Hot Night In The Sahara

We were on the run for one year and two months. We're tired of the fight and flight. We're exhausted by our nightmares and jumping at any situation.

We thought we'd give up sooner or later.

Looking back on my life, I had come to the conclusion that no one was left waiting for me. The only one that might still be concerned about me that I could come up with at that moment was Skinner. Scully was sitting beside me, watching as I made the call to his office. We wanted to say our goodbyes and thank yous.

His number had changed, and my call was routed to his new office. The past year seem changed a lot of things. Skinner told me that Kersh was murdered within the Bureau, and subsequently had a thorough clean out. Skinner became the Director and began to secretly clean out the Bureau himself - he killed every supersolider he could find in the Hoover building.

I laughed bitterly; that was not the Walter Skinner I knew - the AD that was restrained by the upper, outer or whatever forces existed in the shadows. I certainly didn't know. And now, he killed systematically, fighting back. He said he couldn't do it without the help of the rebel, the healer, especially Marita. He said her name softly.

"Come back, Mulder. It's not safe out there and we need you and Scully. Together, we'll be safer than ever." Skinner said.

Scully and I returned to DC, in union with Agent Doggett, Agent Ryes, the Gunmen's friends Jimmy and Yves to help Skinner from both inside and out of the Bureau. Marita brought the rebel and the healer. We formed a strike team against the consortium.

Now, we use the Gunmen's warehouse as our safe house and headquarter. This place have become a shield for all of us. Scully and I live here, sometimes the others come and stay to heal. There're enough equipment for our use, but the fact is that we need someone who knows how to use them, we just hope the three weren't gone. I think of the one as skilled as the Gunmen, but he died too, in front of me.

Tonight, the warehouse is quiet. Scully went to see her mother, and none of the others stayed. I retrieve the disks Marita stole from one of the consortium's facilities, and am chagrined at myself for not figuring out how to break the code. It'd be a piece of cake if they were in the hands of the Gunmen...

Or him.

The security camera shows someone approaching, I smile seeing the bald head appear on the screen. He's doing it on purpose just making fun I think, so I say playfully, "Step back, let me see your handsome face, Walter."

He sounds nervous when he asks, "Those disks, again?"

"Yeah," I hand him a beer, "hard to break in."

"I...uh," He doesn't take the beer and doesn't look at me also. I begin to think he's going to tell me the good news about him and Marita. But instead, he hands me a photo, "I should have told you much earlier."

The hell you should. It's him. "I thought you shot him. I saw you shoot him." I yell, "Just how many more are there that you didn't tell me about?"

"Only this one, Mulder."

"Where?"

"Tunisia. Marita took his body that day, I thought she was going to cover it for me. Later, much later, I knew the healer saved him." Walter says lowerly by the front door. Before he leaves he look me in the eye, "See the back of the photo for his address. Bring him back, Mulder. We all need him, especially...you."

"Wha-" I'm stunned for a moment there, hearing the last part. Fuck, the bastard slips away from the door before I catch him to beat the truth out of him. What made you believe I need him, Walter?

No. I don't need him.

Scully came back around midnight, she showered and is doing some research on her laptop now. She turns, I duck my head, pretending I don't know she knew I was watching her.

We act like an old couple - ignore the sex part, we shared body warmth, not body fluid - she knows me too well. She sighs, "Mulder, say it already."

I show her the photo of Krycek in a long white gown, leaning on a camel in the desert. "Well?"

"He's...uh," Scully shrugs like being caught stealing a candy, "...finally someone's got eyelashes longer and thicker than him, though it's a camel."

"Scully?" I bent to turn the light on her desk towards the photo, "I know the focus isn't good, but it's not bad enough to not recognize the man. Put on your glasses, Scully."

She doesn't do as I ask. Scully adjusts the light, turns the photo to its back and reads the address on it. "Go, Mulder."

I sigh, sitting on the edge of her desk. "So you knew it? When? Why you didn't tell me?"

