Ryan and Seth had been working really hard all fall and Ryan had been forced to travel a lot so they hadn't had that much time together. At times it had been really hard for both of them and they had fought about stupid little things. Both of them waited anxiously for the holidays so they could finally be together. They had talked about Chrismukkah with Kirsten and Sandy and as much as they loved Seth's parents, they really needed some time together – just the two of them. They had spent Thanksgiving with Kirsten and Sandy but they understood that the boys needed their time together.

Ryan had decided to rent them a ski chalet in Belle Neige, near Montreal, for Chrismukkah. When Ryan told Seth about it, hewas more than a little excited and started to plan their trip and what they needed to take with them.

*******              

"Ta da!" Seth exclaimed when Ryan opened the front door.

Ryan looked at him in astonishment and closed the door behind him. "Seth?"

"Do you love them? What do you think?"

Ryan looked at Seth, two pairs of skis and the pile of clothes on the floor. "I… you bought skis?"

"Yes!" Seth said excitedly.

"Do you even know how to ski?"

"Of course! I've skied before. Once."

Ryan looked amused. "So, you've skied once before and now you decided to buy skis."

"Yes. We're going to a ski resort, aren't we?"

"Yeah but it's not exactly mandatory to ski. Besides, it's kinda difficult for me to imagine you on the skis."

"But you know how to ski, right?"

"Yeah, I got to go on quite a few skiing trips with my friend's family when I was younger."

"That's great, then you can teach me!"

Ryan rolled his eyes. `Something to look forward to.' "Did it ever cross your mind that we could've rented the skis or buy them in Montreal?"

"Umm… no."

"Well, at least people at the airport will have something to amuse them when we go there with our skis," Ryan said with alittle smile.

"Oh. I didn't think."

"So, my darling partner, how did you even find skis in Santa Ana?"

"Oh! That wasn't easy but I finally found a store that had all kinds of winter sports things. They also had snowboards… butI didn't buy them."

"You know, snowboarding might be suitable for you `cause you've skated."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I guess there are some similarities."

"Well, I can go back to the store to look at those snowboards."

"Seth, no more winter gear. You can rent a snowboard, okay? You can always buy one later if you get excited about snowboarding."

"Okay. So, what about these clothes? I bought myself a turquoise one and this black one is for you `cause you're broody and all that."

Ryan cocked his eyebrow.

"But if you don't like it, you can return or change it into something else," Seth said a bit worried.

"No, it looks fine. Thank you," Ryan said and gave Seth a kiss. Seth beamed.

********

"Wow, this is awesome!" Seth exclaimed when he opened the door to their ski chalet.

"Welcome to the Le Zürich! Do you like it?"

"Of course I like it! I love it! And there's a fireplace!"

"Ski chalets usually have them."

"Yeah, well, but that's like amazing."

"You know, there's another one in the bedroom."

"There is? Oh my God! Where's the bedroom?"Seth asked and was about to go and find it but Ryan grabbed him by his jacket.

"Not so fast," Ryan said and pulled Seth into a kiss. Ryan had his ways to calm Seth down when needed. Although he loved Seth's enthusiasm, sometimes it needed to be toned down a bit.

When they broke the kiss, Seth smiled sheepishly. "Did I do it again?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. I love you just the way you are."

"I love you too."

There was a brief silence as Ryan and Seth just looked at each other.

"So… can we go and check out the bedroom now?"

Ryan chuckled and gave Seth's ass a playful slap. "Let's go."

**********

"Did you check out the balcony already?"

"No. Is there something worth seeing?"

"Well, of course there's the breathtaking scenery and I think the Jacuzzi is worth seeing too."

"Jacuzzi? But it's winter! Who in their right mind would wanna go outside to a Jacuzzi in the middle of winter?"

"I thought I'd give it a try."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You know, the water is hot so you won't freeze or anything."

Seth looked suspicious.

"People do it all the time," Ryan tried.

"Not in California."

"Of course not , it's always like 90 degrees in California! Will you at least try it? For me?"

Seth looked at Ryan. "Oh, not those puppy dog eyes. You know I can't resist them," Seth said, pouting.

Ryan just kept looking at him.

"Oh, fine! I'll try it. But if I freeze to death, you're the one who has to tell my parents."

"Oh Seth, my very own drama queen."

"I am not a drama queen!"

Ryan raised his eyebrow but didn't say anything.

*********

"Oh, what a beautiful Christmas tree!"

"You really like it? I wasn't sure if you'd like the white one but I thought it looked really stylish."

"Yeah, it's really cool. Different, but really cool. Oh! There's also a Menorah!"

"Yeah, I asked them to get one and they emailed me a picture to approve. I think it looks good."

"It's really nice. Thank you for thinking about Hanukkah too," Seth said, smiling at his partner.

"Well, it is Chrismukkah with us."

********

Ryan and Seth were curled up on the sofa by the fireplace and enjoying the warmth and the relaxing view of the fire.

"I love this," Seth said. "We so needed this time together."

"Mmm."

"We should come back sometime."

"Definitely." Ryan was quiet for a moment. "Seth, what have you loved the most while we've been here?"

"Well, the Jacuzzi was very nice…"

"I told you so," Ryan said knowingly.

"… and everything really. But to be honest, the best thing has been that I got to spend time with you alone, without everyone disturbing us. I think that's the most valuable thing about this Chrismukkah to me. To be with the person I love the most in the world."

Ryan looked at his partner lovingly. "You know, I was thinking the same. This chalet is, of course, awesome and the scenery and all, but the most important thing to me is just being with you. I would've been just as happy at home as here if you would've been with me. Especially these past few months I've realized how important and precious our time together actually is because we've had so little, you know."

"I know. Sometimes I felt so lonely when you were away."

"Well, I didn't enjoy the hotel rooms either."

"Yeah, I know. And I do realize that you have to make sacrifices in life but it's hard. Really hard."

"Tell me about it."

"But you know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think we shouldn't wallow in the negative aspects – like your business trips – but to concentrate on the positive. We should enjoy our time together and not worry about our time apart, you know."

Ryan tightened his arms around Seth. "You're so wise sometimes."

"I'll let that `sometimes' go. This time," Seth said with a little smile.

"I love you," Ryan said and kissed Seth's cheek.