Twin Souls: Interlude

Title: Interlude
Series: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1495092/ Twin Souls
Beta: livejournal's incandescens, with out her this series would not be possible.
Characters: Kyouraku, Ukitake
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Yaoi, fingering, and oral. Not work safe.
Word Count: 5862
Summery: On the way back to the Academy, the Jyuushiro and Shunsui have some time on their own together, and Jyuushiro has to say what he means.

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Shunsui watched a flock of ducks flying high in the pale winter sky. The road felt hard under his feet, the air cold in his lungs, and his pack weighed against his back. He glanced at his companion and found him watching the road as they walked. They were making good time. The trip back to the Academy usually took a day and a half:,they had come up from the sea, through the rolling foothills dusted in snow, through the plains, and were on the far edge of the last hills before Seireitei. The mountains loomed jagged to their east, toothed in gleaming white, clouds ripped ragged by the winds at their peaks. Their shadows grew longer and longer as the day drew to an end.

Snow gradually formed larger and larger piles by the side of the road and in the shadows of the forest. Clouds gathered overhead, the wind picked up, and snow began to fall. Shunsui's mind wrote poetry from the sound of the wind. They stopped to put on their heavier coats. As they made their way over one last hill and saw the white-walled city in the distance, the flakes thickened, falling faster against the darkening sky. The lights of the better-built Rukongai Districts clustered and thickened near the base of the wall.

The flakes fell and disappeared into the white of Jyuushiro's hair, and Shunsui couldn't help but say, "You look like some snow spirit come out to steal my breath."

Jyuushiro smiled at that. "Well, if we don't find some shelter soon, I might start thinking about it. My hands are starting to go numb."

"Mmmm… well, we're close enough to get back tomorrow if it's not too thick. I think I saw a hunters' shelter a little ways back. Do you want to just backtrack and get comfortable?"

"A hunters' shelter? How comfortable could that be? Why not enter Rukongai and find an inn for the night?"

"Because in an inn we'd be sharing the place with another dozen people, just like at the dorm or your house. I promise I'll make it comfortable enough for the two of us."

Jyuushiro tilted his head.

"What?" Shunsui asked.

"You want to be alone with me?"

"Yes. I do."

Jyuushiro squinted into the darkness. "Which way did you say the shelter was?"

Shunsui took Jyuushiro's cool, slender hand in his and tugged. Together they walked back to where he'd seen the faint trail through the winter-dark woods. They followed the barer ground of the path and found the shelter. It wasn't much: a small building just taller than their heads, the back half of which looked like it was buried in the side of a hill. When Shunsui opened the door the place smelled of earth and the mellow scent of old leaf mold, but it was warmer than out in the snow.

Jyuushiro sighed as they entered, and dropped his pack by the door. There was a low table. Thin pallet rolls rested on a high shelf so that the mice wouldn't nest in them, and there was a stack of tatami mats as well. They put a few of the mats to cover the dirt floor, before taking their shoes off.

The fire pit lay under a hole in the ceiling, faint flecks of snow drifted slowly onto bare stone. There was a small pile of dried kindling all ready in the bowl of the pit. A basket filled with dried cattail seed stems sat by the scorched stone. Shunsui broke open one of the cattails. The seed stem was filled with downy fluff. He pulled it away from the stem, and placed the cloudy pile on the stones. Shunsui dug a piece of flint from his backpack, and pulled a sharpening steel from his sword sharpening kit.

"I'll go get some of the larger firewood and snow for water." Jyuushiro picked up the heavy-duty carrying cloth, put on his shoes again, and went outside.

Shunsui struck the flint, and sparks flew into the downy tinder. He kept doing it until he saw a tendril of smoke. He picked up the smoking mass in his own hands, so that he could blow on the tiny ember without blowing the whole thing apart. It flared to life with each breath he gave it, it flickered between breaths, and greedily consumed more of the dry fluff. As Jyuushiro went in and out, bringing more firewood and smaller branches to be dried in the heat, Shunsui tucked the handful of flaming tinder into the tent of kindling to shelter it from the gusts. He blew steadily, and the tinder caught the kindling. It flickered and took to the bigger sticks and eventually the logs, and the heat that flowed from the fire was a blessing.

