WICKED GAME
By Mare
Chapter 7
Disclaimers in Chapter 1; Rated NC-17
Krycek lit the candles and stepped back, admiring the table. Perfect, he decided. Not too much, but just enough to show Scully that he knew it was a special night.
She probably wasnt aware that he knew it was her birthday. And if this date had fallen before her trip, he probably wouldnt have done anything about it. But in the eight days since shed come back, things had changed.
Though they didnt have sex every night, it was more frequent now. She was more open about the whole thing, and while she still couldnt or wouldnt give voice to what, specifically, she wanted, it seemed that she was no longer in denial about wanting and liking the sex.
He had made a few concessions, too. He tried to give her a little more private time, and had laid off the mindfucks. That put a temporary crimp in his overall plan, but he figured it was worth it. Better to lull her into complacency now; it would make later mindfucks easier and less noticeable.
This dinner was technically not a mindfuck. After all, it was her birthday, and she was entitled to a celebration, something nobody else in her life was likely to give her. His options were rather limited, but he did the best he could. Hed taken more trouble than usual with the food (surfing cooking websites until he found a gourmet recipe he thought shed like), and was prepared to let Scully do what she wanted afterwards, no questions asked. If she wanted him to go away, he would. If she wanted to have sex, hed let her dictate how it went, no matter what she wanted. He would make sure that everything that happened was focused on her pleasure.
Maybe it was a mindfuck after all...
"Whats all this?"
Krycek, momentarily startled, turned to find Scully standing behind him. "Happy birthday," he said, planting a friendly kiss on her cheek.
"Ohh..."
While he was no expert on birthday etiquette, Krycek knew that was not the customary response to that phrase. "Thank you very much, Alex. Im so glad you remembered," he prompted her.
"What? Oh..."
There was that sound again. "Something wrong, Dana? Got the date wrong, didnt I?"
"What? Oh, no... howd you know?"
"Nefarious research, of course," he said, neglecting to mention that hed sneaked a peek at her drivers license. "Now come on, sit down. Your celebratory dinner awaits."
"Um... Alex? I hope you didnt go to too much trouble..."
"I know its not much, but it probably wouldnt be smart if we went out --"
"Its not that," Scully said, stepping back a little. "Im not staying for dinner."
"Youre not staying." She shook her head. "Work?"
"No, Im going out to dinner. Mulder and some other people kind of arranged a little party..."
"Party." He had no idea why that idea should piss him off so much, but a sudden, surprising anger welled up inside him. "Party? And you didnt even think to call?"
"For what? You honestly think youd be invited?" she shot back.
"You mightve thought that I might make some arrangements myself --"
"I didnt even know you knew it was my birthday!"
"Well, I do, and for your information I did go to a lot of trouble. I had plans for tonight, and you didnt even think to call and tell me you wouldnt be here!"
Some little part of him realized he sounded completely irrational, but he didnt care. So much for all the efforts hed made since her trip. None of it mattered. The thoughtless bitch was just using him. "What the hell made you think I wouldnt want to do something today, huh?"
"We dont have that kind of relationship," she said quietly.
"Relationship, hell! Thats just common courtesy!"
"So now Im supposed to check in with you every hour on the hour?"
"Who said anything about checking in? All I ask for is a simple goddam phone call when you know youre not going to be here. Is that so much? Especially when theres the outside chance when I mightve had something nice planned?"
"Fine," Scully said flatly. "Ill have to remember to take my crystal ball to work so I can tell when youve got something planned." She turned and began to move away, but Krycek grabbed her arm and spun her around.
"Youre going to blow me off twice in one night?" he hissed, even as something inside him screamed at him to just let it go. He might have, but hed obviously been letting too much go lately. Control had to be reasserted.
"Get your hands off me!" She pulled her arm away from him but he didnt let go. "Or are you going to hurt me and call it another lesson?"
He immediately let go, but she didnt turn away. She remained there in front of him, breathing hard, glaring at him, eyes blazing, face flushed with anger, and Krycek was stunned to feel a rush of heat in his groin. He had a sudden, almost uncontrollable urge to kiss her, touch her, fuck her right here on the floor and make her forget about her dinner plans; to take care of his own needs for once without having to think about hers. It took every ounce of self-control he had to not do that; to take a step back and reign in his temper. Giving in to it had already gotten him in trouble once; he knew if he let it happen again it would spell the end of the deal.
Head down, he took a few deep breaths, until he felt he could trust himself to look at her without touching her. He looked up again to find her in the same position, seemingly waiting for him to make a move. He forced himself not to. Instead, he spoke.
