SO UH...IT MIGHT BE MY OWN IMPRESSION, BUT I REALLY THINK ALL HELL'S ABOUT TO BREAK LOOSE SOON :))
Unlike Argos, where the air was rather crisp and of a refreshing coolness that night, in Lesbos, there was this bothersome humidity that forced the War God take a few deep breaths as soon as he set foot on the island. He simply hated that eternal moisture crushing the lungs, making even an immortal feel as if there was not enough oxygen to sustain life- not to mention that the absolutely overpowering scent of the orange trees covering almost every square meter of that floating piece of land, lethally combined- at least for his olfactory system - with the head-spinning smell of gardenia and lilac-made him feel nauseous and particularly edgy ….
Truth be told, this part of Greece had always been amongst his least favourite destinations, and yet, there he was again, staring blankly at the glassy vault of the heaven. He could have sworn on the Styx itself that even the stars didn't seem to glow as bright as they did above the rest of the world….!
A few more steps , and his stomach shifted uneasily as the shape of her ghostly white marble temple came into sight just as the metallic taste of blood –from the few drops that he had managed to draw while nervously chewing on his bottom lip- suddenly made him even more aware of the desperate situation he had managed to get himself into.
Normally , she would have been the last person on the face of the earth to feel restless around, but given the nature of the conversation they were about to have, he had every reason in the world to feel as vulnerable as a mortally wounded beast. He knew her far too well, you see …She was going to smell the guilt on him, she was going to actually witness first- hand all that carefully hidden inner turmoil, the drama, the emotional decimation , the weakness…..and by Tartarus , she was going to use each and every one of those incriminating little details against him, for the rest of eternity- and eternity was quite a long time …Gotta understand why he wasn't particularly thrilled with having any type of heart to heart chit- chats in the first place- they always got him in trouble one way or the other. And yet, not for the love of Gaia could he see a more viable solution for his labyrinthine problem…..Plus, she was most likely holding the answer to all of his questions, and the key to his mental cell …..
"Hi there, stranger ! Are you going to stay out here all night? !" her merry voice- the unique inflections of which held him paralysed in place for a moment or two- broke out literally out of nowhere, causing a small frown to appear on his forehead as he glanced quickly around himself….The invisibility shield was still in place, still protecting him from both mortal and immortal eyes, perfectly concealing even his powerful magnetic field- or so he thought…
" Oh , come on, Stud Muffin! " she shrieked as she threw herself onto his back, straddling his waist with her legs while her creamy white, slender arms wrapped tightly around his neck …."Now you'll have to carry me all the way back to the temple" she laughed. " I have been waiting for this piggy back ride for like….forever…"
" Are you for real, Dite?!" he snapped, an obvious hint of outrage definitely present on his features when, turning his head, he finally caught a glimpse of her….
But let me just tell you, that if those soft platinum blonde curls and the rosy cheeks didn't do the trick, than for sure, her alluring ocean blue eyes and that pearly white smile- the brightest he had ever seen- somehow convinced him to give into her utterly ludicrous demand. Come to think of it, he stood no chance of refusing her, really ….
" Come on, Ar, run ! Giddy –ap! Giddy- up, boy!" " she urged, clicking her tongue while moving impatiently back and forth.
" You gotta be kidding me….." the War God mumbled beneath his breath as he lazily followed her instructions, mechanically adjusting his direction but stubbornly refusing to actually give up on that invisibility shield that he had expertly projected around himself.
Consequently, it was no wonder that the scene itself would have been classified as some sort of paranormal manifestation for any outside viewer who might have happened to witness the peculiar appearance of a close to naked Love Goddess floating into mid air in a position that was more than unusual for any living creature inhabiting both land and sea.
"Faster horsy! Faster!" the super duper excited Aphrodite cried out, repeatedly slapping her brother's right ass cheek , making the War God roll his eyes in desperation , despite the fact that he did actually gather some speed, probably anxious to get this overly humiliating experience over with already.
