Kiss (Sequel to Even)

Author: PhileyX 
E-Mail: phileyxback@yahoo.com 
Web-site: https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx 
Rating: PG 
Category: UST 
Spoilers: Season Six - Three Of A Kind and FTF
Disclaimer: Special Agent Archie Travis is mine and mine alone. The rest of the characters belong to the Fox network.
Intro: This is a sequel to "Even" which was a sequel to "Mulder" which was a sequel to "Fox" and "Toady". It is recommended that you read "Fox", "Mulder", "Toady" and "Even" first. Or you could just read on, be absolutely confused and then decide to read them all. Hey, whatever works for you! 
For "Fox" click on -> https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Fox.html 
For "Mulder" click on -> https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Mulder.html 
For "Toady" click on -> https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Toady.html 
For "Even" click on -> https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Even.html
Summary: How far would Mulder go to know what happened?

XXXXXXXXXXX
Kiss 

"So you think she'll go out with me?"

"Hmm…" Mulder answered automatically but was too preoccupied with the clipboard in his hand. 

Travis lifted an eyebrow. "And what exactly does 'Hmm' mean?"

His friend ignored him, tapped his pen against the board impatiently and muttered under his breath. "Bubble bath…"

"Mulder!"

He jumped and glared at the monitor in front of him. "What? The guy's here?" He studied the screen carefully for any sign of their target but all he could see was his partner still sitting on the bench alone and obviously very bored." He turned to glare at the younger man. "Gees, you scared the hell out of me!"

"Well you deserve it. Instead of surveying the damned monitor, you're thinking about bubble baths?"

He gave him a look. "And I suppose you're totally concentrating on the mission at hand, Mr. Should-I-Ask-Her-Out. For the thousandth time, just ask her already! Don't be such a wimp!" 

Travis grabbed the file from his hand and read from it. "EH. Bathroom. Backrub. Naked. Bubble bath. Bed." He looked up. "Why do I have a feeling this has something to do with Scully?"

Mulder scowled and waved his hand in air as if to say that it wasn't important. He sighed and stared at his partner in the tiny display in front of him. He was trying to piece the puzzles together but the more he thought about it, the more baffled he was. 

Of course he would love to conclude that Scully had him give her massage in the bathtub while she was having a bubble bath. But the possibility of it was almost the non-existent. Or was it?

His memory flashed back to his thoughts two weeks ago in the hospital, when he actually indulged in the belief that Scully pretended to be triggered just to get a taste of him. The fifteen glorious minutes ended with the first jerk-off of his life in a hospital bed. But as the blood returned to his brain, he had managed to rationally conclude that it just wasn't remotely probable.

He bit his lip in irritation. How could he find out without getting himself into trouble? There was no way he could tell her that he had allowed her to take advantage of him. Although he had stopped themselves from going any farther than absolutely possible, she would still be majorly pissed. He was awakened from his reverie by Travis. "On a scale of one to ten?" 

Mulder blinked at him. "What?"

"Scully, naked."

He put on a look of surprise and somehow managed to lie with a straight face. "What the hell are you talking about? Sure, I lust. But that was as far as I ever got." 

Travis rolled his eyes. "Scully told me you already saw her in the flesh."

Mulder eyes widened in shock. "She told you?"

"Yeah. She refused to let me help her with the 'strap' thing."

The former was dumb-founded. 'It was unbelievable!' Scully telling a virtual stranger that he had seen her naked. 'What the hell happened to 'Trust No One'?' Sure it was just Travis but his addition into the picture was relatively premature to go pouring out all her secrets to him. Then a thought struck him. "What else did she tell you?"

"Nothing much." He answered cautiously; suddenly not liking the look Mulder was giving him.

"Did she mention anything about a kiss?"

Travis eyes bulged. "You know, I'm getting the picture that this 'there's-nothing-going-on-between-us' thing is pure bullshit."

"So she didn't mention a kiss?"

"No"

"But she didn't say she never kissed me right?"

"What the hell is this about? If she kissed you, you would know. So why the hell you're asking me if she if she kissed you?" 

Mulder shifted in his seat uncomfortably, not knowing how to explain the events of the past 3 weeks. He wondered just how desperate he was to know what had happened in the bathroom. The answer came to him two seconds later when he caught sight of the word 'bubble bath' highlighted on the clipboard in Travis's hand. He just **had** to know!

