H&M: After a Long Day (locked to Gabrielle) (NC-17)

[iolaus_dw]

Who knew that repairing and sanding floorboards could hurt more than fighting a hydra?

Iolaus had been on his knees most of the day, hard at work on the flooring to the derelict building that would house Herculaneum. Almost a third of the surface had to be replaced with new wood, which required measuring, cutting, fitting, then more sanding until not a single threat of splinters remained. The sun had already set by the time he looked up from his work and realized it was too dark to continue.

It wasn't until he started walking back to the hotel that he began to understand exactly how stiff and sore he was. He'd used muscles today he hadn't used in a long while (especially his bruised knees). His chest ached as bruised ribs only recently healed protested a day's worth of stretching and bending with little respite.

Reaching the door to his room, he fumbled the key from his belt pouch. Gods, he was tired! And he'd glady fight a dozen hydras for a long hot soak inthe bathing tub.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to stand a bit straighter as he opened the door. No sense worrying Gabrielle.

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[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle sat at the small table beside the window writing her thoughts down on the fresh piece of parchment when she heard the door open and she looked up.

Iolaus stood in the doorway, and though he masked it well, she could see the tired lines around his eyes and mouth. Pushing back from the table, she stood up to greet him. "How was Herculaneum?" Her gaze watched him closely for any signs of pain or hurt.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

Iolaus smiled at her greeting. There was nothing to match the feeling of arriving home -- temporary or not -- to find a woman you cared deeply for waiting to welcome you.

"It's going great," he said, closing the door. "I've got the floor about finished," he continued as he walked toward her. He moved a bit more deliberately than he normally would, all the better to disguise the fact that he felt like a 100 year old man.

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

Too long with Xena and too many hurts of her own for Gabrielle not to miss the deliberate way Iolaus held his body and walked. "That's great. I'm glad it's going well. So you'll feel like dancing a bit later? I found this place in the village that looks like fun, but it will definitely give us a workout." She wondered if Iolaus would admit that he was tired and hurting or would she need to be more straight forward.

Gabrielle crossed the room and slid her arm around Iolaus' waist, letting him lean on her if he'd like. "But first, you probably would like a nice long, hot bath."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"Dancing? Um, okay, sure." He managed a smile, quickly hiding his reluctance. "No problem! If that's what you want to do, we'll go dancing."

Suddenly he had the feeling that it was going to be a very long night. But if Gabrielle wanted to go dancing, then by the gods, they'd go dancing. (Or shuffling, in his case.)

"Definitely a bath first, tho," he confessed as slipped his arms around her. A very long, hot bath. "Otherwise, everyone within a mile is going to smell me coming."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

The fact that Iolaus put his arm around her waist and Gabrielle could feel a bit more of his weight told her everything she needed to know.

"You know, you could have just said, not tonight, Gabrielle I worked all day and I'm tired." Her lips quirked up into a smile as she turned her head and placed a kiss on his jaw. "I won't think any less of you if you admit that you're in pain or tired. And I don't really want to go dancing... well I do sometime with you, but not today." She moved her head back some so that she could look at him. "Where does it hurt? Or should I ask where doesn't it hurt?" Gabrielle made a mental note to help him with the building, he shouldn't have to do it all himself.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

His relief was clearly evident before he ever said a word. "You don't mind if I beg off tonight? Really. Because I do want to go dancing with you," he said quickly, "But . . . tonight wouldn't be good, no. I just didn't want to disappoint you." Iolaus reached up and gently caressed her cheek. "I don't ever want to disappoint you."

He sighed. "And I think everything hurts. Even my eyelids hurt, if you can believe that. And I thought fighting was strenuous! Try laying out and sanding a floor for 12 hours."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"Especially not long after fighting a water monster." Gabrielle raised her hand and cupped Iolaus' cheek, her thumb lightly caressing his skin. "And you could never disappoint me."

She walked with him toward the bathing chamber, stopping just inside the door. "Here, let me help you undress so you don't have to work any more muscles." Gabrielle reluctantly took her arm away from Iolaus' waist to turn on the warm water so it could begin to fill the tub. Her hands reached for the vest at his shoulder. "How are your ribs after all this? Do you need me to bind them after the bath?"

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle bent her head to give Iolaus better access to the ties of her halter top, or so it looked but she wasn't above taking advantage of the situation.

She placed an open mouthed kiss on a patch of skin on his chest that didn't have dirt or a bruise. Her lips curled into a smile against his skin as she felt his muscles jump under her touch.

