AN: I do not own "The Slayers", I just play in the sandbox.
If you've not been reading the translations, in the third chapter of the 16th novel there is a fight scene where the group is surrounded by fog. Lina is nearly hit by an arrow that she can't dodge and Gourry deflects it. He then somehow takes out the archer and the group is all stunned by how he was able to do it. And that's about all you need to know :-)
Instead of going to her room after dinner, Lina found herself detouring towards Gourry's. That the day had been bizarre was the least she could say. The strange magic they had encountered had left her feeling off kilter. It had also nearly succeeded in getting her killed. And if Gourry hadn't deflected that arrow, it likely would have. It was the closest she had come to death since Luke and Milina had died, and it was leaving her unsettled.
There had been a time when Lina would have brooded about it alone. Back after Zuuma had attacked her and when they first started to get a whiff of Gaav's plan to kill her, she would have kept all of the tension and anxiety to herself, had the idiot not come to her room and drawn her out and let her talk about her worries and gotten her to laugh a bit at his silliness. She'd not known how badly she'd needed to talk until he offered, and he had a way of helping her feel better. It was the same after Milina had died and after she'd been forced to kill Luke. He'd sense her need to talk it out and somehow knew how to make it better. And while he had saved her life today and it didn't feel fair to ask more of him, she was yearning for the relief that came with talking to him. Alone, away from the others, and away from the noisy dining hall. And while she was mostly sure that if she didn't seek him out he would stop by her room, she didn't want to tolerate the anxiety that came with waiting.
She knocked. "It's unlocked." He said from within. Likely he had heard her approach from the stairs and knew it was her. How he could do that was, as ever, a mystery. Just like how he'd managed to hit the archer when fog had surrounded them.
She opened the door and saw that he was sitting on the bed, tending his supplies while the setting sun filtered through his window. "Hey," she said as she sat on the sole chair in the room.
"Hey," he replied as he smiled at her, and for some reason she felt her heart race and she hoped she wasn't blushing, "What's up?"
"Well, that was some good work you did today."
"Thanks!" he said as he grabbed his sack and opened it.
"I still don't know how you do it. I mean, I could barely see in that fog and you took care of that arrow and managed to take down the archer, without being able to see where he was! Even before that, you were the one who resisted that sleep spell. They likely would have captured us for sure if you hadn't have been there. How did you do that?"
He looked at her, confused. She continued, "I mean really, how do you do it? And don't just tell me it was easy!"
Was it her imagination, or did his face flush a little? "Maybe it was dumb luck?" he suggested.
Lina shook her head, "One time is dumb luck. Really, Gourry, your senses are something else! Even Milgasea, a golden dragon, was impressed with your visual acuity! And I'm a sorceress, hell, practically every other person we have traveled with is a magic user, and magic users' senses are already amplified, but we all agree. You see things and smell things and sense things that we have no way of detecting!"
Suddenly he smiled smugly, "Well, it's not every day you admit I'm better at something than you are."
She reddened as she jumped up to bop him on the head before she sat back down. "Come on, really, how do you do it?"
"I dunno." He said as he set his tooth brush aside and started gathering his things and putting them in his sack. "I just do. Is it a bad thing?"
"No, it saved me today. Look, I know that top notch swordsmen to a certain extent are born and not made. But even then it takes a lot of training for the talent to fully manifest. And even among top notch swordsman your skills are…" her voice trailed off as she noticed that he was taking care to cover an item from view before he put it in the sack. "What's that?" she asked.
"Nothing." He said quickly as he blushed.
This warrants further investigation! She thought as she lunged at him, toppling him to the bed as she wrested the object from his hand.
"Lina!" he said pleadingly, but she was paying more attention to the item that he had been attempting to hide. It was wrapped in cotton, and she quickly unfolded the material to find what lay within. Her eyes widened as she saw that it was a little statue of her. He sighed in resignation as she stared at it.
"Did you make this?" she asked.
"Yes," he admitted.
She shook her head as she sat back down on the chair and felt her heart really start to accelerate. The care he had put into making it was undeniable, as was the fact that he had carved her in a rather flirtatious pose, with her chin perched on her hand as she winked conspiratorially with her lips slightly puckered.
Does this mean he…? she wondered as she grew warm and bold. She stared at him directly as she squared her shoulders and did her best to look desirable as she said, "You've been holding out on me. I didn't know you were so talented."
He shrugged, "You never asked."
She smiled as a gleam formed in her eye are she stroked the statue. She then brushed her hair back as she stared at him. He was fully blushing now and he looked terrified. She stood up and asked, "Do you want a little reward, for saving me today."
