#also mulder you are officially in the splash zone of flirty drunk constantine enjoy

[talentforlying]

' HA. gonna tell me what number i'm thinkin' of next? '

the bright, buzzing double-shot of alcohol and curiosity drains out of his eyes like the tide retreating from shore, taking all trace of emotion with it. shouldn't have asked. should've started chugging from the flask the second mulder showed up. better worse decisions to make while drunk than tangoing on the edge of the void that is newcastle, that is hearing about gemma going missing over the radio. fuck fucking fuck.

' starfleet's startin' their red shirts younger and younger these days, enney? ' mild and unfunny is easy to do in a pinch, and good for covering underlying brittleness. he's already pushing himself up from the grass, staggering as the comfortable buzz that had been floating securely behind his eyes sinks through his limbs like a stone and leaves a hazy static shivering into the corners of his vision. hot sun and a healthy dose of sipsmith vjop, hell of a way to punch your ticket.

thankfully, there's faithful old orcus to catch himself on. besides it's far from his first day-drinking rodeo; maybe his first day-drinking state fair, though. he flashes mulder an OK sign to instill a little confidence and clears his throat, trying not to look like he's itching on the inside. ' well then! you're the one holdin' all the official details, like, so where are we startin', hey? any personal items left behind, places they might've been together? g'wed, give us a peek at that big FBI brain'o yours. '

Was Constantine actually interested? Huh. That comes as a surprise to the agent, and it's evident in the way his brow lift.

"No guys playing flutes if that's your next question." Mulder clears his throat a little, the alcohol hitting his stomach a little more harshly than he had first anticipated. Must have been that corn dog he and Scully shared while putzing around, "The most we can gather is that it's been primarily children. Mostly girls from the ages of 11-13. We have our suspicions of foul play, but I'm holding out hope that these girls will be able to be found."

Mulder is hiding the fact that this case in particular hits pretty close to him. The two of them hadn't been exactly on trauma sharing terms as of yet, but who knows, maybe with a few more drinks there could be an opportunity to pour his heart out.

Jesus, this really is like how it was with Phoebe. He wondered just how far Mark Twain's grave was.