itself was quite slow and sluggish. He smiled a little, hoping to make the situation seem less serious as he walked past her.
“Let me rephrase,” She said, glancing at him with her brows furrowed slightly, “When was the last time you slept more than four hours?”
The silent pause and him averting his eyes as they both got back in the car was all the response she needed.
“I sleep enough,” He said, after what seemed like an eternity as she got the car started again.
“Clearly not,” She replied, glancing at him as they set off. She’d had no idea his sleeping troubles were this bad. There was the guilty feeling burrowing into her chest as she thought about him spending sleepless nights alone at his apartment, probably on his couch. He called her sometimes—not every time he couldn’t sleep she was sure, but sometimes—they would speak for a while, before one of them fell asleep—usually her first, but occasionally she would try to stay up and wait for him, just to be sure he slept.
“I get by Scully, you know that. I’m fine, really,” He shifted as the car started, attempting to get comfortable and moving the seat, which was usually hers, back a bit to accommodate for his longer legs. A soft yawn slipped from his lips unintentionally and he leaned his head against the window.
She softened a little, seeing him getting comfortable and relaxing was a little reassuring. Scully liked seeing these moments—although she would never admit it to him, or anyone—she saw it as a kind of privileged information, she knew she was one of few people who ever saw Mulder like this. It was nice to see him relax, he looked less haunted than usual.
“Get some rest Mulder,” She reached over and rubbed his shoulder briefly, before grabbing another sunflower seed from the cupholder and crunching on it quietly.
He thought for a minute, usually one to protest when told to take care of himself, before nodding. “Wake me up when we get close, okay? We have work to do.” He said quietly, loosening his tie and closing his eyes.
“Will do,” She said, even though she knew she wouldn’t wake him until the last possible moment.
And there once again a silence fell upon them until snores came from Mulder’s direction and she smiled to herself, snacking on his sunflower seeds as he slept. She kept an eye on the road, glancing at him occasionally and smiling to herself. The only sounds in the car were the sounds of sunflower seeds splitting between her teeth and snores coming from Mulder, with the occasional small mumble of something unintelligible.
It was peaceful like that for a while, until she saw they were coming up on the town where they were intending to investigate. She glanced at her watch—they weren’t expected by the sheriff until morning—she should wake him up and turn off at the nearest motel. She should do that.
She, instead, decided to keep circling around, glancing over at her fast asleep partner. He could use the rest for a little longer, and she wasn’t going to be the one to disturb that. He needed some decent sleep.
They drove around for a short while longer, until it grew darker and she reached over, carefully rubbing his shoulder. She kept her voice fairly soft as she said, “Hey Mulder, we’re almost at the motel.”
He jumped a little and rubbed his eyes, sitting up straighter in his seat.
“Morning,” She chuckled as he stretched.
His hair was all stuck up from where he slept against the window, a red mark on his cheek. He still had bags under his eyes, his eyes still sleepy looking as the sunset lit up the side of his face, highlighting his blue-green eyes and making his hair shine slightly.
He looked perfect.
She never wanted the moment to end.
She parked up at the motel and stretched a little, fairly tired herself now. “You want to get a pizza and watch whatever movie we can find on the motel tv, Scully?” He looked at her, rubbing his eyes a little.
“Yeah, that sounds good.” Scully smiled and they got out of the car together, going to the motel together, hand in hand.