Characters:
Xena, Warrior Princess
Gabriele, The Battling Bard
Ares, God of War
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love
Summary: The story could be a series finale, but we all know that the writers of our favorite show aren’t going to end it on the note they know that all of us want. But for all of the Ares & Xena lovers, I think that my story gives a fitting end to the fight that he put up for all those years, the quest for the one thing he has always sought after. Xena has a close call with death fighiting along side Gabriele in Thrace, she is severely wounded. Gabriele doesn’t know what else to do but call Ares. Ares comes to their aide, takes the pair to Olympus, and tries to heal a potentially fatal wound. Xena rises, has a chat with Aphrodite, and finds things out about Ares she never would have guessed. Xena decides to allow herself to accept a feeling that has been burning in the pit of her belly for a long time.
Rating: R
Sexuality/Language: Yes there is a little of that, but if you are gunna end the story of Xena and Ares, you have to end it on a good note. No there is no profane language.
Xena and Gabriele stood together, alone in the middle of the woods. They had been riding for the past week with no signs of life, a newly plundered village here, a couple of lone cows there, but strangely that was all. Xena’s horse neighed nervously, knowing something was awry.
The suddenly out of no where a group of men stepped out of the bushes, all standing tall, ready for a fight. Gabriele counted quickly. ‘Twenty-seven Xena.’ She whispered.
‘Boys.’ Xena’s voice echoed through the empty wood. ‘I'm not here for a fight, just passing through to Thrace.’
‘Well we are, so I guess that you are just fresh out of luck.’ The leader stepped closer to Xena, pointing to her chakram with the tip of his sword. ‘I guess you think that,’ he said in a mocking tone, ‘you’re Xena Warrior Princess?’ the group laughed.
‘Yeah Xena, huh, huh, huh.’
‘You must be the battling bard?’ Now talking to Gabriele. ‘You sure are a pretty one. You know I might not hurt you guys if, well, you know.’
‘No,’ Gabriele played innocent, ‘no I don’t. What’s that?’
Xena made her horse step forward, ‘I guess that we’ll be on our way boys. Gabriele.’ One of the men grabbed her horses reigns. ‘No, you aren’t going anywhere.’ He yanked at Xena’s leg.
‘Now that was a big mistake.’ Xena kicked the man in the side of his head sending him quickly to the ground. The fight was quick, all that was left was the leader and his apparent General. Gabriele fought him.
‘So I get to fight the Warrior Princess.’
‘Glad I could make you happy.’ The two exchanged an equal amount of blows, they fought toe to toe. Then something happened, the man Gabriele was fighiting ran into Xena causing her to stumble. The man she was fighiting took advantage of her blunder.
His sword cut through her side, passing quickly through her armor. She looked down at it not knowing what to do. Xena fell to her knees, groping the sword she pulled it quickly out of her belly and fell onto her back.
‘Xena!’ Gabriele screamed, she dropped to her knees beside Xena. She pulled her head into her lap.
Xena coughed fighiting for breath, ‘Get my bag,’ she gasped, ‘get my bag off of my horse. There are some supplies.’ Gabriele obeyed running to her horse.
She came back to Xena, applied some ointment to her new wound, and some white bandages. ‘It’s going to be ok Xena.’
‘I'm sorry,’ the man who hurt Xena mumbled, ‘I didn’t mean to hurt her. We just wanted a good fight, I'm sorry.’
‘Get out of here!’ she roared. ‘Go!’
‘Gabriele I'm dying.’
‘No Xena,’ she cried, ‘no I wont let you. Let’s get your armor off.’ Gabriele watched the two men ride away. Pulling her armor over her head she saw how bad it really was. ‘Its going to be ok.’ She lied. Xena laughed at her friend.
‘Tell Eve I love her. Tell Ares I will see him again one day, and that day will be a different one for the both of us.’
‘No Xena I won’t. You tell him, you tell him.’
‘I love you.’
‘I love you too Xena but there’s nothing wrong.’ Xena lost consciousness. Gabriele thought she had died. Her fingers groped her throat for a pulse, there was one but weak. She didn’t know what else to do but, ‘Ares!’ she looked up at the sky calling out to him. ‘Ares where are you? Ares!’
