Unlocking his apartment door, David stepped in with a sigh of relief. He still couldn't quite believe that a media reporter had managed to track him down and had accosted him in the parking garage at work, but after politely answering a few questions, David had gotten fed up with the rather personal subjects and had insisted that he had other appointments to attend to then climbed into his car. Hopefully they wouldn't follow him home. Maybe he should get a new car, just to throw them off. Or rent one for the trip.

Stepping in, David came to a stop, "oh no," he moaned and slammed the door shut as Samantha stood from the reassembled couch and adjusted her little black dress, the one that barely covered anything important. "Oh yes, my love!" she gushed and bounced across the floor to drop her arms around his shoulders and angle for a kiss that he denied her by turning his head.

Zelgadis stepped out of the kitchen, munching on some popcorn. "Sorry," he said, "But she had a key of her own and I was in the shower."

"Damn it," David muttered and reached up to pull Samantha's arms away. "Get off me, Samantha," he grumped when she locked her fingers behind his head.

The tall willowy blonde woman smiled alluringly, her emerald green eyes flashing coyly, "Not till I get a kiss!" she toyed with his hair, "My love."

"Love of the moment, you mean," David gave up trying to be gentle and pulled her arms away. She winced and staggered back as he pushed her off. "Four months, Sam, I haven't seen you in four months, and you could have visited me in the hospital too. Oh, but I wasn't in good enough shape to screw then, or buy you jewelry or dinner. But now, I've been on TV every night for the last week and I got a raise, so you show up again." She looked shocked, but he pushed past her and picked up her purse from the coffee table, shuffled in it and pulled out her key ring, which had not only the keys to six expensive cars, but at least twelve other apartment keys. He located his and removed it. "I'm telling you once, civilly, Samantha, to get out of my apartment. After that, I'm going to enforce it." He dropped the rest of her keys back into her purse and held it out to her.

Taking a breath, the woman pouted her lips, pretty almond shaped eyes watering, then overflowing artfully down her high cheekbones to the corners of her full lips. "No," David snapped, "I'm not falling for that anymore, get out and don't come back." He pushed her purse to her chest and her arms snapped up to wrap around it, and his hand with it.

Zelgadis leaned against the couch, munching his popcorn, hair still damp and wearing one of David's ratty tee shirts. "Oh, Sylphiel called, said she'd be over around seven thirty." Zel decided to mention.

Immediately, David looked at the clock, then scowled at Samantha. Moving quickly, he reached around her and opened the door, shoving his ex-girlfriend out. She staggered a few steps once he got his hand free. "But- David! I- I- I thought you loved me!" she started to wail, clinging to her purse.

"I was infatuated, Sam. Nothing else. You used me, and I'm tired of it. Go away." She hiccupped, and started to sob, biting her lower lip, face actually starting to splotch as she burst into real tears. It was probably the first time in her twenty some years she'd been rejected and David wasn't the least bit bothered by it. The elevator door opened just down the hall, and David stopped himself from slamming the door on Samantha as he saw Sylphiel step out, carrying a heavy looking paper grocery bag. She was clad in a thigh length yellow sundress with large white flowers in an abstract design, her feet clad in white leather sandals with the barest hint of a heel to them. Her simplicity was far more stunning than Samantha's slinky style and overuse of makeup. He smiled and cheerfully waved to Sylphiel, heart lightening at the sight of her, despite the ongoing argument.

Straightening slightly, Samantha looked down the hall to see whom he was waving at, then snapped around to him once more. "Oh, I get it now! You cheating bastard! You found the newer model and out I go!" she accused.

David looked at her and laughed, heartlessly, "Yes, she's prettier than you, but that's not why. She's actually got a job, and a place of her own. She can pay her own bills and drives her own car, which she probably bought with her own money." Sylphiel blushed brightly, one arm holding the bag of groceries she'd brought, her other hand going to her mouth, eyes wide. "And she actually cares about other people- someone other than herself!"

Stepping out of his apartment, David went over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "The slimy ex," he explained, "she just showed up. Zel neglected to tell me that you'd called. Sorry you had to see this."

Swallowing, Sylphiel nodded and blinked, shrinking against David's side in the face of Samantha's Glare of Death. "If you think all that, David, than she's fooling you. That's the mayor's daughter, if you hadn't noticed."

"I noticed," David smiled an infuriatingly calm smile, Zelgadis had moved to the door, still watching, as if the whole thing were a play put on for his amusement. "All things considered, I think she's more on a level with my social standing," he added, a very low blow, but the only one that would really piss Samantha off and make her go away. "I can't be seen around town with some nobody when I'm having lunch with royalty and celebrities."

Sylphiel blushed even more deeply and covered her mouth again, then turned and swatted David, "That's a terrible thing to say!" she huffed and he caught her before she could run off, pulling her into his apartment. Zelgadis followed and shut the door behind them, locking it. "David!" Sylphiel sobbed and he took the bag from her.

"I'm sorry, Syl, I had to fight on her level, being civilized with her wasn't going to work." David took her shoulders in his hands and bent to be on eye-level as she wiped at her tears. Moving his hands, he caught hers and kissed her forehead. "Please- Syl, I don't treat everyone like that, and I didn't mean it anyway. You could have been the baker's daughter and I'd have still fallen for you. I love you because you care about others so much, to the point of forgetting about yourself, and you stand on your own feet, you don't depend on anyone to take care of you, not like she does. She's a parasite, she lives off everyone around her, and the only reason why she was crying was because I was the first to reject her."

Still, Sylphiel hadn't stopped crying, and David was really beginning to fret. He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her, "Please believe me. I was just trying to get rid of her, that's all."

Hiccupping, Sylphiel clutched his shirt, burying her face against his chest. Thankfully, unlike Samantha, she didn't wear heavy amounts of makeup that smeared when she cried and got all over clothes. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his hand in her hair then put his cheek against her hair as well, savoring her scent. "You...really... didn't mean...mean that about... the royalty and..." Sylphiel hiccupped.

