3's A Charm: As the Odium Fades Part One by Ocean Summers and Sage O'Neil

Title: 3's A Charm: As the Odium Fades
Authors: Ocean Summers and Sage O'Neil
Ratings: NC-17
Keyword: Scully/Krycek Mulder/other Romance
Summary: Ben continues to follow out his plan while Scully and Krycek relationship takes a new turn.
WARNING: Contains m/m sex. Don't go any further if this bothers you.
Author's Note: Have nothing really important to say, except for… Finally <g> Feels like forever before we got this part ready but I hope it was worth the wait. Oh yes, and Ethan can be found on our Character's page. We choose Antonio Sabato Jr for his part. <g>

Thanx to: The Emu and Elisabeth who as usual made wonders with their editing. Any mistakes written here are my own doing.
Disclaimers: I do not own these characters (Except for Ben, Ethan, Oliver, Kyle, Tisha, Paris, Daniel and Rick, they're mine) they belong to Chris Carter and FOX Network, you know the drill…
Please feel free to send feedback to sageo@hotmail.com

Archivist's Note: The URL for the MSKRA (Mulder Scully Krycek Romance Association) website is defunct. I have deleted it.

As Scully brought in the last stack of dessert bowls, she looked over at her mother, who was preparing the coffee machine. "So what do you think?" she asked.

Maggie turned to her daughter. "He's very sweet, Dana." She smiled. "I like him."

"How do you feel about him?" Maggie asked, standing to better face her daughter.

This was the first time in ages, if not ever, Dana had brought any man she was dating to meet her mother. She never had been into dating that much, especially not the last few years. Her mother had to sense how serious this was.

Dana smiled, not knowing how to tell her mother this; it was awkward, but still, it was right. "I love him."

Reaching out to embrace her daughter, Maggie stroked her hair softly. "Then I'm happy," she whispered, her voice still showing different feelings.

Maggie's eyes had betrayed her thoughts, and Scully had an idea of what was going through her mind.

"What about him?" Scully tried to sound as she didn't know what her mother was getting at.

"No, it was just… that time Melissa and I came over to see you, when Fox was there, I got the idea -- that there was something between you."

Scully swallowed. She didn't think it had been that obvious; they'd been so careful.

"But I see that you're happy with Alex, so I probably got the wrong impression." Maggie forced a smile, even as there was a sudden change in Scully's eyes.

"Mom, Dana." Melissa walked into the kitchen, much to Scully's relief. "Need any help out here?"

"No, honey, that's okay." Maggie smiled at her older daughter and turned back to the coffeemaker again.

Melissa went up to her sister with a wide grin on her face. "Alex is great. Just let me know if you find any more like him, 'cause I wouldn't mind having one of those in my bed."

"Decoratively speaking, Mom," Missy defined quickly, and nudged her sister's side. "Seriously, though. I think you've hit the jackpot this time."

"What a terrible way to put it, Melissa," Maggie objected to her daughter's choice of words.

Melissa rolled her eyes towards her sister and sighed. "Mom, did you know that he was raised Catholic?" She looked over Dana's shoulder at her mother.

"I didn't know that." Scully gave her sister an odd eye. "What exactly have you been asking him out there?"

"He's what?" Scully tried to get a glimpse of the living room to see what was going on.

"Don't worry, sis, Alex seems to be doing quite well. Believe it or not, even Bill seems to like him."

Scully gave her sister a doubtful look. This family dinner was proceeding a little too well to be true. Not that she hadn't expected them to like Krycek; he was everything they wanted her to have. She just wished she could enjoy it more.

Mulder wriggled out of his jacket with the FBI logo on the back and started removing the bulletproof vest. The job had gone fairly smoothly, though hospitalizing another agent with minor injuries, but the suspect had been brought into custody and was now being interrogated.

He reached for his suit jacket and tie inside the locker, replacing them with the bulletproof vest and jacket. Since his shift had ended hours ago, he didn't bother putting on the jacket and tie. Tired and hungry, he left the locker room.

Ben, who had been exchanging pleasantries with other agents outside the locker room, noted Mulder coming out. Excusing himself from the crowd, he hurried after him.

"Would you say yes if I promised to take care of those stiff shoulders for you?" Ben continued, seeing victory ahead.

"No problem. I have to pay a visit to the A.D. before we leave anyway. Can we meet in 20 minutes by my car?"

Ben opened the door to his apartment and, the gentleman he was, let Mulder enter first. Slipping out of his coat quickly, Ben went into the kitchen to get the phone.

Finding his way into the bedroom, Mulder started stripping his clothes, tossing them on the bed. Ben's bedroom was quite impersonal. At first, it had surprised him how few belongings the man had; hardly any old mementos filled the bookshelves, nor any books, for that matter. Ben had only shrugged when Mulder had commented on it, saying he wasn't to fond of hanging onto stuff that often had a sob story to tell. Mulder could relate to that just fine.