He appeared in front of them, his back to the pair, one of his large arms perched atop his sword. He swung the other large arm out while her turned to face her he spoke, ‘What is it now?’
Gabriele watched his face turn from amusement to sudden horror. ‘Where were you?’ she wept. ‘She’s dying Ares. You let her die, you let her die.’
Ares fell to his knees beside Xena, ‘Xena.’ He tried to get her attention, ‘Xena wake up, look at me. Look at me please.’ He held her limp face in his hands, ‘Please,’ he pleaded, his eyes glassed over with tears.
‘What are you going to do?’
He slid his arms under her back, picking her off of the ground she was limp in his arms. ‘Take my hand,’ he commanded, he held a large hand out to her, ‘take it please.’ She obeyed.
She was momentarily blinded with a bright flash of white light. The next thing she realized was their being on Olympus. She watched Ares as he carefully laid Xena into a small bed, gently putting her head down on a pillow, then stretching out her legs. ‘I'm not going to let you go Xena.’ He spoke to her.
Gabriele leaned on the archway that led into the room, she watched Ares carefully touching her, taking off her blood soaked armor a layer at a time. His hands lightly passed over her now bear body feeling for any other wounds that he couldn’t see. He really loves her she thought, she watched this God, now a mere mortal man brought to tears taking care of the woman he loves, as he fought to save her life. Then suddenly his hands glowed a bright gold above the wound that slowly disappeared from her belly.
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Gabriele shook her head lightly at him, ‘I understand.’ He looked down at Gabriele’s hands, covered in now dry blood.
‘Thank-you.’
‘What for?’ she clearly didn’t understand the direction the conversation had just taken.
‘For calling me, for taking care of her for all these years. For not letting her love me.’
‘Ares.’
‘No Gabriele, I’ve loved her for I don’t know how long. I would cross oceans, I would give my immortality for her to love me like I do her. But I guess that it’s not meant to be.’ He said it to her simply, he clearly wanted to accept it, but he struggled.
‘Ares, she loves you. She just doesn’t want to give up her freedom I think, not yet. But when she does, I believe that you will be the first to know. It might be today, maybe ten years from now. But you need to accept that, one day she will be with you.’ She said it matter-of-factly.
‘I'm going to make you a promise, I beg you not to breathe a word of it to her.’ He waited for her to respond, she shook her head yes. ‘I know that you are close with my sister, that you couldn’t live a day with out Xena, when that day comes. The day that she gives herself to me, you will be an immortal as well. Go into my sisters room, call out to her, and she will take you to bathe. She will give you some fresh clothes as well.’
‘Ok,’ she whispered shaking her head yes, ‘ok.’ Gabriele took two steps away from Ares, he watched her walk. Then suddenly she turned, wrapping her arms around him. He realized that she just needed to be held, so he held her tightly. ‘Thank-you, for being who you are. Thank-you for loving her, and being a friend to me.’ Gabriele turned away and trotted away from the room, down the hall.
‘Four down on your right.’ She turned around the corner.
Ares sat down at the foot of her bed, leaning his back against the wall he slid down to the floor. He waved his hand in the direction of a large pile of logs that lay stacked together in the center of the room. Leaning his head on the wall he began to fall asleep
Xena walked alone through the dark deserted halls of this ancient ruin, a pale linen sheet barley clinging to her nude shoulders. Torches lit the way through the many corridors she continued through not yet knowing where she was headed, there were gaps in the ceiling where she could see the stars above. Her dark hair blew behind her shoulders from a strong gust of wind.
She was being driven by something, some outside force that she couldn’t begin to comprehend. She continued with out question, but there was someone else in this place. She could feel deep in her belly the presence of another, just one other. She called out, but no sound escaped her lips it died in her throat. She knew the person she was going to call wouldn’t answer.
She fought to remember how she got to this place. Where her armor had gone, her companion, her horse. She awoke in the middle of a court yard, with the grass below her, a blanket of stars above her, and a thin sheet wrapped around her body.
The last thing she remembered was fighiting with Gabriele against a gang of men in Thrace. Then she remembered that she had been hurt, and that she fell asleep in Gabriele’s arms. But how had she come to rise in this strange place?
She stopped, there was now a fork in her path. The way to the right was a smooth straight hall, well lit with many torches, the once dark doors now the color of wheat, and the walls a contrasting brown. She looked to the left, the hall and the doors are the same color, but what was a smooth, straight, well lit hall to the right disappeared around the first dark foreboding turn.
