Keep the Home Fires Burning
But right now he just wanted to be warm.
He shivered miserably, huddling still closer to Fox, and
his eyes fell on the fireplace only a few feet away. His
face lit up, and he stood up and headed for the perfectly
laid fire, intending to light it. Mulder watched him calmly
until he realized what Alex was doing, then he yelped,
"No!"
Alex jumped, losing his blanket as he did. He tripped over
it and nearly fell headlong into the fireplace, but Sarah
stopped him in midair. He hovered there in defiance of
gravity for a moment before he settled gently back onto his
feet. As soon as he was firmly balanced, he turned a
fulminating glare on Fox.
"What the hell was that about? You nearly killed me!"
Fox was already on his feet and reaching for Alex, grabbing
him and yanking him into a fierce embrace. "Oh my God,
Alex, I'm sorry! I never meant to hurt you! I didn't expect
you to jump like that. It's just that, well, you know. I
had to stop you, you understand, don't you? It was almost
too late, and that would have been awful, and...."
Alex shook him sharply. "Fox, stop it! You're babbling."
And starting to scare me.
Fox looked at him out of huge hazel eyes, lower lip
trembling, and Alex groaned. He sank back onto the sofa,
drawing Mulder down with him, and wrapped his arms around
his trembling lover. He got really worried when Fox simply
tucked his head under his chin and huddled close. That was
not Mulder's usual method of dealing with problems.
Running headlong into situations that would make an angel
quake was more his style than burying his head in the sand
and hiding from life.
"Fox, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong," he begged.
Mulder took a deep breath and sat up straight, noticing
that Alex was shivering again. He leaned down and grabbed
Alex's blanket, wrapping it around the younger man. He
could also see that the thermostat had been turned up.
Sarah was watching over them as usual. He sighed, knowing
he was avoiding answering Alex, and turned to face his
worried lover.
"Surely in all the files the Consortium has on me, someone
noticed that I'm afraid of fire? Diana certainly knew. She
was completely pissed off when her attempt to set up a
romantic evening ended with me flipping out and running out
into the snow. It pretty much ruined the mood."
Alex looked surprised. "Amazing as it is, I don't think she
told anyone. I've never seen any reference to it. I'm
sorry, babe, I didn't know, or I never would have tried to
light a fire."
Mulder laughed miserably. "Shit, Alex, you shouldn't have
to apologize for wanting to light a fire in a perfectly
functional fireplace. People have been using it for
centuries. Literally. You don't think I'd like to find out
what the mystique is about making love in front of a
roaring fire? Everyone else talks about how the ruddy light
of the flames gilds their lover or something. I scream
hysterically and curl up into a fetal position." He
groaned, his head dropping back against the sofa, and he
stared blindly at the ceiling.
"Fox! You've had to deal with a lot of my baggage, so I
think I can handle one little quirk." Alex stroked the soft
brown hair, relieved when one of Fox's hands clasped his
free one.
Mulder eyed him wryly. "'One little quirk', Alex? I can't
even stand to look at a lit match."
"Have you always had this fear of fire, or was there a
specific cause?"
"Oh, there was a cause all right," Mulder laughed bitterly.
"Would you tell me about it?" Alex asked hesitantly.
Mulder turned into Alex's arms, needing the familiar
comfort of his embrace. They stretched out along the couch,
Mulder half on top of Krycek, his head pillowed on the
younger man's chest.
"I was just a kid," Mulder began, "almost thirteen years
old, when my friend Harry's house burned down. I was
sleeping over that night, and I was scared to death when
his mom burst into the room in the middle of the night and
pulled us out of bed. For a minute I thought it was them,
come to take me too.
"But it was a fire in the house. They found out later it
was faulty wiring, but at the time, all I knew was that
something awful was happening at night again. I guess that
made it worse." He shrugged as if it was no big deal, but
Alex could feel the tremors coursing through his body.
"Anyway, we all got out fine, and the firemen managed to
get the fire under control before too much damage was done.
By the time it was completely extinguished, it was after
dawn, and Mr. and Mrs. Turner were exhausted. Even though
the fire had been stopped before very much was burned,
there was a lot of smoke and water damage, and they
couldn't sleep there. My parents offered them a room, and
Harry and I were left to keep an eye on the house to make
sure it wasn't vandalized."
"The adults left two kids in a house in that condition, in
their pajamas?" Alex demanded in disbelief.
"What? Oh. No, my mom had brought over some of my clothes
for both of us, and the yard was completely untouched. We
were supposed to play there while the Turners got a couple
hours of sleep. I'm sure they were in shock.
