Words of Love 23/27 [They rarely got to indulge in things like this]
Wonderful: (adjective) inspiring delight, pleasure, or admiration; extremely good; marvelous.
For as long as Scully had worked there, the FBI had held an extravagant annual banquet in December to honor achievements from the past year. In normal Mulder-fashion, he had managed to find a way for them to conveniently be away on a case for the past six years. This time was different. Skinner was being recognized for twenty years of service, and Scully insisted they go to support him. After all, in a weird way, he was their friend and one of the few people who respected their work, even if he didn’t understand it.
She could tell this was the last thing in the world Mulder wanted to do, but he would never say no to her. He did specify that he would only go if they went together, quickly clarifying just to keep each other company, and she had readily agreed. As if she’d ever want to go with anyone else.
She knew this was going to be uncomfortable for him, he didn’t even like venturing above the basement due to the snickers and glances of the other agents, let alone spend four hours at a banquet with them. The fact he was still willing to endure it, just for her, was extremely touching.
To be honest, the reality of how close to a date this was didn’t set in until she was trying on her third dress. The first was too matronly, the second didn’t fit her right, but the third was flattering to every curve of her body. It was a floor length, black dress with a high slit on her right leg, reaching her upper thigh. The upper bodice was snug, off the shoulder, and made her modest cleavage look fantastic. She looked fantastic. It may have been a little revealing, compared to her normal attire, but she knew Mulder would love it.
She paused in the mirror and looked at herself in shock. Everytime she put on a new dress, she imagined what Mulder’s reaction would be. That was how she was making her decisions. She let out a nervous breath as she contemplated the implications of them doing this together. It was bold, arriving together to a work function, arm in arm, dressed up to the nines. No matter what they called it, it was a date, and everyone would know it.
Normally, she would just say it didn’t matter that people were obsessing about the status of her relationship, but normally she wasn’t right alongside them doing the same thing. She had to admit, when Mulder said he would only go if she would be with him the whole night, her mind was filled with unpartnerly thoughts. It was beyond flattering. If she was being completely honest with herself, she always loved being the center of Mulder’s unyielding attention.
Speaking of which, he was going to be here at anytime now and she still had to do her makeup and hair. He offered to come pick her up, and she was never one to turn down extra time with Mulder. Plus driving in heels is a bitch.
She had just finished setting her hair with hairspray, her hair was so short trying to do anything fancy was a fruitless effort, when she heard Mulder knocking at her door. He was usually never early to anything, so this spoke to his excitement. On bare feet, she padded to the front door and swung it open in a grand sweep.
“Hey Scu-holy shit.” He didn’t even try to hide his appreciation as his eyes did a generous sweep of her body, eyes practically bulging out of his head. His response filled her with a sense of pride, and something else, and her body felt hot under his gaze.
She took his moment of distraction to take a glance at his apparel. Mulder was always a well-dressed man, but wow , she couldn’t remember a time he had ever looked this good. He broke the silence first with breathless admiration, "Scully, you look radiant."
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she laughed as she turned around, beckoning him to follow. She wasn’t done getting ready yet, but she also just wanted to show off how good her ass looked in this dress. The whistle under his breath was enough to let her know he noticed too.
He closed the door when he came in and continued to follow her. “I just have to finish my makeup and then I’ll be good to go. You could wait with me and keep me company, or you could wait on the couch, whatever you prefer.” There wasn’t even a tiny falter in his step, but she hadn’t expected there to be. When presented with the option of being with her or away from her, there never any questioning what he’d choose.
She sat down in front of the big vanity in her bedroom as he awkwardly stood in the doorway, his eyes dancing between watching her and wanting to commit every aspect of her room to his memory. He’d been in here before, more than once, but it was usually under circumstances that didn’t allow him to enjoy the rarely explored intimacy of being in her personal space.
She picked up her eyeshadow and started coating her lids, but still watching his reflection. “Mulder, I promise I don’t bite. You can sit on the bed if you want. I’ll only be like five minutes,” she teased. Apparently an invitation is all he needed because he eagerly walked passed the doorframe and did a, not so subtle, sweep of the room, looking at the small details of the ‘Life of Scully’ he rarely saw. She started working on her eyeliner by the time he finally sat on her bed, he was trying to be discreet, but she saw him run his hands over where she slept at night. Funny, she’d imagined his hands there many times before.
