Contains m/f sex, and a high mush quotient.
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, everything else is.
Warning: Contains references to events up through A Family Affair, takes place at some hypothetical point shortly after that episode, so if you haven't seen through that point, spoilage may occur.
Gabrielle sat in the light of the campfire, writing quickly on a scroll.
I sing of...
I sing of...
Oh, to Hades with that nonsense! No one will ever read this but me. Gods, how did this happen? Maybe I should be praying to Aphrodite for answers, but I've met her, and she's so...well, I just don't have the faith in her that some do. All right. Deep breath.
Since Perdicas died, well, once I started dreaming again, I've had this dream about him from time to time. In my dream, I relive our wedding night. We had such a short time together. After Dahok, and Hope, and all the events of the last year, I didn't dream about him for a long time, only recently, now that my life is starting to get back to normal after Hope's death, have I started to dream about Perdicas again. Happy dreams.
Joxer was so helpful through this whole...thing...retrieving the hind's blood dagger, trying to kill Hope to protect my family, everything. I guess that must be when things really began to change, but it may have started before then. For a long time now, I've pretended not to notice his blind devotion to me. I thought if I acted like he didn't know, he'd be less hurt than if he believed I knew and still rejected him. And I've been terrible to him sometimes, but I didn't want to give him false hope by being too nice.
So when I woke up, sweating and gasping for air, and realized that instead of dreaming of Perdicas, I'd dreamt of Joxer, I was stunned. I sat up suddenly, struggling to catch my breath. Xena, ever alert, jumped to her feet, ready to fight.
"It's all right, Xena, just a crazy dream," I said. I felt a twinge of guilt about lying to my best friend, but I couldn't tell her the truth.
"Want to talk about it?"
"No, no. It was just strange. I'll be fine." I wasn't sure I believed that, but it would keep her from asking more questions. She lay back down and was asleep almost instantly. I lay back down, and stared up at the stars, but couldn't go back to sleep. I decided I had to write this all down, try to make some sense of it. Thank the gods Joxer isn't traveling with us right now. I couldn't face him.
So here I am.
Looking back at what I've written so far, it's hard for me to believe I call myself a bard, a storyteller. I think I'll start over.
I went to sleep next to Xena, by the campfire, just like most nights. It was all normal, until the dream.
It was like the room where Perdicas and I spent our wedding night, but somehow it was different, too, in that odd way places can be different but still the same in dreams. I was wearing a dress, similar to my wedding gown but not quite the same. The bed was surrounded by a white curtain, and when I turned from the window, and I couldn't see inside. I walked over and parted the curtain, still expecting to see Perdicas, even though this dream was a little different, wasn't quite how it happened.
When I pulled the curtain aside, I saw Joxer lying on the bed, waiting for me. Writing this now, I know that I should have been surprised to see him at that point, outraged that Joxer would invade my dream of my lost husband. It should have felt like I was betraying Perdicas' memory, but it didn't. It felt somehow right to see him there.
He was dressed simply, like he was when Aphrodite put that spell on him, in a plain shirt and pants. He smiled at me, a beautiful smile that made me feel warm all over, and reached out his hand to me. I took his hand and moved through the curtain onto the bed. I leaned toward him and kissed him.
When our lips met, it was the most pure, tender feeling I'd had in a long time. I felt loved, cherished. He put his arms around me, touching me gently, as if I might break. He brushed his fingertips across my cheek, and I turned my head to kiss the palm of his hand. I lay down next to him, and we pressed together, face to face. He leaned against me, and I could feel his hardness pressing into me through our clothing. I moved my hips, enjoying the sensation.
Piece by piece, we removed one another's clothing, caressing and kissing each other as more and more skin was exposed. He ran his hand gently across my left breast, then my right, and I felt my skin tingle.
I put both hands on his smooth chest, slid them up to his shoulders, then down his firm, slender arms, locking my fingers with his. He squeezed my hands and released them, then removed my last piece of clothing.
