"Tomorrow we should get to Timara," Lina said as cleaned up the dinner dishes.
"Is that the place that's supposed to have the good roast beef?" Gourry asked as he finished hammering in the tent peg.
"Man, how many times do I have to explain it? Timara houses the most renowned theatre and right now they're putting on a renowned performance of Aunt Martha's Elderberry Arsenic Pie! Venata has the roast beef, we should get there in a week depending on how long we stay in Timara. Honestly, do you even pay attention?"
"Well, where we go doesn't matter much to me," Gourry said even as he bit his tongue on telling her that he was just happy to be with her. As it was he was pushing the envelope by not deflecting by saying something stupid. But he wanted her to know he enjoyed being with her, to push his luck a little, in the hopes that perhaps one day she would travel with him to be with him and not for a sword. "It's easy enough to find something fun to do when you're around."
She squared her shoulders as she put the last of the dishes in her bag and closed it as she smiled, "You got that right!"
But before she could say more the sound of music wafted through their camp, cutting her off. Gourry looked up at the sky, "A full moon." He commented.
"It's either bandits or another dance." Lina said, and Gourry very much hoped for the latter. The last time they had danced was when they were waiting for Xellos at the Kataart Mountains, and as much as he treasured that memory as a moment of light in a very dark time, he'd also wanted the chance to dance with her again when their lives weren't in mortal peril.
"Shall we see?" he asked.
She stood up and together they walked towards the music, so close that the air between them seemed charged with anticipation. Or was he reading too much into it? What if she was hoping for a group of bandits to bully and could care less about a dance? She was still traveling with him for a sword after all.
Soon they heard voices of people engaged in merry conversation and smell the scent of the bonfire. Eventually through the trees Gourry could discern a group of young people engaged in one of the more common line dances. To Gourry's encouragement Lina smiled as she inclined her head to the dancers and he nodded, and they quietly slipped into one of the groups. As soon as they did, it was as though some force had taken over.
Euphoria. It was as though until then he'd not been able to fully believe that they had survived the challenge with Gaav and Fibrizo. But when their hands touched it was undeniable. She was alive and safe, and they had survived to have this moment! He pulled her to him, tighter than he usually would have and enjoyed the moment until she pulled away and they switched partners.
But even separated he couldn't help but notice how she would glance his way. Partly because he couldn't stop looking over at her and counting down the turns till they were reunited. The music became more frenzied as his excitement over the thought of dancing with Lina again fueled the euphoria when they reconnected, especially as he noticed the way that she lit up as she reached for him, causing his face to flush as he held her once more.
Thankfully the music slowed down and couples started to break apart for a different type of dance. The last time they had done this they had left when things got to this point, and for an anxious moment Gourry wondered if Lina would pull away to go back to camp. And before he could think through the impulse he pulled her to him as he took the lead. And amazingly she followed and made no move to leave!
A quiet moment passed as they danced to the love song, and then Gourry's heart started to race as Lina rested her head on his chest. "It's good to see you so relaxed again." Gourry observed. Ever since the incident with Sherra Lina had calmed down about finding a new sword as quickly as possible and they'd been able to enjoy their time together once more.
She smiled a little, "Well it's nice no longer living with a target on my back. I guess it took awhile for it to really settle in that Hellmaster and Gaav are gone and no one so powerful wants me dead."
"That's understandable." He said, and then before he could think of something more to say her hands trailed lower down his back. Breathe.
Beside them another couple had started kissing and Gourry blushed. It was the perfect moment. She'd sewed stuff to protect him in his clothes. She seemed willing and eager. Things were moving fast and it seemed inevitable that they would push through some barrier but…
But…Every time he thought about making a move he thought about how not to be Gunther, that he would somehow ruin everything if he did. You're not Gunther. You care about Lina in a way that he was never able to care for Lina. You know that.
Still, that knowledge left him with little clue as to how to move forward with her in a way that was loving rather than sleezy.
