From the Heart

Mulder woke up the next morning to the sight of Alex lying on his side beside him, staring at him intently. Alex had awoken about half an hour earlier, and the instant his eyes opened, he remembered.

//He called me 'love'.// Alex actually stopped breathing for a moment before his common sense kicked in.

//He spent years in England. The Brits call everyone 'luv'. It doesn't mean anything.//

//But *Mulder* has never called anyone love before, not even during his phone sex sessions.//

//Fox Mulder would never love me.//

//But he called me love.//

And so it went, round and round, Alex desperately wanting to believe Mulder'd meant it but unable to. By the time Fox opened his eyes, Krycek was practically jittering with tension.

"Morning, babe," Mulder mumbled.

"You called me 'love'," Krycek burst out, unable to bear the suspense for another instant.

Mulder blinked at him owlishly. "Yeah?" he responded blankly.

All expression vanished from Alex's face at Mulder's indifferent response. Mulder frowned at his reaction, seeing the unhappiness he couldn't hide in the depths of his eyes.

"Alex? What's wrong? Do you hate the term or something?" He tried to understand, growing frustrated when Alex shook his head silently and started to get out of bed. "Damnit, Krycek, don't you dare leave this bed! What's wrong?"

Alex shook his head again. "It's nothing, Mulder. I was just surprised."

"Why?" Mulder was startled. "Of course I called you 'love'. I love you."

Alex froze. "What did you say?" he breathed, hardly daring to believe his ears.

Mulder looked even more surprised. "I said I love you. But you know that."

Suddenly Alex was absolutely enraged. "How the fuck could I know that? Am I a fucking mind reader now? All you've ever told me was that you hated me for killing your father and

that you'd kill me if I fucked anyone else. Where exactly was the declaration of love in that?!"

Mulder flinched from the blazing fury in Alex's eyes. "But... I asked you to stay with me," he offered in a small voice.

"I know you like to fuck me, Mulder. Lots of people like to fuck me." He didn't notice Mulder's eyes narrow at that comment. "Fucking doesn't mean anything. Just because the sex between us is amazing doesn't mean that you love me or even that you *like* me. For the last few years, you've cursed me, shot at me, handed me over to Skinner, hit me and generally been a total bastard every time I saw you.

"Then I fucked you, and you decided you liked it. Lots of people have used me for sex, Mulder."

Mulder suddenly growled and grabbed hold of Alex's wrist, yanking him flat on the bed and rolling on top of him. "You are mine, and don't you forget it! No one touches you!"

Alex glared up at him. "You don't own me, Mulder," he snarled.

"The hell I don't! I love you, and you love me, even if you are too damned stubborn to admit it. That means we own each other."

"Like hell!" Alex twisted frantically, suddenly desperate to be free. He did not want to be having this conversation.

Mulder pinned him down, managing to grab the handcuffs out of the nightstand, and Alex abruptly found himself securely restrained. He snarled at Mulder, snapping at him, trying to bite him since he couldn't hit him. All his defense mechanisms were kicking in. He wasn't ready to deal with declarations of love.

But Mulder wasn't going to let Alex get away this time. He was pissed off that he would even try now. He leaned down, seizing his annoying lover's mouth in a possessive kiss, claiming him with every sweep of his tongue. He refused to back down or release Alex's mouth until the other man moaned and began to respond. Then Mulder began kissing his way down Alex's body, pausing to leave marks on his throat and upper chest, then catching a stiffened nipple between his teeth. He tugged not so gently, smiling when Alex gasped and arched up, whimpering in pained pleasure.

Alex met Mulder's eyes defiantly despite his arousal. "Let go of me, Mulder," he demanded.

Mulder released the reddened flesh from his mouth, smirking down at his lover. "Not in this lifetime, love." He ignored Alex's slight gasp at the endearment. "Before we get out of this bed, you're gonna be begging me to love you. *And* calling me Foxy again," he said with some annoyance.

"Don't bet on it, *Mulder*."

"Oh, but I am." Mulder leered down at his beautiful but contrary love. Alex glared back at him, green eyes flashing. Before he could say anything else, Mulder slid a little lower, biting Alex's quivering belly, then settling himself over his legs, his mouth only fractions of an inch away from the straining cock. He slowly trailed the tip of his tongue lightly along the underside, refusing to apply more friction or to touch Alex in any other way. Alex moaned and bit his lip viciously to make sure he didn't say anything.

Mulder eyed him, shaking his head at his stubbornness. Still angry at the thought of anyone else touching Alex, he decided to make sure the ratbastard knew who he belonged to. He grabbed the lube off the nightstand, absently noting that they needed to get more, and hastily prepared Alex, then slicked himself. He wanted Alex so badly that he couldn't wait for more than the barest minimum preparation before slamming into him, trying to get deeper than he ever had before.

Alex twisted frantically, screwing himself down on Mulder's cock, his fists clenching and unclenching in their restraints. Mulder had never been like this before, never so demanding and possessive. He couldn't believe how much he liked it, how hot it was making him. Mulder was slamming into him, hard and deep, one hand tugging at his aching cock, and he knew he couldn't take much more of this. His eyes opened, and he saw Mulder staring down at him, focused on him despite his own growing ecstasy, and he realized how insane this was. He'd wanted Mulder ever since the first moment he'd seen him, and now he wanted to run away from him? Fuck that!

"Please, Foxy," he whimpered.

"Not yet," Mulder rasped, his rhythm never faltering. Alex was going to admit that they belonged to each other if it killed them both.

Alex moaned desperately, needing to feel Fox come inside him, wanting to come *now*, but Fox refused to vary his rhythm, keeping him on the brink. "What do you want from me?" he nearly screamed, unknowingly repeating Fox's exact words their first night together.

Mulder noticed and couldn't help himself. "I told you what I want from you," he said.

Alex's eyes shot wide open as he recognized the words and remembered that night, remembering making Fox admit to wanting him. He also remembered when Fox gave in, and a shudder of pleasure wracked him at the memory.

"I love you, Foxy," he moaned, squirming under Mulder. "I belong to you like you belong to me." His eyes met Mulder's directly. "I haven't touched anyone else since our first night together," he admitted.

Mulder lowered his head again and kissed him hungrily, Alex sucking on his tongue. He continued to pump into Alex's ass, then shifted position slightly, and Alex screamed as the pleasure burst through him, radiating outward from the center of his being to shoot out his cock, covering both of them with his come. His spasms of pleasure milked Mulder's orgasm from him only moments later, and the hazel eyes closed as his back arched and he pushed deeper still inside Alex, the world seeming to shatter around him as he came.

Alex lay bonelessly under Mulder, wishing he could touch him but still restrained by the cuffs. Mulder seemed to know what he wanted though because one still trembling arm rose, key in hand, and he fumbled the cuffs off, letting Alex's arms free. Alex wrapped his arms around Mulder, holding him tightly, feeling him nuzzle into his shoulder.

"I really do love you, you know," he repeated.

Mulder raised his head to flash that incredible smile at him. "I know."

Alex glared when nothing more was forthcoming. "Who do you think you are, Han Solo?"

Mulder snickered. "But I already told you," he protested, laughing when Alex raised a hand as if to hit him. "Okay, okay, no need to get violent! I love you too." His voice turned serious at the end, and Alex smiled up at him, then pulled him down for another kiss.