Work Text:
With the promise to see Xena again soon, her new husband Perdicas watching from nearby, and the fresh glow of marriage in her heart, Gabrielle couldn’t be happier.
Xena stood close in front of her, with Gabrielle’s bouquet of flowers filling the space between them. This was goodbye, but only for now. They would see each other someday for sure.
Gabrielle watched Xena’s gaze flicker down, just for a moment. Xena leaned slowly towards her, tilting her head slightly, and Gabrielle raised her face to meet her.
Xena’s lips brushed the corner of her mouth, instilling that commitment through her lips.
When they pulled back and hugged, Gabrielle’s heart squeezed.
Gabrielle’s trouble started with a slight feeling of unease as she and Xena left town that morning. She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder and ignored it; there was often something afoot where Xena was concerned. Warlords watching them or townspeople being mad at them were commonplace. An odd feeling was nothing to worry about, Gabrielle told herself, even as her feet began to drag after not even an hour of walking.
This was fine, she figured she’d just walk it off.
Her growing exhaustion was soon followed by a single sneeze and a throb of pain in the back of her skull. Which quickly became a cluster of coughing that wracked her small frame and nearly caused her to drop her staff. Gabrielle came to a halt on the road as a shudder ran through her, feeling chilled despite the prevalent heat of the summer sun above.
Xena, riding on Argo a few strides ahead, turned her head at the sound. “You allergic to something?”
“Never have been.” Gabrielle’s reply came out hoarsely, as if the words were sticking to her vocal cords. She cleared her throat and shook her head in an effort to dispel whatever this was. The twinge behind her eyes pulsed. “I’m fine, we can keep going.”
After watching her for another moment, eyes unreadable, Xena turned back to the road and clicked her tongue to signal Argo.
Gabrielle lifted her foot to follow, but immediately regretted it. The world tilted oddly to the side and only jabbing her staff into the dirt prevented it from flipping entirely. “I take it back…” She muttered under her breath. Her stomach churned as she leaned against her staff, barely able to stay upright.
“Gabrielle!” Xena was there in an instant pulling one of Gabrielle’s arms over her shoulders.
“I don’t feel so good…”
Gabrielle’s vision spun even worse as she was lifted from the ground, with Xena’s arm securely under her legs, and before she knew it she was slung up on Argo’s back. She could feel Xena slide up on the horse behind her, with one arm around Gabrielle’s waist and the other holding the reins in front of her.
“There’s a healer back at town.” Xena pulled the reins to turn Argo around and with a whistle they were off, at a much faster pace than before. “Stay with me, I’ve got you.”
Gabrielle slumped forward and her eyes drifted shut, lulled by the steady rhythm of the horse and the firm grasp of the woman behind her.
When she opened her eyes, blinking blearily in the now low light, she felt slightly better. She was in a bed and no longer on horseback, so they must’ve made it back to town. The room around her was holding still as it should and the pain in her head had nearly faded. Outside the window it was dark, marking how much time had passed. Gabrielle looked up at the room’s other occupant, Xena.
Xena occupied the only visible chair, which she had pulled up against the bed. A candle flickered on the table nearby and illuminated her face in the dark. To Gabrielle’s eye her hair was only slightly frazzled, which was a good sign. A hint of a smile graced Xena’s lips when their eyes met.
“Glad to see you’re awake.”
“Where are we?” Gabrielle tried to sit up, but one gentle hand on her shoulder encouraged her to stay down. “What happened?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” Xena’s voice was low, soft with emotion that overtook her eyes.
The question was still annoying and not the answer to what Gabrielle had asked. “Don’t answer my questions with a question.” She bristled, scrunching her nose and sitting up further.
Xena didn’t reply, merely keeping her hand in place as she looked down at Gabrielle. She raised one eyebrow just a smidge as she waited for an answer.
The silence itched against Gabrielle’s mind, tense and uncomfortable. It held for a few seconds, until she broke eye contact. “I’m sorry.” Gabrielle sighed, sagging back against her pillow as she relented to the hand on her shoulder. “I didn’t want to slow you down.” Even after over a year of travelling with Xena, she still felt too weak.
“You could never.”
