Things were not going any better for Zelgadis in the last days. Amelia
was as usually clinging to his arm. And Zel knew that Lina was angry about
something although she doubted anyone else had noticed. Sylpheel and Gourry
seemed to have been making some progress in their relationship. And Xellos...
well, Xellos was the base of his problem. Xellos flirted with him continuously,
maybe that's what Lina was angry about, she didn't know Xellos was a woman.
And Xellos had told him and Sylpheel not to tell the others because she
wanted to do it herself, but to Zelgadis misfortune she hadn't done it
yet. He sighted.
The direct problem to Zelgadis was, that Xellos made him blush every
time. She was not annoying like Amelia, but it made him uncomfortable that
all the people around him beside Sylpheel, and probably Gourry too, thought
he was gay. And what made him even more uncomfortable was the fact that
he didn't mind her affection, her attention, and although he would never
admit it to himself, much less to others, he even liked it.
He had even stopped torching her every time she gave some weird comment.
He told himself that it was some of Gourry's cavalierly instincts that
had been passed to him.
"Zelgadis?" said a voice behind him.
He would have to develop a spell to keep her out of his sleeping quarters.
He turned around and saw Xellos floating in the middle of the air.
"Xell, you know I don't like it when y-" she put a hand to his lips.
"Sshhh.. let me finish, five days have passed since I told you I was,
well..." she smiled, “...female."
Zelgadis thought back to that night and blushed.
"Don't blush, I haven't done anything yet. I have given you time to
get used to the idea of me being my true self..." Xellos stood on the floor,
"What I wanted to tell you is..."
Xellos grabbed Zelgadis' shoulder so he wouldn't walk away and kissed
him right on the lips. After a few moments she let go of him and took a
step back. Her eyes were open and Zelgadis marveled the pretty amethyst
color. He was blushing and he felt very uncomfortable.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Xellos played with her fingers nervously.
"I... I wanted to know if maybe, someday you could feel about me the same
way I feel about you." Xellos looked down, whatever the answer was, she
would take it.
Zelgadis was at a loss, and he knew she needed an answer. She had said
she loved him, but Mazoku couldn't love... Zelgadis remembered the hopeful
look on her eyes as she had exposed her feelings. Xellos had shown him
weakness. What if this is all just a trick?... But was is there to win?
And besides Zelgadis liked her, her happy nature in contrast to his grim
one, and she was not so flighty as Amelia or so careless as Lina. That
is why he always argued with her, even when he didn't know she was a woman.
He wanted to convince himself that he hated her, dispised her because she
was a Mazoku.
But as she had, he would have to face his feelings sometime.
Xellos was loosing hope, but didn't dare to look up, for the first
time in her life she was afraid, afraid that he would hate her, or worse,
loved someone else.
She was considering the possibility to just disappear and to stop this
humiliation when she felt his hand lift her chin. He looked into her amethyst
eyes and for a moment her own emotions overwhelmed her.
Zelgadis slowly put his lips to hers, first it was a tender kiss as
if he didn't feel very sure about what he was doing but then he became
more secure and the kiss became....interesting. She put her hands behind
his neck as he put his on her back.
After they parted they stayed embraced and Zelgadis murmured in her
ear, "You know, I think I could love you two."
Xellos put her head on his shoulder and for the first time in many
years, she felt completely happy.