Title: Secrets of the Age
Author: Arsenic
Rating/Warning: NC-17 (graphic m/m/m sex)
Keywords: XOVER (HL/XF), SLASH
Characters: Mulder/Methos/Krycek
Archives: Seventh Dimension and anyone else who asks permission
Summary: Next in All Men series, sequel to Have You Been...?
Disclaimer: Krycek and Mulder have a comfy house at Ten Thirteen, the landlord is Chris Carter. Methos's address is R/P/D.

Thanks: To my beta Dana, for keeping up even in the midst of moving states, and for the ever-constant encouragement. To my other beta, Cinnalu for insisting that she loves this series. She's picky...when it comes to fanfic J

Dedication: To Josan for giving me one of the best compliments in my life and making me feel extremely talented.

"I wouldn't have really pegged you as a masochist, but if that's what floats your boat, who am I to say anything?" Mulder's response to Alex's last comment came after a mere moment of silence, during which he had groped for something glib to say.

Methos bit back a sigh of exasperation.

"Said the kettle to the pot." Alex worked on sitting himself up as he said the words.

"Savor this moment, because it probably won't come again. Would you like to back that comment up with some proof or possibly logic?" By this time, Alex was on his knees at the side of the bed where Mulder stood.

"Of a sort." Alex reached out and pulled Mulder into a kiss. Mulder's shock allowed Alex to keep his hold even in his weakened state. The kiss was gentle and warm, just a persuasive argument on Alex's part, not a seduction. Both men flew back as Mulder realized what was happening and shoved against the other man's chest with all of his strength.

Methos watched the tableau for a moment and couldn't refrain from breathing slightly faster than normal. He noticed the change in his respiratory pattern with disdain. *As if the Fed isn't anxious enough without you giving into voyeuristic tendencies.* He slid out of the room before either man could notice.

Mulder tripped in his backward flight and fell to the floor. He planted his hands on it and assured himself that he had escaped. Not that escaping had been hard, not physically. In a way, though, the kiss had reminded him of the comforting feel of the bunny he had held to get to sleep until going off to college. It had been Samantha's; he had stolen it from her room long before either of their parents had been able to cross that threshold. The rabbit had smelled of the mint toothpaste she had always used right before bed and had inevitably comforted him through nights of restless sleep when sleep came. He hadn't wanted to leave the bunny behind when he had gone to England, and he hadn't wanted to push the man panting on the covers away from him.

The thing was, he had left the bunny because men didn't clutch stuffed animals while they slept. Well, men also did not sleep with other men. Especially double agents who had betrayed them time and again. Then again, did typical men chase after things in the sky? Or, for that matter, work with a gorgeous woman for three years and never once come on to her? Mulder searched his mind to recall the reasons he had felt the need to do what was considered appropriate for the "average man" in this situation to begin with. He wasn't finding anything that would stand up to one smart-ass comment on Krycek's part. He looked up at his erstwhile adversary to see the man rolled on his side, a slightly paler shade than that of the moment before.

"I'm sorry..." *What the hell are you apologizing for; he was the one who did the kissing without consent.* Krycek's eyes opened to show Mulder he was as shocked by the apology as the man who had issued it. *Yeah, but you enjoyed it; the consent was in the response not the words.* The realization flooded over him. He pushed himself off the floor and onto the bed. Wondering only momentarily if he was going to regret this later, Mulder maneuvered himself over Krycek and firmly placed his lips back where they had been only minutes past.

Underneath him, Krycek allowed Mulder's lips to move against his, neither inhaling nor exhaling. He was waiting to see if the impulsive act would be followed by more of the violence that had almost elevated itself to a comfort activity between the two men. When Mulder's tongue pushed its way through his lips and over Krycek's, the man on the bed forgot to worry and responded by opening his mouth, welcoming the kiss.

"Mulder," Krycek mumbled into the other man's mouth. "Mulder." The word was said more insistently. Krycek felt the air wash over the spot Mulder's lips had claimed moments ago, and he wondered if he had just made the stupidest move of his life.

"Krycek, I'm the one who is supposed to have regrets."

"Will." Seeing the confusion and bleakness cross Mulder's face, he gently stroked the older man's cheek. "I'll bring him back. With condoms." Krycek moved to get up only to be held back by a slightly panicked voice.