"No," David said softly, "You can ask Zel whether I care about status. I just told Samantha that so she'd get mad and go away. I didn't mean to upset you. She'll probably get a grudge against me now and go find someone important to seduce as an attempt to make me see what I lost with her. In my opinion, I lost nothing more than a drain on my bank account and a headache." He kissed Sylphiel's hair lightly.

Sniffling, she lifted her head and looked up at him, looking at his eyes for a long moment, then nodded and slid her arms up, wrapping them around his shoulders. "Okay," she agreed finally, forgiving him. He kissed her forehead and smiled at her, she gave a faltering smile in return and he kissed her cheek and hugged her.

"Damn," Zelgadis sighed, "You two are about as chaste as a pair of nuns!" He flopped on the couch and picked up the remote, flipping through the channels. "Oh- awesome! Gourry Gabriev's in town!"

Snorting a laugh against Sylphiel's neck, David spent another moment hugging her, then released her, "Yeah, and Lina said we had to come to the press conference to get our autographed pictures." Sylphiel wiped her face with the backs of her hands and David touched her cheek lightly, "Bathroom's right through there," he pointed and she smiled that gorgeous smile of hers and headed off in that direction.

Zelgadis blinked and looked up at him. "Lina-? Who's that?"

"The chick that parked her bike in my chest," David replied, picking up the bag Sylphiel had brought and finding massive amounts of food within it. "She's Gourry's publicity manager." Zel's jaw dropped.

"You're shittin me," he whispered.

David shook his head, "Nope, happened to see her this afternoon and had lunch with her. She wanted to pay me off again."

Setting the popcorn bowl on the cleaned coffee table, Zelgadis flopped over the arm of the couch, "Let me guess, you wouldn't let her. You complain about not having any money and then won't take what you're owed! You won't let me pay off your hospital bill, for god's sake! What's wrong with you? It's just a couple thousand, no sweat!"

Sighing, David headed towards the kitchen and started putting the groceries away. "Will you give up on that if I let you buy me a new car?" he asked.

Immediately, Zelgadis jumped to his feet, "YES! I knew I'd talk you into it eventually!"

Rolling his eyes, David looked back at Zel and replied, "I think the news reporters got a good look at my license plate when I ditched them at the office, that's all."

Zelgadis flopped back on the couch again as Sylphiel returned, face washed, and looking a lot better, "Damn it," the Rockstar muttered and lounged on the arm of the couch again, "Oh, my producer also called today. He really wants to record 'Harder to Breathe' but I told him I wouldn't play it without you."

"God, you didn't give him my number, did you?" David looked back at his cousin who shook his head.

"I told him I'd see if I could talk you into it."

Turning back to his work of unloading the bag, David added, "They're already playing a rip of the concert on the radio. Oh, and thanks for cleaning up. You didn't have to go as far as you did though."

Folding his arms, Zelgadis rested his chin on them, "I did too. Vacuuming required picking up all your mail, which is in a mountain in your computer room, and under the mail were dirty clothes, which I hauled downstairs and got washed because there was no where to put them that was off the floor unless they were clean. Under the clothes, I found a solid layer of pizza boxes and chip bags, which required a garbage run. Once I'd picked up the dishes, I discovered that you actually had a counter top and I think it had sentient life growing on it in places, because I believe my application of 409 interrupted the peace talks between the green glop and the orange."

Sylphiel started laughing softly, "I guess anyone looking for you wouldn't believe you were their idol, carrying around dirty laundry and bags of garbage." She reached over and stopped David from putting away a few of her groceries, then began searching through his cupboards. "Does stir-fry sound good for dinner?" she asked.

Giving a snort, Zelgadis favored her with a smile, "Yeah, that and I neglected to wear my sunglasses and earrings."

"All of which is fake, the retard's afraid of getting his ears pierced," David supplied, and finished emptying Sylphiel's bag. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he kissed her neck. "Sounds like heaven," he added, answering her question on the topic of dinner.

Sitting up, Zelgadis glowered, "If I really had that many holes in my ears, it'd take twice as long to wash them! I just don't want them falling off from infection. And you can forget getting through airport security."

Again, Sylphiel laughed, leaning back against David's chest and cupping his cheek lightly with one hand, fingers playing with the hair on the back of his neck. "I think it's a good reason," she replied, "I've only got the one set and I have to make sure my earrings are good and clean before I wear them."

Zelgadis gave a firm nod, "See?" he huffed, then turned, grabbing his popcorn again and started eating it, eyes turning back towards the TV just in time to see the latest story.

"-I'm Cassandra Yomez, live at Cephied Corp to speak with David Graywords, and here he is! David! David, may I call you that? Thanks!" The camera focused on David's face, which wore an expression of mixed dread and confusion. His left eye faded from yellow to blue.

"That's so fucking WEIRD!" Zelgadis shouted and threw some popcorn at the screen.

David turned and looked, "Bah! That's the woman that accosted me today. Made me late getting home."

"-What's your opinion on the space lab project? Do you think it's possible?" Cassandra rushed to ask when David looked as if he was going to run away.

Fixing his expression to one of mild politeness, David gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "I think it's a great opportunity to find the limits of our technology and go beyond them. To me, the lab is just the first step. If we pull it off, then there's a thousand places we can go from there, and as long as I'm working on the project, I'll put my all into making it happen." He gave a real smile then, somewhat predatory, "I like the challenge."

Cassandra pulled the microphone back and said into it, a bit more calmly this time, "What about the proposed budget? Do you think it's a little high? Or not high enough?"

"I can't tell right now," he admitted, "So far, the coding department is ahead of schedule, but that's just the prototype. We've never done this kind of thing before, so everything we're doing is breaking new ground and it's a question as to whether what we've come up with will work. We'll have to see how it goes in the test run, I think that'll really be the deciding factor as to whether the project will go over budget or not. If it doesn't work, we'll have to take the time to figure out what's wrong and tweak. And that doesn't just apply to the code, but the whole thing."

David gave a snort and slid his arm around Sylphiel's waist as they moved to stand behind the couch, watching the interview. She leaned against his side and slid her own arm around his hips, hooking her thumb into his pants. Looking up at him, she smiled, "I think you gave wonderful answers," she told him.

