Summary: Xelloss proposes an interesting arrangement with Lina and Zelgadis. Xelloss/Lina/Zelgadis

Author's Notes: This is a story with a group relationship in mind that will turn explicit in later chapters. There will also be eventual sado-masochism, bondage, and other things like that (there's a demon involved in this after all). If that bothers you I suggest you turn around now. But don't worry! There's also romance and emotional fluffy stuff too. There is also quite a bit of slapstick humor and snarky back and forth.

This story takes place some time after all the anime series and when Lina is 19.

There are some original characters, but I assure you, they exist only as talking plot devices or for Lina and co. to kick their butts. All romantically mentioned pairings (or trios) are canon characters.

I've given you the necessary warnings so flames are not welcome. However, constructive criticism is welcome, but please be polite about it.

UPDATE - October 2019 - Holy crap! After five years I'm FINALLY continuing this story again. It's been my biggest guilty unfinished project and I have been meaning to work on it again for a long time. Lots and lots of life stuff has happened in the last five years but I'll skip that and just tell you I'm going to try and finally finish this story!

I've gone through the existing chapters and fixed a few glaring things too. There are still some grammar and misspelled things here and there. I know. I reread the story before I picked up where I left off with the writing but didn't read it in the editor, so I know they exist but only went to fix the stuff that really bugged me (I also have two places where this story is located so trying to make tiny fixes is doubly annoying). Also, so I don't burn myself out just with corrections and editing prose, I'll leave any huge overhauls for after I finish the story if there's enough people interested in reading a more polished version. Hopefully there are some of you out there that are still interested to see how this ends! I'm sorry I have been taking so long and I hope I can finally finish this story! To let you know.. at 17 chapters in.. this story is probably only about halfway done lol. So it's still going to be a while yet before I'm finished, even with actively writing.

I AM ON ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN. Please find me over there! My user name is also Aachi over on Ao3. Over there, I can actually insert links and add pictures to stories and now that I'm drawing again too I will probably be adding some pictures to the story every now and then. I've also got a couple of short Bungo Stray Dogs stories up over there that I wrote to get me into writing again that are not here on . I will continue to update Raspberry Cravings here but any new stories will be only on Ao3 so be sure to check it out.

Update - November 2014 - I'm FINALLY continuing this story and I felt that to go along with that I needed to revise the chapters that are already up as well (chapters 1-13). If you've already read what I've had up of this story and you don't want to re-read all 13 chapters before the long-time-coming 14th chapter, you don't need to worry. All the revisions are just sentence fluency, grammar, more scene details and such. There's no big story changes in the revisions or anything.

Also, for this story, I should point out that I went with the manga in regards to Pakota. Like it's mentioned, he's in Duclis' human body rather than like in the anime where he ended up still being a plushie. If you haven't seen manga Duclis, you should. He's drawn cute :D

Be sure to check out my Slayers drawings that go with this story and the Xelloss sculpture I made back when this story was new. There's a link on my profile. You can also get there by just going to Deviantart and my user name there is aachi-chan.

Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers. This whole fan story is just for fun. I don't make a dime for any of this.

So enough with the author's notes… on with the show!

The restaurant patrons of the Dragon's Nest Inn tried in vain not to blatantly stare at the spectacle that was Lina and Gourry's usual eating habits.

With them was Amelia, who ate her food with only slightly more table manners, and Zelgadis who nonchalantly drank his tea, completely accustomed to the dinnertime behavior of his companions.

Between the fighting for random food and talking with their mouths full, the same dinner conversations that had been brought up countless times before were discussed. Where should we head next? What do you think Filia's up to these days? I heard of this bandit gang with this amazing treasure. What's Xelloss doing here?

After Gourry's unexpected question, everyone looked up to see where he was pointing. The mysterious priest was indeed walking through the entrance of the restaurant and heading toward them with a small wave of greeting.

"I'm pleased you remembered my name this time Gourry-san." He greeted them as he walked up to their table, "How is everyone this evening?"

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes, "What is it that you want this time Xelloss? Is there some threat you want us to stop for you that even Mazoku don't want? Or are you just here to aggravate us?" He was already annoyed with Xelloss' presence. It didn't help that he'd just happened to be thinking about past events that involved trying to find Claire Bible manuscripts and the infuriating priest before the demon showed up. As the old saying goes 'Speak of the devil and he shall come.' Apparently, Xelloss' aptitude for being obnoxious allowed him to be summoned when someone was only thinking about him.

Xelloss waved his hand in dismissal, "Oh no, nothing like that this time. Although, I do always enjoy the taste of your aggravation." He smiled pleasantly as Zelgadis' scowl deepened, "I've actually been granted some time off until further notice. There are no pressing matters that need to be tended to right now."

