"The Morning After 'A Day in the Life'"

Mea culpa : The characters and backstory referenced here are the property of others - namely MCA/Universal, Mr. Tapert, Studios USA, and probably plenty of others besides. They are used without permission, for nonprofit fan uses. Archive freely, but let me know first.

Let me know what you think... I like to hear what people think of my writing. Really.

Spoiler Warning : This work is set immediately after the events depicted in the Xena : Warrior Princess episode "A Day In The Life," and many of the events shown in that episode are referenced herein. In addition, this piece in general was directly inspired by that episode, and in particular, one rather memorable line of dialogue.

Subtext Warning : There is nothing overtly explicit in here, though how you choose to interpret this description of what occurs between Xena and Gabrielle one fine morning is entirely up to you. Still, this can easily be classified as an alternative piece of fanfiction. While nothing sexual is detailed, there are several possible interpretations of what is stated, and the subtext ain't exactly subtle. Heck, I even used the word "throbbing."

Xenite Disclaimer : Gabrielle's appetite for nutbread was not permanently harmed during the production of this work.

"Why exactly did you decide to cook this morning, Xena? You know you can't cook," Gabrielle complained, leaning back against a tree. Over the course of their travels together, she'd learned the hard way that the vast catalog of Xena's many skills did not include preparing tasty, edible meals. Still, something did smell awfully good...

A tinge of... it wasn't exactly distrust, but something very similar - much like the feeling you get when you suspect an especially devious prank is coming - lingered from yesterday to interfere with her enjoyment of the aroma. After the disagreements - the misappropriated scroll and the fiasco of the pan and the whip (not to mention hiding the soap) - Gabrielle found herself unsure whether she was being treated to breakfast as an apology or a punishment. Xena was quite capable of doing either, and the fact that they had apologized to each other last night didn't really reassure her : she'd still bonked the warrior in the nose with her staff...

Wait a minute, Gabrielle thought suddenly as she leaned forward over Xena's shoulder, her lesser concerns fading as another more important one supplanted them. Was that her breast dagger she was cooking with?

She leaned closer, her breath warm as it blew across the pulse throbbing in her companion's neck, sending a delicious shiver racing through the cooking warrior's body. No, she realized, it was a new knife. She must have gotten it from Minya.

Smiling slightly, Gabrielle felt a bit smug about the resolution of that little problem - even if it had cost Xena her whip. The woman was so happy with Hower's new ardor that she would have been more than happy to give them anything... except the whip back, that is.

Gabrielle couldn't quite suppress a small sigh of relief, both at Hower's change of affection and the new knife. Xena didn't care if she used one of her "working" knives to cook with (though her sword and chakram were something else entirely), but she herself was still unsettled at the thought of using a blade that had been stuck into some warlord or bandit to prepare food - no matter how clean the warrior kept it. She was perfectly willing to tease the warrior by using her chakram as a carving knife, but actually eating something that had been prepared with it? A small shudder ran through her frame, and she suppressed a wave of revulsion at the very thought. They lost more good cookware that way...

"I can so cook," the Warrior Princess protested, unaware of Gabrielle's mental wanderings as she adjusted the sizzling fish filets in the pan with the new knife's point. "I didn't grow up in a tavern for nothing." Smiling slightly, she added, "Ten winters ago, when I was still a warlord, men used to come from miles around just to beg me for the smallest taste of this. Trust me, you'll love it."

"Humph," the bard snorted, not believing a word. "Y'know," she began, "if you'd really wanted to get rid of Hower, all you'd have had to do was cook him dinner. One bite of your cooking and he'd have given up any idea of having you in domestic bliss."

"Very funny."

Hearing the edge that entered her companion's voice, Gabrielle immediately stopped teasing her, sensing she was beginning to take her comments personally. Maybe she should just apologize, and submit herself for punishment - just get it over with. Doing extra chores was a lot less painful than dealing with these tense moments. "So... um, how's the new pan working?"

"Just fine, Gabrielle."

