A/N: I got a lot of messages asking me to do a one-shot of either Sebastian's coma or how he and Viessa managed to survive during the destruction of Elysium. For the latter, it is actually a missing chapter of DFF. I had skipped to the epilogue immediately to give the ending of the story an air of mystery. It will eventually be revealed in due time in this collection, but I'll be leaving hints and trails in some one-shots. In the mean time, I'll let you dwell in the happenings during the first stage of Sebastian's recovery – the long hibernation which Fallen Demon's have to go through, and the effect this situation leaves to Viessa, Gabriel, and Lucilla.

But before that, I just want to acknowledge all those who reviewed last chapter: Duchess K, Janette Bennington, Senna Bluefire, Araiae4u, MrsGooglyBear, Imitation Paranoid Marionette, Your Guardian Demon, Guest, NameWithNoMeaning, AnimeApprentice, Serah, Mermaid Monster, and THE NERD KID ON THE BLOCK. The number of reviews went up pretty fast since the last chapter, so thank you so much for your undying support.

Imitation Paranoid Marionette wanted for some "sisterly" and/or "brotherly" moments between the Fallen Demons. I already have a story in mind for that situation, actually. It's still in its outline form and will eventually come out after a few more oneshots.

Janette Bennington wondered about the status of Sebby and Essie's child due to them being Fallen Demons. A more thorough explanation will come out in another one-shot, probably after the child is born. But as a hint, note that when a demon is banished and becomes a fallen one, they are considered 'dead' in Hell. So basically, since no other demons knows they exist, Hell won't be able to 'register' about their child.

On that note, a daughter is leading in the polls. You've all given such nice names, though I did wonder why some of you suggested for 'Lucy'. Besides, there's already a character with that name in the story (it's Lucilla's nickname). Hehe. I'm just pointing it out.

Anyways, I think that's enough ranting an on with the story. Enjoy this cup of angstiness.

''''''''''''''''''''

(6)

Hope

''''''''''''''''''''

She stared, cold and hard, at her reflection on the full length mirror. There was a bitter blankness in her gaze as she scrutinized the distinct features of her naked body: the precise curves of her hips, the supple breasts, the flat stomach with just the slightest hint of firm muscles, the dark and intricate pentacle below her navel.

Everything about her was pure beauty, flawless – the envy of all human women. All perfect but with only the smallest blemish in the form of a three and a half inch scar on the right of her torso, just a little below the bust. New skin tissue slightly raised and leathery, shaped in a diagonal line, cleaner than the other imperfection located at the back of her left hand. In a distance, the scar is barely noticeable, as the color of the flesh was just a hue darker against her alabaster complexion. It was an imperfection that is easily ignored, easily hidden, easily forgotten.

But she couldn't ignore it. She couldn't hide it. She couldn't forget. And that scar stared back at her with a glare more powerful than the one on her hand, constantly reminding her of another's fate that was currently hanging on the edge.

The fate of Sebastian Michaelis.

She nibbled on her lower lip, her forehead creasing as she worried once more. The scar continue to stare back, and she stiffly averted away from her mirror, quickly grabbing for the nearest nightgown in her wardrobe, pausing with jolt when she realized that the cotton and lace, knee length sleep wear was one of the few that her mate had bought for her.

Her shoulders droop and she looked down at her feet, a look of sad resignation on her face as she pressed the soft fabric to her chest, her fingers clutching on it tightly. She slowly peered behind her, back at the golden framed mirror. That same scar peaked from beneath the nightgown when she twisted her torso and immediately she turned away again to quickly slip into the dress.

With a silent sigh, Viessa left her bedroom, her bare feet feeling the velvet softness of the carpet as she briskly walked down the halls, passing empty rooms, walking up the stairs, turning corners. She walks, head down, staring at her feet as she take steps. Clearly she had memorized the way to that one small room. It was the only other room, other than her own, that she goes to, every minute, every hour, every day, for the past six years.

The door was always slightly ajar, and the faint light from within always seep out from the crack and into the hallways. She would peak at that small gap for approximately a hundred seconds (she would count in her head), and then she would enter, making little sound as possible, and then sit at the chair that was always found at the left side of the four poster bed.

She did not react though that someone was currently sitting at her usual spot. The regal posture and the head of brick red hair could only belong to Gabriel. He did not turn to see, or feel the aura of the newcomer, to know that it was Viessa. It was usually just the two of them who enter this room.

Viessa halted beside him, her weary eyes staring down at the chair in particular and practically imagining that the other fallen demon was not sitting on it. It was a sort of silent request for Gabriel to move. 'This is my place,' her blank gaze would seem to say, 'This is my place beside my mate.'

