Part 7



The two-word command stilled Alex's movements, but he couldn't stifle the increasingly desperate whimpers as Fox completed their union.

"Is this what you need, Alex?" he asked, withdrawing slowly then sinking back inside.

Clutching tightly at the pillow beneath his head, Alex nodded.

"Any time you need me, don't be afraid to ask. I'll always take care of you." Fox reached between Alex and the mattress and grasped the younger man's cock. "It was just a dream, sweetheart. It wasn't real." He began to slowly pump the rigid shaft. "But I am. And I love you."

Alex gritted his teeth, forcing back a sob.

God, to feel like this. That one man could singlehandedly, emotionally and physically fill him so completely. It was a miracle.

And Fox, his angel. A singular phenomenon possessed of all that was good and beautiful, and by some inscrutable quirk of fate had showered it all upon him.
And sheltered by that torrent of love, he could feel safe. Nothing could touch him. No one.

But he couldn't stay forever within the sanctuary Fox provided at moments like this. And the vultures were right outside. Circling. Waiting for him to emerge as he would surely have to do...

His cheek resting on the sable head, Fox moved in a steady rhythm, matching that of his hand. The now warm body beneath his rocked against him, and his lover sounded broken cries of desperation as they both moved toward release.

"Almost there," Fox panted, bringing his mouth to Alex's ear. "God...oh, God, baby, it's...I'm..."

Alex listened to the strained groan and knew that Fox was already at the point that he was fast approaching.

"No...n-n..." His mouth fell open on a choking sob as Fox pumped his cock harder, and he exploded, filling the tip of his condom with warm fluid. His previously tense body slumped and, with the additonal burden of Fox's relaxed weight, he sank deeper into the mattress.

Still buried inside of his lover, Fox lay still, temporarily robbed of breath. When he finally gained enough strength, he drew in a long gulp of air and released it. He lifted himself on weakened arms and, brushing the edge of Alex's ear with his lips, he began to rise.

The second he no longer felt Fox's weight, Alex flipped over and looked up at the older man with wide eyes.

With little more than a gesture of his hand, Fox asked the anxious man to be patient, and then he stripped off his condom. While he went quickly to the bathroom to get a damp cloth, Alex disposed of his own rubber and pulled the blanket up to his chin in an effort to replace the lost warmth of his lover.

Fox returned in seconds, pulling Alex's covering back and gently washing him. He dropped the cloth down on the floor and slipped into bed beside the younger man. Pulling the blanket up around them, he drew Alex to his chest, holding him securely in the circle of his arms.
"Better?"

Alex nodded slowly then drew a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry, Fox, I guess it's...it's just one of those nights."

"Stop apologizing. You did exactly what I want you to do when you're not feeling right. You came to me. You depended on me to make it better."

"You did...but I don't know if that's so good," Alex whispered into Fox's throat. "I want to do exactly what I warned you I would."
"What's that?"

"Hold on to you and never let go. I can't...God, Fox, I can't do this."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I...it won't be so appealing to you after a while. You'll come to resent such heavy demands on your attention."

"*No*. The only demands on my attention I resent are those of my job. They keep me from you."

"Fox, you're needed there."

"I'm needed more here."

Alex gave an adamant shake of his head.

"I'll be all right. I'm not saying it won't be hard sometimes, but I've been through a lot of hard stuff, and I've done okay."

"This is different. You're different."

"You're right. I am different. And I guess I have to learn to be strong all over again, but still..."

"And you will," Fox interrupted. "But rebuilding your strength takes time. And rest." Fox kissed the younger man's forehead. "Uninterrupted peace is extremely important in the healing process. I'm going to do everything I can to see to it that you get that."

"I've had more peace in the last few weeks than I can ever remember having."

"And you didn't start having trouble until I went back to work."

"It's just going to take a little while for me to get used to not having you around holding my hand all the time." Alex looked up into his lover's face. "But I have to. For myself, and for you."

"I know that." Fox kissed Alex's forehead. "I'm just asking you not to rush it. And to let me know what you need from me." He lifted the younger man's head to claim a tender kiss. "Like you did tonight."

Alex nuzzled the older man's chin then tucked his head beneath it.

"It really is late," he said softly. "You're going to be so tired tomorrow."

"I'll be fine. I used to exist on a lot less sleep than this." Fox slowly stroked Alex's back and smiled as the younger man snuggled closer and sighed softly. "Go to sleep." He continued to caress his lover as he stared out into the dark room. "I won't let you go."

