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randomfoggytiger · 7 months ago

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The Evolution of Gillian Anderson's Friendship with David Duchovny

Early friendship:

He was an experienced actor when they started The X Files, she had been receiving unemployment benefit and had been in front of cameras only once before.

And she admits: "I desperately needed someone to show me the ropes and David did. He was wonderful."

There were rumours of a secret romance, which would have got them both fired on the spot. It is a strict studio rule that there will be no intimacy between the stars - off screen as well as on.

But Gillian did find love on The X Files, in the shape of assistant art director Clyde Klotz. And she did turn to Duchovny for advice after acting spontaneously on her wedding night, taking no precautions and finding herself pregnant.

She was horrified, believing she would get herself fired and ruin her career.

[“I went into his trailer,” she recalls, “and I said, ‘David, I’m pregnant.’ It looked like his knees buckled.... And he asked me if it was a good thing. I said, ‘Yeah, it is.’]

But her co-star, who was the only person she confided in apart from her husband, put Gillian's mind at ease.

He advised her not to have an abortion - that things would work out. And they did.

He kept her secret while Gillian thought things over for a month.

1995:

David Duchovny is not happy.....

Anderson, sensing Duchovny’s mood, looks down at his hand on her left shoulder and tries to brush it away, as if it were a mosquito. Then she turns and jumps into his arms, laughing, looking like a little girl making trouble for a protective older brother. Startled to be holding her, the smile on Duchovny’s face is forced no longer.

...“We really trust each other,” Duchovny says simply.

There is, between these two, a real-life camaraderie born of necessity, a friendship strong enough to survive too many work hours, and a chemistry powerful enough to rearrange the atoms on-screen. “Whenever we’re acting together,” says Anderson, “it’s there.”

1997:

But in real life, Duchovny and Anderson have a relationship as much a conundrum to outsiders as any X-File.

“We have a relationship that is completely odd and fabricated,” Duchovny says. “We’ve been thrown together, two people who don’t know each other, and we’ve been forced to spend more time together than married people do. So you can’t describe our relationship as ‘like’ or ‘dislike.’ ”

Sounds a little frosty.

“It is frosty,” Gillian Anderson agrees when she is read Duchovny’s description of their relationship. “But it’s accurate.” She laughs. “It’s not that we don’t like each other. It’s complicated.”

2008:

Question: Can you talk about getting back into these characters after a five or six year period?

David Duchovny: The first two weeks I felt a little awkward and I didn’t really feel like I wanted to do longer scenes. I was just fine running around. Then as soon as Gillian and I started working and it was Mulder and Scully, then I kind of remembered what it was all about and that relationship kind of anchored my performance just as I think the relationship anchors this film.

Shock: What’s that like with David now that you’re not with each other 16 hours a day on a series?

Anderson: It’s great, but it was great then, too. This is like a sibling relationship and I never had siblings.

What is your favourite thing about each other?

Duchovny: Gillian just doesn't give up.... She'll hang in there 'til we get it right.

Anderson: ...The easiest answer, I guess, is his sense of humour. He's always looking at the funny side of things, especially when he's around other actors who are comedians or funny themselves - it can turn into a bit of a contest to see who does the best impressions and such. But aside from that, there's a gentleness inside him that comes out every once in a while that is quite disarming and lovely. It's rare, but very nice.

2014:

Q: Was there a sense of almost a bunker mentality where you were at least going through this process with David? You mentioned he had more experience, he had done some bigger films but still the phenomenon that emerged within the first couple years was pretty remarkable. Did it help to have him there too and kind of like “Are you getting this too? Are you going through this too? Is this weird?”

A: No. No, not really. We talk about the fact that it’s crazy that we didn’t. And that we didn’t take advantage of the fact that we had each other but it was complicated. These were long hours that we were working. We spent more time in each other’s presence than we did with our, you know, spouses and children, etc.

But also, you know, I think we p***ed each other off, quite frankly. And I have no doubt that after they’re waiting – we’re gonna roll and somebody has to come in and redo my lips and the difference between the maintenance for guys and gals and we’re shooting in all weather – you know, we never shut down except for one day for weather in the entire show. We were shooting up in Vancouver through rain, sleet, everything. And my hair would frizz up to here in between takes and they’d have to get the blow dryer out under the tent and we’d be waiting for Gillian’s hair to do another take. You know, that p***es you right off. It adds up. So I, you know, I’m sure there were plenty of things he did that p***ed me off too. It just wasn’t, you know, but on the other hand.. NOW, we get to talk about that and we’re probably closer than we’ve ever been.

2015:

Not surprisingly, she and Duchovny also became the story – according to the press, they were having an affair, hated each other or both. “I mean, yes, there were definitely periods when we hated each other.” She starts again. “Hate is too strong a word. We didn’t talk for long periods of time. It was intense, and we were both pains... for the other at various times.”

How was Duchovny a pain... for her? “Erm ...” Ten seconds pass without a word. Meanwhile, her smile gets wider and wider till it’s halfway up her cheeks. “I’m not going to get into it. I’m not even going to begin to get into that. But we are closer today than we ever have been.”

2016:

Anderson on working with Duchovny “Our relationship has definitely become a proper friendship over the last few years. I think we’re more on each other’s side. We’re more aware of the other’s needs, wants, concerns, and mindful to take those into consideration— and just sharing more about our experiences in the moment, under the sudden realization that we’re both in this together, and wouldn’t it be nice if it were a collaboration?”

2018:

They've worked together for 25 years but Gillian Anderson wants to make one thing clear: David Duchovny does NOT feature in her Ex Files.

While on screen their relationship left viewers wondering whether they would ever hook up romantically, Gillian says that off camera they were never very close.

In fact, she goes so far as to admit: "I don't know much about David Duchovny. If you asked me 10 things about him I'd probably get nine of them wrong."

...But now Gillian sets the record straight, saying: "We were never close. It's true we spent more time together than we have in any other relationship but it doesn't mean we were close.

"Very often when you're working long hours you may have a chit-chat between scenes but you're not really standing around talking about personal lives.

"And very often you don't have meals either at work or outside of work together because you're in each other's company all the time.

"So I actually don't know very much about David Duchovny, but we appreciate and respect each other."

2021:

Stella made a new friend today.

2023:

A huge congratulations to my old friend @davidduchovny on the world premiere of his film Bucky F***ing Dent @tribeca which he wrote, directed and stars in! A massive accomplishment and can’t wait to see it. (ps I’d say some of your prior writer / director gigs with me went pretty well and this was all just yesterday, right? 😉) #Tribeca2023

2024:

Awww Double D I’m so sorry. He was your guy. RIP Brick Duchovny

A comment from David, 2024:

"My former X-Files costar Gillian Anderson and I are really good friends. ...When you share a seminal kind of experience in your life-- the huge success we had with that show-- only we know what it's like to be in the center of that. It's almost like being in the same family...."

Last but not least:

"Looking forward to revealing some shared memories and new thoughts with my old friend.

Thank you @gilliana for joining me on this week’s episode of #FailBetter"

#txf #GA #quotes #interview #DD #catchin up on old news

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randomfoggytiger · 5 months ago

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CHRIS CARTER'S MISCOMMUNICATION: "Platonic", "Cerebral and Sexy", and the Romantic Dynamic of The X-Files

(Credit to: Melissa Walker)

**Disclaimer**: This writeup won't focus on character flaws, only on delving a little bit deeper to understand a perspective.

In this post, I explore Chris Carter's "cerebral" use of the word "platonic", and parcel out his MSR opinions during the first six seasons of The X-Files.

PART I: WILL-THEY-WON'T-THEY OR PLATONIC?

In August 1993, Chris Carter conducted his first promotional interview of The X-Files. Amongst other inspirations for the show, he drew namely from The Avengers's John Steed and Emma Peel as the cornerstones of the "Fox and Dana" partnership. “David and Gillian are very bright,” Carter said. “They truly are the characters. Their relationship is cerebral and subtly sexy. Fox and Dana remind me of John Steed and Emma Peel in ‘The Avengers.’”

To a generation who grew up watching one of the (then) most widely known will-they-won't-they in television, that comparison signaled allure, attraction, and simmering sexual tension. As @observeroftheuniverse's post here highlights, The Avengers often blatantly played with the romantic pull between Mr. Steed and Mrs. Peel. This article particularly articulates how freely the writers and actors discussed the indisputable fact of "something" going on between them: Peel’s verbal interactions with Steed range from witty banter to thinly disguised innuendo. Regarding the constant question of whether they had a sexual relationship at any time, Patrick Macnee [Steed's actor] thought the characters went to bed on a very regular basis (just not in view of the camera). However, Rigg [Peel's actress] thought they were most likely engaging in an enjoyable extended flirtation that ultimately went nowhere. Writer/producer Brian Clemens said he wrote them with the idea that they had an affair before Emma’s first appearance in the series,[6] and they certainly appear to already know each other very well when Emma is first introduced. And my own post here draws descriptions and quotes straight from each characters' Wikipedia page (and notes the similarities between Scully and Peel.)

However, after years of mixed responses, one clever reporter was able to get a clearer answer out of Carter in 1997:

RS: I’ve always wondered if you watched a show called “The Avengers.”

CC: Sure. Loved it. Mulder and Scully come from those characters, Emma Peel and what’s-his-name — Patrick MacNee. He was older than she was, so it was a sort of May-September, whatever you call it, relationship. It lacked sexual tension because of that quality. But I loved that sort of platonic thing.

And now you must be wondering: how? How did he not notice Steed and Peel's dynamic while remaining a big fan of the show, especially when he described their dynamic as "cerebral and sexy"?

Chris Carter, I posit, uses "platonic" when he means to say "sexual tension without decisive follow-through."

A bold claim. I'll prove it, too.

PART II: PLATONIC DOESN'T MEAN WHAT WE THINK IT MEANS

For the longest time, I assumed this double speak of Carter's was a form of outright lying. Don't get me wrong, he has and will lie when ego becomes involved, or when he wants to bait the "mystery" longer but can't think up a cleverer sleight of hand in the moment. But the truth, from the 1990s to the 2020s, is much simpler: he is telling the truth when he refers to Mulder and Scully as platonic.

Because "platonic", to Chris Carter, means "intellectually driven, sexually interested, non-sexually equal" all rolled into one. And, since he can't find a word that means "sexual without involving sex", he settles for one that strays from making a definitive either way.

In his interviews from 1993 to 1997 (which I explore in Part IV, see below~), he insisted that Mulder and Scully were friends, yet also stipulated they wouldn't end up together "on-screen"; and when comparing them to other sexually-charged partnerships, he repeatedly underscored his preferences for relationships that weren't "overtly sexual."

The nail in the coffin was a 1995 interview for Season 3--

AD: When you first explained Scully and Mulder to FOX, was it a point of sale that this was going to be purely working relationship, no love interest.

CC: I wanted it to be that way from the get-go, although I did want there to be sort of an underlying tension between the two of them because my feeling is when you put two smart people, a man and a woman, in a room, I don’t care whether or not they’re passionate about their life and their work, you’re going to get sexual tension out of that naturally.

