Welcome to AresJoxerCupidStrife

Title: A Soothing Presence

Author: Lisa

Rating: R ? (eh, actually more PG-13, but will play it safe)

Pairing: er well, uh, C/S both need a whop with the clue-by-four, Ares is angsting and Joxer is being watched and oblivious. (Reference to Xena/Gabby, Ares/Nemesis, a little Eris/Nemesis, Ares/Dite/Heph, Eris/Nemesis/Dite--sounds lot more interesting than it really is, a very little smoochin--whole three kisses?-- and left to your imagination to get back to Ares angsting) Clue-by-four wouldn�t hurt Ares either actually.

Series/Sequel: Prequel to Unholy Terrors because ToddlerAres wasn�t cooperative--this came about.

Archive: AJCS and-- Huh? Anyone actually wants my stuff? Just ask, and I�ll say yes.

Disclaimer: Mine? Sure! Oh, Allright, no not mine. *snorts* *mutters* as if I�d be looking at huge grape juice stain on tan carpeting if they were mine (spill-proof leak-proof cup my ass) Don�t sue, not worth the bother, I got nada.

Note: Unbeta�d and the more I look at it the less I like it, if I look at it anymore I�ll just throw it away (like I do 99% of my stuff) and I said I�d post it�

Ares was restless. He berated himself to pay more attention to what was going on around him. He was not going to get into one of his �funks� as Dite called his moods. He wasn�t. Really. He wasn�t. Well, okay, he was, but not in front of Dite.

Sighing he checked his appearance in the mirror scooped up the two presents lying on his nightstand and flashed over to Dite�s temple. One look at his twin and he knew he was not the only one having a bad-memories day.

�Daddy!� Harmonia squealed.

Ares had an armful of pure joy a second later, he barely had time to think the presents to the correct gift tables. Harmonia was a stunning child, golden hair, dark eyes. He thought she favored Dite, Dite insisted she favored him. �Happy Birthday, sweetheart� Ares kissed the top of his youngest daughter�s head.

�Happy Birthday to you, too, Daddy� Harmonia grinned.

Ares barely paid attention to Harmonia�s excited babbling. His baby girl was fifteen today, she deserved a happy party, a day that she could always enjoy looking back on. By some ironic twist of fate, Harmonia had been born on his and Eris� birthday. This year for some reason was worse than others. Perhaps it was because it was Harmonia�s fifteenth birthday. His and Eris� fifteenth birthday had been a horror that he wished he could forget.

Harmonia, thankfully moved on, greeting the twins as they arrived, badgering them with teasing �What did you get me?� questions. Ares was guiltily relieved. He didn�t want to ruin his baby girl�s special day, and it was becoming more of a struggle not to. His eyes raked over the gathering gods and goddesses, there..there was Eris. Rissy was struggling not to lose control, Ares could plainly see that if no one else could. Though he was willing to bet Dite and Heph could spot that fact almost as easily as he could. Rissy didn�t do birthdays well. Ever. This year was worse though.

He followed his sister�s gaze, not surprised she was watching Ate. The goddess of Evil and Misfortune was standing with Eryx, Dite�s son by Poseidon at the punch table. Ares swallowed. Ate had grown into a beauty over the centuries. Tall and slender with long jet black hair, pale skin, distant dark eyes. It was actually surprising to see Ate here. She rarely attended any gathering.

{Rissy?}

{I won�t ruin Harm�s day, Arry}

{Rissy�}

{Yeah, I know}

Ares let go of the connection to his twin. He began surveying the gathering gods and goddesses suspiciously. Dite would probably tut-tut at him for being so paranoid and not enjoying his baby�s birthday.

Kratos, the god of Strength stood chatting with his sisters Nike, Goddess of Victory, and Bia, the Goddess of Force. Kratos had been the one who taught Hephaestus and Ares how to use a forge, how to work metal. Ares would be the first to tell you he truly sucked at metalwork. But had done it once, at Zeus� insistence. The armor he�d been forced to make all those centuries ago still made him cringe, and unbelievably that useless scrap metal had resurfaced within the last few years in a surprising place.