"Look, you may not like this situation, but it is what it is and its not gonna change any time soon," he said. "Ive tried to make this deal tolerable for you. Ive made concessions I didnt have to make. Ive done a lot of stuff I didnt have to do. And Ive done it all, in case you didnt notice, for you."
"Dont do me any favors!" she spat.
"You could at least acknowledge the effort!"
"Why? I never asked you to be here. I never asked you to do anything for me. I never asked anything of you, so dont expect me to be grateful!"
"You couldnt be anyway, could you?" Krycek seethed. "Makes it harder to lie to yourself that this is just about sex."
"It is just about sex!" Scully shot back. "Stop trying to make it into something its not and cant ever be!"
She spun around and stalked off toward the bedroom. Krycek followed, but stopped when she slammed the door in his face. He waited, debating what to do next, until the bedroom door opened again. Scully, in different clothes now, stepped out and thrust a familiar package in his face. "Whats this?"
Krycek bit back the nasty comment that came immediately to mind. "A birthday gift," he said.
"Birthday gift," she repeated. "And what makes you think Ill accept any kind of gift from you?"
"You already did --"
"That was different," she said quietly. "I presume this isnt deal-related?"
"Oh, come on, its just a damn birthday present! Cant you just shut up for once and open it?"
"Hmph." Scully eyed the small package. "I suppose Ill have to so I know where to return it, right?" She tore the paper off, opened the box, and held up the velvet box inside. He watched as a strange look came over her face and he thought she might throw it at him right there, but she slowly opened it.
She didnt say anything; just stared at the box.
Her reaction was unsettling. Anger he could handle. In fact, the way this evening was going, he expected it. Silence, he couldnt handle right now. "Well?" he asked tentatively.
Scully looked up at him, that odd expression still on her face. "I cant... I cant accept this..."
"Why not?"
"I just... its not right..."
Krycek sighed. "Theyre just earrings, Dana. Birthstone earrings. I dont know what kind of meaning youre reading into that, but theres no hidden message here. Just earrings."
She snapped the case closed and handed it to him. "I cant take them."
"Why the hell not? Didnt we go through this already?"
"Its too much, Alex," she said wearily. "Dont you get it?"
"Why dont you explain it to me?"
She checked her watch. "Im late already. Just return those, please? You shouldnt have bought them."
He couldnt let her leave like this. "Dana --"
"Im leaving, Alex." She moved past him into the living room and scooped up her bag and coat. "Think about it and maybe you can answer a question for me when I come back. How am I supposed to call and tell you I wont be home when we agreed weeks ago that you wouldnt answer my phone?" With that, she was gone.
The sheer logic of her question sapped all the anger out of him. She was right; he was being irrational. What was it about her that made him behave that way? It seemed to happen every time she did something counter to his carefully constructed plan. But Scully was an intelligent, independent woman. He couldnt really expect her to cater to his every whim, could he?
Krycek moved slowly into the bedroom and dropped the earring box on her dresser. "Sure," he muttered to himself. "Happy fucking birthday."
****************************
Scully slipped into the apartment at just past 12:30 and found it dark. Shed been expecting Krycek to wait up for her, but was relieved that he had gone to bed. She didnt want to talk about his gift or their fight, and if she could put it off for a while, so much the better.
She moved quietly into the bedroom, noted Kryceks still form in the bed, and then moved on to the bathroom. Trying not to wake him, she managed her preparations for bed without too much trouble, although she did drop the toothpaste tube noisily into the sink, and slight dizziness made her stumble into the towel rack on the wall. Its always the last drink that gets you, she chided herself as she left the bathroom.
She realized she must have made more noise than she thought when Krycek yawned, stretched, and opened his eyes. "Hi," he said. "Have a good time?"
Apparently hed gotten over their argument. She felt a little guilty over that, but if he was willing to ignore it for now, so would she. "Yes, very good," she sighed as she slipped into bed beside him. "I spend so much time down in the basement working on those cases nobody else will touch that I sometimes forget I have friends elsewhere in that building. It was nice to see them tonight."
"Thats good."
"You should find this amusing... it seems that Mulders recent speculations about my private life have spread. I lost count of how many people asked me tonight where my boyfriend was."
She heard a soft laugh. "What did you tell them?"
"That he was home, sick in bed."
Another chuckle. "Thats it, feed their fantasies. Should keep em busy for days." Krycek settled deeper under the covers and she thought he was going back to sleep, but after a few minutes she heard his soft voice again. "Dana, why wont you accept my gift?"
Oh, shit. She glanced over at him and found that he hadnt moved. He was still lying on his side, his back to her. That was probably a good thing; at least she didnt have to deal with those hypnotic green eyes this time. "It isnt... proper," she stammered, trying to gather her thoughts. Her head felt much too swimmy to have this discussion. "This is a business deal. We have a business relationship."