"Skinner told me last week, after we had problem breaking into those disks. Marita said Krycek should know better than her about the code, he used to go to some of those facilities with the elders. That's why we need him." She says in all business, matter of fact way. I know that's the way she tries to avoid some of my questions. I star at her, she is smiling tightly. "What?"

"Why did you think I need him?"

"I didn't-"

"Didn't? Skinner wouldn't say it unless he got the idea from you. And who gave you the idea? "

"You, of course." This woman stars at me certainly, "Mulder, we sleep together, live together. No one knows you better than me. You need someone else. A lover. Him!"

"Are you crazy, Dana K. Scully ?" I jump up, yelling at her.

"I didn't see my mom, I went to book you to Tunisia." Silently, Scully withdraws an envelope from under her laptop, walks up to me and forces it into the pocket of my Polo shirt, "First flight in the morning, you'd better start to pack. I'm going to turn in." She kisses my check to say good night like every night since we were on the run, "Just go..."

She drove me to the airport this morning, made sure I took off. I spent half a day wandering on the Tunis streets to prepare myself going to him. I needed courage, determination and a strong reason to face him.

I got none.

But, hey, the city Matmata where Krycek lives now do ring a bell on me! Doesn't it is one of the scene the Star Wars movie took place? At least that's the good reason for me to go there, I can simply be a tourist.

Matmata is a small village, but it's quite lively. I'm lucky to get a room in a cheap hotel in the hot travel season, but the rental cars are already out of hand. I need a guide who can speak English, the hotel says they were all arranged for the tour groups so I have to wait until late afternoon. That leave me on my feet to do my own adventure.

I go to get a guide book printed in English from the Syindicat d'initiative. The first thing I do is walk to the famous hotel where scenes from Stars Wars was shot. I'm not thrilled when I have to walk in the heat of August, I'm sweating and smelly when I finally see the troglodyte dwelling Hotel Sidi Driss.

It's beautiful in a way, just plainly beautiful. I go into their bar to have a cold Cola in the pit house of the original inhabitant Berbers. The bartender speaks with an English-Arabic accent, and he is very talkative. We chit chat for a while, and he's clever to know that I'm not here for sight seeing. I show him Krycek's address that is written in English, he shakes head then his eyes open wide when he turns the photo seeing Krycek. "Alex!" The bartender recognizes him.

Krycek didn't bother to use a fake name here?

"Haven't seen him for a while, but you can ask the locals on the street, the boys may lead you to his house. Just show them the picture." He grins widely, "We like him, he pays good tip."

Well, as a rat he once was, I can't believe he let the locals know his nest. It seems that he is well known in the small community. Boys, looking to be near fifteen, lead me to a huge Berber troglodyte dwelling and push me inside to a courtyard. I tip everyone and they take the money happily, running to the nearest shop to buy juice.

My throat suddenly goes dry, I want a beer. I can't face him. What should I say? Hi, I'm sorry about your arm, I'm sorry Skinner shot you, I'm sorry about all the past between us...

I'm sorry about everything, Alex.

Don't think I can say it out loud to him. The words just too surreal to hear, even to myself. He'll probably think I'm an alien, and stab me on the back of my neck.

A girl, must have heard the noise I was making, comes out from one of the tunnel like rooms. She screams scarcely at seeing a stranger in her house. She picks up a stone, pretending to toss it and shouting towards me.

"No! No, I won't hurt you, girl." I say quickly, hands open and empty, facing up. Seeing the bravery on her young, childish face, I have no doubt she'd attack me if I took one step further. "I come here looking for Alex! Alex Krycek!"

"Alex?" She drops the stone, "Are you his friend?" She says sheepishly, in an accent different from the bartender.

"You speak English?"

"I learn from Alex." She says proudly.

"Great. Is he home?" I look around, there are several rooms circle around the courtyard. An old woman, sitting in a room to my left has stopped what she was doing to a cactus and looking at me warily. I say in a friendly tone, "Call me Mulder, may I have your name? Who are you?"