AD: Yeah, the sort of Harry-met-Sally-with-brains-scenario.

--and its follow-up in January 1996--

Interviewer: How important is the sexual tension between the characters?

CC: I never wanted them to jump in the sack together because it was uninteresting to me. To me, the most sexual relationships are often the ones that are never realized, consummated or even spoken about. So I wanted this to be two smart people who work together, who happen to get along very well. Through their shared passion in their work, there is a natural chemical sexual tension that comes out of that, that doesn’t ever have to be spoken about, but it works.

Well then, why the double-speak and general lack of clarity?

Chris Carter often claimed he quite literally trusted no one, a self-protective measure that sprung from two alcoholic parents. One was sometimes-abusive, the other "ditzy" and detrimentally loose-lipped; and together, they always held rank, never backing down or apologizing for their wrongs. Humor and obfuscation, then, became his primary tool-- one minute he'd proclaim, “We can’t prove that it [abductions or paranormal activity] happened, but we can’t prove it didn’t”, and the next he'd seriously aver, "I’m a natural skeptic...."

The key to the truth lies in the repeatability of his claims: his oft-voiced skepticism in the paranormal far outweighed his infrequent, one-off jokes.

PART III: WHAT CC MEANS WHEN HE SAYS "PLATONIC"

The most telling piece of information-- the dirt on top of the coffin, if you will-- was a surprisingly open interview promoting Millennium.

Chris Carter's sincerest answer to the question of the "platonic" dichotomy was also his most vulnerable; and, upon realizing this blunder, he swiftly abandoned reflection and escaped through the realms of exaggeration-- a sign that his clarity was mixed with a little too much vulnerability.

February 20, 1997:

Interviewer: In both shows, I noticed, the male-female relationship is central and idealized. In “The X-Files,” it’s platonic. In “Millennium,” there’s a sort of idealized marriage between Frank Black and his wife.

CC: My feeling is that the most powerful relationships you have in life are … not sexual. You haven’t seen Lance Henriksen and Megan Gallagher in a sexual situation on Millennium. Between them, love is understood. Love is gesture and feeling and trust, and all those things, and it’s not necessarily a physical thing.

Interviewer: And the relationship between Scully and Mulder?

CC: It’s also like my kind of idealized romantic relationship. It’s two smart people in a room, arguing something when each one has a valid point of view. It’s like good dinner-party conversation. It’s what makes me feel alive — and good about myself. And I think there’s too little of it in most of our lives and particularly in romantic situations.

Here, the interviewer turned his questions from philosophy to possibility, leading Carter to quickly disengage and strike up hyperbole:

Interviewer: You were talking a second ago about gesture, and how Gallagher and Henriksen don’t really hug and kiss. What would happen if Scully and Mulder were to hug and kiss?

CC: They have hugged. They’ve never kissed. They could kiss if it was the right time for it. They could never give big French kisses. People say, “Will Mulder and Scully ever go to bed?” And I say, “You really don’t want them to.” Because the minute they do, then, basically, when they’re in that motel on their assignment, you know, investigating the appearance of extraterrestrial life somewhere, and they decide they’re finally going to get it on, they’re going to lie there sort of googly eyed in the morning, and those aliens are just going to be running amok. They will become more interested in themselves than in the things that they need to be doing.

He wasn't entirely wrong, either: their partnership and relationship would require-- in 1997, at least-- a lot of communication to get anywhere close to romantically stable. Fight the Future's "But you saved me" hadn't been uttered canonically; and neither character had the downtime of Season 6 yet to sort through and shift their priorities. As easy as it would be to slough off his exaggeration as another example of how little he understood the characters, Chris Carter's statement-- in truth-- pointed to how well he knew their dynamic.

Still, there remained a grain of truth to Chris's drama. He viewed (views) Mulder and Scully as two characters whose sexual attraction served to aid their quest, not detract from it; and feared that anything overtly sexual or "changed" between them would inevitably distract them from saving the world.

A challenging dynamic to understand until I realized it was one he shared it with his wife, Dori.

February 13, 1996:

But the demands of his work wear on his private life. “This is the first time Chris has seen me vertical in a few weeks,” said his wife, Dori, an elegant former screenwriter who flew up from Los Angeles to squeeze in a little private time with her husband.

August 2, 1998:

I work until at least 9.30 and I always work weekends. My wife’s staying in Santa Barbara is nothing to do with any kind of marital break-up. We’ve been together 16 years. It’s more that she’d rather be there and not see me than here and not see me. We speak all the time and its actually very romantic: I’d suggest it to anybody as a way of creating connection and desire.

She would like it if I were home more often, but she knows that I tend to feel a little obsessive and understands that I would probably be miserable if I had to live my life any differently right now. I’m not a workaholic, but when something hits and it’s good, you have to obey its demands.

For Chris Carter, obsessive focus-- as confirmed and reiterated by everyone in his life during The X-Files's run-- was lived without distraction.

During another 1997 interview, he doubled down (humorously, then solemnly) on the pathos of Mulder and Scully's situation.

1997:

Question from Dublin, OH (Sunil Karve): Hi Chris. On that terrible day when the series comes to an end, are you planning on having Mulder and Scully finally get to the “truth” (and more importantly, be able to prove it?)

Carter: They’ll be too busy jumping each others’ bones.

Question from Los Angeles, CA (meredith): Recently you likened M & S’s relationship to the one in the movie “Remains of the Day”. For those of us who didn’t see that movie, what did you mean? Thanks.

Carter: I just meant, I thought it was more powerful that those two characters didn’t get together....

Question from North Syracuse, NY (Ellis): Will a romantic relationship develop between Mulder and Scully?

Carter: No romance.

PEOPLE: Ah the QUESTION…Why not?

Carter: More alien stuff is coming soon.

And yet, he took care to hint (blatantly at times) that Mulder and Scully would end up together after the nebulous, victorious conclusion. Not only as a possibility-- an inevitability.

PART IV: DESCRIBING MSR THROUGH CARTER'S EYES

Carter's descriptions of Mulder and Scully's partnership through the years didn't change... in substance, at least. His answers shifted depending on his devilish mood; but the underpinnings remained the same, all pointing to a similar, looming conclusion.

To illustrate this point, I've included as many statements as possible, barring repetition, dating from 1993 to 1997.

WRITING AND CASTING THE PILOT

"The Truth About Season One", post The Truth:

"It was very easy to cut Ethan out because he just slowed down the scenes where you would see Mulder and Scully together, which is where all the heat really was."

September 23, 1994:

I loved both David and Gillian from the start. And, yes, I chose them from hundreds of other actors who auditioned. The chemistry between them is just pure luck.

February 20, 1997:

[On casting Gillian Anderson] "You knew the chemistry was there with Dave and Gillian. That’s something you pray for, because you can’t manufacture it."

June 14, 1998:

“At the original auditions, I saw dozens of people but the moment David and Gillian walked in the room, I knew I’d found my Mulder and Scully. It was as if the skins I’d created fit these two people like gloves.”

SEASON 1

August 18, 1993:

“David and Gillian are very bright,” Carter said. “They truly are the characters. Their relationship is cerebral and subtly sexy. Fox and Dana remind me of John Steed and Emma Peel in ‘The Avengers.’”

November 30, 1993:

The relationship between Mulder and Scully is particularly promising. So far, it’s a low-voltage attraction. If it gets stronger, it won’t be because that’s the standard TV formula.

“It’s a relationship I’m not seeing on television,” says Carter. “It’s based on mutual respect, not something overtly sexual.”

SEASON 2

September 23, 1994:

LANGER: Chris, You brought back Tooms. Are there any plans to bring back the Eves or that guy who starts fires?

CARTER: Again, anything can happen. Except that Mulder and Scully sex scene.

MOONFERRET: Chris, We all know that the Mulder / Scully thing isn’t going to happen. I’m curious though– why exactly are you so opposed to this? You and the rest of the crew are great storytellers- I’m sure you could pull it off exceptionally. Why so opposed? (Do you get the feeling I’m one of the few that would love for it to happen? Call me vicarious…)

CARTER: Oh, Moonferret. If I could only make your dreams come true.

October 28, 1994:

“I had decided sometime after learning that she was pregnant (last winter) to shoot around Gillian’s pregnancy,” Carter said....

Carter considered making Scully a single mother, but he resisted domesticating the show. “I have chosen not to make the show about the characters’ lives,” he said. “The show works best as two FBI agents investigating paranormal or unexplained phenomena, and that’s what drives the show. If the stories don’t drive the show, then we’re working backward.”

December 1994:

Another source of praise for the show has been the unique relationship shared by the two main characters. Though there is chemistry between Anderson and Duchovny, the writers and actors take pains to maintain a tender but nonsexual relationship.

...As far as the sexual tension between the two goes, everyone involved in the series seems to agree that a full-blown romance is out of the question.

December 1994:

How close will Scully and Mulder get to the final truth in the current season of X-Files? Carter’s answer is as nebulous as any of last season’s answers. ‘I don’t think there is a final truth,” he says with a laugh. “There are problem final truths. We’ll just keep pushing."

SEASON 3

1995:

AD: When you first explained Scully and Mulder to FOX, was it a point of sale that this was going to be purely working relationship, no love interest.

AD: Yeah, the sort of Harry-met-Sally-with-brains-scenario.

1995:

Q. Did you always have in mind a two-person cast, male and female?

A. The Mulder-Scully idea was there from the start. And I wanted to flip the gender types, so that Mulder, the male, would be the believer, the intuitive one, and Scully the skeptic, which is the more traditional male role. It was also important that Scully be Mulder’s equal in rank, intelligence, and ability–because in real life the FBI is a boy’s club–and I didn’t want her to take a back seat.

October 1995:

**Note**: Carter teases a lot during this interview, but his last answer is serious enough.

Melissa: The chemistry between Mulder and Scully is great. Will their relationship ever develop into more than just being partners and friends?

Chris Carter: They’ll find out they’re actually third cousins, four times removed.

Naber: With Mulder getting a girl [a topical Season 3 rumor], will we be seeing Scully having more of a personal life or a date?

Chris Carter: Scully will join a nunnery when she learns that Mulder has strayed.

Mary Paster: Rumors about a girlfriend for Agent Mulder have a lot of fans worried that this will ruin the “sexual tension” between him and Agent Scully — can you tell us anything about it to calm our fears?

Chris Carter: ...About Mulder’s girlfriend… don’t worry, I won’t let anything “ruin” Mulder and Scully.

December 24, 1995:

Q: As you know, there has been a lot of speculation that Scully is Samantha. [Agent Mulder’s sister, Samantha, was abducted by aliens when she was a child and never seen again, causing Mulder to become obsessed with UFO’s. If she were alive, she would be the same age as his partner, Dana Scully.]

A: [Chuckles] People with too much time on their hands.

Q: Can you tell fans that is definitely not the case?