Smirking slightly, David kissed her forehead, "I tried to make them wordy so that I'd eat up her broadcasting time and she'd only have gotten a few questions answered." He winked at her, "Save some for later, you know." Sylphiel laughed.

On the TV, Cassandra had apparently turned into a disembodied arm, for the camera was focused on David alone, "What if the whole thing falls through?" she asked, "Are you considering going into the music business with your brother?"

"Cousin," David said, both on TV and in real life, "First cousin," the TV David added where the other shut up, "Our fathers were brothers, sons of Dr. Rezo Graywords. As for show biz, I don't think so. I didn't go to college for nothing. If this doesn't work," he shrugged, "Oh well, we can try again till it does work, or if it's impossible, then I'll accept defeat and move on, but I like my job and don't feel like changing this late in life."

"Speaking of which," Cassandra said, and there was a brief shot of her handsome face, her brunet hair pulled back into a ponytail, "How old are you." The camera went back to David, just in time to catch the hastily covered expression of shock, "And are you single?" His left eye shifted back to yellow as his expression went completely deadpan and serious. Zelgadis threw another handful of popcorn at the screen.

"I'm twenty eight, and currently seeing someone," David replied flatly.

There was a moment of hesitation, but the woman recovered a second later, "What about your brother?" Cassandra insisted. When she held the microphone out, it wasn't quite as close as it had been before.

Frowning, David shook his head, "Zelgadis is my cousin," he repeated firmly, "As for him, you can ask him that yourself."

"So you don't have any siblings? How steady is your relationship?"

Sighing, David shook his head, "I'm sorry, Ms. Yomez," he looked at his watch, "I've got other appointments to attend tonight. Perhaps we can talk some other time." With that, he turned away and managed not to run to his car and climbed in.

The TV switched back to the newscasters at the big desk and idle chatter about the interview followed. Zelgadis's soft laughter grew in volume until he was cackling and he set the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table to keep from spilling the remaining kernels on the carpet. "That was great, Dave," Zel gasped, "Really. Couldn't have done better myself, I think the eye-trick freaked her out a little!"

David shook his head slightly and kissed Sylphiel before he let her go get back to making dinner, "Syl, you want to come with us when we go to the press conference?"

Pausing, she looked up at the ceiling, then shook her head, "You haven't met my father yet," she stated, "It'd be rude to go on TV with you before we told him."

Wincing, David sighed, "Should set a date for that," he muttered.

Turning and clasping her hands behind her back, Sylphiel smiled, "Is tomorrow night alright?" He nodded. "Okay."

Leaning down, David folded his arms on the back of the couch and stared at the TV for a moment. Zelgadis sat up and turned, lowering his voice, "I like this one," he whispered, "Keep her."

Softly laughing, David hung his head briefly; "Oh, and now you dictate whom I date?"

"No," Zel replied, "just the last few I've met've been terrible. Too much like Eris for me..."

Pressing his lips together, David sighed, "Looking back... I have to agree," he muttered. "I don't intend to let Syl go, and if I've gotta bend over backwards and jump through hoops to keep her, then so be it." He pushed off the couch and straightened. "I'd better go sort that mountain of mail," he muttered and headed in to his computer room. Besides, he needed to check his email. "Oh," he called out the door after he'd sat down, "The thing with Gourry's at nine."

"Okay," Zelgadis replied and David watched him pass with the popcorn bowl, which he emptied of the crumbs and seeds into the garbage can, as well as the stuff he'd thrown at the TV apparently. David smiled at that, then turned back to the pile of mail. Zelgadis hadn't been exaggerating when he said it was a mountain. Getting up, he pulled a garbage can over and started sorting. Most of it was junk, but a few were important, like his written invitation to Rezo's impromptu family reunion, which was dated as having come from when he'd been hospitalized. He frowned.

Turning, David leaned over to peer out the door of his computer room, "Hey, Zel," he called, "did you pick up my back mail from the landlady too?" Shifting, he kicked his shoes off so as to get more comfortable on the floor.

"Huh? Yeah. I figured you'd forgotten to since I knew Rezo had sent you a letter too and I couldn't find it. I doubted you'd thrown it away already, what with the stuff from April still lurking in the corners."

Giving a soft hrm, David sat up, "Thanks," he said and went back to sorting.

He was only halfway through the pile by the time Sylphiel called, "Dinner's ready." Getting to his feet, David stretched and followed his nose to the kitchen. He was given a plate, and took it and himself to the living room where he turned off the TV and took a seat on the floor, sitting at the coffee table. Sylphiel and Zelgadis followed his example. "You should get a table, David," she said softly, eyes lowered, "A real one."

With that, she clasped her hands together and gave the traditional blessing, "Dear father in heaven, we thank you for this meal, and that we could all be here to share it." She lowered her hands and took up her fork, David following suit.

"If you really want me to," he replied, taking his first bite of Sylphiel's cooking.

"Wow," Zelgadis muttered, "I've been eating out of five-star restaurants for the last two years, and none of them have had food this good. David, if you don't marry her, I will!" Blushing crimson to the roots of her hair, Sylphiel ducked her head slightly, laughing.

Shaking his head, David looked towards Sylphiel, "So, did you save any lives today?"

Smiling slightly, she shook her head, "We had a new patient come in from an accident this morning, but other than that, nothing new."

"Sort of good and bad, I suppose," David replied and reached over to touch her cheek lightly. Zelgadis pretended to not notice the look the two exchanged and focused on his dinner. "Well..." he sighed, "I crossed the street today," he stated, "twice."

Sylphiel beamed at him, "Oh, David!" she set her fork down and moved around the table to give him a hug and deep kiss. Startled at first, David returned her embrace, pulling her in to make good use of her lips. After a sufficient time, David let her go and she gasped for air then smiled at him, "I'm so proud of you!"

Laughing softly, "If that's my reward, I think I'll do it more often," David joked.

Zelgadis shook his head, staring at the two across the coffee table from him, "I take back what I said about you two being nuns," he muttered, focusing his gaze on his plate again. David shot him a look.

Hugging him again, Sylphiel kissed his cheek and finally settled beside him and pulled her plate over to her new place at the table. "Did you have any problems?" she asked.

