At first Furihata had not been sure if he really wanted to go. After all, he always felt a bit guilty when Akashi paid everything for him. But his boyfriend had made it perfectly clear that he would not accept "no" for an answer if it was solely for that reason. And after they had not been able to meet at Christmas since school and everything else prevented it, he had happily agreed to Akashi's proposal.

Thus he was here.

It was a beautiful winter day. While the wind was blowing coldly right into his face, there was not a single cloud blocking the sun and thus the rays of light were reflected in the white snow, which covered everything like a big fluffy blanket. Everything glittered and sparkled.

Furihata was standing on the top of a mountain and the view was absolutely breath-taking.

He could see trees, some lonely houses on the mountain and then the small village down below, looking exactly like it was told in some cliché winter fairy tales. And even if it was cold and had taken some time to come up here, he still was happy that they did it.

"Do you like the view?"

The question was muttered directly next to his ear. He could feel the heat of his lover's breath on his cheek. Smiling he leaned against the teen behind him and turned his head to look at his face. Akashi's red eyes looked down the valley in front of them. His red hair was hidden under a warm white beanie and his lips nearly covered by a matching scarf. His skin was nearly as pale as the scarf. The only evidence that the coldness affected him too, was the barely visible blush on his cheeks. He looked like some kind of an ice prince, thus absolutely perfect. But what else would he expect from his lover. He was Akashi Seijuro, right?

Noticing that he was being watched, Akashi also turned his head to look him into the eyes.

"Yes", Furihata answered. "I like it very much." His answer was rewarded with a smile.

"I meant the landscape not me/myself, you know?" Akashi said teasingly, moving his face closer to Furihata's until their noses almost touched.

"And what if I like both?" he whispered cheekily, earning a chuckle from the redhead.

"Well, I guess you're lucky today, you don't have to choose." Akashi muttered the last words directly against his lips, then closed the remaining distance between them. Despite the cold wind his lips were surprisingly warm. Closing his eyes the brunette returned the light kiss, enjoying the arms that were pulling him into an embrace to bring them closer together. Slowly the snuggled his left hand free to entangle his gloved fingers with Akashi's left.

A sigh erupted from his cold lips when he ended the innocent kiss and leaned his forehead against the others.

"I did mean it though. I really like the view. I'm glad you brought me here." Furihata muttered not wanting to interrupt the romantic atmosphere.

"Then I did the right thing." A low sigh escaped Akashi's mouth and he captured the brunette's lips once again for a short kiss.

"I really missed you, Kouki, you know? It was frustrating that we were not able to meet on Christmas. I haven't seen you for quite some time, after all. And the Winter Cup doesn't count. We barely had any private moments. And we were never able to truly relax with the matches on our minds."

It was rare for his boyfriend to complain about their restricted time together. But the brunette felt a warm feeling rising in his chest as he listened to Akashi's words.

"I missed you too, Sei." he replied, a warm smile on his lips. That answer earned him another loving kiss.

"We should continue our walk, Kouki. I still want to show you something." The redhead interrupted the silence.

"Yes, you told me", the brunette replied not moving an inch. Instead he nuzzled his face into his boyfriend's shoulder. He felt it vibrate underneath him as he heard a low chuckle above him.

"That means you have to let got, Kouki, you know?"

A muffled groan was Furihata's answer. Another chuckle was heard.

"Don't worry, love", Akashi answered in a slowly deeper voice than usual, "I will defiantly make it up to you later."

Knowing there must be a huge bush on his face, Furihata abruptly moved out of the other's embrace.

"S-Sei! I didn't-"His embarrassed protest was interrupted by his boyfriend's laughter. Huffing he pulled out of their embrace and took Akashi's right hand into his left one.

Still laughing Akashi started walking again, leading the way down the mountain again. Soon his laughter ebbed away and they walked in a comfortable silence.

"What is the place, you wanted to show to me, Sei?" Furihata curiously asked.

"You'll see" his boyfriend answered mysteriously, moving a little bit faster now.

Furihata really was curious. He had absolutely no idea where the redhead would lead him to. They were on a mountain in the snow after all. There wasn't that much more to show, right?

Silently they were walking further down the hill, following a small path barely visible the snow. Still Akashi followed it without any hesitation. He must have walked it quite often if he could follow it so easily. This new discovered fact certainly didn't help to cease down Furihata's curiosity.

