Title: Mutual Respect
Author: Nicknoc
Rating: NC-17
Category: MSR
Spoilers: Teensy weensy for Milagro and Triangle.
Feedback: nicknoc@hotmail.com. Please. No really
- PLEASE!
Disclaimer: They're not mine. They belong to
Fox, CC, 1013 etc. If they were mine they'd be
bonking by now. No money being made.
Author's notes: If you're looking for something
deeper than smut - sorry! Would love feedback!
Archive: Gossamer, Ephemeral. Anywhere else yes
please, but let me know so I can check it out.
Thanks.
Summary: Scully and Mulder discuss the mutual
respect they have for each other.

XXXXXXXXXX
Part 1 of 2
Mulder's Apartment
9.30 pm


"Hey Scully, if I do the budget for this quarter,
will you do the divisional plan?

"No," said Scully with good humor. "Both of those
are your jobs. You're the supervisor remember?
Besides, you owe me hours of paperwork *and* I
bought the Thai food, so you're in no position to
bargain."

"Scuuullly," whined Mulder, "Pleeease. You know
I'm no good at these things. What am I going to
say - our plan for the next quarter is to catch
more aliens? C'mon, if you help me with this I'll
do your report for you over the weekend."

"Mulder, I've finished my report. Unlike you, I
did some work today instead of looking at
pornography on the internet."

"Hey," objected Mulder. "That was one site, and it
was an accident. I was looking for Jennicam and I 
spelt it wrong. How was I to know that there would 
be thousands of porno sites under the name 'Jenny'?"

Scully snickered. She was curled up on Mulder's
sofa, eating directly out of the take out container.
She was surrounded by paper, but it was more for
show. She'd given up trying to work an hour ago -
teasing Mulder was much more fun.

"Did you know the IT section can trace anywhere
you go on the Internet?" she asked.

"Scully, you know those rude pictures I receive
in my email? Well they are usually *sent* to me by
the IT section. Somehow I don't think they care. 
Now - don't change the subject - the divisional plan."

She sighed. He wasn't going to let go of this one.

"Mulder, just use words like 'performance
indicators' and 'increased productivity' and 
'operational procedures'. The important thing is that 
you get one done; nobody really cares what it says. 
Nobody can understand those things anyway. Have you 
read the Bureau's Mission Statement?"

He threw a cushion at her.

"Agent Scully," he admonished. "I hardly expected
you of all people to be so flippant about our
corporate plan. You know, as your supervisor I
could order you to write it up for me."

She raised one eyebrow at him and simply said,
"Pass me some Green Curry, Mulder."

He sighed in mock disapproval and passed her the
curry. He then sat back to engage in his favorite
pastime - watching Scully. She was so busy
stuffing her face and flipping through an old
newspaper that she wouldn't notice.

This was the second time this week that they had
spent an evening together. He wondered if she
realized that he lived for these nights, or even
for the fleeting moments when she would drop her
professional persona and just be herself.

Since the episode with Padgett they had grown a
little closer, and nights like this were more
frequent. They'd gone to the movies once or twice
and he'd even been brave enough to teach her
baseball. That night was in his 'Moments with
Scully Hall of Fame' for the best ever night he
had spent with his partner. She hadn't objected
to him pulling her close into his hips, nor to him
wrapping his arms around her while they played.
She'd even let him buy her a hotdog afterwards.

Looking at her now, he noticed a glow in her face
that had been missing over the last year. She seemed
happy.

"Mulder, stop staring at me," she said casually,
head still down as she read an article in the
paper. She looked up and laughed at the
astonished look on his face. "It's called
peripheral vision Mulder. Nice blush," she added.

Mulder had to chuckle. It wasn't often that *he*
was embarrassed into a blush - that was normally
her department.

"Did you know that Matthews and Atkins are having
an affair?" she said conversationally, throwing
the newspaper aside.

Mulder paused while he tried to place the two
agents she had mentioned. She had her finger on 
the pulse much more than he, and sometimes it took 
him a while to even figure out who she was referring to.

"Oh, them...how do you know?"

"I saw them kissing."

"Scully, just because you saw them kissing doesn't
mean that they are having an affair."