"Does Mulder give you birthday gifts?"
Scully glanced at the earring box on the dresser, thinking of the Apollo 11 keyring that Mulder had given her. "No, he never has." Feeling a small measure of satisfaction that shed ruined his point, she wasnt prepared for the next question.
"You already accepted a much more intimate gift. Why do you have such a problem with this one?"
Blindsided by the obvious question. "I accepted that under duress, remember."
"I didnt make you take it. You chose to. And you chose to wear it."
What could she say? She had. And it was quickly becoming her favorite lingerie.
"Did accepting that gift have a satisfactory outcome?"
She closed her eyes and let her mind drift back, seeing herself dressed only in the bra and panties hed given her, straddling him on the sofa, rubbing herself against the growing bulge in his jeans... She shook the thought out of her head, but the flood of warmth the memory had brought to her lower body stayed. "Yes."
"So whats wrong with this one?"
"In some ways the earrings are a much more intimate gift than the lingerie..."
"How so? Please, educate me."
"Well..." She glanced over at Krycek again and found herself studying the soft, downy hair on the back of his neck. "In a normal relationship, thats the kind of thing a man gives his girlfriend or wife for her birthday. Theres some... feeling behind it..."
A soft laugh. "Dana, are you asking me how I feel about you?"
"Well, no, but... I..." Her voice trailed off as she realized that that was exactly what she was asking. Was this strictly a business deal for him? Or was he just messing with her head again?
"Did it ever occur to you that you might be reading too much into this?" he asked.
Was she? "It just seems like the kind of gift a man gives to someone he has an emotional attachment to..." That was so lame. Im probably playing right into his little head game...
"And Im not allowed to take even the smallest liberties in this relationship even though were having sex?"
Sex. The magic word. The perfect way to make him forget this discussion... "No, youre not. We have a business relationship." Some business relationship...
Krycek sighed. "Im sorry if I offended you, but sometimes a pair of earrings is just a pair of earrings."
Sex wasnt only the way to make him shut up. It was also, she realized, exactly what she wanted. What shed wanted all evening. What she needed now that the memory of the lingerie encounter had aroused her. Scully turned on her side and pulled herself close to him. "And Im sorry if I hurt you, but I dont want to think about that anymore," she purred in his ear. "Theres something else Id much rather think about." She slipped her hand inside his boxers and gently stroked his penis.
He gasped at her touch and arched into it. "I like the way you think," he sighed.
She kissed that soft hair at the back of his neck before moving on to suck on his earlobe. "Know what?"
He moaned softly as she circled his organ with her hand and started long, slow strokes up and down its increasing length. "What?"
"Ive had sex on my birthday exactly once in my life," she murmured, nipping at his neck. "With Jack Willis. And that was probably only because we shared the same birthday and he wanted it."
"So I take it this is only round one?"
"Oh, yeah. Its my birthday. Youre not going to be the only one who comes."
He thrust into her hand, so she moved it and started to gently play with his balls instead. He drew in a ragged breath and let it out slowly, then rolled over onto his back. "You wont actually be having sex on your birthday," he reminded her, placing his hand over hers and moving it where he wanted it.
"Okay, for my birthday." She reclaimed her hand from him and slid off first his boxers, then his t-shirt, before returning her attention to his penis. She gently circled the tip, making him buck again, then gathered the secretions on her finger and drew a line with that finger up his body to his chest, where she started toying with one nipple. "Youre not going to make me beg on my birthday, are you?"
He suddenly rolled her over so that she was on her back and he was on top of her. "Now, would I do that to you?" he teased.
"Yes."
"Think you know me, dont you?" He leaned down and kissed her deeply before slipping her pajamas off and moving to kneel between her legs. "Okay, I promise, no begging tonight. Lets see how ready you are..."
Suddenly she felt two fingers stroke briefly between her legs before they slipped inside her. She moaned and arched up to meet his hand, dangerously close to coming just from that. "Ready," she gasped, "but you can do that for a while if you want..."
His fingers withdrew, but nothing else happened. Scully opened her eyes to see Krycek looking at her, a wicked gleam in those green eyes. "What?" she asked with some trepidation.
"You up for something a little different tonight?"
Uh-oh. "Different?"
"Nothing scary, birthday girl. Just... a slight variation on an old theme. I think you might enjoy it. In fact, lets call this another birthday present."
"Um... okay, I guess..."
"Good girl. Trust me, youll like this," he said, lifting her right leg and draping her foot over his left shoulder. He positioned her left leg similarly over his right shoulder, raising her pelvis off the bed and tilting her into a rather uncomfortable position.
"Alex? What are you doing?"