Bia felt his gaze on her {You alright there, kiddo?}

Ares forced a smile in Bia�s direction. {I�ll survive, Bee}

Bia harrumphed. Ares sighed now having the tiny goddess� attention on him, he knew well and good Bia would be watching him most of the evening. It was hardly believable but the Goddess of Force, the worst berserker in the pantheon in a battle, was a major mother hen. Ares loved her for it. But tonight he just didn�t want to be fussed at.

{Kiddo?} Bia�s voice intruded on his thoughts again. {She�s not doin too good tonight}

{I know.} Ares sighed. {Neither am I, Bee}

{Kiddo�.}

{I know, Bee. I know} Ares answered, Bia was the only one anywhere, ever to get away with calling him �Kiddo�. He made plenty of growls and grumbles, but never any true feeling behind them. Kiddo was better than �SweetPea� which Eris got tagged with by Bia. War god or not, he could sense the shower of love Bia directed at him, and he surmised Rissy was getting the same, seeing the weak smile she sent in Bia�s direction.

Bia had never had children. She�d taken the four youngsters Zeus had done his best to destroy under her wing and unofficially adopted them. As far as Ares, Eris and Heph were concerned, Bia and Kratos were their �real� parents. Zeus�.Ares forced all thoughts of his father from his mind. He couldn�t deal with thoughts of Zeus right now. Not here, he�d ruin Harmonia�s night if he dwelled on Zeus. Hera�she�d kept her distance from them always. Never really a mother to him or Rissy. To be fair, she never had a chance to prove if she would have been a good mother to Heph or not.

Ares tensed seeing Hera arrive, putting in a quick duty appearance at the party celebrating her eldest children�s birthday and her young granddaughter�s. Hebe and Illythia were two steps behind their mother as always. Ares tamped down a flare of bitterness, why hadn�t she ever protected them? Or at least Rissy? Why? She was like a mad dragon in her possessiveness and overprotectiveness of Illythia and Hebe. But she�d never raised a finger for Ares or Eris, or Hephaestus.

He was 2734 years old. He should be long over wondering why his mommy didn�t give a shit. It didn�t matter as much as it had long ago. Bia had filled in the large hole Hera left. It had been Bia who had taught him how to fight, how to harness the power of War. It had been Bia who patched up what was left of them after one of Zeus� rages. Bia who had fussed if they ate right, slept enough. It had been Kratos who had taught him patience and honor. It had been Kratos standing behind him during the first war he�d had full control over, proud and encouraging. To Tartarus with Zeus, and Hera, well Hades would go to easy on her. She could go rot under Lucifer�s �care�. Bia and Kratos were the ones who deserved the titles of Mother and Father, who deserved the love and respect that Hera had simply thrown away and Zeus had destroyed.

Oh boy. Tethys and Gaia joined Kratos and Bia after Nike moved on. Dite�s great-grandmother Tethys had been the one to primarily raise her in her earliest years. Dite�s mother Dione too flaky, too shallow to deal with a child only conceived to try to keep the favor of the King of Olympus and caused him to lose all interest in her. �Mom� �Dad� and the Grandmothers all together. They were in all likelihood having a group worrying session over him and Eris.

The titaness had been the one to call Gaia to the Court of Aggression. Tethys having snuck to Olympus to see how her little one was doing, horrified at what she had found she�d summoned her mother.

Ares pushed the memories back, there� there was Cupid. His son looked like shit. Ares wanted Psyche�s head on a platter. The only reason he didn�t have her head on a pike decorating one of his temples was now tugging on his pants leg �G�ampa�

Ares leaned down and picked up Bliss. �How�s my big guy?�

�Good� Bliss nodded seriously, putting on his �grown up� act. �And hows bout you G�ampa?�

�I�m doing just great� Ares smiled ruffling blonde curls.