He kissed me, then ran his open mouth downward over my body, his breath hot, his teeth just barely grazing my skin. I gasped, and my fingers gripped the sheet. He paused to lick the hollow between my breasts, then the inside of the ridge of my hipbone where it meets my stomach. He placed one gentle kiss at the top of my triangle of hair, and I grasped his shoulders and gently pulled him back up to me. That could wait. I wanted to see him.
I removed the last of his clothing, and took his erection in my hand, feeling the smoothness of it. I rubbed the drop of moisture at the tip into his skin with my thumb, then brought my thumb to my lips to taste him.
He kissed me, and I pulled him into an embrace. In silent agreement to enjoy this moment, the feeling of skin on skin, we shifted position so I was lying on my side, with his arms around me and his body spooned against mine from behind.
I snuggled against him, and he held me tightly. His hardness lay along my hip, and when I shifted even closer to him, he shuddered, and I felt his ragged exhale of breath along my ear as he came against my thigh.
"I'm sorry," he whispered after a moment, "it's just...being with you, like this, it's so wonderful, I was just overcome."
"Don't apologize," I said, feeling tears come to my eyes, "I understand." There was something so tender in that moment, knowing that simply lying like this together excited him so much. It was beautiful, erotic, innocent.
I turned toward him and kissed his lips, his cheeks, his forehead, his eyelids, the tip of his nose. I caught one of his earlobes between my teeth and he whimpered into my ear. I kissed my way down his chest, and washed the stickiness away from his manhood with my tongue, savoring the taste of him. I felt him begin to stir as I took him in my mouth, and he pulled me back up to face him.
"I have loved you for so long, Gabrielle," he said.
"I know. And I've been so terrible to you. I--"
He put a finger to my lips to quiet me. "Enough time for talk later, my beautiful bard, my Amazon queen." He rolled me onto my back and kissed me, his tongue exploring my mouth. The tenderness I'd been feeling, changed to an ache of desire as he kissed me more fiercely, then again ran his mouth in a sensuous line down my body until he reached my sex.
The first touch of his tongue made me jump, and after the second and third, I was overcome by my need, and I again grasped his shoulders, pulling him up. I could feel his hardness against my leg, so I reached down, grasped it, and guided him in.
My desire, and his attention to it, had made me amply wet, so as I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him to me, he buried himself in me to the hilt on that first slow, delicious thrust. We held each other for a moment then, our eyes locked, enjoying the feeling of unity, not knowing where one of us stopped and the other began. Then our passion overtook us again and we set a pace together, thrusting and gasping and sweating, all the while looking deep into one another's eyes.
As we moved together, I could feel my climax building. My body trembled, and I went limp beneath him, waves of pleasure washing over me. I felt as though I were going blind. Then it happened, pulsing deep within me, and he stopped, his pulsing joining with mine. Then he fell back into my arms. Sweat had cooled on his skin, and holding him against me, it felt soothing on my heated body.
"Oh, Joxer," I breathed, "I've been a fool to deny this so long, but I was afraid."
"Of what, my sweet?" He ran his fingers through my hair and looked into my eyes.
"Losing you like I lost Perdicas. That I'm somehow cursed. I gave birth to the child of an evil god, I was the grandmother of the Destroyer--"
Again he put a finger to my lips to quiet me. "I understand." He smiled. "You love me too."
It was then that it began to seem strange to me. This was Joxer! How could I have made love to him? How could he believe that I loved him? I opened my mouth to deny it, panic and confusion welling up in my throat, and it was then that I woke up. I was right here, where I began, by Xena, by the campfire.
I still can't believe I dreamt that way about Joxer! But what a dream it was. It's so confusing. Could I really have feelings for him? I never imagined before that my feelings for him could ever change. Now I wonder. Could I really be falling for him? Or was it just a strange dream? I'll have to think some more about this later after I've had more sleep. I'm calmer now, writing always helps. I'll think more in the morning.
Gabrielle put the scroll deep in her pack and lay back down. Soon, she was asleep again.
