Title: Conscious of the Schism
Author: Arsenic
Rating: Adult (Slash)
Keywords: XOVER HL/XF
Characters: Methos/Krycek/Mulder
Archives: Seventh D and anyone else that asks permission
Summary: Sixth in All Men Series, follows "Secrets of the Age"

Disclaimers: Alex and Mulder are still CC and Ten Thirteen's (even if we don't see Alex enough to prove this). Methos is property of R/P/D. The title is courtesy of David Mamet from his play "All Men Are Whores." The quotes in the story originate in Sylvia Plath's "Lady Lazarus."

Thanks: To Dana for betaing even through roommate roadblocks. My other beta, Cinful: you know who you are...and why I want to thank you all the time.

^^^

Mulder couldn't get back to sleep. It had felt so nice, having someone hear the screams, tell him the nightmare wasn't real. *Not someone. Krycek.* Well, there was always a catch, wasn't there? Mulder sighed and let his eyes drift open. Studying the pattern of the wood swirls on the wall, he tried to figure out how long it had been since he had last been at the cabin. When the distraction method ceased working, he rolled onto his back and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Would it be so wrong, just this once, to forget "the quest" and do something for Mulder the human being? Sometimes he forgot that part of him existed. He was reminded by Scully's persistence in taking vacations and actually enjoying them. But only enough to feel the parts of life that he was missing, though, make him aware of what was wrong with him. He winced at the nickname Spooky but more because it reminded him how ghostlike he was inside than because of any shame he felt in his ideas.

He hadn't felt Spooky today though. He had felt sensual, and shocked, and challenged, and everything but numb. If he didn't get out of here immediately, he wasn't going to leave. *Would that be so bad?* Hell, yes. Mulder shot out of bed. He promptly fell back on it. No, it wouldn't.

Krycek had betrayed him, yes. Him and Scully. The latter infinitely more a point of contention. But he was tired of always being angry, or driven, or righteous. He wanted to be, for lack of a better ambition, content. The word happy floated in his consciousness, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. No use in getting greedy.

He padded into the kitchen and sat down sheepishly, not interrupting the two men who were casually arguing.

"I find her at best disturbing and at worst somewhat like the sensation that bad acid trips produce." Alex thought for a few minutes. "I know why you like her. 'Dying/ Is an art, like everything else./ I do it exceptionally well.'"

Will smiled calmly, and Mulder realized he had missed something. The words sparked recognition in his altogether too perfect memory, and he stole into the conversation. "'It's easy enough to do it in a cell./ It's easy enough to do it and stay put./ It's the theatrical.'"

Alex looked up silently. Mulder wasn't talking about death. Or at least not Plath's vision of it.

"I see Mulder sides with me. We win." Methos bared his teeth in Alex's direction.

"I agree with Krycek; she is disturbing." Mulder caught the younger man's eyes; it was an apology.

"Which only makes you like her more." Alex maintained his emotional distance with effort. Mulder was apologizing, which was something he had never done before.

"I like that which keeps me on my toes." Mulder locked eyes with Alex and refused to look away. "So," his voice became casual again. "What's for dinner?"

Methos sighed. He should have known this one would be culinarily-retarded as well.

^^^

It was around one in the morning when Alex stepped silently onto the porch and let the cold wind work its way through his body. His mind played over dinner: the easy cadence of the conversation, Mulder's deadpan looks, Will's ever-present smirk, and his own sense of comfort. It had felt good. As good as the sex that had followed.

"Confusing, isn't it?"

Alex spun around, gun already drawn. He was in mid-spin when the voice hit his recognition senses, and he lowered the weapon. He looked at Mulder and decided that indulgence was one thing, but making this conversation easy was not going to happen. "What's confusing?"

"Finding that you like someone you thought you had pretty good reason to hate."

"I have no reason to hate you."

"Don't be an asshole, Krycek; I haven't exactly been the nicest guy to you for quite some time."

