Beau and Arrow
by Aquila
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters portrayed herein. (Though don't get me wrong, I'd love to own Ares!:)...) All are property of MCA/Universal/Renaissance Pictures.
Violence: None really to speak of, unless you count someone getting hit with an arrow. But no blood-and-guts standard Xena warfare, if that's what you mean.
Rating: All in how you look at it, I guess...;):) (You'll see why I say this later!) I'd go with PG or PG-13, as one particular scene may be interpreted in any number of different ways!;):)
One hot, sticky summer day, Xena was traveling through the forest alone, as Gabrielle was off visiting her family in Potedaia.
The weather, coupled with Gabrielle's absence, had not left her in a very good mood.
Nor would what was just about to happen...
"Show yourself, Ares! I'm in no mood..."
"Funny..., I am!" He appeared before her, flashing that irresistibly wicked grin of his.
"Look, I'd just love to stay and bicker, but..."
She never got to finish...
She swept his ankles out from under him with hardly a split second to spare, Xena snagging an arrow from the air from where his back would have been.
"What was that for?"
"Answer your question?..." she drawled, passing him the arrow.
"Waitaminute...lemme see that arrow..."
Just as Xena had suspected, the arrow's head was coated with a sticky, faintly reddish substance...
"Just as I thought...Hind's Blood..."
Ares shuddered at the implications.
"If that had hit..."
"My thoughts exactly. Someone...I can't say exactly who, is after you for one reason or another. You need to be somewhere safe."
::"And all the more reason for him to leave!:: she thought hopefully.
"No, Xena, to be honest, I think my best bet is to stay right here."
::"WHAT! WHY????:: Her thoughts were screaming, but her voice was as composed as always.
"Why do you say that?"
"Xena, for a god with a Hind's- Blood-wielding assassin hot on his heels, nowhere is safe. Olympus would probably be the first place they'd look. Besides, what if the assassin is another Immortal?"
"You'd have to be either revenge-bent or insane to track an Immortal back up to Olympus itself!"
"My point exactly. Think about it, Xena, what Immortal do we both know that wouldn't mind my job who's both revenge-bent and insane?"
Unbeknownst to either, another fatal arrow pierced the nearby foliage, unseen and unheard.
Xena was first to notice, but any warning she tried to give came moments too late.
Ares fell without a sound to the forest floor, the second lethal arrow imbedded deep in his chest.
"ARES!!!!" Her anguished cry rang out through the silence of the forest. She caught a glimpse of sunlight glinting off of platinum-blond hair, and heard the faint echo of maniacal laughter from the treetops above...
::He was right, for once...another Immortal...both revenge-bent and insane!::
::Okay,:: she thought, half-panicked, ::I have to get him back to camp, cleanse the wound, and try to keep the poison from coursing through his system any faster than it already is.::
She accomplished this by applying the pressure point above and below the wound to slow the flow of blood and poison. She, too, was able to cleanse and bandage the wound. With these things accomplished, all she could do was wait.
::What can I do:: she anguished ::the only know antidote to Hind's Blood is ambrosia, and there isn't any within miles of here... He could well...die if I don't do something, but what can I do???? A plus in my favor, though, is that I have stopped the bleeding and the poison... The only thing I cant stand is to see him like this...::
She had whispered the last line aloud and quietly continued her musings. She sighed and went on.
"Tartarus take it, Ares, I don't want to see you hurt...I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but...I love you, and I always have...For that matter, I always will. If there's anything I can do for you, I will...I'll do anything to keep from losing you...I know sometimes it gets hard to separate who you are from what you do...
I don't even know how I can love who you are with the same passion that I hate what you do...I know that you can care...can love...You loved me, didn't you? Even though I'm not on your side anymore, that doesn't mean I don't still care...I don't know if you're listening, or, for that matter, if you can even hear me, but, this is just to let you know that I'm still here for you...I'll be here for as long as you need me..."
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At her words, he seemed to stir, but she could not be sure why, as the poison in his system caused him to run a high fever and hallucinate.
Xena spent a sleepless night watching him, and, just before dawn he stirred again, starting to mumble something about 'Battle at Thermopyle' and 'War on Sparta'. Xena assessed that he was probably reliving past glories and defeats through the feverish haze, much as she herself had done in the Dreamscape.
Checking his temperature once more, she found that his fever had almost broken. She then proceeded to soak a rag from the waterskin and place it gently across his forehead. Inspecting the wound site, she found it to be healing well despite the Hind's Blood poison.
He began to regain consciousness around midday.
