Miniature 8
Title: Trapped Feelings
Characters: Lina, Gourry, Naga, Amelia, Zelgadis
Pairing: LinaxGourry
POV: Lina
Timeline: After TRY. The gang, together with Naga and Xellos are traveling together while another great plot unfolds. During their trips, Lina and Gourry's relations are being tested more and more, especially after one night when it was made obvoius to Gourry that someone close to him may have feelings for his red-headed traveling companion.
"What the?" I heard the door to the bathroom open and then close, locking as it did so. Turning the water off, I opened the shower door slightly and peeked my head out only to scream and yank the door back shut with an incredible slamming force. I had just come face to face with the person I least wanted to see at the moment, naked or not. As I gripped tightly onto the door handle I heard Gourry waving about frantically trying to get out before slipping and falling to the floor. "W-what the hell are you doing?" I sputtered. I could feel my entire body start to warm, that had nothing to do with the hot shower.
"Me?" He choked from the ground. "What are you doing hiding in there?"
"Idiot, I'm not hiding! I was taking a shower!" I retorted.
"But, she said-"
"She?" And then we heard it, the sound always associated with trouble.
"Ahhhahaha…." That laugh… that damn sinister laugh…
"Naga!" I shrieked from inside the shower, my voice echoing. "What's this about?!"
"I just thought dear Gourry here, would like a nice washing up." She laughed again, and I almost punched a hole in the wall.
"With me IN IT?" There was a short pause before…
"You never know Lina that could be true." If it was even possible, I got even warmer. Ugh, please don't let that jellyfish brains understand something like that of all things. "Well, I'll be off kiddies. Have fun. Ahhhaahaaa…"
"Naga! Don't you dare leave! Get your ass back here! Naga!" Damn it. She had left already. "Gourry, get out!!" I snapped.
"I can't." I heard him say. "It's locked. Huh, how is it locked from the outside…"
"I don't care how it's locked! Break it down if you have to!" Through the foggy glass of the shower door I could see him continue to stand there in his towel and stare at the bathroom door, his back still turned my way.
"I think there's a spell on it. I can't break it down." I about lost my mind, wanting to pull my hair out in every direction. "Why don't you just come out and use another spell to open it?"
"I'm not coming out there you numbskull, I'm naked! All my towels are in the basket in the changing room!"
"It's not like you have to hide much-" Thwack! I threw a shampoo bottle over the top of the shower door, smacking him directly in the face and sending him into the spell locked door. He peeled the bottle off his face saying nothing at this defense, pissing me off even more because I couldn't give a witty comeback to add to the stinging of his cheek, and things settled into an odd atmosphere. "Jerk." My voice was just above a whisper as I quietly slid down into the corner of the shower.
A few moments passed in complete silence, Gourry leaning against the door, his head tilted and staring at the right wall, and myself, sitting in the corner of the shower. "What wrong?" he asked as I shifted positions in the shower to draw my lower body closer to my upper body, making a slight shivering noise as I did it.
"Cold." Was all I said.
"Then you should get out."
"If I could, I would have by now." I tried as hard as possible to keep my frustration and my voice from meeting. A few more silent moments, and my body shook slightly from the wet cold. Gourry was now staring blankly at the shower door, and even though I knew he wouldn't be able to see any specifics, knowing that he could still see a light blur that was my skin didn't help settle any feelings.
"Lina, are you mad at me or something?" Oh nuh uh…. I swear this guy could be a complete and total moron. "You've been avoiding me lately…" I sank my hands into my crossed arms and bit the bottom of my lip. Was he serious? "If I did something, you should tell me…" I snapped.
"You're the one who's mad at me aren't you!" Damn… frustration, meet voice.
"Huh?"
"Don't act like you're not!"
"Why would I be mad at you?" I know he couldn't see it but, ohhh… I was glaring.
"You tell me, Gourry." I could his blurry figure raise his hand to scratch his head.
"Well, I guess I've been grumpy lately, but I can't figure out why I'd be mad at you." My throat went dry and it suddenly became very hard to swallow.
"You've been acting odd, ever since…" It was like someone had ripped my mouth wide open and lodged a nut deep in my throat. "The nigh you saw…Zel and I met outside to talk…" Not so much "talked" though, but there's no way I could sound what had really happened. Just the knowing was weighing on me, let alone actually "saying" it.
"But…" My heart skipped a beat, and then began to beat faster. I propped myself upward slightly, hands pressed against the cool tile of the shower walls. I'm not sure what I was expecting him to say exactly, but I just wanted him to say something, anything, to recognize… "Why would seeing you and Zel together that night put me in a bad mood?" I couldn't take it anymore.
"Lina!" Gourry looked up in surprise as the shower door flew open and I stepped out of it. I quickly ripped the curtains down from the small window and wrapped them around me in the same amount of time it took Gourry to blink wide eyed and blush furiously. Too angry to pound him to a pulp for a even a millisecond of a peep, I pushed past him roughly and walked directly at the door. "Lina… Lina wait!" He stood as fast as he could, stumbling slightly and grabbed me. I felt myself falling as his loss of balance affected my own.
We both went down, hard onto the bathroom floor, his hand still firmly gripping my arm. I felt a thud and opened my eyes, only to gaze directly into his as his body fell right over the top of mine. I burned furiously underneath him as I took a sharp intake of breath. I would have kicked him off of me, If only I could move.
Gourry's face mimicked mine but then it turned serious when he finally assumed he was safe from a fireball. "I don't understand Lina."
"That's the problem." I said before I could stop myself. He gave me a quizzical look and I just looked away. His face so close to mine, feeling the heat from his near naked body, something inside me began to churn, so much that I nearly started to cry. "Gourry…" I said quietly. Before I knew it, I found myself reaching upward to run my hand through the hair falling over the front of his shoulder.
"Miss Lina!" Amelia's voice could be heard from outside the door. "Eh, there's a sealing spell on the door. Do you really need that much privacy?" She began to chant a counter spell at the same time I pushed myself away from Gourry, gripping onto the shower curtain. As she twister the door handle to enter, I grabbed it as well and forced her back. Gourry whirled around to watch me. "Lina-san?" Amelia asked once she realized someone had a grip on the handle from the other side.
"Yah." My voice came out horse so I cleared my throat and tried again. "Yeah." I said again.
"Food's ready, are you done?" I lowered my head and glanced back at a confused and sad looking Gourry still halfway sitting on the floor staring at my back.
"Yeah…" I turned my head fully around to look at him, staring him straight into the eyes. "I'm done." I opened the door and slammed it shut before he could finish calling out my name, tugging Amelia away with me.
Authors Note:
At this point in the story, Lina has come to terms with her feelings, and Gourry shows signs of his. Like how he reacted when he was Zelgadis kissing Lina outside the hotel one night when he called her out to talk to her about their travelings and what's been happening. He walked away, not saying anything, he only had this look on his face that caught Lina so off guard, she couldn't go after him and was frozen to the spot. After that, Gourry can't figure out why a scene like that would annoy him, because he hasn't really admitted or come to the realization of his feelings yet, which annoys Lina to no end that he acts a certain why but wont admit why.