“Thank you for agreeing to come with me, I know this is going to be a drag, but I’m happy I’m with you,” she told him as she lined her waterline, creating a subtle cat-eye. She could see in her peripheral that he was watching her in fascination.
“Scully, I’d follow you into the depths of hell if it meant I could see you in a dress like that,” his tone was joking, but she knew he was anything but. She smiled coyly in response, knowing he could see it, as she applied a coat of dark mascara.
“That’s amazing,” Mulder said out of nowhere.
“What is?” She asked putting her eye makeup away, and applying a tiny bit of blush.
“You’re so talented. You still look totally like Scully, but you look, for lack of a better word, fierce. Not that you don’t always, but you’re really good at that,” he laughed, clearly embarrassed by his lack of eloquence, but wanting to compliment her nonetheless.
She laughed and he was clearly relieved she appreciated his words. She didn’t know what prompted her next action, but she pulled three lipsticks out of her bag; a very neutral pink that she wore frequently, her favorite deep red, and a deep plumb. Turning to face him, she held the three out, color sides facing him and stated, “Pick one.”
His eyebrows shot up a little bit, “Me?”
She nodded and he looked at the lipsticks being offered to him as if it was the biggest responsibility she had ever placed on him. He stared at each tube before flitting his gaze to her lips, clearly imagining the color on her. After a moment he pointed to the red one, “This one always looks really nice on you.”
She was secretly ecstatic about the fact he clearly paid enough attention to her lips to recognize the shade, but outwardly she just smiled and thanked him before delicately applying the shade to her lips. Having him choose her lipstick was strikingly intimate, as if he was kissing her vicariously through the action. Her eyes flitted to his reflection in the mirror and she saw he was watching intently, she also noticed his tongue dart out to wet his lips. It was always astounding how they were always on the same wavelength.
She placed he cap back on the tube without taking her eyes off him and he met her gaze, offering a coy smile at having been caught staring. “I’m ready if you are,” she exclaimed. He got off hr bed, helped her up, and led her to the car, arm in arm.
When they made their way into the ballroom, as usual when they entered a room, all eyes focused on them. However, instead of pure scrutiny, there seemed to be an unbridled curiosity and admiration. As predetermined in the car, they quickly made their way to the bar, trying to ignore the murmurs around them.
“ Wow, the Spooky’s really clean up well. Damn.”
“Did they come together?”
“Of course they came together, they got married a few years back, I mean, obviously.”
The rumors just got more and more outrageous with each passing year, but they weren’t bothered. They made their way to the bar and staked claim on two barstools, intending to stay there the whole night.
Of course, luck was never on their side. They had each had one drink, enjoying some small chit chat and banter when a pair of agents they had worked with before came up and interrupted them. Agent Davenport and Agent Holtz were partnered up around the same time as Mulder and Scully, however, they did not have the close relationship she treasured with Mulder. Agent Davenport was a mixture of Barbie and a blowup doll while Agent Holtz was about as interesting as watching paint dry.
Scully had never been a fan of Agent Davenport. Last time they worked together, she just ogled Mulder the entire time; Mulder was oblivious, Scully was irritated. However, the entire time it was happening, Scully had to listen to Holtz drone on and on about his favorite channel changing the lineup, and now Leave it to Beaver was on at eight instead of nine or something. She couldn’t fully remember, her mind had been preoccupied at the time.
“Fox! Long time no see. Don’t you look sexy?” Davenport cooed extravagantly. Oh yeah, I forgot she has the subtlety of a chainsaw to the face.
“Hello Kathryn, long time no see.I still go by Mulder, by the way. You look well,” he replied politely, standing up to greet her. Mulder’s chivalry towards women was one of Scully’s favorite aspects of him, but she preferred when it was focused on her.
She stood up as well, solidarity and all, and smiled at the man in front of her. “Nice to see you again Agent Holtz.” The aforementioned man took her hand and placed a cold, chapped kiss to the back of her hand and she had to repress a shutter.