Should he kiss her? Would she respond in kind? Or kick him into next week? Should he be more subtle by lowering his hands a little and see if she responded in an encouraging way? Or should he outright ask her if she wanted him rather than assume that it was okay to take liberties and risk being on the receiving end of another Fireball? But then weren't lovers supposed to know what they other wanted without asking? Sure, he could read her on the battlefield, but this was something else. Making the wrong move on the battlefield would kill him, yes, but making the wrong move here would leave him living with the gaping wound for the rest of his life!
Stop being such a coward! He chastised himself as he attempted to summon the courage to lower his hands a little. But just as he was about to he thought that he should appreciate that he even got to the point where she was dancing with him so close, with her head resting on his chest. The drive within him for more warred with the fears of pushing forward too fast. But then, following Lina's lead, letting her set the pace, that would be for sure be the thing that Gunther never would do, wouldn't it?
He exhaled and focused on how good it felt to hold her like this and the hope that someday she would travel with him to be with him, and not because of a sword.
Months passed. While some of the jobs they found themselves taking were dangerous none compared to the ordeal of having a Dark Lord on your tail. And while Gourry felt as though his partnership with Lina was becoming deeper, it also felt tenuous so long as she was traveling with him to replace the Sword of Light. Still, he couldn't say he wasn't having fun with her, especially now that they weren't facing death constantly.
Of course, it didn't last. Soon they found themselves running into trouble once more. And while Gourry hadn't been too surprised to find trouble, he had been surprised to run into Luke and Mileena again. Especially when Luke tracked them down at lunch the following day after spotting them with Lord Lavas the previous evening.
Luke took an empty seat with them uninvited, the sense of awkwardness hanging over him as he said, "Hey, I ain't a fan of this messenger boy crap, but ya can't say no to a client... This is why I hate hired gigs."
Gourry was a bit shocked at Luke's words and demeanor. Sure, a life on the road wasn't for everyone but if you decided to live such a life hired gigs were a fact of that life that you quickly got used to. Lina, meanwhile, wasn't one to stay silent about it as she pointed out, "That's a lot of griping from a guy who approached us. And what kind of mercenary hates hired gigs?"
"Who're you callin' a mercenary?! Me an' Mileena are treasure hunters!" Luke flared defensively.
"Really?" Lina replied skeptically. Anyone who had traveled long enough knew that life as a treasure hunter was unpredictable and not likely to pay the bills.
"Yeah!"
"Come to think of it you guys got involved in the whole Bezeld drama because you were after a sword, right?"
"That's right! We hunt down storied treasures, surmount trials to find 'em, and then seize 'em for ourselves! A real life of adventure! I ain't no mercenary waggin' my tail for some bored rich jerk."
Gourry, at one level, was reminded of Gunther who felt that taking good jobs from rich noblemen was beneath him. Gourry never sneered at what Gunther called servant's work though. Gourry knew the mark of a good job was about whether or not your employer's intentions were good. And after nearly losing his life saving the world, he wasn't going to sneeze at a job that paid the bills and was a bit less risky. Gourry wasn't going to say anything though. He knew Lina would do it for him, and she did not disappoint!
"But you're wagging your tail for Lord Lavas right now."
And then, to Gourry's dismay, Luke actually started crying! "L-Look... I ain't workin' for that guy 'cause I wanna be! I just..."
"You just... ran out of money?" Lina suggested the obvious conclusion. Treasure hunting rarely paid the bills for long after all. And was the blow to Luke's pride so big? Sure, Gunther would have sneered at working for Lavas, but he wouldn't have been sobbing over it!
"No way! I just... Mileena took the job without even askin' me!"
Lina smirked a bit as she wrapped her arms around herself and pointed out, "You could have turned her down, y'know."
"You stupid or somethin'? I could never turn my sweet Mileena down!" Luke said as Gourry scratched his head in befuddlement as a sense of disgust grew within him. No, Gunther never would have let a woman wrap him around her finger like that. No, Gunther was the one who did the wrapping. Though, come to think of it, that emotional volatility was common around those Gunther had snared.
"For all your big talk about adventure, you're pretty gutless when it comes to her..." Lina observed.
