Tyler Labine's Retirement Party

Washington Plaza Hotel - Grand Ballroom

10 Thomas Cir NW

Washington, DC

December 18th, 1999

8:08pm

In the almost seven years they'd been together, she could count on one hand how many times they'd gone to an office party. Luckily for her, Mulder was usually the one to come up with an excuse, and she'd just cling onto it to get out of it as well. She was pretty sure Mulder was the only person in the world with 'seasonal hemorrhoids.'

Truth be told, Scully didn't like attending these things either. Being around so many people made her a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't that she was necessarily shy, she just could only handle so many people asking if she'd seen an alien yet, or if she and Mulder had set a date for their wedding. The rumors about them usually only heard while she was in bathroom stalls seemed to come out full force at office events.

While Mulder would shuck off any remarks with a sarcastic or self-deprecating comment, she couldn't do the same. Correction: wouldn't do the same. Self-deprecation coming from her sounded like a dismissal of Mulder and his beliefs. Correcting people that aliens were actually grey and not green came across like she was making fun of him, and even though she'd tease him to his face, she wouldn't do it behind his back with people who didn't understand.

"I think everyone on the FBI's payroll is here," Mulder murmured towards her, bringing her attention back to him.

"Didn't Skinner say Labine worked in banking? Maybe everyone here owed him a favor," she joked, scanning the ballroom for anyone she recognized.

"Dana!" a voice called from nearby. They both turned in time to see Holly from the Computer Records Office approaching them.

"Hey, Holly," Scully beamed.

"I didn't know you and Agent Mulder were officially a thing," the younger woman replied, motioning to the very couple-like stance they'd unconsciously adopted.

"Oh, um. No, we're not," Scully replied with a slight shake of her head.

Holly made a face of chagrin before apologizing. "I'm so sorry, you just-I think I've had a bit too much eggnog," she explained, awkwardly holding up a red Solo cup.

"Happens all the time," Mulder offered, trying to diffuse Holly's embarrassment.

"I was coming over to let you know one of the prizes for the raffle is a coupon for fifty percent off at that new Italian place you've been telling me about, Agent Scully. You can use the coupon as many times as you can for a year, but it's for couples only," Holly explained.

"What I meant to say is that we're more than just a 'thing.' He's actually my boyfriend," Scully stated firmly.

She felt Mulder's gaze boring into the side of her face as his hand twitched against the skin of her back. Scully had been wanting to go to that place for months since it opened, but it was way out of her price range. People were going to assume they were together anyway, so why not use it to their advantage? If anyone asked, they could pretend that they were entered as a prank.

"Oh! I'm so happy for you two!" Holly exclaimed. "I think you make such a cute couple."

"I'm a lucky man," Mulder stated, immediately playing into the charade by squeezing her to his side.

Scully cleared her throat awkwardly before asking, "Um, so where do we enter?"

Holly directed them to a corner of the room lined with long pop-up tables and adorned with several clipboards, and they only made it a few steps out of earshot before Mulder started teasing her.

"Does this mean you like-like me, Scully?"

"Mulder, you know how long I've wanted to go there," she replied, trying to stifle her embarrassment.

"I told you I'd take you whenever you wanted. My treat for all the late-night autopsies," he argued. It was true. He seemed to sense her longing anytime they drove past it, and he'd always offered to treat her.

"But it's so expensive. I'd just feel guilty."

"Not as guilty as I feel right now," he replied with a forlorn sigh. At her look, he lamented, "I can't even remember our anniversary." He punctuated his sentence with an exaggerated frown that made her roll her eyes in response.

"Well, you can make it up to me by getting us something to drink while I check out all the raffles." Mulder nodded with a coy smirk before doing as she asked.

Scully was struck at how she missed his presence the moment it was gone. She felt like a magnet being pulled, desperate to connect. It was ridiculous, but she'd gotten so accustomed to always having him at her side. It wasn't that she needed him there; she was a grown woman perfectly capable of handling herself, but she preferred it. Mulder made her feel comfortable and at ease. It struck her as funny that he might feel the same way about her — while he gave the air that he didn't care what others thought, she knew he was sensitive. Was that why he reached out to touch her so often? An anchoring maneuver? An act of self-soothing?

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she turned her attention to the task at hand. There were a few things here and there that intrigued her, or that she thought Mulder might want: an all expenses paid spa day, a new television set, a stereo system, a new VCR, etcetera, etcetera. She put both their names down separately for everything until she got to the couples prizes. She recognized a few couples' names, but others were unfamiliar to her. In quick cursive, she wrote their names side by side, hoping that people didn't know them or that the penmanship was messy enough to escape anyone's attention.

