Blue Fox
by Xcraft
Fox Mulder woke and rolled over in his bed sighing deeply. He looked out
the window as he lay in bed, the overcast skies adding to his depressed
mood and sighed again. Somewhere from downstairs drifted the sound of
laughter. The rare deep laugh of Walter Skinner. Mulder's mood
brightened for a second until the sound was joined by another, the
unmistakable laughter of Alex Krycek.
Mulder threw one arm over his eyes as the memories of last night flooded
his brain.
It was Friday night and all three had been watching television together.
Nothing unusual, they all were somewhat quiet, winding down from a busy
week. Walter decided to take a shower leaving Alex and Fox alone in
front of the TV. Some 1/2 hour comedy came on and Alex kept laughing and
laughing. Fox thought the show was stupid (not to mention the fact that
he thought Alex was laughing way more than necessary only to irritate
him.) He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and started flicking
through the channels.
"Put it back!" Alex demanded.
"NO!"
"C'mon, I was watching that."
"That show is sooo stupid, figures *you* would like it."
"At least pick one thing." Alex complained as the screen flashed from
one show to another.
Mulder ignored him and continued to quickly go from one station to
another. He recognized "America's Most Wanted" and stopped there
grinning as he noticed Alex's less than happy face out of the corner of
his eye.
"I wonder if they ever got that photo of you I sent in a long time go?"
Mulder said off-handedly.
"What? Yea, right." Alex joked well aware of his past even though he was
trying to take his life in a new direction with the help and strong hand
of Walter Skinner.
"I'm sure half the people in this building alone could recognize you and
I'm sure some could use the reward money."
Well, one thing led to another and soon both younger men were wrestling
on the floor for the TV remote. The sound of shouts and a broken glass
greeted Walter as he came down the steps fresh from the shower.
"HEY!!!" he bellowed. "What's gotten into you two!!?? He landed a hard
smack on the most available backside which happened to belong to Mulder.
He grabbed an arm of each struggling young man and pulled them apart and
to their feet. "Somebody had better start talking!"
"He's trying to take the remote!" Mulder whined.
"I had it first!"
"No you didn't."
"I was watching a show and he just took the remote and changed the
channel." Alex added pointing his finger accusingly at Mulder.
"He was watching some stupid sit-com that only brain-dead morons would
be interested in."
"Oh and like that Most Wanted show is any better! And not only that...."
"Shut-up!" Mulder spat out, afraid that Walter may not see the humor in
his little joke.
Alex ignored him. "He said he sent in my picture."
Walter stood between the two, his head going from side to side, man to
man, like he was watching a tennis game.
"Enough!" he said grabbing the remote and turning off the TV. "Is that
true?" He fixed Mulder with a hard glare.
Mulder opened and closed his mouth and decided the floor was easier to
look at than Walter's intense brown eyes.
"Nnooo." he said in full pout mode.
Both Alex and Walter breathed a little easier. They really didn't think
Mulder would send in a picture, but neither wanted to face the certain
trouble it would have caused.
"I want this place straightened up now." Walter said pointing to the
broken glass, magazines and newspapers strewn about the floor. "Then
Fox, you will clean up the kitchen and that *includes* doing the
dishes."
Mulder clicked his tongue. "Oh man.. " He didn't continue when he saw
the look on Walter's face.
"And you Alex will get the laundry ready for tomorrow." This too was
followed by an exasperated sigh from the young man in question. "Now
Move!"
"W-what about the game??" Mulder protested.
"After you're done you are both more then welcome to join me in here to
watch the rest of the game." Walter turned Mulder toward the kitchen and
at the same time landed a smack to his jean cover backside to get him
moving. He turned to Alex intending to do the same, but Alex backed
away.
"I'm going, I'm going! See, I'm headed upstairs to get the laundry." He
turned and sprinted up the stairs quickly glancing over his shoulder to
make sure he wasn't followed.
Walter sat down and turned on the set just in time to hear the line-up.
From the kitchen the sound of pans and dishes being thrown into the sink
could be heard.
