Where We Stand
by Surreal
Feedback!!!:  surreal666@hotmail.com
Rating: NC/17 for sexual situations.
Category:  Langly/Byers slash
Disclaimer:  These characters are the <snicker> "intellectual"
property of Chris Carter and his cronies down in Hollywood.
I'm just borrowing them for some fun;  I'll clean them up
afterwards and return them to their rightful owners.
Time frame Note:  Takes place about six months after
"Three of a Kind."  So, spoilers for that one are a given.
Summery:  A quiet retreat for the new couple is quickly
disrupted by an unexpected turn of events, making them
all have to figure out where they stand with each other.


Part 1/4

            ~~oOOo~~ Where We Stand ~~oOOo~~


Byers watches with some amusement as Langly continues to
fidget and nervously tap his fingers on the passenger door of
the car.  He knows Langly is nervous and apprehensive about
their week alone in a rented cabin in the mountains.  They
had only been together 'officially' for about three months, after
almost two months of sexual experimentation shortly after their
eventful trip to Las Vegas.  Byers thought this time alone together
might help them understand each other better, give them a more
solid basis for their new relationship.

When he brings the car to a halt at a stop sign on the deserted
highway leading to the small mountain getaway, Byers reaches
across and grasps Langly's twitching leg, squeezing gently.  
"Relax, Ringo.  You look like a teenager on his first date."

Langly smiles at him, covering the hand with his own for a
moment before Byers pulls it away to put it back on the steering
wheel.  "Sorry...guess that's what I feel like..."  the younger man
replies softly.

Byers gives him a sideways glance, sighs and pulls the car
to the side of the road.  

"What?  What's wrong?"  Langly sits up straight and looks
at the other man curiously.  

Byers turns his body to face Langly, reaching out to take
his hand.  "Ringo...if you don't want to do this, if this whole
week away thing makes you uncomfortable, please tell
me.  I don't want you to feel like I'm the only one in charge 
here."

Langly blushes, giving him a crooked little smile.  He leans
across to kiss his lover to quiet the older man's own anxious
fears.  "John, it's fine with me.  I know we need this;  I've 
just never been here before in any relationship."

Byers smiles and touches the other man's cheek softly.  
"It's okay...I just want to make sure *you're* okay with this."

"I'm okay with this.  Now drive;  I gotta take a leak big
time."

"I'm with ya there," Byers laughs, pulling back onto the
highway with a renewed enthusiasm.

                          ~~oOOo~~


By the time they get to their cabin and take care of their
mutual business, it's dark outside.  Byers scrounges around
the kitchen, throwing together a makeshift dinner of boxed
rice and frozen vegetables.  Meanwhile, Langly wanders the
small, cozy cabin, putting their bags in the main bedroom and
turning on a few lights here and there.

Langly strides back into the kitchen just as Byers sets two
plates of attempted stir fry on the table.  "Sorry, this is the
best I could find."

The younger man sits and digs in with a contented sigh. 
"It's cool...maybe we should go to the store tomorrow;  there's
one in that town, right?"  

"Yeah, I think I will."

As they clean their dishes, Langly glances over his shoulder,
nodding toward the back of the cabin.  "You know there are
two bedrooms here?"

"Um...yeah, I thought it would be the best way to avoid 
suspicion, with just the two of us staying here and all..."

"Yeah."

Neither wants to admit that there may have been other 
reasons for Byers to choose a cabin with two bedrooms.  The
two men had lived together as friends for ten years, and now
are suddenly in the uncertain and occasionally embarrassing
throes of a brand new and extremely passionate intimacy.  
There are new boundaries to be learned, very different from
the ones they already built over the years.

The way they deal with unknowns when it comes to their
mutual interests is to take the long way around, the safer and
more scenic route.  Byers wants to put no pressure on his 
lover and is offering the option of an escape, a place for Langly
to go if he feels the need.  He hopes they will not need it, but 
knows that it makes Langly feel better having been given the
option.

With this realization. the younger man reaches out to take
Byers' hand and pull him into a warm embrace.  His lips brushing
just slightly against the older man's ear, he whispers, "Thank you."

Byers tightens his arms around the slight frame before pulling
back again, dropping his hand to lace their fingers together.  
Langly smiles at him and tugs him toward the living room.  "Come
on."
    
The younger man leads Byers into the warm, dimly lit room.  In
the fireplace, warm, soothing flames lick the dry wood contentedly
and douse the sparse furniture in yellow light.

"Ringo...when did you do this?"  He asks softly, breathless.  In front
of the fire, a soft blanket is spread over the thick carpet and two
of the small cushions from the sofa are set on one end.  On the
table between the couch and the blanket, the flickering light reflects
off the dark green glass of a wine bottle and the two delicate glasses
standing next to it.

