Joxer finished with the straps and as his armor fell off his shoulders, he walked away from it and towards the bed. Along the way, he stripped out of the rest of his clothes. He didn't turn around as he heard Ares following suit.

Seeing Joxer heading away from him and towards the bed, Ares decided to follow. He stopped though when he realized Joxer was continuing to strip on his way to his destination. Not one to miss a beat, Ares also began stripping out of his clothes as he made his way towards Joxer.

Once Joxer got to the bed, he crawled on top of it and waited for Ares. He held back a couple of giggles as he watched Ares try to remove his boot while hopping towards him. Joxer smiled as Ares finally finished getting undressed and got into bed with him. Earlier, while Joxer had been stripping, he had taken the small bottle of oil out of his pocket and placed it onto the floor along side of the bed.

Ares finished getting undressed and got into bed with Joxer. As soon as he did, Joxer attacked him. //I can see why the girls at Meg's like him so much.//

When Ares had gotten into bed with him, Joxer jumped him. Ares landed on his back, head facing the foot of the bed. Joxer then began to thoroughly kiss Ares within an inch of his life. Joxer forced his way into Ares willing mouth and proceeded to mate with Ares' tongue.

'Surprise' wasn't the word Ares used to describe Joxer's aggressiveness. Sure, he had a slight idea from when they had been at the lake, but now that Joxer and himself were alone and in bed, Joxer was an animal. If Ares had known Joxer was this aggressive in bed, he would have gone to him a long time ago instead of having to settle for 'adequate' lovers.

Ares was startled out of his musings when Joxer suddenly sat up and straddled Ares' face. Ares got the hint right away and proceeded to take Joxer's entire cock into his mouth. He might not have been blessed with muscles, but he sure as Tartarus made up for it in length and width!

Joxer leaned back some so his cock was the one leading the way. He grunted animalistically when he felt Ares swallow his entire length. //Gods, but he has skills!// Making sure not to choke Ares, Joxer began to thrust slowly in and out of Ares' wet mouth. As Joxer was thrusting, he reached behind him and grabbed Ares' own swollen cock. He felt the vibrations around his cock when Ares groaned at his touch.

Ares thought he had died and gone to the Elysian Fields when Joxer had grabbed hold of his leaking cock. Never in his long life had he had an erection so hard. He felt as though he could bust through the strongest steel with it.

Feeling his orgasm start to creep up on him, Joxer reluctantly withdrew from Ares' mouth. One, he didn't want to come yet. And two, he'd rather come in Ares' body then in his mouth. As pleasant a thought as that was.

Getting up, Joxer turned sideways and picked up the bottle of oil from off of the floor. Liberally coating his rock hard erection, Joxer then scooped some more up and placed his fingers at the entrance to Ares' body.

Ares watched as Joxer lubed up his cock, then scoop some more oil onto his fingers. He saw the question on Joxer's face as he positioned his fingers at his entrance. Smiling his go ahead, he gasped as he felt Joxer's finger penetrate him. After a few moments, Joxer inserted a second finger and Ares threw his head back, mouth open in a silent scream of desire.

Having finished preparing Ares for his entrance, Joxer turned Ares over onto his stomach. Once Ares was in position, Joxer lightly smacked his ass. "Get up on all fours."

Not used to being the submissive partner, Ares paused. He was all for getting it from Joxer, but he wasn't sure if he was up to being open and vulnerable. His mind was made up for him when Joxer once again slapped his ass, harder this time. "I gave you an order, mister!"

Ares started at Joxer's snarl of command. Not wanting to upset his lover anymore...like he had a choice...Ares reluctantly did as he was told, tensing up a bit.

Joxer smirked when he saw Ares do as he had asked. Without warning, Joxer slammed his entire length into Ares.

As soon as he felt the quick thrust, Ares came all over the bed and his chest. //Well, *that* was unexpected.// He screamed his pleasure as Joxer began thrusting...hard...in and out of his oversensitized body.

Joxer began to pant as he continued to thoroughly fuck Ares into the bed. Reaching under Ares, he grabbed onto his reawakening erection and started to pump Ares' cock in time with his wild thrusting. He grinned evilly when he heard Ares crying in pleasure.

Unable to take any more stimulation, Ares came once again followed by Joxer, who cried out his name and blacked out.

As he came back to his senses, Joxer realized he was still inside of Ares. Pulling out with a grunt, he fell onto the bed to lay beside Ares.

Ares, for his part, was still on his hands and knees, trembling.

Joxer turned heavy lidded eyes towards his lover. "Ares?"

"Huh?"

"You all right?" Joxer asked, concerned.

Slowly, Ares stretched out his legs and laid down onto his stomach. "Oh, yeah. Just peachy."

Joxer couldn't help himself, he giggled. "So? Did you enjoy yourself?"

Turning his head with a grunt, Ares gave Joxer a 'duh!' look. "*Noooo,*" he began sarcastically. "I *always* look like this after sex." At Joxer's hurt expression, Ares continued. "Of course I enjoyed myself! That was the best sex I've ever had!"

"Same here," Joxer yawned. Snuggling up to Ares, he kissed him lightly on the lips before falling asleep. "Night, Ares."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Night, Joxer," Ares replied as he too fell asleep.

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

Finished with their shopping, Xena and Gabrielle made their way back towards the lodge. As they were walking pass the drink counter, the owner waved Xena over to him. Xena saw this and walked up to the counter. "Is everything okay?"

The owner smiled, nodding his head. "Oh, everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know that your four friends didn't get any dinner." At Xena's raised eyebrow, the owner quickly continued. "One of my girls went upstairs to give them the food like we agreed, but she came running back down when she said she heard a lot of grunting and groaning. She wasn't sure if she should disturb them or not."