"Not saying you were, but I'm not so far gone that I couldn't understand why you acted the way you did."

"Nobody has ever told me they understood me. The fucked up part is I think I believe you."

"I hear there's a first for everything."

"No clichés; they're beneath you."

"Beneath me?" Alex allowed his voice to raise ever so slightly in disbelief.

"Yeah, you know, sub-subterranean." Mulder threw him a mock-grin.

"Ah, there's the Mulder I know." Alex couldn't help but respond with one of his own.

"Why did you come to me?"

"If you were in trouble, Mulder, who would you go to?"

Mulder shrugged. "Probably Scully."

"Why?"

"Because she keeps this nifty kit with lots of codeine tablets and bandages around just for me." He stopped for a minute and then in a more serious tone, began again. "I don't know, I guess because I know she wouldn't refuse to help."

Krycek nodded.

"What does that mean? I almost did refuse to help."

"But you didn't."

"And you were positive that was going to be my reaction. Here I thought I was an unpredictable kind of guy."

"You are, but one can always make educated guesses."

Mulder was silent at this revelation. "In that case, care to tell me why I helped you?"

"You're a nice guy."

"That's it?"

"It's approaching one-thirty in the morning, and we just finished some really great sex about an hour ago; you're expecting something deep and meaningful?"

Mulder chuckled softly. "I'm going back to bed, Socrates, it's cold out here." He turned to go in the house. At the threshold he stopped and pivoted back to face where Alex stood. Two lengthy steps had him standing behind the younger man. Mulder wrapped his arms around Alex and rested his head on the other man's shoulder. "Come inside with me; it's warm in there."

Alex let Mulder lead him back through the porch door, and both men silently wondered if the other knew just how much warmer it truly was with both of them inside the house.

Methos made it back to the bed seconds ahead of the two younger men. Resettling himself into the position he had last occupied, he closed his eyes and allowed a small smile to turn the edges of his mouth. Evidently, he would be house hunting for three.

^^^

Alex slipped out early the next morning. He drove back into DC and left a note where he knew the smoking man would find it. The instructions weren't all that complicated: just a date, time, and place. Alex headed back out to the lodge.

Methos woke up to the sound of the car returning. He rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. He heard Alex enter and sit down at the table.

"I got us a paper."

"Now all we need is a dog to fetch it for us."

"Are you implying that this situation is in anyway domestic?"

"Far be it from me."

"Then just hand me my coffee, honey, and while you're at it, see if you can find my slippers."

Methos took a sip of his coffee and placed it on the table. He pulled Alex's chin up from the front section of the paper and kissed him, transferring the drink into the younger man's mouth. Alex moaned and kissed him back. They stayed that way until they were startled out of it by Mulder's voice.

"That must be some good coffee."

"Incomparable." Alex's eyes were still a little glazed as he grinned up at Mulder. "Want some?"

"Yeah."

Alex found himself being kissed again. Mulder's mouth carried traces of Aquafresh toothpaste. Minutes later, the two men stopped for air.

"Will tastes better."

Mulder cocked an eyebrow at this assessment. Silently, he walked over to the competition. Without warning, he pulled the older man's mouth to his and tested the statement. "Yeah, you're right; he does." Mulder walked away and poured himself some coffee, leaving Methos to wonder who had replaced the prude Federal Agent who had first arrived at the house. Mulder sipped at his coffee and stole a section of the paper from Alex. "Where'd you go this morning?"

Alex looked up and shook his head. "No."

"It was not a yes or no question."

"I just made it one. Mulder, please. It didn't have anything to do with you, or Scully, or Skinner, or Samantha, or your mother, or anyone else you have on your 'to protect' list. It was personal."

"Yeah, well maybe you got put on that list. Did it occur to you that I'm not generally into casual sex? That I would be having a lot more of it if I were? That the things I said last night weren't just rhetoric?"

