Bathing
Somewhere in Greece, The Known World - S3
The water was cool, Xena had long ago accepted that bathing would be so, unless they were in a village or staying at her mother's tavern. As her blanket slipped from around her shoulders, she felt the chill of the breeze on her skin. It had been daylight when they'd found the pool, now dusk was swooping in. Where's Gabrielle? She was thinking, looking around her for the bard but the empty forest didn't reply to her.
She settled herself under the surface of the water, blowing a few bubbles then raising her head again with a smile. Her hair stuck to the back of her in long trawls, water dripping down the sides of her face. Now she was submerged, she liked that the water was cold, her skin was on fire. It felt like fire was rippling beneath her skin, flames licking her face.
"Xena?!" Came Gabrielle's voice through the trees like a war cry. But she didn't sound angry. "By the Gods, Xena where are you?" She was looking up but she couldn't see the pool, or remember where it was. Xena sunk beneath the surface again, she might as well play this little cat and mouse game in the dark. She blew more bubbles.
Gabrielle walked into the clearing and saw the edge of the water lapping. She could see the top of Xena's head not-so-sneakily under the water. She smiled and called out, "hey Xena? You're not watching, are you? Because I'm about to start taking my clothes off." She started unlacing the front of her shirt as Xena's head reappeared in front of her, a smirk on her lips.
"Oh you know exactly what you're doing, don't you?" She said, standing up so that her shoulders and the top of her chest were above water level. Gabrielle bit her lip and took a step forwards, sliding her shirt over her shoulders and dropping it to the water's edge.
"Yep." She replied, running into the water and splashing Xena in the face and wiping off her smirk.
They lay on their backs some time later. "The moon is very bright tonight, Xena," Gabrielle noticed. She was floating with her hand just touching Xena's, her fingers were starting to prune but she didn't care. The stars were lighting their way.
"So it is," Xena replied in her usual matter-of-fact tone and rubbed her fingers together for inspection. "Maybe we should get to bed after all," she suggested, rising out of the water and finding her feet.
Gabrielle sighed weakly and joined her, shoulder to shoulder, as they walked out of the pool. "This has been quite a night," she said, reaching for Xena's hand, reaching up and kissing her cheek before walking in front of her. Xena smiled deeply, and only because she couldn't help it. It was too dark for anyone else to see either, this was just for herself. As they dried off, she watched Gabrielle make up the bed, rolling their blankets out on the ground. And she thought she could live like this forever - even if the water was cold.