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serahsanguine · 5 years

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School, Sex and Subterfuge NC-17

Chapter 8 of?

part one, part Two, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, AO3

tagging @today-in-fic @skullsmuldon @foxystarbucks

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Chapter 8; Christmas Vacation

One Week later: Christmas Vacation.

Scully Residence.

Scully had arrived at her parents’ house a couple of days ago. Missy had come down from Washington, too, after finally securing her flat. Bill was out at sea.

Charlie, Ahab and Maggie went out in search for the best Christmas tree, which left the two sisters discussing what their plans were for the next two weeks. They were both sitting in their bedroom, together on one of the beds.

“We need to get your stuff moved in, Missy.”

“If I actually had anything to move in I would. I sold most of it before taking that trip around the world.”

“Well, whose clever idea was that?” Scully was looking at her sister but her hands were fiddling with the corner of her blanket.

“Mine.”

Scully rolled her eyes but sighing “Ok, whatever. Then we’ll buy some stuff in the January sales. For now, I’m sure mom has a few items you can have.”

“How’s the college boy been treating you?” Missy changed the subject.

Scully chooses to ignore the question and change the subject completely too.

“Are we still going ice skating later tonight?” Her hand was still fighting with the blanket, her eyes locked at the back corner of the room.

“Yes, we are. But, don’t change the subject. How’s your college boy going?”

“It’s fine,” Scully stood up to walk out of the room but her sister caught her wrist. Spinning her on the spot they were face to face.

“Don’t insult me by lying to me. Something’s up, I can feel it.”

“I’m fine.”

“Dana.” Melisa placed her hands on her sister's shoulders gesturing for her to sit back down on the bed. “What happened?”

Scully had no choice but to pour her heart out to her sister. She still left the detail about Mulder being her professor.

About ten minutes had passed and during those minutes Scully managed to go from full heart-wrenching tears to only hiccuping between breaths. And during those futile minutes, she had come to the realisation that her sister was right at thanksgiving and she had indeed fallen in love with him. With his smile, his personality, his looks and definitely the sex. The man was built for that particular sport! When she came to this realization, she also knew it could never be. She had indeed signed a contract to this effect. She knew that as soon as such things as feelings got involved, it would end. She put on a brave face, held her head up high and started getting ready to go ice skating. Leaving Melissa’s questions and protests unanswered. Melissa also knew not to push the subject for now.

Several hours later, Scully was lying on her bed listening to her sister snore. She was physically and mentally exhausted. She should be asleep by then but she just couldn’t. Scully had been thinking about everything that happened in a few short months, and how everything had changed. She could not decide whether this was for the better or not. She sat up and quietly got out of bed fumbling in the dark for her bag, to find her secret stash of cigarettes. She found them with ease and crept down the stairs, tiptoeing each step. She opened the back door trying not to wake anyone up, praying it would not creek.

Scully was finally outside, the air brisk and quite chilly. I should’ve brought a coat, she soon thought, but she didn’t really care enough to get back inside. She leaned her back against the wooden pillar of the outside porch. She opened her pack of cigarettes taking the middle one and placing it the other way round putting it back in the box. Then she grabbed another one and placed it in her mouth. Fishing the lighter out of her pocket, she breathed in a deep lung full of smoke. She placed the lighter beside her and looked up at the stars. Scully could spot all the constellations which was surprising for how much light pollution there was from the city. She let out a puff full of smoke, watching it disappear into the air, mixing with the dark, and the cold. Her body started slowly relaxing.

Her mind focussed on the stars and she remembered when Ahab taught her everything about the stars.

Dana was about five, sitting outside, wrapped up in the thickest blanket that her dad could find. It was Christmas Eve and he had surprised her. He wasn’t meant to be coming back that night. But, she had a nightmare, a really scary one, and wandered downstairs to find her mom. And there he was, too, sitting in the living room. He hugged her fiercely. Ahab asked her what was the matter. When she told him, that's when he found a blanket and told her to sit outside. He soon made hot chocolate for them both and sat beside her.

“Look up at the sky, Starbuck. Tell me what you see.”

Dana looked up, staring at the night with its blacks and greys swirling, mixing, colliding.

“I don’t see anything, Daddy.”

“Of course you do, Starbuck. Look really hard.”