If anything, Zelgadis' look turned even more suspicious but Lina was the one to say something, "So what? You want to spend your vacation with us?"

Xelloss merely gave her a secretive smile, so she added, "I guess hanging around a walking buffet of negative emotions is as good a vacation for a demon as any, right?" She shrugged, not really caring.

"Quite right Lina-san," Xelloss chimed.

"Well, sit your butt down then," from under the table she kicked out the empty chair nearest to him to prompt him into sitting down. "No reason for you to stand if you're gonna stay."

"Why thank you," He smiled at her as he sat down in the offered chair, propping his staff up against the table.

Zelgadis scoffed at her, "Why invite him in?"

She scoffed right back at him, "Because it's Xelloss. If he wants to hang around us he's gonna do it no matter what we say or do. It's just easier to be civil about it."

The demon summoned a cup of tea, "How insightful of you Lina-san. You would be right." He gave her an approving smile.

The chimera knew she was right but that didn't mean he couldn't complain about it.

Ignoring Zelgadis grumblings, Xelloss bought a piece of strawberry shortcake from a passing waitress with a dessert cart.

Amelia wanted to bring back regular conversation, so she decided to include their newly returned traveling companion, "So, Xelloss-san, any exciting news that you can tell us about since we saw you last?"

He raised his fork in the air as if to make a point, "Why I do in fact! One that I'm sure you'll all find interesting."

Zelgadis grumbled a sarcastic 'I'm sure', but Gourry and Amelia were curious. Lina only seemed mildly interested in what Xelloss had to say. She was really more captivated by the last leg of mutton Gourry had on his plate and was trying to sneak it out from under his nose while his attention was elsewhere.

"I had some business recently in Xoana." He started out, "And there was some interesting rumors involving Queen Martina and King Zangulus." He almost giggled at their titles. For the pair of inept avengers to be royalty was still a very entertaining notion.

Midway through eating her newly acquired leg of mutton, Lina stopped to groan while pinching the bridge of her nose, "What are those two idiots up to now?"

Her reaction made his smile grow, "Well it seems that they're currently on a journey to personally inspect their lands while the former king rules temporarily until their return. However, the rumor is that their journey is just a pretense for some sort of personal goals that the two of them never fulfilled before they got married. They've decided to team up to accomplish their personal missions." He chuckled a little, "Though none of the rumors can decide what those goals might be."

Lina put her forehead in her hands and leaned on the table, "Are you saying we should expect Martina and Zangulus to show up and make our lives miserable again?"

"Perhaps," He continued his mischievous smile, "I didn't have time to see for myself what the whole truth really was, but that was my impression as well."

Lina roughly ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, "I thought we'd never have to see those two again. Shouldn't they be busy ruling a country and making heirs?"

"There's no reason they couldn't work on that second objective while they traveled." Zelgadis stated bluntly.

Lina and Amelia blushed, and Gourry had to ask, "How do you make hairs?"

For an answer he got whacked with the picked-clean bone from the leg of mutton that he never noticed was missing from his plate, "Heirs you idiot, not hairs. Heirs are children."

Xelloss finally took a bite of his cake. It was so deliciously sweet and Lina's anger was like a bittersweet dark chocolate topping. It was something he always enjoyed.

His thoughts were interrupted by her glaring at him from across the table, "I was going to play along with your game for a while but now you've gone and put me in a sour mood." She pointed at him accusingly, "Why are you here Xelloss?"

He blinked at her innocently. Everyone was focused on him again. "I told you Lina-san, I'm just here on holiday."

She continued to glare at him, "That's bull. You might not be here on an official mission but there's some other reason for you being here that you're not telling us and its more than just 'Lina and friends dinner special'."

Zelgadis had been trying his best to ignore the demon's existence but turned to glare at him again as well. His earlier suspicions that the Mazoku was up to something was looking to be right. But, as far as he was concerned, everyone should be suspicious of Xelloss at all times and for all reasons.

The demon sighed and put his chin in his left hand and made a show of looking dejected. "Nothing gets past you Lina-san. I was hoping to catch up a bit more before we discussed this." He pouted as cutely as he could, "Oh well."

The chimera scowled at him, "Well. Out with it then. If you have something you came here to discuss then stop wasting time."

"You're both so impatient." He continued to pout, then decided he'd better get on with it before they got even more demanding.

"Very well," He leaned into the table, switching to a more business-like mode, "The main reason I've come is to propose an arrangement of sorts with the two of you." He said as he looked from Zelgadis and Lina.

"What kind of arrangement?" Zelgadis looked more suspicious than ever, "Did your master order you to offer us this?"

