Chapter Text
It was almost dusk, the sun slowly setting beyond the horizon sending out hues of red and gold across the sky like spilled blood, the air almost ablaze with gold. A peaceful summer evening with the sounds of the cicadas strumming in the distance, over the sounds of the city below. It was beautiful…or it would be, if Gabrielle weren’t frantically pacing the floor of her shared apartment, face fraught with worry. It had been almost twelve hours since her roommate had returned, and while she often spent nights out late she always made sure to return before the next nightfall.
Gabrielle was afraid something bad had happened. While they lived in a relatively peaceful area, this side of the city wasn’t exactly what one would call “safe.” Break Ins, muggings, assaults and worse were relatively common. Even just last week the kindly older man who ran the bodega down the street had been killed in a robbery gone wrong. And sure, her roommate– her friend– she was tough as nails. Tougher, probably, if the last barfight she’d witnessed her in said anything of her strength, but even Xena couldn’t outrun a bullet.
She shook her head and turned to their cat, Argo, and pursed her lips.
“Where is she…I swear I worry about her more than her mother does.”
Argo just stared back, blinking once, then leaping from the couch and sprinting into Xena’s empty room.
“Yeah, you miss her too I see.”
She just sighed and ran her hand through her hair, sitting down on the couch where Argo had been a moment ago finding the spot still warm, but unable to sit still; stretching her legs out, then crossing them, then getting up again to pace some more. Worrying wasn’t going to help change the situation any, and damn, did she need to relax for a minute.
Tea, tea would help.
Gabrielle headed over to their small kitchenette; cozy. It was cozy , not small, she remembered telling Xena when she had scrunched up her nose as they had toured the place. She grabbed the kettle and some peppermint tea to steep while she heard the click of the kettle–or was it the door–? Pouring out the hot water into her waiting mug. It had been a mug that Xena had given her the year prior, a gift for her birthday. A picture of the two of them the night they had gone out drinking and Gabrielle had somehow ended up wearing some kind of jester hat from someplace she couldn’t remember. She hadn’t liked the photo at first, but now when she saw it it brought a small smile to her lips.
The smile suddenly fell, however, as she turned around to see that in fact it had been the door, not the kettle, and that Xena was struggling to get into the apartment, something red dripping onto the floor as she winced in pain.
“Xena!!”
Gabrielle immediately forgot her tea on the counter and rushed over to help her friend, who was now doubled over in pain but had been able to get the front door shut.
"Is that... blood?" Gabrielle asked hesitantly.
"You don't want to be involved in this." Xena snapped as she limped toward the kitchen.
Still, Gabrielle followed her.
Xena turned on the tap, and Gabrielle watched Xena's blood mingle with the water, leaving pink streaks in the sink. "Are you... hurt?"
Xena was quiet for a while. "It's not mine." she eventually confessed. "Most of it, anyway."
Gabrielle's heart skipped a beat. She was worried for her friend, but she knew that pushing the subject and questioning her further wouldn't get anywhere so instead she focused on trying to help stop the bleeding.
"Here, give me your hand."
Xena reluctantly let the shorter blonde take her by the wrist and wash her wound in the kitchen sink, a large gouge from her wrist to her thumb...very obviously cut by something sharp, like a blade. It would likely need stitches. Gabrielle sighed.
"Xena, you know you can't keep getting involved in situations like this...I know you're strong, but what if someone really hurts you one day? What if–"
"Gabrielle, it was nothing. Trust me. You know I try to do what I can to help, only when I can. This is my job, after all."
"And what is this job of yours? What are they making you do? Because every time you get back home-"
-"They're not making me do anything." Xena interrupted.
"Don't tell me you hurt people by choice." Gabrielle whispered. "I don't… I don’t believe that."
"You know nothing about me, then."
The room bathes in an uncomfortable silence for a while, but Gabrielle composed herself. She couldn’t let her own feelings get in the way of Xena's safety. She brought out the first aid kit from the sink's cabinet and took a bandage roll. "Hold still, okay?"
Xena didn’t object, silently giving permission for Gabrielle to bandage her wound.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Xena asked.
Gabrielle looked up. "Of you? Never."
Xena looked at her with wonder in her eyes. It was strange, their friendship, because really the two were nothing alike. The blonde was very much a more outgoing, friendly bookworm, and Xena…well, she didn’t have any friends besides Gabrielle. People didn’t really know much about her, either, and she preferred to keep it that way. But Gabrielle had somehow wormed her way into her life, broken past her walls, through her solitude, and now she couldn’t imagine life without her.
What was that saying? Opposites attract. As she looked down at the blonde tending to her wounds, now bandaging her hand, Xena couldn’t help but think for a moment that in this case, it must be true.
“C’mon…you should head to bed now, it’s late.” Gabrielle fussed, gently trying to coax the dark haired woman from their tiny kitchen towards her room. She was right, of course, by now the sun had set and it was well past midnight, into the early hours of the morning, folks already getting up and headed off to work.
Xena got up and let the blonde lead her down the hall and into her bedroom, where she promptly collapsed, muscles aching the moment her head touched the pillow. It was silent between them; no words needed to be said, but it felt like there was a growing distance between them as of late, especially with Xena’s mysterious late nights out and her refusal to explain the continuous injuries and disappearances. Of course, Gabrielle had her suspicions; she’d heard rumors about the woman before they’d ever become friends, but she knew not to pry. Xena would tell her when she was ready, and that was fine with her.
But, as she watched her friend fall asleep, gently tucking her in and making sure the covers were pulled up over her, she wondered again if they’d ever speak about the things that happened those late nights, or if this growing chasm between her would grow until they split apart.