TITLE: Impasse III: Their Prologue AUTHOR: Denise Morgen EMAIL: meadora@hotmail.com FEEDBACK: The quick and easy way to have a shrine erected in your honor. ARCHIVE: Any where, just keep my name attached. CATEGORY: UST, both barrels baby! SPOILERS: Arcadia, Detour, Tooms SUMMARY: Mulder comes to a startling conclusion and Scully attempts to deal with her reaction to her partner's close physical proximity while undercover in Arcadia. DISCLAIMER: The characters of Mulder and Scully are the property of Fox, Chris Carter and 1013 productions. I do not have permission to use these characters and I'm not making any money from their use. Don't even attempt to sue me or I'll sic my alternate personalities on you! Visit my fanfiction, it gets lonely! http://DennysX.cjb.net Impasse III: Their Prologue by Denise Morgen Okay, so maybe the whole 'New Ager' thing was a bit much. And he was willing to concede that the 'baby cats' comment might just have been a tad pretentious. But Mulder was certain that none of his combined indiscretions merited the chilled silence they'd been uncomfortably residing in since pulling out of 'their' driveway. He snuck a peek at Scully from the corner of his eye. She was still staring stoically out the window of the minivan. Mulder chewed uncertainly on his bottom lip for a moment while trying to decide if he was feeling brave enough to attempt conversation. He cleared his throat nervously in preparation but the unformed words died stillborn on his tongue at the foreboding expression she turned his way at the slight sound. Hmm...maybe silence is a virtue... *** Scully stared unblinkingly out the window at the indecipherable blur of the passing scenery. She hoped the cool facade she was trying so desperately to project was working; she didn't know if she could handle talking to Mulder right now. She felt her body burn hotly as his eyes brushed lightly across her. He'd been sneaking little glimpses of her nervously for the past half hour from the corner of his eyes. Probably trying to figure out what the hell was wrong. Fine, she thought to herself, he can look all he wants as long as he doesn't try to talk. What the hell had she been thinking volunteering them to take this case?! Pretending to be married Mulder had been like a bizarre exercise in sadomasochism! The entire point to accepting this case had been to piss him off, so what does he do but enjoy himself the whole damn time! And not only had it turned out to be one of his beloved X-Files but she'd had to deal with him being wrapped around her like a cheap suit for the entire case! Yeah, like that wasn't enjoyable, her subconscious prompted viciously. How many years had she wanted to wrap herself around Mulder? And when he'd tried to get her into bed with him...god, she was sure she'd spontaneously combust under the heat of his 'come hither' stare. Yep, she definitely planned to get some frequent flyer miles out of that image! She snuck a peak of her own at Mulder and almost cried out. Oh god! Make him stop, he's chewing on his lip! She felt her inner walls trembling at the sight. Long ago Agent Scully had regretfully conceded (to herself at least) that her partner's sexy little pout did fantastic things to her blood pressure. Many a private fantasy had been built around those luscious lips and the projected effect they could have on her body. And after a week of being subjected to her partner's delicious body pressed constantly against hers she was more than ready to snap from far less stimulation than the tempting sight beside her. Don't let him talk, she prayed. Combine that little-boy sexy pout with that honeyed baritone voice and she was a goner! Apparently God was busy taking other calls because at that moment Mulder cleared his throat and took a deep breath to speak. Stop! She screamed at him mentally. Stop right there! Not one single word! She almost sagged in relief when he released his newly captured air in a ragged whoosh and remained silent. Let's here it for unspoken communication! Who needs furniture towers? Once her panic cleared she realized he'd withdrawn sullenly into his shell. That delightful lower lip was jutting out proudly, slightly swollen and red from his earlier chewing. Down, girl, she told herself. In with the good air, out with the bad. Calm is good. The desire to climb into her partner's lap and suck on his lip is bad. VERY bad. Well, if he's pouting at least that rules out any attempts at conversation for a while, she thought positively. Temptation averted. Obviously it wasn't her day, because Mulder chose that moment to reach into his inner jacket pocket and pull out a bag of sunflower seeds. Scully couldn't help the involuntary whimper that escaped her pursed lips. Oh, this is MUCH worse than the nibbling! Her crumbling resolve screamed. Well, since God