BACCARAT FIGURINES III (continued)
by Sean Spencer
seans13@hotmail.com
CHAPTER TEN
FIRST HOUSEGUEST
Michelle Lister paid the cab driver and tiredly got out of
the taxi. She entered the lobby of her dad's building and
lugged her backpack and luggage and waited for the elevator.
She got into the next car and smiled vaguely at the two men
inside. She saw that the seventeenth floor button was already
punched. She looked at the two men and saw that they were
talking to each other in low tones. The big yellow dog on the
leash caught Michelle's eye as the animal wagged her tail at her
and looked at her with equal interest.
All of them got off at the seventeenth floor and Michelle was when the
bespectacled man easily got her suitcase.
"Let me help you with that," he said smiling down at her.
"Which one's your apartment?"
"1701," Michelle said. The man set down her luggage in front of
her door and she thanked him.
As she waited after ringing the doorbell, Michelle watched the
two men enter 1704 with their own bags and the dog.
Michelle waited and rang the doorbell again. After ten minutes
of waiting and no one answering the door, Michelle got that
familiar sinking feeling in her stomach again. Her father
forgot again that she was coming for two weeks for the summer
holidays. She came straight from school and it seemed that
there had been another mix-up.
She thought out her predicament. She had one dollar left after
taking the cab. Even if she had access to a telephone, she
couldn't very well call her mother or her stepfather because her
mother and her new family were in Europe. As far as her mother
was concerned, she was supposed to be at her father's now. But
her father was nowhere to be found. She didn't know anyone in
DC. And she was getting really hungry.
Michelle sat in the hallway and thought about other solutions to
her problem. It was hearing the dog's bark that saved her. She
really had no other choice. All she could think of was that
the man in glasses in the elevator seemed nice enough. Leaving
her things at her father's apartment door, Michelle went to 1704
and rang the doorbell.
Skinner wondered who could be at the door. He looked through the
peephole, checked to see that Mulder was not in any state of
undress and opened the door. The little girl from the elevator
stood there before him.
"Ye-es?" Skinner said, his frown creasing his forehead.
"I'm supposed to meet my dad at his apartment but he's not
there," the little girl said somewhat nervously. "I was
wondering if I could use your phone?"
"Sure," Skinner let her in and showed her the phone in the den.
He then went back to the kitchen where Mulder was just putting
dinner on the table. It was a Sunday night, another end to a
perfect weekend.
"Who was that?" Mulder asked.
"The little girl from the elevator," Skinner said. "She wants
to use the phone because her dad's not home."
"That must be Lister's kid," Mulder said. They sat down and
started eating. "He's divorced and he gets the kid for two
weeks every summer. She was here last year, I think. Her
name's Michelle."
Michelle waited for the tenth ring but there still was no
answer. The dog was looking at her and put his head on her
knee. Somehow, she felt better with the dog. She thought of
other people to call but there was no one else. Dejectedly,
she stood up and left the library. She heard voices coming from
the kitchen and she knocked on the swinging door.
"Sir?" she called. "Thank you for letting me use your phone."
The man with glasses opened the door and to her embarrassment,
she saw that they were eating dinner.
"Uhm, it's Michelle, isn't it?" the younger man asked. "Did you
get in touch with your dad?"
Michelle shook her head.
"I'll try again later," Michelle said. "Thank you. I'm sorry
for being a bother."
The girl was about to leave when the one with glasses told her
to wait.
"You can't wait out in the hallway by yourself," he said. "By
the way, I'm Walter and this is Fox. We'll try to see if we can
find your father. In the meantime, it would be better if you
wait here."
Before Michelle could say anything more, Skinner got her things
from the doorway of her father's apartment and put them in the
den. Mulder set out another plate for her and told her to eat.
Meanwhile, Skinner got on the phone and called the doorman,
asking the time that Lister left.
The two men were very kind. They were able to determine that
her father had gone out a couple of hours earlier, probably on a
date, Michelle thought. Skinner then told her to write a note
on a piece of paper to tape to the apartment door so that her
dad would know where to find her when he came back.
It was kind of nice having a houseguest. Now that Skinner
thought about it, Michelle was their first houseguest. Mulder
kept her occupied by watching television with her while Skinner
retreated upstairs to get a headstart on tomorrow's paperwork.
By nine o'clock, however, Lister still hadn't shown up and
when Skinner went down to check, he found that both of them were
dozing off on the couch. Skinner got a blanket and pillows and
prodded the two awake, telling Michelle that she could stay
until her dad came back. Taylor stayed with the girl and he
told her that he and Mulder would be just upstairs.
"Uh, Walter, what if she comes up here?" Mulder asked as they
undressed for bed.
"I've already locked the door," Skinner said. "Maybe, we can
convince her that we are just having a slumber party. When you
were eleven, did you know about these things?"
"Hell, no," Mulder declared. "I barely had the facts of
straight sex."
"I bet you were a cute innocent eleven year old," Skinner
laughed. He took Mulder into a bear hug and squeezed him
hard with affection. Mulder was slightly stiff, the little
girl downstairs always at the back of his mind.
Skinner could see that Mulder wasn't up to it tonight, but he
certainly was. The DD couldn't get enough of Mulder these
past month and right now, all he wanted to do was get into
Mulder's pants. He started off with kissing the agent on the
neck, knowing that this was something that Mulder could barely
resist. Skinner managed to maneuver them onto the bed and soon
had Mulder dazed on the pillows, not even protesting when
Skinner pulled up his shirt from his jeans and unbuttoned
it.
"She's down there, Walter," Mulder's protest was very mild and
Skinner smiled when Mulder started kissing him back with eager
lips and tongue. It didn't take much more effort on Skinner's
part before he had Mulder fully undressed and writhing under
his mouth and hands.
"Sshh..." Skinner hissed when Mulder's cries were becoming too
loud. Somehow, he could sense that part of Mulder's excitement
was due to the fact that they were making love in the house for
the first time with someone else was in it, not counting Mrs. Jackson
which had been accidental. Mulder eagerly turned
to his stomach and shuddered when Skinner lovingly lubricated his
moist parts.
Skinner then parted Mulder's buttocks and easily slipped inside
the younger man. Mulder had to bite into the pillows as the
extreme pleasure threatened to engulf him.
"Walter..." Mulder's moan was tempered to a whisper, "you're so
big for me..."
"Only for you, honey," Skinner said through clenched teeth.
Mulder's silken hot sheath was intoxicating and Skinner ground his
hips into the agent, making sure that he wasn't generating too
much force. Skinner forced himself to go slow, the rhythm itself
driving him to a frenzy. Somehow, it was all right, too that they
had to keep as quiet as possible and when Mulder came, a small
satisfied sigh was all that escaped, just the right tone of voice
that Skinner liked. He himself, however, gave in to a loud grunt
and stifled it unsuccessfully.
Skinner laughed at his inability to keep as quiet as he should as
he slumped onto Mulder's back.
Skinner was just reaching for the washcloth when both of them
froze at the knock on the door.
"Sir?" they both heard the little girl's voice through the door.
"Shit," Mulder shuddered as Skinner jerkily pulled out. Skinner
put a reassuring hand on his back to calm him.
"I'll take care of this," Skinner whispered. He said in a louder
voice, "Michelle, I'll be right out in a minute."
Skinner hastily put on his glasses and frantically searched for his
bathrobe. It didn't help any that Mulder had used it a few days ago
and the bathrobe wasn't in sight. Skinner hurriedly put on a pair
of pajamas and told Mulder to bury himself under the covers. Then
he opened the door.
Michelle stood in the dim hallway light and Skinner's irritation
softened when he saw how little she seemed.
"What's wrong, honey?" Skinner said, kneeling down at her level. He
just hoped that she couldn't smell Mulder on him.
"The dog, sir," Michelle said. "He's crying."
