"Let's have sex."
The words left her mouth, sharp and final, but the silence that followed was deafening. Liam's wide eyes reflected back at her like a mirror, shock, disbelief, fear.. but underneath it all, something else. Something vulnerable.
Xena's own heart thundered against her ribs, and for the first time in years, the iron mask she wore as a Vonite princess began to crack. She forced herself to keep her chin high, her expression unreadable, but Inside, she was a storm.
"What am I doing?" she thought. "This wasn't supposed to happen. The system was designed for compatibility, for survival, for war. It wasn't designed for… this. Not for something so raw and intimate, not for a bond forged in desperation instead of strategy." She clenched her fist at her side, nails digging into her palm, grounding herself in the sting.
But then she remembered her people… faces of soldiers, of children, of her father, waiting, hiding, losing hope with every passing year. Being the Vonite empire's last hope wasn't just a title. It was her burden.
"If he dies, the system dies with him. And if the system dies… so does everything I've sworn to protect. I can't let that happen."
Her eyes flicked back to Liam. His hair was messy, his chest rising and falling too quickly, his lips parted as though caught between protest and surrender. He wasn't a hero. He wasn't noble. But she had chosen him for that very reason. Because he was angry. Because he was human enough to hate this world, and desperate enough to change it.
Her throat tightened. "This isn't about me. This is my duty. To my people. To Von."
Yet even as she repeated the words like a mantra, her body betrayed her… the heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck, the weight of her own vulnerability pressing down. She had stripped herself of more than her jacket and pants. She had stripped herself of the wall she always hid behind. And standing this close to him, she felt it… the dangerous, undeniable hum of connection.
Her lips parted slightly, but no more words came. The silence between them was loud enough.
"I don't have a choice," She reminded herself. "He doesn't have a choice either. We have to do this."
Liam on the other hand was in distress. His brain went white. Blank. Every coherent thought drowned beneath the sheer shock of the sight before him.
Xena's naked figure was illuminated by the dim wash of moonlight that crept through his curtains, and for a moment, he could do nothing but stare.
Her body was statuesque yet human, curves carved in ways that no dream could've conjured. Her breasts were large and round… X cup. Her pale skin was spotless and smooth. She was a beauty he had no business looking at, raw and unguarded… and it paralyzed him.
His throat tightened, his heart slammed against his ribs, and his mind screamed that this couldn't be real. Even his little brother throbbed in excitement.
But then… she shifted. Xena's gaze flicked away, her jaw tense, and for the first time since he'd met her, she looked unsure. She crossed her arms over her breasts, hiding herself, and that simple gesture snapped him out of his trance.
"Shit—" Liam's voice cracked as he scrambled back on the bed, guilt flooding his system. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I wasn't… I didn't expect you to suddenly—" His words tangled over themselves, frantic. "I'm sorry for staring. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Her eyes darted back to him, surprise flickering for half a second before she masked it with a small shrug. "It's fine," she muttered, though her voice carried a strange heaviness. "I am not offended."
Then, just as quickly, she snapped back to her sharp, commanding tone. "Now stop wasting time. Undress. We should get this over with before it's too late."
The words cut into him like ice.
Liam froze, the weight of the moment crashing into his chest. Slowly, he shook his head. "…No."
Xena's brow furrowed, disbelief etched across her face. "What?"
"I can't," Liam said, firmer now. He swallowed hard, meeting her stare. "I can't do this with you. It's… inappropriate."
She scoffed, the sound harsh, almost bitter. "Inappropriate? Do you think I have a choice in this?" Her voice rose with frustration, trembling on the edges of something deeper. "Do you think I want this?" Her chest rose and fell unevenly, her nails biting into her arms where she held herself. "Look, I don't want to do this either. But I don't have a choice. And neither do you."
Liam shook his head again, his expression torn, pained. "It's not that I don't want to…" He paused, forcing the words out slowly, carefully. "…It's that you shouldn't have to. Not for me. Not because of me. I'd rather take my chances with the system's penalty than let you do something you clearly don't want to do."
The room seemed to still. Xena's lips parted, stunned into silence. She hadn't expected that… hadn't expected him to care about what she wanted. For a fleeting moment, her walls cracked, and something soft, something fragile bled through.
Her chest tightened painfully. She frowned, trying to cover the tremor in her voice. "This isn't for you." She forced the words out, steady, sharp. "I'm not doing this for you, Liam. I'm doing it for my people." Her eyes glistened, but she didn't look away. "Because… If you die, the system dies. And if the system dies, millions of my people suffer. Everything I've fought for.. everything, will be for nothing."
Then her voice broke, barely. "It's not just about you, or me… it's about them. All of them." She hesitated, pride burning in her throat like acid, but she swallowed it down, forcing herself to continue. "…So please. Don't make me beg."
That word 'please' carried more weight than any scream. It wasn't a word someone like her wasn't used to saying.
