Disclaimer: I do not own The X-Files.

Mulder and Scully were out once again.

Were they ever not out on a case in the middle of some small town chasing down what Mulder would deem a mystery and Scully would explain with scientific backing?

There wasn't much of a difference in this case from their other low-risk ones: Suspect seems to be responsible for Crime and yet the How is Unexplained. And just like with almost any other case they had just caught Suspect and were tying up loose ends at the local police station. As Mulder described the probability of Suspect using light as a means of survival much like a plant Scully went over to pour herself a cup of mediocre coffee, rolling her eyes.

Mulder arrived as she was stirring in a packet of sugar, "Why do I get the sense this is going to be another case where we disagree on what happened?" he asked smiling crookedly.

Scully smirked and replied after sipping from the steaming cup, "I don't know what you're talking about Mulder. Jolly Green Giants will probably be the next big scientific discovery."

He laughed lightly, arranging his own coffee, "At least we can get back to the city. I always feel a little too…trapped in these small towns."

"Really? So no small farm with a little missus in your future?" she quipped.

"As much chance of that as you settling down with Frohike and joining the Lone Gunmen' crusades," he replied, "Come on let's get back to the motel. If we hurry we can get the next flight back home in time for the game," Mulder placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her out to their car. Scully couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought.

Scully kicked the door to her apartment closed behind her. She resisted the urge to drop her bag and throw herself on the sofa – knowing she would have even less energy to do laundry later.

She sighed as she slipped off her working heels and made her to the washer, dumping everything in one load except for what had to be dry-cleaned. Turning the knob, she entered her bedroom to grab a change of clothes to shower and unbuttoned her top as she went along.

Just as she was about to enter the bathroom the phone started to ring.

"Hello?" Scully picked up.

"Ahh, hey Scully."

"Mulder?"

"Yeah, how are you?"

"You mean since we last saw each other an hour ago?"

He chuckled, "Has it really been that long?"

She sighed but smiled, "What do you want Mulder? If there's another case I'm – "

"No, not another case…"

"Okay…then?"

Scully heard him sigh and shift around – she could already imagine him ruffling his hair as he often did when he was embarrassed, "I was wondering if I could come over for dinner?"

"Dinner?" she was confused but also pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, I just got in and realized I have nothing in the fridge besides some milk and butter…And while I'm sure there's an experiment somewhere in there I don't really want tonight to be the night I try it out…"

Scully opened her mouth but, as she often did with Mulder, she found herself torn between exasperation and laughter, and unsure how to reply, "Um…yeah come on over. I'm sure I can wrangle something up for the both of us here."

"Great! I'll head over soon. Just going to hop in the shower."

And he hung up. Scully rolled her eyes and went to take her own shower, not sure what to expect from tonight.

Scully exited her bathroom, towel-drying her hair. She checked on the washing machine to see it had finished its last spin and transferred over the clothes to her dryer. The click of the machine turning on had just sounded when Mulder knocked on her front door.

Opening the front door revealed Mulder holding a brown bag in one arm and a small case of beer in the other.

She raised an eyebrow but moved to the side to let him in, "Should I be expecting more people?"

"Only if you invited people over," he called back over his shoulder as he made his way over to her kitchen table.

"So this is for us?"

Mulder smiled as he unloaded the bag, "I stopped by a market on my way here. A good house guest never comes empty handed."

On the table he had laid out a bag of chips, sunflower seeds, a pint of her favorite ice-cream, and a packet of cookies.

"Funny, because half of these seem like things for you," she smirked.

"Well… a smart house guest knows when they need to bring some of their own snacks so they're not left eating Tofutti."

Scully snorted and left him to finish laying out his spread to return the towel to the bathroom and run a comb through her hair.

When she returned she found Mulder on the couch enjoying a beer and a baseball game.

"So the truth comes out," Scully said on her way to the fridge.

Slightly distracted by the TV Mulder responded, "What's that?"

"Did you really need dinner or did you just need a good TV to watch the game?" She had some still edible tomatoes. Maybe pasta?

"Scully, you wound me!"

She hummed and opened a cabinet: she did have some angel hair. She returned to the fridge. But what to add to it? Spinach…hot dogs?...Maybe she could re-create a childhood favorite.

Scully began work on dinner, half-listening to Mulder's mumbled commentary on the game and enjoying a beer. Oil and onions sizzled in a pan while the pasta bubbled in a pot on her small stove. She added in garlic to the onions waiting for them to brown a little before adding the tomatoes. It sounded like Mulder's team was winning, she smiled at his boyish cheers. Sipping on the beer, she worked the softened tomatoes into a sauce. She added some oregano and thyme to the red mixture and let it simmer. Next, she diced hot dogs to add to the pot of pasta that was half way through boiling.

Tasting the sauce she hummed in approval at the flavor. Draining the pasta was always her least favorite part as the steam always seemed to hit her in the face and her short arms didn't allow her to avoid the fumes.

"What smells so good over here?"

She jumped.

"Jesus Mulder. I should tie a bell around your neck," she closed her eyes briefly to calm her heart.

With no hint of remorse he continued, "Oh pasta and hot dogs. Was I a good boy today?"

She bit her tongue to stop an inappropriate response from escaping her. Not that she was worried to offend him. No, she was more worried what it would open. Talk about a pandora's box.

"It was the most I could do with what I have in my fridge. Seems like I'm going to have to go shopping before Monday." She returned the pasta to the pot with some butter before scooping in the sauce.

Mulder's hand swiped too quick for her to bat him away as he went for a taste. "Mulder!"

"Mmm, nice job Scully," he said as he licked his finger clean, leaning against the counter.

She tried not blush. It was such a small compliment. Scully finished stirring everything together and asked him to get the bowls from the cabinet.

"I have some parmesan. You want any on yours?" she asked, making her way back to the fridge.

"Sure."

On her way back she swiped some forks from a drawer and shook parmesan on her serving before handing the bottle to Mulder.

He followed her back to the sofa and they settled nicely together into the cushions relaxing their tired bones.

Around a bite of pasta Scully asked, "So is it the last quarter yet?"

Mulder's eyes widened, "Scully, do you seriously not –" but then caught the smile on her face as she looked at her fork twirling more noodles. "Ha ha, very funny," but he smiled too.

"Sorry I couldn't resist," she grinned back at him. "Okay but really, how much of this is left?"

The look of offense on Mulder's face was too much and she broke out into laughter.

Not sure if I want to continue this. Had the urge to write about these two. If there's interest I can see where this goes.