Lamplight

## Author: Katrin
Title: Lamplight

“Fireball!”

Gourry spared a glance from the group of bandits who had charged him, thinking Lina was no threat. Lina had wasted no time in correcting their initial error. The palisade surrounding their lair was smoldering, and several charred-looking archers toppled from their lofty perches.

The man who had crossed swords with Gourry swallowed hard, his gaze flitting crazily between Gourry and Lina. Suddenly, he disengaged, screaming, “Retreat! Run for your lives! It’s the Bandit Killer, Lina Inverse!”

Pandemonium ensued as Gourry made short work of those few souls hardy—or perhaps foolhardy—enough to stand their ground. Lina focused on the bandits who fled towards the smoldering palisade, allowing those who ran for the trees to escape the wrath of her spells. Within moments, the random shrieks and explosions died down. The forest provided a dubious safety for the more cowardly bandits, while the ones who had stood their ground had quickly discovered the wisdom of their erstwhile comrades’ decision to flee.

Lina rejoined Gourry, her face glowing with excitement. “C’mon. I wanna see what kind of loot these guys have.”

“Do you have any idea why they call themselves the Easy Laurel Gang?” Gourry wiped his sword on the tunic of one of the fallen bandits and smoothly sheathed it.

“The Essesseloarel Gang,” Lina corrected automatically as they passed through the destroyed gate and into the lair proper. “I have absolutely no idea. I’m not even sure it’s a real word. Maybe it was the name of the bandit leader.”

“What a name, though.” Gourry was thankful he hadn’t got stuck with a mouthful of a name like that. “Maybe they called him ‘Ess’ for short.”

Lina shrugged, indicating that she had no interest in pursuing that particular line of thought. She marched purposefully into the bowels of the lair, summoning a light spell when it got too dark to see. As Gourry followed Lina’s lead, he noticed that her hair had gotten longer, reaching just below the small of her back. With each step she took, it swished enticingly across her rear. There was something mesmerizing about its motion that caught Gourry’s eye. And once that happened he had no inclination to look any where else . . . which would have been fine if they had been on level ground. But when the gently descending slope gave way to stairs, Gourry was completely unprepared. The sick feeling of stepping onto nothing, when solid ground had been expected, brought his attention back to his surroundings and away from Lina’s pert derriere. In a split second, a moment in which time stretched out obscenely, Gourry noticed that the stairs extended down beyond the range of Lina’s light spell. He windmilled his arms, but he was unable to correct his balance and he went tumbling towards Lina.

For a brief moment, Gourry thought he’d be able to stop himself as his hands scrabbled along the walls, trying to find a hand hold or just reverse his momentum. His questing fingers found a small niche, and he dug them in with all his strength, but before he could recover, the niche disappeared, and Gourry slammed into Lina, causing both of them to go tumbling down the stairs.

It seemed that they fell, a tangle of arms and legs, for an eternity. But sooner than that, Gourry heard Lina call for levitation, and instantly they went from careening out of control to just gently floating.

Gourry heard Lina’s sharp intake of breath over the thunderous beating of his heart, but whatever she said was swallowed by the low grinding sound of shifting rock. As they floated in the stairway, a section of wall receded into the floor, exposing a hidden passageway off to the side.

Lina landed gently on the ground. Gourry fell less gracefully next to her, just grateful to be back on solid ground. Lina peered into the passageway, crinkling her nose at the stale air that was rushing into the stairwell. “What do you think?” Her voice was practically bubbling with excitement.

“Looks like a secret passage,” Gourry replied.

Even in the dimly lit corridor, Gourry saw Lina’s eyes tighten in barely suppressed frustration.

“I meant,” she bit out from between clenched teeth, “do you think it’s safe to go in.”

Gourry moved a bit closer to the secret opening and cautiously sniffed the air. Almost immediately he shook his head. “The air smells dead. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Maybe tomorrow.”

Lina’s shoulders slumped momentarily, and then she straightened, tapping her lip with her index finger. Shrugging, she held out her hand to Gourry.

Gourry looked at her extended hand, wondering what she was doing. The gesture was so unlike Lina. Not that they had never touched, although more often than not it was when they were fighting over food. There were also the times when she used her magic, but he didn’t think that was the case here. Tentatively he reached over to clasp her hand in his.

