[Lina Inverse/Gourry Gabriev; PG-13] This, I Promise (Part 1) Character/Series: Lina Inverse/Gourry Gabriev; Slayers Rating: PG-13 Notes: Boy, it's been a long time since I've written for this fandom. Prepare for squish and ridiculousness. And I think I might've screwed up ages, but I don't really care. Deal with it. Title: This, I Promise Author:yuuo Word Count: 5804 this part, 14732 total Summary:It'd been weeks since the Sword of Light had disappeared off to another one of the five worlds, its land of creation and, as much as Lina hated to admit it, where it originally belonged.
It'd been weeks since the Sword of Light had disappeared off to another one of the five worlds, its land of creation and, as much as Lina hated to admit it, where it originally belonged. Both she and Gourry agreed that it was better off in his hands, but he'd insisted that it'd do more good with the outworlders.
Stupid man just had to be noble and such. That sword had saved their lives so many times, it was unbelievable, and now what was Gourry supposed to fight the evil tribe with? Every sword they bought, he'd break before Lina could even come up with a spell to try to make it able to cut through the astral realm. He was just too strong and rough on swords for a regular sword to make do.
"What about the Blessed Sword from Sairaag?" Lina suggested, poking at the fire, starting one of their millions of discussions on what to do about the situation.
"Is that even still there?" Gourry asked. "That was the thing we took out that other guy's clone, right? When we had all the tiny us-es?"
Lina wasn't exactly surprised by his memory being slightly better than anyone else saw. It still wasn't the greatest, and he tried, bless him, but when others were around, he played it up to seem more harmless. Zelgadis and Amelia know better than to underestimate him, and Xellos... well, it was hard to tell with that particular member of the evil tribe. He wasn't easily fooled, but unless he spied on Lina and Gourry full time (in which case she'd kill him so he could never utter anything that'd embarrass her) he might actually not realize that Gourry wasn't as stupid as he pretended to be.
He did seem to blow Gourry off as a threat only as the holder of the sword of light and Lina's aggressively protective bodyguard. But with Xellos, appearances were deceiving.
But enough of that annoying purple-headed priest. Gourry had asked her a question, and a very good one.
"We could try to get ahold of Sylphiel," she suggested starting to draw magic circles in the dirt in front of her.
Gourry was silent until she looked up at him and saw the look of incredulity on his face. "I know you're friends with her, but you don't seem to like her being around me."
Lina scowled, throwing the stick she was doodling with into the fire. "Naw, not anymore," she said. "I've heard rumors that she's been with Prince Phil a lot. They'd get along, and it'd be weird, but it'd give Amelia more family to love. I'd be happy for them." Then she gave Gourry a dirty look. "And I'm not jealous. I know better. I just don't like it when she gets grabby with you."
"Which is jealousy."
"Is not," Lina argued. "I just don't like that I can't say something, because we're pretending."
Gourry sat back, his arms propping him up like he was leaning back in a comfortable chair. "And whose idea was that?"
"Both of ours," Lina snapped. "Don't act like I'm alone in this, jellyfish for brains."
Gourry grinned. "You say such sweet nothings, Lina.,"
"You frustrate me into them," She said, wishing she hadn't tossed that stick into the fire. "But okay, maybe the Blessed Blade is out. Your turn."
Gourry leaned forward, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his palm, elbow on his thigh. "Well, I know she scares you, but what about your sister?"
Lina recoiled. "Wh- what about my sister?" she demanded, completely willing to admit to the fear the very thought of returning to Zefielia caused. "She's not a sword."
"No, but she's the Knight of Ceiphied," Gourry pointed out. "Maybe she'd have an idea of where a good sword would be. Or maybe how to make a regular one not break on me."
She stared at him, her face scrunched up into an angry pout. He had a point. A very good point. Of any person in this world who'd know of a sword or how to make an acceptable sword, it'd be her sister. And maybe her sister would let her come home temporarily to ask about it after she obeyed the order to 'shut up and do it' when Filia approached her about saving the world. That was a bargaining chip to keep her skin attached to her body, right?
Then there was her parents. Mom would be annoyed that she'd be bringing a man home with no grandbabies in sight, and her dad would be out of his mind with wanting to bond with his 'future son-in-law', because to them, it was inconceivable that Lina might just be traveling with a male friend.
Which was her own fault, given how much she played up her virgin virtue. Coming home with Gourry in tow would probably make it hard to keep up that appearance.
