AN: I do not own The Slayers, I just play in the sandbox.
There was not much in the way of decorations for the cabin, but Amelia did the best she could with what she managed to scrounge up. In truth they were lucky to have the cabin. When they heard that a snowstorm was coming, the group bemoaned their luck and resigned themselves to having to stay in a ramshackle inn. That was until they ran into a nobleman who was a good friend of Prince Phil's who recognized Amelia and offered the group his guest cabin to stay in. It was large, comfy, and well stocked with food. Much better than an inn. It kept them warm and safe as the storm raged outside throughout the week without any signs of letting up. While Amelia was sad when she realized she would not be able to make it home to the palace in time for the winter festivities, she could take comfort in the knowledge that she was in a safe, cozy place with Lina, Gourry and Zel, and that for once they could enjoy each other's company without worrying about threats to the world. With that in mind, grousing about the lack of decorations for the holiday seemed shallow.
So Amelia did the best she could with what she found. Sure, the bows might have been more pinkish than red, and the garlands a bit too florally, but once they had decorated the cabin it looked festive enough. Amelia had even managed to find some mistletoe. It was while she was hanging it up that an idea formed in her mind. She grinned and she turned to stare at Lina and Gourry, who were trimming a tiny, scraggly tree.
"Looks great." Amelia said as she canceled her levitation spell and walked up behind them.
"Yeah, it doesn't look half bad I guess." Lina agreed.
"I guess that's it for the decorating." Zel said once he finished tending the fire.
"Anyone up for a game?" Amelia asked.
Lina looked outside the window. The snow was falling down even harder than it had been, and it wasn't as if there was much else to do. "Sure, what game?"
"Truth or dare."
"Truth or dare?" Lina repeated, "That's for kids."
"I don't know." Gourry said, "Could be fun."
"Fine then." Lina said, "Amelia, truth or dare?"
"Dare!" Amelia said without skipping a beat.
"I dare you to stand outside for five minutes." Lina shot back.
"T-that's mean!" Amelia protested.
"Yeah, that is pretty cold." Gourry agreed.
"Amelia's the one who chose the game." Lina pointed out.
Amelia looked at the mistletoe and sighed. "Fine, see you in five minutes."
Five minutes later a frozen Amelia walked back into the cabin. Zel had prepared a steaming mug of cocoa for her and she quickly burrowed under a blanket near the fireplace while she warmed her hands around the steaming cup as Lina leaned back in her chair smugly. Once Amelia's teeth had stopped chattering she looked at Lina and challenged, "Miss Lina, truth or dare."
"Dare." Lina said.
"I dare you to stand under the archway for an hour." Amelia said.
The other three stared at Amelia incredulously. "That's it?" Lina asked.
Amelia nodded.
"But she made you stand in the cold!" Zel protested.
Amelia tut-tutted. Lina shrugged and moved from her chair and under the archway. "Well, here I am."
"Good, just keep standing there." Amelia said, satisfied.
"Fine. Zel, truth or dare?"
"What makes you think I'm playing?" Zel asked.
"You'll play, or I'll cause some trouble!" Lina snapped.
"Fine, truth."
"Oh come on!" Lina exclaimed, "You're going to wimp out with truth?"
"Yes." Zel replied stoically.
"Fine," Lina said as a gleam formed in her eyes, "Tell us how you really felt about Meiwan."
"Now wait a minute!" Zel yelled.
"You're the one who chose truth!" Lina shot back.
"Fine!" Zel gritted as he blushed while Amelia's grip on her mug tightened. When he spoke, he did it so fast that his words were barely comprehensible as such, sounding instead more like a blur. "I felt that he made a very convincing woman!" And before Lina could protest he rounded on Amelia, "Amelia, truth or dare?"
Amelia jumped, surprised at being asked. "You aren't going to try to get Miss Lina back?"
"And give her another chance to stick it to one of us? No."
"Oh," Amelia said, "Dare then."
"I dare you to win a game of chess, without your queen."
"Oh," Amelia said cheerfully, "So you're admitting you can't win against me fair and square."
"I didn't say that!" Zel retorted.
"That's what it sounds like you said." Lina replied.
Gourry nodded sagely, "Yeah, that's what I heard, too."
Zel sighed and Amelia hoped her grin hid her anxiety. While she had no doubt she could win, she wasn't so confident she could do it before the hour was up and Lina could move out from under the archway. So she hurriedly got her chess set out and put the pieces into position. As the game drew on, Amelia worked hard to focus, and was rewarded when she reached checkmate with five minutes to spare. As soon as victory was assured, she turned to Gourry and asked, "Truth or dare?"
