TITLE:  Aquatic Dreams
AUTHOR:  A. Kelley Nolan
EMAIL:  akelleynolan@yahoo.com
DISTRIBUTION:  Wherever.  Just let me know.

RATING:  R for language, blasphemy, and adult behavior in a semi-public place
CATEGORIES:  VR
KEYWORDS:  Mulder/Scully romance
SPOILERS:  None

SUMMARY:  Speedos, tankinis, and primordial ooze.

Disclaimer:  Everybody in this belongs to somebody else.  Aquatic 
Dreams is the name of a scuba shop in Modesto, California.  It's 
cracked me up ever since I was old enough to get the joke.  Like the 
characters, it is borrowed lovingly but, alas, without permission.

Author's Notes:  No plots were harmed, or even acknowledged, in the 
writing of this fic.

*********************

"Mulder, how do I let you talk you me into these things?" She glanced 
over at him, at the goggles that made him look like a six foot praying 
mantis, and almost laughed.

"I think it's my natural charm." He grinned. "Or possibly the 
opportunity to see me in a Speedo."

"I can see you in less than that anytime I want to," she reminded him. 
Although she had to admit the Speedo was a nice variation on the 
theme. It threw the lean muscles of his body into relief, letting her 
see the play of shadows over his beautifully sculpted...well, 
everything, the little dip where his obliquus externus met his iliac 
crest that made her crazy. Yeah, Dana, say it in Latin and it doesn't 
sound nearly as sexual. Right. The suit hid just enough to bring 
fevered memories to mind, and the black color against his golden skin 
made him look like some dark angel. She was pretty sure even dark 
angels wore more than that, though. She dragged her gaze back to his 
face and found him smiling smugly at her frank appraisal of him. "Been 
getting some sun, huh?" she asked casually.

"You like?" he teased. She cocked an eyebrow noncommittally, and he 
laughed. "You're such a bad liar, Scully. Now are you going to get in 
that pool or not?"

"It looks cold." It did, too, although she knew it was heated and 
would probably feel really nice. She caught the tang of chlorine that 
sometimes lingered faintly on his skin, and a shiver which had nothing 
to do with cold went through her.

"Basically, you've got two choices," he replied, walking toward her 
with insouciant grace. "You can get in on your own. Or I can throw you 
in."

"You do realize what the consequences of that particular action would 
be, don't you?"

"I think it might be worth it."

He continued to move toward her, a warning smile on his face, and 
Scully knew better than to think that he would back down. She took the 
only option left to her and dove cleanly into the water, gliding under 
the surface like a fish for a quarter of the length, then breaking 
with smooth, firm strokes. Mulder watched with amazement as she 
slipped effortlessly down the lane, turned a clean racing flip at the 
end, and stroked smoothly back.

She stopped when she got back to his end, hanging her elbows on the 
edge and looking up at him. Her red hair was sleeked back, her blue 
eyes were the same color as the water she floated in, and there was a 
sparkle of pleasure in them.

"Nice form, Scully," he said admiringly. She smiled and fiddled with 
her goggles. Mulder crouched down next to her so they were closer. 
"Don't tell me -- swim team?"

"Diving."  She met his eyes, saw the surprise there, and shrugged. "I 
went to high school in San Diego. It paid to be into water sports. I 
was always too small to be any more than average at swimming. I just 
didn't have the reach for speed. But small was actually an asset in 
diving."

He found an image of Scully, her slim body twisting through the air 
and slipping into the water, floating before his eyes. Serious turn 
on, he thought. "Were you good?"

"Yeah, I was okay."

He watched her thoughtfully. She kept her gaze averted, toying with 
the strap on her goggles, making miniscule adjustments. She must have 
been _very_ good. "Show me," he said quietly.

"Mulder-"

"I want to see."

She shook her head. "It's been a long time."

"You're not going to tell me you don't remember how." She flashed him 
a look, and he knew he'd be able to talk her into it. "Come on, 
Scully. I'm not asking you to do a Louganis. I just want to see you do 
something I never knew you could do."

Scully looked up into his face, searching his eyes for some 
unmentionable motivation. His tan made them look greener, she noticed. 
"Does this have anything to do with your gymnast fantasy?"

"Who says I have a gymnast fantasy?"

"All men have a gymnast fantasy."

He smiled. "Point granted. But no. This has to do with my Scully 
fantasy." He pulled out the big guns. "Please?"

"Oh, that is so unfair. All right, fine," she said, with an 
exaggerated sigh. "If you catch me, I'll dive for you."

