Mount Olympus was all set for tonight. Aphrodite was really looking forward to the party. This party was going to be a welcome distraction from all that has happened. With the Twillight, there weren't many Gods and Goddesses left. Even Zeus, King of the Gods was gone. So much has changed after that. It has been a dark time for the Olympians. But Aphrodite was going to shine some light on it! This was going to be one groovy night! She was going to make sure of that.
"Big Bro? Are you busy? Cause it's party time!"
Ares appeared on the other side of the main hall, leaning casually against a pillar. "Well you're awfully happy Sis."
"Duh! Forgotten about the party already?" Ares sighed and eyed the place. "No, with you around and this for decoration? How could I possible forget?!" He said teasingly.
"Quit it Ar! I want you to do something for me. "Oh boy. Here we go again. "And what's that?" He asked carefully.
Dite smiled. "Pick up Gabrielle for me. Bring her here so she can get ready for the party." That wasn't so bad. "Sure, i'll pick up Blondie."
She squealed with delight. "Thnx alot bro!" Ares walked towards his sister. "Well off I go then. See you later Sis." And he disappeared in a flash of blue light, looking for Gabrielle.
Gabrielle was standing knee deep in river water. She was trying to catch her a fish for dinner. Xena had always been very good at this. She wasn't so bad either but Xena used to be much better at this. I guess you can't have it all in life.. She felt a chill running down her spine..She looked up and saw Ares laying comfortable in the grass at the side of the river. He gave her a playful smile. She returned the gesture.
"I hope you're not making fun of me." Gabrielle said walking over to Ares.
Ares sat up en put up his hands defensively. "I wouldn't dare!" Gabrielle just laughed. "Good." She seated herself next to him and pulled on her boots.
"So to what do I ow this visit?" Ares turned his head to look at her. "Dite sent me to pick you up for the party."
Gabrielle looked surprised. "What? Right now? And you are invited too?" He nodded. "Is that a problem?" She shook her head. "No!..No ofcourse not. As long as you don't try to kill me." Ares stared into her eyes and leaned in a little more. "Not a chance." Gabrielle swallowed hard. "That's good.." She whispered.
"Right. So, are you ready to leave?" He asked her.
"Uh.. I guess so..but what about Argo II?" Ares looked at the horse. "Don't worry, she'll be safe. I'll transport her back at one of Zeus' stables." Then he got up and held out his hand for Gabrielle.
"Now are you ready? I'm not going to ask it again." She took his hand and got up. "Let's go then." He pulled her into his arms and disappeared in a shower of blue sparkles.
They appeared in the Main Hall at Mt. Olympus. Gabrielle had been here before, but she didn't remember it because most of the time she spent here, she was unconscious. Xena had told her what happened that day, she had gone to Athena to have a little talk, but it had ended in a fight. They would have all died here if Ares hadn't given up his Godhood to save her life and Eve's. Xena would have lost her power to kill the Gods and Athena would have killed Xena for sure. She still wasn't sure why Ares saved her too. Eve was the only one that needed to be saved to keep Xena from getting killed.
Ares looked at Gabrielle concerned "Hey, you alright?" She just nodded. "I was just thinking about what happened here with Athena." She looked at Ares. "I'm sorry..I didn't mean to.." Ares put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"That's alright. There are times I too think about it." He smiled bitterly. "They never liked me in the first place.."
Gabrielle placed her hand over his. "Let's go find Aphrodite, shall we?" She said and Ares nodded. "Right, this way.." and he lead her out of the main hall to Aphrodite's quarters.
"Gabrielle!" Dite exclaimed as she saw Gabrielle enter the room followed by Ares. "I'm so glad you're here." Gabrielle smiled. "It's nice to see you too Aphrodite."
"Well, Gabrielle you should get ready for tonight. In that closet over there you will most likely find a nice dress to wear." She pointed to a large pink closet. Gabrielle nodded. "All right. I'll get changed and then i'll meet up with you guys." Aphrodite gave Gabrielle a quick kiss on the cheek. "Great Sweet Pea. Let's go Ar." Aphrodite said as she nearly dragged Ares along, out of the room.
Gabrielle walked to the closet. She opened it and inside were hanging some very beautiful dresses. She would have a difficult time picking one out. Finaly, her eye fell on a nice dark green dress with golden straps to hold it up. She tried it on and looked at the mirror. It fitted perfectly. The green matched the color of her eyes and the gold matched her short blond hair. A pair of golden earrings would go nicely with it too. She found some in a small jewelery box and she put them on. They looked great on her. She was satisfied by the way she looked. But she still had the feeling that something was missing. A necklace perhaps? She saw her bag laying on the bed with an emerald green scarf sticking out of it. That was it! She took the scarf she got from Ares out of the bag and wrapped it around her neck. "Ok, now I can go." She walked out of the room and went in search of Aphrodite and Ares.
The Goddess of Love and the God of War were both in the Main hall. Besides the two of them there were also Cupid and Psyche. It was still early in the evening. The other Goddesses would arrive soon. Ares poured himself and Dite a goblet of wine. She then saw Gabrielle walk into the main hall. "Gabrielle! Over here!" She yelled and waved at her. Gabrielle smiled and walked over to Aphrodite and Ares. Ares nearly dropped his goblet when he saw Gabrielle. She looked so beautiful in that dress. She almost looked like a Goddess. He also noticed that she was wearing his gift. That he didn't expect. How could he have not seen her like this before?
"I see you found a proper dress to wear. You look great!" Dite complimented her. Ares nodded in agreement. "She's right. You look.. Amazing. Not that I don't like your amazon outfit, but this is something else.." Gabrielle blushed and smiled. "Thanks.. You two look great too."
