//Well, here you are//, Alex told himself as he walked through the elegant lobby of the Regent looking for all the world like he belonged there. Quickly locating the elevators, he took a deep breath and took the first available car to the twelfth floor. Once there, his pace slowed as he walked the length of the corridor, counting off the room numbers.

Twelve-ten, twelve-eleven....

He stopped in front of room twelve-fourteen and stood at the door, listening. Not a sound could be heard within, but he willed his hand to touch the knob and open the door. It was indeed unlocked as the note had specified, and he walked into the dimly lit room. Looking around, he found a note on the table by the window propped against a bucket of chilling wine. He lifted the small slip of paper and read.

Next to this note you will find a black
silk scarf. Please put it over your eyes
and tie it behind your head. You will
not be harmed in any way, but should
you change your mind, the second
thousand dollars is in the envelope to
the right of the ice bucket. You may take
it and leave.

Alex hesitated, passing his tongue over suddenly dry lips, then, glancing around once more, he lifted the envelope and tucked it into the inside pocket of his jacket. His fingers went down to the black silk, skimming over its softness, then closed around the material and secured it over his eyes.

Seconds passed, and he felt a presence in the room. Drifting nearer and nearer, it stopped directly behind him. A hand stroked up along one sleeve, and even through the leather, Alex could feel it trembling. Breath, warm and sweet fanned his neck as a second hand repeated the action on his other arm and his jacket was gently pulled away.

Finding his voice, Alex took a deep breath and asked, "What's with the blindfold? You butt ugly or something?"

No response.

"You gonna talk to me?"

Faintly scratchy skin brushed the back of his neck, and he felt the negative shake of the man's head.

"So, how am I supposed to know what it is you want me to do?"

A hard body pressed up against his, and the man reached past him, dragging what he assumed was a chair away from the table. Gently, he was maneuvered and pushed down into the plush seat, and a nervous hand glided over his hair before the presence receded a bit. He heard the other sit as well, and then there was the tinkle of ice, and the sound of liquid being poured. A glass was pressed into his hand, and he felt the coolness of the wine searing his extremely warm palm.

"If you think I'm going to sit here blindfolded and drink something you gave me, you're out of your fucking mind."

The presence drew near again, and from the proximity of it, Alex figured that the man was now kneeling before him. A hand wrapped around the one holding the glass and guided it to the other's lips. On his own, Alex lifted his other hand and touched the spot where the man's lips met the glass. Satisfied that the other was drinking, he pulled the glass away and tentatively raised it to his lips.

The wine soothed his parched throat, and Alex lowered the glass after a long drink, balancing it on the edge of the table. He sat quietly for long seconds, waiting for ...something, but when the other made no move, he spoke again.

"The wine is nice and everything, but...I gotta let you in on a little secret. Getting me lit isn't necessary. I'm a sure bet."

Mulder's body tensed at the utterance of the few words.

Yes, he was. Of course he was.

The man was a hooker, for God's sake. A prostitute who was only here for the money. None of this meant anything to him. He cared about nothing. He felt *nothing*.

And that knowledge saddened him as much as it angered him. Perhaps just a little bit more.

Bringing a hand to Krycek's face, Mulder stroked the creased brow then slid down his cheek and cupped his face. Slowly, he moved forward, and as his lips just barely brushed Krycek's, the younger man jerked away.

"No kissing."

Mulder froze, their lips just millimeters apart. Letting Krycek feel the caress of his breath for a while longer, he then shifted and let his mouth whisper across the other's jaw.

Quickly checking a slight shudder, Alex raised the glass again to his lips.

Mulder watched with fascination as the blindfolded man drank, still unable to believe that he had done this. Alex Krycek...hated enemy turned grudging ally, here. Thousands of miles from where they'd started. Back in his life in a way he'd never have dreamed.

"You can't possibly be paying me three grand to sit and drink wine, I don't care how rich and eccentric you are."

The other man's words jarred Mulder out of his thoughts and brought his attention back to the task at hand.

Still kneeling before the seated man, Mulder drew a hand over one tense thigh, stopping far short of Krycek's crotch and slipping down to glide over the side of his leg. Up the hand moved, over the younger man's hip and waist, then over the taut belly to his chest, stopping to tease the patch of skin visible just above the first fastened button.

Alex placed the glass on the table and sat quietly while the kneeling man gently parted his legs and moved between them. Now brushing lightly against his hardening cock, the other leaned forward and slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, his mouth touching each inch of newly exposed skin...

Alex drew an unsteady breath, trying to maintain his cool while attempting to understand why his body was reacting this way. It was just another job, for Christ's sake. Just like the hundreds of others. He'd never felt anything before; why now? He'd only had what he estimated to be a half glass of wine, so he couldn't blame it on that. He'd had men try to seduce him before...clumsily...and felt nothing.

Now there was this man. This john, this customer who had bought and paid for him for two hours, and he was making him feel like...like...

He couldn't describe it. It wasn't that the man was all that smooth. He could sense the nervousness. He could feel it. But there was something else. He couldn't quite identify it, but it was enough to turn his cock to stone and make him want to stay.

Fighting to maintain control, Mulder undid the last visible button then pulled Krycek's shirt free of his pants and unfastened the rest. Slowly, he pushed the shirt away from the younger man's chest, letting his hands move reverently over the bared flesh. His mouth soon followed, caressing the warm skin, learning its taste and texture. The nearly inaudible whimper that his touch produced swelled his cock to ridiculous proportions and gave him the courage to let his tongue flick over one tight, brown nipple.

Unconsciously, Alex's fingers gripped each arm of the chair, squeezing until his knuckles turned white. His lips parted slightly, allowing tiny puffs of breath to escape, and when he felt his unseen seducer's mouth close over the nipple he'd been teasing, the soft panting gave way to low groans of pleasure.

Somewhere in the back of Mulder's lust-fogged brain, he thought that maybe Krycek was acting...giving the customer his money's worth, but at this particular moment in time, he couldn't force himself to care. He was too far into it...too immersed in the fantasy, and he wouldn't allow any such thoughts to take control.

Slowly, he licked his way across Krycek's chest and latched onto the second nipple, this time biting gently and flicking his tongue over the very tip. He could feel the younger man's body tense as he fought to remain seated, and the reaction only served to spur him on to more daring acts.

Alex's breath caught in his throat as the warm, soft tongue traveled down his quivering abdomen, and the other's hands worked at unfastening his pants. He felt his belt and top button give, then heard the soft grind of the zipper as it descended, revealing the black silk boxers he wore. His head fell back, and a tormented sob left his throat as the other man kissed and nuzzled his rigid cock through the material.

This was too much. Too unbelievable for words. He wanted to say something. Ask the man why...*how* it was he was doing this to him, but the words wouldn't come. They couldn't. Nothing but unintelligible, needy sounds would make it past his constricted throat. And as gentle hands lifted his hips to pull the clothing away, he could do nothing but comply.

Mulder bit back a gasp as now freed, the younger man's cock sprang forth, seemingly reaching toward him.

All right, this was no act. The man was turned on, there was no doubt about it.

Mulder smiled.

And he had done it.

Not that Krycek knew who it was that was about to suck his cock down his throat, but Mulder knew. And the thought of it. God, just the thought of it...

He lowered his head, inhaling the clean, musky scent...memorizing it, and then his tongue touched the base...slid only millimeters up the thick shaft, and a hand threaded itself through his hair, stopping him.

"Rubber," Krycek panted, licking his lips. "Need a...a rubber."

But Mulder didn't *want* a rubber. He wanted to smell. To taste *Alex*. Still, he knew that the other man was right. He was clean, certainly. But Krycek didn't know that. And he couldn't deny the fact that the man here in this chair, responding so beautifully to his attentions *had* been with many more men than he cared to think about.

Mulder pulled away and waited silently.

Realizing what was happening, Alex reached down into his pants pocket and withdrew a packet, holding it out in offering.

Gingerly, Mulder took the object, kissing the other's hand before releasing it. With shaking fingers, he ripped the package open and placed the condom over the moist tip of the younger man's cock and rolled it down to the base. As Krycek began to squirm beneath him, he slid one hand over his hip to hold him still while the other grasped the latex- sheathed shaft. Gently scraping his teeth over the head, he mourned the loss of Krycek's taste and smell, but made the best of it.

Alex twitched as the other's mouth closed over the head of his cock and slowly slid down the length of it. One of the hands that had been so tightly clenched around the arm of the chair moved over the other man's shoulders and up through the silky hair, petting and combing.

"God."

He hadn't thought he'd said the word aloud, but it tumbled from his lips on a shaky whisper just loud enough for the man at his feet to hear.

Ignoring the tremendous ache of his own cock, Mulder concentrated solely on Krycek's pleasure, ever-so-slowly working his way down the rock solid shaft, relaxing his throat, taking in more and more as the hand at the younger man's hip began to move, stroking and caressing the heated flesh. The younger man rose up out of the chair, pushing the remainder of his cock down Fox's throat as he shuddered uncontrollably.

Jesus, it had been so long since he'd felt pleasure like this. He hadn't even thought himself capable any more, and yet here he was, writhing and whimpering at another's touch. Needing it more than he needed his next breath...more than the three grand promised to him as compensation for this nearly complete surrender of his body.

As Mulder gently sucked Alex into mindless oblivion, the thought occurred to him to pull away and prolong the moment, but the desperation of the younger man's reactions told him that the time wasn't right. Alex needed this badly, he suspected, and he didn't have the heart to tease him tonight.

//Maybe next time...assuming there'll *be* a next time.//

Mulder uncurled his fingers from around the other man's cock and sank down upon it, not stopping until his nose was buried in the thatch of dark hair at Alex's groin.

"God...jeez..." Alex sobbed. "It's too...please..."

Heeding the frantic plea for fulfillment, Mulder withdrew, his tongue dancing along the underside of the shaft then lashing at the flared head before again swallowing the whole of the other's length. He repeated the act only twice before increasing his speed and pressure, effectively driving Alex to the very brink of madness.

An anguished sob escaped the younger man as for the first time in he couldn't remember how long, he felt the onset of orgasm. His unseen benefactor sensed his precarious condition and moved faster, all at once milking his body and mind, and taking him screaming over the edge.

Mulder held gently to the other man as he bucked and shook, allowing his body its long denied release. The sound of Alex Krycek losing control was one he was positive that neither he nor his cock would ever forget.

As the frenzied sounds of satisfaction faded, Alex slumped in his chair, chest heaving as he attempted to drag much needed air into his lungs. While he sat too exhausted to move, Mulder slid the condom off of him and carefully discarded it. For long seconds the older man remained kneeling, admiring the relaxed pout of the mouth he so wanted to kiss, then slowly rose to his feet and disappeared into the bathroom. Seconds later, Alex felt his returned presence then the soothing warmth of a damp towel as it gently stroked his withered cock.

