It was a bad habit. More than a bad habit. If you're going to store adulterated paraphernalia in an official government building, the least you could do is hide it discreetly. Scully could take her partner's flippancy in regards to his stash as a finger to the higher authority, however given the permanent state of his dwellings, she rather saw it as a part of the basement; an organic environment that grew with Mulder's obsessions, seeping into his physical surroundings by way of 'mess'.

Scully often fell victim to this chaos. She had grown to distrust their titles, vague labels scribbled in Mulder's hand. She knows that anything named 'Hospital Procedures Rulings' is likely to feature very unqualified nurses, doing more or less what it says on the tin - emphasis being on the less.

But that afternoon, with time against her, Scully searched albeit cautiously through the heap beside Mulder's desk. The video in question, something a lot more orthodox, came up quickly in her search. She thumbed the case, giving the copy 'Security Tape 4/16/94' a once-over before heading towards the door - stopping short of crossing the threshold. How well did she trust her partner again?

She retreated to the video set-up, cursing under breath, 'Prove me wrong, Mulder' as she shoved in the tape. With a electric jolt, the screen came alive. Flashes of blue and static fizzled out to reveal a gaudy bedroom, oversaturated in light. Privy to the light, Scully saw that a nude figure, a woman - dammit Mulder - sat in the middle of the bed. Her hands playing with what Scully could only identify as a silk tie. The woman and Scully were both startled by the entrance of a man, stage left.

The couple embraced and began their coupling. Scully scrambled for the remote on the desk behind her. She hovered over the eject button but surprise prevented her from going any further.

"Huh."

The man had finished his 'greetings' and the woman was now fashioning the silk fabric around his neck in a manner all 'Stepford'. Scully pursed her lips as the woman gave a forceful tug on the tie, her companion none the wiser as she pushed the knot higher.

"Hey Scully, you better hurry up or Pendrell might burst from anticipation - What are you watching?"

"Shh, Mulder."

The two stood in front of the set, one in confusion and the other, painfully aware of the approaching climax.

"Scully, where'd you find this?" Mulder muttered.

"By the desk."

"In the stack?"

"Yeah, in the stack. Is he turning blue?" She tilted her head to one side in open interest.

Mulder bit his tongue, choosing instead to answer the floor and not her, "-It's more a violet. Blueish-purple."

The blueish-purple man moaned at his companion whose unfailing grip on his tie kept him close and out of breath.

Mulder cheated a glance at his partner, eyes darting between her and the screen. He sucked the air through his teeth, "So ... Pendrell's waiting."

"For the tape, I know. I came down here to get it." Scully had yet to shift her eyes away, no longer feeling judgement but rather curiosity - albeit with her usual scepticism for these sorts of things.

"And you thought you would take a peak at some triple X files while you're down here?"

"I thought I would be watching security footage from the crime scene."

"Well, despite appearances, it ain't that kind of film." He finished. "Wouldn't make for a good ending. A snuff film can't get you over the edge like the others-"

"Mulder, shut up."

"Right."

Scully finally switched it off, the ejected sound giving Mulder sweet sweet relief until his partner went and pcjeted the tape instead of handing it over. Scully moved against towards the door, stopping only when she realised Mulder wasn't following her.

"You coming?"

Mulder shrugged his arms to communicate what he thought was the obvious truth. "Err, so you just gonna -"

Scully sighed, exasperated, "Look Mulder, I'll meet you up there" and with that, walked out of the basement but not quite out of earshot when her partner yelled out,

"Video rates are hourly, Agent Scully!"