The male turned to her, and Viessa's eyes lost their focus on the chair and were now staring at him. The two shared another similar trait: They both sported new scars. The clean straight cut that ran down the left of Gabriel's face was still pinkish with freshly healed tissue. He kept his left eye close; to keep the demon blade inflicted would from re-opening. But unlike her new scar, his was not the haunting type. It was a sort of trophy – the proof of his pride and power. The reminder of his triumph: how he killed Lucifer I.

Hers was but a reminder of a life hanging on the tip of an iceberg – a life that should have been sustained by the very power which was used to close her scar.

She turned away, facing the bed, to stare at the body of the former Phantomhive butler. The pristine white linen was raised to cover his chest, with his arms lying above the sheets, his right lying still on his side, the left resting on his stomach and covered with thick bandages. The rise and fall of his chest was either faint or absent. His hair did not increase in length since the day his head was first laid on the pillow, and the whips of black bangs splayed out the sides of his face. He was deathly pale, but his thin lips, which were closed in a straight line, still hinted a rosy color.

Long black lashes stayed still on his eyes, the lids shut without strain, his brows without hint of furrowing. He looked calm in his coma.

In the silence of the room, Viessa could faintly hear the slow and steady beating of his heart, and she frowned a bit with worry when she noticed that the rhythm had gone slower. At first she thought that it was but an adjustment phase of his now fallen demon body, that maybe his black heart was still getting used to pumping in a constant beat, but then she felt what was left of Sebastian's aura had thinned drastically since yesterday, and she was suddenly alarmed.

"I noticed it too." She turned her attention to the owner of the deep voice, a little stunned that he was able to tell the cause of her sudden distress without even looking at her.

With a slight shuffling of his clothes, Gabriel sat up, but his gaze was still settled on Sebastian, his pair of gleaming dark-honey eyes were serious but had emotion. "I came up here as soon as I felt his aura drop," he continued, now turning to face her, "He's stable now, but his pulse had turned weak."

She did not speak. The glaze in her eyes urged him to go on, having a feeling that the older demon knows something more to the situation.

Gabriel's brows furrowed. "Viessa," he spoke in an almost whisper-like voice, his usual monotone replaced by a rather distraught tone, "He has been…unresponsive, for the last six years. Sebastian has gone into a coma far longer than any of us, and his progress is slow and shows no signs of improving. It has become rather…ho–"

Hopeless.

"Don't say that." She responded behind clenched teeth. "Please…don't say that word…"

"Viessa, you must understand."

He had once explained to them that the transformation into a Fallen Demon is always long and distressing. Upon the loss of their ability to perform contracts and feed on souls, along with the loss of life force and energy reserves found in their seals, the body and mind of a demon falls into a state of suspended animation. The length of their sleep corresponds to the amount of their life force that was loss when the blade tore apart their only source of reserve power. The body shuts down to make up for the loss. For Gabriel, he managed to restore most of his energy enough to wake him up for only two years, and that was after walking around with a gaping and bleeding hole on his left hand for almost three years. Lucilla fell into a coma the moment she lost her seal and woke up two and a half years later, while Viessa lasted for technically four years, refused to leave her bed for another year partly due to depression, and took the longest time for her hand to heal completely, close to two decades in fact.

For demons, six years wasn't so long, but for Sebastian's state it already is, especially since his progress continued to decline. The chance of reawakening is always fifty percent, for if the body continues to lose and lose the energy constantly being built while in a coma, the loss will eventually outrun the new energy until the body can process no more. The possible reason for his weak progress could be the fact that he almost completely used up his energy to heal his mate, who at that time was at the brink of death.

Her eyes began to prickle, but she refused to shed a tear in front of her superior, and instead looked up at him with a glaring mauve eyes. "We're not supposed to give up on him. He will make it. Just like me and you and Lucilla. We all woke up. He…" she glanced away to stare at the comatose demon with distressed filled eyes, "…he just needs more time. He's a Fallen Demon now. He'll wake up. I know he will."

Gabriel pursed his lips shut tight, looking down at his feet, a mixture of emotions cloud his head but he kept his face stoic, as he pondered whether he would speak what was currently in his mind. But as much as it bothered him to say it, he needed to make it clear to the troubled female.

"Why are there only three Fallen Demons alive, Viessa?" He looked up at her, expression strict, "Why just the three of us, out of millions of demons out there?"

Viessa looked confused, head angled slightly, but she kept a steady demeanor, listening intently at what Gabriel meant.

"Did you think that it was only us who decided to break the rules, to be deviants and delinquents? Did you believe that it was only us who refused to devour our masters' souls? Did you believe that it was only Sebastian who decided that plunging a demon blade in his own seal would free him of his contract? Rare they may be, but there are many demons who have chosen the same path. Believe it or not, Fallen Demons occur almost every decade. I should know this; I've been one longer than you and Lucilla."

This information shocked the pale-blond. If such a fact is true, then why just the three of them stand?

