A/N: Even though I doubt I can write anything beyond a one-shot these days (if I can write at all), I still want to contribute to this year's Christmas with a Chaos fic. It's not much, but hey, I'm glad it came out okay. I hope you guys think so too. Enjoy. :)

Burn entered the Aliea spaceship with a grumpy face. The entrance led straight to the Great Hall, which was covered in Christmas decorations. Burn hated Christmas. He didn't have a problem with the ornaments or presents (definitely the presents), but he wished he could boycott the lovey-dovey part of the holiday. Even though he and his siblings from Sun Garden were divided in different ranks, Father allowed them to forget all about their mission for this one eve, and be a real family once again. Burn didn't see the use. He was perfectly happy with his position as captain of the proud Prominence, and those beneath him deserved their place. He couldn't help that they sucked at soccer and he didn't. Besides, it was disgusting watching everyone – including his own teammates – mingle. It was like everyone but him just threw their pride overboard in order to decorate the spaceship and ~have fun~ together. He especially puked mentally when he passed Nepper and Rhionne, who were prettying up one of the many Christmas trees the Aliea students had collected from the Fuji Forest. Watching members from their respective teams was bad enough, but having Nepper, who'd always claimed he hated the much despicable Diamond Dust as much as his captain, smile at and assist the enemy was plain sickening. Tch. Burn was way above all that. They were going to beat those ice weenies into the ground one day.

Burn made his way up to the control room, plastic bag in hand. Just like everyone else, he'd been assigned an errand by an annoyingly persistent Hitomiko. Thankfully for him, it wasn't much of a task. All he had to do was go into town (which, to his frustration, was also swarmed by couples) and buy some Christmas-themed CDs to play during the grand feast tonight. Most of the girls – and Desarm – were in charge of the cooking, while Gemini Storm set up the tables, chairs, and utensils. Burn guessed Gaia were doing whatever they wanted; those spoiled brats were never bound by any rules.

Burn knocked on the door, was allowed a "Come in", and walked inside.

"Here's those CDs you wanted," he grumbled, holding up the bag. Hitomiko and Father, both seated behind the control panel, took it and had a look at the contents. Burn hadn't really put much thought into his choices; as long as the CDs screamed Christmas, he was satisfied. Luckily, his surrogate father and big sister seemed to think the same thing.

"Well done, my boy," Father praised, and Hitomiko nodded in agreement with a small smile on her face.

Burn smiled as well. He loved earning a compliment from Father, who didn't often visit the spaceship to begin with. He usually stayed at Sun Garden and left control of the ship to Kenzaki and Hitomiko, even though the latter was firmly against the entire Aliea project. But even today, she seemed to have forgotten all about that. Christmas was a time for friendship and unity, leaving all grudges behind so they could face a Happy New Year together. 'Gag me with a spoon,' were Burn's only thoughts.

Soon dismissed, Burn left the room and planned to go to his own. Now that his assignment was over and done with, he wanted to avoid everything Christmas-related for as long as possible. Well, at least dinner and getting presents wouldn't be so bad. So long as he didn't have to put up with more lovey-dovey bullshit.

Just as Burn made a face at the thought, the door he was about to pass through slid open, and he stood face to face with Gazel.

Burn's ugly expression froze. Gazel mimicked it to perfection.

"Step aside," the ice cold captain commanded.

"Why the hell don't you step aside?" Burn hissed back.

"Last time I checked, I didn't make way for those beneath me," Gazel answered arrogantly.

Burn clenched his teeth. "You and I are in the same rank, asshole."

"Technically, yes…" Gazel suddenly smirked at him. "But when we're talking about an intellectual level…"

Burn's fists started to clench as well. "Are you calling me an idiot?"

"Well done, I didn't think you'd catch on so soon," Gazel said amusedly. He clapped in a mocking fashion, which came to an abrupt end when Burn seized him by the collar and even lifted him off the floor.

"You just love to piss me off, don't you?" he spat in a dangerous whisper. His eyes narrowed in fury, but Gazel's were calm and cold as usual. "It's not my fault that you're so easy to mess with."

