Disclaimer: This series is intended as in-between vignettes of my other fanfic, Of Life and Lemonade, so in order to understand it, you probably should read that one first. Since that one is Amelia-centered, this series will focus on the other characters that pop up. Slayers is owned by very talented people who make all the money. Please don't sue.

Occurs around chapter 27 of Life.

Chapter 8

Love Moves a Fingernail

Amelia was beginning to piss her off.

Lina frowned at the girl sitting across from her at the study table in the library. Her head was bent low over a thick Physics book while she was taking notes in a spiral-bound notebook, her short black hair forming a curtain around her face. Another thinner lab book was draped across one corner of the paper, and in a huff, she flipped the book closed so she could continue writing. Two minutes later, she sighed again when she realized that she had lost her place when she closed the lab book, and 'tsk-ed' when she had to open it again.

Yeah. Amelia needed to be slapped.

Or at least forcibly removed from the stressful situation she had put herself in.

As she pretended to work on her History homework, Lina began to formulate a plan. Amelia needed to get away for a weekend to relax. What place was more fun than Atlas City, a city where you could indulge in any number of vices? Oh, and since Zelgadiss' birthday was coming up, maybe she could con… er… convince Gourry to split Zel's expenses with her and treat him to a relaxing weekend as well. And then with a couple of well-placed pushes, maybe Amelia and Zelgadiss could finally get their act together and figure out what everyone else knew already: the two liked each other a lot.

See? Three birds with one stone!

Oh, and if they stayed at Thebes, then she could check out the hieroglyphics for her Ancient Languages essay.

Another one down. How efficient!

She smiled, despite the growling girl who was glaring at a giggling group of girls at the next table. Yes. Atlas City sounded like the perfect solution to all their problems.

Lina Inverse was a genius.

Okay, so Amelia was really pissing her off.

That girl was wound so tight that Lina wanted to snap her in two, just to save her the trouble from snapping again later. The nerve! For her to yell at her like that after she had driven them there, paid for their room, and made reservations for them all at the Bali High Spa.

"Lina?"

Forget it! She could just make her own way and find her own damn room!

"Um… Lina?"

"What?" she said, glaring up at her companion. They were at Nyo-Heron's Roast Beef, and had ordered the largest selection of meats on the menu, as well as four different side dishes to split: garlic mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, roasted vegetable medley, and crab-stuffed tomatoes.

"Aren't you going to need that to eat?" Gourry pointed at her hands. She had been holding a fork and had just bent it in half in frustration. "Oh, no!" Her eyes darted around the table, but the only other fork there was… She batted her eyes cutely. "Oh, Gourry! You wouldn't mind letting me use yours, would you? Just until the waitress comes back with another one?"

At first taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "But Lina, if I give you mine, what will I eat with?"

She didn't doubt that he would give her the fork, one way or another, but if you can catch a fly with honey… "It's just until Becky comes by so you could let her know that I need another fork. Pleeeeeeeease?"

"Liiiiina," he whined. He looked doubtful, but handed the coveted fork to her reluctantly. "Just don't snack my food with it, okay?"

She speared her steak and sliced a piece off with one clean swipe. She had to keep herself from smirking at his misuse of the word. "Of course I won't 'snack' your food." I'll eat it for lunch instead…

But, alas, it was not meant to be. Becky, the buxom waitress, had rushed to Gourry's aid and produced a fork from her apron pocket, apologizing for the poor construction of the utensils and praising him on his obvious strength at bending the fork in the first place. He smiled at her and rubbed the back of his head, almost blushing under the woman's praise.

"Oh, my! I suppose your little sister needs another fork as well?" the waitress said, looking straight at Lina. Becky gave her another one, and was about to chat it up with Gourry again when she saw that he was more concerned with his companion than herself. She moved on to her next table with a hopeful glace back at them, but no one was paying her any attention.

Lina glanced down at her hands, and was surprised to see that she had, yet again, bent the fork in half. Why did that happen? She hadn't even been thinking about Amelia. In fact, she had been thinking about… the waitress. Was it the fact that she thought that she was Gourry's sister? Or was it because she had been flirting with him? How rude was that? For all that woman knew, Lina could have been Gourry's girlfriend or wife!

