Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Behind Blue Eyes ❯ Behind Blue Eyes ( Chapter 1 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: QueenHimiko 
Lina runs into some slugs that gives her the ability to read Gourry's thoughts. Warnings for het sex.
Anime/Manga: Slayers Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 05.12.2013 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 396 | Status: Completed
Lina runs into some slugs that gives her the ability to read Gourry's thoughts. Warnings for het sex.
Anime/Manga: Slayers Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 05.12.2013 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 396 | Status: Completed
AN: I do not own Slayers. And the title is from the song by The Who.
I dare you to say anything. Lina seethed as she stormed out of the cave and headed towards the hot springs they had passed on their way up there. Come on, I dare you to say one word!
“How is it that someone who can slay monsters is so scared of little slugs?”
“Because they’re slimy and gross and they ooze yucky sticky stuff!” Lina yelled.
Gourry stared at her and blinked a few times. “Did I say that outloud?” he asked.
“Of course you did! I could hear you as loud as day!”
Gourry shrugged, “Well, it’s a good question, isn’t it? It’s not like they will hurt you or anything, is it?”
“But now I’ve got slug slime all over me and I need to take a bath!”
“So your Big Sis never put them in your crib or…”
“I’ve just never liked them!” Lina yelled as they approached the spring, “Now why don’t you stay here and keep watch while I scrub this stuff off of me!”
As Lina turned away to stomp off towards the spring she heard him mutter, “You mean I can’t come and watch?”
“As if you’d want to!” Lina yelled back at him, never stopping in her trek to the spring.
“It’s times like these I get scared that she can read my mind.” She heard him say, “And am thanking my lucky stars that she can’t!”
Lina spun around, shocked. Gourry was nowhere in sight, lost behind the curtain of trees that now separated them. Was she hearing things? She’d heard that some varieties of slug slime had hallucinogenic or even telepathic properties. Most likely she was just hallucinating. There was no way Gourry would want to spy on a flat chested woman such as herself in the bath.
Lina pulled off her clothes and quickly made her entrance into the bath, desperate to rub the slimy stuff off of her, especially if it was making her hear things like this. As she started to scrub a running monologue started to sound in her head, and the monologue’s voice sounded alarmingly like Gourry’s. “I would give anything to join her, I wonder what she would be like. Fiery? Coy? A tease…”
The monologue was cut off, replaced with powerful images of them locked in a passionate embrace, the force of which caused Lina to lose control and fall backwards into the water. The scenes morphed and become more erotic, with both of them naked as Lina knelt on her knees before him and took his member into her mouth. The image burst like a bubble as Lina’s head broke through the surface of the water, allowing her to take a few deep breaths as she wondered what in the world was happening to her and why she was seeing such things.
Lina felt her skin grow warm, and it was not just from the heat of the springs. Before she had time to complete a thought of her own his voice rang through her head, “I probably have enough time to take care of it before she finishes…” And then there was an overwhelming sense of pleasure that welled within her, following by a picture of her on all fours while Gourry thrusted into her. The pleasure built rapidly and consumed her before finally dissipating, leaving her feeling on edge and a little disturbed. Not to mention aroused.
Thankfully the flow of his thoughts stopped, and a shaken Lina picked up her wash rag and started to attack the slime. There were two possibilities. The first was that she was having vivid hallucinations and her desires that she kept secret were starting to torment her waking consciousness. In some ways this would be the better option. The only danger was what would happen if she gave something away in front of him.
The other, of course, was that she was hearing his thoughts. And there were so many complications there she did not know where to begin. Should she feel cheapened? Was this just some passing fancy that all men who traveled alone with a woman indulged in? Did they just become curious about what it would be like to sleep with them? Was it just a passing curiosity? Or was it more? Could he be in love with her?
Don’t be ridiculous, Lina! You’re not his type!
She sighed. Whether it was all in her mind or not, how could she face him after this?
She sat in the spring, contemplating her actions before deciding that either way the flow of his voice had stopped and it was safe to get out. She dressed slowly, trying to give herself as much time as possible to calm down and collect herself, hoping that he wouldn’t get worried about her and decide to check up on her. She felt more and more secure that whatever it was that caused her to hear his voice was over, and eventually decided that she’d better just find him and get the rest of the awkward day over with. Surely things would be back to normal tomorrow…
Lina found him sleeping by a tree. She sighed. She didn’t trust herself to touch him, “Hey, wake up. I’m hungry!”
His blue eyes popped open and he smiled, “Food sounds good to me!”
Lina turned around and headed towards the town they passed earlier. That was when his voice sounded in her mind again. “She looks so rattled. Did the slugs really scare her that much? I wish I could hold her for a bit, but she’d probably fireball me into the next town if I did. I wonder why she’s covering her ears. I don’t hear anything aside from some birds, the breeze through the trees, and some wild animals.”
Desperate to not draw attention to herself, she lowered her hands as she tried to think of what to do next. It was hard when someone else’s thoughts were drowning out your own. “Her hair looks so pretty when it catches the light like that. I wonder what she would think if I told her that.”
Lina spun her head back, and quickly looked ahead. Was he really admiring her looks?
“Why am I getting that eerie feeling that she knows exactly what I’m thinking? Sometimes I wish I could figure out what she’s thinking. I probably wouldn’t be able to understand half of it. I wonder if she ever thinks of me when she’s thinking about magic spells and legends. She’s tensing up, I wonder what is wrong. Should I ask to massage her back? No, don’t go back to thinking those thoughts. I don’t know why I’ve been so horny lately. Five years. We’ve been traveling together for five years. I’ve been wanting her for five years, waiting to show her how much I love her…Why can’t I just say it, and see what happens from there?”