"Fox, if you break anything else you'll be doing the dishes with a sore
bottom!"
Walter yelled over his shoulder and smiled as a grumbled answer was
heard from the reluctant dishwasher.
Of course Alex finished his job first and joined Walter on the couch.
This did not make Mulder very happy because that is where he wanted to
be. Now in a full sulk, when Mulder finished in the kitchen he just
walked through the front room and stomped as heavily as possible up the
stairs not caring if Walter had anything to say or not. He spent the
rest of the evening and much of the night on his computer visiting all
his usual sites and managed to crawl into bed somewhere around three in
the morning.
The sounds of laughter again assaulted Mulder's ears and he rolled over
bringing the pillow with him to block out the sound. He decided to stay
in bed as long as he could secretly hoping Walter would begin to wonder
if he was sick or something and come check on him. He dozed off for a
little while and woke when he could no longer resist the call of nature.
He quietly dashed to the bathroom, relieved himself and flushed the
toilet. As he ran back to his room and flopped back down on the bed he
heard Walter yell up to him.
"Alex and I are going out to do some shopping Fox, we might grab some
lunch as well. Do you want me to bring anything back?"
Mulder was pissed and hurt and didn't answer.
"Fox?" Walter yelled up again.
Mulder stayed quiet, but listened for any footfalls on the stairs. What
he didn't expect to hear was the sound of the apartment door closing. He
jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs. He paused at the door for he
was only wearing his boxers, but then decided to open it anyway. The
hall was empty. Walter and Alex were already headed down the elevator.
Mulder slammed the door and leaned against it, softly banging the back
of his head, his eyes shut tightly holding back the tears that
threatened to fall . He ran back up the stairs, two at a time, and went
past his room to the room Alex now used.
Even though Alex was an okay guy most of the time, Mulder sometimes
wished it was just he and Walter living here like before. Before Alex
decided to turn his life around and Walter Skinner, the perpetual boy
scout, decided to help him. It really surprised Mulder the day Alex
moved in. He always thought Skinner hated Krycek, but some kind of bond
had formed between them and now Alex was there to stay. Sure, he came in
handy when Mulder needed to pass the blame along for something, you
can't do that when there are only two living together, but lately Mulder
had been feeling like the odd man out. Okay, so it didn't help that he
had been messing up big time at work recently and at home for that
matter. It just seemed like lately he couldn't do anything right and as
much as he hated to admit it, he was a little jealous of Alex.
Without thinking Mulder went into Alex's room and began rummaging through
his stuff looking for some kind of damaging information. Something he
could use against Alex when he needed it. After a half an hour, an out
of breath Mulder stood in the middle of the now jumbled room and
realized what a noticeable mess he had made.
"Fuck it!" he said aloud. "It can just stay this way!"
He stomped out of the room and into his own. He paced back and forth for
a few minutes then decided he really needed to go for a run. He changed
into a T-shirt and running shorts. Downstairs he put on his running
shoes and at the last minute he decided it may be beneficial to himself
and his ass if he left a note.
// Gone out for a run. Mulder //
He scribbled on a piece of paper, tossed it by the phone and left the
apartment.
After about thirty or so minutes into his run, Mulder stopped. He bent
at the waist, resting his hands on his knees and breathed heavily. He
just couldn't focus or *not* focus really. His mind was full of
everything that had gone on in the past few days and he couldn't shake
it. It was useless to try to run when he felt this way so he turned and
slowly jogged back to the apartment. His feet felt heavy as opened the
apartment door. He was sure Walter and Alex would be pissed and waiting
for him.
"Hello?" He said as he walked into the silent room. "Hello, Walter?" He
went upstairs and into Walter's room. "Walter?"
The apartment was empty, they weren't back yet.
"Where in the hell are they?" Mulder grumbled out loud.
He sat on Walter's bed and ran his hand over the dark comforter. He
picked up a pillow and buried is face in it breathing in Walter's
scent. Again tears stung at his eyes and angrily he brushed them away.
