A/N I had the idea for this new X Files story and realised it wasn't going to leave me alone until I wrote it down. It will only be a few chapters, maybe 3 or 4. Hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER ONE - FIRST ENCOUNTER

Fox Mulder pushed his chair back from the computer desk and got to his feet. He stretched and rolled his head to get the kinks out of his neck. He had finally finished writing the editorial for the science fiction magazine he worked for. It was nine o'clock and he had planned earlier in the day that he would go out that night. He still wanted to, but he hesitated before going to take a shower.

It had been a long time since he'd tried to meet someone. The last time, around eight months ago, had ended in disaster. He'd met a sexy blond man in a club and they had spent a great evening together. Afterward he discovered he had introduced himself to a Klingon - Marty had wanted way more than Mulder was prepared to give. He had begun calling daily, then twice daily. He discovered where Mulder lived and turned up on his doorstep bearing gifts. After a couple of weeks, Mulder had told him it wasn't going to be anything more than the hook-up it had started with. Marty quickly changed from adoring to vicious and spiteful and it had taken another month to shake him off.

"Ugh!" Mulder exclaimed as he stepped into the bathroom. He stripped off and got into the shower, closing his eyes as the hot water cascaded over him. They weren't all like Marty. It was time he made an effort to find someone to have some fun with.

An hour later, Mulder left his apartment and took a cab downtown. He avoided the club he had gone to previously and decided to try the new strip club instead. It had opened right after Christmas and appeared to be popular. At least if he didn't find anyone he liked the look of, there would be some eye-candy on the stage. He paid the cover charge and walked in, making his way to the bar. He looked around as he waited to be served, noting the tables close to the stage, some surrounded by groups of men, others empty. A few couples sat together or danced and here and there were solitary men, like Mulder, perhaps looking for a companion the same way he was.

Mulder ordered a beer and decided to sit at one of the empty tables for the time being. In his brief scan of the area, he hadn't seen anyone he immediately wanted to approach. He sat down facing the stage and sipped his beer. A cowboy was on the stage, dancing to a country tune. His outfit consisted of white fringed chaps, cowboy boots and a Stetson, accompanied by the tiniest jockstrap Mulder had ever seen. The cowboy's cock was hard, fighting to escape the tight confines of the jockstrap and Mulder's own cock twitched in his pants. At least he would get some enjoyment from watching, if nothing else.

Half an hour passed. Mulder finished his beer and considered going to the bar for another. He was half erect, which would be obvious when he stood up, in the loose-fitting blue jeans he wore. But he expected that half of the guys in the club were hard and no one was going to pay him much notice unless they especially liked the look of him. He got up and strode to the bar, making his way through a larger crowd and realising that the place had filled up considerably.

Mulder had to wait a few minutes for his drink. When he turned to go back to his table, he saw it was occupied by a couple and he stood at the edge of the dancefloor instead, watching the act on the stage. He glanced around a few times to look for somewhere else to sit and noticed a table at the far side of the area, close to the stage, which had only one occupant. He was fairly sure that table had been empty when he arrived. The man sitting there had short cropped dark hair and appeared to be wearing a leather jacket and black jeans. Other than that, Mulder couldn't make out any detail in the dim light and because of where he was standing. He made his way around the side of the dancefloor and sidled past a few people until he drew closer to that table. He watched the man sip from a bottle of beer - the same brand that Mulder was drinking. Mulder watched his throat bob as he swallowed. He lifted his eyes to the side of the man's face and noticed the slight upward tilt of the end of his nose; long, thick lashes; high cheekbones.

Mulder considered whether to make an approach. The man was undeniably hot. He had an attractive face and a build similar to Mulder's. He shifted in his seat as Mulder watched, bending one leg up and placing his foot on one of the other chairs. His dark jeans clung tightly to firm thighs. Mulder's mouth watered and he took another sip of beer. Then he walked the few short steps which took him to the table, positioning himself behind the empty chair which wasn't occupied by a foot.

"Hey - you mind if I sit here?" he asked.

The dark head turned and tilted back, eyes fixing on his face. He couldn't see their colour in the semi-darkness, but he would have estimated grey or maybe green.

"Sure, help yourself." A slight smile tugged at the corners of the guy's mouth and Mulder smiled back. He pulled out the chair and sat down, placing his beer on the table.

"Seems like a popular club," Mulder commented.

"Yeah. First time?"

"Yeah."

"Mine too." He lifted his beer, tipping it back to drain the last mouthful. When he lowered it again, he ran the tip of his tongue over his lips. Mulder's mouth went dry.