"I have a name, but Alex calls me Foxy," My heart drums hearing this, "I'm his wife."

Wife? She looks only fifteen! "I'm sorry?"

"He's my husband." She says softly, her cheeks glow pink in happiness.

And I feel the pain tearing my chest.

"Okay..." I clear my throat, "Mrs. K-Krycek, where can I find Alex?" I have to find him, I need to see him, and I need to know the girl's husband really is the same man I'm looking for.

"He won't come back a couple of days. He's in the desert. Here-" She disappears into one larger room, I guess it's Alex's. Seconds later, she coms back handing me a long white gown, "Put it on, you're the same size."

"What for?" I hold it awkwardly, being aware it's HIS.

"For the trip to the desert. You can ride my camel," The girl leads me to another smaller courtyard where looks like their storage. She leashes the white camel and pulls it outside of the stable. Then she shows me how to climb on it.

Uh, I want to puke, it's very smelly.

"Come on, pratice! Foxy will take you to him."

"Foxy?"

"It is my wedding present, Alex calls it Foxy, too." She smiles embarrassed, shows me the leather name brand on its neck. I see the familiar hand written letter spelling FOXY on it. That bastard, what else won't he call Foxy?

"Don't you have a car?" Eyeing its eyes, I remember what Scully said about Alex's eyelashes.

"A truck for work, Alex drove it to the desert." Work?

"Be careful, she bites." So it's a female. Krycek, now I know you really hate me.

Very skilled, she prepares a package with water and food to settle them on both sides of the camel's back. Then draws a simple map to me, says gently, "Foxy is more useful than the map, but just in case." What a excellent wife of yours, Krycek!

A little scared, I try several times to climb on it and fall. "It's a very huge animal."

"No, it's only a calf. An adult camel is about your hight or above. Try again, Mr. Mulder." She smiles. I think of her smiling as kindly as now to Krycek. Does he love this girl?

Foxy, the little camel, carries me on the way towards the desert. I see the endless rocks, shrubs, cactus and finally only the white sand dune. The more we are away from town, the more I doubt this animal will bring me to Krycek. The sleeves of Alex's gown are dirty with my sweat mixing with the dirt when I used it to wipe my face. I didn't bring extra water in my own bag only what the girl prepared for me, and I have run out of it ten minutes ago. Gradually, the sweat dries, becomes salt and makes me itchy.

The heat just too much to bear. Fox Mulder, you're a fool to come here in August. You'll be a pile of bones in the desert soon.

"Help," I cry out stupidly. No echo, the desert is deadly quiet. I scream with all of the air in my lungs, "Heeeelllp!"

Foxy roars in cue, shakes her head in disapprove. I yell at her, forget she may bite me, "What do you know, bitch? I'm going to die!"

Suddenly, it begins to run - well, compared to the speed it walks. I see a shadow of an oasis. Great, I'm illusion now.

"Hel~~p!" My weak voice trembles with the rhythm of the camel walking.

Gradually, I see clearly a truck parking outside of a little tent nearby the small oasis. I'm not daydreaming! The camel slows down, so I slip down from its back, walking towards there hesitantly.

A lot of cacti are gathered at the back of the truck. Foxy walks to there, begins to chew on the plants.

"Hey!" A man growls, he jumps out of the driver's seat and aims his gun at the little camel, shouting playfully in loud, "Stop right there or I'll shoot you!"

Pool little Foxy startles and begins to vomit cud.

"Oops, I'm sorry," Krycek drops his gun, caressing its fur on the neck, "Where's my girl, Foxy?"

He begins to seek for the girl, then stuns seeing me. I hear my own heartbeats - like I said, the desert is deadly quiet!

"...that's my favorite gown...Mulder."

My God, this is the first time I see his body. Krycek wears nothing but a breached khaki shorts, and a pair of keen-height working boots. I stare at his stump.

Krycek doesn't seem to care about my staring, he turns to pick up his gun, and then tosses it into the driver's seat.