�Happy Birffdee, G�ampa�

�Thanks, big guy� Ares smiled.

�I gots you a big knife. G�ampa Heph helpeded me make it�

Ares laughed. The week before Heph had been grumbling about insane children who never listened and his forge reeking of singed feathers because of brats who didn�t mind. �So that�s what you were doing with Grandpa Heph last week. Sneaky, I never suspected a thing�

Bliss giggled. Then followed his grandfather�s gaze. �Daddy bein dumb� Bliss said bluntly.

Ares blinked �Your daddy isn�t dumb, Bliss� He struggled to tamp down the anger, if that bitch Psyche thought she was going to turn Bliss against Cupid during her short visits�.

�Daddy�s weally smart. Ceptin� when it comes to Stwife.�

Ares really couldn�t argue with that. Cupid had made a beeline for Strife when he and Bliss had arrived. The sheer adoration on Strife�s face every time Cupid looked away was downright painful to watch. Bliss was right. Cupid was dumb when it came to Strife. Beyond dumb. He was the biggest idiot in this universe, if not in several universes. Love was truly blind. First getting tangled up with that miserable bitch. Shooting himself with his own arrow! Ares couldn�t say much about that, he�d nearly taken his own head off more than once learning how to use a sword. Marrying the bitch, getting her a godhood, then sticking with it because she had been almost immediately pregnant with Bliss.

Strife had looked on doing a piss poor job of hiding his broken heart, though Cupid never did seem to notice that. At times Ares could throttle his eldest child. Every time Cupe was upset, had a problem, or just needed someone to whine to---he went to Strife. When Strife had had that little fling with Jocasta twenty odd years ago Cupid had gone ballistic. No, make that psychotically jealous. It was so hard not to start shouting �Get a clue already!� at Cupid sometimes.

Strife was playing the clown at the moment, trying to cheer Cupid, distract him from the break up with Psyche. Draw him out of the brooding misery he had been wallowing in the last three months.

Anteros made a start towards Cupid and Strife, Cupid turned his back and drug a stumbling Strife by the arm out into Dite�s garden. Ares wanted a Psyche-hide belt seeing his son just wilt as his older brother walked off, avoiding him yet again. The bitch had drove a wedge between the two brothers Ares feared was irreparable. He certainly hoped not. Despite having more relatives than he could even remember, Ares had very little *true* family. Rissy, Dite, Heph, Hermes, his children, Dite�s other kids to a lesser extent. Bliss. Strife. He couldn�t stand for his little family to be split apart, especially not by a conniving slut like Psyche.

�Can I have cake?� Bliss� voice interrupted Ares thoughts.

�It�s not time for cake yet� Ares smiled at Bliss.

�But I wants some�

�Go ask your grandma about it�

�Kay� Bliss grinned, bounded from Ares arms in a burst of speed and took off full tilt through the mingling guests to pester his grandma Dite for cake.

Ares made his way over to where his second child by Dite stood, looking so lost and broken. He cursed that bitch Psyche yet again. Memories of his sons running through his head.

===============

~~~~Anteros, barely three all big dark eyes, black curls and scarlet feathers. �Me no good, neber gonna fly�

�Sure you will� Cupid crouched down to look eye to eye with his little brother.

�Huh uh� Anteros answered bottom lip quivering, eyes tear bright.

�Close your eyes� Cupid instructed. Anteros looked at his big brother and hero as if he sprouted a second head. �Trust me, Ter, just do it�

�Kay, but yer weird sometimes� Anteros answered doubtfully.

Cupid chuckled. �Now flap your wings�

Anteros obeyed his little wings flapping in a furiously choppy motion.

�No, not like that, slow and easy�..yeah, just like that� Cupid began moving his own wings lifting them both off the floor about a foot.

Ares had looked on proudly, an hour later he had been trying not to have a heart attack as Anteros got brave and soared twenty and thirty feet into the air doing loops and dives.~~~~~~~