"I'm glad you did that. The smoke irritates my lungs, so I'm not that practiced at making a fire," Jyuushiro said quietly. "You made it look easy, almost as if you were breathing life into it."

Jyuushiro's nose was bright red with cold from hauling in loads of firewood for the fire. He held his slender hands out to the light and heat.

Shunsui smiled at Jyuushiro and made room for him by the fire. "It is easy when I think of it that way. Keeping the spark alive, breathing for it, feeding it until it's big enough to take to the fuel on its own, it's easier to anticipate what it needs when I think of the fire itself as something alive."

They took their coats off, spreading them over the futons. Shunsui eyed the water level in the pot Jyuushiro had filled earlier, picked up a holding cloth, and ducked out into the cold to fill it with clean snow. He used his hands to shovel snow into the cloth, and he was shivering by the time he got back into the warmth. He poured the snow into the cast iron pot, hearing it hiss as it touched the walls. The snow quickly shrank, so he went to get another load.

Jyuushiro lounged before the fire, using his pack as a backrest. Shunsui added the last load of snow, and they waited until the water had boiled for a while before they poured some of it off for tea and other uses. The rice boiled in one pot, salted fish was washed and then put on a stick to roast before the fire, and dried fruit and seaweed became fine side dishes. They fell to their impromptu meal.

Afterward, Shunsui sprawled content in the warm hut, while Jyuushiro put on his coat and went out for more wood. He was half asleep before Jyuushiro came back in, bringing a cloud of cold with him along with an armload of wood that he stacked neatly by the fire.

The coat went back on the bed, and Jyuushiro surprised Shunsui by settling against the length of Shunsui's body. The chill on Jyuushiro's skin made Shunsui shiver, but instead of protesting or pushing him away, Shunsui pulled his cold friend even closer and was please to hear a quiet sound of pleasure as Jyuushiro moved to fit against him.

Shunsui sighed in contentment and felt Jyuushiro's stiff tension slowly melt away.

"Mmm… I'm going to fall asleep if we stay like this," Jyuushiro mumbled. Shunsui felt warm breath against his skin with each word.

"Might be a bit uncomfortable in the morning," Shunsui conceded. "Want to get ready for bed?"

"Mmhm."

But neither of them moved.

Eventually Jyuushiro stirred. A fleeting touch of his lips against Shunsui's throat might have been wishful thinking. "What did you think of my family?"

"Big." Shunsui paused closing his eyes at the feelings that came through him. "Capable. Thoughtful. Practical."

"Mmm… would you say they were loving?"

Shunsui didn't hesitate. "Yes. Supportive, too. Not like my family."

There was a long silence, and then Jyuushiro said quietly. "I think your family loves you, too."

"Ha," Shunsui said. "Mom, yeah, I think I could believe she loves me, even as scary as she can be; but Shonetsu and Dad? They're more about what I can do than who I am. They're as likely to beat the heck out of me as hug me, I can't image them actually loving me."

Jyuushiro simply rubbed his face gently against Shunsui's throat, which thickened at the motion. Shunsui suddenly found it hard to breath.

"I asked you before what you thought love was. I guess now I know that you think of it as a feeling. Hm?"

"Of course it's a feeling. And if it's true love…"

"… if it's true love, it floods out all other feelings?"

"Right. Someone that really loved me wouldn't ever beat the tar out of me, wouldn't tell me every little thing I'd done wrong. A real lover forgives and forgets and loves me no matter what I do, they just love me for who I am… all of it." Shunsui had to laugh. "Which is probably why no one ever really ends up loving me, and why my love never seems to last. Sometimes it seems impossible."