Alex closed his eyes, knowing that for the remainder of tonight that was so. But morning was just a few hours away, and he'd have to put his money where his mouth was. He'd have to put all his uneasiness and need aside and convince Fox that he'd be fine. He'd have to walk him to the door, kiss him goodbye, and spend the day alone, without his lover's comforting presence.

And that would leave him vulnerable to another visit from one or the other of Fox's so called friends.

He'd have to find a way to handle it without dragging Fox into it. If he knew, all hell would break loose. And as much as he'd love to stick it to Skinner and that little redheaded bitch, he knew the truth would hurt Fox as much as it would anger him.

//You can do it,// he thought to himself as he listened to Fox's respiration slow and deepen. //You've dealt with far more difficult situations in the past.//

//Yeah, but you can't shoot, torch or blast your way out of this one. And it's a pretty good bet that they're not going away all that easily.//

He kissed Fox's collarbone and let his hand glide up and down over one arm.

//You gotta figure something out. Something quick and permanent.//

//That brings us back to the killing thing.//

//No. Shit. No, no. Come on, you're a smart boy. Something else. Think of something else.//

The pitch darkness of the room slowly lightened, and Alex still lay awake. Now on his side with Fox pressed to his back, he watched a light drizzle begin to hit the window.

//Gotta remember to make him take his umbrella.//

The drizzle turned to an all out downpour, and the alarm clock began to buzz, and Alex wondered where the night had gone. The warm body behind him stirred as he shifted to shut the alarm off.

"Jeez," a soft, sleep-roughened voice sounded. "Morning already?"

Alex rubbed his head against his lover's shoulder.

"Told you it'd come early."

Fox moaned, pulling the younger more tightly against him.

"It's raining."

"Mmm hmm."

"Don't wanna get up. Wanna stay here with you."

"Sorry. You gotta go to work. We can spend the weekend in bed if you want to."

"That's four days away."

Fox pulled himself up on one arm and turned Alex onto his back. Gray eyes narrowed on the other man's face.

"Did you sleep at all?"

Alex gave his lover a weary smile. "Not really."

"How come?"

"Don't know. //Liar// It just never happened."

Fox swept his palm over the other man's eyelids, urging them to close.

"Stay in bed. Try and sleep."

The sable lashes lifted, and Alex pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"I'll come back and lie down after you leave. But we've got food this morning, and I'm going to make you breakfast."

"I've been seeing to my own meals for years, Alex. I think I can manage a cup of coffee and some toast."

"That's not a decent breakfast," Alex argued, pushing Fox's restraining hands away and getting out of bed. "Get in the shower, and I'll make you something."

"Okay, fine." Reaching out to caress Alex's bare leg, Fox grinned up at him. "You taking requests?"
"Sure. What d'you want?"

Fox chuckled softly, letting his hand wander to the inside of his lover's thigh.

"You. In the shower."

Alex's only response was a smirk and an arch of the eyebrow.

"Since you say you can't sleep, I thought maybe I could help tire you out."

The younger man laughed softly. "Your generosity knows no bounds."

Fox pushed the blanket away, revealing a rigid erection.

"Neither does my libido."

He rounded the bed, taking his lover by the hand and tried to tug him toward the door.

Alex resisted for only as long as it took to grab some supplies from the nightstand, then he followed Fox out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.
Almost half an hour later, clean and well satisfied, the two men entered the kitchen. Alex made a quick omelet, which Fox wolfed down, and then he sent the other man off to work with a promise that he would go back to bed.

Meaning to keep his promise, Alex entered the bedroom dropped down amongst the rumpled blanket and pillows. He pulled his lover's pillow to his face, inhaling the lingering scent of him, and closed his eyes. Forty-five minutes and not a wink of sleep later, he rolled to his feet and began cleaning the bedroom.

He started with the closet, and as he worked, his mind began to click; dreaming up possible solutions to his Scully/Skinner problems. Unfortunately, all of them ended up involving extreme violence.

A wistful smile came to his face as he considered all the hideously painful ways in which he could do away with them. Then the smile faded.

He might be able to get away with it with Skinner. He didn't believe that he and Fox were that close. But Scully...as pissed off as Fox was with her right now, Alex knew it would hurt him deeply if anything were to happen to the little read-headed troll. They'd spent more time together than an average married couple over the last several years, and Fox loved her.

Alex snorted.

Yet she apparently thought nothing of continuously provoking the shit out of him. She could consider attempting something she knew would infuriate and hurt him.

Maybe he could kill her after all.

//Stop that. It's not an option. For either of them. You're done with killing. Just like you're done with whoring. Think of another way. There's always another way.//

//Maybe you're wracking your brains for nothing. Scully hasn't bothered you since you first got here, and Skinner did leave yesterday without finishing what he'd come to start.//

"Maybe they'll leave us alone," he murmured, grimacing at what had to be a fifteen-year old Knicks t-shirt he'd just found in a box at the back of the closet.
"God, does this man keep friggin' everything?"

//You sure as shit had better hope so.//

Alex sat back on his heels, holding the t-shirt in a loosened grip. He stared into the half-empty closet, chewing on his lower lip.

//Jesus Christ, how many times are you going to do this? Don't. Be. Afraid. You haven't lived this long by being afraid. Confidence, goddamn it. Alex Krycek is a self-assured, arrogant son of a bitch, and nobody fucks with him. Fox Is yours. And you know that when it comes right down to it, you'll do anything you have to do to make sure no one takes him away from you.//

Alex heaved a confident breath and returned to work.

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

Scully nearly jumped out of her skin as her partner walked into the office.

Quickly, she dropped the pen she'd been using and gathered up the few pages she'd had spread over her desk.

"What's the matter with you?" Fox asked, opening up a file drawer.

"N-nothing."

"You looked like you were about to have a stroke when I walked in."

"I was...I was just really wrapped in my work. You startled me, that's all."

Hazel eyes studied the woman then returned to the drawer Fox was rifling through.
"What're you working on?"

"Just some stuff for a class at Quantico I'd done while you were...gone."

Fox gave no response. He pulled a file out of the drawer and sat at his desk, quickly reading through it.

"Here it is," he mumbled, flipping back and forth between one page and another.

"Here what is?"

"Remember a couple of years ago, we investigated a case out in Georgia...a tobacco field worker was found partially decomposed in the woods behind his house..."

"...And he'd only been missing since the night before."

"Right. Well, I just got wind of an identical incident. Also in Georgia. Three miles from the location of the original case."

"I guess we're going to Georgia."

Fox paused then closed the file and stared at the top of his desk.

"Guess so."

She knew he was thinking about Krycek. She could read it all over his face.

//Oh, for pity's sake, Mulder. You gonna start going into withdrawal or something? Is he that addictive?//

Her body answered.

//Wouldn't you like to know.//

//Yes. Yes, dammit, I would.//

She shook the thoughts from her mind and cleared her throat.

"When are we going?"

"I'll see if I can get us a flight out in the morning."

//Can't leave without one more fuck, can you Mulder?//

I'll call you from home and let you know when."

"From home?"

"Yeah. I'm heading there now. There's nothing else going on here, so..." He picked up the file and his jacket. "I'm going to go review this and call the airline."

Scully blinked in surprise, though she didn't know why she should be shocked.

"Oh...okay. Well, you have a...a good night."

"You too."

Without another word, Fox left, and Scully fell back against her seat, emitting a loud sigh. Waiting a few minutes to make sure he didn't come back into the office for anything, she spread the sheets of paper she'd previously gathered up back onto the desk. Bringing her pen to her lips, she chewed at the tip and studied what she had written.

"What're you doing home so early?" Alex blurted out, surprised as his lover entered the apartment. His eyebrows turned down into a frown as Fox hesitated to reply.

"I uh...brought some stuff home with me. There was nothing else happening at work, so..."

Fox walked up to the younger man and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. He pulled back, observing the tiny lines around Alex's eyes, and the shadows underneath.

"You didn't sleep, did you?"

"I tried," Alex explained. "I really did. But I couldn't."

"So, what'd you do?"

"Got up and cleaned the bedroom and the bathroom."

Fox rolled his eyes.

"I figured it'd help make me tired."

"And are you?"

Alex shrugged. "I might be able to nap."

"Good, then I want you to go do that. But uh...but first I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay..."

Fox took Alex by the hand and led him over to the sofa. When they were both seated, he continued.

"I gotta leave for a couple of days."

"...Oh?"

"Yeah, I uh...I gotta go to Georgia on a case."

Alex nodded, struggling to remain nonchalant.

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

Silence.

"I'm sorry, babe. I'd hoped I wouldn't have to leave town so soon."

"It's all right," Alex answered softly. "It's your job. No big surprise."

"Doesn't mean you have to like it. I don't."

Alex smiled and leaned in, kissing the older man.

"It's only a couple of days. I won't even notice you're gone."

"Oh no?"

"Nope."

Fox drew his lover into his arms, murmuring into the side of his neck.

"Damn liar."

"Okay, I might notice a little. You know, like when there's no wet towels on the edge of the tub and no jackets draped over the backs of chairs..."

Fox gave the other man a blank stare.

"I'm hurt."

"Awww."

"You'll be glad to get rid of me."

"Nooo..."

Fox nodded as he looked away. "Yes, you will. You prefer a clean house to me."