"She did the right thing. I'm sure my 'friends' wouldn't have wanted to be disturbed. Will it be okay to just have our dinner in the morning?" Xena asked, already knowing the answer.

The owner smiled. "Sure thing. I usually don't like to waste food anyway. I'll let one of my girls know."

Xena smiled back, something she rarely did. "That'll be fine. Good night." Turning to her lover. "Come on, Gabrielle. We have a long ways to go and will need our rest." She then walked towards the stairs with Gabrielle following behind her.

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

The next morning Cupid woke up with a start. Looking around to get his bearings straight, he suddenly felt a mild pain coming from above his groin. Since this sensation was the same as when he had been a God, he knew exactly what this meant. He had to pee...badly. Trying hard to get out of bed without disturbing Strife, he slowly got up. Once he was up, he glanced for a minute watching his lover sleep. He looked so cute drooling and snoring. Cupid sighed happily to himself until the pressure in his bladder reminded him of why he got up in the first place.

Walking towards the door, he made as if to open it, only to stop when he realized he needed to put his cloak on first. He walked over to where he had left it the previous night and put it on. Slowly opening the door, he walked out and almost bumped into his father as he too stepped out into the corridor. "Hey, pops. What's up?"

Ares, hair sticking out all over and a sleep print on his face, grunted. "Gotta piss."

"Me too," Cupid replied as he and Ares headed for the stairs.

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

When Ares and Cupid got back from their bathroom break, they found their perspective lovers sitting at a table towards the back of the lodge. Father and son made their way over to the others.

Cupid winced as he sat down next to Strife, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "So, what's for breakfast? I'm starving!"

Strife smiled at his lover, but before he could reply, one of the serving girls walked up to their table and laid out four plates of fresh, raw...squid.

Strife and Joxer gave their plates a disgusted look. Ares took one good look at his plate and turned green. Cupid, oblivious to the others expressions, tore into his.

As Cupid began to eat his food with a vengeance, Strife turned his gaze to his lover and gaped. Strife had never seen the winged ex God eat so ravenously before. But here Cupid was, eating as if he hadn't in ages.

Cupid continued eating his breakfast when he sensed three sets of eyes staring at him. Still chewing his food, he looked up. "Waat?" He asked, mouth still full of half chewed squid.

Ares made the mistake of looking at Cupid's mouth. When he saw the squid bits in his son's mouth, Ares turned greener, threw a hand over his mouth and bolted for the door.

It took Joxer a moment to realize his lover wasn't next to him any more. Excusing himself, Joxer ran after Ares.

Once Joxer and Ares left, Strife turned his attention back to Cupid. "Hungry?"

Cupid scooped some more of the...ugh!...squid into his mouth. Chewing quickly, he swallowed and smiled brightly at his disgusted lover. "Must've been all that exercise I got last night," he replied, wiggling his eyebrows at his pale cousin.

Strife snickered. "Next time I'll remember ta feed ya first."

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

As Ares ran out of the lodge, he just barely made it to some bushes before he leaned over and emptied his stomach. Once the main event had passed, he was wracked by a few dry heaves then sat heavily down onto the ground, shakily wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Joxer made it out of the lodge in time to see Ares dry heaving into some bushes. Looking around, he spotted a well a few feet away and walked over to it. Dropping the bucket into the well, Joxer scooped up some water and hulled the bucket back up. Once the bucket was outside of the well, he grabbed up the ladle that was near by and scooped some water into it.

With ladle in hand, Joxer walked over to where Ares was sitting. Joxer took a seat next to Ares, offering him the ladle of water. "Drink this slowly. It should help your stomach some."

Ares took the ladle from Joxer with a watery smile. "Thanks."

"No problem. Are you okay?" Joxer asked as Ares took a sip of water.

Putting the ladle down, Ares sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I never could stand the sight or smell of squid."

Joxer laughed lightly, giving Ares a sideway hug. "Neither could I. Let's go back inside before they think something happened to us, okay."

"Okay."

Getting up off the ground, the two men headed back towards the entrance to the lodge.

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

Xena woke up to a wet arm...again! She really needed to get Gabrielle a gag, or a towel. Sitting up in bed, after wiping her arm onto the mattress, Xena yawned. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she got up onto her feet and stretched her body out. //Damn, I'm getting old.//

Gabrielle sleepily opened her eyes when she felt movement on the bed. Yawning a yawn that could have split her face in two...which probably would have been an improvement...

{Smack!} Narrator rubs the back of her head and glares at Bob. "Okay, okay! I'll get back to the story. Sheesh! Anyway..."

After she finished yawning, Gabrielle smiled sweetly at Xena. "Morning, Xena! Sleep well?"

Having never really been a morning person, Xena grumbled her reply. "Not really." At Gabrielle's raised eyebrow, Xena went on. "I'm used to sleeping in the woods, not on a soft bed. I'll recover though. Anyway, I'm starving. Let's head on down and get some grub."

Gabrielle nodded and went to gather their things.

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

After breakfast, the six travelers thanked the lodge owner and headed out the door.

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

They had a two-day journey ahead of them until they came across the next town.

Xena led the pack with Argo's reins in her hand. Every once in a while she'd glance behind her to see Ares and Joxer holding hands and whispering nonsense to each other. Personally, she thought they made a cute couple, but if anyone were to ask her, she'd never admit it. She suddenly paused in her musings. Ares and Joxer? If they were to get married that would make Joxer her stepfather. For a few moments she actually thought about whether she would like that or not. Smiling to herself, she decided that yeah, she'd actually get a kick out of that.