About 10 minutes later a big flat building came into view. Was this their destination? It looked like a small farm house. But what connection could Akashi Seijuro possibly have to some farmer? Though it really seemed to be their destination, since Akashi walked directly towards it.

Slightly confused but even more exited Furihata let himself be led by the redhead. As they were getting nearer he could see the house better. And firstly needed to correct himself, it were houses.

The first one seems to be the one to live into. It was small but seemed welcoming. The roof was covered with snow, but one could still see its dark color. It had small white windows with deep red colored shutters. The walls were white, but one could see that it wasn't freshly painted. The door was simple and also painted in a deep wine red, matching the shutters.

Next to the house, there was a larger one, but it didn't seem like someone lived there. It actually looked like some kind of barn and he listened carefully it seemed like there was something in there.

"I told them in advance I was coming here. In the winter they move down into the village and only go up here to feed the animals. Since I knew I would be coming here with you today I offered them to do it. They agreed happily."

Like he had done it a million times before, his lover walked up to the house and kneeled down next to the door and started searching the snow. Akashi wanted to show him some animals? That was truly cute, he liked animals, but Furihata still felt as if he missed something. Curious he looked around, halting at Akashi again when the other straightened up again, holding a small key in his hands. Determined the other walked over to the barn, and used the key to open a big lock on the door, which he had not noticed before. Quietly the brunette followed his boyfriend into the barn and closed the door behind him.

On the inside it was warm, or at least warmer than outside. It was a relieve to not feel the cold wind blowing at his cheeks and thus Furihata mimicked Akashi and took of his gloves, scarf, beany and opened his winter-coat. The barn was dimly lit by the light from outside but it was enough for him to see some bale of straw in the corner, next to a huge cupboard and then some wooden walls, which separated a part of the barn from the rest. That must be were the animals were.

"I guess we should say "hello" to them first, before we feed them." Akashi stated and once again the brunette had not really another choice than to follow the other.

Now he could hear some rustling behind the wood-walls and then some nickering? There were… horses? Exited Furihata looked around the corner and really, there were three horses. One was black with some white spots on his nose and back. The mane was also black but the tail had a few white wisps. The others were brown. The bigger one of them only had some black hanks in its hair, the other one possessed some white stains like the first one. The part right above its hooves was also colored white. They were beautiful and quite impressive. The brunette had seen them before but never from this close and he had to admit that they looked bigger than he always thought they were.

Interestedly he watched as Akashi went closer to the black one, greeted it with some low spoken words and then began to slowly caress it. The horse made an approving sound and seemed to recognize him.

After a moment Akashi, slowly turned his head towards Furihata.

"You can come here if you want, you know? Masaru is not really opposed to strangers. With Momijo you should be careful though, he's the brown one with the white spots. And Satsuki does simply enjoy attention, so there's no problem with her either." After he said that the redhead turned his attention to the animals once again, greeting the other two too.

Should he go there? It didn't look dangerous after all and he was really curious. But he knew from stories that one should not underestimate the strength of these animals and he wasn't actually the best in new situation. Still, when Seijuro said it was okay. He trusted his boyfriend's decisions.

Nervously he took one step forward. Masaru, the black one, curiously lifted its head, eying him skeptically as he took another brave step forward. In his opinion in not enough time he covered the distance and was standing right before the small railing, which separated the main room from the boxes. He now felt a bit lost. Should he just offer his hand to the horse and let it sniff him first, or should he directly caress it and how would he do that? It all seemed so easy when Akashi did it.

His unspoken question was answered with a warm hand taking his own and leading it upwards. Akashi gave the Masaru a moment to react to the smell of the new human, then slowly placed the brunette's hand on its forehead.

It felt warm, and soft, but not as soft as a cat's fur, somehow a little rougher, with more texture. Furihata nervously eyed the animal as the redhead slowly let go of his hand. He could feel the warn breath emitted from the nostrils on his arm. Furihata took a moment to get comfortable, then he slowly began to move his hand in small circles.

"That wasn't so bad, wasn't it?" He heard his boyfriend's voice right next to him and let his lips move into a small smile. Silently he shook his head, slowly growing fonder of the situation.

He felt a small kiss being placed on his cheek, then the other moved left to turn his attention towards the other two horses.