Jyuushiro stirred, hugged Shunsui, and got up to put two more pieces of wood on the fire.

"So you don't think I love you?" Jyuushiro asked, as he settled in against Shunsui again.

Shunsui snorted, even as he put his arm around Jyuushiro, enjoying the warmth and the closeness they had together. "You put three inches of steel into my shoulder. I hate it when you tell me what's wrong with me, but the good thing is that you don't rub it in. You let me take care of it when I can. You're a great friend, not a fawning lover."

He hadn't expected the quiet chuckle. "Well, you're right there."

"And I really don't think you'd ever go crazy over me, either," Shunsui said thoughtfully, his fingers playing gently with the silken white locks of Jyuushiro's hair. "I mean… I bet you don't feel like you'd go insane without having me touch you all the time, or that your day would be ruined if you couldn't see me."

The snort was reassuring. "Of course not."

"Good. I'd hate it if you were in love with me."

"Oh, but I am," Jyuushiro said matter-of-factly.

Shunsui stilled. "What? You just got done telling me how you're not in love with me."

"No. I just said that I wasn't insane about you, that I could and would do fine without you, and that I'm never going to tell you a lie simply to please your vanity."

"My vanity?" Shunsui blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not going to always agree with you, Shunsui. You know that."

"Of course! We'd be useless if you always did."

"That was part of your definition of love, Shunsui. But I don’t think that always agreeing is loving someone. That's just lazy."

"But I'm good at lazy," Shunsui said defensively.

He felt the body in his arm start shaking before the laughter spilled out into the room. "You are, Shunsui. You are."

Shunsui sat there, bewildered. "What are we talking about, Jyuushiro?"

"Love, Shunsui. My definition of love."

"You have a definition?"

Jyuushiro's muscles shifted against his. "Yes."

"That makes no sense. Love is… love. It's a mystery, not an equation."

"I find it to be straightforward. Loving someone is an act, a doing, not just the feeling. Feelings come and go, as you've experienced, but the resolve to do the loving thing can be as constant as the person involved."

Shunsui thought about it and wrinkled his nose. "That's weird."

The chuckle was unmistakable. "I guess it could seem so. Let me test it."

Shunsui's eyes went wide with surprise when he felt Jyuushiro's lips kiss his throat, slowly, deliberately with the faintest soft, wet touch of his tongue. Shunsui tightened his hold on the muscular arm under his hand. The hard edge of teeth closed slowly against Shunsui's pulse, and his breath went ragged at the sensation, his libido burning hot and high. He felt strong hands tugging at the knot of his obi, opening the belt and his robes, and cold, smooth, slender fingers ran along his belly, down to his hip, and then up against his chest.

"Jyuushiro, what…" Shunsui gasped as that touch moved firmly up his body.

"Doing, Shunsui. I'm doing."

Shunsui shivered again, this time anything but cold, as Jyuushiro laid a path of kisses up his front. He slid the fingers of his right hand into white hair as the slender man worked his way up Shunsui's throat again, and then those firm, cool lips were on his. His mouth was sweet and his skin smelled of wood smoke.

Hunger and quick desire for the lithe, strong man in his arms burned through Shunsui as quickly as the tiny lick of flame had burned into its bed of fluff. The strength of the feeling surprised him. They kissed hard and hungry for each other, strength against strength. The fine stubble on Jyuushiro's jaw was soft against Shunsui's hand when he rubbed one way and rough when stroked the other.

They broke the kiss, breathing hard, and Shunsui looked up to see eyes turned the color of dark jade in the flickering shadows from the fire. Both their arousals were obvious, pressed as they were between them.

"It's like my dream," Shunsui whispered.

"It is, hm?" Jyuushiro said with a smile. "The field of flowers and the grave?"

Shunsui nodded, reaching up to stroke again along Jyuushiro's jaw.

