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Chapter Ten
The balding man adjusted his glasses and cracked his knuckles, grinning
madly.
"Check this baby out."
The two agents leaned forward, expecting something big.
Chuck reached into his pocket and, with a flourish produced a small, square
black box.
"Viola!"
"It's a box, Chuck," Scully said flatly.
"Ah, yes. But it's what's in the box that's so special."
"Bigfoot's toenail?" Fox asked. "The universe's smallest spaceship?"
Cackling, Chuck whipped the cover off to reveal the top of another box.
The agents stared blankly.
Shaking the velvet box out into his palm, Chuck handed it to his friend.
"Open it!" he urged excitedly.
Sighing, Fox obliged the other man, and he and Scully looked inside.
"Uh, Chuck," Fox began in his usual monotone, "I'm flattered, but I already
got a man."
"It's for Vicki!" Chuck yelled, snatching the box back.
"That phlebotomist you were so hot for?" Scully asked. "I thought she was
seeing someone."
"She was," Chuck confided. "But the guy turned out to be married... twice...
at the same time."
Fox folded his arms over his chest and leaned up against his desk.
"Bummer."
"Yeah." She called me one night a couple of months ago, crying her eyes out.
What was I gonna do? I had to go over and comfort her."
"Uh huh."
"One thing led to another," the other man grinned, "and... we've been seeing
each other almost every day for the past month."
Scully cocked her head.
"And you don't think it's a wee bit too soon to be giving her a ring?"
"Isn't that what a guy does when he wants to marry the love of his life?"
"Not every guy," Scully replied under her breath.
Fox said nothing.
"Anyway," the other man said, changing the subject slightly, "Mulder,
I'd like to ask you a big favor."
Fox broke his silence.
"Yeah, sure. What is it?"
Chuck took a deep breath and smiled.
"I'd like you to be my best man."
Fox's jaw went slack, and he blinked at the other man.
"Your..."
"Best man!" Chuck shouted, slapping the taller man on his upper arm.
"Chuck, I... I don't know what to... " Fox gave his friend a curious and
somewhat hopeful frown. "Don't you have anyone you'd rather ask? A brother? Kid
who used to steal your baloney sandwiches in the first grade... fourth cousin
twice removed?"
"Nope," Chuck answered still smiling. "No close male relatives, and
you're my best friend."
Fox looked to Scully for help but received none from the smirking woman.
"So you'll do it!" the other man chirped, immediately jumping to conclusions.
"Uh. Well... I mean... aren't we being just a little premature? Before you
start planning the wedding, hadn't you better make sure that your intended is
going to say yes?"
"You..." The smile faded a bit. "You think she'd say no?"
"Mulder," Scully whispered, motioning to the suddenly forlorn man.
Fox rolled his eyes and reached out to his 'best friend'.
"Chuck... hey. C'mon now."
"Well, why would she say yes, huh?" Chuck moaned. "Geez, what was I thinking?
I mean look at me. I'm short, I'm bald, I'm a geek..."
"Yeah, but maybe she's into that sort of thing," Fox reasoned, earning
himself a chastising glare from his partner. "What I mean is... she
obviously cares about you. She... " He looked to Scully, grimacing and giving
her an incredulous stare. "... must be attracted to you. She's still
going out with you, right? That's gotta count for something."
"Yeah..."
"Listen," Fox said, clapping the other man on the back, "you go ahead and
spring that rock on her. How could she possibly say no to a guy with your uh...
charm?"
"Yeah." Chuck perked up. "Yeah. I'm gonna do it! Tonight. It'll be
perfect. We're going out to The Pink Parrot for dinner then..."
"The Pink... Parrot?"
"Yeah. It's this little hole in the wall theme restaurant downtown. Vicki
loves that place. She loves pink..."
"I see," Fox responded, eyes closed. "Well. Anyway. Congratulations, bud. You
uh... you just let me know when and where, and I'll drag out the old powder blue
ruffled shirt, okay?"
"Cool." Chuck threw his arms around the other man. "Thanks, Mulder. I'll give
you a call."
Scully congratulated the beaming man and watched him amble out the door
before she turned to her partner and blew out a heavy breath.
"Oh, man. What d'you think his chances are?"
"With a phlebotomist who was dating a bigamist and likes to frequent a joint
called The Pink Parrot? Probably pretty good."
Scully smiled at the comment, then she sent Fox a curious glance.
"Uh... hey, Mulder? You don't actually have a powder blue ruffled shirt, do
you?"
Fox snorted loudly. "Even if I ever had, do you seriously think that I
do any more?"
"No, I suppose you wouldn't. Not once Alex got a load of it."
Smirking, Fox turned and picked up the file he'd abandoned when Chuck had
arrived.
"So, what d'you think of this one? Man and woman in Fairfax found
electrocuted in their car. Really electrocuted. I'm talking like, crispy
critters. No explanation other than a very localized weather event."
"How localized?"
Fox smirked up at his partner. "A single storm cloud right over their
vehicle."
"Mulder, that's ridiculous. For more reasons than I can rattle off in one
breath."
"There's a witness..."
"Oh, God," Scully sighed. "Of course there is."
"I talked to him earlier."
"Okay..."
"I uh... thought the bodies should be examined."
One red eyebrow arched suspiciously.
"And?"
"They'll be here in the morning."
"Oh, God, Mulder."
"At least we don't have to go anywhere... yet... c'mon, Scully, I'll owe
you."
"You always owe me."
"Well yeah, but... hey. Hey, you know that baked stuffed shrimp of Alex's
that you like so much?"
"Yeah. Did you learn how to make it?"
"What? Me? Hell no. I'll get Alex to make it one day this week."
Scully threw her head back and shook it.
"He's got you so spoiled it's ridiculous."
"He loves me," Fox explained, a broad grin curving his lips.
"I know, I know." Scully gathered up her belongings and headed for the
door. "Let's get out of here. I've got some lab reports to go over, and you... "
She shook her head in mock exasperation. "You have to go talk Alex into
paying up on yet another one of your debts."
Still grinning, Fox picked up his jacket and followed his partner out the
door.
Alex stared at the computer monitor, reading the same paragraph for what had
to be the twentieth time.
"It's not right, it..."
Growling loudly, he highlighted the entire paragraph and hit the delete
button.
"God, this sucks," he mumbled, leaning back as far as he could go and
clasping his hands behind his head.
It didn't suck at all. In fact, it was pretty damn good. Book good. Of course
that was Fox's opinion of the autobiographical account he'd begun several weeks
ago at his lover's urging.
After he'd written that letter to Matthew, he'd felt so much better that Fox
had suggested that as part of his ongoing recovery he might want to consider
writing. It was very therapeutic, Fox had explained and, Alex might find, a much
easier way of expressing himself.
After much thought, Alex had decided to give it a try. He'd started as far
back as he could remember, cruising easily through his childhood and teen years,
difficult as parts of that had been. But once he'd reached his time at the FBI
and his inevitable involvement with Smokey and his cronies, the words had
stopped flowing, and he'd become frustrated. At least half a dozen times he'd
threatened to scrap the whole thing, but each time Fox had managed to soothe his
ruffled feathers and get him back on track.
Now, here he was for the umpteenth time. Run directly into a brick wall, and
his patience was wearing thin.
//Delete it all. Go ahead. Just erase it and forget the whole damn thing.//
//And give up. Is that really what you want to do?//
//No, but what else am I supposed to do? Every three sentences, my mind goes
blank. It's so fucking annoying.//
//You know what Fox would say.//
"Yeah, yeah."
"Yeah, yeah, what?"
Alex spun around in his seat, meeting the gaze of the man standing in the
doorway. He sighed heavily and turned back toward the monitor.
"I'm stuck. Again. There aren't words enough, you know? No way I can really,
properly describe the hideousness of these men and their sick projects... and my
part in them..."
Fox approached and draped his arms over Alex's shoulders, kissing the younger
man's head lightly.
"So, leave it alone for a while. Shut the computer down and do something
else."
"If I did that every time I got a mental block, I wouldn't be logging in very
many hours."
"Better you work one good hour than sit here getting aggravated for five or
six. This is supposed to be therapy, not torture."
Alex answered with a low groan.
"Come on," Fox coaxed, saving what Alex had done then shutting the computer
down. "I got something that'll entertain and amuse you." He pulled the younger
man up and led him over to the sofa, where Alex dropped down and pulled him onto
his lap. Laughing softly, he pushed at Alex's chest as his lover began to kiss
and nibble at his neck.
"What're you doing?"
"Entertaining and amusing myself," Alex answered, catching Fox's earlobe
between his teeth and pulling.
"Yeah. Uh... no. That's not what I meant."
Pushing out a hard breath, Alex let go of Fox's ear and looked expectantly up
at the other man.
"Chuck's getting married."
"Chuck." Alex fixed a disbelieving stare on his lover. "That geek, Chuck? The
one who helps you out sometimes?"
"Yep. Well... let me correct that. He's got the ring, and he's going to give
it to his girlfriend tonight. I think he's got a pretty good shot."
"Really?" Alex shrugged. "Well, they say there's someone for everyone."
"Yeah," Fox agreed. "And I haven't told you the best part."
"You mean it gets better?"
"Yeah. Uh... he asked me to be his best man."
"He... noooo." Alex threw his head back and began to laugh. "You?"
"He says I'm his best friend," Fox said flatly.
"If you're his best friend, he's in big trouble. Fox, how often do you
see this man? You never go out anywhere with him. You only visit him or talk to
him on the phone when it involves a case, and he's been here what? All of once?"
"I know," Fox moaned. "But he's so happy. I couldn't say no."
"No, I guess you couldn't. Well. Have a ball."
"Ohhhh, no. I'll tell you what. If I gotta do this, you and Scully are going
to be right there with me."
"What? Why should Scully and I have to do the chicken dance just because
you're the guy's best friend?"
"You don't think he's not going to invite you, do you? He knows Scully just
about as well as he knows me, and he knows we're a couple. You're going."
Alex dropped his head back against the cushions, groaning loudly.
"Come on, babe," Fox murmured, nuzzling his lover's exposed throat. "It'll be
fun."
"Fun. You name me one fun wedding you've ever been to."
"Well, there was... and... " Fox straightened up, giving Alex an indignant
look. "Two months ago. My cousin Bobby."
"God. The reception lasted almost as long as the engagement."
"It wasn't that bad," Fox grinned down at the other man. "You enjoyed
watching my mother's face when we walked in together."
Alex chuckled softly. "Yeah, okay, I'll give you that one. I don't think she
expected to see us there, or she wouldn't have gone."
"And when we got up to dance?"
The chuckle turned into a full laugh.
"I'd never seen anybody turn so white."
"I know. Clearly, she had no idea that Bobby had asked me to be an usher.
Strange, huh?" Fox asked, changing the subject a bit. "First an usher, now a
best man, and all in the span of a few months."
Smirking, Alex patted Fox's back and spoke sympathetically.
"Always a bridesmaid..."
When his crack got no response, he lifted his head and snapped his fingers in
front of Fox's suddenly blank face.
"You in there?"
"Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Funny."
Frowning slightly, Alex watched as Fox got up and walked over to the window.
"I think we'd better take Clyde out soon for his walk," Fox said softly. "He
was pretty wound up when I came home."
"Can you see him out there?"
"No. Which probably means he's in a corner somewhere, digging something up."
Emitting a long sigh, Alex rose to his feet.
"Why don't you go change, and I'll go see what he's up to."
Fox gave the younger man a half-hearted smile.
"'Kay."
Alex remained where he was for a few moments after Fox had left the room,
contemplating his lover's suddenly pensive mood. Unable to figure out what could
have happened in that brief period of time, he decided to wait. If Fox was still
distant when he came back out, Alex would ask him then if anything was wrong.
That settled he started for the yard.
"Clyde... dog, where are you?"
"Yeah, but what I can't understand is how every time you get yourself into
trouble with Scully, it's me who ends up making it up to her."
Fox gave Alex one of his patented, cock-stiffening looks.
"I always make it up to you, don't I?"
"Yeah," Alex murmured, brushing the side of his lover's face with his
knuckles. "You do."
He had no idea what had happened to cloud Fox's mood for those few minutes
back at the house, but now he was fine, and Alex elected not to worry about it.
"You know, you're really spoiled."
"Scully said the same thing to me earlier." Fox sent Alex a sweet smile. "You
got nobody to blame but yourself."
"I know," Alex answered, stopping as Clyde paused to sniff a tree. "It's
okay. I wouldn't have you any other way."
Fox leaned in and nuzzled the curve of Alex's neck, prompting a soft moan.
"Don't you think we've been walking long enough?" Fox asked, letting his hand
glide up and down the small of Alex's back.
"Question is, does Clyde think we've been walking long enough?" Alex
tossed back. "You know he'll drive us crazy if he doesn't get enough exercise."
"Well, look. We're right near the park. Why don't we let him run his brains
out over there for a while, then go home?"
Alex agreed, and the men walked in the direction of the park. When they
reached the open field, Alex let Clyde off of his leash, and the dog took off,
bounding around the grounds in search of a stick. The two stood side by side,
watching as the German Shepherd found a tree branch downed in the windstorm that
had come through two nights before.
"Is he kidding?" Fox asked, watching the dog drag the six-foot branch over to
them.
Laughing, Alex stepped on the branch and broke a two-foot piece off,
stripping away the leaves then throwing the stick as hard as he could. As Clyde
tore after it, he turned to Fox, a leering grin on his face.
"He likes 'em real big... just like his daddy."
Fox chuckled, shaking his head. "Sick bastard."
"Tell me it ain't true."
"I'm not that big."
"You? Who said anything about you? I was talking about me."
"Oh, God."
Clyde returned with the stick, growling. Alex took it away and threw it again
then turned to his lover.
"Gimme a couple of hours. I'll have you screaming that."
Fox shook with suppressed laugher. "You and your huge dick?"
Alex threw his head back and stared up at the sky.
"Ohhhh, boy oh boy. You're just looking for trouble, aren't you?"
"Not me." Fox approached the younger man, pushing his crotch against
Alex's hip. "I'm just looking to get fucked."
Alex slipped an arm around Fox's waist, holding him in place.
"By taunting me?"
Fox shrugged and gave the other man a tiny smirk.
"Well, I guess I know how you want it." Alex leaned in close to Fox's
ear. "Damn slut."
"Don't you love it?"
"You know I do."
Alex looked for Clyde and found that he'd abandoned his stick and was now
happily chasing squirrels at the far end of the field. Whistling sharply, he
waited for the dog to reach them then snapped the leash on his collar. Taking
Fox's hand in his own, he tugged none too gently as he began to walk.
"You're lucky I'm starving. The time we spend eating might give me enough
opportunity to cool down a little."
"Why would I want you to cool down?"
"Because then maybe you might be able to sit down tomorrow."
"I love it when you get all 'dom' on me," Fox purred, rubbing his cheek
against Alex's shoulder as they approached their street.
Alex gave no response, and when they finally reached the house, he unlocked
the door, letting Clyde enter first, then Fox. Before Fox could take three steps
forward, Alex grabbed him, kicking the door shut at the same time, then he threw
him up against it.
Fox grunted as some of the wind got knocked out of him, and before he could
take a recovering breath, Alex's mouth was on his. He raised his hands to his
lover's chest but found his wrists immediately enclosed in a firm grip and
pushed up to the door, on either side of his head.
A low growl rolled in Alex's chest as he deepened the kiss and Fox writhed
against him, but soon a wild yapping sounded, and he tore himself away from the
older man's mouth to frown down at the excited dog.
"Clyde, go away and let the adults play for a while, huh?"
"He doesn't want to play," Fox informed the other man. "He's warning you to
keep away from me." He looked down at the dog, grinning. "Get him, Clyde.
Attack!"
The dog jumped up, bracing himself against Alex's shoulder and began
frantically licking both men's faces.
"Oh, God. Clyde, come on."
"I keep telling you to close him up in the laundry room first, " Fox reminded
Alex. "He does this every time we start fooling around. Or walk through a room.
Or talk above a whisper... or breathe..."
Alex pushed the dog down then pointed at the older man. "You remember where
we were. After dinner, your ass is mine."
"Yes, sir," Fox drawled, rubbing his hand over the bulge in the
younger man's jeans.
Alex emitted another growl and nipped at the full lower lip before turning
and leading the dog away.
Fox watched smiling as the other man smoothly moved from his sight.
Damn. After all this time together he still found Alex to be the hottest
thing going.
The smile softened.
And after all this time they were still wildly in love.
The smile faded then disappeared.
So what was that tiny pinprick of... something that would hit him from
time to time over the last couple of months?
Fox thought on it for several seconds before shaking the feeling off and
joining Alex in the kitchen.
"Oh, I swear to God, it never fails," Alex groaned, reaching for the ringing
phone.
"Scully, if this is you, I... who? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, he's here."
Dropping his head back against the sofa cushions, Alex shoved the phone in
front of his lover's face.
"Chuck would like to speak to you."
Fox licked the last bit of lemon meringue off of Alex's cock and took the
phone from his hand. Tossing the younger man an apologetic look, he answered the
phone.
"Chuck? What's going on?"
"Mulder, I couldn't wait. I'm in the men's room at the Pink Parrot."
"Chuck, you can take a leak without calling to let me know."
Chuck burst into laugher. "No, you loon! I'm calling to tell you that she
said yes!"
"She... she did? Chuck, that's great. Congratulations."
"Thanks, buddy. You're the first to know. I mean, you know, after me."
"... Right," Fox droned, gently nuzzling Alex's still rigid cock. "Well. If
you're still there at the restaurant, you'd better hurry up and get back to her
before she thinks you changed your mind and took off on her."
"Yeah. Don't want to keep my little love monkey waiting..."
Fox closed his eyes and shook his head.
"So, okay, Mulder. Uh... I'll get back to you later when we set a date,
okay?"
"Okay, Chuck... yeah. Okay. Congrats again."
Fox disconnected and blew out a quick breath.
"Well, it's on."
"So I gathered," Alex answered, running his fingers through the naked man's
hair. "Just tell me you're not going to have to wear something he's picked out."
Fox gave the younger man a hint of a smile and rested his cheek on the
denim-clad thigh.
Alex cocked his head, looking down at his quiet lover.
"You okay, lisa?"
"I'm fine," Fox murmured, gently rubbing Alex's thigh.
Alex slipped his hand under Fox's chin and lifted the other man's head.
Meeting a dull green and gold gaze, he caressed the stubbled jaw.
"Are you tired?"
"No." Fox's hand slid up into the opening of Alex's jeans and wrapped around
his cock.
"Are you sure, baby? If you are, we don't have to..."
"I'm not tired," Fox broke in running his tongue up the underside of the
erect organ even as he continued to stroke it.
Alex sighed softly, still holding Fox's eyes with his own. Christ, that
tongue was deadly. And now it was working unmercifully up and down his length,
scrambling his thoughts and blurring his vision. His eyes dropped shut, and he
arched his hips, silently asking Fox to take him into his mouth.
Slowly, Fox lowered his head, taking Alex in, inch by inch until the whole of
him was engulfed in moist warmth. Hearing the soft hum above him, Fox began to
suck lightly until the sound grew louder, and he felt Alex's fingers tangle in
his hair.
Sable lashes swept downward as Alex's eyes rolled up into his head, and his
world narrowed to the swirling, dizzying sensations within him that the man
kneeling at his feet delivered with loving care.
"Baby," he whispered, petting his lover's head. "Mmm, so... suck me, lisa...
harder. Yeah... oh, yeah..."
Fox pushed forward, his face buried in Alex's crotch as he obeyed the breathy
command. Alex's cock nudged the back of his throat, and he worked the hard
length of muscle, sucking and stroking with more intensity.
Alex emitted a loud, sobbing growl and jerked upward once, straining against
the explosion that threatened to consume him. The hands that had been stroking
Fox's hair so tenderly, convulsed, holding the golden-brown strands in an
involuntarily harsh grip. Still Fox continued, feeding off of his lover's
excitement, now moaning as his head bobbed up and down on Alex's cock.
"Christ," Alex grated through clenched teeth. "Oh, God.
Don't... don't stop, baby. Almost there," he panted. "Just..."
Snarling wildly, he began to buck, shooting several bursts of semen down
Fox's throat, and the older man swallowed it all, sucking and lapping at the
spent organ until Alex collapsed into a gasping, boneless heap. He sat slumped
against the cushions for quite some time before he was able to open his eyes.
When his sight finally cleared, he looked down at the top of the silky head
resting on his thigh and smiled wearily.
"Lisa."
Fox lifted his head and gazed up into sated, emerald eyes. Alex caressed his
jaw then pushed back and stretched out on his back, pulling Fox up and then down
on top of him. Hugging the older man to him, he moved one hand up and down his
back in long strokes.
"Have I told you today how amazing you are?"
Not answering, Fox snuggled closer, rubbing his head against Alex's shoulder.
"And have I told you today how grateful I am that you're mine?"
Soft combination of a moan and sigh.
"There are times when it still astounds me."
Fox lifted his head and stared down into adoring eyes.
"Moy lisa," Alex whispered. "My beautiful Fox." Tilting his hips a bit, he
pressed against Fox's unsatisfied erection while gently squeezing the older
man's rear.
"Let me do something about this for you," he purred.
Fox lowered his head, meeting Alex's lips in a thorough kiss. At his lover's
urging, he opened his mouth and his tongue crept out to meet its mate.
As they kissed, tongues stroking and teasing, Alex raised the hand on Fox's
back to his head, grasping his hair while his other hand continued to caress and
squeeze his ass. And just as he knew it would, his cock began to stir. He never
ceased to be amazed at how quickly Fox could get him up again. A few more
minutes, and he'd be ready for more.
Fox writhed in his lover's arms, moaning at the feel of Alex's clothing
scratching at his bare skin. The rough scrape of the younger man's jeans against
his cock sent jolts of electricity crackling through his body, and he shuddered
briefly before pulling his lover's tongue into his mouth and sucking hungrily on
it. His aggressiveness surprised Alex, and the younger man paused for half a
beat, waiting for the rest of him to catch up to his rapidly filling cock.
//What was that? Ten minutes?//
He couldn't be sure, but he was willing to bet that at some time in their
relationship they'd broken somebody's record, somewhere.
Both hands coming around to Fox's chest, Alex put a few inches distance
between them. Focusing a smoldering stare on the older man, he pushed against
him, letting his renewed arousal be known.
"Help me, lisa," he breathed, having to say no more than that for Fox to
understand.
Lifting himself into a kneeling position, Fox's hands went to the waistband
of Alex's jeans. Slowly, he worked the worn denim down over his lover's hips,
giving complete freedom to his cock. He slid the pants down, his palms stroking
over the length of Alex's legs, stopping when he reached the other man's calves.
He then very briefly abandoned his task to remove the socks from his lover's
shoeless feet, and pulled the jeans all the way off, letting them fall to the
floor.
Alex held his hands out, silently asking Fox to come back to him.
Fox refused, prompting a low growl from the man on the sofa.
"Lube," he said simply, quietly disappearing from the room. He returned
seconds later to his now smiling lover, and squeezed some of the contents of the
tube onto his fingers.
"Who gets it?" he asked Alex, standing above the horizontal man.
"Me," Alex answered decisively, sucking in his breath as Fox applied the cool
cream to his rigid cock. When Fox finished, he drew the other man down, coaxing
him into a sitting position over his hips. Passion-darkened eyes studied the
other man, and Alex lifted his hands, stroking them over his lover's
well-muscled thighs. "Now, you get it." He lifted his hips, pushing his cock
against Fox's ass.
"Get what?" Fox asked, wiggling back against the hardness at his rear.
"Lube?"
Alex's mouth twitched into a smirk. "Not exactly what I meant."
"Then, what?"
"I meant," Alex rumbled, rhythmically thrusting against the older man, "my
dick up your ass."
Fox's eyelashes dropped halfway, giving Alex that smoldering, bone-jarring
look that never failed to ignite his constantly simmering desires.
"Give it to me," the other man moaned. "I need it."
Lifting Fox a bit, Alex gripped his own cock at the base and positioned it at
his lover's anus.
