"Hmm... I don't think this is real, Lina-san," the young Seyruun princess told her companion as she examined the frail piece of cloth she held in her hand. Amelia had been trying to read the so-called "treasure map" she had for over fifteen minutes as the rest of the gang violently ate their meals. She continued when she realized that Lina wasn't listening, "Lina-san... Are you listening to me?"

The petite red-headed sorceress looked up from her plate and gave Amelia a harsh look. "Amelia, this restaurant closes in ten minutes and if I don't finish eating you're not going to want to deal with me!!" Lina screamed at the top of her lungs.

It was very late, and the restaurant owner had agreed to stay open after a threatening comment Lina made to him about 'what happens to restaurant owners when Lina Inverse doesn't get fed.' The owner decided to keep his doors open for a little while longer, since he needed the business, and didn't want to get fire-balled.

"How can you be sure it's not real, Amelia?" Zelgadis asked, he being the only one who was paying attention. Lina and Gourry had their faces stuffed, and Xellos seemed to be staring off into space. Zelgadis had his coffee, of course, but at least he could do two things at the same time; drink and listen.

"Well, Mister Zelgadis... The writing on it looks like it could have been done by either a drunken sailor or a four year old... And, it seems like its been colored with crayons as well... At least I think so," she replied in a confused tone.

"Let me see that," he calmly demanded as he took the cloth from her hands. He observed it for a little while as well, "Well, she's right. Looks like we wasted our money again chasing after another fake."

Lina sprung up when she heard Zel mention money and grabbed the map out of his hand. "You mean It's fake!!?" She yelled as her head smacked on the table in disbelief. She paid over 9,000 bucks for that stupid map!

"Well, look on the bright side," Gourry suddenly chimed in, "At least you could use it as a bib." He pointed at her shirt which had a piece of chicken stuck on it. Lina's face turned bright red and she pounded the dumb blonde's head. "Ugh, Lina I was only kidding." He said as he rubbed the top of this head.

"Another fake lea-" She began but promptly stopped as she felt something rub up against her leg. Her eyes widened and she looked around at the people at the table. She was afraid to look down to see who was touching her leg.

"Lina-san? Are you alright?" Amelia asked when she noticed Lina's face.

Lina didn't reply. Instead, she looked around the table to find out which one of her companions could be teasing her like this. It seemed like someone's foot was purposely touching her, but who's?

The foot continued to move up her leg, under her pants, which was probably a difficult task to do considering that they were so tight on her. She glanced over at Gourry. Maybe the dumb lug was trying to get her back for smacking him in the head. To her surprise he had his feet on the table and like always, had a clueless look on his face. It couldn't be him.

She glanced over at Zel and noticed he was carefully sipping his coffee. It couldn't be him, she would notice if the foot had rocks on it... this person's foot was soft and smooth and... 'Oh no...' she thought.

The foot still moved up her leg, now touching her knee. She turned to Xellos, hate and loathing in her eyes, ready to throw a fireball and burn that stupid fruitcake. Something stopped her.

Xellos sat looking at Lina, eyes open and smiling devilishly. He wondered why she hadn't fire-balled him yet, and continued to trace his foot past her knee to her lower thigh. He simply loved teasing her like this. He always enjoyed finding new ways to upset her, but this one was purely genius... playing footsies.

Lina's eyes opened in horror when she felt a strange feeling form in the pit of her stomach. 'Why do I feel... like this?' she asked herself as her jaw dropped slightly. Was she actually enjoying Xellos' foot on her thigh? 'No, no no no. NO! It's just a feeling of... disgust... a wonderful feeling.. NO! Stop this Lina Inverse, he's a stupid fruitcake!' She told herself. Lina tried to build up the strength to kick him but her legs seemed to be paralyzed.

Xellos was enjoying her reaction more than anything. It was a combined look of horror, lust and anger wrapped in one neat little package. He continued to stare at her with his eyes open and licked his lips to indicate he wanted more than just her thigh.

"Lina-san! Are you okay?! Answer me!" Amelia persisted after not receiving a response the last time. Lina still did not reply. The look Xellos was giving her sent a chill down her body, making her shake slightly.

Xellos' grin widened. His plan was working out better than he had planned. He thought her reaction would be to cause him physical pain, but she was doing much more than that. He could feel goose bumps start to form on her skin. 'You're all mine, Lina Inverse,' he thought with a wicked smile.

Lina stood up abruptly, causing Xellos to almost fall off his chair. His smile faded, but her look of horror remained. She continued to stare at him with fierce anger in her eyes. He had a look of disorientation on his face.

Her sudden choice to stand caused the rest of the group at the table to turn and look towards her. Amelia was the only one who had noticed that she was acting strange. Zel was busy drinking his coffee and thinking and Gourry had actually fallen asleep.

"I'm fine, Amelia," She finally replied without even glancing over at the Princess. Her eyes remained solely on Xellos. "I just need some fresh air." Lina turned and walked out the back exit of the restaurant without saying another word.