Fox gently cleaned the younger man up then sat a good while longer, head resting in his lap, absorbing the wamth of him. When his time was almost up, he reluctantly began to button the black shirt. He waited a bit longer then pulled the black pants up and refastened them. When the other man was once again fully dressed, Mulder remained at his feet, tenderly stroking his thigh. The urge to speak was strong, but he squashed it, positive that the shock of finding out who had just gotten him off would not be a welcome one.

//And when do you think it *will* be?//

//Don't know. Probably never.// Mulder looked up into the passion-weary face, wishing he could see the younger man's eyes. //Or maybe very soon. Maybe he'll become so addicted that he won't give a shit that it's you.//

Holding on to that wish, Mulder lifted himself from the floor and walked over to the dresser. Removing an envelope from the top drawer, he approached the still seated man and placed the last thousand dollars in his lap. He ran the fingers of one hand through Alex's hair, brushed a soft kiss over the sable strands, and exited the room.

Alex sat quietly, now breathing normally and listened to a door open and close. His hand drifted into his lap, tentatively fingering the bulging envelope.

The last of the money as promised.

"Are you there?" he asked hopefully, knowing in his heart that the other man was not. Slowly, he brought his hands up to the blindfold and untied the silk, letting it fall away from his face. Looking around the empty room, his attention again fell to the envelope in his lap. A frown creased his brow as he picked at the flap.

Why the hell would some guy pay three grand to do nothing but get him off? There were some freaks in California, and he'd hustled quite a few of them, but this one was different. No matter *how* off the others were, they all had one concern in common...their own pleasure.

Not this man.

And Alex didn't know what to think.

//What's to think about? If the nut wants to shell out that kind of green just to suck *your* cock, who are you to ask questions? Take the money and split.//

Tearing the envelope open, Alex withdrew the money and quickly counted out the correct amount. As he returned the money, he noticed a slip of folded paper inside. He pulled the note out and read the simple message:

Thank you for trusting me. If you're not otherwise
engaged, I would like very much to see you again
on Tuesday. Same time. Same arrangement.

Alex folded the note and blew out a hard breath.

"Shit."

Same arrangement.

Another blindfolded blowjob? Another three grand?

"Gee, how will I survive it?" Alex asked himself softly, his heart pounding at the thought of having this man's mouth on him again.

//So, you gonna show up on Tuesday?//

Alex rose from the chair and walked on slightly weakened legs to the door. He turned the knob and, before he entered the hall, looked around the room.

//Hell of a stupid question.//

********************

Glittering hazel eyes watched as the man in black exited the hotel and flagged down a taxi. When the vehicle pulled away from the curb, Mulder turned away from the tenth floor window and took the elevator back to his own floor. Entering his room, the shock of what he'd just done hit him full force. He stumbled over to the bed and fell onto the mattress, staring dazedly up at the ceiling.

//Okay, you do realize that tonight you lured Alex *Krycek* into your hotel room and sucked his cock, don't you? *And* you paid him three thousand dollars for the privilege...//

Mulder groaned at the remembered feel of Krycek's latex-sheathed cock in his mouth. He unzipped his pants and slipped his hand inside, stroking his pounding erection through the silk of his underwear.

//Never would have dreamed that he'd make all those sexy little noises. God, I wonder what he'd do if I actually fucked him. Jesus. I wonder what *I'd* do if I actually fucked him...//

Suddenly far too warm, Mulder stripped off every bit of clothing, pulled the blankets down and lay sprawled over his bed, caressing himself and imagining that it was Krycek's hands on him.

"Alex," he whispered almost inaudibly as his hands caressed his own heated skin, fingers working their way downward and brushing the stony length of his erection. "Gonna make you want me."

Too aroused to tease himself for long or even wonder *why* he was so hell bent on making Krycek want him, Mulder wrapped his cock in a firm grip and began to jerk it steadily as he pulled at one rigid nipple with his other hand. His mind worked frantically, seeing the two of them tangled together in the sheets, the sweat dripping from their bodies as he fucked Krycek hard and fast. A choked grunt fell from his parted lips as he imagined he heard the younger man's sobbed demands for satisfaction, and he rolled onto his side, ejaculating into the cotton sheets as he envisioned them coming together, screaming with the sheer force of their respective climaxes.

For some time he lay there, the intermittent shudders that rippled through his body lessening in their intensity and frequency. But the images remained strong and vivid...
 

The two of them lying together, him behind Alex, curled around the other man's relaxed body...kissing the back of his neck while running a soothing hand up and down his chest...a contented smile gracing the other's perfectly bowed lips...

Mulder sighed into his pillow, wishing with all his heart to make his fantasy a reality, and asking himself why the hell it was so.

Goddamn it, why?

He rolled off of the bed and shuffled to the bathroom, asking himself that very question over and over, and by the time he'd made it back to bed some fifteen minutes later, he had no more of an answer than he had before.

Pulling the blankets back over the stained sheets, he fell onto the mattress, slinging an arm over his face.

//Fuck answers, Mulder. What have answers ever gotten you in the past besides more questions? Just go with it.//

//Yeah, but where the hell's *it* gonna lead me?//

********************

Back in hell.

Alex stepped out of the cab and looked around at what he'd been part of for the past several months, shuddering with disgust.

//Oh, good. So because some guy brought you to his elegant hotel room, gave you expensive wine in fine crystal and paid you three grand to suck your dick, you're all of a sudden better than these twenty dollars whores out here? Get real.//

Thing was, he *did* feel better. He felt...and he knew this was plain stupid, but he felt cleaner somehow. He felt that this man, whoever he was, thought he was more than just a night's entertainment. He was so...he treated him so gently. Every touch, every caress felt like a heaven created just for him...

He wound his way through the crowd, brushing off half a dozen overtures as he made his way back to his apartment.

No more tonight. He could well afford to take the rest of the night off, and besides, the thought of ruining what he'd just experienced by letting some sleazy mother fucker touch him was not one he cared to entertain.

He walked along slowly, reliving every minute of the time he spent at the Regent, in the company of a man he could pass by on the street tomorrow and not even know. His body tingled at each remembered touch. It vibrated, recalling the feel of the warm mouth around him, and trembled at the other's continued attentiveness even after he had come.

//Jesus Christ, stop it. A rich freak, whose main kink happens to be pampering hookers targeted you. When his business, whatever his business is, is over he'll blow out of town, and you'll be nothing more to him than inspiration to get him up when his demanding bitch of a wife wants a little nookie.//

But while he was here...

Alex entered his apartment and, stripping off his clothes slid right into bed. Nothing to eat or drink, no shower. He just wanted to wrap himself around the memory of the other man's smell and feel, and pretend if only for a little while he was as treasured as he'd been made to feel.

********************

"Scully."

"It's me."

"Hey, Mulder! How's California?"

"Sunny."

"Ha ha. Can I have a little more detail than that? Where've you been? What've you done?"

//Red light district. Stumbled across triple agent turned street hustler Alex Krycek, blindfolded him, sucked his dick, paid him three thousand dollars for it...//

"Uh...you know. The usual. Seeing the sights. Relaxing."

"Oh, yeah, that's so much better. Fine, Mulder, fine. Don't tell me about it. Just stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Now, what kind of trouble can I get into scoping out celebrities and sitting in mud baths?"

"If there's a way, Mulder, you'll find it."

Mulder smiled into the phone, noting the good natured sarcasm into his partner's tone. "How's everything there?"

"Under control."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Mulder, don't you dare think about coming back here earlier than planned..."

//Not a chance in hell *now*.//

"Mulder, you hear me?"

"Yeah, Scully."

"I'm serious."

"I know you are. I promise, I won't come back a second sooner than planned."

"Okay, well, I'll leave you to your sight seeing."

"All right. Talk to you soon, Scully. Thanks."

"No problem. 'Night, Mulder."

Mulder disconnected and dropped the phone onto the table by the bed. He peered into the fruit plate that lay on the bed between his legs, and plucked a large strawberry from it. Biting into the sweet, red morsel, his regard fell on the television and narrowed on his only companionship for the evening.

A muscular, dark-haired man tied face-down on a bed...his tanned body writhing as another slid an impossibly large vibrator in and out of his ass. The other man teased him, slowly rotating the latex shaft and softly demanding that he beg for more.

As he did, the other man withdrew the vibrator, hastily applied some lube, and straddled his back, brutally slamming into him. His cries rang out in Mulder's ears, further hardening his already stony erection, but he fought to keep from relieving it. Thoughts of tomorrow night and Alex Krycek naked in his arms fed his desire to remain on edge for just a bit longer.

Through half closed lids, he watched the man on the screen fuck the one beneath him...listened to the exaggerated wails of the other, his mind converting the frantic, high pitched sounds to deeper, gravely tones, and he could wait no more.

Whimpering softly, he grasped his cock, jerking desperately as the man in the movie pulled out of the other's ass and came all over his back, covering it in thick, opaque fluid.

"God," he gasped, feeling the coming explosion. "Alex...yeah, baby...so good...make me...come on, baby..."

His body began to buck uncontrollably, and he came over his closed fist and belly, still choking out the other man's name. When he recovered, he dragged himself into the bathroom, cleaned up and promptly fell into a deep sleep before the movie had finished.

As his evening had come to a close, across town his would-be lover's night was just beginning.

********************

"Hey, how much?"

Bored green eyes looked away from the mountain that had just moved in front of the bench. "How much for what?"

"Half and half."

One leather clad shoulder rose and fell. "One-fifty."

"That's steep."

"That's my price."

The other man nodded. "Okay. You got it."

Alex rose from the bench, quickly determining that the man had to be about six foot five, and a good three hundred pounds at least.

If this one decided to get funny, he'd have a definite problem. But, risk came with the territory. He gave the man his best 'don't fuck with me if you know what's good for you' look and slithered through the mass of bodies, following in the other's considerable wake.

As they arrived in the man's motel room, Alex received payment then looked around, checking for unwanted company. When none was found, he turned to his customer and removed his jacket.

"How do you want to do this?"

The man nodded to the bed. "Take everything off and make yourself comfortable."

Slowly, Alex removed his clothing, giving the customer a bit of a show for his money, then slid onto the bed, sprawling seductively over the pillows.

"Heard about you," the man rasped, licking his lips hungrily. "You're fucking gorgeous just like they said."

No response.

Smiling, the other removed his clothing, pulling two condoms from his pants pocket before the garment hit the floor. Rolling it over his stubby cock, he approached the bed.

"Can't wait to feel that pretty mouth on me..."

In a move that belied his size, he swiftly swung himself up onto the bed, his knees straddling Alex's shoulders.

"Go ahead, gorgeous. Take it."

Alex looked at the organ bobbing lewdly in front of his mouth then parted his lips, allowing the man to slip inside.

