BAR LIES
Disclaimer:
Not mine. I'm just borrowing them because they're too cute for their own good.
Notes:
With special thanks to Jas for editing and proofing again.
I got the idea for this whilst watching Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23 when June attempts to take a leaf out of Chloe's book and tell lies at bars for personal gain. I just liked the idea of Mulder trying to get Scully to tell a bar lie for a free drink and having her turn out better than him at it.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it! Feedback and kudos are always appreciated. This story is complete so I'll be sticking to an update schedule.
Summary:
After a busy week chasing leads on a case to no avail, Mulder invites Scully out for drinks as an apology. What harm could some flirty bar lies possibly do? MSR.
FBI HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON
MAY 16th, 5.30PM
Mulder sighed, reclining back in his chair and stretching his cramped legs out underneath the desk. The sound piqued Scully's interest and she looked up from her paper work, raising an eyebrow at her partner.
"Tired, Mulder?" she asked, pointedly replacing the cap on her pen.
"Huh? Yeah, I guess I am." He replied, pushing his keyboard aside in favour of tapping a pencil against the desk.
The clock marched on, adding seconds onto an already long work week that had begun when Mulder stumbled across a case file involving a mysterious woman and a trail of very confused, exhausted male victims.
His obvious conclusion?
They were dealing with a succubus.
Of course, the preliminary interviews had revealed a shockingly similar sequence of events: man makes unwanted advance on a woman in a bar; man gets turned down; man finds a consenting woman; and man wakes up in alley way the following morning with no recollection of what happened to him.
It was a flimsy case at best – the evidence had been compiled from the statements the five men gave to the police upon waking up in an alley and Scully thought the obvious conclusion to be that someone had slipped them rohypnol, possibly as a lesson.
Were they deserving? Probably, but that didn't change the fact it was an offence.
Mulder, however, had thought that the obvious conclusion was that there was a vigilante succubus on the loose; making examples of Washington's would-be sexual predators.
Further investigation revealed that the men had no traces of any date-rape drug in their systems – Mulder reasoning that they could have been subjected to a small enough dose that the mens' bodies had metabolised the substance long before the drug screen was completed. Several evenings spent staking out the bars where the incidents had taken place had left Scully more than a little fed up and keen to hear her partner admit it was just a string of men partying too hard.
Not that Mulder was known to admit to chasing a red herring, mind you. But then, she wasn't entirely opposed to spending long working hours with him either, so she found herself at something of a stalemate.
"Have you managed to piece anything else together?" she asked, watching as he dropped the pencil in favour of running a hand through his hair.
"No," he said, catching her eye and smiling sheepishly. "I'm beginning to think that it's pointless pursuing this, actually. Or if we do pursue this that we need a fresh angle – what do you think about trying to lure this lady?"
"Lure, Mulder?"
"Yeah, maybe we could use ourselves as bait and see if she shows up?"
Scully snorted.
"It doesn't have to be an official part of the investigation," he continued, a familiar look of child-like hopefulness appearing on his face. "we could go and hang out there, see if anything happens? I feel we aught to do something so I can at least apologise for you having a very long and fruitless work week."
"Who are you, and what have you done with my Mulder?" Scully shook her head and tapped her pen on her desk.
"What'd'ya say we get out of here now and I can come by and pick you up at 7?" The jaunty log-off jingle played after a few short clicks of his mouse. "We'll go some place for dinner and then head out to one of the bars and either do some work or just have a good time."
"I guess," she said, grabbing her belongings and reaching for her bag. She let her hair swing in front of her face as she toyed with the clasp, letting a smile lift her mood. Dinner and drinks – he was going all out. She brushed her hair back and stole a glance; between the case and catching up on valuable sleep after a series of stakeouts, this week hadn't offered them much chance to enjoy each other's company. Plus, she hadn't been out for a meal with Mulder in a long time and this sounded almost like an apology date – and if Mulder's currency for apologies was more quality time with him, she was definitely not about to complain. She slid her papers and laptop into her bag and stood up, stepping out of their office in front of him before he locked up for the weekend.
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON
MAY 16th, 6.45PM
Scully stood in front of her mirror, scrutinising the fourth outfit she'd put together that evening. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she studied the bottle green fit and flare dress that she'd bought on a whim in a sale a few years ago. It looked nice enough, but was it good enough for Mulder? She slid her feet into a pair of wedges and fluffed her hair before looking back at the pile of discarded clothes.
