The wind howled fiercely as Gourry brought the needle to the hilt, just as he had seen his grandmother do in the past. She had always made detaching the blade look so easy, but he was having a bit of difficulty getting it to turn correctly. Eventually it clicked, and the blade fell to the bottom of his tent. Gourry looked at the bladeless hilt and took a deep breath as he stared at the flap of the tent. Outside a horrendous sandstorm was raging. He'd spent much of the night running. Once he was far enough away that he was fairly secure that no one was pursuing him, he staked out a tent and fell into a deep sleep, waking up only when the storm had started. Traveling in it would be futile, but at least it meant that anyone pursuing him wouldn't be able to find him.

Numbly he wrapped a scarf around his face and moved to stand just outside the tent. The wind pushed against him fiercely, but he was well protected under the layers of clothes he wore from the biting sand. In a voice that seemed so detached from himself that he almost wondered if someone else was there he called, "Light come forth!"

The sword sprang to life, buzzing constantly as it was bombarded with sand. He took a few practice swings, stopping only when the ache started to form in his head. In a single day he had lost his mother, and now thanks to this cursed sword, a brother as well. And now he could never go home again thanks to it. Grief welled within him, threatening to displace the comforting numbness he'd felt since fleeing. He took a deep breath, and put the sword away and stepped back into the tent, closing the flap behind him. He threw the sword in the corner and put his sack over it so he wouldn't have to look at it and lay down facing the opposite direction.

He wasn't used to being alone. Typically privacy was hard to find. From growing up in a hut crammed with his parents and siblings to sharing a small dormitory with seven or so other boys, he'd never slept alone a night in his life. Conducting even the most personal of business in earshot of four or five other people was such a fact of life that he'd never given much thought to what it would be like to be alone. His ears kept straining for signs of human life. A snore, a muted conversation, footsteps, laughter or tears, anything. But all he heard was the roar of the wind and sound of sand hitting the tent. It didn't seem right.

But then nothing was right.

Realizing that there was not much to do other than brood about everything that had gone wrong, it didn't take him long to succumb to the urge to sleep. When he woke again it was quiet outside. Slowly he got up and grabbed his bag and the sword. Part of him realized he should eat something, but he didn't feel hungry. In fact, he didn't feel anything.

His limbs felt heavy as he stepped into the sun and dismantled the tent. He looked at the sky, determined where west was and headed in that direction, his legs like leaden weights. Eventually if he kept going west he would hit the border of Saillune, but what he would do then was a mystery. Keep heading west until he reached the ocean? Or perhaps he could visit Sairaag. His great-grandmother made history there. Maybe there was someone there who could talk to him about her. Or just someone to talk to. He desperately wanted someone to talk to.

He felt tears fall down his face as sadness welled within him, thawing the numbness that he had felt since he left Biar. He needed to tell Nes, or any of his mentors at Gungnir Hall, about what had happened. He needed to hear them say he had done all he could, or that he had done well, that even now he was doing the right thing. He needed that reassurance.

It wasn't until he crossed the border of Saillune a little over a week later and saw green grass for the first time in his life that he realized that he would never again have an adult assure him that his actions were right or wrong. He would have to be that adult now. It was what all of his training had been about, to figure out the difference without having someone decide for you. And now for the first time he had acted on that training. He would have to accept the consequences and not worry about the approval, or disapproval of others.

Because from here on out, he was alone.

It did not take long to track down his brothers and their gang. And, as the plan was now to turn them into the authorities rather than to give them such a thorough lashing that they never dared to step foot out of the Elemekian Empire again, Gourry was a lot more comfortable with it. Accidents could happen, and someone else very well could have died under the latter, but he was sure that between the four of them they could round Gunther and Mills up easily without anyone getting killed. Especially with the strategy that Lina had suggested.

They tracked them through the day, and at night found their location around a campfire. After spending some time scouting them, they quickly agreed on the best way to approach them. As they moved to their positions, Gourry walked around the perimeter of the camp so he was closest to Gunther. When the time came, he would be ready.

From his place behind Gunther, Gourry watched as Nes boldly walked into the camp, seemingly unarmed and defenseless. A few of the beastmen grabbed their weapons as he approached, and Gunther and Mills got up cautiously. "What is it you want?" Gunther asked.

"Call off your men, I mean you no harm." Nes said quietly.

Gunther grinned as his men laughed, their heads heady with arrogance. Granted, Gourry had used to worry about Nes being able to defend himself, but he went into dangerous situations with nary a regard for himself that Gourry figured he must have had something up his sleeve. It was credit that Gunther did not give him. "It looks to us as though you're unarmed." Gunther looked at his men, "Search the perimeter."

"I come in good faith to ask you to stand down and give up your vendetta." Nes continued calmly as several beastmen left to search the camp.

"Not going to happen." Gunther said. "Gourry has to pay for what he did."

"I was afraid you would say that." Nes said quietly.

