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dreamsoflightvalley · 4 months

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Two of Skates (James P Sullivan X Reader)

Summary: You’re an introvert who isn’t too keen on attending one of Roar Omega Roar’s famous ragers, if anything you’d rather attend one of Oozma Kappa’s small gatherings. You prefer good times and pizza over goo pong and crazy stunts… Oh, and of course your crush on Sullivan plays a part in the decision too.

Content: Completely SFW, romance, introverted reader, gender neutral reader, copious amounts of pizza, overall wholesomeness and good times! Also, skating.

A/N: Was thinking of Total Eclipse of the Heart while writing this (specifically the Nicki French cover). Enjoy!

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Monsters University, one of the most prestigious scaring schools out there, was not immune to the party culture that prevailed in just about every college.

Every other week like clockwork RΩR would throw a rager that was open to the entire campus, and it’d keep going well into the night. Exams had just ended, so naturally all of the top scarers in that house were partying. Every house was to attend the party, but standout group Oozma Kappa was definitely uninvited.

You watched as your dorm buddy did her makeup in front of her vanity while rubbing your arm. “You’re coming with us, right Y/N?” Your friend turned to you, tilting her head.

“I dunno… Isn’t there any other house throwing their own party?” You asked, looking out the window to see students in droves flooding into the RΩR house. You couldn’t stand half the members in that group, they were so full of themselves and didn’t hesitate to pick on you for not having a pedigree like them. So what if your parents weren’t top scarers? So what if you didn’t make all A’s? That kind of stuff shouldn’t matter, but to them it did. It also didn’t help that Johnny Worthington had a penchant for singling you out specifically.

“Well, OK or whatever their house name is, is having their own party. They’re going to a roller rink or something,” She scoffed with a smile, turning back to the mirror. “The short squishy one handed me an invitation earlier, it was kinda cute… And also kinda sad,” She chuckled, clearly having no intentions to abandon a big RΩR party to go hang out with a bunch of dweebs at a roller rink.

Oddly enough, that sounded right up your alley.

“Where’d you put it?” You asked.

“Oh, it’s in my backpack. I was gonna throw it away, but I’d feel bad doing it right in front of the little guy,” She admitted sheepishly.

You went over to her backpack and scrounged through it, finding the hand drawn pamphlet rather quickly. It had a little drawing of all the members inside alongside a date, time, and address for the party. Free rides are being offered to anyone who needs them, yadda yadda… Oh, and pizza too?

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna miss out on a Roar Omega Roar party for that!” She folded her arms, giving you a stern look.

“Oh, come on! It sounds like fun! Besides, you know I can’t stand Johnny. He picks on me even with you around,” You grabbed your thoroughly worn jacket off the back of your desk chair, shrugging it on.

“You’re just saying that because you wanna hang out with your lover James.~”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

You grabbed the scooter by the door and stuck your tongue out playfully at your friend, and she returned the gesture.

“You know I hate going to parties without you,” She watched as you grabbed your ita bag, pulling the strap over your shoulder. “But I guess I can manage,” She sighed dramatically, leaning back and closing her eyes. It only took her a few seconds to open one to see if her attempts to stop you were working.

“I know you will,” You reassured her, twirling your keys in hand. “But at least you won’t have to stand with me by the snack table the whole time anymore, you can go and play goo pong with the girls… Maybe make a move of your own on that Crystal chick you’ve been diggin’,” You scooted out of the door before your friend could scold you for teasing, popping your headphones on so that you could drown out the nearby music.

You managed to weave through the gaps in the crowd with relative ease, the noise canceling allowed you to follow the beat of your own music and ignore the bass that rumbled through the ground as you passed the noisy fraternity. The OK house wasn’t too far from campus, not on scooter at least. Right as you arrived you could already see the members boarding into an old van, you were just barely on time.

Of course Sulley was the one to notice you scooting towards them, a heavy hand resting atop the car. He was about to duck into the back seat but he saw you and perked up immediately— so fast that he bumped his head on the roof of the car. He shook it off as he stood up straight, raising a curious brow at your arrival.

“Y/N?”

You took your headphones off and paused your music, breathing a little heavily as you fished into your back to pull out a slightly crumpled up invitation. “I heard you guys were throwing your own party…” You held it out to them shyly, still scared of rejection despite the fact that they were the definition of the rejects.

