Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8
Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40
Overheard Conversations: Missing Scenes by Kerensa.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 1/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Overheard Conversations
By Kerensa
Part 1
“Strife!” Joxer looked up in surprise as his nephew-in-law and fellow god flashed into the temple.
“Joxah.” Strife looked like he had been smacked upside the head. He was swaying and looked even paler than usual, if that were humanly…er…godly possible. He immediately clamped one hand tightly over his mouth, desperately trying not to throw up and one hand on his slightly protruding belly. The God of Mischief was only four months pregnant but he was already showing.
“Sit down quick, before you fall down.” Joxer suggested to his friend. Strife created a chair and cautiously sat down.
“I tell yah one of tha things I miss tha most about bein pregnant is not bein able ta just plop down. Ya gotta sit real easy or tha baby protests.”
Joxer just nodded. He could commiserate, after all he was seven months pregnant himself. Seven and a half he amended to himself.
^^^^^^
On the far side of the temple, unseen by the pair of young gods two bright flashes of light appeared. One of the lights was red and had sparks that went shooting off in every direction, the other one was blue and it had little arrows that came zipping out from it. The two other gods flashed into the temple in a bad temper.
Cupid looked over at his father, Ares looked back at his son and they both grimaced. The two gods shared a common foe, namely young, pregnant husbands who wouldn’t listen to common sense and do like their smarter, wiser husbands have told them to.
Before either of them could make a move there was a flash of pretty sparkly rose light with falling hearts. Aphrodite appeared in front of them in almost as bad a temper. “Hold it right there Cupie, you too Ares. Look, listen and maybe you will learn a thing or two.” Dite looked them up and down appraisingly. Obviously not too impressed with what she saw Aphrodite curled her lip sardonically. “Maybe.”
“I’m going to turn time back for one minute and we’re going to watch Joxie and Strifey. They won’t be able to see or hear us, but be quiet anyway, ‘cause I don’t want to miss anything.” Aphrodite snarled at them.
The dirty look that accompanied this statement caused both gods to use their brains and shut up. Neither one of them wanted to piss off the Goddess of Love. They both liked having sex more than once a century, thank you very much. Aphrodite glared at them again and noted how they weren’t moving. Satisfied Dite nodded, her long blond curls bouncing attractively. (Naturally. She’s the Goddess of Love.) With a snap of her fingers and a twirl of her hand a barrier went up around the trio and time started up again.
^^^^^^
Joxer was lying on a long cushioned chair (a couch to you and me) reading a scroll and laughing quietly to himself. His soft cotton shirt and loose pants did nothing to conceal how pregnant he was. Instead of looking ungainly or awkward, Joxer’s pregnancy made him seem more graceful and beautiful. Joxer’s slender, pale feet sticking out of the dark brown pants was so endearing and it made him look even more innocent than usual.
Strife flashed in unexpectedly, looking pale and miserable. His light from his flash was subdued, without any of the usual extras he liked to include. Like hopping frogs or locusts. Strife’s black leather tunic and pants only accentuated how wan he looked.
Cupid was surprised at his husband’s haggard appearance. He tried to go to his shaky young husband but was prevented by the barrier his mother had put up. Before he could do more than the token, “Mom,” protest, Strife create a chair and sat down.
Joxer scrambled around until he was able to get off the low couch. As he was getting up he grabbed a golden bowl out from under his couch and quickly handed it to Strife. Poor Strife was sitting on the edge of the chair, hunched over holding his mouth. “Breathe deep. Come on take nice deep breaths,” Joxer instructed.
“That has got ta be the lamest advice anyone evah gave.” Strife clutched the bowl desperately. “What lame-brain nitwit thought that crap up anyway.” Strife groused as he obediently took several deep breaths.
Joxer grinned sympathetically. “Obviously somebody who’s never actually been sick.”
“Yeah. Usually when I take ah deep breath I smell somethin that makes me want ta heave more than evah.” Strife closed his eyes and concentrated on not seeing his lunch again. Once was more than enough, thank you very much.
“What can I do anything to help? Do you want something to drink? Oh wait, sorry, I can’t get you anything.”
“What.” Strife looked up in surprise. “How come?”
“*Ares*.” Joxer growled. Now Joxer’s growl wasn’t as loud or threatening as the other god’s (more of a puppy-like growl), but it was a sound that was seldom heard. That made it even more startling. Nice, sweet Joxer *never* growled.
^^^^^^
Ares winced at hearing his name spoken so sternly by his normally soft-spoken, loving husband.
^^^^^^
Frowning, Strife looked at his friend. “What, Unc has somethin against ya givin out drinks?”
Joxer stood there pouting, his hands on his waist. Well, at least where his waist used to be. “No, your *Uncle*, in his mighty, all-knowing, infinite wisdom, has decided I’m too stupid to come in out of the rain. So he has put a protection spell around this room. While it’s up I can’t use *any* of my powers. ‘For my own good.’” Joxer’s face scrunched up cutely.
^^^^^^
Joxer’s statement caused Aphrodite to turn and give a shamefaced Ares her dirtiest look. It was a look that just screamed that something vital was going to fall off in the near future. Ares turned, subtly shifting his privates out of the line of fire. He tired to ignore Aphrodite as he watched his husband and nephew-in-law.
Cupid just looked at his father in admiration. “Damn, I wish I’d have thought of that Pop. Strife’s been havin’ kind of a hard time with this pregnancy and he’s supposed to be at home resting, but is he.” Cupid flapped his snow-white wings energetically several times in exasperation. “Nooooo, instead he’s flashing all over Olympus making himself sick. I just don’t know what I’m going to do with tha…mmph.”
Dite stopped Cupid in mid-rant by slapping her hand, none too gently, over his mouth. The dirty look he received didn’t promise anything falling off, but it did predict several long and frustratingly celibate evenings in his future. Aphrodite smiled a sweet, loving smile and Cupid shivered in fear. “Cupie honey, didn’t I tell you to SHUT UP and LISTEN!” Cupid’s eyes got very big and he just nodded his head at his mother and shut up. At last.
^^^^^^
“What did ya do ta make Unc restrain ya.” At this Strife giggled gently, nothing at all like his usual maniacal giggle. (You know which one I mean, the one that makes murderers run crying for their mommy’s.)
Joxer’s normally pale face flushed a delicate rose color at the innuendo. “Restrain ya powers that is.”
“I went to a tavern in Thrace.” Joxer cleared his throat. “One located in the sailor’s quarters.” Strife’s eyebrows shot up at that and Joxer frowned. “It was perfectly safe.” Joxer sat back down, slowly and pouted indignantly. “I am a god you know. I mean, as the God of Peace, I’m supposed to spread peace. I had to stop that tavern fight, innocent people could have been hurt.” Joxer stopped, assuring himself that he didn’t sound defensive. No sir, he had no reason to be defensive. None what so ever. Nope. None…uhm.
Strife just watched Joxer’s rant. He patiently waited until his friend settled back down. “So,” Strife drawled, “ya went into a rowdy tavern. Ta stop a fight. While ya’r seven months pregnant.”
“Seven and a half,” Joxer corrected automatically. “And yes I did. There was nothing wrong with my going down there. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I have to stop working.” Realizing this wasn’t getting him anywhere Joxer sat up straight, pulled his shoulders back and continued to rationalize, I mean, explain. “I was talking with Eris the other day and she told me that when she was pregnant with you she still managed to keep up with *all* of her godly duties.” Joxer finished his speech with an emphatic snap of his head and a ‘there, take that’ attitude.
“Um huh,” Strife said noncommittally.
After a long (dare I say it) pregnant pause, Strife looked thoughtfully at his scowling friend. “So…ya took advice from Ma, huh. Maybe ya should be locked up.” Strife smiled at Joxer to show that he wasn’t serious. Joxer smiled back at his friend. “Jerk.” Joxer threw a small pillow at Strife.
“Thanks I needed that,” Strife said catching the pillow. He giggled and started to hand it back when Joxer waved and told him “keep it”.
“Don’tcha need it Joxah. Oh, never mind.” Strife giggled again when he saw the pile of pillows on Joxer’s couch, around it, under it. Seeing that it wasn’t needed he tucked the pillow behind his back in obvious relief.
Returning to the conversation, Joxer said, “I would have been just fine, you know.” Joxer ran a hand over his light brown hair. It had gotten ruffled when he jumped, err, got up earlier. “Hello, I’m a God now. It’s not like I’m a mortal anymore, even if I am still a klutz. I would never do anything to hurt our baby.” The last sentence was spoken quietly while Joxer looked at the medium-sized lump he was rubbing.
“Well of course ya wouldn’t evah endangah tha baby.” Strife watched Joxer who looked so sad. Nodding decisively, Strife started snickering and Joxer looked up from his brooding.
“What’s funny?” Joxer wasn’t mad, he was just curious. He knew Strife would never make fun of him. They had both been ridiculed enough in their lives to ever intentionally hurt each other.
“I just got this pictcha in my mind of Unc…pregnant. Can’tcha just see it. There Unc would be standin in tha middle of a battlefield. He’s out ta here preggers, wearin’ a long black leathah tunic. In one hand he’s wavin a sword in tha othah hand he’s got a glass of milk. And he’s yellin’ ‘Don’t piss me off, I’ve got hormones workin heah.’”
Strife stopped laughing and sat quietly, watching Joxer expectantly. As anticipated, he didn’t have long to wait. Joxer frowned as he leaned back on the couch and absently continued to stroke his stomach. After a little while the frown cleared and Joxer looked up at a gently smiling Strife.
“Do ya get it now?” Strife looked at his friend steadily. “Not a very comfortin pictcha is it?”
“You…are a tricky god.”
“Thank ya.”
“Umh huh. No I don’t like that picture…not at all. All right I think I get it now. I understand more of where Ares is coming from. I’ll try to behave.”
“Good, ‘cause the world needs more haves.” Strife piped up cheekily.
Joxer snorted and rolled his eyes as he got the joke. “Speaking of behaving, aren’t you supposed to be resting at home? Cupid will probably have a fit.” Joxer look around, mildly surprised that the winged god hadn’t already come running to collect his wayward spouse.
Strife nodded sagely. “Yes, I’m supposed ta be restin’ and oh yeah, Cupie’s gonna blow big time.” Strife made a noise like a blast as he threw his hands out, mimicking the fallout from an explosion.
Joxer smiled as he watched these antics. Strife was always so entertaining. “So then what are you doing here?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
“Oh…what?” Confusion obviously reigned supreme here.
“No really, I ain’t kiddin ya. I don’t know how I got heah. I have no idea what happened. One minute I was standin in tha bedroom trying ta put on some different shoes and thinkin to mahself, ‘I’d like ta go see Joxah today.’ Tha next thing I know, whoosh, I’m here with you.”
“What?!” Joxer quickly sat back up. “Are you telling me that you didn’t flash here deliberately?”
“Nope.”
Strife’s abrupt answer was a good indication of how worried he was. If something could be said in one word, Strife babblingly took 5. The more worried he was the wordier his sentences became. Unless he was really scared and then he became virtually monosyllabic.
“Crap. That’s not good.” Joxer frowned at his fellow pale god.
“Nope.”
“You could end up anywhere. I don’t know about you but there are a lot of places I really wouldn’t want to flash to all of the sudden…” Joxer stopped talking abruptly and put his hand over his mouth in horror. “Oh gods, I’m sorry. I didn’t think, that just popped out.”
“It’s okay Joxah,” Strife said quietly.
^^^^^^
On the other side of the temple there were now three thoroughly confused and upset gods.
Ares had gone from being really happy to extremely anxious in the space of about 2 seconds. He was thrilled when Joxer finally understood why he was so upset about Joxer going down to earth. On the other hand he now had to worry about the unexpected turn the conversation had taken. What was going on with his nephew?
Cupid was naturally worried (All right he was scared youknowwhatless.) about Strife flashing around without planning it. To top it all off, it now looked like there was some big dark secret that he and Joxer shared. Cupid didn’t like that one bit. His husband should be confiding in him, not a friend. Even if that friend were someone as nice as Joxer.
Aphrodite was beginning to have serious doubts about her plan. It sounded like Joxie and Strifey had a big secret they were keeping. She didn’t want it to hurt any of the people she loved when it came out.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 2/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Extra Note: I want to again thank my mother. Some of the food Joxer eats is similar to what she ate when she was preggers with me.
Part 2
“I’m sorry if I upset you.” Joxer’s voice was tremulous. Strife started to reassure his friend, but didn’t get the chance. Joxer started crying and couldn’t seem to stop. Strife hurried over and sat down beside his friend. Strife magicked up a handkerchief and gave it to a grateful Joxer. Strife ran his hand soothingly up and down Joxer’s arm. “You know what I hate most about being pregnant?” Strife shook his head no. “I hate the HORMONES.” Joxer went from crying to yelling in less time than it takes to tell it.
Strife watched wide-eyed as Joxer jumped up. (Yes certainly he jumped, he was a pregnant, hormonal god and if he thought he had jumped then he had jumped.) Joxer started pacing. “Sometimes I get so mad I could just scream,” Joxer yelled. “Most of the time I start bawling like a baby.” Joxer gritted his teeth. “Then there are these moments when I just want to…to pull something’s head off. Man, woman, goat, I don’t care which.” By now Joxer was waving his hands around and striding up and down in front of his couch.
“Are ya sure you went down ta that tavern ta *stop* tha fight.” Strife’s quiet joke was a good distraction and stopped Joxer cold. He just looked at Strife who was wearing such a serious face. Then Joxer began laughing. The storm over, Joxer sat back down, cautiously and smiled at his friend in appreciation.
“See I told you that hormones suck. Lucky you, you haven’t had to deal with them yet. You or Cupid.” Joxer snickered evilly.
Strife got up and moved back over to his couch so that Joxer could lay back down. He smiled at his friend in an attempt to lighten the conversation. “So where is Unc anyway?”
“Thessaly.” Strife’s mouth fell open and his eyes almost popped out of his head. Strife looked around at the empty hall. Joxer winced at the horrified look on Strife’s face.
“Wait a minute.” Strife leaned forward, grunting and rubbing the side of his stomach as he did. Joxer frowned at this and was about to comment when Strife went on. “Da ya mean to tell me Unc restricted ya powahs an then left ya here, alone. Alone and helpless.” Strife’s voice got louder and louder until the last word was almost a shriek.
“I think he forgot.” Joxer muttered quietly as he watched his friend get mad on his behalf.
“Damn, don’t he know there are people out there who will take advantage of that kinda situation. People who look for somebody alone and vulnerable, so they can hurt em.” Strife stopped ranting and slumped back in the chair, panting. As soon as he got his breath back Strife continued. “No, I guess he don’t. Lucky bastard.” The last sentence was spoken without venom and oh-so quietly, but everyone heard it anyway.
“Strife, who in their right mind would come into the temple of the God of War and hurt that somewhat volatile (*somewhat*-Teehee) god’s husband. His very pregnant husband. Nobody’s *that* crazy. I don’t think I was ever in any real danger.”
Strife looked at his innocent friend sadly. “I know ya don’t.” Unfortunately Strife knew better. Quietly he said, “Joxah there are a lot of people who ain’t in their right minds.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Joxer agreed with Strife thinking of his own brothers. Both gods looked upset.
^^^^^^
Across the room the older gods were upset too. Ares couldn’t believe he had forgotten and left Joxer all alone and what the hell did Strife mean that there were people who would take advantage? Who were these people and how exactly did Strife know about them.
The three older gods were trying to figure out this confusing new information. Preoccupied, they missed it when Strife zinged the subject off in a totally new direction.
^^^^^^
“…beer to drink. I haven’t had one in a long time.” Joxer said longingly.
“Oooo…I like tha sound ah that.” Licking his lips in anticipation, Strife started waving his hands around. With a tiny flash of light two mugs, filled with frothy yellow liquid appeared. One appeared in Strife’s hand and the other one landed in Joxer’s. With relish both gods began to drink.
^^^^^^
“Beer,” Ares roared. Cupid was upset too, he just didn’t yell as loud.
Aphrodite had finally had enough of the two Neanderthals standing next to her. For pity’s sake were these two ever going to learn anything. She reached out two exquisitely manicured hands and popped both of the men on the back of the head. When she had their attention she said, “Do you two idiots really think they would do anything to hurt their precious babies?”
Dite’s growl was one that was worthy of Ares himself. It had Ares, being the macho War God he was…cowering in fear behind his winged son. “Hold still Cupid,” he told his unhappy shield, “she won’t blast her own son.” Both men waited, seeing if Ares’ hypothesis would hold true. Aphrodite rolled her eyes. “Idiots.” She turned back to observe the two pregnant gods.
^^^^^^
Strife watched as Joxer gulped down his second mugfull of *butter beer*. “Sooo, when did ya run outta somthin ta drink?” With a flick of his finger, liquid bubbled back into the mug, refilling it.
“Noon.” Joxer barely paused in his drinking to answer Strife.
“Ya hungry too?” He shook his head sadly at Joxer’s swift nod.
^^^^^^
Aphrodite was thoroughly disgusted. Joxie was starving! She reached over and hit Ares again. Several times. On his arm this time.
Ares was starting to become bruised from all of this abuse. He didn’t even notice. His husband had been thirsty and hungry all day. And vulnerable? Ares watched as his nephew flashed up some sandwiches that his young husband ravenously attacked.
Ares had forgotten about the protection spell he had cast. This morning had been hectic. Ares had received some bad news about a war he was trying to start. He was more distracted than usual lately, because he was having to do Strife’s job as well as his own. Quite frankly he wasn’t nearly as good at causing trouble as his young nephew was.
Wait a minute! Why hadn’t his priests helped Joxer? Ares was surprised when Strife seemed to read his mind.
^^^^^^
“Joxah, what about tha temple priests. How come they didn’t get ya somethin ta eat and drink?”
Joxer paused in the middle of eating to answer. “I don’t think they could get in. I heard the door rattle a couple of times and I yelled for them to come in, but they never did.” Strife sighed and shook his head in amazement. Oh well, nothing bad had happened, thank goodness, so he decided to talk about something innocuous for a while.
“You know, I’ve always wondered, if root beer is made with roots, is butter beer made with butter?” Joxer wiped the mustard off of his chin. Ahhh…there was nothing like a good peanut butter and mustard sandwich to hit the spot. He was soooo glad that Strife had brought back peanut butter from the future. Now if he just had some sauerkraut to put on it…
“Considerin where it came from, I wouldn’t be ah bit surprised.” Strife watched as Joxer finish his second sandwich and third drink. Strife felt his stomach roll and closed his eyes at the sight. It wasn’t the food, gods know he had eaten worse. No, the problem was that he still suffered from morning sickness…and afternoon sickness, evening...
Unconsciously Strife found himself taking several long, deep breaths. It helped settle his tummy. For now anyway.
“Ya still hungry?” At Joxer’s sheepish nod Strife grinned, his pale blue eyes sparkling mischievously. (How else would the God of Mischief’s eyes look.) “Good, cause now it’s time for the most important food for a young god ta eat, specially when he’s preggers.”
“Ambrosia?” Everybody grimaced at the thought.
“Yuck no. No, the *real* food of the gods.”
“Chocolate,” they chorused together. With that Strife waved his fingers and several small boxes appeared in mid-air. They dropped to land on a low table that Strife had made appear in between the two god’s couches.
“Ooooo…chocolate frogs. I love them, although they are kind of hard to eat.”
“They ain’t too bad once ya get tha hang of it. Ya just hafta be real quick and catch em before they jump away.”
^^^^^^
At this, the shamelessly eavesdropping gods looked at each other in horror. “Did Strifey and Joxie say they were going to eat frogs?” Aphrodite asked, wrinkling up her nose, naturally in a pretty, sexy sort of way. “Eewww…that is like just major grotty. I’ve never heard of anybody, pregnant or not, eating something that weird.”
^^^^^^
Looking a little green, the three older gods turned back in time to see Strife pounce. He caught Joxer’s chocolate frog, just as it was about to hop away. Strife handed the somewhat squished frog back to Joxer.
Joxer noted the pained wince and tummy rub that followed these exertions. “Thanks.” Frown. “Now spill it.”
Strife pretended not to understand what Joxer was talking about. He tried to ignore his friend and attempted to change the subject, again. “Take a look at how much mah feet are swellin. Bafore long I won’t be able ta get any shoes on at all.” At this Strife slipped off the loose shoes he was wearing and Joxer could indeed see how much his feet were swelling.
“Why don’t you make yourself a stool.” Joxer paused. “To put your feet up on.” He interjected before Strife could come up with the ‘Why would I want to make myself a stool for’ joke.
Strife stuck his tongue out at Joxer in retaliation for making him miss out on a good joke. “I would, but puttin mah feet up like that just makes mah back hurt even more.”
“Then why don’t you make your chair longer. Extend it out into a couch, like mine is.”
“Well, duh.” Strife smacked himself lightly on the forehead. Not enough to hurt or mess up his spiky hairstyle. “Why didn’t I think ah that.” Strife sent out a sparkle of energy. The chair stretched out and widened like a piece of candy being pulled. Strife then put his feet up in apparent relief.
“Now, as I said before you tried to change the subject, spill it. What’s going on? You are barely four months pregnant. That is wayyyy too soon for your back to be hurting and your feet swelling. I was about six months along before my back really started bothering me and it’s only now that I have any real trouble with my feet swelling.”
Strife started to shake his head, but before he could try to deny anything, Joxer overrode him. “And another thing. Why are you in pain? Don’t even bother trying to deny it, I’ve seen you holding your stomach.”
Strife became very interested in the nap on the back of his couch. He shrugged one shoulder negligently. “It’s no big deal. I’ve already talked with Asclepius and he says this is natural.”
“Natural?” The disbelief in Joxer’s voice spoke volumes.
“Fah me anyway.”
At Joxer’s astonished look, Strife went on, “Ace says I’m gonna have a lot more trouble with this pregnancy than most otha gods would.”
“Why?”
“Old…it’s cause of some old injuries.”
“Oh.” This sad response was all Joxer could say.
^^^^^^
Ares and Aphrodite were listening to Strife’s revelations in surprise.
Cupid was just stunned. What in Hades was Strife talking about? What other problems was Strife having and why hadn’t he been told?
What old injuries!?
Fic: Overheard Conversations 3/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Part 3
“How…old are these injuries?” Joxer asked Strife carefully.
“Oh you know, some real old, some not so old and some…fairly…recent.” Strife’s attempt at nonchalance was ruined by this hesitant speech.
“How recent?”
“Pretty recent.” Strife muttered this under his breath, but again everyone in the room heard him.
“Oh Strife,” Joxer had tears in his eyes as he looked at his pale friend. “Why haven’t you ever told anyone, other than me.” Strife started tugging and pulling the threads out of the back of the couch. Joxer plowed on, determined to reach his goal no matter how hard it was, for him and for Strife. “When you say recent, how…recent do you mean?”
“Ah couple of…months.” Strife pulled on a piece of thread until it snapped off in his hand. He just stared at it a few seconds and then threw it onto the floor. Strife immediately began attacking another thread.
Joxer had closed his eyes in horror at Strife’s admission. “This has gone on long enough,” he said decisively. “You’ve got to tell someone about this, right now.” Joxer scowled. “You can’t go on like this anymore.” Joxer paused and stared at his upset friend. “I can’t believe no one ever noticed and that, in all these years, you have never told anybody.” Joxer wasn’t being judgmental. He was being supportive and he was going to continue to support Strife until he got the help he so desperately needed.
“Who would I have told?” Strife wouldn’t look up at his friend. His attack on the defenseless couch becoming more determined.
“How about Ares. Or your mom. What about Aphrodite…Cupid.”
“Nobody woulda believed me. I’m the ‘useless God of Mischief’ and he’s…well he’s perfect.” Strife shrugged his shoulder and with that one gesture dismissed himself as unimportant.
^^^^^^
“Useless! Why in Tartarus does Strife think he’s useless! Who told him that?” Ares was in full rant, pacing back and forth in front of the barrier. He was running his fingers through his curly ebony locks. The leather of his outfit made a faint creaking sound as he stomped around raging. “No matter what this big secret is, I would have believed him. Strife always tells me the truth.”
Aphrodite quietly broke in. “Who’s perfect?”
^^^^^^
Off in one of his numerous temples, Apollo heard the question and naturally assumed it was about him. With a flourish and a great deal of pomp he appeared in Ares’ temple. There were multicolored sparkles and dazzling lights. (Much like that you would see in your average carnival side show.) It was very impressive if Apollo did say so himself and of course he did, often.
Not one person, god, whatever, noticed.
^^^^^^
“Now as fah telling people. Unc…”
“Raised you?”
“…as an obligation.” By now Strife had made quite a place in the upholstery. He slid down a little and began digging at another section. “Ah could stay here with him as long as I did what I was told and didn’t cause any trouble.”
^^^^^^
Ares stopped in mid-stride and just stood there. He felt like he had been kicked in the chest by one of his beloved war horses. Strife was like a son to him. He loved him as much as he loved Cupid.
^^^^^^
Eris, the Goddess of Discord and Strife’s *loving mother*, was in ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Thrace trying to cause problems between two neighboring warlords. The men had, amazingly enough, always got along and Eris hated contentment. It grated on her nerves, so she had decided to stir things up.
Eris had a godly connection with her brother and so she felt it when Ares got upset. In anticipation she happily flashed back to the temple. She soooo loved to see her brother blow things and people, up.
She arrived behind the barrier in surprise and was just in time for her own unhappy dose of reality.
^^^^^^
“My mom hates me. She always has…and always will. As soon as she could arrange it she dumped me on Unc.” Strife looked sad at this admission. Little bits of stuffing were falling from Strife’s fingers. He stopped and absently wiped his hand on the cushion.
^^^^^^
Eris was disconcerted. She had thought Strife was okay with their relationship or lack thereof. She stayed away from him and he avoided her. She didn’t know why she was so bad at the mothering thing, she just was. Eris had been happy with this arrangement and had thought Strife was too.
Eris’ wandering and admittedly not-too-stable mind forgot about everything except her son and the drama playing out in front of her.
The warlords in Thrace lived happily ever after. (Not skipping through the woods, holding hands happy. No, more like not ripping each other’s throats out happy.)
^^^^^^
“What about Aphrodite?” Joxer looked sad over his friend’s low opinion of himself. Of course, he couldn’t talk, nobody ever wanted him before Ares and Ares just wanted to control him.
^^^^^^
Ares heard what his young husband was thinking. He didn’t want to control Joxer, he was desperately afraid of losing him. Him and the baby. Before Joxer came into his life, his existence had been bleak and empty. Desolate. Ares knew in his heart that if something were to happen to Joxer he would go insane. Ares was appalled to realize that he had not done enough to show Joxer how important he was in his life.
He realized that confining Joxer to the temple like a wayward two-year-old hadn’t helped matters any.
^^^^^^
Hephaestus was in his forge working and he could feel the anxiety pouring off of his wife. Dite was normally so calm, so he knew something major was happening. He flashed in behind her and put his muscular arms around her waist. Aphrodite felt her husband enter the room. When he came up behind her, Dite leaned back for some much needed comfort.
There were tears in her eyes as she listened to her son-in-law list all of the people who *wouldn’t* have helped him.
^^^^^^
“Dite’s real nice, but she don’t know I exist.”
“As fah Cupid,” Strife paused and looked sideways at Joxer. Making a decision he asked, “Joxah, how long have ya and Unc been married?”
Joxer frowned at the unexpected question. “About a year and a half.” Strife cocked his head to one side and arched his eyebrows. He kept looking at his friend. Joxer blushed prettily and said, “All right, all right. We’ve been married one year, eight months, three weeks and five days.”
“Ya don’t need to tell me how many hours.” Joxer blushed a bright rose color and it was obvious to everyone watching that he could indeed name the hours as well.
“And how pregnant are ya?”
“Seven and a half months.” Joxer didn’t understand the question. Strife knew exactly how far along he was.
“I’ve been married 2 months and nine days.” Strife paused and then smiled. “And 14 hours, if ya want ta know.” Again Strife hesitated. “I’m four months pregnant.” Strife spoke quietly as he smoothed down the black leather tunic he was wearing. It was similar to his normal suit, with safety pins and all, but just not nearly as tight.
With that last statement everything became clear to Joxer. “You don’t think Cupid would have married you if you hadn’t become pregnant.”
“Joxah, we’d had been seein each otha for ovah 2 years. There had nevah been any talk about marriage before I became preggers.” Strife swallowed hard and looked miserable. “No, he wouldn’ta married me othawise.”
^^^^^^
Cupid just gaped at his husband in a very unattractive manner.
“He doesn’t believe I wanted to marry him!,” Cupid sputtered.
Aphrodite looked at her upset son. This was one of the main reasons she had made Cupid listen in on Strife’s personal conversation. She’d hated invading Strife and Joxer’s privacy like that, but it had been necessary. Ares had to understand how badly he was treating Joxie. Cupid needed to know about Strifey’s insecurities.
Dite realized that she too had some things to learn about her son-in-law. It saddened her that Strife thought she didn’t notice him, he was one of her favorite relatives.
Cupid turned to his mother, gesturing imploringly. “Mom, please drop the barrier. I need to talk to Strife.”
“What? Oh honey, of course. I had forgotten all about it.” Aphrodite raised her hand to drop the barrier, but before she could there was another bright flash of light.
When their eyes cleared the older gods saw that three women had appeared in the temple, directly in front of them. The Maiden, the Mother and the Crone.
The Fates.
Oh crap.
“We cannot let you do that yet,” they intoned all at once. Creepily. “There is more you *need* to see and hear.”
Fic: Overheard Conversations 4/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Part 4
It was a good thing that Ares and Joxer’s temple was so large because by now there was an augmented audience watching the two unsuspecting gods.
Some of the gods, like Hera, felt the energy surge when The Fates intervened and wanted to see what was going on. So immediately after The Fates arrived so did Hera.
Zeus began to wonder what his wife was up to so he followed Hera to Ares’ temple.
Some of the gods felt Ares, Cupid and Aphrodite’s sadness and came running to help and in a few cases to gloat.
Before long the rumors were flying faster than Hermes could spread them. The gods and goddesses who didn’t come to Ares’ temple summoned scrying mirrors instead and watched events unfolding.
The two main participants in this drama remained serenely unaware of all this scrutiny and kept drinking butter beer.
^^^^^^
“Ya do know that most people think I tricked Cupid inta marryin me.” Strife’s matter-of-fact statement was distressing.
Joxer was shocked speechless and then he recovered. “How exactly do you *trick* someone into marriage.”
“By gettin pregnant on purpose.”
“Who thinks you did that?”
“Just about everybody.” Strife tried to smooth the torn place on the back of his couch. “I didn’t ya know.” This was said quietly, like Strife didn’t think his friend would believe him.
In astonishment Joxer huffed out, “Well of course you didn’t. Why in Hades name would you want to be married, *for eternity*, to someone who didn’t love you.”
Joxer sat fuming while Strife was mauling the couch again. “They really think you got pregnant just to get Cupid to marry you.” Strife nodded mutely. “Boy some people are idiots.”
“Joxah, most of em think I tricked him inta sleepin with me in tha first place.”
“How ridiculous. For that to be true you would have to be an outrageous liar.” Seriously he turned to his friend. “Do you make it a habit of going around tricking the other gods?”
“No, I try not ta lie ta anybody and I only do mischief to tha mortals.”
“Exactly.” Joxer nodded emphatically. “You are one of the most honest people I know. The idea of you tricking Cupid is just plain ludicrous.” Joxer crossed his arms over his stomach, well chest really, having made his point. “Besides why would you need to trick Cupid at all.”
Strife looked incredulously at Joxer. “Joxah look at me. I ain’t exactly good lookin heah. Even I don’t know how I ended up with Cupid.”
^^^^^^
There was a lot of shifting and shuffling of feet as various deities listened to what Strife said. More than one of them had said these cruel words about Strife. A few had even said them to his face. They could see how upset Cupid was and now realized how brainless they had been.
It was around this time that somebody decided to bring Xena and Gabrielle up to the temple. Misery loves company they resolved and they wanted the two women to be miserable as well
^^^^^^
Strife leaned his head back against the cushion and closed his eyes with a drawn out sigh. “Are you all right?” Joxer looked at his friend worriedly. Strife looked utterly exhausted.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just a little tired is all.” Seeing the grim look Joxer was giving him Strife relented. “Okay, okay. I’m really, really tired.”
“Umm…transporting can be demanding all right.” Joxer remembered the last time he had gone anywhere and how drained he had been afterwards. Actually, it had been when he had gone down to that tavern fight. By the time he had fallen into bed that night he had been so worn-out he hadn’t even been able to flash his clothes away. Ares had done it for him…even after the argument they had just had. Maybe going down there hadn’t been a good idea after all.
Strife sighed quietly, unaware of the epiphany his friend had just had. “Yeah. Dite was over at tha temple last night, talkin about flashin heah ta fix this couple and flashin there ta set up that orgy. I tell ya, by tha time she was through talkin I was exhausted. Just thinkin about doin that much travelin makes me want ta take a nap.”
^^^^^^
Strife looked at his friend who was frowning. Strife slapped his legs resolutely. “Okay…let’s stop being maudlin. Are ya ready for more candy?”
“Sure.” Joxer let Strife divert the conversation, yet again. He realized that his friend needed to let the pain out a little bit at a time or it would overwhelm him. “What else have you got? I think I’m all frogged out.”
“Frogged out.” Strife snickered at Joxer’s joke and then began giggling. “At least they’re not Canary Creams.”
“Oh boy. No I definitely don’t want Canary Creams. I really don’t want to start molting.” Joxer snorted at that image.
Strife struggled for a minute with that picture. He could just see the spell turning Joxer turning into a large yellow canary. He giggled harder. In his mind Strife could see a big, feathery, yellow Joxer and the look that Ares would have on his face. Strife laughed harder, but before long he was hunched over, holding his ribs and flinching in pain. This killed any humor that Joxer saw in the situation.
Before Joxer could comment Strife held up a box and quickly flipped it around like a magician playing a card trick. “Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans! Oh goodie, I love those.” Wide-eyed, Joxer held out his hands and made a gimme gesture.
Both gods opened their boxes, poured some of the candy out into their hands and…just stared at it. Joxer poked experimentally at his candy. Finally Strife picked up a piece, shrugged and popped it into his mouth. Joxer watched him carefully.
“Mmmm, lime.”
Joxer looked back down at his candy and bravely ate a piece. Gathering his courage for another onslaught, Joxer snuck a glance at Strife. “What sort of injuries?”
Strife realized that Joxer wasn’t going to be put off this time. He mangled his box a while before deciding how to answer. “It’s like a broken arm.”
“What!” Joxer couldn’t figure out the euphemism. “A broken arm. I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Ya know, if yah break yahr arm it’s nevah the same, right.” At Joxer’s nod Strife continued. “Well if yahr kinda young the first time yah arm is broke and maybe yah don’t know how ta fix it, it gets sorta messed up. And then if the arm keeps getting broke, well it’s just gonna get worse every time. Eventually it’ll just…stay broke.”
^^^^^^
Around Olympus and in Ares’ temple, the various gods and goddesses wondered what he was talking about. Had Strife been beaten so badly that he was permanently injured? When did that happen? And precisely what kind of injuries would make it tough for him to carry his baby?!
As a whole, the Pantheon was upset and scared. They didn’t know how to react to someone who got hurt and stayed that way. Hephaestus, with his scars and injuries were far enough in the past that people didn’t know how to relate them to Strife.
There were even a few gods that thought Strife was actually talking about a broken arm and didn’t get what the fuss was all about. They were ignored because anyone that dense just didn’t deserve an answer.
^^^^^^
“But I thought if a god…broke his arm…he could just fix it and it would be as good as new.”
“Yeah, that’s true, usually. Course there are some exceptions ta tha rule. If tha arm is broken by anotha god it takes longah ta heal.” Strife swallowed hard and looked away. “If yeah are wearin…Hephestian metal it’s even worse cause that makes it like yah’re mortal when yahr hurt. And if tha arm ain’t allowed ta be healed right, well it takes an act of god ta heal it.” Strife snorted. “Actually it takes tha act of nine gods.”
“Nine?”
“Yeah, it takes a quorum of the *Big Twelve* getting tagetha ta heal somethin permanent like that. And we both know how likely it is that tha majority of that group would evah agree on anything…especially me.”
^^^^^^
By now the entire *Big Twelve* was standing behind the barrier. They looked at one another speculatively. (Except for Ares, Aphrodite and Hephaestus, because they were too busy watching their loved ones.) The gods were sizing each other up and doing a little soul searching. Each one of them was wondering who would or would not have agreed to help Strife. Most of them didn’t like what they saw…about themselves.
^^^^^
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m all right. It’s just ah fact of life.”
The gentle man was heartbroken, seeing his friend so, so accepting of his fate.
Joxer was trying to think of how to help the other god when Strife spoke up. “So what have yah got?” Joxer looked at his friend blankly. The he noticed that Strife was pointing to the candy in Joxer’s hand. Joxer had forgotten all about it while Strife had been talking. He decided to gracefully help Strife out.
“A black one.”
Strife bit the corner of his lower lip, completely unaware of how sweet and sexy he looked when he did that.
“Black huh. So, are ya gonna eat it?” As Joxer hesitated, Strife offered, “I wouldn’t.”
“How come?”
“Cause there are waaay too many black things that I wouldn’t wanna eat.”
Joxer contemplated for a few seconds. “Uhm, yeah mud wouldn’t be any fun to eat.”
“No it isn’t.” Joxer looked up sharply at that unintentional admission. “But that ain’t exactly what I was thinkin about.”
Joxer thought for a minute, considering the possibilities. What was worse than mud? “Eeewww, you mean shi…eeewww, that’s disgusting. They wouldn’t actually put that flavor in here, would they?”
Strife just looked at his friend who was looking at the innocuous piece of candy in trepidation. “If they’ll put in ear wax as a flavah, they’ll do anything.” After considering this for a few seconds Joxer shrugged, said “you only live once” and popped it into his mouth. He almost immediately started gagging and grabbed up his drink.
“Yuck, it was liver.”
“Liver flavored candy, how revoltin.”
Both gods looked at their respective boxes of candy warily before tossing them onto the table. Adventure was one thing, but liver flavored candy just went *too* far.
They sat quietly for a few minutes, resting. Not talking, not doing anything. Just soaking up the peaceful quiet of the afternoon.
Eventually Joxer started wriggling around on the couch, trying to get up. Strife watched him in sympathy. In the midst of the wriggling Strife offered, “Do ya need somethin? Can I help ya?”
“Thanks, but no thanks. Unless you can go to the bathroom for me.” Joxer finally managed to get up.
Strife giggled. “Sorry, you’re on your own theah. I was wonderin about that anyway.”
“Wondering about what?”
“Since ya can’t leave tha room, what d’ya do, use a chambah pot?”
Joxer grinned and pointed behind the couch. “No, Ares created a bathroom for me over there.” Strife arched an eyebrow and looked around. “Oh, it’s hidden behind a glamour.”
“Cool.” Strife watched as Joxer opened an invisible door and vanished.
^^^^^^
Strife relaxed a minute or two. (Well, he tried to.) Before long he started squirming. He couldn’t get his back comfortable, his ribs ached and he thought he was going to throw up again! In an attempt to find a comfortable position he twisted this way and that way on the couch.
Cupid’s eyes glazed over as he watched his husband. No matter how worried he was, all Strife had to do was start twitching like that and Cupid was as horny as Zeus when…well Zeus anytime.
Eventually several of the other gods and goddesses started to get turned on too. It so happened that these were the same deities who had told Strife that he would have needed to trick Cupid into sleeping with him. They were swiftly changing their minds.
They watched as Strife found a little chocolate left on his hand. Strife looked around for a napkin and couldn’t find one. Shrugging he began to lick the chocolate off and several more people’s brains shut down. They watched as those long, slender fingers slid into and out of his mouth. (More happy mush brains.) A pointed pink tongue licked in between his fingers, cleaning until there was no chocolate left. Many of the observing crowd were leaning against each other and almost fell over when Strife stopped licking himself. (His hand!)
None of them had ever stood still long enough to allow themselves to become aware of how sexy Strife was. With that soft, pale skin and startling blue eyes he was, perhaps not traditionally good looking, but he was…different. Even four months pregnant he was something!
Cupid looked over and saw the panting crowd and growled at them. They had better *back off*. Strife was his! He growled again and the people stopped panting. (At least where the jealous God of Love could see them.) There was a great deal of shifting around and adjusting of clothing. (Uh huh.) If Cupid noticed this he didn’t say anything.
^^^^^^
Standing up carefully, Strife rubbed his tender back. He twisted his torso around a little until there was an audible crack. Strife grimaced slightly and rubbed his back some more and then wrapped his arms cautiously around his ribs. He started wandering around the room, trying to relieve some of the achiness from sitting so long. He ended up in front of a long table that held various piles of scrolls. This table was coincidentally (yeah, right) in front of the barrier created by Aphrodite and The Muses.
^^^^^^
Cupid moved until he was right in front of his young husband. He could see the pain that was so evident in Strife’s nakedly open face. Pain that Strife had somehow managed to keep hidden from him.
^^^^^^
Strife glanced around the room. Several changes had been made to the temple since Joxer had come to live here. The stark black walls and furniture had been replaced with lighter colors. He was glad, it was so much…homier, not a phrase used automatically when talking about the God of War, but there you are. Joxer was like that. He distracted you with his sweet innocence, his natural serenity and then changed people, for the better, without even trying.
Strife looked up and saw a wall-hanging that he had never noticed before. Squinting he moved closer, trying to get a better look. The picture in the center of the cloth showed a man with black hair with strikingly blue eyes. Strife flicked his fingers and the tapestry lowered several feet to hover in front of him.
“That’s me!” Strife was dumbfounded. He looked closely at the small scenes surrounding the main figure. They were all of different aspects of his life. “There’s me doin mah first official act ah mischief. That lady never had such a big loaf ah bread in all her life.” Smiling a genuine smile, Strife followed the pictures with his fingers, being careful not to touch. “There’s even onna me pregnant, with Cupid and a little tiny Bliss by mah side.”
“Me. Ah Life Tapestry of me.” Strife raised the tapestry back to it’s original spot. He wiped tears from his eyes. Everyone could see how touched he was. “Ah wonder where tha one of Cupie is and if I’m in it.”
Strife turned around to look and accidentally knocked one of the scrolls from the table. Automatically he bent over and picked it up. As he stood up dizziness hit Strife like a whirlwind making him stagger over against the table.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 5/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Part 5
Cupid watched his husband in dismay. He tried to go to him, but was again repelled by the barrier. He turned to The Fates to plead with them and was distraught to see that they too were upset. What could surprise them? He looked back in time to see Strife straighten up.
^^^^^^
“Well…that wasn’t onna tha smartest things I coulda done.” Strife continued to use the table as a support. “Now which pile do ya belong in?” Strife looked at the various stacks and back to the scroll in his hand. “It’s no use I’ll hafta look at it, I sure don’t wanna end up sendin some ah Joxah’s notes ta onna Unc’s warlords.” Strife rubbed his hand across his face tiredly as he giggled. It was a very weak and strained giggle, a pale imitation of his usual laugh.
Strife unrolled the scroll a little, just enough to read the heading. “Okay, Sexual Practices Among Mortals.” Strife used one hand to weakly push himself up off of the table. Strife was still contemplating where to put the scroll down when he realized what he had read. “Sexual, what?” Dumbfounded Strife stared at the offending piece of parchment.
“What’s up?” Strife jumped and yelped. “Jeez Joxah ring a bell or somethin, will ya. Ya almost scared tha kid right outta me.” Strife gasped as he put one hand to his throat. He could feel his pulse racing there and tried to calm himself down, this couldn’t be good.
“Sorry.” Joxer looked chagrined. “What’s so fascinating?” Strife silently, (His heart was in his throat doing a dance, an Irish jig maybe, so he couldn’t talk) handed the scroll to Joxer. Joxer read the title quietly. “I think this was probably sent here by mistake. I’m the God of Peace not the God of Getting a Piece.”
Joxer spoke so seriously that Strife found himself nodding in agreement. It was only when the God of Mischief got a burst of energy that he recognized the double entendre his friend had made. Strife and everyone else (Yes even The Fates) stood with their mouths hanging open. Joxer was so shy and innocent…and apparently mischievous.
Strife sputtered and laughed out loud. This time the laughter was too much and Strife doubled over in pain. The only thing that prevented Strife from collapsing to the ground was because he still had one hip resting against the table. Joxer took hold of Strife’s arm, the one that wasn’t currently leaning against the table. “Strife what is it? Call for Apollo quick. I would, but I can’t because of the shield.”
Strife held up one hand. “I’m all right. It was just a cramp.”
“*Just* a cramp.” Joxer looked at his friend incredulously.
“Yah, really I’m all right. I just pulled a muscle this mornin.” Strife straightened back up and smiled at his friend shakily. “Pickin up Bliss. Don’t worry though, I talked ta Ace and he said I was okay.”
Joxer nodded at his friend, still not entirely happy with the explanation. Noticing how wan and shaky Strife looked, Joxer took hold of his friend’s arm. “Come on, you need to sit down before you fall down.”
An unsteady Strife let himself be led, unprotestingly back to his couch.
^^^^^^
Joxer sat down beside his friend and indicated the scroll. “I don’t know about you but I’m curious to see what’s on here.” With that Joxer unrolled the scroll to the first diagram. He just stared at it. Then he stared some more. Next he turned the scroll around, examining it from every angle. “I don’t get what I’m seeing. I mean, obviously I have a fairly good idea what this should be, but I just don’t see it.”
Strife looked at the scroll and blushed. With a shaky hand he covered up part of the picture. “See if this helps.”
Joxer looked until it dawned on him what he was seeing. “Oh, okay.” Then Strife took his hand away and Joxer saw the rest of the picture. He just looked at it wide eyed. “I didn’t…why would…is he being tortured?”
“Nah, it’s supposed ta feel good.”
“It is?” Joxer asked incredulously.
“Yeah. That’s what I’ve heard anyway.”
Joxer looked at the picture with a frightened look on his face. “Who have you heard that from?”
“Different followers. They send me scrolls with some pretty sick stuff on it.”
“Worse than this?” Joxer squealed as he gestured at the offending scroll.
“Oh yeah.”
“Oh, um, well, I don’t…let’s go on to the next picture.”
The next picture was even more of a revelation. “Oh my. I don’t think that’s humanly possible.” Turning the page slightly, Joxer blanched. “Or even godly possible.”
“Joxah, I don’t think two octopi could do that.”
Joxer quickly unrolled the scroll further. “What’s that?!”
“Tha thing thay’re, uh…on?” Strife looked again, cleared his throat and grimaced. “That’s called a trampoline. It’s from tha future.”
“What’s a trampoline?” Joxer asked in shaky voice, not entirely sure he wanted the answer.
“It’s like…a big piece of leatha that’s stretched out ovah a big drum. Only it’s real stretchy. People get on it and jump up and down, cause it’s bouncy.”
“That sounds kind of precarious.” Strife nodded his agreement. “But then…” Joxer looked back down at the picture again. “…oh my, that seems dangerous.”
Joxer turned to the next illustration. He was looking down as so he missed it when Strife flinched and all color drained from his face. “That just looks painful,” Joxer said.
Not looking at him, Strife stated with absolute certainty, “It is.”
Joxer looked in horror from his friend to the picture and back to his friend again. He furiously waded up the scroll and threw it down on the ground. Placing an arm around the other god he tried to comfort him. Strife wouldn’t have any of it and got up hastily to pace.
Not knowing how to help his friend Joxer just sat there thinking. He watched as Strife paced frantically around the room. (Well, as frantically as a tired young god could.) Finally Strife sat back down on his own couch. Joxer hated to do it, but he pushed once again.
Joxer had a million questions, none of which he really wanted answered. “Strife…how old…how did…tell me about the first time you were…” Joxer found he couldn’t say the word. Glancing up at his friend Joxer realized that it was vital that Strife be the one to say the words. He needed to say them or he would never get any better.
At first Strife didn’t say anything and Joxer was afraid he had pushed his friend too far. Then Strife sighed and without looking up he started to tell his dreadful story.
“Unc wasn’t here. He was off…I don’t remembah where, workin with another war god. I was at an awkward age. You know the phase of life. Too old for ah sitter, too young ta go with him. He was just gonna be gone a coupla days and really how much safer could ya be, a god livin on Mt. Olympus. So I stayed heah…by myself.”
Strife swallowed convulsively. “HE came that first night. He was so mad.” Strife shivered. “Onna his intrigues had gone wrong and he was ticked off. He flashed in and grabbed me, he…he said I had had enough practice.” Strife stared blindly into space, caught up in the violence of the memory.
“He threw me down and hu…hurt me. Nothin had ever hurt so much in mah life. I thought I was goin ta die. And tha blood… Afterwards he told me not ta go ta anyone or it’d be worse next time.” Strife looked over at Joxer with tears in his eyes. “I couldn’t imagine it bein any worse…god I was naïve. That time was n-n-nuh-nothin compared to tha last time…on tha battlefield.” Strife shivered at the brutal memory.
Joxer got up and went to his friend, slipping an arm around Strife’s shaking back in comfort. Strife let him this time. Not really wanting the details, he had to ask anyway. It was necessary for Strife to get it all out in the open. Of course, Joxer had no idea just how *out in the open* everything was becoming.
“Where did it happen?” With a shaking finger Strife pointed towards the entryway. Joxer looked quickly, afraid someone was interrupting them. Seeing no one he looked back at Strife and saw a single tear trailing down his unnaturally pale cheek. “Oh god.” Joxer whispered in horror. “It happened here in the temple. In your own home. Right over there.” Strife nodded.
“Strife, you need to say it. I know it’s going to be hard but you have to say it out loud.”
“That’s…that’s where I was…where…” Strife looked beseechingly up at Joxer. Joxer gripped his hand tighter. “That’s where he…raped me tha first time.” With this statement Strife burst out crying and buried his head in Joxer’s shoulder. Joxer held his sobbing friend and cried too.
“Strife…how old were you?”
Strife struggled, he didn’t want to tell this last part. “Eleven.”
^^^^^^
For once Ares couldn’t say anything. He wanted, needed, to scream and yell and damage somebody. Strife had been hurt and hurt badly and he had never known. He had brought his young nephew into his home and failed to protect him.
