Hardened Criminal Part VI Promises Kept by Orithain and Nicole S Fox wandered the condominium in amazement. When Alex had said that he'd inherited one from his grandfather, he had expected a small, apartment-sized condo. This, though, was huge. There was more space than in his whole house. The living room alone was bigger than the entire ground floor of the home he'd grown up in. Alex had neglected to mention that it was a penthouse, taking up the entire top two floors of a Boston high-rise. He'd known that Alex's family was wealthy, but he'd had no idea of the scope of their wealth. He was suddenly embarrassed by the house he'd expected Alex to live in with him. Arms suddenly wrapped around his middle, pulling him back against a broad chest, and a chin nestled on his shoulder. Alex had been watching his lover and was cutting off the growing insecurity he could see in Fox's face. "It's only things, Fox," Alex murmured in his ear, nuzzling him. "Without love it's nothing. You've given me what I was missing, and you and Sam have given me a family. I can never thank you enough for that." Fox slowly relaxed into his embrace, but... "You have so much money, Alex. Why didn't you tell me?" Alex shrugged as best he could without letting go of Mulder. "I told you my family was wealthy." "Alex! Wealthy is not having to worry about how to pay for your vacation. This... this is like something you see on TV. Your dad's a millionaire, isn't he?" Alex nodded indifferently. "Yeah, for all the good it's done him. My mother measures everyone and everything by bank balance and social status, and my father's miserable. I'm not denying that having money makes life easier, but you're what I care about. If I ever had to make a choice, I'd give up the money in a second." He grinned suddenly. "Fortunately, I get to have you and the money, so I can make both our lives easier. Don't think you're getting out of going back to school, babe." "Alex," Fox started to protest. Alex moved away to sit on a couch under what looked like an original Picasso. "No, Fox, you're not going to talk me out of this. You and I both know that you wanted to do something very different with your life, and it's not too late. I can afford this, and I want to do it for you. I want you to be happy." Mulder sighed. He paced around uncomfortably, picking up a statuette here and a book there, fidgeting as he avoided answering. Alex waited him out, quite prepared to sit there all day if that was what it took. Finally, Mulder turned around like a cornered animal. "I don't want you to buy me," he burst out, only to be silenced by the look of hurt on Alex's face. "Oh God, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Please, listen to me, baby. I've been paying my own way for a long time. I need to feel like I'm contributing." Alex sighed. "I do understand that, Fox. But I can afford this easily, and when you're done, you'll have a career that you actually enjoy. I just want to make you happy. Besides, eventually you'll probably make more money than I will." He grinned suddenly. "And I assure you that I'll be more than happy to let you keep me." Mulder looked around the condo then back at Alex with an expression of disbelief on his face. "Hey, you're going to be a productive member of society. I'm the one whose only job prospect is now impossible and with 'ex-con' on my resume," Alex finished with a hint of bitterness in his voice. Fox walked over to him and pulled him to his feet and into his embrace. "You'll find something else you want to do, baby." Alex shrugged awkwardly, his head on Fox's shoulder. "I guess. But for now, I just want to take care of you. Please?" Mulder could hear the pleading in the younger man's voice. He also remembered how good it had made him feel to be able to take care of Samantha, and he realized that he did have something to give his lover. He smiled and held him tightly, his head coming to rest against the sable one on his shoulder. After a moment, Fox started his explorations again, this time with Alex's hand held firmly in his own. He'd brought all his clothing and personal possessions, but they'd left all the furniture in the house until they could decide what they wanted to keep. As Alex showed him around his new home, both men kept finding places for Fox's belongings, some fitting nicely with what was already there, others replacing existing furnishings. Alex smiled happily. "This is going to be our home." Eventually they ended their tour in the master bedroom, which Alex had kept for last. Fox dropped onto the king-size bed and flashed the other man a come-hither look. Alex grinned, slowly stripping off his clothing under Mulder's heated gaze. "You haven't seen my bathroom yet." Mulder looked at him like he was nuts. "What's so special about a bathroom?" "Come see," Alex purred, backing through a doorway on the other side of the room. Fox sighed and followed his lover, shedding his own clothes as he did. As he stepped through the doorway, he stopped dead with his jaw hanging down. For a moment he thought he'd stepped into some Eastern potentate's sybaritic pleasure palace. He was surrounded by Venetian marble, fixtures that looked to be crystal and gold, a plethora of ferns and other tropical plants, mirrors, plush towels and carpeting, and the whole of it bathed in natural light from the huge skylight. He could also see dozens of candles and imagined that it must be a fairyland at night. He turned to meet Alex's smile with his own. "It's amazing." Alex nodded. "It sure gave me a whole new perspective on my grandfather when I saw it after I inherited this place." Fox chuckled. "Your grandparents must have had a very happy marriage." "They did. And we're going to be just as happy." Alex turned away to fill the hot tub, pouring in a small amount of a liquid that smelled pleasantly musky with overtones of sandalwood. He turned on the jets in the tub, and the bubble bath he'd added frothed up, filling the tub with mountains of bubbles. He slid into the hot water, holding out a hand to Fox, who took it and followed him in. They settled on the ledge, side by side, with blissful sighs. For several minutes they just sat there, eyes closed, letting all their tensions wash away. After a little while Alex shifted around and pulled Fox back to lean against him. Mulder started to chuckle and, in response to Alex's inquiring look, explained, "I feel like I'm starring in a remake of the bath scene in 'Pretty Woman'." Alex burst into laughter, nearly drowning before Fox hauled him back upright. When he caught his breath, he gasped, "Should I call you Julia?" Mulder splashed him. "Only if you want me to drown you." Alex chuckled and pulled him back again, enjoying the feeling of his lover against him. He picked up a body mitt and squirted bath gel onto it so he could wash Fox. He slowly worked up a lather and started at Mulder's shoulders and worked his way down. He did each arm, taking care to get each finger, then moved on to his chest and torso while Mulder purred with contentment. Alex shifted out from behind him, moving in front of Fox to wash his legs, nibbling on his toes and loving the sound of Mulder's giggles. He leaned forward to share a long, sweet kiss before making Mulder turn around so he could wash his back. "Stand up, Fox, and lean on the side," he murmured, pausing to admire the beautiful sight when Mulder obeyed. He pulled off the bath mitt and ran caressing hands over the tight globes, followed by his tongue. Fox shuddered at the sensation of Alex's warm tongue moving over his ass. He remained motionless, praying that Alex would touch him the way he needed. A faint whimper escaped him when he felt Alex's thumbs part his cheeks and his tongue stroke along the crevasse, probing gently at the tight muscle. He gasped Alex's name pleadingly, clutching desperately at the rim of the tub. Alex moved closer, pressing against the back of Fox's legs. He slipped one hand between his thighs, running his fingers over the perineum, then cupping the sensitive sac. He wrapped his other arm around Fox, his fingers closing over the taut erection that had risen against his belly. He rubbed his own cock against Mulder's leg, his tongue working in and out of his ass and his hand pumping Fox's cock. Mulder moaned desperately, pushing back against Alex, then pushing forward into his hand. "God, Alex, please," he begged. "I need you." He reached back and clutched at Alex's hip, trying to tug him closer. Alex stood up, sliding along Fox's body until his erection nestled between the firmly muscled cheeks and both men moaned softly. "Soon, lover," he whispered, nibbling on an earlobe. "Let me make you feel good." Mulder laughed hoarsely. "If you make me feel any better, you're going to kill me! Oh, fuck!" he wailed when the head of Alex's cock slipped past the loosened ring of muscle. Alex slowly slid home inside him until his balls were flush against Fox's ass, then he pulled his lover upright and carefully turned them around. He held Fox still for a moment, fingering plucking softly at nipples and cock, enjoying the sounds of his moans, then slowly sat down, bringing Fox with him to end up in his lap. He spread his legs wide, forcing Fox's even wider, and reached down to stroke the rigid, straining flesh and the sac nestled behind. "Ride me, baby," he gasped out. Fox moaned wildly. When he caught his breath, he raised himself slightly then sank back again, repeating the motion over and over while Alex stroked his erection until his thighs quivered with the strain. He tried to speed up, but Alex wouldn't let him. "Slowly, my beautiful Fox. I want to make long, slow love to you in our new home." The sound of Alex's husky voice in his ear, followed by his tongue licking softly along the side of his throat was too much for Mulder, and he cried out as he came, warm fluid spurting over Alex's fist and mixing with the water around them. He moaned softly, feeling Alex's cock still hard and heavy within him. Alex continued stroking his still semi-erect cock, not letting him soften, and he whimpered at the friction on his hypersensitive flesh. "I love how I can make you lose control, baby," Alex rasped, "but I want to come with you. I need you to get hard again for me, lover." He licked along Fox's throat again, nearly losing it at the shudder that ran through his lover. Fox moaned. "God, baby, you know I'd do anything for you, but.... ohhhhh.... I can't. Shit! Oh fuck, Alex.... God!" He couldn't believe it when he realized that he'd never fully softened after he came and he was erect and aching again. He pushed into Alex's hand, his own hand closing over it and guiding it along his length. His head sank back against Alex' shoulder, and he turned it to the side to press a kiss to the water slick chest. Alex gasped and arched up under Mulder, making the other man moan as he pushed deeper inside him. Alex couldn't stand it any more and he heaved up, draping Fox over the side of the tub again. Fox clung to the rim while Alex thrust into him, hard and deep, one hand on his hip and the other pumping his cock. Fox sobbed Alex's name, the pleasure so sharp it was almost pain. He thrust back against him, then forward into his fist, wanting more, wanting to come, wanting it never to end. He groaned when Alex bit down on his shoulder, and he could feel his teeth sink in. He could feel tiny rivulets of blood run down from the bite, followed by Alex's tongue lapping it away, and he screamed Alex's name, convulsing as he came again. Alex yelled as Fox's ass clamped down on him, milking him, and he lurched forward, pushing even deeper as he came, sinking down over Fox's back with his hand still cupping his groin protectively. After a moment, he straightened up so as not to crush his lover, and sank back down on the ledge, bringing Fox, still joined, with him. He held Fox tightly to him, feeling the other man's arms come around him to hold him equally fiercely. When he softened and slipped out of Mulder, Fox turned in Alex's embrace and latched onto his mouth, kissing him deeply, seemingly trying to meld them together. When lack of air forced them to part, Alex stood up and stepped out of the tub, drawing Mulder after him. "Come on, we need to get out before we shrivel up." He wrapped a fluffy bath sheet around his lover, drying him tenderly, then dried himself and led the way back into the bedroom. Exhausted by the steam and their exertions, they crawled into bed and dozed off in the afternoon sunlight. A few hours later, Alex woke with a start, and looked at the clock. He sat up in bed and cursed softly to himself before looking at Fox. His lover was snuggled down in the bed, sleeping peacefully. The blankets had shifted when Alex sat up, revealing Fox's muscular back and part of his ass. Alex could feel his groin stir as he stared at the upper portion of Mulder's ass; it was perfect in every way. He reached his hand out to touch the taut muscles but stopped himself; he couldn't be late for his appointment with his parole officer and, unfortunately, didn't have time to do anything creative at the moment. Hell, he'd nearly forgotten about it, earlier. Naked Fox Mulder seemed to have that effect on him. He jumped out of bed and had a quick shower to wash the sleep from his body and to quell his erection. The water was as cold as he could stand it, making him soft and limp after a few minutes. When he came back to the bedroom, Fox was sitting up, blinking sleep out of his eyes. "Hey," he said, yawning. "Hey," Alex replied, smiling. He sat on the edge of the bed and kissed Mulder, who immediately tried to bring him back to bed for another round. Alex pulled away, his cock forgetting the cold shower and springing to life again. "I can't, babe; I have a meeting." He stood and went to his closet. "A meeting?" Mulder asked, his voice wary. Alex frowned at his closet, he'd have to go shopping, as most of the clothes in it were a few years old. While they still probably fit, and weren't out of style, it would be nice to get something new. It would also be fun to take Fox shopping. "Fox, let's go shopping tomorrow," Alex said as he reached for the nearest, mostly new suit in his closet. "Wait a minute, Alex, where are you going? What's this meeting?" He turned around and looked at his confused lover. He draped the suit over a chair and came back to sit beside him on the bed, taking his hand and caressing it. "I'm sorry. I'm nervous." He took a deep breath. "I have a meeting with my parole officer, and I don't know what to expect. I was hoping once we moved, it would all go away, but it's not going to." Mulder squeezed his hand, "For you, think of it as a formality. He's going to make sure that you're doing okay, that you don't violate your parole in any way, which you won't. But it's part of the process, babe." "Do they really think that I'm going to do something as stupid as that again?" Alex raked his fingers through his hair. "And what about us? What if he doesn't like the idea of me living with a man? What if he writes a bad report about me because I have money? What if.." "Alex," Mulder cut him off. "You can't do this to yourself. He can't put you back in jail if he doesn't like you. It'll be okay." He reached out and caressed Alex's face then kissed him. Mulder was right, he was being silly. He'd managed to survive prison, Mike's funeral, and his mother living with him for a week; if he could survive that, he could survive anything. Alex extracted himself from his lover's embrace after a few minutes. "I really have to go." He stood and got dressed, Mulder watching him the whole time, which didn't make things easier. He placed a quick kiss on his forehead before he left the bedroom. He went down to his car, regretting he had to leave Mulder more with every inch farther he got from him. He'd hoped that they could spend the entire day in bed, making love. He smiled, they could do that tomorrow. Alex got to the parole office with mere minutes to spare. He sat in the waiting room with the other men and some wives and girlfriends, waiting to see the Parole Officers. His guard was up, and he felt himself tense, as if he was inside again. No one looked at each other; no one talked to each other; no one read the magazines; they just sat and waited. Finally, fifteen minutes later, Alex's name was called. His stomach jumped as he stood and followed the receptionist to a small office down a corridor. The receptionist left, and Alex stood in the doorway. Behind the desk was a man in his 30s, with a beard and three-piece suit. He was on the phone but motioned for Alex to come inside. Alex closed the door behind him and sat down in the chair facing the desk. Mounds of paper and files covered the desk and credenza beside it. After a minute, the man hung up. "Krycek, right?" The man stood, smiled, and extended his hand. Alex stood and shook it. "Yeah, Alex Krycek." Both men sat down. "I'm John Byers, and I'll be looking out for you for the next..." He consulted the file in his hand, "two years, while you're on probation." Alex frowned, confused, "Look out for me?" "Help you find a place to live, a job, any counseling you need, or treatment. Help you fit back into society." Byers looked at him and nodded. "You thought I was going to interrogate you, right? You thought that I'd be suspicious of everything?" Alex nodded. "Contrary to popular belief, we really are here to help you. We don't want you to end up back inside. If we can help you help yourself, then you won't, right? It's all here in this handbook." Byers handed him a small book, threw the file on the desk, and leaned back in his chair. "First things first, no drugs. We'll be testing you at random when you come in for your meetings. Second, you need to work. I know your family and reputation, Krycek; you've got a ton of money, and don't have to worry about supporting yourself, but if you don't work, you violate your parole." He shuffled a few papers and held one out to