"Wait, what do you mean, you'll go get him?"

"For someone who has dedicated his life to seeking out possibilities, you're not very new-age when it comes to sex, are you?" Leaving Mulder with a look of dumbfounded astonishment on his face, Krycek limped out to find Will. He didn't have to go far; the older man had situated himself in the living room. He stood at the edge of the couch and watched his partner-in-crime of late flip through the channels attempting to find one that wasn't pure static.

"While I'm sure that you are fascinated by my television watching habits, shouldn't you be fucking that gorgeous, if somewhat flighty, creature you seemed to have captured through the mattress?" Methos's voice was without tone, if a bit breathy.

"He captured me."

"Semantics."

"Help me."

"Huh?" Methos was pretty sure he had heard wrong. Help was not something Alex Krycek asked for often, and as far as Methos could tell, he had no problems in the copulation department.

"I want both of you."

*Ah, that was different.* "I don't do threesomes."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't generally do sex." Alex had made his way in between Methos and the TV and straddled the other man.

"Could have fooled me."

"Well, not for anything other than a bargaining chip for survival."

"Isn't that what we are?" Methos flung the words out with apparent carelessness.

"Right." The word came from Alex with only the slightest hesitation and almost no inflection. He carefully got up so as not to hurt himself and turned to leave. Methos listened to the receding sound of footsteps. He heard the front door swing shut and got up. Reaching the door, he followed the other man to the car.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for the condoms and lube."

"I brought them inside with the groceries." Alex didn't reply, just shut the car door and moved back towards the cabin. He searched the kitchen, found the goods, and made his way back to the bedroom. He shut the door behind him and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile to the man on the bed. "You're still here."

"Another X-file. This cabin must be a hot-spot." Krycek had made his way over to the bed and was climbing on top of the man doing the talking.

"Mmm." He punctuated his agreement with a kiss.

Mouths explored each other, and bodies squirmed, getting accustomed to the other's heat. "Krycek?"

"Mmm?" Being articulate was out of the question at this point.

"Will?" Krycek bit the center of Mulder's chin gently, scraping his teeth down to the edge and sending the last part of the word into a falsetto pitch.

"He was busy." Krycek thought he had done a decent job of tucking away any traces of desolation that came with that particular bit of flippancy.

"Krycek?" There was a guarded concern in the question and it occurred to Krycek that Mulder chose the worst times not to be oblivious to the people around him. Without answering, Krycek returned his thoughts to driving the man beneath him to the point where speech would seem not merely complicated, but purely impossible.

^^^^^^^^^^

Methos was watching static patterns with less than great interest. He was pretty sure that he should have been congratulating himself. After all, Alex was, if not safe, at least happy for the moment and he had found a perfect way of extracting himself.

It was true that he didn't do threesomes. If Caspian and Kronos hadn't leached the desire for that from him, Byron and Mary had completed the job. They didn't work. If Methos had thought of it, he would have coined the phrase, "two's company, three's a crowd." Mulder shouted and Methos sighed.

He wasn't congratulating himself. The look in Alex's eyes when Methos had accused him of whoring had made the man on the couch want to vomit. Even if things had started that way, it had been cruel to bring up. Methos had long ago gotten over the need to be cruel. Especially to those he liked.

*Jesus, either apologize or leave him with Mulder and get out of here, but choose. Sitting here is rather unproductive and pathetic.* Another moan came from the bedroom. Mulder's again. It occurred to Methos that he wanted to hear Alex moan, that Mulder was probably even more gorgeous when aroused than when asking endless strings of questions, and that he was really too old to worry about consequences all the time.

He got to his feet, turned off the unrecognizable television show, and walked to the bedroom. Entering quietly, he walked to the bed and climbed in on Alex's side. He wrapped his arms around Alex, who was concentrating desperately on pleasuring Mulder and kissed the back of the youngest man's neck just firmly enough to send a slight thrill of endorphins through Alex. Methos's prey stilled.

"I'm sorry." Methos didn't bother to whisper. Alex moaned.

^^^^^^^^^^

Krycek took his time working his way down Mulder's neck and torso, searching out pleasure spots and teasing them for minutes on end when they were found. This became increasingly difficult as the man behind him gently massaged each spot in his back to dull warmth and then set his lips against those spots, creating flashes of intensely pleasant fire. All three men removed each other's clothing in quick, efficient movements as they went along.