"Yep, you were right about there." Gabrielle's lips were feather soft against Iolaus' skin as she spoke.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

Iolaus replied with a short, surprised intake of breath as her lips and breath against his chest made his skin tingle. His fingers fumbled all the harder at her leather ties, finally pulling them loose. The halter began to slip and he helped it along by gently pulling the straps off her shoulders and down the length of her arms.

He hesitated to touch her creamy white skin with his grime-covered hands, and so let them begin to work at removing her leather skirt.

Glancing over his shoulder at the nearly full tub, he said almost casually, "I think we're about to flood the bathing room."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle had forgotten about the water, well not actually forgotten, but got distracted from the water. A slight pink tint colored her cheeks as she smiled at Iolaus and stepped out of her skirt that had pooled at her feet with his expert touch.

"I had my mind on other things and after the zombie destruction and monster goop throughout the hotel, we probably better not flood the bathing chamber." She reluctantly stepped back from Iolaus, before leaning over and turning off the handles of the spouts. "I promise I won't scent the water..." Gabrielle looked over her shoulder with a grin, "unless you want me to."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

As Gabrielle bent over the tub, Iolaus let his gaze caress her naked body. Her buttocks were firm and creamy white, inviting him to reach out and touch. He looked down at himself, covered in dust and grime caked on by a day's worth of sweat, and forced himself not to reach out and touch her.

"Um, think I'll pass on the scented water, thanks."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle stood back up and nodded, "right, no rose or lilac scent for the water." She reached her hand out to him, "I'll let you get in first, then I'll slide in behind you."

It was so she could wash his back better and he wouldn't have to turn, but it was also so she could watch his movements getting in the bathing tub and washing. How would he hold his ribs? Did his back hurt from more than just day labor? Iolaus would try to hide the worst hurt from her, but she wanted to judge for herself.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"If you're sure you want to," he said as he took her hand. "That water's gonna get pretty filthy about 2 seconds after I get in."

Taking care not to put too much weight on her hand, he stepped over the basin rim and slipped his right foot into the water. Nice and hot, just the way he liked it. Still holding her hand, he brought the left foot into the tub. So far so good. Now to try and sit down.

Reluctantly releasing her hand, he placed his hands on either side of the basin and lowered himself into the water -- slowly, keeping his back and abdomin as upright as possible. There really wasn't any way for him to make it seem natural. Bending clearly hurt like hades, especially after a day's worth of working on hands and knees.

Looking up at her through a swirl of steam, he said, "Come on in. The water's fine."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

She was silent, thinking of Iolaus' childhood and how very different it was from her own and yet how similar. "I wasn't very good at the weaving clothes and farming pigs. Everyone thought, I thought, I was too good for it so I didn't put an effort into it. I was just bad. You escaped through physical means and I escaped in the stories in my head. Then when Xena came, I was outta there like an arrow."

Her lips were soft as a butterfly's wing as she pressed them against his skin and her hands caressed his chest. If she could suspend time, keeping them just like this, she would. When they were wrapped around each other, was one of her favorite times.

"I don't know about all of Greece knowing my name, a few cities would be nice though. I'm glad you think I was born for more." It humbled her greatly that both he and Xena saw something in her that went beyond the village girl from Potadeia. "Maybe I'll be in the same sentence alongside the mighty Iolaus, with the generous heart and brave soul, that fights beside Hercules."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

Iolaus wondered what Gabrielle's life would have been like had she stayed in her little rural village. But no, in his mind's eye, he simply couldn't imagine her there.

He wrapped his arms around her arms as where they encircled his chest, hugging what small portion he could reach of her.

"I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for stories about the mighty Iolaus," he said, chuckling at his own expense. "Maybe stories about 'that short guy' standing next to Hercules. Or maybe 'that blonde guy' over there. Guess it's a good thing Joxer isn't a bard, because he keeps calling me Ioafus."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"Ioafus?" Gabrielle grinned, glad he couldn't see her. "Did he ever tell you of the time Aphrodite enchanted my scroll?" Her grin turned into a wide smile at the memory of that day, though at the time it wasn't funny. "Next time you see him ask him about the three dancing versions of me." It still embarrassed Joxer when she would mention his conjuring her. "You might threaten him with bringing that up the next time he calls you Iofaus."

She slid her body back from his just for a moment and reached for a clay jar on the ledge above the bathing tub to wet his hair.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"Three dancing versions of you?" he repeated, eyes widening. "Really?" Grinning, he tried to imagine what he would do with three dancing Gabrielles. No, he didn't need to imagine. He knew exactly what he'd do with them.