She frowned in bemusement. "Well, what else could
it mean?"

"They could just be friends...who like to kiss."

She laughed. "Yeah sure Mulder. I kiss all my
friends like that."

"Oh really Scully?" he asked. He blew out onto
his hand and sniffed at his breath. "What's the
matter with me - do I have bad breath or
something?"

"Mulder be serious. You make these ridiculous
statements and then don't back them up. You
really think that they are just two friends who
like to kiss?" She looked at him with one eyebrow
raised and amusement in her eyes. This should be
good, she thought.

"I never said that I thought that was the case
Scully. But yes, I think it is possible."

He moved up onto the sofa with her and continued.
"Think about it. What is kissing? It's just two people
pressing lips together, a bit of tongue, saliva swapping.
It's just a pleasurable, physical thing that people *do*. 
It doesn't have to mean anything more."

Scully put her food back down on the coffee table
and settled back onto the cushions. She shook her
head at him. "Mulder I completely disagree.
Kissing does mean something. You don't just kiss
someone unless it *means* something."

"What Scully? Like love, romantic inclination?
What about just...deep friendship. Mutual respect?"

She snorted with laughter. "Yeah Mulder, I'd kiss
someone out of deep respect. Every time Skinner
does something worthy I snog him. Actually..." she
paused thinking about the time he got her the
coordinates to find Mulder in the Bermuda
Triangle. Nope, no tongue there. "No Mulder, I
would *never* kiss anyone out of respect. Nice try
but your argument is failing rapidly."

"So Scully, are you telling me that the *only*
time you would kiss someone is if you were in love 
with them?"

Scully paused and thought. Okay, he was right.
She'd kissed a lot of men in her time, and she had 
been in love with very few of them. In fact some of
them she hadn't even *liked*.

"Okay," she said slowly, "There have been times
when I've kissed men without any romantic feelings, 
but that's different." How, she didn't know.

"How?" he challenged, grinning. He knew he had
her.

"It just is," she insisted. "They weren't my
friends. Some of them I barely knew."

"So you'd kiss a complete stranger before you'd
kiss a good friend. That sounds pretty twisted to
me Scully."

She blushed. "Mulder," she said exasperated,
"You're twisting things around. I'm just saying
that I disagree with the idea that friends can
kiss just for the sake of kissing. Kissing means
something...usually."

"Except when it's a complete stranger," he
smirked.

Scully reached her foot over and playfully kicked
at his leg. She tried to glare at him, but
couldn't hold it for long. She had to admit, she
was enjoying the slightly flirtatious tone of this
conversation.

She leaned towards him. "So Mulder, you still
haven't convinced me that kissing is an activity that
friends can partake in."

"Okay, let's look at this objectively. Kissing is
just a physical act that feels good, like hugging, or a
foot massage. Friends hug, or give each other foot
massages. So why don't they kiss? The only reason is that
it is not considered socially acceptable for friends to
kiss. People just don't do it. But that doesn't mean it
shouldn't and couldn't be done."

"Well social rules are usually in place for a good
reason," she responded. "Don't you think that if
it was open slather on kissing - excuse the
expression - that people would lose the normal
social restraints that they conform to. What
next, friends having sex with each other just
because it feels good?"

He moved closer to her on the sofa and she
swallowed, suddenly nervous.

"Scully, we're not talking about sex. At least I'm
not. Who says that people can't kiss without immediately
progressing onto sex? My argument is that kissing is a
pleasurable activity that can be enjoyed by two friends
*without* meaning anything more - including sex. Are you
saying you don't think you could kiss someone without it
leading to sex?"

Now Scully really was nervous. He looked
positively predatory as he gazed at her. But she
was not one to ignore the challenge in his voice.

"Mulder, of course I can kiss someone without it
progressing to sex. A kiss is just a kiss." She
winced when she realized what she just said.
Damnit - score one to Mulder.

"Ah ha!" he crowed, "Then you agree that a kiss
doesn't necessarily have to mean anything."

"Okay, not *every* kiss has to mean something,"
she admitted. Now maybe he would back down and
they could change the subject.

"So it is possible that two friends could enjoy
kissing each other just because they liked
kissing, not because they were having an affair."

