Poison Chapter 9

Author: Tsutsuji Title: Poison

Poison

Chapter
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Title: Poison (chapter 9 of 12 or so)
Author: Tsutsuji
Date written: July 18-23, 2005)
Fandom: Slayers
Rating: R for suggestiveness
Pairings: Zelgadis/Xelloss
Original characters: no
Type: yaoi/slash, adventure
Warnings: hurt/comfort, angst
Status: in progress.
Spoilers: no
Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to these characters and I'm making no profit from this fic and intend no copyright infringement.
Summary: An idyllic interlude, sort of, as Zelgadis (who is still in denial about the direction their relationship is taking) and Xelloss (who is actually clueless as well) take the scenic route to the Shrine City. And Zel learns a few more things about Mazoku and their sleeping habits that he didn't know.
AN: Edited version - I accidentally left out a bit of dialogue that needed to be in this chapter, which takes place just after they've arrived at the town of Underhill. Sorry about that! The new bit is marked with single asterisks (*) if you only want to read that part.
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Poison, chapter 9
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Zelgadis found the morning walk along the Drover's Road with Xelloss was nearly as peaceful and pleasant as the first part of their journey together had been. The water of the canal was a still mirror except when one of the few boats passed by, and the only people they passed were farmers who did no more than tip their heads in greeting.
Xelloss was quieter than he had been back when they started traveling together, although he did tell a few rude jokes about newlyweds which made Zelgadis wish he hadn't made his own little joke earlier. He knew the crude humor was meant to irritate him, just as it had been before. What bothered him more than Xelloss knew was the way those jokes seemed to mock what they'd done that morning.
Zelgadis found Xelloss' physical presence even more of a distraction now than he had before. Now he knew how that deceptively solid body felt against his, and how those smiling lips tasted and what they could do to him. But even more determinedly than before, he reminded himself that Xelloss was an illusion - a terribly attractive one, but still an illusion. Under those priest's robes there was nothing but a bodiless demon with a knack for manipulating people.
Even Xelloss' words about wanting Zelgadis meant less than they'd seemed to mean this morning, he realized. Like so many things Xelloss said, they didn't need to be an outright lie to be deceptive. No matter how good Xelloss had made him feel, all the Mazoku priest ever wanted from him was his dark emotions. Sex was just one more way of invoking them. It certainly didn't mean that he wanted Zelgadis in the same way that Zelgadis was beginning to want him. Even if Xelloss had been capable of feeling that kind of desire, no one, not even a demon, could possibly desire him in this monstrous body.
He tried to turn his thoughts to all Xelloss had told him about the Curse of Shimer, and to Zuller's words about the power of the Shrine. His anger at the Shrine Keeper returned in full force when the High Road came into view beyond the limits of Midtown. That was about the same time Xelloss stopped telling rude jokes and became quiet again.
They each glanced over at the High Road, which was little more than a quarter of a mile away. Zelgadis' eyes could see many faces still smiling as placidly as ever, but the crowd of travelers had thinned out a great deal after Midtown. Many pilgrims must have already found healing in the shops and stalls of the Relic sellers, Zelgadis thought with a bitter smile. Probably even more would find theirs in the Shrine City, leaving very few to visit the actual Shrine, as Zuller had said.
Xelloss didn't seem to be bothered by this reminder of their problems, however. In fact, he appeared quite content, as placid as the canal with his usual secretive smile.
"The people on the High Road really did get to you, didn't they?" Zelgadis said, half-teasingly. "I have to admit, I was never sure positive emotions affected you that much."
"As a matter of fact, they usually don't, although I certainly don't find it pleasant to have life-affirming slogans chanted in my face! It was worse than I thought it would be in the valley, though. It's not so much the happiness itself as the utter lack of negative, dark emotions that drains me. Even so, the effect is much more drastic since I can't draw on my usual reserves of power from the other realm. Now, after what you told me, I understand that it isn't the Relics themselves but their effect on the humans who wear them that creates this shield against negative emotions. No doubt that was Shimer's plan, which the Shrine Keepers have followed perfectly."
"Yes, they certainly have," Zelgadis muttered, remembering the insidious spells on the bracelet and Zuller's wheedling explanation. In spite of everything Xelloss had done, he still felt a great deal more trust and sympathy for the Mazoku priest than he did for the human Shrine Keeper. Maybe that only meant he was a fool, but he wouldn't know for certain if he was or not until he and Xelloss arrived at the Shrine.
