Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN SLAYERS. So there. ^_^
- JUST ANOTHER AU FIC -
Chapter 6 : Roses Are Red, Play Hard To Get...
It was morning. Filia trudged along in the direction of Dragon Crest building, if a little downheartedly. She tried not to look directly at the huge edifice right across the shop, one glaring reminder of her failures and a certain annoying namagomi Mazoku. Even now, customers swarmed inside the Metallium building. Her teashop was ignored.
She frowned. A large truck was parked right in front of her building. A group of men in workers' clothes bustled around the vehicle, carrying baskets upon baskets of... Roses?
They were piled all over, huge bouquets of red long-stemmed roses, by the door, to the teashop window. The blonde gaped in bewilderment, and quickened her pace. Jiras stood outside, a helpless look on his furry face.
"What is the meaning of this?" Filia asked the fox man.
Jiras shook his head. "Gomen, Oneesan, but--"
"Miss Filia Ul Copt?" One man in a blue workers' coat interrupted, a clipboard in hand. Behind him the men took out yet another batch of deep crimson roses, transferring them into the shop.
"Yes, that's me," Filia replied, puzzled.
The man smiled in relief, involuntarily wiping some sweat off his forehead. It was obvious he'd had a rather busy morning. "Please sign here," he instructed, handing her the clipboard and a pen.
She looked skeptically at the sheet of paper. "I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken..."
"No, madam. Thirty baskets of roses, to be delivered to Ms. Filia Ul Copt of #154 Main Street, Saillune, July the 24th, Tuesday..."
"Roses? I didn't send for those--"
The delivery man grinned wryly. "Ma'am, our boss had them sent to you. A special gift for a special lady. Now if you please sign here..."
Filia reluctantly obliged, letting the words sink in. Someone... sent roses to... her? She blinked, and blinked again for good measure.
"Thank you," the delivery guy said, taking the clipboard. "Enjoy the roses, Miss Ul Copt. They smell heavenly," he motioned to the others, who had finished taking out the bouquets and were packing up. "Oh, and the good sir also wishes to give you this, milady," the man said, handing her a small card. He gave her a courteous salute and joined the others. With a smooth whirr of engines the delivery truck left the street, leaving a rather perplexed Filia.
Who could have sent her roses? Her gaze fell on the card she held on her hand. There was some writing in there. She ran over the words.... Filia's eyes widened, her face heating up. No... But...
'Filia-san,
A small token of my admiration for such a wonderful lady.
Know who I am?
Sorewa himitsu desu.'
"Uh, sis?" Jiras was looking worriedly at his employer. "What are we going to do with these stuff?" he indicated the baskets of roses filling the entire first floor and porch of the teashop. Filia stood there, an unusually quiet expression on her face. Speechless.
"Sis?"
"...................."
"They just keep coming and coming and coming," Jiras observed wearily.
"Quiet, Jiras. The boss might hear you," Gravos cautioned. He indicated to where Filia had locked herself upstairs, suspiciously calmly taking it all in. Their employer hadn't said a word since the roses arrived, instead heading straight to her office. Which happened to be cluttered with boxes of chocolates and beribboned teddy bears. How those things had managed to find their way there was a complete mystery. But then, that secret admirer of their boss was a mystery himself. Not to mention filthy stinking rich. The two could only wonder how she had managed not to blow her top this long. Shock trauma?
"Ooh, how pretty!" a perky female voice gushed from the doorway. Amelia welcomed the latest arrivals in, a bunch of guys in striped overalls carrying multi-colored balloons with 'To My Dearest Fi-chan' written on them. The brunette had appointed herself as the main overseer of the gifts, if a little too eagerly. The balloon people were followed by a bunch of guys carrying stuffed toys of gold dragons and purple wolves.
"Jiras-san! Gravos-san!" the young secretary called out happily from where she was helping the men put the presents on a free table. Stars appeared in her eyes. "Isn't it so romantic how Filia-san has a secret ad-- Zelgadis-san!" She was cut off from her reverie with the appearance of the wiry-haired attorney from behind the delivery men.
"Um, good morning, Amelia," Zelgadis greeted, narrowly avoiding a collision with the latest drove of stuffed animals. He held up one stuffed gold dragon that had fallen off one stool and shot her an inquiring look. "What are-- uh...?"
