"So? How would ya like it if I splashed ya?" He asked as he splashed water directly at Cupid's face.

Cupid wiped the water from his face and glared at Strife. "You was wrong for that." He then splashed Strife back, also hitting him in the face .

Wiping the water from his face, Strife growled low in his throat. "That's it! This is war!"

The two Godlings then began splashing each other in an all out water fight.

Not wanting to get in the middle of the two younger men's fun, Joxer sloshed his way back over to Ares. He didn't have to worry about them washing since they were getting all the dirt off by playing. //Now, I can get on with my own bathing.//

Ares was rinsing himself off when he turned to see Joxer coming towards him while Cupid and Strife were water fighting. //At least someone's having a good time.//

*************

As Xena and Gabrielle were scouting ahead, Xena suddenly stopped, turning towards Gabrielle. "What is your problem?"

Gabrielle blinked. "What in Tartarus are you talking about?"

"Gabrielle, ever since Ares and the others showed up, you've been nothing but a bitch. I want to know why."

"I can't believe you're actually siding with those...those men! I thought you couldn't stand them?" Gabrielle yelled in defiance, hands on hips, face turning red with anger.

Xena walked towards Gabrielle till she was nose to nose...sort of...with her. "I am *not* siding with anyone here! I am just trying to keep their hides out of trouble. If anything were to happen to them, do you really think mankind would survive?" Xena paused to let this bit of news soak into the bard's head. "Without Ares, man would run amuck killing each other over the simplest things. No Cupid means no love. Two people wouldn't know they wanted the other without his arrows. And Strife..." She had to pause for a minute to think about what no Strife would mean. There would be no mischief in the world, but she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Believe me, toots. It'd be a bad thing."

Xena whirled around at the unexpected voice. When she got a look at who it was, she silently groaned. "Aphrodite, what are you doing here?"

*************

Cupid and Strife continued to splash each other. Every once in a while they would stop for air and then start all over again. They played around some more until Strife took a wrong step and slipped on some moss. Luckily, Cupid was right in front of him and caught him before he fell flat on his face in the water.

Flushing a bit with embarrassment, Strife found himself face to face, chest to chest with Cupid. "Uh...thanks, Cupe."

"No problem," Cupid replied.

Neither made a move away from each other. Cupid looked into Strife's eyes and saw the same thing burning in them that he felt...lust. Still pressed up against each other, Cupid began running his hands up and down Strife's back. Strife let out a low moan that shot heat all throughout Cupid's body.

Cupid brought Strife's chest closer to his own, which in turn rubbed their awakening erections together. At this both men moaned and slowly grinded their pelvises. Still looking into each other's eyes, they slowly moved their lips closer to one another...

"Strife! Cupid! It's time to head back!"

The two Godlings groaned.

"Um...we've gotta go. Maybe we can finish this later?"

"Yeah, later," Strife hazily replied.

***************

With his back to Cupid and Strife, Joxer began washing himself off. Most of the dirt and sweat of the day had already come off when he was showing the two younger men how to wash, so mainly he was just passing time.

Ares glanced over to watch Joxer bathe himself. He couldn't help but stare at how the water cascaded off of his thin body.

He watched as Joxer splashed more water onto himself and then scrubbed his body. He followed Joxer's hand with his eyes as it trailed down towards his cock and then back up to his hairless chest. At the display Joxer was showing, Ares began to pant lightly.

Oblivious to Ares' staring, Joxer continued with his explorations of his body. Usually whenever Joxer took baths in a lake or pond, he would pleasure himself to relieve stress or to just get over yet another rejection by Gabby. Not wanting to be seen as an exhibitionist by Ares or the others, he decided to forego this one pleasure of his for the time being.

Finished, Joxer turned his body towards the shore and caught Ares watching him. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he saw Ares' eyes bulge at being caught. Feeling brave...or just plain foolish, Joxer decided to move closer towards Ares until he was mere inches away from his God.

Ares' eyes grew wide in surprise when he found that Joxer had seen him staring and began inching his way towards him. He just stood there, not knowing what to do. Sure he was the all mighty God of War, or ex God, he corrected himself, but seeing Joxer's wet glistening body move gracefully in the water had been a shock to his system.

He couldn't believe he had once thought that this man standing before him was a complete buffoon and loser. Whenever he had visited Xena, he had totally ignored him. He just could never get past the stupid looking 'armor' he deliberately wore. Now, seeing him without the armor and his dumb helmet, he realized just how mistaken he had been in his assessment.

Continuing to stare at the young mortal in front of him, Ares ticked off the bad and good points of what he had seen in Joxer over the years and recently.

Yes, he was uncoordinated. But then, wearing all that 'armor' didn't help matters much. It must've weighed at least twenty pounds. It didn't help that the front plating was heavier than the back. Tartarus! If he were to wear it, he'd be falling on his face every few minutes also.

Actually, there weren't very many bad things about Joxer. He was just shy and under trained in fighting. Maybe, after everything returns to normal...if it ever does...he'd take Joxer under his wing and train him correctly.

"Was there something you wanted?"

Shocked out of his thoughts, Ares blinked and refocused his full attention on Joxer. "What?"

Joxer shyly smiled as he repeated his question. Before Ares had a chance to answer, Joxer frowned as he heard muffled voices coming from the woods. "We'll talk more later. Right now, I think Xena and Gabrielle are coming back."

Ares simply nodded and stood rooted to the spot.

Joxer waved a hand in front of Ares' face. "Earth to Ares. We need to go now, so we'll be dressed before they get here."

Ares jumped as Joxer's hand moved in front of his face. Understanding finally dawning on him, he yelled over his shoulder. "Strife! Cupid! It's time to head back!"

