Evil Eye by Te August/September 1998 Disclaimers: All hail CC, for without his vision I would have nothing to corrupt. Spoilers: Nope. Summary: A night in the approximation of life. Ratings Note/Warnings: Strong R for language, sexual content, violence, and sick humor. Very, very wrong. Author's Note: Another moment from my _A Love of Dead Things_ universe. In chronological order: "Freeze" "This Night" "Never So Alive" "The Idea of Forever" "And No Other" "Evil Eye" "Time" Acknowledgments: Many thanks go to Alicia, Dawn Sharon, Kass, Viridian, Maria M., Pretty Pretty Dawn Pares, Dreamer, and everyone else who put up with my bitching and moaning before, during, and after this piece was written. And, of course, to my sweetness and dark, my Sister Blue. Also to Rye, Rachel, and Dawn Sharon for fine beta. Feedback: Please Please Please. I have no shame. None. Evil Eye by Te Daddy793@aol.com ***** Did you ever like a bad dream? --"Thorn In My Pride" by Black Crowes ***** //You're kidding yourself, Alexei. //And aren't I allowed? At this point?// Alex propped himself against the headboard of their bed, watching Mulder at the mirror, and wrinkling his nose a bit at the smell of paint that lingered in the new house. It had been months since the job was done, but... "Mulder, where did we stash the box with all the candles?" "Anyone ever punish you for your obsession with atmosphere?" The jibe came quickly -- and Mulder never turned from the mirror -- but there was humor in the flat tones. "Not nearly often enough... but where--" "Basement maybe, next to the coffins?" Alex snorted, flowed off the bed. His lover in a playful mood was something to be taken advantage of, these days. "Mulder, Mulder... you *know* that's the first place the angry villagers look." He sidled up behind the other man, slid his arm around the pale, trim waist. "The coffins are in the shed." "We have a shed?" The younger man chuckled into the hollow between neck and shoulder, then nestled himself a little closer, not coincidentally getting a better view at the source of the older man's fascination. Mulder was holding out an arm, prodding the inside of his elbow with three fingers. "What is it?" "The veins, Alex..." The younger man ran his hand through the sparse hair on Mulder's abdomen, made fine by the change, each curve a scimitar of silk. //Never get tired of this, of you...// "What about the veins?" A nuzzle of muted want and the older man leaned into the touch, but never stopped prodding. Alex sighed and abandoned the much beloved belly for the hard, blue ropes just under the deceptively translucent flesh. "Have you noticed how rigid they get when we go without... feeding for a while?" "Yes..." "What would happen if we just... stopped?" Alex slipped off the other man, nudged him a bit to turn him away from the mirror. A hand on the shoulder turned into a small, mindless caress of thumb to throat. "Mulder." It was almost morbid to watch now; the flat pads of fingers stroking and pinching along the forearm constantly, constantly, only the barest blush to mark abraded skin, but even that much... "Mulder." The older man abruptly raised his head to face him, not bothering to flip back the dark and mildly dusty fall of hair. Nothing at all in those eyes but vaguely dazed humor.... Alex supposed it could be worse. "Do you know, Alex? What would happen?" No sense of urgency in the familiar voice, not much of anything, really. Alex moved a little closer, obliterating the rather disturbing lack of focus by limiting his vision to the dry and slightly parted lips. "No, I don't. I haven't allowed myself to go hungry for very long since Hong Kong..." Such an expressive mouth... twisted this time by a slight frown. It was, perhaps, cruel to remind Mulder of Before. "But I suppose that should we actually *try* to starve ourselves..." //How long since you've hunted, beloved?