"Isn't it romantic?!" the black-haired girl ecstatically replied. "These are from Miss Filia's secret admirer!" Amelia sighed dreamily, hugging one stuffed purple wolf close to her heart. Jiras and Gravos sweatdropped in the background.
Zelgadis blushed. Why was he blushing? No.... keep it professional. He is a professional... "Is--"
The phone rang.
"I'll go get it," Jiras said, and headed down the hall.
"Um, miss Amelia?" One delivery man asked from where he was balancing boxes upon heart-shaped boxes of Swiss chocolates. "I was wondering where we could put this... There isn't enough room..."
Amelia sat up. "Here, I'll help you..."
Could it be? Filia asked herself, her mind still unable to grasp what the hell was happening. She glanced helplessly at the pile of presents on and around her desk. All from that... that...
A knock on the door.
"Come in."
"Sis?" Jiras.
The blond woman stood up. "What's the matter?"
The fox man seemed to hesitate. "There's a... a phone call for you, sis..."
She nodded her thanks and followed her assistant downstairs. Amelia was there, along with several delivery people... She shrugged it off. Zelgadis was there, too, trying to disappear as he rather uncomfortably stared down at a sickeningly cute stuffed gold dragon. She reached the newly-installed telephone, slightly wondering why Jiras scurried off the extreme other end of the room, as far away from her as possible.
"Hello?" She greeted over the line.
"Hello again, Filia-chan!" A very familiar annoying namagomi voice answered on the other end.
"XELLOS!!!" Filia practically screamed into the receiver.
"Youch, Fi-chan, as much as I love hearing your angelic voice, I'd really appreciate it if you don't yell my name out so loud," the Mazoku replied, his cheery voice a bit strained. Regaining his demeanor he continued, "So, did you like the roses I sent you? How about the chocolates? Or the teddy bears? The stuffed toys? Oh, and I forgot all the other stuff I'd ordered. Well, I just called to ask you if you'd like to go out with me, say... tonight."
It clicked. Finally it clicked. "You... sent me those..." She began.
"Yes, I did," he replied smoothly. "Is there anything wrong?"
"Namagomi!!!!" Filia bit out. "What the hell are you up to?!?"
"Nothing. I just want to take you out to dinner. Can't a man ask a woman to go out with him in this city?" Xellos' voice dripped amusement. "So what do you think? Are you free tonight? I could--"
"No!" Filia yelled, slamming down the receiver.
A few seconds. The phone rang again.
"Playing hard to get! How fun! Now, as I was saying--"
SMASH!
The blonde looked angrily down at the pile of smoking plastic that used to be the telephone. The second she'd broken in one week.
Zel, Amelia, and every other person present sweatdropped and looked the blonde over nervously.
"Filia-san," Amelia tentatively began, "So it's Xellos-san who... uh, who..."
"Miss Ul Copt?" A female voice inquired from the door. Everyone turned to see two girls with identical long purple hair and red Oriental outfits standing on the doorway. "We were asked to perform a singing telegram for you," the other chimed.
Sweatdrop. Filia was beyond red.
"AAAAAAHHH!!!!"
_
Xellos smirked as the line went dead. Yes, this was so much fun. It sounded like he had succeeded again in making the blonde destroy her telephone outlet in another fit of irritation.
He had expected her reaction, of course. No, but he wouldn't give up so easily. Now to put his real plans into action... A more sinister smile crept up his face. It was time he paid a little visit to his Fi-chan...
He pressed a few buttons in the remote control panel on his desk.
The butler arrived promptly. "You called, sir?"
He beamed at the man. "I'm thinking of going out for awhile. Could you ready my car?"
"We interrupt regular programming to bring you an important message from our sponsor..."
The screen shifted. Xellos sat at the desk of his office, dressed in a corporate gray business suit, smiling happily into the videocam.
"Yare yare, hi there, Fi-chan! Hope you liked the chocolates! Well, I just wanted to let the world know I really like you! If it's not too much of a trouble would you consider going out with me? I know of this romantic place just outside Saillune--"
CRAAAASHH!!!
Filia glared furiously at the spot where the chocolate box had collided with the tv screen, smoke definitely coming out of her ears.
"The nerve!!!" She fumed.
