AN: I do not own The Slayers, I just play in the sandbox.
The wind picked up, howling with a fierceness that seemed to mirror Lina's mood as it bit at her, cold and foreboding. Lina wrapped her arms around herself, though it did nothing to protect her from the rapidly falling temperature. While the day had started warm and pleasant, it had taken an unusual turn, getting colder instead of warmer as the sun climbed the sky, so that by the time it was noon it was freezing cold. The change in weather was so sudden and abrupt that Lina and Gourry had been completely caught off guard, just as they had been caught off guard by that group of bandits…
Her anxiety peaked, and she stared into the wind even as the cold stung her eyes, looking for any sign of her companion. He couldn't have been that far behind her. Where was he!?
The idiot should have been there by now. Determined not to waste another second, Lina stood up from the bench and cried out in pain, sitting back down as her ankle gave out. Clumsily falling and spraining her ankle seemed more like a classic Amelia move than something the great Lina Inverse would do but the bitter truth was, it had happened. Worse, as it was 'that time of the month,' Lina had no way of healing herself.
Somehow, Lina had managed to make it to the nearest village, but running for so long on an injured ankle had caused it to swell unbearably. She could go no further. She looked bitterly at the snow that was starting to blanket the street as she shivered. Because she had been clumsy she was stuck on a bench in the middle of a freezing cold town while Gourry was who knows where, possibly injured himself and needing her, possibly…
She sniffed, and told herself it was from the cold as she blinked back tears as her mind went down a dark path. She had to get moving and find him. May be if she took it slower this time…
"You all right, miss?" someone asked.
Lina turned to see a man stepping out of the inn she was parked in front of. "Fine." She said, hoping her tone made it clear she didn't want to talk about it.
"You're not from here, are you?"
Talk about stating the obvious, she thought caustically, and praised herself for just stating, "No."
"You'd better get inside, that's some winter storm brewing."
"I'm waiting for someone." She snapped, even as her teeth started chattering. She never had tolerated the cold well. While it was tempting to get inside and warm, if she did she might miss Gourry, and if he didn't know where she was staying, he might walk past the inn she was staying in.
"But could you get a room ready?" she asked, and it was a mark of just how cold she was as she added, "I'll throw in some extra if you get a fire ready."
"Sure thing, miss." He said, and he disappeared into the inn as Lina shivered against the cold.
She wrapped her mantle around her, though it did little against the wind. And her winter gear was buried deep in her cape, meaning that finding it would involve dumping all of her stuff in the open and rummaging through it, something she was not keen to do. So she gritted her teeth and bore it as she kept her eyes on the road leading into town. She had to be optimistic! Any minute now he would come down that road…any minute now…any minute…
Dammit, where is he? Lina stood up in a fit of rage and got another wave of pain for her recklessness. She sat back down and brought her leg up to massage her ankle, swearing that when he finally appeared she would tear him a new one for worrying her so much and making her wait so long in the cold and snow.
If he shows up. Lina's stomach twisted at the thought, and she bit her lip as she fought back tears. That morning had been so normal. He'd greeted her as he always did at breakfast, his blue eyes lighting up majestically as though nothing made him happier than seeing her in the morning, though he kept his tone light and chipper as he wished her a good morning. She remembered a time he wasn't there to greet her and how empty and hollow she felt, how much she missed him. What if she never woke up to a morning like that again?
She told herself she was being stupid. But they had been caught off guard by a bandit troop that actually had some first rate fighters in their group. Factor in her time of the month, and they were quickly overwhelmed. The last she saw of him he was taking on several at once and one had swiped at him with a cursed sword, damaging his breastplate and…
"Rather nasty day to be outside, miss."
Lina nearly jumped out of her skin as she wondered where the other woman had come from. The woman continued, "Won't you step inside for a bit?"
"If I wanted to be inside, then I'd go inside." Lina gritted, working hard to keep her teeth from chattering as she wiped at her eyes. Why couldn't people just leave her alone?
"But it's so cold!" the woman persisted. "Your skin is turning blue."
"Mind your own business." Lina snapped, scared that she was about to break down and cry in front of a stranger if the woman didn't leave at that moment.
The woman walked away, tutting to herself as she did. The moment she was gone Lina regretted letting her leave without asking her to send for the healer. If her ankle was well she could go out and search for him herself. Anything was better than sitting here in the cold wondering where he was and if he was okay.
