Summary: Zitao is the God of War, and he feels his icy temper fall at the mercy of the beloved God of Harvest, Jongin.

Pairing: TaoKai

Notes: I needed more Tao, and somehow listening to Big Bang made this 2k idea over 6k words

Life in the Sunset Palace was beautiful, idle and comfortable. Time was eternally paused in this kingdom, bathing the entire sky in pinks and blues, blended together near the sun, a golden disk on the horizon. This palace was home of the Gods, and was nothing less than grand, nothing less than the dreams of man.

And it was also boring as hell.

“Why in the cursed underworld is everyone so lazy here!?” Zitao, the God of War, destruction, and predator animals complained. He was seated in one of the many manicured gardens, surrounded by nothing but flowering trees, green grasses, tame little streams and tiny bridges to carry one from one pond to another. Colorful peacocks strutted around the garden, tigers roaming around from time to time, pandas sitting in trees, and the occasional phoenix preening.

“Zitao, only an uncouth heathen such as yourself would complain about the palace of the Gods.” Jongdae, the God of Mischief, magical animals, and spirits replied with a sigh. He shook his head at Zitao before he dunked a handful of crystalized sugar in his tea.

Zitao wrinkled his nose at the amount of sugar, crossing his arms and glowering at Jongdae as he crossed his arms. “You speak as if you are not the only God to be revoked from the Zodiac.”

Jongdae’s eyes flashed and he glared at Zitao. “At least I am not the one responsible for nearly wiping out my own followers in a petty war.”

“It would not have happened if a certain fool had not decided to play a prank upon the idiot kings of two opposing countries!” Zitao snapped, banging his fist on the table and rattling Jongdae’s teacup and steaming teapot.

Mollified, Jongdae cleared his throat and sipped his syrupy tea. “Well, then it is good you have settled for keeping destruction within the small warring territories of the west.”

Huffing, the God of War reclined back in his seat, the cushions easily taking his weight. “You should thank Chanyeol for your fortune, had the war not been stopped after one battle, I would have come for you and your precious monkey king.” The threat was followed with a wave of irritation, heated and pressing down on the other God and making him gulp nervously.

“N-now now Taozi, this is a treaty protected palace, violence is not condoned.” Jongdae’s voice trembled despite his best efforts to conceal it, though he couldn’t hide a gulp when a tiger dropped from a nearby tree. The predator watched Jongdae with bright amber eyes, matching that of the God of War as it strode toward the duo.

“Exactly.” Zitao suddenly exclaimed, sitting up in his place and unconsciously extending a hand to pet the tiger, who curled up at the God’s feet with a purr. “This place is too tame. It is absolutely suffocating. How can anyone stand sitting idle and doing nothing but sip tea and gossip like decrepit hags!?”

Jongdae eyed the tiger warily, his eyes never leaving the giant kitten even as he answered the God of War. “Everyone loves peace and stability.” When Zitao raised a brow, Jongdae let out a wry chuckle. “Baekhyun has been reaping the benefits of Junmyeon’s work. We can attend one of his celebrations tonight, it will cure you of your dull mood.”

Zitao frowned and the tiger glared at Jongdae for disturbing the God. “Petty distractions created by a lowly God of Festivities will not amuse me.” He stated simply, feeling irritation well up within him when Jongdae merely hummed in faux agreement, a nearby peacock cawing not helping matters at all.

“You may not wish to attend, however the palace will be absolutely filled with guests. I am not sure you have a choice in the matter.” Jongdae said as he finished his tea and set the empty cup on the table. The painted flowers on the fine porcelain swayed in an invisible breeze and Zitao idly wondered who had the time to paint and charm the dishes.

Faint voices could be heard from where the two Gods were sitting and Zitao looked up to see countless serving girls rushing about, their painted white faces and pink lips somehow looking striking and uniform at the same time. They twittered about like chicks, and he noticed most of them were carrying vast trays of food, some so overloaded that they had to balance teapots on their heads.

‘I should have stayed within the mortal realm for this season,’ Zitao thought with yet another tired sigh. ‘I will never understand these idle Gods.’