"Oh, yeah. Suck me good, sweetheart."

Alex cringed at the endearment but quickly pushed it to the back of his mind as he did his job. Within seconds, the other man was moaning with unchecked lust, and, leaning forward, grabbed onto the headboard and began to thrust roughly into Alex's mouth.

Virtually pinned to the bed, Alex could do little more than endure the consequences of the man's excitement, and just when he thought his ordeal might be ending, the organ was pulled out of his mouth. Quickly, the man peeled off the used condom and put the other on. In one lightning fast move, he flipped Alex onto his stomach and drove into him unprepared.

Alex bit into the pillow beneath his face to keep from voicing his pain, and just as he recovered enough from the shock to fight against the other's brutal possession, he found his wrists pinned to his sides and the full weight of the other's body upon him. Unable to get enough leverage to throw the man off of him, Alex lay gritting his teeth and suffered the assault in silence.

"Oh, shit...oh, yeah..." The man bit at Alex's neck and shoulder, hard enough to leave bruises but not break the skin as he thrashed against him. "Pretty, fuckin' bitch..." Using all of his substantial power, he strengthened his thrusts while continuing to rasp obscenities against Alex's shoulder.

Alex squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself away from this rundown room and the repulsive hulk on top of him, and imagined fine wine, a beautiful room and the tender touch of a man he'd never seen.

//Tomorrow. You'll be with him tomorrow, and...//

//And what? Get real. Did it ever occur to you that all that sweetness was just a lure? Something to hook you and reel you in...maybe tomorrow he'll turn into someone like this guy...or worse. That's reality, baby. *Your* reality.//

The man slammed into Alex, sobbing and grunting with each cruel stroke, and when he finally, mercifully came, he collapsed in a heap on top of the hooker's back, nearly crushing him under his ample weight. Long minutes later, the man arose and, patting the still motionless man's rear, stumbled into the bathroom to clean up.

Alex lay face down in the pillows, hurting but too emotionally numb to care. In any other time and place he'd have been off the bed in an instant, and beating whoever had done that to him within an inch of their lives, but tonight he simply didn't have it in him. He lay quietly, controlling the tremors that passed through him until he heard the other man dress and leave. Then he began to whimper softly, letting the pain, if only for a few moments, get the better of him.

Minutes later, he sat up wincing then slowly got to his feet and pulled his clothes on. He left the motel and headed back to his apartment, opting to walk instead of taking a cab. Each step reminded him of exactly how sore he was going to be tomorrow, but he endured the growing discomfort, sure that it was just life's little way of reminding him of who and what he was.

Over an hour later, Alex entered his apartment and headed straight for the shower, turning the water on as hot as he could stand it. Practically tearing his clothes off, he stepped into the tub, gritting his teeth as he reached for the sponge and bath wash and scrubbed vigorously at his skin. Ten minutes later he brought his arms up to his nose and cursed as he reached for more bathwash.

//*Fuck*. Go away.// He scrubbed harder. // God, please go away. I can't let him...if I can smell it, he'll be able to...//

//Here we go again. What the *fuck* does it matter? Big hint, stupid. He *knows* you're a whore. That's why he gave you that money. You think he gives a shit who else you've been with? Tomorrow he's gonna drop the fucking pretense, screw you into next week and throw you aside and not give a damn how much it hurt.//

Dropping the sponge at his feet, Alex rinsed off and wrapped a towel around himself. He stepped out of the tub and stooped to pick up his clothes, noticing two small dark spots on the inside of his jeans. Further inspection revealed that the spots were dried blood.

The friction from the other man's unlubed cock and the force with which he'd driven into Alex had apparently wounded him to the point where he'd begun to bleed.

He stared blankly at the stained denim for a moment then carried the garment into the kitchen and dropped it into the trash. That done, he turned and wandered into the bedroom, slowly lowering himself to the bed. He lay there, still damp, towel half falling from his hips and stared sightlessly at the window. What seemed like only minutes later, he was opening his eyes, blinking in the light of day.

Wondering when the hell he fell asleep, Alex maneuvered himself under the light blanket and pulled it up to his head, attempting to shut the glare out, but it radiated through the blanket, burning his eyes. He groaned softly and pulled a pillow over his face, bringing blessed darkness to his world.

Darkness.

Night.

A few hours away.

His heart began to pound, and his palms broke into a sweat, and he cursed himself for it. He'd told himself again that it was just another job. Just another horny john with money to burn, but somewhere inside...somewhere in his deepest heart he wanted so much for it to be more than that. And in that self-loathing part of him he knew it could never be...that he didn't deserve any more...

********************

"Wine...strawberries..."

Mulder looked around, knowing something else was missing.

"Oh, yeah."

Lowering the lights, he turned the pre-loaded CD player on then stood in the middle of the room with his eyes closed.

"Yeah, that's nice. Now," he whispered to himself, looking at his watch, "just breathe easy. He should be here soon."

********************

The soft hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen was the only sound in the small apartment. Not even a breath could be heard as Alex sat motionless on his sofa, hands folded in front of him. Slowly, his eyes rose to his grandmother's mantle clock on top of the television. Realizing that it was time to go, he made himself stand, grimacing at the moderate amount of pain he felt. His body had stiffened during the night and made the discomfort worse than it had been yesterday, but he pushed the pain as far away as he could and left the apartment. A quick cab ride later, he was standing outside of the Beverly Regent.

"Sir? Sir..."

Alex blinked and turned in the direction of the doorman. "Yeah?"

"Are you all right, sir?" The older man with kindly blue eyes asked. "You look rather dazed."

"No. N-no. I'm okay. Thanks." He fell silent and looked up at the lit building.

"Are you a guest here?"

Alex hesitated then shook his head. "Visiting a guest."

"Do you know the room number? If not, if you'll give me the name I can find it for you."

"No, I...I know the room number. Just needed a little air first."

The man nodded and smiled, backing off a few steps. Alex thanked him again for his kindness then moved into the building. Slowly, he walked to the elevators and boarded the middle car, and in seconds was coming to a stop on the twelfth floor. The doors opened, and he stepped out, moving with false confidence to twelve-fourteen.

As it had been on Sunday, the door was unlocked, and he turned the knob, pushing it open.

Soft music greeted him, and another beautifully set table lay ahead. On suddenly shaky legs, he forced himself to move through the dimly lit room, and he stopped in front of the table. There, leaning against an empty crystal goblet was a white envelope, and next to that, the familiar black silk scarf.

Moistening his lips, Alex lifted the envelope and tore it open. He removed the entire three thousand dollars and a brief note.

I look forward to this evening. I hope you
do too. All of your money is here. I trust you
to remain with me for two hours. I think you
want to.

Alex closed his eyes, stuffed the money and note into his jacket pocket, then reached down and picked up the blindfold. He secured it over his eyes and moments later he felt the gentle caress of a hand at the back of his neck. He began immediately and uncontrollably tremble, and the other man wound an arm around his chest, holding him against his warmth.

Mulder wanted so badly to tell the younger man not to be afraid, but he remained silent, hoping that he could somehow communicate without the use of words.

Carefully, he slipped the leather jacket off then turned Krycek around to face him. A shocked gasp tumbled from his lips when the very visible bruises around the right corner of Alex's mouth came in view. He lifted his hand, lightly tracing the marks with shaking fingers.

Alex pulled away quickly, startled by the other man's reaction. As rapidly as he could, he pulled himself together and gave a nonchalant shrug. "Occupational hazard."

Mulder fought to control the searing rage that shot through him at the thought of some sleazy son of a bitch hurting this man. He'd torment himself with the whys later. Right now all he wanted to do was try and make it better somehow...and kill the fucker who did it.

Alex flinched then stood quietly shivering as the man's fingertips again brushed over the bruises in a featherlight caress. Then all at once the touch had disappeared, leaving him mourning its absence. But seconds later, he felt a hand close around his wrist, holding it in a gentle grip. Carefully, he was led to the same seat in which he'd sat two night before, and he felt the other man hovering nearby.

A soft moan escaped his throat as the other petted his hair and brought a sweet smelling object to his mouth. He recognized the texture and scent as that of a strawberry. Hesitantly, he bit into the fruit, chewing and swallowing before a chilled glass brushed against his lower lip. He took a small sip then swiped the residual moisture away from his mouth with the tip of his tongue.

"Good," Alex rasped, feeling the need to say something. "Thanks."

Mulder touched the strawberry again to his lips, gaze unable to stay away from the purple blotches...wanting so much to look into the wounded man's eyes and truly see the extent of his injury. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he fed at least three strawberries and half a glass of wine to Alex before drawing him up out of his chair and leading him a few feet away. Slowly, Mulder drew the blindfolded man into his arms and began to sway in time to the music.

An almost inaudible whimper sounded in Alex's throat as the other man coaxed the sable head down onto his shoulder and began caressing his back.

God.

Oh, Jesus.

What the hell was going on here? Why was he still the man he'd been two days ago? He should have turned into an asshole by now. Alex should have been stripped and laid out face down on the bed by now, taking stroke after punishing stroke...cuffed and beaten maybe...

But instead there was this. And he didn't know what to do with it. He didn't know how to...

A harsh sob drew him out of his thoughts, and he realized that the other man had since found the wounds at the side of his neck. Quickly, the other put a few inches distance between them and undid his shirt, pushing it away from his shoulders and down his arms. The garment fell to the floor, and the man inspected the rest of his upper body, trembling with fury as he found the rest of the bruises.

Wanting to string the cocksucker up by his balls but knowing that he was powerless to do so, Mulder pulled the younger man into his arms, holding him in a tender embrace and scattering soft kisses over his wounds.

"N-no..." Alex breathed so softly, even the man wrapped around him could not hear.

The kisses became more seductive, lingering over patches of skin, teasing the sensitive spot on the back of Alex's neck, and moving slowly up toward his mouth.

He wanted it. God, all of a sudden he wanted that mouth. Wanted it on his, kissing him forever, taking at once his breath and his pain. He froze, waiting for that first tender touch, but as the other's lips cautiously brushed his, he began a half-hearted struggle to put a little distance between them.

"No," he said as firmly as his broken voice would allow. "I told...told you. No kissing."

Mulder didn't need to see the younger man's eyes to know that he didn't mean what he was saying. He could feel it in the tension in Alex's body...he could see it in the hungry quiver of his lips.

Alex sucked in a soft breath as a warm hand stroked his cheek then moved to the back of his head, gently tilting it back. His lips parted on an anguished sob as the other's mouth and tongue traveled the length of his exposed throat, and he was pulled more tightly against the hardening body.

Quite suddenly, he didn't care about any fucking self imposed rules, and he didn't give a shit if tomorrow it all turned out to be a lie. He needed that mouth. Needed it desperately if only for tonight, and he'd beg if he had to, to have it.

