***

Walter Skinner awoke with a start, disoriented and blinking owlishly around the room; he had no memory of falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was sitting up on the bed, scowling alternately between the ball scores on TSN and the stack of file folders balanced precariously in his lap. Not that either one had been able to hold his interest much.  He was waiting for Mulder.

The phone call he’d received that afternoon had been full of promise. The case in Kansas had been cleared up, more or less, and Mulder had assured him that no one had been seriously injured, despite the flying cow. He knew better than to even ask.  His lover had sounded a little tired, and a little down, but not unusually so. He told Walter that he and Scully would be catching a red-eye flight, and that he probably wouldn’t be great company, but Skinner had insisted he come over anyway. Exhaustion was hardly anything new these days. Between Kersh’s scut work and his own sneaky forays into X-Files territory, Mulder seemed to always be wherever Skinner wasn’t. And when they did finally manage to get some ‘quality’ time together, it was mostly about naps. The kindest thing Skinner could think of at the moment was at least his lover didn’t snore.

And apparently, he wasn’t the only one who was living on too little sleep lately. Skinner hadn’t realized just how tiring his own pace had been. Typical paperwork nightmares coupled with a determination to get Mulder back to his work and away from Kersh, who gave him the creeps for no apparent reason, and he supposed it was a good thing he didn’t snore much either.

The room was dim, but not dark; light flickered, although Skinner could already sense that no lamps were on, and the television was shut off as well. He fumbled for his glasses, found them on the nightstand, and the bedroom came into sharp relief as he put them on.

Candles. Lots and lots of candles. More candles than he remembered owning. Flickering pools of light in the dark room, casting long wavering shadows and golden highlights over the television stand, the dresser, the bed…

Over the tall, lean form of his lover, standing at the end of the bed. The candlelight burnished his cool pale skin and made his expression impossible to read.

“Fox?”

Mulder pounced on the bed and quickly straddled his lover’s body, and now Skinner discovered that he was grinning.  And naked.

“Hi, honey, I’m home.”

“What time is it?”

“That is an inappropriate response, Walter.” But he was still smiling, now unbuttoning Skinner’s shirt. “Did you miss me?” He took away the older man’s glasses, and soft focus returned.

“Awfully,” Skinner’s tone was both dry and emphatic.

“Good.” The shirt was undone now, and Skinner pulled his arms out of the sleeves as Mulder shimmied down his body and pants, briefs and socks all came away with him. Skinner felt the first stirrings of arousal in his body, along with a mild sense of surprise that Mulder could have set up this unexpected tableau while he slept. Actually, he was surprised he had done it at all-romance not being Fox Mulder’s strong suit.

When he was as thoroughly naked as Mulder, the younger man moved back up his body so that they were face to face, and hip to hip.

“Fox, the—“ Skinner began to ask about the candles.

“Airport gift shop—I got a discount for buying in bulk.”

“But how—?“

“I can be sneaky when the occasion warrants it, Walter.”

“Where—?“

“Scully was reading Cosmopolitan on the plane.”

“Would you please stop doing that?” His growl earned him a soft kiss and a saucy grin.

“Page 82: How To Romance Your Man.”

Skinner looked around at the candles, looked back at Fox, frowned skeptically.

“Romance?”

“Didn’t I ever tell you I’m a hopeless romantic?”

“Well, hopeless, anyway.” Tone still dry, but he couldn’t hide the smile. Mulder gave him a pout, mostly for show, and then a longer kiss, this one full of tongue and intent, and he rubbed himself back and forth across the body beneath him. They shared a mouthful of gasps, and Mulder pulled away, even as Skinner’s hands were reaching for him, trying to bring him back for more.

“Cosmo guaranteed spectacular results.”

“You didn’t need candlelight for that, Fox. I’m just glad you’re h-here.” He stuttered on the last word as Mulder gently latched onto a nipple, tugging on it with his teeth, and then soothing it with his tongue. Skinner played with his hair and felt his desire increase. His other nipple got the same thorough treatment, and the Mulder was back in his face, covering his mouth, chin, and cheeks with more fevered kisses. Skinner groaned into his lover’s mouth and murmured, “You taste so good…”

“Mmmm…taste…oh, hell!” 

Mulder slipped away before Skinner could protest, and he shivered at the loss of contact. Breathing heavily, he admired the candles, couldn’t help but chuckle a little, and moments later Mulder was back in the room, arms full of something that Skinner squinted to make out.

“Wha—?”

“The article was continued on page 216.” He grinned impishly and handed Walter a flute of champagne in which a tiny strawberry floated serenely.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding,” he exclaimed, sounding both dismayed and amused. But he took a sip anyway and waited for Mulder to reclaim his reserved space on top of him. Instead, something light and odd shaped fell across his chest and rolled down his stomach. He reached for it and found himself holding a rose.

Mulder was dropping long stem roses all over the bed and all over his lover.

Skinner shook his head and laughed softly.

The flowers smelled sweet but not cloying, and Skinner twirled the one in his fingers, then lifted it to his nose. 

Task completed, Mulder resumed his place in Skinner’s lap, sitting across his legs facing him. He toasted the man before him with his own champagne and took a sip, teasing Skinner over the rim of the glass with a smoldering glance. 

