Selfish

Summary: Gabrielle examines the concept of 'too good to be true,' one dark night.

Violence Disclaimer: Nope. This is all lurve, no violence, trust me.

Subtext Disclaimer: Yes. This is where subtext is maintext. It's X/G, what'd you expect?!

Copyright: Yes, copyright infringement is intended. I love being sued! Hah, no, seriously, I own none of these characters...obviously. If I did, would I really be writing fanfics about them? No. I would be continuing a really epic show. But that's not the point.

"If you knew what you knew now, would you still have come?"

"What?" The tall woman turns on her side, to face the little blonde girl. "If I had known what?"

"About that day..." The smaller woman has to swallow against a dry throat. "When you fought the slavers. In Poteidea."

"You mean, if I knew you were there, and what you'd mean to me one day?" She is answered with a wordless nod.

"I would have come much, much sooner, Gabrielle. I would have come the second I knew where you were." A sad smile, and tears fill up Gabrielle's eyes.

"Hey, hey. None of that, now. Don't cry." Concerned, the dark haired woman reaches over and pulls Gabrielle toward her, sitting up and holding the blonde woman to her chest. "I'm here. I've got ya."

Holding on tightly to the string, tanned arm that is wrapped around her, Gabrielle sniffles miserably. "I'm s-sorry, Xena."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Gabrielle nods, and turns around, so her face is nestled against the warrior's warm neck.

"It's just...every minute, of every day, I think how lucky I am to have you," she whispers. "And how easily I could have never had you. And I still don't get why you...why you want..."

"Why I want you?" Xena supplied.

"Yeah." Her voice was small. "I guess I'm afraid that I'll wake up and it'll all be a dream." She sighed and nestled closer into Xena. "A wonderful, wonderful dream. Or that you'll tire of me, and get rid of me. I know I'm annoying sometimes."

"Gabrielle."

"Yeah?" Xena smiled into the worried, teary face looking up at her.

"Never. I'd never leave you."

"You can't know that. I might piss you off one two many times, and then poof. Gone forever."

"Gabrielle, I know I won't leave you because I am, at my core, a very selfish person."

Gabrielle wrinkled her nose. "You are?"

"I am. And what you do to me...I could never give that up. Not in a million years. I love you; I love being near you, eating with you, walking with you. I love being with you," An eyebrow raised, and her blue eyes gleamed wickedly. "In more ways than one."

Gabrielle blushed, and was glad for the dark night. She reached up and placed a tentative kiss on her warrior's lips.

"And further than that, I like you."

"Is that different than love?" The bard asked quietly.

"Yes. I like spending time with you, and I like you as a person. I like talking to you, I like sleeping next to you," Xena lay down, Gabrielle practically wrapped around her, and returned the kiss with one of her own. "I like kissing you." She added softly. Gabrielle grinned, and laid her head on Xena's chest.

"Me too. And Xena?"

"Yes?"

"I like you, too."

"Good to know. Now, go to sleep, love. Things'll look better in the morning."

Gabrielle raised her head a few inches, eyeing her view, which consisted of Xena's chest, Xena's neck, and Xena's face. Grinning, she settled back down.

Gabrielle doubted things could look better than they did right now.