Skinner cocked an ear and indeed heard Taylor whining downstairs.
The DD ran down the steps, followed by Michelle. It was unusual
that Taylor would be disturbing them since the good natured dog
never fretted.
Skinner found the dog lying down on its side and from what he could
surmise, its abdomen was slightly distended. Fortunately, the vet
was easily called and the tentative diagnosis was a possible ingestion
of a mild irritant plant from the vicinity of the cabin.
"Michelle, would you be okay down here alone?" Skinner asked as he
lifted Taylor with the intention of keeping the dog by their bed for the
night.
"Yes, sir," Michelle said. "I just hope he gets well."
"His doctor said he should," Skinner tried to reassure her.
Fortunately, the girl seemed to be no crybaby and settled back onto the
couch in the den with aplomb.
Skinner gently laid the dog on the floor on his side of the bed, making
sure that there was a towel by the dog's head that could catch anything
the dog might bring up. Being within the sphere of his two significant
others, the dog seemed to calm down and Skinner sighed with relief as he
got into bed. Mulder was curled up into a ball in the middle of the
bed, taking up most of the space and the older man had to shove him to
make him scoot over to his side of the bed.
The next morning, Mulder went down the stairs to the kitchen and
found that Skinner had already prepared breakfast. Skinner was leaving
for work much earlier than before. Prior to going to work, he'd
awakened Mulder to make sure that he knew that Taylor might need to be
looked after closely. The dog was much better this morning and he was
to wait for Mrs. Jackson to come in at seven thirty so that he could
tell her to keep a close eye on the dog for the rest of the day.
Mulder went for his morning run and saw that it was going to be another
warm day. He had to mainly walk-run because he wanted to be sure that
Taylor would have no difficulty catching up. When he got back to the
apartment half an hour later, he was startled to find that Michelle was
still there in the den. He went out to check 1701 and saw that the note
Skinner had stuck on the door was still there. Mulder frowned and
wondered what to do. He was due for work within an hour and a half and
he wasn't sure if an eleven year old could be left alone in the house.
He was very wary of leaving children alone in the house.
The agent took a shower, fed Taylor, judicious that he didn't leave too
much kibble in the dog bowl and ate his breakfast. After a few minutes,
Michelle showed up in the kitchen, saying a shy good morning.
Mulder poured her a glass of milk and told her to help herself with the
bacon and eggs. He made toast for her and as he watched her eat, he
asked if she knew how to get in touch with her dad.
He was worried after a few minutes of interrogating the girl since she
didn't even know where her dad worked. Mulder called her dad's
apartment to verify that Lister was still out and then made a few
calls to the doorman and to the apartment manager. His worry deepened
when it turned out that the information they got last night was wrong.
It seemed that Lister was out of town and that his newspaper delivery
was stopped for a few days and that the apartment manager was collecting
his mail until Thursday. The fact that the girl's mother was in Europe
was another serious matter. So from today, Monday until Thursday, the
little girl had no place to go.
Mulder got hold of Lister's place of work and was able to contact
some people who knew him, hoping that the man was on a business trip
or that they knew where to get in touch with him.
Michelle shrank back in her chair as she watched Mulder getting
exasperated by the minute. She never meant to cause so much trouble.
She wasn't supposed to. It didn't surprise her that her dad forgot
again. When Mulder was asking her for any other relatives she could
stay with, Michelle shook her head and said that there was no other
relatives to take her in. She could see that the man was already late
for work and kept looking at his watch.
Finally, Mulder was able to elicit Lister's phone number from a
coworker. He was able to get in touch with the elusive Lister and told
him of the situation. Michelle almost balked when Mulder gave her the
phone. Just as she expected, her dad yelled at her over the phone and
Michelle kept saying that she was sorry.
Mulder was in the process of putting the breakfast dishes in the sink
and he froze when he heard Michelle's repeated "I'm sorry". It sounded
so much like he did when he was her age. It reminded him painfully of
similar situations with his dad, that of apologizing over something he
had no control over as a little kid.
He just couldn't help it. Mulder saw red and grabbed the phone from
Michelle before more harm could be done. The agent wanted to scream
some sense into the man, but mindful that the kid was in the room,
Mulder instead talked tightly and in a measured tone of voice.
Lister was apparently so dense that he didn't catch the tension in
Mulder's voice. Instead, the man pleaded with him to keep Michelle at
their place for one more day because he had a meeting that just
couldn't be cancelled. Mulder could only see how small Michelle was
trying to make herself. Mulder tried to sound pleasant for Michelle's
sake and in a sudden generous mood, told Lister that
it would be no problem if they could keep Michelle until Thursday so
that the dense neighbor wouldn't have to change any of his previous
plans.
The relief in Lister's voice only made Mulder realize how much Michelle
was unwanted. The conversation ended with Lister quite satisfied with
the arrangements.
Because Mrs. Jackson still wasn't there to keep an eye on both Michelle
and Taylor, Mulder excused himself to make a call from the upstairs
bedroom. Mulder called Skinner with perfect timing. The DD was just
about to start his endless round of meetings.
"What!" Skinner exclaimed when he heard how Mulder had acquired the
unexpected babysitting job for them both. Mulder was dithering at the
other end, trying to explain why he felt it would be better for Michelle
if she stayed with them instead of with Lister, who obviously wasn't too
keen on having his daughter with him.
"I know, Fox, but you know how people will talk if the doorman or anyone
there knows that a little girl is living with two men, none of whom is
her blood relative," Skinner had to close the door to his office. He
had to stop his voice from rising above its normal decibel range.
As usual , he had to be a voice of reason. He knew why Mulder wanted
to keep the girl at their place. It was just something about Mulder
and little helpless girls that undid him. He'd seen him more than once
or twice coming to the rescue of these little girls. The first one was
in Boston, where a six year old got separated from her mother in the
park. It was then that Skinner had a sudden understanding of how Mulder
must have treated his own sister when they were kids. They had spent an
hour looking for her mother in the huge park, Mulder making it seem
like a game for the benefit of the tearful child. The next one had
been in some airplane where he found himself seated next to a ten year
old travelling alone. Although the stewardess was assigned to look
after her, it had been a busy flight. Mulder was the one who took it
upon himself to make sure that the girl was comfortable throughout the
three hour flight.
It seemed that Mulder had another project of saving little girls from
the cruel mean world. But this time, it would be an all out project,
lasting more than a few hours. Days, this time. At first Skinner told
him that it might be better if Michelle stayed with some female, like
Scully perhaps. But Mulder kept talking a blue streak and the DD
couldn't interrupt.
Skinner resignedly listened to Mulder, who refused to listen to his
objections. Just a hint of impropriety for the next few days could
have long lasting implications. But it was just like the old days when
Mulder was badgering him for a 302 on another outlandish case. He
wouldn't let go of it, like a fox with a bone. Skinner just couldn't
say no. Besides, he was already going to be late for the meeting.
"Okay, Fox, as long as everyone behaves," Skinner said, alluding to
Mulder's tendency to run around the house in his underwear.
Mulder was late for work that morning, waiting for Mrs. Jackson and
handing over Michelle. Mrs. Jackson didn't seem flustered at
finding the little girl in the kitchen. It was nice having company for
the day while she worked in the apartment.
Meanwhile, Mulder hurried to the Hoover, but ever mindful of being
careful on the road. He was breathless by the time he got to the
basement office. Scully, however, was understanding when she
heard his explanation and just wordlessly handed him a file for
him to peruse. Scully also knew about Mulder's absolutely mushy
heart when it came to small children.
The rest of the week was surprisingly pleasant for Skinner. Having a
small person in the apartment was quite strange. Now that he thought
about it, he never really had close contact with kids, except for the
brief times when he coached Little League so long ago. At first
Michelle was shy and barely said a word. But later, as she opened up,
mainly to Mulder, Skinner agreed that having this particular houseguest
was not so bad after all.
