The Seven Year Itch
by agpama
part 3 of 3

Mulder spent the next evenings sleepless, anticipating for Scully to
continue  her mischievous spree. She didn't strike this time, and so
Mulder was able to  sleep comfortably and concentrate on work again. They
were serious again.  Scully started painting over the scraped walls. The
only things left for  Mulder to do was sand down and water-seal the porch.

He got on all fours with the sand paper in his hands and started to
smooth  out the flooring. Scully needed to refill her paint tray, but got
distracted  along the way as she spotted Mulder in that precarious
position. She leaned  on the railings behind Mulder and watched him work
his muscles. The bumps on  his triceps became taut as the blood rushed
down the veins of his forearm  with every stroke. Underneath his thin damp
t-shirt was a nicely tapered back  that crouched and straightened following
through with his arm's motion. His  sweat-drenched jeans outlined his
slender muscular thighs, and then his  buttocks tightened as he sneezed
from the dust building around him. He turned  his head and found Scully
there. 

"Looks great, Mulder," she said teasingly.

"You know, Scully? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were spying on
me,"  he said returning to his work, allowing Scully to continue to marvel
at him.

"Everyone's spying on you Mulder," she replied, and turned around to let
her  face flush out the redness building in it. 

A week and a half had quickly passed already, and the house was close to 
looking brand new. After Mulder finished the porch, he helped Scully
paint  the remaining walls. The task turned out to be not as difficult as
Scully had  imagined it to be. She looked at the house from the edge of
the lake and was  pleased with her performance, that the break Skinner
ordered her to take  actually did a lot of good. It was no Club Med, but
the hard work was  definitely therapeutic. There was something mighty
fulfilling about laboring  on a house that had been deserted for so many
years, bringing into it a sense  of romance, which it had been missing. It
looked incredibly cozy and  inviting. It would be perfect if her and Mulder
were married, the fruits of  their labor wouldn't go un-rewarded, and then
a painful realization set in as  she looked at Mulder on the ladder adding
the final touches to a portion of  the wall. 'Mulder is married,' she
painfully admitted to her heart and tired  body. The only thing she had
left to look forward to was the end of this  vacation.


Later that evening, Mulder walked into her room and found her packing
her  things.

"What are you doing?"

"My work is done here.... she started to say when Mulder interrupted her.

"What about our deal? You're not going to go back on it and dishonor me,
are  you? I've got our whole weekend planned. I just rented out a boat to
take us  sailing, then water skiing, and what about my oral autobiography
over  barbecue and beer. " She was going to say something but he shushed
her with  his finger, and added, "The sealant should be dry by the weekend
so we'll be  able to use the porch for the barbecue. You know, bask in the
fruits of our  labor."

She looked at him speculatively, wondering if his mental telepathy
hadn't  really gone away. "Okay, okay, okay!" she capitulated to his
imperious ways. 

"Thank you," he said pulling from behind him a lovely red rose to hand to
her.

She blushed with flattery, "Aw, Mulder. That's so sweet."

"It's for your generous service of giving a lonely guy some company, and
free  labor," he bashfully explained.

He held it out for her to sniff its sweet-smelling fragrance, and she
lunged  forward to receive it, and that's when he did it. Scully wriggled
as she was  sprayed with cold water from the flower. 

"Well what do you know, it still works after all these years," he said
before  a dripping Scully who put on a menacing look, prompting Mulder to
drop the  flower on the floor and run for his life, as Scully chased after
him. 


He managed to wake up unscathed the next morning, and rushed Scully out
the  door before she could do anything to him and to get the boat from the
marina.  Both in short pants, they felt a little awkward walking in public
exposing so  much skin, especially for Mulder whose two toned legs clearly
needed some  sun. They walked through the busy boardwalk littered with
morning exercisers.  Mulder caught a few people staring strangely at them.
One lady took a long  look at him, another laughed, while a chubby man
commented, "Nice legs  Mister." He walked alongside Scully unsuspectingly,
until a little boy tried  to focus on what Mulder sensed was the lower part
of his body. "What's he  looking at?" Mulder asked Scully as he finally
looked at his legs, the boy  saying what appeared on it. "S-C-U-L-L-Y!"

Her name appeared neatly shaved out, in cursive writing, on Mulder's leg
hair.

Surprisingly, he was amazed and looked at her with admiration, "Carpe
Diem,  Scully. You win," he said putting his arm on her shoulder as they
walked  along. "How'd you get to be the prankster you are?" 

Her hair glistened in the soft morning sunlight as she laughed, "I had
two  brothers."