"Okay Mulder, it is possible," she said
exasperated. "You win! Happy?"

"So, do you like kissing Scully?"

He grinned at the stunned expression on her face.
She was uncomfortable, he could tell, but he
wasn't going to let her off the hook. This
conversation was getting *very* interesting and he
intended to see it through to its natural
conclusion - whatever that may be.

"Yeess," she answered cautiously.

"So would you ever kiss me Scully?"

"What, as a friend?" Scully asked with more
confidence than she felt. She refused to give
Mulder the satisfaction of seeing her unease.

"Mm, as a friend. A friend who also happens to
like kissing."

"Mulder, I don't think this is a good idea."

"What? This conversation, or us kissing?" he
asked with a roguish grin.

"Either...both. This is not a good idea."

"Why not Scully? Afraid that once our lips touch
we'll start tearing each other's clothes off," he
teased. "C'mon, aren't you the least bit curious. 
I am."

Scully was astonished. He was serious! Fine, if
that was the way he wanted to play it.

"Don't flatter yourself Mulder. I think I could
kiss you without tearing your clothes off."

She grabbed all the papers that were laying on the
sofa between them and tipped them onto the floor.

"Okay, let's do it," she said.

Mulder felt a rush of blood to his groin and a
rush of panic to his heart. Good grief, she was actually
going to let him kiss her. He hadn't really thought she
would. Not really.

"Okay," he said with more bravado than he felt.
"How do you like to be kissed?"

She smiled at this. "Let's just improvise, okay?"

She leaned over until her lips were only
centimeters from his. And then she stopped, lips 
twitching with a badly hidden smile. She could see 
the alarm in his eyes. You should be careful when 
playing with fire Mulder, she thought.

Mulder took a deep breath and then moved towards
her. His lips brushed gently against hers and then 
he moved back slightly to look at her reaction. It 
seemed positive.

He moved in again and pressed his lips against
hers more firmly. This time her hand came up and
tentatively brushed his cheek.

He reached his hand around to the back of her head
and pulled her in closer. His tongue darted out and
danced over her lips until they opened slightly. A
slight sound escaped from her throat.

Did Scully just moan, he wondered incredulously.

An image of Scully writhing and moaning under him
flashed up and he pulled her in more roughly,
unable to control his rapidly mounting desire.
Feeling her mouth open slightly under his, he
plunged his tongue in. This time they both
moaned.

God, she thought groggily. Mulder was kissing
her. *Really* kissing her. His tongue was stroking the
roof of her mouth and his breath was coming hard against
hers. His free hand pulled around her waist and drew her 
in. Closer. She needed to be closer. Oblivious to anything
but the feel of his mouth on hers she clambered over him 
until she was straddling his lap, her arms around his neck. 
She needed his tongue and sucked on it, drawing it deeper
into her mouth.

This was too good.

Finally they broke apart, drawing in deep lungfulls of oxygen. 
Suddenly aware of her position, Scully climbed back off Mulder 
and sat apart from him on the sofa. Mulder was the first to 
take control of his breathing.

"So Scully, two friends just kissed. Has the world fallen
apart?"

"Nope," she said shakily, "Still there."

"Still friends?" he asked.

"Still friends," she confirmed.

They sat there for a few moments, chests rising
in unison with heavy breaths. Scully fixed her
eyes on a piece of nothing across the room, and
Mulder fixed his eyes on her. Finally Scully
broke the silence.

"Peripheral vision," she reminded him.

"Sorry," he said, although he wasn't. Their kiss
had smudged the remainder of her lipstick slightly
and her lips looked swollen. Her nipples were
jutting out through her T-shirt and her hair was
in disarray. In total, she was the Scully of his
fantasies.

He knew there was no way he could spend another
six years as her partner without kissing her
again.

"So does this mean we can include kissing as part
of our repertoire of things we enjoy together? Y'know,
like movies, pizza, chasing aliens..." He grinned 
wickedly at her, although his chest was still rising 
rapidly with his breathing.

Scully blew out a puff of air, causing a stray
lock of hair to fly up and then fall again. Ten 
minutes ago she would have dismissed him with a 
witty comment and they would have continued their 
teasing and flirting and gradually moved on
to another topic of conversation. But now she had
kissed Mulder. And she had really - no *really* -
enjoyed it.

