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A New War #11
It's In His Kiss
by Lianne Burwell
April 1999
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Scully hung up the phone, a puzzled frown on her face. Mulder had finally 
contacted them, the signal bounced around the world enough times by the 
paranoid talents of the Lone Gunmen to keep it from being traced.

She turned to Debi, who was waiting none too patiently. "We're to head to 
Cascade, Washington, to your mother's," she told the young woman. It was 
going to be a relief to get out of the apartment, even if it was to head 
to the other side of the country as a fugitive. Being trapped with 
nothing productive to do had been a torture for someone whose life had 
been filled with one challenge after another for years now.

Debi broke into a smile. From what she'd told Scully, Debi hadn't seen 
her mother in nearly four years. "They're meeting us there?" the blonde 
asked, sounding more cheerful than she had since being attacked by her 
roommate.

"Yes and no. They also have a lead, so Mulder, Kincaid and Krycek are 
headed for Colorado. Mulder says that Harrison and Ironhorse will fill us 
in on the rest when they meet us in Cascade. Did Colonel Ironhorse have 
any relatives?" she asked the young woman curiously.

Debi shook her head, obviously confused. "No that I ever met," she said. 
"Are you sure he said Ironhorse?"

Scully shrugged. "That's what he said. I guess we'll find out soon 
enough. I'll have the guys book us on a flight."

She didn't like counting on the gunmen so much, but there was no longer 
any choice. They were on the run from an enemy who had apparently 
unlimited resources. Right now, paranoia was the only thing keeping them 
alive.

* * * * *

Paul looked out the plane window, watching the landscape pass by beneath 
them. A nearly untouched meal sat on the fold-down table in front of him. 
He was a little disappointed to find that airline food hadn't improved 
during his long sleep, but not very surprised.

A warm hand slipped into his, and he squeezed, giving his companion a 
slight smile. Harrison still seemed insecure about his existence, needing 
nearly constant physical contact for reassurance. Paul didn't mind. He'd 
never admit it out loud but he needed the reassurance himself. Eight 
years had passed by without him, and he felt out-of-step with the world.

More disturbing, though, was the way Harrison seemed to keep blanking 
out. The first time had been at their reunion, which could be blamed on 
stress and shock. The most recent time had been when the plane had 
started down the runway.

That had been more disturbing. They'd reached cruising altitude by the 
time Paul had been able to coax a response from the man. All Harrison had 
been able to tell him was that it had felt like his entire body had been 
vibrating. He just laughed it off, saying that he was out of practice 
with the modern world, having spend so many years alone in the woods, but 
Paul wasn't convinced. He didn't have a clue what to do.

Maybe Suzanne would have some ideas.

* * * * *

Alex tossed his bag into the overhead compartment while Kincaid slid into 
the window seat. Mulder immediately pushed past Alex to take the middle 
seat. Alex shrugged. He preferred the aisle seat anyway. Easier to defend 
yourself.

The plane took off without incident, and without Mulder saying a word. 
The first wasn't too surprising, but the second was. Obviously Mulder was 
still giving him the cold shoulder.

Alex was almost ready to slug the man, just to get a reaction from him. 
Mulder hadn't said one world to him all day unless it was in answer to a 
direct question. Alex wasn't the only one who'd noticed, too. Kincaid had 
been giving him strange looks all the way to the airport.

When Mulder leaned forward to grab something from his bag under the seat 
in front of him, Alex looked over him to Kincaid. The mercenary tilted 
his head towards Mulder and mouthed 'what's his problem?'. Alex shrugged. 
For once, he was the one who was clueless.

There was a crackle, then the pilot came over the intercom welcoming them 
and telling them the usual shit about flight times and weather, then 
announced that the flight attendants would be serving the meal as soon as 
they reached cruising altitude.

Alex gave a theatrical shudder. "Airline food," he said. "The ultimate 
proof of a global conspiracy."

For a moment, the corner of Mulder's mouth quirked into a slight smile. 
Then his face went expressionless again.

Alex sighed. That comment should have gotten *some* sort of response from 
the older man. He and Mulder were going to have a long talk, and soon. He 
was *not* going hunting alien bases with the man in this sort of state.

* * * * *

In a motel -- not too far from Mt. Cheyenne, but not too close -- Mulder 
tossed his bag onto one of the double-beds, then made his escape into the 
bathroom.

It hadn't taken much checking to find out that there was a supposedly 
abandoned military base on the mountain that matched up with the glowing 
spot marking active alien technology on Mana's map. Mulder hadn't been 
very surprised. They'd known for years that parts of the military were 
collaborating with the aliens, and that abandoned military bases were 
often the best places to find these groups working from.

He relieved himself, then washed his hands and splashed water on his 
face. He stared at his reflection, and resisted the urge to laugh at 
himself. He was hiding, but sooner or later he was going to have to go 
back out there and play nice with the lovebirds. He was not looking 
forward to sleeping alone in one bed while they cuddled in the other.

Mulder groaned as his mind once again started the instant replay of what 
he'd overheard the night before. All day, he hadn't been able to escape 
it, and it was driving him nuts. Every time he looked at either man, he 
heard the moans and cries of pleasure.