*************

Holding hands under the water, Cupid and Strife made their way out of the lake. When they got onto land, they let go of each other and walked towards their clothes. Cupid dressed quickly since he didn't wear much anyway and Strife decided to keep the top of his outfit off. It was still too hot for a full leather ensemble and unlike his uncle's, his top had long sleeves.

Ares and Joxer were next to come out of the water. They too headed for their clothing. Ares dressed quickly; hoping his erection wasn't too noticeable. He found he was wrong when he heard Cupid giggle, Strife gasp in mock shock and Joxer humming happily to himself.

//Fuck! I'm never going to live this little episode down.// Ares thought miserably.

*************

Xena and Gabrielle had turned around on the path and headed back towards the lake with Aphrodite in tow. As usual, Aphrodite was her overzealous self.

When Xena had asked her what she was doing there, Aphrodite giggled some and then said her main reason was to see Cupid. When Xena had tried to get more information from the bubbly Goddess, Aphrodite had done a wonderful job of ignoring her questions and began walking towards the lake. She stopped when the other two women weren't following and turned around. "Coming?"

Deciding to follow out of curiosity, besides needing to round up the men, Xena and Gabrielle followed silently.

**************

As the three women emerged from the forest, they were suddenly brought up short when Xena stopped dead in her tracks. Gabrielle was the first one to recover.

"Hey! Warn a person next time you decide to suddenly stop." When Gabrielle didn't get a reaction from her lover, she got a bit worried. "Xena, what is it?"

Unable to think straight, all Xena did was point in the direction of the lake.

Gabrielle furrowed her eyebrows at her lover and followed Xena's finger. "Great day in the morning! Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"

Xena nodded her head, but didn't reply.

Wondering what the big deal was, Aphrodite peered over Xena and Gabrielle's shoulder. "Oh! Like, that is *so* sweet!"

**************

Having finished getting dressed, Cupid decided to move a little closer to Strife. Before yesterday, he would never have thought of his cousin in that way before. He wasn't quite sure if it was because he missed having a warm body pressed up against him or if he had always had feelings for his leather clad cousin.

Strife looked over to see Cupid inching his way closer to him. He hid a smile at his cousin's coyness. //I see whatcha doing, Cupe.// He just sat there waiting for Cupid to get closer to him. His mama didn't raise no fool!

As soon as Cupid had gotten within arm's distance, Strife whipped out a hand and grabbed Cupid by the straps of his arrow harness. Since Zeus had decided to keep them looking exactly the same, Cupid still had his quiver of arrows flung over his chest and back. The arrows were dangerous now instead of benign due to the removal of their power when Cupid lost his.

As fast as he possibly could, Strife pulled on the harness and brought Cupid face to face with himself. Without asking for permission, Strife yanked harder and brought Cupid's lips to his own, giving the older God a kiss that could have put Aphrodite to shame.

As Cupid got closer, he was suddenly yanked forward by Strife. This move surprised the fuck out of Cupid. Usually, he was the one to initiate such a move, but he was pleasantly surprised to see this action in his mischievous cousin.

But, *oh*...when Strife laid his lips on his, he thought he had died and gone to the Elysian Fields...or wherever ex Gods went when they died.

Cupid leaned into the kiss wholeheartedly. He opened his mouth to Strife's questing tongue and moaned with pleasure. //Gods! What he could do with his tongue!// He didn't know exactly what prompted Strife into such a bold action, especially in front of Ares and Joxer, but damn if he wasn't glad he did so.

Strife was more than pleased to hear a moan of pleasure come from Cupid. He had no idea if this would've been accepted, but was ecstatic when he felt Cupid respond.

He let his hands roam over the winged God's back. Cupid's body felt *so* damn good under his hands that he almost came just from the feel alone. He knew Xena and Gabrielle would be by anytime now, but didn't give a rat's hairy ass one way or another about it. He wanted to continue with what they had started in the lake, just so he could find out if Cupid's lips were as kissable as they had looked.

*************

Ares and Joxer turned their heads as one when they heard moans coming from Cupid and Strife's location. At seeing the two younger Gods going at it, Joxer let loose a blush that started at his hairline and ended at his feet. He wasn't exactly a quivering virgin since he had seen and done the exact same things...and then some...whenever he visited Meg's establishment, but he felt like a voyeur watching the two youngsters.

Ares' eyes went wide with surprise and longing. He was envious of the two men. Here they were, waiting for Xena and her blonde harpy to show up and his son and nephew were kissing like men possessed.

//Holy shit!// Strife and Cupid were beginning to feel each other up! Didn't they know that they were being watched? Ares guessed not since Cupid had spread out his wings and went down on his back, bringing Strife along with him.

Ares reluctantly turned his head when he heard faint panting coming from Joxer. Joxer was beet red and had moved his right hand down towards his groin, rubbing his awakening erection through the cloth of his pants.

Seeing Joxer begin to play with himself, Ares' cock sprang to attention. He wasn't sure what he should do. Watch Cupid and Strife continue with their explorations? Relieve the pressure on his aching cock? Or say 'fuck it' and join Joxer? He looked from his relatives to his bulging cock then over at Joxer and back down at his cock.

//Fuck it!//

**************

Cupid and Strife continued their lust filled kissing. Every once in a while they would stop when the need for air became too great, but would immediately take up where they had left off.

Cupid was beyond happy. He thought it would've taken him a long time to get over Psyche, but when Strife grabbed him and began kissing him, all thoughts of his bitch of an ex wife promptly left his mind.

When the two of them had stopped for air, Strife gave Cupid an animalistic growl and charged at his mouth once again. He absolutely loved those lips! So soft and so full, he couldn't wait till he got those babies around his rock hard...

"Joxer!"

Both Godlings stopped their explorations and turned as one to see what had made Ares yell out the wannabe warrior's name like that.

Two sets of eyes grew wide as they watched Joxer swallow the ex War God's cock in one fell swoop.

"Tartarus! Unc's cock is huge!"

