Story Title:
Celebration? Fandom: Slayers
Characters: Lina/Gourry
Summary: A request from
pharoah999!
Writer's Note: Written just for Pharoah999. She always gets me to write Slayers. I can't say I mind too much.
Warning: Occurs during my series and contains spoilers. It has no reference or relation to Revolution or Evolution.
"So... Gourry... Here's the thing." Lina's voice was tentative, a strange tone to be heard from her, but it wasn't something she found she could help. The news she had could be either good or bad, depending on the person receiving it, and while she was sure it was good, she wondered if somehow, it was bad.
"Mm," Gourry murmured in response, unaware of the internal trepidation his wife was struggling with. All he cared about was buffing out the dent in the pitchfork for one of their customers, a particularly irritable farmer who lived a few blocks down but who paid really well.
"So, you know how things have been lately," Lina went on, her hands fussing with the front of her shirt nervously - yet another strange thing to see.
"Mm," he replied helpfully.
"Or do you? Are you even aware of anything?" she suddenly snapped, his indifference turning her mood caustic.
"I'm aware that you're upset about something," he answered absently, in the same tone of voice. She sighed. Trust him to be observant while being distracted, she thought.
"Yeah," she agreed in defeat, unsure if she could manage a plausible lie, anyway. "And you know how we've been sort of... idle? Or, er, maybe not idle, really, but, you how things have been... quiet?"
Gourry raised his head, his eyes round and wide. He stared at her. "Did I just hear you babble?" he demanded.
Lina went red, the heat in her face matching the heat of her temper. "Shut up! Just answer yes or no!"
Gourry lowered the fork, clearly understanding that not only was this weird, but it was something he needed to pay attention to. "Yes, I can agree with you things have been quiet... mostly."
Lina raised a brow. "Mostly?"
He smiled easily. "Well, you're pretty loud on your own."
Her eyes narrowed. "I see you're looking to get your ass kicked."
He smiled innocently. She sighed and decided to get to it. "Look, Gourry... You and I have been alone for a while, now, right?"
He nodded. "It feels like forever!"
"Flattering," she said sourly. "And while I know we've gotten used to it, things... kind of change."
"How so?" he wondered, blinking slowly.
Lina fidgetted again, looking down. Her cheeks went pink. "Uhm, so... you remember a few months ago, in Sairaag?"
Gourry blinked again. "Sairaag?"
"Yeah," she agreed. "When we went to see Sylphiel, and they were celebrating the completion of the new city, and there was lots of partying and drinking, and..." She cleared her throat. "We both got drunk?"
"Ohhh," Gourry's eyes focussed, and he smiled. "Yeah, that was a lot of fun."
"Yes, well," Lina scowled at him, "we got a more permanent reminder of that night than the extremely fat innkeeper bills."
"I don't remember anything like that," he admitted. "Did it cost extra?"
Lina was so thrown by this that she answered truthfully. "It will, eventually. But I think we can manage."
"I honestly don't remember anything like that at all!" Gourry admitted, surprising no one.
Lina's patience finally snapped. It was a marvel it hadn't sooner. "You idiotic jellyfish!" she snarled, lunging forward and grabbing onto the front of his shirt, yanking him to his feet. "I'm knocked up, you oblivious little moron."
Gourry blinked in that slow way once more. "I don't think I know what that means!"
"Pregnant," she elaborated. "With child. Going to have a baby. Giving birth in nine months." The words were fired out between her teeth.
Gourry stared, the colour leaving his face with each word. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then, very meekly, Gourry said, "What does that have to do with Sairaag?"
She threw him down onto the floor and shrieked something incomprehensible. He winced, rubbing his backside, scrambling to conclude what the connection was.
Drunk. Parties. Innkeeping bill. Baby?
Oh.
Oh...
Gourry's face went scarlet. "I thought we had been safe that time!" he yelped.
Lina laughed bitterly. "The first time? Yes. The second, third, and fourth times? No!"
"Was it really that many times?" Gourry wondered, sounding suddenly very impressed. "And we were both drunk? That's awesome."
"Gourreeee!" Lina cried, sounding like he had stepped on her.
"Linaaaa!" he replied cheerfully, throwing his arms out. "We're pregnant! We're going to have a baby!"
He sounded so cheerful and genuine that she froze, her foot raised to kick him in the face. "You sound happy!" she accused. "Is this a trick?"
"No!" he answered. "Hug me!"
She did, spitefully at first, but then gradually relaxing when she realised that this (probably) wasn't a trick. "So... you're not scared?" she mumbled into his shoulder.
"Oh, I'm scared," Gourry replied, his voice soft and warm. Lina burrowed closer. "But it's a good kind of scared."
She smiled. "Yeah," she agreed. "Me, too."