Alex laughed softly and pulled the older man to him.

"I was just kidding. You know I'll miss you."

"Really?"

The younger man smiled at the muffled query.

"Yeah, really. I've gotten very used to having you next to me when I go to sleep." He put a few inches distance between them and coaxed Fox to look at him. "I love opening my eyes in the morning and seeing you there...hair all wild..." He smiled and ruffled the golden-brown strands. "Sleepy eyes...sexy, pouty mouth..." He leaned in and brushed a tender kiss over the other man's lips, and suddenly emotion overcame amusement. "My heart is so full, Fox...I wish I could tell you..."

Fox tilted his head, reading the sincerity in the deep green gaze. Absorbing the change in Alex's mood, he raised his hand and traced the line of his love's jaw with the tips of his fingers.

"You tell me every day. Every time you look at me. Every time you smile...touch me...it tells me everything I need to know."

Alex gathered Fox to him, holding the older man in a bear hug.

"I will miss you. But I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Fox asked against his lover's shoulder. "You know, if you want to come with me..."

//Hey, yeah.//

"N-no. Babe, it's work. I have no place there. Besides, my presence would just antagonize Scully."

"I don't care what Scully..."

"I know. But I do. Being around her isn't the biggest thrill for me."

One corner of Fox's mouth twitched into a grimace.

"Sorry, didn't really think about that."

"It'd be a disaster from start to finish."

Fox blew out a long breath.

"I hate the idea of being away from you."

"That's my fault. I've made you feel like I'll break into a thousand pieces if you're not with me. I promise, Fox, I'll be okay. As long as I can hear your voice once a day, I'll live."

"I'll call you every night."

"Okay."

After a brief silence, Alex began to chuckle softly, prompting Fox to pull out of his arms and cast him a curious look.

"We sound like a couple of lovesick teenagers," he said by way of explanation then elaborated. "I had this friend in high school...Jerry Adams. He was so...*insane* over some girl...I can't remember her name now. But he hung on her every word...fawned all over her. Carried her books, left little notes in her locker...made me sick. I used to tell him what a disgusting sap he was, and all he'd say was, 'wait till it happens to you. Then you'll understand.'" He looked at Fox and smiled softly. "I told him he was out of his mind if he thought I was ever going to be that stupid."

The story prompted a grin from the older man.

"Are you admitting that you are that stupid?"

Alex kissed the older man then murmured against his mouth, "I'm saying that now I understand."

"Oh," Fox whispered then pulled Alex in for another kiss. A soft moan rumbled in his throat as Alex's fingers threaded through his hair, holding his head still for a deeper kiss.

Alex felt his lover's body relax and slump against him as Fox submitted, then seconds later, the older man stiffened and pulled away.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Fox breathed, twisting his head to avoid Alex's demanding mouth. "You're supposed to be resting."

"Who says?" Alex asked, letting one hand wander up and down the other man's back as he nibbled on the sensitive skin beneath his ear.

"You haven't slept at all, Alex. You have to be exhausted."

"Funny, I'm not nearly as tired now as I was," Alex croaked, moving lower on Fox's neck.

"Yeah, but..." Fox's eyelashes drooped over darkening eyes. "Alex...m-mmm...c'mon, Alex..."

"C'mon Alex, what?" the younger man asked, deftly unbuttoning his lover's shirt and flicking his tongue over a white cotton-covered nipple.

"Cut it out," Fox breathed unconvincingly even as he arched against his lover's warm mouth. "Want you to go take a nap."

"I will," Alex promised, lifting his head and pulling Fox's shirt out of his pants. The undershirt followed, and one hand wandered underneath, skimming the heated flesh. "In a couple of minutes."

Fox uttered a quickly dying protest as Alex unzipped his pants then sat back and undid his own. He watched through his lashes, moaning hungrily as the younger man reached into his jeans and pulled the solid length of his cock out. Thoughts of the day when he could finally feel Alex's hot semen hitting the back of his throat made his whole body quiver. But that day was still several months away...

"Jerk off with me, baby."

Golden-brown lashes fluttered, and amber-speckled eyes focused on the younger man's face.
"What?"

Alex's hand began to glide over his own cock as he grasped Fox's wrist.

"Jerk off with me."

Fox let the younger man guide his hand down to his already stiff cock, and slowly, his fingers encircled the base.

Alex watched for a moment, hunger blazing in his eyes, then he pitched forward and, yanking both of Fox's shirts off, attached his mouth to the nipple he'd been teasing earlier. As he lapped at the rigid peak, he heard a sharp gasp and felt his lover's hand stop moving.

