Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ New Beginings ❯ Close to you ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

~*Disclaimer*~
These characters are not mine, please don't sue me. I am already poor,
thankyouverymuch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 8
Close to You
By: Ai-Chan (ChibiAiChan@cs.com)

Hazy eyes opened to another bright new morning. The small woman's sleepy
crimson eyes lazily fell to the window at her bedside, and she could clearly
see it was nearly afternoon. With a light stretch and a sheepish yawn she
sat straight up to start the new day. Her eyes then traveled to the empty
spot beside her. Great, Gourry was missing once again. Sighing, she pulled
her legs to hang off the side of the bed, taking the note on the night stand
that sat beside her bed. It was a note from Gourry. Slowly she read, still
waking:
"Dear Lina,
Sorry for kinda running off again! I'll be back later, promise! Oh, and
don't forget what we talked about last night! I REALLY REALLY want you to
meet my parents! Oh, and I think today I will give you a surprise!
Love you LOTS and LOTS! <3
Gourry"
Brushing back her long strands of orange- red hair, she sat back slightly to
examine the piece of paper. "Short and sweet, eh? Hardly a love-"
"Lina-Chan?" a voice called into the room, just above a whisper. "Are you
awake?" Without even waiting for an answer, Lynn poked her head into the
tiny room. "Gourry gone again?" She asked with a smile. "I just wanted to
see if you were up and ready to eat hun, come down when you ready!" Before
Lina could even an answer, Lynn was gone.
Lina lightly shook her head, hair tangling slightly and falling over her
face. She gently set Gourry's note down, and went into the night stand
drawer for a pencil and paper. She would write her own note.
"Dear Gourry,
Yeah, we can go see your parents. It's only fair, right? And don't forget
about Amelia and Zelgadiss' wedding. We got the note yesterday, I think I
forgot to tell you. Sorry. Oh, did I mention you get to sleep on the couch
tonight?
Love <3
Lina"
'Good, now I may eat,' she thought with a smug smile before raising from the
bed and leaving for her brunch.
And soon she was at the table, with her mother, eating her usual oversized
meal.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Lynn asked, raising the fork-full of
pancakes and dripping, sticky syrup off of her plate, her eyes wandering to
her youngest daughter.
"Yeah," Lina replied, in between mouthfuls of her own food, which was more
then twice as much as her mothers. "By the way, did Gourry mention anything
to you?"
"Bout what?" asked the mother, a grin planted on her perfectly round face.
At this moment, Lina knew something was up.
"You know, don't you?" Lina said, her meal quickly finished. She leaned
towards her mother, eyes slightly narrowing. "Mama, where's Gourry?"
"Whatever are you talking about love? You know I don't know. That's why this
morning when I entered your room I was so very surprised-"
"You should quit while you're ahead." Lina said dully, sitting back to lean
her head against her hand. "Your not a very good liar. Tell me, where is
Luna?" After asking, this processed through her brain. Indeed, where was
Luna? Funny. Every time Gourry was gone, so was she... Of course, she has a
job, but she always seems to return after him. Without even realizing, she
clenched her fist into a tiny ball. And then she felt something touch her
hand- and she looked up to find her mother, staring at her worriedly.
"Lina-Chan..?" Lynn said softly, as she touched her daughter's hand. She had
suddenly just... froze. It was quite odd.
"Yes mama?" Lina said, startled. "Sorry, I was kinda... Umm... daydreaming I
guess."
"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Lynn worriedly, feeling her head. "You
could be-"
"I'm fine." she replied, pulling away. "I'm gonna go for a walk, I'll be
back by dinner." Lina ran out the door, leaving her mother to sigh, shaking
her head as she reentered the house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The blonde-haired man set another heavy pile into the wagon to be yet again
sent off to not so far away lands.
Another man wiped at his sweaty forehead. "Thank you Gourry!" he said with a
huge smile, handing him an envelope. "And here is the pay for your hard work
today! Good luck to ya!" with that, he patted Gourry on the back and sent
him on his way.
Gourry looked to his money thoughtfully, walking down the dirt path away
from where he had been working. He let out a long sigh; it had been a long
day. "So much to do, and such little pay..." He held up the small bag of
money, letting out yet another sigh. No matter, he had about enough now.
"Hey!" called a voice from a little ways down the road he stood upon. He
stopped, as always, and waited. She quickly was beside him.
"So, how was today?" asked Luna, making her way down the forked road. "Gonna do it today?"
Gourry simply nodded, flushing a bit. "It's funny..... How I got just enough
money... because yesterday when I counted it, I was still behind. It would
have taken me at least three more months to pay off....But then I counted it
earlier this morning, before work...."