Gabrielle opened her mouth to respond as Xena leaned over her. Her words were lost as Xena drew closer, bringing her face near to Gabrielle’s own. For just a heartbeat, barely long enough to be felt, she pressed her lips against Gabrielle’s forehead.
It was a brief touch, gentler than the hand on her shoulder or the times Xena had guided her on how to best hold her staff. There was a warmth to it, fighting the chill that Gabrielle had felt all day, that spread swiftly to her heart.
Gabrielle knew what that feeling was, that small seed of affection, had cherished it with Xena even as other parts of her life had shattered. Somehow it had grown even stronger in the ashes of Perdicas’ death.
Xena pulled back, blue eyes glistening slightly. She fussed with the sides of the blankets to tuck Gabrielle further into them.
“You caught something from the villagers; with rest it should pass in a few days.” That was the answer Gabrielle had been looking for, though it was incomplete and quite brief. Xena reached forward slowly and brushed her fingers through Gabrielle’s bangs. “Get some more rest, you need it.”
All of the desire to argue had fled Gabrielle, with the tenderness of that touch. “Thank you, Xena.”
As Gabrielle’s eyes fluttered closed, she could still feel the spot where Xena’s lips had touched her skin, where her fingers had caressed. The memory of it comforted her to a dreamless slumber.
Gabrielle tightened her grip around her staff and took half a step back, bracing for the sword headed her way. There was a tree behind her, with nowhere else to retreat to. At least a sturdy tree would cover her back.
This was fine, Gabrielle told herself, she could do this. She was recovered from her bout of illness and ready to fight. She had trained with the Amazons, by the gods, she had trained with Xena the warrior princess. She was ready.
She blocked the incoming sword blow, ignoring the pressure from the staff as it absorbed the strike. When the bandit lifted his arm to try again, Gabrielle shifted slightly to the side. She met the strike of his sword with a mighty shove from the side of her staff.
Luckily, by just a hair, it worked. The bandit stumbled as his balance was broken, leaving the perfect moment to strike. Gabrielle spun to hit him in the back with her staff, completing his tumble to the ground.
Blood pulsed in her ears as she looked down at him, the man who she had injured with her stick. How injured was he from a blow to the back? There was no time to ponder it now.
That was one down, how many to go, Gabrielle wondered as she looked around the clearing. Well, Xena was handling most of them. With poise and precision she swung her blade right through theirs, as if they merely wielded toys. Even after traveling together for over a year, it was still stunning to watch her fight like this.
It gave Gabrielle an odd feeling, one mixed between nausea and awe. That was hard to parse in the moment, but she was sure she’d figure it out by the time she wrote down this adventure later.
She loosened her grip on her staff as she watched, confident that Xena could handle the rest. She should’ve known better.
That bandit she had knocked down, well, he wasn’t quite as injured as he seemed. In fact, he leapt up with a dagger from his boot and charged towards Gabrielle with a snarl.
The movement flashed in her peripheral vision as he came from the side, nearly behind her, but she lifted her staff far too slowly. The tip of his dagger passed it in an instant and swiped at Gabrielle’s leg.
A spike of pain shot through her lower thigh and she collapsed back against the tree, the tree that had failed to cover her back. Gabrielle heard her name being called from across the field, distant and echoing. Searing pain spiked through the wound and rippled across the rest of her body as she clutched her leg.
Before Gabrielle even try to stand up, the bandit took another step towards her. He raised his arm and prepared to strike, but before he could finish the blow he froze in place. He gasped wetly, as if all the air was being forced from his lungs and collapsed forward onto the ground. Xena’s chakram stuck out prominently from the middle of his back. This time, there was no mistaking his injury.
Not looking at the corpse, blood oozed from between Gabrielle’s fingers as she tried to staunch the wound using her skirt. Across the clearing, Xena knocked out the last bandit with a forceful blow from the hilt of her sword.
After one last glance around the tree line, Xena sheathed her sword and approached Gabrielle. She didn’t quite run, no Gabrielle knew that wasn’t like her.
“Gabrielle, let me see.” Xena knelt down and placed her hands over Gabrielle’s, gently pulling them away from the injury. A few drops of blood spread from her hands to Xena’s.
The cut was visible through the new hole near the hemline of her skirt, which would also need to be repaired. Blood still trickled from it, though hopefully slower than before.