// "They might harden to the point of... of... Hell, Mulder, I have no fucking clue. Don't make me lie to you." Mulder chuckled a bit and nuzzled the younger man back up to look in his eyes. Clearer now. "No Rule for this?" "A certain measure of common sense tends to be expected." Alex waited for the inevitable bit of self-deprecation to begin spilling out of the older man's mouth, used the opportunity to steal a kiss. Even now, Mulder was sometimes clumsy, hesitant with his caresses. He didn't care to wonder why, often, just took the opportunity to kiss him more insistently, long and long past the time when oxygen would have been a concern. Given time, it was always perfect. One night Alex had determined to see how long they could kiss -- just kiss -- before Mulder rebelled. They had been living in D.C. at the time and the sky was flush with the sunset... An expanse of exertion at the passing of another day. Alex liked to start early, and Mulder had agreed to hunt with him. Too-crowded alleyways and the occasional flash of true obscenity in the midst of all the banalities. Tempting, that, but not as much as watching Mulder prowl. Some nights, like that one, Mulder would just... let go, it seemed. Find himself black jeans and tailored leather -- neater than Alex's own -- and settle himself at Alex's side. They would walk together in silence, but Alex would watch. The brief flare of a nostril, the slick sheen of want over the unclassifiable eyes. When Mulder hunted, when he let Alex see, there was always a moment when the older man would freeze. If Alex moved a little closer, if it was allowed, he could feel the thrum. The twitch of a helpless smile. Mulder only let himself revel in the hunger when he knew it would be satisfied. It was an attitude Alex understood. That night it was just some random pickpocket, slender clever fingers making off with three separate wallets while they watched. The flak jacket had to be heavy with other people's money. A glance to the side. Mulder was poised and waiting. Alex took in the street, deserted save for a clutch of tired looking whores and two cars waiting at the intersection. A count of eight and the cars were in motion. "Now, Mulder..." Grey green glance, suggestion of a grin, and the pickpocket was against the wall, one leg flailing past Mulder, one arm clutching at crumbling mortar. There was a series of sharp clicks as the buttons on Mulder's jeans collided with the victim's. That was one of the benefits of letting Mulder go for long periods of time without hunting... watching him lose it for the taste of blood and a pretty boy -- those fine, slim hips snapping mindlessly. The boy's pelvis would most probably be crushed, but... Dry stick crack and it was over, Mulder holding the boy upright by the slackened face and staring.... Alex slipped his arm around the other man, nudged Mulder to face him and began to lap him clean... //Another reason to have a... partner, Alexei. No, no, not here... but you'll forgive me if I just take a little taste, yes?// ... slipping his head around to the other side when he was done. Mulder nuzzled into the caress, but remained focused on the dead boy until Alex pulled away. Brief sound of distress. "Dumpster, Mulder... come on, it'll be days before the next pick up. The rats'll do our job for us." Unreadable glance and Mulder set off into the alleyway, just another shadow in the dimness, tossed the body into the dumpster. A bank shot that had the added effect of shutting the thing. "Show off." "Another life, Alex... I coulda been a star..." Dreamily self- mocking smile and elaborate free throw pose. Too sexy for words. Alex backed him against the cool green metal and kissed him, deeply and endlessly, not backing off, not taking any more. It had lasted for hours, Mulder's arms around him in casual affection, Alex occasionally surfacing enough to wonder at the *ease* of the moment before slipping down again with a swipe of the tongue, a softly teasing nip. He didn't pull away until he felt the first itch of dawn on the back of his neck. And Mulder had smiled, lazily, and run a hand down the side of his face.... Alex slipped back into the present at the feel of Mulder's fangs beginning to dig -- just that slightest bit harder than was innocent --into his lip. He pulled off. Flash of need and he ran a thumb over Mulder's mouth. Perfect forever, now. It was almost a shame. Alex could *see* the other man restraining himself from biting at his hand. "Come out with me tonight?" Briefly unpleasant twist. "I don't feel like--" //Of course you don't...