Comfort (A Xibalba and La Muerte Story)

Disclaimer: I don't own Xibalba, La Muerte or the Book of Life.

Xibalba gilded silently throughout the halls of La Muerte's palace. He had just finished up the last bit of work that needed to done and was heading towards the queen's chambers just to do a quick check up on her.

For La Muerte had retired to her room a little earlier than usual today. Why you ask?

Well, it went a little something like this…

Flashback

The two deities were having a nice dinner with each other until Xibalba noticed something was off.

"Mi amor?"

"Hmm…?" La Muerte's head jerked back up at the sound to her husband's voice."I'm sorry, Xibalba. What were you saying?"

Xibalba's long, white eyebrows furrowed together in concern as he asked, "Are you feeling alright, love?"

"Oh, yes. I'm…" She had to cut herself off to cover her mouth as a large yawn escaped from it. "…I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"I've been speaking to you for several minutes now and you haven't responded to any of my questions."

She blinked, surprised. Had she really been that distracted?

Setting her fork down, she reached over to lay her hand on top of his. "I apologize, love. I didn't realize I was spacing off that bad."

"It's quite alright, dear," he assured, flipping his hand over so he could hold hers, "but I been noticing you been looking awfully tired these last few days. Are sure you've been feeling alright?"

"Yes, it's just…"the queen of the Land of the Remembered paused almost if she was changing her mind in mid-sentence. "It's just been very busy around here lately that's all."

The king of the Land of the Forgotten knew in that instant that couldn't possibly all that was bothering her. But he decided not to press the issue for now and offer a solution to her problem. Placing his goblet back down on the table, Xibalba took a hold of her other hand. "Why don't you head off to bed and I'll finish up the rest of your work for you?"

"Oh no, Xibalba, that's really not necessary."

"I insist."

"Xibalba-"

"Darling please," he cut her off gently, giving her hands a small squeeze, "I can take care of it. Besides you look like you're ready to collapse."

La Muerte wanted to protest, but knew there was really no point. Xibalba could be just as stubborn as she could and just keep insisting until she finally caved in. And besides…she was pretty tried.

"Very well then," she conceded after a moment. "As long as you're sure it won't be too much trouble."

"I'll take care of everything." the god said. "You just focus on getting some rest."

They finished the rest of their meal in silence until La Muerte stood up from her chair, walked around the corner of the table and pecked her husband on the lips. "Buenas noches love."

"Buenas noches to you as well, my dear," Xibalba said back, giving her a kiss of his own before adding, "Sleep well."

Something on his wife's face faltered, but it was gone so quickly, Xibalba dismissed as his imagination. As she left the dining room, Xibalba finished off the rest of his drink before standing up and heading off to work.

End of flashback

Xibalba dragged a hand down his face as he continued down the hall, a long sigh escaping his mouth. He was tired and exhausted, but…his wife was worth it. He would do just about anything to please her.

Now he just wanted to poke his head into her room make, she was alright and then back to the Land of the Forgotten so he could finish the last bit of work he had to do in his realm and then hopefully go to bed as well.

The king stopped right outside her bedchambers. A gloved hand reached for the handle to open the door when-

"Ahh!"

Xibalba jerked his hand back at blood-curdling scream that had sounded from inside the queen's room.

'What was…?'

"No, s-stay back!"

Xibalba didn't hesitate. He jerked open the door, practically ripping it right off its hinges and entered the room. His red skull-shaped eyes swept around the dimly lighted room, searching for any signs of an intruder. When he didn't find anything, he was puzzled until he heard a noise to his left. Xibalba quickly turned his head in that direction…and was shocked at what he saw.

There in the bed, lay La Muerte, but her rest was anything but peaceful. She was tossing and turning continuously and she kept making these small whimpering noises. Xibalba slowly approached the bed. When he stopped beside her, the green flames from his crown and shoulder armor illuminated her frightened features even more.

Unable to stand seeing her like this, the winged deity sat on the edge of the bed and reached over so he could gently shake her awake. "My love…?" he called out as his hands landed on her shoulders.

That proved to be a mistake because the moment he touched her, La Muerte's golden eyes snapped opened and without even thinking, she lashed out. Her hand made contact with her intended target, but when she heard an "Ow!" in a very familiar voice, it snapped her out of her frantic state of mind.

She gasped, "Xibalba!" And when she saw he was rubbing his cheekbone, it made her realize what she had done. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it was you."

"No, I probably did deserve that." He said while his hand was still touching his cheek. He had to admit that his wife was much stronger then she looked. "I really should have thought that through more before I tried to touch you."

Still feeling guilty about what she did, the goddess sat up and took his hand off his cheek so she could press her lips to it. "Better?"

"A little yes, but the better question is…are you feeling better?" The women fell silent and lowered her head. "Mi amor…?" He asked again, but she still didn't say anything.

Without another word, Xibalba gently coaxed her into his arms, his wings unfurling from his back to wrap around her as well. La Muerte was a little taken back by the sudden gesture, but went willingly into his embrace. She laid her head on his chest as she felt him run his fingers through her long, dark mane.

"Thank you," she said softly, snuggling closer to him. Whenever she was in his arms, it always made her feel warm, safe and protected.

Xibalba simply nodded in response. The two immortals were quiet for several, long moments before Xibalba broke it by asking "You've been having nightmares, haven't you?"