"No," he whispered, turning his gaze up to the other man's face. "Don't stop, Fox. I want you to come with me." He pulled hard on his own cock a couple of times for emphasis, and Fox grunted in response.

Satisfied that Fox had again begun to stroke himself, Alex maneuvered him onto his back then, turning sideways so that they were face to face, sank to his knees on the floor. He lowered his head to Fox's chest, and his tongue began to lash at the other nipple.

Fox's head dropped to the side, and he watched through a curtain of lashes as Alex expertly milked himself.

God, it was so...at the moment erotic sounded like as good a word as any, but it was more than that. His heart and his body knew it instinctively, though his mind would never be able to come up with an adequate description.

His back arched, and his mouth fell open on a harsh gasp as Alex sucked the nipple into his mouth, applying a moderate suction. The younger man's tongue continued to flick across the tip, tremendously increasing Fox's pleasure, and all at once, everything shut down, leaving only the ability to feel.

And the sensations were remarkable.

He'd jerked off before; hundreds of times, but it'd never felt this good.

It was Alex. Obviously. He was barely even touching Fox, and yet he made all the difference. He probably could have been halfway across the room doing nothing but watching, and Fox would have still been this ridiculously turned on.

He increased the speed of his hand, matching that of his lover, and he felt the familiar tingling heat begin. It spread slowly, skipping from nerve to nerve until each one vibrated with an intensity that made him tremble. He tried to keep his eyes open...to watch Alex's hand move faster and faster still. To see the younger man's face contort into an incredible mask of extreme pleasure even as he continued to torment the constricted nub in his mouth. But release was crashing toward him at an unstoppable pace, and control was lost in an instant.

Choked cries broke the air, and for a number of seconds, each man was lost, drowning in twin oceans of bliss.

Fox was first to make it back, grimacing slightly at the stickiness that coated his hand and stomach. A smile soon replaced it as he looked down at the sable head resting on his chest.

Eyes still closed, perfectly bowed mouth scrunched into a relaxed put, Alex looked as though he was well on his way to sleep.

"Babe," Fox called, running the fingers of his dry hand through his lover's hair. "C'mon, don't go to sleep like this; you're going to cramp up, and your kness are gonna hurt like hell."

Alex's lashes lifted halfway and he moaned softly in response.

"I know you're tired," Fox whispered, still petting the dark head. "Get up, and I'll put you to bed."

The other man attempted a muffled protest, but it was lost in Fox's chest as he sat up. Holding on to Alex, he rose to his feet and pulled the younger man up with him. Slowly, they walked to the bedroom, and he let Alex sink to the mattress before he retreated to the bathroom. Once there, he washed the drying semen away then rinsed the cloth in warm water and returned to the bedroom.
A soft smile curved his lips as he moved to the bed. Alex was now lying on his side, face crushed into a pillow, soundly asleep. Smiling uncontrollably, he seated himself on the edge of the bed and, as gently as he could, turned the younger man onto his back and washed his hand and lower torso before carefully working his jeans down. A little moaning was all the resistance he incurred as he removed the pants and dabbed at his lover's depleted cock.

Dropping the jeans at the foot of the bed, he walked over to the dresser and withdrew a pair of underwear. As he moved back to the bed, he chuckled softly to himself.

Alex had turned again onto his side, unknowingly giving Fox a very tempting view of his rear. He emitted a soft grunt as a pair of warm hands gently wrestled him onto his back and began sliding a pair of dry underwear up his legs.

"This'd go a lot easier if you'd pick your ass up a little, you know?" Fox commented quietly, not really expecting a response as he tried to get the shorts up the rest of the way, and nothing was exactly what he got.

"Couldn't sleep all night, all day, now all of a sudden he can't keep his eyes open," Fox muttered, working the underwear slowly under the dead weight. Finally, he succeeded in his task and dropped a light kiss on the tip of Alex's nose before removing the soiled articles from the room.

Shuffling into the living room, he heaved a long sigh and picked up the phone. After making plane reservations for ten a.m., he called Scully then settled down with the file he'd brought home and began to read. Two hours later, he dropped the file, rubbing at his eyes and looked toward the bedroom.

No movement, no sound that he could detect.

He rose from the sofa and tip toed to the door, peeking inside.

Now on his stomach, Alex lay snoring softly, dead to the world.

The thought that he should probably wake the sleeping man soon crossed his mind, but one more look at the sweet, sleep-flushed face, and he couldn't do it. But at only six in the afternoon, Fox wondered what the hell Alex was going to do at two in the morning when he'd probably be wide-awake. He grinned at one possibility and returned to the living room. Falling down across the sofa, he picked up the discarded file and continued reading.