Lina nearly stopped in her track as his unspoken confession of love rang through her mind. Was this the real deal, or some fantasy her cruel mind was foisting on her? Should she tell him she was hearing things? Every time she tried to weigh her options and formulate a plan her thoughts became suffocated by his.
“It’s because I gave up my family. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. “
Lina went tense. Gourry never talked about his family. She needed to put a stop to this. Yes, she was curious beyond belief, but it also felt so wrong. That she wanted him to tell her on his own terms was so instinctual that it forced the words from her lips.
“Hey Gourry, I think maybe we should split up a bit…”
The force of his thoughts hit her like a tidal wave, causing her to crumple to her knees, clutching her head. “I can’t lose her!” Follow by a series of images. People who she never met but knew were Gourry’s father, mother, grandmother, brothers, and uncles flashed through her mind. In an instant she knew about the bitter divide in the family over the Sword of Light, the vicious fights, the grisly murder of his brother and several other family members…
And the love that he had for the idea of what a family should be, the love he had for each of them, of his efforts to stop the fighting, of how he was taunted by his father for attempting to be a peacemaker, of how he finally decided that the death of his youngest brother was the last straw, how he took the Sword of Light and ran away from home. How he decided to unite the family by taking the bone of contention away from them, forever estranging himself from them.
“Lina!” he cried as he grabbed her, “Are you okay?”
She shook her head as tears leaked from her eyes, “I’m so sorry.” She gasped. “I had no idea, I’m so sorry that happened to you…”
Gourry looked at her, confusion written all over his face. Again his voice rang in her head, “May be she was right to fear slugs, she’s losing it.”
He picked her up, “Come on, let’s get you to the healer.”
His worry for her hit her like a tsunami. It was strange how you could travel with someone for years and never know what you mean to another person. The realization that she was what gave his life meaning after running away from his family permeated her being. She was now his family. His feelings for her were overpowering, his fear that he would lose her overwhelming. His thoughts were panicked, worry over whether he would find the town in time, wondering if it was something in the slug slime or some property of the springs, the part of himself enjoying the feel of her in his arms, the sensory circle of feeling both his arms around her and her in his arms was deafening. It was getting so bad that she could not tell where his thoughts ended and hers began anymore. She felt suffocated by the intrusion of his mind on hers, and could feel her own consciousness being drowned in his.
“Stop thinking!” she yelled, desperate to regain some control of her mind.
“What the heck is she yelling about?” He wondered. Was he saying it out loud? Or in his head? She couldn’t tell anymore.
“Stop it!” she yelled as she tried to wrest away from him, desperate to get some space between them.
“She’s getting worse!” he thought as he held on tighter. “Come on, Lina, we’re almost there.”
To her dismay, Lina found as they reached the outskirts of town that it was not just Gourry’s thoughts she could hear, but anyone and everyone within a certain distance. Lina grunted in pain as the thoughts from hundreds of townspeople battled for dominance in her mind. The need to get away from all of them, to find peace in the blissful solitude of the forest drove her to hurl herself from his grip and make a run for it.
“Lina!” he yelled as he swiftly grabbed her and pulled her to him, ignoring the protests and blows she landed, “Lina, we’re almost there. Please.”
Yes, she was a head smaller than him, but it meant little when he was doing his best not to harm her while she did not care anymore. It was all he could do to hold her steady, forget continuing on to the town. Gourry searched for help and spotted a silhouette on the road ahead. “Help!” he cried as Lina struggled against him, muttering strange protests. “Help!”
Gourry let out a breath of relief as the silhouette grew bigger, and soon he could discern two people. One, a woman, immediately helped Gourry try to subdue Lina. The other, a man said, “I’ll get Releah.”
Even with two people holding her, Lina nearly broke free. Whoever this Releah was, Gourry decided she could not get there fast enough. It seemed to take forever for the man to finish his errand. And if anything Lina became even more aggressive and less coherent. “We see this from time to time.” The woman said, “The good news is that it can be easily fixed. Releah is very skilled with this.”
“Be quiet!” Lina yelled, “Everyone just be quiet! Get out of my head! I don’t want to hear anymore! Shut up!”
“What’s happening to her?” he asked.
Suddenly the man returned with an elderly woman. She swiftly knelt beside Lina and cast a sleeping spell. Lina instantly slumped limply against him, and Gourry exhaled in relief as he cradled her against him. “Come,” the old woman said, “There’s an inn just down the road. Onid, could you fetch the potion?”
The man who had sought her nodded, and ran off. Gourry scooped Lina up and followed the old woman. “I’m Releah, the town’s healer.”
“That’s nice, but do you know what’s happened to her?”
“You must have encountered some slugs earlier. Well, there’s a venom in their slime that causes people to develop telepathic properties.”
“Tele-what?” Gourry asked.
Releah continued without so much as a blink, “The ability to hear other’s thoughts and to feel what others are feeling.”
Gourry felt himself go numb as he thought about her strange behavior. And then, like artifacts from a swamp, memories of masturbating while she was bathing were dredged up. The way she seemed off after she woke him from his nap. Horror filled him as he wondered what other thoughts he had, what he had given away. It took him awhile to realize that Releah was still talking.