Poking at his plate for a moment, David admitted, "I had help. The first time, I was too distracted to get too freaked out. The second time was harder. Lina joked with me afterwards, too, and that helped. I had a bit of pain in my chest, but I think that was because I was terrified and my heart hasn't worked that hard in a while. That went away after I calmed down though." He paused, and admitted, "And did a bit of Healing," subtly informing them that there was no reason to hide his strange new powers from each other.

Zelgadis gave a nod, "Good, I'm glad you're putting that to use."

Sylphiel glanced towards the Rockstar, then smiled slightly, "I am too. You probably had that pain because they had to stitch your heart back together." Zel frowned as the ramifications of that sunk in. He looked David over carefully and muttered, "did a little healing, yeah right."

Sylphiel patted David's thigh lightly and smiled up at him. It took him a great deal of control to keep from pouncing on her then and there. David closed his eyes and focused his mind on the most non-erotic thing he could think of. "City sewers," Rasmus supplied, "On a hot summer day." David twitched, desire duly killed. He opened his eyes again and after a moment more, managed to turn his attention back to dinner, glancing up to catch Zelgadis's knowing look.

The rest of dinner was conducted in appreciative silence and once they were all finished, David picked up the dishes and took them to the sink, doing a quick check on the time. Eight fifteen, "Hey, Zel, we going to be fashionably late or are you going to get dressed?"

Sighing, the young man got to his feet and padded over to his suitcase, pulling out a smaller bag and some clothes which were a lot more form fitting than the ones he was currently wearing, then took himself off to the bathroom. "I suppose I should put on some fresh clothes too," David sighed.

Getting to her feet, Sylphiel came over to him and slid her arms around his shoulders. "I guess I'd better go. I have something I have to do tonight too." She drew herself up onto her toes and kissed him, burying her hands into his hair.

Closing his eyes, David met her kiss, and deepened it, savoring the taste of her mouth. His arms wrapped around her, hands splaying across her back, but they didn't stay there for long, and he soon had her perched on the edge of the counter top, one thigh between his while the other crept up his hip on its own. He could feel the heat of her blush, but she wasn't pulling back- the opposite in fact.

Gasping for air, David pulled back, "You drive me insane," he told her, feeling thrills running down his spine every time she moved her fingers. Her hot breath washed across his neck and ear as she nuzzled his cheek.

"Ahem!"

David started and opened his eyes, pulling back to look at Sylphiel as she ducked her head, running her hands through her hair to untangle it and blushing so brightly that he was afraid she'd catch fire. Stepping back, David straightened her skirt and helped her down off the counter. "City sewers, city sewers!" David chanted, trying to get his mind off of what had just happened.

Turning, he gave a slightly soured smile to Zelgadis, who was dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a sleeveless shirt that buttoned up the front, but was left mostly undone and tucked into his pants. Around his hips was a double wrapped wide black belt with silver studs and several chains. The front part of his bangs spiked up, and his various earrings were in place. A hint of black on his eyelids made them all the more Goth as he stared at them with a hint of amusement pulling his lips. He shifted his weight to one hip and stuffed his thumbs into pockets he couldn't hide a quarter in. "Bathroom's yours," Zel flicked his head in the direction of the bathroom.

Sighing, David glanced towards Sylphiel, who was still staring at the floor, blushing, and playing with her hair, then turned and headed over to his dresser, pulling out some new clothes to wear. "City sewers..." Rasmus reminded, and sounded as if he needed to remember it as well.

"Right."

Reaching the bathroom, David closed the door and took a moment to wash his face, then switched his clothes, reapplied deodorant, then looked at his shadow of a beard in the mirror. The front door opened and David could faintly hear Zelgadis ask, "Did they really stitch his heart back together?"

Sylphiel's murmur was "Yes... I need to go."

Then Zelgadis's reply as they moved further away from the bathroom door sounded like "no problem, drive careful," and then the door shut again. Shuffling in his old pants, he pulled out his keys and wallet and transferred them over.

Focusing his eyes on the mirror, David watched as his left eye faded from blue to yellow and Rasmus lifted his hands; a flash later and David was as clean-shaven as he'd been that morning. "Thanks," he whispered and Rasmus faded back into the background. He shifted his shoulders, "I need a jacket."

Opening the door, David stepped out and scrubbed his hand across his face. It was a weird feeling to have a part of himself time-reversed. Predictably, Sylphiel was gone. "What'd she say when she left?" he asked Zelgadis who was packing away the remains of dinner into the fridge.

"Oh- just that she had to go, and... for some reason, she apologized to me, like I care that she was kissing you. So what were you thinking during dinner?" Zelgadis straightened and shut the fridge door and dusted his hands.

Blinking, David quirked a brow, "Huh?"

Grinning broadly, Zelgadis winked, "You were thinking something to keep from groping her."

"Oh... city sewers on a hot day," David admitted, then turned towards the computer room to find up his shoes and shuffled in the closet a moment, hunting down a jacket that would go with his pants. "We'd better get going. Parking's going to be a bitch."

Folding his arms, Zelgadis sighed gustily, "What's the world coming to?" he smirked slightly, then headed towards the door, where David joined him and pulled out his keys and locked the apartment. "Elevator or stairs? I'm wound up..."

"Stairs then." Together, they turned and headed towards the stairs, Zelgadis jingling loudly as they went. "Doesn't that ever get on your nerves?"

Zel shrugged, "Nah, the chains aren't the worst part."

Eyeing his cousin, David snorted, "Do I even want to know what the worst part is?"

Laughing, Zel hopped onto the railing and slid down to the next landing, "The bloody makeup, that's the worst part. At least I'm not like the Blue Men, now there's some god-awful makeup. Latex on stage is the most uncomfortable thing in the world."

David hmmed, just walking down the stairs casually, "I heard of them," he admitted. "You met them?"

Leaning against the railing while he waited for David, Zelgadis folded his arms, "Heard of them? God, Dave, you need to quit pecking that keyboard and turn on a radio some time. And yes, I did meet them, was on a talk show with them. They let me play their PVC pipe organ. It was awesome. I'd steal it, but that'd be mean." By then, David had joined him and Zel slid down to the next landing. "C'mon, Dave, you're sloooow!"