Alex. "This is a list of potential employers that hire ex-cons, based on your experience inside. I know you were to go into law enforcement before your term, but to tell you the honest truth, you can't even get a job as a doorman with a felony on your record." Byers shifted in his chair and gave Alex the rest of the rules and regulations about his parole, how he couldn't leave the state without written permission, how he had to check in every six weeks, how he could get help if he needed it. At the end of the meeting, Alex was given a specimen bottle for a urine sample. He went to the washroom and peed in the jar, feeling humiliated and dirty. He didn't do drugs; he wasn't going to violate his parole; didn't they know he wasn't like that anymore? He gave it to the nurse, who marked his name on it, then he left the office. Clutching his sheaf of papers, he went down to his car and sat there for a few minutes, staring off into space. He picked up the list of employers, noticing that they were mostly kitchen jobs. He didn't want to do that anymore; he was better than that. He wanted to show people that he wasn't just some ex-con with no skills and no prospects. Sure, he had money, but even if he hadn't, he'd still want to do something worthwhile with his life. It was an obscure blessing in disguise that he'd gone to prison and actually found out what hard labour was like, learning a work ethic in the process. He liked being busy, he liked working, but he couldn't work in a kitchen again, that was for sure. He sat there for a few more minutes, before he picked up his cell-phone and made a call. After Alex left, Mulder got dressed and started exploring the condo, although mansion was a more appropriate name for it. He couldn't believe the fine art that decorated the walls and expensive knickknacks that were everywhere. Some of it wasn't to his taste, however, but who was he to judge? "I'm just a hick compared to these people," Mulder said as he looked upon the Picasso. He wandered around the condo some more, mentally placing some of his furniture here and there, double-checking the ideas he and Alex had discussed when they did the same thing together. He decided that he would bring a few of his favourite items here; he needed some familiarity. His antiques would fit in with the decor nicely. Sam would take the rest, as she and Jason wanted it for their new home. He went down a hallway from the living room to the office that Alex had already told him was his, saying he needed a quiet place to study. His computer was already here; all it needed was to be plugged in. Mulder walked into the room, intending to set it up, when he heard someone in another room. He suspected it was Alex back from his meeting. He wasn't sure exactly where he was, however, as the place was so big. Mulder walked through the living room and into the kitchen, where he happened upon a young woman in her twenties. She looked up at him and smiled. There was a package from a florist on the counter, and she was filling a vase with water. Mulder looked at her strangely. "Can I help you?" he asked. "No," she said and undid the paper holding the flowers inside. "Who are you?" The young lady looked up at Mulder, confusion on her face. "What do you mean?" "The flowers are beautiful, but what are you doing here?" She looked at him strangely for a second and started laughing. "I guess no one told you." She wiped her hand on a tea towel and extended it to him. "I'm Sarah, I work here." Mulder took her hand and shook it, frowning. "You work here?" "I take care of the place for Alex. I do the cleaning, laundry, dishes, make sure there are fresh flowers. I'm not allowed to cook, though; he likes to do that himself. You must be Fox. Alex told me all about you when he called the other day to say he was moving back." "Yeah, oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. So, you're the maid?" She frowned at him. "Maid isn't really used anymore. Domestic Goddess is the more correct title." He just stared at her. "It was a joke." "Oh, yeah, sorry." Mulder shook his head. "I'm sorry, I've never had a... someone to take care of things like that for me before." "That's okay, you'll get used to it. My mom owns the cleaning company that Alex's grandparents used, so I naturally followed in her footsteps." "I see. Well, it was nice to meet you, Sarah." "Nice to meet you, too." She turned and went back to her flowers. Mulder left the kitchen and went back to the office to hook up his computer. This was very strange; he was used to doing everything himself. Alex got home to find Mulder sitting at his computer, listening to some music. He stood in the doorway, watching Mulder click the mouse and type a few things on the keyboard. He was wearing his glasses; God, he was sexy when he wore glasses. Suddenly, Mulder looked up and smiled when he saw him then turned down the music. "When did you get back?" "Just now." "How was your meeting?" Alex came up behind Mulder and hugged him then kissed his ear. "Checking out the university, huh? Good idea. It was okay. He told me the rules and regulations. They gave me a drug test, which I didn't like." Mulder reached up and caressed Alex's arms. "That's just procedure, babe. They give one to everybody." "Yeah, I guess so. I felt like I was back inside, though, like I was being controlled or something." "It's going to take time until you feel like your old self again." Alex went around and looked at Mulder. "I don't want to be my old self; that man was a spoiled, rude brat. I like who I am now." Mulder stood and hugged Alex. "I like who you are, too." They embraced for a minute, before Mulder pulled away. "I met Sarah today. Why didn't you tell me about her?" Alex bit his lower lip. "Oops. I guess I forgot to tell you." "It was very interesting, to say the least. Any other staff I should know about? Jeeves the butler? Kato the pool boy?" Alex rolled his eyes. "Nope, just Sarah. But a pool boy sounds nice. A sexy, young stud to lounge around the whirlpool in the bathroom." "Don't you dare!" Mulder kissed Alex fiercely. "I'm the only one who gets to wash behind your ears." "Mmmm, I'll make you wash more than behind my ears." Alex smirked and kissed him again. "Hey," he said. "I didn't tell you my good news. I've got a job." "You do? Where?" "With Jason Prestwick." "Really? You've been here one day, and you're already hobnobbing with software conglomerates." Alex laughed, "Yeah, next stop Microsoft. When I was to graduate from Quantico, I was supposed to work for computer crimes. You know, catching hackers, developing software that's unhackable. So, I went to see Jason today to see if he could use me, and he said yes." He looked at his watch, "And he and your sister should be here in about twenty minutes to join us for a celebratory dinner." Just then the doorbell rang. "Or sooner." The four of them went out for a nice dinner at an upscale restaurant. Jason filled everyone in on Alex's duties to head up the design division of his software company. Sam was beaming, she was so happy that her brother was here with her in Boston, and Alex working for Jason couldn't be a better combination. Then Jason told Alex that he had received a phone call just prior to meeting them for dinner. It seemed that there was a problem in the New Bedford office setting up the new system. Alex was very familiar with this type of system, so he would be going there with Jason the day after tomorrow to help debug the system. He'd be gone about three days. Mulder was happy for Alex. He knew the kinds of jobs ex-cons usually got; heading up a division at a software company wasn't usually one of them. He didn't like the idea of him going out of town, though; they just got here, but at least he couldn't travel very far for too long. After dinner, everyone went back to their respective houses, Mulder and Fox lying naked beside each other, caressing each other until they fell asleep. The next day, as Alex promised, he and Mulder went shopping. Hours later, they returned home, laden down with bags, and more clothes on order. Alex insisted that Mulder get a tuxedo made for Sam's wedding and also ordered a suit for him. With Mulder going back to school, he wouldn't need more than that. Alex, however, had ordered a number of suits for himself. They also bought a large number of upscale casual clothes. The bed was covered with bags, Mulder not knowing where to start putting the purchases away. Actually, Alex had purchased everything, not letting Mulder crack his wallet once, not even for lunch. Mulder had argued with him, telling him that his love didn't need to be bought. Alex had told him that this was merely a thank you for putting him up in his home for those weeks and all the hard work he had done in preparing his house for him. Mulder reluctantly accepted, and Alex continued to buy him anything he wanted. "This is way too much," Mulder said as he dug into a bag and pulled out a shirt. "You need clothes for school." "I could clothe an army with all this stuff." Alex came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him, "But no one looks as good in them as you do." Mulder's breath caught in the back of his throat as he felt the back of his neck being nibbled on. "When you tried on those leather pants, I was so turned on. I almost didn't let you go back into the changing room alone." "I can't believe you bought me leather pants." "They're so fucking sexy on you. They fit like a glove." Alex trailed his hand down Mulder's side to cup his ass. "It's too bad that you didn't have them on right now." Mulder felt Alex's hot breath on his neck and his hand coming around to squeeze the bulge in his jeans. "Why?" he whispered. "'Cause then I could rip them off of you and fuck you blind." Mulder whimpered and his cock hardened under Alex's touch. "It looks like I'm just going to have to settle for fucking you blind." With one flick of the wrist, Alex sent the comforter and all the bags on the bed flying. He then dragged Mulder down on top of the bed, kissing him madly. Hands flew over each other's bodies as articles of clothing were removed and thrown onto the pile already on the floor. Mouths and hands were everywhere, sucking and caressing, until both men started panting. "Alex, I need you. Fuck me like you said you would." Alex looked down at his sweating lover; his cock was purple with blood and need, his lips swollen, and there was a mark on the inside of his thigh. The look on his face was one of pure lust, and Alex nearly came from that alone. Quickly, he lubed up his cock and his fingers then prepared his lover. Mulder held his legs open wide as Alex's fingers dug inside him, whimpering and cursing for him to finish him off. Alex held his cock by the base and looked Mulder in the eye. "You want this, baby?" "Goddamn it, fuck me already," Mulder said through clenched teeth. Alex plunged inside Mulder's tight heat, not pausing or stopping, instead pumping madly. He clutched Mulder's cock and pulled it with his slick hand, teeth gritted, letting out a feral moan. Mulder's hips raised to meet Alex's thrusts, his hands still keeping his legs wide open for his lover. Fast and furious Alex slammed into his lover, making sure Mulder came before he did, spilling his seed all over his fist. Alex let himself go, moaning Fox's name over and over again as he collapsed forward onto his lover's chest. Mulder spent the next two days at the university meeting with counselors. By the end of the second day, he had registered for some upgrading classes that started in January. After that, he met Sam and her partner, Dana Scully, for dinner. He and Dana hit it off right away. He liked her. She claimed to be serious and focused only on work, but Mulder made her smile. By the end of the night, the three of them were getting looks from the other patrons in the restaurant, because they were laughing so hard. They lingered a long time, having coffee and dessert, reacquainting themselves with one another. He could see that Sam was pleased they got along so well. He got home a little after ten in the evening. The doorman had a FedEx package waiting for him. Mulder tucked it under his arm and went up to their condo. When he got into his new home, he found everything pristine. The dishes were washed and put away; it was dusted and vacuumed. The water in the flowers had even been changed. He didn't know if he could get used to this; sure, he didn't have to do any housework, but he was afraid to touch anything, lest he wreck it or something. It was going to take time to be able to call this home. He went upstairs, tearing open the FedEx package. Inside were a small videotape, tape adapter, and a note. Mulder sat on the edge of the bed and read the note. 'Lover, Open the cabinet at the foot of the bed, there's a TV and VCR in there. Alex' Mulder smirked and opened the cabinet, revealing just what Alex had said. He turned both machines on, put the tape with adapter in the VCR, grabbed the remote and pressed play. The tape revealed Alex from the neck up, from what looked like a hotel room. "Hey, babe. I've been away from you for one day and I'm going nuts. When I spoke to you an hour ago on the phone, I said I was going to sleep, but instead I went out and bought this video equipment. I miss you so much, and I know you miss me, so we can do this together." Then the camera zoomed out and revealed that Alex was naked and hard. A small remote control was in his hand. Mulder's mouth opened, and he sucked in his breath, then he smiled. "By the time you get this, you'll have gotten back from dinner with your sister and her partner. I hope you had a good time. I also hope you're ready for dessert." Alex ran his hands over his body then grabbed on to his cock. A jolt ran through Mulder's groin, and his cock started to throb as he watched his lover touch himself. "Take your clothes off, babe, I'll wait." Mulder looked at the television screen, unmoving. "C'mon, take them off. I won't start without you." Mulder smirked and shed his clothes, leaving them draped over a chair. He went back and sat on the bed. Alex was lying on his own bed, his hands lightly skimming over his body. In a few seconds, he sat up. "You finished? Good. Now make yourself real comfortable, but make sure you can see me." Mulder reached behind him and grabbed a few pillows, piling them up so he could lean back. "God, I'm aching for you, Fox. See what you do to me when you're not even here?" The camera zoomed in on Alex's cock; it was swollen, and the veins were standing out prominently. Alex's hand moved up and down it a few times, and a finger flicked over the head. A spot of moisture formed at the tip. "See, baby. See this. This is yours. But it's lonely without you." The camera zoomed out again, showing Alex, lips parted, breathing heavily. "Do this with me. I want you to come with me." Mulder's cock twitched and hardened even more. The close up shot of Alex's cock was burned into his mind, making the precome glisten on the head. Alex let go of his cock and moved his hands up to his nipples. "Pinch your nipples, like I'm doing." Mulder ran his hands up his own torso and pinched his own nipples. He let out a gasp and a moan as the action sent a wave of pleasure throughout him. "You like that? I know your nipples are sensitive; I bet I could make you come just from sucking on them." Alex moaned then laughed, "I'm going to try that when I come home." Mulder moaned; this was turning him on so much. "Now move your hands lower, babe. Lower to the curls at your groin. You know what I like? I like it when they tickle my nose when your cock is down my throat. God, what I wouldn't do to taste you right now." Mulder gasped; he'd never heard Alex speak this way before. They'd never vocalized sex before. Sure, they'd written it in letters to each other when Alex was on the inside, but now he could see him and hear his voice. It was overloading his senses; he thought he'd surely explode the second he actually touched his cock. "Cup your balls and feel their weight in your hand. I bet they're tight right now. I love sucking on them and rolling them in my mouth. But for now, you're going to have to use your fingers." A loud moan escaped Mulder's mouth, and more precome flowed out of his cock. "Spread your legs, lover. There's that spot just behind your balls, press on it." Alex gasped then whimpered. "It's so good. I don't know how much longer I can last. I wish I could be doing this to you; you're so beautiful when you're all turned on. Sometimes I can't control myself and need to calm down, because just looking at you can make me hard and make me want to fuck you through a wall." Mulder kept his eyes locked on the green ones on the television screen. He was gasping for breath. Then Alex moved his hand down to grab his turgid cock, and his eyes fluttered shut for a second. "Touch your cock, baby. I'm ready to come, and I need you to come with me." Mulder grabbed himself and flicked his thumb over the head, causing even more fluid to leak out of the slit in the top. Nope, he wasn't going to last long. "Y...yeah, c'mon, baby. Pretend I'm riding you, moving up and down on top of you." Mulder moved his hand up and down upon his shaft. "Alex..." "I'm ... I'm moving up... up and down... and... and... and fuck, you're so beautiful when I ride you. You grab my cock and caress me until... until... Oh my God, Fox, I can't... I can't hold on, I love you so much." Mulder arched back and moaned Alex's name as the fluid spurted out onto his own chest. He lay there for a while, letting the sensations run through his body before he sat up. He watched Alex, also lying back on his bed, his own belly and chest coated with semen. Finally, Alex sat up and smirked at him. "God, I love you." "I love you, too, Alex." "I'm going to clean up. Call me at 508-555-3791. Room 723. I'll be waiting for you to tell me you came." He gave a huge smile before the screen went blank. Mulder sat there, also smiling. He reached for the remote and rewound the tape until he saw Alex come. The bliss that showed on his face was incredible, and watching Alex come was breathtaking. His eyes were shut, the heavy fringe of his eyelashes resting against his flushed cheeks. His lips were parted, showing his perfect, white teeth. His tongue snuck out to moisten his lower lip before a loud moan and "Fox" left his mouth. He listened to Alex repeat the phone number then dialed. "Hello?" the husky voice answered. "I just came." "What a coincidence, so did I." Mulder gave a short laugh. "Whatever possessed you to do this? This is..." "Nuts?" "Kind of." "I wanted to do something different with you." "This was certainly different. I loved it." "I knew you would." "I miss you." "I miss you, too. I haven't been in a hotel in ages, and it's lonely. You should've come down with me." "Somehow I don't think that would help you keep your mind on your job." Alex laughed, "Maybe you're right. I'll be home tomorrow evening." "Now that I have this tape, you can stay away as long as you like." "That was a low blow." Mulder laughed, "Just kidding. I'll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep; it's late." "I will. You too. I love you." "I love you, too." Mulder pressed End on the phone and laid it on the bed. He cleaned himself up and got under the covers in the immense bed, smiling to himself, despite being alone, until he fell asleep. The next day Fox wanted to do something special for Alex's homecoming, and since Sarah didn't do any of the cooking, he decided to make a second attempt at preparing Alex's favorite dinner. Remembering his difficulties last time, he bought twice the quantities he needed of everything and started early in the morning. He figured once he got everything ready, he could just put it all in the fridge till it was time to cook it. Unfortunately things didn't work out quite as he'd planned. Twice the ingredients meant twice the mess and still no edible food to show for it. He thought his crowning moment had been when he'd dropped the chicken into the garbage disposal... while it was on, of course. He had broken eggs on the floor, grated cheese everywhere, burnt potatoes permanently fused to a ruined pot, a mangled chunk of chicken trailing across the sink from the drain, broken dishes, and blisters on his hands from when he'd yanked the blazing potatoes—what the hell had happened to the water anyway?