She blushed to her roots at the thought, and she hoped that Gourry wasn't paying any attention to her. Luckily – or unluckily, depending on how one looked at it – he was occupied by snagging a carrot off of her plate.

"Hey, jellyfish brains! That's mine!"

"You didn't seem like you were interested in eating anymore." The carrot disappeared into his mouth. That's when she noticed that her plate was half-empty, and that she hadn't eaten that much.

"Give me back my food!" she nearly yelled, reaching across and stabbing the remainder of the pork loin on his plate. Before he could protest, it had been chewed and swallowed in five bites. They battled for each other's meal, and ended up ordering two more plates, just to make it even. The waitress returned much later to give them the check, and in a bold move, Lina snatched it from her hand, scanned it, and then handed it back with her credit card.

"Lina, I was going to pay for it, you know," Gourry said sullenly.

"Yeah," she said as she signed the receipt. "But how many times have we gone to eat and you've paid for it? Can't I do something nice once in a while?"

He regarded her for a moment, his expression unreadable. She began to heat up under such close scrutiny, and as he was about to open his mouth to say something, she jumped up from the table.

"Let's get going! I want to get some dessert over at that gelato stand in the casino. I saw that they have a twenty-scoop gelato boat for twenty bucks, but it's free if you can finish the whole thing. What do you say we tackle that before we head over to the paintball arena? That should be great!"

He smiled at her, and she almost melted. Despite the fact that she was still refusing to acknowledge any kind of feelings she may have for him, she still was happy that she made him happy. Silently, though, she hoped that he was really smiling because of her, not because of the thought of a big dessert.

In the end, they came; they ate; they conquered. They each ordered the special, and they each received it for free. The owner of the stand took a Polaroid of them together, and they signed it before it went up on the 'Wall of Fame' of other conquering heroes. What Lina liked most about the picture was that Gourry had put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer, and that he didn't mind when she leaned into him as she gave the camera a thumbs-up.

He was always doing little things like that, putting his arm protectively around her now and again, telling people that he was her sworn guardian, and even putting her up on his broad shoulders like a kid whenever they were at a parade and she couldn't see anything. They had gone to a lot of places together, sometimes with other people, but most of the times quite alone. Never had she given their situation a second thought.

After all, she was not an overly romantic person, finding lovey-dovey couples to be quite gag-able, and incredibly never attracting the right sort of guy. Sure, she'd been hit on by dozens of men, being the beautiful and talented young woman that she was, but they tended to be the slime-ball, self-assured men who only saw her as an object to be dominated.

Lina was never going to be dominated by anyone.

The other guys in her life were hardly the kinds of guys she'd be attracted to either. Val, at first, seemed to be just like those slime-ball jerks, with his roving eyes and his brash manners, but after getting to know him, she discovered that there was actually a nice guy buried beneath the tough-guy front. Still not her type, though, but a good person with good intentions.

Quite unlike Xelloss. He was a creep, through and through. She had no idea why Filia tolerated his antics, but then again, Lina wasn't entirely sure her friend was totally aware of the crap Xelloss had pulled. He was an alright enough guy, very pleasant and funny, but one day, a couple of years ago when she had tried to talk to him about Filia, he had kissed her before she could react. Just remembering that incident made her angry. What she didn't understand was why she hadn't broken his arm right then and there.

Zelgadiss was always so stand-offish, preferring to brood and isolate himself in a book and a cup of coffee rather than interact with anyone on a regular basis. When he would emerge from hiding and seek out human contact, his snide remarks usually irritated her to the point of forcing him back into the abyss of loneliness. Sure, she understood his desire for solitude, but he didn't have to be so damned rough with her about it.

And that left Gourry.

Oh, she liked him well enough. How could she not? He was tall and gorgeous, with model good looks and the body of an athlete. His hair was longer than hers, and she sometimes wondered how he would look without his signature locks, with a clean, short hair cut, but whenever she pictured him in her mind, she feared she would get a nosebleed.

Sexy, yes, but dumb.