On the other hand, her virginal virtue had kinda been left behind about the time they parted from the others after Martina and Zangulus's wedding. They were still careful about who knew and when it was safe to share a bed, but her parents weren't going to be as easily fooled as Amelia and Zel were. Martina'd probably see right through them.
Yet another reason to never go visiting her. She didn't need the gossip mill spinning.
"Lina?"
Her fear of her sister and the headache her parents posed aside, she just couldn't argue it. Gourry needed a good sword too much.
And maybe it was about time she took him to meet her family anyway.
"Fine," she said, wrapping her arms around herself and drawing her knees to her chest. "But I'm hiding behind you when my sister sees us. You can play the good bodyguard for once and save me from certain death."
Gourry's eyebrows raised. "You really are terrified of her. What'd you do to piss her off?"
She squinted at him. "What makes you think it was my fault?"
"It always is."
Lina grabbed a handful of dirt and flung it at him for lack of anything else in reach to use. "Jellyfish."
He laughed, pretending that any of that dirt actually made it across the fire to hit him, turning slightly with a hand up to shield his eyes from all that dirt that just got lost to the flames of their campfire. "You didn't answer the question."
When Gourry decided he wanted to know about something, he was like a dog with a bone, so she may as well 'fess up, she decided. "Things were tough for us, growing up," she said. "Luna had to take a part time job as a waitress. I uh. Decided to help out. Luna didn't like my idea of helping out."
"Which was?"
"Projecting images of her bathing."
Gourry put his hands over his eyes, "No wonder her letter was so testy," he grumbled. "So are we even safe going back there to ask?"
Lina waffled about that a bit. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I mean, when I ran instead of facing the music, she was still pretty mad. But I know she'd never hate me, so I'm pretty sure she'd help." She scowled. "Especially if she knew about us." She muttered a few obscenities under her breath. "Not that Mom and Dad won't make assumptions anyway." She sighed. "You know that going to my home means that we may lose our claim to secrecy, right?"
Gourry shrugged. "I know. But if even you won't mess with your sister, I can't see anyone who'd mess with her or us getting told, either. I mean, if your family respects you, they'd keep quiet if we asked, wouldn't they?"
Lina wasn't sure which was better- when Gourry acted ten times dumber than he was, or when he wasn't acting and was annoyingly right about a lot of things. Usually things related to her. Guess that was what happened when two people spend three years in constant company with each other.
Lina rocked back and forth a bit, then shook her head with a faint smile. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. It'd make her parents happy, and maybe her mom would have an idea to their problem that led them to keep things on the low down. Lina's paranoid nature hadn't let her find anything herself.
"All right," she finally said. Then she looked up at Gourry through her lashes, grateful that the heat of the fire probably already had her face red enough to match her hair. "You realize they may try to send us off with inheriting their wedding rights, right?"
Gourry looked thoughtful, and Lina flushed harder, butterflies doing an aerial dance in her stomach. Oh, please don't say no to that. As far as Lina was concerned, that'd put a big rift in their relationship. She'd understand if he wasn't ready- she wasn't entirely sure she was ready herself -but turning down what was essentially marriage after already vowing to stick to her side like glue just felt awkward. If anyone knew they'd been together under their noses all this time, and Gourry had turned her down, she knew Gourry would be getting a lot of grief.
And she made no promises for what Luna might do to him before they left.
For the sake of sanity, Gourry, say yes.
After a few more seconds, Gourry shrugged, grinning widely over the fire at her. "I guess it wouldn't be too bad. Just as long as you don't try to pawn them or something."
Lina flung another pile of dirt at him. "Jellyfish for brains," she grumbled. "Like I'd pawn the most sentimental inheritance I have from my family." Or her own wedding ring, if her parents pulled what she suspected they'd pull. "I can't believe you'd actually think that of me."
Gourry laughed. "I don't," he said. "But that look was worth it."
Another pile of dirt made its way across the flames. "Jerk." She took off her shoulder pads and cape. "Get over here, it's cold out and that fire's gonna die before we wake up." They were far off the beaten path, giving them a bit more privacy, privacy she intended on taking advantage of.
"You're the boss, Lina," he said with absolutely no protest.
The night wasn't so cold that night.
***
The morning was chilly, but back in her clothes and under her warm cape with Gourry's body heat at her back, it wasn't as bad as it could've been. She yawned, then glanced back over her shoulder to see if Gourry was awake yet or not.
