inhiskiss

Lina had the dismal suspicion that Amelia just wasn't going to budge on this one. No wheedling, no eyelash fluttering, and no threats of being Dragon d were really going to work.

"Lina, we've been in this house for four days and you haven't washed dinner dishes, not even once. You are *way* overdue!" Amelia told her sternly, in her typical "justice" pose.

Lina looked in despair at the huge amount of dishes. "But Amelia, there's so many of them!" she whined pathetically, giving the princess her best puppy-dog eyes. Xellos made some cheerful comment about just who had dirtied the majority of the dishes, and was nearly strangled for his thoughtfulness.

"You too, Xellos!" Amelia said, turning around. "Now GET!"

Lina grumbled but made her way to the kitchen, with Xellos on her s. "I hope you can dry dishes better than you can cook," she said sulkily without even turning around.

"Yare yare," he replied, grinning sunnily. "Does housework always sour your mood so, Lina-chan?" Without warning he gathered her in his arms, his lips nearly touching her ear. She was preparing to fireball him when he whispered, "Do you know the sure-fire way to get out of housework, Lina-chan?"

Listening, but still itching to make him toast, she shook her head. He continued to whisper in her ear, and a ish grin spread across her face...

"Does he love me? I wanna know! How can I tell if he loves me so?"

Zelgadis looked up with a jerk from his quiet contemplation of his coffee. Lina...was singing? The others were also clearly shocked. But nothing, *nothing* prepared them for what they saw as they peeked in the kitchen door.

Lina and Xellos were wearing matching pink aprons and were artistically decorated with bubbles. Xellos was singing back-up and grooving while drying the dishes. Lina alternated between washing and flicking bubbles at Xellos with a wooden spoon.

"Is it in his eyes?" Xellos sang in falsetto, grinning merrily.

"Oh no, you'll be deceived!" Lina answered, flinging bubbles into his hair.

"Is it in his eyes?"

"Oh no, he'll make believe! If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss!" They dispensed with doing dishes altogether and proceeded to boogie, still singing.

"Or is it in his face? Oh no, it's just his charm! In his warm embrace? Oh no, that's just his arms!"

Zelgadis thought he might possibly retch. Gourry tapped his foot to the beat. Amelia looked like she might explode. "YOU GUYS!!!!" she wailed. "You've made a mess and you're still not finished! Don't you dare think you're getting out of this!" With that she shoved Zel and Gourry out and locked the door behind her. "Don't even think about coming out until you're done!"

She was displeased, to say the least, to hear an answering chorus of, "If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss!" She stalked up to bed, muttering under her breath.

Lina and Xellos collapsed in each other's arms, laughing so hard they could barely catch their breath. Xellos rested his forehead against hers, still convulsing with giggles. "I don't think Zelgadis will let us wash the dishes ever again. Have you ever seen him so green?" he asked breathlessly.

Lina burst into laughter again. "I thought Amelia was going to fireball us for sure! Who knew her sense of justice applied to housework?" She figured Xellos had the same mental image of Amelia vowing to punish people who hadn't swept the floor to her satisfaction, since he also broke out into a fresh wave of giggles.

When they were both able to breathe again (but were still grinning like lunatics), Xellos chirped, "We never finished the song, Lina!"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, and picked up her place in the song. "Kiss him, and squeeze him , and...tell ..him...what....What are you DOING?!"

"Kissing you, obviously," he answered cheerfully, before going back to kissing along her jawline. Lina shoved him backwards, which didn't work too well since he pulled her with him and she landed sprawled with him on the rug. "Ne, Lina-chan, what are you afraid of?" he asked, holding her ly in his arms.

"I'm not afraid!" she protested furiously.

"You know, this is one of my favorite activities that doesn't involve torturing and scheming. C'mon, Lina-chan, you can't say you it until you try it!" he said smoothly, smiling winsomely.

"You are such a fruitcake," she groaned. "I am *not* making out with a Mazoku to determine whether or not I like kissing."

He winked at her impishly. "This isn't about liking kissing, Lina-chan. This is about, shall I say...truth? If you wanna know, and all that..." he trailed off, his eyes opening.

Lina rolled her eyes and sighed. "Alright, you weirdo. Put your money where your mouth is." With that she leaned down and swiftly pecked him on the lips. "Not impressed!" she declared triumphantly and tried to wiggle out of his embrace.

She was surprised to find herself swiftly rolled over and pinned beneath Xellos. "Now, now, Lina-chan, that's wasn't a kiss," he admonished, wagging one finger.

Lina pouted. "Was too! Why, what counts as a kiss in your book?" she demanded, her eyes flashing.

His eyes opened again. She thought he would counter with a "Sore wa himitsu desu," but instead he bent down, captured her lips, and proceeded to kiss the living daylights out of her.

Lina woke up the next morning, stretched, and languidly wondered what kind of joke the Trickster Priest was playing on her now. The little violet lying on her pillow only added to the mystery. She picked it up carefully and inhaled its sweet scent, fraught with hints of the promise of springtime. How strange, she thought, opening her windows. The trees were budding and the earth was coming alive again, but it seemed her life was falling apart. They were waiting at this cottage by the river for Sylphiel, and Lina strongly suspected that Gourry would leave with her this time. The two had grown closer over the last year and Lina was sure the idea of marriage had come up several times. Is this the last time? she wondered. Will this be the last time I travel with all of my friends?

