I guess I see the essence of them as being the same. Scully is terrified of intimacy on an emotional level but can handle it on a physical level (hello, Never Again) while trying desperately to convince herself that a detached, scientific approach has all the right answers to every problem she faces.
Mulder is in love with her but can't tell her without risking her scorn (Triangle) and has a kind of delf-deprecating emotional vulnerability when he's around her. But when he feels threatened by things he doesn't understand in her - when he feels jealous or left out - he can be cutting and petty. (Again, Never Again.)
I see the love in the early parts of the story as being implicit rather than explicit. They never say it - well, Mulder does - but I think by knowing Scully's character we can infer the same. She's scared of giving herself completely to another person on an emotional level, but she still stays with him. I think she's doing the best she knows how right now, and trusting Mulder to let her lash out. The same reason children who are little angels at a playdate are little hellions at home. They trust their parents to love them unconditionally.
Another way to look at this story is as a kind of inside-out AU. Most AU stories (which I generally dislike, actually) operate on the premise of "let's take the exact same characters and make them have the exact same reactions they would ordinarily, but change the surroundings and see what happens." Iolokus is more like, "let's keep the external variables the same and see what happens if we take the essence of Mulder and Scully but let them come undone by all the horrific personal tragedy they've suffered and see what happens."
But I love this story to the point of fanwankery, so YMMV. ;D
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winterfish
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Date: 2009-10-30 10:36 am (UTC)Mulder is in love with her but can't tell her without risking her scorn (Triangle) and has a kind of delf-deprecating emotional vulnerability when he's around her. But when he feels threatened by things he doesn't understand in her - when he feels jealous or left out - he can be cutting and petty. (Again, Never Again.)
I see the love in the early parts of the story as being implicit rather than explicit. They never say it - well, Mulder does - but I think by knowing Scully's character we can infer the same. She's scared of giving herself completely to another person on an emotional level, but she still stays with him. I think she's doing the best she knows how right now, and trusting Mulder to let her lash out. The same reason children who are little angels at a playdate are little hellions at home. They trust their parents to love them unconditionally.
Another way to look at this story is as a kind of inside-out AU. Most AU stories (which I generally dislike, actually) operate on the premise of "let's take the exact same characters and make them have the exact same reactions they would ordinarily, but change the surroundings and see what happens." Iolokus is more like, "let's keep the external variables the same and see what happens if we take the essence of Mulder and Scully but let them come undone by all the horrific personal tragedy they've suffered and see what happens."
But I love this story to the point of fanwankery, so YMMV. ;D