Part Six
" 'lo?"
"Mulder, it's me. Did I wake you?"
/Shit shit shit...Wrong phone, stupid.// "Hang on..." Alex rolled over and
looked. No Mulder. Got up and padded to the open bathroom door, just to
check. No Mulder. Checked the corner where their clothes had ended up last
night. Only his shoes were there. //Fuck me, now what?// He deepened his
voice even more than its usual husky just-got-out-of-bed timbre, and said
into the phone "Mulder's not here. I think he went running."
"Who is this?"
"Can I take a message?"
"Yeah, sure, tell him Dana Scully called."
"Okay." He gratefully hung up the phone and flopped back down on the bed,
his arm over his face. // That was almost the stupidest thing you ever did,
Alex. Why don't you just take out an ad in the New York Times—"Suspected
Triple Agent Back From The Dead...found shacked up with former FBI agent."
Actually, that sounds more like the Weekly World News...//
The door to the room opened, interrupting his distracted musings. Mulder
bounced in, back from his morning run. "Good morning, sunshine! I'm going
to jump in the shower."
//How can anyone be that cheerful in the morning? Wait, how can Mulder be
that cheerful in the morning? Oh, God, I told him he could drive. I'm not
ready for this...// Alex's mind whirled as he tried to find a solution to
either one of the problems he faced.
Mulder was out of the shower in record time. "I was hoping you might join
me, lover," he said, leering suggestively as he crawled over Alex's long
form, still lying diagonally across the bed. He nudged Alex's arm out of
the way and gave him a very thorough, very sloppy good-morning kiss. His
hands were travelling south when Alex grabbed the left one and stopped him.
"We may have a problem, Mulder. Your phone rang while you were out. I
thought it was mine and I answered it."
Mulder froze. "Oh, God. Scully." He buried his head for a moment in
Alex's neck.
"Uh huh. I don't think she recognized my voice. I told her you'd call back
when you got in."
"Well, she was bound to find out sometime, right? She's going to kill me
for not telling her sooner."
"Mulder, you do remember that people are under the impression that I'm dead,
right? And that I'm thoroughly enjoying that fact? And that your
ex-partner's lover is the one who—"
"Alex, please don't say it. Yes, I remember all that. I wasn't going to
tell her about you, okay? Have some faith in me. I just meant I should
have told her a long time ago that I was bi. But it never seemed— appropriate, somehow. And then she would have wondered why I never actually
dated men, or God forbid, she might have tried to set me up..."
"So what are you going to tell her?"
"As much of the truth as I can. Does ANYBODY besides Langly and Deb know
the last name you were born with?"
"Not as far as I know. Well, Spender did, but I'm not too worried about him
at this point. I should just leave, Mulder. This is -"
"Alex, it's under control, I promise. You're not going anywhere without me,
ever again. Got it?"
He punched the speed dial for her cell, and it was answered on the first
ring. He lay back against the pillows and pulled Alex over to rest on top
of him, keeping one arm firmly around his shoulders.
"Scully, it's me."
"Mulder, what the hell is going on? Who was that who just answered your
phone?"
"Hi, Dana. I'm fine, how are you?"
"No, Mulder, answer my question. Why did a strange man answer your phone at
8 a.m.?"
"He's not so strange."
"Mulder!"
"Sorry. I guess he is a bit strange—OW!"
"Mulder, what's wrong?"
"He bit me!"
"Who did?"
"Scully, hang on for a second, okay?" Mulder put his hand over the end of
the cell phone as best he could and kicked Alex gently. "Cut it out!"
"Dana? Yeah, sorry about that."
"Mulder, could you possibly explain this to me please?"
"Explain what?"
"For the third time, why did some other man answer your phone?"
"Well, he probably thought it was his. They look just alike, you see, and
they were both on the nightstand, so when it rang, well, you get the idea."
"MULDER! What. Was. A. Man. Doing. In. Your. Bed? And if you say
sleeping, I will find you and kill you. Slowly."
"Would this be a good time to tell you that I'm bisexual?"
"Uh—wow. How long has this been going on?"
"In theory, a long time. In practice—hmm, what's today?"
"Mulderrrr..."
"Danaaaa..."
"Okay, I'll play along. Today is Tuesday."
"Okay, so since Saturday night...is that three days? Or two? Three nights
anyway."
"Mulder, you are making me crazy here. Are you serious?"
"Absolutely."
"I need another cup of coffee. I'm just not ready for this. And when
exactly were you going to tell me?"
"I thought maybe it could wait until I saw you again. I don't usually fill
you in on the details of my love-life."
"That's because you don't have one."
