It was snowing; it had been snowing for three days now, with barely a gap in the clouds to tell whether it was night or day.

But of course the Highland Army weren't taking breaks from any of this at all. That would mean losing ground to its enemies, and the Blights just wouldn't allow that at any rate.

Culgan and Seed were heading their respective units, their underlings following meekly along behind them, shielding themselves from the snow that was drifting right into them. They were riding into the snow, which seemed to be blowing from L'Renouille itself.

"How much longer?" one of the troops shouted to another, but it was Culgan who shouted back to him, "Just fifteen minutes or so more, Koushiro."

The soldiers seemed to perk up then, and rode with more gusto than they had seemed to since they'd left L'Renouille five days ago.

"I think this is about the longest we've been away from L'Renouille in a while," Culgan said to Seed as they rode along side-by-side and talked to each other.

Seed nodded. "Last time was just about White Day, wasn't it?" Seed replied, trying to see the lights of the Highland capital through the snow. "When we almost caught Daisuke and his blasted stragglers in Gregminster?"

Nodding, Culgan agreed. "Yes, that would be it. So close," he mused, and a brief smile came across his face.

They both knew that they respected the young Gaidens' leader, being as young as he was, but also as skilled and as strong.

The lights of L'Renouille slowly came into focus among the swirling white powder, and the soldiers cheered in the darkness of the evening night, many of them overtaking Seed and Culgan as they rode their horses flat-out to get home in time for the Christmas Eve feast.

Seed smiled and rolled his eyes at his company, shouting to them to slow down, but not really meaning it. He wanted to do the exact same thing, really, and Culgan could tell this just by looking at the redhead's face.

"On you go, Seed," Culgan said, gesturing to the lights which they got larger and brighter as they got closer. "If you want to gallop home, on you go. I'll catch you up."

But Seed smiled at him and shook his head. "Just because I want to, it doesn't mean that I'd distress Selenay for the pleasure," he said, and the horse whinnied as though knowing what Seed meant.

So they rode home together, rather slowly, and stopped a few yards away from the castle gates, dismounting and looking at each other.

"A little feeling of déjà vu, Culgan?" Seed inquired as he stepped towards his silver-haired lover and, looking around, pulled him down into a soul-searing kiss before running into the castle, his horse trotting along beside him, into the stables.

Culgan watched as the red-head dashed inside, and walked in with Midnight, watching the gates draw shut behind him. No one would be allowed to come or go until late tomorrow evening.

He left Midnight in the stables with a stable hand, and walked towards the bath-house, certain that this would be where he'd find Seed.

Of course, he wasn't disappointed. The red-head's uniform was scattered seven ways to Sunday around the room, a towel under his head as he relaxed in the scented steam of the water.

"You finally made it home then?" Seed inquired from the water, trailing a hand that was not so much lazy as relaxed, through it and drizzling some drops over himself. "Took you a while."

"It's only been five minutes, Seed," Culgan admonished as he began to strip out of his clothes and pulled a towel from the towel wracks, stepping into the heat of the water and sitting beside Seed.

"We did this last year on Christmas Eve, didn't we?" Seed asked, turning in the water to lay his head on Culgan's shoulder instead.

"Yes, that's true. Only there were a lot more showers turned on and a lot more steam," replied Culgan with a smile on his face that faded a moment later.

"Aye..." Seed yawned then and stretched, placing a kiss on Culgan's neck. "I don't want to be in here too long, Culgie; I want to actually go and get something to eat at the Feast. It's been at least two years since I've gone to it, and there's supposed to be a present for everyone this year," Seed said, pulling Culgan's face around for a tender kiss.

Of course Culgan indulged him and kissed him right back, loving the feel of any part of Seed's body against his lips, and trailed them to his neck. His fingers drifted idly to the golden hoop in Seed's nipple; last year's gift well chosen, Culgan thought.

He could feel Seed getting aroused as he suckled on the pale skin of Seed's neck; he could feel the slight movements of Seed's hips, thrusting against the water and causing it to splash lightly around the bath.

The door opened then, and they flew apart as a few of Culgan and Seed's company walked into the baths, laughing and chatting and greeting their superiors as they joined them in the water.

Seed huffed and pouted and got out of the baths before quickly pulling a towel around his waist and stepping into the drying area without saying anything to any of the soldiers.

Culgan conversed with them for a few moments before he followed his fiery lover into the drying area, the towel slung shamelessly over his shoulder. "Seed?"

"We never get to have a quiet time in the baths," he said, remembering the previous year when he and Culgan had been interrupted by Klaus Windimier.

"You're right," Culgan said, walking to his lover and wrapping his arm around his broad shoulders. "Let's forget that and get dressed, then we can go and have something to eat. I know that they're serving Kanakan wine with the meal."

Seed's eyes lit slightly at the promise of a really good wine, and also the food that would heat him where even the warm waters of the baths wouldn't reach.

"Okay, you've convinced me; let's go," Seed said, drying himself off and changing into the clothes he'd worn for the mission. "We need to stop off and get dressed first, though," he reminded Culgan, who was busy doing up the buttons in his long black coat.