Eventually, Krycek reached Mulder's cock and took his time caressing it with his tongue, slowly licking up and down the shaft, blowing lightly over the tip. Alex's own cock, which had been hard since the moment Mulder had agreed to this, started to ache as Mulder wove his fingers though Alex's hair and caressed the scalp. Alex screamed around Mulder's cock as Methos's mouth found its way to Alex's asshole and began exploring. In a wildly inaccurate sweep of his hands, Alex found Methos's head and pulled it closer in. Methos chuckled at the untrained reaction and Alex bucked into Mulder, swallowing more of his cock.

Moments later, aware that Mulder was close, Alex drew back. He wrenched his body away from Methos and over him so that he could grab the condoms and lube on the nightstand. Alex settled back in the middle and tore open a condom. Placing it in his mouth, he lowered himself to where he had been minutes before and rolled the latex over Mulder's cock with the barest assistance from his teeth. Mulder shivered and was surprised to find his arms being stroked by Methos. Mulder concentrated as long fingers traced patterns up and down his arms, lingering at the elbows and wrists.

Krycek pulled off of the now-encased cock, reached for the lubricant and poured some on his hands. In a manner that could only be described as worship, Krycek spread it over the condom. He then poured some more and began slowly working his fingers into his own ass, spreading and preparing himself. Methos stopped in mid-stroke and the room acquired an unearthly silence as both men watched Krycek's actions. Finally, Mulder couldn't take the teasing. He forcibly pulled Krycek up to his level. Krycek laughed and turned around.

Presented with Krycek's backside, Mulder nearly panicked. Having gotten this close to what he wanted, he wasn't quite sure how to go from there. This wasn't exactly something he indulged in regularly. *What are you worried about? Hurting Krycek? Been there, done that...true, but not during sex.* Mulder's hand came up, and he gently traced the newest wound on Krycek's shoulder. From there, he grabbed onto the slender man's waist with both hands and positioned himself.

The entry was awkward at first, even with the lube. Krycek bit back a groan and Methos kissed him, swallowing the sounds of discomfort. Mulder's hands stroked Krycek's hips as he continued pushing, finally gaining full entry. Krycek sighed and Mulder stilled. Mulder's voice sounded strained, but he managed to get the command out.

"You move."

Krycek released the death grip he had been maintaining on Methos's arm and gently flipped the man over. He reached for the lube; they hadn't been using condoms since Methos had come back to life in front of him. He spread it over his cock hastily and moved to work some into Methos. Methos responded immediately by pushing himself farther onto Alex's fingers. Methos made a low sound in his throat and Alex made himself breathe so that he could finish the job. When he was satisfied that the man in front of him was ready, Alex thrust in hard and fast, hitting the prostate on his way. Methos panted, seeing flashes of colored light behind drooping lids. Thrusting back Alex moved against Mulder, driving the man's cock further into him, rubbing it against his own prostate.

Alex continued in his motions with only slight variation, holding onto the hand of the man in front of him. He felt another hand slide over his and realized that Mulder had reached across to join in. He dragged all three of their hands to Methos's cock and began to masturbate the older man to completion. The feel of Mulder's arm resting against his hip, Mulder's fingers brushing over his, Mulder's cock throbbing against his prostate, and his cock sheathed in Methos's ass, sent Alex over the edge. He screamed as he came, the climax so shattering he didn't even hear himself. Methos and Mulder followed mere seconds later, Mulder's screams harmonizing with Alex's, Methos getting off on those screams as much as he was from the hands on his cock.

It took several minutes for the three men to become individuals again. When they had, it was Methos who managed to find the energy to make it to the bathroom. He rinsed himself down and patted himself dry, then wet some washcloths with warm water and took a few dry ones. He ambled back into the bedroom and attended to Mulder first. Hazel eyes watched him with a wariness that was overridden by the satiation the man was experiencing at that moment. Methos finished with him and turned his attention to Alex.

Methos's hands slowed, massaging the half-conscious man under his hands gently with the warm cloth. A sleepy voice drifted up to his ears.

"Was that a threesome? Must not have been, because I could have sworn you said-"

"I lied. I do that. A lot."