"You always need it." He pushed upward, just barely stretching the tight
entrance. "Come on, Fox... my beautiful slut. "I got what you need."
Trying to control his rapidly increasing respiration, Fox sank down onto
Alex's waiting cock, slowly impaling himself on the solid column of flesh. He
fought to keep his eyes open, focusing them on his lover's face. He loved
watching Alex; always, but he had his favorite moments, one being those first
few seconds of possession. Regardless of who was on the receiving end, the
expression on Alex's face was always one of such extreme bliss and awe. That
look warmed Fox to his soul.
It also made his cock throb.
Hands wandering the expanse of Alex's chest, Fox began to move. The feel of
the younger man's cock gliding so gently within him finally closed his eyes, and
he let the incredible feeling take him over.
"You drive me crazy when you do that."
The breathy words brought Fox back from his sensual heaven, and he fixed a
dreamy, mildly curious gaze on his lover.
"Those sounds," Alex whispered, forcing himself to maintain his cool. "You'd
think that by now they wouldn't affect me, but... " He jerked once, driving his
cock deep into the other man. Fox's responding gasp sent a shudder through him,
and he had to do it again. Letting his body relax, he sank back down onto the
cushions then tensed again, thrusting as hard as he could.
Fox's head snapped back, and his sharp cry pierced the air. Before he could
fully recover from the jolt, Alex's hands clamped over his hips and lifted him a
fraction then forced him back down, surging up to meet him. As did the rest of
his body, Fox's fingers clenched involuntarily, his short nails scratching at
Alex's chest. The act only seemed to inflame the younger man, and he growled
through gritted teeth, thrashing relentlessly against Fox.
"Fuck... ohhh, God... c'mon, lisa... c'mon..."
Grasping his own erection, Fox began pumping frantically in an effort to
catch up to Alex as he bounced up and down on his cock. Faster and faster he
moved, beads of sweat forming on his brow and trickling in small streams down
his face. His harsh cries mingled with Alex's, creating a deafening racket as
they both came, and seconds later the two fell silent, lying limply together.
Fox shifted after long moments, the combination of perspiration and semen
blending between their bodies, causing him to slide over Alex's torso. The
younger man moaned softly, raising a hand to Fox's back and stroking the slick
skin.
"Mmmmm."
Fox lifted his head and gave his lover a weary smile.
"Good?"
Emerald-green eyes opened halfway and met hazy gray.
"Nah, it sucked."
Scowling, Fox tapped Alex's forehead with his fingertips, earning an impish
giggle from his lover.
"You know I'm kidding," Alex cooed, wrapping his arms around the older man.
"Christ, how could it ever be bad?"
Fox shrugged. "It happens."
"To other people it happens. Not us."
"Oh." Fox propped his head up in his hand. "So, you're telling me that we're
immune to the jaded couple syndrome?"
"That's what I'm sayin'."
"How can you be so sure?"
Alex shifted his head and stared intently at the other man.
"Fox, is there something I should know?"
"Of course not."
"So, why are you asking me stuff like that?"
//Yes, Fox, why are you?//
"I don't know," Fox shrugged. Just making conversation."
Alex threaded his fingers through Fox's hair and tugged gently.
"I love you. Wildly. Insanely. Do I really have to tell you this?"
"No. I know you do. With all my heart I know it."
"Okay, then."
"I just wonder sometimes if you'll always feel that way. And I..."
"And you what?"
"I wonder what it would feel like if one day you stopped. What would I do...
how would I..."
"Fox, cut it out," Alex demanded, slight irritation edging his tone.
Fox fell silent, staring at the curve where Alex's neck met his shoulder.
"Baby, what's up?" Alex asked, all traces of anger gone. "Something's
clicking away up there," he said, tapping at Fox's temple with one finger.
"Nothing," Fox insisted. "Don't you ever find yourself thinking strange
thoughts sometimes for no reason?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, that's all this is."
"But it's a hell of a strange thought, lisa. It bothers me to know
that these ideas would even enter your head. After everything we got through to
be where we are..."
"I'm sorry," Fox murmured. "I can't help the crazy things I think about."
"How often do you think of this stuff?"
The older man shrugged. "Not often. Forget it, please? I didn't mean to upset
you."
Alex pulled Fox down, wrapping him in a firm embrace.
"Fox, you're my world. I'd sooner give up breathing."
"I know."
"You'd better," Alex warned with mock sternness, kissing the top of the
golden-brown head. "I don't want to have to kick your ass."
Fox raised his head again, giving Alex a tiny grin.
"You got no problem with spanking it."
"A different matter entirely. You get off on getting spanked."
Fox lowered his lashes but the smile remained.
"I got you thinking about it right now."
"No..."
"Liar. You're getting hard. I can feel it."
Fox yelped as Alex's hand came down soundly on one smooth cheek.
"Yeah, you want it, ya kinky, insatiable bastard."
Fox writhed against his lover, nuzzling his jaw. It was all the answer Alex
needed.
"Come on," the younger man ordered, pushing Fox off of him and getting to his
feet. "Let's go into the bedroom, where we can get more comfortable."
Taking the other man's outstretched hand, Fox followed him into their room,
where he would spend the remainder of the evening begging for mercy. When it
came some two hours later, he lay face down, completely wasted; the evidence of
Alex's loving 'attention' branded in vibrant red across his ass.
Alex lay smiling, watching the motionless form. He'd given Fox exactly what
he had asked for, and there was no doubt that for tonight at least, there'd be
no ridiculous thoughts like the ones that had littered his brilliant, albeit
sometimes warped mind earlier.
He closed his eyes and slept.
"Morning, Mulder."
"Hey."
Scully dropped her things down on her desk then unfolded the top of the paper
bag she'd brought in. The crinkling sound drew Fox's attention away from the
case closed drawer he'd been rummaging through, and he smiled as his partner
withdrew a wax paper cup and handed it to him.
"Thanks."
Fox sipped carefully at the steaming contents then pulled out the file he'd
been looking for. Dropping the file onto his desk, he took his seat.
Scully watched, frowning thoughtfully and waited until he was comfortably
settled before she spoke.
"Mulder, you looked like an eighty-year old man just now."
"What?"
"The way you sat down. Does your back hurt?"
"No, it's fine."
Observing the secretive little grin that began to twitch at the corners of
Fox's mouth, Scully sighed loudly.
"Oh, God. Okay, forget I asked. When you start smirking like that, I just
know Alex has something to do with it, and that's it's something kinky."
Her partner's failure to respond confirmed her suspicions.
"Good Lord," she sighed again and settled down to her own work. Several
minutes later, Fox looked up from his file.
"She said yes, by the way."
"She, who?"
"Vicki, she. You know, Chuck's phlebotomist girlfriend?"
"Oh!" Scully put down her pen, smiling. "Wow. Chuck must be on cloud
nine. What'd he do, call you last night?"
"Yeah."
"So, when's the wedding?"
"Don't know yet. Said he'll get back to me."
As if on cue, Fox's cell phone rang.
Holding one finger up to Scully, he pulled the phone up to his ear.
"Mulder... hey, Chuck. I was just sharing your good news with Scully."
"Congratulate him for me."
"She said congratulations... yeah. Oh yeah, I'm sure she will. I... what?
That quick? Wow. How're you going to be able to plan everything in that short a
time? ... Uh huh... .that's a big help... yeah? ... Well, good luck with it. Let
me know if you need a hand with anything. Hmm? Oh. Yeah, of course. Uh huh...
yeah... o-okay. I will... I won't... okay. Talk to you later."
Fox hung up and blew out a relieved breath.
"Excited, is he?"
"For lack of a better word. " Fox leaned back in his seat, wincing a bit.
"They've set the date for the twenty-fifth."
"Of..."
"This month."
"Is he serious?"
"Yep."
"But... geez, Mulder, that's only three weeks away."
"I know. But he says it'll all work out. The bride's uncle owns some function
room in Arlington. They're going to do it all right there."
"Yeah, but that's not all there is to a wedding. What about flowers, tuxes...
the bride's dress... invitations..."
"Oh, that reminds me. Chuck said to invite you. "
Scully gave her partner a blank look, to which Fox smiled.
"Don't expect any embossed linen in the mail."
"You're kidding."
Fox shook his head.
"He... my God, the least he could have done was invite me himself!"
"I guess he figured it'd be okay if his best man asked you in his stead."
"Good Lord." Scully rolled her eyes, clearly ill at ease with the way Chuck
and his intended had decided to handle what she considered to be the most
important day of any couple's lives.
"Hey, what's more important, Scully?" Fox asked, tapping into the woman's
thoughts. "Etiquette or the happiness of the bride and groom?"
"You're a man, Mulder. I wouldn't expect you to understand."
"Well, apparently Vicki doesn't understand either, and she's a woman."
Scully emitted a disgusted grunt.
"I know. I can't figure that one out."
Fox shrugged and looked down at his cup.
"I just think the important thing is that they love each other, and they want
to be married."
"Yes, that matters. Of course that matters," Scully agreed. "It's just
really nice to have something beautiful to look back on and remember in their
old age."
Fox chewed on that one for a while, then...
"Yeah. I guess... I... it would be nice."
Silence fell for a few seconds, then Scully spoke again.
"So, where in Arlington is this place?"
"Someplace on Whitman. Narrows Crossing?"
"Sounds familiar. I'm surprised they aren't having it at The Pink Parrot."
"Too small. Apparently Vicki has lots of family."
"Oh, beautiful. So I get to shmooze with a bunch of people I don't know from
a hole in the wall at a wedding that was tossed together in three weeks time."
"You sound just a little snobby, Scully," Fox pointed out, smirking over at
the woman. "And anyway, you'll be there with Alex."
"Alex?" Scully laughed. "You don't think you're going to get him to go
to this."
"Yeah, he'll go. Why wouldn't he? Chuck invited him, and he's my partner."
"Uh huh. This isn't baked stuffed shrimp, Mulder. This is a wedding.
You know, crying mothers, drunk uncles, a reception hall full of screaming kids,
three hundred pound bridesmaids in... oh God, pink taffeta doing the
electric slide..."
"Speaking of baked stuffed shrimp, how's day after tomorrow for dinner?"
"Yeah, that'll be good."
"Okay. Anyway... he went to my cousin's wedding. And there wasn't anything
there like what you're describing."
"I'm glad to hear that. And I think Alex just went to stick it to your
mother."
"He went because Bobby went out of his way to meet and invite him, and Alex
actually liked him very much. And he loves me."
"Okay, Mulder, okay. But we'll just see how happy he is about Chuck's wedding
when you tell him what you found out today."
Fox started to laugh. "Just think of all the fun you two will have together,
bitching and moaning."
"Oh yeah, I can't wait. Be sure and tell me tomorrow what he says."
"Fine," Fox shrugged and drank some of his cooling coffee. "Well, I guess
we'd better get some work done," he said, changing the subject. "It's been so
quiet around here lately, Skinner's going to start to wonder if we've gone AWOL
or something."
The partners fell into silence, each working on their own projects for most
of the day. The only interruptions were a visit by Scully to forensics, two more
calls from Chuck, and a brief appearance from the A. D., checking in to make
sure no one had closed the office down without his knowledge.
"I found it taking him kind of long to come check on us," Scully said just
minutes after Skinner's departure. "I can't remember ever going a day without
seeing him for some reason or another, and today would have made four if
he hadn't decided to come down."
"I think he's shocked that I haven't got anything cooking," Fox droned as he
walked around the office putting everything in its place. Scully watched,
grinning.
"You know, it's finally happened."
"Hmm?"
The redhead waited until Fox had replaced the last file in its proper drawer
then elaborated.
"Alex has rubbed off on you. You're actually putting things away and not even
thinking about it."
"Oh." Fox looked at the file cabinet then back at his partner, smiling.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Didn't hurt a bit, did it?"
Fox laughed softly. "You weren't there yesterday."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Let's go home."
Less than an hour later, Fox pulled up in front of the house he'd shared with
Alex for three years. He got out of the car and walked up to the front door
smiling as he had every day, so happy to have this to come home to.
Howling dog tackling him at the door, the delicious aromas of dinner...
He walked through the house, Clyde trotting by his side, both heading in the
direction of the blaring music.
... Alex pounding away at the computer.
Fox walked into the room, calling to Alex from the doorway. After being snuck
up on and kidnapped from their home a year ago, being approached from behind did
not sit well at all with the younger man unless he knew it was happening.
Alex heard his name and turned down the volume on the CD player while he
typed with the other. At the same time, Fox reached him and slipped his arms
around his neck. Kissing his lover's ear, he whispered into it.
"Hey, sexy."
The bowed lips curved into a welcoming smile.
"Hi, babe."
"Have a productive day?"
"Could've been better."
"Yeah?"
"This thing's really kicking my ass. I think I typed all of thirty words
today."
Fox stroked the sable hair beneath his hands.
"Were they a good thirty words?"
Shrugging, Alex stared at the monitor. "They weren't hideous, I guess."
"Then it was a good day." Fox spun Alex's chair around and hugged the younger
man to him. "Don't be so impatient. It's not like you're under a deadline; you
can write as slowly as you want."
"I just feel like I've wasted a whole day when I get as little done as I have
today."
"What waste? Okay, let me ask this... do you think it's helped any?"
Alex shrugged. "Yeah, I... I do feel better if I've been able to type some of
it out."
"Okay, then."
"But when I can't, I get aggravated!"
"Patience, sweetheart, patience."
"You know I'm not always very good at that," Alex grumbled.
"I know."
Alex sighed heavily and changed the subject.
"So, how was your day?"
"Okay. Skinner finally came down to see what we've been up to... we stayed in
the office most of the day, catching up on dull paper work... oh, and Chuck
called me like, three times."
"What for?"
"Well, first of all, they've set a date."
"That was quick."
"No, this is quick. It's in three weeks."
"Three weeks? What're they doing, getting hitched by a JP and stopping at the
Burger King drive-thru for their reception?"
Fox chuckled softly. "You sound like Scully. No, they're getting married at
some place her uncle owns in Arlington. The reception is going to be there as
well."
Alex shrugged, rubbing the backs of Fox's thighs.
"Well, whatever. What else did he call for?"
"To tell me that he absolutely didn't want a wild bachelor party."
"Like you were going to give him one? I mean, who the hell would you even
invite?"
"God knows."
"So, why no bachelor party?"
"He and Vicki agreed. No booze and no strippers for either of them. It would
be disrespectful."
"To who?"
"I don't know. Something about trivializing the deep and profound meaning of
their day."
One sable eyebrow arched.
"Riiiight. Okay. Third call?"
"Tuxes."
"Oh, God."
"Relax, I can choose whatever I want."
"Thank you."
"As long as it's burgundy."
"What?"
Fox burst into laughter. "No, calm down. I'm only kidding. We're going with
basic black."
Alex released a loud sigh of relief. "And you still get to pick it? Because
he can screw up black too, you know."
"Yes, Mr. Blackwell. He's admitted that he knows absolutely nothing about
tuxes, and he'd like me to help him pick his out too." Fox smirked down at the
still seated man. "You wanna come with us this Friday night and give me a hand?"
"I trust you," Alex came back then went silent for only a matter of seconds
before asking, "What time?"
"Didn't you just say you trusted me?"
"I do," Alex insisted. "I just want to be with you, honey," he added in that
sugary-sweet tone that said he was bullshitting.
Fox tugged at the strands between his fingers.
"Mmm hmm. So listen, are you going to go with Scully to this thing?"
"Like I have a choice?"
"Of course you do."
"Yeah. And watch you pout for the next few weeks?"
"I won't..."
Alex reached up and rubbed his thumb over the swell of Fox's lower lip.
"You're starting already."
"Am not."
Alex stood up slowly, his body brushing against Fox's as he rose. His mouth
swept over the older man's before covering it in a long, languid kiss.
"Are too," he moaned softly when he finally pulled back. "And I can't resist
it, and you know it."
"Does that mean you're going?"
"You know I'm going. But you're going to owe me big."
"Yeah?" Fox purred, rubbing against the other man. "I'll look forward to it."
"Not to get off the subject," Alex murmured, stroking his hand over Fox ass,
"but is Scully coming for dinner?"
"Yeah. Day after tomorrow."
"Okay. I gotta get a shopping list together." Alex gave his lover a warning
glare. " And I won't forget that you owe me for that one, too."
"Anything you want," Fox rumbled, licking a path from Alex's throat to his
jaw.
"Some day you're going to regret saying that."
Shaking his head, Fox moved in and ran his tongue over Alex's lower lip.
"I can't imagine."
Growling softly, Alex backed the older man to the sofa and lowered him to the
cushions below. It was dark before he finally let Fox up, and the two wandered
naked and satisfied into the bathroom for a warm shower. Almost an hour later,
they fell into bed, feeding each other a light dinner.
"You realize we're going to bed earlier and earlier?" Fox asked, holding a
bit of cold fried chicken up to his lover's mouth.
Alex shrugged. "It's not like we're actually going to sleep." He accepted the
offering then looked up at the other man. "What'sa matter, lisa? You're not
feeling old, are you?"
Fox smiled, petting the head in his lap.
"No. A little brittle from time to time." He started to laugh, remembering
Scully's reaction to him this morning. "Scully saw the way I sat down at my desk
today, and she asked if something was wrong with my back."
"What'd you tell her?"
"I told her nothing was wrong with it. She kind of figured it out after
that."
A low chuckle rumbled in Alex's throat. "Poor Scully."
"Yeah. She puts up with a lot from us, doesn't she?"
Alex nodded, nibbling on the biscuit Fox now held in front of him.
"How happy is she about going to this wedding?"
"About as thrilled as you are. I'm sure you'll both find plenty to dish on."
Fox ruffled the sable hair. "You'll have fun."
"Yes, dear."
"You will. Really."
"You wanna see fun?" Alex asked, rubbing his head against his lover's crotch.
"Get rid of that food, and I'll show you fun."
"Don't you ever get tired?"
"Sure," Alex answered, smirking up at the other man. "Not as quickly as you
do, apparently."
"I'm not tired," Fox huffed.
"Of course not," Alex purred, brushing his knuckles over the slowly awakening
bulge in his lover's silk lounge pants.
"Mmmm. Isn't it a bad thing to have sex right after eating?"
"That's swimming." Alex turned his head, nuzzling the rapidly filling flesh
through the material.
Fox chuckled softly, his fingers moving gently through the younger man's
hair.
"Oh. Well, anyway... God, that's good. What was I saying?"
Alex slid his hand in past the slit in Fox's pants and grasped the warm
column of flesh. Withdrawing it, he brushed his lips over the satiny surface.
His tongue followed, and a long gasp sounded above his head. Grasping the base,
he licked a path to the flared crown, probing the small opening at the tip, and
Fox's hips lifted slightly.
Alex backed away, not allowing Fox to thrust into his mouth, and prompting a
frustrated moan. He looked up through a dark veil of lashes, meeting his lover's
glittering gold-splashed stare.
"Suck me," Fox demanded, gently pushing down on Alex's head for emphasis.
Smirking, Alex shook his head as his tongue swirled around the head.
"Do it," Fox growled softly through clenched teeth.
Alex responded by flicking his tongue back and forth a couple of times, and
that was all.
Okay. Clearly, he was looking for trouble.
Grasping the silky-soft strands between the fingers of one hand, Fox held
Alex's head still and guided his cock toward the younger man's mouth with the
other.
"Open up," he grated, tapping at Alex's lips with the head of his cock.
Squirming lewdly, Alex still refused.
So it was going to be like that, was it?
Tugging on his handful of hair, Fox lifted Alex's head out of his lap and let
it go when he'd spun to his knees beside the other man.
Gazing up at his inflamed lover, Alex's cock throbbed within the loose
confines of his own pajamas. His lips parted slightly, allowing only a small
glimpse of the strong, white teeth behind them, and his eyes glowed a hot green
as he watched Fox rid himself of his light clothing. From the gleam in his eyes
to the tight, sure movements as he undressed, he presented to Alex the picture
of a man who meant business.
God, he was fucking hot when he was all worked up. And even though Alex knew
that tomorrow he'd more than likely be hurting, he did all he could to promote
his lover's present state. As Fox reached down to rid him of his clothing, he
slapped the older man's hands away, giving him a cocky, challenging look. One
that Fox was more than up to accepting.
Blocking Alex's attempts to stop him, Fox reached for and managed to grasp
the stretched out crew collar of the other man's t-shirt . The sound of the
material ripping cued Alex to fight harder, and Fox briefly abandoned his task,
choosing first to get his unruly lover under control. Swinging himself up and
over Alex's chest, he straddled the struggling man and trapped his hands between
them as he reached into the nightstand drawer and withdrew the handcuffs he kept
there for just such an occasion. With no small amount of trouble, he managed to
get one wrist cuffed, and as Alex cursed at him in Russian, he threaded the free
end of the cuffs through the bars of the bed and attached them to the other
wrist.
"Now what?" he asked, panting, his face just millimeters from the restrained
man's.
Snarling softly up at the older man, Alex offered no further response. His
eyes snapped shut, and a low moan rolled in his chest as Fox finished ripping
his t-shirt away. His back arched, and his bare chest bumped Fox's then brushed
it suggestively as he began to writhe against his lover.
"Jesus, you're a sexy bastard," Fox grated against the flushed lips before
taking them in a hard kiss. He fed voraciously on Alex's mouth while his hands
wandered over flexing muscles, rubbing and squeezing, and then he pulled away,
leaving Alex visibly shaking. Lifting the younger man's upper body, he shoved a
couple of pillows under him, propping him up, then he moved in. Grasping his
cock at the base, he rubbed it over the bowed lips, smiling as Alex lapped at
the head.
"Oh, now you want it?" Fox drew his hand back, leaving Alex growling in
frustration. Smirking down at his shackled lover, he lazily stroked himself.
"You should have taken it when I wanted to give it to you."
"You still want to," Alex hissed, fixing a searing gaze on Fox.
One golden-brown eyebrow arched.
"I do?"
"You tell me you don't want to be shoving your dick down my throat right
now."
One corner of Fox's mouth twitched as he held the younger man's gaze.
"You want it so bad you can taste it."
Fox's tongue crept out, moistening his lips before it disappeared back inside
his mouth.
Yeah. Oh, God, yeah. So hot and wet. Mmmmm. The whole world just dissolved
into nothing when Alex was sucking his cock...
Hey, wait. Who the hell was the top here? Seems Alex needed a little
reminder.
Lush lips curved into a lazy smile and Fox caressed his lover's jaw.
"You're right. I want so much to watch you suck me all the way down your
throat." He shook his head. "And you want it too. But not enough."
The patch of skin between Alex's eyebrows creased as he watched Fox get off
the bed and pick a tube of fruit flavored lubricant out of the open drawer. He
said nothing until Fox pulled up a chair and dropped into it.
"What're you doing?"
"Waiting," Fox said simply as he squeezed some lube out into his palm.
"What the hell for?"
"Until I think you want me enough."
"Ah, you fucking prick!" Alex growled, watching as Fox slumped back in the
chair and began to stroke himself.
The right corner of Fox's mouth slanted into some semblance of a grin.
"Do you love me, Alex?"
What began as a snarl quickly faded into a whimper as Alex's eyes followed
the path of his lover's hand.
"You know I do."
"But you're upset with me."
"You're teasing me!"
"You started it."
"I know, but..."
Fox squeezed his cock as stroked upward, the act pulling a low groan from his
throat. "But what?" he rasped, enjoying the sensations he was creating, and the
tormented expression on the younger man's face.
"I'm sorry," Alex whined, almost managing to actually sound repentant.
Fox emitted a short, hoarse laugh.
"Fucking liar."
"Lisa, please."
Fox regarded the restrained man for a few moments then rose from his chair.
"Please, what?"
"Please, let me suck your cock," Alex gasped, watching the older man move
closer.
"Why should I?" Fox asked, stopping at the edge of the bed. Slowly, his hand
wandered up and down the solid length of muscle, the action teasing Alex
unmercifully.
"Because I can make you feel so good. I... I want to." Alex's lashes dropped
over his eyes, leaving just a sliver of green visible. "Let me please you, Fox."
