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.

Comments

[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]

Gabrielle laughed as her fingers continued to work the lather in his hair. "The deep in your chest, truly content purr?" Reaching behind her, she picked up the jar of water and rinsed the suds away, being careful not to get any in his eyes.

"Don't let momma mouse hear you compare yourself to a cat." Her lips twitched at the resulting imagery. "And the wagon wasn't full of sword fish but she did use one. Only Xena would think to use fish as a weapon."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"Truly content," he confirmed, head tilted back. "Kinda like this . . ." and demonstrated. His immitation of a cat's purring left quite a lot to be desired and sounded more like a lecherous old man than feline contentment. "Okay, well, so I'm not an actor, either," he laughed at his poor attempt at mimicry. "Mama mouse is more likely to laugh her little gray tail off at that."

"Ya know, I actually fought with a fish once. Just for the --" He grinned, "Halibut."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle groaned, "You know, you're lucky that you are sore or I would have pinched you for that one." She finished washing the suds away and leaned in to place a soft nip between his shoulder blades, "Okay, only you and Xena would think to use fish as a weapon."

She twisted her torso and replaced the jar on the small shelf behind her before returning to wrap her arms around Iolaus' chest. "I feel like a deep chested purr of true contentment myself at the moment." Gabrielle didn't know how she could be so lucky, but she would enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"Sorry, couldn't resist." Caressing her arms where they hugged him, he then reached backward with both hands and tried to hug her from behind. He felt completely warm and content but, more than even that, he felt loved, and that was a rare and wonderful feeling.

"It is kind of nice, isn't it?" he agreed. "At the risk of repeating myself, I could really get used to this."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

She didn't want him to stretch his abdomen muscles to hug her behind his back, so she placed a kiss on his neck before gently disengaging their arms. "Don't move. I'm about to show you how agile I am." Gabrielle grinned as she stood up very carefully and stepped out of the tub.

Before Iolaus could protest, she gingerly entered again, though this time she faced him. "Not quite acrobatic, but minimal spillage of water and now you won't have to stretch your abdomen muscles." She sat back into the warm water, sliding her legs on either side of his once again.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

For a brief moment he felt disappointment and resignation at her leaving the tub, but that quickly vanished when she stepped back into the water, facing him.

She was so close he thought he could feel the heat of her body, or was that just the water? Reaching out, he gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips then softly traced her lips.

"The view's just improved dramatically."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

She smiled before kissing the pad of his finger as he softly traced her lips. "I'm glad you're enjoying the view." Gabrielle's eyes softened as she looked at the man opposite her.

"I had it lucky, the view was just as beautiful where I had been sitting as it is where I'm sitting now." Her eyes slowly roamed from his eyes down the column of his throat to his chest and lower until she returned her gaze to his eyes with a grin. "Well, maybe it is a bit better."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"Thanks . . . I think," he grinned, letting his fingers trail down the line of her jaw to just under her chin. "Maybe you just need a closer look." He inched nearer, bending his knees under water so he could gently hook his legs around her (and so he wouldn't have to lean forward at the waist).

"How's this?" he asked, brushing her lips with his. "Better?"

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"Much." Gabrielle agreed as her lips brushed his as she spoke, then pressed harder in a gentle kiss. She fell into it, enjoying his taste before she pulled back with a smile.

Inching forward, she slid her legs around his body making it easier for him to reach her and for her to reach him. Gabrielle's fingertips stroked along his jawline, loving the feel of his skin under her touch. "I can definitely get very used to this."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

Finally able to reach her properly, he slipped his arms around her, drawing her close as he gazed into her eyes. "I still haven't decided if this village is a blessing or a curse. But being here with you is the greatest gift the gods could ever give me."

But though he did not voice it, he also knew the time would come when they would find their way home and resume their old lives.

"The truth is, I've already gotten used to this. To wake up every morning, knowing that the first thing I'll see is you beside me and that's . . . it's a wonderful feeling. I've never felt quite this way before. This . . . complete."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle's heart expanded further, something she didn't think was possible, as Iolaus' words warmed her soul.

"I have, too." Her voice soft in her confession as she gazed into his eyes. "The first thing I do when I wake up is look to your side of the bed, my hand already reaching to softly touch you to make sure it's still real and not one of my dreams."

She knew when they returned to their 'normal' lives, the memories of this time would be etched in her heart. If this was all that the gods would give them, then it would be treasured.

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"I know. I keep wondering when I'm going to wake up. Then I open my eyes and see you there . . ." He softly cupped her cheek, ". . . and can touch you . . . and know that this is really happening."

But what would he do if Hercules were to stumble onto the village and find himself trapped as well? Would he be forced to choose, between this newfound bliss with Gabrielle and his love for his best friend.

Gods, may it never happen! And if it did, may he have the strength to make the right decision.

"I always wondered what it would be like, if we found each other and had the time. If we weren't committed to other people. Now I think I know. Being with you is more than than I could ever have imagined."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

There was a wish in her heart that she would always be able to have this. That she wouldn't have to choose between being with Iolaus and being with Xena. There was a small voice in the back of her head that always whispered that she never would have been truly happy with Perdicas. That she would have longed to be by Xena's side eventually. Gabrielle had always ignored that voice, but deep in her heart she knew it was right. But, not with Iolaus. She would have managed to have both in her life, not choosing one over the other. How can you choose between the one that holds your soul and the one that makes you who you are?

