The apartment was quiet. Too quiet, in fact.

"Culgie?" the redhead broke the silence with a shaken, scared kind of greeting. "Culgie, you home?"

Silence still.

"This isn't fair, Culgan... come on out, you promised me dinner tonight! It's not every day you turn twenty-six you know..."

He ruffled his thick red hair in an exasperated manner, quickly making his way through the small apartment at the outskirts of L'Renouille.

It was, as always, impeccably tidy, not a speck of dust to be found anywhere. "Because he's a weird person, Seed," he reminded himself. "Of course he's going to have a cleaning complex if he lives with you..."

He grinned to himself, but still couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong. Culgan was never late for an appointment, let alone not turning up for one.

"Now really, Culgan..." Seed began with one last glance around the living room. Not a soul stirred.

"Right, fine, I'm going back home to have a glass of wine to myself and jerk off, if that's okay with you?"

A rather loud coughing behind him spun him on his heel. Prince Luca Blight stood behind him, a rather manipulative grin on his evil face. "Sir Seed, I think that's a little more information than most of us would like to hear," Luca growled.

'Just typical,' Seed thought, 'Luca NEVER comes out to visit us. He had to come tonight.'

"Sorry, SIR," Seed forced out through gritted teeth.

"Forget your apologies, Captain, and get your ass inside. For both your... ah... public declaration and your cheek, you can have the job of cleaning the baths before you come to dine with the rest of us. Father wants to make an announcement of some sort. Now, GO!"

Seed gulped. It wasn't like him to be intimidated, but with Luca Blight, it couldn't exactly be helped. The man's superior bulk and venomous tongue and patented glare were enough to reduce even his father to a quivering wreck.

"As you wish, Sir. May I be permitted to go home and get off my armour and uniform first?"

"Be quick, or I might just find out that the toilets need cleaning out, too, Captain."

"Yes, Sir," Seed yelped and ran back to his own apartment. "Stupid Prince, thinks he's so much better than everyone else..." he muttered along the way. "Stupid Culgan, supposed to be taking me out to L'Renouille Ryokan for a meal... stupid boyfriend..."

As he got back to his apartment, he had trouble getting the keys into the lock he was shaking so hard. Generally, when he was in such a bad mood, he'd go to his blue-eyed superior and they'd argue and then make love, and he'd feel fine again.

For about an hour.

Even he didn't understand how he was so completely out-of-control as far as his emotions were concerned. He almost always seemed to be angry or pissed off.

"It's no flaming wonder, the way Blight treats us," Seed muttered under his breath, silently cursing the aristocratic Prince. "Always wanting us to be at his beck and call - bah!" Seed flung the door open with vigour and raged inside the small flat, taking his fitted uniform clothing off and throwing it around the house, not caring too much where it landed.

He grabbed his jogging pants and a tight black sleeveless T-shirt, and hastily pulled them on as he saw Prince Luca walking towards his apartment. Just as the Prince reached the door, Seed strolled out, tying his hair up to keep it both out of the wet and out of his face.

"Now, shall I go straight to the baths?"

"Actually, Captain, Father told me to just tell you to come up to dine. Unfortunately, the cleaners already did their job, and the baths are as clean as they can be. Solon Jhee wants you to go and help him tend the horses. Do *not* give Solon any trouble, Captain, or I will give you more trouble than you're worth, boy."

It pissed Seed off even more that Luca called him "boy" - he was, after all, only two months younger than the Mad Prince, and this WAS his twenty-sixth birthday. But he simply set his jaw, nodded, and was about to stalk away to the stables when Luca put a hand on his shoulder.

Had it been anyone else, Seed would have ripped the offending hand from its arm, but all he could do was retract his claws and turn to face him. "Sir?"

"Hadn't you better dress appropriately? I don't think that you'll last long in the stable without protection, and your horse brush," Luca said with his trademark maniacal grin.

"Yes, Sir," Seed said with a sigh and stepped back inside the house, cursing under his breath again and setting about to change his clothing yet again. He donned his riding outfit, picked up his brush and looked around the flat's interior.

Clothing was strewn across almost every spare inch of the floor, and he knew he couldn't bring Culgan here tonight: the grey-haired Colonel would first of all spend two hours cleaning the apartment before going out for that meal...

