Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Lina and Gourry: Love Conspiracies ❯ Oh No! Mayhem at the Gabriev Residence! ( Chapter 3 )

Part III: Oh No! Mayhem at the Gabriev Residence!

Gourry watched Lina give him the small wave and then disappear into his house. He blinked and lowered his arm slowly, a strange feeling crawling into his heart. Why had Lina run like that? Had he done something wrong? An arm clapped his shoulder and Gourry looked at his big brother. Suddenly, Gourry didn't feel like doing much of anything anymore. He just wanted to find Lina and find out what happened to her.

"What's wrong, Gourry?" Barry said.

Gourry shook his head and gave his brother a smile. "I'm fine." He tossed the sword to Gabe who caught it with one hand and gave Gourry a curious look. "I'm going to see how Lina's doing. She'll get lost real soon in this house!"

Barry chuckled and gave Gourry's shoulder a squeeze. "You lady-killer! You have that poor girl running around in circles, don't you?"

Rowdy II ruffled Gourry's hair. "My suggestion is that you get married to her soon," he whispered coming in close to Gourry's ear. "Who knows what your mother will do otherwise?"

Gourry blinked. "Huh?"

Barry shook his head at his father. "Mom? I think Gourry's got more to worry about with Lina. I think we're really starting to spook the poor girl. She's going to start pushing Gourry away if we're not careful about this." He turned back to Gourry and winked. "Lina is special to you, knucklehead. Don't let her get away. Or you'll regret it forever."

Gourry could take a guess about what his brother and father were talking about. But he wanted to make sure. "Dad, big brother, are you talking about me getting married to Lina or something?"

Carrie whistled from her spot. "Woo. Well, look at that. Seems like Miss Lina is rubbing off on him. He actually got what was going on here!" Gallery whacked her big sister and Carrie pouted.

Barry grinned. "Yeah, Gourry. That's exactly what we're talking about."

Rowdy II looked at his son. "What are you planning on doing about it?"

Gourry looked blankly at them. "What do you mean?"

An exasperated sigh came from behind him and Gourry turned to look at this mother. "Are you planning on marrying Miss Lina or not, Gourry?"

Gourry shrugged. "Someday. When she wants to, I guess." A stunned silence greeted him and he gave them all a frustrated look. "I already said I was going to protect her and stay with her forever. Isn't that the same thing as saying I want to marry you?"

The only sound from his extended family was Avery's sniffles. Gallery bounced to her brother and gave him a hug. "Yeah. It's the same thing. So why did you say that and not `I want to marry you'?"

Gourry rolled his eyes. "Because if I said that she would think I was crazy or lying and then she'd fireball me," he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Rowdy II shook his head and laughed. "So technically you've already proposed in your own roundabout way considering the way Lina is."

Gourry nodded.

"Lina just hasn't gotten the hint," Carrie said.

Flowery grinned. "What do you think we should do about it?"

"Well, both Gaia and I know her from before," Huey offered. "She's actually pretty volatile."

Selina nodded. "Actually, he's right. I'm surprised she hasn't blown us up yet. We have been rather pushy and she doesn't take well to being pushed."

Barry tilted his head to the side. "Maybe she's being polite…?"

Gaia shrugged. "She's not one for politeness."

Danny put on his glasses and grinned. "Maybe she doesn't want the kind of trouble that she'll probably get if she starts blowing up the members of the Gabriev family. After all, we've got some pretty powerful sorceresses here and the wrath of them are never pretty."

Gabe blinked. "You think she's spooked?"

Fanny agreed. "I just spoke to her. I'd say she's got no idea what to do about us at all."

The older Gabriev's, Loubrev's and Uriev's present shared wide smiles. Gourry looked at his family members wondering what they were talking about. He smiled back completely unaware.

"Gourry?" Gallery said.

"Yeah," he replied turning to his sister, hoping that she would give him a clue as to what was going on.

"Why don't you go find Lina like you said you were going to do? She's probably going to get lost in the house pretty quickly without a guide," she said.

Gourry remembered Lina's face when she had waved at him. His heart clenched. Yeah, he had wanted to find her, but not to see if she needed a guide. He wanted to know why she had looked so confused and sad. He nodded and headed back toward the house, grabbing his shirt as he went.

