The rest of Lina's party went on swimmingly. Well, except for the part where Xellos dropped a water-balloon on Feria's new party dress, which was white... and the little incident of Xellos tripping Luna while she was walking with the cake, which Lina managed to save at the last second...and the part where Xellos decided that it would be fun to see if Lina's pretty new pendant would float in the duck pond nearby...and the part where Lina tried to pour some unknown mixture from her chemistry set into Xellos' hair... and -
Anyway, It was a nice party, all in all.
Hello? They're all five! This was a sedate party!!
Finally everyone had to go home before Luna lost her temper and ended up on the ten o'clock news. Most of the children hugged Lina and left.
Xellos tried to kiss Lina and refused to leave until she let him. He ended up being dragged of by his mother, who "didn't know what was wrong with her little angel." All present choked as she said that...
Then Rezo came for Zelgadis. Oops.
Screaming and crying, yelling an kicking, tugging and shrieking. The five year old wouldn't let go of the new best friend they had made, and refused to let anything part them.
Zelgadis looked at the hysterical Lina with something bordering amazement coupled with fondness and... well.. you know, the look people usually give to those among us who have just recently explained why they enjoy eating spaghetti through their nose.
Hah, I bet you thought it was Zel screaming, didn't you!?
Lina held tight to Zelgadis. "NonononononoNO!! Zel-chan is gonna stay with me forever, right Zel?" She looked up at him tearfully. "You won't leave me all alone, will you? I'll miss you soooo much!"
Zelgadis looked at his waiting grandfather and sighed. "I really have to go, Lina. I'll be back."
Lina burst into renewed tears at her friend's sudden betrayal. Zelgadis felt... well... most males get this guilty feeling at some point in their lives, the knowledge you just made a certain female very unhappy with you and you have no idea why. It's one of those special little inborn talents we girls have.
"Lina, I'll see you on Monday at school! It won't be long!"
Lina only cried harder. "But Monday is years away!! You'll forget me by then and you won't be my best friend anymore!! Then what will I do when Xellos tried to kiss me? Or when I want to play with someone and Gourry's playing house with Shylly! Or... or... or..."
Luna smiled at Rezo while her sister was bawling her eyes out at Zelgadis for his obvious desertion of her. "He was a wonderful boy today, Mr. Greywyrds. So polite and sweet, why, he's the only reason Lina didn't end up a child murderer." She grinned, and looked at the two children, Zelgadis had finally gotten Lina to quiet down a bit with the promise that he would never forget her and she'd be his best friend forever. Luna smiled fondly at the two. "Why doesn't Zelgadis stay the night? I'm sure Lina will end up trekking all the way over to your house if he leaves; she's a bit possessive, and a lot stubborn." She shrugged. "Of course, if you don't want him to..."
Rezo was torn. On the one hand, he hardly knew these people. He'd known Luna for all of ten minutes once and then five the second time. He knew he shouldn't let Zelgadis stay at a stranger's house...
Lina heard the words 'stay the night' and came rushing over in a stumbling flurry of red and purple. She hooked her little fists into Rezo's clothing and tugged impishly at them, looking up with puppy dog eyes that would make nearly any adult melt.
"Pleeeeeeeeeeez Can Zel-chan stay? Pleaaaaase? Pah-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez???" She begged, looking up at him soulfully. Rezo wavered.
Zelgadis stood where he had been comforting Lina, smiling shyly at his grandfather. Hope was clear n his eyes, as was the utter joy at the feeling of acceptance. Rezo's resolution crumbled.
"I.. suppose..."
"WAHOOO!!!" Lina yipped, leaping and tripping over her skirt to tackle poor little Zelgadis in a giant bear hug. Zelgadis grinned. Rezo's heart melted.
Luna grinned again. She tended to do that a lot. "Great! And don't worry, the only kid I'm like to kill any time soon is that little brat Xellos." She winced as her mind caught up with her. "Come to think of it, you don't really know me very well, do you?" Rezo nodded agreement. She laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. Lina was acting so attached to Zelgadis I completely forgot - "
"Quite alright." Rezo said softly, smiling at the children who were now deciding where they would sleep that night. "I couldn't tear them away if I wanted to. Your little Lina has quite a grip on her, I'm guessing."
Luna grinned. "That she has. Lina, would you like to let Zelgadis Go so he can get his pajamas and clothing for tomorrow?"
"No," was the curt reply as Lina Dragged Zelgadis along to see her room. Rezo laughed out loud. Lina was unbearable cute.
