Title – Little Women

By – Kaylbunny

Fandom – Slayers

Pairing – Xellos/Zelgadis

Disclaimer – Not mine

Notes – Birthday ficlet no.1 for Chrissy Sky.

Another tavern and another cup of tea. When had life become so predictable? When he'd left Lina and the others to search for a cure to his appearance, Zelgadis had expected something a little different. The only excitement he got these days was from the random visits of Xellos, which was something he hadn't expected either. But then, who could really say they expected to be a Mazoku's lover?

Nothing was ever normal where Xellos was concerned, and yet somewhere on his journey Zelgadis had come to enjoy his presence. He found a strange sort of acceptance with Xellos, which he never tried to understand for lots of reasons, many of them subconscious.

He supposed that was why he let the man so close to him, and kept waiting for more. Well, he supposed Xellos was a man. He'd seen so many Mazoku in his time as Lina's friend that Zelgadis had learned not to take anything for face value. But now that he thought about it, just what was Xellos?

"Xellos?"

"Yes, Zelgadis-san?"

"Your form isn't fixed, right?"

"What do you mean?"

Zelgadis sighed, willing himself not to lose his temper. Answering questions with another question was just one annoying habit the crazy priest used to discourage people from wanting to know more about him. But Zelgadis was more than used to this now; he had the feeling that Xellos only did it to annoy him.

"You use the form of a man because it suits your needs," Zelgadis said and Xellos nodded. "If that's the case then could you also potentially have a woman's body?"

"Iya, that's good logic, Zelgadis-san!"

Zelgadis couldn't help the blush that rose to his cheeks. Xellos still brought that out in him, and apparently took great delight in it, if the lusty look Zelgadis was now receiving was anything to go by. "Just answer the question," he growled.

"Hmm, I hadn't really thought about it before …" Xellos actually looked like he was thinking about it, which surprised Zelgadis. How could he not have thought about it before in all of his long life? "Having a male form just seems to come naturally to me. But yes, I could potentially have a woman's body, as you say.

"I thought so," Zelgadis nodded, picking up his tea cup.

When Zelgadis didn't say anything further, Xellos decided to speak up. "Why the sudden interest in my female form?" he asked, grinning mischievously. "Are you feeling kinky?"

Zelgadis almost choked on his tea. He pushed Xellos away when the Mazoku began patting his back. "Hardly," he said once he was able to speak. "I was just curious."

"I bet …"

Xellos looked like he was planning something, and Zelgadis had a good idea he knew what it was. "Don't even think about it," he warned.

"About what?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I do?" Xellos had a way of looking so innocent that you could almost believe him.

"Don't make me Rah Tilt you," Zelgadis muttered. It was an empty threat and they both knew it.

"That's pillow talk where I come from, you know," Xellos told him and winked.

Zelgadis shook his head and sighed. "I give up …"

"Oh, don't say that!" Xellos said, far happier than he had any right to be, Zelgadis thought. "If you go around with a defeatist's attitude in life then you'll never get anywhere!"

For a frightening second, Xellos sounded almost like Amelia … It was wrong on so many levels that Zelgadis couldn't fight the shudder it caused in his body. "Never say that again. Ever."

Xellos nodded solemnly and motioned the waiter over. He ordered another cup of tea for them both and they waited in companionable silence for it to come.

"So," Xellos said as the waiter brought over their tea and then left. He took a sip before continuing. "What colour dress do you think would suit me?"

Zelgadis sighed and picked up his own cup. Why fight it? "Black."

"Excellent choice!" Xellos grinned and then disappeared; leaving only a tea cup to show that he'd once sat at the table.

"And he left me with the bill again!" Zelgadis shouted, ignoring the concerned looks that the other customers were giving him.

"I'll pay you back!" came the disembodied voice of Xellos.

"Yeah, right," he snorted, rubbing his temples. He was almost afraid to ask how.

-

Zelgadis sighed and shook his head. He'd gotten mud on his favourite bunny suit and he didn't know how he was going to get it out. He was about to give it up for a lost cause when Xellos walked in, carrying a pink container.

"Here, Zelgadis-san, this should work," he said, pouring a thick liquid over the stain. "Shabranigdu-sama swears by it."

They watched as the liquid slowly sank into the cloth, the stain disappearing as it did so. "That's amazing!" Zelgadis cried, holding up his bunny suit and checking to see if it had worked on all of the stain.

Xellos was about to reply but a loud banging noise from outside startled them both. They quickly ran out to see what the trouble was, but when Zelgadis was outside he realised that he'd lost Xellos.

"Xellos!" he shouted, wandering down the street. "Where are you?"

"I know where he is," came a voice from behind him, and Zelgadis turned to see Lina and Gourry riding on the back of a pink elephant. "He said he was going to buy some curtains."

"Curtains?" Zelgadis asked. "But he said he was going to come dancing with me!"

"But I am," Xellos told him, suddenly appearing from out of nowhere. "The curtains are what I'm wearing, see? And-"

"Zelgadis-san, wake up!"

Zelgadis had thrown the sheets off him and had almost reached for his sword when he realised just why he'd woke up. "Go away," he grumbled, lying back down and closing his eyes.

"That's not a very nice thing to say." Xellos told him. At least, he thought it was Xellos. The voice was the same, just … higher.

Zelgadis snapped his eyes open. Standing at the end of the bed was Xellos, staff in hand and wearing a short black dress. "I should have known … I don't see you for a week and then you suddenly show up in the middle of the night, waking me up and wearing that … thing!"

"You don't like my dress?" Xellos asked. "I bought it just for you."

Zelgadis glared at his grinning boyfriend. Or was it girlfriend, now? He decided to just refer to him as a male; it would be easier that way. He watched as Xellos lay his staff on the floor before climbing onto the bed, crawling up the length to straddle Zelgadis' thighs.

"Did I mention that I'm not wearing any underwear?" he asked, smiling mischievously.

"No," Zelgadis blushed. He was suddenly very aware of just how short the dress was, and with Xellos' legs spread over him like that … He moaned, and Xellos, pleased, leaned down and kissed him.

"Still want me to leave?" Xellos asked, pulling away from Zelgadis' mouth.

Zelgadis rolled his eyes and pulled Xellos down for another kiss. He'd shout at him later.

The End.