I just wish I knew how he was going to react. I don't think I could take it, coming all this way to spend time with my Dad, just to have him reject me.
Then again, he didn't reject me when I first told him. I mean, when I told the future Joxer. I
mean, oh I know what I mean! But then again, I had Uncle Jace to help me then. What I
would give to have Joxer get along with Jace. Or even if I had Meg around, she'd understand,
though that may not be the best idea. She seemed to like the idea of two men together way too
much.
Virgil put away his quill and scroll and continued on the way to Olympia. 'Think, think, think. I've got to figure out something before I get there.' Looking up, he saw a signpost that said he was less than half a day's walk from the town.
With a sigh, he continued on his journey.
* * *
Xena and Gabrielle rolled their eyes at each other as they dropped their bags in the stable. All the inns in town were full and this was the only place available for them and Joxer to sleep for the night. Joxer was still grumbling as he'd been doing the entire trip from the campsite to Olympia.
They did sympathize -- a little. Joxer had tried to find his original campsite with Xena and Gabrielle's help, but they hadn't been able to find it. It wasn't Joxer's traveling bag, nor his change-purse that he longed for, though.
"I should have worn it. The squirrels wouldn't have heard me. Now what'll protect me from warlords and the elements?"
"Joxer," Xena began, exasperated, "I'm really sorry about your armour, but there's nothing we can do about it." Joxer's bottom lip stuck out in a pout and she felt her resolve slip. She took one of her many change-purses and tossed it to him. "Here. I know you'll be wanting some new pants, and maybe you can afford a new hat or something."
His eyes a little teary, Joxer opened his arms wide and hugged Xena. "Thank you so much."
With an embarrassed smile, she brushed him off her. "Yeah, whatever. Just get out of my hair."
As Joxer headed out of the barn, Gabrielle looked at her lover with an accusing look. "You're getting soft."
"No, I am not!"
"Yes you are. But don't worry: I like it." As Gabrielle wiggled her eyebrows, she jumped to get
away from Xena's hand, swatting at her backside.
* * *
Once Joxer found a suitable pair of pants at a stall in the marketplace, he changed into them immediately, telling the teller he could burn the old pair. He didn't want anything to remind him of the reason he had needed to buy a new pair.
He opened up the purse and counted what change he had left. There was definitely not enough for a full set of armour. He'd be lucky if he could afford a new helmet. He decided to walk until he could find the smith's stall to see what he could buy.
He found the stall and stood amazed at the craftsmanship on many of the weapons. They were beautiful, some long, some short, many decorated with jewels on the pommels.
"They're beautiful, aren't they."
"Yes they are."
"I made them all myself. Would you like to handle one?"
"Oh, I shouldn't. I'd just be tempted to buy one, and I definitely don't have the money."
"How much do you have?"
"Only ten dinars."
The man made a puffing noise. "That won't buy you much around here. The most it'll buy you in my stall would be my box of scraps."
"Box of scraps?"
"Yeah. Just leftover pieces of copper and leather. Nothing valuable."
"How about I give you five dinars for it?"
The smith's eyebrows rose. He certainly wasn't expecting the man to offer to buy his box of scraps, but if the fool was willing to pay five dinars for it, then he wasn't about to argue. "If you insist, my good man."
Joxer counted out the money and the smith gladly handed over the box. Joxer held the container close to his chest and ran back to the stable. The moment the women saw him, they sighed.
"Joxer, couldn't you have chosen a new colour?"
"What's wrong with brown? I like that colour."
"All right. Whatever you say. What's in the box?"
Gabrielle tried to look over Joxer's shoulder, but he shooed her away. "No peeking until I'm done working on this."
"Well, what's it going to be?"
"My new armour."
She rolled her eyes and stepped toward Xena. "Didn't you say you wanted to get some supplies."
"Yeah, but we can't get too much. We'll have to walk from here to Vereos to get Argo."
"Vereos?" Joxer looked up from his new collection of copper and leather.
"Yeah. We had a few things to take care of, so we left her with Meg."
"Would you two mind if Virgil and I head out with you? I wouldn't mind seeing Meg again, and I know Virgil took a liking to her."
"No problem. We'll see you shortly."
Joxer nodded to the women, turning his attention back to the pieces splayed out before him. As
he looked them over, an image came into his mind. With a smile, he started work on his new set
of armour.
* * *
Virgil continued down the road, wondering what he was going to say to Joxer. He was pulled from his thoughts by shouting down the road. He hurried to catch up to whoever it was, hoping he could be of some assistance.
As he turned a corner, he finally saw what was causing so much commotion. A pair of teen-aged kids had captured a horse by throwing a lasso over its head. The black-coated horse kept struggling, but the more it struggled, the tighter the lasso became.
"Hey! What are you two doing?"
"This is our horse. We can do what we want!" The first kid sneered at Virgil.
"Well if it's your horse, then why do you need a lasso instead of a harness?"
"What's it to you?" The second kid tried to put on a tough mask, but Virgil saw right through it.
"I don't like to see animals mistreated. This horse obviously doesn't care for you guys much, so I'd rather see it go free than to have it leave with you."