"Expanding your horizons a little. I know its uncomfortable, but I bet after a while you wont care..." She felt the tip of his cock resting against her entrance as he laced his fingers through hers and pushed her hands into the pillow on either side of her head. It briefly occurred to her that this was just about the first time that hed touched her with his left hand, and she wondered why that was. His left hand felt virtually the same as his right... except that the left hand didnt sweat.
Needing to feel him inside, she tried to arch upward, but found that she had no leverage. Ordinarily she knew hed let her twist in the wind like that for a few minutes, but this time, true to his word, he responded to her cue and eased himself slowly inside her.
She gasped softly, reveling in the feeling of him stretching her, filling her... and then she felt something else. She cried out at the jolt that started deep inside and emanated throughout her whole body; not quite an orgasm, but something slightly different... "Alex?" she asked when she could breathe.
He smiled down at her. "Looks like we found one of your secret hot spots. Cant find those without going really deep. Feels different, doesnt it?"
"Different," she breathed, squeezing him and noting that he was deeper inside her than usual. Quite a lot deeper, she thought. "Good. Wonderful. More?"
"Your wish is my command," he said, and began moving in a slow, deliberate rhythm.
She squeezed his hands and let herself drift, relishing the friction inside and the slightly different sensations that his deeper penetration provided... when he stopped moving.
"Forgot to observe the most important propriety, didnt I?" he said in response to her unspoken question. He took a deep breath and, in a slightly husky tenor, started to sing. "Happy birthday to you..." He started to move again, his rhythm matching the pace of the song, the words slightly more pronounced with each inward thrust. "Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday, dear Dana... Happy birthday to you."
And on the last note, with the deepest thrust, she saw stars and felt her insides explode with a deep, volcanic orgasm. Clutching his hands hard enough to hurt him, she cried his name as the spasms tore through her, the sensation spreading out to every nerve ending in her body.
An eternity later, as the last spasms of the orgasm rippled through her, she was surprised to find her voice. "You sing very well."
"Thank you. Veteran shower-singer, yknow."
"Ive never heard you sing in the shower."
"Of course not. Youre not usually around when Im in the shower."
"True." She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling, idly wishing she had a mirror there. She wanted to see this position, see the look on her own face as he kept up that slow, deliberate thrusting. Wanted to see him move, that nice firm ass...
Where the hell did that come from? Oh, hell, admit it to yourself already, Dana. Does it really take alcohol to make you acknowledge that this man fucking you is amazingly attractive?
It took a moment for her to realize that he was speaking to her. "I truly am sorry about the earrings, Dana," he said. "I never meant to make you uncomfortable. They really are just a birthday gift. No strings attached. I mean it. It never occurred to me that youd take it any other way."
Uncomfortable as this position was, there was definitely something to be said for it. With the deeper penetration he was hitting spots he didnt normally hit. Seriously responsive spots... "Hey, what were you doing while I was gone, watching our video? You dont usually last this long unless you already came at least once."
He laughed softly. "Maybe I just have more self-control than you think."
She laced her fingers more firmly through his and squeezed tightly as she felt the exquisite pressure building inexorably inside her again. "What would it take to make you lose that control?" she wondered aloud.
He thrust a little harder, a little deeper, and fireworks exploded behind her eyes as she came again, almost as explosively as the first time, the waves of pleasure shooting from her groin right up her spine to her brain. He leaned in close, bending her into a very uncomfortable position with her knees practically in her ears, and kissed her, gently exploring her mouth with his tongue. Her wordless cries of pleasure were lost in his kisses.
"Truth be told," he whispered, "I couldve come in my pants watching you masturbate."
He leaned back, unbending her and letting her catch her breath as he continued that deliberate stroking. "Pig," she said, when she could speak again.
"Dont you know thats every guys secret wet dream? Well, one of em, at least."
"Thats why you tortured me so much that night?"
"No... I teased you because its fun."
"I hate you, Alex."
He gave a few more harder, deeper strokes. "Want me to stop, Dana?"
"No," she sighed. "Oh, God, no."
"Wasnt it worth it?"
"Yes, yes, every minute. Do that aga--" Her words lapsed into soft moans as a small orgasm gently rippled through her lower body.
"I do so much for you Dana," he purred, "and all you can say is you hate me. Very sad state of affairs, wouldnt you say?"
"Alex?"
"Hmm?"
"Why does watching... er... that... turn men on so much?"
"Never really thought about it. Just a guy thing, I suppose. But it does serve another purpose, at least for some of us. Research."
"Research?"
"Gives us some idea what you like."
She thought back, at least as much as her pleasure-fogged brain would let her. "But you didnt use anything you mightve seen me do..."
"That doesnt mean I didnt file it away for future reference. Besides, its kind of fun showing you new things that you might like even better..."
