CREPUSCULE WRITTEN BY SHANNON LEIGH Disclaimer: They're mine, all mine! Ha, ha, ha (evil laugh). No, actually, Mulder and Scully belong to The Great Surfer Dude. I'm just borrowing them for a little while, to let them have some fun. God knows CC never will. Classification: Vignette, R Keywords: MSR Rating: G Spoilers: None Summary: Ever wondered what *really* goes through Mulder and Scully's heads? Sweet little story told in both points of view. Mulder finally decides to tell Scully how he feels! What fun for shipper, huh? Note: This story is dedicated to Kimberly, aka Clinique. Thanks ssoooo much!! I love you girl! ***************** A pale blue crescent struggled through the darkness. Discreet in appearance, until the next night when it's face would shine in full form, it slowly pulled out of the shadows to illuminate the cold, dark sky. The drawn back curtains of a small window let the light shine through the room, finding it's way to the worn chair in which I sat. As I gazed at the moon searing through my window, I pondered it's simple beauty. It seemed as if I could reach out and touch it's silver surface. But something always held me back. Maybe that was the way love was. Beautiful on the surface, seemingly open and desirable. But it was hard to hold love in your hand. Instead of being separated by time and space, though, the cause for separation was that of an unwilling heart. A heart that found itself sometimes hard to open, to let it's full light shine through. Much was the way I loved Fox Mulder. Yes, maybe at first it was only pure physical attraction. I would often spend moments just staring at his full lips, usually chewing on a sunflower seed, or something else to keep his mouth busy. The oral fixation fascinated me. I also loved his hair, the way he combed it in place, but there was always a stray lock or two that hung down over his face. And of course, his eyes. Dark and hazel, I read everything he was thinking by looking into them. Maybe it was a sort of unspoken communication we had. It seemed to me that his eyes were a window to the soul. But soon it became more than just physical longing. I began to fall in love with Mulder. I would spend hours on end thinking of him, wanting to be near him. I silently chided myself for thinking such thoughts about my partner, my best friend. But inside I wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go. To be with him always. Whether or not he shared these feelings, was a mystery. At times, we would be alone, and I would try to look into his eyes, to see if I could find love there. But an inner voice scolded me. So I kept my feelings hidden from him, deep inside. Until the day when my heart would shine as brightly as the full moon that seared through my window. My thoughts were silenced as I heard a knock on my door. Cautiously, I looked at the visitor, knowing that I rarely had anyone over this late. To my surprise, then happiness, it was him. The object of my daydreaming, or night dreaming, as it were. "Mulder, is everything alright?"I asked as I opened the door. He wasn't exactly the kind of person to come over for no reason. He usually visited when something was wrong. "No, I just," he paused, "needed to talk." This was something new. I welcomed the opportunity, though, and motioned for him to rest on the sofa. I disappeared into the kitchen, only to return with tea. I smirked at the irony of our beverage. The little voice taunted me. I quickly brushed it aside and joined him on the couch. "What did you have in mind Mulder?" I questioned, handing him the glass of tea. Our hands briefly touched as he took the cup. A little spark of electricity reverberated through my fingertips. "I was thinking about the fire. How everything was lost..." Ah, the infamous fire. I had felt so much pain for him, because he had lost his whole life in that fire. All that he had worked for. "But I realized Scully, that none of it meant anything." This was a shock. How could he say this after so many years... "Scully, I know that this has been my life. I have come so close to the truth. But along the way, I only found one clear, undeniable truth. And that is you." Tears started to form in the corners of my eyes. I reached for his hand. My gaze turned downward, unable to look at his eyes, fearing that my own would reveal too much. "Scully, you mean more to me than anything. You make me whole. And I know that with you, I can get through anything." He reached down and lifted up my chin, turning my eyes to face him. I couldn't hide the tears that streamed down my face. They exposed my emotions that I had tried so carefully to hide from him. I held my breathe and closed my eyes as it became evident at what he intended to do. I had waited for that moment for a long time. Slowly he