To say 'I love you' over curried lamb vindaloo

Disclaimer: If I owned them, do you think I'd be sitting in a drafty apartment on the floor whilst I type this? Like honestly.

A/N: This is my first Gargoyles fic. Sorry. It was just an idea that I had

Elisa Maza was having one hell of a week. She got a gun pulled on her on Monday walking through Central Park with her sister, Tuesday her car broke down and she had to hitch a ride with another officer named Morgan to get anywhere, Wednesday thanks to a city wide black out; her alarm didn't go off and she was late for work (not to mention her hair was still wet, so now she had a cold on top of it.)

Elisa was ready to curl up into bed and cry it all out, but, she promised Goliath that she'd meet him in the castle around 10:00 because "my darling Elisa, I have something of the utmost importance to tell you." She sighed and walked up the stairs to the castle - quietly, slowly. It was strangely quiet considering there were five gargoyles up and walking about.

She poked her head from around the corner, and gasped to herself – inside the normally dark and cold castle there was: Sari fabric of colours varying from the richest purple to the brightest gold to the most vibrant reds hung up as cloth panels, candles were lit and glowing from every solid surface (safely away from the fabric panels of course.) Elisa stepped further into the castle and was greeted by silken throw pillows on the floor matching the fabric makeshift wall panels, and a smiling Goliath standing in the middle of it all, his wings wrapped around him as if they were a cape. She chuckled as he took her small hand in his claw "Good evening, my Elisa."

"Evening, big guy! What's all this?"

He shrugged "I heard you were having a bad week, so I figured I would do something special. Maybe bring a little bit of happiness to you. Even if it is just for a few hours." He sighed almost disappointed that in a few hours he'll be turned back to stone.

She smiled and hugged him "I love it, truly! Thank you." she wiped a tear that was forming in her eye before he seen it. "How did you do all this though?"

Goliath sighed "I owe Owen and Xanatos many favours because of this, however, it is worth it seeing your face in the candle light – I never realized how even more beautiful the candle light would make you, My Elisa." She blushed "Would you like some dinner?"

"Hmmm, yes, please." She smelt something in the air that smelt vaguely Moroccan or Indian "What ever it is, it smells wonderful." She sat down on some silken pillows on the floor and waited for Goliath to return with dinner.

He returned with a catering cart with what looked like half of the menu from the Indian place around the corned, it was enough food to feed the entire clan, and to still have enough left over. He blushed "I was not sure what you would want, so I had asked Xanatos to order one of everything off of the menu."

"That's okay, Goliath, thank you. It smells, wonderful." She grinned at him, and ripped off a piece of naan and picked up some curry lamb vindaloo and popped it in her mouth, the moan she made was erotic to say the least, and Goliath found himself hopping that one night he could elicit that same sound from her lips through his own hands, or tongue, or tail, or…she opened her eyes and apologized "I wasn't aware how hungry I was."

He shrugged it off with a smile as he took a plastic fork and shoved some basmati rice in to his mouth, Elisa always marveled at how small eating utensils looked in his lavender claw.

They snacked back and forth testing all the breads and all the dishes until Elisa thought that she was going to be sick and stopped eating "sorry big guy, I can't eat anymore." She eyed him carefully, her best friend, her Goliath, her Gargoyle; was strangely out of character tonight he was almost shying away from hew like he had something important to tell her.

Almost the way her mom shied away from her before the night she had to tell her she had breast cancer, 15 years ago. He couldn't possibly be sick could he? Could he get sick the same way she can? The way humans can?

There was an easy silence between the two, she crawled over from her side of the table over by his and sunk easily in his arms, he wrapped his wings around her. Cocooning his detective from all the fears in the world; he rested his chin on her head and he sighed happily "Elisa?"

"Hmmm?'

"I have something to talk to you about that is rather important."

She tilted her head to the side, took a breath and stopped the tears from welling up although she didn't know why they were there. She prepared herself for the worse possible news – she was going to loose Goliath; or perhaps it was one of the other members of the clan they were going to lose. She prayed to anyone that was listening that it wasn't true. She finally faced him "yes?"

He took a deep cleansing almost yoga breath, she marveled at his broad chest rising and falling, and languished in thought about what it would be like to wake up with her head on it and his arms wrapped around her body. "There was a reason I did all this. I wanted it to be special for you. I know how humans like everything to be all fireworks and roses." She faced him dead on now and waited to what her best friend had to say "I know that society looks down on us, and will probably look down on this and you could probably have any man you want…I just...Elisa, my Elisa. I..." he took another cleansing breath "I love you."

Elisa jumped up and hugged him, then sat back down on the table "oh God! Goliath, I love you too!" he leaned over and hugged her, she chuckled.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing."

His brown eyes looked into hers, searching her soul "please, my love?"

She almost giggled like a school girl, when he said that, but she stopped herself. She placed her face in her hands before she spoke again "It's just that the week that I was having I thought you were going to tell me you, or someone in the clan was dying or something."

He bit his lip "why would you think that?" his voice calm, low and loving.

She shook her head "don't worry about it, maybe one day I'll tell you. Not now. "She sighed and brushed her lips against his, and played with the ends of his brown hair "I came here expecting some of the worst news on the planet. Instead I got the best news." She smiled at him

He pulled her towards him and into another full on embrace, a strong masculine one that only Goliath could give her. His chest rumbling with laughter "my love?"

"Hmmmm?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but, I have some more bad news?"

"Oh?" she looked up from his arms again with her brown eyes wide, and he wrapped her hair around his claws.

"I think you sat in some butter chicken." To continue on the joke he passed her a piece of naan to wipe off the cursed stain.

All Elisa could at that point was laugh, and kiss him again.