03/17/00
Out Grown: A Puppy Tale snip
by Araxdelan

Dedication- For Lone Gungirl, who's always in my heart.


	<CRASH>

	"Dammit!" Mulder paused, shirt half off, and turned to his beloved.
"Alex, I think that dog knocked the coffee table over again!"

	Krycek peeked out the bedroom door to survey the damage. "Yup."

	"Well? What are we going to do with him?"

	Willie bounded into the room and rushed towards the two men. He
reared up on his hind legs and placed his front paws on Krycek's thighs. He
happily gazed up at his owner, and said, "Woof!"

	Krycek laughed delightedly, and scratched the dog behind it's ears.
"Aww, Mulder... he was just playing."

	Mulder finished removing his shirt, and began pulling off his pants.
"He's always 'just playing'," he sighed. "I know that he means well, but if
he keeps breaking things we'll be forced to live in an empty apartment."

	Mulder climbed into bed, and Krycek began undressing. "You know,
Fox, I think that's just the problem."

	"What?"

	Krycek climbed under the blankets, and sat next to Mulder. "This
apartment."

	Mulder looked at Krycek suspiciously. "What about this apartment?"

	Krycek rolled his eyes. "Fox, it's a perfectly fine place for a
single man. But not for a couple and their large dog. Who, may I remind you,
is still growing, according to the vet. If he gets any bigger, we will have
to remove all the furniture!"

	Both men turned to stare at the dog, who in response jumped up to
stake his spot at the foot of the bed. The bed shook with the impact of
paws on mattress.

	"I guess we'll just have to get a bigger place," Mulder said. "It'll
be hard to find a building that allows pets, though. We're just lucky the
neighbors here haven't reported us yet. And we'll have to find someplace
with a park nearby, so Willie can run out in the ope..."

	"Fox. Hold up. I had something else in mind."

	Mulder heard Krycek's words, and immediately knew what the man was
speaking of. "You don't mean..."

	"Yes," he said, nervously, "a house."

	"Alex," Mulder exhaled a shocked breath, "I... are you sure? Are
you ready for that kind of commitment?"

	Krycek looked Mulder straight in the eye. "Mulder, I love you more
than anything in the world. I'll be with you for as long as you want me."

	Mulder smiled, tears welling in his eyes. "I want to be with you
forever."

	They leaned forward into a kiss. It was soon interrupted by barking.
Willie had long ago taken up the habit of making a lot of noise whenever he
was in sight of his owners being affectionate.

	The two men pulled apart, and glared sourly at the dog.

	They soon turned their attention back towards each other. Krycek
made a hesitant inquiry. "So, we're buying a house?"

	"Yup. One with a big yard for Mr. Barky over there."

	"But..."

	"What's wrong, honey?"

	Krycek avoided Mulder's gaze, staring at the wall instead. "I really
do want to get a house, but there's a problem..."

	"What problem?"

	"It's... it's Scully."

	"*Scully?*" What does she have to do with us?"

	"It's not just her. It's your boss and your friends, too. They don't
know about us now, but they'll find out if we get a house. It'll be pretty
hard to hide once they start asking if they can help you move, if they can
see the place, if they can throw you a housewarming party. This place is so
small that it's not surprising that you don't have guests, but they'll want
to come over to the new place, and they'll find out about me..."

	Mulder gently took Krycek's hand in his own. "I know I never told
them about us before, but it's not because I was hiding you. I'm happy with
you, and I'm proud that we're together. It's just that the right moment to
tell them never came. I was so used to not having a private life that when
I got one I never thought to tell anyone, didn't know how or when to bring
that sort of thing up."

	"Oh."

	Mulder tilted Krycek's head, and forced the other man to meet his
gaze. "Alex, I love you. And now I have the perfect opportunity to tell
everyone else in my life about us."

	That made Krycek grin. "You know they're not going to be happy about
it."

	"Yeah, but I'm happy about us, and that's all that matters." Mulder
leaned down and brushed his lips against Krycek's.

	Willie barked. And barked. And barked. When the men paid no
attention to him he admitted defeat, and ambled into the living room to
spend the night on the couch.

The End