A/N: This is the first time I write a fanfiction so I'm a bit nervous about it. ^.^; But I hope you like it! Feel free to leave a review~
Burn slowly opened his eyes, feeling the cold ground his cheek was pressed on. All he could see were a few rocks and some trees behind a light fog. Disoriented, he attempted to move but the sudden pain he felt when he did forced him to shut his eyes again. Flashes of Aliea Gakuen breaking down went through his head, making him instantly realize how he ended up here. Burn, along with Prominence, were in the Fuji forest close to the Aliea base when it had started collapsing. They must have been blasted away by the explosion... or whatever it was. Burn didn't know what happened exactly; his team had left Aliea just before Gaia's final battle against Raimon. A feeling of worry suddenly washed over him and he immediately opened his eyes once again, sitting up and screening his surroundings for the Prominence members. Where was everyone? Were they okay? Burn turned around to look behind him and exhaled a sigh of relief when he saw an unidentified figure lying a few metres away from him. He rushed over and nearly stopped in his tracks when he was close enough to distinguish who it was.
His uniform ripped in some places, a few bruises on his body, and yet serene face – Gazel lay on the ground unconsciously.
"Gazel!" Burn automatically called out as he went to sit near him. He remembered now: the Diamond Dust players were with them when the incident happened. "Gazel!" he repeated, this time shaking the silver-haired boy by his shoulders. Despite their rivalry and never-ending arguments, the thought of Gazel being seriously hurt made Burn a bit concerned. As much as he worried about his own team, all he wanted right now was for the ice captain to wake up.
Fortunately Gazel started moving after a moment, a groan escaping from his mouth as his eyes weakly opened. Burn kept his hands on his shoulders, this time to help the other boy up.
"Are you okay?"
Gazel blinked a few times, needing a moment to adjust to being awake after being unconscious for what seemed like an eternity. A few spots on his body were sore, his head was hurting badly, and he had no idea where he was. He looked at the boy in front of him and opened his mouth to answer, but then it hit him.
"Who are you...?" Gazel slowly asked.
Burn, taken aback by the sudden question, froze for a moment. Had Gazel been so injured that he had trouble recognizing him?
"Gazel, it's me, Burn," he clarified, and a frown formed on his face when Gazel answered with a confused look.
Gazel didn't know who that Burn was. Actually, when he thought about it... he didn't know who he was himself. Gazel put his hands on each side of his head as if trying to force the memories back inside. The redhead had called him Gazel, which meant that was his own name... but as much as he focused, the only thing he remembered was emptiness. Darkness and emptiness.
"You don't remember...?" Burn asked when Gazel's confused look turned into a painful one. He then shook his head, confirming Burn's thoughts. "Aliea blew up. We were with the rest of our teams when it happened, we probably got blown off, maybe you hit your head–"
The rest of Burn's explanation became inaudible to Gazel as he concentrated on his own thoughts again. Aliea? What teams? Had they all been in an accident...? None of this made sense to him and his throbbing headache didn't help. He felt so vulnerable, so weak for not being able to recall anything.
"I don't know what you're talking about..." Gazel said in a low tone, staring at the ground.
Burn watched him in silence for a moment. There was no doubt that Gazel was mentally suffering a lot, and apparently it would take him a while to recover his memory. If they had been back at Aliea Gakuen, Burn would've probably used this occasion to make the other boy believe he had a lower rank – or anything else to tease him. But things were entirely different now. There were no more ranks, no more Genesis, and their so-called father had clearly showed he didn't need them anymore... and Burn and Gazel shared the same feelings towards that. Gazel may not remember, but Burn knew exactly how he felt: useless and betrayed, just like him. There was no way he could feel anything but sympathy for Gazel right now.
"I... I think you'll remember soon," Burn eventually replied, hoping he was right. He clenched his hands into fists when the thought of a forever amnesic Gazel crossed his mind. What if the Aliea meteorite had affected his brain so badly he would never recover...? Burn shook his head, forcing that image away. He was starting to worry a lot more than he should. He glanced at Gazel and spoke again. "Let's go look for the others, seeing them will probably help you remember stuff."