He threw the pillow down and walked to the dresser, his hands running
over the objects on top that Walter used at wok, but left home over the
weekend. He avoided the old hairbrush, he'd seen and felt that way more
than necessary already. The other objects there caught his attention,
Walter's watch, his tie pin and his handcuffs.
An idea sprang into Mulder's head, an idea that really required more
thought, but given his current state, it sounded reasonable to him. He
remembered Walter once said it was the time Krycek was cuffed to his
balcony railing that he first felt the inclination to help the young
man. Mulder mentally kicked himself because it was he who brought Krycek
there in the first place.
Anyway, Skinner told them how he fought the urge that long cold night to
take a blanket out to Alex and it was then that he thought Alex would
benefit greatly from a good old-fashioned spanking. Somehow Mulder
decided that if he were to cuff himself to the railing that Walter would
have no choice but to pay attention and deal with him. In the process he
hoped he could regain the original bond he felt was missing between
Walter and himself and hopefully edge Alex a little more out of the
picture.
Mulder ran down the stairs and out on the balcony closing the sliding
doors behind him. He had to work fast because it was already 1:30 pm and
he suspected the two men would be back at any time. He snapped the cuff
around the rail, took a deep breath and snapped the other end around his
wrist with a loud *CLICK* that sealed his fate. He looked back at the
large glass windows and realized he forgot one very important detail, he
hadn't opened the blinds. As he tugged at his wrist he was aware that he
forgot not one, but *two* very important details, he also forgot the
key.
As Mulder waited to be found he watched the apartment windows. So far an
hour had passed and still no Walter or Alex for that matter. He tried to
think of Walter's usual routine. (Does he always open the blinds? Will
he want more sun in the room?) From inside the apartment there was a
noise and suddenly Mulder was worried for the first time since he cuffed
himself to the balcony. He sat down on the cool cement, his arm over his
head and waited while his imagination went into overdrive trying to
decide what Walter's reaction would be.
Meanwhile, inside the apartment, Alex
turned on the TV to the baseball game and turned up the volume so he and
Walter could hear it from the kitchen as they put away the groceries.
Walter put the soup he brought home for Fox in the microwave and went up
to check on Mulder. He checked the bedroom and the bathroom and finding
no Mulder, went back downstairs.
"Did Fox come down here?"
"I haven't seen him." Alex answered.
Skinner's brow furrowed as he thought. "Fox?" he yelled out.
On the balcony, Mulder thought he heard his name and smiled. It wouldn't
be long now, good *or* bad, and that was fine by him. His arm was
falling asleep and his bladder was making itself very well known.
Inside, Walter found Mulder's note.
"I guess he's gone running. No time written down though and no
indication of where he was running." Walter made a mental note to remind
Mulder on the *proper* information to leave when going out.
Walter and Alex watched the game and Mulder began to wonder just what in
the world they were doing and when in the heck Skinner was going to open
those stupid blinds.
When the game ended and there was still no Mulder, Walter began to
worry. It was now almost 7:00 pm and he began to wonder if maybe Mulder
was hurt or had an accident.
"I'm going to go drive along his usual routes and see if I spot him."
"I'll go with you. Afterall, two sets of eyes are better than one." Alex
said as he threw on his tennis shoes and quickly followed the older man
out of the apartment turning off the lights as he left.
Out on the balcony, Mulder watched as the apartment became dark.
"What in the......Hey! Walter! Alex! Out here!!!"
It was no use. Even if they were in there
they would have a hard time hearing him and it looked like they had gone
back out. That's when Mulder remembered the note.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! The note!"
Mulder tried to gain some control over his emotions, but for the third
time that day tears of frustration ran down his cheeks. He also was
becoming aware of how chilly it was getting now that the sun was going
down. He rubbed his arms and legs trying to create a little heat. To top
it all off the clouds were beginning to get very dark and the sound of
thunder could be heard in the distance.
"Perfect! Just Perfect!!" Mulder yelled at the sky feeling a little
sorry for himself and more than a little stupid for getting himself into
this situation.
