AN: This was given to me by spacenuggetrey, and their number (which I cannot for the life of me remember) ended up being 'Jealous!' This is a strange lil thing, but I hope you guys still enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Xena.
Xena wanted to say that she didn't get jealous. Not now, not after everything she and Gabrielle had been through together. She knew they were both happy, was secure in the fact that Gabrielle loved her as much as she loved Gabrielle, and knew, for a fact, whose bedroll Gabrielle would be in when night fell. She knew, for a fact, that everything was, while not perfect, as close as they could get in this world. So, Xena wanted to say that she didn't get jealous.
But that would be a bold faced lie. And as much as Xena liked to fool herself, she couldn't help the little ball forming in her stomach as she watched Gabrielle flirt with the merchant.
It was a tactic she had used so many times during their travels- Gabrielle would spend a few minutes staking out her target, watching the merchant in question deal with their customer, and take stock of how they treated each. If it seemed like their minds were more focused on their goods, then she went in head strong and stubborn, breaking down their defenses by claiming sub-par quality. Traveling as they had, she could easily claim she had seen much better for much cheaper somewhere else, tricking the seller into giving her a deal. More often than not it worked, spreading their few dinars much further than if Xena had been in charge of their shopping. She never pushed it so much as to cheat the merchants, no, but just enough to ensure they weren't being cheated themselves.
But if the merchant's eyes were more on the buyers, especially the women? Well, Gabrielle had no issue with brightening her smile, shimming her skirt down another inch or so, and shifting her top so a little bit more than normal showed before approaching the stall.
It was a tactic Xena had seen her use a hundred times before. But then the merchants had been old men, cranky things that had perked up at the sight Gabrielle presented, and who had responded well to a cute little blonde flirting with them. Men who had given her deals in exchange for a wider smile, perhaps a promise of a meeting at the local tavern. Promises Gabrielle vaguely acknowledged as she shopped, picking out the things she wanted, never fully striking them down until after the money had exchanged hands. Men she more often than not shamed into slinking back to their wives, all with a wide smile as her quick tongue tore into them. Men Gabrielle immediately rolled her eyes at when her back was turned as she returned to Xena's side, her clothes returning to their normal place as she presented her winnings with a smirk and a comment on how easy it had been.
Those relatively quick interactions Xena just watched with a wary eye- Gabrielle could take care of herself, had used her staff to make the creepier of the merchants back off before Xena could get to her side, but it was still something she kept an eye on. They had never struck a chord before, and as they had walked away, Xena had easily been able to put the men out of mind.
But this merchant was no old, married man that Gabrielle put up with for ten minutes as she restocked their medicinal herbs or bag of apples. No, she was young and pretty and single, and for the last hour she and Gabrielle had just stood there and talked, only occasionally looking down at the bolts of cloth spread on the table before them.
Xena didn't have any problem with Gabrielle having friends. She was glad she did, and they often found themselves in the Amazon village, or stopping by Athens whenever they were in the area, so Gabrielle could catch up with her sisters and the other bards she had become so close with. She didn't have a problem with Gabrielle's friendly nature- she liked that about her, that she would easily find someone to connect to wherever they went.
But even though the stare the woman gave was similar to one Xena had seen many Amazons wearing, a longing gaze that had just had Xena chuckling in pity for the poor girls, this time it bothered her.
Xena couldn't help her little huff as she watched Gabrielle laugh, the merchant woman joining in after a moment's pause. It was clear the woman was attracted to her- she had reached out and touched Gabrielle's arm, her hand, had even held up a scrap of fabric to Gabrielle's face so she could see if it matched her eyes, her hand brushing against Gabrielle's cheek. From what Xena had been able to hear of their conversation, she had sold Gabrielle the supplies they needed in order to repair Argo's saddle blanket and their sleeping furs at a pittance, low enough that even Xena had known it was wrong. Gabrielle had even tried to give her more money, a fair price- but the woman had just shaken her head and refused to take it.
That, and the fact that her eyes hadn't met Gabrielle's in quite a while, instead focused on either her lips or lower, and it was clear that the woman had other intentions in mind for the bard.
Xena wanted to say she wasn't jealous. She knew nothing would come of it. That, when the conversation finally ended, Gabrielle would be by her side shortly after.