Gazel figured "the others" were probably the "teams" he had mentioned earlier, whoever that might be. He nodded and then asked, "Can you tell me about... what happened?"
Burn managed a small smile and started talking as soon as they were both on their feet. This time he took his time with his explanation, starting from the beginning and making sure Gazel understood everything. While they walked through the forest, he told him about Father's project, about the Aliea Meteorite, about how each team wanted to reach the top. Gazel attentively listened, eager to find out about the life he couldn't recall. But as they progressed, Gazel started wondering if wanting to remember was a good thing. All the tension and hatred between the teams, all the wrong things they had done for the sake of their father... was his life really nothing but that? But there was something else he was confused about.
"If are rivals... then why are you helping me?" Gazel asked, speaking for the first time since they had started walking.
"After that person chose Gran's team to become Genesis," Burn frowned at these words, still angry at both of them, "we joined forces to create the strongest team."
"We joined forces..." Gazel repeated, more to himself than anything. He must have been determined to prove his strength to go that far with someone who was supposed to be his enemy. No, he knew he was a determined person. Gazel could almost see himself defying Father's decision, proudly wanting to show that he was the best, stubbornly going against orders... "Chaos..."
Burn stopped walking when he heard the familiar name. He hadn't mentioned it before, so did that mean... "Gazel... you remember?" he asked, a lot more eagerly than he had intended.
Gazel closed his eyes, focusing in order to remember more. He didn't know why he said that word, it had suddenly popped into his head, and judging from Burn's reply he was on the right track. Sadly, emptiness greeted him once again as he tried searching for the memories in his brain. This was so difficult, not to mention frustrating.
"No," he finally said. "I don't... Some of the things you say sound familiar, but that's all."
"Come on, try!" Burn insisted. "You remember Chaos, and with everything I told you, I bet you're close to–"
"I said I don't remember," Gazel impatiently cut him off, stroking his fingers through his hair. "This isn't as easy as it may seem to you."
"I never said it was easy," Burn protested. Amnesic or not, Gazel's high-and-mighty tone was still something he disliked. However, this time he couldn't help but feel a bit relieved that Gazel's personality hadn't vanished along with his memories. Even though that personality often annoyed and even angered him, Burn couldn't imagine Gazel acting differently. "You do that a lot, you know," he suddenly added, referring to Gazel's habit of touching his hair.
"What?" Gazel asked, but then understood when Burn eyed the hand in his hair. He wasn't sure why, but the way the redhead had said it sounded like it was not a compliment, which only made him tighten his grip around the lock of hair he was holding. Though when he noticed Burn had started smirking, probably because he had proven his point, he let go and crossed his arms instead, looking away. Burn's smirk widened at the motion and he was about to suggest they continue searching when hefelt raindrops on his face – and not just light rain, it had started pouring in a few seconds.
"Great..." Burn mumbled, his smirk gone. There was no way they could look for their teammates with that heavy rain. And with no shelter, they'd end up freezing soon.
"I saw a cave on our way here," Gazel said, as if he had read the other boy's mind. Without adding anything else, he grabbed his arm and made him come with him. Burn was a bit surprised by the sudden contact, but walked along with Gazel nonetheless.
Soon enough they reached a cave and both boys rushed inside, relieved to get away from that downfall. It was a small cave, but big enough for them to sit comfortably – or as comfortably as they could. Both of them were drenched, and Burn was even shivering. Gazel was a bit cold himself, but not to the point it bothered him. "Are you that cold?"
"Stupid rain," Burn grumpily said, glaring outside the cave.
"Take off your shirt."
Burn stared at Gazel in shock. It was the first time Gazel had ever said anything of the sort. Was he asking him to undress out of nowhere? "W-what...?" he stammered, feeling his cheeks heat up.
"Your shirt is soaked," Gazel calmly explained. "You'll keep being cold if you stay that way."
"I'll be cold without a shirt on," Burn protested, suddenly not having a problem with being soaked.
"I know that, idiot, but you should at least squeeze the water out of it," Gazel retorted.
Burn shot him a glare. "Who're you calling idiot?"