Xelloss waved his hand in dismissal again, "Oh no. As I said before, I'm not on any mission right now. Though I admit I had to ask my Mistress Beastmaster for permission before discussing this with you." He smirked in his 'there's much more to it than that but I'm not going to tell you' way of his, "But I assure you, this is a personal project and is in no way a part of any orders."

If anything, they looked more confused, "So what? You want our help to track down some sort of object that would be personally useful to you or something?" Lina was stumped, she couldn't figure out what sort of arrangement the Mazoku would want from just Zelgadis and her that was personal.

"Oh no, nothing like that," He glanced around the table and saw the inquisitive faces of Amelia and Gourry, "As this is something I'm only offering to the two of you, perhaps we should discuss this matter in private?"

Amelia looked somewhat offended but before she could protest, he picked up his staff from where it leaned against the table next to him and as soon as it was in his hand the orb started to glow. In a split second the world around them flashed black and just as quickly as it had happened they were back in the inn's restaurant, only…

"Where the hell is everyone?" Lina and Zelgadis's chairs screeched on the hardwood floor as they both stood up abruptly and glowered at him, "What did you do Xelloss?"

He leaned his staff back up against the table. "Please do calm down. I didn't do anything with the people, rather I did something with us." He gestured around him, "I created a pocket dimension for us to have our conversation in so no one would bother us."

Now that it was brought to their attention, Lina and Zelgadis noticed that the room wasn't quite right. Aside from missing all the people, it just felt… off somehow.

"This is kinda like when we fought those Mazoku Zuuma contracted," Lina thought aloud.

"Creating subspaces and pocket dimensions is a common ability among stronger Mazoku." His smile turned somewhat smug, "Although I'm sure I don't have to tell you that my pocket dimensions are much more secure than others you've visited. Not only that, but this is a dimension in time and space. When I return us to the others, no time will have passed for them."

Zelgadis made an effort to seem like he wasn't even remotely impressed, "This is all a very elaborate way to talk to us."

Xellos shrugged, "No not really, it wasn't that hard for me to make. This is actually much easier to talk to the two of you without anyone else trying to be nosy." He picked up his fork again and took another bite of his cake. "Now that you know I didn't do anything suspicious, would you mind sitting back down? It's much easier to hold a conversation when everyone is at the same eye level."

Zelgadis growled at him and sat back down in a huff. Lina sat down again as well, "I just bet you have lots of powers that we've never seen before huh?"

"Oh you have no idea Lina-san."

There was only so much of the demon's smugness Zelgadis could take, "So you've got us all alone now, what the hell is this arrangement you want to discuss?"

"Ah well, I suppose it would be more accurate to call it a partnership of sorts." He sipped his tea, making sure to drag out his explanation as long as possible just to pile onto Zelgadis' growing irritation. If Lina's anger was like bittersweet dark chocolate then Zelgadis' irritation was like roasted nuts. It had a smoky taste to it with a bit of saltiness.

Zelgadis growled again, growing more impatient, "And?"

Xellos put his cup down, "The proposal I have is mutually beneficial to all three of us." He considered his words carefully, "But because of what it is and the personality of you two, I've decided to sweeten the deal for you in hopes that you'll agree."

If possible, Lina and Zelgadis felt more clueless by what Xelloss could have in mind.

"If you agree to this arrangement I'm prepared to offer you any help that you ask of me in any future endeavors until the agreement is broken. That is, of course, assuming that the help you ask of me doesn't interfere with my master's or my agendas and doesn't pose a threat to the Mazoku race."

Lina looked thoughtful, "So what you're saying is, you'd actually protect us if we were attacked, rather than treating our battles like some kind of spectator sport. Oh! And help us find treasure?" she added somewhat excitedly. To which, he nodded to both questions.

Zelgadis looked skeptical, "What about the Claire Bible manuscripts? Would you actually help find them rather than destroying them?"

Xelloss beamed at him, "Why of course you would ask about that Zelgadis-san!" he chuckled at the chimera's scowl at being accused of being predictable. "To answer your question, yes, I would help you find Claire Bible manuscripts." He wagged his finger in the air, "But I must insist that you let me read them first to ensure there's nothing in there that would be harmful to my race."

Zelgadis still didn't trust him, "But would you actually let me read the ones you deemed 'safe', or just destroy them and tell me to trust you that it didn't have anything helpful to me in them?"

The Mazoku merely grinned at him and reached into his bag, "So untrusting, Zelgadis-san." He pulled out an aged book to show him, "Does this prove my sincerity?"

"Is that-?" Zelgadis reached out to grab it but Xellos snatched it away just in time, "I don't believe we've made a deal yet." He said as he held the book away tauntingly.

Zelgadis snarled, "Well then get on with it! What's this arrangement you think we'd want but might not agree to?"

Lina interjected, "Yeah, it must really be something if you start out your negotiations with your bonus offer."