About to rid himself of the final clothing, Mulder jolted back at the sound of Ben's voice. Looking at him, he saw the glimmer in his eyes, telling him Ben would have preferred him naked.

Ben tore himself from his place in the doorway, turning his back to Mulder to search in his closet.

"Just put it on the bed where I can find it," Mulder said before closing the bathroom door.

"Still a little shy, are we Agent Mulder?" Ben mumbled, looking at the closed door.

Mulder shivered as the icy water cascaded down over his tired body. The slight arousal caused by Ben's intense gaze washed down the drain, but not as easily as he'd hoped. The yearning for another man's touch nearly drove him to the edge of insanity, and he couldn't begin to understand why every time the opportunity came, he pulled away. The reasons were crazy, stupid even; it was obvious how much he needed it. The frustration kept mounting and mounting inside him, taking over his mind in a way that was new to him.

Ben heard him coming out shortly after the food arrived. He thought he'd give Mulder about five minutes to dress before announcing. Strolling calmly down the hallway, he reached the bedroom just in time to get a glimpse of Mulder's well-shaped ass before it was covered by a pair of black boxers. Ben cleared his throat, making Mulder turn.

Mulder stopped what he was doing, allowing Ben to approach him. Slowly, Ben took the towel from his hands.

He brought the towel to a damp area on Mulder's back, stroking gently with the towel.

"No problem." Ben stepped back, throwing the towel onto the bed. "Food's waiting."

After dinner, Ben took a shower and changed into something more comfortable. He had left Mulder in bed, clinking on his laptop, quite unaware of his surroundings. After a while, though, Mulder closed the laptop and put it on the nightstand to make room for Ben. Ben lay down, resting his head in the palm of his hand.

"Nothing, it's just that… " He paused to give Mulder an amused look. "You see, Skinner wanted the report tomorrow, not next week."

Mulder tried to look insulted, but couldn't keep from smiling. He turned to lie on his back, stretching a little.

Mulder looked at him, his eyes turning serious. "You turn the lights off if you want to." His voice slightly unsure.

Smoothly, Ben turned to his left, hitting the switch. Even though darkness had filled the room, he could see Mulder's unsure gaze clearly. Carefully, he allowed his hand to roam over the other man's waist and chest, feeling the soft material of the T-shirt against the palm of his hand. Moving closer, he encouraged a kiss, at first barely touching the slightly parted lips, then claiming more, savoring the moment.

Mulder allowed the kiss to intensify. He really didn't want to cause Ben more pain by pulling away at the last minute, as he had already done several times before. When a soft moan worked its way to his lips, he felt Ben moving slowly on top of him, pressing him down against the mattress. He was more demanding now, kissing him with greed and a touch of reckless lust.

The pounding in his hard erection grew as Ben's pleasure was revealed to him. It pressed against his thigh, demanding his attention. Clumsily, Mulder's hands tugged at Ben's shirt in a desperate attempt to remove it. Ben gave him some help by pulling away shortly. The shirt came off, landing on Mulder's. Pulling his head down again, Mulder felt Ben slowly, with a slight rhythm, rock his hips toward his. The movement felt wonderful against his now aching groin. A moan came across his lips as a result of Ben's movement and it mingled with the sound of their kisses.

Meanwhile, Ben had untangled his hands from Mulder's hair, now running them down his chest, feeling him shiver. Accidentally, he brushed over a hard nipple and felt Mulder squirmed beneath him.

Arching his chest toward Ben, he wanted more. Soon, the warmth of Ben's mouth had closed around one of his nipples and his tongue started to tease it. There was something familiar about the way he did it.

Mulder grabbed a hold of his waist, carefully moving his hands to his front where he felt Ben's throbbing erection.

"Harder, touch me harder," he encouraged, smiling, pleased, when Mulder took him up on the demand.

Rubbing his hand a little harder over the bulge in Ben's pants, he was rewarded with another lick to his now unbelievably sensitive nipple. Mulder's pleasure faded as the face of his old, but obviously not forgotten, boyfriend, took place in his mind with a hurt expression. He pushed the image away and tried to concentrate on the situation at hand.

Ben had found his way to Mulder's boxers and met him with a dangerous grin. He knew Mulder would burn up inside if he didn't get touched in the right way soon.

Mulder bucked up, meeting Ben's hand through the thin material of his underwear. He inhaled sharply, feeling a kiss being placed right above the hem of his pants. It burned delightfully every time Ben's hot lips met his skin, and as Ben started pulling down the clothing, Mulder closed his eyes, fighting a strong regret.

Ben was just about to slip his hand under the hem when he felt Mulder stiffen beneath him.

Ben moved away to lie on his side with his arm around Mulder. He was getting impatient. If this kept up, cold showers were not going to help.

Ben woke up at the phone's insistent ringing. He mumbled, half-asleep, and reached over the empty bed, fetching the phone from the nightstand.

"No," he lied, recognizing the voice, but he wasn't in a state of mind to place it. "I was just thinking about getting up when you called."

