Okay, guys, listen up! This chapter is going to contain mature content (though I'm not sure if I should change the rating of the fic because of one single chapter), so if you're not old enough to read this, then skip the double lines I'll put to signal the part of the mature content. I must warn you though, there will be tons of angst after this chapter (no one is dying, don't freak out about that).

And as always, enjoy!


"Mami, how did the baby get into your belly?"

Esperanza smiled as she placed the brush down, and brought her hands to her baby bump. "Your papi put it in there."

"How?"

"It's… complicated."

La Muerte didn't understand, how could a baby fit into her mother's belly, and she said her father put it inside? "I don't get it…"

Esperanza smiled once again, pulling her daughter closer so she could plant a kiss on her forehead. "You'll understand it someday, when you're older and you marry your handsome prince."

"Why do I have to wait until I marry?"

"Well, you need a boy and a girl to have a baby. Babies need a mami and a papi."

"But how?"

"Well, when a married couple love each other very much, they create children." Esperanza was stroking her daughter's head gently, before taking her hand and placing it on her abdomen so her daughter could feel her baby sister kicking. "Here, your sister wants to say hi."

La Muerte squealed in delight when she felt a tapping in her mother's tummy, and hugged her tightly. "I love you, mami."

Esperanza returned the embrace and kissed her head with the usual maternal warmth that she always showed her. "I love you more, mi niña."


La Muerte stared at her reflection in the mirror, remembering that moment very clearly. She remembered when she had first asked the question every little child asked her parents, where babies came from. Sure, at that time she was only five, and too young to understand what she meant, and now that she knew how a child was conceived, she couldn't help but grow nervous. It would be her first time with a man, and frankly, she was afraid. She wanted this, but at the same time she was still struggling against these feelings she had. Tonight would be it; she would finally give herself to him.

Xibalba was having similar thoughts, he was pacing around his room, nervous. He didn't know why he felt like this, he had bedded lots of women before to satisfy his needs without a care, he had wanted to make La Muerte his every since he first lay his eyes on her, but he hadn't cared about any of those women from before (Epona was the exception, but he never had any romantic feelings for her even though most pantheons thought they would make the perfect couple), and now that he knew La Muerte better, now that he felt something for her, he didn't want to take her maidenhood just because of a stupid wager, rather because she wished it so. That, and he was still afraid of the idea of fertilizing her pure womb with his filthy seeds. Still, he wanted her first experiencing of it to be perfect, magical, just like she always dreamed of. He had considered doing it in his chambers, but felt in the last moment that it was not very romantic, not to mention it was very cold. He only knew of one place in his castle that could be an ideal place…

When La Muerte had returned to her chambers at night, she found a single red rose on top of her bed, along with a note. She couldn't help but giggle a bit as she picked the rose and gave it a sniff, taking in the blissful aroma. Then she picked the note and gave it a quick read.

Meet me in the garden at nine o'clock.

The following two hours she tried to calm down and find something she could wear, though judging by what they were going to do that was not very important. Once nine o'clock struck, La Muerte resigned and headed out of her room wrapped in her nightgown and red bathrobe, going up towards the upper levels of the castle, and towards the garden. As she was making her way upstairs to go into the beautiful garden, she wondered how her father would react if he ever found out about this, but then again, Xibalba was her husband, she wasn't doing anything wrong.

When she walked into the garden, her eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. There was a path of rose and marigold petals leading forward, flanked by small candles of pinkish fire, and all the flowers around were in bloom. Even the 'sunlight' had dimmed and it looked as if it were nighttime in the garden, making La Muerte wonder if this garden could be manipulated at will. Taking a hand up to her mother's pendant, La Muerte slowly walked down the path of petals, she was tempted to take off her slippers and walk barefoot on the ground, but chose not to at the last moment. The path was leading up to the jacaranda tree, where she found a large white mantle on top of the grass, surrounded by decorations of flowers and a few more candles. Xibalba was already waiting for her there, and despite the tender look to him she could tell he was beyond anxious and nervous.