“…It’s rather overwhelming, and eventually leads to a desire to get away from all people. It’s a good thing you didn’t let her go because it can cause permanent psychosis. Fortunately I always keep a supply of antidote around.”
Gourry did not know what psychosis was and was not particularly keen to find out. The important thing was that there was a cure that would bring Lina back to her senses. But then there was the awkward question of what she had learned and how she would react to it.
He knew he had thought of his family. Would she be completely disgusted to learn what had happened? And had she felt him when he was masturbating? She was always so prudish, but maybe he was safe there. He was fairly certain that there would have been retribution if she’d heard that. Had she heard that he loved her?
In some sense he felt violated and exposed. All of his secrets lay bare. Why had she not told him he was broadcasting his thoughts loud and clear? He wanted to be angry at someone, but he wasn’t sure who to direct it at.
“Right in here,” Releah said as she opened the door to a tidy looking inn. “Quinn, do you have a room for them?”
The man behind the counter threw her some keys, “Two doors down and to the right.” He replied, followed by a price.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Gourry said as he continued to follow Releah, who opened the door and motioned that Gourry lay her on the bed.
Gourry did as told, and pulled up a stool so he could sit beside her as Releah busied herself removing Lina’s boots. Onid found them, and gave Releah a bowl of what looked to be a steamy broth. She sat beside Lina and forced several spoonfuls into her mouth. “There.” Releah said, “When she wakes she’ll be right as rain.”
“Thank you.” Gourry said, “How much do I owe you?”
He was glad that Lina was not awake to hear that he did not barter with Releah as she would have insisted. He was angry, he felt exposed, but he was also grateful that Lina would be all right. He gave Onid some money to pay the innkeeper and as he left, Releah studied him for a moment before asking, “Let me guess, you had some thoughts you didn’t want made known.”
“That’s putting it lightly.”
“Is she your wife?”
“No. If she would have me, though, she would be.” Gourry said as he resisted the urge to caress her cheek.
“This happens a lot when people encounter the slugs. It’s uncomfortable for both parties. One thing I have seen in all my years of doing this, though, is that it is the true test of a relationship.”
Gourry perked up and looked at her. “Huh?”
“If a relationship was meant to last then it can withstand such an intrusion and brutal honesty. If not, then it’s not worth the effort you’re putting into it.”
“If that’s supposed to be comforting, it’s not.” Gourry said. “She’s all I have!”
“Then if you’re that committed, then you may well belong to the former group. Now, you’re hurt. Let me heal you.”
Gourry blinked. He had barely noticed the aches coming from his body, bruised and scratched from trying to keep Lina from running into the woods. He said nothing as Releah cast her spell. Once finished, she excused herself and left Gourry to keep a silent, anxious vigil by Lina’s bed.
Eventually her ruby eyes flitted open. Her breathing hitched as she took in the unfamiliar setting, and then relaxed a little when she noticed Gourry beside her, looking unusually apprehensive. He was having a hard time maintaining eye contact, though he smiled genuinely when he saw she was awake. “Hey.” He said softly.
“Hey.” Lina said as she sat up, relief washing over her. There was no consciousness intruding upon her. She did not seem to be able to catch a whiff of his mind.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better. Enjoying the quiet. Thirsty.”
Gourry looked around and found a water pitcher with a mug beside it. He filled it and brought it to her. “Thanks.” She said as she took a drink, and wondered where to go from here. First she decided she’d better cautiously assess the damage. “How much do you understand about what happened?” Lina asked.
Gourry inhaled sharply. It was enough to let Lina know that it was too much. “So, I was really reading your thoughts.” Lina said softly as she stared at the intricate patchwork quilt.
“What else did you think it was?” he asked, unable to keep the frustration from his voice.
“I thought I might be hallucinating. Hearing things that weren’t there.” Lina was silent for a moment before asking, “So you stole the Sword of Light?”
Gourry nodded, “How much do you know?”
“Everything. When your thoughts were heading in that direction and I tried to put some distance between us, and then it all flashed before my eyes. In one moment I learned about your entire childhood.”
She stared at him with new eyes. In a matter of minutes she’d learned more about him then she had in all the years they had traveled together. She had never been able to figure him out. He’d mentioned having a family, but had never delved too deeply into details. He’d talk about his days as a mercenary, but nothing before that time. He’d never had anyone to write to, and save from the fact that she’d seen him write on the odd occasion she would have written him off as illiterate. And he’d always been so friendly and sunny she’d never thought that if she scratched beneath the surface there would have laid such a tragic story.
Unlike some people who became stuck in the past he’d painfully moved on. He never talked about it not because he was trying to deceive her, but because he did not want it to have any sort of hold on him. He’d devoted his energies to being worthy of her. And now he was scarred that he would lose her.
She knew what he was thinking, even without the benefit of being able to read his mind. He was wondering if she was going to part ways now that she knew everything.
Reading his mind had not been a pleasant experience, but in some fundamental way she knew she had been changed for it, for the better. Walking in his shoes had broadened her thinking. Knowing how he cared for her had given her a new sense of daring. And looking back at all of their time together she wondered how she could not have seen that he was head over heels in love with her.
She reached a hand out to caress his cheek, “Do you want to know something, something I’ve never told anyone?”
His eyes opened in shock at the feel of her soft hand on his cheek. “Yes.” He said, his voice barely a whisper. She took a deep breath. “Do you remember when Hellmaster kidnapped you?”