Well, she wouldn't exactly call him dumb, really. Sure, she would tell him that to his face, and call him all sorts of names, but that was only because he knew that she didn't really think of him that way. He wasn't very book-smart at all, not really caring what the atomic weight of sodium was, but somehow instinctively knowing that pure sodium was explosive in water. Of course, he didn't remember where he learned that tidbit of information, but it was deemed important enough to file away in the recesses of his brain.

But amazingly enough, his job enabled him to show Lina exactly how capable he really was. He was always partnered with someone who had a tendency to see the obvious, because he had a habit of missing the obvious and noticing the hidden details, something that she had discovered first-hand, and something that she truly appreciated about him.

Zelgadiss, being such a cut and dry person, had been the one who tried to arrest her years ago with the other people she had fought with when they first met, figuring they'd sort it all out later at the station, but it was Gourry who noticed that Lina wasn't the one who had started the whole thing. Her backpack lay torn several feet away, as if it had been ripped from her back as she fled towards the entrance where the fight had taken place. He also noticed the piece of black belt on her keychain and correctly ascertained that she was more skilled than she exhibited by knocking out those guys. They were all moping about on the ground, but none of them required medical attention. Lina, herself, had more bruises than she probably deserved fighting off eight guys.

Ever since then, they had been close friends, shooting off to Atlas City now and again to visit with Zelgadiss, especially when he was in the hospital. She enjoyed the time she spent with him, usually because it involved eating. After all, going to a movie and eating dinner isn't dating at all, right? Neither are road trips to go surfing or going to the shooting range…

At first, her parents were extremely wary of Lina hanging out with a guy who was several years older than her, but when she so succinctly informed them that 1) they were just friends, and 2) she didn't see him that way and even if she did, then 3) her father was seven years older than her mother while there was just a five year difference between her and Gourry, they backed off and gave her the space that they always had given her.

But ever since that whole hostage incident, something had changed.

Outwardly, it seemed as if everything was as it had been. Buddies. Chums. But inwardly, between them, there was an invisible tension that had never been there before. It was as if they were waiting for something. Was he waiting, or was she? What were they waiting for? It was a level of discomfort that had been building for several weeks now, and now the touches and glances that never mattered before seemed to be more than they once were.

And now, as she was braiding his hair, something that she never thought twice about, all these thoughts and emotions were racing through her mind, making her hands tremble and forcing her to start over again twice. She knew that he knew that there was something going on with her, but she hoped that he wouldn't bring it up. There was still something in the way…

"Are you done, Lina?" he asked, interrupting her reverie. They had suited up and were in the holding area of the paintball arena. When he saw that she had braided her hair, he asked her to do the same to his so it wouldn't get in the way.

"Yeah. Let me just put this rubber band on…" She twisted the little black circle around the end of his hair, and ran her hands along the long blond braid… just to straighten it out, of course. She blushed.

"Good. I'll take point. You follow low and cover me. Okay?" She blinked. She had never heard him in what sounded like full-police-mode speech. Somehow, it was really… sexy. "Then, let's go get them!" he said when the buzzer sounded a second later.

Crouching low, she followed him into the arena, along the 'street', ducking behind walls and fake cars, cutting through building facades. Just as she was getting into the swing of things, he suddenly stopped, holding up a fist in what she assumed to be a signal to halt. Without looking away, he pointed at his eyes with two fingers and then pointed across the courtyard. She looked in that direction and spotted what he had seen. Two of them, making their way cautiously towards them.

Gourry made a series of motions with his hands, none of which she understood. If this were charades, then she would have guessed that an angel was going to sacrifice bunt to send the runner sliding into home…

"Gourry, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" she whispered harshly. Her mask fogged briefly with her breath.

He turned around and looked at her with embarrassment. "Sorry, Lina. I forgot. You'll follow me out, taking cover along the way, but stay behind me. When you have a shot, take it."

She grinned, finally the mere mention of action spurring her forward. She winked at him as she saluted. "Yes, Sir!"

He nodded, and they moved out. Her thoughts were on splattering the opposing team with as much firepower as she could unleash upon them as quickly as possible. That would make her feel immensely better than she felt after fighting with her best friend. Her mind immediately cleared itself of any conflicting thoughts as she zeroed in on her target. Apparently, they hadn't seen her or Gourry; the shorter of the two was stepping hesitantly towards their position.