"Whoa! I like, never knew Joxer had such talent!"

"I hope they're almost done 'cause here comes Xena," Strife announced, but made no move to get off of Cupid, instead he dropped his head back down and once again started kissing his cousin. //This'll probably shock 'em, but who cares? I'm enjoyin' myself, thank ya very much.//

**************

Joxer had closed his eyes as he began rubbing his cock through his pants. He was so into his own ministrations and listening to the two young Gods pleasuring each other that he hadn't noticed Ares moving quickly towards him.

He snapped open his eyes when he felt soft lips descend onto his own. When he realized whose lips they belonged to, Joxer's cock twitched in excitement. Not wanting to break the kiss, Joxer pushed Ares onto his back and began devouring his God's lips.

Ares was pleasantly surprised at Joxer's show of aggression. Oh, he had *definitely* underestimated the younger man.

He was just getting into the kiss when Joxer suddenly moved away. Before he could protest, he felt hands move down towards his groin. He let out a bloodcurdling groan when he realized Joxer was unfastening the laces in his pants.

Joxer continued to kiss Ares until he felt something hard bumping into his stomach. He quickly looked down and saw Ares' straining erection dying to be freed...so he decided to oblige. He broke the kiss and before Ares could protest, moved his hands to Ares' groin. He smiled when this action got him one hell of a groan from the ex War God.

Finishing with his task of undoing the laces of Ares' pants, Joxer ripped them apart and dropped his head. //Fuck he's huge!// Joxer thought as his eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. A thought coming to him, he wickedly grinned then with no warning, took the whole length of Godly flesh into his mouth.

"Joxer!" Ares screamed as his cock was engulfed in the warm wet mouth.

**************

"Oh! Like, that is *so* sweet!"

Xena and Gabrielle both turned towards Aphrodite at this.

The bubbly Goddess caught their twin looks of shock. "What?"

They had been out of sight of the four men when Xena had caught them kissing up a storm. She had a definite feeling about Cupid and Strife getting together, so that hadn't been what truly shocked her into a standstill. It was seeing Joxer and Ares that did it for her.

The three women snapped their heads as one back towards the men when they heard Ares yell Joxer's name at the top of his lungs.

Seeing Joxer orally pleasuring Ares, Xena's eyes bugged, Gabrielle began making retching sounds and Aphrodite cheered. "Way to go, Joxie!"

Hearing the familiar nickname, Joxer let go of Ares' cock just as Ares came, shooting his wad all over the younger man's face.

Before Joxer said anything to anyone, he snaked out his tongue to lick at the creamy white spunk of his ex God.

Since Ares' whole attention had been on Joxer and his mouth, he hadn't heard his sister's voice. Seeing Joxer licking his lips, Ares sat up and joined in on the cleaning, tasting himself in the process. Finished, he then reached out a hand and grabbed Joxer by the back of his neck, crushing their lips and tongues together in a soul-shattering kiss.

The two men continued to passionately kiss until they heard a throat clearing loudly. They broke the kiss and turned to see the others had come back. Joxer blushed when he remembered they had seen him give the War God one hell of a blow job. Ares wrapped an arm protectively around Joxer's waist when he saw Gabrielle standing next to Xena clenching and unclenching her fists.

Gabrielle couldn't believe what she had just seen. Ares was getting his dick sucked by.Joxer? Did Ares hit his head on the way down from Mount Olympus or something? And just what in Tartarus was Joxer thinking anyway? He was suppose to be falling for her *not* some fucked up ex God of War. Sure, she couldn't stand being around Joxer, but *she* was going to be the one to turn him down, *not* the other way around!

Seeing Gabrielle starting to inch her way towards Ares and Joxer, Xena tried to stop her before she did something dumb, but Gabrielle was moving too fast. Gabrielle walked up to Joxer and spit right in his face. Xena had just enough time to run up to the three of them before Ares could lay the bard out.

Joxer wasn't sure what Xena and Gabby would say to him about going down on Ares, so was a little nervous when Gabby started making her way towards him. He was about to give an explanation when Gabby got right up in his face and spit in it. Joxer was so shocked at this that it took him a few seconds to register what she had done. Using his sleeve to wipe the offending spittle off his face, he glared icily at the blonde. "What the fuck was that for!?"

Gabrielle didn't get a chance to reply when Xena yanked her out of the way of Ares' fist. Turning to her lover, Xena got right up in her face. "What the fuck were you thinking? Are you *trying* to get yourself killed?"

Gabrielle crossed her arms across her chest and just stared at her lover. "Ares can't do anything to me. He doesn't have any powers."

"I wasn't talking about Ares. I was talking about Joxer."

At this Gabrielle snorted. She looked over to see Ares rubbing his hand up and down Joxer's back, trying to sooth his nerves. Joxer looked like he was about to snap and go ballistic. Gabrielle was surprised, she had *never* seen Joxer with *that* look on his face before. She wasn't really worried though, since Joxer couldn't take two steps without falling flat on his face.

*************

"Ya know, if Blondie keeps this up, she'll find herself at tha bottom o' tha lake with a boulder tied ta her feet," Strife whispered to Cupid. He had witnessed the exchange between Joxer and Gabrielle and was none too pleased to see the blonde bitch get away with yet another shitty action. But he just kept telling himself to wait till he got his Godhood back then he'd let the bitch finally have it.

Cupid turned to his cousin...lover...whatever and nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. She's like, definitely cruising for a bruising." He then took hold of Strife's right hand and raised it to his lips, kissing the palm tenderly. "Let's just forget about her and concentrate on us. Sound cool to you?"

Strife smiled as Cupid kissed his palm. "Sounds awesome ta me."

Cupid returned the smile with one of his own. "Good 'cause I've got a whole lot of concentrating to do."

