After Xibalba teleported safely back to his realm, the dark god stood there against the door in his bed chambers smiling softly. He could feel his heart beat ringing in his ears and his chest felt heavy and yet he felt like all the darkness in the world just lifted off his shoulders.

Putting his hand to his chest to slow the beating he found himself gasping for breath. After a few minutes, Xibalba had managed to keep his heart beat down but when he looked around his room all he saw was La Muerte's eyes. He blinked a few times to be sure he wasn't going crazy but as he looked to a chair in the corner of his room he saw La Muerte eyes again, and by the books and the desk. Everywhere he looked he saw two golden eyes staring right back at him with a loving stare.

Xibalba held his head in his hands and turned towards the bed and flopped down on his back staring at the ceiling. His thoughts always seemed to go back to La Muerte and he couldn't stop thinking of her eyes, her smile and the way she said his name. Closing his eyes to picture her face he couldn't get rid of the smile on his face and was once again brought back to her were by far prettier than the sun in the Land of the Living, they were so alive and dazzling. Whether she was yelling at him or talking to him, her eyes always told how she really felt about people or matters and while she found it annoying that they gave her away, Xibalba found it… cute? Attractive even? He wasn't really sure about that but if there was one thing he was sure of it was when she laughed that really made her eyes captivating!

Her laugh was warmer than any fire and when it reached her eyes, one just stopped to stare and smile like he found himself doing a lot. It was those times that made him feel different and it was… warm and peaceful. The more he thought of La Muerte the more he saw her eyes and he didn't know why, why all of a sudden everywhere he looked there she was. Her eyes made even this cold and bleak wasteland feel a little safer, a little better.

Not wanting to let this go, Xibalba stood up from his bed and went off to the library to find out what this meant. Having one of the largest libraries in the known realms he was certain he could find the answer. After hours of searching, he found nothing that could help him with his problem but at the same thought 'how bad could it be? Seeing the eyes of La Muerte all the time?'. Lost in his thoughts Xibalba didn't hear the door open and Meeko, one of his servents, walking in.

"My lord?"

"Hmmm?" Xibalba only half listening.

"My lord, I take it you still haven't found what you are looking for?"

"Gathered that all on your own, did you?"

Meeko remained standing there, looking at his master with worried eyes. He had never seen his lord like this before. Unsure if he was making a smart choice he started to walk towards the back of the library in search of a book that he read some time ago. A few minutes later, Meeko found the book he had been looking for under a thick coat of dust. Taking a deep breath he was walking back to his lord with the book under his arm. "My Lord, I believe this will help you with your problem."

Xibalba glanced down at the book in Meeko's hands and sneered at it before taking it in his own. Flipping through the pages, he realized that Meeko was still standing there. "Thank you Meeko, you may go now."

With that Meeko gave a small bow and left the room without another word. Now that Xibalba had the book in his hands his fingers couldn't seem to turn the pages fast enough and his eyes couldn't read fast enough. Before he turned the next page his eyes saw a small script that caught his eye as he read.

You know you are in love.

When you see the world in her eyes,

and her eyes everywhere in the world

David Levergue

Love? Love… This word meant so much and yet so little in the Land of the Living. Xibalba knew he cared about La Muerte ever since their eyes locked but to be in love… love? He knew there was something between them, a certain spark, and now he made sure she knew it too. He stood there, setting the book on the desk and thought of a certain evening they would never forget.

The Land of the Living was filled with color, music and people. Anywhere you turn you see the light of all the candles for miles and you could hear the laughter of children playing with each other. The dead loved ones of the living stood over their them thankful to be remember and the living stood beside them remembering their loved ones and praying they found a better place. While the living couldn't see the two death gods, the dead certainly could and they knew better than to bother Xibalba.

La Muerte was a different case. She gladly walked up to Xibalba and asked how he was doing. She knew that they had just seen each other last week but she found herself wanting to be near him and he felt the same way, but they would never tell the other that. They had been talking for hours about everything and nothing and now they were playing a 'game' as Xibalba had put it. He would ask her two things and she would have to pick one, the game turned out to be very fun and he was learning all new things about La Muerte because sometimes she would explain her answers.

"Up or down?" Xibalba asked, trying to guess which one.

"Up." La Muerte answered, smiling at his face because he had guessed it wrong...again.

"Winter or summer?"

"Summer."

"Rainy or sunny?"

" I love the rain but I hate storms! I also love the sun but I hate getting too hot."

" Why do you hate storms?"

La Muerte didn't say anything and looked to the ground, not wanting to meet his eyes.

Xibalba took the hint but was a little hurt that she didn't want to tell him. They told each other everything, which was different because both of them weren't used to talking to someone so easily.

"Walking or running?"

"Running."

"Really? I never would have guessed that."

" Why is that?"

" I suppose I never thought of you as a fast one like me." Xibalba couldn't help but smile of the idea of La Muerte running around any type of place. He on the other hand loved to race other people, mostly because no one could beat him.

" What?! I could run faster than you." La Muerte couldn't help but smirk when she said that. She knew Xibalba was fast but she knew that she could out race anyone in her realm.