"Here," Mulder's familiar baritone rumbled beside her.

She turned and grabbed the red solo cup being offered to her. "Thank you," she replied, bringing it to her lips.

"Does this have alcohol in it?" she asked, wiping the excess from her lips. It was surprisingly good and she couldn't taste any dark liquor.

Mulder took a sip from his own cup and made a face before trying it again. "It was marked that it did."

"You're drinking?" she replied in surprise. "I don't know if I've ever seen you drink."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, a memory of a certain Detective White and motel-grade vodka screwdriver came back to her, followed by the memory of a less-than-sober Mulder showing up at her apartment in the middle of the night. Okay, maybe she'd never seen Mulder drinking in favorable settings.

"May I remind you I offered to buy you a drink during our second case together? I thought I would indulge a little, but it looks like fate had other plans," he answered with a shrug, taking another gulp from the cup.

"Well, cheers to trying," she laughed, raising her cup for Mulder to playfully tap.

They decided to walk around the ballroom for a while to check out the festivities. The party overflowed into various, large, inter-connected ballrooms, lively and full of commotion.

While surveying the area, she heard the sound of a glass breaking, and it drew her attention over to the corner of the room. Some guy was bent over, helping a waiter he'd presumably bumped into. The waiter was smiling and seemed unperturbed, and so did the man when he turned around and she saw-shit.

Scully quickly turned back around and bowed her head, as if that would possibly disguise her red hair from being recognized.

"Scully?" Mulder gently prompted. She could feel his body heat as he curved towards her to try and look at her face. "Are you feeling okay?"

His furrowed brow was making the endearing little pi symbol on his forehead that always emerged when he was concerned. Swallowing thickly, she tried to tamp down the embarrassment that was starting to grow in her chest.

"Uh," she began, trying to determine the least mortifying way of explaining this. "You know how Pendrell always prioritized our cases in the lab?"

Mulder's head cocked to the side slightly, clearly not understanding where she was going with this. "Pendrell bent over backwards just to make you smile," he teased.

Ignoring him, she added, "And you remember how long it took us to get results back after he died?"

"For the first month or so. Yeah, I remember. I figured they were short-staffed because of the loss," he replied with a shrug.

Scully glanced over her shoulder, but she couldn't see the man anymore. "Well, not quite. They actually found a replacement pretty quickly. A replacement that I might um, be a little extra friendly with from time to time if I think we need results back quickly."

"Friendly?" Mulder repeated, cocking his eyebrow.

"I may or may not… flirt with him," she admitted. Her cheeks burned at the admission, and she brought the backs of her fingers to her face in the hopes it wouldn't be too obvious.

"...We always need results back quickly."

"Yeah, exactly," she grimaced.

"Is Prince Charming here?" Mulder asked, looking around. "Holly's going to be distraught about your infidelity."

"Don't look," Scully whispered, lightly tugging on his tie.

"Do you need me to hide so you can go see him?" Mulder asked in a soft tone.

She was about to chastise him for joking when she saw the earnest expression on his face. Scully realized he thought she was interested in the guy and that she didn't want to be seen with Mulder. She'd seen that look on Mulder's face enough to know he was hurt and trying to hide it.

"That's the opposite of what I want," she replied, trying to sneak a covert look over her shoulder.

Mulder's relief was palpable, but she felt him tense a few seconds later. "Does he make you uncomfortable?"

"No, not really. I just, um, always give him the impression that I wish we could go out after work, but I'm always too busy," she explained.

"And now you're afraid he'll see you're free and capitalize on it," Mulder replied, catching on.

"It's really convenient getting the results back so fast. It's worth a little batting my eyes here and a smile there, but he's so boring."

She felt Mulder's warm arm slide around her shoulders as he tugged her flush to his side, his hand coming to rest on her bicep. "What if I was territorial and possessive of you?"

"If?" she teased.

"Dana!" the lab tech yelled. Cringing, she turned and saw the man in question was coming right at her. She felt Mulder pull her in tighter, but it seemed the tech only paid attention to details under a microscope.

"Evan," she beamed with feigned enthusiasm. Walking forward to greet him, she felt Mulder's hand drop away, but she felt his stare linger on her while the other man embraced her in an overly-friendly hug. His hands felt cool and clammy as they raked up and down the skin of her back.

"How are you?" she asked, attempting to pull away from the hug that was lasting too long.

"Better now that you're here."