“Please, call me Kate. Did you guys see there was a dancefloor? Come on Fox, dance with me while we catch up.” Mulder didn’t seem to have a choice in the matter as Kate dragged him away. He cast an apologetic look over his shoulder as he followed the storm, leaving Scully alone with the Crypt Keeper.
“Well, what do you say Dana? If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em?” He joked, offering his hand. With a polite smile, she accepted and followed him to the dancefloor. There were maybe ten pairs out on the dancefloor, and nine of them were just swaying gently to the song playing. The exception being her partner and Davenport, the latter was somehow trying to turn ‘Africa’ by Toto into a grinding experience.
She kept about a foots distance in between her and Holtz, he placed his hands around her shoulders and she, slightly confused, placed her hands on his non existent hips. She didn’t fully care about the awkward position they were dancing in, instead, she was just focused on her partner dancing with that woman.
She didn’t mean to sound be so territorial, she just couldn’t shake that familiar pit gnawing at her stomach. Mulder was always so kind and attentive. He would never do anything to purposefully hurt someone's feelings. So here he was awkwardly trying to keep distance between him and his dancing partner. She could gauge him better than she used to in the past. She used to think his kindness was flirtation and she would get so agitated with jealousy that it would blind her. Now, after seeing the way he looked at her when they were close, she knew what Mulder’s face looked like when he was actually enamoured.
She could hear Holtz’s ramblings in the back of her mind, but she was too busy formulating her plan to break them up. As soon as the song ended, she turned to him, interrupting him, and said “I’m so sorry Holtz, I promised Mulder I’d dance with him.”
Her abruptness didn’t faze him at all. “Go ahead little lady. It’s only natural you’d want to dance with your husband.” The earnesty in his voice was beyond amusing.
“Thanks for understanding,” she replied with a straight face. She quickly made her way over to Mulder and inserted herself practically in between them. “I’m sorry Kathryn, I told Mulder he had to dance with me when this song played.”
She honestly didn’t even know what song was playing, she vaguely recognized the introduction, but the woman’s reaction made her realize what it was. She just said she wanted Mulder to dance with her to ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love with You’ by Elvis Presley. She knew her face was bright red and Mulder was grinning at her in amusement. “Awww, that’s so romantic! I didn’t know you guys were together! Here,” the woman grabbed Mulder and Scully and practically shoved them into each other’s arms. “I’ll leave ya be!”
Finally left alone again, she glanced up to look at Mulder and saw he was looking at her with a shiteating grin. “You know, I don’t remember you making this dance request to me, but I’m more than happy to oblige.” He raised his hands and rested his palms on her hips, pulling her to him. She draped her arms over his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. She was too shy for the intimacy of eye contact right now, she needed a moment to recover from her flush.
The romantic words of the song rang out in the ballroom and she knew this was going to be a moment she remembered for the rest of her life and she was enjoying every second. It was all overwhelmingly wonderful. After a few measures, she felt a vibration against her ear and breath against her scalp and she realized he was softly singing to her.
Mulder had sung on occasion, mostly in the car when he thought she was asleep or when he was taking a shower in a motel and he underestimated how thin the walls are. She knew he had a good voice, and having him sing so full of passion to her, was overwhelmingly sweet.
She pulled her head back to look up at him and he looked straight into her eyes while he finished the song, drawing out the last few words, “ And I can’t help falling in love with you.” She knew she had a goofy grin on her face, but it was probably the exact same as the one he wore.
They continued to dance for she didn’t even know how long, gently swaying against each other, relishing in the contact. Eventually she had laid her head back on his shoulder, smelling the spot he had sprayed his cologne, the one he only used for special occasions. In a voice so soft, she wasn’t sure he’d be able to hear, she whispered into his skin “I love you too.” She felt him squeeze her tighter and she swore in that moment they became one.
Flashback to Liz and I at an event she was working at with powerhouses @bubblegoods X @ghettogastro uptown. It was an awesome night so we had to represent @msrprsntd too. Shout to you guys for sending us all those goodies today! #strotherpt #bubblegoods #ghettogastro #msrprsntd #femenist #equality #unity #skateboarding (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHi7Nm7geIt/?igshid=gqz8fum9djcm