isn't answering... Hail Mary, full of grace, pray for us sinners now and in our hour of need... **** They'd been driving in silence for almost half an hour since his aborted attempt at conversation. Could you even call it an attempt, he wondered? He hadn't even gotten a syllable out. But it's a suicidal man who ignores the Dana Scully version of 'if looks could kill.' What exactly had gotten into her? She'd been the one who'd accept this damn case in the first place! He was pretty sure she'd done it just to piss him off. He frowned slightly. Was that it? Was she upset because he'd had a good time on this case? That didn't sound like the Scully he knew. But then again, the Scully he knew wouldn't have taken a case just to annoy him, either. Mulder gave himself a mental shake. This whole situation was ridiculous. He decided right then that whether Scully wanted to talk to him or not, they were going to have to get this resolved before they got back to D.C. There's no way they could continue to have an affective partnership if they couldn't stand to talk to each other. The last time he'd been subjected to a silence this uncomfortable it had been a blind date! He couldn't let his relationship with his best friend in the world degenerate down into a strained pause between strangers! And at the very least he'd get a chance to offer up the apology he owed her. Feeling better with his newfound resolution, he pulled out his sunflower seeds to celebrate. Did Scully just whimper?! Mulder snapped his head around to face her in shock. Scully had her forehead resting against the glass and her eyes scrunched tightly closed. Her lips were moving in silent rhythm and he wondered fleetingly what she was whispering. "Scully, did you just whimper?" Her head jerked up and her eyes flew open to meet his. "What?" She asked calmly as she gently rubbed her forehead where it had been pressed against the cool glass. Unfortunately for her, the calm front she was attempting to portray was betrayed by the scarlet flush that stained her cheeks and painted itself in whispery strokes that crept up her slender neck. Mulder look at her curiously. He wondered why she was so embarrassed until a sudden thought blindsided him. What did she have to be embarrassed about, unless...no that couldn't be it! Scully doesn't think that way about him! Does she? Hmm...only one way to find out and this was one hypothesis he didn't mind testing! With a new confidence, he turned the full force of his best seductive look on her. Through lowered lashes he watched her as he reached smoothly into the waiting bag and brought the seed up to his parted lips. He was gratified to see her pale noticeably as he took the tiny morsel into his mouth and licked the remaining salt slowly from each individual finger. He took his time cracking the shell and removing the sweet meat before sensuously returning the empty husk to his waiting fingers. He flicked the shell out his open window and repeated his question in an enthralling rasped whisper of his usual tone. "Did you just whimper?" **** Whimper? Did she just whimper?! She damn near came in her pants from that little show and he's worried about a little whimper!!! And his voice, god save her, his voice! It's a good thing she'd never heard that particular register emitted from between his lips before or she'd have jumped him six years ago! As it was, it appeared he'd finally found the sole weapon in his arsenal that had the distinct ability to toss Agent Scully out the window like that empty seed casing and plop Dana down in her place. Control! Got to remain in control! Think partner thoughts, think bureau thoughts, think- "Dana?" Oh shit, not the first name! She thought as she clamped her eyes shut. Come on, Mulder! Not another word! The sudden deceleration of the vehicle forced her eyes open. She wrenched her gaze over to him, telegraphing her panic and desire to him in the connection of her sapphire eyes to his mercurial hazel ones. "W-why are we stopping?" She ask hesitantly. Stuttering! Dana Katherine Scully doesn't stutter! Get a grip! Mulder looked at her innocently before replying in his normal (thank god!) voice: "We're at the rental agency. We've still got four hours before our flight, want to get some dinner?" Scully took in her surroundings in a glance and shuddered slightly at his words. Four hours!!! She braved a glance a Mulder as they got out of the van and entered the rental agency. He met her gaze with a unlikely combination of a sheepish smile and a seductive look that only Mulder could get away with. Suddenly, garbage monsters and liver eating immortals were looking down right simple in comparison to surviving the rest of the night unscathed... Coming soon (dependent upon the feedback) Impasse IV! What do you think kids, should I work some kind of RST into this?