Xelloss put the book back in his bag and smiled at them with his eyes half open. "I propose…" He drew out his sentence, always the one for dramatics, "a partnership of a… sexual nature."

"WHAT?!"

Lina gasped so hard she almost inhaled some of her hair and Zelgadis was sure he was choking on his own heart. They both blushed hard and immediately started babbling protests, complaints and questions.

"What the hell?!"

"Why us?"

"Have you gone insane?"

"Why both of us?"

"Where'd this idea come from?"

"Can Mazoku even have sex?"

"Do Mazoku even want sex?"

Xelloss was prepared for the outbursts of course and just relished in their shock, embarrassment and anger as they continued to babble at him until they calmed down enough to converse with again. It was actually turning out better than he expected. He was prepared for spells and attacks to be thrown at him, but he figured the complete shock of it was enough to keep them both from thinking about attacking.

"Hey! You paying attention?!" Lina was yelling at him.

"Of course I am Lina-san, I was merely waiting for the two of you to calm down." He smiled at her. "Now that you seem to be ready to talk like rational people again maybe I can clear some things up for you."

Zelgadis butted in, face still as red as his blue skin would allow, "Yeah, why don't you 'clear things up for us'. What the hell is this about? Why the hell would a demon be interested in us? Do Mazoku even have sex? Not only that but why would you ask both of us this?" He was completely thrown for a loop by the whole matter.

"So many questions Zelgadis-san!" He smiled at him cheerily, to which the chimera just growled at him. "But I do love the fact that both of you battered me with questions rather than outright saying 'no'."

They both looked shocked again for a moment. Neither of them had even thought about saying 'no'. They were too preoccupied with wanting to know 'why?'

Before they had any real time to reflect on that thought, Xelloss jumped into his explanation. "Well let's start with why a Mazoku would want a bedmate." He smiled happily at them, as if he were discussing his favorite flavor of ice cream. "For those of us that take on human form frequently, we eventually develop human desires."

He pointed to his half-eaten cake, "Food is a good example. I don't need it to survive but I enjoy it and have a fondness for sweets." He stopped to open his eyes half way to look at them. "The same goes for sexual actions. Mazoku do not reproduce in the same manner as humans, however this physical form I take has senses identical to a human's, allowing me to taste sweets as well as feel pleasure."

He smiled as their blushes deepened and their embarrassment grew. He continued on, "Since I can feel that pleasure, why wouldn't I want it?"

They mumbled sounds that seemed like they were in agreement with his statement, though both of them were taking turns staring off into the floor and ceiling.

Xelloss decided that their combined embarrassment tasted like raspberries; mostly tangy and tart but still somewhat sweet.

Lina turned thoughtful, and finally looked in Xelloss' general direction, though still not into his eyes, "At least I've got one thing figured out." She gestured to Zelgadis, "Considering you're not biologically programmed to look for a partner of the opposite sex and you're asking him this, I take it you don't have a gender preference?" The chimera's face turned redder and he looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

"Quite right Lina-san." He smiled, "As far as I know, none of the Mazoku who've taken an interest in pleasure of their physical forms has ever preferred one gender over another. There's many reasons for that, most of which is as you say, I'm not biologically programmed to see sex as a means to reproduce. Another reason is because, since this body is merely a sort of advanced shell or projection, I'm not permanently bound to the male form. I just prefer it as it suits my purposes much more than a female body would."

"You can take the form of a woman?" Lina looked fascinated. She'd always suspected that would be the case but never had any proof of her theory before. She could have always asked him before, but she never really liked the idea of traveling along with all her companions and randomly asking Xelloss if he could sprout boobs. That seemed like one of those questions you secretly held onto until one of those nights when everyone had been drinking and having fun and you could later blame such an embarrassing and personal question on being drunk.

He merely gave her a smug smile and wagged his finger in the air. "I can take the shape of a woman if I must," He winked at her conspiratorially and said in a stage whisper just to infuriate Zelgadis, "But I see no reason to for this proposal. You see, Zelgadis-san goes both ways."

Hearing this, the chimera's eyes practically popped out of his head and he thought it might really be possible to die of embarrassment as he could feel his heart beat in his head. "How could you possibly know that!?" He screeched in a very unmanly way. "I've never said anything to anybody about anything like that!"

Xelloss gave him a mock-offended look, "Mazoku are empaths of the highest level. To me, all your emotions and attraction to anyone might as well be written on a large signboard."

As Zelgadis slumped in his chair, sputtering nonsensical objections and looking miserably embarrassed, Lina nonchalantly rubbed salt in his wounds, "I think the fact that you didn't outright try to beat him to death when he made his suggestion was proof enough that you weren't completely straight."

He looked at her like he wanted to kill her.