Without further warning, Nes morphed into his natural state. Gunther nearly dropped his sword as the blood left his face while he stared at the golden dragon that stood where Nes had. Mills shrieked with terror, and most of the men in the camp went running, screaming "dragon!" in their wake. Gourry grinned as they ran with their tails between their legs while Lina intercepted Mills. "Time to surrender."

He got down on his knees without a fight. As Lina finished subduing him, Gourry quietly walked to where Gunther gapped open mouthed at Nes. "Time to give it up, Gunther." He said quietly.

Gunther turned to stare at him, and his eyes hardened as he lunged at him. "Over my dead body!"

Gourry parred easily with the flat side of his sword. Gunther lunged to attack again, and this time Gourry let his blade severe Gunther's. Gunther gasped as he brought his hilt to his face, the blade cleanly cut off. "H-how?" he asked.

"Surrender now." Gourry said calmly.

Gourry ducked as Gunther threw the hilt at him. Nes flexed his tail, knocking Gunther's legs from beneath him before he could do something more stupid. Gourry quickly subdued him and started to tie him up. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Turn you into the authorities." Gourry explained calmly.

"I'll get out!" Gunther swore, "And then I'll come after you again! You'll have to look over your shoulder every single day!"

"Considering the charges, we won't have to worry about that." Gourry said as he finished tying him up and then helped him to his feet. He'd had to reconcile himself to the fact a long time ago that his family's actions did not define him, but after hearing the nature of the charges against Gunther and Mills, Gourry had had to relearn the skill.

Lina and Adena came back to the center of the camp with Mills and a few of the other members, but most had escaped into the forest. "I have people loyal to me who will get me out!" Gunther insisted.

"Don't embarrass yourself." Gourry said.

"You know better than us how it is among thieves." Nes said, "Someone else has been gunning for your position. We just did him a favor."

Gunther seethed, "Killing me would be kinder."

"Throwing you into jail is going to be far kinder than anything you would have done to me." Gourry countered as he made sure he had Gunther secure in his custody and set off for the nearest town.

There was a rather generous bounty on Gunther, that increased with each member of his gang that they turned in. While running into Gunther had incurred a great deal of pain and suffering, and while without it he and Lina would have to take a few odds jobs to have the money to make it to Zephyr City as the unexpected detour had depleted their reserves, Gourry just didn't feel right taking it.

He'd let Nes take the money. He'd made a considerable trip to help him after all, and this would go a long way towards repaying that. And if he was in such a rush with Lina, they would have visited her home months ago. Zephyr City would still be there.

And despite his fears, Lina wasn't making any move to go anywhere without him. Perhaps, he thought, their bond was strong enough to withstand some mistakes on his part. Which was a good thing indeed.

Gourry listened amusedly as Lina spent the morning asking Nes detailed questions about what had happened in Sairaag. He could tell that he was impressed with the technicality of her questions. At one point he even asked what Gourry had told her about Sairaag, and Lina brushed it aside, "You know Gourry, he just makes some stupid comment about how he wasn't paying attention when someone told him about all this! No, this is all my own research, so anyway…"

Later that morning Nes asked them how they had came to know Milgazia and Xellos, and Lina had launched into one of her long, detailed explanations, interrupted by Gourry here and there to argue a point. But when Lina detailed how Hellmaster had kidnapped him and how she got him back, Nes at first had a hard time believing her. And when he learned that they had defeated a seventh of Shabranigdu not only once but twice he was astounded.

After lunch Adena had asked Lina for some help perfecting the Elemekia Lance. Nes and Gourry watched them quietly for a moment as the women went into the clearing. Eventually Nes said softly, "You humans baffle me."

"Huh?" Gourry responded.

"Your lives are so brief, short, and fragile." He stated. "Hikara was so young and vivacious when I first met her. And then in an instant she was old and feeble, and I was still young, just barely considered an adult among my people. And then she was gone forever. To this day I miss her."

Gourry looked at Lina who was calming critiquing Adena's form and thought about all of the narrow escapes they had had, all of the times he had believed he had lost her as Nes continued, "If Lucia had been a full blooded dragon she would still be a child. Hikara had believed that pregnancy to be never ending, especially as it went on for longer than it typically does for humans, but to me it was so fast. Dragons are used to having much more time to prepare themselves emotionally for the arrival of our young. Lucia arrived scarcely a year after we learned Hikara was pregnant!"

Nes' eyes became wistful, "She grew so fast. Within a mere two decades she was a young woman, something that takes a few centuries among my people. She married, had her own children, who grew just as quickly, quicker even. And then one day I looked at her and realized that she appeared older than me."

Nes smiled slightly, "Dragons typically aren't as impulsive as I was when we are young. Our lives are so long that rushing into decisions without carefully thinking them through is considered foolhardy. We have to live with the consequences of our bad decisions for so much longer. If we meet someone and fall in love, there's no need to rush things. If it's meant to last, then time will tell. In general it's a good thing. But I couldn't help it when I met Hikara. I knew she was special, and I wanted every moment with her that I could have. These unions aren't forbidden but are discouraged for a reason. Seeing your children and then their children outpace you and die, learning what becomes of your descendants through the ages, it's not supposed to happen that way. It would be better if we didn't know.