The pleasant water shimmering with the sun's light and a wind breezy
enough  to make ripples, paved the way for the boat to venture into deeper
territory.  It rode the waves with such grace and ease. Scully missed the
water where she  had spent most of her childhood as a Navy brat. There was
something  intoxicating about the smell of salt water in the air, and the
sun's heat  penetrating her skin, sending a burning need to dive into the
cool ocean. She  threw the ski ropes into the water and dove off the boat
before Mulder could  slow it down. She wasn't going to have all the fun,
Mulder thought, and  stripped off his shorts revealing his tiny red
speedos before jumping into  the water clutching his nose. They swam to
and from each other. Their legs  treading dangerously close into their
protective space. Skiing through the  water was exhilerating. However
rusty the two were, they were determined to  hold on for dear life like
feisty marlins. Unfortunately, water skiing wasn't the same as it used to
be considering the extra weight and height they had put on since those
childhood summers of long ago. Laboring for two weeks on the house was
plenty of  exercise, and it clearly took its toll on them in the water.
Before the sun  set, he took them towards the horizon. 

The wind gave her a sense of freedom pressing against her unusually
scantly  robed chest. A cotton, red-pin-striped tank top and denim short
pants were  all that kept her from consummating this affair with nature.
Underneath his  shades, Mulder watched adoringly, the epitome of humanity
manifest itself on  the pristine sight. Of a woman reveling on a blinding
white deck of a boat,  bravely looking onward at the vast milieu of
nothingness with adventure in  her eyes. Her eyes reaching for the
horizon, to claim freedom. She's there!  And Mulder looking at her can see
where she's at taking the same route to  claim his.

"I've been married," he deadpanned.

She lowered her eyes to meet his sun-burnt face. She studied the
youthful  look penetrating through his dry, and weathered skin, almost not
hearing what  he said. "What?"

He kept squinting underneath the sunglasses, or was it a smile that he
tried  to hide instead, knowing that this was going to be a shocker. She
didn't  really hear him.

"I've been married -"

Now she heard him, and the muscles on her mouth struggled to keep her
smile  from contorting her face. She was caught completely off-guard,
being struck  with the moment she thought she'd be ready for, was not the
way she had it in  her mind. She didn't want to look too surprised or
showed a lack of, because  this was in fact, big news. She only managed to
squeak out, "Married?"

He continued after briefly observing her struggle, "To an idea that kept
me  from exploring other extreme possibilities." 

He stood up and walked over to sit beside her. She, on the other hand, as
he  noticed, was paralyzed from the eyes down. He sat down facing the
horizon, to  ease the tension in Scully's body, and ventured to explore
there. 

"Extreme, more in the sense of sublime. I accustomed myself into
believing  that a person can endure without love of friends, family or a
mate, if it was  for the sake of saving mankind, which I truly believed I
was doing. I may  have had a "super-hero complex" as I first came to that
philosophy. Then, a  few years back, this nagging urge to disprove my own
philosophy grew each  time I contemplated on a certain issue -one so
sublime. Consequently, I  succumbed to it, within the last three weeks of
finalizing my divorce."

"Divorce?" she asked quite puzzled. Mulder had always been two steps ahead
of  himself, and she thought this time he outdid himself.

Scully looked down hoping Mulder wouldn't see the guilt in her eyes
about  knowing the half of it. Instead, he just saw a,
hardly-ever-surprised, Scully  react to the shocking news and paid no more
attention to it as he took off  his sun-glasses before proceeding.

"Her name is not important. Let's just say you've known more about her
than I  thought I did."

"Diane Fowley," she ascertained.

"I guess there's no secrets I can keep from you, Scully," he replied.

"I'm sorry, I was going to mention my knowing to you, but it seemed,
well,  rather intimate, so I -,"

He interrupted and waved it off, "Don't sweat it. It was over a very
long  time ago. The formalities just lingered long enough. I did get
something out  of it though. During that period, I remained chaste,
strange as it may sound,  that it manifested itself into our relationship.
A professional one at best,  but more intimate than any marriage I know, or
have experienced for that  matter."

"I'm really honored to hear that," she responded.

In a lighter tone he asked, "You want to know another secret?" 

"That underneath that goofy exterior, you're really a super-hero in 
disguise," she teased.

"No, I'm not goofy," he corrected, I'm....crazy, but not goofy. 'Goofy' 
doesn't quite fit the phrase -I'm 'blank' in love with you."

Her face started to look serious.

"I can't endure any longer," he held her hand and quietly concluded,
"without  love." 

There was a great calm that transcended from hearing nothing but the
waters  drudging against the hull of the boat. He needed to see her eyes
convey the  acceptance of his proclamation, his eyes filling with pain if
he was not  received. 

