Not even the gods fight against necessity.
Simonides (556 BC - 468 BC), from Plato, Dialogues, Protagoras
He was breathtaking. Quite literally. She found herself breathing irregularly, the cold air attacking her lungs. The distance between them disappearing, he stood still in front of her. She could not distract her eyes away, locked with his warm, brown eyes, and could do nothing except feel the wind race by them.
"Hi." He said, too softly, his voice getting lost in the wind, but she read his lips.
His hand slowly reached up, to gently brush the wild hair to the side, and rested on one of her cheeks. His hand comfortably cupped her slender face, and she was surprised it was warm. Despite the raging tinges of familiarity, she still couldn't fight all other things that were unfamiliar and strange. She was desperately confused.
He took her hand in his, and led her back inside the penthouse.
'''''''''''''''''''''
Looking out the window of his simple but luxurious hotel suite, he continued clipping his cigar until it was too short, then let it go from his fingers to fall on the carpet.
The last thing he wanted to do was waste time, but for this, he would just have to wait. He learned what impatience and ignorance could result in. His face put on a sneer at the thought of the past.
This time, he would let things unfold. If Xena had no memories of herself, he would not meddle in it. Perhaps it was for the better. He needed her, needed to use her. It was irritating to him that she would possess so much control and power, even in this life, even if she didn't know it. Right now, only he himself knew that she held the power to free his will. Last time, he made a mistake in that he chose the other girl instead of Xena; in that he chose a human form that later weakened him in the end.
No mistakes. His world would soon come.
'''''''''''''''''''''
Sitting down on the comfortable leather couch, she now realized how cold it was out on the balcony. She could feel warmth seeping in her cheeks. Wrapping a thin blanket around her frame, he sat down on the coffee table in front of her.
"Xena…you have no idea." Somehow, he thought he would be happy, but his face couldn't put on a smile.
So that's what her name was. She smiled a bit for him, although she was still confused. Everything inside her head was a mess; she sighed silently.
"I'm sorry. I don't really know you." She started, her eyes engaged in an apologetic tone.
"That's what I figured." He broke off his stare, glancing downward at their feet. She followed his gaze too, because she didn't know how to react.
"It's all right." He added, looking up again, with a lighter tone.
"I mean, I feel like I do know you, from somewhere, but I don't really." Still downcast, she knew she didn't make sense, but she didn't know how else to explain.
His hand beneath her chin, he gently lifted her face to face him, and grinned.
"Hey. Don't worry about it."
Feeling a bit comforted, she blurted out a question.
"What's your name?"
"Ares."
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''
"Hey." Gabrielle said as she was taking off her heels.
Getting no reply, she called out again. Walking to the bathroom, she quickly deposited her blazer into the laundry basket, and washed her hands with soap. She definitely didn't want him to find out that she'd smoked again, as he'd been so helpful in the process of quitting; dealing with her cranky moods and all.
She opened the door to the bedroom, and all of the day's frustrations and anger seemed to dissipate; she saw his sleeping form on the bed, and crept up to lie beside him. Coming home always felt so warm. She turned her head to stare at her man, and smiled. He looked so cute, with the tousled hair and long eyelashes, sometimes fluttering along with his unseen eye movements. Realizing she couldn't suppress a yawn, she partly blamed the sleeping man, because he looked so blissful in his sleep, and after a hectic day in the city, she figured she wanted that too.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Ares decided that he would order food, taking into account that Xena probably wasn't strong enough yet to endure the bustling streets and people of the crazy city. He was on the phone with a Chinese take out place, and as he was put on hold for "just a second" as the man had said, he glanced sideways to check on her. She was having fun with the television on the wall, having discovered the remote control. She was coughing lightly, and it concerned him a little bit.
"Okay sir that will be forty three dollars and twenty cents." The man across the phone said in English hinted with an undeniable Asian accent.
"All right. How 'bout I add another twenty plus tips if you pick up a cough syrup for me along the way?"
"I'm sorry sir. We have quite a delay tonight with the orders."
"That's all right. I'll just pick up the order too then." And with that, he put down the slim phone.
After walking to the living room, he smiled at her choice of channel as he leaned on the back of the black couch.