Mulder listened to this and thought about congratulating Krycek on finding the perfect mate, but a part of his conscience he hadn't previously been aware of possessing held the words back.

Alex allowed Methos to finish cleaning him, then rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Methos found his boxers, pulled them on, and went to throw the washcloths in the laundry room. When he came back he looked from the sleeping form on the bed to Mulder, tossed the man on the bed his boxers, and motioned with his head to follow him. Both men padded silently into the kitchen.

"Coffee?" Methos asked the question while preparing the drink, the answer a foregone conclusion to him.

"Please." Mulder noticed the presumption but had bigger things on his mind. Methos finished the preparation and sat down while the coffee began to brew. The two men stared at each other. "You haven't known each other all that long and yet you don't use condoms? That's something of a risk, don't you think?"

"Extenuating circumstances." Methos allowed the corner of his mouth to quirk upwards.

"There isn't a circumstance in the world that could convince me to fuck that man without a condom."

"Why did you? Fuck him?" Methos drawled on the word *fuck.*

"You suggested it as payment, and it was quite obviously the only thing I was going to get. It was good, I'll give him that. But then, practice makes perfect, from what I've heard."

"Which I'm sure made you a lousy screw." Methos poured the coffee and handed one to Mulder. To his surprise, Mulder took the coffee, set it down on the table, and started to laugh.

"Touché." Mulder took a sip of the coffee and closed his eyes appreciatively. Methos warmed to him under this new evidence of a sense of self-humor.

"You could have just kicked us out."

"You don't give up do you?" Mulder smiled; he understood persistence.

"When it suits me? All the time."

"Krycek is...have you ever wanted something because it was something you shouldn't want, let alone have?" Methos nodded in cool sympathy at the other man's query. "I suppose that pretty much explains me and him."

"No, it explains you."

"Well, as you so kindly pointed out, he is obviously not after my technique in bed, so how about you come up with a theory for why he wanted me." Methos raised an eyebrow.

"And do all the work for you?" He shook his head in the negative. "Besides, isn't investigating strange phenomena what you are good at?"

"I don't know whether to be insulted or complimented by that question."

"Whichever you prefer."

Mulder drained the last of his coffee from the cup and surveyed the man across the table. *Krycek's desires aren't the only unexplained phenomena in this house.* Yeah, he was good at investigating. Very good.

^^^^^^^^^^

Mulder had finished off his coffee and then drifted into the bedroom, intent on some sleep. Methos had stayed in the kitchen, trying to figure out what would be for dinner. Which was easier than thinking about where things went from there.

Two men who preferred the shelter of shadows were not a good match for an FBI agent. Nonetheless, Alex and Mulder definitely had something between them. Something more than illicit desires, regardless of Mulder's unwillingness to admit it. Alex had Mulder's drive, even if it had gotten twisted somewhere along the way. The two men shared a quirky thought process, even if it didn't always lead them to the same conclusions.

Methos had enjoyed Alex's company before Mulder, but the agent added a whole new layer to Alex that Methos hardly found disagreeable. Insults aside, he didn't find Mulder all that much of a chore to be around. Mulder was witty, and intelligent, and unusual, if a bit straight laced compared with Alex and himself. He reminded Methos of MacLeod in a roundabout way. Mulder judged and ranted and raved, but when it came down to it, he did what he felt was the right thing to do. He had as much of chivalric code as anyone had managed to maintain in the late twentieth century. Tease as he might, Methos admired that in MacLeod. He admired it in Mulder as well.

But Methos, Mulder, and Alex made three. And three was the most uneven number Methos knew. It had never worked before and he had no reason to believe it would now. On the other hand, it wasn't like he had anywhere else to be. He was reconciling himself to the fact that he was going to stay when he heard an unfamiliar shout come from the bedroom. It took him a few seconds to register it as Mulder's. He jogged to the bedroom in time to see Alex shaking Mulder into wakefulness.

"Mulder!" Alex's tone had lost any of the haziness of having just woken himself. "C'mon, wake up!" Mulder did, with a frantic look around and a vicious kick to the man holding him, which gained him his freedom. He didn't maintain it for long as he stumbled off the bed and backwards into Methos's arms. Methos held on as the younger man struggled, talking him down with monotone whisperings. Mulder started to calm down and finally leaned back against the man holding him up. Methos moved him back into the bed where Alex could reach. Mulder found himself being stroked by a man on either side of him.

