Chapter Seventeen: A 'Prince' Rides to the Rescue

"We've been drugged." Already he could feel its affects. Damn!

Beside him, Lina cursed. She stood so abruptly that her chair fell back, which she ignored as she grabbed the nearest frightened waiter.

Now that he was looking for it, Zel saw that the servers and patrons all looked very frightened.

Conspiracy?

"You'll be alright, miss!" gasped the man Lina held by the scruff of his neck. "Please, calm down, or the evil queen will hear you!"

Zelgadis tried to stand as well, just as angry as the sorceress—evil queen? What?—but he soon realized that balance was not going to be part of his reality for the moment. He fell to his knees heavily, cracking the wood floor with his weight, feeling sick.

"Zelgadis!" he heard Xellos gasp, and turned in time to see the former priest try to reach for him before he slumped to the floorboards as well. He crumbled with a thump and Zel could do nothing about it.

Zelgadis' last thought, as he struggled and failed to fight unconsciousness, was that his clothes were still damp.

It was a silly thing to think about, but he was drugged after all.

When he woke up, Xellos was not in a very good mood. This was the second time he had been drugged in the same week, he had an elephant running around in his head disguised as a headache, and Zelgadis was nowhere in sight.

Someone would pay for this.

For instance, someone like the morons sitting around his throne calling him "Prince!" and "Our lord!"

He did think the throne was rather odd, but it was not important. All that mattered now was that his chimera and their friends were in danger—that he had placed them in once again.

It seemed that no matter how much changed, that was one thing that remained the same.

He felt his eyebrow twitching as he cast a spell. "Diem Wing!"

There was a certain amount of satisfaction, listening to the dismayed and pained cries of the supposed courtiers as the wind spell scattered them across the hall.

Though it was large, it was not as majestic as the palace of Seyruun. The architect may have had dreams of such splendor, with its high ceilings and wide windows, but it did not quite get there. But the tapestries were pretty and the stain glass cast colorful rainbows on the floor. Xellos wanted to see it all burn.

"Prince!" they cried. "Please help us! Don't attack!"

Xellos offered them a cold smile. "I'm afraid you have me mistaken for someone else. You see, I'm the villain of this piece. However, if you tell me where the chimera is, I may allow you to live." He smiled and shook a chiding finger at them. "No promises!"

The ones that weren't unconscious or too afraid to move began fleeing the hall. It seemed he could still strike fear in the hearts of mortals. Lina would likely not approve, but he would cross that hurdle if or when he got to it.

A young woman, half hidden behind a bust of some long forgotten nobleman, answered shakily. "H-He is in the forest. The evil queen found him and put a powerful spell upon him."

Xellos approached her, laying a hand meaningfully on the sword strapped to his belt. It appeared that while he was sleeping, his captors had sought fit to equip him like the "prince" they wanted him to be. In addition to the bejeweled short sword, a horribly unpractical thing, he wore a pretty blue mantel with white and gold robes.

Not his style.

Xellos crouched down, giving the cowering girl a mockingly sympathetic smile. "Where in the forest, young miss?"

The Mazoku could attack while these shenanigans were taking place. If Zelgadis was still asleep, his stone skin would not protect him for long.

"In the shrine!" she gasped. "The fairies placed him there so that he would be safe. You take the path that leads away from the Tower. Please, Prince, spare us..."

Xellos hurried out without sparing them another glance, throwing a Fireball negligently over his shoulder. The screams and frenzied escape of the remaining courtiers were the only orchestra the former Mazoku got as he took a waiting horse and rode away.

He followed the path cut into the forest until he came upon the tower and Lina, who was screaming at another of the villagers. She was also dressed like a theatrical prince, while Gourry was up in the tower above, which only seemed to have a window, no doors. He was wearing a pink princess dress and his blond hair was at least twenty feet longer than usual. It reached already down to the ground.

"Why can't I just blast him out?" Line demanded, then saw him and looked a little relieved. "Xellos!"

Xellos pulled the horse to a stop. It had been a long time since he had ridden, but while his skills were still adequate, he could already feel his new human muscles adjusting to the new activity. He kept his back straight, his heels down, and bore it.