The way he looked at it, it boiled down to one question. Did she or did she not kiss him by her own free will? If she had, everything made sense. Then, the antidote did react immediately. She did taste him. He did give her a backrub in the midst of a bubble bath….. But what about waking up in the bed with her? He shook the thought. 'No, dwelling on that question would only begin another act of self-indulgence.' And as far as Travis was concerned, all he needed to find out was if Scully had kissed him before.

Travis somehow read his mind. "Oh no, Mulder. The last time I checked, you owed me one."

"I'm sure we could come up with agreement." He coaxed him sweetly.

"What on earth could you possibly offer me to lay my life on the line like that? Unlike you, I'd like to live to have a wife and kids."

He grinned. "And maybe I could speed that up for you. I just might be able to set you up with Miss Tanya ….." He trailed off, knowing that this was one offer Travis couldn't refuse.

He stared at him. "And just how are you going to do that?"

Mulder grimaced inside and wondered the same. Although Tanya and Scully were pretty good friends, well at least professionally, would he be able persuade his partner to talk Tanya into a blind date? Well, he'd just have to figure it out later. Maybe use one of his irresistible pouts. "I'll get you the date. You just get me the info."

Travis studied him suspiciously. "All right Mulder. But I'm warning you. Double-cross me and I'll tell her about the Popsicle incident."

Mulder ignored him and turned his attentions back to his partner. Switching on the microphone that fed signals directly into Scully earpiece, he addressed her as seductively as he could. "Scully, what are you wearing?"

Travis grinned at the screen. "Mulder, I think you just got the finger."

"Oooo Scully, are you coming on to me?"

XXXXXXXXXX

The basement door was open. Travis was about to knock and announce himself when his eyebrows shot up. 'The very prim and proper Agent Dana Scully checking Mulder's ass out?' Her partner was bent over the lower drawer of the cabinet across the room, busy looking for a file. Grinning, Travis leaned against the door and watched in amusement.

When Mulder finally found the file half a minute later, she quickly whipped her head back behind the computer screen. Her partner looked up from the open file from his hand. "Hey Archie. What's up?"

Scully jumped and stared at man at the door with the deer-caught-in-the-headlight look. He sauntered in, leaned against the desk and casually replied. "Oh nothing. Just dropped by to check on my favourite pair of **assess**." His words told her that he was standing there long enough to catch her roving pair of eyes in action.

She glared at him. Knowing that he was perfectly safe as long as Mulder was around, he leaned and whispered to her. "I thought we agreed on no ass checking, Agent Scully?"

She growled back softly. "Say a word and I'll castrate you."

He shrugged in mock bravado. "I guess I'll have to remember to wear a cup the next time I follow you to the morgue."

The glare intensified and Travis grinned. Suddenly a ball of paper struck him at the back of his head. "What was that for?" He turned and protested.

"Lay off the come-ons. You're breaking FBI protocol." Mulder warned.

"That's only for partners, you idiot."

He put on a mock surprised look. "Really, imagine that! You mean all that talk about Scully and me doing the wild thing in the basement's actually against Bureau policy?"

"Relax Mulder. They're smart enough to know I'm not your type. All this talk is just to get through the daily grind awake."

"And just what is my type, Scully?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. Then opening the second drawer, she took out a tape and held it up. "These are your type."

Travis read the title on the cover. "Summer Vixens II." He frowned and took it from her hand. "Is this new, Mulder? I've never seen this one before."

"Yeah. Nothing especially interesting though."

Scully looked slightly horrified and groaned. "I knew basketball couldn't be the only reason you two got along."

Mulder shrugged. "A man's gotta have a hobby Scully. Archie and I just have a different passion. We're porn critics."

She rolled her eyes. 

He looked at her thoughtfully. "You know Scully, a change in your wardrobe could altogether change my perspective on you. You could eventually be my type."

She gave him an incredulous look and reminded him about the day before. "Mulder, you can't even handle me in a decent bra."

Travis snickered as he thought about Mulder and the Popsicle. "He can't even handle you in a suit."

Mulder glared at him. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

"You know, our conversations are so interesting each time I come down here. I'm wondering what you guys talk about when I'm not around."