Gourry didn't notice the excited whispering of his family.

* * *

Gourry finally found Lina after about half an hour of searching. She was sitting on large couch in one of the dens. She looked troubled and Gourry didn't like that look on her. Lina should be mad, happy or plotting something. But right now she looked confused.

"Hey, Lina?" he started, hoping to get her attention and seeing her smile.

She didn't even look up. It looked like she was thinking about something that really bothered her. Gourry flopped down next to her on the couch. That got a more desired reaction.

"Hey! What do you think you're…?" Lina trailed off. Why did she? Gourry was puzzled. What was wrong? Lina sure wasn't acting like herself.

"Lina, are you okay?"

She turned away and Gourry didn't like that at all. "I'm fine. What makes you think that I'm not okay, Gourry?"

"Because you don't look happy or mad," he said.

She snorted. "Do I always have to be happy or mad? Can't I be confused or despondent every once in a while."

"I don't know what deponent is but I don't like it. Are you hungry? Do you want some lunch?"

Lina's stomach rumbled and Gourry heard it loud and clear. He grinned. That made sense. Lina was acting this way because she was hungry. "I'll go get you something, okay, Lina?" he said getting up.

"It's not about food, Gourry! Not everything I do is about food!"

He nodded and sat back down. "I know. You also want money and magic!"

Lina sighed. "Is that all I ever talk about or want?"

Gourry put his hand on her shoulder. He shook his head. "No." Something was definitely bothering Lina. "What's wrong, Lina? You're not usually like this."

Lina didn't respond. She didn't even look at him.

Gourry hesitated before he spoke again. What else could be bothering her this much? He moved closer to her and put his face next to hers. "It's my family," he whispered.

Lina turned to him then and Gourry watched in surprise as her face turned bright red. She scooted away from him and he felt as if someone had just stabbed him in the chest. When she was at the edge of the couch and still red, Gourry licked his dried lips and whispered, "Is it me?"

Gourry watched as Lina covered her burning face with her hands and took a deep breath. He felt as if someone was squeezing his heart. Did Lina not want to be with him anymore? Did she hate him? What did he do? He lowered his head, feeling a strange burning sensation behind his eyes. He had been mad before and hurt. But this was different. She'd never acted like this before…

"Gourry?"

His head snapped up. Lina was back in front of him. She wrinkled her nose at him. "I'm hungry and you smell. You need a bath!" She gave him one of his favorite Lina smiles and he found himself starting to smile back. "Take me back to the dining room so I can have lunch and then go and clean up. After-"

"Lina."

She blinked up at him. "Yeah, Gourry?"

He had no idea what happened, but he was definitely going to get some kind of answer. "Why did you run from me like that? What did I do?"

Lina's smile faded. She shook her head. "It had nothing to do with you, Gourry," she said tightly. "I was thinking about something else and you caught me by surprise-"

"But you were red-"

"Your imagination."

Gourry stared at her, knowing that she wasn't telling him something. Whatever had been bothering her it had something to do with him and his family. "Lina, if you want to leave then tell me. We can go. I know my family is big and they're not even all here and they can be scary-"

"I'm fine, Gourry," she said.

"But-"

Lina got up from the couch and grabbed his hand. Gourry closed his fingers around hers liking the feel of her hand in his. She actually had really soft hands. And they were so small. He'd always liked them.

"I'm hungry, Gourry. Take me to lunch now," she said.

Gourry smiled and got up after her. "All right, Lina. Maybe once your stomach's full you'll tell me what happened."

"Let up on it, Jellyfish brains. You imagined the whole thing. Besides, I'm not talking to you again until you bathe."

"You sure, Lina?"

"Positive."

"Ha! You spoke to me again!"

"Flare Arrow!!"

* * *

Gourry sighed as he leaned back in the bath. Steam curled around him and his skin was flushed with the heat. He dunked his head into the large tub and stayed under the water for two minutes. He came up, his face rosy, and slicked his wet hair back with his hand.

He was warm and content for all of five minutes.

Then he remembered what had happened earlier with Lina. He had taken her to get food, and they'd both stuffed themselves. He was full and his stomach was happy digesting while he sat in the hot water, but his mind didn't settle. What had that been all about? He knew something about him had bothered Lina. He sighed and wished she would tell him what it was about.