He nodded. She continued, “I knew he wanted me to cast a spell that would destroy the world. And I knew it would be better if I turned around, went home, and didn’t go after you. Because you may die, but the world would still be here. It would have been the sane course of action. But I went after you.
“I swore I would find a way to defeat him that didn’t involve the Giga Slave. But in the end, I cast it for you. I did it to save you. I knowingly put the world on a sacrificial platter for you. And I did it because you mean to me what I mean to you.”
He stared at her a moment, relief creeping into his features, and then leaned towards her to gently kiss her on the lips. She parted them to let him in, and it was all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss. His hands moved from the bed to around her back, pulling her towards him. She wrapped her own arms around him and started to pull him down. He broke the kiss, seizing the opportunity to say the words he’d wanted to say for years, “I love you.”
She gave him a quick peck on the lips and ran a hand through his long hair, “I love you, too.”
He grabbed her tightly and kissed her enthusiastically. He’d been waiting to hear her say it for so long! She ran her hand down his spine and he trembled with anticipation. Then she broke the kiss to whisper into his ear, “Make love to me.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, and then inhaled sharply as her hands dove under his shirt to caress his sculpted chest.
“Does this feel good?” she asked playfully.
“I knew you’d be a tease…” he hissed as his hands moved to undo her belt. He was interrupted in his efforts as she pulled his shirt up and over his head. As always, she liked to take the lead. He resumed his quest to undo her belt as she lifted herself up to kiss his throat, but as good as that felt it did not deter him from his task. His fingers fumbled as he then struggled to undo the buttons on her shirt. Teasingly she moved her kisses around his jawbone as he opened her shirt, groaning in frustration to find a yellow top underneath it.
She kissed him playfully on the lips. “Did you think it would be that simple?”
He looked at her with such passion that she decided to take it easy on him, and slowly pulled her top down so that they were both bare chested. Before she could say a word his mouth was sucking on her right breast, while his hand gently caressed her left. Lina moaned in pleasure. It barely occurred to her to worry about her size. Knowing how he had lusted after her had an intoxicatingly liberating effect on her inhibitions.
She leaned back onto the bed, wrapping her arms around him so he continued to pay attention to her chest as she did so, enjoying the sensations. Then he awkwardly shoved a hand between them as he fumbled with the waistband of her pants. Her eyes shot open. They were really doing this!
Gourry eventually pulled his left hand away from her breast to help his right hand with her pants and, once finished, worked to remove his. Lina watched him lazily, and then her eyes widened. She’d never seen an aroused man before. How would that fit inside her without hurting?
Gourry moved to kiss her, his erection rubbing against her stomach, shocking her with its hardness. He pulled away when he noticed that some of her zeal was gone. “What is it?” he asked.
“I…how will, I mean…” her voice trailed off awkwardly as a blush crept through her. She knew her inexperience was showing.
“I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of stupid thoughts from me today.” He stated as a matter of fact. “What can you say that would be even more silly?”
She said nothing, but he noted that she was staring wide eyed at his member. “This is your first time, isn’t it?”
“So what if it is!” she yelled.
“Do you still want to?” he asked, hoping she would say “yes.” He’d been waiting for so long, to be this close and have to stop would be agony…
“Yes! But how is it going to…“
“Shh,” he said as he realized what he concern was. He kissed her gently, moving his hand so that it was between her legs. He ran his fingers between her lower lips several times, observing with satisfaction that she was wet before sliding one in. Lina gasped into his mouth as he started to pump in and out of her. “Does it feel good?” he asked.
She nodded hazily, “Do you think I can stick another one in?”
She nodded again, and he did, enjoying the warmth and the way her walls pulsated around his fingers. Gently he twirled his fingers in circles, widening them slightly. He positioned himself so that he was on his side behind her, with her top leg scissored over his he continued pumping into her. He moved his other hand beneath and around her so it could massage one breast while he kissed the spot where her neck and shoulder met. Gingerly he moved a third finger so it was inside of her, and smiled in satisfaction as she started moving her hips to the rhythm he was setting.
Lina had never felt so full. The feeling of being stretched wider and wider was strangely erotic. He pulled his fingers down and started circling her entrance, and she could not help but cry out in pleasure. “Do you think you’re ready now?” he asked.
“Yes.” She said, moaning a bit in protest as he took his fingers out and moved so that he was over her. He grabbed himself and positioned himself at her opening, wanting to savor the moment that he had been waiting for for the last five years. Slowly he pushed himself into her. She felt better than he could have imagined, warm and tight as she clinched erotically around him.
Lina grunted in pleasure. “Is this all right?” he asked as he pulled back to push himself back in.
“Wonderful, keep going.”
He slammed back into her, doing his best to maintain control. One of the benefits of taking himself in hand earlier that day was that he had more stamina than he would otherwise have had. He leaned down to kiss her tenderly as her hips rose to meet him, demanding a faster pace than the one he was setting. He rushed to meet it, but as he’d always fantasized she was as demanding in bed as she was all things. She wanted him to be faster and harder. Eventually it paid off and she spasmed around him as the arching of her back pressed her chest into his. He did not last much longer.
He sat himself gingerly beside her and held her close. Lina was strangely quiet, staring at the ceiling. “You’re not regretting this, are you?”
Lina looked at him and smiled, “No. I’m just wondering how long we would have continued like we were if we’d not had this kick in the pants.”
He caressed her cheek, “I would have summoned the courage. Eventually.”