“I thought I had him.” Gabrielle grumbled, mentally cursing her still feeble arms. “I should’ve had him.”
“You’ll win next time, I’m sure of it.” Xena rose to her feet for a moment, whistling for Argo. She grabbed a water skin and some bandages from the saddlebag before crouching back down. “You’ve gotten good with that staff.”
“Not good enough.” Gabrielle replied bitterly. Images flashed in her mind, of being too slow, of not being able to save Perdicas. She shoved them away, to anywhere but there.
Xena’s lips quirked up, as if she wanted to disagree, but she let it go. She uncorked the water skin and took a sip from it, then lifted it to Gabrielle’s lips. The cool liquid was welcome against her throat, which was parched from fighting. Xena pulled it back after a few moments, setting it aside and returning her attention to Gabrielle’s leg.
“Your wound is shallow, I’ll bandage it for now.” Xena’s fingers gently pushed up the bottom of Gabrielle’s skirt, hovering just at the edges of the gap in her skin. She gingerly placed the bandages against it, causing it to flare again in pain, and then wrapped them a few times around the leg. Her forehead was scrunched in concentration. “I’ll stitch it at camp later.”
“Okay.”
With practiced fluidity, Xena tied the bandages so they would stay in place. She lifted her hand to her mouth, brushing three fingers against her lips, and then pressed that same hand over the now covered wound.
Did the wound feel better now? Maybe slightly, at least she couldn’t see it anymore. Gabrielle’s heart certainly felt lighter. That didn’t stop her whole body from throbbing when Gabrielle tried to rise to her feet, sending her careening into Xena’s arms. It took leaning most of her weight onto Xena to get Gabrielle upright, wobbling with the effort to hold even part of her weight.
“There you go, it’s not so bad.” Xena murmured quietly, almost too soft for Gabrielle to hear.
Gabrielle couldn’t help but smile at that, through the pain, through everything, as the pair pressed on.
Even in the summer, the nights in southern Greece could become quite cold. The more arid regions only held warmth while the sun shined on them, which fled along with its rays. Days were stifling and sweltering, while nights were chilly and cool.
Gabrielle had become quite familiar with this cold, as she’d spent most of the last couple years sleeping outside. Tonight was no different.
The fire crackling nearby helped to alleviate some of her discomfort, with hints of warmth floating through the air towards her bed roll. It couldn’t fully pierce the chill though, not at a safe distance and especially not with another bed roll between her and the fire.
Gabrielle lied with her back to the bed roll next to hers, which was also cold and empty that night. Xena, who would usually occupy it, still sat on a log nearby the flames. She sharpened her sword rhythmically, repetitively, as the sun set over the horizon.
The grinding sound of metal on metal directly contrasted with the sounds of nature around them. It echoed like an alarm through the calm. Yet, to Gabrielle it brought a sense of comfort. It was the sound of Xena. Even with her eyes closed, trying and failing to fall asleep with her back to rest of their camp, Gabrielle could feel her presence.
It was hard to fall asleep that night. Besides the cold, the cut on Gabrielle’s leg still thrummed even after being stitched. It stretched uncomfortably when she so much as twitched. She would have to get used to being injured like this, she supposed, if she was going to keep fighting.
And Gabrielle fully intended to fight, to help Xena protect others. Once her leg was healed up she would resume training, even harder than ever before. If she couldn’t protect herself in a fight, how could she expect to keep others safe?
The metallic ring of the whetstone came to a halt with one final clang, followed by the sound of a sword sliding into a sheathe. There were light footsteps, ones Gabrielle knew better than her own.
When she heard the sound of something heavy sliding to the ground behind her, Gabrielle’s wandering mind finally began to calm. Xena was there, right next to her.
She could hear Xena shuffling as she adjusted her blanket, likely also feeling the chill, before she felt her lean closer.
There was a brief touch to the back of her head, just a hint of something, almost too light to be felt. It only lasted a moment before fading.
Then Xena shifted one last time, settling down into her bed roll, and was still.
Gabrielle rolled towards her to perhaps comment on how late she’d stayed up, a movement which her leg immediately made her regret. Still, she turned.
