One Strainer, One Pot, And One Beer

"That's it?"

They're both looking at me. Alex has learned the Scully look, dammit, and they're both trying to shame me with their eyebrows. They can't break me.

"What do you mean?" I ask. All I did was put my "Mulder's Kitchen Things" box down beside their kitchen boxes. We haven't even gotten all moved in together yet and they're already wife-ing me.

"Mulder," Scully says haughtily. "It's a shoe box."

"Yeah. So."

"Where's the rest?" Alex asks, incredulous.

"The rest of what? Look," I say opening my box of kitchenware. "Spoons, forks, a knife, a spatula..." I take them all out as I list them off. I look up at them from where I'm kneeling. Their hands are on their hips. "What??"

"You're pathetic," Alex says, rolling his eyes. He puts his hand on Scully's low back and addresses her. "I'm going back out to the truck."

Scully gives him a small, tired smile then turns her gaze back on me. I stand up, hands full of utensils.

"Mulder, how did you *live* before now?" she asks.

I put my hands on my hips, too, spoons and all, playing her game. "I did just fine, thank you very much. What's your point?"

"My point, Mulder, is you have one knife. One. And where are your pans? Your cookie sheets? Your...your..." She gestures with a superior hand in the air. "Your strainer, for Pete's sake!"

"I have a strainer!" I yell at her.

"Where?"

"I think it's, uh..." I scratch my head with a handful of forks. "Maybe in with the videos."

"Oh, brother," she sighs as she rolls her eyes. "Mulder, what are we going to do with you?"

I drop my hoard to the floor with a loud clatter and grab her up quick with a hand behind her back, pulling her to me. I kiss her hard. I kiss her with tongue. I steal her breath.

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Scully," I say low when I release her.

"I...I'm..." she gasps. Who needs a strainer now, partner?

"I'm going to help Alex with the mattress," I inform her.

"Okay," she sighs in her high, I'm-kinda-horny-now voice.

"Wanna take a break for a beer, soon, hun?" I ask.

"Sure," she sighs again.

I smile. That's all we need, I think. A mattress, a beer, a hot kiss. Each other. I walk out the door and into the sunlight. Alex sees me and smiles. I smile back. It's so enough.