"Right." Ben could hear the man, whoever it was, grin. "You wouldn't be awake this early on a Saturday. Not the Ben I used to know."

Ben propped himself up to sit. "Now, which Ben would that be?" He reached out to look at the alarm clock.

There was a moment of silence on the other side. Ben didn't make any attempt to break it either.

Oh, the name finally surfaced. "Yes, it has," Ben agreed. "What have you been up to, Ethan?"

"Not much, really. Still work in the same dump. I hear it you've come far in the Bureau, though."

"Is that so?" Ben picked up the phone to get out of bed and walk up to the mirror. "Now, where do you hear such bullshit?"

Ben studied his image in the mirror and smiled at the sight. "So what did you want?"

"Of course, Ethan. How could I forget," Ben coughed, actually feeling a little ashamed that he really had forgotten.

"Anyway, I was thinking of throwing a little party, get the guys together and talk about some of the old days."

Silence again, as Ben kept thinking about Alex, but didn't know if he should ask. He didn't have to.

" I haven't been able to reach him; I thought if you could invite him for me…"

"Something like that." He didn't feel the need to let him know any more about it. "Maybe you should try him at his girlfriend's place; I hear he spends a lot of time there."

"Yeah, it's kind of surprising, to say the least." Ben nodded into the phone, wondering what their mutual friend would say if he found out how things really were. "I'll give you her number and you can try and reach him there."

"It's not like that," Ben mumbled, looking down on the floor. "I'd just like to meet him on a more neutral ground, so to speak."

Ben sensed that Ethan didn't believe him. "Is it okay if I bring someone with me?"

Hearing Scully turn on the shower, Alex sat down on the bed and stared at the card in his hand. It had come as quite a surprise when Ethan called him and asked him to come over for his birthday. Hearing his voice, he had realized how much he'd missed him. He had always been there for him, no matter what.

"Alex, what's wrong?"

Ethan had stepped out from his living room as someone entered his apartment; usually, people made themselves known when they came. He seemed surprised to see Alex there alone, looking as if the wind had been knocked right out of him.

"Where's Ben?" he asked, but Alex didn't answer.

Starting to cry all over again, Alex walked up to Ethan, leaned into his comforting embrace and held on tight. Ethan wrapped his arms around the younger man and spoke soothingly. "It's okay, Alex, I'm here." he said, caressing his back. "It's okay."

They stood like that for a while, Alex holding onto Ethan without telling him what was wrong and Ethan trying to calm him as much as he could.

"Maybe we should sit down and talk about this," Ethan suggested as Alex's grip loosened. "What did he do?" He placed his hand on Alex's back and leaned in closer on the couch. "Alex?"

"I found him…" Alex sobbed and buried his face in his hands. "I found him in bed…" He wiped his eyes with the back of his palm.

Ethan shook his head and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Alex." He pulled him closer and leaned in to kiss his temple. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"That's not all, Ethan." Alex shifted uncomfortably in his embrace. "He was with Rick. Your Rick."

"Rick?" Ethan sounded very surprised.

"Yes, Rick."

Both men grew silent. Alex was well aware of the fact that most of the guys didn't really care if they fooled around within the group of friends, as long as it was solo about sex. Ethan and Rick were just meeting up when they wanted to, and they didn't have a monogamous relationship. Kyle and Tisha were an idyllic couple, but it didn't stop Ethan from having sex with both or either of them without anyone objecting. It was just the way it was.

Ben and Alex were different. They didn't touch anyone else, due to Ben's jealousy when it came to his boyfriend; he had put up those rules for the both of them and put an end to his promiscuous life when he became involved with Alex.

"Did you know about this?" Alex asked.

Ethan's gaze grew sad at the question and Alex was already regretting having asked. He had trusted Ethan.

"No, Alex. You mustn't think that. I wouldn't let him hurt you."

Alex kept eye contact with him before bursting into tears again. "I thought that he loved me." Suddenly, he didn't care that he was sounding pathetic.

"He does," Ethan assured him. "Ben loves you, you know that."

"Then why did he do that?"

It was almost painfully obvious the way Ethan fought with the answer. He usually had something soothing to say to him, something that would make the situation right or at least understandable. But not this time.

"Alex, I don't know. I don't have the right answers for you." He ran his hand through Alex's hair. "You'll have to ask Ben."

"I don't want to talk to him. I don't even want to see him again." He spoke with the determination of someone who has made up his mind.

"Shouldn't you at least see him, give him a chance to explain?"

He shook his head. "I don't want to. If he comes here, I want you to tell him that."

Ethan sighed and shifted in his seat. "Alex, we both know he won't accept that. He won't let you go that easy."

Alex looked up at Ethan, his expression surprisingly calm.

"That's a decision I've already made."

"Scully, we don't have to go if you don't want to." Krycek leaned against the sink as she stepped out of the shower. "There will be a lot of weird people."

"Weird?" she smiled and wrapped a towel around her body. "What do you mean, 'weird'?"