Xelloss shook his finger at her, "Now now Lina-san, I believe they say that's the pot calling the kettle black."

She turned and gave him a dirty look, but eventually sighed in resignation and shrugged, "What can I say?"

Zelgadis gave her an evil grin, "You can say that despite your prudish behavior you've got a gutter mind like the rest of us. No wonder you were so fascinated to find out that Xelloss could take the form of a woman if he wanted."

Lina looked thoroughly offended, "Prudish?! Who are you calling prude? Now that's being a hypocrite."

Xelloss was able to get their attention before they could fall into a full blown verbal battle. "Anyway…" they both stopped to look at him, "I believe I still have some information you want before you make your decisions."

Lina coughed and looked away, "Uh right…" It took her a moment to remember where they were in their conversation. "So... why humans and not other Mazoku?"

The demon shook his head at her, "Why I thought that much would be obvious! The negative emotions from humans are the most nourishing and you two are always dripping with such delicious negative emotions."

Zelgadis tried his best to ignore the suggestive way the demon had said that, "But isn't pleasure a positive emotion? Wouldn't that make you ill or something?"

Xelloss made a show of shaking his head and sighing, "You dissapoint me, Zelgadis-san. I thought you would have figured that out by now. Amelia-san only assumed that positive emotions would incapacitate me and she convinced you that was the case. I only went along with that so you would let your guard down and I could steal the Darkstar weapon at the right moment."

He shrugged with his hands upturned as if to say 'I can't believe I have to explain this' just to anger Zelgadis more. "Mazoku thrive on negative emotions, I don't recall ever saying that positive ones would make me ill. We just prefer negativity."

He turned serious for a moment, "Though I admit. It wasn't hard to act ill with Amelia-san screeching in my face with a megaphone that 'life is wonderful.'"

Lina laughed, "No, I can't imagine that anyone would be happy with that experience."

Zelgadis rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on. 'I don't think all the blood rushing to my face is helping to prevent a headache any.'

Finally ready to ask the questions that he and Lina had been unconsciously avoiding until now, "So… why ask us? Why ask both of us?"

Xelloss smiled and opened his lavender eyes to look at them fully, "That," He pointed his finger making them think for a brief moment that he would use his irritating catch phrase, but eventually finished with, "… is the easiest question of all to answer."

"As I've said before, the two of you are constantly dripping in negative emotions. From anger, irritation, confusion and…" He chuckled, "embarrassment. Not only that but you're both incredibly strong for humans, and you're both physically attractive." He winked at the two of them, renewing they're blushes.

"With that list, what Mazoku that wasn't busy trying to kill you wouldn't be attracted to you two?" Neither of them answered, they didn't really have any ideas about demon preferences besides what Xelloss had just told them.

"As to why ask you both? Well, why not?" His smile turned suggestive again, "If one of you turns me down, the other might still be interested and if you both decide you want in on this… 'partnership'… well then there would just be more fun for everyone." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Dirty thoughts raced through the humans minds and they blushed even harder. Zelgadis was almost certain he felt blood in his nose.

"The fact that you've listened to me this far, proves that you're both curious by my proposal, if nothing else. But allow me to continue to influence your decision." He lazily cut off another piece of his cake with his fork. "As you both know, I am aware of your emotions. Since it would take forever for either of you to admit anything, if you ever did, allow me to lay it out on the table for you."

Lina and Zelgadis both had a sense of foreboding, but neither dared to interrupt him.

"Another reason I asked you both about this is because each of you is attracted to and lust after the other..." He opened his eyes and looked at them both from across the table. His expression a definition of a seductive gaze, it sent chills up both of their spines, "And I know you are both attracted to me as well."

They opened their mouths, about to protest, but just as quickly, each of them decided there was no point. He could sense their emotions, there was no hiding it, and they both knew that Xelloss didn't lie. So instead they both hung their heads in mortified embarrassment while Xelloss continued to happily eat his cake, now with an overwhelming taste of raspberries.

Lina was the first to recover enough to continue, "So if you knew all this, why bother sweetening this deal with your promise of help?"

Xelloss cheerfully replied, "Well as the two of you spitefully pointed out earlier, you're both quiet prudish." He could feel their embarrassment immediately turn into anger directed at him. He continued on feigning ignorance, "I knew neither of you would likely agree if our arrangement were based solely on intimate activities, so I decided to appeal to your other desires. Such as helping you find Claire Bible manuscripts and treasure."

Lina scoffed at him and said sarcastically, "Boy, you sure know how to seduce somebody."

He smiled at her and once again feigned ignorance, "Oh my no. Up until now we've only been discussing the vital information pertaining to this proposal so you can make an informed decision." He opened his eyes and looked straight into hers, as he leaned in closer toward her with that lustful gaze, she could feel the shiver run up her spine again but this time it was accompanied by warmth in the pit of her stomach, "I haven't begun to seduce you yet."