"Now, now, Filia," Amelia said, pacifying her friend. The singing telegram had progressed rather disastrously, at least for the blond woman. Filia was taking it rather hard. The two singers had went on and performed the piece, a rather beautiful melody dedicated to the blonde, and when they finished, cherry blossoms mysteriously raining down the sky at the final note, it was all Amelia could do not to clap. Jiras and Gravos had clapped heartily, awarding them a glare of death from the blond lady. Bowing, the performers exited, expressing their deepest joy in having sung to such a nice crowd.
Oh, but that wasn't the end of it. Deliveries of gifts and other trinkets continued pouring into the shop. This attracted more customers than usual, quite curious about the growing pile of roses, chocolates and stuffed toys crowding the dining area. A few even thought the teashop had converted itself into a flower or giftshop, what with all the stuff coming in. When they learned it wasn't a change of business, but rather the work of a pretty persistent suitor, even more people came barging in, wanting to know more of the affair.
On the good side, it helped business, but Filia didn't seem to look at it that way. In fact, she had ordered most of the employees at the pottery shop to cart away the presents to the second floor warehouse, planning to ship it back to wherever it came from the following day.
Amelia sighed. Zelgadis had left a while ago, muttering something about some legal matter to discuss with another client. He always seemed so busy, so hard-working... But then, she had always admired him for that.
"Want me to get you a cup of tea?" the raven-haired woman offered.
Filia smiled wryly at her friend. "Tell you what, I'll go downstairs myself."
Amelia smiled to herself at her friend's gentler expression. At least she'd calmed down a bit, she thought, as she nodded, leaving Filia to head out the door and down the second floor stairway.
Filia descended down the wooden stairs, trying to compose herself. No, she would not let the filthy namagomi ruin her entire day. She had a shop to run, after all. A few workers greeted her as she passed by. Yes, she had a shop to...
"Yeah, he really seems to like her."
"So do you think she'd really go out with him?"
"They'd look cute together if you ask me--"
"*AHEM*!"
The hapless bunch turned to look at their employer, and sweatdropped. "Uh, h-hi, boss," they greeted, grinning nervously.
Filia glared at each of them. She pointed to the pile of crates nestled between the latest delivery of stuffed animals , flowers and chocolates. "Back to work," she glowered, "NOW!!!"
"Hai," they said, nodding their assent.
She had a shop to run, she repeated to herself, heading down the dining area. She closed her eyes. A nice hot cup of tea, that was what she needed. Steering herself, she made for the counter, only to stop in her tracks.
"Namagomi!!!!"
Xellos sat on one of the wicker chairs, calmly drinking tea. He smiled at her furious-about-to-explode expression. "Ah, Fi-chan!" he called out. He took another sip of the drink, sighing contentedly. "I must say, this is excellent tea. One of your original blends, I presume?"
The blond gritted her teeth. "What do you think you're doing?!" She advanced dangerously at him, grabbing at the nearest teddy bear to clobber the Mazoku to the next city.
Xellos looked nonplused. "Drinking tea," he replied cheerily. "Isn't it obvious?"
Filia's face reddened. "Stop playing these games, you stupid--" She raised the teddy bear, preparing to attack.
He set down his teacup. "I'm not playing anything, Filia."
She lowered the makeshift weapon, eyeing him warily. "What do you want?"
He grinned easily, and stood up to properly face her. "A date, Fi-chan."
"With you???"
A nod.
"No way!!!!" Filia was beyond red.
"Come on, Filia. I'm not that bad a guy, am I?" He replied smoothly.
"I told you before and I'm telling you for the umpteenth time, NO!!!" she bellowed back.
"You look really cute when you're mad..." he remarked.
Filia tried very hard not to fume. "Can't you take no for an answer?!?"
He smirked. "No."
She crossed her arms arrogantly. "Too bad, then. NO."
Xellos smiled wider. "You still have to collect that dinner date you won from our promo," he reminded her.
The blonde sniffed haughtily. "I had it sent back, for your information."
"Ah, but you're still the official winner!" Xellos pressed on. One purple slitted eye opened, winking at her. "Come on, just a night out. Nothing too lavish, I promise. Think about it." He took a step towards her.
She backed away. "Jiras! Gravos!" Filia called out.
"Sis?"
"Throw him out."
