The night had fallen slowly after what felt like an endless, deadly boring evening, with Xena waiting rather impatiently for the War God to return, but too proud- although genuinely distressed- to actually call him.

No matter how much effort she put into it, she just couldn't get Aphrodite's words out of her head and slowly, without her even realizing it, her mind started going haywire. What if he was actually with someone else at that very moment? What if she was in fact nothing more than a meaningless affair and the way he had treated her was the standard way he treated women (the perfect modus operandi that got them all where he wanted- in his bed) ….

Could she have been that blinded by lust that she had failed to read his true intentions? Well, now that the opportunity to give their relationship a second thought finally presented itself, she inevitably came to the dramatic conclusion that she had barely had the time to think things through before she jumped into bed with him…She did want it, that was a detail she couldn't possibly deny but she had definitely ignored the fact that she did not properly analyze everything that had happened between them during those last few weeks …..

It's no wonder that when Ares found her- leaning against his statue in the temple garden- her eyes looked sad rather than dreamy as he would have expected.

''You know, if it was my company you wanted, all you needed to do was call, Princess." he said, but she didn't seem to hear him so he just kept on talking. ''Old Myron sure did a fabulous job in depicting my inner fire didn't he? And yet, you have to admit, he did leave aside some of the most important physical details. '' he remarked, squinting at the outrageously small penis of the statue, as if mentally trying to measure it, a gesture that was obviously meant to amuse her big time.

She just gazed at him -or better said through him- clueless at what exactly it was he was hinting at.

He explicitly pointed at the impressively realistic marble sculpture behind her but that didn't bring about the tremendous epiphany he had expected either- which was definitely out of character for her. She could usually spot irony from a mile away.

'' For the sake of my self esteem, I do hope you'll agree with me that the original is waaaay better...! '' he continued on the same jocular note as before. ''Is everything ok, Sweetheart?'' he finally inquired, his concerned gaze darting over her face.

''Where have you been ?'' she simply asked back, on the tone of a three year old who had been desperately looking for his mother.

The bluntness of her question took the War God by surprise. He had always considered the act of offering explanations about his whereabouts extremely annoying ( regardless who the person in front of him was) but for some reason, it was not the case with her, on the contrary, he actually felt a pang of guilt for having left her alone in bed after she fell asleep.

''Well, I did have a few wars to oversee here and there and then I went to your camp, had a small chat with your generals, made sure everything was all right and came back to see if you were awake….'' he patiently explained, trying hard not to frown as the awareness that his absence had made her feel insecure hit him like a tone of bricks.

Suddenly, there was a small light brightening her eyes.

''Did you sleep well? Is there something bothering you ?''

''No I'm fine. I had a dream about Lyceus and I can't shake it off '' she lied through her teeth, aware that she had been obviously over reacting.

But then again, as he wrapped his arms around her, she could feel a faint smell of lilies, lingering on his skin….She just closed her eyes tight, in her turn wrapping her arms around his neck, silently hoping it was nothing but her hyperactive imagination playing tricks on her…It couldn't be….

'' Wanna tell me about it ? ''

''Huh ?''

''About the dream, Darling.''he clarified, placing a sweet kiss on her forehead and as their eyes met , he could finally see just how troubled they were.

''Just…the usual….Nevermind. I'll snap out of it eventually. '' she deflected, trying to avoid his piercing gaze but his hand cupped her chin before she could look away, holding her gaze for a few precious seconds longer. Enough to read the deceit in them.

Why was she lying to him ? What was she lying about?- he couldn't help asking himself, but he knew better then to force to truth out of her. Plus, it was definitely not his style.

''Ok…Just know that I'm here for you if you ever feel the need to talk about…anything in the world …'' he caringly reminded her while gently brushing a few silky strands away from her mesmerizing face, wondering for the thousandth time what exactly was that secret ingredient that had turned her literally irresistible overnight. Were those gorgeous baby blues to be blamed, or maybe those demonically tempting lips? Or maybe that perfectly shaped body? Her personality ? That childlike shyness she still possessed? Their interactions? It was pointless, really. The whole package had him watching her like a maniac anyway. At the end of the day, whatever it was, it felt as scary as Tartarus and as comforting as a mother's warm embrace at the same time- a mixture of emotions he was definitely not used to but that he very much enjoyed.

''Thank you.'' she breathed out, placing a sweet, innocent kiss on his lips, one that in the blink of an eye, made the War God question everything that had happened meaningful in his long godly existence up to the moment when she stormed into his life.

''I love you …'' he murmured darkly while delicately caressing her cheek with the tips of his fingers, his lips still feathering against hers, drinking in the delicious sight of her as she anxiously awaited for a deeper kiss, toying with her for a few seconds more while his other hand coasted down to her lower back pressing her body against his.

To his shock, her response was by far of a disarming spontaneity in every sense of the word. For a few seconds, it left him speechless, unable to tell whether it was her words or her reaction that had had such a powerful impact on him.

''Kinda cheesy don't you think?'' she taunted, trying to break free from his arms -She didn't stand a chance of course.

''Excuse me ?!''

''Your line. You must have said it a trillion times over the aeons…'' she flatly clarified, offering him a rather icy look.

''I didn't know it had an expiration date. '' he bit back, unable to decide whether he was supposed to feel offended or not by her cutting comeback.

''Well it doesn't... but you get my drift. ''

''I don't, actually .''

''You're a smart boy. Figure it out!'' she retorted, gently slapping his left cheek while stepping back from their embrace.

He just stood there dumbstruck for a few moments, without uttering a sound, probably still busy processing the hidden meaning of her line, staring in awe as her divine silhouette disappeared back inside the temple.

''What in the name of Hades was that?!'' he couldn't hold back his exclamation. Had she done what he thought she did ? Was she playing games with him?! The little minx!

XXX

At about the same time, the resonant echoes of endless waves of laughter were bouncing off the marble walls of Athena's temple. Discord was having the time of her life.

''I swear she bought it! Word for word!'' the petite Goddess bragged, once she had managed to calm down enough as to be able to speak again.

'' I'm stunned it actually worked. She looked a bit smarter than that- and I'm rarely wrong when it comes to reading mortals…"the daughter of Zeus responded, a small frown creasing her forehead.

''Don't beat yourself up! If it's any consolation, it's not your fault. You can blame it all on the make up!'' Discord replied, bursting into laughter the moment her line ended. ''I swear, you should have seen her face when I told her she desperately needed to spice things up or else!''

''I must admit it, Discord. …I had my doubts about this plan of yours, but if there's anyone on Olympus who can pull this off, that's you!'' Athena exclaimed, cunningly stroking the dark haired goddess' ego.

''You know me….I have many skills !'' was the answer that made them both burst into laughter this time. Wave after wave of contagious, hysterical, choking laughter took over the usually solemn silence of the temple.

Hidden behind a column, Strife, Ares' favourite nephew, was taking mental notes of everything that was being discussed, an expression of pure, childish joy ( big, idiotic smile to be more accurate) plastered on his face. He obviously had a plan of his own….