Squishy approached you and took the invite from your hands, a smile slowly creeping onto his face. “You… Actually showed up?” He looked up at you for confirmation, eyes bigger than usual. “Well of course they showed up, they’re right in front of you!” Mike gestured towards you, happier than he’d like to admit. He was in disbelief too, since literally no one would turn down a Roar Omega Rager the way you just did. “Niiiice, stickin’ it to the man!” Art wasn’t one to look a gift pig in the mouth, so he was quick to accept you aboard. “N-No one’s ever come to an Oozma Kappa party before, no one outside of us at least! This is gonna be awesome!” Terri jumped excitedly, forcing Terry’s half of the body to also move with him. “Not to be that guy, but we’d better hurry up before the pizza gets cold. No one wants to eat cold pizza,” Terry put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, trying to calm him down. Just then, Squishy’s mom piped up from the front seat.

“Come on now, kiddos! That rink isn’t gonna skate itself.”

You waited for everyone else to enter the van, unsure of where you were gonna squeeze in. Squishy climbed into the front seat, Art, Terri, and Terry were in the far back, leaving the middle row to you, Mike, and Sullivan.

Mike got the window seat on the left side, and since you didn’t want to get between the two Sulley sat in the middle without complaint, only because it meant he got to sit next to you.

You closed the door on your side and quickly realized how cramped of a ride this was going to be, the moment the door shut you were walled into the corner by a dense wall of warm, teal fur. In a weird way it was cozy, and you did get to get a nice whiff of him from here…

Sheri turned on the radio as she started to drive, and there was some quiet idle chatter among the others…

“So…” You began, trying to get over your shyness. “You remembered my name..?”

“Hmm?” Sulley looked over at you, though you were hard to see compared to his shoulder. “Oh, your name. Yeah, of course I do. I have a great memory.”

You found it odd since the two of you never really interacted much. You were sure that you introduced yourself, during class but you didn’t expect him to actually… Remember. The encounter was so brief after all. Since then you’d occasionally run into each other (mostly due to you looking for him), but he always seemed too busy for you.

“That’s a bunch of malarky! You have terrible memory. You know how many study sessions we’ve had and you still can’t remember the name of New Eekland’s first prime minister?”

Mike butt in the first chance he got, he had a right to after how viciously Sulley used to tease him when they were freshman.

“When am I ever gonna need that information, history is boring! I don’t choose what I get to remember, I just trust that whatever my noggin thinks is important and retain that.”

Oh, so you were important enough to remember? Interesting.

“Keep thinkin’ like that and you’ll only remember sandwich ingredients, and maybe a few scarers if you’re lucky.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at their banter, their friendship never ceasing to amuse you. It was clear that they chided each other out of compassion, if they didn’t like each other they definitely wouldn’t be here right now.

The conversation started to liven up as the drive went on, and for the most part you were simply enjoying the friendly environment and listening to the others talk. Only when the group settled down at their own booth did you get the chance to talk about yourself.

“My friend wanted to go, but honestly? This is so much better than whatever they could possibly be doing right now,” You nearly salivated at the sight of the stringy cheese still clinging onto the pizza for dear life. “I’m not really crazy about big parties like that. They’re so…”

“Loud?” Terri asked.

“Disorienting?” Art chimed in.

“Jock centric?” Mike rolled his eyes.

“Annoying?” Terry groaned.

“Chaotic?” Squishy was the last to finish the chain, since Sulley had nothing against parties. If anything he liked that kind of environment, so when everyone looked at him all he had to say was “What?”

“Uh, yeah, that!” You licked the grease off your fingers after you finished your first slice, already going in for another. “I’d rather be in a small group with nice people I kinda know than be in a den of strangers with only a friend or two, y’know… Quality over quantity.”

Just then, Sheri and Don came back with arms full of skates, each to your respective sizes and foot shapes. Don did a lot of the carrying thanks to his suckers. “We got yer skates, now let’s hit the floor!” Don’s energy was refreshing, but you wanted to stay at the table a little longer. “I think I’ll eat a little more first, after all it uh… Seems like you guys ordered quite a bit,” You glanced at the boxes upon boxes of uneaten pizza, stomach growling loudly.