Fox waited a few more seconds, letting Alex wonder if he wouldn't change his
mind, then he climbed up onto the bed, positioning himself in front of his
semi-reclining lover. Holding his cock in front of Alex's mouth, he gave
permission for the other man to begin.
"Go ahead sweetheart," he whispered, touching the head to his lover's waiting
lips. "Please me."
Groaning softly, Alex parted his lips and covered the end of the older man's
cock. His tongue crept forward, swabbing the semen-dotted tip as he sucked
gently, savoring the combined flavors of strawberry and Fox. He withdrew only
for a second then returned, sliding the entire head into his mouth and swirling
his tongue around the velvety surface. Fox's aroused moans resonated within
him, and his body responded, jerking beneath the one straddling him.
Reaching behind him, Fox brushed his fingers over the still covered bulge,
and Alex whimpered loudly, sucking him in halfway. Fox's head fell back, and his
eyes closed as wet heat enveloped his cock. He fought the compulsion to surge
forward but damn, it was so good. Bracing himself with one hand on the
headboard, the other hand moved from Alex's groin and rested on his head,
stroking the silky crown, and slowly he inched forward, watching the visible
remainder of his cock disappear into his lover's mouth.
"Christ," he gasped, his fingers involuntarily tightening in Alex's hair.
Moaning softly, the younger man moved his head, expertly working his rock-hard
erection, and Fox's hips took up a matching rhythm. Intense pleasure vibrated
through every nerve and obliterated rational thought, and he felt an
intermittent quivering begin in his thighs. Words left his lips, fractured,
unintelligible things, and their increasing intensity pulled Alex along,
provoking him into more passionate action.
Drawing his head back as far as he could, Alex sucked harder, his tongue
lashing frantically at his lover's cock as he withdrew. He waited only a
fraction of a second before descending once more, whimpering and moaning around
his sizeable mouthful, and it wasn't long before he had Fox sobbing his name and
thrusting erratically at his face. Unable to control the older man's movements,
Alex attempted to force himself to relax and accept the unrestrained invasion
even as he quivered with excitement. That feeling of being at Fox's mercy had
always thrilled him. As much as he loved those frequent occasions when he would
let Fox know who was boss, there was something about surrendering control to the
older man that just hit all the right chords...
His respiration coming in ragged gasps, Fox thrust mindlessly into wet
warmth. Release was now just a heartbeat away, and the external pressure on his
cock increased, taking him more quickly to it. He jerked violently, his growls
filling the room, and then he was sobbing loudly, pumping stream after stream of
semen down his lover's throat. Extreme weakness immediately followed, and he
slumped over Alex, falling out of the younger man's mouth. The vibration of his
soft moans tickled the side of Alex's neck, and the other man rubbed their
cheeks together.
"Fox."
"... .Hmmm..."
"Lisa," Alex whined, licking at the cheek he'd just been nuzzling. "Please. I
need you."
The tousled, golden-brown head lifted, and a hazy green-gold gaze focused on
the man still cuffed to the bed. Apparently he stared for just a little too long
because Alex began to squirm beneath him.
"Fox," the younger man panted. "I'm dying, here. Please."
Fox's lashes swept slowly up and down a few times, and he took a long, deep
breath. It came out in a low sigh as his lips grazed Alex's, and the other man
moaned in response. Claiming a deep kiss, Fox stretched an arm out toward the
lubrication he'd dropped on the bed earlier. Squeezing a generous amount into
his palm, he broke the kiss, shushing Alex's soft protests and efficiently
applied the gel to his lover's aching cock.
Alex's mouth fell open, and a broken cry tumbled out as Fox grasped his slick
cock and slowly lowered himself onto it.
"God," he breathed, bucking beneath Fox as the older man repeatedly stopped
and started. "Don't... don't tease me."
"But you're so pretty when you're frustrated," Fox replied wearily, flexing
his muscles and squeezing Alex's cock gently.
Alex moaned a soft expletive and turned pleading eyes up to the other man.
"Please don't make me wait."
"Think you've waited long enough?" Fox asked, rocking lazily against his
lover.
Alex nodded, soft, breathy whimpers pushing past his compressed lips.
"I don't know..."
"Nooo. Fox... lisa, I'm begging you."
The low, ominous chuckle did nothing to comfort the younger man.
"I love hearing you beg. It makes me so fucking hot." He licked Alex's
flushed lips and groaned softly against them. "I'm getting hard again. Help me
baby, and I'll make sure you come with me this time."
Alex grunted, his body jerking uncontrollably as he lifted his head a
fraction of an inch from the pillows. Licking frantically at Fox's mouth, he
teased the older man into claiming a rough kiss. Fingers of one hand spearing
through his hair, clutching at the strands while the other burrowed under his
rear, squeezing the taut muscle, Fox infused him with searing heat, and he gave
back all that he was able to.
Straining against the cuffs, he twisted and writhed, sucking on the tongue
invading his mouth as he began to thrust wildly up into his lover's body, and it
was more than enough to put him over the edge. He fell into a series of rapid
spasms, emptying himself into the older man, and he cried out loudly,
incoherently switching back and forth between Russian and English as he often
did. The inadvertent, passionate jumble of words never failed to stoke Fox's
arousal, and the older man gripped his resuscitated cock, jerking it quickly,
his own sobs rising as Alex's slowly died.
It took a bit longer the second time around, but finally the explosion hit,
and the evidence of Fox's orgasm provided a slippery landing as he fell forward
onto his lover. Struggling for breath, he lay limply over the silent man for a
brief time before lifting himself to release Alex from the cuffs. Alex winced as
Fox lowered his arms to the mattress, then rumbled softly when the older man
began to tenderly massage away the stiffness.
"Better?" Fox asked, kissing Alex's left shoulder as he rubbed both biceps.
Moaning, Alex nodded. A scowl soon replaced the look of contentment he wore,
and he opened his eyes to find the other man staring down at him, a serene
expression washing his features.
"Why'd you stop?"
"You said it was better."
"No, you asked me if it was better, and I nodded."
"Same thing."
"So that meant you had to stop?"
"Why? Shouldn't I have?"
"No."
Fox smirked down at his ruffled lover. "Why not?"
"You owe me a nice massage at least. You were mean to me."
"I was?" Fox's shoulders shook with silent laughter. "How was I mean to you?"
"You cuffed me to the bed and tortured me."
"I don't think it counts as being mean, babe, when you enjoyed it as much as
I did."
Alex tried to suppress the smile he felt coming.
"Who said I enjoyed it?"
Fox's tone turned to an exaggerated whine.
"Please, Fox, please, oh please... give it to me. I need it soooo bad..."
"I didn't say that."
"Close enough."
Alex snorted and averted his eyes.
Chuckling, Fox rose to his knees and waved a hand at the younger man.
Sable eyebrows wrinkled, forming a puzzled frown.
"What?"
"Turn over."
"What for?"
Fox emitted a small sigh of exasperation.
"Just do it."
Shooting the older man a suspicious look, Alex obeyed, slowly turning onto
his stomach. Seconds later, Fox straddled his waist and began to firmly knead
the muscles in his shoulders and upper arms.
"Mmmm."
Fox grinned and leaned down, murmuring into Alex's ear.
"You say something?"
"Good," Alex moaned as his lover continued to rub him down.
Laughing softly, Fox kissed the edge of Alex's ear and proceeded to give him
a thorough massage. When he finished over half an hour later, Alex lay limply
beneath him, on the verge of sleep. Just as Fox was about to carefully lift
himself away from the younger man, the phone rang. Alex's head popped up, and he
cast a disoriented gaze around the room.
"Shit." Fox ran a hand over the sable head as he reached for the phone.
"Sorry, babe." Jerking the phone to his ear, he growled a greeting into the
mouthpiece.
"Your phone manners leave much to be desired, Mulder. I'll bet you get very
few repeat calls."
"And your timing, Scully, as always is impeccable," Fox answered, some of the
irritation leaving his voice.
"Did I interrupt yet another intimate moment?"
"No, you managed to wait until we were through this time, but Alex was almost
asleep."
"Oh. Well, it's too early for him to be sleeping, anyway."
"Was there a point to your call, Scully?"
"Yeah, Mr. Congeniality. I wanted to know if there was anything I could bring
to dinner tomorrow."
"Oh. I don't think so, but wait a minute." Fox broke off his conversation
with Scully and checked to see if Alex had stayed awake. Seeing the sliver of
green beneath mostly closed lids, Fox rubbed the other man's back and kissed the
back of his head.
"Baby, Scully wants to know if there's anything she can bring to dinner
tomorrow."
Alex shook his head and mumbled a few words into his pillow.
Fox nodded and returned his attention to the caller.
"He said not really, unless you don't like kiwi tarts."
"Oooh, no. That's sounds great."
"Yeah, it's really good. He experimented with it a few weeks ago."
"He did? How come I never saw any of it?"
"Because it was really good," Fox answered in his casual monotone.
"Some friend you are," Scully snorted. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Fox smirked into the phone. "G'night, Scully."
Alex turned onto his back as Fox disconnected. Looking up at the older man
through a heavy curtain of lashes, he moaned softly as Fox swept a hand back and
forth across his chest.
"Go back to sleep," Fox whispered, continuing to stroke the warm skin.
Alex squinted over at the clock and stretched.
"It's only nine-twenty."
"So?"
"If I go to sleep now, I'll be awake by two."
"Maybe not."
Alex closed his eyes, sighing deeply. "Maybe not."
"Uh huh. Go to sleep."
"What about you?"
"I'll go take Clyde out real quick, then I'll come back and join you."
A weary smile curved the younger man's lips.
"Okay."
Fox dropped a kiss on Alex's forehead and rose from the bed.
"I'll clean you up, first."
Fox retreated to the bathroom, where he washed quickly, then returned to the
bedroom with a warm cloth. Gently, he ran the cloth over his lover's spent cock,
arousing a low growl from the other.
"Down, boy," Fox drawled. "Just getting the stickiness off of you."
Alex went quiet, and Fox finished his task. He disposed of the washcloth then
slipped out of the bedroom. He made his way into the kitchen and found Clyde
under the table, mauling one of his stuffed toys.
"You pull the stuffing out of that bear again, and I'm chucking it," Fox
warned the dog, whose tail moved back and forth in a wide sweep at the sound of
his master's voice. "You want to go out?"
Clyde leapt to his feet and bounded around Fox as he went for the collar and
leash. He began to yap excitedly as soon as he heard the metal clink of the
collar, and Fox attempted to silence him.
"Shhh. C'mon Clyde, shut up. You're going to wake Alex."
Fox attached the collar, no easy feat when Clyde refused to stop wiggling and
turning in circles. That finally done, he snapped the leash on, and the two
headed out the back door.
Silence followed Fox as he and the dog walked along, and his mind wandered,
jumping as it often did, from subject to subject.
The pending results of Scully's autopsies. That new Greek restaurant in town
that he and Alex had been dying to try... the improbability of attending two
weddings in just a few months time... the thoughts that had been picking at him
ever since...
Fox's surroundings faded, and he recalled Bobby's wedding. He saw himself
standing at the altar with the other ushers. His full attention should have been
on the bride and groom, but he'd been unable to help himself from casting
sidelong glances at Alex as Bobby spoke the vows that the reverend had asked him
to repeat. Fox had smiled as he continued to glance at his oblivious lover, so
handsome sitting there in that midnight blue suit...
Fox had begun imagining that it was he and Alex standing hand in hand,
pledging themselves to each other. He'd wondered what it would feel like; if the
joy could exceed that which he felt every day, coming home to his only love...
if a marriage ceremony could possibly make him any happier or more content than
he'd been the last few years.
He shook the thought away as he had on that day, answering his own question.
There was no need for such a display. He and Alex belonged to each other as much
as any social ritual could prove. No piece of paper would make their love any
more real or permanent.
Smiling, he paused, waiting for Clyde to finish his thorough investigation of
the base of a tree, then he did an about face and headed for home. Several
minutes later, he walked into the quiet house. He gave Clyde some water and
immediately retreated up to the bedroom, shutting lights off as he went. He
entered the room and was greeted by the soft sounds of his lover's slumber.
Shedding his clothes, he moved toward the bathroom and took a quick shower.
Not bothering with sleepwear, he padded softly back into the bedroom and slipped
under the sheet, snuggling up to Alex's back. The younger man felt his presence
and though still mostly asleep, turned onto his back and pulled Fox into his
arms.
"Love you."
The hoarse whisper tugged at Fox's heart, and he kissed the smooth chest
beneath his cheek.
"Love you too. G'night, Alex."
Alex drifted easily back into sleep, unaware that the man in his arms lay
wide-awake for several hours before finally nodding off sometime in the early
morning.
Fox pulled the sheet up over his head as Alex reached over him to shut off
the ringing alarm. Stretching first, the younger man tapped at the
cotton-covered head.
"Fox," he sang softly.
No answer.
"Come on, lisa. It's time to get up... unless you plan on calling in sick or
something."
Low groan.
"Fox?" Alex pulled the sheet down and searched his lover's face "Are
you sick?"
"No," Fox croaked, opening his bloodshot eyes. "Just tired."
"Didn't you sleep well?"
Fox shook his head and closed his eyes again.
Alex dropped a kiss in the tousled hair. "I had no idea."
"You were out cold," came the older man's mumbled reply.
"You gonna stay home?" Alex asked, draping himself over the other man's body,
cocooning him in warmth.
"Can't," Fox moaned. "S'posed to get the results of Scully autopsies today."
"And she can't give them to you on the phone?"
"Yeah, but there might be stuff she needs to show me, y'know? I'll just try
and make it an early day, so I can maybe have a nap before dinner."
"Okay," Alex said, unconvinced that Fox would actually get home early enough
to nap before Scully came over. Planting a kiss on his lover's cheek, he picked
himself up and held out his hand. "Come on, I'll get your clothes while you
shower."
Fox took Alex's hand and allowed the younger man to pull him to his feet.
"You sure you don't want to stay home?" Alex asked, nuzzling the older man's
jaw.
"Don't tempt me," Fox moaned, running his hands lightly over his lover's
naked rear.
"To sleep," Alex chuckled, biting the side of Fox's neck before
depositing a noisy kiss there.
"Not all day," Fox reasoned. "We could fool around when I woke up."
"Yes, we could. If you were staying home... which you're not. Are you?"
Fox heaved a hard sigh. "No..."
Smiling, Alex nodded. He tapped Fox's ass once then gave him a gentle shove
in the direction of the bathroom. As Fox showered, he threw on some underwear,
made the bed, and took out a suit and tie, laying both out on the bed. He heard
the shower turn off and walked into the bathroom, where his wet lover was just
stepping out of the tub. He grabbed the towel from Fox's reach and began to rub
and pat the older man dry.
"So, you didn't tell me," Alex murmured as he dried his lover. "Why didn't
you sleep last night?"
Fox shrugged, watching Alex's terrycloth-draped hands move over him. "No
reason in particular. Just a touch of insomnia, I guess."
"You should've got me up," Alex informed the other man. "I would've made you
some warm milk or something."
Fox smiled at Alex and grazed his jaw with a finger. "Thanks, but I wasn't
about to wake you up just because I couldn't sleep."
Alex grasped Fox's wrist and turned his face into his hand, placing a soft
kiss in the palm.
"There you go. All dry. Get dressed, and I'll get you something for
breakfast."
The smiled remained as Fox watched Alex depart. He turned to get dressed,
wrestling his underwear up over the erection that had begun to blossom when Alex
was drying him off, then methodically donned the rest of his clothing. Draping
the charcoal-gray, silk tie around his neck, he picked his watch up off of the
dresser and left the room.
Alex finished pouring the coffee and smiled up at Fox as he entered the
kitchen.
"Sit down."
Fox followed the younger man's direction and accepted the steaming mug. Clyde
immediately accosted him, demanding attention.
"Hi, Clyde," Fox mumbled, patting the dog's head. "Okay, now go away before
you get hair on my suit."
"Clyde, get lost," Alex said softly, placing a bowl of cereal topped with
fresh peach slices in front of Fox, followed by two slices of wheat toast.
"Eat up before it gets soggy." He dropped a quick kiss on the top of Fox's
head. "I'm gonna go take a quick shower."
Alex disappeared from the room, and Fox picked up the paper he'd found on the
table, turning first to the sports page. He ate slowly, becoming so engrossed in
an article about last night's basketball game, that the cereal went soft just as
Alex had warned. Wrinkling his nose after a particularly soggy spoonful, he
shoved the bowl aside and concentrated on his toast. Just as he was finishing
the second slice, Alex walked in, dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a faded
orange t-shirt.
Alert green eyes automatically went to the disregarded, half-eaten cereal,
and Alex shook his head. Without a word, he picked up the bowl and dumped the
contents into the garbage disposal. Grabbing a clean bowl, he poured some cereal
into it, poured a bit of milk over the dry flakes, and leaned up against the
counter, looking at his watch before beginning to eat.
"You got ten minutes."
"Mmm hmm."
Two minutes later, Fox put the paper down and took a sip of his now tepid
coffee. His brow wrinkled as he looked down at the table.
"Where'd my cereal go?"
"I threw it out. You weren't going to finish it, were you?"
"No, it got soggy."
"Uh huh."
"But I was going to eat the peaches."
Alex walked over to the refrigerator, pulled a peach out of the fruit drawer,
and tossed it to the seated man. Fox shrugged and bit into the fruit as he
returned his attention back to the sports page.
"How d'you feel?"
Fox looked up from the paper and gave his lover a weak smile. "Still a bit
tired, but I'll live." Sighing heavily, he folded the paper and dropped it onto
the table. "Guess I should go now."
"I'll get that," Alex said as Fox began to clear the table. He placed his
bowl down on the counter and approached the older man, slipping his arms around
his waist. "Don't forget, you're going to try to get home early."
Fox nodded and kissed Alex soundly before the two moved toward the door that
led to the garage. One more kiss and he was on his way, leaving Alex to his
daily routine.
Taking Clyde out for his walk, Alex returned home and started some laundry
while getting organized for dinner. It was nearly noon when he finally sat down
at the computer.
"Let's see if we can get anything done today," he told Clyde, who lay
sprawled out at his feet. He booted up and several seconds later, he surprised
himself by actually beginning to type. The next thing he knew, Clyde was leaping
up and bounding out of the room. Alex heard a door open, and he glanced down at
his watch.
"Holy crap, he really did come home early."
He saved his work and walked to the door, where he was met by his smiling
lover.
"Three-thirty. How's that?"
"I'm shocked," Alex answered, kissing the other man softly.
"How was your day?"
"Pretty good, actually," Alex answered, nodding in the direction of the
computer. "No mental blocks today."
"Hey, good!"
"Well, you go take your nap. That's what you came home early for."
"Wanna come with me?" Fox asked, a definite leer in his voice.
"Ohhh no," Alex snickered as Fox nipped at the side of his neck. "You're here
to sleep."
"I'll sleep. After..."
"After nothing."
"C'mon," Fox whined, sounding very much like a petulant child. "I sleep
better with you there."
"Yeah. That's nice." Alex pointed to the back of the house. "Get going."
Grumbling all the way, Fox preceded the younger man to the stairs and up to
the bedroom, where he removed his jacket and tie. Still sulking, he started
unbuttoning his shirt then stopped and looked up at the chuckling man.
"What's so funny?"
"You. "
Fox's hands dropped to his side, and he stared at Alex, waiting for an
explanation.
Alex approached slowly and raised his hands to the other man's chest. Undoing
the buttons, he gave Fox an amused grin.
"You're such a baby when you don't get what you want."
"Am not."
"Yeah, you are," Alex insisted in a sweet, indulgent tone. When he'd finished
undoing the older man's shirt, he removed it, letting it fall beside the jacket
and tie. He moved closer, letting their bodies touch lightly, and his hands went
to the small of Fox's back. "My beautiful baby," he whispered against the lush
lips before taking them in a deep kiss.
Fox wrapped his arms around Alex, surrendering to his lover's mouth, writhing
seductively against him. The hardness that pressed against his own erection
spoke loudly of the quickly growing desire that would not let Alex walk out of
their bedroom and leave him to sleep. He smiled against the younger man's mouth,
secure in the knowledge that he had indeed gotten what he wanted.
Like it was such a struggle.
Indulging Fox was one of the great joys of Alex's life. He truly loved making
a fuss over the older man... spoiling him rotten as Scully had so often accused
him of doing. And why not? All that Fox had given to him over the last few years
was nothing less than priceless, and Alex adored him.
In a matter of minutes all the clothing that the two men had worn was
stripped off and tossed aside, and they fell onto the bed, kissing and groping
as thought they hadn't touched each other in weeks. Foreplay lasted for only a
brief time, quickly melting into a frenetic coupling. Soft growls and yelps
filled the air, and before Fox knew it, wave after wave of pleasure was slamming
through him. He held tightly to Alex, listening to the younger man's cries of
completion just as his began to fade, and then all went quiet. He relaxed,
letting his body absorb Alex's weight, and just when he thought Alex might have
fallen asleep, the younger man lifted his head and fixed a lazy stare on him.
"Now will you take your nap?"
Smiling and folding his arms around Alex, Fox nodded.
"Stay with me."
"Lisa, I got things to do," Alex explained, encountering a whine of complaint
as Fox tightened his hold on him.
"All right, all right. I'll stay, but just until you fall asleep. Then I have
to go start dinner." Alex lifted his head and brushed a few strands of hair away
from Fox's forehead. He looked down at the other, eyes shining with love. "Pain
in the ass."
Fox emitted a contented moan and closed his eyes as Alex moved to the
mattress beside him and wound an arm around his waist. It wasn't long at all
before his respiration slowed, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Alex watched Fox for a while longer, taking stock of each one of the features
he knew better than his own. He drew the tips of his fingers over the full, rosy
lips and smiled as they twitched and took on an impossibly fuller appearance.
Dropping a soft kiss on Fox's jaw, he rose from the bed and retreated to the
bathroom for a quick shower before seeing to dinner.
The refrigerator door opened up, and two pairs of eyes peered inside.
"Clyde, would you get your nose out of here?"
Alex shooed the dog away and lifted the cover off of the kiwi tart to make
sure that it had set well. Just as he was re-covering it, the doorbell rang.
"Ah, shit. Is it that time already?"
Racing Clyde to the door, Alex opened it up to find Scully waiting on the
front steps.
"Hey." He stepped back and allowed the redhead to enter.
"Hey." Scully sniffed appreciatively at the aromas wafting in from the
kitchen. "Good, that smells good." The woman looked around. "Where's Mulder?"
"I got so busy with dinner, I forgot to wake him."
"He's still sleeping?"
"Yeah."
"Wow. He must have been more tired than he thought."
Alex smiled but said nothing of the brief but thorough workout he'd given Fox
just a few hours ago.
"Hi, Clyde!"
Finally receiving the greeting he'd been waiting for, Clyde jumped up,
practically toppling Scully and enthusiastically covering her face with sloppy
kisses.
"Damn... God! Get off me, you moose!" Scully managed to shove the dog
off of her then gave Alex a half-hearted scowl. "You ever gonna teach this beast
to stop jumping on people?"
"What people?" Alex asked, chuckling. "He only ever does it to me, Fox, and
you."
"Yeah, well, at least he's not the same height as you and Mulder when he
stands up!"
"He's not the same height as you," Alex smirked. "I do believe he's a little
bit taller."
"Kiss my ass, Krycek."
Alex laughed softly and moved away. "You go make yourself comfortable while I
get Fox up."
"All right. Uh... " Scully stopped in her tracks, reading more into Alex's
words than he probably meant. "Just wake him up. Okay? I'm hungry."
Alex spun around, smirking and rubbing his index fingers together.
"You got a dirty mind, Scully."
"Comes from hanging around with the two of you," Scully shot back,
moving off toward the kitchen. "C'mon Clyde," she called to the dog, "let's see
what there is to snack on around this joint."
"Dinner is going to be ready really soon," Alex called. "Don't you go loading
up on other stuff."
"Tell you what," Scully deadpanned, her voice trailing behind her as she
continued on toward the kitchen. "I won't snack on anything I find in the
refrigerator if you restrain yourself from snacking on Mulder."