A: That is not the case.

Q: There’s also speculation that Scully is a lesbian and that’s why there have been only fleeting mentions of past romance for her. Is Scully gay?

A: That is not the case either. I hate to answer anything definitely. But Scully is heterosexual.

January 1996:

Interviewer: How close to your original vision is what we get?

CC: I have to say that it’s extremely close to what I imagined. Of course, when I was sitting and writing the pilot, I never imagined episode 73, which is where we’ll be this year. Anyone who creates a show, I don’t think, can look that far down the road. But I did, indeed, have an idea about how the Mulder and Scully relationship would progress.

Interviewer: How important is the sexual tension between the characters?

May 13, 1996:

Since the very first episode, the slow-burn chemistry between Mulder and Scully has had fans in a delicious torment, debating the pros and cons of a romantic/sexual relationship, analyzing the details of each gesture, each word spoken by the characters.

On this subject Chris Carter is adamant. In numerous interviews, he has stated that there will be a relationship between the two main characters “when hell freezes over,” as he recently said in USA Today.

May 16, 1996:

Interviewer: Do chat types want romance between Mulder and Scully?

CC: They do and they don’t. They want elements of it without them jumping into the sack. There are these “relationshippers” who kind of dominate the online chats. I’m a little dismayed because I don’t want to do a show about fuzzy warm Mulder and Scully. Never.

SEASON 4 - SEASON 5

1997:

Carter: They’ll be too busy jumping each others’ bones.

Question from North Syracuse, NY (Ellis): Will a romantic relationship develop between Mulder and Scully?

Carter: No romance.

PEOPLE: Ah the QUESTION…Why not?

Carter: More alien stuff is coming soon.

February 20, 1997:

Interviewer: If the show is ever in trouble, don’t you think Fox would push you to have a romance?

CC: Oh, sure.

Interviewer: And how strong do you think you’ll be when that call comes?

CC: As I say, I may not be here by then, so I don’t know. But I would resist it, as I think the characters would. Or the actors that play them. That’s what The X-Files movies are going to be for.

FIGHT THE FUTURE

March 14, 1998:

[John Shiban] "Chris Carter has said that Mulder and Scully, in a way, are having a romance. Even though it’s not a sexual romance, this is a relationship and it is complicated. And sometimes they are at odds, sometimes they don’t agree, sometimes they are concerned for each other, they are worried that one is going to endanger themselves, etc. Sometimes those things aren’t resolved and we like to leave it lie(?) because it makes them more real to us and more interesting people if they have that kind of long-term up and down that you go through in a relationship like this."

May 1998:

TVG: There has also been a lot of buzz in the press about a scene in which Mulder and Scully kiss. You’ve often said you wouldn’t play that card, that they will never really take their professional relationship to an intimate, romantic level.

CC: Nor should they. I’m not saying it would never happen, but I think the characters, if they’re being true to themselves, would be careful about finding themselves in that entanglement.

June 1998:

Y’know, like do Mulder and Scully kiss?

“I think it would ruin the show,” Carter says, then adds, “I think it would wreck the X-Files if they had a relationship.”

Anderson chuckles: “What? Before we spot an alien, what are we going to do? Smooch?”

Reports Duchovny: “There is way too much history to be developed for them to have a carnal meeting.”

Besides, says Duchovny, smirking, “America wouldn’t stand for it.”

SEASON 6

October 1998:

[Talking about FTF's almost-kiss]:

“I think it’s a natural expression of the love these two people obviously have for one another. And that was an expression of that love, it’s not necessarily a perfectly…” Carter drifts off for a moment, stumbling for the right words to describe his thoughts on the matter. “It’s not a sexual expression. That they almost kiss isn’t stepping over a line that I think that neither of them are quite prepared to step over. But it’s a quite believable one,” Carter insists. “That it doesn’t happen, that’s part of the fun.”

Although Carter says Mulder and Scully’s relationship will be dealt with in Season Six, he does stick firm to one of his former proclamations: “I don’t see Mulder and Scully getting in the sack.”

December 1998:

“They are VERY complex characters. We played with Mulder and Scully’s belief systems in the fifth season. They’re both unmarried. They’ve both lost parents, and they’ve both lost them in a tragic way. Mulder and Scully have a lot to learn about life, I think, and they’re things that people have to learn as they move through their 30s and on into their 40s,” CC observes. “So, I really do think we’ve got a lot more to learn about our characters and about the conspiracy. I don’t think we’ll run out of ideas anytime soon.”

CONCLUSION

I started this exercise as a way to understand Chris Carter's thinking. Seeing the early days of his vision-- poking around in the limitations of his verbiage, finding that a deeper relationship was always in the cards (even if kept back from the table)-- was informative and intriguing.

(What really interested me-- which I couldn't include here-- was the revelation that Gillian Anderson was of the same mind concerning Mulder and Scully's partnership. It was actually David Duchovny who later became curious to explore a more personal relationship between the two. Which explains The Unnatural, I'd bet.)

And that's where we leave off on this platonic miscommunication.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

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randomfoggytiger · 11 days ago

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He [Nicholas Lea] claimed that David is misunderstood, that he has a huge heart, that he is a poet at heart, that he writes very good poetry, and that David is trying very hard to maintain a semi-normal life in the midst of the X-Files popularity. He went on further about how both David and Gillian are very, very, very smart actors.

(Interview here.)

David Duchovny and Nicholas Lea (Vancouver, 8-22-15)

Source: instagram.com/p/6tzou1M0jK/

https://instagram.com/p/6tzA6eAqby/

#DD #Nicholas Lea #2015 #concert #get Nic Lea and Mitch Pileggi on the Fail Better podcast #black and white #catchin up on old news

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randomfoggytiger · 5 months ago

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The X-Files's Set of Pranksters

By most accounts, Anderson is the biggest prankster on a set filled with them.

People have been known to hide under desks during filming, popping out at inopportune moments. There was the “Day in the Life of the X-Files” gag videotape sent to a Fox executive, lampooning a typical day’s shoot. And there was the infamous mooning of the camera at a Christmas party.

On this day, at any given time, several people are walking around with clothespins stuck all over their clothes. It’s a running gag with the crew, to clip as many clothespins to each other’s clothes as possible, without the victim knowing.

“Last year (director) Rob Bowman and I would try to pin clothespins on each other regularly,” Anderson says. “I won with 37 at once on this big red coat of his.”

(Source, 1996)

“Occasionally, when I get real tired, I just want to start making stuff up,” jokes Mitch. So what’s the best gag they’ve come up with?

“That David’s having a testicle reduction,” Nick announces, straight-faced, and the pair of them crack up with laughter.

(Source, 1996)

#txf #bts #interview #quotes #GA #DD #Mitch Pileggi #Nicholas Lea #catchin up on old news

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randomfoggytiger · 7 days ago

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The X-Files Vince Gilligan's Thoughts on Mulder and Scully

Gilligan sums up the two this way: Mulder is a “quixotic hero; he’s always tilting at windmills, he’s always fighting the good fight, and it makes him a very romantic hero…. Scully is every bit as appealing … she’s more down to earth.”

As for whom he’d follow into a UFO hunt, “Most of us would be much more comfortable in the presence of Scully than Mulder…. We’d all be tagging along with Scully saying, ‘Mulder, you’re out of your mind….’ As Chris Carter always said … ‘Mulder is the main character, but Scully is the eyes that we the audience watch the show through.’”

(Interview here.)

#Vince Gilligan #interview #Mulder #Scully #CC #quotes #catchin up on old news

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randomfoggytiger · 3 months ago

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David Duchovny and Celebrities

Just some pics I've found while catching up~

1990s: Maggie Wheeler

1990s: Winona Ryder

1996: David Duchovny, Jane Leeves, and Peri Gilpin

1997: Peri Gilpin

1997: George Clooney

1997: Angelina Jolie

2000: Minnie Driver

2004: Carrie Fisher

2006: Julianne Moore

2006: Maggie Gyllenhaal

2006: Craig Ferguson

2007: Robin Williams

2007:

2023: Julia Louis-Dreyfus

2023: Logan Marshall-Green and Stephanie Beatriz

2024: Pedro Pascal

2024: Meg Ryan

2024: David Nutter and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

#DD #1996 #Frasier #Jane Leeves #Peri Gilpin #catchin up on old news #x files #x-files #xfiles #interesting #Robin Williams #Craig Ferguson #Carrie Fisher #it's 10:13 on the dot #a siiiiiiiiign!!!!! >:DDDD #Maggie Wheeler

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randomfoggytiger · 1 month ago

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freyatlast:

They just have the strangest relationship. They can barely talk about it without making it sound crazy and fraught. I mean, most people can talk about a tense (?) relationship in their life and manage to smooth it over. But these two are always like, “It’s possible we hated each other, but, you know, we are pansexual icon soulmates, and we have no idea how we feel.” Then they act like we are the weird ones for not understanding.

(In the video, when she says, “boy, did we try!” he gives her this side-elbow-nudge and laughs at how silly they are and it’s the cutest thing ever.)

David: Like, in life you have chemistry with people… you also have that as an actor. And you don’t have any control over it, as in life. You know, we were lucky, as Gillian said. Gillian: It’s almost despite us, somehow. David: Whereas we tried, we tried not to have it. Gillian: [laughing] Boy, did we try!

- Early Show, July 2008

#txf #DD #GA #2008 #interview #maybe I'm the only one who sees the simplicity of it #but both love the freedom to teehee in their scenes #act act act #and go their separate ways #it makes them happy #matching but not marrying each other's freak and all that #catchin up on old news

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jimmyjeans · 2 months ago

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(In a dying old man's voice) It's... been... two fucking months...

HI AGAIN, sorry for not posting for TWO FULL MONTHS (other than answering some asks and reblogging some stuff), being a STEM student, as I have discovered, is very very exhausting and time-consuming. :[

BUT but but but but! Holiday break is just right around the corner! Meaning that I can spend that break actually drawing (and maybe animating), so uh look forward to that, I guess?

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henry7931 · 1 month ago

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Playing in the Attic

Kenton:

Chris and I are cousins (the youngest in the family), our whole family is gettin together this weekend at my Uncle Al’s house for his big birthday celebration. I was so excited to see Chris that I talked my dad into letting me come stay with them a night early. Al (my dad’s older brother) is Chris’s dad and when I got there I was surprised to see that my other uncle Tim (my dad’s younger brother) came to stay early as well.

Chris and I were having a good time catchin up but then Chris brought up how his dad never lets him go into the attic.

So curious me, talked Chris into going upstairs. We waited until we knew Uncle Tim and Al were too busy to notice that we snuck upstairs.

Both of us sneaked our way up and opened the door. We quietly shut it behind us and giggled out of excitement to see what’s upstairs.

Once the door was shut, we found a light to turn on. And both of us were surprised to only find one small box.

“What the heck? What do you thinks in it?” I said to Chris.

“I don’t know, should we open it?”

I gave him a mischievous grin and said, “we made it this far!”