No sooner did he grasp her hand then he heard her call for Ray Wing. Gourry squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to think about his impending doom, or about the sick feeling of having nothing supporting his weight aside from Lina’s small hand. When several moments passed without anything happening, Gourry cracked open one eye.

“You can stop panicking now,” Lina said acerbically as she tugged on his hand and started walking down the passageway.

Well, how was he to know? After all, whenever Lina cast Ray Wing, he usually ended up flying through the air, and it was definitely his least favorite way to travel. He stepped cautiously after her, sniffing at the air, just to make sure it was okay to breathe.

“And you can stop doing that, too,” Lina told him. “This is the same spell we use to breathe under water, you know. It should be fine for keeping clean air around us in a dead tunnel as well.”

“Oh.” For once Gourry actually listened to her explanation, although most of his attention was on the fact that she still hadn’t dropped his hand. In fact, as they proceeded into the dark tunnel, Lina’s grip changed from a tight clench meant to drag him along, to an almost . . . well, it was almost flirty, as strange as that sounded.

After about five minutes of walking through the passageway, it opened into a small roundish room. Lina dropped the Ray Wing, and sniffed cautiously at the air. Without a word, she motioned Gourry into the room and then she turned and faced the corridor. He heard her cast a Bomb di Wind, and within moments, the stale air in the room had been replaced with fresh.

“See?” Lina asked as she summoned a light spell. “Isn’t this better than waiting until tomorrow?”

Gourry nodded as he surveyed their surroundings. Although it was probably the last thing he would have expected in a bandits’ den, the room practically screamed seduction. The walls were a soft rose color that matched the thick hooked rugs and plush cushions scattered about the room. Looking around gave him the sudden crazy urge to pull Lina down into those soft cushions and give her a vivid demonstration of exactly how desirable he found her. He shook his head, wondering what was wrong with him. First he couldn't keep his eyes off her rear, and now . . . now it would probably be a good idea to think about something—anything—else. He glanced over at Lina, but her attention was consumed by a strange looking object sitting on a short table in the center of the room.

“I wonder what that is,” Lina breathed in wonder, drifting towards the table like a moth to a candle.

Gourry followed, nearly as curious as Lina. He had never seen anything quite like this before. On first glance, it looked like the glass from a hurricane lamp, or maybe an oddly shaped jar. Even though most of the object was transparent, when Lina tapped it with her fingernail, it thunked rather than ringing like glass should. The transparent part was vaguely cone-shaped—narrower at the top, and wider at the base, which was black. The jar—for lack of a better word—was filled with a clear liquid, and resting at the bottom was a layer of something that looked both gel-like and milky at the same time. A thin black rope was attached to the base and ended in a misshapen lump of strange material with two metal prongs sticking out of it.

“What do you suppose it’s for?” Gourry asked as Lina ran her hands over the thing, her fingers barely caressing the surface.

“I’m not sure,” Lina replied after a brief hesitation, her eyes closed in concentration. “It has a strong magical aura, but it seems suppressed.” She opened her eyes to look at him, taking a deep breath. “It probably needs something to activate it. A lot of magical items aren’t functioning all the time, only when the possessor wants them to. Some magical effects could be inconvenient if they functioned all the time, like having a light on when you’re trying to sleep, or having something to warm you up in the middle of summer.”

When Lina paused for breath, Gourry interrupted before she could continue the lecture. “Are you gonna try to activate it?”

“Of course,” Lina replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “It should be no problem.”

Gourry shrugged, and sat down on one of the plushy looking cushions. Whenever Lina got involved with magic, she lost all sense of time. If he was going to be waiting for a while, he might as well be comfortable.

He had to admit though, it was fun to watch Lina when she was concentrating so intently. She threw all of her energy into her task, examining the object with her physical senses and her magical ability, and she seemed unaware of the gamut of emotions that flitted across her face, ranging from hopeful enthusiasm to disgusted frustration. At home, they had a saying: if you don’t like the weather, wait a bit—it’ll change. Gourry thought the same saying applied even better to Lina’s moods.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing he knew, Lina had hurled the black rope thing onto the table and was swearing sulfurously. His eyebrows raised at a couple of her more colorful oaths, and he wondered if she really knew what she was saying, particularly given her frequent protestations about her maidenly innocence.

