Attraction by Agent Chloe Wildner SPOILERS: Terma TIME: After the last episode you saw:) WHEN WRITTEN: August 1998 CATEGORY: Story/Romance KEYWORDS: Scully/Krycek, Mulder/Other, M/K UST, M/S RATING: R SIZE: 26K SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully leave separately after work because of a misunderstanding, and Krycek is needed to make them see the truth. Standard Disclaimer: X-Files, Mulder, Scully, etc.. all belong to Fox and TenThirteen Productions, they are not mine. This is pure fiction and posted for fun, not profit. ************************************************ Basement Office 7:22 PM Scully's POV "Mulder, do we have to look at the slides again?" He slammed his hands against the cart. "No! God forbid we do any actual work!" <> Scully stood up and reached out to him slightly. "Sorry, but I've seen these so many times my eyes are starting to blur." Mulder walked to his desk and slumped down in his chair. "Just go home, get some sleep, I'll do fine on my own." <> "Mulder, are you okay? You haven't seemed like yourself today." "I'm fine. Why don't you just go home and get some sleep, Scully? This is none of your business." "Mulder, I'm not just going to go home. If there's work to do, I'm going to do it with you." Mulder started getting his stuff together. "Fine, if you won't go home, I will." "Mulder!" But he was already out the door. <> ********************************************************* Basement Office 7:21 PM Mulder's POV <> "Let's watch the slides again." "Mulder, do we have to look at the slides again?" He slammed his hands against the cart. "No! God forbid we do any actual work!" Scully stood up and reached out to him slightly. "Sorry, but I've seen these so many times my eyes are starting to blur." <> Mulder walked to his desk and slumped down in his chair. "Just go home, get some sleep, I'll do fine on my own." "Mulder, are you okay? You haven't seemed like yourself today." <> "I'm fine. Why don't you just go home and get some sleep, Scully? This is none of your business." <> "Mulder, I'm not just going to go home. If there's work to do, I'm going to do it with you." <> Mulder started getting his stuff together. "Fine, if you won't go home, I will." "Mulder!" But he was already out the door. ************************************************ Scully's Apartment 10:15 PM Scully was at home with an ashtray full of cigarette butts and a glass full of wine. She was more than a little drunk, and her depression was turning to annoyance. She had decided that Mulder had rejected her for the last time. She wasn't going to put herself out for him ever again. Scully did go home, but to get drunk, not to sleep. This task she was succeeding with. About two hours into her personal party a knock came at the door. "Go away!" But the knocker was relentless. Finally, she gave up. "Oh, alright!" The knocking stopped as she walked towards the door, and when she opened it, there was no one there. "Hello?" Scully looked both ways, but no one was visible. She gave an exasperated sigh, closed the door, turned around, and was instantly greeted with a hand over her mouth. She grunted and shook, but she was held against the door from the pressure over her mouth. Her captor leaned into view and Scully froze. "Shh..." Krycek said. "I just came to bring you some information." He let go of her mouth, and she immediately headed towards her wine glass. "Why didn't you bring it to Mulder?" Krycek followed her. "He always points a gun at my head. Sometimes it's amusing, but tonight I just wasn't in the mood." Scully had pretty much ignored his words and was staring into her wine glass. "Informants always go to Mulder. I thought we were supposed to be partners, but nobody treats me as an equal." Krycek stared at her, the envelope containing information in his hand. "You're drunk." Scully took a swig from her glass and continued her rant. "Least of all Mulder. He certainly does not treat me as an equal. He acts like I'm completely unreasonable and like I always disagree with him. And, well, that's not true anymore. And he always ditches me, and he rejected me again tonight. Doesn't he know I love him?!" "You're *really* drunk." Krycek tried to pull the glass from her hand, but she was not giving it up. "Of *course* I'm drunk! The man I love treats me like dirt, yet still considers me his best friend. What am I? Masochistic?" Scully turned to seek Krycek's advice, but he just stared back at her. Scully's face softened. She placed down her glass and wrapped her arms around Krycek's neck. "I guess Mulder just doesn't find me attractive." "Scully, I..." "Dana, call me Dana." "Okay. Dana, I..." "Alex, do you find me attractive?" Krycek's