Jyuushiro's eyes closed, and he rubbed his cheek into that hand and then turned to place a soft kiss against Shunsui's palm. "What did I make you do again?"

"You didn't make me do anything: you simply made me whole."

He saw Jyuushiro's eyes widen at that, and when the kiss came this time Jyuushiro was tender, so slow and warm and sweet, he found himself shaken and on the edge of tears at the end of it.

"How can you care so much for me?" he whispered. "Why do you give a shit when I'm… I'm so…"

"So which?" Jyuushiro asked softly.

Shunsui swallowed the words that rose to his lips on reflex. Scattered, wasted, aimless… they were old words, old ways, things he'd always taken for granted. He stared up into green eyes and realized that those eyes didn't see any of that, not any more. Through those eyes he might be able to learn how to see himself that way too.

He closed his eyes on that thought, turning away for a moment.

Then he said very softly to the dirt wall. "Believing in your love is like having to believe in myself."

He heard the soft draw of Jyuushiro's breath. A touch ran up his jaw, turning his face up to see Jyuushiro studying him quietly. "That hard, huh?"

Shunsui stared at Jyuushiro.

Jyuushiro kept watching him. "What?"

"How the hell can you just accept that?"

"What could I do about it?"

"Nothing."

"Then there's nothing to be gained by fighting it. You'll figure it out, and it's not like you've ever had any illusions about having to be in love with me to enjoy being with me." Jyuushiro settled his weight back on Shunsui, nuzzling quietly against his shoulder.

Shunsui grinned a little lopsidedly at that, his arms closing about Jyuushiro again. "Well, that's true. You're just so comfortable to be with. I've never had to worry about treating you more gently because you were in love with me, though."

"You'd better not." The tone was dry. "You're the best sparring partner I've got and it's not because you're easy on me."

Shunsui laughed, relaxing. "Well, that's true. Ever since that trial, I don't think I've dared underestimate you."

"Good. If that's what it took, then I'm glad of my stripes."

Shunsui shook his head, and his hands gently stroked one of Jyuushiro's shoulders. "I still can't quite forgive myself for having gotten you into that."

"Shunsui…" Jyuushiro levered himself up. This time, rather than just lean there, he got all the way up and straddled Shunsui's hips. Shunsui's eyes went wide as Jyuushiro deliberately put his weight right where it made Shunsui gasp. "Look. You heard Yamamoto-sama, no? I got to choose. I chose to do that. It's not your fault and there's nothing to forgive."

"But if I hadn't been such a fuck up…"

"… I'd have never gotten to really know you. Never found out how strong I really could be. Never figured out that you're my brother in arms, someone that I could not only take care of and be responsible for, but someone that I could actually rely on, depend upon for strengths that I don't have."

Shunsui lay there, working that through. Finally he sighed and said, "You win."

"I… What?"

"Win. Will you forgive me for what I did?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." Shunsui found that he was shaking for no reason he could figure out.

"Shunsui… are you all right?"

Shunsui sat up and felt Jyuushiro's arms wrap about him. He nodded against Jyuushiro's chest. "Yeah, I think I am. Finally… I think I am."

Jyuushiro slid his fingers into Shunsui's heavy, curling hair, tilting the other man's face up. Shunsui opened his eyes at the touch, still shivering, and Jyuushiro looked into those dark eyes before bending down to kiss Shunsui again. He took his time, tasting those mobile lips, licking deep into that mouth, and savoring the slide of tongue against tongue.

They were both shaking by the time the kiss was done. "Jyuushiro, what are you trying to do?" Shunsui said.

Jyuushiro paused, considering. "I'm not sure."

Shunsui groaned softly, and put his forehead on Jyuushiro's chest. "I know that earlier, you said you'd do this, but that it would be slow. Going this slow is going to kill me."

Jyuushiro laughed softly. "I did say that, didn't I? But that was also from knowing that while I've had sex with another man, I wasn't the one that was… well… open for it."