She strained her eyes, looking really hard like her daddy told her to.

“I still don’t see anything.” She placed her empty hot chocolate mug down and wrapped her arms around her chest, angry that she could not see anything.

“You can see the stars.”

Her mom appeared and gave them another blanket, also giving her dad a kiss on the cheek, which made her giggle. Her mom left and she watched her dad as he placed a blanket on the ground gesturing for her to lie down on it with him. And she did so, cuddling into her dad’s chest with a blanket around her, both of them looking upon the stars.

Ahab pointed to Aries, Cetus, Eridanus, Perseus... to which little Dana could not see. But then Ahab pointed to the easier constellations like Fornax, Horologium, Hydrus Triangulum... Little Dana always thought there was magic in the stars and looking beyond that into space.

Scully took the last drag of her cigarette smiling at the memory.

“Those things will kill you.”

“Shit, Missy, what the hell?” Scully jumped, startled by her sneaky sister.

Missy sat by her, laughing quietly.

“What are you doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” She stubbed her cigarette out before bending in and putting it in her pocket for the bin.

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“No, I’m ok. Let's go back in. I’m cold and finally ready for sleep”

Christmas Day

Scully was tired and exhausted. That was certainly one tradition she did not like, especially after not sleeping very well. Maggie took everyone to midnight mass, which had ended a couple of minutes ago. Scully couldn’t wait to crawl back into bed and sleep. She felt like a zombie and Missy kept teasing her that she looked like one.

The previous day was spent with the whole Scully clan at the local homeless shelter. She always loved the atmosphere. It was always a positive outlook on life, no matter how bad your living situation was. She helped with the younger ones, playing and singing with them. She later helped out with serving everyone soup and Christmas pudding and cake.

They finally arrived home. Luckily, it was only a short walk. She went straight upstairs and as soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep, oblivious to the world.

6 hours later;

Scully woke up in Melisa’s bed, the aroma of Christmas dinner floating in the air. They had not shared a bed since they were little, but there were both far too tired to care the previous night. She sat up slightly, trying not to wake her sleeping sister. She looked at the alarm clock which sat in between the two beds. She groaned inwardly when the clock read 8 AM. The only good thing about getting up early without her sister or brother being awake was she could get a shower and then have a good look at her presents first. So, without any noise, she moved to get some clothes and take a shower.

30 minutes later,

Scully walked into the dining room, and sat down. She was not surprised at the full breakfast spread that was laid out. Her mom never ceased to amaze her, even know. She always likes having the family to dinner. There were croissants and pancakes, fruit, two different types of toast...

“Hi, Starbuck.”

“Hi, Ahab.” She smiled at her father, glad that she could spend some time with him.

“Hope you’re hungry. Your mom seems to be thinking she's feeding the five thousand, again.”

Scully nodded and slightly laughed. Once the table was prepared, her brother and sister appeared, sleep ridden at the table. Maggie finally sat down to join everyone at the table after some persuading from Ahab. Everyone started tucking into the food in front of them and she was in the middle of taking a bite of pancake.

“It’s a shame Bill isn’t here,” Maggie said sympathetically.

“Yeah... a damn shame, isn't it mom?” Missy replied sarcastically.

Scully choked on her pancake as she bit down a laugh. Missy was right, she loved her brother, but in all honesty, he is an ass and that is never going to change. It was nice not to have him here.

The conversation carried on, changing the subject several times. The food was eaten and the dishes were washed. Soon, everyone was sitting in the living room. It was beautifully decorated with lights. Different coloured tinsel, a modest tree decorated with precision, thought and symmetry. Maggie and Ahab were sitting on the two-seater sofa, Charlie was next to the fireplace, and Missy and her were sitting side by side on the floor, opposite everyone.

Gifts were exchanged then. Scully got some book which she had been after for a little while now but never had the chance to get. Also, some scarves and other bits and bobs. However, the most precious one that was received was the gold bracelet with the words ‘Look upon the stars and you shall see the world, Starbuck.’. It was the most beautiful thing she had seen and she would treasure it forever.

The rest of the day was spent helping to prepare for the Christmas feast which went off without a hitch. Everyone was full to the brim. There was no room left for dessert and there were plenty of leftovers for the next few days.

All in all, it was a peaceful day spent with family, enjoying each other's company.