~~~~Cupid, Strife, Anteros, Deimos and Phobos stumbling drunk as skunks into his temple just before dawn singing, er well, screaming actually, some filthy sea chanty. Dite had given Ares an earful over that one, the twins barely 60 at the time~~~~

~~~~~Cupid giving Anteros lessons with his bow~~~~

~~~~Athena screeching like a harpy chasing Cupid, Strife, Ter and the Twins through all Olympus promising to castrate them for going near a few of her priestesses~~~

================

�Anteros� Ares said softly putting a hand on his son�s shoulder �Cupid will come around, just give him time�

�Don�t----Dad, just don�t. I appreciate it�but, don�t.� Anteros swallowed. �I shouldn�t have come. I--tell Aunty E I�m sorry. I�ll make it up to Harmie tomorrow�

In the next instant Ares found himself holding thin air as his son disappeared. Ares frowned slightly, Anteros had gone to the Hall of History? Ares shrugged he supposed it was a good place to be alone, it wasn�t like anyone but Clio ever went there.

�Ares�

He turned to the voice behind him �Athena� he nodded covering confusion with a carefully neutral expression.

�Here� She shoved three small parcels at him with enough force to knock the wind out of him for a second, catching him off guard as she had.

�Ooof, what�s this?�

�Birthday presents, jackass�

Ares blinked in disbelief.

�The black one is yours, the red one is Discord�s, the pink one is Harmonia�s�

�Since when do you show up to anything with out direct orders and threat of bodily harm� Ares gaped at his sister. Laughter rang in his head {Didn�t I teach you manners, kiddo?}

{Yeah, bad manners, Bee} Ares shot back at Bia. Not at all surprised she was eavesdropping on him.

Athena glared �I promised Hebe, you know how she is�

�Clueless� Ares nodded. �Sweet, but completely clueless�

Athena nodded.

�Go wander around and don�t glare too much.� Ares instructed Athena.

�Is that an Order from the Head of Aggression?�

�I can turn it into one if you want. Wandering around and not glaring Hebe will take as mingling pleasantly.�

Athena snorted, gave Ares a feral look and began wandering around, doing a fair job of pretending she actually wanted to be there and didn�t think most everyone there weren�t idiots not worth her time.

Ares glanced around again, just in time to see his twin snarl at their mother and flash away.

Ares groaned as Hebe spotted him and made her way over. Hebe had her �determined� look on. Being mean to Hebe was�.well, impossible. And her in her clueless sweetness it pretty much took being mean to get reality through her head.

�You need to make Eris apologize to Mama!� Hebe demanded poutingly. �All Mama did was tell her happy birthday�

�I will not tell Discord to apologize to Hera,� Ares said steeling himself for the pout and puppy eyes he knew were coming.

�Ares! You shouldn�t call Mama by her name! That�s not respectful! She�s your mama!�

Ares gritted his teeth. Hebe adored their mother. And honestly Hera had been a good mother to Hebe and Illythia--he knew, he�d kept close watch to make sure his little sisters weren�t hurt, weren�t ignored or treated like he and Eris had been. Hebe and Illythia had a wonderful mother, Ares wasn�t about to shatter their illusions, neither would Rissy want him too.

�Hebe, just let it go, some things you just can�t have be the way you want them to be�

�Ares!� Hebe began.

�Sweetheart, why don�t you go put the presents on the tables and get us some punch, I want to talk to your brother alone a moment� Hera said coming up behind Hebe.

Hebe looked like she wanted to argue a moment. Gave Ares a �Now you�re gonna get it!� look. Ares was surprised she didn�t actually stick out her tongue at him behind their mother�s back---but that would take a bit more spunk and daring than Hebe had.

�Well, let�s hear it, your sister had �Why are you here, bitch� for a greeting and �Fuck off, Hera� in reply to wishing her a happy birthday�

�Did you expect otherwise?� Ares asked coolly.