He didn't seem to be, and the temptation to just snuggle back against him and go back to sleep while longer was tempting, but she was hungry, first and foremost, and also important was a need to get some time to herself that didn't involve just squatting behind a tree. Last night it'd been said, but actually thinking about the implications of the two of them accepting her parents' rings, if they were offered, was something she needed to process on her own. And knowing Gourry, he probably could do with a few minutes for himself, too.
So, with great care, she untangled herself from his embrace and the mess of her cape and got up to stretch.
"Mph." Gourry opened his eyes, sleep crusting them half shut. "Where're you goin'?"
"Fish," Lina said. "I hear a stream. Besides, I wanna clean up."
Gourry grunted. "I'm tired of fish, Lina," he whined sounding half her age, much less his own.
Knowing that 'tired of fish' while in wooded areas meant 'I want to trap a rabbit', Lina waved him off. "Fine, go set up those snares of yours," she said. "I still wanna go clean up."
He peered up at her, and she recognized the flirty look on his face. "If you wait, I can set up the snares and get cleaned up too."
She couldn't begin to say how tempting that was. They so rarely had so much time with this level of privacy, it really wasn't easy to not take advantage of it.
But she still needed a few minutes.
"If you can set those snares fast enough, sure," she said, knowing that at least that much would give her time. "But if you aren't quick, you're just outta luck."
"Tease."
"All part of my virtue," she said with a bright smile.
"Hmph. Some virtue you showed last night."
She nudged him with her foot, kicking him partway out from under her cape. "Go set up those snares. I'm going to go clean up before breakfast is ready."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, setting aside the rest of the cape with a stretch and a yawn to make Lina jealous.
While he dug into his pack to get his knife to set up those snares, Lina wandered off in the direction that stream she was hearing.
It took awhile, far longer than she figured it would, which would give Gourry too much chance to catch up and ruin her thinking time with things that made her distinctly unable to think much. But she found it. It wasn't big, not in width anyway, but the bank was high, and the water looked deep. Good, a good submersing instead of just washing herself with a wet piece of clothing was what she wanted.
She stripped, leaving her clothes as low on the bank as she could, in case she had to dress in haste, then slipped down into the stream. It was frigid, and since it was moving water, her spells wouldn't do much to fix that, so she suffered through it, ducking down into the water up to her chin. It wouldn't do much to hide her, and she was absolutely dead certain that if Gourry joined her before she got dressed, he would, aside from seducing her, start off by making a remark about what cold water did to certain parts of her anatomy.
She'd have to toss a fireball past his head for that. As a warning shot. Maybe it'd warm some of the water coming her way.
Keeping to the bank, Lina began washing her hair, ducking down enough to get the water over her scalp, scrubbing the dried sweat from the night before away.
Marriage.
Oh boy, was that a loaded word. She'd wanted it some day, always had, but it was actually potentially staring her in the face now, and she really wasn't opposed to it. Her lifestyle made keeping a ring on her finger impractical, but it could be worn on a chain under her shirt. Same with Gourry, since wielding a sword with a ring on your finger wasn't the most comfortable. If things were agreed upon like they might be, she'd suggest that to him. Better than risking losing those rings.
But there was the chance her parents wouldn't push the issue beyond some completely in-character protests in favor of it. Especially if she asked it be left alone.
She wasn't sure she wanted it to be left alone. And Gourry hadn't seemed against it, although she realized his agreement wasn't as enthusiastic as she wanted to such a proposal. Which is exactly what that had been- a proposal.
"Oi, Lina!"
Speak of the devil, and his voice appears from somewhere in the direction of camp. "Where'd you go?"
"To clean up, you twit!" she called back. "The bank's high, watch your footing."
He appeared over the top of the bank after a few heartbeats, and without a single lewd word or look, carefully clambered down to join her. She rested her arms on the ground at the edge of the water, pressed against it and not giving a show. She knew damn well that unless he turned out to not be in the mood, those snares weren't going to get checked that quickly, and she didn't mind.
But she wished she'd had a bit more thinking time. Although at that point, further thinking required further questioning of Gourry, and watching him strip took her mind to something far more immediately important than talking him into confused circles.
"Did you build the fire back up?" she asked as he slipped into the water beside her.
"Not yet," he said, wrapping his arms around himself. "Brr, this water's cold."
"Welcome to my anguish," she said. "It's running water, I can't warm it up, before you even ask."
"Well, okay, I was going to ask, but yeah, that warm water would go right past us."