"I need to pee," Cupid suddenly announced.

//Again?// Xena sighed mentally.

"So do I," Ares added.

Xena stopped and turned around to face the two ex Gods. This would make it five times in the last three hours. Even when she drank water, water and nothing but water all day, she never had to pee so much. //Guess it's a 'God' thing.// She paused. //I mean ex God thing.// She almost giggled over that one.

"Okay, we can stop here for an hour or two to rest. Sound good?" When she didn't get any complaints, she grinned. "Good." //My feet were beginning to hurt anyway.//

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

After they stopped, Cupid and Ares walked towards some trees. Strife turned to Joxer. "What's up with those two?"

Joxer, eyes still focused on where his lover and his lover's son had gone, sighed. "I have no idea. They weren't like this till after we left the lodge." He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it's just all the water they keep drinking."

"Maybe."

They were brought out of their thoughts when a flash of blue caught their attention.

Xena jumped up, sword in hand, when she saw whom their new guest was. "Discord!"

Discord turned her head towards Xena. "Yeah, it's me. Now put that away before you hurt yourself," she said as she waved her hand. Xena's sword disappeared from her hands and reappeared back in its scabbard.

Xena reached behind her and felt her sword resting in its usual place. Growling, she asked, "What in Tartarus do you want?"

Before Discord could answer, Ares and Cupid came from behind the trees. "Eris? What are you doing here?" Ares asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm here to take you to Thebes or as close as I'm allowed to."

Xena moved closer to the dark Goddess. "Why would you do such a thing for us?"

Discord snorted. "I'm not doing this for you. My interest is in those four, but you and the harpy over there are just coming along for the ride." Actually, all six of them were supposed to go with Discord, but she liked dropping her niece and the blonde bard down a level.

"How far outside of town are you taking us?" Joxer asked from his position next to Ares.

Discord let a quick smile grace her features before turning it back into her usual neutral mask. "About three days travel." Before anyone could voice his or her opinion about why, Discord continued. "Hey, I can't do everything for you, now can I?" With that, she waved her hand once again and they all disappeared.

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

When they reappeared a few days away from Thebes, Ares staggered a bit, bent over and threw up. After he was finished with his little stomach adventure, he looked up and saw Joxer standing next to him with a water skin.

"Here's some water. Are you sure you're okay?" Joxer asked as he handed the water skin to his lover.

Ares took the proffered skin and took a few sips, washing his mouth of the foul taste. "Yeah, I'm fine. Must've just been the quick trip."

"Uh huh," Joxer replied, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

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

Strife looked over at his uncle and scrunched his eyebrows together. Something just wasn't sitting right with him. At the sound of a throat clearing, Strife looked over to where his mother was standing, tapping her foot in impatience. "What?"

Discord rolled her eyes and walked over towards her son. "Don't give me that 'what' crap. Come here and give me a hug." As she said this, she opened her arms wide, waiting for a hug.

Not too many people knew the truth about the relationship between Eris and her son. So when Strife went up to his mother and hugged her, Xena's eyes went wide and Gabrielle gaped in shock. The truth was, Eris and Strife got along like peaches and cream, salt and vinegar, dogs and bones...

{Smack!} Narrator stops her...um?...narrating and glares at Bob. "Okay, fine. I'll stop with all the damn cliches and get back to the point. Now where was I?" :::Looks over her notes::: "Ah ha! Here we are." :::Clears throat:::

Seeing Discord and Strife hugging, Xena was definitely rethinking her views about the Gods. Especially these Gods standing in front of her. //They really don't like mortals knowing their true selves, do they?//

Gabrielle stood off to one side. Hoping against hope that Discord wouldn't find out what she had done to Strife, but with her luck, she knew she'd probably either read her thoughts or her son's. So in other words, she was in deep shit. Maybe if she started being nice to everyone they might forgive her. She glanced over towards mother and son and saw Discord glaring daggers at her. //Too late. Just let it be a quick death and I'll be happy.//

//Not yet, Blondie, but don't worry. I'll get even with you sooner or later.// Discord turned back to her son and nephew. Looking right at Cupid, she smiled a rather sweet smile, which made Cupid nervous.

//What?// He thought, looking around and about himself. He backed up a bit when Discord walked right up to him and hugged the life out of him. //Ooo-kay. *That* was a tad unexpected.// Cupid turned to give his cousin...lover...whatever a questioning look. Strife shrugged his shoulders and mouthed, "Don't ask me."

"Um? What was that for?" Cupid asked, wondering what had suddenly gotten into the 'Mistress of Mean'.

Discord just smiled some more, winked at Cupid, turned and headed over to her brother.

Cupid turned to his lover. "Do you think she knows about us?"

Strife tried to be serious, but just couldn't help himself. "Tha way ya scream, I wouldn't be surprised if tha whole Pantheon knew 'bout us." Having said this, Strife broke out in giggles.

Cupid glared at his cousin and cuffed him a good one upside the back of his head. Strife stopped giggling and pouted at his lover. Cupid just smirked and walked away, heading towards Argo to get some more water. Damn, he was thirsty!

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

Discord made her way over to where her brother and his lover were standing and hugged the life out of Joxer.

Joxer had the same thought in his mind. He had heard rumors of how Discord treated people and was surprised...be it pleasantly surprised...to see the 'real' side to Eris. He decided he would have to have a *really* long talk with Ares once they finally got to Thebes. After receiving his hug, Joxer watched as Discord made her way towards Ares and did the same to him. Joxer smiled when he saw the happy look on his lover's face.

