Intensify by Prue

Disclaimer: I don't own them, surprise surprise.
Rating: PG, I guess.
Sex/violence/subtext: No, no, no.
Gabby bashing: Here, there, everywhere.
Timeline: Before Eve.

Authors note: This is my first go at writing fic that isn't Mike/Isabel. Please tell me what you think!

Aphrodite tossed her blond curls over her shoulder in annoyance. She'd spent weeks trying to get a young couple in Athens together, and now the warrior babe had gone and spoiled all her hard work. It wasn't fair.
"Areeees!" she cried, stomping her foot. Her handsome, leather-clad brother appeared beside her in a flash of blue light.
"What's up sis?" he said dryly. "Broken a nail?"
"Ar, this is way not funny! I spent forever trying to get Linus and Thecia together, and now your princess has ruined it all!"
"And what exactly has Xena done?" Ares asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Linus met her while they were fighting one of your grody warlords, and now he's gone and fallen in love with her, and totally forgotten about Thecia!" Aphrodite pouted and folded her arms across her chest.
"Xena does have that effect on men." Ares said quietly.
Why doesn't he talk to me? Aphrodite wondered. It's so obvious he's in love with her, and who better to talk to than the goddess of love herself?
"You've got girl troubles." she said sympathetically, and yanked him down onto her pink velvet couch.
"I do not." Ares growled, standing up again.
"Yes you do." she argued. "Talk."
"Aphrodite, leave me alone! I am not in the mood for this!"
"Suit yourself, bro." she said, defeated. "Just don't say I didn't try to help."

Ares stared blankly at his battle plans for an upcoming attack on Cadmos, but he couldn't concentrate. Why wouldn't everyone just leave him alone? He was having enough problems battling his feelings for the warrior princess without others - Aphrodite, Cupid and even some of his priestesses - constantly drilling him about it. With a defeated sigh, he threw the piles of parchment to the ground, and draped himself over his throne; his favorite place to think. Despite the years that had gone by since she left him, he could still remember every little detail about her - from her favourite foods to the silky feel of her lips when she kissed him. How could she be so cold towards him after everything they'd shared? Didn't it mean anything to her anymore? Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he made the battle plans appear on the table again. What good was love, anyway? He had a war to plan.

"What do you think, Cupie?" Aphrodite stood back to let her son survey her latest creation - the intensifier; a powerful potion which could intensify the emotions of anyone who inhaled its fumes.
"I don't know, Mom." Cupid said hesitantly. "Dad would have a fit if he found out you were going to use it on him. Remember what he was like when I suggested shooting Xena with one of my arrows? He went ballistic!"
"This is different." Aphrodite argued. "It doesn't create feelings, it just builds on those that are already there! If I use it on Ares and Xena while they're thinking about each other, they'll realise that they're meant to be together!"
"I'm still not sure." said Cupid. "I don't think Dad will see it that way."
"See what that way?" Ares asked, appearing between them.
"Um…uh.." Aphrodite stammered.
"The war in Cadmos." Cupid filled in quickly.
"Exactly." Aphrodite said enthusiastically. "No way should that go ahead."
"Why ever not?" Ares said with irritation. What did Aphrodite care about Cadmos, anyway? She didn't even have any temples there.
"I'm working with a couple there." she lied. "Really cute."
"Well too bad, sis, 'cause Cadmos is going to war and you can't do anything about it." Vanishing in a flash of blue light, he reappeared in his throne room. He knew the two love gods were up to something, though he doubted they would try shooting him with one of Cupid's arrows after the his reaction when they'd suggested shooting Xena. Even so, he thought nervously. I think I'd better watch my ass.