I walked over and carefully took the lid off. Inside was an old lookin statue.

“Booo!!! That’s not exciting at all!”

I grab it and show it Chris and immediately felt strange. Chris touches it as well.

And that’s when things got crazy!!!!

One second we’re upstairs. And the next the second I’m in his living room looking at Uncle Tim.

I look down and notice my tummy is huge! So arms and my feet!!!

I wiggle my toes just to make it’s not a dream.

I look over at Uncle Tim and he looks just as confused as me!

“Uncle Tim?”

Uhhh no…. Dad?”

“Nope!,” I say back to him.

That’s when I start to put some of the pieces together.

I get up and go to the closet mirror I could find. That’s where i see my Uncle Al staring back at me!

“Holy crap!!!,” I say out loud giggling.

I turn over to Uncle Tim, “it’s me Kenton!”

“Kenton!!! I’m Chris or I guess—“ Chris looks at his new reflection seeing Tim’s face looking back.

“IM UNCLE TIM!!!”

We both grin excited about our new discovery.

“Wait a minute what about our bodies?!?”

We both dash up to the attic and see both of our bodies lying on the ground.

“Wow! That’s freaky!”

“So where is my dad and Tim if they aren’t us?”

“I don’t know maybe they’re still in here with us but we’re in control?”

“Freaky!!”

“Here grab your body and I’ll grab mine. Just don’t touch that status.”

“Haha okay!”

We both carefully pick ourselves up and it’s so funny carrying myself. I’m so light with Uncle Al’s big arms.

We place our bodies in bed and head back downstairs.

That night was the most phone I think I’ve had in a long time!!

Chris and I went out on the town. We went shopping, I bought Uncle Al a couple of things I thought he’d look cool in. I also got Chris all of the video games he’s wanted the last of couple months since I’m now his dad.

After we got dinner and I tries sushi for the first time. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it but Chris and Al eat here all of the time. Even the waiter knew Uncle Al’s order.

I didn’t want to make it weird so when he asked me if I’m going to have ‘my usual’ I said sure!

It was actually pretty good!

That night Chris and I got into some bathing suits and went into the hot tub together. We even both had a couple of beers which I kinda liked as well.

By 3 am both of were so tired, Chris and I went upstairs to bed. We both tugged off our clothes and was surprised that Chris got completely naked in Tim’s body.

I looked at him from head to toe, covered in hair— I pull off Uncle Al’s bathing suit and his junk came flying out.

“Kenton!! I don’t wanna see all of my dad!!”

“Well you started it!”

Chris and I laid in bed together. I couldn’t help but stare at both of our naked bodies. I kinda liked the way we looked.

I looked at Al’s big feet and rubbed them against Tim’s big feet.

Chris gave me a look and I said, “what??? These big feet are cold! I was hopin I could warm them up with yours.”

“Ugh fine!”

We wrapped our new big feet together. And I felt a rush go through me. I looked at his hairy belly, I wanna run my fingers through it but I stopped myself.

“You ready to go to bed?”

“Yeah I’m sleepy!”

The next morning I wake up and looked down at myself. I’m still uncle Al, I look over and Chris in Uncle Tim’s body still sleeping.

I pull back the covers and look at Al’s junk. I get a little handsy and start playing with it.

I try to slow myself down but it feels sooo good.

I watch my uncles big hands go back and forth. I rub his big feet together and rub my other hand up and down his hairy chest.

I tug faster and faster about 15 minutes until I make a mess everywhere!

Chris wakes up and doesn’t seem to notice the mess I just made.

He grins at me with half open eyes and says good morning. He gets up and heads to the bathroom. I guess he had to go real bad.

I get up as well and I pass the other room. I can hear Chris, he’s making a lot of noise in there.

I carefully crack the door open and see he’s standing in the shower tugging away at Tim’s junk!

I back away from the door and let him finish up.

Today’s the day everyone is coming over so I knew our fun had to end.

Chris walks out and I tell him we should probably get dressed and try to figure out the statue.

After we get ready both of us head back upstairs. I look at the statue and without much of a plan I say to him, “I guess let’s just grab it?”

We grab it and the same time. I feel kinda funny again but nothing happens!

“Well… that’s not good,” he says to me.

We both go back downstairs…

That’s when we hear voices coming from Chris’s room… it’s our voices!

2 months later…

So… turns out that when we touched that statue that just put Uncle Al and Tim right into our bodies.

We were in sooo much trouble! Especially when we found out that we couldn’t switch back to our bodies for an entire year!

Soo now im uncle Al for a very long time and Chris is gonna be Tim for a while as well.

But it’s all good, neither Al or Tim are mad at us anymore. No one in our family knows about it outside of us. So Tim lives full time with me in Chris’s body.

And the best part is Chris comes over every weekend! And we still get have a lot of fun even if Uncle Tim gets annoyed with us. Who cares! We’re the ones in charge now!

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randomfoggytiger · 3 months ago

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Gillian Anderson Helped Create Scully's Season 8 Theme

“Anderson wanted to include "The Sky Is Broken", a song from Moby's 1999 album Play in the episode, as she felt that the song's lyrics "fit with [the] idea that was unfolding for the script".[17] Anderson crafted the first shot after the opening credits, which involved Scully getting ready while water dripped from a sink, to create a "continuation of sound, rhythmic sound", because it was important to the show's musical aspect.[18] Anderson and series composer Mark Snow worked together in post-production; after filming, she sent Snow several CDs of music and asked him for compositions that were similar in style and feel.[19] A certain melody that the two worked on later became "Scully's Theme", which was not broadcast until the eighth season episode "Within".[20]

-all things Commentary, Wikipedia

#txf #S7 #all things #S8 #Scully #GA #Mark Snow #music #interesting #catchin up on old news #interviews #and yes: I am one of the people who HATES Scully's theme in S8 #it's played too loudly and too often; and quickly devolves into melodrama #but good to know

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randomfoggytiger · 2 years ago

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The rare "Mulder solely focused on Scully."

The rare "Scully clingy to Mulder."

Top it off with a Frank Spotnitz quote and almost zero PDA.

Perfect.

You know these people love each other; they don’t need to say it. - Frank Spotnitz, DVD commentary for “Memento Mori”

#txf #Redux II #Frank Spotnitz #interview #Memento Mori #DVD commentary #gifs #Mulder being tender #Scully being clingy #catchin up on old news

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justagalwhowrites · 1 year ago

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New in Town - Ch. 3: First Family Dinner

Sarah comes to visit and has questions for Joel. A continuation of New in Town chapters 1-2 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Best Friend's Dad!Joel Miller x Female Reader

CW: Smut :D Yeah, they're horny, OK? Just expect a lot of smut in this fic. No use of Y/N. Age gap (reader is 35 Joel is 47, not a focus of the fic). Minors DNI, 18+ only

Length: 5.1k

AO3 | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Joel actually felt pretty damn smart when he got to his house. He stopped at the trash bin that sat outside the garage and dropped his now empty coffee cup into it, just in case Sarah asked why he’d gone to the place with the name stamped on the side of the cup.

He didn’t have a good fucking reason to be at a coffee shop by your apartment besides being at your apartment. And he knew he wasn’t ready to tell his daughter about the fact that you two were… whatever the fuck you were.

What were you doing with him? What did you want with him? Why was it so hard to know and why was he so fucking afraid to ask?

Didn’t matter now. The morning Sarah showed up to surprise him with a visit was not the morning to be having this discussion.

“Baby Girl?” Joel called as he closed the door behind him, dropping his keys on the table in his entry way.

“Dad!” Sarah flew around the corner and launched herself at him, just like she’d done when she was a kid. He caught her, the air knocked out of him, laughing as he caught his breath. “I missed you, old man!”

“Missed you too, Baby Girl,” he said, setting her down and stretching out his back. “But you’re gonna have to cut me a break, think my back is gettin’ too old to be catchin’ you like that.”

“How am I supposed to properly shower you in affection if I can’t just throw my whole body at you?” She smirked. “But fine, I guess if it’s for the sake of your health…”

He rolled his eyes and tugged her against his side, kissing her temple.

“Just gotta have you move back closer to home,” he gave her a squeeze. “Wouldn’t need to tackle me if I just saw you more.”

“Yeah, I’m working on that,” she smiled. “Trying to get promoted from junior copywriter to intermediate so I can come to the Austin office sooner rather than later…”

“That’s amazing Baby Girl!” Joel gave her another squeeze before leading her to the living room and settling on the couch. “I’m sure you’re close, they know how good you are.”

“Speaking of my grand plan,” she said. “I see you’ve been hanging out with my work wife.”

Joel coughed to try to hide his surprise.

“What?” He asked after a moment.

“Well I know you didn’t do the Seattle Zombie 5K last Halloween,” she nodded at his shirt. Joel felt his stomach drop. “But I know we did.”

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

“Not doing a walk of shame are you?” She asked, her eyebrows raised.

“You ever known me to be the walk of shame type?” He asked, scrambling for a reason that he’d have your shirt. “I just fixed her garbage disposal for her a few weeks ago, got soaked. She was nice enough to give me a clean shirt so I wasn’t drippin’ wet on the drive home. Didn’t realize it’d made it into my dresser is all. I’ll have to wash it again, give it back…”

“But you are hanging out with her then?” She asked. “I mean, you said give it back like you were going to see her again so…”

“We went out once since I helped with the sink and shit,” he said, telling himself that it wasn’t a lie, not really. You’d only successfully made it out of the house together once. Sarah scrunched her nose. “What, Baby Girl?”

“Nothing,” she sighed. “I was just hoping you guys would be friends is all. You’re both kind of alone down here, you know? I worry. I don’t want you doing nothing but sitting in the house doing… whatever weird old man stuff you do.”

“I don’t do weird old man stuff…”

“And leave her alone too long and the next thing you know she’s on the dating apps and she ends up going out with some total idiots,” she said, ignoring Joel’s protest entirely. “Really, Dad, her taste in men is shit and I’m not here to keep her busy, I was kind of counting on you here.”

Joel frowned.

“Not on you to protect her,” he said. Though, from what little he knew, Sarah was right. Your taste in men was shit. “And I’m sure she’s got better things to do than hang out with someone who does ‘old man things…’”

That was something that Joel had been thinking about a lot over the past two weeks. Yes, you seemed to be about as insatiable for him as he was for you and he didn’t have any damn clue as to why. But he could think of plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t be. How long was it going to be before you realized that he didn’t offer you much? He couldn’t take you to fancy restaurants every week or on nice trips. He wasn’t interested in another child and you were still young enough that you might want to be a mother. His body was often sore and worn after decades of damn near breaking himself to make a living. How much longer would you be wanting to pull him into restaurant bathrooms and make yourself come on his leg because you just couldn’t bear to wait anymore? How much longer could he text you to bitch about work while on a break at a job site and have you respond with a gif from Sharknado because you knew it would make him laugh? How much longer could he look at the selfies you sent him and think to himself “that’s my girl,” even though you weren’t even his girl now let alone in the future?