"Do now."
"Evidently. And I don't want the details filled in, either. Just—how did
this happen? Last I knew you were doing a favor for Langly."
"Right, well, Alex is a very old, very good friend of Langly's."
"Alex? Alex what?"
"Davidson."
"Not—"
"Scully, Alex Krycek is dead. Other people are named Alex. It's just one
of those things."
"So if I call Langly and ask him about his friend Alex Davidson..."
"Jeez, Dana, I'm hurt that you don't believe me. Why would I lie to you?
But feel free, call Langly and ask him."
"No, I'm sorry Mulder, it's none of my business. Just be careful, okay?"
"I'm always careful."
"You're hardly EVER careful, Mulder. I'm a little worried about you—
sleeping with someone you barely know."
"Yeah, like you never did that."
"You swore you weren't ever going to mention that."
"At least I didn't go out and get a...Scully, can I call you back later? I
just remembered something very important I have to do today."
"Sure, Mulder, I guess so."
"Great. Talk to you later, bye!"
Mulder sat up. "I just had the most scathingly brilliant idea. Get
dressed."
"Mulder, I've seen that movie. I'm not sure if I want to go along with
this."
"Hang on, let me just make a phone call...where's the phone book...okay,
here we go... restaurants... roofing... sailboats... sailboats? In Iowa?
Anyway...tanning...aha!" He dialed and waited for an answer. "Hi. What
are your hours? Really? Do I need an appointment? No, nothing too
complicated. Okay, we can be there in ten minutes. Great! Thanks." He
turned to look at Alex, still lying on the bed. "Come on—get dressed. "
"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"
"We're going back the way we came about 3 miles. I saw it when we drove
here."
"More vague clues, please. Or—and here's a thought—you could just
fucking TELL ME."
"I like playing with your mind too much. Okay, if you're not going to get
out of bed, roll over."
"I thought we were going out." But Alex did as he was told with a smile.
Mulder seemed to be completely back to normal—well, as normal as he ever
got.
He felt warm breath on his back, and then a kiss at the base of his spine.
Then a tongue tracing the letters L-I-S-A on his ass. "Baby? What's this
about?"
"I want mine, Alex. It's my turn, to show that I belong to you. Come with
me and hold my hand. I've been told it hurts like hell."
"Are you serious?"
"If you're not dressed in two minutes you're going naked."
"We don't have time to finish what you started, huh?"
"Save it for after, lover. Come on, up! And leave the hardware in the
trunk, okay?"
"All of it?"
Sigh. "Okay, you can wear the ankle holster. But that's it."
"Jesus, I might as well BE naked..."
The tattoo parlor, when they arrived, was bright with neon and fluorescent
lighting. Alex noted with approval the health certificates prominently
displayed, and glanced at the various designs covering the walls. Mulder
went to the counter and spoke briefly to the girl sitting there, then
approached Alex as he browsed.
"See anything you like?"
"No thanks, babe. Once was enough for me."
"Alex, could you show this nice lady yours, please? I want her to match the
style of lettering."
//Only Mulder could get me to drop trou in a public place for a complete
stranger just so she can admire the artwork.//
"Is there somewhere a little more private we could do this? I'm Alex, by
the way. I always like to be introduced to people before I let them see my
ass."
The girl giggled, and held out her hand. "I'm Lisa, " she said, and looked
confused when both men laughed. "What's so funny?"
"Let's go take a look at his ass and I think you'll see," said Mulder.
She shrugged and steered them toward the back of the shop. There were
several booths there, partitioned with curtains, and they entered the first
one. Alex sighed, and undid his belt and his jeans. "I just want you both
to know that I feel fairly ridiculous."
Mulder smirked. "Don't worry, I'll have mine down too in a few minutes.
Bend over like a good boy, Alex."
"Oh, the times I've longed to hear you say that...ow!" He rubbed his butt
where Mulder had smacked it. "I am so not into the pain thing, babe.
Don't even think about it."
"Just cooperate, then. Stop being such a smart-mouth." Mulder lowered
Alex's jeans and raised the tails of his shirt so that the tattoo could be
seen. Lisa looked at it and giggled again.
"I thought you said it was YOUR name," she said to Mulder. "But unless your
parents had a very strange sense of humor..."
Alex sighed. "It's Russian for 'fox', which IS his name. I was drunk. It's
a long story. Can I stand up now?"
Lisa was all business now. "One second, I just want to get some
measurements. Did you want it black like his, Fox, or maybe red?"
"Red is good."
"Okay. I'll need a few minutes to make the transfer, so feel free to look
around at the art."