Before midday, however, he realized that their pace was growing slower. Xelloss appeared to be fine, but his steps had started to lag again, so gradually that Zelgadis didn't notice at first. He'd thought that Xelloss had been exaggerating his weakness on the High Road, but now he guessed that, on the contrary, he was doing his best to hide it.
He remembered how Xelloss had managed to make their days short on the hike up the far side of the Haunted Ridge, making sure that they halted early each night before his true weakness started to show. That was before he'd been wounded a second time, and now, after his third encounter with Shimer's enchanted weapons, he was wearing out even more quickly.
Pretending not to notice anything, Zelgadis called for a break around noon. They stopped under the shade of a small tree that grew near one of the barge moorings. He sat on the low rail beside the barge path and watched a flock of workers loading a barge with sacks of beans and crates of fruit.
Xelloss stood nearby and stared silently across the flat land toward the High Road. It had drawn a little closer, Zelgadis realized, as both roads converged toward the hill in the middle of the plain, although they would never actually meet. Even so, it had become much easier to make out the flash of beads and gems on the travelers even without his enhanced sight. Someone with sharp enough eyes might look this way and recognize the figures of the Chimera and the Priest who had become so famous. At least he didn't see any of the Soldiers of Shimer marching away from the Shrine. It must have been luck that they hadn't met any of them until they came to Midtown, but that luck could run out again.
Nearer at hand, the bargeman flailed his arms and shouted instructions to the workers. Finally the woman driving the cart yelled back at him for ordering her crew around as if they didn't know their jobs. He swore at her; she swore back much more creatively while her crew hid their smiles and went on with their work. The bargeman threw up his hands and walked away, muttering under his breath.
Zelgadis saw that Xelloss had cocked his head to listen, as if he'd caught the sound of a lovely strain of music. Zelgadis nudged his arm.
"It looks like we've found our grumpy bargeman," he said.
Xelloss blinked at him in surprise. "Oh?"
"Why not? I could use a change from walking all the time, and we'll be less visible from the High Road in case any of our fan clubs are out looking for us. If we can persuade him to take us, that is."
Reeler, the bargeman, looked them up and down with a scowl on his weathered face when they asked to be taken along to Crystal River.
"M'not a taxi," he said gruffly. Then he muttered, "Can't afford to run them anymore anyways, what with all the fees going up all the time."
Xelloss held out a handful of coins. "Will this help with those fees that pesky council keeps raising?" he offered sweetly.
The bargeman's bushy, grey eyebrows shot up, but he hid his eagerness with a shrug. "I guess it could do for the trip up to the River," he said grudgingly. "Just climb in at the back, there, and don't go poking around in anything!"
Before long he pushed off from the mooring and headed out into the slow stream of the canal. They settled as comfortably as they could on sacks of beans near the back of the barge.
"How romantic!" Xelloss said, leaning back in his bean-sack seat.
"Don't talk like that, it doesn't suit you," Zelgadis muttered.
"Oh, but isn't that how newlyweds talk?"
"That was a joke," Zelgadis said irritably. "As if you didn't know."
"You mean we aren't newlyweds?" Xelloss asked with an exaggerated pout.
"Of course not!"
"Not even engaged?"
"No!"
Zelgadis stood and took a few steps away, thoroughly agitated by Xelloss' mockery. It didn't help a bit when he heard Xelloss chuckle softly behind him.
"Kari-sama was so right, you are adorable when you blush like that!"
Zelgadis turned around and glared. Xelloss leaned back with a contented sigh. Zelgadis gave up and stalked away, as well as one could stalk away while climbing over sacks of beans on a moving barge.
He stood still at the back of the barge and watched the water slip by in soft waves. The banks of the canal seemed to float past slowly. He could walk faster than this barge was moving, and normally they would have reached Crystal River much earlier than the innkeeper had estimated. But if Xelloss continued to slow their pace, they wouldn't have reached their destination by nightfall, if they reached it at all. He had a fleeting thought of going on to the Shrine by himself, but he knew he wouldn't do that now, no matter how much Xelloss irritated him. Not unless Xelloss really did lie down and die on the way.
That thought replaced his irritation with a cold chill. He shook his head at himself. What was happening to the cold-hearted sorcerer-swordsmen he'd always meant to be? He couldn't fool himself with that idea, though. He'd only ever been hotheaded around Xelloss, and now that heat was turning into something else entirely, no matter how much he knew better.