Xena lied with her back to Gabrielle, covered up to her shoulders by her blanket. She blocked the light from the fire, but brought more warmth than it had provided. There was no replacing the feeling of being near her like this.
Gabrielle inched closer across the space between them, despite the twinge in her leg, and tucked her forehead gingerly into the space between Xena’s shoulder blades, upon a few loose strands of hair and bare skin. She could feel as Xena tensed, only for a moment, before relaxing.
With Xena’s heartbeat in her ears, Gabrielle finally drifted off to sleep.
The tavern buzzed with activity around them, people eating, playing cards, drinking, and occasionally staggering between tables. It wasn’t even close to the top of the list of where Gabrielle would’ve picked to eat, but she knew why Xena chose it. Nobody would notice or care about two women minding their own business among the crowd.
Xena had explained what to do quickly, between bites of bread and soup. It was, all things considered, the same plan as always.
“Of course this is the plan.” Gabrielle commented with a scoff as the two huddled close together over the tavern table. “You always have a plan.” She shook her head disbelievingly. It had been a while since the pair had gotten into trouble, not since the attack when Gabrielle’s leg was injured. She was almost fully healed now, so she supposed they were overdue.
“Which is why we’re still alive.” Xena snarked in reply, pointing one finger firmly at the table. “So, follow the plan.” She was gesturing at a small leather bag, nondescript at first glance. It was its contents, vibrant jewels from across the Mediterranean, that were of concern.
“And let you do allll of the fighting?”
“That’s right. Don’t think I can’t still see you limping.” Xena’s raised eyebrows and sharp tone left no room for argument or discussion, pack it up, case closed.
Gabrielle bristled and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning into Xena’s space. She opened her mouth to protest, but it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t as if Xena was wrong; she wasn’t.
The plan was to take the bag with her, so that’s what Gabrielle did. She took it with a huff and turned to walk towards the tavern door, but was stopped by a familiar firm hand on her upper arm.
“Be careful.” Xena practically breathed the words into her ear, low beneath the background hum of the tavern.
Gabrielle nodded only once in reply, eyes locked onto the serious expression on Xena’s face, the way her lips quirked into a worried frown. Xena leaned even closer, pressing her lips gingerly against Gabrielle’s cheek. Heat flushed under Gabrielle’s skin at the unexpected touch, but she didn’t move.
Xena let go of Gabrielle’s arm as she moved away, pulling the warmth of her touch from Gabrielle’s skin.
“I’ll go first, see you soon.”
As if slipping out of her grasp, before Gabrielle could think to pull her back, Xena was gone.
Gabrielle collapsed back into her rickety chair and leaned her elbows on the table. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
She touched her cheek, warm from Xena’s lips, and smiled.
And it so often did, the plan went slightly awry.
It was supposed to go like this. Xena would distract the bandits, allies of the ones they fought last time, and draw them all to the square to defeat them all at once. In the meantime, Gabrielle would return the jewels to the temple of Aphrodite where they originally were stolen from nearly a year before.
Of course, things did not go according to plan.
Little did Gabrielle know, but there were a couple thieves chasing the same jewels. As she learned from the pair of armed men who surrounded her inside the temple, they had been playing pass the hot potato over these jewels with a couple local warlords and three groups of bandits for months. They demanded them back from the temple, adding Gabrielle to the game against her will.
With a stiff brandish of her staff, she refused.
The fight that ensued was a blur to remember, certainly not clear enough to write about in her scrolls. Gabrielle wasn’t able to move quickly due to her healing leg, but that didn’t stop her from deflecting swords and landing blows when she had the chance.
She took a few strikes herself, but each time she hit the floor of the temple she used her staff to help stand back up. By the third time her legs were shaking from exertion, hands nearly ready to give out.
One of the men was down, taken out by a heavy blow to the back of the head. The other glared through her, in a rage since his partner was defeated.
He lunged forward, swinging his sword in a wild arc that Gabrielle deflected once again. Her hands ached from the continued strain of the battle. They were in a sort of stalemate like this, as he wouldn’t move too far away from his fallen comrade and Gabrielle couldn’t leave the civilians unguarded. But the stalemate would only last as long as Gabrielle’s strength did.
