Rating: NC-17

Spoilers: I'll just say the entire series and have done with it...lol

Timeline: 28 October 2000 to be exact...well, to start with, anyway...then we go back in time about 2.5 million years ago...

Summary: My version of the entire show...definitely AU!

Disclaimer: There's no way in Tartarus that I own them, Baby!

Note: This is a 'what if' story... what if... like I'm gonna tell you!

Love 'n' War

By Alicia

Prologue

Ares threw himself over the back of the lounge and onto the cushion.  He quickly grabbed the remote control sitting on the coffee table in front of him and switched the television on.  Shit!   Xena had already started.  He quickly grabbed the VCR remote and hit the 'record' button.

He sat back and watched as a man on horseback dragged Eve along the ground behind him.  Ares rose an eyebrow.  This ep looks interesting...

He knew that it would be.  Ever since the show had started six years ago, he and his wife, Xena, had been hooked.  It had been the same with 'Hercules', only, Ares hadn't been all that thrilled with a show all about his brother...

The shows had always been good for a laugh, though.  He knew for a fact that the shows had been based upon scrolls that had indeed been found over fifty years ago, but the mortals had no idea that they weren't Gabrielle's tales of the Warrior Princess, but had, in fact, been the dreams of what Gabby had wanted Xena to be...

As the introduction began, Ares quickly got up and headed for the kitchen.  He grabbed the bag of popcorn and zapped it with his powers.  They tasted sooo much better than the microwave version.

He listened to the intro in amusement.  It never failed to make him laugh at the sheer inaccuracy.

In the time of ancient gods, warlords and kings,
A land in turmoil, cried out for a hero...

Well, some of it was correct.  The gods had been in abundance then, always dropping in on their temples and loyal followers.  They had never been as bad as the shows had portrayed them, but whatever...

That was, until the twilight.  That had been painfully real, but many had survived.

The land hadn't really been in turmoil, and even less so than now.  The present day was much worse than it had ever been a couple of thousand years ago, when all this had happened...

She was Xena, a mighty princess,
Forged in the heat of battle...

Ares scoffed silently.  Screwed in the heat of battle was much closer to the truth!  He remembered one time when she had come to him whilst he had been keeping an eye on a battle in Athens .  She had come out of the aether and had coaxed him to take her on a nearby alter of one of the partially destroyed temples dedicated to the Goddess Of Love.  He grinned at the memory.

The power, the passion...the danger.
Her courage will change the world...

Power..yes...passion...Gods yes!  Passion was too mellow a word for what his Xena created.  Danger?  Yeah, right!   As if Xena would get in the middle of a fight if it didn't involve love...or sex...with him!

He quickly grabbed a drink from the refrigerator, a block of white chocolate and the icing sugar from the kitchen cupboard and then sat down to watch the show.  Motherhood, the caption stated.  The name sounded familiar.

Ahh, the final episode where they kill the gods.   Ares wasn't sure that he wanted to watch this.  He was sure that Xena wouldn't want to.  That kind of thing always depressed her.

As it was, she was still in bed, not wanting to miss her beauty sleep.  It was 4am afterall.  They had been traveling around Australia for the past year, but Xena wanted to make sure that they still taped Xena and Hercules, so every Saturday morning at 3:50am, she kicked him out of bed and went back to sleep.

He missed sitting there and watching it with her.  Sometimes, when she watched it later on in the day, Ares would point things out, like what was about to happen.  Xena would glare at him, or hit him lightly on the arm and tell him that he was spoiling it for her.

"Hey, Dad," came the whisper from behind him.

Ares turned around to see his only son, Cupid, standing there with a bottle of Frantelle Water in his hand.  The God Of War put his index finger to his lips, indicating for his son to keep the noise down.  They both turned to the closed bedroom door down the hall, not hearing any stirring.

Cupid sat down on the sofa, next to his father and grabbed the chocolate.  He put it in one of the two bowls of popcorn and held his hand just above it, watching as the white confectionery melted over the popcorn.  Then he began to eat.

The two quickly became engrossed in the program.  The characters looked remarkably like the mortals and gods that they were supposed to be, with the exception of the true characters.  For instance, Xena hadn't been the mortal whose daughter was the bringer of the Twilight.  That had been Callisto, as had all of Xena's 'supposed' adventures, thanks to Gabby's overactive imagination.

Cupid was still the God Of Love, and Ares the God Of War.  Hercules had still been his half brother and Athena, Artemis and Discord his sisters.  Only Aphrodite, Xena and Gabrielle had different roles to play...

Part One

Ares had been a young god when he had first met the future Goddess Of Love.  All of eighteen years old and as studly as ever...

Ares had just returned from twelve years of training and had come home to Mt. Olympus an educated god.  Upon his return, he had walked along the cliffs that held Olympus and looked across the sea.

His attention was captured by the most beautiful goddess he had ever seen, standing in her beautiful shell, floating in the sea and staring up at him.  Without being able to see that far down, Ares could still tell that she was smiling at him.  He quickly transported himself down to the large rocks near where her shell was heading...

Her shell came to a halt just before it hit the rocks.  She leapt out of the shell and onto the rocks, grinning at him the entire time.  She stepped up to him and pinched his cheek.  " Oooooh, you're just so cute! "

Ares just stood there in stunned disbelief.  She obviously hadn't a clue as to who he was.  "I'm War, " he stated flatly.

She regarded him happily.  "You're a studmuffin!  I'm Love."

Ares groaned aloud.  I've just fallen head over heels for the Goddess Of Love.

She tutted.  "Don't despair, Sweet Pea, I'm not normally this ditzy, but you're such a honey!"  She stepped forward and kissed him, full on the mouth.  Her tongue invaded his mouth, blatantly inviting him to join in.  He did so, eagerly.

The Goddess Of Love wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.  Ares gathered her closer.  She almost squealed in delight as she felt his arousal pressing against her taut stomach.

A gust of wind blew her long, dark hair around them.  Never had Ares known a goddess with hair that beautiful, or that long ...

The couple disappeared in a shower of blue light and red rose petals, only to reappear in Ares' bedchamber, next to his large bed.  "I'm Ares..."

"Xena..." she whispered, pushing him back onto the bed.

Ares grinned as she undid his belt, kissing every inch of skin that appeared as she removed yet another item of his leather clothing.  "You're absolutely ravishing, sweet."

She moved up his now naked body and murmured, "I know," before capturing his mouth with her own once again.

Ares, concerned only with having this most beautiful and sweet goddess, reached up behind her and grabbed a handful of the filmy material that barely covered her body.

Xena speedily broke the kiss and grabbed his hand.  "Oh, no you don't studmuffin.  No one rips this little number.  There are clips..."  She gently guided his hand to the small clips at the small of her back.

The god relieved her of her clothing, if it could be titled as such.  "Oh, yeah, babe..." Ares gazed in awe as her perfect breasts were revealed to him.  Xena giggled at his reaction.  Somehow, it was different with him

The God Of War pulled his goddess up until his mouth came into contact with her nipples.  He sucked greedily, then turned the both of them over until she was beneath him.  Xena held his head to her chest, pleasure coursing through her immortal veins.

With a wave of his hand, Xena's flimsy clothing left her body, joining his on the floor next to the bed.  With a wave of Xena's hand, her almost see-through outfit was hanging up in the nearest closet...

Ares' mouth moved higher, across her collarbone and up her neck to her earlobe.  He nibbled lightly on the piece of flesh.

"Ares..." Xena whispered the plea.  Ares lifted his head and looked deep in her eyes to the passion and desire that lay there.  He held her gaze as his lower body moved, pausing when his erection reached the entrance to her core.

Then she smiled...

...and accepted him eagerly.

Their lips connected, their tongues meeting and dancing as Ares' body thrust repeatedly into Xena, the goddess enthusiastically matching each movement...

It wasn't long before the couple were overtaken with shudders of pleasure.

*~*~*~*

Later on, they lay together in Ares' bed, just holding one another.  Xena snuggled deeper into Ares' embrace.  The God Of War smiled and placed a small kiss on her head.  "I don't think that we're supposed to be together, Xena."  Ares told her.

Xena turned to face him.  "I'm the Goddess Of Love, I can be with anyone, " she grinned mischievously.

Ares glared, then disappeared, as did his clothes from the floor.  Xena sighed, then pouted, also disappearing into the aether and back to her abandoned shell on the beach.

An "Ooopps!" echoed throughout Ares' bedchamber before her clothes quickly vanished.

*~*~*~*

Six Months Later

It was a tradition decreed by Zeus that every ten years, the gods would gather on Mt. Olympus to welcome any and all gods that had earned their title in that decade.  The titles would be announced, then the gods who had earned them, so that everyone knew who was who.  Then it was announced how they were related to himself or Hera, the King and Queen of the gods.

There being so many gods and goddesses, it was hard to get them all straight, but the closer related to the king and queen, the more important they were.  The titles they earned displayed, showed the others just how powerful they were.  Power and importance.  They were the two things that made a god.

Xena watched as the others danced around the main hall.  She was seriously bummed out.  She had been for the past six months since she realized that Ares wouldn't talk to her.  What good was an unhappy Goddess Of Love?

She spied the God Of War across the room, talking to Hades, God Of The Underworld.  As usual, Ares looked somber, and dressed in black leather.  Mmm...

Xena's depression was starting to show.  Artemis had commented the other week at how unhappy the Goddess Of Love looked of late.  Well, she wasn't going to let one measly god keep her from her happiness.  The goddess immediately straightened her body, poised for a metaphorical attack.

Look out Ares, here comes hurricane Xena...

Ares immediately noticed when Xena began to head in his direction.  He had been watching her out of the corner of his eye all night.  He knew that he had overreacted that day they had been together, but he was War.  War didn't apologize or make excuses.

He hoped that she didn't make a scene.  He was in enough trouble as it was and he didn't need Zeus on his back about fooling around with his baby girl.  Ares was glad that his mother was always on his side...

"Hi, Uncle Hades!  Can I borrow this charming leather-clad stud?  Mmm..."  came the melodious tones of the Love Goddess.

Hades and Ares turned to where Xena stood.  "Of course, my dear.  Although, I must warn you, he doesn't seem very talkative tonight."  the God Of The Underworld told his favorite niece.  My brother has done well with this one... Hades thought.