Far away, by another campfire, in another forest, Joxer smiled in his sleep.
For disclaimers, etc. see that story. The only difference is that this one contains less mush. *grin*
Joxer settled down by his campfire, ready to go to sleep.
"Will I dream about Gabrielle again?"
He realized that he'd asked the question out loud. Not that he was expecting an answer. Not that it was unusual for him to dream about Gabrielle, he'd dreamt of her countless times, but the dream he'd had the other night had been different somehow.
He'd been in an unfamiliar room, in a curtained bed, but that wasn't the strange part. The strange part was the way the dream felt. It had been so real, and it had touched him emotionally in a way no other dream of her ever had. He was glad he wasn't traveling with Xena and Gabrielle; as much as he missed the spirited bard, having to see her after that dream and not be able to hold her, tell her how he felt, would have been unbearable.
He sighed. This wasn't getting him to sleep. He stared up at the stars and sang a few verses of his song. That always helped calm him. He got through about nine verses before he felt his eyes begin to droop, so he stopped singing, turned on his side, and finally drifted off to sleep.
He was lying by the campfire, sleeping. He was awakened by the feeling of someone's lips pressing against his own. His eyes flew open.
"Gabrielle!"
She kissed him again and pulled off his blanket. Tossing it aside, she replaced it with herself.
"Gabrielle!"
"Ever since the other night, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."
"Gabrielle, is that really you?"
"Yes, Joxer," she said, her voice low and seductive, "you remember the other night, don't you? You, me, a bed, us."
"Yeah," he breathed, and lost himself in her kiss.
Gabrielle sat up, straddling him, and he reached up to remove her top. As he freed her breasts, she ground her hips, rubbing against him.
She stood up, her eyes never leaving his face, and dropped the rest of her clothing to the ground.
He was breathless, enchanted by the sight of her nakedness. His eyes traveled down and back up and back down. She cleared her throat and looked pointedly at his still-clothed form.
"Oh, yeah, right," he said, and quickly started to remove his clothing, suddenly glad he hadn't slept in his boots and armor that night.
She didn't wait for him to finish. The moment his pants were off, she was on him again, knocking him back against his blanket. She kissed him, pressed herself against him, then lifted herself up.
He felt her hand on his erection, and then she lowered herself onto it, slowly taking him in. It felt so good. Joxer managed one last thought, "She's never been so aggressive before...I kind of like it," before all rational capacities were driven from him by the furious pace she set.
He raised his hips to meet hers, and ran his hands all over her body, her breasts, hips, face. All too soon, her rhythm became uneven, and he took over, keeping their pace steady while she came for what seemed an impossibly long time, moaning his name, and fell against his chest.
He moved beneath her, just enough to stay hard. She giggled, her face buried in his shirt.
"What's so funny?"
"I was just thinking, it's a good thing you didn't sleep in your armor, or I'd have had a hard landing there, not to mention the clanking."
He smiled and kissed her. The taste of her lips was intoxicating. Still buried within her, he rolled so she was on her back, and removed his shirt. He kissed her face, neck, mouth, then withdrew so he could continue his kissing farther down. She whimpered a protest as he left her empty, but then he reached down and plunged three fingers deep into her as he sucked and licked and nipped at her breasts.
"Oh, Jox-er," she said, her voice breaking on the first syllable of his name.
"Say that again," he said, and she did, as he continued moving downward. Keeping his fingers inside her, he attacked her sensitive button with his tongue.
She squirmed under the onslaught, but he tucked her legs under his arms, holding her as still as he could.
Then he felt her muscles clench and release against his fingers, and she cried out, shouting his name up at the night sky.
He pulled his fingers out and licked them off, savoring the taste of her. Then he kissed her mouth, and she licked her lips, clearly enjoying her own taste on his mouth.
She arched her back under him, and put her hand on his still-hard member. Taking the hint, he slid back into her and slowly pumped in and out.
"More," she whispered.
