Title: Sobering Reality. Author: Joey R. Rating: PG. Category: MSR, fluff, humor (kinda). Very short. Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully and their office and stapler and pencils stuck in the ceiling are CC's, 1013 and Fox's. I'm just someone who borrows them for a little fun and returns them with no memory of what happened. I get no money from doing this, I just have fun. Spoilers: Slight for Triangle. Summary: Scully, with a hangover, faces a smug Mulder. Very short. Archive: Please do. Let me know where, though. Feedback: All welcome at Joey@Ram32.freeserve.co.uk or Joey_r83@yahoo.com - feedback cherished and will be rewarded with a yummy Mulder clone. Flames: If you can find the time to write them, I'll try to find the time to read them. Dedication: Melissa, for commanding me to write a fluff fic. Tanja, for being a brilliant friend and co.writer - Hope your first day back at work was okay. Lyndsey, Lisa and those on CADF for their support. All those on other lists who have supported me and those who have to go back to school or work and are getting exam results. Note: This fic isn’t related to any other fic I’ve written. It’s just a little something to cheer people up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sobering reality By Joey R ======================= Sobering Reality (1/1) The gentle knocking on the door sounded more like someone pounding on the door to Dana Scully. She groaned from her place on the couch and tried to fight the dull ache that drummed constantly inside her head. She groaned again as she tried to sit up. Deciding not to bother, she leaned back again and rested her head on the armrest of her couch and closed her eyes. She covered her face with her hands, trying to shut out the daylight coming through the window. The key turned in the lock with a soft click but she didn’t hear it because of the deafening thumping and searing pain inside her head. “ Scully?” The familiar voice elicited another groan from her. “ Go away, Mulder,” she muttered, not looking out from behind her hands. “ Someone feeling bad this morning?” She heard the grin in Fox Mulder’s voice and resented him for it. It was his fault she was like this. Mulder knelt on the floor next to the couch and took her hands from her face. “ I didn’t think you’d be able to face work.” “ Go away,” she glared at him. She knew she should be feeling a little embarrassed for getting so drunk and for saying what she had said but she didn’t care. She was suffering from a killer hangover. Nothing else mattered at that moment but how bad she was feeling. “ I don’t want to talk to you.” “ Too late,” he grinned smugly. “ You did, you talked last night. You talked a lot.” “ I was drunk,” she complained, regretting raising her voice when her head began to pound again. She grimaced and he laughed. “ Feeling sorry for yourself, aren’t you?” Mulder’s grin widened at her sorry state. He was too high on what she’d confessed while under the influence to worry about whether either of them should be feeling a little uncomfortable. He took a box from his pocket and held it up for her to see. He waited until her blurry vision locked onto the packet and cleared a little. “ Aspirin. Thought you could use some.” “ I do,” she grumbled. “ And I blame you.” She reached out for the packet but he moved, earning another glare. “ Quit playing, Mulder. I’m suffering here.” “ I’ll give them to you if you answer one question.” He continued at Scully’s ‘What now’ expression. “ Did you mean it?” “ Mean what?” She frowned, trying to act like she had no idea what he was talking about. She tried to sit up again and failed until Mulder helped her and sat on the couch next to her, still grinning. “ You know what,” he responded, holding the aspirin out of her reach and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She groaned and rested her head on his shoulder, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and wishing the previous night had been a dream. “ Did you mean it?” “ I said a lot of alcohol induced things to you last night, Mulder. It would be hard to pinpoint just one of them.” She was lying, trying to put off the inevitable and they both knew it. “ Expand a little. Did I mean it when I said you were an over-bearing, insensitive pig or that you’re cure or that you’ve got gorgeous eyes or what? Help me out, will you?” “ Well, I know I’m an over-bearing, insensitive pig some of the times, I don’t need that confirming,” he chuckled warmly, moving their bodies so they were both lying on the couch and she was lying against him. “ And I’d love to know if you meant those other things but..I’m talking about the other thing you said. Not the “cute ass” comment or the “strong chest” comment, either. Although I am curious about them, too. It’s the one other thing you said, I know you remember what it is so you might as well just say whether you meant it or not.” “ You’re determined to make this as humiliating as possible, aren’t you?” Scully complained, shifting against him and trying to get up, off him and the couch. “ You’re making it harder on yourself by putting it off,” Mulder responded, holding her firmly against him. “ So, did you mean it? Even though you were drunk when you said it?” There was a moment of silence. All that could be heard was their breathing and the clock ticking from the kitchen. “ I meant it,” she admitted with a resigned sigh. “ Now what?” “ You honestly mean it?” He asked, all sign of teasing vanishing from his voice. “ I meant it last night and I still do today. I love you,” she answered with a pout. “ I hope you’re happy now. You’re the one who has to live with it.” “ I will,” he grinned at her tone and kissed the crown of her head. “ And I love you too. Just in case you’re curious.” There was another moment of silence as they lay there and reflected on their confessions and what they meant. It didn’t really change anything. They’d loved each other for a long time, that was obvious to everyone who knew them and anyone who just happened to see them together. Then again, they’d voiced their feelings now. There was no turning back, not that either of them wanted to. They would only go forward, together, untied in every aspect of their lives. Scully laughed softly, breaking the silence that had fallen over them and surprising Mulder. He looked down at her and saw her turn her head slightly to look at him. Her eyes were sparkling and it was apparent that her hangover had been cured without the aspirin. “ You know this is the first time we’ve said we loved each other without it being drug or alcohol induced?” He laughed at her comment and leaned in to kiss her softly. Once the kiss was over, he grinned and they settled back into their comfortable positions on the couch. A few minutes later, Mulder felt her body go limp and he knew she had fallen asleep. He hugged her tightly and turned them so his back was against the couch and he was spooned around her. He inhaled the scent of her perfume and shampoo, confident that this time, she’d still be there when he woke up. And with that thought in mind, he fell asleep. Right where he wanted to be. The End.