You, In Three Acts

(1)

Much like any other and, yet, unlike the rest. I've seen lust and I've seen fear, reflected in all my lovers and all my enemies. And in you, I catch a glimpse of all that I used to be and all that I might be.
You don't let up. You don't give in. And I question my sanity to let you follow. But the answers lay there, along your smile and in your eyes... I couldn't turn you away even if I wanted to.
There is tenderness in your touch, bringing me back from the edge, and it makes me want to weep.
To cry, to shatter, to break down and... to finally... build back up again.

Who are you and where did you come from? Did I dream you up? Will I awake and find you gone, a figment of my desperate mind?

Xena watches the sun rise with a sense of wonder, for the first time in years. Hidden beneath golden bangs and heavy furs, Gabrielle witnesses the transformation of warrior to woman.

(2)

I let you go, for better or worse, I let you grow and change. I am not your mother. I can't forever be your hero, because you have your own soul to save. And my soul, scarred and timid, refuses to heal.
I am not your lover, though I have thought of being the one to taste you. And, sometimes, we are not even friends. Just differing shades of wounds, bound by sorrow and shame. I reach out and you reach back. We drift apart and ache for the other. But we always seem to fall apart again.
Then the hammer falls and nothing matters but you. You, at my back. You, by my side. You, the hand that I hold and the warmth that I seek. I let you go... and you return to me.

Who are you now? Who am I? Will the light be chased from your gaze? And will I be the cause of that? Can I live with this if it means I can stay with you?

Xena speaks of her vision, one of crosses and darkness, dread spilling off her tongue. Silent and a shadow, Gabrielle listens to the shift of protector to child.

(3)

In those stories you used to tell, I was the savior and you left no room for yourself in those tales. You were swallowed up by my presence, standing back while I rescued the world. I write my own epic, Gabrielle. And you are at the center of this story. I sing of your goodness, of your pain, of your loyalty, of your love. I find the words of this universe lacking, for nothing can encompass what you mean to me.
And no one could ever take your place. And no one has ever made me this happy. You've changed me and shaped me. You are my home. You are my joy.
You are my everything.

How long will it be until I capture those lips again? Until I hear your laugh again? Until all the battles are won and we can just be... always and forever?

Xena loves this woman, following her footsteps across the land. Gabrielle knows of the spirit at her shoulder, of a connection that will never fade.
And they see this life end, only to begin another. Together.

END