An urgent need for the bathroom forced Xander to wake up. He blinked several times, but the scene before him didn't change. Long, dark lashes brushed against Cupid's cheeks and a slight smile curved his lips. Realizing he was staring, he forced his eyes away. Seeing Cupid lying next to him made him uncomfortable. Xander gently moved Bliss from his chest onto Cupid's. The baby never stirred.

Xander slipped off the pillow and tiptoed across the room to the bathroom. He eyed the huge tub wistfully while he relieved himself. He washed his hands and wandered out onto the balcony jutting off the main room and stared out over Olympus, his mind in turmoil.

He slept better last night than he had in months. No bad dreams, no jerking awake every couple of hours, it was wonderful. And that was the problem. He'd spent the whole night sleeping in Cupid's arms. A man's arms. A God's arms.

Xander forced the images of Cupid's face from his mind. Not going to go there. Nope, bad Xander. Besides, he's the God of Love; he could have anyone he wanted, why would he want me?

Xander was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn't hear Joxer when he joined him on the balcony until he spoke.

"Good morning, Xander."

Xander jumped a little and Joxer chuckled before apologizing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Xander shrugged, "It's okay. I'm not really awake yet."

Joxer frowned, something in the boy's voice sounded funny. "Are you all right, Xander?"

Xander turned, his trademark grin firmly in place. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Joxer didn't fall for it. He'd used the self-same tactic too many times himself. "Come on, let's go for a walk so we don't wake the others."

Xander slumped a little, but followed him outside. Joxer took a seat on one of the benches in the main courtyard and patted the seat next to him. Xander sat down warily and waited for the boom to drop.

"You can talk to me, Xander. I won't laugh. I know it's been a very long time, but I've been where you are."

"Oh, I don't think so." Xander said under his breath, but Joxer heard him anyway.

"Oh really. Let me tell you a story. There once was a mortal man named Joxer. He was the son of a very powerful Warlord and was the youngest of a set of triplets. Jayce, the oldest, knew what he wanted from life, no doubts, no questions. He left home as soon as he was able. Jett, the middle one, was strong, fast and vicious. He became one of the greatest assassins ever to walk the earth. Then there was Joxer, clumsy, not too bright and always falling over his own two feet."

Joxer smiled sadly for a moment, thinking of his long dead brothers, but he shook it off and continued the story. "Joxer wanted to be a warrior, a great warrior, but he couldn't fight to save his life. He became friends with two women, Xena and Gabrielle."

Xander recognized those names, "Weren't they the ones who..."

Joxer nodded, "Yes, they were. Joxer fell madly in love with Gabrielle, but she never noticed him unless he did something stupid. Then she made sure to tell him about it, and anyone else who would listen. But he didn't give up hope. Until the Twilight came. Joxer had worshiped Ares his entire life, the fact that he was going to lose his God was bad enough; but when his friends laughed about it, that was it. Joxer finally realized that he'd been living a lie. Ares had been the only constant thing in his life, and he wasn't willing to lose him. So he threw his friends and Ares' priests out of his temple and tried to wake his God up. It took weeks. He rarely ate or slept, he talked and cursed and sang annoying songs. When Ares finally woke up, Joxer was very ill."

"What happened?" Xander asked, totally caught up in the story.

Joxer shrugged, "Ares brought him to Olympus and nursed him back to health. Joxer had always loved his God, but now he was in love with him. Afraid of what Ares would do, he tried to leave. Ares hunted him down and brought him back. He then told Joxer that Olympus was now his home, he belonged to Ares and to get used to it."

Joxer smiled and looked at Xander for the first time since he'd started his story. "I couldn't understand how I could be in love with Ares. I loved Gabrielle. Ares was a man. Loving a man was wrong, my father said that so many times I could hear it in my sleep. But the real problem was Ares. Why would he want anything to do with me? He's the God of War; he could have anyone he wanted. It took him awhile, but he finally convinced me that is was me he loved and wanted. It's been two thousand years, and he still makes sure I never forget that fact."

"Wow. I mean, wasn't it, uh, strange to be with a man?"

"I'd never had a lover before Ares; I wasn't exactly a catch, as they say. But it doesn't matter. I'd still love Ares if he grew horns and stank like a cesspool." Xander's nose crinkled up at that one and Joxer had to smile, "Well, maybe not the cesspool thing. But I love Ares. Not the fact that he's a man, or a God. Just Ares."