Mrs. Jackson had whispered to Mulder that Michelle only had her
threadbare school uniform and had no other clothes. Plus the few
pairs of underwear and socks had holes. Skinner tried to stop Mulder
from going shopping with Michelle, saying that it was too much to
do since her dad was coming back in a few days. Mulder had hissed
back that he didn't want Michelle to lack for anything when she
was with them. So after taking her to see the latest summer movies
with Scully, Mulder dragged her to the mall and bought her a few
things. Of course, Michelle came back with shiny bright eyes,
clutching the jeans and t-shirt to herself. Mulder was blissfully
unaware that this was the first time Michelle ever had anything new in
quite a few years that weren't school or camp uniforms.
Skinner tried to see if the girl was aware of their unusual household.
It was his turn to be surprised when Michelle fully understood that they
were not just two men living together.
"Fox is your boyfriend and you're his boyfriend," Michelle said
simply. She was playing with Taylor, who was fully recovered
as the two of them watched television.
"How did you know?" Skinner looked at her with interest.
"When I first saw the two of you in the elevator," Michelle
cryptically said, her eyes now distracted by the television
as Taylor tired with the game. Skinner waited for more. How
did she know when everyone else, except for a handful of people
was unaware how close he and Mulder were?
Skinner prompted her again after the commercial. He just really
wanted to know.
"In the elevator, your collar was crooked and Fox fixed it for you,"
Michelle finally said. "Other men don't fix each other's clothes for
them."
Well, they really had to be careful, Skinner mused. Those little
gestures between him and Mulder might give them away someday.
They had Michelle with them until Thursday night. Somehow,
both of them restrained themselves from each other while Michelle
stayed downstairs during the rest of that short stay. Lister came
back and collected her. Although her father was now there,
Michelle still visited quite frequently during the rest of her stay with
her father, having taken on a shine to the two men who had rescued her
from the hallway.
END OF BACCARAT FIGURINES III (2/3)
BACCARAT FIGURINES III (3/3)
by Sean Spencer
seans13@hotmail.com
WARNING: Slash NC-17 Skinner/Mulder
DISCLAIMER IN PART ONE
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BRATWURST AND VISCERAL CALISTHENICS
Skinner looked at his watch and for the nth time that day, tried to pay
attention to the meeting. The agent who was presenting for this meeting
was stuttering away, once he saw that the Deputy Director was getting
impatient. It didn't help any that this meeting was called for
disciplinary measures, that the agent in question didn't follow
procedures and that there was a serious error in judgment.
Agent Nelson was from the regional New York office and Skinner still
couldn't believe how much younger the agents were getting to be
nowadays. This particular one was not even 27 and the fact that he
was licensed to carry a gun and used it unwisely was the whole reason
for this meeting.
Skinner was just glad that Mulder was never in called in for these kinds
of sanctions. He really should stop thinking of Mulder. Skinner shook
his head slightly and concentrated. The OPC chief was now badgering
Nelson, and the young agent was starting to crumble under the intense
questioning. Chief Vaughan was making the agent see the errors in his
ways, that a suspect with vital information was now dead and that two
years of fieldwork just went down the drain.
Just as Skinner had predicted, Nelson was starting to cry and he
intervened. He really hated it when the agents cried under the
pressure of meetings like this. Especially well meaning agents, eager
beaver agents like these. Skinner called for a recess of the meeting,
finally told Nelson and the OPC chief to stay. Skinner put out the
box of Kleenex he had prepared and shoved it into the agent's hands and
waited for the agent to collect himself. When Chief Vaughan looked
sufficiently contrite, Skinner knew that it was time to leave.
He said a few more words, enough to encourage Nelson and just enough
for Vaughan to realize that this really was a good agent, then dismissed
them both. Skinner stretched his aching back and gathered up the
papers. He must be getting old when he started to think of a 26 year old
as young and too green for the field. He suddenly remembered that he
was 18 years old, so full of himself, when he was in the Marines. And
he even had automatic weaponry.
It was only four o'clock and he knew that it was still early but he just
had to go home. Mulder just returned from Germany, where he was given a
short stint as adviser for the German police on investigative techniques
of paranormal phenomenon. Apparently, the paranormal was very big there
and they had heard of Mulder's work. But now he was back, verified by
Skinner after a brief call to the apartment.
He called Kimberly and gave her a few instructions for tomorrow and
left. He exited from the side entrance where the car was waiting and got
in. He greeted his driver less curtly today and after debating, he got
the car phone and called the apartment again.
Skinner got the answering machine and he was puzzled. He shrugged and
thought that Mulder might be taking a shower so he hung up without
leaving a message. He impatiently drummed his finger on the armrest, but
he was glad that today's route was the scenic route, away from the
highway and through the suburbs.
Finally, he got home. He thanked the driver, like always and got his
things in the car. The elevator seemed to crawl but he knew that it was
only because he was just so eager to get home. He dumped his stuff in
the living room, noting that Mulder's presence was signalled by the
luggage strewn all over the place and the packages. Skinner called
Mulder but there was no answer. He got to the bedroom but he was
alarmed when Mulder likewise wasn't there. Taylor was following him
around.
Skinner found him in the den, asleep on the couch. Jet lag had taken
its toll on the younger man. Skinner looked at him first, drinking in
the sight of him, after being away from each other for two whole
months. His hair was longer and he had a five o'clock shadow. He
seemed thinner, too.
"Hey, Fox," Skinner whispered, laying a hand on his arm and gently
shaking him. Mulder didn't awaken and Skinner had to shake him again
for a second time. The younger man finally stirred and was stretching
awake; Skinner smiled at him in welcome and Mulder smiled back.
"Walter," Mulder murmured, as he ran a hand over his mouth. He still
wasn't fully awake and Skinner waited for him to do so. As Skinner
embraced him in welcome, he noted that Mulder indeed had lost weight
as he crushed the younger man to him.
"I missed you," Mulder muttered.
"You haven't been eating," Skinner lightly admonished as he took
the agent at arms' length and eyed him critically.
"I've been eating but it's just different," Mulder curled up happily,
sighing with satisfaction that he was now with Skinner. He crawled
into Skinner's lap and they just cuddled for a while. Mulder even
smelled different, probably from the different shampoo and soap he
used while in Europe.
Despite Skinner's protests, Mulder got up and rummaged through
his bag and got out a box for Skinner. It was an expensive pair of
cufflinks, a very expensive pair. Mulder was getting more animated
and took out his pictures. He'd gone around Germany touring in
between work and had a lot of pictures to show Skinner. Skinner
looked at the pictures with initial passing interest, but as he saw
more of the pictures, he realized that there seemed to be an awful
lot of pictures that included an Aryan type, a young blonde man.
Skinner knew that Mulder never mentioned anyone who seemed
to be constantly with him.
Mulder had seen Skinner's darkening features as he perused the
photographs. He smiled inwardly and was sort of glad that the
older man seemed jealous. It always made him shiver when
Skinner was jealous and he wanted to prolong the agony for the
older man.
"Gunther's gay, too, Walter," Mulder mentioned casually and he
almost laughed when Skinner's frown deepened further. "He was
my room mate in the apartment. Don't you think he's kind of cute?"
"Yes, he's very cute," Skinner intoned. "You never said that
your room mate was gay."
"I didn't think it was important," Mulder said. He folded early
however. "No, Walter, we never did anything. He had his own
lover and he wasn't interested."
Mulder didn't mention that he had been tempted, however. That
was why he lost weight. He felt so guilty all the time. He'd never
been attracted to men his own age and he had been disconcerted.