// "I know.... I just want to go shopping." A snort and Mulder was nudging him up again to look in his eyes. He refused to be baited, though, brushing brief, frustrating kisses against the older man's mouth instead. The only way to get Mulder into something was to let it be, at least on some level, his own idea. "OK, OK, I give..." Mulder knew Alex's game just as well as Alex played it, of course. "Why are we going shopping?" Alex couldn't keep himself from grinning at the immediate capitulation, or from hissing a little when Mulder pulled him closer and began to burrow into his throat. "Why, Alex?" Muffled by his own flesh. Alex felt the lips pull back a bit... dangerous mood, then. Good mood. "We... we need new curtains." Mulder froze mid-nuzzle. Tickling graze of eyelashes against his throat as the other man indulged in a slow blink. "Curtains." "Yes. I'm thinking a nice, thick velvet set." Another blink, even slower this time. The sensation made Alex squirm and by the immediate way Mulder took advantage of the motion with a grind of his hips he had to assume that was the plan. "We really do need to talk about the atmosphere thing, Alex." Alex ran his fingers through Mulder's hair, pulled him up and away from his throat. Not without some difficulty -- Mulder was clearly hungry -- but the result was the same. Eye to eye and much too close not to move closer still. To step in and kiss until *just* before Mulder's hands begin to play with the waistband of Alex's pajama bottoms, until just before he forgets the plan altogether to lay himself out for Mulder, instead. To be the victim for tonight. //No, no, no.// Alex pulled off entirely save for his hand on Mulder's shoulder. It was both the comfort of unbroken caress and a necessary stop. "We're going to the mall, we're buying curtains, we're..." //going to find someone for you to *eat*, dammit// "We're coming home, and then we're having large amounts of sex." Alex watched Mulder's face, but if the other man had caught his hesitation there was no outward sign. "I suppose we'll have to put clothes on." Alex nodded gravely. Mulder heaved a truly impressive sigh. ****** "You know, we're not going to find what you like here, Alex." "We're not even out of the car and you're *already* --" "I'm just pointing out that you can't find the really *good* curtains at a mall. You need an upscale furniture store for that." Alex paused, leaned back into the buttery caress of the leather seat. Tapped out something he couldn't quite remember on the steering wheel. Flexed experimentally -- it had been a while since he'd last worn the prosthetic -- and counted to ten. "It was a thirty mile drive to get here." "Yes...?" Alex bit his lip, got rid of the blood with a vicious swipe of the tongue. Not before he felt Mulder shifting a bit toward him, though. "You couldn't point that out somewhere along the way?" It was an effort to keep his voice calm. Mulder turned to face him, then, and smiled with near radiance. It was abruptly difficult to remember why he was angry. "It's been a long time since we've taken a drive..." //It's been a long time for a lot of things... but I'll take that on face value.// Alex let himself grin, reached out to stroke the attractively unkempt hair. "All right, Mulder. We won't be able to get the sort of atmosphere-improving window treatments--" A snort from the passenger seat. Alex grinned. "What, I'm not allowed to know what they're called?" Dry voice. "Don't mind me, Alex, I'm just having a surreal moment." Alex dove across the seat and slammed Mulder against the door. Hovered near the slightly parted lips for one slow heartbeat before catching a nipple through Mulder's t-shirt and pulling hard enough to make him moan. Settled back in his own seat, wondered briefly how much he'd be allowed to push, tonight. "You know what you're supposed to do when you have one of those, don't you?" "Stop killing college kids with too many hallucinogens in their systems?" Alex giggled. "Whose idea was it to crash that party, *anyway*?" Mulder's mouth twitched and Alex got the distinct impression he would be blushing if he could. "Well, there was all that singing, and the bonfire--" "And the pickled children, yes." Alex shut off the engine and stepped out of the car. Opening Mulder's door earned him a wry look, but he simply stepped back a little to allow the other man room to stand. "But I was going to tell you the best method to cope with a surreal moment... though I must say I'd think you, of all people, would know this already." An eyebrow quirk and Alex got up on tiptoe to run his tongue over it. Felt Mulder shiver a bit. "Tell me anyway." Low voice. Alex decided to pick up the first suitably dark and cheerless set he came across. "You just sit back and enjoy it, Mulder. After all, how often does the outside world