Joxer found himself grinning, too. "Yeah, well, don�t assume that working for peace changed that any." A not-unfamiliar thought grazed on a field in his brain - the notion that all that the warrior princess had told him about that gods was unrelentingly biased and one-sided and deluded and full of cheese. A notion he�d definitely entertained before, but now� The God of Mischief had a laugh, not just a maniacal giggle. The God of Love, while still cool and laid-back, also had a wickedly astute view of things. Guessing had nothing over physical proof, and here it was. The two gods from two vastly different houses were chummy with an ease that dashed to bits all those stories of angst-on-Olympus he�d ever heard. And instead of chaining him to the wall for a thousand years of torture, they were chatting him up like a member of the family back from travel. This was weird. Actually, weird didn�t start to begin to explain it. Ultra-extra-not-happening-in-this-lifetime-weird was closer. And yet somehow�
"Still thinks she�s bigger than Unc, huh?" Strife plucked some bluish-purple fruit from a bowl that materialized nearby and started shucking its thick skin off. "An� she wonders why she�s still wanderin� around in the outdoors."
"I don�t know what to tell you about Xena, Jox," Cupid�s good humor about it didn�t fade any, but concern for the mortal snuck in around the edges. "She can be awfully thick sometimes. About us, about others� friends�"
Joxer nodded slightly, his nose scrunching up in concentration. Something was missing. Ever since he�d woken up, he�d had this feeling of drifting inside him, as if something was shrinking or lessening or growing smaller. But he couldn�t place it. Odd.
"Can�t feel it anymore, can you." Not a question. The God of Love knew the truth. It had, in fact, been his intention all along in bringing Joxer there. "You�ve said Xena�s name a couple of times without flinching. I assume that means�"
And then, he followed along. Last night� had it been last night? It should have felt much fresher than that, but the hollow ache that had driven him was only a faint twinge. "Huh. That�s weird. It�s almost like�"
"Like a distant memory?" Blond curls bobbed, a grown up version of the future God of Joy and Pleasure. "It�s the Hall. Every house on Olympus is like that. If Strife had taken you back to Pop�s, you�d probably be hurling crockery against the wall and swearing like a Roman general. Since you�re here, the heartache is being smothered by the good, happy vibes. That Bliss was there when you woke up probably moved it along. Just a little healing help from your friendly neighborhood love gods."
"Thanks, I think. I mean, I should be thankful, but, it�s like�"
"A hole in you. I know. That sucks. One of the reasons I really hate the job some days. Some things I just can�t fix all at once." Cupid shrugged almost sadly. "It�ll run its course, but I at least dulled it a little."
"Thanks." Joxer waited for that familiar pang in his chest but it never came. Gods were helping him. File that under �ultra-extra-not-happening-in-this-lifetime� again
"No prob." Cupid�s wings fluttered a little, shifting and settling. Felt like company was on the way, a little static making his feathers twitch. But it seemed distant, almost like� Ohh, this is going to get interesting. He knew the energy signal scanning his grotto, specifically the immediate area. There was going to be major freakage.
"So, what�s the job I have to do?" Joxer�s gaze leveled at the God of Mischief, who was getting a residual buzz from the whole situation and didn�t notice the faint blue shimmer around all his metal fixings. The pale godling�s slim shoulders shrugged.
"Ya got me. I mean, I guess I could run ya around for a while. I hate doin� legwork." A quick scratch of his head. For some reason, Strife�s scalp was tingling. "There�s that thing in Pylos I gotta finish, an� I can always use an extra hand."
"Yeah, just don�t eat anything while you�re there," Cupid chuckled, lofting his brow to his cousin.
"An� lightin� a campfire might be dicey," A snickering snort came from the darker god.
"I� huh?" Joxer hated coming in on the middle of things. And from the way the other two were laughing, it had to be good.
"I, uh, spiced up the menu a tad," Strife puffed up proudly, happy of his job well done. "Right about now, it should smell like the day after the annual Kidney Bean Festival."
Joxer was a second from getting it - in fact, his brain was sending the appropriate �fart-joke� response down the pipe - when one of the gods, though he couldn�t tell which, made the appropriate noise with a non-offensive body part. Which cracked all three of them up. Joxer could only imagine it - Pylos tended to be a touch stuffy and that particular population affected with uncontrollable poots was too funny to take. Helping Strife out there actually sounded like fun. For the first time since it had been explained, he was kind of looking forward to this service thing.
The feeling didn�t last.
A loud crackle of energy sounded out in the main hub of the circular room, behind Joxer�s back and out of his sight. but he didn�t need to look. The feel of his god�s proximity lit his skin on fire, making him flush and shiver at the same time. Those dark eyes bore into his back, looking right into him. Joxer worked to make sure he wasn�t hyperventilating or anything. That would be bad. Both gods with him shot each other one long last look before turning to the new visitor in the Hall of Love, their sniggers masking any nervous reaction.
"Hey Pops."
"Heya, Unc."
"I�m not interrupting anything, am I?" Still laughing, Joxer felt the need to faint well up at the sound of that deep grumble. He had the feeling he was about to get it. And not in the way he�d always dreamed of.
Part 4 - Reading the Fine Print and Serving a Short Stint
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