Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Xena: Warrior Princess. They belong to Studio USA and Renaissance Pictures. No profit has been made from this story, damn!
Rated: T

Anything for you sweet

(Xentrya)

Xena laid back and stared for a minute at a peacefully sleeping Gabrielle. The flames of the campfire were dancing around in a sort of a fairy tale manner, and near them ,Gabrielle's hair was as golden as only the sun could be. Xena smiled and she closed her eyes, trying to free her mind of every concern she had, but something was bothering her and she just couldn't sleep. The worse was that she couldn't tell what it was and she kept tossing and turning in her bedroll .Finally she took a deep breath and started to relax, when that all familiar tingle announced the presence of a certain god. Xena's body stiffened, but a gentle caress touching her right cheek then her lips and her neck ,made her feel more comfortable.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

Xena's eyes widened and her crystal blue ones and a set of chocolate brown ones met.

"Why mom? Are you here to rock me to sleep? Or how about telling me a story?

Ares raised lasciviously an eyebrow, bit his lower lip, and still gazing at his beautiful princess he answered:

"Very funny Xe. But if you do need rocking ,I bet I can figure out some very interesting ways to do it. You'll like it, I know you will"

"Yeah' you'd like that wouldn't you, you twisted perverse!"

"Oh come on Xena !you could just admit it you know!."

"Admit what Ares?"

"Admit that you're just dying for me to touch you right now. I can see it in your eyes sweet. There's no point in denying it ,I don't know why you have to be so damn stubborn about it!"

Xena's heart skipped a beat but she stood her ground, not letting a single sparkle of truth shine in her eyes, but Ares knew her far to well, he was well aware of the fact that she could were a mask of intransigence till the very end if she thought that showing her true feelings could make her feel week in front of him .He knew that she wouldn't admit it in a thousand years ,he had trained her well but sometimes that pissed him off.

"Oh cut the crap Ares!"-here we go, Ares thought-And stop impregnating my memory with your godly wild fantasies of me!I don't want you ,for Zeus's sake!"

"Fantasies ha? Well, warrior princess ,let's check it out, who's fantasizing about whom.

And with a wave of his hand, the sky itself became a gigantic pelicula on which, to Xena's surprise, she saw a reflection of herself. She was in a forest, walking around, and she seamed quite impatient. She was waiting for someone. Suddenly, the god of war appeared in the picture, right there, next to her, a berth away, looking straight into those gorgeous eyes of hers, and slowly, very slowly started kissing her neck, caressing her bear shoulders, whispering something against her already burning skin. Her body arched against him ,desire clearly written all around her beautiful face, and she leaned lean into his caresses, facing him, to meet his lips into a passionate kiss, so hot that she felt a fiery wave travelling up and down her spine. Pushing her back against a tree, Ares knelt in front of her, starting to caress her legs, to lick her upper thighs, making her moan, and each and every one of his touches left a red glimmering light behind it.

"Get out of my dreams you demented son of a bachae!"

uttered Xena in a very low and threatening voice, kicking Ares in the stomach so hard ,that he fell on the ground.

"Oh baby! I love it when you wanna play rough! It's my perfect scenario of a foreplay, you know!", said Ares with a grin.

"I'll give you foreplay all right! And with that ,before Ares could even realize what was going on ,she was already on top of him, sword at his neck." Let's get out of here before Gabrielle wakes up"

"Oh yeah !there's nothing more invigorating than a midnight's sword fight. Kindda romantic, don't you think sweet?"

"Let's see if you still find it romantic after I'm done kicking your godly ass!"

And with that, in the blink of an eye, Ares transported them both through the aether, into a clearing nearby, where the moon seamed to cast all of her pale light, on the tips of their swords.

The warrior princess charged ,but a blue fire bolt struck the sword out of her hand ,leaving her defenseless.

"No rules war god?"

"Not one beautiful, not even one!"

Xena's eyes flickered while contemplating a gorgeous Ares, ready for battle. His muscles were so tense, and she could almost sense his blood rushing through his body, poisoned by the imminent threat of the action.

"Oh I'll make you wish you haven't said that!" And her war cry broke the silence of the night, kicking a puzzled Ares straight in the chest, launching him through the air, backwards, right on top of a bunch of pink wildflowers.

"Oh gee Ar, the big bad God of War, picking pink flowers? And I thought that nothing could surprise me anymore. They do look good on your hair anyways. They give you this ultimate trendy look." Xena said on a mocking tone, while posing in a sort of Greek model.