“Yeah, I’ll hang back too. Y’know, to help,” Sulley shrugged, looking back and forth as he rubbed the back of his head. Sheri caught on immediately, but didn’t say anything. “Alright, we’ll leave you to it,” She guided Don and the others away before he could say anything, giving the two of you a wink and thumbs up as they walked away.

You and James locked eyes for a moment before you shyly looked away.

“Dunno what that was about,” He played dumb, a purple tint washing over the fur on his face.

“Y-Yeah, me neither,” You aired out your collar slightly, trying not to make things awkward.

A silence had settled between you as you ate for a little while. Truthfully, you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself in the rink since you had no idea how to skate whatsoever, but you acted like you were staying behind for the food. Why Sulley stayed behind is beyond you.

“Honestly… I’m no good at skating,” You admitted as you filled your plate once more.

“Oh yeah?” He smiled crookedly, filling his own plate at the same time as you.

“Yeah…”

He looked around as he scooped a slice into his mouth, making sure no one could hear but you. “Me neither.”

You smiled up at him, surprised that a mighty Sullivan would acknowledge something he couldn’t do. It was rare that James would admit to a fault of his, so even something this small was special. He had to like you at least a little bit.

The noise from the rink caught your attention, and from where you sat you could see Art spinning around in the middle while he held Terri and Terry up in the air. Sheri and Don held Squishy’s hands between them, helping him skate while Mike slipped and slid clumsily.

“You know, maybe if we skate together we’d be alright,” He folded his arms and leaned back, looking at you from the side of his eyes as he tried to gauge your reaction to his suggestion.

“What? You mean like… Two bad skaters come together to form one halfway decent skater? Our talent will balance itself out?”

“Something like that,” He shrugged.

You looked down at your loaded plate and then back at the rink, knowing full well you wouldn’t be able to finish all that pizza.

“You know what… Why the heck not,” You stood up and grabbed your skates, offering your hand to him.

“Heck?” He echoed as he took your hand, finding it funny that you didn’t say the other word.

“Yeah, heck! Hay is for horses.”

As the two of you made your way to the rink after putting your skates on, you held onto each other’s hand tightly. When one of you lost balance the other would make up for it, which was surprising given how large Sulley is.

You slowly stretched a leg into the rink, a love song playing over the speakers almost as soon as Sulley joined you. The colored lights shifted from blue and green to red and pink, the DJ sensing the spark between you two. It didn’t seem to matter to either of you though, since you were too busy trying not to fall onto your butts the whole time.

“H-Hey, this isn’t so bad!” You had to admit you didn’t think the idea would work, but as the two of you skated in circles you realized that struggling together made the process a lot easier than struggling alone. “I told you it’d work,” He smirked as he used his tail to grab Mike by the hand, steadying his balance. “How you doin’ back there little buddy?”

“Just peachy!” Mike’s knees were shaking like a leaf, but he wasn’t falling like earlier.

“Good, cause Y/N has an idea and you’re gonna help us!”

Before you put your skates on earlier, you mentioned the idea of giving out the pizza to everyone else who was there. Even if it was taken home for leftovers it would surely go bad, and if Mrs. Squishy got mad you’d be willing to pay her back… And James was nothing if not a risk taker.

Before Mike could even question it, Sulley dragged him screaming from the rink and back to the booth. You had a stack of pizza boxes on your free hand, as did Sulley… Mike, unfortunately, had them balancing on his head.

“Alright, who wants free pizza?” Sulley shouted, holding up the boxes with you as the crowd cheered.

All three of you skated around the building giving free boxes to anyone who wanted some, feeding the entire place better than the cooks did… And yes, even the cooks and cashiers got pizza breaks too.

As the mid-90s Europop song faded, you and Sullivan returned to the booth with some pizza to spare, reclining into the stiff seats as though they were the highest quality massage chairs the world had to offer. James had to pick and limp Mike up by the wrist and sit him down too.

All of you caught your breath together, but even after burning off all that energy you still kept your hands clasped together. You looked over at his palm, his grip softening ever so slightly. He was worried for a second that you’d want to let go, but when you squeezed his giant hand in yours he felt relief wash over him.

“You know… We should do this again sometime…” You smiled up at him.

“Yeah..?”

“Yeah…”

You shuffled a little closer to him, resting your head on his arm. In response he rested his head on top of yours, his bushy brows lowering over his eyes.