Hes not even close yet. How the hell can he do this? People talk about having sex for hours, but I never really believed them... "So whats the other secret fantasy?"
"You dont need to know that. Besides, you wouldnt do it anyway."
"Why? Just how perverted is it?"
"Look through Mulders video collection sometime. See if you can figure it out."
"How do you know its in there?"
"Saw the collection. Its represented in there. Heavily."
He suddenly changed his rhythm, thrusting harder and faster now, giving her what shed wanted all evening. She tried to move with him but her position wouldnt allow it; she could only change the angle slightly, letting him drive even deeper inside, almost impossibly deep. She was moaning loudly now, waves of ecstasy overwhelming her body and her brain until she thought shed explode, knowing she would if he didnt finish soon. Shed come enough times already she was sure she couldnt anymore, but she did; one more explosive, shattering orgasm accompanying his last deep, savage thrust. Half a second later she heard him groan and finally felt him come; felt his warmth spurting deep into the very heart of her.
He recovered first, slowly sliding his softening organ out of her while slipping her legs off his shoulders and back onto the bed. She was glad he did that; her limbs felt like they weighed a ton and she wasnt sure she could move them. He settled next to her, head propped on hand, watching her.
Gradually her breathing slowed down and she was able to speak again. "I like that position," she murmured, suddenly very sleepy. "I came a lot."
He laughed softly. "You certainly did. So tell me, was that worth waiting 33 years for?"
"Mm-hmm. Definitely."
"Yknow, you should go out drinking more often. Alcohol has a most interesting effect on you..."
She opened her eyes and glanced over at him. "It does?"
"Dont worry, its a good effect." He cupped her face and kissed her gently. "Happy birthday, plamennaya malyishka."
****************************
Scully found herself humming as she dressed for work the next morning. For once in her life, shed had a really good birthday, that little fight with Krycek notwithstanding. There was a party (a rare occurrence for her) and birthday sex (an even rarer occurrence). There was even the standard deal-related disk, with a gift bow stuck to it. She had to smile at that. Maybe it was only her good mood, but it seemed a very sweet gesture.
She picked up the disk from the dresser and found the earring box underneath it. She stared at the unopened box for a while, then opened it and stared at the earrings themselves. She had to admit that Krycek had good taste. First $300 silk lingerie, now tasteful birthstone earrings. Very pretty earrings too, with deep, dark amethysts and small, unobtrusive diamonds. Again, the type of thing shed buy for herself if she were going to splurge.
After a while, she lifted her eyes from the earrings to her reflection in the mirror. Was it coincidence that she had chosen a plum-colored suit? She shifted her gaze from her own reflection to that of the man still sleeping peacefully in her bed. Maybe he was playing it straight for once. Maybe a pair of earrings really was just a pair of earrings.
She studied her own reflection again, then removed the earrings she had on and put on the amethyst ones. A very thoughtful gift, she had to admit.
Scully looked at her birthday present for another moment, then picked up the disk and left the bedroom, once again humming.
****************************
Krycek immediately noticed the earrings when she went home that night. Almost as soon as she sat down at the table, he went to her, tucked her hair behind her ears, and smiled warmly at the sight of his gift. He didnt say anything, didnt ask her what made her change her mind, and for that she was grateful. He just seemed happy that she was wearing them. Maybe it really was just a birthday gift, Scully told herself.
His low-key acceptance of the gift issue gave her the confidence to ask the question that had really plagued her mind all day. She debated with herself over it for hours, knowing she didnt really want to hear the answer, but she eventually came to the conclusion that she needed to hear it. Every time she looked at Mulder that day, the question came to mind. She couldnt let it rest unless she asked Krycek. So, after dinner, when they were settled on the sofa watching TV, she did.
"Alex," she ventured, "remember what we were talking about last night?"
He glanced briefly at her, then turned back to the TV. "We talked about a lot of things last night."
"I meant... the fantasy thing. Remember?"
"Mmm-hmm. You wanted to know what the other universal male fantasy is."
"And you told me to look through Mulders video collection to find out."
"Right. Did you?"
"No..." Scully shifted position on the sofa, drawing away from him a little. "Alex, I have to know. Its been bugging me all day..."
Krycek turned to her again, this time paying more attention. "Im not going to tell you. This one you have to figure out on your own."
"No, thats not what I meant --"
"You dont want to know?"
"Well, yes, but... theres something else I need to know, too." He said nothing, so she took a deep breath and continued. "I need to know how you managed to see Mulders video collection. Enough of them to know."
A gleam came into his eyes as a slow grin appeared. "Which would you rather know?"
"What?"
"Ill tell you one, but not both. Which do you need to know more?"