"....... OK, sis........" The two assistants closed in on the purple-haired trickster.
He held up his hands in surrender. "Aw, so cruel," Xellos pretended to pout. "Don't you like me?"
She sneered, arms crossed. "Like you?! I like you as much as I would raw filth! Now get out." Jiras and Gravos began closing in on him again, and he backed away slightly, sweatdropping. One purple eye-brow twitched at the word 'filth'.
Xellos forced his most annoyingly amused grin on his face. "So you like playing hard to get..."
"OUT!"
"Is that the reason you're still single?"
"...................."
"You know you won't be getting any younger. You should worry about reproductive health, all that. Or would you rather be an old maid?" He grinned at the blonde, observing her already furious face steadily getting redder and angrier from each statement. "I'm asking you properly. Would you consider going out with me, my dear Filia-san?" Xellos asked politely.
Jiras and Gravos looked at their red-faced boss nervously, and backed a few steps (OK, a lot of steps) away from the two. They knew what was coming...
CRRRRAAAAASSSSHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
The front store window of the teashop exploded, the shards of glass flying in all directions, along with a purple-haired blur that was formerly recognizable as the business lord of Wolfpack Corporation. Xellos landed bodily a few meters from the front entrance, and he stood up, brushing himself off. Remarkably enough, his body was free of any cuts or bruises from the impact. Regaining whatever dignity there was left to a grown man being thrown through a window, he grinned at the angry blonde shouting at him from the open doorway.
"AND DON'T YOU DARE SHOW YOUR FACE AT MY HOUSE UNTIL SEVEN!!!!" Filia yelled,fangs bared, slamming the store door shut.
Xellos smirked, smiling triumphantly. "Is that a yes?"
Author's Rants: YAY!!! Missed me? College life ROCKS!!! Thanks for all those encouraging words, people! I love you! Well, originally I drafted this story into an easy 8 chapters, tops, but looks like it'll be waaay longer than that. I agree, Filia doesn't stand a chance when Xellos plays Valentino (sort of ^_^). However, I could not bear to write a fanfic without Xellos at his annoying best. So I made him annoy Filia even as he went all out to, uh, court her.
THE DATING GAME...... ^_~
- JUST ANOTHER AU FIC -
Chapter 6 : Roses Are Red, Play Hard To Get...
It was morning. Filia trudged along in the direction of Dragon Crest building, if a little downheartedly. She tried not to look directly at the huge edifice right across the shop, one glaring reminder of her failures and a certain annoying namagomi Mazoku. Even now, customers swarmed inside the Metallium building. Her teashop was ignored.
She frowned. A large truck was parked right in front of her building. A group of men in workers' clothes bustled around the vehicle, carrying baskets upon baskets of... Roses?
They were piled all over, huge bouquets of red long-stemmed roses, by the door, to the teashop window. The blonde gaped in bewilderment, and quickened her pace. Jiras stood outside, a helpless look on his furry face.
"What is the meaning of this?" Filia asked the fox man.
Jiras shook his head. "Gomen, Oneesan, but--"
"Miss Filia Ul Copt?" One man in a blue workers' coat interrupted, a clipboard in hand. Behind him the men took out yet another batch of deep crimson roses, transferring them into the shop.
"Yes, that's me," Filia replied, puzzled.
The man smiled in relief, involuntarily wiping some sweat off his forehead. It was obvious he'd had a rather busy morning. "Please sign here," he instructed, handing her the clipboard and a pen.
She looked skeptically at the sheet of paper. "I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken..."
"No, madam. Thirty baskets of roses, to be delivered to Ms. Filia Ul Copt of #154 Main Street, Saillune, July the 24th, Tuesday..."
"Roses? I didn't send for those--"
The delivery man grinned wryly. "Ma'am, our boss had them sent to you. A special gift for a special lady. Now if you please sign here..."
Filia reluctantly obliged, letting the words sink in. Someone... sent roses to... her? She blinked, and blinked again for good measure.
"Thank you," the delivery guy said, taking the clipboard. "Enjoy the roses, Miss Ul Copt. They smell heavenly," he motioned to the others, who had finished taking out the bouquets and were packing up. "Oh, and the good sir also wishes to give you this, milady," the man said, handing her a small card. He gave her a courteous salute and joined the others. With a smooth whirr of engines the delivery truck left the street, leaving a rather perplexed Filia.