"Catch you?" But she had shot off across the pool, and he realized he 
was going to have to physically restrain her to get her to do this. He 
dove in and took off after her. There was no way she could get away 
from him. As she'd pointed out, he had the significant advantage of 
reach, and he was quickly gaining on her.

Scully knew, of course, that there was no way she could escape him. 
She was quick and agile, but he was strong and fast. She just figured 
it would be fun to be caught. She put on a good show, but she hadn't 
made it much more than halfway across the pool before she felt his 
firm grip on her ankle, tugging her to a halt. She stopped without a 
struggle and turned to face him as he pulled her toward him.

"Brat," he grinned.

She floated closer, found that his feet were firmly planted on the 
bottom of the pool, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I thought 
you liked the chase," she said with a smile that totally failed to be 
innocent, and used his body to pull herself closer and kiss him.

He slid his hands to her hips, drawing her against him, and she hooked 
her legs around him to anchor herself. "I think I like the catching 
better." They kissed lazily for a few minutes, his fingers sliding 
beneath the waistband of her tankini bottoms to rest on the curve of 
her buttocks, before he drew his head back and looked at her with 
amusement. "I know I'm easy, sweetheart, but I'm not brain dead. Get 
up there and dive for me, unless you want to go chasing your suit in 
the deep end."

Scully eyed him warily. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I absolutely would," he assured her. "A deal's a deal. I caught 
you, so I get the mermaid's tail." He laughed and ducked underwater to 
avoid the hand that came streaking toward his head, then darted a few 
feet away, leaving her treading water and trying to glare at him 
without grinning. He smiled, lifting his chin toward the springboards. 
"Go on."

She gave up. He would be relentless, and she knew it. Worse still, he 
might actually divest her of her suit and toss it into the deep end. 
And while that had a certain potential for serious fun, it could also 
be problematic. She let herself think about the fun parts while she 
pulled herself up the ladder and walked over to the boards.

Mulder swam over to the edge and perched himself there, his elbows 
leaning back on the tile, his legs kicking lazily in front of him. He 
watched her climb onto the lower board, walk out to the edge, bounce 
up and down to test the spring. It was fascinating. She was so small 
and delicate, and she approached the task with such confidence. He was 
a good swimmer, maybe even an excellent swimmer, but diving scared the 
hell out of him and always had. He wasn't sure he'd ever admit it to 
her, but diving was in the same category for him as gymnastics and ice 
skating. He couldn't watch any of them because he was always afraid 
someone was going to get hurt, and the thought of doing any of those 
things himself made him cringe. Louganis' header at the Seoul Olympics 
had left him sweating and shaky. Yet his Scully, all five feet nothing 
and a hundred pounds soaking wet of her, was totally fearless. Of 
course, she was also better in a fistfight than he was. What a woman.

She was getting ready to go, and he felt himself tense. He didn't know 
if he could tell the difference between easy and difficult, so he just 
prayed she would stick with the easy stuff. He watched with wonder as 
she bounced and sailed into the air, her slim body scissoring into a 
perfect pike before she straightened and slid into the water with 
hardly a ripple. God, she was gorgeous. He should have figured that 
anybody who could run in heels had a certain physical panache, but she 
was so graceful it took his breath away. He watched her get out of the 
pool and head back to the board. She didn't look at him, and he 
recognized the signs. She was in the zone, totally focused on what she 
was about to do. It was what made her a great doctor, a great agent, a 
great lover. And, he suspected, a great diver.

This time her approach wasn't a gentle lope but a full speed run. She 
sprung off the end of the board, tucked her knees to her chest, and he 
counted three full spins before she pulled herself straight and sliced 
into the water again. He gasped, partly from the sheer poetry of her, 
and partly from the memory of the one time he had attempted a single 
somersault off a diving board and had landed flat on his back with a 
sickening slap that had stung for an hour.

She was climbing onto the board again, and he watched as she walked to 
the end and then turned around. These backward dives made him so 
nervous he actually felt a little sick to his stomach, but he forced 
himself to keep his eyes on her. For one thing, if she cracked her 
head open he'd need to be able to get there quickly. She perched on 
the very edge of the board, all of her weight balanced on her toes, 
her body straight and sure, her concentration perfect. She bent her 
knees, sprung, and flew into the air, flattening her body as she rose 
until, at the top of her arch, she shifted her center of gravity 
forward like a bird soaring in for a landing, her head falling and her 
feet rising with her body straight as a knife, until she plunged into 
the water.