"Oh, while you were making dinner..." he replies lightly.  He pulls the
still-stunned other man to the blanket and sits, taking a moment to toss
his shoes to the side of the couch.  "Come on;  take your shoes off 
and sit with me."

No response is forthcoming to that invitation, so Byers silently obeys
and takes his place on the blanket.  

Langly reaches past him with a shy smile to pour the warm red liquid
into the glasses.  Handing one to his partner, he raises his own slightly
without a word.  

Byers imitates the gesture, knowing as well as Langly that no words 
are necessary;  they both simply smiles and savor the shared joy.
The two men watch the lazy pattern of the flames together and sip
the wine, the silence a confirmation of the strength of their bond.

Setting his empty glass on the table, Byers lays down on the blanket
on his side, facing the fire and propping his elbow on one of the 
cushions.  The younger man smiles down at him, sets his own glass
on the floor next to the blanket and stretches out in a fluid motion
to shape his body within his lover's.

As Langly continues to slowly sip from his glass, Byers absently
strokes the other man's long, lean arm.  After a while Langly sets
the empty glass aside and Byers picks it back up, setting it on the
table with his.  

With a contented sigh, Langly lays his head down on the second
pillow while Byers wraps his arm around his waist and holds him
close.

"This is so perfect,"  Byers mutters softly, leaning down to kiss
Langly's cheek.

"Yeah."

Byers continues to nuzzle against the younger man's neck until
he turns his head up to kiss him fully on the lips.  Langly turns
further until he is on his back.  The older man leans over him
for a deeper kiss, his hand sliding up the bony ribcage under
him.

Losing himself in the warmth, Langly becomes dimly aware of
the soft moans coming from both of them and suddenly starts
to laugh.  

Byers pulls back to look at him wide-eyed and confused.  "What?"

"I--"  Langly starts but is caught by another burst of laughter.
He finally manages to gain control when he sees the almost hurt
look on Byers' face.  "No--John, it's not you.  I just thought..."
he laughs again.  "I keep expecting Frohike to pound on the 
wall and yell at us to keep it down in here."

This time Byers laughs.  "Oh, god!!  That only happened that
one time;  I remember, it was three in the morning and you
woke me up saying you wanted to push the bed to the other
side of the room.  You were convinced there was a draft right
on you!!"

"Yeah..."

"Man, it was so loud, scraping on the floor and then you knocked
over the stack of books..."  Byers starts laughing again.

"I can just imagine what Mel was thinking..."

"Oh no!  I don't even want to know what he thought we were doing!"

Langly finally stops laughing long enough to catch his breath.  He
sighs, looking up at Byers.  "You know...I'm really glad we told him
about us right away.  I think he appreciates that we kept him in
the loop, you know?"

"Yeah, me too."  
"Um...what about Mulder?  And Scully?"  Langly asks seriously.
"Oh...geez, I--"  
"*Shouldn't* we tell them?"

Byers looks away, contemplating the fire.  "I'm not sure...not yet,
I don't think."

"Oh,"  Langly says quietly.  "Okay;  we'll have to eventually, you
know."

"Yeah, I know.  I'm just not sure yet."

"Not sure about telling them...or not sure about us?"

The older man looks at him, stunned.  "Ringo...god, I didn't mean
it like that!  Of course I'm sure...god, you mean so much to me."

"You do too,"  Langly replies, sitting up a bit to kiss him.  He 
lets Byers take control, pushing him down to rest his head on the
pillow again.  When they break for air, Langly smiles at him.  
"Hey, you know what we should do when we get back?"

"What's that?"

"Move the bed back to the other side."

"Oh, no, we won't!!!"  Byers breaks into a fresh round of laughter,
wrapping his fingers around Langly's waist and squeezing tightly.

"OH!  Shit, don't!!"  Langly cracks up helplessly as Byers tickles
him, pulling his legs up in a futile attempt at defense.  He rolls 
onto his side and tries to fend off the assault but Byers knows him
too well, reaching down to tickle behind the younger man's knees.

Langly yelps, laughing until he is writhing and gasping for air.
"Okay okay stop!!"  He tries to crawl away but Byers tackles him,
pinning his body beneath his own.  

"Promise we won't rearrange any more furniture in the middle of 
the night?"

"I promise I promise please!!"  Langly chokes out between laughs.

Byers loosens his grip and flips the other man over only to pin him
down again, letting Langly catch his breath for a moment before
leaning down to kiss him.  

Langly wraps his hand around the back of Byers' neck, playing
with the short little hairs at the nape and holding him there.  This
time when Byers moans, he doesn't laugh.  He just lets the older
man do whatever he wants, as loud as he wants.

                                       ~~oOOo~~