Who:Iolaus and Xena What:Random bar fight, sidekicks. They do these things. A true HercXena verse meeting. When:Recently in September before Xena's back breaking dream shtick. Where:Random bar Warnings:actions? Status:COMPLETE
Iolaus should have been focusing on the fact that tomorrow was his first day of his very real job, and not some strange dreams that may or may not have happened;and yet he couldn’t ignore them. He couldn’t just open his eyes and forget they happened, it was suddenly like the life he currently knew was all wrong and he was frustrated. The dreams hurt, emotionally and physically they hurt. He woke up with a very real injury from a blade across his chest from a dream attack, and an equally painful broken heart from a woman he didn’t really know..
A drink was in order. Maybe many, the night was still young. He stood in front of the dart board several paces back and threw one straight into the center, followed directly by another. Two bullseyes in a row and an unamused looking shark watching over his shoulder. He’d unwisely challenged Iolaus to a game at ten dollars a bullseye and the blond intended to win. However his opponent didn’t seem to want to play fair, the large man placed a hand on his shoulder gruffly and growled “You’re cheatin’.” To which Iolaus looked over at the large man and replied sarcastically. “You can’t really cheat darts, maybe you just need to find a new hobby like sewing or something with that aim.” The guy didn’t seem to like Iolaus’s comment and the hand pressed down on a rather sensitive part of the previous night's new injury causing him to grimace in pain.
Hurts from the dreams were all too real, be it heartbreak, fresh scars, or the blood of innocents on one’s hands. Though Xena though that Iolaus was one of the few people she’d ever met who didn’t really have much problem with the latter.
She’d been riding around on her bike, trying to clear her head. Her dreams were taking her on a collision course and she didn’t think she liked where they were going. Maybe a good drink would help clear her head. Or a good bar fight. She was aching for both.
Dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, Xena entered the bar and looked around. She wasn’t expecting to see a familiar face but she could have expected him to be in trouble. She sighed, and walked over to the brewing trouble. “Do ya wanna pick on someone your own size?”
“Come on guys, nobody like a sore loser.” Iolaus tried, but none of them seemed amused by his comment. In Fact they started to drag him away when Xena approved. The group of thugs looked over at the woman but brushed her off with a bit of a laugh. “This ain’t your business lady.” Iolaus glanced over at the dark haired woman. He wasn’t expecting a rescuer, but he wasn’t expecting a fight either.
“Can’t we all just talk about this?” Iolaus tried half assedly, it was clear they weren’t going to chat. They were ready to start swinging, but that alo meant the larger man releasing some of his grip. Iolaus had an opening and sucker punched him, the other two made an attempt to jump the shorter blond.
Naturally, Iolaus could defend himself, but he was heavily outnumbered and Xena was also in need of a good fight. She grabbed one man by the scruff of his shirt and yanked him back, spinning around and whipping him in the face with her elbow. Letting out her trademark warcry, Xena flipped into the fray, landing on another man’s shoulders and starting to pummel him in the head.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Xena rush in and raised an eyebrow at that startling sound. Well, she definitely got their attention easy enough. His own too, which earned him a punch to the rib cage and he gasped as a result, dropping down to a knee to cough for air. That was just dirty. A foot jetted out to trip his attacker sending him into the guy beside him as he’d been surprised by the speed of the movement. Iolaus was no pushover, nice guy sure but he wasn’t about to be walked all over just because he was kind. His two opponents were surprised by the pair. Xena’s own whirling to try to free himself and take another swing. Iolaus stood as he gathered his bearings and shook a taunting finger at him, amusement in his eyes. His own opponent however got back up and caused the blond to think a little faster. “Stay down.” He landed a solid kick to the stomach, forcing the larger man back down to the ground.
A single warning shot was fired from the man behind the bar who was getting fed up with the fighting and breaking of things as a table snapped from Iolaus’s victim. “Clear out or I’ll call the cops!” The man shouted in the group's direction, and Iolaus frowned as he approached the dart board to remove his darts from it. The large man and his friends that’d attacked began to scramble back from Xena and Iolaus. They’d had enough and didn’t feel like meeting the police apparently.
“So much for that drink I wanted,” Xena quipped. “Not much of a workout, eh boys? Where’s your stamina? I feel bad for your wives.” She very nearly provoked a continuation of the fight, but the men retreated instead and Xena threw her head back and laughed. “I didn’t expect a fight, but I don’t usually turn one down.”
Okay, that comment drew a grin out of Iolaus. She really was something. A backfist into a final goon ended the altercation for them earlier than the grumpy looking man behind said bar. Iolaus winced at the glare he was given and as the mooks all scrambled to get toward the door the blond walked over to the bartender and handed him a hundred. “Sorry about the mess.” The crisp benjamin seemed to quell the man’s anger, and he shrugged a largee shoulder. “Ferget it,.” As he tucked the money away into his pocket. Iolaus gave a sheepish smile as the man asked again “Whatdduya want?” The blond got a beer for himself and pointed at the black haired woman. “Whatever she wants too.”
“Whiskey, straight,” Xena said. Sometimes a good whiskey was better than ambrosia. She stepped over some wreckage (and one unconscious goon) to take a seat on a stool. “That was kinda fun. Haven’t gotten into an old fashioned brawl in a while.” At least none that hadn’t involved her roommate throwing fireballs.
An eyebrow arched in Xena’s direction. “Whiskey fan?” He didn’t know why but he didn’t expect that.”Too harsh for me really.” He admitted a bit sheepishly. Iolaus was more of a lightweight than he liked to admit. “Well stick around me, you just might find a few more. They seem to like me for some reason.” Iolaus was a magnet for trouble. That much had basically stayed the same through the dreams to reality.
“When you ride with the crew I ride with, you gotta adapt. An’ sometimes you develop a taste for it.” She grinned lopsidedly. She hoped that Iolaus might bring some more trouble. She’d sure as hell enjoy it.