Ratings/Warnings: Rating is PG.
Summary: The goddess of spring Hitomi has always led only the most luxurious life atop the mountain of Atlantis... until the day she receives a proposal of marriage from the dismal keeper of the underworld Van. Hitomi is convinced her life is over, but what if Van is not the cold-hearted person she thinks he is?
Author's Notes: I am very sorry for taking so long to update, everyone. I've been very busy getting ready to leave for Guadalajara for six weeks. But don't worry, the last two chapters are almost done, so they should all be up by the end of this week. Enjoy!
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Persephone: Chapter 8
by Katrina Kadabra
The ride back to the underworld was a bit long, at least Hitomi guessed it would be for a small child. To keep him happy, Hitomi bounced Chid up and down on her lap during the trip. As he responded with a chorus of giggles, she assumed it to work well. During the trip down, Hitomi felt a bit nervous; that place she now called her home had intimidated her quite a bit when she first arrived. She hoped it didn't scare Chid too much.
As soon as they arrived in Van's domain, Hitomi found her fears to be unjustified. The small toddler was far too young to have learned fear, at least of these dismal surroundings. If anything, he seemed to find all the caverns and towers quite fascinating to watch during the trip down the River Styx.
When the boatride was over, the couple went to Van's throneroom, even though this was usually the time that Hitomi retired to her own quarters. She was the first to admit, she didn't know quite as much about caring for toddlers as Millerna seemed to think. Not that she was going to let Van know that. The first thing she did was sit Chid down on the floor, where he found a smooth stone that shimmered when you turned it the right way. Much to Van and Hitomi's pleasure, this was very entertaining for quite a bit. That was, until it was dinnertime. Chid's complaints began with a low cry that quickly built up into the loudest fit of hysterics either Hitomi or Van had ever heard come out of a child's mouth.
"Uh-oh," Van muttered to himself as he watched nervously to see what his wife would do.
Hitomi's initial response was to bounce the child up and down. When that failed, she proceeded to walk him around the room, sing softly, and show him that cute baby in the water's reflection.
But after ten minutes of trying, Hitomi had no success.
"Maybe he's hungry?" Van finally suggested.
"You think so?" Hitomi asked a bit sheepishly.
"I'll go make sure dinner's prepared," he said. Chid took a deep breath and stuck out his lip. "Quickly," Van added on as he left the room.
Hitomi chopped up the food finely as she could so the young toddler would not choke on it. She then brought the plate out and set it in front of Chid, along with a small spoon. She and Van stared at each other expectantly. Chid wasn't a baby anymore, but he still needed help being fed. Van was first to try. He dipped the spoon into the food and held it out towards the child.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Hitomi asked skeptically.
"No, and by the look on your face, neither do you," Van replied. At that, Chid grabbed the spoon and wrestled it away, sending the bits of food flying into Van's face. Hitomi gasped and awaited her husband's temper, but surprisingly, it did not flare. He only wiped the food away, a bit irritated at himself for getting caught off guard by a toddler, but content nevertheless.
Hitomi smiled. This was the Van she had been searching for. And for a moment, she forgot her promise to Allen to decide between them.
Unfortunately, the peace was not to last. A few short hours after dinner it was time for bed, and Chid was also in desperate need of a diaper change. Of course Hitomi how to change a diaper. It was just that she had yet to tried it on an actual infant. The maneuver didn't start out all that well, as Chid hit his head while Hitomi was laying him down. It was just a little bang, quite a negligible injury, but enough to start Chid up again loud and clear. A large sweatdrop formed on Hitomi's head as she finished the job, but it didn't quite stop the crying.
"I must look like an idiot," she thought, glancing at Van. But he didn't mock her. Instead, Van stepped in to try and help.
"Oh, it's okay, it's okay," Van said soothingly, picking up the child and rocking him back and forth.
Hitomi was rather surprised. She had never seen her husband with so much compassion in him before, or any compassion at all for that matter. But there he sat, with Chid in his arms, perfectly content to care for the child all day, speaking softly to him.
"Come on, let's get you to bed," he whispered.
Despite the last-second planning on Millerna's part, Hitomi had still managed to pull together a nursery for Chid to sleep in. After all, Van's palace must have had at least a hundred rooms in it. She just needed to find one the right size to set up the cradle.
As they entered, Hitomi turned down the light while Van placed the young toddler into the cradle his aunt had given him. Chid was quite exhausted, he had fallen asleep in Van's arms. Gently so as not to disturb him, Van pulled down the covers and laid the child down. Smiling, he gave a small stroke to the little tuft of hair on his head. Hitomi watched her husband with fascination, having noticed something she never expected to see.
"Are you crying?" she asked, hardly believing she would ever speak these words to him.
"Well, yes," Van managed to say. "It's just, well, for years now I've watched all the other gods have families. And even though it's only for a few weeks, it's feels like I finally have one of my own. Isn't he beautiful?" Hitomi didn't know if she would go so far as to use that term. He was cute, without a doubt, but beautiful? She had seen creatures much more suited to that term in her heavenly home. Still, looking at from the view of someone who had spent most of his immortal life among the dead, Chid's beauty was not to be underestimated.
"If you say so," she replied. Van seemed satisfied with that.
As they left the child to sleep, Hitomi couldn't help but feel this strange sensation of warmth around Van. She had felt it once before. Suddenly Hitomi realized that Van had her arm around her shoulder. And for once, she didn't object. Instead, she gently laid her head on his chest, listening to his soft heartbeat. Perhaps things would work themselves out after all.
"Van?" she asked quietly. He glanced expectantly down at her. "May I... sleep in your room tonight?" Van smiled.
"Of course."