"Lina-san. They have Zelgadis is some sort of shrine up ahead." He needed to hurry on ahead. "Do you need assistance? I do not know where Amelia-san is," he added for the sorceress' benefit.

She cursed softly. "No, I'm fine. Go find Zel, I'll figure this out."

Xellos nodded and urged the horse forward again, the young creature all too eager to run fast for him. He heard Gourry's scream behind him and a crash, assuming that Lina had indeed 'figured it out.'

Knowing they would be following shortly, Xellos continued without stopping until he reached another structure: the shrine. It was far older than the castle or tower he had already seen, but not old enough to be an Aqualord shrine. That in itself was worrying but it was not the main issue.

Xellos slid off the horse, patting the creature's neck as he frowned. He tried to stretch his senses, but as a human he just couldn't be sure if there were Mazoku nearby or not. He did, however, feel his chimera. He sensed Zelgadis' magic, thrumming with power and life, and breathed a sigh of relief. Tension ebbed in his stomach that he hadn't realized was there, but not completely. He needed to see Zelgadis with his own eyes.

He was distracted and didn't notice the bug-like animals coming out of the crevices of the structure until one bit his ear. Wincing, Xellos swatted at the small beast.

Xellos recognized them then: Flimsy, translucent wings. Vaguely humanoid bodies with skin the wrong color and lines that were too sharp. Very small.

Fairies. He emitted a rare curse and cast another wind spell. "Dimil Arwin!"

The pests went scattering with tiny, inhuman cries and Xellos quickly ascended the steps, feeling no guilt for hurting them either.

Fairies were not the benevolent creatures of fairy stories. They were annoying, as he had told Zelgadis not too long ago, and no more sentient than mosquitoes. Their resemblance to humans was one of nature's little jokes, that was all. It just made it all the easier for them to attack humans.

Zelgadis. Xellos hurried down the hallway he entered, eager to find his lover. If he had been harmed in anyway, the villagers of this pathetic, delusional place would think the ones in their castle had gotten off lucky.

He knew Zelgadis would do the same for him, so he felt no guilt, no sympathy. Xellos happily embraced the bloodlust, because it was familiar. So what if it was rage created from love? People had killed for worse reasons. He certainly had.

They had a real chance. They could have something different together, something more than either of them had ever known. No one and nothing would take that away from him—and away from Zelgadis. Not while he could still fight. He did not know why these villagers wanted to dress them up for a bit of playacting, nor did he care.

The hall ended in an archway that opened to a large central room. It was empty but for red roses scattered around, a bed, and a still figure in the bed wearing a blue dress.

Xellos rushed forward, forgetting to check for traps in his haste. There were none. Behind him, he could hear Lina and Gourry finally catching up to him, arguing with each other. He only vaguely heard what they were saying; Gourry complained about Lina pulling his hair to get him out of the tower and she had cut his hair too long. Lina was loudly declaring fairies to be the most annoying creatures ever.

But none of that mattered because it was Zelgadis in the bed and he wasn't waking up!

"Zelgadis!" Xellos shook him by his hard shoulders, barely moving his weight. "Zelgadis-san, please! Wake up!"

"Zel?"

Xellos glanced at Lina. He hadn't even realized they were so close, or had stopped arguing. "He's alive. But he will not awaken."

Gourry suddenly slapped his fist into his open palm. "Wait, I know this story! How does it go…?"

"What the hell are you blathering about, jellyfish brain?" Lina snapped. A worry line had formed between her brows.

"You know, like the fairy tales people tell their kids. You and Lina are dressed like princes; me and Zel are princesses. I was in a tower, Zel's asleep in bed like he's…"

Gourry trailed off and glanced at him guiltily, but it was too late. Xellos understood perfectly. But Zelgadis was breathing, not dead. He just would not awaken.

"So what fairy tale would this be?" Lina waved at Zel.

A side door burst open. Xellos hadn't given it proper attention before but now he did, as Amelia burst in. She was normally dressed in her travel garb, but the woman she had in a headlock was the classic evil queen, with the black gown and crown with wicked edges.

