Between Life and Death

A Death Wish Part 2

●LIFE●

Death's home sprung up around them, and Life breathed in the familiar scent, a smile forming on her face. Death was in her arms, and they were back in his kingdom, something Life had thought would never happen again. Relief washed over Life and she slumped in Death's arms. Tears spilled as she cried for the hardships they had faced, each tear reminding her of every day she had spent without him, but also of the time they had ahead. Tears became sobs that racked her shoulders and left her gasping for air.

Death noticed her sobbing and tightened his grip around her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Life felt little drops of wetness plop on the top of her head, and realized that Death was crying, too. The two continued holding each other, crying from the stress that had been building up inside of them over the past five weeks that was finally being let out.

"I love you," Death whispered into her hair, and Life sobbed harder. Slowly pulling out of the hug, Death grabbed Life's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes, his own, the color of hazelnuts, seeming to stare into her soul. "Nothing in the world will ever change that."

"I love you, too," Life replied back, realizing that it was the first time she had said that since her memories had gotten wiped.

Death crushed her in his arms, and Life tilted her head up to kiss Death. At first, Death's eyes widened, but after the initial shock, he closed his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Life laughed, but it was quickly silenced as she continued to kiss Death. Their kiss was slow and sweet - Death gently placed his hands on Life's waist as she cupped his chin. She stood on her toes because Death was more than a bit taller than her, so he lifted her off the floor in one sweeping motion, holding her gently. Pure joy pulsed through Life's body, filling her with memories of comfort and happiness - memories of Death she had forgotten. One name echoed in her mind as the memories flashed past: Aisha.

When they pulled from the kiss, Life was somewhat disappointed, but when she looked into Death's eyes, all her disappointment faded. His gaze was filled with such kindness and sincerity that Life couldn't help but chuckle and smile. It made her heart melt to know that even though Death had a tough exterior, he had a sweet, caring interior that belonged to her as all of her heart belonged to him.

Giggles arouse from Death's court, who was standing beside them. Both Life and Death whipped their heads towards the source of the sound as Death nearly dropped her in surprise, only to be met by a guilty-looking Truth.

"Sorry that I ruined your special moment, but you guys are just so cute!" Truth squealed.

"No we're not. We don't - I..." Life began as Death put her down abruptly, but she cut herself off when she saw the various nods and murmurs of agreement floating amongst the court.

Death stepped beside Life and held her hand. "And maybe we are," he said while planting a quick kiss on the top of her head, earning another squeal from Truth.

"We're all so happy for you two," Mercy said with a bright smile that seemed to warm the whole room. The tense atmosphere of the room melted. Laughter erupted, and smiles were worn as high-fives and hugs were exchanged. Whoops and whistles of victory rang throughout the once-empty halls of Death's home, and even the hallways seemed to glow brighter. As servants brought food, celebration commenced, the gods and goddesses mingling and recounting their hardships. Someone lit a fire in the fireplace, and some sat in the velvet chairs by the hearth, casually chatting with others.

Their partying lasted well into the night, and a fair share of drinks were passed around. Fury had suggested they play some of the party games humans play, and so everyone found themselves hiding behind chairs and in closets, playing hide and seek. While childish, Life found that she had not been this happy in a long while. Playful banter was thrown around as the seeker found each of the hiders. When they got bored of that, they switched gears to truth or dare. Laughter bubbled whenever someone shared that one embarrassing moment in their lives, or made a fool of themselves trying to complete a dare. Cheeriness blanketed the room, everyone's conversations filled with merriment and felicity, not an ounce of anger or fear to be found.

At last, when the energy of the room died down, everyone filed to their respective rooms. Life, deciding that she'd worn her welcome, was preparing to teleport to her palace when Death approached her.

"You're welcome to stay the night here," Death said, using all of his self-control to stop about an arm's length away from her.

"But where would I spend the night? I very well can't sleep in -" Life began to ramble, but then stopped herself from saying what she was thinking out loud. I very well can't sleep in his room... Life thought inwardly, a blush creeping up her face, mentally slapping herself for thinking of such... things.

"You can't sleep where?" Death asked, eyebrows raised, indicating that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

Heat spread to her cheeks as she scrambled to think of a response that wasn't "your room." "I meant I very well can't sleep here - I feel like I've worn my welcome," Life sputtered, and Death, with a sly smile, asked, "Oh, is that so?"

"Y-yes," Life stammered, and when Death, still with that smile, chuckled, she slapped his arm. "Shut up. You're no better at this," she snapped, and Death bowed.

"Sorry, Your Highness," he said, somewhat sarcastically, and he laughed when she growled. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry, I'll stop. As for your little dilemma, the room you stayed in last time you were here is still available. Unless of course, you would rather spend the night with me. My bed is quite large enough for two," Death said with a wriggle of his eyebrows.

When Life crossed her arms and pouted, Death raised his arms in surrender and said, "Sorry, I just had to. It was set up so perfectly."

Life rolled her eyes and strolled out of the room. "Whatever, Death. Night."

"Goodnight," Death called back.

As Life paced through the now-familiar hallways to her room, she couldn't help but smile to herself. While their bantering had made her slightly uncomfortable, she would be lying if she said she didn't like it or the idea of her staying with Death.

When she reached her room, she quickly opened the door and stepped inside. Everything was as she had left it - her bed was made, the pillows and cushions organized by color, and the plant she had put in the corner of the room was still there, surprisingly still alive. Flopping onto the bed, Life stared at the ceiling as she wondered what she would do next. The ideal thing to do was to go back to her kingdom in the morning and carry on like nothing had happened, but it wasn't what she wanted. What she wanted was to stay in Death's palace - she wanted to stay with Death, to build the courage to indeed stay the night in his rooms. Last time she had left him, she had gotten kidnapped by Karma, and she didn't want to be separated from him again. However, as she continued so stare at the ceiling, she knew what she wanted was unreasonable and impossible. He was Death and she was Life, and they had two different responsibilities, two different lives and kingdoms to rule. Sighing, she rolled over in her bed and dreaded for the morning.