#seminars

“Hmm,” she hummed, placing the items into her attache. “Not sure I believe that.”

“I’m also starving.”

“I offered you that muffin this morning,” she reminded him, raising her eyebrows.

“The sugar-free bran one? I’ll repeat what I said earlier, no thanks,” he said with a scoff.

“Well, if you’d had it…” she said, walking from their seats and towards the door. “…you wouldn’t be starving now.”

“I disagree. I can’t imagine that muffin held any nutritional value.”

“I’m not starving,” she stated, filing behind the other agents as they walked down the hall.

“But were you fulfilled by it? Be honest.”

“It was…” she began and then stopped. He turned his head, raised his eyebrows, and grinned at her.

“Go on,” he said, motioning with his hand for her to proceed.

“I’ve had better muffins,” she admitted. “But, it’s not always about what tastes best, but what will fuel you for that moment.”

“That is such bullshit,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s not.”

“Scully,” he said, gently pressing her shoulder with two fingers to stop her from walking. “What’s the point of eating a meal if you aren’t enjoying it?”

“Mulder,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve seen you eat expired yogurt and handfuls of old, stale peanuts… which was incredibly disgusting. I hardly think a bran muffin compares to either of those.”

“A sugar-free bran muffin,” he said pointedly, with a tilt of his head.

“That’s worse than stale peanuts?”

“It would have been,” he said as she rolled her eyes and then licked her lips. He smiled and she shook her head.

“Excuse me,” someone said, and he stepped back, allowing a group of fellow agents to walk between them.

“Come on,” Scully said, tilting her head toward the end of the hall. “I’m assuming lunch is being served down there, although I know you were hoping for a portal.”

“Because anywhere is better than here,” he grumbled.

“Mulder…”

“I know.”

“There was no way out of it,” she said.

“I know,” he said again. “And I’m here, am I not?”

“You are. And in such good spirits about it,” she teased.

“How anyone could be in good spirits at these seminars, I don’t understand,” he said, watching people talking and laughing as they milled around.

“At least there aren’t any team building activities.”

“Scully… don’t even joke about that,” he said, his voice dropping an octave. She snorted out a laugh, covering her mouth quickly as he shook his head and closed his eyes briefly.

“If I’d known it was that kind of seminar, I would have gotten us out of it,” she assured him, resuming their walk down the hall.

“Ohhhh, what would you have said?” he asked, falling in step beside her.

“I wouldn’t mention hemorrhoids, that’s for sure,” she said and he chuckled, their eyes meeting in a side glance.

“So instead you’d say…?”

“I would have gone to Skinner and said, A.D. Skinner, I know that we missed the last seminar-”

“But solved a case-”

“Which we had not technically been a part of-”

“But in which our expertise came in extremely helpful-”

“Though they had not been asked of us and-”

“Without us,” Mulder said, stopping just inside the doorway of the large room in which lunch was being served, and looking at her. “They probably never would have found any of those people. They would have died out there in that forest.”

Scully drew in a deep breath, holding his gaze, as she made a decision whether to continue the discussion they’d had many times over the past year. He tilted his head, waiting for her response.

“They may not have been found,” she agreed and he nodded, smiling slowly.

“But…?” he questioned, aware of what her next words usually were.

“But,” she said, “it’s brought us here, for this seminar. Buuut… I had really wanted to win that team challenge. You cost me that accolade and I still haven’t forgiven you.” She raised her eyebrows, keeping her face neutral even though she wanted to laugh as she watched him processing her words.

“Wh… you…” he stumbled.

“I could have had a golden stapler. Or been the first one to solve a giant puzzle. You stole that from me.”

“You…” He frowned and then she could no longer hold back her laughter. “Oh.”

“Mulder,” she said, squeezing his upper arm and shaking her head. “You need to eat. That shouldn’t have taken you so long.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, huffing out a breath.

“Come on, let’s find a table and then grab some food.”

She stepped ahead of him, still laughing quietly.

“Teasing a man who hasn’t eaten since last night,” he said, his hand landing on the small of her back, his fingers pressing gently. “That’s not exactly kind.”

“Food was offered. It was refused. Therefore, teasing is not unkind.”

“Hmm,” he hummed and she smiled.

“Glad we’ve come to the same conclusion,” she said. “Maybe next time you’ll make a better decision?”

“Maybe next time you will as well, and say yes to the delicious sugar filled option.”

“You never know, but I might do that. I do like to keep you on your toes.”

“Oh, Scully,” he said, as she set her attache down at a two seater table. “Of that, you don’t ever have to worry. I’m practically a ballerina at this point.”