"Hmph. I'm a slave to my love!" Luke said as stars grew in his eyes, and Gourry couldn't stomach it anymore as he remembered the women that Gunther would string along until he tired of them.
"A slave to love? Come on, man..." Gourry said even as he felt that reaching Luke was likely fruitless. "I think she's just got you whipped, is all. It's sad to see a man fall so low."
"As if you got a leg to stand on," Luke glared at them pointedly and Gourry felt the protest rise within him as Lina looked at him, her eyebrows rising slightly as Gourry's stomach turned at the thought of his relationship with Lina being compared to that of Luke's with Mileena!
"Hang on, it's not like that! Lina doesn't have me whipped at all. It just looks that way because I don't like thinking for myself."
Sure, it wasn't true. But it was a lie he liked better than being strung around by Lina. Surely he meant more to her than that, and surely he would know if he was being manipulated! After all, she was traveling with him to replace the Sword of Light. He was less useful to her than ever before! There was no way Lina was using and manipulating him.
Sure, Lina was manipulative, but he'd let her know early that he was aware of it and it wouldn't work on him, hadn't he?
Still, the doubt crept in as Lina sort of shook her head in dismay. Sure, Lina was a lot warmer to him than Mileena was to Luke. But she was still traveling with him for a sword. And given the mind games that manipulators could play, how could he really be sure he wasn't under Lina's sway?
"So get this." Luke said, cutting through the haze of the doubts surrounding Gourry as he talked about the mission at hand, "Lord Lavas's got an older brother named Veisam. He's pretty ambitious, and he ain't satisfied with bein' in charge of one measly territory. So he starts plottin' all kinds of rotten stuff. An' now that their old man's fallen ill, he's left runnin' things to his little brother while he takes advantage of the money and power."
"Brothers, huh?" Lina said as Gourry felt a sense of resignation flare. Of course, it had to be feuding brothers.
Gourry listened as Luke described the situation, but something was troubling him. And by now he had a sense that Lina had the same sense of disquiet. After all, Gourry knew that Gunther would have been able to spread some pretty ugly and fake stories about him to dupe people into believing that Gourry was the scheming, evil one as he took advantage of anyone who would believe him, "If you don't mind my asking, Luke, have you ever met this Veisam guy yourself?"
Because if there was one thing Gourry knew well by having Gunther as a brother is that sometimes you had to get the other side of the story.
In Gourry's moments of rage over what had happened back home, he comforted himself with the hope that the truth would win eventually. The people who were conniving and murderous would be revealed for what they were. Finding that Lavas had poisoned Veisam was one of those moments that gave Gourry assurance that the truth would come out. Lina didn't seem surprised, neither did Mileena. For that matter, the only person who was surprised by the development was Luke. While Gourry was prepared to not like Mileena, he had to admit that her instincts were good and she had Lina's tenacity for getting to the bottom of the situation and to read people in general. So what were the reasons she didn't let her partner in on her speculations?
To keep him in the dark so he would be more amenable? Or because she didn't trust him with the truth?
Whenever the memory of Luke's comment comparing his relationship to Mileena with the one that Gourry had with Lina rose Gourry would latch onto how Luke always seemed in the dark about Mileena's motives. Whether or not Luke asked or he simply didn't care, Gourry wasn't sure. But Gourry took comfort in the fact that he could usually figure out why Lina was doing what she did and if not he could ask and she'd tell him.
But the more immediate concern was what to do now that they knew what Lavas was planning.
"The smartest thing to do, if you ask me," Luke said as he glanced at Mileena, and it was obvious to Gourry that he was scared that Mileena would not agree, "is to say bye-bye to Solaria, give the king a heads-up about what's goin' on here, and leave the rest to him."
Mileena quickly proved that Luke's fears were warranted as she said evenly, "You can do that if you like. But I won't be going with you."
"Mileenaaa..." Luke whined, causing Gourry to wince as she remained stone faced and indifferent. Gourry took a breath. Gunther would have tried to find some way to use the situation to benefit him. Mileena, on the surface at least, appeared to be doing this because it was the right thing to do, same as Lina.