Lina knew it was a lie. He would never have risked losing her by sharing his feelings with her. He was so certain that she was too scarred of intimacy to ever share it with another. Lina snuggled up to him and he kissed her on the top of her head. “I love you.” He whispered.
Lina closed her eyes. Maybe slugs had a purpose in this world after all.
I dare you to say anything. Lina seethed as she stormed out of the cave and headed towards the hot springs they had passed on their way up there. Come on, I dare you to say one word!
“How is it that someone who can slay monsters is so scared of little slugs?”
“Because they’re slimy and gross and they ooze yucky sticky stuff!” Lina yelled.
Gourry stared at her and blinked a few times. “Did I say that outloud?” he asked.
“Of course you did! I could hear you as loud as day!”
Gourry shrugged, “Well, it’s a good question, isn’t it? It’s not like they will hurt you or anything, is it?”
“But now I’ve got slug slime all over me and I need to take a bath!”
“So your Big Sis never put them in your crib or…”
“I’ve just never liked them!” Lina yelled as they approached the spring, “Now why don’t you stay here and keep watch while I scrub this stuff off of me!”
As Lina turned away to stomp off towards the spring she heard him mutter, “You mean I can’t come and watch?”
“As if you’d want to!” Lina yelled back at him, never stopping in her trek to the spring.
“It’s times like these I get scared that she can read my mind.” She heard him say, “And am thanking my lucky stars that she can’t!”
Lina spun around, shocked. Gourry was nowhere in sight, lost behind the curtain of trees that now separated them. Was she hearing things? She’d heard that some varieties of slug slime had hallucinogenic or even telepathic properties. Most likely she was just hallucinating. There was no way Gourry would want to spy on a flat chested woman such as herself in the bath.
Lina pulled off her clothes and quickly made her entrance into the bath, desperate to rub the slimy stuff off of her, especially if it was making her hear things like this. As she started to scrub a running monologue started to sound in her head, and the monologue’s voice sounded alarmingly like Gourry’s. “I would give anything to join her, I wonder what she would be like. Fiery? Coy? A tease…”
The monologue was cut off, replaced with powerful images of them locked in a passionate embrace, the force of which caused Lina to lose control and fall backwards into the water. The scenes morphed and become more erotic, with both of them naked as Lina knelt on her knees before him and took his member into her mouth. The image burst like a bubble as Lina’s head broke through the surface of the water, allowing her to take a few deep breaths as she wondered what in the world was happening to her and why she was seeing such things.
Lina felt her skin grow warm, and it was not just from the heat of the springs. Before she had time to complete a thought of her own his voice rang through her head, “I probably have enough time to take care of it before she finishes…” And then there was an overwhelming sense of pleasure that welled within her, following by a picture of her on all fours while Gourry thrusted into her. The pleasure built rapidly and consumed her before finally dissipating, leaving her feeling on edge and a little disturbed. Not to mention aroused.
Thankfully the flow of his thoughts stopped, and a shaken Lina picked up her wash rag and started to attack the slime. There were two possibilities. The first was that she was having vivid hallucinations and her desires that she kept secret were starting to torment her waking consciousness. In some ways this would be the better option. The only danger was what would happen if she gave something away in front of him.
The other, of course, was that she was hearing his thoughts. And there were so many complications there she did not know where to begin. Should she feel cheapened? Was this just some passing fancy that all men who traveled alone with a woman indulged in? Did they just become curious about what it would be like to sleep with them? Was it just a passing curiosity? Or was it more? Could he be in love with her?
Don’t be ridiculous, Lina! You’re not his type!
She sighed. Whether it was all in her mind or not, how could she face him after this?
She sat in the spring, contemplating her actions before deciding that either way the flow of his voice had stopped and it was safe to get out. She dressed slowly, trying to give herself as much time as possible to calm down and collect herself, hoping that he wouldn’t get worried about her and decide to check up on her. She felt more and more secure that whatever it was that caused her to hear his voice was over, and eventually decided that she’d better just find him and get the rest of the awkward day over with. Surely things would be back to normal tomorrow…
Lina found him sleeping by a tree. She sighed. She didn’t trust herself to touch him, “Hey, wake up. I’m hungry!”
His blue eyes popped open and he smiled, “Food sounds good to me!”
Lina turned around and headed towards the town they passed earlier. That was when his voice sounded in her mind again. “She looks so rattled. Did the slugs really scare her that much? I wish I could hold her for a bit, but she’d probably fireball me into the next town if I did. I wonder why she’s covering her ears. I don’t hear anything aside from some birds, the breeze through the trees, and some wild animals.”
Desperate to not draw attention to herself, she lowered her hands as she tried to think of what to do next. It was hard when someone else’s thoughts were drowning out your own. “Her hair looks so pretty when it catches the light like that. I wonder what she would think if I told her that.”
Lina spun her head back, and quickly looked ahead. Was he really admiring her looks?
“Why am I getting that eerie feeling that she knows exactly what I’m thinking? Sometimes I wish I could figure out what she’s thinking. I probably wouldn’t be able to understand half of it. I wonder if she ever thinks of me when she’s thinking about magic spells and legends. She’s tensing up, I wonder what is wrong. Should I ask to massage her back? No, don’t go back to thinking those thoughts. I don’t know why I’ve been so horny lately. Five years. We’ve been traveling together for five years. I’ve been wanting her for five years, waiting to show her how much I love her…Why can’t I just say it, and see what happens from there?”