Would she take the easier more predictable path, or would she take the path that led to problems, possible struggles to find her way, the greater adventure? She stepped to the right, paused for a second, then continued to the left.
Around the first turn her chakram and sword sat together, the chakram hung around the handle of the sword. She picked both up.
The hall was not as dark as it first appeared to be, there were many torches, but there were many more shadows. She questioned herself if it was the right decision to come down this hall. She asked herself if she should turn back. But she didn’t, she continued forward. On with the adventure.
She rolled the sheet securely under her arms so she no longer had to hold onto it. She was free to yield her weapons. She knew there would be no one waiting for her in the shadows, but still she felt a presence deep in her belly, she felt that there was indeed someone else in this vast expanse of doors. Someone who knew she was coming, this someone had brought her here to this place for some reason.
She came upon two open doors, and the end of the hallway. Both next to one another on her right. No handles were to be found on the doors, no way of opening them once they closed. She wanted to look into both, to see what the rooms contained. She had to decide.
Xena stepped into the first room, the cool moist grass on her feet chilled her to the bone. The door slammed shut behind her. She turned and looked back at it, startled from the piercing noise in the silent structure. For a place so swallowed by nature, there were no animals to be found. No sounds of the water that her eyes fell upon, a small brook. She looked up through the canopy of trees above her head, the moon was full. There were no more torches to be seen, the forest was lit by the moon now, no other light needed.
She looked back to where the building was to see if she could take a torch from it. It had vanished, there was no building to be found. She trotted back in the direction she had come from, it was completely gone. Xena pushed her hair out of her face, she tied her long pony-tail into a knot of sorts to keep it back, being she had no leather twine to tie it with.
Not knowing where to go next, she just walked, followed the strange feeling that told her to head onward with the brook, to follow it. She obeyed her feelings, finally after what seemed to be miles of walking she came to the end of her path. A large lake lay in front of her, surrounded by torches that lit up the night, they reflected on the water.
A branch snapped.
She turned to face the noise ready to fight ... a large black horse. It approached her, rubbing its nuzzle against her shoulder she patted it on top of its broad head. Xena looked to his feet, he was shoed. There was no saddle on back. She wondered if it had wandered away from a camp. Then something told her to get up on the horse, and let it aid her with her journey.
The moonlight made the horses dark black hair turn a shade of dark blue. She took a large bunch of hair into both of her hands to steady herself, not to lead the horse. Xena felt that if she indeed wanted to lead the horse, that it wouldn’t help, it knew where it was taking her.
They rode close to the torches, she felt the heat on her cold body. It was then that she realized how large the lake was, there must have been hundreds of torches, but suddenly the horse turned down a trail, she ducked to avoid a low branch.
Then the horse stopped when it came to a large open area in the middle of the woods, almost at the point where she could see no further were two lone torches. Xena walked to them, knowing no where else to go. The horse stood alone where she left it, she looked back to it and it was gone. She was alone again.
The torches grew larger as she came closer to them, she saw a figure sitting between them looking out onto the water. Xena grew still, she still couldn’t make out the figure, she could tell that it was a man from the large size, and the short dark hair, she stepped closer then stopped when a voice inside of her mind asked, her own voice asked. ‘You enjoyed the journey?’
She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound escaped her lips. She shook her head yes, then in her mind, ‘What brought me here? Where am I?’
Her voice answered, ‘Your destiny brought you here. You brought yourself here. You know exactly where you are Xena. You are where you are meant to be, where inside you knew you would always end up. Where you always one day wanted to be.’
‘Will you at least tell me who you are?’ she pleaded silently with the figure, dropping her chakram to the ground, ‘Tell me where here is?’
‘You should know who I am Xena, you already know love. You already know who I am, I saved your life. Feel that warmth in your belly, that’s me.’
‘Can I come closer? May I see who you are? May I see your face?’
‘Not yet, but soon you will. Soon Xena, I wait.’
Xena sat up in bed, she looked around to see where she was. Realizing that she was on Olympus she was honestly surprised. The last thing that she remembered was her fighiting along side Gabriele. She had been hurt, Xena thought that she was going to die. She figured that Gabriele must have called Ares, and he helped her. Ares saved her life. She looked down at he belly where the sword had tore her skin savagely. There was no wound now, just a small white line, barely enough to be called a scar.
