A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone! About this chapter, it takes place in a hot spring, or "onsen" in Japanese. I'm used to calling it onsen so that's what I'm doing here. Again, I have never been to Japan, so the onsen I described in this chapter might not be a hundred percent accurate. I have no intention of mocking the Japanese culture or even coming off as a complete weeaboo, so please don't take offense if I said something wrong. People make mistakes. Enjoy!

The room was dark when Burn opened his eyes. Disoriented, he took his sweet time sitting up on a soft surface, which he then realized was the bed he and Gazel were supposed to share. Once his eyes had gotten used to the darkness, he recognized the silhouette of the boy sleeping next to him. They must've both fallen asleep earlier, having been tired from their trip.

Burn watched Gazel sleep in silence, taking in a sight of him that he had to admit was completely new to him. The cold-blooded Gazel had melted into a fragile little boy, sleeping soundly without any worries. He lay on his side, his face directed at Burn, breathing calmly and inaudibly through his nose.

Burn continued to gaze at the sweet-looking boy, feeling almost fascinated by this side of him. It was when a bit of Gazel's hair moved and covered his eye that he blinked out of his trance. Still a bit in awe, though, he gently lifted his hand and carefully picked up the locks with his fingertips. He got the shock of his life when Gazel's eye, now open, had become visible again.

Burn didn't know how fast to pull his hand back, or even get off the bed. He nearly fell on his face before he managed to stand properly, and just stared at Gazel with wide eyes. "Gazel! I—that—that was—"

Gazel didn't respond. He leaned on one hand in order to sit up, and used the other to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He let out a yawn before he made eye-contact with a flushing Burn. "Did you just touch my hair…?"

"It—It was in the way! I mean—it was hanging at your nose, you could've sneezed!" Right after blurting out his pathetic excuse for a… well, excuse, Burn knocked himself on the head for not just vividly denying the action in the first place.

"Oh," Gazel merely said. It seemed like he felt indifferent to the situation, but he was in fact grateful for the darkness hiding his own blush. He took a look at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was a little after 11 pm. He had slept for quite a while, and he wanted to sleep some more, but not before taking a bath to wash off all the dirt from today.

"I'm going to take a bath," he announced.

Burn's madly beating heart slowed down upon the relief that Gazel apparently didn't intend to discuss this topic further. "A—a bath?"

"Yes." Gazel made his way to his suitcase without bothering to turn on the light. Unlike Burn, who was quite keen on light, he did fine in the darkness. "I hear they have an excellent onsen here."

"An onsen, huh…" Burn looked down for a moment, liking the thought of a warm bath himself. "I'm coming too."

Gazel turned away his increasingly blushing head, just in case. "… alright."

Burn's worries were instantly gone when he saw the onsen that was waiting for them. Since it was so late at night, they were the only guests using it at this hour, and he sure planned on enjoying the steaming hot water.

With a cry of excitement, he ran towards the open- air bath, leaving Gazel in the dust. The other boy made an attempt to follow him and stumbled: "O-oi, Burn, you're supposed to wash yourself fir—" His words turned out to be vain when Burn ripped off his towel and made a giant leap towards the bath, splashing water everywhere when he landed.

Gazel, at a safe distance, turned away his head with a pout and muttered to himself: "In over his head, as always…" Making sure to keep his own towel tightly wrapped around his waist, he sat down in the self-cleansing area next to the bath and began to wash his skin with a sponge.

After swimming back and forth in the hot water a couple of times, Burn stopped in the middle and waved at Gazel's back with one hand.

"Oi, Gazel! What's taking you? The water's great!"

"Hm," Gazel simply answered, not bothering to turn his head in Burn's direction. He took a few more minutes before he decided he was ready for the bath, and when he turned in direction of the water, he saw that Burn had finally calmed down. He was now resting at one side of the bath, his elbows on the edge.

Burn perked up when he noticed Gazel was going to join him at last. He followed him with his eyes as the other boy slowly made his way to the bath, apparently fond of keeping his towel on. He let out a snicker when Gazel touched the water with one foot and instantly pulled back, complaining about the high temperature.

Seeing as he was completely in his element, Burn made his way to Gazel without an effort. Seemingly out of nowhere, he was suddenly holding on to his arm and pulled the boy in without a warning, causing another big splash.

Gazel's body landed entirely under the surface. Completely in shock, he pulled up his head and gasped for air. He felt how the hot water got under his skin and needed some time to get used to it, especially since he hadn't been granted any before he was suddenly forced into the bath.

Once the uncomfortable heat had turned into a soothing warmth, Gazel angrily turned to face Burn, spreading his arms in indignation. "What the hell was that?"

Burn placed his hands at his sides and let out another snicker. "You seemed to need some help."

"I was moving at my own pace!" Gazel snapped. "What is wrong with you? Do you have some kind of grudge against me?"

Burn raised his eyebrows. "A grudge?" Then he grinned again. "Relax, Gazel. It was a joke, a joke."

Gazel blinked in surprise. A joke? He had never been joked around with like this before, and he had immediately figured Burn pulled him in the bath out of spite. But judging from his behavior, especially that innocent grin, it appeared he really meant no harm.

With a small "hmph", Gazel made his way to the other side of the bath, wanting to make sure he was out of Burn's reach in case he had other "jokes" lined up. He also took a relaxing position at the edge, and, leaning back, shut his eyes for a moment. He used that moment to think about the situation he was currently in. Despite having lived in the same place as Burn, he had never taken a bath with him, let alone in an onsen. Gazel preferred to bathe on his own. Aside from that, they were on the same island, in the same hotel, planning to have the exact same holiday. Did fate have a reason for bringing them together everytime again…?