Xena sat with Argo in front of the campfire, watching Gabrielle down their last skin of port. First the henbane, and now this!
"Hey Xennnnaaaa…" Gabrielle slurred. "You've told me 'bout Herculeeeeessss and Boriaaaasss…what 'bout Areeeessss…?"
"What about him?" Xena snapped.
Gabrielle giggled. "Bed!"
Oh brother! "Forget it Gabrielle." she growled. "Not now, not ever."
"Xennnaaa…pleeeeeaaaase…"
"No." Xena replied, and gave her 'the look'. Gabrielle immediately shut her mouth and tried to avoid her friend's piercing blue gaze.
Suddenly Xena felt a slight chill on the back of her neck. Ares… she thought.
You know I'm here, Xena. He said, speaking directly to her mind. She tried to shrug his voice off. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Every moment he was near, she felt tempted. Although she could never admit to Gabrielle, she missed him. She missed riding into battle and knowing every one of her victories was for him. She missed waking up in his arms each morning, safe and secure. She missed how they would just talk, not necessarily about battle, but anything at all that was on her mind.
That was Aphrodite's cue. Unscrewing the lid of the vial which held the potion, she appeared in front of Xena, and waited for the warrior princess to inhale its perfume.
Suddenly Gabrielle giggled, then belched loudly and passed out on top of the empty wineskin. Xena was furious. Dealing with a heavily hungover bard was not on her agenda for the next day. Lifting up the now snoring Gabrielle, she resisted the urge to dump her in the nearby river, and lay her down on her bedroll instead. As she collapsed onto her own bedroll, a sweet perfume invaded her nostrils. Strange, she thought. It couldn't be Gabrielle. She'd gotten a whiff of Gabrielle's breath only moments ago, and it reeked of fish and port. Ares? she wondered tiredly. She knew he was still there; she hadn't felt him leave. Drowsily wondering how many hours he would stay and watch her sleep, she drifted off into the land of Morpheus.

Ares stood behind a nearby tree, watching his princess as she slept. By the gods, she was beautiful, her long raven hair spilling over her shoulders, and the moonlight casting a soft shadow over her flawless skin and perfectly sculptured cheekbones. Her eyes were closed, but he knew that if she opened them, they would be the most beautiful, richest shade of blue imaginable.
Suddenly, a sweet flowery scent wafting on the air interupted his thoughts. Inhaling it, he thought it smelled familiar, but shrugged the feeling off.
It was probably some cheap stuff his prietesses wore, anyway.

"Cupie, you think it worked?" Aphrodite giggled, as they watched Ares lightly kiss Xena's sleeping form through their portal.
"I'd say so, Mom!" Cupid replied happily. "Totally bitchin!"

Xena awoke early the next morning to find Ares sitting beside her bedroll, a dopey expression on his face.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She jumped up and grabbed her sword, her blue eyes flashing angrily.
Ares' smile didn't falter.
"You slept well, princess?" he asked, and kissed her hand lightly. Xena pulled it away.
"Ares, if this is another one of your games…" she warned.
Ares smiled again and stroked her hair. "The only game I'm playing is the game of love…" he whispered.
"The game of- oh, give me a break!" She knew he was up to something, as always, but she was still somewhat seduced by his sudden sweetness and affection.
"Gabrielle, wake up!" she called to the lump on the other side of the fire. A few fingers waved at her from underneath the bedroll, and immediately dropped again.
"GABRIELLE!" This time only one finger emerged from the bedroll. "Why you little-" Xena growled and tore the covers away from the sleeping bard.
"Xeeeennna!" Gabrielle cried, then hiccuped. "I was having this grrreeeattt dream about Joxxxxerrr and Perrrdicaaass…" To Xena's horror, her friend was still completely drunk.
"Ares, you bastard, what have you done to her?" She held her sword to the throat of the handsome war god.
"Hey, calm down, gorgeous." He eyed the sword which was now being dug into his chest. "Your little friend seems to have had too much to drink." He shrugged. "Not my fault."
Xena glared at him and pulled her sword away. Turning towards the drunken bard, she walked over to her and grabbed her by the ear, dragging her up into a standing position. Gabrielle giggled and began swaying, then collapsed in a heap in Xena's arms.
"All right, that's about IT!" the warrior princess thundered, and lifted Gabrielle in her arms. Walking over towards the river, she tossed her friend in, much to Ares' amusement.
"XEEENAAA!" Gabrielle shrieked, and tried to wade through the cold, deep water. Ares was laughing hysterically.
"That wassss not funnnnyyyy…" Gabrielle slurred, tripping as she tried to squeeze the water out of her short blond hair.
"Hurry up." Xena said darkly. "Before I do much worse." She glared at the bard, which only made Ares laugh harder.