Hera sighed. �No I really didn�t, but��

�You know as well as I do it�s too damn late to play mommy with us, Hera. Thank you for making an appearance so we don�t have to comfort Harmonia about why her grandparents hate her�

Hera looked at him horrified. �I do not hate Harmonia, how dare you�if you have told that child�..�

�I have done everything in my power to make my children believe their grandmother actually does give a shit. I don�t believe it, but have done my best to make sure they do. Zeus is another story.�

Hera swallowed. �Ares,--�

�Hera, I am not at all in the mood to stand here and pretend to be pleasant because my daughters are watching me. Just leave Discord alone, and me too for that matter.�

Hera sighed giving up. �I do wish you and Eris both a happy birthday. You are my children I---�

�Don�t finish that or I will blast you where you stand, my daughters watching or not. Have a nice time, make sure you say happy birthday to Harmonia� Ares snarled through clenched teeth and a patently fake smile for his watching daughters� benefit. �Good evening, Hera� he turned and walked off. Stalking out to Dite�s overbearingly rose-scented garden.

�Kiddo?�

Ares nearly jumped at the small strong hand that was suddenly on his shoulder.

�I�ll be okay, Bee� Ares sighed.

Bia stood nearly eye to eye with him, though he was seated on one of Dite�s pink marble benches. Bia moved to stand between his legs and pulled his head down on her shoulder stroking his hair. �Aw, kiddo, you know she got just as bad or worse from Zeus as you and sweetpea did. She at least managed to protect Hebe and Illythia�

�I give her credit for that, Bee� Ares muttered. �Just--�

�I know, kiddo� Bia squeezed him tightly. Long minutes later, Bia kissed the top of his head, pulled back smoothing his hair a bit. �You better get back in there, kiddo�

�Yeah, thanks, Bee�

Bia nodded �Go on, kiddo. Want me to go find sweetpea?�

�Nah, just let her go. She�ll turn up in a couple days when she can keep it together.� Ares shook her head. He stood leaned down and kissed Bia�s cheek. �Love you, Bee�

�Love you, kiddo� Bia smiled. �Now scoot�

When Ares was back inside Bia called out. �Show yourself, Hera. And count yourself lucky he didn�t notice you were here�

Hera appeared standing next to Bia, her gaze on the doorway her son had disappeared through. �Bia--�

�I don�t agree with it, but I pretty much know what you did. And you were probably right. You paying them attention, woulda just made it that much worse for them. And they both know it, too, deep down. But things aren�t going to change. You just upset them worse.�

Hera swallowed, looking down at the tiny goddess of Force. �Did I ever thank you?�

�For what?� Bia frowned.

�For being such a good mother to them�

�Not necessary. They�re easy to love�

�They are? I wouldn�t know. Zeus made sure of that�� the queen of the gods flashed out not finishing the thought. And not allowing her sons and eldest daughters surrogate mother see how much it nearly killed her to have them turn to Bia. She was glad they�d had Bia. She�d honestly never seen Ares more approachable than those few moments with the goddess of Force since he�d been four? Five, maybe? But�as much as it shredded her heart�at least someone had been there to hug her children when she didn�t dare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ares managed to get through the rest of the birthday party with a fair approximation of enjoying himself for Harmonia and Dite. He�d searched out Eris mentally, found her in her temple with---Nemesis.

{You can join us if you want, Ar}

{No, just seeing if Rissy�s okay, Take care of her tonight, Nem}

{I will}

Ares frowned as Dite and Heph appeared in his bedroom. He winced �The compulsion?�

Hephaestus frowned. �No, Arry�

�Then why?� Ares asked confused.

