Ares looked around the dusty Olympian room. Hestia hadn't been in her usual neat freak mood since the twilight of the gods. The place wasn't exactly fit for babies. He fixed the problem with a wave of his hand. He also added some baby things with his own personal touch like cradles with skulls on the headboards and three-headed dog toys. To the twins themselves, he gave them black silk baby clothes that were made complete with black leather booties.
"So Cyrene and Joxer," Ares said, mulling over their names. "Xena's mother was an okay lady and it's a fine name for a daughter of Ares, but no son of mine is going to be named Joxer after that dweeb sidekick wannabe. I'm going to call you Xerxes. There's a fine, strong name, fit for the son of a god and it's close enough to the original."
He sat the twins down on the rug and got on the floor with them. Joxer reached over and pulled one of Cyrene's light brown curls. She retaliated by kicking her legs.
Ares grinned and pulled them apart by the seat of their pants. "You're daddy's little devils for sure, but save that stuff for when you're older and I can show you how a real fight goes."
Ares saw Cyrene flicker around the edges and became excited, knowing it meant that Cyrene had the ability to teleport.
"Come on," he crooned to Cyrene as he scooted back and stuck out his arms. "I know you can do it. It's easier than walking, or crawling for that matter. You'll only be able to move a foot at a time for now, but it beats the heck out of having to walk everywhere. Come to, Daddy."
She shut her eyes and squeezed them tight. She teleported herself to Ares.
"That's my, girl!" he shouted, throwing her up in the air and catching her, making her squeal with delight. Joxer wanted in on the action as he kicked his feet, making the room shake ever so slightly, and he threw his arms up in the air. Ares gave Joxer his turn.
Ares stared at the twins wistfully as he sat them back down on the rug. He could see Xena in them. Cyrene had that calm, calculating look about her that was utterly enchanting because it was so like her mother's and the angry look Joxer got just before he had the minor tantrum reminded him of Xena's look of rage.
"I hate your mother," he said out loud. He didn't really mean it. He wished he did, but what he really felt was hurt. Hurt from the perceived betrayal and even more hurt at the fact that they weren't together. He would give his godhood, his temples, his worshipers, and even his name in history if he and Xena could be a family with the twins. He would never admit it to her, but she was even more in his head than she had ever been after their night of unbridled passion on the farm. He flirted with other women and he looked, but since that night, he hadn't been with another woman even though he knew that she would probably never give him the time of day again. Imagining the other women were Xena just didn't cut it anymore. "I curse the day I ever saw her," he said out loud again.
He smiled when he saw them. "No, I don't. I bless the day you two were created."
He bent down and tickled them with his beard. Joxer grabbed his dad firmly by the beard and Cyrene had him by his earring. "Okay, guys," Ares said with a laugh. "You can let go now."
"This is something I never thought I would see in a million years," said Xena, standing in the doorway. "Ares, god of war, down on his hands and knees playing with infants. It looks like a game of Let's Beat Up Daddy. Mind if I join?"