Confessions
For a second, Amelia was speechless. Zelgadis sat fidgeting, wondering whether or not he had done the right thing.
Suddenly, she was up. Zelgadis looked at her, anxious.
In the next instant, she was hugging him tightly.
"Amelia...I can't- breathe!" The enigmatic man was now showing a new side of himself. A side that really didn't mind if he could breathe or not, just as long as Amelia was the one suffocating him.
Finally, she broke away. Hers eyes were bright with tears of happiness. "Oh, Mr. Zelgadis! I've wanted to know for such a long time—and now I do!"
Zelgadis smiled, a rare thing that really looked good on him. "If I had known it would have made you this happy, I would have told you long ago."
"Mr. Zelgadis, you should have expressed your true feelings, no matter what the outcome. Do you have any idea how long I have felt this way about you?"
As she said that, she had been arranging herself on his lap. When she was done, Zelgadis wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head on her shoulder. They had confessed to each other. Naturally, they started to act as if they had always been a couple.
"A little longer than I have, I suppose." His chin bounced comfortably on and off her shoulder. "You know, Amelia, you really don't have to call me 'Mr. Zelgadis'. That's so...formal."
Amelia thought about that. "How about 'Zelgadis-chan'? It works for Mr. Gourry."
"Ummm, no. How about just plain 'Zel'? That seems to be my designated nickname, anyway."
"By Miss Lina. But it is the most normal. Not like 'Zelga-bunny.'"
Zelgadis chuckled. Another thing he never did that suited him. "You remember that?"
Amelia pretended to be shocked. "Of course I do, Zelga-bunny. I remember everything about you."
He grinned evilly. "Including the time you called me, 'creepy and suspicious-looking?'"
"Zel! I hadn't even met you yet!" She hung her head. "But yeah, I do still feel bad about that."
"Don't," Zelgadis said simply.
"Alright," Amelia replied and snuggled closer.
They sat silently for a while, basking in the comfortable feeling of acknowledged love.
Presently, Amelia noticed something. "Oh, Zel! You're so warm!"
He made that underused chuckle that made him all the more adorable. "I may be as hard as a rock, but I'm certainly not one!"
Amelia fingered Zelgadis' arm through his sleeve. It was a weird feeling. It was hard, all right, but the surface had a slight malleability that gave the impression of taut skin over bone. Reaching up, Amelia touched the side of Zelgadis' face. It felt the same, including the odd rocky lumps.
"Zel, do you really hate this chimera body? I think it's beautiful." She giggled girlishly. "Wire hair and all."
He sighed. "I suppose it has grown on me. Not like there's a cure out there, anyway."
Amelia was slightly surprised. "You mean you've given up on the cure?" He nodded. "But Zel, then why do you keep on traveling with us looking for the Claire Bible?"
He smiled down at her. "I'll give you one guess."
Amelia was once again filled with unbound emotion for the swordsman.
"Yeah," she agreed, "that's my reason, too."
They sat for another spell. They really didn't need to speak. It was as if they had always had one mind, but had been separated. And now they were rejoined. It was the most reassuring feeling that either of them had ever experienced.
Zelgadis laughed suddenly. As Amelia looked up at him curiously, he explained. "Just think. We discovered each other because of that meddling Lina. Well," he amended, "you got my answer. The rest of us already could tell your feelings."
Amelia bushed. "How could you all have known without telling me?"
"Maybe Gourry didn't know..."
"Zel! I've been plagued by countless sleepless nights and tense days just thinking about how you might have felt about me."
He lifted one hand to stroke her hair. "I'm very sorry for that, Amelia. I really didn't know that it affected you like that. I'll never keep anything from you again."
She smiled at him affectionately. "Thank you. I'll tell you everything, too."
That settled, Zelgadis moved on to the next subject. "So, are we going to thank Lina?"
"Are you kidding? By pulling this trick, she almost got me killed!"
"You're still upset about that? Honestly, I couldn't control my fighting instincts. I apologize for scaring you. But," he added, putting on a dejected voice, "are you sorry this happened?"
"No, this is possibly the best thing that has every happened to me. I'd just like to do it over without getting attacked."
Zelgadis nodded. His head drooped a little longer than necessary, then jerked back up again.
He yawned wide and blinked. "Hmm. It would appear that I am sleepy."
"You shouldn't be, considering all that coffee you drank." But she stood, anyway.
He smiled, seeing her full in the face since their conversation had begun. "We don't find things out about each other, we find out what the other knows about us."
"That's okay, isn't it?" He smiled and nodded affirmation. Amelia beamed back at him. "You should smile more often, Zel. It looks really dashing on you."
He blushed, and glanced away. "Go to sleep. I hear the beds are the softest around."
Amelia observed that he planned to stay in the chair. "Are you alright there? We could switch places, or..." She trailed off, blushing, and Zelgadis turned a deep shade of purple.
"Um, no, it's okay. The chair's – the chair's about as snug as the bed, anyway. Besides, I would be decently comfortable nearly anywhere. You know, with my skin and all."
Amelia bit her lip to keep from laughing. Hearing him ramble was hilarious. He was so different from the serious Zel that Lina constantly poked fun at.
"Zel?" she asked as she crawled into the bed. "How do you feel about the teasing that you get from us?"
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I really don't notice them. Sometimes, they are actually kind of funny."
"That's good. I'd feel bad if I was ever offending you."
"You worry too much, Amelia."
"Thank you, Mr. Zelgadis."
He shook his head bemusedly. "Good night, Amelia."
"Good night, Zel."
She settled back into the extraordinarily soft bed. No Question tonight, or ever again. She knew the answer.
Just to make sure, she called into the darkness, "Zel, love you."
A half-asleep Zelgadis answered. "Um...I love you more."
For the first time in a long time, Amelia fell asleep content.
Amelia woke for the second time in as many days to Lina pounding on the door.
She glanced over at Zelgadis, who was slowly coming awake. He shrugged.
"Guys! Are you in there? Wake up already!" It was Lina, undoubtedly.
Amelia and Zelgadis stood and walked to the door together. When they got there, their hands automatically intertwined.
Zelgadis slowly opened the door. Lina's odd smile, that now had meaning, gleamed back at them.
"Did you two sleep well, then?" she grinned evilly at them.
"Miss Lina, you aren't implying that we..." as Amelia trailed off, Lina's smile only deepened.
Amelia blushed as red as humanly possible, and Zelgadis as purple as chimerically possible. Simultaneously, They stomped on her head.
"I'll take that as a yes..."
Amelia and Zelgadis walked down the hall to the dining room. Gourry came out of the other room, and poked at the face down Lina.
"Hey, hey..."
END OF CHAPTER 3