To Johnny’s surprise the next day, the school papers replaced the usual column going over the events of his parties with a new blurb on the “Cutest Couple on Campus,” the sight m causing him to spit his coffee out of shock.

“Wh-What the—?!”

#disney #james p sullivan #monsters inc #monsters inc x reader #monsters university #monsters university x reader #sulley x reader #sully x reader #james p sullivan x reader #pixar #pixar x reader #oneshot #one shot #disney x reader #monsters #x reader

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xgoldenlatiasx · 3 years

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hug the boy

#pokemon #my art #pokemon sword and shield #pkmn swsh #pokemon oc #trainer blake #kappa #inteleon #this is the first time I’ve drawn inteleon kappa and haven’t hated it #I don’t like how blake came out here though :/#watch me say “oh I think kappa looks ok in this drawing!#and then hate it the next day

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miss-smutty · 3 years

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Forbidden

Chapter 1

A/N- I've teased y'all for so long I hope this series is going to live up to expectations, I'm confident it will though because I'm addicted and it's been super easy for me to write - I'm up to chapter 3 so far so updates can be on time! There's a slight age gap between my professor Hemsy and OC Jess but she's twenty and completely legal. You know this is gunna be a giant tease fest for the first couple of chapters cos that sexual tension is fucking gold 🥵

Summary- Jess meets the man of her dreams and then stupidly leaves without getting his number. Will fate bring them together again?

Word count- 1.5 K

Pairing- Professor!Chris Hemsworth x OC

Warnings- Swearing, age gap

18+ only!

Disclaimer: This is an entire work of fiction/AU and has no affiliation to real life what so ever! This is a fictional story about fictional characters who happen to share names and faces with some real people.

Posted: 5th August 2021

Taglist:- @innerpaperexpertcloud @pandaxnienke @chickensarentcheap @jjpogueprincess @longlostinanotherworld @mostly-marvel-musings @darklydeliciousdesires @monet-belle

@skyfullofsong123 @swaggysposts

Chapter 2

I pulled out a chair at the last available table in the unusually busy coffee shop, I thought I might've caught a break choosing the one outside of campus but alas I was wrong.

I was about to sit down when the chair opposite me slid out from under the table, my eyes lifted to meet with the most sparkly blue eyes i'd ever seen. The sight of him took my breath away. Literally.

I stood staring, frozen on the spot, my mouth slightly ajar as I looked him up and down. He was tall, so tall, definitely over 6ft and built like a dream. Thick thighs straining against his fitted trousers, wide muscular shoulders and I just knew there was a six-pack hiding behind that tight t-shirt.

"Sorry. You were here first, I'll just grab a take-out." He smirked a side smile, amused at how I was so obviously checking him out but his sexy Australian accent distracted you from anything else.

"It's fine, I'm on my own. I don't mind if you want to sit there too." I mentally face palmed myself, drawing attention to the fact I was alone wasn't the best idea but then again he was alone too. "I don't bite." I added trying my best to flirt.

It seemed to work, he smiled at me as he sat down and I took the time to admire his handsome face. He was quite clearly a lot older than me, the laughter lines around his eyes a tell tale sign but he was still quite possibly the best looking man I'd ever laid eyes on. His hair was fair and the short beard framed his face perfectly but the one thing that stood out the most were those piercing ocean-blue eyes.

"So do you come here often?" I cocked my eyebrow at him over my coffee cup making him laugh at my reaction. "Sorry, it's been a while." He said nervously, running his hand through his hair.

"It's been a while since you spoke to a stranger or…?" I questioned casually.

"It's been a while since I spoke to an attractive woman." He finished, his eyes sparkling as he watched me almost choke on my drink.

"Oh, I err…. I don't think you're doing too badly." I absentmindedly circled my finger around the rim of my cup, crossing my leg over my other and accidently rubbing my foot up his leg. My cheeks felt hot and flushed as I looked up into his eyes and saw him smiling slyly.

"Evidently. We're already playing footsie under the table." He smiled widely, a genuine smile that stretched the corners of his mouth. I smiled back at him shyly, thinking of something to say to change the subject before I ended up looking like a tomato.

"What part of Australia are you from?"

"I'm originally from Melbourne but I lived in Byron Bay before I came to America."

"Awesome. I've always wanted to go to Australia, the Spiders put me off though."