Skinner stroked the rose across Mulder’s cheek, then dropped the flower and reached into his glass for the strawberry. When he held it out, Mulder took it with his mouth, taking an extra moment or two to suck on Skinner’s fingers.

“Fox?” Skinner set aside his glass and looked around at the flowers surrounding them.

“…Hmmm?”

“Did your magazine happen to mention anything about the issue of naked flesh and rose thorns?”

Mulder finished his champagne, Skinner took the glass from him, and together they worked their way down to a more reclined position.

“Oh, yeah. I took care of that.” Mulder picked up one of the flowers and ran his fingers down the stem. “Pulled ‘em all off myself. See?” He offered his thumb for Skinner’s inspection, and the older man could just make out a small red puncture on the fleshy pad of the digit.

“Poor baby,” he murmured, taking his thumb in his mouth and sucking on it while his hands roamed down Mulder’s back to rest with possessive comfort on his hips. 

He released Mulder’s thumb with a wet smack. “Better?”

“All kinds of better.”

“So Cosmo guarantees results, huh?” His eyes darkened and Mulder shivered at his smile, which seemed to be comprised of both promise and threat.

“Spectacular results,” Mulder corrected him.

“I see.” Still holding Mulder tightly, Skinner lunged for his throat and worked his mouth over the sensitive flesh he found there, nibbling and licking. Mulder threw his head back with a gasp, and when his arms came up around Skinner’s shoulders, the bigger man flipped both of their bodies easily, rolling them across the bed and crushing a good portion of the flowers beneath them. 

He easily pushed Mulder’s legs apart and nestled between them, never taking his mouth from the other man’s body. Skinner spent long moments tasting a pulse that quickened with every lick and soft bite, and Mulder began making a low moaning noise deep in his throat that vibrated against Skinner’s lips. Their groins rocked together, stiffening cocks clashing in an instinctive erotic duel.

Skinner left a satisfyingly red mark on Mulder’s throat, and licked his way up to his lover’s mouth, entwining his fingers in thick dark hair as he bit at full lips until his tongue was granted access. A long, deep kiss that left both of them gasping, and Skinner smirked at him.

“Spectacular results, hmmm…”

“…spectacular…” came the breathless reply.

“Is this spectacular enough for you?” Skinner reached down and grasped Mulder’s erection in a smooth practiced grip, stroked hard and even, and more flowers shredded in their death throes as Mulder arched up off of the bed and fell back in time with Skinner’s hand movements. 

If Mulder had a reply, it was swallowed up as Skinner reclaimed his lips, forcing his tongue deep inside his mouth, letting Mulder suck on it, then doing the same for him as their kiss-roles reversed. His lover’s movements became more erratic under him, and he released his hold on the younger man’s cock, and cradled his balls instead, feeling them shift and tighten under his hand.

He moved lower, both to access Mulder’s chest with his questing mouth, and to slip his hand down to Mulder’s ass, grinning as the man immediately spread his legs wider to allow him better access. He tugged sharply on a nipple with his teeth, and Mulder made a pained hissing noise that turned into an aroused groan as his finger lightly circled his opening.

“How’s this, Fox? Is this spectacular?” he thrust forward, worked a finger into him, bit down hard and roses flew as the two men bucked hard against one another. Skinner had one quick thought of condoms and lube, and then Mulder was shifting again, wordlessly seeking deeper contact, and Skinner felt his own body responding in kind. He worked his hips and groaned at the slick heat being generated between the two of them.

Mulder bent his knees and Skinner slowed his pace as he added a second finger. Breathy affirmations greeted his actions, and he shifted his weight, moving up Mulder’s body just enough to burrow his face into the joint between Mulder’s neck and shoulder. He nibbled and sucked and crooked his fingers and Mulder cried out his name. 

More thrusting of hips, shifting of hands and mouths and Skinner pressed hard as he felt the onset of orgasm.  Mulder beat him to it, and he felt his lover’s muscles contract around his fingers, then pulsing wet heat as Mulder came with a shout. A moment later Skinner was making noises of his own, and their seed mingled on their bellies.

Skinner brought his hand away, and felt Mulder shudder under him. He raised his head from the man’s shoulder and offered a soft, almost delicate kiss.

“Spectacular enough for ya?” he inquired, the innocent tone of voice betrayed by his harsh breathing.

“Oh, man…I’ve gotta read Cosmo more often…” Mulder gasped back. They shared a few more gentle kisses, and Skinner moved off of Mulder’s body to lie beside him, keeping arms and legs wrapped round him, now in a less frantic embrace. They gazed lovingly into one another’s eyes, then Skinner looked around the bed, at the remnants of the flowers and their own disheveled state, and shook his head in amusement.

“I don’t suppose that issue had an article on romantic aftermath, did it?”

Mulder laughed and snuggled in close. “Page 99-Sharing The Wet Spot.”

“Let’s get a subscription.”

The candles had to be put out before they fell asleep, the sheets changed, maybe even a shower. But Skinner chose to just hold Mulder tight in his arms for a moment more, feeling sated and happy and…just a little romantic.