"I realise that," Culgan retorted, pulling Seed to him and giving him a small kiss. A few wolf-whistles from the baths told them they were standing in view of the entrance, and Seed blushed while Culgan pulled him out of the houses and headed back to their apartment.

When they reached the house, the sparkling of their multicolour lights inside warmed them through with Christmas spirit, and they dressed in smart civilian clothing for the Feast, which had, according to the clock, started fifteen minutes ago. By now, King Agares would be making speeches. If they stalled by another five minutes, they could avoid the speech and also avoid interrupting it.

Culgan dressed in a white suit with a grey-blue waistcoat and a black tie; Seed in a pair of black jeans with a smart white shirt and a red tie. He always seemed, somehow, to find a red that matched perfectly his wine-red hair.

They made their way to L'Renouille Castle through the inches-high snow that had piled up over the past few days. A few paths had been cleared, but with everyone high on festive spirit, the snow had just begun to fill in the holes again.

A few moments later and they were standing within the warm confines of the castle walls and started to make their way to the banquet room. There wasn't much sound of voices, but lots of plates clicking and wine glasses clinking, and Seed and Culgan walked in side-by-side as everyone turned round to watch the latecomers.

Seed suppressed a blush quite well as he made his way to his seat on the left-hand side of the table, beside Klaus Windimier, and Culgan took his own seat on the right-hand side, across the table from Seed, and beside Kiba Windimier, bowing to the Royals present before sitting down.

They both shook hands with those to either side of them. Culgan and Seed's second-in-commands sat on the opposite side of the General and his son the tactician. Seed smiled brightly at them and at everyone else within his vicinity too.

Seed was always easily infected with Christmas cheer, and it showed in the way he smiled, the way he talked to everyone and the way he savoured the food he was eating, the way he swallowed his wine quickly so he could talk animatedly with Klaus, who also seemed to be smiling and beaming in the attention from the older man.

Culgan smiled inwardly and chatted to Kiba about the snow, the war, and everything and anything in-between.

Conversation only halted for a few minutes when King Agares allowed Luca to stand and deliver a speech, thanking each and every one of his soldiers for their continued support through the war, as a guard handed each and every one of them a small box with a ring bearing the Highland crest - their present, Seed realised, and he placed it on his middle finger as Luca continued, telling them not to think about the war from hereon in until the 27th. This was their time; they had 3 free days to spend as they pleased.

The hall resounded with the sounds of clapping and applause. Of course, it was as much at the thought of three days of freedom as it was to Luca himself.

But the Mad Prince seemed pleased and sat down, and Seed smiled across the table at Culgan; a smile that not many others saw or cared to notice, and it lasted only a moment.

It was quite shy and coy, and Culgan knew how Seed planned to spend their 3 days. He could tell, after all, that the red-head was still quite aroused from the small amount of play in the bath house.

The rest of the meal passed quite quickly, and by the end of it, Luca had drunk five bottles of wine to himself while Culgan was still sipping his first glass, and Seed had eaten three main courses and four desserts.

Seed and Culgan made their farewells and headed back home, Seed stopping a few feet outside the castle walls and vomiting into the snow.

"Feel much better now," he commented as he took Culgan's hand and walked home through the foot of snow that had built up.

Culgan shook his head as he took out his keys and let them both into the apartment, both kicking off their shoes and sliding their feet into slippers as Seed went straight for the pile of presents. They'd decided that, to alleviate Seed's painful inability to wait to open presents, that they'd both be allowed to open *one* gift each on Christmas Eve just before bedtime.

Sorting through the piles, Seed handed Culgan a gift from himself, and Culgan sat beside Seed, choosing a present for his red-headed lover, also from himself. They opened the gifts carefully, untying the ribbon and then ripping off the wrapping paper as though it had never really been there in the first place.

Culgan was presented with a new set of what appeared to be white gold, and a pin to match that would be set in his cravat.

He looked up at Seed, who smiled at him, knowing that the older man had wanted a new pin, but that he had gone one step further, and their engraving and embossing, and the stone that was set at the heart... a ruby. Culgan was almost overwhelmed by the simplest little thing with Seed. It was amazing; so amazing it sometimes almost hurt.

Almost.

Seed ripped the last of the paper off of his own and smiled right back at Culgan.

A coupon for a tattoo; Seed had been complaining that Culgan hadn't given him one for his birthday, and he felt spoiled now to have gotten it.

"You minx," Seed said, bending forward and pulling Culgan into a kiss over the presents, and only let him go when he felt the arm that he was leaning on almost give out underneath him. "Thanks, Culgan."

"And thank you, my Seedling," Culgan replied, pulling Seed's mouth against his own. It was such a simple thing; their lips barely touched after the initial melding, and it was such a chaste thing that it stole Seed's soul from his very being. He felt himself submitting even before anything else had happened, before any other part of Culgan had touched him, and they found themselves standing, still kissing, and heading for the bedroom, turning the lights on as they went.