"And what are you going to do about it?"
Virgil took out a functional knife he kept around for emergencies, walked past the kids, and cut the rope.
"Hey, I thought we told you this was our horse!"
Virgil glared at the kid, waving the knife in front of his face. "You feel like arguing?"
The two teens quickly re-evaluated their position and decided to take off running down the road. Virgil turned, patting the horse on its neck and removing the rest of the rope. He giggled, thinking it was good that he'd learned a few things from his Uncle Jett, even if it was just intimidation.
"There you go..." Virgil checked, "girl. You're free now."
He continued down the road to Olympia, but he heard steps behind him. He turned around to see the horse following him. "I said you're free now. You don't have to follow me." The horse shook its head as if to disagree.
Virgil sighed, turning back around to continue on his journey. 'It'll eventually get tired of following me and go off on its own.' After a few minutes, Virgil felt something velvety against his ear. When he turned his face, the horse snorted.
"Hey!" The horse sputtered as if laughing. "Yeah, it might be funny to you."
After a while, Virgil found himself holding a conversation with the animal, and by the time they
arrived in Olympia, Virgil had told Leila his entire life story.
* * *
Xena and Gabrielle returned from their supply trip to find Joxer laying back in the hay, his hands behind his head, and grinning like a madman.
"Joxer?" Xena asked suspiciously.
"Yes?"
"What did you do now?"
"I thought you'd never ask!" With a flourish, Joxer pulled away a blanket that had been lying on the hay next to him, revealing a contraption of copper and leather. Only when he held it before the women could they even begin to guess at what it was.
"Umm, an armoured vest?" Gabrielle hazarded a guess.
"Of course! I couldn't believe the smith would throw away all this good material. Sure these copper pieces were bent, but that doesn't mean they aren't good anymore."
Xena reached out a hand to examine the contraption and rose an eyebrow. She was actually impressed. There were many almost-flat pieces of copper, mostly rectangular or square in shape, tied together by small pieces of leather to make up front and back pieces. Longer pieces of leather were used to hold it together at the shoulders, and to join up the sides. At the very least, it was more secure than Joxer's last set of armour, though it was equally unattractive. She didn't look forward to seeing it turn a lovely shade of green from the elements, though.
"Good work, Joxer. It looks like it will hold together quite well."
Joxer beamed with pride as he lifted the metal vest and slid it over his head. "I couldn't find anything to use for a helmet, so I guess I'll have to do without."
The threesome were distracted as the innkeeper who owned the stable came in with a horse in tow.
"You know you won't get far without a saddle or even a harness."
"I had no idea I'd have a horse in the first place. As I told you, he just followed me here."
"I don't know if anyone forgot to tell you, but horses just don't follow people home as if they were lost pups."
"I know that, but someone forgot to tell the horse."
"I've got some old bridles out back, and if you like you can have one for five dinars. At least that way he won't wander away from you. Who knows, you may even enjoy riding bareback."
"Sure, I guess I've got a few dinars to spare."
"I'll bring it out later and leave it next to her stall. You can pay me when you leave."
"Thank you."
The innkeeper left the stable and the young man who'd followed him in leaned back against the door to the horse's stall. The horse leaned its head out, nuzzling the man's chest. He stroked its nose absently as he was lost in thought.
"Virgil?"
"Joxer! I didn't know you were staying here. The Gods must be smiling on us."
"Well, I don't know about that." The men met up and grasped each others forearms in greeting. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Leila. A couple of kids were trying to take her away but I saved her. She just followed me here."
Joxer took a step up to the dark horse, but jumped away when the animal snorted in his face. "I didn't want to pet you anyway."
"Virgil!"
Virgil turned to find himself wrapped in the welcoming arms of Gabrielle. "Gabrielle, what are you doing here?"
"Well, we..." Xena began, but paused when she saw Joxer motioning frantically behind Virgil's back. "We met up with Joxer on the road, and thought it would be nice to catch up."
"Hello, Xena." Virgil held his arm out to the Warrior Princess once Gabrielle had let go of him, and they shook warmly.
Joxer place a hand on Virgil's shoulder and led him over to the corner of the stable where the group had settled in. "How'd the trip go? How's Armaan?"
"He's fine. The trip was rather uneventful, except for the horse. Umm, Joxer," Virgil looked him up and down. "What happened to your armour?"
"It's a long story."
* * *
Xena and Gabrielle were the first to fall asleep, giving the men time to talk. Joxer told Virgil about his experience with the bandits and their mysterious leader, omitting certain details of course.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're okay with Xena and Gabrielle again."
"Yeah, I'm glad too. I did miss them a little."
"I know. So, you're really okay with them?"
"I had a lot of time to think, both on the road and while I was tied up. I know what I was taught to believe is wrong, but it's going to take some time to unlearn it, you know? But it's much easier knowing Xena and Gabby like I do. They're good people, so that proves my Dad wrong right away. It'll just take some getting used to."
Virgil wanted to open his mouth and spill all, but something held him back. "Well, I'm glad. Good night, Joxer."