What Gourry couldn't tell was whether or not Mileena was truly indifferent to whether or not Luke would come with her. Was she using him because he was a strong fighter? Or would she really be okay if he went off on his own?
Gourry didn't know the answer to that question, but he had a good idea what the answer to the one he was going to ask Lina would be, "Can I ask a question? What should we do next?"
Lina smiled, "The same thing we do to anyone who picks a fight with us, be it cat or bird or regent lord!"
In other words, they were fighting. Gourry had little doubt that they were doing the right thing. He just hadn't been aware that it was one of those times that would haunt his nightmares. Yes, Gourry had seen plenty of horrific things in his time, but the kidnapping of local men, women and even children to turn them into hosts for demons ranked as one of the worst!
And it never got easier. He froze when he came face to face with the remains of a child, a young boy suspended in the fluid. The emotions that welled within him froze him to the core as beside him Lina put her hand over her mouth. To their right Luke raged, "You sons of...!"
Gourry mind's stared at the child as he struggled to accept the fact that there was nothing he could do for him as Luke killed one of the sorcerers and started to interrogate another. Gourry's mind was slow and sluggish. He knew he needed to do something, but he wasn't sure what as Luke threatened to break fingers if the sorcerer wouldn't talk.
Gradually he started to calm down and focus as the sorcerer stammered as he explained, "We study what happens if you use humans who haven't yet developed a strong sense of self—children—as hosts, their differences in stamina, compatibility... external appearance when using men versus women, adults versus children..."
"I don't give one damn what you're studyin'!" Luke spat as Gourry slowly turned to look at him, "Who put you up to all this?"
"L-Lord Lavas." The sorcerer said weakly.
"Got it. So it's the regent who's orderin' you to do these disgusting experiments on folks."
"I... I was just following orders! I-It wasn't my fault!"
"Oh? I'm bettin' the women an' kids in there didn't ask for any of this. You're sayin' you bear no part of that 'cause it was an order? So it's okay if I kill you on someone else's orders, huh? It wouldn't be my fault, right?"
"Wha—"
Before Gourry could react, Luke had pulled out a dagger and plunged it into the sorcerer's chest. And while Gourry wasn't going to waste tears on someone who would do such a thing, he still couldn't condone killing in cold blood like that. Beside him he noticed Lina tense as Luke continued to radiate rage and hatred.
"That's too far, Luke," Mileena said, her voice calm and steady, as though she had done this before.
"Don't you see what they're doin' here, Mileena?! He said he was 'just following orders'! These assholes don't even think what they're doin' is wrong!"
"We have more pressing concerns at this particular moment."
"Seeing this crap... It's enough to make a guy hate the whole of humanity..."
"I'm human. As are you."
"Yeah... I guess. So what do we do with the rest of 'em?" He said as he stood down, and Gourry glanced at Mileena and, was it his imagination, or did she relax a bit too?
As they figured out what to do next Gourry that to admit that there was some vital piece of information about those two that he was in the dark with. Perhaps Mileena wasn't like Gunther. And perhaps there was a reason Mileena that kept Luke on a short leash…and one that he let her.
Gourry moved fast at Lavas, undeterred by the danger to himself or the fact that he had a regular sword. Yes, charging in was a risk, but so was playing it safe. If he didn't fight with all that he had then he was all but admitting that he wasn't good enough to travel with Lina. So he kept his focus on Lavas but also the rest of the room and the pile of swords nearby. An instinct was telling Gourry he would need those swords and not to forget them. So he swung at Lavas.
Lavas moved in the nick of time and managed to break Gourry's sword. But Gourry had his eye on another blade from the trove of blades that Lavas had collected. Somehow everything came together as he drew the new blade and aimed for Lavas's stomach and pierced it.
But Gourry knew by now to never assume that even a clean hit like that would defeat an enemy like Lavas. He jumped back as soon as he made the hit, and good thing, because Lavas's counterstrike got his shoulder armor.
"Impressive indeed! If only you'd been kind enough to assume I was defeated and let your guard down!" Lavas said as he pulled the sword out of his stomach, with not a drop of blood on it.