It really wasn't a bad feeling. It was new and he still had a lot of respect for the size and strength of them but Furihata felt like he could do that again sometime. He liked the feeling of warm fur between his fingers, and the small noises and reactions he was getting from Masaru in return.

"When I was young I was here very often", Akashi suddenly began to speak.

"I guess I told you I still go horse-riding if I have the time, didn't I? Well, I learned it here. My mother, "his voice halted for a moment, "My mother knew the owners of this barn pretty well. In summer we always went here on vacation and she made sure I'll get lessons. It was something my father approved of because it taught elegance and supported a charismatic appearance in his opinion. But for me it was fun. I still loved working together with the horses and feeling the wind rush by when I got faster. I still love that feeling. When I was 6 years old, Masaru was born. I spent a lot time with him in my holidays. It's a shame I cannot come here to visit him more often."

Furihata had quietly and carefully listened. It was rare for Akashi telling him something about his past without him asking or it being relevant for the occurring situation. From what he told him Furihata could figure that this was a very important place to Seijuro. He felt truly honored that Akashi brought him to a location which meant so much to him. He was very sure that Akashi did not tell many people about this. That only made him feel more flustered. Furihata couldn't even think of a more romantic gesture right now. Blushing a little he slowly turned around to face the other, only to notice that his boyfriend was no longer standing there.

Confused he looked around, finding him taking things out of the big cupboard. Interested he watched as Akashi dropped something in his coat pockets and then came back to them with a big box filled with hay. Determined the redhead stepped into the area of the horses, filling their hay supplies and then proceeding to check their water spender. He poured some water in it with the help of a pipe Furihata had not noticed before, until it was full again. He then stepped out of it again and reached into his pockets, pulling two apples and four carrots out. He then fed them to the horses, lowly speaking with them and caressing their foreheads.

Furihata yelped in surprise when Akashi finally stepped over to Masaru and him and the last carrot was placed in his hand.

"You want to?" Akashi asked him, feeding the black horse an apple at the same time. The bruntette pondered, then nodded carefully.

"Yes."

"Alright" Akashi answered and then stepped behind him, taking his hand again.

"Just hold your hand open like this", he explained, loosening Furihata's fingers up so he held out his hand flat with the carrot lying on top of it. Then he slowly guided the brunette's hand towards Masaru.

Furihata felt something warm and soft touching his hand, as the horse carefully took the vegetable from his hand. It tickled a bit and he felt a few wet spots on his hand where the mouth of the horse had touched it. A childish giggle escaped his lips, as he watched the horse eating and felt the arms of Seijuro wrapping around him from behind.

Still smiling he turned around and quickly placed a kiss on his lover's lips.

"Thank you, Sei", he murmured, looking up into vibrant red eyes that seemed a bit surprised at his sudden action. He was rewarded with a smile and joined their lips again, for a longer and deeper kiss this time. He felt Akashi's arms wrapping more tightly around his waist, his own were placed around the other's neck. He slowly closed his eyes and the only things he could sense were their lips connected and moving and the smell of Akashi and the horses behind him.

He didn't know how long their kiss lasted, it could have been seconds or minutes, when Akashi slowly disconnected them.

"I still need to get them some horse food and then we can head back. I want to make it back when there's still light outside." He told him and went to take care as he said.

Sighing Furihata walked back to the entrance, not without caressing Masaru one more time, and put his winter clothes back on. The wind would now feel even colder than before because they spent some time inside. After Akashi was also fully clothed again they stepped out of the barn and the redhead locked the door again. He then put the key back where he found it and took his hand again to walk them to their vacation-home.

When they were a few steps ahead Furihata couldn't let it go to look back one more time.

Chuckling Akashi squeezed his hand.

"Don't worry, Kouki. I'm sure we can come here again. Maybe in summer when it's warmer. Then you can see them outside." Akashi told him a reassuring smile on his face.

Blushing a little from being caught on that thoughts, Furihata turned forward again.

"Maybe I will even teach you one day how to ride them. It would surely be fun." At that words the brunette's head spun round to look at Akashi somehow terrified. A laughter was his reward.

"Don't worry I wouldn't let you fall, Kouki."

That only made him blush more, so he turned forwards again, walking a bit faster. Even if I deemed it unthinkable the thought of it still made him smile. He squeezed Akashi's hand a bit tighter, as they walked back into the village.

Hope you enjoyed reading it 3