Luna laughed nervously. "Ah.. must have counted wrong then!"
Luckily for Luna, the conversation was cut short as they came upon the
little house they called home.
Lynn greeted them at the door with a warm smile, bringing them in from the
sun. "How was your day?" she asked the two as they slipped off their shoes.
Luna smiled, moving into the living room. "It was good," she said calmly,
while looking over the room. "This looks big enough!"
"Luna?" asked the girl's mother, stepping to the living room with Gourry in
tow. "What are you.....?" She stopped, blushing and placing her hands over
her mouth. "Really??" Her eyes quickly turned to Gourry. "REALLY??"
"Really..?" Gourry repeated, rather confused, and slightly frightened. "What
are you..... wait......." He scratched the back of his head, figuring out in
record time the meaning of the commotion. "M-Maybe.."
"Your going to have to wait though," Lynn added, taking a seat and waiting
for the others to do the same. As they did, she continued, "Lina-chan went
out for a walk-"
"A-A walk..?" The swordsman said rather nervously.
"Heh... Remember what happened the LAST time she went for a walk?" Luna
remarked with a smirk.
"Now now," Lynn said gently, motioning with her hands to keep it down. "We
must-"
That's when the creak of the door was heard, and Lina appeared.
"I'm....... back..." She said slowly, looking about the room, "What are you
guys doing?"
Now is when the trouble begins.
"I was-" Lynn started, picking up a rag to dust.
"You see sis-" Luna smiled evilly, as Gourry stood waving his arms.
"We were-"
"What are you talking about?!" Lina strode into the room, bending to look
into Gourry's bright, now dulling, eyes. "Tell me, now."
Gourry froze, and was melting under pressure.. "I- well- we were-"
Lynn stepped up, setting aside her dirty rag and taking hold of her
daughter's shoulder lightly. "Lina-chan. Come with me."
Gourry sighed with relief as Lina's eyes slowly focused to her mother's
hand, and then to her mother herself. "Why? Mama, where are we going?"
"But-" Gourry said, but was quickly cut off as the Inverse mother continued.
"It's important you come with me, Lina-chan," she said before Gourry had his
chance to speak. Taking Lina's hand, she dragged her out the door.
The swordsman's eyes flashed to Luna. "What- I mean... I have to tell her I
have enough-"
"No worries!" Luna laughed, waving her hand about carelessly. "Now let's get
ready!"
"Ready.... for what?" asked Gourry, a tinge of fear emitting from his voice.
"Your party, of course! We have to set up the wedding and... Oh! But first-"
"What am I getting myself into?" the blonde mumbled, following Luna with his
head lowered in obedience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, what are we doing again?" Lina asked, following her mother along the
bumpy trail. There was no answer. "Mama?"
"Lina-chan." Lynn said quietly, now coming to a halt. Her eyes traveled down
to the ground. "Lina-chan, please listen to me." By this time, they were a
ways from the house. "We are going to visit your father." Her voice cracked.
This had only been, at the most, months after the fact.
"M-Mama?" whispered Lina, taking a step forward, but stopping as once again.
"Ma-"
Lynn's head turned to her daughter, light tears filling her strong, faithful
eyes. "Love-" but she could not continue... she missed him so very much.
Running to her mother, Lina wrapped her arms around her. "Don't cry!" she
pleaded, feeling herself beginning to break. Damnit! She could feel warm
tears falling from her own eyes, but she quickly shook them away. "Let's go
see papa now mama," Lina said in a whisper, taking her mothers hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanw hile...
Luna again moved the glass, this time a little more to the left. "Yes,
perfect. Oh- and the front room! That still needed to be tended to-"
"Need any help Luna?" Gourry asked, fiddling with the tie Luna had made him
buy and wear.
"No." She replied quickly, moving to the flower arranging. "You'd just-
wait. Gourry, come here."
"But I thought you didn't need my help," Gourry said, lifting himself from
the couch to Luna's side.
She found herself than fiddling with Gourry's tie, and messing with his
hair.
"Luna!" he barked, fixed his tie, which Luna had tightened to the point of
strangulation, and brushing his hair from his eyes. "What are you doing, I'm
fine-"
"Just do it," Luna said, rather calmly, but quite sternly. She pulled away,
looking at her final work.
"Yes ma'am." Sighed Gourry as a reply, his eyes rolling, looking around the
living room. "This room looks good enough-"
"So, your saying that Lina doesn't deserve better?"
"I didn't say-"
"Time for arranging where you stand!" Luna said, once again in a cheery,
pleasant voice. She than pushed him to the center of the room, promptly
sliding aside the table. After sliding the table, she slid Gourry in place
of where the table once stood. "Now you stand here," she said, nodding her
head.
