Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. Just playing around with them a bit.
Spoilers: Takes place sometime after "Animal Attraction".
Feedback: Any and all comments are extremely welcome. :)
**************************
Stormy Weather
by Xedra
Xena and Gabrielle had been caught in the very beginnings of a storm when they rode into the village, making it to the inn before getting completely soaked and were lucky to get the last room available. Once their horses were stabled they settled themselves in their room to wait for Joxer, who'd made plans to meet up with them that day.
The women shook out their damp cloaks, set down their packs and got comfortable. Xena shucked her tall boots and put her feet up to warm them by the fire. Pulling out her sword, she dug a few supplies from her pack and started the process of sharpening it, casually mentioning that Joxer shouldn't be too long in joining them. Gabrielle merely grunted in agreement as she hunkered down close to the fire and rummaged around in her pack for the last of the small, tart apples they'd bought earlier in the week. Finding it, she crunched into it and held it between her teeth, then took out her latest scroll and continued from she'd left off in recording their last adventure.
The ringing of stone against sword and the scratching of quill over parchment blended with the crackle of the fire and the steady fall of rain outside, soothing the silent women after their long, tiring journey. After about half an hour, Xena finished with her sword and slid it back in its sheath. Tossing the sharpening stone and polishing cloth back into her pack, she glanced at Gabrielle, blinked, then grinned.
Gabrielle was flicking the feathered end of the quill against her chin with quick strokes, biting the corner of her bottom lip, and her eyebrows were drawn together - all recognizable signs of the dreaded Bard's Block - but they were usually accompanied by a far-off, glazed-over look in her eyes as she searched for that perfect word or phrase. Gabrielle's eyes, however, were quite focused, cutting from the window to the door, down to her scroll and back again.
Lightning flashed, startling them both, and thunder shook the walls, the rain falling harder and louder outside. Gabrielle sprang to her feet, quill in one fist and crumpled scroll in the other. She quickly looked at Xena, then down at her parchment. She sighed and smoothed it out against her thigh, mumbling that she couldn't concentrate with the noise. Rolling the scroll tight again, she jammed it and the quill back in her pack.
Xena quirked an eyebrow at that, since there had been many a storm her friend had been completely oblivious to while she scribbled away at her scrolls, but the warrior didn't comment. Gabrielle was quite entertaining at times like this, when she was trying very hard and very badly to hide her emotions - this time being her growing concern for the bumbling third of their trio. Not that Xena, herself, wasn't concerned. She didn't like to think of her friend out in such weather, either, but she figured even someone like Joxer would have sense enough to seek shelter until the storm passed.
But Gabrielle was clearly worried, most likely picturing Joxer getting soaked to the bone as he pushed himself through the pouring rain, his waterlogged armor weighing him down as he trudged through the mud, which could only lead to chills and a deadly fever. Visions of him drowning in lake-sized puddles or being brained by wind-blown tree limbs or getting zapped by a stray lightning bolt would be flashing though her bardic brain. It was ridiculous, Xena thought, the way Gabrielle refused to acknowledge her growing feelings for Joxer.
Ever since he'd confessed his love for her, their friendship had become strained and all the polite tiptoeing they did around each other was starting to wear on the warrior's nerves. Still, Xena knew it was only a matter of time for them. She saw the curious, considering looks Gabrielle would give Joxer when he wasn't aware and wished the bard would stop hiding from what she was feeling for him and just go for it already.
Rubbing a hand over her pregnant belly, Xena shifted in the chair, but the ache in her lower back had her eyeing the bed, so she fished a small bundle of cloth from her saddlebag and moved over to the bed. She rearranged the pillows to sit up comfortably and carefully unwrapped the bundle, which was actually a small blanket she was embroidering for the babe. She ran a finger over the pattern of tiny chakrams and quills along one finished edge, her eyes going soft and misty for a moment before taking up the needle and continuing her skillful stitches.
Gabrielle was pacing. Slow steps from one end of the room to the other. She caught Xena's eye and quickly explained that after all that riding she could use a break from sitting. The warrior merely nodded and shrugged, her attention on the cloth in her hands, but her lips twitched in amusement when the next bolt of lightning sent the bard to the window.
Over and hour later, Xena tacked the needle into a corner of the cloth, set the bundle aside, and folded her arms behind her head to watch her friend.
Gabrielle went over to the window for the twentieth time and pushed the shutter out again. The force of the wind pushed it back against her hand and a fresh spray of rain misted her face. Lightening flashed again, making the sky bright as day for a moment, then all was dark again. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light and searched the shadows intently.
After several long moments she frowned and let the wind blow the shutter closed, then latched it once again. More pacing followed.
*BAM BAM BAM*
The women jumped, hands reaching instinctively for chakram and sais, as their eyes fixed on the door.
*BAM BAM BAM*
"Hey! You guys asleep in there already? Come on, open up! It's raining out here, you know!"
Xena smiled and clipped her chakram back into place. She noticed Gabrielle hadn't moved, hadn't lowered her sais, hadn't even taken a breath as far as Xena could see. She wasn't tensed up in her defensive pose any longer, though her grip was still tight on her weapons, and her eyes were wide and surprised instead of narrowed in fight-readiness. Xena rolled her eyes and scooted herself gracefully off the bed. She unlatched the door to reveal a sodden, but smiling, Joxer on the other side.