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

A blonde man limped back and forth across the floor of his Los Angeles apartment, phone to his ear.

"...And you're sure he'll go? Yeah, yeah, I'll wait to hear from you...look, I'm flyin' all the way out there, ain't I? I ain't goin' all that way just to fuck it up. That bastard messed me up but good. I'm dyin' for a little payback....yeah. Yeah, okay. Yeah, we'll bring plenty of film. Right. Okay, later."

He disconnected and dropped the phone down onto the windowsill he'd stopped in front of. Smiling, he watched the activity in the street below.

"*So*...Alex...never knew your name, ya punk ass bitch." The smile grew wider. "This time it's my turn."

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

Fox's eyes opened slowly, and he blinked several times, trying to focus.

The room was just getting light, and he could make out the outline of the larger objects in the room. His eyes shifted to the clock, noting that it was just after six. He'd set the alarm for six-thirty, but since he was awake, he reached over and disabled the function.

Turning his head, his regard fell to the figure beside him.

Alex had surprised him...shocked him actually, by sleeping all night. And now, over twelve hours since he'd fallen into bed, he was still out.

Fox smiled wearily then leaned in and brushed a soft kiss into his sleeping lover's hair. Then carefully, he pulled the cover back and slid out of bed. As much as he hated to remove himself from Alex's warmth, he did have to get ready to go.

"Time is it?"

The barely audible, husky voice reached Fox's ears just as he was pulling a suit from the closet. He turned to find Alex on his left side, watching him with half-closed eyes.

"A little after six," he murmured, returning to the bed. He took a seat at the edge, reaching out to pet Alex's hair. The soft, dark spikes refused to lie down; they merely assumed a different position, and Fox smiled at the picture Alex presented.

Alex's eyes left Fox's face for a moment, scanning the room.

"In the morning?"

"Mmm hmm. You've been asleep for a long time."

"God," Alex croaked. "I never sleep that long."

"Apparently you needed it."

Alex sighed and executed a long stretch. As his body relaxed into an easy sprawl, a sudden thought seemed to come to him.
"Did...did you make your reservations?"

"Yeah. I gotta leave here no later than eight-thirty."

Alex's heart sank. "Oh. Okay, uh...why don't you go get in the shower? First tell me what you want to pack, and I'll do it."

"Already done. I did it last night before I came to bed." Fox studied Alex's expression for a while then leaned in to brush his lips across his lover's warm forehead.
"Are you sure you're going to be all right?"

"Yeah. I'm just...I guess I'm just a little disoriented. One minute we're discussing you going away on a case, and the next thing I know, I'm opening my eyes, and you're getting ready to leave."

Fox sat up and lowered his gaze to the space between them.

"You know, I really don't think I'm going to make it."

Alex tilted his head in question. "Make what?"

"A year. Not if I'm going to feel like this every time I have to go away."

"It's just because this is the first trip. It'll get easier...for both of us."

"Do you really believe that, or is it just wishful thinking?"

Alex smiled, loving how well Fox had come to know him in such a relatively short time.

"Maybe a little of both."

Fox nodded then paused as if he was thinking about something. Before Alex could inquire about it, he reached out, pulling the nightstand drawer open.

Withdrawing two condoms, he cast a devilish grin down at the younger man.
Suspicion blended with instant desire, and Alex released a soft moan.
"What d'you think you're gonna do with those?"

"Well, I got a little time to kill before I have to go, and I thought, you know, since you're already on your back..."

"Oh, you thought that, did you?" Alex asked even as he lifted his hips for Fox to remove his underwear.

"Yeah, I thought that."

Fox pulled the younger man's t-shirt off and ran both hands up and down his chest and abdomen.

"You assume much, Agent Mulder," Alex groaned as Fox brushed his fingertips over the rapidly hardening nipples.

"Tell me I'm wrong," Fox dared him, bending to flick his tongue over one constricted peak.

"You're wrong."

Fox lifted his head, sending Alex a challenging stare.

Alex snickered softly. "You like that? Pretty convincing, wasn't I? Ah, shit!" A low moan followed the curse as Alex squirmed against the hand that had just delivered a not so gentle slap to the side of his upper thigh.

"How 'bout that?" Fox taunted, watching his lover's hardening cock jump. "You like that?" One corner of his mouth slanted upward when he received only a soft whine as a response.

Handing one condom to Alex, he rose to his feet and stripped off his underwear. Then, kneeling on the bed, he straddled the other man's waist.

"Put it on me."

Alex obeyed without hesitation, and when he completed his task, Fox handed him the lube. He applied a generous amount to the older man's cock, teasing the rigid shaft until Fox decided he'd had enough.