gaze shifted from the red-haired women in front of him, who had her arms around his neck, and the envelope in his hand. Quickly he dropped the envelope and placed his arm around her waist. "Yes, Dana, I find you very attractive, but..." But Scully didn't wait, she immediately leaned in and began kissing him deeply on the lips. At first, Krycek was surprised, then he was a happy participant in Scully's kiss. Finally, he pulled away. It was slightly out of character, but this was Dana Scully and he respected her and she was drunk. One thing he could not be accused of was taking advantage of women. Killing them, yes, but not taking advantage of them. "Scu..Dana, I am very attracted to you, but you're drunk and I can't be sure whether you know what you're doing." "I know what I'm doing," Scully raked a hand down his chest and leaned in to begin kissing his neck. Against all of Krycek's inhibitions, a moan escaped his throat. Still, he managed to push her gently away with his only hand. "Dana, look, I'm not the kind of man who can promise you anything." Scully laughed. "Alex, do you know how *long* it's been for me? I'm not worried about our future." A sly smile spread across his face. "That's all I needed to hear." Krycek leaned down to get a good angle on the petite red-head's mouth. Scully happily let her mind note how good a kisser he was. Slowly, Krycek pulled out of the kiss and whispered against her lips. "Where's your bedroom?" Scully let him to the room and seated herself down on the bed and began to unbutton her shirt. Krycek made a move to remove his own clothes, but Scully reached out a hand to stop him. "This is my show - I'll deal with you later." Scully stripped down to only her underwear and bra, and Krycek immediately pushed her down onto the bed. They kissed again and Scully's fingers reached out for Krycek's chest but fell back as Krycek's mouth left hers and began trailing down her neck. "Oh, Alex!" He lifted a breast out of its cup and began flicking his fingers over her nipples. Suddenly, Scully pushed him back. "I don't know if this is right. I sort of feel like I'm betraying Mulder." Krycek groaned and fell back against the pillows. "Make up your mind, Dana." "I'm thinking, I'm thinking...I just don't know." "Don't know what?" "Don't know whether this would be betraying Mulder." Krycek sat up on the bed. "Has Mulder ever made a decent move to prove he wants more than friendship?" "No." "And how long has it been for you?" "Too long." "And you don't really think Mulder's waited as long?" "No." This time it was Scully who pushed Krycek to the bed. "I made up my mind." And with that, she pressed her lips to his. He let her have her way with him for awhile, but not too long. He wanted to be the one in charge for once. He rolled her over onto her back and returned his attentions to her soft neck, then her breasts, then her stomach, then... All at once he stopped. Something was not quite right. He looked up at Scully's face and started to shake her slightly. "Shit." Scully had passed out. "Well, if this doesn't just suck." He sighed and started to put Scully underneath the bedsheets. That's when the bad situation got even worse - the fire alarm went off. ************************************************ FBI Building Parking Lot 7:52 PM Mulder hurried out the door of his basement office before he was forced to answer to Scully. When he reached his car, he took a couple of deep breaths and then gunned the car to life. He was going out tonight. He stopped at a sleezy singles bar around the corner. After walking in, he sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. But tonight he had not come to get drunk, he had come to get laid. Mulder looked around the room. There she was - red- head in a suit at 9 o'clock. He picked up his drink and moved in for the kill. Words were tough - the sound level was designed for meeting and greeting, not conversing. Still, he did manage to catch her name. It was Kathy. Mulder deemed it a good omen and within minutes they were in his car and headed for his apartment. Once in the car, Kathy had tried to strike up a conversation, and Mulder had quickly realized that she was not as intelligent as Scully. That was hard to replicate, of course, but this girl was dumber than most bimbos he'd met. In the looks department, however, she was still pretty close. Not as beautiful as Scully - she especially lacked something with the eyes - but Mulder had a good imagination. Now he just had to shut her up. He blasted the music to about the level it was in the bar. It did the trick. When they arrived at their destination, Mulder quickly moved her out of the car and into his apartment. As soon as they were inside he got her in a liplock and led her to the couch, hoping against hope that he could keep her quiet and go on pretending she was Scully. