Teamwork

"I got it! No need to help me!" Freddie gasped as he struggled to open the door of his and Sam's shared apartment, dragging a large cardboard box inside.

"Okay cool," Sam said, not looking up from the T.V.

"Sam! That was sarcasm!"

"Alright, jeez," Sam said, turning off the T.V. and going to help her boyfriend lug in the box. "What is this anyway? Did your mom get another really good deal on antibacterial underpants for you?"

"No!" Freddie snapped. "I was just at the furniture store. You remember how you were saying we need a bigger entertainment center for the living room?"

"Yeah…" Sam nodded.

"Well I picked one up!" Freddie said, pointing to the box. "Surprise!"

"Aw, wow," Sam smiled. "That was so sweet! Thanks, baby."

"Only catch is, it didn't come already built," Freddie said. "And they were going to charge me a hundred bucks to send some guy over to put it together! So I'll just have to do it myself."

"What now?" Sam frowned.

"Yeah, I figure it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours," Freddie said, opening up the box. "And then tonight we can have ourselves a nice movie-thon!"

"Um, this looks kind of complicated," Sam said, picking up the instruction pamphlet. "And you've never even picked up a hammer before…"

"Sam, you know how many model trains I've built?" Freddie scoffed.

"Well no, see, I try to block the fact that my boyfriend still plays with choo-choo trains out of my brain," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"They are not 'choo-choo trains'!" Freddie defended. "They are historic replications of-Ugh, never mind. The point is, I can totally build this thing."

"Come on…let me help you at least," Sam sighed. "I have way more experience with tools than you."

"Nope, no chance," Freddie said firmly.

"What? Come on, this is like the only time I've ever offered to do anything requiring effort," Sam frowned.

"I know, but…alright, I-I just kind of want to do this myself," Freddie admitted. "I mean what kind of guy can't even build his girlfriend a high-quality entertainment system on his own?"

"Probably most."

"Baby, I-I really want to do this for you," Freddie said. "I know you could get this done in half the time as me, but…"

Sam shrugged. "Well…if it's that important to you…Fine. Just please be careful. If we have to take you to the emergency room with nails sticking out of you, your mom will murder me."

"Relax, I told you, this will take two hours, tops," Freddie assured her, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "No worries."

"Now where the heck does this piece go?" Freddie groaned five hours later, as he stared at the pile of parts in front of him. "It looks like it's part of this shelf, but-no! This was supposed to go at the bottom? Now I have to take everything apart and start over."

He wiped his brow, which was covered in sweat, as he stared at the mess of an entertainment system in front of him. "Well…maybe I can get this done by the end of the week."

He sighed as he slowly pulled off his sweat-stained shirt and looked back hopelessly at the instructions.

"Mmm, nice," Sam said, walking into the room with a glass of cold iced tea, eyeing her boyfriend's strong arms. She handed him the iced tea. "How's it going?"

"It's…going," Freddie said lamely as he gratefully gulped down the iced tea.

"Uh-huh…" Sam nodded, looking around at the mess.

"Yeah, I-it will be done soon," Freddie said.

"Baby, if you'd just let me-"

"No, I told you, I can build this for you myself," Freddie said, determined.

"But-"

"I can do this," Freddie said.

Sam took the empty glass from him, giving the scattered entertainment system one last glance.

Let's just see how this plays out, Sam thought to herself, sitting down on the couch. "Fine," she said. "Go right ahead."

"Um, what are you doing?" Freddie frowned. "I moved the T.V. into our bedroom until I get this thing built, remember?"

"Oh I remember," Sam smirked. "But I've got my hot, shirtless boyfriend building something here…Mama's gonna enjoy the show. Who knows when this will happen again."

"Hot, huh?" Freddie grinned cockily.

"Very," Sam smiled. "In fact…maybe you could take a little break from building?"

"Well I really should keep going," Freddie said slowly, looking at the pile of pieces. Then he glanced back at Sam, who was stilling looking at him seductively. "Or…well maybe a break from building is just what I need to clear my head."

….

"No!" Freddie exclaimed two days later as he held up a piece of wood, which he had just accidently caused to split while hammering in a nail. "No! Now what am I supposed to do? I need this piece for the base! Aw jeez…maybe I can call the manufacturer or-"

"You alright, baby?" Sam said, coming into the room. "I heard yelling."

"I, um, had a slight mishap with one of the boards," Freddie sighed, holding up the wood. "But it's no problem! I'm sure they'll send me a knew one and-"

"Freddie," Sam sighed. "You-You've been at this for two whole days now and, um, well no offense or anything, I know you're trying as hard as you can, but…we still just have a pile of parts. I think maybe it'd be a good idea for us to just call Spencer and ask him to finish it up."

"No," Freddie said. "I told you, I-"

"Come on, you're being ridiculous!" Sam groaned. "Why do you care about building this dang thing so much?"

"I just do!" Freddie said.

"Why?" Sam demanded. "Why does it matter if it's you that puts this thing together or-"

"Because I'm sick of not being able to do boyfriend things for you, okay?" Freddie blurted out.

Sam blinked, slightly taken aback. "What?"

"I-I'm sick of not being able to do any of the things that guys are supposed to do for their girlfriends," Freddie mumbled, looking down at his lap.

"But-huh?" Sam frowned, confused.

"Sam…who kills all the bugs around here?" Freddie sighed.

"Me…" Sam said slowly.

"And when we thought somebody was trying to break into the apartment that one time, who was the one who came out here with the butter sock, ready to defend us?" Freddie continued.

"Well…me," Sam said. "But it was a false alarm, remember! It was just Mrs. Dally's cat scratching at the door and-"

"And whenever we need something heavy moved, who has to do it?" Freddie went on.

"Me, okay, me!" Sam said. "But what's your point?"

"It's just, well, I-Don't you want your boyfriend to do, you know, boyfriend things?" Freddie said lamely.

"Freddie, those things aren't boyfriend things," Sam scoffed.

"They kind of are," Freddie said. "Carly's boyfriends do all that for her all the time."

"In case you haven't realized, me and Carly are quite different when it comes to relationships," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "Listen…why am I the one who kills the bugs around here?"

"Because I think they're gross and icky, and you have some weird fascination with bug guts," Freddie said promptly.

"Exactly," Sam nodded. "And why am I the one who'd defend us if anybody were to break in here?"

"Because I hate fighting and you're a pro," Freddie said.

"And why am I the one who carries all the heavy stuff?"

"Because you're freakishly strong," Freddie said. "But-"

"Yeah, see, I do all that stuff because, well, those are my strengths in this relationship," Sam said. "Not yours. And I like being the one who does them. Baby, if you ever suddenly get over your fear of bugs and want to start crushing your own spiders, I won't care, but in the meantime, it doesn't bother me at all that you have me do it."

"You-You don't ever think I'm a lame boyfriend because of all that?" Freddie asked.

"Well, I think you're lame occasionally, but that's got more to do with your trains, your Galaxy Wars obsession, your mom…"

"Okay, but-"

"Dude, when have we ever been a 'traditional' couple?" Sam asked. "Never! So why should you do certain things just because you're the 'boyfriend'?"

"I just want to make sure I give you everything you need," Freddie said.

"Baby…you do," Sam said softly, stepping over and wrapping her arms around him. "You give me everything. I don't need someone to build me things…I need someone who makes me feel like I'm not second-best for once in my life. I need someone who makes me laugh. I need someone who loves me…and that's what you do best."

"You mean that?" Freddie asked, putting his arms around her as well.

"Absolutely," Sam nodded, craning her neck so she could give him a soft kiss.