"No, it's just…" Trying hard to find the words, he played with a strand of wet hair that had fallen in her face. "Old ghosts."

Although she understood and didn't really blame him if he didn't want to go, she felt that he needed to face his old demons and let go of the past.

"But you said you really wanted to meet Ethan again." She caressed his hand lightly. "Just ignore Ben, he's not worth it."

"You don't think he'll bring Mulder do you? He knows you'll be there, and this guy Rick he fooled around with."

"Oh, Ben will bring Mulder; that's exactly what I expect from him." He looked a little sad. "I don't know if I'm up for that, seeing them together there."

"Still, I want to meet Ethan and the others; they've been like family to me, especially Ethan."

Leaning down to kiss her lightly, he ran a hand through her wet hair. She flashed him a smile and took his hand.

As he felt her hand in his, he lifted it to his lips, kissing it softly with a devilish smile. She watched him kiss her palm for a while with an amused look on her face. He stopped kissing her hand to study it, focusing on the ring on her finger.

"Do you want me to take it off for tonight?" she asked, a little cautious. "If you don't want them to know that--"

"That I love you?" he smiled at her. "I want…" Pulling her closer. "I want the world to know that I can't live without you and I don't ever want you to take that ring of your finger."

She didn't want him to do this just so that she would be pleased. They'd only been engaged for a day now, and this would be their first time going out in public with it. She would understand if he wanted to take it slow.

"Dana." He took her hands between his and held her gaze steady. "I hadn't asked you to marry me if I didn't really want to."

"Why am I even surprised?" he asked himself out loud and glanced out the window.

Standing there, ready to face his old friends, his old life, he came to think of a night so long ago, that night he'd lost the only thing that had only mattered to him.

Knocking louder on the door that led to Ethan's apartment, he was growing desperate when no one answered. It wasn't hard to figure out where Alex had gone; he ran to Ethan whenever he had a problem that he couldn't discuss with Ben.

"Ethan, open the door, I know he's in there!"

The last thing Ethan needed right now was someone making a scene outside his apartment. Ben couldn't believe he wasn't opening the door; he was supposed to be his best friend.

"Ethan!"

Shortly, he heard the door being unlocked. Ethan slid outside in the hallway, only to close the door behind him. Ben looked at his friend, seeing the grave look in his eyes.

"Why the hell aren't you letting me in? I know he's in there?" Ben's eyes were raging.

"Ben, calm down." Ethan prevented Ben from moving past him. "Let's just calm down."

"Where's Alex?"

Ethan's words had been totally lost on his friend, who still tried to move past him in order to get into the apartment.

"Ben, you're only making this worse." His voice was surprisingly calm.

"Making it worse?" He didn't know what to do with his hands, the powerless situation not suiting him. "I just need to talk to him. Now will you let me in?"

"I don't think Alex is ready to talk to you right now."

Ben's expression was uncharacteristically uncertain, the tears not far from breaking out and he couldn't stand still.

"Ethan, just let me in, I need to talk to him, I need to make it all right again." He didn't hear his own voice break. "Alex!" he continued, trying to get past Ethan once more.

Placing a steady hand on Ben's chest, Ethan shook his head, his gaze calm and stable.

"Why the hell aren't you letting me in?" With his voice raised, he was fighting back the tears so hard it made his face twitch. "I need to talk… I need to make it all good again, I need…"

"Ben," Ethan whispered as he grabbed his shoulders. "Ben, listen to me." He tried to gain some kind of eye contact. "Listen to me, Ben."

"Let me talk to him, Ethan." The tears were falling free now. "Just one minute, I want to see him."

"Ben, he doesn't want to talk to you," Ethan explained softly. "He doesn't want you to come in."

"But I need to --"

"Ben. No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Ben raised his voice even more, shaking off Ethan's hands and forcefully trying to move past him. "Let me in, Goddamn it!"

Ethan grabbed Ben harder and shoved him up against the wall to calm him down.

"Let go of me!" Ben roared, fighting hard against his grip.

"Ben, calm down." Ethan shook him hard. "You're not improving your situation by doing this."

Ben grew still in his arms, the enraged look in his face softening.

"I love him," he whispered and felt a new set of tears closing in. "I didn't want to hurt him, you know that, don't you?"

"I know, Ben."

"Then let me talk to him," he said, almost in a whisper.

"Ben, I think it's too late…"

Suddenly, the key was turned in the lock and a very innocent-looking Mulder entered the apartment. He smiled at the man already dressed in informal evening wear, looking sexy in black tight pants.

"We're going to be late," Ben complained before Mulder had the chance to say anything. "Where have you been?"

"I followed a lead. It took a little longer than I expected, but I'm ready to go now."

Mulder looked down at his suit and smiled in an attempt to have Ben go along with it.

Ben sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Mulder, you can't go like that," he said, irritated. "You can't go to Ethan's place wearing a suit. I thought I explained it to you. They're not that kind of people."

"I can't go back to Washington just to get a different set of clothes. Why can't I just go like this?"