Grinning, Alex ascended the stairs and entered the bedroom. The smile
remained as he approached the bed and looked down at his unconscious lover.
Seating himself carefully at the edge of the bed, he laid a gentle hand on Fox's
shoulder.
"Lisa," he called softly, rubbing the other man's upper arm.
Fox's respiration changed, hitching as it was drawn in through his nose, and
a low moan rolled in his throat.
"Baby, Scully's here."
Golden-brown eyebrows knitted into a weary frown.
"All ready?"
"Yep. And dinner's just about ready." Gently, Alex jostled the older man.
"Come on, time to get up."
Groaning, Fox sat up and cast a bleary-eyed gaze on Alex.
"Still tired?"
Fox took a long breath and let it out.
"I'll be okay. Just need a quick shower. Do I have time, or is ten minutes
going to ruin dinner?"
"The food will wait. Not sure about Scully, though."
Fox cast a weary smile on the other. "Gotta wonder, don't you? With an
appetite like hers, why she doesn't weigh two hundred pounds?"
Chuckling, Alex nodded in agreement. He leaned in, giving Fox a quick peck on
the lips then got to his feet.
"I'll go keep her entertained."
Nodding, Fox threw the sheet back and headed for the bathroom. He showered
quickly, ran a brush through his hair, and joined his lover and his partner in
the kitchen, where he found the two sitting at the table, cackling softly.
"Is this a closed hen party, or can anybody join in?"
"We're just talking about Chuck's wedding," Scully explained as Alex rose to
get dinner on the table.
"I figured," Fox replied, moving to help the other man. "You two be nice."
"We're being nice," Scully shot back. "And anyway, look who's talking. Alex,
this is the same man, who when Chuck asked him to be his best man, looked for
every available out."
"I did not..."
"And then he told Chuck that Vicki must have a thing for geeks if
she'd agreed to marry him..."
"Come on, Scully, It wasn't exactly like that." Fox turned to his amused
lover. "She's exaggerating. I'm honored that Chuck would ask me to be a witness
to the most important day of his life."
"Oh. Now he's honored," Scully snorted.
"I am," Fox insisted. "I've given it some thought since he first asked me,
and I really am very happy and honored. Chuck may be a bit of a goof, but
he's a goof who wants to make the ultimate commitment to the one he loves, and I
think that's a wonderful thing."
Alex set the bowl of salad in the middle of the table and studied Fox's
downturned face for a moment before turning to get the bread out of the oven.
"I think it's wonderful too, Mulder. But you gotta admit, having your best
man deliver the invitation to your wedding by word of mouth is a tad bit tacky."
Fox shrugged. "Miss Manners he ain't. But he's a nice, sincere guy who, I'm
betting, will love Vicki for the rest of his life. She's lucky to have him."
"Oh, yeah. I'd say that if throwing a wedding together in three weeks time is
cool with her, then they're definitely made for each other."
Fox grunted and opened the bottle of wine that Alex had placed in front of
him.
"By the way, Mulder, you find that ruffled shirt?"
The question made Fox smile.
"We're going to pick out some nice tuxes tomorrow. Chuck asked if I'd help
him."
Scully laughed. "And who's going to help you?"
"Ill have you know that I'm perfectly capable of choosing a tasteful,
acceptable suit."
The three settled down to eat, and Scully closed her eyes and moaned as she
took her first succulent mouthful.
"Mmmm. God, this is good." She returned her attention to the conversation at
hand. "You're going with him, aren't you, Alex?"
The dark man grinned. "Yeah."
"I knew it."
"But I'm just going along for company," he explained quickly, receiving a
doubtful quirk of Scully's eyebrow as a response. "Fox has very good taste."
"Well, I have to admit, his tie selection has improved dramatically over the
last couple of years."
Fox grimaced at his partner and reached for a wedge of lemon, squeezing it
all over his shrimp.
"And his taste in men... who can cook... " Scully stopped and grinned at
Alex. "... is impeccable."
"I'd have to agree with that," Alex piped up, grinning at his lover. Fox
responded with a soft smile and a shake of his head.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're going with them," Scully picked up the original
conversation. "Even if it is just for company," she added, drawing a grunt from
her partner.
Nearly an hour later, the meal was done, and Alex relegated Scully to the
living room so that he and Fox could clean up. Moving past the older man, who
was loading the dishwasher, Alex gave his ass a playful swat.
"Do you mind?"
"He speaks."
Fox shut the door and turned the appliance on.
"What d'you mean?"
Alex shrugged. "You've been kind of quiet."
"I have?"
"Yeah." Alex rubbed his lover's back. "You okay?"
"Sure." Fox turned and draped his arms over the younger man's shoulders. "Why
wouldn't I be?"
Another shrug followed by a smile.
"Don't believe me?"
Alex watched the other man move in slowly. His eyes closed as Fox nuzzled his
cheek.
"Fox..."
"Hmm?"
"Scully's in the next room."
"So?"
"So, behave."
"I'm not doing anything."
Alex jumped as Fox's hand skimmed the growing bulge in his jeans.
"No?"
"Uh uh," Fox whispered, rubbing harder.
"God... .dammit, Fox..."
"Want me to stop?"
He couldn't say the word. As much as he knew he should, he could never stop
Fox from touching him.
Fox backed Alex up to the counter and unzipped his jeans. Freeing the younger
man's cock, he began to tug gently on it.
Lips pressed together, Alex clutched at Fox's shirt, whimpering softly.
"Answer me," Fox demanded, his voice seductively low.
"No, don't... don't stop."
Fox pumped harder, pulling a loud gasp from the other man.
"Shh," he whispered, grinning. "Scully might hear."
Increasing the friction, he fastened his mouth on the other man's neck,
sucking hard at the fragile skin, and a loud cry erupted from Alex's throat.
Quickly, Fox clamped his hand over his mouth, muffling the sound.
"Come on," he purred against Alex's throat. "Scully's gonna get suspicious
and come looking for us. You wouldn't want her to find me jerking you off in
here, would you?"
Alex's eyes snapped shut, and he bucked erratically, groaning into his
lover's hand.
"I knew that'd get you," Fox grated, watching the semen spurt from Alex's
cock, splashing over his hand and onto the floor.
Sagging against the counter, Alex panted quietly. His eyes opened, and he
trained a hazy green gaze on Fox.
"You're bad."
Smiling, Fox turned to grab some paper towels. Dampening them with warm
water, he cleaned Alex's withering cock then lovingly tucked it back into his
jeans. He proceeded to wipe the floor then wash his hands, and when he was done,
he slipped an arm around the younger man's waist and kissed the side of his
head.
"Let's go bring Scully her desert before she comes looking for it."
"Oh, that looks good."
She threw the ball into a corner, and as the dog bounded after it, she rose
to take her plate from Fox's hand. The men settled themselves on the sofa, and
her eyes narrowed on Alex, immediately recognizing the flushed, satisfied
expression she'd come to know so well.
"What the hell have you two been doing?"
"Huh?" Fox asked, sinking his fork into his desert.
Nodding in Alex's direction, Scully quirked one red eyebrow.
Fox looked over at the other man, smirking. "What?"
"You've been up to something; I can see it all over his face."
Alex dropped his head to Fox's shoulder and looked up at Scully through his
lashes.
"Nothing much. Fox just jerked me off real quick in the kitchen."
Fox rolled his eyes as his partner groaned loudly.
"Why'd I ask?"
"'Cause you wanted to know," Alex answered, smiling at the woman.
Shaking her head, Scully took the first bite of the kiwi tart.
"Oh... oh, Alex. This is great." She looked down at the dog, who'd forgotten
all about their game and had planted himself in front of her, staring
pathetically at her plate. "Not a chance, pal. Scram."
Satisfied, Alex snuggled against Fox and dug into his own dessert.
"Are there any other Krycek men around? You know, who are maybe between the
ages of thirty and forty, can cook... have never been triple agents... " Scully
gave the two men a bland stare. "... who like girls..."
Fox emitted an amused chuckle.
"Nope," Alex answered. "Sorry."
"Damn. I know you have no siblings, but there are no cousins either?"
"Yeah. Some female and one male cousin."
"Okay. So?"
"I haven't seen Victor in years and years. I have no idea how he turned
out."
Scully made herself more comfortable, crossing her legs under her.
"Aren't you curious?"
"About what?"
"Your family, Alex. I understand that you might not have wanted to be in
contact with them before, but now? Don't you think you'd like to find out what's
happened to them? Wouldn't you like to have some family?"
"I have family," Alex replied, gaining an affectionate squeeze from
his lover.
"She's kinda right though, Alex. Only your profession separated you from
them, right? I mean, there were no big fights or anything."
"No..."
"So, what's stopping you from trying to track them down?"
"I don't know, it's... it's been years, Fox. They've got their lives, and
I've got mine. Why disrupt everything?"
Fox read the uneasiness in his lover's voice, and signaled Scully with his
eyes to drop the subject.
An hour and a half later, Scully thanked Alex for another wonderful dinner
and left the men to each other. Fox didn't bring the subject of Alex's family up
again, and the two settled down for the night. Sometime in the early morning,
Fox woke to find himself alone in bed. He waited a while, figuring that Alex was
just in the bathroom, but when a good fifteen minutes passed, and the younger
man didn't return, Fox got out of bed and went looking for him. He found Alex
sitting huddled in a corner of the sofa in the den, a single lamp on, and he was
looking at something.
As Fox drew nearer, he saw that the something was the one photo album that
Alex owned.
"I can't look for them," Alex stated, flipping to the next page as he spoke.
Fox sat beside the other man and combed his fingers through the sable hair.
"Why do you say that?"
"We didn't have any fights. If we had, maybe it'd be easier. But I
just... I disappeared. Dropped off the face of the earth. It's my fault that
we've lost contact. They probably think I'm dead or something. What right would
I have popping back into their lives?"
Fox rested his head on his lover's shoulder and stroked his thigh.
"You're scared that they'll reject you."
No answer.
"Alex, I... " Fox paused, searching for the right words. "I understand, babe.
But maybe they won't. You'll never know if you don't try."
"You're right," Alex answered softly. "But right now, I... I just don't think
I can deal with it yet, you know?"
Fox kissed the stubbled jaw. "I know."
"Maybe some day, but..."
"Okay. No pressure." Fox went silent for a moment, then, "You want to be
alone for a while longer?"
"No." Alex closed the album and put it away, then held his hand out to the
other man. "Let's go back to bed."
The two moved through the dark house, and Alex slid into bed first, pulling
Fox into his arms. A short time later, both men fell soundly into sleep.
"Morning, Scully."
"Morning," the redhead called as she removed her jacket and hung it next to
her partner's. She pulled two cups of coffee from the bag she brought in with
her, and handed one to Fox.
"Anything new and exciting going on?"
"Thanks. No, not really. But while I'm thinking about it, there's some kiwi
tart for you in the fridge. Alex meant to send you home with some last night,
but he forgot."
"Oooh, great. Thank him for me." Scully sat down at her desk and took another
sip of her coffee. "So, was he still upset about our conversation?"
"He's not upset really," Fox answered. "He's just a little... you got him
thinking."
"Is that good or bad?"
"I found him up at three in the morning, looking at an old photo album he
has. I knew what was going through his mind, and he confirmed it."
"What is it?"
"He's afraid to contact his family. With all that's he's been through, it's
just too soon to deal with any more trauma."
"What trauma?"
"He's afraid they won't want to have anything to do with him."
"Ohhh. Well, I guess I can see that. Geez, Mulder, that's too bad."
"Yeah. Maybe some day he'll be up to it. I'm not going to push the issue,
though. If I do, and they do reject him, I'll hate myself."
Scully nodded. "Gotcha."
Fox clapped his hands softly together. "Well, what d'you say we go harass
Skinner for a while?"
"Sure, what the hell? I'm sure he misses seeing us in his office."
Opening the door, Fox let Scully exit first, then he closed the door behind
him.
"Hey, how 'bout this one?"
"It's..." Alex found it hard to say the word. "...paisley... pink...
paisley."
"I know, isn't it cool? It's Vicki's favorite color."
"Yes, I've heard. You still can't show up to your wedding wearing a pink
paisley bow tie and cumber bund."
Sighing, Chuck turned to his best man. "What d'you think, Mulder?"
"I think Alex is right," Fox answered, incurring a disappointed frown from
the other man.
"You guys have shot down every suggestion I've made."
"That's because they've all sucked," Alex replied, taking the items away from
the groom. "I thought you were going to let Fox help you."
"I am," Chuck insisted, turning to the racks. "Doesn't mean I can't
look, does it? Hey, how about that?" he asked, pointing out the white tie
and tails on the mannequin by the dressing rooms.
"You want the monocle and top hat to go with that, Mr. Peanut?" Alex droned.
Hey, Chuck," Fox called, trying to divert the other man's attention. He
pulled out a classic black jacket and held it up in front of himself. "Now, this
is nice."
"With the pink paisley?"
"No," both men shouted at the same time.
"Black," Fox said, softening his tone. "Basic black. Elegant. Handsome."
"You're elegant and handsome," Chuck whined. "You can pull off simple.
I need something to make me stand out."
"Oh, you'll stand out all right," Alex replied. "And not in a good way."
"Come on, Chuck," Fox coaxed waving the hovering salesman over. "I bet
this'll make you look like a million bucks. Just try it on, okay?"
"Okay," Chuck sighed, eyeing the tux doubtfully.
"We'd like to try this style," Fox said to the salesman.
"The three of you?" the fourth man asked, looking the other three over.
"Just him," Fox pointed to Chuck, "and myself."
The salesman took a few measurements then found two tuxes in the appropriate
sizes. Fox took his garments and sent Chuck a reassuring wink. He smiled over at
Alex then disappeared into the dressing room. Minutes later, he came out, and
spun slowly before Alex's appreciative gaze.
"Work for you?"
"Oh, yeah," Alex nodded, his knee beginning a slight bounce. "It's workin'
for me."
Fox winked at his seated lover then looked in the direction of the other
dressing room as the door opened, and Chuck stepped out. Whistling softly, Fox
clapped his hands.
"You really think I look all right?" Chuck asked, turning a dubious gaze to
the mirror.
"All right? Chuck, you're gorgeous. Vicki is going to be floored."
Chuck turned to Alex. "Is he just being nice? I don't look like an undertaker
or a magician or anything?"
Alex gave the worried man the okay sign.
"Very James Bond."
"James Bond, huh?" Chuck looked back at himself, one eyebrow raised. "Bond is
cool."
Alex sent Fox a hopeful look and continued to encourage Chuck.
"That's right, man. Women love Bond. Vicki'll be all over you. You'll be
lucky to make it to the honeymoon."
Chuck whipped off his glasses and squinted at the fuzzy image in the mirror.
"I can live with that."
"But put the glasses back on," Fox instructed. "There's nothing cool about
falling on your face."
"That's something to consider. So... are we going to go with these?"
"Yeah, okay," Chuck agreed. "I'm going to trust you guys." As he gave the
salesman the time and date that the suits needed to be ready, Fox moved back
toward the dressing room, undoing his shirt.
"You need help with that, lisa?" Alex called, giving Fox a leering grin.
Fox turned to face in Alex's direction and removed the jacket. Eyes on his
lover, he handed it to the salesman then slowly pulled the shirt out of the
waistband of his pants.
"I think I can do it myself," Fox answered, undoing the remaining buttons.
The salesman looked from one man to the other, feeling the heat that passed
between them.
"Well. Uh... " The man looked down at the garments in his arms. "... I'm just
going to go write this up, and uh... .yeah."
Smirking, Fox watched the man scramble away. He turned his eyes back to Alex
and popped the button on the pants. He could hear the soft growl from where he
stood, but made no move forward. Instead, he grasped the zipper, drawing it down
halfway.
"You're looking for trouble, Mulder," Alex rumbled softly, looking around.
"Yeah? And who's going to give it to me?"
"What?" Chuck called from inside his dressing room.
"Nothing, Chuck," Fox called back. "Alex is talking to me."
"Alex is going to be doing a lot more than talking to you, if you don't get
your ass in that dressing room right now," the younger man warned.
Snorting softly, Fox passed through the open door and leaned against the
dressing room wall. Still in Alex's line of sight, he pulled the zipper all the
way down and slipped his hand inside, massaging the bulge that had quickly
formed.
"I'm gonna beat your ass," Alex mouthed, slowly enough for Fox to understand.
Smirking, Fox turned around and pulled his pants underwear down far enough to
give Alex a good view of his ass. Just as Alex had risen from his seat, the
other dressing room door opened, and Chuck walked out. Alex stopped and stood
his ground, glaring at Fox as the older man blew him a kiss and closed the door.
"Is he still changing?" Chuck asked, draping his clothing over the nearest
chair.
"Yeah," Alex rasped, dropping back into his seat.
"Hey Mulder, what'd you do, die in there?" Chuck called, knocking on the
door. Seconds later, Fox emerged, changed back into his jeans and t-shirt.
Handing the discarded clothing to Chuck, he sauntered over to the man seated on
the other side of the room.
"You ready?" he asked, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Oh yeah, I'm ready," Alex murmured, shoving Fox's jacket at him. "Let's get
the hell..."
"Okay, we're all set to go," Chuck interrupted, approaching the two men.
"Can't wait to tell Vicki. So... what are you two up to tonight?"
Fox's mouth dropped open, but no intelligible sound came out.
"Uhhh... ."
Ever direct, Alex laid it out for the other man.
"We're gonna go home, and I'm going to give your best man here a sound
spanking then fuck him into unconsciousness."
Fox tipped his head back and closed his eyes, groaning softly.
Chuck stared, dumbstruck. He began to grin a minute later then broke into
laughter.
"Yeah. Right."
Alex stared back, expressionless, and other man choked on his laughter.
"Have a nice night, Chuck. Tell the lovely bride we said hello." Alex turned
to Fox, curling his fingers in the older man's jacket. "You. Let's go."
"I cannot believe you did that," Fox laughed as Alex tugged him out of
the store and away from the stunned man's sight. "You've probably scarred the
poor man for life."
"He'll recover." He stopped by the car and hauled Fox up against him. "You,
I'm not so sure about."
"What'd I do?"
"What'd you do? You slut... " Alex jerked the other man closer, his
breath fanning the lush lips. "... fucking cocktease..."
Fox's grunt was lost in Alex's hard, demanding kiss. His arms wound around
the other man's neck, and just as he was relaxing into the kiss, he was jerked
away. Questioning, passion-clouded eyes rested on the younger man, and he waited
for his answer.
"Get in the car," Alex whispered.
Fox's cock throbbed in response to the rough command, and he pulled himself
away from his lover's heat and got into the Porsche. Alex dropped into the
driver's seat beside him and, not saying a word, started the car and peeled away
from the curb. They rode in silence for a few minutes, then Fox turned to the
other man and placed a hand on his thigh.
"You gonna talk to me?"
"In just a few minutes," Alex answered, scanning the downtown area. Finding
what he wanted, he pulled into a deep, quiet alley and killed the motor. Fox
looked around then turned a suspicious gaze to him.
"What are we..."
"Get out."
Fox drew an unsteady breath and opened the car door. Just as he got to his
feet, he was pulled forward then slammed back against the side of the car. He
submitted to a ravenous kiss then pulled away, trying to catch his breath and
speak at the same time.
"What... what're we doing here?"
"Time to pay up."
Alex spun them around so that he was now the one against the car.
"Get on your knees."
Fox looked up and down the deserted alley. "Alex..."
Alex's hand went to his jeans, undoing them quickly. In the next move, he
grasped the hair at the back of Fox's head and pulled him downward.
"Suck my dick, Fox. Hurry up, and maybe nobody'll see."
Blood thundering through his veins, Fox grasped the base of Alex's cock with
a shaking hand and looked up into the other man's shadowed face. His tongue
crept out, licking tentatively at the velvety head, and Alex's fingers tightened
in his hair and pulled him forward as he plunged into his mouth. Fox's hand
automatically went to Alex's hips, seeking balance and control. Balance he
found, but Alex was in control, and had no desire to relinquish it.
"Come on, lisa," the younger man hissed through gritted teeth as he thrust in
and out of Fox's mouth. "Suck it." He felt the pressure increase around his
cock, and a harsh moan erupted from his throat. "Yeah," he gasped. "Oh, yeah.
That's good, baby... " Panting, he jerked his hips erratically, driving into his
lover's willing mouth.
Fox sucked voraciously at the organ being forced repeatedly down his throat,
more than ready for the coming explosion, and then it was gone. Disoriented, he
opened his eyes and looked up, but before he could say a word, he was being
dragged to his feet and thrown against the hood of the car. Alex was right there
behind him a split second later, ripping his jeans open and shoving them down
his legs. Fox shuddered against the warm metal, waiting.
It took Alex only seconds to pull the small tube of lubrication he always
kept in his jacket pocket out and slap some onto his engorged cock, and then he
lunged forward, pumping hard into his lover's heat. Fox cried out sharply as
Alex thrust relentlessly into him, and Alex leaned over, nuzzling his ear.
"Shhhh," the younger man hissed on a shaky breath. "Somebody might hear."
Fox pressed his lips together, whimpering as softly as he could as Alex
pumped quickly into him. He bit the inside of his lip to keep from screaming
when the other man reached around in front of him and began to milk his cock.
"Shit," Alex grated, burying his face in the curve between Fox's shoulder and
neck. "Ah... oh, shhhh..."
The word ended on a long growl as Alex came hot and hard, pumping a long
stream of semen into his lover's ass. His hand tightened, jerking spasmodically,
and within seconds, Fox followed him, choking back his sobs of completion. The
older man lay sprawled face down on the hood for long moments, then Alex pulled
out of him, wiping his spent cock and hand with some tissue he'd found in his
pocket. Re-fastening his jeans, he reached for Fox, gently pulling him up and
fixing his clothing. He wiped the semen from the side of the car and discarded
the tissue, then pulled Fox into his arms for a brief but tender embrace.
"That was nice," he whispered, kissing the side of Fox's neck.
"Yeah, nice and dangerous," Fox moaned. "I can't believe the stuff you can
get me to do."
"You love it," Alex chuckled. "I dare you to deny it."
Fox lifted his head and trained a hazy gaze on the other man.
"Can't." He smiled softly. "God, you still excite the hell out of me."
Another low chuckle. "Glad to hear it. Now, come on. Let's get out of here."
Fox nodded and reached for the car door. "Yeah, I'm pretty beat. It'll be
nice to get home and just fall out."
"Yeah, it would," Alex said, closing Fox's door and rounding the car. He took
the driver's seat and tossed an evil grin in the other's direction. "But you're
not going to get much rest. Not right away, anyhow."
Fox's brows drew down into a curious frown. "Why not?"
The engine roared to a start, and Alex backed out of the alley, smirking.
"Remember that spanking I told Chuck about?"
three weeks later
Alex pushed the curtain aside from the living room window and peered out into
the courtyard of Scully's apartment building. The area was deserted with the
exception of a few birds. Alex watched them hop and flutter around the bushes
for a short while then looked down at his watch.
"Scully, if I gotta..."
"All right, all right."
Scully emerged from her bedroom, smoothing her flawlessly styled chignon.
Alex whistled softly and grinned down at the woman.
"You make a damn good-looking dame, you know that?"
"Gee, thanks," Scully scoffed, checking her figure-hugging pale celadon dress
once more. "I suppose I gotta compliment you, now."
Alex shrugged. "No, you don't. I know I look good."
"Oh, my God," Scully muttered, picking up her matching clutch. "Is it cramped
at night with the three of you in bed?"
Alex cocked his head curiously.
"You know. Mulder, you... your enormous ego..."
Alex chuckled softly and opened the door, waving his date out.
Scully smiled, giving Alex the once-over after locking the door and walking
with him to his car. He did look wonderful in his dark olive Armani. It
complimented his features perfectly, and she couldn't keep from telling him so.
"You do look very handsome."
Alex flashed her a grin as they reached the car, and he opened the door for
her.
"Thanks."
"I'll be the envy of all the women there..." Scully broke into soft laughter
as she took her seat. "Until they find out who you're really there with. Then
they can hate Mulder."
