Ares sat in the steam room thinking.
“No, don’t think about her. Bad, very bad. Wait a minute, I'm the bad
one. I left her for money. She's sweet, innocent, I'm the evil party, evil.
Even Aphrodite told me off for leaving Xena. Oh Gods, what have I become.”
Ares tried to focus on something else, but he kept seeing Xena's face when
he told her he was breaking up with her. Hurt, anger, betrayal, that's all
those beautiful eyes held. The love and caring had been gone, they were only
blue pools of stone. She didn't even cry, according to his sister who stayed with her, she waited until he was clear of the house then broke down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I am going to get over him. He hurt me too much.” Xena decided. She
missed him, and loved him, but she couldn't trust him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I have to except I am an ass.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena stepped out of the spa and wrapped a towel around herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ares left the steam room and made his way back to his villa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena was walking down the path when she ran into someone exiting the
steam room.
“Oh, I'm sorry.”
“No, I am.” Just then they both looked up and saw who the other was.
“YOU!” Xena said with venom in her voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Xena? I didn't know you were here.”
“Go to ...........”
“How are you?”
“Hell!”
Xena slapped him, kicked him in the leg and walked off. She left a stunned Ares, who was trying his best not to take her in his arms, standing on the path with a very sore leg and cheek.
For the rest of summer break they didn't see each other, then the holidays were over and they made their way back to Athens for most of the gang and back to Corinth for Ares. Then the awful news came for Ares, his death was just around the corner, his main subject was being transferred to Athens top university, exactly where Xena was. His parents insisted he go, Aphrodite just gave him a look that could kill. He was pretty sure there was a hidden message in that look, somewhere along the line of ‘you hurt her, touch her, you even talk to her, I will kill you myself’. Xena and Aphrodite had become good friends and saw each other on a regular basis, Aphrodite had a boyfriend in Athens she visited a lot. So Ares packed his bags and was shipped off to live in a dorm just a couple of hundred meters away from Xena. He was lucky, the guy Joxer had been sharing with dropped out and Ares happened to get his place. So far it was pretty good, he was sharing a room with his best friend, Xena had no idea he was there and his new lecturer was pretty cool. He had yet to go to any other classes though, and what was in store for him was gonna hurt, a lot.
Xena was talking to Xandra, a girl in one of her classes about an assignment, when all of the sudden Xandra pointed out a really hot guy that had just entered with Gabrielle's boyfriend. Xena almost dropped her tray. There with Joxer was none other than her scum bag of an ex. Aphrodite hadn't mentioned Ares coming to Athens, but then again she hadn't talked to 'Dite in the last week or so. Joxer was going to hurt, along with Ares and anyone else who knew. If she had to take down the whole student body she would. Then Gabrielle entered behind Joxer, she spotted Ares and started hitting them both over the head with her purse. The whole cafeteria burst out laughing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although Xena thought Joxer should hurt he didn’t need to be yet again humiliated infront of everybody, so she decided to save him. Xena grabbed Gabrielle and pulled her out of the cafeteria by her purse leaving a very stunned Ares and Joxer behind.
“Xena, he was about to crack, why did you stop me?”
“Gabrielle you can’t punish Joxer just because he’s friends with Ares.”
“Why not?”
“Because……. I have to be friends with Ares, it’s the only way I am going to feel better.”
“Huh?” Gabrielle looked at Xena like she had just gone mad.
“I have to become friends with him so he trusts me, then I am gonna get Dite to help me crush him.” Xena started to get a little to excited over that idea, Gabrielle hit her with her purse. “Ow, hey, quit it!”
Meanwhile Ares and Joxer made their way outside just in time to see Gabby hit Xena. They looked at each other before bursting out laughing , the look that Ares received from Xena wiped the smile right off of his face. She not only looked angry but completely heart broken, then she smiled and walked up to him. By this time Ares was starting to get more than a little scared.
“I know we have had our differences, you left me for money and all, but we should be friends.” Xena smiled again, a sight that used to delight him now scared him half to death. He knew what Xena was capable of and knew it wasn’t pretty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in Corinth Aphrodite was pacing around her bedroom. “I should have let Xena know he was coming. Oh by Zeus boxer shorts, the ones with the little love hearts, boy did I screw up.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena sat on her bed writing in a little book titled, ‘101 Different Ways to Crush Your Ex’s Heart’. She was marking pages with good torture techniques.
“Hot poka’s, hmmm.....not painful enough. Oh I like this one, tie victim to giant cross, break legs, nail hands and feet to cross, wait, is this a Roman book?” Xena looked at the cover and the name of the author, Julius Caesar, then went back to the book.
Gabrielle walked into the room she shared with Xena to find her best friend sharpening a very big sword. Laying around her was various weapons. Daggers, knives, sharp things Gabrielle didn’t know the name of. Xena was starting to scare her.
“Hey Xe, how are you?”
“Same as I was when you left ten minutes ago, perfectly fine.”
“Are you in a sane state of mind?”
Xena just laughed, in a way to happy cheerleader way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ares was sitting in the campus cafe studying when he saw Xena approaching. He quickly downed his coffee for fear of having Xena and hot liquid to close to each other and his face, coffee burns you know. She casually walked up to him and sat down.