The wind howled, stinging her eyes as it picked up and the curtain of snow that was falling on her thickened. The weather worried her. The storm was getting worse. Sure, his senses were supernatural, but even they must have a limit. What if he got lost in the storm?
"Lighting!" she called as she stood up, her ankle throbbing agonizingly. That was something she could still handle at least. Hopefully he would see it through the storm and recognize it as a light spell and find his way to her. Around her the wind blew fiercely, hitting her like thousands of tiny ice needles as her cape whipped back into the breeze. But she would bear it. The light spell was the best chance she had of helping him find her, and she would whither any unpleasantness to see that he safely rejoined her.
She stared into the storm, and felt her heart race as she saw a shadow moving through the storm. Slowing, agonizingly, it grew more distinct, until Lina could see that it was indeed a man walking towards her. Please be him, please!
As he came into focus, Lina's anxiety started to abate and give way to relief. It was him! She moved her good leg forward, dragging her other painfully behind her. As she attempted to take a second step her leg gave out. Fortunately by then he was close enough to catch her, grabbing her around the waist as her face awkwardly hit his chest. Apparently he had taken the time to strip himself of his armor and track down his thick woolen coat. So soft, so warm…
She wrapped her arms around him, to steady herself and pulled herself up. Yet once steady, she found she couldn't let him go. He was warm, invitingly warm. She kept her face buried in his chest, enjoying the sound of his heart beat as his arms tightened around her.
"You're as cold as ice." He commented.
"What do you expect?" she shot back, lifting her head up to look at him, her eyes blazing. "I've been out here, freezing my butt off waiting for you! Where were you?"
"Those men were hard to shake." He explained before asking more sternly, "Why didn't you wait inside? No, first, let's get you inside. If you haven't caught a cold by now..."
He didn't have to say it twice. She gave it a good try, but the pain that surged through her leg was too much. She cried out, clutching him for support. "You're injured?"
"Just a sprained ankle." She said through gritted teeth.
With a sigh he scooped her up. Lina blushed but decided not to complain as she wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled closer to his warmth. Effortlessly he opened the door, and the heat greeted them welcomingly.
"So, he finally showed up." The innkeeper said jovially.
"Yup." Lina said, starting to feel a little embarrassed, "Is my room ready?"
"Second door to your right." He said, handing her a key that she was having a hard time feeling with her numb fingers before addressing Gourry, "It's a good thing you showed up. We tried to convince her to wait inside but she wasn't hearing it."
"Yeah, she's stubborn like that." Gourry replied cordially enough, but Lina had been traveling with him for too long to miss the tone underlying his words. He was pissed.
"She must care about you a lot." The innkeeper added as Gourry started for the room.
Lina blushed, feeling very foolish now. Soon they were before the door, and he sat her down so she could put the key in the lock, the task made more difficult by the fact that her hands were blocks of ice. Eventually she got the door open, and he picked her up again, making quick work of getting her to the backless settee in front of the fire and setting her down.
She lifted her sprained ankle to rest it on the ottoman as he grabbed a blanket from the bed. She worked to undo her mantle, but her fingers were too stiff and cold to feel the strings to untie it. "Here." He said, thanking his lucky stars that moving, even in ridiculously cold weather, had kept the blood flowing to his joints so that they were not frozen stiff like hers, and reaching from behind the settee he undid her mantle, and once he had set it down he wrapped the blanket around her.
He then moved to the ottoman and looked at her booted foot. "This is going to hurt." He cautioned.
Lina nodded as she gripped the cushions on the settee, "Just get it over with." She said.
Indeed, getting her foot out of the boot was no easy feat, especially as it had swollen so unaccommodatingly. But somehow he managed, and soon he had pulled bandages from somewhere and was wrapping it.
"When did you learn how to bandage ankles?" she asked.
He shrugged, "When you're a mercenary you have to know these things. Not everyone can cast a spell."
"And you just happened to remember this how?"
"I remember the important things." He said as he finished wrapping it and then considered her. "Are you okay?"
She was still shivering despite the heat. If anything, the shock of the sudden change in temperature seemed to have made her shiver more violently! "I will be. What about you?"
"Fine." He said as he continued to regard her.
"Stop thinking so much, there's smoke coming out of your ears." Lina chided, wishing he would just get whatever was on his chest off of it.
"Let's get you warmed up." He said, as he removed his coat.