Mulder grinned. "Oh we never talk about this stuff when we're alone. It's too dangerous. Scully might get turned on and jump me."

She smiled sweetly and looked at Travis. "He's right. I'm barely breathing right now. The moment you leave, I'm going to push him against that filing cabinet, strip his pants off and have him for lunch."

The two men gaped. She blinked when she saw that they were taking her seriously. "I was kidding!"

Mulder shushed her. "I'm getting a visual." And he closed his eyes. 

"Oh brother." She groaned and stalked out of the office in a huff.

Travis smiled. "Mulder, she's gone." No reply. "Mulder?"

"Shhh…." He hissed, his eyes still closed.

Travis groaned.

XXXXXXXXXX

Travis shifted his seat in the van for the millionth time. Trying to figure out how to bring up the 'kiss' question without getting shot was harder than he initially thought.

It was Mulder's turn to wear the wire this time. After the finger his partner pulled on 'live' surveillance video, he had called the stake off for a few days. Since then he had been trying to figure out how to get the information that could land him a date with the girl he has been fantasizing about for the past week. So far all he decided was that the best time would be in the surveillance van where everybody was bored enough to talk about anything.

The screen in front of Dana and him showed a rare picture of Mulder. He was actually sitting still, one hand holding up a book and another indulging himself with his precious seeds. Once in a while they would hear the 'cracking' sounds of the shells bursting open between his teeth.

Travis turned to glance at his partner. "Those seeds are driving me crazy."

Although engrossed with a medical journal in her hand, she paused from biting her lip for a moment. "You'll get used to it."

He suppressed a groan. "I doubt it."

"Just think of it as the ticking of a clock."

"Is that how you got over it?"

She gave a soft snort. "Well the analogy is perfect in his case. He can't live without that junk."

A thought suddenly struck him and Travis cautiously chose the next words. "You don't like sunflower seeds?"

Shrugging, she replied. "Don't mind them but don't live on them like he does."

"I suppose he tastes of them?"

Silence. And his heart began to beat wildly in fear. Dana looked up, a frown clearly creasing her brow. "Tastes of them?"

His mouth suddenly went dry and he struggled with his voice. "Yeah. I mean if you kissed him, you'd probably taste it."

She gave him a dubious look and gently asked. "Travis, are you sure you're not gay?"

He almost sighed in relief that she hadn't understood his real agenda for that question. "Of course I'm sure! I'm just wondering….. " He trailed off.

"Okay." She nodded although looking slightly unconvinced. "You know if you really want to know, all you gotta do is kiss him yourself to find out." And she returned to her journal.

'Damn! Almost had her!' He thought and tapped his finger in frustration, on the keypad in front of him.

After a minute, her head snapped up. "Archie, will you please stop that?"

He shot back. "Think of it as the ticking of a clock." That earned a glare from her and he held his hand up in mock surrender. "Fine, I'll stop." Then, he muttered. "Meanwhile Sexy Foxy gets away with anything…."

She shot him a look. "All right, what's bothering you?"

He hesitated and debated with himself if he should just ask her right out. But his courage disappeared as fast as it rose. "How well does Mulder know Tanya Matthews?"

She frowned. "I don't think he knows her at all, personally I mean."

"That stinking piece of…" He cursed under his breath, so he was about to swindle him. Or, maybe not. "Do **you** know her?"

"Yeah. We're quite close, professionally anyway."

Travis grinned. 'So he was going to use Dana to get him that date.' Maybe if he played his cards right, he could get the girl without risking getting his hopes for children castrated. "Do you think she'll like me?"

Her frown immediately turned into a smile. "How cute, you're in love…." She playfully swooned.

"Seriously, Dana!" 

An unpleasant thought seemed to cross her mind. "What's this got to do with Mulder tasting of his seeds?"

Now Travis looked confused and then realized why she brought it up. "Nothing at all."

She shook her head and gave him a firm look. "No, there **is** something."

He almost groaned, knowing that if he didn't tell her, there was no way she would intercede on his behalf and goodbye Miss Tanya. "Mulder claims he can get me a date."

She digested his words slowly, a small trace of realization beginning to creep on her face. "And what do you have to do in return?"