Was his suggestion possible? Could they kiss, as
friends? It didn't have to mean anything did it? 
They could kiss to show their deep friendship for 
each other, their mutual respect. Just because she 
kissed him, didn't mean she was admitting any deep 
feelings for him. Kissing was just a pleasurable 
physical activity that two friends could participate 
in. It didn't have to lead to sex. Sex was an entirely 
different thing altogether. Finally managing to 
convince herself, she turned to Mulder.

"Okay Mulder," she said surprising herself at how
matter-of-fact she sounded. "I can't see any
reason why we can't kiss every now and then.
Y'know, just as friends. As an indication of our
friendship and mutual respect for each other.
Nothing more."

"Sure," he stuttered. "Just as friends." He
frowned, unable to register what she had just
said. "So does this mean I can just...kiss you?
Whenever I want?"

"I guess," she replied. "Within reason. And only
in private." A little thrill coursed through her
as she thought about kissing him again.

"Okay," he said in wonder.

They both sat there, unsure what to do now.

"Wanna watch TV?" asked Mulder finally.

"Sure," said Scully in relief, reaching for the
remote and quickly turning it on.



Two hours later they had exhausted the supply of
trashy TV shows on cable. Scully had even watched
a special on Michael Jordan to avoid the prospect of 
looking at Mulder. Specifically, at his lips.

She stretched her arms and stood up. "Well, I
guess I'd better go. It's late."

"I'll see you out," said Mulder scrambling to his
feet.

"I think I can find the front door without you
Mulder," said Scully sardonically.

"Yeah, well, just making sure you leave," he
teased.

At the door she turned towards him. She should
give him a goodnight kiss. Just to mark the occasion. A
peck on the lips - nothing more.

"Well, goodnight Mulder." She leaned up and
pressed her lips lightly to his. His hands
reached up and cupped her face and she felt them
tremble ever so slightly. When she tried to pull
back, his grip on her face tightened and one hand
moved to the back of her head, pulling her towards
him.

"Uh uh," he muttered against her lips. His tongue
immediately darted out seeking hers and she
couldn't help but respond. She pressed her body
into his and craned her head back to receive his
kisses. Damn their height difference.

After a few minutes of deep, wet kisses, she
whispered hoarsely, "I think my neck is broken."

He chuckled and grabbed her by the hips raising
her up. "Wrap your legs around me," he murmured into 
her ear. She did so and gasped slightly when he 
moved forward and pushed her up against the wall. 
With her legs wrapped tightly around his waist 
and her back firmly against the wall she
was secure, and exactly the right height for an
extended kissing session.

"Better?" he inquired, and not giving her a chance
to respond he slid his tongue into her mouth, hot 
and demanding. She moaned, this time not caring if 
he heard. He obviously did, and she felt his
erection growing in response. His erection! She
squirmed a little to move away from it, but only
succeeded in rubbing herself against it, causing
him to moan even more.

"Scully," he croaked. "God."

He thrust his hips against her hot wet center and
she groaned in response. Her tongue lapped
against his. He could feel her grinding against
his erection as she sucked on his lips and tongue.
God, her mouth. Her body.

This was not good. He had to get some control. If
she thrust her hips against his once more, there was
no way he was *not* having sex with her.

"Scully, stop," he panted pulling his head away
from hers. Her eyes were languid with desire and 
she looked at him fuzzily.

"Don't you want to kiss me Mulder?" she asked,
voice thick with arousal.

"This is not just kissing, Scully," he replied,
his hands gripping her hips. It was taking all his 
willpower not to thrust against her again. His 
willpower dissolved when she squirmed against his 
erection and involuntarily his hips jerked, thrusting 
himself against her heat. She moaned, her eyes closing 
and head falling back against the wall.

His stomach did a flip-flop at the sight. Dana
Scully, head thrown back exposing her soft white
throat, moaning at his touch. Even in his most
heated fantasies he had not conjured up such an
erotic image. Her eyes fluttered open just enough
for her to gaze down at him, and her sultry look
told him there was no going back from here.

