Another Side of War

Pairing: Gabrielle/Ares
Summary: After Xena's death, Gabrielle tries to get on with her life. She starts travelling on her own and a familiar face shows up. Ofcourse the Goddess of Love can't stay out of it. Just a fluffy Gab/Ares story, one of my first fanfics ever. I've recently updated it.
Setting: Post-FIN
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

It has been over a year now since Xena died in Jappa. Gabrielle still missed her a lot. She found comfort in the knowledge that Xena died a warrior's death as she died on the battlefield, fighting an entire army all by herself. It was her path to redemption.

When Gabrielle had returned from their journey, she went in search of Eve. She had to tell her that her mother had passed away. Eve and Xena never really got a chance to spend time together, to truly get to know each other. That thought saddened her even more. Luckily, Eve was a strong woman, she would get through this, they both would.

Having that done, Gabrielle had started to travel on her own. Eve, who was the messenger of Eli had her own path to follow. How she missed travelling with Xena. Travelling with her had been one big adventure. They had shared great joy and great sorrow. And now Xena was gone. She knew Xena would always be with her but it wasn't the same anymore. After a couple of months, the battling bard had decided to stop by one of Ares' temples. Maybe he already knew about Xena's death but she still wanted to tell him in person. She believed that he had really cared about her. They had both loved the same woman .Gabrielle had called out to him a few times but he wouldn't appear. After awhile she had given up. When she was about to leave his temple he finally showed up. She could see the sadness in his eyes. He was actually hurting. Before her was standing a man she hated more than anything in this world, but even then she went to comfort him. He pulled her into a warm and loving embrace. He just needed someone to hold, someone to share his loss with, and that person was Gabrielle. Besides his sister Aphrodite, Ares didn't really have anyone to turn to. To her own surprise, she had also found comfort in his strong arms. She was now being held by this man Ares, a man she had liked a lot and not Ares, the God of War. After a few moments he had broken their embrace and vanished without a single word, not knowing if she would ever see him again.

Gabrielle was sitting under a tree near a small stream, thinking about all that had happened. She was trying to grasp all the events that had taken place in a rather short time. The twillight, the gods trying to kill baby Eve, being frozen in an ice cave for 25 years, Eve being Livia, Eli, Xena's death.. Actually it had seemed like 2 years, but a rough 27 years had gone by, without even knowing it..She didn't even have any family left. Why did Ares have to put them in an ice cave anyway? If he hadn't interfered, everything would have gone according to plan, then they wouldn't have missed out on 25 years! But deep down inside of her, she knew he had meant well. He just wanted to protect them from the other Gods. He had been watching over them..

Ares was sitting on his throne in the Halls of War. He was looking at a portal which showed an image of a woman.. It was Gabrielle. After Xena's death, he had been secretly keeping an eye on her. She would be able to take care of herself, after all she had turned out to be a very good warrior. But still, somehow he just wanted to make sure she was alright, wanted to see it for himself. Maybe he liked her after all. Who I am kidding? Of course I like the little blonde.. Otherwise I wouldn't be spying on her.. She was no Xena but he admired her for who she was. She was quite an amazing woman. He just wasn't ready to admit it, but all in time. And besides, now that Xena wasn't around anymore to look out for her friend, he decided to take on the job.

Gabrielle lied down for a bit. This was a really nice and quiet place. She needed some rest and she wasn't in a hurry to get to the next town anyway. She tried to relax and after a few minutes she fell asleep, unaware of the God that was watching her. Why hadn't he noticed how beautiful she was before? Had he been too obsessed with Xena? Yes, she had been his ultimate warrior, he had loved her but now the Warrior Princess was gone, maybe it was time for him to move on.. Ares had realised that with the twillight, his so called eternal life would eventually come to an end too. With those thoughts he flashed out and reappeared next to the sleeping bard.

After an hour Gabrielle woke up. She was surprised to see she wasn't alone anymore. Ares was sitting right next to her.

"Ares? What are you doing here? What do you want?" Gabrielle asked surprised.

He tilted his head and smiled at her. "Take it easy blondie. I don't want anything. I just wanted to see how you're doing. Got a problem with that?"

So Ares came to check up on her...? He hadn't been around for several months and now he just shows up out of the blue. She wondered what he was up to now. But she had to admit it was nice to see someone familiar, even if it was Ares. Though, she needed to be careful.

Gabrielle got up. As she straightened her clothes she said "No, I just have a problem with you."

"Oh Gabrielle that isn't very nice of you.." he stated with mock hurt. He jumped up and as he watched her get ready to leave, he eyed the chakram at her hip. Gabrielle, Warrior Queen. The God of War was proud at her. She had truly made it as a warrior.