"So, anyway, we were playing in the backyard when we heard
something inside the house. We ran over to the window to
look inside, and sure enough, there was a man inside. We
both started to yell, and the guy jumped and started to run
away. He tripped over something, a table I think, and fell
down. I'm not sure what happened next, but somehow the fire
flared up again—probably another faulty circuit or
something that was jarred when he fell. It must have
started right behind him, right where he was leaning
against the wall, because his jacket caught fire before he
realized. He was still tangled up in whatever it was he
tripped over, and I guess he panicked. He started flailing
around and, of course, the flames spread. He burned to
death right there in front of us." Fox shuddered and had to
stop, the memories overwhelming him.
Alex gasped and held him tightly, feeling sick as he
imagined how horrific that must have been. That would
traumatize an adult, never mind an impressionable twelve-
year-old boy who had already had his sister torn away from
him. He stroked Fox's back until the shudders slowly
ceased, then just held him lovingly.
"God, baby, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you
remember something so awful. I'll be more careful now that
I know. I swear I'll never light a fire around you," Alex
vowed, wanting to help Mulder in some way.
"But I don't want you to have to do that!" Mulder nearly
wailed in frustration. "I don't want to be afraid. How
stupid is it to be scared of a match?"
Alex frowned, once again rubbing Mulder's back soothingly.
"Do you really mean that? I mean, you could go your whole
life without having to do anything about it. Hell, almost
no one has ever even noticed your fear."
"Doesn't mean it's not there. And I'd really like to make
love to you in front of a fireplace sometime. Maybe on a
bearskin rug," Mulder grinned. "It sounds wonderfully
cliched. Besides, any excuse to get you naked is a good
thing in my book." He laughed softly, the memories once
again tucked away, out of his conscious mind.
Alex chuckled in turn. "You don't need a fire to get me
naked, Foxy. In case you haven't noticed, aside from a
couple of blankets, we are naked, and there's not a fire
to be seen."
Fox stroked a hand along the chest beneath him. "Oh, I
noticed, all right." He nuzzled against a nipple, teasing
it to hardness. "But without that fire, it's chilly and we
need the blankets. I really want to get over this," he
sighed in exasperation.
Alex eyed him closely. "Okay, then. Do you trust me, Fox?"
"Of course I do!" Absolutely no hesitation.
"And you know I would never hurt you?"
Mulder nodded.
"Then come over here with me," Alex asked, holding onto
Mulder's hand as he slid to the floor and moved a little
closer to the fireplace.
Realizing what Alex had in mind, Mulder drew in a deep,
shaky breath but followed without protest. Alex shed the
blanket draped around him and stretched out flat on his
back, then tugged on Mulder's hand to pull him down on top
of himself. Fox dropped his blanket as well, wanting to
feel nothing but Alex against his skin. He flinched when a
small fire suddenly sprang up in the hearth, but Alex
squirming under him distracted him.
He had to try twice before he managed to get a word out,
but he was proud of the steadiness of his voice when he
did. "Unless you've suddenly developed pyrokinetic powers,
I think we have an audience."
Alex chuckled. "As usual."
"You're a dirty old woman, Sarah Mann," Fox called.
Sarah faded into visibility, comfortably seated on the
corner of the hearthstone. "So what's your point?" she
asked, laughing.
Mulder bit the inside of his cheek to hold back his own
laughter. "Don't you have anything better to do?" he asked
sternly.
Sarah's eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. "Have you
looked in a mirror lately?"
Fox blushed, and Alex howled with laughter.
"Don't let me interrupt you though. Carry on, boys," Sarah
said airily, waving a hand at them.
Alex grinned. "Don't mind if I do." He was grateful to
Sarah for that bit of by-play, which had distracted Fox
from the fire. He intended to see if he couldn't distract
Mulder a lot more. He reached up, pushing Fox's bangs out
of his eyes. He loved them, and he'd pouted at Mulder until
the older man had agreed to let them grow again. He might
not have the advantage of Fox's gorgeous mouth, but he
could manage a great pout when he was inspired. A sudden
nip at his chin refocused his attention on Fox.
"Hey, remember me?" Fox pouted.
Alex chuckled, raising his head to lick quickly at Mulder's
lips. "I was thinking about you, you vain man."
"Oh, well, that's all right then." Mulder grinned. "But I'd
much rather you did something about it." His eyes darted
over to the fire then resolutely focused on Alex's face.
"I think I can handle that," Alex murmured. He'd noticed
that quick glance at the flames, and he was determined that
Fox wouldn't be thinking of anything but him by the time he
was done. It would take a long time to get him over his
fear of fire, but Alex was sure that he could at least keep
it from being the center of his attention.