—off the stove in a fortunately successful bid to keep Alex's home from going up in flames. He sank down on a chair in the midst of the disaster area and buried his face in his hands. "What the hell?!" Alex's shocked voice came from the kitchen doorway. "Jesus, Fox, I told you I'd do the cooking." Alex was actually trying not to laugh at the extent of the destruction, amazed by Mulder's unparalleled ability to wreak havoc, but Mulder only heard the accusation. He raised a woebegone face that rapidly clouded over with anger at what he perceived as a slur. "That's right, we all know I'm completely useless. Can't earn a living, can't cook, not even needed to clean the fucking place. Fucking," he snorted. "That's funny. That's all I am to you, aren't I? A fuck toy that you can pull out when you want to get your rocks off and shut away in this gilded cage when you don't need me." He stormed out of the room, leaving a speechless Alex gaping after him. After an instant, Alex's mouth snapped shut and he headed after his errant lover, determined not to let silly things like this fester again. They'd both had enough of that. He flung open the bedroom door, then stopped in surprise. Fox, rather than packing his belongings or god knows what else, was sitting miserably on the side of the bed, watching the doorway and now him. "I'm sorry," Mulder sighed. "I know none of that's true, but I just feel so useless. You've got your life back, and you sure as hell don't need me in it." Alex sighed in turn and sat down beside him, taking his hand. "Fox, look at me." He waited until he did. "I do need you. You're the only thing I really do need. I love you, you idiot. How many times do I have to keep telling you that?" Fox smiled ruefully. "Until it sinks through my thick skull, apparently. I don't know why you put up with me." He held up a hand in self-defense at Alex's glare. "Okay, okay, I'll be good." Alex smiled. "In that case, baby, would you do me a favor?" He waited for Fox's nod before continuing. "Would you please not try to cook anymore? I don't have that many dishes." He ducked the pillow Mulder aimed at him, both of them rolling around on the bed, laughing and wrestling like a pair of teenagers. Finally, Alex pinned Mulder down and claimed a kiss as forfeit. "Okay, come on, let's go order a pizza. I'm starved." "Better get a large then. Don't forget we become Sam's indentured servants tomorrow. We're her unpaid labor till the wedding's over." Alex whimpered. "I knew there were advantages to being an only child." Fox snickered. "Love me, love my sister.... Be owned by my sister." And before noon the next day, Alex felt owned. He reminded Samantha that the slaves had been emancipated well over a century ago, and for his trouble, he was handed another half dozen packages to carry. Fox shook his head at him, not stupid enough to open his mouth around a woman trying to plan a wedding. He couldn't figure it out. The church was booked; so was the minister. They had a hall and a caterer. So what was the problem? Alex wondered the same thing and was actually crazed enough to ask. Half an hour and a list of things delivered all in a single breath, including a treatise on the relative merits of beef, chicken and pasta, later, he was sorry he'd asked. He seriously thought that this was a waste of time since Sam was clearly going to spend her wedding day in the nearest psychiatric facility. He'd learned his lesson, however, and kept that observation to himself. Just to make their day complete, they ran into Emily at the boutique when Sam went to check on the progress of the alterations on her dress and Dana's. Dana was going to be her only attendant, and she'd chosen a beautiful gold gown for the wedding. Sam was positive that everyone was going to be looking at Dana rather than her, but she was having fun convincing her no-nonsense partner to relax and enjoy life a little. She glanced back at Alex and Fox, who were trying not to look as desperately uncomfortable as they felt inside the exclusive boutique. Fox met his sister's eyes and made a face at her, reminiscent of when they were children. Sam giggled and turned her attention back to her dress, thinking that Alex had been incredibly good for her brother. He actually smiled most of the time now; his speech had lost the peppering of prison jargon that had crept into it the last few years, and best of all, he was truly happy. She looked over her shoulder again and frowned when she discovered that the men had vanished. Her packages were neatly piled out of the way, but there was no sign of Fox or Alex. She scanned the store and the tiny portion of the street visible through the front window, baffled until she noticed that the door to a fitting room that had been empty only moments ago was now shut. Her eyes widened. They wouldn't! Before Sam could decide what to do, the door at the front opened and Emily Krycek walked in. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted Samantha, her eyes sweeping the young woman disdainfully. Unlike Emily, who was wearing a Chanel suit, Sam was dressed comfortably in jeans and a lightweight sweater. Sam eyed the older woman, wondering how much additional time it took her to try on clothes when she had to take all that off first and then put it all back together again. "Mrs. Krycek," she greeted coolly when it became obvious that Emily had no intention of making the first move. "Dr. Mulder," Emily responded glacially. She favored the young woman with an indifferent nod before turning to the saleswoman who had come up beside her. "You know Mrs. Krycek?" the woman assisting Sam asked, surprised. A more unlikely combination than these two she couldn't imagine. Sam shrugged. "We've met through her son." "Oh, Alex," Jennifer, the saleswoman, sighed rapturously. "Isn't he just the most spectacular thing you've ever seen? I heard he got into some trouble a while back, but he's supposed to be back in Boston now. Maybe I'll take another shot at him." Sam choked down a laugh. Clearly, Jennifer hadn't noticed Alex and Fox before they disappeared. When she could speak again, she advised, "I'd forget about him if I were you. He's taken." Jennifer looked disappointed. "No. Damn, I hadn't heard that. So who's the lucky girl?" Sam couldn't resist. "My brother." She couldn't restrain the peals of laughter when she saw the look on the other woman's face, nearly doubling over with mirth. "You are kidding, right?" Jennifer asked dubiously. "Nope, sorry." Sam shook her head. "In fact you'll see for yourself later. They were with me when I got here, and I imagine they'll reappear eventually. They'd better if they know what's good for them," she muttered ominously. Emily Krycek's attention had been drawn by Sam's merriment, and she looked down her nose at the, in her opinion, unseemly public display. "The class of clientele is definitely declining," she sniffed, not noticing the look of disgust she got from the saleswoman behind her. Emily approached Sam, reminding the young woman of a reptile slithering toward its prey. "I would appreciate it if you would restrain yourself from braying in public. I do believe you've caused me to develop a migraine." Sam just laughed. "Lady, in my medical opinion, you need a good dose of laxative." Emily turned purple with rage. "How dare you, you ill-bred little trollop?" Sam raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not the one namecalling here, Mrs. Krycek. " Emily's mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out. If looks could kill, Sam would have been nothing more than a memory. While Fox had been making faces at his sister, Alex had been watching him. The younger man smiled at their antics, feeling the warmth of being part of a family wash over him. He loved Fox so much, and he sometimes still had trouble believing that Fox loved him too. Then there was Sam; she'd accepted him so readily, treating him like another brother from the moment they'd met. Alex was sure Sam was instrumental in him getting a job with her fiance's company. Alex stepped closer to Fox, fitting himself to his back, and wrapped his arms around his lover's middle. He rested his chin on Fox's shoulder, nuzzling into the side of his neck, and whispered, "I love you." Mulder placed his arms over the ones wrapped around him, hugging them to him. He smiled, completely content. "I love you, too," he replied softly. He grinned when Alex pressed closer at his words. "What are you planning to do with that?" he chuckled. Alex pulled him toward the fitting rooms. "Come with me, and I'll show you." Mulder's eyes widened, exactly as his sister's would moments later. "You have to be kidding!" he hissed. Alex shook his head emphatically, tugging on Mulder's hand. With a feeling of impending doom, not unmixed with amusement and arousal, Fox followed Alex into the empty fitting room. He watched as Alex shut and locked the door, then leaned against the wall and eyed Mulder. "What?" Fox asked after more than a minute of being silently stared at. Alex smiled a little sheepishly. "I just like to look at you." "You could have done that out in the store," Mulder pointed out. "I like to taste you too." Mulder swallowed hard before he could reply. "Okay, so maybe a little more privacy is preferable for that." Alex moved toward him and dropped to his knees in front of him, looking up with a tiny smile. Fox raised one hand, cupping one side of Alex's face and caressing it when Alex leaned into the touch. He let his hand drop when Alex slowly unfastened his jeans and pulled them down to his thighs. Alex leaned in close, just absorbing his lover's scent, inhaling deeply. After a moment, he pressed his closed lips to the slowly waking organ, letting his warm, moist breath waft over the silk-covered flesh. He rubbed his mouth and chin along the length several times before parting his lips to place gentle nips on the hardening muscle. Fox moaned, and he stopped to press a finger to his lips. "Shh, baby. You have to be quiet or they'll hear us. And your sister would kill us." Fox bit down hard on his lower lip but nodded his understanding. He stared down through heavy-lidded eyes, watching Alex tease him. Alex nuzzled Fox, feeling him quiver, and he slowly, very, very slowly, gripped the waistband of Fox's boxers in his teeth and pulled them down. Fox gripped the small, built-in shelf behind him to prevent himself from collapsing to the floor. He could feel the heat of Alex's body against his legs, his teeth scraping lightly over his groin, and he could see Alex's hands, one clutching at his leg and the other slowly stroking his own cock through the soft denim. Fox found himself absurdly jealous of Alex's body; he wanted those hands on him. He had to laugh at the sheer lunacy of that thought, and Alex looked up at him curiously. That was not Fox's usual reaction to being teased. Fox just shook his head, not wanting to distract Alex from what he was doing. He thrust his hips toward Alex, nudging his chin with his cock. "Touch me," he begged, his gaze moving from the gorgeous green eyes staring up at him back to the hand moving in Alex's lap. Alex laughed softly, his breath gusting over Mulder's hypersensitive flesh, and Fox crammed a fist into his mouth to muffle his whimpers. He knew Alex was doing this to him on purpose, trying to make him lose control, and he only vaguely remembered his sister and why it was a bad idea. But Alex had had enough of teasing. As much as he enjoyed driving Fox crazy, he was making himself crazy too. He wanted to taste Fox now. His tongue stole out and lightly lapped at the head, tasting the unique flavor of his lover. He licked again, and again, and again, his tongue flicking over the sensitive head constantly, lapping up the beads of fluid seeping from the tiny slit. His hands slid up Fox's legs to grip his buttocks, cup them and pull him closer. A muffled groan issued from behind Fox's fist when Alex took him into his mouth and sucked hard. Alex slowly pulled back until he held the tip just barely inside his mouth and nibbled gently, letting Fox feel the bite of his teeth. Mulder whimpered and tried to thrust deeper inside, but Alex had shifted his grip to his hips and held him back. Fox had no choice but to hang on and let Alex do this at his own pace. He reached down and placed a shaking hand on his lover's head, weaving his fingers into the silky, dark hair, holding him close, but not attempting to direct him. Alex's thumbs rubbed sensually over the soft skin beneath his pelvic bones, and he slowly worked Mulder's erection down his throat, swallowing him whole. Fox could only moan his name in tiny gasps, his breath hitching as he quivered under Alex's ministrations. His fingers clenched and unclenched in Alex's hair, and his eyes drooped shut, blocking the overwhelming sight of the beautiful man at his feet. But that just made the sensations racing through his body more intense. He swore he could feel each tiny bump on Alex's tongue glide over him, every ridge on Alex's teeth when he carefully pressed them against Mulder, each whorl on the pads of the fingers rubbing his skin. A shrill whine forced its way between his gritted teeth, and his entire body stiffened as he came endlessly, Alex swallowing every drop. When he was done, Alex pulled away with a final soft, cleansing lick and flowed to his feet, rubbing against the full length of Fox's body. He claimed Fox's mouth in a long, deep kiss, letting him taste himself in Alex's mouth. He could feel Mulder still shuddering against him, post-orgasmic shocks still running through his body. "I want you, baby," Alex whispered hotly. "Will you let me take you here?" Fox gasped, renewed shivers racing through him. "Anywhere, anytime, Alex." He got another kiss for that, and he curled into Alex's embrace, seemingly trying to crawl inside his skin. "Turn around and brace yourself against the wall, Fox." Alex bit his lip to hold back a moan when Fox did as he asked and spread his legs, opening himself to Alex. He lovingly traced the clean line of Fox's back with his eyes, then turned his attention to the perfect globes of his ass, and he couldn't resist leaning down to suckle on the tender skin, leaving his mark of ownership. He teasingly licked between the cheeks once before straightening up and unfastening his own jeans. He reached into the pocket of the leather jacket he'd had for years, grateful that his father had sent the boxes of his personal possessions, including clothes, that had been packed up from his Quantico living quarters. He pulled out a tube of lube and quickly slicked himself, gritting his teeth at even that light touch. At the first touch of his coated finger to Fox's ass, the older man pushed back, wanting more. Alex chuckled roughly. "God, you're such a slut." Fox grinned over his shoulder. "And you love it." "And I love it," Alex agreed. He stretched Fox as quickly as possible, though still taking a moment to enjoy the sight of his lover riding his fingers, begging for more. When he thought Fox was ready, some time after Fox's curses and pleas announced that he thought he was ready, he positioned himself and slid inside Mulder. Both men groaned at the incredible sensations, heat, tightness, fullness, friction, ecstasy, love. Alex forced himself to move slowly, prolonging the moment, but soon it was too much for him. He could feel the tidal wave of pleasure rising up his spine, and he bit down hard on Mulder's shoulder to muffle his scream of completion. Though Mulder didn't come again, he felt pleasure in his