Hades went to talk to Hera as Xena pulled Ares to a corner of the main hall.  "What is your deal, Ares?  Why do you keep avoiding me?"

Ares didn't say a thing, he just grabbed her arms and jerked her forward, taking possession of her lips with his own.  He groaned, finally able to touch her again.  Xena conveniently forgot what she was saying, what questions she was asking, and gave herself up for the pleasure of his beautiful mouth.

Suddenly, a gong was heard, calling the attention of all gods, and for them to take their seats, the formal introductions of the evening were about to commence.

The music came to a halt as the gods and goddesses all came together and took their seats at the long table in the center of the hall.  Love and War were still locked in an embrace, guarded by the shadows that were cast toward the edge of the hall.

The couple pulled apart, then realized that the music had stopped.  They looked toward the center of the hall where they saw Zeus frown at the two empty seats.  They rushed to the table, taking their places.   Zeus and Hera looked at the couple, as did every other Olympian.  Hera looked at Xena with a smirk on her face, while Zeus glanced from his youngest daughter to glare disapprovingly at his step-son.

Artemis looked at Xena, the knowledge dawning on her.  Hades chuckled, as did Athena, although Athena's pleasure was more due to the fact that her half-brother was in trouble... again .  Hephestus just looked shyly at Xena in disappointment.

Xena noticed Hephestus' crestfallen look.  Ooooh!  He's such a sweetie!  Too bad I'm already hooked on the studmuffin.  The Forge ain't much to look at, but he sure is a sweetheart...

Zeus apparently decided against further delaying the meeting, standing and gaining everyone's attention.

"We have five new titles among us.  For the last five years, the Forge has walked among us, as have War, Retribution and Love for one year, and Wisdom, Warfare and Weaving.

"First, the Forge, Hephestus, nephew of Hera."  Seated two seats down from Xena, Hephestus rose hesitantly.  The gods and goddesses all applauded, then he sat down.

"Secondly, Goddess Of Love, Xena, youngest daughter of myself."  Xena rose with a bright smile for the group of immortals.  A few catcalls and whistles joined in the applause.  Xena then re-sat herself.

Zeus glared at the next one.  "Next, God Of War, Ares, son of Hera, also, my step-son, along with the Goddess of Retribution, Discord, daughter of Hera, my step-daughter."  Ares stood proudly, not letting Zeus' disapproving air get to him.  He smiled at Xena.  Ares sat himself back in his chair as Xena smiled back.  Discord glared at the Goddess Of Love.

The King Of The Gods cleared his throat in a disruptive gesture.  "And finally, the Goddess Of Wisdom, Warfare and Weaving, daughter to myself and Hera, Athena," Zeus announced proudly.   Athena rose from her seat.  The other gods and goddesses all applauded, but a few with a lack of enthusiasm.  They knew what a deceptive bitch Athena could be...

Being the last god to be introduced to the group, it was Athena's duty to make the pledge.  It was more of an affirmation that they would do their best to live up to their new titles.  Unfortunately, Athena liked to overdo things...

A number of groans could be heard when Athena's speech clocked eight minutes...and still continued.  Xena and Ares played footsies under the table, grateful for something to do other than sleep, which a number of the other lesser gods, and even Apollo and Artemis were doing.

Athena's speech had continued for a good half-hour before she paused.  Just as she was about to continue, Zeus saw his chance, and cut in, while frantically gesturing for the servants to get refreshments and fast...  "Yes, well, thank you, Athena.  Now everyone...uh...look, the wine's here..." he gestured to the servants to come forward.  "Let's dance!"

Ares and Xena immediately headed for the dark outskirts of the room, not wanting to be under Zeus' constant scrutiny.  The couple held each other close for a slow dance.  "So, what's the plan for the future, stud?"  Xena giggled.

Ares pretended to consider it.  "Hmm...I was planning on wooing you back into my bed, then say, sleeping with you, and then after that, well...sleeping with you sounded good, so I might do it again..."

Xena pouted,  "Well, gee, that sounds sooooo romantic."

Ares chuckled, quickly transporting them back to his darkened room, where a large table sat at the end of the bed.  Xena gasped when she saw it.  Beautiful, tapered, red candles sat in candle holders in the center of the table.  Two places were set.  On the bed, two sets of formal attire lay.  A gorgeous white tuxedo for Ares and a flowing, midnight blue, silk dress for Xena.

With a flick of his wrist, Ares had switched his clothes, from his trademark black leather, to the white tuxedo.  Xena smiled and quickly did the same.

The goddess stared at Ares in his outfit and couldn't believe how the clothes fit him so well...he caught the flare of desire in her gaze and kissed her.  Xena moaned.  "You wanna skip dinner?"

Ares sent her a mock leer, "I thought you wanted romance?"

Xena ran a finger over his chest, slipping it beneath his jacket.  Ares bit back a small groan.  She grinned, then withdrew.  "Okay!"

"Tease..." he laughed jokingly.

She poked her tongue out at him.  "Come on!  I want to eat!  This looks delicious..."

Ares sighed, but joined her.  He held out her chair and pushed it back in when she sat.  "Ever the gentleman, studmuffin," she grinned.

He flashed her a wicked smile.  "Just you wait until later, sweets..."

Part Two

500 Years Later

It had been four and a half centuries since Zeus and Hera had created mortals.

Ares stood watch over one of his armies.  They were involved in a battle with Athena's army, and Ares didn't trust his half-sister as far as he could blast her.  His thoughts strayed to Xena.  Five centuries after the night they had been introduced to Olympus, they were still together...

*~*~*

"Athena!!!" Came the outraged bellow.

The goddess didn't even bother to turn when the Goddess Of Love appeared by her side in the middle of the battle.

"What is it now, Xena?"  Athena asked her sister impatiently.

Xena grimaced as one of Ares' soldiers decapitated one of Athena's.  Then she remembered why she was there.  "Have you seen what your soldiers have done to my temple???"  She pointed to the ruins a few yards away.

Athena turned around, then quickly dismissed it.  "Fine.  When this is over, I'll build you a new one."  The Goddess Of Warfare, Wisdom and Weaving turned her attention back to the battle at hand.

"That's not the point, Athena and you know it!  That's the seventh temple this century!  You don't see Ares' men blowing up my temples, do you???"  Xena raged.

Athena gave a ladylike snort.  "That's because my brother would never let his men battle near your temples.  My army fights wherever is expedient."

Xena looked back at her temple and groaned.  "I loved that temple..."

Athena sighed in exasperation.  "Look, Xena, why don't you just sacrifice my brother on the alter and get him out of my hair for a little while, then I'll build you a new temple when the battle has ended...okay?"

Xena figured that this was the best deal she was going to get, so she took it.  "Deal."  Then she disappeared.

*~*~*

Ares was avidly watching the battle before him, when he felt two hands snake around his waist from behind.  He looked down to see two very shapely hands sneak between the folds of his vest, to caress his otherwise bare chest.

"Xena," he whispered.  No other would dare to touch him that way without permission.  Not that he ever gave it.  The entire half-millenium that they had been together, they had stayed faithful to one another.  Xena had sworn a violent and lonely death on him, should he ever cheat on her.  Just the thought of her leaving him was enough to curb any roving urges.

She giggled as her fingers moved downward to find him ready and waiting for her.  "Miss me?"

"I saw you this morning..."  he choked out as her fingers curled around his arousal.  "Xena, I'm in the middle of something..."

"No one can see us, and Athena wants you out of the way.  I'm more than happy to oblige."

"All the more reason why I should stay," he reasoned.

"Ares...her men totally ruined one of my temples!  She's gonna build me a new one when this is over, so I want it over.  Now, come with me, or else!"  Xena told him firmly.

He groaned.  "Just give me a sec."  He disappeared, only to reappear seconds later.  "I just told my General to kick Athena's ass.  We can't have her army destroying your temples all the time, can we?"

She grinned, shaking her head.  Xena grabbed Ares' hand and transported them to her ruined temple.  He frowned.  "This place is a mess!  What are we doing here?"  Ares looked around again.

Xena drew his attention to the only standing structure in the temple.  The alter...

"Wanna make a sacrifice or an offering to the Goddess Of Love?"  she murmured in his ear.

Ares decided that playing along might be fun, after all.  "Umm...I don't really have anything to offer such a beautiful goddess...unless she would perhaps accept myself?"

Xena smiled seductively at him.  "We might be able to come to an arrangement..." she murmured, whilst gently pushing him toward the alter.  When the back of Ares' knees came into contact with the cold stone, Xena pushed him back, so that he was laying down on it.

Very soon, they were both naked on the alter.  No mortal could see them, fortunately.  Ares held her body gently as they kissed.  Xena pulled back and moved herself over him, her lower body coming into contact with his ever so slowly...

"I love you, Xena," he whispered, just as passion overtook them.

*~*~*

Afterward, Ares was holding Xena in the crook of his arm when he felt her tears hit his chest.  "What...?  Xena, what's the matter?"  he asked, quickly transporting them to their bedchamber and to their bed.

She sniffled,  "You haven't told me that you love me since the day you asked me to marry you..."  She sniffed again, as the tears continued to fall.

"That can't be true..." Ares denied.  He thought back... it was true...

*~*Flashback*~*

498 Years ago

"I love you, Xena, and I know that I always will.  Would you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife and goddess?"  Ares looked up at his lover, and hopefully his future wife, from where he rested, on bended knee.

Xena squealed in excitement and jumped into his arms.   It was all the god could do, not to fall backward.  He quickly stood, with her in his arms and spun her around, kissing her with all of the passion and hope in him.

Hera appeared before them.  "I hear that you two are planning a wedding."

Ares looked at his mother expectantly.  He knew that Zeus would disapprove, but if Hera consented to marry them, then there was nothing he could do.

Apparently, Hera was in a good mood.  "When would you like me to marry you?"

The couple looked at each other.  It was Xena who answered.  "How about now?"

Ares nodded.  "It's not as if we have to organize anything.  We'd better get to it before anyone can object." 

Xena agreed.