*****************************************************

Aspen Ski Resort.

Sam had surprised Mulder by packing his bags and taking him to Aspen Ski Resort. They were meant to be spending the days in California but she wanted to do something nice for him. They had just gotten back from Snowmass, Aspen's largest and most popular ski area, comprising 3,332 acres of skiable terrain. They were both exhausted. They order a hot meal from the resort’s restaurant that should be there within the hour.

They were sitting in the living room both on a chair in front of the open fire. Mulder even though he was on vacation. He was planning the next semester's workload and Sam was reading a book about local painting which they had brought from the museum earlier that week.

He finally finished what he was doing and looked over at her sister. She looked so calm and collected and he certainly enjoyed his ‘little’ surprise. Tomorrow was Christmas, which for this family was a horrible time in past years. Their mom had died when he was twelve and Sam was eight, and a few years later, also on Christmas, their father got arrested for a beating so bad that he was hospitalized several times. From then on they had gone to live with their aunt Becka. She was a lovely woman who helped both him and Sam a lot. Every Christmas they circled a different ski resort. Even while he was in Oxford they still kept the tradition.

“Sam? I don’t think you put sunscreen on. You’re a little red.”

She took her eyes from what she was reading and looked at him.

“I applied plenty, thank you.”

“Maybe you should go look in the mirror,” he said in a teasing tone.

She huffed and the movement of getting up. He knew her legs would certainly be protesting of so much strain after skiing and boarding. He watched her walk over to the mirror with her cotton pyjamas on and her hair in braids. She inspected herself, turning her face side to side before speaking.

“I am not sunburnt, told you!”

Just as she had said so, the bell for the front door had gone off, announcing the arrival of their food.

“Sometimes, Fox, you have a damn right spooky intuition,” she laughed as she went to pay and collect their food.

He went into the kitchen to go find some plates and cutlery.

“What drink do you want, Sam?” he shouted through the cabin.

“Diet Coke will be fine, thanks,” she shouted back.

He walked back into the living room carrying everything they needed. Sam was knelt down at the table with the food in front of her.

“Some help would be nice,” he said sarcastically.

“What do you mean? I did help. I got the food which was your whole plan of telling me I had sunburnt.”

“Humm… if you say so—.”

Sam helped serve out the food between them. It was one of the tastiest beef, vegetable stew they had ever tasted. They both polished the plates and even left a little room for cheesecake for dessert.

After dessert was eaten, Sam picked everything up, and said her goodnights. Picking up her book, she headed upstairs to bed. Mulder stood up watching some old Twilight episode that was on tv. An hour or two passed when he started with his secret preparations hoping his sister was well and truly asleep. He got the decorations out of the cupboard under the stairs. With the tinsel and lights and wall decorations hung, he still needed to retrieve the tree, decorate it and place the presents underneath it.

Mulder got the tree off the hiding places and realised he should have either moved it sooner or with help because it was a lot heavier then he realised as he shuffled it across two floors trying not to scrape it or walk into anything when dragging it. About thirty minutes of sweating he finally managed to put the tree where he wanted it. He decorated it with candy canes, barbells, Christmas beads... He even managed to place a star on top.

He finally crawled into bed after lighting the fire in his room. It was about four o’clock in the morning. His head hit the pillow and he closed his eyes. Within seconds, he was gone into the land of slumber.

Christmas Day;

Mulder woke up and shivered, the fire had gone out a little over an hour ago and there was a certain chill to the air. He needed to get up and start on breakfast before heading out to the restaurant where he had booked a reservation for Christmas dinner. He grabbed a quick shower and crept downstairs.

He was going to mix Sam's favourite chocolate chip pancakes. He mixed the butter and poured them into the pan. Not long after the first two were good his sister wandered down and stopped in the second to last step. The look of amazement and pure joy is written on her face was all he needed. It made it all worth it for that one look. He smiled and turned back around and carried on cooking pancakes.

He heard her walk towards him and sit down at the kitchen island.

“How? When? Why?”

He turned around with a smirk. Placing the hot pancakes on a plate in front of her, then placing some on a plate for himself, he turned off the hob and placed the pan on the rack to cool down. Sitting opposite her, he spoke to answer her questions.