Gourry smiled while Zel groused to Lina about Amelia's chess playing prowess, "Dare."
Amelia grinned. Speaking of checkmate…
"I dare you to stand under the arch with Miss Lina!"
"Huh?" Lina said, baffled as Gourry turned to look at her and his eyes focused on something just above her. He gulped, but he did not protest, and then he slowly took a step towards her.
Lina looked up and saw the red berries nestled among green leaves just as he joined her beneath it. A blush spread across her cheeks as she exclaimed, "Mistletoe!"
"Mistletoe." Amelia repeated, "Mr. Gourry has to kiss you. It's bad luck if you refuse!"
Lina looked up at her protector, a look of rising panic in her eyes. Gourry's expression was carefully neutral. "Hey, it sounds like fun." he said, casually as ever.
The fact that he was not rejecting her was reassuring. Lina exhaled as some of the tension eased from her body. She turned her face up and said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice, "Okay."
Amelia sat forward on her cushion as Gourry leaned down while Lina closed her eyes and he gave her a quick peck on the lips. Gourry reached up to the mistletoe and picked a berry from it as he locked eyes with Lina. "Truth or dare?" he asked.
Compelled by reasons she didn't understand, she replied, "Truth."
"Was that fun?"
She stared at him searchingly for a moment, "Yes."
He smiled and kissed her again, longer this time, taking another berry from the bundle when he finished.
"Okay you two, get a room." Zel grumbled as he folded his arms across his chest while Amelia sighed romantically.
"But there's still another berry left." Gourry pointed out, which coaxed a huge grin from Lina.
"Why Gourry, it seems to me as if you're looking for an excuse to take another kiss." She flirted.
"One kiss for every berry." He said, "I may be an idiot, but I know the rules!"
And then he kissed her a third time, the intensity of the kiss building on the previous two as Zel buried his face in his hands.
"Look what you started." Zel sighed as Amelia watched, starry eyed as Lina and Gourry wrapped their arms around each other and deepened the kiss.
Gourry pulled away, taking the final berry from the mistletoe, and reached a hand out to Lina. She smiled warmly and took it, and together they walked over to the couch. Lina sat close to him, and he coolly wrapped him arm around her, and soon they were snuggling on the couch together as if sharing such intimacies were a common, everyday occurrence. Lina closed her eyes contemplatively for a minute and then said, "Okay Zel. Truth or dare?"
"We're still playing this?" he asked, snapping his head up to look at her.
"Yes. We are not done yet!" Lina said.
"Truth then."
Lina looked him squarely in the eyes and asked, "Do you love Amelia?"
"Now look!" Zel exclaimed as he turned purple while Amelia dropped her cup of cocoa.
"It's just a simple yes or no question." Lina said as Amelia started mopping up the mess with her blanket.
"That's very personal!"
"So is a first kiss." Lina said, with a sharp glance in Amelia's direction.
Amelia blushed as she finished cleaning up the cocoa to avoid looking at Zel as he said, "That was hardly my fault."
"Hey Lina, it's getting late." Gourry pointed out as he put a hand on her knee, "We could call it a night and let them finish this game alone."
Lina thought for a moment, and then he leaned forward and whispered something in her ear that caused her to blush slightly. He pulled away, taking a moment to stroke her cheek. She looked at him for a moment, smiled, and then said, "Deal. But if I hear from Amelia tomorrow that you didn't finish the game…"
"Got it." Zel said as he put his hands up.
Lina and Gourry got up. Amelia sat on her knees, butterflies pounding in her stomach as she stared at the now sparkling clean floor. She couldn't even work up the voice to make a snide comment as they both headed towards Lina's room. Once the door had closed behind them and she was alone with Zel Amelia said quietly, "You don't have to answer anything, I can just tell Miss Lina…"
"Why Amelia, I'm surprised at you." He chided as he got off the couch and knelt down before her, "Are you actually thinking of lying to Lina?"
"I just…" she said, her voice getting higher as he smiled at her with affection that he rarely let show while be brought a finger under her chin to tilt her face up to look at his.
"The answer is 'yes.'"
"Oh." Amelia said, and then she broke into a big grin as she threw her arms around him, "Oh! I'm glad to hear it."
He wrapped his arms tightly around her as her anxiety was driven away by a newfound giddiness as she pulled away slightly and put her hand on his cheek to guide his lips towards hers, "I love you, too."