Slayers: In Vino Veritas, Page 2

     A soft noise alerted Lina.  Turning, she found that the door had not shut all the way, and was swaying slightly.  In a sudden swing of mood from grief to bravado, she took another drink and opened the door.  Looking into the hall, she saw Zelgadis, his forehead resting against the wall.  He seemed the very image of grief and loneliness.

      When Lina had turned away, fleeing it had seemed, Zelgadis realized that he was on the verge of breaking.  She runs from me, because I am a monster, a characture of a human, and horrific, he thought.  The alcohol revealed all.  What was that old phrase?  "In vino veritas"-- the truth is in the wine, and the truth of his life was that no real soman would ever see him as anything but a monster.  He turned to the wall, hiding his face.  Inside, he felt his heart clench in grief and sorrow, and in that moment, he gave up all hope for life, for a cure, for Lina, for everything.  I might as well find a cave to bury myself in.  Or a sword as powerful as the Sword of Light and throw myself on it.  For the first time in many, many years, tears leaked from his eyes.  Glistening like crystals, they tracked down his face to drop, unheeded, to the floor.
     A soft sound came to his sensitive ears.  Then, an equally soft voice, so familiar and beloved --  "Zel?"
     Turning, wildly and unthinkingly, he looked directly at Lina.  His blue eyes shone damply in the weak light of the hallway, and he for once let the full force of his thoughts inform his face.

      Lina gasped soundlessly.  It was as if another person entirely stared at her.  For the first time, Lina saw Zelgadis's thoughts and heart written on his face, and it staggered her.  She saw grief, hopelessness, loneliness, longing, passion, intellect, so many many things.  In a blinding instant, she realized that the carefully maintained mask of Zelgadis was just that -- a mask.  Inside, the MAN was wounded and bleeding.  And that moment of vulnerability grabbed her heart, and made him all the more human to her for it.  With new eyes, Lina looked on the face of her friend, and knew she loved him, and knew that his face, his heart, was more beautiful to her than any treasure.  And at the same time, she wanted him.  That realization was as much physical as mental, and inside of her, feelings awoke that she'd never expected.
      "Zel......" she breathed.  She reached out her hand to him.
       Brokenly, Zel began, "Lina, I know I'm...."
       "Don't!"  she interrupted.  "Don't call yourself a monster, or anything like that.  If you do, I'll have to blast you for being as idiotic as Gourry."
       Confused now, Zelgadis froze.  What did she mean?
       Lina beckoned.  "Get in here."  She stepped back into her room, and as if in a trance, Zelgadis followed.  Lina deliberately turned and placed the bottle on the dresser.  Then she looked back at him.  "Zelgadis Greywers, tell me the truth.  Do you love Amelia?"
      Zelgadis sucked in a deep breath, the quietly said, "No."
      "Truthfully, do you love someone?"
      Again, quietly, but with a passion and despair, "Yes."
      Lina paused, then gathering her courage, she asked, "I-Is that person me?"
      Silence.  Then, as quietly as before, but with a feeling of fate and the universe crumbling, "Y-Yesssss....."
      Lina stared at Zel.  Zelgadis stared back at her.  The air between them felt electrified.  All thought, all logic flew aside, and Lina was overwhelmed with the fullness of her love for him, and she flung herself at him.  At the same second, Zelgadis reached for her, and she found herself in the very strong arms she'd wondered about.  Zelgadis pulled her to his chest and laid his cheek against her flame-colored hair.
       "Oh, gods, Lina.... I've loved you for so long..... but I never thought or expected to say anything, not when Gourry....."
       "Nevermind Gourry, he's not it, not the one, it's you Zel, you....."
        Zelgadis leaned back and with his hand, gently tilted her head up to look him in the eyes.  "Are you sure?  Truly?"
       Lina gave as good as she got.  The seriousness in her face backed her words.  "You are more to me than the universe.  I never realized it until now, but I never EVER want to go back to before.  You are beautiful to me, I love everything about you, and I want you with me forever!"
      With a breath that was almost a sob of relief, Zelgadis pulled her close.  Carefully, he kissed her.
      Like a Dil Brando, they found themselves clinging to each other in an explosion of passion.  His lips are as soft as anyone's, Lina thought, and then she gave up thinking at all.   Suddenly, her clothes were too restricting, her breast-band too tight, and the space between her legs was damp.  Her lips parted as his did, and the touch of his tongue to hers was like being struck by lightening.  Moaning slightly against his mouth, she leaned into him, clinging like a drowning person, her right hand on the back of his neck, her left on the small of his back.  She felt a growing lump against her leg, and when she recognized what it was and what it meant, she kissed Zel even more deeply.
       Zelgadis held the fiery sorceress who had become his whole world to him.  At the touch of her lips, his mental walls crumbled.  In that instant, he'd become her slave.   When their tongues met, he'd shivered and nearly lost all control, barely managing to keep from crushing her.  As the kiss went on, he knew his arousal was becoming evident, and he had a flash of fear.  But Lina leaned into him, deepening and prolonging the kiss, and Zel forgot everything, the past, his form, his mind, in that all-encompassing bliss.
       Unfortunately, oxygen is vital to survival.  Breaking apart, they stared into each other's eyes for a second, then Lina took control.  She darted to the door and locked it shut.  Then, she went back to Zelgadis's side and pulled him to the bed.  With a shove, she forced him to sit.
      "Lina?  What are you doing?"  Nervousness colored Zel's voice.
      "You're not leaving!  You're staying here tonight!"
      "A-Are you sure?"  Zelgadis's face betrayed the insecurity he felt.  Lina was usually as changeable as the wind, and he was afraid if her mood should suddenly shift.....
       Lina spotted the uncertainty in his face, and her own fears rose up.  Was this the time?  Was this right?  YES!  She wanted this.  She wanted him.  She knew what would happen next, and though she'd never before, she knew what men and women in love did, and she wanted to, with Zel.  She looked at him and nodded, letting her wishes and wants show on her face, and Zel nodded back, proving he understood.



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