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Chapter Text

His head lolled on the passenger headrest as they drove in silence, oblivious to the shards of glass on the seat and the broken window. Disoriented and struggling to find his bearings Mulder ran through the last few days in his mind until he hit the blank spots. It was as if a word was caught on the tip of his tongue, and try as he might he just could not conjure it up the missing memories. As they passed the street the Budahas’ lived on Mulder suddenly became very animated and insisted they stop and check on them. Certain that if someone knew what the Base did to his memories, it was Colonel Buddahas. Their arrival to the house was met with a cold dismissal from Mrs Buddahas and Mulder’s indignation was enough to make Scully snap, her own sense of discombobulation from the turmoil of the last day catching up on her.

Taking control of the situation, Scully made it very clear that she would not be indulging Mulder anymore, and for the first time he realized just how mad she actually was. Dutifully, Mulder got back into the vehicle, becoming more cognizant of his surroundings as they drove off. The road towards the Base fence was ingrained in his consciousness but he didn’t dare question Scully as she pulled to a stop near the damaged fence instead of their motel. Wordlessly, Scully placed a gun in the car's glove box and locked it, Mulder’s concern grew wondering how she got her hands on the gun and the car.

“Mulder, hand me the car keys.”

It took a moment for him to comprehend her instructions, but he found the keys to the rental in his pants pocket and dropped them in her waiting hand.

“Mulder, I want you to get out of the car and wait for me at our rental, and God help you if you go near that fence.”

Not wanting to test her, Mulder quickly complied and made his way over to the rental car he had abandoned earlier.

Struggling to piece together these tidbits of information, Mulder felt a swell of remorse at the memory of stranding her at the hotel. As he walked to the passenger side door he spotted a tuft of ginger hair resting against it. The stoner kid had been waiting for him, his trusty moped ready nearby. Mulder gently nudged the teen’s shoulder to wake him, and was greeted with a big relieved smile.

“Mulder! Dude, we were worried about you.”

“I’m alright-”

The teenager eyed Mulder’s bedraggled state carefully, both of them aware that the ordeal he had endured was not something that could easily be brushed off. The slam of a car trunk got the teenagers attention, on high alert for danger like a spooked squirrel, still tense when he realized the noise was made by Agent Scully.

In a hushed tone the teen whispered to Mulder, “man, you should have seen your Partner, she went all Rambo on this Suit. Stole his car and held him at gunpoint just to find you.”

“What?”

Mulder looked over to his petite Partner standing by the strange car and started putting the pieces together.

“Dude, you don’t want to piss her off, she’s a badass.”

Scully’s footsteps approaching in their direction was enough to hurry the teen along, obviously intimidated by her. Mulder gave a bemused grin as the kid took off on his scooter, shouting “bye!” in an obvious attempt to avoid Scully.

“What was that about?” Scully asked as she opened the driver's door and let Mulder into the passenger side.

“I’ll tell you later.”

Scully wasn’t thrilled by that response but was focused on moving and quickly got the car on the road. Mulder noticed smoke coming out of the car that they had just vacated, suddenly it was engulfed in flames as they sped past in their rental.

“Scully, what the hell did you do!?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Scully replied in an ascorbic tone, not bothering to turn her head to even glance at the car she just torched.

Mulder was sure he was having some sort of psychotic break. His goodie two shoes FBI partner just stole a car, held a man at gunpoint, saved his ass, torched the car and didn’t even break a sweat. Who the hell was this woman!?

Making quick work of driving back to their motel, Scully ordered Mulder to stay in the car while she grabbed their things. Mulder felt a sting as she made sure to take the car keys with her; it was clear that Scully no longer trusted him. He wanted to make a crack about leaving the radio on for him but he could see she was in no mood for his glib jokes and he was fresh out of righteous indignation to justify his behavior. Mulder had fucked up big time. He had screwed over his new partner- who just proved to be a trustworthy ally, and all it got him was fragmented memories. Not to mention the Air Force would probably come gunning for him. And her. As he realized his actions could very well have cost Agent Scully her job too he felt sick with regret. He made a mental note to contact Deep Throat and the Senator when they got back, vowing to do anything and everything to protect her job. Just as Mulder was about to bury himself in a hole of self hatred, Scully opened the car door abruptly and handed him a bottle of water and two aspirin.