Sighing his feelings out in a single breath, he made his way to the stables at the far left of the castle, rolling his eyes every time on of the soldiers - peasants, mostly, like himself, who had been trained to do Prince Luca's bidding. "Useless monarchy," he muttered to himself as he stepped inside the warm darkness of the stable. "Sir Jhee?"

Just like in Culgan's apartment, there was no answer. He searched for the small lamp at the door of the stables, and turned it up full.

Midnight was standing at the far end of the stable, and whinnied softly at him. Selenay, his own horse, was standing next to Culgan's perfectly still steed, quiet except for her breathing.

"Hi, Sel..." Seed called, before adding, "Asshole-on Jhee?" He grinned like a kid at himself, unable to hold back a giggle. It was rather obvious that Solon Jhee had not been here recently, and when Seed actually stopped to think about it, why would SOLON JHEE, the biggest asshole in the world, be tending the royal horses?

"Stupid, stupid, stupid Seed!" he cursed himself and, just as he was about to leave, noticed something that was completely unusual. Selenay was completely ready for going out. Her saddle was on, and her reins were simply tied to the back post.

"Sel...? Who got you ready?"

She shook her mane at him as he approached, and he stuck his foot in the stirrup and swung himself up and over. Taking her reins in his hand, he pulled them from the post and steered her out.

"How about a quick ride, Sel?"

It was amazing that he felt as free atop his horse as he did in battle: he felt like he could fly. He got her out the main gate, laughing and smiling at the guards who stared after him, dumbstruck, and quickly drove Selenay into a canter down the path from L'Renouille. If Culgan wouldn't take him out for dinner, he might as well go alone.

The cool wind whipped his face and he drove Selenay even faster; they found a small town just fifteen minutes' ride from L'Renouille: she galloped most of the way to the small town, breathing hard as Seed pulled her to a stop outside the north entrance. "Better dismount here, Sel, and walk you the inn," he said to his horse, smoothing his hair down and taking the reins in his hand as he walked into the centre of the town.

People watched him as he walked, and he liked that; he liked it even more when they bowed to him: it made him feel important, as opposed to when he was inside L'Renouille and he was treated like something smelly by Solon Jhee, bossed around by Luca Blight, and tormented by his older, wiser, calmer superior and lover.

"Bah, screw them all," he said aloud. 'Well, maybe just Culgan,' he thought to himself, and smiled at his own expense. Always well whipped, even in his head. He'd never dream of being with anyone else: Culgan was more than enough for any person to handle.

And besides, Culgan had a kinky streak to rival even the masters of kink.

He had reached the inn without even realising it, and knocked on the stable door. "Anyone there?"

"In here, sir, if you please," a young voice answered, and Seed steered Selenay inside the stable. "The mare will be fine with me, Sir, if you'd like to go into the inn and make yourself comfortable," the youth said as he took the reins and led Selenay to the hitching post at the back of the stable.

"T-thank you," Seed managed before furrowing his brow and shaking his head. 'Weird day,' he thought as he made his way to the inn.

People waved at him and bowed as he walked past: this treatment was certainly unusual: people knew the infamous Flaming Captain of Highland, but this... this was just weird. People bowing before him? He wasn't royalty for Gods' sakes. So he just nodded and blushed and made his way to a table at the back of the room.

Looking around, he thought it seemed a little bit busier than he really remembered it; it was a Wednesday evening: it wasn't normally this busy on a Wednesday. "Oh well," he shrugged and waited for the waitress to come over.

Fifteen minutes later, sitting with his third cup or red Kanakan wine, his food finally arrived. The waitress bearing it gave him a small smile and handed him a note, pointing to a man sitting in the shadows of the far corner. "He said to give you this," she said. Seed nodded at her and she left.

He looked again at the man in the corner, but he was gone, just like that.

Seed shrugged it off, making a mental note to read the letter after he had eaten his fill. But he forgot about it, and went straight to dessert: he asked specifically for a single cupcake with a candle in it. The waitress gave him a searching look, but didn't deny him his request.

As he looked into the burning, flickering little flame, Seed gave a great heaving sigh and it was extinguished. "Happy Birthday, Seed," he said before eating the little cake.