With that in mind, his hands slid down Mulder's back to cup
his ass, curving around the firm globes to pull him closer.
Mulder's eyes slid half closed as he felt his waking cock
press against Alex's hardness, and he squirmed slightly. A
tiny smile curved the corners of Alex's mouth, and he
allowed his fingertips to fall between Fox's cheeks,
lightly grazing the sensitive ring of muscle. He heard
Mulder's gasp, and he arched his back off the floor
slightly, pressing harder against the older man. As he sank
flat again, he raised one hand to Fox's head, tangling his
fingers in the silky hair, and pulled him into a kiss.
Their tongues rubbed together as frantically as their
groins, both once again desperate for each other despite
their recent lovemaking in the orchard. Their mouths parted
only briefly to gasp in air, then resealed, separating
again to seek a new position. Mulder's hands were clenched
on Alex's upper arms, seeking to anchor himself as he was
lost in sensation. Intoxicating as the contact was,
however, it wasn't enough for either of them, and Fox let
his head fall to Alex's shoulder, whimpering softly.
"Sit up, Foxy," Alex urged, and when he did, Alex's eyes
played over him as hotly as the heat of the flames behind
him. The fire cast a ruddy light over him, and to the man
beneath him, Fox looked like a bronze sculpture, every
muscle sharply delineated by shadow. He was beautiful.
Nor was Alex any less so to Fox. Though he remained tensely
aware of the fire mere inches away, he wasn't proof against
the sight of Alex in firelight, light and shadows, even his
eyes appearing pools of darkness, fey in the chancy light.
Mulder had often teased Alex about being some being out of
Faerie, stroking his slightly pointed ears as evidence, and
looking at the younger man now, for an instant, he wondered
if he hadn't been more right than he knew.
Then Alex moved under him, and all thought flew out of his
head, leaving only sensation and want. His eyes focused on
Alex's, and he gasped once more at the heat he saw there.
Fox felt Alex's erection nestled between his cheeks, but he
wanted more. He wanted to feel Alex as deep inside him as
he had been inside Alex earlier.
Alex saw the lust in Mulder's eyes, and he bit his lip to
hold back a wanton moan. Then he remembered that their
clothes had been left in the kitchen, along with the lube
in a jacket pocket, and he groaned in dismay. Suddenly, a
tube appeared before him, floating above his face, and he
snatched at it, grateful once again for Sarah and her
propensity for watching them. He heard Fox chuckle and
thank her, but his entire attention was focused on applying
the gel where it was needed.
Mulder shivered slightly, whether with increased arousal at
Alex's touch or from the coolness of the gel Alex neither
knew nor cared. He knew that Fox was ready for him, and he
was more than ready as well. Once they were both slicked,
he grasped his cock in his fist and held it steady.
"Sit on me," he rasped, eyes once again fixed on Fox's, and
he saw the rush of heat in the other's gaze.
Mulder rose slightly and shifted back, then lowered himself
so that Alex's cock was pressing against his entrance. He
shifted his hips the minutest fraction from side to side,
teasing them both with the sensation. He waited until Alex
snarled at him, frustration plain on his face, then pushed
down, taking Alex inside himself, wrenching hoarse groans
of pleasure from each of them. He rode Alex, rising and
falling, slowly at first, then with gathering speed as the
pleasure grew beyond what he could bear. His hand fell to
his neglected erection, pulling it, drawing himself ever
closer to climax, then Alex's hand covered his, urging him
to move faster.
"Come for me, Foxy," Alex urged harshly, fighting to hold
back his own orgasm. "Let me see you come, feel you..."
Mulder moaned, not proof against the sound of Alex's voice,
and he cried his name as he came, his body's spasms driving
Alex over the edge at almost the same instant, pleasure
raging through both men to leave them spent and satiated in
the aftermath.
Long minutes later, they lay on their sides, Alex spooned
behind Fox, facing the now blazing fire. Mulder opened his
eyes and looked at the flames, then rolled over to face
Alex, unwilling to face the fire but not running away from
it either. Alex shifted onto his back, pulling Mulder
closer, and they fell asleep there, arms 'round one
another, as a blanket floated over from where they'd
dropped it and covered them.
Challenges of Everyday Life XVI
by Orithain
Even wrapped in blankets that Sarah had brought and
pleasantly full of her homemade beef barley soup, Alex was
still chilled. He squirmed closer to Fox, worming his way
under the other man's arm, but he'd spent so long out in
the rain that he couldn't seem to get warm. Not that he
regretted a single moment. He'd loved being out in the rain
alone, and it had only gotten better when Fox had joined
him. There had been something wild and primitive about
their joining while the rain beat down upon them, and he
was going to treasure that memory for a long time.