“Take these,” she instructed, Mulder quickly obeyed while Scully ran her fingers through his hair looking for signs of trauma.

“Do you have any dizziness or nausea?”

“A little nauseous and my head hurts, but I’m ok.”

Scully’s concern for his well-being was touching and definitely more than he deserved.

They drove in a weighted silence, Mulder resting with his eyes closed again and trying to summon the right words to say to her.

“Scully, I’m sorry. I never should have taken off on you like that.”

“It was stupid Mulder, you could have gotten killed or God knows what. I was worried about you.”

“You’re right, but also thank you for what you did back there, getting me off the Base.”

“You don’t have to thank me Mulder, I’m your Partner, but you need to decide to trust me or this is never going to work. Not that it really matters now, this is probably our last case.”

“I’ll make sure that it’s not, but trust goes both ways. I know I screwed up but I think we could be a really great team, if you still wanted to work with me.”

With his earnest tone and his sad puppy dog expression, Scully was powerless over her smile.

“Good to hear Partner. We’ve got 4 hours until we hit Sioux City, why don’t you try and get some rest.”

“Okay, Doc.”

Sioux City, Iowa

He found her in the hotel bar, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, her legs swinging from the chair with two empty shot glasses in front of her sipping on a coke. Scully didn’t look old enough to be drinking at a bar, but you could never take this woman at face value he mused.

“Hey Lady, can I buy you a drink?”

Scully twirled around on her stool and her face lit up when she saw him. Her brilliant smile affected him, stealing his breath for a moment.

“Shot of whiskey,” she answered and Mulder motioned at the bartender to prepare two shots which were unceremoniously placed in front of them. Mulder clinked shot glasses with her but before he could drink Scully grabbed his wrist, “Mulder, wait. You shouldn’t be drinking, you were showing signs of delirium that could have been brought on by any number of drugs.”

Mulder was amused by her constant consideration, “I’m feeling a lot better now, no more nausea. Maybe they fixed that loose screw?”

“Okay, you can have one,” Scully agreed warily and resumed her post clinking shot glasses with him. They didn’t break eye contact as they drank, issuing a challenge to one another. The air was charged and Mulder found it incredibly sexy that Scully downed her shot in one smooth motion, not making any facial reactions. Mulder tried to suppress his wince, but the liquor burnt all the way down and then left a painful residue in his mouth. He grabbed for Scully’s coke and took a hefty swing to get rid of the taste. To his surprise, and relief, it was just coke and it instantly soothed the burning.

“You okay Mulder?” Scully was affectionately amused by his less than suave drinking abilities.

“I’m not much of a drinker,” Mulder admitted with a sheepish grin that earned him a gentle reassuring arm squeeze from Scully. Mulder’s body was filled with a warm sensation and he wondered whether he was intoxicated from the whiskey or from his Partner. He was willing to bet the latter.

“Come on Scully, I ordered a pizza, let’s eat.”

Mulder motioned to the bartender for the bill and closed out Scully’s tab, before she could complain he gave her a look and silently gestured that he owed her.

Grabbing his arm with both her hands Scully pulled herself down from the stool and allowed him to guide her to his room.

“Take me to your pizza-“ Scully commanded in her best Alien impersonation that made them both chuckle. Yup, Mulder was definitely drunk off of Scully.

The playful mood continued as they bantered and teased each other while sharing dinner in Mulder’s hotel room. Like magnets, they couldn’t seem to stop touching each other with gentle nudges and bumps, sitting closer than needed in order to maintain some form of contact.

Mulder’s eyes betrayed the intelligence of his mind as his brain tried to formulate a question. With a steady look, Mulder’s tone turned serious.

“Scully, the Stoner kid said you held a guy hostage and demanded he take me to you.”

“Mulder, with the amount of drugs he’d consumed he’s hardly credible witnesses,” Scully responded with a smug grin.

“Ok, but why did you torch the Base guy’s car? They obviously know you’re the one who took it?”

“They stole our guns, cut off our phones and did God knows what with you. I was pissed.”

Unable to suppress his laughter, Mulder was filled with sheer wonderment.

“Remind me not to piss you off!”