But again, that would be a lie, and Xena was done waiting.
"Gabrielle, who's your friend?"
Gabrielle jumped as Xena slid to her side, a small scowl replacing her previous smile at being startled. When Xena just shrugged, Gabrielle shook her head and rolled her eyes, though she leaned into the arm Xena wrapped around her shoulders.
"Dima, this is my partner, Xena," Gabrielle said, turning back to the merchant. "Xena, this is Dima. She's from Phoenicia. She was just telling about her home."
"Phoenicia, huh," Xena asked, her eye brow raising as she examined Dima. Just as pretty up close as she was from a distance, though the smile that she wore now seemed a bit stiff, her eyes glancing between Xena's face and the arm hooked around Gabrielle's shoulders- a protective, possessive move, even if Gabrielle herself didn't realize the meaning behind the cuddle. "I took my army through there about seven, eight years ago. Fought against Sidon. Yours?"
"No," she said with a shake of her head, "Arwad. Though I remember hearing about Sidon being attacked...and fending off the attackers, quite easily, if I so recall." A slight hint of a challenge in her voice. Brave, and immediately Xena's respect for the woman rose. Very few stood up to her, when she brought up her past.
"The first time, maybe," Xena said, her smile perhaps a bit too wide, showing perhaps a few more teeth then necessary. Perhaps with a gaze that was a little too intense, Dima's own stare finally dropping as she fiddled with the display. "But not the second. Gabrielle," Xena said, abruptly changing the topic, glancing down at the confused woman still tucked into her side, "we need to get going. Got everything you need?"
When Gabrielle nodded in confirmation, confusion still written on her face as she glanced between Dima and Xena, Xena just nodded at the other woman before pulling away and lacing her hand with Gabrielle, leading her away after her own brief goodbye with the merchant.
For a few long moments they walked in silence, Xena leading them both through the market, back to the inn where they were staying. It was quiet, at the moment- the dinner rush wouldn't get in for another hour, meaning hopefully the baths would be just as empty. A warm soak after so many nights sleeping on the ground would be just the thing she needed to lift her mood, and the relative privacy would let them talk. They needed to figure out where they were going from here, and while prying ears listening in on their planning wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, Xena preferred their plans to not be common knowledge.
"You were jealous, weren't you?"
Xena almost missed a step as Gabrielle spoke, though she quickly recovered before it was noticeable. Glancing over her shoulder, a lie on her tongue, her words froze as she saw Gabrielle's face- a displeased pout that would make lying hard to do.
"Maybe a little bit," Xena finally grumbled, letting go of Gabrielle's hand as they reached the inn. Ducking her head into the barn next door, she nodded happily as she saw Argo settled in; the horse tender had done a good job, and she made a mental note to give him an extra dinar when she next saw him. "But you didn't see how she was looking at you," Xena protested as she turned back, Gabrielle's pout still set on her face. "She was looking at you like...like..."
"Like how most people look at you whenever we're near civilization," Gabrielle pointed out, her own eyebrow raising as she stared Xena down. "Like they wanted to get to know you in a Zeusian way? Yeah, Xena, I knew the look. And I knew what she was thinking."
"Why did you encourage her then," Xena asked, a pout of her own appearing on her lips. Part of her wanted to be mad, but considering Gabrielle had a point- it was a running joke they had, counting how many people had fallen in love with her at the drop of a dinar, and she couldn't very well be angry at Gabrielle for playing her marketing game with someone who wanted to play it back- all she did was cross her arms and look away instead.
"Because I was enjoying the conversation, got everything we needed for a lot less than it's actually worth, and you're cute when you pout," Gabrielle teased. Leaning up on her toes, she pressed a quick kiss to Xena's cheek before continuing to the inn, leaving her behind.
Xena wanted to say that she didn't get jealous, and she definitely didn't pout over her girlfriend getting along with other people. She really, really wanted to be able to say that.
But when she walked in, only to find Gabrielle openly flirting with the maid at the front counter, she couldn't help it.
Gabrielle squealed as Xena ducked and grabbed her around her knees, her stomach falling onto Xena's shoulder as she rose, leaving her half draped across Xena's back as she walked them to their room. Only for that squeal to turn to laughter as Xena plopped her onto the bed, laughter that was quickly silenced by the kiss that followed.