"When have you ever been nice to me? So why should I be nice to you? Bye Ares." She mounted Argo II and rode off, leaving Ares behind.

Ares knew she was right. He had done some terrible things to her and Xena over the years. She would probably never forgive him. He couldn't blame her though. But he wasn't going to give up that easily. He never gave up on Xena so he wasn't going to give up on Gabrielle either. He flashed out and a few seconds later he appeared in front of Gabrielle, standing in the middle of the rood, blocking her passage.

"Ares! Get out of my way!" She yelled at him. Her facial expression said a lot. If looks could kill.. She had never been happy to see him before.. so why would it be any different now?

"Look blondie.. Ahh..I mean.. Gabrielle.. I'm not here to cause any trouble.. I know.. It's hard to believe but really I was just wondering if you would like some company to wherever you're going.." He crossed his arms and looked her straight in the eye.

Gabrielle had her doubts. He looked sincere to her but Xena had always told her to be careful with Ares, especially when he was being nice but she could use some company. She wasn't used to travelling alone. It got lonely sometimes, very lonely. Oh what the hell..

"Oke.. But I swear.. If you try anything..I'll.. " She was cut off by Ares "You'll do what?" He raised his eyebrow. "But don't worry Gabrielle.. I won't." He added and smiled slyly. She urged Argo II to go on and he started to walk beside her.

Both of them were silent. She didn't know what to say to him. She never had this kind of problem with Xena, they could talk for hours. Or at least she could. But this was Ares!

"So.." Gabrielle started. Ares looked up at her. "Don't you have any wars to start?" She asked.

He laughed and shook his head. "Nothing they couldn't manage without me."

"All right .." He glanced over at her and could tell she was very nervous. He knew war wasn't Gabrielle's favourite subject although she was a warrior herself. He decided to change the topic. Otherwise they could wind up at each others throat. He wanted the 'peace' between the two of them to last.

"Where are we heading for?"

"I was just heading for Athens, to get a good meal and a good rest, maybe do a little shopping, to get my mind of things,..when you decided to drop in." Gabrielle said.

"You know I could just zap us over there?" He suggested. Godhood did have its advantages. Why not put them to use then? She shook her head.

"No Ares. I prefer the old fashion way. But we will have to set up a camp for tonight. I don't think we are going to make it before dark."

"We? So you want me to stay?" Ares teased the blonde bard.

"No, You can leave whenever you want. I really don't care.." She tried to keep her voice low and even, but failed. Maybe she was enjoying his company more than she thought was possible. A part of her had always liked Ares..Well the mortal Ares anyway but being mortal had left some marks on him. She thought it was for the better.

Ares chuckled. "I think I'll stick around."

"Whatever.." The bard sighed. Ares smirked. "Thanks for the invitation."

By now, they had been walking for almost two hours. Finally they found a place to set up their camp for the night. It was getting pretty dark. As Gabrielle gathered some firewood, Ares thought he could easily help with that and maybe score some good points with Gabrielle.

"Gabrielle.." He said softly.

"What is it Ares?" She sounded angry and annoyed at the same time. She dropped the firewood in front of him, standing with her hands on her hips.

He rolled his eyes. "Let me." He threw a small fireball at the pile of wood and it immediately bursted into flames.

"Uhm..Yeah thanks.." She gave him a half smile. Having a god around wasn't so bad at times but she just wanted to do things herself.

He sat down in front of the fire. "No problem." Gabrielle sat across from him. She let her eyes wander over to him and saw he was staring intentively at the flames.

"Ares?" He looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"Could..uhm..could you get us some food too? I mean.. It's not that I can't catch my own dinner, there's a stream not so far from here.. but I'm just so tired and.. I was just thinking.. You being a god and all.." She felt a little embarrassed asking him for food but he didn't give her any smart ass remarks, he merely nodded at her.

With just a wave of his hand, a blanket appeared with all kinds of food on it. This was a lot easier. Not to mention a lot faster too! Xena would've never approved it but it was just this once. What harm would it do?

"There you go.. Dig in." And they both started to eat. They ate in a comfortable silence, both of them not really sure what to say to one another. This was a pretty awkward situation. When they finished eating, Ares let the blanket with food disappear. It was time to get some sleep now.

"Goodnight Ares." Gabrielle said as she turned to her bedroll. "Yeah.. Goodnight." Gods didn't have to sleep so he just sat there looking at her. She was so beautiful when she was sleeping. So peaceful, so sweet, so innocent. Nothing like the warrior she had become.