"You're insatiable, tonight, my love," he said, his tone teasing, "is this what you want?" He pumped harder and faster for a few strokes, then slowed down again.
She ran her fingernails up and down his back, making him shudder. "Please, Joxer, come inside me, now."
He couldn't ignore that plea, so he resumed the quicker pace, watching her wriggle with delight under him. Then, as he felt her climax, his arms gave out, and he fell onto her, and after a few more ragged thrusts, he came hard, screaming her name.
Spent and gasping, they lay like that for a while, their breath in one another's ears. Then he lifted his head to look at her.
"Do you know how much I love you, Gabrielle?"
"If that's how you show me, feel free to tell me how much anytime you like," she said with a grin.
"Never forget that I love you, Gabby. Never."
"And I-I do love you, Joxer, I do."
He rolled off of her and retrieved the blanket. Lying on his back next to her, looking up at the stars, he heard her breathing change to the rhythm of sleep, and he soon drifted off himself.
Joxer woke up, a smile on his face. "Just another dream," he said quietly, "but oh, what a dream it was." He sighed contentedly, rolled onto his side, and went back to sleep.
Elsewhere, Gabrielle sat by her own campfire, scroll in hand. Xena was sound asleep. "I thought the dream I had the other night was strange," she wrote, "but this one..." She paused, her brow wrinkled in frustration. She scribbled out the lines she'd written, then wrote, "Another dream tonight. Could it be..." and stopped again. With a quiet grunt of frustration she shoved her scroll back into her pack and lay down with a thump. She stared at the stars, unable to get back to sleep, until morning came.
The morning after his second amazing, strangely real dream of Gabrielle, Joxer awoke with a new determination. He was really going to do it, finally tell Gabrielle his true feelings for her. The question was, how? Every time he'd tried, he'd done something stupid or lost his resolve. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He packed up his camp and headed for the nearest village with a spring in his step and a song on his lips.
Gabrielle hadn't been able to get back to sleep. She'd woken up after a--well, passionate doesn't begin to describe the heat--but for lack of a better word she thought of it as a passionate dream--of Joxer. Since then she'd spent half her time wondering how she could possibly be having dreams like these about Joxer of all people and it couldn't possibly mean she felt something for him they were just dreams after all, and the other half shaking off all-too-appealing mental images--Joxer, bending her over a tree stump and taking her from behind, Joxer, naked in bed next to her, Joxer, worshiping every part of her body with his tongue, Joxer, sweating above her beneath her anywhere as long as he didn't stop...
She pretended to be asleep for a few minutes after she heard Xena get up. Then she stretched and yawned and rose from her blankets.
Over breakfast, Xena said, "I heard from the leader of those bandits we ran off yesterday that Draco is in a village not too far from here. Considering his feelings for you last time we saw him, it would probably be best if I checked it out alone. Why don't you head back to that last village, relax a little. I'll meet you there in, say, ten days? That should give me plenty of time to make sure he's not up to something." Silently, she added, "and give you time to work out whatever has you waking up in the middle of the night."
"Sure, Xena," Gabrielle said distractedly.
"I wonder if it's Joxer," Xena thought. "I hope so. He's so devoted, and he deserves a little happiness." She reflected, not for the first time, on the surprising lack of jealousy she felt. "Before, when I've felt this strongly about someone, it's always involved sex. But in some way, it feels like my relationship with Gabrielle transcends that physical level. It's more of a-a spiritual bond," she thought and smiled.
Gabrielle didn't notice her friend's absorption in her own thoughts. She was still lost in her own thoughts about her dream as she and Xena broke camp and headed their separate ways, agreeing to meet in ten days' time.
By the time Joxer reached the village, he had almost worked out the newest verse of his song. Humming merrily as he walked through the streets, he stopped and smiled at the sight of a familiar face.
"...I tell you, if you buy this from me, it will change your life. Women will throw themselves at your feet, men will envy you, you'll be the talk of the town!"