Then, the rain started.
Soon Mulder was soaked from head to toe. (Well,) he thought to himself
as he looked down at his drenched shorts, (at least it will cover up the
accident.) The battle between his bladder and himself was lost a good
fifteen minutes ago.
Another long hour passed before the lights in the apartment came on
again and now Mulder wasn't sure he wanted to be found. He was sure
Walter would be royally pissed. He fought with himself to call out
Walter's name. It would start, but die on his lips. He stood there
shivering, the rain and wind pelting him and over and over in is head he
thought one thing and thought it as strongly as he could.
(Walter! Open the blinds. Look outside! Walter, look outside! Open the
blinds!)
Inside, Walter paced back and forth, the note clenched in his fist. Alex
sat on the couch and watched beginning to feel very sorry for Mulder
when he did show up. Walter paced and paced, muttering to himself.
"I'm going to give him a spanking he'll never forget! He won't be able
to sit for a week!" He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the
living room. He had a feeling like someone was watching him. Just then,
outside there was a brilliant flash of lightning and Walter was almost
positive that he saw the silhouette of someone on the balcony. He moved
to the sliding glass doors and opened the blinds. Again there was a
burst of lightning and Walter's mouth dropped open.
"FOX!!"
Walter slid the door open so hard it nearly bounced back shut. He ran
over the soaked and shaking younger man and gabbed him by the upper
arms pulling him inside only to be stopped abruptly as Mulder yelped.
"Owwwww! My w-w-wrist!" Mulder said through chattering teeth.
"Who did this?" Skinner said as he saw the cuffs. He tugged at the cuff
on the rail and moved closer. He straightened up and fixed Mulder with a
look that was part confusion and part anger. "These are *my* cuffs!"
Mulder nodded, tears were rolling down his face mixing with the rain.
"I....I'm s-sorry. I'm sorry. It....it was a s-stupid i-idea. I'm
s-sorry." Mulder kept repeating over and over shivering harder than
ever.
Walter yelled back to Alex, "Get the keys to my cuffs off my dresser!
Hurry!"
The rain came down at a steady, heavy pace and all around the sky lit up
as jagged lines of lightning snaked their way to the ground followed by
loud crashes of thunder. Even though he was soaked through as well,
Walter's body temperature was still higher than Mulder's so he wrapped
his arms around the younger man and tried to keep him warm. He put a
hand on the back of Mulder's neck and brought the younger man's head
firmly against his shoulder.
"What were you thinking Fox?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Mulder sobbed.
Walter kissed his cold cheek. "It's okay, shhhhh. We'll be inside in a
minute. Shhhhh."
Alex was back with the key and unlocked the cuff on Mulder's wrist.
Quickly, all three soaked men ran inside. Mulder tried to talk, but his
teeth were chattering so hard the other two could hardly understand him.
Walter half dragged, half carried Mulder up the steps and into his
bathroom in the master bedroom. He turned on the water and steam quickly
filled the room. He helped Mulder remove his shoes and T-shirt and
pulled down the shorts and jock in one motion. Then he helped Mulder
into the shower and positioned him under the warm stream of water.
"I'll be right back. Don't you *dare* move from there young man until I
get back."
Mulder nodded and Walter went to get some dry clothes for himself and
Fox. He passed a now dry Alex in the hall and pulled him aside.
"Alex, I don't know what was the cause of this, but I intend to get to
the bottom of it."
"You know Walter, that's the exact spot you cuffed me to the railing."
Alex said softly and lowered his head. "I know this has something to do
with me being here and, i-if you want, I.......I can l-leave."
"Alex! Listen to me." Walter shook the young man and then lifted his
chin 'till their eyes met. "Fox and I have some things to work through,
but don't you even think about leaving! You even try and I'll haul you
back here and blister your butt! Got that?!" He shook him again to make
sure that was perfectly clear.
"Yes sir."
"Now, will you do something for me?"
"Yes. Whatever you want sir."