match your own mind?" Mulder grabbed him by the crotch and squeezed nowhere near hard enough. "You may have a point, Alex." He smiled with shameless malevolence and released him to walk toward the mall entrance. ****** They hadn't been inside for five minutes before Alex could feel Mulder itching to kill. The place was packed -- early winter evening and hundreds upon hundreds of people from the surrounding counties had come here directly from work. Their days were ending, and they smelled of light sweat and fatigue. Fatigue doesn't smell all that different from, say, world- weariness. Life weariness. Every few seconds Mulder pulled in a long, indulgent breath. He was drawing stares. Alex began to wonder if he was like this on his own... "... our best bet here, Alex." Snapped back to attention and Alex realized he was staring just as obviously as Mulder. Though his focus was narrower. He smiled ruefully to himself. "Hmmm...?" Mulder grinned at him. "I *said*, J.C. Penney's is probably our best bet here." Alex shuddered. "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm *sure*. Tsk. Too bourgeois?" "Simple practicality, Mulder. If the curtains were to suddenly disintegrate at oh, say, high *noon* we'd have problems." Dark, brief chuckle from his right. "Gee, I don't know.... you've been looking a little pale just lately..." Alex shook his head and steered them into the department store. As expected it was too bright, too loud, and crowded besides. He could feel Mulder flexing a bit under his hand. This had to be getting hard. Alex restrained himself from teasing and moved them as quickly and unobtrusively as possible to the Home Furnishings department. ****** Jaime was approximately five feet, eight inches tall. Jaime was blonder than an Aryan Nation advertisement. Jaime had spent the last seventeen minutes discussing balloon valances, panels, tiebacks, swags, and other things that managed to be obscure, vaguely frightening, and terribly boring all at the same time. Seventeen minutes in which Alex had calmly and clearly pointed out they were there for "heavy," "dark," and "38 x 60" any number of times. This one would die. Mulder had long since perched on the cashier's table. The sort of pose that dared someone, anyone, to say something while warning people exactly what a bad idea that would be. As near as Alex could tell, the older man's vision had been fixed on the back of Jaime's neck for the past twelve minutes. He remembered to blink now and again, so Alex couldn't really fault the behavior. Especially since it was clearly beginning to rattle the little curtain Nazi. "So... so y-y-you see there are any number of options available to f-fit out your new h-h-home, gentlemen. You don't *really* want the whole thing to be so... so *dark*, do you?" Alex blinked at him, shot a glance at Mulder, who immediately climbed to a stand just behind Jaime. And continued to stare at the back of his neck. "Yes. We do." Jaime swallowed once. "We... we r-really d-don't have much in the sort of..." Another swallow. "S-sort of style you... you gentlemen seem to want." Mulder leaned in a little closer, brought his lips to a point approximately four millimeters from Jaime's ear. He was only a few inches taller than the salesman, but someone had clearly taught Mulder how to loom at some point. "Why don't you show us what you *do* have..." He reached around to pluck at the name-tag. "Jaime?" "I-I-I think we have s-some burgundy..." Alex winced. "How about a nice forest green?" Mulder looked at him once before turning his attention back to Jaime's throat. "G-g-gentlemen... I'm-- ah, that is t-to say..." "Yes?" "I'll have to check the storeroom!" The sudden shout made Mulder draw back a little, eyes narrowing. Jaime slipped from between them immediately. "Y-y-you just wait here, OK? OK. I'll be b-b-back as soon as possible!" And he was scuttling away. Mulder started to follow and Alex had to physically restrain him. "They'll find the body too quickly." Momentary snarl and Mulder was snatching his arm away, moving again to his former perch. He shook himself once, gripped his own arms, and rocked for a full minute before visibly pulling himself back under control. Mulder caught his eye, then, and, given their other behavior this night, Alex couldn't find it in himself to resist the familiar tug of need. Mulder opened his legs invitingly and Alex moved in close, resting his head on the other