Hera performed the Olympian ceremony that bound gods together in marriage.  Hera was their only choice to marry them, since only Xena and Hera were capable of performing the ceremony, and Xena was the one getting married.

It was over in minutes.  Hera left as soon as she had done her part, leaving Ares and Xena alone for their first day together as god and goddess...husband and wife.

What they hadn't counted on, was Zeus' utter rage when he found out...

*~*End Flashback*~*

"I'm so sorry, Xena.  I can't believe that you've put up with me for so long...I love you more than anything else that this existence has to offer, I hope you know that," Ares told her sincerely.

Xena nodded, her sniffles still coming every now and then.  "That's all that's kept me with you, because if I didn't know, I wouldn't be here."

"I know, and thank you."

Ares lifted her hand to his lips.  As her fingers came into contact with his mouth, they both gasped and put their hands on Xena's stomach.  "We made a baby!"  Ares nearly shouted.

"Two," Xena amended.  "Twins...oh!"  She turned to her husband.  "Are you pleased?"  She looked at him hopefully.

"I love all of you, and I'll never forget to tell you again.  But Xena, you know that Zeus won't let it be known that these children are ours,"  Ares said sadly.

Xena nodded.  Her father had been unreasonable when Hera had told him of their marriage.  Zeus had insisted that not another soul was to hear about it.  He didn't want it known that Love and War were in bed together, let alone married!  Only very few gods and goddesses knew, but absolutely no mortals, since the marriage had occurred before their creation, and Zeus had forbade those who knew of the union to speak of it.

"It doesn't matter," she said to him honestly.  "We'll love them, and they'll know that they're our children.  No one else has to know."

Ares sighed sadly.  "It'll have to be enough.  At least until Zeus is gone."

Xena looked up at him in panic.  "Ares, don't say such things!  If you make him angry enough..."  she trailed off.  They both knew what could happen if they angered Zeus.

Ares decided to change the subject.  "So, what are we going to name them...?"

Xena shrugged.  "Maybe Aphrodite or Gabrielle for a girl, and either Cupid or Ryas for a boy...what do you think?"

Ares thought about it for a minute.  "I like the name Aphrodite.  Especially if she turns out to be as beautiful as her mother."  He kissed the top of her head.

Xena sighed in pleasure.  "I'm so happy about all of this, Ares.  After almost five centuries, we're going to have children."

Ares laughed at the thought.  "Yeah, I can see it now, little miniature Gods and Goddesses of War and Love.  That'll have Zeus occupied for a century or two, at least!"

Xena giggled.  She could just imagine their children running their grandfather ragged, and playing tricks on the other gods...

The couple fell asleep with that thought on their minds.

A few months later, Aphrodite and Cupid were born...

Part Three

50 Years Later

Ares was looking forward to a nice evening with his wife.  He transported himself back to Olympus and to his and Xena's chambers.  He took a quick look around the room.  Xena was nowhere to be seen.  He went into the adjoining rooms and discovered the same thing.

"Aphrodite!  Cupid!" he called for his children.

"Yes, Dad?"

"What's up, Pops?"

Aphrodite and Cupid appeared almost immediately.  He was immensely proud of his and Xena's twin children.  Thirty years before, they had earned their titles, the Goddess Of Loving War, and the God Of Love.

As warned by Zeus, the children's parentage had been kept a secret from the majority of Olympus .  And since the only thing that was said at the title ceremony was their relationship to the King and Queen of the gods, there was nothing to worry about there, either.

Ares still couldn't quite come to terms with his life with Xena.  Everything was perfect.  He never again forgot to speak of his love to her or their children.  He was an extremely loving and caring parent.  He had never felt any resentment come from his children and he'd tried to never push them too hard into things like power and domination.

It hadn't mattered to him that both of his children had something to do with Love.  His wife was the embodiment of Love, and any part of her that his children carried, was wholeheartedly nourished and encouraged by him.

He looked at the two of them.  It was strange.  Both he and Xena had dark - almost black - hair, yet their children were both blonde.  Also, Cupid had begun to sprout wings at an early age.  Ares had found it utterly fascinating, while Xena had found it 'totally adorable'.

They had grown up from mischievous, playful and adorable children, to honest, caring and stunningly gorgeous adult gods.

"Have you seen your mother?" he asked them.

They both shook their heads.  "Not since breakfast this morning," answered Aphrodite.

Cupid thought for a moment.  "Not since this morning in Corinth .  There was this couple that she wanted me to deal with.  She said she was off to see Aunt Artemis about a young Amazon...something about her falling for a young man in a nearby village."

Ares was worried.  "I saw her after that, just after midday .  She said she was going to be home early.  I'm a bit late as it is."

Aphrodite said to her father.  "Maybe she went looking for you."  Ares shook his head.

Cupid frowned.  "Mom's not usually one to be late, no matter how scatter-brained she decides to act.  I can't remember the last time that she wasn't early for something.  Have you checked the baths?"

Aphrodite turned to her brother.  "Mom hates water." She scrunched up her face.  "It's too messy."

"Don't do that, you'll get wrinkles..." her brother warned gently.

Ares chuckled.  "Don't worry, I'll just wait here until she gets back.  She's early so often, that it's about time she was late for something..."

Aphrodite raised her eyebrows.  Cupid grinned at his father.  "Gonna set up a seduction scene, huh?"

"I so don't wanna hear about this!" Aphrodite squealed.  "Tootles!" she disappeared in a shower of yellow sunbeams.

Ares shook his head in amusement.  He clapped his son on the back.  "Yeah, maybe.  She'll probably like that," he admitted.  It had been awhile since he had dusted off his romantic side.  A good few weeks, at least.

Cupid left in a shower of lilac blossoms that dissolved before they hit the floor.

The God Of War took his time thinking about what to do for a romantic evening in.

*~*~*

Ares awoke the next morning.  He was on his side, facing away from the center of the bed.  He didn't have to feel the bed behind him to know that Xena wasn't there.  He had fallen asleep waiting for her, but she had never come.  His body was perfectly attuned to her and would have awakened had she entered the room.

He looked across the room.  The table was still there, set and deliciously intimate, but there was still no Xena.  Ares turned over, just to check if the other side of the bed had been slept in.  It hadn't.

The god began to panic.  They hadn't spent a night apart since the day they had vowed to be together, over 500 years ago.  They would sleep together, wherever they were.  Not even when he had wars that took him across the seas, would he leave her alone for a night, they just weren't that kind of couple.  They needed to be together.

He didn't even consider that Xena may have left him.  They weren't like the other gods, they didn't continuously go in and out of relationships.

Ares called for his children once again.  They appeared at once.

"Have a good night last night?" Cupid asked with a grin.

Aphrodite frowned.  "Where's Mom?"

Ares looked them both in the eye.  "She is now, officially missing, by my order."

Their eyes widened.  Cupid sucked in a breath and Aphrodite gasped.  "She didn't come home last night?"  His daughter wore an incredulous expression.

He shook his head.

Cupid grew pale.  He had always been the more sensitive of the two siblings.  He frowned for a second.  "You don't think that Zeus..."

Ares face grew hard and he disappeared.

"You shouldn't have said that, Cupie..." Aphrodite groaned.

They both disappeared after their father.

*~*~*

" Zeus!!! " Ares roared as he appeared just outside the doorway of the main hall.

The King Of The Gods sat on his throne, a number of other gods seated at the table in the center of the room.  He was obviously in a meeting, but Ares was too furious and worried for his wife to notice.

Zeus and the group of immortals turned to him.  Never had they seen the God Of War so furious...and worried.  Seated at the table were five gods.  His half-sisters, Athena, Artemis and his twin, Discord, as well as his Uncle Hades and his Aunt Hestia.

" What have you done with her?!?! " Ares' rage was obvious to the gods before him, as was his fear.

"Ares, who are you talking about?" Hades asked.  He had a fair idea, but since he was sworn to secrecy, he wouldn't be the first to speak of it.

Ares ignored his uncle, his furious and worried gazed pinned on his step-father, Zeus.  "What the fuck have you done with my wife?!?! "

Hades was the only god whose face remained impassive.  Zeus looked ready to fry Ares to a crisp on the spot, whereas Hestia, Discord and Artemis just sat there looking stunned.

Athena however, had worked out just who her brother's wife was, and wasn't silent about it.  "Xena???"

This time, pandemonium spread throughout the main hall of Olympus.  Hestia gasped as Discord paled significantly.  Zeus and Hades turned on Athena, their accusing looks firmly placing her in her seat.

A ball of pale, blue light materialized in Ares hand as he got ready to hurl it at the King of the Gods.  "Where...is...she???" his tone was threatening.

"Daddy, stop! " came the request as Aphrodite and Cupid appeared at their father's arm, looking agitated and frightened.

The sounds of various arguments echoed dully in Ares' ears as he focused on Zeus.  He didn't care what happened to him, so long as his Xena was safe...

"Everybody... stop!!! "  came the furious bellow from the King of the Gods.  The group sitting around the table was immediately silent.  "First, let me tell you that nothing you hear in this room is to go any further!"

Zeus could tell that his youngest daughter, Athena, was dying to say her piece, but he shut her up with a look.  He drew reluctant nods from all but Hades and Discord.  Hades, who had already known, didn't bother to acknowledge his brother, while Discord nodded a little too willingly.  She was no more happy about Love and War being together than her step-father.

Aphrodite held her father's arm back from hurling his ball of power at her grandfather.  She resisted the urge to let her father do whatever it took to get her mother back, but since she was the Goddess Of Loving War...well, it was a difficult decision.

Zeus turned to his wayward son-in-law.  "We'll discuss your apparent lack of discipline, manners and discretion later, Ares, now what's this about my daughter being missing?"

Ares paled when he realized that Zeus had absolutely no clue about Xena's whereabouts.  If Zeus hadn't spirited her away somewhere... Ares shuddered at the direction his thoughts were taking.

Cupid stepped forward.  He could feel the waves of despair and pain flowing over his father.  He addressed his grandfather.  "You really have no idea where Mother is, Zeus?" he asked quietly.

Zeus shook his head.  "No, Cupid."  The God frowned at Ares.  "You're father doesn't seem to be very coherent at the moment, perhaps you had better explain."