That was all the encouragement Lina needed. Leaning forward and aiming carefully, she opened fire, squeezing the trigger of her paintball gun as quickly as she could, Gourry following suit. Before she could adjust her aim to hit the person, a figure dove out from behind one of the walls and tackled their target to the ground, sliding several feet before crashing into one of the buildings.

"Let's go, Gourry!" Lina decided, and they both strode forward, aiming towards the settling dust.

Rounding the corner, they came face to face with the barrels of the other guns. But that wasn't what surprised her. The faces behind the masks were all too familiar, and equally surprised to see them. Grinning, Lina tried to fire, only to have the gun misfire with a splutter.

"Lina, look out!" Gourry yelled and pushed her out of the way of a stream of blue paintballs. Once behind cover, Lina turned her gun upside down and gave it a good whack to un-jam it.

"Dammit! Figures it would be them," she muttered to herself. "Well, only one thing to do…"

Charging forward, accompanied by her trusty companion, Lina went down shooting, deliberately aiming for Amelia. The two girls stood five feet away from each other, covering the other with splatters of blue or red paint. After being hit several times all over, they looked at each other through smeared masks and began laughing.

Gourry and Zelgadiss, meanwhile, were playing cops, ducking and rolling and hitting each other more precisely than the amateurs. Not having had a gripe with the other, they were enjoying the practice more than the stress-relief. Lina and Amelia leaned back against a wall and watched them having fun.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lina," Amelia said, leaning her head on the older girl's shoulder.

"Me, too, Amelia." An evil grin appeared on Lina's face. "Hey, what do you say we teach the boys how to really let loose?"

Amelia smiled, and they ran off to stalk their friends.

Who would have thought that paint would soak through the coveralls and end up all over her body? Lina stood in the shower in her room, scrubbing her arms and legs to remove the blue tinge from her skin. Amelia, for some reason, had only mentioned that the paint was kind of difficult to get off, but there hadn't been a trace of red on the girl. Why was the blue so much more difficult to scrub away?

Deciding that enough was enough, Lina rinsed herself off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping her towel around her thin frame. She wiped off the mirror and grimaced. There were still streaks of blue in her hair.

"Dammit." She put on her robe and stepped out into her room to look for her comb. Maybe it would comb out…

Knock knock.

"Lina?"

She looked, not to the hall doorway, but to the door joining her room to Gourry and Zel's. "Yeah, Gourry?"

"Are you decent?"

"As much as anyone could be, I guess." She rolled her eyes. When was she ever decent? She unlocked her side of the door.

When Gourry opened the door, her first thought was that she wished Amelia hadn't gotten ready so quickly and left her alone. Clad only in a matching robe with his damp hair lying across one shoulder, he had never looked so sexy to her. Of course, the reality of the fact that she was causing the same thoughts to run through Gourry's mind never occurred to her.

"Um… What did you need?" she asked when she found her ability to speak. Even when they had been surfing together, and she had seen more of him than she could see now, she had never been tongue-tied like she was presently.

"Oh," he said, as if realizing that he had actually been the one to ask to see her. "Uh, I can't seem to get the paint out of my hair… Zel's gone downstairs, and well… you see, I was wondering if you could help me out."

"O… okay…. Well, what did you want me to do?"

"Do you think you can wash my hair?"

Oh gosh…

"Sure." The wheels in her mind began to turn, and before she could think better of it, she added, "But you've got to do the same for me. It's not coming out of my hair either."

She soon discovered how intimate washing someone's hair really was, especially when that person was someone she cared greatly for. She hummed as she took her time, carefully targeting the blue-streaked sections, lathering and massaging his scalp as well, knowing that he trusted her with his precious mane. After she rinsed his paint-free hair and towel-dried it, she stood in the bathroom with her hands on her hips, just watching him curiously. His gaze had an intensity that she found unnerving, yet she refused to back down and look away. He stood and approached her, never breaking eye contact. Reaching out a hand, he brushed against her cheek…

…and pulled a blue lock of hair forward.