And then he noticed the letter again. He drained his glass before refilling it for the fifth time, and picked up the note. As he sipped his wine, he read through it carefully.

Not that it required such a long time to read it. It only had two words written on it: Room 26.

And it was from the gentleman who had been sitting in the shadows of the Inn. What was it? Did he want him to go to the room? What did he want with Seed...?

"Heh, maybe *he* wants to show me a good time on my birthday, unlike some people," Seed mused, and decided to call the man's bluff.

Before draining his fifth glass, he called for the waitress and his bill. 2,700 Potch.

He paid and went on his way upstairs. He had to admit that he felt a bit dizzy.

"Room twenty-six... Room twenty-six..."

He counted his way along the room doors, as he couldn't exactly see the numbers properly. The wine had been a lot stronger than any of the stuff Culgan had back at his place.

"Ah, room twenty-six!" Seed exclaimed as some of the numbers swum back into view and he knocked on the door.

"Come in, Seed," a voice inside the room called, and he turned the handle and stepped inside. It was dark, but not so dark that he couldn't see; a few lit candles sparked around the room, and he stepped inside and closed the door.

"Look, I just want to say-"

"Seed, be quiet and come and sit down. You've had enough wine to knock you out," the man in the shadows said, and Seed couldn't help but do what he was told.

He imagined it had something to do with the fact that he always did what Culgan told him to, no matter how much he didn't want to: if it made sense, he'd do it, it was part of his bedroom nature.

Of course, he'd fight and argue with Culgan over what they did in the bedroom, always making it seem like he didn't enjoy being under the older General's ministrations, but he just didn't enjoy the feeling of powerlessness that overcame him when he was with Culgan was unnerving.

He wondered if it would be the same with anyone else... if he'd just be a whore in any relationship? He didn't want to think about it, just wanted to get this over and done with as quickly as possible. The thought of being with someone other than Culgan had... it had the worst kind of effect on him.

Suddenly, he turned to look at the man sitting on the bed, weighing things up in his head. If he did this, he'd be betraying Culgan. If he didn't do this, then he'd probably always wonder... what it would be like to be with someone other than his handsome grey-haired lover.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this," Seed said with a bowed head before walking from the room and heading back to the stables. Hopefully, Culgan would be back home by now. He'd probably get into a Hell's Fire worth of trouble from Luca for not turning up to King Agares' dinner thing.

When he reached the stables, he went in, only to find that not only was Selenay here, but Midnight was, too. "The Hell...?"

Seed looked around, obviously confused, and a cool voice emerged from behind him. It was the same voice of the man in the shadows. "Didn't you realise that it was all a plot, my little kitten...?"

He whirled around, now directly facing the handsome General. "Culgan! What the... why are you here?"

"Just two things, my love. One, making sure you're still all mine, and two, wishing you a happy birthday," Culgan said, the same calm look on his face, but Seed could see a fire burning in his eyes.

"So I passed your test, then?" Seed said with fire burning in his own eyes. The older man was testing him... "Ha! I know I did. You and your damned ego, Culgan. Like I'd ever go with anyone else..." he said as he gave Culgan his best smile, showing two rows of perfect white teeth. "You forgot number three, though."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"My birthday kiss," Seed replied, not feeling at all sexy in the smelly hay of the barn with two horses watching their every move, but trying his hardest to draw the General into the darkest corner by finding a wall there to lean upon, pulling Culgan's mouth down to his own. He simply couldn't wait to get upstairs or back to L'Renouille, he needed to be fucked so hard he'd see stars for weeks *right now*.

"Aaah, how could I forget?" Culgan said, punctuating his words with kisses along Seed's jawbone.

"Because you're evil?"

As Culgan was trying like hell to get Seed's riding jacket - which had considerably more buttons and fastenings than his uniform jacket - open, he smiled against the redhead's skin. "I knew that already, Seed, now be quiet. If you make too much noise, you'll disturb the horses and bring people out."

Culgan continued his assault on Seed's neck, and soon had the redhead panting as his hands finally found their way inside his jacket, immediately seeking out a nipple to play with. "Aaaaah!"

"I said be quiet, Seed, or I will need to silence you in another way..."

"Is... is... is that a p-promise?" Seed managed a very flushed grin in addition to this teasing.