Ares sat on the floor at the end of her bed, his arms crossed against his chest, his legs crossed one over the other in front of him. He slept leaning on the wall to hold him up.
She pulled the sheets up and wrapped them tightly around her almost bare body, Xena’s breast’s were bound with a pale piece of cloth, and her bottom was wrapped in the same style but it was held with a tie onto her waist. A chill crept like icy fingers up her back as her feet touched the cold ground, her long dark hair tumbled over her shoulders. Someone had taken the time to wash her hair, it was now slightly curled. Xena walked past the fire, it felt warm and inviting to her cold body. She stood for a long while watching Ares while he slept, wondering why he had done for her what he did for her. Xena wondered how long she had been asleep, and how long he had been with her, keeping a vigil. Then her mind drifted to Gabriele.
She walked out of the room she had been sleeping in, into a larger more luxurious room. There were open archways letting the cool air into the rooms. There were many cushioned seats that almost glowed in the large room that was lit by hundreds of tiny candles. There were many beautiful paintings and tables. Xena looked through the room, running her fingers over the smooth couches, admiring the mere beauty that she had never seen before.
Xena found her friend sleeping on a large dark blue couch, she was surrounded by many pillows, covered in a thick white blanket. She smiled at Gabriele who was mumbling in her sleep, she had been well taken care of. She too was clean, her hair damp from a bath she must have taken. Xena bent over and brushed hair away from Gabriele’s face, and kissed her lightly on her forehead.
Xena walked through some of the adjoining rooms, she found the room she had fought against Athena in. The room that had changed her life forever. Then she stumbled upon a well decorated pink room. The shades ranged from a pale pink, almost white, to a deep salmon color. Obviously Aphrodite’s room.
‘Aphrodite,’ she whispered, ‘Aphrodite where are you?’ There was a bright pink flash of light, and the Goddess of Love stood before her.
Aphrodite quickly pulled her into her arms. ‘Thought I lost you sister.’
Xena talked into her ear. ‘You couldn’t be that lucky. What happened?’ Aphrodite pulled away smiling at her friend.
‘From what Gabby told me, you were really hurt in battle. Some yo-yo lookin for a fight, and happened to stumble on the both of you. You got hurt, Gabby didn’t know what else to do ‘cept call Ar. You’ve been out for about a week. He was sick, thought that he was going to lose you. I'm supposed to know a lot of things, and I think that you need to have a good long talk with my big bro.’
Xena didn’t say anything, she didn’t know what to say.
‘Like what I did with the hair?’ Meaning the curl that was now there.
Xena shook her head yes, ‘I need you to do something for me Aphrodite.’
‘Anything.’
‘First, can you take care of the pain in my side?’
Aphrodite shook her head no. ‘I love you sister, but that’s his department. I lost that power when Athena died. Is there anything else I can do for you?’
‘Yeah,’ Xena took her hand, looking down at her fingers, ‘I need you to take Gabriele away from Olympus. Can you do that for me?’
Aphrodite suddenly looked worried. ‘But I thought you lost that power Xena?’
Xena laughed lightly, ‘I did. Don’t worry, he’s the only family you have left, next to myself and Gabriele of course. I just need you to take her away from here for the night, and I need to tell you something. Something I haven’t told anyone.’
‘What’s that?’ she was hooked.
‘I, she paused then continued, ‘love your brother.’
Aphrodite lit up, ‘I have been waiting for you to realize that for I don’t know how long!’ she giggled. ‘I knew that you would realize that one day, and boy oh boy am I glad that you realized that today. I need to tell you something girley. Something I asked a certain three women a long time ago.’
‘The Fates?’ she took a shot in the dark.
‘Yep. Ar wanted me to make you fall in love with him, and I tried. But that was before I knew you of course.’
‘Of course.’
‘But I tried, I don’t know how many times I tried, and nothing worked. So I went to the fates and asked them if there was something wrong with my powers, and you know what they told me?’ she paused, Aphrodite was going to wait for her to answer but she was to excited to wait. ‘They told me that I couldn’t mess with you, first of all because you are his chosen, and second of all because what you to have is true. It didn’t matter if you were going to be old and wrinkled when you realized it, but what you two have is real.’ Now more serious. ‘Mortals are put on this earth to love, I mean really love only one. It’s a very rare thing when they find one another.’