"Um, I'll give it back to you," I begin to take off the long gown. I'm sweaty, anyway.

Krycek walks to the back of the truck, checking the plants, and totally ignores me. Suddenly, he turns to scold the camel, "Shit! Look how much bills you've chewed off, Foxy?"

I'm extremely uncomfortably by the way he spits MY name. "I know you hate me, just say it."

Krycek shoots me a stare, "I hate you."

He turns to pull the camel towards the oasis. I follow behind, observing his tan torso, "You're burnt."

No answer.

The oasis is very small, only a thin stream flows from above a large rock and forms a small pond at the rocky ground. A couple of orange trees, a date palm and lots of cacti line around the pond.

"Welcome to my oasis." Krycek ties the camel on the date palm. It drinks the water soundly.

"Yours?"

"Well, it'd be too small for commercial use and I haven't met anyone here. So I claimed here as my treasure land." Krycek takes off his shorts, boots and steps under the stream, washing.

I'm craving the cool water and desperately wanting to wash the salt and dirt off my body, too. Actually, I can go over to the small pond and wash myself there. But looking at Foxy drinks by the pond peacefully, I'm afraid it'll get too excited then pukes again at seeing me naked.

Krycek might be my better choice, "Ah...may I join you?" That earns his attention.

He turns to look at me, stops washing and walks up to me, "My gown." Automatically, I help him put it on. "Thanks. It's your turn." He walks away.

I feel shy shedding clothes with the man nearby, so I do it quickly. I hear him walking back to his tent. I finish showering in a hurry, and reluctantly put my smelly clothes back on.

Krycek returns, brings his food and a clean towel to me, "Sink your clothes in the pond."

I wrap it around my waist, "Soap?"

"No! Where's your common sense, Mulder? Or you want to pollute my paradise?"

"I-" I hate the desert!

I can't lose my temper with Krycek, angrily, I roll my clothes into a ball and throw them into the pond hardly. And this makes Foxy roar, I shrug, "Sorry I scared your girl."

Krycek gazes at me, "If you don't like here, go back!" He walks to Foxy and murmurs to it.

I shout, "I can't...I can't go back without you." Uh, no, "I mean, they wanted you back to DC."

"Who?"

"Long story. Shall we eat first, I'm starving." I walk there, join him patting the camel. Then I take out all the things his wife put on Foxy this morning. A thick cotton blanket, food, my own bag and the emptied water bottle.

We go to sit in the shadow under the big rock where the thin stream falls from, with our feet soaking in the flowing shallow water. I see my food is all the same as Krycek's, "Why'd you call her Foxy? What's her real name?"

"Aeonium, a succulent's name like you see all around this country. The name just doesn't suit her. She's not that normal, she'll become a more intelligent and attractive woman. I'll raise her into that."

"Pig." I chew my food, gazing into a distance.

"Say it again." Krycek says unpleasantly.

I say loudly, "She looks fifteen! How could you marry her, why not adopt her? You can always find someone to fuck, right?"

I put down my food, ready to fight Krycek should he attack me. On the contrary, he snorts, and smiles for the first time since I arrived here.

"She is eighteen actually. I married her when she's seventeen, that's the legal age for marriage in this country."

"She can be your daughter."

"Are you coming here to discuss my marriage Agent Mulder?"

I sigh, "No." I begin to explain the situation we're in back in DC.

At the end, I don't have the confidence to bring Krycek back to the US. After all, he has a life here. A place to live, a young wife, an expensive white camel, a job. Wait, what kind of job?

"What are you doing here? Passing some information?"

"Didn't you see my truck?"

"You mean the cactus?"

"Succulents," He corrects me, "Only those without thorns. I wouldn't let my only hand gloved."

"Can't pull the trigger?" I nod with understanding. I finally learned the fear of being vulnerability back when I was on the run. "Succulents, they make you warm and full?"

