AN: So, there was this gifset on tumblr from 'Old Ares Had A Farm,' and I just couldn't help but think of how Domestic Xena and Gabrielle just kills me. Xena with flowers in her hair, Gabrielle with her scarf and lace, the two of them just happy and at peace. Now, imagine if that scene had been after FIN, in a world where Gabrielle poured the ashes back into the water? Where she refused to give up on the other half of her soul. Well, that's what I imagined, and wrote a quick little drabble around it. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Xena.
There's nothing left for them in Amphipolis, not really, and while they could go see Lila and Sarah, Xena and Gabrielle want a break- not some time spent watching over a moody ex-god, not a couple of days with their family, but a real break from everything. So, they go back to the farm. It's already half restored from when Ares lived there, so they go back and finish fixing it up, getting everything done before winter. It's cozy and warm, and while it's not as beautiful as some of the places they've been it's still becoming home.
They buy some new chickens, a new cow with her calf, some more pigs, even a puppy ends up coming home with them, since Ares took Horas. Because they never got around to planting anything, they hunt to trade for supplies- even in farm villages, fresh meat is rare when it gets cold and fur is always welcome. And Xena is always able to bring in more than enough to buy their weekly provisions of dried fruits and jarred veggies, with a little left over that she sells- to save up for something in the future.
Most likely travel funds- this is nice, but they both know it's not for forever. The wanderlust will hit soon enough, and they'll go. Besides, there's still so much good to be done in the world- not because they have to, no, Xena came back into the world with a clean soul, her sins finally forgiven, but because they want to. But maybe just for the winter, maybe for a few summers, it's nice. They have each other and a home, and every few days Gabrielle goes to the local tavern and tells stories, and Xena trains any who wants to learn from her how to fight, and they spend warm summer nights on the porch, talking to their neighbors and being friendly (at least, Gabrielle does. Xena smiles and nods, though she doesn't add much to the conversation).
Eve comes to visit, whenever she's in the area, and they always have a room ready for her, just in case. Virgil will show up too- once he brought his whole family, and Xena and Meg got to sit down and talk. To clear the air about some things ("You left all of us in a bind, disappearing for twenty-five years like that. Worried me sick. And have you even thought to go see Diana or Leah? Yeah, I know about the Hestian- the three of us remained close, though we wished our fourth would come back one day.") and to never touch on others (Xena wanted, many times, to apologize for Joxer. But the words never came, and Meg never brought him up, not between the two of them).
Other old friends, Auto, Hercules, Iolaus, some of the Amazons from Gabrielle's tribe, come to visit too- it's weird, seeing the faces they loved so dearly so much older, but they still smile and laugh in much the same way, and it works.
Occasionally villains appear, some much more of a threat then others- Draco shows up one day, old and long past his warlording days, though still with a sword in hand, demanding to fight Xena for Gabrielle's hand. They talk him down, let him stay for the night, then send him off when his son, a young man almost Gabrielle's age, comes to take him home and leaves with a crush of his own. But sometime's it's someone real, someone who heard Xena had hung up her sword and wanted to take her out now, while she was weak- they never win, never even come close, though they always sit for a while after and ask if it's finally time to leave.
They eventually do, perhaps after that first winter, perhaps after a couple of summers, but eventually, they do leave. They give away the chickens and the cows and the pigs, sell everything they can part with and take everything they can't to Lila's, keep the dog- they couldn't get rid of her if they tried. They board up the house as best they can, and the neighbors promise to look in on it every once in a while, to make sure nothing nasty had taken root. In case they ever want to come back.
Argo's excited to be back on the road, though farm life was good to her. They use some of the money they had saved up to buy Gabrielle a horse of her own. And they go- off to see the rest of the world that they had yet to see, to explore everything out there that was waiting for them.
One day, when they were truly tired of the road, when what they needed was retirement, not a vacation, they would go back. Unboard the house, rebuy the animals, maybe, if they were young enough, give raising a child or two one more try- but overall they would hang up their swords and sais and chakram, and they would be domestic.
AN: Just, fuck, domestic Xena and Gabrielle just kills me.