"A-Are you sure you want to do this…?" he asked, trying to hide his insecurity. "I mean, if you don't feel ready I'll understand…"

"It's okay, we made a bet and I lost." La Muerte simply said, approaching her husband, grinning when he stepped back with blushing cheeks. "Besides, I thought you wanted to taste me."

"I…D…B-" Xibalba didn't know what to say as she cornered him against the jacaranda's trunk, his wings bristling in stress. Finally, he decided he had to control himself and calm down, she didn't seem any upset for this, so maybe he had nothing to worry about. Relaxing his muscles, Xibalba managed to speak properly this time. "I'm sorry, I… well, I just want it to be perfect for you."

La Muerte smiled at his consideration, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You have nothing to worry about."

Finally returning the smile, Xibalba picked his wife up bridal style and headed over to the mantle on the grass so he could sit down, and then lay down with his wife just next to him. La Muerte accommodated in the crook of his arm, snuggling against him and resting her head against his chest. His heartbeat had a soothing effect on her, and his aroma of bubbling tar no longer had the stinking effect it used to have on her now she even found it attractive. Meanwhile, Xibalba was absolutely enjoying her sweet smell of flowers and candy, and he stroked her shoulder tenderly, for the first time without his gloves, and it was just like he imagined it to be. Warm and soft, he couldn't wait to lick it.

And yet, his nerves were still getting to him. And unfortunately, La Muerte noticed.

"Still nervous?" she inquired gently.

Xibalba's feathers were bristling nervously once again, but he managed to speak without stuttering. "No, no, I'm fine, really. I should be asking you that, it's your first time."

"Well… I have to admit…" La Muerte shifted a bit away from Xibalba, shifting her gaze towards the flowers and rubbing her arms. "I always imagined my first time in other circumstances…"

His stomach flipped. "I guess so…"

"I still can't believe it, you know…"

"Believe what?"

"How eight months ago we hated each other, and look at us now…"

"I didn't hate you. I disliked your stubbornness and your temper, but I didn't hate you."

"I didn't actually hate you either. I just thought you were cruel and arrogant, I thought you didn't care for anyone but yourself."

"I won't lie to you, my dear, that was partly true…" Xibalba blushed deeply at the following words. "Until I met you, that is."

La Muerte couldn't help but giggle, before shivering a bit. Despite the light heat emanating from the candles there was a chill in the air tonight. Xibalba almost instinctively wrapped a wing around her and pulled her closer to warm her up a bit.

"Better?" he inquired. La Muerte shivered in delight at the ticklish sensation of his feathers.

"Much better." She smiled, snuggling up against him and looking up at him with that sweet gaze. Those beautiful suns that almost always caught him into an hypnotic trance similar to that of a cobra captivating its prey, or a peacock's tail as it extended in the Spring season to attract a mate.

"You have beautiful eyes…" he whispered after a while, starting to feel the urge and instinct to make it with his now beloved wife.

"Yours too…" La Muerte returned a whisper of her own, gazing into his skull shaped red pupils. "They have a funny shape…" Unknowingly their heads were leaning closer as the storm of emotions started to stir within their bodies, as well as their hormones.

"Shall we?" She asked, growing impatient.

"As you wish…" Xibalba gave his wife a flirty grin. "mi ángel."


Finally, their lips joined together in a tender kiss, and almost immediately La Muerte's arms sought a grip around Xibalba's neck, pulling herself as close to him as possible, while Xibalba's claws had taken a gentle hold of her waist. He tried to taste as much of her cherry-flavored lips as much as possible, but trying not to get too rough or forceful with the kiss, still not forgetting it was her first time. La Muerte couldn't help but shiver at how cold his touch was, but she fought back the urge to pull away from the kiss, and instead focused on the back of his neck as she ran her fingers down it, making him shiver in delight.

Being much more experienced in this-something of which he was not really proud of now-, Xibalba knew how to treat a virgin, but this woman in particular deserved the best experience she could ever have. As his hands explored her curves, her back and her nape, one of them ran through her hair to release more of her perfume, a rich smell of roses and marigolds with a pinch of lemon. His feathers bristled in delight when she ran her fingers down his neck, and then down his collarbone, while he continued with the lip kissing. Eventually, however, he got tired of them and wished to explore a little deeper.

