"Filia..."

"Oh, what is it now!" Filia said, sitting up. She was rather irritated, sitting up in her plain cotton gown. She had just gotten to sleep and that stupid nanagomi kept talking to her.

"I can't sleep," He stated simply. The look on Filia's face was murderous.

"GOOD FOR YOU! Now let me sleep at least!" She cried, before slumping back down onto the bed. She faced the opposite direction, only to see he had teleported. "Xelloss, I really, really hate you."

"That's good!" Xelloss said, clapping his hands together. "I wouldn't be able to stand it if you were the sweet romantic type!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Filia growled, sitting up again for the nth time that night. "Stop telling me riddles in the middle of the night." To her surprise, he teleported in front of her, his face close to her's. Suddenly his gloved hand was behind her head, pulling her into an impromptu kiss. Filia's eye lids fell. It was just like... back then... a long time ago. How many times had she wanted for this since then? The night before Valgaav started to talk. She couldn't forget it no matter how she tried. No matter how much Xelloss angered her, made her want to scream... this always seemed to be something she wanted. He pulled away from her, making her whimper.

"So I guess you missed me," He said, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb.

"Not in a million years!" She spat, tempted to bite him. Then the sensation registered. That wasn't a glove... The only time she had ever seen him take off his gloves was... was when... Oh fire dragon king, he was going to...!

"Your lips say different," He remarked, moving in once more. Filia didn't move, she couldn't. She was being engulfed by fire from the inside.

Xelloss heard the footsteps before she did. She could barely hear her own breathing above her heartbeat. They were soft, but insistent. Little legs. Out came the mace, swiping empty air- Xelloss was already gone. Then the door creaked open, and Filia swallowed her sigh. At this rate, the mazoku was going to make her say it. And she really did hate saying it. Not after that night. It had come out of no where, as she was seeing stars-

"Mommy!" cried little Valgaav, jumping onto the bed and into her arms like a magnet. He buried his face into her chest, sobbing, as she gently stroked her hair. Yes, she was definitely going to let it grow long. It would look lovely on him when he was older, he might attract many village girls. Not that Valgaav was the type to care, though.

"Oh my sweet, what's wrong?" She asked soothingly. She waited for his cries to abate, softly stroking his back.

"It-it's a storm!" He said, conforming into her further. Filia was convinced he was trying to disappear into her, and it almost made her chuckle. Crossing her legs, she created a nest for him to sit in before leaning back to see his face.

"It won't hurt you. Never, ever again," She cooed, gently holding his chin so he had to look at her. "Mommy won't let it." Valgaav continued to shudder a little as a crackle of lightning was heard. Funny, Filia hadn't heard the storm. Or even the rain. Had she been that distracted?

"Mommy, can I sleep with you?" Valgaav asked, looking at her with fright still evident. She let out a breath. Ah, Valgaav was the cutest child she had ever seen. Though she didn't dislike the village children, the little girls with their hair in pig tails or boys with their bruised legs, there was something about little Valgaav that made him all the more dear to her. She supposed it was a maternal feeling. Just the feeling that this little creature was really her's. No matter what the mysterious priest said, this was her baby. This was her child.

"Always," Filia answered, resting a pale hand on his head.

Xelloss flinched at this answer from his hiding place. So... she would rather spend the night with Valgaav? A part of him rationalized that it made sense. A dragon and a dragon. He was sure there was some raven haired shrine priestess bimbo out there somewhere that would have found this to be a sweet moment. The golden dragon reconciling the hurt between races by mothering an ancient dragon. But he didn't.

"You're being selfish," Beastmaster said, sensing his arrival. She let a puff of smoke leave her lips, filling the small cavern.

"What?"

"Didn't you know, Xelloss? The one who is selfish in love always loses," She answered, uncrossing and crossing her legs. She sat there for most of her days and had to do such thing to keep the circulation in her legs going. She swore if the world weren't so petty and weak she might actually have something worth her time. It was boring just living through minions. But this particular minion... Xelloss... he brought her some interest whenever he saw the golden dragon, and so she sent him there whenever life got dull. She was sure he knew this, but couldn't argue it because honestly, if the positions were reversed he'd do the same.

"Why are you telling me this?" He asked, pretending obliviousness. She let out a long, low laugh. Xelloss wasn't sure how long it went on, it might have been two or six minutes. He assumed this was why he was so often summoned. He was the only one who made her laugh. She had become rather listless with the others, making him a special case. Not that the others wanted to be laughed at by their boss, mind you. No, that seemed a job best left to a mysterious priest.

"Because I didn't make a loser."

Filia awoke suddenly. She slowly sat up, glancing out the window. She had such a strange feeling that something odd was about to start. Looking down, she found little Valgaav still fast asleep. It was strange, because he always got up early to pick the flowers. She wondered if it was the nightmares that woke him up so early... She pressed a warm hand through his hair. She was going to have to brush it this morning, but she didn't care. Perhaps her needs weren't fulfilled all the time... but such frivolities with Xelloss came second with everything else. It all came second to little Valgaav, who gave her more joy than she could imagine possible. No, it wasn't guilt anymore. That was what made it maternal and not responsibility. It was honest-to-fire-dragon-king love.


(A/N)

Hey everyone! Thank you for all your supportive reviews. I know this one was long in the making, but I've also decided that this story is going to be much longer than I had initially expected. There are a lot of issues to sort through with these characters that I'm sure you'd all like to see. I'm kind of surprised that there aren't any other fics like this, considering how the series ended. This chapter was supposed to cover a lot more than this, but like I said, things are different now.

Yakumi: Do you like V/F better? Because if you do, please, please, beg me to make one after I finish this! Because- dang it! There needs to be more! ... oh. I think my muse just threw a pot at me...

XyoushaX: You don't mind if I use that idea, do you? Because to be honest, I really like it. Don't worry, I'll credit you in the A/N for the concept! I really hadn't thought of it but that would be so cute!

Lady Dark Angel: I'll try to write more often. Don't worry too much, I've got a writing board to report to every week that will be on me like crows to roadkill if I don't have something written every week. I've been lucky to get off with just poems these past two weeks.

Story weaver1: I know! I just loved that part. I really feel bad for Valgaav, so I kind of see how he can know about her not being his real mom but still treasure her that much. By the end I hope to have a healed up Valgaav that can play with the other kids.

SithKnight-Galen: You have inspired me to make this a longer story. I know where I want to end, the question remains of how to get there. So bare with me through the smoke, will you?

Disclaimer: I'm talking to the lawyers about it still, but they say I might just get a lock of little Valgaav's hair if I bring up the black mail I found... So yeah, I guess no ownership yet. sigh