Cheerful Smile
Written December 2002, Revised April 2003
Author's Notes: This was mainly written as a balance point to Tears of a Shade, as I'm a true believer in a Lina/Xellos pairing, and wanted there to be something cheerful on my site. Don't much care for it, but that's the way it seems to be with all my work, ne? Originally this was posted under a different pen name, and the revisions are mostly grammatical, with a few minor extensions.
He was smiling.
That in and of itself wasn't such an unusual thing. He generally smiled no matter what the occasion was. Being brained by an irate sorceress? Smile. Attacked by a grumpy chimera? 'Nother smile. Fighting off minor demon lords? You guessed it.
This smile, though, was a little bit different. It wasn't just there, wasn't just the smile of one who seemed capable of nothing but. There was a reason for this smile, one that didn't involve pain, or teasing, or even fulfilling his master's wishes.
He held the small woman in his arms, letting her head rest gently against his chest. He reveled in her warmth, in the gentle motion of her breathing, in the smell of her fiery red hair. His was content.
She shivered slightly in her rest, the cold of the winter night intruding open her sleep. He shifted slightly, wrapping his cloak tighter around the two of them, feeling her snuggle closer to him.
She had told them today; much to his surprise they had taken it rather well. Amelia cheered openly, as he had expected, but then, he was pretty sure that nothing could dent her absurd view on reality. Zelgadis had nodded, giving only the barest of grins, but that wasn't surprising. He knew that the chimera didn't make any pretensions as to his opinions about him, but respected her judgment enough to accept her choice. Sylphiel hadn't known what to say, but had smiled. A genuine smile, at least; shrine maidens were a funny sort. Gourry had been almost as bad as Ameria, as he stood there with his arm around the elder priestess.
All in all, they had wished them nothing but the best. Strangely enough he found himself thankful that they had.
But then things had hardly been normal as of late. Things had never really been normal for him since he was first assigned to the sorceress. Since he had started to feel human.
Not that he wasn't a mazoku anymore. No, that was something that had always been and always would be. That was a fact eternal as his grin. But still . . .
"Xellos-chan . . ."
He looked down. She was murmuring in her sleep, her arms squeezing a little tighter around his chest.
He continued to smile. He wouldn't have it any other way.
-----
Hope you liked it. C&C appreciated. Thanks, eh?
- Guardsman of Time