"Hey, let the zombie walk at its own pace!" David told him back, but did pick up his stride a little, "You wanted to take the stairs, after all. ...just to slide down the banister."

Flashing a grin, Zelgadis slid down to the next landing, "Yep," he called, "Practicing for when we get to Gramp's house."

Pausing, David glanced around, then hopped onto the railing and slid down it. "I think I'm getting old," he complained. "I'm almost thirty and still not married."

"Only cause you kept picking looser girlfriends," Zelgadis pointed out and slid down to the next landing.

Huffing, David followed suit, "You're one to talk," he replied.

"Don't you dare mention that in public!" Zelgadis stopped and leveled a finger at David, who grinned innocently.

Moving past Zelgadis, he slid down to the next floor and Zel scampered down the stairs after him, "I wasn't going to say anything, just pointing out that you've had a few run-ins yourself. So it's not only my bad taste. Good women are hard to find."

Hopping off the railing, David fell into step beside Zelgadis as they bounded down the steps in a loud clatter of Zel's steel-toed boots and chains and David's dress shoes, which he'd worn to work. Together, they reached the ground floor and headed towards the front door. "David-" the landlady called, "David?" she shuffled out of the office, "A young man came and got your mail... Oh."

David smiled at her, "Yeah, this is my cousin, Zelgadis. Uh, don't worry about the clothes, it's his costume, we're heading out to be on TV."

"Oh... oh, well, drive careful," she said and smiled and waved vaguely as they headed out the front door.

Zelgadis folded his arms and hmmed, "She's a nice old lady," he commented and hopped up to walk on the brick wall lining the flowerbed beside the building.

"Oh my god! It's ZELGADIS!" a squeal from nearby had both of them turning to look.

"Ack!" Zelgadis hopped back to the sidewalk, "RUN, Dave! Run!" He burst into action, "What level did you park on?"

Laughing his ass off, David dashed after him, "First!" he called back and Zelgadis turned the corner, jogging into the garage, he located David's car and bounced off it before diving around behind and to the passenger side.

"Hurry! They're catching up!" Zel banged on the hood of the car and David pulled out his keys and found the right one, getting the door unlocked, he hopped in and shut it, then unlocked Zel's door. Diving in, Zelgadis slammed his door and locked it, then yanked his seatbelt on. David turned the car on and backed out of the parking space just as the group of three girls came jogging up through the entrance. They dodged aside from the car and Zelgadis rolled his window down and hung out of it, "Sorry Ladies, but gotta go be on TV!"

"WE LOVE YOU!" the shouted back at him.

He waved at them again and pulled back in and rolled up the window. David held out his hand and Zel caught it in their handshake. "Never thought you'd have to run from screaming fangirls, did you?"

Laughing, David gunned it and sped on down the road, "No, but that was kinda fun."

Sitting forward, Zelgadis turned on the radio and found a good station. "Wow, haven't heard this song in years."

"Not since we were kids," David agreed, "time flies, doesn't it?" Zelgadis nodded sagely in agreement as David belatedly pulled on his own seatbelt at a stoplight. The rest of the drive was conducted in silence and David managed to locate a parking garage near the civic center that wasn't full yet. Pulling up to the booth, David rolled down his window and shuffled in his back pocket for his wallet.

At the booth, the rent-a-cop leaned down to look in the window at the two.

"David!" Zel protested. "You're not going to pay, are you?"

"You may be a superstar, but I'm just a civilian, and when I'm your driver, we do things my way," David replied, then turned towards the cop, "Two dollars?"

Slowly, the man nodded, "Is that... Zelgadis?"

Leaning closer, Zelgadis gave a lazy smirk, "Sure is."

Biting his lip briefly, the man shuffled in his booth and found a blank piece of paper and a pen, "My daughter's birthday is tomorrow and... well, she's a real big fan of yours."

David sighed and took the pen and paper and handed it over to Zel and paid for their parking space in the garage. "What's her name?" Zelgadis asked.

"Natoli, she'll be thirteen," the cop said.

"Dear... N-a-t-o-l-i?" he looked up at the cop, who nodded. Pausing, Zelgadis pondered what to write, and finally went for simple, "Happy thirteenth, my dear devoted fan. Love ya. Zelgadis Graywords." Folding the paper, Zelgadis handed it and the pen back to the man and David drove on, hunting down a place to park. Finally, he found one and they got out. Zelgadis stretched, then did a quick dance step, and as they passed the cop, he gave a wave.

Side by side, they walked down the sidewalk, David shoving his hands into his pockets. The air had cooled off considerably, but it was still a bit too warm to wear a jacket, and David left his open. Zelgadis had the better end of the deal, after all, he had on that shirt that was mostly open. David envied him for a moment.

"So when're you going to marry her?"

Blinking, David looked towards his cousin, "Sylphiel? Ah, we've only known each other for a few weeks, only officially been dating for two, and I haven't met her father. I think marriage is a bit far off."

Hmming softly, Zelgadis laced his fingers together and hooked them behind his head, "Yeah, you kiss like a new couple... Where'd you learn to kiss like that though? She was so ready to screw you right there."

A blush touched David's cheeks, "Our relationship isn't about sex. We... haven't..."

"Wow."

David sighed, "And if I can help it, we're not going to. ...Samantha was a quick fuck," he admitted, "And Karen and... damn, all my girlfriends so far. Sylphiel's different. She's worth some inconvenience."

Zelgadis dropped his hands to his sides once more, "So you want to marry her."

"Damn straight," David agreed, "I just... hope I can live up to her expectations. She had a crush on Gourry for the longest... Since high school, maybe before."

Leaning closer, Zelgadis quirked an eyebrow, "You mean..." he gestured to the building ahead of them, around which there was a crowd of media, "That Gourry? She went to high school with him? Why didn't you mention that!"

Opening his mouth, David prepared to defend himself and claim that he hadn't known that the Gourry she knew had been the famous baseball star Gourry Gabriev, but it was at that point that someone happened to glance back and shouted, "Zelgadis! There's Zelgadis! And David Graywords!"