It was hard enough to find out his housing had included a room mate
and it was even harder that Gunther had known at once at first
glance that he was gay, too. Gunther's lover was an older man,
just like Skinner and had frequently visited from Munich. They
stayed mainly in Gunther's room and it really didn't help Mulder
that the walls were so thin. Mulder sure learned a lot of German
words, but he wasn't sure if those words could be used in polite
company. In between visits from his lover, Gunther was a willing
tour guide however.
Skinner seemed to be appeased somewhat and Mulder took more
pity on him and told him more of what went on. Skinner couldn't
keep his hands off Mulder, however. Once he saw that Mulder
wasn't so tired after all and wasn't hungry either, they went upstairs
and made love after showering together.
Now that Mulder smelled like his old self, Skinner launched his attack.
Both still damp from the shower, Skinner was kissing Mulder on the neck
even before they got out of the bathroom. Skinner knew he wasn't being
as gentle as Mulder preferred but he couldn't help
himself. Mulder moaned as Skinner's tongue ran over his mouth
and he felt Skinner sucking his tongue.
"I really missed you, Walter," Mulder repeated and sighed as he
elicited a deep moan from Skinner with a strategic lick of his nipples.
Their heavy breathing was punctuated by sharp gasps and much movement on
the bed. When Skinner finally entered Mulder, he
noted at once that there was a difference.
"You're so tight, honey," Skinner groaned, with a bit of puzzlement
in his voice. Mulder laughed and watched as Skinner's face above
him got that slack look that was his alone to see. Skinner only lasted
a few thrusts. Mulder was almost as tight as when he was a virgin and
the very pleasant surprise was too much for Skinner as the tight silken
grip seemed to make him feel every ridge and heighten each sensation.
It was one of the rare times when Skinner had his orgasm before Mulder
and he finished off Mulder with his mouth. Mulder's legs were over his
shoulder as Skinner focused his full attention on Mulder's penis. The
two months of deprivation was too much for Mulder also and he soon came.
"Did you like it?" Mulder chuckled as he got into Skinner's welcoming
embrace. He was still gasping. "Was there a difference?"
"What have you been doing in Germany?" Skinner asked somewhat
suspiciously. "You're absolutely virginal. Do you want me to get
a heart attack?"
"I wasn't sure if it was going to work," Mulder started to explain.
"Before I left for Germany, I saw Dr. Cormier and he told me to do
some exercises while I was away from you. He said it was
guaranteed to drive you wild."
"Exercises?" Skinner was puzzled.
"They're called Kegel exercises," Mulder said. "They were first
developed for women but it seems that they work for men, too.
Cormier said that it will help me control my coming much better."
Skinner wasn't appeased until he asked for permission to check
out Mulder. Mulder turned on his side and Skinner inserted a
finger in Mulder. Then he was astonished when he felt the grip
that Mulder's internal muscles had over his finger.
"Christ!" Skinner said. Mulder smiled back at him and laughed
again. It was rare that Skinner ever took the Lord's name in
vain. Skinner cleaned him up and they cuddled for a long while.
Mulder couldn't get enough of having Skinner beside him after
two whole months of being away from each other. He was lying
on Skinner with his head in the crook of Skinner's neck as they
talked. He shivered as his skin tingled as the older man ran a
loving hand over his back and buttocks. It was very nice to
finally be in bed with his one and only Walter after two months
of having to listen to his roommate and his lover rutting away
through the thin walls. Sometimes, due to his need, he had
masturbated while Gunther and his lover were at it hard,
desperately wishing that Skinner was with him. Then he would
feel guilty for masturbating and his bad mood pervaded through
the whole day. He felt that he was being unfaithful to Skinner
when he did that.
He breathed in Skinner's warm and comforting and clean scent
and ran his hands over the bigger man's chest, as if memorizing
what he missed so much. There were times, too, when he was so
homesick and it had been a grim reminder of his condition when
he was at Oxford. Although the McDonald's was just a few blocks
away, the food tasted somehow different. In the first few days he
was there, he'd made daily collect calls to Skinner but with the older
man's hectic schedule, he couldn't get hold of him in the house
as often as he liked. It was easier to find Scully through
transatlantic phone but it was a poor substitute for the voice he really
wanted to hear.
"Walter, did you miss me?"
"Oh, baby, the house seemed empty even when Taylor was here,"
Skinner stated, hugging Mulder to him. He rained more kisses
on Mulder until the agent relaxed. "My honey was gone from me
and all I did was work my ass off when you were away. I only
went to the cabin once, you know."
"You did?"
"I couldn't stand it being so big and empty," Skinner declared as
he shifted Mulder's weight on him.
"Next time, can we go to Europe for a vacation?" Mulder asked.
Skinner nodded. After a few more minutes, Skinner's stomach
was growling and they made their way down for dinner. Skinner
heated up Mrs. Jackson's prepared dinner and they ate while
Mulder showed more of his photographs. It was so sweet of
Mulder to have indulged in those exercises while he was gone
and Skinner felt his affection and deep love for the younger man.
He ran a hand over Mulder's longer hair and yanked it affectionately.
"I know, I'll have it cut tomorrow," Mulder said ruefully. He knew
that Skinner preferred his hair to be short. Skinner watched with
amusement as Mulder demolished most of the food. Mrs. Jackson
had taken pains to cook Mulder's favorites. During one of their
infrequent conversations about his family, Mulder had casually
mentioned that his mother never cooked him his favorite foods on
special occasions, like his birthdays. So through their years together,
Skinner had found out Mulder's preferences and made Mrs. Jackson aware
of what these were.
Once the dishes were in the dishwasher, Skinner helped the agent
unpack. Even Taylor got a welcome home gift. Although Skinner
wanted to make love again that night, he restrained himself
because of Mulder's full stomach and the younger man was now
indeed conked out. Skinner took out his usual sheaf of papers to
read and did his work as Mulder slept beside him. Mulder's
naked torso was tempting, however, and Skinner couldn't help it
sneaking a hand over the smooth pale skin once in a while just
to reassure himself that the younger man was indeed home at
last.
CHAPTER TWELVE
DRIVE-IN KNIGHT
Skinner was in one of his generous moods again and Mulder reaped
the benefits. He'd been back for three days and in that short span
of time, Mulder was sated almost all the times they were together.
Skinner wanted to have him everywhere in the apartment and they
would sometimes make love twice a day. That first night he was
home, Mulder had his climax four times and he had to stay home
the next day. All the pent up tensions and frustrations of their two
months apart was gradually dissipating. Skinner couldn't get
enough of the younger man while Mulder couldn't get enough of
his "big man".
He knew that Scully watched him from sidelong glances with
amusement but he didn't care. He was too happy that Skinner was
always there for him.
While he was in Germany, Mulder had lost weight but had gained
a corresponding increase in muscle because he'd run frequently
when he had nothing to do. Skinner appreciated the strong muscles
he'd obtained, especially at how good it felt under his soft skin.
They had dinner with Uncle Charles as the old man was likewise
eager to see him and wanted his aquarium checked. It was nice
being wanted by others after being gone for some time. Mrs.
Jackson was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, too, determined
that he have his favorite dishes.
But, of course, it was back to work and he got back to the old
grind. Pretty soon, he and Scully were out in the fields again,
working on cases, some of them X-files while the others weren't.
It was just sometimes frustrating for Mulder that he and Skinner
were even going out less than before. Previously, when they
wanted a getaway, they could safely go to the Boston townhouse
and spend a weekend there if they wanted to go out to restaurants
or concerts together in relative anonymity. But now that Skinner
was Deputy Director, there was more chance of being recognized
especially since Skinner was appearing more on television whenever
some sort of crises came up and a spokesman was needed to clarify
some matters to the public.
