A/N: I know I said I wasn't going to post much here and anymore, but I felt this fic was appropriate for this time of year and I actually like it, so...here you go.
It's college AU.
The X-Files doesn't belong to me."
Their first New Year's together.
They've spent the past four months together, practically attached at the hip. They've had a week apart for Christmas, but neither of them can stand more than a week, so they're back at college and Mulder's sitting in her dorm, waiting for her to finish a shower. It's their first time seeing each other since before Christmas.
When she comes out, she's clad in silk pajamas; they're completely different from the usual punk attire he sees her in. But he loves them, the blue silk. He likes that she's comfortable enough to shed that image in front of him and just be Scully, blue silk pajamas Scully.
"Hey. Look what I got." he pulls a pint of cherry garcia out of the mini freezer. It's her favorite, and though he used to prefer chocolate chunk, cherry garcia just reminds him of her; he loves it. She smiles, albeit a little sleepily.
"Thanks," she seizes the ice cream and digs in, and instead of two spoons, they just share one. He expects her to flick on her tiny TV, but instead they just sit in silence, until Scully breaks it. "How was Christmas?"
"Eh."
"Just...eh?"
"It's always eh." he doesn't look at her while he says it. "No one talks. We exchanged gifts, ate some, then I was kept there for a few days by mom, who didn't want me going so fast. My parents don't even fight anymore, you know that? They just stare at each other. They're so tired. I never want to go back. Going back is a nightmare."
She gently lifts his chin. "It's okay. You're back."
"I know. So. How was your Christmas?"
"Fine. My older brother's an asshole, my little brother's a goody-two-shoes, my mom hates my nose piercing, my sister's dating a girl and it makes my dad very uncomfortable, but it was Christmas."
"I thought you said your family didn't fight much."
A chill runs through her body from the ice cream and she reaches for her blanket, wrapping herself up in it. "They're not, really, but when they look at you with that disappointed look; it's awful." she hands him the pint of ice cream and they're both feeling a bit sick so he puts in in the freezer.
"I know the feeling. They really shouldn't be, you're a fucking science major."
She just shrugs. "Wanna get warm?" she offers. He gets under the blanket with her, smiling when she lays her head on his shoulder. Scully flicks on the TV to the countdown, but mutes it.
"We should at least put on some music," he mumbles against her hair. She clicks through her MP3 player. He knows her type of music; she likes angry girl rock, and even though he was turned off to it at first, after listening to the lyrics, he found a lot of meaning in what those girls were screaming. It helped him understand why she loves pro-choice rallies and why she flared up when someone was being sexist. But what she puts on isn't her usual loud music; it's instrumental.
"Hey, this is Claire De Lune," he says.
"I...I think it's really pretty." she admits. "I like a lot of classical music."
Mulder likes that it surprises him. Another realization that she's not Scully-the-punk all the time, that she comes home, takes bubble baths, and listens to classical music. That her bare face is full of freckles that he wants to count like the stars.
As 12 AM nears, they've talked about almost everything under the sun. Her music has been a mix of soft vocals and piano and classical music. "Hey, 2 minutes to midnight," he says. Ella Fitzgerald's voice comes on over her speakers, crooning about New Year's Eve plans.
Who'll be the one
To hold you good and tight
When it's exactly 12 o'clock at night?
What are you doing New Year's Eve?
"You wanna know something sad?"
"Go for it," Scully says.
"I've never spent New Year's Eve with anyone."
They're counting down the seconds now; 40, 39, 38...
"Neither have I, to be honest."
"I wouldn't want to share it with anyone else, Scully."
She smiles. "The feeling is mutual, Mulder."
He hopes she means more than she was just happy to spend the night with him. "Hey, look. 10, 9, 8, 7..." They continue their countdown until they get to one, and the camera zooms in on many couples kissing. and then all of a sudden, she's leaning in and he is too, and their lips meet for the first time. It's every bit as amazing as he dreamed, and it's not just a normal, friendly New Year's kiss either. It's deep and long and sweet, her fingers threading through his thick hair.
"You wanna know something?" she asks, out of breath.
"What?" they press their foreheads together, him stroking her cheek.
"That was my first New Year's kiss."
He leans in and gives her another, Ella's voice crooning the last notes of the song.
Mulder and Scully fell asleep on her floor that night, after a few more drowsy kisses. They haven't really spoken about it since, two weeks into the new year now. He wants to kiss her again, but he hasn't found any opportunities to.
"How're finals going?" Mulder asks when they meet for lunch, huddling into a greasy little diner, escaping from the biting cold.
"Ugh," she groans as she nibbles her french fries. "How about you?"
"I...am really bad at math."
She giggles. "Well, they're over for today." They eat in silence for awhile, and she catches him gazing at her with a dreamy look. "What's with the look? Want some of my salad?"
"No, I, just...just zoning out. You know, Sculls, you look, um, really pretty today. I mean, you look really pretty every day, but your cheeks are all rosy and I like your red lipstick, it..." He's cut off, because Scully leans over the table and captures his lips with hers.
"Love you, too," she replied, smiling.
He looks at her, dumbfounded. "Scully," he exclaims softly.
"What? I was just waiting for you to realize it. Took you long enough."
He pauses. "It did, didn't it?" he asks, then pulls her in for another kiss.
A/N: Sorry for the fluff; I've written a lot of angst lately so I felt like something happy :) Happy New Years!
-Lulamae