The ride to their destination was filled with comfortable small talk, then
Alex went silent for a few minutes. When next he spoke, it was in a low, curious
tone.
"Scully, has... do you think Fox has been acting kind of odd lately?"
Blue eyes turned to the driver.
"Odd how?"
Alex shrugged. "I don't know. It's kind of hard to explain. Uh... he's been
sort of... introspective, for lack of a better word. He'll be fine then all of
sudden it seems, he'll get quiet, or he'll say odd things, and I know
something's going on in his head, but he insists he's fine. And he is most of
time, but... I don't know."
"Well, Alex, I can't say that I've noticed anything really out of the
ordinary, but if you're that concerned about him, sit him down and make
him tell you what's going on."
"Yeah. I know I should. I'm just afraid that I'm making more out of it than
there really is, and I'll tick him off. I don't want to upset him for what might
really be no reason."
"If you're sensing something, Alex, chances are that you're right. Even if it
is minor, it's something, and you're well within your rights to want to
know what it is." The woman shrugged. "Of course, he's well within his rights to
keep a few secrets. You know, as long as they're not harmful to either of you."
Alex nodded. "I'll just wait and see how things go."
They arrived at the hall with fifteen minutes to spare. Alex parked in the
provided lot, and as he was coming around to the passenger's side, Scully
emerged from the car.
"You're supposed to let me open your door," Alex chastised as he shut the
door and offered his arm to the woman.
"Oh. Sorry. I didn't know we were being proper today," Scully teased,
slipping her hand around Alex's arm. The two proceeded to the entrance, where
they quickly found the ceremony room.
"Ohhh, my God," Scully murmured under her breath as they walked down the
aisle to their seats.
Pink tulle everywhere assaulted their vision, and at the top of the aisle, a
pink balloon arch stood, ready to receive the bride and groom.
"Can you believe it?" Alex asked just as softly, seating Scully then himself.
"I feel like I'm in a Pepto Bismol nightmare," Scully replied, eyeing the
pink flower arrangements scattered throughout the room.
The couple sat in stunned silence, unable to stop gawking at the
monochromatic dÈcor until movement at the front of the room caught their
attention. A door opened at the side, and the minister emerged, followed by
Chuck and then Fox. The sea of pink was forgotten the moment Alex's gaze was met
by Fox's, and the younger man gave his lover a soft smile. Fox answered with a
quick wink then looked around at their pink surroundings and smirked at the
seated pair. Alex lowered his head, shaking with silent laughter while Scully
merely rolled her eyes.
The attention of the people present turned to the back, and first Scully then
Alex noticed that someone was moving toward them. A brunette woman dressed in
what could have been a fairly nice gown were it not pink, walked toward
the front, a little smile curling her pink frosted lips as she eyed the men in
front of her. The congregation watched her take her place then turned again
toward the back, where the bride had now appeared on the arm of her father.
"Thank God," Scully whispered to Alex as the wedding march began to play, and
all the guests rose to their feet. "I was so sure she was going to show up in
friggin' pink."
Alex nodded in agreement as they tracked the bride's progress.
Meanwhile, under the arch, the groom stood, literally shaking in his shoes.
"Breathe, Chuck," Fox murmured, noting the greenish hue to the man's moist
skin.
"She's so beautiful," Chuck wheezed through his teeth. "God, what's she
thinking, marrying me?"
"She loves you, stupid," Fox returned under his breath. "Now, smile; here she
comes."
The bride's father walked her up the group at the front and stood before the
minister.
Chuck watched the cleric's mouth moving, heard some jumbled sound come out of
it, and then Vicki's father was kissing her and placing her hand on his quaking
arm. With a little well-timed prodding from Fox, he managed to give the
appropriate responses, and before he knew it, he was kissing his new bride.
Fox watched, smiling as the couple began to slowly make their way down the
aisle. His gaze drifted to the fourth row on his left and met Alex's eyes as
they turned from Chuck and Vicki up to him. The grin faded into something much
softer, and with Alex's attention still on him, he lowered his gaze and didn't
lift it again until the maid of honor moved toward him and reached for his arm.
Alex's smile turned to a mildly quizzical frown as Fox and the woman moved
past them.
"I can't believe it."
Scully's voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he looked down at his
friend.
"They actually got through it," she grinned. "There was a minute there, when
I thought Chuck was going to fall flat on his face. If Mulder hadn't been there
coaching him, he probably would have."
"Yeah," Alex breathed, watching Fox and the maid of honor disappear from his
sight.
"You okay, Alex?"
"Hmm? Me? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He gave Scully a broad smile. "So, let's go
see what the reception room looks like."
"God," Scully moaned. "Can it be much worse?"
Fifteen minutes later, the couple entered the reception area, and Scully
stopped dead in her tracks, causing a rear-end collision with Alex, who had also
started to stare slack-jawed around the room.
"Ho-ly sh... ."
"How did they find the time to do all this?" Scully asked,
interrupting Alex's soft exclamation.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a stout woman behind them gushed, drawing the
shocked attention of the couple.
"Uh..."
"A bunch of us stayed up half the night, decorating." The woman giggled. "We
bought every florist and craft store we could find out of pink tulle and
balloons. You like?"
"Uh..."
Quickly covering for Scully's momentary discomposure, Alex flashed the woman
a wide smile.
"It's very elaborate."
"Yes, I know! As soon as we heard that our little Vicki was getting married,
we all pitched in to help. Oh, my goodness, forgive me. I'm Vicki's Aunt Cassie.
I'm also her godmother."
"Very nice to meet you. I'm Alex, and this is Dana. We're friends of the
groom."
The woman beamed at the pair. "So nice to meet you. I was watching you
earlier. What a nice-looking couple. Married?"
"M... " Alex's eyes widened. "Us? Oh. No."
"No? Oh, my dear," she cooed, raising a hand to Scully's arm. "What
are you waiting for? Rope and brand this gorgeous man before he gets
away!"
Scully opened her mouth to protest, but Aunt Cassie's attention was diverted
by the arrival of some family members, and she fluttered away with a quick
apology and the promise to catch up with them later.
"Rope and brand?" Alex asked as they found their table.
"Don't sound so shocked, Alex," Scully smirked as Alex pulled out her chair,
and she sat. "Don't you and Mulder ever play rodeo?"
Surprised and amused, Alex chuckled softly.
"Scully. What a naughty girl you are."
"I never used to be until I started hanging out with you two."
"You always put the blame on Fox and me."
"Where it belongs," Scully answered, eyeing the fountain that gurgled beneath
the bridge of the wedding cake in the corner. "Oh my God, they even have pink
water."
"Can't beat the pink cockatoo," Alex replied, nodding to the large white cage
with the tinted pink bird in it. "How pissed off do you think he was when
they did that to him?"
Scully's head snapped around, and she gaped at the bird to their far left.
"Noooo."
She only had a few seconds to stare at the bird when a man took the stage at
the right end of the room and picked up a mike asking that everyone be seated so
that he could introduce the wedding party.
The tables filled up, and Alex and Scully nodded politely to their dinner
companions then turned their attention back to the man on stage. First
introducing the parents of the groom and then bride, he waited until they had
taken their places in what would be the reception line and the applause had died
down, then he announced the maid of honor and best man.
Fox and the bride's cousin entered, the woman clutching tightly to his arm
and beaming out at the cheering group, and for the first time Alex felt a tiny
little something twitch at the base of his spine. He blew it off and turned to
watch the bride and groom enter. The wild applause and cheers faded, and the
guests got up to greet the happy couple and their party. Fortunately, the
reception line had formed nearby, and Alex and Scully's table was the second in
line.
"Good goin', Chuck," Alex said, finally making it over to the new groom and
greeting him with a firm handshake, and a slap to his shoulder.
"Thanks, dude," Chuck breathed. "If it weren't for Mulder, I probably would
have hit the floor half a dozen times."
Scully kissed Chuck and congratulated him, and he introduced them both to his
bride.
"Sweet pea, this is Alex Krycek and Dana Scully."
"Oh yeah," Chuck told me about you," Vicki said, accepting the best wishes of
the couple before her. "Thank you so much for coming." She looked at Alex,
smiling and nodded at Fox. "And thanks for letting us borrow him for the day."
Alex gave the bride a genuine smile. Despite her questionable taste, he took
a liking to her right away.
"No problem."
Fox heard the soft exchange from his position right beside the bride, and he
turned his full attention to his lover as Alex and Scully came to stand in front
of him.
"Think it'd be bad form to jump the best man right here in the reception
line?" Alex asked, eyeing Fox hungrily.
"Probably," Fox replied softly, reaching out to brush and imaginary speck of
lint from the lapel of the younger man's jacket just for the pure pleasure of
touching him. "Later," he whispered, then smiled at Scully. "You look great."
"Thanks." Scully leaned in to kiss her partner's cheek. "You too."
"Oh. Uh... " Fox turned to the woman beside him, who had been whispering and
giggling with another woman but had now turned her full attention back to him.
"This is Cheryl, Vicki's cousin. Cheryl, this is Dana and Alex."
"Oh. Friends of Fox's?" the woman asked, sliding her hand around Fox's arm
even as she checked Alex out and sized Scully up.
The use of his lover's first name by this woman who'd only known him since
yesterday's rehearsal went up one side of Alex and down the other. Scully must
have heard his teeth grinding, because she moved closer to him, lightly grasping
his upper arm.
"Yes, we're very good friends," she replied, watching the line build up
behind them. "Mulder, we'll catch up with you a little later."
Now being shoved along, Alex removed his glare from the leech, who was
standing much too close to his man for his liking, and met Fox's apologetic
stare. He gave the older man an understanding smile then moved on to meet the
parents. That chore finally done, he and Scully headed back to their table.
"I knew there was something about her I didn't like," Alex muttered, taking
his seat. "Look at her," he said through his teeth, watching the wedding party
continue to greet the guests. "She's all over him."
"She's not all over him," Scully came back, watching the woman move
closer to Fox every time he managed to step away from her.
"No?" Alex asked, his leg beginning to bounce up and down.
"It's one afternoon, Alex," Scully reassured the agitated man. "And it's
Chuck's wedding. So please be good, okay?"
No answer.
"Alex..."
"Don't worry, I'm not plotting to drown her in the pink fountain," Alex
muttered, still glaring at the woman, wishing the heat of his thoughts could
make her burst into flame.
"Believe me," Scully said, laying her hand on Alex's knee. "Mulder's probably
just as unhappy about her as you are."
"I know," Alex sighed, watching as the line finally dispersed, and Cheryl
hooked her arm around Fox's, grinning at the woman she was talking to earlier.
The woman gave her a thumbs up, and Alex began to growl.
"You can set her straight later," Scully soothed, raising her eyes
heavenward, silently asking for help. It came a moment later when the people
seated with them began introducing themselves. Some light conversation began,
and the man who had introduced himself as Chuck's uncle Dan had mentioned to
Alex that he saw him and Scully getting out of his car earlier. That comment led
to Dan's admission of his love of fast cars, and before Scully knew it, he and
Alex were heavily engaged in discussion.
The salad was served, and though the conversation continued, it was light
enough to draw Alex's intermittent attention back to his lover, sitting at the
head table. Fortunately, Fox was seated beside Chuck, and Vicki's cousin beside
her, so for the time being at least, Fox was safe.
Alex relaxed and turned his attention back to his dinner companions, having a
genuinely fine time. When the salad plates were removed, the waiters came around
with the champagne, and the same man who had introduced the wedding party got
back on stage to announce the toast.
All eyes turned to Fox, who had risen to his feet and faced the bride and
groom.
First, he thanked Chuck for the privilege of being his best man, then he
began his speech.
"I'd given a lot of thought to what I was going to say today," Fox began,
looking down into his flute before briefly glancing out into a few of the faces
in the crowd, "trying to find just the right words." He smiled over at the
couple. "And as I walked out the door this morning, I tossed the speech into the
trash. I decided I didn't want to read some contrived sermon, so I'm going to
wing it, here. Hope you don't mind."
"He threw it away?" Scully whispered to Alex, who shrugged.
Scully's eyebrows rose, and she turned her attention back to the head table.
"Chuck, when you proposed to Vicki, it had only been a few months since you'd
started to date, and I gotta say, I was a little apprehensive when you'd
announced your intention to ask her to marry you. I didn't think you'd known her
nearly long enough to be in love enough to think about marriage. Not long
after that I gave myself a mental slap. Love can happen in an instant. I know
that to be true.
"Over the last few weeks, I've listened to you talk about her. I've seen the
adoration in your eyes when you look at her." Fox smiled and gestured to the
couple. "When you look at each other. Marriage is the commitment you both wanted
to make, and it's right. Being married is more than a piece of paper. It's more
than getting all dressed up and saying a few words in front of a minister. It's
more than food and family and pink decorations." He looked around the room. "A
whole lot of pink decorations."
A ripple of laughter went through the room.
"It's your heart, Vicki," Fox said softly. "And yours," he nodded to Chuck,
"saying to each other, I love you. And for all of my life, I'm yours." His eyes
lowered for a moment, then he raised his glass. "You done good, dude," he said,
using one of Chuck's favorite words. "Congratulations to you both. Long life and
much happiness."
A rush of 'awwws' and the clink of glasses filled the room as Fox shook
Chuck's hand and kissed Vicki's cheek. He took his seat and looked up, meeting
his lover's green gaze across the room. He returned Alex's soft smile then
turned his attention to Chuck's father, who was reaching over to shake his hand.
"Well, that was a very sweet, impromptu toast," Scully said, turning to Alex,
who had yet to stop staring at Fox.
"Yeah," Alex answered then looked into Scully's smiling face. "Very sweet."
Dinner passed enjoyably, and when Chuck and Vicki got up to cut the cake, the
smile again fell from Alex's face as Cheryl squirmed her way to Fox's side,
latching herself onto this arm.
Fox smiled pleasantly, knowing that the cameras were snapping, but inside he
was cringing and trying desperately to think of a way to detach himself from the
little brunette tick without making waves at his friend's reception. And the
worst of it hadn't even happened yet. When dessert was finished, the emcee again
took the stage.
"What now?" Alex moaned, watching the man tap the live mike.
"Well, according to the National Wedding Playbook, we should be doing the
bouquet toss next," Scully droned. "God, I hate this part. Think I'll go to the
ladies room."
Before Scully could get up, the man on stage asked to have all the single
ladies come and stand to his right.
At that, a bunch of giggling women leapt up and skittered to the side of the
room. And to make sure that all the single women got up, Aunt Cassie
swept around, herding the stragglers into the herd.
"No," Scully whispered as the woman bustled in her direction. "Oh, no, no,
no..."
"Come on, honey," Cassie clucked, fanning a hand at Scully. "You go catch
that bouquet and get this fine hunka man here to marry you."
"But we're not," was all Scully could say before Cassie pulled her out of her
seat and pushed her toward the group.
Alex didn't laugh, knowing that she'd likely come after him for the garter
toss. He had to find his way out of there for the next ten minutes at least.
While the crowd was distracted, he got up and slowly made his way over to the
exit, where he was promptly stopped by Uncle Dan.
"Hey, there you are. Alex, isn't it? Listen, I was thinking. What year did
you say your car was?"
Alex groaned inwardly, praying that if he just answered the man's question,
that would be that, and he could go on his way.
No dice. Dan kept him talking until Cassie came up and grabbed him by the
arm, dragging him away. Coincidentally enough, he was shoved right up against
Fox, who was doing his best to disappear into the group of bachelors.
"Hey," Fox croaked, happy to be close to his lover after so much time.
"Having fun?"
"Time of my life," Alex droned as both men simultaneously ducked the garter
whizzing by their heads.
"Sorry," Fox murmured, clapping woodenly as the man behind them spun the
garter around on one finger and waggled his eyebrows at the supremely
disappointed maid of honor.
"It's okay," Alex reassured his repentant lover. "You go ahead and do your
best man thing. Scully and I are fine."
"Okay."
Alex stopped Fox as he walked away.
"That was a nice toast."
Fox nodded and lowered his gaze.
"Thanks. See you in a little while."
Alex rejoined Scully at the table, shaking his head.
"Well, she caught us both."
"Yep. Dammit. Well, I really am going to the ladies room. I'll be back in a
minute, okay?"
Alex nodded and rose to his feet, pulling Scully's chair out. Murmuring her
thanks, she disappeared from the room, leaving him to his thoughts and the fresh
champagne that the servers had apparently poured while he was away from the
table.
"Okay, next!"
Alex looked up, wondering what the hell was next.
"Time for the bride and groom to have their first dance. Chuck, Vicki; the
floor is yours."
Alex smiled as the couple walked hand in hand into the middle of the floor
and began a not so graceful waltz. Hell, it didn't even matter that Chuck had
two left feet. He could have been Fred Astair from the look of bliss on Vicki's
face, and that was all that mattered.
Soon enough, his gaze drifted to Fox, standing by, watching the happy pair.
The wistful smile on the older man's face squeezed at Alex's heart, and all at
once, he had to fight the urge to get up and walk over and pull Fox into his
arms and show them how it was done. He sighed and raised his glass to his lips
instead, taking a long swallow of the cold liquid.
Well, at least the leech was nowhere to be found...
Scully entered the stall and set her purse down on the little ledge on the
door just as she heard a group enter the ladies room.
"I can't believe it; I was so close!"
"Yeah, well, honey, you gotta be quicker than that to beat me to a
bouquet."
"Doesn't matter anyway," the first voice said. "That hottie didn't catch the
garter, so..."
The second woman laughed. "He wasn't even trying to catch it."
"Yeah, well, neither was your Foxy," the other huffed.
"He's shy," the second voice Scully now identified as Cheryl, the maid of
honor proclaimed.
"Uh huh. Or maybe he's just not interested. Maybe he's already got
someone. Like that redhead who came in with his fine friend."
"She's just a friend too. And tell me that isn't a dye job. If she's a
real redhead, I'll eat my shoe."
As the group giggled, Scully's hands curled into fists.
//You might be eating that shoe anyway, honey... //
There was a bit of a pause, then Cheryl spoke.
"Okay. Gorgeous again. I gotta get out there. They were getting ready to do
the dance." Scully could hear the leer in her voice. "And you know the best man
always dances with the maid of honor."
"Go get 'im, girl," a voice encouraged, and the group moved out.
"Oh, God."
Hoping to avoid the letting of blood or at least get in on the action, Scully
concluded her business and hurried back out into the hall, where she'd found
Cheryl had indeed dragged Fox out onto the dance floor. Her next search
uncovered Alex sitting at their table; his knee bouncing rhythmically as the
python in the pink dressed wound herself around his lover.
Quickly approaching the table, Scully read murder in the seated man's eyes.
"Alex..."
"What?"
"It's a tradition. The best man always dances with the maid of honor."
"Is it tradition for the maid of honor to do a bump and grind against said
best man?"
"Noo, not really."
"I've had about enough of this," Alex hissed, rising to his feet.
"Alex, take it easy, okay? Remember this is Chuck's wedding. You don't want
to do anything that's going to ruin it."
"So, I'm supposed to let that pink cow climb all over my man?"
"No, of course not. I'm just saying... if you're going to kill her, take her
outside so you won't make a scene... and call me, so I can give you a hand."
One sable eyebrow lifted.
"She said that my hair was a bad dye job," she hissed.
Nodding his understanding, Alex placed a hand on Scully's shoulder before
heading smoothly through the crowd. Finally reaching Fox and the woman whose
arms he wanted to rip out from the sockets, Alex cleared his throat, gaining her
attention. Top lip curled up into what was supposed to pass for a smile, he
spoke softly.
"May I cut in?"
The woman smiled up at the man, whose attention was actually focused on her
dance partner.
//Oh, Kara will just die.//
"Sure. If Fox doesn't mind."
Alex gritted his teeth and spoke to the other man.
"Do you mind... Fox?"
At once relieved that the woman had released her vice-like hold on him, and
wary about Alex's intentions, Fox watched silently as Cheryl turned to face
Alex.
Smoothly stepping around the shocked woman, Alex pulled Fox into his arms and
planted a long, passionate kiss on the older man's lips. "I missed you," he
murmured loud enough for her to hear, then spun his lover away, falling into a
slow, seductive rhythm.
Easily following his lover's lead, Fox looked from Cheryl, still standing
open-mouthed where they'd left her, to Alex.
"I couldn't take it any more," Alex immediately began. "I either broke it up
now, or killed her later. Are you mad at me?"
Fox shook his head then lowered it to his lover's shoulder.
"I thought it'd be you who was mad at me. I wanted to push her away,
but I kept thinking about Chuck and Vicki, and making a scene at their
wedding..."
"I know. I thought about it too, which is why I held out as long as I did.
Finally, I'd had it. Not exactly the model of self-restraint, am I?"
Fox tightened his arms around his lover.
"I don't mind. You rescued me."
Alex kissed the side of Fox's head. "I just hope nobody's feathers are
ruffled... besides the vulture's, I mean."
The song ended, and with Fox's hand held securely in his, Alex returned to
the table, where Scully waited, smirking and shaking her head.
"You should have seen her face," Scully laughed. She was in such shock that
her friend had to come and walk her off the dance floor."
"I hope we didn't draw too much attention," Alex murmured as he pulled
a chair right up alongside Fox's and draped an arm around the older man's
shoulders.
"Enough. But nobody seemed too terribly distraught over seeing you two
fawning all over each other. In fact, most of the people who were looking at you
were smiling. By the way, I'm proud of you, Alex. You showed remarkable
restraint."
"I did?"
"For you? Yeah. Amazing restraint."
"Hey, guys."
The trio looked up to find Chuck and Vicki standing behind them.
"Ah, damn. Chuck..."
"Can we sit down?" Chuck asked.
"Yeah," Fox answered. "Sure."
The bride and groom sat, and Vicki immediately began to speak.
"I have to apologize, guys."
Fox looked to his curious lover then back to Vicki.
"You?"
"Yeah. I'd been so wrapped up in my day, that I completely missed the way
Cheryl was behaving with you. I should have taken notice, and I should have been
the one to put her in her place." She smiled and looked to the other man.
"Though you did that very well, Alex."
Alex gave the bride a bright smile.
"I'm glad you're not upset. Fox was being as nice as he could be, but I
couldn't deal with it after a while."
"I know. Cheryl's my cousin, and obviously I love her dearly, or I wouldn't
have asked her to be my maid of honor. But she is very aggressive when
she sees a man she wants. I hope she didn't cause too much trouble."
"No," Fox answered. "I mean, it was a bit uncomfortable, but I dealt with
it."
"So," Alex piped up, changing the subject. "How're you two liking this
marriage thing so far?"
The couple beamed, twining their fingers together.
"Great," Chuck answered. "I highly recommend it."
"Hear that, Red?" Alex asked, nudging Scully. "You wanna go trollin' and see
if we can find you some husband material around here?"
No one noticed Fox's gaze lower to the table.
"No, that's okay," Scully answered, holding one hand up in protest. "I'm
perfectly satisfied with my single status."
Vicki laughed. "That's okay. I'm just so overjoyed today, I want the
whole world to get married so they can be as happy as I am."
As Scully and Vicki continued to talk, Alex looked over at Fox, who was still
sitting quietly, with his head down.
"You okay, lisa?"
"Yeah," Fox said softly then lifted his head and gave the younger man a hint
of a smile. "Fine."
He averted his eyes when Alex continued to stare, and before the other man
could ask anything more, Vicki called Alex's name.
Reluctantly tearing his attention away from Fox, Alex turned politely to the
bride.
"Hmm?"
"What's that mean?"
"What's what mean?"
"Lisa... if you don't mind me asking."
Alex shrugged. "It's just Fox's name in Russian. Sort of a pet thing."
"Aww, that's sweet! I love pet names... how long have you been together?"
"Four years," Alex answered, cupping Fox's head and dusting his temple with a
kiss.
"So, does the old married couple have advice for the new married
couple?" Chuck asked, grinning.
Vicki looked at the two men, surprise evident on her face.
"You... you're married?"
"No," Fox answered softly before Alex could respond, and he said no more.
"Only in that they haven't got the certificate saying that they are," Scully
chimed in. "These two are as married as married gets."