At home, it was still great of course,with Skinner always so concerned
about him and loving him all the time. But it really hurt sometimes
when he wanted to do something even go out to watch a baseball or
football game and not be able to do it with the older man. Skinner, of
course, planned some things for them, mainly camping or other solitary
pursuits where there was less of a chance for them of being seen. But
Mulder had never been an outdoors kind of guy, having grown up in
suburbia, with too many bad memories of unsuccessful camping trips with
his dad.
Mulder chafed of course that anything he wanted them to do together had
to be approved or vetoed by the older man. He knew that Skinner was
more sensible with these things, but sometimes, he wished that they had
the spontaneity of just going out together to some bookstore
or eat out when they felt like it. As it was, the last time they
ate out was months ago. He couldn't even remember when they last went
out to see a movie.
But Mulder knew that situations like this when both of them were in the
closet was something inevitable, that there would be a lack of
spontaneity. From the very beginning of their relationship so many
years ago, Skinner had made it clear that this was the way their life
was going to be together. So he just gritted his teeth and bore it,
especially when he knew that Skinner was the only one he ever was
going to have a relationship with. He only had to look at the signet
ring and the watch and remembered the best times.
Skinner could see that Mulder was in one of his grey funks again and
somehow knew the cause. They were in the apartment and having a quiet
night. He hadn't gone home too late and they'd already
had dinner. It was only eight o'clock on a Tuesday night. Mulder
was fooling around with his aquarium again, adjusting the salinity
and water temperature and other mysterious things that Skinner didn't
care to know about.
All he knew about the fish was feeding them and making sure they were
still alive. Since that damned aquarium had been his responsibility
whenever Mulder was away from DC on his cases, Skinner had tried to keep
the mortality rate down. Seeing Mulder anguish over that dead Chichlid
floating on the surface was too much for Skinner. It didn't help
matters any that the aquarium was a lot more elaborate than the one
Mulder used to keep in his old aparment. That small old one was a
freshwater tank while this one was saltwater with the more expensive and
larger kinds of tropical fish.
Taylor's eyes watched Mulder's actions with interest. The dog always
seemed to hope that one of the fish would fall flopping to the floor and
then straight to his mouth, Mulder complained. Skinner went
over to the newspaper and checked out some things.
"What say we catch a movie at the Odeon?" Skinner suggested. He
cringed inwardly when he saw how Mulder's face lit up. He kicked
himself for being so selfish with Mulder, only doing things that he
knew was safe all the time. When was watching a movie ever
dangerous?
"But if we catch the last show, it would be too late for you. You
need to get up early tomorrow," Mulder was still unconvinced. Too
much of his caution was rubbing off on the younger man, Skinner
thought.
"Let's live dangerously," Skinner said wryly. "There's a show in
half an hour. Would you be finished by then?"
Mulder nodded and hastened to finish with the aquarium. The Odeon
was only two blocks away and they didn't need to take the car. Like
always, when they were walking down the street together, they were
apart from each other. Looking like two old friends instead of the
lovers that they were.
The theater was almost empty, being a weeknight and was dark enough
that Skinner relented and drew Mulder to him with one arm. Mulder
was stiff for a while, looking around the theater.
"We're at the back, Fox," Skinner hissed and the younger man finally
softened up against him.
Skinner was glad that they watched the movie. It was good with a lot
of special effects. They walked back to the building at almost midnight
and on the way back, he took Mulder's hand in his.
Like before, Mulder stiffened and looked around the street. Skinner
gave him a reassuring smile and held his hand more firmly. Even
a simple pleasure like watching a movie and walking home afterwards
had to be so complicated for them and Skinner was getting tired of
the subterfuge as well.
"You okay with this?" Skinner asked, shaking their hands so that
Mulder knew what he meant. The street was deserted and only an
occasional passing car was the sign of life around them. Mulder
nodded back at him with some trepidation, but walking with Skinner
hand in hand was too good.
"We should do this more often," Skinner sighed once they were in
their elevator.
When the weather got warmer and the drive-ins opened, it was even
better because they were now able to go to the movies in relative
anonymity. Mulder was glad that they were now able to see first-
run movies instead of having to wait for the videos to come out.
Skinner would usually take the Town Car with the dark windows
while they were surrounded by rowdy kids in convertibles. It was
less than ideal sometimes but it was better than risking it everytime
they wanted to see a movie.
It was one of the Friday the 13th movies that Skinner absolutely
abhorred but Mulder liked. Skinner didn't want to watch any of
the gory stuff, saying it reminded him too much of Vietnam.
He was trying to entice Mulder into necking in the car just
like the other kids were doing in the cars all around them. Mulder,
however, wasn't biting and his eyes were transfixed on the screen.
It was the middle of the movie and he wanted some popcorn.
Skinner was kissing his neck but he wasn't really into it.
"I'm going to get popcorn. Do you want anything?" Mulder
asked. Skinner sighed as he extricated himself from the agent
and shook his head. Mulder got out and because he
was walking backwards to be able to view the movie, he didn't
see the group of young men who had watched him emerge
from the car with interest.
Mulder first went to the bathroom. He was standing in front
of the urinal, using it, when he realized that two large young
men were beside him, ostensibly using the bathroom, too.
Some sort of sixth sense kicked in and Mulder tried to finish
as fast as possible. It didn't escape his notice that the two were
both looking down on him and when he was zipping himself
up, the one on his right looked him straight in the eye and
mocked him with pursed lips. Mulder tried to hurry out of
the bathroom, not even bothering to wash his hands. But there
were two more of the seedy men blocking the bathroom door
and that was when Mulder knew he was in real danger.
The one in the ponytail swaggered up to him and sneered.
"I saw you with your 'daddy' out there," he said, menacingly
advancing on Mulder. "You let him put it up your ass, don't
you?"
Mulder cursed when he realized that he didn't have his gun.
He'd left it at home. He sized up the four men and with a
sinking feeling knew that he was outmatched even if he could
take out one or two of them. The cramped bathroom also
didn't have any other avenues of escape.
It happened so fast that Mulder didn't even have the time to
fast talk his way out of there. The four were belligerent and
Mulder found himself backed into a stall, the worst place to
be and when there was no way out anymore, he used all his
self defense maneuvers taught at the Academy. But he was
soon pinned helplessly against the tiles and he really started
to get scared when the one with the tattoo started ripping
off his t-shirt and a damp cold hand was on his bare skin.
As he struggled, he felt a malicious hand on the crotch of his
jeans. Mulder felt the first tendrils of panic as the hand
down there was just starting to hurt when he was suddenly released and
he collapsed to the floor.
There seemed to be a commotion but he was too dazed to
get out of there. A door was slammed shut and it was abruptly
silent in the bathroom.
Skinner shakily put back his gun into his jacket and approached
Mulder who was silent on the floor. The DD didn't like the
way Mulder looked, all pale and sweaty despite the chill in
the air.
"Oh, honey, are you okay?" Skinner crouched down at him in
the narrow stall and was rubbing Mulder's back. "Fox, I'm
here...you're safe. The bastards are gone."
Skinner took out his handkerchief and wet it in the sink and
then wiped Mulder's face with it. The agent's breathing was
still irregular with fright but it was slowing down as Skinner's
soothing words were starting to register. The older man checked
out Mulder and saw that aside from the torn T-shirt and a red
bruise on one arm, there were no other marks on the younger man.
"You okay, now?" Skinner murmured to him. "Can you stand?
I'll take you home."
Mulder seemed to come back to himself and Skinner helped him
get on his feet. Mulder was still pale but less shaky now and when
they emerged from the bathroom, there were thankfully only a few
people milling around. They went back undisturbed to the car, the
perpetrators long since gone.
Skinner saw that Mulder was still pale but he was now answering in
monosyllables. Skinner knew that if they pressed charges if he caught
even one of them, it would only cause further anguish for both of them
if the local police were involved.
He started the car and drove home. Mulder was silent as Skinner felt
guilty about the drive in thing. His jaw clenched as he eased the
Lincoln onto the expressway. The drive in was located in a bad
part of town and he shouldn't have been persuaded by Mulder.