Cupid bit his lip.  "Mom didn't return home yesterday when she said she would.  She was supposed to be home early.  Dad called me and Aph, to see if we knew where she was.  We left when we figured she was just late...for the first time in eternity..." he grimaced.

Aphrodite took over.  "Dad set up dinner and everything.  Being the Goddess Of Love, Mom likes that sort of thing...anyway, Dad called us a few minutes ago.  When we got there, the dinner and everything had gone untouched."  Aphrodite looked forlorn.  "And Mom hadn't returned home..."

Zeus looked thunderous.  "And you interrupted this meeting, broke your word of silence on the subject of this marriage, for this??? "

Hades broke in.  "Wait, Zeus.  You apparently don't know your daughter very well..."

The King of the Gods turned and glared at his younger brother.  "You dare tell me tha-"

Hades shot to his feet. "Yes!  If you knew your daughter then you would be as worried as Ares appears to be!  Xena is never late!  She never breaks her word and she never spends a night away from Ares!"

Zeus looked more shocked at the last example, than anything else.

Hades continued.  "In five hundred years, Xena has never gone against any of these things!  And since I'm the one that both she and Ares confide in, I should bloody well know!"

Zeus continued to be rational, but it was a tough thing.  This startling revelation had worried him.  He turned back to his daughter's husband.  "Have you followed your link?"  Ares' obvious distress may have shut down all rational thought.

Ares face fell.  "You don't understand!  I can't feel her!"

Part Four

Zeus glanced at Ares worriedly.  "What do you mean?"

Ares was growing impatient with each passing second.  "I mean, that I can't feel her presence.  I can't find her in my mirror, either!"

Zeus turned nervously to his brother, Hades.  The two gods shared a look.  They knew that only one thing could have done this.  Xena had to be trapped somewhere, and in immediate danger.  Only a very weak god would fail to register to her own mate.

Fortunately, Xena couldn't be dead yet.  There had been no thunder and lightening, signaling the demise of a god and only Zeus himself could cause another god to disintegrated into the essence.

In a single moment, everyone's attention was turned to Ares and Aphrodite, who fell to their knees in apparent pain, which had the other gods in a panic, because gods weren't meant to feel pain.

Cupid bent down to help his father and sister up.  Ares was paler than Cupid had ever seen him, and Aphrodite was openly crying.

Zeus rose from his seat.  "What is it?"

Aphrodite held a hand to her aching head.  "Such hate...I've never felt anything like it before..."

Athena stared at Aphrodite with derision.  "You're the Goddess Of Loving War, there's no possible way you could feel someone's hate, without it being..."

"Something to do with love," Cupid concluded.  "I didn't really feel anything.  Maybe a twinge, but..."

Ares rose to his feet unsteadily.  "It was Xena..." he murmured sadly.

Once again, Athena was the epitome of rationality.  "You may want to find your lover, brother, but again, there is no possible way to..."

Ares let a ball of his power strike his youngest sister down as he snarled at her.  "You know nothing, Athena!  Keep your fucking nose out of it!  You've caused enough trouble for Xena and I already!"

"Ares!" his step-father admonished.

The God Of War turned on the King Of The Gods.  "What?!?!  She thinks that just because she's the Goddess of Wisdom, Warfare and Weaving, that she can constantly butt in and meddle in all of our lives!  Well, I've got news for you, Athena!" He turned on his half-sister.  "You can't be a true Goddess of Wisdom if you're too stupid to see what's right in front of you!"

"And what's that, brother?" she asked hautily.

"Xena and I have a connection!  Love is hurt and angry.  She's lashing out at whatever it is that has shielded her from us.  Cupid, Aphrodite and I are her family, and she knows that somehow, we'll hear her and come for her..."  Ares speech to his sister was from the heart, even she couldn't deny that.

Neither could the other gods.  Zeus immediately took action.  "Athena, Discord and Artemis, you go to the mortal realm and find out whatever you can about Xena's movements the last day or so.  Hestia, Hades...I want you, Ares and the children to follow me.  We're going on a little trip to see the Fates..."

*~*~*

"Love will perish if..."
"...her War captor chooses to hide..."
"...behind deceit."

Ares looked stricken.  "I would never...!" he began.

Strangely enough, it was Zeus that calmed him.  "We know this, Ares.  Even when you first married my daughter, I knew that you would cherish her.  It was just my thought of how your relationship would be perceived that had me quiet you all."

Hestia smiled softly.  "In other words, he's sorry that he's kept you and Xena from being a couple publicly..."

"Yes, well..." Zeus stammered.  "More importantly, we have another problem.  You're not the only War on Olympus, Ares..."

The God Of War shook his head in denial.  "No...she wouldn't.  She wouldn't keep this from me after she saw how Xena's disappearance tore me apart!"

Cupid reluctantly faced his father.  "Dad, Aunt Discord isn't the nicest goddess in the world.  She may adore you to bits, you are her twin, but she despises Love.  Unless, of course, the War that you're talking about is my dear sis, Aph!"  he lightened the conversation.

Ares gave him a weak smile as Aphrodite hit her brother on the arm.  The God Of Love winced and rubbed his bare arm.  One of his wings shot out to the side and hit her on her leather-clad ass.

The Goddess Of Loving War disappeared with a glare as she went to find someone who would help her find and restrain her Aunt Discord...

After the blond left, Ares chuckled.  "Leave your sister alone, Cupid.  This really isn't the time for us to get distracted."

Cupid took a good look at his father.  The god couldn't believe what he saw in Ares' face.  Every line was etched with fatigue and worry.  In just twelve hours, the God Of War had aged a good twenty years.  Not that it even came close to his true age, but for a god...

He let his hand rest on his father's shoulder.  "Don't worry, Dad.  We'll get Mom back.  Don't worry.  She'll be back here with us in no time and you can go back to romancing the life into her again," he told Ares gently.

Ares' smile was grateful, but still very sad.  "Thanks, son.  I hope you're right, because without Love, this god won't last for too long.  I've been with your mother for centuries longer than I've existed without her.  I couldn't face losing her now.  You and Aphrodite have your own lives, and without your mother, I don't know what would be left for me."

*~*~*

Every god was present in the main hall of Olympus as Discord was forced to kneel before Zeus and Hera by Aphrodite and Cupid.  Zeus had called upon Hera to decide what should be done.

The Queen of the Gods had immediately called upon Hermes to find each and every god and inform them of the trial of Discord, for the kidnapping and possible injury of Xena.

Zeus nodded to Aphrodite, the elder of the twins, to state the charges.  She was, after all, the least biased of her family.  She was the balance between her parents...

The gods were all in for a shock.  Well, most of them.  Like all other trials, the speaker had to state their relationship to the victim.

Aphrodite took a deep breath before she began.  "Discord, you are here to answer the charges having been brought forth by Zeus, my grandfather, your step-father, for the crime of kidnapping and inflicting possible injury upon Xena, the Goddess Of Love, mother to myself and my twin, Cupid, who stands by my side."

Many of the gods gasped.  It was news to them that Xena had children, let alone such prominent gods.  Aphrodite continued.  "How do you plead?"

Discord lifted her chin in defiance.  She looked to her mother, her step-father, and finally, her twin brother, Ares, her face a mask of pure hatred.  "Oh, I did it, all right!" she spat out.  Then she let out a maniacal laugh.  "But you'll never find her in time.  By the time you locate her, your precious Love Goddess will be history..."

Hera gazed sadly at her daughter.  Zeus was, of course, furious that this little miss was responsible for his favorite daughter's situation.  "Discord," his booming voice rang out across the room.  "Your punishment will be decided by your brother, Ares."

Ares stepped forward.  Most of the gods felt that this was unjust.  Naturally, he would be lenient on his twin...but they were wrong.

"I sentence you to to spend the rest of your days in the worst prison known to man, serving those whom you would command, as the trash you really are, powerless, and friendless.  In essence, mortal..."

The crowd of gods and goddesses gasped.  His voice had held such loathing.  They listened intently as he continued.  "Such is fitting for your crimes against my wife, and the mother of my children!"

The crowd watched in surprised awe, as the three gods took their place around Discord.  Aphrodite placed a hand on her aunt's left shoulder, while Cupid did the same on her right.  Ares, though, he placed his hand on the top of her head.

"So be it," Zeus commanded as light seeped from Discord's body and into that of the three gods touching her.  The former goddess slumped to the floor as her power ebbed.

Aphrodite and Cupid were both grim as they picked up Discord's weak body and left to place her in a prison of their father's description.

Ares turned to Zeus and Hera.  "How do we find her?"

Hera placed a comforting hand over her husband's as she addressed her son.  "We gather the other gods and hope that we have enough power between us to find what is left of Xena's life force..." she informed him, sadly.

Ares turned to the other gods, silently begging for aid.  As he looked each one in the eye, they all nodded.  Each and every one of them could see the agony that was ingrained into his features.  Even though many disliked War, they realized that it was not War standing in front of them, but Ares, the being, not the god, who wished for his wife's safe return.

It was just an added bonus that Xena was friends with every god known to Olympus...

Part Five

The numerous gods gathered in a circle of sorts, in the main hall on Mt Olympus.  Zeus, Hera, Ares, Aphrodite and Cupid stood in the center of the ring of gods, making a circle of their own.

They all focused on one being...Xena.  The gods leant their strength and abilities to the inner circle of gods and held their place as an image formed within the inner circle...

The Goddess Of Love was chained up in a tiny cave.  Her skimpy clothes were torn and dirty, and two male guards stood watch as they tormented Xena with their swords, thrusting them into her beautiful body, leaving yet more tears in her clothing.

Ares stood by the portal and watched, his eyes filling with absolute hatred for these men that dared toy with his love.  What made it even worse, was that they were his men, his to command...and now, his to destroy...

"I swear to you, Xena..." Ares murmured to the open portal.  "When I get through with them, they'll wish they had never heard of the God Of War..."

Rage also simmered inside every god present.  Before, gods would often toy with one another, when they each interfered with their business, but they all agreed that Discord had gone too far.  If she hadn't already been banished, and without her godhood and immortality, they probably would have torn her apart to live out her eternity in pieces, scattered across Greece .