Who could have sent her roses? Her gaze fell on the card she held on her hand. There was some writing in there. She ran over the words.... Filia's eyes widened, her face heating up. No... But...
'Filia-san,
A small token of my admiration for such a wonderful lady.
Know who I am?
Sorewa himitsu desu.'
"Uh, sis?" Jiras was looking worriedly at his employer. "What are we going to do with these stuff?" he indicated the baskets of roses filling the entire first floor and porch of the teashop. Filia stood there, an unusually quiet expression on her face. Speechless.
"Sis?"
"...................."
"They just keep coming and coming and coming," Jiras observed wearily.
"Quiet, Jiras. The boss might hear you," Gravos cautioned. He indicated to where Filia had locked herself upstairs, suspiciously calmly taking it all in. Their employer hadn't said a word since the roses arrived, instead heading straight to her office. Which happened to be cluttered with boxes of chocolates and beribboned teddy bears. How those things had managed to find their way there was a complete mystery. But then, that secret admirer of their boss was a mystery himself. Not to mention filthy stinking rich. The two could only wonder how she had managed not to blow her top this long. Shock trauma?
"Ooh, how pretty!" a perky female voice gushed from the doorway. Amelia welcomed the latest arrivals in, a bunch of guys in striped overalls carrying multi-colored balloons with 'To My Dearest Fi-chan' written on them. The brunette had appointed herself as the main overseer of the gifts, if a little too eagerly. The balloon people were followed by a bunch of guys carrying stuffed toys of gold dragons and purple wolves.
"Jiras-san! Gravos-san!" the young secretary called out happily from where she was helping the men put the presents on a free table. Stars appeared in her eyes. "Isn't it so romantic how Filia-san has a secret ad-- Zelgadis-san!" She was cut off from her reverie with the appearance of the wiry-haired attorney from behind the delivery men.
"Um, good morning, Amelia," Zelgadis greeted, narrowly avoiding a collision with the latest drove of stuffed animals. He held up one stuffed gold dragon that had fallen off one stool and shot her an inquiring look. "What are-- uh...?"
"Isn't it romantic?!" the black-haired girl ecstatically replied. "These are from Miss Filia's secret admirer!" Amelia sighed dreamily, hugging one stuffed purple wolf close to her heart. Jiras and Gravos sweatdropped in the background.
Zelgadis blushed. Why was he blushing? No.... keep it professional. He is a professional... "Is--"
The phone rang.
"I'll go get it," Jiras said, and headed down the hall.
"Um, miss Amelia?" One delivery man asked from where he was balancing boxes upon heart-shaped boxes of Swiss chocolates. "I was wondering where we could put this... There isn't enough room..."
Amelia sat up. "Here, I'll help you..."
Could it be? Filia asked herself, her mind still unable to grasp what the hell was happening. She glanced helplessly at the pile of presents on and around her desk. All from that... that...
A knock on the door.
"Come in."
"Sis?" Jiras.
The blond woman stood up. "What's the matter?"
The fox man seemed to hesitate. "There's a... a phone call for you, sis..."
She nodded her thanks and followed her assistant downstairs. Amelia was there, along with several delivery people... She shrugged it off. Zelgadis was there, too, trying to disappear as he rather uncomfortably stared down at a sickeningly cute stuffed gold dragon. She reached the newly-installed telephone, slightly wondering why Jiras scurried off the extreme other end of the room, as far away from her as possible.
"Hello?" She greeted over the line.
"Hello again, Filia-chan!" A very familiar annoying namagomi voice answered on the other end.
"XELLOS!!!" Filia practically screamed into the receiver.
"Youch, Fi-chan, as much as I love hearing your angelic voice, I'd really appreciate it if you don't yell my name out so loud," the Mazoku replied, his cheery voice a bit strained. Regaining his demeanor he continued, "So, did you like the roses I sent you? How about the chocolates? Or the teddy bears? The stuffed toys? Oh, and I forgot all the other stuff I'd ordered. Well, I just called to ask you if you'd like to go out with me, say... tonight."
It clicked. Finally it clicked. "You... sent me those..." She began.
"Yes, I did," he replied smoothly. "Is there anything wrong?"