Gazel smirked at the redhead's short temper. For some reason it amused him to see him react that way, which is why he decided to tease him a bit more. "Are you deaf?"
"Shut up, you idiot!" Burn struck back. Just as he had thought earlier, Gazel really was the same annoying person, whether he remembered it or not.
The silver-haired boy shrugged these words off and removed his shirt, proceeding to squeeze it in his hands to get out as much water as he could before putting it back on again. Burn ended up putting his stubbornness aside and did the same thing, although grumpily.
The two quietly sat there for a moment, listening to the sound of the rain hitting the ground, until Gazel broke the silence. "What happened after we formed Chaos?"
Now a bit less grumpy, Burn continued his story from where he had left it. "We had a match against Raimon. We were winning... we would've won..." He gritted his teeth at the memory. Burn was convinced they would have won if it wasn't for Gran's interruption.
"But we didn't win," Gazel finished. He could tell by Burn's expression. Whatever happened during that match was still affecting him.
"That bastard was so scared of losing that he cowardly came to stop us!" Burn spat, raising his voice and clenching his fists in anger.
Just hearing that managed to irritate Gazel so much he could almost see the scene in his head. Gran showing up to stop them, the disappointment of his teammates, his and Burn's shared anger... he remembered that fateful moment.
Burn continued telling him what had happened after that, his voice expressing nothing but disgust whenever he mentioned Gaia – of course refusing to call them Genesis – and Father. "And then I woke up in the forest and found you... you know the rest," he concluded.
Gazel took a few seconds to process all the information. It all sounded very familiar to him; he could feel how close these events were to him and even managed to remember a few things here and there. He shut his eyes to concentrate on his thoughts, hoping to recall more.
"When Aliea collapsed... some sort of light beam came towards you," Gazel softly said, his eyes still closed. "I pushed you out of the way."
Burn stared at him. He didn't know that happened, but if it was true... was that the cause of Gazel's problem in the first place? "You idiot... why'd you do that?" He said out loud. He had never expected Gazel would put himself in danger for his sake; he almost couldn't believe he had gone that far. A strange feeling started taking over his body. He couldn't place it at first, but after a few seconds Burn realized what it was: guilt. And, deep down, maybe he was a bit grateful too.
"I don't know," Gazel answered. One of the things he wasn't able to remember what kind of relationship he and Burn had. Burn had told him they were rivals, then teammates, but was soccer the only thing that linked them? "Hey... Burn," he slowly started, as if he was being careful with his words. "You didn't tell me much about yourself."
Burn raised his eyebrows in surprise. Just what was he supposed to tell Gazel about himself? His likes and dislikes? His date of birth? What's more, he expected Gazel would want to know about things that actually mattered to him, not someone he daily argued with.
"What do you want to know?"
"I feel like we're close, so I figured knowing more about you would help," Gazel bluntly replied.
"Close?" Was that how Gazel felt...? He probably just thought so because Burn was the only one around him when they woke up. Burn had never thought about them being close, but now that he was thinking about it, they did have a lot in common. They were so alike and yet so different, they could fight and then work together, just like when they formed Chaos and created their Fire Blizzard. "I guess you could say that..." he eventually said, unconvinced.
Gazel gave him a confused look. Burn's answer didn't sound like he was sure of himself, and yet he wasn't disagreeing. "What do you mean? Are we or not?"
"I... don't really know," Burn awkwardly responded. "We are, or used to be rivals, but that stopped when we merged teams."
"So we're friends," Gazel smiled. It was a kind smile, almost comforting, which brought an automatic smile to Burn's own lips. But then he slowly shook his head.
"I can't say we're friends," he admitted. 'Friends' just didn't seem like the right word to describe them, at least not yet. "We argue all the time, sometimes we can't even stand each other."
Gazel's smile was replaced by another confused expression. Was his and Burn's relationship filled with that much tension? "But then... why are you helping me?"
"Because we're not enemies either, Gazel," Burn said, getting a bit impatient. It wasn't because of the flood of questions, but rather because he didn't know the answer to them. Even if he didn't know how to qualify their relationship, he knew he wanted Gazel to remember his own life, and most of all... to remember him. Burn bit his lip and looked down at his hands. Indeed, he wanted to be remembered. In the past he had often wished Gazel would leave his life, but deep down there was something that told him how incomplete he would be if that happened. He had finally realized that today.
