“Well why in the name of Zeus didn’t you ever tell me?” Herc asked with a smile.

“Tell you what? Nothing ever came of it. It all ended when she died – er, when we thought she died. What was there to tell?” Iolaus turned to face him, clearly worked up. Hercules met his eyes calmly and collectedly. He finally understood.

“You might have told me you were in love with her.”

Iolaus fell back in amazement. He opened his mouth but found he couldn’t speak right away. He needed a second to process what he’d just heard.

“You think I was in love with her?”

“Weren’t you?”

“I… don’t know. You think I was?”

“Whenever we ran into Xena she was always the first one you went to, wasn’t she? You two were always together, and whenever you were parted you’d keep talking about her for ages." Come to think of it, Hercules was surprised he hadn’t figured it out earlier.

"That’s… I don’t know. I guess…" Iolaus couldn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t have to.

"You didn’t know?" Herc asked. Iolaus shook his head.

“I knew there was something. We both knew there was something… but we were never together long enough to figure it out. Always thought there’d be time.”

“Well,” Hercules said cheerfully, “now there is.”

Iolaus looked up, alarmed. “No. Oh no, Hercules. Not now. That’s not possible.”

“I don’t understand you. Iolaus, Gabrielle’s alive! You’ve got her back. You have a second chance. Don’t waste it,” he said seriously. Gods, what would he have given for a second chance with Serena…

But Iolaus still had that worried look all over his face. “I can’t see her,” he said.

“She’ll want to see you.”

“No. She’ll want to see the old Iolaus. The one who helped her fight off warlords, free Titans and save villages. I can’t do any of that anymore.”

“I doubt she’ll expect you to. Iolaus! This is what you’ve been praying for!”

“I wanted her to live – with me – I mean, at the same time as me. She can’t now. I’ve grown old without her and she’s stayed the same.”

“She cared about you, my friend, not how you looked.” Iolaus did not seem comforted. “And you’re not that old.”