Gourry watched for his opening as Lavas attacked Mileena and Wizer and tried to get a feel for his style.
"Blast Ash!" Lina said, and then she leapt to the side as a barrage of blades came at her as her spell did little against Lavas.
But Gourry's eyes were drawn to one of the blades that Lavas had thrown. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he saw the glint of silver. Somehow it had survived the crash. Did that mean…?
"Gourry! That sword!" Lina said, confirming his suspicions.
But Gourry was already on it as he shouted, "Right!" Grabbing the sword and slashing through an attack spell that Lavas had sent just in time. Amazingly, the sword dissipated the spell, and it was more than the juiced up regular sword Lina had bought could do!
"Tch!" Lavas finally appeared panicked as he picked up a sword, ready to fight.
Gourry wasn't backing down now! He charged at Lavas, who held his sword with one hand and threw an invisible blade at him with the other. But Gourry parried, destroying Lavas's weapon, marveling at the power of the blade he'd found. It wasn't quite the Sword of Light, but…
"Rgh!" Lavas was on the ropes now as Gourry tried to anticipate his next move and the best way to counter it.
And counter it he did, slashing first through Lavas's sword, then his hand, and finally down to his waist, bisecting him!
But even that wasn't enough! Like a cornered animal he had more fight to him as he unleashed a lot of spears at Gourry, who managed to dodge as he resumed a fighting stance once more as he looked in disbelief as Lavas's top half, severed from his bottom half, floated in midair, very much still alive and going!
"How... How dare you ruin my body?!" Lavas said as tentacles started to grow on the hand that Gourry had severed.
Well this is frustrating, Gourry thought, but he continued to try to hack away at the tentacles when they released a charge of electricity. Pain coursed through him, overwhelming him to the point that his grip on consciousness was lost.
When he came to the air was charged with the energy of another spell that Lina was casting. Despite the ache in his legs he forced himself to his feet, desperate to help her. He got up to his knees, grunting through the pain as he planted his sword in front of him to ground him as he stood up. But as soon as he did Lavas released a shockwave, sending him back onto the pile of treasure with the others, his head aching as it collided with something hard.
He felt the need for sleep, but he fought it as fiercely as he had Lavas. Lina needed help! He ignored the pain and forced his eyes open and watched as Lina brought her blade of darkness down upon Lavas. While with any other human Gourry would have been assured that the fight was over, but Lavas had been a frustrating enemy who wouldn't die. Gourry couldn't fault his swordsmanship one bit. He had struck several blows that should have been fatal and weren't. The urge to be hard on himself wasn't there. Gourry could honestly say he'd done well against a tough enemy and helped Lina get to this point, even if he had been badly injured in the process. Still, this time was different as Lavas started to disintegrate into a fine white sand.
"Guess it's all over now," Lina said as she started to let her guard down.
"Not... quite..." Gourry said as he rolled over as the others remained unconscious and finally surrendered to the pain. "Would you mind... patching us up?"
"Right," Lina said as she softened and stood up and made her way to him even though she was obviously exhausted. "Where does it hurt?"
"Everywhere." He said as she knelt beside him.
She started chanting and after a moment he felt the comforting warmth of her Recovery spell, drawing the pain away. "What do you think of that sword you found?" she asked as she kept her eyes on her healing spell.
Gourry's breath caught in his throat as he realized there was potentially a worse pain on the horizon than the physical one he was feeling right now. The new sword wasn't at the level of the Sword of Light, but it was better than a regular sword. Would Lina deem that sufficient and say that her obligation to him was fulfilled and kick him to the curb?
"It's better than a regular sword," Gourry managed to say as his stomach knotted as he quickly added, "But it's not at the level of the Sword of Light."
Lina smiled, and was it his imagination or was there a look of relief on her features? "That's what I was thinking," Lina said quickly, perhaps too quickly, "So the journey continues!"
He relaxed a bit. If she was planning to split after finding him a replacement sword then he had delayed the inevitable. And maybe she was even looking for a reason to stay. She wasn't arguing with him that the sword was good enough so she could abandon him already. She must have noticed something because she asked, "What?"