-0-

The Sunset Palace was many things, in human folklore it was considered the final resting place for good and honorable souls. However, in truth it was a mere pretty ornament, a place for the Gods to frolic and the few humans ‘lucky’ enough to be allowed entrance were made to serve for the remainder of their afterlife. Usually it would take ages since the God of Reincarnation and Rebirth, Yixing, lost the keys to the afterlife frequently. Kyungsoo, the curator of death was not happy with the God and was often seen following Yixing and endlessly complaining about his thoughtlessness.

Unfortunately, Baekhyun had thought it fitting to place the God with the shortest temper next to the duo that could never quite manage to keep quiet for longer than ten seconds at a time.

“Yixing, you cursed fool, how did you manage to lose the spare as well as the original!? With no new births how am I to sweep humans off the face of the earth?” Kyungsoo growled, looking frustrated before the festivities had even begun.

Yixing yawned and sat next to Zitao, invading the taller God’s space and almost falling over in his sleepy daze. “Calm down, there is plenty of space in purgatory for all the humans on earth to occupy comfortably. I am sure that the keys will appear come the time for new births.” The serving girls had already laid out platters of light food, rare fruit cut into delicate flowers and cute animals were plated elegantly and Zitao was sure that one of his beloved tigers was depicted sitting with a bunny. It was unappreciated by the warring God, who was used to eating nothing but the essentials needed to keep up his strength, just as the men praying to him before battle did.

Yixing, however, was not one to pass up indulgence and the God quickly blinked away his sleep filled eyes in favor of devouring something that resembled a lotus. Kyungsoo muttered under his breath at the messy manner the God ate in, but he sat next to Yixing anyway and would occasionally nibble on whatever caught his eye.

Zitao breathed a sigh in relief. At least for now, the two fools' mouths were occupied with food rather than repetitive, useless chatter.

Sooner than he would have liked however, the grand hall began to fill with people, most minor Gods and some human heroes worthy of an invitation. Zitao knew none of their names, however he did watch the human heroes from time to time in interest. Their reactions to being in the presence of Gods was almost laughable, were it not for the fact that they did not recognize him nor pay him any respects, instead they flocked to Junmyeon and thanked him for helping aid their quest for peace.

The sight alone of the little God soaking in the praise was almost enough to have Zitao grinding his teeth. Most forgot that despite his temper, he did keep his wars to a minimum and that he tried to reign them in long enough for Junmyeon to send a vassal to negotiate peace. The silver tongued God of Peace was better at words than he was in terms of rank and power, at least when compared to Zitao.

“Excuse me, is this seat reserved?” A lulling voice asked and Zitao looked up, ready to snap that he would rather be seated next to the God of Waste when he felt all words and coherent thought leave him.

Before him was the God of Harvest and Summer, patron to prey animals and overall a God celebrated and beloved by the most humans out of all of them, including Baekhyun. He went by the name of Jongin, and hearing about his leaf green eyes and seeing them in contrast to honey golden skin was a shock to his system. Words and descriptions could do no justice to the sight of the warm and inviting God, who seemed to glow with an inner light, just as illuminating and soft as rays of sunlight.

Jongin titled his head hesitantly to the side and the sight of those green eyes flashing gold for a moment had Zitao catching himself staring. Clearing his now parched throat and his lips hesitantly, Zitao tried to gain back some of his innate confidence. “You may seat yourself, no one else is expected.”

“Thank you,” Jongin smiled and the sight of such a genuine grin had Zitao unconsciously losing his scowl and relaxing enough to scoot closer to Yixing to make room for the beautiful God. “I arrived later than planned due to a delay in the human realm. Unfortunately it seems the guest of honor had taken my usual seat.” Jongin explained once he was done sitting down. Now that he was so close to him, Zitao could see tiny golden flowers woven into his rich brown hair. The God of War didn’t know whether the sweet and intoxicating scent was emanating from the decorative foliage or from Jongin himself. Either way, it had him reeling and fighting the urge to lean closer to the God of Harvest.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Zitao realized that Jongin had gestured to the area Junmyeon was seated, perfectly shaded and comfortable under an eternally blooming persimmon tree. The bright orange flowers were probably due to Jongin’s magic. Despite the small urge within him to destroy the flowers and see them wither, Zitao found himself appreciating the vibrancy of the bright green leaves and attractive flowers.

“Forgive me if this is forward,” Jongin suddenly said and Zitao turned all his attention to him. “Are you the God of War and Destruction?” He asked and the color of his eyes shifted to a faint hazel blend of golden browns and vibrant greens.

