The Naked Cat

By Jennie

Pairing: Skinner/Mulder

Notes: Challenge story. Same deal, 3 words, vignette, set amout of time to write it. And, again, a PWP. Jennie: Toothpaste, Kitten, Soup

The Naked Cat
By Jennie

Skinner sat up on the couch and frowned. Who in the hell could that be at the door? It was... he looked at the clock. Shit, after midnight. He must have been sleeping on the couch for hours. Every muscle in his body protested as he rose to his feet and staggered over to the door. He peered through the spyhole and groaned.

It was Mulder. Of course.

"What do you..." Skinner started to growl as he pulled the door open. Then he got a good look at Mulder and had to suppress his instinctive reaction of hysterical laughter. His agent was a bedraggled mess. He'd obviously been out in the rain for quite some time and was soaked, trails of water falling from his hair to drip down his face and neck and his clothes were filthy as if the younger man had been rolling about in the mud. But, the crowning touch was the sorry looking kitten Mulder clutched in his arms. Skinner looked at it in amazement... the damn thing had no hair.

"Mulder," Skinner stepped back and waved the other man in, "what on earth have you been doing?"

"Ah, well sir, I was on my way home and one of my tires blew out and I didn't have a spare and my cell phone wasn't working, so I got out and started walking to a gas station." Mulder paused and shifted the kitten from one hand to the other as he shrugged out of his drenched coat. "Then I realized that I was only a mile from here so I thought... well, I hope you don't mind, sir."

Skinner grunted with surprise as Mulder handed the hairless kitten off to him and started disrobing. "I'll just go get you a towel, Agent Mulder."

He went into the bathroom and grabbed a couple of clean towels, one he handed to Mulder, the other he wrapped around the shivering cat. "There's a robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door, Mulder. Why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll heat up some soup or something?" He looked down at the kitten. "And, I'll find something for your little friend here."

"Thank you, sir. I'd really appreciate that." Mulder headed up to the bathroom drying his hair as he went.

Skinner shook his head and walked into the kitchen. He was not going to even think about what the sight of an almost naked Mulder wandering up his stairs had done to him. Ignoring his body's insistence on reacting to Mulder's lean length, Skinner grabbed a can of chicken soup and opened it.

"Meow!" The kitten apparently had no problem with it's sense of smell. It homed in on the soup and tried to jump from his arms to the counter.

"Hang on, kid," Skinner soothed, "I'll get you something as soon as I get this soup heating." He dumped the contents of the can into a saucepan and set it on the stovetop. He then opened the fridge and surveyed the contents. "Hmm, let's start you off with a little warm milk. What do you think of that?"

"What do I think of what, sir?"

Skinner spun around in surprise to find Mulder standing in the doorway. "Oh ... um, I was talking to your cat, actually," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "Speaking of your cat, Mulder ..."

"It was in a tree, sir." Mulder frowned. "I don't like to climb trees, but the damn thing was so pathetic ..."

Holding the kitten with one hand, Skinner poured milk into a bowl and handed it to Mulder. "Put this in the microwave for about ten seconds, would you?"

Mulder did as directed and Skinner checked on the soup. It was heating nicely. The cat certainly seemed to think so, as it tried to jump right into the pan with the soup. "Hold it, buster," Skinner admonished as he took a firmer hold on the slippery little devil. "Drink your milk and then we'll talk about the possibility of some soup for you."

Mulder set the heated milk on the floor and reached for the cat. "How long have you been carrying on conversations with animals, sir?"

"I like animals, Mulder. They seem to like me too. Growing up I was always dragging home some stray or another." He busied himself pouring soup into a bowl and set it on the table. "Here," he said, "eat your soup. And Mulder, I think we can skip the formalities under the circumstances."

"Yes, sir." Mulder absently answered as he sat down.

"Mulder, please don't call me 'sir' in my own home at," he looked at the clock, "12.30 am."

"What should I call you, then? Skinner?"

"You know damn well that my name is Walter. Friends call me Walt."

"Are we?" Mulder looked at him searchingly. S

kinner busied himself cleaning the already immaculate counter top. "Are we what? Friends?" He shrugged. "I don't know, Mulder. I think we might be. You certainly know more about me than any other agent under my command."

Mulder mulled this over while he ate his soup. "Um... Walt?"

"Yes, Mulder?" //What now?//

"You wouldn't happen to know anyone who would be able to take the kitten in, would you?"

Skinner shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. Looks like you're the proud new owner of a cat, Mulder."

