Vacation

A/N: Warning, fluff and lemon ahead!

It had only been a couple of weeks since Yumichika and Ikkaku had gotten together but the New Year was coming up and it was time for Ikkaku's traditional vacation. His friends weren't really sure where it was that he went, but he always went alone and came back a couple of weeks later.

"You want me to come with you?" Yumichika asked. "It's not because you're worried about me, is it? Because I'm fine by myself." Yumichika wasn't talking about being lonely, he was pretty sure that Ikkaku was worried about him being left alone with no one to defend him from Kenta, or to keep him from getting into trouble.

"No, that's no it at all. I just want you there," Ikkaku assured him. "Besides, its New Year's, it's time for people to celebrate the ending of the old year and the beginning of the new, I can't think of anyone better to be with. We can look forward to the new year together."

"Where do you go?" Yumichika asked.

"I think I'm going to keep it a secret. Honestly, it's no place special and if I told you, you might not come."

"I doubt that," Yumichika said. The idea of getting away with Ikkaku sounded almost too good to be true. It's not like being in the apartment was bad, but even the apartment rang with memories of parties when he was still with Kenta, of bad arguments outside while he was pulled away from friends to go back home, and of his old life in general. Yes, the new year should be greeted from someplace new, with Ikkaku. He didn't even care where it was as long as it wasn't here, here in this apartment or in this crappy town.

"You sure?" Ikkaku asked. "It's kind of rugged, and it's usually cold as hell."

"It'll be a nice change, considering how mild it is here even in the winter," Yumichika offered, although he now was secretly wondering where the hell it was that they were going that would be that much colder.

Yumichika so wanted to get away that when his work wouldn't give him time off, he just quit. He'd worry about it later, and maybe work some place where it would be harder for Kenta to harass him.

It took several long days of traveling to get there. Yumichika found that he didn't mind though. He enjoyed the mind numbingness of the fatigue, of the simple pleasure of collapsing in exhaustion at the end of the day and snuggling with Ikkaku against a tree some place in front of a rough campfire.

"Here we are," Ikkaku said as they finally made it through the mountain pass. Below them was a wide valley, a small river running through the middle of it, covered in trees. "I uh, I actually own this," he said.

"What?" Yumichika asked, shocked.

"Yeah, it was a ranch that I worked at. The old lady gave it to me when she died. It's still operational and all, not that it makes much money or that I can put much money into it. It's enough for the hands that work here though, and I come here at least once a year to check on things. They send me some of the nut harvest and some dried meat after roundup. We have some fruit trees too. I'm pretty sure you've had some of the jam and dried fruit from here before."

"Yeah…," Yumichika was a little speechless.

"Haha, it probably looks impressive to you, but around here it's nothing. Like I said, it doesn't make any money, but it's a good place to come to now and again. It would be hard to live here all the time though, it's pretty lonesome."

"It's beautiful," Yumichika said. And it was. Even though all of nut and fruit trees were barren because of the season, their elegant branches stood out looking almost black against the purple hazy mountains behind them, glowing around the edges as the sun went down. It was a stark beauty, but it was there none the less.

"We better hurry; it gets really cold once the sun goes down. There's a small cabin up ahead that I stay at. The main building is further in, we can go there later," Ikkaku explained.

Yumichika wasn't sure what he was expecting of the cabin, but whatever it was, it wasn't what he found. The whole place was very cozy, covered in handcrafted knit work, art, and woodcraft.

"I guess it's pretty obvious that I inherited this place," Ikkaku said with a laugh, seeing Yumichika's face. "It's a little…feminine for me, but it's comfortable, and there's no reason for me to get rid of all this stuff."

"I think the lace doilies really make it pop," Yumichika said with a grin.

"Is that what those things are called? It seems like a table should be ok by itself but I swear every surface in here is covered with one of those white lace things," Ikkaku replied, scratching his head.

"At least there's no dead stuffed animals lurking about," Yumichika laughed. "Or…there isn't, is there?"

"Naw, no dead animals here. There's a bunch of cats in the main barn, and some of the team have dogs, but that's about all, aside from squirrels. You'll hear them running along the tin roof at night, don't let it worry you."

"You sound so country right now," Yumichika said with sparkling eyes.

"Oh?"

"I think it's cute," Yumichika stated. "I would never have thought of you like this before."

"The country had a certain lure after growing up in the streets, but I had to get back after awhile. I guess there are some things that you can't shake," Ikkaku admitted. Plus, if I had stayed here I wouldn't have met you, he thought to himself. "I should mention a big bonus about this cabin," Ikkaku said, walking over to a small door which he pulled open. Set into the ground was a sunken closet, full of bottles. "The old lady really liked her liquor."