The shortness of her answer was worrisome. Wincing, Gabrielle contemplated getting down on her knees and begging for forgiveness. It would be just like Xena to wake her to the delightful smell of breakfast cooking, then decide they needed to get started before she'd had a chance to eat. The vengeance of a Warrior Princess could be subtle. Maybe if she begged and submitted, Xena would relent and let her sate her appetite.

"Did I mention I was sorry about your whip? And... uh, how's your nose feeling?"

"Yes, Gabrielle, I know. And it's alright. My nose is fine," Xena responded offhandedly, checking on the fish again.

Maybe breakfast was meant as an apology after all, Gabrielle mused silently, beginning to relax. Or at least an attempt at returning to normal after the full day they'd had yesterday... and fishing for Xena was definitely normal.

Breathing deeply, Gabrielle savored the aroma of the baking fish. At times the warrior's obsession with fishing could be more annoying than endearing, but other times it came in very handy - especially when she was hungry... like now. Fortunately, she loved fish... though if she was going to be honest with herself, she had to admit there was very little by way of food that she didn't love.

Still, fish for breakfast wasn't usually her first choice. For a moment, she felt a twinge of sympathy for Hercules. Iolaus' obsession with eating rabbit was almost as bad as Xena's for fish.

Right now, though... she didn't mind the warrior's obsession in the slightest. "It smells great," she offered, then paused in thought and asked, "though I thought we were almost out of seasonings. What did you do to it?"

"I whipped up a sauce with some stuff I had on hand," Xena replied casually, still laboring over the pan. "I think you'll like it." One more quick movement of her hand, and she was smiling happily. "Alright... I think it's just about ready."

"Great!" Gabrielle proclaimed, eagerly holding out her plate. "I'm starving, and it smells wonderful!"

"Do you really want some?" Xena asked, playing coy.

"Oh yes," Gabrielle breathed, her eyes intense as she stared up into Xena's teasing face.

Xena smiled and gave in, offering some to her.

Pausing to savor the aroma, the bard took a small bite, her delicate teeth nipping into the warm, moist meat. "Ambrosia," she breathed, moaning in delight as she wrapped her lips around Xena's gift. The flesh was tender and juicy, and melted in her mouth as her tongue stroked over it, leaving a delicious aftertaste lingering in her mouth. The flavor was oddly familiar, decidedly appealing, and she desperately wanted more.

"Do you really like it?" Xena asked hopefully, feeling an odd need for reassurance. It had been so long since she'd done something like this for someone she truly cared about...

Moaning in appreciation of the flavor, Gabrielle nodded ecstatically as she took another bite. Her taste buds gloried in sensual abandon as her tongue played over the delicate meat, the muscular length of it poking at the flaky pieces, toying with them, spearing between the fragments and pulling them apart, milking them to bring the savory juices to the fore.

Forget nutbread... she'd found something she liked far more.

Xena watched her friend eat with some amusement. She'd long since lost the ability to work herself into such a frenzy over something like that, her years as a warlord coarsening her enjoyment of the simpler pleasures, but Gabrielle was still young and relatively inexperienced, and that made a difference.

Early on, she'd decided it would be best to wait before introducing this particular delight to her young friend. She couldn't really gauge how ready the young farm girl - which she'd been when they first met - would be to experience the rare taste until after they'd travelled together for a while. It had been the right decision, and Xena was glad she'd decided to wait, both because of the effort involved in doing it right, and because it took a certain amount of experience for the palate to truly appreciate some of the complexities waiting to delight the tongue. But, after indulging themselves with the panoply of flavors found among the Amazons, she'd known Gabrielle was ready - her obvious enjoyment of Ephiny's shyly offered treats after that night of revelry at the festival had spoken volumes about her readiness.

Despite this knowledge of her friend's newly awakened taste for experimentation and trying new things, Xena had still put off offering it to her : the last thing she'd wanted was to have Gabrielle wanting it too often - she had enough trouble keeping up with Gabrielle's appetite without giving her something else to crave. Now, in her efforts to apologize for yesterday's arguments, she'd proved her fears to be well founded. It looked like she'd done just as she feared, and had created a new hunger in Gabrielle.