The wind blew by her hand easing its ascent into his soft cheek. Her
fingers  explored the texture of his skin. It was cold at first, then
warmed by the  touch. With its reviving affect she could see and feel his
body transform,  and he inhaled deeply to feel his senses aroused by her
unspoken yet obvious  affirmation -to which he sweetly surrendered.

Nestling near her tender bosoms, remembering the little child in him
that  found no refuge in anyone's arms, until now. His warm breath blew
rapidly  into her precariously teeming cleavage. One of Scully's arm
firmly held him  and the other encircled his neck, with her fingers
clutching briefly and  stroking his windswept hair. She felt empowered
holding the reason close to  her heart.

She also felt a warm wet sensation douse her below the clavicle area.
Her  pulse raced when Mulder lifted his moist swollen lips off her. He
looked at  the pink mark he left on her seething chest, and asked
breathlessly while  looking up to meet her gaping mouth, "It's been seven
years. You think we've  waited long enough?" and overlaid those ever so
tantalizing lips he had  always dreamed of occupying with his.

The waves peeked and rolled in their mouths, their tongues exchanging a
warm  welcome greeting each other politely for a few seconds before
reluctantly  parting.

Both panting into each other's mouth, Scully motioned to say something 
without every letting her lips completely leave his flesh. "What are you 
waiting for?"

The waves in her swelled successively higher, with a surf ready to break
on  the shore, far away from sight but imminent in hers. 

"For you....," he gulped down the excess saliva to extinguish the flames
in  his chest, "to reciprocate."

Her head was filled with mist, she couldn't envision what he was trying
to  say. He kissed her once more before taking a gulp again and explained,
"This  isn't a moment of passion that'll fade into the recesses of our
minds. Things  are going to be different. I'm not going to keep this from
anyone, or hold  back in public showing my affection to you. Well, I guess
I'm wondering if  you're willing to take that chance."

She was silent, gradually withdrawing as she considered how different 
everything would be if they had gone further. 

"You're right," she reluctantly realized.

His heart fell so hard he felt as if the boat would sink with it. Oh, how
he  regretted ever opening his mouth, and wanted some way, somewhere to
press an  imaginary rewind button to do it all over again. He wanted her
so much, that  the motion of the boat wasn't helping in easing the let
down. 'Of course,' he  thought it was too early for her to feel the same
way he did. He was  conscious of the decision to overstep the boundaries
of their relationship,  after his divorce, while she remained guarding it.
It would be taking  advantage of her not to ask her to think about the
future when he knew  certain faculties of her body, besides her brain,
were at the controls. 

"I'm sorry. I came on to you," he bowed his head in shame.

"No Mulder," she crouched over to meet his face, "Look at me." 

 He met those honest eyes of hers and listened to them speak, "You are
the  most civil man I've known to never take advantage of our closeness.
And this  moment only shows me why I stayed with you for so long."

"Why?" he asked. Any logical answer had escaped him. 

She had a look on her face that indicated she had a secret of her own.
She  confessed, "I knew....that if we came to this, I wouldn't be
disappointed,"  and occupied his smiling mouth with hers to keep him from
seeing her blush  uncontrollably. 

The kiss became a long and passionate one inter-mangled with eagerly 
exploring hands, fingers and tongues. Mulder softly brushed her
delectable  lips slackened by the weight of his finger proceeding to enter
the hollowed  retreat of her sodden tongue. She gave it a little massage
before releasing  the suction. He took the same finger, now lubricated
with the abundant juice  of her mouth, and ran it down her neck trailing
off into the crook of her  cleavage. The wet trail blazed like a dynamite
string, detonating an  explosive surge throughout her body. She felt his
hand sweep her strap to the  side of her shoulder so he could examine the
lean muscles there with his  mouth. The smooth mounds were hard, and he
relished that spot, acknowledging  her compact physical attributes with
his senses. His eyes focused in on the  tan color of her skin, outlining
the definition of her muscles. She was a  thing of beauty, a bronze statue
sculpted with the greatest of care and  accuracy. He lead his hand downward
in a rubbing motion near her breast. Just  as he expected, they were firm.
Dana watched him explore into the domain of  her uncharted carnal regions.
Abundantly fruitful and sweet, he reaped from  the harvesting of her
ripening sexuality savoring the smell, taste and sound  heard faintly from
deep within her. After he was done, she took him by the  shirt and lifted
herself on top of his lap, where she could match her eyes  with his. She
kept her eyes on him as she slid her hands from underneath his  shirt and
pulled it up right out of him. Then slid her hands down the fuzz of  his
abdomen as he locked his eyes on her. She slid her fingers above his 
shorts unzipping it to capture the warm, taut muscle nudging her inner
thigh.  Their mouths connected without delay, and momentarily, Mulder felt
an  unmanageable sensation erupt inside of him. The heat burned from within
and  discharged its fury into his loin. He took Scully into a tight
embrace,  quivering from the release, and hid his head between her breasts
in  embarrassment. She had no idea how his overwrought hormones had
relieved  itself in an untimely manner. Still holding her, he started to
chuckle. 