Feeling rather guilty and sneaky, he reluctantly admitted all. "Find out if you kissed him before."

A full-fledged smile brightened her face, as she remained thoughtful for a few minutes.

"Well, have you?" Archie persisted, mostly curious than for any reason originally planned.

"That was all he wanted to know?" She asked, deliberately ignoring his query.

He nodded. "Of course, I really didn't really get it because if you kissed him, he would know, right?"

"Right." She repeated, rather absent-mindedly.

"Unless he was intoxicated or drugged."

"Right." She agreed again without thinking.

"What? He was?"

She started slightly. "What? No, I mean…." Looking a little disorientated, she distracted him instead. "Listen I'll get you the date."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

"Uh-huh."

He studied her face and his voice dropt in misery. "What do I have to do?"

She grinned. "Just pretend I told you about my most explosive sexual fantasy with Fox Mulder."

"Did you? Not tell me, I mean have fantasies?"

She gave him a look as if he was dull. "Hello? Tuesday morning, in the office?"

"Oh right." He frowned. "Is that what's so attractive about him? His ass?"

She shrugged. "His eyes, his mouth…. Yeah, actually mostly his ass."

He rolled his eyes and got up from his seat, parading his rear. "I've got a pretty nice ass myself."

She cocked her head as she studied it. "I prefer Mulder's. Even Tanya mentioned he had a nice one."

"Great! I'll have to contest with the Ass King." He grimaced as he twisted his head to take a glimpse of himself. Meanwhile, Dana suddenly had a naughty thought and gleefully switched on the microphone without him noticing.

Travis caught her attention again. "Honestly Dana, what's wrong with my ass? Too big, not tight enough, what?"

"Hmmm…. Turn around for me, Archie love." She told him sweetly, noticing that Mulder had sat up in attention on the bench. 'Oh he was catching this loud and clear, that's for sure.' She thought and grinned.

"Well, it is reasonably tight. I suppose it would nicely fit my palms if I cupped them like this." Holding her hands up, she demonstrated in mid-air. 

Although quite surprised at her blatant cheekiness, he was too engrossed with what Tanya might like to respond to her appropriately. "So it's tight enough, but…?"

"Butt is the right word." She teased further.

"Dana, stop kidding around. It's hard enough…"

She cut him off in mid-sentence, almost laughing at the perfect choice of his words that would certainly get Mulder's imagination off and running. "I know, sweetie. I just want to make sure you're ready, that I don't hurt you."

He looked at her in horror. "Wha..? Oh God! It can't be tha…"

"Easy Archie…." She quickly interrupted and soothed his dismay. "No, it's not that bad, I was just teasing. I'm sure you're man enough to enjoy a good tease, aren't you?" She stole a glance at the monitor and noticed that her partner was at the edge of the park seat, clutching his book and bag of seeds very tightly.

"Thank God." Archie sighed and groaned in relief. "Damn it, Dana. I almost burst…"

Again, she intervened. "Sorry. But can't have you going so soon, can we?"

"Yea…." He stopped suddenly, noticing that the red light on the control panel was on. "Wait a minute, why is the feedback mic to Mulder on?"

She innocently looked at the red bulb. "You're right, it is."

'Oh no, Mulder heard everything.' Travis eyes widened in horror. He knew he blabbed to Dana. "Shit! Switch it off, Dana!"

"Right." She pretended to be apologetic and whispered into the mic. "Sorry about that, Mulder." Then, she switched it off and watched the screen. His astounded face was classic and it was all she could do but burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Travis was oblivious of her triumph. "Shit! Shit! Shit! He heard us. He knows, Dana!"

"What?" She looked at him surprise. "Knows what, Archie? It was just a joke!"

"That I told you about the deal between us, you know the kiss for Tanya?"

Realization dawned on her. "Archie, calm down. I only switched on the mic when you started asking me about your ass."

He looked relieved and then confused. "You switched it on, on purpose? Why?"

"Let's see." She grinned and mimicked him. "What's wrong with my ass, Dana? Too big, not tight enough?" Then she returned to her own voice. "Turn around, Archie love. Hmmm, quite tight, nicely fit my palms if I cupped them…." And she trailed off, back again to her mischievous grin.