"Yeah I think they put most people off but in heavily populated areas they stay pretty much hidden, I think it's the size that scare people." How have I made this conversation go from flirting to talking about spiders? And how do I get back to flirting?

"Are we still talking about spiders?" I raised my eyebrows questioningly and laughed at the innuendo, flicking my hair over my shoulder. I noticed something in his eyes when I did so, a hunger, just a little flash and then it was gone again. I'm sure I didn't imagine it though because his eyes lingered on my exposed shoulders.

I checked my watch subtly, not wanting him to think he was boring me but I had to get to class and couldn't be late again, not when this semester had only just started.

"I'm really sorry, I'm gonna have to run, I'm going to be late. It was really nice meeting you." I gathered up my bags, ready to leave.

"Already? You've only just got here." He looked disappointed, his smile fading. His mouth opened as if he was going to say something else and then closed again when he saw I was ready to leave. "It was really nice to meet you too, hopefully I'll see you again." His eyes sparkled as he looked into mine, standing from his chair to get the door for me. I felt fireworks when his hand brushed against the small of my back and his face lingered close to mine. The tension was unreal, like we were the only people in the room as his eyes hungrily stared into my soul, undressing me with his eyes. My heart stopped beating when his face moved closer to mine so I could feel his breath on my lips, the smell of coffee and his aftershave filling my nostrils. I paused, my feet routed to the spot, I wanted him to kiss me so badly but I moved away at the last minute. Surely he wasn't actually going to kiss me, we'd only just met, that would be ridiculous. Wouldn't it?

********

I spent most of class daydreaming about my tall handsome stranger and the way he looked at me but most of all how I didn't even get his name. Or his number.

Now I was feeling sorry for myself because it would just be my luck to meet the man of my dreams and then never see him again. So I'd moped about all day and avoided the invitations for drinks after class. Instead I'd

gotten home early, changed into some sweats and settled myself in front of the TV for the night.

"What's up with your face?" My roommate, Ellie said as she walked into our room, throwing her bags onto her bed.

"What're you talking about?"

"Your face. Looks like you're chewing on a wasp."

"Feeling sorry for myself." I pout pathetically.

"Why, what've you done now?" She rolled her eyes, kicking off her shoes and throwing her legs up onto the bed. I felt so lucky to have a roommate like Ellie, during our freshman year she'd become my best friend practically straight away and now after two years together we were practically sisters.

I sat up in bed cross legged and faced Ellie, getting myself ready to spill my misfortunes of the day with her.

"Well, I went to Impresso's this morning to get my morning coffee before class." She nodded, showing her enthusiasm by also sitting cross legged on her own bed, facing me. "And it was packed full of students, there was only one table left. So I went to grab it as soon as I could." She raised her eyebrow at me, wondering where I was going with the story. "And I kid you not, the most attractive man I have ever seen, pulls out the chair opposite me."

"Oh my god! No way. Did you talk? Oh my god, this is like the perfect chick flick. Carry on." I smiled at her excitement.

"I told him I didn't mind if he sat there, I mean of course I didn't mind, you should've seen him El. Oh, oh, oh I almost forgot" I flapped my hands, bouncing on the spot. "He was fucking Australian."

"Fuck off, you're lying. Drop dead gorgeous with the sexiest accent ever. How is this even real? Now remind me why you're sat there with a face like a slapped arse?"

"I panicked when I had to leave, didn't want to be late for class and I didn't get his number, didn't even give him chance to ask for mine."

"Wow! Ok, now I understand. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking, I was panicking and you know what I'm like when I panic." You sulk.

"It's ok, maybe you'll bump into him again."

"Yeah, right. I should be so lucky."

"Cheer up." she says throwing a cushion at me. "There's a party at Alpha Kappa this weekend, I'm sure we can find you someone to help get over your mystery man. Or under should I say?" She raised her eyebrow at me, smiling slyly and making me laugh. She always did know how to cheer me up and maybe a party is what I needed.

There must be some good looking boys around campus that could make me forget about my Australian hunk. Surely? I thought about the guys I'd seen around campus, the guys I'd seen at frat parties and that's definitely not what I wanted. How could a twenty year old boy match to the masculine, experienced man I met this morning. My mind was set, I'd dipped my feet ever slightly into the mature pool and that's what I wanted more than anything. There was always something missing with previous boyfriends and I was tired of all the game playing. I wanted someone who knew what they wanted and wasn't afraid to get it.