Alex lifted his head, winding his fingers in the silky softness of the other's hair and pulled him in for a hard kiss. The force of it hurt his injured mouth, and he grunted softly at the pain, but he refused to let go. He clung to the man, protesting frantically as he was firmly pulled away, but his whines soon faded as he felt the tender brush of full, sweet lips against his own.

Mulder wrapped Alex in a comforting embrace and took his mouth as gently as he could, loving how the flavors of the strawberries and wine combined with his own natural sweetness to provide a taste that he knew he could never, ever forget. His tongue inched out, dancing over the bowed lips and coaxing them open to immediately find its willing mate.

The two men stood wrapped around each other, tongues stroking and lapping...learning taste and texture, and when Mulder slowly backed Alex to the bed, the younger man went willingly, sinking down onto the softness of the mattress. He reached up, hands searching for his temporary lover, needing to feel the comforting weight of his body. His hands were caught in the other's, kissed gently, then guided to the buttons of the silk shirt, and he knew what he was being asked to do.

Violently trembling fingers undid the fastenings on Mulder's shirt, and the older man slipped out of the garment and dropped it on the floor beside the bed. He lowered himself onto the other man, blanketing him in soothing heat and again finding his mouth.

Somewhere in the thick haze of need a voice sounded. Distant and weak, it told Alex to stop. Screamed for him not to roll over...not to give this man any more than he'd paid for, but his body and the heart that he'd thought had long been withered and gone disagreed.

//Give it to him. Let him take whatever he wants. Just for one night...know what it's like to feel safe and wanted. Feel what it's like to belong to someone...//

//Even if it's a fucking lie?//

"No..." Alex whimpered softly, shaking his head. "Don't care..."

Mulder drew back and looked down in confusion, trying to make sense of the tormented declaration. The younger man's hands reaching up and rubbing feverishly over his skin shook the curiosity from his immediate thoughts, and he brought a hand up to the smooth cheek, softly shushing and calming him.

Stopping his frantic movements, Alex listened to the soft rush of breath...lulled by the simple sound. His hands began to move again, this time in wide, lazy circles on the warm, satiny skin, and he turned his head to the side, letting his mouth brush the other man's forearm.

"Please," he whispered as calmly as he could, "I...would you kiss me again?"

Mulder's lips slanted into a melancholy smile, wondering when the last time was that this man had experienced any kind of tenderness, if ever. Thinking about it, he didn't know when the last time was that *he'd* been on the receiving end of any.

Alex sucked in an anxious breath, waiting for the presence he felt to come nearer. As the other's mouth whispered over his, he exhaled, parting his lips, inviting him inside.

Mulder accepted the invitation, letting his tongue sweep over the warm, moist interior of Krycek's mouth while his hands roamed over the expanse of the younger man's chest, gently kneading the taut muscles and teasing the already hard nipples into even tighter buds. The prostitute writhed beneath him, lifting one long leg and hooking it over his hip, and a soft groan broke from each of them.

Cautiously, Mulder pushed down, pressing their covered erections together, and Krycek let a hand slide down to his rear, cupping the rounded muscle and squeezing.

"Fuck me," Alex moaned, grinding his crotch against the other man's. "I need you to."

And he did need it. God, he needed it so much, he was sure he'd break into pieces if he didn't.

Or maybe it was that he *needed* to be broken...to fulfill the promise that this man's three thousand dollars bought and then be tossed away so he could stop having the ridiculous thoughts he was having...

Mulder quivered at the younger man's plea, choosing to believe that he actually was as desperate to have him as he sounded, and not putting on a cash induced act.

Pulling away from Alex's mouth, he straddled the denim-clad hips and began unfastening his own pants and sliding them down his thighs. As he worked, Alex's hands found the exposed silk of his underwear and tentatively brushed over the impressive bulge inside.

If Mulder hadn't already been on his knees, he would have collapsed and dropped to them.

Alex Krycek. Here. In his hotel room, half naked and lying beneath him...touching his cock...

All right, so as far as Krycek knew, he was simply catering to a faceless stranger with money to burn, but still...

Reluctantly, Mulder shifted, removing the remainder of his clothing. When he was completely stripped of his garments, he turned his attention to the man left squirming on the bed. Gently, he pulled off Alex's boots and socks, then his jeans, revealing the fact that the younger man wore no underwear tonight.

Alex twitched as the other man reverently touched his cock and bent to flick his tongue over one rigid nipple. "Please," he begged, combing his fingers through the other's hair. "God, please..."

Kissing the younger man into silence, Mulder opened the drawer of the nightstand and withdrew a condom and a tube of lubricant. He broke the kiss and ripped the package open with his teeth, then removed the rubber and carefully rolled it on over his aching erection.

//God,// he whimpered to himself, //you're going to do this. You're actually going to fuck this man...//

Mulder squeezed some lube into his hand and applied it to his latex sheathed cock then grasped the younger man's hips and pulled him forward.

Anxiously, Alex helped the man, spreading his legs and wrapping them around his waist, and he waited for that first...

Hissing sharply, his entire body tightened at the shock of pain that tore through him. He felt the other man stiffen immediately and cease all movement.

//No. No, don't...//

"Don't stop," he grated through clenched teeth. "I'm all right. Please, don't stop."

He wasn't all right. Mulder could see that in the sudden lines that etched his face.

"Fuck me. Please don't stop." Krycek reached up, running his hands over the man's face and hair. Fuck me..."

Alex's intense desperation unnerved Mulder, and to pacify the younger man, he pushed forward only to again be brought to a dead stop by a muffled sob.

//No. Oh, no. Something's definitely wrong...//

Mulder withdrew, ignoring Alex's mingled curses and pleas. Looking down, all the air left his lungs.

Blood, streaking the condom he wore and leaving small spots on the sheet.

Alex knew. He didn't need to see. He could feel the tiny trickle of blood running down one cheek, and he knew why the other man had stopped and was so obviously upset.

Upset?

"No," he gasped. "It's...it's all right. It's no biggie. Please, don't stop, I..." He could feel the adamant shake of the other man's head, and panic overtook him.

"You don't have to worry about it. You don't...you don't have to care. You're not *supposed* to care." He fought against the hands that sought to hold him still. "I'm a whore! That's all. Just a fucking whore!" He was screaming but he couldn't stop. "I'm bought and paid for, and you're not supposed to care! You're supposed to fuck me and not give a shit if I'm hurt...hurt me. Please. Fuck me raw and then send me back to where I came from..."

"I won't."

Alex's diatribe came to an abrupt halt, and he broke free of the loosened grip, pulling himself up into a sitting position...listening to the soft, emotional rasp.

"I will *not* hurt you."

Alex reached up, ripping the blindfold from his eyes and stared in mute shock at the last man in the world he ever expected to see.

"What the hell..."

Mulder looked into wild, green eyes and knew that they were in for a rough time.

"Krycek..."

"What are you..." Alex gasped, on the verge of hyperventilating. "..what the hell are you doing? Why...why are you here?"

"We can talk about that later. You're hurt..."

Alex slapped away the hand that had reached toward his cheek and pulled the sheet up around his waist. "Why are you *here*?" he demanded, voice roughened by anger and shame.

Mulder shook his head, opening and closing his mouth before any sound would come out.

"I...was just...I'm on vacation. I s...I saw you one night...downtown."

The crease between the younger man's eyebrows deepened. "And what? You figured it'd be fun to fuck around with me a little?"

"No. No, I didn't...I just wanted to..."

"Humiliate me?" Alex cut in, bolting from the bed and finding his jacket. He pulled the envelope from the pocket and withdrew the money, flinging it at the man on the bed. "*Buy* me? Did you figure that if you threw enough money my way you'd own me? Is this some sort of twisted revenge?"

"*No*," Mulder insisted, discarding the condom and following Alex to the other side of the room. "It's nothing like that."

"Then what the fuck *is* it like?" A mortified emerald gaze burned into disturbed hazel.

"I just...I saw you out there...going off with all those different men, and I knew that something must have gone really wrong for you to be..." Mulder stopped speaking, moistening dry lips with the tip of his tongue.

"*Whoring*? You can say it, Mulder. Go ahead. It's what I am. I fuck men for money." Alex shrugged. "Go ahead. Say it. You've called me worse things in the past." He glared at the mute man. "So...you knew something was wrong. And what? You figured you'd take pity on me? Throw a shitload of money at me...take me off the streets for a few days...show me the good life? *What*?"

"I just..." Mulder struggled for the words. "This...it isn't you, Krycek."

"How the *fuck* do you know what is and isn't me? You don't know *shit* about me." Alex whirled around, attempting to mask his discomfort at the suddenness of the move and began gathering up his clothes.

"I didn't," Mulder admitted, watching the younger man and reading his expression. "I think I do now."

Alex released a harsh bark of laughter. "*Do* you? I'll take that as a compliment to my fine acting skills. It's my *job*, you know? Reading the customer and giving them what they want. I admit it was a little harder being blindfolded, but I apparently pulled it off, 'cause I sure suckered *you* in. Damn, I'm good."

Mulder watched as the agitated man pulled on his clothes. "So, why are you so angry? If you're so satisfied with yourself, why all the indignation?"

"Are you kidding? You lure me up here to your hotel room, blindfold me and then fuck with my head, and you want to know *why*?"

"But you just finished telling me in different words that you'd done the very same thing you're accusing me of. According to you, all that need and vulnerability I saw was you fucking with *my* head."

Alex jerked on his shirt then, without bothering to button it, snatched up his jacket and stalked over to the older man and hissed in his face.

"Yeah, but there's one big difference, asshole. You *knew* who you were doing it to."

As he walked away, Mulder's voice followed him. "I'm sorry you're so upset about this. But really, Alex, if you'd *known* it was me, would you have come here on Sunday? Would you have come tonight?" Mulder drifted closer. "Would you have let me undress you and lay you down in my bed?"

Alex stamped down a shiver and lifted his head, holding it at a defiant tilt. "For fifteen hundred an hour? Fuck yeah."

Mulder stooped and picked some of the scattered bills up off of the floor. "Then take this. If money's all you're after, here. It's yours."

"I don't want it."

"You took it on Sunday."

"That's when I thought I was actually providing a service."

"Krycek, just take the money."

"Take your fucking charity and shove it up your ass."

"I don't get it," Mulder said softly. "You're too proud to let me give you money you obviously need, but you're not too proud to sell your body to get it."

"Fuck you."

Mulder lifted a hand to the younger man's quivering jaw. "You want me. You *need* what I can give you. You can deny it from now until Christmas and you still won't convince me that it isn't so."

Slowly, Mulder leaned forward, drawing ever closer until his lips brushed those before him. "Alex," he whispered, hypnotizing the younger man with the soft hum of his voice, "whatever's wrong...whatever's got you out here doing this...let me help you. Let me take care of you."