He sat upright in his chair again and turned on his usual cheer. "So! Any thoughts on all of this?"

Lina did her best to shake off the lingering sensations and coughed to help clear her mind a bit. "Well it's definitely something to consider." The redness that just wouldn't go away darkened again, she wondered if it was possible to get stuck in a permanent blush. "It sure sounds… interesting." She stared intently at an imaginary spot on the table in front of her, "And as you said, its not like I hadn't thought about … uh… stuff... with you guys before. "

She cleared her throat again and tried to pretend like she hadn't just admitted that huge, embarrassing secret that was apparently not that much of a secret to begin with. "There's more than just our hormones and treasure to consider though." She looked over to the chair that should contain Gourry, with some confusion and worry.

"Ah. I can be of help with that." She looked to the demon priest quizzically, "If you're worried about Gourry-san's feelings, you shouldn't. I can assure you that at the present time his feelings toward you are just an insanely obedient loyalty."

She looked taken aback but not entirely shocked.

"He could have romantic feelings toward you one day, but in order for that to happen, you would have to make the first move. And considering your intense confusion when it comes to him, I doubt that would be anytime soon."

He continued on without noticing her scowl at him for talking about her feelings so openly, and in front of Zelgadis too. "You love him but you can't decide if its sisterly, friendship or romantic."

She continued to glare at him but nothing specific came to mind that she could yell at him. She felt slightly better when he set his sights on Zelgadis though.

"As for you," He pointed at him, and the chimera shot him a warning look but it went unnoticed again. "You worry about hurting Amelia-san's feelings unnecessarily. She's more interested in Pakota-san who now lives within Duclis' body. I gather that she finally figured out that you lost interest in her a long time ago." He made a 'tsk' sound and shook his finger and head in mock disapproval. "That's so unkind… stringing a girl along for so long Zelgadis-san."

Zelgadis snapped, "What business is it of yours?"

He just smiled back, "It's not, and I don't care. I just thought I'd ease both of your minds. After all, if you don't feel any obligation to those around you, you're more likely to agree to my arrangement."

"And who says we would agree to something like that with a bastard like you?" What Xelloss had said before was true. He was attracted to him, but it definitely wasn't for his smug and obnoxious personality.

He may have imagined less than chaste things pertaining to Lina and Xelloss and other people before. His body may have been magically altered, but mentally he was still a human male at the peak of his maturity. Whatever dirty thoughts might have crossed his mind before, he'd never seriously considered any type of intimate relationship with either of them. Now the prospect was placed before him and he wasn't really sure what to think or if he could handle either of their personalities on a much deeper level.

Xelloss got up out of his chair and leaned in close to him, giving him the same look he'd given Lina when he talked about seduction. It had the same effect on the chimera. A tingle ran up his spine and warmth grew in the pit of his stomach.

"You should know by now that half of the things I say and do are just a game, designed to bring out negative emotions for me to feast on. Yours and Lina-san's are so delicious it's hard not to try to constantly bring out even more."

He lightly grabbed Zelgadis chin in one hand and the chimera didn't resist. He was still too entranced by the deep look of lust in the demon's eyes.

"But if you're looking for a reason to agree with me, perhaps I should let you taste a sample?" He slowly closed the remaining distance between them, intent on allowing Zelgadis plenty of time to back out if he wanted to. However, the youth's mind had all but stopped. Even as Xelloss lips were mere inches away from his, he couldn't form a single coherent thought.

When their lips touched it was like a fire spell had hit him in the face and traveled quickly down his body until he felt like he was burning up all over. Zelgadis didn't think to contain the low groan that escaped him and when he felt Xelloss lips smirk against his he instantly regretted it.

Over on Lina's side of the table, she was certain that she'd never seen anything more arousing than what she was currently witnessing. Her mouth was slightly open and her face was beat red but she couldn't look away.

Xelloss was leaning over Zelgadis, the chimera's eyes were closed and he had a look on his face that showed he was enjoying this and he wasn't actually happy about that fact. Xelloss' eyes were closed only a short time before they opened to look straight at her as he deepened the kiss with Zelgadis.

When Xelloss' hazy gaze connected with hers, her heart jump up in her throat and she felt like she'd been hit by a fire spell herself. The warmth that was in the pit of her stomach turned into an inferno and it spread its reach even lower inside her.

Lina shivered at the feelings that started to develop in her body along with the sights she was seeing. 'Gods he's gonna turn me into a voyeur.'

The demon finally pulled away and sat back in his seat, leaving Zelgadis staring blankly off into space. However it didn't take long for the youth to fully realize what had just happened. His face turned red from a mixture of anger, embarrassment and something else he'd rather not describe.

