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‘Hear what?’ she asks. They are facing each other in the middle of their long driveway, hands in hands, the mid-afternoon sun beating down on them.
‘Trumpets, can’t you hear?’ he asks, looking around for the source of the sound. Scully smiles up at him.
‘Are the angels coming, Mulder?’ she asks, amused. She lets go of his hands to wrap her arms around his waist, and rests her head on his chest. His arms wind around her as he holds her closer. She fits perfectly under his chin, as always. She inhales deeply, feeling her lungs with warm air, and closes her eyes, overwhelmed with the familiarity of his scent, the feeling of belonging, of being at home, being safe. ‘Is it the end of the world?’
He looks down at her. What if it is coming? He doesn’t say that though, he doesn’t want to ruin the moment.
‘Come on, Scully. Let’s walk.'
She loosens her hold on him so that he can take her hand again, and they start walking together toward the woods at the back of the house. It is silent for a while but not uncomfortable. They are enjoying each other’s company, their intertwined fingers swinging between them. They stroll through the trees, laughing as Scully recounts what she’s been told on his adventure under the influence, and he tries to remember as much as possible to keep her laughing. He missed hearing her laugh like that, he missed seeing her this relaxed, this happy, and he missed being the reason for this happiness.
They finally reach the little pond they spent so many nights sitting by, gazing at the stars past the trees, throwing pebbles, ripples disturbing the stillness of the water and the silent night. The air is a little colder there, in the shadows of the trees, but not uncomfortably so. Mulder lets go of Scully’s hand to pick up a stone and flings it at the lake. It hits the surface with a loud splash.
‘I see your stone skipping skills haven’t improved, Mulder,’ she says as she picks up a flat stone closer to the edge and sends it spinning with a sharp snap of the wrist. It bounces eight, nine, ten times before disappearing quietly in the water. She turns back to Mulder with a proud smile on her face.
‘Show off,’ he says as he gets closer to the edge himself, picks up a flat stone as well and tries to throw it the same way she did. It bounces only three times.
‘..captain of the US Navy's daughter,’ he mumbles, pouting, and Scully’s smile turns into a grin. They skip rocks for a while, talking about general stuff: new hobbies of his (he tried pottery at one point, which wasn’t a success, but it made her laugh, so he doesn’t mind), books they read recently (some medical journals for Scully, a book on astrology for Mulder), movies they saw (Mulder watched the entire Star Wars original trilogy again last week). He asks her what she thought of The Force Awakens that just came out, and he dramatically gasps when she tells him she hasn’t seen it.
‘We need to do something about that, Scully. I thought you liked Star Wars!’ he says indignantly. She’d told him she liked princess Leia when she was young, they had watched the prequel together once they settled in the unremarkable house.
‘I haven’t found the time; I’ve been very busy at the hospital, and then we started working on the X-Files again,’ she says. ‘Besides, it’s not the same without you anyway,’ she adds in a quiet voice. Mulder drops the rock he is holding to take her hand again.
‘We’ll watch it together when it comes out on dvd then?’ It’s not really a question, but it feels like one. He’s hoping things will be come to the way they were, and it’s his way of asking her how she feels about that. She squeezes his fingers gently.
‘I’d like that,’ she simply says. He smiles a little and pulls on her arm.
‘We should start heading back, it’s getting kind of late,’ he tells her, and they start their way back through the trees.
‘How is the beast doing, by the way?’ Mulder asks at some point. She smiles.
‘Daggoo is doing fine, Mulder. He is at my neighbour’s place as we speak,’ she tells him. ‘I think he’s a little bored though, alone all day in my small apartment.’
‘You could leave him at the house, you know,’ he suggests. ‘It’s quiet around here, lots of space to run around… I could use the company. And it gives you an excuse to come and visit,’ he says with a tinge of hope. She stays silent. She would miss the little beast (as Mulder calls him) if she left him here, she could use the company too in her quiet apartment. But it’s true, the dog would be happier here, and it does give her an excuse to come by more often.
‘I’ll think about it, but it sounds like a good idea,’ she says as they reach the house, the sun low in the sky. Mulder nods, a slight smile tugging at his lips. They stop in front of her car, and Scully drops her hand from Mulder’s.
‘I guess I should go,’ she says, and she can’t help but feel a little disappointed.
‘Stay for dinner?’ he asks, trying to sound casual. He doesn’t want whatever this is to end. ‘I was thinking homemade pizza tonight,’ he tells her. She appears to consider this.
‘Do you still put pineapple on your pizza?’ she asks, one of her eyebrows raised.
‘Of course, pineapple is delicio-‘ he stops when he sees her grimace. ‘Come on! Are you afraid of the pineapple?’ she shrugs with a teasing smile. ‘I’ll sing you something if you stay,’ he offers. She grimaces again.
‘I’ve heard you sing before, Mulder. Are you sure you’re playing your cards right?’ she asks playfully. He smiles.
‘Maybe, but you’ve never heard me sing while playing the guitar,’ he adds. At her surprised look, he feels his smile widen on his face. ‘There! I got you intrigued, you have to stay now,’ he declares triumphally.
‘If you don’t put pineapple on the pizza, I’ll stay,’ she says. He gapes at her.
‘Agent Scully, are you blackmailing me?’
‘Maybe.’
It’s her turn to look smug. She knows she’s won, and a big grin breaks on her face.
‘Fine,’ he says, faking a pout. Scully is still smiling as she follows him inside.
The sun is fading away in the horizon when they start to make the pizza (sans pineapple). They spend the evening laughing, the pizza is good, even if Mulder maintains that it would be better with pineapple, they share a bottle of wine. Then Mulder takes her to the living room, she sits on the couch as he picks up his new guitar and starts to play a few chords. She doesn’t know if it’s the wine or seeing him play (and he does look good with the guitar), but Scully suddenly feels the urge to kiss him, and so she does. She doesn’t leave until the next morning.
The End.