He was already in too deep with you, way too damn deep. Someone was going to have to pry you out of him, you’d already settled inside his skin and he liked it that way. Liked thinking of you first thing in the morning and just before he fell asleep, liked that you were the first thing on his mind when he got lunch at a food truck and he stumbled on something really good, liked that you showed up with his favorite beer and some obscure snack food when you came over to his place because you said you saw it and thought of him.

“Her taste in men isn’t dangerously bad,” Sarah waved him off. “Just… she tends to go for guys who definitely don’t deserve her, you know?”

“Yeah,” Joel sighed. “I know.”

Fuck, did he know.

“Anyway,” she said with a dramatic eye roll that reminded him of when she was a teenager. He smiled a little. “I’m in town until Wednesday! I know you’ll have to work…”

“I can take a few days off,” he said quickly. “Get Uncle Tommy to make sure shit doesn’t go sideways…”

“Awesome!” She perked up at that. “Because I think there are at least two Curtis and Vipers I haven’t gotten around to seeing yet and I’m going to require a handcrafted Dad burger - preferably grilled - while I’m in town. My apartment doesn’t let me have a grill on my balcony, it’s so dumb.”

“Probably a fire code thing, Baby Girl,” he smiled. “But I think we can swing some movies and a cookout while you’re here. Tommy’d love to see ya, Maria too.”

“Can we start by jumping in the pool?” She asked. “Because I haven’t gotten to swim in months.”

“Might be a bit cold…”

“Please,” she scoffed. “This is mid-summer weather in Seattle, plenty warm enough for a swim.”

Joel smiled.

“Whatever you want, Baby Girl.”

The water was definitely colder than Joel would normally jump into but, for Sarah, he’d do just about anything.

He was still getting used to drinking with his daughter, the two of them floating around the water with beers most of the day. Joel got out for a bit to make sandwiches - he put potato chips on Sarah’s just like he had when she was a kid - and he just listened to what she’d been up to, hanging on her every word.

Joel had always felt incredibly lucky to have Sarah as his daughter. There were the obvious reasons, of course. She was kind and thoughtful, she was smart as a whip and loved to do well in school to the point that he almost never had to tell her to do her homework, she actually liked spending time with him. But she never had a problem being open with him about damn near anything.

It wasn’t always the most pleasant experience - hearing about boy problems when he couldn’t actually intervene was harder than Joel had expected it to be - but he was grateful for it. He never had to wonder what his daughter was up to, she just told him.

Part of it, he was sure, was because he’d asked her to grow up too fast. He hadn’t meant to, of course, but it seemed to come with the territory of single parenthood. There was no one there to back him up when he had to work late, no one there to take over the child rearing when he was sick or just so exhausted from work that he slept through his damn alarm. Sarah fell into the role of second parent, sometimes raising herself as much as Joel had.

He was just happy she didn’t resent him for it. She seemed to recognize how hard he’d tried to give her everything, do everything he possibly could to make her happy and give her a good life. Even if it hadn’t always worked, he’d always tried. The fact that she’d made it to college on scholarship, that she’d finished towards the top of her class, that she’d gotten a good paying job doing something she liked to do, the fact that she was happy and doing something with her mind instead of breaking her body down like Joel was every damn day of his life was the proudest he’d ever been of anything.

Could he really risk his relationship with her for you? Yes, you made him happy. So fucking happy. You were the first thing in years that he felt like he really, truly wanted. And it had hit him hard, so fucking hard. It was like he’d saved up all his longing just for you, like it had been waiting for something powerful enough to show up and unleash it all and it had knocked him off his damn feet.

But you were Sarah’s best friend.

“So one thing that’s seriously lacking in the Pacific Northwest is good TexMex,” Sarah said, lounging on a pool float, her face tilted toward the sun, eyes closed. “Think we can go out for dinner tonight? I need enchiladas and tamales and I need them sooner rather than later.”

“Only if you don’t get mad that I ask for the real spicy salsa,” Joel said.

“How did I end up so cursed that my two favorite people love to melt their tongues off as a hobby?” Sarah sighed. “But fine, order the miserable stuff. I’ll just get the regular salsa like a normal person.”

Joel scoffed.

“The normal ship has sailed with you, Baby Girl. Me and Tommy around you so much? Never stood a chance.”

Just an hour later, he and Sarah were headed into her favorite Austin restaurant. Joel added it to his mental list of places to take you. It was Sarah’s favorite for a reason, after all.

“Table for two,” Joel held up two fingers to the hostess but Sarah cut him off.

“It’s three, actually,” she smiled, not looking at him.

“Three?” He frowned. She ignored him and just held up three fingers to the hostess. It took him until they were at the table to really put it together. “Sarah…”

“I’m here to see you but I really want to see her, too,” she said as she slid into the booth. “And I do think you guys will really get along if you actually give it a shot. Please, Dad? Give her a chance?”

A chance wasn’t the only thing he’d given you.

“Baby Girl, I’m sure she’d rather do something besides…”

“Besides what?” Your voice appeared over his shoulder, Joel turning toward the sound so fast it made his head spin. You smiled a little sheepishly.

“Hi.”

***

Well Joel clearly hadn’t been expecting you.

That boded just so well.

“Hey Bestie!” Sarah squealed and got out of the booth to throw her arms around your neck. You laughed and hugged her back. “Ugh, I miss you! The office sucks without you there. So does the rest of Seattle, honestly.”

You laughed.

“I miss you too,” you gave her a squeeze before the two of you separated. “I keep trying to convince the VP at this branch that I absolutely unequivocally need a junior copywriter on my team. He hasn’t bought it yet but I think if I just keep asking him I’ll wear him down and he’ll cave to my annoying tendencies and just give me whatever I want.”

“Oh so you’re playing hardball,” Sarah teased as she got back in the booth and you slid in beside her.

“Clearly yes,” you nodded sagely. “I read ‘The Art of War’ and just bothering people until they give up is the best battle tactic in the world…”

You turned to look at Joel who was watching you intently.

You hadn’t expected Joel to show up tonight anymore than he’d expected you. Sarah was playing you both like a goddamn fiddle. You’d worn a strappy, silky slip dress with a denim jacket over it thinking you were going out with your best friend, not going to be stuck trying to keep from staring at your who-the-fuck-knows-what sitting across from you.

Who also happened to be your best friend’s dad.

You tried not to think about that part.

“Figured I’d force you two to get to know each other better over margaritas,” Sarah said brightly. “I can’t let you both just sit and stare at a wall all by yourselves until I can move back to town…”

“I don’t stare at walls!” You protested. Sarah ignored you.

“So you can at least keep each other company,” she finished.

“Good to see you again, Joel,” you said, trying as hard as you could to not picture him naked across the table.

Which was really fucking hard.

His dark button down was rolled up to his elbows and fit his damn broad shoulders so perfectly all you could think about was the way he looked as he fucked into you, the way his muscles rippled through his chest and you had to fight to not bite down on them. His hair was tamed without being sculpted or overly styled and you wanted to run your fingers through it and sink your grip into his scalp as he ate you.

“You too,” he said.

You’d never had this visceral of a reaction to a man you’d fucked before, never, not even when you were a stupid teenager. Of course, you’d never tried to hide your relationship before, either.

But you had the feeling that wouldn’t matter with Joel. You’d feel this intensity toward him whether Sarah was beside you or not, whether you could be open about your affection for him or not.

And now you were going to have to sit across from him when he looked that damn good all through dinner.

The second the server came to the table you ordered a margarita. You had a feeling you were going to need the tequila.

It took conscious effort to pay attention to what Sarah was saying as she tried to bring up things she thought you and Joel had in common. Almost like she was trying to launch an ad campaign for each of you.

It felt like forever but you were sure you’d only been seated a few minutes when you gave up on not touching Joel. You carefully slid your foot out of your pump and started sliding it up his inner leg, starting near his ankle. Joel jumped a little in his chair at the contact, his eyes darting to you. You just raised your eyebrows at him as you took a drink from your margarita and slid your foot up his leg to his knee. He shifted in his seat, his eyes steadily on Sarah but you could tell he had to focus on her now, actively work to give her attention. You smirked a bit at that.

You kept the pattern up as the three of you waited for your food, Joel’s eyes always going a little wide when your toes made it to his inner thigh.

“Ugh, I’m starving,” Sarah groaned as a tray of sizzling fajitas passed your table. “Here, scootch out, I’m going to the bathroom. That’ll make the food come.”

“It always does,” you agreed, quickly shoving your foot back into your shoe and getting out of the booth.

You both watched as Sarah made her way across the restaurant, turning to Joel the second you knew she was out of earshot.

“Did you say anything?” You were whispering anyway.

“No,” he replied. “We hadn’t talked about it, didn’t seem like the time… Did you say somethin’?”

“Not a word,” you said.

“I really need you to cool it over there, Beautiful,” Joel said. Any other time, you’d think he was teasing you but his eyes looked open and earnest now. “We can’t just go into a bathroom right now and it’s already a fucking miracle I haven’t tried to rip that goddamn dress off you, Jesus Christ, you can’t just show up places lookin’ that damn good…” “You’re one to talk!” You replied, incredulous, as you looked down at his exposed, tan, muscled forearms and back up at his face. “Fucking hell, Joel!”

He smirked a little.

“That’s all it takes with you, huh?” He teased, leaning across the table toward you. “Just a little bit of skin and you’re outta control?”

“Oh fuck off,” you rolled your eyes but grinned a little all the same. “I know you know what the rolled up sleeves thing does to women.”

“I promise I do not,” he said, watching over your shoulder now. “But you’ll have to enlighten me later…”

Sarah came back to the table and her face fell.

“Shit, that usually works,” she sighed. “Alright, scoot in, we can just trade spots.”

You obeyed and slid over, purposely leaning over the table as you did, giving Joel full view of your bra below your dress as you did. He was all but glaring at you as you sat back in the booth.

Consciously, you knew you shouldn’t be pushing him like this. For starters, this was not how you wanted Sarah to find out. Assuming she was ever going to find out.

But you shouldn’t be trying to frustrate Joel. Not like this, not so early on in your… whatever the fuck this was.

You had a tendency to do this, to bend things until they broke the second something was looking like it could get serious, the second that it looked like it’d be worth the time and the effort. You were starting to think it was something your subconscious did on purpose. If you sabotaged the relationship early, there wasn’t the same kind of risk. Push the guy too far and he’d break things off with you and you could return to the relative emotional safety of dating apps and bars. Only ever go out with someone for a few weeks and it wouldn’t hurt that bad if they left.

And they would leave. They always left. You might be worth the time for a bit but you weren’t worth the trouble for anything real, that much had been made clear to you in the years you’d spent dating around. It had gotten you hurt when you were young and stupid, back when you were Sarah’s age. Now, you fucking knew better.

You knew better than to get anywhere close to what you were starting to feel with Joel.

And here you were, doing it anyway, with your best friend’s dad.

So of course your first reaction was to push him. Push, push, push. It’s what you did.

