Okay, so the guy's only got one arm. I suppose that might turn
some people off. But still. This just can't be right.
Sighing deeply, he concluded he should double-check the
assignment. Better safe than sorry... for some reason, Washington
DC always equaled bad news. And after that colossal screw up with
Monica and Bill, he was on mighty thin ice on Olympus. Wincing
internally, he tossed back his head and shouted, "Yo! MOM."
Rolling his eyes at the chime of bells announcing her arrival, he
schooled his face into its customary sexy pout and turned to face
the Goddess of Love. Carefully averting his eyes from her spilling
cleavage, he stopped another deeper sigh only through sheer force
of will. He really wished she wouldn't... jiggle quite so much
around him at least.
"You rang, honey?" Aphrodite reached out and tousled his hair,
giving him her best sparkly smile.
Cupid pointed at the window. "Ma, this gig is like so screwed
up. Get a load of the mark. He's totally too hot for mortality. No
way does this dude need our help. What's the word here? Somebody
got some, like, major wires crossed or what?"
Aphrodite leaned in and grinned at the figure moving around the
room getting dressed. "Oooh, I know. Bitchin', isn't he? Wouldn't
mind if he was my personal assignment."
The warmth in her voice made Cupid grit his teeth. He was used to
having a mother the entire mortal world wanted to take to bed, and
he was even used to having her respond favorably to the idea. But
he didn't have to like it. "Ma. Can you like totally get to the
point? What's the deal? No way does that piece need an arrow
from me. Why in Tartarus would he need divine intervention to
make everyone love him?"
Aphrodite heaved a deep sigh and Cupid bit his tongue restraining
himself from asking her to please not do that in that outfit.
"You so don't know the half of it, honey," she insisted
mournfully, wrapping an arm around Cupid's shoulders and gesturing
at the cutie on the other side of the glass. "He's had a rough
life. He's not exactly on anyone's Miss Popularity list. Trust me.
He may not look it, but if anybody needs our help, it's him."
She sounded just a tad too selfless. Cupid eyed her suspiciously.
"Out with it, Ma."
Aphrodite blinked, gave him a wide-eyed smile, and twisted a
fluffy blond curl around one finger. "Out with what, sweetie?"
"What's the real deal? C'mon. You can snow Zeus with the big blue
eyes, but this is me."
"Oh fine." Aphrodite traded in the innocent look for petulant,
and crossed her arms over her chest. "Although he really does
need our help. But... well," she glanced off to one side.
"Technically it involves your uncle Ares..."
"Aw Mom! Not that again. Every time you get into a spat with
somebody in the family, we all suffer."
"Nonsense! Don't talk to your mother that way. This is serious,
Cupey. It's a matter of family honor!"
"Ares' honor or ours?"
"Ours, of course. Who cares about Ares' honor? Ares has been
dissing the power of love! We can't have that, now can we? You're
the God of Love; you have a responsibility! Look honey, honestly,
Ares has been meddling in that poor mortal's life since day one.
We're just trying to give the boy a fighting chance! A chance to
really choose who he'd rather serve. Balancing the scales, so to
speak. He's lovely, sure... but that sweet-looking mortal has been
worshipping at the feet of Strife and Discord for way too long."
Aphrodite rolled her eyes and sneered. "And those two so get on
my nerves. Now it's time to see what the power of love — and I
mean the power of L-O-V-E — can do for someone like him."
Cupid snorted. "Let me guess. You and Ares were hitting the
ambrosia a little too hard and decided to make a bet." Aphrodite's
mouth twisted in a way that told Cupid he was dead-on. "Oh man.
MA! This isn't an assignment at all, is it?! It's just another
game! You're just trying to one-up Ares by nabbing one of his!"
Aphrodite's eyes narrowed. "Sweetie, that boy needs us. He
doesn't belong to Ares yet. Trust me on this, it may sound like a
game to you, but this is an assignment. Now you've got the
arrow... do the shooting." Her voice firmed and she pointed
through the window emphatically, where the occupant was heading
for the door, obviously ready to leave.
Cupid gave her a tired look, but strung his bow. "Okay, Ma, but
let me tell you, you're dealing with the fall-out from this one.
Uncle Ares is like totally beyond my toleration."
Cupid sighted on the front door of the building and waited. As the
dark figure moved out into the February sun and turned his back on
the hovering gods, Cupid released the arrow and watched with
satisfaction. Perfect strike. A fine gold mist washed up over the
man on the street, who stopped short, looking around as if he'd
been pinched.
"There. Everybody will adore him for the next twelve hours. And I
mean everybody. They won't be able to remember ever feeling any
other way about him." Cupid shook his head. "Later, Ma. Hope you
know what you're doing," he tossed off, then disappeared with a
clap of his hands.
Aphrodite narrowed her eyes at the glamored man on the street in
front of her. "Such a good son, my little boy... but no
imagination." Shaking her head and smiling widely, she crooked a
finger and nudged the spell just a touch. "How about... 'the
more the antipathy in the beholder, today's attraction will be
that much bolder'. THAT should make things interesting." With a
giggle, she blew a kiss at the object of her attention and
disappeared as well.
Alex Krycek's head whipped around as a second flash of golden
light skimmed the edge of his vision. What the fuck? He
shivered, trying to dislodge the feeling that he'd just been
zapped with static electricity. Glancing down at himself he
brushed his good hand over his jacket and slacks. No sizzle of
static. He shrugged.
Shaking his head, he walked to his car and jumped in, trying to
focus on the first appointment of the day. His mind refused to
cooperate, seemingly more concerned with the fact that he was
working on Valentine's Day when he should be getting drunk and
brooding about might-have-beens with the local endangered
wildlife. He caught sight of the dashboard clock glaring 9:00 AM
at him, and pushed the thoughts away and started the car. Enough
time to get drunk and fox-maudlin later. At the moment, he had a
long drive ahead.