"But at the time I believed I would regret not pursuing a romance with her far more than I would doing so, and we moved quickly.

"And then here you are, traveling with Lina for years, and so obviously in love with her. She even battled Hellmaster Fibrizo for you, and won! Yet you've done so little to romance her."

Gourry watched Lina clapped Adena on the back as she shot a descent Elemekia Lance into the woods. "Our lives may be shorter, but I guess we also are more scared of making a mistake. We don't have eternity to fix it like you do. If I ever did something to make her hate me the way that Mother did Father, I don't know how I would live with myself."

He took a deep breath, "I have control of that, though. I mean, I don't think I could do something so evil. At the same time, though, what about my children? And their children? What if that evil comes out in one of them? Nes," he turned to look him in the eyes, "Would you have done it again? Knowing that your grandson would kill your daughter? And your granddaughter? Knowing everything that your descendants did, would you have pursued Hikara?"

"Absolutely." Nes said, "Yes, I have suffered pain so unbearable that it seemed it would kill me. And I know you have too." Gourry thought back to the time he had just left Biar and started to understand, "But I've also experienced such joy, and met so many incredible people in my descendants. My brief time with Hikara was special, and nothing that happened after that can take away from it. And besides, while my descendants have done things that have been horrible and caused me pain, they have also done things that have been wonderful and are a source of pride. One has even saved the world a few times and helped to destroy parts of Shabranigdu even. How many great-grandparents have that to brag about?"

Gourry laughed, "I guess my children's children will have some big footprints to fill."

Nes smiled as he grabbed a small bag and put it into Gourry's hands, "Hikara and I once said the same thing. Take this."

Gourry's eyes widened. By its weight and feel he could tell it was filled with coins, "I can't…"

"Regardless of whether you plan to wed and settle down when you reach Zephyr City, or wed and travel more, you will need this more than I do."

"But after all you have done for me…"

"One day you will understand. Think of it as an early wedding gift, and put it to good use."

"I still say your sister fixed those straws." Lina griped as they walked into the bedroom, and Gourry privately believed that she had a point. It was simply too convenient that the only inn in town had three rooms left, and both of them had drawn the short ones. "Still can't believe they were booked up and we have to share."

Gourry closed the door behind him and locked it, feeling the same heady sense of anticipation and anxiety he always did whenever they had to share a room in the past, except stronger. Before he had never planned to make a move. Now was a different story. "It's fine though, isn't it?" he asked, hoping he sounded kind and reassuring and that his voice wasn't shaking, "I mean, I kind of like going to sleep beside you."

As anticipated she stiffened and turned her face away, but not before he could see how red she had turned. He smiled a bit as his anxiety lessened. Much as he looked forward to the benefits that would come with redefining their relationship, he was going to miss doing this to her. And he was going to milk this last time for all it was worth. "Come to think of it, I kind of like waking up beside you, too."

He moved so he was behind her and gently put his hands on her shoulders. "I also like having you sleep by my side through the night. I'd kind of like to make it a habit, if you're okay with it."

He grabbed her hand, moving them so they were face to face and gently put a finger beneath her chin so she could look into his eyes. "Gourry, do you mean, I mean, what do you mean?" That one of her hands was moving to slipper was not lost on him, "Now look, you're making me talk like an idiot!"

"Love has ways of doing that, doesn't it?" he asked.

Her eyebrows hit her hairline and the familiar panic rose in her eyes. Damn, she was so pretty when she was flustered! He traced his finger around the line of her jaw and up until he reached her hair and started to stroke it and gradually she calmed down, the uncertainty in her eyes gradually being subsumed with want. But not completely. "Gourry, what am I to you?" she asked.

"Oh, haven't I told you?" he asked.

"No, you idiot!" she exclaimed.

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

She looked at him, baffled, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"For someone so smart you sure can be dense at times." He said, and then quickly continued before she could respond, "But don't worry. I love you anyway."

She opened her mouth to protest and then let it hang open as what he had said permeated her brain. Then she smiled wickedly as she pulled away from him and wrapped her arms under her breasts, "Well, look at you. You do have a romantic bone in your body."

"Is that all you have to say?" he asked as he felt his anxiety rising.

"Yeah. I mean, I figured you were in love with me. Aren't all men?"

"For someone so high and mighty you sure were nervous about what I felt for you." he pointed out.

She smiled a little, and then walked up to him and cautiously rested her head against his chest. Carefully he brought his arms around her as they started to tread new water together. It was both exhilarating and nerve wracking. Softly she said, "Well, of them all you're the only one I love, so I actually cared if you loved me back."

She wrapped her arms around him and he felt his spirits soar. She did feel the same way! He leaned down to kiss her, certain as he did so that alone was something that he would never be again.

AN: I was pleasantly surprised by the interest this generated, especially as I feel that Gourry is one of the least appreciated characters in fandom and because this focused so heavily on original characters that I really didn't expect the feedback I got. Thanks for reading and I hope ya'll enjoyed!