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With the last snow melting and Spring tiptoeing in, Mulder decides it's time for a change in his life, too. For weeks, he's been trying to find the right moment. Seeing Scully lift her face to the sun, a small smile playing on her lips, he can't wait any longer.
"I have something for you," he says.
"What did you say?" Scully turns to him, shielding her eyes from the sun.
"A gift. For you. Maybe... consider it a very late or very early Christmas gift."
"Is that becoming a pattern with you?" He loves her teasing. Lately, she's been doing it more often. And she's smiling more. A sight Mulder can't get enough of. "Christmas was months ago. I've had a birthday since then." She gently nudges his side.
"My present wasn't ready then."
"I admit I'm curious," she admits. "Where is this present?"
"In my pocket." It's been there for months. A few years ago, he considered giving it to her for the first time, afraid he was going to lose her. This time he's not afraid. He's not going to lose her. This is just to show her that she's his choice. That no matter what, he wants to be by her side. Wants her with him. For always. His smile is as shaky as his hand as he reaches into his pocket to take out the small box. Scully looks at it, then back at him.
"Mulder, I'm not sure that-"
"Relax," he says, "I'm not asking you to marry me. Unless you want me to." His wink is met with an amused eye roll.
"But I want you to have this." He puts the small box into her palm and closes her fingers over it.
"Can I look?" she asks him.
"Of course." He waits, watches her as the box comes open with a soft squeak. Scully gasps and stares at him open-mouthed.
"This is a- I can't accept this."
"It's yours."
"Mulder, this is a ring."
"Oh, is it? I thought it was sunflower seeds."
"This isn't funny."
"No, it isn't. I- Scully, I meant what I said. I want you to have this ring. After last year and the whole thing with Diana, with us doing IVF and- I found this again after my mom's death. Have I ever told you about my grandmother?" Scully, still staring at the ring, shakes her head.
"Let's sit down on that bench over there." His hand lands on the small of her back and they walk the small distance together, the golden ring catching a ray of sunshine as they do.
"My grandmother on my mother's side was Jewish. She and my dad never got along and after Samantha... I didn't see her often. The last time I did was shortly before I went to Oxford. She was old by then and sick. I was too young, or too much in denial, to understand that she was dying. She gave me this ring, making me promise that I wouldn't sell it, and would never let my dad have it. I thought she was crazy." He chuckles softly. "She said this ring has been in her family for ages. I wasn't listening. You know me. I just wanted to get away from everything, even her. She'd always been good to me but I was young and dumb. What I remember is that she wanted me to give it to someone special. Someone I consider my family. I took the ring with me that day, barely looking at it. I left it with my mom. She asked me once if I wanted it back."
"Diana?" Scully asks, reading between the lines.
"Yes," Mulder admits. "But I laughed it off. I never wanted Diana to have it. My mom gave it to me after her stroke. Said it was time. Said that maybe I'd need the ring soon. And I almost did." Tears shimmer Scully's eyes when he glances at her face.
"I almost gave it to you back then." His voice cracks. "I would stare at this ring, thinking I should give it to you. But I was scared, Scully. I wasn't ready to admit it. I wasn't ready to stop fighting. It seemed too final. I could have - maybe should have - given it to you after you beat your cancer. But I- I didn't. But it's time, isn't it?"
"You said this wasn't a proposal." Scully sniffs and he puts his arm around her, pulling her into his side.
"It isn't, it's... a promise." Scully laughs and when their eyes meet, all he sees is love. It's no surprise to him. They don't need to speak the words to know they both feel it. Though he has said it. Even if Scully never says them, and he never dares to repeat the sentiment, it's there in everything they do. And he wants her to have something tangible to remind her.
"A promise to never ditch me again?" There she is again, teasing him.
"A promise to always come back if I do?" he offers in return.
"If I wear this, people will notice," Scully says, taking the ring out of its box. "I still can't believe it, Mulder." When she tries it on, she gasps, realizing it fits perfectly.
"I had it fitted. But I don't expect you to wear it. I just want you to have it. No matter how we define this - us -, you're my best friend, Scully. You're my family. There's no one else I can imagine giving this to. I don't want to either. It's you." Forever, he adds in his mind.
"I did not expect this," she says. "But- I love it, Mulder. The ring is beautiful and I appreciate the thought."
"Do I hear a but?"
"No buts, Mulder," she says, observing the ring on her finger. He does, too. It looks good. More than that, it looks right. His grandmother was right. There was a special person waiting for him all along.
"Thank you." She touches the side of his face and presses a long, lingering kiss to his cheek.
"No kiss on the mouth for a ring?" he jokes, grinning.
"Not in public."
"Does that mean I'll get another one later when we're alone?"
She gets up, the ring still on her finger. She offers him her hand and he takes it. Neither lets go as they start walking.
"You'll get another thank you later," she promises him, and he can't wait. For later, for tomorrow, and for every day he gets to spend with her.