~*Part 1*~

Gabrielle leaned to her left to kiss her friend on the cheek. "Night Xena."

Xena huffed and rolled over to her left to put her back to the smaller woman. "Go to sleep."

The bard grinned and lay down, her hands over her stomach, she stared up at the stars. It had been just another day in their life. The normal, stop an army and stop a giant all at the same time. Yeah, Gabrielle had enjoyed the day overall. She sighed happily.

The stars above were bright. Gabrielle still didn't see that dipper up in the night sky Xena had pointed out. All she could see was the bear. Her burrows furrowed then as she looked harder. Now she spotted the dipper her friend kept pointing to. She grinned as she turned her head to the left.

"Hey Xena?"

The older woman groaned. "What?"

"I see it."

"See what?"

Gabrielle looked up to the stars. "That dipper."

Xena sighed and rolled to her right to face Gabrielle. "You're kidding me right?"

The bard chuckled. "No, I see it now." She then turned her head to gaze at her best friend. "So your nose still hurt?"

The warrior rolled onto her back and studied the stars. "No."

"I really thought you were going to stop my staff." A pause. "Then again you let me hit you."

"I told you, you hit me fair and square."

The bard grinned and rolled onto her stomach to stare down at the warrior. "Right Xena."

Xena could feel a grin trying to break across her lips, but she held it back. Her voice still serious. "You did."

Gabrielle still had her grin. "The Warrior Princess's little sidekick actually broke through her defenses to hit her in the face." She chuckled. "It's a nice thought though."

The warrior sighed. "Either way, I deserved it."

The bard now went serious. "How you figure?" She leaned on her elbows, still peering down at her older friend.

Xena shrugged her shoulders. "After the whole day."

"Oh gods Xena. The two of us went back and forth on racking on each other." She grinned. "But you started it all."

The warrior's eyes narrowed a little. "How did I start all the teasing?"

"Come on Xena. You used my frying pan this morning."

"In self-defense."

"How many weapons do you have warrior? Including your body." Gabrielle sighed. "I do need to cook for us both."

Xena grinned. "Maybe you're right."

The bard smiled. "You know I'm right."

Xena smiled back warmly. "You are." She brought up her left hand to brush back some of Gabrielle's hair behind her ear. Her hand then dropped back down to her stomach. "So what did you think of Minya in those leathers?"

Gabrielle brought herself out of a trance quickly and smiled. "It was funny." She sucked in a deep breath feeling her heart pounding from the warrior's action earlier. "I'm just glad Howard doesn't have a hang up on you anymore."

The Warrior Princess arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Did that bother you?"

The bard grinned. "Yes when he is following us." She laughed. "He kept asking me if you would ever think of settling down and getting married."

"And you said?"

The small woman shrugged her shoulders. "Just said you probably wouldn't."

"Mmm." Xena grinned. "That's not what I heard."

The young woman stiffened up and asked in a semi stunned voice. "What did you hear?"

The warrior still had her grin as she stared up to her friend. Her voice though came out devilishly. "I heard something like, she likes what I do." Xena sighed. "Maybe it was just the wind."

Gabrielle looked away to the woods. "The wind." She paused. "Definitely the wind."

Xena chuckled, she brought her right hand back up and under Gabrielle's chin. She carefully turned the small woman's head to face her. "Was it me? Or did you say that?"

The bard knew Xena knew the truth. Gabrielle just wanted to know why her friend was asking her since she knew the truth. She wasn't sure whether to answer the question or not but she stared into deep twinkling blue eyes. An answer wasn't leaving her lips. She was to caught up in the warrior's eyes.

And she knew as she stared down to Xena she was revealing her inner thoughts and emotions through her eyes. For once she couldn't stop them, all day she couldn’t stop them. Now all her walls had fallen and it made her scared. Scared of what Xena may do once she figured it out then again the warrior probably already has.

"Gabrielle?" Xena lowered her hand back to her own stomach

The small woman smiled sadly. "Sorry."

The warrior smiled. "You know what?"

The bard shook her head as she felt a bit of hopelessness fill her. "What?"

"It isn't my nose that hurts but my lips." Xena's voice had held a plea in it.

Gabrielle started to breathe hard. Her heart was pounding quite quickly. She didn't know how to respond, verbally. But her body though knew how to respond and she followed through with it. Ever so slowly she leaned down to Xena. She watched as the warrior closed her eyes and Gabrielle closed her own.

Their lips met and a warmth bursted through their bodies. That only made them force the kiss on stronger.

Xena very carefully moved her hands to Gabrielle's sides and she felt Gabrielle's right hand come to her cheek in the middle of the kiss.

The bard then carefully pulled back to gaze into her friend's eyes. "Xena?"

The warrior chuckled. "Hi."

The young woman chuckled herself then went serious. "Did I just… you know?"

"Yes."

Gabrielle shook her head with a smile and looked back down to Xena. "Hold on, let me make sure this is real." She leaned back down again and captured the warrior's lips. Oh yes it was definitely real if not beyond reality. Gabrielle never felt so more complete then when she kissed this other woman whom she'd traveled with for almost two years. Gabrielle slowly lifted her head back up after the kiss.

"Convinced?" Xena grinned.

"Yeah." Gabrielle took a deep breath. "I just need to breathe."

The older woman chuckled, she still had her hands on the bard's sides. "Come here." She lifted her friend onto her body.

Gabrielle easily settled down on the other female's body and wrapped her arms around the warrior's waist as Xena did the same to her. "Xena?"

"Mmm?"

"How'd… How'd you know?"

The warrior grinned and gazed up to Gabrielle. "In your eyes. Not to mention today."

Gabrielle looked away. "Oh right, went a little over board today." She turned her head back to Xena.

"We both did I'd say."

The bard nodded in agreement. "Yeah, surprised Howard and Minya didn't notice." She chuckled.

"Nah, they were to worried about my actions with Howard."

The small woman grinned. "True." She then smiled. "It wasn't the wind." An answer to the question from a while back ago.

"I know." Xena then lift her right hand to the back of Gabrielle's head. She brought the other woman's head down to seal her lips with Gabrielle's.

After they pulled away the small bard nuzzled her cheek against Xena's. "Xena?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Xena smiled and turned her head so she could kiss Gabrielle again. As they did kiss, the warrior could feel Gabrielle's hands moving to her shoulders to slip off her leather straps.

That only made Xena grin as she whispered back to her soulmate. "I love you too."

To Red Hope's Collection