La Muerte felt Xibalba's black tongue caressing her lips, begging to let him in. She was reluctant, but her rising hormones made her gently open an entrance for Xibalba's tongue, and moaned in delight when she felt the tip exploring the insides of her mouth in a ticklish sensation, leaving a strong aftertaste of wine and churros. As she continued to enjoy his kisses and his caresses, soon she felt wetness down between her legs. She could tell Xibalba was having his own arousal by now, judging by how he was trying to keep his legs and below his waist a bit farther from her.

Their hearts were quickening their paces little by little, their breathing was becoming a bit rougher and accelerated. Xibalba got tired of touching La Muerte's gown, and it wasn't long before he started to undress her with all the tenderness in the world, gently slipping the robe off her, and then proceeding to slip her semi-transparent sleeping gown off her, while La Muerte did something similar with his night robe. Finally bored of her lips, Xibalba lowered his 'inspection' down to her neck, planting kisses on it, and happily licking her gentle flesh of sugar. La Muerte moaned once again as she shivered in delight while enjoying his tongue licking and kissing her neck, gripping on his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his waist.

Slowly, their tenderness was giving way in to passion, their bodies asking them for more, drops of sweat trickled down their bodies as they indirectly got ready for what was coming next. Xibalba lifted his lips from his wife's neck to take a breath, and the two gazed at each other briefly.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, brushing some disheveled hairs away from her face with his claw.

"Better than ever." La Muerte sighed, managing to give him a small smile. "How about you?"

"Don't worry about me, my dear. I'm experienced at this."

Grinning, La Muerte surprised Xibalba by turning him around and placing herself on top of him. "Then show me."

The dark god was surprised when her lips came into contact with his once more, this time in a more passionate way. He gladly returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around his wife, also enveloping with his wings; he was tempted to do it, but he wasn't certain if she would allow it. Who knew, they were so much into this by now that perhaps she wouldn't mind now. She shivered when she felt Xibalba's hand reach down towards her nether regions, and squealed in surprise when his fingers gingerly started touching her pussy, already moistened by their passion and her spiked hormones.

"Sorry." Xibalba whispered, retreating his hands from the goddess's pussy.

"It's okay…" La Muerte whispered, her cheeks all red and blushing. "It's just it's ticklish, that's all…"

Grinning, Xibalba flipped La Muerte around so that he was on top of her once more. "Oh? So my suspicions were true? You are ticklish?"

"Don't you dare-" La Muerte couldn't finish the sentence as Xibalba started to tickle between her legs, making her giggle and grip on the white mantle, sweating. Soon La Muerte pulled Xibalba into a fierce kiss, again taking him by surprise, and once again he returned the kiss with as much passion. Their insecurities faded away, their hormones nearly reached their peaks as they resumed their lovemaking. Their bodies perspired deeply with their hearts beating as one. Xibalba got a bit horny, and soon his hands were exploring his wife's breasts, caressing and squeezing them lightly, making La Muerte groan and squeal in delight. It wasn't long before they neared their climax, and their primal instincts were nearly taking over.

"Are you ready?" Xibalba asked her, he wanted to make sure she wanted this.

La Muerte was a bit afraid, but nevertheless the nodded, breathing in and out to regain her lost breath. Her grip on Xibalba's shoulders became tighter as she prepared herself emotionally for what was to come. Xibalba prepared to take the step, making sure he was pointing at between her legs, and he'd hoped she would like it; he'd do his best to make it as slow as possible.

La Muerte whimpered lightly when the moment she had been waiting for arrived, when she felt Xibalba penetrate through her hymen, crying out through the kiss as he thrust in and out of her as gently as he could. It hurt a bit, but she could tell he was doing his best to do it slowly, she gripped on Xibalba's shoulders, opening up her legs even more to make it easier for him.

Passion had overcome them, they no longer thought. That night, they became one as they expressed their love for one another, continuing to explore each other's bodies. The candles around them flared a passionate red because of the moment.

Darkness and Light.

Sugar and Tar.

Cruelty and Kindness.

La Muerte felt his manhood devouring her maidenhood, her womb was on fire, but soon she felt she was reaching her climax. "Xibalba…" she whimpered, breaking away from the kiss.