"Well then, since I'm a bit chilled, let's start a fire and enjoy something warming to drink then," Yumichika suggested.

"Absolutely," Ikkaku agreed.

Dinner was meager but good, and Yumichika practically passed out on the overstuffed mattress in the guest bedroom. He did wake up early in the morning thinking that someone was breaking into his apartment, confused as to where he was. "Those would be the squirrels, I'm guessing," Yumichika thought, after he woke up a little more. How can such tiny things make so much noise? He wondered.

That morning Yumichika went to the main building and Ikkaku showed him around the ranch. Yumichika tried to ignore the fact that the dogs kept licking and slobbering on him, and the fact that it was cold enough that his breath showed up as a white fog. At night, it struck him how unnaturally quiet it was. Or rather, naturally quiet, since it was the noise of the city that he wasn't hearing for the first time in his life. Even when he'd traveled it had always been on major routes, so he'd never really been in "the wilderness". He wondered if Ikkaku would laugh at him for considering this "the wilderness".

The second morning Yumichika woke up freezing and without even thinking dove into Ikkaku's bed and fell asleep under the covers clutching at Ikkaku's warm body.

Ikkaku woke up utterly turned on.

"Yumichika," he said into Yumichika's ear.

"Mmm, what?" Yumichika mumbled, burying his face into Ikkaku's neck.

"Yumichika, what are you doing to me?" Ikkaku moaned.

Of course that's when Yumichika realized something that he should have figured out when he first climb in to Ikkaku's bed, although evidentially his brain had been too clouded by sleep to think about it. Ikkaku wasn't wearing any clothing.

"How can you sleep completely naked when it's so cold?" Yumichika said, trying to ignore how very aroused he had quickly become.

"I don't know why, I usually don't," Ikkaku stated. Yumichika's hot body was pressed against his flesh and it felt so damn good.

Yumichika trailed his hand across Ikkaku's chest, listening to Ikkaku's breathing start to get deeper. When asleep he had curled his body around Ikkaku's and he could now feel Ikkaku's erection, like a hot rod pressed against his upper thigh. It was too much temptation for Yumichika, whose hand fell from Ikkaku's chest to under the blanket, to come to rest lightly on Ikkaku's cock. Ikkaku immediately moaned at the contact. Yumichika watched his face intently, loving the slight blush that was across Ikkaku's cheeks, how big and wide Ikkaku's eyes seemed, and how Ikkaku was tugging on the corner of his lip with his teeth ever so slightly.

Yumichika's hand was almost trembling as it began to explore Ikkaku's body, although to be fair, it was mostly his lower body it traveled at first. Ikkaku vibrated under his touch, responding to every caress. Yumichika was breathless as he moved, not daring to say anything else, not wanting to break the spell. There was an intense strain in their silence, but it was a good strain, full of sexual tension.

Finally Yumichika gave in to Ikkaku's begging eyes and began to disrobe, staying close to Ikkaku so as to not lose any warmth, the chill in the air biting at his ears and nose. Ikkaku gasped when Yumichika lay back next to him, naked this time. He slowly kissed at Yumichika's neck and collarbone, savoring with delight the sensations he was feeling run through him. Yumichika's hands ran over his head and across his back. Ikkaku took the bottom of Yumichika's ear into his mouth, gnawing on it gently before pressing his lips into the hollow behind his ear, his kisses growing more intense and long, small red marks appearing in their wake. Yumichika's breathing was becoming ragged, his body pressed tightly to Ikkaku to not allow any space between them, now clutching at the small of his back, pulling Ikkaku's hips into him.

Ikkaku growled slightly at the sudden intensity of feeling at their lower halves. He pulled Yumichika's shoulder towards him, so that the two were face to face. He looked deeply into Yumichika's eyes before kissing him gently, and then more passionately, their tongues combining, their moaning coming from deep within them as their bodies began to move against each other, seeking friction. Yumichika pulled away for breath, throwing his head backward as he made noises of ecstasy that drove Ikkaku to distraction. Ikkaku assaulted Yumichika's offered neck, finding a spot that made Yumichika turn to jelly and not letting up, causing Yumichika to get louder and louder in his moans. Yumichika's fingers were digging into Ikkaku's back, wanting him closer and closer. Ikkaku couldn't take anymore and held up a hand in front of Yumichika. Yumichika gladly took in his fingers, sucking on them in such a way that Ikkaku's dick twitched from the sheer pressure of it. Yumichika nibbled on the tips of the fingers as Ikkaku pulled them out of his mouth, causing them to tingle.

