Krycek smiled sharply at the ticked off agent. "You
have the eidetic memory, you tell me."
"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you."
"And yet you keep doing so. Amazing. Besides, I wasn't
the one who chose a freezer to hide in."
"It was a door that was open, so sue me."
"If we get out of here alive, and I weren't wanted
dead by half the governments on earth, I'd consider
it."
Mulder just snorted at that. "Yeah. Right. No jury
would take your side."
"Oh, I don't know. I can be fairly convincing."
Mulder held back a flinch at the memories of how
'convincing' Alex Krycek could be. "Just shut up."
For a little while, all that could be heard was the
hum of the freezer's motor, and the chattering of
their teeth. Then a sigh from Krycek's side of the
small unit, "How long until your partner figures out
where you are and once more rushes to your rescue?"
"Like I know?"
"I don't suppose you bothered telling her where you
were going.."
"Is she in here with us?"
"Ah. That would be a 'no' then. You have a bad habit
of ditching your partners, Mulder."
Mulder tucked his knees closer to his chin, and did
his best to ignore the irritating bastard. Why he'd
believed Krycek, he had no idea..
But if this were a trap, would he be in here with
you?
Damn, he hated that reasonable little voice. It never
had anything good to say!
He let his mind wander from subject to subject, and
wasn't surprised when no matter what path it took, his
thoughts always returned to Alex Krycek. That tended
to happen even when he wasn't trapped in a small space
with the man.
There had been a time when he'd believed that all he
need in his life was Scully and Krycek. Friend and..
Well.lover. Yes, he had loved Alex Krycek before he'd
learned that the man had betrayed him.
Had? You still do, idiot.
Had. But then he'd learned that Krycek had helped in
Scully's abduction, had reported on him to that damn
Smoking Bastard. Had..
Left you? That was the thing that really pissed you
off, wasn't it? I'm you, I should know. He left you.
No explanations, no good-byes, just there one night,
gone the next. And then you were alone. No Krycek in
your bed, no Scully at your side, no friends, no
life.. Poor you.
I was not that pathetic!
Yes you were. And you're not much better now. Admit
it, you'll still feel just as bad, but at least you
won't be lying to yourself. Aren't you the one who is
always seeking 'The Truth'?
Yup. He really hated that voice.
"Mulder? Mulder?"
He was being shaken—the hands on his shoulders
feeling like brands, burning through his layers of
clothing and coat, and warming him.
"Mulder! Wake up."
"I wasn't sleeping."
"Mulder, I have been saying your name for the last
five minutes. We have got to do something to keep each
other awake, or we'll freeze to death before Scully
gets here."
Mulder sighed. "Much as I'd loath to agree with you,
you're right. What do you have in mind?"
Oh boy. Do I have some ideas.!
Oh god. The images that popped into his head were not
what he needed in his head while trapped, alone, with
his ex-lover. Not good thoughts to be having at all!
Krycek just stared at him for a few moments, face
expressionless, eyes shadowed. Then he grinned, an
incongruously innocent smile, considering what Mulder
knew of the man's past deeds.
"We could tell stories."
Mulder just stared, unsure that he'd heard the
assassin correctly. "Stories? What's next? Charades?
Truth or Dare?"
"You have a better idea?"
Oh yeah. Lot's of them. Just let me get your jacket
off..
Shut up! "No."
"Well then. Who first?"
"You. I can't think of anything good right now."
"Mulder, your whole life is a fairy tale."
Mulder shrugged. "I don't know, I could almost imagine
you as Shahrazad, weaving stories to delay your death.
You've done it before, God knows."
Krycek leaned against the same box Mulder was leaning
against, settling in with his left side touching
Mulder's right. "Hmm. A story. Okay. Eros was the god
of love, and yet, had never fallen in love himself.
However, one day, he was accidentally pierced by one
of his own arrows and fell in love with the first
person he saw, Psyche."
Mulder found himself leaning against Krycek, absorbing
his heat, as he listened to the story. The man had a
mesmerizing voice, and if he closed his eyes, he could
almost see images.
Mulder shut the door behind his zoned out partner.
Krycek had honestly thought he was saving Mulder's
life, and was taking the death of Augustus Cole hard.
"You did the right thing, Alex."
"He didn't have a gun. I blew it."