"I always look good in leather." Ares said. "I won't argue on that." They both smiled at each other. Aphrodite just giggled.
"Say Gabrielle, that's a nice scarf you got there. Yours?" Dite asked. Gabrielle blushed a little. "Um.. No it was a gift from.. someone." She looked at Ares. Aphrodite's eyes widened in confusion. "You gave it to her Ar?" Ares nodded slowly. Dite smiled. "That's so sweet of you bro." Ares growled. "I don't do sweet. Besides it was nothing." He stared at his goblet. "Want some wine?" He asked Gabrielle, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, I'd love that." Ares poured her some and handed her the golden goblet. "Here you go." Gabrielle took it from him. "Thanks Ares." She took a sip from the wine and while doing so turned her head to look around the room when she saw two other gods walking towards them. One of them had wings. Cupid.
"Gabrielle, I want you to meet my son, Cupid the God of Love. Isn't he handsome?" Gabrielle smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he is. But we already met once."
"Oh that's right. I forgot." She giggled a little. "And this is Psyche. Cupie's girlfriend." Psyche smiled and greeted the little Bard. "Nice to meet you Gabrielle."
"It's nice to meet you too Psyche." They exchanged warm and friendly smiles.
"Well we're going to leave you three alone now. Enjoy the party Gabrielle. You too mum. Uncle." Cupid said as he and Psyche walked away.
The other Goddesses arrived at the party. The music started to play. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Ares on the other hand was a little bored after awhile. He sat down on a couch and leaned back. He took another sip of his wine. He saw Gabrielle talking to Cupid and Psyche. At least she was having fun.
Gabrielle seemed to notice that he was bored when she came to sit next to him.
"Not having fun Ares?" Ares turned his head to look at her. He smirked. "It's a nice party. Don't get me wrong. But it ain't my style. Though i'm glad Dite didn't overdo it." Gabrielle chuckled. "I know what you mean. Luckily it doesn't have Aphrodite written all over it."
"But you seem to enjoy yourself quite well." She nodded and said "You're right. To be honest, I didn't think I would, but I do now. It's nice to get your mind of things for a while."
Ares felt very uncomfortable. He wanted to talk to Gabrielle about certain things. "Gabrielle.." He began. "Yes Ares?" He didn't know how to start. He never used to have problems with this before. He always used to pop in on her and Xena whenever he liked. He always used to say what he wanted to say and he always did what he wanted to do. He was Ares, God of War, not some silly little boy. And he did some pretty bad things to them over the years. He had really loved Xena. But she never gave him a chance. And then she died. It was also then that he truly started to notice Gabrielle. And lately, he had gotten the feeling that Gabrielle saw him in a different light too. Maybe there was a chance for them. Maybe it would work out after all. He was falling for short, blond and preachy. He smiled to himself.
"Ares?" Gabrielle repeated his name. "Huh? Oh yeah, sorry got carried away for a sec."
"That's alright. What did you want to say?" He moved a little closer to her on the couch and took her hand in his. "Well, Gabrielle.. You know I used to think of you as the annoying little sidekick?" She nodded and smiled. "Well.. I don't think of you like that anymore. I mean.. A couple of years back, When I asked you to lead my army and to be Xena's successor, I meant it. It wasn't just to get Xena back. I really thought you had potential. But I guess I was still too focussed on Xena. I did love her you know. But, now she's gone. I do miss her and I know you do too. We both had a difficult time coming to terms with that. But it's time to move on and.. Damn this is harder than I thought.. I just want to say.. I really.. I really like you.. I've fallen for a warrior whose short, blond and still a little preachy." He grinned sheepishly at Gabrielle.
Gabrielle just stared at Ares open mouthed. So that was what he had been up to. Not trying to work out some evil plan but trying to figure out his feelings for her. It had hit her like a pile of rocks. She just didn't know what to say. Ares looked at her, tension showing all over his handsome face.
"Damn.I shouldn't have said it." He cursed himself for doing it. "No! I mean..Yes.. It's fine..I'm glad you said it.. I was just surprised. That's all." His face relaxed a little. "So you're not mad at me?" Gabrielle smiled. "Ofcourse i'm not. There's nothing wrong with telling people how you feel. And I need to tell you something too.." She squeezed his hand. "When you were mortal I saw another side of you. A more human side. Sure I used to think of you as a manipulative bastard. And after that stunt you pulled with Varia and the amazons I thought you hadn't changed one bit. But then I realized that's what you do. You are still The God of War. I came to understand it. Just like Xena did. I didn't think you were that bad. And you're right about Xena. I really had a difficult time letting her go. I too loved her. She's gone but she would want me to be happy. There's room in my heart for one more. I guess i've fallen for tall, dark, handsome and mischievious." She bit her lip and smiled at Ares.
Ares was grinning widely. He was truly happy now. He kissed her hand. She let go of his hand and put her arms around him. Hugging him fiercely. "I guess this party isn't so bad after all." He said. She pulled back to look at him. "It sure isn't." Their eyes locked and Ares moved closer to her and kissed her softly on the lips. After a few seconds he pulled back. "So what do you say Gabrielle. Care to dance?" Gabrielle nodded. "Yeah I'd love to." He stood up and held out his hand for her to take. She took his hand and he lead her to the dancefloor where soft music started to play.
Aphrodite had been watching from out another corner of the room. She was absolutely happy for both of them. They deserved some happiness. And maybe now they would finally get it. She nipped from her wine as she watched Ares and Gabrielle dance closely together. This was another side of her brother. One that you didn't see too often and certainly one of the better ones. But no matter what, she would always love him.
THE END.