Leaning on the doorbell at Spender's apartment four hours later,
Krycek bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet and wondered
again if he should have taken his morning appointment up on
that... somewhat surprising offer. He hoped he hadn't offended the
woman. It wasn't everyday a Syndicate informant just back from
Tunisia offered to give him a blowjob before handing over twice
the expected information and telling him the encryption code on
the confidential disk she was delivering.
Krycek's suspicious mind assumed a trap. He'd never even thought
Roberts particularly liked him. But it wouldn't do to get her
pissed at him. Maybe he should've let her suck his dick... where's
the harm? But timing was too important today. Hopefully Roberts
didn't take the refusal too personally. Frankly he'd much rather
have taken up that overly-friendly waiter at the place he'd
stopped to grab lunch on the run.
His musings were interrupted by Jeffrey Spender swinging open the
front door. Spender's eyes focused on Krycek and his melancholy
face brightened. Alex tilted his head to one side and studied the
change suspiciously. "Jeffrey?" he inquired neutrally.
"Krycek!" A quiver of excitement ran through Spender's voice.
"Come in! How... lovely to see you!"
Alex cocked his head forward and stared at Spender through his
lashes. "You... knew I was coming, Jeff. Remember?"
"Oh... oh yes. Of course," Spender giggled.
Giggled? Alex took a closer look. Had Jeffrey been drinking? He
certainly sounded a little breathy. Alex ran his tongue over his
lips absently and took a sudden step backwards in shock as
Spender's eyes fastened on the movement hungrily. He cleared his
throat. "Jeff... um... you alright?"
"Fine. Fine. Please come in." Spender definitely sounded throatier
than usual. Krycek eyed him warily for a moment, then sidled past
him into the apartment and dropped the paper files on Spender's
desk.
"Alright, here's the information I'm carrying for your father. But
we need to work fast. He's expecting me anytime and he will
notice if I'm late. You copy these, two sets, keep one for
yourself, and reseal the originals in this. And don't lick it.
Use water to seal it. And here, wear these." He shoved a pair of
thin gloves at Jeff. "He'll doubtless have the whole lot analyzed
to see if I got into it. You take care of that... I want to boot
up this disk." Let's see if Roberts was telling the truth about
that encryption code.
"I thought the disk was going to be encrypted."
"It is. I think I have the code."
"Oh Alex! You're so... resourceful!"
Krycek slowly tilted his head to look at Spender, who stood
holding the paper files, a dopey grin plastered on his face.
"Uh... thanks, Jeff. Now how about that copying? We really do need
to work fast." As Spender turned obediently and powered up the
portable copy machine, Alex stared at the back of the curly head.
What the hell? First Roberts, now this.
No doubt about it, he was sticking with the new cologne.
He turned his attention to the disk in hand, stuffing it into
Spender's computer. And watched in amazement as the password
Roberts had eagerly handed over opened up every single file on the
disk. "Holy fuck," he breathed, excitement coursing through him.
As he skimmed the files rapidly, he automatically started
searching for snippets to feed to Mulder, before catching the
direction of his thoughts and giving himself a mental kick. For
fuck's sake... stop worrying about getting in good with the
Spooky-boy — which you'll never do no matter how much information
you feed him — and start getting these files copied, asshole.
He steadfastly ignored the stab of pain the thought created and
started saving files, the hum of the copy machine a droning
background noise that was strangely soothing.
The copier stopped before Krycek finished with his duplicate
backups. Alex stiffened as he felt a body move to stand hard at
his right shoulder. So close. Too close. Shooting a glance up
through his lashes, Alex blinked at the adoring look Spender was
giving him. "Almost done here," Alex muttered, moving his chair
slightly to the left. A warm hand descended on his shoulder. He
froze in his frantic copying, then forced himself to keep punching
keys and swapping disks. Time limit, Alex, time limit. Ignore
the hand on the shoulder. It'll go away.
"Alex."
"Jeff?"
"Alex. I want to thank you. I don't know that I ever really
thanked you... for your support, your understanding. Your help.
That first night. You saved my life."
Alex swallowed hard at the deepening note in Jeff's voice. "Don't
mention it. Really."
"No... I... it meant a lot..."
The hand on his shoulder began to rub gently, as Spender's other
hand moved to stroke the back of Alex's neck. He'd taken the
gloves off. Long fingers traced over vertebra and moved up to play
with the very bottom of Alex's hair.
Okay, no mistaking that. Fuck! This does not fit The Jeffrey
Spender Profile, Alex thought desperately, swapping disks and
nearly wiping out his back-up in his momentary confusion. Don't
have time for this now. Focus, dammit.
Leaping to his feet and backing away, Alex pocketed the duplicate
disks and flashed Spender a charming smile. "Sorry Jeff, got to
go, you understand. Can't keep your father waiting. Happy
reading." He turned and bolted for the door, not bothering to wait
and hear Jeff's response.
Shaking off Spender's uncharacteristic actions, Krycek drove
quickly to his rendezvous with the Smoking Man. But as he entered
the office building and rode the elevator upwards, his mind
returned to the subject. Odd. Just plain odd. Roberts, Spender...
neither of whom had shown any prior interest... The elevator doors
opened and Alex dragged himself back on track. Focus.
Exiting the elevator, he walked to the designated office. He took
a deep breath, prepared to hold his patience and his tongue, and
knocked sharply. At the summons he entered and strode over to the
desk, handing over the envelope and the original disk. "Roberts'
information."
The Smoking Man leaned forward and stubbed out his cigarette. "Any
difficulties?"