Holding Alex's gaze, Fox shifted position, kneeling between his parted legs, and put the other condom on him. He then pulled the younger man toward him. He moved forward, lying on top of Alex, and lowered his head until their lips touched.

"You're going to feel this until I come back home."

Alex gasped at the simple statement, and his cock throbbed.

Fox cocked his head slightly, his eyes glittering with definite intent.

"You like that?" he whispered, watching his lover's eyes close and his lips part slightly. He lifted Alex's legs, encouraging the younger man to wrap them around his waist. With not much hesitation, he surged forward, burying himself in tight, clenching heat.

Alex's neck arched, driving his head back into the pillows as he cried out with the joy of being so utterly possessed. His leg muscles tightened in an unconscious attempt to pull Fox even more deeply into him. His fingers dug into the older man's back, and sounds; broken, disjointed ramblings tumbled from his lips, pleading in their tone and urgency.

He wanted what Fox had just promised. Christ, more than he wanted his next breath. If he could feel him...physically feel his presence, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He'd make it through the couple of days Fox was gone, and it'd be okay...

"All right, baby," Fox soothed, realizing just how much of a frenzy he had worked his lover into, even if he didn't fully understand the reasons. "I got what you want."

Harsh, abbreviated groans pushed past Alex's gritted teeth as Fox gathered his strength and drove into him again and again. The groans turned to a series of strangled whimpers with the added stimulation of his cock, and any reason Alex still possessed left him just then.

Fox watched Alex intently, mesmerized by this exquisitely beautiful creature beneath him, wrapped in feral, mindless bliss...overjoyed by the knowledge that he alone could bring him to it.

He continued his powerful thrusts, his hand matching then exceeding his pace, forcing increasingly desperate cries from his lover. The younger man bucked wildly then stiffened as orgasm approached, and Fox joined him, grating disjointed words of love and encouragement above Alex's choked sobs.

Moments later, the two collapsed and lay spent and moaning softly in each other's arms. What seemed like an eternity later, Alex turned his face into the golden-brown hair brushing the side of his neck and kissed the back of Fox's head.

"Yeah, I'll be feeling that for a while."

Fox grinned lazily against his lover's shoulder then moved to disengage.

"Good," he rumbled then lifted his head. His eyes shone a brilliant green-gold.

"*Wait*."
"For what?"

"For me to get back. It's gonna be days before you're able to sit."

"Not nice to tease," Alex purred, rubbing his leg against Fox's rear.

"Who said I was teasing?" Fox countered. "By the time I get back here, we'll have spent two or three nights apart." He lowered his head and brushed his lover's lips with his own. "You'd better get a lot of rest, sweet baby, 'cause you're gonna be in for a rough ride."

"I don't know if you're thinking that's a threat," Alex moaned, nipping lightly at the older man's lip. "But I can tell you that all it does to me is turn me on like you wouldn't believe. Jeez, even so soon after we just finished, parts of me are starting to tingle."

"Can't get enough of me, huh?" Fox returned the gentle nip, grinning broadly.

"I hope you really know how true that is."

The grin faded into a tender smile, and Fox laid a soft kiss on his lover's lips.
"I know." He sighed heavily. "I guess I should get up now."

Alex fought the overwhelming urge to wrap his arms tightly around Fox and refuse to let him go. Instead, he glanced at the clock then back at his lover.

"Yeah. If Scully has to wait for you, she won't be very happy."

Hesitating a while longer, Fox finally picked himself up, moaning at the loss of Alex's heat, and he trudged slowly out of the room.

"I don't wanna go!" he yelled as he passed into the hall then disappeared into the bathroom, turning the shower on.

"I don't want you to go," Alex whispered after lying quietly for a while, staring up at the ceiling. A few minutes more in bed, and he rose to gather the clothes Fox had forgotten about earlier.

An hour and dozens to kisses and hugs later, Fox was on his way. Left now to himself, Alex took a seat on the sofa, folding his hands in his lap, and looking around.

So, here he was. Alone. For a few days. In Fox's apartment.

Their apartment. Fox would have corrected him immediately.

His wandering gaze fell on the aquarium, and he smiled at the angelfish hovering in the far corner. Rising from the sofa, he lifted the lid and sprinkled a few flakes of food into the water. He watched the fish dart back and forth a few times before finally swimming to the top to eat.

//I knew he was just blowing smoke when he talked about flushing you.//

"You lonely?" he asked the fish out loud as he tapped lightly at the glass. "Bet you are." He watched in silence for a while then spoke again.

"It didn't really thrill you to eat the others, right? You did what you had to do to survive." He gave his only companion a sad smile.

