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“We need to talk.”
“Huh?” Gourry, as always, looked clueless. They had only parted from the rest of the crew that morning and had been walking in amicable silence for hours. At least he had thought it to be amicable; the other part of the equation apparently had a different perception.
“We need to talk,” Lina repeated, as if saying it again would make her braver and get it off her chest.
He halted besides her, looking down at her unusual expression, and waited for her to talk. Prodding would be of no use and would most likely have him burnt to a crisp. Her face became obscured by the shadow cast by her hair. It had started to recover its color, but its usual bright copper was lackluster still.
She finally looked up to him with an angry expression. “What was that about?!”
“What was what about, Lina? The… Shabrag… thing you killed, that? Or you mean when I stole your breakfast?”
Her eye twitched; she had not expected this to be easy, but for him to make it even harder… She was going to have to use all her self restraint, not much to start with, in order not to fireball him before she could get the words out. She stopped walking, unclenched her fist, and moved her open palm around, as if she were pointing to an invisible image.
“Kuppi, that is what!”
He arched an eyebrow. “Kuppi who?”
“For Ceiphied’s sake!” the groan seemed to come from deep in her chest. “The fish woman, the one who tried to make you into the father of her children!”
Recognition dawned on him and she exhaled in relief. “Oh, that Kuppi.” It did not last long enough. “What about her?”
“What do you mean ‘what about her’? You almost stayed there, playing husband! If we had not figured out her lies you would have!”
“Oh, but I didn’t. Why does it matter?”
She moved her head sideways, as if trying to figure out how someone could be this dense. “Of course it matters. Even when I…” There it was again, that embarrassment titillating in her pupils. She was biting the inside of her lip, a habit that only showed in the most dire of times. He might have not been the brightest person in the world, but, when it came to Lina, he knew every single one of her movements. “Even when I went to get you, you still wanted to stay…”
She pouted, and he could tell she was not doing it to be cutesy or get something out of him. No, she was honestly upset by this. He sighed and looked up to the darkening sky. “I just did not want to run away from that. Children should have loving parents and a family, you know?”
She was momentarily disarmed by the words. Since when had he gotten so thoughtful? Perhaps it had something to do with his past, but she did not push it, the same way he did not push her about hers too much. She gulped. “Do you want a family?” She kicked herself mentally. Where had that even come from?
He gave her one of those serious stares, like the one in Kuppi’s house, which made her flinch and move her gaze due to its rarity. “You are my family.”
The air suddenly turned too heavy for her. She knew that it was only a few seconds of silence, that there was nothing like magic or power in simple words, and she still scrambled for an answer. “That is not what I mean! I mean… like a wife, and children…”
He tilted his head. “Yes. And I told you you are my family.”
She had been wrong. There must have been some sort of spell in those words, because she had no idea of how to react. Why had she brought it up anyway, if she didn’t know where the conversation would lead to? She could just punch him. Or she could keep walking as if nothing had been said. Or she could…
“And you are alright with that?” Great sorceress Lina Inverse’s words were barely audible. She held her breath, waiting for his answer, but she did not need to for long: his response was swift, unwavering.
“Of course I am.”
Was she blushing? She usually could feel the heat on her face, almost melting into the color of her hair. Somehow, this seemed too important for her to even fret or blush. She finally looked up again, too curious about his reaction to keep avoiding his gaze.
However, he did not hold the same expression he had a moment ago. He looked completely relaxed, a smile curving his lips. Same old Gourry, as he spoke those words.
The tension dissipated from the air and her body just to be replaced by a feeling she did not care to name. His smile was contagious, and she soon sighed in relief and returned the gesture.
“I am alright with it too.”
She could have tried to act coy, but it would have been out of place. She stood there, confident as always. She even managed to keep her composure and not let out a squeak when he took her hand and kept on walking. “Let’s hurry, I am hungry.”
She laughed this time, “Do you even know where we are going, Gourry?”
“No idea, but you do.”
“Good thinking, jellyfish. Move it, then!” She went past him and took lead of the walk, not letting go off his hand for the rest of the way.