A/N: A bittersweet Amelia and Zelgadis ditty that's set after restoring Taforashia and a take of what happened before they parted ways. To me, it seemed in Revolution/Evolution-R, they appeared more comfortable with each other, becoming better friends and comrades in battle. I just love these two as individual characters and them as a couple that I couldn't help myself but write something solely for them.

Again, I ask that you please be gentle with me if you decide to review. As I am getting into the series, writing for them is still new to me. But like I've said before, I hope to improve with every Slayers related story. :)

Thank you for checking out my work, and please enjoy and relish all the ZelAme goodness! ;)

DISCLAIMER: The Slayers belongs to Hajime Kanzaka, Funimation, and J.C. Staff.

Sun and Moon

Oneshot

There was an uneasiness that stirred inside Amelia.

She smiled a little; a bittersweet one at that, that bloomed at the sight of her bodyguard's reserve of seriously handling his position as they stood out on her balcony of her bedroom. He was looking out for her, even when there wasn't danger approaching. That was however, to be expected. Zelgadis was a naturally guarded creature; hiding beneath a rock from the judgmental eyes of society, like the stones sitting upon his skin and so cold like the smooth surface outstanding the moors in which they lay on. He was exquisitely aloof from the hustle and bustle of the world, and so deeply submersed in his own tribulations and sorrow that sometimes it was impossible to reach out to him with a friendly hand. As if he was detaching himself on purpose.

Yet Amelia loved him nonetheless.

Slowly, the princess trailed her eyes back up at her buttoned-up protector, her soft smile growing as her eyes fixated on his. "It's nice to be home," she at last declared, an attempt at lightening the atmosphere in her voice.

Zelgadis nodded, still looking ahead. "Yeah, it is."

"I think Miss Lina and Mister Gourry are set to leave tomorrow," Amelia went on, a small laugh escaping between her soft pink lips. "Especially after all they ate!"

"They are notorious for having bottomless stomachs," he replied, sounding distracted as if not fully engaged in the conversation.

Silently distracted by the cobalt eyes he lingered to, like an animal driven for a need to quench his thirst in a cool, cascading, and pure river. Without trying, Amelia managed to capture his gaze fully, and simultaneously plunged into the hues of his pupils that shielded his deepest emotions. Breaking apart the shield, he had slowly but surely allowed the princess permission to plummet into the chaos of his soul. To be permitted to entangle the strained and tearing strings of his heart, and to mend them with her gentle touch and whispers of encouraging loving words. Amelia was the friend Zelgadis wished he had crossed paths with sooner, though quietly thankful he had met her when he did than never at all.

She was- "Miss Sunshine", as he so sarcastically called her when they were trapped in the cycle of shifting rooms at the hands of Eris and Koppi Rezo nearly four years ago. Though now, Zelgadis had not reconsidered his labeling of her, but the connotation behind it. It was no longer demeaning but... genuine. Genuine, and befitting in the most positive light, and Zelgadis wouldn't want Amelia any other way. She was one of the very few people he knew who was honest with herself, and wasn't afraid of being who she was and expressing it. And now, she was showing him even in his chimera skin that he shouldn't be afraid to, as she put it, "shine". Shine not brightly like the sun she naturally was, but as the moon. The eerie haunting glow that illuminated itself on a darkened earth, and sat alone in blackness with only glistening stars as company.

But Zelgadis despised sitting alone in darkness.

Despised the blue skin his soul was secured in, no matter how strong he had become because of it. He wanted to feel things to the fullest. One being the smoothness and softness of pure human flesh; to have his pale coloring skim gracefully across his cheekbones, for razor sharp fingernails to be nonexistent, for his hearing to fade back into a basic function rather than listening for keen sounds no one else could hear, and to run his hands through luxurious locks of soft not wiry strands of periwinkle hair... Zelgadis hated how this body was preventing him from being with her, from giving himself fully to her without complications. So he wanted. He wanted so badly that-

He wished not to gawk in the mirror and utterly hate his reflection, but to see his old self again for more than just his own selfish desire. But for the possible happiness he was in reach of being blessed with. The happiness he could give to another who deserved the world and more. Who he treasured to the moon and back.

Still, even if it was true- that Zelgadis would never find the cure he prayed nightly for then... What would happen if Amelia invited him and his weapon of a body to blend with her? For his moonlight to obscure her shimmering rays of sun? For them to make something new entirely, whether dangerous or not for their impending futures?

Something that could be wondrous...

Just as slowly as he gleamed at the princess, Zelgadis ventured his eyes back to the flourishing gardens and kept his stoic expression keen and precise. But he couldn't repress a heavy sigh through his nostrils.

What was he going to do next?

Amelia wasn't certain, and seeing him fall silent again caused her anxiety to stab her in the gut once more. She had to say something. If he wasn't going to jump at the chance, then she might as well get it over with. After all, it probably wasn't going to be a bed full of roses.

"So..." Her voice lingered with qualm seeping through her expression, soon looking to her friend as if she hoped he'd finish her sentence. But he didn't. So, she spoke. "What now?" Amelia bravely questioned. "Now that Taforashia is restored and Mister Rezo said..."

It was a question that had been nagging at him since the ending of the epic battle with Shabranigdo, though he could never fully prepare himself for the internal reaction.

A jab at Zelgadis's sluggish healing heart was faced with at the mere mention of his finally deceased great-grandfather. A splatter of rich blood squirted from the organ as the recollection of that horrific night took place, though a week ago it was now, it was still nevertheless heart-wrenching. To hear The Great Sage Rezo confess of carrying no knowledge on restoring his grandson's body to its original form even with the Claire Bible. It tore Zelgadis to pieces so violently, he broke down without a care of the eyes watching him or the reflection upon his mind and soul. None of it mattered. At that moment, it was the end. The end of the shard of hope he still held onto. Now on the other hand... Something- something had resurfaced.