The words filtered through Alex's clouded brain, and he backed away, fixing an incredulous stare on the older man.

Before Mulder could take his next breath, a hard cross to his jaw knocked him back onto the bed. He lay there dazed, his face throbbing from the blow he'd just received and tried to focus on the blurred face above him.

Alex stared down at the older man, shocked at what he'd just done.

He and Fox Mulder had had many run ins in the past, and Mulder had injured him plenty, but Alex had never hurt *him*...

Clasping his hands tightly together, Alex backed up to the door and, throwing it open, fled the room.

"Alex," Mulder called, wincing at the pain in his jaw. "*Alex*." He pulled himself off the bed and dressed as quickly as he could, then ran out in search of the distraught man. He took the first available elevator down to the lobby and bolted out to the street, looking up and down.

"*Shit*."

"Don't think you're going to catch him, but he went that way."

Mulder whirled around to face the pointing doorman.

Reading the young man's puzzled expression, the doorman gave him an understanding smile. "You're looking for the man who just ran out of here, aren't you? Dark, good looking...leather jacket..."

Mulder sucked the corner of his lower lip into his mouth and nodded.

"He went that way." The man again pointed in the direction in which Alex had gone. "Looked pretty upset. I offered to get him a cab, but I don't even know if he really heard me."

Mulder closed his eyes and turned away.

I had a huge fight with a boyfriend years and years ago..."

Mulder turned back and focused a surprised gaze on the doorman.

"...I'm talking, knock down drag out."

"What happened?" The younger man asked softly.

The doorman broke into a grin. "We'll be celebrating our eighteenth year together next week.

Mulder gave the man a sad smile. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. You know, he wouldn't be so upset if he didn't care. And neither would you."

"I *admit* that I care," Mulder explained to the man, not knowing why he would do so. "I tried to make him understand that."

"And he bolted?"

Mulder nodded his head.

"Try harder, the older man urged. "He wants you to. He *needs* you to."

"He *hit* me."

The other man smiled. "Yeah, it sure looks like it. Just means he's scared for some reason. He doesn't need to be, does he?"

Mulder silently shook his head.

"Then go on. Go get him."

Mulder thought on the advice for little more than two seconds.

"Could you call the valet for my car? Room twelve-fourteen."

Smiling, the man rang the valet, and when the car was driven around to the front, Mulder turned and shook the doorman's hand.

"Thanks."

"None necessary." The man winked. "Just drink a toast to me on *your* eighteenth anniversary."

A silly if slightly embarrassed grin spread across the younger man's face as he considered the thought, then he ducked into the car and set out to find Alex.

********************

//God, stop. Or slow down, at least.//

The extreme discomfort finally registering in Alex's head, he slowed from a sprint to more of a pained limp as he headed back into his part of town. He lumbered along, trying to get the smell and the taste of Fox Mulder out of his mind while simultaneously trying to erase the sound of his voice, so low and full of promise as he informed Alex of his wish to take care of him.

//It's insane//, he reasoned with himself. //He's lying. He's got to be. How could he hate me to the point of violence and then have such a sudden turnaround?//

//Ever hear of that fine line between...//

//Don't even say it. There's no fucking way in hell he could ever...it's impossible. Maybe on some distant level he's got some warped kind of respect for me, and he thinks that hooking is way beneath me. That's why he was giving me so much money. To try and help me quit.//

//Then why not just leave the money anonymously? Why the big seduction scene?//

//I don't know, I...hell, what's not to know? He found out that I fuck men, and he wanted a piece of me just like everybody else.//

//But everybody *else* never went to the trouble of making it good for *you*...//

Hands clenched in his hair, Alex tried to ward off the massive headache he felt starting.

//That's right. He didn't even fuck you the first time, and who knows if we would have *this* time if you hadn't asked him to. Shit, you *begged* him to.//

//I didn't know it was him, I...//

"Hey."

Alex took his hands away from his head and blinked to try and clear his vision. He squinted at the man standing in front of him and scowled.

"What d'you want?"

"Some company. How much?"

Alex was about to tell the man to fuck off when the slam of a car door drew his attention. His knees just about buckled as he caught sight of Mulder moving toward him. Gathering as much of his courage as he could find, he drew himself up and faced the only man who had ever managed to unnerve him.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"We weren't finished," Mulder said softly, gilded gaze burning into the younger man's.

"The fuck we weren't."

"Uh, hey..." the third man stepped forward, trying to wedge himself between the other two. "Remember me? We were in the middle of a deal, here."

Before Alex could answer, Mulder cut in.

"There'll be no deals. Get lost."

The other man stepped forward, nudging Mulder with his chest. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm the guy who's going to hand you your spleen if you don't get the hell out of my face." Mulder turned his attention back to the other. "Alex..."

"We're *done*, Mulder," Alex snapped, eyes flicking away from the damage he'd done to Mulder's face, and attempted to walk away, but a hand around his forearm stopped him.

"We're *not*."

"God *damn*, you're a stubborn fucker!" Alex screamed, wrenching his arm away from the older man's grasp. "Do yourself a favor, okay? Take your ass back to D.C. and forget you saw me here!"

"No!"

As Mulder moved to follow Alex, the other man stepped into his path.

"Hey. He said go away. Now, what part of that didn't you understand?"

Mulder stopped, staring blankly into the other man's eyes. "Get the fuck out of my way."

"Or what?"

Before Mulder could respond, Alex came back, moving to the man's side and rubbing a hand over his chest as he looked pointedly at Mulder.

"Forget about him," he murmured, nuzzling the other man's jaw. "C'mon. Let's go have a little fun."

A lewd chuckle sounded deep in the other man's throat. "Now you're talking."

"Alex, don't do this," Mulder pleaded. "You can't."

"I can't? Why not?"

"You're hurt. Please don't go and make yourself worse just to spite me."

"Don't think so much of yourself, Mulder," Alex hissed. "I'm gonna let this guy fuck me because I *like* it. You got me? I *like* getting fucked. And I like the money."

"Alex, please don't. If you won't let me take care of you, then go home and take care of yourself. I'll give you three times what you'd get from him if you'd just go home."

Alex trembled at the tinge of sincerity in Mulder's voice. Goddamn it, why was he doing this?

"Aww, that's sweet," the other man broke in, looking Alex up and down. "But he looks fine to me. *Damn* fine." Leaning to the side, he drew his tongue up Alex's stubbled cheek. And before he could finish, he was being snatched away from the prostitute's side.

A loud crack sounded as Mulder's fist connected with the man's face, and he fell backward into a parked car. Alex watched in stunned fascination as the man stumbled away from the vehicle and stopped dead as the muzzle of a gun met the patch of skin between his eyebrows.

"Get the hell out of here," Mulder demanded, his tone low and deadly serious, "or I'll blow your head off."

"Christ," the man gasped. "Yeah, he's pretty, but he's just a whore. No need to get violent over 'im."

"Shut the fuck up," Mulder growled. "Shut up and get out of here."

The man slunk away, and Mulder turned to the other who stood quietly watching him.

"Please, go home."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"I'm not telling you. I'm asking you. Please."

Alex fixed a confused, green stare on the older man. "You've always hated me."

Mulder stared back, unblinking. "Yeah."

"So, why? What is this?"

Mulder shrugged. "I don't hate you any more."

"Even after I slugged you?"

"I had that coming. God knows I've let you have it often enough over the years."

"That isn't why I hit you."

"I know."

"So, if you don't hate me, what the hell *is* going on in that warped brain?"

 I can't..." he took a deep breath and struggled for the words he wanted to say. "I can't really explain to you *what* I feel now. I just know it isn't hate."

"Pity's no better."

"*No*. No, I...maybe it was pity at first, I don't know. But I..." He moved closer, head held at a slightly downward angle and touched his fingers to the sleeve of Alex's jacket. "Can we talk? Please?"

The younger man's eyes closed and he stifled a sigh then shook his head. "No. There's nothing to talk about."

"I think there is. You're clear across the U.S., Alex, selling yourself to scum. Men throw a few dollars at you...some of them hurt you, and then you go on to the next one. This isn't you. I know it isn't."

"Are we back on that again? Listen, Mulder. You don't *know* who I am. This is nothing new," he said, disgust very evident in his tone. How do you think I survived the first couple of years in the Consortium? You think the old men didn't get a piece of my ass?"

Mulder shuddered.

"That's right," Alex goaded the older man. "While I wasn't training to be the best liar/cheater/thief/murderer their group had ever had, I sucked their wrinkled dicks whenever and wherever they told me to. I was on call twenty four-seven, and they called me often." He smiled bitterly. "What can I say, I guess I'm just irresistible. Even your boss couldn't keep his hands to himself."

The breath left Mulder's lungs in a rush. "What?"

"Nevermind. It isn't important."

An almost frightening gleam coated Mulder's eyes. "What did Skinner do to you?"

"Nothing you didn't give him cart blanche to do when you left me at his apartment."

Mulder's mouth opened then snapped shut. "I'm...I don't...I had no idea."

"I know you didn't," Alex answered softly and evenly. "You just figured he'd beat the shit out of me, right?"

Hazel eyes lowered to the ground.

"Go away, Mulder," Alex whispered. "Go home or finish your vacation or whatever. I don't know where this obviously misguided sense of responsibility is coming from, or this idea that you suddenly want to stop hating me and start fucking me, but forget it. Forget *me*."

Mulder wanted so much to tell him that it wasn't just about fucking, but then he'd be back to having to explain himself, and he honestly didn't know if he could.

Noticing the way the younger man winced when he shifted from one foot to the other, Mulder spoke, concern seeping into his tone.

"Will you go home and rest? I can see that you're in pain."

"I'm fine."

"You're *not*. You're bleeding for God's sake."

Alex spun away, roaring up at the sky.

"Fuck your concern Mulder! I don't need it!"

"Yeah, you do. And if you'd stop being such a stubborn ass for minute, you'd admit that you *want* it."

Alex snorted. "So, tell me, what exactly is it that you want to do? You want to sweep me off my feet? Whisk me away to your suite and make my boo boos all better? Sweet. Okay, what about after your vacation is over? You wanna take me back to D.C. with you...keep me for a pet?"

"You're being a real shithead, you know that Krycek?"

"Why? Because I want to know how honorable your intentions are?" Krycek made a show of fluttering his ridiculously long eyelashes at the other man.

Mulder sighed softly. "I just want to help you out of this situation you're in. Spend some time with you...talk...see what happens."

Alex laughed bitterly. "Gimme a fuckin' break. You're out of your depth, Mulder. Go find another soul to save."

As Alex turned to leave, a hand on his arm stopped him.

