Disclaimers: Xena and Gabrielle belong to all sorts of people, none of them me, and have been used without permission.
I started this just after Gab's haircut as sort of a farewell to her lovely long hair and braids. I've always enjoyed seeing the different ways XnG braided their hair, wondering if they do their own or each others. I kind of have a hard time seeing Xena braiding Gab's hair, but I could see Gab braiding her own and making Xena let her braid hers. I kept hoping that Melissa Good, my favorite fanfic author, would do a braiding scene as a flashback or something while I was reading her stories or that I would run across one in another fanfic. But I haven't yet, so I decided to write one of my own. (I've always figured that Xena's bad hair days mean Gab is mad and lately on the show the way Xena's hair has been looking, I think Gab must be jealous because she no longer has hair to braid and that's why she's messing Xena's up so bad. (g)
While this story starts shortly after Gabrielle's haircut in the fourth season, most of it takes place in the past, right after Xena and Gabrielle start traveling together.
Strands of Friendship(1999)
Gabrielle twisted the last bit of dark hair into a braid and tied it off. "There you go," she said,
patting Xena on the back, "all done now."
The warrior turned and grinned at her, running her fingers over the braids. "Thanks." Then she
reached out and ruffled the bard's short hair, her grin growing larger as Gabrielle ducked her head
and scowled at her.
"Xena, stop that," Gabrielle muttered, struggling to keep a frown on her face as Xena's bright
blue eyes sparkled and the warrior began laughing.
"Fair's fair, my bard. You got to play with my hair," she said, reaching out and running her
fingers down the other side of Gabrielle's head. "I'm just returning the favor."
Gabrielle ducked again and moved away from Xena, her hands held out in front of her to fend off
the still grinning warrior. "I've got some extra ties, you could do Argo," she smirked and moved
so the firepit was between them. "She's got lovely golden hair..."
"Argo?" Xena raised an eyebrow. "But you're so much more fun." With those words, the warrior
let out a loud yell and launched herself over the fire, latching onto the bard even as she turned to
flee.
"No fair, cheat, cheat," Gabrielle laughed as they tumbled to the ground and Xena began tickling
her. They tussled for a few minutes and then just lay still, catching their breath and enjoying the
closeness.
Gabrielle propped her chin up on the warrior's chest and looked down into her eyes, grinning.
"You know, Xena, when we first met, I used to wonder if you ever brushed your hair..." she
stopped for a moment as the warrior gave her a funny look, then continued with a sly grin. " I
thought that maybe you shared Argo's brush," she snickered.
"What?" Xena asked, raising an eyebrow as she rolled the bard off her and sat up.
"Really, I did," Gabrielle smirked and latched onto one of Xena's braids, using it to pull the
warrior closer. "Let me tell you about it..." she whispered in her ear.
***
Tags: xena