“No luck, hunh?” Gourry asked when she paused for breath.

“I know it has something to do with this part,” Lina grabbed the black rope and shook it in his general direction, “but it’s not reacting to any of the common activation spells.” She hurled the offending piece back onto the table.

Her frustration was almost palpable, as it often was, but there was something else underneath it—something he’d never seen in Lina before. She almost seemed . . . antsy. She was kneeling by the table, but she kept shifting her weight, as if she couldn’t get comfortable. He’d never seen her so restless-looking. And he couldn’t ever recall her taking her frustration out on a magical artifact before. She tended to be very careful not to damage the item or do anything that might lower its value. He wondered how long he’d been asleep. Maybe she’d been working on it for longer than he thought? No, that didn’t make sense either. Lina’s patience only took her so far before there was an explosive outburst, usually aimed at the nearest moving target—him as often as not.

As he watched, she started fiddling with the rug she was kneeling on, working her fingers through the thick yarn, almost as if she were finger combing it. Finally, she sighed gustily and ran her hands through her hair as she stood up. Almost as an after-thought, she kicked aside the rug, exposing something round and shiny, like a large coin.

“What’s that?” Gourry pointed at the floor, as he moved in for a closer look.

Lina hunkered down and tried to pick it up. “Whatever it is, it’s stuck to the floor.” She pulled out her dagger and started to pry at the edges. Almost as soon as she made contact, however, an arc of white light ran up her dagger, and she pulled her hand back with an oath.

“Are you okay?”

“Stupid piece of . . .” Lina trailed off, but she glared at the disk on the floor, and then kicked at it with her boot. Her gaze shifted to Gourry. “I’m fine,” she said in a disgusted sounding voice. “It was nothing serious, not even as strong as a Mano Volt.” She nudged the disk again with her boot, staring at it absently. “Still . . . it’s strange. I didn’t sense any magical power coming from the floor.”

“It looks like brass,” Gourry commented as he looked over her shoulder. “Why do you suppose someone carved those grooves into it?”

“Grooves?” Lina repeated thoughtfully. She sat back on her heels and tapped a finger against the side of her cheek. Then she picked up the black rope again, staring intently at the odd lump at the end and the metal prongs and comparing it to the grooves in the brass plate on the floor. “What do you think?” she asked, her voice tight with excitement.

“Looks like a match. Look. The metal is even the same on those prongs, and on this,” he said as he tapped the brass plate embedded in the floor.

“I thought so, too.” Lina hesitated briefly. “Well, here goes,” she announced as she decisively thrust the prongs into the grooves on the brass plate.

Both of them looked at the object on the table expectantly. At first, nothing happened, and Lina let out her breath in disappointment. But before either of them could say anything, the liquid started to bubble gently, almost like a fine champagne, and the gel-like milky stuff at the bottom started glowing with the same rose color as the walls and the rugs. As they watched, the formerly quiescent layer began to rise up in the middle, growing larger and rising higher until a sphere-like portion broke off and floated gently to the top. The substance at the bottom continued to rise up, sending up sphere after glowing rose-colored sphere. There was something mesmerizing about watching the process repeat itself over and over. It was also vaguely erotic. Gourry clamped down on certain impulses that seemed to be rising in him just like the glowing spheres.

The sound of clothes rustling next to him tore his attention away from the strange lamp on the table. Lina had taken off her cloak—it lay in a heap about her hips—and was in the process of unbuttoning her tunic. Gourry froze, as his brain tried to comprehend the signals his eyes were sending. He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head violently.

When he looked again, Lina slipped her tunic off her shoulders and let it fall to join her cloak on the floor. “It’s so hot in here,” she said with a small pout.

