The real truth is, she doesn't mind his eclectic, chaotic style. Not really. It's cozy in its way, and she finds it reassuring the same way she finds him reassuring. When he was-- while he was gone, she'd kept his apartment more or less as it was, spending time there because she was comfortable there-- until anxiety and hormones and the boredom of being too big to be active had driven her to keep it cleaner than it had been, probably, in his tenure. But whether it's the house or their basement offices, Mulder's spaces feel like an extension of him, and she does appreciate that.

But it's been nice, too, to have the contrast of a neat, orderly home of her own. It's not that she wants an escape, exactly, or even that she prefers the neutral veneer of it, but it's grounding. It's the desk there was never room for. It's the control group for her thoughts.

She eyes him thoughtfully.

"I thought maybe I'd get another dog someday."

Not as romantic as I always hoped we'd get back together, which would be nice to be able to say but isn't strictly true. But surely it's better than I thought I'd move someone else in eventually, right?