‘But.’
‘Your first, I know. That was love, but it’s not what you two have. You were put on earth to love a God baby, The God Of War, who just happens to be Ares.’ She said simply. ‘I know my brother has done some mean things to you through the years, but Xena he loves you. I couldn’t begin to explain how much he loves you. Honey he’s sat at the foot of your bed all day, and all night since he brought you up to Olympus. I couldn’t get him to come away and eat. He wanted to be there if you woke up.’
‘Aphrodite, I know he loves me. But I.’
Aphrodite kept talking. ‘You know he goes to Elysia?’
That caught Xena’s attention. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Xena,’ she sat down on a couch, and waited for Xena to sit down next to her, ‘he goes to Elysia weekly to visit with Solon.’
‘Why would he do that?’ she paused. ‘What do you mean?’ she shook her head at Aphrodite not really wanting to believe her. ‘There’s no way.’
‘Sure there is. I went down there with him once to see what he was up to. I saw him go to him, he told Solon that he was just a friend of yours that came to visit. He would tell Solon of battles you fought, of battles you won. He told him how you fought against all odds and killed all of the Gods. He told Solon of a God who loved his mother very much, a God that would always watch over her, one that would make sure no harm ever came to her. He told him that you were well, and that you should be returning home shortly. Then one day Solon,’ she smiled, ‘you know he’s just as smart as you? Solon figured everything out, figured that Ares wasn’t who he said he was. Solon told Ares that he was glad that he could watch over you, that he would keep you safe.’
Xena wanted to cry. ‘I had no idea.’
‘That’s just what he wants you to think. He’s the strong silent type, what do you expect? You’re his Warrior Princess who he will always love.’
The two turned to the sound of Gabriele entering the room. She smiled at Xena, the two hugged. ‘I thought you were gone Xena.’
‘I’m not, I'm here with the both of you now, and that’s all that matters. Thank-you.’
‘What for?’ she stepped away.
‘For calling Ares.’
‘I thought you were gunna be furious.’
‘No, I think that you helped me realize something that I have wanted no to admit for the longest time.’ Gabriele knew what she was talking about, and shook her head yes.
‘Honey, I think we need to be going.’ Aphrodite took Gabriele’s hand. ‘You wanna go to my place on the beach and meet my friend Pele? She’s a real hot head but I think you’ll like her.’
Gabriele shook her head yes, ‘Sounds fun, I’ll see you later Xena.’
‘Bye.’ She kissed her cheek, and she was gone.
Xena walked for a while longer through the beautiful rooms of Olympus, she had all the time in the world. She took in the sights greedily knowing that she was one of two mortals that would ever see this place, this land of Gods. The beauty of the things is what hit her the most, yes she had seen art. She had see the color the sky turns before the sun falls into the ocean, but she had never imagined that such beautiful things could exist. She stood out side letting the moon’s light shine on her, Xena felt safe, and she welcomed that feeling.
She saw him just a moment before he saw her. He leaned on the large archway, watching her in the night. They stood maybe five yards apart. His face was grave. They stood quite still, and for a long moment neither of them spoke.
‘I'm glad,’ he swallowed, running his fingers through his hair, ‘I'm glad that you’re well.’
Xena nodded. ‘Yes.’ Her voice was fainter than air.
She wanted to go to him but found she couldn’t move he knew it and came toward her. Watching him draw near, she feared that all that was welling up within her would engulf and sweep her quite away before he got to her. Lest it did, she reached out like a drowning soul to grasp him and he stepped into the circle of her arms and circled her in his and held her and she was saved. ‘I thought I lost you.’ he whispered.
The wave broke over her, hitting her with sobs that shook her very bones as she clung to him. He felt her quake and held her more tightly to him, burrowing his face to find hers, feeling the tears that streamed on her cheeks and smoothing, smoothing them with his lips. And when she felt the quaking subside, she slid her face through the pressing wetness and found his mouth.