partner's joy, and he supported Alex until his rubbery legs returned to normal. As Alex straightened up, carefully pulling out of Fox, his eyes fell on the bloody bitemark on Fox's shoulder. "Fuck! God, I'm sorry, Fox. Are you okay?" Fox shrugged, then winced when that pulled the injured area. "It's okay, Alex. I like it when you mark me." "A hickey, even a fucking huge one, is one thing, Fox. Permanent scarring is quite another." Mulder pulled him into a kiss. When he released Alex, he repeated emphatically, "I like it." He glared at Alex every time he opened his mouth, until the younger man sighed and nodded. "Good boy," Mulder praised. "Am I still bleeding?" Alex bit his lip again. "Yeah." Fox looked at him hesitantly. "Would you..." He trailed off, unable to finish. "What, Fox?" Alex asked, wanting to do anything Fox wanted. "Would you lick it clean?" Fox said in a rush. Alex just stared at him blankly for a moment, then, "You want me to lick your blood?" Fox blushed. "Forget I said anything. It was a stupid idea." Alex turned him around again without another word and fastened his mouth onto the injury. He licked the sticky trails of blood away, then sucked gently on the wound, drawing more blood out to cleanse the bite. Then he licked it away again and turned Fox back to face him, kissing him, letting him taste his blood in Alex's mouth. "Sweet," he murmured. Fox raised an eyebrow curiously. "You taste sweet." Fox smiled. "Thanks, babe, but if we don't get back out there, Sam is going to come looking for us. That'll either be embarrassing, if we're still dressed - or undressed—like this, or our last moments on earth." Alex realized that Fox had a point, and he cleaned himself up a bit with an old tissue he found in one of his pockets. They rearranged their clothing and, after checking that the coast was clear, exited the fitting room. Both men stopped in their tracks and considered running for their lives when they found themselves face to face with an enraged Emily Krycek and a coolly amused Sam. The two women were facing off like opposing quarterbacks, nose to nose and out for blood. The men's sudden reappearance distracted the women, and they focused on their somewhat rumpled relatives. Sam grinned and shook her head; it was clear what they had been doing. Emily, in contrast, looked at them silently, a supercilious expression on her face. Alex reluctantly leaned toward her to kiss the air beside her cheek, and she froze, her mouth open. She breathed deeply and flinched. She could smell them! Emily stared at the two men in revulsion. When they'd appeared and she'd seen how disheveled they were, she'd assumed that they'd been somewhere out of sight necking, or whatever young people called it nowadays. But this! She'd never expected this. They reeked of sex. She was appalled; she would never be able to shop at this store again. The men stared back silently, knowing they were caught, but trying to brazen it out. The saleswoman, Jennifer, watched them wistfully. She'd still been hoping that Samantha had been pulling her leg earlier, but seeing the two men together, it was clear that they were together. They both had kiss-swollen lips, beard-reddened cheeks, and a completely satiated air about them. She only wished that she could have seen what had obviously been going on recently. If she couldn't have Alex Krycek herself, seeing him with this hot guy would have been a nice consolation prize. She licked her lips, wondering... "Forget it, hon," Sam advised in a whisper while Emily was distracted by Alex and Fox. "They don't share, and they don't give shows." Jennifer blushed. She hadn't realized that she'd been so obvious. "Alexander!" Emily was uttering in scandalized accents. "It's Alex, Mother," he sighed heavily. "Alexander," she repeated firmly. "Kindly explain this... this... public spectacle." Fox made a sound suspiciously like a growl. "Actually, we did not provide a public spectacle, but I'm sure we could manage one if you insist." She was momentarily taken aback, then she sniffed. "Not only do you choose this alternative lifestyle, Alexander," everyone could hear her disdain, "I also have serious reservations about your taste." The light of battle flared in Alex's eyes when his mother insulted Fox, but Sam got there first. "What opinion could you possibly have on taste when you clearly have none?" By this point the entire sales staff had vanished, finding things to do elsewhere, outside the line of fire. "How dare you, you jumped up little piece of gutter trash! Just because you managed to blind a Prestwick somehow," here she paused to rake her eyes along Sam's body scornfully, "does not make you my equal. You are nothing but a tramp, and I will enjoy the day the Prestwicks realize that. In the meantime, kindly keep out of matters that do not concern you." She turned her shoulder to Sam, but the younger woman was only just beginning. "Don't concern me?" Samantha repeated in disbelief. "You're insulting me and both of my brothers. Nothing could possibly concern me more!" Even in the midst of what was shaping up to be a worse explosion than Hiroshima, Alex felt warmed by Sam calling him her brother. "And I will thank you to stay the hell away from my family!" "Your family? Your family, madam, has been responsible for corrupting my son. I consider your brother's actions to be criminal, taking advantage of my Alexander when he was confused and vulnerable, outside of familiar surroundings. He led him astray." This time everyone was left speechless. Finally Alex's vocal cords unfroze. "Jesus Christ, Mother, I was in prison, not some sheltered flower in a convent!" "Alexander! There's no need to air our dirty linen in public." "God, I didn't think real people actually talked that way," Sam muttered. She was momentarily distracted by Fox's hunted glance toward the exit, and she kicked him in the shin. "Don't even think about it," she hissed. With a last longing look at the door, Fox turned his attention back to the two Kryceks, who seemed about to come to blows. "Goddamnit, Mother, why can't you accept that I'm a grown man and I have the right to live my own life?" Alex yelled in her face, red-faced with rage. "Because a truly adult man would not be associating with this riffraff or... playing... with someone like this man. A man would be finding an appropriate young woman to settle down with and have children!" "I beg your pardon?" Sam couldn't let that pass. Even some of the sales staff reappeared momentarily to gawk at Emily in disbelief. "Are you actually implying that Alex is immature because he loves Fox?" "Hardly," Emily sniffed. "Love has nothing to do with this perversion." All three stared at her with identical expressions of disgust. Hearing this, Fox and Sam could only wonder how Alex hadn't turned out to be a raging homophobe. They had no idea that Alex was mentally thanking Fox for saving him from just that and once again apologizing to Jamie Ryder. "Leave, Mother. Now." Alex spoke coldly, looking at her as he would any pushy stranger who'd overstepped her bounds. Emily drew herself up to her full height, preparing to blast all of them. What she didn't realize was that the store owner had arrived in time to hear the last several comments. "Get out of my store." The coldly furious voice made even Emily Krycek pause. Seeing the look of angry contempt being turned her way, Emily sniffed and walked out, swearing never to set foot in that establishment again. "Good," the owner snapped. Turning toward her staff, the woman added, "That woman is never to be served in my store again." Seeing the immediate nods, she nodded in satisfaction and headed into her office. Not in the mood to do any more shopping after that delightful encounter, Sam called it a day and headed home after Fox and Alex loaded her packages into her car. After they dropped Sam off at home, Mulder and Alex got some "real" Chinese food, according to Alex, and took it home. Mulder began setting the kitchen table, but Alex stopped him. "Let's eat while watching TV. I don't want to have to think about what happened this afternoon." Mulder agreed. Both men filled their plates and went into the living room, Alex plunking down on the couch and setting his plate on a placemat on the mahogany coffee table. Mulder stopped in the doorway. "Are you sure you want to eat in here?" Mulder worried, as he regarded the pristine beige furniture and carpet, mixed with the expensive wooden accessories. Alex looked up at him. "Fox, we live here. If we make a mess, we'll just clean it up." He understood Mulder's uncomfortable feelings about the furniture. He smiled warmly at him, remembering how just months ago, he'd said the same thing to Mulder about his house. Mulder carefully sat down beside him and stiffly started to eat dinner. Suddenly, a dumpling fell from Alex's chopsticks and landed on the carpet. "Aw shit, look at that," Alex said. He bent down and retrieved the dumpling from the floor with his napkin and dabbed at the sauce. He looked up at Mulder, who had a shocked look on his face. "I guess we're going to hell, now." Mulder started to laugh, and so did Alex. Alex knew that it would take a bit more time for Mulder to feel completely comfortable with his surroundings. Eventually, he'd think of this as their home. Both men ate their dinner and watched the television, Alex settling on the Bruins game for a little while. They were engrossed in their food and the game until an ad for the shop they had been in that afternoon came on. Suddenly Alex wasn't hungry anymore. He put his chopsticks on his plate and sat back with a sigh. "What's the matter?" Mulder asked. Alex just shook his head. Mulder put his plate on the coffee table and turned to face Alex. "Hey, what's wrong? Two minutes ago, you were taunting the Wings' lousy defense, and now you're all sad." "I'm thinking about this afternoon." "Oh." Mulder reached out and stroked Alex's knee before giving a squeeze. "I should call Sam and apologize again for my mother." "It's not your fault. Plus, Sam held her own. And we weren't there for the beginning; we don't know how it started." "If I know my mother, she started the entire thing." Alex looked down at the floor then back at Mulder. "I want this to stop. I want her to realize that I'm happy with you, and she's not going to change that, no matter what she thinks; I'm not her obedient little boy anymore. And I want her to start treating you and Sam better. She's such a goddamn snob." Alex closed his eyes and sighed again. Mulder nodded and squeezed Alex's knee again. "I feel sorry for her." Alex's eyes snapped open and glared at his lover. "You feel sorry for her? Fox, she's a mean person. She has no sympathy or compassion for anyone or anything. She's a rich, snobby bitch." "She strikes me as a very lonely person. Your parents don't exactly look like they're in love with each other. If you don't mind me saying so, she probably married your father, because her parents told her he'd make a fine husband. She's probably always done things to please other people, because it was the right thing to do. She married, had a child, put all of her dreams, whatever they were, on hold, not because she wanted to, but because she was obligated to do the proper thing. She kept those long-standing attitudes and prejudices that she had grown up with, tried to instill them in you, and expected you to do the same thing. "Now you've grown and become your own person, and your actions come from the heart, whether that's proper in your mother's eyes or not. And you know what? I think she's jealous. You're doing exactly what she can't." "That doesn't justify her attitude, or her actions," Alex interjected. "No, not at all. I'm merely trying to understand why she is the way she is." Alex shrugged. "When I was growing up, I didn't really see much of my parents. They shipped me off to boarding school every year. My grandparents were very loving to me, but now that I think of it, they weren't very warm to my mother." "Maybe something happened between them?" Alex sighed and put his head on Mulder's shoulder. "Maybe. All I know is that she's been miserable since the day I was born." He put his arms around Mulder and held him tight. "I'm just glad we're happy." Mulder kissed him on the forehead, "Me, too." Alex and Mulder awoke on Christmas morning to the annoying noise of the alarm clock. An arm shot out and swiftly turned it off. Groans were heard as both men started to wake. "Tell me again why we're up so early," Mulder mumbled. "The Prestwicks' brunch." Mulder groaned again, "Don't wanna go." "We have to." Alex rolled over and into Mulder's embrace. Mulder sighed and kissed the top of Alex's head. They lay like that for a few minutes, before Alex sat up. He looked down at his lover's sleepy expression, wanting to just go back to bed and hold him in his arms. He caressed his face and kissed him. "Why don't you have a shower, and I'll put some coffee on." Alex got up and put on his robe while he watched Mulder whimper with every step to the bathroom and shut the door. Quickly, he got three large bags of packages out of his closet and headed downstairs. Ten minutes later, Mulder entered the living room clad in his robe, hair damp and wild from the rub of the towel. He stopped in his tracks as he saw the many brightly wrapped presents under the tree. When he had gone to bed last night, there had been only two, one for Alex and one for him. Alex came into the living room with two mugs of steaming coffee. He gave one to Mulder and kissed him. "Merry Christmas." "Alex, what did you do?" "Made coffee." "Where did all these presents come from?" "Santa." Mulder sighed, "Alex, I told you not to go overboard with presents. I hardly got you anything." "I told you, it wasn't me, it was Santa." Alex smirked at his lover, who rolled his eyes but grinned just the same. "C'mon, sit on the couch, and I'll get you your presents." Mulder sat on the couch and watched Alex rummage through the many presents. He looked like a little kid. His face was flushed, and he was smiling. Mulder took a sip of his coffee; the expensive things he kept getting from Alex genuinely upset him. Although Mulder liked the things he was given, he was also very independent, and didn't want to be given everything. He knew Alex enjoyed it, however, so he decided to let it pass. He wasn't going to ruin their first Christmas together by arguing with him. He also remembered something Alex had told him a while back about how ashamed he'd felt the previous Christmas because he'd been in jail and hadn't been able to get him anything. It was worth a little discomfort to make Alex feel good about himself again. Alex made them open their stockings first, which included matching leather cock rings. Mulder wondered aloud when Santa started getting kinky, but Alex just laughed and promised to test them out later. Then present after present was opened. Mulder was given a very nice leather knapsack, a laptop computer, and some new clothes. Alex got a palmtop, some clothes, and a watch. Soon, the floor was littered with debris of paper, ribbons, bows and cardboard boxes, the two men sitting amidst it all. "Alex, this is way too much." "You need all this for school." Mulder nearly rolled his eyes but caught himself. "Do you like the watch?" Alex looked at the chrome band encircling his wrist. "It's exactly what I wanted, thank you." "It's only a Timex. It's not a Gucci or anything." "It's from you. That's all that matters." "Now you tell me. I knew I should have bought that ten dollar Hot Wheels watch." Both men laughed. "Look at the back," Mulder said, softly. Alex took the watch off and looked at the back of the chrome case. He stared at it for a few seconds, before his mouth opened and closed. "Alex?" Mulder fidgeted with end of the tie on his robe. "Don't you like it?" Alex looked up at him, his eyes moist. "'Till the end of time.' It's beautiful." He reached across, cupped Mulder's chin in his hand, and kissed him gently. Mulder could feel the love radiating from Alex. When he had picked out the watch, they offered to engrave it for free. Mulder decided at the last minute on the inscription, worried that Alex might think it was corny, but decided to get it done anyway. "God, I love you." Alex kissed Mulder harder, lingering, exploring his mouth with his tongue. He pulled away finally but was brought back down for another long kiss. "I love you too, babe." Alex kissed his ear. "We should get moving. Your sister'll have a fit if we're late." Mulder moaned and stood up. He helped Alex to his feet. "Sometimes I wish I was an only child." Alex kissed him again before they started up the stairs to get ready. A few hours later, Alex and Fox returned home, bellies full of food, and arms laden with presents from Sam and Jason's family. They put the presents down among the paper and other presents still littering the living room and headed upstairs to the bedroom. "My ears are still ringing from all those screaming kids," Alex moaned as he took off his suit jacket and draped it over a chair. "Kids are supposed to scream at Christmas, especially when Santa shows up." Mulder took off his tie and started unbuttoning his shirt. "It was just unexpected. I didn't realize the entire Prestwick clan would be there. I was usually the only child at our family gatherings and had to be quiet." Alex undid his trousers and pulled them off. "Sam and I used to drive our parents crazy after the first five hours or so." He grinned at Alex then removed the remainder of his clothing. "There are a lot of Prestwicks, aren't there?" Mulder came over to Alex, who was now naked, and hugged him from behind. "Tons of them. I'm surprised they can keep track of them all." Alex leaned back into Mulder's embrace. "Now I know how much you love kids. You were playing with them most of the morning." "I like other people's kids. You can have all the good times and give them back when they start getting