Gildan's Note: I had this done back when I uploaded chapter 3 yet it took me this long to upload it. I'm not going to lie, my huge bout of inspiration has pretty much subsided but...I'll see what happens ;y;;;

Chapter Four: Closer Calls

Christine opened the door and flicked on the light. Which triggered the other lights.

Well, at least it WAS alien themed.

Krycek was the first to react. "Uh…."

The room was stuffed from floor to ceiling with alien related things, stuffed animals, posters, neon signs, but more things among the organized mess became clearer as their eyes adjusted to the pink hue of the room. There was a cleanly circle shaped bed among the "clutter", and Krycek wondered if it was supposed to represent a sterile operating table, the kind you'd lie on if you were abducted. There were also hearts everywhere. It was Cupid's Bedroom if Cupid had an extreme alien fetish.

Mulder laughed awkwardly. Krycek couldn't say anything else.

"Is it okay?" asked Christine, who undoubtedly must have thought they were in shock due to pure amazement.

"Christine…we're not…" Mulder began.

"A couple?" Krycek seemed to ask, exasperated.

"Oh my GOD – you're not?!"

"NO! What made you think that? Asked Mulder.

"You two just read 'couple' to me! I don't know of many friends who just come to stay at an alien themed road stop. And you were bickering and joking – and the way he looked at you." She pointed to Krycek, who had stepped into the room.

He whirled around. "WHAT?! I don't look at him like anything!"

"I am so sorry. This is all we have – I mean you can always go to another hotel...I'm sorry about this."

Mulder stepped into the room. "It's a pretty cool room."

"Mulder." Krycek said, unenthused.

"Aw Christine, don't worry about it. We'll make it work." Mulder said, giving a wink. He couldn't bear to see how sorry and embarrassed Christine was. "I want to help keep this place going, after all."

A stunned "what" could be heard from Krycek, but was ignored as Christine profusely thanked Mulder. She gave them their room key and went back to the dining hall.

"What the hell." Said Krycek, doing a 360 in the room. "Considering all her other rooms are booked - I think she's doing just fine."

"Oh come on, look at this! It's amazing!"

"Well in that case the bed is mine, but it's probably not as sterile as it looks." Krycek flopped down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. "There are alien love scenes painted on this ceiling, Mulder."

Mulder flopped down onto the bed next to Krycek, who wasn't expecting the sudden close company. Mulder burst out laughing. Krycek side-eyed him, but Mulder kept laughing. His laugh became more and more genuine, and he closed his eyes and put his hand to his face. It sounded like he was crying from laughter. Krycek was about to nudge himself away from being so close, but stayed. He smiled, he had never seen Mulder like this, and he couldn't help but think it was the most adorable thing. Mulder's sobbing laughter began to die out, and Krycek gave a half smile.

"You're such a loser." He said, but immediately regretted it. Not that it would hurt Mulder, but, maybe this was his opportunity to say something that wasn't sarcastic, filled with venom, or mean-spirited banter. Was that the relationship they had? They exchanged banter?

"You don't think that's funny?"

"I think it's weird. It makes me uncomfortable." Said Krycek.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Because it's bizarre. Because some artist stood up on a ladder and painted those pictures. Like what if they were turned on by this. What if they were like "Ohh yeah – yeah – alien sex" – plus I don't exactly like to lie in bed and greet my eyes to extraplanetary porn."

Mulder burst out laughing again. "That's funny. Or maybe they were really disturbed but needed the cash."

Krycek blushed, he didn't realize what he just said. It was a weird feeling, like showing his personality to Mulder. Just being himself.

"Yeah well, I'm gonna go take a bath." Krycek got up off the bed and went into the bathroom, he immediately backed out with two alien shaped bars in his hand. "Holy shit."

"What are those?" asked Mulder.

"They're bath bombs, for when you take baths, they kind of fizz up and stuff, like bubble bath in a way, except with colors and more scented. This place is too hardcore for me."

"Can you handle it?"

"I'll try."

They exchanged smiles and Krycek went back into the bathroom. He put the bath bombs in the tub and turned on the water. He went back to the door and locked it, then turned to look at himself in the mirror. He sighed, what was happening? Were they friends now? Did this stupid place actually break down that barrier of "Hey remember all those times we basically tried to kill each other? Except I totally tried to kill you more but I can't say for sure that I wanted to. I was kind of forced by the Syndicate. Y'see it's kind of like a chess game, where I'm a pawn…"

Because there's an apology. Krycek took off his shirt and looked at his arm in the mirror. "Hey don't forget I lost a limb because of this shit…" He took off the prosthetic and placed it on the counter next to some UFO shaped bars of decorative soap. This had to be some weird ass surreal dream. No way was this real life. He stripped the rest of the way and stepped into the tub, which was now a mixture of galaxy like colors from the bath bars. He had to admit the aroma was nice and relaxing, something he needed. He lowered himself down into the water, using his right arm as an anchor.

The water was getting higher now, but he let it run a little while longer. He closed his eyes and inhaled, trying to center himself and his feelings. He was all over the place. This morning he had been hiding under a mattress from whoever-the-hell knows. Now he was in a spa-like tub in a weird motel; and in a sexy suite no less. He thought about Mulder's silly laugh. God dammit, he was so cute.