*************

"This is just *so* cool! I can like, feel the love coming from you two," Aphrodite sighed dreamily. When six sets of eyes turned towards her, she shrugged her shoulders. "What?"

Hearing his mother gushing over the vibes coming off of Strife and himself, Cupid turned his head towards her. He had been wondering why his mother had showed up with Xena and the annoying bard and asked so. "Mom, why are you here?"

Breaking out of her daydreams with a sigh, Aphrodite walked purposefully towards her son, bouncing in interesting places. "I came here looking for you. There's someone who wanted to see you."

"Oh? Who?"

Suddenly, there was a small flash of golden sparkles as a tiny form appeared in Aphrodite's arms.

Seeing whom it was Cupid's eyes teared up a bit. "Bliss!"

Hearing his name, the little God began squirming in his grandmother's arms. Aphrodite gently put Bliss down onto the ground and watched as her grandson toddled over to his father, little wings flapping lightly.

Cupid smiled with pride as he saw his son toddle over to him without falling down. Course, having wings helped to keep him balanced on his little feet.

Bliss slowly made his way over to his father, happily calling out his name. "Dada, dada!"

Once Bliss was in front of Cupid, he raised his little arms up. Cupid bent down and lifted his little boy. He swung Bliss around a bit, earning him a few squeals of delight from his one-year-old. Cupid stopped his twirling and brought Bliss to his chest in a fierce yet tender hug, so as not to squish the little God.

Bliss loved it when his daddy swung him around. He was happy though when his daddy stopped, his tummy wasn't very happy with the twirling around. He made a little 'oomph' sound when his daddy hugged him. His daddy was *strong* like grandpa!

Bliss, with thumb in mouth, looked up from where his head had laid on his daddy's shoulder to see his cousin Stwife. He liked Stwife. His cousin would always make funny faces at him and always had a toy for him whenever he would come to visit him.

Strife looked on as little Bliss made his way over to Cupid. He always wanted kids, but before Cupid, no one ever gave him the time of day. Too bad Cupid and himself were male; he would've loved to have a couple of kids of his own.

***************

Ares was thinking along the same lines when Dite showed up with his daughter and her 'pet'. When he saw Bliss appear in Dite's arms, his face brightened up a bit. He thanked every God there was that Bliss looked more like his father than his mother. He vowed that when he got his powers back...the likelihood of *that* happening wasn't very good...he would definitely have to visit his ex daughter-in-law. He had a few things to 'talk' about with her.

Joxer smiled brightly at seeing little Bliss again. The last time he had seen him, he had been out reeking havoc on the mortal world.

He frowned, remembering how Bliss had shot Gabby with one of Cupid's arrows. At the time, he was glad Gabby was falling all over him, but now that he looked back on that little episode, he wished it had never happened.

He didn't know why, but he was glad he finally got a chance to see the 'real' Gabby. She was mean spirited towards those who weren't Xena. She was selfish and condescending. What he ever saw in her he'll never know. He was just glad Ares and the others came along when they did.

**************

Xena wasn't sure what to think. She had nothing against Bliss being there with them, but she was beginning to wonder if every single God and Goddess on Mount Olympus were going to join her and Gabrielle on their way to Thebes.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes at the display Cupid and Bliss were putting on. Just what they needed, another God coming around messing shit up. She didn't like Bliss very much, since he was the one to shoot her with a love arrow, making her fall all over...ick!...Joxer. She was just glad nothing personal happened between her and loser boy. She definitely wouldn't have been able to live with herself if anything had happened.

She turned suddenly when she noticed Aphrodite had walked up behind her. The look on the Love Goddess' face was a shocking thing to see. Before Gabrielle could ask what Aphrodite wanted, the usually bubbly Goddess quietly snarled. "Look here sister. You may not like us Gods, but if I were you, I'd keep my thoughts to myself. Remember, *all* Gods and Goddesses can read minds." With that, Aphrodite stomped off back towards her son and grandson.

Not wanting to have the Love Goddess any angrier with her, Gabrielle decided to sit down on the grass while the others continued to coo over Bliss.

**************

Rocking Bliss gently from side to side, Cupid bent his head down and gave his son a small peck on his forehead. They'd only been mortal for two days now, but Cupid rarely, if ever, stayed away from his son. He couldn't help it; he loved his son more than life itself and was glad his precious son had wanted to see him.

He was sure Zeus had been against other Gods interfering in their punishment, but somehow, his mom had pulled a few strings to let Bliss come and see him. Which he was definitely grateful for.

When Bliss saw Ares walking towards his daddy, he began to squirm. He had been so intent on seeing his daddy that he hadn't noticed grandpa standing a few feet away. When his daddy reluctantly put him down onto the ground, he slowly made his way over to his grandpa.

*************

It'd been a while since Ares had seen Bliss. He didn't mean to be away from him for so long, but being the God of War took up most of his time.

Cupid was almost three hundred years old and he regretted missing most of his childhood. Sure, it lasted until Cupid turned fifty, but Ares never had the time to just stop and enjoy watching his son grow into adulthood.

Contrary to what everyone thought, he *did* have feelings. They were mostly directed towards his children and grandchildren, but he still had them. Maybe that's why he had so many children running around on Mount Olympus and down on earth. He had so many of them that most of the time he could only remember certain ones.

He mentally named his children. There was Deimos, Phobos, Harmonia, Cupid, Xena and...and...and...? Damn! Those were the only ones he could remember off the top of his head. He had no idea if it was because he was mortal now, or if those were the only children he ever had any personal dealings with. He made a mental note to look up his other children he knew for a fact was out there somewhere.

Ares watched as his grandson walked over to him, little arms stretched out. Ares bent down and picked him up. Once Bliss was in his arms, the little God laid his head down onto his grandpa's shoulder and fell asleep.

**************

Aphrodite smiled as she saw Ares rock gently with Bliss in his arms.