Cupid and Aphrodite stared at their mother's image.  They couldn't believe the way she looked.  Xena always took pride in her appearance, always flirting with everyone and making teasing comments, always accompanied with a couple of tips on how to improve one's looks and demeanor. 

But this wasn't her...

The twin gods hardly recognized her.  There was no love in her eyes, only a divine vengeance.  Her eyes were the only part of her that seemed alive, though.  Her hair fell limply down her back, her lips were slightly parted, her legs were just dangling below her.  They didn't know whether to be thankful that she was still alive, or fearful of what she might do, what she might be like, when they released her...

*~*~*

It was Ares that Zeus decided to send, to get Xena.  Not only did he know her captors, but since they were his own men that had his wife, then he would decided their fate.

When Ares appeared in the cave, Xena barely spared him a glance, her hateful gaze still centered on the group of men, who could hardly be classed as legitimate warriors, that were boasting about their so-called accomplishments.

"A-hem!" Ares interrupted.  The group turned to him, then immediately stood up.

"Lord Ares!  What are you...I mean..." the obvious leader started.  He turned to Goddess Of Love.  "We have Xena here, just like Discord ordered.  I doubt that she'll last too much longer..." he chuckled, his chest puffing out with self-importance.

The man's ego deflated like a balloon when the God Of War grabbed him by his hair and pulled his face within barely an inch of his own.  "You don't take order from Discord.  She's not even a goddess any longer.  That bitch has been sentenced to mortality, for the remainder of her very short, human life."

He thrust the man away from him as the rest of the group took a step back, trying to escape their god's attention.

Ares hardly noticed them as he kept his focus on their leader.  "This has me beyond furious," he stated in a deceptively calm and quiet voice as he moved to unchain his wife.  "The Goddess Of Love happens to be a close friend of mine, despite our obvious differences..."

Xena collapsed into his arms.  She closed her eyes, the feel of his strong arms around her, was absolute ambrosia to her weak state.  Ares placed a hand over her head, as he let his healing touch take care of her.

"Ares..." she murmured, her strength returning.

"Shh..." he placed a finger against her lips, then went back to empowering her.  He transferred some of the power he received from Discord's demise, into Xena.  Within seconds, the tattered strips of cloth that used to be her trademark outfit, was once again whole, flimsy, skimpy, and thoroughly transparent.

Xena smiled up at him as she stood, shakily.

In that moment, Ares knew that the rage they had all witnessed in her eyes had not been maniacal in the least.  It had been a strange anticipation, for when she would be released...

The God Of War realized that it wasn't up to him to punish her captors.  It was up to her.  "I was issued a 'Punish at your discretion order," he murmured in her ear.  "But I leave it up to you, Princess.  What do you wish to do with them?"

A flicker of interest entered her eyes, followed by a sly grin as she stepped closer to the group of fearful warriors.  Ares watched his wife point, and shoot.

A shower of bright petals fell over the group as content, and down-right dopey looks came over their faces.  Each man approached the first thing that their gazes locked onto.  One man bent over and picked up a small rock.  He began murmuring sweet nothings to said rock.  Another, well, he approached the man with the rock obsession and tried to engage him in loveplay.

The third was attempting to kiss the helmet he held in his hands.  Fortunately for the helmet, it kept slipping out of his fingers.  It was the leader who had Ares worried, though.  He had had his eyes locked on the God Of War the entire time, so guess who his new obsession was...

"Ahhh!  Xena!" the god panicked and called for his wife's aid.

Xena bit her lip and giggled, but pointed her finger once again, and directed the hopeless leader to the chains that had held her, obviously of Hephaestus' forge...

Ares wrapped his arms around his beloved and took her home to Mt Olympus...

*~*~*

The second that Ares laid his wife down on their bed, the majority of the Olympian Gods appeared in the large bedroom.

Several of her closest friends and family rushed forward.  The crowd was so thick, that Ares was forced onto the bed.  The god toppled over onto his wife.  "Sorry..." he murmured as rolled off her, conscious of Zeus' warning glare.  It seemed that even though the King Of The Gods acknowledged their rather lengthy marriage, he still wasn't thrilled with his daughter's choice of husband.

Xena held back a giggle at the look her father was giving Ares, not that the look on Ares' face was any less humorous.  "Umm..." Ares said.

Xena leant over and kissed his cheek.  Ares immediately tore his gaze from his father-in-law and turned to his wife.  "Hey...how are you felling?"

"I'm fine..." she whispered, as she smiled at him.

He gave one sharp nod of his head, then turned to their captive audience of eavesdropping gods.  "Now, the rest of you can just get the fuck out of our chambers!" he commanded noisily and with an unapologetic grin.

The gods all left with murmurs of protest and get well wishes.  Only Zeus, Hera and the children stayed.  "Ares, I've put up with enough from you, and no one tells me when to-"

Xena cut her father off.  "Dad...come on...I'm tired and I haven't had sex in twenty-four hours!  Give a girl a little-"

Hera bit her lip to keep from laughing as Zeus' face began to go red.  "Come on, let's leave these two alone..."

They could hear Zeus complaining as they left.  "I blame that son of yours, Hera..." he grumbled.

After they left, all four of the remaining gods could no longer contain their laughter.  Aphrodite and Cupid fell onto their parents beds in hysteria.

Ares shoved his son from where he'd fallen on his father's legs.  "Get off me, wing-boy!"

Cupid moved over and leant up against the bed-post, then punched his father in the leg, lightly.  "Leave me alone, old man! "

"I'm not old!" Ares pouted.

Xena laughed.  "Tell that to a mortal and see what they say..." she chuckled.

Aphrodite scoffed.  "Yeah!  Like you can talk, Mom!"

"Hey!" Xena protested as she lightly tapped her daughter on the arm.

The group slowly lapsed into comfortable silence.

"Are we all okay, then?" Ares questioned in a concerned tone.

Xena turned to her husband, then to her two children.  She nodded with a small smile.  "Yeah, I think we are..."

Her family grinned.  Aphrodite crawled over to where her mother was laying.  She gave her a warn hug.  "I love you, Mom..." she whispered.

"Oooooh!  I love you, too, sweet pea..." she hugged her daughter back.

Aphrodite moved back to her place, only to be replaced by her winged brother, Cupid.  "Me too, Mom..." he murmured as he gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek.

Xena giggled as she hugged him back.  "You're such a sweetie pie, Cupie!"

Cupid blushed all the way to his snow-white wings.  "Mo-om!  You know I hate being called 'Cupie'..."

Xena stuck her tongue out at him. They all laughed.  Xena turned to Ares.  "What about you?" she taunted playfully.

Ares raised a dark eyebrow.  "What about me?"  At Xena's look, he relented.  "I love you, too, Princess..." he told her as he rolled his eyes in a comical gesture.

Xena pouted.  "It doesn't mean anything if it has to be pulled out of you..."

Ares chuckled as he moved over to his wife and began kissing her.  Xena thrust her fingers into his hair as he moved on top of her.

"Ow!" Aphrodite whispered in a harsh tone as she rubbed her leg.  Her father had 'accidentally' kicked her as he moved.

Cupid raised an eyebrow in a way that was so like his father's, that had Xena seen it, she would have sighed and held her hand to her heart.  "Our cue?" he asked his sister.

Aphrodite nodded, still rubbing her leg as the two of them disappeared, Cupid in a shower of lilac blossoms, and Aphrodite, in bright yellow sunbeams.

*~*~*

Ares and Xena were too engrossed in other things to notice their children's presence... or sudden absence...

In seconds, the couple's clothing had been disposed of, and they lay naked on their bed, legs and arms entwined, their bodies expressing to the other, just how much they were missed.

The Goddess Of Love eagerly wrapped her long legs around her husband's trim waist, silently begging for him to enter her.  She moaned in pleasure when he complied, easily sliding his erection into her warm, aroused body.

Ares groaned in absolute rapture at the feel of Xena's body clamped tightly around his hard cock once again.  Not once in their five hundred years of wedded bliss, had either of them gone without the pleasure of one another for more than half a day, and the time Xena had spent trapped in the cave, was longer than either of them wanted to go without the other... ever .

The god repeatedly thrust into the beautiful being that was his Love, as she begged and pleaded for him to never leave her...to thrust harder...faster...longer...

Each request was met with enthusiasm.  Ares groaned long and hard as Xena clenched her inner muscles around him, a sure sign that she was on the edge, just waiting for that single movement that would tip her over...

Xena dug her nails into his back, straining for her release.  Ares smiled to himself as he thrust his tongue into her mouth, his fingers wandering down her body until he reached that part of her where their bodies connected.

The god applied just the right amount of pressure in the place where she was the most sensitive, still thrusting into her as he watched the play of emotions that came across her perfect features at the peak of her orgasm.

Xena closed her eyes, her body strung tight, just as her release washed over her.  She shuddered repeatedly as her body shattered into a thousand pieces.  The goddess could feel her body clamp tightly around her husband's hard arousal enough to force him into his own release.

She listened with pure contentment as he came with a satisfied shout, soon collapsing onto her replete body.  Xena wrapped her arms around his hard chest as he pressed a soft kiss to her temple.  "I love you, Xena..." he whispered huskily in her ear.

Xena smiled softly into his neck.  She nipped lightly at the tender skin, then giggled.  "That's better..."

Ares chuckled as he bent down for another kiss...

Part Six

One Month Later

"Aaahhhhhhhiiiiiiiiii!"  The excited, feminine squeal was heard throughout Mt Olympus.

Athena put her hands over her ears, as did Artemis, Zeus and Hera.  Ares turned around, frowning, as did his two children, all three recognizing the sound of Xena's voice.

The group of gods were on Mt Olympus, discussing recent events in the mortal realm.  Even Hephaestus, stuck in his cave in the depths of the mountain, looked up, wondering what in Tartarus could get that kind of reaction from the usually tight-assed gods...but the sound was remarkably like Xena....hmm...

Suddenly, Xena appeared in the center of the main hall of Mt Olympus, where her family stood in stunned silence.  They were all still recovering from the sound of excitement that had echoed through the halls, only seconds ago.

The Goddess Of Love flung her arms around her husband's neck and jumped up into his arms, wrapping her long, shapely legs around his hips.  Ares groaned as she excitedly rubbed herself up against him and smothered his face with kisses.