"Oh, just that if I'd found something like the Sword of Light then perhaps I could have slain Lavas before it got to this point."
"Hey, you were amazing, even before you got this blade, how you handled Lavas." She said sharply, and somehow her words felt better than the Recovery spell.
"Really?" he said. And this time she wasn't stealing food from his plate!
"It was incredible really, especially at the beginning. Gave me a heart attack knowing how unprotected you were but you turned the field to our advantage even then. I don't know another swordsman who could, not even Rod." Lina gave a smirk, "Luke wishes he were half as good."
Gourry smiled at her as from their right Luke yelled, "Shuddup about me!"
They'd had to stay in Solaria City for a month to wrap up the inquiries and tie up the loose ends. For the most part Luke and Mileena kept their distance aside from times when they had to confer with each other about the events that happened. Even so, Gourry was able to observe enough about Luke's relationship with Mileena to put him at ease about his relationship with Lina.
Gourry would spend his dinners with Lina laughing and joking as they found ways to steal each others' food, but when he'd look over at Luke and Mileena's table there would be a stony silence. Occasionally Luke would make an overture that Mileena would quickly shoot down. They didn't even talk shop much and it started to make sense why Luke never seemed to know Mileena's reasons for taking jobs. Still, what Gourry couldn't figure out was why they were even traveling together. Things didn't seem pleasant to him and it could not have been a fun way to live.
Luke was completely delusional about the matter. One night he and Luke had run into each other at the bathhouse. Gourry silently washed himself as Luke prattled on about the hot, romantic times he was having with Mileena. Gourry knew good and well that there were no sounds of coupling from either of their rooms but remained silent as Luke said, "In fact, after I finish here I'll be going to her room to…"
Part of Gourry felt he should stay out of it. But he also didn't like the thought of Mileena being harassed, "Look man, I know it's hard to put yourself out there and how bad rejection hurts but…"
"My Mileena would never reject me!" Luke said, and Gourry had to stare at him in disbelief. "She's just shy."
"Well, then perhaps you should hold off a bit. Let her get more comfortable. Perhaps if she sees that you're giving her space she'll warm up a bit more." Gourry suggested, "I mean I had to give Lina time when we first met. I needed it myself to be honest."
Luke tsked, "When you're with your soulmate there's no need to wait! Mileena just doesn't want people like you to know her true feelings."
Gourry gave up. He stood up and grabbed a towel, "Right," he said warily as he stepped out of the bath.
"You'll see!" Luke said as he got up and followed him, "She cares! You're just too stupid to see it!"
The desperation in his voice alarmed Gourry. He'd seen his share of unrequited love but when one person got this desperate it seldom ended well. "Well I've been known for being a bit of an idiot." Gourry said, hoping to diffuse him but also not wanting to give him false hope as he toweled off and got dressed in his pajamas.
"You'd have to be not to see it!" Luke said as he started to dress, "She's all over me!"
Gourry left the baths and started walking in the direction of Lina's room as Luke continued to follow him, bragging about the passion of his relationship with Mileena as Gourry tuned him out. As he reached Lina's door Mileena yelled from her room, "Shut up with the made up love talk!"
Luke blanched as he reddened, and then his eyes narrowed as he noticed Gourry standing in front of Lina's door, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Oh," Gourry said sheepishly, "Lina dries and brushes my hair for me after I've had a bath."
Gourry felt as though he should have felt bad when he saw the look on Luke's face, but he also felt that Luke was a man in a dour need of a dose of reality. He knocked, "It's me."
"Come in," Lina said, and he did and closed the door behind him. She turned from her desk and must have noticed the slight grin on his face, "What?"
"Oh, I just can't figure out Luke and Mileena."
"You're not the only one." Lina said as he sat on the bed and she finished up writing in her journal. "I guess you ran into each other at the bath?"
"Yeah, and he couldn't stop talking about their hot, romantic nights together."
