When Xena finally pulled back, Ares was staring at her in surprise, his mouth still slightly open and his eyes wide. After a moment, he snapped his mouth closed and cleared his throat.
"Well, didn't expect that." He said, a small smile coming to his face. Xena matched it.
"I figured I'd try it." She shrugged.
"And?" He raised an eyebrow.
"It wasn't to bad." She said, her smile growing slightly into a teasing one.
"Wasn't to bad?" Ares said, stepping up to her again. "Maybe we should try it again?" He suggested and Xena could hear the underlying tension in the question. Her smile softened for a moment.
"Maybe we should." A flash of relief passed over his eyes before he stepped the rest of the way up and swept her up in his arms. Xena gave a surprised grunt and then scowled up at him.
"I don't know what your expecting, but I'm no damsel." She said. Ares snorted, but didn't let her down. Despite her words, Xena wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Xena, I've known you for years. What makes you think I would ever think of you like that?"
"Good. Then put me down." Still, she made no move to get herself out of his arms.
"So, what? Your wanting to be the man now?" Xena fluttered her eyelashes and grinned.
"Why? Are you going to be the woman?"
"So, what will Blondie think of all this?" Ares asked suddenly. His tone was still light, but Xena could practically read what he was thinking.
"She already knows." Xena simply shrugged. Ares gave a start of surprise.
"I think we should take this somewhere more private." He said, the light in his eyes turning from teasing to something else. Xena's grip around his neck tightened and she nodded.
"Maybe we should." She said, leaning up to kiss him again.
"I love you." He whispered when she pulled back. She kissed him again, not answering with words. She wasn't ready to say it yet. Wasn't ready to give herself over completely to him.
Gabrielle wasn't sure what she had been expecting of Xena and Ares relationship but she wasn't sure if this was it. Then again, it was Xena and Ares.
They acted pretty much the same around each other, except with much less violence. The verbal sparring that she had become accustomed to with the two of them was still there only the bite and anger from before was replaced by teasing tones. Ares was even trying to be polite around her to a certain extent at least.
Xena was actually happy. Well, it wasn't like she wasn't happy before but this was different. Comments that would have gotten Ares a punch before actually got a laugh out of her on occasion. Not a chuckle, a laugh. An actual full body laugh that, even with all her years traveling with Xena, she had rarely heard.
They were actually doing pretty good. Gabrielle had been a little apprehensive at first that Ares would revert back to his old ways after a little bit, but some time passed with them still happy and her nervousness began to ease over the situation.
Xena knew that she loved him. She realized it that night after that first kiss when he had whisked her away. She just couldn't seem to say it out loud yet. She couldn't help it.
She was actually beginning to trust him again. Things were going good. Even Gabrielle had accepted it. They still traveled, still helped people, but now they had the god of war on their side.
It was odd in a way, but she was happy. She realized that too. She was content in a way that she didn't think she ever had been before. It was odd and a little frightening at times that it was because of Ares.
"Xena!" Xena's head snapped up at the sight of Joxer and Amarice. They had sent word to them that they were okay and decided to meet up. They had been waiting for their friends to get there in a small town.
Both Amarice and Joxer jogged over and hugged first her and then Gabrielle fiercely.
"How did this happen?" Amarice asked, looking them both over. "Not that I'm not happy you guys are okay, but the last time we saw you..."
"You know what? Why don't we go get a drink and we'll tell you everything." Gabrielle suggested, looking slightly nervous. She wasn't sure how they were going to take this considering all the stories that they had told Amarice about Ares and then there was the fact that Joxer had been there for most of them.
"Ares saved you." Amarice repeated, sounding a little dumbfounded.
"Yes." Xena said.
"Well, why do you think he did it?" Amarice asked. Xena hesitated.
"Couldn't let the woman I love die, now could I?" Joxer and Amarice both jumped from their seats at the sound of Ares voice. Ares simply raised one eyebrow at them and sat down next to Xena, who turned a scowl on him.
"Ares, I told you I could handle this." She said. Ares shrugged.
"Yeah, I know. But I figured if someone's going to be bad mouthing me, I should at least be here." Xena's mouth quirked.
"Well, I'm sure it's impossible to be all the places where people have bad mouthed you."
"Please, despite what you might think, Xena, I am a highly respected god." He said, lifting his head a little pompously and causing Xena to swat the back of it.
"And I'm sure if you tell yourself that enough times you'll actually believe it."
"Are you guys actually flirting?" Amarice interrupted them, looking a little shocked.
"What are you talking about?" Joxer asked. "They are always like this." Amarice rolled her eyes briefly at that.
"You guys are together." She said, not replying to Joxer's statement, because really...could he be anymore blind?
"What?" Joxer actually laughed at that. "There is no way that Xena would be that stupid. Falling for Ares of all people. I mean, after everything he's done, she'd have to be a complete idiot..." Joxer trailed off at the glare that both Xena and Ares were sending him.
"This is..." Amarice sat down heavily in the chair across from Xena. "Wow."
"Look, I know it's crazy." Xena started and then held up a hand when Ares opened his mouth. "But I think he really has changed. And I'm happy."
"I can attest to that." Gabrielle spoke up. Amarice looked over at Ares and noticed the way his eyes had softened slightly at Xena's words.
"Well, if your happy..." Amarice said reluctantly.
"Of course we're happy for you." Joxer said, completely turning his view around. But Xena was a grown woman who could make her own decisions and he really wasn't interested in having both her and the god of war angry with him.
"Good." Xena said.
The time sort of actually flew by after that. Amarice and Joxer seemed to actually accept her being with Ares, and she was grateful for that.
It was some time after she and Ares had started this together that she started feeling a little bit sick. That Gabrielle and Amarice started to refuse to eat with her.
She remembered these types of feelings from before. Remembered what it was like from years ago. It took her a while to get up the courage to go see a healer to confirm it, though. When the healer looked at her after the exam and gave his diagnosis, she wasn't greatly surprised.
"Congratulations. Your pregnant." And a whole new worry settled in her gut. How would Ares react? She couldn't even bring herself to tell him she loved him yet.