leaned down and planted a tender kiss on my lips. He pulled away and looked into my eyes, as if searching for some form of reassurance. There was no way I could tell him. No way I could put into words how I felt about him. All I could do was reach around him, to pull him into another impassioned kiss. It was my way of answering back. As he turned his face to whisper in my ear, I waited for the words that I longed to hear. "I love you Dana." ************ Through the darkness and solitude, sometimes come our deepest fears. But in the dark, light can be found, lurking in the shadows. Waiting for the watchful eye to spot the tiny flicker, and turn it into a blazing fire. For me the shadows were my home. Thrust into the windowless basement, I was disregarded and left to venture on my own into the unknown. And I thought I would be content to face the darkness and overcome my own fears as well. But that was before she came along. Before she taught me how to love. Yes, Dana Scully taught me how to love. Where there was sinister and dark forces, there I was. Searching out the aliens and monsters of our nightmares. But she became the light along my way. And she didn't even know it. Which was the worst thing. As I sat in my apartment that cold and dreary night, I wanted to tell her so badly. Tell her my feelings, my love for her. But something held me back. So I sat, and looked out the window, and dreamed of her. How her hair smelled, how she would raise a single eyebrow at me, the sound of her heels clicking into our office. It occured to me that we were looking under the same moon. Maybe she was under it too, thinking of me. The idea seemed absurd. But it was there, in my head, refusing to let me forget it. So I got up the courage to go to her apartment. Maybe I wouldn't tell her. Not just yet. But at least I would be able to see her, and hear her voice. As I stood in front of her door, half of me prayed that she wouldn't be home. It was going to be so hard. But she answered the door, and I was going to have to face her. "Mulder, is everything alright?" she questioned. I didn't usually come to her apartment late at night just to talk. What have you gotten yourself into, I wondered. But there was no turning back now. "No I just, needed to talk." I didn't know what else to say. She would think I was a fool if she knew that I just wanted to hear the sound of her voice. She invited me to sit on the sofa. I struggled to get comfortable on the cushions. The same cushions she sits on, I thought. But I couldn't. I was too tense. She emerged from the kitchen with glasses of tea. Oh, why couldn't it have been root beer? Or anything but The Beverage. Could she know? Could she possibly know what I had come here to tell her? "What did you have in mind Mulder?" She handed me the glass of tea, and I touched her fingertips lightly as I reached for it. Just to touch her sent chills up my spine. It's now or never, I thought. But how did I explain to her how much she meant to me? How did I even begin? "I was thinking about the fire. How everything was lost..."I trailed off, not certain where I was going with this. "But I realized Scully that none of it meant anything." That was true. She had become the only thing that mattered to me. She was my life. But she didn't understand. Not yet. "Scully, I know that this has been my life. I have come so close to the truth. But along the way I found only one clear, undeniable truth. And that is you." I exhaled slowly. There. I had said it. If only she understood... A pang of insecurity hit me as she lowered her face. But all doubts were lost as she reached out to hold my hand. Her touch was warm and delicate, and I felt an urge to wrap my arms around her and hold her close. But not yet. Not until she knew. "Scully, you mean more to me than anything. You make my life whole." My throat choaked with tears. "And I know that with you, I can get through anything." I had to see her eyes. They would tell me everything I needed to know. As I lifted her face with my hand, it became evident that she was crying. And in her eyes, did I dare presume, that there was love? Using all the courage I had left, I reached down and softly kissed her. One precious kiss, to seal my love for her. Once more I looked into her eyes. It was undeniable what she was trying to tell me. As she pulled me into another kiss, I dared to hope that she loved me as much as I did her. And I spoke the words that I had wanted to say, for longer than she would ever know. The words that were the only truth I ever needed. "I love you Dana." ***************** Well, what did ya think? This is my first bit of fanfic, so I'd just LLOOOVVVEEE feedback. But please keep your flames at bay, I'm a sensitive gal. Just email me at shanny_leigh@yahoo.com Thanks!