C is for Cake

His birthday was always a quiet endeavor. When he was younger his parents would have a party or a family day together, but as he grew older the day became less and less of a celebration for him. When he started the X-Files, he spent his birthday either drinking at the bar or watching horror movies at home. He told Dana this the first time his birthday came around and she was with him. She had just nodded and listened carefully so he assumed that was that. He should have known better.

That first birthday he received at least four different cards from agents that he was on friendly terms with, all stating that they had no idea that it was his birthday otherwise they would have gotten him something the year before and the year before that. He even got a friendly smile and pat on the back from Skinner and a free coffee from the coffee shop down the street from his apartment. He had sat, utterly confused yet surprisingly happy, when Dana walked in with a coffee of her own and her purse in hand. She smiled when she saw the cards piled on his desk.

"I already got beat to the punch with a happy birthday, didn't I?" she had laughed.

"I guess," he muttered. "I just wonder why this year was suddenly different."

Looking back, he remembered her small smile and bright eyes as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small square wrapped in wrapping paper and topped with a signature Dana Scully bow and card. He shook his head at her as she slid it across his desk.

"I told you no presents," he had chastised. But he knew he was smiling when he said it.

"I know," she sighed. "But everyone deserves some love on their birthday."

"You planned all of this, didn't you?" he asked as he took the gift from her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You talked to all those people?" he chuckled. "Even the nice barista?"

"She did give you an extra biscuit, too, right?" She asked as she sat across from him.

Mulder shook his head. "You sneaky woman."

He still had the UFO shaped pencil holder, to this day one of his favorite gifts he'd ever received, sitting on his desk. Every birthday after that he knew that at least he was going to be showered upon by his partner, whether it be with free coffee, a small gift or a sweet card that he would then add to the bottom drawer in his desk where he kept everything that held some sentimental significance to him.

He was expecting the same for his next birthday in a few short days, so he was surprised when he arrived home to find his apartment dark save for some candles lit on the kitchen table and the sweet smell of pasta and chicken coming from the kitchen. The soft sound of instrumental music filled his ears as he rounded the corner to find a dancing Scully in his kitchen.

"I thought you'd be sleeping," he laughed, coming up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. "You've had a long week."

"I figured since we were going to be out of town for that case on Friday, that we'd celebrate tonight instead," she answered, dipping her spoon in her alfredo sauce and tasting it.

"Celebrating what?" he asked, distracted by the sway of her hips against him and the feeling of her back moving up and down with her breaths.

"Your birthday, silly," she giggled, turning slightly to tap him on the nose with her now clean spoon.

"Hmm, my birthday is this week? Don't remind me, that just means I'm getting older."

"Aren't we all?" She laughed, spinning around to face him. "This is the first birthday that we've spent…together, you know? I want to make it special."

"You already have," Mulder whispered, nuzzling her nose with his. "Just by being here."

"I've always been here, Mulder," she reminded him, lifting her face slightly to bring her lips to his.

"Not like this," he murmured against her quickly gripping her waist to keep her close.

"True," she agreed, leaning into him and trailing soft and slow kisses against his jaw. "You know, we could just skip dinner…"

"Na uh. You've put all this effort in and now I'm super hungry," he laughed, reaching behind her and plucking a piece of chicken from her pan and throwing it in his mouth.

"Hey! That's for the pasta you stinker," she giggled and turned around again to finish her cooking. He kissed her quickly on the neck as an apology and reached into his cupboard for plates.

"I don't remember the last time I've used these," he muttered, wiping off the small film of dust that accumulated on them.

"What, you just eat out of to-go containers?" she asked, dumping the chicken into the sauce before draining the pasta in the sink.

"Something like that," he chuckled. They worked like a well-oiled machine, plopping pasta onto plates and coating them with chicken and sauce before adding the small sides of vegetables that she had already finished and put into other bowls.

"Thank you," he murmured as he bent to kiss her on the cheek.

"You're always welcome," she smiled. Placing her plate on the table, she reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine.

"I wondered when the alcohol wound come in," Mulder said and quickly grabbed his wine glasses.