He kissed her as he had kissed her before on the mountains, but with and urgency from which either of them now would turn back. He held her face in his hands, that he might kiss her more deeply, and she moved her hands down his chest around his back inside his vest pulling him tighter to her chest. He slid his hands inside the sheet that covered her body, his hands rested at the small of her back, she trembled at his touch.
They leaned apart to catch their breath and to look at one another.
‘I can’t believe that you’re here. I mean,’ he took one hand to brush hair away from her face, ‘I thought you were gone, that I didn’t do enough. I thought that I wasn’t going to be able to save you.’
‘Thank-you for everything. I’m sorry Ares.’
‘What for?’ he was confused.
‘For taking this long to realize the one sure thing that I have felt my whole life.’ She paused passing her hand over his rough cheek. ‘That I love you.’
He took her by the hand and led her through the beautiful rooms, past the room she had almost lost her life, the room where he had given his to her. He led her through the shadows of the rooms where their feet padded lightly on the cool floor.
Xena had a longing for him so powerful as they climbed a large staircase that it felt like a sickness. They reached the landing and walked hand in hand past the open doorways of rooms strewn like an abandoned ship. He stood aside as they reached his door way letting her walk past him, she took his hand and led him into the room.
He reached out and drew her to him to kiss her again. Then, without a word he started to undo a long line of ties that secured the front of the pale linen gown she was now wearing. She watched him do it, watched his fingers and then his face, the little concentrating frown. He looked up and saw her watching but didn’t smile, just held her look as he undid the last tie. The dress fell open, and when he slid his hands inside it and touched her skin, she shivered. He held her by the sides as before and bent his head and gently kissed the tops of her breasts above her bra (what Aphrodite said the Egyptians called it).
And Xena leaned back her head and closed her eyes and thought, there is nothing but this. No other time, nor place nor being than now and here and him and us. And no earthly point in calculating consequence or permanence or right or wrong, for all, all else, was nothing to the act. It had to be and would be and was.
Ares led her to the bed and they stood beside it while she stepped from her shoes, it was his turn to watch as she undid the ties that secured his vest to his pants. Then one at a time she slid off his gauntlets
The light from the candles set aglow her glimpsing skin where her dress fell open. She undid the belt that held his sword it fell loudly to the floor, she then untied the leather twine that held his pants. He let his vest fall off his shoulders.
In the momentary blindness as he pulled off his vest he felt her hands on his chest. He lowered his head and kissed her between her breasts and breathed the smell of her deep into his lungs as if he would drown in it. He eased the dress gently from her shoulders.
‘Oh Xena.’
She parted her lips but said noting, just held his gauze and reached behind her back and untied her bra. She pulled the cloth away from her body and let it fall to the floor. Her body was beautiful. Her skin was pale except for at her neck and arms where the skin had turned it a freckled gold. Her breasts were fuller than he thought they’d be. He held her tightly around her waist and just looked at her in all of her beauty.
‘Yes.’ She breathed.
He pulled the large blanket off the top of the bed and opened the sheets and she laid herself down and watched him as he took of his boots then pants. And he felt no shame nor saw any in her, for why should they feel shame at what was not of their making but of some deeper force that stirred not just their bodies but their souls and knew not of shame or any such construct?
Her eyes, when he looked at her, were dark and glazed with the same desire that he believed showed in his own. She let go of him and lay back and lifted her hips for him to take off her underwear.
The triangle of hair that was revealed was dark and thick, and of the darkest brown. Its curling tips trapped the last glimmer of light. Just above it ran a pale scar, the one that had looked so evil, so foreboding just days ago. The sight of it moved him, though he knew not why, and he lowered his head and traced its length with his lips. The brush of her hair on his face and the warm, sweet smell he found there moved him more powerfully and he lifted his head and leaned back on his heels that he might catch his breath and see her more fully.
They surveyed each other now in their nakedness, letting their eyes roam and feed with an incredulous, suspended, and mutual hunger. The air was filled with the urgent synchrony of their breathing and the room seemed to swell and to fold with its rhythm like an enclosing lung.
With a little frown of need she reached for the tilt of him and as she closed her fingers, he felt she had possession of the very root of his being. He came forward on his knees letting her steer him toward her.
As he saw her open herself before him and felt the soft collision of their flesh. Ares felt that he was returning home from some distant land of exile and that here, and only here, he would be whole again.