"You've got it worse than I did, I think," he said idly, and he steered her to the chair next to the sink for her turn.

Her heart was knocking against her ribs. His words held a double meaning for her. Perhaps she did have it bad for him…

Washing his hair was nothing compared to having her hair washed by him. Soothing and exhilarating at the same time, his fingers running gently through her hair touched something deep inside her that she had never wanted to acknowledge, something that would change not only their relationship, but perhaps another as well.

She loved him.

Oh, she had thought about it enough, but every time she had thought about her real feelings, she had deliberately steered herself away. After all, the girl who had saved Lina's life years ago was desperately in love with him.

Lina was, by nature, a selfish person. When she saw something she wanted, she got it, and if she couldn't get it now, she would soon enough. The first and only instance where that didn't apply was Gourry. She had met Sylphiel around the same time that she had met Gourry, but the girl had made it clear that she had been crazy for the guy since they had been children, and that she was going to follow Gourry into the police academy, even though she had wanted to go into the medical field since she was younger.

How could Lina possibly compete with devotion like that?

Yet, despite the fact that Sylphiel liked Gourry, he didn't seem to reciprocate the feelings. Lina hadn't wanted to be the cause, but if he enjoyed her company more than Sylphiel's, then what could she do? Besides, they were only friends. Nothing more. At least, that's what she thought, until now.

"I'm done, Lina," he said softly, and she opened her eyes. He gently squeezed the water from her hair and wrapped it with a towel.

"Thanks," she answered, putting it up in a towel turban. He opened his mouth to say something, but she moved to the door. "We'd better get ready fast. Zel and Amelia are probably wondering where we are," she said quickly as she walked away. Shutting the door behind her and latching it closed, she leaned against it with her eyes closed.

What was she going to do now?

Dinner was nice, despite the fact that they were fifteen minutes late. Covering up for their prolonged absence, Lina declared loudly that it sucked having long hair for all that paint to get stuck in. Gourry agreed wholeheartedly, yet surprisingly didn't say anything beyond that. She had been ready to kick him under the table if he mentioned anything regarding their intimate tête-à-tête, but he was strangely quiet after that.

They ate, and it was during dinner that Lina noticed that Amelia and Zelgadiss were acting quite… cozy. They were smiling and laughing a lot, which, for Amelia, was nothing new, but seeing Zelgadiss doing it was jaw-dropping. They shared a quiet joke and he sat there chuckling to himself. Lina caught Gourry's eye and glanced over at the pair. He saw what she was telling him and grinned. He was happy for his friend as well.

Well, even if she didn't get to do any of her class work after all, at least two of her objectives had been accomplished. Now, to work on getting these two alone…

"Let's go see the water show, Miss Lina! I've been wanting to see it for a long time now!" All traces of their previous fight had apparently vanished from her mind.

"Um… actually, Amelia, I already saw it last time I was here," she said, scratching her cheek. Of course, she didn't mention that it was from a car after Naga bailed her and her sister out of jail. "I want to see the volcano erupt."

"Oh. Well, Mister Zelgadiss, did you want to see that instead?" Amelia asked, but Lina cut her off.

"You don't have to do that. No, you go on ahead and see the show. Gourry and I will head over to the other show. We'll see you later! Bye!"

She grabbed Gourry's arm and pulled him along behind her before Amelia could protest. She grinned to herself. Never had such a perfect opportunity presented itself! Amelia and Zelgadiss could get cozy with each other since they were alone in front of a romantic setting…

They stood at the railings in front of the 'volcano' in front of the casino, waiting for the show to begin. Her mind was solely on the status of her friends' relationship that she didn't notice that fire began to dance slowly down the waterfall.

A loud rumble and a huge burst of flames captured her attention a moment later, and despite the fact that she wasn't easily startled, she still jumped in surprise. Gourry's arm was around her, and though she blushed, she didn't push him away. The eruption was nothing new to her; in fact, she had seen it dozens of times but somehow, it was different. Or perhaps she was different.

