Work Text:
The Call
by
Pirate Turner
He stood atop a grassy knoll, fighting desperately against the manly urge to turn back around and gaze at the love making he knew was taking place just underneath the trees. He sighed as he kicked at a pebble, setting it rolling across the ground and sending a bug running for its life. They had been at it for hours now, and still he could not return. He rubbed his ear at the memory of the last time he had returned early, relieved that the sprained bone had finally healed and that Gabrielle had managed to persuade Xena not to do worse to him.
Birds sang all around him, but he took no comfort in their song. He was alone. His two best friends in all the world didn't really need him. They needed only each other and put up with him because they felt sorry for him. He was blessed by their friendship, true enough, but times like now weighed heavily upon him and made him feel as though he was truly all alone in the great big world that surrounded them.
Suddenly, a yodeling cry split through the still air. Joxer's head snapped up, his solemn face breaking into a big grin. They were done at last! He could finally return! He started to race down the hill only to end up tumbling down it instead, but when he sat up, his grin was still in tact. A hand thrust out at him, and he looked up to see Xena smiling brilliantly down at him.
The glow that lit her face was so bright that it almost hurt his eyes as she helped him to his feet. The Warrior Princess patted his shoulder approvingly, and Joxer glowed with a light all his own. "Thanks, Joxer. We needed that time." She hurried back to where she had left Gabrielle preparing their supper, a happy love song bursting from her lips that were swollen from the afternoon's activities, even as she reminded herself to make sure that Joxer gained both some down time and a whore in the next town they stopped in. It was only fair he should receive some loving too, so she'd call in a favor with her old acquaintance, Meg.
Reaching the camp site, Xena leaped over the bed rolls, landed next to her beloved partner, and spun her into an impromptu dance. Gabrielle giggled as she let Xena sweep her off her feet. Joxer grimaced and looked forlornly away, hoping that he wouldn't have to leave again. Dear Gods, weren't Amazons ever satisfied?!
The End