Ares was crying. Not many people ever got to see this side of the God of War. But right now he wasn’t the God of War, he was Ares, uncle and surrogate father to Strife, who was hurting.
Ares felt an arm go around his shoulders. He looked at his brother in astonishment. In point of fact, it was his half-brother, Hercules. Neither the god nor the demi-god said anything. There wasn’t anything that could be said.
Iolaus watched as Cupid attacked the barrier again. He was so frantic and desperate to get to his distraught young husband that he couldn’t think straight. Before Cupid could hurt himself, Iolaus caught him. He put his arms around Cupid and held on tight.
Glad of something to focus on, Cupid held on to Iolaus and tried not to lose control again. Losing control wouldn’t help Strife and that was what was important at the moment.
Cupid turned to The Fates and began to plead. “Please ladies, please let me go to him. He needs me.”
The Fates looked at Cupid sorrowfully. Lachesis shook her head and said, “There is still more that you must see.”
“More.” Cupid was agonized. There was more. How much worse could it get? He turned back to the barrier, afraid he was going to find out.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 6/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Part 6
“I’m so afraid Joxah.” Strife stayed leaning on his friend. He had finally calmed down enough to talk. “I don’t know how I’m gonna stand goin back.”
Joxer pulled back quickly and looked at his friend. “Going back where?”
“Back ta bein alone. I’ve been stupid. Everybody always said I was stupid and I guess they were right. I thought I could hide what I did and just be happy. That’s all I wanted ta do, was be happy. Is that too much ta ask?” Strife started crying again, softly.
“Strife you haven’t *done* anything.”
“Cupid will find out now.” Strife wasn’t listening to his friend. “I’m gonna hafta been real careful with this baby and he’s gonna find out why. He won’t want ta be around me anymore. He won’t want Bliss ta see me.” With one hand protectively covering his tummy Strife said, “He’ll keep me away from this one too.”
“Strife, why…” Strife interrupted, still not hearing.
“Havin Cupe these last few months has made mah life bearable. When I wake up from mah nightmares, seeing him layin there helps make em go away. I don’t know if I can stand bein alone again. Stand not havin somebody touch me, love me, care whethah I live or die.” Strife stared straight ahead, looking at a bleak and empty future.
“Strife look at me.” When Strife finally complied, Joxer continued. “You *are not* going to be alone. Cupid loves you and wants to be with you. The fact that you have been hurt isn’t going to change that.” Strife looked uncertain.
“I didn’t know it could be good. I thought it always had ta hurt and he humiliatin.”
Joxer couldn’t speak at first. What do you say to a statement like that?
“That’s natural, I guess. After all, he’d been…doing things to you for a long time hadn’t he?” Strife just nodded, not looking up. Joxer thought and thought. How could he help his best friend?
“Tell me about the first time he molested you.” Strife tried to shrink away, but Joxer wouldn’t let him. Like an infected wound, the poison had to be let out before it could get better. “How old were you?”
“I don’t know. Mah first memory is him comin in ta Ma’s temple. I was sittin in mah room playin with some blocks when he flashed in.” Strife raised a shaking hand to wipe the tears out of his eyes. “But…it wasn’t anythin new ta me. I knew what ta do, what he was gonna make me do with him.”
^^^^^^
Even the gods had to strain to hear Strife’s confession, because it was muttered so quietly.
“He was 4.” Ares turned to Hercules in horror. “Strife was 4 when he came to live with me. So, he was younger than that when all this started.” Ares turned to stare at his nephew. Hercules swallowed hard, thinking of his own children and imagining them being brutalized.
Eris had fallen to the ground. Her baby had been victimized in her own home. She hadn’t known. He had been brutalized and she had never noticed. Even for a bad mother this was a devastating blow.
^^^^^^
Strife was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. He had been through more of an emotional upheaval in the last couple of hours than he had in years. All he wanted to do was go home and sleep for a week.
Suddenly, there was a tingling in the air, one that Strife knew all too well. He jumped up in horror. “Hurry, get in tha bathroom. It’s under a glamour and he won’t know you’re theah.” Strife was tugging on Joxer’s arm, desperately trying to help him up and causing himself considerable pain in the meantime.
“Strife what is it?” Joxer was doing his best to stand up.
“HE’S comin!” The panic in Strife’s voice told just exactly who HE was.
There was really nothing that could be done. By the time Strife realized another god was flashing in, HE was already there.
^^^^^^
The Pantheon watched Strife panicking. In seconds there was a flash of light and another god appeared. The new god wasn’t very intimidating. He looked like a small stooped over old man.
“Hello Strife.” The deep voice, in odd contrast to the ancient body, snarled at the young god. Strife dropped Joxer’s arm and began backing up in dread. The old man stopped by the couch and looked Joxer up and down; he smiled in appreciation of what he saw. Recognizing the leer, Joxer pushed back into the couch, trying to get as far away from him as he could. “Don’t worry, I’ll get to you later.” The lecherous sneer had Joxer trying to become one with the couch.
The old man advanced on the retreating god. Strife was panting in terror and about the color of a piece of parchment.
^^^^^^
No one fought back. Joxer couldn’t because of the protection spell. The other gods were behind the barrier or sitting, stunned in their homes. Strife was too demoralized by a century’s worth of abuse to ever think of raising a hand against his abuser.
^^^^^^
The back of his legs bumped into a chair, causing him to stumble slightly. This was enough of a delay and the other god was able to catch him without even trying.
HE grabbed Strife by the wrists and squeezed hard. Strife cried out in pain as he was jerked closer.
Everyone watched as the old man began to change. He grew younger and taller, much taller. He easily towered 9 or 10 inches over Strife, who was himself a tall man. His body began to fill out and muscles rippled out to cover his body. Where there had once been a frail old man now stood a hulking giant who made Hercules look like a weakling.
^^^^^^
“WHO THE TARTARUS IS THAT?” Ares roared.
“That is Tryst, The God Secret Meetings.” Zeus’ quiet voice surprised everyone. He had been so unobtrusive that not many of them had even realized he was there. “I thought I got rid of that abomination years ago.”
^^^^^^
Tryst tightened his grip on Strife’s arms. Never before had Strife looked so fragile, so delicate. His pale, slender wrists were completely engulfed by the other god’s huge hands.
Strife cried out again as Tryst bent his arms back. Strife was forced to his knees and everyone could easily see the abused little boy Strife had been in the young god he was now.
“Please don’t hurt tha baby, please.” Strife had tears pouring down his face in pain and terror. “Please don’t hurt Joxah.” As inspiration struck he said, “Joxah is Ares’ husband, ya don’t want Unc afta yah if yah hurt him.”
Tryst laughed derisively and twisted Strife’s arms causing him to scream in pain as they cracked. Strife collapsed to his knees when Tryst let go of his wrists, only to be yanked back up when the other god clamped onto his upper arms and lifted him up. Strife dangled helplessly in Tryst’s bruising grip, his feet several inches from the floor. Tryst shook him, making Strife’s head snap back.
“Didn’t I tell you to behave. Didn’t I warn you what would happen if you disobeyed me. You are mine. You always have been and you always will be.” Tryst thundered in the hysterical god’s face, each sentence punctuated by Strife’s head being jerked back. “Now you have to be punished.” He pushed Strife back and slammed him down on the scroll table. Scrolls flew everywhere as Strife was arched backwards.
^^^^^^
Cupid turned to The Fates, ready to beg, threaten and offer his life in return, if they would only let him help his husband. He didn’t even have to ask.
The Fates each raised a hand and the barrier lowered with a boom.
^^^^^^
Tryst looked up at the noise and found himself facing an entire roomful of *pissed off* gods, goddesses, demi-gods and mortals. He looked down at the gasping Strife, his eyes blazing. “A trap! You set a trap, you little whore. Now you *will* pay.” With that he yanked Strife up and threw him across the room.
Tryst flashed out as the swarm of gods and goddesses poured into the room.
^^^^^^
Several people tried to help as Strife was thrown. Cupid sent out a stream of energy, trying to slow down his speed. Ares tried to catch his nephew with an energy field and managed to keep him from flying head first into the wall. Hera placed a protection spell around the baby. Aphrodite materialized a large pile of pillows for Strife to land on. This all helped soften the landing, but still, what you ended up with was a slender, unwell young god being thrown clear across the room by a huge, pumped up, insane older god.
Strife didn’t have a chance.
He slammed down on the pillows with a mighty thud. He landed so hard that the pillows literally exploded and feathers flew up in the air. Strife cried out once before he passed out.
^^^^^^
Joxer was flat-out hysterical. Not only was afraid for himself and his baby, he was terrified for Strife. Tryst (Yes, Joxer knew his name, Strife had told him a long time ago.) had erected a cage around Joxer’s couch. When Strife was thrown all Joxer could do was pray for his friend and his unborn baby.
Ares raced over to his spouse and vanished the cage with a thought. He held his precious husband and tried to calm him down.
Joxer clutched at Ares and cried tears of fear and terror. At last he felt safe. He jumped at a loud boom.
Ninety percent of the other gods in the room had vanished with a resounding crash. They were hunting.
Tryst didn’t stand a chance.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 7/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Part 7
Cupid dropped to his knees beside his husband before the feathers could float back to the ground. Strife lay crumpled on his right side. To Cupid he looked like a little doll that Bliss had once thrown in the corner. Strife was unconscious and Cupid was afraid to touch him, afraid he would injure him more.
Apollo, Asclepius and Hera came running. They didn’t even try to budge Cupid from his husband’s side. Cupid wouldn’t go and Strife was going to need all the support he could get. Ace placed his hands carefully over Strife’s tummy. He smiled at Hera in relief. “Your protection spell worked. The baby is all right, but Strife has been badly hurt.”
Strife moaned and opened his eyes. Immediately he began to whimper and beg, “No, please don’t hurt tha baby.”
Cupid leaned over and tried to reassure his young husband. “Baby, it’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.” He brushed the hair out of Strife’s eyes and was saddened when his husband flinched at his touch. “It’s okay, it’s me.”
Strife looked up and tried very hard to focus. Everything was so fuzzy. “Cupid?”
“Yeah baby, I’m right here.”
“Tha baby! Is it okay?” Before Strife could ask anything else he grunted and doubled over in pain. He tried to wrap his body around the tiny child he was carrying. This caused broken bones to move and he cried out. Sensing where Cupid was, he blindly reached out to hold onto him. When Strife tightened his grip, his crushed arms moved and he screamed. The scream made his tummy hurt even worse. Strife laid on the floor, covered in feathers, and whimpered.
Even in his pain Strife kept trying to touch his stomach. If he hurt this much the baby must be hurt too. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Strife cried for his lost (as he assumed) baby.
“Strife, baby, calm down. Try not to move. You’re only hurting yourself. The baby is fine.” The last sentence was the only one that Strife really heard, the only one that mattered. He looked up into his husband’s face and asked, “Tha baby’s okay?”
At Cupid’s reassurance Strife collapsed and hovered somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. Dimly he could hear the others talking, but not really what they were saying. It didn’t matter, the baby was fine and that was all he cared about. The pain didn’t matter; he had lived through far worse than this.
Strife snapped his head back up and bit his lip so he wouldn’t scream at the stabbing pain in his head. “Joxah, is he all right?” The cotton somebody had stuffed in his ears made it hard to hear, but he dimly heard Joxer saying he was okay.
Strife’s eyes rolled back in his head as everything began to fade away. He laid back down and started to twitch. Cupid wiped the tears from Strife’s eyes and looked pleadingly at Apollo.
Apollo carefully took Strife’s bloody head between his hands. He had to force himself to ignore the cry of pain this movement caused. He concentrated and sent some of his energy into Strife’s head, healing the multiple fractures and bleeding he found there. When he was through he looked down into Strife’s pale blue eyes and saw gratitude. He lowered the young god’s head back down onto an unbroken pillow.
^^^^^^
The cotton was gone. He guessed somebody had pulled the stuffing out of his head. Strife wanted to giggle at that image but he was too tired and besides now that he could think clearly the pain from the rest of his mangled body was again making itself known.
Strife felt himself being rolled onto his back. He tried not to scream, he really did, but the pain was too much. On the up side, at least he wasn’t laying on his broken ribs anymore. Once the wave of pain passed he found that he actually wasn’t hurting as much now.
He looked up and saw Cupid looming over him. Then his beloved husband picked him up oh-so-carefully, like he was picking up a delicate vase. Strife was prepared this time and managed to keep his cry down to a low moan. Then he was leaning against Cupid’s bare chest and the pain was forgotten. (Well, let’s get real here. It wasn’t forgotten, but he didn’t hurt quite as much.)
Strife closed his eyes and kept them closed, even when he realized they were moving. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Strife knew he should wonder where they were going, but he just couldn’t find the strength to care. The slight swaying motion lulled Strife and he was almost asleep when Cupid stopped walking.
“Lay him down on the bed.” That was Unc talking.
“Wait! He has too many broken bones; we need to make the bed softer.” When did Apollo get here?, Strife wondered.
Strife felt himself being lowered and he wanted to resist it. He was so comfortable in Cupid’s arms. And safe. It felt like nothing and no one could hurt him when Cupid held him. Strife didn’t want reality to intrude on his comfortable place, not yet.
The bed was like a cloud. Light and airy. It felt good on his shattered body. At least until broken bones rubbed against broken bones. Dimly Strife heard someone cry out and wanted to help them. He didn’t realize that person was himself.
Maybe he should ask them to put the cotton back. At least when his head had been hurt, he hadn’t been in so much pain. Now the pain was everywhere and it was hard to breathe.
Strife looked over at his husband. Cupid had tears running down his face. It broke Strife’s heart to see him so upset. “It’s okay,” he whispered. This only made Cupid cry harder. Strife turned his head when he realized Apollo was talking to him.
“…going to set your arms now. I can’t give you anything for the pain, because I don’t have anything that won’t cause complications for the baby.” At Strife’s nod of understanding Apollo continued. “I’m sorry. I don’t know of any other way.”
^^^^^^
Everyone (Yes, those not out hunting for Tryst were still watching via scrying mirror.) cringed as a grim Ace took hold of Strife’s arm, just above the elbow and Apollo carefully took hold of his hand. With a decisive pull and twist the arm was set. Strife bit his lip so as not to scream. Apollo moved to the other side of the bed as Ace placed his warm hands around Strife’s cold, shaking arm and healed the breaks. The other arm received the same treatment.
Strife’s mouth was bloody where he had bitten into his lips in pain. Cupid wiped the blood away. “I love you baby. It’s going to be all right.” Cupid kept murmuring in Strife’s ear and managed to calm him down.
“Where else do you hurt, other than your side?” Strife shakily pointed to his right leg. Upon examination it too proved to be broken. Luckily it didn’t have to be set, only healed.
^^^^^^
Strife got a funny look on his face and he started twitching. Joxer recognized the signs and grabbed a bowl for him to throw up in. Cupid and Ares helped Strife roll onto his side, just in time. Strife threw up and threw up and threw up. He had his arms clamped tightly around his ribs the whole time. The pain was incredible and by the time it was all over Strife was soaking wet. You couldn’t tell where the tears ended and the cold sweat started.
There was blood in the bowl. Not a huge amount, but enough to worry Apollo and frighten Cupid to death.
Apollo, Ace and Hera stepped back from the bed and began to consult with each other. Strife lay shivering and shaking. His husband and uncle rolled him back onto his back. Strife floated for a moment and was glad of it. At least here he wasn’t hurting.
Strife looked over when Cupid took a damp cloth and wiped his face off. He wanted to reassure Cupid, but he didn’t have the strength. It was really getting hard to breathe now.
He tugged weakly at the leg of his pants. Black leather might be the kind of clothing he always wore, but right now it was damned uncomfortable. Sweat and blood and feathers were mixed liberally all over his body and felt…nasty.
“Lay still baby.” Cupid waved his hand and Strife was clean and dressed in different clothes. His outfit was more like Joxer’s. The loose trousers (black naturally) were made of cotton as was his loose blue tunic. (It just matched the color of his eyes.) Strife was more comfortable now.
“Strife.” Strife watched Apollo, Ace and Hera approach the bed. All three looked exceptionally grim. “Strife,” Apollo said again. “We need to fix your broken ribs.”
“How are ya gonna do that without hurtin tha baby?” Strife knew that no magic could be done anywhere near his abdomen, not without causing serious problems for the baby.
“Hera’s going to do a protection spell, similar to the one she used when you were being thrown. It will protect the baby and allow us to work on you.”
Strife frowned. Hera was here when Tryst was? How did that happen? For that matter, why were there were so many gods here? Strife looked around the room at the several gods standing around. “How come there are sa many people heah?” Strife looked at his husband and realized that Cupid looked guilty. So did Unc. As far as that went, everybody except Joxer looked guilty.
“Strife, don’t worry about that right now, okay. Just focus on you and the baby.” Strife realized Joxer was right. It was all still so floaty and that made it harder for him to concentrate.
“Do whatevah ya gotta do. I know it’ll hurt.”
Hera came around and sat down on the bed next to Strife. Strife swallowed hard and looked at his grandmother in fear. He felt the bed ripple and realized that they had made it smaller. Now Apollo could stand on the right side of the bed and reach him just as easily as Ace could on the left side of the bed.
“We’re going to need some help holding him down.” Several people came forward at this and Strife was surprised to see Xena and Gabrielle among them. Strife gripped the sheets to either side of him as hands latched onto him. He looked desperately for Cupid and saw his husband beside him. (Naturally.) Strife turned back and tried not to look at any specific person, he didn’t want to make this any harder on them than it had to be.
Hera raised her hands up and flexed them a few times. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. Strife was stunned; nobody told him they were sorry, except Joxer. Strife nodded reassuringly to her.
Apollo carefully pulled Strife’s shirt up and he heard gasping. Strife couldn’t spare the attention to wonder what everybody was upset about.
Hera’s hands began to glow, getting brighter and brighter, until finally they turned translucent. With one last apologetic look at Strife, Hera lowered her hands until they touched his stomach.
Strife gasped. Her hands felt so cold. He watched in horror as her hands hovered there and then pushed *into* his stomach. Strife cried out at the pain, but managed to lay still. He fisted his hands into the sheets. She pushed in further and it was all Strife could do not to shove her away. He could see that she was in his stomach all the way up to her forearms. She moved her hands together and kind of locked them behind the baby. Strife managed to keep the scream down to a choked off cry.
“Now!” Hera muttered. Sweat was running down her face. This was obviously difficult on her too.
“Hold him tight everybody, it’s gonna get bad.”
Cupid’s head snapped up at that. “It’s gonna *get* bad,” he echoed.
Then Apollo’s hand started glowing and he too reached inside Strife. He curled his hand under Strife’s broken ribs and pulled up.
Ares watched this procedure as he tried to hold Strife’s hips down on the bed. He was horrified to realize that he could actually see the broken pieces of Strife’s ribs moving into place.
Strife screamed in agony. He twisted on the bed, trying to get away from them. Several more people surged forward and clamped down on him. Gabrielle had to actually lay down across his legs to keep them still.
Strife knew he had to stop, he had to lay still or the baby could be hurt. He reached out to the side with his hands and grabbed hold of something. He didn’t know what, he didn’t care. He sobbed when he felt the power from Ace heal his ribs. Then some of the pain was gone as Apollo pulled his hand out.
“Thank god that’s over.” Strife looked over at Xena and realized she was crying. Over him?
“We have to do the other side.” Strife closed his eyes when Apollo said this, not certain he could go through with any more.
“Can’t he have a break first?” His beloved Cupid. He could feel him stroking his hair.
“If we stop now, he’ll have to go through with Hera’s part all over again.”
Strife shook his head, looking straight at Cupid and then Apollo. “Go on, finish it, please.”
He was prepared for the pain this time, but was so exhausted that he screamed even louder.
There was still more work to be done. A lot more. Punctured lungs were healed and reinflated. His liver and both kidneys were made whole and working again.
Strife shuddered. The cold from Hera’s hands kept spreading farther out into his body. He bit his lips again to keep himself from begging them to stop.
The baby.
He would concentrate on the baby. He would do anything for his husband and his children. He could do this.
Finally it was over and Hera pulled her hands back out of his stomach. He vaguely felt someone pulling his shirt back down.
Cupid was kissing his forehead as he ran his hands through Strife’s hair. Eventually Strife stopped crying and lay on the bed unmoving.
“Strife is there anywhere else are you in pain?.” Ace looked like it was all his fault that Strife was hurting.
“Mah hands and arms.”
Strife didn’t understand why his arms were hurting. Hadn’t they already fixed them? He felt someone rubbing his left arm and hand. He looked over and realized he had a death grip on Cupid’s kilt.
“I can’t let go.”
He realized somebody else was massaging his other arm. Strife blushed when he realized that he had hold of Hercules’ woven leather pants. (The leg!)
“Sorry.”
Hercules just smiled at him. It took a few minutes of work before his hands would relax enough to unclench.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 8/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Part 8
Strife lay on the bed and shuddered. The bed and the people leaning against it shook themselves he was shaking so badly. He was so cold. He could still feel the iciness of Hera’s hands inside of his stomach. Strife felt something soft and warm covering him. He opened his eyes. Xena was laying a blanket on him. Xena?
Strife looked around the room. Not only was Xena here, but so was the bard, Gabrielle. Over there was Athena and Artemis. Was that Poseidon looming in the corner?
“Cupid, how come there are sa many people heah?” Strife hadn’t forgotten his earlier question or the looks of guilt he had seen.
“It’s all my fault Strifey.” Aphrodite looked uncomfortable.
Strife heard the door shut and realized that everyone else had either backed away from the bed or left the room, except for Dite, Ares and Cupid. Outside of the room he could hear several booms as various deities flashed out.
Very faintly he could her snarling, several people snarling. “Leave some for us.” That was *Iolaus*?
Strife forgot about them and tried to concentrate on what was happening inside the room. He looked from loved one to loved one and was worried. This looked like it was going to be bad. He didn’t know if he could take any more *bad* today.
“What’s all yar fault?” Strife’s could barely speak above a whisper.
“I made them listen…”
“No, we are to blame.” Strife looked over at the three women who were talking one after the other. The Fates! “More needed to be heard.”
It was weird tha way they talked. One would say a word in tha sentence and tha next would continue, and so on. Strife’s wandering mind wondered what happened when somebody didn’t get ta say as many words. Did they hafta start another sentence sa everybody could get their fair share? What was he doin? Oh yeah, listenin ta them talk. (Cut him some slack, he’s been whacked around pretty good.)
“We summoned him in the first place.” Well that explained tha flashin without meanin ta. “We had not anticipated his being hurt. For that we are sorry.” With an uncommonly bright spark of light they disappeared. (Who says The Fates aren’t cowards.)
“What are ya’ll talkin about?” Strife looked blearily from one shamefaced face to another. Finally it was Joxer who answered him. He explained about the barrier that Aphrodite had created and that The Fates hadn’t allow to be removed. When he was finished poor battered Strife still looked puzzled. (Again, give the poor guy a break, he was just beaten to a pulp.)
Joxer looked his good friend in the eye and delivered the upsetting news. “Strife, when you and I were talking today, people were listening in.”
Strife frowned, “People? Who are ya talkin about?” Strife’s breathing started to get faster as he thought about what Joxer was saying. Then he started thinking about all of the things he had said, things he had admitted!
“Most everyone on ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Olympus.” Strife’s eyes widened at Apollo’s statement. “A lot of gods were actually here in the temple. The rest were watching on scrying mirrors and heard everything that you two were…” Apollo broke off as Strife’s eyes got the size of dinner plates and he began to hyperventilate.
“Nonononononononono.” Strife got louder with each no. “Oh god no! Now they know, they all know…what I did…what I am.”
Strife started to roll to the left, but Cupid was there and Strife couldn’t face him. Strife whimpered. He couldn’t stand to see the disgust that would be in his husband’s eyes.
Instead he rolled to the right.
Ares was here and he didn’t want to see him either, but there was nowhere else for him to go. Nowhere for him to escape. Strife clenched his hands into fists and brought his arms up over his eyes. He curled up into a ball and sobbed brokenly.
^^^^^^
Across Olympus there were not very many dry eyes. People couldn’t believe that Strife felt he was to blame or that they would think badly of him. (Like that’s never happened before.)
More gods and goddesses left their homes and began the hunt for Tryst. (It’s a good thing the crime rate was so low on Olympus. Except of course for rape, torture…incest. Uhmmm…right.) They were going to find him and he was going to pay.
^^^^^^
Cupid waved his hand and the bed reformed until it was back to it’s original size. He laid down behind Strife and gently wrapped his arms around his crying husband. He snuggled up behind him, being careful not to put very much pressure on his still bruised body. Cupid put his head on Strife’s shoulder and began talking to him.
“Shhh, baby it’s all right. Everything will be all right.” Strife kept crying. “You’re right, we do know what you are.” Strife curled up into an even tighter ball.
Everyone looked at Cupid in horror. What was he saying?
“Do you know what I see? I see my sweet, wonderful, beautiful husband, that’s what I see. I see someone who has been hurt all his life and still turned out great. I see someone who didn’t let that monster ruin him. I see my husband, Bliss’ father and the father of our little baby.” Cupid rubbed his hand faintly across Strife’s tummy.
Strife was crying less and had relaxed, a little.
“Strife, look at me.” He looked up at Joxer. “Do you trust Cupid?” Strife nodded. Of course he trusted Cupid. “Then listen to what he’s saying.”
Cupid slid over and Strife allowed himself to be laid on his back. He looked up and saw his husband’s loving, unjudgmental eyes. Strife started crying again, tears of relief this time. All of his life he had carried this burden and now…now he wasn’t alone.
Cupid held Strife in his arms and let him cry. The others left the room and let Cupid comfort his husband. (Even the few people who were still watching via scrying mirror stopped watching.)
Cupid unfurled his left wing and spread it out and around Strife’s back. Anyone looking would only have seen snow-white feathers covering a black head.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 9/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Part 9
2 weeks later
Strife gasped and his eyes flew open. He looked around in terror. HE was here, waiting for him. HE was going to hurt him. Strife whimpered.
Strife looked over and saw his husband lying beside him and relaxed. It had been a bad dream, nothing more. Strife was used to nightmares; he had been having them all his life.
Rolling onto his side, Strife snuggled up next to Cupid. Mmmm, a muscled chest with soft, velvety skin, who could ask for a better pillow. Strife nuzzled Cupid’s chest and raised his head slightly so he could kiss a tempting nipple.
Considerately, Strife stopped. He didn’t want to wake Cupid up…hello; part of Cupid was already waking up. Strife looked up and saw that Cupid’s eyes were open too. The lazy smile he gave Strife made Strife’s heart beat faster. Gods, how much he loved his beautiful husband.
Strife scooched up in the bed and the two gods began to kiss.
“Go back to sleep. You need all the sleep you can get.”
Strife drew back in surprise. Cupid closed his eyes and lay there smiling. Strife lay his head back down and listened until he was sure Cupid was asleep. Carefully, he didn’t want to risk waking Cupid up again, Strife rolled back onto his side.
He lay there frowning and thinking (That can’t be good.), with tears in his eyes, for most of the night.
^^^^^^
The next morning Strife woke up, smiled and turned over to kiss Cupid good morning. Cupid was gone. Strife listened and realized he couldn’t hear him in the bathroom. He sat up in the bed, no longer smiling.
Strife got out of bed and went to the bathroom. (All right, so he drug himself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom.) He was almost glad that Cupid wasn’t there to see him. (Uh huh.) Today was a bad day. He had to sit on the side of the bed for several minutes before his side and back stopped hurting enough so that he could get up. Normally Strife would have to wait for Cupid to go into the bathroom before he got up so that he didn’t see the trouble he had.
Strife went down the hall to the dining room. He was so glad to be back here. (In the temple, not the dining room.) He been made to stay at Ares and Joxer’s temple for a week and a half before Ace would let him flash home.
Bliss sat at the table, eating and laughing. His nanny had apparently just told a joke. “Hi Daddy Strife.”
“Heya kiddo.” Strife was choked up. It still got to him when Bliss called him daddy.
Strife looked around for Cupid and saw his dirty plate. Strife frowned when he realized that he wouldn’t even get to eat breakfast with his husband…or his son. Bliss finished eating just as Cupid hurried into the room.
“Bye Daddy, bye Daddy Strife.” Bliss kissed Cupid and ran up and kissed Strife on the cheek. He then ran out of the room, eager to start his archery lessons. His nanny raced out after the hyper little boy.
“Good mornin.”
“Morning baby. Sorry I can’t stay, I’ve got this couple I have just got to get together today. See ya later. Love you.” Cupid kissed Strife and ran out before he could say anything. It was a very chaste, unpassionate kiss, also on the cheek. Like Bliss’ had been.
Strife tried to eat, alone, in the empty dining room.
Cupid had been glowing. He’d had that look, that ‘I just had a good time’ look. Strife realized that Cupid had woken up horny, as usual, and had taken care of it by himself in the bathroom. As opposed to taking care of it with him, Strife, his husband.
Strife couldn’t force himself to eat another bite.
^^^^^^
Strife stopped in the doorway of his office and stared. Athena was sitting in one of the arm chairs. Athena?
“I guess ya’re mah babysittah for tha day.” Ever since Tryst’s attack, Strife was not left alone. (Except for when he’s wandering the halls.) There was at least one other god was with him at all times. They thought this would stop Tryst.
Strife knew better.
Athena smiled at him and Strife’s lummox was flummed. (He was flummoxed.) Athena *never* smiled and she hated him. Well, maybe hate was too strong a word. Disinterested. She had never been interested in him in all Strife’s life.
“I am here to keep you safe. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
Again Strife was surprised. “Uh, well, I’m gonna give Joxah a baby showah and I’m fixin tha invitations. Ya can help with that if ya wanna.”
Strife handed her one of the completed invitations and waited. He waited for the criticism or the condescension or the offer to redo what he had messed up.
“You have the most beautiful penmanship I have ever seen.”
Well that was unexpected. “Uh, thank ya.”
“I’m serious. I wish I could write half this good.” Athena ran a fingertip over the writing reverently. “There is no way I am going to mess any of these up with my handwriting. What else can I do for you?”
Strife was taken aback. She was serious. He got her started planning decorations and the two of them passed an amazingly pleasant day together.
^^^^^^
3 days later
Strife woke up alone, again. He could hear Cupid in the bathroom moving around. Strife got up and went and stood in the doorway; and there he was. Cupid. His beloved, drop-dead gorgeous husband. Standing there with nothing on and aroused.
Drinking in the sight, (Who wouldn’t.) Strife moved up behind Cupid and put his arms around him. Strife rubbed his hands over every bit of Cupid he could reach and he had *long* arms. Cupid hummed and started squirming happily. Strife lay his head between his husband’s shoulder blades, among the soft feathers of his wings.
That felt so good. He could stay this way forever. He kissed the back of Cupid’s neck, just below the hairline and Cupid shivered. Strife walked around Cupid, keeping his hands on him the whole time, and plastered himself to the front of his body.
Cupid grabbed him and they began kissing. Strife kept running his hands through Cupid’s feathers. They were so soft and felt so good on his body. He reached down and took hold of Cupid’s manhood.
Cupid pulled back abruptly. He stood there licking his lips and staring at Strife. “Sorry baby, I’ve got to hurry or I’ll be late.” Cupid’s voice was rough with arousal, but he turned away and walked over to the tub.
Strife couldn’t believe it. Cupid just walked away from sex. He watched his husband get into the tub and begin bathing. His hands were clenched in fists, tight enough that there was blood dripping from the fingernail gouges in his palms. Strife left the room, shutting the door without a backwards glance.
If he had looked back he would have seen Cupid watching him longingly. He would have seen Cupid close his eyes, remember Strife’s hands on him, and finish what Strife had started to do. He would also have seen a no longer aroused, but disappointed husband.
Cupid never noticed the drops of bright red blood on the tile.
^^^^^^
Strife ran into one of the many rooms in the temple and shut the door behind him. He was crying and leaned against the door for support. He wanted to sit down, but wasn’t sure if he could get back up if he did.
Strife cried.
After a long while, he stood up straight. Strife noticed his bloody hands for the first time and shrugged. Who cared? Holding them as far away from his body as he could, Strife healed them. (Remember the no magic close to his body rule.) When he was done Strife flashed on clean clothes.
Strife looked up and saw himself. There was a full-length mirror across the room. He went and stood in front of it and stared. He looked himself up and down and frowned at what he saw.
What he saw was a tall, skinny, unnaturally pale god. His hair was funny looking and looked ugly stuck straight up like he wore it. Look at those eyes. They were a funny, glittery blue.
Strife knew without his clothes he looked even worse. He still had bruises from HIS last attack.
No wonder Cupid didn’t want to have sex with him anymore.
Strife turned away from the mirror in disgust. He wiped his tear streaked face dry and put his hands over his face. There was a brief glow. When Strife lowered his hands there was no evidence he had been crying. No red eyes, no blotchy skin, nothing.
Like it had never happened.
^^^^^^
Cupid was getting worried. He couldn’t find Strife anywhere. What if Tryst had gotten hold of him?
He sighed in relief when Strife walked into the dining room. Strife didn’t look over at him. “Bliss ya bettah hurry or ya’ll be late fah ya classes.” Strife’s voice was curiously flat.
“I have to go help Mom with a major orgy she’s got planned.”
“Okay, see ya latah then.” With a brief look over at him, Strife left the dining room, without a kiss.
Cupid didn’t notice a small mirror by the door vanishing. Strife had sent it to the room he had just left.
Cupid reached out to stop his husband and hesitated. He followed Strife to his office and could hear Athena talking to him inside.
They could talk later.
^^^^^^
Strife walked into his office and sat down at his desk. Athena was telling him something or other about Joxer’s party. Strife wasn’t listening.
Who knew there were that many mirrors hanging around. He had passed no less than three more coming down the hall. All had been banished to the spare room. There was another one! Strife scowled at the mirror facing his desk.
Gods look at him!
That mirror disappeared as well. The blank wall behind it was more soothing to Strife’s troubled mind.
^^^^^^
The next day
Cupid blinked and looked around. He was in a cave. How in Tartarus did he end up here? There was a flash and he looked over to see his father, looking just as surprised and pissed off as he was.
“What in Hades name are we doing here?” Cupid noticed that Ares was more upset than mad now. He spun around and realized where they were.
The home of The Fates.
Oh crap. Again.
The three women turned from The Tapestry of Life and began speaking in that weird one after another thingy they do. “There is more you need to see.”
“Oh shit.” Cupid couldn’t agree with his father more. Had Strife been hurt more? (Well, duh!)
“Look.” The cave wall shimmered and turned into a huge scrying mirror. The Crone walked over to Cupid and looked up at him. Cupid resisted the urge to step back. “There is pain that only you can help.” He gulped and nodded.
She walked back over to the other two women and waited. The Mother stepped forward, “Be warned, we cannot keep interfering.”
“You will be able to walk among them, like you were actually there. In reality you will be here with us, until we send you on.” The Maiden looked over at Cupid and Ares. They both nodded, unsure what they were agreeing to.
“Let it begin.” Each woman spoke one word and everything changed. One minute they were in the cavern, the next minute they were in an office. Ares’ office to be exact. (He calls it a war room.) The two men could see and talk to each other, but their hands went through the furniture.
For better or worse, they were going to be observers here.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 10/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Part 10
Strife darted into the room, his arms straight down at his sides and his hands clenched into fists. He inched behind the door and stood there waiting. A shadow came to the door and stopped. Strife held his breath. After a few seconds the shadow went on and Strife relaxed back against the wall. Pushing away from the wall he walked across the room.
“I can do this, I can do this.” Strife passed by an invisible Cupid and sat down on the edge of Ares’ desk. “I just need ta calm down.” Strife crossed his arms, hands still clenched, and rocked back and forth.
Cupid and Ares looked on in worry. Strife was so agitated his body was practically humming. Being this upset wasn’t good for him or the baby. But there was nothing they could do, because technically they weren’t even there.
After a minute Strife grimaced and made himself stop rocking. He uncrossed his arms and grabbed hold of the edge of the desk. “I am not gonna ruin Joxah’s baby showah.” Strife nodded decisively as his fingernails made furrows in the wooden desk.
“Everthin will be all right. I’ll just stay in heah for a little while and then go back out theah all calm.” Strife slid off the desk and began to pace. Unknowingly, he walked between his husband and his uncle.
He paced agitatedly between the two gods. Back and forth he went; turning so fast that his loose tunic swung out around him in an arc. He put a shaky hand over his mouth to stop his trembling lips.
“Okay maybe I bettah stop now, cause I’m makin mahself dizzy.” Strife proved this was true by swaying alarmingly. Both men reached for Strife, but couldn’t catch him. (Well, duh!) He bent over with his hands on his thighs, trying not to fall on his face as the world got gray and fuzzy. To Strife it was like a thick piece of dusty gauze was put over his face.
Strife straightened up and reached over to lean on the desk. Unfortunately, the desk was several inches past his hand. Strife started to tilt over and would have fallen if fate hadn’t intervened. (Actually it was The Fates.)
Cupid and Ares both automatically reached out to catch him. This time their hands, just barely, touched something. It was enough support and kept Strife upright as he stumbled over to the desk and plopped back down. “Ow, that hurt.” He rubbed his bottom lightly.
“Thank you ladies.” Cupid looked around the room. “Thank you for letting me help him.”
“You are welcome.” The disembodied voices echoed in the room.
Cupid looked back over at his husband who was still rubbing his bottom. “What’s up with that?” He looked at his father who looked just as concerned and puzzled as he was.
“Uh oh.” Strife turned a decidedly green color and he magicked up a big bowl.
He hunched over the bowl, one arm wrapped around his bad ribs and moaned. “Oh please, not taday. I really don’t wanna puke taday. I know, I’ll do that ‘take a coupla deep breaths’ thingy.” Strife took a really deep breath. He gasped and dropped his bowl as he clutched at his ribs. “Bad idea.”
Strife sat hunched over for a few minutes. He slowly sat back up and grimaced again. Cupid thought he was in more pain. He was, just not the kind of pain Cupid thought.
Strife was staring over Cupid’s shoulder. Ares and Cupid turned to see what Strife was frowning at. Neither one of them saw anything upsetting.
“How come I nevah noticed how many mirrahs there are everywheah?” Strife snarled at the offending object and raised his hand to get rid of it. After a few seconds he relaxed. “Oh yeah, I’m at Unc and Joxah’s, I can’t move it.” He turned his body slightly so he couldn’t see himself.
Strife laughed. “It’s probably a good thing anyway; that room is gettin kinda full.”
“All these mirrahs have got ta be Dite’s fault. Or Apollo’s maybe. They both like lookin at themselves.” He got up and began to pace again. “Eithah that or it’s punishment for us ugly ones.”
^^^^^^
Cupid was stupefied. Ugly!? Where in Tartarus did he get the idea he was ugly?
Cupid raked his eyes over his husband’s gorgeous body. Long and lean with that wild hair and oh god, his amazing blue eyes.
He felt himself becoming aroused and squashed the feeling down purposely. He couldn’t do that right now.
^^^^^^
Strife almost kicked the bowl he had dropped and he started to pick it up. He remembered at the last second, when his ribs reminded him, not to do that. With a wave of his hand the bowl disappeared. It was then that Strife noticed the gouge marks he had made on the desk.
“Great. Not only was I sittin on Unc’s desk, now I’ve scratched it up.” He moved his hand and the marks vanished. “He’s gonna blast me inta next week.” Strife rubbed a hand across his stomach. “Well maybe he’ll wait til I have tha baby before he does that.”
Strife smiled. A sad little smile.
He heard somebody walk by the open door. Both men watched as he stiffened up. They were both wondering what was going on. What had happened?
Strife slumped and sat back down on the desk. He closed his eyes and began rocking again.
“Strife.”
Strife yelped and jumped. Cupid and Ares jumped as well. They didn’t yelp. They were *manly* gods after all. (Yeah, right.) They had been concentrating on Strife so hard that they didn’t hear Joxer come in.
“Oops.”
“I’m tellin in ya Joxah, a bell would look really good on ya.” Strife smiled at his friend.
Joxer walked into the room and sat down on the couch. (All right. I know. He’s over 8 months pregnant. Really he waddled in and eased himself down. But Joxer’s just too cute to waddle.) He looked his friend up and down and frowned at what he saw.
“That doesn’t look very comfortable,” he indicated the desk. “Why don’t you come over here and sit by me.” Joxer gestured and then patted the seat beside himself when Strife hesitated. “Come on.”
Strife walked over and sat down with a heartfelt sigh. “Ya’re right this is a lot bettah.” He closed his eyes and tried to relax. “So, how come ya’re in heah and not out theah at yar party?”
“I just wanted to get away for a little bit.” Joxer turned to Strife. “I love my party.” He hastened to assure his easily hurt friend. “It’s just that, well…don’t get me wrong, I love them…” Joxer looked at the open door. “…well maybe love is too strong…like…anyway, they can be a little…”
“Overwhelmin?”
“Yeah. You too?”
Strife nodded. “Yeah.” Strife hesitated, giving his friend a sidelong glance. “Ya know this has been tha strangest week ah mah life.”
“Strange? How?”
Strife considered a minute. “Everybody treats me different.”
Cupid and Ares both stiffened up at this information and started to growl. Ares looked over at his husband and gasped. This caught Cupid’s attention.
Sweet, loving Joxer, the God of *Peace*, was scowling. His eyes were narrowed and practically spitting fire.
“How are they treating you different?” Joxer’s voice sounded so calm; in complete contrast to his visage.
Strife wasn’t fooled. He looked up at his friend and quickly put out a placating hand. “No, calm down. Not different bad, just different. They’re bein…nice ta me.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Joxer still looked angry. Only now he was angry at Tryst and everybody else who had treated Strife so badly that he was uncomfortable when people were *nice* to him.
“Nah, just weird.” Strife chewed on his lip, thinking. “People are friendly.”
“As opposed to nice?”
“Yeah. Too friendly, if ya know what I mean.”
“Oh…I see.”
Joxah I tell ya, I’ve had more propositions in tha last week than I evah had in mah entire life.”
“Oh really, just how many offers have you had?”
Strife twisted his wedding ring nervously. Cupid noticed that the ring slid loosely on his finger. “Nine.”
Joxer blinked in surprise. Ares’ mouth fell open. Cupid’s eyes started glowing a bright green. (Uh oh.)
“Actually I’ve been propositioned more in tha last coupla hours than evah before.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re a pregnant, happily married god,” Joxer noticed that Strife flinched at the happily married comment, “at a *baby shower* and you’ve been hit on?” Strife nodded. “How many times?”
Strife cleared his throat and blushed a bright red. “Four.”
“Four? Wow! I’m impressed.” He turned and looked through the doorway, considering. “Geez, I’d hate to think of who in *that* crowd would be hitting on you.”
“I’m not sure…but I think Hermes was probably jokin when he asked me if I wanted ta *really* learn how ta fly.” Strife blushed and looked down at the floor. It sounded so stupid when he said it; he had misunderstood Hermes and was making a *complete* fool of himself.
“Don’t count on it. Hermes might be a liar, but he’s always up for sex.” Joxer rolled his eyes and said, “No pun intended.”
Strife had to think a minute before he realized what Joxer was talking about. He snorted softly and thought maybe he hadn’t been wrong after all.
“Is he the one who upset you so much?”
“What are ya talkin about Joxah?”
“Strife, a few minutes ago you bolted out of that room like you had been shot with one of Cupid’s arrows. Obviously someone or something upset you. So was it Hermes?”
“Nah, he came ovah way early in tha party.” Joxer just waited.
“Tha one that was really kinda creepy was…Poseidon.”
“Poseidon?!” Strife nodded. Joxer thought of the *huge* god and gulped.
“Yeah. He was talkin ta me and all I could think of was, holy crap.” Strife shuddered and grimaced in pain. “Luckily he backed off gracefully when I said, no thanks. Not like…”
“Hmm, let’s see, a god who wouldn’t back off. Who could that have been? Let me think. Oh, I know, Apollo!” Strife blinked at Joxer’s sarcasm.
“You too, huh.”
“Oh yeah.”
^^^^^^
Ares was boiling. People were hitting on Strife, a very emotionally and physically vulnerable Strife. The same gods who wouldn’t talk to him 3 weeks ago now wanted to get into his pants!
Apollo had been coming on to his husband for god only knows how long. Ares growled low under his breath.
“Apollo is a dead man.” Ares nodded at his son.
Cupid was so agitated that his wings were spread out behind his body and vibrating like mad. Several feathers were flying through the air; loosened by his flapping and kept floating in the air.
“Cupid, calm down or they’ll never let us go to our husbands.” (The God of War trying to calm somebody down. What’s the world coming to?)
Cupid knew his father was right; The Fates were fickle. Besides he wanted to help his spouse. So far nothing seemed to indicate why Strife was so upset; disgusted maybe, but not upset.
^^^^^^
“Actually three ah tha nine times were by Apollo.”
“Yeah, Apollo is not really known for taking *no* for an answer. You have to be firm.” Joxer smiled wolfishly.
Strife blinked at the alien expression on his friend’s face. “Oh, yeah. How do ya do that?”
“I’ll tell you, you…” Joxer gestured Strife closer and whispered in his ear. Strife’s eyes popped out of his head. (Not really, because that would just be disgusting.) He leaned back at looked at his *innocent* friend.
“Wow. Now, I’m impressed.”
“Thank you.” He grinned at Strife smugly. “Trust me. You do that and he’ll leave you alone, way alone.” Joxer smirked. “Or if you want, I can take care of it for you.” He laughed at the thought. “Nowadays Apollo flashes out so fast when he sees me it’s not even funny.”
Strife smiled at that and Cupid sat down hard. He realized that he hadn’t seen his husband smile in at least a week. Had he done that?
“Tha weirdest was when ya hit on me.”
Ares and Cupid’s heads both snapped up in surprise at that bit of information. “What?” Luckily neither Joxer nor Strife could hear the jealously in their husband’s voices. (Actually it might have done Strife some good.)
Joxer looked bemused. “Really? Funny, I don’t remember that and I think that’s something I would remember doing.”
“Yeah, well it was almost you. Albeit a you with blond hair and a…Spanish? accent.”
“Ah, Jayce. Yes, he his accent is Spanish.”
“Buy ya’ll ain’t from Spain. Has he evah been theah?”
“Nope, not that I know of.”
“Okay…whatevah.” Strife let it drop. He certainly knew about odd relatives. “Anyway he didn’t really hit on me; more like he made an observation.”
When Strife didn’t go on, Joxer prodded him. “An observation?”
Strife blushed again. “He said that I looked delicious and he wanted ta lick warm honey from mah body.” Strife was bright red now.
So was Cupid for that matter, just not for the same reasons. Ares had a firm grip on his son and it was a good thing, otherwise Cupid would have gone after Jayce. (He wouldn’t have gotten far. Don’t forget he’s still in The Fates cave.)
“Course he was all wistful then, cause I’m ‘happily married and he’d never be able ta do it’.” Strife had still been twisting his wedding ring. Now he let go of it and instead started playing with the arm of the couch.
“I’m sorry if he upset you; that’s just Jayce’s way of talking to people.”
“That ain’t it.” Strife frowned. “I was flattered. At first, I thought that it sounded messy and then, and then I thought about Cupid doin it.” Strife closed his eyes and smiled dreamily. All three other gods watched him and smiled on their own.
“That’s when I got upset. Cause I realized it ain’t evah gonna happen.” Strife was practically whispering and had started to pull threads out of the arm of the couch. (Let’s face it, an upset Strife is bad on the furniture.)
^^^^^^
Cupid couldn’t understand what Strife was talking about. Why in Tartarus did he think the honey thing would never happen?
Cupid ran a hand across his mouth, checking for drool. He was seriously going to hurt Jayce, but wow, he couldn’t stop picturing Strife laid out covered with honey. That was sooooo going to happen as soon as Strife could handle it.
He looked over at his sad and depressed husband.
I’ve gotta do something to cheer him up. But what? (Well, duh!)
^^^^^^
“Why wouldn’t it ever happen?”
Strife looked up, surprised at the question. He hadn’t intended to say that last part out loud. Pasting on a fake smile, Strife waved a hand airily. “Oh nothin. Come on we need ta get ya back ta tha party.”
He started to get up, but only got half-way there when Joxer took hold of his arm to stop him. “Wait…” Joxer never got to finish what he was going to say, because as soon as he touched his friend’s arm Strife cried out, jerking it back and clutching it to his chest. “Oh gods, did I hurt you?”
Strife flopped back down on the couch and tried to reassure his friend. “No, ya didn’t do anythin.”
Over Strife’s protests, Joxer took hold of his left arm and gently pulled his sleeve back. Everyone but Strife was horrified at what they saw. His arm, from elbow to wrist was one huge bruise.
“What happened?”
“I just hurt mah arm this mornin is all. It’s no big deal.” Strife sounded so depressed, like he didn’t care that he was hurt at all.
Part 11
“’No big deal’, right.” Joxer’s voice rose slightly as he talked to the middle of the room. “Asclep…ius.”
Joxer jumped when Ace flashed in while he was in the middle of calling his name. It still amazed Joxer how quickly Ace came running when one of them hollered. Especially if the person was Strife.
“What’s wrong? Joxer, are you hurt? Strife, are you hurt? Is something wrong with the babies? What happened to your arm?!”
Joxer blinked at the rapid-fire interrogation. Strife just sat there and looked at him. Ace got down on one knee and carefully took Strife’s arm out of Joxer’s hands. He pulled the sleeve up farther and they could see that the elbow was swollen and bruised as well.
^^^^^^
Cupid looked at Strife’s badly bruised arm and frowned. He thought about how depressed Strife was and whimpered. He tried in vain to trace his husband’s sad face. The Fates wouldn’t allow this touch of comfort.
Ares put a hand on his son’s shoulder. Cupid looked up at him. “Dad, what’s happening?” He sounded so lost.
“I don’t know, but we will find out. And we’ll fix it.” Ares had on his ‘I’m the God of War, damnit, you will answer to me’ face. The determination in Ares’ voice helped calm Cupid’s mind.
“*Yes*, we will.” Cupid nodded forcefully. (Hey, he was no more immune to his father’s look than anybody else.)
