Why was he still here? He should be striking off on his own, searching out old temples and other places of magical interest. The Sailune all-you-can-eat-dragon-cuisine buffet was not such a place. Neither were the Atlas City Diner, Zephilia�s one-stop-bar-and-grill or the Wolf Pack Island-gourmet-gorge-fest. He had no reason to waste his precious time wandering around every restaurant and eating establishment in the known world. The chimera caught himself and snorted. The hell he didn�t. His �reason� was bouncing down the road ahead of him, without a care in road. Damn that Lina Inverse had a fine ass.
Zelgadis, the man of stone, the unemotional swordsman, the grouchy chimera, felt himself turn bright red at that thought and hurriedly averted his eyes to the side of the road. Then he saw the lesser Mazoku hiding there. One of them grinned at him in a highly suggestive manner as its gaze flickered over to Lina. Zelgadis felt his hand clench around his sword hilt. Oh gods, they�d been watching? They�d seen him checking out Lina?
They had to die.
Zelgadis glanced over at the rest of the group and saw Lina flick her eyes over to him and wink. Oh no. This kept getting worse? Did she know too? Was there a single person out there who hadn�t noticed his pre-occupation with a petite red-headed sorceress?
�We know you�re there! Come out, come out, wherever you are!� Oh. Zelgadis felt his blush dissipate as he pulled out his sword and began to work his way through the assembled Mazoku. Well, it was an easy mistake to make, he mused as he blasted several away with a well-placed Ra-Tilt. And maybe he had been a little sensitive lately about Lina. Or more precisely his feelings about Lina. He looked over at the object of his obsessions and hurriedly blasted away the Mazoku that had been creeping up behind her. She glanced around at the explosion and for an instant Zelgadis was permitted to bathe in all the ruby-flamed glory of her eyes as she grinned at him. She was so beautiful, and no one else seemed to notice.
Birds flying high, you know how I feel
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Reeds drifting on by, you know how I feel
It�s a new dawn, it�s a new day, it�s a new life for me
And I�m feeling good
Later that evening, Zelgadis could still remember the feel the warmth of that smile on his face. He hid behind the manuscripts they had found and he supposed to be looking at as Lina tried to catch his eye. He had to tell her, this was getting ridiculous. Surely if she really liked Gourry she would have done something about it by now? Surely he still had a chance? He realised Lina was staring at him and he was rather stupidly staring back. He gulped at his tea and turned quickly back to the manuscripts. They were all expecting him to be really interested in them, after all. Especially as he identified them as detailing obscure branches of white magic, but of course he�d been a little flustered when he said that. Lina had been standing next to him at the time and he had found it hard to concentrate on anything other than the pressure on hip where she leaned against him. So he was stuck reading recipes for casserole and hoping no one was going to find him out. Striking out on his own seemed really tempting at moments like this.
�Nothing?�
Zelgadis looked up in surprise to see Lina standing over him. And she looked good. Really good. Really, really turns-a-stone-cold-chimera-into-a-quivering-wreck good. And he would bet money it was for Gourry�s benefit. So she finally decided to do something about it. Good for her. Zelgadis tried to hide the pain he was feeling, but he could tell she noticed. He passed the manuscripts over to her, to cover for his expression, she would probably appreciate them more anyway. �Nothing. Here, if you want them, they�re yours.�
Something flickered deep in her eyes. Pity? Please, like it would be anything else. Fierce, raging passion wasn�t something a blue-skinned freak like himself was going to be on the receiving end of. Well� not from who he wanted anyway.
�I�m sorry, Zel. But maybe the next one, right?�
The next manuscript? Perhaps. The next flame-haired, beautiful red-eyed sorceress that also happened to answer to the name of Lina Inverse? Dream on, she was unique. He closed his eyes and gave a small resigned smile. �Maybe.� He looked at her again, in order to change the subject. �New look for you, huh?�
To his surprise, Lina struck a pose; arching her back and making Zel suddenly feel the urge to swallow. Hard. �Well, different? You like?�
It was hard to hear anything apart from the blood pumping in his ears. She was flirting with him? She had to be. And now she was staring at him wanting a response.
Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River running free, you know how I feel
Blossom in the tress, you know how I feel
It�s a new dawn, it�s a new day, it�s a new life for me
And I�m feeling good.
Fighting against the instinct to sweep her up in his arms and kiss her passionately until the lack of oxygen made them both pass out, Zelgadis fought for some semblance of control. �It�s � very becoming,� he managed at last. At least that�s what he hoped he�d said. It was a little hard to concentrate on something as trivial as speech when your heart was doing cartwheels and your brain was filled with the previously undreamt of possibility that Lina liked him. Of course, she could just be trying the look out for Gourry� but if she was she wouldn�t be looking at him like that.
�Thanks!� She looked so pleased at the compliment, clumsy though it had been. Zelgadis remembered he was still human enough to need to breathe, but then she winked at him and it slipped his mind again. �That�s me, the wonderful, beautiful, Lina Inverse!� She tossed her hair.
He couldn�t help it. He blushed. Blushed? Hell, if his skin was true stone it would have turned to larva from the heat he was giving off. �Um, yeah. Beautiful.� He raised his eyes to meet hers and saw her smirk spread into a genuine smile. Then he felt a reflecting grin on his own face. She was flirting with him, she had to be. And now she was sitting down next to him, he wasn�t going to be able to make decent conversation again for the rest of the day. His senses were on overload, the sun glinting on her hair, the light floral fragrance of her skin, the warmth of her down his side as she sat slightly closer to him than she needed to.
Somewhere on the astral plane, a lovesick chimera was doing backflips in ecstasy.
Dragonflies out in the sun, you know what I mean, don�t you know
Butterflies, all are having fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace, when the day is done
And this old world is a bold world and a new world for me
Stars when you shine, you know how I feel
Scent of the pine, you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine, and you know how I feel
It�s a new dawn, it�s a new day, it�s a new life for me
And I�m feeling good
He watched her as she walked off to get some water and felt a smirk on his lips. If he knew about her, maybe it was time to make sure she knew how he felt. With a confidence and boldness that would have shocked himself only a few hours ago, the chimera stood and stretched before sauntering off after her. After all, the others wouldn�t be up for ages.
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