You stirred your melting margarita.

You’d never been more relieved to have food brought to your table.

“Thanks so much for coming out tonight!” Sarah hugged you goodbye in the parking lot, the awkward, hesitant conversation at the table through dinner still tense over you.

“It was so great to see you!” You hugged her back and kissed her cheek. “Seriously, I’m wearing the bosses down, start packing now because I miss you too much.”

She laughed.

“I’ll be on the first plane out once I get a job offer,” she said. “Either way, I’ll be back for the holidays, we have to hang out then. Just us girls at least once, promise.”

You smiled a little, hoping Sarah would still want to talk to you at the holidays.

“Sounds perfect.”

Joel gave you a tight smile and a nod.

“Talk to you soon?” He said, his voice too open and honest to fit the shared awkwardness of your position feet apart in the parking lot.

“Yeah,” you smiled. “Text me?”

“Sure,” he smiled back.

You poured yourself a glass of wine the second you were in the door, only pausing to take your shoes off as you made your way to the kitchen. You settled in on the couch without bothering to change, carrying the bottle of wine with you, and you put on some shitty Netflix reality show you could zone out and barely pay attention to.

You were four episodes deep when your phone lit up.

“Fuck that was hard,” Joel texted.

You smiled a little.

“Was that hard or were you hard?” You texted back.

“Both,” he replied almost immediately. Your smile grew and you downed the last of the wine.

You hadn’t had enough to drink to be drunk but you’d had enough that it made you feel… bold. Like you wanted to try something new.

You took off your jacket and slid the straps of your dress down so your cleavage was spilling over the top of it, your breasts barely contained by it. You took a selfie, a needy look on your face, and sent him the picture.

“Need help with that?” You asked.

“Jesus Christ,” he texted back almost immediately. “Good thing Sarah just went to call some boy she started seeing back in Washington, can’t just send a guy shit like that and expect him to sit still.”

You bit your lip for a second, getting an idea. You headed for your room and shimmied out of the dress before you put on the sexiest bra you owned and switched to the matching panties. You posed in the full length mirror in the corner of your room, one leg out, a hand on your hip.

“What about shit like this?” You asked as you sent the picture along.

“Really fucking mean for you to send that when you know I can’t come take it off you,” he texted back.

You flopped down on your stomach on your bed, reminded of how you felt texting guys when you were younger and you had to make sure you didn’t go over your texting limit for the month.

“You can always fight back you know,” you said. “I can’t come rip your clothes off either.”

“You trying to get me to sext with you?” He asked.

“Maybe.”

It took a few minutes before he sent you a picture. He was in his room, stripped down to his boxer briefs. He fisted his cock through the fabric of them, the veins on his hand prominent.

“Something like this?” He asked.

You groaned, your hand sliding to your clit before you even thought about it. You rolled onto your back and took a picture of your hand slipping into your panties before sending it on.

“Just like that,” you replied.

“Fuck.”

The one word was all he sent for a minute before he followed it up with a picture of his cock in his hand. You moaned at the sight of him, a pearl of pre-come leaking from his swollen head. You wanted to swallow it up, lick up and down his thick shaft, take all of him in your mouth until you were choking on him and he spilled down your throat.

“Tried to make this last but you’re too fucking much for me,” he texted. “Couldn’t wait.”

You took off your bra and tossed it to the floor before taking a handful of your breast in your hand, holding the phone high over your head, high enough that it could capture your needy expression and the way you were touching yourself.

“Neither could I.”

Usually, when you fucked yourself, you used toys. You had a few that you’d become partial to over the years of cycling through men and relationships, the fake dicks in your life lasting a whole hell of a lot longer than the real ones.

Tonight, you didn’t need one. Didn’t think you could pull yourself away from touching your own body long enough to pull one out, not with Joel’s face and body and cock on the brain. You slid your hand down your chest, your stomach, back to your pussy. You rubbed your clit in little circles with your index finger as you stretched your middle finger down, down, down toward your dripping hole.

When his next message came through, you dropped your phone in your rush to open it and you scrambled to pick it up with one hand, your other one too occupied to want to do anything else.

This time, it was a video. His large hand was working his thick length, his cock still looking big even in his grasp that dwarfed your own. He worked his cock slowly, his thumb sweeping over the head and collecting the pre-come before he slid it firmly down with quiet moan.

“Fuck, I need you,” his voice was soft, a whisper. “Need to feel that perfect fuckin’ pussy…”

You were about to rewatch the video, your mouth watering, when he texted again.

“Can I call you?”

You didn’t respond. Instead, you just called him, putting the phone to speaker and setting it on your chest between your breasts.

He answered on the first ring.

“Hey beautiful,” he said, voice low and dark and needy. “Fuck, I gotta be quiet…”

“I know,” you said, whispering back even though you didn’t have a reason to. “Don’t care, as long as I can hear you.”

“Tell me what you’re doin’ to yourself,” he was almost panting. “What you’re thinkin’ about…”

“I’m rubbing my clit,” you moaned. “Got one finger inside of myself, thinking about you eating me out last night…”

“Fuck you tasted so good,” his voice became a little more strained. “Wanna taste you right now.”

You moaned and fucked yourself a little harder, a little faster, your eyes closed in pleasure.

“Add another finger,” he said. “Want you to work up to this cock, want you thinking about me deep in you when you come.”

“Fuck Joel,” you were panting now, too, as you added another finger.

“Tell me what you’re thinking now,” he whispered.

“You pushing into me,” you groaned it. “Opening me up for you…”

“Fuck, Beautiful, you’re gonna fuckin’ kill me.”

You heard the pace of his hand increase on the other end of the phone and you worked your pussy a little harder and faster, too, whimpering as you did.

“Can you fit a third finger?” He panted.

“Yes,” you managed, getting desperate, your body starting to feel tight, all the heat of you drawing deep into yourself.

“Add it,” he groaned. “Fuck yourself deep, hard. Fuck yourself like I fucked you last night, how I’d fuck you right now if I were there.”

You obeyed, thrusting your fingers in as deep as you could reach, whimpering at the stretch that you knew had nothing on his thick cock.

“You were so fucking deep,” your legs were restless, the tightness extending so far down that you knew your orgasm was going to make your whole body quake. “Fuck, you’re so goddamn big, Joel…”

“And you take me so fucking well,” he panted. “Take me like you were made to take this cock, fuck!”

“I was made to take you,” you whimpered, desperate and aching. “Made to make you come, need you to fucking come, please Joel, please come for me…”

“Fuck, fuck, I’m coming!” It was a choking, strangled whisper and you heard him muffle his moaning in a pillow, the sound of his pleasure sending you over the edge.

It was the hardest you’d ever come from your own hand, harder than you’d ever come with a vibrator, almost as hard as you came with Joel deep inside you the night before. Your body throbbed with it, so much that it felt like your fingers might break as they stuffed your overwrought pussy full. You all but sobbed as you kept working your clit, even as it was too much, fucking yourself through your own orgasm the way you knew Joel would if he were buried inside you instead of in his own fist. Once it was over, you slowly, gently, pulled your hand away from your dripping slit.

“Fucking hell, Beautiful,” he said after a minute, still trying to catch his breath. You smiled and laughed a little. “Christ, I hope Sarah didn’t hear that.”

“You stayed a lot quieter than me,” you were whispering again. It was fun to whisper into the phone with him, like you were going behind your parents’ backs with it.

“Still,” he said before he sighed. “I gotta go clean up, you made me make a hell of a mess.”

“You’re one to talk,” you smirked a little, looking at the slick gathered on your fingers.

“Can I text you tomorrow while you’re at work?” He asked quietly. “Something tells me I’m gonna miss you like crazy.”

“Course,” you smiled, settling down into your mattress. “Text me whenever you want, I always want to hear from you.”

Maybe it was the post-orgasm haze but you didn’t care that it sounded desperate.

“Good,” he said. “Because hearin’ from you always makes my damn day.”

You smiled at that.

“Miss you, Beautiful.”

You smiled bigger.

“Miss you, too.”

Next Chapter

A/N: Awww doubt is creeping in and they're still fucking each other's brains out from afar.

We love to see it!

Thank you so much for following along with this story! These two are so fun to write and I hope you're enjoying their journey. Love you all!

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #smut fic #joel miller x oc #joel miller smut

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hodari-pavels-good-boy · 2 months ago

Text

Espresso Chapter 2:

Heat Stroke

Ch1 Ch2 Ch3

Pairing: Hodari Pavel x Reader Word Count: 5.6k Chapter: 2/? Rating: E

Tags: Angst, Angst with a happy ending, miscommunication, fluff, eventual smut

A/N: This is a multi chapter Hodari x y/n story! Gender is not specified so everyone can enjoy it (though I did originally start writing it with the intention of it being a male reader lol). Tags will be updated as the fic goes. Cross-posted Here on Ao3. Fic below the cut! Enjoy :)

Hodari POV

The sun beats heavily off the stones, heat rising from the ground and into his boots as Hodari makes his way down the well-traveled path that connects the bay to the village. Raising his hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the brutal light, he debates going to the inn first before ultimately deciding to finish his work as quickly as possible to get it done and over with.

His first stop is, as always, to the town's resident blacksmith. “Hodari!” she calls from inside, raising her hand in greeting when she sees him approach. She lays her hammer down and wipes the sweat from her face as he enters the forge with her order of iron in tow. “It’s a scorcher out here today isn’t it?” she laughs as she takes the metal from him and he hums his assent. He watches as she takes it to her backroom and out of the way before turning back to him. “Oh! I’m not going to be needing my order tomorrow, so don’t worry about making the trip into town for me.”

He nods in acknowledgement, ‘saves me a trip tomorrow then’ he thinks before Sifuu starts speaking again. “That human that's decided to stick around, y/n, brought me some extra this morning and I won’t be able to fit anymore back there between their drop off and your delivery today. I’m all full up!” She laughs, reaching for her hammer to continue working.

“It’s no problem then. Frees up a mornin’ for me. Maybe I’ll sleep in for once.” and they both share a chuckle at how unlikely they both know that to be before Hodari says his good-byes.

Just as he’s about to head out Sifuu calls from behind her anvil, “You still coming to the inn this weekend? We are all planning on grabbing some lunch and taking a much needed break. It’s supposed to be even hotter, but that ain’t nothing a little ale and some good company can’t beat!” She laughs. “You can bring your girl to the tailor’s. Word down the vine is Jel’s been working on something for her as a little surprise since the last time she came into town to visit him and Tish, it’ll be good for the two of you to get out and socialize a bit. The mine’s can stay empty for half a day.” She says the last half just a little more serious and Hodari wonders how long she’s been holding it in as she’s not exactly known for her subtlety.

Hodari thinks about it seriously for a moment before nodding his head. She’s right, it’ll be good for Najuma to get away from the shop and have some actual social interaction every once in a while. “I’ll be there, don’t worry. It’ll be good catchin’ up while we all complain about how old we’re gettin’.” he chuckles before finally taking his leave to the sound of Sifuu’s booming laughter behind him.