^^^^^^
“What happened to your arm?” Ace repeated himself, in a quieter but more forceful tone this time.
Strife looked from friend to friend. He saw the dogged looks on their faces and sighed. “A statue fell and hit mah arm.”
“A statue.” Ace looked even more worried and considering the size of most of the statues gracing Olympian temples he had good reason to. “How big and how did it happen?”
“It was about, I don’t know, 2 feet tall. It was some god awful statue ah Dite. Looks nothin like her.” Strife hoped they would let the rest drop. (Like that’s going to happen.) No such luck, they all just looked at him. Strife squirmed like a child caught doing something they’re not supposed to.
“I was walkin through tha main hall in Cupid’s temple, mindin mah own business, when I saw somethin outta tha corner ah mah eye. I looked ovah in time ta see this statue fallin ovah and I jumped outta tha way.” At their skeptical looks he amended. “Well mostly anyway.” He gestured to his arm. “It hit mah arm was all.”
“Uh huh.” Ace said skeptically. He didn’t seem any more impressed with Strife’s dismissive ‘was all’ than Joxer had been. “So, why didn’t you call me as soon as you were injured?” Ace was running his hands over Strife’s arms, obviously looking for any other damage.
“There wasn’t any need ta bothah ya. Ya’re way too busy ta come runnin fah somethin this small.” Seeing the others eyeing his hurt arm; Strife went on the defensive. “It ain’t like mah arm was broke or nothin.”
“I see. So your arm has to be broken before you will *bother* me. The fact that it is cracked is too insignificant, huh.” Ace spoke very quietly and Strife looked surprised. He hadn’t realized the arm was injured beyond the bruises.
“Do you think it was Tryst’s doing?” Joxer winced in sympathy when he saw how Strife flinched upon hearing Tryst’s name. It upset Strife to hear Tryst’s name at all and he never said it himself.
“Nah.” Everyone was surprised at Strife’s definite answer.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Cause when tha statue hit me, I fell on mah butt. Sa basically I was stunned, sittin in tha middle ah tha hallway. If it had been…HIM, he would taken advantage and attacked.”
Strife’s matter-of-fact description of his near miss with the statue and being knocked to the ground was more upsetting than reassuring. Joxer was thinking about that statue and calculating just how much a two foot tall marble statue would probably weigh. Thinking of that much weight falling on the already fragile Strife made Joxer’s hands start to shake.
“You were knocked to the ground?” At Strife’s nod, Asclepius stood up. “So you landed hard on your behind. Maybe I need to check.”
Joxer looked at the two men and started to get up. “I’ll go in the other room and give you some privacy.”
^^^^^^
Cupid’s eyes narrowed in anger. He didn’t want *anybody* looking at Strife’s butt. He was the only one allowed to do that.
Cupid tried to reign in his anger. Ace was just trying to help. He wasn’t like Apollo.
He growled as he thought of his uncle. He looked over at Ares and saw the sad, thoughtful look on his face. Cupid’s anger fled as he thought about his husband being hurt.
And another thing, what the Tartarus did Strife mean ‘Cupid’s temple’? It is *our* home. Mine, his, Bliss’ and the new baby’s.
Cupid was even more upset to realize how insecure his husband still felt about his place in Cupid and Bliss’ life. He turned his attention back to see Joxer struggling to get off of the couch.
^^^^^^
Strife waved his hand dismissively at his fellow god. “It’s okay Joxah, ya ain’t gotta go anywheah. Ya don’t hafta look at nothin Ace, cause mah bottom’s just fine.”
Ace did not look convinced. “Really. It’s just a little sore. Okay, a lot sore, but it’s just bruised, maybe.”
Ace didn’t really believe Strife, but backed off anyway. It upset Strife alot for anyone to see him naked, especially his backside. Ace could see that Strife was sitting down without too much pain. “What about your back? If you fell like that you were undoubtedly jarred pretty good.” Ace had Strife lean forward and he started feeling his back. Strife winced several times. “Well, the good news is, nothing’s the matter with your back that a little rest won’t cure.”
Ace kneeled backed down and picked Strife’s arm back up. He dealt the next bit of upsetting news to the watching crowd. (Does three count as a crowd? Yes, if they are all gods.) “How about letting me see this without the glamour.”
“Glamour?” Joxer asked in surprise. His question was unknowingly echoed by Cupid and Ares.
Strife looked surprised for a few seconds and then his face cleared as he figured out what Ace was talking about. “Oh, I’m sorry…I forgot all about that. I’ve been usin a glamour fah sa long that I forgot all about it.”
“How long have you been using a glamour?” Joxer looked at his friend; wondering what he was hiding.
“Evah since tha-tha…battlefield.”
Joxer looked at Strife sadly. “You’ve been using a glamour for *40 YEARS!*?”
Strife nodded, not saying a word.
“Oh gods, does that mean that when you were hurt this last time that you really looked worse than you did?” Joxer was horrified at the thought. Strife’s abdomen had looked awful. If that hadn’t been as bad as it really was…
Before Strife could say anything, Asclepius spoke up, “No, when he was hurt he dropped the glamour.”
They watched as Strife closed his eyes and concentrated. A faint shimmer of light passed over the injured young god and everyone got to see Strife as he really was.
At first Joxer didn’t see any changes. Then he did.
The bruises on Strife’s arm were darker and bigger than they had first appeared. Strife was a couple of shades paler and had dark smudges under his eyes. Pain and exhaustion were evident in his face. This even thinner face, as a matter of fact, Strife was a lot thinner.
Strife slumped back on the couch.
“Are you all right?” Ace’s voice was quiet and soothing. The perfect thing for a nervous young god.
“Yah, I just forgot how much energy onna those things took. It’s nice ta not have that much of a energy drain.”
^^^^^^
“Forty years! What happened forty years ago?” Cupid looked to his father for answers; unfortunately Ares was just as confused as he was.
“I don’t know, but by *Zeus* I’m gonna find out.” Ares’ eyes were flashing alarmingly and he growled low in his throat. (Woof!) He couldn’t wait to get his hands on Tryst; that was one god who was going to scream.
^^^^^^
“Stick your arms out.” Strife’s eyes popped open and he looked scared. Asclepius grimaced. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so abrupt. Please put your arms out, I want to put this blanket under them.” A thick silvery blanket appeared in Ace’s hands.
Strife relaxed and obligingly raised his arms. Ace carefully wrapped the blanket around Strife, tucking it in behind his back. “There that will protect the baby from the magic while I fix your arm. You were right, by the way, it’s not broken, but as I said it is cracked.” Ace fixed Strife’s arm, as best he could. (This was the second time in less than a month that it had been mangled.)
Strife smiled at Asclepius. “Thanks, I hadn’t realized how much it was botherin me.”
“No problem.” Ace sat back on his haunches and looked appraisingly at the two pregnant gods. “Now, I just *know* you two weren’t sitting here without putting your feet up.”
Joxer and Strife looked at each other and gulped. Uh oh.
“I’ve had my feet up.” Joxer tried to save his butt. “See there’s my chair,” he pointed into the other room, “and see I had a stool for my feet.” Feeling a little braver he added, “I’ve only been in here for a few minutes; before that I kept my feet up.”
“That’s right, I made sure he hadda stool fah his feet.” Strife backed his friend up, hoping to avoid getting in trouble.
“Good. Feet.” At the command, Joxer quickly stuck his feet out. Ace pulled off his soft slippers and examined his feet. “Well, they’re not too badly swollen…” Joxer sighed in relief. “…and they’ll stay that way, if you keep them up.” Joxer nodded and then groaned as Asclepius rubbed his feet.
“When was the last time you had a foot massage?”
“A couple of days ago.” Ace didn’t seem impressed.
“Really. A couple of days. Hmmm, if Ares is too *busy* then maybe I should find somebody else to rub your feet.” He looked thoughtful as he pondered the possibilities. “Dad maybe.”
Joxer recoiled and Strife gasped at this idea.
“Nah. He would have too much fun rubbing your…feet.” Ace rubbed a little longer and then put the slippers back on. “I know the *perfect* person…Hercules.”
Joxer’s mouth dropped open. “*Hercules*?” His voice squeaked on the name.
“Oh yeah, when his wife, the first one, Dainera, was pregnant he would rub her feet. From all accounts he was really good at it.”
“That might not go over well.” (Now, is that an understatement, or what?)
^^^^^^
Ares was stunned at Asclepius’ suggestion. He wasn’t serious? (Of course not, he just wanted to get Ares upset. It worked.)
“A foot massage? I never even thought about that.” Cupid looked chagrinned.
“Son, after this is all over come and see me. I’ll give you some tips on how to help your pregnant spouse feel better.”
Cupid just nodded at his father. He was ashamed of himself. Just because Psyche hadn’t wanted anything like that didn’t mean Strife wouldn’t. After all, Strife was about as different (Thank god.) from his ex-wife as was possible.
^^^^^^
“And where was your chair?” Asclepius smiled sweetly.
Strife gulped. He just *knew* that he was in trouble now. “Ovah theah, close ta Joxah’s chair.”
Ace looked into the other room and then back at Strife.
“I didn’t need a stool, cause I had ta keep an eye on tha proceedins.” That wasn’t a whine.
Ace scooped Strife’s feet up and carefully raised them up, so it wouldn’t make his back hurt any worse than it already was. He gently peeled the shoes off…and stared. Strife’s feet were badly swollen and discolored. There were angry red marks where his shoes had dug into his feet.
Ace looked up at Strife’s trembling lips and didn’t have the heart to scold him. (Well…not *too* badly anyway.)
Strife jerked and grunted when Ace started rubbing his feet. After a little while he relaxed again and enjoyed the attention.
“I can see that Hercules is going to be verrry busy.” Strife giggled at the thought of Hercules playing with his feet. (Cupid growled in the background.)
Asclepius magicked up a soft pair of slippers, kind of like Joxer’s. He eased them onto Strife’s feet. Then he stood up and faced the squirming gods.
“Now. Here’s how it’s gonna be. You can go back to your party, however, you will *both* keep your feet up. Understood?” He waited until they nodded before he continued. “Joxer, you keep doing like you have been. *Strife*, after this party you will go home and go to bed, for 3 days. Do you hear me? *Three days.* That means three days in bed, with your feet up on pillows.” Strife nodded, wide-eyed. “In bed, not sitting in a chair with them up on a stool, not reclining on the couch. In bed.”
Ace smiled that smile again and both men looked at each other in consternation. “Otherwise you’ll get in trouble. Do you remember what I said would happen if you didn’t follow instructions?” Strife nodded quickly. “Good. See ya later.” With that Ace flashed away in a brilliant pinkish-orange light.
^^^^^^
Both gods sat there for a few minutes. “So, are ya ready ta go back ta yar party?”
“Not yet, I can still hear Gabrielle reading.” Strife glanced out the door. In the background you could vaguely hear the young bard talking.
“Crap. Ya mean she’s tellin a story.” Joxer nodded and Strife started giggling. “Does it scare ya that what Ace is threatenin ta punish us with is what she considahs a gift.”
“Oh yeah. You have to admit though, listening to her stories for hours on end would have one good affect.”
Strife frowned as he thought. No matter how he wracked his brain, he couldn’t see an advantage. “Really and what would that be.”
“You could catch up on your sleeping.” Strife giggled at Joxer’s joke.
Joxer smiled, happy that he had cheered up his friend, if only for the moment. He hated to spoil it, but something had upset Strife badly and he wanted to know what or who it was.
“Why do you think Cupid wouldn’t want to do the thing with honey?”
^^^^^^
Cupid heard Joxer’s question and said, “Thank you. I want to know that too.”
He watched as his husband’s face twisted in pain.
“Oh baby.” Cupid again knelt in front of his husband. (He had moved when Asclepius needed to be there.) “Please tell me what’s wrong.”
Some of Cupid’s plea must have gotten through to Strife subconsciously, because he started to talk.
^^^^^^
“I repulse him.”
“What!” Of all the answers Strife could have given, this one was the most unexpected; for everyone.
“It’s true. I…disgust him now.” Strife rubbed his tummy and started to rock slightly. “I know what ya’re gonna say. Ya’re gonna tell me that Cupid love’s me. I know that’s true. I still see love in his eyes.”
“Then I don’t understand.” Joxer placed one hand on Strife’s back, trying to calm his friend down.
“He don’t wanna be…intimate with me. I don’t mean touchin. He’ll still give me ah hug and kiss, but he don’t want it ta go any furthah.”
“Maybe he’s been tired…”
“I thought sa too, tha first coupla times. Aftah that I knew it was just me. See, everythin would be fine. We’d be cuddlin an kissin and then, bam, he’d realize who he was with and he’d back off real quick.” Strife looked over to the side, not facing Joxer. “I figured it out real quick. I know I ain’t tha smartest guy around Olympus, but I ain’t stupid eithah.”
“Strife, I’m sure it’s not what you’re thinking. I’m certain there’s a logical explanation for how he’s acting.”
“Theah is Joxah. See, he had almost two weeks ta think about stuff before I got ta come ho…uh, back ta tha temple. He thought about all tha stuff with Try…HIM. All tha things I done with him.” Swallowing his tears, Strife went on. “I understand, aftah all, it disgusts me too.”
“Strife, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know. I do. I know it wasn’t mah fault, but it’s still nauseatin. Tha things he did, that he made me do, were…foul.”
Joxer sat there; he didn’t know what to say. Cupid was the only one who could help this and apparently he was the problem.
“He won ya know.”
“Who won?”
“HIM…Tryst.” Strife bit his lip and looked quickly around the room. When Tryst didn’t appear he relaxed.
“Strife he didn’t win.”
“Yeah he did. He ruined tha only good thing I’ve evah had in mah life.” Strife’s face crumbled as he started crying.
“I had love fah tha first time in mah life, I had real love. He ruined it.”
Joxer turned Strife towards him and held him awkwardly as he tried to soothe Strife’s broken spirit.
^^^^^^
“NO! No, that’s not what’s going on at all.” Cupid whimpered, seeing the distress he had caused. “No, *please* let me go to him.”
“Granted.” The voices echoed through the chamber. “Just remember, we cannot keep saving you from your follies.”
Part 12
Joxer gasped and recoiled when Cupid flashed in. He was still trying to get his heart back in his chest when Ares touched him on the arm and he got another shock. (Scaring a verrry pregnant man. That’s a good idea.) When he realized it was his husband, Joxer calmed down and was silently thankful that he hadn’t had an accident because of it. (Remember, several pounds of baby were sitting on top of his bladder.)
Strife was just as surprised when Cupid suddenly appeared, kneeling on the floor at his feet. He heard Joxer’s gasp and looked over to make sure he was all right. Seeing his uncle, Strife was momentarily relieved; then he remembered that he had been in the middle of a crying jag.
His hands automatically went to his face, wiping away the tears and trying to hide what he had been doing. Strife would have used another glamour, but he knew Cupid would notice.
“That’s not what happened. Baby, you’ve got it all wrong. I understand why you feel that way and it’s all my fault. Please let me try to explain.”
Strife stopped breathing as he listened to his husband talk. “Oh gods, no, not again.” Strife panicked and tried to get off the couch, but Cupid wouldn’t let him. He refused to move from his spot on the floor and so Strife had to continue sitting there.
^^^^^^
Seeing how upset Strife was becoming Ares went over and closed the door. He waved until he got Aphrodite’s attention, so that the people at the party would know Joxer and Strife weren’t alone.
Since Tryst’s last attack on Strife, neither one of them was left alone. Strife for obvious reasons and Joxer because Tryst had made his attraction all too evident. Nobody was willing to risk either of the two men.
It was a good thing Ares came to the door when he did or they would have had another audience, rivaling the one at Ares and Joxer’s temple a few weeks back. Several of the gods and goddesses had heard Joxer’s yelp and were running to see what was wrong.
As a matter of fact, when Ares looked out the door there was quite a queue of people about to barrel into the room. Ares was touched and amused to realize that the mortals were leading the way. It was hard to tell who was in front; Xena, Jett, Jayce, Hercules or Iolaus.
At Ares’ gesture they all backed off. Not happily or graciously. Everybody was anxious and wanted to get their hands on Tryst.
^^^^^^
Strife’s nerves were already stretched to the breaking point. Hormones were running rampant in his already overtaxed body. He simply couldn’t handle any more stress right now and so he snapped.
He put his hands over his eyes, eyes that were once again streaming with tears. “No, no!” Strife hand his hands mashed tightly against his head as his fingers dug into his scalp.
Cupid took hold of Strife’s hands and carefully, but firmly stopped him from abusing his head. Strife refused to look at him and Cupid refused to let go of Strife’s hands.
Strife yelled out at the middle of the room. “What is goin on heah?! Can’t anybody talk in private anymore?” He halfway glanced at Cupid and then looked at his lap before closing his eyes in defeat. “Is everybody watchin on scryin mirrahs again?”
^^^^^^
It was Ares who answered Strife’s question.
“No, it was just me and Cupid. The Fates decided we needed to do a little more listening. Nobody else is involved this time.”
Ares looked at his distraught nephew. He then looked at his sweet husband, whose heart was breaking over Strife’s distress.
^^^^^^
“Baby look at me…please.” When Strife wouldn’t look up, Cupid let go of one of his hands and gently tilted his chin up. “Please let me explain. I do love you and I *do* want you.”
Strife closed his eyes in pain, both physical and emotional. Crying made his ribs hurt even worse. His back too. He couldn’t stand to see pity coming out of his husband’s eyes. Strife knew that Cupid would now try and hide the disgust he felt. Strife didn’t want to further ruin the memory of the love they had shared for just a few short months.
“You were whimpering.”
Strife looked at Cupid in surprise. “What?”
“When we were in the bathroom, getting ready to make love, you were whimpering. I was hugging you and realized you were moaning and twisting around in pain. *I was hurting you.* I knew I had to get away from you as quickly as possible or I *wouldn’t* be able to stop myself. I have never done anything harder in my life than walking away from you.” Cupid’s eyes were luminescent with unshed tears. He was silently begging Strife to believe him and to understand.
“I don’t remembah hurtin.” Strife was so confused. Could this be true. Maybe Cupid still wanted him. He was afraid to hope. Hope and Strife were not close friends.
“You were though. I heard you whimpering and opened my eyes. I tried moving my hands to see if that helped. It didn’t. No matter where I touched you, you were still in pain.” Cupid risked letting go of Strife’s other hand, long enough to wipe the tears off of his husband’s face. “I love you so much. You have *never* disgusted me and you certainly have *never* repulsed me.”
Strife cried more as he saw the truth in Cupid’s eyes. He leaned forward and put his forehead on Cupid’s broad shoulder.
Love. He was still loved.
^^^^^^
Joxer let Ares silently pull him up off of the couch.
He could hear Cupid murmuring in Strife’s ear, explaining more times of missed loving and the reasons for them.
Joxer realized that his friend was in good hands. Everything would be all right now.
Ares put an arm around Joxer’s waist (Or at least in the general area.) and carefully guided him to the door. Once there Joxer looked back at his friend. He stood there until he caught Cupid’s eye.
Joxer looked meaningfully from Strife to Cupid and back again. He stared at Cupid until the God of Love nodded. He understood. If he ever hurt Strife like this again, he would have to answer to the God of Peace.
Smiling, Joxer let Ares lead him back to his party. They left Cupid and Strife alone awhile to heal.
^^^^^^
Strife hissed and jerked in Cupid’s arms.
“What is it baby?”
“Mah back is crampin.” Strife’s face was tight with pain.
Cupid quickly stood up and moved around to sit beside Strife on the couch. He ran his hand across Strife’s back until he found the knotted area. Gently he rubbed it until Strife relaxed.
Strife started to lean back and Cupid moved his arm. Before Strife could misinterpret this action, Cupid scooped Strife up in his arms and sat him on his lap.
At first Strife was stiff in his arms.
“Did I hurt you?”
“Nah, I’m all right.” Strife made himself relax. It was Cupid, not HIM, who was holding him. Being in somebodies lap was hard. HE only did that when he wanted to molest Strife.
Finally Strife got used to Cupid holding him and he drooped. Not relaxed, drooped. He was so fatigued, mentally and physically.
But he was *safe*. Inside his mind the word *safe* echoed over and over again.
Strife closed his eyes and smiled in peace.
^^^^^^
Strife lightly ran his fingers over Cupid’s arm, tracing the tattoo that encircled it. He so loved that marking, it was sexy as Tartarus.
“Do you want to go home now.” Cupid’s soft question held the promise of bed…to sleep. Strife ruefully acknowledged that he couldn’t do much else right now. The party had taken more out of him than he cared to admit.
“Nah, I don’t wanna miss tha rest ah Joxah’s baby showah.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Cupid kissed Strife’s temple.
“Um huh.” Actually Strife wasn’t sure of anything at the moment. All he wanted to do was stay like this the rest of the day. Rousing himself, Strife sat up and said, “We bettah get in theah before it’s all ovah.”
Cupid helped Strife get up and stood up quickly himself when Strife swayed. He held onto his husband until the dizziness passed.
When they got to the door Strife paused again. Cupid checked to make sure he wasn’t sick or hurting. Strife looked so unsure that Cupid had to hold him again. (Right, like he needed an excuse.)
“Come on baby, I want to see this bash you arranged.”
^^^^^^
Quite a few heads turned when they came into the room.
Joxer smiled when he saw Strife looking happy again. He guessed he would let Cupid live.
Apollo looked over and licked his lips mentally at how nice Strife looked. Then he saw Cupid glaring at him and he gulped. He chanced a glance at Ares and saw an equally menacing glare and started backing up. He peeked at Joxer and saw his innocent smile. Apollo yelped and flashed out in a hurry.
Cupid and Ares looked at Joxer with respect. Joxer just smiled.
Cupid immediately led Strife over to his chair and sat him down. Remembering Ace’s warning and how badly Strife’s feet had looked, Cupid thought up a foot stool and eased Strife’s feet up onto it.
^^^^^^
“All right, I can’t stand it anymore.” Joxer looked at Ares. “What in Tartarus did you do to Apollo to get that reaction out of him.”
Joxer smirked. “I went to Hephaestus and had him make a bracelet for me. The next time Apollo began to grop…uh, bother me I slapped it on him.” Ares didn’t miss Joxer’s almost-admission and Joxer didn’t miss the growl that accompanied it.
“What did the bracelet do?” Cupid was trying to divert his father’s attention. The last thing they needed was for him to beat the crap out of Apollo. Without him the sun wouldn’t come up.
“With the bracelet on Apollo couldn’t get it up. He was still as horny as ever, he just couldn’t do anything about it.” Ares grinned at his husband. “I told him he had to wear it for a month. He tried *everything* to get it to come off. After about a week he came to me, pleading with me to remove it. I told him he could take it off if he got the key. Then I told him that Ares had the key. All he had to do was explain why he needed it.” Joxer grinned at the audience that had gathered. “He wore the bracelet for the whole month. By then I think he was so ready for sex he was about to explode. It’s funny, he hasn’t bothered me since then.”
Several of the men listening backed up. Ares frowned at them and they suddenly found other things to do. (Yes, they had also propositioned Joxer.)
^^^^^^
Joxer looked at his painfully thin friend and decided more subtle direction was needed. He thought about hitting Cupid over the head with his plate and then decided that maybe that was not *subtle* enough.
“These are really good. What are they called again?” Joxer held up a bit of food in one hand.
“Nachos. They’re from tha future.”
“Did you like them?” At Strife’s nod he continued, “I thought so. I did see you eating…two of them.” Joxer looked pointedly again at Cupid who eyed the very small pieces of food thoughtfully.
“I’ll be right back.” Cupid walked over to the food tables.
While he was gone, Strife scanned the room, making sure all the food trays were full and drinks were plentiful. He had just spotted something that needed fixing and was about to get up when Athena appeared by his side.
Athena frowned. Why did Strife look so much worse all of the sudden? Earlier he had seemed tired, but now he looked positively worn out. She smiled at the young god and said, “Take a break, you deserve one after all the hard work you’ve done organizing everything. I’ll keep an eye on things for you.” With that she walked away before Strife could argue with her.
“Here you go baby.” Strife looked up to see Cupid holding a plate that was brimming over with food.
“I can’t eat all that.” Strife giggled at all the different foods.
That giggle warmed Cupid’s heart. He hadn’t realized that it had been missing for the last several days.
“Well you’re going to eat as much as you can.” Cupid waved his hand and Strife’s chair elongated into a small couch. He liked the way it looked and decided to call it a love seat. (Hey, who else do you think invented it.)
“What did you have for lunch?” Strife looked guilty.
“I kinda forgot in all tha rush.”
“I see…and breakfast.” Strife wiggled this time.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
Cupid sat down beside his husband and carefully pulled him closer so that Strife’s bad side was being supported by Cupid’s body. Cupid held out the plate. “Eat.” Strife took the plate and started nibbling on a sandwich. “We’ll talk later about your eating habits.”
Strife didn’t say anything and tried to eat more.
After a while, Cupid noticed that Strife’s plate was tilting at an alarming angle. He took it before it could slide out of Strife’s lax hand. Strife had fallen asleep in the middle of the loud party.
Cupid sat the plate and the glass of juice he had been holding down on a small table that appeared beside him. Somewhat satisfied with the amount of food Strife had eaten, he snuggled up with his husband and watched him sleep.
He wasn’t the only one.
Most everyone had noticed the change in Strife. Not how much happier he was, although they noticed that too. No, they noticed the abrupt change for the worse in his appearance.
Strife looked even more fragile than ever. His skin was paper white (Not that he was ever Mr. Tan.) and looked like it would tear at a touch. He looked thinner and like a slight breeze would knock him over. (Actually, at this point it wouldn’t even take that much.)
Protective instincts rose up and so did blood pressure. Gods and goddesses began to meet together to plan what they were going to do to Tryst when he was found. Some of the plans were bloodthirsty and gruesome. Then there were the *really bad* ones. (You don’t want me to tell you about the one with the starving rats, a metal bowl, some hot coals and lots and lots of straps.+)
Strife slept on, unaware of the fervor being created because he dropped the glamour.
-
+Thanks to Scribe for this suggestion.
-
Fic: Overheard Conversations 13/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
See earlier postings for warnings and disclaimers.
Extra note: In my universe there was no Twilight of the Gods and Strife never murdered Serena, Hercules’ second wife. Bliss is only about 4 years old now, Eve (Xena’s daughter) is 7. Yes, I know he should be a lot older, but hey it’s my universe. Also, there have been no godly children born between Strife and Bliss. I’m not sure if Deimos and Phobos are supposed to be younger than Strife, but here they’re not.
Special Extra Note: Thanks to my mother, Vivian and my daughter, Caitlin. They helped me figure out what some of the baby presents should be.
Part 13
Cupid stroked Strife’s face and sighed in relief. He couldn’t believe he had been *so* stupid. After all that he had learned about Strife’s past, (And didn’t it look like there was a *lot* more to learn) and it never occurred to him that Strife would still feel insecure about their love. Cupid resolved to be a lot more observant from now on.
He ran a hand over his husband’s thin-thin body. There was no way Strife was going to get this run down again if he could help it.
Jayce walked over to stand in front of Cupid and the sleeping Strife. He had just come from giving Joxer his baby present. Jayce smiled at Strife and then looked up and smiled at the glowering Cupid. He didn’t seem fazed at all that a very powerful and *very* pissed off god (Not to mention jealous husband.) was glaring at him.
“Chou are so lucky.”
That was the last thing Cupid expected to hear. “Yeah, I know.”
“I wich I were that lucky.” Jayce sighed dramatically. (As usual.) “Here, I have a present for chou too.” Jayce giggled and handed Cupid a small jar. “Acsually it is a present for both of chou.” With a wink, Jayce turned and walked away. After a few feet he looked back over his shoulder and gave Cupid a saucy grin. He sauntered away with a distinct wiggle in his walk.
Cupid blinked. “Maybe I can see what dad sees in Joxer,” Cupid muttered to himself. He glanced over at Joxer and saw him laughing with Ares. Okay, he could definitely see the attraction. Not that he thought Joxer was good looking or anything, although he was. That kind of thinking was dangerous and icky. It was like thinking Heph was good looking or something.
Oh boy. Now he was thinking about Heph and Jayce. Quick, think of something else. Cupid opened at the jar that Jayce had given him. He started to laugh and had to clamp his lips down tight so he wouldn’t wake up Strife.
It was a jar of honey.
Looking across the room he smiled at a grinning Jayce. Honey. Now he had some really good pictures in his head. Only this time they involved Strife and a paint brush.
Strife felt the movement of Cupid’s chest and stirred. He opened his eyes and sat up. Strife blinked confusedly and with a shaky hand he pushed the hair out of his eyes.
“What did I miss?”
“Nothing, we were waiting for you to wake up.” Joxer smiled at his tousled friend.
Strife was surprised and touched. “Ya didn’t hafta wait on me.”
Joxer frowned at Strife. “You’re my best friend, of course I wanted to wait for you.” Strife smiled and blinked away the tears that this sentiment caused. Gods he was turning into sappy twit.
Joxer turned around and acknowledged the gift Poseidon was giving the baby. It was a baby bed shaped like a sea shell; covered in pearls and lined with the softest blanket made from sea weed.
Cupid pulled Strife back against him, again supporting his bad side. Strife sighed happily. Cupid gave him a drink and then picked up the plate and offered it to his husband. “Here, you need to eat some more and try eating some of the vegetables this time.”
Strife grinned and picked up a carrot. He wasn’t really hungry, but if it would make Cupid happy he would try to eat more. Strife began nibbling at the vegetable; going as slow as godly possible. Maybe if he ate leisurely Cupid wouldn’t notice that he really wasn’t eating very much.
Athena came up and gave Joxer a book. (Big surprise.) “This book contains all the knowledge that a young person will need to understand intellectual problems. If the child asks the book a question it will answer it. Within reason, of course. The book will be able to discern how old the child is and if he or she asks a question that is inappropriate for their age the book will tell the child to defer to the two of you.”
Joxer blinked at the long-winded explanation. “Thank you, that sounds wonderful.” Athena nodded her head in reply.
Cupid was enjoying the relaxed mood when he felt Strife tense up. Cupid looked around the room, trying to see what had upset his husband. He couldn’t see anything or anyone that could be causing the problem. Then he realized that Strife was looking at himself in a mirror on the far wall. Cupid remembered Strife’s earlier words about being ugly.
“Baby, I love you so much. You are the hottest looking person I have ever seen. I can’t wait until you feel a little better and we can try out that jar of honey.”
Cupid was worried when instead of making Strife feel better, his words made him start crying. Joxer leaned over and gently patted Strife on the arm.
“Hormones,” he said quietly.
Strife laughed and seemed to feel better. That, in turn, made Cupid felt better. Of course, hormones. He had forgotten about them with everything else that was going on.
^^^^^^
“Strife!” Eve, Xena’s young daughter came running up. The little girl jumped up and down by Strife’s chair, her long black curls bouncing. “Hi Strife, can I feel the baby?” At Strife’s nod she put her hands on his tummy.
Xena smiled at her daughter’s antics. Eve and Strife had a close friendship and Xena could see more than a little of the imp in her daughter’s personality. It was funny, with her black hair, blue eyes and mischievous personality, she was more like you would expect a child of Strife’s to be than she was like the Warrior Princess.
“Here you go Joxer, just a little something for the baby.”
Xena gave Joxer a small, gaily wrapped present. Joxer unwrapped it and laughed happily. It was a small, leather wrapped chakram.
“It’s a teething ring.” Xena explained to the delighted Joxer. Xena looked at her father and was amazed to see him surreptitiously wiping a tear from his eye.
“Oh Xena, thank you. I love it.” Joxer impulsively gave his daughter-in-law a hug. “This is so sweet.” He placed the favorite gift a place of honor beside him on the chair.
Somebody, nobody knew who, had given them all a gift earlier. Gabrielle had *mysteriously* gotten laryngitis when she threatened, I mean offered, to read them all *another* story.
A musical laugh and a giggle caught their attention. Eve was showing Cupid and Strife how well she could juggle. She seemed to have inherited her mother’s dexterity and caught all of the thrown objects unerringly.
^^^^^^
“Joxie, here’s my gift.” Aphrodite held up a little, very little, dress for them to see. “I made it to look like my favorite outfit.” Aphrodite beamed at the two gods.
Ares scowled. “Dite…what if it’s a boy.”
“No prob Bro. The outfit will automatically change to match the baby’s sex.”
Ares didn’t look reassured. Joxer hastily thanked Aphrodite, biting the inside of his lip the whole time.
“What’s sa funny?” Strife looked at the dress Joxer was holding and shuddered.
Joxer reached over to one side and pulled up another dress. “Here’s Jayce’s present.”
Strife looked at the two outfits. “They’re tha same.”
“Yep.”
Strife began to giggle. The Goddess of Love and Joxer’s drag-queen brother had given the baby the exact same present. “Dite would have ah fit if she knew they was tha same.”
The two pregnant gods and their spouses all huddled together, laughing at the situation.
^^^^^^
Time passed and more people brought up their gifts.
Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, gave the baby a miniature unicorn. It stood less than 2 feet high and had long curly hair.
“The hair will change color once the baby is born. It’s hair will then match the babies hair color.”
Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, gave a flower that would never die to Joxer and a garden to the baby.
“The garden will have grass and blooming flowers all year long. This will be a pleasant place for the baby to play in and will keep your unicorn happy and fed.”
Hercules and Iolaus came up. Hercules and Ares were trying not to glare at each other. The bonding they had done a few weeks ago had helped their relationship, but they were never going to be buddy-buddy.
Iolaus smiled at Joxer and Ares and gave them his present. It was the cutest little pair of booties and a baby blanket made from rabbit fur. “I caught the rabbits and cured the fur myself. I made it nice and soft so it won’t irritate the baby.”
Joxer smiled and rubbed the soft blanket against his face. Ares was delighted with the tiny pair of shoes.
Hercules gave them a mobile to hang in the baby’s room. It was a hand-carved wooden moon with stars floating around it.
Joxer spun the mobile and was captivated by how delicate it looked. Ares smiled (Yes he smiled.) at his brother in appreciation.
^^^^^^
Jett slid up behind Joxer and handed him a package before slipping back into the crowd. His gift turned out to be a very beautiful jeweled dagger. It was covered with gold, emeralds and rubies.
Jett came up to Strife who was, for a change, by himself. Cupid had gone off to get a sampling from the desert table, hoping to tempt Strife to eat more.
“Hey.”
“Uh, hey.”
“I just wanted to thank you.”
“Fah what?” Strife was puzzled.
“I know how much you’ve helped Joxer over the years. I heard about that time when you saved him from those men. If it weren’t for you he would have been raped and probably killed.”
“Uh, that’s okay I…”
“So, I owe you one. A freebie. Any assassination. Of *anybody*. All you have to do is tell me their name.”
“That’s real nice Jett, but I’m a god, I can kill anybody I want ta.”
“I mean *anybody*. I’ve got the means. If I can find them and you want ‘em dead, they’re dead.”
Strife looked into Jett’s eyes and gulped. He obviously had hind’s blood and was willing to use it for *him*. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Jett nodded once and disappeared back into the crowd.
^^^^^^
Joxer looked exhausted, after all the party had been going on for *4* hours. Strife, who had been tired to begin with, is so far beyond exhausted it wasn’t even funny.
Aphrodite and Jayce looked at their loved ones and their respective, worried spouses and stuck their heads together, whispering. (Yikes!) In ten minutes the party went from booming to where everyone but the main four gods and Athena were the only ones still there.
“Now, what to do with all this food?” Athena peered at the bounty that was left on the tables.
“Theah’s an orphanage in Athens that could use tha food.”
Athena smiled at Strife and snapped her fingers. The food immediately vanished. Strife smiled as he got a burst of energy, emanating from the good feelings coming from all of those happy children.
“Let me handle the clean up.” With that Athena again snapped her fingers and everything was clean and back in order. “Well that took a lot.” Athena laughed at her own joke and flashed out.”
“I think you’ve been a good influence on her Strife.” Ares smiled at his young nephew.
“Thank you for the wonderful party.” Joxer smiled at Strife. He reached out and gave his good friend a hug. “Are you okay now?” he whispered. Ares and Cupid had moved to one side and were talking themselves.
“Yeah, I’m okay now. Sorry about earlier.”
Joxer just shook his head and gave Strife another hug. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
^^^^^^
“Do you have any idea what happened to Strife 40 years ago?”
“No, but I intend to find out.”
“Yeah, me too. Can I make a suggestion son?”
“Sure.”
“Let’s not ask him for a while yet. He’s been through enough strain for right now.”
“I agree Dad, but soon.”
“Oh yeah…soon.”
^^^^^^
Ares walked over to his *very* pregnant husband and picked him up. Joxer giggled as Ares carried him to their bedroom. Over Ares’ shoulder, Joxer waved goodbye to Cupid and Strife.
Cupid wrapped his arms and Strife and hugged him close. Strife looked over Cupid’s shoulder and saw a mirror. He frowned and thought to himself, “still ugly.”
Strife’s thoughts were interrupted when Cupid flashed them home. Strife’s legs gave way when they arrived. Cupid wasted no time and emulated his father by scooping his sleepy husband up in his arms and carrying him to the bedroom. By the time Cupid had walked the 20 or so feet, Strife was nine-tenth’s the way asleep. Cupid laid Strife on the bed and flashed on some clean sleep clothes for Strife.
Strife always wore clothes to bed. He never felt safe sleeping in the nude, like Cupid. (Let’s face it, he never felt safe at all.)
Mindful of Asclepius’ warning, Cupid eased Strife’s shoes off and put his feet up on a couple of feathery soft pillows. Cupid lay down beside his husband, spooning up behind him, and gently rolled Strife back so that he was half-way reclining on Cupid. In this way, Strife’s back and ribs are supported without Strife having to do anything.
Strife sighed at the comfortable position he was in. He was able to relax and sleep (mostly) pain free all night.
^^^^^^
Neither god hears the bedroom door open.
Bliss walks in; his curly hair tousled, rubbing his eyes. He stops when he sees Strife and Cupid asleep on the bed.
His sweet expression drops off and he snarls.
The boy backs out of the door that silently closes in front of him. Bliss ripples and elongates until he is…Cupid-shaped. “Soon little one.” His voice was much deeper and rumbling than Cupid’s normal voice. “You are *mine* and I will *deal* with you before long.”
The Cupid-shape strode down the corridor…to Bliss’ room. He snarled again when he couldn’t get any closer to the bed than the doorway, because of a barrier that glittered in the dark.
“And you will pay for that one too, Little One.”
The Cupid-shape leaves the temple with a flash.
^^^^^^
Strife frowned and began to whimper in his sleep. Cupid woke up enough to comfort him and feeling safe, Strife snuggled back against his husband. They both fell back asleep.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 14/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Warnings and Disclaimers: See previous sections
Chapter 14
The next morning dawned bright and clear. Apollo drove his chariot across the sky, all the while searching for Tryst. He didn’t see him anywhere. Disappointed, Apollo went back to his temple and sulked. He was so mad at Tryst and all the things he had done that Apollo didn’t even want to play (You know what I mean.) with the Muses.
The Muses, in turn, were also mad about what had happened and was *still* happening to Strife (And extremely horny.) so they too were looking for Tryst. Every person who was inspired to write poetry or a song was scrutinized. Sadly, they had no more luck than Apollo had.
It was a very bad day at Apollo’s temple.
^^^^^^
Strife was warm and comfortable. This was unusual. Not the warm part, no the comfortable part. For as long as he could remember Strife had been in pain of one sort or another. Since he had become pregnant it was substantially worse. But not this morning. His back didn’t hurt and his ribs only ached a little.
Smiling, Strife opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder at his husband. He grinned when he saw that Cupid was already awake and watching him.
“Mornin.”
“Good morning to you baby.” Cupid kissed Strife’s neck and Strife giggled at the tickling sensation. Strife snuggled back into the soft warmth that was his husband’s body. The lay spooned together for several more minutes, happily enjoying the quiet time.
“What time is it?” Strife stretched cautiously.
“Time for breakfast.”
With one last kiss Cupid slid out from behind Strife and rolled him on his back. Seeing that this caused no pain, Cupid went into the bathroom.
Strife lay there, enjoying the view. Once his sexy and naked husband (Whimper.) was out of view Strife sighed in disappointment and sat up on the side of the bed. Strife sat there and was pleasantly surprised to find that nothing was hurting *too* badly. He went to stand up gasped as his back started spasming. Strife dropped back down on the bed with a cry. He clenched the sheets between his fists and closed his eyes, waiting for it to pass. The pain was finally starting to ease up when Cupid touched him on the arm. Strife jumped in surprise and gasped when his back cramped up again.
Cupid put one arm across his husband’s chest, for him to lean on and rubbed his back until the pain passed. “Baby what happened? I thought you weren’t hurting.”
“I’m okay Cupe, mah back always hurts first thing in tha mornin.” Strife leaned back against his husband. “Whatcha did last night, the way ya were supportin me has helped a bunch. I feel a lot bettah than usual.”
“You hurt like this *every* morning.”
Strife’s eyes popped open when he realized what he had said. “Oops. Uh, yeah.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Cupid’s voice was quiet.
Strife answered just as quietly. “Cause theah wasn’t anything ya coulda done except be upset.”
Cupid straightened them up so he was looking his sheepish husband in the eyes. “I could be here with you so that you aren’t going through this alone.”
Strife looked up at Cupid. He looked so concerned. “I love ya.”
“I love you too. From now on let me help you.”
“I will, I promise.” Strife was contrite this time. The two gods smiled at each other.
“Now let me up, I gotta go.”
“Go where? You are supposed to stay in bed with your feet up for 3 days.” Cupid held up three fingers in demonstration and looked smug. “Did you think I’d forget about that?”
“No, I figured ya’d remembah that.” Strife smiled and ran a finger down Cupid’s nose and across his lips. “What I meant was, I’ve gotta go ta tha bathroom, if ya don’t mind that is.”
Cupid blushed and helped Strife to stand up. “Smart ass.” Cupid slapped Strife (Don’t worry, he was gentle.) on the bottom as he walked by.
“Thank ya, I always knew mah butt was intelligent.” Strife grinned and made sure to twitch his behind as he went into the bathroom.
When Strife was finished he leaned against the wall for a minute. Gods he was so tired and the day hadn’t even started yet. Strife took a couple of cleansing breaths and went back into the bedroom. He stopped in the doorway and had to smile. The bed was nice and neat and full of pillows.
Strife remembered Joxer’s couch from a few weeks back and smiled even bigger. Like father, like son.
“Come on, get back in bed.”
Strife frowned at his husband’s back. “How did ya know I was heah? Ya ain’t even lookin at me.”
Cupid took Strife in his arms. “I can feel you in a crowded room. You are my life and I will *always* know where you are.”
Tears gathered in the corners of Strife’s eyes at the lovely statement. He didn’t say anything; he just kissed Cupid and hoped his heart could speak for him.
Sitting down on the bed, still embracing, Cupid looked Strife in the eye. “How are you feeling this morning, baby?”
“Much bettah.” (Let’s face it, most anything would be an improvement.)
“Yeah, you do look better.” Cupid smiled happily and then remembering the scene in Ares’ office, began frowning. “You look *too good*. I want you to drop the glamour Strife.”
Strife was surprised; he hadn’t realized he was using one. Using a glamour had become second nature to him and so it was odd to *not* to have a glamour.
“Sorry Cupe, I forgot and used one without thinkin.”
Strife concentrated and a brief shimmer passed over his body. Without the glamour Strife still looked awful.
“Lay down baby.” Cupid lifted Strife’s legs as he lay back against the stack of pillows. There were pillows behind his back and pillows under his feet. There were pillows on either side of him, supporting his bad ribs. There…basically there were just pillows everywhere. (Here a pillow, there a pillow, everywhere a pillow. Old Mc…oh sorry, wrong story.)
“I guess mah babysittah will hafta come heah ta check on me.”
Once Strife was situated and comfortable Cupid returned to the conversation. “It’ll be easy on your babysitter today because that’s gonna be me. I’m going to be by your side for most of the day. In fact, I plan on being your babysitter from now on.”
Strife was dumbfounded. “Ya can’t stop doin ya work!”
“And why not?”
Strife sputtered, trying to come up with a reason.
“You are my husband and I’m gonna be the one to take care of you.” Cupid smiled and kissed his shocked husband. “Don’t worry. Mom’s promised to take care of any major problems that come up. If there are any couples that just have to get together *right now* I’ll go, but mainly I’m staying here with you.”
“Right now, it’s time for breakfast. Do you think you could eat?”
“I’ll try.” At the stern look from Cupid, Strife sighed and relented. “Okay, yeah I’ll eat somethin. As long as it ain’t too rich.”
“I think I can manage that.” Cupid smiled and went over to the table to pick up the tray he already had fixed.” Behind him Cupid heard Strife’s sharp intake of breath. He whirled around, looking for danger. Seeing none he looked at Strife and saw him holding his stomach.
Oh gods!
“Baby, what is it?”
Strife grabbed his hand and placed it on his stomach. “Feel.”
Cupid felt something faintly bumping the palm of his hand. “It’s the baby moving.” He was awestruck and Strife was glowing. Another bump. “Oh baby, that’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever felt.”
Cupid was ecstatic. Psyche wouldn’t let him touch her at all when she was pregnant and so he never got to feel Bliss moving inside her.
The door opened and Bliss came running in. He stopped short and stared at the scene before him, frowning. Strife looked up and smiled at him and Bliss came running over. “Daddy Strife not sad anymore?”
“Nah kiddo, I’m happy now.”
“You gonna check my feathers this morning?”
“Ya betcha I am.”
Bliss giggled and turned around with his back to the bed. Strife began running his hands over the feathers, tweaking and straightening.
Cupid was puzzled. Bliss’ feathers looked fine. Why was Strife working with them? He was paying especially particular attention to one spot on the inside edge of one wing.
“All fixed. Now go on and ear yar breakfast.” Bliss giggled and raced over to the table in the corner of the room. His breakfast was laid out there this morning, instead of the dining room where he usually ate.
“Baby, what was that all about?”
“Ya didn’t think I’d leave him unprotected did ya?” Strife was carefully smoothing his sleep shirt over his tummy. He smiled as he felt another bump. “Years ago I went ta Heph and had him make me some little round button type thingies. I put a charm on em ta protect tha wearers from bein hurt by…Tryst.” Strife’s breathing sped up as he said Tryst’s name, but the fact that he felt safe enough in Cupid’s presence to say the name aloud said a lot about how much better Strife was doing emotionally.
“I couldn’t use tha protection mahself. I…tried, but he persuaded me othahwise.”
“What do you mean persuaded?”
“He told me that if I tried ta protect mahself he’d hurt Unc. I didn’t believe him at first. Then one day, after he’d…hurt me in tha garden, I decided I couldn’t take it anymore. I went in ta see Unc. He was in tha middle of a meetin. I was waitin ta talk ta Unc when I saw him. He…Tryst was standin right behind Ares. I couldn’t take tha chance.” Strife was nervously twisting his wedding ring.
Cupid was horrified. The crimes that Strife had committed against Strife just kept piling up.
“He used your love of dad to keep you under his power.” Strife nodded.
“Anyway, I knew I had ta protect any othah kids he might…hurt. Fortunately theah weren’t any othah kids until Bliss, except Eve.”
“Eve? You mean Xena’s daughter.”
“Yeah. As Ares’ granddaughter she was definitely a target. So I protected her and Bliss. Here, let me show ya. Kiddo would ya come heah a minute. Thanks.” Strife had Bliss turn around again. “Gimme yar hand.” He took Cupid’s hand and pressed his fingers in among the super soft feathers. Cupid could barely feel something there. It was about the size of a tiny seed. No wonder he had never found it before.
“Ya hafta know it’s theah ta find it. Eve’s is tha same size. As long as they’re wearin it HE can’t hurt em. It kinda throws a shield out around em if he comes around.”
Cupid smiled lovingly at his husband. “Thank you for protecting the children.” With a swat on the behind (Way different from the swat he gave Strife.) he sent Bliss back to eating.
^^^^^^
“Now it’s *really* time for you to eat.”
Strife took a look at the toast and cut up fruit and hoped he could eat without throwing up. He nibbled on one corner of the piece of toast and realized it was actually helping settle his stomach. Encouraged he ate more, until finally he had finished the *whole* breakfast.
Cupid was pleased with the amount of food Strife had consumed. He saw how much eating had taken it out of Strife. He was about to suggest a nap when there was a knock at the door. Cupid opened it to find his head temple priest.
“My Lord I was just coming with a report for My Lord Strife.” The priest looked into the room and his normally stern countenance softened into a gentle smile.
Cupid looked around and realized that Strife had fallen asleep sitting up.
“Give the report to me and I’ll pass it on.”
“Certainly My Lord. Upon investigation, I have determined that the statue fell yesterday because of a weakness in the base. The stone crumbled causing the statue to fall. We have checked all of the statues in the temple and their bases. There were two other’s where the bases were either cracked or crumbling. They are being repaired as we speak.
“You’re sure it was just deterioration and not sabotage.” Cupid was frowning, he just couldn’t believe Strife being hurt had nothing to do with Tryst.
“Yes My Lord, I am certain. There was a problem where the statue and the base was joined. It has crumbled a little bit, over time, in the back where it couldn’t easily be seen.”
Cupid nodded distractedly. It was being fixed and didn’t involve Tryst, that was all Cupid cared about right now. He dismissed the priest with a wave and nod. “Good work.”
“Daddy.” Bliss’ attempt at a whisper was louder than his normal speaking voice.
“What sweetheart?”
“Is that bad man going to hurt Daddy Strife anymore?”
Cupid wondered how Bliss had found out about Tryst. “Not if I can help it.”
Bliss’ little brow wrinkled. How could his Daddy not save Daddy Strife, there was nothing his Daddy couldn’t do.
There was another knock at the door. Bliss’ nanny was there, waiting to take Bliss to his lessons. “You go on and practice flying. Tonight you can show me and Daddy Strife how well you are doing.” Bliss giggled and ran out the door, chattering the whole time.