Aside from an amorous informant and your amorous son? No.
"No."
"Excellent, Alex." The Smoking Man glanced from the material up to
Krycek, meeting his gaze directly. Their eyes caught... and held.
And held. Krycek met the stare firmly, wondering what new power
game the man was playing at, when the severe face suddenly relaxed
into a slow smile. "But then, I'm hardly surprised. Such a...
competent operative. You always were one of our best."
Alex felt his mouth start to drop open and snapped it closed.
The Smoking Man stood and moved slowly around the desk, the
unnatural, beaming expression growing more entranced by the
second. "Such a valuable employee. I don't know that we tell you
often enough, Alex, how much we appreciate you."
Okay, somebody needs to check me for missing time. I've
obviously been abducted, and it became April while I was gone. And
this is a very sick April Fools joke. "Ah... thank you?" I
think.
The Smoking Man stared down at him. "We should talk more, Alex. I
don't know that I've ever told you... how much you mean to the
organization. To me. Oh and by the way, that's a very good look on
you." The Smoking Man smiled coyly, his lashes lowering
flirtatiously, and gestured with one hand, indicating the dark
suit Krycek wore. Then the hand kept moving... reaching out...
closer... brushing Krycek's cheek.
Krycek fought not to stagger backward. "Uh... I think..."
The Smoker's hand at his chin tilted his face, thumb stroking
gently over the jawbone. "What do you think, Alex? Tell me. Tell
me everything you think. I want to hear it all. I want—"
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Alex jerked out of reach
and started backing for the door. Deja vu. How many Spenders do
I need to run away from today? "I think... I need to be on my
way. I'm... running late for another appointment. Yes... very
late..." He didn't stop until he felt the doorknob digging him in
the back. Reaching behind him he flung open the door, nodded once
and scrambled for the elevator.
He reached the elevator just as the doors opened to discharge
three of the Syndicate heads. The three paused as Krycek rushed
toward them, and Alex stalled long enough to see a glimmer in the
First Elder's eye that he hoped never to see there again.
Choking out a panicked "hellogoodbye" he bounded into the elevator
and jammed at the down button, giving a sickly smile to the First
Elder as the man swung back around to watch him go, a forlorn look
of loss coming over the round face. From the direction of the
office he'd just left, Alex could hear a door open, and the
plaintive voice of the Smoker calling "Wait! Alex, wait!" The
doors slid closed and Krycek slumped against the wall as the
elevator descended.
His mind spun as he tried to sort out the day's experiences thus
far. Okay, option number one, my personal magnetism has finally
exceeded even my own expectations. Option two, I've been exposed
to some whacked Syndicate pheromone experiment without my
knowledge. Option three, they all got together and decided to try
to drive me stark raving mad by making me think they all want me.
Oh fuck, now I sound like Mulder.
He winced at the easy way Mulder surfaced into his thoughts yet
again, and headed for his car. The dull ache in his chest that
accompanied thoughts of Mulder was nothing new, so he ignored it
as he got in and fastened his seatbelt.
Starting the car, he once again tried to get himself back on
track... what came next? Home to get drunk. It was looking better
and better. Pulling out, he edged the needle up well past the
legal limit and headed for his current temporary home. His mind
kept returning to the look on the Smoking Man's face as that hand
had brushed his cheek... the gleam in the First Elder's eye...
Spender's gooey expression...
The blue light flashing in back of him finally forced its way
through his preoccupation. "FUCK." Braking and pulling over, he
slammed his good hand on the steering wheel and fumbled for his
wallet, extracting a fake id to match the registration on the car.
Rolling down the window he offered a smile at the approaching
officer. "What seems to be the problem, officer?" he managed
through gritted teeth.
The stern face of the traffic cop relaxed slightly as he leaned
down and looked into the car. "A little above the speed limit,
son."
"My apologies, officer, I didn't realize..." Extending the license
and registration through the window, Krycek blinked in surprise as
the man glanced at them for barely a second and handed them back
with a wide smile.
"Well, yes... no harm done, now was there. Slow it down a
little... and you have a nice day, sir." The officer nodded
benignly at him, shook his hand, patted the car door paternally,
and turned and headed back to his patrol car.
Alex sat staring through his windshield. "Pheromone experiment.
Definitely a pheromone experiment."
Home. Krycek sighed and dropped the purloined file copies on a
chair, booting up his laptop and settling in for a second, longer
look at the disk contents. He'd worry about the weird way the
Syndicate members were treating him later. He knew it was some
sort of trick, he just couldn't see what they were after with
it. Focus focus FOCUS. Rubbing his forehead he tried to
concentrate on the disk, and soon lost himself in selecting
material for Mulder.
By the time he was done it was later than he'd intended. He sat
back and stretched, letting his mind relax and drift... until he
caught himself getting excited at the thought of Mulder's reaction
to the new secrets. He groaned and banged his head on the table
next to his laptop. Okay, definitely time for
drunk-and-maudlin. He ejected the disk, powered down the
computer, and slipped the disk into his shirt pocket.
Wandering into the kitchen he stopped short and smacked his
already sore forehead as he realized he'd never restocked after
his last drunk-and-maudlin evening. He only allowed himself a
D&M every so often, but he couldn't believe he'd been stupid
enough not to be prepared for Valentine's Day. A classic D&M if
there ever was one.
He groaned and pulled on his boots. There was nothing for it but a
run to the store. Maybe he could pick up a heartshaped box of
candy and get really pathetic. Or maybe you could deliver the
disk in the heartshaped box of candy, his traitorous mind
whispered. Snorting at his own idiocy, he stalked out of the
apartment.
It was a Sunday. He was going to be stuck with supermarket beer.
Happy fucking Valentine's Day.