He reached for the soap and cloth and proceeded to wash his hair. He didn't want to smell bad and Lina had told him he really needed a bath after lunch. So he'd gone to do just that. He went back under the water to wash the soap out of his hair. He came up, wondering how he was going to make Lina feel better about everything.

"Miss Lina?"

Lina looked up from the book she was reading and saw Gallery grinning at her. This didn't bode well.

"Yeah?"

Gallery handed Lina a basket with some herbs and dried fruits. "Can you take this to Gourry for me? Mom said she wanted him to have these, especially after today's spar. He's bound to have some bruises."

Lina glanced at the contents of the basket. "I can see the herbs are for that, but the fruit…?"

"Protein, sugar, etc. He sweated a lot today."

"But we just finished hoarding on an enormous lunch."

Gallery just shrugged. "Moms will be moms, you know. Just tell my twin that Mom sends it and he'll know what to do."

Lina decided she didn't really want to know. "Um… but why don't you take it to him? Why do I have to?"

"Because Mom asked me to ask you. I think she's going to lecture me on getting a husband, and since you aren't too busy…" Gallery shrugged.

"But I am busy."

"Not as far as Mom is concerned. If you aren't married you aren't officially `busy' therefore she can ask you to do stuff. And since she's going to be making me do stuff, then you're the next available candidate."

"What about Mary?" Lina asked, looking for any excuse.

"If you want to search the entire house for her… Then go ahead. She's one of those that if she doesn't want to be found she won't be."

"What about the kids?"

Gallery rolled her eyes. "Miss Lina. They're kids!"

"So? It's not like delivering a package is that big of a deal. What are they going to do? Eat everything and then lose the rest?"

Gallery put her hands on her hips, her lips puckered.

"You're kidding," was all Lina could say.

"You have no idea."

"Great," Lina said with an exasperated sigh, "All right. I'll take it to him. Where is he?"

"Probably still in his room. Do you know where it is?"

"Not really…"

Gallery motioned out the library door. "Take a right from the door and go all the way down the hall. Then hang a left and it'll be the third door to your right."

Lina got up muttering, "I feel like I'm getting directions for a delivery in a large complicated city that I'm not familiar with."

Gallery patted Lina's shoulder. "You'll get used to it."

The phrase sent a shiver of dread down Lina's spine.

She made her way to the door, Gallery waving at her in encouragement. Why did Lina suddenly have a really bad feeling about this…?

Gourry stood up in the water, proceeding to wash the rest of himself. He continued to mull over the situation. He knew his family so he knew that Lina's reaction had to have something to do with them. It was his best guess. But what could it be? Were Mom and his sisters trying to drill Lina the way they did all the other sister and cousins-in-law? That thought brought a shiver of horror to him. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Hadn't he told everyone that he had told Lina he would be with her forever? Being with her forever meant being married to her. So technically he had told Lina that he would marry her. She'd never mentioned it again, so he didn't think it mattered to her. He sank back into the water, letting the soapsuds float off his body and onto the water's surface.

But she stayed with him even after he'd lost the Sword of Light. Does that mean that she wanted to stay with him forever? Or had she just gotten used to him, and it didn't matter whether he was with her or not? Gourry sighed, knowing what the problem really was.

He knew how he felt about Lina, but he didn't really know what she felt about him.

But what was he supposed to do about it? He didn't know anything about relationships and Lina wasn't your ordinary girl. And he'd been with her so long as a companion and friend that he didn't know how to make it work when… when… Well, when one wanted more than that. He sighed and let his head drop over the edge of the tub, his hair hanging down, touching the floor and splaying out in wet curls.

Gourry massaged his forehead trying to figure out what to do. He would ask his relatives for advice if it weren't for the fact that they would find endless amusement in tormenting him and in letting Lina know. The only one he knew wouldn't utter a peep in any way would be Gallery, but only if he let her know how serious it was.

He slowly stood up, grumbling at why the moment he came home things with Lina got complicated. The only thing he had to worry about before is making sure she didn't notice how much she really `affected' him. He shook his head banishing the thought and looked around for his towel.