The media people rushed to surround them, taking pictures, microphones shoved in their direction, and questions being shouted. Lina and Gourry immediately shoved their way through the crowd. Lina latched onto David's arm and he smiled at her. "Zelgadis, Mr. Graywords, what brings you here?" a reporter asked.

Zelgadis held up his hands, and silence fell, "We came, because Ms. Inverse was so kind as to invite us. I happen to be a fan of Mr. Gabriev's."

"Why would Ms. Inverse invite you though?" shouted another reporter and Zel gestured towards David.

Laughing softly, David patted Lina's hand on his arm, "Just to show that I don't hold a grudge against Ms. Inverse for parking her bike on me."

Lina pulled a face briefly, "It was entirely an accident, but I'm so glad we met!" She gave a cute laugh and smile and pulled his arm, so he walked with her up the stairs and into the Civic center. "You were nearly late," she accused him.

"Fashionably so," David replied, "We had to outrun some fangirls." Zelgadis walked with Gourry behind them, chatting about whether there was a technique to hitting homeruns or not. David only glanced back once, to see the herd of media following along behind them. But they took a left turn and the vultures were cut off by the security that blocked the path.

Giving a huff, Lina shook her hair out. She was wearing a black pantsuit with a pale blue silk shirt underneath and displayed on top of it was a heart shaped diamond hung from a silver chain. "Well, you aren't the last ones to show. The mayor and his daughter aren't here yet." She frowned, "What's so funny?"

David looked back at Zelgadis, "Check this, Zel, Sylphiel's coming too!"

Looking towards his cousin, Zelgadis cocked his head, "What? Here?" David nodded. "Sneaky woman! Probably had to go home and change. Though what she was wearing was cute."

Lina blinked, pursing her light pink painted lips, then smiled, "Oh yeah, she's who you were sitting next to at the concert!" David nodded. "So that's who you're going out with." Lina laughed. "I saw that little interview you gave this afternoon. It's really creepy how your eye changes color though. Do you have control over that, or does it come and go? Like, with your mood?"

David shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Mind if I tell her part of the truth?"

"Go ahead. She won't guess anyway."

"Actually," David said, "I do have a little control over it, but mostly it just happens when I get stressed out."

Zelgadis huffed, "So you are doing it on purpose."

Laughing, David shook his head again, "Sometimes, like when that reporter started asking personal stuff."

"I hate it when they do that," Gourry gave his two cents, sounding semi-oblivious even though he did seem to know what the conversation was about. "I never know what to say!"

They stopped at a door and a man in a security uniform opened it. Lina finally let go of David's arm and stepped in, followed by Gourry, then David and Zelgadis. The room they entered was a small sitting room with a door on the other side. Heaving a sigh, Zelgadis flopped down on a chair and spread out sideways in it. "On the one hand," he stated, eyeing Lina, "I'm angry at you," he stated. "David's my best friend, and I'd be very upset if he were to have really died. On the other hand, he told me not to mess with you. Damn fool's too forgiving, if you ask me- what with these psychological issues with crossing streets now. You should at least pay for his bill."

"Look you!" Lina shoved her finger at Zelgadis's face, hand on her hip as she leaned forward, "I offered to pay him. I was willing to go up to five hundred thousand, but HE," she jabbed her finger at David, who was standing by the wall admiring one of the paintings, "told me not to bother."

Snorting, Zelgadis glanced towards David, eyes half lidded, "I know he did. He's predictable like that, and too nice to tell you where to shove it. As I was saying, since he said to lay off, I'm just telling you that I'm given to dislike you, but you hang out with Mr. Gabriev, who also happens to be a friend of Sylphiel's, so I won't have you strung up by your toenails." Gourry looked over from where he'd come to stand beside David, staring up at the painting.

"Ha!" Lina said and straightened, putting both her hands on her hips, "Listen to him! Acts as if he's royalty!"

Looking back as well, David called out, "Both you kids stop it," they looked towards him, "Honestly, there're more important things in the world than bitching about who's at fault for what and warring over who's got the bigger ego." Sighing, he muttered under his breath, "t'think that they're friends..." he shook his head and folded his arms.

Gourry peered over at him and blinked, "Yeah!" he said, adding his two cents, again, "I think you two would be great friends!"

Lina and Zelgadis exchanged looks and cringed, Lina slipped back a step. "Never!"

David snorted, closing his eyes, "And why not?" he looked back towards the redhead and opened his eyes, "We're friends, right?"

She paused, glancing aside, "I- well... if you want to consider me one," Lina replied slowly, ego deflated somewhat.

"I do," David nodded, "Accident's happen. It's not like you were aiming for me, and at least it was me instead of the little old lady that was a step behind me. She wouldn't have recovered from it, likely, and some little children would be out one grandmother."

Lina winced and glanced towards Zelgadis who was still refusing to look at her. Turning around, David strolled over to them and stood over Zelgadis, "Quit being childish, Zel. And if it makes you both feel better, you can go halfsies on my new car."

"New car?" Lina asked.

Zelgadis sighed, "He drives a rust bucket, and I don't know how it's still running. Not to forget that the back seat's a biohazard and the trunk is wired shut." Getting to his feet, he offered his hand out to Lina, "Fine, I was going to buy him one as it was, but this seems the better deal."

Pursing her lips, Lina stuck out her hand and clasped the guitar player's. "Alright, just nothing too expensive."

"Knowing David, he'll probably want a minivan."

Laughing, the programmer shook his head, "Actually, I've been thinking about it, and that four-door Toyota town car looks nice."

Thinking on that, Zelgadis let go of Lina's hand and retook his seat, just as the door behind him quietly opened. "That's a yacht on wheels, David, why not a Ferrari? Those are some sexy cars, and Sylphiel'd look damn hot in one."

David bit his lip and blushed, "Watch your mouth," he told the Rockstar.

Zelgadis sat up and looked back towards the door and let out a whistle. "Hey Sylphiel," he said.

