The God of Sky lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He knew she was just a few steps down the hall, and he could hear her soft footsteps. He wanted nothing more than to get up and go to her, to hold her and tell her everything would be okay. But he knew she needed her space, and he didn't want to push her.
It had been centuries since Moon had set foot under his roof. She had gone out of her way to avoid him for so long, even when they were working together at the Senior Council. Having her here was a huge step forward, and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. He knew that if he came on too strong, she would push him away again.
He had to tread carefully. He had to let her come to him on her own terms. He had to be patient. He had to be understanding. He had to be everything she needed him to be, even if it meant giving her the space she needed.
Their relationship wasn't always so fragile. Millennias ago, they were the golden couple of the Realm of Gods. They were inseparable, and they never needed to find a reason to see each other. Holding hands, smelling one another's hair, cradling each other's face embraced in a kiss was more natural than breathing itself.
What they had was indescribable to others and they knew not everyone in their lifetime would ever be able to experience such an intense relationship; in which they needed each other like how someone would need air. But to have their relationship gradually fracture over the course of the centuries to a point where she could no longer stand to be in the same room as him, was both difficult and painful.
As Gods, he knew that quite literally, they had forever; All the time available at their fingertips to try and right things. But this past thousand years without her was the longest they had ever been apart. They were millions of years old, and the cracks in their relationship had been there for hundreds of thousands of years. They would break apart and come back together. Over and over again. But this time, he was honestly afraid that he had lost her for good.
He had spent many nights laying here, staring up at his ceiling in anxiety and despair, over the shambles of their relationship.
Positive thoughts, he reminded himself. Her willingness to stay here was a positive step in the right direction. He just had to take things slowly. He had to think of how he could help her. And at this moment, it would be to solve the mystery of what had happened to Tuzi.
Thinking of Tuzi brought another gut punch to his chest. His friendship with The Goddess's pet may have just started a short time ago, but he had known her since she was brought to the Realm of Gods as a small rabbit. He had seen what the tiny creature had done to protect Chang'er, when The Goddess descended to Earth. It was one of the bravest acts he'd ever witnessed.
He had immediately taken a liking to the pet, and when she was blessed to become human, her guileless candor, yearning for knowledge, and eagerness for friendship drew him in even more. She reminded him so much of Moon when the Goddess was first created. It was hard not to feel troubled by her disappearance.
He closed his eyes and held onto hope as he drifted off to sleep a few hours later. But his sleep was restless, as he had lost a friend that day, yet also made some progress towards repairing a broken relationship.
* * *
"You are my prime suspect," she told him candidly without batting an eyelash.
"Wha– I'm your what?!" Sky stared at her in shock. He came to her room this morning with a tray of food in his hands. He had personally paid a visit to his kitchen staff to prepare her favorite breakfast, as he wanted to do something nice for her.
But when he opened the door to her room, the scene before him knocked the wind out of him. The Goddess had turned her bedroom wall into a massive criminal investigation board. Sticky notes and photos of her "suspects" were tacked up with pins and miles of strings going from here to there, and there to here. Motives were circled with ink and there was a lot of ink. She looked like she was trying to solve the murders of a serial killer.
The Goddess took a strawberry from the tray in his hand, and bit into it. "You are the most suspicious person," she said, pointing at his photo that was tacked onto the wall. There were a lot of strings and pins that spreaded out from his photo. And it wasn't even a good photo of him! His eyes were half blinking with his mouth wide open. Where did she even get that photo?
Sky was speechless. He was struggling to find words on how to respond to this.
Moon on the other hand, was staring at him intently, hoping to find any signs of guilt written on his face. She figured that surprising him would be the best way to catch him off guard. She might find some honest emotions written there that may indicate something sinister. But so far, all she could see was a throbbing vein on the side of his head. His face was flush, and if she was to be truthful, he looked kinda offended. Moon was not expecting this. She took another bite out of her strawberry as she contemplated.
The Sky God was trying his best not to chuck the breakfast tray at the wall. He walked to the desk in front of the huge crime board, and practically slammed the tray onto it.
"Moon Goddess! Explain yourself!" he bit out sharply, trying to get ahold of his emotions.
Oh dear. She ticked him off. He never called her by her full name unless he was mad about something.
"Now now, Sky. I'm just trying to piece together some facts, so we can get to the bottom of this mess."
"Piece together facts–?!!" He caught himself. Do not yell. Count from 1 to 10. Sky closed his eyes and gave himself a moment before chomping out, "Where did you even get this awful miniature of me?!"
Psssssh, the Goddess thought. Even at a time like this, the man's vanity comes first. "It's called a Polaroid," she responded, gesturing to the photo. "Eureka is planning to introduce it to the Mortal Realm in a few hundred years. He's letting me test out the prototype." She held out the polaroid camera that the God of Innovations gave her. "Want to hold it?"
"No, I do not want to hold it," he growled. "Why would you make me your prime suspect? I've been trying to help you this entire time."
"But that's it! You're being too kind. Almost as if you have something to hide," she shot back at him, matching his frown with her own.
Patience Sky, he reminded himself. Lots of patience. "What would you have me do? Leave you by yourself during this time? I am not a cruel person, Moon."
She drew her lips into a straight line. "A cruel person you are not, Sky... But there are a lot of questions that surround you and your recent actions, which just so happen to lead to Tuzi's disappearance."
He leaned against the desk with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Okay then. What are your questions? I can answer every one. I have nothing to hide from you."
"Okay then." She wasn't planning on making this easy for him. Moon pointed at the criminal investigation board. "Question 1. You were having regular meetings with Genesis about the overpopulation of humans in the Mortal Realm, long before the Senior Counsel summons even began. Did you plan this whole scenario, just to lead me away from the palace? Away from Tuzi?"
"I did not. Genesis approached me about the topic first. Someone had complained to the Creator about the problem with human population. Genesis did not want to see unnecessary large-scale bloodshed in the Mortal Realm; So he came to me for advice on the best way to approach the issue. As for who filed the original complaint, neither Genesis nor I were privy to that information. But what this allowed was for us both to think of solutions before you were blindsided at the Senior Council and forced into a corner. We were trying to protect you..."
She recalled Genesis's words to her, that he was on her side. She could only hope that was really true.
"Fair enough," she reluctantly agreed. "Question 2. You were the one who came to me and informed me that I was missing the summons. You personally made sure I would go, even if I never received notice. Why were you so determined? Why did it even matter to you?"
"Because the subject matter pertained to you the most. If any decision was to be made, it would have the largest impact on you and your children. You needed to be there," he answered. "The Creator put me up to the task of making sure you were aware that you had to make an appearance. Millions of years of divine investment couldn't just go to waste."
So it was her dad. For whatever reason, Moon felt the slightest tinge of disappointment that Sky did not come to see her of his own volition. She bit her lower lip indecisively before shooting off her next question.
"Alright then... Question 3. Why did you block me from leaving the Senior Council during recess? I could've made it home. Perhaps in time to save Tuzi..." This was probably the most troubling question for her.
He glanced at her in silence for a moment, then looked away and shifted in his position. The questioning was making him uncomfortable. "I didn't really have a reason," he said, shrugging. "I just like being near you. It's been a long time since we've seen each other, and I never needed a reason to want to be near you before. Wanting to be near you just comes naturally, I guess…"