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Before things got too serious, she pulled away. "Hey, could I get something to eat or something?" Mulder thought about his fridge and frowned. "I really don't keep the place stocked." She looked around with her eyes. "Well, unless this is your 'special place' I can tell you're not married. This apartment is so dreary and stark - it just screams 'bachelor pad.' Where's your bed?" "Oh, well, I don't have a separate bed exactly..." He was getting turned off really quick. This stupid slut was actually making him nervous! Kathy was up and examining his room. "There's a message on your machine. Don't you want to check it?" Mulder sighed and hit the play button. <> He quickly stopped it. Whatever Langly had to say, he doubted that Kathy would find it particularly attractive. In a short while, these reservations were proven founded. Kathy turned to him with a magazine in one hand and a video in the other. "Alien autopsy? And I can't believe what's in this 'Lone Gunmen' piece of crap. What kind of a psycho are you?!" "One you obviously don't want to spend any more time with. Why don't you just go home?" "My car is still outside the bar." "Fine. Call a cab." He pushed the phone forward. But first Kathy held out her palm. Mulder sighed and handed her some money. Then she made the call. Mulder was relieved when Kathy decided to go outside to wait for the cab. He flopped down on the couch and thought for a while. After an indeterminate amount of time, he was brought out of his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He opened the door to reveal Dana Scully curled up in a blanket at his feet. He had to pinch himself to believe it. ************************************************* Mulder's Apartment 10:21 AM Scully woke up the next morning a little nautious with a large headache and Mulder staring down at her. "Good morning, beautiful." "Huh?" Scully noticed that under the bed sheets she was wearing only her underwear. She tried to remember the night before, but nothing was coming. She took further note of her surroundings. She was in Mulder's apartment, but she was also in a bed. This couldn't be right. Then she realized. "I didn't know this was a sofa bed." "Yeah, well, I don't usually bother to pull it out. Too much of a pain with having to move the furniture and all." "Well, thanks for the bother." A smile twitched around his mouth, and his eyes were laughing at her. "No problem." "Mulder." She took a deep breath. "What happened?" He gave her a sad smile. "Whatever happened, it didn't happen here." Scully's eyebrows furrowed, and she shook her head slightly. "What do you mean?" "My doorbell rang last night and I opened it to you curled up in a blanket on my doorstep - suitably non- responsive." "Translation: Passed out in a drunken stupor." "Do you remember anything?" She shook her head. "I remember going home. I remember drinking..." Scully frowned. "And something about Krycek." She noticed a dark cloud pass over Mulder's face. "What is it?" "It's this." Mulder got up and returned with a slip of paper. "I found it with you under...under the blanket." He held it out to her, but she didn't take it. "Could you read it?" Mulder nodded, and he peered at it, refusing to get his glasses. "'Took something that turned out to be more than I wanted to deal with. Thought you'd be willing to take care of it for me. Alex'" Scully's lips narrowed and confusion settled over her. "I...I just don't remember." "Well, there's more." Mulder turned back to the note. "'My original mission has not yet been fulfilled, and I think we'd both be happier if this time you were the one to seek it out.' He gives an address...Is any of this ringing a bell?" "Hold on." She closed her eyes. "He came over with an envelope, said it contained information, but I don't remember seeing it." "Anything else?" Suddenly, she remembered kissing Krycek. "Oh, my!" "What is it?" "Uh, nothing...I think I passed out." She opened her eyes and gave him an uncertain smile. Mulder thought he had an idea about what that smile meant, and he had a new reason for wanting to rip Krycek's throat out. "I'm going to go meet Krycek. You up for it?"