"Hey, didn't know you were that hungry."
Xena looked his way, giving him a small mischievous look. Wrapping her legs close to her chest, her head rested on her knees, she could only say,
"They all look so good!"
On the Food Network, a blond British fellow was cooking up some kind of a casual meal with all sorts of ingredients.
"Don't worry. We'll have food soon."
He wanted to hug her, never let go. A surge of a strange warm feeling was flooding his insides, and he found it strange but at the same time inviting. He would have never thought he could be spending time with Xena like this. So much like a normal couple. He could imagine Xena telling him with a pained and apologetic look on her face that he wasn't good for her, how they couldn't be together…
"Good." Xena said approvingly, and with the thought of food, she sighed contently. The commercials were ending soon, and as Jamie Oliver came on screen again, her eyes returned back to the flat television on the wall.
She didn't notice that Ares had gone to his bedroom to snatch a simple black coat until he came back to the living room, putting the coat on.
"Where are you going?" She asked, after coughing a bit.
"To pick up your food." His eyes furrowed, he thought he'd better get her some medicine soon.
"Oh."
"Yup. I'll be quick."
"Can I go too?"
"You sure? You sound sick. If you've caught a cold, it might get worse." He lightly objected.
"Mmm." He could pick up the slight discontent in her voice.
"Plus you've got no other clothing to wear than the thin slip you're wearing now. I'll take you out when you're cold has subsided. "
"All right then." She dismissed him, and suddenly, he smiled at the knowledge that she would have complete control now, if she had persisted on going, he would have let her; he didn't want her out of his sight.
As he walked towards the elevator, he heard her shout out.
"Were you such a worrier before too?"
Grinning, he pushed the silver button to close the door.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
"Xeeena." She said out loud. It surely felt like it was her name. Not foreign, with that tinge of familiarity she felt with Ares.
It dawned on her that she didn't even ask what their relationship was. Sure, remembered that particular dream where they were…
I'll ask when he comes back.
Then things started to pile up in her disgruntled mind. Was he to be trusted? Why was he being so kind to her?
How could she have been so naïve? But then…she had nowhere else to go. And she felt at ease with Ares, even if she'd only known him for a couple of hours. At least, it was only a couple of hours after her memory loss. She wondered how long they've known before this. Letting out a frustrated groan, she laid on the couch, pulling the blanket over her. She would think later. Her stomach growled quietly, and wished Ares would come back soon.
Just then, an intrusive sound filled the apartment, and Xena, startled, sat up immediately. It was a high trilling sound, and it continued with bouts of pauses. It wouldn't stop. She started looking for the source of the sound, and came to stop in the kitchen. Realizing it must be the black phone on the marble island, she stared at it for a while. Hesitating, she picked up the receiver.
"Hello, Xena." She almost dropped the plastic thing. That voice! She felt the shivers through her spine, but she managed to collect herself.
"…Who is this?" She asked, although she knew that he was somewhere in her head, in the piles of memories that were locked up for now.
"Oh. You know me. How is the God of War?"
God of War?
"Who is this?" She asked again, with a little more force in her voice. Holding the phone with both of her hands, she looked around the huge penthouse, eyes darting side to side, because with his haunting voice, she felt as if he could be watching her, in close proximity.
"You're better than that Xena. I'm not there. But I hope to see you soon."
-Click.-
Trembling softly, she put down the phone, and tried to ease her breathing, but with difficulty. She suddenly felt very alone again, uncertainty gripping her entire body, and not letting go.
.
Hi. It's been almost a year! (nervous laugh). Anyways, nothing much to say except real life got in the way,,,blah blah that kind of excuse. And I find it hard to write because I started off not knowing what point of the series I caught off, this being a uber fic and all. Do I want the whole Eve and the twilights thing? And who do I want in the future? Herc? Alti? I want to write some angst but then I'd have to build up the plot. So expect build up. Oh. And big thankyous to everyone who left reviews! Reviews mean so much. To clarify something, in the last chapter, Xe and Ares weren't talking to each other in their heads, it's just Ares talking in his head. And also thank you to silent readers. Sorry for the short chapter. I don't even know if anyone's following my fic anymore?