“Ditch me again Mulder and see what happens,” Scully said as she playfully bumped his shoulder.

“So let’s circle back to what you’d do if you were that stoned?” Mulder nudged Scully back trying to steer the conversation back into safer territory.

“I don’t think you could handle it, Mulder. What about you, have you been that high?”

“I smoked a little weed in college, but not much because it made me paranoid.”

“You, paranoid?!”

“Shocking, I know. But this one time I was in Amsterdam with an ex-girlfriend and I ate what I thought was a blueberry muffin from a cafe before we were meant to do a tour of the city. It turns out that it was Space cake, needless to say I missed the tour. My ex found me outside the cafe 3 hours later. Apparently, I had spent the whole time trying to cross the road to meet up with the group but I kept missing the light at the crosswalk.”

“Why didn’t your girlfriend go back for you sooner?”

“Scully, in my experience, I’m not the guy people go back for.”

The look between them was rich as they silently pledged their loyalty to one another.

“So what about you Scully?”

“No, I’ve never eaten Space cake in Amsterdam. I just smoked a little in college and Med school. One thing I miss-“ Scully stopped herself and cut the story off with a never mind. Mulder was instantly intrigued and he had to know what she was about to say.

“It was nothing. It’s just, have you ever had sex while stoned?”

Mulder shook his head, excited to see where this conversation was going. Scully had his undivided attention and she decided to draw it out for him.

“You know it’s an experience. The whole world reduces to just you and your partner. All that exists is the sensation of them touching you and release. Everything is heightened, it can be intense.”

Mulder’s heart was in his throat and his whole body was frozen, just when he thought he knew this woman she flipped the script on him again.

“Alright Mulder, I’ve rendered you speechless. My work here is done, I’m going to bed.”

“Wait... We could watch a movie… they’ve got Showtime-“

Mulder internally cringed at how lame that sounded but was delighted when Scully looked interested.

“Alright Mulder, let me just change into my pajamas and we can watch a movie.”

Mulder quickly attempted to clean up while Scully disappeared into her adjoining room. Brushing his teeth Mulder retrieved his worn pajama pants and Knicks T-shirt, wanting to make sure Scully didn’t feel underdressed when she returned. Scully’s blue satin pajamas were a far cry from the frumpy flannel pants and baggy sweatshirts she wore on their first case. Mulder didn’t know what elicited the change, but he liked it.

“Are these new?” Mulder asked, running his fingers over the soft satin sleeve.

“Yeah, they were a gift from my sister actually.”

“So soft. I like them!” Mulder declared with a boyish grin that made Scully laugh in a way that was not entirely platonic.

“Come on, let's watch a movie, but no aliens or horror.”

They settled on an old Humphrey Bogart movie, both of them fans of Film Noir. It was not long into the movie that Scully stopped quipping with him, and Mulder looked down to discover she’d fallen asleep. In her sleep, her hand reached out and grabbed his, and his heart constricted at the sight of her tiny hand clutching his while she slept. Mulder wasn’t sure whether he should wake her, but carefully adjusted himself so he could comfortably lie down next to her with their hands joined.

He woke up to darkness, it was early morning and she was gone. The spare hotel blanket had been placed over him and she’d turned the tv off. Mulder smiled as he attempted to go back to sleep, his new Partner definitely was a badass.

Chapter Text

As Scully made her way down their dirt driveway the afternoon sun lit a golden path across the dry grass illuminating a relaxed Mulder, leaning by the metal gate. Dressed in his old jeans and a grubby T-shirt, the dirt on his face and clothes informed her he had been working outside today. Still, it was unusual for him to be waiting by the gate for her to get home. They had established a pretty consistent routine, Mulder would get up with her in the mornings, make breakfast and coffee, warm up/de-ice her car on cold days and open the gate as she left for work so she didn’t risk getting her clothes dirty. This worked nicely because Mulder would then take off on his morning run, leaving him with the day to putter around outside or research things to his heart’s content until she got home. Mulder waiting by the gate for her to get home like a dog pining for his owner had her radar going, something was definitely up.

“What’s up Doc?” Mulder asked as she pulled to a stop and rolled down the window.

“Are you getting in Mulder?”