She shook her head, stepping over to try to share what body heat the water was letting her have to warm him up a bit. "It would. Turn around, I'll get your hair for you."
Cleaning his hair was not the only thing she did to him, but the cold water discouraged further play, and they shivered their way into their clothing as fast as they could and headed back for their campsite. Lina brought the fire back to life while Gourry went around to those snares. Her stomach hoped he caught a lot, or else she was going back to that stream for fish.
What he caught was sufficient, but nowhere near what she preferred, but as long as she didn't use up a lot of energy on spells between there and the nearest restaurant, it'd do.
Her stomach was much happier when they found a town that evening, a town big enough to have an inn with a big kitchen. Good. Much better. She still had to talk to Gourry, and after checking in for two rooms (just in case they ran into someone they knew) they settled down at a table and started ordering the entirety of the menu, between the two of them. Double portions of everything.
The only time one could argue there was severe discord in their relationship was when there was food and they were as busy stealing from each other as they were with their own food. Food was serious business for them, nothing to laugh at, nothing to be playful about, a battle of life and death to make their stomachs happy.
Food was very serious business for them.
Lina tried to yank a fish away from Gourry, one end clenched between her teeth and the other between his. "Gimme!" she demanded without letting loose her grip.
"No!" His teeth didn't loosen to let her win that one either. He grabbed hsi fork and stabbed at the end near her mouth, tearing the meat loose until she was left with just what was in her mouth and he swallowed the rest of the fish triumphantly.
She stole his last meatball for that.
They relaxed back with drinks after their plates were carried away by a pair of horrified waitresses - oh what, had they never seen how much a sorceress has to eat with her heightened metabolism? Why did they always act like that?
Drinks were accompanied by a game of cards, which Gourry actually won as much as he lost. Lina was luckier (and may or may not cheat on rare occasion), but Gourry was observant, and people all too easily underestimated just how much mental talent went into controlling a sword the way Gourry did. Even Zel seemed to let that one slip by him. Gourry's facade of being stupider than a pile of bricks was a convincing one.
He was still stupid, just not as stupid as he pretended to be.
After a few rounds that left them both with an equal number of wins and losses, bedtime was declared and they both tromped up the stairs to their respective rooms.
They both really wished they could just share one room openly, but for now, they had their reasons.
So into her own room Lina went, changing into her nightgown. She turned the knob on her oil lamp next to her bed low, letting in just a bit of light. They had an arrangement, when things seemed safe, that they'd both keep their lights low so they could easier watch for lights turning out in the hallways and other rooms around them before one or the other of them slipped over to the other's room.
It made her feel like a thief, stealing that precious time, and so many times she wished she could just openly go to his room so they could have a night of just holding each other in sleep without feeling pressure to take as much advantage of the privacy as possible. A hidden relationship between an eighteen year old woman and a twenty-five year old man led towards lots of love play when privacy was allowed.
But tonight, Gourry had to answer a couple of very important questions before she'd let anything happen.
Like a better answer to a proposal. That'd be just spiffy.
Once the hallway was dark beyond a tiny glow next door, Lina smothered her light, giving Gourry the sign that she was coming over to his room. Her door opened without a sound as she peeked out down both sides of the hall, and towards the stairs that led to the downstairs.
The place was dark, everyone gone to bed. Everyone but Gourry, his room next to hers with a faint light glowing under the door crack.
Shutting the door as silent as a shadow, Lina left her room completely and slipped into Gourry's room, the door opened and shut just as quiet as her own.
Gourry was relaxed back on his bed in his ridiculous green pajamas with the jellyfish floating around on them.
Hopeless. She blamed herself for his weird affection for jellyfish.
She hadn't done more than close the door before he tilted his head, giving her a scrutinizing look. "You have something on your mind," he said in a hushed voice.
"Mm." She took in a deep breath, desperate to calm her nerves, then walked over to the bed. He scooted over to give her room, but she turned it down, choosing to climb over him until she was straddling his hips, her torso pinning him down to the bed. She laid her chin on her hands, face inches from his.
Gourry moved his head to examine the length of her body on top of his, then back to look her in the eye. "Okay, so you have more than one something on your mind."
She made that noncommital noise again, then turned her head to lay her cheek down on her hands, closing her eyes and breathing in the scent of him, listening to his breaths, listening to his heartbeat under her hands. She wished she could stay like that, wished she could do more to raise that steady heartbeat to something far more unsteady, but this conversation had to happen first.
