The first thing the small group did upon being dropped off at the ferry was board the ship and find their cabin so they could store their belongings. Once they were confident their things were safe, they left the room to go and have breakfast; they had left the hotel so early, they hadn't had time to eat there.

The journey to the ferry restaurant was a quiet one, but none of them minded; they were all content in the silence as it was just too early for socialising. They passed a few people along the way, but they assumed that since they had been dropped off early because Squalo had to go to work on the way, either most people hadn't yet arrived, or if they had, they were in their rooms sleeping.

When at last they made it to the restaurant, they were greeted cheerfully and shown to their table. They grabbed the menus placed out in front of them, but despite the others looking with interest, Gokudera couldn't help but feel a little ill at the thought of eating – but why that was, he wasn't sure.

"Gokudera?" Yamamoto must have noticed Gokudera's behaviour as the taller male had lowered his menu and was looking at him in concern. "Gokudera, you're looking really pale. Are you alright?"

"…Yeah… Guess it's just too early for me…" Gokudera pushed the menu away. "On second thought, I'm gonna go lay down for a while…"

"I'll come with you." Yamamoto didn't hesitate to get up, but he stopped when Gokudera shook his head.

"No, you can eat; you're probably hungry. I'm fine. I just need some sleep." Gokudera honestly felt bad at how loyal the older male was; Yamamoto was just so sweet and only ever wanted to look after his boyfriend.

"Are you sure? I can lay with you if you want."

"No, it's fine; eat something. I can look after myself." With that said, Gokudera turned around and made his way back to their room; of all times for him to come down with something…

But at least, if he weren't feeling well, the others should leave him be so he could just hang out in their resort room and not have to bother putting himself out there.

~~XX~~

"Wake up, Hayato!"

Gokudera could have had a heart attack when he was jerked out of sleep by the fact that he was suddenly bounced off the mattress and into the air in the same split second someone screamed in his ear. He struggled to compose himself as he sat up and glared furiously at the blond kneeling by his side with his face way too close to Gokudera's – and that grin… Oh god that trouble-making grin… How he resented it…

"You little shit…" Gokudera clenched his hands into fists. He would have stuck the older male, but Yamamoto knew that, too, and had grabbed his hand before he could do anything.

"He's just playing, Gokudera." Yamamoto couldn't say it didn't bother him that his boyfriend had been about to punch their friend; Bel was childish by nature and liked to play in a childlike manner, and he certainly didn't deserve to be hit over it; there was enough going on for him as it was. "You know how he is."

"Yup~ That was payback for waking me up at the hotel yesterday~" Bel looked so proud of himself, and it only agitated Gokudera more. "I was as tired as you looked earlier, but you still yelled near me and scared me~"

"…" Gokudera moved to the edge of the bed so that he could be closer to Yamamoto. He didn't apologise to the blond – there was no need when he didn't feel remorseful about it anyway, after all – and instead rested his head against the taller male's chest. "Are we almost there…?"

"Not for a while yet, Gokudera."

"Where's Mukuro and the Tenth?"

"Mukuro was feeling a little seasick so Tsuna went with him to get some fresh air."

Gokudera groaned in disdain. "Oh god, I hope it's not something contagious…"

"I'm sure you're just tired." Yamamoto threaded his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Until that woke me up." The silver-haired male glared at Bel from the corner of his eye. He twitched when he noticed the other's grin only widened.

"He only wanted to play with you; let him be." Yamamoto's voice was soft, and it was soothing to both Gokudera and Bel; the Namimori Middle student feeling his annoyance settle, and the blond feeling comforted by the gentleness he had so seldom heard in his sixteen years of life. The baseball addict couldn't help but smile when Bel also moved closer to rest against him, seeking out the same comfort he always saw Gokudera receive.

"Hey, get lost, pest." Gokudera tried to shove the older male away, but it was useless; Bel was determined to be embraced as well, and true to Yamamoto's good nature, he received what he was after.

The room was silent as the hand on the wall clock ticked by until it showed that almost twenty minutes had gone by and not one word had been spoken. It was Bel who all of a sudden broke away from Yamamoto's arms and jumped from the bed with an excited squeal.

"Ooh~! I wanna play a game~! Squ-Squ bought me new Uno cards to play with him and Lussu, but everyone's been too busy to play with me! I wanna play with you guys, kay~?"

"Come on, Gokudera; he's lonely." Yamamoto knew his boyfriend would protest if given the chance, so he tried to stop it before it begun. "It's not going to hurt to play with him for a while."

Gokudera sighed; now that Yamamoto had mentioned it… Bel did look almost desperate for them to agree. He nodded, hoping he wasn't going to regret this; that blond little shit was unpredictable and more often than not got on his nerves. "Fine…"

"Yay~!" Bel jumped forward again and wrapped his arms around the silver-haired male. He ignored the struggling the other put up and rubbed his cheek against Gokudera's. "I knew you liked me, Hayato~!"

Already, Gokudera was wishing he didn't have a soft side.

~~XX~~

If Gokudera had regretted his decision to play Uno with the older two – which, of course, he had – he wasn't now; somewhere along the way, he had actually come to have fun; he didn't remember lowering his walls or anything of the sort; all he knew was that he wasn't feeling on edge and was actually able to feel enjoyment for once.

"Uno!"

"Uno!"

"Yahtzee!"

Gokudera rolled his eyes at Bel's childish innocence, and though he hated to admit it, he couldn't help but snort a little at how the boy had handled his win. He gathered up all of the cards so he could shuffle them next, but before he could deal out another hand, the bedroom door opened and Tsuna and Mukuro finally joined them.

"I was wondering when you guys would come back." Yamamoto gestured around him at the smaller two. "We've been playing Uno. Wanna join?"

"Actually I'm gonna go take a smoke break." The silver-haired male got to his feet. "Tenth, continue my winning streak for me, okay?"

"What are you talking about? I'm the one with the winning streak, Hayato~ You haven't won a single match yet~" Ugh, how Gokudera couldn't standthat happy-go-lucky grin!

Without another word, Gokudera disappeared out of the cabin. He still wasn't feeling the greatest, but he really needed a smoke and some time to himself to clear his mind. He was sick; he was here on a fucking ferry, heading out to some resort he didn't care about all because he was asked. That wasn't like him, and perhaps it was the stress of being out of his comfort zone like this that was making him sick.

If that was the case, Gokudera was killing to kill that baseball idiot when they got home.