After a while he gave up brooding and went back to sit out the rest of the ride. He stopped short when he came in sight of Xelloss leaning back against his bean-sack pillow, hands relaxed around the staff resting across his lap, hair falling into his eyes... fast asleep.
Zelgadis stared down at him for a minute. Once again he had to fight the urge to stroke his dark hair and touch his face, but it was so much stronger now it made his fingers twitch.
"Damn Mazoku," he muttered in a voice as soft as the water lapping the sides of the barge.
He drew his eyes away with an effort. Reeler stood nearby, leaning against a crate and gazing at the featureless landscape as if it had suddenly become immensely interesting. The man scratched the back of his neck and muttered something even Zelgadis couldn't hear, but the corner of his mouth twitched as if something was trying to tug it upward against his will.
Zel watched curiously for a few seconds, wondering what he'd seen that had him muttering again, but Reeler fell silent. Deciding it was nothing but Reeler's habit, he went to sit beside Xelloss on the sacks of beans. Xelloss sighed a little in his sleep and his fingers twitched, but he didn't show any signs of waking up.
Sitting there beside him and staring at nothing, Zelgadis felt his skin prickle a moment later. He glanced up to catch the bargeman watching them out of the corner of his eye. His mouth still twitched; he seemed both irritated and amused. In fact, he had a look in his eye very much like the one the innkeepers had given them this morning. Zel groaned inwardly when he finally realized what Reeler must be thinking.
He had no idea why the bargeman would think that, though. The man couldn't possibly know how much he was fighting the desire to put his arms around Xelloss and pull him close. Xelloss must have made some suggestive comment while he was off brooding. At least the man wasn't leering, as he probably would be doing if he'd heard one of Xelloss' jokes.
Zelgadis clenched his fists in his lap. There was no way he was going to do anything that might confirm the bargeman's opinion of their relationship. Unless...
Unless there was a purely practical excuse to do what he wanted to do anyway. Maybe it was Xelloss' turn to wake up to a little surprise, after all.
Careful not to awaken the sleeping Mazoku, he slid his arm around him and gently pulled him over to rest his head on Zel's shoulder. He knew his stony shoulder didn't make a very soft pillow, but somehow he didn't think Xelloss would mind. Watching the bargeman out of the corner of his eye, he rested his chin on the soft hair and sighed loud enough to be heard over the gurgle of the water.
The bargeman rolled his eyes and turned away, muttering words that Zel caught easily: "All over each other... no modesty... s'pose I should stop 'em or somethin'..." He didn't do anything of the sort, but he had a sentimental gleam in his eye when he snuck another look at them. Zelgadis grinned smugly against Xelloss' hair, a grin worthy of the Trickster Priest himself.
To make sure he didn't defeat the purpose of the exercise, he murmured affectionately against Xelloss hair. "You damn, disgusting, lying, annoying heap of garbage!" he said sweetly while thinking of one of those times he'd been tempted to rip Xelloss limb from limb. The bargeman heard the tone but not the words' he shook his head and walked away still muttering. Xelloss, on the other hand, sighed happily in his sleep.
He remained that way, asleep or in whatever state passed for sleep with one of his kind, while the afternoon wore on. Zelgadis watched as the brown smudge on the land ahead became the roofs and low buildings of a town. It looked shabby even from this distance, in contrast to the crystal towers gleaming on the hill behind it.
Xelloss finally stirred at the sound of voices from one of the mooring docks they floated past. By that time he'd slid lower until he was nearly lying with his head in Zel's lap. Zelgadis was gratified by the look of confusion that appeared on his face when he found himself looking up into Zel's smiling eyes. Zel touched a finger to his lips and his eyebrows shot upward.
"Zelgadis-san? Did I miss something important?"
"I had some time to think while you were resting so soundly," Zelgadis said softly. "Besides the fact that our bargeman friend finds it amusing, it occurred to me that there might be a good reason for letting people think we're newlyweds, or about-to-be-weds, after all."
"A good reason?" Xelloss seemed a bit distracted by the way Zel's finger traced the curve of his mouth.
"You're going to the Shrine undercover, aren't you? What better disguise for a Mazoku than as part of a romantic couple? After all, everyone knows your kind can't fall in love."
Xelloss stared up at him silently for a second, then he reached up to take Zel's hand and kiss his fingertips. "I see. I've been a very good influence on you, haven't I!"
Zel huffed indignantly. "The gods know why I should go out of my way to help you like this," he muttered.
Xelloss grimaced at the mention of the gods. "Is that a nice thing to say to your sweetheart?"
He sat up and leaned in with one arm braced across Zelgadis so they were face to face. Zel wasn't surprised that he was already taking advantage of his idea. He'd expected no less, but he wasn't planning to let it go too far -- only far enough to keep Zuller and anyone else at the Shrine off their guard until they found what they were looking for. Naturally, Xelloss wouldn't see it that way.
A gloved finger touched the bits of stone on his face before trailing down to his throat. Zel didn't flinch and managed to hide the shiver the caress inspired, even when Xelloss sent a spark of heat into his skin and leaned in closer. Zel let his eyes drift closed and leaned forward just a little, as if inviting a kiss.
Just before their lips touched, they were startled apart by a sharp, grumpy voice.
"Hey, now, enough of that, you lovebirds! Save it for the honeymoon suite, will ya?"
Reeler trailed off into more grumbling and head shaking. Zelgadis chuckled as Xelloss drew back with a sly look in his eyes.
"Ah, if only the circumstances were different, Zel-kun," he said quietly. "I would never let a fool like that stop me!"
Zel did shiver then, but Xelloss turned away and settled beside him on the sacks of beans with his arm around Zel's shoulders.
"Forgive our eagerness, Reeler-sama," he said with the utmost politeness. "We've waited so long for this chance to be together! How much longer will it be before we reach that town, may I ask?"
"We'll meet the River in a bit over an hour," Reeler answered gruffly. "After that, a little longer while we cross to unload at the docks in Underhill. It'll be getting dark by the time we get tied up at dock. Planning to stay the night in town there? "
"Why, yes, I suppose we should, and then go on to the Shrine in the morning," Xelloss said. "Wouldn't you agree, Zel-kun?"
Zelgadis smiled just as sweetly as Xelloss had spoken.
"I suppose we can wait one more night before we start our new lives at the Shrine," he said.
"Doesn't look much like waiting to me," Reeler muttered under his breath, obviously not intending they should hear that part.
"My father's cousin has a boarding house not far from the docks," Reeler went on in a normal voice. "Nothing fancy, you see, but fair enough of a place for a night or two. Underhill doesn't have any fancy places anymore; my aunt Rita's place is about as good as any you'll find there."
"Isn't Underhill where all the famous jewelers live and work?" Xelloss asked curiously. "I thought it would be the most splendid town in the Valley!"
"T'was, once. Not many of the great craftspeople live there anymore, though. Stuff is made all over the Valley, mostly piecework done by farmers who can't afford to farm anymore. They don't make the Jewels of Shimer the way they used to, you should know. Not much left to Underhill but the loading docks where the things are brought to be blessed at the Shrine and then shipped out to the merchants."
He settled against his crate again and scowled down at them. "My mother was the last in a long line of crafters who made the finest old silver pieces you ever saw, but they don't care for fine work anymore, just fast work. Aunt Rita says it doesn't much matter what it looks like. She's got the ugliest rings on her fingers I ever saw, my mother would retch at the sight of 'em, but she says they took all the stiffness right out of her bones as soon as she put 'em on, and she won't part with 'em for anything. Blessed Power of Shimer, she says! Well, he may have blessed power but he didn't have a blessed bit of taste, and no respect for good work. She says I should try 'em for my sore back, but my mother would curse me from her grave if I did"
He frowned at them as if he expected them to argue about it. Zelgadis wasn't about to argue in favor of the Relics, but he was interested to hear yet more evidence of the Shrine Keepers' greed and its ill effect on the inhabitants of the valley. Seeing him scowl at the bargeman's words, Xelloss patted his arm reassuringly, like a fussy old aunt himself.
"How much further is it to the Shrine from Aunt Rita's place?" Zelgadis asked.
"I've never been up to Crystal City," the man said, "But I guess it's not much more than an hour or so on strong legs. There's a winding old road up from Underhill, or you can go down south a bit and join the High Road near the bridge and go right into the city that way. There might still be a taxi-boat running down the river from Underhill to the bridge; a few merchants who still deal with the old crafters in town go that way now and then."
They thanked him for his information. With one last scowl to threaten them to behave themselves, he lumbered off to check on their progress and get his cargo ready for unloading.
*
The lamps were already lit in the streets of Underhill when they said farewell to Reeler and set out from the dock to look for Aunt Rita's boarding house. Above them on the hill, the light of the setting sun made the crystal towers of Shimer's city look like they'd been set on fire. Xelloss grinned when he saw this.
"Considering how much your kind hates Shimer," Zelgadis asked, "wouldn't it have saved a lot of trouble if you'd just destroyed both of his shrines ages ago?"
"There was no specific reason to do so, as far as we knew. Destroying a shrine that commemorates a mere mortal would have meant admitting Shimer had been a real threat to us. It would have been beneath our dignity to do so!"
"Mazoku logic!" Zelgadis snorted. "Your pride worked against you this time. Come to think of it, Shimer probably counted on that. He knew you wouldn't destroy the source of the Curse, at least not until it had time to grow and spread among you, By then, he thought, you'd already be too weak to do it. Quite clever of him, actually."
"Please! I feel horrible enough as it is without being forced to admit that a mere human outwitted my entire race!"
"He hasn't succeeded yet," Zelgadis said.
"Ah," Xelloss sighed quietly. "But neither have I."
Zelgadis chuckled. He still doubted Shimer's real power was all that impressive, in spite of the Soldiers and their mysterious weapons. He'd been in enough battles against the Mazoku and seen Xelloss in action often enough to know which side he would bet on when it came down to it.
"I'm sure you'll manage to destroy this thing, one way or another," he said reassuringly.
However, thinking of this and seeing the crystal city reminded Zelgadis that they had no idea what they would find when the got there. They didn't even know what the Shrine of Shimer actually was; no one had ever described it. Would they find an ordinary object, a great jewel or crystal, or a kiln in which the strange weapons were forged? Or maybe a statue of Shimer himself in all his ridiculous finery? It could be nearly anything in which Shimer had placed his power. They wouldn't know until tomorrow when the Chief Shrine Keeper led them to it.
*
Like any port town built in the bend of a river, the streets of Underhill ran in all directions and criss-crossed each other at random, but they found Rita's place quickly enough from Reeler's directions. The boarding house was as brown and dingy as the rest of the town, a narrow, two story building with only one light burning in a downstairs window. It didn't look promising, but they didn't care to hunt around for any better place to spend the night.
Rita was an old woman, still bent with age in spite of the many Relics on her fingers, but her eyes sparkled when she saw them come in together. She looked them up and down as Reeler had done, only with less suspicion, and her face crinkled happily when they mentioned his name.
"Well, nice of the boy to send me some business! I don't see travelers from out of town too often anymore. You're out of your way a bit if you're headed to the Shrine, you know!"
"The High Road is so crowded with people," Xelloss said fussily, "And besides, we wanted a little time alone together. Isn't that so, Zel-kun?"
Zel nearly choked when Xelloss somehow managed to flutter his eyelashes without quite revealing his eyes. He grimaced back as sweetly as he could manage. Aunt Rita giggled.
"Oh, my, my! Well, you two won't be the first to make your vows together at the Shrine! You know, some folks say - well, I don't know if it's true or not! - but they used to say Shimer had a boyfriend once upon a time. Some say he died of a curse of dark magic or was killed by a demon, and some say he was sickly with some trouble in his heart. That's supposed to be why Shimer became a healer and fought all those monsters, because of having a broken heart after his sweetheart died!"
Zelgadis' jaw dropped. Xelloss looked just as surprised but much more amused.
"Now, there's something I never knew about Shimer!" Xelloss said happily. "Imagine that!"
Aunt Rita handed them a key from behind her desk and winked at them. "Mind you, I don't know if it's true! Maybe it's just a romantic tale someone dreamed up way back when. All the girls swooned over Shimer, you know, and a few boys did too. He was such a fine-looking, kindly, brave young man. But it's a fact he never married, so there you are!"
Zelgadis couldn't understand why this story brought the bounce back to Xelloss' step, but it certainly seemed to do so. Rita came hobbling around the desk to show them to their room on the second floor, but they waved her back and insisted that she didn't need to climb the stairs for them. She sank gratefully back into her chair.
Xelloss trotted up the stairs and Zelgadis followed more slowly. He was starting to wish that they'd gone on up the hill tonight, or at the very least, that they'd taken separate rooms. He shouldn't have let Xelloss sleep so long on the barge; he was all too lively and full of mischief now for Zel's comfort.
He paused in the doorway to their room. Xelloss stood just inside, fist pressed to his mouth to try and hide the biggest grin Zelgadis had ever seen on him. That didn't bode well. He peered cautiously into the room.