Ben smiled at him and walked up to his closet, searching the piles of clothes. He found a pair of leather pants and threw them on the bed.

"Put those on," he ordered and dug in to find a tight short-sleeved sweater. "And that."

"Yes, you are." Ben picked up the clothes and walked over to give it to him. "Take a quick shower and get dressed, we'll figure out what to do with your… hair."

A note had been pinned to the door with "Come in" scrawled on it, and knowing Ethan's style, they just stepped right in, to be greeted with a loud bang of music mixed with a few male voices.

Ethan leaned back to look at his old friend. "Where happened to my sweet little Alex?"

Observant of the cocky sound in his voice, Ethan laughed and grabbed hold of Krycek's cheeks, giving him a quick kiss. "Well, you still got your chubby cheeks and you're still my kiddo," he decided, giving the younger man another hug.

"Thank you for embarrassing me, Ethan," Krycek said with a cough. He looked at Scully.

Ethan's attention turned to the small red-haired woman at Krycek's side. He looked pleasantly surprised at the sight before him as he reached out to take her hand, placing a soft kiss on the top of her hand, his eyes seductive.

"You must be… Alex's little lady." He arched his brows and looked at Krycek. "I can see why you turned straight."

Krycek chuckled and slid his arm around his fiancée's waist. "This is Dana; Dana, Ethan."

"Stud," he joked, blinked at Krycek, and reached out his hand to grab Scully's hand from him. "Come on, Dana, I'll introduce you to the rest of the guys."

Krycek followed them in to the larger room, meeting Scully's bemused eyes as she looked back at him, obviously not used to this kind of treatment. He grinned, letting her know that this was pretty much what he had been expecting.

They walked up to the men, who were gathered in a circle, small-talking. Krycek followed behind, a little insecure, eyeing the group from a distance. He recognized most of the guys standing there, and he was growing a little nervous about meeting them again.

"Guys, can I have your attention for just a minute?" Ethan shouted to the group, who were having a wild conversation about absolutely nothing.

Krycek smiled to himself, recognizing Kyle. Next to him was Tisha, his truthful husband, and Krycek were glad to see that they still seemed to be happily married. Scanning the group, he saw Daniel leaning against another guy. Daniel's old boyfriend, Paris, was standing a couple of feet away from him, and Rick, the guy Ben had fooled around with, was eyeing Krycek, clearly uncomfortable. They never had gone along very well together, thanks to the constant competition for Ethan's attention.

"This is Dana, the woman who managed to turn Alex straight," Ethan presented Scully and led her through the group, introducing her to each of Krycek's old friends and their new boyfriends.

"Where is Alex?" Paris wondered, looking behind Ethan to find him standing not far from them. "There you are." The man walked up to give him a hug. "What the hell happened to that skinny kid I used to know?"

They stood and small-talked for a while, everyone happy to reunite. It felt a little strange to see the people who he had been so close to during a time in his life when friends had been all he had to hang onto.

"Here's someone I want you to meet, Alex." Ethan brought Krycek with him to a man who was standing a little off to the side. "Alex, this is my boyfriend, Oliver. Oliver, this is Alex I've been telling you so much about."

Krycek smiled at Ethan and then looked at Oliver. He was very handsome, definitely Ethan's type.

"Nice to finally meet you," Oliver said with a smile, and offered Krycek his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too." Krycek couldn't keep that grin of his face; Ethan had never been the kind to call his lovers boyfriends; this had to be quite serious and very unlike Ethan.

"Why would I know that?" He couldn't keep the feelings from mirroring in his voice.

"Hey guys! Do you call this a party? It looks like someone died in here." Someone had just stepped into the room, facing the deadly silence.

"Ethan!" Ben walked up to hug his host, smiling wickedly at his very similar outfit. "Great minds think alike," he commented.

They looked at each other for a while, both studying each other's appearance; not much seemed to have changed.

"I've missed you, you idiot," Ethan said, smiling, and gave him another brotherly hug.

"Yeah, likewise, moron." Ben grinned and lifted his hand to mess up Ethan's hair.

"Are you gonna flirt with him all night or say hi to the rest of us?" Daniel interrupted.

Ben took his time going through the crowd, well-aware of the fact that Krycek was standing there. He also knew that their old friends were very anxious for them to meet again and that Krycek was not.

"You look the same, you old prick." Paris thumped Ben's back in the friendly hug they shared. "Unbelievable."

"Yeah, you do too, still look like hell," Ben joked back, thumping back a little harder.

"God, it's great seeing everybody again." Ben looked around the crowd with that typical smile that was Ben.

He could see as he eyed the group of men that they were still carrying that adoration for him; it seemed that he had made quite an impression. Well, of course he had; he and Alex had been the couple everybody talked about, the inseparable lovers. Speaking of which… his gaze landed on the face of his old boyfriend, noting the uncomfortable look.

Ethan felt the tension in the air and stepped in to prevent any further discussion.