Turning her attention once more towards her son and nephew, she gasped in horror when she saw the black and blue bruise covering half of Strife's face. "What in Tartarus happened to you?"

Strife turned towards his aunt. "Blondie over there is what happened." Seeing Aphrodite's outraged look, Strife continued. "It's cool though. Joxer took her staff away before she could do any more damage." Personally, he couldn't care less if his aunt decided to teach the bard a lesson or two, but seeing as how Bliss was nearby; he didn't think it wise to get into any heavy violence. Especially for his sake.

Hearing his thoughts, Aphrodite decided to back down. She agreed with Strife, but she swore she'd give the little blonde a taste of her own medicine *and* have a nice long chat with Strife about his self-esteem, or lack there of.

Feeling a sudden pull at the back of her mind, Aphrodite raised her voice some so the whole group could hear her. "Well, guys. It's been a blast, but I have to get Bliss home. It's like, *way* past his nap time."

Aphrodite made her way towards Ares. Trying not to wake the little God, Ares gently handed Bliss over to Aphrodite. With Bliss cradled in her arms, Aphrodite walked back over to where Strife and Cupid were standing. Leaning over, she placed a soft kiss onto Strife's bruised cheek. When she removed her lips, the bruise had disappeared.

Smiling, Cupid stepped over towards his mother and lightly hugged her, making sure not to wake his son in the process. "Thanks, mom," he whispered into her ear.

Aphrodite winked at her son. "Later." She then disappeared in a shower of golden sparkles and rose petals.

*************

After Aphrodite disappeared, Xena softly cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Alright guys. Let's get moving. The sun will be setting soon and we still have a ways to go before we get to the nearest village." Saying her peace, she then turned and walked over to where she had left Argo.

Gabrielle got up from the ground, wiping bits of grass off her ass. She then started after Xena, moving quickly to catch up with her.

*************

Grabbing Strife's hand, Cupid pulled him up against his chest. He gave Strife a chaste kiss on his lips before moving to follow after Xena.

Strife was more than happy to be lead by Cupid. He had a feeling things were going to get very interesting once they got to the village.

*************

Out of habit, Joxer began to follow after Xena when a hand on his arm stopped him. As he turned around to ask why he had been stopped, Ares pulled him close to his chest and kissed him deeply. Not wanting to break the dueling of their tongues, but needing to so he could breath, Joxer pulled back, panting heavily.

"Mmm. What was that for?"

Ares grinned. "Just think of it as a taste of things to come." When Joxer's eyebrows shot up, Ares smirked. "Yes. I meant that literally." Joxer just giggled.

Grabbing Ares' hand in his, Joxer began walking quickly towards Xena. When he felt Ares dragging along behind him, Joxer slightly turned. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to that village!"

Gods! Ares loved it when Joxer took command like that!

**************

Having dropped Bliss off with Hephaestus, Aphrodite flashed out of her temple and flashed into Zeus' study. Not seeing her father anywhere, she moved towards one of the chairs and sat down, impatiently waiting for Zeus to show up.

Zeus was in the middle of arguing once again with Hera, when he sensed Aphrodite appearing in his study. "As much as I have enjoyed yet another one of our 'tiffs', Aphrodite has finally showed up, so I must now leave."

Hera, still quite angry, nodded at her husband and went back to pulling weeds out from under her prized rose bushes. Their arguments were all the same. Hera caught Zeus once again in the act of committing adultery and Zeus was, as always, denying the accusations.

Zeus appeared in his study. Looking around, he spotted his daughter sitting daintily in one of the various chairs he had scattered throughout. Clearing his throat, he walked over to his desk and took a seat behind it.

Aphrodite looked up at her father when she heard him clearing his throat and smiled. She had good news and sort of good news to share with him.

"So, Aphrodite. What have you found out?"

She shifted a bit before replying. "Well, the plan seems to be working..."

"Excellent!"

"But...There's something you should know," Aphrodite continued, unable to look her father in the eyes.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Zeus asked. He wasn't quite sure if he truly wanted to know or not.

Looking everywhere but at Zeus, Aphrodite fidgeted a bit in her seat. "Well, it's not really anything bad, but..."

**************

Xena continued walking towards the village, contemplating the exchange she had witnessed between Ares and Bliss. Through all of her previous dealings with her father, she had always thought he was a cold-hearted bastard who cared for nobody else but himself. When she had seen the way in which he had acted around his grandson, she had been extremely surprised.

Not only had that been a blow to her system, but also when she had seen him and Joxer together, she nearly fell over from shock. She had nothing against what they had been doing, but she had no idea Ares' boat floated that way, let alone Joxer's.

She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts when out of the corner of her eye she saw Cupid and Strife all but run pass her. She stopped; wondering where the fire was when suddenly, Ares and Joxer went walking by her like Cerberus himself was on their tails.

"Uh, Xena? Why are they walking so fast? Is there something special about this village we're going to?" Gabrielle asked, as she too saw the four men moving quickly towards their destination.

"Not that I'm aware of. But, we'd better hurry or we'll loose them." She then continued on, trying to keep up with the men.

**************

What normally would have taken them four hours to walk towards the village only took them two. Xena had never seen Joxer move so fast the whole time she had known him. She had a feeling as to why they were hurrying, course that little episode at the lake had given her a huge clue.

When they finally made it to the village, the four men headed straight for the nearest and *only* lodging house. Before they could walk through the door, there was an ear splitting whistle. Everyone stopped and turned towards the source.

Xena, with hands on hips, glared at everyone. "Would you four mind slowing down some? I need to get Argo put up for the night and find you all some disguises. Or have you forgotten who you guys are?"

Joxer and Strife blushed, looking down at their boots; Cupid pouted and Ares just folded his arms across his chest, raising an eyebrow at his daughter.

