The Proposal (A Xibalba and La Muerte Story)
Author's note: This story takes place right after my other story, 'Xibalba's Crown'.
Disclaimer: I don't own Xibalba, La Muerte, the Candle Maker or the Book of Life.
"Xibalba, are you planning on telling what this surprise is exactly?"
"Be patience, mi amor. I promise you, you will not be disappointed."
La Muerte let out a small huff, but despite feeling slightly exasperated with how mysterious her lover was being, she couldn't help but feel curious and a little excited. Ever since they had left the Land of the Forgotten and Xibalba had mention he had a surprise for her, she had been wracking her brain to try and figure out what he could possibly have in store for her.
"Can you a least give me a clue as to what it is?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
"No," Came his quick response, "that would spoil the surprise."
Now she was getting annoyed. There had to be some way to get him to spill the beans. But the question is how? An idea suddenly came to her. Normally she wouldn't resort to this tactic, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And if this didn't work, she didn't know what would.
The queen sauntered up to the king, her hips swaying with each step. Xibalba instantly noticed the change in her mood and started to retreat backwards until his back came in contact with the church wall. He audibly gulped when she placed her hands on his armored chest, her full, red lips curling into a seductive smile.
"Please Balby," La Muerte cooed, gazing up at him through half-lidded eyes. One hand trailed upwards to toy with his beard. "Just one little hint?" She leaned forward, confident that once she kissed him, he would crack.
Xibalba was a bit torn at that moment, but he knew he had to stay strong no matter what she threw at him. So he gently pressed a finger to her lips, effectively stopping her advance. "Nice try, my dear." he complemented. "But that won't work this time."
She stepped back away from him, sighing in defeat. "Well, you can't blame me for trying."
"I don't. I probably would have tried the same if I were you. Now…follow me."
Xibalba disappeared in a flash of black and headed towards the roof of the church. La Muerte was quick to follow him in a shower of gold flower petals. Once they both reappeared, Xibalba turned towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Close your eyes, love." When she arched an eye ridge at him, he added, "Please, dear, trust me. It's part of the surprise."
La Muerte nodded and let her eyes to slip shut. She felt the god move away from her and for a moment all she could hear were some crickets and some mariachi music playing somewhere in the distance. In the next moment, however, she heard voices. Although they were talking very quietly she could easily tell that one of them was Xibalba, but as for the other…she couldn't tell. The goddess tilted her head a little to the side and tried to focus more on the second voice to see if she could identify who it was. The other voice sounded…familiar…really familiar. In fact now that she thought about it, that sounded like-
Her thoughts were brought to halt as she felt a pair of hands grab her own, along with Xibalba's voice saying, "Come with me, love and keep your eyes closed."
She allowed him to guide her a little ways before he made her stop and let go of her hands once more. After a few more moments of silence, she finally asked, "Can I open my eyes now?"
"Alright, open them…now."
La Muerte did so…and gasped in awe at the sight before her.
The entire outer edge of the balcony of the church bell tower was completely lined with candles and all over the floor were even more candles along with vases filled with marigolds.
"Oh Balby," she couldn't keep the wonderment out of her voice as she moved closer to him. "It's so beautiful."
The king smiled, taking a hold of her hands once she was close enough. "I thought you would like it."
"But, how did you manage all of this?"
He flashed a sheepish grin. "I did have a little help."
She smiled knowingly. "And by help you mean the Candle Maker?" At his nod, her smile became wider. "Thank you, Xibalba. This is wonderful." She pressed a kiss to his cheek, making his blush through his tar-like skin before she pulled back and said seemingly to the air, "And thank you as well Candle Maker."
"You're welcome!" The Candle Maker's disembodied voice chirped back.
Xibalba scowled a little in the direction of the other god's voice, but quickly brought his attention back to the goddess in front of him. "Ah, but my love, my surprise isn't over just yet."
"It's not?" La Muerte said quizzically. What more could he have possibly planned?
"No, it's not." Xibalba gave her this tender look, squeezing her hands gently. "I still have to do…this."