"I got Japanese buyers . Do you know how much it worth, just one piece of those stupid plants in Japan? Or the wine made by them? I earned good money on this business." He says with pride.

I sit silently, watching Krycek put away our leftovers and pulls Foxy to the shadow under the rock, too.

"It must be expensive. I merely saw white camel around this area. Your wife told me it's a wedding present you gave her." I say with my face down, don't want to see what a happy husband he is now. My feet play the flowing water absently.

"I'm tired," He lies down on his side, facing away from me, "Watch the camel, if you don't want to sleep."

No way!

I check the leash, make sure it secured firmly and wait until Krycek's breath is regular. Then I toss my towel away, jump into the small pond and begin to swing. In fact, it only allows me floating back and forth inches. But it feels so good. The water is cool and clean, even can I see the bottom.

Some time later, Krycek wakes up. He is doing nothing but washing his pet, carefully. Lovingly.

"I though you have job to do."

"I'm not in a rush." He says lazily.

"Let your young wife-"

"Mulder!"

Okay. Hands up, I walk away. Leave him alone.

Krycek gathered some more of his plants, did the clean, separating, packing before sunset. Showered after we reset his tent beside the pond. I can see he is tired now.

Dinner was eaten in silence.

Krycek built a fire for the safety of his pet. We crowd in his small tent, take our sides to sleep. Me with the thick cotton blanket his wife prepared, Krycek have the same but he sleeps in with his upper naked. He must have used to the weather here, I feel cold in the night even with the thick blanket and my clothes. Hearing his soft snoring, a sense of peace fills me in the deadly silence of the desert.

My eyelids are getting heavy when I hear the beginning of morning. I hear the wind, the orange trees and date palm whisper softly. Krycek wakes up by the noise.

"Can't sleep? All night?"

"Cold."

"With all the clothes on and the blanket?" He laughs, shaking head. To my surprise, he rolls into my blanket, asks me to turn to lie with my back against his chest. "I slept with the camel if the night got too cold."

"You fuck it?" I joke, turn my head to glance back at him.

"If you cut off my right hand, yeah, I may fuck it to survive for the need." He says nonchalantly.

"..."

"What?"

"Pig!"

"Hey! You start it first!" He chuckles.

"No, I don't mean you and the camel. I mean...I mean...why are you getting hard now? You fuck anyone walking on the feet?" I feel his hard on behind my back, I'm embarrassed and getting hard too. Remembering what Scully said days ago, I turn to face him.

Krycek smiles down at me, "Since here only the both of us walk on the feet, you're right." He leans down, kissing on the corner of my mouth.

He's doing the same thing that night in my apartment, why he didn't just kiss my lips. Things might be different.

"Always teasing." I say in accusatory, burning with lust he lit the fire on me. Scully was right, I do need him. I flew long distance here not only because we need him, it's also because he never died in my heart and I won't let him walk away this time. I'm ready to admit the fact that I love him, "Alex..."

Breeze blows from the air-holes into the tent, into the crock between us. I reach up to touch his chest, "You're warm...very..." And I think we may really kiss this time.

We both are startled by a sudden rainfall. It's like a pool breaking above our tent and crashing on it. The tent is okay, just shaking. But I'm half covered by Alex; my head is resting on his upper body.

He is shielding me!

He cares about me, it is obvious! Just in the nick of time, I grab him. I want to taste his lips.

"Mulder, no!" Alex pushes me away and begins to put on his boots, "Put on your shoes, Mulder!"

"Why? Where are you going?"

"The rain is going to stop in a blink! You should see this!" He says excitedly. And the rain stops on cue. "See!" He goes out.

Fuck my shoes, I run after him, "Wait!"

Ohhh!! They are sooo amazing! The flowers! They were few here and there but now the cacti and the succulents are all blooming after the rainfall. I turn around, looking all the sights the flowers spreading endlessly to the horizon.

"I told you!" Alex shouts to me in a distance, laughing.

He is amazing standing in the field, shining like the colorful desert.

I want this man, one hundred percent!