Mulder swung open the passenger door and jumped up on the runner, bracing himself by holding the roof and the SUV door. Tapping on the roof Mulder yelled “let’s go Baby!”

“Mulder, no. Get in the car!”

“I stink Scully, trust me you don’t want me messing up your car. This is fine, just drive slowly and try to avoid any potholes.”

Begrudgingly, Scully drove her car slowly towards their house with Mulder hanging off the side of the SUV like some deranged pirate.

Before she could pull to a complete stop Mulder jumped off and slammed the door.

“Mulder you’re crazy.”

“It’s not like I jumped onto a train or a cable car, I’ve mellowed in my old age!” Scully rolled her eyes and made her way to the front door, intercepting Mulder for a kiss.

“Woah, Mulder you do stink! Did you get sprayed by a skunk again?”

“No, I was helping Andrews with some of his posts and went through a hemp field.”

Mulder started stripping off all his clothes as they walked inside, unconcerned by his nudity, and Scully couldn’t help but admire his toned physique. Mulder was definitely aging well, his body had filled out and became more muscular than when they first met. Scully’s appreciative leer was not missed by Mulder who gave her a smug grin.

“I’m going to take a shower, wanna join me?”

“Mulder the type of shower you need right now requires total focus to get rid of that unholy funk.”

“Suit yourself!”

With the leftovers reheated and put on plates Scully let herself enjoy the feeling of domestication and stability. Mulder appeared just in time to eat, hair still wet from the shower, shirtless and sporting a pair of sweatpants. His mood was suspiciously jovial and Scully was still waiting to find out what he was up to.

“Okay, spill it Mulder.”

Her decree caught Mulder off guard and his face looked like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Attempting to feign innocence Mulder’s ‘what’, was met with an arched eyebrow and an unrelenting Scully stare.

Mulder sheepishly pulled out a ziplock bag with two rolled joints in it and handed it to Scully.

“Mulder is that pot?” Scully’s amusement put Mulder at ease as he explained himself.

“For a minute there I felt like I was in an afterschool special. It was a gift from Andrews for helping with the fence. I thought after dinner we could smoke on the front porch and you could show me how stoned sex is supposed to work.”

“I can’t believe you remembered! That was years ago Mulder, I haven’t gotten high in decades.”

“Of course I remembered, it was the first time we slept in the same bed.”

“Mulder, I’m game to try it but I may have oversold high sex a little bit. I was coming onto you- but you didn’t make a move.”

“WHAT! I was such a dumbass. Here I am so fond of the fact that we held hands and slept together that night, and you’re telling me we could have had crazy monkey sex!”

“I don’t know about crazy monkey sex, but yeah. I thought I was going to get fired so I figured, why not.”

“Man, I have no game. Thank god you jumped me or I’d still be pining for you.”

“Thank god,” Scully said, and pulled Mulder down for a kiss.

Nuzzling her neck affectionately Mulder whispered in her ear, “for the record, holding hands and sleeping with you was still pretty great.”

“I think so-”

Standing back and giving Scully an appreciative once over, Mulder declared, “but sex with you is incredible, so the dumbass verdict remains.”

After finishing the dishes, Mulder sauntered onto their front porch to find Scully sitting cross legged on her chair, her glass of ice water resting on the little table in between their chairs. Bewitched, Mulder watched her take a slow sip and capture an ice cube, rolling it around in her mouth until she decided to crunch it. Scully knew it was one of her habits that drove him crazy, their silent game of seduction was on. Handing her the bag of joints and a lighter, Mulder reached up and stretched his back in a way that was mostly performative for Scully. Still shirtless, his muscles rippled as he flexed, giving out a groan of relief and pretending to be oblivious to the effect he was having on her.

Long before they became lovers they would each delight in teasing one another. Touches that lasted a little too long, close whispers, a tongue slowly gliding over a lip, clothing revealing slithers of flesh normally concealed to the outside world. Years later, in their rustic house, these covert seductive behaviors were hardly necessary. But it was if the excitement of these elicit displays had morphed into their own private love language. Perhaps it was their way of ensuring their keen focus on one another, noticing gestures others would overlook, enjoying the game of never needing to acknowledge them aloud.