"Namagomi!!!!" Filia bit out. "What the hell are you up to?!?"
"Nothing. I just want to take you out to dinner. Can't a man ask a woman to go out with him in this city?" Xellos' voice dripped amusement. "So what do you think? Are you free tonight? I could--"
"No!" Filia yelled, slamming down the receiver.
A few seconds. The phone rang again.
"Playing hard to get! How fun! Now, as I was saying--"
SMASH!
The blonde looked angrily down at the pile of smoking plastic that used to be the telephone. The second she'd broken in one week.
Zel, Amelia, and every other person present sweatdropped and looked the blonde over nervously.
"Filia-san," Amelia tentatively began, "So it's Xellos-san who... uh, who..."
"Miss Ul Copt?" A female voice inquired from the door. Everyone turned to see two girls with identical long purple hair and red Oriental outfits standing on the doorway. "We were asked to perform a singing telegram for you," the other chimed.
Sweatdrop. Filia was beyond red.
"AAAAAAHHH!!!!"
_
Xellos smirked as the line went dead. Yes, this was so much fun. It sounded like he had succeeded again in making the blonde destroy her telephone outlet in another fit of irritation.
He had expected her reaction, of course. No, but he wouldn't give up so easily. Now to put his real plans into action... A more sinister smile crept up his face. It was time he paid a little visit to his Fi-chan...
He pressed a few buttons in the remote control panel on his desk.
The butler arrived promptly. "You called, sir?"
He beamed at the man. "I'm thinking of going out for awhile. Could you ready my car?"
"We interrupt regular programming to bring you an important message from our sponsor..."
The screen shifted. Xellos sat at the desk of his office, dressed in a corporate gray business suit, smiling happily into the videocam.
"Yare yare, hi there, Fi-chan! Hope you liked the chocolates! Well, I just wanted to let the world know I really like you! If it's not too much of a trouble would you consider going out with me? I know of this romantic place just outside Saillune--"
CRAAAASHH!!!
Filia glared furiously at the spot where the chocolate box had collided with the tv screen, smoke definitely coming out of her ears.
"The nerve!!!" She fumed.
"Now, now, Filia," Amelia said, pacifying her friend. The singing telegram had progressed rather disastrously, at least for the blond woman. Filia was taking it rather hard. The two singers had went on and performed the piece, a rather beautiful melody dedicated to the blonde, and when they finished, cherry blossoms mysteriously raining down the sky at the final note, it was all Amelia could do not to clap. Jiras and Gravos had clapped heartily, awarding them a glare of death from the blond lady. Bowing, the performers exited, expressing their deepest joy in having sung to such a nice crowd.
Oh, but that wasn't the end of it. Deliveries of gifts and other trinkets continued pouring into the shop. This attracted more customers than usual, quite curious about the growing pile of roses, chocolates and stuffed toys crowding the dining area. A few even thought the teashop had converted itself into a flower or giftshop, what with all the stuff coming in. When they learned it wasn't a change of business, but rather the work of a pretty persistent suitor, even more people came barging in, wanting to know more of the affair.
On the good side, it helped business, but Filia didn't seem to look at it that way. In fact, she had ordered most of the employees at the pottery shop to cart away the presents to the second floor warehouse, planning to ship it back to wherever it came from the following day.
Amelia sighed. Zelgadis had left a while ago, muttering something about some legal matter to discuss with another client. He always seemed so busy, so hard-working... But then, she had always admired him for that.
"Want me to get you a cup of tea?" the raven-haired woman offered.
Filia smiled wryly at her friend. "Tell you what, I'll go downstairs myself."
Amelia smiled to herself at her friend's gentler expression. At least she'd calmed down a bit, she thought, as she nodded, leaving Filia to head out the door and down the second floor stairway.
Filia descended down the wooden stairs, trying to compose herself. No, she would not let the filthy namagomi ruin her entire day. She had a shop to run, after all. A few workers greeted her as she passed by. Yes, she had a shop to...
"Yeah, he really seems to like her."
"So do you think she'd really go out with him?"
"They'd look cute together if you ask me--"
"*AHEM*!"
The hapless bunch turned to look at their employer, and sweatdropped. "Uh, h-hi, boss," they greeted, grinning nervously.