cranky." He nuzzled the back of Alex's neck and let out a barely audible sigh. Alex turned around to face Mulder. "You want kids. I can tell." "Naw." Alex looked at the wistful expression on Mulder's face and knew that was a lie. "I know you do, babe. I could see it on your face today. You'd make a great dad. Hell, you were a great dad to Sam. And it's so clear when you talk about her how proud you are of her. I don't want you to miss out on that with your kids." "What about you?" "I've never really given it much thought." Both men got into bed, Alex snuggling his head into Mulder's shoulder. "Fox, we can adopt. Gay couples do it all the time." "I'm fine, really. I just miss Brian's kids. Plus, I'm starting school, and you've got..." Alex shushed him and kissed his shoulder. "Think about it. We have a lot of time." Mulder hesitated for a few seconds. "Okay. I'll think about it if you will." He yawned. "Right now, the only thing I'm thinking of is sleep." Alex started to nod his head but was already starting to drift off. They slept most of the afternoon, dusk falling as they woke. Alex stirred first, stretching, and put his head on Mulder's chest. Mulder held Alex tight, lying like that for a few minutes. "What time is it?" Alex asked. "5:00" "Hmmmm." "You hungry?" "I'm still full from brunch." "Me, too." Alex kissed Mulder's chest. "I guess we should get up." "Why?" "We can't spend Christmas in bed." "But that's what I asked Santa Claus for." Mulder brought Alex's face up for a kiss then looked into his eyes. "Now I have all that I want." He rolled over so Alex was underneath him, giving him better access. His hands explored the smooth skin of Alex's body, while his mouth licked and sucked at the side of his neck. He didn't mark him there but moved lower to his collarbone, where he left a purple bruise that would be seen for a week. Mulder's mouth traveled down to his lover's left nipple, where he sucked on it, then bit it gently with his teeth. Alex was moaning while he caressed Mulder's back, dragging his nails across his ass. Mulder moved lower, dipping his tongue into Alex's bellybutton, while his hands still teased his nipples. He could hear his lover pant as his mouth moved down, nipping at his belly. His hand moved down to cup Alex's balls between his spread legs. Moving his fingers lightly over the fragile skin, he teased his lover until he was whimpering and writhing on the bed. His mouth moved down to Alex's cock, hard and leaking fluid. He engulfed the stiff member, dragging his tongue up the back and sucking on the head. Mulder felt Alex weave his fingers in his hair, causing him to work faster and take him deeper. He could feel his own hard cock in need of attention but ignored it for the moment, instead focusing on giving his lover pleasure. Mulder brought him to the brink then pulled off, a groan of protest leaving Alex's mouth. He came up to kiss him, letting both of them calm down for a few minutes. "Get on all fours," Mulder demanded softly with a final kiss. Alex complied, shivering with anticipation, his cock swaying heavily between his legs. Mulder reached over and grabbed the lube, setting it down where he could reach it easily. He pressed his face between Alex's ass cheeks, licking his balls from behind. Alex took in a sharp breath as the tip of Mulder's tongue flicked over the perineum then up to tease his opening. Mulder could see him shaking as he pulled away, kissing each cheek. He reached for the lube, squirted some gel on to his fingers, and then slowly began preparing his lover, caressing the smooth interior. Alex bucked back on Mulder's fingers, wanting them deeper inside. Mulder put a hand on his ass and ran it up and down his leg. "Wait, baby, I've got something better for you, soon." "God, Fox... please... I can't take any more." "Soon." "Now!" Mulder laughed. "Just hang on a few more minutes." "I can't," he whimpered. "Yes, you can, baby," Mulder whispered as he dug his fingers deeper. "I know you can. You want me inside you when you come. We're going to come together, and it's going to be beautiful." Alex only moaned as Mulder's fingers dragged across his prostate again and again, bringing him nothing but pleasure. Finally, Mulder relented to Alex's whispered curses and positioned himself behind him. He slicked up his achingly hard cock and pushed home with one shove, while bringing Alex up towards him. Both men were now kneeling up on the bed, Mulder behind Alex, his cock embedded inside. Mulder brought his arm around Alex's chest, bringing him back against his body. Alex bent his head back and kissed him sweetly but pulled away and cried out as Mulder started sliding out of him. His head fell back to Mulder's shoulder as he was slowly filled again. "I've been thinking about this all day. I even dreamed about doing this to you," Mulder whispered. He increased his pace, rocking them back and forth. "I nearly said 'screw brunch' this morning and fucked you silly under the Christmas tree instead." "You should have," Alex moaned. Mulder moved his hands down to Alex's hips, moving him up and down on his cock. He nipped and kissed the strong shoulders before him, biting down, but not hard enough to draw blood. "God, baby, I know." Mulder moved faster, rising up on his knees then falling back with every stroke. He was losing his grip on Alex's hips, as he was covered in sweat. Moving his hand around to Alex's cock, he barely touched it when he felt the warm fluid spurt over his hand; a loud moan left his lips as he spent his seed. Mulder grabbed Alex around the waist and pumped fast, sending himself over the edge, coming deep into his ass. They collapsed forward, Mulder still embedded in Alex, kissing the back of his neck. They dozed on and off into the evening, waking only to make love, until around midnight, when Alex dragged their sticky bodies to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. "Dammit, that's the fourth time this month! I thought our encryption was top notch?" Jason threw his pencil down on the desk and went over to the window to look at the grey February afternoon. Alex rubbed his eyes and sat back in his chair. "I guess it's not." He looked up at Jason. They had been over the security system time and time again but couldn't find anything wrong with the firewall or encryption, yet someone was continuing to break into their system and leaving messages that they had been there. "We could have better encryption, but the damn FCC won't let us use it, because it's too good. Jason sighed, "Bastards. We should've kept our mouths shut." He flopped back down in his chair and reached for his mug of coffee. "We need something better, though. This can't keep happening; it's fucking ridiculous. It makes us look stupid." Both men sat for a minute and looked at the reports on the desk, before Jason spoke up. "We need to hire someone who's up on this. Some young kid who does this kind of thing for fun." Alex nodded. While they both had vast computer knowledge, they were surely lacking in this area. "I'll put an ad on the tech job site, and we'll see what happens." Jason nodded at him, and Alex packed up and left for his own office. Three weeks later, Jason and Alex interviewed prospects for the job. One after another, suited young men and women came into the office to be interviewed for the position. By the end of the day, however, they couldn't find someone who was exactly perfect. After some deliberation, they decided to call back three people the next day and see what came of that. Alex was just about to go home when he heard someone in the lobby. He decided to go out and investigate. He came upon a young man with stringy, blonde hair, jeans and t-shirt. "Can I help you?" Alex asked. "I'm here about the job." Alex raised his eyebrows. "You are? I don't remember having anyone else scheduled for an interview." "I don't have an appointment." "You don't? I'm sorry, but these were appointments only." The blonde took a deep breath. "You'll like what I have to offer. I guarantee you won't...," he stumbled, " ...won't be disappointed." He let out his breath, folded his arms across his chest, and stood his ground. "I won't?" "I've got the solution to your problem." Alex studied the young man with the thick glasses, Ramones t-shirt and ripped jeans. "Hang on a sec." Alex left the lobby and went to the conference room where they had held the interviews. Jason was just packing to leave. "Jason, you've gotta see this guy. He's here for an interview without an appointment and dressed like a bum." "So why should we see him?" He continued packing up his papers. "He's got balls, I'll say that much. There's something about him that tells me we should give him a chance." Jason looked at his watch, "What the hell, I've got ten minutes. But no longer than that, or Sam'll have my hide." Alex grinned at him and went back to the lobby where he beckoned the young man to follow him to the conference room. "Jason Prestwick, this is..." "Langly." "Mr. Langly." "Just Langly." "Just Langly?" "Yeah." Alex sat down beside Jason facing the young man. "Okay." "So... Langly. You're here about the job," Jason started. "Let's see your resume." "Don't have one." Jason looked at Alex and smirked. "You don't have a resume? We've got candidates from Harvard, Yale, MIT and UCLA vying for this position. Why should we even consider you?" The young man twitched slightly under their gaze, and Alex could see sweat form on his brow as he tried to keep his calm facade. He dug into a back pocket of his jeans and brought out a few crumpled, folded pieces of paper. He slid them across the conference room table. Alex took a look at them and, after a few seconds, looked up at the blonde man, shocked. He held the pieces of paper out to Jason. "Where did you get these?" Jason took the papers, and his jaw literally dropped open. "You hacked into our site. You're the one who's been leaving those messages." Jason was getting angry. "And you come here to gloat about it?" "Wait, no," Langly sputtered. "I didn't do it, but I know who did." "Did you put him up to this?" Jason asked. "Did you tell this person to hack into our system and mess with it, so you could come here and name your price?" Langly looked scared. "No. This guy was proud of what he did, and I..." He looked at the floor. "You what?" Alex asked. "It's a very complicated kind of thing." "You what?" Alex stressed. "I... I told him I bet I could stop him." "So you're here because of your ego?" Langly's head snapped up and met Alex's green gaze. "My kung-fu's the best!" Alex looked at Jason and started laughing. Langly watched them for a minute before he stood to leave. "Wait, wait," Jason said. "Sit down, and we'll be right back." Alex and Jason left the conference room and went out into the hallway. "What the hell do we do?" Jason asked. "Give him the job. At least he'll be on our side." Jason shook his head, "I can't believe I'm going to hire this guy, but I have no choice; he knows how to breach our system. I've got a friend at the FBI that I'm going to call and get a full background check on him." He looked at his watch. "Shit, I'm going to be late." He looked at Alex. "Can you give him the news? I have to go. Don't ever get married. If I look at one more stupid flower arrangement, I think I'm going to scream." Alex laughed. "Sure, get going." He turned and went back into the conference room. Langly was still sweating. He stood next to him. "Well, you're hired." Alex stuck out his hand. Langly stood tentatively, found his footing, and shook Alex's hand. He looked around before he spoke. "Where's the other guy?" "You mean Jason, your new boss?" "Yeah, him." "He had to go." "Oh. Oh, good. Frohike says hi." Alex's breath caught in the back of his throat. "Frohike says hi?" "Yeah. He's the one who told me to come here. He found out what Kni... the hacker dude did and was pissed off. And well, I owe him, and I need the money. And uh... yeah." "I see." Alex sat on the table. "How is Frohike?" "He's good. He's enjoying his new uh... he's good." "His new what?" Langly got an agitated look on his face. "I don't know where he is, he hasn't told me where he is, and I tried to find him through his e-mail, but he's covered his tracks." Alex smiled, "Bastard did it, didn't he?" Langly nervously licked his lips. "Did what? I don't know anything." Alex smiled again. "Okay, Langly. Come in tomorrow, and we'll get all the paperwork straightened out. If you're talking to Frohike, tell him I say hi." The blonde nodded. "My first name... it's... it's Ringo." Alex shook his hand, "See you tomorrow, Langly." "Yeah, uh, bye." Alex watched him leave, sat down in a chair, and laughed for five minutes. A few weeks passed, and Fox immersed himself in his studies at university. Alex had to go to New Bedford again for a meeting and found himself on an early flight home. He decided not to go into the office and took the rest of the day off. He was making dinner when Mulder came home from class. "Hello?" Mulder yelled. "Hello," Alex yelled back and continued chopping tomatoes. Mulder came into the kitchen and put his bag down, before he came up behind Alex. Alex smiled as he felt Mulder wrap his arms around him. He nuzzled his head back, and Mulder kissed his neck. "How was class?" "Interesting as always. How was your trip?" "Boring as always. I missed you." "I missed you too." Alex stopped chopping as Mulder pressed into him, his tongue running up his neck to his ear. Alex sighed and leaned back into Mulder's embrace. He could feel Mulder's burgeoning erection dig into his ass. "What are you cooking?" Mulder asked as he nibbled on Alex's earlobe. "Mmmm, it's called 'Pasta Alex'." "Pasta Alex?" Mulder's hands untucked Alex's t-shirt from his jeans and ran up his front to tease his nipples. Alex moaned softly. "It's linguine tossed with fresh, vine ripened, roma tomatoes, black olives, fresh basil, feta cheese and..." his words were cut off by Mulder popping the button on his jeans and pulling the zipper down. Mulder's hands reached inside his open trousers, stroking Alex's quickly stiffening cock through his underwear. "And...?" Mulder purred into his ear and reached past him to grab a piece of tomato. Alex could hear him chew and swallow. "And..." Alex sucked in his breath as Mulder's hand dipped inside his underwear and grabbed his cock. "And drizzled with olive oil." "Sounds almost as delicious as you." Suddenly, Mulder's hand was gone and his jeans and underwear were taken off. Then he heard Mulder unzip his own jeans and take them off. Alex gripped the side of the counter as Mulder rubbed his hard cock between his ass cheeks. He was kissing his neck and nibbling on his earlobes, making Alex harder with every flick of his tongue. Mulder reached past Alex and picked up the slim bottle of oil on the counter. "This oil right here?" "Yeah, that oil." "Extra virgin," Mulder read aloud. He laughed softly against Alex's ear, sending a shiver down his spine. "Well, I know for a fact you're not a virgin..." The next thing Alex felt were two greased digits entering his ass. He leaned forward, bracing himself against the counter, sticking his ass out, trying to dig Mulder's fingers deeper. Mulder slammed the bottle down on the counter. "... but I guess it'll have to do." After some hasty preparation, Mulder's oiled cock began to enter him. Alex moaned as he felt himself being filled, and pushed back, wanting it all at once. Mulder leaned forward and pushed all the way in to the hilt, causing Alex to gasp out loud. He still had a death grip on the counter and wasn't letting go any time soon. The water was boiling rapidly on the nearby stove, ready for the pasta. The garlic bread remained unbuttered, the salad untossed. The only thing Alex could think about right now was his lover's cock moving in and out of his ass. "You like that, baby?" Mulder asked. He leaned forward and nipped the back of his neck. "You know I do, lover. God, I do. Fuck me, please fuck me hard." Alex was rewarded with Mulder pulling out most of the way and slamming back into him. He arched his back and stuck his ass out even further, ensuring that his prostate was hit with every shove. Mulder did it again and again, causing Alex to whimper every time. Sweat rolled down Alex's back, soaking his t-shirt. He could also feel the olive oil trickling down the back of his thighs. Mulder's slick hand came around to stroke his hardness, bringing another loud moan to his lips. He held on as long as he could, until he felt his lover shudder behind him. Only then did he let go, coming with a cry onto the clean linoleum below. He heard Mulder gasp for air as he bucked a few times to strip the remnants of come into Alex's ass. It was then that Alex realized that he was clenching the counter with such force that his hands were cramping. He released his grip, shaking them to get rid of the stiffness. Mulder had his head on Alex's back, still catching his breath. Slowly, he disengaged himself from Alex, who reached for the roll of paper towels. They cleaned themselves up then embraced, kissing for a long time. Finally, Mulder left to go upstairs while Alex put his clothes back on, washed his hands, and resumed cooking dinner. "Alex, I think you drank too much." "You may have drunk too much. I'm perfectly sober." "Which is why you keep bumping into me." "They're love taps." Mulder started to laugh, "More like body checks." "If I'm gonna check you, you'll feel it." Mulder and Alex had joined Sam and Jason at a Bruins' game that evening. Afterwards, they went for drinks at a bar. Sam and Jason left early, leaving the two men to continue talking and drinking until the bar closed ten minutes ago at 2 am. Now they were on their way to find a cab but weren't having any luck flagging one down at this hour. "Yeah? You think you're tough?" Alex stopped walking. "You know it, baby." Suddenly, Mulder slammed Alex against the nearest wall and held him there. "You're not too quick." Alex tried