"Yeah, Pookie, that's what I meant," Chuck explained to his bride. "They
aren't really married. They just act like they are."
Fox sucked the corner of his lip into his mouth, worrying the flesh with his
teeth and said nothing.
"So anyway, guys," Chuck continued, "any wise words of advice?"
Alex shook his head and shrugged. "I can't really think of anything
earthshaking to tell you. As long as you know the basics, you'll be okay. And
what you don't know," he said with a smirk, "you'll learn."
"Did you guys have a lot to learn?" Chuck asked, directing his question to
the quieter of the pair.
"Yeah," Fox answered, looking up at the groom. "Tons. But ours was a very
unique situation."
"Because you're men?"
"It was much more than that," Fox explained. "We went through things few
couples ever would. But don't worry. Your trials won't be anything like ours.
Just love each other. Put each other first, and you'll be fine."
"It's obviously worked for you," Vicki observed. "A total stranger can see
how wild you are about each other."
"Well, we had a little more work to do," Alex said, idly stroking
Fox's hair, "but our love for each other was the foundation. It got us through a
lot of hard times." He smiled. "I guess that'd be my advice. Hold on to love."
Alex felt Fox's eyes on him, and turned to meet the gold-flecked gaze. His
fingers tightened slightly in the golden-brown strands between them, and he
pulled his lover in for a long, sweet kiss. When they parted, Fox's head lowered
to his shoulder, and Alex wrapped his arms around him.
"Guh." Scully rolled her eyes in mock disgust. "And don't forget to
baby her horribly," she said to Chuck, but threw her words in Alex's direction.
"I like that advice," Vicki, sighed, watching Alex shower Fox with loving
attention. "Looks like somebody is pretty pampered."
"Oh God, you don't know the half of it," Scully moaned. "After all these
years, you think they wouldn't be, but they're completely, sickeningly
gone on each other."
A grin tilted one corner of Alex's mouth as he nuzzled the top of Fox's head.
"She just doesn't want you to know how adorable she thinks we are."
A loud snort sounded from Scully's direction.
Alex chuckled softly then turned an ear to the music that was playing.
"C'mon, baby," he murmured into Fox's hair. "Let's dance."
"You know," Chuck began, watching his best man dance with his lover, "I'd
never said this to Mulder, but from everything I've heard about Alex Krycek over
the years, I'd expected him to be a real tough guy." He shook his head. "I gotta
say, I don't see it."
"Don't let him fool you," Scully replied. "He cleans up real nice and can
cook like nobody's business, but underneath, he's still an impatient, arrogant,
ill-tempered, nervy s.o.b."
"Get out. Really?" Vicki asked. "He seems like such a pussycat."
"Being in love with Mulder has tempered his attitude quite a bit, but it
doesn't take much for his bad side to show through. All you have to do is look
at Mulder the wrong way."
"Really?"
"I could tell you stories. But, you kids have better things to do today than
listen to the tale of two psychos."
Vicki burst into giggles.
"You love them to death, don't you?"
"Yeah," Scully sighed. "They're family. Well," she said, sitting back in her
chair. "We've taken up way too much of your time. You really should go mingle
with all your other guests... maybe see what you can do to smooth your cousin's
ruffled feathers."
"I hate to leave you alone," Chuck stated. "Maybe we should wait until they
come back."
"No, no. I'm fine. You go ahead and see to your guests. They'll be back soon
enough. Then I'll hijack one of them for a dance, and leave the other one
alone for a while... see how he likes it."
With a little more prodding, the couple went on their way, and just as Scully
had predicted, her wayward companions returned a little while later.
"Where'd Chuck and Vicki go?" Fox asked, seating himself next to his partner.
Alex took the chair on Fox's other side and automatically laid his arm over the
older man's shoulders.
"They're greeting their guests." Scully smiled and patted Fox's knee. "You
know, aside from all this hideous pink and the traditional wedding fluff, it
really isn't so bad. Vicki is very nice. Very easy to talk to."
"Yeah, I like her," Fox agreed. "Chuck did very well for himself."
"So, okay," Scully said, changing the subject. "One of you is going to dance
with me."
"We are?"
"Yes. Like, right now."
"You go," Alex said, nudging Fox.
"What? You."
"You."
"Why me?"
"You're her partner."
"You're her date."
Scully's head bobbed back and forth, watching the two men argue.
"I can't believe you."
"Who?" Fox asked.
"Either of you. Is it such a chore to have one lousy dance with me?"
Alex nudged Fox none too gently from behind and silently pointed to the
woman.
Fox landed a backhand to his lover's chest, giving him a curt shake of his
head.
"Fine." Scully slammed her purse down on the table and got up. "Alex,
let's go."
Fox smiled and waved as the petite woman grabbed Alex by his lapel and hauled
him out of his seat, dragging him onto the dance floor. He watched smiling as
the couple found a spot, and Alex drew Scully against him, moving smoothly in
time to the music.
"So, what are you? A threesome?"
Fox's head swiveled to face the woman who stood to his right.
"Excuse me?"
Cheryl nodded, indicating the couple on the dance floor.
"They're dancing. How do you get a threesome out of that?"
"Hey, I'm not knocking it. I envy her being between the two of you at night."
"She's our best friend," Fox answered softly. "That's it."
"So, it's just you and him?"
"Yes."
The woman shook her head. "What a waste."
Fox stopped being polite.
"Waste?"
"Two gorgeous men, who could have any woman they wanted, and what do
they want?"
"The waste, Cheryl, as I see it is a gross lack of consideration, and an even
greater lack of grace in what would be an otherwise attractive woman. Now, if
you wouldn't mind removing yourself from my sight..."
The insulted woman stomped off in a huff, leaving Fox thankfully alone. He
picked up Alex's half-empty glass of champagne and sipped at the warming liquid.
Wrinkling his nose, he replaced the glass and contented himself to sit and watch
Alex and Scully dancing.
They looked good together, gliding effortlessly around the floor.
A tiny smirk tipped one corner of Fox's mouth.
Of course, he and Alex looked much better...
"So... is this so bad?"
"You know we were just messing with you, Red," Alex murmured to the woman in
his arms. "'Course, I'm used to looking at my dance partner's eyes as opposed to
the top of his head..."
"Shut up."
Alex's deep rumble of laughter vibrated against Scully cheek.
"So, did you find out what was up with Mulder?"
"You mean earlier?"
"Yeah. He seemed kind of down for lack of a better word."
"I noticed. That's why I took him for a dance."
"And did you find out what was going on?"
"I asked him if anything was wrong, and he said no. I asked him if he was
sure, and he said yes. I let it go, and by the end of the dance he seemed pretty
much normal again."
"But these mood swings, short-lived as they may be, aren't normal."
"I know," Alex sighed. "I can't figure it all out, but I don't think he's
upset with me."
"Well, that's great, but that leaves a whole lot of other stuff. Is it like
him not to share his feelings with you?"
"Not major stuff," Alex answered. "I did it to him for too long. He knows
firsthand how destructive it can be."
"Very true. Okay, so maybe it's no biggie."
"That's why I'm not really pushing. I can't see getting him upset over
something that probably means not much of anything at all."
They finished their dance and returned to the table, where a few of Alex and
Scully's dinner companions had reappeared and were talking with Fox.
"It was simple and so very sweet," one woman was saying, referring to Fox's
toast. "You sound like a man who knows what he's talking about. Do you have a
special woman in your life?"
Obviously, she and her friends hadn't seen him and Alex together earlier.
"N-no woman."
"A handsome thing like you? That's a crime!"
"Well, I'm actually..."
"Listen," the woman said, cutting Fox off. "There's this girl. My best
friend's granddaughter. Pretty, smart..."
"I can't leave you alone for more than five minutes, can I?"
Fox turned in the direction of the smoky voice and found Alex smirking down
at him. The younger man sat down beside him, Scully flanking his left side, and
he unconsciously leaned into Alex's warmth.
"Miss me?"
The woman's expression went slack as she witnessed the unmistakable passion
behind the kiss the two men shared.
"Oh. Oh, my."
The rest of the group exchanged shocked glances and said nothing.
"I'm s-sorry," the woman said, directing her apology mostly to Fox. "And here
I am trying to fix you up..."
"It's all right," Fox said, reassuring the flustered lady. "I'm sure it
doesn't happen very often at all that you run across a male couple."
"More often than you'd think, actually," the woman smiled. "My grandson is
gay."
"Oh."
"I have to say, I was completely floored when he told me, and it took a while
for me to accept it, but how could I not? He's my only grandchild, and I love
him."
Alex smiled at the small woman.
"I'm sure he's very grateful for that."
"I had him and his boyfriend over for dinner just last week," she offered
proudly.
"You're a good grandma."
The woman beamed at Alex's seal of approval and remained even after her
companions had moved on, asking questions and getting advice until Chuck
reappeared to rescue his friends.
"Aunt Gretchen, are you harassing these nice people?" he asked, giving the
elderly woman an affectionate kiss on the cheek.
"Not at all," Fox answered for the lady. "We're enjoying talking with her.
You and Vicki have a very nice family. Well, you know... mostly."
"Sorry again about Cheryl, dude. I didn't know what a vulture she was until
she decided to try and sink her claws into you."
"Don't give it a thought, Chuck. It's taken care of. You just worry about
taking care of your bride."
"Where is Vicki, anyway?" Scully asked, looking around.
"She's around. Schmoozing with some of the people from her lab."
"I'm surprised you'd let her out of your sight."
Chuck found a reason to send the old woman on her way then answered Scully's
remark.
"I had to force myself. I just keep telling myself it's just for a couple
more hours. Then we'll be all alone."
"I heard that," Alex winked at the other man. "You all ready for the
honeymoon there, stud?"
"No," Chuck laughed shakily. "I'll probably pass out or do something equally
as embarrassing."
"You'll be fine," Fox assured the nervous groom. "Just don't put any undue
pressure on yourself. Your heart'll tell you what to do."
"You make it sound easy."
"It is."
"You weren't nervous your first time?"
"My first time ever, or my first time with Alex?"
"Ever."
A wide grin spread over Alex's face. "This your first time, Chuck?"
The groom swallowed hard and nodded.
Fox shushed Alex's snickers and returned his attention to Chuck.
"I was very nervous my first time. But the girl I was with..."
"Girl?"
"Yeah. I'd never been with a man until Alex. Anyway, the girl was a bit of
a... how can I describe her... she was a manipulative bitch. And I was scared to
death that I was going to do it wrong, and she'd tell me to get lost."
"But if she was as bad as you say..."
"She was. But a young, horny college kid doesn't care much about personality,
you know?"
"Gotcha. So, uh... I guess the first time with another man would be
considered another 'first'."
"Yeah, it sure was."
"And your knees weren't knocking?"
Fox shook his head and smiled. "I loved him. I already knew that even though
I hadn't told him yet, and it was incredible. "
Alex lowered his head to Fox's shoulder and closed his eyes as he remembered
the night they'd truly become lovers. His hand dropped to the older man's thigh,
stroking it through the material of his pants, and Fox kissed his forehead.
"It still is incredible," he whispered, moaning as Fox tipped his head up and
rewarded him with a soft kiss.
'"Oh God," Scully groaned. "You did it now, Chuck. I'm going to have to throw
a bucket of ice water on them to separate them."
"You can start worrying, Scully," Fox mumbled, nuzzling Alex's jaw, "when I
clear the top of this table."
"Ooooh," Alex rumbled, turning a heavy-lidded gaze on his lover. "Don't say
things like that."
"I won't be insulted if you guys want to sneak out early."
Fox's head lifted, and he turned a glittering green and amber stare on his
friend.
"Really," Chuck insisted. "You've performed all your best man duties. If you
wanna go perform some of your uh... husbandly duties..."
Alex felt the slight stiffening of Fox's body, and he lifted his head to
stare curiously as the older man's expression changed.
Scully noticed as well but elected to say nothing for the moment.
"What would it look like if your best man ducked out of your reception
early?" Fox asked, forcing a light tone.
"Aww, don't worry about that," Chuck threw back. "I'm sure you two would like
nothing more than to be all alone right now."
"We'll be alone later. I made a commitment to you and Vicki today, and I
intend to honor it fully."
"Well, that includes a dance with the bride."
Even if he hadn't recognized the voice, all Fox would have had to do was look
at Chuck's beaming face to know that it was Vicki standing behind them.
Alex moved away, allowing Fox the room to rise from his seat.
"The bride has spoken," he said softly to the older man then looked up,
giving Vicki a warm smile.
"He's all yours."
"Thanks, Alex."
Vicki backed up a few steps as Fox got to his feet then took his hand and
followed him out onto the dance floor.
"Sorry Alex," Chuck said sheepishly. "I'm sure you'd rather have gone home."
"Fox is right. His duty is to you and Vicki today. Besides, I'm fine."
Before Chuck could respond, Aunt Cassie swept in on the trio.
"Why aren't you two dancing?" she clucked, hands on her stout hips.
"We're uh," Alex stammered, pointing to Chuck. "We're talking."
"Well, stop talking, and start dancing. Gorgeous couple like you
should be up there making everyone jealous."
How many people in this room hadn't seen or heard about them yet?
"Aunt Cassie," Chuck began, ready to correct the woman, but she grabbed his
hand and pulled him to his feet.
"And you. Let's go. You're not leaving here today without at least one
dance with Vicki's godmother."
Cassie dragged the groom away, and Alex and Scully watched them for a few
moments, waiting until Chuck finished explaining, and the woman turned a shocked
gaze on them.
"She knows now," Scully murmured then turned to Alex, whose attention was on
Fox and Vicki. "You're worried now, aren't you?"
"He tightened up and just... " Alex shook his head and looked to Scully.
"Okay. Wait a minute. Let's review this. What's the common denominator? What had
been happening every time his mood has taken a dive?"
"Let's think about that, but let's go even further," Scully answered. "When
did these mood swings of his start?"
Alex screwed up his lips, shrugging as he thought.
"Near as I can recall... a few months."
"Okay. Anything new or out of the ordinary happen a few months ago?"
"I don't... I started writing. But that was his idea."
"What else?"
"He finally traded in that boring Ford... my idea."
"He did agonize over that for a few days, but he really likes the Lincoln.
Besides," Scully sighed, "I really don't think a new car would screw up his
mood. Anything else?"
"He did see his mother for the first time in a long time at his cousin's
wedding. That was stressful."
"Yeah, he did tell me about it. He said she was really... hang on a second."
Scully looked up at Alex, tapping her nails on the table. "Let's hang on to that
for a while. Can you name some other instances when he's been noticeably
different?"
"Uh... " Alex thought back as far as he could. "There was the day we got the
copies of the pictures from Bobby's wedding... .we'd had the Mitchells over one
night, and I'd noticed that he'd gotten kind of quiet halfway through dinner...
ummm... . the night he came home and told me that Chuck was going to propose to
Vicki..."
Scully listened intently, trying to find a link.
"... then after he got the call from Chuck saying that she'd
accepted...
"Geez," Scully whispered, interrupting Alex's list. "Can it be that easy?"
"Apparently not, because I haven't caught figured it out yet. What are you
thinking?"
"I'm thinking... yeah. Oh, yeah."
"Scully..."
"Alex... Mulder's got the wedding bell blues."
"The wedding... " Alex burst into laughter. "Woman, what have you been
smoking?"
"I'm dead serious," Scully insisted. "You think about everything you've just
said and add to it that toast that Mulder made earlier, the look on his face
when Vicki asked if you were married and he said no, what just happened a couple
of minutes ago, and all the other stuff we haven't covered, and what do you
get?"
The grin slowly faded from Alex's face as he put it all together.
"But... if that were true, why wouldn't he tell me? Why wouldn't he
ask me what I thought of marriage?"
"And risk a negative reaction to something he's obviously getting pretty
emotional about?"
"I'd never turn him down," Alex said. "If he wanted to get married, of course
I'd..."
"Could be another reason he won't say anything," Scully broke in. "You
do give him everything he wants, and he's more than aware of it. Maybe he
thinks you'd automatically agree because it's something else he wants."
"I wouldn't... I mean, I would... I love Fox, Scully. I can't breathe
without him. He knows that. Why wouldn't I want... " Alex stopped again,
trying to process all that had transpired in the last five minutes.
"I suggest you give a whole lot of thought to what it is you do want
before you confront him with any of this," Scully said softly, spotting Fox and
Vicki moving toward them. "Here they come."
"Where's my husband?" Vicki asked and suddenly drew her hand to her chest.
"Wow, that sounds strange. But so wonderful."
"Your Aunt Cassie dragged him away for a dance," Alex answered, never taking
his eyes off of Fox.
"Oh. Well, I guess I'd better go see if I can rescue him. Thanks for the
dance, Fox."
Fox nodded then turned back to the pair. Alex had since risen from his seat
and come to his side, but Scully remained in her chair.
"I was thinking I could use a drink," The younger man said, giving Fox a
tremulous smile. "How about you?"
"Yeah. Sure."
"Scully?"
"Yeah, I think I could do with something stronger than champagne."
"'Kay. Let's go find the bar," Fox said, motioning for Scully to get up.
"Uh, no. You two go on." Scully hiked up her dress a bit, showing one foot to
the men. "New shoes."
Swallowing the white lie, Fox backed up a step.
"Okay, what d'you want?"
"Think I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea."
Fox nodded. "We'll be back in a few."
Alex offered Fox his hand, which the older man took, and the two walked
slowly through the maze of tables, gathering their fair share of attention.
"This really isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Alex said, trying to
stir up some small talk. "Aside from all the pink and clichÈd rituals, it's a
pretty decent reception. And the people... most of them are pretty okay."
"Yeah, they are, Fox answered as they located the bar. "It must be nice to
have a good family."
"Or family at all," Alex added. He turned a doting gaze on Fox. "But then
again, who needs a bunch of interfering relatives? You're all the family I
need."
"Scully and Clyde would be insulted."
Alex gave the drink orders to the bartender then wrapped an arm around Fox's
waist, pulling the other man to him.
"I love Scully and Clyde dearly," he said focusing an intent gaze on Fox.
"But I can live without them."
Understanding Alex's meaning, Fox leaned into his embrace, laying his head on
his shoulder.
"I love you, Fox," Alex murmured into his lover's hair. "I hope you know how
much."
"I know," Fox whispered back, chastising himself yet again for fretting over
nothing. He knew. He did know. Yet he couldn't help this increasingly
intense longing he felt. It was way past crazy, and if he didn't knock it off
and soon, Alex was going to start asking questions that he didn't have the guts
to answer.
The drinks came, and Alex released his hold on Fox to retrieve them. Handing
one to the older man, he took the remaining two, and they headed back to the
table
"That didn't take very long," Scully said as the two men returned, and Alex
handed her the taller of the two glasses he held.
"Not too many people at the bar," Alex answered, waiting for Fox to sit
before taking his own seat. He then sank down on the hard cushion, making sure
his leg was nestled snugly against his lover's. Laying one arm along the back of
Fox's chair, he raised his glass to his lips with his other hand. As he drank,
Fox's hand found its way to his thigh, where it strayed gently over its muscular
length.
"So, isn't anybody going to comment on the pink cockatoo?"
Scully put her drink down, laughing at the bland comment.
"We were trying to be nice," she answered, receiving a discreet eye roll from
Alex.
"Since when?"
"Where did they get it from?" Alex asked, sliding his fingers into
Fox's hair and slowly massaging the back of his head.
"This place that actually rents birds out for events. The dye is harmless and
will actually wear off after a few weeks as the bird grooms itself."
Scully shook her head, looking in the direction of the large cage. "Glad to
hear it. Poor bird. We were thinking it'd have to go through its whole life
looking like that."
The next couple of hours passed quickly and without incident, and toward the
very end of the evening, Fox followed Chuck into another room to collect the
groom's wedding attire. It was then that Scully and Alex had one last talk.
"Did you say anything to him at the bar?"
"No," Alex answered. "I... I got some thinking to do. I mean, what if we're
wrong? And if we aren't, what do I say to him? How do I approach the
subject?"
"Good luck, friend," Scully offered, patting Alex's shoulder. "I wouldn't
want to be you."
"Gee, thanks." Alex closed one eye and rubbed at his temple. "I gotta tell
you, Scully. This one really blindsided me. I don't think I ever would have
expected that I'd be considering... " He dropped his hand and opened his eye,
giving the woman an incredulous look. "... marriage? I mean, I always
thought that a relationship with a man automatically negated that."
"I'm sure it's still not all that common, but times are changing. If you
decide that it's what you want, you guys can go up to Vermont and do a civil
ceremony."
"Why Vermont?"
"It's legal there. Gee Alex, I thought you had your finger on the pulse of
everything."
Alex closed both eyes this time and returned to massaging his temple.
"Headache?"
The younger man's eyes snapped open, and he looked up into Fox's concerned
face.
"Yeah," He wasn't lying. "Yeah, uh... a little."
"Well, come on. I've got Chuck's stuff, so we can just go say a quick goodbye
and go home."
"Good idea," Scully agreed and rose to her feet. "I'm dying to get out of
these shoes."
Alex pulled himself up out of the chair, and Fox slipped his free arm around
the younger man's waist and pressed a gentle kiss to his temple.
"I'll take Scully home, okay?" he said softly. "You go straight home, get out
of those clothes and relax."
Sounded like a good idea, but...
"You were up late last night, Fox," Alex protested. "You were up and out
early this morning. You've had a long day. I can take Scully home."
"No," Fox insisted, leaving no room for argument. "I'm not the one with the
headache. Let's find Chuck and Vicki, say goodbye, and get out of here."
Fifteen minutes later their farewells were said, and the trio was moving to
the parking lot, Scully in the middle, one arm looped through each man's. They
parted ways at Fox's car, the older man dusting his lover's mouth with a soft
kiss.
"See you soon."
"'Kay."
"And don't go taking Clyde for a walk, or anything. Just let him out into the
yard, and go lie down. I'll take care of him when I get there."
Alex gave Fox a weary smile.
"Thanks, lisa. Goodnight, Scully."
"'Night, Alex. Take care of that headache."
Fox opened Scully's door then rounded the front of the car and got into the
driver's seat. Starting the engine, he sat and watched until Alex disappeared
from his sight, then pulled out of the lot and started toward Georgetown.
"You know, if I had thought about it, I would've brought my own car," Scully
announced, reaching over to turn the radio on.
"It's okay," Fox murmured, stopping at the light at the end of the block.
"You're not that far out of the way."
"Yeah, but you're tired. You could've been on your way home by now."
"Don't worry about it."
There was a brief silence as Scully found a song she wanted to listen to,
then she turned back to Fox.
"So... you all wedding'ed out?"
"... What d'you mean?"
"Well, first your cousin's wedding, then Chuck's..."
Fox shrugged and said nothing.
"These things are so exhausting. I can't imagine the stress on the bride and
groom."
"Chuck and Vicki seemed to do fine. Once Chuck got his sea legs."
Scully broke into soft laughter. "Poor guy. I hope he survives the
honeymoon."
Fox nodded and proceeded at the green light.
"Alex behaved himself extremely well, considering he wanted to tear Cheryl a
new one," Scully continued.
"She was something, wasn't she?"
"Oh, yeah... .hey, uh... Mulder?"
"Hmm?"
"I noticed that uh... " She stayed vague. "... when we were talking earlier
to Chuck and Vicki, you looked sort of sad."
"Me?" Fox asked casually.
"Yeah. You got all quiet and... Mulder, you can't hide a thing with those
eyes."
"I don't know what to say," Fox murmured, turning onto the highway. "There
was nothing wrong."
Okay, so he was going to play possum.
//Well, fine. Don't make it your problem. Let Alex deal with it.//
"Okay. My mistake. I thought something was bothering you."
"Nope."
The rest of the drive went quietly, and when Fox dropped Scully off, he drew
a long, shaky breath.
If she'd noticed that something was up, Alex surely had.
Well, yeah, he'd noticed. He'd asked Fox if he was all right when
they'd had their second dance. He'd let the subject drop when Fox said that he
was fine, but now Fox wondered if Alex had actually believed him.
