Disclaimer: Chris Carter/1013/FOX owns Mulder and Scully. I just let them out to play.
Rating: G
Pairing: Mulder.Scully
Timeline: Set around Christmas of the seventh season (not a bit of which has aired yet, so if there's any inconsistencies, it's not my fault!).
Summary: Mulder, Scully, and Christmas gifts.
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He gave me a rose for Christmas.
Of course, it was beautiful. Wine-dark red, with highlights of cherry. While he had been standing outside, some of the falling snow had touched the petals, resting gently among them, adding cold softness to the silk of the flower. It hadn't had much of a chance to melt, and was still covering the flower in places when he handed it to me, making the petals and leaves sparkle. The thorns had been removed, which allowed one to hold the stem without aid of a large tissue wrapping roses so often came in. The bright yellow-green of the stem was a perfect contrast to the darker red of the flower itself.
Naturally, the rose wasn't the only thing he'd gotten me. There was also a tiny white teddy bear, and the requisite kooky gift: this year it was a video of the "Alien Autopsy" television program. Those didn't puzzle me; they were quintessential Mulder-gifts, and after seven years, I wasn't expecting anything less.
It was the rose that confused me. Only when I was in the hospital had he ever given me flowers, and those were always the happy, get-well-soon flowers; daisies and the like. This...this wasn't anything like those times.
I invited him in for a drink and to give him his gift. He said he'd find something to put the rose in while I got his present from my bedroom. I agreed, and went off to get the wrapped package.
When I returned to the living room, my eyes were met with a glass of water holding the rose. Mulder apparently hadn't been able to find a vase. I sighed as I put the rather lumpy package down on the carpet, then carefully grabbed the glass and took it to the kitchen.
I found Mulder in there, pouring two servings of eggnog from the dwindling amount in the quart-sized carton I had stashed away in the back of the refrigerator. I waited until he'd poured the last drops into the glasses before clearing my throat and indicating the badly-undersized glass I was holding.
He just shrugged and smiled that aggravatingly endearing lopsided smile of his. "I couldn't find anything else."
I shook my head and sighed again. "Mulder," I said, walking over to my glassware cabinet, "there's three vases in here. How could you miss them?" I pulled one out and carefully poured the water from the glass into it, trying not to spill any while I waited for Mulder's response. I held the rose in my mouth so that I could have use of both my hands.
"I just did," was his casual reply. I spun around, the water now having been safely transferred, and prepared to comment. Unfortunately, I still had the rose in my mouth.
Mulder, of course, couldn't do anything but say, "Ole!"
I closed my eyes for a second, then removed the rose from between my teeth and put it into the green and gold vase.
While I had turned away, Mulder had managed to find the cinnamon and sprinkle some into the eggnog. My kitchen was arranged logically, and he had found the jar of cinnamon sticks right beside the ground kind, and had placed one in each glass. He took the drinks and I the vase, and we walked back to the living room.
I set the vase and rose on the small table near my little three foot tall Christmas tree. I usually didn't turn the tree lights on, but seeing as it was Christmas Eve, I decided to plug the cord in. Once I did so, I stepped back and looked at the whole setup. It was like something out of a Christmas card, only...more. My apartment was already fairly dim, and the multi-colored lights on the tree stood out, their glow bouncing off the shiny surfaces of several decorations I had hung, refracted inward and outward. Some of the light also hit the rose, reflecting off of the melted snow on the petals, making the flower seem to shine with fairydust.
"The tree looks nice," Mulder said from his seat on the couch. I thanked him absently, still staring at the rose. Eventually I turned away from the tree and brought Mulder his gift.
He tore into it like many children would the next morning. I watched him, a smile spreading across my lips as I took a sip of my eggnog.
Soon, Mulder got the the substance of the package and held up what I had gotten him: another tacky tie with aliens on it, this time with Santa hats perched on their heads and Christmas lights weaving through the black background. My philosophy about Mulder and ties had turned into "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," and I figured he would appreciate the sentiment. I could tell from the silly grin on his face that he did.
He soon found that there was more to the present. I'd also gotten him a bag of sunflower seeds and a bottle of iced tea. He looked up at me once he saw these. I smiled again and said, "The only two things Fox Mulder needs to survive."
He smiled back, though his eyes were serious. "Two of three." He didn't elaborate on what the third thing was.
Finally, he reached the last part of my gift. It was a small, framed picture of the two of us that had been taken a few months ago. We were at the one Bureau function we hadn't been able to get out of in the past year, and were dancing to a slower song. The agent who had taken the photo had been in very close proximity to us, and had been able to capture the expressions on our faces, which were at the border between being happy and being embarrassingly blissful. I had been somewhat hesitant about giving him the picture, concerned that it might imply something I wasn't quite ready for it to do, but I'd finally just shoved it into the pile I was wrapping, wrapped it up, and tried not to think about it afterward.
He was still staring at the picture. When he still didn't look away, I started to feel apprehensive, wondering what was going on.
He finally looked away, turning his gaze to me. "Scully, this is wonderful," he said softly, sincerity coloring the tone of his voice. "I love it."
I gave a tiny sigh of relief.
"It's the best Christmas present anyone's ever given me," Mulder continued.
"I wouldn't go that far--" I began, but he cut me off.
"It is. It is, because it has you in it, because it's us, together. Thank you." His eyes locked our gazes together.
I was speechless. What could I say in response to that?
Luckily, Mulder didn't seem to require a reply. He set the picture gently on the coffee table, then took one of my hands in his, squeezing it softly as I set my now-empty glass on the table. Neither of us talked for a long time.
Eventually, though, I asked, "Why did you get me a rose? Not that I don't love it, but I'm a little curious..."
I saw two teeth peek out from his mouth to worry his bottom lip. He was silent for a while until finally saying, "It was different. You're the one woman in my life I almost never give flowers to, Scully." A grin appeared on his face, but vanished quickly, replaced by a pensive expression. "And for a rose, it was perfect. A pale imitation of you, but it was the best I could do."
I could feel my mouth dropping open. For the second time tonight, I couldn't say anything.
And then I didn't have to, because his lips were on mine, and my arms were around his neck, and neither one of us was pulling away.
The kiss was everything I had ever wondered it would be, everything I had ever secretly wished, and even more. It was magical, enhanced by the magic of this night.
When we slowly pulled apart, I met Mulder's gaze to find him staring back at me, happiness dancing in the hazel depths of his eyes. We looked at each other for a long moment, then he glanced out the window.
"I'd better go," he said, his gaze returning to me. "It's snowing pretty hard out there."
I didn't want to take this too fast. I still wasn't sure exactly what was happening. I quickly nodded my head, and we each reluctantly extricated ourselves from the other's embrace. Mulder grabbed his coat, and then gathered up the various parts of my gift to him, pausing for a moment on the picture of us. Then he stood up, and I walked him to the door. He hesitated for a moment before opening it. I was almost certain we were going to kiss each other again, but as it turned out, we didn't. We said farewell, and I closed the door long after his exit.
Suddenly unsure of what to do now that I was alone, I crossed over to the window. Mulder had been right; the snow was really starting to come down. I watched a figure trudge through the inch or so that had already built up on the ground to a car, then realized that it was Mulder.
He looked up and noticed me watching him. I saw him put a free hand to his mouth, then blow a kiss up to me. I pantomimed catching it, then blew one back to him. It was hard to see, but I know I saw him grin. He got into his car, and I watched him drive off carefully into the darkness.
I turned away from the window, and my sight rested yet again on the rose he had given me. Coming from Mulder, it was the perfect Christmas present.
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