Likewise, he should have gone with Mulder to the concessionaire
stand. Especially since his car stood out like a sore thumb. But
they had used his car precisely because of black windows.
Once they were in the safety of their building, Skinner could see that
Mulder was still badly shaken.
"At least they didn't get my watch," the agent said in the monotone
Skinner knew he used when he was trying to distance himself. Once
they went into their apartment, the DD was baffled when Mulder
shed his clothing. When he heard the shower running, Skinner
understood.
When the shower was still on after more than twenty minutes, Skinner
stuck his head in the bathroom.
"You okay, Fox?" Skinner asked again.
"I'll be out in a minute," Mulder shouted above the noise.
It was a full ten minutes before Mulder emerged. Skinner saw
that the agent was wearing one of his pajamas as if it afforded some
sort of protection for him. Just as he expected, the agent's face
and neck were red probably from vigorous scrubbing.
"Thanks, Walter," Mulder said once they were in bed together.
"I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been there."
As usual, Skinner's protective instincts were fully activated and
he took Mulder into his arms and embraced him tightly.
"Sorry, Fox," Skinner breathed into his hair. "I should have
gone with you for the popcorn."
Mulder knew in his mind that he was safe now but the whole
incident had agitated him. Even if he was used to people deriding
his ideas and being scornful of him, it had upset him to the core
that anyone could hate him enough to actively harm him because
of his orientation. Sure, he had moments of real danger in working
in the Bureau, but those dangerous moments had never been directed
personally at him, it was just part of the job of being a field agent.
The predatory nature of what happened, that it was planned and
that there were four of them all the more served to illustrate how
vulnerable anyone could be.
More than that was the extreme feelings of helplessness that
had surfaced despite all the self-defense lessons in the Academy.
The two men who had held him down each outweighed him by
thirty pounds and the third one who had his filthy hands on him
had been his height but was still more built than he was. Only
the fourth one keeping watch by the door had been smaller than
him.
Skinner drifted off into sleep but a few hours later, he stirred
awake when Mulder moved.
"Fox, you awake?" the older man turned on the light at his
bedside. Mulder looked exhausted with dark circles under
his eyes. "Oh, honey, why didn't you tell me you couldn't
sleep?"
It was in the wee hours of the morning and Skinner was being
so kind and solicitous. Mulder hated it but he started crying,
releasing all the fears of being harmed and possibly raped in
the bathroom. Skinner clucked and soothed him as best he
could.
"Hey, baby," Skinner murmured. "I'm here for you. I'll never
let anyone harm you..."
"Why do bad things always happen to me?" Mulder moaned
through his sobs. He knew he was being childish but he didn't
care. Right now all he wanted was to have Skinner's strong
arms around him. Skinner waited for him to cry himself out.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
WINNER WORSHIP
Once morning came, Skinner woke up early as usual and went
to Mulder's study to make a few calls from the telephone there.
First, he called Scully and gave a sanitized version of events,
telling her that Mulder won't be in for today. Then he called
Kimberly at home and told her that he was sick. A call to
Cormier yielded a name of a therapist and Skinner made
an emergency appointment.
The agent was starting to stir once Skinner got back to the
bedroom. Skinner knew the younger man needed comfort
and he tried to provide it by touching him, thinking that maybe
Mulder needed to make love. But Mulder reared away . Skinner
acquiesced and let him be. Despite his protests, Skinner took
him that morning to Baltimore where the therapist had her clinic.
Mulder was the first appointment for the day, the therapist
aware that this was the best time to deal with the crisis, at
the earliest possible moment.
Skinner stayed in the waiting room for more than two hours.
He was called at the end of the session, with the therapist
telling him that it was a good thing that Mulder was brought
in so early. She gave him a prescription for mild tranquilizers
and told Skinner that Mulder was dealing with the incident
adequately. He was supposed to stay home for one more day
because the tranquilizers might make him too woozy. Then
he was supposed to come back after three days. She gave
Skinner her card in case they needed to get in touch with her.
The older man looked closely at Mulder as they sat in front
of each other in the therapist's office. His eyes were red and
swollen but his face was more animated.
"How do you feel?" Skinner asked as they exited the clinic and
headed for the car.
"Better," Mulder said. His voice was likewise stronger and more
confident.
"Do you think you'll want to see her again?" Skinner questioned
casually. He was well aware of Mulder's tendency to ditch
medical personnel when he could.
"Uh-huh"
It was midday and it did Mulder a lot of good that they went around
Baltimore and ate lunch in a nice restaurant. Skinner insisted that he
take the tranquilizer and pretty soon, the deprived hours of sleep from
last night was beginning to show.
"I want to go home," Mulder yawned once they were back in the car.
"Sure," Skinner patted him on the thigh.
Mrs. Jackson was righteously indignant when Skinner explained their
early presence in the apartment. She shook her head angrily and, as if
to banish the incident, started chopping up vegetables in a fury to make
Mulder's favorite soup.
Skinner made a call to Kimberly and tried to find out how things were
holding up in the Bureau. She was holding the fort and was competently
managing the endless calls for him. Mulder was trying to watch a sitcom
on the Comedy Channel and promptly fell asleep in the den.
Miraculously, Mulder was able to sleep on the couch without nightmares
for the rest of the afternoon and when he woke up, Skinner could see
that the sleep had done him lot of good. Mulder was stretching on the
couch to straighten out the kinks in his back and he grinned when he saw
that Skinner was watching him sleep.
"I'm okay," Mulder reiterated. "What time is it anyway? You didn't
have to watch me."
"I wanted to make sure you were safe," Skinner mumbled. "That there
were no nightmares."
Just being home and safe had the desired effect and Mulder seemed
to have bounced back from the incident. Skinner was glad that he'd
inquired with Cormier on a crisis interventionist. He knew it was the
newest thing in victim advocacy but he wasn't sure if they would
handle cases like Mulder's, who was not really assaulted but just
nearly assaulted.
The older man was pleasantly surprised when Mulder spontaneously
got up and sat on his lap, wrapping his arms and legs around Skinner's
torso and laying down his head on his shoulder.
"I love you, Walter," Mulder breathed. His voice was rough with
sincerity and Skinner put down his book and hugged him hard with
his other hand insinuating through the T-shirt so that he rubbed
Mulder's bare smooth back. "Dr. Morgan said that I shouldn't
be blaming myself for being so impotent, that no one could have
beat off those four bastards especially with the element of surprise
they had on me. But you were there for me, Walter...like you
always are."
After a few minutes of hugging, Mulder looked up and had a
solemn look on his face.
"You're my hero."
The bald adoration in Mulder's voice caused Skinner to blush.
Surprisingly, Mulder laughed and Skinner was able to chuckle
with him. They had a nice, relaxed dinner and Skinner noted
that Mulder ate with more appetite. They went to bed early and
made love with Mulder being more submissive than usual and
Skinner fiercely solicitous of his lover's sensations. Somehow,
the act reaffirmed Skinner's protective role over the younger
man and Mulder was lapping it up, having Skinner's bigger
body shielding him as his own body fully opened to the older
man.
Mulder was being transported and he was writhing on the bed
in abandon as he thrust his hips upwards in counterpoint to
Skinner's rhythm. His neck and back were arching off the bed
with his hips just angled right with the pillow underneath him,
affording maximum stimulation of his prostate.
"Walter, you're my big man," Mulder grunted and moaned as
Skinner could feel the internal muscles gripping him so lovingly.
The DD bent his head to nip at Mulder's right nipple while one
hand supported Mulder's back to further deepen the thrusts.
The agent's hero worship of him was having the desired effect
on Skinner and he made sure that Mulder was having the time
of his life. It took all of his self control not to come until
Mulder had his orgasm. Skinner was growling at the effort,
intoxicated by the rubbing of their sweaty bodies against each
other.