"What is so amusing.... oh."
The room was small, with flowered curtains in a window, silk flowers in a vase on the dresser, and a flowered spread on the one and only bed - and that wasn't very big, either. It was probably Rita's romantic idea of a honeymoon suite, he thought with a sigh, but at least it wasn't decorated with lace and heart-shaped pillows.
Xelloss gave up trying to hide his amusement and stood back with a gesture for Zel to enter the room. Just as he crossed the threshold, Xelloss turned away to sweep off his cloak and toss it onto the room's single chair along with his staff. He whirled around again to shove the door closed and trap Zel against it.
"I like playing this newlywed game," he said in a breathy voice in Zel's face.
Zel froze and cursed himself for letting this happen. But he was only fooling himself, and not very well at that. He'd known perfectly well what might happen when they were alone again. He'd done nothing to avoid it.
"We're not..." he began, but Xelloss stopped him with a fingertip to his lips.
"Of course not," he said. "But I'm going to kiss you anyway, my foolish Chimera."
Zelgadis didn't have breath enough to protest when Xelloss' finger slipped away to be replaced by his lips. Surprisingly gentle, challenging him to resist, Xelloss sucked on his lip and nipped very lightly with his teeth. Zelgadis flattened himself back against the door; he could burst backward through it to get away, if it came to that. But when Xelloss pressed against him he lost control of his hands. Instead of pushing the priest away as he intended, they went around Xelloss' waist to pull him closer.
It was no good, Zelgadis realized. He couldn't even muster up enough anger to hide his desire, and when Xelloss discovered those feelings inside him, he would probably laugh triumphantly. Then there would be no end to the mockery and torment. But for the moment it didn't matter. He clutched convulsively at Xelloss' back, and in response, Xelloss plastered himself more firmly against Zel and deepened the kiss. Xelloss began to squirm and roll against him, making sure he could feel just how trapped he was.
Suddenly, Zelgadis discovered something else he'd never known about Mazoku. He gasped at the feel of something stiff poking him in the hip. His eyes flew wide open and he jerked his head back so fast that some of his hair got stuck in the door.
"Is that real?" he sputtered.
Xelloss chuckled low in his throat. "Do you mean this?" he answered, rubbing himself against Zel's leg so that the bulge was even more noticeable. "No, of course not! It's just a pole I borrowed from the bargeman!"
He slipped his hand behind Zel's head and gently tugged him free of the door, leaving a few strands of hair behind, and then pressed his lips against Zel's cheek.
"I said I wanted you, didn't I? I hope you didn't think that was a joke as well."
"I didn't... " Zel began. But that was exactly what he had been thinking. "I didn't think it was possible for you to want anyone that way."
That had been his last defense, that Xelloss had no human body and couldn't feel this kind of desire, and now it crumbled beneath his fingertips as they slipped from Xelloss' waist up under his shirt, and found smooth skin over rippling muscle and solid bone. But it wasn't only this physical evidence that finally convinced him Xelloss meant what he said. It was the hungry way he said the words, with a touch of regret, as if he knew he shouldn't want Zelgadis like this but couldn't help himself. It was the way he held Zel's face in his hands now, his mouth hovering near Zel's lips as if he was teasing himself with what he shouldn't have.
"You also said that if I wanted you, it wouldn't be any good for you," Zelgadis reminded him in a whisper, letting their lips brush together as he spoke. "If that's true, we have a problem...." He moved against Xelloss until that surprising hardness met his own. "... Because I do want you, Xelloss. Did you think it was only because you tricked me into feeling this way? It isn't, damn you..."
Xelloss paused with his eyebrows raised but his eyes closed. Zelgadis gave in to the desire he'd been trying to hide so that the Mazoku could feel it. Xelloss smiled slowly.
"I wondered why you weren't furious after what I did to you this morning!" he murmured. "And how you managed to tease me.... I thought you hated me far too much for this, Zelgadis-san."
"I can hate you if you want me to. If that's what'll make it good for you..."
He bit Xelloss' lip, and suddenly they were locked in a bruising kiss as if trying to devour each other, fingers digging into each other's flesh, and then Zelgadis pulled Xelloss to the side and they were falling onto that one bed which didn't seem too small after all.
---
To be continued....
Next: Now that they've both finally got a clue, what are they going to do with it? Naturally, they're going to make the most of the time they've got before heading for the Shrine in the morning to face whatever awaits them there! (Who needs sleep, anyway?)

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