He leaned forward so his lips were grazing her
throat, making sure in the process that he pressed
his erection against her more forcefully. He
could feel her wetness seeping through her pants
and he felt her buck against him.

"Clothes off Scully," he demanded softly.

She nodded mutely and he let her legs drop to the
ground.

Quickly he undid her zipper and dragged her pants
and underwear down to the floor. She stepped out of
them, kicking them to one side, and then helped
him drag his jeans and boxers down to his ankles.
Grasping her buttocks he lifted her up again so 
they were in the same position they were in only 
moments before - her legs wrapped around his
waist and his erection pressed between her legs.

He tilted his head back and looked into her eyes.

"Yes?" he asked gently.

"Yes," she confirmed. God yes. Now.

She kept her eyes focussed on his while he lifted
her slightly higher and pressed the tip of his
erection against her entrance. She could feel his 
arms straining to keep her in position and then he 
lowered her a careful inch. She gasped as the pleasure/pain 
of him opening her up seared through her.

"Okay Scully?"

"Okay Mulder."

He lifted her slightly once more so that his penis
withdrew before lowering her again, this time a few 
more inches.

"Oh Mulder," she breathed. The pleasure was
rapidly overtaking the pain, and this time when he 
went to raise her she shook her head. Instead she 
rotated her hips and then pressed down so that he 
was fully in her.

"Scully!" he cried out. "Jesus!"

They both took a moment to adjust to the fact that
he was in her, and then he began thrusting. Slowly at
first and then more rapidly as their juices mingled and
allowed him to slip in and out of her with ease.

Scully started whimpering as their lovemaking picked up 
pace. Realizing that he could no longer hold them
up on his shaky legs, Mulder grasped her firmly around
the waist and turned around. Forgetting his jeans were still
around his ankles, he took a step towards the sofa.

"Shit!" he yelled as they stumbled. Scully gripped
his shoulders in surprise and heard the crack as
Mulder's knees slammed into the floor.

"Ohhh," he groaned, this time not in pleasure. He
fell forward, more gently, until Scully was laying on
the floor, with him on top of her.

She brushed the hair our of his eyes. "You okay?"
she asked.

"Scully, right now someone could shoot my knees
off and I wouldn't care," although his wince made it 
clear how much pain he was in. "Now, where were we?"

He plunged into her again and both of them forgot
their ungainly tumble to the floor. Their bodies moved
against each other, slick with sweat. He felt her nails
drive into his buttocks and he gasped as she raised her hips
higher to meet him.

Don't come now, he pleaded with himself. He wanted to prolong 
this pleasure for as long as possible. He was making love 
to Scully.

He paused and raised himself on his elbows to gaze
down at her. Realizing she was still half-clothed he
slipped her shirt off over her head and undid her
bra. Then he quickly peeled off his own shirt,
nearly squashing her in the process. When they
were completely naked he brushed a kiss against
her chest.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" he said
huskily, running one hand up her silky, sweaty
stomach to gently caress her breast.

He trailed his hand back down her body, until he
reached the wiry curls between her legs. His
fingers delved into her folds, seeking her
sensitive bud. She jerked in reaction to his
touch, and he was inordinately proud with himself
for finding it with his first attempt.

She smiled at his smirk, "Don't look so proud of
yourself G-Man," she mumbled. "You've still got
some work to do."

He leaned back down and breathed into her ear,
"Well I think I want to finish this with you on
top. I want to be able to watch you properly when
you come." Actually, his knees were killing him,
but he wasn't going to tell her that. He deftly
flipped them over so that she was straddling him.

The sight of her on top of him made him his heart
pound even harder. Her hair was wild around her
head, her nipples were hard and her face...her
face was just glowing. The vision before him
caused all the blood to rush to his groin and he
closed his eyes to get control.

"What's up Mulder," she teased. "Changed your
mind?"

"On the contrary," he groaned. "I want this to
last as long as humanly possible, and if I don't
stop for a moment, believe me, it's not gonna last
much longer."

She smiled and ran her fingernails lightly down
his chest. "We can always do it again. Now, are
you gonna move?" She clenched her vaginal muscles
around the length of him and laughed at the cry
that tore from his lips.