She went off with her measurements, and Alex straightened up and refastened
his pants. He looked around for Mulder, who had followed Lisa back into the
main room and discovered a glass case filled with various kinds of jewelry.
As Alex walked over, Mulder pointed at a ring which was much too large to be
intended for an ear.
"Look at this, Alex! Think I should get something pierced while we're
here?"
"I am seriously doubting your sanity now. NO, I do not think you should get
anything pierced. Let's just let the tattoo sink in for a few days and see
how that goes, hmm?"
"Spoilsport."
"Mulder, have you always been like this?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know, so—wild and freaky."
"Alex, you have no idea. I feel so free now that we're together, like I can
do anything."
"So once again I am the voice of reason."
"Surely you're not going to let my quirky sense of humor drive you away?"
"No, I'm beginning to enjoy it. It's just a little unexpected at times.
Last night you were so depressed I had to pour you into the tub, and now
you're on top of the world."
"Well, after you got me into the tub and told me that charming story, I
realized just how much you love me."
"Ah."
"And I realized that anything that hurts me, also hurts you. And since I
love you, I don't want to hurt you. Therefore, I need to stop beating
myself up about the past."
"Instant therapy, just add water. So, Mulder, are you going to freak out
again if I kiss you in public?"
"Do you mean here, or in the middle of Wal-Mart?"
"Here."
"Here I can deal with."
"Okay but—when was the last time you were in a Wal-Mart?"
"Hey, I thought you were gonna kiss me."
Alex stepped closer and cupped Mulder's chin in his hand. "Oh, have no
fear, I am." He leaned in and softly claimed his lover's mouth. His hand
slipped down to clutch the fabric of Mulder's shirt as the kiss deepened.
"Ahem...Guys? We can start now, if you're ready."
Slowly their mouths disengaged. Alex turned and gave Lisa a boyish grin.
"Sorry, I just can't help myself sometimes."
She smiled. "It's okay. But come on back here now. I have to get started
or we'll be here all day."
"Oh, Alex, we don't want that, do we? I have big plans for you later."
Mulder followed her back to the cubicle they had been in earlier, dragging
Alex along by grabbing the front waistband of his jeans.
"Will you please behave? We're gonna get kicked out of here."
"Don't worry about it, Alex. I see this a lot. Some people get a little
crazy when they get their first tat. Just wait 'til the rush hits him."
Lisa was adjusting what looked like a dentist's chair while Mulder
unbuttoned his jeans excitedly.
"Should I take them all the way off?"
"No, not unless you really want to. Just push them down far enough and lie
down. Make sure you're comfortable, you can't move while I'm working."
Alex helped Mulder arrange himself and made sure the jeans weren't bunched
uncomfortably. He went and got himself a chair. "Where do you want me to
be, babe?" he asked quietly.
"Right next to my head, so I can see you."
Lisa was putting on surgical gloves. "Okay, Fox, first step is I have to
shave the area where we're going to be working. Right or left side?"
"Left, just like his."
"All right. This is the part that doesn't hurt. Enjoy it while it lasts."
She carefully shaved a large rectangle. "Now this will be cold. Take a deep
breath." She swabbed the area with an alcohol wipe.
"Hey!"
"I told you. This is only the beginning, Fox. I am telling you right now,
it gets worse. The time to back out is now. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I really want to do this. It means a lot to me. Just go ahead. If
the pain is too much to bear, I'm sure Alex can find me a bullet to bite
on."
"Sorry, Tex, I left all the guns back on our horses at the livery stable."
"Well, gol-dang it, that was dumb."
"Just keep talking, babe. I think it's about to get interesting."
Lisa had applied the transfer of Alex's name onto the shaved area, and was
loading the needle gun with dye. "Here we go. If you need me to stop, just
say so. But it's better to keep going and just get through it."
Mulder stiffened as the needles bit into the skin. Alex grabbed his hand.
"Here, squeeze as hard as you want to. Just don't break it, or you'll be
very sorry."
Mulder's voice was breathless. "No, I'm okay. It's kind of a constant
pain, as long as I know it doesn't get worse, I can do this."
"Okay, babe. Hey, tell me the story about the genie again. I like that
one. Especially the part where you were yelling at her in Skinner's office
and she disappeared."
"Are you just trying to distract me? Because two nights ago you fell asleep
in the middle of that story."
"Hell, yes, I'm trying to distract you."
"Well, you could kiss me again. I can't put up much of a fight."
"This is true. Why don't we try that? I've got you all helpless, bwahaha.
Just don't start squirming around."
"You talk too much."