"For how long?" asked the blonde, scratching his head, raising an eyebrow.
'He can't be THAT st- wait... Lina's... dummy. "No Gourry, for the *wedding*
your stand there! Not now!"
"Ohhhhh! Okay!" He sounded a bit relived, taking a deep breath. Nervously,
he began to crack his neck. It was all sinking in now...
"Cold feet?" asked Luna, walking into the kitchen, and motioning for him to
follow. She took a seat at the table, complete with romantic setting, done
by herself. One right out of her favorite romance novels! Yes, even Knight
of Ceifeed read those!
"Actually," Gourry began, taking a seat on the other side of the table, "My
feet are kinda toasty warm."
'Should have known.' Mentally, and physically, Luna Inverse sighed. It
figured this was the kind of guy Lina would end up marrying. "No Gourry.
When you nervous they use the expression... oh never mind! Here comes Mr.
Migraine..."
"When is he coming over?" Gourry asked innocently, peering over the table at
her. Luna wasn't even going to get into it. The door creaked slowly open.
ACK! Yet another awkward moment!
There was indeed an awkward moment, as Lina stood in the doorway, holding
her breath. There sat Luna, her older sister and her fiancee, Gourry,
together, wine and glasses set before them. A lovely place setting between
them. But she had not time to speak of her dissatisfaction.
"Oh, sorry sis! This is your spot, right?" Quickly, Luna stood, pushing the
chair back. She moved away and towards her mother, whom was just entering
the room.
Gourry quickly stood, his chair falling ungracefully to the floor. A blush
spreading across his cheeks, and now illuminating. His eyes quickly moved to
Luna, she winked, surprisingly noticeable beneath her bangs. What was THAT
suppose to mean?! His eyes fell back upon Lina. "H-Hi Lina!" He choked out
nervously.
"Don't 'Hi Lina!' me!" growled the sorceress in return, raising her fist as
she walked towards him. "What in the nine hells do you think your- mom?
Sis?" Lina looked quickly behind, to find them both missing. And suddenly,
Gourry was pulling out her chair, a silly grin on his face. "Gourry?"
But all he did was bow slightly, and motion for her to sit. As she did, he
pushed her in, leaving room for her growing belly. After this, he popped
(after a few tries) the corkscrew on the wine. Only after pouring her and
himself a glass did he sit.
Finally, he spoke. "I heard Zelphila is known for its wine," he whispered,
fiddling with his tie.
"Actually," Lina began slowly, "Zelphila is known for its grapes which is
made for wine and-" Mentally, she smacked herself. Here he is, putting this
together, obviously for her, and she- "But I'm impressed you knew that about
my town." She finished quickly, biting her lip.
Gourry's eyes brightened as he looked up from his lap. "Really?" he asked,
excitedly. He took a sip of wine, the whole time keeping his gaze on her. He
was determined to keep conversation. "Are you happy?"
"Sure," Lina replied as she lifted the glass up to her mouth, taking a quick
sip before talking again. "Hey this doesn't taste like-"
"It's grape juice," replied Gourry quickly. "I-I didn't know... if wine
would be good for-"
"Oh," Lina said, looking back down to the ground. "Thank you."
"Did you want it? I'm sorry if I'm-"
"It's alright, its fine." She took another sip, looking about nervously.
Anxiously, Gourry moved about on his chair. Almost time, almost. "Lina," he
called, to get her attention. It was amazing. He could battle bandits, and
even mazoku, and still he never felt this- This scared! 'Courage!' His mind
demanded, as he threw himself down to his knee. This would be traditional,
classy-
A disaster.......
What was suppose to be romantic, turned quite silly and embarrassing.
Instead of throwing himself to his knee, his knee slipped, his face running
into the table... The table falling over, lighted candle and all.... A
bright flare of flames flashed around him and, as he once again looked up,
Lina was squeezing his face tightly.
"Gourry!!" She yelled, shaking his head. "The kitchen is ON FIRE!"
Springing to his feet, instincts seemed to take over. Taking hold of Lina,
in his strong arms he pushed her through the doors, and he was out with her
to the nearby well. Taking a hold of a pail and water. She said something,
but it never caught his ears. Dashing back to the kitchen he battled the
flames.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Gourry!" screamed Lina, as she was pushed aside while he got a pail filled
with water. "What in the nine hells do you think your-"
But he didn't hear a word, as he dashed back into the kitchen. Smoke just
bailing out as the doors were opened.
That's when the others came. Lynn and Luna came running from around the
corner, stopping only when they stood before Lina.
"Lina-chan, what is Gourry doing?! Why are you out here?" Lynn asked her
bewildered daughter.