... and knowing she wasn't. "No, you go. I'll be fine here." Mulder nodded and hurriedly got his stuff together and left. ************************************************************ Abandoned Building 11:33 AM Mulder went to the address on the note - the basement of an abandoned apartment building. "Hey, Mulder, welcome to the party." Mulder turned and slammed Krycek against the wall. "You always choose such fancy places, Krycek." "I'll make a note to have our next rendezvous at the Waldorf or something." "There won't be a next time." Krycek arched his eybrow. "I seem to remember you saying that before." Mulder caught his eyes. They just stared at eachother for a minute and breathed. Suddenly, he felt a little too close to Krycek. He gave him one last shove against the wall and dropped his arms. "What's with you, Krycek? First her and me, then me and you, now you and her. Just had to finish off the triangle?" "It was hard to resist when she threw her arms around me and asked if I found her attractive." The next thing Krycek knew, he was against the wall again with Mulder's hands hovering over his neck. "Hey, it's not my fault she wanted me." "What did you do, Krycek?" Mulder sneered. "More than you've done with either of us." He felt the hands tighten around his neck and he choked out quickly, "but not much more. Let me talk, Mulder." Mulder jerked him free and Krycek straightened his leather jacket. "Spill it, Krycek, before I slit your throat." "Didn't know that was your style." "Just talk." "You'll like what I have to say. Well, some of it." He sneered back at Mulder. "Just talk." He started to march around, trying to take control of the situation. "I went to Scully's apartment to give her some information. Information I'll give to you if you don't kill me." Krycek winked at Mulder and quickly continued. "But she didn't want any information. She was drunk, started whining about you." "I thought you said I'd like this." "Just let me talk." Krycek smiled evilly. "She was drinking because, in her words, you were treating her like dirt, and she loved you." Mulder shoved out an arm to stop his march. "Loved me?" "Yeah, the little red-head loves you, but you drive her to drink. She actually asked me if she was masochistic for loving a man who treated her so badly. Think on that." He did. He thought on last night, and all the sarcastic comments and flippant innuendos he'd made over the years. He realized now how they must have hurt, but he had only been protecting his ego. He had no idea that she..... Krycek continued, "She felt undesirable, so she came on to me." "*She* came on to *you*!? But I thought you said she loved me?" "She *does*. Listen to me, Mulder." He reached up his hand and this time it was he who shoved Mulder against the wall. It felt *goood*. "She was lonely, and depressed and she wanted you. She couldn't have you, so she tried to drown herself in drink. That didn't work, so when I showed up, she decided to give me a try." He leaned in close and lowered his voice. "And she stopped it, too, said she was afraid of betraying you. We only continued when I convinced her you weren't giving her the same courtesy." Mulder thought of his near-liaison with Kathy and knew he would forgive her. He was lost in thought when he felt Krycek's breath on his throat and jerked away from him "So you fucked her?" Krycek turned away. "Oh, well, no...she...she passed out on me." Mulder couldn't help himself; he burst out laughing. Krycek went immediately on the defensive. "It wasn't my fault; it was all her drinking." He softened and raked his fingers slowly down Mulder's chest as he whispered, "And I'd prove it to you if you gave me half a chance." Mulder stared at Krycek a second until he'd pulled his voice together enough to say somewhat forcibly. "Get your hands off me." A small smile pulled at Krycek's mouth as he playfully took his hand from Mulder's chest. Mulder quickly snapped an angry question. "So why'd you bring her to my place, just wanted to screw with my mind?" "The fire alarm went of. I had to get her out of there, but I wasn't about to sit around and deal with the aftermath." Krycek's lips turned up in a half smile/half sneer. "So when are you going to tell her?" "Tell her what?" "'I love you, you love me. Let's get married and raise some alien children.' You know, the usual." "Oh, I don't know." "What do you mean you don't know?! You are going to tell her! I'm not letting either one of you fuck with me anymore. You're going to live happily ever after and leave me alone." Mulder sighed and turned to leave, but Krycek stepped in front of him and cut him off. "Forgetting something?" "You're not getting a good-bye kiss, Krycek." He pursed his lips and and narrowed his eyes. "I meant the information." He grabbed the envelope and shoved it at Mulder. "It contains a name and address and a few photos to help you out." "Why should I trust you?" "I need you to succeed." *********************************************************** Mulder's Apartment 1:41 PM When Mulder