The only thing was, he didn't know I was only twenty and I had no way of finding him again. If fate did bring us back together, would he mind that I was still a student? That I couldn't even drink when we went on dates?

Who am I kidding? Of course he would mind, he could get any woman he wanted, why would he want me?

#smut #chris hemsworth #chris hemsworth fanfic #chris hemsworth smut #chris hemsworth x reader #chris hemsworth x you #chris Hemsworth series #chris Hemsworth X oc #mcu rpf

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sixhours · 7 years

Text

Temulentus

Posting the full text here since this is a challenge work. You can read it at Ao3 as well.

Missing scene from Per Manum.

“Never give up on a miracle.”

He whispers words of comfort at her temple, but it’s not enough. It could never be enough to replace what they’ve taken from her.

She pulls back with a soft intake of breath. Her hand behind his neck draws him down, as if to tell him a secret, and as he understands her intention, there’s a fleeting moment of hesitation. Their lips meet—a chaste, careful kiss, testing the waters.

They’ve followed the laws and played by the rules, always ending up here, loss and disappointment heavy on their hearts.

To hell with it, he thinks, and kisses her again.

He pulls away, tugging on her hand. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

“Go? Where?”

“Trust me,” he says, half question, half request.

She ducks her head in assent, and they escape together into the light of the evening street. He keeps her hand tucked in his, desperate to keep some small part of her safe.

“Where are we going?” she asks when they’ve walked a few blocks, her voice numb.

“I’ll, uh, know when we get there,” he mutters. In truth, he doesn’t have a plan or a destination; he just knows he can’t sit in her apartment and watch her come undone.

He finds the restaurant a couple blocks down; a hole in the wall, the kind with red-and-white checked plastic tablecloths and a menu of photocopies. He holds the door and she walks under his arm, barely seeming to notice her surroundings.

When the hostess is out of earshot, Scully leans forward. “Mulder…if this is some kind of pity date—“

“Not a date, Scully. I’m just trying to get you drunk in the classiest way I know how.”

“Get me drunk? Mulder—”

“I think there’s a bar down the street, but you’re less likely to get alcohol poisoning if you eat something, too,” he says, scrutinizing the menu.

She frowns. “I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“That’s OK. We’ll just drink, then,” he says, struggling to keep his voice even. He half expects her to walk out, to retreat to the privacy of her apartment to lick her wounds. “Red or white?”

“Red,” she says finally. “But you have to promise to hold my hair if this goes the way I think it will.”

“Deal.”

Mulder flags down a waiter and orders the wine and an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms. When their drinks arrive, Mulder raises his glass, but he can’t think of a good reason to toast.

“Bottoms up,” he says instead, clinking the glasses together. The first acidic-sweet sip hits his palate, a balm to an ache that isn’t his to share.

The seconds tick by in uncomfortable silence; he reaches over, tapping her knuckles with one finger. “Talk to me, Scully.”

She swallows hard, brow knit in thought. Finally she looks up at him.

“You kissed me back there,” she says, somewhere between a question and an accusation. “Why?”

He blinks, stunned at her frankness. “I thought you kissed me.”

“Maybe it was a little of both,” she admits. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

“I…you—I mean, we—”

“I don’t want your pity, Mulder.”

His eyes widen. This is not going the way he hoped. “That’s not—I don’t…pity you.”

She goes quiet again, fixing him with a stare he recognizes from countless interrogation rooms.

“If anything, I blame myself,” he babbles, desperate to unpin himself from her gaze. “If I’d told you about the ova sooner, you might have had a better chance…maybe I didn’t get them into cold storage soon en—”

“I don’t want your self-pity, either,” she cuts him off. “No one is responsible but the men who took advantage of me.”

Heat rushes to his cheeks. “I didn’t do anything—anything—out of pity, Scully,” he says. “I hope you know that.”

She bites her lip, nodding slightly, her eyes heavy with unspoken accusations. There’s another pause, this one longer, and he wonders if this was a mistake.

“Maybe it’s for the best,” she says, turning the wine glass stem between her fingers.

He opens his mouth to protest, but something about the way she’s looking at him takes his breath away; like her soul has been laid bare, and she’s daring him to touch.