Ares always liked it whenever Discord was in a good mood. She'd go around hugging him and Strife all day long if they weren't careful. Of course, not everyone knew Eris could even *be* in a happy mood, so it was a thing to be cherished. Although, he had no idea whatsoever as to why his sister was so happy right now. //Guess she finally got her way or something.//

Watching the display of uncharacteristic affection coming from the Goddess of Discord, Gabrielle asked, "Since you still have your powers. Who did you marry?"

Discord turned towards the annoying bard with a blank look on her face. "Huh?" Realizing her mistake, Discord was quick to come up with an answer. "Oh, just some mortal I've been seeing for awhile."

Hearing Eris' answer, Ares crinkled his eyebrows together. "What mortal? You weren't seeing anyone before I left."

//Oops!// Discord backed up a bit and made as if to look up into the sky. "Wow, would ya look at the time. I must be heading back now. See you guys later. Bye-bye!" With that, she quickly disappeared in a shower of blue sparkles.

Joxer turned a questioning look towards his lover. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling the answer to that is waiting for us in Thebes," Ares replied, wondering what was going on.

Before any more questions could be asked, Xena cleared her throat. "Let's set up camp here for the night and head out first thing tomorrow morning." When all she received were nods, Xena walked over to Argo and began to unfasten the bedrolls from their resting-place. She had a few questions of her own, but they could wait till they actually got to where they were going.

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

"Aphrodite! Eris! Front and center!" Zeus bellowed, leaning back against his desk. At Zeus' summons, two flashes of light appeared in his study. Zeus got up stiffly from the edge of his desk and walked over to where his two daughters were standing. Looking at Aphrodite, he crossed his arms across his chest. "Is everything ready?"

"Just about. We still have a few things left to do, but everything should be finished by the time they arrive in Thebes."

Zeus smiled. "Good." He turned towards Discord. "Did you do as I asked?"

Discord shrugged. "Yeah, I did. Blondie started asking questions though, so I got out of there as soon as I could."

Zeus frowned. "What sort of questions?"

"She wanted to know who I married since I still had my powers." Zeus opened his mouth to speak, but Discord quickly continued. "Everything's fine now. I just told them I married some mortal I've been seeing."

Zeus sighed at this bit of unexpected news. "Was anyone suspicious of your answer?" He asked as he walked back towards his desk, moved to his chair and sat down.

Discord furrowed her brows in thought. "Mainly Ares was, but he's always been suspicious of anything and everything I do or say, so I didn't really worry about it too much."

Zeus rested his head on his hands. "I don't know whether to be relieved or worried about this." He sighed as he rubbed his hand over his face. "Let's just make sure everything goes according to plan. I don't want anything to spoil this, understood?"

The two younger Goddesses nodded their heads in understanding.

"Good. Now, go finish the preparations while I hold a meeting with the others." Aphrodite and Discord slightly bowed their heads before disappearing in twin flashes of light.

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

Wanting to get a fresh and quick start in the morning, the six travelers sat down around the campfire and ate some dried rabbit jerky that Gabrielle and Xena had procured the day before.

Once again, Cupid was eating like he hadn't in ages.

Ares would turn green once in a while watching Cupid indulge himself. He had to keep reminding himself to stop if he didn't want to be sick. Of course, he had absolutely no idea why he kept getting sick to his stomach over the strangest things. He was used to bloodshed, disemboweled warriors, even decapitation, for Zeus' sake! But whenever he thought about food, he would turn green and proceed to toss his cookies wherever he stood. There was definitely something strange going on and he vowed to find out exactly what it was.

Between the drinking water like crazy and the constant vomiting, Joxer had a feeling something very strange was happening to his lover, yet he had no idea what it could be. Did Ares and Cupid contract some weird form of sickness while they had been at the lodge? If so, was it contagious? Or just a minor thing going around?

Joxer turned his attention from Ares to Cupid and raised an eyebrow. Cupid was wolfing his food down as if he thought someone would come by and snatch it from him. Plus, Cupid was drinking water like it was going out of style just like Ares was. At this rate, they would have to stop by a lake or a pond to refill their water skins.

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

Strife settled back to eat his own dinner, when he turned his head to glance at his lover. There was something very weird going on, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on it. He looked on as Cupid continued to scarf down his meal, oblivious to Strife's continuously quirking eyebrow.

As Cupid kept right on eating, he looked over towards Strife and found him staring at him with a strange look on his face. Cupid finished chewing his food, swallowed it and squinted his eyes at his lover. "What's up?"

Strife blinked then flushed as he realized Cupid had caught him staring. "I thought ya didn't like eatin' meat?"

Cupid was about to pop another piece of jerky into his mouth, but stopped in mid-pop at Strife's questioning. "I don't," he began as he did indeed pop the jerky into his mouth. "I'm just hungry and there isn't anything else for me to eat."

"Um, ooo-kay. What 'bout all tha water ya've been drinkin'?" Strife asked as he watched Cupid's hand reach down and pick up yet another piece of jerky.

Cupid rolled his eyes and sighed. "It's kinda hot during the day and so I like, drink when I'm thirsty." When Strife gave Cupid a pointed look, Cupid finally lost it. "What in Tartarus is with the interrogation? I can't do anything without you being nosy!?" He yelled before breaking down into tears.

//Uh, shit!// Strife leaned over and took Cupid into his arms. "I'm sorry, babe. I'm jus' worried 'bout ya and Unc. Ya'll have been actin' so strange tha last few hours," Strife said as he gently rocked his cousin back and forth. He looked down when he felt Cupid's body go limp. //He must've been tired.//

Cupid had fallen asleep halfway through Strife's apology.

//I hope there's nothin' wrong with ya, babe,// Strife thought as he gently laid Cupid down on to their bedroll. He then laid himself down beside his cranky lover and fell asleep.