Gourry couldn’t agree more. His blood was boiling, and he felt as though the temperature had shot up dramatically. He clamped down even harder on those impulses that were urging him to touch her, kiss her, take her. There had to be some kind of explanation for this, right? The love of his life was kneeling in front of him wearing a thin, nearly transparent shift. Her hands snaked up behind her neck and lifted her hair, and her tongue darted out to lick her lips. She must be hot, just like she said, that was it, there was nothing else, so just relax, calm down, breathe. Gourry repeated the thought as a mantra to keep himself under control, tensing his lips into a thin line. He bit down hard—hard enough to draw blood in fact—when Lina started unbuckling her belt.

With a groan and a herculean effort of will, Gourry backed away from Lina and turned to face the wall, sinking to his knees. There was no way this was happening. It couldn’t be happening. Lina was just hot, right? She wouldn’t want him to look at her like that (with her glassy-looking eyes that kept darting to his lips), she didn’t do things like that, she’d be mad if she knew what he was thinking (the soft rustle of fabric drawn over skin as she took off her leggings), there was a fireball with his name on it waiting for him if he didn’t get himself under control and back to normal right now this instant.

Right now, this instant, she was coming closer to him. He stared intently at the wall, but he could hear her bare feet swishing over the rug. He could feel her rest a hand on his shoulder as she pushed his hair away from his ear. The prickle of a shiver started at the base of his neck and ran up and down his spine when he felt the soft puff of her breath as she whispered an invitation.

Control.

She laughed quietly, her fingers trailing down his spine, following the path blazed by the shiver.

Don’t move.

He heard the click of buckles released, felt the shift in his armor, heard the clang and clatter as she dropped it to the floor. For a fleeting second he winced at the sound.

Not real . . .

Lina Inverse would never lean into his back, or wrap her arms around him to slide her hands over his chest. She would never rub her breasts against him. And she would never groan as she did so.

. . . control . . . ?

“Lina?” His voiced was ragged. He clung to his fraying control like a drowning man clings to the rope that will pull him to shore.

“It’s okay, Gourry.” She spoke softly. Sounded like herself. Her normal self.

He felt her pull away from him, and he bit back the urge to cry out in protest. With a deep breath, he turned to face her, willing himself to see reality. No more dreams. It was time to wake up.

Lina stood before him, clad only her shift. The light from the lamp shone through the thin material, making it completely transparent and surrounding her with a luminous glow. Gourry swallowed hard, and Lina smiled mischievously as she moved closer. So close in fact that she stood with her feet on either side of his thighs. He had to crane his neck a bit to see her face. “Something wrong?” she asked as she slid down along his body, giving up her height advantage and causing her shift to bunch up between them.

Frayed control snapped. Gourry buried his face in Lina’s neck, pushing her hair out of his way. “Nothing’s wrong,” he growled as his arms wrapped around her to hold her close.

“Mmm . . . “ She encouraged him with small moans and sighs while her hands tugged his shirt out of her way.

The feel of her fingers stroking the bare skin of his back made the shiver come back with a vengeance. He cut off her mischievous giggle by claiming her lips for a deep kiss, but the intensity of her response surprised him. Her breath was coming faster, and she was moaning deep in her throat as her hands locked around the back of his neck, holding him close, even as she writhed against him.

Suddenly, she stopped moving completely. He opened his eyes and saw her staring over his shoulder, her gaze unfocused and her mouth open in a small “o” of surprise. “What?” he asked as he craned his neck to see what she was looking at, even though he was pretty sure there was nothing there but a wall.

She didn’t answer or shift her gaze. Instead, she gripped his shoulders with both hands and gasped as she ground her hips against his erection, eliciting a groan from him. He could feel her heat through the material of his pants and all he wanted to do was roll her over—to possess her completely. “Lina?”

“Shh.” She pushed him back gently, and he settled down onto a soft cushion. She leaned forward, bracing herself against his chest, her hair falling like a curtain on either side of her face, and she repeated her earlier motion, pressing her hips against him and rubbing against his erection. He thrust against her in response, mimicking the motions of a true union in spite of the barrier between them. She quickened her pace, and all his senses were consumed by her and by his desire as he matched the tempo she set.

After a moment, she growled in frustration, her breath coming in short gasps, and she sat up. “Stop,” she commanded.

Stop? Gourry opened his eyes to see her looking nearly frantic. She moved her hips against him again, causing him to writhe and her to wince. “What’s wrong?” He realized that he was gasping as well.