"Now look what you did," he shakily quipped, "You messed me up." 

Eventually, she realized what had happened when he squirmed uncomfortably
as  she pressed her waist down on him.

He attempted to revive the moment, caressing her shoulders and breast, but
he  couldn't keep a straight face and decided to surrender. "It feels like
an egg  cracked in there."

It didn't phase her at all. This was the man she exercised so much
patience  on for so long that its payoff was never foreseen until now. And
now was  sooner than she thought, and that what had just happened was a
testament of  his strong desire for her. She was flattered, and held him
reassuringly to  show that it was okay.

"Seven years was too long," she concurred, making him look up to see an 
apologetic expression on her face before turning to face the sunset, "and
I  can wait another seven more for you."

With that said, he could look ahead into the future seeing himself not 
missing a day of making love to her. 

When they returned to the house, Mulder delivered what he had promised.
Some  barbecue and beer on the new porch he had built. The night air was
cool and  the smell of the grilled meat lingered in the house. He sat her
on a chair by  the porch where he looked over the grill and started
telling her his life  story. He handed her a beer and opened himself one
too. 

"My dad liked building things. I watched him from a distance most of the 
time. It was an outlet for him to release some of the tension from work,
and  gradually I started to think from me and my mother when he'd just
stay out  for hours after an argument over me. It was like he never wanted
to stay  inside, or try and reach out to me because maybe one day, they'd
take me like  they took Samantha. My mother, on the other hand, was always
pressuring me to  initiate communication with my withdrawn father, and no
matter how hard I  thought I tried for her, it wasn't enough. So after
their divorce, mother and  I would spend the remaining summers I had with
her here. And just as my  father did, I stayed out building things to
occupy the loneliness in me that  had plagued my family."

Scully felt tremendous guilt for being more fortunate than he was. She had
a  father who adored her and a mother who doted on her, which
subconsciously  drove her to become co-dependent on the first man who
invaded her sheltered  world with his harsh openness and precarious
lifestyle. 

"My life described a psychology textbook, and I guess I was good at
peeking  into the brain that stemmed from a need to make sense of my own
dark  experiences. So to make light of the dark memories I returned to
where I  spent, the few happy ones at this Summer house, and do as my
father did for  therapy, and what he didn't do."

Mulder looked at her and said, "And that was to let the people who loved
him,  love him." 

 Scully sat there listening to Mulder spill his heart out, seeing that
that's  what he needed to do to expel him from his old shelter-less life.
He didn't  want to bring the excessive emotional baggage into their
relationship that  had already carried an extremely heavy past.

"Then 'she' came along, before others whose company was in no more for 
reasons other than convenience. She worked with me, with a common
background,  and an affinity for the paranormal, but she wasn't a
self-sacrificing person  to the least. Not even letting our marriage be
known to a single soul, except  ours. And I discovered that I had sold my
soul to the devil, herself. And,  I'd be dammed for eternity if it weren't
for a guardian angel in disguise to  keep me on the straight and narrow
path, so to speak." He pinched her cheek  as she continued to listen on.

"And you. You are something else," he said before taking a gulp of his
beer.  "You are so easy to figure out, unlike the multitude of women 
I've...I've...Well, I've studied. For purposes purely scientific and for 
self-enrichment. You are unbending to your beliefs and principles, that
its  almost impossible to break you. Yet you are compassionate and
inherently  kind-hearted to those who don't share your wisdom. You're
self-less,  courageous, and protective all at the same time...." He took
another gulp and  continued, "You're beautiful in all aspects. A great
body, rare and priceless  smile. Your firm, your breasts...."

"Al right Mulder. Let's not get carried away," she cautioned.

"But what got me? Your willingness to risk your life to save my
worthless  ass," he acclaimed.

She stood up and felt the suffusion of alcohol reach her head which also
must  be reaching into his, and moved toward him to save him from needless
rhetoric.

"Mulder, is the barbecue ready? I'm famished."

 Seven years was a long time for two people, like them, to come together 
completely. But there was no need to rush that night, as they dined and 
cleaned up to retire the first day of their lives. They stayed awake,
until  the wee hours of the morning, reaping the rewards from the fruits
of their  labor, and turned the old house into a haven of hope and
romance. With the  first signs of the morning's dew, there was a return to
splendor. 


The End 

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