Heph silenced his brother�s questions with a kiss. Ares didn�t question anymore just simply accepted what Dite and Heph offered. He didn�t understand why they would be here if the damned compulsion Zeus put on Dite to go mad with the need for a child that Heph couldn�t give her hadn�t flared up. But neither Dite nor Heph were giving him a chance to think.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ares woke up to the odd fact he was not alone in his bed. Heph plastered to his side, his head on Ares shoulder, his arm thrown around Dite and Ares both. Dite was on top of Ares more than at his side, her head on his chest.

He stretched out his awareness toward his twin. A ghost of a grin at the languid exhaustion he sensed there.

�Quit brooding� a sleepy voice intruded. Followed by a kiss on his chest. {Nem, Rissy--wanna join us?} Dite questioned silently.

Ares was really surprised when his twin was next to his right with Nemesis draped over her. Ares managed to maneuver an arm under Eris pulling her closer to him, and Nemesis as well. Eris craned about to kiss the side of his neck �I�m good� she whispered.

�Good� Ares kissed the top of her head, smiling at his twin�s moan when Nemesis hand reached down between the two women. Nemesis was busy kissing Eris� neck and collar bone, Dite leaned a bit and caught Eris� mouth.

�Now that�s a pretty sight to wake up to� a deep voice, husky and soft in his ear. �Wanna join them or me and you go elsewhere�

Ares stretched kissing the tops of two dark heads and one blonde. Thought on some clothes, seeing Heph do the same. Heph grabbed his hand and flashed the two of them out. Both brothers knowing full well, while watching would be more than pleasant, joining really wasn�t an option. Eris didn�t like being touched by men, and both understood all too well why.

They reappeared in Heph�s workshop. �Was that pity last night?� Ares bit out.

Hephaestus whacked his older brother upside the head. �We love you, idiot�

�I know how much you love Dite� Ares bit out. �I couldn�t share if I loved someone like that�

�You and Rissy are the exception� Heph said firmly. Squeezing Ares arm, �It�s always been the four of us. Gods, the first decade we were in the Court of Aggression more often than not it was the four of us in one bed� Heph reminded him, though all those centuries ago it was comfort, fear of being alone that kept them so often in the same room or bed, never sex--simply scared children trying to survive in a world against them.

Ares nodded. That�s most likely why the century long affair with Nemesis hadn�t worked. Nem had had a hard time with Harmonia�s conception. Xena�s not so much. After all, the fates had decreed that incident--saying it absolutely necessary Ares father a daughter on that mortal. And mortals were incidental in the scheme of a long-term relationship between gods. Nemesis actually had had a hard time with the four of them--Ares, Heph, Dite and Eris. She�d declared it was impossible for anyone to tolerate the deep bonds between the four when they had split up.

�Seeing Nem with Ris bug ya?�

Ares laughed. �Gods no, felt a little sorry for Nem, though. She had the worst time dealing with the four of us. It�s not like being with Ris is going to be any different than it was when she was with me.� And he realized Heph had indeed made his point. Ares had loved Nemesis. Still did, she was the mother of one of his sons after all. It had stung when she�d had that fling with Hermes a few months back, but seeing her making love to his twin didn�t bother him at all. Looking back, Nemesis had been given the offer of joining them the night Harmonia was conceived. It had been Nem who had had the monstrous problem with that, and hadn�t spoken to Ares for over a month.

�Rissy�s going to be okay.� Heph said quietly. �Are you?�

Ares nodded. But didn�t look at Heph staring off in the vague direction of Earth. He wasn�t sure if he was lying or not.

Neither was Heph. Ares was always their rock. The four of them always together--Ares and Eris just 15, Hephaestus wasn�t even a year old (though he�d been forcibly aged to 20 by Zeus) Aphrodite only 90, and years too young even at that age for full control of her godhood. Ares had simply added Dite to his responsibilities--which is what he considered Eris and Heph. His to watch out for, take care of, no one else sure in Tartarus would (or could for that matter).