Xibalba saw the sun starting to peek over the town and knew soon they would have to leave and he didn't want that so using this an idea came to his mind. "How about a wager, my dear?"

La Muerte gave him a smile small, it wasn't long after they met that they both learned each other's love of wagering. "What did you have in mind?"

"I bet I can run faster than you."

La Muerte thought for a moment. "Stakes?"

Xibalba was ready to put his plan into action. "If I win you must... spend time with me everyday for the rest of the year." Xibalba took note of the look of La Muerte's face fearing she would laugh and turn away.

"And if I win you must stop messing with the lives of men." La Muerte said cooly. She had been waiting for a chance to bring it up and now seemed as good as any. She couldn't stand it when they were out and Xibalba would do anything in his power to toy with the poor mortals and even though she told him to stop it he would still do it when he she wasn't looking.

To say Xibalba was shocked would have been an understatement. His jaw dropped at the thought of this bewitching women making him give up his favorite past time but he thought if he won he would have even more time with La Muerte and still could toy with the living. Taking this into mind he agreed.

"Very well my dear." Holding out his hand. As La Muerte placed her smaller hand into his much larger one. " By the ancient rules, the wager is set."

"Then by all means take your go all around the cemetery and back."

Xibalba's staff had come alive and slithered to the side as Xibalba walked up to La Muerte and leaned into her ear and whispered. "After you." This sent a delightful chill down her spine and the butterflies in her to start fluttering but she knew he just wanted to win this race yet when she looked over at him, he was smiling and looking at her up and down which made her think that he was actually… dare she say it flirting.

Standing side by side, both waiting for the count of three to take off.

"One."

"Two"

"THREE!" They both yelled at the same time. And off they both took, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake. La Muerte was ahead by a few inches but she could hear Xibalba's heart thumping… or was that hers? She couldn't remember the last time she had a race like this going faster and faster until the joy of running took away the fear of losing and falling. Her body felt weightless and her heart sored with a freedom she couldn't describe. And even though her heart was beating so hard and her lungs were trying to catch their breath she was laughing. Her laughter reached her eyes and she turned around to glance at Xibalba and found him laughing too! The supposedly cruel and barbarous god was laughing in a race. The sound of his laughter was deep and powerful and she could listen to it like it was song.

Xibalba was having similar thoughts about the goddess in front of him. He knew he was losing but the view he had from behind was worth it; her hair was going wild in the wind and sometimes he was so close the tips brushed against him, the way her body turned around the sharp corners was words beyond graceful and when she sent her laughter up in the air he felt his heart fly along with it. But he knew he couldn't lose this race! Picking up his speed, they were neck and neck and coming close to the end of the race. He flapped his wings to try and get more air in his pace but she had proven hard to beat. Seeing the end of race his heart kept beating, so much he thought it would come out of his chest, he couldn't bare the thought of losing La Muerte so putting everything he had in the finally steps managed to step past La Muerte and won the race.

But they didn't stop at the end of the race. Both gods kept their pace and kept running around the living, La Muerte felt this rush of warmth in her body and for some reason this strange feeling made her feel something she had never felt before and it was that, that fueled her fire and kept her running. La Muerte begun to think of this feeling and somehow Xibalba kept popping in her head. 'What's he doing here? Get out, get out!' but the thought of him came even stronger. There thoughts were too much and all of sudden La Muerte came to a hault. Xibalba never saw it coming.

He was doing his best to keep up with her only to find her stopping of a sudden and he too tried to stop but it was no use and the second her feet were still on the ground they were knocked down by Xibalba. He ran into her fast and hard. La Muerte was knocked onto her back with Xibalba leaning over her. Both took a moment to realize the position they were in and both of them blushed a deeper red than La Muerte's dress.

One of Xibalba's hand were next to her head and the other next to her waist. He blushed even deeper when he realized one of his knees were in between her legs. He looked up, ready to say sorry for running into her, but found La Muerte trying to hold in a laugh. Which did come out and then made him laugh too. But as the laughter died down they were left in the that same position, he didn't know what he was doing but his head seemed to be leaning down and he could hear her breath caught in her throat.

Closing her eyes, La Muerte also found her head doing what it wanted and reached up to meet him. Their lips barely brushed each other when Xibalba's two headed snake came up, ruining the moment. For once in his life Xibalba cursed his friend's timing. Sighing he got to his feet and helped La Muerte to hers, both were blushing and didn't know what to say. After a few moments La Muerte was the one to break the silence.

"It seems you have won the wager… I guess I will see you tomorrow."

"Until tomorrow"

With that La Muerte teleported in a flash of marigolds back into her realm.

The sound of Meeko's voice brought Xibalba back from the memory.

"My Lord, dinner is set."

"Hmmm, of yes. I shall be there shortly."

Bowing to his master Meeko left the room. Xibalba reread the passage over and over again until he was sure he would never forget it. This strange feeling of warmth and… belonging. 'That's it!' he thought 'Belonging.' He knew right there that he now and forever he would belong to the women with the two suns as eyes, his amor and she was his.

Author's Notes: Thank you for everyone who has read this! I am open for requests!