Gourry was patient with her, leaving her be except to wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly. Smart Gourry. Keep your mouth shut, Gourry. "What's wrong?"
Or not.
She lifted her head, steeling her nerves and banishing the butterflies in her stomach. "You remember what I said last night, about my parents' wedding rings?"
Gourry didn't even pretend to not remember. The conversation was too serious for his games. "Yeah."
Well, he remembered, but either he was being really stupid and playing games, or he was being actually stupid and not following her line of thought. He usually could, but he didn't seem to be this time, or if he did, he was letting her control the conversation.
For once, she wished he'd speak up first. It'd make that desert in her mouth not so dry. "You realize that was a proposal, right? And your answer was lacking in enthusiasm."
His smile at that was warm, like a sunbeam and she was a cat, ready to curl up under its warmth and never leave. "I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't sure how serious you were. We've never talked about it before."
Butterflies, please go away. "So that's a yes?"
He lifted his head to press his cheek to hers. "You know it is," he whispered against her ear.
The butterflies lifted up into her heart and took it soaring into the sky and she had turned her head to catch those wonderful lips of his into a deep kiss before she could even think to speak.
She left his room almost too late in the morning to be stealthy, and she really didn't care that morning.
***
Zefielia was quite a ways away from where they'd been along the lower border of the inner world, and they had plenty of time to play honeymooners. At least, they made more time by going out of their way to, the sudden change in their relationship making privacy a more immediate desire than their respective libidos and need for closeness had before. At this point, even if her parents didn't give them wedding rings, she and Gourry were officially engaged, and that had made everything brighter and shinier.
It was even more fun to rob bandits of their ill-gotten goods. Lina didn't think anything could make that more fun. But life as an engaged woman somehow did. She wondered how much of a bounce being married would put into her step.
When they got about another fifty miles or so from Zefielia's border, they checked into an inn and sat in Lina's room, counting out what they had earned from the last group they'd encountered, about a day down the road. So much to sell for good coin that'd buy food and nights at inns, and it'd just been rattling around in her cape's pockets for a full twenty-four hours.
"This group had a lot," Gourry remarked, holding up what looked like a ruby. "Hey, Lina, is this a good one, or do you need it for a spell?"
"Lemme see." Lina held her hand out for the ruby and examined it closely. Gourry was good at telling good jewels from bad, but Lina had a specific standard that he didn't always understand, so when he encountered the smaller gems, he deferred them to her judgment.
Smart Gourry.
"Hm. Well, I could sell it pretty easily," she said, running a thumb over its smooth surface. "It's got a good shape. But I think I could make more if I turn it into a talisman. It'd bring in more with its size."
"You know best," he said, then went about separating out the gemstones for her to work with and the more average treasure for him to sort. "I just hope we don't find another silly statue," he grumbled.
She smiled, glad to hear him remembering that without prompting, but didn't look up from her own work. "If we do, we're keeping it until we can throw it at my sister or my parents. They used to be adventurers. Met each other on the road."
"Kinda like us."
"Mmhm." Lina picked up a gem holding it up to the oil lamp's light. She didn't see any imperfections in that one. Into the 'sell as-is' pile that one went. "I doubt they're out of practice at playing the adventurer. Might give them something more to do than struggle to make ends meet." She paused in spreading out the tiny gems, letting that thought sink in. "You know, some of this we should give to them," she said. "Set aside the really good stuff. Even if they don't give us my inheritance yet, I'd like to help out. In a way that's not gonna get me killed this time."
Gourry looked over at her from examining some older-looking coins. "Won't this stuff just attract more attention to them?"
She shook her head. "Not if we trade them in for regular coins," she said. "Then they'd just have money." Then she smiled. "And maybe they'll decide to come out of retirement and hit the road again. Both my sister and I are grown up and making our own way, as far as I know. I don't think they're to old to do a bit of adventuring. They could give the house to Luna." She sat back. "You know, I think that might actually make them happy." She looked at Gourry. "Going back home might be a better idea than we thought."
"A sword for me, maybe, wedding rings maybe, and your parents getting to go have fun," Gourry said, listing off with a look of concentration what all was to be gained by going to her home. He thought another moment, then nodded once to himself and smiled at her. "I knew getting to meet your family eventually would be worth poking you about."
Lina shook her head to hide her amused smile, going back to the gems. "You only convinced me when it came to your silly sword problem," she said. "Everything else was an added bonus."
He leaned down, into her line of sight. "Marriage is just an added bonus?"