"Sleeping Beauty!" Amelia yelled, like a conquering general.

"Amelia!" Lina cried, rushing over. Amelia dropped the struggling queen and embraced her redheaded sorceress. "Sleeping what?"

"These people seem to be under some sort of spell," Amelia explained. "It's all this woman's doing. She read some curse that activated it and the whole town has been trapped in fairy tale reenactments for nearly a year."

"I just read some writing on a shrine wall!" the woman in question wailed. "I didn't know it would happen! I just want to go back to being a normal shrine maiden!"

"Amelia, there are fairies!" Lina said.

Amelia sighed and patted her head fondly. "The only way to wake Zelgadis-san up is to act out the end of the story."

Xellos sighed and sat on the edge of the couch, his legs feeling strangely weak. He pet Zelgadis' cheek as he tried to remember all the different versions of Sleeping Beauty and wondering which one this spell was supposed to be in tuned with. He hated these types of curses. They were worse than password protected shrines.

"Xellos-san, just kiss him," Amelia said.

"Ah. That one." Cupping Zel's face, he wasted no time planting a tender kiss on Zelgadis' mouth.

Please, please. He needed Zelgadis to wake up. He needed to see his blue eyes, hear his voice.

But still, there was nothing. Zelgadis did not respond. Heart beating loudly in his ears, Xellos lifted his head to look down at the chimera's face.

There was nothing. But just as Xellos began frantically thinking about the other versions of Sleeping Beauty again, there was suddenly movement.

Zelgadis' lashes fluttered openly slowly, but they focused on him almost immediately. "Xellos?"

The relief he felt was almost a physical thing. Xellos had never suffered anything like it. He nearly fell on Zelgadis in his need to be close, pressing his face against the shaman's neck.

"Thank you," he said, to whoever or whatever was listening. "Thank you, thank you."

Zelgadis moved underneath him, arms coming up to wrap around him, and this also helped him relax. It also cleared his mind enough to realize that his upset was clearly visible to everyone else in the room, which was exceedingly embarrassing. He kept his face hidden against his lover as Amelia filled Zelgadis in on what had occurred. It was quite a few minutes before he could sit up again, but thankfully no one commented on it.

He could survive without Zelgadis. He had for a long time prior to knowing the chimera. But as with his choice to not become Mazoku again, it was not how he wanted to live. He would continue, because Zelgadis would not want him to give up (and there was his own pride to consider). It was just not what he wanted.

Apparently not just the curse on Zelgadis had been broken—the whole town's curse had been broken as well. This was why they had been dragged into it instead of being warned to stay away—the curse could only be broken by an outsider. A strange sort of curse, and Xellos wondered—absently—how pissed off the shrine maiden who had created the thing had been at the time. To create such a curse, then to graffiti it on the side of a wall for anyone to read…

Or it was some priest who had too much time on his hands and the prank had gone horribly wrong. Xellos really didn't care all that much anymore, either way.

Zelgadis, when he spoke again, sounded just as irritated. "I'm more concerned about where my real clothing is. What the hell am I wearing?"

Xellos made an embarrassingly wet sound that was supposed to have been a laugh and Zelgadis rubbed his back in response.

Lina and Amelia intimidated the shrine maiden in what sounded like an impressive two-on-one combo, and the sniveling woman apologized profusely on behalf of her town and said they already had rooms at the local inn, where their belongings had been stored.

"I can't walk around like this," Zelgadis muttered.

"It's not like you haven't cross-dressed before," Lina retorted.

"Because I thought it was necessary!"

Xellos lifted his head, at last able to compose himself. "If we can have some privacy, Zelgadis, I'll wear the dress back to town."

His chimera sighed, still rubbing his back. "You didn't seem too bothered by wearing a dress last time. Fine."

Their friends left, taking the woman with them, and Xellos turned around to give Zelgadis as much privacy as possible.