Alex choked on his coffee. "Mulder, if you want me to be around to protect, I have to take care of this. He's gonna know if I bring anybody. He may be malicious, but he's hardly stupid."

Methos was quiet. So this was the Mulder that Alex had trusted enough to risk sneaking into the Hoover Building for assistance from him. Well, it explained a few things. Alex wasn't the type to have utterly skewed judgment. Not even in the name of love. This Mulder was a modern day MacLeod. Same self-confidence, same belief in a code, be it chivalric or otherwise, same loyalty and, Methos was willing to bet, the same penchants for brooding in there somewhere as well. He grimaced to himself. What the hell was it about men like that?

"Could I get some support for my side here?"

Methos realized that it was him Mulder was addressing with a slightly exasperated tone. He considered his next move.

"You probably missed this while you were busy hating him, but he gets finicky when people suppress his independence."

Mulder glared at both men.

Alex spoke softly. "Mulder, go to work tomorrow. Annoy the crap out of Scully. Lose your cell phone. For good measure, ruin another suit. When you come back here, I'll be here -- in better shape than you, I promise."

Mulder opened his mouth to question Alex's word. He saw the expectation of the comeback in the sharp green eyes. "Okay."

^^^

Alex arrived early for the rendezvous. He pulled up to find a car already there. Checking his weapons one more time, he stepped out of the car but not far from it. The chauffeur of the other car stepped out and opened the back door.

Alex bit back a curse at what emerged. "The letter was for him. I grant you it was vague, but you guys are pretty good at figuring these things out normally."

The English Gentleman ignored him. "I intercepted it. I have a question for you Mr. Krycek."

"There's a slim possibility I could hold the answer, but I wouldn't get too excited."

"What were you planning on saying to him? You can't honestly believe he would call his men off with a few well placed words, and we both know you no longer possess a certain bargaining chip."

The old man was no fool, but neither was Krycek. "I think that between me and him words are highly overrated."

"You have the audacity to think that killing him would do any good?"

He had a point, but Krycek had long ago learned that admitting defeat to an enemy was as good as laying down and helping to aim their gun at a vital area. "I suppose you have a better suggestion, or did he send you out here so that he could watch you taunt me from afar?"

"I do not run errands for him." The elder's voice became cold. "As to your challenge, I just might.

"In that case, you have five minutes."

"Work for me."

Krycek was silent. He didn't see the connection, but he was sure it would be explained to him if he gave the other man time.

"I have knowledge that could bring him and eventually every one of us down. I could place you very well in the organization, as long as you are loyal to me. What better revenge than evening the playing field between yourself and him?"

Alex thought quickly. He shook his head. "He'll just keep sending the assassins."

"Trust me to take care of that."

"You must be aware that my loyalty is as fluid as my sexuality."

The man smiled at Krycek's brazenness. The organization was well aware of his talents. All of them. "No, it isn't. You just don't take your own betrayal lightly. A quality which, over time, I believe could be extended to those you are loyal to."

Krycek fought to keep down the shudder that the accuracy of those words produced in him. "I wouldn't bet anything too important over the prospect." He shrugged. "And if I want out?"

"That will depend on the circumstances."

*At least he is honest.* Alex considered the situation. The gentleman was correct; a position of greater power was his best chance at revenge against the smoking asshole. Not to mention the possibilities for unearthing information about Samantha. *Where the hell did that thought come from? Since when are you so intent on going against a perfectly honed survival instinct?* "Why me?"

"You're good. You've evaded his men up until this point, undermined his plans several times...who better?"

It was a good answer, a convincing one. Krycek nodded. "All right."

The Englishman smiled. "Good."

^^^

Methos barely made it back into the cabin before being slammed against the wall and kissed until his knees began to buckle. Krycek fell at the same time, and they stayed there on the floor. The sex was fast, semi-brutal, and what both men needed. When they managed to clean themselves up and re-arrange their clothing, they collapsed on opposite ends of the couch and stared at each other with mirroring grins of self-satisfaction.