Xander squirmed in his seat, "But...uh...how do you know if you're in love with someone?"

"If just being near them makes you happy. If whenever you hear a joke or a new song and all you can think about is telling them about it. If they smile and your whole day gets better, then you're in love."

"Okay. But, what about the whole sex thing?"

Joxer smiled and messed up Xander's hair more than it already was. "If the love is there, the sex will work itself out."

Cupid chose that moment to come looking for his lost friend and his stepfather. "Morning guys, what's going on?" The God of Love was still slightly rumpled from sleep and he yawned, stretching out the kinks caused by sleeping on the pillow.

Xander watched muscles ripple and flex. His mouth dropped open slightly and his face turned red.

Joxer smiled, "It'll work itself out, Xander. Don't worry about it." He whispered.

*****

Joxer insisted that they all have breakfast together before talking to Giles. Xander was starving again so he happily agreed.

Bliss nonchalantly crawled into Xander's lap and demanded that he share his breakfast. Xander didn't even slow down. He absentmindedly fed the little boy in between bites of his own, all the while talking to Ares about the best way to approach the G-Man.

Cupid sat and stared at them until Joxer nudged him and shook his head. Cupid got the hint and began to eat, suddenly the God was in a very good mood.

It was finally decided that Ares would take Xander to Giles' apartment while Cupid stayed on Olympus with Bliss and Joxer. He would keep an eye on them with Ares' scrying mirror and join them if needed.

Ares opened the mirror and Xander sighed in relief when they discovered that Giles was alone. He wasn't up to explaining this to his friends yet. He took a deep breath and felt Ares' warm hand settle on his shoulder. Then they were gone. Cupid, Joxer and Bliss got comfortable and settled in to wait.

**********

Giles spit his tea all over himself when Xander and a strange man suddenly appeared in his apartment. Xander grinned, "Hey, G-Man, surprised to see me?"

"Xander...what...who?"

"Oh. Sorry, Giles. Rupert Giles, I'd like you to meet, Ares, God of War. We, uh, kinda need your help."

"Oh dear God." Giles gasped.

"Basically." Ares smirked.

**********

Xander and Ares explained the situation to Giles. The former Watcher had a few questions. "Wait a moment, Xander. If you just met Ares last night, who were you with the other day when Anya saw you?"

"Anya saw me? Oh shit. I am really glad she doesn't have her powers anymore." Xander said.

Giles rubbed his temples, trying to force his headache into submission. "Xander. Please. Worry about Anyanka later. Right now we have bigger problems. Anya told us that she'd seen you with a demon. Right now Buffy and Willow are trying to find out who it was."

"My son is not a demon." Ares growled.

"Your son?" Giles turned panicked eyes on Xander. "Xander, tell me you weren't with Deimos."

Xander frowned at Ares, "Who's Deimos?"

"One of my other children, the God of Pain. He didn't make it through the onset of the Twilight." Ares said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Ares. I didn't know you had any other kids." Xander said sincerely.

Giles interrupted, "Xander, who were you with?"

Xander shrugged. "Cupid."

Giles' eyes almost bugged out of his head. "Cupid." He said flatly. "And just how did you happen to run into Cupid."

"Well, it's like this, Giles. See, there was this statue..."

**********

"Let me see if I have this straight. You released Cupid from the Twilight, then the two of you spent the day drinking beer, eating pizza and watching what passes for television. Then yesterday, Cupid took you to Olympus so he could show you around his home. And now you are here with the God of War, asking me to help you locate Zeus' Lightning Bolt so you can wake up the rest of the Gods."

Xander thought about it for a minute. "Yep. That's about it."

Giles started to shake, Xander got really worried. "Giles? Are you okay?"

The shakes turned into full-blown laughter. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Giles said, "Only you, Xander. Only you. Men have been trying to get to Olympus for centuries and you just stumbled into it."

Xander turned red, "Does that mean you won't help?"

"What? No, of course I'll help. The Gods of Olympus fulfilled a vital function in the past. The world is more than ready for their return."

Ares grinned and slapped Xander on the back, "Thank you, Xander. This may work after all."

**********

Xander left Ares and Giles going through several books that Giles wanted to take to Olympus with him, while he headed for his apartment. He needed a shower and some clean clothes.