“It’s not . . . I . . . right . . . “ She gave up on trying to talk and reached down to fumble with his pants.

He helped her push them down over his hips, and then she settled back down, hissing in pleasure, and quickly finding her rhythm.

Within moments, they were battling for dominance. She sat astride him, and he could feel her surrounding him, but even without his pants in the way, he could tell that he wasn’t exactly where he wanted to be, and it was driving him crazy. He gasped and strained against her, trying to get inside, but each time he tried, she would growl and back away.

“Lina,” he gasped, trying to get her to hold still, just for a second. All he needed was a second . . .

“Don’t . . . don’t move . . .” her body tensed up and her hands clenched at his shirt.

Don’t move? The effort almost killed him, but he stopped thrusting against her.

He thought he heard her sigh, but he couldn’t be sure. Maybe it was just the whisper of her skin moving against his. “I . . . I swear . . . I’ll . . . I’ll kill you . . . don’t move . . . “ As she spoke, each phrase was punctuated by a short gasp. A sheen of sweat covered her face, and her brow was furrowed in concentration.

Abruptly, she stopped moving, stopped breathing, her entire body went rigid. The moment stretched out. A low moan escaped her lips, and then she collapsed, sprawled bonelessly across his chest. Tentatively, he reached up to stroke her back, to push her hair out of her face. She murmured something, in a very lazy sounding voice. She seemed remarkably relaxed, in marked contrast to the tension that still thrummed through his body.

When Lina lifted her head up to look at him, she was smiling. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do that?”

Without hesitation, and before she could stop him, Gourry flipped her onto her back and loomed above her. “Probably not as long as I’ve wanted to do this.” Slowly he lowered himself down onto her.

Lina smiled up at him, and her hands clasped his shoulders, pulling him closer. “You’ve been amazingly patient, then,” she murmured into his neck.

Patient? Oh yes, he’d been patient. But not any more. He held her gaze for a moment, and she nodded. Her initial gasp as he entered her modulated into a dreamy sigh, and then her eyes drifted shut. He lost all awareness save for the feeling of her beneath him, around him, and in amazingly short order, he felt the pressure mount. Time stretched out, hesitated, and then it crashed through him, leaving him shuddering. He lay quietly for a moment more, then he kissed her gently before rolling to lay next to her.

Neither of them spoke, although their hands twined around each other, gently caressing, savoring the moment.

As the afterglow faded, Gourry glanced idly around the room, thinking again that it was designed for seduction. When his gaze fell on the strange lamp on the table, he noticed that it was pulsing slightly. “Look at that.” He nudged Lina to get her attention.

Lina furrowed her brow at the sight. “Does it look . . . bigger to you?”

“Now that you mention it . . . yeah, it sorta does.”

“Hmm . . .”

Both of them stared at the lamp for a few moments. As they watched, the pulsing slowed, until it had stopped completely. Lina shrugged and leaned back to look at Gourry. She reached up and stroked a strand of hair out of his face with a small smile. Then she started to trace small circles on his chest. Her caress was languorous, quite a contrast with the frantic way she had touched him earlier, but he could tell her purpose was the same, and her eyes had taken on that glassy look again. He opened his mouth to warn her about the realities of male physiology, but as her fingers made their way down his torso, he found himself rising to her silent challenge.

Their second encounter lacked the desperate frenetic energy that had marked the first. He traced every curve of her body, learned that she was ticklish along her ribs, that he could drive her wild by kissing the line of her inner thigh. They took their time, pushing each other just to the edge, and then slowing down when things became too intense. And when they could bear it no longer, they stepped over the edge together, coming back to reality to find themselves in a tangle of limbs and pillows.

They slept for a bit, and then Gourry woke to feel Lina kissing him along his spine. He rolled over, amazed at her stamina, and wondering if he’d be able to keep up. She was propped up on her side, resting her head on her hand, and limned in the glow from the lamp behind her.

“You’re insatiable, you know?” Gourry asked as he ran his hands down her side and back up to caress her breast.

“Mmm . . .” she leaned into his touch and then wriggled closer to him to kiss his chest.