came home, his nerves were pretty well shot. What if Krycek was wrong? What if Scully didn't love him like that? Speaking up could ruin their professional relationship. Even if they did end up having a romantic relationship, it could easily hurt their professional rapport and friendship. But then he thought of Scully and Krycek and him and Kathy. It seemed to Mulder that their feelings were already getting in the way of their health and happiness. He sighed and opened the door, as confused as ever. "Scully? You still here?" But he saw her immediately. She had folded up the bed and was now curled up on his couch. He suppressed the urge to simply give her a deep kiss, tell her about Krycek's information, and basically act like their having a romantic relationship was already a given. Instead, he tried to behave as he always had. "You hungry?" "No, I don't feel like eating." She looked up to see Mulder with a brown grocery bag. "You went shopping?" "If you did feel like eating, this place isn't exactly well stocked." He put the bag down. "You look better." "Thanks." Scully smiled, obviously surprised. "I feel better. Not perfect, but better." She sat up straighter as Mulder took a seat beside her. "So what did Krycek tell you?" Mulder understood that she wanted to know if she'd slept with him. He spoke slowly and chose his phrases carefully. "Well, a few things. He told me how you got here. Said you passed out while the two of you were...negotiating, and then the fire alarm went off. He got you out but didn't want to stick around." Scully looked into his eyes and knew that Mulder knew. She looked down in embarrassment. "So, did my apartment building burn down?" "He didn't mention anything about that." "Would he have? I'm not sure." She sighed. "Great, I guess I'll have to call to find out." Scully looked up. "What was his information anyway?" Mulder shook his head. "It wasn't information exactly, more like a lead. 'Go here, ask the right questions, and you might find out something.'" "Well, okay, let me just give a call to my landlord to see if I still have a home to go back to, and then we can get ready to go." Scully made a move to stand up, but Mulder put out an arm to stop her. "There's more." She sat down again. "Okay. Tell me." Mulder leaned back and started to wish he hadn't stopped her. He tried to think of something else to tell her instead. Finally, he gave up. "I...I need you to know...I love you." Mulder studied her reaction, took note of Scully's two fingers flying up to rest on her lips. "I guess that's kind of hard to avoid after all these years as partners. I mean, I love you too, of course." He stared at her. She was brushing it off as "friendship love," but was she doing it to let him off the hook before he embarrassed himself, or to test him? He decided he'd gone too far to turn back. "That's not what I meant. I don't just love you as my friend and partner. I mean, I love you. I want you; I need you; I love you." Scully's fingers were still pressed against her lips, and she looked shell-shocked. He feared that she had been trying to let him off the hook. "But you don't feel the same." "No..wait, hold on...I mean." Scully pressed her lips together behind her fingers and closed her eyes. When she open her eyes, she still looked unsure, but more determined. "I do. I do love you....like that. It's just.. in our current professional position. I'm not sure..." "Since when have we ever done things by the book?" Sculy started to reply, but Mulder stopped her with a kiss. When they pulled apart, Scully looked up at him, obviously still confused by the turn of events. "Now what?" "We start saving the FBI hotel room costs." "Mulder..." "Okay, we'll discuss. I'm just glad I got you to kiss me." She started to speak, and Mulder put a finger to her mouth to stop her. They both smiled at eachother. "Scully, do you want to quit the bureau?" "No." "Do you want me to quit?" "Of course not." "Do you want us to ignore our feelings for eachother?" Scully stared at him and furrowed her brow. She sighed. "No." "Well, then, we still have a lead to follow." Mulder jumped up, grabbed the groceries, and marched into the kitchen. "Don't forget to call your landlord." Scully stared after him with her jaw dropped open. She just shook her head. What had ever made her think things would be different? Then she smiled. Why should they? She loved him the way he was, didn't she? The End ************************************************************** Thanks for reading! Hoped you liked it! Feedback welcome at agentchloe@geocities.com Read more of my stuff at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Lair/1306 ~Agent Chloe Wildner, aka Jillian