"I'm almost there…" Xibalba replied through grit teeth, containing his urge to thrust faster and unleash his passion and desire unto her body. "Wait… Just wait for me…" he groaned.

La Muerte continued to cry out silently, gripping Xibalba's shoulders with a strong grip, until…

Both Xibalba and La Muerte cried out when he came deep into her, and in an act of instinct La Muerte clenched her vaginal muscles to milk him into her more. Xibalba's wings flared out and his feathers bristled. He couldn't contain himself any longer, he thrust in and out harder into her, pressing her against his chest and kissing her fiercely. La Muerte kissed him with fury and ecstasy, her whimpers turning into moans of pleasure as they reached their climax. They didn't know how much it lasted, to them it felt like hours, but a minute later Xibalba retreated from her, and collapsed next to her, spreading out his bristled wings and looking upwards. Both deities were panting heavily, their perspiration mixing as La Muerte snuggled against Xibalba's body, seeking its warmth when another chilly breeze blew in the garden. The candles' fire returned back to normal as the hormones lowered back to normal levels and the heartbeats slowed down to rest.


Damn it, he was getting too old for this. It had been so long ever since he had interacted this way with a woman, but those times were different. Those other times he took women to his bed didn't mean anything to him, he had only satisfied a physical and psychological need, he was not in love with her, and as soon as he was satisfied he forgot about them and never had any contact with them again (Epona being the exception, she was a dear friend to him).

But this time it had been different. La Muerte made him feel different than those other women he bedded, she was not just a toy he bought and discarded when he got bored of it, she was a beautiful woman he was proud and happy to call his beloved wife. He wanted to make her happy, he wanted to be with her, he… he… he couldn't deny it any longer, as much as he had refused to accept the fact, now he was certain it was true, and nothing would change it.

He loved her.

La Muerte was exhausted. Xibalba might have done most of the job, but this was her first time, she had given herself to him. She was now his, the union had ben consummated. Their marriage was fully valid now, it would be impossible to break it now. If her father ever found out she and Xibalba had spent the night together he was capable on waging war on the Land of the Forgotten, but she didn't care about what he thought anymore. As she snuggled deeply into her husband's embrace, smelling his aroma of tar and ash, she rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, relaxing at his touch when he pulled her closer with his arm and a wing. She was certain now, what had started as mere affection and sympathy had become something more.

She loved him.

The two just stayed like that for a while, looking up at the night sky-like ceiling, snuggled against each other, without saying anything, enjoying the moment. A few minutes later, Xibalba gathered the courage to speak. "La Muerte…?"

"Mm?" La Muerte shifted on his embrace so she was looking at him. "What is it?"

"Did… Was it like you thought it would be?"

Smiling, La Muerte shook her head. "Much better."

Xibalba returned the smile and pulled her even closer, now wrapping both his wings around her, almost like a protective cocoon. They were so exhausted they thought it wouldn't hurt to spend the night here. It was so comfortable… Xibalba found himself stroking La Muerte's head once more and running his fingers through her dark locks, sniffing them and memorizing the scent of flowers. He couldn't help it, he planted a kiss on his wife's forehead, tasting her sugar one last time. "Buenas noches, La Muerte." He whispered into her ear, making her blush lightly.

"Buenas noches, Xibalba…"

The two of them didn't take long in falling asleep, close to one another. They were in such bliss, none of them noticed a dark shadow with glowing red eyes staring at the dark god grimly.

Akrinok had never bothered to visit this place; he thought it a complete waste of time (and he didn't fit through the door in life, anyway), and wanted nothing to do with Selena's hobbies. He continued to stare at his son darkly, then at La Muerte, and back at Xibalba. He cursed that woman for coming to ruin all he had worked on for years, for spoiling Xibalba when it had taken him years to harden his heart only for this accursed goddess to make him a softie yet again. He had to fix this, quickly. Akrinok floated closer to the two lovers with a disgusted expression, and targeted Xibalba. The boy was smiling in his sleep. Damn it.

Turning into black fog, Akrinok made his way inside his son's unconscious as he dreamed. He had to talk personally about this with him.