“Why do you think that is?” His last word trailed into a hiss as her mouth grazed across his nipple. He arched his back, stopped wondering at the hows or whys and surrendered to the demands of the small woman at his side.

Gourry managed to satisfy Lina twice more after that, but it was becoming more and more difficult. He found himself shaking his head at those stories that mercs told around the campfire at night, about how many girls they had conquered in an evening. The highest boast he had ever heard was six. A lot of the other guys had seemed envious at that, but now, with the reality staring him in the face, Gourry had to wonder if the envy had been grossly misplaced. All too soon, it seemed that Lina was aroused again. He could feel the excitement radiating off of her, and he felt himself responding, but at the same time he was aware of a dull wave of pain in his groin. It felt vaguely like being kneed, although it lacked the gut-sickening intensity. Even so, it was enough to distract him from Lina’s advances.

“What’s wrong?” Lina asked as she stroked along his side.

Gourry groaned, but there was little of pleasure in it, as much as he enjoyed her touch. “I can’t.” He rolled over to face her, capturing her hand in his. “I don’t think I can again right now.” It was a humiliating admission, and he couldn’t look her in the eye. Instead, his gaze slid to the lamp, and he watched the endless progression of milky gel spheres grow large and rise in an endless succession. He knew it was irrational, but he couldn’t help but feel that the lamp was mocking him, showing how effortlessly it could get it up . . . endlessly, in fact. With another groan, Gourry hurled a small pillow at the lamp, knocking it over. He turned away from it and covered his eyes with his forearm.

“What’d you do that for?” Lina sounded concerned, but also a bit annoyed.

“Do you think you could turn it off?” Gourry knew he sounded petulant, even petty, but he couldn’t help it.

“What?” Now she sounded surprised.

“That,” Gourry gestured at the lamp. “That lamp. Can you deactivate it?”

“Well . . .” Lina hesitated. “I suppose. If you really want me to . . .”

“I really want you to,” Gourry responded with a gusty sigh.

He felt Lina move away from him towards the table, heard her pick up the lamp, and after a brief pause, set it down on the table. A moment later, the room plunged into darkness.

Gourry thought Lina would come back after turning off the lamp, but she didn’t. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness, even the arm that he knew was covering his eyes, but he couldn’t hear her moving, either. “Lina?” he called softly.

No answer. He started to feel mildly concerned. It certainly didn’t match her recent behavior. “Lina?” he called again, a bit louder.

“I’m fine,” she announced after a brief pause, but she sounded anything but fine. She sounded annoyed as hell, actually. He heard the rustling of cloth, and then, “Light!”

Darkness was banished by Lina’s light spell, and Gourry found himself blinking at the sudden brightness. His eyes watered, unused to so much light, and he squinted at Lina.

She was holding the lamp, staring at the bottom of it. “Ess. Ess. Ell. Oh. Are. Ell.” He could tell that she was speaking from between clenched teeth, even though his eyes were still watering, and he was blinking fast trying to get them to adjust to the light. She sounded like she was speaking nonsense, but it sounded vaguely familiar, too.

“What?” His vision cleared and he sat up, getting a good look at Lina. He had enough time to note that she had pulled on her tunic, and then he was dodging the pillow she hurled at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Ess Ess Ell Oh Are Ell,” she repeated, tightly, her hands clenched into fists and held stiffly at her side. “The name of this gang, remember? If they weren’t already dead, I’d kill them!”

Okay. Lina was angry, that much was obvious. But what on earth she was angry about, Gourry didn’t have a clue, just that her annoyance included him, at least marginally; otherwise she wouldn’t have thrown the pillow at him. He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, closed it, and took a deep breath. Watched her lips move as she stared at the bottom of the lamp, and then hurl it violently against the wall. It hit with a solid sounding thunk, fell to the floor, and rolled a bit, seemingly unharmed.

Lina stared at the lamp. Gourry stared at Lina. After a long moment, she sank to the floor, and her light spell began to dim. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head on them. That was the last thing he saw before the room was plunged into darkness once more. “Put your pants on, Gourry,” she said tonelessly, her voice muffled by her legs.

More than her anger, her current behavior chilled his soul. He could hear her breathing very regularly, but there was the faintest hitch at uneven intervals, and he was pretty sure that she was crying. He moved unerringly behind her, hunkered down and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. And waited.