"So, things taken care of?" Methos reached out with the arm draped over the couch and stroked his lover's arm.

"Maybe. Things never work out the way you expect them to."

"How long did it take you to figure that one out?"

Alex shot Methos a glare and caught the man's fingers in mid-stroke. "So," he echoed the tone Methos had used on him moments before. "You find us a place?"

Methos nodded, not taking his eyes off their joined fingers.

"Where is it?"

"Suburbanite Baltimore."

Alex laughed. "You're kidding."

"Mulder'll love it. You'll love it -- once I show you some of its finer points."

"What makes you think Mulder will even visit?"

"Am I going to have to fuck you into a state in which you are so submissive you accept my wisdom as a forgone truth?"

"Am I to take it that you are offering?"

"Alex."

"Will." Alex unlocked his fingers. "The man goes through mood swings more than pregnant women. We'll see if he shows back up this evening, then maybe I'll take your confidence into consideration."

Methos and Alex's heads swung up in unison as the door swung shut.

"See if who shows back up?" A slightly rumpled Mulder walked through the door.

"Nixon. Will is trying to convince me his death was a hoax to gain some posthumous respect."

"I like the way the man thinks."

Alex ran his eyes up and down Mulder's suit. "Needs some ironing, but it's not irredeemable. Still have your phone?"

"Yeah, but Scully has been committed."

"I suppose I'll just have to settle for that."

Methos sighed and got off the couch. "Follow me." He walked off without doubt of being obeyed. Mulder and Alex gave each other curious looks but followed anyway. Methos got in the car.

Mulder opened one of the back doors. "Where are we going?"

"Never-Never Land. Get in." Methos turned the key in the ignition. Mulder and Alex obeyed the order. Once seated, Alex reached over Methos to buckle his seatbelt. Methos smirked as he started the car and pulled out onto the road..

Mulder reached his arms over the back of the passenger seat and hooked them around Alex. He ran his fingers over various parts of Alex's chest, shoulders, and neck before leaning back into his seat again. Having verified that all of Alex was accounted for, he found his voice. "How's Cancerman? Would you believe we haven't spoken in awhile?"

"Us neither, as it turns out." Alex waited for a verbal reaction from Mulder. He continued when none was forthcoming. "Manchester Man showed up."

"Manchester Man?"

"Personal assignation for the Englishman."

Mulder nodded and gave a short smile. "What did he want?"

"Me, evidently."

"Not following." This was interjected by Methos, who was only giving half his attention to the road.

"He wants me to work for him."

"What did you say?" Mulder had edged to the end of the seat.

"I agreed."

There was a silence in the car.

"Why?" Mulder's voice was soft, detached.

"Because revenge is best when handed out from a position of considerable power." Alex paused, considered whether he should divulge his other reasons.

In the back, Mulder nodded and sat back. "Ah." The sound barely escaped his lips. It made up Alex's mind.

"Oh, and then there is the possibility of discovering certain coveted information."

Mulder's breath caught. His voice came out in an undignified squeak. "Coveted?"

"Yeah, I know a guy who..." Alex was stopped by Mulder pressing the lever to push the younger man's chair back down. Mulder leaned over him and kissed him soundly. Methos smiled at the action next to him but kept driving.

Mulder managed to find the release button on Krycek's seatbelt and after some clumsy maneuvering, pulled the younger man into the back seat with him. The two proceeded to make out like two teenagers in a dark parking lot.

Methos allowed the two to keep at it and whatever else they chose to do for near to a half-hour as he maneuvered through city traffic and eventually found his way to the neighborhood he had visited just that morning. Having relocated the house, he pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine. He waited for the surcease of motion to hit his lovers. When it did, they both pulled themselves up to look out the windshield.

"Holy shit." Alex put a steadying hand on the dashboard and looked at their new home. "You don't do things halfway, do you?"