"But I still don't see how wearing a piece of fur on my head will do all that," the customer protested.
"Trust me, my friend, bald is not what the women want. They want a man with a full, glorious head of hair! Would my very dear friend Hercules get as many girls as he does without those long tresses of his? I think not!"
"But this stuff feels like boar's bristles, not hair! And gluing it on with tree sap...I'll get back to you." The man made a hurried exit.
"You'll be back, I promise you!"
Joxer approached the vendor. "Salmoneus, how are you?"
"I'd be doing much better if people were buying. Hey, you're not hiding a bald spot under that helmet, are you?"
"Sorry, no. Have you seen Gabrielle? Oh, and Xena?"
"Yeah, they were through here about three days ago. Headed west, I think. And let me say, Xena's still making a big mistake not letting me sell Xena souvenirs. I could get ri-uh, make her rich. So, do you need a gift for the lovely Gabrielle?" I could show you a fine assortment of--"
"No, I don't need anything. I've written a new verse of my song, just for her. It's almost done. But I'm afraid when I see her, I'll screw it up, forget the words."
"I pride myself on my fine musical ear, I was personal music consultant to the famous Widow Twanky after all, so let's hear it. I'll give you an experienced performer's opinion."
Joxer had heard a slightly different tale about Sal and the good widow, but decided an outside opinion couldn't hurt. He shrugged, took a deep breath, and sang.
"Joxer the Mighty,
he's in love with Gabrielle
can't think of a way to tell
without looking like a fool
so please Gabby don't be cruel
Joxer is in love with you
he hopes that you love him too
Joxer, Joxer the Mighty."
Joxer stood waiting for a reaction.
"Well, I probably could have done better, but it'll do. Now, how will you keep from messing that up, you'll be so nervous," Salmoneus drifted into silent thought. "I've got it! I'll sing it to her for you. In return for a small fee of course, but as you're a friend, I'll give you a discount. What do you say?"
"I don't know..."
Salmoneus was already lost in the world of a new business venture. "What a great service, sending singing messages to people! What shall I call it? Salmoneus' Singing Messages? No, too boring. Salmoneus' Singing Hermes-grams? No, wouldn't want to disrespect a god, besides, he might ask for a cut of the profits. Hmmm. That guy who ran all that way to carry that message--what do they call that race named after that? Marathon! Salmoneus' Singing Marathons? No, too sweaty. Well, I'll have to work on the name, but what do you think? Shall I sing to the lady for you?"
"No, I think I'll take my chances. I want to do this myself."
"Sure I can't interest you in a gift then?"
"No, thanks, I'd better be going if I'm going to catch up with her. See you." Joxer walked away, humming to himself.
Gabrielle walked along the road, whistling. When she realized what song she was whistling, she stopped dead in her tracks and shook her head.
"Whistling Joxer's inane song. What is wrong with me?" She again shook her head as if to physically shake the song from her mind, and kept walking.
The day of travel passed uneventfully for a change. When Gabrielle camped for the night, she lay still for a long time before going to sleep, wondering what she would dream.
Joxer worked more on the new verse of his song as he walked, and as he cooked dinner, and before he went to bed. He slept well, his new resolve giving him a peace of mind unlike anything he'd ever felt.
Gabrielle tossed and turned most of the night, her dreams filled with half-formed erotic images, body parts touching, fluids mingling, gasps of pleasure, moans of passion. She awoke early and started walking again just before dawn.
Joxer woke feeling refreshed and energetic. Singing, he set off for another day's travel.
Near midday, Gabrielle was walking down the road when she heard a voice up ahead. Remembering the bandits she and Xena had chased off, she tensed, ready to fight or hide. Then she heard the voice more clearly. It was Joxer, singing his song. Very loudly. He was still out of sight around a bend, but she could hear him more clearly as he drew closer.
"...can't think of a way to tell
without looking like a fool
so please Gabby don't be cruel
'cause Joxer is in love with you
Joxer, Joxer the Mighty!"