Walter Skinner stood in front of his full length mirror and
twisted and turned, checking his appearance anxiously. He'd feel
more comfortable in a suit, but who in hell wore a suit to the
supermarket? He'd just have to do without the confidence-booster
of a pressed shirt and power tie.
He glanced at the clock. He had it timed perfectly. More than
enough time to get there. As long as Valentine's Day didn't throw
a kink in the schedule... he had a moment of uneasy panic, but
stamped it down. If it did, it did. He could handle it. He'd been
a Marine.
He tried a warm smile at his reflection. Surprise, he
counseled himself, aim for casual surprise. Clearing his
throat he practiced. "Well hello! What a surprise seeing you
here!" Okay, it would be a lie... and he felt a little bad about
that. But Assistant Directors of the FBI did not admit to
stalking their subordinates, discovering their weekly shopping
schedules, and lying in wait for them at the grocery store. Deep
breath. "Grocery shopping on Valentine's Day? That's terribly
depressing. You should be celebrating the day. You know, I know
this may sound rather forward, but it occurs to me I'm not your
immediate superior any longer. Care to... go for a drink?"
He winced at his reflection. Could he sound any more idiotic?
Rolling his head gently from shoulder to shoulder, he tried to
relax his neck muscles. Doubting he was ever going to be relaxed
again until after this was over one way or another, he sighed and
went to get his coat.
The drive to the supermarket took a bit longer than anticipated.
The heavier than usual Sunday-night traffic reminded Skinner of
the federal holiday the next day, which most people, unlike
himself, were actually going to take advantage of and not go to
work. He allowed himself a flash of optimism... depending on the
events of tonight, perhaps he'd be enjoying the holiday as well.
He smiled as he pulled into a parking spot next to a sleek black
car.
Checking his watch, he hurried out of the car and headed for the
glass doors. Once inside the obnoxiously bright store, he scanned
the surroundings impatiently. Yes! There! Right on schedule... in
the midst of the cantaloupe!
His eyes focused only on the flash of beautiful red hair above
dark coat, Skinner strode toward Produce, a man on a mission.
Alex Krycek stalked around the store, trying to avoid people who
seemed intent on smiling at him. Or winking at him, nodding to
him, checking him out, brushing up against him... He sidestepped
the third teenage girl to pause dumbstruck in his path, and rubbed
his hand over his face.
Life was getting too weird. Even for him.
The woman in the blue sweater who had been shadowing him around
the store suddenly rounded the aisle ahead of him. She was heading
toward him again, a little too casually. For the first three
aisles he'd thought she might be Syndicate. For the last ten
minutes he'd just been getting really annoyed. All he fucking
wanted was a bag of fucking pretzels to go with his fucking beer.
Was that too much to ask? He whirled and changed direction yet
again, detouring toward Produce.
But first, he walked into a wall. At least that's what if felt
like.
Dana Scully looked up at the sudden crash. Blinking in surprise,
she saw AD Skinner and a tall dark man rebounding off each other
and tripping over the fruit display they'd just knocked over.
Skinner looked flustered, extending a hand to steady the other
man... and then going completely still. Scully took another glance
at the second man and crushed the banana in her hand.
Alex Krycek?
Krycek stared in dismay at the man catching his arm. Of all the
people in all the supermarkets in all of DC, I gotta run into
him? Their eyes met for a long drawn-out moment. "Fuck," Alex
managed succinctly as tangerines rolled around at his feet.
"Alex?" gasped Skinner.
Oh no, thought Alex.
"Where have you been?" Skinner exclaimed. "I've been expecting you
ever since that day in my car!" Skinner's face softened. "Waiting.
Waiting for you to contact me. Hoping..." His deep voice husked
lower, and took on a suggestive note. "Waiting for you to tell me
what it is you want."
"Sir?"
Krycek tried to whirl at the sound of that voice, but Skinner's
hand on his right arm tightened possessively. He winced and swung
his head to see that yes, his powers of voice recognition hadn't
dimmed any. That was indeed Dana Scully standing staring at the
two of them with the sort of look she usually reserved only for
Mulder's stupider theories. Blue eyes met green... and Krycek felt
his knees buckle at the change that instantly swept over Scully.
"ALEX!" She vaulted forward, narrowly missing skidding on a
crushed tangelo, getting a death grip on his left arm. "It's been
so long!" Starry-eyed and flushed, she pressed closer, one tiny
hand keeping a firm hold on his prosthetic, the other reaching up
to play with the buttons on his shirt. "Far too long. You can't
just disappear on me like that! I think you and I need to have a
long... private... talk. We should go somewhere... just the two of
us. What do you say?"
"Agent Scully."
Scully turned at the gruff voice. "Sir?"
"I have business with this man. You won't be taking him anywhere.
He's coming with me." Skinner turned back to Krycek, his hand
loosening to stroke up and down Alex's upper arm. "Aren't you,
Alex?"
Scully released Krycek to round on her former boss, hands on hips
and eyes sparking. "Says who?"
"Says me."
"Oh no you don't... you're not taking him anywhere..."
Krycek eased out from under Skinner's griip as the big man towered
over Scully. Backing up slowly, he stared at the bickering feds in
sick amazement, then turned and walked out of the store as quickly
as he could, trying to brush banana residue off his left sleeve as
he went.
In the parking lot he paused long enough to draw in a few gulps of
cold air, and then raced for his car. Backing out, he decided
perhaps the entire city's water supply had been drugged this time.
By the time he was on the road again, it occurred to him that
maybe it was his water supply that was drugged, and this was all
a hallucination.
Scully's adoring expression popped full-force into his mind. He
shook his head and clenched the steering wheel tighter. Why on
earth would he hallucinate that?