“Hey Ares, what you doing?” She smiled sweetly.
“Ah...just studying.” He replied caution clearly evident in his voice and face.
“I really wish you wouldn’t be so uptight around me, it’s like you think I am plotting revenge of something.” Xena smiled again and Ares laughed, when he looked up at Xena her face had turned deadpan. This kinda scared him yet again.
“Oh well, I better get going. Just one question?”
“Yes Xena?”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“ I suppose it’s a stupid question, enough dinars to fill the world or little me.” Xena laughed bitterly and left Ares there going over their conversation in his mind.
“What have I done.” Ares asked himself.
“I don’t know you tell me.” Callisto came up behind Ares and startled him out of his thoughts.
“Hey Callisto.”
“Why so down? I just saw Xena leave, does our little Princess have anything to do with your mood?”
“Yeah.”
“You are so in love. I’d be careful, I think she is planning something big, painful and embarrassing just for you. I got that idea from the Roman torture book and various sharp poking things in her room.
“What do you suggest I do?”
“I think you know what you have to do.”
“I do?”
“Flowers, chocolates, big fat diamond, and a very long, poetic, romantic, ‘I’m sorry’ speech and poem. That’s a start, but this is Xena we are talking about, expect to get your butt kicked the first couple of times.” Callisto smiled at her friend and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Thanks Callisto.”
“No probs.” She smiled and left Ares to himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aphrodite was flirting with the cute postman when he handed her a letter from Xena. She quickly went home to read it in private.
Dear Dite,
How are you? I am planning on hurting Ares big time, you wanna come and help?
Love you friend Xena, hoping to see you soon.
Dite didn’t have to think about it a whole lot, she wanted to make sure it was painful for her dear brother. So she packed her backs and caught the express chariot to Athens.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena was sitting on her bed reading one of Gabby’s many scrolls when there was a knock at the door. She got up and answered it and was greeted by the site of Ares.
“Hi Xe.” He smiled briefly, the look on her face made him turn serious.
“Hello Ares, what can I do for you?”
“I wanted to talk.”
“Come in.”
Ares came in and sat on Gabrielle’s bed, he shifted uncomfortably. Xena sat on her bed across from him. She pushed the crossbow under the bed with her toe, hoping he hadn’t seen. But Ares had spied the weapon and his eyes nearly jumped out of his head. Xena’s response was one of her innocent looks.
“You wanted to talk?”
“Oh yeah...Um.....Xena....I.....shouldn’t have come.”
“Finish what you started Ares.”
“I still love you. I will always love you, you have to know that.”
“ I do know. I still love you too but I don’t trust you, what is love when there is no trust?”
Ares didn’t have a reply for that one, he just kinda sat there playing with a pillow on Gab’s bed. There was a knock at the door which Xena got up to get. She opened the door for him to see none other then his sister, Dite. They were planning something, he could see it in his sisters face. “Why hello brother dear. How are you on the beautiful day?” Dite smiled all too sweetly. “Just leaving. Bye Xe, bye Dite.” With that Ares left as fast as he could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Callisto, Gab, Joxer, Ephiny, Hercules, Iolaus and Auto sat around a table in the library.
“We have to do something about Ares and Xena. I saw Aphrodite earlier, whatever Xena is planning it’s gonna be soon.” Callisto informed everyone.
“How about this.........” Joxer suggested.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xena and Ares were not a happy couple of people, it was freezing in the freezer. Their so-called ‘friends’ had locked then in there about a minute ago. Xena refused to go anywhere near Ares, the idea of sharing body warmth on one hand made her want to throw up and the other jump him so fast he didn’t know what hit him. He had been trying, it wasn’t his fault his parents took him away, he didn’t have a big say in the matter, his father was one scary man.
Ares so wanted to go and hold her, one cause he was freezing to death and the other he loved her so much. Slowly he inched closer to her.
Xena saw him moving ever so slowly over to her, she just looked at him. “What is he doing? No he can’t come over here! It’s hard to hate him normally, it’ll be even harder with his arms rapt around me. Bad Xena, don’t think those things.”
“I wonder if she’ll let me near her? I may as well try.” Ares finally got over to Xena and looked at her closely before speaking.
“Ah.......maybe we should share body heat, is that okay with you? Cause if we don’t we might freeze to death.”
Xena slowly nodded her head, she could do this. She would succeed, then his arms rapt around her and all thought of hating him went poof. She loved him, she wanted to be with him, if she felt like this she could forgive him. (After all she forgave Gab after all those bad things she did.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today was the big day, they had all graduated last month and were waiting for the dream of two great friends to come true, well one of there dreams. They all cheered as the ribbon was cut and Xena and Ares kissed. Today was the official opening of Hercules and Iolaus’ Bridal Shop.
Xena was being fitted for her dress, a beautiful cream gown. This was gonna be fun, being a bridesmaid for Gabrielle and Joxer. Who knows, maybe her and Ares were next.
The End
note: I know it kinda sucked at the end but I wanted to finish it.