"Burn?" Said boy quietly gasped when the voice got him out of his thoughts. He looked up and found Gazel staring back with a concerned look. Gazel was equally confused, if not more. He wasn't sure what to think of Burn's words. Despite what the other boy said, Gazel continued to believe they had a close bond. Why else would he feel so close to him, so comfortable in his presence?
Without saying a word, Gazel put his hand on Burn's cheek and leaned in until their lips softly connected. Burn felt his heart was going to stop from shock. He widened his eyes,not understanding what was going on, but a warm sensation soon filled his whole body and made him forget everything else. Gazel pulled back after a few seconds, much to Burn's discontent.
"Gazel..." Burn brought his fingers to his own lips. The warm feeling from before was still present and he was sure his cheeks were as red as his hair. He didn't know why Gazel had done such an intimate act for what seemed like no reason, but the last thing he expected was the fact that he had actually... enjoyed it.
The silver-haired boy smiled at him for a moment until he suddenly blinked and moved away to create as much distance as he could between them, now looking horrified. His hand was covering his mouth and his cheeks were as red as Burn's, but unlike him, he wasn't thinking of how happy that one kiss had made him. Flashes of Gazel's past rushed through his mind, from his childhood at Sun Garden to his time in Aliea. He remembered everything, including the boy sitting next to him... and now that he could clearly see all of his memories, he mentally beat himself up for what he had just done.
"Gazel?" Burn repeated, frowning at Gazel's face. The boy looked like he had just seen a ghost.
"I-I remember now," Gazel quickly said and looked away in embarrassment when Burn smiled at his words.
"That's great," Burn answered, and Gazel spoke again before he could add anything else.
"I must have hit my head pretty hard. I... didn't mean to do that just now. I wasn't thinking straight." Gazel realized how stupid that sounded the moment he said it. And he knew it wasn't true. He had kissed him because he wanted to know what kind of link the two of them shared... and because he was drawn to him. Apparently enough for a simple kiss to bring his memories back. Gazel nervously fumbled with his hands, hoping Burn would leave the matter and not think he was out of his mind for kissing him.
Burn's smile disappeared as he heard the words, now feeling like an idiot for having enjoyed Gazel's lips on his own. So that's how Gazel felt... But was it really the truth? Could there have been something behind his action that Gazel himself wasn't even aware of? Could it be the same reason Burn was now so disappointed? "I don't believe that," he quietly said and moved over to the other boy.
Before Gazel could say anything, his face was trapped between Burn's hand and their lips met again. Gazel's nervousness slowly faded away and was replaced by happiness and warmth, the same emotions he had felt when he first kissed the redhead. When he realized the meaning behind that kiss, he accepted his own feelings for Burn and kissed him back, completely enjoying this moment and the newly discovered feelings that came with it. The two boys sheepishly smiled at each other when they pulled back, blushing once again. Neither of them felt it necessary to say anything to explain themselves; they were simply content in their current position.
After a moment of silence, Gazel commented: "The rain stopped."
Burn glanced outside. Despite the thickness of the forest, he could tell the sun was shining again as a few sun rays made their way all the way to the ground. "Let's go find the others."
They both left the cave, but Gazel caught Burn's hand before they resumed their search. He then wrapped both arms around the other boy, pulling him close in a soft embrace. Burn responded with a smile and placed his own arms around Gazel's waist, tightening the hug.
"Thank you for helping me," Gazel whispered, gently stroking Burn's back.
"No problem," Burn happily whispered back, returning the gesture. He blushed a little and added, "Thank you for... this." He didn't need to say the words for Gazel to know what he meant. They had finally acknowledged their feelings for each other.
The embrace lasted for a few minutes. Their smiles were still visible when they let go, and as they started walking in the forest again, they linked their hands together. Despite everything that had happened at Aliea, they both decided to leave the past behind and focus on the present: when they were happier than they had been in a very long time.