”Xe … Xena … you scared me,” Gabrielle smiled, immediately looking down to the sword. Xena didn’t usually lean in such an arrogant stance unless she was off to battle or out to make a point. Which was this? She looked back up into Xena’s eyes, partly afraid of what she would silently be telling her with her often transparent expressions.

Would Xena call her out on her strange behaviour? She sure seemed to understand more about the situation than Gabrielle.

”You wanna practice?” Xena grinned, alluding to the many practices she’d had with Gabrielle to aid in her abilities to fight in order to defend herself. And even in the state Gabrielle was in, she couldn’t help but find humor in the question, as the two often teased one another quite freely.

”You mean you want to show me I’d never win against you? Oh sure, Xena. Whatever you want, Xena. Just another humiliating surrender.”

Xena laughed aloud for only a moment, pursing her lips shortly after. Gazing at Gabrielle in that tender way that her friend couldn’t quite seem to comprehend. ”Oh, I wouldn’t say it’s humiliating.”

When Gabrielle crossed her arms, Xena let out a large breath of laughter.

”Well … more like … frustrating, perhaps?”

”Nope. Humiliating,” Gabrielle smiled, turning around again to feel that rush of excitement fill her, as it would with any two friends. Right?

The fire crackled fiercely, and then died down for another moment as Xena took a deep breath in and let it out. It was becoming more difficult not to linger on the curves of Gabrielle’s body – to ignore those elaborate feelings. To tease so playfully when all she wanted was to catch those soft, slender fingers in her mouth, and-

”All I’m saying is I need some advantage,” Gabrielle insisted, pivoting as she interrupted Xena’s indecent thoughts. The warrior quickly shook the thoughts away, and smiled back at her friend’s adorably insistent positivity.

”I’ll only use one hand.” And given her previous train of thought, Xena tightened her grin.

Gabrielle sighed, and rolled her eyes at the idea. ”Yeah, right! Like THAT’LL help me.”

I love you. It was such moments when Xena wished she could say it in the romantic way she felt it and not simply the love they had shown for each other as friends – her adoration for the woman before her mounting with each conversation. Gabrielle could even stroke Xena’s ego without intention, and that was arousing on its own. Everything about Gabrielle was satisfying.