to trip Mulder but was indeed drunker than his partner, and Mulder continued to hold his ground. Instead he reached down and grabbed Mulder's crotch. "But I have your balls." Mulder smirked and leaned in close. "What are you intending to do with them?" He kissed Alex's earlobe. Alex could feel his own body react to merely fondling his partner's balls. He kissed Mulder hard, his lips crushed into his lover's, and felt a tongue enter his mouth. Pulling away, he whispered, "Whatever I like." "You think so, huh?" Mulder gave out a slight whimper as Alex squeezed the rapidly growing bulge in his pants. "I know so. I'm going to drag you around the corner and fuck you in that alley." "You promise?" Alex answered with another searing kiss, his hands wandering inside Mulder's leather jacket. He was just about to pull Mulder into the alley when he heard a shout from across the street. Alex ignored the noise and continued sucking on his partner's tongue. He heard the shout again, this time it was closer. Alex opened his eyes and looked over Mulder's shoulder. What he saw made his blood run cold. Suddenly two men were upon them and yelling, "Take yer faggot sissy kissing some..." he stopped shouting as Mulder stepped aside and revealed Alex. "Alex?" he slurred, his voice thick with alcohol. He hit his friend on the arm. "Don, it's our ol' buddy Alex!" Alex, suddenly sober, stepped out and in front of Mulder. "Hey, Luke, when did you get out?" The man glared at him then Mulder then back to him, with exaggerated motions. "Coupla months ago. You?" "Yeah, same." Alex crossed his arms across his chest. "What are you two doing in Boston? I thought you couldn't leave Virginia?" They looked at each other, and Don was about to say something, but Luke stopped him. "None of yer fuckin' business!" He took a drunken step forward, hands clenching into fists. Alex knew Luke's temper and also knew that Luke was probably out looking for trouble tonight. He couldn't stand to think of all the times he had done the same thing with these two, sought out trouble for no good reason other than to hurt people. Luke again stepped forward, but Alex stood his ground, protecting Mulder. His heart rate increased in anticipation of what he knew was going to come. Luke was now leering into Alex's face. "What's your story, Krycek? You a fag now?" Don took a step forward as well, slightly behind and to the side of Luke, submissive bastard that he was. If Luke had told him to jump off a bridge, he'd have done it. "So are ya?" "What if I am?" Alex could feel Mulder behind him, tension radiating from him in waves. Mulder watched closely, desperately wanting to attack these bastards who were responsible for Jamie's death and, in a way, Mike's as well. He had been able to forgive Alex because Alex truly regretted what he had done, but these two were out looking to do it again only months after getting out of jail. Hell, for all he knew, they'd already done it to other people and just hadn't gotten caught yet. He wanted to beat them bloody, but he knew that Alex needed to face them down, needed to prove to himself that he wasn't like them anymore, so he stayed back, contenting himself with glaring his hatred over Alex's shoulder. Luke leaned even closer, and Alex could smell the reek of alcohol on his breath. "You hate fags. You hate 'em as much as I do. Remember how we taught that pussy a lesson?" Alex fought not to roll his eyes and show his disgust. Goddamn moron. "Yeah, and we got sent up for that. Haven't you learned anything?" Luke's eyes narrowed. "I learned I still hate fags." They stood there for a minute, not talking, until Alex took a step back and started to slowly walk away. "I never took it up the ass while I was inside, but it looks like you got it pretty regular." Luke called after him. Alex grabbed Mulder's arm and continued down the street, knowing the mood Luke was in, no amount of conversation was going to get him anywhere. The best thing was to just walk away. Luke, however, wasn't finished with him quite yet. He grabbed Alex's arm and spun him around to face him. "Hey, faggot, I'm talking to you." "Fuck off, Luke." Alex tried to get away, but Luke was holding tight. Mulder tensed beside him, prepared to intercede if it looked like this bastard was going to hurt Alex. "This your boyfriend? He one of your butt-buddies from inside?" Alex glared at him, "I told you to fuck off! Leave us alone." Luke spat on the ground. "I haven't even begun." Suddenly, without warning, Luke swung at Mulder and caught him against the jaw. He stumbled back and into the wall, clutching his face. That was the last straw for Mulder, and he started for Luke, intending to beat him the way he'd beaten Jamie. Before he could take more than a single step, however, Alex got there first. Alex saw red as he tore into his former friend, punching and hitting him so hard that he dropped to the ground. He continued pummeling the man, until suddenly he was being hauled off him and dragged away. Panic ran through him as he was held with his arms pinned behind him. All of the sudden, he was back inside, and he thought he'd be sent to the hole for fighting. "Calm down, Alex," Mulder whispered into his ear. "Come on, babe, he's not worth going back to prison for. He's not worth your life, our lives." Alex found his footing, and things began to come into focus. Luke was lying on the ground, bleeding, and Don was standing back, scared to venture any closer. He caught his breath, then bent down to see if Luke was okay. It turned out he was knocked out but still breathing. He turned to Don, who looked at him with confused eyes and questions Alex knew he probably wanted to ask but wouldn't. "When Luke wakes up, you get the hell back to Virginia. I'm not violating my parole for him. And neither should you." Don nodded. Alex turned away with Mulder and, after a few minutes, found a cab to take them home. He waited until they were safely up in their room to break down. Sobs left his mouth as Mulder held him, letting him get it out. After a long while, Alex was calm enough to speak. "I'm so sorry, Fox." He reached out and caressed the bruise that had formed from Luke's fist. "It's not your fault." "I can't believe I used to be like that. I can't believe I used to do the exact thing to people as he did to me tonight." Mulder kissed his hair. "We all do stupid things when we're young." "That was beyond stupid." "It's not as easy as we thought, moving here." "Do you want to go back home?" Alex asked quickly. "No. I like it here. No matter where we go, we're going to run into people who are prejudiced against us. But we aren't going to let them get us down. Alex nodded. He wasn't being realistic if he thought that it would be a smooth ride the entire time. Slowly, both men took off their clothes, crawled into bed and, after a long time of holding on to each other, fell asleep. The next few months seemed to pass in a blur of wedding plans, Mulder's first full semester at college, work, travel, but finally May rolled around. Fox had taken his last final, everything was set for the wedding the next month, and finally they could relax. Alex invited Langly over for dinner a few times, and as he'd expected, Langly and Mulder hit it off. Alex was left shaking his head in bemusement at some of their weird topics of conversation. He was glad to see Fox making friends though. He never seemed to spend much time with the other people in his classes, and Alex was afraid that was because of him. He mentioned his worry to Fox once, and the older man laughed at him. "Alex, I'm practically old enough to be their father. I'd much rather spend my time with you, you idiot. But if you insist on feeling guilty, please go ahead and try to make it up to me. I can think of all kinds of ways." After Alex hit him and they stopped laughing, Alex did his best to make Fox feel better... so much so that they both spent the rest of the day in bed. Mulder was a free man now for the next couple of weeks until the summer session started, and much to Alex's dismay, he turned his attention to his lover's family. "It's Mother's Day next week," Mulder announced one morning. Alex looked up blearily from his coffee cup. Morning wasn't his favorite time of day at the best of times, and he'd just gotten back from a trip last night, so he and Mulder hadn't gotten to sleep till well after three. "So?" he grumbled. "So you have a mother," Mulder reminded him. Alex glared. "I keep trying to forget." Mulder shook his head. "I know she's annoying, Alex, but she's still your mother. We have to have her over for dinner. Or maybe brunch," he mused. "I am not having my mother here in the morning," Alex stated emphatically, realizing that he wasn't going to win this argument but determined not to give way on that one point at least. Mulder shrugged. "Dinner it is, then." Alex groaned and dropped his head onto the table, praying for a sudden bolt of lightning to strike him. He looked up suddenly. "Can we invite Sam and Jason too?" he asked hopefully. Mulder shook his head. "Sorry, babe. They're taking Jason's parents out to dinner." Alex sighed miserably. "Can't I just send her flowers?" Mulder moved around the table to crouch in front of his lover. He looked up into Alex's eyes pleadingly. "Alex, I know she's made your life miserable, but she's the only mother you've got. I would give anything...except you, of course," he smiled briefly, "to have my mother back. Let's make the effort this one time, and I promise you that if it doesn't work out, I'll never ask you to have anything to do with her again." Alex stared into wistful hazel eyes. "What did I ever do to deserve you? My God, you're bargaining with me to improve my relationship with my mother. I think you're insane, but you win. We'll have my parents over for dinner on Mother's Day... and my mother'll have us for dinner," he finished in a mumble. Mulder smiled beatifically and kissed him lightly before jumping up and heading for the shower, muttering something about menus and decorations. Alex moaned and wondered if any of them would survive this family get together. The evening started as Alex expected it to continue when his parents arrived and Mulder offered Emily a lovely bouquet of orchids. She sniffed and announced, "I'm allergic to orchids, Mr. Mulder." Mulder gritted his teeth, reminded himself that she was Alex's mother, smiled, shoved the flowers into Alex's hands, and reminded her, "It's Fox, Mrs. Krycek." She smiled coolly and continued into the living room without responding. Alex haphazardly shoved the flowers into a vase already filled with daffodils and followed his mother. Mulder stared after them, reminding himself why he had pushed for this meeting. He was startled when Jonathan placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. He flinched away, not knowing what to expect from this man who never seemed to have anything to say for himself. Jonathan smiled understandingly, saddened but unsurprised by his reaction. "Don't let her get to you, Fox. It's not really anything personal. She'd be like this with anyone in Alex's life. While nothing that poor boy's ever done has been good enough for her, no one else is good enough for her baby boy." He sighed heavily. "I suppose it's my fault. I should have done something about her years ago, but it was easier just to ignore her and let everyone else, including Alex, fend for themselves." "That's hardly fair to a young child like Alex was, Mr. Krycek," Fox pointed out, angry on Alex's behalf. "I know. That's one of my biggest regrets, and I hope he'll give me a chance to try to make it up to him. And my name is Jon," he added. Mulder smiled and offered his hand. "Good to finally meet you, Jon." They grinned at each other. "Now what say we go rescue Alex?" In the living room, Alex was standing hunched against the wall, hands in his pockets, while his mother lectured him on his home, his lover, his job, his clothing, his posture, everything she could think of. Fox moved immediately to his side, an arm sliding around his waist protectively. Emily regarded their affection disdainfully. "I thought I raised you better than this, Alexander. One does not put on public displays—" Alex cut her off abruptly, finally having had enough. "Raised me? You must be kidding. If you had been locked in a room with a dozen ten-year-olds and told to pick out which was your son, you would have had to ask the servants which was me! I'm sure that if I thought about it, I would be able to count the number of hours you've spent with me in my entire life! How dare you lecture me on what is acceptable? You have no idea how to be a mother!" Emily drew herself up angrily, and her arm flashed out as she slapped his face. "I am your mother, and you will show me the respect I am due!" Alex had to grab Fox to prevent him from hitting Emily when she slapped him. He glared over at his mother as he wrapped his arms around his infuriated lover. "You are due nothing from me, Mother. You have never been a mother to me, and you have never made the slightest attempt to accept Fox even though I love him, and he loves me." He stared at her angrily, the bright red hand print on his cheek a silent accusation. "Oh please!" Emily scoffed. "You can hardly call this perversion love." Alex gasped, hurt despite his anger to hear his own mother label him a pervert. Fox's arms tightened around him, holding him lovingly. Alex smiled tremulously into Fox's eyes for an instant before turning his attention back to his mother. "Yes, Mother, I do call it love because it is. Not that I expect you to understand that or even recognize a true emotion. I think when I get over being angry at you I'm going to pity you. You wouldn't know what to do with a genuine emotion if you ever felt one. I'd rather have a single hour with my Fox than a lifetime of your kind of life." He regarded her sadly. "You would do well to try to emulate my life, Alexander! You are not doing too well on your own. I have never been sent to prison or taken the life of another human being." Emily attacked viciously, going for Alex's vulnerabilities. Alex flinched, shrinking in on himself, only Fox's arms around him keeping him on his feet. Mulder pulled him completely into his embrace, holding Alex's head to his shoulder, trying to surround him protectively. He raised furious eyes to Emily, and if looks could kill, she would have been dead. He was absolutely livid with rage, and he didn't trust himself to speak yet. "That's enough, Emily!" Jonathan barked, startling everyone. "How can you call yourself a mother, a human being, and attack your own son like that? I have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to your sniping over the years, but this time you've gone too far. If you cannot behave like a civilized human being, or better yet, a caring mother, be quiet!" "How dare you," Emily started, puffing up indignantly. Jonathan glanced over at his son, shaking in his lover's arms, and pushed Emily down into a chair. "Emily, shut up." He glared her into silence and walked over to place a hand on Alex's back. "Son?" he said softly. Alex turned his head slightly where it was buried against Fox's chest, and a desolate face looked out at his father. Jonathan had to shut his eyes against the pain of that expression. He forced himself to meet Alex's eyes. "I'm sorry, Alex, sorry that I didn't say something sooner, sorry that I let this go on so long. I hope you'll give me another chance to be your father, or at least your friend if you can't do that." Alex smiled tremulously. "I'd like that, Dad." He still nestled close to Fox, who kept his arms protectively tight around him. Both Jonathan and Mulder kept a wary eye on Emily, prepared to intercede if she looked like she was going to go near him or say anything else. Emily sat glaring at them all, arms folded, posture screaming offended dignity. "You have a truly unique concept of celebrating Mother's Day," she stated coldly. Alex shuddered at the sound of her voice, and Fox's arms tightened protectively, nearly cutting off his air. "Get out, Mrs. Krycek," he snapped in a tone even colder than hers had been. "Get out of our home and don't come back." Emily stood up angrily. "Well, I never. Come, Jonathan." She headed for the door, pausing when she realized her husband wasn't following her. She snapped his name, expecting him to come to her call. "Not this time, Emily," Jonathan said calmly. "You've gone too far this time. I don't know if anything of our marriage can be salvaged or even if I care to make the attempt. I do know that I don't wish to talk to you just now. I shall be staying at a hotel tonight and for the foreseeable future until I can stand to speak to you without wanting to hit you for what you've done to our son. "Not that I hold myself blameless," he sighed. "I saw what you were doing and did nothing to stop you. I think it'll be a long time before I can look in a mirror and not want to cringe away from what I see there." "Jonathan!" Emily was shocked by this unprecedented show of independence on her husband's part. "Don't be absurd. Come home immediately." "You just don't listen, do you, Emily?" Jonathan shook his head. "I don't like myself very much right now, but I like you even less. You're miserable, which again I have to hold myself at least partially to blame for, but you seem to feel the need to make everyone around you miserable as well. I can't ignore that anymore, not when you're trying to destroy Alex's life again, now that he finally has everything going for him." He turned his back on his wife, refusing to say another word to her. With none of the men looking at her, Emily's shoulders slumped and she momentarily looked small and lost, but she drew herself up proudly and stalked out of the apartment silently. Fox drew Alex over to the sofa, sinking down with his lover still held protectively in his arms. Jonathan perched warily on the edge of the cushion and placed a