"Gourry?" she asked as he took the blanket from her, and then he moved so he was sitting behind her on the settee, holding her between his parted legs, her back to his chest. She started to blush as he rearranged the blanket around them, enveloping her in warmth.
She tensed for a moment, and then she allowed herself to relax as he grabbed her right hand and removed her glove. "You really should have gone inside." He said as he started to massage her hand, bringing life back to it.
"And what if you had come down the street the minute I had, and we'd have missed each other?" she shot back, "There are several inns in this city."
"Worst that would have happened was that I'd have stayed in a different inn." He pointed out matter of factly, "You're lucky you didn't freeze to death!"
"And how would you have found any inn if you couldn't see it?" she shot back, "I couldn't see an inch in front of me!"
He was quiet for a moment as he removed the glove from her other hand, his breath hot on her neck. "If it wasn't for your light spell, I might have missed this town." He finally conceded.
"Exactly. What would you have done?" she said quietly as she started to flex her stiff fingers under his.
He was quiet for a moment, and Lina had a sudden sense of déjà vu. They'd had this conversation, or rather, similar conversations when she was reckless, especially if she was reckless because his safety was compromised. Most memorably had been after she'd cast the Giga Slave to save him.
It always came back to the conundrum of their relationship, he'd made keeping her safe his life's purpose and she knew he would give his life if it meant her survival, but she didn't fancy life without him and was just as ready to lay down her life for his.
He sighed as he moved his hands up and down her arms, his touch lightening as she grew warmer, moving away from a rub down to warm a cold friend to a more intimate caress. Her eyes widened, and she wasn't sure which surprised her more, his daring or the fact that she wasn't punching him into next week.
"I would have done the same." He finally replied, his voice tickling her ear, causing a familiar sensation of longing to ignite in her belly.
They were silent for a moment as he grabbed her hands and held them tightly. Though still slightly cold, she was no longer shivering, but she enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded and held too much to protest. After spending so much time worrying about him it was good to know he was alive and present. She leaned back into him and squeezed his hands, letting down her guard for once.
"How much longer…" he asked quietly, his voice trailing away.
"How much longer?" she replied.
"What?"
"You just said…"
"Did I say that out loud?"
"Yes, you idiot!"
He took a deep breath, "Just," he started, and then seemed to reconsider.
"Just spit it out already." She said.
"Just how much longer are we going to pretend that we're just traveling companions?" he asked, a hint of nerves in his voice.
Lina's eyes widened and she felt herself go red and warm. How was it possible that less than half an hour ago she was a frozen popsicle? Suddenly it seemed to be very hot. "I-if we're not companions, what are we?" she stuttered.
Her eyes widened as he let go of her hands and started to trail the sides of her rib cage, before closing to relish the sensation. "Lovers?" he breathed into her ear.
The chills that ran through her body had nothing whatsoever to do with the cold and she felt her desire boil. It was getting hard enough to keep her need for him in check when he wasn't so close, wasn't holding her and she didn't feel his breath, warm and inviting on her neck. More than anything she wanted him to continue. But…
"I…" she gasped, "I don't want to settle down."
"Who said anything about settling down?" he asked as he brushed her hair off her neck and leaned forward to plant a kiss below her ear. "We can travel together and still be lovers."
Now why didn't I think of that? She thought as she gasped, placing her hands on his knees. "Promise?" she asked.
She didn't see the look of relief that passed over his face, she merely felt his lips at her neck as he planted another kiss, hot and burning. "Promise."
She squeezed his knees, and then managed to turn a bit to find his mouth with hers, bringing up one arm to wrap around him. He moved his arms and folded them around her, steadying her on his lap as he deepened the kiss, causing the warmth in her stomach to smolder with molten desire as it spread through her body, up to her fingers and to her face, now burning with a blush, and all the way down to her toes, driving away any remaining cold that she felt.
His hands wandered in a passionate caress over her body, stoking the flames and keeping her burning for more. She ran her hands through his thick, soft hair as he pulled away from the kiss to let them have some air, touching his forehead to hers and whispering, "I love you."
She closed her eyes, finding that his ministrations had not merely thawed her body, but her resistance to owning her feelings as well. "I love you." She replied, touched by how he beamed at her for a moment before he returned to kissing her.
Outside the wind howled fiercely, leaving a layer of frost on everything it touched. But inside, Lina and Gourry had learned to keep the cold at bay by forging their own fire.