Scully captured his gaze as it was her turn to dance, she moistened her lips before taking the joint in her mouth and lighting it. The low grown Mulder emitted as he relaxed further into his chair was all the encouragement Scully needed to continue her show. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, Scully exhaled her first hit of the joint, moving her mouth to form perfect smoke rings. Scully passed the joint over to Mulder, his eyes already dark with desire and an amused grin.

“Such a bad girl Scully; I love it.”

Knowing she’d won this round, Scully affectionately watched Mulder inspect the joint before taking a deep inhale. His face went red as he coughed and choked the smoke out, with tears in his eyes he looked up to Scully with his sheepish smile as she encouraged him to take a sip of her water. Taking the joint off Mulder, Scully repositioned herself on his lap and took another hit. Once she was sure his airways had calmed down she instructed him to hold still as she exhaled the smoke into his mouth, shot-gunning the joint.

Mulder’s face lit up with approval, taking in the pot much easier than the first time. Kissing her cheek Mulder said “that is way better than smoking a joint.”

“I thought you might like it,” Scully replied before she exhaled more smoke directly into his mouth.

They had managed to smoke the entire joint in that fashion, getting lost in their own world until Scully stubbed out the butt and gave a big yawn.

“How are you feeling Honey?” Mulder asked, examining her closely.

“I’m just very relaxed Mulder. How are you doing?” Scully asked, punctuating her question with a peck on his lips.

“I feel really floaty, Scully. Like if you got off my lap, I might be so light that I’d float away.”

The absurdity of Mulder’s serious statement made Scully giggle, and her giggling got Mulder giggling until they were both laughing for no reason.

“Mulder, I think it’s safe to say we’re stoned.”

“Empirical evidence would have to agree with you.”

“Wait, so you just need to get stoned to care about evidence?!”

“You live you learn-“ Mulder said as his focus shifted to kissing Scully’s neck while his hands made their way under her shirt.

His dramatic mood change immediately affected Scully, who leant back into his chest, encouraging him to continue his exploration of her body. As Mulder kissed and caressed her, Scully gave herself over to heightened sensations and let them feed her arousal. When she couldn’t take it anymore she turned around on Mulder’s lap, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss while her hands roamed down the plains of his chest finding his hard cock. Her touch set Mulder’s skin on fire as he lifted his pelvis, grinding his erection into her hand. They broke from their deep kisses and panted, time had contracted and somehow their foreplay had concluded, both of them more than ready for the main event. Mulder reached to unzip Scully’s pants, only to have his hands meet air as she pulled away from him and stood up from his lap.

“No Mulder, we can’t have sex on the porch again. Last time we did I had a sore neck for a week.”

“Right, and I got a splinter in my butt!”

They both laughed at the memory, while Scully pulled Mulder up from his chair, guiding him through the house and into their bedroom.

Without ceremony they both removed their clothes and took their habitual positions on their bed. Before Scully could kiss him again, Mulder held her back and stopped her, making a show at inspecting her body as if he had never seen her naked before. After a few too many minutes of Mulder’s appreciative stare, Scully grabbed his head in her hands and kissed him.

“Are you going to stare at me Mulder or are we going to have sex.”

“Sorry, I just got carried away looking at you. You’re so beautiful Scully, I adore every single inch of you.”

“You’re not too bad yourself,” Scully said and resumed their kiss.

Their love making continued in a familiar sequence of touches and caresses, halting progress as Mulder reached Scully’s chest. It was normal for Mulder to adorn attention on Scully’s breasts, his admiration of them was well known, but his current display seemed to be hyperfixed on them. Scully pulled Mulder’s head away from her chest and laughed at his forlorn expression.

“Mulder, I think you’re forgetting something.”

“Sorry Honey, but you have amazing boobs. I just want to touch and play with them all day.” Mulder reached his hand out to Scully’s breast so he could resume fondling her, only to be gently slapped away.

“Ohmygod Mulder, you can’t be trusted with my breasts anymore.”

Moving away from him, Scully squeezed out a small amount of lube from the nightstand and glided it across Mulder’s cock, rubbing the excess off on Mulder’s belly with a laugh. Scully got on all fours and turned around to Mulder, instructing him to get into position. Mulder draped his entire body over Scully as he entered her from behind and nuzzled her neck. One of Mulder’s hands glided up her torso and made their way to her breasts.

