Aftermath (A series of ELOD one-shots)

II. Aftermath (Side Story)

A/N: Artwork not mine (can only sigh and admire it from afar...)

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(Later, inside Taichen Palace's master bedchambers...)

Donghua swept into the room and found Xiaobai struggling to get up, amid the panels of the screen divider that fell on the floor.  He calmly placed the tray of revitalizing soup on a side table and went over to help her up.

She was trembling slightly, probably from the effort of trying to stand, and the wince that she made as he sat her down on the bed spoke of her great discomfort.  Donghua kept a poker face, even as he stealthily held her lower back and released a wave of healing magic to ease her pain.

Beautiful eyes glared accusingly at him, before turning away with a quiet huff.

He held on to his composure, reached over for the bowl of soup, scooped a spoonful, and offered it to her.  "Here, this will help. Come and eat."

Xiaobai sniffed at the concoction, crinkled her nose, and ate anyway.  Halfway through the bowl, she peeked at him and scowled.  "Wipe that smirk off your face."

He reeled back, pretending to be offended.  "What did I do?"  Then, he couldn't help teasing back, "You should have called for me when you awoke, instead of attempting to get up by yourself."

"You should have stopped when I told you to, instead of messing me up to your heart's content," she shot back.

No amount of self-control could stop the smug grin that brightened his face this time.  "It didn't look like you hated it at the time, hmmm?"

"Hmph."   She swallowed the last bit of soup spoonfed to her and glanced down on herself. "I need a bath."

He nodded indulgently, wrapped an arm around her, and phased out of their bedchamber, appearing on the indoor hotsprings a moment later.

A hand tested the water's temperature, before he carefully set her down on one of the stone steps, so that the water came up to her shoulders.  A wave of his hand, and the purple robe covering her appeared in his grasp, now dripping wet.  He set it aside and stood up.

"I'll be outside.  Call me if you need anything."

There was a splash as Xiaobai turned to regard him in surprise.  "You're not coming in?"

He considered for a while, and said very seriously,  "If I stay, I won't be held responsible for what might happen next."

His lovely little wife narrowed her eyes at him.  Then she shrugged, and leaned back so that her nape rested on the hotspring's edge.  Milky shoulders peeked from the waterline, drops dripping tantalizingly from her neck down the gentle curve of her chest.

"You have more of that soup, don't you? I don't mind the taste, I can eat some more later."