Scully just looked at him for a long moment. He was going to make a game out of this. Fine, then shed just withdraw the question. She was about to say just that when the realization struck that if she didnt find out, it would drive her crazy. That gleam in his eyes had to mean that the answer was far more complex than the obvious -- that hed broken into Mulders apartment and watched the tapes. Which meant... no, not possible. Or was it?
"I could barely look at Mulder all day without thinking about it," she said quietly. "Tell me about the videos."
Krycek lowered the volume on the TV. "You sure?"
Not an encouraging sign... "Yes, tell me."
"Okay, you asked for it." He took a sidelong glance at her, then turned back to the TV. "Mulder and I used to have porn parties when we were partners."
Scully closed her eyes and silently cursed herself for asking. But now that she had, she had to hear the rest of it. "Porn parties?"
"Yeah, we used to invite the whole Violent Crimes Section over for pizza, beer and circle jerks." Pause. "Every Friday."
A thoroughly disgusting image sprang into her mind, but she immediately squelched it. It couldnt have been like that, could it? Mulder wouldnt...
Then again, maybe he would.
She opened her eyes again to see Krycek grinning at her, barely controlling laughter. She thwapped his arm. "Pig!"
"Sorry, you got the wrong swine this time. The videos were Mulders idea." She gave him her skeptical look. "Really, they were."
"No parties?"
"No parties. Still want to know how it really happened?"
If she wanted to be able to look Mulder in the eye ever again without that image coming to mind, she had to know. "Tell me."
Krycek shut the TV off. "It all started innocently enough," he began. "It was a week or so after we became partners. I dropped by Mulders place after work that Friday with some files he wanted, and he asked if I wanted to hang out, have a beer, and watch the baseball game. My assignment at the time was to keep an eye on him, so --"
"Your assignment?" Scully interrupted. "For the smoker?"
"Yup. He wanted me to stick close to Mulder, so I figured this could be valuable training -- see what he does in his off hours. So I stayed. The games over by 10, so he suggests a video. Im thinking hes talking about a regular movie, but instead he pops in... I dont even remember the title, but it was porn."
Scully shook her head. That didnt sound like Mulder at all. "He just started one of those tapes without even telling you what it was, without even asking... no. Thats not Mulder. He wouldnt do that. He watches those alone."
Krycek shrugged. "Not everybody does. Its a guy thing. Women shop, guys watch porn. No big deal."
"I thought men watched sports," she countered.
"Yeah, and porn. Group porn watching has a whole different dynamic than solo. The group aspect actually makes it less arousing... at least I found it that way. Youre more likely to sit there and give running commentary along the lines of check out the rack on that one instead of whipping it out and --"
"Stop!" This was definitely more than she wanted to know, about both of her partners. "Too much information, okay?"
"Hey, you asked."
"What were you doing watching with him, anyway? I thought you said you didnt like the professionally produced videos."
Krycek leaned back against the back of the sofa. "He was my assignment. I couldnt exactly say no, could I? Whether I wanted to or not, I had to stay. Thats probably why most of the running commentary came from me. Im a doer. Mulders a watcher, so these things hit him harder than they hit me. Id sit there on the floor and critique whatever we were watching, and hed be on the sofa doing... what he does... Most of the time he was considerate enough to get up and go to the bathroom when --"
"I really dont need to know that," Scully interrupted. "How am I supposed to work with him after hearing this?"
"Like I said, you asked," he said with a shrug.
She was sorry she did, but she had to remind herself that Krycek couldve made the whole thing up. Probably had. Mulder just wouldnt do that. "Didnt Mulder ever find it odd that the videos didnt affect you?" she asked.
"As a matter of fact, he did. After about three or four of them, he asked me if I really wanted to continue watching, since I didnt seem to get anything out of it. Though how he knew that when he was always in the bathroom, Ill never know..."
Didnt happen didnt happen didnt happen, Scully chanted mentally. "So you stopped?"
"No, I told him we could go out, cruise the bars and find some real action, but Id feel bad when I scored and he didnt. So in the interest of partner harmony, Id stay and watch the videos with him. Besides, even if I didnt find them especially arousing, they were certainly entertaining. You think old sci-fi movies are bad? You gotta see some of these..."
Scully just looked at him. "You are so full of it its not even funny. Why do I bother asking you anything?"
"If this isnt true," he said, "how could I know so much about his collection?"
"Im not convinced you know anything about it. Even if you do, you couldve broken into his apartment and watched."
"Right," Krycek nodded. "The Morley Man paid me to take porn breaks in my marks apartment. Makes perfect sense."
So much for that idea. She sighed. "Fine. So you and Mulder had private porn parties every week that didnt affect you at all. That makes perfect sense."