"I don't see you as a project, Alex. I don't want to *fix* you then move on. I...I don't know exactly what I'm saying, I just know that if I walk away from you, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

Alex stared at the other man, shaking his head. "*Nothing* is going to come of what happened or *almost* happened between us. You go back to your hotel room and review the last several years. You think of everything I've done to you, and in no time you'll be asking yourself what the fuck you were thinking even getting near me."

"You think I haven't thought about that?" Mulder asked. "You think I haven't taken stock of each and every low, disgusting thing you've ever done to me? You bet your ass I have." He threw his hands in the air and let them drop to his sides. "And, Jesus *Christ*, I still want to..." Eyes dropping shut, he pressed his lips together and shook his head.

"You really *are* insane. You know what, Mulder? It's not me who has to be helped. It's you. Do yourself a big favor and find yourself a shrink. This city is crawling with them. Now...I'm going back to my life. Go back to yours and leave me the fuck alone."

"I can't..."

Alex pitched forward, shoving the older man with all his strength.

"Leave me alone!"

Before Mulder could respond Alex took off at a full sprint, leaving him staring helplessly until the younger man disappeared from his sight. He stood quietly for a while, unsure of what to do, then turned and slowly walked back to his rental car.

********************

The air reeked of sweat and mold, and vibrated with the labored grunts of a nameless stranger who, with both hands clutching the headboard of a rickety bed for support, slammed again and again into the silent man beneath him.

Alex lay face down in the pillow, forcing his thoughts away from the tender fantasy he'd been immersed in just hours before, and making his body feel the pain of reality.

No soft, romantic music.

Only the screech of tires and shouting grated his raw nerves.

No gentle lover holding him close and soothing him with sweet caresses, unselfishly tending to his needs.

Only an uncaring stranger, pushing him beyond the edges of agony.

He deserved it. His previously lived life demanded it, yet for all that he'd done, especially to the man, who now for some insane reason wanted Alex in his life, it didn't seem punishment enough.

The driving pain ceased, leaving behind a steady ache, and Alex realized that the man had finished. He disengaged with a heavy grunt and fell to the mattress beside the motionless hooker, gasping for breath. When he regained enough strength to move, he rolled off the bed, and headed to the bathroom.

"Man I gotta take a piss."

Minutes later, Alex heard the distant flush of the toilet, and the bathroom door open. As the man struggled with his clothing, he looked over at the other, who still lay in the same position he'd left him in.

"You ain't dead, are ya?"

The man leaned over, placing a clammy hand on the prone man's thigh, and Alex flinched away from the touch, hissing softly.

"Guess not. 'Kay, well, I'm outta here. See you around."

A band of yellow light fell across the body on the bed then disappeared as another satisfied customer took his leave.

Slowly, Alex pulled himself off of the bed, jaw working convulsively over clenched teeth as he made his way to the bathroom. He cleaned up as best he could, ignoring the fact that he was bleeding again, got dressed, and exited the hotel room. Minutes later, he was back at his usual spot, leaning against the bench, head down, eyes closed.

It wasn't long at all before another prospective customer approached, and eyes, dark with more than one kind of hurt looked up at the sound of the voice.

"You look like you could use a pick me up."

Alex recognized the man as one that every hooker in boy's town knew and avoided like the plague. Word was, this guy liked to play rough...too rough, and there were rumors floating around...

"How 'bout it? Wanna let ol' Billy see what he can do to make you feel better?"

Good sense overcome by searing pain, Alex shrugged and pushed away from the bench, following the man through the crowd and down the street.

********************

Mulder shifted restlessly in his bed, jaw throbbing from the blow Krycek had landed, and a dull, unexplainable ache in his chest. A voice in the back of his head kept telling him that he should have tried harder. He should have persisted until he had made Krycek listen and understand. But how could he do that if he didn't fully understand himself?

//But he's hurt. You shouldn't have left him there like that. You can't be sure that he would go home. In fact, you can be pretty damn sure he *wouldn't* go just to spite you.//

Mulder's heart pounded in his chest at the thought of Alex lying in a filthy, run down motel room while some stranger who didn't give a damn about him compounded his injuries, threw some money at him and then walked away.

//Stop. Stop thinking about it. How much clearer could he have made it? He doesn't want your help. He doesn't want you anywhere near him. You tried. You failed. Get over it. Why's it such a big fucking deal, anyway?//

He asked himself that question again and again, growling as he hurled himself out of bed, threw on some clothes and stormed out of the room.

********************

Alex walked up two flights of stairs, keeping at least five steps behind the man in front. As they reached the third floor of the silent warehouse, he looked around the large room and took note of the four other men lounging on crates and wide window sills.

"Look what I got," the new arrival announced to his friends as he snatched a full bottle of whiskey from the closest man.

The dark haired man in the window grinned and stepped forward. "Mmm, mmm." He reached out, stroking Alex's jaw. "I seen you around. Wanted to party with you once, and you told me to fuck off." He looked to his friend. "How'd you get 'im here, Billy?"

Billy shrugged. "I asked, he came."

"Huh." The other man turned his attention back to Alex. "What's he got that I ain't got?"

Dull eyes stared for a moment then again scanned the room.

"Hey," the dark man called, snapping his fingers in Alex's face. "What'sa matter with you?"

"Aww, Mickey, he's just havin' a bad day," Billy answered. "You ever just have a bad day?" Not waiting for an answer, he turned to Alex. "But I promised we'd get you all fixed up, right? Here." He held the bottle out to Alex and waited. "Go on, it'll make you feel better."

Alex inhaled and exhaled slowly, then took the bottle. Closing his eyes, he took a good, long swallow then let Billy take the bottle back.

"This'll warm you up in no time," the other man said with a wink then took a swig of the amber fluid. He looked around at the other three men and motioned to them. "Come on, guys, where are your manners? Make our new friend feel at home."

The others came over and led Alex to an area surrounded by crates and sat him down on one of the blankets they had scattered over the floor. One of the men offered him another bottle, and he took it this time without hesitation.

A pleasurable burning sensation followed the liquid as it trailed down Alex's throat, pooling in his stomach and igniting a small fire there. While it did much to warm and then numb his body, there was an iciness...an ache deep inside...someplace that the booze couldn't seem to reach, and he thought that maybe if he drank *enough*...

While the others kept the hooker occupied, Billy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small package of white pills. Grinning at the Mickey, he dropped two tablets into the bottle, and the two men walked over to the group on the floor.

As soon as Alex passed the bottle he'd been drinking from, Billy handed him the other. Alex took a drink then held it out to the other man, but Billy held up a hand.

"Nah. That one's yours. These clowns can share the other one." He found an unoccupied spot on the floor next to Alex and sat down. "So...how much?"

Alex blinked up at the other man, only now realizing he hadn't even negotiated for a price before leaving with him.

"Uh...wh...what d'you want?"

"Well...I doubt these guys are gonna be real happy just watching you and me go at it, so..."

Alex closed his eyes and drained a quarter of the remainder of the bottle before answering.

"All of you?"

"You mind?"

Why the fuck should he?

Slight shrug. "Whatever."

"Cool. So, how much?"

Three more long swallows. "A grand."

He was on his way to being drunk, but he wasn't completely stupid yet.

//No? Mulder gave you *three* grand.//

Mulder.

Alex gritted his teeth and again raised the bottle to his lips.

"Kinda steep. No group rate?"

"That...that *is* the group rate."

While Alex continued to drink, the money was collected and placed in a pile in front of him. He stopped and started at least three times before he was finally able to count out the whole thousand, and, stuffing the cash into the inside pocket of his jacket, he finished off the contents of the bottle.

"There ya go," Billy cooed. "Bet you're feelin' better already, ain'tcha?"

Alex squinted at the other man, watching his image blur. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, mumbling something unintelligible, and Billy moved closer.

"What's that you say sweet thing? You wanna get the party started?"

Alex lifted his head and again attempted to focus on the man in front of him as a pair of hands grasped his jacket and began to pull it off. He began to voice a muttered protest as the same hands...or maybe it was another pair, started pulling at the fastenings of his shirt and jeans. Then there were more hands...everywhere, rubbing and grabbing, and he lurched this way and that, trying to move away from them.

"Mmm...wait...no, I don't...don't feel right..."

"Don't worry about it, babe," Billy answered, stroking the tips of two fingers down Alex's now bared chest and twisting a nipple. "You ain't seen nothin' yet. Taz, Wes, hold 'im."

Alex was in no shape to fight off the two men who grabbed and jerked him to his knees. He hung limply between the two, the room spinning at an increasingly dizzying pace while Billy and the remaining two men rose to their feet and began to undo their pants.

********************

Mulder drove slowly down the street, quickly scanning the crowd. Not seeing the one he was looking for, he continued on to Alex's apartment building and parked outside. Noting that all the lights were out in the corner apartment, he stepped out of the car and crossed the street. He entered the building, still asking himself why he was doing this to himself, and climbed the stairs up to the second floor.

Moving to the end of the hall, he took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock at the door.

And then what?

There was no way in hell Alex would let him in.

Pulling his wallet from his back pocket, he removed a pair of slender metal picks and went to work.

Seconds later, the lock gave, and Mulder quietly let himself into the apartment. All was silent as he moved stealthily from one room to the next, and it wasn't long before he realized that Alex wasn't there.

He had to be in that crowd somewhere...or out with a customer.

"Son of a bitch."

Fox whirled around and stalked out of the apartment. Leaving his car where it was parked, he jogged down the street, searching for Alex as he moved through the mob. "Shit," he muttered softly. "Come on, come on. Where the hell are you?"

"Lookin' for him again?"

Mulder spun around and came face to face with the same hooker he'd spoken with a few days before.

"Yeah. Have you seen him?"

"'Bout half an hour ago. Looked like shit. I never saw him look like that."

"Did he leave with anybody?"

"Yeah. And I'll tell you this much. I couldn't believe it. Everybody around here knows about Billy."

"Billy?"

"Yeah. Bad news from the word go. Roughed up a few of the boys'. Put a couple in the hospital, and about two months ago a new boy was found dead in a dumpster not too far from here. He was doped to the gills and beaten to death. Everybody knows who did it including the cops, but they won't do anything."

"Why the hell not?"

The small man shrugged. "Nobody gives a shit about us. The cops just figure one less hooker, you know?"

Mulder cursed under his breath. "Do you know where they usually hang out?"

"Yeah, but I ain't tellin' you. They ever found out, *I'd* be the next to get snuffed."

"Please," Mulder begged, reaching into his back pocket. "I gotta find him before anything happens to him."

The hooker watched as the taller man thumbed through a number of bills.

"Why's he so important to you? You family?"

"No. But we've known each other a long time." Mulder pulled out two hundred dollars and showed it to the other man. "Please?"

The right corner of the young man's mouth twitched as he eyed the bills.

"Uh....ah, shit." He moved closer and motioned for Mulder to lean in a bit so he could speak into his ear. "Anybody asks, you didn't hear it from me."