Obviously this wasn't just a Syndicate game, since he couldn't see
Scully and Skinner cooperating with the Smoking Man. Even for the
admittedly tempting reward of driving Alex Krycek bonkers. That
did of course leave "exposure to strange pheromone
experimentation" open. But... if that was the case... and
everyone was going to react like this...
Slowly, the idea that had been floating around in the back of his
mind pushed to the fore.
And he found that his body had already figured it out, because the
car was already driving toward Mulder's place.
Apartment 42 beckoned.
Taking a deep breath, Alex wedged the heartshaped box of candy
more firmly under his prosthesis, and shifted his grip on the
roses enough to knock. Predictable, but when you went shopping for
Valentine's Day at 8:30 PM on the day in question, you took what
you could find. He stepped back from the door and prayed to
whatever deity might be listening that he didn't end up dead with
a tacky box of valentine candy under his arm. The police shots
would be excruciatingly humiliating. Even if he was dead.
Noise on the other side of the door. Alex swallowed hard. The
moment of truth. Was he the subject of a successful experiment to
manipulate emotional and physical reactions, or was the entire
world conspiring to get him to make a fool of himself? The
doorknob rattled. Alex concentrated on trying not to look too
hopeful. The door opened.
"KRYCEK?"
Okay, so far so bad. That voice did not sound pleased. Alex's
heart dropped to his feet. "Mulder. I just..."
Mulder's eyes skimmed over the candy and the flowers, face going
from angry to perplexed to suspicious to angry again. "What the—"
He looked up... and met Alex's eyes. The moment stretched.
Deepened. Pulled like taffy.
Mulder's expression melted. "Alex." It was almost a growl. "Get
the fuck in here."
The throaty rumble of Mulder's voice tugged Alex forward before
he'd even realized he was moving. He stumbled into the apartment
with **...I would walk into the fingers of your fire
willingly...** echoing in his head. Until he realized the song
clashed terribly with the strains of "Only You" floating from
somewhere in the apartment. He almost rolled his eyes, but then,
what could one expect from an Elvis fan? The door closed and
suddenly Mulder was in front of him again, extending a finger to
brush over one velvety rose.
"For me?"
"For you..." Alex croaked. Pushed the flowers forward.
Mulder took the bouquet, biting his lip to keep from smiling. Or
laughing, Alex thought darkly. To give him credit, he did
neither as he accepted the candy as well, when Alex shifted it to
his right hand awkwardly and extended it.
"I'd say what's the occasion, but given the theme, I'm assuming
it's the traditional one," Mulder drawled, staring at the gifts in
his hands then grinning up at Alex.
"There's a... little something extra in with the truffles," Alex
mumbled, still not quite believing it would be this easy.
Mulder's eyebrows went up, and he walked to his desk, turning his
back on Alex, laying down the flowers and opening the candy. "Not
going to explode, is it," he tossed over his shoulder with another
sexy grin.
Alex stared at him. Amazing. It was actually working on Mulder,
too. Whatever it was. "No," he managed quickly. "I'd never—" He
bit off the rest of the words before they could make it out, but
the heartwrenchingly sweet smile Mulder shot his way told him it
was wasted effort. He felt heat rise in his cheeks and almost
groaned.
As the ribbon and then the top came off the box, Mulder sucked in
a sharp breath. Lifting the disk out, he studied it for a minute,
then popped it into his computer and opened the first file. "Oh
Alex," he breathed, in a perfect imitation of the woman in the
diamond commercial. "You shouldn't have."
"You're worth it," Alex murmured softly, before he could catch
himself.
Mulder turned from his desk and walked slowly toward Alex. Alex
felt his lungs stop completely, and had a moment of dizziness that
he wasn't sure whether to blame on lack of oxygen or Mulder's
proximity. Closer and closer and closer and... there.
**...and dance the edge of sanity I've never been this close...**
Alex breathed in slowly. Oh yes. Mulder stood perfectly still,
bare millimeters away, not bridging the final gap. Alex inhaled
again, dragging the moment out, then tripped forward with a small
sound of surrender. His right hand went up to circle Mulder's
neck, head canting sideways, lips meeting Mulder's on a sigh of
pure delight.
He felt Mulder's arms wrap around him and tighten, drawing him in
closer even as he plastered himself against Mulder's body. The
kiss deepened and sucked any remaining oxygen from his body, until
when Mulder's head lifted, Alex practically swooned in his arms.
Mulder grinned and steadied him.
Waitaminit, Alex's head insisted fuzzily, I thought I was
supposed to be having this effect on him... He blinked at
Mulder, completely dazed, and lost himself in the satisfied look
on Mulder's face. He tilted his head back and parted his lips as
Mulder dove for his mouth again. Moaning into the kiss he managed
to mumble "...are they experimenting on your pheromones too?" But
apparently Mulder didn't hear him, or didn't understand him,
because all he heard was a muffled laugh and then Mulder's tongue
was wiping out any memory of his own question.
When Mulder pulled back again, Alex slumped against him, gasping
for breath and whispering inanely against Mulder's shirt. "What's
that?" Mulder's soft voice filled his ear just before gentle teeth
nibbled at his earlobe.
He raised his volume without even thinking, knowing he was
babbling but unable to stop the flow of words that fought to get
off his tongue. So long. Waited so long. The scent of Mulder
filled him, infiltrating his brain and giving him the intoxication
he'd been seeking all day. "So long... wanted this... you... so
long... years. Never wanted anything like this... this... just
this. So sorry... so sorry for everything... if I could change it,
take it all back..."
"Sssshh." Mulder's hands stroked over his back in smooth, soothing
motions. "Easy, easy."