"Oh, those videos affected me," Krycek admitted, "but not as much as they could have. Not as much as... oh, say, our video... does. In fact there was one... I dont know why this one struck me the way it did, but it just sucked me right in... I didnt know he was in the room... he didnt know I was in the room... or if he did know I was there, I dont want to know about it..."
"Enough!" Scully cried. "I have to face him tomorrow morning!"
"Good. Ask him about that video. Find that one, and you find the answer to the other question."
"Theres only one that answers the question?"
"Not really," he said. "Thats just the most blatant example of it. Besides, I think I steered you wrong a little. Theres really two variations on that other fantasy. Version A is pretty common in basic porn. I guess youd say Im a Version A guy, only Id rather do it than watch it. Mulders probably a Version B guy, so he has a lot of those. Not a majority, but probably a higher proportion than youd find in the average guys porn library. Just keep track of the ones in the office -- he rotates them regularly with the ones at home -- and you shouldnt have any trouble figuring it out."
Great. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Your Partners Fantasy Life But Were Afraid to Ask, Scully thought. Krycek might be making all this up, but it was probably true that if she did examine the tapes, shed learn more than she ever wanted to know about Mulders private life. Was she ready for that? "The one that got you," she mused. "That was a Version A tape?"
Krycek shook his head. "Nope, B. Surprised the hell out of me." He cast a sidelong glance at her. "But I guess you know about that, dont you?"
The mere memory of Kryceks homemade video was enough to do to her what the video itself had done the first time she saw it. Arousal was almost immediate; the problem of how to face her partner suddenly seemed far less important.
Krycek seemed to pick up on this. "Lets put one of ours on," he said casually. "Ill show you why amateur tapes are better..."
"I thought youd rather do than watch."
"Always."
"Then why watch?" She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Lets go do."
****************************
Scully sat at her desk, idly scrolling through the documents on the latest disks Krycek had given her. She had realized that she couldnt give Mulder the birthday disk on the day after, so shed waited and copied the next nights file onto the same disk. Conscious of Mulders suspicions about her informant and what she was doing, shed done that a few times before, cutting down on the apparent frequency of contact and giving Mulder a lot to chew on at one time. He was doing that now, carefully reading the files and taking notes, while Scully contemplated how to ask him if Kryceks story was true.
She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didnt even hear Mulder until hed called her twice. "Im sorry, what?"
"I was just wondering how you and that new guy of yours are doing," Mulder said casually, not looking up from his notes. "Youve been seeing him for, what, about a month now?"
"Five weeks, and were doing just fine," she said, wondering what he was getting at.
He looked up at her briefly, but then returned his attention to his computer. "Those earrings... very nice. Birthday gift?"
"Yes..."
"From him?"
"Yes, Mulder, from him. Is there a point to this interrogation?"
Now he looked at her. "Interrogation, Scully? I just want to know that youre happy, thats all."
Happy? Only at very specific times, about every other night... "Yes, Mulder, Im happy," she said. "I appreciate your concern, but really, Im fine."
"If you say so." Mulder bent back to his notepad.
Another few silent minutes ticked off the clock until Scully, still needing to hear a denial of Kryceks story, finally spoke. "Mulder, you consider us to be friends, right?"
Now he gave her an odd look. "Of course, Scully," he answered immediately. "Dont you?"
"Of course I do; you know that. I was just wondering how close youve gotten to your other partners."
Mulder thought about that for a moment. "I never had a real partner before you," he finally said.
"Not even Jerry LaManna?"
"Yeah, I guess Jerry was a partner. Sort of," Mulder admitted.
"Was he a friend?"
"Not the way youre thinking, Scully; not like you are."
Right, some friend I am, she thought. "Thats not what I mean. Did you ever... do anything together, outside of work?"
Again Mulder thought about his answer. "We caught a few ballgames together before he stole my work," he said at length.
This seemed to be the right approach to take... "What about Krycek?" Scully asked casually.
"Krycek was never a friend or a partner," Mulder said flatly.
"Mulder, I was there during your first case with him. I know how he worked. He was watching you. Didnt he try to insinuate himself into your life?"
"Yeah," Mulder said slowly. "Yeah, I guess he did. That mustve been why --"
"Why what?" she asked with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"He dropped by my place one night, right after that first case. He said he was dropping off files, but in hindsight, I know there had to be an ulterior motive. My mistake was inviting him to stay and watch the game. Somehow it turned into a regular thing -- he turned up at my door just about every Friday after that..."
The moment of truth... "For what?"
"Whatever. Games, movies..."
"Movies?"
"Yeah, movies. I think he fell asleep during The Day the Earth Stood Still, but he seemed very interested in Rosemarys Baby." He was looking at her funny again. "Are you going somewhere with this, Scully?"