Liam stared into her eyes, and what he saw made his chest ache. Desperation. Duty. The kind of willingness to sacrifice everything.. even herself for her people. He admired it. Respected it. But it only made his decision harder.
Because he couldn't do it. Not like this. Not when she didn't want it, not when she was forcing herself to bleed dignity just to survive.
He stood slowly, regret heavy in every movement. His gaze lingered on her one last time, softer now, pained. "…I'm sorry, Xena. I really am. But… I just can't."
He didn't wait for her reply. His footsteps were quick, uneven, almost frantic as he left the room hastily, the door shutting behind him with a final, hollow click.
Silence fell.
Xena's chest caved in as though the weight of the world had just crushed her. Her legs gave out, and she crumpled onto the bed, her hands trembling against the sheets. For the first time in years, her vision blurred, hot tears spilling despite her efforts to hold them back.
Her people's faces flashed in her mind… the children, the soldiers, her father. All of them depending on her. Depending on him.
Her breath came in short, panicked gasps. "No… no, no, no." Her nails dug into the fabric of the bed as her body shook. She had failed. And failure meant annihilation.
For the first time since she had come to this cursed planet, Princess Xena, warrior of Von, carrier of her people's last hope.. felt powerless.
And utterly alone.
...…..
The apartment was silent, save for the faint hum of the old refrigerator and the groan of the pipes in the walls.
Liam padded barefoot into the kitchen, his hands trembling faintly as he reached for a glass. He filled it at the sink, the stream of water loud in the quiet, then lifted it to his lips and drank.
The cool liquid rushed down his throat, grounding him for a moment, but when he lowered the glass, the weight of everything he'd just walked away from came crashing back. He leaned against the counter, exhaling shakily, eyes unfocused.
"What the hell did I just do?" he muttered to himself.
Images of Xena flared in his mind… her eyes, sharp yet pleading; her voice when it cracked around the word 'please.' And beneath that, the unbearable picture of her crossing her arms over her chest, trying to shield herself from his gaze. The shame that flashed across her face… he hated that he'd been the cause.
His chest tightened. Guilt gnawed at him like a starving animal, but guilt wasn't alone. Doubt slithered in right beside it, wrapping around his mind.
"If she was telling the truth about the system, then I'm really gonna die." he thought. "But am I really cool with that?"
He pondered in his mind as fear began to creep in. Fear of dying. Fear of his heart just stopping when the clock ran out. Fear of leaving his little sister all alone in this hellhole of a city. He pictured her face… the one person who had always looked up to him, depended on him. Would she cry? Would she hate him for leaving her behind?
Liam's throat burned. He grabbed the glass again and downed the last sip, but it didn't help. His pulse thundered. His hands shook.
Then, unbidden, his mind flickered back to the quest itself. That stupid, absurd demand written in glowing words.
He let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Lose my virginity or die? God, it still sounds like a fucking joke."
But his smile withered as a blue light suddenly shimmered in the corner of his vision. The familiar interface blinking into existence before him.
*Quest Reminder:
[Lose your virginity within 24 hours]
[Time Remaining: 09:13:28]
The numbers pulsed in red, bold and merciless. A death sentence dressed as a countdown.
Liam's laughter died in his throat. He gulped hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, and for the first time he admitted it to himself… he didn't want to die.
Not like this. Not on a technicality.
His chest heaved as he stared at the timer. If Xena was right… if this system was more than some twisted punishment, then maybe… maybe there was a chance. A chance to live. A chance to fight. A chance to become someone who could change things.
His sister's face returned in his mind, clearer this time, smiling at him with that unshaken belief she always carried. He couldn't take that away from her. He couldn't let her grow up thinking her brother had just… given up.
And then Xena's voice whispered through his memory, desperate and breaking: If you die, my people die too.
Liam's shoulders slumped. He pressed a hand to his face and let out a low, shuddering sigh. He couldn't be that selfish. Not when so many lives… hers, her people's, his sister's future, all tangled in the balance.
His eyes drifted back to the floating timer, its red digits flickering like a heartbeat, fueling him. He inhaled sharply, held it, then exhaled as resolve hardened in his chest.
"Fine," he muttered to himself. His jaw clenched. "I'll do it. I'll fucking do it."
His gaze snapped toward the refrigerator, and without hesitation, he yanked it open. Cold air spilled out as his eyes scanned the shelves, then stopped at the bottom.
A half-forgotten bottle of whiskey lay waiting, amber liquid glinting under the dim light. It was a bonus he had received from the time he worked at a bar.
He reached for it, chuckling under his breath at the irony. "Who knew this would later come in handy?"
He grabbed two glasses from the cupboard, setting them down with a soft clink, then tucked the bottle under his arm. His pulse was steady now.. heavy, but steady.
Turning back toward the hall, Liam exhaled through his nose, his decision carrying him forward. His feet moved without hesitation, one after the other, as he carried the bottle and glasses back toward the room he had fled from.
Back toward Xena.
Back toward the impossible choice he had just decided to make.