Gazel opened his eyes, only to be shaken out of his thoughts right away. Burn's face suddenly found itself right in front of his, leaving a narrow space in between. Trying to enlarge that space and splashing water in the process, Gazel stuttered: "W-what?"

"Hey, Gazel," Burn started, surprisingly calm. "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

Gazel stared at him in disbelief, his heart quickly beating at its normal pace again. That was all…? Don't scare me like that, man. In an attempt to regain his cool posture, his hand moved in a swift brush across his hair while the boy answered: "N-nothing much, really. I was planning to visit the beach."

"Really? Me too!" Burn flipped on his back and swam around a little more, his head resting on his arms. "The beach next to this hotel, right?"

Feeling his cheeks turn a dark colour, Gazel quickly turned away his head to avoid seeing the wrong parts. "Y-yes, that beach. But perhaps I better go to another…"

"Huh?" Burn sat up in order to look at his face. "That's no fun, Gazel. Since we're here we might as well go together, right?"

Gazel slowly turned back when he realized the coast was clear, although he truly felt quite surprised by Burn's behavior. Not only did he act awfully familiar, he also seemed to have completely forgotten about their earlier conversation. Unlike him, Gazel still remembered the point when he had pushed him down on their bed, his eyes filled with furious flames. Where had that fury gone?

When he realized Burn was waiting for an answer, Gazel rushed to nod at him, realizing he might come off as eager about the thought of the two of them spending more time together.

Grinning happily, Burn began to float around again, talking to the starry sky. "Alright! I heard it's gonna be quite hot, though. You think you can handle the red-hot flames, Gazel?" He widened his grin, expecting to hear some kind of witty remark in response to his gentle teasing. He perked up when he heard nothing, though, as Gazel would usually reply during situations like this.

"Gazel?" Burn got back up to see what was taking the other boy, and his eyes instantly became bigger when he saw him. Gazel had succumbed to the temperature of the bath and was resting against the edge, showing no movement. The heat had been enough to not only turn his eyes into disoriented spirals, but to also make him lose his subconscious.

"Gazel!" His heart beating madly in shock, Burn rushed over to the fainted boy and grabbed him around the waist, trying to keep his head above the surface. When Gazel showed no sign that he detected his touch, Burn began to shook his shoulders some, resulting in the same response: none.

"Gazel! Oi! Gazel!"

When he realized that the heat of the water was only going to make the situation worse, Burn pulled away, knowing he had to do something before Gazel's condition weakened even further. Staring at the lifeless face in front of him, he clenched his teeth and muttered: "You idiot…!"

When Gazel woke up, he found himself in his hotel room, back on the bed. Unlike the other time, sunlight was shining brightly through the window, enabling the boy to see everything clearly. When he sat up, he realized he was wearing a blue bathrobe he was sure he hadn't put on. Gazel then remembered it: he had fainted in the onsen. What had happened after that? Where was Burn? Feeling a rush of both panic and shame flow through his body, Gazel rushed to inspect the room for his roommate, but quickly realized he was alone.

He perked up when the door to their room opened and Burn entered with a tray in his hands. The first thing he looked at was Gazel, and he blinked in surprise when he saw him awake.

"Oh, Gazel, you're awake." He took a seat on Gazel's side of the bed and held a bowl of rice out to him. "Hungry?"

Gazel stared at the food, then at the boy. "Burn. What happened? What time is it? Did anyone—"

"Wow, wow, calm down," Burn urged him, holding up his free hand. With a grin, he took his own rice bowl and began to eat, unhesitant to speak with his mouth full. "You lost your cool in the onsen. I brought you here. You slept all night after that."

"All… night?" It was the next day? The beach day? While Gazel tried to comprehend the time jump, he remembered the item of clothing he was wearing. "And… this?"

Burn followed Gazel's finger and nodded at the bathrobe. "Put that on you. You lost your towel while I carried you back."

Gazel's cheeks instantly went red. He lost his towel? Burn had seen him naked? He wasn't completely sure why, but there mere thought was enough to get rid of his appetite. Avoiding eye contact, Gazel placed the bowl back on the tray.

"Thanks, but you can have it…"

"Huh?" Burn needed a moment to empty his rice-filled cheeks and swallow his bite. "You sure? I thought you'd be hungry."

"I'm fine," Gazel lied. He flinched when Burn's hand suddenly touched his forehead to check his temperature. He persisted to look away from the boy, wondering why he seemed to care for him so much. That reminded him…

As soon as Burn pulled his hand back, Gazel muttered: "Thanks for your help back there…"

"No problem," Burn smiled, completely unaware of Gazel's current feelings. "I asked you right before if you could handle the red-hot flames, but I guess it's still too early for you."

Gazel frowned at his snicker, feeling even more embarrassed for exposing Burn to such a shameful side of himself. He probably had to consider himself lucky, though, as Burn could've done much worse than to make a single joke.

"Anyway." Burn put his empty bowl back on the tray and started on Gazel's rice. "You still up for the beach? Or you wanna rest more?"

"Oh…" Gazel looked down for a moment, having to consider that. He had turned out to still be very allergic to heat and barely managed to survive an onsen bath. On top of that, he was expected to go with Burn of all people, whose behavior he still couldn't place… No wonder he had lost his subconscious.

But he saw no use in crawling back, if it was even possible for him to crawl further back. Now that Gazel had shown such an embarrassing side in public, it was time to recapture his cool and shine with pride, as he always did. Despite everything, he could and would enjoy a day at the beach with Burn.

Feeling his confidence return, Gazel firmly looked Burn in the eye.

"Let's go."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed, and please review!