Title: Oh Brother
Author: RM >lebontrager@iname.com<
Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully belong to CC, 1013, and FOx. No fringe is
intended.

~~~~
Oh Brother
~~~~

He was really formal about it. I think that's what surprised me most.

He called, even though I had just seen him not more than twenty minutes
ago, buried in paperwork he promised to finish and smiling like he knew a
secret.

Fox Mulder called me about ten minutes from my apartment, asking if we
could go to dinner.

It couldn't hurt anything; I was surprised; he was so hopeful sounding; I
secretly wondered.

So I said yes.
~~~~

I knew he was there before I went to the door, dressed in these dark green
pants that hung low on his hips and a black T-shirt that made him look
more muscular than he actually was.

But I let him have his pep-talk time, and gave myself a lookover before
walking into the living room.

My grey crushed velour skirt was hip-hugging and flowing down to brush my
ankles, and my shirt was a soft soft blue, like the sky before a storm,
almost grey.

I brushed back my hair again, annoyed that how I looked was so important
when it was only Mulder, but feeling I owed it to him.

He was the one with the nerve to ask.

I laced up my ribbon-for-straps sandals, and checked my makeup again,
pursing my lips to even out the lipstick.

I was going nuts for him.

Crazy, it was only Mulder.

When I walked into the living room, my steps jarred him from his reverie
and he finally knocked on the door, hesitant and soft.

It made me smile, so that when I opened my door, his surprise was evident,
his skepticism out full force.

"What's so funny?" he said, frowning.

I shrugged. First date. . .date?. . .don't make him even more nervous.

"You look. . .look really good, Scully."

I smiled again, wishing maybe he said that more often, maybe I'd feel a
bit less heady right now.

"So do you, Mulder. Big date?"

His face froze and he quickly glanced to his shoes; I could feel his fear
of rejection from every pore of my skin, soaking up his emotions like oil.

"Mulder," I started, then sighed. "Where are we going?"

"The Crab Shack. . .you *do* like seafood, right?"

I smiled again at his sudden panic, placing my hand to his upper arm.

When did I get so flirty with Mulder, so reassuring, like he was my pet?

"Love it. No problem."

He nodded and opened the door, then escorted me out, his hand to the small
of my back.
~~~~

The car ride was strange, strange for us becuase we can always enjoy
silences.

The Crab Shack was large and loud when we got there, filled to the roof
with teenagers waiting around for their friends to get off work, and their
friends getting annoyed because of all the extra work it meant they had to
do.

We were led to a table in the back, and it made me wonder if Mulder had
set that up. He could be smooth when he wanted to.

We waited for the menus, talking, or not talking, his voice cracking at
times, making me want to shake my head, laugh at him. His nervousness was
making me at ease.

"Mulder, it's just me."

He glanced up at that, his face betraying something akin to shock,
something like bewilderment.

As if he had forgotten.

Slowly, he nodded. 

"Scully."

I raised my eyebrow, then shook my head.

It went smoother from there.
~~~~

At my apartment, around three in the morning, Mulder finally fell asleep.

His head was pillowed in my lap and his eyelids brushed my stomach. I
watched him sleep, glad he felt so content, laughing at ourselves.

So formal, all evening, then as soon as we came back here, we shed that
formality, that propriety, and just watched movies and ate popcorn.

He joked about his aloofness, and I laughed about my own makeup
tornado, and we messed around playing Monopoly until about midnight.

Then we crashed, slipping into each other's arms, forgetting all the
weirdness earlier.

Just as he slipped off into sleep, his lips mumbled something that I
barely caught.

"I love you, Scully."

Oh brother.
~~~~

end
adios
RM