Sculder

Platonic or Not?

Scully stood up and grabbed her briefcase. She hesitated beside the only desk in the office, where Mulder still sat. "You going now Scully?" He asked, looking up at her. She nodded back at him, hesitating. "Merry Christmas, see you." Before she could think this through, her mouth opened and the words tumbled out.

"Do you want to go to dinner with me tonight?" He stared up at her in disbelief.

"What?"

"Well, uh-" Scully stumbled over her words. Why hadn't she thought this through? "Since I won't see you for two weeks, would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?" A faint blush crept into her cheeks. Mulder grinned widely and lifted a brow at her.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Scully?" She flushed an even deeper red.

"No! I mean- just as friends. It's my gift to you for Christmas!"

"If you say so," Mulder said smirking. He stood up and grabbed his suit jacket. "Let's go."

Twenty minutes later, Mulder was opening the door to Casa Luca, an Italian restaurant Scully had chosen. The waiter led them to a table, candlelight flickering on the white linen tablecloth. Scully took off her heavy coat, which had protected her from the swirling snow outside. Mulder glanced around with wide eyes, taking in the candles, ornate silverware, and beautiful paintings adorning the walls. "You bring other coworkers here much Sculls?" She glared at him, annoyed.

"Mulder, this is not a date. This is your Christmas present and our relationship is purely platonic."

"I didn't know we had a relationship."

"Mulder, shut up." He barked out a laugh and changed the subject, much to Scully's relief.

***

"Let's play Twenty Questions," Mulder suggested, taking a bite of their shared tiramisu cake.

"Twenty Questions," Scully repeated dubiously, eyeing her partner.

"Yeah!" Mulder said, leaning forward eagerly. "You know, when you ask the other a question, they answer, they ask one, you answer it."

"Mulder, I know how to play."

"Then let's play." Scully sighed. There really was no way to get out of this now, once Mulder had set his mind to it, they would do it. "I'll go first!" Scully took a bite, trying to delay the inevitable. Mulder's eyes lit with sudden inspiration. "When was your first kiss and with who?"

Scully sighed. Just as she expected. "My first kiss was when I was 15. Second boyfriend, I think his name was Peter."

"Hm. Wasn't much good of a kisser huh?"

"Is that your second question?" Scully raised her eyebrows challengingly. "Alright my turn. Uh... What's your favorite food?" Mulder rolled his green eyes at her question, but answered it anyway.

"You should know this already, Sunflower seeds!" Scully blushed.

"What?! I thought that was your favorite snack!"

"There's not much difference, Scully. Alright, second question. What is your favorite book?"

"You should know this already," Scully mimicked his statement from before. "Moby Dick!" Mulder chortled good naturedly.

"Good one Sculls."

***

The two FBI agents were walking side by side in Montrose Park, one of the less known, but still beautiful, parks in D.C. They were practically alone now, as it was 8:30 at night, and cold too. Having lived in D.C. for quite a while, they were both used to the frosty winters and hardly minded the flurries of snow. Scully's laughter rang in the air, only to be smothered by the snow covered surroundings.

Mulder grinned down at his partner. It was good seeing her so carefree, and she even seemed to be enjoying herself at this point. "So then I told Frohike to stop embarrassing himself and let the poor girl alone." By this time, Scully's blue eyes were brimming with tears of laughter.

"Wow, the next time we see the Gunmen I really must compliment Frohike on his skills with the ladies." Mulder stopped under the overhanging branches of a pine, and after noticing that her companion had stopped, she did too. "What is it Mulder?"

"Look at the stars, Scully. Look at them, they're beautiful tonight." Scully moved closer to her partner and peered up at the inky black darkness above them. The clouds that bore the snow had moved away, leaving a large patch of starry sky. They twinkled and glinted above them, tiny pinpricks of light in a world so large.

They stood under the pine, watching the stars. Scully absorbed the breathtaking view above her, while Mulder took in the gorgeous sight standing just a few inches away. "Wonder what it's like, to live among the stars..." She murmured. Mulder's eyes lit with passionate fire.

"You mean, with the extraterrestrials? You've got to admit Scully, there are a thousand planets that we haven't even discovered and all the signs of life, water, organisms that we've found and the government is covering up-"

For the second time that night, Scully glanced over at him. "Mulder, shut up." Mulder clamped his mouth shut and stared down at her. "I didn't mean with the extraterrestrials or anything. I mean, if you could just go up there, forget everything, even annoying coworkers..."

"Hey, I'm not that annoying." Scully snorted and stifled her laughter. Mulder grinned down at her and draped his arm around her shoulders. Scully straightened beneath him, but didn't throw his arm off like he'd expected. "Do you have a favorite constellation?"

Scully nodded and pointed it out. "Pegasus?" Mulder guessed.

"Yeah," She murmured. "I've always wondered what it was like to fly." She sighed softly. "Mulder, I've got to go..." She turned around and bumped into Mulder. He was looking down at her, eyes wide. She hadn't noticed they were this close! Scully kept her eyes trained on Mulder's green irises as he stared into her blue ones.

Scully broke eye contact, and immediately wished she hadn't. Her eyes had fallen on his plump, pink lips and lingered there far longer than it should have. Mulder's lips twisted into a small smirk when he noticed where her eyes were trained. He leaned forward, and Scully's eyes widened, before fluttering closed in anticipation of what was going to happen next. She felt him leaning closer and her lips warmed with his breath. Then- nothing.

Scully blinked open an eye, only to notice Mulder leaning away, smirking. Anger rushed through her and she pushed him away. "I totally got you going Scully!" He laughed above her, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"You- you... That- YOU DID NOT!"

"I definitely did Sculls! Now, what were you saying about our relationship being purely platonic?" She glared up at his laughing eyes and wide smile.

"I am going home Mulder!" She stomped away, not looking back. Her cheeks burned with anger and embarrassment. How dare he!

"Hey! Hey, Scully! Come on! It was just a joke, if you'd wanted to kiss me that bad you could have just told me!"

"SHUT UP Mulder!" His laugh floated through the trees as Scully stalked away, back to her car.

"Thanks again for dinner honeybunch! Call me!" His teasing voice faded behind her as she slammed the car door. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and slumped against the wheel. Her lips still tingled with warmth. He'd almost kissed her. And she had almost wanted him to do it. "I hate you Mulder," Her thoughts drifted back to his soft, fluffy brown hair. She'd wanted to pet it down so badly. And when he placed his arm around her...

Scully almost caught herself sighing dreamily. She shook her head to clear it. "Don't be silly Dana. You're relationship is based purely on the years you've worked together. You wanted to have dinner with him tonight because you felt sorry for him..." Scully started the engine. "But.... Maybe I don't want a platonic relationship with Mulder. Maybe, maybe I love him?" Scully sighed. Why was life always so complicated? If it wasn't aliens or government conspiracies, it was the X Files. If it wasn't the Files, it was Mulder. Scully pressed the gas and drove home.

Quick question. How old are you? I'm 13.