Lina snorted as she moved beside him and started chanting a heated wind spell to dry his hair with as his skin erupted into gooseflesh at her presence, "In his dreams perhaps. I guess he's never witnessed a hot, romantic night to compare it to."
"Well he's too good for grunt work after all." Gourry commented as she ran her fingers through his hair, making his scalp nice and tingly.
Lina laughed, "He missed out on quite the education."
"I guess he was never a mercenary." Gourry said as he started to blush and hoped that she was too focused on his hair to notice.
"Or a bodyguard for randy nobles taking mistresses to their bed."
"Well I guess it's hard to know what fireworks sound like if you've never heard them." Gourry pointed out.
"Do you remember guarding Lord Brookmeyer?" Lina asked with a laugh, "I'd never seen you turn such a shade of red!"
Gourry couldn't help but blush at the memory and decided to turn the conversation to a safer topic. Maintaining his self-control around her was already difficult enough! "But there's no warmth there, between him and Mileena. I mean they fight well together, they're both assets on the battlefield. But I'm not even sure she really trusts him. Why is she even traveling with him?"
"I can't make sense of it either." She said as she grabbed her brush and started running it through his hair.
"You mean she hasn't said anything to you?"
"It's not like I really have the opportunity to ask." Lina said, "She's never in the bathhouse when I'm there, so I've not gotten to talk to her alone. She spends a lot of time in her room really."
"Likely afraid that Luke will pounce if she steps out." Gourry said quietly.
Lina lowered her voice as she pulled away from him and copied Luke's facial expression, "Hey Mileena, I see you're goin' to the bath! Want me to wash your back?" she dropped the act as she continued to brush her hair, "Poor woman."
"Still, she travels with him."
"Yeah, I can't make sense of it. I would have kicked him to the curb long ago." She said, and was it his imagination, or were her hands trailing his back more than usual? Damn, but it felt nice!
"My turn?" he said, needing to give his hands something to do before they acted of their own accord!
She smiled as she handed him the brush. He was quiet for a moment as he took comfort in the fact that she had kept him around until another thought occurred to him, "But if he'd had something like the Sword of Light, would you have put up with Luke?"
"Huh!?" Lina said as she stiffened, and then she started to stammer, "I um, well, I dunno. Perhaps for a little bit when I was young and naïve but if he kept pushing like this, I mean, not even the Sword of Light is worth putting up with that."
Gourry settled down a bit as Lina turned to glance at him before looking back at the floor. He took a breath and put a hand on her shoulder and moved it down her arm in a comforting manner that left him wanting to feel more even as he retreated, "So you don't think he has some treasure that she wants?"
"I dunno," Lina muttered, "If he does, it has to be something big. And she's not acting like a woman who wants something. She told him several times that he was free to leave."
"Well and if she is, he's rather confident in himself to not question her motives." Gourry said.
Lina shifted uncomfortably, "Does that really matter to men so much as they can get the prize?"
Gourry froze for a moment, surprised by the direction her thoughts had gone. But then there were plenty of men like that. "Well, some wouldn't care. But you know, plenty of men want loving, committed relationships as well."
"Yeah, my dad did. He just warned me good about the other kind." Lina said quickly.
He waited for her to ask what he wanted, but she was uncharacteristically quiet as he brushed her hair as he felt the wall between them assert itself. He flailed for a moment as he wondered how to take it apart, to remove one brick. But nothing came to mind. And, if he was going to follow her lead, then he'd reached his limit. Eventually the brush went through her hair easily and his arm was starting to tire. "Looks like it's done." He said as he handed the brush back to her.
"Thanks!" she said as she turned around, bringing their faces close together, and the desire to close the gap with a kiss was overwhelming. But she turned back around before he could make a move.
Still, as they said their goodnights and he walked back to his room, he could take comfort in the fact that Lina trusted him in ways that Mileena did not trust Luke and seemed to enjoy being with him.
AN: This follows novel 10. Novels 11 through 13 will be combined into one update. I had thought I'd be able to do 10 through 13 in one update with Gourry discovering the Blast Sword being the unifying theme, but it got too overwhelming.