Just as he was about to launch into it again, he rounded the bend and spotted Gabrielle ahead. He tripped over a stone and fell to the ground in a heap.
Silently cursing himself as he stood up and dusted himself off, he felt a babble of words coming on. "You didn't hear any of that did you it was really a work in progress and I wanted it to be perfect for you and maybe I should've paid Salmoneus to sing it for you after all but I wanted to do it myself and now I've ruined it like every other time--"
Gabrielle approached him, quietly, slowly. Never before had the sight of Joxer tripping over his own feet been so oddly endearing. He was babbling now, but she wasn't listening. There was a strange buzz in her ears, and she felt the turmoil of the past few days slip away.
"--and hey, where's Xena, isn't this weather grand, I really really hope you didn't hear any of that because the song isn't finished really--"
Gabrielle was directly in front of him then, and she reached up to put her arms around his neck. He stopped speaking, his mouth still open.
"I think the song is perfect just as it is," Gabrielle said, and she kissed him.
Neither of them had thought it possible that the reality could be better than their dreams, but it was. When their lips met, it was as though the rest of the world ceased to exist.
They stood there like that for a long time. Then they stepped back a little and looked deep into one another's eyes. In that moment, those two people for whom talking was as natural as breathing needed no words. They joined hands and walked away from the road into the trees.
When they reached a quiet, grassy clearing some distance from the road, they stopped. They spread out their blankets and sat down facing one another.
Joxer reached into his pack and brought out the fruit he'd been saving for lunch. He held a piece out to her. She leaned across and took it from his hand with her mouth. She chewed, swallowed, then brought his hand back to her mouth to lick the juice from it. They fed each other lunch in silence, and as they ate, a hand caressed a cheek, a finger was taken into a mouth, lips met, eyes spoke volumes, the only breaks in the silence were deep inhalations of breath.
After the last morsel of food had been licked from their fingers, Gabrielle reached out and ran her hands down Joxer's chest. He helped her unfasten his armor and they tossed it aside. It landed with a clatter, but neither of them seemed to notice. Next to go was his shirt, then her top. They took turns removing items of each other's clothing, caressing one another as they went, until both were naked.
They explored one another's bodies with eyes, then hands, then mouths, memorizing the curve of a thigh, the taste of a shoulder. Joxer leaned in to kiss Gabrielle's mouth, and they leaned back together until they were lying on the ground.
Their kisses and caresses became more urgent. He dipped a finger into her wetness, ran it over the sensitive button of flesh, enjoying the way she twitched when he did that, and brought the finger to his mouth. She ran her hand gently along his shaft, watching him shudder as she ran a finger, feather-light, around the tip, spreading the moisture she found there, then brought the finger to her lips to taste. They kissed, the remnants of their tastes mingling on their lips.
The kiss deepened, and they could wait no longer. Joxer shifted position and Gabrielle reached down and brought him to her. Their bodies joined smoothly. It felt so good that both of them almost came just from the penetration. Then they began to move together. Slowly at first, then they picked up speed.
Both of them felt the climax building. With a quiet moan, Gabrielle came, and the feeling of her muscles clenching against him pushed Joxer over the edge as well. Somehow the feeling of their muscles pulsing together made it more intense, and, still gasping for breath, they held each other tightly until it ended. They lay like that for a while, enjoying the feeling of unity and completeness, until he softened and slipped out of her.
Joxer rolled over so he was lying next to Gabrielle, and she put her head on his chest. It was a warm day, and they were both relaxed and exhausted, so soon they were asleep.
When Joxer awoke a little while later, he was a little surprised to still see Gabrielle in his arms. He shifted a little so he could look at her, memorize her face, count her eyelashes as she slept. His smile was so wide, he felt like his face wasn't big enough to hold it. He shifted a little more, and Gabrielle woke up.
She stretched and looked at him with a smile. "Hello, you're still here," she said. "It wasn't a dream."
"I was just thinking the same thing about you," Joxer said, and kissed her.