"I don't suppose you still have that enchanted scroll lying around," he teased, then laughed. "No, on second thought, knowing 'Dite, I'm betting it caused you more trouble that it was worth."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"It was." She agreed with a laugh and dipped the jar into the still warm water to carefully pour of Iolaus' hair. "Though hindsight it was very funny. Ares and 'Dite lost their god powers and all I'll say is they didn't understand the concept of bathing as well as we do."

The warm water slid over Iolaus hair, turning it a shade of dark blonde. "She enchanted the scroll so that the spell wouldn't end until I came to the end of the parchment." Gabrielle replaced the jar to the shelf and picked up the shampoo. Gently, she began to rub the liquid soap into his locks. "Thank the gods, I didn't do a lot of damage. Though watching Xena defeat a warlord with a wagon full of seafood was almost worth it."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"Seafood?" He laughed out loud. "Don't tell me. It was a wagon full of swordfish, right?"

Tilting his head back so she could gain better access to his hair, he closed his eyes, loving the feel of her fingers working their magic against his scalp. "You know, if I were a cat, I'd be purring up a storm right about now," he sighed.

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"No, I didn't lose my memory. The Darsham, Enlightened One, sent Xena forward in her karma life to defeat a very powerful enemy." One of Gabrielle's hands moved from Iolaus' face to lightly touch the ends of her short hair. "Her name is Alti and she had taught Xena most of her skills."

She shook her head, displacing the memories and returned her gaze to Iolaus. "I made Naima send me after Xena to my next karma life when we were together again. We weren't ourselves, I was male, but I recognized her immediately. My soul knew hers." Her lips twitched slightly at the memory of looking in the mirror and seeing a male face looking back at her.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"That's incredible," he said, fascinated by her reminiscence. "So, what you're saying is, our souls don't stay in the Elysian Fields or the Light or whatever their afterlife is when they die. They go on to live other lives as different people? Over and over again?"

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"Yes. I didn't believe it either at first but after Naima sent us forward, I couldn't doubt it any more. Naima said that Xena and my life are forever connect, just as hers and Alti's are connected. Through many lives we will meet each other and Xena will defeat Alti in every carnation."

Gabrielle grew silent for a moment, debating whether to tell Iolaus about her own crucifixion and coming back from the dead. There would always be rumors about her and Xena's death, that he probably no longer paid attention to them.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"No kidding?," he said, bemused. "So, we just keep going? Dozens, maybe hundreds of lives? And we keep meeting the same people, over and over again? Huh. How about that. I'll bet that keeps the Fates pretty busy!"

Absently brushing a strand of damp hair from her forehead, he seemed to be looking beyond her. "Wonder why Michael never mentioned that to me," he murmured, thinking aloud. "Must have been one of those need-to-know things."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"Not the same people, just certain ones that are bound to us..." Gabrielle's eyes grew large as what else Iolaus said finally sunk in. "Michael? Blonde with black wings, Archangel Michael?"

She cupped his cheeks once again, this time to hold his head still while she searched his eyes. "You met Michael? The only way I know that you can see him or meet him is through death. What happened, Iolaus?"

It didn't matter that he was sitting in front of her, and it didn't matter that she herself just came back from the dead. It tore at her soul that he had died.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

Iolaus had been thinking aloud and so was startled by her reaction to a comment he thought only he would understand. And by her distress, he suddenly realized that the rumors he and Hercules had heard of Xena and Gabrielle's deaths were far closer to the truth than either had credited.

Reaching up to gently place his hands over hers, he returned her gaze and confirmed, "Archangel Michael. Definitely blonde but no wings. Well, not that I ever saw, anyway, and I was there for a while." In fact, he'd been made a Guardian of the Light . . . until he'd betrayed it to warn Hercules of the Reckoning.

She'd asked what had happened, meaning his death.

Dahak happened, he thought, wincing at a sudden flash of remembered pain.

"It's ancient history," he continued aloud, wanting to disspell the fear and anxiety in her eyes. What good would it do to describe to her the agony of his death? It would only cause her unnecessary anguish that he would spare her, if he could. "The important thing is that I'm back and I'm here. With you. That's all that matters."

It was not lost on him that she knew Michael and how that meeting must have come to pass.

"You?" he asked softly, searching her gaze. "We heard stories, Herc and me. Stories from Rome, that said Ceasar . . ." He moved his hands from hers and suddenly wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close. "Gods, Gabrielle! We thought that's all they were. Rumors. If I'd known . . .!"