Xena smirked at Ares, knowing exactly why they were in such a hurry, before turning to Gabrielle. "Stay here with them and make sure they don't get into any trouble while I'm gone." At Gabrielle's nod, Xena headed off towards the stables with Argo in tow.

**************

As Xena left, Gabrielle walked over towards the men, giving Strife yet another dirty look as she passed him.

Seeing as Joxer *still* had her staff, she moved a little closer towards him. "May I have my staff back now?" As Joxer opened his mouth to protest, Gabrielle cut him off. "I promise I won't use it unless I have to."

Joxer wasn't sure if he should, so he looked to Ares for advice.

Ares saw Joxer turn to look at him. He shrugged his shoulders in indifference and whispered, "It's your call."

Hoping he wouldn't regret his decision later, Joxer reluctantly handed Gabrielle back her staff.

Gabrielle smiled slightly and moved a few feet away, preparing to stand guard.

***************

Settling Argo into one of the stables for the night, Xena headed over to one of the merchant huts she had passed on her way there. Looking around the hut, she saw exactly what she needed for the three ex Gods...hooded cloaks. //These will work.//

She walked up to the merchant. "Excuse me. How much for these three cloaks?"

The merchant looked up from going over his inventory scroll. Seeing whom it was, his eyes went wide, "Hey, ain't you Xena?"

"Yes," she sighed, wishing for once she could go somewhere without people asking her that question.

The merchant gave her a toothy grin, or would have if he had any teeth. "Normally, they would run for about thirty dinars each, but seeing as you're the great Warrior Princess and all, I'll let you have them for twenty dinars each."

"Twenty dinars? What are they made of...gold? I'll give you ten for each and no more," Xena stated as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the obviously insane merchant.

"Fifteen, only 'cause I never could resist a pretty face," the merchant winked as he said this.

//Oh, really?// Unsheathing her sword, Xena pointed it right in the merchant's chest. "Make it five dinars each and I won't run you through for that comment," she growled.

The merchant gulped, looked down at the sword poking him in the chest, then back up at Xena. "Deal," he squeaked.

"I'm *so* glad," Xena replied as she removed her sword from his chest.

The merchant gingerly rubbed where the sword had been. He moved back as Xena left fifteen dinars on the table to his right and left with the three cloaks. "Nice doing business with you," he sarcastically whispered to her retreating back.

***************

When Xena got back to where she had left her entourage, she skidded to a halt, both eyebrows raised in surprise...sort of.

Cupid and Strife were sitting on the ground a few feet away from the door, giggling like children, watching Ares and Joxer. They looked to be...playing a...game? Oh, yes. The next two weeks were going to be just chalk full of surprises.

"Ahem."

Gabrielle, whose main attention had been on the four men, turned at Xena's voice. "That was fast. Did you get the disguises?"

Still looking at the men, Xena absently showed Gabrielle the cloaks she was carrying. "Right here."

At this the three ex Gods, and Joxer, jumped up and rushed over to Xena, grabbing the cloaks from out of her out stretched hand. //Impatient are we?//

Quickly donning the disguises, the four men trotted off towards the entrance to the lodge, only to be stopped once again by Xena's whistle. Two growls, a groan and a sigh answered her.

Holding back a chuckle, Xena raised an eyebrow at the impatient men. "Aren't you guys forgetting something?" At the blank looks, Xena threw up her hands. "Money?"

"Oh," the men all said at the same time.

"Why me?" Xena muttered, shaking her head while looking up into the sky. Knowing she wasn't going to get an answer, she headed for the door. "Well, come on then. Let's get us some rooms before you guys start doing each other out here in the street." This got her a few blushes of embarrassment.

****************

After they had walked into the lodge, Xena headed straight for the owner. Having procured three rooms for the night, she walked back over to where the rest of her charges stood by restlessly. "Here are your keys." She handed a key to Cupid and one to Ares. "By the way, the owner said he'd be bringing dinner up to our rooms..." As she was saying this, the men had left, rushing towards their rooms. "...later," she finished with a half-hearted sigh.

Having seen the whole exchange between Xena and the others, Gabrielle walked up to her. "Should we head for our room also?"

"Not unless you want to hear a lot of noise coming from next door."

Realizing what Xena meant by that, Gabrielle shuddered. "Actually, how about we go shop for some supplies instead?"

****************

Cupid and Strife ran up the stairs with Ares and Joxer close behind. The two key holders fumbled for a few seconds to get their doors unlocked, but once they had succeeded, they rushed into their prospective rooms.

****************

Cupid walked into the room with Strife right behind him. He turned around when he heard the door close.

Strife walked into the room with Cupid and closed the door behind him. Seeing Cupid turn around at the sound, he moved towards Cupid until he was only a few inches away.

Cupid could feel the heat radiating off of Strife's body. Finally this moment had arrived and he just stood there like a virgin on her wedding day. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised or pissed at this, since he had been the God of Love for Zeus' sake. But something about the way Strife kept eyeing him made him nervous as Tartarus.

Strife was hungrily looking Cupid up and down. For as long as he could remember he had had a huge crush on his winged cousin, but never told him about it because of his marriage to Psycho.

Strife raised his right hand and placed it behind Cupid's neck, bringing his face closer to him. Looking deeply into Cupid's eyes, he leaned in and lightly kissed him. He sighed happily as he felt Cupid respond to the kiss. As Cupid opened his mouth, Strife slipped his tongue in, moaning in pleasure at the eroticness of it.

Cupid put his hands on his cousin's back, rubbing them up and down. They remained that way for a few more minutes before having to break away for air. Pulling back, Cupid brought his hands up to the ties of his cloak. He stopped when Strife took hold of his hands, kissed the palm of each one and finished untying the ties himself.

After fumbling with the ties for a bit, Strife finally got them undone and pulled the cloak from off of Cupid. He took a step back to admire Cupid's strong muscled chest. He definitely got his looks from Ares' side.