"No... you don't understand," Alex insisted desperately, burying
his face in Mulder's neck. "I don't know what this is. I don't
know how long this is going to last... and I love you. Oh god I
love you." Knowing he was going to regret every single thing he
said didn't seem to be enough to keep him from saying it. Alex
gripped Mulder tighter, then let his hand roam avidly. He bit at
Mulder's shoulder through the tshirt, then nuzzled his face into
Mulder's throat, pressing for the pulse up under the jaw. "Always
loved you... Made such a mess of things. You... it was always
you." Shut up Alex! his mind hissed. His tongue continued to
ignore the order. "Trying to put things right. I swear it. I am...
I have been..."
Mulder laughed softly, breathlessly. "You're doing a pretty damn
good job of it." He shivered. "Oh Alex..." His hands moved to tug
at Alex's clothes. Alex twisted slightly and slid to his knees,
rubbing his face down Mulder's body as he lowered himself, until
he pressed his face against Mulder's jeans. "Alex."
Mulder's voice struck a gratifying, urgent note and Alex started
fighting with the zipper, pressing open-mouthed kisses against
Mulder's crotch and sucking at the worn denim. Mulder's fingers
joined his and made easier work of the button and zipper,
wrenching the jeans open and lifting himself free. Alex paused to
look up at Mulder for a long moment, drinking him in, then sank
forward and slowly fit his lips over Mulder's erection, working
his mouth down, relaxing his throat.
Home.
Mulder's hands in his hair, Mulder's cock in his mouth, his name
on Mulder's lips.
For that instant, he didn't care how long it lasted. He'd thank
whatever Syndicate mad scientist was running this fucking
experiment, thank them for taking down Mulder's walls and giving
him the chance to express... this. This worship. Whatever way he
could, however briefly.
His throat convulsed as Mulder bucked against him, but he resisted
all attempts to lift him away. Let me do this... just let me do
this... He opened wider, offering all he could, and reveled when
the hands stopped urging him to slow down, instead gripping his
head and dragging him closer. His own hand clenched on Mulder's
ass, pulling ever closer, sucking harder. Feeling something in his
chest burst and unravel as Mulder gave a hoarse cry and came,
trembling and gasping.
Easing his mouth off of Mulder, licking slowly and imprinting all
the sensory impressions he could, Alex reluctantly released his
hold. Mulder took a shaky step back and sank to his knees,
swaying, staring at Alex with wide eyes.
"Alex...."
"Mulder." His own voice was huskier than usual. He met Mulder's
stare, for once not worrying about what his expression might be
giving away, not trying to school the feelings out of his face.
Only for you... He laughed helplessly as the random thought
intersected with the overwrought conclusion of "Only You", but the
sound caught in his throat and came out completely different than
intended.
And Mulder was leaning forward, folding Alex into his arms. Alex
fell forward, then let himself be dragged to his feet. His knees
hurt but he was steadier than Mulder. They leaned against each
other woozily and suddenly Mulder grinned.
"Come with me. Something so fucking strange happened last fall,
and I think you'll appreciate it..." Catching Alex's hand he
dragged him into the bedroom, laughing at the look on Alex's face.
Pulling him to the bed, Mulder gave one hard push and Alex
sprawled on his back on the sloshing mattress, gaping at his
unexpected reflection staring down from the overhead mirror.
"Mulder! I'm... shocked." Alex grinned.
"I didn't put it up... I swear. And I haven't had time to take
it down." Mulder was literally giggling as he crawled over Alex's
body, opening clothing and tugging it off, head dipping to nip and
kiss and lick as he got to bare skin. He unbuckled the prosthetic
and removed it gently. Alex fought his right arm out of his shirt
and let Mulder push it all over the side of the bed.
"Well, don't take it down on my account," Alex gasped as he got an
incredible view of Mulder stripping his pants from him, spreading
his legs and crawling between them to lick at Alex's cock.
"Mulder... Mulder, take your clothes off too..."
Mulder laughed around his mouthful, making Alex gasp again, but
then dutifully sat up and stripped off his tshirt, wriggled out of
his open jeans. "Better?"
Alex gazed up at their reflections, down to Mulder in the flesh,
back up to the mirror. "Oh yeah... much better," he groaned,
reaching for Mulder and dragging him into a kiss. Mulder bit at
his lips until Alex released him, then worked his way down Alex's
body again, once again settling between widespread thighs and
taking Alex into his mouth.
Writhing on the bed, hand clenching in the blankets, Alex moaned.
This was too much. Too too much... and consequently, wasn't going
to last long. Almost with the thought he was arching and
whimpering, climaxing helplessly even as his dazed mind screamed
at him to try to make it last. As if. Orgasm tore through him
almost painfully. "Too much..." he gasped, staring up at himself
and desperately wanting to hit freeze-frame. "Too much..." as that
mouth, those lips, slid away.
"Too much what," Mulder murmured as he dragged himself up to
settle next to Alex, drawing him into the circle of his arms.
"Too much you," Alex whispered unthinkingly, eyes closing as his
trembling hand lifted to trace over Mulder's face, throat, chest,
then back up to hair. Mulder's lips brushed Alex's closed eyelids
and Alex could feel him smiling.
"I love the way you get so... fractured when you get turned on,"
Mulder murmured silkily. "Who'dathunk you'd be such a lose-control
kinda guy."
Alex opened his eyes and stared into the heavy-lidded look of
affectionate amusement on Mulder's face. "Only you," he mumbled.
Mulder chuckled and nuzzled Alex's shoulder, closing his eyes and
relaxing. "Get your breath back. Incredible as it was, that was
way too short on both counts. I'm of a mind to see just how
incoherent I can make you." He pressed his lips to Alex's ear,
voice a rough whisper. "...love you..."