"Uh, Mom?" said Cupid, observing the trio from his portal. "You know how I said your potion worked? Well I take it back."
"What went wrong?" Aphrodite said dejectedly. "Xena was supposed to realise she loved Ares, and Blondie wasn't supposed to be involved at all!"
Cupid shrugged. "Xena must have been really mad at Gabrielle when she smelled the perfume, and Gabrielle must have smelled it too, when she was completely drunk!"
Aphrodite stomped her foot childishly. "This is so unfair!"

"Gabrielle, if you don't stop swaying, I'm going to throw you off." Xena threatened the drunken bard atop of Argo. Gabrielle's only reply was a hiccup.
"Where are we headed, anyway?" Ares asked, gazing adoringly at his love.
"Cadmos." Xena answered. "To stop a war YOU started."
"Oh." Ares' face fell, and to Xena he almost looked sorry for his actions.
"Look, Ares," she said sighing. "I don't know what you're up to, but I think it's about time you left." Before I give into temptation and kiss you, she added silently.
"Is that what you really want, Xena?" he asked. She was about to nod her head, but the sadness in his gorgeous brown eyes made her change her mind.
"No, it's all right." she whispered. "I think I'd rather that you stayed."

"Rock, parchment, dagger!" two scumbags of Cyrus' army chanted in unision. The larger of the two thumped his friend with his fist, and grinned, revealing a large gap where his two front teeth should have been.
"Son of a bacchae…" the other grumbled, kicking the dirt. He'd lost four times in a row.
Suddenly Cyrus rode into camp, and leaped off his horse.
"Lord Ares is nowhere to be found." he announced loudly. "But the attack will go as planned. We'll ride into the valley at sundown." Several members of the army nodded their heads in understanding. A couple of others scratched theirs for lice.
"The warrior princess, Xena, is on our trail though." Cyrus continued. "She is a skilled fighter, but combined, we will be able to stop her." He tossed a dagger at the wall in front of him. "We will be able to stop her."

"Hurry up, Mom!" Cupid urged his mother, who was busy working on an antidote to the intensifier. "If we don't get them back to normal, they may not be able to stop Cyrus' army!"
"I'm working, Cupie!" Aphrodite replied, zapping away her previous concoction. "You try doing something like this!"

"Oooh fishy fishy…" Gabrielle cooed, holding her lunch in front of her face and kissing it.
"I wish there was a way I could capture this moment." Ares said laughing. "She's priceless!"
"Don't worry, I'll remind her all about it!" Xena called back from the creek where she was trying to catch their lunch. She wouldn't admit it, but she was starting to enjoy his company. It was almost like when he was mortal, except she was in her own body, much to Ares' pleasure. She could feel his gaze following her as she stood in the freezing cold water, clad only in her shift, and she smiled despite herself. She knew very well that he could whip them up a delicious meal without a second thought, but knew him well enough to realise that he enjoyed watching her work.
"Hey Ares, catch!" she grinned and threw a large, healthy trout at him
Ares looked up in surprise, and just as it was about to hit him in the face, he made it change direction and land directly in the frying pan.
Wading out of the water, Xena walked up the bank and sat down beside him.
"Gabrielle!" she yelled angrily over he shoulder. "For Zeus' sake leave that fish alone and eat it!" She glared at the bard, who was busy proposing to the fish, and obviously had not heard a word she said. "Idiot." she murmed to Ares.
"Actually, I kinda like her like this." Ares replied.
"You would." Xena grinned, giving him a playful shove.
"Xena…" Ares started, but she cut him off.
"Look Ares, there's something I want to say to you too." She licked her lips nervously. "I'm sorry I misjudged you. That time when you were mortal…I said that as soon as you reclaimed your godhood, you'd lose any spark of humanity you gained while you were a mortal. But I was wrong, because I see that spark of humanity right now." Hesitantly, she leaned over and claimed his lips with her own, and kissed him passionately, only pulling away to grab a breath.
"Xena-" Ares started.
"I'm so sorry." she said. "I…I shouldn't have done that."
"No!" he said, a little too quickly, then turned away, embarrassed. "Don't be sorry Xena." he said softly. "This is what I wanted too…but I was scared."
"Scared?" Xena asked, dumbfounded. The god of war was scared?
Ares nodded his head. "You scare me, Xena. I've never felt the way you make me feel about anybody before, it's all new to me and it's frightening."
"You know what?" Xena said, her blue eyes shining. "That's probably the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me before, because I know what an effort it would have been for you to admit that."
"You know what else is going to be a big effort?" Ares grinned, pointing to Gabrielle, who was trying to perform a marital ceremony with her fish.
"Telling Blondie that she's about to lose another husband!"