Continuing to admire the view, Strife began to undo his own ties. Once that was finished with, he took his cloak off and flung it across the room. He watched as Cupid absently licked his lips. Suppressing a groan of desire, Strife moved till he was once again face to face, chest to chest with his winged cousin. He absolutely adored those wings of his. He silently thanked his grandfather for keeping Cupid looking exactly the same.

Cupid licked his suddenly dry lips once again when he felt Strife's surprisingly strong chest press up against his. As Strife moved his hands to rest on his ass, Cupid melted. Briefly looking into his pale cousin's eyes, he brought his lips towards Strife's and kissed him deeply. He was absently aware of being herded towards the bed behind him when he felt the back of his legs lightly hit the edge.

Strife maneuvered Cupid towards the soft feather bed while he continued to kiss him. Once Cupid's legs hit the edge of the bed, Strife gently pushed Cupid down onto it. Waiting till Cupid got comfortable, Strife then positioned himself on top of Cupid.

Cupid smiled up at Strife as he felt him lay down on top of him. It had been a bit awkward for him. He had to stretch his wings out to lay on his back comfortably.

Strife bent his head down and picked up where they had left off, kissing Cupid with all the hunger and lust he had felt back at the lake earlier. As he broke away to breathe, he moved his lips to Cupid's neck, kissing and licking his way along it. As his lips came to rest on the juncture between Cupid's neck and shoulder, Strife first gave the spot a nice thorough licking, then proceeded to savagely suck on that spot until a large red bruise formed, marking Cupid as his.

Cupid whimpered as he felt Strife suck and raised his neck, trying to get Strife to do more than just suck.

Strife let up on Cupid's neck which elicited a moan of loss from Cupid. Kissing the bruise, Strife then moved back to devouring Cupid's lips.

Cupid eagerly kissed his pale cousin back as he moved his hands along Strife's chest. When he felt Strife moan into his mouth, Cupid moved his hands farther down until they came in contact with the ties to Strife's pants.

Feeling Cupid's hands on his crotch, Strife sat up, straddling his cousin's hips so Cupid could get better access to the ties.

As Strife sat up, Cupid attacked the ties with impatience, wishing he had his powers so he could just make their clothes vanish instead of wasting precious time.

Strife leaned back a bit, shoving his crotch forward towards Cupid's face.

When the last of the ties were unlaced, Cupid ripped open Strife's pants. Free of its confinement, Strife's flushed erect cock jutted out, waving proudly. Cupid stared wide-eyed at Strife's leaking cock, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Like whatcha see?" Strife asked as he began to undo Cupid's harness.

"Oh, yeah," Cupid replied as he arched his back to help Strife out.

For the next few minutes, the two young ex Gods continued to remove each other's clothing. Strife continued his exploration of Cupid's body, learning each and every nuance he could get his hands on.

Cupid's cock was getting harder and harder by the minute. Whenever Strife moved a little here or there, he felt his cousin's cock trail precum along his stomach. //Gods, I can *not* wait till he's finally inside me!// He was brought out of his thoughts when he realized Strife had stopped moving. Removing his eyes from Strife's cock, he saw his lover searching the room for something. "What? What are you looking for?"

"I just noticed there's no oil 'round here."

Cupid's jaw dropped open. "What do you mean there's no oil!?"

Strife looked down at Cupid. "Jus' what I said. Guess I'll have ta go with option two."

Cupid raised an eyebrow. "Uh? Exactly what would that be?"

Strife grinned wickedly, making Cupid squirm. "Oh...jus' this." Strife moved swiftly down Cupid's body until he came face to...um...face with his weeping cock. Before Cupid could react, Strife took the whole length into his mouth.

Cupid let out a strangled gasp as his cock was engulfed by Strife's hot, wet mouth. "I...oh Gods!...like this option," Cupid panted out. He moaned suddenly when he felt Strife giggling around his cock.

Strife continued sucking and licking Cupid's cock, pleased to hear his lover's continuous moaning. Deciding to spice things up a bit more, he brought his index finger towards his mouth and sucked on it while continuing to lavish attention to Cupid's cock. Determining his finger to be wet enough; Strife slowly pushed it into his lover's tight center.

Cupid cried out when Strife suddenly pushed a...wet?...finger inside of him. He could feel that finger slowly stretching him, preparing him for what was to come.

While Strife kept up his oral pleasuring, he added another finger, hoping it wasn't too dry. He knew his cousin wasn't going to last much longer when he felt Cupid's balls constrict and heard him cry out his name.

Cupid was enjoying the constant attention his cock was receiving from his lover when he felt Strife add another finger into him. After that he just couldn't hold out any longer, he came hard, crying out his lover's name.

Strife kept on sucking till Cupid's spent cock slipped from his mouth. Making sure not to swallow, Strife, mouth full of Cupid's spunk, cupped his hands and spit it all out into them. At Cupid's crinkled brows, Strife grinned. "Lubricant."

"Ahhh, I see. Clever."

Strife rubbed his hands together, reached down towards his own cock and smeared the jism onto it. Raising Cupid's legs up and pressing them against his body, Strife positioned his now lubricated cock at Cupid's prepared entrance. "Ready?"

At Cupid's nod, Strife entered him in one stroke and held still to let Cupid get used to the feeling.

Cupid gasped as he was quickly filled. After a few seconds, Cupid began moving his hips, trying to get Strife to move.

Feeling Cupid move his hips, Strife began to slowly thrust in and out of the tight heat encompassing his cock. He would pull almost all the way out until just the head was buried inside then quickly thrust back in.

This slow in and out shit wasn't cutting it for Cupid. Cupid brought his hands up and placed them behind Strife's neck, bringing him down for a deep kiss. Placing kisses along Strife's jaw, he kept on until he got to his lover's ear. "Faster, bitch."