"I think... I think I'm going to take a leave of absence," Zelgadis finally announced, his voice slightly lightening. "But- just for a while."

The princess's brows rose, another surge of worry striking her petite body. "How long is awhile?" she asked meekly.

A few weeks were one thing- but months? Amelia could wait. She could discipline and keep herself very much entertained with work. She was capable of waiting like humans naturally were, but could she tolerate staring out her balcony anxiously for a hooded figure to walk through the garden more than she already had? Only to realize no one was coming?

"Not long. I'll take a boat, check out a few leads, and see how it goes from there. I can't waste my whole life doing this, especially if there is no answer... I'm just- I'm just not ready to give up," he confessed, though he felt foolish for saying such. "It's- complicated."

Living on unspoken understandings, though it still felt as if they were walking on eggshells whenever their future was brought up, what would soon come and who would be where doing what...

Amelia broke out a gentle smile. "You don't have to explain."

Then, the smile began to shrivel, not because she didn't accept his explanation but because it saddened her to some extent.

Amelia didn't want to see him go. She didn't want to go down with him to the closest dock, watch the sails rise, watch him pull out his navigation equipment, watch him place his one bag on board, and then for him to look at her with a distant goodbye...For her to place one of her blue-orb bracelets in his hand, and the feeling of tears forming would come and how she'd have to viciously fight back before making an embarrassing spectacle of herself...

She didn't want to be forgotten and fade away like mulch decomposing into the earth. If she was to decompose, then she preferred to blend. Blend with someone who she loved earnestly and could start fresh with her like the new growth sprouting from the earth because of the nutrients it so naturally received.

To blend with someone who needed her. Who would forever be by her side.

But Amelia knew what needed to be done. If it was to bring Zelgadis closure, in the most positive or negative light, then he needed it. Then she wouldn't stand in his way or hold him back. After all, Amelia would always support him through thick and thin, even if it meant that- that her most idealistic dreams would forever remain dreams. His happiness would be enough in itself, especially if she could help give it to him. That was a reward in itself.

And she wasn't ready to give up hope on Zelgadis's cure either. Amelia must have drilled some optimism in that thick methodical skull of his for her usually doubtful friend to want to take another swing. Then again, when Zelgadis was set on a goal, he was set on it. He was driven like that, and made him all the more admirable in that he never was ready to quit without a fight. Some might call it stubborn, but Amelia called it determined. Determined with a cause and a purpose, and hopeful for an indisputable result that could only bring prosperity. That was only to be expected. Being weighed down for too long could either sink a person or force them to kick in the adrenaline and try to swim. Zelgadis still wanted to swim, and Amelia wanted to be the waves that made that possible.

So she'd let him go and seek.

"I understand." Amelia appeared both sincerely understanding and unlikely to protest, though vulnerable all the same.

Zelgadis observed her carefully as her eyes fell to the cement of the balcony, gleaming at the specks of granite in the profoundly hard surface. There was still one feeling riding inside of her. And it needed to be expressed desperately.

Swallowing, Amelia looked back to him and her eyes quivered, similar to when they departed after their great adventure in the Outer World. Though this time, they were filled with something a tad stronger.

"You will come back, won't you Mister Zelgadis?" Amelia soon asked, the question and now the impending answer that had bothered her terribly.

Abandoning his post as Amelia's bodyguard was never Zelgadis's intention. He liked his job more than any other job he had, and for various reasons at that. That and he had nowhere else to go, no place to call home... But Amelia had given him a home; a warm place where people cared about him, listened to him, and accepted him. And because of that, he'd cross dangerous oceans just to see her again. To be the one for that beautiful smile to appear on her round impish face.

When he'd look to the sun, watch the seagulls fly overhead, he'd think of her, and how she'd be patiently waiting for him like the unmovable rocks on his skin. Never did Zelgadis think that someone like her would come into his life, teach him lessons, provide him reassurance and guidance, and possibly end up falling for his blue flesh and all... She had rewritten his life by simply being his friend, and changed him in the process leaving her loving hand print directly on his steady recovering heart.

Zelgadis's lips pursed with a faint grin. "That's a promise."

Amelia's grin widened with both relief, and glee, though she kept her enthusiasm at bay. "Then here," she said, reaching out her right hand. "I want you to take my bracelet with you again," the princess offered promptly, slipping her prized possession off her small wrist. "I want to be guaranteed that you'll come back in one piece. Please?"

She enclosed her hand gently in his as the accessory was nestled in his strong grasp, thought it seemed Amelia was not fully ready to draw back her hand. There was no sense in fighting Amelia's token of affection, and Zelgadis found it would be strange to leave Seyruun without it. It was more than just a reminder of her presence. He had kept it so long through his travels in the dessert, Zelgadis swore every time he looked at the bracelet was a reminder to keep moving, to not give up, to help "cheer him up", as Amelia originally put it the first time around. As if she was still there insisting the truth, justice, and love would prevail against all standing odds. It kept his mind focused and provided him with a shimmer of light when his spirits were severely deprived of confidence in his search. Even though while it aided Zelgadis's weakening emotions, it could never fully remedy his situation.

Now that the chimera thought about it, he never understood why she was so insistent on giving him the bracelet in the first place. But now...

"I promise, Amelia," Zelgadis repeated again, clenching the pink thick band tightly.

Finally, Amelia's hand pulled away and fell back to her side.

They stared at each other, not knowing who was thinking what. But knowing how they felt.

At that moment, Zelgadis promised a thousand times to Amelia silently, and then a thousand times again; because as he held onto that bracelet, he swore he would never break a promise to his princess no matter what the future entailed.

No matter if he was to be forever cursed.

FIN