She worried the hem of the dress as she wondered if green really was her colour. Why was she so worried about this? She hadn't made this much of an effort for the other nights; it was just going to be an evening relaxing with her partner, no different really to the stake outs they'd been on earlier in the week… except that they were going to dinner and would be focused mainly on each other rather than looking out for a potential succubus.
She ignored the little voice in her head that was rationally telling her that she wanted to look good for Mulder to impress him. She wondered if they'd look better together if she wore the long, velvet dress she had hidden in the back of the closet, if he would like that better on her.
Scully shook her head, wandering over to her dressing table and touching up her make up before she had opportunity to change her mind again. The doorbell rang as she finished applying lipstick and a fresh wave of nerves cascaded through her veins. She took a deep breath and went to welcome him.
Mulder was leaning casually against the doorframe when she opened the door, clutching a box of chocolates. She was too focused on the shape of him in his dark, fitted jeans and steel grey shirt to notice the way his eyes lit up when she opened the felt her cheeks warm when their eyes met.
"Hey, you." he said softly.
"Hey yourself," she replied, lips curving into a smile as they looked at each other. "Do you want to come in for a bit? I've just got to grab my things."
"Sure," he said, following her over the threshold. "I brought chocolates," he added, holding up the box.
"Thank you," she said, running her hands over the embossed packaging.
"They were the cheapest the garage had," he said, smirking when she fixed him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm kidding, I bought them especially, they're not from a service station I promise."
She walked through to her room, casting one last uncertain glance at her reflection before collecting her cell, lipstick and purse together and neatly packing them into a clutch bag. "What time did you say you'd made the reservations for?" she asked as she entered the living room again, smiling as she caught him lounging back on her sofa.
"Half seven," he said absentmindedly, his gaze trailing over her as she neatly placed herself on the couch by his side. "It's in that new Greek place? I hope that's okay."
"Any food sounds amazing right now, Mulder," she said, her stomach growling quietly in agreement. "Do you want to wait here for a little while then, or make our way over there?"
"I figured we could crack open the chocolates while we wait," he said, grinning when he caught her eye.
"We'll ruin our appetites." she pointed out, nevertheless reaching for the box and tearing the cellophane. She held it out to him for first pick, balancing the box on her knee when he dithered selecting one.
"Hey, I'm still deciding!" he protested, fingers grazing Scully's hand as he pulled the box back in front of him.
"They all look really tempting, Mulder, if you don't pick one soon I'm revoking your right to first choice and going ahead and picking the one I want."
He narrowed his eyes and pulled a white chocolate out of the box, raising his eyebrows pointedly as Scully watched him pop it in his mouth. She just smiled in reply as she selected what she hoped was praline from the tray and set the confectionery down on her coffee table.
He broke the silence a few chocolates later. "I'm sorry this week has been more a waste of time than an investigation, by the way." he said, glancing over at Scully.
"It's fine," she assured him. "I just wish we could have found something."
"That's an occupational hazard when working on the X Files," he grinned as he popped another chocolate into his mouth. "I was certain you'd been keeping a tally of our successful cases anyway."
"Would that be successfully solved within the realms of the fantastical, or the scientifical? I have tallies for both and one is largely more accomplished than the other."
"Then score another for the fantastical," he laughed, reaching over for her hand, thumb gently stroking her knuckles.
"You know I'll be behind you every step of the way, regardless of what conspiracy theory you're hell bent on proving, right?" she said, twining their fingers together.
"Now, I'm sure you believe some of those conspiracy theories too," he said, a shy smile curling his lips as his thumb continued to trace absentminded circles on her skin.
"I've seen a lot of things with you, Mulder, I don't think I'll ever cease to be amazed."
"That's your polite way of saying 'no, Mulder, I'm too preoccupied trying to find proof whilst you're out there searching for the truth.'"
Scully sniggered. "Some of your theories aren't that far-fetched," she allowed, unable to stop the smile that formed when he pursed his lips and raised an eye brow at her.
"Only some?"
"I can only draw conclusions based on the evidence that I myself have witnessed," she said mock matter-of-factly, laughing when he rolled his eyes. "Plus someone's got to protect you from being classed as certifiable. My word counts a lot toward that, you know."
It was his turn to laugh as he plucked another chocolate from the box. "Where would I be without you?" he grinned.
"Were you after a serious answer for that or..?"
"No, forget I asked," he pulled a face, giving her hand a squeeze.