"This..is...for...you, baby," Skinner grunted with each strong
thrust. Mulder's eyes were rolling up his head and Skinner
kissed him with extreme intensity, pouring all his effort into
his mouth as he muffled Mulder's howl as he ejaculated.
Skinner took his time and slowed down his thrusting despite
his own pressing need and once Mulder's orgasm subsided,
he took the semen slicked penis of his partner and lightly
rubbed the frenulum at just the right pressure, renewing
Mulder's spent arousal.
"Come for me again, baby," Skinner moaned as he stilled
his hips and concentrated on gaining another erection for
Mulder.
"Oh, God, Walter, I'm...getting hard again."
"Come, on, love, come for me again...That's right...You're
getting big again...Look how big you are."
It took only another two minutes before Mulder's member
stiffened and Skinner restarted his powerful thrusts. Mulder
had his tongue out between his lips as his younger body
revived under Skinner's skillful hands, hands that were
large and powerful and well shaped and exclusively for
him. Mulder had his hands over the potent broad shoulders
of the older man, riding out the process of being ridden by
the man he loved. Skinner gasped as he urged on Mulder
who had another equally strong culmination. Only then
did Skinner let go and release his own bottled up arousal.
This time it was Skinner who sobbed with ecstacy as his
muscles relaxed over Mulder and he sagged onto the younger
man's body. The agent still had his own hands on the DD's
shoulders, not wanting to let go of Skinner's all enveloping
warmth. Mulder slipped down a hand to a special place in
Skinner's now sweaty armpit that he knew was pretty sensitive and the
older man wriggled as he got tickled lightly. Skinner absolutely
loved it like this, lying over Mulder's sated body, both of them
with that cherished exhaustion that always never failed to
revive them both and renew their love for each other.
Skinner bent down and and resumed kissing Mulder, his tongue
aggressively entering Mulder's mouth, just as his nether parts
had done so earlier. Mulder moaned and let Skinner's questing
tongue seemingly drink him up to a different sensation. Lately,
Skinner had been preferring to do this more and more, as if he
wanted to enter and become unite with Mulder's body in more
ways than one.
"Uhm...my legs are...cramping, Walter," Mulder had to tell
him, because Skinner's body was still between his legs just as
his softened penis was still within Mulder's sated anus.
"Sorry, baby," Skinner moaned and withdrew with a sucking
sound. He helped Mulder adjust back his long limbs in a more
comfortable position and massaged it to make it better, but
did not cease his deep, very deep kissing of Mulder's luscious
mouth. He'd found that this was one way to keep the agent
awake after vigorous lovemaking, that of occupying him with
kissing.
Skinner took Mulder up in his arms as he sat them both up
and had Mulder's head bent back with Skinner's broad hand
supporting his neck. It was just like in the movies, Mulder
thought dazedly as the older man's other hand ran down his
heated side. For the third time that night, Mulder found
his erection was starting to demand attention. He didn't
know if he could have another come tonight.
With Skinner's hand rubbing his side, it was inevitable that
the older man would encounter Mulder's renewed arousal.
He looked down with surprise.
"You still hot?" he said with some amusement. Mulder's
naked form still had that flush over his neck, face, chest and
upper thighs.
"Yeah," Mulder moaned through half-lidded eyes. He still couldn't
believe that it was so good after six years. He arched his back
involuntarily as his Walter lightly put his fist over his penis and
scrotum and carressed him lovingly, with just the butterfly wings'
pressure that was all he needed at this point. It still amazed him
how well the older man knew his body so well. Mulder held
Skinner's head in his hand so that their kiss wouldn't be broken
off. His hips started their involuntary motions.
"That's it, baby, honey...show me how your body loves me."
Mulder gasped as he came with a force much decreased from the other two
that night but no less pleasurable. He shuddered against Skinner who
held him as he rode out the extreme delight.
"That's why I will protect your body and you to the best of my
abilities, Fox," Skinner breathed into his neck. "I want you
safe for always."
Mulder smiled that special smile he only had after a very good
come. Skinner gave him a final kiss as he got up and cleaned
up Mulder who was stretching like a cat on the bed, a very sated
cat. When Skinner got back in bed after taking a very quick
shower, Mulder was caught up in his embrace again. The agent's
heart was full to bursting. Even if yesterday was a bad time,
today more than made up for it. Skinner taking the day off just
for him even when there were more pressing issues in the office,
finding the right therapist to help him banish the fears, helping
him to deal with it, holding him and not being judgemental
when he cried, all the more convinced Mulder that Skinner
was the only one for him. No one would have done the same,
no one.
Because he had Skinner with whom he didn't need to hide being
vulnerable, this gave Mulder the strength to appear more invulnerable
to the world. Skinner was his avenging angel, who would do
anything to protect him. This was shown with some clarity
yesterday when he had stormed that drive-in bathroom even
with the four burly thugs inside.
"I really love you, Walter," Mulder whispered before he slipped
off into the sleep of the surfeited. Those words came so much
easier throughout the years they were together. Sometimes, even those
words didn't even seem to convey what he actually felt inside.
"I know, honey...I know," Skinner smiled.
Skinner went back to work the next day, only when he was
sure that it was okay with Mulder. He left the younger man
in bed, opening the window because of the musty smell of
sex in the room. He ruefully shook his head as he saw the
sheets spattered with the drying evidence of Mulder's
activities last night. It was just as well that Mrs. Jackson
had long since gotten used to Mulder's stains on the bed,
although she would reprimand mainly Skinner when she had to clean the
dried encrustations in the unlikeliest places, especially "her" kitchen.
Mulder saw the therapist three more times and the tranquilizers
were stopped when it was clear that he didn't need them
anymore. Skinner forced him to go out to the movies again,
not wanting him to develop a phobia for going out. Once a
week, with seeming regularity, it became part of their after
work ritual. It was better after they had a weekend in Boston,
when Skinner finally was able to leave the work behind for
once.
On their sixth anniversary, Skinner took pains to locate one
of his old friends from Vietnam. Jake Reilly had a beach house
in Cancun and wasn't using it for the four days in October.
Skinner did some careful interoffice maneuverings and was
able to schedule Mulder's yearly vacation so that it coincided
with his own.
The Cancun vacation was another highlight in their life together.
Mulder was loved thoroughly there and when he returned to
work with a tan and that stupid glowing of his person, Scully
once again teased him endlessly about the insatiability of the
Deputy Director. Skinner had given him a videocamera for
his birthday and he irritated Scully endlessly in turn by following
her around with it. Of course, Mulder got creative with the
camera and once, only once, mind you, Skinner agreed for them
to make love in front of it.
Skinner forgot about the video Mulder made and
was completely startled when Mulder showed it to him
mischieviously one night. The older man had to admit it
was very erotic watching yourself and your partner going
at it on television. That had been a night where Skinner was
being especially solicitous of the younger man. He blushed
hotly at the obvious evidence of their love for each other
but he had to take a firm stand and told Mulder to erase the
thing because with their luck, the tape could get into the
wrong hands. Besides, he couldn't stand watching his
own naked form cavorting so uninhibitedly on the bed, although
for Mulder that had been the chief attraction of the video. Mulder
pouted but he had to follow Skinner because as usual, the
ex-marine was only sensible and right.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CAGE CRISIS
It had been fantastic. The ex-Marine still couldn't believe how they
had gone at it a few hours ago. He only had Mulder to thank. The
agent always welcomed him home, but the lovemaking was something
else. It had been an intoxicating meld of Mulder being submissive
but dominant all at the same time and Skinner found that he preferred
it that way. Skinner laid back against the pillows, luxuriating in
the way his body was feeling so satisfied and rejuvenated.