"Yes, we've met before." He smiled at the little redhead by Krycek's side. "You look great, Dana."

Scully nodded, not really knowing how to act toward him, not here. "Nice to meet you again, Ben." She let him lean in to kiss her cheek.

"Weren't you supposed to bring someone with you?" Ethan cut in again, looking at Ben.

Ben nodded and stepped away from the men, finding Mulder standing at the same place he'd left him, looking a little out of place but sexy.

Krycek gasped for air as he caught sight of him. Following the tight leather pants up Mulder's slim waist, he noted how tightly they fit him around his ass and groin, letting everybody know just what he had to offer. The shirt was just as tight-fitting as the pants, and you could see every muscle move underneath. His hair was styled with something that gave him that wet look that Krycek remembered so well from those mornings together in the shower. He could feel the arousal rush through him like running fire.

"Close your mouth, honey," Scully whispered to him, noting his reaction, equal to her own.

"Ethan, this is Mulder." Ben had placed his hand at the small of Mulder's back to guide him up to the group. "Mulder, Ethan."

Krycek watched from his distance how the attention rose around Ben and his new catch, wishing that the ground would open and swallow him whole.

"You've been awfully quiet, Alex." Ethan had come to stand next to his old friend, noticing how he had been watching Ben with his new boyfriend since they got there. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." He forced a smile but avoided Ethan's eyes. "I'm just… tired, that's all."

Ethan studied him for a while, knowing that wasn't the real problem. Krycek's eyes were like an open book; he recognized the pain. He also knew when to question it and when to leave it be. This was not the time or the place.

"Yeah, she's great." He let his gaze drift over to where she was standing, talking to Kyle.

"They work together," he answered shortly, making Ethan understand he didn't want to talk about it.

Looking closer at Krycek, Ethan realized just how painful this was for him. He hadn't meant to stir up the wounds and realized that him talking about it just added to that pain.

"I really appreciate that you could make it, despite of… you know." He tilted his head discreetly toward Ben and Mulder. "It feels good to see you again."

Krycek looked up at him and smiled warmly. "It's really good to see you, too, Ethan."

Ethan grinned, put his arm around Krycek's shoulder and gave him a long wet kiss on his cheek. "I love you, kiddo, you know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I kind of love you too, Ethan," Krycek smiled back, suddenly remembering just how much he really did.

"What's with Alex and this Ethan guy?" Mulder wanted to know, glancing over at their host and Krycek looking awfully close.

Ben cast a glance over at the direction Mulder was looking and smiled to himself as he saw Ethan kissing the younger man on his cheek.

"Oh, they're just fooling around." He arched a brow. "They have a special relationship, I don't try to understand it."

Mulder watched Ethan cuddle Krycek's neck, saying something that made the younger man laugh out loud, and he started feeling uncomfortable.

Later that evening, after dinner and lots of alcohol, the party participants seemed to loosen up, and a couple of guys had ended up sitting by the table discussing old memories.

"Alex was always such a whiny ass," Tisha remembered, looking at Scully across the table.

"Of course you were, Alex," Kyle disagreed, seeing how embarrassed this was making him. "And you always got you what you wanted."

"That's not true," Krycek kept protesting. "Ethan, please explain to Dana that it wasn't so at all."

Ethan looked up from his drink, giving the others a quick glance. "Alex, it's time you face it. You were a whiny pain in the ass," he chuckled. "A very cute whiny pain in the ass, though."

Ethan looked around the room for Ben who was standing a few feet away, discussing something with his drop-dead boyfriend.

Ben turned around and looked at him. He had stayed away from Alex most of the night, only made a few remarks to keep the others satisfied and the mood on an equal ground.

"Ben, come over here and help us out." Ethan waved his hand, prompting for Ben to join them.

A little resistant, he walked up to stand behind Ethan, Mulder following behind, and put his hands on Ethan's shoulders. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Alex." Ethan pointed across the table at the younger man. "Our Alex claims to have no memory -- whatsoever -- of having been a whiner."

Meeting Krycek's gaze over the table, he came to realize what power they held over him and why he was doing what he was doing. It was hard to stay focused when he felt his arousal grow from only a look of the other man.

"See," Ethan said proudly and turned to Scully. "And Ben should know. He lived with the guy."

Not knowing why, Krycek didn't let go of Ben's intense stare. He could see something beneath the tough exterior, the one Ben so desperately tried to keep up, and he wondered if he should go so far to call it love. If anyone knew Ben's soft sides, it was him.

"You see," Ethan kept going on the subject, leaning closer to Scully. "Every time Ben didn't go along with Alex's wishes or ideas, he turned to me."

Krycek sighed and wished himself somewhere else. These guys knew too much about his past life. He noticed how Mulder was listening in the background, pretending that he was busy looking at pictures.

"He knew you had a soft spot for him; that's why he so easily manipulated you," Ben said with a grin, letting his gaze pass over Krycek once more.

"Like you're one to talk." Kyle muffled a laugh. "He had you wrapped around his little finger."