“When I was laying on the table and they were doing the procedure…one of the nurses advised me to visualize the desired outcome, to see myself holding my child,” she swallows hard. “But no matter what I tried, I couldn’t see it. Everything was blank, like an empty white screen. And I keep thinking, maybe it’s a sign…”

“I refuse to believe that.”

She doesn’t respond, but her eyes shine, darkening in stark contrast to her pale skin, and she ducks her head to hide the tears.

“Hey,” he says gently, nudging her foot under the table. “We’re supposed to be drinking your problems away, remember?”

“Right,” she sighs, forcing a watery smile. “I think we’re going to need more wine.”

The appetizer arrives, and Mulder breathes a silent sigh of relief when Scully polishes off three of the mushrooms and a second glass of wine. He pours her a third and tops off his glass for good measure.

“At this rate, I’ll be wasted before the first course,” she muses, watching him finish off the bottle with a dramatic flourish.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk, Scully.”

She frowns. “There was that time with the wine and the…oh. That was Van Bluhndt, wasn’t it?”

Mulder grimaces at the memory. “Yeah. That wasn’t me.”

“I tried once,” she says. “But you weren’t interested.”

“Tried what?”

“That night at the motel in Florida. The impromptu wine and cheese reception?”

“You were—you mean—I—ohhh…”

She quirks her lips. “You ran after the…whatever it was before I could make my move.”

“You had a move? There was a move?” he grins, giddy at the thought of his straight-laced, buttoned-up partner seducing him in a cruddy backwater motel room.

“Well, maybe I didn’t have a move, but I was keeping an open mind,” she says, swiping a crumb of mushroom from her plate and sucking it off her thumb. “Which is more than I could say for you at the time.”

“Damn,” he says, cursing his stubborn single-mindedness. “Maybe our friend Eddie was right: I’m a loser by choice.”

“Circumstances being what they are…I didn’t ask Van Blunhdt for a sperm donation,” she says wryly.

“Maybe,” Mulder concedes, finding it suddenly impossible to look her in the eye. He focuses on his wine instead, swirling the dregs in the bottom of the glass. “But a guy would have to be pretty thick to say no to you.”

She licks her lips, a rosy flush creeping up her neck. “So—what was your first time like?”

Mulder coughs, finding it suddenly hard to breathe. “My—my what?”

“The first time you got drunk,” she clarifies.

“Oh, um,” he looks at the table, remembering. “It wasn’t that exciting, really. I think I was 13. Snuck into Dad’s liquor cabinet when my parents were away. Passed out on the couch in the basement and woke up with one hell of a hangover.”

Scully arches an eyebrow. “Thirteen? That’s precocious.”

“Yeah. Not that my parents were paying attention,” he says. “What about you? Lemme guess…senior prom night? Open house at Kappa Phi?”

She takes a drink. “I was 16. I caught Missy sneaking out to a party off base, so I did what any responsible younger sister would; I threatened to tell Mom if she didn’t take me.”

Mulder leans in, grinning at the thought of a young Scully coercing her older sister into collaboration. “They teach blackmail in Catechism class, huh?”

She smirks. “It was a bunch of seniors from her class and me. The party was terrible, of course, but I liked the thrill. Someone handed me a drink—I don’t know what it was, but it was sweet—and suddenly everything was funny, and I couldn’t stand up straight.

“But then Missy picked a fight with her boyfriend, who happened to be our ride, so he left. We had to call Mom to pick us up, and I threw up in the car on the way home.”

Mulder whistles. “Bet that made for a fun Sunday confessional.”

“Dad was at sea, of course,” Scully continues. “Mom never told him; it would have been worse if she had…she must have thought the humiliation was punishment enough.”

“Was it?”

“Mmhm,” she says. “Next time, I made sure I had cab fare.”

Mulder holds up his glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

More wine turns into wine and entrées. Scully forgoes her usual salad for lobster ravioli, and Mulder chooses the lasagna. When the food arrives, he’s so entranced at the sight of her enjoying the meal that he doesn’t realize he’s staring until it’s too late.

“What?” she asks, wiping her lips with a napkin. “S’there something in my teeth?”

He considers feigning ignorance, but the wine has loosened his tongue. “It’s good to see you eat, is all.”