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

With Gabrielle already asleep, Xena watched the byplay between Cupid and Strife, curious as to what they were talking about. She looked on as she saw Cupid continue to eat while Strife avidly watched him. She raised an eyebrow when she heard Cupid faintly yelling something about interrogations and someone, she assumed Strife, being nosy. Xena kept her expression neutral as she saw Cupid break out in tears and Strife cradling him while whispering something to Cupid to help calm him down, she guessed.

When Strife and Cupid settled down to sleep, Xena turned her attention towards her father and Joxer. Her eyes went wide and looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets when she saw Ares suddenly break down into tears. //Ares? Crying!?// She thought as she continued to stare at the display. She had a strange feeling she knew what was happening to her father and half brother, but surely that couldn't be. They were mortals now, not Gods. Course, even knowing Gods could do such a thing, always gave her the willies. It just didn't seem normal.

Too tired to debate with herself the inner workings of Gods, Xena stretched out on to her bedroll and closed her eyes, hoping things would work themselves out in Thebes.

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

As Joxer was contemplating the things he'd witnessed between Cupid and Ares, he suddenly turned his head when he heard Ares cry. Looking on with concern, Joxer placed an arm around Ares' shoulders. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Ares leaned into Joxer's embrace and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I have no idea! I was watching Cupid and Strife talk, when he started to cry and Strife took him in his arms and began rocking him. I was the *God of War* for Zeus' sake and I'm sitting here crying for no damn reason!" As he said this he let loose a few more tears.

"That's it. When we finally arrive in Thebes, I'm taking you *and* Cupid to see a healer. There is definitely something wrong with the two of you." Joxer stated as he rubbed a hand up and down Ares' back, trying to soothe him.

Ares swiped at the remaining tears on his face as he nodded his head in agreement. Tired from their day's activities, Ares moved to lay down on the bedroll, bringing Joxer along with him and quickly fell asleep.

As Ares brought him down with him on to the bedroll, Joxer continued his rubbing of Ares' back before he too fell asleep.

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

They finally arrived at the outskirts of Thebes after traveling for three days. Nothing much happened on their way there.

Cupid continued eating like a pig.

Ares still felt sick to his stomach most of the time, but it fluctuated on and off, so he was actually able to keep most of his food down instead of leaving little presents on his great-great grandmother's domain.

Father and son kept drinking water like they were forever dehydrated.

Strife and Joxer still worried about their lovers, but they mutually decided to wait till they found a healer before bringing their worries up around them again. They didn't feel up to the task of having to continuously comfort and apologize to them whenever one of them said something.

Joxer couldn't stand seeing the normally hard and angry War God break down in tears.

Strife didn't mind having Cupid cry once in a while, especially as he did have Aphrodite as a mother, but doing it all the time whenever he asked about something, was a bit too much for him.

They walked through the city gates looking around for a healer, but for some reason, they had this strange feeling that they should go to Aphrodite's temple first. So the six travelers headed in the direction of where they knew her temple was.

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

Upon seeing Xena and her companions, one of Aphrodite's priestesses quickly and stealthily ran towards her temple. When the priestess went inside, she hurriedly ran towards the altar.

As soon as Aphrodite sensed her priestess go inside her temple, she waited until she went up to the altar before making herself visible. "Are they here yet?"

Bowing slightly, the priestess shyly smiled. "Yes, M'Lady. They should be here in a few moments."

"Oh, goodie!" Aphrodite squealed, clapping her hands together in bubbliness. Sensing the others coming closer, she became serious once again. "Hurry into the inner rooms and pass the word."

The priestess bowed once more before taking off towards the inner rooms.

Aphrodite giggled then disappeared in a shower of golden sparkles.

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

As the six travelers made their way towards the steps of Aphrodite's temple, Ares suddenly stopped, wrinkling his eyebrows together. "Hey, guys?"

The others stopped and turned as one to look at him questioningly.

"What is it, Ares?" Xena asked, giving her father a curious look.

"Doesn't it seem strange that we would be heading for Dite's temple instead of looking for a healer? Especially since Cupid and I aren't feeling so hot and all," Ares replied, raising an eyebrow at his daughter.

Xena paused as she thought about what Ares had just said. She had a strange notion that something was herding her and the others into the temple on purpose. Deciding to test out a theory she had, she began to walk away from the temple.

She had only gotten a few feet away, when she suddenly made an about face and proceeded to walk right back to where her companions were standing, watching her in confusion.

"What were you trying to do?" Joxer asked when he saw the look of irritation cross Xena's features.

Xena sighed. "I was trying to go back towards the front gate when I found myself back here instead."

"I don't believe it," Gabrielle stated skeptically. "Let me try." She then did exactly as Xena had. When she found herself standing next to Xena once more, she let out a growl. "This makes absolutely no sense!"

"When has anything the Gods ever done made any sense?" Xena replied, looking dead center at her relatives, who mimed whistling and suddenly found the sky fascinating.

Gabrielle looked from Xena to the three ex Gods and sighed. "I suppose you do have a point there."

"As amusing as this situation is, what do we do now? Are we going to go inside or are we going to stand out here all day like idiots?" Ares chimed in. He was becoming very impatient and irritable. For some damn reason, his lower back was starting to bother him and he just wanted to get this done with so he could sit down.

"Well, seeing as we have no choice in the matter, we go inside," Xena replied as she turned back towards the entrance to the temple and began walking up the steps.

The others exchanged glances then quickly followed after Xena.

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

As Xena and her companions walked through the main temple doors, they all felt a strange tingle encompass their bodies. When the tingling had subsided, they were startled to find that their clothing had changed.