It was on the other side of the room. His brow furrowed. When did it get over there? Last time he'd checked it was on the chair next to the tub. He heard a creak of a door and turned.

Lina stood at the doorway to his room with a basket of herbs and fruit and a pair of giant red eyes.

Gourry stared back wondering two things at once. Why was Lina coming into his room now with a basket of stuff and why was she turning so red? The answers to both questions hit his brain like a 2-ton brick. His ears, face, neck and upper chest turned bright pink. "Li-li-lina…"

She suddenly let out a squeal, dropped the basket and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her with a definitive SLAM.

Gourry stared at the closed door for all of a minute before letting out an expletive that would have shocked Xellos. He looked down at himself and turned an even darker shade of red. He got out of the tub and stomped toward his towel, wrapped it around his waist and headed for the door. Whoever sent Lina to his room was going to get their ears ringing.

The moment he pulled it open a giggling black haired, golden-eyed, winged and tailed baby girl was floating before him. Her hair was curly and springy on top of her head, and her cheeks were as rosy as a pink carnation. She couldn't be more than a year old. She giggled and clapped her hands. She looked around, giggled again and flew in tentatively beside him and into his room. Gourry stared at her in complete confusion.

"Ah! Cousin Gourry!"

Gourry turned around to see a shorthaired carbon copy of his cousin Mary. He smiled at his cousin. "Cody!" He blinked. "What are you doing here?"

Her loud laugh resounded in the hall. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Last time I checked you were following my mercenary-slash-adventuring footsteps! What are you doing back home? At least I've got an excuse… Speaking of which, you haven't seen a flying baby girl have you?"

He pointed behind him and into his room. A giggle came from behind him.

"Milly! What have I told you about flying away? It's too dangerous to float on your own! Especially if you get tired! Mou…" Cody strode past Gourry and into the room, grabbing the giggling child from the air. She clapped her hands again and did a tiny raspberry at her mother.

"Cody…?"

She turned back to Gourry, the one-year-old gripping onto her shirt, and giggling contentedly. "Yes?"

"Why do you have that flying little girl with you?"

Cody blinked. "Didn't anyone tell you, Gourry? I got married while I was out adventuring. He's a real looker and smart and insanely strong." She grinned. "I'm sure they told you and you just forgot. This is our daughter, Milly. Milly, say hi to your Uncle Gourry."

The baby blinked big gold eyes and giggled. She brought her hand to her mouth and blew Gourry a kiss with a loud "MWAH!" She then turned back into her mother's shirt with a giggle.

Gourry found himself grinning. "She's so cute, Cody…" He frowned. "But why does she have wings and a tail?"

She rolled her eyes. "No one told you that either? Lordie, these people." She smiled at Gourry. "I married a Golden Dragon from the Kakato Mountains named Milgusia. Everyone calls him Mil though because they can never seem to remember his name for some weird reason."

"Oh. A Golden Dragon, huh?" Gourry's brow furrowed. "I wonder why that sounds familiar…?"

Cody looked around the room and then chuckled. "I'm sorry, Gourry, did Milly interrupt your bath? It was great seeing you again. Once you're dressed come find me and I'll introduce you to my husband! I'm sure you'll like him!"

Gourry didn't answer immediately. The name Mil-something and being a Golden Dragon remind him of something that happened a while ago but he couldn't quite remember what it was. It was nagging at the back of his head. And then there was the nagging feeling of being real mad when he opened the door. Why had he been so mad…?

"Gourry, what's wrong? And do you mind explaining why there's so much food and herbs on the floor. I never knew you to be so messy…or did Milly do it?"

The little girl shook her head.

Gourry looked down at the food and an image of Lina suddenly burst into his mind. Her looking shocked and embarrassed. He got mad all over again. He turned to Cody. "No, Milly didn't do that. Somebody sent Lina into my room while I was taking a bath and-and-"

"Ah." Cody said. "I take it you have a girlfriend in the house and everyone is exerting their matchmaking influences, huh? Pity you didn't get married to her on the road. That's what I did. Saved me and Milgusia lots of problems. He still had to do the `Treatment' when we came home though." She grinned evilly. "He kicked everyone's ass."