"Well." Ben ruffled Ethan's hair. "I had my tools to use against him." His smile grew wicked.

"Guys, really," Krycek cut in as he realized where this was heading. "Haven't you embarrassed me enough in front of my girlfriend?"

"Embarrass you?" Ethan chuckled. "If you want me to embarrass you, I'll show her the tape of you doing the YMCA choreography. In your underwear and covered with lube."

"You have that on tape?" Kyle burst out laughing. "Man, you got to send me a copy."

"You guys don't want to know what I have on tape." Ethan grinned and glanced up at Ben. "Some of those things aren't even legal."

"Hey, Ethan!" Tisha objected. "Need I remind you, we have four Feds in the building, one traitor standing right behind you."

Ethan gave Ben his most innocent smile. "What was it you said again about tools, sweetie?" He patted Ben's hand, which was still on his shoulder.

"Tools?" Ben had lost the thread. "Yeah, tools." He smiled as he remembered. "Boy, did I have the best kind of tool."

"Ben, really," Krycek laughed, a little nervous. "This doesn't really interest anyone." He shook his head and looked at Scully.

She flashed him a smile and then turned expectantly toward Ben to hear what was so horrible about this tool.

"Yes, Sesame Street." Ben nodded, trying hard to hide that grin. "Alex was… obsessed with Sesame Street."

"Oh, but it did," he grinned and crouched down to get level with Ethan. "You remember this, don't you, darling?"

"Very much so." Ethan nodded and once again turned to Scully. "He had T-shirts with Sesame Street, mugs with Sesame Street, soaps, posters, you name it."

"He even made me buy him toothbrushes with characters from Sesame Street," Ben remembered dreamily.

"Anyway," Ben continued. "That was always a useful threat. I just held over on his collection and he freaked."

"I can't believe you did that." Krycek rested his face in his palms. "Bringing that up again."

"I still have nightmares about Sesame Street, Alex, you're very much responsible for that." Ben sent laughter through the group of men sitting by the table, and even Scully found herself smiling widely at his comment.

"You seem to be getting along well with Ben." Ethan had taken the opportunity to talk when Krycek and he were left alone.

"Yeah, well, just because I'm not at his throat doesn't mean I've forgiven him," Krycek answered bitterly.

Ethan rose with a loud sigh and walked around the table to sit next to Krycek. He leaned in closer, keeping his voice low. "Alex, you need to let that go now." He placed his hand over Krycek's on the table. "We all make mistakes and that was a long time ago."

"It breaks my heart to see you two acting this way with each other. Like you don't care." Ethan drew a hand through his hair, wondering if he was getting through at all. "Just because Ben slept with Rick, you can't erase what you two shared once."

"It's not just about that," Krycek tried, not wanting to tell Ethan what was going on. "People change. I… I can't remember why Ben and I… I mean, I wouldn't today. I've changed too much."

The older man let his head drop forward, scratching his neck a little, distracted, before lifting his gaze with a half-cracked smile as he met Krycek's eyes. "C'mon, Alex," he whispered "I've seen how you've been watching him all evening."

Ethan placed his arm around Krycek's shoulders and gave him a little squeeze. "It's okay for you to admit that you're still in love with him, Alex. You just have to stop fighting it so hard."

"No, Ethan, I'm not." He shook his head. "You might not believe me, but I am not in love with him."

"I know you, Alex. I know you well enough to see that you are not feeling well, that you miss him."

"Look, Ethan." He couldn't look at him while talking. "I really appreciate your concern, but right now I would prefer if you didn't. I'm not in love with him."

"God, I'd forgotten how stubborn you are." Ethan rubbed his forehead against Krycek's. "I'll make you see it. I will, kiddo."

Knowing just how persistent Ethan could be when he had his heart set on something, Krycek feared that this could really get out of hand if he didn't do something about it. Spotting Scully talking to Tisha a couple of feet behind them, he called for her to come over and join them.

Ethan moved away from Krycek so that his lady could take a seat in his lap, giving Krycek a worried look.

Scully gave him an odd eye, wondering why he was bringing it up like this and why Ethan looked as if he were waiting for a bad joke to be finished.

"Yes, married." Krycek took Scully's hand and let Ethan look at her ring. "See."

"You see, I'm not in love with Ben," Krycek explained once more. "I'm very much in love with Dana and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Scully didn't want to butt in but just sat quietly, letting Krycek deal with this part by himself. He knew he had her support in all this; she didn't need to back him up.

Something changed in Ethan's eyes. "My Alex is getting married…" he grinned. "For real?"

Ethan nodded slowly. "Then I couldn't be happier for you." He reached out to squeeze Krycek's hand, feeling a little overwhelmed. He had thought that this relationship with a woman was only temporary or Krycek trying to piss Ben off.

"Are you okay, Ethan?" Krycek joked as he saw the puzzled expression on Ethan's face.

"Yeah," he nodded, still looking confused. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little surprised, that's all." He tried to collect his feelings. "Congratulations, guys."