Warmth spread through her chest, and she found herself strangely calm, despite the fact that they were so close. She began to commit to memory all the little things about everything around her: the railing was chipping paint under her hands, the fire was following a set pattern in the water before them, and Gourry smelled of soap and shampoo and cologne…

She chanced a glance up over her shoulder at him, and to her shock, found that he was watching her intently, the same way he had in the bathroom in his hotel room. Red and orange from the flames highlighted his hair, and she was drawn to him. His open expression of adoration softened, and he leaned closer to her, almost as if he were going to whisper something to her. She turned towards him, and was hardly surprised when his lips gently met hers.

It had been coming to this for a long time. The kiss wasn't anything earth-shattering, but it was comfortable. It seemed that he had always known it, but it had taken her so long to figure it out for herself. It didn't seem like her at all, but it was right, in a way. Gourry usually had better insight into emotions and feelings than she did anyway, though he was sometimes clueless when it came to tact.

"Hey, why don't you get a room!" a passerby muttered, and Lina backed quickly away from Gourry, her face as bright as the erupting volcano which had since quieted down. How long had they been standing there kissing in public?

"Lina?" Gourry asked, tentatively touching her shoulder.

She smiled up at him, a genuine and contented smile. "It's okay, Gourry. I've… I've got to have some time to think and work some things out, but…" She slipped her hand into his. "… but it will be okay."

He smiled, and that alone lit up her heart. They returned to their hotel, hand in hand.

The Bali High Spa was a high-class establishment, recommended by Naga as the best in the city. There was a Men's Wing and a Women's Wing, as well as a community exercise room. The architecture was modeled after a Roman bath, covered from floor to ceiling with marble. There were heated whirlpools, a smaller round one swirling with warm water at the head of two long pools that were filled with bubbling hot water cascading down from either side of the huge tiled decorative divider. At the far side of the two long hot pools was the 'Cold Plunge,' a simple round pool filled with cold water. Just off of the main whirlpool Jacuzzi room was a redwood sauna room as well as a eucalyptus steam room. One whole room was a vanity room, complete with a waist to ceiling mirror on either side of the room, seven stools along the countertop before each vanity station: spray deodorant, four different kinds of lotions and body sprays, hair gel, mousse, or hair spray, combs, and hair dryers available for use. The shower room had a dozen individual shower stalls and attached dressing rooms, complete with complimentary razor, loofa sponge, and shower cap, as well as shampoo, conditioner, and body wash; the separate bathroom had its own miniature washing machine specifically for bathing suits. The relaxation room was well-stocked with buckets of cold water bottles, juices, and fresh fruits. The television lounge offered water, juices, coffee, tea, fresh fruits, and nuts. In addition to all these amenities, they also offered a variety of body treatments, facials and massages.

Lina was surprised to discover that with the purchase of something as simple as a massage and a facial for the girls, and massages for the guys, they would have full access to all of these amenities for the entire day for free!

The four arrived at the Bali High Spa after pigging out at the Thebes breakfast buffet, and checked in. She and Amelia waved goodbye to the boys and confirmed that they would meet back outside shortly after one o'clock. They walked into the wing and were greeted by a small woman who asked for their shoe size. After telling her, she handed them each a pair of bumpy sandals and gave them each a key on a springy circle keychain. She quickly explained that the key was for their locker, and that they would find robes inside. Towels were available in the locker room, as well as from any one of the staff.

"... that was the television lounge and here is the Jacuzzi room," she continued as they stepped through the set of double doors. Lina was instantly transported back to an ancient Roman bath. "… you can go inside the pools with a swimsuit or naked if you'd like…"

Swimsuit? Oh, damn! She completely forgot to pack one! She glanced at Amelia who was smiling sympathetically.

"I forgot mine, too, Miss Lina," she whispered.

"… bathrooms are here, showers are down that hall. Please shower before using the Jacuzzis and also at least fifteen minutes before your scheduled massage. Here is the relaxation room; wait here for them to call your name for your massage and facial. We ask that you do not shave if you have a full body massage. That's it. Please enjoy yourselves, ladies."

Lina looked at Amelia, who merely shrugged and trotted off to the locker room. Not entirely sure of what she was supposed to do, she followed along and found her locker next to her friend. Amelia opened her locker and put her purse and shoes inside, and then undressed, completely unembarrassed as she removed her tank top and bra, and her shorts and panties. She pulled out the robe and pulled it on, tying it closed. Then she sat down to remove her socks.

