ENJOY THE ROMANCE:))
This whole scene was like a dream come true...Nothing could go wrong now…..And trust me, I do know that this makes me look like the ultimate disgusting pervert, but I literally held my breath as she gave that slight nod, thus allowing him to slide those straps down her shoulders. The delicate fabric soon followed, gently caressing her breasts as is glided down towards the base of her waist, finally exposing her chest to him. Needless to say, he was fascinated with what he had before him.
"Come on Bro! This was supposed to be about the wound, remember?! Changing her bandage….?" I almost exploded, once I had noticed just how entranced he was with her, despite the actual thrill of witnessing such sexy scene, a bit panicked that the overly sensual nearness of their bodies could somehow scare her away. I know Xena pretty well you see, and trust me, one wrong move would have been enough for her to build an even higher wall between them... My fears were justified...
To my boundless surprise though, it appeared like Bro wasn't really in a hurry to act like a horny teenager, on the contrary. For some reason- that it took me awhile to understand- his hands just froze once again on her waist, as he pulled the shift down, and as I waited for him to make a move on her, like the ultimate move if you know what I mean, something that she just couldn't resist to- I mean it was the perfect timing after all, if I was melting there by that wall, try picturing the Warrior Babe- I realized that I could as well grow old and wrinkled cause it wasn't going to happen….Did I just say old and wrinkled? My mistake, I just let myself get carried away!
So, where was I? Oh yeah! I kept waiting for a few seconds, anticipating a kiss or at least some accidental brush of her nipples…something….Nothing happened though, and read my lips here, nothing!
" Oh, come on ! I only said you shouldn't cross the line, I didn't mean for you to stop whatever it was you were doing there like for good!" I yelled into my head, letting out a mental sigh. This was frustrating.
As I took a closer look at the Warrior Babe, I could see that she was staring down at his hands, just like he was, a perplexed expression on her face….What on earth were they doing? Was I missing something? Was this some new sex technique they were using and that I hadn't heard of? Did she have a… hand fetish or something? I frowned at my shallow understanding of their unusual behavior and I was right about to give up trying to find an explanation for whatever was going on there when it finally hit me! They were sharing a common memory! Of course! How could I have been so blind?!
I immediately rushed to access the Warrior Babe's mind to see what she was thinking of….There was no way for me to access Stud Muffin' s without getting caught so, her perspective should do just fine for the moment….
The action must have happened least seven or eight years earlier, cause Xe looked a bit younger….
It was just a few hours after midnight judging by the position of the moon, but she didn't seem to be very sleepy, cause she was wide awake, taking a breath of fresh air on a balcony, somewhere….I took a careful look around the room…Just as I thought- one of Bro's horribly decorated fortresses…..Anyway, she was on the balcony, staring into the vast nothingness of the night, her wide blue eyes darkened by a concerning sadness….I quickly did the math…She and Stud Muffin were ok back then, no love problems what so ever….what in Zeus' name was bothering her…..?
Two strong hands wrapped around her waist faster than I could take a wild guess…It was Bro' of course…I carefully scanned his face…He didn't look particularly worried, on the contrary, he was rather in the mood for some one on one action…
" And just what is my Princess doing all alone out here in the middle of the night?"he playfully asked, kissing her shoulder and pulling her closer to his chest. She mechanically covered his hands with her own, and it was only then, as the moonlight fell straight on her beautiful face, that I noticed her tears….She had been crying….
" I couldn't sleep…" she answered, in a voice that didn't give away anything of the sadness tearing at her soul .
"Oh really? That can't be good…..I should have done a better job in getting you tired…" Bro' continued while his hands broke free from her hold and started gliding up towards her breasts instead….He was eager to have her, it was more than obvious and judging by the utter abandon in which she closed her eyes as he began pushing down the straps of her dark blue nightdress, she wasn't opposed at all to the idea…Maybe that was just the right medicine for her, the right distraction to help her forget.
As he began kissing her neckline, the fabric glided languidly down her chest, revealing the unique splendor of her full breasts, and I couldn't help thinking that my brother had all the reasons in the world to have fallen under her spell…She was undeniably gorgeous, and under the faint, yellowish light of the moon, her soft skin, now in a dusty, golden shade made her look breathtaking….divine…..
With a sudden brutality that didn't take me long to recognize, he turned her around, anxious to get rid of that piece of fabric already and get to the part that was really interesting in his point of view. The moment she faced him though, despite that untamed passion burning in his eyes, his hands froze on her waist when he noticed that fresh trail of tears sparkling on her cheeks.
For a few long seconds, he was petrified, viciously tormenting his brain into finding the precise thing that he had said or done either that night or during the day that could have caused her that amount of suffering….When he finally reached the conclusion that it was useless, that there was no way he could guess what had happened, he just brushed the still faintly present tears off her lovely visage and murmured, in such a soft, pleading voice, that my heart skipped a beat at the sound of it….He was so incredibly sweet…That was definitely the first time I had heard him use that tone with….anyone…..