"Happy ?" he wasted no time in asking, as soon as, entering the cosy main hall, he brutally threw himself right onto his sister's pink fluffy sofa, making her scream her head off the instant her back hit the wooden frame of the accursed piece of furniture.
Seconds later, she was whining and crying hysterically, just like an annoying three year old child who had stupidly fallen and scraped his knee- on the flattest of surfaces, out of all places.
" Would you shut up already, Dite?! You're a Goddess! Pain should not even be present on your limited vocabulary list!"
"Well it hurts anyway!" she yelled back in frustration, while furiously wiping her tears.
"What hurts?"
"I don't know! My feelings, maybe! " she sneered, on the same exasperated tonality she had used before.
" Hmmmm….That's weird…Though now that you've mentioned it, I might have heard your spine cracking. …Who knows...maybe from now on, you could change your title into the Crooked Love Goddess of Olympus. A little re-branding has never killed anyone. Plus, I bet your loyal subjects would simply adore this new, vulnerable version of an uglier you….They would definitely build you new temples and they would most likely sacrifice a few chickens in the honour of the newly proclaimed deity….The latest symbol of humanity….I must admit, it's quite an original concept…This could actually work…." he mused, completely ignoring the river of tears that was now flowing continuously down her face.
" Are you like serious ?!" she inquired in between sobs, barely able to end that last word.
" Totally ….." he stoically stated, arching his brows at the sight of her. She was the ultimate image of hopelessness and despair…How in Zeus' name had this woman survived all those eons was beyond him….He just couldn't comprehend- not even partly- the completely screwed up principles according to which her neurons worked…..
That being said, a new wave of tears started to stream from her red, puffy eyes, threatening to flood both the island and the nearby territories .
" Ok, ok!" he yelled at her, finally deciding to put an end to all that madness. " Cut it out already! I was just joking... ! " he confessed, in the vain attempt to calm her down .
" You're just saying that! I will be crooked and ugly for the rest of my life!" she whined, her small fists punching angrily his rock hard back a few times.
" Sweetheart, I was just playing with you ….You could never be ugly…You're the most beautiful woman to have ever walked the earth, remember ?" he reassured, finally turning around and grabbing a hold of her hands, kissing them affectionately until fists turned into palms….
Judging by her still lowered gaze, he still wasn't out of the woods yet...A change in strategy was in order...
"Dite …come on….I 'm sorry…" the War God insisted, tenderly wiping her tears away instead. " ...I over reacted…." he murmured, making sure to place a chaste kiss on the tip of her red, puffy nose and a matching one on her gorgeous, swollen lips.
This time, that absolutely enthralling smile of hers, shined brighter than the torches on the walls…Ares couldn't help but smile back ….
" You're crazy….." he couldn't help uttering on the lowest of tones while he pulled her into his arms, smiling once again into her delicately perfumed hair as he heard her giggle childishly at his gesture.
"And you're an animal…" she playfully bit back, pinching his leg, eliciting a small but most rewarding moan from him. "How do you like that?" she victoriously inquired, but the Olympian didn't seemed to mind. He simply let her take pleasure in her petty revenge, somewhat intrigued by her slightly unnatural, overly melodramatic reactions, and moments later, he simply planted a loving smooch on her cheek, tightening his hold on her even more.
It was only then that he noticed she was literally close to naked, wearing only a light pink transparent gown , an almost invisible bikini and a craftily embroidered push up bra that made her breasts look at least twice bigger than they actually were- not that he had ever heard someone complaining about their absolutely perfect size. Despite himself, he couldn't help shaking his head disapprovingly ….The mere idea of her allowing right about anyone to stare at that tantalizingly hot body made him want to slap her silly ….
" Yeah, I love you too …" she giggled, as if having expertly read his mind. Her brother had never been big on expressing his feelings, but whenever he allowed even the slightest trace of emotion to escape through the cracks of that otherwise thick armour he had skillfully built to protect his soul, he could be the sweetest guy on the planet…The Warrior Babe was a lucky, lucky girl, she silently told herself.