Xander shut the door behind him with a sigh of relief. He'd never admit it, but he'd been worried about what Giles would say when he found out about the Gods of Olympus. Knowing that Giles wanted to help was a big relief. He threw his keys on the table and pulled his jacket off.

"Xander, we've been waiting for you."

Xander looked up and saw Buffy, Anya and Willow standing in the middle of his living room. "Oh shit."

Xander immediately tried to play off his nervousness. "Hey guys, you startled me. I wasn't expecting to find you in my apartment. How did you get in here anyway?"

Buffy grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him into one of the chairs. "Knock it off, Xander. Tell us what we want to know and this will go a lot easier on you."

"What are you talking about, Buff?"

"Xander," Willow said quietly. "Anya told us that she saw you with a demon, we just want to help is all."

Xander grinned, "Wills, I have not been hanging out with demons. Well, I played a couple games of pool with Spike the other night, but I don't think that counts."

Buffy smacked him upside the head, she always got violent when one of her friends was in trouble and she couldn't help. "Xander, you're in love with Anya. Why did you dump her like that? And why did she see you with a demon?"

Xander grabbed his head, "Ow! And ow! Not so hard, Buffy, that hurt!"

"Sorry, Xander, I'm just worried."

Xander grinned, "I know that. Honestly guys, I haven't seen a demon in days." Xander patted Buffy on the shoulder, "If I was in trouble, you know I'd come to you first. I always do."

Anya's eyes narrowed, "He's lying. He always grins like that when he's lying."

Buffy looked at Willow. The red head shrugged. "She's right. He's lying."

Buffy sighed, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. Spike! Get your undead butt out here."

The blonde menace strolled out of the kitchen sipping something from one of Xander's new mugs. Xander had the feeling he didn't want to know what was in it.

Buffy pointed at Xander. "Okay, Spike. Do it."

The vampire smirked, "You sure about this?"

"Yes. Now shut up and do it." Buffy said irritably.

Xander started to stand up but Buffy pushed him back into the chair. "Uh, guys? Why is Deadboy Jr. here? And do what?"

Willow moved behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. "It's okay, Xander. Spike is just going to make sure you're completely human is all." The Witch glared at the vampire, "Don't hurt him anymore than you have to, or you'll be the world's first vampire hamster."

"Well that takes all the fun out of it." Spike said petulantly.

The vampire stood in front of Xander and double up his fist. "Hold still, mate. This will only take a second."

Just as he was beginning to swing, he saw it. A tiny sword hovering over the boy's head. As he started to swing, the sword moved until it was pointed straight at him. Spike dropped his fist and stepped away from the boy. He didn't want there to be any accidents.

"Spike, what are you doing? Hit him already."

"I don't think so, luv. I'm rather fond of living, such as it is."

Buffy glared at Xander and then at Spike. "What are you talking about?"

"He's marked."

"Marked?" Willow squeaked. "What kind of mark?" She asked as she stepped away from Xander.

"See!" Anya shouted triumphantly. "I told you he was messing around with demons! He's marked!"

Buffy growled, "Would someone please tell me what you're talking about?"

"Demons mark their followers." Anya said. "When I was a demon, I had hundreds of marked followers."

Spike shook his head, "It's not a demon mark, chit."

"What other kind of mark is there?" Willow asked.

"Only a God could put a mark on someone like that." Spike said pointing at Xander.

Buffy groaned, "Xander, what have you done now? Just tell me, and this will go a lot easier on you."

"Buffy, I don't know anything about a mark!" Xander shouted.

Buffy looked at Willow, "Willow, get the spell started." She turned back to Xander and said, "Guess it's going to be the hard way then."

**********

Joxer got bored watching Ares and Giles sort through books. He concentrated and tuned the mirror to follow Xander. He cursed when he saw what was going on. "Cupid!"

Cupid ran in from the other room where he'd been giving Bliss a bath. He took one look at the mirror and vanished in a flash of light. Bliss came flying into the room, trailing bubbles behind him. Joxer snagged the little God right out of the air and took him back into the bathroom. He didn't want him to see what was happening with his friend.

**********

Spike growled and dodged around the Slayer. He pulled Xander out of the chair and hustled him into the other room. Once inside, he started piling things in front of the door to slow them down. "Oi! Give us a hand here, Mate. Or do you fancy the Slayer smacking you around until she finds out what she wants to know?"

Xander paled and started pushing the dresser over. The door shuddered. Spike looked up at the boy and said, "Now might be a good time to call on that God of yours."