His next stop is the Daiya’s farm to drop off a bit of iron Badruu had requested from him for some ‘repairs I can’t put off any more.’ Heading over the bridge and down the path a ways, he waves as the farmer comes into sight.

“Well howdy!” Badruu greets him as he walks up to the gate. “Got something for little ol’ me there?” He asks as he removes his hat to fan himself with it.

“Hot out here today, huh?” he comments, taking the metal Hodari hands over to him.

“That seems to be the general consensus.” Hodari agrees. “Crops are lookin’ good. See ya got some new ones sewn out the back there. Zeki finally lower his prices?” the miner huffs.

“Oh no,” the farmer rolls his eyes, “sky high as ever. But y/n brought some late last week as a thank you for the jam Delaila sent them home with. Awfully nice of ‘em don’t you think? They seem to be settling in here quite well. Have you had a chance to really talk with them yet?”

Hodari just hums but shakes his head, he hasn’t spoken to you at all since that night in the mines. You never stop to talk while he’s in town so he’s a little surprised at this new information. “Nah. ‘m not one for chattin’ much anyways. See 'em comin’ and goin’ from the mines at all kinds of unholy hours though. Sometimes they're still down there when I get there the next mornin’” ‘At least they’re making an effort to fit in’ he thinks as he remembers your little conversation about feeling out of place before he decides to change the topic. “How is Delaila doin’ anyways? Haven’t seen her or your boys recently, we’ve all been so busy.”

The famer laughs, “Tell me about it.” Before launching into what his family has been up to. He’s a family man at heart and Hodari has always respected that about him, it’s no secret the man gave up his dream path to settle down here to create what he has now. While he always knew he was going to be a miner, he understands the hard choices and sometimes sacrifices one makes for their loved ones. Looking at the farmer beam as he talks about how proud he is of his boys though, Hodari finds it hard to believe the man would have it any other way if given another chance. It makes his chest ache a bit as his friend talks about how he plans to surprise his wife with a nice date he’s been setting money aside for. She’ll love it he's sure, Delaila’s a hardworking woman and a spitfire in her own right, always keeping them on their toes. She deserves something nice.

After a few more minutes of catching up, the two men say their good-byes as they head off to continue their respective work, Hodari is sure to pass on that he’ll be at the inn this weekend so they can catch up a bit later before he starts heading back into the village. With no more orders to make, he heads straight for the inn for some lunch and to get out of the heat. He almost crashes into Auni as the kid rushes past, giant backpack too big for his small frame bouncing behind him, eager to get to his daily game of cards with Hassian behind the building. “Sorry Mr. Pavel!” he calls over his shoulder, not slowing down in the slightest and Hodari huffs out an amused breath. Najuma always seems to be in a rush too, no time to slow down for these kids.

Entering the inn has Hodari internally sighing as he gets out of the searing heat. Reth is behind the kitchen counter, already prepping his usual. He gives the kid a nod in greeting before walking over to greet Ashura who seems to be engrossed by something behind his own counter. As he gets closer, he can see the slice of pie the innkeeper is holding.

“Got yourself somethin’ sweet there?” Hodari asks as he watches the larger man go to take a bite. Ashura turns around laughing to greet the man as he sets the plate down.

“Can’t say no to a good slice of pie.” the older man rumbled. “Y/n baked it and dropped a fresh slice in for me and Reth. They really seem to be finding their place here after all these months. Can’t say I’m too upset with all the baked goods they’ve been dropping off in various attempts at cooking, especially recently. They’ve been catching on to how things work around here pretty quick.”

“So I've heard. Both Sifuu and Badruu were singing their praise when I stopped by. I’m-” Hodari stops when he hears Reth set his food out on the counter. He grabs his food and both men go take a seat, conversation about the new local human set aside.

Hodari starts eating his lunch and after awhile of enjoying one another's company in silence, Ashura asks how Najuma is doing. He sighs as he sets his fork down, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t know. She seems madder’n not these days and I don’t know what to do.” Ashura nods sympathetically as he talks. “It’s been harder to talk to her lately and you know I ain't exactly a beacon of open conversation myself. Just tryin’ to figure it out as I go along, I guess.”

Ashura shares in his worries over lunch and offers some advice from one father to another about angry teengers and the frustrations of parenting in general. By the time he’s leaving to head home, he feels a little lighter. He stayed longer than usual to avoid the sun's brutal attack at the peak of the day but as he faces the long trek home, he realizes that just means another long night in the mines and he has to bite back a groan. At least he doest have to make the trip out here for Sifuu tomorrow.

As he walks through town, he plays the conversations he’s had today over in his mind. So many things have changed since he first moved here, young and leaving behind his family to start his own. He passes the Daiya’s eldest son and raises his hand in greeting, ‘That kid has grown up so fast.’ he thinks. ‘They all have.’ When he moved out here with Leta all those years ago, he never quite pictured this would be his life now and wonders how she would feel about all the changes that have happened, especially recently with humans appearing out of thin air. Probably handle it a whole lot better than him, he’s never been one for change if he can help it. He wonders how she’d feel about the human that’s stuck around, everyone else seems to enjoy your company. She’d probably tell him to be nice and welcome you like everyone else has and he smiles at the thought of her standing there arms crossed calling him a grump and telling him to get over himself. A bit of a reminder that even as the world changes, some things would absolutely stay the same.

Soon enough, his wandering thoughts have led him to the gate that connects to the bay. The sun still shines bright and he figures he should probably make sure his daughter is staying cool and drinking water. He makes his way towards the pond, getting ready to call her over but stops when he realizes she isn’t there. A look up the hill shows that she’s not in the workshop either. Taking a sigh, he turns and heads towards the house. ‘She better not be in those damn mines again’ he thinks as he's pushing open the door to grab what he’ll need to go after her.

As soon as he opens the door though, he spots his daughter sitting on the couch with a whole blueberry pie in hand, getting ready to dig into it.

“Najuma, just what in the hell are you doing?” He asks, fumbling in his thoughts. He was sure she was causing trouble and trying to put him in an early grave with worry. Now he’s just confused where she got a pie. He knows he didn't pick one up and she hasn't shown any interest in baking, much less ventured all the way into town to get any of what she’d need for it.

Najuma freezes, caught red handed as she holds the forkfull of pie halfway to her mouth. “I wasn't gonna eat it all at once!” She immediately tries to defend herself.

“No. I-” He stops, collecting his thoughts, “One, where’d you get that? And two, why did you not put it on a plate?” He says grabbing the pie from her and walking into the kitchen to cut it. She follows behind him, eager for the treat before she gets back to work and she answers him as he reaches into the cupboard for a plate.

“Oh y/n brought it by! They said that I’ve been working so hard I deserve a snack!” She smiles as she takes the plate from him and sits down at the table this time, already taking a bite.

He shakes his head, leaning against the counter as he watches how she devours the slice of pie in front of him and feels a little pang as he realizes how much bigger she's gotten. Despite her small size, she's growing up so fast and he wishes he could freeze time for just a little bit. She’s already in her teens now and his back aches more at the thought. Soon she’ll be all grown up. For now, they're just a bit of a mess as they try to figure it out. He finds himself wishing again that Leta were here to help him and resigns himself to the fact it’s just going to be one of those days full of wanting and nostalgia. ‘Want in one hand’ and all that..

Pushing off from the counter he walks over and ruffles his daughter's hair, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her fiery head as he goes. “Daaaad.” She complains as he walks towards the door, chuckling. He reminds her only the one piece before dinner so she doesn't spoil her appetite before he’s out the door and heading towards the mines. During his walk he thinks about Najuma telling him you had been the one to bring the pie by. He’s confused why you would be coming all the way out here to talk to his daughter when he hardly sees you himself, much less have any sort of regular conversation with you. It makes a flare of protectiveness rise in his gut, he’s not sure he wants Najuma around a stranger. He decides he should think it over a bit more before deciding anything right now, you seem nice enough and while your only real conversation had been a bit awkward, no harm was done. Wanting to clear his mind of it for now, he heads into the mines, determined to make up for the bit of lost time today.

The next morning while making breakfast, he realizes he forgot to stop by the general store yesterday before coming home. ‘So much for not headin’ into town.’ he thinks bitterly as he sets the food between him and his daughter, letting her know he forgot some things yesterday and asking if she needed anything while he was there. He writes down what she needs and lets her know he won’t be staying in town today. After they finish breakfast he heads right out, itching to get there and get home.

Wasting no time, he heads straight to Zeki’s as soon as he enters the village. He grabs the things he needs for the house and Najuma before he heads over to the register, greeting the owner of the shop. After a bit of small talk, Hodari decides he should ask the other man what he thinks about the human.

“Ain’t too close to them, to be honest but they seem decent enough.” he shrugs. “Rest of the town seems to like them, even Eshe seems to be warming up to them, albeit begrudgingly” he laughs. Hodari nods along as he is given the information to process. “You know me though,” the other continues, “I don’t make it a habit of trustin’ people, especially people I don’t know. It’s a crazy world out there. Their gold spends as good as anyone else’s though!” he finishes with a wink and Hodari just shakes his head as he pays for his goods. They say their good-byes and Hodari promises to pass along a hello to Najuma for him before he takes his leave.

As he’s walking out of the store he spots you leaving the inn and waving a good-bye to the cook from the doorway. He watches for a moment as you smile and greet the youngest Daiya boy and Elouisa on your way back to your home plot. He wonders briefly what it looks like now since he’s last seen it the first day you appeared here. As you round the corner and out of his sight, he starts on his own way home.

He takes the opportunity on the walk back to mull over the things Zeki told him while the conversation is still fresh in his mind. He thinks the grimilkin may be right, you’re basically a stranger and he doesn't know you very well. You seem nice enough, and clearly your presence is enjoyed and welcomed by many in the village, but he's gotta keep his family in mind and Najuma’s wellbeing takes precedence. It doesn’t help that he’s still uncomfortable with the idea that a human has been around his daughter alone and presumably in his house and he’s been none the wiser to it. Friendly or not, the two of you haven’t even spoken since the night he stayed late in the mines so it would probably be best if he put a stop to whatever is going on, at least while he’s not around. Just for now. It wouldn’t hurt Najuma to socialize more, but he’s not sure this is how he wants that to happen.

After getting home he puts away the items and goes to hunt Najuma down in the workshop, letting her know the things she wanted were waiting for her on the kitchen table whenever she needed them.

“It’s gonna be a late night for me t’night. Don’t wait for me for dinner, there’s leftovers in the icebox for ya. Don’t forget to eat, ya hear me?” He calls from outside the shop. Once he hears a quiet muttering of ‘yeah yeah’ in acknowledgement he turns and starts his walk to the mines. He figures tonight is as good a night as any to talk to you when you make your way down. ‘Doesn’t need to be a big deal’, he reasons with himself, ‘place a few boundaries. No harm no foul.’