This was not the right thing to say. Strife heard this and began thrusting faster and faster. He heard Cupid scream and smiled against his neck. //That'll learn 'im.//

When Strife started banging into Cupid faster, he made sure to angle his quick thrusts against Cupid's prostrate. This in turn made Cupid yell louder. Strife felt Cupid's reawakened erection press against his belly and shifted a bit to the side so he could grab hold of it. He stroked Cupid's cock in time with his thrusts.

Cupid felt Strife grab hold of his cock and stroke it. After a few more strokes, Cupid came once again all over Strife's and his chests. As he orgasmed, his ass muscles twitched and he heard Strife grunt his completion, flooding Cupid's insides with his life's essence.

Strife continued pumping into Cupid as he simultaneously stroked Cupid's cock. When Cupid came, his ass muscles twitched and clamped down onto Strife's cock. Strife couldn't take any more stimulation and came in a mad rush inside of Cupid's bowels.

Coming down from his orgasm, Cupid sighed in contentment. He moaned in disappointment when Strife moved, his spent cock slipping out.

As Strife weakly moved from off of Cupid, he curled up on his side, facing his exhausted lover. "Good?"

Cupid turned so he faced Strife, kissing him softly on the lips, he giggled before replying, "Fanfuckingtastic!"

Strife rolled his eyes and snuggled up to Cupid. Sore and worn out, they both fell fast asleep.

**************

"Are you {snort} absolutely sure {giggle} about this?"

"I am as sure as I know I'm the Goddess of Love," Aphrodite replied.

Zeus desperately tried keeping a straight face, but kept bursting out in unGod-like giggles. "You know, this just may be worth it when he finds out."

Aphrodite did everything in her power to keep from rolling her eyes at her giggling father. //Glad to know *you're* having a good time with this. I, for one, will like, be totally far, far away when the shit hits the fan.//

Zeus sat back in his chair, wiping the tears of merriment from his eyes. Suddenly a thought came to him. "Make sure that whoever else finds out about this, keeps it to themselves. Understand?"

Aphrodite sighed a sigh of the long suffering. "Sure thing. Did you need anything else? Bliss and Hephy are waiting for me to return."

Zeus cocked an eyebrow at his bubbly daughter. "No, that's all for now. Just keep me updated on anything new that happens."

"No prob. Later." With that, Aphrodite disappeared in a shower of golden sparkles and rose petals.

*****************

As Ares unlocked the door, he pushed it open and gestured for Joxer to go in first.

Joxer walked inside and turned towards Ares, whose back was facing him. Once Ares closed the door, Joxer moved swiftly towards Ares and slammed him up against the closed door with a bang.

Ares blinked in surprise at being manhandled so roughly by *Joxer* of all people. He tried turning around, but Joxer had taken hold of his right arm and pinned it behind his back. He felt Joxer lean forward and whisper into his ear, "I have you exactly where I want you my delectable God."

"Uh, Joxer? I'm not a God anymore."

Joxer sighed. "Details, details," he replied, nipping at Ares' earlobe.

Ares moaned and wiggled as Joxer continued to lavish attention onto his ear. His ears always were very sensitive. Ares giggled a bit when he felt Joxer brush aside his hair and attack the back of his neck.

Joxer lifted his lips from Ares' neck. "Are you actually ticklish?" Joxer asked, slightly amused.

Ares raised an eyebrow. "Of course I am. For one, I'm mortal at the moment. And two, us Gods are just like you mortals in every way, shape and form, except we're immortal and have powers while you guys don't."

Still holding onto Ares' arm, Joxer paused in thought. "Mmm? I always thought you guys just showed up in mortal form so it would be easier for you to communicate and interact with us."

"Ha! Hardly. We're conceived and born just like you guys are. We also need to eat, sleep, shit and fuck just like you mortals," Ares replied, grinding his backside into Joxer's crotch on the word 'fuck'.

Joxer grunted as he felt Ares rub his ass all over his crotch. Controlling himself long enough to get Ares to better explain about the inner workings of Gods, Joxer asked, "Okay, if what you say is true, then why did Cupid and Strife freak out about their stomachs growling?"

"The feeling of hunger is different for us Gods then it is for you mortals. Our stomachs don't growl. When we're hungry, food suddenly appears in front of us."

"Uh. I see." Having his question answered, Joxer raised Ares' arm a bit higher up his back, received a grunt of mild pain from Ares and ground his crotch suggestively against Ares. "Enough talk. I'm in the mood for some horizontal action. How 'bout you?" Joxer asked as he took his free hand and brought it to Ares' chest, tweaking a pert nipple.

Still smushed up against the door, Ares turned his head towards Joxer. "I've been in the mood since back at the lake. You got any oil? I wouldn't want to hurt you or anything."

Joxer's smirk was hidden from Ares. "Yes, I have oil. One can never be too prepared. But...um? What makes you think you'll be the one doing the fucking?"

Ares' jaw dropped open in astonishment. Did this little mortal think Ares was going to let him fuck him? Ares thought it over for a minute. Sure as shit he was! Ares was tired of being the one to always do the fucking while the fuckee just laid there enjoying themselves. As much as he enjoyed doing all the work, it was high time he got a little action himself. He thanked every known deity that had ever lived that he had been forced into this mess. He was brought out of his musings when he felt his arm pulled up higher.

"I asked you a question, Ares," Joxer lightly snarled.

"Sorry. Just wondering what position you wanted me in."

"Uh huh," Joxer replied as he let go of Ares' arm and took a step back. Looking into Ares' eyes, Joxer proceeded to undo the straps and ties of his 'armor'.

Once he was let go, Ares turned around to watch Joxer begin to take his cursed armor off. He watched as Joxer swayed his body from side to side as if listening to music only he could hear. Ares licked his lips as Joxer finished with the straps and let his 'armor' fall to the floor with a clang.

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