"Are you okay?" Alex looked for non-existent physical evidence of the trauma Mulder had just played out in his mind.

"Fine, thanks." Mulder mumbled, closing his eyes as if intent on going back to sleep. Alex leaned in and placed a kiss on his forehead. Mulder shoved him off and turned in the direction of Methos. Alex's eyes were carefully constructed blanks. He disengaged himself from Mulder and got up, limping into the living room.

Methos fixed a mildly reproving look on the man he had been comforting. "Feeling better now?" The older man sighed in disgust and went to follow Alex.

^^^^^^^^^^

"I want a drink." Alex bit out the statement as he rustled through cabinets, wincing as the stitches in his shoulder pulled.

"How does some prime-gradient orange juice sound?"

"It would sound a hell of a lot better with vodka."

Methos figured out how long it had been since the last infusion of meds, shrugged, and relented. "All right; bottom shelf in the pantry. The orange juice is in the fridge, you need something other than straight alcohol in you."

"Yes, doctor." Alex sauntered into the pantry, his limp barely affecting the grace of the motion, and Methos smiled at the ironic truth in that statement.

"What do you want to eat?"

"I don't." Alex emerged with the bottle and Methos swiped it from his hand as he passed. "Hey."

"No food, no vodka. Either that, or I let you stew in your own vomit."

"You're so romantic." Alex looked at the bottle. "What do we have?"

"How about I make some soup? If you get that down, you can have a treat." Methos's mouth twisted sardonically. Alex nodded his acquiescence. Methos set the bottle where Alex couldn't reach without tearing his stitches and set to work on the soup. "Tell me about you and him."

"We were partners, and I fucked him over. Several times."

"Any particular reason or just some extra-curricular fun?"

"Because if you want to stay alive, you do what they tell you to do and don't give a shit about who it affects."

"So what happened?"

"I gave a shit. About him." Alex stopped. Methos waited. Slowly, Alex started again. "They gave me these ugly suits and this dippy-kid personality. I was supposed to worship the man everyone at the academy spoke of derisively as 'Spooky' Mulder. Half that derision was just plain jealousy. He was the bureau's golden boy in VCU for years until he decided he couldn't ignore his true interests any longer and started snooping around the X-files. Mulder believes his sister was abducted when they were kids. He claims he was in the room, saw it, and couldn't stop it." Krycek paused to shrug. "I played Agent Wet-Behind-The-Ears Krycek. It didn't take Mulder long to figure it out but it was long enough that they were able to achieve their aims." He waved his hand dismissively. "I knew I was deep in my own shit when I was glad he discovered the ruse. Not because it was against my loyalties but because I felt anything at all. After that, my assignments, in one way or another, all involved him. Look, I know he can be an ass-wipe, but...even when he's yelling at me or beating on me, he treats me like I'm worthy of that much passion. That's something of a novelty. Like a moth to a flame, I suppose."

"Funny, that's what he said."

Alex's head came up sharply at the deadpan reply to his narrative. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, oh, ancient one who is wise in the ways of love and G-d-knows-what-else?"

"That I am better at deluding myself and others than anyone in the world but not deluded easily by others." Methos turned off the flame he had been cooking over and spooned out some of the soup. "Alex, the sex in there, at least on his part, it wasn't that great. You know that; I know that; //he// knows that."

"Your point?" Alex took the bowl being handed to him and shoved a spoonful in his mouth.

"You got off on more than physical reality. Maybe you're right; maybe the danger, the wrongness, is the draw. Or maybe it is the rightness."

"Maybe you were the one turning me on."

"I'm more than willing to take credit for my part in the proceedings. I just have no delusions about exactly what that part was." Methos watched the other man eat. "Do you have a plan? For tomorrow?"

"There are some people I owe a visit to."

"So I noticed."

"I can find us a place."

Methos shook his head. "You go see your people; I'll find a hideout."

"Don't trust my taste in housing?"

"Not for a minute." Methos took the empty bowl, put it in the sink, and grabbed the vodka, orange juice, and two glasses. He settled himself at the table, poured the drinks, and pushed one over to Alex. Both men raised their glasses.

"To bad Asian beer." Glasses clinked and the drinks were downed.