***DISCLAIMER***: All "X-Files" elements and references in this story belong to Fox Broadcasting, Chris Carter, and 1013 Productions, and I am making no money from it. ========== Mixed Drinks: Rum and Coke by shannono shannono@iname.com Vignette, Mulder first person, Mulder/Scully UST Rated PG Spoilers (minor) through "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" Summary: Alone on New Year's Eve. Author's notes: Unedited, so any mistakes and/or confusion are all my fault. What can I say; I'm being lazy. ========== Mixed Drinks: Rum and Coke by shannono Ahhhh, the perfect New Year's Eve. A bag of chips and a huge cup of dip, rum and Coke in a Marvin the Martian glass, and Dick Clark on the TV with several hundred thousand screaming crazies in the street below him. Who needs a party? And just who am I trying to kid? I was sure, so sure, after Christmas morning that there'd be no way I'd have to spend tonight alone. I mean, Christmas has never really been my holiday, for several reasons, but *everyone* celebrates New Year's. So, I figured I'd kind of casually mention the idea of a two-person party in my living room, as if I knew before I said a word that she'd accept. No such luck. Oh, sorry, Mulder, she said ... but she'd already promised her mom she'd go to some neighborhood bash, to make up for being late to Christmas Day "roll call." Apparently her mom didn't want to go herself but couldn't get out of it, so she figured Scully's attendance would be punishment enought. She tried to invite me along, but I cracked a grin and made some comment about being allergic to noisemakers and party hats. She let me off the hook with a smile. So I'm alone with ol' Eternal Youth Dick and my one scheduled annual foray into alcohol consumption. Yeah, I usually end up diving face-first into a bottle at least one other time a year, but this is the only one I actually plan ahead of time. It's always rum and Coke, for some reason I've conveniently let slip through my normally solid-as-a-rock memory. Bacardi Dark and *real* Coke; no off-brands or Pepsi for me. I have a couple with whatever snack foods strike my fancy, watch the Times Square pandemonium until a few minutes after midnight, and then roll over and try to keep my annual resolution to get more sleep this year. But I thought this New Year's would be different. This time, I'd have someone to share the rum and the chips with; someone to laugh at the New York insanity with; someone to give, if not a kiss, then at least a peck on the cheek at midnight. Someone to either call a cab for -- an impossible task at 12:30ish a.m. on January 1 -- or to give up my sofa to for the rest of the night. Of course, this year, I also have a real *bed* to offer. And if we got a little carried away after a few drinks and ended up on the bed together ... Well, best not to go there now, since none of it's gonna happen. I'm gonna sit here and drown my sorrows right into 1999 ... Or not. Who's that a-knockin' on my door? ==========END==========