Title: Tribal Dance Author: Lolabeegood E-mail: lolabeegood@gmail.com Distribution: Archive freely with my name attached Rating: R Categories: S, R Keywords: Mulder/Scully romance Spoilers: Up to and including season 7 Summary: Scully looks at their relationship a little closer. Author's Notes: Just a little something I thought up and decided to run with. The song I allude to is a Paul Simon song called "Something So Right" I do not own the characters or the music. I do not make any money from this. Enjoy! ************************************* Dana Scully sits in their dark basement office and looks blankly at Mulder's slide show on tribal dance and mating rituals of the Andelusian People. She has to admire his optimism though, Skinner is not likely to approve this latest investigation but Mulder has gone ahead and prepared for it anyway. She looks at the figure on the screen and faintly hears Mulder's words about tribal dress and appearing attractive to potential partners when she notices just how perfectly his suit drapes over his body. Like the man on the screen, Mulder has spent a great deal of time, effort, and money to appear attractive. Attractive for her benefit. He has a beautiful body and the suit falls nicely over his trim hips and tight butt. He walks gracefully to a folder sitting open on his desk and, before Dana can focus on the last part of his speech, he's leaning over her, showing her a first-hand account of a researcher who lived with the Andelusians for two years. "...and then they seclude themselves for 4 days so they know each other's scent" Mulder says as he leans over her shoulder "It's common practice in ancient tribes to be intimately familiar with your partner's scent" she counters "But the Andelusians..." he starts, but is interrupted by his phone ringing across the room. He looks at her, obviously bothered by the interruption, and sighs as he leaves her side to get the phone. She smells his faint cologne, musky and orange, waft through the air as he walks away from her. Dana closes her eyes to inhale his scent and keep it with her for just a moment longer. "Skinner wants us upstairs" Mulder says as he rests the phone back on its cradle. She keeps her eyes closed a moment longer as she hears his foot falls coming toward her. Dana stands abruptly when he gets right next to her and finds herself placing a hand on his chest as she looks up at him. She feels foolish the moment she does it and, although she wants to step back, away from his presence, she cannot pull herself away from the fast thump of his heart that is under her hand, in his chest. He looks down at her, waiting for the reason, the reason she has decided to do this and in her eyes she knows he sees none. She's not sure if the impulsivity is comforting to him or disturbing. She reaches up and straightens his tie, an unnecessary act as it was already straight, and they both know it. She turns quickly on her heel and walks out the door in front of him. ********************************************************** They sit in Skinner's office the picture of decorum. He has, surprisingly, agreed to their investigation. Apparently, the local PD is stumped and needs some guidance. Just the inquiry from the FBI has caused them to ask for any and all help. They don't glance at each other, there is no physical contact during the meeting but Dana finds herself wondering if Mulder measures out exactly how many drops of cologne he puts on each day because it reaches her wherever she is. She knows he's not a scientist and would never engage in cologne experimentation, but she finds it comforting to think of him trying out various scenarios to determine just how much cologne is the right amount to keep her always smelling him. ************************************************************** Getting off the plane, Dana is again reminded of the notes she had been reading on the Andelusian People. How the man will perform tasks for the woman without her asking, as a sign that he is so in-tune with her they are meant to be together. Mulder grabs her carry-on and carts it off the plane with his own as she makes her way to the car rental kiosk. She signs the paperwork and turns to find him standing behind her precariously balancing a tea and coffee in his hand. He has noticed that she has stopped drinking coffee lately and, although he is still a slave to the cocoa bean, she prefers herbal teas. She takes the tea from him and smiles. ********************************************************** She stands in the middle of the Beechem Police Department waiting for Mulder to finish his phone call in the other room. It is time to go get dinner and she hopes the call is short. A female detective passes her and Scully notices with alarming clarity, the differences in their appearance. Detective Holland has her hair pulled back in a no-nonsense braid, is wearing baggy pants and heavy steel-toed boots. She's all about the work, and not about the looks. Dana glances down at herself, knowing already what she will find. A tailored pencil skirt, perfectly coiffed hair, and huge "fuck me" pumps. She has always known in the back of her mind that subconsciously she was dressing for him everyday, that the clothes she wore had a purpose. The Andelusian people were right about one thing, both the men and the women primp to get a mate. ************************************************************* After dinner that night, they got to a club on the other side of town to talk with a bartender who knew 2 of the 5 victims. They do not pretend to fit in, they do not dress down. They show up in suits and dress shoes and they are immediately noticed. The techno-rave music pumps through the speakers and seems to grab at your heart and try and pull it from your chest. Mulder walks closely beside her, slightly in front, to shield her from an unwanted company. His hand is guiding her from the small of her back and she wonders if he can feel the lone bead of sweat that runs down the small of her back and pools at the edge of her panties. The bartender knew one woman who came in with a regular she dated, and the other woman he knew from the grocery store he shopped at. Both agents look at each other and know that his connection to these women is not significant enough to warrant further investigation. They stand outside the club for a moment, waiting for their hearts to find their own beat before they walk to the car. ************************************************************** She walks