All my broken pieces Chapter 1, a xena: warrior princess fanfic

All My Broken Pieces

The whole credit for this story being born and written goes to the song Bittersweet by Lianne La Havas.

Summary: Waiting for Athena to attack Amphipolis, Xena tries to bait Ares with an offer of one night with her in exchange for his help to protect her daughter. One night to have her, dusk till dawn, to do what he pleases. And he does. And it's not pretty. Not entirely, anyway.

Random funfacts: this was supposed to be a 2-page vignette, but somehow 55 pages happened (I blame the song). It's a complete story, with a definite the end at the end. I strongly recommed to check out the song first to get the vibe (and hear one of the most beautiful voices on earth).

Tags: ANGST, hurt/comfort, romance

Pairing: Xena/Ares, a little hint of Xena/Gabrielle

Subtext: a bit (dunno why, it just happened)

Rating: M

Copyright disclaimer: All the characters from the series "Xena: Warrior Princess" belong to the Renaissance Pictures and are only being borrowed for the purpose of letting me mess with them a bit this one time; making no profit from it, just scratching the itch the show itself never did. Since the story is partly a rewrite of the episode "Amphipolis Under Siege", some scenes/dialogue loosely refer to the original ones from the episode. The below lyrics come from a song „Bittersweet" by Lianne La Havas.

Please stop asking, do you still love me?

Don't have much to say, let's speak in the morning

Please don't do this, I'm too far away

Don't know what to tell you, babe…

No more hanging around, oh
No hanging around, oh
Oh, my sun's going down, oh
Telling me something isn't right, something isn't right…

Bittersweet summer rain
I'm born again
All my broken pieces
Bittersweet summer rain
I'm born again

Slept all Friday and you couldn't get through

If we're good tomorrow, does that make it true?
Not completely, we're picking that fight every day
This shit's going nowhere, baby

Bittersweet…

"One night – take it or leave it," she said to him, her eyes burning blue, burning with deception he could sense from afar. All of it, all of her was fake, the entirety of those eyes, apart from one thing; the fire that burned there when he got closer; raw and uncurbed; this she could neither fake nor hide. The only honest thing about her.

Having her walk into his temple was quite a sight. The last time she willingly set her foot in his temple had been ages ago; back in the day, back when things had been different between them.

Back when her entering his temple didn't make his heart race. He wasn't sure why it now did; whether it was her close proximity, the way her whole face was glowing, her lips parting, like they were about to claim his – or the very fact she came here, to the place where one came to worship him – or all of it altogether.

But if she thought he was going to fall for her cheap seduction, she was in for a disappointment. She came here to talk business, and this was exactly what she was going to get. Of course, what was to follow was going to be a show of her best tricks to fuck with his mind and cloud his judgement – but she would need to do better than that, to get him to agree to something, the absurdity of which he already knew was going to make him laugh.

"One night – in exchange for what?" he broke their gaze, looking to the right, towards the window, to let her know how very mildly she sparked his interest, hiding the fact that it was quite the opposite, that his palms were getting sweaty.

The huge, crated window was letting in the sunlight, the crated pattern dispersing it, the hardly visible, fine-meshed linen net dimming it slightly, basking the whole right side of her silhouette in a hazy glow.

Forcing his gaze away from the sight in front of him, unhurriedly, he walked over to the window, grabbing the goblet on the way, and turned around, leaning back against the crate, the sun shining on his back. She turned towards him, but stayed in her spot, pinning him with that cat-like, narrow-eyed gaze that made his pulse race, and just stood there, taking just a half-step aside, stepping right into the shaft of warm, afternoon sunlight that illuminated her head to toe, her skin beaming with the unearthly glow – she did it on purpose, the cunning little snake. He drew in a deep breath, letting it out the slowest he could.

His eyes moved to the red velvet settee in front of him; his pants tightening, his mind filling with visions of what he would do to her after they close the deal. Though now, with that fire in her eyes, she would probably tear him apart first.

"One night – in exchange for you protecting my daughter from your family."

"As in, here in Amphipolis against Athena."

"As in, indefinitely."

He smirked; she had some nerve. "You have an odd sense of humor," he took a sip from the goblet he was holding. He'd offered her a deal – she'd give him a child, he'd protect Eve from the gods. That she expected him to consider a one-night stand a sufficient compensation for what he would be sacrificing by helping her – was preposterous.

"Take it or leave it."

