By Aramis

Disclaimer: The auther does not own the characters from Hercules: the Legendary Journeys. Those characters belong to MCA/Universal and were used without permission. No copyright infringement intended and no money was made.

It was late on a cold winter's afternoon. Iolaus climbed into the very hot bath, closed his eyes and luxuriated. It was unusual to find an inn equipped with a bath of any sort, let alone a huge one like that. It had taken a lot of sweet-talking to persuade the maids to heat enough water to fill it and even more to persuade Hercules to carry the tub of water upstairs.

He lay back thinking of the hot tub he'd enjoyed with Xena. It was not every day that a beautiful woman wanted to wash his back. Okay, so things had gone downhill rapidly after that with the arrival of an irate demigod,but he'd never forgotten that sensuous session with the Warrior Princess.

He could recall every detail vividly. So vividly, in fact, that he could feel fingers caressing his chest and moving down. Where the hell were those fingers going? His eyes flew open in shock. "Aphrodite!"

"Hi, Sweet-cheeks, I haven't seen much of you lately, but this certainly makes up for it."

"What are you doing here? Where's Hephaestus?" There was a note of minor panic in his voice.

"I don't know and I don't care. Hephie and I have had a little tiff, so I thought I'd come and see my little Sweet-cheeks and I'm certainly doing *that*" Her eyes roamed freely over the embarrassed hunter, who blushed hotly as he tried to achieve a strategic placement of a small flannel. "I never realized a blush could extend right down *there*. Did you, Cupid?" she continued.

Cupid??? The God of Love materialized just behind his mother. "Did I what?"

"Look how far down Iolaus' blush goes. Isn't he the cutest thing?"

"Please, Dite," Iolaus begged, "I'd like to get out of the bath."

"Don't let us stop you, Curly. We'll help you dry anything that's wet."

"H-Haven't you got somewhere else you should be?"

"Nope, don't think so. Nowhere else offers such interesting views."

"It could be even more interesting though," Cupid added, smirking at Iolaus' discomfort.

"You mean if he had company? Good idea!" Aphrodite peeled off her filmy draperies and placed a foot delicately in the bath. "Oooo, it's very hot, Sweet-cheeks!"

It was hot all right and it would be a damn sight hotter if the God of Fire arrived. Iolaus had had enough. He was getting out *now* regardless of eager viewers.

He clambered out, water streaming off his gleaming body, and made a grab for the towel. Aphrodite anticipated the move and, showing a hitherto unsuspected athleticism, grabbed it and tossed it to Cupid. Iolaus lunged desperately after it, slipped on the wet floor and fell with a loud crash, striking his forehead on the edge of the chair holding his clothes.

The noise awoke Hercules, who had been dosing on the bed in the adjoining room. "Iolaus? Are you all right?"

"I think we'd better make ourselves scarce, Mom," Cupid suggested, as both vanished.

Hercules flung open the door and was greeted by the sight of a naked Iolaus, lying unconscious with blood trickling down his face from a cut above his right eye. He scooped him up and carried him through to the bed. The cut was bleeding freely, but he didn't think it deep enough to warrant stitches, so he applied salve and a bandage. Iolaus had still not moved.

Hercules decided he'd better put the hunter into bed and that necessitated drying him. "He's so beautiful," he thought as he set to work.

For years, he had desired Iolaus, but had kept these feelings to himself as he did not think the womanizing blond would appreciate or reciprocate them. Now, for the first time, he had a legitimate excuse to explore the hunter's body as he carefully began to dry him. His fingers itched to replace the towel as it inched its way down Iolaus' chest.

Unable to resist, he bent his head intending to steal a kiss. At that moment, Iolaus stirred. He came to with a jolt as he realized a large figure was hovering over him. Hephaestus? In a panic, he tried to rise, but Hercules grasped his shoulders and gently pushed him back down. "It's okay, Iolaus, you've had a minor accident. I'm just...drying you."

"Herc? Thank goodness it's you!" In his relief, Iolaus pulled the demigod into a hug or, at least, that was his intention. Surprised by Iolaus' reaction, Hercules threw caution to the wind and captured Iolaus' lips. The hunter froze momentarily and then relaxed and opened to Hercules, allowing him to deepen the kiss. Finally, the latter drew back, as his exploring hands became aware that the hunter was shivering not from passion, but from cold.

"Come on, Iolaus, let me dry you. You'll catch a chill like this."

"I'd rather you helped me do something else."

"What?"

"It would be a pity to waste that hot water and there's plenty of room. Besides I've never had a demigod wash my back...or anything else."

"I told you it could be more interesting, didn't I ?" the unseen Cupid whispered to his invisible mother, as they observed the two immersed in each other.

Please excuse the final pun. I can't resist them.

THE END