"What in the name of Hades' butt plug happened to my clothes!" Ares shouted, receiving a few raised eyebrows at the weird curse.

"'Hades' butt plug', Ares?" Xena asked, trying her damnedest to keep the smirk off her face.

When Ares realized what he had said, he thought he would die right there in Aphrodite's temple from embarrassment. "Look. That was a long time ago. I was young, dumb..."

"And full of cum," Strife whispered to Cupid, who snorted and smacked his lover upside the back of his head.

"That was wrong, dude," Cupid whispered back.

Ares went on with his explanation, ignorant of the discussion between his son and nephew, when Xena raised a hand to forestall any more of Ares' explanation.

"Okay, that was more than I wanted to know," Gabrielle grimaced.

Xena cocked an eyebrow at her lover as she slightly nodded her head in agreement. Before Ares could retaliate, Xena spoke up. "Ahem. Anyway, shall we continue on?"

There was a chorus of 'yeah', 'yup' and 'lead the way'.

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

As they began to walk towards the temple's inner rooms, Xena shook her head in amusement when they had found out about their changed clothing. She hadn't really noticed it before due to Ares' sudden outburst.

Strife had been decked out in soft looking black leather pants and a sky blue Chin silk shirt. Which had actually made him look extremely attractive. She remembered suppressing a grin when she had seen the look of awe cross Cupid's features.

She remembered looking down at herself and mentally cursing. //A dress!? What do I have to wear a damn dress for?// Xena had found herself wearing a short dark blue dress with matching weapons. //I don't know who dressed me, but I'm going to hurt them when I find out.//

Gabrielle had been dressed in a beautiful long flowing pink gown with jewelry to match. If Xena weren't the essence of self-control, she would have jumped her lover right where she stood. //Damn! Never have I ever seen Gabrielle look so hot!// She remembered lightly shaking her head of the errant thought, as she moved to glance at the others in the temple.

Cupid had found himself wearing soft brown leather pants, which matched nicely with his ever present quiver of arrows. She had watched as Strife gave his lover an approving look before leaning over and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, which had made the ex Love God blush.

When she had moved her attention over to Ares and Joxer, she had almost gasped in surprise.

Joxer had found himself wearing skin tight black leather pants and a white Chin silk shirt with a black vest to match the ensemble. She had never seen Joxer look so damn good! She had had an idea though, when Gabrielle had told her about that one time Aphrodite had enchanted that bell. Every time the damn thing chimed, Joxer was dressed much like he is now and was one Tartarus of a good fighter. Gabrielle had also told her that he had been extremely romantic to boot too!

Ares, on the other hand, had been dressed in brown leather pants and a red Chin silk shirt. He had actually looked rather benign in those clothes of his. She remembered she had been about to comment on his nice clothing, when he had let out that strange curse. //He may not have liked his outfit, but from the way Joxer had been eyeing him, I'm sure he had approved.//

After the whole Ares' discussing his reason for the curse, they then proceeded to go deeper into the temple.

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

Once they were completely inside of the temple, they made their way towards the inner rooms. Every temple had inner rooms. This was where the Gods or Goddesses of Olympus would hold parties, orgies, ceremonies, whatever. It was really one huge room, like that of a King's banquet hall, but was decorated in the symbols and other adoration's of the God whose temple it was at the time.

When the travelers finally made their way inside the inner room, they came to an abrupt halt. A look of awe and surprise on each person's face.

"Oh. My. Gods!" Strife squealed when he saw what had been waiting for them.

Standing at the front with big smiles on their faces; were Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite and Eris.

Before anyone could utter a word, Ares closed his mouth, which he hadn't realized was even open and demanded, "What in Tartarus is going on here? What's with these clothes we're wearing and why on earth are there so many people here?"

Hera smiled before walking down the aisle towards her children. "What's going on is a wedding. Why you're wearing the clothes, is because the wedding is for the four of you. And last, but not least, the reason there are so many people here is because they are all here as witnesses to this special day."

"Wedding!?" Ares and Joxer squeaked, looking from Hera to each other and then back at Hera. Eyes wide and mouths open in shock.

"Wedding!" Strife and Cupid shouted happily as they took hold of each other's arm and danced around in a circle.

People were breaking down in giggles and guffaws as they watched the two younger men dance around and chant 'we're getting married, we're getting married' over and over in time with each other.

"Yes, a wedding. You *do* want to get your powers and Godhood back, don't you, Ares?" Zeus replied. He had walked up behind Hera when she had let the 'cat out of the bag' so to speak.

It took awhile for Ares' brain to catch up with his mouth. He looked over and saw his son and nephew doing their happy dance while Joxer stood next to him with a glazed over look.

Did he want to get his Godhood and powers back?

Fuck yeah! Being mortal sucked donkey dick.

Did he want to marry Joxer? He turned his head to look at Joxer, the man who made him feel loved. The man who could turn him into mush when they had sex.

Smiling, Ares decided that yeah, he would really like to be with Joxer forever. Suddenly, his smile turned into a frown. If they did get married, *he'd* still be around forever, but Joxer would die of old age.

In the span of a few seconds, Ares came to a concrete decision. He didn't care if Joxer would die one day; he would just have to make the most of their limited time together.

Turning his full attention towards his lover, Ares smiled. "Joxer, will you marry me?"

Joxer blinked a couple of times before his brain registered the abrupt question. Without even thinking, he blurted, "Yes! Yes, Ares. I will marry you."

After Joxer had given his answer, the assembled guests all clapped and cheered.

