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“Come on, I'm sure it won't be that bad?” Hero said, only half a question, as if unsure of his own statement—a white towel tied around his waist and water still trickling down his legs, a reminder of the hot shower he'd taken earlier. “Just once—and it's good for your health, too!”
“Famous last words,” Kel replied with a roll of his eyes, clearly not very enthusiastic about the idea—argh, why had he agreed to come in the first place? He wasn't sure anymore, but it didn't change the fact that now, he was standing in front of an open door leading to a small room covered in wooden planks. And there was no doubt about what the two siblings were looking at: a Finnish sauna.
Good for your health, as they said.
More like the gate leading straight to Hell.
But Kel, despite his reluctance, thought he was strong—strong enough to endure such an ordeal, such heat that saunas were famous for. Besides, it wasn't a small shed that was going to get him into trouble, right? At least, that's what he tried to convince himself as he took the first step, his gaze wandering all around him and...
His body immediately regretted it.
It was a furnace.
Already so hot, so hot, so hot—
And there was no turning back, especially since he'd already been followed into the room, the door closing behind them—and the towel previously hung around the other's waist was now in his hands.
“Hero!” Kel exclaimed, his eyes wide. Almost in an offended tone that made Hero blink.
“Don't look at me like that, you have to be naked in a sauna,” he calmly explained as he placed the towel on the bench, then sat down on it. Unlike his little brother, he didn't have a dirty mind at the mere thought of nudity. Well—not always, at least. “Besides, wearing a cloth around your waist in such a humid place could lead to the proliferation of germs, and—”
“Ew, shut up,” he groaned, cutting Hero's umpteenth explanation short, really not needing to think about that, nor to receive a biology lesson when they were supposed to be relaxing. Not that he understood how anyone could relax in such stifling heat, however... Kel wasn't going to back down now, his honor was on the line. Yeah, sure, it wasn't a game, but he still wanted to win—whatever that meant! So, he did the same and somewhat reluctantly removed his towel, spreading it out on the bench to sit down on. He crossed his legs, though. “And now, Mr. Know-it-all?”
“And now, we wait a little before... before pouring water on the stones.” Hero gestured to a pile of volcanic rocks at the back of the room—just like in a traditional sauna, basically.
To be honest, he'd always wanted to try it. It was good for his health, and he was able to handle the heat pretty well. It was almost as if he was born for it! However, Hero couldn't say the same about Kel... sure, the latter spent his afternoons training in the sun and sweating profusely, but it was still relatively... easy, compared to a sauna session.
Today seemed to confirm this further.
Next to him, Kel was already almost melting, but he held on.
Only a few minutes, but he held on.
Nevertheless, the worst was yet to come...
“I t—think it's time,” Hero announced after a while, reaching forward to grab a ladle. “Do you want to do it?”
“... do what?”
“Pour the water over the stones.”
“... oh,” Kel said. He blinked again and grabbed the ladle he'd been given, now turning toward the rocks beside him. There was also a wooden bucket filled with water at their disposal and so, the next step wasn't hard to figure out, even without Hero's explanation. Although, he still wasn't sure what the point of it would be?
A few moments later, the stones were sprayed with water, smoke rose inside the sauna, and...
“Fuuuuuuck,” his older brother hissed, holding back an unflattering grimace, not having expected such sudden, violent heat himself. Unsurprisingly though, Hero's reaction was moderate compared to Kel's, that was for sure. He'd immediately dropped the ladle, which had crashed to the ground.
“Dude?! Are you trying to kill us or what?! It was already hot enough, we didn't need to—”
“T—that was the next step, that's all! Also, it allows for better relaxa—”
“Better relaxation, you sure about that?!”
Kel banged his head against the wooden slat behind him.
Oh, this was going to be long...
———
“I wanna die.”
It was hot, hot, hot, too hot.
Kel was casually leaning against the wooden wall, suffering.
“Kel, I know I suggested you try it at least once, but if you really feel bad, you can go ou—”
“Nope!” He insisted. “I'm not gonna lose to you, I won't be the one to go out first!”
“This isn't a game?!” Hero was genuinely confused that his brother actually saw this sauna session as some kind of competition. After all, it was supposed to be for relaxation and unwinding, nothing more. And, once again, he'd indeed convinced Kel to try, but never to stay if he didn't like it or worse, felt bad. In fact, his stubbornness was becoming worrying. “It's—it's the end of the first cycle anyway.”
“The what?”
“The first cycle,” he repeated. “A few minutes in the sauna, then a cold shower, then sauna, then cold shower, and so on—you don't stay in there for an hour without getting out to cool your body down. Didn't... didn't you listen when I explained it when we were in the car?”
The silence that followed was enough to answer him, and Hero sighed, resting his chin on one hand. Nevertheless, he wasn't angry, or even upset with Kel—a thin smile on his face, almost compassionate.
“I didn't think there were different steps and cycles?! I thought, like—it was just going into a super-heated room and letting yourself get roasted right there,” he admitted with a shrug.
“First of all, dry out would probably be a more appropriate word than roast, but Gosh, no,” Hero chuckled as he leaned to the side, his head now nestling in the crook of Kel's shoulder. Hot skin against hot skin. “But yeah—like I said, we have to go out and take a cold shower anyway, and if you really can't take it anymore, you can leave it at that.” A pause. “I don't know why you're so keen to stay when you say yourself that the heat is too much for you? This isn't a—a competition.”
This time, it was Kel's turn to sigh.
“I dunno, really—I guess it's more fun to think of it as a game I could win?” Another shrug, though it was made difficult by how Hero's head was positioned.
“Hmhm,” his brother hummed. “Do you want to stop? Like, completely, no second cycle?”
“... yeah. I don't really like it, to be honest.”
“I noticed,” Hero chuckled. Then, he stood up, his damp hair coming away from Kel's skin. “I'm sorry. I'll go out first, so you can say you won—sort of. We really deserved a cold shower,” he concluded while grabbing his towel, before putting it back around his waist.
Kel stretched and did the same, not hiding his joy at finally leaving this room.
Goodbye, Finnish cabin of Hell.
... eh. Even though he hadn't enjoyed the sauna that much, which was no longer a secret by now, he'd still spent some time with Hero—and that was what he was hoping to remember most from today. And maybe, probably the sweltering heat, too. Oh, that was something he wasn't going to be able to forget for a while...