Title: Small Sound Black Dreams

Author/pseudonym: Amatia

Fandom: X-Files/The Silence of the Lambs

Paring: Dana Scully/Clarice Starling, implied Mulder/Krycek

Rating: Overall R. Individual parts vary.

Status: WIP

Archive: Yep.

Summary: An old love of Scully's returns.

Warnings: Spoilers for XF - "Fire", "The End", "The Red and the Black".

Spoilers for "The Silence of the Lambs" (movie) and slight ones for "Hannibal" (book).

Notes: This series was started over a year ago, and it's still growing. Thanks go to Hth for planting the seed for this all with her fic, "Thank You For Not Smoking". All parts have now been given a Roman Numeral designation for easy identification and ordering. :-)

Small Sound Black Dreams 5: Revelations

by Amatia
(NC-17)

Mulder was five minutes late to their dinner, and when he arrived he found Scully already seated, sipping a glass of blush wine. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "I had a visitor."

"Was it...?"

"Yes." Mulder sat down across from her. "Don't say anything," he said. "If you don't say anything, Scully, I'll tell you."

"Good. I have something to tell you, too." Scully poured wine into his glass. "But let's order before we talk, okay?"

He nodded, picking up the menu. "I suppose you've already decided," he said wryly.

"Of course." Scully allowed a smile, despite her nervousness. She watched as he opened the menu, picking up her wineglass but not drinking any of the clear rose liquid. I have no idea how I'm going to tell him, she thought to herself. No clue at all.

After the waiter had come and taken their order, she folded her hands on the table and looked at him. Mulder gave her a vaguely sheepish look. "You're not still mad, are you?"

"No. But I would like an explanation."

He sighed, and raised a hand to rub his forehead. "Alex and I -" he began, then stopped. "I'm not sure how to put this, Scully."

"Why don't you start with that happened between you and Krycek a few months back? Before we went to Wiekamp?"

Mulder took a drink of his wine. "He was the one who gave me the information."

"I figured that much out," Scully replied wryly.

Mulder waved a hand at her. "That's not unusual for Krycek. But was unusual...was that he kissed me. On the cheek. And at first I thought it was some kind of Russian custom, but subsequent research proved otherwise." He paused for a moment. "I couldn't stop thinking about it. It made me realize that there'd always been a repressed sexual tension between him and me. And when he showed up on Friday night -" he stopped again. "I'll just say that it didn't take a lot of the aphrodisiac to...you know."

Scully nodded.

"I'm really sorry that you had to come in when you did," he apologized. "I would have told you even if you hadn't seen, but you shouldn't have had to see what you saw. I'm sorry, Scully."

He looked sincere enough. She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "I forgive you, Mulder."

Their food arrived, and they paused their conversation while plates were placed in front of them. Salad and a multi-grain roll for Scully, and what she thought was smothered chicken on Mulder's plate. He looked at her food and wrinkled his nose. "Don't you ever eat anything remotely resembling meat?" he asked.

"Do you ever eat anything that's not covered in some kind of gravy?" she replied.

Mulder gave her an offended look. "I eat pizza."

"That's covered in grease. So much better for you." Scully's initial nervousness had dissipated a little, but that old frightened feeling that went with coming out to someone had remained.

"So are you going to tell me?" he asked between forkfuls of the chicken.

"I was trying to figure out how to say it," she replied. "Mulder, when I first was teaching at Quantico, I lived with another woman for almost a year."

His expression was puzzled. "That's not uncommon, Scully, there's almost no housing around there..."

"No, that wasn't what I meant," she sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm bisexual. Clarice was my lover."

Mulder was silent for a moment, then asked, "How come you didn't tell me this before?"

"I never had occassion to," Scully explained. "But the Bureau has sent Clari back from Utah, and she came to my apartment after you left Friday night."

"And you kind of picked up where you left off?"

Scully turned red from the bottom of her neck to the tips of her ears. "Yes,"

Mulder got up from his chair, and for a moment, Scully was scared he was going to leave. Then he pulled her out of her chair and engulfed her in a huge hug. "I'm glad you've found someone," he said into her hair.

"Thank you," she said when he let go of her, and they'd sat back down. "I'm glad you didn't turn away from me, Mulder."

"Scully, you're my best friend. Nothing could change that." He paused for a moment. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Yeah." Scully smiled. "I'm going to be moving in with her..."

"And?"

"And she's pregnant." She noted the sparkle in his eyes. "And don't you even think about asking if I'm the father."

Mulder laughed. "Scully, you ruin all my fun."

Scully laughed along with him. "I'm glad I've got you, Mulder."

"And I'm glad I've got you, Scully."

***
*end*