Broken Wishes For The Holidays
By: Skulz
Rated: PG
Genre: Romance
Summary: Mulder and Scully go out for dinner followed by embarrassing moments, sadness, and a little romance for all you shippers out there!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X-Files characters (if I did, this would be an episode, not a fanfic). I also do not own Denny's or Wal-Mart.
Author's Notes: God... I haven't written anything since last year. I'm so sorry! Gah! Not that anyone cares or anything. Just so you know, I am alive and very well. Hope you guys like this one. It's just a short one (so lazy and busy lately...).
Dedication: For all my buddies (none of them will read this, I'm sure... what a useless dedication!).
It had been an awkward night. She didn't want to think about the embarrassing moments of earlier hours. She covered her face with a pillow and listened to the snow (now turned to rain) falling on the windowpane outside her bedroom.
"You two have the afternoon off," AD Skinner announced. The midday sun rays bounced off his shiny bald head.
Dana Scully smiled at her partner, and then at the Assistant Director. "Thank you, sir," she replied.
Mulder nodded, "Yeah, thanks, Skinner!"
"You're welcome. Hope you both have a great holiday. ...Oh! I almost forgot; here are your gifts."
The agents' grins grew as they accepted the thin, white envelopes with their names scribbled in bad handwriting from their superior's hand. "Merry Christmas!" they chimed in unison as they walked out of Skinner's office with an almost unnoticed amount of glee.
"So what do you think Skinner put in these envelopes?" Scully inquired.
"Probably a ten dollar gift certificate for Wal-Mart," he dryly muttered.
Scully giggled, "Well, I'm not going to wait for Christmas; I'm opening it."
Mulder nodded and ripped his envelope open too.
Inside the envelope, both FBI agents found identical cards with a picture of Santa dressed in bureau attire. The interior of the card had some lame joke printed on it and a hand written "Happy Holidays" from the assistant director. Also contained within the envelope was a coupon for one free dinner at Denny's.
"Denny's?" Scully muttered in skeptical grievance.
Mulder sighed, "I think I would've preferred the Wal-Mart coupon."
"Well... do you want to use these tickets tonight?"
Mulder nodded, "Not like I've got anything better to do."
Later, on that calm and snowy evening, Mulder rang the buzzer for Scully's apartment. It was cold outside, and he was beginning to wish he had brought his cell phone. He mumbled something about women to himself and tapped his foot on the pavement impatiently.
"I'll be right down!" gasped a flustered voice on the other end.
Mulder smiled. "What does she have to get ready for? It's just some cheap assed restaurant," he thought.
Finally, the female agent made it out of the building. She was dressed quite nicely; a little too nicely for this particular evening, but Mulder liked it. He rarely saw her when she was out of the regular suit.
It was relatively quiet on their way to the restaurant. Both agents wanted to speak to each other; they just felt it too awkward. "Am I on a date with him?" Scully asked herself. She was suddenly filling with regret and anguish.
"Scully, are you okay?" Mulder calmly asked.
"I uh, I'm fine!" she chirped, almost blushing.
"Are you sure? Cause we can do this another night if you're not up to it."
"Oh, thank GOD!" she thought, for she would've loved to quit at that moment. However, she was stubborn and wouldn't let silly emotions get the better of her. "Uh... Tonight's fine," she stammered.
Mulder grinned at her and continued to drive. Sure, he looked calm and freakishly happy on the outside, but inside his heart was racing just as fast as Agent Scully's. As the light changed from red to green, he raced down the street. Wisps of the wind whipped past them, causing their hair to flow beautifully. They both felt the rush of speed as the Ford Taurus charged towards their final dinner destination.
Once there, they stumbled out of the car. The clumsiness of love had fully impacted the agents as they both tripped over the curb. Scully blushed and Mulder laughed at the stupidity. Then they entered the restaurant.
As they entered, they noticed that other FBI agents were eating at Denny's tonight as well. "Skinner must've spent a fortune on these tickets," Mulder murmured.
"I think it's a promotional thing," Scully whispered, "He probably got them for free."
The young hostess smiled and led Mulder and Scully to their table. "Here are your menus..." she said in a monotone voice, "I trust you're FBI as well?"
The agents nodded.
"Anything you'd like to drink?"
Mulder's first instinct was to order a beer, but he remembered what Scully thought of his profuse drinking.
"Just water's fine," Mulder and Scully replied in unison.
The hostess nodded, "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order then."
There was a silence between the two. All they could hear was the laughter and joy of the other agents in conversation about the holidays. This was the first time they'd felt the tension, and it was extremely uncomfortable. Scully coughed and shifted. Her eyes locked with Mulder's for only a second before slipping away. "I, um..."
"Yeah?" he mumbled.
"Excuse me," Scully replied, getting up from the booth.
Mulder sighed as he watched her walk away. "Damn it," he thought.
Suddenly, up came Agent Adams. "So, Mulder... you're here with Scully? Are you guys dating or something?"
Mulder's eyes widened as the shock sunk in. "What! ...No! There's no way! I mean, Scully's great and everything, but I'm not in love with her! We're just friends," he lied.
Just then Scully came around the corner, hearing what Mulder had just said. She was crumbling inside. This felt worse than the time she'd been shot. Scully didn't know what to do next. She didn't want to admit defeat, but what else was there to do? She couldn't let him see her cry like that.
"Oh... Scully..." Mulder greeted her.
"I...I...I have to go," she squeaked, trying her best to hold in the tears. And with that she walked out of the restaurant.
"Wait!" Mulder cried, but it was too late; Scully had made up her mind.
The events were still floating around in her head. Running home in tears as the snowflakes touched her dark clothes, the embarrassment, and the love she was so sure Mulder felt. Another tear fell and hit the pillow. How could he dismiss her passion for him? How could he not feel the same way? Her heart was still crumbling slowly and it hurt to breathe. She wished for death.
"Please don't cry," a familiar voice whispered.
She threw back the covers to see Mulder's shadow at her doorway. "Mulder...?" she angrily questioned.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Suddenly the rain stopped and she was alone again.