//If he didn't, it's sure to come up at some point tonight. What are you
going to tell him?//
What could he say?
//Same thing you said to him earlier, and hope he buys it.//
//Mulderrr. Remember when it was you asking what was wrong, and Alex
kept saying nothing? How'd that go?//
"It's not the same," he whispered. "This is stupid. This won't
destroy your relationship if you leave it alone. Just drop it. Forget all about
it, and everything'll be fine just like it was."
Alex rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He'd been home for
twenty minutes now, and try though he might, he couldn't relax. Once he'd let
Clyde into the yard, he took some aspirin and went to lie down on the bed, but
the headache hadn't let up at all.
And neither had the thoughts that his conversation with Scully had prompted.
Marriage?
Okay, so same sex couples got married. Fine. Wonderful. But he and Fox had
been together for four years without even a thought to such a thing. Why now?
What would the difference be?
Groaning softly as the pain in his head surged, Alex pulled a pillow over his
face and tried to let his mind go blank. He'd think about it later, after this
damned headache went away.
Fox pulled into the garage and sat motionless behind the wheel as the door
glided shut. Taking a deep breath, he killed the engine and got out of the car.
He moved slowly to the door that opened into the house and was met with silence.
//Clyde must still be in the yard.//
Moving into the living room, he found the dog at the glass doors looking
pathetically at him.
"Hang on a minute, buddy. Let me go change first, so you don't get hair all
over my tux."
Fox turned and walked on toward the bedroom, where he found Alex lying on his
back on the bed, dressed in a pair of ratty jeans and t-shirt. A pillow lay over
his face, so Fox wasn't sure at first whether he was sleeping or not. He crept
quietly into the room, and just as he was about to open his closet door, a soft
grunt rose from the bed. He turned in time to watch Alex pull the pillow down
and squint around the room.
"Mmmh. You just get home?"
"Yeah." Fox began undoing the buttons on his shirt as he approached the bed
and sat down. "How do you feel?"
"Headache's still there."
"That all? Anything else hurt?"
"No, just my head."
Fox nodded. "Can I get you anything?"
"No. Thanks. I took some aspirin, but it hasn't really done much."
"Sleep's the best thing, then. You close your eyes," he instructed, stroking
the hair back from Alex's forehead. "I'm going to go get changed then let the
beast in and feed him. He was standing at the glass doors looking at me like
he'd lost his best friend."
Alex closed his eyes and smiled. "Poor Clyde. He's been outside since I got
home. How long ago was that?"
"Probably about forty-five minutes. Okay." Fox leaned in and dropped a kiss
on the younger man's nose. "You try and sleep."
"Too early to go to sleep."
"I'll wake you in about an hour. How's that?"
"Okay," Alex sighed, nuzzling the palm that cupped his cheek.
"Now, go to sleep," Fox murmured, leaning down to kiss the younger man's
mouth. "I'll be back later."
Alex turned onto his side and while he tried to sleep, Fox crept around,
gathering up some clothes. When he finally heard the bedroom door click softly
closed, he opened his eyes and stared blankly into the growing darkness.
Fox sat at the kitchen table, watching the dog's tail swing back and forth as
he happily wolfed down his food, and it reminded him that he and Alex hadn't
eaten anything since noon. Since that was more than seven hours ago, he thought
to himself that it might be a good idea to throw something quick together while
Alex was sleeping. Not that he was hungry, but Alex might be, and the least he
could do was make sure he had something to eat when he woke up.
He picked himself up and went over to the refrigerator, rummaging through the
cavernous compartment and finally coming up with the makings for an omelet.
"Well," he said to Clyde, who had finished his meal and had the nerve to be
looking for more, "I can get it all prepared, then I'll just have to pour it
into the frying pan once he wakes up."
Once he got everything ready, he washed the few utensils he'd used, then
looked at his watch.
"Well, I told him an hour, and it's past that."
Clyde looked up at his master expectantly.
"Better go wake him."
Fox left the kitchen with Clyde hot on his heels, and as he entered the
bedroom, the almost imperceptible sound of snoring reached his ears. He walked
cautiously up to the bed and settled himself on the edge of the mattress,
looking down at the sleeping man. He breathed deeply and let it out in a soft
puff. He hated like hell to do it, but he did promise.
"Alex," he whispered, lightly touching his lover's arm. "Wake up, baby. Time
to get up."
Alex's eyelashes fluttered. Somewhere in the warm darkness, Fox was calling
to him.
"Alex..."
Sweet kisses. Raining down on his face and throat.
Nice.
Then they were gone.
//No. More. Kiss me, Fox.//
Alex moaned aloud as his head rolled back and forth. Clyde heard the sound
and attempted to jump up on the bed, but Fox pushed him down.
"Clyde, off." He returned his attention to the sleeping man. "Alex... wakey,
wakey."
Alex's eyes opened slightly, and a hazy image appeared before them.
"Hmmmmmm. M'wake."
"How's your head?"
Alex paused to clear his vision then looked up into warm, amber-flecked eyes.
"Better."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. What time is it?"
"Almost nine. Hungry?"
Alex reached up and scratched his head, considering the question.
"I guess. A little. You?"
Fox gave the other man a tiny smile.
"A little. I got the stuff all prepared for an omelet if you want that."
Alex returned the smile. "Yeah. That'll be fine."
"Okay, I'll go start it."
As Fox tried to stand, Alex reached out, shackling one wrist with his hand.
He turned a curious gaze to the younger man and waited.
"C'mere," Alex breathed.
Holding his lover's gaze, Fox lowered his upper body, leaning on one elbow.
Alex reached up, threading his fingers through his hair.
"You looked so handsome today," he murmured. "I had a hard time taking my
eyes off of you."
Fox's eyes lowered to the spot between them.
"Not that you aren't gorgeous every day. I couldn't blame that slut Cheryl
for wanting to jump you."
Fox dissolved into laughter. "That's not nice. You shouldn't call her that."
Alex grinned up at the other man. "I call you that."
"Yeah; you do, don't you?"
"But when I call you slut, I mean it with all the love in my heart."
"I feel so much better now."
"Good. You gonna go make my omelet now?"
"Sure. You hungrier now?"
Alex pulled Fox in for a long, deep kiss then let him go.
"Yeah."
"Well, then." Fox got to his feet, rubbing his hands over his thighs,
unconsciously drawing Alex's attention to his full crotch. "Let's eat."
"I'll be there in a minute."
Fox and Clyde left the room, and Alex lay there for a brief moment before
getting up to stretch. He walked into the bathroom to relieve himself and brush
away the hairiness that he always felt on his teeth after drinking alcohol, and
by the time he made it to the kitchen, Fox had already flipped the omelet.
"Smells good."
Fox closed his eyes as Alex came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his
waist and nuzzling the side of his face.
"You talking about me or dinner?"
"Actually, I was talking about dinner, but you smell pretty delicious too."
"Well, if you eat all your food like a good boy, you can have me for
dessert."
"I'll hold you to that," Alex promised, nipping at his lover's earlobe.
Fox turned in Alex's arms and met his heated gaze. "Like you need to."
Alex shrugged and grinned. "You could forget. Or change your mind."
Fox ground his hips against the other man's, letting him feel the hardness
behind his jeans. "You think I'd forget about that?"
"Kinda hard to do, I guess."
"And as for changing my mind." The tone in Fox's voice went from playful to
soft and serious. "That's something you don't ever have to worry about in this
lifetime."
Alex's heart swelled as he considered the murmured sentiment.
Fox was saying as he had in so many different ways, so many times before,
that he would always be Alex's. Even now, with all that Alex suspected he was
feeling, that one fact would always remain.
The thought comforted Alex even as it stabbed at his heart.
"Shit. My omelet."
Abruptly spinning back toward the stove, Fox shoved the spatula beneath the
egg concoction and checked its progress.
"Another minute, and I would've had to chuck it," he breathed, removing the
pan from the stove and sliding the omelet out onto a plate.
Shooing Alex to the table, Fox served dinner, and the two men ate in virtual
silence.
Alex watched Fox all through the meal, trying to gain some insight into his
thoughts, but luck was not with him. Not a hint of distress clouded the older
man's features, and Alex was left in a maze of confusion.
What to say. What not to say. Should he wait until the next time Fox's mood
went into a slump, or would it be better to bring it up now that everything
seemed normal?
Christ, or would it be better to just let the whole thing alone in case he
and Scully were way off base, and it was just some weird, completely unrelated
phase Fox was going through?
"Your headache back?"
Alex lifted his head out of his hand and blinked at the other man.
"Huh?"
"You're rubbing your forehead. Does it hurt again?"
"Just a little. It'll probably get better after I've finished eating."
Not likely.
Less than an hour later, he was back in bed with Fox sitting beside him,
holding a cold cloth to his forehead.
"Sorry," Alex whispered, his hand covering the one resting on his chest.
"'Bout what?"
Fox couldn't see the sheepish little smile in the dark.
"Dessert."
"Don't worry about that. Just close your eyes and try to sleep."
A low moan rumbled in Alex's throat as Fox flipped the warming cloth to the
cooler side. And that was all the sound he made for several minutes before
inhaling deeply and opening his eyes a fraction.
"Love you," he said sleepily, and Fox answered with a soft smile. His eyes
drifted closed, and it wasn't long afterward that he'd fallen soundly asleep.
Fox sat quietly, watching as peace replaced pain, and the stress of the day
fell away from his lover's face. He was sure that a good night's sleep would be
all Alex needed to feel fine again. That hour long nap had probably been just
enough to take the edge off, but not sufficient to rid him completely of the
ache.
Leaning over the sleeping man, he deposited a tender kiss on his chin then
exited the bedroom.
"Clyde," he called softly, moving toward the kitchen, and the dog came
trotting in from the laundry room. "C'mon, buddy. Let's go for a walk."
The excited animal followed Fox over to where the collar and leash hung, then
turned round and round in little circles while Fox attempted to attach the
collar.
"Clyde... Clyde, you're making me dizzy; will you knock this off?
Sit."
The dog came to an abrupt halt and plopped himself down on Fox's foot.
"Crazy dog."
Fox fastened the collar around Clyde's neck, attached the leash, and they
were off.
It was warm for an early March evening. They shouldn't be seeing fifty-five
degree nights for several weeks yet, and Fox wondered if the balmy temperatures
of the last couple of weeks signaled an early spring.
He laughed to himself as he walked along. It'd probably snow tomorrow and
shoot that theory straight to hell.
Soon enough his thoughts turned from the weather to the man he'd left asleep
in their bed.
Aside from being gracious enough to attend the wedding of a man he'd
considered a mere acquaintance, he'd also shown extraordinary restraint when
confronted with a lecherous maid of honor, who couldn't keep her hands off of
his man.
A tiny smile curved Fox's generous lips.
The things Alex did for him...
And yet he'd had the nerve to pout off and on over the last few months about
something as insignificant as a marriage certificate.
//That's not what you told Chuck and Vicki. You said... //
//Forget what I said to Chuck and Vicki. That was fine for them. Alex and I
don't need any of that.//
//No, of course you don't need it. But you want it. And you know that
if you say it to him, you'd probably be exchanging vows by next weekend. But
what would it mean? What would it change? Absolutely nothing. So what would be
the point, really?//
"No point at all," Fox said aloud, catching Clyde's ear.
The dog looked up at Fox, and when the man said nothing more, he returned his
attention to more important matters.
"Geez," Fox grunted as the Shepherd made a sudden turn, jerking him toward a
clump of bushes. "Does 'heel' only register when Alex is walking you?" He let
the dog sniff around for a few seconds then insisted that they move on. The
fresh air was relaxing him, and he thought he could actually go right to sleep
when they got home.
Less than half an hour later, he was crawling into bed beside his slumbering
lover.
Carefully Fox lay down, drawing the sheet and blanket up around his chest.
Looking over at the heavily shadowed face so tranquil in sleep, he uttered a
silent good night then closed his eyes.
When Alex woke, it was dark.
Too dark to be anywhere near morning.
He turned, craning his neck to see the alarm clock.
Two minutes after three. Long time till morning.
Maybe if he just closed his eyes...
The warm body pressed against him enticed to him to do just that, but minutes
later his lids snapped up. He sighed deeply and turned to face Fox, draping an
arm over the dormant man. He couldn't see any of Fox's features in the dark, but
he stared at the older man's silhouette and began to think again about all those
little moments when he should have realized what it was that had been bothering
him.
And he began to wonder.
//What brought all this on, lisa? Why are you suddenly thinking that we need
to be married? Our life is so good. How will switching a ring from one hand to
the other make any difference?//
As Alex twisted the ring around on his right hand, Fox's toast came back to
him. Simple words spoken with such honesty, and though his tone had remained
typically Mulder, there had been no ignoring the look in his eyes as he'd spoken
them.
//Don't you know already, sweetheart? I couldn't be any more yours.//
//Sure he knows. But for whatever his reasons are, he wants more.//
Alex reached up, lightly running his fingers over the top of Fox's head.
"But Scully's right, isn't she?" he whispered almost inaudibly. "You'll never
tell me how you're feeling."
// I hate seeing that look in your eyes. I hate that there's something I
haven't given you. What do I do?//
He moved closer to his sleeping love and closed his eyes.
//What the hell am I going to do?//
Two weeks later
"Don't know. Alex hasn't been up to much of anything lately."
"What d'you mean?"
"He's been very distracted the last couple of weeks. I don't know why."
"Have you asked?"
"'Course I have."
"What's he say?"
"Nothing."
"He doesn't say anything?"
"Yeah, he says something. He says it's nothing."
Scully had to think about that one for a minute.
"Okay. From your tone, I take it you don't believe him."
"As much as I want to, I don't think I do. After all we've been through...
the denial... withdrawal... I just wish I knew what was in his mind."
"Like he wishes he knew what was in yours?"
Fox drew back, blinking in surprise.
"What..."
"I'll admit you've been better these past couple of weeks, but something had
been nagging at you for some time before that. Do you think it was fair to Alex
to keep it to yourself?"
"I... did he talk to you about it?"
"He asked me if I knew what was bothering you. Of course, I had no answer for
him."
"I told him it was nothing."
"Like he told you it was nothing... right?"
Fox sighed heavily and said nothing more.
Scully used the silence as her opportunity to go. Picking up her coat, she
walked toward the door.
"You boys have a good weekend."
Fox remained a bit longer, drawing erratic designs on Scully's desk with the
tips of two fingers, then he picked up his own things and headed for home.
Alex stood at the kitchen counter, slowly cutting up tomatoes for salad and
thinking as he had constantly been doing for the last two weeks.
//You gotta talk to him. Trying to sort it out on your own is getting you
exactly nowhere. Maybe once he knows that you've figured out why he's been
acting the way he has, he'll talk to you, and he can shed some light on
why he suddenly thinks marriage is such a wonderful thing.//
//No. Bad. If he's gotta explain it to you, it'll seem too much like he's
arguing a point, and then he'll never accept an agreement from you. I mean,
would you?//
He spread the tomato slices over the greens then turned to rinse his hands.
//Jesus, Fox, you're killin' me, and you don't even realize it. Two weeks
after the fact, and I'm still freaked.//
The soft keening whine from the corner of the room drew him out of his
thoughts. Turning around, Alex leaned against the counter and listened. He heard
the vague hum of the garage door at the same time Clyde leapt up and bounded out
of the room, and he drew a long, steadying breath.
Another weekend of small, uncomfortable conversation, energetic, purposely
exhausting sex, and lots of uncertainty.
"Get off me, dog!"
Fox entered the kitchen, with Clyde jumping up and down at his side.
"You'd swear I've been gone for three months." Fox approached the younger man
and laid a quick kiss on his slightly parted lips. "Hi, babe."
"Hi."
"The lasagna smells great. When'll it be done?"
"'Bout fifteen minutes. Hungry?"
"Starved."
"Didn't you have lunch?"
"Actually, no."
"How come?"
Fox shrugged. "Just worked right through it. By the time I realized I hadn't
eaten, it was too close to quitting time, and I figured you'd kill me if after
you'd worked all day on dinner, I'd spoiled my appetite."
Alex gave his lover a trace of a smile.
"I wouldn't expect you to go hungry just because you might not eat as much at
dinner."
"Now you tell me."
Alex patted Fox's hip then moved away.
"Go change. It should be done by the time you get back."
Fox nodded and started to walk away, but he stopped only three steps from the
younger man and turned around.
Alex stood his ground as Fox walked back toward him and slipped an arm around
his waist. The other man pulled him in, and soft, full lips covered his in a
pulse-quickening kiss.
Fox felt the soft sigh vibrate against his lips, and Alex's arms came up and
around his neck, holding him in place as their tongues met. All thoughts of
dinner vanished as they swayed gently together, teasing each other to arousal.
The phone rang just as Alex's hand slid downward, rounding the top curve of
Fox's rear.
"I'm gonna kill Scully one day," he muttered against Fox's mouth, groping
around on the counter for the phone.
"Maybe it isn't even her," Fox answered, rocking against the younger man.
Alex located the phone and jerked it to his ear.
"Yeah?... Oh. Hey, Chuck."
"See?"
"How was St. Thomas? ... Yeah, I heard it was nice... .yeah, I'll have to ...
no kidding... not even once? Atta boy... okay, hang on; I'll give you to Fox."
The oven timer went off as Alex handed the phone to Fox, and he edged away
from the older man to take the lasagna out of the oven.
"Hey, Chuck. What're you doing calling me? Honeymoon over already? ... Oh, I
see. So, you had a good time? Make it out of your room long enough to see some
of the sights? ... That's good... what's that? ... Oh. Uhh... I uh... I'll have
to get back to you on that one... yeah, he's still here, but... okay. Okay,
Chuck. Hang on, and I'll ask him."
"Ask him what?" Alex asked as he placed the steaming pan on the counter.
Covering the phone, Fox squinted at his lover.
"Chuck wants to know if we'd like to come over and see the slides."
"Slides... what slides?"
"Of the wedding and reception. The honeymoon slides won't be ready for a
little while, yet."
"Are you shittin' me?" Alex whispered.
Fox closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Son of a bitch," Alex mouthed, a stricken look on his face, then he
spoke up. "Do we have to?"
"You wanna tell him no?"
"No, I just... shit."
Fox waited, offering no reaction.
"Christ. Yeah. Fine."
Fox waited another few seconds, staring blankly at Alex, then returned to the
phone.
"Yeah, Chuck. We'd love to come over and see your slides... when? Uh... I
don't know. When's a good time for you? ... Tonight? Well..."
"Sure, why not?" Alex droned. "No sense in prolonging the agony with a long
wait."
Fingers drumming restlessly on the counter, Fox gave Chuck his answer.
"Okay, you're on. Eight? All right. Ask Vicki if we can bring anything."
While he waited for an answer, Fox watched as Alex, muttering to himself,
went back to tending to dinner.
"... Is she sure? All right, then. We'll see you about eight. Okay... yeah...
bye."
Fox hung up and took a deep breath before speaking.
"Not that I'd have ever come up with the idea myself, but what's so bad about
spending a couple of hours with Chuck and Vicki?"
"They're nice people, Fox," Alex said, removing the garlic bread from the
toaster oven. "I didn't even mind so much being at their wedding. But that
doesn't mean I want to start socializing with them and looking at... God,
wedding slides? I mean, what 's next? Canasta? Bus tours to Atlantic City?"
"I was thinking maybe the Grand Canyon."
Alex snorted at the flat remark.
"Seriously, Alex, if you're going to go over there with this kind of an
attitude..."
"What attitude?" Alex asked. "I think this is great. It's just wonderful.
They're the Mertz's, and we're the fucking Ricardos."
Fox's head dropped at that last comment, and Alex immediately began to regret
his rant.
"Fox..."
"I'm gonna go change."
Alex stood quietly as Fox brushed past him. When the other man had gone from
the room, he pulled out a chair and dropped into it, burying his face in his
hands.
"Shit."
He sat there for several minutes before getting up and cutting into the
lasagna. By the time Fox made it back into the kitchen, the table was set, and
he was just serving dinner.
Fox sat down without a word and began picking at the lasagna. Alex watched
for a few seconds before reaching over and covering the older man's hand with
his own.
"M'sorry, lisa," he said softly, and that was all he got out before Fox
interrupted.
"You don't have to go. I'll tell them that you weren't feeling well after
dinner, and that you send your regrets."
"I'm going. I said I would, and I will."
"Why?"
"What, why? Because I said I would."
"I know you wouldn't loose any sleep over disappointing them."
"No..."
"So... you're going for me?"
"Of course."
"Of course... don't. I don't want you to."
"You don't want me to go?"
"I don't want you to go because it's what I want. It's not what you
want."
"You don't want to go either, but you are. Why?" Alex didn't wait for Fox to
answer. "Because Chuck asked you to. And you don't want to hurt his feelings...
right?"
No answer.
"Well, I don't want to hurt your feelings."
Still, nothing.
"Though I'm afraid," Alex murmured, rubbing the top of Fox's hand with his
thumb, "I already have."
Silence.
"C'mon, Fox. Please talk to me."
"... I don't know what to say."
"Say I'm a jerk. Say I'm an asshole."
"You're a jerk. You're an asshole."
Alex cocked his head and gave Fox a weak smile.
"Now say you love me?"
Golden-brown lashes lifted halfway, and Fox looked at Alex through them.
"... ... You know I love you."
Breathing a soft sigh, Alex drew Fox's hand up to his mouth and planted a
gentle kiss on it before holding it to his cheek.
"I'm sorry, baby. I'll be good, okay? I promise. We'll go to Chuck's, we'll
look at all three thousand and eighty-five of his slides, then we'll come home,
and I'll give you a proper apology."
"Alex, the point isn't whether you behave yourself or not. The point is, you
don't want to go. Sitting looking at slides of a friend's wedding is just a bit
more domestic than you're willing to go, and that's fine."
"Who said anything about it being too domestic?"
"Alex, it's all right."
"No. I want to know when I ever told you that I'd only get 'just so'
domestic."
"You never said that."
"I didn't think so. I mean... you name me one ex-triple agent assassin
who keeps a neater house than I do. Has your underwear ever been so white? And
when's the last time you had to pick up your own suits at the dry cleaner's?"
"Okay," Fox droned. "I'm sorry. You're very domestic. You're so domestic you
make Alice and Hazel look like a couple of bumbling, lazy slackers. But I'm not
talking about..."
Alex waited to hear the rest but it never came.
"What aren't you talking about?"
"Nothing," Fox murmured. "I just don't want to force you to do anything you
don't want to do, okay?"
//God, you are making me crazy. But it's okay. I'm cool.//
He tried a smile and a little gentle teasing. "You enjoy making me do stuff
for you."
"Harmless stuff that I'm sure that deep down you don't mind doing."
"I don't mind going to Chuck's for a couple of hours."
"A short while ago, you were pretty bent out of shape about us looking like
'the fucking Ricardo's.'"
Ah, crap. He was quoting.
//Cool, Alex. Calm and patience is what we need here. And more apologizing.//
"I know, I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all freaky on you. I'm fine. I
was just taken by surprise, you know?"
Fox looked down into his plate and said nothing more.
"Come on, lisa," he coaxed softly. "Eat before this gets cold, then we can
get ready to go."
Less then an hour later, Alex sat enduring a silent ride to Arlington. Hell
of an evening this was going to be. It was bad enough he had to sit still for a
friggin' slideshow accompanied, he was oh so sure, by a buttload of corny
comments and jokes, but he had to do it knowing that Fox was sitting right there
next to him, stewing and sulking over every stupid thing he'd said earlier.
Not exactly the Friday night he'd had in mind.
Groaning softly to himself, Alex turned his head to the window and stared out
at the passing lights.
"Oh! Oh! Check this one out. Carol and Roy doing the Hokey Pokey with
Reverend Wilton."
"He mustn't get out much," Vicki's brother Roy laughed. "The man has
no rhythm."
Alex cut his eyes from the screen to the chuckling man then back again.
//Okay, Baryshnikov. You should know.//
"Holy Moses, look at the height Cheryl got on that jump!" Chuck exclaimed as
he changed to the next slide.
"She wanted that bouquet bad," Vicki added, giggling. "Oh boy, Fox, was she
upset when you didn't catch the garter."