He lowered himself down on one knee, causing her eyes to widen. "Xibalba…?"
"My dearest La Muerte," he began softly, "years ago, we met on this day and this rooftop and it was on this very same rooftop that we confessed our love to each other. And over the years we been seeing each other, I've come to realize…I want us to spend the rest of our eternal lives together."
La Muerte's heart was pounding ridiculously loud in her chest. He…he couldn't possibly be saying what she hoped he was saying…was he?
"So I ask you…" Xibalba released one her hands and held his palm out towards her. In a small burst of green fire, a little black box appeared. He opened the lid with a finger to reveal a gold ring with flower designs etched into the band. "Will you grant me the honor and become my wife?"
In that moment, La Muerte felt like the entire world had come to a halt. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't even think as she was completely stunned at what was happening before her.
'Xibalba…he…he just…' Her mind was reeling. Was this all a dream?
'No…this isn't a dream.' She could see the uneasiness on his face as he waited for her answer. She could feel his hand holding onto hers and the warmth of the candles all around them. It was all too vivid to be just a mere dream. 'This is real…'
The queen brought her free hand to cover her mouth as she let out a small, choked sob, feeling the pinpricks of tears stinging her eyes.
Seeing her reaction caused Xibalba to panic. He was just about to ask her what was wrong when he heard her utter a single word. But that one single word, made him feel like he was flying higher than he had ever gone before.
"Yes." La Muerte nodded her head. Dropping her hand and giving him a watery smile, she repeated the word in a much louder and stronger voice. "Yes."
She launched herself at Xibalba practically knocking him over in the process. "Oh yes, si, yes!" And then without further ado, she pulled away enough to press her lips to his.
Xibalba gladly and eagerly returned the kiss. In that moment he couldn't be happier.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally pulled away from each other. Xibalba grabbed her left hand, plucked the ring out of the box and placed it onto her finger. La Muerte brought her hand up to examine the band, watching the way it gleamed in the candlelight.
She looked back up at Xibalba, lips curling into a warm smile. "I love you."
The winged god smiled back, gently removing the tears from her face. "And I love you. Now and forever."
The two immortals moved in union and kissed each other once more. It was the perfect moment until-
They suddenly heard a small sniffling noise. They broke apart and turned their heads to the side to see it was the Candle Maker with the Book of Life floating beside him.
"That was so beautiful, man. You guys are like the cutest couple ever." The Candle Maker wiped away a few tears from his eyes. "And here I told myself I wasn't going to cry."
La Muerte chuckled while Xibalba rolled his eyes. They moved out of their embrace to face their fellow deity.
"Well, thank you again for all of this Candle Maker. La Muerte said sincerely. There was a pause and when she noticed Xibalba continued to say nothing, she nudged him with her elbow.
"What?" He questioned. At her pointed look, he sighed. "Oh, fine…thanks."
The Candle Maker beamed. "No problem. Just be sure to let me know when the wedding going to be." He added with a wink as he tucked the Book of Life under his arm. "See ya guys later!" With that the Candle Maker vanished in a flash of light.
"…Must we invite him to the wedding?" Xibalba asked with a groan.
The goddess giggled. "Now Balby," she chided lightly. "You know as well as I do that the Candle Maker always helps officiates weddings especially since he's the keeper of the Book of Life."
"Yes, yes I know." He grumbled. But that didn't he had to like it.
She laughed again, cupping his jaw. "Oh come now, don't be like that. This is supposes to be a happy moment."
The god's mood brightened instantly. "You're happy?"
"Yes…" she gave him a quick peck on the mouth. "I'm very happy."
"Good to hear." He said before drawing her back into his arms. La Muerte let out another giggle before Xibalba swooped down to steal another kiss.
Author's Notes: So here's my follow up story. I know the candle love scene isn't the most original thing out there, but I figured if it works for Manolo and Maria, it would work for Xibalba and La Muerte. Oh and I hope the Candle Maker isn't too OOC. This is the first time I've ever written him before and he's kind of a hard character to write. At least to me he is.