Defying Gravity

Scully's apartment 8:00 am

< Ahhh. > She sighed as she woke up from her restful sleep, it felt good to be able to sleep in. As she heard a clanking sound from the other end of her apartment she thought < Damn, the heater must be broken. I'll have to call the landlord. > As she walked down the hall she completely forgot that Mulder was staying with her, that is until she walked in to the bathroom. < What the hell hapened in here?! > she thought as she looked around the room.

Hideous, revolting, eye-jarring orange towels hung beside her dusty rose ones. Her creams and lotions had been shoved to the other side of the counter to accomedate a mess-literaly-of sheving gear. In the dish beside her pink bar of soap was a greasy-looking bar of pumice soap. Mulder didn't use shaving cream she dicovered. Beside a pink-flowered can of her own cream was an old shaving mug and brush, the mug must have had ten years worth of drips on the sides. The shower curtain,which she had always kept drawn to prevent mildew, was now pushed to one side of the enclosure and a towel hung over the side of the tub. Her toothpaste had been used and squeezed from the top and the cap left off, and not until she sat down did she realize that the toilet seat had been left up. Somehow she managed not to loose her temper. She could be a real terror in the morning. She straightened the bathroom, somewhat and headed down the hall to the kitchen to make breakfast.

As she entered the kitchen, she was assulted by the manly presence that enlivened her kitchen and not until she saw what he was doing that she realized that the heater was not broken, but Mulder was making scrambled eggs on her stove. He did not deter from his cooking to aknowledge her presence, so she assumed she did not notice her. This gave her the oppurtunity to study him. Clad in only the skimpiest jogging suit she had ever seen, Mulder went after the eggs with a vengence. His hair, rummpled by the morning wind and he had not yet shaven. She walked to the coffemaker and poured herself and Mulder a cup, which she set on the table and sat back down. He then turned to her.

"Thanks the smell of it has been driving me crazy but I wanted to wait for you." he said and without so much as a by-your-leave he downed the coffe in one gulp and went to the machine to get another cup.

"You knew I was here?" The realization made her heart pound. To think that he had known she was staring at him like a...groupie! "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because *you* didn't," his eyes twinkled with amusement, "I know your morning temperment, Scully, If you want to be quiet, I'm not gong to start talking."

So he'd known she was watching, gawking like any teenager. She tried to stand up to keep Mulder from seeing just how flustered she was. She had always prided herself that she could keep her cool in the most intimidating situations, but now it all seemed to go to hell.

In the next moment his hand settled on her shoulder. Her heart started going at break-neck speed when she watched his other hand go up to her other shoulder. His hand moved gently and lightly over the satin of her pajamas, one of his fingers found her jaw and neckline, the touch was so fleeting that she had to concentrate to feel the movement of his fingers. Slowly, with a gentle pressure he tilted her face to his. Only inches seperated them as he bent over her.

"You're lovely, Scully," he said in a husky whisper. "Even first thing in the morning, and that is no small feat."

She felt hynotized, drugged as she looked into his green eyes. Strange ribbons of sensation seemed to run from his fingertips to the rest of her body and she wanted more, oh so much more. Seeking the warmth he offered she leaned into his hand.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he whispered, and covered her mouth with his. His last rational thought was that no healthy male could have restsited the way her eyes studied him, the passion and heat that surged within him and the way she leaned into him was just unresistable. He promised himself that he would keep it light, just a good-morning salute, but he broke that promise as soon as he made it, and then he quit thinking about anything but the feel of her in his arms, the taste of her, the ways she made his blood race not just in a physical way, but something that went deeper, something that he could not name.

< Sweetheart? > Before she could wonder at his choice of endearment, she was lost in his kiss. He may have intended only a gentle salute, but after the first touch of his mouth her lips parted at once with yearning she had not felt in years, and he took her invitation seriously. He kissed her with a passion that she knew only exsisted within him. His tounge sought hers gently and eagarly, hightening every nerve ending in her mouth. He delved into her and yet was gentle at the same time, as if expecting her to reject him.

"Ahhh. Dana, my own gradhaichte." he said. The gaelic word flowed from his mouth like a waterfall and washed over Dana.

Between his urgent kisses she mangaed a "What does that mean?" her voice filled with the passion he had aroused in her, too long dormant.

Mulder barely heard her question, but when his mind had cleared somewhat he realized he had spoken to her in galeic, a language his grand-mother would often speak to him. "It means darling, treasured one." he explained.Mo< Just then Mulder's hand slipped down and were roaming her body. Her waist, and thighs, and hips, everywhere he touhed fire would appear. Making a soft tender spot between her legs flame with need and grow moist.

Mulder had had his share of women in the past, and he knew when one was about to surrender herself to him, and Dana Scully was just about over the edge. < This was *Scully* for Christ sakes! Of all the stupid things he had done in his life this one took the cake. He could not comprimise her in this way! >

It was nigh to impossible to let go of so much tempting willing womanhood as his partner, but if he didn't do it now there was no going back. He gently broke the kiss and held her gently, waiting for her to recover.

< Waiting for *her* to recover, hell waiting for *him* to recover. Why was he doing this? What the hell had possesed him? Why was he willing to sacrfice the best friendship he ever had, and a great partnership on a base part of his anatomy-one that ceased to rule him years ago?! >

The minute he let her go, she was out of his arms and murrmered a barely audible "I need to get dressed." and walked calmly out of the room as if nothing had happened, though her whole world was spinning on a new axsis, and her mind whirring with new possibilities.

Mulder watched her go, a tower of strength, just the way she squared her shoulers was enough to see her pride and courage. He felt the worst sort of asshole for making that towering wall tumble down for just a moment in time.

that afternoon Scully's apartment

"I guess we should go to the office to try and make some sense of this whole thing and figure out who dunnit." Mulder said whith resingnation.

"Sure, I guess." she said with really no feeling in her voice.

"Are you okay, Scully?" he asked with genuine concern for her. He knew she was scared to face the office, but he also knew she was strong and could deal with it.

"I guess, why?"

"You've hardly said a word, and you're not arguing with me and that is not like you, Scully." rememberances of when Donnie Phaster had terrorized her, swept through his mind and how she behaved during that time was alot like it was now, silence and strength.

"I'm just trying to mentaly prepare myself for it. Do you like it when I argue with you, Mulder?"

"That depends, when it's something small I know it will blow over but when something bothers you like this and you get all quiet on me I get worried."

Scully was touched by this rare show of affection from her partner and his left-handed indication that he cared for her. She managed a light retort "Well, I almost got mad at you about your towels and my bathroom this morning."

"What the hell is wrong with my towels?!" he said with mock anger.

"They're *orange*, Mulder."

A martial gleam came into his green eyes then. "So? Orange is a nice, bright color. It reminds me of pumpkins, of autum and Holloween and..."

"Fine," she said, a little impatience in hr voice. "It has it's place but not in a bathroom decorated in maroon and dusty rose, it's an act of visual violence, Mulder." she raised her eyebrows to stress her point. "But it's only temporary so that is why I didn't yell, but Mulder, buy your own toothpaste."

"Ohhhh. You noticed." he said hoping she wouldn't.

"How could I not?!" she asked incredoulsly.

"Alright today I'll go out and buy some white towels as to not offend thine eyes and a tube of toothpaste as not to ruin my lady's temper seeeing as how she has a gun." he said melodramatically. At this Scully just had to laugh and he along with her. < God, her laughter is magical. > he thought. He would give up almost anything if he could hear her laugh, really laugh. They then headed for the office. Thier good humor returned and the morning almost forgotten.