Filia glared at each of them. She pointed to the pile of crates nestled between the latest delivery of stuffed animals , flowers and chocolates. "Back to work," she glowered, "NOW!!!"
"Hai," they said, nodding their assent.
She had a shop to run, she repeated to herself, heading down the dining area. She closed her eyes. A nice hot cup of tea, that was what she needed. Steering herself, she made for the counter, only to stop in her tracks.
"Namagomi!!!!"
Xellos sat on one of the wicker chairs, calmly drinking tea. He smiled at her furious-about-to-explode expression. "Ah, Fi-chan!" he called out. He took another sip of the drink, sighing contentedly. "I must say, this is excellent tea. One of your original blends, I presume?"
The blond gritted her teeth. "What do you think you're doing?!" She advanced dangerously at him, grabbing at the nearest teddy bear to clobber the Mazoku to the next city.
Xellos looked nonplused. "Drinking tea," he replied cheerily. "Isn't it obvious?"
Filia's face reddened. "Stop playing these games, you stupid--" She raised the teddy bear, preparing to attack.
He set down his teacup. "I'm not playing anything, Filia."
She lowered the makeshift weapon, eyeing him warily. "What do you want?"
He grinned easily, and stood up to properly face her. "A date, Fi-chan."
"With you???"
A nod.
"No way!!!!" Filia was beyond red.
"Come on, Filia. I'm not that bad a guy, am I?" He replied smoothly.
"I told you before and I'm telling you for the umpteenth time, NO!!!" she bellowed back.
"You look really cute when you're mad..." he remarked.
Filia tried very hard not to fume. "Can't you take no for an answer?!?"
He smirked. "No."
She crossed her arms arrogantly. "Too bad, then. NO."
Xellos smiled wider. "You still have to collect that dinner date you won from our promo," he reminded her.
The blonde sniffed haughtily. "I had it sent back, for your information."
"Ah, but you're still the official winner!" Xellos pressed on. One purple slitted eye opened, winking at her. "Come on, just a night out. Nothing too lavish, I promise. Think about it." He took a step towards her.
She backed away. "Jiras! Gravos!" Filia called out.
"Sis?"
"Throw him out."
"....... OK, sis........" The two assistants closed in on the purple-haired trickster.
He held up his hands in surrender. "Aw, so cruel," Xellos pretended to pout. "Don't you like me?"
She sneered, arms crossed. "Like you?! I like you as much as I would raw filth! Now get out." Jiras and Gravos began closing in on him again, and he backed away slightly, sweatdropping. One purple eye-brow twitched at the word 'filth'.
Xellos forced his most annoyingly amused grin on his face. "So you like playing hard to get..."
"OUT!"
"Is that the reason you're still single?"
"...................."
"You know you won't be getting any younger. You should worry about reproductive health, all that. Or would you rather be an old maid?" He grinned at the blonde, observing her already furious face steadily getting redder and angrier from each statement. "I'm asking you properly. Would you consider going out with me, my dear Filia-san?" Xellos asked politely.
Jiras and Gravos looked at their red-faced boss nervously, and backed a few steps (OK, a lot of steps) away from the two. They knew what was coming...
CRRRRAAAAASSSSHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!
The front store window of the teashop exploded, the shards of glass flying in all directions, along with a purple-haired blur that was formerly recognizable as the business lord of Wolfpack Corporation. Xellos landed bodily a few meters from the front entrance, and he stood up, brushing himself off. Remarkably enough, his body was free of any cuts or bruises from the impact. Regaining whatever dignity there was left to a grown man being thrown through a window, he grinned at the angry blonde shouting at him from the open doorway.
"AND DON'T YOU DARE SHOW YOUR FACE AT MY HOUSE UNTIL SEVEN!!!!" Filia yelled,fangs bared, slamming the store door shut.
Xellos smirked, smiling triumphantly. "Is that a yes?"
Author's Rants: YAY!!! Missed me? College life ROCKS!!! Thanks for all those encouraging words, people! I love you! Well, originally I drafted this story into an easy 8 chapters, tops, but looks like it'll be waaay longer than that. I agree, Filia doesn't stand a chance when Xellos plays Valentino (sort of ^_^). However, I could not bear to write a fanfic without Xellos at his annoying best. So I made him annoy Filia even as he went all out to, uh, court her.
THE DATING GAME...... ^_~