"It's alright, I'll get his things. I'll be back in a bit, alright?"
Luna grinned. "Okay. See you!"
Rezo smiled and left to get Zelgadis' things.
Luna sighed happily and looked at the children. Zelgadis was sitting there bemusedly as Lina told him the name of each and every one of her stuffed animals. This was no short task. Ever seen Ranma ½? Think of Azusa Shiratori....
Lina's room, however, was far from pink and frilly. She had a collection of army men scattered somewhere on the floor, and there were trucks and airplanes shoved in nooks and crannies.
But most of all were the dragons.
You may think of a girl interested in fantasy and superstition to have a room full of unicorns and fairies. And sometimes you'd be right. But not Lina. Ohhh, no. Lina had a few of them, yes, but she had dragons. I mean, dragons. There was dragon wallpaper on her walls, Dragon bookends, dragon printed covers and dragon pillows. She had more stuffed dragons than you could shake a flame thrower at, more dragon books than you could burn in the holocaust. She had hundreds upon thousands of dragon knickknacks scattered about her room, and there was no end to the dragon models hanging from the ceiling.
Lina was a bit, shall we say, obsessed.
Zelgadis stared. Compared to his room, which was always neat, clean, and organized, this place was a sty. Everything was put every which where, dragons were dumped in the oddest places, and there was no rhyme or reason behind anything. The room was stuffed near to bursting, even though it was... mostly... Clean. It was chaos unleashed.
And yet... and yet... it had a certain feel to it that was comforting, that was happiness incarnated. You knew that someone loved that room. Lina grinned.
"Do you like it?" Zelgadis nodded. Lina giggled, happy, and Zelgadis smiled.
Luna sighed and went back downstairs. She wished she could be five again, do whatever she wanted, and have someone to look after her. But you have to pay for stupid mistakes. And Lina was a blessing, even if she did have drawbacks. Luna wouldn't turn back time for anything.
Well, almost. But that reason was long gone, and she didn't want to think about it.
She heard a knock at the door, and opened it to find a smiling Rezo and a small knapsack. Luna grinned. Then again, maybe she didn't need to think about that reason at all anymore...
"I don't know how safe that is, Lina."
"Aw, c'mon, Zel, don't be a worry-head! It's okay, I do it all the time!"
"But it doesn't seem safe..."
"I dare you."
"I don't know..."
"I double dare you."
Hesitation.
"Still..."
"I triple dog dare you."
No five year old of their honor can ever back down from a triple do dare.
Luna barely had time to leap to the foot of the stairs as Lina and Zelgadis came sliding down the banister. Catching them both, Luna set Zelgadis down and berated Lina for doing that, again. What if she got hurt? Lina's reply was that obviously, she hadn't yet. Zelgadis walked over to his grandfather and took the knapsack with a murmured thank you. Rezo smiled.
"I have Dilgear in the car. Do you want him, too?"
Zelgadis looked at Lina and hesitated. Rezo smiled.
"Do you think, if she's your best friend, that she'd tease you about it?"
Zelgadis paused, then nodded yes, he wanted Dilgear. Rezo, still smiling, returned with a stuffed wolf a few seconds later. Zelgadis gratefully crushed the plush toy to his chest and smiled up at Rezo. Rezo ruffled his hair and looked back to where Luna was still explaining to Lina that just because it hasn't happened yet, it didn't necessarily mean it never would. Lina was steadfast in her belief that, like all children her age, she would never be hurt by something that hadn't hurt her yet. Yes, I know this from experience. When I was that age, the giant picture window in the living room was perfectly sturdy. Yes, I really did smash out a panel I thought would hold. Yes, I did get in a hell of a lot of trouble for it.
"I'll be going now." Rezo said loudly, grinning as Lina realized Zelgadis wasn't with her and ran over to him. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."
Luna smiled. "See you."
Lina looked at the stuffed wolf Zelgadis was currently hugging protectively, as though she may laugh at him or call him names for having it.
She grinned widely. "WOW! What a cute wolf! That's soooo cool! I have a really big stuffed Dragon I sleep wth at night. D you sleep with your wolf?"
Zelgadis nodded yes.
"Cool! What's his name?"
"Dilgear."
"Funny name," She pondered. Then she shrugged. "I guess we'll sleep in my bed, there's no room anywhere else. I'll introduce you to Slave, my dragon, okay?"
Zelgadis nodded, smiling.
Lina dragged him back upstairs.
Luna, yet again, melted.
Chapter 5 | Fanfiction