At first, he started laughing. Then, he realized the full implications of her deviousness and began moaning. "Oh no, this is not good."

She was slightly surprised. "What?"

"He thinks we were doing something here."

"I know. That's the idea."

Archie grabbed her hand and told her firmly. "Dana, that was not a good idea."

She looked at his serious face and then to the screen. To her surprise, he was not in sight. She pressed Archie's hand to get his attention. Before he could react to what he saw or rather did not see, the van door opened and Mulder stood at the doorway. "Am I interrupting something?" His voice, low and dangerous.

As they recovered from the shock of his presence, they realized they were still holding hands and quickly released their grip. "Mulder …" Travis searched hard for the appropriate words, Dana was much too stunned.

Mulder studied them closely. His raging emotions were beginning to cool down, seeing them fully dressed, unlike the visions he had in his head half a minute ago. In fact, as reason began to flow back into his consciousness, he realized that there was no way they could have been doing what he had imagined them to be doing and still be decently clothed and unruffled as they were. 'Was it a joke?' He wondered but then recalled them holding hands. That bit didn't quite fit.

His partner cleared her throat and finally broke the silence. "So what do you think, Mulder? I suppose you caught our discussion on Travis's ass?"

'She didn't call him Archie this time.' He noticed and wondered why she deliberately implied the formality. "Yes I did. I heard his buns were just the right size and tight enough for your hands."

'Shit!' Dana silently cursed. He was hurt and he was not going to make this easy. Archie was right, what she did was not a very good idea. "I said reasonably tight. Although I won't really know, he didn't let me touch it."

He seemed to be softening, Travis noted in relief. "Hey, I don't let just anyone touch my ass, you know."

A smile. 'Thank God!' Dana thought. "Mulder, why did you leave your post?"

"I finished my book." He lied.

They didn't dare call his bluff. Dana looked at Archie. "What now, chief?"

"Well it's been three hours so I guess he's done his time. I'll take the next round."

Mulder nodded. "Good. Scully and I will stay here and take watch." His sentence seemed to hold a deeper meaning and no one said anything.

Travis picked up the second wire from the case nearby and began hooking it on. Meanwhile, Mulder took his off and sat next to his partner, staring dutifully at the monitor. She however, opened her medical journal and pretended to read. When Travis left the van, the atmosphere was still chillingly silent. 

It was two hours before he spoke. And so suddenly that Dana jumped when he did. "Good joke." He said.

She was unsure if he meant it. "I thought so." Hesitating, she pushed her luck. "But you weren't laughing."

He told her crisply. "I'm sorry I disappointed you."

'Shit, I did it again.' She thought and thought hard what her next words should be. Finally, she decided to make amends. "Did I?"

"What?"

"Disappoint you?" She waited but no answer so she laid her cards on the table. "If I did, I didn't mean to."

Still no answer. She turned to look at him; he was still staring at the green screen. Accepting that he wasn't ready to let it go yet, she was about return to her journal when he suddenly changed the subject. "The boy is sweet on Tanya Matthews. Think you can get him a date?"

She almost sighed aloud at his stubbornness, not that she blamed him for it. "I'll try."

"Good." He paused and then surprised her again. "So what do you think of my ass, Scully?"

She was stunned, uncertain of what his intentions were. "Nice." 

"Tight?"

"Yes."

"Tighter than Travis's?"

She almost smiled but conceded to stroke his male ego anyway. "I told you, his was just 'reasonable'. Yes, Mulder." She finally added, knowing that saying his name gave him pleasure.

She was right; he felt a whole lot better. 'It was a joke.' He concluded and nearly grinned. And it was a good one if he wasn't so much in love with her. "But you didn't touch mine either."

"How do you know?" She teased gently, wondering if he was ready for it but risking it anyway.

'Oh so we're getting back to that, huh?' Mulder thought and wondered if he should forgive her yet. He soon realized that the alternative was not knowing the events that led to the bubble bath. Deciding that his pride was nothing compared to knowing the truths of Dana Scully's attraction to him, he teased back. "So you're sure?"

Dana hesitated. She had already revealed the massage and bubble bath, would gripping his buns give the whole picture away? Duh! Definitely. "They look it."

"Do they feel it?" He persisted.

She tried a defensive question to throw him off. "Mulder, are you trying to insinuate something?"