Culgan pressed Seed back onto the bed, kissing him with fervour now, pressing his lips insistently against him, sliding his tongue against Seed's mouth, and the lips opened, inviting him into him, into taste him and tease him and make him feel loved.

Not that he didn't usually, but the feeling of being with Culgan was never quite the same at any other time than when they were making love, or even just making out... the little things that Culgan did throughout the day had the same effect on Seed - it made him mad, crazy, made him horny and made him felt sensuous, but the being together...

Oh, there was something in the very act itself that could never be reproduced with anything else they ever did. Of course, the love was there - it was always there - but there was a feeling, an emotion, or a touch or a caress that couldn't be replicated throughout the day in their play or in their talk.

It was something so profoundly intimate and personal that Seed was quite certain that, if anyone saw them when he felt it, that he'd either need to include them, to show them what it was like, or kill them so that they'd never ask, nor tell anyone else.

And it was a side of Seed that Culgan liked, that he was so intense when they were alone.

He mused this as his tongue left Seed's mouth and traced a well-worn path down his neck, licking carefully over the protruding Adam's apple and dipping his tongue into the clavicle before flicking his tongue carefully over Seed's collarbone and finally descending to Seed's un-pierced nipple and teasing it to hardness.

Seed lay languidly on the bed for a few moments, apparently happy with this situation, but soon he was moaning and rubbing himself again Culgan like a cat in heat; his hips thrust up, his back arched in a seductive arch, presenting his chest for pleasure as he wrapped a leg around Culgan's waist and rubbed himself against his hip.

Culgan smiled to himself and let his hand move slowly up towards Seed's pierced nipple, rubbing the sensitive skin gently before pinching it carefully.

A moan was ripped from Seed's throat from a feeling the likes of which he'd never felt before. The pleasure was enormous; Culgan had left the nipple alone since Seed had had it pierced, fearing that he might hurt his precious red-head, but oh... Seed made a mental note to throttle Culgan for not pleasuring him like this before now.

His nipples were soon abandoned for lower climates, and Culgan dipped his tongue into Seed's bellybutton before moving even further down the willing body.

Squirming and mewling in anticipation, Seed's hands drifted across his own chest, sliding softly over his nipples and pinching them gently. He cried out and one hand went to Culgan's silver hair, pressing him downwards, making it clear what he wanted from Culgan.

And Culgan was only too happy to oblige. Seed made a noise somewhere between a whimper and a squeal as Culgan's tongue touched his member, his hips driving upwards, trying to get past the simple barrier of Culgan's lips and into his mouth, but Culgan was too quick for that.

He caught Seed's hip and held it down against the bed as his tongue made lazy circles around the swollen head and his lips kissed the very tip before moving down over the ridge and he suckled there as he drank in the yips and sobs that Seed made as he slowly, ever so slowly, drove him crazy, sending him to the edge of the brink of madness before pulling him back as he was about to fall, and repeated the process until Seed felt as though vertigo had taken over him; his vision was swimming (but that might just have been the tears) and his head was spinning and his ears pounded with the pathetic little noises that he was making, and he couldn't do anything about it because Culgan was holding him down and not allowing him release.

But somewhere in his lust-riddled mind, he realised that his hands were free, and he needed this release so badly it almost hurt to think about it.

So, with one hand in Culgan's hair, he tried to force the older man to take more of him; to give him what he wanted - no, needed - so badly, while the other one drifted back up his stomach, feeling the muscles twitch under his hesitant touch, and pinch his pierced nipple. Hard.

He really did scream there, and Culgan opened his eyes as he heard the sound, and at the same time, he tasted the first drops of saline liquid from Seed's member.

He licked them from the tip of Seed's erection carefully and sat up, looking down at the prone body. Seed's eyes drifted lazily around the room as the orgasm stopped in its tracks from loss of sensation, and his eyes drifted to Culgan's face, but they shut presently, and with the soft rise and fall of Seed's chest, Culgan guessed that he'd fallen asleep.

"Poor kitten, I wore you out and you didn't even get the release you wanted," Culgan said as he wiped the small droplets of come from Seed's stomach with a tissue from the bedside cabinet.

He walked to the window and looked out at the soldiers, falling about in the snow, laughing and giggling madly; most of them were drunk, and Culgan smiled at them.

It was good that no one had to worry about war, or death in these days. Christmas should be about love and family and lovers.

He climbed into bed beside Seed and spooned the red-head against his chest, savouring the warmth they never seemed to be lacking whenever they were together.

The heat claimed him then, and he, too, drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Author's notes:

Well, it's that time again. You know, that time when I write things for people 'cause I can't afford anything for them ^^; So, to Dee and Maria, I present this: a lubberly Christmas-ey CulSee fic of cute and sexy proportions. Hope you like it girls, and at least you know you won't need to wait until March to get part 2! Hahaha.

Rating: NC 17 for consensual sex between two adult males.

Disclaimer: Nope, the characters still don't belong to me, and if they ever belong to anyone other than Konami and etc, I'll be quite shocked.

- Tracy