He let out a soft laugh. Did she really think he was that desperate?

He watched as she was nearing, treading towards him slowly; gods damn, the way she walked alone made his throat dry.

"You seriously expect me to turn against my family for a roll in the sack?" he tried to even out his breath before she got too close to hear it.

"You don't give a fuck about your family," she whispered, closing the distance between them.

"Doesn't mean I'm gonna sell them for a piece of ass."

"That's all very moving, but we both know your loyalties are like a leaf to the wind, Ares…" she slid her hand where his vest parted on his chest, "…and we both know you like where the wind's blowing now," she pressed her lips together and parted them to catch a breath, her fingers roaming over his chest, making him close his eyes with a sigh. "And trust me, I'm gonna make this worth your while…"

Clenching his jaws, he snatched her hand away with one swift move, and cursed, feeling her other hand grab the front of his pants, and gods, the way her lids closed when she felt how hard he was, the way her mouth opened in a quiet gasp, right before he felt its warmth pressing into his own, her tongue probing softly as he pushed his head back against the cold metal bars until it hurt; and it was the only resistance he managed for the next while. His arms wrapped around her without his consent, pushing her into him, her breastplate hard and annoying between them; but it was all very dim, all apart from her mouth on his, the warm softness of her lips; the lips that, instead of devouring him, kept teasing softly, almost tenderly, doing what her palms did to his face.

"What are you doing?" he breathed, locking his fingers around her wrists.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she whispered against his mouth, running her tongue across his upper lip.

He squeezed his eyes shut, panting. "No."

"What?"

He opened his eyes, blinking in confusion, no less surprised than she was. But there was something fucking strange going on inside him, and it had to stop now. Who the fuck did she take him for? Who the hell did she even think she was, to think she could just walk in here and push his buttons like he was some random piece of dick?

"You're wasting my time, Xena."

"What?" her eyes widened as he pulled away.

"Come back with a better offer, or don't come back at all," he turned towards the window, letting the sun blind him.

"It's my final offer. Take it or leave it."

He turned around to face her and brought his hand to his face, wiping his lips ostentatiously, glaring her straight in the eye. "I think I'll pass," he produced a new goblet in his hand, downed its contents slowly, and, with nonchalance, dropped it to the floor, the metal clanking against the stone.

"So, be it," she said with calm indifference, gazing at the goblet at her feet for a moment, before turning to leave.

He fought with himself; pride kept him silent in his spot. But maybe he could play it to his advantage; make her trust him around Eve with time, lower her guard; after all, the deal was to protect Eve against the rest of the gods, not against himself.

"Wait."

She stopped in her tracks, not turning back.

He walked up to her, stopping an inch behind her. "I choose place and time."

"Fine."

"And no herbs after."

He saw her shoulders tense.

"Fine," the word left her lips, lightly; too lightly.

It was a lie; she knew it, he knew it. But if she thought he was going to let her do it behind his back, she was in for a big surprise.

"And you're mine," he slipped a hand over her stomach, stroking her hip with the other one, relishing her quickened breath. "Dusk till dawn…" he swiped her hair aside, baring the nape of her neck, brushing his nose against the soft skin now covered with goosebumps, "…mine to do what I please," he sank his teeth into her skin, as she simultaneously dug her nails into his hand on her belly, arching herself into him reflexively.

"No deal," she removed his hand from her stomach.

"What?"

"I choose place and time."

He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breath. "I choose time."

"Deal. Effective immediately."

"Not until I have it on paper," he said, waving his hand to produce a quill and a piece of parchment with a list of what they'd agreed on. He signed first, and handed the quill over to her.

She scanned the text briefly and looked up at him. "As you wish," she said, placing her signature next to his, and he thought he heard a subtle hint of tease in her voice.

Smug, too smug. If she thought she was going to cheat her way out of this, she had another thing coming.

"You'd better get used to saying it… you'll be saying it a lot soon," he breathed into her ear, tightening his hold on her as she shivered; gods, the things he was going to do to her… She'd better not consider backing out now; if she did, he'd go livid on her as she'd never seen him.

He had no damn idea why he said what he said next. If he'd known how much he'd come to regret it, he would've bitten his tongue off.

"Then again, it's nothing you haven't done before," he mused, nibbling on her earlobe, knowing he'd hit the nerve, knowing he should stop there and not tease further, but it was stronger than him.