"I hope the guys don't feel self-conscious about undressing in a locker room," she was saying as Lina began removing her clothes. "But I guess they should be used to it, being in the police and all…"

It wasn't as if Lina was a prude or anything, it was just that it was normally easy to look past the fact that Amelia was built better up top than she was, but whenever their bodies were revealed, Lina still inwardly fumed at the fact that she was still an 'A' cup and her younger friend was at least a 'C'. And after that breakfast she gorged, her stomach stuck out almost as far as her breasts…

"… hopefully Mister Zelgadiss will have a masseuse who's okay with seeing his scarred body."

"Oh, he should be okay," Lina explained as she wrapped the robe around her. She put her long hair up in a quick French twist and secured it with a large banana clip. "Your sister said that she would take care of it for me."

"M… my sister?" Why did Lina detect a hint of fear in her voice?

"Yeah, I told Naga we'd be coming here, and she wanted to help out. She got a really great discount, and she said that she'd be able to request a good masseuse for…"

"Tes!" A white robe-clad woman came bouncing out of nowhere to tackle her friend off of the bench. Amelia looked dazed as her big sister pulled her up and dusted her off. Then, Naga turned her attention to Lina. "Glad you could make it, squirt. Hurry up and take a shower so we can all go into the Jacuzzi!"

She shooed them into the shower room, and stood at the entrance with her arms crossed and foot tapping until they emerged. "Well, it's about time. I've been here for half an hour before you two arrived, and it's been so boring. Come on, let's relax!"

"As if anyone can relax around her," Amelia whispered, and Lina laughed. How true.

The young women lowered themselves into the hot water whirlpool, and despite the fact that all three were naked, Naga kept quiet about the fact that Lina's breasts seemed to be less buoyant than the Seyruun girls'. They all sat back with their eyes blissfully closed, feeling the tension ease out of their muscles.

Just as she was about to doze off (something quite dangerous, Amelia pointed out later), Naga whispered in her ear. "So did your cute boy friend come along?"

Her eyes shot open, and she was thankful that the hot water had already made her flushed. "Gourry and I split Zel's room and Spa expenses. Of course, he came along."

"Huh. Funny that you knew exactly who I was referring to." She didn't say anything else. Leaning her head back against the cool marble of the Jacuzzi edge, she closed her eyes and chuckled to herself.

"Gracia, Miss Lina and I are going to the steam room, do you want to come?" Amelia asked suddenly, as if sensing Lina's irritation. Her older sister grunted and shook her head, remaining where she was. "Come on, Lina."

Lina looked at her for a moment, surprised that she had been so personal with her. Only when she was angry or overly emotional did Amelia tend to drop the 'Miss' or 'Mister' from anyone's name. Only her relatives and Jordan had the luxury of being addressed without a prefix.

The two girls stepped out of the whirlpool and put on their robes and their bumpy sandals and walked over to the steam room. In the anteroom, they removed their robes, wrapped themselves in towels, and stepped inside the darkened room. It was like hitting a wall of heat. Lina had thought the temperature drop from stepping out of the Jacuzzi was dramatic; it was nothing compared to the sudden increase in temperature and humidity. They found a seat on the nearest tile bench, and by the time they had sat down, sweat or condensation was dripping down her cheek.

"I figured my sister wouldn't follow us," Amelia stated, leaning back against the warm marble. "She hates sweating or doing anything that would make her sweat, even if it's cleansing."

"Figures," Lina snorted. "Sorry about her being here. When I asked her about what the best spas were, she immediately made plans and invited herself."

"Oh well. Can't be helped."

They sat in companionable silence, sweating out toxins and breathing in the soothing eucalyptus vapors. A sudden rumble and 'whoosh' startled them as steam came rushing in, pumped in from somewhere above them.

"Um… Amelia, about last night…"

Amelia looked sharply at her. "What about last night?" she asked.

"Something happened."

"Oh, did you and Mister Gourry…?"

She was thankful that it was dark. Lina twisted an edge of her towel in her hands. "Well, he kinda… you know."