Zel reached behind him, fumbling with the zipper of the dress. The only thing that kept him from simply ripping the material to get out of it was knowing that Xellos had to wear it afterwards. He loved seeing Xellos without clothes but he certainly did not want the dicks in this town to see his lover.

Honestly. Fairy tales becoming real, of all things!

Then suddenly there were soft hands over his own, pushing his stone ones away from the zipper. Xellos pulled it down smoothly and pressed a kiss on his back, just under the hairline on his neck.

Zelgadis blushed both from the kiss and when he caught sight of the "prince" costume on the bed. Xellos had already gotten undressed while he was struggling. It was tempting to turn around and push Xellos onto the bed, but this definitely was not the place or time.

Sighing, Zelgadis removed the dress and handed it behind him blindly, not turning around. He quickly dressed in Xellos' outfit. They were fine clothes, but certainly not of the quality of the outfits they had purchased recently. It was almost (but not quite) theatrical quality. Which fit the place pretty well, actually.

As he was pulling on the boots, Xellos finished filling in the holes of what had happened after they lost consciousness. The former priest almost seemed hesitant to admit to Fireballing the castle, but honestly Zelgadis was not surprised. If their positions had been reversed, Zel knew he would have acted similarly, and told him so.

He turned. "Let's get back to the inn so we can…" He trailed off as he fully took in how Xellos looked.

The dress was pale blue, not a really flattering color on Xellos, but there was still something about seeing him in the dress that made his brain stop functioning for a second. The neck hung a little loose, the cups a little flat without anything to fill them, and the ruffled sleeves looked awkward on muscular forearms. Xellos was currently sitting on the bed, bending over as he squeezed into the matching slippers, one foot at a time. They stretched, thankfully, and he only had to wear them back to town.

Xellos looked up at him and smiled brightly, curling a strand of hair behind his ear, purple eyes shining. "You look quite dashing, my dear."

Zel rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "It's better than wearing that dress," he sighed. He hoped Xellos wouldn't say he liked him wearing a dress. Just because he was the 'bottom' in their sex life didn't mean he was going to crossdress.

Xellos softened and stood, moving to hug Zelgadis which just a serious expression that at first he was taken aback by it. "It doesn't matter. The only thing I care about is that you're alright." His voice grew softer, his face pressed once again to Zel's neck. "When I saw you lying there, and I couldn't wake you, I was… Zelgadis, I have never known such fear before. Ever."

Zelgadis held him again, not surprised. He had seen how upset Xellos was immediately when he woke up. In another life, such an admission would have caused the former Mazoku a great deal of pain by his very nature, so he was grateful that Xellos admitted to it now. "I'm sorry, Xellos. I'm okay."

It suddenly occurred to Zel that such scenes would likely continue in the future. Their lives were made up of these dangerous travels. Either because they would follow Lina into danger or get into it all on their own. Thinking about it made Zel very sad suddenly.

As much as he didn't want to be a hermit, he didn't want to put Xellos through this. Xellos should never be scared of anything—he was way too strong for that. He proved it every day by accepting his human life, and wanting to share that life with Zel, as amazing as that still was to accept. The chimera wanted to show him that this wasn't all that a human life had to offer. This shouldn't be the only kind of life Xellos would know.

"The dress suits you a lot better than it does me," Zelgadis commented awkwardly to distract him. Sometimes hearing a compliment did wonders for Xellos' mood. He was still a little egotistical that way. Zel did not mind, of course. Xellos was attractive, it was a fact.

"Oh?" Xellos finally lifted his head to offer a small, coy smile. "Then maybe I should keep it?"

"Huh? Why?"

That strand he had previously curled behind his ear was starting to fall in his face again. "I want to look nice for my Zelgadis."

Zel gently tucked the strand back again, enjoying the muted feel of his hair and the way Xellos still leaned into his touch. "You don't need some bad dress for that, Xellos," he told him softly.

He could tell by the flush Xellos got that he wasn't just flattered by the adulation but honestly touched by it. "Shall we join the others?"

Zel nodded. "I want my clothes. And my new sword." He would feel better with a sword in his hand—warrior logic. He disregarded the small jeweled sword Xellos had come in with, leaving it on the bed.