There it was again, that familiar name that Gourry couldn't quite place. He shrugged it off. Oh, well. Right now all he cared about was yelling at the somebody that sent Lina to his room when he was naked. "Cousin Cody, I'll talk to you some more later. I got to find out who sent Lina to my room. I'm really angry right now."

He started heading toward the door, Cody calling after him. "That's fine, dear, but you're wearing only a towel-"

He slammed the door behind him, cutting off the rest of what Cody might have said. Right now, all Gourry cared about was chewing somebody's ear off.

* * *

Lina wandered the halls of the mansion in a daze, face still flaming with color. She couldn't remove the image of Gourry, embarrassed and very, very naked from her mind's eye. How could Gallery set her up like that? Or Avery for that matter! Weren't they the two closest females to Gourry? She could imagine Fanny or Carrie doing something like that…but those two? Weren't they supposed to care about Gourry! Not that Gourry was the issue here. Lina was humiliated. She'd seen Gourry without his armor before, and earlier today for the first time without a shirt… But she just saw him completely naked!

And the scary part is that she wasn't repulsed. Shocked to her very toes, bothered beyond belief, but…not repulsed. Lina trembled and then pounded on her head. The image was burned onto her brain. And it was doing really freaking weird things to her system. She felt this hot needy feeling just below her belly, her lips were dry, and she was all trembly.

Gourry was actually…good looking naked… Her face burned even brighter and she shook her head vigorously trying to get the really crazy thought out of her head along with the image that accompanied it.

And ended up bumping into a much taller male form.

Lina jumped back with an `eep!' and face even redder, ready to run away screaming from the Gourry-relative, whomever it may be.

She stood frozen as she stared at gold dragon eyes.

"Lina Inverse?"

She stared for a full minute still frozen in mid-freak out and flight position. She finally found the organ called her tongue and moved her numb and dry lips. "Mil-Mil-Milgusia?!"

The Golden Dragon smiled slightly. "Well, I am surprised. I did not ever expect to see you again in the Uriev residence."

"Uriev residence…?" Lina whispered, slowly returning back into a normal position. Why on earth would Milgusia-

She froze as realization came to her. Milgusia. Mil-something. Mil. The one who beat the Gabrievs, Urievs and Loubrevs in their `Treatment'. Married to Mary's twin. Lina felt like her brain was going to shut down. It couldn't be possible…

"Milgusia… Why are you here?"

He lifted both brows and then shrugged. "Well, I suppose it must be a surprise to see me in a human home, though I did not expect this kind of reaction from you." A corner of his mouth quirked up. "I married a woman named Cody Uriev some time ago, Lina Inverse. This is her ancestral home. We have just returned from selling one of the Uriev's retreats." He visibly shivered. "It would probably interest you to know to whom it was that we sold it too-"

"Ah, Milgusia! There you are. Sorry about that. Milly flew off again. I'm serious, she's so adventurous. I wonder who she gets it from," said a woman coming toward both Lina and Milgusia. Her cropped black hair floated around her face like a dark halo and blue eyes twinkled. She was identical to Mary except that she looked a bit rougher around the edges. She was holding a little girl with gold-colored dragon wings and a tail. The baby was curled up in her mother's arms and was all springy black hair and rosy cheeks.

"Yes, she's as precocious as her mother," Milgusia said with a tender smile that Lina never thought she'd ever see on his face.

The Mary-twin grinned up at him. Lina had forgotten her name. Well, there were way to many of these people to keep tabs on all of them. The Mary-twin spotted Lina then, and she stiffened, afraid as to what would happen with this member of Gourry's family.

At the thought of him, Lina turned bright red yet again.

"Milgusia, who's this blushing redhead? You're not charming her are you?" she asked with a teasing voice.

"No, Cody. This is Lina Inverse. A human sorceress I met almost three years ago. She is the one who destroyed Hellmaster Phibrizzo and came in contact with the Claire Bible."

Cody blinked and then grinned. "Ah~! Lina, huh?" She winked, startling Lina. "My cousin Gourry was just talking about you, Lina. He stomped off ready to kick somebody's butt." She giggled. "I don't think he noticed he was still in just his towel."

Lina's face flamed up and when Milgusia turned his golden eyes back toward her it got much worse.