"Did he… did he kiss you?"

Lina's nod was barely perceptible, but Amelia still squealed in delight and hugged her tightly. "Oh, Miss Lina, that's so great! Finally! Oh, did you kiss him back?"

"Of course," she muttered, disengaging her friend's arms from her, "I'm not crazy."

"When? Where? How did it all start?" she prodded.

Lina explained to her how events transpired, from lunch after their fight until the moment they parted ways at their respective rooms. Next to her, Amelia sighed dreamily.

"I always knew you two would figure things out. Now, I'm glad that Mister Zelgadiss and I didn't go with you to the other show. So, are you going out now?"

"Well, that's the thing. I told him that I needed time to work some stuff out."

"But what kind of stuff? You're not seeing anyone else, are you?"

"No! Of course not. I just… I've just got to talk to someone before I decide for sure on anything."

"Who?"

"Sylphiel."

"Oh."

"Amelia, she's been in love with him since way before I met either of them, but he's never given her the time of day. He's usually pretty astute at noticing other people's feelings, but in her case, either he's just completely blind or he's being a complete jerk to her by ignoring her feelings."

"But what if he's never felt the way she's felt about him? What if he told her, and she likes him anyway?" Amelia couldn't think badly about the guy she saw as an older brother.

"Well then, I guess talking to Sylphiel is more important than before. She's been a really good friend. I just can't stab her in the back like that."

"Things will work themselves out. I have confidence in that. Oh, and don't worry. I won't say anything about it to anyone." Lina regarded her friend with affection. The girl knew her better than anyone else, except maybe Gourry. Amelia was staring up through the thick mist with a dreamy expression on her face. Maybe something else happened last night, too.

"So, what happened with you and Zel after we left?"

She sighed. "He almost kissed me. But he held my hand for a really long time."

This time, it was Lina's turn to hug her, the feeling of wanting to slap her, a distant memory.

"I knew it! Well, what happened?"

Amelia related her romantic encounter and then sighed. "I was worried that he would back off completely after that, but he still smiled at me and held my hand. It felt so comfortable, so… right."

The feeling of Gourry's hand in hers returned, and Lina closed her eyes as well. "I know what you mean…"

"Will you two get out of there? It's so boring out here! Hurry up!" a familiar voice intruded in on their conversation. Shaking their heads, Lina and Amelia both stood and walked over to the door. Naga appeared disgusted at the sweat that had already begun to trickle down her face. "Ugh, it's so gross in here. How can you stand it? Let's get ready. Our massages and facials are in twenty minutes."

Shrugging her shoulders, Lina put on her robe and followed the older girl out the door, followed by her best friend.

Funny. Lina had planned this weekend so that Amelia and Zel would progress in their relationship, but it was her own relationship with Gourry that had shifted and changed. But it was okay, because she also had confidence that things would work themselves out.

And Lina would come out on top, because, let's face it, she always did.

A/N: The 'Bali High Spa' is based on 'Spa Mandalay' in Las Vegas (at the Mandalay Bay Casino). My girlfriends and I went there for one of my girlfriend's bachelorette party. It was my first trip to a spa, and according to their various testimonies about different top-notch spas, this one was amazing. The place is really as I've described, though I didn't nearly do it enough justice. I wasn't sure about the number of showers or the number of seats in the vanity room, but think of it as artistic license. I highly recommend it to anyone who goes to L.V. I wanna go back…

'Love Moves a Fingernail' is a line from Sting's Ghost Story. I've always thought of this song as a bittersweet ending for Zel and Amelia's canon tale (the lyrics are actually kind of sad), but I've always liked that one line. It seemed appropriate for the fact that for Lina, it was merely a shift in the way of looking at the same relationship that would allow her to cross that thin line into 'love'.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It's been quite some time since I've updated this set of side-fics, but there are a few stories that need to be told. I'm slowly working my way through them. Hugs to Kaeru Shisho, Ichiban Victory, SithKnight-Galen, Aisha C, Lina Gabriev, Ishy-Chan, Raven Summersong, jesphoenix05, and Shinsei Kage for all your patience and your reviews. I hope everyone enjoys!

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