Amelia stood to run after her, "Lina-san, wai-"

Zel grabbed Amelia's arm and stopped her from following Lina. He forced her back into her chair. "Amelia, sometimes people just need time to think things over and be alone."

"But Mister Zelgad-" She pleaded but was abruptly cut off again.

"No 'Buts' Amelia. Lina may have a lot on her mind right now. Leave her alone. She'll be fine in the morning," He stated.

"Zel's right, Amelia," Gourry added, "We all need time by ourselves sometimes."

Amelia nodded and plopped her head down on the table, wondering what time the restaurant owner would come and kick them out. She looked over where Xellos was sitting and noticed he was gone. "Umm.. where did Mister Xellos go?"

"Oh, you know him, he's always disappearing," Gourry responded with a yawn.

"Yeah, now, let's figure out how we can get the bandits who sold us this fake treasure map," Zel quickly changed the subject as he put the treasure map in his pocket.

Lina ran into the forest at top speed, tripping over fallen branches and leaping over logs. She wasn't running away from the town so much, she was running away from her feelings. The fact that she couldn't find the strength to stop Xellos from torturing her like that was killing her. What was even worse, was that it felt... good.

'UGH! Why why why?! Why him? Of all people!' Lina screamed at herself mentally. She slowed down and stopped. 'I thought, if anybody, Gourry would be the only one who could make me feel like that... but, he doesn't. I figured that... someday he would. But, never, NEVER, Xellos! How could I let myself feel that way!' She sat down on a nearby rock and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Lina jumped when she heard footsteps behind her. When she noticed it was Xellos, she turned back around and ignored him.

"Lina-chan, you really shouldn't go running off by yourself in the middle of the night," Xellos teased, knowing very well that she could take care of herself. When Lina didn't reply, he decided to try again, "Oh Lina-chan, don't tell me your angry at me for that little game we were playing in the restaurant."

"Xellos, right now, I'm not in the mood to talk to you, or anybody for that matter," Lina countered with a fierce voice. She was on the verge of tears, and she didn't want him to see her cry. In fact, she didn't want anybody to see her cry.

"Oh, that's too bad Lina-chan, because I want to talk to you!" he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. His touch sent shivers down her body. She quickly pulled away from him in one rapid movement.

"Xellos, stop it! Stop playing these games with me!" she screamed at him and in a fit of fury she turned around and tried to smack him. He dodged her attempt and caught her hand instead. Frustrated, she flung her other fist at him, but he caught that one as well. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she bent her head down in shame. She tried to pull away from him, but he had a pretty tight grip around her wrists. "Xellos... let me go," she protested weakly.

"Shhh..." he said, trying to shush her protests. Slowly, Lina's strength began to weaken and she didn't fight back anymore. She gave into the urges and collapsed in his arms, weeping like a little child. Xellos let go of her wrists and wrapped his arms around her. Soft sobs escaped her mouth as she cried into his cloak, her tears soaking it. He wasn't expecting this reaction and didn't know what to say. "Lina-chan..."

Lina lifted her head to meet his, her eyes red from crying. They exchanged a glance, and in her eyes, he could sense, a longing, a needing for something... for him. No words were needed, and even if they were, she wouldn't know what to say. Her cheeks flushed red as Xellos came in and planted a kiss on her lips. In an automatic response, she kissed him back. He deepened the kiss in an abrupt motion. After a few seconds, Lina broke the kiss gasping for air.

"Xellos... Don't do this to me. Don't use my loneliness as an advantage," she managed to choke out. Tears were now trailing down her face and falling onto the ground beneath them. She detached herself from him and slowly backed away. He pursued her, not letting her escape so easily.

"Lina-chan... You must be true to your feelings, and to yourself," he said, attempting to make her want to stay on her own will. He walked closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged it off violently, more tears forming in her eyes. "What do you know about being true to your feelings?!"

Grabbing her shoulders once again, he pulled her close to him and whispered softly in her ear, "Sore wa himitsu desu, Lina-chan." He moved his lips to her mouth and kissed her passionately. This time, she had no protests. She now knew, that maybe, he wanted the same thing that she did.

'And to think... this all began from something like footsies,' she thought and smiled in mid-kiss.

"Lina has been gone a long time," Zelgadis commented as he realized how long they had been sitting in that cramped restaurant.

"So has Xellos..." Gourry added, with that normal look of confusion on his face.

"You don't think that... they..." Amelia's eyes opened in horror.

A moment of silence passed by the trio, but was soon interrupted by loud fits of laughter. "Hahaha!! Lina and... Xellos, that's... a good one!" Gourry managed to choke out between laughs. Even Zelgadis was cracking up. Amelia was rolling around on the ground clutching her stomach at just the thought of it.

After a few minutes passed, the laughter slowed down to a stop. "Oh, I can't remember the last time I had a laugh like that," Zelgadis chuckled to himself. "Xellos and Lina..." And, with a quick glance back to his companions, the laughter restarted.