Lina nearly stopped in her track as his unspoken confession of love rang through her mind. Was this the real deal, or some fantasy her cruel mind was foisting on her? Should she tell him she was hearing things? Every time she tried to weigh her options and formulate a plan her thoughts became suffocated by his.
“It’s because I gave up my family. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. “
Lina went tense. Gourry never talked about his family. She needed to put a stop to this. Yes, she was curious beyond belief, but it also felt so wrong. That she wanted him to tell her on his own terms was so instinctual that it forced the words from her lips.
“Hey Gourry, I think maybe we should split up a bit…”
The force of his thoughts hit her like a tidal wave, causing her to crumple to her knees, clutching her head. “I can’t lose her!” Follow by a series of images. People who she never met but knew were Gourry’s father, mother, grandmother, brothers, and uncles flashed through her mind. In an instant she knew about the bitter divide in the family over the Sword of Light, the vicious fights, the grisly murder of his brother and several other family members…
And the love that he had for the idea of what a family should be, the love he had for each of them, of his efforts to stop the fighting, of how he was taunted by his father for attempting to be a peacemaker, of how he finally decided that the death of his youngest brother was the last straw, how he took the Sword of Light and ran away from home. How he decided to unite the family by taking the bone of contention away from them, forever estranging himself from them.
“Lina!” he cried as he grabbed her, “Are you okay?”
She shook her head as tears leaked from her eyes, “I’m so sorry.” She gasped. “I had no idea, I’m so sorry that happened to you…”
Gourry looked at her, confusion written all over his face. Again his voice rang in her head, “May be she was right to fear slugs, she’s losing it.”
He picked her up, “Come on, let’s get you to the healer.”
His worry for her hit her like a tsunami. It was strange how you could travel with someone for years and never know what you mean to another person. The realization that she was what gave his life meaning after running away from his family permeated her being. She was now his family. His feelings for her were overpowering, his fear that he would lose her overwhelming. His thoughts were panicked, worry over whether he would find the town in time, wondering if it was something in the slug slime or some property of the springs, the part of himself enjoying the feel of her in his arms, the sensory circle of feeling both his arms around her and her in his arms was deafening. It was getting so bad that she could not tell where his thoughts ended and hers began anymore. She felt suffocated by the intrusion of his mind on hers, and could feel her own consciousness being drowned in his.
“Stop thinking!” she yelled, desperate to regain some control of her mind.
“What the heck is she yelling about?” He wondered. Was he saying it out loud? Or in his head? She couldn’t tell anymore.
“Stop it!” she yelled as she tried to wrest away from him, desperate to get some space between them.
“She’s getting worse!” he thought as he held on tighter. “Come on, Lina, we’re almost there.”
To her dismay, Lina found as they reached the outskirts of town that it was not just Gourry’s thoughts she could hear, but anyone and everyone within a certain distance. Lina grunted in pain as the thoughts from hundreds of townspeople battled for dominance in her mind. The need to get away from all of them, to find peace in the blissful solitude of the forest drove her to hurl herself from his grip and make a run for it.
“Lina!” he yelled as he swiftly grabbed her and pulled her to him, ignoring the protests and blows she landed, “Lina, we’re almost there. Please.”
Yes, she was a head smaller than him, but it meant little when he was doing his best not to harm her while she did not care anymore. It was all he could do to hold her steady, forget continuing on to the town. Gourry searched for help and spotted a silhouette on the road ahead. “Help!” he cried as Lina struggled against him, muttering strange protests. “Help!”
Gourry let out a breath of relief as the silhouette grew bigger, and soon he could discern two people. One, a woman, immediately helped Gourry try to subdue Lina. The other, a man said, “I’ll get Releah.”
Even with two people holding her, Lina nearly broke free. Whoever this Releah was, Gourry decided she could not get there fast enough. It seemed to take forever for the man to finish his errand. And if anything Lina became even more aggressive and less coherent. “We see this from time to time.” The woman said, “The good news is that it can be easily fixed. Releah is very skilled with this.”
“Be quiet!” Lina yelled, “Everyone just be quiet! Get out of my head! I don’t want to hear anymore! Shut up!”
“What’s happening to her?” he asked.
Suddenly the man returned with an elderly woman. She swiftly knelt beside Lina and cast a sleeping spell. Lina instantly slumped limply against him, and Gourry exhaled in relief as he cradled her against him. “Come,” the old woman said, “There’s an inn just down the road. Onid, could you fetch the potion?”
The man who had sought her nodded, and ran off. Gourry scooped Lina up and followed the old woman. “I’m Releah, the town’s healer.”
“That’s nice, but do you know what’s happened to her?”
“You must have encountered some slugs earlier. Well, there’s a venom in their slime that causes people to develop telepathic properties.”
“Tele-what?” Gourry asked.
Releah continued without so much as a blink, “The ability to hear other’s thoughts and to feel what others are feeling.”
Gourry felt himself go numb as he thought about her strange behavior. And then, like artifacts from a swamp, memories of masturbating while she was bathing were dredged up. The way she seemed off after she woke him from his nap. Horror filled him as he wondered what other thoughts he had, what he had given away. It took him awhile to realize that Releah was still talking.
“…It’s rather overwhelming, and eventually leads to a desire to get away from all people. It’s a good thing you didn’t let her go because it can cause permanent psychosis. Fortunately I always keep a supply of antidote around.”