The queen tensed before she slowly relaxed once more. "…yes." She answered her voice barely above a whisper.

"How long have you been having them?"

Her fingers absentmindedly toyed with his curly, white beard. "I've been having them for a couple of nights now."

It was just as he had suspected. "What are they about?"

She hesitated. "…I'm sorry. I rather not say, at least not right now."

He could tell she really didn't want to talk about it. So he decided not to push her into telling him, but there was one thing still bothered him. Xibalba moved back enough to look at her face. He griped her chin with two of his fingers and tilted her head up so she would look him in the eye. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"It's just…" her eyes fell shut for a second before she let out a weary sigh and reopened them. "It's just it seem so insignificant and…I didn't want you to worry."

Much to her surprise, the god smiled, moving the hand on her chin to cup her cheek. "My dear, La Muerte, you know you don't have to keep secrets from me."

"I know. I should have just told you the truth. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "All that matters is that now you know you can come talk to me if something ever bothering you again."

"Yes, I know and in the future, I will." She gave him a sweet smile.

"Well, I should probably go so you can get some rest." He started to get off the bed, but La Muerte quickly grabbed his boney arm.

"Xibalba, wait," when he paused, she continued, "Please stay…at least until I fall asleep."

He was surprised at the sudden request, but then smiled and laid his hand on the one still clutching his arm. "I'll stay."

She released his arm from her hold so he could get off the bed. As she lay back down and covered herself up with the sheets once more, Xibalba grabbed the chair at her desk and set it down next to the bed. He sat down and took a hold of her hand. "I'll be right here, love. I promise."

She gave him one last smile before her eyes slipped shut and she eventually drifted off to sleep.

Xibalba waited until he was certain she was completely asleep before releasing her hand momently so he could summon a piece of paper, a quill and an ink well. He scribbled down a message to one of his servants to just leave any work that need to be done on his desk and he would get to it tomorrow. When the letter was finished, the quill and ink well vanished. He folded the note up before he snapped his fingers as quietly as possible. The action caused the paper to burst into green flames and transport it to his realm.

The king grabbed her hand again and for the longest time just watched his beloved sleep. "No matter what happens," he said softly, brushing a lock of her hair away from her face with his free hand. "I'll always be here for you."

When La Muerte opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was she could feel something touching her hand. She turned her head and her eyes widened slightly at the sight before her. Xibalba had fallen asleep in the chair from last night. He was slightly hunched over with his left hand cradling his jaw.

'I can't believe he stayed here this whole time.' But really she was touched by the gesture. 'He really is such a sweetheart sometimes.'

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a particularly loud snore. La Muerte had to bit her lip to keep from giggling out loud. Yes, one of the few things she learned about her husband was that he snored. He tries to deny that he does, but she knew better.

The goddess sat up and moved closer to him. "Balby," she said in a slight sing-song tone. "It's time to wake up.

"Huh, wha-?" Xibalba's eyes blinked a few times before he finally seemed to notice her.

"Good morning, my love." She grinned.

"Good morning, dear," he mumbled in response, running a hand down his face. "How did you sleep?"

"Quite well actually," she said. "You really didn't need to stay here all night."

"I wanted to. I wanted to make sure you were going to be alright."

Red lips curved upwards into a smile. "You're so sweet. Thank you."

The god smiled back. "You're welcome."

It got quiet for a few moments before La Muerte said while shooting him this expecting look, "Well…"

"Well, what?" he looked confused.

She rolled her eyes. "Aren't you going to give me a good morning kiss?"

Realization sunk in and without farther ado, Xibalba leaned forward to kiss her. Her arms came up to circle around his glowing green neck while his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

After a little while, it was Xibalba who pulled back first. "Mi amor as much as I love to kiss you, I'm afraid I need to be heading back to the Land of the Forgotten pretty soon."

She nodded. "And I should probably start getting dressed as well."

La Muerte started to get out of her bed at the same time Xibalba stood up of the chair and moved to put it back at her desk. She was just about to take off her nightgown, until she noticed Xibalba was still in the room. She waited a moment for him to leave, but when he made no move to, she raised an eye ridge at him. "Do you mind?"

"Do I mind?" he echoed. "No, I don't mind at all, my dear. In fact…" he gave her a wicked smile. "Please do continue."

Xibalba barely had enough time to duck so he could avoid the book that came flying towards his head. "I was only joking!"

"Xibalba, get out!" She snapped, pointing a finger at the door.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving." Xibalba headed towards the door and opened it, but before he left the room entirely, he couldn't help but add, "But really, my dear I don't see why your being so shy. After all…it's nothing I haven't seen before."

Xibalba cackled, shutting the door behind him just as another book was chucked in his direction.

'Oooh, that Xibalba!' La Muerte thought furiously, shaking her head. One minute he could act like a complete gentlemen and the next, he would act like a dirty old man. 'But…' She thought about how he stayed by her side the whole night and couldn't stop the fond smile tugging at her lips. 'He does have his moments.'

With that La Muerte got dress and then headed out to start her day, feeling refreshed and more at ease then she had been in the last couple of days.

Author's notes: Yay another Gravepainters story! I finally got to see the move the Book of Life and it was AMAZING! For those who haven't seen the movie yet, I say GO SEE IT! I'm definitely going to go try and see it again before it goes out of theaters.