That made Shunsui lean back to look up at him in something that looked like surprise.

"What?" Jyuushiro asked.

Shunsui just shook his head. "I should have expected that."

"I've enjoyed our mutual orgasms, but if you really want to have that kind of relationship with me…"

"Yes, we'll have to work on that first." There was a long silence and then Shunsui said, tentatively, "Do you know if you even…"

"Mmhm… I've experimented a little, as part of that previous experience. I like the feeling of something in me, but it's only been slender objects so far."

"Ah… have you tried fingers?"

"Not anyone else's…"

"Mmm… where's my sword-cleaning kit?"

Jyuushiro blinked in surprise.

"There's a bottle of camellia oil… we'll need it."

Jyuushiro got off Shunsui and went over to their packs, pulling out the small bundle of Shunsui's blade-cleaning equipment. He brought the roll over to the bigger man, and watched as Shunsui's long clever fingers undid the tie and pulled out a ceramic bottle.

Shunsui looked up at him. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Jyuushiro answered quietly, and knelt before Shunsui. "I would love to learn. I'm assuming you're already…"

"So polite, still." Shunsui laughed at the pause, and touched Jyuushiro under the chin. "Even when talking about shoving cocks into asses, you're as fine worded as ever."

Jyuushiro stilled. He suddenly wondered if Shunsui's crudeness was to cover for the fact that he couldn't face the emotional aspects of the whole thing. If it really was just the physical aspects of it, then Shunsui didn't have to worry about love or disappointment. It would just be rutting, a quick, easy thing that could just be written off to hormones.

The problem was challenging Shunsui to make it something more without frightening him off completely.

"What?" Shunsui asked, dark eyes narrowing a little.

Jyuushiro shook his head and took the tips of Shunsui's fingers into his mouth. He sucked and pulled those strong digits deep into his mouth to a soft gasp from Shunsui, and he used his tongue to lave the sensitive tips and surfaces of them.

He felt Shunsui's breathing quicken and he smiled, even as he released the now wet fingertips. "That should help as a start."

Shunsui chuckled lowly and tipped a bit of the oil onto his wet fingertips. Jyuushiro undressed, laying aside all his clothing, taking a few of the cloths he carried for his coughing from his sleeves. The tatami mat was warm around the fire, and Jyuushiro lay back on it, blushing a bit as Shunsui moved in between his spread legs. It was a very vulnerable position, and it confused him for a moment at just how excited and afraid he felt. It was just fingers, not that much different than what he'd done before.

But as he looked up at Shunsui bending toward him, he realized it really was different. He was trusting this invasion, this most intimate of touches, to someone else. To this very man who had been with him through so much since they'd first really met, a man who he'd shared his feelings with and who couldn't quite believe enough in himself to respond in words.

These actions might tell the tale better than the words Shunsui so easily juggled and manipulated into things of beauty.

"Ready?" Shunsui asked, his head cocked a little, dark eyes half-hooded as he looked down at Jyuushiro's hardening sex and most secret areas.

Jyuushiro bit his lower lip lightly and nodded, and was surprised when Shunsui looked up to smile crookedly at him, even as warm fingertips touched, stroked so gently against his anus. The sensation of the oil-slicked touch surprised Jyuushiro in its intensity, and he gasped, falling back. Watching Shunsui, intent and totally focused on him, he moaned softly at the push, the pressure, and then a giving-in that made him arch in surprise and pleasure.

"Oh..." he breathed. "I didn't think it would feel like... this..."

Shunsui's clean hand stroked Jyuushiro's hip, and Jyuushiro blindly sought it with his own hand. They linked fingers, and Jyuushiro moaned, undulating with each slow stroke of Shunsui's finger within him.

"Jyuushiro," whispered Shunsui.

"What?" Jyuushiro managed to gasp out.

