OK...SO LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENED AFTER XENA CAME BACK AMONG THE LIVING...
Dear Papyrus, it's been almost a week now since Xena nearly died on me- or better said since my soul nearly died along with hers. When that selfish Bastard told me that she was alive and breathing, it felt as if the most massive weight anyone could imagine was lifted off my chest….One thing I'm sure of though…I never want to relieve that horrible experience like ever…in my life….I sure hope I get to die first when time comes -given that I'm not very sure I'd be able to carry on living, haunted by the awareness that my best friend, my soulmate- left me behind- I need to tell her that by the way….
One other thing I'm sure of, is that Xena seems somehow …changed. Ever since Ares brought her back, she has been acting very weird…She has been unusually tense and quiet- not that she has ever been the talkative type- as if she's constantly waiting for something to happen…I don't know…maybe she's right…Maybe I'm just imagining things….The only good thing about our little adventure though is that so far, that self conceited jerk has been probably way too busy waging wars and bossing his soldiers around to show up at the temple….I sure hope he stays away until Xena is well enough for us to leave…And speaking about Xena, I forgot to ask her how her wound was today and if she needed me to change her bandage….
XXX
Indeed, in the Warrior Princess' room, the tension and the anxiousness were floating ominously into the air, like fog…
"Aphrodite….Have you seen Ares today?" Xena casually inquired, without making eye contact with the Love Goddess, trying not to appear overly interested in the subject- way more focused on eating that juicy grape her bubbly friend had kindly materialized before her than to actually find out details of the God's whereabouts.
" Bro…? No…" the blunt lie came out of her mouth as fast as an arrow, and the words themselves felt so unbearably spicy to her tongue that she couldn't have kept them glued to it for more than a few seconds anyway.
Truth be told, she had spoken to the War God in the morning, once again trying to convince him that what he was doing was not only childish and stupid, but it also radiated cowardice from the minute she had walked inside that dark, primitive cave he proudly called his lair.
" I've been trying to reach him for the past few days but he hasn't been answering my calls…" Xena mentioned, patiently waiting for Aphrodite's reply…The Goddess was a terrible liar and from the moment she popped into the room, the Warrior Princess could see how nervous she was. She was hiding something- something that had to do with her brainless brother- whose signals she had such a hard time deciphering….
"Hmmm…well...you know Bro…" the Goddess started, struggling to act like her normal, bubbly self, but Xena could see right through her. ." I'm sure he must be caught up in a war somewhere. Watching people slaughtering each other has always fascinated him in a weird , morbid kinda way…" she answered, making a rainbow colored fruit cocktail materialize in her hand .
...So…she felt the imperious need to drink….
" What? It' s true…" Dite simply continued when the Warrior Princess cast her a sharp, suspicious glace – despite that no actual accusation had left her lips-
"…. he might be my brother but he's a psychopath….A handsome psychopath, but…"
" Dite….he hasn't been answering my calls….MY calls…" Xena stressed, barely restraining the need to scream at her. Had that shade of pink she was wearing affected her brain in any way? A God not answering his Chosen' s calls was as serious as …the Twilight itself.
" I heard you..." Dite retorted, a small, fake smile forcing itself on her lips as she pensively twirled her golden blond hair between her fingers… There was no reason to panic. No reason at all…she was prepared for this. She had been rehearsing her answers in front of her bathroom mirror for hours before the Warrior Babe called. She could do this…." No need to worry though. " she continued. " Have I told you about that time when all connection with Olympus broke down and Daddy went all ballistic and stuff ?! He was desperately trying to locate Thena 'cause there was this massive army heading straight for Greece and…Bro! You're here! " she nearly jumped for joy, relief washing over her previously tensed features at seeing her brother, forgetting all about the made up story she had been sharing with Xena " The Warrior Babe was just wondering were you were…" she pointed out, slapping his chest angrily as she passed him by.
" Missed me already?" the God simply asked, as if nothing major had happened.
" Where have you been?" the Warrior Princess bluntly questioned, refusing to let him distract her in any way from her goal.
" You know….around…" he stated, snatching the glass from his sister's hand and taking a long sip. " What in Tartarus is this?!" he blurted out, scowling at Dite who just rolled her bright blue eyes in response - exasperated with his lack of manners.
The Warrior Princess' harsh voice kept her from verbally articulating her thoughts anyway... ….
"And you have been ignoring my calls because….."
" I gotta split. See ya later kids'…"the bubbly Aphrodite announced, much to Ares' despair. He really hoped he could rely on her for once to bail him out somehow…
"Dite…"
Too late…She was already gone, a few rose petals and sparkle being the only clue that she had actually been there.