"I- umm... well... There was this fire-" she said, without thinking very
much.
"Okay. So you're standing here because there is a fire in the kitchen? Might
I add, Gourry is fighting by himself?" Luna added unnecessarily.
That's when it hit Lina, like a ton of bricks. Her brow furrowed. "Well
yeah," she replied, shaking her head and breaking away from the two heading
toward the kitchen. That is, until Luna took hold of her arm, stopping her
in her tracks.
"What are you doing?" asked Luna, a rare event as a flash of red showed from
beneath her bangs. "I was simply implying that he was in there, fighting
alone. I had no indication of you going back in there."
"Certainly not!" Lynn cried out, pulling Lina to herself.
"That's what I thought." Luna finished, talking even before her sister
could. Not even saying a word, she left into the kitchen herself, to fetch
her brother-in-law.
All in all, this night wasn't too bad. I mean, it could have been worse,
right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~
~*Later*~
Okay, so it was a LITTLE bit worse off than they thought.
When Gourry knocked the table over, the candles fell to the curtains. The
curtains were VERY flammable, and since the tablecloth was already on fire,
the chairs should be too. And so, they were, thanks to the tablecloth! Of
course, Gourry, putting out the fire with only pails, had to get close
enough to the fire to actually hit it with the water. When doing that, up in
flames went his tie! Then went some of his shirt. No worries though!
Everything was under control! After a high amount of damage, that is.
After apologizing many, many times to Lynn, Gourry was sent to bed, sulking
all the way. He dreaded entering Lina's room. What would she say? Did she
even know why they were having a romantic dinner? "I didn't even get to give
her the ring I bought," he muttered upon coming to the door. Closing his
eyes, and taking a deep breath, he entered the room, expecting the worst.
But all he saw was Lina, at least to his knowledge, sleeping. He tiptoed to
the bedside, looking upon her. He smiled, taking off his boots, and getting
into bed, releasing a sigh. Was she mad? Or did she not- ACK! Breath...
"What were you doing?!" Lina snarled at him, now holding to his collar and
shaking him a bit.
Okay, so he deduced that she was kind of angry.
"I-I was putting out the fire!" He cried out, grabbing hold of her hands.
"L-Let me breath, please!"
Lina slowly released her clenched fists from Gourry's shirt, her head
falling to his chest, closing her eyes. "I-I just. Gourry. Don't do that
again."
"What? Set the kitchen on fire? I'm not planning to."
That brought a giggle out of her as she started to get herself comfy. "Good
enough answer." She hugged around his chest, letting the subject go.
"Anyways, why were we having such a special night? I mean, with the lighted
candles and the win- err... grape juice."
Gourry blushed, so brightly it was faintly seen in the dark room. "Well," he
began, moving a bit. Finally, he retrieved what he wanted from his pocket.
He leaned a bit, to kiss her forehead. Her face looked into his,
questioningly, curiously. "Lina. I'm sorry this isn't very romantic or
anything. I'm sorry I screwed everything up. And I'm sorry it took so
long..." He took hold of Lina's hand, and placed the ring he bought on her
finger. "I know it isn't much but..."
Lina just lied there for a moment. She didn't know what to say to such a
situation. "Gourry- I-" she said, dumbfounded. "I- thank you!" She leaned
up, giving him a small peck on his nose. "Hey Jellyfish, when are we going
to get married?"
Gourry's grin could not have been bigger as he took a hold of her. His arms
wrapped around her, hugging her. "Soon. Soon as we can Lina!" he said
happily. Lina's finger touched his lips gently.
"Shh! The house is sleeping Gourry!" She laughed a little, despite the noise
of the room. "Lets sleep now, its been a long day." She again settled her
head on his chest, curling up to him. And sooner than thought, her breath
slowed, and she was asleep.

Yet another sigh escaped Gourry's lips, as he looked toward the window, and
saw the note sitting on the night stand. With a free hand, he took hold of
it, and read it best he could in the moonlight.
"Mmm.. Sleep on the couch, huh?" He whispered to Lina's now-sleeping form.
Crumpling the paper, it flew across the room into the little trash basket.
He then fall to sleep, to dream of what was suppose to be the night.
End of Chapter 8: Close to You

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Au thor's notes:
I'm sorry it took so long to get this one out! LOTS of personal problems,
and family problems been going on here.... And for a while, just no will to
write. Plus school started..... *sigh* Anyways, I hoped you liked this
chapter, I hope to start the next one soon.
I'm sorry if it was out of character or something.... I tried the best I
could. It is my worse fear.
Well, thank you for reading my story!
Special thanks goes out to Chu-Chan and Rocky-Chan! Thankies for reading
over my story many times!