"I... I don't know..." Shunsui said softly, and the pressure suddenly grew and Jyuushiro cried out at it, his hips moving, his breath synching to the rhythm within him, driving all thought from his head, even as his hand tightened to hold onto Shunsui even harder.

His cock was hardening with the sensations within him. Then he felt a breath against his chest. Shunsui bent and kissed Jyuushiro's nipple, then licked it with his tongue; it felt surprisingly rough. Jyuushiro groaned at the sensation. Then Shunsui's lips were on his own mouth, ghosting gently at first across his lips, and then kissing him more firmly as he moaned with each stroke of those clever fingers within him. Jyuushiro kissed hungrily back, wanting more of the strong mouth. His own hands stroked over the stubble along Shunsui's cheek and jaw, one slipping up into Shunsui's curling hair, grasping and tugging gently when he felt Shunsui moan with the touch and kiss him even more deeply.

Then Jyuushiro felt even more pressure against him and he cried out with it, trying to jerk away. Shunsui backed off instantly.

"N... n... no..." Jyuushiro finally managed. "Too... that's too much..."

Shunsui nodded. "You are very tight, white one." Then he gave another crooked grin. "I should have expected that, I guess."

Jyuushiro shook with laughter as well at the implication. "Perhaps... oh.... heavens... perhaps.... you.... should."

The warm, calloused roughness of Shunsui's free hand stroked Jyuushiro's jaw and cheek. Jyuushiro rubbed back against that touch and saw Shunsui smile at the motion. Then his hand moved on down, slid down the soft skin of Jyuushiro's throat, down his chest and belly and then curled about the root of his shaft.

In time to that internal surge, Shunsui's hand moved over Jyuushiro's shaft, and Jyuushiro let himself be lost to the combination of sensations as Shunsui bent and put the tip of that shaft within his mouth. The heat and wetness, the solidity of the back of Shunsui's throat, and the motion of that supple hand against his sex drove Jyuushiro higher and higher, tighter and tighter.

And then, somehow Shunsui changed the angle of what he was doing within Jyuushiro and somehow made his whole arousal even tighter, hotter, increasing the pressure that was building in a way that made him twist and groan with it. When Shunsui slowed at his reaction, Jyuushiro groaned in frustration, "No... I mean... oh, kami... Shunsui... please... keep doing... oh.... like that..."

Shunsui's ministrations intensified and Jyuushiro lost himself to the motions the other was making within him, the pressure building within him until he knew he was going to break.

"Shunsui... I'm..."

The warning seemed lost on Shunsui, as he only redoubled his efforts, and Jyuushiro relaxed his control of himself, and let go, trusting Shunsui to do as he liked. Jyuushiro let his body wind so tight that it finally snapped into an orgasm that made him cry out with each successive release. Shunsui's mouth stayed over his member, catching everything, and the textures and warmth of that made Jyuushiro nearly sob with each further, sensitized stroke within.

"Shunsui..." he said softly when he finally go this breath back, and immediately got it taken away again in a hot, slow kiss that tasted faintly bitter. He suddenly realized that he was tasting his own release, and he kissed Shunsui with more curiosity.

"The way you say my name..." Shunsui's voice trembled when he finally broke the kiss.

Jyuushiro fought off his lassitude, and opened his eyes to smile.

Shunsui just groaned, and Jyuushiro found it remarkably easily to push him over so that he flopped on his back. Shunsui already had one of the cloths in his hand, cleaning his fingers. Jyuushiro took another to clean himself up as well as he could, then gently started running his hands over Shunsui, who looked up at him with dark eyes.

Jyuushiro leaned down and kissed Shunsui again, with every bit of feeling he had. He felt Shunsui's breath catch: long fingers reached up to wrap about his upper arm, and others slid into his hair to bring him closer.