Gourry did not know what psychosis was and was not particularly keen to find out. The important thing was that there was a cure that would bring Lina back to her senses. But then there was the awkward question of what she had learned and how she would react to it.
He knew he had thought of his family. Would she be completely disgusted to learn what had happened? And had she felt him when he was masturbating? She was always so prudish, but maybe he was safe there. He was fairly certain that there would have been retribution if she’d heard that. Had she heard that he loved her?
In some sense he felt violated and exposed. All of his secrets lay bare. Why had she not told him he was broadcasting his thoughts loud and clear? He wanted to be angry at someone, but he wasn’t sure who to direct it at.
“Right in here,” Releah said as she opened the door to a tidy looking inn. “Quinn, do you have a room for them?”
The man behind the counter threw her some keys, “Two doors down and to the right.” He replied, followed by a price.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Gourry said as he continued to follow Releah, who opened the door and motioned that Gourry lay her on the bed.
Gourry did as told, and pulled up a stool so he could sit beside her as Releah busied herself removing Lina’s boots. Onid found them, and gave Releah a bowl of what looked to be a steamy broth. She sat beside Lina and forced several spoonfuls into her mouth. “There.” Releah said, “When she wakes she’ll be right as rain.”
“Thank you.” Gourry said, “How much do I owe you?”
He was glad that Lina was not awake to hear that he did not barter with Releah as she would have insisted. He was angry, he felt exposed, but he was also grateful that Lina would be all right. He gave Onid some money to pay the innkeeper and as he left, Releah studied him for a moment before asking, “Let me guess, you had some thoughts you didn’t want made known.”
“That’s putting it lightly.”
“Is she your wife?”
“No. If she would have me, though, she would be.” Gourry said as he resisted the urge to caress her cheek.
“This happens a lot when people encounter the slugs. It’s uncomfortable for both parties. One thing I have seen in all my years of doing this, though, is that it is the true test of a relationship.”
Gourry perked up and looked at her. “Huh?”
“If a relationship was meant to last then it can withstand such an intrusion and brutal honesty. If not, then it’s not worth the effort you’re putting into it.”
“If that’s supposed to be comforting, it’s not.” Gourry said. “She’s all I have!”
“Then if you’re that committed, then you may well belong to the former group. Now, you’re hurt. Let me heal you.”
Gourry blinked. He had barely noticed the aches coming from his body, bruised and scratched from trying to keep Lina from running into the woods. He said nothing as Releah cast her spell. Once finished, she excused herself and left Gourry to keep a silent, anxious vigil by Lina’s bed.
Eventually her ruby eyes flitted open. Her breathing hitched as she took in the unfamiliar setting, and then relaxed a little when she noticed Gourry beside her, looking unusually apprehensive. He was having a hard time maintaining eye contact, though he smiled genuinely when he saw she was awake. “Hey.” He said softly.
“Hey.” Lina said as she sat up, relief washing over her. There was no consciousness intruding upon her. She did not seem to be able to catch a whiff of his mind.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better. Enjoying the quiet. Thirsty.”
Gourry looked around and found a water pitcher with a mug beside it. He filled it and brought it to her. “Thanks.” She said as she took a drink, and wondered where to go from here. First she decided she’d better cautiously assess the damage. “How much do you understand about what happened?” Lina asked.
Gourry inhaled sharply. It was enough to let Lina know that it was too much. “So, I was really reading your thoughts.” Lina said softly as she stared at the intricate patchwork quilt.
“What else did you think it was?” he asked, unable to keep the frustration from his voice.
“I thought I might be hallucinating. Hearing things that weren’t there.” Lina was silent for a moment before asking, “So you stole the Sword of Light?”
Gourry nodded, “How much do you know?”
“Everything. When your thoughts were heading in that direction and I tried to put some distance between us, and then it all flashed before my eyes. In one moment I learned about your entire childhood.”
She stared at him with new eyes. In a matter of minutes she’d learned more about him then she had in all the years they had traveled together. She had never been able to figure him out. He’d mentioned having a family, but had never delved too deeply into details. He’d talk about his days as a mercenary, but nothing before that time. He’d never had anyone to write to, and save from the fact that she’d seen him write on the odd occasion she would have written him off as illiterate. And he’d always been so friendly and sunny she’d never thought that if she scratched beneath the surface there would have laid such a tragic story.
Unlike some people who became stuck in the past he’d painfully moved on. He never talked about it not because he was trying to deceive her, but because he did not want it to have any sort of hold on him. He’d devoted his energies to being worthy of her. And now he was scarred that he would lose her.
She knew what he was thinking, even without the benefit of being able to read his mind. He was wondering if she was going to part ways now that she knew everything.
Reading his mind had not been a pleasant experience, but in some fundamental way she knew she had been changed for it, for the better. Walking in his shoes had broadened her thinking. Knowing how he cared for her had given her a new sense of daring. And looking back at all of their time together she wondered how she could not have seen that he was head over heels in love with her.
She reached a hand out to caress his cheek, “Do you want to know something, something I’ve never told anyone?”
His eyes opened in shock at the feel of her soft hand on his cheek. “Yes.” He said, his voice barely a whisper. She took a deep breath. “Do you remember when Hellmaster kidnapped you?”
He nodded. She continued, “I knew he wanted me to cast a spell that would destroy the world. And I knew it would be better if I turned around, went home, and didn’t go after you. Because you may die, but the world would still be here. It would have been the sane course of action. But I went after you.