"Of course I am, kiddo." Ethan leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Whatever makes you happy."

"Good." Krycek nodded and glanced at Scully. "Because I wanted to ask you if you would be my best man."

"I'd be honored." He felt the tears close at hand, and turned quickly around to wipe his eyes. "Hey guys, come over here, Alex has an announcement to make!" he shouted out to the group.

The couple behind him looked worriedly at each other. They hadn't planned on letting the cat out of the bag yet, and even if he'd been acting like a jerk, Mulder deserved to find out in private.

"Guys, listen to this," Ethan carried on as the crowd had gathered around him, watching him with expectations. "Alex and Dana are getting married." He motioned to the couple sitting behind him.

The others, for some reason, didn't seem half as enthusiastic about it as Ethan was.

"Yeah, right," Kyle said with a grin, and wrapped his arms around Tisha. "That's a good one, Ethan."

"I'm not joking," Ethan said and moved to stand behind the couple. "You're just looking at soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Alex Krycek." He placed his hand on Krycek's shoulder. "Isn't that sweet?"

Mulder tried to act unaffected. He stood behind the others, listening to Ethan announcing his "good news" and hoped that no one had seen the look on his face.

Ben was less obvious as he stared down Krycek with his dark eyes. What the hell did he think he was doing?

A couple of minutes later, Mulder went out to the balcony. Krycek decided to join him and maybe get a chance to explain himself. He knew Mulder wasn't going to make it easy for him, but regardless of what he said or would try to make him believe, Krycek had seen his reaction when Ethan made their announcement.

He had expected it, apparently. "What do you want, Alex?" Mulder hadn't even turned around to see who it was.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like that," Krycek started, glad that Mulder wasn't at least running away. "We never meant to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Mulder turned around to face the younger man, his expression changing from amused to angry. "Yeah, it hurts me to see Scully walking into this after all your lies."

"Because she must know she's marrying a liar," he carried on. "I mean, she's here, isn't she, she knows the truth about how you met Ben."

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Mulder, I didn't want to, I…" Alex swallowed, wondering if they were getting anywhere. "It doesn't even matter anymore, does it?"

Mulder studied him for a while and asked himself why he was still standing out there with him. This was dangerous. He was still lusting after him, he still wanted to touch him every time he saw him and it took all the strength he had in him not to take those few steps forward and feel that familiar set of lips against his. What he would give to feel his body come to life under his touch, those deep green eyes watching him with the same need that he gave back. He didn't want to feel that way, he didn't want to want him -- but he did.

"No, it doesn't," Mulder answered despite his feelings. "It doesn't matter at all."

"Mulder, I love you," Krycek whispered, barely finding the courage to look into his eyes. "I know you don't believe me, but I do."

Mulder let out a short laugh, more from the lack of credibility than anything else. "If you had loved me as much as you say," he stepped a little bit closer, his teeth clenched, "you wouldn't have lied to me."

He moved past him and swung the balcony door wide open to get out of there, almost bumping into Ethan on his way out. Ethan eyed him strangely, noting the pain in his eyes and then saw Krycek out on the balcony, looking as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Is everything okay?" Ethan asked Mulder, failing once more to see the whole picture.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Mulder answered, his tone of voice telling Ethan that it was far from it.

Ethan watched him walk over to Ben, saw them standing there talking rather intensely for a while, and then Mulder left. Ben didn't look too happy.

"Ben, what's going on?" Ethan stepped into Ben's path as he was heading for the balcony.

"Nothing." Ben sounded a little irritated. "Alex is trying to ruin things for me, that's all."

"Yeah." Ben sighed and looked down at the floor. "Look, Ethan, I'm just going to talk to him, ask him to stop doing this."

Ethan shook his head. "I don't believe that Alex wants to ruin it for you. He's getting married, why would he want that?"

"That's ridiculous. To think that I care about that," Ben snorted and looked at Krycek over Ethan's shoulder.

Even if it hadn't come as the best kind of surprise to him that Krycek was indeed getting married, it didn't bother Ben as much as people might have thought. He knew Krycek well enough to know that it wouldn't work out. A woman was no threat to him at all; he didn't even take their relationship seriously, even if they were engaged. What bothered him was that despite all the things he'd put them through, Krycek was still trying to get Mulder back and if anyone was a threat to them, Mulder was.

"So, you want to tell me that you have absolutely no feelings at all for him anymore?" Ethan confronted.

Before he had a chance to answer, Krycek came out from the balcony, meeting Ben's eyes as he looked up at the two men. He decided to ignore him and was about to walk on by when Ben grabbed his arm.

"Alex, we're going to have a little talk," he said, disregarding Ethan's disapproval.

Krycek wriggled out of his grip and eyed him with disgust. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Ethan, get out of the way." Ben was growing irritated. "This is between Alex and me."

Looking up at his friend, he felt an emotional storm wash over him, realizing that it was too dangerous to stay there. He couldn't fool Ethan, no matter how much he tried to.