"Could you maybe watch television downstairs for an hour or so while I
talk with Fox? Turn the volume up, but if you do hear yelling don't
worry, I won't hurt him. I may *kill* him, but he'll be fine." He patted
Alex's cheek then went back to his bathroom.
Walter removed his wet clothes, adding them to the small pile on the
floor. When he opened the shower door Mulder backed away and lowered his
head. Walter stepped in and stood under the warm water, pulling Mulder
into a tight embrace. He stood there as Mulder softly sobbed and
reassured him that everything was going to be fine. Mulder's sobs began
to subside and his shaking had ceased.
Walter turned off the water and grabbed two big fluffy towels. He
wrapped one tightly around Fox and the other around himself. Mulder just
stood there so Walter began drying him off. When they were both dry
Walter pulled on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt then helped Mulder into
his. He led the reluctant young man into the bedroom and sat him down on
the edge of the bed and stood before him, his arms crossed over his
massive chest.
"Okay Fox, I'm waiting."
Mulder looked up through his lashes and wondered just where he could
begin. He wished he had never done it in the first place and now Walter
was towering over him waiting for an answer. He stuck his bottom lip out
and shook his head not trusting his voice to be steady. Walter pressed
his lips together and resisted the urge to shake the extremely young
looking man in front of him.
"I'm not going to ask you again. I'm warning you." Walter said putting
all the authority he could into his voice.
Mulder continued to study his hands and let out a gasp as he felt
himself suddenly lifted off the bed. Walter took his place and deposited
him over his strong thighs before Mulder knew what was happening.
SMACK! SSMAACK!!
"Start talking young man! My hand is going to keep falling until you
do." Walter said as he continued to rain swats down on the seat of
Mulder's sweat pants.
Mulder squeezed his mouth and eyes shut, but after twenty hard spanks he
yelped and threw his hand back to cover his sore bottom.
"Please sir, I'm sorry! It was a stupid thing to do. I can't believe
*I'm* so stupid!"
Walter stopped mid-spank. "You are NOT stupid Fox. Don't say that again.
Are you ready to tell me what is going on? Why did you cuff yourself to
the balcony?"
"I-I can't." Fox answered, his throat tight as he fought the urge to
cry.
Walter sighed deeply and hooked his fingers under the waistband of
Mulder's sweats.
"DOOON'T!" Mulder yelled and grabbed at the material hoping to halt
it's descent and finally held his hand protectively over his now bare
backside.
Walter easily trapped Mulder's hand in his and held it firmly at the
small of his back.
"Start talking." Was all he said before he
again brought the palm of his hand down on the lower half of each
reddening cheek. He decided to concentrate all the spanks to one area in
hopes that the building sting would help Fox find his voice sooner
rather than later.
"Oww! Owww! Ouchh! Okaaaay!" Mulder began to squirm and kick, but
Walter's firm hand landed in the same two spots every time.
"Okkkkaaaayyyyy! Stooooopppp! I'll tell youuuu, owwwww!"
Walter rested his hand on one red cheek. "Okay, I'm listening."
Mulder used his free hand to wipe his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Well, it's just that..........well, you and Alex have been so c-close
lately and everything (sob) I do lately seems to be wrong." Mulder
sniffed loudly and ran his hand over his face. "And....and I
th-think...(snif) I think....maybe you.....(snif) l-love *him* more now."
Mulder barely choked the words out, his throat was so tight with
emotion. And when he finished tears started flowing freely down his
face.
Walter quickly pulled the young man over his knees up and held him
tightly in his lap. He hadn't been expecting this, he thought for sure
Mulder had messed up at work or something. He hugged the sobbing man
close to him, rocking a little as he spoke.
"Oh Fox, no one could ever replace you in my life. I love you so much.
You are my soul mate. I do care for Alex and I think he needs that in
his life especially now, but not the same way I feel for you. You are my
everything. At times I love like a father loves his son and also the way
I love my brothers, but above all else you are my love, my *lover*. My
one and only. No one could ever take your place. Do you understand what
I am saying?"