“I swore I would find a way to defeat him that didn’t involve the Giga Slave. But in the end, I cast it for you. I did it to save you. I knowingly put the world on a sacrificial platter for you. And I did it because you mean to me what I mean to you.”
He stared at her a moment, relief creeping into his features, and then leaned towards her to gently kiss her on the lips. She parted them to let him in, and it was all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss. His hands moved from the bed to around her back, pulling her towards him. She wrapped her own arms around him and started to pull him down. He broke the kiss, seizing the opportunity to say the words he’d wanted to say for years, “I love you.”
She gave him a quick peck on the lips and ran a hand through his long hair, “I love you, too.”
He grabbed her tightly and kissed her enthusiastically. He’d been waiting to hear her say it for so long! She ran her hand down his spine and he trembled with anticipation. Then she broke the kiss to whisper into his ear, “Make love to me.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, and then inhaled sharply as her hands dove under his shirt to caress his sculpted chest.
“Does this feel good?” she asked playfully.
“I knew you’d be a tease…” he hissed as his hands moved to undo her belt. He was interrupted in his efforts as she pulled his shirt up and over his head. As always, she liked to take the lead. He resumed his quest to undo her belt as she lifted herself up to kiss his throat, but as good as that felt it did not deter him from his task. His fingers fumbled as he then struggled to undo the buttons on her shirt. Teasingly she moved her kisses around his jawbone as he opened her shirt, groaning in frustration to find a yellow top underneath it.
She kissed him playfully on the lips. “Did you think it would be that simple?”
He looked at her with such passion that she decided to take it easy on him, and slowly pulled her top down so that they were both bare chested. Before she could say a word his mouth was sucking on her right breast, while his hand gently caressed her left. Lina moaned in pleasure. It barely occurred to her to worry about her size. Knowing how he had lusted after her had an intoxicatingly liberating effect on her inhibitions.
She leaned back onto the bed, wrapping her arms around him so he continued to pay attention to her chest as she did so, enjoying the sensations. Then he awkwardly shoved a hand between them as he fumbled with the waistband of her pants. Her eyes shot open. They were really doing this!
Gourry eventually pulled his left hand away from her breast to help his right hand with her pants and, once finished, worked to remove his. Lina watched him lazily, and then her eyes widened. She’d never seen an aroused man before. How would that fit inside her without hurting?
Gourry moved to kiss her, his erection rubbing against her stomach, shocking her with its hardness. He pulled away when he noticed that some of her zeal was gone. “What is it?” he asked.
“I…how will, I mean…” her voice trailed off awkwardly as a blush crept through her. She knew her inexperience was showing.
“I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of stupid thoughts from me today.” He stated as a matter of fact. “What can you say that would be even more silly?”
She said nothing, but he noted that she was staring wide eyed at his member. “This is your first time, isn’t it?”
“So what if it is!” she yelled.
“Do you still want to?” he asked, hoping she would say “yes.” He’d been waiting for so long, to be this close and have to stop would be agony…
“Yes! But how is it going to…“
“Shh,” he said as he realized what he concern was. He kissed her gently, moving his hand so that it was between her legs. He ran his fingers between her lower lips several times, observing with satisfaction that she was wet before sliding one in. Lina gasped into his mouth as he started to pump in and out of her. “Does it feel good?” he asked.
She nodded hazily, “Do you think I can stick another one in?”
She nodded again, and he did, enjoying the warmth and the way her walls pulsated around his fingers. Gently he twirled his fingers in circles, widening them slightly. He positioned himself so that he was on his side behind her, with her top leg scissored over his he continued pumping into her. He moved his other hand beneath and around her so it could massage one breast while he kissed the spot where her neck and shoulder met. Gingerly he moved a third finger so it was inside of her, and smiled in satisfaction as she started moving her hips to the rhythm he was setting.
Lina had never felt so full. The feeling of being stretched wider and wider was strangely erotic. He pulled his fingers down and started circling her entrance, and she could not help but cry out in pleasure. “Do you think you’re ready now?” he asked.
“Yes.” She said, moaning a bit in protest as he took his fingers out and moved so that he was over her. He grabbed himself and positioned himself at her opening, wanting to savor the moment that he had been waiting for for the last five years. Slowly he pushed himself into her. She felt better than he could have imagined, warm and tight as she clinched erotically around him.
Lina grunted in pleasure. “Is this all right?” he asked as he pulled back to push himself back in.
“Wonderful, keep going.”
He slammed back into her, doing his best to maintain control. One of the benefits of taking himself in hand earlier that day was that he had more stamina than he would otherwise have had. He leaned down to kiss her tenderly as her hips rose to meet him, demanding a faster pace than the one he was setting. He rushed to meet it, but as he’d always fantasized she was as demanding in bed as she was all things. She wanted him to be faster and harder. Eventually it paid off and she spasmed around him as the arching of her back pressed her chest into his. He did not last much longer.
He sat himself gingerly beside her and held her close. Lina was strangely quiet, staring at the ceiling. “You’re not regretting this, are you?”
Lina looked at him and smiled, “No. I’m just wondering how long we would have continued like we were if we’d not had this kick in the pants.”
He caressed her cheek, “I would have summoned the courage. Eventually.”
Lina knew it was a lie. He would never have risked losing her by sharing his feelings with her. He was so certain that she was too scarred of intimacy to ever share it with another. Lina snuggled up to him and he kissed her on the top of her head. “I love you.” He whispered.
Lina closed her eyes. Maybe slugs had a purpose in this world after all.