Her eyes widened as the vagueness of sleep left her. "Joxer, all the times I've hurt you--"
"Shhh. It's all right my love. I know." He kissed her. His heart was pounding. "I love you, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle felt fear come over her again, she heard a heart pounding but wasn't sure if it was hers or his. Then she pushed her fear aside. "Joxer, I love you." When she said the words, for real this time, she felt strangely relieved.
They lay in silence for a while, then Joxer said, "So where is Xena, anyway?"
"Checking out what Draco's up to. We're meeting in nine days." Gabrielle laughed.
"What?"
"I'm just wondering if nine days will be enough time alone with you." The placement of her hand on his body illustrated what she meant. Then her face turned serious again. "I'm still going to travel with Xena, you know."
"I know. It's who you are. If you weren't with her, helping people, you wouldn't be you, and it's you that I love, so you have to. This doesn't have to change anything--I mean, other than the obvious," he gestured at their entwined bodies, "oh, and I hope you won't be pulling my nose or twisting my ears anymore." He smiled.
"I won't--unless you ask me to. Besides, there are better ways to get your attention." With a wicked grin, Gabrielle swooped down and took him into her mouth. He leaned his head back and moaned.
She continued her attentions, licking, sucking, enjoying the taste of him. When she heard his breathing change, she grazed her teeth ever so gently along his length. He came, and the feel of her mouth on him as she swallowed made him feel for a moment like the orgasm would never end. Of course, it did end, and Gabrielle, looking very pleased with herself, kissed her way back up his body. Again placing her head on his chest, she lay next to him, throwing one leg over his and an arm across his chest.
He sighed contentedly and said, "Well, for a way of getting my attention, that was, er, very attentive."
Gabrielle smiled. Some things had changed, but not others. Joxer was still his adorable, occasionally incoherent self. But she was going to have to remove "clumsy" from her description of him. He was anything but clumsy, at least in this setting.
As if he heard her thoughts, he suddenly rolled her onto her back. With almost predatory glee, he said, "Your turn!" As he licked and flicked her with his tongue, Gabrielle mentally underlined "anything but clumsy" and then stopped thinking entirely, her whole awareness focused in one small part of her body.
As she came, she arched her back and whimpered, then lay still, breathing deeply. He looked up at her, so beautiful, and finally his.
When he was again lying next to her, their hands drifted gently over one another's bodies, continuing the process of memorization and exploration. When her hand encountered his renewed erection, she raised an eyebrow at him, then pushed him onto his back.
She straddled him and slowly lowered herself onto his hardness. After a few strokes, he twisted his hips, rolling them over so she was on her back and he was in control. After a moment, she did the same. It became a sort of game, a challenge, and they rolled back and forth, giggling from time to time, until Gabrielle was overcome by her building orgasm and was unable to gather the will necessary to move, much less flip him over. Joxer grinned in triumph at the limp body beneath him. She was teetering at the brink, and then it came so powerfully that she took him with her. He collapsed onto her, gasping for breath, the sweat of their bodies mingling.
Later on, after dinner, after dessert, they lay by the campfire, spooned together under their blankets, sleeping the sleep of the happy and thoroughly exhausted.
Not far outside their clearing, a lone figure sat on a large tree branch, watching with a smile on his face. The appearance of a figure next to him didn't pull his gaze from the sleeping lovers.
"There you are, Junior. I need a favor."
"What else is new? Shhh, you'll wake them." Cupid pointed to Joxer and Gabrielle.
"They can't hear us. Wait, is that...boy, Xena'll be peeved when she finds out you shot her little friend," Aphrodite said.
"I'm never sure anymore who can and can't hear us. And I didn't shoot her. Just gave a little nudge. It's so seldom I see the real thing anymore, I figured his devotion deserved a reward. So I got their dreams hooked up. They did the rest."
"Yeah, it is good to see the guy happy. Come on, Cupes, let's go talk about that favor."
The gods vanished, leaving the two young lovers alone with their dream.
THE END
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