"Every so often I have a recurring dream." Gabrielle's voice was low as she confessed something she'd never even told Xena. It began the night after she killed Hope. "I'm in a cottage with a daughter." Her voice stops as she takes a deep breath, "My daughter. She has beautiful blond hair and laughing eyes so much like her father's and we're waiting for him to come back home. Both of us light up when the door swings open and you stand in the doorway."

Gabrielle's hand rose to cup his cheek as well. "I'd like to think it is the gods giving me a glimpse into what might be, rather than what might have been."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

Iolaus opened his mouth to reply then closed it again as the words caught in his throat. What did he say to something like that? What could he say to such an image? Returning home -- a real home! -- to walk through the door and find her waiting, with their child in her arms? Their daughter?

He'd had something like that once, years ago, with Anya and their infant son. They'd been happy, the short time they were together but that life had come and gone in the blink of an eye; their deaths leaving him with an emptiness inside filled with ghosts and memories.

And yet. He'd longed for that happiness again. Someone to love him for who he was -- not simply because his best friend was the son of a god. And children! How he'd love to have children to call his own -- sons and daughters to carry on.

Tears misted his eyes at the thought.

"It's a beautiful vision," he said quietly as words finally returned to him. He wouldn't say dream, for who was to say what the future held in store? "Our daughter." Turning slightly toward the hand on his cheek, he kissed her palm. "My wife?"

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"Your wife." Gabrielle leaned forward ever so slightly and placed a loving kiss on his lips. She could only hope that he was right and that it was a vision rather than her mind reassuring her that she did have a maternal instinct.

Her lips curled into a smile, "It's a bit different than the dreams I had after Prometheus." Gabrielle rubbed the tip of her nose against Iolaus'. "I do love you, Iolaus. Sometimes it feels as if I have forever."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

Could that truly be what the Fates held in store for them, someday in the distant future, perhaps when they'd both grown too old to travel with Hercules and Xena were over? For he couldn't see either one of them willingly leaving the side of those heroic friends that meant the world to them.

"I wasn't sure at first if maybe I wasn't a little infatuated with you. I'd be a classic case, you know. Beautiful bard nurses clumsy, hard-headed warrior back to health?" He looked at her with open adoration. "But now I realize I was wrong. I wasn't infatuated. I was falling in love," he admitted. "You know what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder? It's true. It also hurts like hades. Especially when every dream is haunted by a beautiful woman you can't have."

He looked a little sheepish. "I had you in those dreams, tho."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle placed a kiss on either side of his lips, teasing him with their softness before kissing his lips proper. It was a kiss that held promise, not just the promise that passion would build, but also the promise that her dream was a vision. That some way, some day they'd be together.

"More like young village girl captivated by heroic warrior with a large heart that took the time to reassure her that she was special." She caressed his cheek with the back of her knuckles. "A classic case of a young girl falling in love with her dream."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"But you are special," he insisted. "You always have been. Xena saw it. I saw it, too. And I still do. It's there . . . right there . . . that beautiful light in your eyes and your heart." That Perfect Light.

Taking both of her hands in his, he kissed each before clasping them to his heart. "Whatever lies ahead of us, I'm going to hang onto your vision. Our vision." He smiled then, laughing at himself. "Let's see if you're still interested in 20 years time when I've got a grey hair and a sagging belly, while you're beating off every eligible bachelor in Greece."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

She laughed and shook her head. "I think even when you're ninety, you'll be able to take anyone. Not that I can ever see you with a sagging belly, but even if you did, I wouldn't notice the eligible bachelors in Greece. I'd only have eyes for one large hearted, beautiful souled, brave warrior that lights up a room with his smile."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

She meant him. Those words and the look in her eyes were really and truly for him. Not Hercules. Not the son of Zeus. But Iolaus.

I wouldn't put any dinars on the beautiful soul part, he thought. Not after Dahak. And that, more than anything, was most likely to burst the blissful bubble they'd built for themselves. But not now. Not tonight.

"You forgot demented or delusional," he said, keeping his tone light. "Because right now, I'm sitting with a naked goddess practically in my lap and I haven't tried to take advantage of the situation."

[potadeiabard.livejournal.com]

"Not demented or delusional at all. You're just tired and sore. Besides if anyone should be labeled demented and delusional, it should have been me." Her lips curved into a smile before she leaned forward, kissing him.

She'd seen the light in his eyes go out for a moment before Iolaus tried to hide it. Gabrielle didn't know what had caused that sad look, but she would try to help him forget it.

"I washed a naked god and didn't once take advantage of that."

[iolaus-lj.livejournal.com]

"Tired and sore, maybe, but there are a few body parts still working," he teased, kissing her nose. "The ones with out the bruises. Like these . . ." Gently tangling his fingers in her golden hair, he brushed her lips with his own, softly, before gently probing with his tongue and deepening the kiss. His free hand slid up her soft, damp skin to cup a pert breast and tease its nipple with his thumb.