Just when Burn's fist was going to collide with his face, the two twitched at a sudden giggle that came from behind the Prominence captain. Putting his rival down, he turned around and glared at who turned out to be little Barra. "What the hell's so funny?"

"Captain, don't you see?" she chirped, pointing above their heads. The two captains followed her finger and found mistletoe hanging right above them.

Flushing suddenly, Burn spun back to his teammate and barked: "Get out!" Barra, not the least bit fazed by her captain's rudeness, skipped off with another giggle and waved him goodbye.

"Tch." Burn snatched the mistletoe from the ceiling and ripped it to pieces. He looked up when Gazel asked him, arms folded over his chest: "What do you think you're doing? I did that."

Burn stared at him. "What?"

"It was my job to go around the spaceship and put these up everywhere," Gazel clarified. He glanced to the side, now blushing a little as well. "But I didn't tell anyone since I didn't want them to know that I'd been given such a... sissy task."

Burn couldn't help but snort. His own assignment felt a lot less difficult now that he knew Gazel had to play Cupid in secret. Despite having opposite personalities, the two of them had a strangely large amount of things in common, including their hatred of love. They thought it was nothing but a distraction, and a dangerous one at that.

"So what are you going to do now that you've been caught under that junk, huh?" Burn smirked, pointing at the other's chest.

Gazel looked up at him. "Well, you just destroyed said junk, so I suppose the kissing rule is no longer in order. But I don't see how that's a problem." He closed his fingers around the fabric of Burn's uniform and leaned in, kissing him on the lips without hesitation. "Besides," he grinned, "I'm not the only one under it."

Burn grinned right back. "Like I need a dumb excuse like that to kiss you." He put his own hands on Gazel's hips and the two shared another kiss, this time with more passion. Eyes closing and tongues touching, Gazel pushed Burn back until he hit the closest wall, and Burn wrapped his arms around him completely.

When they finally parted, Gazel noticed a trail of saliva dripping down Burn's chin, and he slowly licked it up before giving him a last, quick kiss. Burn shuddered a little under his touch. "It's a huge turn-on when you do things like that, you know," he whispered.

"Good," Gazel answered in the same tone, "because I love it when you get all rough with me, like you did just then."

"I can be as rough as you want later, when all this Christmas crap is over," Burn proposed.

Gazel lifted an eyebrow. "'Christmas crap'? Did you or did you not just share three kisses with me?"

"Hey, hating Christmas is all part of the act," Burn reminded him. "Just like us hating each other."

"You're right," Gazel nodded. They had to keep their relationship a secret for as long as possible. Who knew what people would think if it got out; their reputations would be ruined. The possibility that they'd be removed from their places as captains was terrifyingly likely. Perhaps they'd even get kicked out of Aliea Gakuen altogether, declared incapable of properly fighting a war.

But Gazel knew by now he'd gladly trade his Master rank position if it meant being together with Burn. While Burn felt the same way, neither of them would ever admit that to themselves, much less each other. But it was okay. Their secret rendezvouses were enough for now. Besides, having to sneak under the radar made it all the more exciting.

"So, it's a date, then?" Gazel asked.

"I wouldn't use such a girly word, but… sure, it's a date, Fuu-chan~" Burn teased with a poke on his nose. Gazel instantly blushed more and quickly turned around. Damn Burn for melting his frigid side. "Great," he mumbled embarrassedly, "then I'll see you during dinner. You'd better not sit anywhere near me."

Burn crossed his arms, smirking at his back. "As if I'd ever want to sit near someone from Diamond Dust. Don't push your luck, Gazel."

"You'd better not push your luck and keep your mouth shut," Gazel snapped, but Burn just snickered. Throwing insults at each other was just too easy, almost a second nature for these two bickerers. On top of that, Gazel wouldn't be nearly as attractive without his rebellious side. It was a given that Gazel shared the same sentiment in regards to Burn.

And so the two parted ways, going back to their positions as rivals and pretending not to be anything more.