I run to him with bare feet, and feel a little pain when some plants on the ground slash my flesh. But it's okay, I've got him.

"Fox! I told you to wear shoes!" Alex frowns worriedly.

"I'm fine!" I look down at my feet, they are bleeding a little. But the flowers around my feet begin to float in the air! "Oh! Alex! Can you see? The flowers, they are flying now. I knew it! I knew! You're not here to get the fucking stupid plants."

"Shit!" Alex says pissed.

"Got you! You're here because the aliens." I grab the flowers in the air, "This is heaven! Where're they?"

"Stop. Fox!" Alex pulls me into him.

"You are gorgeous, Alex." I hold his face between my hands, chanting, "I have to tell you this."

"What, Fox?"

"I love you! I love you!" I feel the trembling from him, "Don't cry, babe.."

I kiss away the tears on his face and finally I kiss him on the lips. My hands are messing up his hair, then stroking his muscular body greedily. By the time we make our way to the big rock in the oasis, we are grinding against each other. Naked.

"I'm close!" Alex chants by my ear, "Uh, I love you, too. Fo-" His voice disappears. I feel the warmth on my body and my come is following behind him.

"Look at us!" I laugh when see we both have semen and the mud painting all over our bodies. "Come." I pull him along, jumping into the pond.

The camel roars, it's still tied under the rock. Sorry girl, your Alex is mine now...

"Wake up, Fox. Are you alright?" I hear Alex faintly. Then he pats my cheek lightly.

"Hi, Alex." I look up at him, find out I'm lying in our tent. I sit up abruptly, "Wha-what's wrong?"

No, it was not a dream. It's so real. And he calls me Fox now, that alone can prove something!

"I told you to wear shoes. You stepped on something, then saw illusions." He sighs, "They are beautiful, but some of them have poison. Some might be lethal out there."

"Illusion?" I grab his gown, "Liar! We made love. You said you love me."

Alex grins smugly, "I have to get those plants before the blooming is over. Right now is the best time to choose the right color."

He goes out to get his fucking succulents. Not until now, do I find I'm naked in his blanket...I smile with understanding, laughing happily like a fool, "You asshole! Illusion or not, we did make love!"

I rush out, shouting towards him, "We did it! We did it! Say you love me, Ale-"

"Your shores!" He scolds me before I leave the tent. "And your pants, too."

Out of blue, I shake my hips with my 'buddy' dancing right and left before I come inside our tent. I hear him chuckling.

Oh, my dear. This is love!

My clothes are still sinking in the pond, so I find Alex's. Then I go to the pond but see they've already being hung on the orange trees.

"Hey, Foxy." I slap the camel on its hip. It roars deeply and walks to Alex.

Alex is brushing off the dirt from his plants sitting on the white sand; he looks up at me, "Bring me a beer, would you?"

"Where did you put them?"

"In the pond."

I get us each a bottle. No way I'd drink beer in the morning with Scully around. I miss her a little and think how they'd be disappointed if I can't bring Alex back to DC. I even doubt I'll be able to leave him and go back to DC alone. I want a life with this man, but the fact is so sad that he already has a wife.

Alex gulps the beer then continues to finish his work. We eat lunch late. All the afternoon, I sit in the shadow under the rock with my feet soaking in the shallow water. I'm not used to the heat of desert, or I'd help Alex doing his work. At some point, I fall asleep; now I wake up seeing Alex is cleaning a space under the date palm. He digs out all the plants. Then he uses a bucket to carry a large amount of the white sand to spread over the ground, and repeats it several times.

"What are you doing? Building a grave to bury my body?" I joke.

Alex throws away the bucket, begins to take off his clothes, "Go take my blanket to spread on the sand, we can sleep on it tonight, Watch the stars."

