”Don’t you dare!” Gabrielle breathed jokingly, clasping both hands around the back of Xena’s neck.

”I think it sounds like a pretty great idea,” Xena smiled, having teased Gabrielle about hurtling her into the river. She had no intention of doing so, but Gabrielle’s reactions were … well. They were priceless.

In response, Gabrielle held on tighter, her entire body tensing with the sense of impending chill the water would give. Even though she knew Xena wouldn’t dare throw her in, she was still cold from the misty morning air. She squirmed a little in Xena’s arms, somewhat comforted when she was let back down to her feet. Xena was so delicate with her that she felt even more protected than usual. Could Xena really be any more protective than she always was? It would surely be entertaining to see.

Xena wasn’t often great with the emotional aspect of any situation, but she was there for Gabrielle in that moment. She stayed at her side and stripped off her leathers to stand next to her love, naked. She helped to undress her, too.

Gabrielle’s legs were cold up to her thighs, where she waded in the water, but her arms were hot again with Xena’s touch. She looked innocently up at her, batting her lashes quite accidentally.

”You’d better not keep up that act,” Xena teased, well aware that it wasn’t an act at all. ”Or I’ll never let you rest.”

”Doesn’t sound very threatening,” Gabrielle smiled, lifting her arms when Xena motioned for her to do so. ”What? … Why am I doing this? You already took off my top …”

”No reason,” Xena moaned, openly staring at the bard that she’d fantasized about secretly for so long.

Xena smiled when she saw that it was all right, and that Gabrielle was inviting those glances – even holding up her arms for another moment before dropping them down at to the water once more.

”You’re horrible,” Gabrielle smiled.

”You encourage me,” Xena laughed, pulling her infamous grin as she waded in deeper, slipping into the water for a swim. Gabrielle was following closely behind her, swimming lazily out to the rocks on the other side, where it was deep.

”The current’s not too bad here,” Gabrielle whispered, feeling as though she should be quiet. Nature seemed to suggest it.

”Funny,” Gabrielle smirked, an eyebrow slanted at Xena’s last violent quip. ”Very funny.”

”What? It could have been worse.”

”You and your sense of humor,” Gabrielle smiled at last, tending to the small fire which had been dying on-and-off for hours. ”It’s gonna get us both in some real trouble one of these days.”

”Not that we have to worry about that,” Xena grinned, sitting haphazardly on a fallen tree to unsheathe her sword. ”I’d say I take pretty good care of us. Wouldn’t you?”

”That’s NOT the point,” Gabrielle laughed quietly, blushing in the glow of the fire. Glad for the excuse of its heat.

It was difficult to keep certain feelings from surfacing, and whenever Xena alluded to her strength and the fact that she could take care of things, Gabrielle felt her cheeks color themselves pink. Her mind was filled with images of the warrior riding bareback to come to her rescue, or handling that heavy sword with perfect expertise in each fight. Gabrielle often found it quite difficult to push those thoughts aside as she went to sleep.

What was strange through it all was that she had convinced herself that was normal – that everyone felt that way for their friends.

Xena stared curiously at Gabrielle’s back, noticing that the bard often turned around mid-smile, and wouldn’t face her again until it was necessary. Gabrielle was acting even stranger lately, and it was usually during their teasing. Could Gabrielle feel it too? Xena wondered. Or was she alone in feeling the way she did with that powerful affection for her friend?

Biting her cheek so as not to smirk openly, Xena got up from the tree, and wielded the sword in her right hand to step over toward her blond companion. We’ll just see, she figured.

”I hope this fire dies out soon,” Gabrielle said quietly, doing her part to try and string along some meaningless conversation that would detract from any possible embarrassment.

”Yeah. I’d hate to let it burn,” Xena said just as quietly, only a step or two behind the beautiful bard. She had picked her sword into the earth, and was leaning there on it, awaiting that inevitable twist of Gabrielle’s hips to look her in the eyes.