"It was suicide, Alex, not your fault. There was
nothing you could have done. In your place, I would
have probably done the same."
The younger agent looked so lost and out of it, he
brought out all of Mulder's latent protective
instincts. He just felt the urge to 'make it better'
somehow. Not to mention the man was gorgeous..
"Mulder?"
He found that Alex was only a few feet from him. The
darkest, greenest eyes he'd ever seen staring right
into his. He gave in to the urge, and drew the younger
man into a hug. "It's all right. It'll be all right."
To his surprise, he found himself being kissed within
an inch of his life. Only lack of air caused them to
surface some indeterminable amount of time later.
Those eyes were staring into his, lust and sorrow, and
some nebulous emotion he couldn't identify in their
depths.
"Mulder? I. I wish. Please, stay?"
"Yes."
"He took Psyche as his wife, but he wanted her to love
him for himself, not because of his godhood. So he
came to her only at night, and forbid her to look upon
him. Things went happily until Psyche's mother and
sisters, jealous of her happiness, started to plant
ideas in her head."
"But Mulder, what do you really know about him? I
mean, what happened to 'Trust no one'?"
Mulder sighed. "Scully, he's my new partner. I have to
give him a chance, just like I did you. You turned out
to be the best thing that's ever happened to me, what
might he be? I have to a least try."
"Yes, but.. I'm worried about how quickly you seem to
have started trusting him. What if he does work for
Them?"
"Then sooner or later, he'll give himself away."
"Yes, but what if you're too far in then? I just. I
just don't want you to get hurt."
Mulder smiled wryly at his only friend. She didn't
know how much that possibility would hurt. He wasn't
sure what he felt for Alex, but he had a sneaking
suspicion it was love. And if such a fate were in
store for him, it could quite possibly destroy him.
"Yeah. Me either."
"After many visits from her family, and many questions
about her husband, Psyche's curiosity got the better
of her. One night, after her husband was sleeping, she
took an oil lamp she had hidden, and lit it. And found
herself staring at an un-earthly beautiful youth.
However, the light woke her lover, and he stared up at
her in sorrow and betrayal. "You had but to love me
for myself and trust in me! But now because of your
mistrust I must leave you! How could you do this to
us?"
The lamp blew out in a ghostly wind, and with the
sound of a thousand birds in flight, her husband
vanished."
Mulder leaned against his lover. "We lost her, Alex.
They have her, and I couldn't save her."
"We'll get her back, Mulder. You know we will. It'll
be okay. I swear, it'll be okay. She'll be back."
The next day, Mulder found himself staring down at an
ashtray full of Morely butts, his faith shattered,
trust lost, and heart broken. He looked, and found
that Alex Krycek's apartment was empty, his life
abandoned. It was as if he'd never existed.
He cried in his sleep for weeks afterwards.
"Psyche searched the world for her love, but he was
invisible to her now. Some stories say the gods took
pity on her and turned her into an owl. So even now
she cries throughout the night searching for her
beloved."
During the course of the story, the two men had moved
closer together, trying to stay warm. They were
practically curled around each other by now. Mulder,
eyes still closed, tucked his face into Krycek's
shoulder, beneath his chin. He could feel the other
man's swiftly in-drawn breath beneath his cheek.
"Mulder?"
"If I open my eyes, will you vanish?"
Krycek's arms lifted to gently fold around him. "I'll
always be here when you need me. I'll always come back
to you. But."
"You can't stay."
Silence was his agreement. There was the sound of
footsteps and the door opened. The two men separated
quickly. Mulder stood up to see Scully standing in the
doorway, glaring at him. "Mulder? Sometimes I think
you're more trouble than you are worth. Ditch me
again, and I will make you regret it!"
Mulder smiled wryly at his partner, part of his
attention on the shadow that ghosted through the door
behind her, without drawing her attention. He sighed.
He was probably going to manage to convince himself
that he'd gone temporarily insane. And that would last
right up until he once again laid eyes on Alex Krycek.
He was insane, and he couldn't even bring himself to
care. Regret.. "I already do, Scully. I already do."
Love and Soul
by Morgan Peterson
It was cold. Very, very, very cold. Mulder huddled
into his trench coat and scowled at his fellow
prisoner. "How, exactly, did we get into this?"
