The sound of Lina shuffling around the room slowly roused him from sleep. It wasn't too unusual for her to wake first and get dressed. And the impulse to catch a few minutes of extra sleep was drowned under the desire to catch of glimpse of her as she dressed. As the weeks passed she'd grown more comfortable disrobing around him and the thrill of watching her never seemed to get old. Fortunately she was at the foot of the bed gathering her stuff, still in her pajamas! He hadn't missed the show.
"Morning," he said.
"You're up!" she said as she turned around and smiled at him and then looked away nervously as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small package wrapped in paper. "I have something for you."
"For me?" Gourry asked in surprise as he sat up a bit, "What's the occasion?"
Lina put the present on his lap as she moved to sit closer to him, "Just because."
He put a hand on her forehead, "Are you feeling okay?"
"Just open it already!" she said as she batted his hand down to the present.
"Right, right," he said with a smile as he unwrapped the paper. Folded neatly inside was a length of white cotton. He picked it up and felt his chest grow tight with emotion. It was a sarashi.
Lina started talking, "I sewed some jewels into the lining and I used the hairs from the whiskers of a white dragon to embroider some protective runes onto it." Gourry remembered the sewing project that Lina had hovered over as she worked diligently at making it and felt overcome with a deluge of feelings. "It won't do too much against physical attacks that a typical sarashi won't, but it will give you a bit of a barrier with magical spells."
He grabbed her and held her to him and as she returned the hug she said, "So you like it?"
"Yes," he said as he choked up before he could say more. He never thought that Lina would have made one for him. She was a warrior herself and they both relied on each other equally. He'd never wanted a partner who sat at home making sarashis while waiting for him. And he wasn't even sure if a woman making a sarashi for a man had the same connotations in Zephelia as it did in the Elemekian Empire where it was a token of love and affection. But he did know that Lina wouldn't have spent so much time and money pouring over it if she didn't think that his contributions to their partnership weren't valuable.
"These past few years, just knowing that no matter what you would be there beside me no matter how ugly things got, I mean. Given the enemies I face…"
"We face." He said softly.
"We face, to have a companion like you, well, that's irreplaceable isn't it?" Lina said, "So I'd better do what I can to keep you in top shape."
"Lina, don't worry, I hear what you're saying," he said as she looked up at him, "And I love you, too."
Before she could respond he leaned down to kiss her as he grabbed her hand. She didn't protest as she returned the kiss, going deeper even as she unbuttoned his shirt and ran her fingers down his chest before she pulled away, "You ready to see how it looks?"
But he pulled her back onto the bed beside him and she giggled a bit as he said, "You're not going to let me thank you first?"
It had been a few weeks now that their explorations had become fully sexual and Gourry was starting to trust that he wasn't a scumbag like Gunther for it. Gunther, who Gourry was sure had never known the joy that was to be found in a relationship like this. Gunther, who had seen relationships as something to exploit, never knew the peace that came with lying beside a woman who truly loved him in return. Gunther would brag about his ability to court different woman by the hour and would rub his number count in Gourry's face had never stayed long enough with a woman to get hurt, even if it caught up to him in the end.
Gunther, who pushed him down with every opportunity, who made him feel like such a loser, had he ever actually won anything that was actually of value with his tactics? Gourry would rage at how Gunther who was so cruel was also so popular and how despite Gourry's kindness people would turn the other way as Gunther bullied him. Had anyone actually liked Gunther or were they all just too scared to say otherwise?
Standing up to Gunther had cost him friends and family and eventually allowed him to find another person who would do the right thing even when it was hard and unpopular. He knew since Atlas City that Lina was a genuinely good person. He'd learned long ago that she truly had his back. Did anyone have Gunther's back out of love? Could Gunther ever truly relax, knowing he had surrounded himself with people who followed him solely because they feared him?
He watched as Lina put her robe on after their lovemaking as she turned and grabbed the sarashi and asked, "Need me to help you put this on?" Lina asked with a wink.
He stood up and held his arms up, and she walked around and started to wrap it around his stomach as he felt a sense of pride rise through him as she wrapped him secure with love and patted his chest before she stood on her toes to kiss him again. When he pulled away he grabbed his shirt and put it on, and before he could button it Lina said, "You know you look hot with it unbuttoned like that."
"Do I?" he replied as he watched as he grabbed his bag as he kept an eye on her as she started to button up her own shirt, "I could say the same for you."
"Do you really want me walking around like this?" she asked.
"Well, only with me behind closed doors." He said as he watched as she smiled and finished buttoning up. Once the show was over he looked into his bag and then took a moment to reach in and touch the bracelets. He'd never really understood why he'd grabbed his grandparents wedding bracelets when he left home. Sentiment? A sense of connection with a family member he actually loved and admired? Or perhaps there was a part of him, deep inside, that hoped that one day he would find love. A part buried so deep that he could not consciously admit it until now.
He clasped the bracelets gently in his hand as he watched as Lina started to brush her hair and he knew then that he would not be the only one getting a gift today.
AN: During a discussion about Lina and Gourry's post novel 15 outfits, someone (I honestly forget who, for which I apologize) had commented that women would make and give sarashis to samurai warriors that they loved. I can't vouch for whether or not that is historically accurate, but I liked the idea of Lina making the sarashi in Gourry's post novel 15 outfits and decided to incorporate it here. I also always thought that both of them looked rather exposed in their post novel 15 outfits, especially given the prominence of their armor previously. Before novel 16 I thought it spoke to how they were likely settling down, but regardless I decided that perhaps their clothes likely had some enhancements to offer more protection than you would assume at first glance.
And I'm not continuing this through the new arc. I am very much enjoying novel 17, and I have high hopes for novel 18, but without knowing much about how that arc will play out I don't feel like venturing there.
I'm not planning to do a Christmas fic this year. I have been editing the entirety of Slayers, Neverending and plan to pick up on that eventually and have some ideas for that (currently finished editing chapter 101, so a few more to go). I also have an idea for a oneshot based on the Bathtime prompt on Gourrina week that I didn't have time to develop, but not sure if I will get this done in a month or not. My next WIP will be called Lina the Virgin, and based on a fun comic that AnxiousSailorSoldier did and graciously granted me permission to develop.