Cupid went back to the bed and gazed at his sleeping spouse. He leaned Strife forward until he was resting against Cupid’s chest. Cupid waved his hand and removed all but two of the pillows. Those he left laying side by side on the bed. He ooched Strife’s hips down in the bed and then lay him back down on his side. Cupid lay down on the other pillow and resumed their position from the night before. It was a testament to how exhausted Strife was that all of this upheaval didn’t wake him at all.
Cupid rubbed Strife’s arms and massaged his back until they both fell in to a peaceful slumber.
^^^^^^
3 days later
Strife was *so* bored. He had been laying in bed for 3 days. Cupid wouldn’t let him do anything. Cupid was trying to make up for not realizing how tired Strife had been and Strife appreciated it, he really did. He just wished Cupid would calm down a little. Strife couldn’t go to the bathroom without Cupid hovering (No pun intended.) over him.
Of course, Strife had to admit there were times when he needed the help. Just not *all* the time. At least not yet. Strife knew he was going to get a lot worse before this pregnancy was over and he wanted to stay as independent as long as he could.
Actually Strife liked the attention; he was just afraid that if Cupid had to keep taking care of him he would get sick of him and leave. (Strife’s just a *little* insecure.)
But today was the day. He was allowed to get up and walk around the temple a little. Asclepius had been by that morning and given him a clean bill of health. (Yeah, right.) Well, all right, Ace had said he was doing better.
A little. Some.
Sigh.
Strife had convinced Cupid to go and listen to some of his worshipers for a while. Cupid had reluctantly agreed. Now if he could just get away from Hestia for a little bit then he could get everything set up.
^^^^^^
Argh! Hestia had proved to be one of his more persistent babysitters. He had only managed to elude her for a couple of minutes at a time. However, Strife was determined and had done it. Everything was ready and waiting for Cupid to come home.
Gods he was tired.
Who knew arranging a seduction could take so much out of a god. He only hoped it would work.
Maybe if he laid down on the couch for a while…
Strife woke up when he felt a soft kiss ghost across his lips. “Mmmm, now that’s tha way I like ta wake up.” Strife smiled up at Cupid. He raised his head slightly a slid his tongue across Cupid’s lips. Cupid’s eyes darkened with desire. “Definitely a good way ta wake up.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Cupid wrapped his arms around Strife and proceeded to kiss him breathless.
“Can we have Bliss stay with Dite tonight?”
Strife looked so uncertain. Cupid couldn’t have that. He began kissing all over Strife’s face. His eyelids, cheekbones and nose were soon tingling. Cupid kissed his way to one ear and whispered in it before sucking it into his mouth. “He’s already there.”
Strife gasped and shivered when Cupid began to nibble on the skin behind his ear.
“Let’s take this into tha bedroom.” Before he could finish speaking, Cupid stood up, scooped him up in his arms and strode towards the bedroom. “I’m gonna take that as a yes.” Strife giggled and Cupid smirked down at him.
Cupid stopped in the doorway. There were candles everywhere. They flickered softly, casting shadows on the wall. Orange blossoms blanketed the room. The scent of them wafted up as Cupid crushed them underfoot as he walked to the bed.
He lay Strife on the bed and stood admiring the tiny petals that surrounded his husband’s dark hair. With a thought, Cupid made Strife’s clothes disappear. Cupid picked up a handful of the fragrant blossoms and dropped them over Strife’s body. They fluttered down like snowflakes and Strife arched up at the sensual feeling.
Cupid saw the brief flash of pain that crossed Strife’s face. Before he could say or do anything, Strife pulled him down and they kissed again. Strife needed this and so did he. Cupid knew he would just have to be careful of his injured lover.
^^^^^^
Strife pushed Cupid over onto his back and leaned over him. There was a sharp flash of pain from his ribs. He gasped before he could stop himself. Cupid was looking at him seriously. Strife knew that if he didn’t do something right now everything would be over before it even started.
“Cupe please, I need ta do this. Please let me. I’m all right, really.”
“Okay baby, just don’t hurt yourself.”
Strife smiled brightly, leaned over and began kissing his buff husband’s chest. With slow deliberation he trailed one hand down Cupid’s side, along his thigh and eventually up to the place he most wanted to be. Taking hold of his manhood, Strife began to stroke and caress his husband. At the same time he began licking and gently biting his nipples. It didn’t take long for Cupid to come, screaming Strife’s name as he did.
Strife lay across Cupid’s chest, panting slightly. That had taken more out of him than he had thought it would.
^^^^^^
Cupid gently turned Strife onto his back. He didn’t waste any time and began gently caressing his husband’s body. It had been so long since they had made love that it wasn’t long before Strife was thoroughly aroused.
Mindful of his painful ribs, Cupid was careful to anchor Strife on the bed. That way he didn’t arch up or twist around (Too much.) and cause himself any pain. Cupid didn’t want anything to spoil this night for Strife.
All too soon, Strife reached completion. He lay in Cupid’s arms, too tired to even hold him back. Strife fell asleep within seconds.
Cupid summoned a wet, warm cloth and cleaned the sweat from Strife’s face. With a thought they were both clean and the sheets changed. He kept the orange blossoms both on the bed and floor. He also left the candles burning all night long. (Don’t try this at home, boys and girls. Remember, they’re gods living in a stone room. Nothing’s going to catch fire here.)
A soft blanket appeared in the air above the two gods and floated down to cover them. Cupid smoothed it over Strife and himself and carefully arranged Strife’s body back in the spoon and Cupid-pillow position that they had discovered was so comfortable.
The loving and contented spouses slept happily all night long.
^^^^^^
Apollo and the Muses went to bed. (Just to sleep!) They were still frustrated (In more ways than one.) and disappointed that another day had gone by without finding Tryst. Apollo vowed to search again in the morning.
After a while silence descends on the temple. On one wall there is a mural showing the various deities on Olympus.
It begins to ripple and flows out from the wall to reform…into Tryst.
He has been hiding there all day. Unknown. Unseen. Safe.
Tryst turns back to the mural and finds the depiction of Strife. With a feral gleam in his eye, Tryst licks the image.
“I’m coming Little One.”
He snarls in the direction of Apollo’s bedroom and flashes out.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 15/?
Author: Kerensa
Warnings and Disclaimers: See previous sections
Extra Note: The lovely ensemble that Ares wears (you’ll know which one I mean) was thought of by my mother.
This section is beginning of 3 chapters that really go together.
Part 15-The Bad Week 1/3
2 weeks later
“So wheah are we goin?”
Cupid just grinned at his husband. “You’re going to just have to wait and see.”
The God of Love had one arm around Strife’s waist, supporting him. (That’s all. Really. Uh huh.) He made sure to keep himself between Strife and any statues. Cupid just couldn’t help thinking about that other statue. It was way *too* much of a coincidence that it fallen *just* as Strife walked by. Cupid wasn’t taking any chances.
Cupid had made sure that Strife got a lot of rest these past couple of weeks and it seemed to have paid off. Even with all the grousing (by Strife) and the wheedling (by Cupid) that had gone on. It had been worth the effort. Strife looked better. (Could he have looked any worse? Well yeah, actually he could.) He was more energetic and seemed to be really happy.
“Daddy, Daddy Strife.” Bliss came running down the corridor and up to the couple. Cupid moved slightly in front of Strife so that Bliss barreled into him instead of both of them. “Hurry or we’ll be late for the picnic.” Bliss bounced up and down, his little wings flapping furiously, unaware that he had just spoiled the surprise.
Strife grinned and tousled the little boy’s hair affectionately. “Wheah are we havin this *picnic* anyway?”
Cupid growled playfully with his son before answering. “The beach.”
Strife smiled. “Ummm…tha beach huh. Just thinka tha possibilities.” Strife was looking forward to seeing his two favorite men splashing around in the water. Not to mention seeing Cupe in a skimpy bathing suit. Strife and licked his lips playfully.
Cupid took a firm grip on his husband and son. “Behave yourself,” he whispered to Strife.
Strife leaned over and whispered back. “I will, I promise.” Then he licked Cupid’s ear playfully. Giggling, Strife leaned back and assumed an innocent look. Cupid rolled his eyes and flashed his family to the beach.
^^^^^^
Strife leaned against Cupid until his stomach settled and tried not to throw up. Flashing tended to disorient him since he had become pregnant. Strife surreptitiously let Cupid support him as he looked around. The last thing he needed was for Cupid to realize he still felt pretty bad. Strife wanted this outing. For all of them. Cupid had been taking care of Strife non-stop for a while now and Strife didn’t want his husband to get burned out.
Or sick of him.
“Dad and I have a surprise for you and Joxer.” Cupid turned Strife around and let him see the *surprise*. Strife had to put a hand up to hide his smile.
There was a *tent* on the beach.
Apparently Cupid and Ares had decided that an ordinary canopy was not nearly enough protection for their two pregnant husbands. No they were to have a tent and not just any tent. This was a tent that would have made a general proud. It was striped and big enough that most of Xena’s house would have fit inside of it and Xena had a big house.
Inside the tent were all the comforts of home and then some. Literally *all* the comforts. There were two lounge chairs, covered with pillows, naturally. A large table was topped with every kind of food imaginable. There were even carpets on the ground.
*Carpets?* Who put carpets on *sand*?
Strife turned back to his husband and smiled his appreciation, Cupid looked so proud. “Thanks Cupe, this is wonderful.”
Strife followed Cupid and Bliss into the tent. He looked over at Joxer, who was lounging on one of the chairs. Strife saw his amusement reflected back out of Joxer’s eyes.
“Hey Joxah, hey Unc.”
“Strife. You’re looking better.”
“Thanks Unc, you’re lookin pretty good yourse…” Strife stopped talking and just gaped when Ares stood up.
Ares was in a bathing suit, barely. It was a very, very small suit. It covered up Ares’ crotch, if you didn’t look too closely. Strife was stunned to realize that he was eyeing his uncle’s *assets*. The small piece of material that was stretched tightly across his groin was shiny and red with white hearts.
There weren’t very many hearts.
Then Ares turned sideways and Strife thought he was going to swallow his tongue. While the front of the costume was skimpy, the back…simply wasn’t there. Most of his butt and oh my gods, look how gorgeous it was!, was hanging out in the breeze. There was just a *little* (Need I stress more how little.) strip of cloth that covered up his crack.
Strife realized that Ares was talking with Bliss. He decided he had better stop ogling his uncle before someone caught him. Strife glanced over at Joxer and saw the smirk on his face. At least Joxer didn’t seem to be upset with him.
Strife sidled over to Joxer and waited until his husband, son and uncle went outside. “Hmmmm…I like that. I’m gonna keep that in mind fah tha future. If ya made tha piece in tha back littleah it would look even bettah. I think I’ll name it after Unc. I’ll call it a g-string.”
“*G-string*? Shouldn’t it be A-string?”
“Nah. G-string fah god-string.”
Joxer thought of Ares’ reaction to having a piece of string running up people’s butt being named after him and began laughing hysterically.
Strife watched his Uncle’s impressive form and determined then and there that Cupid was going to have an outfit like that, and *soon*!
^^^^^^
Cupid laughed as Bliss spun around in the water, his wings flapping and water flying everywhere. “I got Daddy. I splashed Daddy.”
“You sure did sweetheart.”
Cupid watched as Bliss danced around happily. It was a wonderful day. He sighed. If only Strife felt well enough to be out here with them then it would be perfect. He glanced over at the tent and could see Strife and Joxer resting on their chairs. They were both laughing and seemed to be having a good time. Cupid was glad to see Strife so happy. There hadn’t been very much to be happy about recently.
Cupid looked over at his father and saw that he seemed inordinately interested in a large sea shell. Wondering what was up Cupid left Bliss making a sand temple and wandered over.
As Cupid got closer to Ares he was surprised to discover that he could hear Joxer talking. Huh? They were too far away to hear the men in the tent. What was going on? He walked up behind his father and realized that Joxer and now Strife’s voices were coming from the conch shell that Ares was holding.
“What are you doing?”
“Shhh…I’m listening to them talking.”
Cupid’s mouth fell over in shock. “DAD!” Cupid was appalled by what his father was doing. “The last two times we listened in was because of The Fates. You can’t do that.”
“Yes I can.” Ares had a determined look on his face. “The only time we *ever* find out what’s going on with Joxer and Strife is when we listen in.”
Cupid sputtered a few seconds and then said, “Good point. Move over I want to hear too.”
Ares nodded at his son’s good sense and held the sea shell up higher.
^^^^^^
Strife looked over at Joxer who was dressed in shorts and a loose shirt that was patterned with red with white hearts, just like Ares’, uh…bathing costume. He then looked out at his husband and uncle, who for some reason were huddled together. Everybody was dressed for the beach, except him.
“Ya know, it looks like I’m seveahly oveahdressed heah.”
“No, really.” Joxer smiled to soften his sarcasm.
Strife stuck out his tongue as snapped his finger and changed from black pants and a long-sleeved green shirt to…really long black shorts and a short-sleeved green shirt. Hmmm…not, if truth be told, much of a change.
Strife held his arms out in demonstration. “Theah that’s much bettah.”
Joxer was about to comment on the lack of change in attire when Strife grunted and clutched at his stomach.
“Strife! Are you okay?” Joxer frowned at his friend.
“Yeah, I’m okay. It’s just a cramp.”
Joxer watched Strife still holding his stomach in pain. He quickly looked for Ares and Cupid and noticed them standing together. He didn’t know what was going on with them and didn’t really care. Where Ares was standing gave Joxer a good view of his butt, so as far as Joxer was concerned he could stand there all day. “How bad? Do I need to call Asclepius?”
“Nah, it’s already passin.” Strife relaxed back against the pillows and rubbed his stomach trying to relieve the achiness that was a constant in his life now. “It was onna those *I moved taa fast* cramps.”
“Ummm, I hate those. Of course, they’re not as bad as the *What the hell is ripping my back out* cramps.”
Both young gods nodded and said, “Yep” in unison.
^^^^^^
“Cramps! What cramps?” Ares actually stamped his foot in frustration. It had a lovely side effect by making Ares’ butt jiggle. (Oh my!) Ares was about ready to bite the head off of something. Why hadn’t Joxer let him know that he was hurting like that? What was he going to have to do, follow Joxer around all the time and listen to him talk? Argh!
“’Just a cramp’! I thought he was feeling *better*. I’m going over there *right now* and find out what’s going on.”
Ares grabbed his son’s arm and stopped him from leaving. “Don’t be ridiculous. If you go now, we’ll never find out what’s up with those two.”
Cupid realized his father was making sense. After checking to make sure that Bliss was fine and occupied far enough away, he went back to listening in. Naturally, they had missed some of the conversation inside the tent.
^^^^^^
“Why don’t you have some of this fruit.” Joxer waved the platter he was eating from at Strife. “It’s wonderful.” Joxer’s voice was muffled from the piece of fruit in his mouth.
“Nah thanks. I don’t think I could eat anothah bite.” Strife patted his large stomach contentedly. It was a *very* large stomach. In the last couple of weeks he had blossomed.
Joxer licked the fruit juice from his lips and watched his friend covertly. While Strife was getting bigger in the tummy the rest of him seemed to be shrinking. Gods, who knew he could get *thinner* than he normally was.
“Strife, I want to ask you a question, but I don’t want to upset you.”
“Okay.” Strife looked at his friend warily. What was going on? It was never good when someone told you that they didn’t want to upset you. That was a sure sign that you were *going* to be upset by what they had to say.
“Is there something wrong with the baby?”
Strife’s eyebrows shot up, he was more than a little surprised. “No. Why do ya ask?”
“Well…because you’re so big.” Joxer bit his lip and winced. Now that he heard himself talking, it sounded so insensitive. “I mean, not in a bad way, just big.” Well that helped. “You’re only five months along and already you’re bigger than I am now.”
“It’s cause I’m a man.” At Joxer’s perplexed look Strife explained. “At least that’s what Ace says. He told me that all pregnant people carry their babies differently. Men or women it makes no difference. Howevah, as men we’re different again from women. Our bodies make room for tha babies in otha ways. Ya eitha have a smallah baby…”
“Like I am.”
“…right. Or ya have a regulah sized baby and ya get real big. Like I’m doin.”
Joxer was silent as he digested this information. “I wish I could trade places with you. It would be so much easier for me to have a bigger baby than it is going to be for you.”
“Thank ya, that’s sweet. But I’ll be okay.”
Both men sat quietly for a few minutes and watched the sun glinting off the water. It was so peaceful, something that was rarely found in the lives of the gods.
^^^^^^
It *wasn’t* peaceful on the beach. Ares and Cupid were both upset at how resigned Strife was to his pain. Neither god knew of anything they could do to help him.
Both husbands had to stand there for a few minutes and calm back down.
Ares ended the spell on the sea shell. He was ashamed of himself for listening in, even though he was glad of the information.
Cupid started to go into the tent and realized Strife wasn’t there. He didn’t panic (Well…not too much.), because Ares had put a protection net on this section of the beach. Nobody could flash onto the beach, they had to land outside where he and Ares could see them.
Bliss played on, unaware of the problems *his* adults were having. Thanks to Strife and his *protection disks* this was one little boy who would be allowed to stay innocent, as long as possible.
^^^^^^
Strife had gone for a little walk around the beach. Walking sometimes helped ease the cramps in his back. Here he felt safe. Mostly. A little. He knew this was supposed to be a safe area. Of course, he had been in other*safe* places and that hadn’t ever deterred Tryst before.
Strife was tired. It had been a long day, but he hadn’t said anything because everybody was having such a good time. He didn’t know if Joxer got as tired as he did or was it because of his injuries?
Sigh. Strife was *so* tired of being a burden.
After just a few minutes he headed back to the tent. He knew Joxer would be worried if he was gone very long.
Strife leaned against a tree and rested. (Hey! Yes, there can be a tree on the beach. This *is* Olympus, after all. If they want an iceberg on the beach they can have it.) He closed his eyes and tried to gather enough energy to go on.
“Baby, are you all right?”
Strife didn’t even jump this time. He smiled at Cupid’s worried face. “I’m fine. Just restin a minute.”
Cupid moved around behind Strife and pulled Strife back against his chest. “That tree doesn’t look very comfortable.”
“Not as comfortable as ya are.”
“So how come you didn’t go on into the tent?”
“Pssst, come heah and I’ll tell ya.” Strife waggled his finger and whispered conspiratorially. “It was taa fah.” Strife smiled and giggled.
He was so tired that he was punch drunk. Otherwise he would never have admitted anything to his overprotective husband. Strife leaned back until the back of his head was resting on Cupid’s shoulder.
Cupid looked from the tent to where they were standing. Strife was too tired to make it *15* more feet.
He raised his voice slightly, “Dad, I think it’s time we went home.” Cupid put a finger over Strife’s lips to stop his protest. “It’s been a long day and we’re all tired. Let’s go home.”
^^^^^^
The Next Day
Strife grimaced. Apollo was touching him all over. Even if it was in his *medical capacity* Strife didn’t like it. However, Ace was busy with a plague and couldn’t make it for Strife’s bi-weekly check up.
Apollo’s hands roamed all over Strife’s stomach, rubbing and stroking. They kept going lower and lower and lower. Strife tensed up, causing his back to cramp a little. Just before Apollo would have been touching anything he shouldn’t, he stopped.
“The baby’s doin just fine…” Apollo smiled at Strife. Strife tried not to move. If he moved Apollo might use that as an excuse to *accidentally* touch him on the crotch.
“…but dude, you’ve lost more weight. Haven’t you been eating?” Apollo sat on the side of the couch and frowned at his patient.
“Of course I’ve been eatin. Cupid makes sure I get lots ta eat. Tha problem is, most of it comes right back up.”
“Hmmm…try eating smaller meals, several times a day. Smaller amounts might set on your stomach easier.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Apollo frowned and drew himself up. “I want to apologize for the way I acted a few weeks back. It was tacky of me to hit on you the way I did. Don’t get me wrong, man. I would *really* like to get to know you better.” Apollo rubbed his hand on Strife’s thigh suggestively. “Maybe later, when you’re feeling better.” Apollo rubbed some more and licked his lips. “Anyway, like I said, I’m sorry.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Well, I gotta go now. Call if you need me.” Apollo spoke to Eris who was on the other side of the room waiting. Apollo flashed out in a dazzling display of lights that made Strife’s eyes water.
Strife shook his head ruefully. Only Apollo could apologize for hitting on me as he was making another pass.
Strife watched warily as his mother came over to sit beside him. Could this day get any weirder? He was still stunned that she had volunteered to be his babysitter for the day. She had never cared when he was a child, so why was she so interested now?
“How are you feelin?” Eris pulled out a knife and started playing with it. A sure sign of how nervous she was.
“I’m doin okay.”
“That’s good.”
So much for small talk, Strife thought. He was trying to think of something to fill the silence with when his mother spoke up again.
“I’m sorry. I was, am a lousy mother. I wish I’d known about Tryst hurting you and I would have stopped it…because I love you.”
Strife sat there stunned. She said she loved me! In all Strife’s life his mother had never once told him that she loved him. He honestly didn’t know how to react. Before he could say anything, Eris flushed a bright red and jumped up.
“I have trouble I’ve got to stir up. Bye.” With that she flashed out.
Again Strife was stunned. She just left me. I’m not supposed ta be alone and she left me. Strife sighed and shook his head trying to get his paranoia under control. (Is it paranoia if somebody’s after you?) I’m fine. Theah’s nothin ta be worried about. It’s not like HE’s hidin in tha corner or nothin.
With that lovely thought running through his brain, Strife knew he couldn’t stay in the sitting room any more. As nonchalantly as possible Strife got up and walked out the door. After all, it doesn’t pay to let a predator know that you’re aware they’re there.
^^^^^^
After a few seconds, the carpet in the *corner* of the room rippled and changed into Tryst. He snarled in frustration and flashed out.
^^^^^^
Strife felt better in the hallway. The *archery target in the middle of his back* feeling had faded the second he left the sitting room. Strife knew he needed to find some company.
And a babysitter.
Sigh. How depressing.
He decided to head down to Cupid’s office where Cupid and Dite were planning a temple dedication.
“Daddy Strife, Daddy Strife.”
Strife turned to see Bliss (Who else would call him Daddy?) running towards him. Alone. “Hiya kiddo. Wheah’s ya nanny?”
“I dunno. Where ya goin? Can I come with you? Are you going to see Daddy?” The little godling bounced around happily.
“So ya ditched her.” Strife tried to look stern. Obviously it didn’t work because Bliss just smiled and kept bouncing.
“Yeah I’m goin ta see yar daddy and ah course ya come with me.” Strife smiled as he watched his son skipping in front of him. Bliss managed to ditch his nanny more often than not.
Strife kept looking around, doubly afraid now that Bliss was with him. He knew Tryst couldn’t get close enough to attack Bliss, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t just stand down the hallway and blast him.
Strife gasped and stumbled as a sudden pain flared in his side. Holding his ribs, Strife waited for the pain to pass. He started down the hall again and got three more steps before the pain hit again. Strife thumped against the wall and closed his eyes against the burning in his ribs.
“Daddy Strife?”
Strife opened his eyes and looked at his son. “I’m okay. Tha baby is just kickin a little harder taday.” Strife wasn’t lying. He had realized the pain in his side was the baby kicking against his bad ribs.
He doubled over in pain at another kick.
“daddy strife?”
Bliss was so scared and Strife tried to reassure him, but then another pain flared in his side. When Strife could focus again he noticed that he had fallen onto his hands and knees on the ground. His tummy wasn’t being squished because Strife’s knees were far enough apart. He gasped as he tried to comfort Bliss. Pain slammed into his side again and drove Strife forward, until his forehead was lying on the ground.
Strife wrapped his arms around his torso and grunted in pain as his ribs were hit again.
“DADDY!” Bliss’ hysterical scream echoed through the empty hallway.
^^^^^^
Cupid heard his son’s cry from the other end of the temple and flashed in immediately. “Sweetheart what’s wrong?” Cupid only had eyes for his child at that moment.
“Daddy Strife! Help him!” Bliss pointed and Cupid spun around. His heart stopped when he saw his husband lying bent in two on the floor.
“Strife!” Cupid raced over and grabbed Strife who was gasping for breath. He looked back over at his upset son and was torn. He needed to help both of them!
Luckily Aphrodite flashed in and solved his dilemma.
“Come to grandma, sweetie.”
Dite held onto the sobbing little boy while Cupid held onto his husband. Strife jerked in his arms as another wave of pain hit him.
Flash. “What happened?”
Cupid looked at Apollo. “I don’t know I found him like this.” Strife was curled up so tightly that Apollo was having a hard time trying to reach Strife’s stomach. He needed to see if there was something wrong with the baby.
“It’s the baby’s fault. It’s kicking him. Make it stop!” Bliss sobbed louder with the last sentence.
Cupid saw several flashes behind them. He couldn’t stop and wonder who it was. Strife jolted in his arms again and whimpered. Cupid rubbed Strife’s sweat soaked hair off his face. It was the only thing he could think to do. Gods! He felt so helpless.
“Oh god.” Apollo didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t any injury or illness that he could heal. It was the baby doing what babies do. There really wasn’t anything that could be done to stop the baby from kicking, but Strife was in such pain he had to do something. But what?
“Can you move the baby?”
They all looked at Joxer in confusion. They had no idea what Joxer was talking about. After all, none of them had ever been pregnant before. Other than Aphrodite, who was busy with Bliss and didn’t even hear the question.
“Sometimes when my baby starts kicking I can rub it with my hand and get the baby to move some.”
A candle lit up above Apollo’s head as he understood what Joxer was talking about. “Cupid help me. We need to lay Strife on his side.” The two gods gently, but quickly lay the tight ball that was Strife down on his “good” side.
Strife moaned at the extra hurting this maneuver caused. His face was scrunched up in pain. The change in position shifted the baby. Almost immediately he began to relax and in less than a minute Strife lay bonelessly on the floor.
Soon the only sounds in the hallway were Strife’s ragged breathing and Bliss’ sad crying.
“bliss.”
Cupid leaned closer to his husband. “What is it baby?”
“i need ta talk ta bliss.”
“Sweetheart come here.” The little boy shuffled over. Bliss’ wings were drooped and he was sucking his thumb; something he hadn’t done in two years. “Daddy Strife wants to talk to you.” Bliss ran around and stood in front of Strife.
“hiya kiddo. come heah. why dontcha lay down by me a minute.”
Bliss lay down on the ground by Strife and looked at his second father wide-eyed.
“I’m okay now. I really am.” Bliss just looked at him and kept sucking his thumb. “It wasn’t tha baby’s fault. Heah gimme yar hand a minute.” Strife took Bliss’ plump little hand in his shaky one and carefully placed it on his tummy. The shakiness did little to reassure the little boy.
“Theah, feel that?” Bliss nodded his head. Yes, he could feel the faint bumping against his palm. “That’s what tha baby was doin a few minutes ago. Not much is it?”
Bliss shook his head no. He pulled his thumb out. “How come it hurt so much?”
“Do ya remembah a coupla weeks ago when ya hurt yar knee and we had ta wait before we could heal it? Remembah how much worse it hurt when ya bumped it? Little tiny bumps ya’d normally not notice before hurt a lot.”
Bliss nodded thoughtfully. “Sometimes I cried.”
“That’s right. See, it’s tha same with tha baby. It’s not kickin very hard. I was hurtin sa much cause of mah bad ribs.”
“Okay. Are you hurting now?”
Strife weakly shook his head no. “i’m okay now…” Strife’s hand slid off of Bliss’ and landed on the floor. Barely clinging to consciousness Strife made one more effort to reassure the little winged boy. “…why dontcha go with granma dite fah a while.”
“Okay.” Bliss started to get up and then at the last minute he leaned forward and placed a kiss on Strife’s tummy.
“Come on sweetie, let’s go find Grandpa Heph.” With that Aphrodite flashed them out.
“Let’s get you to bed.”
“i can’t right now. just let me rest a minute.”
Cupid looked at his husband lying on the cold, hard marble floor and grimaced.
“Baby I’ll take you there.” With that Cupid scooped Strife up in his arms, taking extra care to make sure that he was tilted on his side.
There were several flashes behind Cupid as he slowly walked towards the bedroom. The rest of the gods, with the exception of Apollo, had left now that the crisis was over.
“i’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?” Cupid spoke just as quietly as Strife had. He knew that his husband was mostly asleep.
“i’m sorry ya got stuck with me…”
“Stuck…”
“i…didn’t trap ya…on purpose…”
“Strife! What are you talking about?” Cupid had stopped walking and looked down at his husband. The exhausted young god wasn’t talking about anything right now, because he was fast asleep.
Cupid hurried into the bedroom and laid Strife down on the bed. He wanted to get Strife situated before he woke up.
“I need to examine him.” Cupid looked carefully at Apollo. He didn’t seem his usual lecherous self. Cupid nodded and Apollo ran his hands back over Strife’s stomach.
“Okay, everything seems fine here.”
He ghosted hands across his ribs. “All right. That’s good. Nothing seems to be broken, they might be bruised though. No matter what, they’re going to be really sore for a few days.”
Apollo held his hands above Strife’s body and closed his eyes, concentrating. Apollo snapped his eyes open and laid his hands on Strife’s hips. His hands were moving back and forth slowly. Cupid started to bristle until he noticed the horrified look on Apollo’s face.
“What’s goin on?”
“My…gods.” Apollo’s voice was subdued. “What in Tartarus happened here?”
“What do you mean?” Cupid wanted to shake his infuriating relative.
“His hips are a mess. They’ve been broken…no crushed…more than once.” Apollo removed his hands and stared at Strife. “Damn. He’s got to be in a lot of pain from that.”
Cupid was trying to assimilate this disturbing new information. “Wouldn’t that make having sex really painful?”
“Yeah Dude, it would.” Apollo started to say more and then realized it wouldn’t help anything. “If you need me just yell.” Apollo flashed out. He was so upset that he didn’t add any sparkles to his flash.
Cupid laid down on the bed beside his injured spouse. “Tomorrow. I swear that tomorrow we *are* going to talk about all of this. You aren’t going to wiggle out of it this time, baby.”
Cupid lay awake most of the night, watching Strife and thinking about what he had learned.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 16/? Part 2 of the Bad Week
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter
stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation, rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation
and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS, Beyond Cannon and MPREG; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt
poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find
it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Chapter 16
Strife opened his eyes and looked around the bedroom blearily. He was alone in the bed, something that was unusual as of
late. He was alone in the room. That was even more unusual. Before he had time to wonder what was going on, he heard Cupid
come up behind him.
“Good morning baby. How do you feel today?” Cupid sat down on the side of the bed and stroked one hand gently over Strife’s
hip.
“Mornin. Um, not taa bad actually. Mah ribs are real tendah, but not as sore as I figured they would be.”
Strife smiled as he rolled onto his back. All right, so far so good. Nothing was cramping, twisting or pinching yet and for Strife that was a *major* accomplishment. That’s not to say he felt good.
“Are you hungry?” Strife frowned. Cupid was talking so quietly that he was nearly whispering. Strife could see that Cupid seemed unusually serious this morning. He had such a sad look on his face as he continued to pet Strife’s hip.
“Uh, yeah I am.” Actually he wasn’t, but for Cupid’s sake he’d fake it. Strife smiled at his husband and wondered about the subdued reaction he got. Then he mentally smacked himself on the head and said “duh” as it dawned on him what the problem might be. “Everthin’s okay from yestahday, no problems.” When Cupid still looked sad, Strife reiterated. “I’m fine, ya know.”
Cupid’s dark eyebrows shot up at that. “*Fine*, huh.” Cupid shook his head at Strife and sighed…disappointedly?
“Uh, yeah.” Strife was getting nervous. (Wow! Strife nervous, alert the…scribes.) Cupid sounded so…not sarcastic, but so…disbelieving. Yeah, that was it. Cupid didn’t believe Strife.
Strife frowned at that. What else had happened? Had he done something to upset Cupid?
“All right…for now.” Cupid’s eyes flickered between blue and green as he frowned warningly at Strife.
Flash.
Giggling. “Hi boys, I hope I’m not *interrupting* anything.”
Both gods looked over at the Goddess of Love. Cupid sighed a deep, heart-felt, truly put-upon sigh. “No mom, we’re not busy, yet.” More giggling as Aphrodite naturally assumed wrong.
“Moommm.” Another sigh, this one was so deep it came from his toes. The long-suffering son looked from his still giggling mother to his now giggling husband and rolled his eyes. “Was there something you wanted?”
Dite smiled and laughed and bounced and wiggled…and Strife found himself *really* glad that he was a happily married man. Dite was just so…Dite and he *really* shouldn’t be having those kinds of images in his head.
Was her under suit *smaller*? Crap, he didn’t thing that was possible. And if anything the lace overdress was *thinner*.
Wow, first Unc and now Dite. I wondah if bein preggers makes ya supah horny or if HE just hit mah head hardah than I thought. I mean, come on, I’ve nevah looked at *anybody*, othah than Cupid, like that before.
Lost in his musings, Strife missed most of the conversation between bouncy mother and super stud son.
Super stud son. Hmmm. Strife tried to say that three times fast in his head and got even farther behind in the conversation, so he was somewhat surprised when Cupid leaned down and kissed him.
“I’ll be right back baby, I need to straighten something out with mom. Then we can eat…and talk.” Cupid smiled and then went into the hallway.
Okay…he smiled. That was good. At least if he’s smilin, he’s not *taa* mad.
Talk. What did they have to talk about?
He needed something to drink. Strife eased up off the bed and flashed on some clothes. The young god decided to wear something bright and cheery, maybe that would put Cupid in a better mood. So, instead of his usual dark and somber colors, Strife flashed on some light-weight tan pants and a loose tunic that was a riot of colors.
Strife looked in the mirror and was pleased with his appearance. Well, pleased with how his clothes looked, anyway.
Behind Strife there was a flash.
Before he had time to react a gloved hand clamped over his mouth and another one roughly slapped a heavy *Hephestian* metal bracelet on his wrist.
Strife tried to cry out for help, but the yell was cut short when his kidnapper wrapped an arm around his ribs and deliberately squeezed tight. The young god doubled over in pain and promptly passed out.
The two flashed out.
The whole confrontation took less than 10 seconds. Then…well then, it was like Strife had never been there at all.
^^^^^^
When Strife regained consciousness he found that he was tied hand and foot and blindfolded. And gagged. Strife didn’t even try to escape. With the Hephestian bracelet on, he couldn’t use his godly powers and without them he was virtually helpless.
Strife had no idea where he had been taken, but he did realize that he was lying on the floor of a cave. Strife could tell it was a cave because of the feel of the dirt beneath his cheek, the distant sound of water dripping and the way the little bit of wind he could feel echoed around the cavern.
“Oh good, you’re awake.”
The purring voice had an odd quality to it. Disguising it. Making it impossible for Strife to figure out who was talking to him. Probably not Tryst then, his mind supplied. HE loved to flaunt his power and would have no reason to conceal his identity from Strife.
Was that good or bad?
Strife didn’t know whether to be reassured that his attacker might not be Tryst or to be more worried that someone else hated him this much.
“Play time!” The voice snarled at him and then giggled gleefully.
He felt an energy rush around his body as hands yanked him up roughly. He was shoved, stomach first, into the cave wall. Strife bounced off and grunted in pain. With his arms secured behind him, Strife couldn’t protect himself or the baby. “Let’s get started.” The voice laughed at the pain it was causing the injured young god.
Off balance because of his tied feet, Strife started to fall backwards. His kidnapper *helped* by putting a hand in the middle of his back and again slammed him into the rough wall. This time Strife’s head connected with the wall in a hollow thump.
Strife’s hands were untied and brought in front of him where they were attached to shackles that were chest high. Strife was too dazed to resist.
“You took what was *MINE*, you whore. Now you’re going to pay.” This statement was followed by another, final shove into the wall.
There was a zap of energy and Strife’s feet were untied. The kidnapper put one booted foot between Strife’s bare feet and kicked them apart. Strife hissed as pain shot down from his hips.
The blindfold was ripped off, taking some hair with it, just before the kidnapper flashed away.
By twisting uncomfortably Strife was able to untie the knot that held his gag in. He spit out the offending material and tried to lick his now irritated and dry lips.
Strife looked around his prison fearfully. Actually, he tried to look around, but it was too dark to see much of anything. Shadows danced off the wet walls and created illusionary monsters. (Like he doesn’t have enough real monsters.)
Shocky and scared, Strife tried to remain positive. Cupid would find him.
^^^^^^
“Dad, Dad he’s gone. I can’t find him anywhere.” Cupid grabbed hold of Ares’ vest and shook him. “You’ve got to help me. I don’t know where to look. OhgodwhatifTrystdoessomethingtohim."
Cupid was gibbering. That was really the only word that fit.
Cupid had discovered that Strife was missing within seconds of his being kidnapped. A few minutes later, all of Olympus, and a great deal of the mortal realm, knew that Strife was gone.
Ares tried to calm his son. He *quickly* realized this was a futile effort. Ares threw up his hands mentally and grabbing his incoherent offspring they took off.
Gods and goddesses helped look all over Mt. Olympus, searching every nook and cranny. (Ouch!) Desperately searching for the pregnant god. There was no telling what Tryst would do to him.
Ares and Zeus, plus a *whole lot* of other deities, were grabbing any magical creature they could find. Threatening and intimidating them in hopes of finding Strife.
Wood nymphs and satyrs. Centaurs and sea creatures. They even cornered a hydra. Let me tell you, threatening a hydra is tough, even for gods.
They had the hydra crying in less than two minutes.
Hercules and Iolaus helped look around the base of Mt. Olympus. Threatening and intimidating anybody they thought might know where Strife was.
Xena and Gabrielle helped look around on Mt. Olympus. Threatening and intimidating anybody…well, you get the idea.
Amazingly enough, even Tryst was looking for the missing god. Ironically he *wasn’t* threatening or intimidating anybody. Of course, he was only hoping to find Strife so he could keep the young god for himself.
It was all to no avail. No matter where they looked or who they threatened; nobody could find Strife.
^^^^^^
Strife was trying to rest. That proved to be an impossible task. The way his hands were secured in front of him prevented it.
Strife couldn’t lean up against the cave wall without laying against his stomach and putting pressure on the baby. There wasn’t enough give in the links to let him turn around and put his back to the wall. Similarly, the chain itself wasn’t long enough for Strife to sit down. In order to get off of his feet he would have to kneel on the floor.
The stricken young god was in an extremely precarious and highly uncomfortable position. The shackles were tight and irritated his still aching arms. Standing up hurt his already swollen feet and made his back throb. If he knelt his arms were pulled up above his head. This put an extra strain on his ribs and back. It would also make his knees hurt like Tartarus.
Strife stood up as long as he could. Sadly, in his already weakened condition, that was less than an hour. Eventually he was just too tired. His legs gave way and he slid down the cave wall and onto his knees. This pulled his arms up fairly taunt, which, in turn, put an extra strain on his back and torso. The pain in his side was so bad that Strife tried to get back up and discovered he didn’t have the necessary strength.
So now he was stuck.
^^^^^^
They tried performing another energy search. It should have located Strife straight away. (Unfortunately the energy search didn’t realize this.)
Ares snarled, pacing back and forth in Cupid’s throne room. Strife had been missing for over 10 hours now. Cupid was going to pieces, worrying about what was being done to his husband.
His heart filled with dread as Ares worried. What if Tryst disappeared with Strife? They hadn’t been able to find any sign of the homicidal god these last several weeks. If he took off with Strife, they might *never* find him.
Pace. Pace.
Even if they did find him, would he still be Strife? Ares knew that his nephew was emotionally unstable because of the hormones from his pregnancy and the stress from Tryst’s earlier attack. After Tryst had done Tartarus only knows what for several hours…Strife might not be able to handle it.
Pace. Pace. Pace.
There had to be something else they could do.
The Fates!
Ares stopped abruptly and felt a twinge of hope for the first time today. Of course, The Fates. They had helped before, several times. Maybe they would help now. Again, Ares grabbed his twitchy son and they flashed out.
^^^^^^
Strife cried out in pain as he slumped down. He straightened up and once again laid his head on his manacled arms. He still couldn’t lean against the wall, even twisting his body so that he was leaning on his side, because the cold from the cave wall made the baby kick like mad.
The problem was that Strife was so tired that he couldn’t help slumping down or leaning against the cave wall. So he was punished every time, by either the baby or his own rebelling body.
The pain in his back was steadily building. Not the *baby* back pain. Although that was bad enough. Not even the *broken* back pain. Even worse. No, this was a different kind of pain. It was on either side of his back and was a kind of burning, stabbing pain.
This was a pain Strife could remember, he just didn’t remember when he remembered it from. (Huh? Sorry, poor Strife’s mind is a little off right now.)
Strife tried to lick his lips, but his mouth was too dry. He was so thirsty. Desperately thirst. It had been almost a full day since he had eaten or had anything to drink. The steady dripping he could hear only made the need more intense, which he suspected was the main reason he was being kept here.
There was a flash behind him and Strife tensed up. Oh gods, not again! Every hour, on the hour his tormentor returned.
His kidnapper dropped behind him without a word and ran hands slowly up and down his back. Strife arched his back, trying to get away from the burning touch. A hand slithered between Strife’s legs. He twisted, trying to move his body out of range of the offending hands.
With his body in such an awkward position, Strife wasn’t able to even close his legs. He was chained up and helpless. Completely at the mercy of his unknown tormentor.
Just like all of the other times, the kidnapper gripped as hard as possible. The pain arched up from Strife’s already bruised and swollen groin, all the way to the top of his head.
“No…please stop. Please don’t touch me anymore.”
The plea only made the hands dig in tighter.
“Oooh…poor Strife. Does this hurt?” The false sympathy made Strife flinch. A particularly vicious twist and digging in of fingers had Strife arching his back in pain.
“*Nobody* takes what’s mine.” The voice hissed in his ear.
There was another flash and Strife was left alone. Until the next time.
^^^^^^
The Fates cave proved to be hard to find. Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn’t. That was just a maddening little quirk of theirs to make sure that the people who sought them out really had to work for it.
Ares wasn’t in the mood.
Neither was Cupid.
Ares and Cupid *finally* flashed into their cave. They had been looking for the site for almost 6 hours.
Cupid wasted no time. He had to find Strife. Now!
Not caring that he was a powerful and important god, Cupid ran over to the three women and dropped to his knees. “Please. I’m begging you. Help me find my husband. You’ve helped before. *Please* help me again.”
The Fates looked at the humbled and, quite frankly, unraveling God of Love…and melted. They raised their hands and with a loud clap of thunder, the cave wall again changed to a scrying mirror. All five deities could see the small opening of a cave.
A cave! Oh gods, they were going to have to look for *another* cave! That could take *hours*.
Cupid jumped up. “Can you please tell me where it is?” His eyes were riveted to the scene in front of him. Cupid was appalled. Strife, his *baby*, was being held in that horrible little place!
“Yes.” The three women intoned. With another wave of their hands the location of the cave was implanted into their brains. “You must hurry,” they stated ominously. “There isn’t much time left.”
Ares thanked the women, because Cupid was doing that twitching thing again, and they flashed out.
^^^^^^
The cave looked even worse in person. A hot, dry wind blew through the desolate and forbidding area. The opening was tiny and almost entirely covered with scrubby vegetation. Bliss would have had a hard time walking in unimpeded. Cupid and Ares, who were much larger than Bliss, had to flash themselves inside.
At first, Cupid couldn’t see anything. It was so dark…and wet…and cold. The air was close and thick. Not much of the wind blowing outside could get inside the cave.
They could hear a low moaning sound that bounced crazily around the chamber.
With a snap of his fingers, Ares illuminated the cavern. The only thing they could see, the only thing there *was* to see, was Strife.
Strife, chained to the wall like an animal.
Cupid raced over, dropped to his knees behind his husband and carefully took hold of Strife by the shoulders.
“Nooooo…please not again.” Strife’s weak plea sounded so hopeless.
“Strife it’s all right now. We found you.” Cupid touched his husband’s back, trying to reassure him. Strife cried out and twisted his back, in a futile attempt to get away. Cupid, unknowingly, had mimicked the kidnapper’s stance behind him.
Strife could still feel the sensation of the kidnapper’s hands on his body. Even hours later they still burned and left him more than a little nauseated.
“No, please don’t touch me any more.”
Cupid froze, just for a second, his heart pounding in fear. ‘Don’t touch me anymore.’ Oh gods. “Baby, it’s me.”
The “baby” broke through Strife’s fear and caught his attention.
Strife stopped writhing in his bonds and twisted his head around. He squinted in the light. His eyes were tearing up, because he had grown accustomed to the darkness. “Cupie?”
“Yeah baby, I’m right here.”
Cupid tightened his grip under Strife’s shoulders pulled up again, trying to take a little of the tension off of his husband’s straining arms. Strife’s clothing was damp and cold. His limp hair had droplets of water in it from where it had dripped down from the cave ceiling.
Strife started to lean back into Cupid’s warm embrace, only to gasp and tense up again. “No, I can’t.”
“Strife, it’s all right. You can relax now. I’ve got you.”
The young god shook his head weakly, droplets of water flying off. “No, it hurts taa much when I relax.”
No matter what Cupid said, Strife couldn’t seem to understand that it was safe to rest now. Ares tried his hand at calming the young god, but had no more luck than Cupid did.
Cupid held Strife up as Hephaestus flashed in and tried to open the chains. He continued to hold him as the chains proved to be unopenable.
Strife’s face scrunched up in pain as he, unconsciously raised himself, by pulling up on the manacles. His hands were ashen from the lack of blood and badly swollen.
“Damnit.” Hephaestus sent another rush of energy into the recalcitrant chains. Useless! “Somebody…Get Hermes, NOW!” The normally levelheaded Heph was growling.
Hermes flashed in and looked at the chains. “These have an anti-lockpicking spell on them.” Hermes concentrated hard and removed the spell. Heph was *finally* able to unlock them.
Strife whimpered as first one and then the other arm was lowered for the first time in *16* hours. The last of his strength failed him. Strife allowed himself to relax and slumped back against his husband’s chest. Cupid rubbed the tensed and knotted muscles in his arms and back, trying to ease the discomfort brought on by returning circulation.
The young god shivered and turned in Cupid’s arms. Strife burrowed into his husband’s side whispering. “Warm, ya’re warm.”
Ares and Hephaestus helped Cupid to stand up with Strife cradled in his arms. Strife kept trying to get closer. “warm, warm,” was all he would say. Cupid held his frozen husband close to his chest and flashed back to their home.
^^^^^^
Joxer flashed into the temple and stood unnoticed in a corner of the room.
“Thank the gods he was found.”
“Yes, I just hope he and the baby are unharmed.”
“Let’s get going, I need to spread the word.”
The room lit up spectacularly as several gods flashed out.
Joxer stalked towards the bedroom, (Wellll…again, he really just waddled.) his long, slender fingers clenched into tight fists. He was absolutely livid. What was going on?
Ares came out of the bedroom just as Joxer reached it. “Ares, tell me what’s going on, NOW!” Ares blinked in surprise. Joxer never got mad, especially at him. “You have been gone *all* day. People are running around like crazy and I want to know WHAT IS GOING ON!”
“Calm down and I’ll tell you.” Ares put an arm around Joxer’s waist and carefully led him back into the meeting room and sat him down. With a deep breath he explained what had happened to Strife.
Ares looked at his flushed and panting husband. “The reason I didn’t tell you sooner was because you are too far along in your pregnancy to be getting this upset…”
Joxer growled and Ares stopped talking. He was shocked when his young husband leaned forward, grabbed his face and fiercely kissed him. “You’re right.”
Ares sat there gaping at Joxer. “What?”
“I said that you were right. This has upset me enough as it is. I can’t imagine being this scared all day.” Joxer smiled sweetly at his bumfuzzled husband. “I want to see Strife now, please.”
Ares just nodded and helped Joxer up and into the bedroom.
^^^^^^
The scene in the bedroom was *slightly* less chaotic than usual. For one thing, there wasn’t a huge audience like there had been the last several times Strife had been injured.
Strife was huddled in Cupid’s arms. He wouldn’t or couldn’t let go of the hold he had around Cupid’s neck.
“warm, warm, warm…”
“Strife, you’re safe now. You can lay down and rest.” Joxer’s soft voice reassured Strife.
Strife heard his friend talking and looked over at Joxer. For the first time Strife seemed to realize that he had been rescued. He looked around the room at his family and flushed bright pink in embarrassment.
“Okay, ya can put me down now.” Strife released the strangle-hold he had on Cupid’s neck and let his husband put him down on the bed. Cupid sat down on the bed and reached over to wipe some dirt off of Strife’s cheek. He stopped when Strife flinched away.
“I’m dirty, I need ta get clean.”
Cupid looked at his beloved husband and grimaced. Strife was a mess. From his sadly drooping hair to his dusty and extremely cold bare feet. With a wave of his hand, Cupid flashed Strife and his clothes clean.
“Thanks.” Strife murmured, trying not to cry. Strife thought it odd that he hadn’t wanted to cry during the ordeal, but now that it was over the need was nearly overwhelming.
“Strife, I want to check and make sure that you and the baby are all right. I need to examine you.”
Cupid watched sadly as Strife cringed at the thought. All of the progress Strife had made in feeling better about himself had been torn away in one day.
“O-okay.” Strife looked pleadingly from Ace to Cupid. “Please let me clean up first…please.”
They were perplexed. What did Strife mean? He was already clean. Joxer, a fellow sufferer, understood and stepped forward.
“Strife, we need to wait on that for a little while.”
“But…I can still feel…” Strife trailed off as he closed his eyes in shame.
“…the hands. I know. Let Ace look you over and then I’ll help you clean up later.”
“promise?”
“You helped me, both times, so don’t you think I’ll help you.”
“okay.” The okay was for Asclepius as much as it was Joxer.
^^^^^^
Ares looked sharply at his husband. ‘Both times?’ What did he mean by that? There was the time Joxer was kidnapped and tortured, but when else?
Joxer peeked over at his husband’s wondering gaze and saw the scowling frown on his handsome face. Uh oh. He had forgotten that Ares didn’t know about those men attacking and almost raping him.
Joxer gazed back over at his friend. Strife is the one who saved me. If it weren’t for Strife’s intervention… Joxer swallowed hard at the memories and at the images of what could have, no, would have happened if Strife hadn’t shown up.
That was actually the first time he met Strife and their friendship had grown from there. It was through Strife that Joxer finally got to know Ares. Where Ares really saw him as someone other than Xena’s nuisance and Gabrielle’s punching bag.