" So uh…..are you going to get rid of that invisibility cloak already ….? Talking all by myself can become brain damaging at a certain point, you know…" she muttered, while proudly admiring her nails…She had just got them done that night and, to her boundless surprise, she was still madly in love with that strawberry shade she had used this time . It was just the right nuance, and that subtle hint of rosewood right at the tip only made them even more captivating- at least in her opinion….
" Trust me, Honey ….your brain couldn't possibly get any more damaged than it already is…." he acidly retorted, and he couldn't help it. He just had to laugh at his own dark sense of humour. " Plus…..it's not a cloak, it's a shield. "
A perfectly executed elbow strike straight to his liver, made him let out a dramatically low moan.
" Took you off guard, huh ? Now, that's funny …..And I'm pretty sure it's a cloak…."
"Shield …." he contradicted through clenched teeth, glaring daggers at her.
"Cloak….." she childishly insisted, turning around in his arms, and straddling him while looking for a more comfortable position.
"Whatever…." he concluded, making the damned thing vanish already , and for the first time that night their gazes actually met…She could instantly tell just how right she had been only by scanning his face for the briefest of seconds ….There was definitely something on his mind…Well, at least the whining sister routine helped him relax a bit , she thought, barely restraining a warm smile – it always worked.
"By the way …" he continued, before the detail slipped his mind. " How did you know I was here ?! According to Hermes, that wretched thing was supposed to perfectly conceal my presence … "
She just snorted at the ridiculousness of the question.
"Not from me it doesn't …."
A bit taken aback by the response, he just stared pensively at her for a few seconds, as if there had to be something he was missing...
"Bro…trust me….your aura is like a pulsar of dark energy. There was no way your presence could have passed unnoticed…..Not here, anyways….." she added, her fingers now slowly tracing the silver patterns of his pendant. "But..uh... moving on to more important things…Whatcha' doin' here ?! ?" the blunt question left her sexy lips, making him flinch.
Believe it or not, their endless banter along with the silliness of the situation had magically managed to wipe away all problems from his overly worried mind.
" Couldn't sleep? Wild thoughts keeping you awake at night….?!"
"That's one way to put it…" he murmured under his breath, making a goblet of red wine appear in his hand….
"Oh…It's that bad?" she rhetorically inquired- for she no longer needed an answer to that question. Not with her brother gulping the temptingly scented liquid down his throat- only to swiftly materialize a refill before she could blink once.…
"Ok….."she musingly remarked, silently wondering whether she was also in the mood for a few sips or not.
" I have been having this problem for…quite some time now …" he started, stubbornly avoiding eye contact and looking almost ashamed about it.
" A problem …." Aphrodite repeated, tenderly wiping his beard clean from those few rebellious drops of wine that were languidly trickling down his chin.
"Yeah….Quite a delicate one, I might add…."
" Can't get it up ?" the Love Goddes sternly asked, cutting to the chase, adamant about spearing him the humiliation of having to actually admit it.
Instead of a proper answer, his impressively large cock suddenly pressed against her soft pussy lips through the nearly nonexistent fabric of that indecently transparent bikini, making her twitch in surprise.
" Okey dokey …." she barely breathed out, trying hard not to seem affected in any way by his demonstration . " So….uh….I think we can safely check that off our list….."
" I think we most definitely can…." he added, a hint of amusement in his voice as he playfully wrapped a platinum strand of hair around his fingers, pulling her closer to him.
"What seems to be the problem then ? " she immediately asked, refusing to fall for his antics.
" A woman …." he simply stated, gulping nosily when the sounds spread into the air.
"No surprise there !" she laughed, almost breathing a sigh of relief. " With the Warrior Babe, you never know what to expect…."
He took his time studying her before he spoke again. When he finally did, his words left her literally agape.
" It's not Xena…."
Her heart skipped a beat.
"What do you mean ? Who else is there?!" she asked, on such an innocent, childlike tone, as if apart from her, the Warrior Princess had been the only other woman on the face of the earth…