"Can I get you another?"

"You just came from the bar, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I don't mind..."

"I'll go." He rose quickly and strode away, leaving Mulder sitting alone at the table. He watched the next act on the stage until suddenly his new companion dropped back into the seat beside him. He was holding three bottles by the necks in his right hand. He placed two of these in front of himself and passed the third to Mulder.

"Hey, thanks." Mulder gave him another smile. "What's your name?"

"Alex. You?"

"Uh...Mulder." He always hesitated when introducing himself. He hated his given name and rarely used it. The reaction to it was always one of three things - disbelief, amusement, or from women - well, they seemed to think it was cute.

"Mulder?" Alex turned to stare at him, eyebrows raised. "Did your parents not like you or something?"

Mulder snorted. "Isn't that a line from 'Top Gun'?"

Alex looked nonplussed. Mulder supposed there had to be one or two people in the world who hadn't seen the blockbuster.

"Mulder is my last name," he said. "My parents named me Fox, so yes, I'm guessing they didn't like me that much."

"You don't like it?"

"Would you?"

"I don't know; it has - something."

"Well, everyone just calls me Mulder."

"Okay...Fox." Alex smirked and took another sip of his beer, eyes still holding Mulder's. Mulder scowled. The man was making fun of him. He knew he should have stuck with watching the dancers.

They sat in silence for a few minutes - long enough for Mulder to finish his beer and start on the one Alex had bought for him. His brief flare of annoyance had evaporated and once again he was aware of every little move Alex made. Mulder was sitting to the right of him and he noticed that Alex didn't move his left arm once. It lay across his lap, the leather-gloved hand resting on his right thigh. Mulder suppressed a grin as he imagined the intention was to hide the fact that he was aroused. Alex was sitting with his knees wide apart, the tight fabric of his jeans emphasising the firm muscles in his thighs. Mulder could imagine himself reaching out and letting his hand stroke and squeeze the thigh nearest to him, caressing until he heard a groan burst from Alex's kissable lips.

Mulder grimaced as his cock stiffened, pushing uncomfortably against his zipper. It had been too long - much too long since he had his hands on a guy - and he was longing to touch Alex. If only he could think of something to say to get more of a conversation going. If only he was better at chatting people up and flirting. He decided to ask some questions. If he made Alex talk about himself and showed an interest, at least he wouldn't have to talk about himself.

"What do you-?"

"Are you-?"

They both began at once and then stopped, each laughing awkwardly. Alex had apparently had the same idea.

"Sorry, you go first," Mulder said.

Alex shook his head. "You go. I'm not much good at this."

"That makes two of us." Mulder grinned and turned a little more toward Alex. "I was just going to ask what you do for a living...what you like doing...stuff like that."

"I'm a computer analyst," Alex said. "Not particularly exciting, but it pays well. What do I like doing? I run and cycle, sometimes use the gym. I like music."

"Me too," agreed Mulder. "I run most days and I like swimming. What do you listen to?"

"Anything, really. This kind of stuff..." Alex lifted his hand to indicate the club music, which at that moment was a fast dance track. "Some older stuff. Classical."

"I grew up with classical music," Mulder said. "I especially like Bach." Mulder elaborated on one or two of his favourite pieces, which Alex agreed he liked too. Then, concerned that he might sound somewhat sedate and boring, he revealed his love of cars and drag racing. Alex's eyes narrowed slightly and he looked away. "Cars not your thing?" Mulder queried.

"Um...I used to...uh...drag race."

"Really?" Mulder asked eagerly. "My dad used to take me to watch the dragsters when I was a kid. Exciting stuff, huh? Must be awesome actually being the driver."

"Uh...yeah, it was...right up until I crashed. I haven't done it in a while." Alex's face closed off and he drew back, snatching up his untouched beer. He gulped half of it and then placed it back on the table.

"I'm sorry...I didn't know."

"It was two years ago. You didn't read about it? I was on the news," Alex said bitterly.

"No, I...uh...I guess I missed that." Mulder sensed he had missed something terrible and from the way Alex looked right now, it made him wonder if someone had died or if Alex himself had suffered some awful injury that had taken a long time to recover from. Perhaps he'd just lost his nerve. Mulder didn't know whether to ask or to change the subject.

"Okay...well, I guess you don't know anything about me then." Surprisingly, Alex relaxed. "So, what about you?"

"I'm a magazine editor. Nothing big. Just a-"

"You're M F Luder!" Alex interrupted with a sudden grin.