Fox gave Vicki half a smile and returned his eyes to the changing image.
"Awww," Vicki and her sister in law moaned in unison at the next picture.
Fox and Alex looked in silent surprise at the five by four image of the two
of them, arms wrapped around each other, Fox's head resting on Alex's shoulder,
and an expression of total serenity on the younger man's face.
"So sweet," Carol sighed.
"Oh God, they're gonna get all mushy. Quick, Chuck. New slide."
Carol slapped her husband's thigh. "It is sweet! Chuck, don't you go
getting all cynical like this one. Vicki says you're romantic. You stay that
way."
"I'm romantic," Roy argued.
"Ohhh, yeah. Your idea of romantic is a weekend at the monster truck rally."
"Saturday's ladies day! You get flowers..."
"A half dead carnation."
"Half price lunch..."
"Ninety-nine cent chili dog."
"Free dessert..."
"A stale Sunny Doodle."
"God," the man gasped then turned to Alex and Fox, who had been
sitting quietly all this time, trying to make themselves invisible. "Be glad
you're both guys."
"I'm pretty glad," Alex murmured as he reached out to squeeze Fox's knee.
Roy laughed. "No. Well, I meant because you'll never have to deal with any of
the stuff men and women do."
Alex cocked his head. "Like?"
"Bitching and moaning for one..."
Carol gave her husband a narrow glare.
"Having to remember birthdays and anniversaries... getting into deep crap
when you don't... mood swings, kids, in-laws... all the fun stuff that comes
with marriage."
"Well listen up, 'Mr. I could have sworn your birthday was the tenth.' If
you'd remember it once in a while, I wouldn't have to bitch and moan so often.
And as for the mood swings, forgive me for being a woman who suffers from PMS.
And what's your problem with my mother?"
"You're in trouble now, Roy," Chuck snorted. "You should have shut up while
you were ahead."
"That would have had to have been eight years ago, right after he said 'I
do'," Carol sneered then turned her attention to the two men. "Quick, Alex,
when's Fox's birthday?"
"October thirteenth."
"See how fast that came out?" she asked her husband, who merely rolled his
eyes. "No hesitation. Fox, what's the anniversary of the day you became a
couple?"
So much for Fox's hopes that he wouldn't get dragged into this.
"April eighth."
"Bang! You hear that?"
"I know when our anniversary is..."
Alex tried to look down at his watch without letting anyone, especially Fox,
see what he was doing.
"Yeah? When?"
"January fifth. Ha.."
January third. HA."
"I was only two days off!"
"Might as well be two years."
All eyes turned to Alex, who shrugged and looked at Roy.
"How can you forget the day you got married?"
"I don't know. I... dates just don't stick in my head."
"Doesn't sound like you make much of an effort to make them stick."
"Hey, I married the woman. Is it so important I remember the
date, year, hour, minute and second I said I do?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?"
"I'd like to hear your answer," Carol replied in her husband's place. "Listen
to the man, dope."
Apparently Vicki and Chuck were quite used to the couple's bickering, because
it didn't seem to upset them in the least.
"Anniversaries and whatnot mean something to her, right?" Alex asked Roy. "I
think we can safely assume that."
Roy nodded his agreement.
"You love her?"
The man rolled his eyes.
"Was that a yes?"
"Yeah. 'Course I do."
"You do what?"
Vicki sat back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest, now listening
in fascination to the conversation.
"Huh?"
"Of course you do, what?"
Roy sighed heavily. "Love her."
"Don't you think she'd like it if you said that to her more often?"
"What makes you think I don't?"
"The way I had to squeeze it out of you just now?"
"He's right, Roy," Carol piped up. "You have a very hard time telling me you
love me. When I tell you, you just grumble or change the subject."
"You know I do," Roy argued. "So what if I don't say it a lot? I'm a man. Men
express their affection in other ways."
"You can show affection in hundreds of ways," Alex agreed. "But no matter
what you do, make no mistake. She wants to hear the words. She needs you to
tell her you love her. Is that so much to ask in return for all she gives
you?"
Roy's mouth quirked into a half-hearted grimace, but his tone was light.
"You're a real troublemaker, you know? Now she's gonna expect me to tell her
I love her every day."
"They're not hard words to pronounce," Alex informed the other man. "You just
said them without thinking about it at all."
"Hmm. Yeah."
"And did it kill you?"
"Guess not."
"Why don't you tell her?"
"What? Now?"
"You want to wait till later, when it's just the two of you... and it's nice
and dark, so you don't have to look at her?"
"Chuck, where'd you find this agitator?"
"I think he's make some very good points," Chuck answered, grinning as Vicki
rewarded him with a kiss.
"Good God, I'm surrounded. Fine... fine."
Roy turned to his wife and mumbled as he looked somewhere in the vicinity of
her chin. "I love you."
Fox sat shaking his head but still not contributing to the conversation.
"Not very pretty," Alex said, "but I suppose it's a start. Keep practicing.
It'll get easier. In the meantime, watch how it's supposed to be done. Chuck,
show the man."
Grinning, Chuck turned to his new bride.
"I love you, my little bunny rabbit."
"Aww, I love you too, Chucky."
"See?" Alex asked. "Easy. Nauseating," he murmured softly, "but..."
"They're newlyweds," Roy pointed out. "Of course they're still all mushy with
each other. Wait till they've been together for about two years."
Alex opened his mouth to speak, but Fox's voice quieted him.
"You don't lose the excitement or the joy of being together unless you let
yourself," he said softly, looking to his lover. "I'm still intensely in love
with Alex."
Alex leaned in, murmuring so that none but Fox could hear him.
"Even when you're mad at me?"
"Always."
Alex stroked the underside of Fox's chin with two knuckles as the two
exchanged loving glances. Close enough to kiss, Fox restrained the overwhelming
impulse, and turned his attention to the newlyweds.
"It's easy to fall into a rut if that's what you allow yourselves to do. And
there'll be times when you're fighting, and it's easy then to forget how much
you love each other... if you let it happen. Don't. Don't ever let yourselves
forget how much you mean to each other. Don't take each other for granted."
Alex sat listening, absently twisting the ring on his right hand. When Fox
stopped speaking, he took over.
"And make each other happy." He looked at Roy. "Do you know what makes her
happy?"
Roy hesitated then shrugged.
"Have you never tried to find out?"
"Uh..."
"Asking isn't the only way," Alex advised the other man. "Though a little
conversation wouldn't kill you. You need to pay attention to her. Learn how she
reacts to everything. Find out what makes her smile. What upsets her. When you
see each other at the end of the day, after eight or so hours apart, hug her and
kiss her and tell her you missed her. Wouldn't you like to see a glow in her
eyes? Wouldn't it make you feel good to know that it's you that put it there?"
"Uhhh, buddy," Roy began, scratching his head. "I hate to tell you this,
but... you sound like a sappy greeting card."
"I don't care what I sound like," Alex said flatly. "If the truth is sappy,
then so be it. "
"Maybe it's not everybody's truth."
"Possibly not. But I don't think I'm wrong in saying that almost
everybody wants to feel like they're the most important thing in the world to at
least one person. You have no idea how much you're missing out on."
"You got a PhD in this stuff or what?"
"Just a lot of experience. Fox and I have had problems, disagreements, and
more obstacles thrown up in front of us than you could imagine. It's been damn
hard. But we know one thing for absolutely sure. We can't exist without each
other. We've been in some unimaginable situations, but we've always fought our
way back to the center, and we've held on to each other. And you see we're still
here."
"That's what I want for Vicki and me," Chuck spoke up, earning himself an
enthusiastic hug from his bride. "Eternal love and devotion... you know, without
all the hell."
Fox gave the couple a ghost of a smile.
"You'll be fine. You've got it all. Just hang on to it."
Forty-five minutes later, having gone through a long round of thank you's and
getting a grumbling pledge from Roy to give Carol more attention, the two men
headed for home.
"Think we should start our own relationship advice column?" Fox asked as he
turned onto the highway, glancing over at Alex. "We've got the perfect
gimmick... I think we'd be a hit."
Alex laughed softly.
"Sure. You wanna quit the Bureau? We can start tomorrow."
Smiling, Fox checked his side view mirror before proceeding off the exit.
"Tonight wasn't really what I expected. Besides the slides, I mean."
"Yeah. I wasn't really happy about finding another couple there, but it
turned into an interesting couple of hours."
"Poor Roy," Fox chuckled. "Carol's going to be on him all the time now,
reminding him about the stuff we said."
"He'll be happy he got the advice now for free rather than later on when we
start charging for it."
"He'll hate us forever."
"Nah. He'll thank us that first time he does something thoughtful for her all
on his own, and he becomes her hero."
The laughing stopped, and Alex moved closer to Fox, resting his head on the
driver's shoulder.
"I'm really sorry about earlier," he murmured, stroking Fox's leg from knee
to thigh.
"It's okay," Fox whispered, turning his head to the side and brushing a kiss
into the younger man's hair.
"You're not upset with me any more?"
Fox shook his head and laid it momentarily on Alex's.
"No."
"Forgive me for acting like such an idiot?"
"If you'll forgive me for sulking like a child."
Alex shifted to drop a kiss on his lover's shoulder.
"I don't like it when you're upset, but you know what that sexy little pout
does to me."
Fox smiled and a small, breathy laugh rasped past his lips.
"Why don't you tell me?"
"Turns my dick to fucking stone, like you didn't know."
Moaning softly, Fox focused his eyes on the road.
"Will you show it to me?"
"I'm gonna do more than show it to you," Alex promised, his tongue flicking
in and out of Fox's ear.
"Uhhhh... if you wanna make it home in one piece, I suggest you stop that."
"Can't concentrate?"
"Not really."
"Okay, I'll behave. Even though my cock's about ready to rip a hole through
my jeans."
"So, unzip them."
Alex lifted his head and squinted at the other man.
"Didn't you just ask me to behave?"
"Yeah, but I was talking about not touching me. I didn't say anything
about yourself."
"Oh, and me playing with my dick right here next to you isn't going to be
distracting?"
Fox shrugged and smiled, knowing that planting the idea in Alex's head was
all he needed to do.
There was a soft rustling, then the grinding of a zipper as Alex freed his
cock. The soft groan as he wrapped his hand around the rigid organ reached Fox
in a sizzle of electricity that ran through the middle of his body and pooled in
his groin. The urge to pull into the next rest stop and drag Alex into the ample
back seat was great, but Fox maintained control and kept the car on its course
toward home.
Alex reclined his seat and spread his legs then burrowed one hand beneath his
pants and underwear while the other returned to his exposed cock.
"How far are we from home?"
The breathily asked question drew Fox's attention to the man beside him, and
he gasped at the sight of his lover, almost flat on his back, lazily stroking
his cock while his other hand worked slowly inside his jeans, squeezing his
aching balls.
"About... " Fox croaked, licking his lips then turning his eyes back to the
road. "... uh... twenty minutes."
"So, I got enough time to get you really worked up?"
"I'm already really worked up. Christ, Alex, do you realize what you
look like lying there, doing that?"
"It was your idea," Alex sang softly and ended the sentence on a low moan.
"Don't," Fox warned. "Think about something else."
"Like how much I want you on you knees in front of me, taking my dick down
your throat?"
Fox released a shuddering breath.
"I was actually thinking something a lot more platonic."
"Hard to think platonic when I'm jerking off in a car, with you sitting not
more than two feet away from me, but I'll try. Let's see... baseball, laundry...
spring cleaning, giving Clyde a bath... " A slow smile curved Alex's mouth.
"Hmmmm... .giving you a bath..."
"Alex..."
"Wet skin..."
"Alex..."
"Soapy and... oh, God yeah," Alex groaned, "slick. Mmmmm, lisa, I
can't wait."
"You'd better wait, dammit." The demanding tone changed to a bit of a
whine. "Come on, Alex, just fifteen minutes. I know you have enough self control
to wait fifteen lousy minutes."
"Probably," Alex rasped. "But this was..."
"I know. My idea. I admit it was stupid, okay? Now please.
Please, baby, take it easy."
"If I don't come right now," Alex bargained, "what'll you do for me?"
"Anything," Fox answered without hesitation. "I'll get on my knees for you.
I'll swallow every drop you pump down my throat if that's what you want."
"Sounds good," Alex purred, circling the head of his cock with his fingers.
"I love having those sexy lips wrapped around me. But I think I want to come in
your ass. I want you screaming my name while I give it to you good and hard."
"Anything you want," Fox whispered. "Just please wait."
"You talked me into it." Alex removed the hand that was cupping his balls and
closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he continued to stroke himself ever so
slowly. "I'll wait."
Moaning thankfully, Fox speeded up a bit. Cutting a little more than three
minutes off of his time, he pulled into the garage some eleven minutes later and
shut the engine off.
Alex tucked himself back into his pants and exited the vehicle, coming around
to the driver's side to snatch Fox out of his seat as the older man opened his
door. With a faint thump, Fox landed against the side of the car with Alex
pressed tightly to him.
"Clyde's going to want to go out," he said softly, his breath fanning Fox's
lips. "I'll take him. When I come back, I want you waiting for me in the
bedroom. Ready. You understand?"
Panting shakily, Fox nodded. Alex released him, and the two entered the
house, where Clyde was waiting to accost them. Alex quickly attached the dog's
collar and leash, and gave Fox one last look before exiting through the kitchen.
Fox stood in the silence and dark of the house for several seconds thinking
about what Alex would do to him when he returned, then he turned and headed for
the bedroom.
"C'mon, Clyde, no fooling around, okay?"
As quickly as he could, Alex rushed the dog through his walk then turned and
started for home. Thoughts of Fox sprawled naked on their bed compelled him to
walk double time. Entering the house, he gave Clyde some water, washed his hands
in the kitchen sink, then headed up to the bedroom.
There were no lights on in the room as he entered. The only illumination was
the glimmer of the moon coming in through the windows and hitting the floor, and
it was there, spotlighted in the pale white glow that he found Fox kneeling
silently.
"Holy Christ," Alex whispered, undoing his jeans and stalking toward his
quiet lover. Stopping in front of the naked man, Alex tilted Fox's head up and
looked down into glittering eyes. "I love you," he gasped, sliding his hand
around to the back of Fox's head and grasping a handful of hair as he leaned
down for a deep kiss. "Take off my pants," he demanded against the older man's
mouth before breaking contact all together and straightening his back.
Obediently, Fox reached up and began to tug at Alex's jeans, working them
slowly over his hips and down his legs. He unlaced the younger man's boots and
pulled them off. Alex's socks followed, and then Fox finished removing his
jeans. His hands followed his eyes as they roamed up the length of his lover's
strong legs, and when he reached the younger man's hips, his tongue flicked out
over his lips hungrily.
"You want it?"
Fox looked up and nodded.
Slowly unbuttoning his shirt, Alex motioned to his lover.
"Go ahead, baby. I've been waiting to fuck that beautiful mouth for hours."
Warm breath flowed over Alex's cock as Fox moved closer and extended his
tongue to flick at the flared head. The kneeling man looked up through a curtain
of golden-brown lashes and found his lover's head tilted back, eyes closed, and
an expression of pure feral lust washing his features. Slowly, his hands slid to
Alex's rear and, fingers clenching gently in the rounded muscles, he opened his
mouth and took his lover in.
Alex's lips parted, and a low growl erupted as his fingers tangled in the
strands of hair between them.
"Lisa... mmph... God... ah, f... fuck... easy. Baby, please... easy, I'm... "
He blew out a heavy breath as Fox withdrew, brushing his lips over the moist tip
of his cock and waiting.
"Too close," he breathed, petting his lover's head with one hand while the
other remained anchored in the heavy strands. "Give me a minute."
Fox waited on his knees, stroking Alex's rear and tenderly nuzzling his
crotch while remaining attentive to his lover's fragile state of control.
Sable lashes lifted, and Alex looked down at the older man, his heart
swelling with the adoration he saw in those magnificent glided eyes. Such
constant, unfaltering love.
"My love," he whispered roughly. "krasivy lisa... do you know how precious
you are to me?"
Fox dropped his lashes and rested his cheek against Alex's hip, but the
younger man lifted his head away and dropped to his knees, facing his lover.
"Do you know?"
Fox trembled slightly as Alex wound an arm around his waist and gracefully
lowered him to the carpeted floor. He now lay beneath the younger man, hands
wandering over his chest and shoulders as Alex gazed down at him.
"You're everything. My world. Nothing... there's... there's nothing without
you." Alex stopped, and Fox frowned at the crease that appeared between his
eyes.
"Do you understand that?"
"I know," Fox whispered, reaching up to touch his lover's shadowed jaw. "How
can I not know?"
The crease remained, and Alex continued to stare down at Fox, nodding. His
fingertips swept over the older man's cheek and threaded through his hair as he
came down for a soul-melting kiss. When he pulled away, he gazed down at the
other man, his eyes aglow.
"I think... I do... I understand," he croaked, and before Fox could
analyze the trembling words, Alex's mouth was again covering his.
The men lay together, kissing and touching, and when it was no longer enough,
Alex got up and led Fox to their bed. Guiding the other man onto his back, Alex
lay alongside him and proceeded to worship every inch of him with his hands and
mouth.
Fox lay quivering beneath his lover's knowing touch, whimpering his name and
disjointed words of love. He tried to give back, but Alex restrained him gently,
asking that Fox understand that tonight, in accepting all the love and pleasure
he was being bathed in, he was giving Alex more than he could imagine.
Lips, tenderly stroking heated skin gave rise to goosebumps, and Fox shivered
at the lingering caress. Alex's mouth brushed over one rigid nipple, and he
arched into the wet warmth, silently asking for more. In answer, Alex remained,
sucking the hardened flesh between his lips and flicking gently at the tip with
his tongue. Fox's mouth fell open, and a hard gasp tumbled out as his fingers
clutched tightly at the sheets.
"God... Alex..."
"Shhhh."
Alex gave Fox's nipple a few more seconds of loving attention, then he moved
on, following the light trail of hair that led to his navel. Pausing to tease
the deep indentation, his hands gently gripped Fox's hips, steadying the older
man for his next stop.
Fox's teeth clamped together, and he sobbed quietly as he felt Alex's breath
flowing warmly over his cock. A word left his lips, carried on a breath so soft
that Alex had to ask him to repeat it.
"Please," he whispered breathlessly, lifting his hips, attempting to
encourage Alex toward that which begged for his attention.
"Anything you want, sweetheart," Alex murmured, opening his mouth and sliding
it smoothly down the entire length of Fox's erection.
A long sigh broke from Fox's throat as his cock was engulfed in heat. Alex's
head bobbed up and down, slowly rising and falling on the long column of muscle,
and the intermittent quivering turned to all out tremors.
Alex listened attentively to the increasingly frenzied cries, and when they
began to turn frantic, he pulled away. Immediately Fox reached for him,
whimpering his name, and he took the older man's hands in his own, kissing both.
"I'm here, baby."
"I need you," Fox sobbed, unconsciously rocking back and forth.
"I know. I'm right here. Relax, lisa. You know I'll take care of you."
Pulling himself up and lying along the intensely aroused body of his lover,
Alex grabbed for the nightstand drawer, jerking it open and withdrawing the
lube. Making a mental note to replenish their supply, he squeezed a generous
amount of cream from the three-quarters empty tube and applied it liberally to
his cock. He stroked the remainder between the clenching cheeks of Fox's ass,
teasing and probing the ring of muscle hidden between them, and then he lifted
the restless man's legs and draped them over his hips.
"Hold on to me baby," he gasped as he gripped his cock at the base and worked
it slowly into his lover.
Fox's legs tightened, holding Alex in a vice grip, and his arms wound around
the younger man's neck. Every thrust brought a fresh burst of pleasure, and when
Alex was finally and fully buried inside of him, he tightened his arms, pulling
the younger man down for a hungry kiss.
His lover's mouth feeding eagerly on his, Alex's cock throbbed within its
hot, slick home, and he began to move, driving Fox and himself into mindless,
joyful oblivion. As Fox bucked and whined beneath him, he worked a hand between
their overheated bodies and grasped the older man's cock.
Panting heavily, Fox gasped Alex's name and begged him to end his torment.
"Please... Geez... Alex, please. Finish... finish m-me..."
Alex increased the speed of both his hand and hips, and he nodded, burying
his face in his lover's throat.
"Come on, baby," he encouraged, jerking hard as he pounded into the other
man. "Scream. Wanna hear you. Give it to me..."
Loud growls rolled in Fox's throat as he hurtled toward completion.
"Yeah... ah, God... that's it, Fox. That's... give... give it to
me..."
Fox exploded, bucking violently before his body stiffened, and Alex followed,
wailing wildly as he emptied himself inside of his lover's rigid body. Spent and
exhausted, he collapsed into Fox's arms, gasping for air. When he was finally
able to take a full breath long minutes later, he lifted his head and cast a
weary gaze down at the silent man.
Asleep?
"Fox?" he called, almost inaudibly.
No response.
Alex brushed the softest of kisses over Fox's stubbled jaw then carefully
lifted himself off of the slumbering man's body and lay beside him.
His tired body wanted to sleep, and he pulled the blanket up around them,
curling up against his lover's warm body. But his mind awakened, and he started
thinking.
//So, you got it now. No lightning bolts, no balls of fire, just... //
Everything he'd said tonight... the emotions that had overtaken him just a
short time ago... they were nothing new. No huge shock. It was just... there. It
always had been.
//You idiot. Why the hell did it take you so long? I mean, Christ, how
simple could it get?//
Alex rested his cheek on Fox's shoulder and laid his hand over the older
man's chest, and his eyes focused on his ring. He turned onto his back and held
his right hand out in front of his face.
Another glaringly obvious example.
He stared at his hand and thought back to that time he'd really not cared to
relive, remembering when he'd first awakened to find himself locked in a cage,
miles away from Fox, and stripped of the possessions that had meant everything
in the world to him. He remembered the pain and rage that rattled him to his
teeth, and his consuming desire to punish the man who had dared to take away his
treasured gifts. And then he remembered the joy he'd felt in the hospital when
Fox had slipped his found ring back onto his finger... like a lost piece of his
life had been restored to him.
//Yeah. And why was that? Stupid? Wouldn't a ring be just a meaningless
symbol like the marriage certificate you've been scoffing at for all these weeks
now? Maybe not, huh?//
Chewing on his lower lip, Alex glanced over at Fox then carefully removed the
ring from his right hand and transferred it to his left. Cocking his head, he
studied the new placement. A slow smile spread over his face, and he turned
again to look at his slumbering lover.
"I really got it," he whispered, the smile growing broader. "God, this feels
so much better."
Smile glued to his face, Alex settled down against Fox and tried to sleep,
but the excitement of the moment snapped his eyes open.
Laughing softly, he cast his eyes upward.
//Great. You know now, don't you, that until you do something about this,
you're never going to get a good night's sleep.//
//No kidding. So, okay. Since you're not going to get any rest tonight, at
least spend the time constructively. Let's see... plan. You need a plan. You
can't just open your eyes tomorrow morning and ask him to marry you. It's gotta
be just right. Timing, location, setting... //
The excitement built.
//Then the wedding... type of ceremony, reception... flowers, honeymoon...
oooooh, yeah. Honeymoon... //
Grinning madly, Alex pulled himself back against the pillows and began making
mental lists.
God, he couldn't wait until morning...
|
Always a Bridesmaid
by Aries March 2002 Fandom: XF Pairing: M/K Rated NC-17 for language and m/m sexual situations Spoilers: Nah Summary: The reason for Fox's sudden mood swings eludes Alex until Scully finally puts two and two together and whacks him over the head with the answer. Schmoop warning: My apologies for not adding this to most (probably all) of my stories. If you don't like mush, stay away. Big shout out to Carol, who had this wittle bunny she wanted me to adoptÖ Feedback: You betcha! As always, I can be reached at MMCUSN@aol.com Archive: RatB, Den of Sin, Slashville I'd appreciate a quick shout from anyone else who wants it, okay? https://www.squidge.org/terma/aries/aries.htm http://denofsin.slashcity.net/aries/ariestitle.html |
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