He looked thoughtful as if strategizing his next move. "No, I just want to know if you're sure?"

'Answering that was vague enough.' She thought and told him. "Yes."

He frowned. 'Still no good, not a definite answer. And he had blew it with Travis too.' He paused in his thoughts. 'Maybe not.' Two hours ago, the boy looked guilty enough to pull through for him. Sighing, he decided to leave it to fate. "So what other parts of me that you like, Scully?"

She smiled and thought. 'Things were back to normal.'

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are you sure it's safe?" He asked her for the third time.

"Yes Archie, he's fine now. By the way, us meeting privately in the cafeteria won't exactly help to ease the situation if he isn't. Not to mention, the sighting will prove to be rather unpopular among the other agents."

"On the country, my association with the Royal Spookiness' has increased my ratings considerably. I'm quite a celebrity now. Rumours going around that we make a wicked threesome." Travis waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Dana rolled her eyes. "God, how sick can they get!"

"I'm just waiting for them to throw Kent in and we could even achieve 'orgy'ness."

She changed the topic quickly. "Okay listen up, your pervertness. Tanya is a sweet girl and intelligent too so no macho stuff, understand?"

"Yup."

"She loves Chinese food and Grunge…."

"Grunge? Shit, I hate that crap!"

"Doesn't matter, just don't bring her to the Opera." She held out a piece of paper. "Here's her number." He was about to take it when she snatched her hand back.

He groaned loudly. "Oh right, I'm supposed to tell Mulder about your fantasy."

Two agents who were passing by, obviously caught what he had said because they looked at each other and walked away, snickering. Dana glared at Travis. "Gee, thanks a lot for that. I hope you get stalked by a Toady for it."

He grimaced at the thought. "Sorry."

"I was going to say, don't fuck this up. I like Tanya."

"Oh." He sighed. "Dana, do you think if I didn't really like her, I would go through all this shit just to get a date?"

Smiling, she handed the number to him. "No."

"That's right. No way in hell." He paused for a moment and then told her. "But I think Mulder is still waiting for the 'kiss' question to be answered.

"No, he's not." She assured him and added cheekily. "Don't worry about it. Maybe one day, I'll tell him myself."

"Yeah right!" Travis snorted. "But I'm glad everything is back to normal. Was beginning to miss trading tapes with him."

She frowned. "You know what? I changed my mind. Give me back that piece of paper!"

His eyes widened. Hastily tucking it away in his pocket, he mumbled his thanks and almost ran out of the cafeteria before she really changed her mind.

XXXXXXXXXX

Travis knocked gently on the basement door and walked in. Dana wasn't in but her partner was. And this would be the first time alone with him since the 'ass' day. Slightly disconcerted, he tried to remain calm. "Hey Mulder."

Mulder only glanced briefly at him and back to his work again. "Sorry Archie, no time to change my rentals this week and don't you dare tell us we're up for another watch anytime soon. We've up to our necks catching up the paperwork as it is."

Travis was relieved. She was right, everything was okay again. "We predict a transaction next week, might need you then."

"Wonderful, I'm looking forward to busting our ass off the week after that." He groaned sarcastically and looked up from his file. "By the way, how did your date go last night?"

Travis flushed slightly, surprised. "Dana told you." The former nodded and he smiled happily. "It went great. **Really** great actually. We're definitely going out again soon."

He gave him a cautious look. "No wait two days and call again?"

"No games, Mulder. I really like her and I'm not willing to take that chance."

He blinked but didn't comment on his statement. Instead, he changed the subject. "So I held my end of the bargain…." He trailed off.

Travis groaned. So Mulder was not about to let him off. "You had the easy part."

Grinning, he persisted. "A deal's a deal."

Travis bit his lower lip and thought about Dana's so-called fantasy. 'I suppose since she got me the date, my allegiance is with her.' He decided quietly.

"Well?" Mulder pressed him further.

"Okay, she shared something." He told him, wondering what type of fantasy should he make up.

This time Mulder perked up in his seat and leaned forward to fully face him. "She kissed me before?"

'Bubble bath.' Travis thought suddenly. It was after all the very thing that Mulder was doodling about a few days ago. So he braved himself and began his tale. "I believe it had something to do with a backrub…."