It was patently obvious she loved it. Gabrielle let her whole body get involved in an activity when she was truly enjoying herself, and this was no exception : her arms were moving about, rubbing her stomach and playing with her meal, interspersed with moments of waving in the air, pointing wildly at Xena's offering and nodding happily in tribute to Xena's skills. "Ooooh, Xena," she moaned throatily, her legs thrashing blindly as she attempted to show her appreciation without missing a beat of her feeding.

The delicate pink tip of Gabrielle's tongue darted out and caressed her lips, gathering every morsel of the juices that had escaped her hungry mouth. Xena's heart pounded in her chest as Gabrielle wiped her chin and lower lip with a finger, then licked it clean, unwilling to give up any of the delightful juices. She really did like it...

Smirking in satisfaction at her cooking success, Xena gave her companion her own portion of the breakfast as well, pleased that she was enjoying it so much. Seeing Gabrielle's pleasure and obvious enjoyment was far more fulfilling and satisfying than serving herself could ever be. Banking the fire and setting aside the pan, the warrior settled in, the powerful muscles of her thighs flexing as she crouched next to her companion.

Gabrielle fell upon the tender flesh Xena offered her once more with a ravenous hunger. Purring in delight, her lips and tongue worked over the flesh, drawing out as much of the juices as she could before moving on to the next bit, sliding her teeth over the moist and tender morsels.

The bard's smile of gratitude for the added portion she'd provided was blinding, and Xena's heart melted at the sight. Gabrielle never asked for much, Xena mused, and she was so much more than just a mere travelling companion... She was a true friend, and more than an ex-warlord like her could possibly deserve. What was a whip when compared to her relationship with Gabrielle? She could always find another whip... she could never replace Gabrielle.

After taking care of a warlord's army, an evil giant, and a horny Hower, they were pretty well free of commitments - which meant she was free to indulge Gabrielle's appetite a little, she realized. It wasn't like it was a terrible imposition after all - she was enjoying herself, too. All things considered, she was perfectly content to squat here until Gabrielle was satiated. She shifted her attention back to her friend, watching Gabrielle with an indulgent smile.

It was clear Gabrielle loved what she was tasting; she paused every now and then to lick her fingers clean, savoring the droplets of tasty juices that had flowed from Xena's breakfast treat, the fluid dampening her delicate digits and glistening in the morning light. Small moans and gasps of appreciation escaped from between the bard's delightedly working pink lips, only to be smothered as she filled her mouth with Xena's delectable offering once more.

Eventually, once the edges of her hunger had been sated, Gabrielle leaned back, smiling in satisfaction. "Um... Xena?" she began, feeling the craving that still burned deep in her belly, aching for fulfillment despite Xena's attempt to satisfy it.

"Yes, Gabrielle?" Xena asked, raising an eyebrow in inquiry, though she knew full well what Gabrielle wanted and needed.

"Could I have some more?"

She looked so incredibly sweet, looking up at her with those melting green eyes... Xena didn't stand a chance of resisting, and she knew it. Not that she cared. After all, it wasn't like she didn't enjoy satisfying her. "Of course. You'll have to help me with the sauce, though... I know you liked it when I did it by myself, but I think it could be even better if you helped me."

Gabrielle unconsciously licked her lips, already looking forward to another round. "Mmm," she purred, hunger shining in her eyes. "I'd love to."

Smiling in secretive pleasure, Xena turned to rebuild the fire.

Their next journey could wait, Xena mused... Right now, she had a bard to satisfy.

Afterword : I know, I know... food metaphors in subtext fanfic have been used several times before, but after rewatching the episode, this piece was just screaming to come out (no pun intended). At least the text remained sub... mostly, and there are two different levels to it, even. <EG>

Yes, Erin. You'll notice I managed to work Ephiny into this one, too.