"Huh?" he croaked.
"I mean I know you call yourself my guardian and all and take your duty very seriously. And I can't always be an easy person to put up with. So do you want a little something, a kiss may be, for your trouble?" she asked as she batted her eyes.
He exhaled and relaxed a little as he ran his hand through his hair. "No." he said.
It was Lina's turn to redden as she wondered if she'd been too cocky. She croaked, her words dying on her tongue. He opened his mouth to say more, and she was terrified of what he was going to say but for once she couldn't force her own mouth to form coherent words. "I want you to kiss me because you want to kiss me. I wouldn't want you to feel like it's something you had to do."
Slowly his words sank in as the worries that he was going to reject her faded as he reached forward and put a gentle hand on her knee. She didn't relax though, but in a flash the nerves had flipped back from panicked to anticipation as he looked deeply into her eyes and asked, "Do you want to kiss me?"
She answered him by standing up and setting the little statue down before she closed the distance between them as she put her hands on his shoulders. The height of the bed was such that she barely had to lean down to kiss his forehead. Then she placed a second one on his cheek, and a third beside his lips. He put his hands on her forearms as they glanced at each other. And then she closed her eyes and pressed her mouth to his.
He smiled warmly at her as she pulled away and moved her arms to her side. Her hands were starting to shake and she didn't want him to notice. The tension in her stomach was nearly overwhelming, scary in its intensity even as she wanted to feel it more! He wrapped an arm around her as she sat down beside him, and she found herself leaning her head against his shoulder as she reflected on how safe she felt with him.
"Was that your first kiss?" he asked.
She thought about telling him she'd done it lots of times and had left many men broken hearted. But she couldn't summon the swagger. Something about the rawness of being so honest felt even more intimate as she said, "Yes."
"Did you like it?" he asked.
She blushed, "Did you?"
"Very much." He said.
She smiled, "It was fun, wasn't it?"
"Do you want another one?" he asked.
"Yes." She said as she turned towards him.
He claimed her lips again. And this time he deepened it, pressing his tongue into her mouth. It should have been gross, but instead of repulsion she felt excitement as she wrapped her arms around him as she did her best to follow his lead. After a few moments he pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers. "I love you." He whispered.
She held him tighter as he continued, "That's why I protect you. You being alive is all the reward I need. This is just a very, very fun bonus."
She kissed him this time, mimicking the movements he had earlier made in her mouth as she wondered what to do with her hands. She couldn't have been doing too bad, though. He moaned. She grinned and pulled away and stroked his hair. "I love you. Even if I don't know how you do what you do."
"Well, it's not like I understand sorcery." He pointed out.
"Yeah, but I'm the smart one." She replied.
He kissed her again as he gently stroked her back. Her stomach flipped in a good way as they started to make out, though he kept careful to keep his hands from wandering into territory that was too personal. When they stopped the last of the day's light had vanished and moonlight was filtering through the window. He once again pressed his forehead against hers as he asked, "Do you want me to walk you to your room?"
It was both silly and sweet. She was perfectly capable of getting to her room just fine after all. But it was such a touching gesture she couldn't possible refuse it. "That sounds nice. You're not going to stay and press your luck?" she asked cheekily.
He stroked her cheek, "I think it's good to have some mysteries to look forward to exploring, don't you?"
She smiled and found his hand as she reflected that while she still hadn't come any closer to understanding his elite skills she was definitely feeling a lot more relaxed. Gently she squeezed his hand. "Yes."
They stood up and walked out of his room, and Lina thought about how this was a much more fun way to distract herself from her worries. When they reached the all too short distance to her room he leaned down to kiss her again before he said, "Love you."
She felt a warmth in her face as she hoped no one was watching, "Love you."
"Night, Lina."
"Night, Gourry."
AN: Third chapter translation + reading translation while on a Broadway high after seeing a musical performance (even though it was so bad we left at intermission, theatre is powerful ya'll) = inspiration like I've not felt in awhile.
And I guess this could technically be a continuation of the Missing Scenes series? Didn't think I was going to be doing anymore of those, though until earlier this year I didn't think there would be new novels to do Missing Scenes with! Never say never. Those with the exception of "The Dream" those were from Gourry's POV, so...I'll have to think if I want to put this under Missing Scenes or not. I guess I should also see what the 4th chapter is like, lol.
And I had to use the carvings again for a happier purpose than what I did in "Ghost of the Protector." Sorry. Residual Broadway giddiness. Hope ya'll enjoyed!