"I think we should stay on the more traveled roads." Gourry said as he scrutinized the map with Lina.

"But you never know what goodies you'll find on the back roads!" Lina countered.

"We've just been attracting so much trouble lately…"

But before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted as a third person sat down at their table. "Somehow it's never a big surprise when I run into you two." Lantz said.

"Lantz?" Lina asked as she blinked in surprise. The last time they had seen Lantz was after the incident with Copy Rezo in Sairaag, and he was practically running to get as far away from them as he could, stating that traveling with the two of them would be bad for his lifespan. "Hey, how've you been?"

"Doing well. Staying away from you two has been good for my longevity."

"So I reckon you haven't had to fight any Mazoku lately." Gourry said as he slurped his spaghetti.

"Well, not if you don't count that chick I hooked up with back in Tearesa if you get my meaning." Lantz said with a laugh that caused Lina to scowl internally. "She was something to look at but, wow, that temper! And then her husband found out and, well, I was lucky to skip out of town in one piece."

"I don't feel sorry for you." Lina said.

"Well, you two are looking good." Lantz commented, "Don't know how you pull through the life you do without being hideously scarred and burned."

We whether it well. Lina thought to herself as she finished her meal. In truth the latest incident had left her exhausted, especially as the nature of the magic she had had to cast was complex and energy draining. Gourry smiled casually as he said, "Somehow we always find our way out of a scrape."

"You make it sound so easy!" Lantz said.

Lina pushed her plate away and stood up, "Anyway, it was good to see you again, but I'm a bit wiped and am going to get some rest. But we should definitely get together for breakfast. Night!"

"Night." Gourry said as he continued to slurp on his spaghetti as Lina turned to leave.

"What? I'm surprised at you!" Lantz said, and Lina turned back around to look at him. "Traveling together for so long and still no good night kiss for Big Bro?"

Lina blushed crimson as she started to stutter while Gourry started coughing on his food as Lantz continued, "Don't tell me the two of you haven't started sharing a room yet!"

"Mind your own business!" Lina yelled.

"Well, really, for a young woman who goes around saying that you only travel with him for his…sword…you sure are taking your time getting busy."

"What did you say!?" Lina roared.

Lantz drew closer to Gourry, "And Big Bro, when a woman is that into you, you don't even have to bother with a fancy dinner and jewelry you know…"

"NOT THAT TYPE OF SWORD!" Lina said as she grabbed Lantz's hand and flipped him over and onto the floor.

Gourry patted his chest as he stared at the table, his face red and his eyes watery as Lina fumbled for a moment as she tried to figure out which way to look as everyone in the room turned to look at them. Lina took a few ragged breaths as she tried, and failed, to keep her blushing to a minimum as she deliberately avoided looking Gourry as she turned on her heels and stormed out of the room as she yelled, "Good night!"


AN: Been working on this for awhile and quibbled about whether or not to expand it, but nothing I ever tried worked, so I decided to end it here. Perhaps if inspiration ever strikes I may come back to fill it out a bit, but for now that's it.