"Jeesu - where'd you learn that?!"

"Pelvic floor exercises Mulder. Y' learn a lot of
useful things in Med. school. Now, if you don't
finish what you started - "

"Y'know what Scully?" he interrupted, gripping the
fleshy bits of her hips. "You talk too much."

She leaned over his so that her breasts grazed his
chest, and whispered into his ear, "So do
something to shut me up, lover."

With that he started pumping into her, fast and
furious, and was rewarded with her cry of surprise
and pleasure. She raised herself up so that her
hands were resting on his chest, and he watched
her breasts swinging in time to their rhythm. Her
mouth fell open and her head tilted back and then
she was coming, calling his name and digging her
fingernails into his chest.

The waves of her orgasm rippling down his cock
were too much for him and he came immediately
after, grasping her hips and crying out.

She slumped bonelessly down over him and he
reached up behind him to drag a blanket off the
sofa, which he arranged loosely around them. He
grabbed the cushion that had fallen on the floor
and stuffed it under his head, so that he could
look at her body draped over his. His hands slid
under the blanket and mindlessly stroked her back
and bottom.

After a short while she roused herself. She placed
her hands on his chest and propped her head up on
them so that she could look at him.

"So Mulder, care to re-think your little theory?
Didn't it say something like, let's see, a kiss
between friends is just a kiss and has nothing to
do with sex."

"Actually Scully I still stand by that theory. A
kiss between friends does not have to lead to
sex...oh - unless it's with you of course. Did I
forget to mention that bit?" he asked innocently.

She smirked and briefly wondered if he had
intended all along to seduce her. Still, now that
it was done, she was surprised by how calm she
felt; how right it felt.

"Actually Scully, I seem to remember you agreeing
with my theory and in fact, if I recall correctly,
you said that you could see no reason why two
friends couldn't kiss, as an indication of their
deep friendship and mutual respect for each
other." He snorted with laughter. "Mutual respect
Scully? That's really lame."

She smirked. "It was worth a try Mulder."

He brushed a lock of her hair from her forehead.
"I have another theory y'know. I think it is
possible for two friends to have wild, passionate
sex, purely as an indication of their deep
friendship and mutual respect for each other."
They started laughing and through her laughter
Scully said, "I'm only willing to agree with that
theory if we can test the hypothesis a number of
times."

"Deal," he confirmed running his hands through her
hair. He looked at her for a long moment,
imprinting this moment in his brain. Inexplicably,
he felt a wave of emotion and a lump forming in
this throat. He cleared his throat and blinked
his eyes, hoping she hadn't noticed. "Hey, you
wanna sleep over?" he asked huskily.

"Waterbed?"

"Gone."

"Oh well," she said, faking disappointment. "I
guess I'll take what I can get."

They wandered into his bedroom bickering over who
was going to get the left side of the bed. Scully
won.


******

4.00am
Mulder's bed


Scully lay contented in Mulder's arms, her head on
his chest and her legs twined with his. She was
fully awake and happy to lie there enjoying this
new experience.

She had been woken earlier by the delightful
sensation of Mulder caressing a breast and
nuzzling the back of her neck. Her arousal was
immediate, and she had rolled over to face him,
draping a leg over his hip. He had entered her
and they had made love slowly and seductively,
taking their time to kiss gently and stare into
each other's eyes.

Now she was running a hand over his chest, pulling
gently at his chest hair and tweaking his nipples.
His contented little sighs told her that he was as
happy as she was.

He broke their silence by clearing his throat.

"Scully," he began, and his serious tone made her
look up at him. "I have another theory. I
believe...I think it's possible for two friends
to...uh...to be in love, y'know, because of their
deep friendship and mutual respect for each other.
What do you think?"

She shimmied up so their faces were level and
looked into his eyes, which were filled with love
and hesitation. She rubbed her nose against his
and whispered, "I believe that is not only
completely possible, but entirely probable."

She pressed her lips lovingly against his, sealing
their friendship and respect with a soft and sexy
kiss.


THE END


Thank you so, so, so much to Amanda and Audrey for
their invaluable beta reading. It's thanks to
Audrey that Mulder and Scully ended up *fully*
naked!




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