"I do hope that the dragon tech was not damaged. It was with Lina-san's possessions."

"It's lasted through Lina messing with them; they're probably fine."

At the inn, they had been given five separate rooms, paid for in full by grateful villagers who were all too happy to take the shrine maiden from their possession. The last Zel saw of her, she was being dragged into the local sheriff's office, and none of her neighbors seemed all that happy with her.

Good. It was because of her that Xellos had gotten upset in the first place. Zelgadis wasn't going to feel sorry.

"So, another fake shrine?" Zel asked, not really needing the answer.

Lina nodded anyway. "Yup. On the bright side, there's only two left. One of them has to have the Claire Bible."

"With our luck, it'll be the last one we find."

"No kidding. Shit!"

At the inn, he was going through his possessions in the room they had been left in, making sure everything was there, when Xellos walked in with his own bag.

Obviously, Xellos' room was not going to be used. What did surprise him was Gourry walking in, looking a little sheepish as he did.

"Er, sorry. Lina doesn't think it's a good idea to not room together." The blond flushed. "I'll still give you guys some privacy."

"You're too kind, Gourry-san."

After Zelgadis was dressed in his own clothes again, Xellos told him a little more about the shrine, backing up what Amelia had said about the spell earlier. It was not of the Aqualord's design, or if it had been, it had been converted long ago.

Zelgadis did begin to wonder what kind of trap the next fake shrine would have. Thankfully, he hadn't reacted so drastically to the magic used. He did not feel the weakness he felt after the traps of the previous shrines.

The next one was not going to be so easy.

"Could it be different because of the fairies?" Gourry asked. They could hear Lina still yelling about the fairies in her and Amelia's room.

Xellos shrugged. "It could have been fairy magic. Not enough is known about them to be sure."

"That might be an interesting avenue of research," Zel noted aloud, thoughtful. He and Xellos had already talked about the fairies' mysterious astral powers.

His lover looked amused. "You may have to capture one first."

Zel offered him a ruthless grin in response.

Xellos giggled. "Happy hunting, my dear."

Gourry left shortly after to get a snack, though likely he wanted to give them that promised privacy. He did not return right away.

Zelgadis glanced at the time. It looked like they had lost quite a few hours. It was a couple hours until sunset, but they wouldn't be leaving the obnoxious village that night. Lina wouldn't camp out when they could milk a free meal out of some gullible party.

Which meant he had time to get one of those fairies, if he hurried.

He turned to Xellos, who was only now pulling out his clothes. "I think I'll try catching a fairy now, since we'll probably be here until morning. Barring a Mazoku attack. Interested in helping?"

Xellos blinked at him. "I would not mind going, but are you certain? It's close to dinner as it is."

Zelgadis shrugged. "It shouldn't take long. I'm good at hunting magical creatures." He really didn't want to go into details about his misspent youth helping Rezo, and was grateful when Xellos merely nodded. "Come on, get dressed."

"Hmm, I don't know." Xellos dropped his purple shirt onto his bag and lay back in what was to be their bed for the night. The material on the shoulder slid down with his movement, revealing more pale skin. He wasn't quite smiling but his eyes were mischievous.

Smirking, Zel shook his head fondly. "C'mon."

"If I must. Unzip me?"

"I'll try." But getting the dress off Xellos proved to be easier than getting it off himself. As soon as his fingers touched Xellos' skin, though, he finally registered what the former priest was doing.

Xellos was trying to be seductive. It wasn't ineffective so much as Zel was thinking about some new magical discovery and had gone temporarily dense. Now he noticed, and fairies were suddenly the furthest thing from his mind.

Slowly, Xellos began squirming out of the blue dress, pausing when the material bunched around his waist. "You're sure about this hunting?"

Zelgadis swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly dry. "I'm not married to those plans."

Xellos grinned and Zelgadis left him only to lock the door before quickly returning, slowly peeling the dress down his lover's legs. He felt comfortable enough to sneak in a few daring touches along the way; feeling the firm mound of Xellos' ass for the first time, lightly touching his cock to make the other man wriggle in delight. It still felt good to know that he could touch someone—Xellos—this way and not hurt him.