He opened his mouth to yell at Xelloss but nothing came out. He was too flustered and confused to even figure out what exactly it was he should yell at him about. Zelgadis' face flashed a myriad of emotions for several moments until he finally settled on screaming in frustration and turned his chair toward the nearest table to face away from the other two. From there he promptly let his head fall onto the table and that's where he left it. Not saying anything.

Lina felt kind of sorry for him. His longstanding anger directed toward Xelloss combined with the cravings his body had toward the demon that Zelgadis had no say in had to be difficult to deal with. Not to mention that Lina highly suspected that the chimera had never been kissed before.

"I think you might have broke him."

Xelloss merely smiled at her and waved it off. "He'll recover." He chuckled, obviously finding all this amusing.

He winked at her, "Would you like a sample too, Lina-san?"

She waved both her hands in front of her, "No-no-no. That's quite alright. I'm just fine right now. I wouldn't want you to break my brain too."

He pouted slightly, "I see." Cheering up he added, "Well I suppose after you've seen that and with my asking you about it, there's a bit more awkwardness added to it isn't there?"

She only gave him a nervous laugh and a nod.

He smiled almost triumphantly and reached into his bag. "Very well. I suppose I should leave you two to consider things before I break both of your minds," he laughed.

Lina was fairly certain the appropriate response was to get angry at him, but she was having a hard enough time thinking straight as it was.

He pulled out the book from before and stood up to walk over to Zelgadis where he dropped it on the table in front of him, instantly startling the chimera to sit up right from where he previously laid his head on the table.

Zelgadis looked at the book in confusion, then up in Xelloss' general direction, still not wanting to look at him.

The Mazoku answered his unspoken question, "I know that we haven't struck a deal yet but I thought I would leave this for you as incentive." He pat Zelgadis on the shoulder, which made him tense up immensely. "Although I'm afraid there isn't anything that would help you find your cure in there. However it is an interesting read, you may find the information useful for other things."

He walked back toward Lina, "Of course I came bearing gifts for you as well my dear." He winked as he said the unexpected endearment. He made a gesture with his right hand and in a flourish that magicians without magic used to entertain people using slight of hand, a necklace appeared in his hand.

He let it fall to dangle from his fingers. "For you."

I was a delicate looking necklace. The pendant was small and simple, a blue stone with some simple silver filigree surrounding it and a matching silver chain.

She was about to reprimand him for thinking she would want just some regular necklace, but when she reached out to touch the pendant she could feel powerful magic in it, though unable to tell just what it was.

Before she had a chance to ask, he explained, "The spell on this necklace is for magic restoration. It will help restore the energy you burn using your magic. I can't imagine it would help you during battle but at the very least you shouldn't have to eat as much."

She gave him a 'go to hell' look and told him as much but he just laughed at her.

"No need to be like that. Just imagine all the money you could save."

"My, you're so thoughtful." She said with sarcastic poison.

He just smiled at her some more, "I like to think so."

Despite her snide comments, she was actually really interested in the necklace. She tried to snatch it out of his hands but he was too fast for her. "Uh-uh-uh." He chided her in a sing-song voice, wiggling the finger of his other hand.

He dangled it out in front of her again, "If you want this, I ask that you let me put it on for you."

She crossed her arms and scowled at him, "Fine."

Satisfied, he walked around behind her and she pulled her hair up out of the way for him to put the necklace on. But she had no idea what she'd just given him opportunity to do.

As soon as she felt his fingers on her neck she realized what was really going on. He lightly touched up her neck under the guise of pushing a few stray hairs aside. When he put the necklace on, he made sure to give her skin as many light, sensual touches as possible.

She shivered at the touches but made no attempt to stop them. The necklace was securely fastened and still right behind her, he leaned in to whisper in her ear something that struck her with déjà vu. "You've got goosebumps."

Instead of running his finger up her neck like when he had told her that at Artemay Tower, this time he breathed warm air on the left side of her neck, giving her even more goosebumps and shivers. Before she could think to escape he put his hand on the right side of her neck, preventing her from moving as he slowly licked up the expanse of skin that he just breathed on.

Over at Zelgadis' table, he was busy staring blankly at the first page of the book he'd been given, mind still reeling and trying to grasp at whatever proper emotion he should feel, when he heard Lina's sudden gasp. He turned his head just enough to look over his shoulder at what was going on behind him.

Zelgadis' eyes shot open wide upon seeing Xelloss busy kissing Lina's neck. From the emotions now emanating off of the chimera, Xelloss knew he was watching them. So he treated Zelgadis to the same sight he gave Lina before and opened his hazy lust-filled eyes to look directly at Zelgadis while he continued to kiss and lick Lina's neck, which she was so obviously enjoying.

