| Title: Battle of the Hearts Author: DM E-Mail: [email protected] Distribution: Please ask� I�ll most likely say yes. Spoiler Warning: Nothing, nada, zip. Rating: G Classification: S R- fluff Key Words: Mulder/Scully romance Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. They belong to CC, 1013 Productions and 20th Century FOX� I just borrowed 'em. Summary: Sometimes a heart speaks for itself. (Oh, just read it!) Notes: This is a silly and mindless piece of fic. In no way does it represent my best work, but the concept has been swimming around my brain for a couple weeks now. If this story works at all for you, its due to the helpful suggestions and corrections of my wonderful beta, Carol! Thank you so much! The rest of my stories may all be found at my website: http://www.geocities.com/dmldr42 Thanks for reading! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX February 14, Valentines Day �Sorry I�m late, Mulder. . . car wouldn�t start. I, uh, had to call a cab.� As she spoke, Special Agent Dana Scully took off her heavy coat and headed for the coffee machine. �Did the lab send down the results from yesterday?� Mulder remained quiet, just watching as she went through her morning ritual. When Scully realized he wasn�t answering her, she stopped and gave him her best puzzled look. �Mulder?� In reply, Mulder rose from his desk. With an amused grin on his face he slowly approached her; she could tell that he held something small in his hand. When he raised a clenched fist to offer her what his fingers concealed, she held back, hesitant to accept it. �What?� she said as she stared at his outstretched hand. He stood still, not saying a word. �I know I�m going to regret this.� She held her hand out and into it he dropped a small candy heart. It was chalky white with pink lettering. �Ask me,� it read. �Ask you what, Mulder?� A glimmer lit his hazel eyes as he reached in his pocket and handed Scully her own box of multi-colored conversation hearts. She continued to stare at him, and then slowly she began to understand. �I get it, it�s my turn now, right?� Mulder sat down at his desk and casually put his feet up. He looked over at her and waited. �Don�t we have work to do?� Nothing. . . �All right, Mulder, but then we start working on that report *you* promised Skinner, okay?� All Mulder did was nod his head. Scully opened the box and dumped the contents into a clean coffee mug. At least she hoped it was clean; it belonged to Mulder. She felt a knot form in her stomach as she eyed the pastel colored hearts. Since when was orange a romantic color? She could understand pink and purple� but orange? She fingered through them. This really was stupid when she thought about it; what was the point of playing this game? But, if it would return Mulder�s focus back to business, she�d play along. Finally she came across a heart she felt safe handing to Mulder, one that he�d have a hard time twisting into something lewd. He had a knack for doing that. She leaned across his desk and laid the yellow heart down next to a forgotten sunflower seed. �You rule,� it read. �Scully, even *you* can do better than that!� �He speaks; it�s a miracle!� �Come on, Scully. . . give a little get a little. I�ll go again.� He handed her another heart. This time it was pink with red lettering. �Kiss me�. Somewhat shocked, she dug through her pile of candy and found the perfect answer. �Get real�. Mulder grinned from ear to ear and tried again. �Kiss me�. �No way.� She was pleased with how quickly she had found an appropriate heart to answer his plea. �Just one.� He wasn�t about to let this drop. Scully looked through the rest of her hearts and noticed they were all mushy, romantic sayings. . . it looked as though each box was only allowed a few negative hearts. As long as she kept up her resistance, she could win this one. Dana Scully wasn�t about to back down, not yet. �Dare ya�. Mulder gulped, choking on the sugary candy that was making its way down his throat. He wasn�t expecting that. His fingers trembled slightly as he made a search for his answer. He couldn�t find one that simply said, �ok�, so he settled on �Be true�, hoping she would understand his question. Without a hint of nervousness she quickly tossed over her next response. It landed on his head. �Be good�. With a devilish smile Mulder picked up his answer heart and walked around the desk and came to stand face to face with Scully. He held up a small faded white heart with the words �I will� boldly written on its surface. A little shaken and excited about what most likely would come next, Scully went in search of something else to say. A smile spread across her lips as she found an overlooked heart in her pile. �Got cha�. �Oh! Scully! You wound me!� �Paper work, Mulder. Skinner is expecting the report on his desk by noon. Give a little get a little, remember?� �Yeah, but I didn�t get *any*!� �Paper work.� XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 4 hours later. . . Scully sat in a chair opposite Mulder. He had his back to her and was concentrating on typing an e-mail to someone. . . she wasn�t paying much attention. Things had been going extremely well between them lately. This morning�s game was only a small example of how much fun their relationship, er� friendship had become. More often than not they would end up at one of their apartments a couple times a week to just relax and be together. Neither of them had made a conscious decision to do so, it just happened naturally and they didn�t question why. However, earlier when Mulder was standing so close with that expectant look in his eyes, she realized that their friendship had taken on more intimate undertones. No, they hadn�t acted on their emotions yet, but something told her that if she had allowed the game to continue any longer that morning, a line most surely would have been crossed. Not that she didn�t welcome the idea. . . Mulder was her best friend. In all honesty, she couldn�t see herself with another man. So what was it that kept them from making that final step? An idea entered her mind. Smiling, she reached for the forgotten mug of hearts she had left on Mulder�s desk that morning. Lying on top was the one she had hoped to find. Silently she rose and walked over to Mulder�s side. �I�m going to get a cup of coffee, want any?� �Mmm. . . thanks.� She walked out of the office, heart in hand, and made her way to the coffee machine. She grabbed Mulder�s green alien mug and carefully placed the small heart face up on the bottom. In another mug, she poured herself a cup of de-caf. Scully rounded the corner and walked back through the doorway smiling all the way. As she approached Mulder she held her breath knowing that once she started this, she better be willing to finish it. She knew that Mulder would see to it. �Here you go, Mulder.� �Thanks, just set it down there, I�ll drink it in a sec.� �Better hurry or it�ll get cold.� �Kay�� Scully walked back to her chair and continued watching him, waiting for him to attempt to take a sip. Minutes rolled by, but to her it seemed like hours. With her luck, he had probably forgotten she brought him coffee at all. She watched as his hand finally reached over to grab the mug. She held her breath as he attempted to drink and read at the same time. She watched in amusement as he brought the cup to his lips and tilted it, first one way and then the other, searching for the liquid he assumed would be inside. Instead he was hit in the nose by a tiny, hard object. It bounced back into the mug. Mulder turned to look at his partner who was trying hard to maintain a straight face. He reached his fingers into the mug and drew out the candy heart. This one was yellow, but it wasn�t the color that had Mulder beaming. He read it over again just to be sure� �One kiss�. When he looked back up, Scully wasn�t in her chair; she was standing next to him smiling. �Just one?� He asked. �Well, that depends�� �On what?� �On this.� She leaned down and captured his lips with her own. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX End |