"Xena?..." he moaned, voice hoarse from disuse.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Soldier Boy!" she joked weakly, the relief she felt clearly mirrored in her voice.
"What am I doing here? Oh, no..."
This last was due to Ares' trying without much success to raise himself from his prone position on the ground.
"Don't try to sit up...Lie back, take it easy, relax...You gave me quite a scare there for a while."
"I reiterate...What in the name of the darkest pit of Tartarus am I doing here?"
"Three words...Hind's Blood Arrow..."
"You mean I actually took a hit?"
"Yes, and a nasty one. You're lucky to have even survived..."
He cringed.
"So who's our mysterious assassin, do you know?"
"I'll give you one guess... Hint: think revenge-bent and insane...'
"Callisto."
"Who else? They say stress is detrimental to the healing process, so I'll not have you worrying about her while you heal. I'll get back at her later."
"May I join you? After all, there was that little incident of Strife's death, and all, so I have my issues to take up with her, too."
"Join me by all means. Just wait until you're healed."
"That's the one thing I hate about healing above all else. I hate feeling worthless like this...I should be fighting not healing! I hate to be laid up flat on my back like this..."
"Did you really mean that about hating to be...'flat on your back'?" she purred, a mischievous edge to her tone.
"Don't tempt me. I'm injured!"
"Later, then..."
After a meager, pre-packed meal ("You'll wish the poison had killed you if you have to suffer through my cooking!) the two sat basking comfortably in the glow of a warm fire.
Even in that quasi-peaceful moment, though, Xena could sense that something was wrong.
Trying to hide the half-concerned amusement in her voice, she asked "You wouldn't, by any chance happen to be in any pain, now would you?"
"Do you think for a second I'd tell you, even if I were, which I am not?"
"Never mind, I could see it in your eyes. Come here. I'll...help you out." This last was an invitation to her side of the fire.
"You think I'm in pain?"
"No. I know you're in pain. You just won't admit it." She tried to stifle a chuckle.
"I can't believe it... Me, saving the life of the God of War..."
"Just rub it in, why don't you?"
"Thanks!" She grinned,"I think I just might do that!"
"You just insist upon rehashing the fact that it had to be you, of all people, to save my life, don't you?"
"Yeah!" If it was possible, Xena's grin grew wider.
"Xena, Xena, Xena...Why must you be so...so..."
"Frustrating?" she supplied, "irritating, aggravating, infuriating?"
"All of the above could just as well apply, but I was going to say... stimulating..."
"Oh, NonononoNO That's a path we are not gonna take!"
"Why not? We've traveled it before..."
"That was years ago, too."
"Nothing's changed..."
"Except me..."
Xena spent yet another sleepless night, but this time,
for an entirely different reason...
"Still awake, are we?"
"What's it to ya?"
They both lay awake for a few moments when Ares broke the silence.
"Dinar for your thoughts?"
"They're worth a lot more than that, I can tell you!"
"You're thinking about --us-- aren't you?" he queried, making doubly certain to stress the 'us'.
"Sort of..."
"How so?"
"Just that...well...'back in the day', we seemed to make quite a match, didn't we?"
"Though I'm sure you'll be the first to admit we weren't exactly a match made in Elysium!"
"More like a match made in Tartarus!" she quipped, causing them both to start laughing.
"Do you think we're just as...compatible now?"
"I've often wondered..."
"You know, there are ways of finding out..."
"You sure you're up to this?"
"Don't worry about it, I'm fine!"
"Still, with that wound, and all..."
"Trust me."
"I'm just not sure you should use this much energy until you're completely healed..."
He gritted his teeth and mumbled "Great! Me, Ares, God of War taking orders from a mortal woman...If she weren't who she was she'd be Harpy bait right now!"
He concluded by directing the last statement back at her with his voice menacingly low. "Look, for the last time, -I am FINE- so will you just stop with the mother hen routine?"
"If you say so...Now...Where were we?"
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"Ya wanna play rough?...Come get me..." Xena's tone seemed almost taunting as a feral smile spread slowly across her face.
"So what happened to Ms. 'We're-not-gonna-travel-this-path?'
"She...wised up a little..."
_____________________________________________
Hardly a glance passed between them as a sweet bolt of fire shot through them both at the prospect of what was to come...
A great rush of energy clouded their thoughts making their hearts pound and taut, aching muscles cry out for release...
"I love it when you come on strong..." He noted that, even after such a long time, her style hadn't changed.
"You'll really enjoy this..."
All control was surrendered; Each could tell that the other was weakening, but both strived to maintain control...
"I could keep this up for hours..."
"So could I..."