“Ess Ess Ell Oh Are Ell,” she said softly in an emotionless voice. “It’s not a name.”

Gourry waited.

“They’re letters,” she continued after a pause. “It’s an acronym.” She paused again, and then plunged on. “And before you can ask, an acronym is when you make up a word by using the first letters of words that describe something, like calling the fighters’ guild of Atlass City . . .” She trailed off, paused, and then started again. “Actually, it’s not an acronym, forget I said that. S. S. L. o. R. L. It stands for ‘Super Sexy Lamp of Rampant Lust.’ And that, apparently, is what we—what I—activated.”

His initial reaction came out before he could censor it, even consider how it might sound, or how Lina might interpret it. “Thank the gods,” he sighed in relief. So she wasn’t insatiable or a closet nympho, she had been under the influence of some magical device.

“Thank the gods?” Lina echoed, sounding close to the verge of tears again. “Well, yeah, I suppose . . .” She shrugged her shoulders, and ducked out from underneath his hand.

She was withdrawing again, and Gourry knew that was a bad sign. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She struggled a bit, but only half-heartedly, and then she slumped into his embrace. “Do you remember what you said?” He whispered into her ear.

“I’ve said a lot of things, Gourry.” She sounded tired.

“Do you remember asking me if I knew how long you’ve been wanting to do this?”

He felt her nod, but she didn’t say anything.

“Do you remember what I said after that?”

Again she nodded.

“The lamp may have . . . helped things along? But it didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do. I was telling the truth. Were you?”

There it was, laid out in the open. The silence stretched out. He heard Lina take a deep breath as if to answer a couple of times, but each time she fell silent. Finally she answered. “It—the lamp—made me . . . feel . . . certain things stronger,” she slowly admitted. “It certainly made all my inhibitions go away,” she said with a soft laugh. “It made me feel . . . like I could never get enough . . . of . . . being with you like that . . .” She trailed off and was silent for a moment. “But no, it didn’t make me do anything. I wanted . . . I was telling the truth, too.” She squirmed a bit in his embrace and turned around, laying her head on his chest. “Did the lamp do anything to you?”

Gourry considered. “Well, I didn’t get your stamina, that’s for sure,” he said with a chuckle. “I think it might have made me a bit more aware of how incredibly sexy you are . . . but then again, maybe not.” He laughed again, thinking that they wouldn’t have gotten into this situation if he’d been watching his footing instead of her rear as they were walking in strange dimly lit corridors.

“Gourry?”

“What?”

“Would you kiss me? Right now I mean?” Her words came out in a rush.

He tilted her chin up and leaned down to tenderly claim her lips. There wasn’t much passion in his kiss—most of his passion had been expended in multiple efforts to keep up with a magically enhanced Lina—but he did put all of his feelings for her, all of his love, into it. She returned the kiss, at first tentatively, but with increasing confidence and an intensity that made him feel giddy.

Lina broke away first. “I think I liked that,” she said breathlessly as he stroked her cheek. “I think I liked that a lot.” She leaned her head back against his chest, and within moments, her breathing eased into the regular pattern of sleep.

From heaven to hell and back to heaven again. Gourry eased them back onto the cushions, and also allowed himself to succumb to a well-earned sleep, content with the knowledge that he held Lina Inverse in his arms at last.

Finit

Author's Notes: This particular fic was inspired by an off-hand comment someone made about Flam Gush, stating that it was a lemon with a plot (or maybe a plot with a lemon?), and wasn't something cheesy like Lina saying to Gourry, "Look, I just found the Super Sexy Lamp of Raunchy Lust. I wonder what'll happen if I rub it." I innocently inquired if such a story had been written, and the answer was no. Unfortunately, that got the creative juices flowing, and the images kept getting in the way of writing Flam Gush, so I gave in, and here's the result. I guess one should never argue with one's muse . . . although the lamp's name just had to change. I couldn't bring myself to write raunchy, no matter how hard I tried!

Thanks to Filing Sloth for beta-reading. Any mistakes you see are his fault! Just kidding. I take full responsibility. No really, I do!

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