"Good night, Virgil."
* * *
"You see, Joxer, some people are just different. You've seen how different Xena and Gabrielle are, and you're beginning to accept that, and you have no idea how happy that makes me. You see, Joxer, I'm different too. In fact, on my little trip, something happened between me and Armaan. It wasn't that big a thing, or maybe it was, I don't know. Either way, we kissed, and I really liked it, and him. I'm not asking you to agree or even be happy for me yet. All I ask is that you accept me." Virgil looked up into the dark eyes of his companion. "So, how'd that sound to you?"
Leila snorted.
"I thought so. How in Tartarus am I going to do this? Joxer's going to freak!"
All of a sudden, his three friends came into the stable talking loudly, settling around him in the middle of the room. "I can't believe you did that, Joxer!"
"Hey, they're sharp. Cutting things is what they're for!"
"Gabrielle, it's not like you've never done anything like this!"
"That was different!"
"How was it different? You used my chakram to fillet fish and Joxer used your sais!"
"Yeah, but they're MY sais!"
"Umm, I'm gay," Virgil mumbled.
"Come on, Gabby! I didn't do any major damage."
"But you got fish guts all over my new weapons. Do you have any idea how disgusting that is? And the smell lasts so long!"
"Gabrielle, give it up! It's done already!"
"I kissed Armaan," Virgil spoke a little louder.
"Give it up? I'm still getting used to these weapons, Xena!"
"I still don't understand why you didn't just go back to your staff, Gabby!"
"Joxer, you're not helping!"
"I'm gay and I kissed Armaan!" Virgil shouted over the voices of the others. The room was suddenly quiet as three jaws dropped in unison. He wasn't too worried about Xena and Gabrielle's reaction, knowing they'd understand. It was Joxer who worried him. The man still hadn't moved or said a word. "Umm, Joxer? Are-are you okay?"
Joxer blinked. He'd had many surprises over the last while, and part of him thought he should have expected this. He wanted to shout and scream, saying: "Is everyone in Greece gay?" Maybe the Gods were trying to teach him a lesson. Maybe they thought it was time to make nice with Jace. Whatever the reasons, Virgil was still waiting for an answer. He loved the kid as his own son and didn't want to hurt him any more than he'd already been.
Looking into Virgil's eyes, Joxer saw they were close to tears. He came to his decision. He opened his arms and pulled Virgil to him. "It's okay. As I said last night, I'm still coming to terms with this, but as I've always told you, I'm here for you."
"So I'm still your sidekick?"
"Of course. You're not going to be rid of me that easily."
Xena and Gabrielle smiled, proud that Joxer had taken the high road and accepted Virgil. They patted the young man's back, adding their support to Joxer's.
"Well, now that we're all together and awake," Xena began, "when did you want to head off to Vereos?"
"Vereos?" Virgil pulled away slightly from Joxer to look at the Warrior Princess.
"Yeah," Joxer answered. "They're going to get Argo, who's been staying with Meg, and I asked if we could come along. I thought you might want to see Meg again."
Virgil grinned. "I'm ready to leave when you are."
"All right, then. Let's gather our things and head off."
Virgil found the harness the innkeeper had left for Leila and placed it on the horse's head. To his great surprise, she allowed him to place some of their bags and bedrolls over her back. "Good girl."
In little time, the foursome, with Virgil leading Leila, were walking down the road, headed towards the town of Vereos. Joxer nudged Virgil who only needed to look at Joxer to know what he wanted. They silently counted to three in unison and began singing.
"Joxer the Mighty
Roaming through the countryside
He never needs a place to hide
With Virgil as his sidekick
By his side he'll always stick
Righting wrongs and singing songs
Being mighty all day long
They're Joxer, they're Joxer and Virgil!"
Gabrielle moaned and looked over at Xena. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"
"I don't know, Gabrielle, but it's nice to have things relatively back to normal again."
"Hey, guys," Joxer began, "have I ever told you about my brother Jace?"
I don't think there is a soul in Greece more relieved than I am right now. All that worrying was for nothing, and I couldn't be happier. Joxer's finally talking about Uncle Jace, which is a great relief. Maybe we'll even get to run into him one day.
I can't wait to see Meg. I still don't like seeing her doing what she's doing, but I love her. What can I say, she raised me. Just because she does what she does doesn't make her a bad person.
I still don't know what to make of Leila. She isn't even like a horse to me. It's weird, but it's like she's a person like the rest of us. I don't know if I'll ever have the nerve to try and put a saddle on her. It's a good thing Joxer doesn't have his helmet anymore. I bet she'd have it eaten by the time we got to Meg's.
For the first time, I can see what my Dad told me about all those years. Any fool could see just how close those three are. They're a real team. Maybe Joxer can barely defend himself, but he contributes more than anyone can ever imagine. I've noticed that Xena and Gabrielle have a tendency to sometimes dwell in the past and get very serious. Joxer breaks them out of that. With him, they smile and laugh.
They're a real family, and I'm proud they let me be part of it.
Back to Gen Stories -- Back to Xena/Herc Stories -- Back to Kremlin