Looking back at his upset husband, Joxer nodded once. Ares acknowledged the gesture. It was agreed. After Strife was better, they would talk.
^^^^^^
Strife was lying on his side as Ace examined him. His hands and arms had been fixed…again, and Cupid was holding his hand. Strife had almost fallen asleep, despite the pain and humiliation he was feeling.
It got loud in the room when they saw Strife’s tummy and heard just how many times he had been hit there. The situation didn’t improve any when Ace got to his back. There were several bruises, but one in particular had everyone’s attention riveted; it was boot-sized.
“Tell me where it hurts.” Strife moaned, no matter where Asclepius touched. But when he touched Strife’s back on the sides, the young god cried out. Ace closed his eyes in concentration. When he opened them again…he looked scared.
“Strife, tell me where you need to ‘clean’.” Strife blushed. He closed his eyes and wouldn’t answer.
“I see.” Ace waved his hand and a privacy curtain went up, covering Strife from the waist down. “I’ll hurry.” Asclepius moved slowly behind the barrier. He looked over at Ares who moved from his place at the end of the bed and went to kneel by the head of the bed.
They all waited as Ace examined him. Cupid tried to comfort his husband, who was obviously in a lot of pain. “I’m almost through.” Finally, Asclepius stood up.
“Strife…are you *hurt* anywhere else?”
Not a sound could be heard as they all waited to see if he had been raped. Thankfully the young god shook his head no.
“I have some balm. Do you want me to put it on for you…or do you want Cupid to do it?”
“I’ll do it.” Cupid sounded so determined and Strife reluctantly agreed.
Again there was silence from everyone except Strife, who couldn’t help but cry out as the medicine was administered. When Cupid stood up he had a hand over his mouth, trying not to throw up. Ares laid a comforting hand on his son’s back and swore, “We’ll get him.”
^^^^^^
“It wasn’t HIM.”
Strife had surprised them. “Why do you say that baby?”
“Tha-tha hands were taa small.” Strife’s voice broke at the admission and Cupid held him while he calmed down.
“We need to sit you up…” Ace paused as Strife jumped; he had almost been asleep.
“…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Cupid helped Strife sit up and it wasn’t as bad as they feared, the balm was helping numb some of the more painful areas. Ace brought over a mug of water.
Strife desperately grabbed the mug, spilling some on himself and the bed in his haste. He started gulping the water down and began to choke.
“Baby, slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick.” Cupid took hold of the mug and made Strife wait for a few seconds. Strife kept reaching for the cup until Cupid let him have more.
“You didn’t have anything to eat or drink, did you?”
Strife wouldn’t even stop to answer Joxer, he just kept drinking. Finally, Strife fell into an exhausted slumber, still leaning against Cupid.
^^^^^^
“Strife, wake up. You need to drink some more.”
Strife started crying as he was woken up for the fourth or fifth time. “Please let me sleep.” Asclepius was glad to see the tears. Earlier Strife had been so badly dehydrated that he *couldn’t* cry.
“I know you’re tired.” Ace paused in sympathy. “But you’ve got to drink more. You’re kidney’s are trying to shut down.”
Strife grimaced. “God’s, not again.”
Cupid looked over at Ares who looked just as confused as he was. Joxer patted Strife’s hand sympathetically and apparently did know what was going on.
“How about a deal.”
Strife rolled his head towards Ace. “What deal?”
“If you finish the cup of water you’re drinking and then one more, I’ll let you sleep for 2 hours.”
Encouraged by the thought of 2 whole hours of sleep, Strife started drinking in earnest.
Eventually Strife had to stop. “I’m sorry, I just can’t drink anymore.” Strife’s chin quivered.
“It’s okay, that’s close enough.” Strife looked at Ace questioningly. He was so tired he couldn’t concentrate. “Go to sleep now.”
Cupid lay down on the bed with Strife, because Strife started to panic at the idea of them letting go of each other. Cupid held his husband as close as he possibly could and watched him sleep.
^^^^^^
2 hours later
Ummm. Wrapped in Cupid’s arms, what a wonderful way to wake up. Strife opened his eyes and smiled at his husband.
“Hi baby. How do you feel?”
Strife thought for a second. “I feel bettah.” Strife sat up, with the help of Cupid…and Ace…and Ares. Okay, maybe better is a relative term, Strife thought as he sipped some more water.
He looked over and frowned as he saw Joxer *still* sitting there. “Unc, ya gotta take Joxah home, because he needs ta rest.” Strife sighed at the guilty look Ares got on his face. “Go on now, I’ll be all right.”
Ares helped a *very* tired Joxer to stand up. “I’ll see you later.” Joxer even sounded tired. Strife frowned at his uncle.
“Ya just take care ah Joxah.”
Strife turned to Cupid as the two gods flashed out. “Wheah’s Bliss?”
“He’s with mom.”
“Does he know I was hurt?” Strife could see by the look on Cupid’s face that he did. “Then ya gotta go ta him, he needs ta see his daddy.”
“Strife, I’m not going to leave you. You need me.” Cupid had a stubborn look on his handsome face.
“Ah course I need ya, but sa does Bliss. I’ll be okay.”
Cupid was finally convinced when Asclepius and Apollo said they would stay until he got back. Surely he would be safe with two gods watching him. With a kiss, Cupid reluctantly flashed out.
Strife lay back down with a weary groan and fell asleep.
^^^^^^
Cupid sat beside the bed, watching Strife sleep. Strife was doing much better; his kidneys had started working correctly the next day. Strife was doing better emotionally as well.
Of course, Strife had more practice at being tortured and abused. He was *almost* used to it.
^^^^^^
3 days later
Strife was laying in bed resting. He hadn’t been doing anything…and he wasn’t complaining. He was so exhausted that sitting up was a *major* chore.
The scene with the baby kicking him, being kidnapped, the…everything that had happened this last week had him sore and worn out. He smiled at Joxer who had come for a visit.
“So how are ya doin?”
Joxer frowned, his nose wrinkling. “Okay, I guess, but let me tell you a secret.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “If I see another glass of milk, I’m going to scream.”
Strife giggled at the fierce look on Joxer’s face. It didn’t really suit him. It looked like a puppy who was threatening to lick you to death.
“I can only imagine. Cupe’s already fed me more milk than I’ve evah had in mah whole life. Gods only knows what it’ll be like when I’m furthah along.”
The two gods smiled at each other and sighed indulgently. No matter how much they might grouse, they would still drink the accursed milk. It was good for them, good for the babies and more importantly…made their husbands happy.
They talked for a while, about baby names and the gifts Joxer and Ares kept receiving. Joxer told Strife about the present that Salamoneus had brought. Unlike what everyone had expected it wasn’t an example of his latest scam, I mean, sales opportunity. The present was a gold coin. Not just any gold coin. It was one of the few of Midas’ gold coins that were left. They were very rare and supposed to bring good luck to the owner.
Strife laughed when Joxer told him about the look on Aphrodite’s face when she had seen the present. Dite had been *so* jealous, because Sal’s present had been “way better” than hers. Joxer sat and enjoyed watching Strife’s amusement.
Then, for a while, nothing was said as the two men communed with their babies. Both of them were stroking their tummy’s and feeling the babies bumping back. It was a quiet, peaceful moment. One to be cherished and never forgotten.
After a while, neither one of them were very comfortable. Joxer squirmed in the chair and Strife twisted in the bed.
“Joxah, I don’t mean ta be rude or nothin, but I’m gonna hafta lay on mah side for a little while.”
Joxer smiled at his friend. “Don’t worry about me, just make yourself comfortable.”
Strife smiled back and turned on his side. Turning over was a slow and laborious process that left Strife shaky and sweaty.
Joxer whished he could help, but that was just out of the question. Picking up anything bigger than a cat made his stomach twinge. Strife wasn’t a very big man, but he was heavier than a cat.
Barely.
Then it was Joxer’s turn. Oh joy. Joxer maneuvered around until he was awkwardly able to get up.
Thank goodness I can get up. That is one of the most uncomfortable things I have ever sat on. Joxer thought to himself as he walked around the room. Considering the fact that Joxer had spent the majority of his life sitting on either rocks or the ground, that said a lot.
Joxer rubbed his stomach and arched his back a little. Two more weeks. That’s all that was left before he had this baby. He was so glad it was almost over. As big as he was there just was no way to get comfortable any more.
Joxer snuck a glance back at Strife’s…well, back. He didn’t see how Strife was going to handle it. Joxer’s ribs and back ached enough as it was. With Strife’s body already being injured he was going to be in agony before it was all over with.
I’m so in awe of his resilience. With all he’s been through, he’s still able to smile and be cheerful. If I had been left chained up like that, I would still be screaming, especially since we don’t know who the kidnaper was.
My dinar’s are still on Tryst. He could’ve changed his appearance to fool us into thinking somebody else was after Strife. That sort of mind game would be something he would love doing.
A light knock at the door interrupted Joxer’s musings. It was one of Cupid’s temple priests. He bowed deeply to Joxer. (Hey, if you were standing in front of *Ares’* hubby wouldn’t you kiss…uh, up?) “My Lord. I wanted to check and make sure that neither you nor Lord Strife needed anything.”
Before Joxer could answer there was a loud cry behind him.
“Strife?!”
Joxer hurried over to the bed as fast as he could. He kind of bent/squatted over awkwardly and saw that Strife’s face was scrunched up in pain.
Nonono, please not something else! What in Hades’ name is happening now? How much more is Strife expected to go through?
“What’s wrong? Where are you hurting?” Joxer’s voice was calm, in an attempt to keep Strife calm. Inside, well inside was another matter. Inside, Joxer was panicking.
“Mah back. Theah was a terrible sharp pain in mah back.” Strife looked up at Joxer with pained blue eyes. “Has yar baby evah kicked ya in tha back like that?”
“Kicked me, yes, but it never hurt like this.” Joxer created another chair and sat down beside his friend and began rubbing circles on his arm. “Is the pain letting up?” Strife just shook his head no, his face pressed into the pillow.
From the doorway, the forgotten temple priest was watching the scene coolly. When he saw Strife shake his head the priest calmly and efficiently left to go and get Cupid. (Okay, not really. Actually the poor guy was shaking in his boots, er…sandals, and he ran down the hall in a shrieking panic.)
Joxer was still rubbing Strife’s arm when Cupid came running into the room. In his fright Cupid forgot that he was a God and therefore he could just flash himself there.
Cupid slowed down just long enough to help Joxer up and then he shoved the chair out of the way. Cupid dropped to his knees beside the bed and took hold of Strife’s hand.
Stroking Strife’s face he smiled at his husband. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Mah back.” Strife whimpered. “It hurts sa bad.”
For Strife to admit this out loud the pain would have to be really bad. Most of the time Strife suffered in silence. *No one* really knew how much he hurt day in and day out.
Asclepius flashed in, just in time to hear Strife’s admission. He pulled the covers down and Strife’s tunic up so that he could examine Strife better.
“I feel wet.” Strife whispered to Cupid.
Cupid had a pretty good idea where Strife was talking about. “Let me check.”
Cupid whispered back. He kissed Strife’s ear. “You might have had an accident. Don’t worry if you did, it would be an easy thing to happen when something startles you.”
Strife was very self conscious. When he had been tied to the wall there had been no way for Strife to go to the bathroom, so he had ended up soiling himself. Now he got easily upset at the thought of having another accident.
Trying not to cause Strife any extra embarrassment, Cupid slid his hand under the covers and between Strife’s legs. It was indeed wet.
“Yeah baby, you are a little wet, but I’ll get you cleaned right up. Nobody else ever needs to know.” Cupid frowned. Something wasn’t right. The liquid on his hand was…sticky.
Cupid pulled his hand out and looked at it. It was red. Before he had time to be frightened he heard Ace gasp. Cupid looked up to see that Ace was holding up a red hand too.
“My God! He’s been stabbed.
Part 17
Asclepius’ pronouncement caused the room to explode in a flurry of activity.
“Dad!” Ace yelled for Apollo. Apollo flashed in immediately, hearing the alarm in his son’s voice.
“I’m going to need your help, Strife’s been stabbed.”
Apollo took one look at the situation and hollered for Hera. The Goddess of Marriage and Childbirth flashed in and was quickly informed of the situation. The three healers went off to huddle in a corner; where they quietly and desperately consulted on what to do.
^^^^^^
“What?!” Joxer’s panicked shriek brought Ares flashing in. “I don’t understand.” Joxer was close to tears as he grabbed his husband in panic. “How…how could he have been stabbed? When? I’ve been right here beside him the whole time.”
Ares looked at Strife, who was bleeding and paled when he realized that his beloved husband and baby could have been hurt too. He clutched Joxer to him and began looking around the room intensely.
*Tryst.* It just *had* to have been him.
Where was that son of a bitch?
^^^^^^
Cupid stared at his bloody hand, wide-eyed for a few seconds. He vanished the blood with a thought before he leaned back over his husband. Cupid didn’t want Strife to realize how badly he was hurt. (Like he couldn’t hear the yelling.) Strife’s getting upset would only make his condition worse.
Ironically, Strife was the only one in the room who was *not* panicking. He was in too much pain and everything was getting fuzzy again. All of Strife’s flagging energy was concentrated on not passing out.
“No flash.” The whisper could barely be heard over the chaos.
Cupid leaned in closer to hear what Strife was saying. “Baby? What do you mean, ‘no flash’?”
“Theah…wasn’t a flash before…or aftah I was hurt.”
It took Cupid a couple of seconds to figure it out, but then he understood what Strife was saying. “He was already here and he’s still here.”
Joxer and Ares had crowded in closer when Strife started talking and could hear what they were saying. So could Aphrodite and Hephaestus who had just flashed in. The small group was standing right beside the bed, so they were *just barely* able to hear the whispered conversation.
Joxer turned around in Ares’ comforting arms and leaned against his husband’s chest. He snuggled closer and whispered in Ares’ ear. “The chair, the one on the other side of the bed. I have a feeling that’s him.”
Heph moved back as the healers again swarmed around the bed. “I’m going to get out of the way.” He casually limped to the other side of the bed. Some of his chains appeared in the hand he had behind his back. He nonchalantly moved closer to the seemingly inoffensive chair.
Heph attacked.
At the last second, the chair rippled and changed into a hulking, sneering Tryst. Just as Heph was snapping the shackles around his arm, Tryst laughed derisively and flashed out.
Half a second sooner and they would have had him.
Hephaestus was crouched on the floor where he had fallen when Tryst made his escape. Guiltily, he looked over at the bed and saw Strife, who was now lying on his back, looking over at him.
“Ya almost got him.” A smiled briefly skittered across Strife’s face and Heph felt something break inside. Strife had been hurt by Tryst, again, and he was trying to make everybody feel better because they hadn’t caught him.
Heph looked over at the others and saw he wasn’t the only one who was devastated.
^^^^^^
Cupid looked at his husband and was more frightened than ever. Strife was growing paler by the second. The sheets beneath him were fast becoming a bright crimson as more and more blood poured onto them. His stomach was distended and getting bigger as they watched.
Strife groaned and clutched at his ribs in agony.
“Damnit he’s bleeding internally.” Apollo spared a quick glance at Cupid. “We’ve got to stop the bleeding, now!”
‘Or he’ll die’. Cupid didn’t need to hear the words spoken to know they were true. He held on to Strife’s hand and tried to offer what comfort he could to his husband.
^^^^^^
Strife was only vaguely aware of what was going on around him. The pain in his back and ribs was so all-consuming that that was the only thing his mind could cope with at the moment.
Cupid was holding his hand and Strife tried to concentrate on that instead. Cupid was his lifeline, the only thing keeping him even marginally sane. No matter the brave face that Strife put on, inside his mind he was shaky. He didn’t know how much more he could stand.
Strife saw Hera sit down on the bed and knew what was coming. Tears were streaming down his face. Tears of pain and fear. Fear of what was happening to him, fear for the baby and fear of the pain that was looming in front of him. Inside his head Strife was screaming, NO! Get her away from me!
He didn’t say anything out loud though. He couldn’t. There wasn’t time to brace himself for the coming ordeal. Strife gripped Cupid’s hand tighter and held on for dear life. His and the baby’s.
^^^^^^
Hera’s hands were glowing once again, but this time she only pushed one hand into Strife’s stomach. Strife cried out weakly, but he didn’t have the strength left to struggle.
Apollo quickly sent a flash of healing energy into Strife’s side and sealed the knife wound. Then he concentrated and vigilantly siphoned the extra blood out of Strife’s abdomen. The group watched as Strife’s stomach deflated, going back down to it’s normal size. Normal pregnancy size, anyway.
As soon as she possibly could, Hera withdrew her hand.
^^^^^^
Strife made soft gasping noises as he struggled to breathe. His chest heaved with the effort and his lips were turning blue. The horrible pain in Strife’s back was gone, but he was so worn-out that he simply didn’t have the energy left to breathe.
“Why is he having such a hard time breathing?” Cupid was going to pieces as his husband struggled more and more to take in air.
“He’s lost so much blood, it’s making him even more fragile than before. All of the upheaval lately, added to the strain of his pregnancy has drained his godly energy.”
While he was talking, Apollo put his hands over Strife’s body and sent an energy surge into him. An energy surge was different than magic and wouldn’t damage the baby. They watched as Strife’s body arched up slightly at the impact. It didn’t help. He was getting paler as his breath grew shallower.
“tha…baby…save tha baby…” Strife’s weak request terrified Cupid.
“Strife, we’re going to save both of you.” Ace sounded so positive that Strife almost believed him.
“Baby, it’s going to be all right.”
Strife looked at Cupid, he seemed so far away. Strife wanted to touch his husband’s beautiful face *just one more time*, but he couldn’t raise his hand that far off the bed.
“I…love…….ya…”
Cupid’s eyes widened in terror. Wait! That was…Strife sounded so…final. NO! He was not going to lose his love.
“Baby, I love you too, with all my heart. You’ve just gotta hang on for a little while longer. Please.”
He clutched harder at Strife’s hand. Cupid could see the bruises already forming from how tightly he was hanging on to it, but he just couldn’t let go. Cupid knew that if he eased up on his grip at all, Strife was going to slip away.
Ares put a supportive hand on Cupid’s shoulder. Cupid looked up at him with eyes that were drowning with tears. “Daddy, please help me.”
Ares’ heart broke at his son’s lost expression. There wasn’t anything he could do for either of his sons. He watched the one that was dying physically and the one that was dying inside. Dying himself, he pulled his sobbing husband into his arms and wondered how they would ever survive this.
^^^^^^
Boom.
Everyone looked up at the sound. There was a new group in town. They were called the Self Appointed Guardians and they were ready to guard Strife against any terror. Not all of them were in the bedroom, although several more gods and goddesses were standing in the hallway. No, some were (naturally) watching via scrying mirror.
They were all prepared to see Tryst. Ferociously desperate to see Tryst and more than ready to rip him into bloody, screaming strips.
What they got was Hades, the God of the Underworld standing there looking dark and grim.
“NO!” Cupid screamed in terror as he jumped up and faced his uncle. “No, you can’t have him.”
Hades raised a hand and with a bright flash of light froze everyone, in various states of anger and fright. He ignored the horrified looks he was getting and went over to lean against the bed. They all watched as Hades closed his eyes and drew power to him. Streaks of energy swirled around his body.
He bent over and placed one hand on Strife’s chest, hovering right above his heart and with the other he carefully raised Strife’s head. Hades took a deep breath and the swirling energy was pulled deep into his lungs. He angled himself so that his mouth was just above Strife’s.
It wasn’t a kiss even though to some it looked like it. He blew swirls of sparkling, life giving breath into Strife’s mouth as he sent a bolt of energy into his chest. Sparks could actually be seen going from Hades’ hand to Strife’s twitching body. After almost a minute of continued life-saving efforts, Hades stepped back and sat down on the bed beside Strife.
Strife gasped and took several long, shuddering breaths. He started crying hysterically and Hades materialized a cloth to wipe his face.
“Shh, it’s all right. Just try to relax and breathe deeply.”
Strife did as he was told and was surprised when it didn’t hurt. “Cu-cu-cupid?” He looked desperately over at his husband.
Hades reached over and extracted Strife’s hand from Cupid’s grip. Cupid watched helplessly. “Strife’s frozen too.” Hades explained his actions to Cupid. “He can’t feel your hand.” With that explanation, Hades laid Cupid’s hand beside Strife’s head. Strife closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against Cupid’s hand.
The SAG’s stayed as they were (Mainly because they were frozen.) for several minutes, until Strife calmed down and was breathing easier. Hades waved a hand absently and in an instant Strife, his clothes and the bedding were clean once again. Hades waited until Strife was relaxed before he began speaking.
“You have a decision to make.”
With a great deal of effort, Strife opened his eyes and looked up at the God of the Underworld in trepidation. In a shaky and still breathless voice he questioned. “What decision?”
“Whether you come with me or stay here.”
Strife blinked in surprise. *He* got to decide whether he lived or died.
“I couldn’t breathe.” The terror in his eyes was easy to see.
“Don’t be frightened. That is not a consideration anymore. I was able to supply you with enough energy to sustain you until you get your strength back.” Hades gave Strife a small, sad smile. “I wouldn’t leave you here to suffer like that. As for the blood loss…” Hades turned to the frozen Asclepius. “…you might consider looking at future *mortal* medicine for a solution to that problem.”
Ace’s eyes lit up as he realized what Hades was talking about. With a wave of his hand, Hades unfroze Ace. “Go. Get what you need.” Asclepius hesitated, giving one last agonizing look at Strife and then flashed out of the room.
“I…” Strife closed his eyes in pain. Emotional, not physical this time. Then Strife’s face closed off as he tried to reign in his feelings of terror and helplessness. “…I’d just be delayin tha inevitable.”
“What do you mean?”
Strife unconsciously leaned into Cupid’s hand, seeking every bit of comfort he could find. “HE’s relentless, ya know.” Strife said this conversationally, as if it concerned someone else. “HE won’t give up until I’m dead.” Strife’s attempt at an unemotional façade broke as he sobbed out the last word.
Hades gazed around at the frozen gods, trying to think of what to say. Before he could come up with an answer he became aware of Joxer. A wide-eyed and very, very, very (Okay, you get the point.) pregnant Joxer. Very, very. (Stop that!) Very. (Smack. *Silence*.) With a wave of Hades’ hand, Joxer unfroze. Joxer gasped and his hands automatically flew down to cradle his stomach.
“You probably need to get off of your feet.” Hades thought up a new chair and Joxer sat down.
“Thank you. Please don’t freeze me again.” Hades frowned and tilted his head in consideration. Joxer had sounded almost terrified. “I couldn’t feel the baby when I was frozen. I’ll sit here quietly, if that’s what you want.”
Hades inclined his head. “All right.” Hades smiled gently. He didn’t want to upset Joxer.
Joxer looked over at Strife and could see a new anxiety hovering in his friend’s pale blue eyes. Joxer understood what was wrong and immediately reached over and touched Strife’s tummy. He smiled at the familiar fluttery butterfly feeling under his hand.
“Everything’s fine.” Joxer reassured his friend. “I can feel the baby.” Joxer smiled at Strife who smiled back faintly.
Turning back to Strife, Hades continued their conversation. “Don’t worry about not being able to move. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m keeping you frozen, so you won’t feel any pain. That way you can relax and think calmly.” Hades smiled sadly at Strife. “No, your trouble with breathing is not an issue now. However, there are other things you need to consider.”
“Like what?” Strife took another deep breath and coughed. He looked into his husband’s begging eyes and tried to smile. “It’s gonna be all right.” Strife didn’t know if he was lying or not, but he had to say *something*, he couldn’t stand to see Cupid so upset.
Hades looked up at Cupid and smiled sympathetically, imagining his reaction if it were his wife, Persephone were lying there. “Don’t panic yet.”
Cupid was trying. Really. But having to stand by helplessly as the God of the Underworld tells your husband he can decide whether or not he lives or dies isn’t really very conducive to calm feelings. (Ya think.) Especially since Strife seemed to be having trouble making the decision.
“It’s not fair.”
Hades moved closer to Strife. “What’s not fair?” He spoke softly.
“I keep gettin sick and hurt. It ain’t fair ta everybody fah them ta hafta keep bein upset by it.”
Hades looked at Strife’s trembling lips and listened to what his great-nephew *wasn’t* saying. “What do you see when you look around the room?” Strife just looked confused. “Let me tell you what *I* see. I see a *large* group of people who love you and who are *very* frightened at the moment.”
Strife’s eyes widened at the word *love*.
“Yes…love. However, this decision is not about them, it is about you. Your feelings and your pain.” Hades looked over at Cupid as he spoke. “We all know some of what you’ve gone through. I don’t think *anybody* would blame you if you couldn’t stand any more.”
Hades turned back to Strife. “Do you think you will be able to endure the pain?” Hades carefully wiped Strife’s face again. “I’m not saying this to influence you, or scare you. However…you do realize that it’s going to get a lot worse, don’t you. The pain you’ve felt today is just the beginning.”
Strife nodded his understanding. The pain on his ribs when his stomach had swollen up so suddenly was just a taste of what it was going to be like in a couple of months.
“There’s always hope.” Hades looked at Strife steadily. “As long as you are alive there’s hope.”
Strife took a deep, shuddery breath, looked the God of the Underworld straight in the eye and said something he never thought he would say.
“I want ta live.”
Sighs of relief from the SAG’s gusted around the room, but no one sighed louder than Hades. A bright, sunny smile broke out on his face. “I have waited for over three years to hear you say that.”
Strife looked away from Cupid and back to Hades. “Oh. So, ya knew about that, huh.”
Hades cocked his head and smirked. “I *am* the God of the Underworld, of course I would know.” He gazed around the room at the gods and goddesses assembled there. (Again, a small crowd had gathered.) Hades made a decision. “Strife, I have a confession to make.”
“Confession?”
“Yes. Do you remember an incident about two and a half years ago? There was a problem with a juggler at a festival.” Strife’s brow creased as he frowned. “The juggler dropped several things, slipped in a manure pile and set fire to the tent, which sent a team of horses racing through the town, dragging the driver and dropping jugs of wine everywhere.”
Strife grinned. “Oh yeah, I remembah now. That was onna tha funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. Everybody thought I did it, but fah once I was innocent.” Strife watched as Hades blushed. “That was yar doin?” Hades nodded. “How come?”
“Because you needed two weeks.”
Strife brow furrowed in confusion. “Uh, I don’t undahstand.”
“I knew, because The Fates told me (Interfering biddies aren’t they.), that in two weeks you would run into Cupid again. They said he would *finally* get his act together and start pursuing you. Without those two weeks…well, let’s just say…you probably wouldn’t be here.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Strife had a thoughtful look on his face. He glanced around the room and saw how many people were there. Briefly the mischief aspect of his personality took over and he wondered if he should sell tickets. He’d probably make good money.
Strife knew that talking in riddles like this wasn’t fair. He summoned up the courage and decided to let his family know what he and Hades were talking about.
“Did they discuss tha dagger?” Strife wouldn’t look at anyone. This was going to be hard enough to admit.
“Yes, right after you turned away…” Hades tilted his head and silently asked Strife for permission. After a quick glance around the room, Strife reluctantly nodded yes. “…after you turned away, Hercules and Iolaus told the location of the Hind’s blood dagger.”
Again there were gasps, but this time they weren’t in relief.
“Yeah, I’d been followin Herc and Iolaus fah a long time, watchin and hopin they’d talk about tha dagger. They were tha only one’s that knew it’s location.” Strife snuck a glance up and saw confusion in his uncle’s eyes. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna try ta kill anybody with it.”
“That’s not true.” Everyone’s eyes snapped over to Hades.
“You were going to kill yourself, weren’t you?” Eyes swung over to Joxer. Joxer’s voice held no accusation, just pain. Pain that Strife had been hurting so much…and *no one*, not even him, had noticed.
“Yeah, I was.” Strife closed his eyes at the admission of his attempted suicide. “Thank ya.” He looked at Hades. “Thank ya fah tha two weeks.”
“You are so much more than welcome.”
^^^^^^
Hades glanced up as Asclepius flashed back in. Ace’s gaze flicked from Hades to Strife questioningly. “You’d better get that I.V. set up.” Hades smiled and Ace realized he still had a patient to take care of.
Asclepius was hopeful. If Hades still wanted him to help Strife, then maybe the stricken young god had a chance. Ace picked up Strife’s lax hand and rubbed the pale skin until he could see a vein. It took a while, because of the blood loss. Meanwhile, Strife reveled in the luxury of being able to breathe without pain. After Ace found a suitable vein it was easy to get the needle inserted and start the I. V.
“I’m going to need some different blood. Right now I’m using mortal blood, but what Strife really needs is some godly blood.”
Hades looked around the room and sighed. “I’ll need to unfreeze everybody now.” Inside Hades cringed. He knew they would be mad at him for almost taking Strife back to the underworld with him.
“Wait a minute! Before you do I need to know how much you’re supporting Strife. If he’s going to collapse the second you release him, I’m going to need some more help.” Ace kept fiddling with the I. V., trying to get it as painless as possible.
“I’m not maintaining Strife at all. He’s surviving all on his own.”
Ace crouched by Strife’s side. “Are you ready? Can you handle the pain yet or do you need some more time to rest?”
Strife smiled faintly at the healer. “I’m ready. I don’t like not feelin tha baby eithah.” He smiled knowingly at Joxer. Then Strife glanced over to where Cupid was still touching his face. “And I don’t like not feelin Cupe touchin me, otha than mah face that is.” He giggled weakly; it was so unlike his usual laugh that it was actually painful to hear.
“Very well then.” Hades leaned over Strife and waved his hand. Strife gasped and jerked slightly at the return of feeling.
“See, that ain’t sa bad.” Strife’s shaky voice and tense body belied his claim.
With another wave of his hand, Hades unfroze the rest of the room. “I’m going to go now.”
“Wait!” Strife reached out and grasped Hades’ hand. “Thank ya. Fah tha two weeks and fah lettin me have tha choice.”
“You’re welcome great-nephew. I’m glad I could help.” Hades paused and looked around the room. “I’ll see you again.” This statement gave no joy to most of the people in the bedroom.
“Okay.” Strife smiled again. “How about ya come fah a visit aftah tha baby’s born?”
Hades smiled delightedly; he was so happy at being asked to come for a *happy event*. “I’d like that.” With a wave of his hand the rest of the room unfroze and he left in a flash of black sparkles.
^^^^^^
“I’m going to do it.” Shove.
“No, *I* am.” Shove back.
“Boys, get out of my way, I’m going to help Strifey.” A jiggle and a shove.
Strife smiled as he watched his family fighting. It wasn’t unusual to see them fighting, as a matter of fact, seeing them acting loving and peaceful was when it got scary. This time they were fighting over *him*. Specifically over who got to give him blood.
Like it was a great privilege.
He was touched at the amount of love he could feel in the room. Ace had told them that “all godly blood is the same”. After that declaration, the argument had begun.
Joxer sat quietly with a bemused look on his face that Strife was sure matched the one on his own. Joxer, of course, was exempt from donating blood, because of his advanced pregnancy.
Finally Ares had had enough. “All right, that’s it! Back off! I’m going to go first and anybody who doesn’t like it is going to get blasted!” Amazingly enough, after that touching statement, the rest of the gods and goddesses gave in gracefully. Well, they shut up anyway.
******
Cupid was ignoring everybody but Strife. He had a soft cloth that he kept wiping Strife’s face with. Cupid was afraid, no he was terrified. He didn’t want to take his eyes off of his husband for a second.
He just didn’t know how to protect him.
Cupid felt a scream bubbling up in his throat. He pushed it back down. That would come later. *After* Strife was safe.
But how?
******
Strife looked up at Joxer. “Ya need ta go home.” Strife gave his friend a sad smile. “Maybe it would be bettah if ya didn’t come ovah ta see me fah a while.”
Joxer was astonished by the request. What was going on inside Strife’s mercurial mind?
“Strife what are you saying?”
“It ain’t safe fah ya ta be heah.” Strife fumbled blindly for Joxer’s hand. “I don’t want ya ta be a victim taa.”
“Strife, he didn’t hurt me. I’m *fine*.” (Oh crap, there’s that ‘I’m fine’ business again.)
Strife frowned. “I know ya weren’t hurt, but that doesn’t mean ya weren’t victimized.” Strife stopped to take a deep breath. He was concentrating so completely on Joxer that he failed to notice that Ares and the SAG’s had stopped breathing.
“HE was tha chair ya were sittin on, wasn’t he?”
Joxer nodded cautiously as he tried to disregard the gasps of dismay he heard. He could literally feel the tension building in the room, especially from his husband’s increasingly tense form standing beside him.
“HE coulda hurt ya. Ya and tha baby.” Strife looked over at Ares and then quickly back to Joxer. “I saw that ya were havin a real hard time gettin comfortable sitting theah. Right?” Joxer nodded yes and cringed, because he knew what was coming and it *wouldn’t* be good.
“HE was gropin ya.” It was less of a question and more of a statement.
Joxer winced at the look on Ares’ face. “Yes, he was.”
******
The SAG’s were horrified. Not only had Tryst hurt Strife, he had *felt up* a very vulnerable Joxer.
Some of the people gasped in dismay. Others began to growl. They all turned towards Ares and collectively got as far back as the room would allow. There was a great deal of pushing and shoving. People were jammed into corners with elbows stuck in their sides.
*Nobody* was complaining though. If it got them a few inches father away from the chariot wreck that was about to happen, they were happy to have the bruises.
Ares’ face was turning purple. His hands were clenched so tightly you could hear the tendons popping under the strain. His eyes were growing blacker and were just plain…scary.
Joxer reached up one pale, trembling hand and placed it on Ares’ chest where he rubbed it soothingly. Ares looked into his husband’s soulful brown eyes and smiled fondly.
Everyone let out the breath they didn’t know they were holding and relaxed as Ares calmed down, at least outwardly. Nobody really wanted to be around a pissed off God of War when the maniac responsible for the…pissing off…was nowhere to be found.
******
“Ya see, HE’s relentless. HE musta snuck inta tha temple by pretendin ta be somebody else. Sa many people have been in and outta mah room, it woulda been easy fah him ta get lost in tha throng.”
Strife coughed. He was still having a difficult time breathing and these long speeches weren’t helping.
“HE’ll just keep comin til he gets me.”
Cupid wanted to reassure Strife, they all did, but the truth of the matter was that they were worried too.
“Is that why you said you’d only be delaying the inevitable?”
Strife nodded tiredly. He didn’t really want Joxer to go, but he loved his friend and uncle dearly. Strife wasn’t going to risk either Joxer or the baby. Certainly not over *him* and definitely not just because he needed his friend to comfort him.
Flash.
The collection of gods surged forward in an effort to shield the two expectant men from harm. Welll…that was the intention anyway. In reality they ended up running into each other and were more of a hindrance than anything. So, it was a good thing there wasn’t any actual danger.
Just Hades.
“Oops.”
Watching these antics made Strife giggle which started Joxer giggling. Watching the objects of concern who seeming to be so happy, nobody could stay mad or worried for very long. Hades smiled and they all settled down, although a non-grim Hades was more than a little disconcerting.
“Strife, I have a present for you.”
Strife lay quietly for a few seconds, trying to get his breath back.
“…oh…okay.” Strife was fading fast. His borrowed energy would only get him so far.
Hades looked at the SAG’s. “Try not to panic.”
Naturally being who they were, they began to panic. There was a great deal of pushing and bumping.
Hades rolled his eyes at their antics. Tartarus, he worried about his family sometimes, he really did. Hades struck an impressive pose, snapped his fingers…and nothing happened.
Hades smiled at Strife and self-consciously snapped his fingers again. And *again* nothing happened.
“CHARON!”
Everyone jumped at the bellow, except Strife. He was just too worn out to care about much at this point.
Flash. sizzle. Flash. pop.
After several misstarts there was a final flash. Standing in the middle of the bedroom floor was an unusual creature. A two-headed dog.
Now you might be asking yourself, ‘what’s the big deal’. After all, Cerberus was a *three* headed dog. Well, keep in mind that Cerberus was one of a kind and his job was to guard the gates of the Underworld. Not exactly a popular vacation spot. So, most people, even the gods, never saw him. At least not those who could come back and talk about it. (Except for Iolaus of course, and that poor dope has seen Cerberus so much he sends him doggie bones for Solstice Day.)
Anyway…suffice it to say that the dog’s appearance was a *big* surprise.
“What the Zeus’ name is *that*?” Who knew Ares’ voice could get that shrill?
“That is Bob.”
“Bob? What kind of name is that?”
“Well it’s, ummm, it’s…fine, I don’t know.” Hades looked sheepish. “Cerberus named the puppies. He said it was a future name.”
“Oh.” Okay, so what’s he doing here?”
“No, no, it’s a she.”
“WHAT?!!”
“Yeah. Don’t blame me, it’s all Charon’s fault.”
^^^^^^
Strife watched the dog with dread.
It wasn’t that Bob was all that frightening looking, far from it. One head was black with a white streak running from the tip of it’s nose down it’s back. The other head was similarly marked only this side was apricot colored with the white stripe. The two heads connected to a warm brown body. The whole animal was fuzzy and warm and just screamed sweetness. The dog looked like a scruffy little mutt who just happened to have two heads.
Strife was as frightened as he could be. Not necessarily of *this* dog, but of dogs in general. He hadn’t always been frightened of dogs. No…he used to love them, once upon a time. Now they just scared him.
^^^^^^
Ares looked over and saw how frightened his nephew was of Bob and what little humor there was in the male/female name situation fled out the door.
“Strife.” Hades spoke very softly to the spooked god. He waited until Strife looked up at him before he continued. “This is Bob. She is going to be your watchdog.”
Strife looked over at the not very prepossessing figure and frowned.
“Don’t let her appearance fool you. Bob is one of Cerberus’ offspring. She is strong and fiercely loyal. She will protect you and anybody you tell her to. Bob will attack anybody you want her to and she can’t be duplicated.” At the frown he got, Hades continued. “Tryst can’t pretend to be her, it’s something in her magical nature that won’t allow *anyone else* to take her form.”
“Come ovah heah Bob.”
Cautiously Strife extended one hand. First the black head and then the lighter one leaned forward. They sniffed cautiously and then they licked the proffered hand. Strife smiled at the tickly sensation and allowed himself to hope. Maybe he was going to live after all.
“Sit Bob.” The large dog immediately sat down beside the bed. “Good dog.”
Strife began to pet first one and then the other of the heads. Cupid ran his hand over Strife’s head, petting him. The repetitive motion calmed Strife’s battered nerves. For the first time that week, Strife felt safe. In a matter of minutes he fell into a deep sleep with a contented smile on his face.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 18/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Chapter 18
One Week Later
“I want you to take the baby out of Strife…Now!”
Ace jumped out of his chair and stared at Cupid in astonishment. He was stunned. Not only at the statement, but also
the
fact that Cupid just flashed into his office without warning and scared the crap out of him.
“What?” Ace blinked several times, trying to slow his thumping heart down and get is mind restarted. “You want me to
*abort* the baby!”
Now it was Cupid’s turn to be surprised. “Of course not.” Cupid looked at Asclepius like he was crazy or at least
*incredibly* stupid. “No, I need to help Strife. Carrying this baby is agony for him and it’s only going to get worse. *A lot
worse.* You all say so.” Cupid threw up his hands in exasperation. “For Tartarus’ sake, Hades offered to let Strife die
because of how bad it is and how much worse it’s going to end up being.”
Cupid was flushed and practically hyperventilating he was talking so fast. “I have *got* to help him. Now…I’ve done
some
research on this…”
‘This’? Asclepius thought. I wonder what ‘this’ is.
“…and found that over the centuries, there have been a few cases like Strife’s. Cases from all over the world.
Different
gods sometimes, in different pantheons, but the cases were still similar. The situation is always the same, there was a
pregnant person who was injured or became ill and a god transferred the baby to another person.”
Asclepius waited for Cupid to go on. Cupid just looked at him; apparently he thought that explained everything. “So,
you
want me to…?”
“Put the baby in me.”
“Oh.” Again Ace was surprised. “In *you*.”
“Yes.” Cupid nodded emphatically, never even registering the surprise. “It would be *so* much easier for me to carry
our
baby. I haven’t been kidnapped or stabbed. I haven’t almost bled to death. I don’t have ribs and back and hips and,
and…*everything* already hurting. I’m strong, healthy and uninjured; I shouldn’t have any problem carrying the baby.”
Cupid was pacing around in Ace’s chamber’s. He was gesticulating wildly. The Love God’s wings were at full-spread and
flapping like crazy. Ace was quite frankly having a hard time standing up with all the wind flying around.
“Cupid.” Asclepius grabbed hold of his desk as he briefly became air borne. “*Cupid*, calm down.” Cupid looked around
at
the mess that was formerly Ace’s neat workplace and stopped flapping. “Thank you. Now, please sit down a minute and let’s
talk.”
Cupid sat down and waited, tapping one foot nervously.
“Good. Now I’m going to tell you why your idea won’t work.”
Cupid’s head shot up. No! He had found a way to help his baby. It * had* to work.
Ace raised a conciliatory hand. “Let me explain.” Cupid settled back. “In each of the cases you mentioned there were
*very* extenuating circumstances. Extreme measures were needed because of the mother’s ill health.” Ace raised one hand to
stop Cupid before he could object. “I know what you’re going to say and yes, Strife’s situation is bad.” Ace sighed. “The
instances that you mention were even worse. They were *dire*.”
“Cupid, more than half the time the baby dies because of the transfer. There have been several cases where the *new*
mother has died as well…*and*” Ace spoke louder, up and over whatever Cupid was going to say. “…and in *every* case the
original mother died.”
He watched as Cupid paled. “Every one of them. The stress is too great and in Strife’s situation he’s already too
stressed out as it is. Fetal transfer is only used as a last resort, as a final, last-stand attempt to save the baby’s life.”
Ace watched as Cupid deflated. “I’m sorry. If I thought Strife could handle such an exchange I would have recommended
it
months ago.”
The God of Healing watched a defeated Cupid for a few minutes, trying to think of something that would help. Ace
shrugged
helplessly.
“The only thing you can do is to try and keep him comfortable. Make the remainder of his pregnancy as relaxing as
possible. Shower him with love and affection.” At the belligerent look in Cupid’s eyes, Asclepius amended, “I’m not saying
you haven’t already been doing that, just keep it up. Clear the air about *any* problems or questions either of you might be
worrying about.”
Cupid sat up straighter and looked more hopeful. “Yeah, I can do that.”
Asclepius smiled. A little pep-talk never hurt anyone. “You, Bob and all the rest of us will keep him safe. I think
it’s
going to be all right.” Ace paused when he saw the tears in Cupid’s eyes. “Yes, it’s going to be very hard, but Strife is a
fighter, he’ll make it. *We’ll* make sure he does.”
^^^^^^
Later that same day.
Cupid came back into the bedroom and didn’t like what he saw. It was nothing Olympus shattering; Strife was sitting
on
the side of the bed.
Cupid raced over and pulled Strife to him. He could feel Strife trembling a little, even though he tried to hide it.
“What are you doing up?” Cupid’s eyes automatically swept the room for intruders. He has felt a little better since
Bob
had arrived, she was a really good guardian and he wasn’t afraid to leave Strife alone. (Yeah, right.) All right, he wasn’t
quite as afraid to leave Strife alone…okay, okay. He was still scared to death to leave Strife alone, but did it anyway.
“I’m just sittin up a little while. Ace said I could.” Strife was no fool, he knew when to pass the dinar.
“Yeah, I know, but next time wait until I’m here with you, please. Just in case you get dizzy.”
“Okay Cupe.” Strife rubbed his face against Cupid’s warm chest. “Mmmm, this is nice.”
Strife let Cupid lay him back against the pillows. Strife noticed that Cupid was petting his hip again. It was a
tendency
that had begun a few weeks earlier and Strife didn’t understand what had caused it.
“How come ya do that?” Strife asked quietly, hoping that Cupid would realize he didn’t mind the petting. He was just
curious.
For a minute Cupid didn’t say anything, he just kept rubbing. “When were your hips crushed?”
Strife sucked in a deep breath and he tensed up. “How…Ace.” Strife’s shoulders slumped when he realized he couldn’t
postpone this moment any longer.
“No, it was Apollo who told me. He was as surprised as I was.” Cupid’s hands sadly stroked along Strife’s sore ribs
and
then slid around and rubbed his aching back.
“Tha first time…HE…hurt me, uh, he wasn’t happy with tha…amount ah room he had…” Strife paused when Cupid took hold
of
his hands, uncurling the tight fists he had unknowingly made. “…so he made more room.”
Cupid was afraid to ask, but he had to, after all he was the one who had started this conversation. “*How* did he
make
more room.”
“He did kinda like a wish bone, ya know, like ya do with a chicken.” Strife glanced up to Cupid’s astonished face and
then back down to their tightly clenched hands. “He pulled mah legs apart until somethin cracked inside. That was tha first
time they was hurt.” Strife couldn’t look back up this time. “Tha next time he hurt mah hips bad was…at tha battlefield, 40
years ago and…and…I’m sorry, I can’t talk about then.”
Cupid and Strife held each other and cried. Strife was still afraid that one day he was going to tell one of his
stories
and Cupid wouldn’t be able to handle it anymore and would leave him in disgust.
Cupid was about to be violently ill. Strife had been ripped apart, literally, at 11 years old. What happened at that
battlefield had obviously been worse, because Strife couldn’t even talk about it.
“Oh baby, I’m so sorry you had to go through that…alone.”
“I wasn’t alone. Not fah tha second time anyway; Ace helped me.”
Cupid gasped in horror and jerked back from Strife. Strife looked terrified. His worst fears were about to be
realized.
“You hurt when we make love.” Cupid was upset. “Don’t you?”
Strife didn’t understand, but at least it didn’t look like Cupid was going to leave. “Well, just like it does when ya
have sex.”
Cupid was devastated. “What?” He sat there stunned.
“It’s just tha pain ya get from havin sex…” Strife trailed off at the look he saw on Cupid’s face. He kept looking
more
and more upset.
“Strife, baby, it’s not supposed to hurt when you have sex.” Strife looked disbelieving. “It’s true.” Cupid rubbed
the
back of Strife’s hand. “There might be some pain the first time or two, because you’re not used to it. After that there
shouldn’t be any pain. With Tr…him being so horrible I know it would hurt, but with you and me it shouldn’t.”
Strife didn’t know what to think. “It’s not supposed ta hurt?”
Cupid crumbled at Strife’s lost little boy voice. “No baby, it’s not.”
“I, I didn’t know that. I just thought it always had ta hurt some.”
“Oh, gods.” Strife felt Cupid’s breathless exclamation against his cheek more than he heard it. Now it was his turn
to
jerk back in horror.
“Please don’t stop.”
Cupid frowned at his husband. “What? Baby, what do you mean?”
“Please don’t stop makin love ta me. I promise it don’t hurt that much. Please. I need ya ta love me…please.”
Cupid was distraught. This wasn’t going at all according to plan. Their little talk was supposed to help things, not
upset Strife even more.
“Baby, I could never stop loving you…or making love to you. We’ll just figure out some way to do it so you’re not in
any
pain.” At Strife’s doubtful look, Cupid leaned forward and kissed the tears from his eyes. “I promise.”
Cupid held Strife and Strife held Cupid for a little while, until both of them were calm. Well…calmer.
^^^^^^
“Do you feel up to a little trip?”
Strife was startled. “Uh, sure. Wheah do ya wanna go?”
Cupid smiled, a suspiciously twinkling smile. “That’s a surprise. Come on, up you go.” Cupid helped Strife stand up
and
then held him while Strife got his legs under himself. “I would have liked to wait for a while longer, but I can’t afford
to.” Cupid smiled again at Strife’s bewildered expression.
“Anytime I think about us making this trip, something happens. You get hurt, kidnapped…this is too important to wait
any
longer.”
“Okay, whatevah ya say Cupid.” Strife turned to the two-headed dog in the corner.
“Stay heah Bob.”
Wrapping himself gently around his husband, Cupid flashed them out of their bedroom.
Strife gasped at the heat when they arrived. “We’ve gone ta Tartarus? Or at least what I’ve heard some parts of it
are
like.”
Cupid laughed. It was very hot. As hot as a forge, this was fortuitous, since it was a forge. In fact, it was
Hephaestus’
forge.
“Heph are you here?”
Strife and Cupid looked around as they waited for Hephaestus to arrive. There were several pieces of weaponry lying
around in various states of completion. In one corner stood no less than 6 statues, all of Aphrodite.
Heph limped into view. “Hey Cupid. Hi Strife. I thought I heard you calling me.” Hephaestus frowned at Strife who was
sweating profusely and tugging at the neck of his shirt.
“Shouldn’t you be sitting down.” Cupid looked over guiltily. He hadn’t thought about it; he should have realized that
the
heat from the forge would be bad for Strife.
With a flick of Heph’s fingers, several things flew off a pile beside the table. What was revealed was a beautifully
ornate chair. The arms were fashioned into flowers and vines that twirled around one another to create a comfortable scoop to
support the sitting person’s arms. The seat and back of the chair were a filigree of delicate strands of metal, woven
together until they formed an almost cushion-like feel.
Strife gasped at the sight of the chair. “That’s taa pretty ta sit on.”
Heph smiled at the compliment and gave Strife a hand to sit down on it. “Thanks, I’m glad you like it.” He pulled a
footstool over that was just as intricately made. “It’s yours you know.”
Strife gasped again. “What?” He ran one hand appreciatively over the ironwork. “I can’t take this it’s…”
“Yes you can, I made it especially for you. I don’t think all baby presents should be just for the baby. After all,
who’s
carrying the child for all these months.” Heph smiled at Strife’s blush.
“I…thank ya. It’s beautiful.”
“You’re welcome.” Heph smiled at the two men. “Now, what can I do for you?”
Cupid spoke up. “I need you to clear up a misunderstanding for me.”
Heph and Strife exchanged curious glances. Strife shrugged and barely managed to hide the grimace of pain that
followed.
“Do you remember these?” Cupid held up his hand with his wedding ring and picked up Strife’s hand as well. Their
fingers
interlaced so that the rings were lying side by side.