"Gourry? Isn't that the name of the cousin that followed in your `footsteps', Cody?" Milgusia asked his wife.

She nodded. "Mm-hmm. He's from the Gabriev-side and he inherited the Sword of Light."

"Ah…" Milgusia said in understanding. He turned to Lina. "The blond Swordsman of Light that fought with you, Lina Inverse, correct?" He turned back to Cody. "That was your cousin then? Yes, I seem to remember he had the same blue eyes you do, my dear."

Cody grinned. "What a great coincidence! You knew Gourry when he was still fresh on the road. I wonder if he'll recognize you…" she trailed off. "Actually, he didn't recognize your name when I mentioned it earlier so it's unlikely that he will." She sighed. "We blame Gallery for taking all the brains in that mix."

Milgusia was married to Cody Uriev, twin to the still single and very scary Mary, and he had a daughter with her. Lina was terrified to find out whom else the Gabrievs and their affiliates were related to. This was becoming very frightening.

Cody took Lina's hand and shook it. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet another adventurer like myself. Gourry probably would never have settled for less. My advice though, considering what I guess happened between you and Gourry just now, is that you leave this house as quickly as possible and get hitched on the road. You'll still end up with the massive wedding but at least you won't have all these psycho women breathing down your neck about it."

"What `psycho women' are you referring to I wonder, niece?"

Lina let out a groan of dread and turned. She hadn't recognized the voice. Hence, more relatives. An older woman with wavy shoulder-length blue hair and the hereditary elf-blue eyes stood there with two teenage girls by her side. Both seemed to be about Lina and/or Amelia's age. Both girls were identical except that one had brown hair instead of blue. Both had the same eyes as their mother and giggled at the comment made by their parent.

Cody chuckled nervously waving at the older woman. "Uh, hi, Aunt Runa. Just joking you know. See? Both Sherry and Laurie are laughing. Sherry, how was Sairaag? Left your brother to fend for himself, huh? And Laurie looked like she managed to escape from Madrin again, I see."

Sherry, the one with the blue hair, shrugged. "Harry is just wrapping up things with his new fiancée. They'll becoming home soon to announce their engagement." She chuckled. "Gabe and Fanny are going to be real surprised."

Laurie giggled. "Yeah, and Gary and Dad will be coming with them. Mom and I decided to come sooner when Sherry said she was going to be heading here ahead of Harry, so we could accompany her."

Runa humphed. "How did the sale of the house go?"

Cody grinned. "I've got to tell Mom how much of a success it was. The Golden Dragon that was renting it had gotten married and has three-month-old twins. Her other little one was flying much better since the last time I saw him. He gave Milly ideas, and now she's flying on her own though she gets tired quickly. Mil and I have to keep our eyes on her constantly."

Lina was trying to sneak away unnoticed. Milgusia spotted her, but didn't say anything though. He probably understood considering he married into this nutty family as well.

"That's good," Runa said with a smile. "Your parents will be pleased." Her eyebrow arched. "So who's the pretty redhead? From her clothes I'd say she's a friend of yours, Cody."

There was a twitch in Cody's cheek and Lina froze. Great, she was caught. "Actually," Cody responded. "She's Milgusia's friend."

"Acquaintance. Aunt Runa, this is Lina Inverse, the sorceress that defeated the Mazoku Lord Hellmaster Phibrizzo and is closely associated with your nephew the Swordsman of Light."

"Gourry Gabriev dear."

"Ah, yes. Forgive me, Cody love."

"S'all right. It's been years since you've seen him."

Runa's lips pursed. "But didn't Gourry lose the Sword of Light?"

Sherry shook her head. "No, his letter said he gave it back to the original owner. According to him the Sword of Light came from the realm of the Gods or some such thing."

"Hmmm…" Milgusia said.

Lina tried to make a break for it. Laurie, the brown haired one, prevented her. "How do you know Gourry, Miss Lina?"

Lina laughed nervously. "Oh, he and I, we're just friends. I met him a few years ago, but that's all. We're only friends."

Silence met that statement. "Well, I better get going," Lina began. "I have to find Gourry I guess…"

"Gourry's here?!" Both Sherry and Laurie yelled at the same time.