They lay, body on body, and simply kissed, slow and thoroughly. Gradually, Jyuushiro moved to nuzzle against Shunsui's throat, dragging his lips over hard stubble, kissing and licking as he felt Shunsui's pulse rise. Instead of simply moving down to Shunsui's sex, Jyuushiro took his time, and touched every inch of his lover, his friend, that he could. Stroking, kissing, and even licking throat, shoulders, chest, and arms; he felt more than heard Shunsui's breathing go ragged.

He looked up and saw that Shunsui was crying softly.

"What?" he asked, nonplussed, and he bent to lick and kiss away those tears.

Shunsui, instead of answering, slid one hand in Jyuushiro's hair, the other about his waist and pulled him up. Shunsui searched Jyuushiro's face with his eyes, and still quietly crying, pulled Jyuushiro close.

Trembling lips touched Jyuushiro's, the shaking of Shunsui's breath now obvious. Jyuushiro pressed his lips firmly against Shunsui's, his tongue gently stroking into that shivering mouth. Shunsui responded by pressing back with his lips, tender and slow, and Jyuushiro was pulled even closer by that arm around his waist. Jyuushiro sighed softly and the hunger he had for Shunsui made him moan softly as he started to kiss the bigger man with greater intent, his hand now roaming lower.

To Jyuushiro's surprise, Shunsui pushed him up and away. "What?" he asked.

Shunsui laughed a laugh that broke in the middle. "I'm... I'm not sure... you... you know you don't have to do this, right?"

"Of course I know that," Jyuushiro said, suddenly exasperated. "I want to give this to you, too."

Shunsui's dark eyes studied him for a moment. "You do, don't you?"

Jyuushiro snorted. "Yes. And I've been remiss if I haven't been good enough about showing you that so that you were sure."

With that statement, he sat up, straddling Shunsui's hips, and rubbed deliberately against Shunsui's arousal.

Shunsui's body arched under him, and he cried out. Jyuushiro stroked down that strong chest, and down that ridged stomach, and he bore down again, wringing another moaning cry from Shunsui.

"I'll always remember you sitting on me when they were straightening my damned leg out," Jyuushiro said with a soft laugh. "This is payback."

Shunsui laughed even as he moaned while Jyuushiro ground again against him, and then lifted his head enough to watch Jyuushiro as he moved between Shunsui's legs. "Use the camellia oil, too... please..."

"You want..."

"Fingers would... they'd be nice...."

Jyuushiro laughed softly as his fingers shook while he tried to open the stopper. Shunsui reached up and gently stroked his hand even as he took it away and opened it for him. He spilled some onto his left fingers, and gave the bottle back to Shunsui to stopper.

Remembering how good Shunsui's fingers felt, Jyuushiro went ahead and started just rubbing the tips of his fingers against Shunsui's lower entrance, just gently to start with, and as he got encouraging sounds from Shunsui, he started to rub more firmly. For a moment, he wondered if he'd be able to do all that the more experienced man had done for him, but on seeing Shunsui's body laid before him, he smiled and figured he'd at least try.

He stroked softly and then pressed firmly against that tightness, Shunsui moaned and then arched as Jyuushiro's index finger sank deep into that soft, wet heat, the small mouth almost feeling like it was sucking his finger in. He gasped at the feeling, and as he pulled his finger out and pushed it back in, Shunsui's body responded to his touch in such a way that he had to swallow hard.

"More, Jyuushiro," Shunsui whispered, his eyes tightly closed. "Another... please."

Jyuushiro pressed in two fingers, and as Shunsui's body twisted and his friend groaned at the sensation, Jyuushiro bit his lower lip hard, and using his other hand he tentatively stroked the skin of Shunsui's hardened cock. The skin was hot, smooth, and soft as silk. The resulting undulation and motion on his fingers made Jyuushiro grin. He grasped Shunsui's member firmly in his free, clean hand, and he stroked with that even as his fingers moved within. Then, remembering how Shunsui had increased the pressure of his orgasm by touching something, Jyuushiro closed his eyes and really concentrated on what his fingertips were feeling. There was something just a little firmer, right... there...