Lucky for the first time in at least the last week, she didn’t have to hold out for long.
“Gabrielle!” Xena’s voice echoed into the space, somehow carrying layers of emotion in only the shouting of Gabrielle’s name. She surged between Gabrielle and her opponent, swiftly taking over the battle.
While he had been a match for Gabrielle, against Xena he only lasted for two swings of her sword. After a well placed strike he collapsed next to the other thief, considerably more bloody than his companion was. Xena barely watched him fall before turning to Gabrielle.
“Gabrielle.” She said her name again, softer this time as she approached across the temple.
With a clatter of wood, Gabrielle dropped her staff and stepped into Xena’s embrace. She buried her nose in the crook of Xena’s neck, relief washing over her that the battle was finally over. Xena had rescued her.
“Are you hurt?” Xena asked as she pulled back from the hug, eyes glancing down Gabrielle’s body quickly.
Gabrielle shook her head. “No, I’m alright.” She stepped back, pulling her hands together in front of her body to flex them. They had taken the most abuse in the fight, between falling on them and absorbing the blows through the staff with them. A dusting of dirt hid what would likely be multiple bruises. She wouldn’t be surprised to also find bruises on the outside of her forearms.
Xena caught the movement with her eyes. She lifted her hands to Gabrielle’s, enclosing them gently between hers.
“Your hands have seen better days.” Xena spoke quietly, as if the words pained her, but then lightened her tone. “C’mon, let’s see if Aphrodite has a bar of soap somewhere in all this clutter.”
With a gentle tug, Xena guided Gabrielle back into the other parts of the temple. They found a washbasin that even had some soap a few hallways away, in a room near the back entrance.
The water was cold against Gabrielle’s pained fingers, soothing the internal burn as she began to scrub the dirt from them. She was surprised to see Xena’s hands join hers, grasping and massaging Gabrielle’s hands between her own. Gabrielle relished the feeling of Xena’s hands caring for hers, even with the soreness.
They made quick work of the accumulated dirt, leaving only her raw and red skin. Indeed, a couple purpling bruises were starting to show. One across Gabrielle’s right palm where she took the brunt of most blows, and the other splashed across the side of her left wrist where she had fallen on it. She was lucky it wasn’t broken or sprained.
Xena’s eyes swam with emotion as she looked down on those injured hands. She lifted Gabrielle’s right hand softly with one of her own and brought it delicately to her lips, gently kissing her palm above the bruise. Gabrielle’s heart fluttered at the tenderness of the touch.
“I’m sorry.” Xena whispered against Gabrielle’s skin, apologizing as if she were the cause of the wounds, which she absolutely wasn’t. “I’m so sorry.” Gabrielle’s hand lowered from her lips but stayed in Xena’s grasp.
“For what? You saved me.” Gabrielle reminded her, drawing Xena’s eyes up to meet hers. She couldn’t stand to see that haunted look behind her gaze, stormy like she was lost somewhere within herself. “And not just today.”
“You shouldn’t have needed saving today.” Xena’s voice grew a sharp edge now, as she pulled back from Gabrielle’s hand. “I put you in danger.”
“Hey, I’m getting better aren’t I?” Gabrielle leaned forward slightly and put on her brightest grin. “You said so yourself. I held them off pretty good.” She tilted her head in a challenge, one she hoped Xena would take.
It worked. Xena released a heavy breath, the corners of her lips quirking ever so slightly upward, then shook her head. “Until you needed me to rescue you.”
“Well, you know what they say.” Gabrielle smiled more easily now, satisfied with the change of mood. “Behind every woman is a taller, stronger woman!”
“Do they really say that?” The playful twinkle had returned to Xena’s eye.
“They do now.”
The smell of fish still lingered in the air around camp, fresh from being cooked merely an hour before over the open flame. Even when they were exhausted and had nothing else to eat, Xena was always down for catching fish.
They made a satisfying meal at least, Gabrielle thought from her spot near the fire. The pair were perched on a log together, warm and full after their meal. Her leg finally didn’t hurt, but was replaced by a stiffness in her fingers that would probably take a few days to heal. It would be a while before she could hold a quill comfortably again.