Freeze-frame.
When the world started up again, Alex nestled closer, heart
pounding. His own eyes stayed open this time, as he listened to a
clock chime nine. He stared dreamily up at the two of them
reflected in the mirror... and then suddenly caught sight of the
half-naked, blond man — with Attitude and an archery set —
standing at the end of the bed.
Alex jerked in shock, his head rising off the bed. "What the
fuck..." he mumbled, turning to glance at Mulder, who didn't
exactly look to be asleep but didn't seem to be noticing anything
either.
"He can't see me," Cupid said casually, leaning against the bed.
"I wouldn't even be appearing to you, but... well... I like so
hate when my family takes it into their heads to fuck around with
mortals without at least letting them know. Mom keeps telling me
to hang out with Uncle Herc, she shoulda known I'd pick that up,"
he grumbled.
Alex stared at the blond and decided that he finally had his
answer as to why the day had been so perfectly strange. He was
losing it. Obviously. Had already lost it, perhaps. It was all a
hallucination after all. But Mulder didn't feel like a
hallucination. And the blond kept talking.
"So, you know, I just wanted to... let you know that your time's
up. So it wouldn't be like... a total shock."
That sounded ominous. Alex cleared his throat. "What?"
Cupid sighed. "You've had your twelve hours of love and adoration.
Everybody's gonna go back to normal now. Time's up, I'm afraid."
Twelve hours. Love and... oh fuck. Alex sat bolt upright. "Wait!"
He turned to stare at Mulder, sprawled beside him.
"Sorry. Can't. Those are The Rules. And don't ask about The Rules.
None of us have a clue." Cupid moved around the side of the bed,
lifted one hand and bopped Alex softly on the forehead. A flash of
golden light washed up off of Alex as if it was being sucked into
the man's hand.
"But..."
Cupid smiled at him. "But hey, it was fun, wasn't it? How about
those two in the grocery store?"
The blond clapped his hands once and disappeared. Alex sat
perfectly still, trying not to think, until a rustle of movement
from beside him caught his attention. Turning his head slowly, he
watched as Mulder rolled onto his back and opened his eyes.
The black sports watch beeped nine o'clock.
Jeffrey Spender sat up straighter in the chair he'd been slouched
in most of the day, fondling Alex Krycek's stiletto, mooning over
the perfection of the man himself. What the hell... Shaking
his head, he looked around, then stared at his watch. It was how
late? He stood up, rubbing his forehead and moving toward the
phone. What had he been thinking? Alex Krycek? He dialed the phone
hurriedly.
"Hello? Diana? Yes... is the offer of a late dinner still open?
Great... see you there..."
The mantle clock rang nine o'clock.
The Smoking Man blinked down at his yellow legal pad, where he had
spent the last few hours writing "I [heart] Alex Krycek" all over
it. He stared at his hand, then at the paper, then his hand, then
the paper. What the hell...
The First Elder shifted suddenly in his chair, where he had been
obviously daydreaming away most of the meeting. Shaking his head,
he leaned toward the Smoking Man. CSM immediately flipped his
yellow pad over, and dropped his pen.
"That Alex Krycek..." the First Elder began, slowly, pitching his
voice well under the drone of comments from the other Syndicate
members.
"Yes," managed the Smoking Man, clearing his throat.
The First Elder paused. "Uh... nothing. Never mind."
Nodding, the Smoking Man lit a cigarette with a shaking hand. A
movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he
turned to see a phone being extended to him.
"Call for you, sir. Your private line."
"Thank you." The Smoking Man stood and stepped back into his
private office. "Hello?"
"...Conrad?"
That voice! He sucked in a breath, hardly daring to believe.
"...Teena? Teena, is that you?"
"Yes, Conrad. It's me. I just... well, it is Valentine's Day
and..."
"Oh Teena..."
The supermarket loudspeaker announced that the time was nine
o'clock and the store would be closing in 30 minutes.
Assistant Director Walter Skinner paused in the middle of
explaining to Agent Scully exactly why his authority in demanding
Alex Krycek's time outweighed hers. What the hell...
Agent Dana Scully froze in the act of rolling her eyes at her
former superior's attempt to get her away from that darling Alex
Krycek. What the hell...
They both looked up and around slowly. Thankfully, Alex Krycek
seemed to be nowhere around, though neither could remember seeing
him leave.
"Agent Scully?"
"Sir?"
"Ah... I don't... I... that is..."
"Sir, did I just...," Scully paused, and consulted her watch. "Did
we just spend over half an hour standing in the Produce section
of my supermarket arguing over Alex Krycek? While he apparently
walked away?"
Skinner nodded slowly. "I believe we did, Agent Scully."
Scully pondered this for a long moment, staring up at him. "Can
we... chalk that up to some sort of temporary insanity, sir?"
Skinner opened his mouth, then closed it. Tried again. "I believe
we can, Agent Scully."
Thoroughly flummoxed, Scully thought for another moment. "I'll
swear to never mention this again, if you'll do the same. Sir."
Skinner nodded immediately. Almost violently. "I will definitely
swear to that. Agent Scully."
Scully sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Well then.
Goodnight. Sir." She gave him a bemused look and turned to walk
away, still shaking her head.
Skinner watched her go with a sinking heart. Say something,
Walter! Say something! Three steps. Four, five, six... at seven,
Scully paused and turned. Walked back.
"Um... sir? This may... well, I know this may sound rather forward
but... it occurs to me that you're not my immediate superior
anymore. Ah... would you care to... go for a drink? It is
Valentine's Day, after all."
Skinner's face melted into a besotted grin. "Agent Scully! I'd
love to. I... I've wanted to ask you that for so long! I never
thought I had a chance, but then ever since that day in the
elevator, I've hoped..."