"Guh..." Shunsui's body bucked, and Jyuushiro instinctively grasped Shunsui tighter, trying to hold onto that thrashing body. He accidentally gripped Shunsui's cock much more tightly, which wrung another cry out of the bigger man and he came, thick, pearly fluid welling between Jyuushiro's fingers. His other fingers were squashed as Shunsui's inner muscles flexed and clenched about them.

Curious and remembering what it felt like to have Shunsui's mouth on his cock, Jyuushiro bent and tasted the white fluid. It was bitter, sweet, and salt, and when he licked Shunsui grunted again and moaned, so Jyuushiro took the whole of the softening head within his mouth, only to get pushed off again by Shunsui's hands.

"Too... gah... much..." Shunsui panted. "That's... Lords of Hell, Jyuushiro, you learn fast.... ah..."

Jyuushiro chuckled, and slowly slid his fingers from Shunsui's body to a gentle groan. He wet one of the cloths with the warm water, and wiped his hands, and then settled against the limp body of his roommate. "You want to clean up a little?"

"Nnngh..." groaned Shunsui.

Jyuushiro chuckled and started wiping Shunsui down with the warm wet cloth. Shunsui's eyes sprang open in surprise, but he watched as Jyuushiro gently and thoroughly cleaned him of all evidence of their activities.

"You know, I don't remember anyone ever doing that for me, before." Shunsui said, thoughtfully when Jyuushiro was done.

Jyuushiro tossed the cloth with the other dirty ones to be dealt with in the morning. "Well, they weren't me, were they? Just those fawning, obsessed lovers that couldn't see straight when you were in the room."

Shunsui laughed and pulled Jyuushiro close. "You're right. None of them were like you."

---

They slept comfortably the rest of the night through in that hut in the woods.

Jyuushiro was the first to awaken, hearing the call of a rooster in the far distance, and seeing the light coming through the hole in the roof. He lay in the warmth under their blankets and coats, snuggled up to Shunsui's strength: his nose was tickled by chest hairs, and a solid arm was curled possessively about his body. The bigger man had made no declarations of love, but Jyuushiro realized that he didn't have to: what Shunsui had done was enough.

Both in the giving and the receiving, trust given for trust, touch for touch, Shunsui had done what Jyuushiro would consider the loving things, taking care of him and accepting Jyuushiro's advances with a trust that still shook his own heart when he thought about it.

Words were easy, and Jyuushiro now understood, a little better, why Shunsui couldn't and wouldn't trust them with him.

They weren't infatuated with each other, there were no masks or lies between them, nothing where they had to appear better, stronger, faster, smarter, or more than they were. They'd seen each other through both thick and thin, good and bad, and each knew and accepted the other for all they were. That should be more than enough.

But Shunsui's admittance that Jyuushiro had won the night before still bothered him: it had felt like there was more behind that than just winning that one argument. More than just the admittance that Jyuushiro might have known what he might win by choosing to take the punishment with Shunsui. Something besides Shunsui admitting that he might have gotten much stronger in the time since.

As the light grew brighter, and Jyuushiro's thoughts wound about themselves in the half-doze before awakening, Shunsui's arm about him twitched, and when Jyuushiro glanced up he saw Shunsui's eyes were moving behind his closed eyelids. Dreaming again.

Remembering the nightmare Shunsui had woken up from before, Jyuushiro gently wrapped his reiatsu about his bed partner, lightly touching Shunsui's sides and chest. Those brown eyes flew open and Shunsui gasped, pulling a huge breath in, and then crushed Jyuushiro to him. "You're alive..." he whispered.

"Aye, I am... you were dreaming?"

Shunsui shook his head. "Nightmare... you... we..." The big body shivered all along his long length. "Never mind. I don't want to talk about it. You're here. You're alive. I... that's good enough."

Held that close to his friend and lover's heart, Jyuushiro had to agree that yes, that was good enough.