She surfaced a moment later and began stroking over to him. He knew he 
looked dumbfounded, but...well, jeez. This woman was simply a marvel 
of biology. She came up to him with a smile, her cheeks flushed with 
excitement. "That felt great!" she exclaimed. "I'd forgotten the rush. 
Thanks for being such a pain in the ass and making me do it." She 
realized he was just staring at her, his eyes wide, and she paused, 
treading water in front of him and pulling her eyebrows together. 
"What?"

"You," he managed. "You're...God, Scully, you're beautiful. That was 
beautiful."

She blushed a little, pleased in spite of herself. "None of those were 
very difficult, Mulder."

He shook his head at her objection and pulled her to him. She caught 
one hand on the side of the pool and slid the other around his neck. 
"Thank you for showing me." He leaned forward and kissed her softly, 
and she wrapped her leg around his to keep from floating away. "That 
was practically a religious experience."

"Mulder," she warned.

"I'm serious. At the very least, you make a compelling argument for 
intelligent design." He nuzzled her cheek with his nose. "You're 
beautiful."

"You said that."

"Should I stop?" he asked, pulling his head back a little.

She chased his lips with a smile. "No, you can keep it up."

He grinned against her mouth. "Thanks to you, baby. All thanks to 
you."

Scully teased his tongue with hers, then drew back, pushing herself 
away from the edge. "This is rapidly devolving."

"I'll be primordial ooze soon," he agreed.

She splashed him. A brief water battle ensued, which she won by diving 
under the surface and tugging unmercifully at his leg hair. "Behave," 
she smiled when she came back up, too far away for him to reach. "You 
have laps to do."

"That was unfair, Scully."

She shrugged.

"I'll be avenged."

"Whatever." She waved the threat away and slipped off toward the end 
of the lanes. "See you in half an hour, Mulder."

He watched her go reluctantly, a smile curving his lips. He was 
quickly becoming a believer in karma, because he knew that nothing he 
had done in this life had made him deserve her. She would have been 
the first to agree. He shook his head to clear the growing love fog 
and set off down the lane briskly.

Scully hadn't done laps in a long time, but the pleasing rhythm came 
back to her quickly. Long, smooth strokes, not too fast, just easing 
into it. She was aware of Mulder in the next lane, taking the whole 
thing quite a bit more seriously. He was doing at least three lengths 
for every two of hers, but she could tell that he hadn't hit 
competition speed and didn't intend to.  Mulder was a distance 
swimmer, had always done those impossibly long races, and he could 
swim at training speed practically forever.  The man had stamina, 
which he'd demonstrated to her on a number of occasions.

Out of the corner of her eye she watched him as he slid past her in 
the next lane.  His body was taut and golden, like burnt sugar, his 
muscles lean and strong.  He had fantastic arms, she thought as she 
swept on down toward the end of her lane.  And what nature had given 
him, thousands of laps had helped define.  Narrow waist, slim hips, 
strong, smooth back.  He passed her again, this time going the other 
direction so that she could watch him approach and feel the slight 
ripple of wash as he slipped past her.  There was something distinctly 
erotic about this.  She didn't remember ever thinking that back in 
high school.  Sure, she'd admired the hardbody swimmers, but she 
couldn't remember a single instance of getting turned on just by being 
in the same pool with them.  Of course, that was before she met 
Mulder.  And way before she'd started sleeping with Mulder, after 
which almost every situation had a certain erotic potential in her 
mind.  Maybe her beautiful, wet, nearly naked lover just a few feet 
away was rather obvious, actually.

Her sure strokes faltered as she saw him swimming toward her again, 
this time in the same lane.  There were fifteen lanes in this pool, 
all completely empty, and he suddenly had to share hers?  She moved 
closer to the ropes as he came up alongside her, slipped past without 
ever breaking rhythm.  She could feel the rush of water that flowed 
off his body caressing hers.  Several important glands kicked into 
action.

Scully didn't think twice.  She dove under the rope and continued in 
the next lane.  This really wasn't the place to be thinking what she 
was thinking.  Like removing his Speedos with her teeth.  That just 
wasn't appropriate.  She started to push herself faster.  Tired.  
Tired would be good.  Bone weary, even.  No, not bone.  God, think 
about something else, she hissed at herself, and swam a little faster 
still.  And damn it if Mulder wasn't coming toward her again, in her 
lane.  He slid by, and she felt the same cushion of water swirl over 
her, just like his hands stroking her body.  She gritted her teeth.  
It was definitely time to get out of the pool.