“The lovely lady who owns these little cabins wanted to help out. I asked her a couple of days ago, and she thought it was sweet that I wanted to decorate it as a surprise for my little sister. She said yes and placed all the decorations in the large hidden cupboard under the stairs. And, to answer the last one… because even though you’re a pain in my butt, I love you. Plus aunt Becka in all her old wisdom made me promise to keep up the tradition of a decorated tree on Christmas day.”

“Thank you.”

She bit into her pancake and a sound of satisfaction filled the room.

With breakfast eaten, presents were opened. Sam got loads of art supplies, a couple of books and some socks. It was time to open some of his. He got Terry Pratchett's new book, the first edition of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He had no idea how Sam managed to get it but she did. He opened the last present and was a little in shock.

“What is this?"

“Well, big brother, it is pretty self-explanatory, ” she laughed.

“These are two tickets for a getaway for two, place of my choice.” He looked at her like she was an alien eating children. He was a little shocked and surprised.

“But I have no one to go with,” he pouted.

“What about that girl you’re not in love with? ” she replied, sarcastically.

“I wasn’t in love with her and we're not seeing each other anymore.”

“Your loss then,” she shrugged. She kept looking at him for a couple of minutes. "I still think you should get you head out of your ass and tell her how you feel before she swoops away with a nice college boy. ”

“Sam.”

“Yes?"

“It’s Christmas. ”

“And you're avoiding.”

He went to answer her back but decided no to. After all, she was right. He shrugged his shoulders and changed the subject.

“We should start getting ready or we’re going to be late for our reservations.”

Later that evening.

Sam had gone to sleep and Mulder sat on the small balcony overlooking the lodge and charming village below, with its variety of shops and restaurants. From their cabin, he could see roughly half of the trails there. The grey sky was mixing with the white of the snow, illuminating as far as the eye could see in a luminescent green, almost like an aura for buildings. The place was so tranquil and quiet, he could have easily fallen asleep looking upon this view if it wasn’t so damn cold. Maybe he would come back in the summer.

As he stared into the evening sun his thoughts drifted to Scully. Maybe, one day soon, he could share a cabin with her, quite possibly this exact one. And, together, they could oversee the town in all its beauty under the summer sunset.

But first, he needed to take his sister's advice, pull his head out of his ass, and apologise to her. Would she even accept the apology? Would she even want to talk to him? If she did want to talk to him, would she want him back?

Sam was right, he was an idiot and he had maybe just lost the best thing he was ever going to have in this life. One thing was for sure: even if she wanted nothing more to do with him, whether it was misplaced jealousy or not, he definitely needed to tell her that Daniel Whatever-his-name was a creep. He had tried to sleep with her when she was drunk and, if he was a betting man, he would even put money on it not being the first time he had tried to get into her pants. He was losing track of thoughts now. He should really head to bed, lots of snowboarding and sledding to be done tomorrow.

******************************

2 weeks later.

Scully had an exceptional Christmas Vacation filled with love, joy and surprises all around. Mellissa tried to bring the subject of the mysterious man who Scully had fallen out with at least three more times over the two weeks. Every single time she was shut down.

Just before coming back to college, Scully received an email from Mulder asking her to meet up with him on the second Friday that they were back to school. She hadn’t replied back and she also didn't know if she was going to attend that meeting.

Mulder tried not to think about Scully again. But, each night he ended up alone, he kept thinking about her, more and more each night. He finally decided to extend an olive branch by sending the email, leaving the ball in her court. What she chose to do with that was completely up to her. One of two things were going to happen: she could either hurt him or forgive him.

Scully and Serah had a lengthy talk about what happened that last night they were together. Serah apologised profusely about her actions and promised never to do it again. They were now sat in the dorm room debating what Scully was going to do about Mulder.

Serah was pacing the room, it helped her think.

“You should at least reply, Dana. ”

“Why?”

“You’re miserable without him. ”

“I am not.” Scully threw her hands against the bed in defence.

“Don’t lie to me. It’s not beckoning on you. ”

“Give me an example of when I have been missing him,” she dared her friend.

“For starters, when you're in the gym and you see him, all sweaty and tuned up. It turns you on. You come back with a certain glow, a certain look and a certain body movement.”

“I do not!”

“Ahh, ahh. No speaking until Serah has unloaded all her wisdom. ”

“A—.”