"Xena, what is the meaning of this commotion?"  Zeus demanded of his favorite daughter.  "Not only are you late for this month's meeting, but you come in here unannounced and virtually molest the God Of War."

Hera raised a sardonic eyebrow.  "They are married, dear..."

The King Of The Gods pursed his lips stubbornly.  "That's not the point, Hera."

Cupid leaned over to Aphrodite and whispered in her ear, "I do believe that Dad is enjoying Mom's molesting of him...don't you think, sis?"

Aphrodite giggled and agreed.  "I wonder what Mom's so hyped up about...?"

Xena disengaged herself from her husband, but couldn't stop grinning, even when confronted by her father's stony glare.  "I'm pregnant!"

She threw her arms up in the air, and sparks of bright light flew up and burst into balls, all the colors of the rainbow, lighting up the dreary hall.  Hera stepped down from her throne and gave Xena hug and a kiss.  Zeus was glaring at Ares as Aphrodite and Cupid rushed to their mother and hugged the life out of her.

Ares stood there, grinning like an idiot at nothing in particular, then suddenly let out a whoop of delight and grabbed his wife around the waist and pulled her against him.  "Oh yeah, baby!  Papa's gonna get lucky tonight!"

The couple disappeared.

"Where in Tartarus do you think you two are going???"  Zeus demanded of the absent couple.  "Get back here!!!!!"

Hera ignored Athena's furious demeanor and Artemis' confused expression and leaned in closer to her grandchildren.  "You know, now that I think about it...when Xena was pregnant with the two of you, they didn't come out of their chambers for at least a month..." Hera confided with a smile.

"Go Dad!" Cupid whispered, with a grin.

Aphrodite joined the two in their obvious delight, until she remembered the war that her father was supposed to be keeping track of in Athens.  The very one they had been debating with Athena during the meeting...  "Oh no!"

Hera hushed her.  "Don't worry...I'm sure that your father would trust you to take care of it..."

Aphrodite bit her lip, but nodded.  She wasn't sure if she was ready to do this alone...she'd only been a true goddess for thirty-five years!

The Queen Of The Gods turned to her grandson.  "That means that you'll be taking over for your mother, as well, Cupid."

The god grinned.  "Cool...!"

Aphrodite lightly punched him on the arm.  "That doesn't mean that you go around sticking your arrows into Dad's warlords...okay?"

He flashed his sister a toothy grin.  "You got it, sis!"  Then the God Of Love disappeared.

The Goddess Of Loving War sighed.  "I'd better go and check on Dad's domain...there's no telling what kind of tricks my little bro would play on Dad..."

Hera chuckled as her granddaughter disappeared.

*~*~*

Aphrodite nearly slapped herself.  "What would Mom say to you if she saw you biting your nails, Dite?" she asked herself, aloud.

The goddess appeared in the Halls Of War, where her Dad conducted most of his business.  A few seconds later, one of Ares' priests came running into the main room, where Aphrodite was standing, contemplating her options.

"Whoa!  Chill, little guy!" she told the mortal.  "What's the prob?"

He frowned at her.  "Who are you?  And where is Lord Ares?"

"The God Of War is a little busy pillaging his private grounds at the moment.  I'm in charge for a while, until he gets back."  She grinned.  "I'm Aphrodite, the Goddess Of Loving War!"

The priest looked horrified.  " Loving War?" he chuckled nervously.  "Lord Ares is playing a joke?  Please say yes...?"

Aphrodite was offended.  "Hey, buddy!  Do I go around insulting you like that?  And Ares wouldn't take kindly to you insulting me like that!  We're very close..."

The priest suddenly looked at her differently.  She found his thoughts coming through loud and clear.  "Eeewwwww!  Not that kind of close!  Oh, that's just gross!"

Aphrodite took her seat on her father's throne, a portal appearing in front of her.  She took a peek at how the war was going.  "Ares wants this thing to be bloody, doesn't he?"

The priest nodded.

She looked at it again.  "It looks pretty tame to me.  Well, tootles, babe!"  she disappeared, leaving the priest stunned.

*~*~*

The Goddess Of Loving War reappeared on the battlefield, invisible to all mortals.  She couldn't believe just how peaceful things were on the field.  "Ugh!  I think we need to liven things up a little..."

She giggled as she directed a bundle of arrows from the Athenian army over to Ares' army.  It took only three seconds for her father's army to scramble around and retaliate.  The Athenian army didn't know what had hit them, as a number of warriors stormed their defenses, the battle resuming.

Aphrodite sighed as she heard the plea of a young woman to bring her husband home safely.  She realized that she was from Athens, but that didn't matter.  She couldn't ignore her own domain while she dealt with her father's.

She was just about to take care of business, when Athena appeared.  "It seems that you don't have the stomach for War, little one..." she smiled sagely.

"Hmmph!" Aphrodite turned away from her aunt, just in time to see a the young warrior whose wife she had heard, nearly impaled by one of his enemies.  "Oh no, you don't buster.  Your wife wants you home for dinner..."  With a flick of her wrist, she forced his sword arm to come up and block the blow.

"You can't do both jobs, Aphrodite.  Why not just leave War up to me?" Athena coaxed.

"And what makes you think you can do any better, Aunt 'Thena?"  came Cupid's voice.  The god appeared beside Athena, glaring at her.  "Leave 'Dite alone and go away."

Athena stiffened.  "I know when I'm not wanted...and don't call me that!" she muttered, before disappearing.

"My job here is done..." Cupid grinned stupid, bowing to his sister, then vanishing.

Aphrodite grimaced to herself.  There was no doubt about it, her family was weird .

*~*~*

When the young goddess returned to the Halls Of War, she found a small statuette of her, dressed in her regular outfit, holding a sword in front of her, made out of metal, sitting on the arm of her father's throne.

"Oh..." she murmured in awe.  The piece was so beautiful.  There was no doubt who had made it, because only one being had the skill to create something that perfect out of metal.

Hephaestus...

She dimly recalled that he had had a crush on her mother a couple of hundred years ago.  Xena had told her all about her introduction to Olympus, and how she'd dubbed The Forge as a 'sweetie'.  But since Xena had her foot planted firmly in Ares' garden, she didn't want to say or do anything about it...

Aphrodite smiled at the gift he had given her.  The statuette disappeared.  She had transported it to her chambers on Mt Olympus, onto a small table next to her bed.  She would have a reminder of this day and this experience, and also the strange feeling that entered her heart when she thought about his gift.

*~*~*

Xena moaned as she rolled over onto her back.  She was sore as all get out.  They hadn't stopped making love for the eight hours that they'd been back in their room, and even the gods got tired once in a while.

She felt her husband press a kiss to her bare shoulder, groaning himself.  "Celebration is good..." he murmured sleepily, a huge grin plastered on his face.

Xena threw an arm over her face.  " Sleep is good..." she added.

Ares closed his eyes, too tired to keep them open any longer.  "We're gods, we don't need to sleep..." He yawned.

Xena giggled.  "Sure...I can tell.  And having you as a full-time lover is enough to drive any goddess to exhaustion."

Ares grinned, his eyes still closed, drinking in the praise.  "Are you saying that I'm a fantastic lover, wife?"

He didn't see the twinkle that lit her gaze.  "I'm saying that you have stamina...not that you're fantastic... husband ."

Ares's eyes flew open and glared at her.  "I'll show you stamina, Xena."

With that, the God Of War and the Goddess Of Love went for another round in the love game...

Part Seven

Cupid was having a ball!  He'd been aiming his arrows in every direction ever since his mother had taken a temporary back seat as Love Goddess.  The God Of Love grinned to himself as he watched a young couple finally get together.  They'd been betrothed since birth, but had always felt that their parents had chosen wrongly.  Cupid had just given them a little push, to show them how wrong they had been.

Of course, he'd kept his promise to Aphrodite that he'd stay away from Dad's warriors and warlords...

His sister was another matter, though.  Cupid had the feeling that a certain god was fast on his way to capturing his sister's heart, and the God Of Love wanted to know more.

*~*~*

"Hey, Heph!" Cupid shouted when he appeared in Hephaestus' caves.

The God Of The Forge looked up from his latest creation and smiled shyly at the God Of Love.  "Cupid, what brings you down here?  Has Ares reclaimed his domain?"

Cupid shook his head, grinning.  "Nah.  Dad's still shacking up with Mom.  They haven't come out of their chambers since Mom made the announcement."

The other god nodded, absently looking around his 'lair'.

Cupid smiled at his nervousness.  "So, you like my sister."  The god held back a grin as Hephaestus' head shot up, a stunned, guilty look on his face.  "Hey, don't worry about it!  I just wanted to check.  I've got a feeling that 'Dite likes you, too."

Hephaestus looked as if he were about to blush.  "She...she wouldn't.  Aphrodite could have any man, god or mortal, that she chose."

The God Of Love laughed out loud.  "So could Mom, but look who she chose!"  Hephaestus had to concede Cupid's point.  Of all the gods on Olympus , Love had chosen War.  But still, it was hard for him to believe that a goddess as lovely as Aphrodite, would want him.

"Hey!  I don't see anything wrong with Mom's choice!"

The two gods turned at the sound of Aphrodite's voice.  The goddess appeared, a huge grin on her face as she contemplated her brother and the other god.  "And I don't see anything wrong with my choice, either."

"You...you're married?" Hephaestus paled.  The pain that ripped through his heart at that moment, was so much more than what he'd felt when he'd discovered Xena was with Ares...

"As if I would be!  I've been having too much fun doing the single-chick thing!" she grinned, rotating her hips.  (Think Nicole Kidman in Practical Magic)

"It's about time you found someone, sis," Cupid told her. 

"Well duh!  Why do you think I'm here?  It's certainly not because of the amazing view of..." She looked around the cave.  "... rocks.  And anyway, you can't talk, Cupie, coz last I heard, you haven't got a regular date, either."

Cupid scoffed.  "I don't need regular, I have a queue.  Anyway, Mom consulted the Fates about my love life, meddling mother that she is, and discovered that my love isn't going to show up for quite some time.  Give or take a thousand years..." he sighed.  "And, until then, I'm going to enjoy my single status, while you and your new beau here, can go off and do things that a God Of Love would be proud of, but a brother just doesn't want to know about!"