"Princess…what's wrong, Darling? " he inquired, but without waiting for an answer he just went on talking- as a possible reason for her anguish crossed his mind. " I'm sorry…." he whispered while clumsily pulling the fabric up to cover her breasts. "I must have misinterpreted your reactions…We don't have to…."
She just smiled lightly at his thoughtfulness. It was amazing how incredibly considerate he always was about her feelings…To think that this was the God of War standing before her, the same ruthless Olympian that the peasant women from every village in Greece perceived as the ultimate threat, as a scrupulous rapist and a cruel, savage beast for whom love was an nonexistent concept…..It was almost funny…..
"It's not that…" she said, trying to turn back around in his embrace, desperately wanting to avoid those deep, passionate eyes of his….She couldn't stand keeping secrets from him and that was definitely not in her advantage…..
As much as she wanted it to though, he was far from letting her do it , and his hands just gripped her waist a bit harder, applying just the right amount of pressure to subtly let her know that whatever it was that had been plaguing her mind, she was definitely going to share….
" What is it then? Sweetheart….You know how much I hate to see you upset….If there's anything I can do to change that…."
"You can't….I shouldn't even be upset about it…" she whispered, and just like Ares did, it only took me a split-second to see that she was giving her best shot in trying to avoid speaking about it. Luckily, Stud Muffin wasn't precisely the type of man to just let things go….
"But you are…Please talk to me…" he murmured, sweetly tracing her cheekbone and her jawline before he tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him when her gaze began fixing the floor in an obvious, adamant refusal.
" Please…" he once again begged, and I'm telling you all, the Warrior Babe must have been clueless about the fact that this event was as rare as a planetary alignment !
"It's stupid…" she finally replied, shaking her head at her own thoughts, but judging by that pure, heavy sorrow wiping any trace of smile off her face, it wasn't really that stupid…
He didn't say anything this time, he just kept brushing lightly his thumb along her cheek, his eyes never leaving her perfect visage, patiently waiting for an answer.
" I sometimes wish things were different…."
"Different how, Princess?" he demanded to know, and I could immediately detect what Xena couldn't….the fear pumping into his veins, leaving him almost breathless…What was she saying?
" I sometimes wish I were normal…have a family, a place to belong to…" she finally confessed, brushing angrily away that unchecked tear that had had the audacity to fall from her eye, not really thrilled that she was falling apart in front of him.
"Are you unhappy with me?" he inquired, almost choking on that question, and I could definitely feel the pain cutting into his soul.
" No. " her answer was concise but it came out without delay. She wasn't lying. " It has nothing to do with you, Ares…It's more like…I don't know…I sometimes miss my old life…"she explained, and the helplessness on my brother's face was absolutely heart wrenching.
Oh Bro'!…..You were desperately in love with her...
" You do have a place where you belong….here…with me…I can be whatever you want me to be- your friend, brother, father, confidant, lover, husband… you name it….I wouldn't really have a clue on how to replace Cyrene but, I can try…. " he stated without even thinking it twice, and, to my surprise, he actually managed to draw a timid smile on her lips.
"Actually when we're training and you start yelling at me, you sound just like her…"
He cracked a smile himself, a bit relieved to see her in a slightly better humor…
"I mean it…..I'll always be there for you. Plus, I'm a God…I'm not going anywhere. " he made sure to let her know, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.
" And when you get bored with me? What then?" she finally voiced out her fears, on a rather reluctant, but definitely resigned tone.
" I'll never get bored with you…."
She just let out an incredulous sneer at the very fantasist perspective.
" Trust me, I know what I'm talking about…"he assured her, biting his lower lip in frustration. He really didn't know what else to do.
She didn't say anything this time, she just wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her into a tight, desperate embrace.
"I love you to pieces." he whispered against her ear, not caring one bit about the fact that he shouldn't have let her have that amount of power over him. "..and that's never going to change.."
"Time changes things…and feelings, Ares…"
"Time has no effect on gods…" he wisely pointed out, kissing her hair, as if a simple kiss could take all that pain away.
I was officially crying by now…..This was too touching even for my standards…
Ares' voice pulled me out of my trance, and as the memory ended, I was back in the real world. A tear was languidly rolling down the Warrior Princess' face, and just like in the scene I had just witnessed, my brother wiped it gently away.
" Nothing has changed, Xe...For me, time stopped when you left..." he said, barely above a whisper, and my jaw fell to the floor as I heard him. Wow! This was like the ultimate confession! Being there was the best decision I had taken in my life!
" What are you talking about Ares? Everything's different..." she murmured, chewing pensively on her bottom lip.
" Different , but still the same..." he contradicted, and before I realized what was happening, his lips claimed hers, in a mind- blowing, soul- searing kiss.