The image did the same thing to Zelgadis that the previous scenario did to Lina. However after a few moments of staring wide eyed, he promptly turned away from them and went back to staring blankly at his open book, now with a redder face and possibly some blood in his nose.

Xelloss would have pouted if it wasn't for the fact he was still busy seducing Lina. He sighed mentally, deciding he'd better leave off of them for right now. He didn't want to push them too hard after all. He'd never get what he wanted by being overzealous. So he slowly pulled away from the sorceress and stood up straight, only leaving his fingers to linger on her neck a bit longer before walking around the table to where his staff rested.

Lina was still in a bit of a daze when Xelloss picked up his staff and said, "Well then, as I said, I'd best be off to let you two think about your decisions." He smiled and gave his staff a twirl once, just as happy-as-you-please. "I will see you both again soon." He winked at Lina and would have done the same to Zelgadis if he hadn't been sitting at the other table, facing away from him still.

Before either of them could say anything he vanished in his customary fashion and only moments afterward, the world shifted and flashed black around the two of them again and just as quickly, they were back into normal space-time.

Amelia, Gourry and everyone else in the restaurant who had been looking in their direction were all somewhat confused. To them, Lina, Zelgadis and Xelloss had been sitting at the table one second, there was a flash of black in their places another and the next, Xelloss was gone and Zelgadis was in a different spot than he was before.

With the people of the restaurant suddenly back again, Zelgadis now found himself at the table of burly bounty hunters that were next to their own table. They all looked at him in shock to see him there. He snatched up the book and apologized hastily as he stood up abruptly. In his attempt to get up quickly, his feet got tangled in the legs of his chair and he fell back hard onto the floor.

While he was struggling to uproot his wire-like hair from the hardwood floor, he was certain he could hear Xelloss' laughter as if it were a far off voice inside his own mind.

Not at all sure what was going on, but seeing that the chimera needed some help and being the closest, Gourry bent down from where he still sat at their table to help pry Zelgadis' hair free. "What happened?"

"Yeah, where'd Xelloss-san go? I thought he was going to talk to you guys." Amelia frowned, she was just about to yell at him and he went and vanished.

Zelgadis thanked Gourry for his help but pretended he didn't hear the questions. He was still blushing like mad and decided he needed to retreat before things got any worse. "Well I'm off to bed. Goodnight."

With that he turned in the direction of the stairs and did the best he could not to break into an all out run.

Over on her side of the table, Lina was finally coming to her senses again. She'd known they rejoined the normal flow of time again but could only stare off in space as Zegladis had fought the floor over possession of his hair.

She wished she'd been coherent before, so she could make her escape with Zelgadis, because now Amelia and Gourry turned to her with their questions.

"What's going on?" Amelia asked her in confusion. "And where did that book Zelgadis-san have come from?" Now that she was looking at Lina she noticed her necklace too. "And that necklace?"

Lina's mind snapped to attention. She decided it would look even more suspicious and give them time to come up with more questions if she just bolted like Zelgadis without giving them some kind of answer. So she figured Xelloss' favored technique of telling only half truths would work for her perfectly right then.

"Uh… well to make a long story short, Xelloss made a pocket dimension in time and space to negotiate with us and gave us these things as incentive for his deal."

Amelia looked impressed as well as annoyed at Xelloss power and actions. "Well what did he want?"

Lina just waved at her nervously, "Oh its nothing you'd want to know about." That was the truth, she was fairly certain Amelia wouldn't want to know that Xelloss had come to proposition them for sex.

Before either Amelia or Gourry could say anything else, Lina abruptly gave a big and obviously fake yawn. "Well I'm gonna go to bed too. See ya in the morning." Standing up, she headed toward the stairs, almost as fast as Zelgadis had.

The two remaining stared at her retreating back. "What do you think that was about?"

Gourry just scratched his head, "I don't know."

"They were awfully embarrassed about something."

"Yeah, but why would talking to Xelloss make them embarrassed?"

"Because I like raspberries."

Amelia and Gourry whipped their heads around from where they were still staring at the staircase to see Xelloss sitting back in the seat he was at before, just finishing his last bite of strawberry shortcake.

He just smiled at them and simply pointed at his empty plate and told them, "Forgot my cake." Before vanishing again, leaving the two of them with even more questions that they'd probably never get answers to.

I like to think that Xelloss has a lot of super cool powers up his sleeve like stopping time for a little bit. No one can convince me otherwise *serious face*

For this fic, we're just going to pretend that the events at the end of Slayers Next went slightly different as far as the canon Lina/Gourry relationship stuff. But mostly, we're just going to pretend that kiss they had in the chaos never happened. In canon, they supposedly don't remember it anyway, so that works too lol.

Please review! I give out imaginary multi-colored cake with each review!