"It's no business of yours who he sleeps with," he told his reflection. 
Do you want it to be? was the response.

"Of course not! I'm not interested in him." Aren't you? "He's a man." 
He's beautiful. "He's a traitor." He's your best ally. "He isn't 
interested in me." Are you sure? "Yes!" Then why are you hiding in here?

"Mulder! Pizza's here."

Mulder jerked, pulled out of his reverie by the sound of Krycek's voice. 
Suddenly it struck him how absurd it was, arguing with his own 
reflection, and laughed once. "Coming!" he called back.

Composing himself, Mulder unlocked the bathroom door and left his safe-
haven.

Kincaid was sitting in one of the room's two chairs, already halfway 
through a slice. Krycek was sitting cross-legged on one bed, deftly 
handling his slice of pizza one-handed. Both men were looking at him, and 
he wondered what they'd been talking about while he was in the bathroom. 
Probably how to dump him long enough to tumble into bed together.

Mulder turned on the television, grabbed a couple slices and settled down 
on the other bed to pretend that there was no tension in the room. He was 
so successful that he was actually surprised by the sound of the door 
shutting and being locked. Looking up, he found that Kincaid was gone and 
Krycek was leaning back against the door with an unreadable expression on 
his face.

"Where's he going?" Mulder finally asked.

"He's a member of the Hunters. He saw a couple of 'brothers' in town, so 
he's going to go see if they know anything useful and to see if he can 
get us some weapons before we check out the base tomorrow."

"Oh."

"And *we* are going to talk."

Mulder froze. "Can it wait until tomorrow? I'm really tired," he said, 
ignoring the fact that the sun had barely set. If necessary, he could 
always blame the change in time-zones. "I'll take this bed. I'm sure that 
you and Kincaid won't have any trouble sharing the other one," he added, 
then kicked himself for the slip.

Krycek's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Is *that* what this is about?" He 
shook his head, looking amused. "How did you know?"

Mulder looked away, suddenly feeling guilty, even though he hadn't been 
spying. At least not deliberately. "I saw the two of you going into your 
room," he finally said. "The sounds..."

"Were unmistakable?" Krycek finished for him, and he nodded. "So what's 
the problem?"

Mulder snorted. "There's no problem," he said, trying to convince them 
both. "If you want to sleep with him, it's no skin off *my* nose," he 
said, well aware that he'd failed.

Krycek snorted. "And a very nice nose it is too," he replied, ignoring 
the glare he got in return. "I don't believe you, Mulder. You've been 
pissed off all day, deliberately keeping between me and Kincaid. So 
what's the problem? Jealous?"

"No!" Mulder jumped to his feet and started pacing. Out of the corner of 
his eye he could see Krycek grinning at him.

"What's the matter?" was the mocking comment. "Hit a little too close to 
home?"

Mulder spun, only to find that Krycek had somehow gotten right inside 
his personal space without him noticing. "Back off," he warned, fists 
clenching.

"Or what? You'll beat me up? Just like old times," Krycek said, his grin 
growing by the minute. "Just admit it. You're jealous."

Stubbornly, Mulder kept his mouth shut. He was not going to give Krycek 
the satisfaction of admitting that he was right. He was used to thinking 
of himself as the only person that Krycek would work with. It was 
unnerving to see him so buddy-buddy with someone else.

And that was *all* it was, he told himself.

Krycek advanced on him, and Mulder found himself backing up until he 
found himself pressed against the wall with nowhere else to go. Krycek 
was close enough for him to feel the other man's breath on his face.

Suddenly, the other man's expression gentled, losing the hard edge of 
triumph. "Mulder, it was one night. Kincaid's in love with Blackwood, and 
Blackwood's in love with Ironhorse. Kincaid needed a little human 
contact."

Mulder's jaw clenched. "You make a good couple," he said bitingly. 
"You're both alike."

Krycek's face got closer, angling so that his chin was almost resting on 
Mulder's shoulder, his breath hot against the older man's ear. "Yep. Both 
mercenaries. Both fighting aliens to protect our world. Both wanting 
someone we can't have."

Krycek pulled back slightly so that he could stare into Mulder's eyes, 
separated by only an inch or two. "Or maybe we don't have that in common 
anymore."

Before Mulder could respond, the other man's lips came down on his, hard 
and hot and moist. A tongue pushed past his lips, exploring the outsides 
of his teeth, then the insides, when he opened his mouth in shock.

That shock kept him from resisting. Krycek kept him pressed up against 
the wall, exploring his mouth at his leisure. Mulder went hot, then cold, 
as he felt something press against his hip and realized that it was the 
other man's erection. Then he froze when he realized that his own cock 
was rising in response. In the back of his mind, he could hear Scully 
saying 'I can guess' when he'd wondered why Krycek kept coming back when 
he kept beating the other man up every time they met. She'd known, long 
before him, and hadn't said anything.