"Don't worry."

"Down that way four blocks. Take your first right, go two streets down and take a left. A little ways down you'll see a warehouse. Got the name Weston on the tower. They're always in there. Maybe that's where they got your boy. Be careful Daddy, they ain't no lightweights."

Mulder slipped the bills to the man and thanked him before he sprinted back down the street to his car.

********************

Long fingers curled in the glossy sable strands of the kneeling man's hair as the first of the five men shoved his rubber-protected cock in and out of his mouth.

Eyes squeezed shut, Billy grunted with each thrust, moving faster as the sound of Alex choking aroused him further. Finally, he tipped his head back, snarling as he came then pulled out of the prostitute's mouth.

"Ah, that was good. Who's next?"

"Me." Mickey shoved to the front. "Open up, bitch."

"Hey, Mickey."

He turned his head to look at the other man. "What?"

"Rubber."

"What the fuck for? Don't matter what he catches."

"No, but what about you, shithead? He's a *hooker*. How do you know *he* ain't got somethin'?"

"Yeah, didn't think of that."

Billy shook his head. "It's amazing you've lived *this* long." He threw a condom at the other man who quickly unwrapped it and rolled it onto his cock.

Before Mickey could get into Alex's mouth, one of the men holding him up began to complain.

"Hey, man, he's gettin' heavy."

"Quit your bitchin'."

"I ain't kiddin', Mickey," Taz grumbled. "We're holdin' up a dead weight here."

"Oh, for...fine. Drop him, then."

The two men let Alex thump to the floor, and Mickey kneeled beside him, shoving a hand inside the waistband of his jeans.

"Guess you're gonna have to take it up the ass instead." He grabbed a handful of hair and jerked Alex's head up. "You don't mind, do ya? Nah, I didn't think so."

Wrestling the almost unconscious man's jeans down to his knees, Mickey draped himself over his back and worked the head of his cock into his ass.

"Too bad you ain't awake for this," he grated into Alex's ear as he pushed into him. "Ain't as much fun when nobody's screamin' for mercy."

Four brutal thrusts and Mickey was done, shuddering as he came.

"Oh, yeah, you're a fuckin' stud," Wes said flatly, pushing the spent man away. "That had to be the shortest fuck in history."

Mickey lay on his back, giving Wes the finger as the third man rolled Alex onto his back.

"This'll wake you up." Wes pulled the hooker forward and drove into him then began tugging at his flaccid cock.

Quickly recovering, Mickey broke into laughter. "What the hell do you think you're doin'? Asshole, that bitch is *out*."

"His eyes are open...sorta..."

"But there ain't nobody home. You ain't even gettin' a whimper outta him."

Wes snorted and glared down into glazed slivers of green. "You ain't completely out, are you pretty boy?" He drew his hand up and brought it down hard across the other man's face. A slight twitch was all the response he received, and his anger flared as the laughter grew louder.

"Dammit, Billy, you shouldn'ta given him so much."

"I didn't!"

"There ain't nobody home."

Billy stifled a giggle. "Yeah, sorry, Wes. I know how you love to see the terror in their eyes when they get a load of your huge dick."

Wes slapped the drugged man's face again in frustration, then pulled the knife out of the back pocket of his jeans.

"Don't you dare," Billy warned as the other man dragged the blade along the prostitute's cheek.

"What difference does it make?" the other asked. "It's like fuckin' a corpse, anyway."

"Yeah, but at least he's warm. When everybody's had a turn, you can have 'im."

"Hear that?" Wes whispered, unable to resist flicking the knife across Alex's cheek and drawing a trickle of blood. He then released the weapon and, holding the prone man's hips in a bruising grip, slammed into him over and over, his agitated groans bouncing off the walls of the warehouse...

********************

Sounds.

A human voice...unrecognizable...moaning.

Mulder pulled his Sig out of his jeans and backed into the shadows, trying to determine which direction the sounds were coming from.

Upstairs.

Silently, he ascended the steps, heart pounding faster as he got closer to the origin of those sounds. And now...

Laughter.

His trigger finger twitched as he was now able to make out some words.

"Ride 'im, Wes."

"Gonna fuck you...again, bitch, when you're...awake, an' I'm gonna...gonna skin you...alive while I'm doin' it..."

More laughing.

"What a sick fuck..."

"And a dead fuck."

All eyes turned to the entrance and focused on the man standing approximately twenty feet away, holding a gun on them.

"Who the hell are you?" Billy demanded starting to rise, but a bullet passing within inches of his head and lodging in the wall behind him dropped him back into place on his crate.

The gun shifted, pointing directly at Wes' head as he reached for the his knife and held it to the comatose man's throat.

"I'll slit him from ear to ear," the man threatened, fueling Mulder's rage.

One nearly black eye squinted, and the gunman's hand moved a bit to the left, zeroing in on the arm that held the knife.

"Go ahead and try it," the soft monotone dared the other man, "and we'll see which one of us is faster."

Billy laughed nervously. "Get Dirty Harry. You think you're that bad, motherfucker?"

Another shot rang out, and Wes fell to the floor beside Alex, holding his bleeding wrist and screeching in agony.

"Yeah." Mulder pointed the Sig at Billy and looked at the other three, frozen with fright. "Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and blow all your heads off."

The others scattered like mice, leaving Billy and his wounded friend behind.

"Billy," Wes wailed, shivering as he went into shock. "It's broken, man. I think he shattered the bone. God, it hurts...oh, God..."

"Shut the fuck up," Billy grated, not taking his eyes off of the man who was slowly approaching. "Who are you? What d'you want?"

Mulder looked down at Alex, noticing the ever so slight flutter of his eyelashes and the shallow rise and fall of his chest. "Alex? Alex, can you hear me?"

No response.

"What did you do to him?"

"What does somebody usually do to a hooker? We were just having a little..."

"What did you *do* to him?" Mulder roared, his patience running dangerously short.

"We just...Jesus, man, we just gave him a little somethin' to chill him out."

"So he'd be easier to *kill*?"

"Kill? Hey, man, I don't know what made you..."

Billy choked on his remaining words as the muzzle of the gun pressed against his forehead.

"What did you give him?"

"Huh? Nothing! He just had a little drink, and..."

Mulder released the safety. "I'll ask you again. You've got until three to answer, or I'm going to hollow out your skull. *What* did you give him?"

"'Bout a half a bottle of Vodka...coupla Roofies..."

In seconds, Mulder was on the man, inflicting on him a swift and brutal beating using the butt of his gun. He broke off the assault as quickly as he'd initiated it and turned his attention to Alex.

"Alex?" He touched the bruised and bloodied face. "Alex, come on. Talk to me, please?"

Nothing.

Quickly checking the younger man's vitals, Mulder cursed softly under his breath.

"We're gonna get out of here now, okay? But you have to help me." He gently shook the other man. "Come on, wake up. Alex, you gotta wake up."

The soft whimper encouraged him to continue. He tapped the uninjured cheek, again calling the other's name.

"Alex...open your eyes. Come on. Come *on*."

The drugged man began to moan and grimace, and Mulder leaned in to plant a soft kiss on his forehead. "I'm sorry. I know you're hurting, but you have to get up. You have to wake up and stay awake."

Grunting with the tremendous effort it took, Mulder pulled Alex's clothing back into place, lifted the younger man to his feet and, not giving the two severely injured men another look, managed to half walk, half carry him out of the room. Carefully, he negotiated the stairs and made it out to the car, holding Alex up with one arm while unlocking the door. As carefully as he could, Mulder lowered him into the passenger's seat then ran around the car and jumped in.

"You're gonna be okay," he told the semi-conscious man, not at all sure that Alex could hear or even understand what he was saying. "But you *have* to stay awake." Mulder reached across the seat, rubbing and tapping his face.

Alex reacted to the sensation, grunting and attempting to move his head away, but the combination of pills and liquor had greatly diminished his motor skills. Finally, he gave up on the effort and let his head drop onto the back of the seat.

"No, Alex." Mulder started the car and pulled away from the curb, then resumed jostling the other man. "Come on, you were doing good. Wake up. Please? Open your eyes and curse at me. Spit at me...*something*. Hell, I'll let you beat the shit out of me later if you want, just please don't go to sleep."

Mulder sighed heavily, praying for a little guidance. He knew the effects of Rohypnol and alcohol, but he had nothing but Billy's word on how much Alex had actually ingested. He needed some reassurance that he was doing the right thing for him. He needed...

"Scully."

Grabbing for his cell phone, he hit Scully's speed dial number. The phone rang three times before a sleepy voice answered.

"H'llo?"

"Scully, it's me."

"Mulder? What...do you know what time it is? Is...is something wrong?"

"I'm okay, Scully, but I need your help."

"With *what*? You're supposed to be on vacation. Don't tell me you managed to fall across an x-file..."

"No. Listen to me. What do you do for someone who's ingested Rohypnol and Vodka?"

"You're *kidding*."

"Scully, *please*."

"Get them to a hospital, Mulder."

"If I could do that, Scully, I wouldn't be calling *you*."

"What the hell have you got yourself into?"

Alex moaned again, and drew Mulder's attention from the conversation. He petted the younger man's hair and cheek.

"That's it, stay with me."

"*Mulder*."

"I'm here."

"God. How long ago did this happen?"

"I can't be sure, but...half an hour to an hour at least."

"Did you check for vitals?"

"He's semi-conscious but that's actually better than when I found him. He's making a little noise now. Pulse is slow but steady. Pupils sluggish but reactive. His color's not bad, but he's a little clammy. Uh...diminished reflexes..."

"But you say he's coming around?"

"Slowly."

"No convulsions?"

"No."

"Where are you?"

"In the car. I'm taking him to the hotel."

"To your *room*? Mulder, you don't...where...how do you...you just *met* this person. The most you could have known him is a few days..."

"Not actually."

"What?"

"I knew him in D.C."

"You did?"

"Yeah. So did you."

"Me? Mulder, who the hell have you got there? ......Mulder?"

"........Alex Krycek."

"*What*??"

Mulder pulled the phone away from his ear.

"Mulder, tell me you're kidding!"

"Do I sound like I'm kidding?"

"Where the hell did you find Alex Krycek?"

"I'm sorry, Scully, I don't have the time to get into this with you. I'll be at the hotel soon. Just
tell me what to do."

"I can't even believe this," Scully muttered. "Uh...try and keep him awake and moving at least until he's lucid. Cool shower...no coffee. Keep a close eye on him, that combination could have cardiac effects that might not show up right away."

"Effects like what?"

"Mulder, he could drop from a heart attack if there's enough of that stuff in his system."

"Jesus."

"I don't think it'll happen. He doesn't sound that bad, but I just wanted you to know the possibilities. Get through the next twenty four hours, and I'd say he was home free."