It had been a hellish week. The pressure to find the militia
bombers were coming from all sides, from the press, the Justice
Department and the public. Fortunately, the Director for once
was handling the brunt of the blows. Skinner called Mulder from the
various nameless hotel rooms he was forced to stay in and the
young agent fortunately only focused their conversations on
themselves, instead of asking for updates on the situation the
way Kimberly, his secretary, had done. Skinner found that
calling Mulder whenever the day was done made him long for
the man all the more.
Just as he expected, the telephone rang with the New York
regional head at the other end. It was only during times like
these that Skinner tolerated calls of this nature at home. As
much as possible, he wanted to keep his life as Deputy Director
and his life as Mulder's lover as separate as possible. However,
he didn't begrudge Scully's very rare calls here when she had
to speak to Mulder. He knew that the pretty redhead only called
when absolutely necessary. From experience, he knew she was prudent.
The news was encouraging in that there were significant strides
being made on the case. Skinner smiled evilly to himself as the voice
at the other end shook with the tension. Skinner had made his
displeasure widely known in New York, on the way the case
had been handled at the outset.
Mulder stirred in the bed and would have groaned heavily while
stretching if Skinner didn't clamp his hand over the younger
man's mouth to silence him. Skinner barked more orders over
the phone, satisfied with the way the regional head had snapped
to attention. As Skinner hung up, he found Mulder grinning at
him.
"What?" Skinner asked, his tone abruptly gentled since he was
now talking to his love.
"Ooohh, I like the way you sounded on the phone," Mulder
crooned mockingly. "I bet all their balls are crawling up
their abdomens even as we speak."
"Well, their balls should," Skinner muttered darkly. "I didn't
see any evidence of their having them with the way the press
is harping on the Bureau...Let's not talk about it, okay? I've
had enough of this bombing to last me a lifetime. Come over
here and let me give you a hug."
Mulder shivered as he complied. He could still feel Skinner's
semen seeping out of him and feeling and smelling the evidence
of Skinner's love for him only made him quiver inside. Skinner
kissed him hotly and Mulder smiled when the older man
thanked him for the fantastic time they had a ago.
"I'm glad that you're mine," Skinner growled into his mouth.
"Have I ever told you that?"
"I...I think so," Mulder said, moved beyond words. They both
got up after a while and Skinner cursed when he saw that it was
already one o'clock in the afternoon. Most of the Saturday was
slipping by, a Saturday he'd hoped to spend in the cabin.
"Let's just stay here, Walter," Mulder said as he dragged Skinner
into the bathroom. Skinner started on his shower as Mulder sat
on the toilet and used it. The bigger man was glad that Mulder
was losing his inhibitions about using the bathroom with Skinner
inside with him. It had taken years of breaking down those
inhibitions. That damned New England stiff upper lip and demand
for privacy was finally being chipped away after years together.
What was the use of locking the bathroom or getting into a tiff
when Skinner inadvertently walked in on him when every inch
of Mulder's body was more familiar than his own?
As far as he hoped, Mulder shouldn't feel he had anything to hide
from him anymore, that they were truly of one body and soul
by now. Skinner knew every mole and bump on the younger
man's person, knew all his rough spots and smooth spots, the wet
spots and dry spots, where the most tantalizing erogenous zones
were and knew the places he was still shy about. He would have
recognized the agent in a line up by feel and smell alone.
Because of his particular interest in particular parts of Mulder's
anatomy, he was now familiar enough to know when the agent
had bouts of constipation or diarrhea since Cormier had emphasized
that Mulder's bowel health was mainly his responsiblity. After
finishing up quickly, Mulder flushed the toilet and joined Skinner
in the shower. He wriggled and splashed about as Skinner took
it upon himself to bathe the younger man. Pretty soon, he had
Mulder gasping with his hands spread out on the tiles as Skinner
masturbated him into completion with soaped hands. The older
man made sure that no soap touched Mulder's urethral meatus
where soap could sting.
"God, Walter, you're so good to me," Mulder writhed his hips
which he pumped into his lover's hand. It didn't take long
before Mulder ejaculated, his semen spurting out in thick gobs.
The quivering of his lover's body was so precious to Skinner
that he savored the moment for what it was, that of Mulder
surrendering his desires and keeping nothing of his response
from the older man.
They got out of the shower in a few minutes, both spanking clean
and smelling wonderful. Mulder shaved as Skinner dressed. The
agent was still getting the hang of the straight razor and Skinner
chuckled to himself as he heard Mulder curse at another nick.
Skinner turned on the small television in the bedroom, changing
the channel to CNN to see if there was more about the bombings
in New York.
"Were you planning on going fishing this weekend?" Mulder
asked, his voice muffled as he put on a T-shirt. Skinner shot a
glance at the agent, amused to no end at how ludicrous Mulder
appeared, struggling with the T-shirt sans boxers. Sometimes,
he was such a child. Skinner stood up, his eyes still fixed on
the screen while he helped Mulder extricate himself and put
the T-shirt to rights.
"Yes, I wanted to, but it's too late now," Skinner answered after
a while, his attention still transfixed to CNN. "Want to do
something special instead?"
Mulder stepped into his boxers and hitched it up. His face was
still screwed up as he thought of an answer to Skinner's question.
Skinner tried not to wince when he saw Mulder taking out the
rattiest pair of jeans he owned and putting it on as well. He must
remember to conveniently "misplace" that pair in the future, Skinner
thought.
Fortunately, there was an important NFL game. It was one of the
few sports they both liked to watch. Skinner found himself relaxing
as they both got caught up in following the game. Mulder made
his monster sandwiches which they munched on as the game
progressed.
The telephone rang again. Each of them had separate phone lines and
both of them recognized that it was Skinner's phone. He wiped the
mayonnaise from his hands and answered the call.
Mulder tensed when he heard Skinner barking over the phone again. From
what he could tell from Skinner's side of the conversation, it had
something to do with the bombings. The agent sat up, football game
forgotten. Skinner continued to talk grimly on the phone. It was a
good thirty minutes before he hung up.
"What was that about?" Mulder could see that the older man was rigid and
seemed to be collecting his thoughts.
"Fox, we might be in trouble," Skinner began. "Ashcraft's home was
bombed just now. Fortunately, no one was home. And the militia who did
that thing in New York has owned up to the bombing. Freeh just called
and said that us higher-ups will need 24 hour security for a while.
They'll be coming in an hour to start the security sweep here."
Mulder swore an oath and started collecting his things from the den.
Skinner hid Mulder's picture in the drawer and the younger man went
upstairs. The portrait of their fifth year anniversary, Samantha's and
Skinner's photograph from Mulder's bedside table, all these went into a
box.
They'd talked about this before: what they were going to do in case
something like this ever happened. It was one thing to talk about it
and quite another to actually do it. Skinner packed up more of Mulder's
things from the bathroom. Both of them were concentrated on their
immediate task, that of eradicating any traces that Mulder even lived
there. What they were going to do in the next few days weren't
discussed.
As always, Skinner's foresight paid off. The extra apartment in the
same building that was barely furnished and unlived in, the one that was
Mulder's official address was now going to be used. The two brought the
few boxes there.
Skinner left the agent, with a brief kiss. Even if he was preoccupied
with the current bombing crisis, he couldn't help noting how miserable
Mulder looked in the empty apartment. He honestly didn't know how long
the tightened security was going to last.
Mulder watched the door close, not daring to think of how uncertain
everything always was. He opened the nearest box and saw the Pooh bear,
somewhat grimy now after almost seven years. He took it into his hand
and put it on the top of the dust laden empty shelf. And thought hard.
END OF BACCARAT FIGURINES III.
It would be just great to hear from you and give me more ideas of what
you want our boys to do.
Written in the tropical summer of 1997 while on vacation (away from the
weak summer sun of Wisconsin). You should see my tan!