“Okay, they’re still there,” Mulder mumbled in her ear as he glided himself inside her. Wrapped in his embrace, Scully giggled at the thought of her wearing a Mulder coat, loving the way his body heat permeated her being and the feel of his cock buried deep inside her. It wasn’t long until she felt her orgasm rise as Mulder rhythmically circled her clit and maintained strong consistent strokes. The intense thrum in her body was all too much for her, as her orgasm engulfed her Scully felt her arms collapse and her upper body came to rest on the bed. Mulder continued to piston into her, never stopping his sturdy rhythm, his hand gently guiding her back into a comfortable position.

Scully was lost in a haze, the post orgasm endorphins combined with her high had overwhelmed her body. No longer capable of conscious thought she moaned in pleasure as her body continued to be stimulated by Mulder’s powerful thrusts.

Mulder’s thoughts were equally blank as he focused on the sensations, the contractions of Scully’s pussy guiding his pace and letting him know she was close again. Moving both his hands to her hips, Mulder gripped Scully tightly and pounded as hard as he could trying to push her over the edge again. Without her face or body near him Mulder’s rhythmic thrusting started to feel robotic to him, as if he was no longer in control, unable to stop himself and overwhelmed by the feeling. Scully’s orgasmic scream seemed to bring his vigorous pace to a slow halt, his body softly pulsed, bringing her down gently. Pulling out from Scully, Mulder sat himself up against the headboard and found himself once again overwhelmed and now inundated with fear.

Unsure how long her body had been incapacitated post orgasm, Scully’s hand reached out around her looking for Mulder. His absence sobered her up, and she instantly realized something was wrong.

Looking around the bed, Scully found Mulder sitting up by the headboard with a terrified look on his face. It was clear he’d been battling with a panic attack, too overwrought to speak. Rushing to him, Scully ran her hands through Mulder’s hair in an effort to calm him down. Relief suddenly flashed through his eyes as Mulder recognized her, and his breathing started to return to normal.

“Mulder, are you ok? What happened?”

“I don’t know Scully. We were having sex and suddenly I felt lost, like you weren’t there. The next thing I knew I was alone and I couldn’t find you, I was so afraid.”

Straddling Mulder’s lap Scully rested her forehead against his and took deep calming breaths. Without a word Mulder followed her lead until their breathing was synchronized. Staring into her eyes Mulder felt a deep wave of calm wash over him and enter into every fiber of his being.

“No more pot for you Mulder, okay?”

“Okay Doc.”

As Scully moved to lift herself off Mulder, she felt his arms tighten around her, pulling her closer. His mouth sought hers out and his kiss felt like he was pulling her into him.

“I don’t feel lost when I can see you,” Mulder said against her lips. Scully grabbed on to Mulder’s hand, feeling the full power of their connection, their bodies coming together once more. Without any conscious action Mulder was once again inside her, the rocking of their bodies in perfect unison, an expression of deep unabiding love. The crest of their orgasms occurred in perfect synchronicity, their gaze locked into each other’s eyes as they began to unravel. A reverent silence filled the air as they both came down from their transcendental experience.

Finally breaking the silence Mulder looked over at a bedraggled Scully with a sense of pride. “So, was stoned sex as good as you remembered it Scully?”

“It was different. But sex with you is always on another level, our connection makes it phenomenal.”

Mulder mouthed the word phenomenal, letting his ego enjoy the feedback.

“I guess we’ve never really needed anything to make sex more amazing between us. But I’m glad I got to try high sex with you,” Mulder said as he moved them into a spooning position.

Scully’s eyes had started to close when Mulder whispered into her ear, “Scully, I’m going to get up for a while. Don’t be alarmed if I come back smelling of Doritos.”

Before he could get out of bed Scully grabbed onto his hand.

“You better bring the packet with you if you expect to be let back in bed.”

“We can eat in bed?!”

“One time exception, Mulder.”

Mulder looked down at her tiny hand in his and felt his heart constrict the same way as it had the first time she held his hand in bed all those years ago. With a quick kiss Mulder made his way down to the kitchen to get their snacks and thanked his lucky stars for his badass Partner.