Improvements Over Nostalgia
by bibliodragon

Email:  bibliodrake@gmail.com
Characters: Mulder/Scully
Spoilers: Set sometime after the second movie.
Rating: PG-13
Words: 402


In the end, he ends up dragging her back to that world sooner than
he had thought. But as the reason did not involve aliens or mutants
or giant mushrooms he thinks he can get away with it. When you
are busy being the FBI'S most wanted unwanted, one of the first
things you forget about is the paperwork. 

Or maybe they are just doing it to keep an eye on him. He is sure
that in this day and age of email and the paperless office, or even
couriers, they didn't need the pair of them to go in. Still, there is
something reassuringly familiar, staring at reams of sharp black
lettering and searching for the places in need of his signature while
his mind wanders on more interesting topics. Aliens, crop circles,
Scully's legs. Then she is giving him that look, the one where she
knows full well what he is thinking, and then he is giving her his
innocent face before going back to the paperwork and it starts all
over again. 

So he's actually irritated when, with an arch of an eyebrow and a
deceptively innocent glance she refuses to play ball, but only as long
as it takes for his hormones to catch up and wrestle his sense of
wounded nostalgia to the ground.

Not very long at all. 

One thing about imagination is that he never had to bother with
mundane mechanics such as location and their suitability. Their old
office is out of bounds, no matter how many times he has dreamed
of it in the past. He couldn't face seeing it filled to the brim with
copiers where his life's work used to be. And she deserves more
than a quick fumble in a broom closet or bathroom. 

"Skinner's old office, definitely Skinner's old office."

"Mulder..."

"What, on all those occasions when we had to sit in there getting
our asses chewed out you never though about it?"

"Well, he does have a certain attractiveness when he's angry."

"What? You mean you've been imaginary cheating on me with
Skinner?"

"Sounds like you're the one who's been imaginary cheating with
Skinner."

"What? No, it's just he had that big desk, and all that office
furniture."

"There's a bathroom not far from here that used to be quite private.
It'll do."

"Wait, how do you know that?"

As she leads him on she just smiles at him.