man's chest and settling in to wait. It would probably only take Jaime a half-hour or so to recover. ****** "Alex." "Hmmm...?" There was a small but apparently quite dominant part of Alex's mind that was convinced he could get some unspecified value of *more*. All he had to do was nuzzle into Mulder as far as possible. To that end, he found himself halfway under the other man's lapel when Mulder woke him up. Jaime was taking a very long time. Alex shook it off and pulled out from under the jacket to find Mulder looking... merry. "What's up?" "What would you do if you saw a crime being committed?" "Hmmm... Depends on the crime, the criminal, the victim, the situation --" "Style, originality...?" Alex grinned. "Something like that. Why?" "Oh, no reason." Alex settled back against Mulder, felt a hand shape itself to the back of his head. And then the world exploded. At the very least, it seemed that way. One minute he was trying to decide whether he could still smell the curious blend of expensive coffee and clove cigarettes that marked the last victim he could remember Mulder taking on the other man. The next he was hurtling unpleasantly through the air -- still against Mulder -- until they were forcibly stopped by a wall. He knew this sensation. Bomb. It was smoky and hot and he didn't want to turn around because he could *hear* the fire eating away at the draperies behind him, and when he looked into Mulder's face -- peppered with bits of cement but healing -- he could see the flames dancing on the surface of his eyes. Mulder was smiling. "Fuck." It seemed the only thing to say. He hauled Mulder up forcibly and tried to remember which way was *out*, moving quickly and purposefully because he remembered quite well what it was like to burn... He remembered the old man gasping for air, lifted clear off the floor and struggling. He remembered the curl of his own lip as his fingers slipped on the crepey flesh of the old man's neck. He remembered the tiny sting at his side. Looking down to find a cigarette pressed into his torso. Admirable really. The old bastard -- the name he'd heard the most, for whatever it was worth, was Rodbell -- couldn't have been getting much oxygen at that point. Alex had watched with curiosity as the butt burned through his thin t-shirt, wondered what his flesh would smell like. The flare of agony was a shock. Worse than Peskow's little lessons, worse than the forest. Fascination quickly turned to horror as actual flames began to lick and char over his torso. Rodbell had been tossed aside and lost. Again. By the time he'd sprayed himself down with the fire extinguisher there were parts of him... missing. He'd grown careless in his killings over the next several weeks. Always hungry, always hurting. It hadn't taken long for Mulder to find him. He supposed that everything happened for a reason, but it wasn't the sort of thought that was comforting at times like these. Mulder was giggling and coughing and Alex couldn't see a goddamn thing. Screams of the dead and dying. Fire everywhere he looked. And he knew damned well Mulder had seen whoever set the bomb. "Were you trying to kill us both, Mulder?" "C'mon, you know it takes more than that--" "Not if we don't get out of this motherfucking *fire*!" The smile was lurid in the dimness. And then Mulder disappeared into the smoke. There was a crash off to his left that resolved itself into a large portion of the roof falling in, providing a crumbling ramp to the outside. They'd be able to get out if he could get Mulder back here before any more structural integrity was lost. The next several minutes weren't among the nastiest he'd ever survived, but that was only because of the chaos. There was nothing quite like being able to reach out and silence some dumb bitch's hysterical screams with a shamelessly messy bite. Even if he was seen later no one would question the blood. The machine was fed. The woman would burn. Alex continued through the murk, narrowly avoiding falling through the floor in several places, or being hit by falling, burning rubble in several others. He was just plotting out phase four of his plan to get back at Mulder for putting him through this when he heard a very distinct sort of moan. Around a faux marble pillar with a large, widening crack down the center, and there was Mulder. Jerking Jaime off while feeding on the man. He reminded himself that getting his lover to hunt *had* been