There was a knock on the door. Krycek opened his eyes. "Yeah?"

"Hey so uh – you didn't take any other clothes in there. So I have some of my own, just stuff I wear to bed. You can borrow some of them."

Krycek got on his knees and reached to unlock the door, his lower half still in the tub (The only way he'd open the door). He opened the door slightly.

"Here." Said Mulder, holding out the pile of clothes.

"Just uh – push em through." Said Krycek.

Mulder dropped the clothes through the opening, and made eye contact with Krycek, where his eyes then fell on what was left of Krycek's left arm. Krycek noticed and turned scarlet, practically yelled "BYE", and closed and locked the door in what must have been a record speed of closing and locking doors.

He sunk back into the tub, embarrassed and angry at himself that he opened the door in the first place. He stayed in there until the heat of the water cooled down. He let the water drain and got out to dry himself. He looked on the ground at Mulder's clothes.

When he came out of the bathroom he found Mulder checking out the small TV on the nightstand.

"Well, since you've been acquainted with the state of my body, I'm not sleeping in this anymore." Krycek threw the prosthetic arm on the dresser.

Mulder looked over at him. "You never had to."

Krycek couldn't conceal the look of shock on his face. "Well, it's not hard to understand why I didn't want to…"

"You're right."

"W-Why are you being so nice to me?" said Krycek, anger in his voice.

"It's not an easy thing." Said Mulder. "I need as little stress as possible while on my mission. So not wanting to strangle you 24/7 is a better option."

Krycek didn't say anything.

"Is it hard?" Mulder suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Living with one arm?"

"Oh…it was at first. Like, really difficult." Krycek looked down at his feet for a second. "I mean, no one was around to help me so – I had to learn how to adjust on my own. Yeah it was hard. But now I'm used it. It's almost like I don't even realize it anymore." He looked at Mulder's left arm. "Until I do. Then I'm reminded of all the things I can't do anymore."

"Like what?" asked Mulder, not trying to be rude but not exactly avoiding it.

"I don't know like holding someone in your arms."

"You never seemed like the type to-" Mulder stopped himself.

"To what?"

"Just…sorry…but to have anyone…to…just I didn't think you were the type who had someone…"

"Well – I did – at one point."

"You could still hold someone, I'm sure." Said Mulder, trying to fix the situation.

"Yeah – probably. But I guess I won't have to worry about that ever, now will I?" said Krycek bitterly, walking over to the bed.

"Shit, man. I didn't mean to insult you like that. I just…never really thought about your personal life before."

"Well believe it or not, it exists. I exist, yknow, as a person." Krycek pulled the sheets down and climbed into the bed. "Even if they try to take that away from me."

Mulder turned off the light, but there was still a faint glow. He grabbed a blanket from a chair in the corner and walked over to the bed. "You take that side and the sheets, I'll use this."

Krycek didn't say anything, just complied. Mulder laid on his back and looked up at the ceiling, now just too dark to make out the silly shapes.

"I'm sorry." Said Mulder. "I should have thought about what I was saying. Truth be told, I guess it didn't see you as…as really a person either. Just someone who was always my enemy."

"Well I'll probably be run down soon so you won't have to worry about that anymore."

"Does it scare you?"

"What? No. It's to be expected…" Krycek paused. So did Mulder. There was silence in the room for a moment.

"Yes it scares me." Krycek whispered.

"How did you get wrapped up in all this?"

"I was young and stupid – thought I could handle it. Was also ignorant to what was really going on. I'm only just putting the pieces together."

"You can always come with us."

Krycek laughed. "It's too late for that."

"Maybe you're right."

"I don't get you, Fox. You're in rare form. Saying I can redeem myself, being considerably nice to me, what's going on? It's almost like you were abducted and they've replaced your personality." Krycek asked.

"Let's just say my mission has made me a little more relaxed."

"And you still won't tell me what it is."

"Nope."

"Alright Mulder – I just spilled my guts to you, not it's your turn."

"What do you want to know?" asked Mulder.

"Hm. You and Scully. You together?"

"Oh geez – uh no. We're not together. Not like that anyway." Said Mulder.

"Oh."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah. Do you really think you'll find Samantha?" Krycek asked, but even though they were playing a question game, it was still out of the blue. He had read about Samantha, but was now unsure if they had ever talked about her before.

"….I want to believe it. I have to believe it." Said Mulder.

"Is that why we're out here?"

Mulder shook his head. "No no. That's not it. The Smoking Man knows, or he pretends to, that's where I find her. Not out here."

There was silence again.

"Sorry – now we're both depressed. Or. Even more than we were before." Said Krycek.

"It's alright."

"It's been a weird few days, hasn't it?" Krycek asked.

"Yes it has."

More silence. They didn't say goodnight to each other, and it was weird being so close (the bed wasn't all that big), but in a way, they didn't have to. The conversation was so personal; "goodnight" just seemed implied. Maybe a "sweet dreams" was silently uttered too.

Krycek turned over on his left side to face the wall, he heard Mulder turn to face the other wall. He closed his eyes, suddenly overcome with tiredness. He drifted off into sleep easily. He hadn't had time to mull over the conversation that had just passed. His last thought was the answer to the question about Dana Scully. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he repressed a smile. There were more things to be concerned about, weren't there?