Lina stared at eager looks for a moment before nodding.

Both girls took off in a flurry of hair, screaming out Gourry's name. Runa was grinning. "They looked up to Gourry more than Harry, their older brother. But then, Harry was quiet and Gourry was always willing to play with the children younger than he." Runa blinked. "Wait…" Suddenly her smile became evil and toothy. "Miss Lina are you Gourry's-"

Cody cut off her aunt. "Lina, I think it's about time you made a break for it."

Lina took off without another thought. She could hear Runa behind her. "Cody! That was so rude! Wait till I tell your mother."

Lina chuckled to herself. Cody was now her official favorite relative.

* * *

Gourry had found Gallery by the Welcoming Room, helping Uncle Manny with his bags.

"Why are you here so early, Uncle Manny?" Gallery asked. "You, Aunt Shaury and Cousin Larry weren't due until tomorrow, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, but she was grilling Larry's current prospect." He smiled kind of sheepishly, his green eyes twinkling. "The girl is supposed to be the Princess of a `not-well-known' prefecture. But she isn't very princess-like. She and Shaury were getting a little too…verbal." He shrugged. "I figured it best to leave early and get the rooms here ready."

Gallery visibly winced. "What about Larry?"

Manny shook his head and then ran his hand through his black hair. "My son was enjoying his mother's and his fiancée's cat-fight a little too much."

"I guess that means he likes the girl, then?"

"I think the idiot's in love."

"Ah…"

"Gallery!!"

Gourry's twin sister turned around, surprised. "Gourry, what…?" Her jaw dropped. "Gourry, you're only in a-"

"Do you know who sent Lina into my room? You knew I was getting ready to take a bath. So who would do that to Lina and me?! Why would you do it?"

"Whoa, Gourry! Why are you blaming me? What are you-?"

"Don't lie to me, Gallery! I know somebody must've sent Lina to my room on purpose. She had a basket of fruit and herbs. So who sent her? Who told her to go to my room?"

"Gourry-"

"I love you guys, okay. I've missed you a lot. But this is getting to be too much! Lina was completely freaked out. You guys can't do this to us. She slammed the door on me! You guys aren't helping at all. In fact, you're making it worse! I want you to tell me whom it was that set this up because I'm-"

"Gourry!"

He stopped and glared at his sister, crossing his arms over his chest.

She took in a deep breath. "It was my fault, okay? Mom told me to give the fruits and herbs to Lina so she could give them to you. Mom didn't know that you were in the tub. I did. I didn't tell Lina. I was only trying to help. I thought that if she saw you in the tub it would be intimate enough to get her thinking about moving forward in her relationship with you!"

"What do you care, Gallery?! As long as I'm not with Lina, then you don't have to get married remember? And Mom will leave you alone. So why are you doing this?"

"Because I want you to be happy, Gourry! I can't stand to see you sad!"

"I'm NOT sad! As long as I'm with Lina I'm happy. And at this rate, she's going to leave me behind and run like hell away from this house!"

"If she does that she doesn't deserve you!"

"I don't care if she does or doesn't deserve me. I want to be with Lina. I love Lina! And I don't want her to leave me!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

Both were heaving and glaring at each other. Manny Uriev, who had witnessed the entire exchange, let out a little cough. Gallery and Gourry whirled on their uncle. "What?!" They said at once.

He coughed again. "This Lina wouldn't be an adorable redhead dressed like a sorceress, would she?"

Gallery nodded. "Actually, yeah, Uncle Manny. How do you know? Have you met her before?"

He pointed behind them. "I think I just did. A pleasure, Miss Lina. The women seem to be giving you trouble from what it sounds like."

Gourry turned around very slowly. Lina was standing at the doorway leading from the right hall into the room. Her face was redder than her hair and she was staring at Gourry, her mouth open as if she was about to say something.

Gourry made a move toward her. How much had she heard…? "Li-lina…"

She shut her eyes, blazing even redder, turned and ran down the hall.

Gourry stared after her, his heart in his throat. She heard everything… He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw his uncle smiling up at him. "What are you doing still standing here, Gourry? You love her, right? Go chase her."

Gourry didn't think about it. He turned from his uncle and ran down the hall, following Lina.