Amelia was being pressured to return to Seyruun and help take over some of the duties for her ailing father. Somewhere along the way, Amelia had convinced Zelgadis that he wasn't hideous, and from that point onward, Zel had ceased to really desire any cure at all. He was still angsty, Lina thought wryly, but angst was a defining characteristic of Zel so she didn't suppose being madly in love would change that overly much.

Which leaves me, she thought. Alone.

"Alone?" she thought, putting down her hairbrush. It had been awhile since she'd traveled alone. She wasn't really sure she wanted to do it. On that rather startling note of discovery, she firmly tied her favorite green robe about her and stomped downstairs.

"Food," she announced to what seemed to be an empty house, "is the only thing that can make me feel better right now!"

"How fortunate that I took the liberty of cooking breakfast," Xellos called from the kitchen. A smile brightened her face and she happily sailed in. Xellos, she mused, had certainly wanted to make a good impression. The table was covered with a nice cloth and a vase of violets was set in the middle.

"Tah-dah!" Xellos cried, whirling around and setting a heaping plate of pancakes on the table. Lina smiled gratefully and, on a moment of impish impulse, served herself calmly and ate like a lady.

Xellos winked and poured her some juice. "So, the famed bandit-killer DOES have table manners."

Lina wiped her mouth primly with her napkin. "Just because I don't use them doesn't mean I don't have them."

Xellos threw back his head and laughed - a real laugh, not his fake "himitsu" giggle. "Yosha, Lina-chan! You are something special," he told her, his amethyst eyes twinkling merrily. She blushed and changed the subject, asking him where the others were. He informed her that Sylphiel had arrived early this morning and she, Gourry, Amelia, and Zel had gone on a picnic.

Lina idly removed the violet from her hair and twirled it, dreamily staring off into the distance. Just for a day, she promised herself. I want to feel beautiful and special and cared for, just for one day! "Xellos," she murmured.

"Hmm, Lina-chan?" he looked up, his bangs no longer shadowing his eyes. Lina took the moment to *really* look at him, and noted with some satisfaction that he was quite the handsome Mazoku.

Lina leaned forward, captured one of his hands in her own. His eyebrows flew up in surprise at this, but his jaw dropped when she suggested, "Let's go on a date." No sooner had the words left her mouth than he had teleported them both to a beautiful town square.

Xellos led her to a dressmaker first and urged her to pick something out. Lina stared at the racks of dresses somewhat nervously, as she had never really *wanted* to wear a dress before and had, in fact, avoided them at all costs.

Xellos, already immaculate in a tuxedo, seem to understand her confusion. "Ne, Lina-chan," he drawled. "Why don't you pick out some in the colors you like, try them on, and I'll shower you with raptuous compliments and flutter my eyelashes?" She laughed in spite of herself and picked out a few dresses in shades of blue. As promised, he complimented her outrageously when she tried the first three on. The forth, an empire-waist cerulean blue satin, brought forth nothing. Lina pouted for a minute, and examined herself in the mirror. She thought she looked very nice, and was in fact a bit hurt. In the mirror she caught a glimpse of Xellos. His eyes were wide open and a bit dazed as he told the shopkeeper, "We'll take it."

They went on a walk along the pier, had a lovely dinner, and even went dancing. It had been a perfectly wonderful day, Lina decided. Except for one little thing. "Xellos?" she asked. They were seated comfortably outside, idly stargazing. "What are you going to do now? I don't think Zel, Amelia, and Gourry will be traveling with me much longer."

He lifted his gaze to the moon and put an arm around her shoulders. "Oh, I don't know. I suppose if I get really bored I can start a war." She elbowed him in the ribs. "Frankly, Lina-chan, the Beast Master's wish is my command. I'll do whatever she orders me to do and hopefully have some fun along the way. What about you?"

Lina decided to try and match his light tone. "Well, I've been a successful bandit er and now I'm filthy rich. I keep wondering if I shouldn't do something with all my money."

"Like what?"

"Buy a house, maybe. Hire a good cook. Amass a huge library and work on creating new spells. I've really wanted to do some research for awhile now," she told him, fiddling with a lock of fiery hair. He shifted and now his face was a scant two inches from her own.

"You'll be lonely," he whispered, holding her close.

Lina realized the truth of his statement, and then realized one of her own. "Not if you're with me," she assured him, her lips meeting his. Sometime later they broke for air.

"You realize," he said breathlessly, "that we can't be together all the time. Juuou-sama's errands and all."

Lina raised an eyebrow. "I'll be plenty busy in my lab. You'd just be underfoot all the time, anyway." He opened his mouth to argue with her but changed his mind and resumed kissing her.

He hadn't said it, and she'd always been told Mazoku couldn't, but she chose to take the advice of a song, and concluded rather happily that he loved her. "I love you," she whispered against his lips.

He smiled. "Finally, you understand what I've been telling you all along!"

The End!