Aphrodite swiped a tear from her eye. "Gods, I love happy endings," she said as she conjured up a hankie and daintily blew her nose.

Discord rolled her eyes and wiped at a few tears that had dared to escape.

Zeus held up a hand to quiet down their guests. "What about you guys?" He asked, looking over at where Strife and Cupid continued dancing.

"Yes!" Both of the young Godlings shouted as they stopped their dancing and ran towards the dais the elder Gods had stood by when they had first walked in.

Ares and Joxer looked on after the younger men and rolled their eyes. //Kids!// They both thought.

"Ahem," Zeus cleared his throat. "Are you two ready, or should we just stand around waiting?"

Joxer blushed and swiftly walked over to where his soon to be stepson and nephew/son-in-law waited.

Ares grumbled a bit, hating it when his father treated him like he was a little kid, and walked over to join Joxer and his children next to the dais.

Zeus and Hera exchanged looks and made their way back over to stand in front of the dais.

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

Before the ceremony could begin, they needed to have the best men...uh...people stand next to the grooms, or whatever you would call four men getting hitched.

Zeus looked over to where Aphrodite and Discord stood. "Ladies, if you would be so kind?"

With this, Aphrodite walked over to where Cupid stood and gave him a hug before taking her place next to him.

Discord walked over to Strife, gave him a bone-crushing hug and whispered, "I'm so proud of you."

Strife smiled and blinked back a few tears of his own. His mother had never, as far as he could remember, told him she was proud of him. He knew she loved him. He knew she had always wanted him to be happy, but she never ever told him she was ever proud of him. He thought he would just break down right there in front of everyone, but didn't when he felt Cupid take his hand and squeeze it gently.

Zeus smiled at the scene between the mothers and sons. Looking over at Ares and Joxer, he realized that they needed their best men...people also. "Xena? Gabrielle? Would you two be so kind as to get your butts over here, please?"

Startled, the two women walked down the aisle to stand in front of Zeus and Hera. When they didn't move from their positions, Zeus sighed. "Xena, please stand next to your father. Gabrielle, you stand next to Joxer."

As soon as the two women got into position, Zeus turned to Hera and smiled. "Would you care to take over now, dearest?"

Hera raised an eyebrow at the endearment before she made her way over to where Zeus had stood in front of the dais. Clearing her throat, she began. "Family and friends. We are gathered here today to join these four men in the eternal bonds of marriage." She paused for a moment to let that statement sink in.

She then turned slightly towards her grandsons. "Cupid. Strife. Please face each other."

As soon as the two Godlings complied, Hera turned her gaze towards Cupid. "Do you Cupid, God of Love, and son of Ares and Aphrodite; take Strife, God of Mischief and son of Eris; to be your wedded husband for all eternity?"

"I do," Cupid replied, giving Strife's hand a loving squeeze.

Smiling, Hera moved her gaze to Strife. "Do you Strife, God of Mischief and son of Eris; take Cupid, God of Love, and son of Ares and Aphrodite; to be your wedded husband for all eternity?"

"I do!" Strife shouted so all that were present would know he had agreed.

Hera and Zeus both poked a finger in the ear closest to Strife and wiggled it about. "I think I'm deaf now," Zeus whispered to Hera, who smiled sweetly and nodded her head in agreement.

Composing herself, Hera went on. "If there is any one here who thinks this union should not take place, speak now or forever hold your tongue." When no one said a word, Hera sighed.

"Good. Let all who bear witness; from this day forth, Cupid and Strife will hereby be known as husband and...uh?...husband." Looking back down at her two grandsons, she smiled. "You two may now kiss, but please, for the sake of the others, make it quick."

As the giggles died down from those present, Strife leaned over towards Cupid and placed a quick kiss on to his lips.

After Cupid and Strife kissed, the crowd stood up as they cheered and applauded before Zeus cleared his throat. "Please take your seats. We still have one more couple to marry."

When the crowd quieted back down, Hera moved to stand in front of Ares and Joxer. "Ready?" At their nods, she began.

"Do you Ares, God of War, and son of Zeus and Hera; take Joxer, son of Jonus; to be your wedded husband for all eternity?"

Letting loose a smile so bright it could light Olympus itself, Ares replied, "I do."

"Do you Joxer, son of Jonus; take Ares, God of War, and son of Zeus and Hera; to be your wedded husband for all eternity?"

"I do."

When Joxer agreed, Ares looked him right in the eye and mouthed, "I love you."

Joxer saw this and mouthed, "I love you, too."

Trying to keep her tears in check, Hera lightly cleared her throat before continuing. "If there is any one here who thinks this union should not take place, speak now or forever hold your tongue." She glared at the crowd gathered around. //You guys better not say anything!//

When no one said anything, either because no one objected or no one wanted to feel Hera's wrath, she smirked. //That's what I thought.//

"Let all who bear witness; from this day forth, Ares and Joxer will hereby be known as husband and husband." She then looked down at her son and son-in-law. "You two may now kiss."

Not needing to be told twice, Ares moved closer to his new husband and kissed him with all the passion he felt. After a few minutes passed, Zeus cleared his throat. "Okay, that's enough you two. There *are* others present."

Reluctantly breaking the kiss, Ares backed up a step, never taking his eyes off of Joxer.

"Before we head out to the garden, Hera and I have a few things we'd like to give the newlyweds," Zeus spoke to the gathered guests.

Leaning towards Cupid, Strife whispered, "What do ya think he's got up his sleeve?"

"I don't know, but I'm like, dying to find out," Cupid whispered back as he licked his husband's ear.

Strife grunted. "Ya keep that up and we won't be stickin' around ta find out."

Cupid just giggled and returned his attention towards his grandfather.