She swam toward the end of the lane slowly.  She knew Mulder was 
behind her.  She could sense his eyes on her, and she kicked a little 
harder to get there faster.  She was a little breathless when she 
arrived, and she hung her elbows on the edge, slowing her breathing, 
when she felt the pressure around her change.  Mulder glided up behind 
her, his body drifting up against hers, his arms caging her between 
them as he reached for the edge.  Her stomach tingled, and she felt 
his warm breath on the cool skin of her neck, then his lips followed.  
He kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear, drifted down the side of 
her throat, gently bit the tendon where her neck curved into shoulder 
and then soothed it with his tongue.  She didn't catch the slight moan 
before it slipped out of her mouth, and he apparently took that as 
permission to slide his hand down the front of her tankini bottoms, 
his fingers seeking her with unerring accuracy.

She felt his smile against her skin.  "Talk about primordial ooze."

"Mulder," she warned, but a giggle bubbled through her.  She leaned 
her head back on his shoulder, offering his hot mouth even better 
access to her neck, as his fingers glided over her in lazy circles.  
Okay, apparently she wasn't the only one to recognize the sexual 
overtones of wet and almost naked.  That Speedo wasn't doing a damn 
thing to hide the ridge of hardened flesh pressing against her, which 
she could feel even better now that he had slipped her bottoms down.  
She started, and tried to squirm away from him, but she was trapped 
between his body and the edge of the pool.  His hips pressed back 
against hers as she watched with a mixture of horror and excitement as 
the bottom half of her suit landed on the pool deck with a wet smack.  
There didn't seem to be too many possible responses to that.  
"Mulder," she tried lamely, "this is a public pool."

He wriggled against her a little, and the next thing she saw was his 
suit landing next to hers.  "You've got to stop resorting to 
hyperbole, Scully," he said lightly.  "It shoots your arguments all to 
hell.  This is semi-public, at best."

He turned her around to face him, and she could tell his feet were on 
the bottom.  Of course, she couldn't reach, so she had to either tread 
water or hang on him to stay in one place.  She chose treading water 
for the moment.  "You have got to be kidding me."

Mulder's hands found her hips, and he pulled her easily against him.  
Her legs instinctively went around him, capturing his unmistakably 
serious intent between them.  "Care to reassess the situation?" he 
smiled.

"I'm sure there are public health codes against this kind of thing," 
she tried weakly, but her arms were snaking up around his neck 
apparently of their own volition.

He snorted a laugh and leaned forward to kiss her, a light, teasing 
touch at first until he pressed his hips into her as a little reminder 
and her sharp intake of breath inspired his tongue to slide against 
hers.  He made a thorough reconnaissance of her mouth, then drew back 
to look at her with twinkling eyes.  "Am I talking you into it?"

God damn, the man was gorgeous, she thought, his wet hair all spiky 
from her fingers, his lips slightly swollen from her kisses.  She 
arched one wry eyebrow skyward.  "Don't you always?"

Mulder grinned.  "Yeah, but I'm terrified one day you'll figure out 
how to say no."

"If I ever do, I give you permission to shoot me."

"Couldn't I just spank you instead?"

She laughed.  "You're such a pig.  Now shut up, and let's get carnal."

"Ooh, I love it when you get ecclesiastical on my ass, Scully."  She 
felt his hand between them, guiding himself, and then he pushed slowly 
into her.  His eyes fluttered closed.  "Sweet Jesus..."

Scully bit back her smile and flexed her pelvic muscles, making him 
open his eyes and meet hers with amusement.  "I sure hope God doesn't 
take these little conversions of yours at face value, or you're going 
to have some serious explaining to do someday."

"Well, maybe if you convert me often enough, it'll stick," he 
suggested lightly, beginning to thrust slowly into her.

She met his upward movement with her own downward slides.  The 
weightlessness of the water and the anchor of his body made it 
effortless.  Maybe they should look into getting one of those sensory 
deprivation tanks.  Or a space shuttle.  "Your immortal soul is your 
own responsibility, buddy," she reminded him, leaning in for another 
kiss.  "I've got enough problems of my own."  Like coming in a public 
place, which she was definitely going to do in the next few minutes.  
"Mulder," she murmured, licking his lips softly, "I have a confession 
to make."

His hands tightened on her buttocks to anchor her better against his 
thrusts.  "Just think of me as your father confessor.  Oh..."  He 
groaned as she made an unexpected movement with her pelvis.  "What's 
your sin?"