All was intricate motion and pure, vivid kinetic energy...
"Xena! Where did you learn that? You've improved so much..."
"Yeah, well...I've...picked up a few things since last time..."
"You're too good at this..."
"I know..." she teased, only fueling the fire.
One final sweet, climactic moment, and both collapsed, spent and gasping. For a time, neither spoke, just laid back basking in the euphoric glow that surrounded them.
Xena was first to break the serene silence. "That was...incredible..." A dreamy, husky quality had somehow crept into her voice.
"As good as last time?"
"Better."
_____________________________________________
Both sheathed their swords with the knowledge that it had been another successful battle.
______________________________________________
The two were again seated before the fire that evening, and Xena noticed, not without concern, that Ares looked to be suffering from his wound
"You look like you're still in some pain...Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Xena, don't worry about...oww..."
"That's it...You are not ok...Let me help you with that..."
"No, it's fine...Seriously..."
"You're gritting your teeth...You are in more pain than you'd care to admit, and you just don't want me to see you weak..."
"If you say so..."
"I know I can help you..." she purred.
"Tell me why I like the sound of that?..."
"Yeah, you would...Anyway, I'll just help with that vest..."
"I do like the sound of this..." he brightened almost visibly.
"It's for a back rub...Tell me what you were thinking..." she half-smirked in exasperation.
"You probably don't want to know...Suffice to say not the same thing you were..." The War God's signature irrepressible grin was directed to his Warrior Princess.
"Oh, that much I knew...Now, if you'll help me with the vest, I promise I won't hurt you...Much..." This was delivered with the same half-smirk as before.
"Oh, very funny..."
"I thought so...Now, lie flat on your stomach."
"I still can't help but like the sound of this..."
"Rrr! You!..." she grinned "Now, do you want my help or not?"
"Something tells me this wouldn't be a bad idea..."
Just then, a beam of firelight struck him, highlighting even further the sculpted perfection of his form...She literally had to grit her teeth to keep her reaction to this from being noticed.
"Like what you see?"
"How could you tell?"
"Because I know you, Xena..."
"Or at least you think you do...So where was I? Oh, right..."
"Oh, let me just tell you now, you are good with your hands..."
"Thanks, I seem to get that a lot..."
"From me, I hope?"
"Oh, of course..."
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"Feel any better?"
"Much, thanks."
Xena asked this question from her position on the other side of the fire, where she sat sharpening her sword.
As she carried this out, she mused over the weapon, apparently to herself, but loudly enough that she made sure Ares could hear.
"You know, I've always found the sword such a...satisfying weapon..."
With this, she knew she had Ares' attention.
"I've always liked how it could...penetrate so deeply..."
She knew she had him hooked by now, as he began to see the true meaning behind her words of admiration for a simple blade...She knew he'd caught on by now, yet still, she kept up the innocent façade, and teased him further.
"Every stroke...every thrust, brings infinite pleasure..."
He edged just a fraction closer to her with each line so that, by the last he was beside her. Something in her words stirred a part of him, some how, though he couldn't be sure why...He was close enough to her that he could come up from behind her, doing so and wrapping his arms around her waist in the process... He bent close to her ear, and whispered, low and husky, "Why do I get the feeling we're not talking about weaponry?..."
She turned to face him, but didn't answer. Instead, she snaked her arms around his neck and drew him into a passionate kiss...His arms wrapped around her waist as he gratefully returned it...
Soon, various pieces of armor could be found scattered about the campsite, the two warriors who'd shed it relaxing by the fire...
"Mmm...Soldier Boy, is that your sword at your hip, or are you just happy to see me?"
He didn't answer, for lack of need, as the accompanying actions spoke for themselves...This time, it was Ares to draw Xena into a long, passionate kiss, which left both gasping when they parted...But they didn't stay apart for long...
With a wave of his hand, Ares transported the couple to the Fortress bedchamber...
Still caught in his embrace, she was painfully aware that all between them was what remained of their clothing, a problem easily remedied...One deep, hot, possessive kiss followed another, kisses that traced down her neck like a string of pearls...His kisses drowned her moans of pleasure...
Once more, sparks flew between the two combatants...But this time, not those from the clash of two blades...
Within the span of another thought, they fell back onto the bed...She found his kisses had left her weak, but she took great satisfaction in knowing she did the same to him...A deep, rich ache settled in the pit of her stomach, then started to spread throughout the rest of her body...This was the fulfillment she'd craved of him for years, and she told him so, without a word...He responded clearly to this in kind, and she knew he felt the same way as she...Being held as close to him as she was, she sensed his strong reaction to her presence...
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