The very memory of it still made his blood boil after all those years; how she'd never let him have her, and then whore herself with every filthy mortal within her sight, in ways that made him want to burn her alive; and he knew she'd get off on it – she had to know he watched – and he couldn't act on it. If he had, if he'd as much as mentioned it once, let her know she had that tiny bit of power over him, she'd have done to him what she'd tried to do to Ceasar – only that Ceasar had no use for her and disposed of her like a cheap whore. Well, in his situation this hadn't been an option – she'd been the most valuable asset he'd come across in his whole life – her spirit, her lust for blood, the ruthlessness and sharp mind – she was the finest lethal weapon he'd ever seen on mortal plane. When she'd conquered in his name, she made his blood rush as nothing else, made him the most powerful he'd ever been. He desired her as he'd never desired anyone. And she'd never let him touch her – men trembled before him, women swooned at the very sight of him – and she refused him – a god; it made him livid. So many times he was close to taking her by force, like he should've done from the start; but his pride would always stop him; make him wait for the time when she'd come and offer herself to him willingly.

She never had.

Until now. As a transaction. To pay for his services.

How pathetic. Not her; him. For taking her up on her offer. Turning his life upside down, for one night with her. How pathetic did he have to seem to her that she assumed he'd be desperate enough to take it? And he only just confirmed it. He took it.

He purchased it. That one pathetic chance he'd ever get to be with her. The chance he'd been refused when hundreds of others had gotten it for free.

He balled his fists, current running up his forearms.

"Oh yeah, I've seen all of it, Xena… your every single little performance – but you know I have, you got your kicks from it, didn't you… in fact, maybe you'd like to have someone join us? From what I remember, one dick's never been enough for you…"

Before he could blink, her elbow collided with his nose with a cracking sound. He staggered, cursing, holding onto his face to set the bones straight, when a swift kick to his legs got him landing flat on his back.

"Hey, I'm not judging, just trying to be accommodating," he propped himself on his elbows and rubbed his nose, grimacing. But he did hit a spot, too. She was fuming.

"Ares, the God of War, jealous of mortals… Just when I thought you couldn't get more pitiful than trying to tell me you love me…" she sneered, looking down at him.

"I'm sorry… jealous?" he sniggered. "Oh, Xena… If I'd wanted a cum-dumpster, I'd have gone to a brothel."

Oh, he did hit a spot here; gods, he'd never seen such look in her eyes. He could hear her heartbeat from a distance.

"You fucking scum..."

"In fact, now that you reminded me of it, I'm not sure if I even wanna touch you at all…" he clicked his tongue. "And you know," he reached up to wipe the spit off his cheek, "your manners are not helping."

"You must've wondered why I never fucked you, Ares…" she trailed off, starting to walk in a circle around him. "In fact, I know you still do… Do you know why I never let you in my bed, Ares?" she trailed off, and for the first time today, he regretted bringing her to this point. "Because I didn't wanna waste my time on you… you know why? Because I didn't think you could satisfy me… I heard you were a lousy lay… but you were a useful tool to get me what I wanted… that's the only thing you've ever been good for."

He felt all blood leave his face, lump clogging his throat, the tips of his fingers sparking. He stilled his arms; if he as much as raised his hand now, a fireball would burn her before he could stop it.

"Nice chatting to you, Xena, but, if you'll excuse me," he jumped to his feet, standing in front of her, "I have better things to do now. Good luck with Athena."

"Go fuck yourself."

He laughed.

"Get your side of the deal ready, baby," he winked in response to the murderous glare she flashed him on her way out. "Before I change my mind."

Clenching his teeth until he thought they'd break, he watched her silhouette disappear in the doorway, the door closing behind her with a thud. Taking a sip from the new goblet in his hand, he headed to the priestesses quarters downstairs.

"Lord Ares…"

There were five of them. He scanned the faces.

"You," he walked up to the black-haired one. "On your knees."

The girl obeyed, her eyes cast down. The rest of them moved to leave.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" he snapped all their clothes off. Motioning his hand towards the girl in front of him, he left her dressed in the familiar leather outfit with the metal breastplate.

He looked down; his hands. He balled up his fists to stop his fingers from trembling. He brought one fist up to his face; her fucking scent was all over it. He closed his eyes, his breath ragged, heart still racing.

She thought he was so desperate that she'd be the one pulling the strings here; how charming.

If she thought she was free to come here and disrespect him like this, and in his own temple at that, she had another thing coming.

Maybe it was time for a little reminder of the power hierarchy here.