CrossTime
(An X-Files/Gundam Wing Crossover)
-----part 1-----
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-August 27th, 2001-
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The apartment looked like it had been lived in for years. There were a
few coffee cups lying about, videotapes on top of the VCR and
television as well as in the VCR and in the dresser drawer, and a
half-read newspaper set on the kitchen table underneath a purring cat
"Good morning, Dana." the apartment's owner scratched the cat and
lifted her off the newspaper.
"Good morning, Mulder."
Mulder spun around and was surprised to see his former partner
standing there.
"It's been a long time, Scully." he said. "Mind telling me what's up?"
"There's an X-File that needs your attention." Scully explained. "Nice
cat."
"Thanks, but in case you haven't heard, I'm not part of the X-Files
anymore."
"I'm aware of that, Mulder." Scully replied. "However, this is a
special situation. Please, come with me? Skinner will explain
everything when we get down to the Bureau."
"How do I know this isn't a trap?" Mulder asked.
"Do you really think I'd do something as low as that?" Scully sounded
hurt that Mulder could think her so untrustworthy.
"Maybe," Fox hedged, "if you didn't know you were doing it, or if you
thought that you were doing the right thing."
"It's not a trap, Mulder," Scully told him. "I can't prove it to you.
You're going to have to take my word. "
"If you were anyone else, I would have stopped listening about five
minutes ago." Mulder admitted. "You've taken my word on things like
this lots of times, Scully. All right. Let me just get my jacket."
Mulder fetched his jacket from the hall closet, then followed Scully
out to her car. Getting into the passenger seat, he buckled his
seatbelt and closed the door. "So, what's ol' Skinny up to anyhow?"
"You'll see when we get there." Scully replied. "I don't want to risk
saying too much right now."
"You think the car might be bugged?"
"You can never be too careful," Scully remarked, "speaking of which,
you should be more careful with your cat. It's lucky she wasn't hurt
last time she got out."
"How did you know she got out?" Mulder asked.
"Mulder," Scully told him, "your cat's pregnant."
*****
Skinner looked up from his desk as agent Scully and ex-agent Mulder
walked into his office. A girl of about fifteen was sitting in one of
the chairs playing with a braid that looked like she'd been growing it
her entire life. She was petite and pretty, with violet eyes and a
mischievous grin that somehow reminded Mulder of his own. If the loose
clothing she wore was meant to make her look as though she were not so
thin and fragile, it failed miserably. She reminded Mulder of a
delicate China doll.
"Fox Mulder," Skinner said, by way of introduction, "I'd like you to
meet Duo Maxwell. He's from the future."
"He?!" Mulder did a double-take. He could not believe the
fragile-looking teen before him was a male.
"Correct." Skinner nodded. "Now, to business. Duo will be staying with
you until we figure out a way to send him back to his own time or
until someone from his own time comes to retrieve him."
"Forgive me for asking," Mulder asked, "But why me? Surely there must
be someone more qualified than..."
"Scully," Skinner suggested, "why don't you and Duo go grab a pizza. I
have to discuss some things with Mulder."
Duo grinned and agreed this was a wonderful idea. He still didn't know
who these FBI people were, but as long as they were going to offer him
pizza, he wasn't in any rush to be rescued. After all, he could handle
anything they threw at him.
"We retrieved blood and tissue samples from our friend to test the
validity of his claim of being from the future."
"Pollution content, that sort of thing?" Mulder guessed.
"Amongst other things." Skinner nodded. "At any rate we discovered two
things. One, he is telling the truth. And two, he's your
great-great-great-etc. grandson. Just don't ask him about his parents.
They were killed when he was very little."
"What about girlfriends?" Mulder asked.
"You'd better ask him about that." Skinner evaded.
Mulder nodded. "Is there anything else?"
Skinner shook his head, though something in his eyes told Mulder he
wasn't being honest.
Mulder decided not to press the issue. If he questioned Skinner now,
he knew, he'd never know what was really going on. It would be better
to take things slowly and get the whole banquet than to just grab the
little morsel sitting in front of him.
*****
As Mulder made his way to the elevator, he heard the car approaching
and hid around a corner, following his instincts. He was surprised to
see a man with long platinum blond hair step out of the elevator and
head over to Skinner's office. Slipping into the ventilation duct, he
made his way into the shaft adjacent to Skinner's office and watched.
"Have you found him yet?" the platinum blond asked as Skinner stood up
and moved to stand behind him.
Running his fingers through the pale hair, Skinner shook his head,
then tilted the other man's face upward to place a desiring kiss upon
the handsome figure's lips. "Not yet," he lied, "do you really have to
go back once you find him?"
"I'm afraid so," the pale-haired man nodded, moaning as Skinner's
right hand found its way into the front of his slacks.
"Well, then," Skinner suggested, as he unzipped the other man's
slacks and pulled him up from his chair, positioning him so that he
was leaning over the desk, "we shouldn't waste our time, should we."
Mulder decided that to watch any further would be an invasion of
Skinner's privacy. Besides, his great-great-etc. grandson was waiting
for him. He backtracked to the entrance of the ventilation duct and
headed off to the pizza restaurant to catch up with Scully and Duo.
*****
"-ly incredible." Duo was saying as Mulder walked in. "Anyhow, I
accepted. I mean, how could I not? Oh, hi." he grinned up at Mulder.
"Accepted what?" Mulder asked, "you get a scholarship offer, or some
really cool job lined up?"
"Marriage proposal." Duo shrugged.
"Hm," Mulder remarked, appreciatively, "can't say I blame her."
"Him."
"Him?" Mulder asked. "Well, what's this boy like? I mean, I think I
can guess his sexual preference, but other than that..."
"Well, he was trained to be the Perfect Soldier," Duo began.
"Soldier?" Mulder asked, recalling the clothes the man in Skinnner's
office had been wearing. "Long platinum blond hair?"
"No," Duo shook his head, "that's my husband. Well, sort of my
husband."
"He looked like he was about thirty." Mulder remarked. "I take it you
don't want to be married to him."
"I don't." Duo shook his head. "That marriage was his sister's idea.
She wanted me married off so she could have Heero."
"Heero's your fiancé?... the one you love I mean."
"Duo nodded. "Heero Yuy." He explained, "the other man is Zechs
Merquise. I can't say any more than that, except that I don't want to
marry Zechs."
"Now you called him sort of your husband, what exactly did you mean?"
"Well, when the priest got to the bit about me saying I do, I bolted.
I had been hoping that Heero would show up and protest at the bit when
they say 'speak now or forever hold your peace.' but he never came. He
was prevented somehow. Probably by Relena."
"Relena is Zechs's sister?" Mulder guessed.
Duo nodded and ate a bit more pizza.
"Look, all I want to do is marry Heero Yuy and be happy with him for
the rest of my life," he explained after he'd finished the last bite
of his pizza. "Can you help me?"
Mulder nodded. "We'll do what we can, won't we, Scully?"
-----TBC-----