into his room without knocking and finds him sprawled on his bed with his back to the headboard surrounded by photos and paper. She walks over to look at what is on the TV and sees a Wilderness Survival special on. She thinks that only Mulder could find a show like this on at 3 am. "I'm shipping the bodies back to DC." "You're what?" he asks sitting up straighter. "I did one autopsy, but they don't have the facilities or equipment I need here to autopsy the others properly." "They have a coroner's office, god Scully, what kind of equipment are we talking about?" She shifts from foot to foot, not wanting to tell him what she's really investigating. "Mulder, there are certain features of the bodies that lend themselves to a more detailed investigation. One I can better do in DC." He looks at her across the room and sighs. He knows she is not going to reveal her investigation until it is scientifically plausible. She wants to know, before she shares. "So, you are going back to DC?" "Are you?" she counters. "Give me another day, and I'll be back." "Okay" she says "I'm off to bed. I'll get the first flight out in the morning." "Scully," he starts as he stands and walks towards her "you'll let me know as soon as you find something?" He stops and stands in front of her now. His hand sits on her hip, light as a butterfly and, if it wasn't Mulder, she would have to look to make sure it was really there. But it's Mulder, and she knows it's there, just like she knows her knee is part of her leg. "As soon as I know something, you will" she smiles. Neither makes a move to step away, to turn, to shift. A door opens to the room next to his and a man yells that he'll be right back. They both turn, she quietly walks out the door and he stands absently in front of the TV watching a man make a shelter. ******************************************************** She knocks on the door to his apartment and hears faint music coming from the other side. It takes him a minute to answer and when he does, he is standing before her in fresh jeans and a casual collared shirt with a ladle in his hand. He looks highly groomed and smells wonderful. "Hey" he greets her and moves to the side. "Hey" she responds and walks past him to the entry way, "I have the autopsy results." "Thanks" he says taking them from her and placing them on the table "So?" "So, they all died from a rare flower that, although beautiful, when ingested is highly poisonous." "And why were they eating this flower?" he asks as he walks back to the kitchen. "It's an aphrodisiac" she calls after him, wondering what is so important in the kitchen. "And it causes the body to emit a perfume-like odor for weeks after death." "They were part of a sexual exploration group" he calls back from the kitchen. "They were?" she asks, unsure of whether she should just stay put or join him in the kitchen. "Yeah," he says walking back into the room and putting some plates and napkins on the table "the group explored sex as a ritualistic activity. They were working on Andelusian mating practices and probably ate too much of the flower." "Mulder," she starts as she looks a him studiously setting the table and grabbing wine glasses from the hutch "I'll get out of your way, you're obviously expecting someone..." She feels very uncomfortable all of a sudden. He has someone coming over and she doesn't want to be there when the woman arrives. She takes a step toward the door and he catches her wrist. "Scully," he says softly, almost as if he's about to break some bad news to her "I was expecting you." "I know, and I should get out of your way" she stammers, wishing he would just let her go quickly "we can talk about this at work. I don't want to infringe on your personal time." "Who says you were doing that?" he looks at her slightly ticked "I asked you to bring the reports over." "And I have, and, I should go" she says as she pulls from his grasp. "Without trying my Aunt Minette's Cassoulet?" he says trying to sound casual. "You and your guest can enjoy it, Mulder" she says as she opens the door. She wants to end this awful moment, go home and feel like shit in the privacy of her own apartment. "Scully" he says grabbing the door and holding it in place so she can't open it further "you are my guest." She turns to him and sees that look in his eyes. The wanton look that he always harbors but rarely reveals. She remembers that Andelusian families will often cook an elaborate feast, one that has been passed down in their family from generation to generation, and present it to the potential mate's family as an offering. She takes a step toward him and he shuts the door. **************************************************************** After they have eaten Aunt Minette's Cassoulet, Mulder walks to the living room and turns up the music. He starts to clear plates and she assists. She's not sure why the music needed to be louder but she understands once she reaches the kitchen. As the water runs and the dishes clank against each other, the music can be still heard. She is in the dining room wiping down the table when she feels Mulder pull the cloth from her hand and yank her toward him. He grasps her hand and rocks his hips back and forth dancing her around the small space and into a larger one between the dining room and the living room. She smiles up at him and laughs at the silliness that seems to have taken over. He then slows his movements and starts to sway softly with her in his arms. She finds herself placing her cheek against his chest and listening to the words of the Paul Simon song intermixed with the thump of Mulder's heart. The song is about them, about all the things they can't say and all the things they should say. He knows it, and so does she. They have been dancing around this for quite some time and they need to either move forward or drop the whole thing altogether. They are at an integral part of their tribal dance, the acceptance. She pulls back and looks up at his face. He dances with his eyes closed. She knows he is willing her to accept his advances, anything but outright close the door to the possibility of a romantic relationship. Her hand on his shoulder draws him toward her slightly and out of his trance. He looks down at her, perplexed, not sure if she is guiding him to where he hopes she is. She pulls at his shoulder again and one dance step at a time they go to his bedroom. They may not emerge for four days. **************************************************************** The end