Lack of oxygen was starting to make him breathless, even before Krycek 
deliberately inhaled. As the last of his oxygen was literally sucked out 
of his lungs, his knees gave way beneath him, and the only thing holding 
him up was Krycek.

Then the other man pulled back, a smile on his face.

Mulder pushed at him, angry. "What the fuck are you up to, Krycek?" he 
snarled at the man. "Fucking with my mind again? So now what? Am I 
supposed to roll over for you so you can have your shot at me, like 
everyone else?"

Krycek laughed. "If all I wanted was a fuck, I could find that anywhere. 
I certainly wouldn't wait this many years for it."

"You can't be serious," Mulder said, his tone turning plaintive.

Krycek brushed another kiss across his lips, and he instinctively turned 
towards it, then flinched. Krycek stepped back, leaving Mulder to hold 
himself up.

"I'm very serious. I'm also patient, Mulder. I've been waiting for this 
for years now. I can wait a little longer. I don't want one night with 
you. I want more. A lot more. Think about it, Mulder. Think about years 
of waking up alone, living the life of a monk, with only your videos for 
company. You don't have to, ever again. All you have to do is say you 
want me there. That's all."

Krycek turned away, and started stripping. Mulder watched, unable to look 
away. When all he had on was his underwear, Krycek climbed into the 
second bed, and rolled onto his side, facing away from the other. "Think 
about it, Mulder," he repeated, then turned off the light.

Mulder stood there in the dark for a moment, still blinking in confusion. 
It had to be a trick. Krycek couldn't seriously be implying that he 
was... What? In love with Mulder? Or something else? They worked well 
together, but then he worked well with Scully. Loved her, even. Didn't 
mean that he wanted to get in bed with her. It would change their whole 
partnership. Of course, the idea of sleeping Krycek didn't feel the same. 
Scully didn't have half the impact that the man had.

For a moment, Mulder imagined what it would be like, Krycek wrapped 
around him, buried deep inside him, and he gasped. No, Scully didn't have 
anywhere *near* the same impact.

Still, it was crazy. He was *not* going to get involved with Krycek.

Still fully dressed, he climbed into the other bed and closed his eyes, 
but sleep was elusive. In his mind, over and over again, he felt the 
warm, hard bulk of Krycek pressing against him. Suddenly, the bed seemed 
very cold and very big and very empty.

* * * * *

Alex was awake the moment that the doorknob started to turn. He slid his 
hand under his pillow to grab his gun. It was the latest thing: a new 
type of plastic gun, undetectable by airport security systems, which 
labored to keep up with the latest developments in weapons research. As a 
result, it was the only weapon they'd been able to bring with them from 
New York. Unfortunately, it was only reliable for a few shots before the 
chemical process of firing it started to decompose the plastic. That was 
why Kincaid had gone looking for a local source of more reliable weapons.

The door opened, and Alex relaxed fractionally. It was Kincaid, and he 
was carrying a duffel bag. The bag, when set down, made a metallic 
clunking noise, so he assumed that the man had found at least part of 
what he'd been looking for. 

Kincaid disappeared into the bathroom. After a few minutes of running 
water, Kincaid came back out, already stripped down. Alex gestured, and 
the man climbed into the same bed.

"You talk to him?" Kincaid whispered.

Alex glanced over at the other bed. Mulder hadn't moved, but he would bet 
that the other man was awake. Well, if he wanted to eavesdrop then he 
deserved to get an earful.

"Yeah. Sort of." He snorted. "He overheard us last night, and got 
jealous." Alex heard a tiny, choked sound from behind him. "So I kissed 
him."

Kincaid glanced past Alex, and he could tell that the other man was also 
well aware that Mulder was awake and listening. Kincaid snickered. "Well, 
that must have been interesting. Did he faint?"

"No. He was speechless, though."

"Well, if he doesn't want you, I'll take you."

Alex grinned. Kincaid seemed dour, but his sense of humor showed up at 
unexpected moments. Mainly in bed.

"Take me how?" he asked, resisting the urge to laugh.

"On your back with your legs over my shoulders. Long and hard, until you 
screamed."

All the air whooshed out of Alex's lungs as the game got a little too 
serious. His cock was up and hard and calling for attention, but he 
ignored it. Instead, he reached out with his one hand to grab Kincaid and 
pull him in for a hard kiss. Then he pulled back.

"I'm not giving up just yet. But if I do, I'll look you up," he said in a 
tone full of regret.

Kincaid hugged him, then turned away and settled down for sleep. "Do 
that, Alex," he said, then his breathing evened out into sleep patterns. 
Like Alex, and others in their profession, Kincaid had obviously mastered 
the ability to fall asleep in an instant, and wake up alert just as fast.

Alex curled up, his back to Kincaid. In the dim light from the window he 
could see Mulder, who was holding still. He shook his head. If nothing 
else, Mulder was forced to consider the possibility now. After several 
years, that was a step forward. In the meantime, Alex didn't see any 
reason why he should be celibate, and if Mulder didn't like it, tough.

He closed his eyes and slipped into sleep, where a willing and wanton 
Mulder waited in his dreams. It would do for now.


TO BE CONTINUED