"Nearly done now, Cupie." Aphrodite said, adding a couple of new ingredients to the potion she was mixing.
"I should hope so." Cupid said, wrinkling his nose. "It smells like sheep dung."
"I just hope it works."

"Ares, what are we going to do about Cadmos?" Xena asked, dragging along Gabrielle, who was mourning the loss of her fish.
"I can take you to Cyrus' camp." Ares offered. "His gang is pretty tough, but they're no match for you." He gazed at her adoringly, and she had to smile.
"Would you?" she asked. He nodded his head, and within seconds, they were outside Cyrus' camp.
"What are we going to do with Blondie?" Xena whispered, motioning towards Gabrielle, who was sleeping on the ground.
"Leave her there." Ares grinned wickedly. Grabbing his sword, he followed Xena to a nearby tent and they snuck inside.
"I'll see if I can convince Cyrus to call off the attack." Ares whispered. "But if I can't, be prepared, okay?" Xena nodded, and he gave her a quick kiss goodbye.
Appearing in Cyrus' tent, he made himself comfortable on a couch.
"Where in Tartarus have you been?" Cyrus growled, turning around. He had little respect for the powerful war god, or any Olympian for that matter.
"I've been busy." Ares replied curtly. "Not that it's any of your business."
"My men and I are ready to attack." said Cyrus.
"Too bad then." Ares drawled. "Because I'm ordering you to call it off."
"What?" Cyrus cried angrily. "We've been preparing for this battle for weeks!"
"Well unprepare." Ares said, rather rudely. "I'm ordering you to stay out of Cadmos."
"You don't scare me, Ares." Cyrus said fiercely. "You're not going to stop me from invading Cadmos."
"Very well." Ares said, standing up, ready to disappear. "Oh, and Cyrus?" he added. "Xena's here."

The first shouts of 'Xena's here!' was her signal. Sheathing her sword and securing her chakram, she tore from the tent she's been waiting in, and was immediately confronted by almost a dozen filthy soldiers.
And I thought Gabrielle's breath was bad! she thought grimly.
Pulling her sword from its scabbard, she defeated nine of the ten warriors, and the last ran away, whimpering with fear. It was too easy. Soon, almost Cyrus' entire army was lying in an unconscious heap on the ground.
"Well done, princess." said Ares, appearing beside her, and began toying with her hair.
"What happened to Cyrus?" Xena asked, turning around.
"He saw what you did to his men." Ares grinned. "I think he's trying to recruit a better army."
"I'm sorry I made you do that." she said softly.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Call off the attack on Cadmos."
He shrugged. "I'd do anything for you." he said simply.