With that said, Cupid disappeared in a shower of his trademark lilacs, leaving Aphrodite and Hephaestus to work out their love lives.

*~*~*

Cupid watched over the couple through his mirror portal, smiling in satisfaction as Hephaestus pulled out yet another little statuette he'd created just for Aphrodite.  Even he had to admit that they were a match made in the Elysian Fields, despite their obvious differences.

Still, as happy as he was for Aphrodite and Hephaestus, as well as his blissfully joyful parents, Cupid couldn't help but feel alone.  Oh, he remembered what he'd said to 'Dite about his 'queue of women', but he was the God Of Love, and love was what he sometimes needed, not just lust and passion, although both were extremely satisfying...

His future had been set, and he wouldn't come across his future lover and wife for centuries, and even though the thought of him actually having a soulmate lifted his spirits, he still longed for her even then.

The image of his sister and her new love blended into a new image, that of a brunette girl, with a delighted smile on her face.  "Paula!" The girl turned at the name and grinned as she saw a blond girl.

"Julia!  What are you doing here?" she asked as she hugged the smaller girl.

"I'm just in town visiting my aunt."

"Cool...you wanna go to the movies or something?" Paula asked.

Julia shrugged. "Sure."

Cupid watched as the scene blended into another.  He had no idea what the buildings and other things in the background were, but the differences between his home and this new place where the two girls lived were numerous.

He knew that the brunette, Paula, was his soulmate.  He was glad.  She was almost everything he'd ever envisioned of having.  Smart, passionate and caring.  She wasn't drop-dead gorgeous or anything, but she had a quiet beauty that was contained in her soul, and it drew him to her, calling out to him like a bright, fluorescent beacon.

For hours, he just sat there, watching her do everyday things, like go to the shops, gossip with her friends, even sleep.  She makes the most adorable sound when she's sleeping ...Cupid silently observed.

Every now and then a plea or sacrifice would come to his attention and he'd regretfully abandon his portal, in favor of servicing his worshippers, each time longing to have even one uninterrupted day with his soulmate.

It wasn't too long before Zeus caught wind of his grandson's preoccupation.

*~*~*

Xena and Ares were having the time of their immortality.  It had only been three days since they had locked themselves away in their bedchamber, but it felt like a lifetime of bliss.

Xena absently wondered how their children were faring, but was soon sidetracked by Ares' antics under the covers...

Already, the goddess had begun to show, gods having their gestation period for half as long as the mortals they lorded over.  Her lover and husband was in constant awe of the changes that her body was going through.

The God Of War had reacted the same way when she had been pregnant with the twins, but he was extra careful this time, since Discord had played her petty game of one-upmanship.

Xena missed her occasional rough 'n' tumble with Ares, but his softer side was sweet, too.  Right up her alley.  She'd take it while she could, because before too long, he'd be back to his bad-ass self, and she'd be back to seducing the life out of him to get her own way.

They had more than just love and passion going for them, they had a bond that would last forevermore...

Part Eight

"So, what do you think?" Xena asked.

She and Ares were in the hot springs on Mt. Olympus .  Ares just lay there in silent rapture as Xena sat atop his naked body, thrusting herself down onto him, then retreating, only to ask a question or make a statement with each movement.  He had no idea what she was going on about and had even less of a clue as to how she could do what she was doing and still remain coherent enough to string two words together, let alone entire sentences.

"Mmm..." he murmured, hoping that it was enough to satisfy her.

Xena giggled and possessed his mouth with her own, thrusting her tongue past his lips, to caress his.  Ares moaned and tightened his hold on his wife as she continued to drive him crazy...

*~*~*

Aphrodite watched in awe as Hephaestus produced yet another piece of fine art for her.  This time it was a perfectly-shaped dagger, jewels placed beautifully into the handle.  She was glad that he knew her so well and hadn't made her a sword, for she would never replace it with the one her father had gifted to her when she had first earned her title as the Goddess of Loving War.

It was time, she knew.  For the past week the God of the Forge had been leaving presents for her, ones that Aphrodite knew were made from his love for her.  She could feel it radiating from every fiber of his immortal being.  If she hadn't known better, she would say that Cupid had been messing around with his arrows.

As Hephaestus thrust the dagger into the water one last time, she appeared directly behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder.  He stiffened, then turned.  "Aphrodite..."

She smiled, a little shy.  She'd dealt with so much mortal emotion, but her own was another story.  Reacting purely on instinct, Aphrodite grabbed the fabric of his top, pulled him toward her and  kissed him.

Hephaestus sent a silent prayer of thanks to Cupid and Xena as he held the woman in his arms closer to him and kissed her back...

*~*~*

Ares grumbled as he felt Xena run her talented fingers up his naked torso.  He gently swatted the wandering digits away.  "Tired..."

Xena giggled.  "Just so you know, you agreed to name our child Gabrielle, or Ryas , depending whether it's a girl or a boy..."

Ares nodded slowly as he fell back asleep.

Xena kissed his cheek and chuckled.  "Men are so easy."  She snuggled closer and joined him in slumber.

*~*~*

Athena kept a close eye on her half-siblings' children.  The Love and War regions continued to flourish under their temporary guardians' care.  She would wait until they became careless, then make her move.

The Goddess of Wisdom, Warfare and Weaving had had enough of the meddlesome gods.  Ares had no right over War, he was mellowing as he aged.  Xena was too much of an influence on his life, and if the mortals ever found out about them being together, she didn't want to contemplate the repercussions.  She didn't want to lose her own regions...

*~*~*

Four Months Later

Ares couldn't believe it.  Yet again, he had passed out at his child's birth.  If the rest of Olympus ever found out, he'd be a laughing stock...

Xena let out a tired giggle as she saw her husband's bewildered expression.  "It's good to know that things haven't changed..."

Ares placed his hand on her head and gently stroked her silky hair.  "My love for you and our children grows each day.  Nothing can take that away from us, sweet."

An angry cry broke into their tender moment.  Ares sighed and turned to the newest addition to their family.  Baby Gabrielle was kicking her feet and waving her hands as she continued to cry for attention.  Ares picked the child up and gently rocked her.  He smiled in satisfaction as her cries quieted and sent Xena a triumphant look.

"Definitely going to be a Child of War, that one..." Xena murmured sleepily.

Ares looked at her questioningly.  "How can you tell?"

Xena smiled as she closed her eyes.  "It's the way she cries.  Cupid was a perfect baby and cried only for a few seconds when he needed something.  Aphrodite was a little more aggressive and louder, and her cry would turn angry if she wasn't seen to immediately.  Gabrielle seems to just cry angrily, no matter what she wants.  Definitely a Child of War, probably even more so than Aphrodite..."

Ares kissed the top of his daughter's head.  She was drifting off slowly.  He placed her back into her crib and went back to Xena's side.  "Thank you..." he murmured, before pressing a kiss to her neck.

"For what?" she smiled sleepily, her eyes still closed.

"For our family, your love, everything."  Ares held her as she fell into an exhausted sleep...War could wait for a day or two...

*~*~*

Alana knelt down in front of the statue of Cupid, the God of Love.  She was one of his most loyal worshippers.  Each morning she would walk to his temple and place a bunch of flowers at the foot of his statue.  The blossoms were always from one of the flower beds that she had made into a garden around her home.  In one of the beds a number of different plants grew.  They flowered in different seasons, so she always had flowers to gift her god.  No one but she tended or touched that garden.

The young girl prayed, as she did each morning, thanking Cupid for the bringing her husband into her life.  She knew she had Him to thank for showing her that the man she had been betrothed to was the one for her.  She and Tyron had been married for only one season, but they were blissfully happy.

Alana stood and bowed her head, paying her respects to her god.  She turned and began to walk away.  The girl paused and bit her lip before returning to the statue and kneeling in front of it once more.  "Cupid, I beg of you, please hear me.  I know that this really isn't something you deal with, I ask but one thing..."  She looked up into the eyes of the statue.  "Could you please see that my husband and I are gifted with a child?  I mean, if it is your wish."  She bowed her head again.  "It would make us the happiest couple in Greece ..." she murmured.

Keeping her gaze to the ground, Alana rose and headed back home, praying that Cupid would grant her this one thing...

*~*~*

Cupid studied the girl in the mirror.  Paula again.  His thoughts didn't stray far from her these days.  He would see a happy couple whose love was all thanks to him and he longed for his own.  It was now quite regular to find Cupid sitting on his throne and staring into the portal that was the window to his soulmates life.

He felt the tug of a prayer and an offering, and instinctively knew who it was.  Nothing different there.  Alana prayed to him with the breaking of each new dawn, so he shrugged it off and went back to studying the brunette in the mirror.  Paula was tending her orchids, talking to them as she sprinkled some sort of white powder over the ground.  He chuckled as she told the orchids about her latest argument with her sister and what she bought on her last shopping trip to the 'mall'.

After watching her for a few months, he'd learned a few things about her life and the things in it.  The mall was a large market inside a building.  Things were outrageously expensive there, but the things she bought were top quality.  He remembered one of her recent trips to the mall.  Cupid had watched as she came out of the change room wearing a long white dress, not unlike one of the ones his mother had once worn.  Listening to the conversation between Paula and her friend, he knew that it was for a party.

Cupid smiled to himself as he remembered how she'd looked when she had gone to the party in that dress.  "She'd look fabulous with wings..." he chuckled to himself.

"Cupid!"

The God of Love turned to see his grandfather standing next to him.  "Zeus," he nodded in greeting, then went back to watching Paula.

Zeus knocked the mirror out of his reach.  "You've been neglecting you duties to the mortals, Cupid," he informed his grandson.

"Mom's got the Love thing covered."

The King of the Gods was getting angry.  "You mother has just had her baby!"

Cupid closed his eyes.  He really needed to get a handle on things.  He hadn't even known that his newest sibling had been born...  "I'm sorry," he muttered.  Cupid rubbed his temples.  "I don't know what's gotten into me.  I just can't stop watching her."

Zeus contemplated his grandson for a moment, then made his decision.  "I'll give you one full day, Cupid.  You find your love and spend one day with her, then you leave.  You will return to her one year later, her time, only when you live in that time, too.  The price of this day is that you do not contact her until that time, over two millennia from now."