"Hi Xena! Hey Gabby!" He was minus his armor today, wearing the heavy leather coat and floppy hat he'd gotten in Spamona. Large bulges under the coat gave him a comical roly-poly look and Xena chuckled as he waddled into the room.
"I didn't know if you'd eaten or not, but I figured you hadn't, and since I'm starving I got pretty much everything I could think of at the market before they closed down from the weather." Joxer opened his coat and set down the two large sacks he'd been carrying under it. He shrugged off his coat, draped it over the back of the chair by the fire and plunked his hat down on the seat. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation, hunkered down next to the sacks and started digging through one.
Xena rubbed a hand over her belly, feeling she could eat two or three of whatever Joxer had brought. She glanced at Gabrielle. The bard hadn't moved from her spot by the window, but her arms were relaxed to her sides now, her sais held loosely in her hands. Her eyes were fixed on Joxer, taking deep, careful breaths.
He pulled bread, cheese, jerky, apples and other basic foodstuffs from the bag piling them all on the bed, murmuring the identity of each item as if he were checking them off a mental list.
"Ahh! Here's the good stuff!" He grinned and dug into the second bag, producing a skin of spiced cider, some wrapped spices, and several pouches of dried fruits. He chuckled and gave his friends a mischievous grin as he reached the last items in the sack. Gabrielle started. Xena turned away slightly to hide her smirk.
Joxer took out two wrapped parcels and stood. "It took some serious haggling, but I managed to get these, too." He tossed one to Xena.
Xena caught it one-handed and sniffed at the cloth suspiciously. Recognizing the scent, she gasped in delight and ripped the parcel open to reveal a half dozen small pumpkin tarts. She immediately bit into one and her eyes rolled back in bliss. She groaned in appreciation, swallowed and grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling him in for a quick, enthusiastic smack on his lips.
Joxer blinked in surprise for a moment, then laughed. Xena swiftly climbed back onto the bed, happily ignoring her friends as she munched on her treats in comfort.
Softly chuckling and shaking his head at the warrior, Joxer took a step toward Gabrielle and held out the other parcel. Gabrielle didn't notice at first; she was busy frowning at Xena. Then she heard her name and saw the small parcel being waved in front of her face. She snapped back to attention and felt a curious sense of relief as she looked at him, her racing heart finally calming. She reached out, but realized she still held her sais. Sighing, she slipped them back in her boots and took the parcel from him.
Sniffing it as Xena had done hers, she almost dropped it when she recognized the scent. She stared at the bundle in her hands, then up at Joxer. His eyes were fairly twinkling as he rocked back on his heels. Opening the cloth, she lifted the fragrant loaf of nutbread to her face and took a deep whiff.
The scent immediately made her think of her mother and how she always made her wonderful nutbread on the days it was Gabrielle's turn to churn the butter. It made the monotonous chore much easier to bear knowing there would be fresh, creamy butter to spread over her favorite treat. She thought of evenings spent around the hearth, her mother with her sewing and her father either sharpening his chopping axe or smoking his pipe. Her sister Lillah would be at their mother's feet, watching her with wide, enthralled eyes as the young bard-to-be would spin fantastic, heroic tales for them.
Gabrielle felt her eyes mist as a sudden pang of homesickness struck her, for she hadn't been back to Potedeia to see them in a very long time, but mostly the memories flooded her heart with feelings of warmth and love and family. She looked over at Xena, who had her chin tucked down to her chest as she lightly dozed. Gabrielle's gazed shifted down to the warrior's rounded belly, draped with a crumb-sprinkled cloth.
"Gabby?"
She looked up at Joxer, saw the expectant look on his face and how his hands were starting to fidget, and felt her heart squeeze. Her eyes went soft, the warmth she felt in her heart increasing a hundredfold. Having them with her meant she was never without family.
Realizing she needed to thank Joxer for his thoughtfulness, she cut a quick smirk over at the sleeping warrior and stepped up to him. She hooked a hand around his neck, not noticing how very still he went. She intended to give him the same sort of quick kiss of appreciation, but the moment she pressed her lips to his her brain emptied of all warm and cozy thoughts.
In fact, her brain emptied of every sort of thought except for how good his mouth felt. Shock held her very still, their lips sealed together. She didn't quite know what to make of this, but when she felt him start to pull away, she quickly decided to indulge her curiosity and clenched her hand on his neck, surging up on her tiptoes to kiss him a bit deeper.
Joxer's head swam and he could do nothing but grasp at her shoulders to steady himself. When she suddenly pulled back, he sucked in a breath and winced, waiting for the fist in the face that was sure to follow. What he felt instead was her hand sliding off his neck and up to his cheek. He stared at her, stunned.
Gabrielle looked up at him in a combination of disbelief and surprised delight as her pulse pounded in her ears.
Joxer swallowed thickly and shifted on his feet while Gabrielle stared at him as if he were the most intriguing sort of puzzle. He broke her gaze and dropped his hands from her shoulders, looking awkwardly toward his feet, but stopped when he saw her other hand was fisted around the bundle of nutbread, squishing some of it through her fingers. A wide grin split his face and he huffed a laugh.
Gabrielle blinked and looked down. She felt suddenly giddy and clamped her free hand over her mouth, barely managing to stifle a giggle, but one quick glance at Joxer had her laughing along with him.
As their laughter died down and they continued to smile at each other, behind them, on the bed, Xena watched them through half-lowered lids. A small grin curved her lips as she closed her eyes and let herself finally drift into a satisfied sleep.
~FIN~