"Cupie, that is so sweet!" Aphrodite said, wiping imaginary tears away.
"I know." Cupid agreed. "But you know you have to undo the spell. You can't have Xena angry at Gabrielle forever. And you can't let Gabrielle stay in love with a fish." He sighed. "Mortals!"
"Ready?" Aphrodite asked her son. Cupid nodded, and they appeared at Cyrus' camp. Holding the antidote in front of Ares and Xena, they waited for the effects to take place.
"Cupie, you go and find the bard, okay?" Aphrodite instructed, and handed him the potion.
Suddenly, Ares and Xena were both overcome by a horrible smell.
"What is that?" Ares gasped.
"Gabrielle?" Xena asked, then spat, "Ares!"
"Xena, I-"
"You son of a-"
"Ares, what did you do to her?" Gabrielle burst in, accusingly.
"Oh great, the bard is back." Ares said sarcastically.
"Letting me marry a fish." Gabrielle said disgustedly. "Xena, how could you?" She paused. "Xena?" To Gabrielle's shock, the warrior looked like she was going to cry.
"Ares, you bastard…" she threatened the war god.
"Look, I don't have to take this abuse." Ares said angrily. "Goodbye Xena." he added and disappeared.
"Xena?" Gabrielle asked, concerned. "What's the matter?"
Xena shook her head and gave a weak smile. "I'm fine Gabrielle, really. I'm just glad everything's back to normal."
No you're not. Gabrielle thought. I know you're not.

Xena could have kicked herself. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened to them, but she figured it was some sort of godly interference. Ares being so sweet and affectionate? It must have been a spell. Sadly, she remembered the few tender moments they had shared earlier in the day. How could she have been so blind? There she was, pouring her heart out, while Ares was probably laughing at it all behind her back. Maybe she should talk to Aphrodite.
"Hey girlfriend." Aphrodite greeted her, appearing in a shower of pink sparkles.
"Stay out of my head." Xena growled, turning away.
"Hey, I only wanted to help." Aphrodite said dejectedly, sticking out her bottom lip like a child. Xena sighed.
"Is this about Ares?"
"Kind of." Xena admitted. "Well, yeah."
"Sweetcheeks, you've got nothing to worry about." Aphrodite assured her. "He's got it really bad for you."
"He wants me to be his warrior." Xena corrected.
"No," Aphrodite said softly. "He loves you. Trust me, when you're the goddess of love, you can tell these things!"
"What am I supposed to do?" Xena asked helplessly.
"What do you think?" Aphrodite said, and disappeared.

"Xena, are you sure visiting Ares is a good idea?" Gabrielle said hesitantly, as they approached Ares' nearest temple the next day.
"Gabrielle, I know what I need to do." Xena replied and gave her friend a quick smile. "Wait for me, okay?" Xena hopped off Argo and held the reins out to Gabrielle, who tied her to a nearby tree. "I won't be long, I promise."
Not bothering to knock, she pulled open the heavy doors of the temple. "Ares?" she called out. "Ares? I know you can hear me!"
Suddenly, he appeared in front of her.
"What brings you here, my sweet?" he asked. "Where's the irritating blonde?"
"Outside." Xena replied. "Probably listening in on our conversation."
"Damn. I've been caught out." Gabrielle whispered to herself, her ear pressed to the temple door.
"Ares," she started. "I don't know how to say this, but…I love you." Ares stared at her in shock.
"I can never go back to the way I was before." she continued. "But a part of me will always belong with you."
Ares smiled, his warm brown eyes lighting up. "Do you remember what I told you yesterday, about wanting something to happen between us, but I was scared?" She nodded. "That wasn't part of the spell we were under. I meant every word of it."
Xena smiled. "So I suppose you wouldn't mind if I well, did this?" She leaned up and kissed him. "Or this?" She kissed him again, this time more passionately than before.
"Not at all." Ares said grinning, leaning in to recapture her lips and run his fingers through her hair.
"You know, you could travel around with Blondie, I mean Gabrielle, and I for a while if you wanted."
"Oh yeah?" he said, motioning to the door where Gabrielle was listening intently.
"Yeah, the four of us would make a great team." She grinned wickedly. "You, me, Gabrielle…and the fish of course."
"Xena, I heard that!"

~ZE END~