"I don't particularly like cats, Walt." Mulder frowned down at the creature as it tried to climb his leg. He shoved it away gently with one foot and sighed. "And this one... it's naked, sir."

"Mulder ..." Skinner growled warningly.

"Okay, okay... it's naked, Walt."

"I think it's supposed to be hairless, Mulder. I believe it's a Devonshire Rex ... they're a relatively new breed and they're supposed to be 'naked'."

"Well," Mulder again shoved the cat away from his leg, "I think it's ugly."

"Why? Because it's hairless?" Skinner arranged his face into his best 'AD with an attitude' expression. "Since when have you had this unfortunate prejudice about baldness."

Mulder choked on his soup. While he got himself under control, Skinner picked up the cat's empty milk bowl and poured some of the now cool soup into it, setting it back on the floor. He grinned when the kitten skidded across the kitchen floor and almost dove head first into the liquid.

His coughing finally under control, Mulder looked at him suspiciously. "You don't really think I have a problem with baldness... do you, Walt?"

"Well," Skinner was having an increasingly difficult time controlling his amusement. "As your major complaint about the cat seems to be its lack of hair, it seems a natural conclusion."

"The cat is ugly, Walt. And, I don't think hair would make any difference." Mulder looked back down at his soup. "Actually," he said softly, "I find bald men quite attractive."

"Humph," Skinner grunted his suspicion and turned to wash the pan he'd used to heat the soup. "I think you're just saying that because I'm your boss, Agent Mulder."

"Oh no, Walt." Skinner jumped and spun around, surprised to find Mulder right behind him. "This has nothing at all to do with you being my boss. Actually, the fact that I work for you has kept me from saying anything about it... but ... I was attracted to you the minute I met you."

Well, this was certainly a shock. Skinner just stood there like a fool, staring at Mulder. Waiting... for something, anything to happen.

Carefully, Mulder reached up and gently ran his fingers across Skinner's scalp. "Very sexy... bald men. Yul Brynner... Telly Savales... "

"Shut up, Mulder." Skinner groaned. "We shouldn't... it would be a very foolish thing for the two of us to get involved. Dangerous for both of us."

"Oh, but Walt, I love danger." Mulder whispered.

"Mmmm," Skinner moaned his approval as the younger man nibbled carefully at his ear. "Come here," he finally panted. Pulling Mulder's mouth away from his ear, Skinner leaned forward and pressed their lips together. And, oh, it was better than he'd ever imagined it could be. Mulder tasted of chicken soup and toothpaste and some undefinable flavor that was unique to the man himself. Skinner wrapped his arms around the younger man and closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation of having this man respond to him so freely.

Finally, the need for air became urgent and they each pulled away from the kiss. Skinner rested his forehead against Mulder's and spoke softly, "I guess we're a couple of fools then, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Mulder grinned at him and started sucking on his neck.

"Oh shit, Mulder. You have to stop that." Skinner pushed him away. "I refuse to have our first time be in the kitchen."

"But, Walt, it's such a nice kitchen ..."

Skinner snorted. "Won't work, Mulder. Upstairs to the bedroom. Now."

"If you insist, Walt." Mulder headed out of the kitchen with Skinner in close pursuit. He dropped the robe on the staircase and Skinner very nearly had a heart attack on the spot. He moved up close behind Mulder, urging him on up the steps with his body. Mulder entered the bedroom and turned to pull Skinner's glasses off.

"Tomorrow," he murmured, "you'll have to let me pick the spot. Okay?"

Skinner raised his arms so Mulder could get his t-shirt off. "I'm not sure that I should trust you, Agent Mulder. You do tend to ..." He broke off with a groan as Mulder dropped to his knees and pulled Skinner's sweats down. He looked up through his lashes at Walt and swallowed his painfully hard cock right down his throat.

"Oh fuck." Skinner groaned. This was a very bad idea... he was much too old and sedate to take on Mulder as a lover.

Mulder reached behind him and started carefully stroking his opening and Skinner gave in with a moan. "Fine, Mulder. Tomorrow you pick the spot."

Mulder released his cock and stood to smile at him. "Good, I had a feeling that I could convince you, Walt. I have this fantasy about your balcony..."

Skinner was in huge fucking trouble.

But, he had a feeling that he just might enjoy this particular trouble.

"On the bed, Mulder."

Mulder lay back and smiled up at him. "Tonight, the bed... tomorrow, the balcony... and the kitchen... and then there's that great big huge desk in your office."

Oh yeah, Skinner was in trouble, all right. He smiled and climbed on to the bed. "Shut up, Agent Mulder... that's an order."

And, incredibly enough, Mulder did just that.

END