Ikkaku didn't need to be reminded that Yumichika hadn't had sex this way for a long time; he wanted to take all the time in the world with this anyways. Yumichika wrapped a leg around Ikkaku's hip and Ikkaku gently prodded at his entrance with a single finger, gasping when it found purchase and entered. It wasn't until he entered with his second finger that he started to move around, stretching, but also teasing, driving Yumichika further into lust with his thrusts. Still, he didn't even try to find Yumichika's prostate until he got three fingers in, and then he almost caressed it several times before hammering at it non-stop for several minutes, bringing Yumichika close to tears with his yells of pleasure. Ikkaku could almost just do that, bring Yumichika to a climax that way, but both he and Yumichika wanted the intense closeness that only happens from full penetration, from sharing a body and the close physical contact that comes from it. Ikkaku desperately wanted to feel Yumichika's tightness and heat, and Yumichika wanted more than anything to feel full with Ikkaku, to feel that slight tugging inside of him and that indescribable feeling of joy and pain that came when being entered.

Ikkaku braced himself for a moment before doing it, looking at the body below him. Yumichika was facing him, so that they could both fully see each other's emotions, both see the flicker of sensations go across their faces as they finally completely coupled. He pushed in then, not forcefully, but not slowly. Yumichika gasped and Ikkaku fell forward to lean on his forearms as the feelings temporarily overwhelmed him. Ikkaku lay there gaining his breath and letting Yumichika adjust to the sudden intrusion. Suddenly, Yumichika lifted up Ikkaku's head and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Ikkaku became to move slowly as their lips were still connected, moving in time with his lover's body as he felt Yumichika rise and fall as well.

Yumichika gave up on kissing and lay backward with a blessed out look on his face, his hands at Ikkaku's hips, guiding him gently. The look of submission on Yumichika's face drove Ikkaku even further, his movements becoming quicker, harder, deeper. He changed his angle to make sure that he pleasured Yumichika's prostate gland with every thrust. Yumichika arched his back into the sheets to gain extra traction as the two bodies moved in complete harmony.

Yumichika could feel Ikkaku's movements becoming more erratic, felt the grip on him slipping. Before he completely lost control, Ikkaku reached for Yumichika, to bring him to an end first, having to pump only briefly before Yumichika's body spasmed, emptying himself onto his stomach and chest. His insides clamped down tightly on Ikkaku, releasing Ikkaku from his last bit of self control as he too orgasmed, pouring into his lover with a gasp.

The two lay there, collapsed in pleasant silence for several moments, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"You are so beautiful," Ikkaku whispered, still gasping. "I love you so much."

"…Ikkaku," Yumichika replied quietly. "Ikkaku, I love you too."

They eventually had to separate, both sighing at the need as well as the feelings that came with it. Barely bothering to do some minor cleanup, they fell back into each other's arms and fell into a deep sleep.

When Yumichika woke up, he found Ikkaku in the kitchen, looking out the window at the barren landscape of the dormant orchard, his hands warming up on a mug of tea.

"Look," Yumichika said brightly, "You managed to boil water!" he joked.

Ikkaku looked over with a smile and pulled Yumichika towards him tightly, kissing him on the crown of his head. "Hey," Ikkaku said.

"Hey," Yumichika replied.

"You ok?" Ikkaku asked.

"Yeah," Yumichika answered. He gave a satisfied grunt and wrapped his arms around Ikkaku. "We should do that more often."

"Hell yeah we should," Ikkaku agreed.

Yumichika always looked back on that time that they spent in the cabin as some of his fondest memories. All they really did was eat only moderately decent food, drink a lot, and have constant sex. Then again, what else did anyone really need, after all? The beauty of the place was something that Yumichika would always remember. He even cherished the cold because it always drove him into Ikkaku's arms.

They would sit out on the roof at night, looking at the stars, much brighter out in the country than Yumichika was used to, tell stupid stories, and huddle in each other's warmth.

Yumichika almost wished he wasn't so much of a city boy, and that they could have stayed out there forever. But, just like Ikkaku had said, they had to return sometime.

They met the New Year the same way that the did every night at the cabin, with professions of love in body and spirit, snuggling up to each other's spent bodies afterward, feeling like they had just discovered something truly valuable, a secret known only to them.

The journey back was sleepy. They took more time going home then they had going away, neither really want to get back to "the real world". Yumichika would have to look for a job, Ikkaku knew that he had to finish making some wanna-a-be nobleman a deck and that he'd have to suck up to the man's shrew of a wife while ignoring her come-on's.

They both weren't looking forward with having to deal with Kenta again, or the whole messy situation regarding his ex-relationship with Yumichika.

"Hey," Ikkaku said as they stood on the outskirts of town.

"Yeah?"

"Let's always be together," Ikkaku said.

"That's the plan, isn't it?" Yumichika said with a twinkle in his eye.