"I'm fucking my partner...even as we speak," she replied, slipping her 
tongue between his teeth and moving it in delicious counterpoint to 
his thrusts inside her.

Another groan, and for a moment his attention was divided between his 
penis inside her and her tongue inside him, and words were a total 
impossibility.  He gathered his wits when she drew back for breath.  
"There will have to be penance."

"Will it be hard?" Scully asked wickedly, grinding down on him.

"Oh, I think I can guarantee it."  He captured her lips again, felt 
her squeeze around him, her fingers tightening on his shoulders, and 
increased the tempo and urgency of his thrusts a little.

"God..." she breathed, letting her head fall back and her eyes drift 
closed.

"Leave him out of this.  This is confession, not prayer."

Scully opened her eyes again and twinkled at him.  She adjusted 
herself so that her body was slicked against his from top to bottom 
and she could move on him more firmly.  "There's more," she admitted, 
testing out the physics of her new position and finding that they were 
more than sufficient.

"More?" he gasped.  "Fuck, Scully, do that again."

She did, and the veins on the side of his neck stood out.  "I'm in 
love with my partner."

Mulder looked at her, his eyes hot but shaded with tenderness.  His 
voice was getting a little breathless as he slid in and out of her.  
"That's a grievous sin, indeed."

"Mmm."  For a long moment, there was just the splash of water as they 
moved against each other and the warm, wet slide of their mouths as 
they kissed.

He nibbled her lower lip, licked it to soothe the marks from his 
teeth.  "I have it on good authority...oh...uh...that he's in love 
with you, too."

"Really?"  Her eyes widened as he tilted his pelvis and thrust up into 
her sharply, hitting entirely new places at that angle and making her 
legs tighten around him.  "Right there...How can you be sure?"

"I'm very well..."  He grinned at her, teasing various appropriate 
adjectives through her mind with the pumping of his hips.  
"...informed."

"Holy mother of God..."

"No, she was a virgin," he reminded her, pushing deeper with each 
stroke.

She snorted and tightened her arms around his neck for leverage.  
"Does your omniscience extend to the next minute or so?"

"Mm-hmm."  He kissed her, sucking at her tongue.  "I predict you're 
going to come, right here in this public pool."

"Semi-public," she corrected.

"Whatever."

She held on tighter as they began thrusting harder and faster, their 
bodies grinding together and the water splashing rhythmically over the 
edge with each panting plunge.  "And where will you be?"

"Right behind you."

"Then let's go."

Another few thrusts, his strong arms helping her fight buoyancy to 
slam against him, and her back arched as she came, her body spasming 
around him, milking him and sucking at him until she felt his heat 
wash up into her in delicious contrast to the cool all around her.  
She sagged, boneless, against him, her forehead resting against his, 
their panting breaths caressing each other's cheeks.  His hands 
smoothed over her mindlessly, over her hips, down her thighs, back up 
under her top to slide over her back.  "I think I love this suit, 
Scully," he murmured, and felt her giggle against his chest.  He 
pulled his head back and pressed soft kisses to her forehead, her eye, 
her cheek, and finally her mouth.  "I love you."

She said something consisting entirely of vowels that he recognized as 
"I love you, too" without tongue, which was otherwise engaged.

Mulder looked at her, a devilish grin lighting his eyes.  "You can 
star in my wet dreams anytime."

"God, you're a pig!" she laughed.

"More like a dolphin," he said thoughtfully.  "Did you know dolphins 
engage in recreational sex?"

"Bottlenose or Miami?"

He laughed, kissed her again tauntingly.  "I was right about getting 
the mermaid's tail."

"You're mixing your aquatic metaphors, Mulder.  You've got to stop 
doing that in a post-coital haze.  It shoots your arguments all to 
hell."

"Well, I've shot everything else in the last couple of minutes, so why 
not?"

She shoved him away with a grin and tossed his suit at him, just far 
enough out of reach so that she was sure she'd get to see him dive 
naked for it.  "Get dressed, merman."

"You want to swim some more laps?" he asked innocently.

"I'm thinking we should go home and check out the erotic possibilities 
of my bathtub."

He grinned.  "I'll bring the rubber ducky."

Scully reached between his legs and gave him a long, slow stroke, her 
eyes fixed on his mischievously.  "That's okay.  I already have a tub 
toy."

Mulder sucked in his breath with a hiss.  "You're a wicked woman, 
Scully."

"Luckily I've already gone to confession today."

-Fin-