Alex leaned over and softly but thoroughly kissed his man. "I still can't
believe you're doing this, babe."
"I told you I wanted one. In fact, I think I needed it."
"Just please don't go showing it off to passing strangers, okay?"
"I promise."
"You're doing great, Fox. I'm done with the outline. Now we have to fill
in the color. This one hurts a little more."
"Oh, God. Owowowow. Okay. Okay. Shit. Ow."
"Mulder, you know I love you, right? So don't take this the wrong way, but
that's the only hand I've got and it's going numb. So if you could just
ease off a little, I'd really appreciate it."
"Sorry, Alex."
" 'S okay."
"Somebody distract me again, though, or I'm gonna scream like a little
girl."
"Just take some deep breaths, Fox. That usually helps. So how long have
you two been together?"
"Let's see, babe, we met in August of '94, right?"
"Three days."
"Seems to be a difference of opinion here. I'm pretty sure Alex's tattoo is
quite a bit older than three days, though."
"We've known each other since '94. We just weren't 'together' until
recently. And my tattoo was done about three years ago."
"Sounds like an interesting relationship."
"Yeah, he was hot for me for a long time. It was kind of a hero- worship
thing."
"Shut up! You wanted me from the first second you saw me."
"Yeah, well you've been in love with me since the Duane Barry incident."
"How did you—shit. She blabbed, didn't she? Wait until I get back
there. And—hey! That means you already knew that first night. And
here I thought you were just as nervous as I was."
"Alex, I knew how you felt about me then , not how you felt about me after
all the shit that happened in between. For all I knew, you were just
feeling sorry for me, trying to help me get back on my feet before you
shipped me back to DC. I hadn't exactly treated you very well. And if Deb
hadn't told me, we probably wouldn't be here right now. I would never have
had the guts to speak up."
"Well, I guess I'll have to send her a thank you note."
"Maybe some flowers."
"And we should definitely invite her to the wedding." //Oh you did NOT just
say that.//
"Alex?"
"Sorry, that was just—" // A really fucking stupid thing to say.//
Alex tried to get up and escape the awkward situation his mouth had put him
in, but Mulder was still gripping his hand. He looked around the room for
inspiration, then back at Mulder's face. What he saw there totally surprised
him. Mulder was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
"Come here, Alex. Right over here next to me."
Alex sat back down and leaned closer. Carefully, Mulder moved his head to
kiss him. When he drew back, he said "I accept."
"What?"
"Well, we can't really make it legal unless you want to backtrack and go to
Vermont, but—exactly what did you think it meant for me to get your name
put on my body? It's a committment, Alex. I'm saying 'Forever. Til death
us do part.' "
"Oh, my God. Are you serious?"
"You keep asking me that. Do you see anything here that might lead you to
believe that I'm joking?"
"No...so what now? White picket fence, dog in the yard, 2.3 kids?"
"Nah, that's Scully's idea of marriage, not mine. What's wrong with what
we're doing? We'll just call it our honeymoon. And we'll discuss more
about that later."
"You guys do still realize you have an audience here, right?"
"I'm counting on you to be my witness. He asked, I accepted."
"Good, 'cause it was going to be tough for me to pretend I wasn't listening
to all that. But the good news is, we're done."
"Really? Can I see it?"
"Let me get the mirror."
"Oh, God, babe, it's beautiful. Damn."
"Alex, do NOT touch that. Hands off. It needs to heal for a few days."
"Sorry."
Lisa held up the mirror so Mulder could see the finished result. "Fox, can
you see it okay?"
"Hey, it's backwards!"
"Mulder, behave yourself."
"Sorry, Lisa, it looks fantastic."
"Okay, I'm going to put a bandage on it. Try to keep it dry for three days
or so, do NOT scratch it, and if you have any problems, give me a call."
Lisa quickly finished up and Mulder awkwardly fished in his pocket for his
wallet. He gave her his credit card to process and she left. As soon as
she was gone, he turned over and sat up.
"Alex, I have a situation here."
"Oh, wow, babe, I'd definitely call that a situation. Perhaps even a
predicament."
"Care to do anything about it?"
"Try and stop me. Just let me pull the curtain, and no screaming, okay? I
think we've given Lisa quite enough of a show for one day."
"No promises on the screaming. I feel like I could fly to the moon right
now."
"Let's see if you can, then, hmm?"
It turned out that he could.
"Alex?"
"Yeah, babe?"
"I like Stokesville. Maybe we can come back here for our anniversary
sometime."
"Absolutely."
-end-
Road Trip
by Starfish
...And the Next Morning
//What the hell is that noise? Oh. Phone. Which one? Aha.//