tentative hand on his son's shoulder. He breathed a shaky sigh of relief when Alex raised a hand to cover his, gripping it momentarily. Alex turned in Mulder's embrace, teary green eyes focussing on his father's face. "Did you mean it, Dad? Do you really want to be my friend?" Jonathan winced and shut his eyes momentarily, closing away his son's disbelief and Mulder's protective distrust. "Yes, Alex, I meant it. If you'll give me a chance? I can never make it to you for allowing your mother to hurt you for so many years, but I'd like a chance to be a better father to you now." He smiled harshly. "Who knows, maybe I'll even find out who I am in the process." Alex smiled tremulously and held out his arms. Fox watched with satisfaction as father and son shared their first real hug since Alex had been a baby. For the next couple of weeks, Jonathan spent a great deal of time with his son and his lover, getting to know Alex and Fox. Much to his surprise, he found that he and Alex had a lot in common and he genuinely liked the young man. In addition, he was continually being surprised by the depths of Fox's intelligence, and he was glad that getting to know Alex had given Fox the opportunity to expand his knowledge. It would have been a shame for him to never have known anything except the inside of a prison. Alex had invited him over one evening when that other young man, Langly, was also present, and father and son had shared their amusement over Mulder and Langly's interaction. The two men got along well and shared an interest in unusual topics but often had wildly differing viewpoints. After an evening of watching Fox and Langly go at it, Jonathan felt almost dizzy and younger than he had in years. He was extremely grateful that Alex and Fox were allowing him to be a part of their lives, even to the point of including him in some family dinners with Fox's sister and her fiance. Samantha was a delightful young woman, and Jonathan enjoyed her company. Fox kept telling him that his sister wasn't normally such a basket case, that it was pre-wedding jitters, but Jonathan didn't see that she was. Knowing that their parents were dead, Jonathan tentatively asked Fox if he thought Samantha would allow him to have a brunch for her, not wanting her to miss out on any experience before her wedding. Alex had told him that Sam and Jason had postponed their wedding while he was in prison so that he could be present, and it had touched Jonathan. He wanted to do something for her as well. Fox thought that Samantha would be thrilled if Jon were to do something like that for her, so with Fox and Alex's help, Jonathan invited her closest friends and managed to surprise her with a brunch at his favorite hotel a week before the wedding. Several of Sam's friends from college and med school were there, along with many of her and Jason's friends, and Dana Scully, of course. Dana didn't really know anyone there, aside from Sam, Jason, Fox and Alex, not even the other two women that Sam had added as bridesmaids, and she spent most of her time observing everyone else the first hour or so. Jonathan noticed the serene redhead who remained somehow separate from the laughing crowd and wondered about her. He asked Fox, who glanced over and told him who she was. "Dana's a really nice person," Mulder continued, "but she's very self-contained, which can make her hard to get to know. She and I have become good friends though. She's really dedicated to her work and doesn't leave herself much time for a social life. I hope someone sees past that cool facade soon; she deserves to be happy and to have someone special in her life." He laughed softly. "Way more information than you really needed to know, right? Sorry. I just wish someone would pay attention to her. I guess it's a side effect of being so happy myself. I want everyone else to have someone too." Jonathan chuckled. "My son was lucky to find you, Fox. And that young woman is fortunate to have you as a friend." He turned his attention back to the lovely young woman, and Fox turned back to Alex and Sam, who were involved in some sort of contest, much to everyone's amusement. Jonathan picked up two mimosas and approached Dana, offering her one with a smile. She looked startled for a moment but accepted graciously. After taking a sip, she regarded him curiously. "I don't think we've met," she probed delicately. Jonathan grinned. "I'm sure we haven't. I'm not so old that I would forget someone as lovely as yourself, Dr. Scully." In response to her curiously quirked eyebrow when he called her by name, he added, "I asked Fox who you were. I'm Jonathan Krycek, Alex's father." Dana looked surprised. "You don't look old enough to be Alex's father." Then she blushed. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me." Jonathan chuckled delightedly. "My dear, telling an old man that he looks younger than he is is never rude." She snorted. "You are far from old, Mr. Krycek." "Jonathan, please," he invited. "Unless you want to make me feel old." "I see where Alex gets his charm," she replied dryly. Then she eyed him somewhat coolly. "And is your wife here today, Jonathan? I haven't yet had the opportunity to meet her." "Nor will you, at least not today," he responded. "Alex's mother and I have split up. I've already initiated formal divorce proceedings." Dana blinked, flustered at her faux pas. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to presume..." Jonathan held up a hand, stopping her. "Please, don't apologize. I should have made it clear earlier. You had every right to clarify the marital status of the man who was flirting with you." She flushed again, not having expected him to be so blunt. "Jonathan," she started, then floundered, unsure what to say. Jonathan sighed. "I believe it's my turn to apologize, Dr. Scully. I didn't mean to put you on the spot." "Dana," she said softly with a tiny smile. "Dana," he repeated. "Would you do an old man the honor of sitting with me for brunch?" "Only if you stop calling yourself old," she responded. Despite the thirty-year difference in their ages, Jonathan exuded a youth and vigor often lacking in her own contemporaries. She tucked her hand into his arm and allowed him to lead her to the buffet, then back to one of the tables. Dana looked around with a smile. "This is a lovely party, Jonathan. Sam told me that you were hosting it for her. Having a private room in the hotel rather than using the main dining room makes it so much nicer. It was very kind of you." "I'm so grateful to Samantha and Fox for everything they've done for Alex. I felt it was the least I could do. After all, Samantha doesn't have a father to do it for her. I'm glad she allowed me to do this for her." Dana leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You're a very sweet man, Jonathan Krycek." "No, I'm not, but I'm pleased you think so." He took her hand in a courtly gesture and pressed a kiss to the back. Across the room, Alex happened to glance over, and he was left gaping at them. "Uh, Sam?" he addressed the woman at his side, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene on the other side of the room. When she mumbled a reply, he continued, "Do you have any idea why your partner is kissing my father?" "What?!" Sam spun around so quickly she dropped the plate she was holding, but she completely ignored it. She looked over in time to see Dana brush a finger over Jonathan's cheek, and she sat down abruptly. "Alex, Dana hasn't been involved with many men. She's been too focused on her career. She could easily be hurt," Sam said uneasily. Alex looked at her, confusion clear in his eyes. "I think that goes both ways, Sam. I've never seen my dad like that with anyone before. I don't know if he's ever dated anyone. I'm pretty sure my grandparents arranged his marriage to my mother. God, what if—" "I think you should both mind your own business," Fox suddenly interrupted, coming up behind them and wrapping an arm around Alex's waist. "They're both adults, and I doubt either of them would thank you for interfering. Besides, they could both use a friend." Alex and Sam regarded him dubiously, but Fox was adamant, and they eventually turned their attention away. They would have been even more uneasy had they known that Jonathan and Dana had made a dinner date for the following evening. Jonathan began splitting his time between Alex and Dana. Much as he wanted to get to know his son, Alex had his own life with Fox and didn't need his father's constant presence. And Jonathan had to admit that he was enjoying spending time with a pretty young woman, even if he couldn't imagine what she saw in an old man like him. He considered Dana to be a good friend now and refused to consider anything more. He refused to consider anything, that was, until Dana lost patience and made the first move. Jonathan had been a complete gentleman the last few days, but Dana was sure that wasn't what she wanted. She was attracted to him, and she thought he was interested in her, aside from some ridiculous hang-up about their ages. Three days after the wedding brunch, she had Jonathan over to her home for dinner, and between tossing the salad and taking the roast lamb out of the oven, she walked over and kissed him. Jonathan was startled, but he wasn't dead, and he knew what to do with a beautiful woman in his arms. He kissed her back. The oven timer went off, and Dana stepped back, grinning at him. "You will stop treating me like I'm breakable now, won't you?" Jonathan eyed the carving knife she picked up and laughed. "I wouldn't dream of arguing with a woman who's armed." "A wise man." She nodded emphatically as she began serving dinner. Once they were at the table, she looked over at him hopefully. "Will you be my escort to the wedding?" Jonathan looked surprised. "Are you sure you want to do that, Dana? It could be awkward for you." "Jon, I enjoy spending time with you. I hope to spend a lot more time with you, and I'd like my friends to know about it. I'm not ashamed of our relationship." She hesitated. "Are you?" "No! No," he repeated more calmly. "But you're a young, beautiful, intelligent woman, Dana. You don't want to be tied to someone like you." "Damnit, Jon, would you stop that! You're an attractive man, and you are not old. For heaven's sake, any woman would be grateful to snap you up. Maybe you should be wondering if I'm not after your money or something." Jonathan laughed. "Any man who thought you could be bought would need his head examined. All right, Dr. Scully, you win. I believe that you've lost your mind and you actually enjoy being with me. So, would you be my date to your partner's wedding?" he asked teasingly. "Absurd man," she chuckled. "Yes, I would like that very much." Jon shook his head, laughing. "I can't wait to see the look on Alex's face when he sees us together." Dana laughed as well. "This should certainly be a memorable wedding." Samantha's wedding day dawned bright and sunny, and Alex was hard pressed to decide which of the Mulder siblings was more nervous. Samantha wasn't worried about getting married, but she was imagining all sorts of disasters during the ceremony and reception, including being rained out, despite there not being a cloud in the sky. Fox, on the other hand, was suddenly deciding that Jason wasn't good enough for his baby sister and that he couldn't let her ruin her life. Alex wondered if he could slip each of them a tranquilizer. He sat back and watched the two of them babble nervously, wandering in and out of various bedrooms in the Prestwick home, where they'd spent the night with Jason's parents. The wedding was being held in the back yard, which Fox likened to a national park for size. Eventually their jitters got to him, and he grabbed them on their next pass, forcing them to sit down and take a few deep breaths. "Fox, sit there and don't move until I come back," Alex ordered, taking Sam by the arm and forcibly dragging her back to her room. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Dana had arrived and was waiting to help Sam get dressed. Alex gratefully left her to Dana's tender mercies and headed back to his lover. Alex managed to get Fox calmed down and reminded him that he liked Jason, then forced him downstairs to have some breakfast. They were surprised to find Alex's father already there, sitting with the Prestwicks over a cup of coffee. "Dad, is something wrong?" Alex asked, wondering why his father had arrived so early. "No, not at all. Dana wanted to get here to help Samantha get ready, so we came over early." Alex just stared. Fox's attention was engaged, and he grinned at Jon. "Dana, huh?" Jonathan smiled back and nodded. "Good for you," Fox applauded. Alex groaned. "How could you do this to me, Dad?" Jonathan began to look worried, but his expression cleared when Alex continued, "Fox is going to be so damn smug now. He said you and Dana had something going, but I didn't believe him. Do you have any idea how he lords it over me when he's right about something and I'm wrong?" Jonathan burst into laughter, then surprised himself by saying, "I'm sure you have ways to put him in his place, Alex." Alex blinked in surprise, then smirked. He gave Fox a long, hot look. "Yeah, I do." Fox laughed. "Don't forget that's a two-way street, babe." Alex slanted a glance at him out the corner of heavy-lidded eyes, and Fox swallowed hard. Mr. and Mrs. Prestwick looked around uneasily, not knowing what to do or say. Seeing that, the two men toned down their interaction, though not without a look promising further discussion when they got home. Moira Prestwick suddenly realized that Jonathan had been discussing Dana Scully as if they were a couple, and Fox's comments certainly seemed to bear that out. She knew he wouldn't flaunt an affair in her home, so there had to be some other explanation. "Jonathan?" she asked cautiously. "Am I to understand that you and Dr. Scully are... an item?" Jonathan looked surprised at the question. David and Moira were among his oldest friends, David having been his roommate at Harvard. He had expected them, at least, to support his choice. "Why, yes, Moira. Is there something wrong with that?" She swallowed hard. "What about Emily?" she asked faintly. Jonathan shrugged. "I decided to take everyone's advice finally. Emily and I are getting a divorce." Moira moaned. She turned desperate eyes on her husband. "David, would you please get me a scotch? No, make that a double." David blinked in surprise. "Moira?" She turned horrified eyes back to Jonathan. "You didn't tell anyone about your divorce, Jonny." He shrugged. "No, I didn't feel it was necessary. I thought I could at least leave Emily the dignity of handling that as she chose." "I see." More faintly still. "You know, we're family now, Jonny. What with Samantha marrying Jason, and Alex and Fox being together, that makes you part of the family too." She took a deep breath. "So I sent an invitation to you and Emily to the wedding. And Emily accepted." Total, resounding silence. "Dave, I think I'll join Moira in that scotch," Jonathan finally announced. "I'll take the bottle," Alex chimed in fervently. Fox just groaned and buried his face in his hands. Jonathan eyed him askance. "It'll be all right, Fox. I don't think she would cause a scene." Fox groaned again and raised his head, favoring Jonathan with a jaundiced gaze. "She may not be the problem. You didn't see Sam the last time they met. Shit!" Alex started to laugh uncontrollably as he remembered the look on Sam's face the last time she encountered Emily Krycek. "God," he gasped, "is it too late to sell tickets? We could make a killing. WWF has nothing on this." That was too much for the others, and the tension broke in a wave of almost hysterical laughter. Finally, everyone calmed down, and silence reigned once more. "So," Fox said finally, "do we tell Sam or hope she doesn't notice Emily when she shows up?" Alex sighed. "I vote for keeping silent and praying for a miracle." "Why do we need a miracle?" Jason suddenly appeared, joining the conversation. Alex sighed deeply. "Because your mother invited my mother to the wedding. Just one big happy family." Jason sat down abruptly. "Sam'll kill her," he groaned, having heard Sam's opinion of Emily at length and what she wanted to do to the harridan for hurting her brothers. He knew that Sam had adopted Alex as another brother, and she was fiercely protective of those she loved. For that matter, Jason was none too happy with Emily Krycek's attitude toward Fox and Alex, two men that he'd come to consider very good friends. Despite their misgivings there was nothing anyone could do, so they tried to put Emily's probable arrival out of their minds and enjoy some time together before they had to get ready for the ceremony. Dave and Moira were left shaking their heads at the younger men's questionable sense of humor, but even they had to admit that everyone was more relaxed by the time they left the breakfast table and headed back upstairs to get dressed. Back in their own room, Alex and Fox stared at each other. "Do you think she'll really show up?" Fox asked. Alex sighed heavily. "I'm sure of it. Appearances mean more than anything to my mother, so she'll want to be present at 'the wedding of the season.' God, hopefully she'll keep quiet and away from Sam." Fox suddenly groaned and flopped back flat on the bed. In response to Alex's anxious question, he said, "She won't know about your dad and Dana. How's she likely to react to seeing them together?" "Oh shit!" Alex shuddered. "That's what I thought." He started to laugh. "I guess my sister couldn't have a simple romance and wedding any more than I could." Alex had to laugh at that. "Well, you know, a good argument could be made for all Sam's problems being our fault." "God, don't tell her that, or I'll never hear the end of it." Alex snickered. "Come on, baby, on your feet. You have to get dressed and walk your sister down the aisle." They