Scully caught his hand and started tugging him toward the exit.
"You can drop the 'agent' and call me Dana, Walter." She glanced
back at him with a grin and raised an eyebrow. "Unless you'd like
me to use my handcuffs..."
Alex stared down at Mulder, throat constricting. "It's gone, isn't
it," he whispered.
Mulder sat up slowly, rubbing his forehead. "What the hell..." He
shook his head, shivered, and focused on Alex. "I just got the
weirdest feeling. What's gone, lover?" He reached out and smoothed
his hand over Alex's cheek, thumb coasting over Alex's lower lip.
His mouth twisted into a slow smile and he leaned in to brush a
kiss against Alex's nose.
Alex blinked. "Uh..." He twisted his head around. Oddly enough,
the blond man had reappeared, hovering a foot above the floor,
looking confused. Alex met his eyes. The blond scratched his head
and shrugged. Alex turned back to Mulder, tilting his head to one
side. "You... still want me here?" he offered in a low voice.
Mulder's face went blank, then hardened. "What? You thought I'd
have sex with you for the disk and then throw you out? Gee, thanks
a lot, Krycek... high opinion of me you have there." He started to
get off the bed.
"No!" Alex reached out and caught his arm, yanking him back.
"But..." Alex looked over to the blond man again.
"I have no idea," Cupid answered the unspoken question in the
green eyes. He stalked closer to the bed and Alex had to stifle an
almost-hysterical laugh at seeing Mulder get studied so carefully
by someone he didn't even know was in the room. Cupid leaned in,
peering at Mulder thoughtfully. "The only thing I can think is...
he's really into you. I guess he just needed a little shove to
realize it. Looks to me like you two are Meant To Be."
Alex felt his lungs stop working again.
"Alex," Mulder sounded increasingly exasperated. "Will you look at
me? Are you alright? What's wrong with you? BREATHE..."
Cupid tugged at his lower lip thoughtfully. "Well, dude, my
recommendation would be, enjoy it," he advised Alex. "Life's too
short. At least for you mortals." With another clap, he
disappeared again.
As air returned to his chest, Alex couldn't keep a choking laugh
from bubbling up.
"Alex?"
"I'm sorry, Mulder. I didn't... I wasn't..." he leaned into Mulder
and laughed harder. He couldn't explain this one. Not even to
Spooky himself. "You just... make me really happy."
Mulder gave him a bemused look, and pulled him closer. "Okay..."
"I just... I gotta wonder, I guess." Alex sat up and pulled back
from Mulder's arms. "Flowers and candy and a confidential disk or
two and suddenly all is forgiven?" He didn't know why he felt such
a need to press his luck, but he suddenly found he hated the idea
that Mulder might be under the influence of anything. Including
half-naked cute blond men with bows and arrows and surfer-dude
drawls. "It can't be that easy," he murmured softly.
"No." Mulder shook his head, face serious. "It's not that easy."
He arched an eyebrow at Alex. "Although I must say, the disk
helped." His lips twitched.
Alex pounced.
Cupid watched the tussling men for a few more minutes, then sighed
and tilted his head back. "Hey Maaaa..."
"Yes, sweetie?" Aphrodite poofed into view buffing her nails.
Cupid gestured to the bed. "So... this was the point?"
Aphrodite grinned at the tangle of arms and legs on the bed. "Now
that's what I call the power of love. Yeah, this was the point.
Good call on Mulder's reaction, by the way. You were right on."
She tousled his hair and pinched his cheek. "Smart boy."
Cupid jerked back and sighed. "So we had like a total city falling
all over the dude for an entire day just to get him together with
the depressed guy, who loves him anyway?"
"That depressed guy, as you put it, is sort of important to the
continued existence of this world as we, like, know it. And I
don't know about you, but I like mortals just as they are now.
Nice and malleable." Aphrodite sniffed disdainfully. "Hybrids we
do not need. They are totally icks-ville." She shuddered, then
her face cleared. "And Mulder might love Alex, but he never
would have admitted it without a little... encouragement. Now he's
gotta deal." Aphrodite grinned. "I told you this was a real
assignment. Those two are gonna save the world, Cupey. They just
need each other to do it."
Cupid looked at the bed doubtfully. "If you say so, Ma. So... you
really think they'll both chill and actually make this work?"
Aphrodite's hands went to her hips, eyes narrowing dangerously as
she directed a scorching glare at the cuddling couple. "They
will make this work. If I have to appear personally and knock
their heads together on a weekly basis, this relationship will
work." One fine eyebrow arched and she made a sound of
frustration. "There's only so much 'star-crossed' bullshit I'll
take from lovers who fall under the Meant To Be category. And
these two have so used up my patience over the last couple
years."
Cupid ducked his head and coughed to cover his laugh. He felt a
flash of sympathy for the mortals. His mother's direct attention
could get... intense, to say the least. Oh well. They'll enjoy
the end result. He raised a remarkably straight face to
Aphrodite. "Well then, my work here is done. World saved by the
power of love, yadda yadda yadda. Later."
Aphrodite grinned at the bed as her son disappeared. "Yes indeed.
World saved. And if I can piss off Ares in the bargain, that's
just a totally bitchin' fringe benefit..."
[Song lines ...I would walk into the fingers of your fire
willingly/and dance the edge of sanity I've never been this
close... quoted without permission, from the indigo girls'
"ghost". What's a schmoopy fic without a song line or two.]
Cupidity
by Ratadder
Cupid hovered uncertainly in midair. Shoving streaked-blond hair
off his forehead, he eyed his assignment through the window. This
couldn't be right. Gnawing on his lower lip he fingered the
special arrow he'd prepared, and tried to decide what to do.