She heard a sound of disgust come from behind her, and she took the opportunity to extract herself from the embrace to gesture to her brooding partner. "Evan, this is my partner, Agent Mulder. Agent Mulder, this is Evan from the lab."

"Ah, so you're the one always pulling Dana away," Evan joked, offering his hand to Mulder.

"I am," Mulder replied humorlessly, taking the man's hand and shaking it firmly.

Scully watched Evan flex his hand to regain circulation after the encounter, trying to hide a grimace. Turning to her, he winked suggestively before asking, "May I have this dance?"

"Uh-of course," Scully replied, following his lead before sending Mulder a chagrined smile.

How long was the average song? Three, four minutes? As long as they didn't play Free Bird, she was pretty sure she'd be fine.

Mulder on the other hand, maybe not.

As soon as they were on the dance floor, the saxophone solo to Careless Whisper began, much to Evan's amusement. With one of Scully's hands on his shoulder and the other on his offered palm, he wrapped his free hand around her rather familiarly, his fingers tickling her bare skin. Scully glanced off to the side to see what Mulder was doing and caught him refilling their eggnog, glaring at the back of Evan's head. To anyone else, he might've looked lost in thought, but Scully could see all the classic signs of Mulder's agitation. His jaw was clenched, his lips were pursed, his eyes were dark — he was dangerously handsome.

"I've been waiting for this for so long," Evan whispered.

Scully cleared her throat and turned to him with a forced smile. "I know. I'm glad I've finally gotten to see how um, handsome you look outside your lab coat."

The man grinned in response before leaning in. "I'm glad I got a chance to have a moment alone with you. I wasn't sure I was going to, with how your partner hangs all over you, but then again, I can't exactly blame the guy."

Scully chuckled uncomfortably in response. "He um, he gets a little nervous at these events. I like to keep him company."

"A beautiful heart inside such a beautiful woman, you really are the whole package aren't you?"

"So…tell me," she mused, trying to get the topic off her and Mulder. "What's your favorite type of analysis to perform in the lab?"

"I'm pretty versatile, but I like analyses that I get to report back to my favorite redhead."

They were spinning, and she caught sight of Mulder again, only he was refilling his eggnog again, apparently having downed his last cup. She felt a little lighter than usual like she did after a good glass of wine, and she wondered if there was actually more alcohol in the drinks than they'd tasted. "You're such a flatterer," Scully replied, batting her eyelashes at him playfully.

George Michael was still crooning while her dance partner complimented every facet of her being. During his exaltations, Scully noticed a blonde woman approach Mulder, engaging him in conversation. Before she could see who it was, they were turning again. "Whaddya say?"

"About what?" she asked with a smile.

"You, me, a romantic dinner next Wednesday?"

"Shoot, that's my mother's birthday," she lied, sounding as forlorn as possible.

"What abou-"

"Agent Scully, may I have this dance?"

She turned and saw a nervous-looking Skinner was standing next to them. Evan clearly knew better than to reject the Assistant Director, and he stepped back in resignation. "See you around," Scully told him kindly.

Scully watched as he left, and she turned her attention to Skinner. "Good evening, Sir."

"Good evening. Your partner asked me to step in, and he seemed rather agitated. Was that man bothering you?" Skinner asked, lowering his voice so only she could hear.

Scully turned and saw Mulder still engaged in conversation with the blonde. "Ms. Harrison from accounting seemed to be talking his ear off about an X-File when he pulled me over," Skinner stated, answering her unspoken question.

"I'm not sure we've met," Scully stated tersely, noting Skinner's amused smirk in response. Raising her arms, she placed a hand on Skinner's shoulder and raised her other hand in offering for him. Taking it gently in one hand, Skinner went to rest his other hand on her back, but upon feeling her bare skin he jumped and placed it firmly on her hip instead. She watched as the top of his head turned pink while he murmured an apology.

"No apology necessary," she replied with a smile, swaying with his lead. She hadn't paid attention to what song was playing, so she listened intently over the hum of the crowd so she could estimate how long it would take to get back to Mulder.

Will you let yourself go wild

Let my mouth go where it wants to

She had to bite her lip from smiling. Mulder had just forced her to dance with A.D. Skinner to Madonna's Erotica.

"You didn't answer my question, Agent Scully."

"Hmm?"

"Was that man bothering you?" he repeated. She wondered if she looked uncomfortable, if Mulder said she was, if Mulder asking him to do this implied something was wrong, or some combination of the three.

"No, no. He's a bit awkward, but I think Mulder can be just a little protective," she explained with a shrug.

"Now there's an understatement," Skinner mumbled, smirking.