He crawled onto the bed with Xellos, keeping his weight off the new human as they kissed.

Xellos giggled softly against his mouth, a little breathy sound. "Better than research?"

"Yeah, of course." Zelgadis blinked at him, and then felt like kicking himself as he realized why this was happening right now. He kissed him again, gently. "Xellos, I'm okay. I'm not going anywhere."

Reddening faintly, Xellos ducked his head so that his bangs hid his eyes. "Yare yare. This is bad if even sex cannot distract you."

Zelgadis was caught between wanting to roll his eyes and blushing, so he did both. "It was what you were keeping me from that gave you away. Since when are you so unwilling to research?" He shook his head again and pet Xellos' hair. "Besides, it almost distracted me," he admitted sheepishly.

Xellos had been really upset earlier. He was trying to reassure himself that Zelgadis was still with him, still alive.

Zel had no problem letting Xellos do that. But now that he knew Xellos was still being troubled by what happened, he wanted to do something about it, something special.

Xellos laughed softly. "It's good to know I'm not losing my touch."

"On the contrary." He shyly kissed Xellos' neck, causing his lover to sigh. "I wish I could be inside you like you want." His blush renewed. "But I can't hurt you, I won't." It was frustrating because he knew how much Xellos had wanted it the day before, and it would've been that perfect 'something special' that he wanted to do for him. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, dear."

"Not really." He kissed down the delicate indent of Xellos' collarbone, earning an even softer sigh as Xellos tilted his head back. "But I've got another idea."

"O-Oh?" Xellos blinked at him, eyes already glazed over.

Zelgadis smiled and continued kissing downward. It would be his first time doing this too, but he really hoped he got it right and he understood the basics. In theory. No biting, only take in what he could, not enough to make himself gag.

It was different performing it physically, rather than imagining it in his head. Xellos seemed to appreciate his efforts nonetheless.

When Zelgadis woke later, there was a weird taste in his mouth and he was tangled alone in the bed sheets. Xellos was already dressed (in male clothing) and setting dinner on the small table in their room.

Finding his pants, he quickly slid them back on and sat at the table. Drinking the water Xellos sat down in front of him helped the weird taste fade away. Zelgadis blushed and smiled at him. "You didn't have to do this again," he told him, referring to the meal.

Xellos smiled. "Gourry-san offered to send it up and I could not turn down the opportunity for another private meal with my Zelgadis."

"You look like you're feeling better," Zel noted, flushing.

The former priest ducked his head, not quite hiding his eyes. "Ahaha, I am. I don't believe I thanked you for that. It was very, very pleasant."

Zelgadis blushed brighter. "You already thanked me." Not with words, granted, but there had been some verypleasant reciprocation.

Xellos beamed wryly. "Eat, my dear."

They talked some as they ate, Xellos telling him that Lina was apparently looking over his notes, as she had finally began showing more interest in them. There was a bowl of strawberries on the table, which Xellos had placed on the far end of the table, and they reminded Zel of the last time they had talked about the fruit.

That child doesn't exist anymore. It was still true. The small child who had been rewarded with chocolate covered strawberries as a treat for doing well in his studies, he was long gone. But that didn't mean that he wasn't a little more that child today than he had been yesterday. Xellos had given him something back that he hadn't had in a long time: real hope.

He reached across the table and pulled the bowl of strawberries closer, popping one into his mouth and biting off the end. The rush of flavor and juice brought back a flood of memories, some good and bad.

Xellos was surprised at first, then he was smiling very widely, and that made it worth the effort.

He glanced out the window as he chewed. The sky was darkening. "We might want to postpone fairy-hunting. Not much daylight left, and I don't want to deal with them in the dark." And he still needed to test out his new sword, so it was probably a good idea to not get distracted from the current crisis. He'd ask Gourry to help him figure out his own blade, since he'd already used his…

"Alright, dear." Xellos fixed himself a fresh cup of tea without taking his eyes off Zel eating the strawberries, not spilling a drop. "This is probably good country for growing strawberries."