*****

Cupid flashed into Xander's apartment, but he didn't take physical form. He wanted to find out what was happening first.

**********

Buffy kicked the door leading into the bedroom and shouted, "Spike! You're dust!" The door shuddered, but it didn't open. The Slayer turned to Willow. "Are you almost ready?"

"I need to be able to see Xander when I cast it." Willow stared down at her spell components. "Are you sure about this, Buffy? Maybe Xander didn't know he'd been marked by a God."

"It doesn't matter, Willow. If he's been marked, we need to know by who and why. Once we know that, we'll be able to find a way to deal with the rest."

"Buffy, if Xander has been marked by a God, the only way to break the link is to kill him." Anya said.

The Slayer paled, "I am not killing Xander. We'll find another way to deal with this God. Whoever he is."

**********

Cupid had heard more than enough. The only reason these mortals were still living was because it was obvious to him that they cared about Xander. Even if they did have a funny way of showing it.

**********

Spike pushed against the door, "Come on, Harris. Call him already!"

"I don't know how!" Xander yelled back.

"Bloody Hell. Just call his name, idiot."

"Watch who you're calling an idiot, moron." Xander looked up and said softly, "I hope you can hear me, Cupid."

"Cupid? Cupid?! You've been hanging out with the God of Love? Bloody marvelous." Spike said snidely.

Cupid materialized and put his hand on Xander's back. Xander yelped and spun around. Once he saw his friend, he relaxed. "Cupid. Thank God. I wasn't sure you could hear me."

Cupid smiled, "I'll always hear you, Xander. No matter what. But I was already here. Joxer tuned the mirror onto you just as your friends out there started to get frisky."

"That's nice. That's fucking, bloody brilliant. Now, do you think you can flap those wings of yours and get us the Hell out of here?" Spike asked as the door started to give.

Cupid wrapped one arm around Xander's shoulder and grabbed Spike by the arm. Just before he flashed them out he asked Xander, "By the way, who's your friend?"

Xander's reply was lost as they dematerialized.

**********

The door gave way unexpectedly and Buffy tumbled into the room. She jumped to her feet, but Spike and Xander where gone. "Willow, I think we have a problem."

The witch looked into the room, "Goddess! Where did they go?"

"I don't know, but we'd better find out. Come on, let's go see Giles."

**********

Cupid took Xander and his friend to his father. Ares was immediately on alert when his son arrived unexpectedly. "Cupid? What happened?"

"Joxer was watching Xander. Some of his friends wanted to know who he's been spending time with and were going to do a spell on him." Cupid nodded at the vampire. "The Bacchae here was protecting him when I arrived."

Spike knocked Cupid's hand off his arm. "Watch you're calling names, Pretty Boy, or I'll pluck you like a chicken."

Ares started laughing, Cupid didn't think it was funny. "Want to share the joke, Dad?" He asked snidely.

Ares pointed at the sulking Spike. "Doesn't he remind you of someone?"

Cupid immediately made the connection and started snickering.

"Oi! What's so fucking funny?"

Giles decided to take pity on the vampire, "Spike. Bacchae is the ancient Greek word for vampire. Actually, it's a compliment. The Bacchae were the chosen children of the God Bacchus. The God of Debauchery?"

"Oh. Well that's different then. Who's the other bloke?"

Xander grinned, this was just too good. "Spike, I'd like you to meet Ares, the God of War."

"Oh fuck."

*****

Giles started packing the books he and Ares had selected. "Xander, Spike, give me a hand, please." Spike decided he was in enough trouble and kept his mouth shut. Xander just shrugged and chipped in.

Giles looked up from his task and said, "Lord Ares, I'm afraid we're going to have to move this to another location. Buffy is no doubt on her way here now. And quite frankly, I don't feel up to dealing with her at the moment."

Ares shrugged, "We'll go to Olympus. She won't bother you there."

Giles dropped the book he'd been holding, "Olympus?"

Ares frowned, "We can find another place if you'd rather not."

"No! No. That's quite all right." Giles said hurriedly.

Ares heard a noise outside and said, "Are you almost ready? We're about to have company." Without a thought, Ares and Cupid shimmered and looked just like normal humans. They had just finished the change when the door burst open.