“Shh! Anyway, also, when we're in his class you can’t help but check him out and get all dreamy-eyed and start daydreaming about it. And, third: I am not putting up with a horny, sad, depressed Dana Katherine Scully any more.”

Serah looked at her and Scully raised her eyebrow in scepticism.

“And, before you say anything… Yes, you are all those three.”

“Hum—.”

“I’m not finished yet. You were happy with him. Yes, he was a jerk towards you and you both said things you may regret. But he's extending an olive branch. ”

“Yes, I suppose so. ”

“You never know, he might even apologize and say he loves you. ”

“Like that’s ever gonna happen.” Scully laughed it off.

Later that day she sent Mulder an email.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Meeting.

Dear Mulder.

I would like to accept your invitation to meet. I just need a place to do so.

Yours faithfully,

Dana Scully

It did not take long for a reply.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Re: Meeting.

Dear Scully,

Thank you for accepting my invitation to meet. As we already have a date set of the 27th I thought we could meet at a place of your choice.

Yours faithfully,

Fox Mulder.

It took her a few hours to reply. She didn’t know whether she wanted to meet in his office or somewhere public like their little restaurant. She finally made the decision and messaged him back.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Meeting.

Dear Mulder,

Your office on the 27th at 8 o'clock. I will meet you there.

Yours Faithfully,

Scully.

No less than five minutes later she received an email which was short in nature and only one word which said 'Agreed'. That one made her smile for the rest of the day.

1 week later;

Friday, 27th January

They were both apprehensive about today's meeting. Scully couldn't focus on her lectures.

On the flip side, Mulder couldn't focus on teaching his lectures either. 7.30 PM and he was pacing his office back and forth. He couldn't still his anxiety and the waiting was unbearable. The ticking of the clock was filling the silence of the room.

Scully was feeling anxious. She didn’t know what he was going to say, she didn’t know how she would respond. She couldn’t sit idle for long so she made her way to his office. Before she knocked she was standing outside his door. Her palms were hot and clammy, her body slightly shaking, her heart rate fast and uneven. She finally knocked on the office door. It wasn’t a loud knock but it wasn’t a timid knock either. She took a deep breath in and he opened the door.

He heard a knock and knew it was her, he was so god damn nervous. He walked over to the door and opened it. There she was, in front of him, in jeans and a t-shirt with Stranger Things written on the front. He smiled knowing how much she liked the program. He moved to allow her to walk in. He closed the door behind him, locking it before sitting in front of her at his desk.

God, she had missed him in his tight t-shirts and hanging low dark jeans. She was sitting in front of him trying to act calm when she was anything but. She had butterflies in her stomach like the first time they had met. His normal hazel eyes were an emerald green. Ok, maybe looking in his eyes is a bad idea. She chose instead to focus on the picture of him and his sister.

There was silence for several minutes, all that could be heard was the ticking clock, the breaths and occasionally the water cooler. Until he spoke.

“I’m sorry, ” he looked at her with pleading eyes. “I didn’t mean to do what I did, or hurt you like that. ”

“You mean use me?” she said calmly.

“Yes. I’m sorry. I just wanted to clear a few things up before we go our separate ways if that's what you wish.”

“Ok, I’m listening. ”

“Your grades won't be affected. If your work is an A-plus, which it normally is, you will be awarded such. Even if the contract does not stand. I will not purposely fail you so I can see you.” He put on his clean teacher's voice, strong, stern but warm and kind.

“Thank you.”

“The night you were drunk and rang me, that kid Daniel tried sleeping with you and nearly succeeded. I thought I should warn you before he tried again and you get hurt,” he said more softly.

“I can look after myself,” she said defensively and slightly more cold and clipped than she had intended.

This is not going well, he started squirming in his chair. Damn, why is it so hard? I’m just going to tell her.

“If you choose to accept my apology... I would love to start again and take you on a real date. ”

“I…” that was the last thing she expected him to say, she was in shock and lost for words.

She had missed what he said next but the clean “I Love You” cleared through all the fog of her mind and started ringing in her ears. She needed to go, she couldn’t handle this. He just said the words she never expected. She stood up and slammed the door behind her.

Leaving a confused Mulder in her wake.

#txf fanfic #txf #AU fanfiction #college au #mulder and scully #Fox Mulder #Dana Scully #The X Files Fanfic #The X-Files

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