Sincere apologies; this summer was filled with too much to do and not enough fun time. The last five chapters will be up as I get them completed, so please be patient.

Don't worry though; I will finish this eventually.

The news of Rezo's romantic interest had shocked the band enough to distract from their practice, and the night had fallen into a disorderly slumber party, carrying on well into the morning. When Zelgadis had awoken he found people sleeping where they'd fallen only hours earlier, living obstacles for him to step over.

Now he found himself staring at himself in the mirror. He crunched his face to expose his teeth, stuck his tongue out lazily, and then turned on the hot water before looking at his feet. He wiggled his toes to be sure they were still there, and grinned stupidly when they did. He felt heavy, everything did; as he crossed to the shower curtain and threw it open.

Xellos and Miwan looked at Zelgadis as deer caught in headlights, Xellos lying underneath Miwan, both of them half naked. Xellos looked at Miwan, nodded in confirmation and pulled the shower curtain closed.

Zelgadis tried to voice a protest, found his enthusiasm replaced by stiff fatigue, took a swipe at the curtain, stuck out his tongue, and then turned back to the sink. He gathered the water in his cupped hands and splashed it into his face, then allowed it to drip in the sink as he blindly reached for a towel.

Instead his hand fell upon something soft and warm, familiar to the touch despite the t-shirt covering it. With a small start he pulled his hand away, and narrowly dodged Lina's clumsy swing.

"You jerk, I'm not a towel," she scolded, "If you really wanted to cop a feel, you could've just asked." She paused for a moment before she walked up behind Zelgadis, hugging herself against him. His body was warm, and she snuggled in against his shoulders.

"Hi."

"Hey," she hugged him even tighter, "How'd you sleep?"

"After what we went through last night, I slept like a damn rock," Zelgadis shook his head, "You sure as hell wore me out."

"I would hope so, otherwise it would not have been worth it," Lina let go of Zelgadis and snagged his toothbrush, washed it under the sink and added toothpaste, then began to brush.

"Lina, my…"

"MY brush," Lina countered, spat in the sink, and rinsed her mouth out, then spat again before turning to face him.

Zelgadis sighed and stretched sleepily, "What time is it?"

"Around 8:30," Lina said, then smiled slyly as she snaked her arms around his waist, "Wanna shower together?"

"Would if we could," Zelgadis shrugged, "But Xellos and Miwan already have it claimed." He motioned to the shower curtain, and Lina crossed over to it.

"Hey you two, some of us need a shower," Lina barked.

"Some of us are busy using it," Xellos replied, "Unless you want us to take it to Zel's room." The phone rang in the kitchen, and Zelgadis huffed as he left the bathroom, "Lina, it's your battle."

He crossed into the kitchen and made a small leap to get over Zangulus and to the phone.

"Hello,"

"Good morning, Mr. Zelgadis," an overly cheerful Amelia answered, "I was wondering if it was alright for me to stop over and finish the interview for your band today."

Zelgadis blew a breath through closed lips, "Um, sure you can."

"Great! I'll be over in about 30 minutes," Amelia beamed, and then hung up as Zelgadis voiced a protest.

"Wait, Ame…" He set the receiver down, groaned, and ruffled his hair, "Everybody up!"

Zangulus sprang to sleepy life, "Wh-what?"

"Amelia's gonna be here in 30 minutes, be up by then," Zelgadis told him as he proceeded to wander about the house and prod other people awake. Vrumugun, who seemed more like a corpse than asleep in the recliner, rose from sleep fully awake, his eyes blinking stoically. With that taken care of, he turned to Jiras on the couch. Jiras swatted at Zelgadis' hand several times before being awakened by flicking one of his ears.

"Ow Zel, what was?" Jiras protested as he rubbed his ear and watched Zelgadis stride out of the room.

"Be awake and ready in 30 minutes," Zelgadis rattled off as he walked back into the kitchen. Lina was already rummaging through the fridge, a gallon of milk in hand. When she emerged, she had a leftover chicken leg clenched in her teeth.

"Whyizat?" Lina mumbled.

"Amelia will be here in 30 minutes to finish the interview she started a while ago." Zelgadis walked back to the bathroom and opened the door, "Hope you two can make it quick. Amelia will be here in 30."

"If you stopped interrupting we might be able to," Xellos countered.

"Melia's coming here in hirty," Lina bit down, taking half the chicken leg in a gulp, "Why didn't you say so Zelgadis?" She pulled the cap off of the milk and began chugging. After several large gulps, she slapped the cap back onto the jug, threw it in the refrigerator, and followed Zelgadis to his room, where she found him in the middle of changing.

"Why didn't you tell her to come later?"

"I tried to, but she hung up before I could respond," Zel defended as he pulled a shirt on, "You might want to put on something more than your shirt and a pair of my boxers before Amelia gets over here."

Lina smirked, "Oh, you mean you want me to cover up this?" She turned her back to him and pulled the boxers tightly around her body, giving Zelgadis a pleasant view of her butt as the material hugged to it.

Zelgadis gulped; Lina was playing dirty, and he knew was one game he did not excel at. He settled for a whistle that escaped his lips, "Nice ass."

Lina laughed and let the boxers loosen, closed the door, and slid out of them. "You're right though."

Zelgadis grinned wistfully, "Which one, the ass comment or the clothing suggestion?" He chuckled when Lina turned red and hurled the pair of boxers around her ankle at him, "Okay, okay, both then."

"You get out of here," Lina laughed as she pushed him to the door, opened it, and shoved him through, "I'll be out in a few minutes."

