Title: Into the Nightlife
Category: MSR/Humor/Alt Reality (ish)
Rating: T (for now)
Summary: A little paid vacation time never hurt anyone, right? (Not giving anything away this time)
Note and Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, and Skinner belong to TenThirteen, Chris Carter, and FOX Productions. All others are that of my own. Yes, I am pushing boundaries in this story and yes I am aware I am using songs that do not match the decade. Story takes place in mid 1999…most of the songs are from 2005 and beyond. This story is entirely new for me—this is my own glorious fluff and I hope that it is at least somewhat enjoyable haha!
Please check back for changes. There mayyyy be one in the future if the second chapter does not turn out as I had hoped. =)
July 15th 1999
4:00 pm (Thursday)
FBI Offices, Washington DC
"No, no I understand that, Sir…yes I'm aware that those run out after a certain amount of time…now? No…But, Sir…I'm not arguing with you…" Mulder had the phone up to his ear, a look of discomfort across his face that caught Scully off guard as she walked into the office.
She scanned the room a little, taking in each dusty, dimmed detail of the room. Scully's eyes focused on the tiny windows looking out to the street above as well as the lack of lighting by her partner at the desk. The small glow of the desk lamp was the only light on in the office and she reached back to the light switch, flipping it up, shedding some light on the situation. He winced at her for a moment as held the phone to his ear. She couldn't help noticing that his desk was a mess again, but more so than usual. Scully looked at him, watching as he furrowed his brow, closed his eyes, and rubbed his chin. He looks like he's having a colonoscopy. She determined in her head and smiled despite trying not to. He glared at her for a moment.
"No, Sir, I'm not ignoring you…" Mulder realized he had just missed the last sentence being hurled at him through the phone.
Why does your life suck, Mulder? He thought to himself as he leaned forward, pressing his elbow against the desktop. He tapped his foot on the floor and rolled his eyes as the voice on the other end of the phone continued to get louder and louder. I'm really in for it this time aren't I?
Scully stifled a laugh with her hand as she placed her coat and purse on the chair on the other side of the desk. She walked off to the filing cabinets and started thumbing through the files in the "IN" box she had labeled. It was stacked a foot high. She was doing her best not to take a moment and watch him, but the curiosity kept getting the better of her. She looked back at him, examining him to the full extent. Tightening of his jaw, moments of adjusting an already loosened tie, and fidgeting. What are you getting your ass reamed for this time, Mulder? Scully was staring for a little too long as Mulder glanced over at her. He winced and threw the rubber-foam stress ball she had given him at her. He hit her in the chest with it.
Oh, whatever, Mulder, I see how it is. She looked down at the ball on the floor and kicked it towards the desk. She couldn't help noticing how alluring he looked when he was angry—eyes determined and vexed, skin a very deep flushed pink, lips pressed together. It brought a little chill down her spine just thinking about it. She didn't want to think about him like that but how could she not? Yes, he was her partner but Scully was still a woman who could feel attraction to another—that attraction just happened to burn like fire for someone she worked with. Scully bit down on her lip for a moment to quell the urge to let out a soft moan of tension.
"Okay, okay, okay, I relent…fine, I'll do it, starting today…Yeah, thanks, Sir," Mulder hung up the phone and nearly slammed his head down on the desk. "Scully if you don't stop looking at me like that I am going to—"
"Going to what, Mulder?" Scully finally let out a small laugh as she cut him off in mid sentence, hiding a little blush that had just appeared upon her face.
"Nothing—" Mulder looked up at her, frustration and a subtle hint of pain on his face. "I need to pound out some aggression on someone, one way or the other, Scully. Feel free to interpret that how you need to. I'll take what I can get."
Her jaw dropped but she decided against inquiring as to whether or not he was directing that comment at her or not. "What's wrong?"
"Well, Assistant Director Skinner just informed me that I have vacation time coming and if I don't use it within the next 4 weeks I will lose it until next year and start over from scratch. This means starting out with two paid days per every six months on the job. I have two weeks paid vacation starting as of two minutes ago…" Mulder forced out a smile, clearly irritated, and looked at her. "It came as a great slam, bam, thank you ma'am."
"That's all? Mulder, I think you need that vacation time. I came in here thinking you had been handed your ass over the phone when in reality you were told to take some time off? It's not the end of the world," Scully leaned against the desk, crossing her arms, a devilish smile forming across her lips.
"Scully—what am I going to do for two weeks? I don't exactly have an active social life," Mulder started gathering up his jacket and laptop into the case. "I had friends…ten years ago."
"Well, Mulder, I have some vacation time to spend myself, maybe we could…if you want to…" Scully stammered. Jesus, just spit it out or you'll never get this chance again. "Spend some of it together and get out of our element for a while? Make sure we still have some social skills left in our bags of tricks?"
She bit her bottom lip and watched as a boyish smile peeked at her from his face. Her fingers went instinctively to the hem of her skirt, fiddling with it, trying not to look at him. He watched her shift her weight from one foot to the other and noted the nervous stutter. Scully, did I ever tell you that you are incredibly sexy when you are nervous? No, I bet I haven't. Mulder stared up at her, nodding slowly. He wrapped his brain around the idea, around the thought of just he and Scully—no work, no interruptions of any kind. He liked the idea but didn't know how well he could trust himself in such a casual setting with her, but he wanted to take that risk.
"Scully, I think you're on to something—and to start this vacation time off on a high note, I think that we should go out tonight, maybe dinner and a movie?" Mulder decided it was mean to keep her in suspense, but then realized he was making himself a little nervous waiting to give her something to go on.
Scully's mouth got ahead of her as she uttered her next question. "You mean go on a date, Mulder?"
You are a moron, Dana. That was the stupidest thing you could've ever have asked. She closed her eyes and marveled at the increasingly uncomfortable silence she had just subjected them to. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks along with a pretty shade of pink. Mulder grappled with his own slip of the tongue as well as hers as he looked down at his feet. For once I'm thinking I'm being brave, but now I think I've just gotten myself into trouble. Mulder couldn't help thinking that she was going to laugh at him or worse, turn him down.
"Why not, Scully?" Mulder's words practically knocked her legs out from under her as she realized he agreed to a date.
She felt like a little girl as she grinned at him. "Well, I suppose I should go home and get ready? I don't really want to wear my work clothes to dinner."
"I'll pick you up at 8?" Mulder strangely yet instinctively squeezed her hand and stood up from behind the desk.
Oh, boy, what did you just get yourself into, Mulder? He bit down on his bottom lip hard and tried to play it off as though it were nothing. But it wasn't. It was a lot of something, something hard to explain, and it was so unfamiliar to them both in the past few years, and completely new towards each other. He looked back at her from the doorway and smiled. She smiled back, nervously, and watched him continue out the door. She waited to move until she knew he'd be at the elevator and gone.
"This is crazy—a date with Mulder? What am I thinking?" Scully paced around the office then stopped suddenly. "What am I going to wear?"
Her eyes widened as she grabbed her coat and purse and headed for the door.
**End Chapter 1**
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