"How did you know that?"

"Unimaginative anagram of F Mulder. You write about little green men." Alex chuckled and his eyes sparkled.

"You don't believe in the possibility of life on other planets?"

"Believe me, I'd like to. It seems wrong that this one tiny world among millions of them, has the only intelligent life form on it. If you can call human beings in any way intelligent. I've met a fair few apes." He grinned again. "I'm not making fun of you, Fox. I buy the magazine, it's pretty interesting."

"Well, thanks. But can you just...call me Mulder?"

Alex's grin widened. "Does that mean you have to call me by my last name as well?"

"What is it?"

"Krycek."

"I prefer Alex."

"Well, I prefer Fox."

Mulder sighed. "Whatever. Do you always get what you want?"

"Not often." His smile slipped a little. "So, what are you doing in here, Fox? Did you just come in to watch the dancers or are you...uh...?" He leaned closer and ran his tongue along his lower lip teasingly. "...looking for a bit of fun?"

"Is that what you're looking for?" Mulder licked his own lips, to moisten them rather than in an effort to be sexy.

"I don't know. It's been so long I barely remember what to do."

"How about this...?" Mulder, slightly afraid that he was being too forward and certainly too hasty, leaned in until his lips hovered a couple of inches from Alex's. He paused for a second to see if Alex would pull back and when he didn't, Mulder closed the gap, angling his head slightly. His lips fitted together with Alex's perfectly and clung there. Alex responded and his lips parted further, caressing Mulder's, inviting him to slip his tongue into the moist heat of his mouth. Mulder lifted his hand to Alex's neck, slid his fingers to the nape and held him there. His tongue stroked Alex's and then thrust more urgently into his mouth, causing their teeth to bump, lips crushed together. Alex groaned and his gloved right hand clutched at the front of Mulder's shirt.

Mulder's cock throbbed and he let out a moan too. He felt it rumble up from his chest until the sound became muffled in Alex's mouth. In his head, things raced forward as he pictured them leaving the club and going to Mulder's apartment. The door would slam closed behind them and then he would have his hands on Alex's sexy body. Items of clothing would litter the hallway as they staggered to the bedroom, lips still clinging, hands exploring, cocks pushing together eagerly. He imagined himself reaching for lube and a condom, pressing Alex onto the bed beneath him, fucking him. It had been way too long.

His slid his free arm around Alex, holding him tight as their kiss continued. He removed his other hand from Alex's neck and ran it down over his chest. He felt hard muscle and the erratic thump of Alex's heart. His fingers brushed over abs and reached the bottom of Alex's T-shirt, then slipped underneath to touch warm skin. Alex groaned again and finally broke the kiss. He was panting, eyes hooded as Mulder looked at him. He continued stroking Alex's stomach and cautiously lowered his hand toward the hard bulge he knew he was going to find in the man's jeans.

"Don't!" Alex jerked back and dislodged Mulder's arm from around him.

Mulder took a brief moment to control his desperation to grab Alex again and instead, took a deep breath. "Too fast?" he queried. "I'm sorry."

"It's not that. I...uh...sorry...I..." Alex avoided his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I just...I...I need to get out of here." Suddenly Alex was on his feet and Mulder watched in dismay as he took a step backward and then another. He rose quickly, wondering how to stop Alex without seeming desperate.

"Don't go, please."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have...uh...started this." He turned away and began to walk quickly toward the exit. Mulder felt irritated and frustrated. At the same time, he realised Alex was suffering some kind of turmoil. Despite having spent such a short time with him, he wanted to help. He strode after him and grabbed Alex's left arm before he could get too far away. Alex halted immediately and looked at him in shock. Mulder looked down at his own hand, gripping what felt strangely unlike an arm beneath the leather sleeve.

"What the hell? Are you wearing a cast?"

"No!" Alex pushed Mulder away with his other hand and Mulder noticed that his left arm barely moved on its own. His mind worked.

"It's a prosthetic?"

"Fuck. Just leave me alone," Alex growled. He backed away and then turned, almost running out of the door and into the street. Mulder followed, cursing, and quickly caught up before Alex reached the line of cabs waiting for clubgoers wanting to get home.

"Alex, wait. Please."

"What do you want from me?"

"I just want you to talk to me." Mulder reached out to him again and then stopped himself and shoved his hands into his pockets instead.

"About what? This?" He indicated his left arm. "So you can write about the freak you met in your mag? Leave me alone!"

"Alex...look...I came over to your table in there because I thought you were attractive and I hoped we might...get to know each other...have some fun...whatever. Nothing has changed."

