Infatuation

by Rose Thorne

Disclaimer: Slayers is owned by a bunch of folks who aren't me. I'm borrowing them for my perverse pleasure, much as Xellos borrows emotions for his.

To his irritation, Xellos did not receive an invitation to the palace. Zelgadis' excuse was that he didn't have the authority to invite a Mazoku, and that it would be inappropriate given Seyruun's status as a White magic city. He even managed to point out Xellos' own admission that the chimera likely shouldn't trust him even if they were engaged in an intimate relationship.

Personally, Xellos thought he was more irritated at having sex in an alley and was afraid that the others might find out that they were fucking, but it didn't change that he was still shut out of the palace, and Zel's current bedroom.

To make matters worse, Zelgadis had apparently decided that he wanted to research something important enough to basically ensconce himself in the library in Seyruun's palace. Xellos hadn't been near him in days, since the incident in the alley, and it was getting a little more than irritating. He had no current missions, and had, frankly, planned to keep Zelgadis in a bed and naked until his master summoned him again, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

He could only watch, through a window from afar, as the shaman fell asleep researching, winding up with his face pressed against the pages of a book. And he'd felt a strange feeling of possession when Amelia crept in and covered his chimera with a blanket, daring even to kiss his cheek.

It was probably a good thing that Seyruun's palace was off-limits to him, or the royal family would be less one princess.

The anger he felt was rather unexpected. After all, he didn't own or hold any claim to Zelgadis. Both of them viewed this as a diversion—though Xellos had been quite astonished that the seemingly-repressed chimera was open to such an arrangement.

Or open to sex at all, but that was an entirely different issue.

When, exactly, had he become so infatuated with Zelgadis that "just sex" didn't feel like enough anymore?

Suffice to say, he was relieved when Zelgadis left the palace for a different library in Seyruun, cutting off the troubling direction of his thoughts.

Xellos was tempted to take him as he had before, in an alley, but he had no doubt that would not get him what he wanted… though he wasn't entirely sure what he wanted anymore. So he waited and followed silently.

He wasn't exactly surprised when Zelgadis stopped outside what appeared to be a large private library, but he wasn't particularly amused when the chimera was allowed entrance only because of a signed letter from Amelia. The princess was, of course, interested in helping Zelgadis find a cure.

He forced himself to wait until Zelgadis was alone in the library, and even then held back until the shaman stretched up to reach a book on a high shelf before materializing behind him, pulling his hard body back against his faux one.

"My, it seems you're quite engaged in your research, Zelgadis-san. And with Amelia-san's help, no less."

Zelgadis stiffened against him, and Xellos felt a lovely little quiver of horror. "Not here," the chimera whispered. "Please, not here."

"Then where," he breathed against Zel's neck, delighting in the shiver that resulted. "I did give you the opportunity to take it elsewhere, but instead you holed up in the palace. Now I'm quite impatient."

He pushed the shaman's cloak to the side—making sure it was hiding what he was doing from view from the door; he intended to stay aware of anyone's approach, but it was best to be certain—and slipped one hand into his pants to fondle his ass.

Zelgadis jerked, squirming in an attempt to get free, but Xellos held him fast, pushing him to his knees and falling to his own behind him, pinning him against the wall beside the bookshelf. This left his other hand free to caress the chimera.

Xellos truly was impatient, and very disinterested in foreplay, but he still caressed Zelgadis, reaching the hand his hand around to touch him. He was rather amused when the youth clamped his own hand over his mouth to muffle an aroused groan. Already he could feel the horror and embarrassment at what was going to happen, and the delicious bit of shamed anticipation that he had felt in the alley.

"I had intended, you realize, to use this bit of free time keeping you in a nice, private bedroom somewhere," he whispered, pausing to lick the tip of Zel's ear and relishing the gasp and the way he threw his head back against his shoulder. "It's so unusual that I have several days of free time, and you've been wasting it in a library."

"I'll leave Seyruun, then." The chimera's voice was muffled by the hand that he still kept over his mouth. "Not here."

"That would be wise. However…" Xellos smiled against his neck, where he knew Zelgadis would feel it. "At the moment, I have no intention of waiting. It really is your own fault, you know."

With that, he wasted no more time talking. Zelgadis had difficulty staying silent, but that was part of the fun, with the horror that they might get caught and the kinky little bit of anticipation twisting his emotions. But even so, when it was over, Xellos still found himself disgruntled. He rearranged their clothing before turning Zelgadis around and kissing him breathless. Zel only stared at him warily when he pulled away, panting.

"So," Xellos said as brightly as he could while still whispering, pulling the chimera to his feet. "What are you researching, Zelgadis-san?"

Zelgadis leaned against a wall, not answering for a moment while he caught his breath. He glared at him all the while. "Advanced white magic spells. I've read that there are some that were created specifically to heal… disfigurements."

"You're hardly disfigured, Zelgadis-san." Xellos reached out to touch the stones on Zel's cheek, but the shaman grabbed his arm before he could. He sighed. "I'm assuming you would have Amelia-san cast these spells on you? You're not very strong in White magic."

He received a puzzled frown in reply. "That's the third time you've mentioned Amelia."

"You are in Seyruun, and she has been helping you with your research."

Zelgadis shook his head. "I research alone. She's only brought a blanket once or twice."

Xellos forced a smile. "Oh? She looked rather cozy with you last night. Even kissed you."

"Sh-she what?" Zel's scandalized look soothed his anger somewhat, but then the chimera eyed him suspiciously. "You're jealous? Of Amelia? Why?"

He didn't have a response to that, and he didn't want to admit that it was true, so he didn't bother to answer. Instead he pulled his arm from the shaman's grasp.

Zelgadis frowned at him, and Xellos could feel his confusion. "We have sex, Xellos. No strings attached. Even if I were interested in Amelia—and I'm not—ours is an open relationship."

"Oh? Have you been having sex with someone else, then?"

"No one's exactly lining up, are they?" Zel muttered bitterly. "And I basically pay you. You get to feed off my misery, and I get to pretend someone cares for a little while. That's the arrangement."

Xellos blinked at him, startled. He hadn't realized that Zelgadis thought of it in those terms. "Zelgadis-san…"

But there wasn't time to continue the conversation, as he heard someone coming down the hall.

"I'll leave Seyruun if you're so insistent," Zelgadis hissed, making sure his clothes were straightened. "Now go."

Xellos left for the Astral plane, letting himself drift in the chaos that matched that in his mind. He'd never been quite this confused before, and he honestly didn't know what he would say when he saw the chimera again.

Damn this infatuation, anyway.

Uh, yeah. Totally got away from me, and decided it needed a plot, and turned into angst. It's late. For the Springkink prompt: Xelloss/Zelgadis: silence (trying to be silent during semi-public sex) - not here, not now, not you.

This is a sequel to Tryst.

Note that this has been written since November 2009, and I only just got around to editing it so it'd be appropriate for FFN. There is one more to the series, but I doubt it's one that can be edited. So if you really want to read, you'll have to look on AFF. Only do that if you're of age.