Look, look, a Slayers story with nothing to do with Zelgadiss or Xellos! Aren't you proud of me?
Xel: No.
Zel: Yes.
"Come on Gourry, let's go!" Lina yelled, pulling the blond swordsman down the hill towards Atlas City as Zelgadiss disappeared in the opposite direction. The warrior made a few protests but let himself be dragged along after the currently white-haired sorceress.
He was alone with Lina again.
That was nice. He liked Zelgadiss, but the chimera and the sorceress had so much in common, he felt a little jealous.
"Let's find a restaurant, I'm starving." Lina declared as soon as they entered the city and then proceeded to search the streets with enthusiasm. Gourry smiled, it was just like normal. His heart had frozen when Lina had pointed out that he'd only agreed to travel with her this far, but whatever the sorceress' reasons for staying with him were, the pain in his chest had vanished the second she said she wasn't leaving.
They found a restaurant quickly and Lina barged in the door yelling "Hey mister! Give me the dinner special, triple portion!" Gourry waited until they had a table before making a duplicate order. The waiter looked strangely sick as he went to pass the message on to the kitchen, but the waiters who served their food usually had that expression so it didn't bother either of them, or effect their appetites. The second the food arrived they both attacked it with their usual gusto.
"Gourry, that's mine!" Lina snapped as she took the steak he was just about to eat.
"No way." He replied and put up a token fight before letting her have it. He was worried about her, that spell she'd cast had almost wiped her out. It showed too, though she usually ate a lot this time it was even worse. Gourry was fairly certain he'd only had half a portion out of the three he'd ordered and the table was still cleared by the time she was done. It was all right though; tonight she definitely needed it more than he did. Tomorrow would be a different matter.
They said goodnight after eating and he watched as Lina walked tiredly towards her room. At least they didn't have to worry about getting attacked tonight, the creepy guy who'd been hunting them was now really, really dead. It would be nice to have a little peace and quiet so they could sleep the night through. Maybe by morning Lina's hair would be red again and he wouldn't have to worry so much when he looked at her.
He walked into his own room and went to stand by the window. For some reason he really wasn't that tired, which was odd considering that he'd been fighting an evil God only a few hours ago. His life was definitely not normal; it hadn't been since he'd met Lina. If nothing else, the sorceress certainly attracted excitement.
If nothing else, yeah, right. He smiled, it was hard to say why he enjoyed her company so much when he took her behaviour in individual pieces, but somehow, all together, she was wonderful. Which was why he'd stay with her as long as she would let him and there wasn't another force in this world or any other that could change that.
Movement in the trees outside caught his attention and he smiled as he saw the figures creeping up on the inn. Goblins, this was going to be fun. Taking his sword, he left the room and went outside to play. The goblins attacked almost before he could finish introducing himself, but that was really no matter. He won, and it was a lot easier to accomplish than he had expected. Somehow it just wasn't the same. At least when you had a super-evil bad guy hunting you the battles presented a challenge. Sheathing his sword he went back to his room and lay down on the bed, now able to sleep peacefully.
He met Lina in the dining room the next morning and was pleased to see that her hair had almost completely recovered its colour.
"Hey Gourry." She greeted him with a smile. "Wasn't it nice to have a night where we didn't have to fight off a bunch of thugs or other creatures?"
He smiled. "Yeah, sure was."
"I love peace and quiet." She said with a grand stretch and then sat up quickly, calling "Hey waiter! Bring me one of everything on the breakfast menu!"
"Same here." Once more ignoring the look of terror on the server's face he sat back and watched Lina's face as she talked cheerfully about all the great places to eat in Atlas City. She looked happy and relaxed, which was good. The arrival of the food made her even more so and that was better. He sat up as the plates were laid down on the table, Lina had recovered, so today his food was his food. Falling into the enjoyment of the regular routine he began to eat with enthusiasm while waging a friendly battle with the sorceress he had come to love.