"She told you about that?" Mulder was astounded.

"… in the bathtub…"

"While having a bubble bath…" He interjected again and stared blankly at the wall, in a daze.

"Yes." Travis grinned. This was going to be easier than he thought. With Mulder providing the flesh to the bones, they would probably come up with a heavy-duty sex-dream to fulfill even Mulder's standards. 

"What else?"

Then again, Mulder seemed to be depending on him to come up with more bones, Travis almost sulked. "Erm…. well being in the bathtub… you know… without clothes and all…."

"Right, we were both naked."

A worried frown set on his face. "Yeah, naked. And you know, from a backrub…. touching each other… one thing led to another and…. you know…."

"No, I don't know!' Mulder growled. "Did we have sex?"

His eyebrows shot up, seriously not knowing what would be the right answer to that, Mulder looked almost angry. He decided to try his luck. "I assume you did. I mean that's how fantasies go usually."

"What do you mean you assume we did?" He barked. "What did she tell you? Did we do it or not?"

Travis was beginning to panic now. "Well she didn't exactly say it but I believe she said something about being…. explosive?"

"Who exploded? Scully exploded or I did?"

"God Mulder! I don't know! "Maybe you both exploded!" Travis gave up and he decided to end the story before he got turned on by his own work of fiction. "Anyway, she woke up and that was the end of that!"

Mulder looked confused. "You mean I woke up?"

"No, she woke up. Why would you wake up, it's her dream!"

Now he was completely baffled. "Her dream? What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's her fantasy, stupid! Why would you wake up in her fantasy?" 

"Why are we talking about her fantasy?"

"That's what we told me."

"You were supposed to be asking if she had ever kissed me before, why on earth did she tell you this?"

"I don't know. I asked her but she replied me with this and that's why I'm telling you!"

At that moment, the tension was broken by a telephone call. It was Skinner's secretary Kim. Mulder picked it and hung up half a minute later. "He wants to see me."

'Good!' Travis sighed in relief.

Grabbing the file on his table, he walked towards the door but stopped at the doorway. "Damn it Travis, I can't believe you. A kiss! It was one simple question!"

Travis glared at him. "Mulder run along before I strangle you!" And the last he heard from him was a load moan.

'I have no idea what just happened.' Travis thought while shaking his head. He walked out the office and suddenly bumped into Tanya.

"Tanya?"

"Hi Archie." She smiled.

"What are you doing here?" He hesitated and decided he was being rude. "I mean…"

She interrupted. "I was looking for you. I called your extension but you weren't in. I guessed you would be here."

"Oh."

She looked at him hesitantly and asked. "You were not…. kissing and telling, were you?"

Travis was momentarily stunned. When it dawned on him that she might have caught Mulder's last harsh sentence to him. "God no, Tanya! The kiss…. it was just about Agent Scully…." He suddenly stopped. 'Shit! What was he saying?' Knowing that there was too much of a panic look he was giving way, he calmed himself down. "I mean, it was nothing." He then added gently. "Besides last night, there wasn't really any to tell of."

She relaxed. "So how about lunch?"

"I'd love that."

"Let's go." She turned and led the way. After a few seconds, she asked him. "So the rumours are true?"

Travis frowned, unsure if she was talking about the rumours between the duo or the trio which included him. "What?"

"Mulder and Scully?"

He almost sighed in relief. "No, of course not. They're just partners." She gave him a look and he caught it. "The kiss? Erm…. it was just an argument they got into while on a stake out; who kissed better on screen, Brad Pitt or Mel Gibson."

"Oh." She looked unconvinced. "He seemed rather upset."

"Oh, that display back there?" He hesitated as his mind raced furiously. "It … was a bet and he lost."

She seemed contentedly persuaded. A moment later, she told him. "Brad Pitt definitely, although I love Mel's blue eyes." She smiled and he took a moment to capture it in his memory. 

After completing his task, what she said sunk it. 'Shit! I have brown eyes.' He thought.

She seemed to notice his silence and added gently. "But I do have soft spot for the brown ones too."

He looked at her and grinned. Pressing the elevator button and holding it open, he guided her in with the small of her back. At that moment, he knew that Tanya Matthews might be **the one**.

XXXXXXXXXX
End of Kiss