Zel nodded thoughtfully. "Seems to have a pretty good climate for it. Most places wouldn't have them this time of year." It was already very late in the season.

He heard Xellos mumble something, and if his hearing hadn't been so good, he would have missed it entirely. "Good for the garden too. Must remember…"

"Garden?"

Something about it made Xellos flush. "Oh, merely thinking aloud, my dear. About a garden."

"I don't understand. Xellos, what—?"

Xellos stood and shifted closer, movements uncertain as if he were nervous. His hands flexed as though he wished for his staff to grip onto. "And a cottage near that last village, close enough to be within the protective barrier, but away from people. A cottage with three bedrooms, the two extra being guestrooms. And translating the books so that they could be published for money in order to build said cottage."

The chimera stared at him as he considered his words. It all meant only one thing. "A home."

"Well, yes," Xellos murmured, still looking uncomfortable.

"I haven't had a home since my parents died," was the first thing that occurred to Zel. It wasn't the best response.

"I apologize, I'm being presumptuous."

"No," Zelgadis said quickly, taking Xellos' hands in his. "No, I'd like that. All of it."

Xellos smiled, relieved. "Oh…"

He squeezed his hands. "I'd really like that," he said more firmly, touched more than he could say, but he wanted Xellos to know.

"I'm glad."

Zel stood and they embraced, holding one another close. He smiled as he felt Xellos relax against him. "Thank you."

"There is no need," Xellos spoke against his cheek. "I've just been thinking about things a lot lately. The future. Our future."

Zelgadis rested his head against Xellos shoulder, careful his wire hair didn't poke the other man too badly. "Our future."

Xellos easily brushed his hair aside and pressed a kiss to Zel's ear. "Yes. I would propose, but that's the sort of thing that needs to be done on a special occasion. Nor do I have any ring or other token to offer."

Propose. Zelgadis pulled him in for a deep, tender kiss, enough to make them both breathless. "I didn't really think I had a future."

Xellos smiled, hands cupping the shaman's face, thumbs petting stone skin as if his features were beloved to him. "I've never had the freedom to think about it."

"Now, we both do." Zel kissed him again.

"Yes."

Zelgadis kept his arms around his lover as he shifted them back to the bed, to sit while he held Xellos, forgetting the rest of dinner. "We'll have to figure out how far that barrier extends before finding a place to build," he noted thoughtfully.

"There are ways to measure it," Xellos said, fingering one of the stones on his brow. "It should not prove difficult."

He nodded, still thinking. "And you want a garden. We can mostly sustain ourselves with a good one."

Xellos beamed, looking pleased that his proposition was being taken so seriously. "Yes. I do hope I have a green thumb."

"You want to translate those books we found in the shrine?"

"Yes. I figure that I should earn my keep somehow, and the translation is something I know that I can do well."

Zelgadis touched Xellos' cheek lightly with his fingertips. "You don't have to earn anything, Xellos. It'll be ours."

The former priest leaned into his touch with a smile. "That said, publishing a translation of a book written by dragons over a thousand years ago is bound to sell well."

"I know," Zel assured. "But don't feel like you have to earnyourkeep with me." He was worried it was more of that weird submissiveness coming through again.

Xellos rested one of his hands against Zelgadis'. "Alright. I just... I want to take care of you, the way you take care of me. Is it not alright if we take care of each other?"

"Xellos…" The chimera found himself smiling wider, touched again. "Yes, it is. I've just... usually had to take care of myself."

"This will take some adjusting for us both," Xellos said, pressing a kiss to Zel's nose that had him going a little cross-eyed.

"At least it's a positive change to get used to," Zelgadis murmured in gentle amusement.

"This still seems unreal to me."

"Me too."

Xellos smiled, tossing his hair a little, looking a little more like his old self, but still so different. "But it is real. We'll make it real."

Zel leaned in, pressing his lips against Xellos' softly. "I'm glad."

He pulled Xellos on top of him, and for awhile there was far less talking.

TBC. Thanks for reading!