"First things first. Ares. Cupid. Come closer please."

Father and son looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and moved closer to Zeus.

"These," Zeus began as two identically wrapped gifts materialized in his hands, "Are from Hera." He then handed one to each of them.

After the two men took their gift from Zeus, they began to unwrap it.

When Ares finally saw what was inside, he lifted his head and raised an eyebrow at his father. "Uh? Thanks, Zeus. Hera. But what's with the baby clothes?"

"Yeah. What's the deal?" Cupid asked as he looked up from his own gift.

Before Zeus could reply, Hera spoke up. "Tell me. Have you two been feeling rather...strange lately?"

"Yeah."

"So?"

Suddenly, Xena started to giggle. "Oh, Gods! I knew it!" She then broke out in hysterics at the puzzled looks she was receiving from her father and half-brother.

"What? What do you know, that I don't?" Gabrielle asked as she looked from Xena to Hera and back again.

"Yes. Could someone please tell me what's going on?" Ares asked, giving his daughter a stern look.

"Ares, you and Cupid are with child," Hera replied.

Ares blanched at this. "What!?"

"We are?" Cupid whispered.

"They are?" Strife asked, looking at Hera for confirmation. When she just smiled and nodded, Strife whooped with joy. "Hot damn! I'm gonna be a father!" He then proceeded to happily jump around before breaking out in his patented victory dance.

Joxer's eyes rolled up into his head before he collapsed, falling to the ground in a heap.

"Joxer!" Ares cried out.

Seeing Joxer on the ground, Ares made his way over to his husband and knelt down beside him. Lightly tapping Joxer's face, Ares tried rousing him. After a few moments, Joxer finally recovered enough to let Ares take him by the hand and lift him up into a standing position. Ares kept a firm hold on Joxer, making sure if he did faint again; he would be there to support him.

"A...a baby? Mine and Joxer's?" Ares asked, looking at his parents. Before either one of them could reply, Aphrodite walked up to him.

"Actually, bro. It's babies, not baby."

"Ba...ba...babies? As in more then one?" Ares stuttered, not quite believing what he was hearing.

Aphrodite bounced up and down with excitement. "Twins, to be exact. Isn't it just wonderful?"

Upon hearing this, Ares turned to face his sister and threw up all over her sandals. "Eew! Like that is totally grody!" She yelled before waving a hand, making the mess disappear. "Remind me to never give you good news again."

"Sorry," he muttered.

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

Cupid's mouth opened and closed a couple of times, unable to form any coherent words. He turned his attention from his grandparents towards Strife, watching him continue to whoop and holler with joy. He had no real problems with being pregnant, especially since it was Strife's baby he was carrying. But all in all, the news had been a bit of a shock to him.

He was filled with happiness and joy to know that Strife was excited about being a father, but Strife wasn't going to be the one to carry it. *He* was. Not like that was a bad thing or anything, but now his figure was going to be ruined. And it wouldn't do to have the God of Love looking like a beached whale.

As Strife danced around, he noticed the mix of emotions crossing his husband's face. He stopped his dancing and moved closer to his beloved. "Cupe? Are you okay with this? You *do* want our child, don't you?" Strife asked as tears began to form in his eyes.

Sensing the distress in her baby, Discord quietly walked over and stood behind Strife. Looking over her son's shoulder, she glared icily at her son-in-law. //You better not fuck this up, flyboy.//

Cupid, hearing his mother-in-law's threat, moved towards Strife till he was nose to nose with him. He glanced briefly at Discord, before turning his full attention back towards his husband. "Of course I want our baby. I was only thinking of what my worshippers would say when I began to show." Strife pulled away at this.

"But," Cupid continued on as he pulled Strife back to his chest, "I thought it over and realized, I really don't give a fuck what they think. I'm proud to be carrying our baby and if anyone says anything, then we'll just blast them." He received a snort of laughter at this.

Strife blinked back his tears. "I'm glad. I was afraid that ya wouldn't want my baby."

"What the fuck ever gave you *that* idea? Shit, Strife. I love you and want to have this baby of ours. Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?" Strife asked, crinkling his eyebrows together.

Cupid leaned forward until his lips were barely an inch away from Strife's ear. "Next time, it's your turn," Cupid whispered as he flicked out his tongue and licked around Strife's earring.

Strife growled low in his throat. "Cupe, I swear on tha River Styx, ya do that one more time and I will take ya right here in front of everyone."

"Promises, promises," Cupid smirked as he turned around and headed over towards Aphrodite.

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

When the news of Cupid's and Ares' pregnancy died down a bit, Zeus turned his attention back on to the assembled guests. "Family. Friends. There is more Hera and I wish to give the new couples, so please be seated and be quiet."

As soon as the crowd settled down...again, Zeus once more turned to his son. "Ares, I have a special present to give to you." Taking a deep breath, he was about to tell what his present was when he was interrupted.

Ares sighed. "It's not a cock ring, is it?"

"Uh, no. Ares, you and I need to sit down one of these days and discuss your colorful way with words." When Ares turned red with embarrassment, Zeus continued. "Anyway, as I was saying. I have a special present to give you."

Turning towards Joxer, he smiled. "I hereby grant your husband, Joxer, immortality."

Once more, Joxer was laid out flat on the ground, the news having been too much for him.

Zeus turned towards Hera with a puzzled look on his face. "Do I have bad breath or something?"

"Woohoo!" Aphrodite exclaimed as she jumped up and down, receiving quite a few stares.

Cupid placed a hand on his bouncing mother. "Mom, quit jiggling! Your attributes are falling out!"

"Sorry," she apologized, smiling brightly; not at all sorry in the least.

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