The mirror flew to Cupid's grasp.  The God of Love took one last look at the brunette, then turned to Zeus.  "Deal."

"Upon your return, I want you to pay closer attention to your realm, Cupid, starting with the young woman who asked for your aid this morning," the King of the Gods instructed.

Cupid's brow furrowed.  "Only Alana has made an offering this morning and she never asks for anything."

"She did today.  The girl asks that you grant her and her husband a child.  You were too busy mooning over your young lady to notice," Zeus berated.

Cupid looked at him in confusion.  "But I can't - "

Zeus became impatient.  "Talk to Apollo about it when you get back."  Then he disappeared.

The God of Love suddenly remembered about his trip to the future.  "Zeus!  Wait!  When do I - "

Cupid felt himself involuntarily transported from Olympus .  "...leave?  I guess that answers that question."

Part Nine

Paula Markham was driving her 21st birthday present when one of the front tyres blew.  She quickly pulled over onto the shoulder of the moderately busy street to try and change said tyre.

Paula lightly banged her head on the steering wheel as she turned off the ignition.  "This can't be happening..." she murmured to herself.  She had woken up earlier that morning to discover that for once in her life, her parents had remembered her birthday and had obviously decided to make up for all of the previous ones, if the brand new 3-door hatchback with the big red ribbon around it sitting in her front driveway was anything to go by.  It wasn't the gift itself that had made the day start well, but the sheer fact that they had remembered her birthday on the actual date and not a week or so later.

The birthday girl sighed as she pulled the lever beside the seat that opened the boot, then slowly got out of the car.  Paula was a modern sort of girl.  Her father had taught her a little about cars, mechanics and building things as she was growing up, just so that she didn't have to depend on anyone else if she got into a tight situation, but that didn't stop her from still being as feminine as the next female.  She lifted the carpet and wooden sheet that covered the spare tyre and cursed.  Oh, the spare was there, all right.  Unfortunately, the jack and the wheel brace were not.  She had no way of getting the car off the ground, nor a way to get the nuts loose and the wheel off.  "Bloody, everlasting hell..."

"You probably shouldn't make jokes about Hell.  It isn't exactly a place you can just visit - definitely everlasting..." came a concerned, very male , voice from just behind her.

Paula nearly knocked herself out when her head hit the glass above her head.  "Owww!" 

She staggered over to the park bench sitting a few feet away and glared at the gorgeous man who had nearly scared the wits out of her - which only made her head hurt more.  "Did you have to sneak up on me?  Who are you, anyway?" she sniped.

He laughed as he stepped closer and held one hand over her head, then brushed a lock of chocolate brown hair out of her eyes.  "I was just sitting over here and I saw what happened with your car.  You looked as if you could use a hand."

Paula let out a disgusted snort.  "That would certainly have been gentlemanly of you, given this day and age.  However, I'd have been quite capable had there been tools in the damned car to begin with!"

"Uh..." the stranger let out a little uncertainly.  "Sorry...I'll uh..."

She sighed.  "No, I'm sorry.  I shouldn't be such a bitch!  You seem really nice, but the situation is getting to me.  I don't even have my mobile phone on me to call someone to pick me up!"

Paula took another look at him and a thought popped into her head.  "You wouldn't happen to have a well stocked car nearby, would you?  I'm Paula, by the way..." she introduced herself rather belatedly.

The man grimaced.  "Cupid.  And no, I don't have a car at all.  Sorry."

She stared at him in disbelief.  "Tell me that Cupid is a nickname!  There's no way your parents would have named you that..." she chuckled.

Cupid took a moment to bask in her delight.  "My parents were a little unconventional, and yes, my real name is Cupid."

"Well, then Cupid..." she began as she leapt up from the bench, grinning.  "I don't suppose you have a mobile phone on you that I could borrow to call my parents, or my sister?"

He grimaced once more.  "Sorry, again.  I don't have one of those, either."

Paula let out an exaggerated sigh.  "Well, just what is a girl supposed to do with you?"

A devilish look appeared on his face.  "You could take me out to dinner to reward me for all of my help...?" he suggested.

She rose a carefully plucked eyebrow.  "Now, why would I want to do a silly thing like that?" she laughed delightedly.  "You didn't actually do anything.  No, I think, if anything, I shall allow you to take me to dinner and let you pick up the cheque, since it is my birthday and all..."

Cupid pretended to mull it over in his head, while mentally congratulating himself.  He was so thankful that he'd found a way to continue seeing her.  "Well, since it's your birthday, who am I to say no?  How about I start now?" he suggested.

"You want to start dinner at 11am ?" she questioned.

He laughed.  "Of course not.  I'm going to take you shopping to find us something to wear to dinner.  Then, I'm going to take you back to my house and start preparing it..." he informed her.

"Sorry Bucko.  I don't venture into strange men's houses."

"Okay, well how about we go over to your house, and if at any stage today you feel like backing out, you can always tell me to go to Hell," he informed her, quite seriously.

"Deal," she told him, following a few moments of careful consideration.

*~*~*

Meanwhile, two millennia earlier and half a world away, Xena and Ares were back on Olympus tending to baby Gabrielle. 

*~*~*

Paula, having spotted a public telephone in the distance, had managed to place a phone call to her parents, who had turned around and told her that the number of the RACQ was in the glove box of her new car and that she was paid up for the first year.  She let out an exasperated breath and turned to Cupid as she hung up the receiver.  "Looks like I'll get no help from that front, as usual..."

Cupid grimaced, sending a silent prayer to his parents, thanking them for doting on himself and Aphrodite so much.  "I'll run back to your car and grab whatever papers are in it for you," he offered and before she could open her mouth to turn him down, Cupid chuckled and told her "Don't worry, I won't steal your car.  It's not like it's going anywhere, now, is it..."

Paula agreed with a bit of a giggle, but walked back to the car with him anyway.  "Maybe we should skip dinner..." she hedged, feeling a little self-conscious as her recently acquired bravado tempered down.  "I mean, we don't really know each other and-"

Her eyes widened considerably as Cupid pulled her up against his chest with one hand and gently pressed his lips to hers as the other hand lifted to her face and brushed her cheek. "We can get to know each other tonight..." he murmured against her soft lips.

Feeling only the tingling of her lips where Cupid had touched them with his own, Paula nodded dazedly, knowing that she would agree with anything he said if he should ever kiss her again.  "Okay..." she whispered back to him.

*~*~*

Cupid really missed his large wings.  He had never hid them before, but being where he was, it wasn't as if he could let everyone see them.  In fact, he felt a little off-balance with them not there at all.  A little dust sprinkled onto his wings had made them disappear, leaving only a matching set of tattoos on his back.

However, he quickly got over the temporary loss and instead, concentrated on being with Paula.  Having called the RACQ as she called it, a person in a large car had arrived and changed the wheel on Paula's car.  Cupid had not quite planned the accident, but he was none-the-less grateful that it had occurred and had immediately transported himself within close proximity and had improvised from there.

Now, here they were, less than two hours later, in her car, looking for a parking spot in amongst thousands of similarly-minded shoppers.  "Oh no, you don't, Buster!" Paula exclaimed just as another car tried to cut her off and grab the spot that another car had just vacated.  The brunette, however, stuck out her tongue at the driver of the other car who leaned out of his window and shouted obscenities.

Cupid looked a little startled at the man's words and his tone.  "No man should speak to a lady like that..." he muttered in disapproval.

Paula shrugged.  "I'm used to it.  You should go driving with my mother...it's a horrible experience and not one I'd wish upon my worst enemy since she breaks every road rule known to mankind and doesn't even realise it," she shuddered, thinking about past experiences.  "This is why I went for my license as soon as I was legally allowed to."

The couple exited the car and Paula stuck her key in the lock and turned it.  Cupid watched in fascination as the buttons just inside each door went down with a 'pop'.  Paula smiled almost shyly at him as she grabbed his arm and dragged him up a set of escalators.  "Come on, let's get you dressed first," she offered as they reached the top.

Cupid couldn't help but join her in her delight as she kept pulling suits off the rack and shoved him into a dressing room.  As Cupid changed into them one after the other, he made a mental note to get a credit card when he eventually lived in this time and set it aside on this very day.  As he remembered to do so, a Gold Card appeared in his palm.  The God of Love silently thanked his future self for not forgetting.  He pocketed the piece of plastic and mentally discarded Paula's suggested clothing.

After changing back into his normal attire, Cupid exited the cubicle and handed the pile of clothing over to the clerk.  He turned to Paula, "Why don't you go and grab us something to eat, I'm a little peckish..."

Paula frowned.  "I wanted to see you," she told him a little uncertainly.

Cupid pressed a kiss to her forehead.  "I want to surprise you.  What size are you?" he asked.

Paula blushed.  Cupid laughed.  "I want to get you something that matches what I have in mind." he informed her.

She told him her measurements, said she'd meet him in the food court and then quickly left the store.

Cupid thanked the saleslady for her help, then left the store as well.  He remembered passing a store that sold costumed attire when they had entered the mall and quickly retraced his steps until he found it again.  He easily found himself a pair of woven breeches and a loose-fitting white shirt, much like the kind that he had seen on the pirates that he had seen Paula read about on the cover of many romance novels that he knew she loved to read, but spent more time searching through the women's clothing lines before he found what he was after.

There, in the back of the store, hanging on the wall, was a beautiful flowing, white dress with gold trims.  The bodice was fitted and he knew that it would perfectly mould her figure and hold her ample breasts, while the skirt would flutter in any breeze that dared to caress her soft skin.  The long sleeves were also light in weight and had gold roses embroidered into the material.  What held Cupid's gaze the most, however, was the pair of wings that came with it.  They were not as large as his own, but the feathers were soft and silky and delicately feminine, a perfect match for his Paula.

Cupid barely noticed the dollar signs in the eyes of the store clerk as he rung up the sale and carefully packed the clothing and the wings into light boxes.  He placed the large, thin boxes with the wings inside on the bottom, with the two smaller boxes with the clothes in them on the top and carried them out of the shop and headed for the food court in search of Paula...

To Be Continued

...h.o.m.e...