“Have you heard of me?” Zitao asked in surprise.

Jongin laughed and the bright sound had the God of War wanting to do something uncharacteristically foolish just to hear it again. If he were as easy to speak to as Baekhyun or even Jongdae-

“No, rather than your vague description and stories of your temper, your attire was what caught my attention.” Jongin said simply and the openly amused expression on his face had Zitao glancing down.

He was wearing his usual lacquered armor, decorated in strong lines of power and protection, each painted brushstroke alive and moving across his chest. It was something he wore all the time and it was obvious based on the slight fading and scuffs on the shiny surface. An unfamiliar feeling of self-consciousness overwhelmed Zitao and he suddenly wished that he had listened to Jongdae and changed. He could have worn his embroidered silk top and changed his armor for the new plated gold set he was hiding away. It would have been more impressive than his fine spun linen and common plate.

“I-I had not realized this would be such a ceremonious event.” Zitao stuttered, feeling his cheeks heat up a little. The only times he bothered to take of his armor and dress up was when the God of Time called all the Gods together for the birth of a new era or deity.

Noticing his saddened expression, Jongin immediately shook his head while waving his hands vigorously in the air. “Oh no, I did not mean it in a bad way!” His panicked tone was a bit loud and a few other guests their direction. Flushing a nice tint of red, Jongin ducked his head. “I merely meant to say that your attire it unique. I have never seen such pretty regalia up close.”

Zitao blinked. Jongin was not trying to shame him, he was just curious about his armor. “You may touch me if you would like.” He blurted out and Jongin’s eyes widened and after a few moments of silence, his face flushed and he looked away.

“I-I uhm c-cannot…here-”

Snickering reached Zitao’s ears and he turned around to see Jongdae’s feline smirk. “My, I never would have supposed that the God of War was one so avid in his amorous advances.”

The meaning of his words seemed to finally catch up to him and Zitao’s usually calm demeanor broke as his face flashed a brilliant red. “NO! I did not mean intimate touching!” He nearly shouted and when people cast him surreptitious glances from the corner of their eyes, he sank down in his seat and wished that he had somewhere to hide. He didn’t mean for his words to sound so suggestive! He merely wanted to tell Jongin that he could touch his armor, since the God had never seen such protective garments up close.

Jongdae laughed at his expense, and somehow managed to weasel in between Zitao and Yixing. “It is quite alright Taozi, it is good that you have such virility!”

The teasing made Zitao feel embarrassed, but when Jongin giggled at his side, he couldn’t help but feel appeased. He was not prepared at all to deal with the beautiful God, and his burning cheeks and thundering heartbeat were proof of his weakness.

“So, how did Baekhyun manage to catch the attention of the ever busy and desirable God of Harvest?” Jongdae asked, breaking Zitao out of his thoughts and his apparent fascination with staring at beautiful gold flowers, silky brown hair, and eyes shifting between green and gold.

Jongin fidgeted a little in his seat, a flush on his face as he waived off Jongdae’s words. “I-I am not that busy, nor am I entirely desirable. I just happened to have a lot of time to spend this season.” Jongin explained, and somehow Zitao found that his humbleness and denial of praise was attractive. If it were anyone else brushing off a compliment, Zitao would have thought them coy, but with Jongin… everything he did appeared genuine and innocent.

Jongdae hummed in understanding, “It is fitting for a God of Summer to harbor a natural aversion to winter.” Jongdae did have a point, even if Zitao did take a certain liking to winter. However this year was a tumultuous one, and despite the approach of spring and the end of his favorite season, Zitao had chosen to spend his time in the Sunset Palace. It was basically an eternal summer evening here.

Jongin smiled a bit sheepishly and his hands began playing with one end of his long brown braid, the entire length of the thick plait was decorated with soft golden flowers and Zitao was captivated with the way they seemed to flutter and bloom under Jongin’s lithe fingers.

“I actually have a certain fondness for winter. I was born in the snowy season.” Jongin admitted and Zitao found himself pleasantly surprised. Jongdae seemed shocked at the information, but before he could say anything, his attention was caught by Baekhyun. The God of Festivities had made a spectacle of standing, but Zitao found himself more preoccupied with what he was wearing rather than what he was dedicating the celebration to.

Purple silk should never be paired with green and