“Ahh, the hormones,” she murmurs, ducking her head.

His mind tells him to tread cautiously, to turn the conversation around, but his stupid mouth fails him. “That bad, huh?”

“Mmm. Although, to be honest…the whole experience was so…consuming. It’s still a bit surreal when I think about it. Having a child,” she says, hiding her next words in her glass. “With you.”

With you. The phrase lingers, bouncing around his brain like balls in a pinball machine. “There were times when you were preparing for the treatments, I wondered if you’d change your mind.”

“About what?”

“About me, as a donor,” he says. “Paranoid delusions and a pronounced narcissistic streak don’t make for an easy childhood.”

“What happened to ‘passing genetic muster'?” There’s a teasing lilt in her voice.

“I…don’t know how to answer that without incriminating myself.”

She smiles, sadness lingering in her eyes. “I would have liked to meet your kid, Mulder.”

His throat tightens unexpectedly. “Yeah. Me, too.”

The waiter interrupts to suggest dessert, and Mulder accepts, eager to change the subject. By the time they’ve finished, the rest of the patrons have dispersed, and the staff are wiping down tables and putting up chairs.

“I guess that’s our cue,” Mulder says, handing Scully her coat, watching as she struggles to put it on inside out, then backwards, before offering to help.

“Mulder, I can’t even—this is—I’m not going to be able to walk,” she giggles.

“Lightweight,” he teases, taking her hand.

“You had…how much have you had?” she narrows her eyes in an exaggerated frown as he guides her out the door.

“Not as much as you,” he admits. “One of us has to navigate.”

Her hand is cold, so he holds it close between their bodies, and she leans into him all the way back to her apartment. To the untrained eye, they look like a normal couple on an evening stroll.

They stop at her doorstep, and he realizes, in his haste to whisk her away from real life for a few hours, that he doesn’t know what comes next.

She answers the unspoken question by unlocking the door and pulling him inside.

“Stay with me, Mulder.”

He stands, frozen, at the threshold. “I—I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” she says, in a tone far too precise for her current state.

“I don’t put out on the first date, Scully,” he quips, hoping it sounds more nonchalant than he feels. “And you’re drunk.”

Scully snorts, leaning down to slip off one heel, wobbling on unsteady feet. “You said it wasn’t a date.”

“You got me there,” he says, offering an arm to steady her as she removes her second heel. “But you’re still drunk.”

“That I am,” she smiles, stifling a yawn. “No thanks to you.”

“I take full responsibility. And the responsible thing is for me to go home and let you sleep it off.”

She turns around, placing both hands on his chest. “Mmhm. That would be responsible.”

He should follow his own advice. She’s vulnerable, and he’s not entirely present, but she’s looking at him with such open desire that his feet won’t move.

“Thank you,” she says, leaning into him, further complicating matters and assuring he can’t leave without dropping her.

“It was nothing,” he rasps.

“It was…exactly what I needed,” she sighs. “I wish…“ she begins, closing her eyes. Her head nods forward. Her breath warms the spot on his chest where he might have held a child, in a different time, a different life.

“I know,” he murmurs, when she doesn’t finish. He cradles the back of her head in his hand, running his fingers through her hair in careful circles. “Me, too.”

She steps back. “Stay,” she says, almost breathless with the invitation. Her hand catches his, and he looks down, surprised at how they fit together, how natural it is to touch her like this.

He swallows hard. “I shouldn’t. Not that I don’t want to. I mean, not that I want that, but…and it’s not that I don’t want…that…shit,” he says, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Scully giggles, eyes shining.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, already wincing at the answer.

“If I had known that’s all it took to shut you up, Mulder, I would have propositioned you years ago.”

The light in her eyes is blinding, and he steadies himself against the doorframe, the wine having nothing to do with it.

“Please, stay. Not…for that,” she whispers. “I’m not ready to be alone with this yet.”

He bites his lip, thinking of their kiss, of the lines they’ve crossed. “Alright,” he concedes. “Only if I get the couch.”

“Deal,” she says, looking up at him through heavy lashes. “And Mulder?”

“Yeah?”

She turns, hips swaying as she makes her way to the bathroom, a lilt in her step and her voice.

“I’m going to need you to hold my hair.”

#xf missing scene challenge #per manum #The X-Files #fanfic

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