"O-okay, Scully. Thanks."

"Mulder?"

"This *is* Alex Krycek. Be careful, okay?"

He didn't bother to argue. "Yeah. I'm pulling up to the hotel now. Talk to you later."

"All right."

Mulder disconnected and came to a stop in front of the door. He motioned to the doorman as he got out of the car, and ran halfway to meet him.

"I need your help."

The man looked past Mulder to the figure in the car and smiled. "Of course, sir. What do you need?"

"Is there another entrance? Another way for me to get up to my room without having to go through the main lobby?"

The younger man's anxiety washed the smile from the doorman's face. "Yes, uh...there is. It's the service entrance. For employees only..."

"I need to use it." He looked to the car. "He's sick. He's in no shape, and I don't want to bring him through the lobby...people staring. It...it's my fault...I did this to him, and I have to..."

"Okay," the older man said soothingly. "Okay, take it easy. Bring him around to the back. I'll meet you there, and we'll get him up to your room."

"Thank you," Mulder breathed, clasping a hand over the other man's arm before hurrying back to the car.

"Two minutes, Alex," he promised, again rousing the younger man as he fell into the car and pulled around the back of the hotel. "Two minutes, and we'll get you all cleaned up and comfortable, okay?"

Only the flutter of sable eyelashes answered his proposal.

As promised, the doorman met him at the back of the building, and they quickly but carefully extricated the limp man from the car. They brought him to the service elevator, and once the doorman had them up to Mulder's floor, he turned and eyed the other.

"Jeez, he doesn't look good. Somebody beat him up?"

Mulder's eyes darkened to a stormy shade of green at the thought. He eased the younger man's head to his shoulder and stroked the dark hair.

"Yeah."

"He'll be okay. I know you're going to take good care of him."

"I'm going to try."

The door opened, and the two men slowly maneuvered the third down the hall to room twelve-fourteen. Mulder let them in and thanked the older man profusely for his assistance.

"Don't worry about it. Just get him better. If you need any more help, I'm here from nine p.m. to five a.m." He turned and scribbled on the pad of paper that lay on the table by the door. "Any other time you can reach me at this number."

"Thank you so much." Fox shook the man's hand and turned his attention immediately to the man slumped against him.

The doorman walked to the exit and, sending a concerned smile Mulder's way, he stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him.

"Okay, Alex," Mulder murmured in the younger man's ear. "How about a nice shower, huh? You'll feel better when you're all cleaned up."

Soft groan.

"Come on, you pain in my ass. Open your eyes and give me some shit."

A sliver of glittering green appeared under the sweeping eyelashes then disappeared.

Mulder lowered the younger man to the bed and began to pull off his already unfastened clothing. As quickly as he could, he stripped Alex naked and, to a round of welcome albeit incoherent complaints, pulled him to his feet and dragged him into the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, he waited until the water ran to the warm side of tepid, then turned Alex's face up to his.

"Okay, you're gonna get in the tub yourself and stand on your own, right? ...You're not, are you? You're going to make me get in there with you, aren't you? God, come on, Alex."

No response.

"Son of a...okay, this should be interesting..."

With one hand, Mulder worked at the buttons on his shirt and somehow managed to get it peeled off without letting Alex hit the floor. Then, in a move that would have made Houdini proud, he kicked his shoes off, squirmed out of his pants and socks, and hefted Alex into the shower.

The younger man began to moan and writhe, but Mulder's hand moving over his back and the soothing voice murmuring in his ear, quieted him.

Quickly becoming proficient at using only one hand, Mulder squeezed some bath gel onto the nearby sponge and began rubbing it gently over the other man, thinking to himself that at any other time he would consider this some pretty hot foreplay.

But not now.

Right now this man resting so helplessly in his arms aroused in him an emotion that went much deeper than lust.

Hugging Alex to him, he pressed a kiss into the drenched hair and continued to wash away the blood, the smell of the warehouse, and that of the scum who had treated him so brutally.

They hadn't deserved the mercy he'd shown them. None of them. But there was no time for him to do to them what he really wanted to do. He had to consider Alex's condition first. But now, as he stood there clad in nothing more than his drenched boxer briefs, bathing his naked, semi conscious former nemesis, he had the time to think about it, and the rage he felt shook him to the core.

"They'd better pray I never see them again," he whispered into the younger man's hair, knowing with all certainty that if given a second opportunity, there would be nothing to prevent him from killing all five of the fuckers.

He finished cleaning Alex up, being especially careful around all of the more tender areas, then slowly eased the temperature knob over to cool.

Alex became a bit more active, shivering and fussing as the spray grew cold, and the hand that had soothed and comforted him now insisted that he wake up.

"Alex." Mulder briskly rubbed the younger man's back and arms. "Time to wake up. You're getting damn heavy, and this water is freezing." He tapped the lightly stubbled face. "Come on, I let you rest for a little while, but you gotta wake up now..."

That voice.

Not any of those Alex had last remembered hearing, but very familiar, nonetheless.

And comforting. He liked this voice.

And he liked the arms folded around him. There was a warmth in this embrace...in the body pressed against him, even though the rain was freezing.

What the hell was he doing out in the rain, naked?

Had to be a dream.

But, God, it was so real.

He lifted his weakened arms and clung loosely to the body against him, letting himself feel the sting of the water.

So cold. Felt almost like D.C. rain...

"...Very good...that's good...open your eyes..."

He was beginning to feel different. The haze was slowly lifting, and reality had begun to creep in.

He wasn't dreaming about being naked in someone's arms in the rain. He *was* naked in someone's arms...in a shower...

Mulder watched recognition slowly filter in and clear the glaze a bit from Alex's eyes. He said a silent prayer of thanks then waited expectantly as the sable head lifted a fraction from his shoulder, and Alex looked around. His eyes drifted shut again, and he lowered his head to Mulder's shoulder with a pained sigh.

"Jeez. Where am I?"

"You're safe."

Was that?

No...

"Freezing."

"I know, but I had to wake you up. They drugged you."

Drugged?

//Shit.//

It came back to him in a rush.

That asshole Billy and his cronies...a warehouse...booze...terrible pain...

Holy Christ, what the hell had gotten into him? What could've made him doing something so stupid?

Mulder.

Oh, God...

Alex forced himself to lift his head and focused a fuzzy gaze on the one who held him.

"What...what're you..."

Alex tried to push away from the other man, but his strength was gone.

"Let me go," he pleaded on a sobbing breath even as his head fell back to the other man's shoulder.

"If I do, you'll hit the floor." Mulder said matter of factly as he shut the water off. With one arm still around Alex for support, he reached for a towel and wrapped it around the younger man's shoulders. "Hold on to me so I can dry you."

"How'd you find me?"

"You're lucky I *did*. Krycek, you gotta hold on to me. I can't hold you up *and* dry you."

"*Why*?"

"Why can't I?"

Alex squeezed his eyes shut, fighting off a wave of pain.

"No. Why'd you look for me?"

"If I hadn't, the cops would've found you dead in a dumpster tomorrow."

Alex knew it was true.

"I'm going to sit you down for just a minute, okay? I gotta dry myself off."

Not waiting for an answer, Mulder carefully led Alex out of the tub, wrapped a fresh towel around him, and lowered him to the toilet seat. He removed his soaked underwear, dried himself quickly, then wrapped the damp towel around his waist. That done, he reached down to help Alex up.

"Let's get you something to wear, then we're going to walk a little."

Still dazed green eyes opened and looked up at Mulder. "What?"

"We need to clear your head a little more. I want to make sure you're good and lucid before I even think about letting you go to sleep."

Letting you go to sleep...

He hadn't said, 'letting you go home' or 'getting you the hell out of here', no. He *said*, 'letting you go to sleep'. As in, 'Nighty night, Alex, see you in the morning.'

Alex frowned up at the older man as he was lifted to his feet.

"I can't...I can't stay here."

"Yeah, you can."

"No. *No*. I'm not. I..."

"Shut the hell up, Krycek. You're staying here."

"*No*."

"Don't think I won't cuff you to the bed if I have to."

Alex stared at the other man as he was slowly walked into the bedroom.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

Mulder lowered him to the bed then walked to the dresser for a pair of underwear.

"What do you think I'm doing to you?"

Alex closed his eyes as the room began to spin. "*This*", he grated, moaning as the action just made things worse.

Mulder returned and, ignoring the incoherent protests, put the underwear on the younger man.

"If you're referring to facing down five assholes, one of which held a knife to your throat as he fucked you..."

The look that crossed Alex's face made him immediately regrets his words. He continued in a softer tone.

"...and getting you out of there before they actually killed you, I'm *doing* it to you because I care. Now, come on. You have to get up and walk a little."

"Tired," Alex replied in a small voice as he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "Everything hurts."

"I know," Mulder said almost inaudibly, tentatively running his fingers through the damp hair before moving them both forward. "I'm sorry. I promise you can go to sleep in a little while, okay?"

Alex nodded, silently berating himself for his sudden transformation from arrogant, self-sufficient man to vulnerable, whiny child.

Okay, so maybe the child bit was taking it a little far, but he couldn't deny that he *was* whining, and for some reason he'd never felt so vulnerable in all his life. And the thing was, he really had to admit that it wasn't as repulsive a thing as he thought it would be. In fact, truth be told, it felt good to just let go and put himself in someone else's hands.

Not someone else.

Fox Mulder.

He knew deep down that he would never do this with anyone *but* Mulder. He couldn't.

And still, in spite of all that, he was scared to death. Scared of feeling *too* good. Scared that once he felt good and secure, it would all go up in smoke.

"Talk to me, Alex."

The soft order brought him out of his reverie.

"'Bout what?"

"Anything. I just want to make sure you stay awake."

"You want to know what I'm doing out here. Why I'm doing what I do."

"Yeah, I do. But we don't have to get into anything that heavy now."

Alex struggled to keep his eyes open. "Good," he sighed. "Can't think anyway."

"Okay. So let's sing. Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall..."

"You really are insane."

"Insult me all you want, but you're not going to sleep yet."

"I will if I want to."

"No, you *won't*."

"Fuck you, Mulder."

"Look," Mulder began in an agitated tone, "you think I'm not tired? You think I'm enjoying walking your ass back and forth here? I could've been asleep *hours* ago. I *should* have been, but nooooo."

"Nobody told you to come out looking for me."

"You're right. Nobody did. Nobody else would have given a shit. But *I* do. Why does that scare you so much?"

Alex managed a pained laugh. "Been faced with scarier assholes than you."

"You haven't answered the question."

"Not scared," Alex muttered.

"No?" Mulder asked softly, stroking two fingers across the younger man's lower lip and watched it quiver. "I think you're a damn liar." He moved his fingers to the bruise and cut that it overlaid. "This hurt much?"

Silent shrug.

"They'd better pray I never run across them again."
 

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