Scully wasn't sure what to say in response to that so she watched as he listened and really heard the lyrics of the song. Immediately moving to fill the silence between them as if to drown out Madonna. "I'm glad you were able to convince him to come out. You two spend too much time in the basement. I think it's good for him to come around every once in a while and see that not everyone is out to make fun of him."

For such a stoic guy, it always amazed her how much Skinner really seemed to care about them. While she knew it was partially because they were in need of his assistance more than the average unit, if he didn't want to be there, he could easily send someone else. But when they were in trouble, Skinner was always there to bail them out.

"If only more people were as respectful towards him as you," she replied, noting her compliment made him bashful. They made some small talk as they danced, both trying not to laugh in embarrassment when Madonna would moan over the loudspeaker. After a while, the song ended and an announcer for the next retiree toast came over the intercom. "Well, I think that signals my time is up. If I were you, I'd go save Mulder. I don't think he's used to being on the receiving end of someone's um, enthusiasm."

Scully glanced over and saw Mulder opened his mouth, only to close it as the girl kept expressively gesticulating. She turned back to Skinner, but he was being pulled away by Arlene, a beaming smile on his face.

She'd only taken a few steps towards Mulder when she was distracted once again. "Dana!" she heard a voice call out. Turning around, she saw Tom Colton standing in the entryway between the Grand Ballroom and the anteroom. She didn't really want to go over and exchange pleasantries with him, but it's not like she really had an excuse not to.

She was about ten feet from him when she felt someone breeze past her, nearly knocking her over. Suddenly, she saw Mulder standing next to a now-irritated Tom. "Hey, Colton. What's up?" Mulder rasped, out of breath.

Tom looked at Mulder with disdain before side-stepping him like he had the plague. "Nothing. Just wanted to tell Agent Scully she looked nice," he replied, glancing at her with a curt nod.

"You too," she replied, her voice dying off as he turned and left.

Scully shook her head in confusion as she closed the gap between her and Mulder. "What the hell was that all about? I know he isn't your biggest fan, but even for Colton that was weird."

"He was trying to make you-"

"Atta Boy, Mulder! Kiss her!" a booming voice shouted from nearby.

"Huh?" she murmured, turning to try to find the voice only to see a large crowd of people were staring at them.

"Mistletoe," Mulder murmured. She turned her gaze to him and saw he was pointing above them. Following his direction, she saw green leaves tied with a red ribbon hanging directly overhead.

"Come on, don't be shy!" another voice goaded.

She felt her face flame with the realization everyone within viewing distance was waiting for her to kiss Mulder. Mulder who'd just run over here to save her from being in this position with Tom Colton. She was more than certain that if Colton was the one in front of her, she'd have his tongue down her throat right now. Instead, she was standing in front of a shy Mulder with rosy cheeks and a nervous expression on his face, like he worried he'd overstepped.

He was about to give her a chivalrous out. "We don't have t-"

But his words faltered as she took a step forward. Scully's eyes locked on his lips in the hopes she'd hit her mark as she raised herself onto her toes, placing a hand on his shoulder for stability. His hands tentatively grabbed the curves of her hips, his fingers digging into her as her lips found his.

It was a chaste kiss, but it was lovely all the same. The bottom lip she'd spent so much time ogling felt plush under her own, thinning slightly when he couldn't suppress a smile. She moved one of her hands to the nape of his neck and she raked her fingernails through the prickly hair there. People around them began hooting and hollering, and she decided to put an end to the show.

When she pulled away from the kiss, easing herself back so that her heels touched the ground, Mulder's lips chased hers as if to prolong the contact. If just for a few seconds more. Her eyes fluttered open just in time to see his do the same, his dilated pupils latching onto hers. Scully drew her bottom lip into her mouth slightly so she could savor the sensation his kiss brought, and she was met with the subtle taste of eggnog and cinnamon. She watched as his gaze followed the movement, causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle in amusement.

The raucous cheering started to die down as the partygoers searched for something else to entertain them. Mulder and Scully just stared at each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to break the silence that had fallen over them. Clumsily, they chose the same moment to speak and rambled over each other.

"Thank you for saving me from-"

"Mistletoe was used to ward off-"

They chuckled and Mulder grabbed her hand to tug her back towards their abandoned drinks. "Sorry, you go."

She felt like she was living in a post-kiss haze and her brain was having a hard time keeping up. "W-oh, I wanted to thank you for saving me from having to kiss Colton. I didn't even realize what he was doing."

"Call me old fashioned, but I think it's bad etiquette to lure women into a kiss," Mulder shrugged.