did eventually manage to get dressed and out of their room on time, despite getting distracted by each other several times. Alex gave Fox a final quick kiss and hugged and kissed Sam as well before leaving them to go down and join Jason and his two brothers. He still could hardly believe that Jason had asked him to be one of his ushers; he really did have a family now. Dana and Sam's other two college friends waited a little ways down the hall, giving Fox and Sam a moment alone. "Are you happy, Sam?" Fox asked unnecessarily, meeting her shining eyes. "So happy," she replied, hugging him tightly. "Not only am I marrying the man I love, but I can see that you're finally happy too. Alex is good for you, big brother." Fox smiled softly, his love for Alex clear in his eyes. "I know he is. If you and Jason love each other even half as much as he and I do, you're going to have a wonderful life." Sam grinned at him. "Ditto, Fox. We're incredibly lucky people to have found them." Fox nodded, then chuckled. "Who'da thought it, Sam? The poor Mulder kids making good and getting involved with the likes of the Prestwicks and the Kryceks. I bet Mom and Dad never would have expected blue-blooded grandchildren." She laughed. "Those blue-bloods need a little new blood every so often. And we're just the people to shake 'em up." They heard the music start and saw the first of the bridesmaids start down the stairs. "Ready, Sam?" Fox asked and took her arm as she nodded. Fox led his sister down the aisle toward her soon-to-be-husband, and for an instant, he wished desperately that their parents could have been there to see their little girl getting married. We did it, Mom, Dad. We made something of ourselves, and we found wonderful people to love us. I hope you'd understand about me and Alex... somehow, I think you would. And just look at Samantha, how beautiful she is. He smiled at his sister, who only had eyes for Jason, waiting for her. Fox followed her gaze and saw Jason staring back, equally enraptured. The love between them was almost a tangible thing. Mulder's gaze shifted slightly to Alex, and though they didn't realize it, everyone watching could see the love as evident between them as the bride and groom. No one could look at either couple without a smile coming to their faces. Even Emily Krycek, sitting quietly in a back row, couldn't deny the love she saw between her son and his lover, and for an instant she envied them. Fox passed his sister's hand to Jason and went to sit in the front pew beside Jason's parents and Jonathan, Sam having refused to split the guests into the traditional his and hers. She had wanted her whole family close to her and together, and as usual, she'd gotten her way. The ceremony proceeded with only a few minor stutters, and as the minister pronounced them husband and wife, Alex turned slightly so he could meet Fox's eyes. They stared at each other longingly, their hearts in their eyes. 'I love you,' Alex mouthed silently, and Fox smiled at him. Neither noticed Dana glance over her shoulder as well to meet Jonathan's eyes with a smile. Dana wondered at herself, having such strong feelings for a man she'd only met a week previously, but she couldn't deny their existence. While she planned to take it slowly, she had a feeling Jonathan Krycek was the man for her, and he seemed to feel the same for her. She hugged her excitement to herself, enjoying the feeling of falling in love. The minister stopped speaking, Jason kissed Sam, and everyone's attention returned to the glowing bride and groom. They led their attendants back down the aisle and over to where the reception had been set up, and the celebration began. Those who had been at breakfast that morning glanced around furtively, trying to spot Emily without letting Samantha know what they were doing. They still hoped that a clash could be averted. One by one they spotted Emily Krycek, who was sitting with some acquaintances, sipping a mimosa. She seemed content simply to be there, establishing her continued place in their social circle, so perhaps all would be well. Unfortunately for everyone's hopes for peace, the wedding photographs were being taken nearby, and the wedding party was clearly visible to the guests. Emily glanced over idly as the photographs were being taken. There were several shots of the entire wedding party, the bride and bridesmaids, the groom and ushers, Sam and Jason and his parents, Sam and Jason and Fox and Alex, and a variety of others that included some with Jonathan. Then Samantha asked for photographs of each couple, including ones of each of the attendants and his or her date. When the maid of honor, a lovely young redhead, held out a hand to Jonathan and he wrapped his arms around her as they smiled for the camera, Emily dropped her glass, never even noticing it shatter and the drink spray across the table. The women sitting with her leaped to their feet, exclaiming in dismay, "Emily! What on earth..." but Emily didn't even hear them. All her attention was focused on the man she'd been married to for thirty years, seeing the way he held that young woman and the way he smiled at her. The other women followed her eyes, and gasps and murmurs sprang up about Jonathan Krycek cheating on his wife. That stopped when one woman, whose husband often dealt with Jonathan, spoke up, telling the others that Jonathan had moved out of the house and had filed for divorce. Emily moved toward Jonathan and the rest of the wedding party, not noticing the buzz of gossip that sprang up behind her. The wedding party's attention had been attracted by the sound of the glass smashing and the resulting cries, and Samantha's jaw dropped when she saw Emily Krycek at her wedding reception. As Emily approached, Samantha's mouth snapped shut, and the light of battle kindled in her eyes. Jason and Fox both grabbed hold of her, and Alex placed himself in his mother's path, while Jonathan pushed Dana behind him protectively. "Mother, please," Alex entreated, "you don't want to make a scene. Not here." He hoped to appeal to her devotion to maintaining appearances, but Emily was totally outraged. She pushed past him without pausing. Emily came to a halt in front of Jonathan, who regarded her warily. "So this is why you decided to end our marriage, Jonathan? A child half your age?" Jonathan shook his head wearily. "You may believe what you choose, Emily. You always do. But I didn't even meet Dana until after I had filed for divorce. I left you because that was the only way I could stand to look at myself in the mirror." Emily slapped him. Dana gasped angrily but remained silent, recognizing that this was something that Emily and Jonathan had to deal with themselves. Samantha snarled and tore free of her brother and her husband, stalking toward the interloper. She came up behind Emily and seized hold of her arm to spin her around. When Emily was facing her, she drew back her right arm, clenched her fist, and punched the other woman in the jaw. Delicate though she might look in her lacy white wedding gown, Samantha had the strength developed by hefting patients onto examining tables, and she knocked Emily reeling. Unfortunately for the older woman, they'd been standing near the ornamental fishpond to use it as a background in some of the pictures, and she fell into it with a huge splash. The photographer, recognizing a memorable shot when he saw one, snapped several pictures of Emily Krycek sitting in the pond, kelp hanging from her bedraggled hat, with Samantha, ethereal looking in her wedding gown, standing over her like a warrior goddess. Everyone else simply stood in frozen shock, gaping at the spectacle. Sam shook her hand, wincing slightly at the pain from her knuckles, and glared down at Emily. "Get out and stay away from my family, or I'll make certain you regret it." She gazed down contemptuously for another moment, then turned on her heel, completely dismissing the other woman's presence. She smiled sweetly at the photographer. "I believe we had a few more shots to take before we're done?" The photographer looked from her to the woman in the pond, even now struggling to her feet without assistance, and shrugged. "Yes. If you'll all come over to the arbor..." He led them away. Alex hesitated momentarily, glancing at his mother, then followed the others without a word. She'd created the situation, and she would just have to deal with it. Perhaps he might have reacted differently if she had opened up to him even the slightest bit, but even now Emily only glared at him. Emily attempted to ignore the stares and whispers as she made her way to the exit, but she was humiliated. She swore to herself that she would never have anything to do with any of them again, including her ungrateful son, and that she would make sure that society turned against them. She didn't realize yet that her bitter personality had alienated most people years before and they had only put up with her for Jonathan's sake, but she would soon find out. Jonathan kept apologizing to Dana for putting her in that uncomfortable position until she threatened to push him into the fishpond if he didn't stop. He had to laugh at that, and that broke the tension for everyone. The rest of the day passed happily, and finally it was time for Samantha and Jason to leave. The unmarried women gathered around for her to throw the bouquet, and Dana blushed when she caught it. Samantha grinned and hugged her, whispering something in her ear that made her blush more deeply, and then she and Jason were gone. The party continued for several more hours, no one wanting to go home, but eventually only the family was left. Jonathan apologized to everyone a final time for the scene earlier that day and left with Dana to take her home. Alex and Fox offered their help in cleaning up, but Moira assured them that she had people coming in the following morning to take care of it, so they too headed home, leaving the Prestwicks to get to bed. Back at home finally, Alex collapsed onto the sofa with moan. He gave Fox a piteous look that made the other man get him a drink before dropping down beside him. Mulder lay his head against the back and closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Alex kicked off his shoes and stretched out, placing his feet in Mulder's lap. "Well," he said wryly, "that was certainly memorable." He shook his head, starting to chuckle. "Your sister packs quite a wallop." Fox's shoulders shook as he remembered that moment. "She looked so feminine and ladylike... right up till she decked your mother with a damned fine roundhouse." He burst into laughter. "I'm so-sorry," he gasped out, "but I've never seen anything as funny as the expression on your mother's face when she sat up in the fishpond, dripping kelp." Alex snickered. "I think that's the first time in my life that my mother has been a source of entertainment." He sobered after a moment. "I am sorry, though, that she made a scene at your sister's wedding. And poor Dana! She must think we're all a bunch of lunatics." Fox grinned at him. "Aren't we?" Alex had to laugh. "I suppose we are. Good thing we found each other, isn't it?" "Definitely." Mulder got to his feet, pulling Alex up with him. "Come on, this has been a hell of a long day, and I want to get to bed." "Oh, I guess you must be tired." Alex sounded faintly disappointed, and Mulder smirked at him. "Who said anything about sleep? I want you, baby. I've wanted you all day, and now I can finally do something about it." Alex was left staring in surprise for an instant before he grinned. "Well, why didn't you say so? Race you!" And he bolted for the bedroom, Fox laughing and following on his heels. As they entered the room, Mulder tackled him, knocking them onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. When they sorted themselves out, Fox was sprawled comfortably on top of Alex, who wasn't trying very hard to get away. Mulder looked at him curiously. "This afternoon," he started, then hesitated, searching for the right words. "During the ceremony, when you looked at me... Do you regret giving up the opportunity to get married by being with me? Is that something you'd want?" Alex slid a finger under Fox's chin to tilt his head up to face him. "Fox, I love you. I'm committed to you, and a few words and a piece of paper couldn't make that any more true. I have everything I need right here, and I didn't give up anything." Mulder searched his eyes for long moments, then started to smile when he saw that Alex meant it. "Well then, why don't you show me, babe?" "Don't mind if I do." Alex pulled his head down to claim his mouth in a deep kiss while his hands moved caressingly over Fox's back. He unfastened the cummerbund and pulled the shirt free so he could slide his hands beneath to touch bare skin. Fox purred his pleasure into his mouth at the touch, and Alex pulled him closer. "I want you," Fox moaned. He pulled away and stood up, watching Alex watch him as he slowly undressed, dropping his clothes where he stood until he was naked. He smiled down at his lover, stroking himself as Alex's hot gaze flicked over him, following his hands as they pinched his nipples then moved down over his belly to his already straining cock. He closed his hand around the swollen length and pumped his fist up and down, moaning softly. Alex's hands went to his waistband, and Fox stopped. "No!" he barked, and Alex froze in surprise, his eyes darting to Fox's. Fox ran heated hazel eyes over the length of his lover's body, still fully dressed in formal wear except for his jacket and shoes and socks. "No," he said more softly. "I want you like that, fully dressed, and me naked. It feels... wonderfully kinky." He grinned. Alex laughed softly. "Kinky, huh? I think I can handle that. But these pants are getting very uncomfortable, baby." "Oh, we can't have that," Fox said. "Let me see what I can do to help you with that problem." He knelt on the bed, and slowly crawled forward on all fours, straddling his squirming lover. He reached down and unfastened the pants, drawing out the rigid flesh, stroking it teasingly while Alex moaned beneath him. Fox suddenly swooped down and took Alex's cock in his mouth, licking and sucking, driving Alex to the brink again and again only to stop at the last possible instant. Alex's fists clenched in the crisp cotton sheets as he writhed desperately, pleading with Fox to let him come. Fox chuckled wickedly, making Alex wail with the sensation, then pulled back again. This time Alex grabbed for him, but Fox caught his hands in his own, drawing them to his mouth to nibble on his fingers. He drew two fingers into his mouth and licked and sucked them, imitating what he had just been doing to Alex's cock. Still staring into Alex's eyes, Fox sat up somewhat and shifted back until the saliva-slickened erection pressed against his ass. Alex's eyes widened as he realized what Fox planned, and he gasped as Fox pushed himself down, sheathing his cock in his ass. Mulder slowly sank down, working inch after inch inside himself, never releasing Alex's gaze. He sat on Alex's thighs, the heavy black silk of Alex's trousers almost rough against his naked skin, and he ran his hands over the Egyptian cotton shirt, plucking at hard nipples through the fabric. Alex hissed at the sensation, his lower lip caught between his teeth. Fox rode him slowly, inching up and down despite the quivering in his thighs, and Alex raised his knees to give him something to lean against. Fox sank down all the way again and paused with Alex filling him to rake his eyes over the clothed form beneath him. He saw formal attire, heavy-lidded eyes, swollen lips, and his own naked body draped over the other man. He chuckled raspily. "You look debauched, baby." Alex reached out and stroked Fox's cock, making Mulder moan loudly. "You don't exactly look like a Vestal virgin yourself, Fox." "Thank God." Fox started to move again, his hand covering Alex's on his cock and urging it to move faster, in time with his ever increasing pace. Suddenly he stiffened, his head falling back and a strangled cry ripping lose from deep inside him, and spurted over their joined hands and Alex's clothes. Alex arched under him, pushing deeper, and cried his name as he came with Mulder's ass convulsing around him. Fox stretched out on top of Alex, snuggling close then grumbling when he scratched his cheek on one of the studs on his shirt. Alex chuckled wearily, pressing a kiss to the injured spot, then rolled Mulder off him so he could remove his clothes. Finally naked, he crawled under the covers and held out an arm to Mulder, who resumed his position on top of the younger man. Sated and sleepy, they finally fell asleep. THE END orithain@aol.com nicxf@softhome.net

X-Files Mulder/Krycek AU 05/2000 RATING: NC-17 for m/m sex ARCHIVE: Okay to RatB, Den of Sin, allslash, All Things Rat, Amothea's Angst Archive, Slashville and Sandy's Mostly-Slash Rape-Stories. Anywhere else, please ask us first. SERIES: Hardened Criminal EMAIL: orithain67@sympatico.ca nicxf@softhome.net WEBPAGE: http://www.angelfire.com/de3/infinitum DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Krycek belong to CC, 1013 and Fox, and we'll return them a little tired but a lot happier when we're done. NOTE: Well, folks, this is it. We've come to the end of HC with this story. But don't despair — or celebrate, depending on your opinion <g> — we'll be back soon with a new series. RL is playing evil tricks on both of us, but soon we'll be messing with the universe by creating yet another AU. (Gee, aren't you surprised?) We may return to HC eventually since there are some ideas for their future that we never got to, but that's not gonna be till after Dark Reflections. As always, many thanks to Aries for her selfless encouragement ::snort:: and rainbow chants. STORY SUMMARY: Alex and Fox move to Boston and get on with their lives. back to top

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