Alex looked at him sceptically. "Why would you want me like this?"

"You're still you. What did you expect to get out of this anyway? You could have told me you didn't want company. Are you just a cocktease?"

"No! I told you it's been a long time. I guess I just...I wanted company, but I didn't really think any further than that. When you kissed me, I responded because it was what I wanted, but then I realised...it's not going to be any more than that."

Mulder glanced around and noticed two or three people were watching them. He stepped closer to Alex and touched his right arm, giving the bicep a squeeze. "Let's not do this in the street. Either come back in the club with me or we can go for coffee, or...whatever you want. Just don't run away, please."

Alex sighed heavily. "The club. At least with the noise in there, no one will overhear."

"Okay. Good." Mulder let go of Alex's arm and returned to the door. He showed the doorman the stamp on his hand which would let him back in without paying again. He checked once to make sure Alex was following him and then continued inside.

Surprisingly, their table was still empty, the beer bottles sitting where they had left them. Mulder sat down in the chair he had previously occupied and after a moment, Alex joined him.

"So...you lost your arm?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah." Alex visibly shuddered.

"In the accident you mentioned?"

"Yeah."

"Is this the first time you tried to hook-up with someone in two years?"

"I wasn't trying to hook-up!" snapped Alex. Then he sighed and closed his eyes briefly. He opened them again and met Mulder's. "Maybe I was. I don't know anymore. I liked the way you looked at me."

"I meant it when I said this..." Mulder gestured to his left arm. "...didn't change anything. Look, about eight months ago, I hooked up with someone in a club. It was supposed to be a bit of fun, and afterward I thought I might like to get to know him, but he was nuts. Wouldn't leave me alone, called me day and night, found out where I lived and kept turning up on my doorstep. He wanted a lot more out of it than I did, but even if I'd been into it, the clingy thing freaked me out. He turned into a real spiteful bastard when he got the message and it put me off doing this. Tonight was the first time since then that I actually tried to meet someone. When I saw you, I thought..." Mulder flushed as he considered telling Alex exactly what he thought. "...that you were good looking and hot and...just what I was looking for. I still think that. I don't have a problem with you having an artificial arm. You're not the only one. Plenty of people have things going on which might make things...difficult for them, but they still have husbands, wives, lovers, whatever. Why do you think you're any different?"

"Hell, Fox, I really didn't want to talk about this," Alex groaned. "But here goes. I was in a relationship with a guy when I had the accident. We'd been together since college. I don't fuck around - I mean, I didn't before..." He stopped and cleared his throat.

"How old are you, Alex?" Mulder put in.

"Twenty-five. You?"

"Thirty-four."

"And still hooking up in clubs?" Alex smiled slightly.

"I never met anyone I really wanted to be with."

"You never had a relationship?"

"One, when I was a kid. He decided he preferred girls."

"Clearly something wrong with him." Alex took a deep breath. "So...um...my arm was partly severed in the accident. They could have sewn it back on, but it was also crushed between wrist and elbow and they couldn't save it. Looked like fucking roadkill."

Mulder grimaced at the vivid description and then forced his features back into a sympathetic look. Pulling a face wasn't going to help Alex feel better. Already Mulder's heart had gone out to the younger man and he knew what the rest of the story would be, before he heard it. Alex's lover had walked away from him.

"Chris couldn't handle it. He stuck it out for a few months after I got out of the hospital. I got this..." He indicated his left arm. "...and I guess he couldn't deal with it. Either my stump or the plastic. He tried to fuck me one time and it didn't happen. He made up some excuse about being tired, but I knew the real reason was that I didn't turn him on like this. He could barely bring himself to look at me. I didn't wait for him to tell me it was over. I kicked him out a week later. I could see the relief on his face, because he hadn't had to do it himself."

"Fuck, Alex, I'm sorry," Mulder groaned. "What a bastard!"

"Yeah, well, it didn't do much for my self-esteem."

"I'm sorry," Mulder said again.

"So what now? You can leave if you want," Alex offered.

"I don't want to leave."

"Don't stay out of pity."

Mulder cursed quietly. "I don't pity you, Alex. I feel sorry that you were with a shithead who did that to you. I'm not him. You're a sexy guy and I want the same thing I wanted when I walked over to your table an hour ago, or however long it was. It seems longer."

"Yeah, it does. Do you want another beer?"

"I'll get them." Mulder rose from his seat, then paused, bent down and brushed his lips along Alex's cheekbone before he turned and walked to the bar.