Uh-oh... "No, I was just wondering --"
"-- how close Ive been to past partners. Yknow, that makes me wonder just what you mean by close."
"Mulder --"
"Because Id like to know how you can say youre close to someone and not even tell them the name of the person youre dating."
Scully just stared at him for a long moment. She knew he was curious, but she never thought hed come right out and ask. "Mulder, my private life is private," she said at length.
"So it is. But youve been awfully secretive lately, Scully, about that informant of yours and this guy. Why do you feel the need to keep all this to yourself? Dont friends share this kind of information?"
The best defense is a good offense... "I dont remember you ever telling me the sordid details of every date youve had since weve been partners," she said quietly.
"Thats beside the point. This is obviously something more serious. Is there something about him you think you have to hide? Do I know him?"
"No," she lied smoothly.
"Then why cant you at least tell me his name?"
"So you can check up on him to make sure hes good enough for me? Youre not my father, Mulder."
Now Mulder gave her what she mentally called his wounded puppy eyes. "Id never invade your privacy that way," he said quietly. "Dont you know that?"
"Then why are you so desperate to know his name?"
"Why are you so desperate not to tell anybody?"
Scully could tell that he wasnt going to give up. She still didnt understand why he was so desperate to know, but hed be relentless now. "Alan," she said, thinking quickly. "Alan Keller. Happy now?"
"What does he do?"
"Freelance security consulting. Want his shoe size too?"
The wounded puppy eyes again. "I just want to make sure youre okay, Scully --"
"Im fine, Mulder," she huffed. "Dont you trust my judgment? Cant you, just once?"
"I wonder if you should trust your own judgment after Philadelphia."
She had to stifle a gasp. It was completely unlike Mulder to hit below the belt like that. "Philadelphia was an aberration," she said softly, making sure not to let him see that hed gotten to her. "Completely unrelated to Alan."
"What about your informant?"
"What about him? Hes an informant; has nothing to do with Alan or Philadelphia."
"Really?" Mulder gestured toward his computer. "Youve passed along a lot of information lately. You must be seeing him pretty often, leaving poor Alan home all alone..."
"Completely unrelated," she repeated, more firmly. "And poor Alan is just fine with it, thank you."
She was saved from further interrogation by a knock at the door. It opened, allowing A.D. Skinner to step into the office.
"Good morning, sir," Scully said brightly. "What can we do for you?"
Skinner glanced from Mulder to her and then back, knowing hed interrupted something. Once Mulders attention turned to him, he spoke. "Theres been another Krycek sighting."
"Where?" Mulder asked, at the same time Scully asked, "Confirmed?"
"Near Fords Theater," Skinner replied. "Its not confirmed, but the agent who filed this report is a veteran, and I think he knew Krycek. We need to pay attention to this one."
"Who was it?" Mulder asked.
"Jack Dellacorte."
Mulder nodded. "Good man. May I?" He held out his hand and Skinner relinquished the file folder hed been holding.
"So is this investigation now official?" Scully asked, desperately wishing away the butterflies in her stomach.
Skinner sighed. "I think this warrants looking into. Ill assemble a small task force and well try to lay out some kind of strategy; maybe some stakeouts. Ill keep you advised."
Mulder looked up from the file. "This task force... itll be people who know what theyre doing, right? I dont want him to get away because of some rookie mistake."
"Veterans, Mulder. Good people who can be discreet."
Mulder nodded again. "If Krycek has any idea were looking for him, hell be out of here like a bat out of hell and well just be chasing our own tails."
Scully started to feel the noose tightening around her own neck. "Are we really sure its Krycek?" she asked. "And if it is, what in the world is he doing? Whats he doing at Fords Theater? Acting like a tourist?"
Mulder and Skinner both turned to her, giving her funny looks. "We dont know yet what hes doing," Skinner finally said. "Or that its him. Thats why we have to watch for a while, doing nothing. We have to get a feel for where hes going and what hes up to."
"But were watching officially now, right?" she asked. At Skinners nod, she continued, "What if its not him? Are we really justified in wasting the taxpayers money if were not sure?"
Funny looks from both of them again, and Scully mentally cursed Krycek. For all the worry he was putting her through, she deserved a big reward. If nothing else, he ought to let her tie him up. Sure, he thought she wouldnt know what to do with him...
"Scully?"
She shook her head. "Im sorry, what?"
"Meeting tomorrow morning in my office, first thing," Skinner said. "Id like to try to get this wrapped up fast."
"Of course," Mulder said, rising to usher their boss out. "Thank you, sir."
Scully drummed her fingers on her desk, avoiding Mulders gaze. If you dont have a good explanation for this, Alex, she thought, you are a dead man.
End Chapter 7
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