Aftermath (A series of ELOD one-shots)

I. Aftermath

A/N: The beautiful photo above not mine.  Credit goes to the talented artist.

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"Dijun?"

The silver haired deity opened his eyes.  Languidly, unhurriedly, unmindful of his steward's curious energy outside the bedchamber's closed doors, he raised his head up from where it lay, nestled against a warm, bare shoulder.

The bed was a mess of kicked-off quilts, discarded robes, and tangled hair.  The smell of white sandalwood lingered in the air.  The soft rustle of fabrics broke the still atmosphere as he carefully unwound his limbs from the precious person sleeping in his arms.

A dark-haired goddess lay on her side, silky tresses tousled beautifully around her head, half of his heart wrapped around the pointer finger of her left hand.  Milky shoulders peeked from the edges of the purple robe that covered her in lieu of a quilt.   Lips, as red as the phoenix flower blossom on the smooth forehead, were slightly apart as she breathed softly.

He pulled himself up slightly so that they lay down face to face, and murmured against her lips. "Xiaobai."

Long lashes fluttered, eyebrows creased as she muttered, barely awake, "Donghua.  Stop, no, I can't anymore..."

A rare, playfully wicked grin crossed his usually stoic face.  "Want me to prove you wrong?" He asked in a husky voice, nose nudging hers once, twice, thrice.  His arms found their way, seemingly with a life of their own, around her slender waist.

The sleeping goddess sneezed softly, shuddered, and turned away; stubborn even when barely conscious.  "Go away. Let me sleep."

He was battling with himself on the merits and demerits of waking her up when a different energy swept up to the door, one he could not ignore.  "Mother? Father? Are you awake?"

Resignedly, he sat up and pulled the quilt so that it covered Xiaobai's shoulders.  He took a moment to fix his loose, inner robes more securely around himself before calling out to the impatient child outside.  "Come on in, Gungun."

The door flung open, and little feet padded across the hall.  A small head of silver hair peeked around the screen divider that stood before the bed.   "Father! You're finally up!"

Gungun ran over to him, and smiled as his father put a hand on his head.  Suddenly, he stood up straight and said more formally, "Good morning, father lord."

He frowned and took the child onto his arms; the small body relaxed immediately within his embrace, and he smiled, pleased.  "Good morning."

"Is mother well?   Why is she still asleep, when it's already so late?"

He glanced at Xiaobai and wondered how to field the question without ruining his son's innocence.  "Your mother went to bed late last night, so she had to catch up on sleep."