"What are you blushing for, there's nothing I haven't seen?"

"Your idiocy is contagious," She poked as she closed the door.

Zelgadis just shook his head at the door and made his way to the kitchen. Jiras was hurriedly munching dry cereal, while Vrumugun had started Rezo's coffee machine, and Zangulus had turned on the radio, a familiar tune filling the kitchen:

Do you ever question your life?

Do you ever wonder why?

Do you ever see in your dreams

All the castles in the sky?

Oh tell me why

Do we build castles in the sky

Oh tell me why

Are the castles way up high…1

"Do you have any eggs?" Zangulus asked as Zelgadis walked in. Zelgadis only opened the refrigerator and grabbed the carton, then handed them to Zangulus.

"How about a diet shake?" Vrumugun asked, freezing everyone in their tracks and placing all attention on him, the air heavy with silence. His gaze stoically met everyone elses' "What?"

"Please tell me you aren't serious," Jiras jibed as he withheld laughter.

" A diet shake?" Zangulus' tone was incredulous.

"You can't possibly be worried about weight," Zelgadis added.

"All the nutrients needed in a drinkable form," Vrumugun replied, "It's easier than cooking."

"Only if you like drinking liquid cardboard," Zelgadis countered.

"Or if your very lazy," added Zangulus.

"How do you stand that stuff," Jiras asked as he stuffed a handful of cereal into his mouth.

"Take it somewhere else boys, I need the shower!" they heard Lina argue, soon followed by an entrance on the part of Xellos and Miwan, Xellos' shirt open and belt hanging loosely in the belt loops, hair as perfect as ever, Miwan blushing and trying to hide it by staying behind Xellos.

Xellos grinned warmly, "Good morning," and turned to Zelgadis, "Your mistress interrupted us."

Zelgadis shrugged and walked to the refrigerator, grabbed the milk, and took a large gulp from it, "Well, what did you expect?" he took another gulp, put the milk back, and opened up the freezer while the lower door closed. He looked around until he spotted the box of frozen waffle, pulled them out, and brought them to the toaster.

"Well, at any rate it's what you'll have to deal with once the two of you get married." Xellos chimed in as he pulled Miwan close. Jiras made a choking motion, and Zangulus slapped his back hard. Jiras swallowed forcefully.

"Zel, you never told us you were…" Jiras managed to choke.

"What're you talking about? We're not getting married," Zelgadis started, "I mean, not right now…We have no current plans for marriage."

"Oh, come on Zel," Xellos poked as he added a feminine tone to his voice, "I was helping Lina pick out the dress just the other day, and Miwan was helping to make the floral arrangements."

"Xellos," Zelgadis growled.

"Of course, then we have to plan the wedding shower," Xellos continued on, "Oh, it's just going to be so lovely."

"Hush," Zelgadis barked. Why was he getting so touchy about this? It was just a joke, he knew, but why didn't it feel like that?

Xellos seemed to read his mind, "Oh Zel, just relax. I was only joking. Besides, you'll have to move out of Rezo's place first, and it looks like you'll be here for a while." He came into the kitchen, looked about for a moment, noticed the frozen waffles, and picked them up, looking to Zelgadis, "Breakfast?"

"Yes, you and Miwan can have some. I don't see why you have to ask me; you two have practically lived over here since you tried to kill yourself."

"Do you want us to not be here anymore?" Miwan asked. Zelgadis shook his head and tossed two frozen waffles in the toaster, pushed the timer down, and chuckled.

"No, you guys are more than welcome. Rezo seems to be overjoyed that everyone is over here all the time, that I have so many friends now," he crossed to Xellos and patted him on the shoulder, "Besides, who else could keep supplying us with delivery and take-out food?" He winked, and Xellos flashed a grin, then grabbed Zelgadis' butt.

"Nice and firm," Xellos remarked as Zelgadis spun around and punched him in the shoulder. Xellos winced for a moment, and then grabbed Miwan's butt, "But I like this seat better." Miwan yelped and blushed, slapping Xellos' shoulder.

Suddenly, a towel hit Xellos in the head, wrapping around his face and draping on his shoulders. Everyone turned his or her attention to Lina, who stood near the entrance to the hallway with her hand triumphantly outstretched, hair still hanging heavy with the remains of shower water.

Even though they stood in silence, Zelgadis could faintly make out the music on the radio:

Every little thing she does is magic
Everything she do just turns me on
Even though my life before was tragic
Now I know my love for her goes on

Do I have to tell the story
Of a thousand rainy days since we first met
It's a big enough umbrella
But it's always me that ends up getting wet…2

"What are you all staring at," Lina frowned, "It's not like I've never taken a shower…" and was interrupted by a flying towel to the face, gracefully returned by Xellos, who smiled in vengeance.

"No, we were actually staring at the towel on your face," Xellos commented as he narrowly dodged the towel flying back, snatched it from the air, and whipped it at Zelgadis, "Zel, catch!"

Zelgadis pulled it from the air and spun around, aiming the towel for Jiras.

The door connecting the garage opened, and Amelia poked her head in, "Good, morn…"

Jiras dodged the towel, missed it by a couple of inches, and smacked the delighted-turned startled Amelia in the face.

For a moment, no one moved, unsure of what to say. Amelia stood in the doorway, towel hanging off of her nose, for a moment looking like an Arabian harem girl.

Finally Jiras spoke up with a chuckle, "Uh, look out?

1: Castles in the Sky- Ian Van Dahl

2: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic- The Police