Without Hodari realizing it, hours have passed since he’s been down here and he picks up his things to head closer to the entrance of the mines to wait for you. A brief look outside tells him that the sun has long since finished its march across the sky, Luna and Ignis have risen, and he can hear the crickets begin their nightly songs. As he watches the lantern bugs flit about amongst the grass and trees he starts to worry you won’t actually show tonight and he’s stayed out this late for no reason. But like clockwork, the tell tale sound of the crunching gravel beneath shoes moves towards the mine entrance and he knows it can’t possibly be anyone else but you coming down here so late.

You wave to him, offering a quick ‘hello!’ as soon as you see him standing at the entrance. He raises his hand in greeting back, taking a deep breath. You’re already smiling in front of him and he finds himself inexplicably worried he might hurt your feelings. You don’t look like you mean any harm but he can’t trust you, not yet.

“Another late night? You’re not usually down here still at this time, shouldn’t you be home having dinner with Najuma?” You ask, curious. He watches as you pull your pack off to get your own supplies out.

“Yeah about that. Got something I wanna talk t’ya about.” He begins. You hum in acknowledgement of the statement while you continue to sort through your pack.

“Yeah? What’s up?” You ask and Hodari finds himself fumbling a bit at the relaxed ease in your tone, talking to him as though you were friends or at the very least friendly acquaintances and not practically strangers.

“It’s about Najuma. I-”

“Is she okay?” you cut him off, sounding concerned and he feels a flare of annoyance. It’s not your job to be concerned.

“Well if ya let me finish,” he starts again a bit more gruff, “She’s fine. What I want to talk about is how much you’ve been hangin’ around her. I know ya don’t mean any harm, but I don’t see much of a reason for you to be headin’ all the way out here just to talk to her. Especially when I’m not around, it just don’t sit right with me.” He watches as the words sink in, and your face changes from concerned to confused, and finally to hurt.

“I-” you begin but he holds out his hand to stop you.

“It’s nothing personal. But we- I don’t know you and if anything happened to her… well it doesn't bear thinkin’ about. I just can’t take that chance, ya understand?” He waits until you nod in agreement before continuing, “Good. Glad we’re on the same page then.” He reaches down and grabs his pick off the ground before resting his hand on your shoulder. “Okay then, you have a good rest of your night.”

He hears a quiet ‘you too’ as he starts to walk away, a lighter step in his gait. That went surprisingly well all things considered. He faltered at the thought of the hurt in your eyes but you’ll get over it, it's for the best to leave things as they are for now. As he walks away he doesn’t notice the sounds of mining dont carry up the hills as they normally do.

A few days have passed and the weekend draws near. At breakfast Najuma is quietly picking at her food and Hodari lets her know they'll both be going into town tomorrow. Instead of the incoming complaints he was expecting she seemed to perk up at the news.

“Do you think we’ll see y/n in town?” she rushes out, her eyes wide as she looks at him. It takes him aback at her intensity.

“I.. don’t know.” he answers slowly. “Why?”

She sits back in her chair a little dejected. “I haven’t seen them around lately. It’s been a few days and..” her voice drops down to almost a whisper. “..I miss them.” She looks back up at him, “Have you seen them around?”

“No, I haven't.” He answers honestly, but carefully. He doesn’t plan on telling her he spoke to you about not coming around if he’s not here too. But truth be told, he hasn’t seen you at all. Not in town this week or down by the mines.

Najuma resumes poking at her breakfast and Hodari has to bite back the comment of not playing with her food, recognizing that if he says anything now it would most likely spawn another argument and he’d much rather have a tension free day when he can help it. Not looking up from her plate she mumbles “What if they left too? Like all the other humans? What if they didn't say goodbye?” his daughter looks almost on the verge of tears at the thought and his chest tightens. He hadn't realized she felt so attached to the human already.

He thinks for a moment wondering if that may have happened but no, you couldn’t have moved on. He had just heard both Sifuu and Reth talking about how helpful you’ve been just yesterday while he was in town. He tells Najuma as such and it seems like some of the weight has been lifted from her tiny shoulders. “I hope so.. Y/n is the only one who talks to me like an actual person! They even started to bring me iron from the mine for my projects after they found out you won't let me in there!” She huffs a tad indignant at the self reminder that he won’t let her in the mines with him.

Hodari feels a bit of guilt listening to Najuma talk about missing you. He hadn’t realized that his daughter had apparently grown so fond of you so quickly. Taking an appeasing route, “Maybe they’re just busy. Remember y/n had to start everythin’ from scratch and that takes time.” Najuma just hums, unsatisfied in the answer. “When did you two start becomin’ close anyway Juma? I didn’t even know they were visiting until a few days ago.” He says finally taking a bite of his own food hoping to encourage his daughter to do the same.

His daughter looks at him like he just sprouted another head. Not raising to the bait, he raises an eyebrow waiting for her to answer. Still looking at him confused she begins, “A few months ago, Dad. Y/n got lost looking for Hassian’s grove and ended up here. They saw me and asked for directions, remember? You were in the workshop.” Hodari sets his fork down to focus on what his daughter is saying because, in fact, he doesn’t remember that. She continues without missing a beat, speaking a mile a minute now as she recounts the day she first met you. “I gave them the directions so they wouldn’t bother you and went back to working on my sketch as I waited for them to leave but they didn’t. They asked me what I was working on and said it looked cool! None of the humans had said that to me before!” She was smiling and excited now as she talks. “Then they told me I must be ‘One hell of an inventor’ because I ‘sure have a knack for it’ because they couldn't understand any of it but said it looked ‘awesome’! I told them I couldn't finish it because you wouldn’t let me in the mines and-”

“I would have brought you some iron if you had just asked me Juma..” Hodari interrupts her, already tired from knowing where this road could lead.

“It’s not the same! Anyway you were really busy with that huge order for Bahari City so I couldn’t ask you even if I wanted to, I knew you didn’t have the time. But you’ll never believe it! They said you were right! And that the mines are dangerous and I shouldn’t go in them!” She throws her hands up dramatically and Hodari has to fight down the smile at the action. “Then later in the afternoon when we were both in the workshop they dropped off some iron for both of us, remember? Y/n told me they couldn’t wait to see it all finished and were happy to be a “patron of the arts” whatever that means.”

Najuma is looking at him expectantly and he wracks his brain trying to remember any of that. He remembers the Bahari City order, took him days to complete. Honestly he doesn’t remember much else, he wasn't sleepin’ too much during it. Eventually he nods his head, “yeah yeah I kinda remember that.” Najuma looks at him skeptically, like she doesn't believe a word of it but he ignores it as he takes another bite of his food.

“Yeah well, that’s pretty much it. Y/n would come into the bay to forage and mine and when they started home they would ask me if you or I needed anything they had picked up. Which was a little awkward at first, and kinda overwhelming but they were just trying to be nice! Eventually y/n just started stopping by the house to ask what we needed and would go out and get it while they got the things they needed, it was super helpful!”

Hodari sits there and listens as Najuma goes on to tell him how cool it was to have an adult think that she was cool and smart. He wanted to interrupt her and tell her he thinks she's cool and smart but the words catch in his throat as she continues filling him in on all he’s missed. How annoying it was that you had agreed with him but then told her she was so smart that she’ll invent a way to make mining safer in no time and that you believed in her. He feels his stomach drop the longer she talks, you had been keeping his daughter safe and giving her all the confidence in herself he’d been trying so hard to instill in her. He’s still a little concerned he didn’t know it was happening and tries to find a way to say it without coming across as the bad guy. ‘A little late for that’ his mind unhelpfully supplies.

But Najuma always has been smart as a whip and catches on quick. “I’m not surprised you didn’t notice, Dad. You’re always so busy you don’t notice a lot of things even when they’re happening right in front of you. We didn't want to bug you so we just tried to stay out of your way when we were all in the shop.” Hodari almost wants to feel insulted as goes to say he isn’t that oblivious while he’s working when she suddenly goes very serious across the table from him.

“Wait.. If you didn’t notice how often y/n was here, even when you were in the same room with us, have you not thanked them for all the gifts they’ve been bringing us since the beginning? Not even the ones they’ve brought just for you?” She asks, horrified. The sinking feeling in his stomach turns to solid lead at the question. “Really Dad? None of the extra ores? Or all the fresh meat? Not even the ugly antlers you’d been wanting? I didn’t even mean to tell them about those but as soon as I mentioned them, they brought them with the meat that evening!” She says exasperated.

Truth be told he didn't notice the extra ores were a gift, he thought he was the one who placed them there and forgot or assumed Najuma had been messing with them late at night and really hadn't thought too much of it past that. The meat and antlers though.. “I thought Sifuu’s boy had been bringing them by.” He answered honestly, a little rattled.

Najuma shakes her head unaware of her father's internal struggle, finally shoveling another bite in her mouth and opens her mouth to start talking again. This time Hodari did interrupt her to tell her to not speak with her mouth full. She swallows before starting again. “Nope!” She says popping the ‘P’ at the end. “Y/n has been dropping off fresh meat and even whole meals for us sometimes. They said something about how they know you're always busy in the mines and I'm a growing girl. They also told me they always make too much and have extra and giving it to us is a win-win for all of us because it won't go bad and that it's one less thing we have to worry about too.” She says it very matter of factly but Hodari knows that's not how it works. You don't just make “extra” enough to feed 3 people a whole meal. You had been going out of your way to cook for them so Najuma had lunch he didn’t have to make for her and he never even noticed.

“But dad, don't tell them I said this” she whispers conspiratorially, grabbing his attention again. “I think they go hunting just to bring us fresh meat when they're out here.” She stops to eat her breakfast before it gets completely cold while Hodari thinks about just how bad he’s just fucked up.

She shovels the last of her food in her mouth before turning her gaze to her dad, “Y/n’s really nice, you should probably thank them when you see them next so they don't get the wrong idea and think we don’t want them here.” And wasn't that just salt in a wound that’s already festering. Meanwhile Najuma carries on, no idea what her father had told you a few days ago. “Maybe that's why they stopped coming by, it's really rude to not say thank you and they'd been doing it for months.” She looks out the window and sighs, “I don't want them to think we don't like them and not come back, Dad. I want to show them my new ideas!”

She turns back to her father, “I know you haven’t seen them but if you do when we are in town tomorrow can you tell them I want to show them my newest idea if they have time to come by. Oh! And you can ask if they want to have dinner with us! They haven't tasted your cooking yet, we can have corn! Please?”

His throat is dry as he tells her “Sure, Juma.” before sending her to go wash up before she inevitably finds her way outside to dirty herself up all over again. As soon as she’s out of sight he puts his head in his hands. He didn’t know any of that was happening and that his daughter had grown so close to you. Much less that you had been going so far out of your way to be so kind to his little family. The look of hurt in your eyes flashes through his mind as he called you a stranger and said he couldn't trust you around Najuma and he drags a hand down his face in hopes to wipe the image out of his mind’s eye.

How in the hell was he gonna fix this?

[Dividers by the-aesthetic-shop]

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