"If you want it to be, my love." Culgan threw Seed's jacket across the stable, making short work of the jodhpurs and the boots, stripping them down Seed's legs in one short motion.

His own trousers didn't need to come off: he just needed to get his erection out. He knew that Seed had a secret kink of making love to Culgan when the older man was still almost fully dressed.

Seed whined under Culgan's administrations, his hips immediately pumping to the invading fingers as others slipped behind to ready him. His trousers hung limply from one ankle, that in itself wrapped around Culgan's back.

The silver-haired General let go of Seed for a moment to reach into his pocket and get the oil, and Seed seized the chance to force his tongue into Culgan's mouth, battling for supremacy he knew he'd never win.

Culgan allowed Seed the slight upper hand for a moment or so, as he had been caught off guard, but he never broke the kiss. He knew that Seed would yelp and moan like a puppy as soon as they joined, and he'd like to keep him as quiet as possible. He'd always imagined what it would be like to have the redhead, tied to their bed, gagged and completely submissive. He doubted it would ever happen, but it was so intriguing simply because Seed never wanted to be uke: Culgan just wouldn't have it any other way. Seed's temperament shouldn't have ever allowed for being taken: he was a fighter.

Culgan indulged his perversions for a second, allowing the redhead to release into his hand before he removed his fingers from Seed's entrance and thrust in with his member in its place. He had anticipated the noise and quickly picked up the pace of the passionate kiss they were sharing.

He changed the angle of the kiss so he could nibble at Seed's lower lip, knowing full well that he would probably get bitten in the process, but Seed was being rather docile. Saliva trickled down his chin, and Seed licked it off sensually before resting his head on Culgan's shoulder, allowing him to be taken. He didn't even care that Culgan seemed to be going slower than usual, but he still growled a threat into his lover's ear about slow death by many orgasms, and Culgan just smiled to himself.

"Ah, Culgan, you're going to kill me..."

"I don't want that," Culgan said thoughtfully, angling his thrusts a little differently, too, and Seed yipped at the first stroke. "Or maybe I want to kill you like this instead..."

"Oh. Kill. Me. Quickly. PLEASE..."

"Now, now, Seed, have patience."

"I don't want patience, Culgan... I want..." he didn't even get to finish his sentence as another orgasm wracked his body. He sagged into Culgan's arms and simply moved along with the older man's thrusting, his back only grazing the wall.

"Okay, my love, I think you've done well enough tonight," Culgan whispered into Seed's ear before thrusting a few more times and then emptying himself into the handsome redhead.

He lowered them both gently onto the straw and took off his own jacket, covering them with it.

"Culgan, why were you in that room?"

"I just needed to know. If you'd decided to go ahead with it, I'd have shown myself. I was just curious."

"And jealous?"

"Not jealous. I have no one to be jealous of."

"Oh."

"Seed, didn't you notice it was room 26 I asked you to go to?"

"No. Why?"

"I took you into room 25 last year."

"Oh. And?"

"Nothing, love. Happy birthday." Culgan kissed Seed on the cheek and folded Seed's discarded riding jacket into a pillow. "Now get some sleep. We'll ride out early in the morning before the stable boy comes to tend the horses."

"Okay."

"Night, Seed."

"... Culgan? I get it now."

"What?"

"Why you took me to room 25 last year and 26 this year."

"Why's that, then?"

"You don't want them to realise what we get up to; they'd recognise the smell, wouldn't they?"

".... Yes, Seed. Sleep now."

"Okay ... Culgan?"

"What, Seed?"

"You really don't think I'm that dumb, do you?"

Culgan laughed softly to himself and pulled the redhead closer to him, sleep nipping at the corner of his eyes. "Of course not, Seed. Happy birthday."

Author's notes:

A birthday gift for two great girls, Lady Harken and Elmina of "Knights' Quarters" (and, as they're twins, they both celebrate their birthdays on the same day... duh) so, Happy Pr0n-y Birthday, girls!

Rating: NC 17 for fluff, yaoi, lemon towards the end and PWP-type situation.

Disclaimer: Characters may bear a passing resemblance (in description) to Seed and Culgan of the RPG "Suikoden 2", which is owned by Konami and various others. I use them without permission, and beg that you don't sue me.

- Tracy