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! Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.