Mulder nodded his head. "Y-yess." He whispered and hugged Walter
tightly, feeling more safe and loved than he could ever remember. "I
love you."
The two stayed where they were and hugged for a few minutes and then
Walter took hold of Mulder's arms and held him back so he could look
into his eyes.
"Now, young man, about cuffing yourself on the balcony AND that sorry
excuse for a note you left. Do you know how worried I was?"
Mulder lowered his eyes and bit his lip. "You worry too much sir." he
said softly. "N-nothing bad happened."
Walter pressed his lips tightly together and shook his head as he
sighed. "What if the building caught on fire?"
Mulder grinned. "I *knew* you were going to say that! There also could
have been an earthquake or a bomb might have gone off. HEYYY!" In a
flash, Mulder found himself standing with his nose in the corner. "I
suppose this is where you demonstrate that 'fatherly love'. OUCHH!"
Mulder flinched as a hard smack landed on his still bare bottom.
"Don't get smart young man and you're right. You stay right here for the
next fifteen minutes and think about all the possible things that might
have gone wrong with this little plan of yours." Walter retrieved the
large oval wooden hairbrush from his dresser that he had for just such
an occasion and handed it to Mulder. "And while you're at it, you can
think about what this brush is going to feel like when I use it on your
backside shortly."
Mulder gulped and weighed the brush in his hands. The fifteen minutes
passed way too quickly, but Mulder's heart actually felt lighter now
that he knew how much Walter cared for him. He heard Walter come back in
the room and sit on the edge of the bed.
"Come over here Fox."
Mulder turned, his palms growing sweaty as they held the brush. He kept
his head lowered and slowly walked to Walter's right side and handed him
the brush.
"I'm really sorry I worried you Walter. It won't happen again."
Skinner couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his lips. "Oh Mulder, you
worry me almost every day. Now, get over my knee young man."
Mulder blushed and looked through his lashes into Walter's dark brown
eyes. "S-sorry." he said as he shrugged his shoulders. He slowly lowered
himself over he waiting lap, bracing himself with his hands on the
floor.
Walter tapped the brush on one still pink cheek. "I'm going to give you
twenty swats with the hairbrush young man for that balcony stunt and I
won't even go over proper note writing, we've had that discussion
before."
Mulder braced himself, but the first smack of the brush exploded on his
already tender cheek and he threw his head back and yelled.
"Owwwwww!!"
Four more rapid fire swats fell on one cheek then the other and Mulder
kicked his legs out behind him.
"OWWWWWWW! PLEASE! Not sooo haarrdddd! Waaaaaalteerrrrrrrr! Owwwww!"
Skinner just tightened his grip around Mulder's waist pulling him
against his body and continued with the punishing blows. He counted them
off in his head keeping his eyes focused on the dark crimson bottom,
targeting each swat just so. Mulder kicked and bounced over the
muscular thighs, but there was no way he could avoid any of the twenty
swats.
Finally the last hard swat fell and Mulder yelled out, "T-TWENTYYY!!!!"
and hung limply over Walter's lap as he sobbed.
Skinner smiled slightly as he realized Mulder had been counting along.
For a second he thought about saying it was only eighteen swats just to
hear Mulder's reaction, but decided the young man had been through
enough for one day. He again shifted Fox to a sitting position in his
lap and rocked him back and forth until his sobbing stopped. He brushed
the wet hair from Mulder's brow and looked into his eyes.
"Now my little Fox, are we straight on our feelings for each other?"
Mulder nodded.
"Nothing will ever change the way I feel for you. You may make me angry
or worried or even confused from time to time, but I will always love
you."
A shy smile spread across Mulder's face and he looked at Walter with his
eyelashes wet with tears.
"And the next time your feeling this way," Walter continued, "you will
come and talk to me and not handcuff yourself to anything, right?"
"Not even your bed?" Fox pouted.
"Brat!" Walter laughed and squeezed Fox in his arms. "I love you so
much!"
"I love you too Walter," Mulder mumbled, his face smooshed against
Walter's chest. "But, can I get up now? My butt is killing me!"
end