I wait until see him naked, and then go to retrieve the blanket. After prepared 'our bed', I sit back where I was earlier, admiring the beautiful scene. Alex is floating in the pond with his eyes closed, relaxed. I want to join him in the cool soothing water, but I know he is tired after all the work done. Besides, I love to watch him. Ten years or so, I've lost trace when did I begin to let my eyes following behind him. I didn't aware of it back then but now I can do it openly that I find out I've done it all along.

I've loved him all along.

Silently, I begin to seek down and dead wood and try to build the fire before sunset. Then I wash myself under the stream. We have hot coffee after dinner. I regret not setting fire near the bed, I feel cold in the night, especially now we're lying side by side without touching each other.

"What's up?" Alex says softly, he pulls me to lie against him.

"Just a little cold." I whisper, closing my eyes. I've see enough stars tonight.

Alex caresses me absently, triggering another fire inside my body. The degree is going up in a second.

"I never touched her," He says quietly, breathing by my neck, "My wife. Spender had me in a jail, in this country. I made a deal with one of the prisoner, the strongest one. He knew I'm American and he offered his protection to help me survive. He wanted to trade the better future for his daughter, made me promise that if I made it back to the US, I'd take his daughter with me."

"She's still here, you lied." I say weakly, feel sad for the father and at the same time afraid Alex is going to be mad at me.

"No, I kept my word in a way. I came back here after Skinner sho-, two years ago, to see the man. He was dying in the jail, and pled me to keep my word. I found his daughter. A sixteen years old girl wouldn't survive by herself. I offered my protect like her father did for me. I had to marry her in order to stay long here legally."

"Win win situation."

"Yeah," Alex turns me to face him, smiling, "You showed up in the big time. She is going to leave for Japan to attend a language school."

"For the future use of your business?"

"No. I told her that our marriage will end when the day she leaves this country. She is a brave girl, smart as well; she can make her future without my help."

A hope raises in me, "Does that mean you'll come back to DC, with me?"

"Depends..." Alex frowns, pretending to consider it.

Suddenly, the night air is skimming up several degrees. "Let me show you a good reason to be with me, Alex."

I take his lips passionately, pinning him down and not giving him a chance to show who the smart-ass is. I may never fuck a man but it doesn't mean I don't know how to take advantage of the man I want. "Am I doing well?" Smirking, I let us have a break to breathe, taking off all my clothes.

"You do better, and then I'll be yours." He raises a brow.

"Done!"

I don't do the delicate foreplay, I bite him franticly, hungrily. I smell coffee and campfire, taste salt and desert on his hot flesh. Alex moans with each bite, he likes it rough.

"Damn!" On the brink of entering him, we both curse in frustration at the same time.

"Don't you have a lube?"

"I was not here to fuck, why should I have it?" Alex looks around, "Aloe."

I see the plant. Retrieving Alex's camp knife, I cut a piece off and peel the skin, digging out the sticky issue.

"Cool." I lube up both of us, "DC is on the way, Alex." Then I fuck him hard, deep and sweet.

He howls, shooting.

"Don't cry like I'm ki-" I squeak the last when I'm coming, "killing...you!"

We both pant like old dogs afterwards.

"I'll miss the stars." Later on, Alex lies pensively in my arms.

"It'll be the same in DC as we look up at them together. Sleep, my love." I whisper.

"I love you...I said it this morning when you were an illusion, and I want you to hear it clearly this time. I do love you, Fox Mulder."

"I'd love to hear this everyday in the rest of my life, Alex Krycek."

The next morning, we carry all the supplies in the back truck, including the camel. Alex said it has used to be carried like this in this truck, completely being a pet. We arrive at his home, Alex's wife has packed for her leaving. I see them both crying for the separating. Alex tells her to find her true love; he'll send good money and the papers for divorce as they planed.

But the feelings are still there, Alex has come to love this girl as his only family.

He took his wife to the airport then came back home lying in my arms, searching for comfort.

The following week, Alex finishes all the leftover jobs. We are on the plane back to Washington DC now.

"You think they'll like my pet?" Alex whispers.

I squeeze his hand, laughing as I imagining what the expressions would be on their faces.