“Of course, I made them.”
“When?” Heph had no idea how important that one word was.
“Wow, let me think. It was two, no, two and half years ago.”
^^^^^^
Strife had been sitting in his lovely chair, trying not to melt. God’s it was hot in here. His head snapped up.
“What did ya say?”
“I made the rings about two and a half years ago.”
Cupid nodded in agreement. He watched Strife’s shocked face and smiled happily.
“Yeah, I remember because it was right after you two got together. I asked Cupid if maybe he was jumping the catapult
a
little, since you had *just* started dating and do you know what he told me?”
Strife shook his head no, his eyes were huge in his face and tears were welling up in his eyes; threatening to pour
down
his cheeks.
“He said that you were the love of his life and if it took *forever* he was going to marry you and I said…”
Hephaestus
looked up and saw the state Strife was in and was afraid he’d upset him.
“Thanks Heph, that’s what I wanted him to hear.” Heph looked at a smiling Cupid and decided discretion was the better
part of valor.
“I’m going to get back to work. Don’t worry about the chair, I’ll send it along after I’m finished polishing it.” He
stopped talking since it was apparent nobody was listening to him. Heph limped away, wiping a tear from his own eye.
Strife was looking down at his ring; twisting the precious bit of metal around on his finger. He was crying and
sweating
in equal measures.
“Come on baby, let’s go home.” Cupid carefully scooped Strife up and flashed them home. He laid his precious burden
on
the bed. Taking Strife’s hand in his, he kissed the wedding ring.
“So you see, I planned on marrying you *years* before you became pregnant. I didn’t say anything because I was afraid
you
would say no. I had a hard enough time getting you to date me, let alone marry me.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Strife smiled up at his husband. “What if I hadn’t become pregnant?”
“I would have kept chasing you until I caught you.”
The two men happily kissed and curled up on the bed for a nap, after Cupid had flashed them clean.
^^^^^^
Flash.
Strife jerked awake when Cupid jumped out of their bed. “Bliss?” Seeing how upset his son was, Strife reached out one
hand to comfort him. “Kiddo, are ya okay?”
“I’m…” The young god bit his lip and looked from father to father. “I need to talk to Daddy, Daddy Strife.” His eyes
were
floating with tears.
Strife smiled at the little boy. “It’s all right. Ya go on outside and talk with ya daddy. I’m gonna rest a while.”
Bliss smiled as his bottom lip trembled. “I love you Daddy Strife.”
“I love ya taa kiddo. Come heah and gimme a hug.” Strife held his arms out and the little godling gratefully hugged
him.
Just as the little god was leaving he turned back and placed a careful kiss on Strife’s tummy.
“Goodnight baby. Goodnight Daddy Strife.”
The winged god and his son quietly left the bedroom and left Strife alone with Bob.
^^^^^^
Out in the hallway Cupid knelt down pulled his son close. “Okay sweetheart, tell me why you’re back from you’re mom’s
so
soon.”
Bliss’ little face scrunched up into a ferocious scowl. “Didn’t want to stay with her and I *never*, *ever* want to
go
back.
Cupid was surprised at the vehemence of the statement. Bliss loved his mother a great deal and Cupid had always been
careful not to let the dissolution of their marriage hurt that relationship.
Flash.
Cupid looked up to see his father flash in.
“Bliss, why don’t you want to see your mommy anymore.” Cupid looked up at an equally startled Ares.
“Cause she said mean things about Daddy Strife.” The little boy stamped his foot in anger. He didn’t look up to see
the
effect his words had on his father.
Ares, on the other hand, actually quaked at the thunderous expression on his son’s face. “What did she say,” he asked
when it was apparent that Cupid was too mad to say anything.
“She told Uncle ‘pollo that Daddy Strife was a…horo…whar…wh-whore and how he deserved to be grouped like he was.”
“Do you mean groped?” Ares’ quiet purr was intentional. He didn’t want to upset his grandson any more than necessary.
Bliss nodded as he started crying. “She was mean about Daddy Strife and I don’t wanna see her ever again.”
Cupid held his son and comforted him, while inside he was seething. Luckily for all, Aphrodite sensed something was
wrong
and flashed in. Before she could say anything, Ares shook his head no.
Aphrodite acquiesced because she knew she’d find out what was wrong later anyway. “Come on Blissy. How about we go
watch
the ocean for a while.” The little boy perked up somewhat and let his grandmother flash him away, completely unaware of the
chaos he was leaving behind.
Cupid looked up from where he was crouched on the floor. His eyes were the brightest green that Ares had ever seen.
Even
as the Green-Eyed Monster, Cupid’s eyes hadn’t been this ferocious.
Before either man could say anything there was another flash.
“Dude, your ex-wife is one evil bitch!” Apollo was actually disheveled. The god could come through a storm and would
made
sure that every hair was in place, but this time he didn’t care.
Apollo started to speak again and then looked at the distraught looks on their faces. “You heard.” At Ares’ nod and
Cupid’s growl he went on. “How…oh wait, the little dude. Bliss heard didn’t he.”
“Yes, he was just telling us what she said.”
Apollo nodded at Ares. “Damn, I was afraid of that. I figured that’s why he came running in, saying he wanted to go
home.” He shook his head ruefully. “Stupid cow wasn’t even bothered by how upset Bliss was. She just sent him off, by
himself.”
Looking carefully at the still crouched Cupid, Apollo backed up a few feet. “You do know what this means don’t you.”
Not
getting an answer, at least not one that was intelligible, he went on. “Only a few people know that Strife was sexually
assaulted when he was kidnapped and none of us would have said anything.” Again he paused.
“The only way she could have known was if she was the kidnaper.”
With a snarl Cupid flashed out to find his ex-wife. Ares and Apollo exchanged a quick look and then followed. Whether to help Psyche or Cupid remained to be seen.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 19/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: NC-17
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Note: Thanks to my mother for suggesting what the baby should look like. Thanks to my daughter, Caitlin, for the use of her
name.
Note2: Please notice the rating change. This chapter has a graphic rape scene.
Part 19
The music was soft and lilting. It washed over him in a gentle cascade.
Strife was held closely in Cupid’s arms as they danced around the floor. Strife smiled at his fiancé and received a brilliant
smile back.
“Just think. This time tomorrow we’ll be an old married couple.”
“Old huh.” Strife looked at his beautiful, soon-to-be husband and smirked. “Well, maybe ya’re old, aftah all ya are ovah 600
years old, but I’m still a young kid at heart.”
Cupid laughed and dipped Strife. The maneuver didn’t really go with the music, but nobody cared.
“Okay, break it up you two.”
The two lovers looked over at Aphrodite. Strife smiled happily at his almost mother-in-law.
“It’s almost midnight and you know the rules.”
Yes, the rules. The engaged couple couldn’t see each other from midnight on before the ceremony. It was a silly rule, started
by Zeus, because he wanted to fool around on the night before his wedding.
Strife and Cupid kissed one last time before Strife flashed back to his temple.
^^^^^^
Strife stood in his temple with little awareness of how he got there. He was so happy! Tomorrow he was going to marry the man
he loved more than anyone else in the universe.
Strife changed clothes as he walked down the hallway. He flashed his engagement clothes to a special room; one reserved for
mementoes. There wasn’t very much in there right now, but Strife resolved to add more memories as soon as possible.
Behind him Strife heard a snarl and whirled around just as Tryst flashed in. ‘Oh gods!’ Strife was stunned, he hadn’t seen
Tryst in almost 40 years.
Strife stumbled back as Tryst marched up to him. Without a word, the bigger god spun Strife around and started rubbing his
hands roughly up and down Strife’s body.
The young god flinched when Tryst rubbed his hands over Strife’s stomach. ‘Tha baby!’ He knew he was going to have to think
fast.
“I hafta be at tha ceremony in just a few hours. They’ll see.” Strife cringed against the wall as Tryst pressed up against
his back. “I won’t be able ta heal mahself in time…everybody would know somethin happened.”
Strife was desperate. He knew that if Tryst raped him he might lose the baby. He was hoping that for once the giant god would
listen to reason.
“Hmmm, you’re right.” Tryst ran his fingers across Strife’s lips and the young god swallowed in fear. “So, you’ll just have
to satisfy me otherwise.”
Tryst threw Strife down on his back. The bigger god reached down and with one huge hand ripped off Strife’s clothes. Strife
tensed up in fear; afraid that Tryst would realize he was pregnant and rape him out of spite. Strife glanced down at his
stomach and could see that it was still flat. He was only about 6 weeks pregnant and it was too soon for him to be showing.
A hand on his forehead shoved Strife all the way onto the floor. He looked up to see a naked Tryst looming over him. His
erection was massive and more than a little frightening, especially at this angle. Strife was terrified when he realized that
Tryst intended for him to go down on him while Strife was lying on his back, not kneeling like Strife was used to.
Tryst straddled his chest and rubbed himself on Strife. He yanked up one of Strife’s arms and wrapped a chain tightly around
his wrist. Naturally the chain was made of Hephestian metal.
“It won’t last you know. This *marriage* with Cupid. It won’t be long and he’ll see you for what you are, useless.” Tryst
crawled up Strife’s chest, dragging his erection across the young god’s thin body as he went. “You are *nothing*, barely
useful as a whore. Even your godhood is a joke.” Tryst’s entire body was right above Strife’s face. His enormous thighs
bracketing Strife’s head. “You are the useless God of Mischief.”
Tryst rubbed his engorged manhood across Strife’s trembling lips. “Now…open wide.”
Strife knew better than to refuse, so he opened his mouth. Tryst shoved his erection in and straight down Strife’s throat in
one brutal move. Strife immediately began gagging and choking.
Tryst threw his head back and laughed.
Strife tried to struggle, but Tryst’s legs were keeping his arms pinned to his sides.
Tryst leaned forward on his hands and began to thrust. Strife gulped down what little air he could between thrusts and tried
to scream.
‘CUPID!’
Because of the chain around his wrist, nobody could hear Strife’s cries for help.
The vibrations in his throat inflamed Tryst and he began to move even faster. Strife’s head was being pounded unmercifully
into the marble floor.
‘This doesn’t have anythin ta do with me. I ain’t heah. This is happenin ta somebody else. I ain’t heah.’
Strife kept repeating that to himself, trying to distance himself to what was happening to his body. ‘It’s just mah body, it
ain’t really me.’
Tryst kept up his assault for a long time; enjoying the struggling body beneath him and the tears that were pouring out of
his tightly closed eyes.
‘Somebody, anybody…please help me.’
^^^^^^
Strife woke up whimpering; the nightmare refusing to let him go. He could still feel the weight of Tryst, pressing him into
the cold temple floor. He took a deep breath and by force of will, stopped the tremors.
He had been sleeping for several hours and found he couldn’t move. Before he could panic…uhm…Strife started panicking,
thinking about all the times he had been restrained in the past. But he found he could move his arms and legs a little; so he
knew he wasn’t tied down.
It only took a few moments for the young god to realize he couldn’t move because his back had locked up from lying in one
position for too long. Strife tried to relax; hoping to get his muscles to cooperate.
He pushed the nightmare to the back of his mind. It was just one of many and had plenty of company in there.
Finally, he unclenched enough to roll onto his back. His back and ribs protested this move strenuously; spasming into tight
knots. Strife looked around for Cupid and was surprised not to find his husband…or anyone else. Just Bob, sleeping and
drooling in the corner.
“Cupe?” There was no answer to his query.
“Somethin’s up heah.” He knew something was wrong, because he hadn’t been left alone for this long in months; not since Tryst
attacked him at Joxer’s place. The God of Mischief was worried. He was afraid something had happened to Cupid or Bliss. Or
maybe even Joxer or Ares.
The thought of any of his loved ones being injured spurred Strife into action. He wouldn’t put it past people to not tell him
and try to *spare him* any worry because of his condition.
Strife went out into the hallway with a half-awake Bob trailing behind him. Strife spotted his best friend just a few feet
from his bedroom door.
“Joxah! Thank Elisia! Do ya know what’s goin on? I can’t find Cupid anywheah and I’m really startin ta…” Strife took a closer
look at his friend and raced forward.
“Joxah, what’s tha mattah?” Joxer was pale and sweating…and clutching his stomach.
“It’s…(puff, pant)…it’s nothing. I’m fine.”
Naturally Strife didn’t believe a word his friend was saying. He laid one hand on Joxer’s stomach and could feel the muscles
tightening. “Ya’re in labor, aren’t ya?”
Strife took hold of Joxer’s free arm and steadied him.
“Uh, unhhh…” Strife took Joxer’s grunt as an assent.
Strife frowned as he thought. He knew he couldn’t get Joxer back to one of the guest chambers by himself and for once there
weren’t even any annoying temple priests running around.
“Ya need ta sit down.” Strife knew he wasn’t supposed to use his magic, because it wore him down so much, but this was an
emergency. He waved his hand…and a peacock appeared in the hallway. Both gods looked at the bird in amazement. Strife
sputtered and then waved his hand again; this time there was a chair, although it did still slightly resembled a peacock.
Strife moved to ease his friend down onto the chair. Joxer stumbled as another contraction hit and inadvertently placed most
of his weight on Strife’s arm. Strife bit his lip at the spasm of pain that followed. ‘I ain’t got time fah this now, Joxah
needs me.’
“Joxah how long have ya been in labor?” Strife rubbed his friend’s back soothingly as Joxer tensed up in pain.
“A…few hours.”
“Hours! How come ya didn’t let us know?”
Joxer winced in pain and doubled over slightly. “No…nobody needed the distraction right now.” The God of Peace sighed in
temporary relief as the contraction passed.
“What’s more important than ya havin yar baby?”
Joxer gasped as another contraction hit and in his pain, he answered more truthfully than he normally would. “Everybody’s
looking for Psyche.” Psyche’s name was spoken through gritted teeth as Joxer tried not to scream. He gripped the arms of the
chair tightly and both gods heard the chair…squawk. They ignored the half chair-half bird.
Strife rubbed his friend’s back in sympathy. “Why are they lookin fah her?” When
Joxer refused to look up, Strife started thinking. “Was she tha kidnappah?” That’s the only thing, other than finding Tryst,
that Strife could think of that would be so important to keep everybody away. People were obsessed with finding Tryst and
Strife’s unknown kidnapper.
Joxer nodded yes. “Well…at least we know who ta be on tha lookout fah. But right now, who cares.”
Joxer looked up in surprise. He knew that not knowing the identity of the kidnapper had been worrying Strife.
“Ya’re more important.” Strife smiled at his friend and pushed the sweaty hair out of Joxer’s eyes. After making sure Joxer
was prepared, he took a deep breath and called out. “Unc, Ace, Apollo…we need ya’re help.”
Strife stared in stunned wonder as no less than two dozen gods flashed in all at once. The light from all the different color
flashes was blinding. Just as his eyes had stopped watering there were several more flashes and the people he’d actually
called for appeared.
Cupid raced to Strife, Ares raced to Joxer and Ace hovered between them. All of the other gods stood around looking worried.
“What’s the matter?” Strife blinked as Ares and Cupid spoke at the same time. He was saved from having to answer when Joxer
cried out.
Ares raced over to his husband. “Angel?”
Joxer answered him by bending over and crying out.
Ace dropped down in front of Joxer and put his hands on Joxer’s stomach. Asclepius’ eyes widened. He opened his mouth to
admonish the young god for not letting them know sooner and then he stopped. Joxer looked so miserable and young and
frightened.
“We need to get him laid down.” Apollo’s authoritative voice galvanized the gods into action. Without another word, Ares
scooped his young husband up into his arms.
“Bring him in heah.” Strife indicated a door farther along the hallway.
^^^^^^
Three hours later
“We’re just going to have to wait and see.”
Apollo was being all-knowing again and it was irritating the crap out of people. Strife, Cupid and Asclepius cringed, waiting
for Ares to blow his top. They were stunned when a sweating, panting Joxer half-way sat up and grabbed the surprised God of
Healing by the toga and yanked him down.
“Wait and see! I’ll show you wait and see you dumb, blond, son-of-a-bitch. I’ve been waiting *all day*!” Joxer cried out in
pain and almost pulled Apollo into his lap. “Figure out how to get the baby out…NOW!”
Joxer collapsed backwards. Ares caught him and lowered his husband back onto the bed. Apollo was speechless. Ace rolled his
eyes and bravely stepped forward; hoping to calm things down.
“Joxer look at me.” Ace waited until Joxer trained frightened eyes on him. “We do have ideas, several in fact, of how to take
the baby if it doesn’t come out on its own.” Joxer looked a little calmer, so he continued. “I’m sorry, but labor, whether
for a man or woman, takes a long time.”
“Just think ah tha baby. Will it be a boy or a girl? Will it look like you or Unc?”
Strife continued talking for a while; painting lovely images of different babies. Ares massaged Joxer’s face, trying to ease
the tension. Joxer smiled and tried to picture his baby.
^^^^^^
Strife frowned as Joxer let go of his hand. “You’re hands have been hurt too much, I’m not going to add to that.” Instead
Joxer grabbed hold of the bottom of Strife’s tunic and gripped tightly. He had no qualms about holding Ares’ hand however and
in between contractions Ares switched hands in order to heal the broken bones.
^^^^^^
Joxer panted as the pain ripped through his stomach, leaving him breathless. The young god was lying on his side facing his
friend and with his back to his loving husband.
“Strife...” Joxer looked at his friend, “you know how much I love Ares, right.” Joxer grunted and then panted some more.
Strife nodded his head reassuringly. “Of course ya do.”
Joxer smiled briefly. “Good, because I want you to know something.” Joxer cried out as he tugged on Strife’s shirt. “If Ares
*ever* lays a hand on me again…I’m Going To Rip His Balls Off…(groan) and SHOVE THEM UP HIS NOSE!”
Joxer screamed and writhed on the bed as a particularly vicious contraction hit him. Strife wrapped his hands around Joxer’s
and rubbed them sympathetically. A somewhat stunned Ares rubbed the spasming back.
When his friend had relaxed again, Strife nodded agreeably. “Sounds like a good idea ta me.”
^^^^^^
Joxer got very still. “Something just happened.”
Apollo hurried to his side. “What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t know. There was a kind of tearing pain on my stomach.”
Apollo pulled up Joxer’s shirt. In this way the young god was lucky, since the baby wouldn’t be coming out in the traditional
feminine way, his clothes were left on and the birth would be less embarrassing than it would be for a woman.
Joxer’s rounded tummy was exposed and there towards the bottom of the swelling was what they had been waiting for. A thin,
red line running across his abdomen.
Strife looked over and could see the skin beginning to separate. He looked back up at Joxer and could see more pain on his
face.
“What’s happening?” This time it was Ares who was demanding information.
“We’re about to have a baby.” Ace grinned at the two men.
“We?!” Joxer snapped back and then the smiled too.
“It’s gonna be ovah soon Joxah, just hold on a little longah.” Joxer nodded at his friend as he gritted his teeth against the
pain.
Strife looked back and realized Joxer’s stomach had a hole in it. Well, not really a hole, more like a slit.
Joxer screamed, a louder and longer scream than ever before. His eyes widened at the agony he was feeling. “Oh gods!”
“Joxer, we’re ready when you are.”
“I’ve got to, I need to, push. NOW!”
^^^^^^
Hera flashed in to one corner of the room. Technically she was supposed to be there when a baby was born. Naturally she
couldn’t be there when every child in Greece came into the world, but she tried not to miss any godly births.
There was no way she was going to miss the birth of one of her grandchildren.
^^^^^^
“That’s it, one more good push should do it. You can do it.” Apollo kept up his encouragement.
“Shut up! That’s so fucking irritating.” Joxer snarled at the Sun God and gave one last mighty push.
The sounds of a baby crying filled the room.
“You did it Angel, you did it.” Ares hugged a sweaty Joxer, who immediately burst into tears.
Strife turned away from the tender scene, trying to give them a little privacy. He watched as Hera took the baby and cleaned
it up. She didn’t use her powers to flash the baby clean, because that usually startled and upset the new infant.
The God of Mischief was surprised to see that the skin on Joxer’s stomach had already closed back up. He looked over and saw
Ace disposing of the afterbirth and looked back to realize that Joxer’s stomach was already shrinking back to his
pre-pregnancy size and shape. Just one of the perks of being a god.
“Here’s your daughter.” Hera handed the baby to Joxer who cradled his child to his chest. The little girl calmed immediately.
A crying Ares moved the blanket to get his first look at his daughter. Bright red hair flashed in the torchlight.
Red hair?
Hera and Apollo exchanged uneasy glances. How did two dark-haired people produce a red haired child? Naturally they were
suspicious. Hera was married to the most untrustworthy person alive and Apollo slept with anything he could run to ground.
Nobody else was suspicious.
“Oh Arry look, she has red hair…just like my mother’s.” Joxer sounded absolutely exhausted. Elated yes, but exhausted too.
That was understandable since it was the middle of the night and he had been in labor for hours.
The new baby godling opened her eyes at her daddy’s voice. Instead of the usual murky blue that most baby’s eyes were, this
child’s were a bright, vivid green.
“Oh and look she has my grandmother Caitlin’s green eyes.”
Strife smiled at his good friend and his uncle. “Ya got a beautiful daughter.” Ares smiled proudly. “Whatcha gonna call her?”
Joxer smiled impishly. “We haven’t decided yet. We wanted to see the baby before we chose.”
“That’s good thinkin. Ya wouldn’t wanna put tha wrong name on tha baby.”
With that Strife rose stiffly to his feet. Cupid was right there helping him. “I’m gonna leave ya two, sorry ya three, ta
bond a while.”
“Dad, Joxer, thanks for letting me be here.” Cupid’s voice was rough with tears. “It was wonderful.”
Joxer and Ares smiled at the two men and then went back to inspecting their daughter. Actually Ares was inspecting the baby;
Joxer was falling asleep.
^^^^^^
Out in the empty hallway Cupid picked up his exhausted husband and carried him to their bedroom. Strife was as tired as Joxer
was. Sitting beside his friend for hours on end had worn the injured god out.
Strife fell into an uneasy sleep before Cupid could even get him into bed. Cupid laid his husband on his side and rubbed his
cramped and aching back until Strife relaxed.
Cupid collapsed behind his husband and began to worry. There was no way Strife could handle an extended labor, like the one
Joxer had just gone through, right now, let alone after several more months of pregnancy. What were they going to do?
Strife sensed how upset his husband was and snuggled back in his sleep. Cupid cuddled closer and sighed. Ace would figure out
something. He and Apollo and Hera had managed so far.
Everything would be all right…right? Right.
^^^^^^
The dripping water was driving her crazy.
Psyche twisted in her bonds, desperately trying to get some relief in her aching body.
The young goddess was on her knees, chained to the wall of a cave. The cave. The one where Strife was held prisoner. The
irony was not lost on Psyche.
There were other similarities.
Her stomach was swollen as if she were pregnant. She wasn’t, but she still had the pains as if a baby were kicking her.
Psyche’s ribs were in agony. It felt like they had been broken and rebroken several times. Just like Strife.
Her back hurt, her arms hurt, her hips hurt…everything hurt.
She wasn’t as weak as Strife was…yet. So her imprisonment had an added bonus that Strife’s didn’t have or need. Chains looped
around her legs; keeping the knees spread apart and keeping her kneeling on the floor.
Psyche moaned in pain.
There was a flash behind her and the goddess began to tremble.
“Hello bitch.”
Tryst didn’t bother to conceal his voice, she knew who he was and why he was here. He dropped to his knees behind her. The
insane god knew just exactly what she had done to Strife. He had tortured her for several hours to find out.
Psyche whimpered as his huge hands started to touch her. Then she started to scream.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 20/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter
stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation, rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation
and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS, Make Believe and MPREG; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Note: My mom thought up the baby's name and godhood. Also, the suggestion that has a # beside it was her idea.
Chapter 20
Strife had just come back from throwing up when it happened.
The young god straightened up from heaving over the side of the platform and sighed tiredly. No matter what he did, no matter
what advice he followed Strife still threw up several times a day.
‘At least they’re slowin down some. I just barf two or three times a day now, instead ah every coupla hours like before.’
Woof. Woof.
Strife felt something nudge his arm and looked down. Bob’s black head was nuzzling his elbow as her white head rubbed against
his waist. His ferocious watch dog was worried about him.
Strife smiled as he patted the heads. “I’m all right.”
The dog woofed again, not any more comforted by Strife’s reassurances than anybody else would be. Strife was not known for
being completely honest about his health.
The pregnant man rubbed the side of his stomach in an ever increasing need to relieve some of the pain. Unfortunately, there
was also an ever decreasing amount of relief to be found.
Resolutely he returned to the front of the platform. Luckily for him the back wall was covered with hanging draperies and had
hidden his mid-morning illness. As he came out from behind the curtain, something colorful in the crowd caught Strife’s eye.
‘No, please tell me I’m wrong.’ Strife craned his neck, looking at the head of bright red hair in the audience. Hoping his
intuition was wrong, the young god summoned up a small scrying mirror. The image in the glass showed that Strife wasn’t being
paranoid after all.
The hair was just the same shade of red as the baby’s, although the woman’s hair was muted with all of the gray threads
running through it. Sure enough, it was Joxer’s mother and right beside her was his rotten father.
He guessed it was inevitable that they would show up sooner or later, after all, their son was a powerful god now. Strife
just wished it had been later, much later, like 30 or 40 years later.
‘Ah course, they’d both be dead by then.’ Strife tried to see a downside to that thought and couldn’t.
The young god surreptitiously flashed away the handkerchief that he had cleaned his mouth with and the scrying mirror. He was
happy that they disappeared with only a small poof of black smoke; his powers had been acting up lately and you never knew
what was going to happen. Strife thought about what happened with that morning’s milk and shuddered in disgust.
Strife walked up to Joxer and the baby. The young god had to giggle; all that could be seen of the infant was one small fist
waving in his father’s face. Joxer was trying to keep the baby covered with a light wrap in an attempt to keep the hot Athens
sun from burning her delicate skin. The little girl had inherited her father’s fair skin and was prey to the harsh rays.
Joxer’s nose was already turning a lovely rose color, as was Strife’s. The color just matched Dite’s dress. While that
particular shade of pink looked good on Aphrodite, it really did nothing for the two men’s noses. Both men were too light
complected to withstand very much direct sunlight. When Joxer had been a mortal he had worn his helmet to help minimize the
damage.
Strife glanced back and could still see the bright red hair, which he personally didn’t think was nearly as pretty as the
baby’s. “So, are ya all ready fah tha presentation?” Strife walked around to the other side of Joxer. Joxer naturally turned
to keep talking to his friend and was now facing away from the audience.
“Am I ever.” Joxer struggled with the wiggly baby. “I wish Zeus would just come on.”
“Yeah, that’s probably tha problem.”
Joxer snorted quietly.
Strife looked around the platform they were standing on. ‘Well, everybody’s put in an appearance.’ People who were friends or
at least supposed to be friends of Joxer and Ares were here.
He spotted Xena with Gabrielle standing beside her, talking of course. Xena was holding her daughter Eve. The rambunctious
little girl was not happy with this arrangement. She would rather be running around causing mischief.
Strife smiled at his number one trouble maker and waved at them. Eve waved back to her favorite cousin.
Jett and Jayce were standing nearby. Neither one of them noticed Strife’s anxious look from them to where the brilliant hair
could still be seen.
Strife saw Hercules and Iolaus. Hercules was frowning and Strife turned to see what he was looking at. It was Ares. Hercules
didn’t get along with his brother and was always suspicious of anything the war god did.
Ares’ laughter drew the attention of a lot of the crowd. Ares just didn’t laugh much, at least not where most people saw him.
It was a deep rolling rumble that sounded innocent and sexy as Tartarus at the same time.
Ares was talking with his good friend Salamoneus, whom he had called up onto the stage. Sal was dressed in robes made from
the finest silk from Chin. They were a gift from Ares. For once Salamoneus was not working the crowd or running a scam.
Strife looked back at Hercules and saw the stunned look on his handsome face. Hercules rarely looked for the good in Ares,
preferring to believe the lies and innuendoes told about his half-brother. Seeing him acting more *human* was a good lesson
for the demi-god.
Over to one side, Strife saw Falafel with his food stand. The young god looked away quickly. He didn’t want to know what the
cook was selling now. Strife’s stomach clenched a little at the thought.
Strife saw the red moving closer. The young god didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t sure if Joxer would be glad his parents had
shown up or would he be upset. Strife figured his friend would be upset and didn’t want the day ruined for Joxer.
Strife began to chew on his bottom lip, debating on strategies and plans of action. After a minute of thinking, Strife
realized he had bitten his lip and began to lick the sore spot.
Several people saw Strife and were *intrigued*. Apollo began to whimper in lust and had to excuse himself behind a temple for
a few minutes.
“Aren’t ya tired Joxah?”
“Shhh…” Joxer gestured frantically. “Talk quietly or Ares will have me in bed so fast my head will spin.” Joxer glanced
around anxiously. “And yes, I am tired.”
“Have ya in bed huh? But I thought ya said ya were tired.” Strife giggled and Joxer smacked him on the arm as he shook his
head.
“You are incorrigible.”
“Thank ya. I do have a reputation ta maintain aftah all.”
Strife casually looked over at the crowd. ‘Crap, I can still see them.’
“So…maybe ya oughta sit down. We don’t want ya getting sick or nothin.” Strife walked back towards the chairs that were set
up for the gods. He made sure to keep Joxer turned away from the crowd.
“Thanks.” Joxer sat down with a sigh. “I am still really tired and sore.” Joxer rubbed his flat stomach absently.
“That’s undahstandable. Ya did just push a boulder outta ya stomach.”
Both young gods giggled at that image and the baby woke up, stirring slightly in her blankets. The little goddess looked at
her father and cousin; then she fell back to sleep.
“She’s such a good little baby, sa sweet.”
Joxer beamed proudly. “Yes, she’s so even tempered.”
Strife smiled at the sappy look on his friend’s face. Again Strife looked at the crowd. He was glad to see his maneuver had
worked and that Joxer’s parents weren’t visible from this angle.
“You need to sit down too.” Joxer eyed his good friend who was growing paler by the second.
“I’m goin ta.” Strife said distractedly; he had thought of another problem. Make that two problems. Namely Jett and Jayce. If
they saw their parents, all Tartarus would break out. Especially where Jett the *assassin* was concerned.
“As a mattah ah fact, I think I will right now.”
Strife walked to the edge of the platform and casually looked out into the audience. Yes, Joxer’s parents were still out
there. Damn. Strife had been hoping that in the 5 seconds it took him to walk over here they would have disappeared like a
bad dream.
No such luck.
Smiling, the young god waited until he caught Jayce’s eye and then Strife motioned for him to come up. The young blond man
looked towards Jett questioningly and Strife smiled and nodded yes.
The mortal two-thirds of the triplets hopped up on the stage. Actually, neither one of them did something so mundane as
hopping. Jett sauntered up; scaring several people on the way and Jayce pranced up, smiling coyly; causing several men in the
crowd to doubt their sexual tendencies.
Apollo, who had just returned from his sojourn behind the temple, watched the enticing wiggle in Jayce’s bottom and…had to
make another trip.
Strife smiled at the two brothers as he led them, away from the possible sight of their parents, over to the chairs lining
the other side of the stage.
“Come on ya two.” Strife beckoned to the two men. “Ya get ta sit with tha rest ah us; aftah all, ya are tha baby’s uncles.”
Strife looked back in time to see Jayce smile happily and Jett puff out his chest as he looked towards the small bundle Joxer
was holding.
Good. Everything was going according to plan. He wasn’t going to let *those people* ruin the day, for anybody.
“Ya can sit heah, right beside me and Cupe.” Strife waved his arm, indicating the extra chairs. The abrupt motion made the
young god dizzy or rather dizzier. The combined heat and stress was too much for the sickly god. Suddenly everything looked
wavery and Strife’s knees became weak.
Strife swayed slightly as he took a gasping breath. Reluctantly, it seemed, the black spots disappeared from his vision. The
young god found himself being held up by hands on his elbows. Strife glanced from side to side and realized that Jett and
Jayce were surreptitiously supporting him.
“Why don’t you sit down.” Jett spoke nonchalantly, as if he were discussing the weather, not telling a god with the power to
blast him into nothing…to get off his feet before he fell flat on his face.
Strife nodded and in no time felt himself being lowered into his chair. It was the chair Hephaestus had made for him. Heph
had thoughtfully put a spell on the metal so it didn’t heat up in the hot sun. The chilly metal helped cool off Strife’s
rapidly overheating body.
“This is beautiful.” Jayce ran his hand appreciatively over one arm of the chair.
“Yeah, it reminds me of you.” Strife looked up in shock at Jett’s words and realized the assassin *was* talking about him. He
looked down at his exquisite chair with it’s long, slender lines of black metal and was confused. ‘Me?!’ Before he could say
anything, Jett walked over to Joxer and the baby.
“Are chou feeling better sweetie?”
Strife looked over at the blond version of his friend. “Yeah, I’m fine.” At the arched eyebrows he got, Strife sighed and
amended. “Okay, I feel a little bettah now.”
“Umm…so are de still there?”
Strife looked at Jayce carefully. “Who are ya talkin about?”
Again, the eyebrows. “Our parents of course. I saw dem a little while ago.”
“Da ya think he did?” Strife gestured towards the leather clad man playing with his niece’s toes. The baby’s muffled laughter
floated out across the stage.
“Probably. Nothing much gets by our Jett.” Jayce smiled. “But don’t worry chour pretty head; Jett promised Joxie he wouldn’t
kill dem a long time ago. Or even hurt dem.” Jayce sighed indulgently. “Joxie has always been too forgiving for his own
good.”
“Good point.” Both men looked over at Gabrielle who was gesticulating wildly as she told something to Xena. The two men were
remembering all of the insults both women had heaped on Joxer’s head when he had traveled with them. Strife was remembering
the head thumps and nose pulls from Gabby too.
The pregnant god’s fingers itched to send a bee under her skirt. His better nature prevailed though and he didn’t. Better
nature, hah. As if the God of Mischief needed to worry about his *better nature*. In reality, he didn’t because he knew it
would upset Joxer and…he wasn’t supposed to use his powers very much. Darn it!
“Entirely taa forgivin.”
“Jes.” Jayce seemed lost in memories.
“We weren’t always like dis chou know.” Strife looked at the young entertainer and waited.
“Once upon a time we were happy young children. But our parents used to hurt us, especially Joxie. Momma would wound us with
her words and Dadda liked to break things.
Strife winced sympathetically, but stayed silent. He realized this was something Jayce needed to tell.
“Joxie could have been a dancer; he was so graceful as a young man.” Jayce looked over at his brothers. “When we were
16…Dadda beat Joxie so badly he couldn’t move for 3 days. He…broke…both of Joxie’s legs.” Jayce looked away to hide the tears
in his eyes. “Momma just stood there and told Joxie he was lucky Dadda even touched him.”
“As soon as we could manage it, we ran away. Jett and I had to carry Joxie. Poor Joxie cried the whole time. When we got far
enough away we hid in an abandoned barn. Joxie’s legs were all twisted and healing wrong…”
Strife closed his eyes in pain because he had a pretty good idea about what was coming.
“Jett had to rebreak his legs.” Jayce sighed and shook his blond head sadly. “I don’t know who screamed more, Joxie or
Jett…or me.”
“Causing Joxie that much pain broke something inside Jett. I had to step in and reset his legs and brace them; Jett couldn’t
stop crying.” Jayce trailed off as the horror of that time overwhelmed him. “I’ve never seen him cry since.”
“When Joxie was healed a little more we went farther away. We still had to carry him most of the way. His legs were never the
same after that. He never was a clumsy person. That wasn’t why he was always stumbling over things; his legs were weak. Joxie
never knew when he would be walking along and they would give way and he’d fall down.”
There was silence for a while; each man cursing Joxer’s sweet and forgiving nature where his parents were concerned. Strife
noticed something as well. The longer Jayce talked, the less of an accent he had and the less elaborate he was with his
gestures. Strife guessed this was the real Jayce; the one that would have been without his parent’s horrors.
“We all changed. Jett became an assassin to protect himself. I became an entertainer because if chou are amusing people dey
don’t want to hurt chou. And Joxie, sweet, gentle Joxie tried to become a warrior.” Jayce looked at his unclumsy, happy
brother and sighed. “We haven’t seen them since we left that summer.”
Jayce turned to Strife with a bright, false smile. “So…do chou think Zeus has some pretty young girl making him late?”
Ah, so the entertainer was back. The young god decided to play along. If that would help his best friend’s brother, he would
do whatever he could.
Strife lied back with his own smile. He knew all about pretending everything was fine. “Girl, boy, donkey…Zeus doesn’t care
which. As long as he can knock it down, he’s happy.”
Jayce leaned against Strife as he laughed out loud. His wild giggles caught the attention of several people who were
watching; this intensified the already considerable attention the two men were getting.
Strife was almost used to the scrutiny by now, but it still unnerved him. Lately the scrutiny had almost doubled. Since Joxer
had delivered his baby people had decided they could stop watching him so much and they turned that extra attention to
Strife.
Of course, none of them worried Strife. But…Cupid…was another matter entirely.
^^^^^^
Cupid saw Jayce draped all over his husband and was mad. Mad with a capital *PISSED OFF* He hadn’t forgotten the honey
incident. The god stalked over to the two men, glaring the entire way.
Jett noticed the upcoming disaster and managed to get to them and move his brother over one chair. Hopefully this would
prevent the God of Love from blasting him.
Jayce smiled up at the enraged god innocently. Cupid stood in front of the men and tried to decide where to send the blond
man’s decapitated body. Things were not looking good when Strife quietly diffused the situation by simply looking up at his
husband. Cupid could see how hot and tired Strife was. He was sweating and sitting slouched in his chair.
Cupid forgot about Jayce and his jealousy as he thought up a cool, wet cloth and ran it over the back of Strife’s neck trying
to cool him down. Strife shivered as a drop of water ran down the back of his shirt. Bliss, who had been following behind his
father, ran up to the two gods.
“Here Daddy Strife, this is for you.” The little godling handed Strife a cup of water; or rather, half a cup of water. In his
enthusiasm the little boy had spilled much of the water on the stage. Cupid obligingly refilled the cup before his son could
see. Ever since the problems with his kidneys had become known, *everyone* encouraged Strife to drink more.
“Thanks kiddo.” Strife smiled at his sweet little son and took the water gratefully.
Across the platform, Ares was giving a similar treatment to an equally drooping Joxer. With a flick of Ares’ hand a small
canopy appeared over the three gods, protecting Joxer and the baby from the sun. Cupid saw this maneuver and quickly emulated
his father, covering his little family with a similar covering.
Muttering could be heard as people saw the recently delivered Joxer and the heavily pregnant Strife getting sick because they
were having to wait so long in the sun. Zeus’ name and the threats of various kinds of bodily harm could be heard… And that
was from Hercules!
Finally, there was a brilliant flash of light and a magnificent clap of thunder…and Zeus arrived. The king of the gods stood
there in all his glory, waiting for the adulation that he just *knew* was coming his way. The elder god smiled benevolently
and then looked out at the gathered crowd. Seeing the hostility he gulped audibly.
Zeus could have told them why he was so late. He could have told them he, the King of the Gods, an all-powerful, all-mighty
god…uhmm…accidentally got locked in his own theft-proof vault. But gods didn’t give explanations to mortals, especially not
ones as lame as the truth was. Zeus decided to bluster it out.
“We have assembled here today for the presentation of our newest god.” Zeus waved grandly. “Joxer and Ares would you step
forward.” Ares growled at his father as he helped his tired husband and daughter stand up.
“Shhh, Ares it’s okay.” Joxer’s softly whispered words calmed Ares’ ire. The three gods stepped forward.
Zeus waited patiently as Joxer unwrapped their baby. The little girl blinked in the light and then gurgled happily. Zeus and
everyone watching were immediately charmed by the child.
“What name do you give your daughter?”
Ares’ proud voice rang out over the crowd. “Tempra.”
Zeus blinked in surprise and shook his head. Smiling knowingly, the King of the Gods bowed his head in acknowledgement. “How
appropriate.” He muttered under his breath.” With a wave of his hand, Zeus’ voice thundered out across all of Athens. Very
well. May I present to you…Tempra.” The applause filled the courtyard.
Zeus paused for dramatic effect. He did love announcing new godhoods. “All hail the Goddess of Temper.”
Many people gasped. This sweet child was the Goddess of Temper. Ares smiled happily; his daughter would be part of the House
of War even after she was grown up. Joxer and Strife exchanged grins; they had both seen the tantrums the *sweet natured*
baby could throw when she wasn’t happy.
The silence didn’t last very long and then the thunder of applause rolled over them.
^^^^^^
Iolaus was clapping so hard his hands were hurting. “Wow…she’s going to be really powerful!”
Hercules nodded knowingly. “Yeah. Just think of all the energy she’s going to get just from Hera.”
Iolaus turned away from his serious friend and started laughing. He saw Gabrielle smiling at him. The young red-head looked
the hunter up and down hungrily. Iolaus pretended to be oblivious to her intense stare.
Iolaus knew that Gabrielle had a crush on him; she’d made that obvious from the first time they met. He didn’t quite know
what he had to do to convince Gabrielle that he *didn’t* want her. He had been discouraging her since the first time they
met.
The hunter ignored the Amazon princess and looked back to the platform just in time to see an irritated Cupid flash his
sickly husband away. Bliss got to stay behind with his grandfather’s and little cousin.
The party for the new little godling lasted until dawn. Joxer, Ares and baby left after a couple of hours. Strife and Cupid
came back for a brief appearance towards the middle of the party. They stayed for a short time, collected their son and then
left again. Nobody was surprised, because they could tell the only thing holding Strife up was Cupid.
Most everyone else, god or mortal or demi-god, stayed all night long. The mortals were willing to stay until the food and
more importantly, the drink ran out. Since the food was supplied by Gaea and the drinks by Dionysus they didn’t run out and
eventually Hera slapped her rowdy husband on the head and declared the party over.
^^^^^^
The next day Strife was resting in bed, as per orders from Cupid, when he received a visit from Athena. The Goddess of Wisdom
had to actually walk in to the temple, because of the protection shield surrounding the temple.
After Strife had been kidnapped out of his own bedroom and then shortly after that attacked by Tryst, again in the same room,
several of the gods had gotten together and devised the shield. With it, no god or goddess could flash themselves into the
temple unless they had been given permission first.
Strife was rather surprised to see his aunt. Surprised but happy; they had formed a sort-of friendship while planning Joxer’s
baby shower.
“Hiya Athena. Whatcha doin heah?”
“I need to ask a favor of you.” Athena was clutching a very large book and looked so serious.
“What kind ah favor?” Strife was just as serious. If Athena was approaching him it must be important. Besides there wasn’t
much Strife could do lately in a godly fashion, or any other fashion for that matter, and any help he could give he would do
so gladly.
“I have come to ask you to subscribe Tempra’s name and godhood officially in The Divine Book of the Gods and Goddess of
Olympus.” Athena stood tall and proud, the aforementioned book clutched tightly in her arms.
Strife tried not to laugh. It wasn’t the request that had him giddy; it was the title of the book. It was so pompous and most
of the gods cringed anytime they had to say it. Then Strife realized what Athena was asking.
“Ya want *me* ta write her name in theah fah ya.” Strife was stunned. Putting a new god’s name in The Book was a big deal. As
far as he knew, no one other than Athena had ever done it.
“Yes, I would be very grateful if you would. Your penmanship is so elegant, it would be a welcome addition to the archive.”
Strife smiled happily. “I’d be honored.”
^^^^^^
3 days later
“Strife! What in all the god’s names are you eating?”
Joxer looked at the lumpy reddish mess in Strife’s bowl and winced. He turned away and pressed his daughter into his
shoulder, hoping to shield his impressionable child from the disgusting sight.
“Don’t worry, it’s just ambrosia.” Strife didn’t let the appearance of his best friend stop him from eating. Strife licked
his lips happily. “This is tha first thing that’s tasted good in a long time.”
“Ambrosia?” Joxer laid Tempra in her seashell cradle that Poseidon had given and turned back to his pregnant friend
questioningly. “Strife, that really doesn’t look like ambrosia.”
“It looks different cause it has catsup and onions in it.”
“Onions? And what the Tartarus is catsup?”
“It’s a food from tha future.” Strife thought a minute, wondering how to define catsup. “It’s made outta squished tomatoes.”
Joxer blanched and looked at his friend carefully. “You put onions and tomatoes in ambrosia?”
“Um huh.” Strife didn’t stop eating and all but licked the bowl clean. “I know it sounds disgustin but right now it tastes
wondahful.”
“I’m supposed ta eat as mucha this stuff as I can, but it tastes sa nasty I haven’t been able ta choke much down. Sa I’ve
been experementin and found one or two things that make it taste a little bettah.”
Joxer shrugged. “Okay. Gods know we’ve both eaten some really disgusting things while we’ve been pregnant. At least this one
will help build up your godly powers.
Strife grimaced. “I don’t really need ta build up mah powers that much.”
Joxer sat down beside his friend and patted his arm understandingly. “Are you still having problems with your powers?”
“Oh yeah. Yestahday I tried ta change mah clothes and I ended up with…mumble mumble.”
“What did you say?”
Strife sighed unhappily. “I ended up wearin what looked like…onna Dite’s outfits.”
Joxer had to bite his lip so he wouldn’t laugh in his friend’s face. Strife looked up and smiled. “It’s okay, ya can laugh. I
tell ya I’ve nevah looked sillier in mah life.”
Joxer thought about tall, skinny Strife with his very pregnant tummy in one of Aphrodite’s lacy, diaphanous gowns and bust
out laughing. Strife watched him for a few seconds before he joined in.
The two young gods kept laughing and before long even the baby caught the mood and started laughing. Joxer watched his baby
happily and put an arm around Strife’s shoulders as the laughter turned to tears.
“Shhh…just try to relax.” Damn, it wasn’t fair. Strife shouldn’t suffer just because he laughed a little.
Strife panted a minute. “It’s okay, it was worth it. Everythin has been sa grim tha last few months; it’s nice ta laugh.”
^^^^^^
Strife laid his head on Joxer’s shoulder and tried to ride out the waves of pain. His friend’s bony shoulder wasn’t a very
comfortable pillow though and he soon sat back up.
“Sa, how are ya likin mothahood?”
Joxer swatted at his friend’s hair in retaliation for the joke. “Actually…”
All of a sudden there was a loud thump. Both gods jumped and Strife choked off a cry of pain from the sudden movement. Joxer
was already looking for the source of the noise. He jumped up and was positioned in front of the vulnerable Strife and his
daughter’s cradle.
Strife realized something was blocking the sun. In trepidation he looked up and was terrified to realize there was a person
suspended right over him. It was a woman and she was lying on top of the shield that protected the garden from unwanted godly
visitors.
Strife’s gasp had Joxer spinning around. He saw Strife looking up and let his gaze follow his friend’s. It was Joxer’s turn
to gasp.
Gravity began to work and the woman’s body slid down the side of the shield, leaving a nasty streak of blood and other bodily
fluids.# The insensate body hit the ground with a squishy splat.
Strife struggled up out of his chair immediately, intent on helping this poor victim.
“Oh gods, somebody got hurt tryin ta flash in.”
“Strife stop!”
Joxer’s urgent tone stopped Strife cold. He looked back questioningly.
“It might be a trick. No matter how bad she looks it could be a trap to lure you outside the protection field.”
Strife shook his head. “Ya’re right. I nevah thought ah that.” Strife looked back at the prone body. “But we can’t just leave
her theah.”
“*We* aren’t; *I’m* going to check on her.” Joxer passed his friend and headed towards the edge of the shield. “I’m not
having problems with my powers.” He explained to the ill young god.
Strife backed up and sat back down as he watched Joxer. At the first hint of trouble he was going to start screaming for
help, because powers or no powers Tryst could hurt Joxer just as well as he could Strife. Tryst’s reaction to Joxer months
ago had proven he was interested in the young god.
^^^^^^
Joxer walked through the shield with a pop. Cautiously he approached the still unconscious woman. “She’s not dead, she still
breathing.” Behind him, Joxer could hear Strife’s sigh of relief. Joxer was glad too, he knew that his friend would never
forgive himself if somebody had been hurt because of his protection shield.
Warily, Joxer bent and rolled the body over. He gasped in surprise and stumbled back a few steps. “Oh my god…it’s Psyche.”
Fic: Overheard Conversations 21/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter
stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation, rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation
and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Chapter 21
Strife was being held up, supported and generally propped by Cupid. What he needed was to sit down or better yet go lay down,
but the pregnant god insisted on waiting by the chamber door. Bob kept rubbing her heads against her master’s leg, in
sympathy and support.
Joxer stood to one side and tried to calm his daughter down. Tempra, as the newly appointed Goddess of Temper, could feel all
the anger in the room and was twitchy because of it. Luckily the little goddess was way too young to do anything with the
excess energy floating around.
Ares hovered protectively over his family like Echidna guarding her young.
Aphrodite, sweet, supposedly flighty Aphrodite…was clenching and unclenching her fists. Only the knowledge that it would
upset Strife so much kept the love goddess from blasting the door down and ripping her ex-daughter-in-law into pieces.
Hermes was hovering a few inches off the temple floor. He was waiting for information on Psyche. There were many anxious gods
and goddesses on sewing implements (you know, pins and needles) wanting to know what was happening with “the evil bitch”.
The door opened, Apollo and Asclepius emerged.
“It’s not as bad as it looked.” Strife was the only one who was relieved by Apollo’s statement.
“Her injuries are like yours were Strife…” He winced as Strife whimpered.
Cupid rocked back and forth a few times. “Shhh, it’s all right.”
Smiling apologetically at his insensitivity, Apollo continued. “She’s going to be fine though. While painful, none of the
injuries she sustained are life threatening.”
“How are her kidneys?” Strife’s inquiry came out breathlessly. “Have they been damaged taa?”
“No.” Ace hastened to reassure Strife. “She was given food and water, not a lot, but enough.”
“Okay, good.” Strife could hardly stand the thought of someone else, even Psyche going through the Tartarus he had and still
was enduring.
^^^^^^
“She’s going to be okay?” Apollo and Asclepius nodded yes to the God of Love. That was the main thing he wanted to know. It
wouldn’t be sporting to kill somebody who was at Hades’ door.