Heph had been so hopeful for Ares and Nemesis making a go of it once they�d been together fifty years. Dite had shaken her head. She�d disapproved of the pair, quietly, and only in Heph�s hearing, from the time they got together. Nemesis was---strong, powerful, self-sufficient, in so many ways equal to whatever Ares might throw at someone he was with. Dite had disagreed with Heph�s assessment that all that made Nemesis a good match for Ares. She was too jealous, too strong, too stubborn�too�too something. Heph had argued no weak-spirited person was ever going to keep up with their brother, he�d have them shredded mentally, emotionally and physically inside a week. Dite had countered not weak-spirited, but some one with a gentle soul.

Heph hadn�t quite sorted out the difference even now a handful of decades and few odd years later.

�I�m going to go check on Xena�

Hephaestus nodded, reaching to give Ares shoulder a gentle squeeze before his brother flashed away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ares had been watching his daughter five days. He was quite proud of himself. He hadn�t made his presence known. Nor had he given into the impulse to strike that annoying Bard dead. She was under his personal protection, not the house of War�s, and that because of Xena�s fondness for the wench. He�d even fought Athena for the right of having her under his personal protection. Striking her dead less than a year later wouldn�t be a wise course of action.

Xena would hate him more than she already did. And he�d have to put up with Athena�s fit.

The clutzy little one of Strife�s was with them. Xena had a soft spot for him, which Ares was glad of--for Strife�s sake, of course. The boy was an absolute danger to himself and others with his lack of coordination and survival instincts.

The last few years when he felt like he was drowning under duty and worry and bad memories, checking up on Xena seemed to bring him a little peace. Just enough calm to make things bearable again. Dite had harassed him from time to time where he disappeared to, he made sure to shield his presence from all nosy relatives. He was not having his obnoxious blonde sister get some silly notions in her head about�. Well about anything.

Ares soaked in greedily the warmth of Joxer�s soft prayer. Rambling and confused, like the man, but so pure, so innocent and loyal. No offering, no wheedling, bargaining, no asking or demanding, just simply--thanks.

Joxer�s gentle steadfastness was so calming, soothing.

However, that blonde harpy and the way she treated Joxer was anything but.

Ares *never* asked for anything, well, he demanded bargained and what not as he needed to to fulfill his duties as War. But nothing *personal*�

But maybe�for Joxer�he would ask Dite if she could find him someone who deserved such goodness and purity. Someone who would truly appreciate and treasure the special man�he could always fob it off as Strife�s worrying over Joxer becoming annoying and Joxer settled would be less worrisome for Strife. Someone strong that could protect him, but still had sense enough to treasure him�

Ares stayed through the night watching over the sleeping trio. Reinforcing the protection spells on all three�.maybe he accidentally reinforced the spells on Xena and Joxer more than that other one� But no one could prove it was anything other than accidentally.

In the morning the trio split. The two women heading for Athens. Joxer was going to take a more roundabout way there, wanting to visit an old friend who had a farm few days from the city and just enjoy the country side. With a sigh Ares decided enough time spent brooding. Xena could more than take care of herself. He refused to examine the timing of his leaving just as the trio were separating. He had work to do was all.

There was a war near Corinth he was behind in planning, only little more than two weeks until the war commenced. And Cupid deal with. And Anteros. Duty called. As soon as this war was over he was definitely cornering Dite about finding someone who would recognize Joxer for the treasure he was, and cherish him properly� If anyone deserved Love, it was Joxer� unlike himself. But he had to admit, only to himself, that he would miss being able to observe Joxer so closely once he was settled, had someone to care for him like he deserved, Ares wouldn�t be able to watch over him as closely� Joxer brought a peacefulness to Ares that was�addictive.

Just as well Ares wouldn�t be able to get so close to watch him without raising eyebrows once Dite found him someone to settle with, less temptation to taint such goodness with his own presence, which would be unforgivable.

Work. War. Corinth FOCUS. He commanded himself and pushed his nephew�s youngest son to the far corner of his mind that was reserved for the would be warrior alone.

end