Unclasping her hands from where they were clutched in front of her, Sylphiel lifted her head a little and smiled. Her hair was pulled up into a loose bun with curls falling on either side of her face, her body was clad in a sleeveless dark purple silk shirt with gold edging along the hems and a collar that was tall around her throat and split in the front, all the way down to her cleavage. The ends of her shirt came down to the widest point of her hips where it was split. Below that, she wore a pair of matching silk pants, also decorated with gold down the side seems and bottom hem. Her feet were clad in purple sandals with low heels. "Hello Mr. Zelgadis," she murmured and played shyly with one of the curls beside her face, ducking her head.

Beside her, wearing a dark gray business suit, was the mayor himself, his mid-brown hair combed back from his face and mustache neatly trimmed. Clearing his throat, David strode forward, "Ah, Good evening, sir," he said, taking hold of the situation with both sweaty palmed hands. "I- truly apologize for not meeting you before this. I'm David Graywords."

"Yes," the mayor said and held out his hand with a smile, "I've heard about you," he said, "from plenty of sources. You've been a bit busy, so it's forgivable." Gratefully, David took the man's hand and shook it.

Glancing towards Sylphiel, David smiled, "She didn't mention that you would be coming to the press conference as well, she just mentioned dinner tomorrow. Is that still on? I'd be glad to come."

Eruk nodded with a soft chuckle, "Yes, that's fine, and she didn't mention you were coming either."

"Ah, I wasn't until this afternoon," David replied and released the man's hand, "I was invited by Ms. Inverse, an attempt to repair her slightly damaged reputation."

Lina laughed nervously, "We've come to a good settlement of payment for damages," she explained. Stepping in further, Eruk strode across the room to shake her hand as well. Zelgadis got to his feet as Gourry left the painting and meandered over to Lina's side, he wore a suit of mid blue that nearly matched his eyes, his hair free and flowing down his back, his shirt was a rich cream, broken by his blue and white striped tie. Like David, he wore his jacket open, and after Lina shook the Mayor's hand, he did, followed by Zelgadis.

"Mr. Zelgadis," Eruk said, "I have to thank you for your contribution to the children's hospital. The funds we received from your concert far exceeded our highest hopes."

Relief melting down his spine, David stepped closer to Sylphiel and took her hands, "You little sneak!" he whispered, leaning close. She giggled coyly and stepped closer, putting her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. In return, he nuzzled her neck and whispered, "You look beautiful." She blushed lightly as he let her go and took her hand instead. They joined the others just as the door at the other end of the room opened.

"Everything's set up," a man wearing a dark business suit announced, stepping back as Eruk led the procession into the next room. The room was large, and full of cameras and other recording equipment, every last one of them was pointed towards the long table with six microphones at it set up at the front of the room. Firmly, Sylphiel held onto David's hand, so he followed the rest of the group through the door, and upon reaching the table, pulled out a chair for Sylphiel and helped her into it as a gentleman from Rasmus's world would have. David took the seat at the end of the table beside Sylphiel, Zelgadis on her other side, seated beside the Mayor, with Lina beside him and Gourry beside her. Cameras began taking pictures the moment they appeared, and thankfully they had the flashes turned off. But they sounded rather like summer bugs to David and he found Sylphiel's hand again under the table as he settled in his seat and crossed his legs.

Casting a smile at him, she placed their linked hands on top of the table. Giving a shrug, David let her have her way, apparently it was okay to announce their relationship now that her father had met him, for Eruk made no negative motion. Once they were all settled, the first reporter asked a question, "Mr. Zelgadis, Mr. Gourry, is this sudden appearance together some sort of recognition of an agreement between the two of you?"

Gourry blinked and glanced up at the ceiling, then flashed a blinding grin, "Nah," he said simply.

Zelgadis smiled faintly, "No, I happened to be coincidental," he explained, "However, I do admire. Mr. Gabriev's talents and am glad that I was invited along."

"So what's the occasion?" someone else asked.

Lina sat forward slightly and cast a smile at the group, "Actually, I invited them," she admitted and looked sheepish as she continued, "As it was me who put Mr. David Graywords in the hospital. This is just to show that there's no hard feelings and that we're all friends."

Giving a nod, David cleared his throat, "Indeed, we've reached an agreement about the incident."

"So, Mr. Graywords, you're not pressing charges?"

Shaking his head, David smiled, "Why? I came out of it pretty good. So what's a little inconvenience as opposed to what I gained?"

"What did you gain, Mr. Graywords, if I may ask?" these questions, though they came from different portions of the room, their sources were quite unidentifiable.

Glancing down the table, David shrugged a bit, "A new outlook on life, new friends," he glanced at Sylphiel who smiled shyly at him, "Not to forget a promotion and a very interesting challenge to work on."

Zelgadis snickered, "And the chance to sing with me," he added.

David nodded, "That too. But you claimed that was your birthday present."

Shrugging, Zel lounged back in his chair and smirked, "So I did," he agreed.

"Mr. Graywords, what sort of new outlook on life did you mean?" some woman asked.

Laughing softly, David glanced towards Lina, who didn't seem to mind that the attention wasn't completely on Gourry and replied, "Well..." He took a breath, "First, revenge is stupid. It just breeds more revenge, until finally, there's no one left to carry it on. Second, there's no way to replace anyone that's gone, be that through just finding someone new to inflict your feelings on, or crazy enough, through genetics." He somehow managed to keep his expression clear as he said that, "But the most important thing I learned is that it's better to take things as they come. If you screwed up and lived through it, take it as a learning experience, and otherwise... just try to have fun because who knows when something might happen. That's about it." Sylphiel smiled at him again and squeezed his hand.

"Mr. Gabriev," another voice called, "Do you plan on beating the world record of seventy-three homeruns in one season?"

Thinking hard on this, Gourry seemed confused for a long moment, but finally grinned, "I guess. I hadn't really thought about it till now. I just try to hit the balls as far as I can," he abruptly became serious, "Otherwise Lina'll hit me."

Lina blushed, and David found it very difficult not to snigger, so he bit his lips together and looked at Sylphiel, who shook her head at him, sending her sliver bar earrings swinging. "What do you mean? Are you afraid of Ms. Inverse?"

Gourry shook his head, "No, but you don't know what kind of woman she is."

"So are you two an item?"

