Author: Gail
Fandom: X-Files
Pairing: Alex Krycek/Walter Skinner
Rating: NC-17
Summary: There's always a way to cheat death.
Archive: yes to Down in the Basement, CKOS, WWOMB, Querstrich. All others, please ask.
Email: gem225@hotmail.com
Web Pages: http://free.freespeech.org/gem/work/main.html and The
Unholy Trinity, http://www.strangeplaces.net/trinity/main.htm
Disclaimer: Alex Krycek and Walter Skinner and Fox Mulder belong to CC and Ten Thirteen Productions and the Fox network. I'm borrowing them without permission, but I'll play nicely with them, I promise.
Spoilers: Tunguska and Existence
For my dear friend Alexandra (now dead), who sent me my first Krycek tape and really did not need CC killing off Krycek; for Greg, who thought the episode was cheesy and would never have watched it except I got him hooked on the X-Files; and for Katja and Mareen, who told me I'd love Krycek and were right. Beta'd most kindly by Bertina and Elizabeth. Special thanks to Elizabeth, who kept me from tossing it out with the trash and gave me the title.
Afterlife
By Gail
*****
He woke up and tried to remember. What was going on? Then he did, and he froze.
"It's all right, Alex." Gentle voice, but still gruff. Some things never changed. "It worked."
"You did everything the way we planned?" He didn't open his eyes. If this was a trick, he didn't want to know. Maybe he was dead, although his head hurt like hell, and so did the rest of his body. Maybe dead wouldn't be so bad, if his lover was there, too.
"Everything, Alex."
At that Alex Krycek finally opened his eyes. Yes, this was the place, the cabin. The sunlight was warm and soothing on the old wood of the floors and furniture, and he could see the pine trees and smell the brook that he was sure had fish in it. He was safe? He was safe. Walter was there, and he had a smile on his face that reassured Alex, and his hand was coming down to stroke Alex's hair.
"I can't stay, but I'll be back as soon as I can."
"The bullets were blanks, right?" They'd hurt a lot, more than he had been expecting.
"Of course." Walter looked exasperated, and Alex smiled. "You didn't have to be so goddamned intent on shooting Mulder, you know."
"I didn't shoot him." Couldn't shoot him. So pretty, so damned knowing, so fragile and close to broken always, and so destructive. Didn't want to shoot him, even though it might be better if he was dead, but that would hurt Walter, and that would be bad. Funny how so many things came to black and white now. For years he'd lived in the gray areas of the mind and heart, but with Walter, things had changed.
Walter scowled. "I had to shoot you to convince him."
"I know. When you get back, I'll fuck you." Not now, since he was exhausted from living on the edge for so long, and he could tell that Walter was serious about leaving. He got his hand up and captured Walter's hand, bringing it to his mouth, sucking on one of the fingers. He heard Walter's groan with relief. That hadn't changed, either. "And then you'll fuck me."
"Scully's baby is all right."
Alex found himself smiling. "Good. She'll be safe?"
"I'll see to it before I leave the Bureau. You didn't think they'd let me stay after killing you, did you?"
It took a minute to answer. He hadn't thought of that. "No."
"I don't need them. They don't need me." Walter said nothing more, but Alex could hear the rest in the silence. **I need you. You need me.** Both true, but both never spoken. Some things were best in silence.
Like the first time they'd fucked. The balcony, the middle of the night, Skinner coming out to see how his captive was doing, and Alex baring his teeth, then finding his ass bare instead. Skinner fucking him slowly, making it good, Alex taking him in and wanting more, not caring that he was cuffed to a balcony, just wanting to get free to make it better for Skinner. It had been a long time before Alex had come back, but when he had, it was the right time, and Skinner just stared at him before letting Alex swarm all over him, kissing, touching, sucking, and then fucking him.
They had gone on seeing each other in secret for a while, then Alex had found out that the birth of Scully's baby was what the aliens were waiting for, that everything was coming to a head, and that there was a damned good chance he'd be dead by the end of it. Death wasn't an option, not when he had Walter Skinner in his life, and he and Walter had worked out his 'death'.
Now he was officially dead. He'd have to be careful for a while, but that was no problem; he'd been doing that for a long time. The Consortium was busy trying to figure out how Scully's baby would fit into things, and then there was always the question of how to treat the replicants. They wouldn't worry too much about one of their pet assassins being shot down. Hell, probably half of them were opening champagne to celebrate his death.
Alex smiled. "Go. They don't deserve you." That much he needed to know, but he never would.
Walter gave him a half-smile and turned away. Alex watched him leave, then let his eyes close again when the door shut. On his own for a little while, nothing new. He knew the cabin was stocked with food; he'd seen to that himself. It would give him time to think more about what he'd do next. That might take a while to figure out, but he had a while, and he had Walter. They had each other. Mulder had a baby to fixate on, had Scully, had whatever the hell it was that Mulder clung to. **Could have been me.** Alex smiled to himself. But Mulder had missed out, and Walter had taken him in, and this was his life now. All he had to do was make it what he wanted to be, and he would.
The End