Gabrielle looked over to where her staff leaned on a nearby tree, fingers twitching as if she were wrapping them around it. She had almost been strong enough to win her battle today, if only she’d been faster, stronger, she wouldn’t have needed Xena to rescue her.
If she wanted to be a help, rather than a hindrance, she needed to keep improving.
“I’d like to learn more moves.” Gabrielle shifted back towards Xena as she spoke, surprised to find her eyes already on her. “Something to help me against multiple enemies.”
There was something heavy in Xena’s bright blue eyes, something distant even as their gazes met. She’d been fairly quiet that evening, more than usual.
“Maybe I’ll go for their legs, see how they like it.” Gabrielle continued, absentmindedly rubbing the spot where her previous injury had been.
Silence fell between them, weighed down by the sheen in Xena’s eyes, the tilt of her slight frown. It felt stiff and awkward and Gabrielle was never one to sit in silence.
“What is it?”
Xena inhaled, looked away, then back again at Gabrielle. “Are you sure, about this?” She asked, each word measured and careful.
“What do you mean?” It was a vague question, one with a wide variety of potential responses. Off the top of her head Gabrielle could think of many things she was sure of, and many that she was not.
“Are you sure about…” Xena grimaced as she paused, unusually for her. “Have you thought about going back? To a quiet life with your family, away from all of this?”
A flash of Gabrielle’s last attempt to do so flashed in her mind, along with how badly that had ended. She remembered how Xena encouraged her to go then, to live a life apart from her, free from the conflict that plagued her every day life.
Now she did the same, though Gabrielle was not the same person she was back then. No, she had changed.
“I haven’t given it a single thought.” A notion struck Gabrielle, one almost too painful to contemplate. “Do you want me to leave?” The last word came out as nearly a whisper.
“No, of course not.” Xena reached over and rested her fingers against Gabrielle’s arm, softly, gently. “But will you consider it? You’ll be safe there.”
“Safe from what?” Gabrielle raised her eyebrows incredulously at the notion. “Warlords can still attack, no matter where I go.”
Xena’s hand drifted down Gabrielle’s arm, reaching her hand and gently covering Gabrielle’s bruised palm with her own.
“Safe from me.” Xena’s voice wavered. “From the danger that I bring.” Tears filled the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill out. “In inns, on the road, at temples, even in a bloody war zone, I’ve done nothing but drag you into danger.”
“Don’t you see, Xena.” Gabrielle tightened her hand within Xena’s, looking deep into her eyes. “Even if I get hurt, I want to help you protect people. There’s nowhere I want to be but with you.” One tear escaped from those vibrant blue eyes, trickling down a perfect cheek until Gabrielle brought her hand up to wipe it away. She brushed her fingers there against Xena’s face, so close she could feel each time she breathed.
“Xena, you’re my home.”
Xena leaned in closer, tilting her head slightly just as she had done once before. Gabrielle’s hand fell to her shoulder. This time though, unlike at the wedding so long ago, she stopped. Merely a short distance away, not even a finger’s length apart, Xena paused. Her mouth opened, then closed, then started to pull back.
No, Gabrielle thought, now it was her promise.
Gabrielle closed the remaining gap between them, perhaps a little harder than needed at first, and pressed her lips chastely onto Xena’s. After a sharp inhale Xena softened into the kiss, moving her lips gently against hers.
Responding in kind, Gabrielle shifted her hand from Xena’s shoulder to the back of her neck, pulling her even closer.
When they broke apart a few moments later, Gabrielle could swear her world was spinning again. No, that was just the rapid thumping of her own heart, and the look of serene joy on Xena’s face.
Xena cupped Gabrielle’s face with both hands, bringing their mouths together even more softly than before.
“I’ll be with you, always.”
Gabrielle believed her.
The spirit world around them glowed a surreal blue, so unlike the natural blue of the sky. That didn’t matter though, not when Xena stood in front of her.
Gabrielle fought back tears as she looked up at her spirit, which she was barely able to communicate with through Autolycus. She wondered if Xena had heard her thoughts after she died, how desperately she begged for her to come back.
Xena promised to always be there with her, and then leaned down closer and closer. Her kiss renewed that vow with Gabrielle, reverberated it through both their souls.
In that moment, Gabrielle knew everything would be alright.