It seemed to Xena, when he entered her, that he dislodged in her some hot and vivid surge that swept slowly the entire length of her body to lap and furrow around her brain. She felt the swell of him within her, felt the gliding fusion of their two halves. She felt the caress of his hard hands on her breasts and opened her eyes to see him bend his head to kiss them, she shivered to the travel of his lips.
His skin was pale, though not as pale as hers, she passed her hands over his broad chest that protected her from the world. There was a supple masculinity to his massive form. He moved on her with that same centered confidence she’d seen in him all along; only now, focused exclusively on her, in this new domain, it was both more over and intense. She wondered how this body that she’d never seen in this beautiful fullness, this flesh, and these parts of him she’d never touched, could yet feel so known and fit her so well. She lifted his head between her hands and quested blindly for the oblivion of his mouth.
When their mouths parted, he leaned back and looked down at her and for the first time smiled, moving on her to show the rasp of their coupled selves. ‘I don’t want to hurt you.’ he breathed.
‘You remember that first time we rode together, you, me, and Gabriele?’
‘Every moment.’
‘That was the first time I really felt that I loved you.’
He nodded. Their eyes locked into each other, unsmiling now, in a growing preoccupied urgency, until at last she saw the flicker in his face and felt him quiver and then spurt and flood of him within her. And she arched herself into him and at the same time felt in her loins shocking, protracted imploding of flesh that rushed to her core then jolted and spread in waves to the furthest corners of her being, bearing him there with it, until he filled every place within her and they were one indistinguishable.
He woke with the dawn and felt at once the sleeping warmth of her beside him. She lay along his body, nestled in the shelter of his arms. He could feel her breath on his skin and the soft rise and fall of her breast against him. Her right leg was tucked over his. He could feel the gentle prickle of her belly on his thigh. The palm of her right hand lay on his chest above his heart.
It was that hour when normally he would leave the woman he had spent the night with, when they would want him to stay, the urge to slip away like a thief in the dawn. It seemed prompted not so much by guilt as by fear, fear that the comfort or companionship that women seemed to often want, after a night of spending so carnally, was somehow to committing even for a God who merely lusted to be a simple man to the one woman he truly loved.
If so, this morning, Ares felt no trace of that.
He lay quite so still as to not wake her. And it occurred to him that maybe he was afraid to. Never in the night, not once in their tireless hunger had she shown any sign of regret But he held her still, not wanting to let go of what they had shared in the night.
Ares traced the lines of her bare hip with his fingertips, taking in what he was feeling at this very moment trying to burn it into his memory. He was pleased beyond words with what they had shared, something he had waited a long time for. But he would have been willing to wait an eternity.
She stirred, turned over to face him. Xena pressed her body close to his willing him to hold her tighter, and he obeyed under her command. Xena smiled at him and kissed him gently. ‘Good morning.’ She rested her head on his arm.
‘It is indeed.’ She shivered as his hand slid down to the small of her back pulling her closer. ‘You slept well I trust?’
‘I always do when I feel safe.’ She said matter-of-factly.
‘Until now I did not understand how a man could be satisfied with only one woman. Xena,’ he paused closing his hand over the dip between her hip and her waist. His gentleness surprised her, for the difference in their sizes he was indeed the most gentle she had ever been with. ‘Would it be too much to ask of you, Xena, for you to spend the rest of your life in my bed? For me to be able to hold you in my arms every night as the sun sets and rises? To be able to love you like I have always? To be allowed to call you my wife?’
She held his gauze saying nothing for a long while, she watched his face. ‘You asked me this question once before.’ Xena said nothing else for what seemed to be an eternity. Then shaking her head no. ‘I have loved you like I have no other War God, I will love you to my dying day. I will love you for all time, you have my word.’
‘You are mine now, Xena,’ he whispered, ‘my Warrior Princess forever. And I am yours, always yours.’
‘Lovely words,’ she whispered, smiling at him almost sadly. She wanted to always remember this moment; to remember the look in his dark eyes.
She could feel the magic moving through her skin and her hair now, as the sunlight shone on her face. She felt his lips graze hers, and suddenly they were kissing as they never really kissed before. It was the same fire, yes, but now her strength and her urgency came to the fore to meet his. Two immortals laying together in a passionate embrace, she was his now, and forever.
Then slowly, yet feverishly, they began to make love.
The End
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