With a flip, Ares was back on his feet, but in a blink of an eye, his until tham playfull and someway bemused figure turned into the dark and dangerous face of war. Xena flinched. She put aside her mockery tone, and saved a smart reply for later, cause she knew all to well what an enraged god of war was capable of. She experienced a few times and she still had a scar or two to prove it. Her focus was reaching maximum levels, and the surroundings were almost dissolving under Ares' low breath. The moon itself felt menacing right now, and Xena's mind was racing while trying to find the right strategies for attack and defense, in order to ensure herself a clean victory, th as less bruises as possible.

On the other hand, Ares was so pissed off, that he could feel the earth shake under his feet. Watching Xena, he was weighing the pros and cons between strangling her or ripping her apart limb by limb with his bare hands, until he left her breathless. His chocolate brown eyes, were now two volcanos, and he was in deed on the verge of exploding. For a moment it seems thet the world froze, waiting for those two to start fighting, when suddenly, Xena's lips quivered into a tiny smile, and than, she just burst into laughter, letting one again a puzzled Ares, staring at her.

"What's so funny warrior princess? Should it be the mere thought of me burying you ten feet under those pink flowers?"

"No, but those rose petals in your hair are" And with that, she walked up straight to Ares, still laughing, picking the petals and handing them to him.

"Oh you must be kidding me!" Ares growled in frustration, shaking his head back, exasperation in his features. But, seeing his Xena laughing so hard and having such a good time, he couldn't resist it ,and soon ,they were both on the grass, launching like crazy, talking about one thing or another, a smile glued on their "prepare to die" faces.

This moments were quite rare between them, and they both knew that when this was over, things will just turn back to normal. The game would be on again, and the "you'll bag me for mercy" routine, will start.

Till than, the God Of War was just enjoying the site, of this other side of Xena, one he hasn't seen in years, one he would enjoy seeing every day, her eyes shining differently than what he was usually accustomed to, a side of her which she nowadays kept for that irritating blondie.

He reached for her and wrapped his arms around her, and to his surprise, his Xe made no attempt to punch him or something. They just sit like that for hours, still talking, still laughing from time to time, and for the second time in his life Ares felt that he just couldn't let go of her, not even if his life depended on it. He lost her once, when she started fighting the darkness inside her, and all this time, he wanted her back so badly that storms were forming inside his chest, each time she was walking away from him, each time she was rejecting him, denying what he still knew she was hiding deep down inside her heart. He wouldn't let her walk away from him again. He couldn't bear it.

"You know Xe, those flowers were worthed. I mean, having you in my arms like this….if I knew that pink flowers would do the trick, I would have stashed my temples with them each time you came to visit.". And with that he planted a kiss on Xena's raven hair, smelling he thought, exactly like those damn wildflowers ."I love you sweet, you know that don't you?"

But when no answer came, Ares noticed that his princess had fallen asleep ,encased in his arms. He smiled about it, thinking back at the countless long nights that this had happened, when they were together, before and during her warlord days, with her sleeping peacefully in his arms, with him just watching her till the first ray of light touched her beautiful face.. And now, she was always eager to fight him, to foil his plans, to enervate him, to ruin every single plan he might have, and yet, she knew that, if there was a place on earth where she felt completely safe, that was right there in his arms. He gently brushed a strand of hair from her face, kissed her lips, and with a thought, they were back at the camp site, right next to a snoring babbling bard.

He laid her down on her bedroll, and made sure that she was comfortable enough. And than, he just sat there, watching her for a while, mesmerized by the way the campfire and the moonlight were casting such worm light on her incredibly soft features. He would have given the world, to just lay there, next to her, and just caress her hair till morning came, holding her while she slept. His Xena.

"By the gods, you are so beautiful!" Ares said to himself ."My sweet Enyo, you could have it all, and yet, you choose to sleep here, in the middle of nowhere, next to this…snoring Medusa"

…But what the God of War failed to see, was Xena's lips curving a little, just a little bit, in the form of a smile.

"Anyway, Ares continued, sleep well princess. I'll keep an eye on you. And on the irritating blond. I love you sweet"….and with that ,he vanished, leaving a trace of blue spark behind.

"Thank you , Xena whispered when he was gone .I love you to, you know that"

From the aether, invisible to mortal eyes and far enough for Xena to sense him, still watching her, his heart stopped for a minute when he heard her, and, with incredible tenderness in his eyes he smiled and added:

"Anything for you sweet. Anything".