It was easy for her to forget Mulder's 'formal' upbringing. She just couldn't imagine a young Fox Mulder taking etiquette classes, sitting patiently as he was instructed on how to be a proper gentleman. While it seemed unreal, the evidence of his breeding and a distinguished pedigree was glaringly obvious. Even when she frustrated him, he'd still open doors for her. It seemed placing a hand on her back in gentle guidance was second nature. Hell, it took a deep understanding of social conventions to wield them so skillfully.

Scully would be lying if she said she didn't love being on the receiving end of his charm.

"Mistletoe was used to ward off what?" she prompted, pivoting her body closer to Mulder as they navigated their way around enthusiastic partygoers.

"Oh, witches," he answered with a wry smile. "It has a rich history in Nordic tales too."

"Did you know it's poisonous?" she asked, countering his piece of trivia with her own. "It won't kill you, but it won't be pleasant."

"It's also one of the most widely studied complementary and alternative medicine therapies for cancer," he retorted.

Mulder cleared his throat awkwardly while a small smile quirked her lips. It was obvious why he knew that, and it was as heartbreaking as it was sweet. With his eidetic memory, she was pretty certain he'd studied cancer enough to warrant an oncology certification. Squeezing his hand, she murmured, "I didn't know that."

Wanting to lighten the mood a little, she added, "Did you know the etymology of mistletoe is 'dung on a twig'?"

"No way," Mulder smirked.

"That's what they say."

"They who?"

Eventually, they made their way to the drink table, but their cups were long gone. Scully shrugged and got new ones, pouring a healthy serving of 'Holiday Punch' for both of them. "Hey, Scully." Mulder emphasized her name by bumping her hip lightly with his own. Turning to him, she saw he was holding two small containers. "Wanna take a shot?"

Her eyebrow quirked up in shock as she peered into the offered container. "Mulder, that's tequila."

"Scared?" he goaded.

It wasn't her drink of choice, but she wanted to see her Oxford-educated Vineyard boy try this. She took a large swig of the punch before setting down their cups. She extracted her shot glass and then pointed near Mulder's hip. "Grab the limes and salt," she commanded.

"Oh yeah!" he replied, going as she said. She'd bet that he had an idea of how to take the shot, but had never done it himself. Her suspicion was confirmed when he requested that she go first.

"Lick, shoot, suck," she instructed her eager audience of one.

"Suck?" he squeaked.

"The lime," she chuckled, watching his cheeks redden.

Holding her wrist up, she exaggeratedly rubbed her tongue in a line on her skin to leave a trail of saliva. Mulder's attention was laser-focused on the movement, so she had to grab the salt shaker from his hand. He mumbled an apology, but didn't remove his focus from her.

She tapped the salt onto the wetness before setting the shaker down. "Lick, shoot, suck," she reiterated.

Her tongue darted out and collected the tangy granules from her skin, letting them stay in her mouth as she threw the shot back. It burned her throat, but she wanted to impress Mulder, so her face remained neutral. Moving to her other hand, she bit the lime while she locked eyes with Mulder, hollowing her cheeks as she sucked the bitter juice out of the fruit.

"Damn," Mulder praised, nodding his approval.

She felt the skin of her chest heat up, and she wasn't sure if it was from the tequila or Mulder's rapt attention. Pulling the lime away from her mouth, she took a ragged breath, wiping the corners of her mouth. "Your turn."

"Wha-oh!" He chuckled, gathering what he needed. She glanced around them to make sure no one was watching them and was relieved, for once, to see they were finally having a moment of privacy. "I don't think I'm going to look nearly as good as you did." His compliment drew her attention back just in time to see his pink little tongue swipe over his skin followed by the salt.

"Lick, shoot, suck," he murmured, mirroring her.

She felt her mouth go dry as she watched Mulder's tongue dance across his wrist. He locked eyes with her as she threw the shot back, squeezing them shut as he swallowed the tequila. "Oh my god," he gasped. His face contorted into a look of pain as he let his tongue hang out of his mouth.

"Mulder, the lime!" she giggled. Scully grabbed his wrist and helped guide the lime to his lips.

"Mphf," he mumbled while finding relief. She was pretty sure that was his way of saying thanks while he tried recovering.

"Did you just hussle me, Scully? How did you make that so easy?"

Reaching her hand up, she gently wiped away some of the juice from the corner of his mouth. "I guess the parties at the University of Maryland were a bit different than they were at Oxford," she teased.

"I guess you'll have to teach me your ways," he replied, smirking as he grabbed their Solo cups.