Lina blushed bright pink, "No!" she said at the same time as Gourry replied, the same, only sounding a little more confused, "No? Um... why do you ask?"

Shaking her head, Lina spoke up, "No, we're just friends, only ... I'm his manager too." Gourry just smiled and nodded on cue.

"Mayor Raada, are you going for re-election this term?"

Taking a breath, Eruk replied, "I shall, indeed, try for another term, though my opponent is a worthy one. I hope that the best man, or woman in this case, wins."

Zelgadis sat forward, smiling slightly, his eyes half lidded, as was his usual expression when playing the superstar, "Ms. Yomez-" he murmured, "Ah, yes, that is you. I believe you had a question for me earlier today?"

The poor reporter woman blushed brightly, "Ah- um... Yes..." she stammered, "I merely wanted to clear up some rumors about your uh... age and ... marital status."

Sitting back again, Zelgadis replied evenly. "I'm twenty four, Cancer, type AB blood, born on July twenty-first, at the moment, I'm single, however, I've had my eye on a few ladies who will go unnamed. And by the way, both David and myself are only children, our fathers were brothers."

"David... something's moving," Rasmus murmured.

Glancing aside, David let his eyes fall half closed, "Is it the same thing from before? That demon?"

"No..." this time, David felt the movement, almost as if the ground were undulating, except no one else seemed to notice anything. David opened his eyes and looked at Sylphiel when he felt her grip on his hand suddenly tighten. Her face had gone pale. A look on the other side saw a somewhat shocked expression on Lina's face, and Zelgadis looked a mite ill. Everyone else in the room seemed just fine. Gourry was still cheerfully explaining something about baseball, and the media people were distracted. "No, that's no Mazoku. That's something even bigger," Rasmus continued just before the world rolled again. This was followed by the sound of something hitting the floor in the next room and the microphones squealed with feedback.

Hurriedly, someone cut them off and David leaned over to whisper to Sylphiel, "This is something magical, Rasmus says it's big. Get your dad to get everyone out of the building." He let go of her hand, and she nodded and stumbled to her feet and rushed over to her father, swiftly whispering something to him.

Eruk nodded and stood. "Ladies and gentlemen-" he didn't get the chance to say more, for another wave hit and this time more substantial objects began vibrating, one of the microphones falling off the table with a clatter. Whatever it was had been enough to be felt by the people in the room. "Ladies and gentlemen," Eruk tried again, "I think we should all evacuate the building," he told them, "Please, leave your cameras and equipment, those can be replaced, but as Mr. Graywords said earlier, people can't." He stepped around the table and headed for the door, Sylphiel following behind. David stood and caught up with them at the door, Zelgadis catching his arm on the other side, and clinging as the ground vibrated again. He looked sick.

"David- you know what that is?" he asked, accidentally loud enough for Eruk to hear and he stopped.

Shaking his head, David helped steady Zelgadis and said, "No, but it scares the hell out of me. Lets get out of here." Lina and Gourry came stumbling through the door behind them and shut it. Together, they worked their way across the room to the other door where they were surrounded by security, and in something close to a hurry, they made their way down the hall and out into the lobby. The media people hadn't quite assembled, there were some who were desperately trying to gather their equipment, but others had taken the mayor on his word and had just grabbed their cameras and recordings of what had happened so far and were heading for the large glass doors and out into the street.

Again, the ground rumbled just as they got out onto the steps, into a din of car alarms and barking dogs. Animals that were loose within the city were fleeing in a flood of furry bodies, cats next to dogs, next to squirrels and other rodents. Snakes slithered along underfoot, and behind them came the bugs. David stepped close to Sylphiel and tucked her under his coat as the flying creatures went past in a thunderous rush, followed by the crawlies. She whimpered softly. "They're not gonna stay long enough to hurt you," David told her gently and she buried her head further under his coat. Lina had climbed Gourry and was practically wrapped around his head; the other squeamish women had found a compliant male to attach themselves to. Lifting his voice, David called to the mayor. "Mr. Raada, I think they've got the better idea about things. We should run!" Ducking his head down again, David whispered to Sylphiel, "Make him run, love, I... have to stay. I don't know what it is but-"

Abruptly, Rasmus took over, his eye flaring yellow immediately. "But whatever it is, it's threatening MY city and I'm not going to stand for it." Fearfully, Sylphiel looked up at Rasmus. For a long moment, she stared at him, as if not recognizing him, then, her eyes softened and she nodded.

"I understand, Rasmus," she said softly, "Please come back. Both of you, come back."

Softening his own tone, Rasmus caressed her hair gently, "I will... Sylphiel... I love you. Okay? We both do." She lifted her head and kissed him lightly.

"Okay," she agreed. "I love you too."

The bugs had gone past and finally, Eruk called, "Let's follow their lead." Sylphiel hadn't had to beg him to do anything. As one, they turned and set off after the other creatures of the city, those who had cars easily accessible climbed in and took as many passengers as they could. David let go of Sylphiel with one last smile towards her, and took off his coat, handing it and his tie to her.

Her eyes watering, she put them both on, and Rasmus laughed softly, "You look silly like that," he told her and touched her cheek. "I'll take care of David. You take care of yourself. Keep near Zelgadis, he can at least revive people's energy if you tell him David said to go ahead and do it... tell him to experiment with it if he has the time and figure out how to make it heal people, and if he can, teach you too. If you have to tell him about me, go ahead. Go now."

"David!" Zelgadis paused, looking back, only to have Sylphiel run into him. "Wait- no- David!"

Desperately, Sylphiel pulled his arm, "Zelgadis," she gasped, tears finally leaking free. "He promised to come back, Okay, let him go do what he has to! He's probably the only one who can save us. Come on! He'll be distracted if we're not safe."

A howl split the air, and as one, they looked up at the sky, their eyes focusing on the crown of Flagoon as it writhed in a strange wind. "The tree- Flagoon will protect us," Sylphiel said with a certainty and started running again.

Zelgadis looked back towards where David had been standing seconds ago, only to see the barest wisp of fog that was quickly disappearing. "..." He shook his head and turned, dashing after Sylphiel. "Damn it!" he hissed, "completely ineffectual!"