"These don't seem to have any dust on them," Scully teased, pretending to give them an extensive look over as she popped the cork.

"They've gotten extensive use since you've started coming around here," he responded, taking the bottle from her and pouring two generous glasses.

"You bet your ass they have," she giggled as she took the glass nearest her and sauntered over to the table. Mulder watched hungrily as her hips swayed from side to side.

"I'll bet my ass any day if it means I get to watch yours walk away from me," Mulder said gruffly as he took a sip of the wine.

She glanced behind her at him with her eyebrow sky high. "Too late, mister. You wanted dinner first."

"And then dessert?" he offered.

"And then multiple kinds of dessert."

His ears perked at her choice of words as he sat across from her. Their dinner was full of laughter and good conversation. They may have dropped some noodles and chicken on the table as a result of a decent amount of wine and trying to feed each other with their forks. Almost too soon, their bellies were full and the clock ticked to ten o'clock.

"Oh, I've got to get the dessert," Dana exclaimed after seeing the time and grabbed their empty plates to bring them to the sink.

"Wait, you meant a literal dessert?" Mulder inquired, swishing the last of his wine back before standing to follow her. He stood at the sink to wash out their glasses as she fiddled in his fridge.

"Of course I did. I realized that over the past couple birthdays I had given you cards, gifts, coffee, etc. But…I'd never given you a cake."

Hearing her words, Mulder turned to find her standing in the middle of his kitchen, holding a small circular chocolate cake with the words Happy Birthday, Spooky written on the top in white icing. Two small candles topped it and she must have quickly lit them when he wasn't looking. In the darkness, the light flickered against her face and made it look as if she were glowing. She shuffled a bit, looking down.

"I made it myself. Now…I'm not a great baker, but I got my mom's chocolate cake recipe and was careful to make it just like she would."

With a probable permanent grin, Mulder took the two small steps to reach her and ran his hands against the bottom of her arms to her elbows.

"You did a great job, babe," he whispered. They never really used nicknames or terms of endearment towards each other, especially in public, but the occasional one slipped out from either of them and it suddenly catapulted them to remembering that they really had taken the next step. The flame from the candles flickered against their faces as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead, careful not to send the cake tumbling from her hands. He felt her take a deep breath and then was shocked when he heard her voice…singing.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Mulder, happy birthday to you," she sang quietly. She hated singing, he knew that from experience. He had made her sing to him in the woods that night as he laid curled up in her lap. Yet even if she claimed that she couldn't hold a tune to save her life, he relished every moment he was able to hear her voice sing. He gave her a large smile, letting her know that he loved every moment of it. She gave him a small smile in return.

"You've got to make a wish." She whispered, holding the cake up slightly.

Mulder stared at her lovingly. "What if I've already got everything I want?"

"There's always something you want but don't have, Mulder."

He pretended to think about it for a moment but in reality he knew what he wanted. Leaning down, he closed his eyes and blew out the candles.

Now in the dark, she gave him a quick kiss before placing the cake on the table and grabbing a knife.

"How big of a piece do you want?" she asked as she licked a bit of frosting that had somehow made it's way onto her finger.

"Don't care," he responded, wrapping his arms around her again while spreading kisses up and down her neck. "All I want to do is take the cake and you to bed."

"Cake in bed?" she mewled, slicing easily through the cake. "I like the idea."

She quickly plated two pieces before putting the rest in the fridge. Grabbing her hand and a plate he pulled her gently toward his bedroom. He never really planned on telling her what he wished for. He never planned to tell her that he wished for his bedroom to be their bedroom. That he wished that his or her apartment would be their apartment. That he would wake up every morning to a head full of red hair and a soft body. That the vows that they had made so many times to each other already would be verified and heard loud and clear by their family and friends. That his last name would become hers.

He didn't plan on telling her.

At least, not yet.

A little shorter but I really liked this one! It was a lot of fun to write! I churned it out while sitting in the living room of the family I babysit for so I had a decent amount of time to get it all in, lol. As always, please read, review and enjoy! – ImpulsiveWriter321