part of the evening's agenda, took a deep breath and waited for him to finish. He wished he trusted the pillar enough to lean casually against it. This was one of those moments that called for a good sprawl. Jaime's moans were quieting to a whisper of air, the instinctive buck of the hips slowing. Didn't look like he'd make it before Mulder-- And there was that crack. Alex never had figured out why Mulder always snapped their necks after draining them. Seemed rather redundant... even if it did put a certain finality on the whole encounter. Mulder tossed the body toward one of the creeping blazes -- creeping much too fast, really. "Are you ready to leave, yet?" Challenging look. "I wasn't the one who wanted a night on the town, Alex." He moved close to Mulder and offered his own face for cleaning. Mulder immediately obliged. Slow, careless laps that made it to his mouth far sooner than was efficient. Mulder was most probably still hungry... but had developed other priorities. "We could stay.... Look down there." Alex let his gaze follow Mulder's finger. The bomb had turned most of Penney's into a smoking crater. On the far side of it a figure -- difficult to classify beyond that -- was scrabbling for purchase. It was clear the floor had very recently failed for the individual. It failed a little more while Alex watched and the person was flailing and screaming on the way down. "Our own little slice of Hell on earth?" Briefly promising bite to his nape and Mulder was whispering in his ear. "Like you said, Alex.... How often *does* the outside world match my mind?" The incipient caress was tempting, but Alex had serious doubts as to whether they'd make it out of this place if they stayed much longer. He pulled away, turned to face the other man again. "C'mon, Mulder. I want to go home. And I want..." Calculated smile and Alex turned away. Did his best to saunter though there was the debris to be considered. He knew Mulder was behind him. ****** They didn't make it back to the house until nearly four... the road had been a clutter of emergency vehicles and cop cars. The fact they made it out on their own power was suspicious enough, and there were at least 4 random checkpoints on the road back. Mulder wondered aloud where all the security had been beforehand, Alex just smirked. Even with all the windows rolled down they reeked heavily of smoke and blood. The latter was more than fine for Alex; the former made him twitch. Mulder was infuriatingly well- behaved in the passenger seat the entire ride home. Alex headed straight for the bathroom, Mulder followed. Spun him around, slammed him against the door and kissed him hard. The towel rack did nothing to improve his mood. He pushed Mulder off and began stripping -- getting rid of the stench was really his number one priority. Mulder looked ready to pounce but turned away, instead. Turned the water on in the shower and tested it. Smiled over his shoulder at Alex before tearing at his own clothes with ruthless abandon. "Planning on joining me?" "Was there ever any doubt?" Anger flared again. "I don't *know*, Mulder. You seemed to be enjoying our little field trip to the Inferno--" "I remember, I remember. Fire is bad, fire is wrong--" Alex started to say something else, but Mulder moved close again, dropped to his knees. Bit Alex on the thigh once, quickly. Brief suckle made him gasp before Mulder stood again. "I also remember your saying something about style and originality..." "Mulder--" "You have to admit, malls *need* bombing." "Not while we're--" Mulder took his mouth, then, and walked them into the shower. Darkness and haze, but this was steam and hot water and the bracing scent of the soap. Mulder washed them both thoroughly, while managing to keep Alex pressed against the wall with a series of bites and kisses. Some time later Alex became aware that the water was freezing... but Mulder was still kissing him. He thought about letting the other man play his own game, decided he'd really rather just get fucked. He reached between them and took hold of Mulder's cock, hard and pulsing, a glimmer of heat remaining despite the shower and their nature. Jaime probably hadn't been Mulder's only kill that night, after all. The thought made him smile. "Bedroom." All things considered, the night had been a success. ~~~~ End. ~~~~ End Note: This was written in response to torch's "Mulder and Krycek shop for curtains" challenge.