"Giles! We have a problem!" Buffy yelled as she came through the door. The Slayer stopped dead in her tracks when she realized Giles wasn't alone. Willow and Anya, hot on her heels, slammed into her back.

Buffy saw Spike and went for him, stake in hand. Ares stepped into her path. "Is there a problem?" He asked.

Buffy stuck the stake behind her back and said casually, "Problem? No. No problem." She looked at Giles and said, "Giles. We need to talk. Xander, you too. Now."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible at the moment, Buffy. I'm in the middle of something rather serious. I'm quite sure you can handle what ever comes up." Giles said, continuing to pack.

Buffy glared at her Watcher and then at Xander. "Fine. Xander, I need to talk to you. Now, please."

Cupid stepped in front of her and smiled, Buffy immediately forgot about Xander. Cupid took Buffy's hand in his and said, "Hi. I'm Eros. It's nice to meet you."

Buffy realized she was staring and blushed. "Hi. I'm Buffy. Eros? That's a unique name."

Cupid shrugged, "It's Greek."

Anya smacked Buffy on the back. "Buffy." She hissed. "That's him! The man that was with Xander!"

Buffy glared at the former demon before turning a vapid smile back on Cupid. "Ignore her. She thinks you're a God."

Cupid's eyes sparkled and he laughed, "Really? That's quite a compliment."

Buffy immediately started blithering. "Of course I'm sure you could be a stud...I mean a God. If there were such a thing." Then she changed the subject, quickly. "So. You know Xander, huh?" Buffy glared at her friend. "Why didn't you ever introduce us, Xander?" She said between clenched teeth.

Xander just glared back, he didn't like Cupid paying attention to Buffy. He really didn't like it at all. "I didn't know you were interested, Buffy." He replied tightly.

Buffy giggled at Cupid, "Honestly. He can be so silly at times. So, what do you do?"

Giles interrupted Buffy's painfully obvious attempt at flirting. "We're ready whenever you are." Looking at the Slayer he said, "I think Spike should join us."

Ares nodded, "Of course." He put one hand on Giles' shoulder and the other on Spike's. Xander stepped closer to Cupid and rested a hand on his back. "Son? Aren't you going to answer the girl?"

"Of course, Dad. I didn't mean to be rude." Dropping her hand, he wrapped his arm around Xander. "Actually, my job description comes under the heading of 'Cupid. God of Love.'"

A second later Buffy, Willow and Anya were alone in the apartment. Anya crossed her arms over her chest and said, "I told you he was a God!"

**********

The travelers arrived on Olympus to find Joxer lying on the floor in front of the mirror, howling with laughter. Bliss sat beside him looking very unhappy until he realized his favorite mortal had come back. He flew up and hit Xander in the chest. "Xanner! You comed back!"

Xander laughed and tickled the little God. "Yep. Told you I would. I want you to meet some friends of mine. This is Giles and this is Spike." Looking at the two men he said, "This little guy is Cupid's son, Bliss."

Bliss hid his face in Xander's chest, then slowly rolled it to one side so he could peek at the strangers from one eye. He smiled and waved.

Giles smiled back, "Hello, Bliss. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Spike didn't answer, he was too busy staring. Giles nudged the vampire, "Spike, what is your problem?"

"The sun." Spike said in awe.

"What?" Giles looked around and realized that Spike was standing directly in a patch of sunlight; and he wasn't burning. "My word."

Ares shrugged, "This is Olympus. Bacchae don't burn here."

The tough exterior Spike always presented to the world faded away. Looking incredibly young he asked, "Can I go outside?"

Joxer finally got his giggles under control. Looking at the vampire with sympathy in his eyes he said, "Of course. Go explore. If you need anything, just ask."

Spike nodded gratefully and stepped outside. They all watched as he stood on the steps and raised his face to the sun for the first time in over a hundred years.

Joxer looked up at his stepson and started laughing again. "Stud." Was all he managed to get out before his laughter overtook his words.

Ares shook his head sadly. "Laughing boy here is my consort, Joxer."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Joxer." Giles said cordially.

Joxer waved his hand in the air and gasped out, "Stud."

Ares groaned. "I apologize for him. We don't get many visitors."

Giles grinned openly, "Let's get to work. That may well change."

They gathered around the table and started searching; all the while they could hear Joxer giggling in the background. Every time Xander heard the word 'stud', he glared at Cupid.

Cupid hid his smile. Jealousy was a good sign. A very good sign.

Next Part