Xena was caught off guard by the desperation in the smaller woman's voice. That simple plea held so much emotion. She crossed the space between them in less than a second, now standing right in front of Venus.

"I won't go."

Xena desperately wanted to reach out and hold the smaller woman; to cradle her and tell her everything would be okay. Instead, she kept her hands fixed at her side. She was aware that Venus wasn't really good with physical touch from the night before. She didn't want to do anything that would startle her or scare her away.

It was clear to Xena that Venus hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night. Even though the dark circles were not as obvious on the woman's brown skin, Xena could still make out the sunken eyes and the huge eye bags. She looked exhausted.

Xena assumed it was probably because of the events of last night. She had probably been too scared to sleep after what had happened at the club. She hated the fact that Venus was in this apartment, all by herself. Xena swallowed hard as she felt a massive wave of protectiveness come over her.

Xena suddenly became hyperaware of Venus that stood silently staring up at her.

"So, what would you like to do?" Xena asked, staring down at the woman directly below her. They were an inch apart, a step closer, and their chests would be touching.

Xena pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

"I-I don't know." Venus replied. Her voice came out soft, feeble.

Xena racked her brain for something to do, the silence between them growing thick. "We could just watch Netflix."

"Netflix?" Venus asked slowly.

Xena nodded her head.

"What's Netflix?"

Xena was really thrown off guard at that. For a moment she wondered if the younger woman was making a joke of some sorts, but this thought immediately disappeared from her mind once she saw the genuine look of confusion. Xena had so many thoughts running through her mind. Venus herself was usually out of touch with things, but this was on a whole different level. How was it that somebody born in this generation didn't know what Netflix was? Xena didn't voice any of these thoughts, instead an idea came into her mind:

"Hey, do you want to go over to my apartment instead? I have my Netflix account set up, we can watch it there." She waited patiently for Venus to contemplate this suggestion in her mind. Venus then nodded and Xena smiled softly at her.

They made their way out of the apartment in silence.

The weather wasn't as chilly as it had been the past few days; it was just a light breeze, which Xena didn't mind. She snuck glances at Venus to make sure the younger woman wasn't shivering. As usual, she was wearing rather thin clothes. Venus looked fine, which reassured Xena.

Before long, the women arrived at Xena's apartment.

Xena watched from the corner of her eyes as Venus looked around. She noted that the smaller woman did not say anything as she took in her surroundings. Most people made a comment of sorts when entering someone's home for the first time. But not Venus. Whatever she was thinking, the woman kept it to herself.

"Come on, let's get settled down in the living room, then I'd go get us some snacks." Xena suggested.

Venus nodded and followed her to the living room of her apartment. Xena waited until the smaller woman was seated before disappearing back into her kitchen.

As Xena got the snacks ready, so many thoughts were running through her mind. As usual, she was worrying about Venus, but this time wondering about the woman's lifestyle. Was Venus poor? That wasn't it. She lived in an apartment in a better part of The City; she knew that she had to be able to pay rent somehow. Hence, she must have a stable job. Xena thought about the fact that it was a Friday, but Venus wasn't at work. Xena herself had the day off. She wondered if Venus had an unusual work schedule or something.

There were more questions going through her mind, but Xena understood that they were not going to be answered then. Instead, she got the snacks together on a tray and made her way back into the living room.

Venus was in the same position she had left her, seated with her legs crossed, staring blankly ahead of her. Her head turned to look at Xena when she walked in.

Xena quietly set the snacks down in front of Venus before grabbing the TV remote as she got on the sofa next to her, keeping some distance between them.

"So, what kind of shows do you like to watch?"

Venus was quiet for a moment. "I don't really watch shows."

"What do you usually watch?"

"News channels."

Xena turned her head and looked directly at Venus. The woman was definitely something, that was for sure.

"Do you want to watch the news channel?"

"No."

Xena was relieved by this reply. She didn't want to have to see her work stuff and watch the different ways she was failing as an Agent put up on the screen in front of her. She'd rather enjoy her time with Venus in some other way.

"I like cartoons." Venus now said.

Xena nodded her head as she flipped through some cartoons on Netflix before settling for a Disney animation.

"Feel free to help yourself." Xena said, motioning to the tray of snacks. Even though she had set it right in front of Venus, the woman had not reached for any. Xena could easily tell that she was holding herself back, she couldn't understand why.

Xena finally reached forward and took a snack from the tray, hoping that her actions would encourage Venus to do the same. It did. Xena watched with a small smile on her face as Venus reached for a Haribo before settling back in her seat, her eyes peeled to the screen before her.

Beauty and The Beast was playing on the screen, but Xena wasn't really paying attention to it. Instead, she watched Venus beside her, gauging her reactions. The woman looked hooked to the movie which made Xena smile.

Xena didn't know exactly when or how it had happened, but Venus had inched closer towards her at some point during the movie. She was now seated right next to her, her shoulder lightly brushing hers, and she chewed on popcorn quietly.

It was harder for Xena to blatantly stare at the woman when she was right next to her, so she stuck with occasional side glances. However, Venus remained oblivious to this. She crunched the popcorn from the bowl, her eyes peeled to the TV screen. It didn't take much for Xena to gather that Venus had never seen Beauty and The Beast before.

About twenty minutes to the end of the movie, Xena felt a weight on her shoulder. She turned her head slowly to see that it was Venus who had dozed off. For the longest time Xena remained in the same position, not knowing how she was to react. She didn't want to move for fear of disrupting Venus' sleep; she knew the woman needed it.

Instead, Xena sat there, barely moving, until the movie ended. Yet, Venus had not woken up, she had begun to snore lightly which made Xena smile slightly.

"Venus?"

No reply.

"Hey Venus, the movie's over."

Still no reply. It became apparent to Xena that the woman was really in a deep sleep.

Turning ever so slightly, Xena picked Venus up in her arms. She looked down at the smaller woman she was now holding, instinctively cradling her closer to her chest. Xena tried to calm her heart rate as she slowly made her way over to her bedroom. Her apartment didn't have a guest room, so Venus would have to sleep on her bed; Xena didn't mind sleeping on the couch.

Xena tucked the smaller woman into bed before she too changed into her pajamas. She realized that it was still a bit early to be going to bed, but she figured that an early night was what the both of them needed. Last night had been quite hectic.

"Xena?"

Venus had called out her name. Xena looked at the smaller woman who still had her eyes shut. "Please don't leave."

It was the same words from earlier on and Xena's heart instantly quickened in place. She swallowed hard as she made her way over to the other side of the bed.

"I'm not leaving." Xena whispered as she got into bed. She didn't know if Venus had spoken in her sleep, but there was no reply. Once again, she was snoring lightly.

Xena made sure to keep a distance between them as she settled into bed, admiring just how innocent Venus appeared as she slept. Xena watched her for a while longer, her heart beating faster as she watched the steady rise and fall of her chest.

Slowly, then all at once, Xena fell asleep as well.

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This was a cute chapter to write (: