Days And Nights (Book of Life and Maya and the Three One Shots)

Part of the Family

“I don't know if that's a good idea.” Zatz said.

“Come on, Zatz.” Maya said, “My family hasn't seen you in forever.” 

“I don't know if they want to.”

Maya sighed. Zatz never forgave himself for taking part in Mictlan's plan, even though he only played a small role. Despite reassuring him time and time again, she knew he still blamed himself for starting it all.

She placed her hand over his, “I promise they will. And if they're not, I'll talk to them.”

Zatz looked at his wife. He knew this was important to her, nor was she going to let this go, “Alright, I'll go.”

Maya smiled and hugged him tightly, “I promise you won't regret this.” 

Zatz exhaled, his stress melting away in Maya’s embrace. She could hear him silently purring, making her giggle. She'll tease him about that later.

…

During a solar eclipse, Zatz and Maya visited the Teca kingdom. The people looked up at the sky as two beams of sunlight and moonlight descended from the sky to the palace.

They knew the gods of the sun and moon, their princess and her husband, their heroes, were among them once again. 

King and Queen Teca noticed the light, knowing what it meant. They made their way to the main hall of the palace, stopping in their tracks at the sight of Maya and Zatz again. 

“Hi, Mama. Hi, Papa.” Maya smiled warmly at her parents.

With tears in their eyes, the Tecas ran into each other's arms, Zatz standing off to the side with a smile.

The Tecas looked at Zatz when they ended the hug. He took a deep breath and bowed his head, “I never got the chance, King and Queen Teca, but I want to apologize for how we first met. It wasn't ideal, but I can-”

“There's no need to apologize, Zatz.” Queen Teca said.

“That's what I've been saying.” Maya said. 

“The last time we saw you, you fought alongside us. And your love for Maya was pretty obvious.”

“Although, I really wish you had spoken to us about-” Queen Teca elbowed her husband to keep quiet. King Teca cleared his throat, “But she's right. You're a member of the family now, so let bygones be bygones.”

Zatz looked at everyone before grinning, “Thank you. I just wanted to make my intentions clear.”

Maya looked around, “Wait, where are the twins?”

King Teca loudly called for Jaguar and Eagle. After a minute, they ran into the main hall. Eagle had red face paint with her dark hair in pigtails while Jaguar had blue face paint. They skidded to a stop when they saw Maya and Zatz.

Maya squealed, “Oh, my gosh! They've grown so much!” She ran over and hugged them tightly. 

Eagle and Jaguar were confused until Queen Teca said, “This is your sister, Maya.”

“Oh.” Eagle said. 

“So you're the one who saves us all.” Jaguar said when Maya pulled away.

“You told them about me, huh?” Maya asked her parents.

“They never get tired of it.” King Teca said.

“But they haven't told us everything.” Eagle said, “Tell us how you defeated Mictlan!”

Maya chuckled at her younger siblings, “Well, I didn't do it on my own.” She walked over to Zatz and looped her arm with his, “My husband helped, too.” She noticed Zatz’s sheepish grin and nudged his arm, “Go on. Say hi to them.”

Zatz cleared his throat, kneeling down to the kids’ level, “Hello.” He said, “I'm Zatz, god of the moon and prince of bats.” He chuckled, “I guess this makes us- oof!” The wind was knocked out of him as the twins suddenly tackled him to the ground.

Eagle and Jaguar laughed, “You guys are so cool!” Jaguar exclaimed.

“Can you both tell the story?” Eagle asked.

Zatz looked over at the other Tecas as they laughed. He smiled and felt himself getting choked up, hugging the twins back. 

He truly felt like a part of the family now.