Chapter Text
When she first saw them together, the two agents were walking side by side and clearly deep in animated discussion. The hallway was empty enough that Holly could just barely hear the low, intense murmur of their voices although the words themselves remained indistinct.
Of course she’d heard about them. The FBI was like any other workplace in that it ran primarily on coffee and endless gossip. So Fox Mulder (the brilliant golden-boy-turned-paranoid-nutjob) had already been a recurring topic of discussion. Assigning him a partner had ramped up general curiosity to a whole new level. Even weeks later, the Hoover building still buzzed with jokes, theories, and increasingly wild speculation about what the two of them might be up to.
Up till now, Holly had tried her best to ignore the rumors and leave the outcast agents in peace. She’d felt an initial stab of pity and even camaraderie when she first learned that Agent Scully had been assigned to work on the X Files; it was exactly the kind of career-derailing, dead-end assignment that some old fogeys would shove onto a promising female agent. But with any luck, Dana would get herself reassigned soon. Or Agent Mulder would finally do something crazy enough to get his project shut down for good. Whatever happened, it was none of her business. The most Holly could do was keep her nose out of it.
However, with them suddenly right there in front of her, minding her own business was less of a priority. It wasn’t that the agents were doing anything particularly shocking. But something about their mannerisms suggested people who’d known each other for years, even decades, rather than barely over a month. Perhaps that was what had caught Holly’s attention in the first place – she’d expected a level of a cold professionalism between them or even veiled hostility. Instead…
Pausing by a cabinet, Agent Scully held out a sheaf of papers, pointing to something and gesturing in such a way that she must be explaining it. Agent Mulder leaned over, chin nearly brushing the top of her hair as he glanced over the papers himself. He turned a page, practically folding himself against her back as they looked over the contents together.
Well, Holly thought with a strange sense of relief, at least they’re on speaking terms. Very much so considering neither of them had so much as paused for breath except when the other was talking. And Agent Mulder certainly didn’t seem to be trying to drive her away (not unless his strategy for doing so required him to be practically on top of her).
Holly paused and then quickly glanced down, faking sudden interest in her attendance logs. There. She probably looked reasonably preoccupied. With the folder carefully positioned in front of her face, she raised her head just a bit to sneak another peek. She was not eavesdropping. She was in a public hallway and they just happened to be in her line of sight.
Agent Mulder was now shaking his head but a boyish smile flashed across his face and Holly was momentarily struck with the fact that Agent ‘Spooky’ Mulder was actually quite handsome. She’d seen him before, of course, on his way to chase aliens or who-knows-what. But she’d never seen him smile. Now, he hunched down ever so slightly, his head tilted to meet his partner’s upturned gaze. Agent Scully’s tone was stern and yet a half-smile played at the corner of her lips as well.
Definitely not hostile.
Holly realized belatedly that she’d slowed to a complete stop and hadn’t glanced down at her folder for at least a minute. But the pair were still so involved in their conversation that her poor attempts at stealth were starting to seem completely unnecessary.
Odd to think of them as a joint pair since they certainly didn’t look anything alike. In fact, the differences in height and coloring looked almost staged, as if Agents Mulder and Agent Scully had been designed as a perfect set of opposites – his eyes were sleepy while hers were wide, he loped along while she took several quick steps for every one of his, he was all tan skin and dark-hair while she was alabaster pale and redheaded. But still. It was something in their movements, Holly decided, or their gestures, like planets circling along a complicated orbit pattern, disconcerting and all the stranger for being unintentional. Spooky.
A moment later, his hand slid to the small of her back and she kept pace with his stride as they started back in the direction of Agent Mulder’s office. Or rather their office, Holly concluded with another look at their retreating forms. Whatever the nature of their partnership, it certainly seemed like Agent Scully was there to stay.