" That's a bit drastic don't you think? I've been busy…" he finally answered, taking another sip- longer this time- from that absolutely repulsive drink he was holding…
"Busy? " Xena inquired, narrowing her eyes at him. Was he mocking her by any chance?
" Yeah… busy…" the God stressed, carelessly throwing the glass over his head as he finished it, and silently cursing that he had decided to show up after all….
" Busy doing what exactly? " she demanded to know, her acid tone suddenly turning even more sarcastic and metallic. At the same time, her stomach clenched with an unjustified fear. Why on earth did she feel that distance between them all of the sudden?! Why had he disappeared without a word like that?!
" Well…I'm a God remember ? I happen to have responsibilities. Plus, Greece isn't precisely your mother's backyard from Amphipolis …I have worshipers who have the most ludicrous problems and demands…" he tried to defend himself, a useless strategy of course, that only seemed to infuriate his Princess even more.
" And since when do you give a crap about your worshipers?" she barked, ready to hit him straight in the head with that empty ceramic bowl she had been holding.
" It's not that I actually give a crap about any of them, but still, I do have to feign the minimum of interest every now and then…It keeps the business going, ya' know? "
" Any other reason you can think of for having refused to come when your own Chosen called?" she harshly interrogated, glaring daggers at him.
" What's the big deal, anyway? It was nothing serious after all, was it?"
" How do you know? I could have been bleeding to death or …something…"
" Again?!" he exclaimed, chuckling nervously as a represses series of images rushed into his brain. " Honey give me a break! I still need a few days to recover after the last similar stunt you pulled on me! "
" It isn't funny, Ares!" she yelled, misinterpreting his bitter chuckle for something else entirely.
" Damn right it isn't! Why are you even angry anyway? ..that I was too busy to drop by? You nearly died a few days ago and I didn't even budge an inch from that accursed armchair. Zeus was pissed that he couldn't get a hold of me! Do I need to say more?! "he spat, furious with her endless questions...
" That you have been avoiding me!" she replied, and this time, her answer was quiet.
"Avoiding you? Pffff !" he snorted, his heart hammering louder and louder in his temples. " How did you come up with that?!"
" Oh come on Ares! Too busy for your own Chosen? When was the last time that happened? Now if you had other type of affairs, that's none of my business, but…" she stated, those thorny words literally grazing her throat as she uttered them.
" Whoaaaa! Let's not just jump to conclusions….! "
" What did you expect me to think? !"
" Yeah well, pardon me , my Lady for not being on your beck and call 24/ 7!" he roared, and anyone could have seen that he pretty much acted like a cornered beast, screaming for the only purpose of releasing the tension and the frustration that had gathered inside his heart for the past few days….
"Why are you even so edgy?!"
"I'm not edgy!" he bit back, making great efforts to control his breathing.
" You're not?" she questioned, stretching her hand slowly and gently tracing the contour of his jaw before she closed the distance between them, her lips brushing his-in the sole purpose of making a point.
" Xena….." he whispered, gulping noisily when he felt that ever so tender kiss on his lips. " Xe….wait…." he mumbled, pushing her nervously back, a dark frown creasing his forehead.
" You were saying?"
" I uh….I'm not feeling well. " he tried- but it was as clear as daylight that it was just another petty excuse…." I don't know…I might have caught the flu…"
" The flu?! " That was it….their whole conversation was getting ridiculous and she was getting tired of this irrational behaviour of his. " Ares you're a God…." she coldly reminded him.
" The Olympian flu. There's this virus…very dangerous. I'm telling you…it's spreading fast...It's wild!"
" Are you seriously expecting me to believe that? Ares….I might have been delirious for three days but I'm not brain damaged!"
" How can you tell? Maybe the fever…" he stupidly continued his charade, only to stop when her hand covered his. For a split second, their gazes connected and it felt like she could see right through him, straight into his soul. " ….Sorry…."
" Don't you think I at least deserve an explanation? "
" Trust me, you're blowing this way out of proportion….."
" I called you and you didn't come! "
" I did , ok?!" he finally confessed, a shout that bounced from one wall to the other several times before it hit the Warrior Princess' eardrums at full speed.
" What? "
" I did….Every time…."
"No you didn't! I would have known…" she firmly contradicted.
" You couldn't have possibly sensed me, ok? I didn't step out of the aether…I only came to check up on you, see if you were feeling better and then I left….."
She was flabbergasted.
" But…why?!"
There was a long, painful pause, in which- with everything he had- the War God fought that raging need to tell her what he felt….The words finally escaped his well sealed lips on their own….
" I'm scared…."
" Of what?"
" That I might hurt you…..That you have been right all along- that I'm indeed bad for you….I nearly lost you….and it was all my fault! That fucking bitcth would have never even got so close to you if…."
His passionate confession ended abruptly though the moment he realized what he had been saying…