Cupid carefully let go of Strife and leaned him against the wall. His duty to his beloved husband taken care of, Cupid got
down to business.
“Good…” Cupid snarled. “…now let me at her.” He started to lunge towards the door.
“NO!” Cupid looked at his husband in astonishment. “Cupe ya can’t.”
Everyone, yes, even Joxer, wanted her blood. And her skin. And her bones. They were worried though, if Strife didn’t want
them to punish her they wouldn’t. His health was too precarious and they couldn’t risk upsetting him.
“Baby…why?” Cupid walked back to stand in front of his husband.
“Think ah Bliss. What’s he gonna think if his Daddy hurts his Mommy?”
Cupid slumped, imagining his son’s sweet face looking up at him in horror. “You’re right.”
“No problem.” Ares nodded happily and he started forward.
“Unc, ya can’t do anythin eithah. Or ya Dite. Or Joxah.”
His soft words froze everyone in place and effectively ended their plans for revenge. All three gods looked frustrated.
Aphrodite kicked the wall. Apollo absentmindedly fixed her broken toes.
“Bliss loves all ah ya taa much. Don’t make him chose between ya and his mom.”
Strife was having a hard time catching his breath and Cupid once again held him up.
Irritated that their revenge had been forestalled, Ares asked a question they had all been wondering about. “So who had her
anyway?”
“Obviously somebody who wanted revenge for Strifey.” Dite smiled at her upset son-in-law.
“It was Tryst.” Strife’s quiet announcement stopped the speculation.
“How do you know that for certain?” Joxer wasn’t denying Strife’s knowledge. If anybody would know Tryst’s handiwork it would
be Strife.
“Because I saw that she had a…mark…” Strife closed his eyes in pain. “…right heah, undah her arm.” Strife raised his arm
slightly and indicated that was the place.”
“It’s true she has a kind of…” Apollo didn’t know how to describe it.
“It’s like a curved X.” Strife tightened his grip on Cupid’s arm. “X marks tha spot.” He muttered shakily; his eyes focused
inward, towards the memories.
Joxer put a hand on his friend’s arm and cursed himself when Strife flinched. “Do you have a mark?”
“Yeah.” His hand moved abruptly as he started to reach under his arm again.
“Oh baby.” Cupid kissed the side of Strife’s neck.
“Oh gods.” Luckily Ace’s soft exclamation wasn’t heard by anybody else. He had suddenly remembered seeing that curved X on
several children in the village at the foot of Mt. Olympus.
^^^^^^
Strife’s pronouncement had, ironically enough, pushed Psyche from their minds for a little while.
“So how do we punish her, because she is going down.” Aphrodite thumped the wall beside her in a very unDite way.
“Let me handle it.” Apollo smiled serenely at them. “I believe I can come up with an *appropriate* punishment for her.”
Everybody looked at everybody else. They weren’t sure what to do.
“What do you say Strife? You are the injured party here.”
“Yeah, okay.” Puff, puff, puff. “Sounds good…(puff) ta me.”
Cupid caught Strife up in his arms as Strife’s legs finally gave way. He walked slowly and cautiously to their bedroom door.
“Please remove that filth from our home.” Cupid looked back at the rest of his family. “I don’t care what you do with it,
just get it out of here.”
The door quietly shut behind the 2, or rather 2 2/3 gods.
^^^^^^
The next afternoon
Cupid woke up as his husband walked into the bathing chamber. The two lovers had been taking an afternoon nap. Usually Strife
napped and Cupid watched him, but this time Cupid had fallen asleep too.
There was a slight sloshing and Cupid sat up with a frown. Strife was taking a bath…alone. That wasn’t good. The pregnant god
had a hard time walking around the room, let alone down the steps into the bathing pool. Not to mention, how was he going to
get up again once he sat down?
“Baby?”
Strife yelped at Cupid’s voice. “Are you okay?” Strife just nodded. Cupid was worried; Strife was staring up at him with eyes
that were huge in his face. “Do you mind if I join you?” Strife just shook his head no, still with those big,
frightened…frightened? eyes.
As Cupid stepped into the pool he noticed something amazing. While he had been taking off his clothes, with his back turned,
Strife had covered the front of himself with a large towel.
So Strife was sitting in the bath with a now soaking towel in front of him. And damn, he was breathing so fast, he was about
to hyperventilate.
“Strife?” There were a thousand questions wrapped up in that one word.
Strife’s mouth moved wordlessly. He was clutching the towel so tightly his hands were turning a funny, paler color. Cupid
slid closer. He moved oh so slowly, trying not to upset his husband further and trying desperately to understand what was
wrong.
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
Strife scrunched his eyes closed.
“Are you scared?” Strife nodded and wrapped the towel tighter around his chest.
“Something you don’t want me to see?” Strife’s nod was barely perceptible.
“Is it because of the baby? I’ve seen your tummy before, you know and I think it’s beautiful.” Cupid stroked their child
through the cloth and Strife smiled in bliss.
“No, that ain’t it.”
“Is it about Psyche? Strife frowned and quickly shook his head no.
Cupid looked down, thinking. He was at a loss. He wracked his brain, trying to think about what had happened recently that
could have upset his husband.
When Cupid looked back up he realized that Strife now had another towel. This one was draped over his shoulders. Thinking
back to when Joxer was kidnapped, Cupid got an idea.
“Is it about the mark?” Strife paled and clutched the towel tighter. He nodded his head so minutely that Cupid barely saw it.
“Can I see it?”
Strife looked so stricken that Cupid was about to retract his question. Then the young god released the towel and raised his
left arm. The unusual X was easily seen. It was thick and bright red. As with many light skinned people, Strife’s scars were
very visible.
Cupid ran his finger over the mark, wishing he could erase the pain it represented. “I don’t understand why I never noticed
this before.”
“Because ah tha glamour I used fah sa long.” Strife hung his head in shame.
“But baby, you haven’t used a glamour in months.” Cupid frowned, upset that he had missed something so important. “It’s not
like I haven’t seen you naked.”
Strife grabbed the towel again. “Ya haven’t.”
“What do you mean?” Cupid was confused. “We’ve made love, I’ve helped you change clothes, we’ve even had other baths.”
“Yeah, but…but we were always in tha dark.” Strife whispered the words ashamedly.
Cupid started to disagree and then began to think. “You’re right. We’re always in the dark or have a few candles.” He tilted
his husband’s head up. “Why are you afraid to let me see you?”
“Cause I lied ta ya.” Strife started crying. “I didn’t mean ta. I forgot about tha glamour when we first got tagethah and
later I was scared fah ya ta find out tha truth.” Strife talked faster and faster, trying to get it all out before he lost
his nerve.
“So there are other scars.”
Strife tried to look away. Cupid kept moving his head so that Strife had to keep looking him in the eye. “Yeah, theah are a
lot more scars.”
“Let me see.” Strife whimpered. “Baby, I love you. You are my husband and *nothing* will ever change that. Especially not
some scars.”
Strife looked into his husband’s eyes and decided he had to trust that Cupid was right about how he would feel. Besides it
was only fair that Cupid see what he actually looked like. A pale, shaky hand reached out from the folds of the towel.
“Gimme a hand up?”
Cupid immediately stood up and helped his unsteady husband to his feet. He waited until Strife seemed more stable before he
reluctantly released him.
Strife stood in front of Cupid and just stared. His hands were clenched tight around the towels. With a shuddering sigh,
Strife closed his eyes and let the towel around his back drop into the water.
Slowly Cupid circled around his husband; he put one hand on a shaking elbow in support. The sunlight streaming through the
window illuminated the back of Strife’s body. Cupid looked, with tears running down his face, at the devastation that was his
husband’s body.
It was covered with crooked X’s.
There were a few along his shoulders, more on his back and the backs of his legs. His bottom was covered with the scars.
Cupid realized his silence was scaring Strife. He molded himself to his husband’s back and wrapped his arms around Strife’s
quaking body.
“I’m still here baby.”
Strife burst out crying and turned himself in his husband’s arms. The other towel dropped, forgotten, into the water.
Inside Strife’s soul, one more wound healed over.
^^^^^^
6 days later
“Psyche, step forward.”
The young goddess who walked regally to stand in front of the Pantheon looked healthy and calm. She had been healed fairly
quickly from her ordeal. It was much easier on her than it had been on Strife, because she didn’t have a baby that needed to
be protected from magical complications.
Her healthy appearance did nothing for her case. Many saw it as a sign that she hadn’t been punished. Likewise, a little fear
might have helped. But Psyche was so certain her looks and charm would save her that she wasn’t very worried.
She was counting on the fact that she was good in bed, as testified to by many people, would keep the acrimony down. If all
else failed, she figured she could charm someone into taking off her restraints and then she could use her godhood to save
herself. As Goddess of the Mind, Psyche was used to bending people to her will.
A few weeks ago she would almost certainly have been right, but Psyche still hadn’t realized how feelings for her had
changed. She ignorantly didn’t understand that the only thing keeping her uninjured right now was the trial and Strife’s
worry over Bliss.
Apollo walked around the meeting chamber, talking as he went, until he ended up in front of the prisoner.
“I’ve thought long and hard about your punishment.”
Psyche smiled seductively. Apollo, no stranger to seductive smiles, was glad he hadn’t eaten lunch yet.
“Since you sexually assaulted Strife…” Apollo had to wait until the angry murmurs quieted down.
The smile slipped off Psyche’s face.
“I thought about tossing you in with a bunch of sex-starved prisoners and letting them have at you for a few years.”
Psyche blanched. There was some cheering in the audience.
“But I realized that would only upset Strife and eventually Bliss.” There was disappointed murmuring in the audience.
Psyche took a shuddering breath in relief.
“Sooo…I decided to send you down to earth. I would surround you with men. All of them fawning all over you. Pestering you.
Harassing you no matter where you went.”
Psyche frowned. It wrinkled up her nose and not in a sexy way. No, more like in an, ‘I stepped in a pile of shit’ way.
(Appropriate, don’t you think.) Her mouth twisted to one side and…well, suffice it to say it was *not* her best look.
“But I realized that had already been done. And done quite well I might add.” Apollo turned and bowed to Aphrodite. She
acknowledged the praise. That’s how she got back at Psyche when she was still mortal and people had dared to compare her
beauty to that of Aphrodite herself.
“So that left only one thing to do.”
Psyche flinched back as Apollo reached for her. She wasn’t as calm now, not after hearing Apollo’s discarded ideas.
The god cupped Psyche’s face between his hands. “So pretty…” He leaned forward and for a few seconds no one could see Psyche.
Apollo was too close in front of her. “…no more.” Apollo stepped back and everyone gasped.
Psyche’s beautiful, lustrous hair was now dull and an ugly shade of reddish-gray. Her flawless, roses and ivory skin was
wrinkled, saggy and grayish-yellow. Dark age spots covered her hands and arms. Her full lips had thinned to be almost
invisible. A once pert nose had elongated and widened.
She was, in short, a hag. (In protest, several hags protested.) She was so ugly that even the hags turned away in disgust.
Psyche held her arms up and looked over them in shock.
“You may look ancient, but you are still a young woman inside. With a young woman’s wants and needs.” Apollo looked at her
and snorted. “Good luck with that.” Apollo walked away, dismissing her like so much rubbish.
Psyche stood, hunched over and alone, in the middle of the chamber floor.
Zeus raised one hand negligently and flicked a fire bolt at her. When the flames dissipated he finally spoke. “You are a
goddess no more.” He turned to his wife, Hera.
The Goddess of Marriage and Childbirth smiled. It wasn’t pleasant to look at. She took her godhood seriously and Psyche’s
evil machinations had endangered not only Strife, but his unborn child as well.
“But you are immortal.” Her fire bolt struck.
Psyche stood in the middle of the chamber, stunned at how quickly her life had turned to ruins. She gasped and tried to step
back as Eris stalked up.
The Goddess of Discord smiled malevolently at Psyche. “You didn’t think I wouldn’t do anything, did you?” Eris put her hand
on Psyche’s chest. “From one mother to another.”
With a snarl worthy of her brother Ares’, Eris gripped Psyche’s dress and yanked her forward. “I’d love to rip you to bits
and see how the pieces liked living that way, but…” She pushed the old/young woman back. “…that would be *way* too easy on
you.”
Psyche looked at the crowd beseechingly. For help. For death, maybe? To live like this for eternity was too horrible to
contemplate.
The looks she received made the ex-goddess realize there would be no compassion from this crowd. Unsure, she looked back at
Eris.
“I have a nice little home all picked out for you.” Eris smirked. “Well, maybe hovel is more like it. It’s right in the
middle of Athens.” The crowd murmured it’s appreciation. (A lot of murmuring going on.) She would be stuck in the most
populous city in Greece.
Eris continued explaining her *gift*. “The house has a spell on it. No food or drink brought inside will be good for more
than a week at a time. Even dried or smoked meats. That ensures that you’ll have to leave your house *every* week and walk
among the people.”
Flicking her gaze up and down, Eris frowned. “I’m not sure it’s fair to punish them that way. Oh well, have fun.” With a
happy wave goodbye, Eris sent her son’s kidnapper and torturer to her new life.
There was no more murmuring. There was, however, a great deal of clapping and cheering.
^^^^^^
Tryst walked out of the meeting chamber and around the corner. He morphed back into his usual disguise, that of a middle-aged
cobbler.
The making of shoes meant that he got to be around a *lot* of little children. Of course, none of them were as *special* as
his Strife, but he made do.
Tryst flashed into his *humble* cottage at the foot of Mt. Olympus. This was where he had been hiding for the last 40 years;
ever since Zeus had thrown him off Mt. Olympus.
He walked to the hidden room in the back of his house. A small flash of his powers opened the wall that looked like a door.
Inside Tryst let his true appearance come out.
The giant of a man took a deep breath and smiled in appreciation. The room smelled like Strife. He opened his eyes and looked
around contentedly at the *trophies* lining the walls.
There were portraits of Strife everywhere; ranging from when he was a baby to one that showed him several months pregnant.
Tryst walked over and reverently picked up a stuffed hydra. It was a child’s toy and was worn from a loving child’s hands.
It’s four little heads bobbed gently.
The stains that covered it were nothing a child should have known about.
The God of Secret Meetings sniffed his prize and remembered the first time he had seen the little boy with it. He smiled in
ecstasy as he remembered the occasion when he took it from a small Strife.
Tryst leaned against the wall and reveled in the memories.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 22/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation, rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS, Make Believe and MPREG; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Extra Note: Andromeda and its characters do not belong to me, I’m just borrowing them for a little while.
The tunnel mentioned in this story *is not* the one used in the one episode of the series. (Sorry, I can’t remember the title.) No characters were harmed with the use of this tunnel.
Credit: The chicken was my mother’s idea and the color of the egg was my daughter’s.
Chapter 22
Strife felt the covers being lifted and wondered what was going on. He thought briefly of panicking, but was too comfortable to give it much effort. Strife could see the pale pink light seeping in through the window. It was *very* early in the morning and long before they normally got up.
A hard hand ran down the back of his leg. Strife moaned in ecstasy when the other hand joined in and they both began massaging his foot.
“Do you like that baby?” Cupid’s voice flowed over him like a bubbling stream flowing over glistening rocks.
“Cupid…just…don’t stop.” Strife felt his bones melt under the soothing ministration.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Cupid switched to the other foot.
Strife squirmed and moaned and generally sounded like a man having really great sex.
Cupid laughed. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Cupid kissed Strife’s big toe and Strife laughed at the tickly sensation.
The God of Love carefully eased his husband over onto his back. Cupid had discovered that if he did the turning for Strife it wasn’t nearly as painful. Plus, extra bonus, he got to hold Strife’s butt as he did it. Not that he didn’t grope his husband every chance he got anyway.
“Mornin.” Strife reached up and pulled Cupid down for a kiss.
“Uhmmm.” Cupid didn’t answer as he gave Strife as through a kiss as he the injured man could stand. He had to stop *way* before either one of them wanted to because Strife still had such a hard time breathing.
Cupid started to get up from where he was halfway sprawled across Strife’s lap. Strife frowned and tried to tug Cupid back. Cupid allowed himself to be pulled. Strife squirmed suggestively.
“Cupe?”
Cupid ran his hand over the growing bulge between Strife’s legs. “Are you sure baby?”
“Oh gods, yes. Please.”
Cupid started to put his hand inside Strife’s sleep pants when Strife stopped him again.
“No, I want ya ovah me.” Cupid frowned, trying to think of a way to please his husband without causing him any pain.
“Please.”
That did it. Cupid could feel Strife’s need and wanted his husband to have a little pleasure in this time of so much pain. He immediately climbed onto their bed and positioned himself so that he was straddling Strife’s hips.
This was exactly the opposite of their usual position of him between Strife’s widespread legs. Well, no more! At least not until Strife’s damaged body could be fixed and the pregnant god could move without pain.
With a thought both of the men’s clothes vanished. Cupid saw Strife tense up, he was still uneasy at being naked. Thoughtfully, Cupid had a drape fall over the window. The room darkened appreciatively.
Strife relaxed and smiled seductively at his husband. “Thank ya Cupe.” His pale blue eyes glittered like the best aquamarines.
“You just lay still and let me do all the work.”
Strife nodded and licked his lips. Cupid watched that pink tongue slip in and out of Strife’s mouth. His eye’s darkened as a bolt of lust shot through him.
It was awkward. Cupid’s knees were angled over Strife’s hips and his arms were braced by his husband’s ribs. Cupid angled his hips down and let them slide up and over Strife’s penis. He had to be extremely careful. Too much pressure would hurt and not enough would just tease.
From the look of ecstasy on Strife’s face, Cupid knew he was getting it right. Cupid was enjoying himself as well, although not nearly as much as he would have been normally. His hips ached from keeping them so far apart. Any closer and he would be crowding Strife’s damaged hips. Cupid’s back was aching because of the angle he was thrusting at. There was no way in Tartarus he was going to squash his husband or baby.
The pregnant god automatically tried to open his legs, but was stopped when his thighs bumped into Cupid’s. Cupid balanced himself on one hand and gently soothed Strife’s hip with the other. Strife relaxed his legs and went back to enjoying their lovemaking.
Strife gasped and tried to writhe on the bed. Cupid held onto his husband and carefully anchored his body to the bed. Cupid knew that if Strife moved around very much he would be hurting too badly to enjoy their liaison.
All too quickly, but just in time for Strife’s flagging energy, the two lovers climaxed. Cupid slid to one side, making sure to not mash or jar any of Strife’s body.
Cupid rolled his already sleeping husband towards him, so that they were lying face to face. With a negligent wave of his hand, Cupid cleaned and covered them up.
Strife grimaced in his sleep and one hand automatically went to his stomach. It seemed the baby wasn’t very happy with their activities and was protesting. Before he could be woken up, Cupid laid one hand on Strife’s large tummy and rubbed gently, soothingly. Strife smiled happily and before long Cupid followed his lover into sleep.
^^^^^^
Flash.
“Hi Strife.”
“Hiya Joxah.”
Strife frowned as he watched his best friend pacing frantically around the sitting room.
“What’s tha mattah?” Strife’s eyebrows raised in surprise when he noticed something or rather, someone, missing. “Wheah’s Tempra?”
Joxer smiled automatically at the mention of his daughter. “She’s at home. Ares *insisted* that I take a break.” Joxer growled a little.
Strife tried to hide his smile when Joxer growled. He couldn’t help it, it just sounded so…cute. Not that he’d tell Joxer that.
“Well, I can undahstand wheah Unc’s comin from. Aftah all, ya haven’t been more than a step away from Temmy since she was born.”
This time both men smiled at the use of Tempra’s new nickname. She had been christened Temmy by Bliss, because the little boy said Tempra was too big a name for his cousin/aunt.
“She’s in good hands, ya know.” Strife tried to reassure his still pacing friend.
“I know.” Joxer laughed and plopped himself down on the chair beside Strife’s couch.
“Ares can take care of her. Like he pointed out to me, he has had *several* other children.” Joxer rolled his eyes and snorted. “Like I could *ever* forget that.” He grumbled and muttered under his breath.
Strife leaned forward to hear what Joxer was saying.
“Mumble, mumble….dite…” Growl.
“Yeah, well they don’t matah now, da they?”
Joxer looked up, his eyes a liquid brown with tears.
“Them othah parents aren’t important any more. Unc’s only evah been married once…and that’s ta ya.” Strife kept looking Joxer straight in the eye as he handed his godly friend a handkerchief.
Joxer laughed shakily and made a show of wiping his tears away. “I guess you’re right.”
“Well ah course I’m right.” Strife huffed indignantly and was rewarded when Joxer *really* laughed this time.
Joxer sighed and gifted his friend with a smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem Joxah.” Strife understood Joxer’s insecurities. Just thinking about some of the lovers that Cupid had been with over the centuries was enough to make Strife want to throw up.
Silently, Strife wondered if he should talk with his uncle or at least have Cupid speak to him. Mentioning past affairs and their resultant offspring to a newly delivered Joxer wasn’t exactly being sensitive.
^^^^^^
“So tell me, are your powers still acting…” Joxer twisted his hand around crazily. “…wonky?”
Strife opened his mouth to answer and then…
There was a bright flash and in front of Strife, an 8 foot, 400 pound, fat, green chicken popped into view. The bird squawked indignantly and immediately dropped a 15 pound green and blue dotted egg onto the ground. The chicken flapped its wings happily and then disappeared back where it came from…with another loud pop.
Joxer looked at Strife, with his mouth hanging open. Strife looked at the egg, still lying, quivering on the ground.
“I’m havin one or two problems.”
Joxer burst out laughing and sat down on the floor by Strife’s couch.
Bob sat up in the corner where she had been sleeping. It had all happened so fast that she hadn’t been able to react to the chicken thing. Sensing no danger, the poor dog gave a confused “woof” before going back to sleep.
“Are ya hungry?” Strife indicated the huge, green and blue eye. Joxer, who had been calming down, had to actually lay down because he was laughing so hard.
It took a while, but eventually Joxer stopped laughing. Except for a stray snicker or two here and there, the room descended into a calm peace…but not for long.
“I had a couple of visitors today.”
Strife was glad of the change of subject. “Oh yeah.”
“Yeah.”
Strife waited and watched as Joxer played with one of the pillows on Strife’s couch. He was about to say something to break the silence, when Joxer spoke up.
“They’ve been trying to come see me for a couple of weeks.”
‘A couple of weeks.’ That would make it about the time of Tempra’s presentation. Oh crap. “Really?” Strife tried for nonchalant, afraid of whom the visitors might have been.
“Yeah, really.” Joxer’s eyes twinkled bemusedly. “Apparently they had problems *every* time they got close to the temple. You know, little things like, falling into manure piles and having the local magistrate mistake them for slavers.”
Strife opened his mouth and then closed it silently. He didn’t know what to say and let me tell you that was a *major* event in the God of Mischief’s life.
“So tell me, my good friend,” Joxer propped his chin on his fist, “are you responsible for my parents not being able to get close to me?” Joxer sounded far from upset.
A swiftly shook head answered Joxer. “Good. You don’t need to be wasting energy on *them*.”
“It’s just that at tha presentation, I, uh…” Strife trailed off and looked at his friend reluctantly.
“You kept them away?” Joxer raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Nah, I just kept ya from seein them.” Strife bit his lip. “I didn’t want ya ta get upset or nothin on such a special day.”
Joxer nodded. “Thanks. It would have *ruined* the day if I’d seen *them*.”
Strife sighed and rubbed his twingeing stomach; any kind of stress caused him to cramp up. “So ya ain’t upset?”
“Not at all. As a matter of fact, I’m glad they showed up.”
“Ya are?” Joxer nodded. “How come?”
“Seeing them laid to rest some old fears.” He hesitated. “They were *old*.” Joxer frowned thoughtfully. “I didn’t expect them to be old. In my mind, father still had a strong arm and mother an even sharper mouth.”
Joxer shook his head and shook off the old memories. “But now they’re just a couple of old people…who are all alone. No children, no grandchildren, nothing.” Joxer’s expressive brown eyes turned towards his godly friend.
Strife held out his hand and Joxer clasped it carefully. The new two men could think of nothing worse than being without their children.
“It’s their own fault.”
Joxer nodded at Strife. “I know and that’s what I told them.” The young god’s chin trembled even as he sat up resolutely. “I told them to get out and never come back.”
“Good fah ya.” Strife smiled, proud of how far his friend had come over the years. From letting Gabrielle abuse him on a regular basis to standing up to his parents in just a few years was quite an accomplishment.
Smiling, Joxer blushed as he admitted. “It did feel good.” The God of Peace smirked. “I don’t know who was more surprised, Father or Ares. You won’t believe it, he actually tried to hit me.”
Strife gasped. “Yar father?” At Joxer’s bemused nod Strife gasped again. “And he’s still alive?” Strife couldn’t believe that Ares hadn’t killed the mortal for daring to threaten his husband.
“Yeah, but I bet he’s still running.” Joxer laughed, but it was a strained laugh. “I’m not that child anymore; I won’t let *anyone* hurt me again.”
The God of Mischief nodded in understanding. “I’m proud ah ya.”
The two friends realized they were still holding hands and let go.
^^^^^^
“Sooo...” Joxer looked over at the egg and giggled again. “…that’s kind of dangerous, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, Cupe’s gone ta get somethin ta help me control mah powahs a little bettah.”
“Ah, from Heph.”
Strife flinched and bit his lip as pain lanced through his stomach. “Calm down little one.” He rubbed the spot soothingly.
Joxer started to say something and then realized nothing would help. So he decided to pretend there wasn’t anything wrong. “Hmmm, what do you think Heph’ll make? A ring, a necklace…a tiara?”
The two men chuckled at the image. “Yeah, one with jewels ta match mah eyes.” Strife batted his eyelashes enticingly.
Joxer stood and held his arms up over his head as he stretched; Strife envied him the freedom. “I’m hopin Cupe’ll get back with tha powah suppressor before anythin else goes wrong.”
Strife heard a gasp and glanced over at Joxer, who was looking over the back of the couch with his mouth hanging open. The young, pregnant god struggled to get up and see what was the matter with his friend.
“Joxah, is somethin up?”
A choking laugh was all the answer Strife got. After several frantic seconds of flailing around, the overbalanced young man was finally able to stand up.
Normally Joxer would have helped him. He knew how hard it could be to get up when you were *very* pregnant. This time Joxer didn’t even notice his friend’s problems, he was too stunned by what he was seeing.
Strife leaned against the arm of the couch, he was panting and out of breath by the time he finished his maneuvers. As soon as he could, Strife moved away from the support.
“What’s wrong?” Strife raced over…well, okay…inched over, to stand by his friend.
“Uh,” Joxer cleared his throat. “There’s definitely something *up*.”
Strife didn’t answer. Now his mouth was hanging open as he took in the scene before him. The temple wall was gone. In it’s place was a huge, black, gaping…tunnel? Even more amazing was the man standing in the middle of the opening.
The two young men looked the stranger up and down and then up and down again. Strife was looking for a third time when his gaze got stuck midway. Abruptly Strife looked up and over at his friend, embarrassed by his actions. He saw that Joxer was intentionally *not* looking at the newcomer either.
It was hard, uhm, I mean, difficult not to look at him. The man was gorgeous.
The stranger was dark. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin.
He was tall and broad shouldered. The man’s velvety brown skin gleamed in the torch light. His muscles had their own muscles and brought along their little muscle friends. His long black hair was arranged in narrow braids and hung down past his shoulders.
And, oh yes, he was completely naked.
Bob was barking frantically. She kept surging forward only to be pushed back into her corner. The godly watchdog didn’t like this and kept pushing until she was exhausted.
Strife and Joxer stood there uncertainly for several seconds. The stranger didn’t seem to notice; he was too busy swaying in the middle of the room.
Strife realized that, since this was *his* temple, he was technically the host. That meant he got to approach this enticing specimen of manhood. Not really all that comfortable with very large, very naked men; Strife swallowed hard and stepped forward.
“Hi.” Strife waved his hand, attracting the newcomer’s attention. “I don’t mean ta be rude, but wheah are ya from?”
The man focused glazed eyes on Strife and smiled seductively. “Harper.” The name was spoken like a caress.
“Uh…”
Strife stepped back as the large man stalked forward. Before he could get more than a step, the stranger had picked Strife up and sat him down on top of Cupid’s desk.
When he moved they could see that the man had several long spikes coming out of the sides of his arms. So, they realized that whoever or whatever they were dealing with wasn’t human.
“Hey!” Joxer immediately went to his friend’s aid. Or at least he tried to. Joxer bounced off an invisible shield that surrounded Strife and the desk. Realizing that it was probably Strife’s powers acting up again, Joxer wasted no time and ran to the chamber door. There he found another invisible shield; this one surrounding the whole room. They were trapped.
Joxer turned back to see the naked man laying Strife down on the desk. Strife was struggling as best he could, but the injured young god didn’t have the strength to fight back against Bliss, let alone this large man.
“Stop!” Joxer was panic stricken; afraid that this stranger was going to attack his friend and there was nothing he could do to help him.
“Harper, Harper, Harper.”
Joxer took another look at the scene. True, the man did have Strife laid out across the desk like a prize, but he wasn’t mauling him. In fact, the man was nuzzling Strife’s neck and rubbing his spiky hair gently.
Strife, meanwhile, didn’t seem *too* upset. He had stopped struggling; it didn’t help anything and only made him tired. He wasn’t thrilled with the situation, but he wasn’t scared either. They could sense that there was no malice in the bigger man’s actions.
“Ya’re hurtin me.”
Strife’s softly spoken words galvanized the other man. He leaned back and looked into Strife’s eyes.
“Harper?”
The man blinked, looked closer at Strife’s face and quickly got up. Strife lay on the desk puffing. The other man reached out a hesitant hand and almost touched Strife’s tummy.
“You are not my Harper.” His voice was strong, his mind clearer.
“No, I ain’t.”
Strife flinched in pain as his back spasmed; laying on a hard wooden surface wasn’t exactly comfortable. Seeing the pain, the man helped Strife sit up; all the while watching Strife’s belly.
“You’re pregnant.”
“Yeah.”
The man frowned. “How is that possible?”
“Well, I’m a god.” At the man’s stunned look, Strife stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Strife, tha God ah Mischief.”
It suddenly dawned on Strife that he was shaking hands with a naked stranger like it was an everyday occurrence and he started giggling. There was a slight pop and Joxer stumbled as the barrier separating him from Strife disappeared.
Joxer raced forward and wrapped an arm protectively around Strife’s waist, even though the other man didn’t *seem* to be a threat. There was no sense taking chances. Strife seemed glad of the support, both emotional and physical.
Surreptitiously, Joxer waved his hand towards a chair. Nothing happened. Apparently Strife’s powers were affecting his as well.
Crap.
“What’s yar name?”
The stranger turned at Strife’s question and looked at him blankly, so Strife repeated himself. “What’s yar name?”
“Tyr Anasazi of Kodiak Pride…out of Victoria by Barbarosa.” He paused. “I’m a Nietzschean. We’re genetically enhanced you know.” He paused again, frowning and took a deep breath that expanded his chest dramatically. “How did I get here?”
Fighting back the feeling that he should applaud, Strife shifted nervously on his perch. “Um, well…” Strife gestured to the tunnel still open behind them. “…mah powahs are a little off lately.”
Tyr swung around to look at the tunnel and then swung back around to the two gods, making himself bob. Joxer and Strife automatically looked down at the sight and then just as quickly looked away in embarrassment.
“I was in our quarters.” Tyr flicked some of his braids over his shoulder irritably. “I’ve been ill with the Ijerian fever…I wonder if I missed my medicine?”
Looking at the glistening, sweat covered chest, Joxer nodded. “I would guess so.”
Joxer realized he couldn’t stand it anymore. Reaching over, he pulled a small blanket that Strife had been using, off the couch. He stuck it out towards Tyr. “Here. Do us *all* a favor and put this on. Please.”
Tyr looked at the object blankly. Obviously whatever sense he had regained had deserted him. Joxer grimaced and decided not to act like a coward. He was a god for pity’s sake.
Joxer wrapped the blanket around the other man and tied the ends together, making a long, fuzzy skirt. Of course, Joxer had to first wrap his arms around the other man and that meant he was up close and, uhm, became personally acquainted with more of Tyr than he was comfortable with.
“Did I bring my medicine with me?” Tyr asked the question innocently.
Joxer blinked. He looked at the still mostly naked man and blinked again. “Well, if you did, I’m not looking for it.”
That was the final straw. Strife burst out in a flurry of giggles and Joxer soon followed suit. Luckily, Tyr was still out of it and didn’t take offense at the laughter. There was a larger pop and another voice could be heard.
“Tyr! Tyr, where are you?”
“Harper?” Tyr turned towards the tunnel and out walked a smaller, blond young man and a purple woman with a long tail.
“Harper?” Strife’s mouth fell open when he saw the real Harper. The real Harper who was 7 or 8 inches shorter than Strife.
“Purple?” Joxer’s mouth fell open when he saw the purple woman.
Harper only had eyes for Tyr and vice versa. “There you are Big Guy. I was worried about ya.”
The purple woman skipped (yes, skipped) over to Joxer and Strife.
“Hi, I’m Trance. Who are you?”
“I’m Joxer and this is Strife.”
Trance smiled brightly and bounced some more. She was so cheerful and perky; it made Joxer seem positively grim in comparison.
“The gods of mischief and peace huh.” She glanced at Strife’s stomach and smiled again.
“I’ve always wanted to come to Ancient Greece.”
Before the two gods could wonder how she knew who they were, Trance bounced over to her friends. Strife grunted in pain at that moment. Joxer rubbed Strife’s back in a futile attempt to help him. The pain in Strife’s tummy, caused by all the tension, and the cramping in his back, caused by laying on the desk, ended a couple of seconds later. While the two gods were distracted, the conversation going on between their unexpected guests continued unnoticed.
Joxer glanced up as Harper walked over to them. The pale young man was smiling a crooked smile.
“Thanks for takin care of Tyr for me.”
“No problem. Aftah all, it was mah fault.” Strife swung an arm towards the tunnel. He winced at the movement and rubbed the side of his burgeoning stomach. The blond young man’s blue eyes swept down and were riveted by Strife’s tummy.
“You’re pregnant.” Everyone seemed to be stating the obvious today. However, Harper seemed more envious than surprised.
Strife started to explain the whole god thing, again, when Harper went on. “Can I?” The young man reached a slender hand out questioningly towards where the baby lived.
“Sure.”
Harper’s hand hovered for a moment, unsure of where to touch. Strife took his hand and placed it where you could feel the baby moving at the moment. Harper smiled in awe. He just stood there for a few minutes. During that time, no one moved. Finally, the young man stepped back.
“Thanks.” He paused and looked up. Pale blue eyes met paler blue eyes. “You’re really lucky.”
“I know.” Strife whispered.
Almost immediately, Harper shook himself all over and turned back to his friends. “Come on Big Guy, let’s get you back to the Andromeda.”
They watched as Harper walked over and Tyr wrapped an arm around the smaller man’s waist. He pulled up and Harper’s feet left the ground. Tyr started feeling around on the side of Harper’s neck and finally found what he had been looking for. The large man, latched on to a strange metallic looking device sticking out of the young man’s neck and licked it reverently.
Harper shuddered happily. “Come on…let me down now.” Tyr reluctantly lowered his prize. Harper smiled and started walking towards the tunnel. “Let’s go home.”
Tyr reached out for the younger man’s butt and growled when Harper evaded his touch.
The two gods looked at each other and smiled. The sound was a familiar one; both their husbands had a tendency to growl when they were mad. Or when they were aroused. Or when they were…
The three unusual people walked through the tunnel and vanished from sight. The tunnel expanded, bulging outward for a second, causing both gods to duck in fright, and then it winked out of existence with a very tiny pop.
^^^^^^
As soon as the barrier dropped, Bob raced over to the spot where the tunnel had been and barked several times. Satisfied that she had done her job correctly, Bob trotted over to the desk and lay down. She put her heads under Strife’s feet and let the pregnant god use them as a footstool.
Joxer watched this scene with an amused smile on his face. He was startled when Strife started talking.
“He mistook me fah that guy?!” Strife looked so peeved.
Joxer nodded understandingly. “You have to admit there were *several* similarities between the two of you.”
Strife looked astonished. “Joxah, he was alot shortah than me…and he had blond hair.” Strife waved at his *very* black hair.
Joxer sat down on the desk and patted his friend on the arm. “Shorter, yes, I’ll give you that, but he’s ski…uh, slender, just like you are. It’s true his hair is blond, but he has the same…” Joxer tried to think of a diplomatic way to phrase this. “…*spiky* hairstyle that you do. You both have blue eyes and pale skin.” Joxer eyed his friend’s *very white* face. “Not quite the same shade of white though. And he has the same air of…vulnerability that you do.”
Strife looked at Joxer who was biting his lip in trepidation. “I look vulnerable.” Strife sounded so, well, vulnerable as he spoke. “Even when I’m not pregnant?” He answered his own question by blushing and ducking his head.
“Do I look vulnerable to *you*?” Strife looked up at Joxer’s question and nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Joxer frowned.
“Well Tartarus, that’s depressin.”
The God of Peace looked at his troubled friend and sighed. “What was that thing on Harper’s neck anyway?”
Strife reached up and rubbed his own neck. “I don’t know, but at least I know what Tyr was rootin fah.” The young god snorted. “I’m lucky he didn’t leave a mark.”
Joxer coughed and Strife looked over. “Well…”
“He didn’t.” Strife looked horrified. “He did.”
Joxer giggled. “I’m sure Ace can get rid of it.”
“Gods, I hope sa. Othahwise Cupe’s gonna hit tha roof.”
“I’m sure everything will be fine.” Joxer hastened to reassure his friend, although privately he wondered what Cupid’s reaction would *really* be. Cupid, like his father, wasn’t exactly rational where his husband was concerned.
“Strife…I want to ask you something. I need your opinion, because, well…you have more experience than I do. At least, I would imagine that you do considering how much older you are than me. Of course, I’m not saying you really have experience, maybe just knowledge…”
Strife clamped one hand over his friend’s mouth in an effort to stop the babbling. “Joxah, just ask.”
The young god blushed. “Okay. Uhmmm…” He cleared his throat. “About Tyr. Is it me or was he…big?”
“Are ya kiddin, he was huge. I think he was even tallah than Unc.”
Joxer blushed even redder. “No, I mean *big*.” He raised his eyebrows in emphasis.
“Oh, ya mean *down theah*.”
“Yes, his (mumble, mumble).”
“His manhood?”
Joxer ducked his head and nodded. “I don’t have a lot to compare him to.” Joxer admitted. “I’ve only ever seen 5 men naked in my life, if you count Tyr.”
“Five?” Strife asked in astonishment. Joxer nodded. “But I thought ya weah a virgin when ya got married.”
“I was.” Strife tilted his head at Joxer. “Oh, yeah. See there’s been Jett, Jayce, myself, Ares and now Tyr.” Joxer blushed a fiery red when he admitted to looking at himself.
“I don’t think seein ya brothah’s really counts. Aftah all, bein triplets means ya’re tha same. Right?”
“I never really thought about it that way, but I guess you’re right.”
“Yeah, well…I don’t have much ta compare him ta eithah.” Strife shrugged negligently.
“I’ve only evah seen three men’s…ya know, before; Cupe and Tyr…and HIM.” Strife flinched and looked around quickly, afraid Tryst would appear.
Joxer saw the reaction and hastened to distract his good friend. “Shouldn’t that be four.
You forgot to include yourself.”
“Nah, I, uh, I ain’t nevah looked at mahself like that.”
Strife seemed embarrassed and Joxer was astounded at Strife’s matter-of-fact admission that he had never seen himself naked. What small child doesn’t examine themselves out of curiosities sake. Apparently one’s who have been molested. Joxer swallowed hard and tried not to cry at the evidence of more of Strife’s loss of innocence.
“But from mah limited experience, yeah, I’d say he’s really well endowed.”
“No kidding.” Joxer laughed. “He did say he was genetically enhanced. Now, I don’t exactly know what that means, but I have pretty good idea where he was enhanced.”
Strife snorted. “Really. That thing was frightenin if ya ask me.”
The two men snickered.
^^^^^^
Cupid was panicking, again. He was almost used to panicking by now. It had become a somewhat natural state of being over the last several months.
The love god had just come back from Hephaestus’ forge, only to find he couldn’t enter the room where his husband and step-father were. Cupid could see them talking, but couldn’t get any closer.
“Cupid what’s wrong?”
The distraught husband looked over at his father and frowned. “Dad? How did you know something was the matter?”
Ares’ eyebrows shot up. “Cupid, you’ve been yelling your head off calling for me.”
Now it was Cupid’s turn to be surprised. “I have?” Ares nodded. “Wow, I didn’t realize it.”
Cupid grabbed his father by the arm and shook him. Manhandling the God of War was not usually the smartest thing in the world to do, but Ares knew his son had been under a lot of strain lately, so he let it go.
“I can’t get to them.” Cupid pushed against the barrier covering the door. In an instant, Ares went from concerned to terrified. He didn’t like not being able to get to his husband or nephew. Bad things tended to happen when they were separated.
Inside, they could see Joxer and Strife sitting on the desk. The two younger gods didn’t seem to be in any trouble, so Cupid and Ares relaxed a little. Strife said something and the two men laughed. There was a muffled pop and the two gods realized the barrier was thinner. They could at least hear their loved ones now.
“Sa, da ya think we should tell Cupid and Unc that theah was a naked man in heah before…”
Ares and Cupid growled in unison.
“WHAT?!”
^^^^^^
“…and that he was gropin me?”
Joxer winced at the noise and looked at the open doorway. “Uh, I think you just did.”
Strife looked over at his friend and followed his line of sight. “Oops.” He waved. “Hi Cupe, hi Unc.”
“WHAT naked man?” Ares’ voice shook the statues along the wall. Cupid’s face couldn’t get any redder and his eyes were glowing a bright green.
“Um.” That less than eloquent answer didn’t help.
Joxer smiled and the sight of such innocence calmed the two volatile gods down enough so that they listened. “See, Strife’s powers started acting up…” By the time he finished explaining, Cupid and Ares looked *a little* less stressed.
^^^^^^
Cupid smiled at his husband benignly; all the while his fingers were digging into the marble doorframe. A *naked man* had been *groping* Strife! He was still seething inside, but he wanted Strife kept calm.
He watched as Joxer went over and picked up a blanket from the floor and turned around to show it to Strife. For some reason this was hilarious and both gods were soon giggling. Joxer quickly went over so the laughing Strife could lean on him.
Ares and Cupid exchanged anxious looks. Joxer was hanging on to Strife whose tears were from pain now, not laughter. Joxer looked ready to cry himself.
There was a loud pop and Cupid fell into the room. He straightened himself and raced over to Strife. On the way he saw Joxer wave a hand and Strife touched his neck. Unknown to Cupid, the mark on the side of Strife’s neck was now healed.
“Hiya Cupe.” Strife’s breathless voice belied his smile.
“Baby.” Cupid cuddled his husband and wiped the tears from his face.
“I’m sorry Strife.” Joxer was leaning against Ares and looked so sad.
“What’re ya sorry fah Joxah?”
Joxer sighed and looked at the blanket in his hand. Both men snickered, remembering Tyr wrapped up in it. “For making you laugh. I know how much it hurts you, but there was no other way.”
“No other way, Angel?” Ares held his husband tightly.
The God of Peace sighed. “No. The problems with Strife’s powers only cleared up when he laughed. I knew he was really going to have to laugh to get that last barrier down, because it encircled the whole room.”
“Oh…is that what caused things ta happen.” Strife leaned against Cupid’s warm body.
“I’m glad ya figured it out.”
“Me too.” Cupid smiled. It was a brittle smile, showing just how close he was to exploding. “Now, so it won’t happen again…”
Cupid held out his hand and from it dangled an earring. A very tiny piece of almost invisible chain was suspended from the loop and on the end of it was a pale blue crystal drop. The crystal matched Strife’s eyes perfectly.
Strife and Joxer looked at the blue crystal and then at each other. Thoughts of their earlier conversation flitted through both young god’s heads and they began to laugh.
“At least it’s not a tiara.” Strife continued to laugh. It didn’t hurt as much now, because Cupid hand a firm hand on his side, supporting his ribs.
“No, but it does match your eyes.” Joxer was being supported by his husband too. Not because he needed it, just because.
Ares shrugged at his son’s enquiring look. Cupid slid the earring into one of the holes in Strife’s ear. It was mixed in among the multitude of other earrings, but still stood out. It glittered in the light, shining brightly.
Strife sighed and slumped as he relaxed.
“Now I don’t hafta worry about mah powahs doin somethin weird.”
He leaned farther back onto Cupid. Using all of that energy, albeit unwittingly, had worn Strife out. He was mostly asleep when Cupid picked him up and didn’t even realize when Joxer and Ares flashed out.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 23/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation, rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS, Make Believe and MPREG; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Extra note: The Iolian Harp is real. I’m not sure if it has bells or not, but in my story it does. There are several different spellings used. I used this one, because it goes well with the story.
Another note: I used my extensive knowledge of hospital stays, stemming from practice with my mother, to bug Strife.
Chapter 23
Six young men broke into the temple. They were stealthy. They brave. They were strong!
They needed to be, the statue of Zeus weighed a lot.
Carefully they carried the large and rather overblown statue of Zeus, the one with his hand outstretched (reaching for gods only know what), out the door and across the village to Apollo’s temple. Inside Apollo’s shrine, they placed the statue among the muse’s statues. When they were done, it looked like Zeus was groping one of the muse’s breasts.
Laughing, the very young men, raced back to their homes. They couldn’t see anyone else topping *that* prank.
^^^^^^
Strife was walking down the hall when he felt the first tendril of energy. He gasped at the surge that followed.
“Woah!” Strife leaned against the wall, concentrated on the power and followed it back to its source. Strife watched what was happening and giggled. “Now *that’s* a good piece ah mischief.”
He giggled happily for several minutes. A good power feeding from his godhood always made him giddy. The laughter left him and little breathless and naturally made his ribs ache. The young god took a deep breath and tried to continue on. Then another wave of power hit him.
Strife gasped for air and tried to blink back the black spots he could see. He hadn’t felt this much power all at once in years, if ever. Since most of Strife’s followers were small children, they simply weren’t capable of doing very much in the way of mischief. Used to tiny bursts of energy, Strife wasn’t prepared for the onslaught and was rapidly being overwhelmed.
Bob whimpered and stuck her heads under Strife’s arms. It worked and the pregnant god was barely managing to stay on his feet when the young men placed Zeus’ marble hand on the muse’s breast.
The force of that prank hit Strife like a runaway chariot. He couldn’t keep up with the power or channel it away from himself.
Strife dropped to his knees, despite Bob’s arms. The impact shot pain up Strife’s body and made his vision swim.
“c-c-cupe…” His call for help was almost silent.
The black dots all decided to get together and make a blanket for him and so, they covered his vision and Strife slid into the darkness.
^^^^^^
The jarring motion roused Strife. He opened his eyes and looked up at Cupid’s worried profile. The beautiful jaw was tense and Strife could see tears threatening in the liquid of his eyes.
“i’m all right now.”
Cupid jumped, he hadn’t realized that Strife had regained consciousness. “Baby, what happened?” Cupid was verging on hysteria.
“Theah was a really big surge in mah godhood…and I guess it was taa much fah me right now.”
The God of Love stopped and looked down at his husband consideringly. He knew Strife wouldn’t lie to him, but he also knew that his husband had a tendency to downplay how he was feeling. “Are you sure that’s all?”
One pale, shaky hand cupped Cupid’s cheek. “I’m sure, mah love.”
Sighing in relief, Cupid smiled and continued walking, at a much slower pace, towards their bedroom. “Well, regardless of what it was, you are going to lay down.”
“okay.”
Cupid frowned at Strife’s easy capitulation. If the young god was giving in that easily, he must be feeling bad.
Strife giggled quietly. Cupid smiled. “A really good one, huh.”
The young god nodded and giggled again. Cupid saw Strife frown and was about to question him, when Strife beat him to it.
“Aren’t ya sick ah carryin me around?”
Again Cupid stopped. “What?”
Strife licked his lips and swallowed hard. He was still a little woozy. “Ya seem ta hafta carry me around half tha time now. Don’t ya get sick ah it?”
“Oh baby, having you in my arms is one of the most wonderful feelings there is.”
Strife’s eyes teared up. “Sa, are ya gonna carry me around fahevah?” He smiled at his joke.
“Yes.” Cupid sounded so serious that Strife had to laugh. “No, it’s true. I’m going to carry you around like this until the baby is born.”
Strife thought that Cupid was serious this time and all things considered, he was probably right. The young god knew that his health was only going to get worse, a lot worse. Truthfully, it felt good to be carried. He was tired all the time anymore and walking around made his feet and legs feel like someone was sticking them with something sharp.
“Then after the baby is born…” Cupid’s voice ended Strife’s musing. “…and we don’t have to be careful about squishing the baby…” Cupid leaned over and kissed Strife on the forehead. “…I’m going to carry you on my back. Strifeyback.”
Laughing, Strife leaned closer to his husband. “Cause I’m not a pig, huh.”
Lightly squeezing the bony body, Cupid laughed. “Not even close baby, not even close.”
They arrived at the bedroom door and before Cupid could magic it open, Bob got in front of them. The black headed side of the dog tried to push the door open, but the white head shoved her away. It then decided to open the door and the black head pushed her away. The dog’s two heads began barking at one another.
Strife rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard ah arguin with yarself but this is ridiculous.”
Cupid snorted. “Come on dog, we need to get into the bedroom.” Bob woofled at Cupid and wagged both her tongues at him before she went back to her doggie complaining.
Cupid rolled his eyes and waited. If the dog’s antics amused Strife, he’d watch them for a little bit.
Strife went rigid in Cupid’s arms. He then sucked in a quick breath. Cupid looked at him. Even Bob stopped snipping with herself and looked at her master.
“Don’t panic.”
Cupid looked at his husband wildly. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Tha temple priest is about ta find that tha statue is missin.”
Cupid didn’t know what Strife was talking about; he hadn’t heard the story about the mischief. He didn’t care either. Whatever it was, it was going to be hard on Strife.