She flushed, trying but failing to not lock eyes with him. "Well, no, not on its own, but we wouldn't have thought of it just yet if not for your idea. That makes it an added bonus."
Gourry didn't bother to hide his exasperated grin, sitting back up to get back to work. "Becoming a Gabriev is an added bonus."
She stopped and gave him an offended look. "Whaddya mean, becoming a 'Gabriev'? You're becoming an 'Inverse'! My family has a history of courageous deeds!"
"So's my family!" Gourry protested.
Lina couldn't deny that. She pouted, trying to find a solution that would make her come out on top but not insult Gourry's own legacy that he'd been living up to beautifully, in her opinion. "Well... when we go public, we'll hyphenate our names, how about that?"
Now Gourry really did look lost. She was sure he knew what she meant, but at his confused 'hyphenate?' she had a feeling it was the word that was throwing him off.
"Yeah, like, I'd be Lina Inverse-Gabriev and you'd be Gourry Inverse-Gabriev. We'd share our names."
"Oh!" Yup, it was the word. "Yeah, I've seen couples that do that." He paused to look down at the gold coins, probably lost track of how many he was counting, then he looked back up at her. "So when are we going to do that?
She felt her heart sink. "When we can," she said. "You know why we can't."
Gourry didn't look like he liked it much. "I know." He didn't sound like he liked it much either. "I just wish we didn't have to sneak around anymore."
Lina sighed, leaning across the pile of treasure to put her hand under his chin and made him look up at her. "I know. I don't like it either. I'll talk to Mom when we get home. She probably had some of the same problem with Dad. She might know the best way to fix this." She dropped her hand. "You're not the only one that doesn't like having to hide." Then she frowned. "Although I gotta admit, avoiding Amelia and Prince Phil's enthusiasm about it is a benefit. I love Amelia dearly, but she goes overboard."
Gourry rolled his eyes. "Because you just hate being the center of attention. You know those two would demand we get a royal wedding, right? Pretty dresses, big castle, all the food we could eat, the royal treatment all the way. You wouldn't like that?"
That.... had not actually occurred to her. She rested her elbows on her knees, face propped in her hands. "Hm. I like that idea, actually." She grinned. "Lemme talk to Mom, first. Or Dad, maybe, he's the one that was carrying the Inverse name before her. If we get good ideas, we'll head to Seyruun and talk to Amelia." She sat up. "Okay, you've convinced me. If my parents can help us, we're getting the royal treatment. We're heroes there, after all!"
"After dropping a big chunk of land onto the city, we still qualify?"
Damn. He just had to remember that before her. That was just pathetic. "Well, okay, I'm sure we've been forgiven. And Phil and Amelia wouldn't let us get away without a big wedding anyway."
Gourry gave her the biggest shit-eating grin he had in awhile. "You're not wearing a white dress, are you? You wouldn't fit in one anymore."
"My bust can fill out one just fine," she snapped, then held up a card to make a talisman with and waved it at him. "And nobody gets to know the white isn't appropriate anyway."
That made Gourry laugh. "Lina, I wasn't talking about your breasts. I like them. I think you'd look nice in a dress like that. But you're the one that tries to hide behind maidenly virtue when you lost that one about a year ago."
She lowered the card. "Has it actually been that long?"
Gourry sat back, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, I lost track of time a little when when we were doing that whole prophecy thing, but I think so. Maybe a little longer? I dunno. It's been awhile."
Lina tapped the card against her lips, thinking. "Let me think. It was after we left everyone's company after Marina wedding that we talked about anything." She flushed. "I guess we didn't really wait very long after that, did we?"
"Nope." He smiled. "And you're still cute when you blush."
She fought back the urge to flush even more by letting her ego take control. She floofed her hair. "Why of course I am! I'm always cute."
"Usually," Gourry said, a dangerous word to combine with a dangerous roll of his eyes.
"Usually?" She gave him a dirty look.
"Usually," Gourry answered as if oblivious to how much she wanted to roast certain parts of him, even if she did benefit from them. "Sometimes you're kinda scary." He wilted when he noticed the look on her face. "Kinda like now. Please don't throw a fireball at me, you'll burn our inn down around our ears."
She gave him a look of death, but he made a point, and he was sufficiently apologetic that she once again cared about those parts she almost roasted and decided a moment of temper wasn't worth losing that kind of intimacy with him.
"Fine, you get to live this time, but next time I'd better hear an apology with that."
"If I apologize now, do I get to stay in here tonight?"