"I understand."

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

"You asleep?"

Hazel eyes shifted from the airplane window to the woman in the next seat.

"With my eyes open?"

"It's not unheard of."

The eyes shifted back to the window.

"Mulder, is your mind going to be focused on this case?"

"Of course it is."

"But until then you're going to walk around in this state?"
"What state?"

"You're like a...a zombie, for lack of a better word. Mulder, Krycek is a big boy. I'm sure he'll be fine for a few days."

No response.

"Mulder, are you listening?"

"I heard you."

"But?"

Fox cast a blank stare on his partner.

"Look...I know I agreed not to try and talk to you about Krycek or your life, but we're on a case now. I need to know that you're here, and not just physically."

"Don't expect me to forget about him."

"Not forget, Mulder, but at least put him to the side..."

The statement earned her a sharp stare.

"A little. You can't do your job properly if the only thing you can think of is what Krycek had for breakfast this morning, what Krycek is doing right now, where he's been, who he's been with..."
"Who would he be with?"

Scully shrugged. "I...I don't know. It was just a comment."

"He wouldn't be with anybody."

"Okay! You don't need to be so defensive, Mulder. I didn't mean anything by it."

"The hell you didn't," Fox snapped as softly as his building anger would allow. "You're thinking that the minute my back is turned he's going to be off looking for a little action."

"I didn't say that," Scully responded softly. "You did."

"It's what you were implying," Fox grated, drawing the attention of the passengers around them. "But guess what, Scully?" He moved a little closer, growling softly into the woman's ear. "It's just me. I'm all he wants. I'm all he needs."

"Yeah, okay, Mulder. You're all he wants, you're all he needs. Gotcha. Now, can we drop this?"

"I didn't start it," Fox breathed, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes.

"Fine. I'm to blame. I'm sorry. Let's just drop it."

Fox sat quietly, eyes closed, mouth set in a hard, angry line. He said nothing more for the rest of the flight, and when they landed twenty minutes later, he headed straight for the car rental booth with his partner scurrying behind him, trying to keep up with his long strides.

Finding a line at the booth, Scully excused herself, feigning a trip to the ladies room. Once she was out of Fox's sight, she whipped her cell phone and a slip of paper out of her pocket. Reading the number, she quickly punched it in and waited for an answer.

"Yeah?"

"Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"You find everything I left you?"

"Yeah, I did. How'd you get this stuff?"

"You don't need to know that. You remember which apartment?"

"You wrote it down, for Christ's sake."

"Just make sure you get the right one. And make doubly sure you get damn good pictures."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey."
"What?"

"I know why I'm doing this. Why are you? What'd he do to you?"

"It's got nothing to do with anything he did. Now, stop asking questions, unless you've got one directly pertaining to your assignment. Wait until the proper amount of elapsed time, do what you went there to do, remove the unit, and get the hell out of there. And for God's sake, make sure no one sees you."

"Relax, honey, everything's cool."

"It'd better be. I'll call you tomorrow to see how it went."

"Okee doke. Uh, hey. Not too early, okay? Maybe I'll still be over there havin' fun with him."

"Don't you dare stay there any longer than I told you to. It'll only be safe for about an hour. After that, you run the risk of getting caught or worse."

The man heaved an exaggerated sigh.

"Do you understand me?"

"Yeah, yeah. An hour."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"Right."

Scully hung up and, tucking the phone back into her pocket, headed back toward the rental booth. Fox was just beginning to speak to the agent as she reached him, and she stood at his side, mind racing.

//You're taking a huge chance; I hope you know that. What if he screws up? What if he doesn't follow your instructions exactly and Krycek dies or something? Not only would that defeat the whole purpose of this, but it'd send Mulder straight off into the deep end...//

Fox broke off his conversation with the rental agent and turned a curious gaze on his partner.

"What is it?"

"Hmm?"

"You just...you let out this groan."

"Oh. Did...did I?"

Fox nodded.

"I had a cramp...in my leg. I'll just go walk it off."

Fox watched the redhead limp away then turned his attention back to his business.

//Great//, Scully cursed to herself. //Goddamn beautiful. Make him suspicious why don't you?//

//Everything's fine. Just don't lose your cool.//

//Easier said than done. Do you know the depth of the shit you'll be in if...//
"Your leg better?"

Scully emitted an abbreviated shriek and spun around, practically crashing into her partner as he came to stand behind her.
"Um, yeah. Yeah, it is. Got the car?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Exhaling a steadying breath, Scully bit back her concerns and trailed Fox out of the building, going off in search of their car.

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

Go to Part 8

Back to Index