Strife was breathing hard and starting to sweat. He grabbed hold of Cupid’s harness ring for support. “And onna Apollo’s minions is about ta find tha statue.” Strife’s other hand grabbed Cupid’s arm, bracing himself for what was coming.
The respective priests learned about the prank at the exact same moment. The resulting energy slammed into Strife like one of Zeus’ lightening bolts. Strife gasped and his back arched, bowing him back at such an angle that Cupid had a hard time holding him.
Bob barked in confusion and jumped out of the way as Cupid kicked the door open with a booted foot. He rushed to the bed and laid the convulsing Strife on it.
“ACE!”
^^^^^^
Asclepius was doing research in the Hall of Knowledge when he heard Cupid’s roar. Ace wasted no time and literally dropped what he was doing. He flashed into Cupid and Strife’s bedroom within seconds.
“What’s happening?” Ace helped Cupid roll a still shuddering Strife onto his side. This helped the pregnant god’s labored breathing.
“Strife said it was a godhood surge.” Cupid was shaking badly himself. His blond hair was standing straight up, like Strife’s usually does, from running his fingers through it.
“Oh…good.” Asclepius was glad, no he was positively thrilled. This was something he could help with. Ace snapped his fingers and a large, ginger jar appeared.
The healing god raised his hands and energy literally poured off of Strife and into the special jar. The liquid energy swirled around the mouth of the jar, sending out flashes of bright blue light. The very small mouth of the jar allowed the energy to come in and then it sealed itself off.
Strife collapsed in a heap. Cupid curled around him, one hand possessively cupping their baby. Strife giggled weakly.
“May I?” They looked up at Asclepius. He was gesturing to Strife’s new, magic dampening earring. Strife barely moved his head and Ace took that as assent. He removed the jeweled earring and concentrated. Ace’s brow was dotted with sweat by the time he was through.
“There, that should help.” He replaced the earring next to the others in Strife’s ear. “I put another shield on it; this one will only allow a small amount of energy from his godhood through at a time. The excess will go into this jar.”
Ace stopped talking when he heard a slight snore. Looking down he realized that his patient was deeply asleep. He smiled at the sight and glanced over at Cupid. The winged god was also smiling at his somnolent husband. Ace noted that Cupid still looked very strained.
Talking in a quieter tone, Asclepius spoke to his other patient, Cupid. He knew that as Strife’s husband, Cupid was going through almost as much as Strife was. Seeing a loved one in so much pain was very draining, emotionally and physically.
“The saved energy can be fed to him in a more controlled manner; one that he is better able to withstand.”
Cupid nodded slightly as he buried his face in Strife’s shoulder. “Is…is he okay now?”
Cupid’s voice quivered as he hugged his sleeping husband tighter.
“Yes…”
The conversation was interrupted when Strife had a brief flurry of giggles. Even in his sleep, the young god was enjoying the fruits of his godhood.
“…yes, as you can see, he’s fine.” Ace paused to brush a stray lock from Strife’s
forehead. “However…” Cupid looked up quickly at that. Ace held up an appeasing hand.
“…he is going to have to take it easier. That means mainly bed rest for the remainder of his pregnancy.”
Cupid sat up on the bed, already nodding. “When I was carrying Strife in, I told him he was going to lay down and he agreed.”
Both men looked at the normally hyperactive god. It was painful to see him lying so still.
“I imagine, if we keep Strife’s mind busy, he won’t miss being out as much.”
Ace pulled the blanket over Strife. The pregnant god looked better, even after his ordeal. The recent infusion of power had brought much needed color to his cheeks and lips.
Cupid summoned up a basin of warm water and a cloth. The loving husband began to clean Strife off. He wanted to touch his husband both to reassure himself that Strife was still here and because the soothing motions of the cloth over his body would soothe Strife’s jangling nerves.
Without another word, Asclepius left the two lovers alone.
^^^^^^
3 days later
Strife wished he could say he was bored. He wasn’t, because he never got the chance to be bored.
Everybody and I do mean *everybody* had come for a visit. They were doing everything they could to keep Strife from being bored.
Strife appreciated the effort, but by now what he mainly wanted was to be left alone. He was really tired and getting less rest than when he was still allowed to get up.
Apollo dropped by and talked to him. He learned more about sunrises and sunsets than he ever wanted to. Not that he wanted to know *anything* about sunrises and sunsets. Apollo talked about the various diseases and illnesses he had run into. Yuck! That just made Strife want to throw up. Then he talked about musical instruments. Strife had no idea there were so many different ways to make music.
The only thing remotely interesting in Apollo’s talk was hearing about the Iolian Harp. Apparently it was a very simple musical instrument. Bells were strung on wires and housed in a frame. The frame was place in a window and when the wind blew, the bells would chime and make music.
Strife thought it was interesting because he wondered if Iolaus had been named after it. Apollo thought he was interested in the harp itself…so, now Strife had one for his window.
And the damned thing had been driving him up the wall.
Asclepius heard Strife complaining about a headache and had the Iolian Harp taken down; until Strife was feeling better. Of course, taking the box down had made Strife feel a *whole* lot better.
Then Falafel had himself transported to Olympus. Strife had yet to find out who did that little favor. Strife didn’t know what the Tartarus a burrito was, but it was disgusting. At least the way Falafel did it. The stench from his offerings made the whole temple reek for hours.
Until Gaea brought her present of flowers…for *every* room in the building. So...Strife had to put up with almost being choked to death on the fragrance of the flowers.
The headache thingy worked there too. Strife had a pretty good idea that Ace was helping him out with the more irritating presents. If Ace said it was bad for him, then no one was offended when Strife didn’t keep their presents.
Xena, Gabrielle and little Eve came up as well. Eve’s juggling demonstration was a welcome diversion. But Gabrielle’s song put him to sleep. Gabrielle wasn’t offended, after all, it was a lullaby.
Strife quickly realized he had a good thing going here and pretended to be asleep or at least, went to sleep as soon as possible after some of the more persistent visitors arrived.
He only had to pretend part of the time. The sheer amount of company he had left Strife so done in that he fell asleep easily.
Joxer was a big help during this time. He came to visit often and that was nice. Joxer had a soothing voice and chattered about anything and everything. Strife could listen as he felt like it and not feel pressured to answer.
Apollo had practically expected him to memorize all the illnesses he talked about. And Athena…sheesh, she actually gave him a test after her visit. She didn’t say it was a test, mind you, but she was disappointed when Strife couldn’t read Egyptian hieroglyphics.
No, Joxer was a blessing. Especially when he brought Tempra. The sweet baby was a joy to watch. Her laughter sounded much better than that harp had.
Plus…when someone exceptionally obnoxious, like Aphrodite (‘Tartarus, not pink curtains Dite.’), came calling, Joxer had the perfect remedy. He just pulled his shirt up and started breast feeding the baby.
That cleared the room faster than yelling fire in a playhouse.
Strife about laughed himself silly when Artemis flashed out so fast that she left her quiver behind. Demios was almost as bad and Poseidon…well, let’s just say he won’t be returning any time soon.
^^^^^^
“Hello Strife.”
Strife and Joxer had been talking. Strife was laying in the bed, propped up by a few pillows. Joxer was leaning back in a very comfortable chair that he had magicked up. They both looked up in surprise as Zeus walked in.
“Oh…uh, hi theah.”
“How are you feeling today, my boy?” Zeus smiled at the two young gods.
“I’m feelin a lot bettah.” Strife paused, unsure of what else to say; he had never been around his grandfather that much during his lifetime. “Thanks fah askin though.”
There was a flash and several dozen flower vases appeared. Gaea was at it again. There was a wide variety of flowers and while they were pretty to look at, the smell was overwhelming.
Joxer grimaced at how quickly Strife paled. “I’ll move these to another room.”
Strife smiled at his friend thankfully. He didn’t trust himself to speak. If he opened his mouth, the smell would come in and his last meal would probably come back out.
Joxer was grabbing up a couple of the bigger vases when the door opened. Ares and Cupid walked in. They were overcome by the smell as well. Seeing what Joxer was doing, the two large men picked up the rest of the offending flora.
“Baby, I’ll be right back, just as soon as I get rid of these.” Cupid smiled at his husband. All the while, he was eyeing Strife to make sure he was all right.
“I’ll stay with Strife until you get back.” They all looked at Zeus in surprise. He wasn’t exactly known for his nurturing personality.
Zeus watched them, aware of their surprise. “We have to protect him from Tryst.”
Strife flinched badly when he heard Tryst’s name. Bob sensed her master’s upset and barked. Zeus looked at the scruffy watchdog with ill-disguised contempt.
“At least we know Tryst can’t change into an animal. Strife’s *guard* is safe to have around.”
Strife nodded gamely. The floral fragrance was about to make him sick. The heavily laden gods headed out the door as fast as they could.
“I’ll see you tomorrow Strife.” Joxer waved, his hand peeking out from the middle of a bunch of flowers.
“Okay, bye Joxah.”
Zeus watched as the door closed quietly behind them. He came and stood at the edge of the bed.
“Hello boy.”
^^^^^^
The meeting hall of Cupid and Strife’s temple looked like someone had exploded a garden into it. Flowers of every conceivable color and shape crowded the room. There were flowers from all over the world. There were even flowers that had long been extinct.
Ares and Cupid were talking while Joxer was walking slightly ahead of them.
“Thanks for keeping Strife company, Joxer. Bliss has been really upset today.”
“Um huh.” Joxer’s preoccupied reply went unnoticed.
Concern for his grandson made Ares turn. “What’s the matter with Bliss?”
“According to Bliss, ‘baby’s hurt their mommies’. He says he’s never going to have a baby or let his wife have one.”
Ares and Cupid looked towards Joxer for help. He usually knew what to do in these kinds of situations; the God of Peace was so good with small children. Joxer hadn’t heard what they were saying.
Joxer paused in the hallway for a moment and then continued on. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. He could feel something tickling in the back of his mind. Joxer gasped and stopped so abruptly that Cupid almost ran into him.
“He can’t change into an animal.”
“What?” Ares glanced over at his husband in confusion, his mind still worrying about Bliss.
“That’s what Zeus just said, but Tryst *can* look like an animal. Strife told us that months ago. That was one of the reasons Hades got a magical watchdog, because Tryst has turned into animals before…and Zeus knows it!” They all looked at each other in nooning (hey, this is *way* worse than dawning) horror and raced back to the bedroom.
Joxer reached the door first and flung it open. Blood curdling screams echoed out of the room. They all shoved their way in and Joxer was almost knocked off his feet when they stopped and stared in amazement.
There was Tryst.
He was the one screaming.
Bob had hold of Tryst. The *sweet and innocent* looking dog was snarling and biting. Tryst’s arm and leg were bloody where the dog’s two heads were clamped down. His head was bouncing off the wall as Bob shook him like he was a snake. Tryst’s other arm and leg flailed around helplessly as he tried in vain to get away.
Ares yelled for Hephaestus and lunged forward to help hold on to Tryst. Heph flashed in and immediately clamped some of his chains on Tryst.
He was *finally* caught.
They got Bob to let him go.
Eventually.
Ares and Hephaestus flashed out with what was left of their bloody, whimpering prisoner.
^^^^^^
While all of this mayhem was going on, Cupid and Joxer hurried over to Strife. They could see at a glance that Tryst hadn’t been able to hurt him. Tryst hadn’t even been able to get close to the pregnant young man. Bob had saved him.
He was *far* from all right.
Strife’s eyes were huge, his hands were held out in front of him and trembling badly. He was shaking so much that his body was quivering from the tremors. The edges of his loose sleeve fluttered like a frantic butterfly.
The pregnant young god was gasping for air. His pale face was flushed with panic and pinched white around his lips.
Naturally he had seen Tryst change from looking like Zeus to his regular self. The figure of an older, grandfatherly man in the traditional white robes had changed and distorted into the younger, menacing giant wearing his skintight brown leather. Leather that was meant to frighten by showing off his body and all it was capable of.
Strife had realized he was alone with his tormentor. He had seen Bob attack Tryst, smelled the stench of blood and fear filling the room. He had heard the agonizing screams.
Years of fear and torment pulled at his mind. Months of pain and weariness drug on his body. Everything tore at his soul.
Poor Strife’s mind was working overtime. Tryst was here. He was going to hurt him. He was going to hurt the baby. He was the one in pain. The screams were his and he just…
couldn’t
take it
anymore…
Strife started screaming.
Cupid reached out to comfort him. Strife saw Tryst grabbing for him and tried to squirm away. He fell off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. The pain this caused was Tryst beating him.
Ace flashed in and tried to calm the panic-stricken young god down. Unfortunately, Asclepius was wearing a brown leather vest and Strife thought he was Tryst.
Strife scrambled backwards, away from the bed and away from the hands reaching for him. He panicked even more when the soft blankets that had fallen with him, wrapped around his legs like a living entity.
In his desperation, Strife tore the blankets into colorful pieces. His terror overcoming the weakness in his body.
Joxer tried to talk to him. The words twisted around until Strife only heard Tryst spewing filthy language at him. He clamped his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to stop the noise.
Strife kept screaming.
Cupid hovered over Strife, tears pouring down his face as he tried to calm his hysterical husband. Strife felt the salty tears dropping onto his upturned face and they were the sweat of Tryst as he pounded into Strife’s aching body. Strife tried to push himself even farther into the corner.
Strife’s voice was becoming hoarse from the screaming.
Cupid leaned closer. He had to calm Strife down. Strife tried to bat Cupid away and his wing accidentally slid across Strife’s arm. Strife felt something soft touching him. Tryst never did anything soft. Everything was hard and painful with Tryst.
Was that a feather?
cupid?
Silence descended as Strife’s scream abruptly stopped.
“Baby? I’m here, it’s me, Cupid. It’s all right now.” Cupid ran a shaky hand across Strife’s face.
The young god flinched back wildly and hit his head against the marble wall. A small trickle of blood ran along the edge of his hair. Strife whimpered at the additional injury.
“Baby…please.”
Strife was no more immune to Cupid’s pleading than Cupid had been to his. He watched warily as Cupid slowly lowered himself to his knees. When Strife didn’t try to get away, Cupid reached out a shaking hand and gently caressed his husband’s sweat slick face.
Strife leaned into the touch. Encouraged, Cupid picked Strife up and then sat back down again on the bed, with Strife cradled in his embrace like a baby. Strife burrowed his head into Cupid’s chest as he latched both hands onto his harness.
^^^^^^
Joxer watched his friend anxiously. He wasn’t screaming like he was dying now, but he wasn’t exactly calm either. Strife was holding onto Cupid’s harness like his life depended on it and his pale blue eyes were darting around the room in paranoid terror.
Joxer didn’t know what to do. Any time he tried to get closer; Strife began whimpering and tried to burrow deeper into Cupid’s arms. Every time any of them talked, Strife jumped in surprise.
Ace had tried to get close enough to put a sleep spell on the terrified god, but only succeeded in upsetting him more. A sleep spell wasn’t really the best plan for someone who was pregnant, but Strife had to be calmed down soon or he was going to lose the baby.
There had to be something they could do, it wasn’t good for Strife to be this upset. But what to do? Joxer didn’t have any idea.
Then inspiration hit. Joxer slowly lowered himself until he was on eye level with his friend. When Strife finally looked him in the eye, Joxer began to carefully move closer. Strife was looking over Cupid’s shoulder and although he was looking at Joxer, his eyes were glazed and not really seeing much of anything.
Strife reminded Joxer of a colt he had seen once. The poor thing had been injured; a bramble had been wrapped around one of its legs. It was in such pain and so scared that it had taken Joxer several hours to get close enough to help her.
With infinite patience Joxer cautiously laid his hand on Strife’s trembling shoulder. He forced himself to ignore the flinch and kept his hand there until Strife was used to it.
Just like with the colt, Joxer had to gentle Strife before he could help him.
Not moving his hand, Joxer slid behind Strife until he was sitting on the bed behind him. Strife didn’t get hysterical and so Joxer slowly leaned closer until he was laying against the bony back. Joxer was more worried than ever; he could feel Strife’s heart still pounding frantically, through the thin skin of his back.
Joxer carefully and oh so slowly wrapped his arms around Strife’s still trembling frame.
His long arms covered his emaciated friend and he still managed to take hold of Cupid’s arms as well. Cupid was shaking almost as badly as Strife was, so this comfort was beneficial to him too.
“They’ve got him. He’s gone. Ares and Hephaestus have him in chains.”
Joxer’s quiet declaration broke the unending cycle of torment going on inside of Strife’s head. He stopped twitching and turned his head slightly to look back at Joxer. His eyes actually focused on Joxer’s and he seemed to be a little more aware of his surroundings.
“he’s in heph’s chains?”
The three gods were encouraged; these were the first words Strife had said in over an hour.
“Yes.”
Joxer continued to rub Strife’s shoulder encouragingly. The husband and best friend sandwiched Strife between them. They could feel his body moving as he panted for breath.
“he’s gone?”
“Yes, he won’t bother you *ever* again.”
“promise?”
Joxer and Cupid’s hearts broke at the shattered desperation in Strife’s voice. He sounded like a small child and like a child he needed reassurance.
“I promise.”
Strife slumped against Cupid and closed his eyes. Cupid rocked him easily. Ace eased up beside the trio and gently laid his hand on Strife’s head. They were happy to note that Strife *didn’t* jerk away this time.
“Sleep.” Ace rubbed one hand across the soft black hair as he spoke. Strife let go of his pain enough to fall asleep.
^^^^^^
The sleep that Strife fell into wasn’t an easy one. The young god moaned and tossed his head in pain. The fall from the bed had rattled his bones and jarred already painful muscles. That coupled with how tense Strife had been had left him hurting badly again.
Cupid was torn. He didn’t know how to help Strife. He wanted to hold him, but he wanted to be punishing Tryst. He wanted this to be over and not have his lover in so much pain!
Strife rolled halfway onto his back and cried out softly.
Cupid waved a hand towards the bathing room. He carefully picked Strife up and started towards the bath. Sheets and blankets that had accidentally been picked up as well, dropped along the way.
“Cupe…what?” His questioning tone wasn’t from fright…well, maybe a little fright. If anybody had a right to be worried it was Strife.
Strife’s blue eyes were dazed and sleepy. With his black hair curling softly around his face he looked so young and so innocent. For just a moment Cupid could see the child he had once been.
“It’s all right baby.” Cupid hastened to reassure his husband, not wanting Strife to have one more second of fear. “I have an idea of how to make you feel better.”
As he snuggled into his husband’s bare chest, Strife closed sleepy eyes and relaxed. It was safe in Cupid’s arms; nothing bad *ever* happened here.
“okay.”
Strife was almost asleep again when Cupid walked them down into the bathing pool. Clothes vanished as he sat them down in the fragrant bubbling water. Cupid turned Strife so that he was leaning back against Cupid’s chest.
The water swirled around the two lovers, doing more than cleaning them. Strife finally, completely relaxed and laid bonelessly over Cupid’s body. The water buoyed up Strife’s tummy, taking some of the strain off his damaged back.
Strife wriggled around happily at the lessened pain and Cupid had to bit his lip at the sensation. His beautiful husband hadn’t intended to arouse Cupid, but sitting on his lap and wriggling did it every time.
Strife sighed contentedly and looked at the night sky through the window. Stars winked in a velvety black sky.
^^^^^^
Screams reverberated through the room. It was a dank, nasty room; filled with truly frightening implements of torture on the walls.
The man in the middle of the room hadn’t the energy or inclination to look at anything but the young woman kneeling between his legs. She waved her hand and he gasped in relief before she rubbed a hand up his naked thigh.
He shuddered in remembered pain. The chains holding him spread eagled to the metal frame rattled. He tensed, waiting for more pain.
“Soooo…” Eris, the Goddess of Discord, sister of Ares, mother of Strife, smiled darkly up at Tryst. “You like carving your little marks all over my baby’s body do you.”
The avenging mother flicked her hair out of her face and grimaced when she felt the dried blood. With another wave of her hand she was cleaned up.
With a seemingly gentle caress she moved Tryst’s now healed penis out of the way and reached for his scrotum. He started gasping and trying to twist out of her grip. Eris tightened her hand and watched her son’s tormentor arch in pain.
With a firm grip, she pulled the delicate tissue as flat as she could. She pulled it *very* far. She’d perfected this part. There had been plenty of time, Eris had been at this for hours already.
“How do *you* like it?”
Her knife drug across the sensitive skin. *Slowly* carving Strife’s name. Over and over again. When she finished, she would do the same with his limp penis. When there was no skin left to write on…she’d heal him and do it all over again.
Tryst screamed and screamed and tried to get away…and couldn’t.
He was completely at her mercy. There was no mercy to be found in this room or anywhere else.
Several gods stood around watching, waiting for their turn. That was going to be Tryst’s punishment. The gods were going to take turns, one day’s worth at a time. Every day there would be a new god who would come in and hurt the disgusting, child abusing, rapist.
Tryst screamed some more.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 24/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Please see earlier chapters for warnings, disclaimers, yadda, yadda.
Chapter 24
Strife coughed and scrunched his face up as his ribs protested. The young god turned onto his side a little bit more, moving the baby and making breathing easier.
Falling off the bed two days earlier had made him sore in some places and left him downright hurting in others. The prolonged screaming had resulted in a sore, irritated throat. That, in turn, caused him to cough which was agonizing on his ribs.
Strife shifted on the bed, trying to relax. He smiled as the bed moved in an odd way. In an attempt to help with Strife’s ever increasing pain, Cupid had stuffed the mattress with something softer than feathers. Strife just couldn’t figure out what it was. There was a scent coming from deep inside the mattress, but it was elusive.
Moving the pillow out of the way, he pressed his nose into the mattress cover and sniffed deeply. Nope, he couldn’t quite catch the fragrance. The young god squeezed the cover with his free hand and smelled again.
Roses. Cupid had made a bed out of rose petals.
“Oh.”
The pregnant god shifted again. The rose petals shifted with him and contoured themselves around his traumatized body.
Strife smiled and drifted off to asleep.
^^^^^^
“He sounds like a dog caught on a nail.”
Ares turned to Athena in surprise. That kind of vicious comment was totally out of character for the knowledgeable goddess.
The God of War turned back to watch Tryst being *punished*. He had to admit that Athena was right about the sounds Tryst was making though.
“Now young man, there’s no need to carry on so.”
Gaea’s gentle voice and softly smiling face were usually very comforting. Of course, when Gaea spoke like that she generally wasn’t sticking cactus thorns all over someone’s body.@
The older woman tilted her head to one side and considered the crying man critically. There weren’t very many spots left on his body that didn’t have the stinging needles on them.
They were literally falling off his penis, because they were being crowded out. On the rest of his body there wasn’t a space of more than 2 inches to be found that was bare of cactus needles. Even his eyelids had the thorny spikes protruding from them.
Gaea stood and sighed sadly. She couldn’t find any more space. They’d even raised Tryst up, so he wasn’t able to stand on the ground anymore.
He had *really* screamed when the bottoms of his feet were pierced. Not as much or as loudly as when she attacked his penis…but you couldn’t have everything.
The goddess smiled happily and snapped her finger. A pair of long medical tweezers appeared in her hand. Gaea dipped them into the basket of needles and picked up another thorn. She turned back to her begging victim and giggled happily as she began to stick him in the small, 2 inch places.
Ares blinked and looked over at his son. Cupid was watching avidly; making sure that Tryst suffered for what he had done to Strife.
“Remind me never to make Gaea mad.”
Cupid turned to his father and nodded distractedly. A particularly high-pitched scream startled them. It seemed Gaea had found more room on his genitalia after all.
^^^^^^
“It’s not fair…” Iolaus poured the bucket of water over his sweaty head. The water slid over the light strands, washing away the dirt and grime and making them glitter like gold.
“…we helped look for him. We should be able to punish that creep too. Right Herc.”
Not receiving an answer, the hunter pushed wet locks back from his eyes and looked over at his friend in surprise. Hercules was still sitting on the log and he was staring at Iolaus.
“Right…Herc?”
Hercules snapped himself out of his stupor and smiled quickly at his best friend and the man he loved more than anyone else. “Right.”
Iolaus frowned and went back to wiping himself off.
Hercules watched intently, hoping to all the gods he knew of that he was wrong. Iolaus raised his arms again, drying his golden hair off and…there it was. He hadn’t been wrong.
There was a crooked X on the underside of Iolaus’ arm. Almost in the armpit, it was hard to see, because it had faded so much. Unless you knew what you were looking for, it wasn’t easily recognizable as a scar. Only in the brightest of sunlight and standing at just the right angle could this damning, tiny reminder be seen.
Hercules bit down hard on his lip so he wouldn’t scream. At least out loud.
Iolaus wasn’t completely unawares of his friend’s scrutiny. The hunter made more of drying off than was necessary, hoping that Hercules was enjoying the view. Iolaus glanced over, his scrutiny hidden by a curtain of wildly curling hair. No such luck, Hercules hadn’t finally noticed his best friend as a possible love interest. Iolaus didn’t know what was going on. He finished drying off and pulled his clean clothes back on.
“Herc, are you okay?” Iolaus’ soft inquiry startled the demi-god.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Hercules’ voice was a higher than usual and his smile a little too bright.
“Yeah.” The blond hunter’s disbelief was evident in his voice and his raised eyebrow. “I’m going to see if I can catch us something to eat.”
Hercules nodded, still smiling his fake smile. He managed to stay seated until Iolaus was out of sight. Then Hercules raced over to the woods and threw up everything he had eaten for the last day.
“Oh gods, no.” Hercules wiped the tears from his eyes. More tears slid down to take their place. “Ace.” His entreaty was immediately answered.
“Hello Hercules.”
The hero looked up at his uncle and begged with his eyes.
Asclepius sighed and held out a hand to help the demi-god up. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.”
Hercules almost fell as his legs gave way. Ace used his godly powers to get his nephew back onto the log. The big man hung his head.
“Tryst wasn’t able to rape him.”
Looking up hopefully, Hercules just listened.
“He tried, but Iolaus’ mother arrived and unknowingly saved her son.” Ace looked towards the forest where Iolaus was hunting. “Thank Elysia.”
“Then why does he have the mark?” Hercules ran both hands through his hair, almost pulling out a couple of clumps.
Ace gently pulled his hands away in time. “He made the mark and was getting ready to rape Iolaus when Tryst heard Iolaus’ mother coming in. Tryst cleaned everything up and healed the wound. He probably planned on finding Iolaus later. I don’t know why he didn’t follow them when they left town. Maybe he forgot. Maybe he found someone else.”
Hercules shot him another agonized look.
“Yes, I’ve discovered *a lot* of other children who have been abused.” Ace’s anger got the better of him and a fire ball formed in his hand. Before he could throw it the god took a deep breath and calmed himself down. The fire ball disappeared with a puff of smoke.
“He doesn’t remember anything, if that helps.” Hercules and Asclepius exchanged a look that agreed that it *did* help. “Luckily, none of the children remembered.” Ace pounded his fist onto his leg. “Just Strife.”
The two men were lost in melancholy. Thinking of the sheer amount of horror that one insane god had caused.
The faint sound of Iolaus’ whistling brought both men back to the present. Ace and Hercules both jumped up.
“Ace.” Hercules’ desperate whisper was met with a finger over his lips.
“I’m going.” Asclepius was even quieter.
He waved his hand towards the woods and a tiny flash of light flicked off the end of his fingers. Hercules watched the tiny flame flash in among the trees. He turned back questioningly.
“The scar is gone now. So is the memory. It’s not just buried, it’s erased.”
Hercules smiled his thanks and there was a bright flash as the god left. Iolaus came whistling out of the woods a minute later.
He smiled brightly. “I’ve got dinner.” The dead rabbit dangled from his capable hunter’s hands.
“Great, I can’t wait for some of your rabbit stew.”
Hercules reached out and grabbed his friend as he was walking past. Iolaus was startled, but more than happy to hug his friend back. He only wished that Hercules was more than a friend.
^^^^^^
Joxer paced quietly as he watched Strife sleeping. Even laying on his side, the pregnant god was having a hard time breathing and Joxer was worried. He knew how frightened Strife had gotten the last time it was so hard to breathe.
The God of Peace wished he could give his friend a little peace. The threat might be *finally* over, but Strife just couldn’t seem to really relax. Then, of course, there were the physical problems.
Over the last few months, Strife had been kidnapped, attacked and beaten, had power overloads and fallen *several* times. His badly mistreated body was so sore and worn out that Strife was having a very difficult time sleeping.
Strife’s eyes were going back and forth crazily underneath his closed eyelids, indicating that he was having a strong dream. Joxer rubbed his good friend’s shoulder, hoping to prevent a nightmare that would only drain and upset Strife further.
Bob lay in the corner, chewing her bones. After her wonderful job of protecting Strife *and* capturing Tryst, she had been given a special treat. Each head got a *very big* bone.
“ZEUS!”
The yell startled the dog into dropping her bones. She jumped up and started barking; seeking out the danger.
Strife’s eyes had popped open; they were wild and scared. Before Joxer could stop him, Strife sat up in bed and yelled Zeus’ name. Then Strife screamed and grabbed his ribs in pain.
“Oh gods, oh gods.”
Strife was rocking back and forth. He began to pant for breath. It was only moments before he was in serious trouble. Strife’s pale blue eyes locked on Joxer’s in panic.
“Asclepius!”
Even as Joxer was yelling for their healing friend, he was laying Strife back down on the bed.
“Strife, it’s all right. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”
Strife’s mouth hung open as he gasped for air. Ace flashed in and began to rub Strife’s tense back. If he could get the young god to relax he would be able to breathe better. If not…
He coughed again, trying to get much needed oxygen into his laboring lungs. Strife started to slip into unconsciousness.
Ace gasped as inspiration struck; he snapped his fingers. Joxer looked up hopefully and watched as a complex…thingie, flashed in beside him. It was made out of metal and had long pale things coming out of it. Asclepius did something on the side of it and the…thingie began to make the most horrible noise.
Joxer eyed Ace, wondering if he should stop him or not.
“It’s called an oxygen tank.” Ace flipped another lever and picked up a mask that had some of those pale things going from it to the bigger metal thingie. “It helps with breathing.” Asclepius explained as he bent to place it over Strife’s face.
Joxer raised his friend’s head and helped Asclepius. He figured that if Ace had snapped, he could pull the mask back off again before it hurt Strife.
“I think this will help. I hope.” Asclepius muttered quietly.
The two gods watched Strife closely. In a matter of minutes Strife looked and sounded better. His lips didn’t match his eyes in color now.
It was only then that Joxer guiltily realized he hadn’t called for Cupid. As Strife’s husband he needed to be there.
Joxer brushed his brown hair out of his eyes and took a fortifying breath. “Cupid, Ares, could yo…” The two gods flashed in, panicking.
“Strife?” Cupid ran to his husband and stopped in shock when he saw what was on his face. “What the Tartarus is *that*?”
Ace was in the middle of explaining what *that* was, when Strife came to. The young god immediately began tugging on the oxygen mask.
“No, Strife you need to leave that on. I know it feels odd, but it will help you breathe.”
Strife nodded and kept pulling. He put one pale, desperately thin hand on Asclepius’ arm in mute appeal. Ace sighed. “Okay, I’ll take it off. But just for a minute.” He pulled the mask off and left it hanging underneath Strife’s chin.
“zeus.” Strife whispered and then grimaced against the pain his earlier gyrations had stirred up.
“Baby, everything’s fine. I know HE pretended to be Zeus, but he can’t hurt you now.”
Strife shook his head. His jet black hair was spread out on the pillow; it contrasted nicely with the white pillow case. Sadly, his pale face didn’t; on the contrary, Strife’s face blended in with the colorless pillow covering.
Cupid grimaced at that thought. It seemed like Strife was fading away, into the pillow. Not able to stand that image, Cupid quickly changed the pillow case to a soft green color.
Strife coughed again and one hand automatically went to his injured side, trying to brace his bad ribs. The godly trio could see what this conversation was already doing to Strife’s flagging energy.
“no…if tryst was zeus…” The pregnant man coughed and licked his lips. His eyes were fighting to stay open. “…then wheah’s zeus?”
Everyone froze. They all looked at each other in horror.
Asclepius had the presence of mind to replace the oxygen mask. Strife struggled with morpheus, his eyelids drooping lower with each blink.
“Strife.” He looked up at Ares. “I’ll find him, don’t worry.”
The young god nodded. He knew it would be all right now; Unc would make everything better.
Ares smiled at his injured nephew. He kissed his worried husband and flashed out, leaving Strife in more than capable hands.
^^^^^^
The room shook as Ares flashed in with a loud boom.
Ares walked over and waited until he had Artemis’ attention. The goddess paused, arrow still notched on the bow in her hand.
Tryst was looking a little worse for wear. *Several* days of torture was beginning to wear even him down. They did allow him *two* hours a day to heal, so he stayed nice and healthy.
He didn’t look very healthy now. Not with the multiple arrows sticking out of his body. Artemis had been punishing Tryst and having target practice all at once.
“Artemis, may I borrow the prisoner for a while?”
The Goddess of the Hunt didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Of course.” She stepped back and stood to one side; waiting and watching.
Ares strode up to Tryst. When he couldn’t get close enough, Ares grabbed hold of one of the quivers and ripped it out. Tryst screamed as his thigh was torn open.
“Where’s Zeus.” Short and to the point, that was Ares’ motto right now.
Around the room there were shocked gasps. Gods and goddesses looked at each other searchingly. Was Zeus really missing and how had they not realized it?
Tryst smiled, he felt in control again. They wouldn’t let their *beloved leader* rot. Tryst felt certain that they would have to let him go. He might be exiled, but he could work around that.
“Where’s Zeus?” Tryst didn’t know Ares enough (and was stupid), so he didn’t recognize the dangerous purr in the war god’s voice.
“I need some incentive.” Tryst smirked. “Give me a reason to help you.”
Ares nodded in agreement. “All right.”
He moved closer to the chained god. It didn’t bother Ares that he had to look up, way up, at the prisoner. He reached out one of his *very* large and *very* strong hands…and wrapped it around the base of Tryst’s balls and penis. Tryst froze, his eyes getting very wide.
“He’s your incentive.” A slight tug had the bigger god gasping. “You tell me where Zeus is or…I’ll pull your *dangly bits* off.”#
Tryst clenched his jaw and looked Ares straight in the eye and *dared* him. Ares smiled again.
“This is Upsetting STRIFE!” With that, Ares ripped Tryst’s genitalia off.^
Blood spurted from the man’s groin as he screamed in agony. Ares watched dispassionately for a while, then he glanced over at Apollo. The other god nodded his head and Ares waved his hand, tossing Tryst’s penis and balls back onto his body.
The god shuddered in pain as his body healed itself. He jerked back with a whimper as Ares reached between his legs again.
“I’ll keep this up as long as I need to.” Ares’ face was thunderous; this time his voice matched it. “*Where’s Zeus*?”
^^^^^^
Several hours later
Strife was laying on his left side trying to get some rest. He couldn’t lay on his back, because that made it even harder to breathe and he couldn’t lay on his right side, because of his bad ribs. Lying in basically one position all the time made it almost impossible to get comfortable, no matter how soft you made the bed. Add to that the pain *every* time he took a breath and you were left with one thoroughly miserable god.
Joxer was sitting beside the bed watching his friend and keeping vigil. Strife was finally asleep, but even slumbering he was still moaning. The sound was muted because of the oxygen mask that Ace had brought back from the future to help Strife breathe.
Boom!
Strife jerked awake at the sound and cried out in pain. Joxer looked daggers at the doorway, ready to tear into whoever had woken Strife up. He saw a contrite Ares standing there and his expression softened a little. An Ares who had Zeus with him.
“Strife you have company.”
Strife struggled to open his eyes. His eyelids felt like someone had poured honey on them. He saw his uncle standing by the bed and smiled as best he could. “Hiya Unc.” The whispered greeting could barely be heard. “Have ya found out anythin about Zeus?” Strife’s pale blue eyes were shimmering with tears and this made them look silver in the candlelight.
“Yeah, I think I have.” With this Ares pushed Zeus closer to the bed.
“Oh thank tha gods.” Strife sobbed and moaned at the pain this action caused. “What did he do ta ya?” Strife’s blue eyes were looking Zeus over, checking for damage.
“Child, it’s all right, he didn’t do anything to me.”
Strife looked at Zeus unbelievingly. “Ya’re just sayin that ta make me feel bettah. Tell me tha truth.” He closed his eyes in pain and puffed gently. He really needed to take a deep breath and calm himself, but that would only cause more pain.
“I swear to you that he didn’t hurt me. I was kept locked in a room…a nice room.” Zeus added the last part quickly when Strife looked horror stricken. “I had all the food and drink I wanted. Please believe me. Tryst knew he couldn’t risk hurting me, the consequences would be too high.”
Strife looked up at his grandfather searchingly. He so wanted to believe him, but the trouble was that he knew Tryst and what he was capable of. Ares touched his arm and Strife looked at him blearily. “I promise you that Zeus was *fine* when I found him.”
Strife closed his eyes in relief and relaxed. He knew Ares wouldn’t lie to him. The guilt he had been feeling vanished.
“My dear grandson.” Strife opened his eyes in surprise. *Grandson!* Zeus had never called him grandson before.
The King of the Gods was ticked off. Not only had Tryst *dared* to imitate *HIM* and attack *his grandson*, but he had, uhm…locked Zeus in his own closet. Ares had promised to keep that little tidbit secret. It was bad enough that he kept getting accidentally getting himself locked in, he didn’t need to add to the snickers he heard when people saw him walking by.
Zeus patted his arm again and then stood up and faced his son. “There’s somebody I want to *talk* to.”
Ares snorted. “Get in line.” Sarcasm over, Ares smiled wickedly at his father and said, “Follow me.”
Joxer watched as his husband and father-in-law flashed out. With Zeus found there would be no more delays, Tryst was going to *really* suffer now. He hated to think what kind of punishment Zeus could come up with.
He looked back at Strife who was once again asleep. He looked more at peace now and Joxer hoped he could get a little more rest this time. Joxer frowned as Strife whimpered in his sleep. In one corner of the room Bob whined.
Joxer quietly magicked up several *warm* pillows. Instead of wrapping cloth around a hot rock, Joxer just made the cloths themselves hot. There was no way in Tartarus that he was going to put anything rough around Strife.
The pillows were positioned strategically around the injured god. Some were tucked around the rounded tummy, easing muscles there. Others were placed along his spasming back.
Soon, Strife was warm and relaxed. He drifted deeper, into a comforting slumber. Joxer tucked the covers carefully around his friend and sat down to wait.
@My mother suggested this torture.
#Wildannuette said the dangly bits part.
^Calia suggested castration.
Fic: Overheard Conversations 25/?
Author: Kerensa
Email: vkevans@yahoo.com Feedback please. Feedback or death (well, maybe that’s going a little too far)
Rating: R, so far
Fandom: Xena/Hercules, brief mention of food from Harry Potter series
Pairing: Ares/Joxer, Cupid/Strife
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, I’m just borrowing them for a little fun. The same with the Harry Potter stories. I have no money, no property, I even have to borrow the food I eat, so please don’t sue me.
Warning: m/m; MPREG; talk of nonconsensual sex; talk of underage molestation, rape, and abuse; angst
Summary: Joxer and Strife are both pregnant and end up talking. Their husbands, Ares and Cupid overhear their conversation and find out a lot more about their husband’s, especially Strife’s past, than they ever imagined.
Status: WIP
Series: Children At Play
Archive: Yes to AJCS, Make Believe and MPREG; anywhere else, sure just tell me first
Website: Nope, sorry I wouldn’t know how to set one up.
Notes: I want to thank my mother for some of the ideas in this story. She thought up the bad guy’s name and some ways to hurt poor Strife. Later in the series I will mention something, briefly, from the I LOVE LUCY show; bonus points if you can find it. Beta’d by me and Spellcheck.
Chapter 25
Strife closed his eyes and smiled at the feel of sunshine on his face. The glare wasn’t as intense as normal and Strife squinted up at the protection shield. Yes, it really was darker where he was sitting. The God of Mischief smiled at the thoughtful intervention and wondered who had done it; Joxer or Ares or Cupid?
The sound of giggling had Strife look over towards where his son was sitting. Bliss was watching his Grandpa Joxer and Temmy. Joxer had a look of serious determination on his face.
Strife contemplated his friend and wondered what the problem was. He watched as Joxer dipped his hand in a bowl of warm water and tried *again* to tame Temmy’s wild red hair down. It didn’t work. As soon as Joxer moved his hand the little godling’s hair stood straight up again.
The God of Mischief smiled happily. He felt safe. That was a luxury he had never felt before and Strife reveled in it. They were sitting in Joxer and Ares’ garden, which was surrounded by the protection bubble. So, he knew no one could attack them in here.
Ah course, Tryst isn’t a threat anymore.
Strife ducked as he thought the god’s name. It was purely a reflex action. Strife still had to remind himself that the insane god couldn’t hurt him anymore.
“Joxah, I don’t think that’s gonna work.” Strife smiled at his friend. “I betcha that Temmy’s gonna have curly hair, that’s why it’s goin every which way.”
“Curly?” Joxer looked at his daughter’s head critically, which earned him another laugh from Bliss. “Quiet you.” Joxer smiled and tickled his grandson. He looked back at Strife.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, that’s tha way mah hair did, at least accordin ta Ma.”
Joxer’s eyebrows shot up. Strife never called Eris, Ma. She was always Eris or Discord.
Strife ducked his head. “She’s been comin ta see me lately. We’ve been talkin about babies and she’s told me some ah when I was little.” Strife muttered quietly. “And she wants me ta call her Ma.”
The God of Peace placed a hand on his good friend’s shoulder. “I’m glad.”
The pregnant god smiled happily. “Yeah...anyway, she said mah hair did like that.” Strife touched his curly hair.
For the time being, it wasn’t fixed in Strife’s usual spiky hairstyle, because the young god didn’t want to mess with it. As a consequence, Strife’s dark hair hung in tight curls. Looking at him, it was easy to tell that he and Ares were related; they both had similar hair. Joxer was surprised at how curly it was and wondered how Strife got it to stand straight out.
Flash.
Bright pink light and lots of flowers and hearts heralded the arrival of Aphrodite. She had to land just outside the shield, so the flowers, hearts and lights rained down on the side of the screen, leaving a pretty pile ringed around the bottom edge.
Hercules let go of Dite’s arm and shook his head. Hearts and flowers in every possible shade of pink, fell from his head. Hercules looked at the ground in disgust and ran one large hand over his light hair, checking for more detritus. Iolaus smiled at his friend’s reaction and kissed Aphrodite on the cheek.
“Thanks for the lift.”
“Anytime Sweetcheeks.” Dite smiled, showing dimples and plenty of cleavage.
The Goddess of Love patted Iolaus on his sweet cheeks, allegedly removing the flowers and such. The thought really didn’t count, since Iolaus didn’t have any *extra* decorations on his butt.
She missed the glare that Hercules gave her. Iolaus didn’t and was encouraged. Strife and Joxer exchanged careful grins. Maybe Hercules was finally seeing the light.
“Hi Joxie, hi Strifey.” Dite smiled and twitched a little. She liked touching a man’s butt, loved it in fact. She didn’t care that it wasn’t her husband’s butt; it’s not like she planned on sleeping with Iolaus. Besides, that nicely rounded tush just called for her to give it a nice squeeze.
“Please come in.” Ever the pleasant host, Joxer waved with his free hand and invited the trio into the garden.
Aphrodite raced over and after gaining permission, picked up her granddaughter. “Hello sweetie.” Baby in hand, she turned to Bliss and wrapped the little godling up in a tight embrace. “Hi my little bird.” Bliss laughed at the nickname and gave his grandmother a hug.
Dite looked at the baby and shook her head. “Oh dear, her hair’s standing up, just like Cupid’s did.” She turned and smiled at Joxer. “Don’t worry though Joxie, I’ve got *just* the thing.”
With a flash Aphrodite magicked up a jar. “This is my extra special hair gel. It is *guaranteed* to keep her hair flat.”
Strife started making frantic no-no motions with his hands. Joxer got the idea and went to save his daughter’s hair from Dite’s fretting and fussing.
The young god sighed in relief. He had made the mistake of using Dite’s extra special, *guaranteed* hair gel once. His hair had been so stiff that it had broken off in big chunks.
“How are you doing?”
Strife turned back to the guests. Hercules was standing there holding out a bunch of flowers…to him!
“Uh, thanks.” He took the bouquet and touched the petals in wonder. “I’m doin pretty good. Thank ya fah askin.”
Hercules smiled at the flustered young god. “Good, good, I’m glad to hear it. Here let me get that for you.” The demi-god helped Strife lean forward, while he fluffed up the pillows he was leaning on.
^^^^^^
Iolaus had been watching everyone, but especially Hercules, who had been acting more than a little strange lately.
Iolaus had noticed a marked change in Hercules just a couple of days before. He didn’t know what to make of it, but he kind of liked it. Okay, he *really* liked it. Hercules was paying more attention to him and seemed to *really* be watching him. Maybe, if Iolaus was praying to the right gods, Hercules would admit he was in love with Iolaus as much as Iolaus was in love with Hercules.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
^^^^^^
Bliss sat down on Strife’s couch. Strife hugged his son to him and Bliss carefully hugged him back. He tentatively touched Strife’s tummy, rubbing the large bulge easily.
The little boy didn’t hate the baby anymore. His Daddy, the other daddy, had explained that it wasn’t the baby hurting Daddy Strife, it was what that *bad man* had done to him.
So now Bliss was mad at the *bad man*. Whoever he was.
Bliss twitched happily. Daddy Strife had a soft brush and was running it across his wings, making the feathers shine.
That was so nice and showed how much his Daddy loved him. Just as much as he did the new baby.
His Mommy had been wrong, just like Bliss knew. Daddy Strife *did* love him, even though he had been born to Mommy.
Mommy was gone now and although he missed her, Bliss was glad she didn’t say mean things anymore.
^^^^^^
Strife sighed and sadly finished brushing Bliss’ plumage. The feathers were so soft and now glowed in the sunlight.
Bliss hopped up and started bouncing. The active little godling couldn’t sit still for very long.
“Daddy Strife, can I go play?”
Strife smiled at his son. “Okay, but don’t wandah taa fah.”
Bliss smiled. “Okay Daddy.” He kissed his father on the cheek and ran off, followed by Tempra’s little unicorn.
^^^^^^
Strife hissed in pain as his leg started to cramp. He grabbed at his knee; that was the closest he could get to the calf of his leg. With Strife’s burgeoning stomach in the way he had no choice in the matter. Strife was limber, but even he wasn’t *that* flexible.
The young god jumped when someone took hold of his leg. Through his pain-filled and teary eyes, Strife watched as Hercules began massaging his cramping muscles.
He laid back on his lounging couch and tried to relax as his uncle’s worst enemy worked out the kinks in his leg. Strife drifted drowsily on the edge of sleep as Hercules massaged his calf and then moved on to his other leg.
It wasn’t cramping. Strife didn’t care.
His legs hurt so much anyway, even since he had been staying off them. Strife moaned slightly when Hercules moved on to his feet. He was almost asleep when Hercules stopped. Strife opened his eyes and blearily focused on the demi-god.
“Does that feel better?” Hercules frowned as he looked at his nephew.
“Yeah. Thank ya, that feels a lot bettah.” Strife smiled tiredly and wondered if it would be rude if he went to sleep.
“Good.” The large man sat down by his blond hunter friend. Iolaus looked bemusedly from Strife to his friend, who was now fussing over him.
Strife looked over at Joxer, who was biting his lip vigorously, trying not to laugh. The pregnant god thought for a minute and then realized what was so funny.
Oh gods, Hercules was rubbin mah feet. Just like Ace joked about all those months ago.
Strife shook his head ruefully and wondered when his life had become so comical.
^^^^^^
A little while later Strife woke from a light doze. He opened his eyes and looked at the people sprawled around the garden. The young god was relaxed enough that he wasn’t in *too* much pain.
At least I don’t hafta have tha oxygen tank. Mah breathin’s much bettah taday.
Strife looked around and again and frowned. He sat up slowly and turned so he could look all the way around his chair.
“Wheah’s Bliss?”
Everyone turned to look at him.
“Wheah’s Bliss? It ain’t like him ta be gone this long.” Strife started to panic, his breath becoming labored as he hyperventilated.
“BLISS!” His yell went unanswered.
Strife started to call again, but Hercules stopped him. “Let me.” The demi-god had seen how yelling caused Strife pain.
Joxer covered the baby’s sensitive ears. Hercules bellowed for Bliss. Temmy woke up anyway, despite her daddy’s protection. The little godling didn’t cry, she just looked at Hercules. Her bright green eyes showed that she seemed to realize this was something serious.
There was no answer. Everyone jumped up. Well, Strife and Tempra didn’t jump up, but all the rest did. They scattered out to look for Bliss, each person going in a different direction.
After listening to his friends going farther and farther into the garden for several minutes, Strife couldn’t stand it anymore. He laboriously pushed himself up and off his couch.
“Bob….come heah.” She ran over and Strife held on to the dog’s neck’s as they began to look too.
^^^^^^
Strife stood in the middle of the garden, panicking. He and Bob had been looking for Bliss with no luck.
“Wheah’s mah son?!”
He paled as he remembered something. “Tha Phoenix tree.”
Strife rushed, as fast as he could, to the other side of the garden. Intuition was telling him that that’s where he would find the missing boy.
The Phoenix tree was the only one of its kind in the world. Every 100 years the tree disintegrated and then regrew. It was a very important tree and had a prominent place in the center of Mt. Olympus, which happened to be in Ares and Joxer’s garden. The tree was at a dangerous point now in the process and so Ares had the surrounding area cordoned off.
Strife arrived at the tree and looked around. “BLISS!” He yelled frantically.
“Hi Daddy Strife.”
Fearfully, Strife looked up. He gasped in horror. Bliss was almost to the top of the tree. Strife frenetically began pulling his power suppressor earring out.
“Bob, go get help. NOW!”
The dog looked at her master. She wanted to obey, but her doggie mind was telling her to protect Strife. Bob barked once and then ran off.
“Hiya kiddo, how’d ya get up theah?” Strife smiled up at his son, not wanting to