"I've plunged demon blades through more demon seals than just the two of you. I've watched and healed those demons during the duration of their comas, waiting patiently until they open their eyes. But out of all of them, only you and Lucilla woke up, the rest succumbed into an eternal slumber after years of spinning in the dark and waiting for the strength they believed only the darkness could grant them, forgetting about the light beyond their closed eyelids."

Gabriel gazed down at Sebastian, sadness now evident in his eyes. "All of us are by-far one of the most powerful demons, my brother included. But to wake up requires more will than power, and that is what those other Fallen Demons lacked. Let's just hope Sebastian's heart is as strong as his body."

And then he left, moving as fast as he can so as to avoid looking at the mixture of sorrow and disbelief in the younger's face. His steps resounded on the floor, echoing in the sudden silence of the room. The door creaked open and closed, but the lock did not click, as he left the door slightly ajar as usual.

''''''''''''''''''''

"You shouldn't have told her that," Lucilla said in a soft but reproaching tone. She was leaning against the door frame of Gabriel's room, arms crossed, wearing a robe over her sleepwear, watching him shuffle in his bed.

Gabriel sat up, looking at her with a glare. "I did not give you permission to enter my quarters." He said coldly, kicking on his sheets as he folded a leg and resting his elbow on the raised knee. His other hand reached for the lamp by his bed to turn it on, bathing the room in a faint yellow glow.

The brunette, whose hair was tied in a short and messy high ponytail, merely rolled her eyes. "It's not like you were sleeping, and even if you did have the intention to actually get some shut-eye, I find it hard to believe you could accomplish such a rare feat without drowning out the sound of Viessa's crying and not feel some ounce of remorse."

Gabriel frowned at this, shutting his eyes, his ears not needing its demonic hearing to be able to listen to the subtle weeps and whimpers coming from Sebastian's room – actually just two rooms away from his.

"Like I said, you shouldn't have told her about that." She repeated, entering the room and stopping just a foot from the edge of his bed. Lucilla's emerald eyes were narrowed as she looked at him. "You just managed to shatter all forms of hope in her."

"Viessa needs to understand the situation Sebastian is in. It's best I explain it to her now than when the day actually comes that he'd…" he hesitated, biting his lower lip as he chose his next words properly, "…stop functioning."

Lucilla suddenly scrunched her nose in slight disgust. "So what? Does this mean that you really believe he'd never wake up because he showed no progress in his recovery at all? You're giving up already, just like that huh? You'll stop caring?"

The male's eyes narrowed at this accusation, and Lucilla did not fail to see the irritated twitch on his face as he glared back at her. His voice grew a bit louder, and lacked its polite monotone as it was now brimmed with anger and frustration. "You think this isn't bothering me?!"

Lucilla was suddenly surprised at his outburst. It was a rare thing to witness the normally collected Gabriel angry.

He suddenly stood, standing on his full height in front of Lucilla as his hands fisted on his sides, his topaz eyes blazing and his fangs showed. "You think it's easy for me to admit to myself that my own brother is about to die?! And that, with all my hell-forsaken abilities, I couldn't do anything about it?! Do you honestly believe I'm not affected by all of this?!" in his frustration, he ran his fingers through his hair, messing up his tuft of half-wavy, half-straight locks.

"And since when the hell did you start caring about Sebastian's recovery? In the years of his coma you barely even see him!"

"That's because I don't like him." Lucilla admitted calmly but placed much emphasis on each word to prove her point. She uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips and glared up at him. "He's an arrogant bastard who's done nothing but make each day for us stressful and hectic since we first brought him here. In all honesty, I'd rather see him off than waste energy on healing him."

She heard a snarl come from Gabriel, but she remained unfazed by this action.

Then her face softened just a bit, her shoulder relaxing, her grass-green eyes showing concern. "But Essie is my friend. And I care for her enough to hope that Sebastian would wake up…because he makes her happy."

Gabriel seemed to calm down with those words, and he heaves a loud sigh as he fell back to sit on his bed, slouching slightly as he planted his elbows on his knees, while his hands continue to run through his hair and face, but making sure not to scratch his scar. Both of them went silent for a while.

He felt the mattress dip beside him, and he did not need to look to know that Lucilla had sat on the edge of his bed.

"And I know that it'd make you happy as well to be with your brother again." The female added in a much softer tone, and she glanced at the older demon, watching the way his eyes glazed slightly as it was filled with worry, his brows creased, his lips pressing on his intertwined fingers. He would have looked like he was praying if he wasn't grunting profanities to himself, along with words that would try to calm him and quench his worry, under his breath.

''''''''''''''''''''

A few weeks later, the air in the mansion was still thick with worry. Viessa had been crying every night, but the whimpers progressively declined as the days go on. By now she was reduced to a hazed-eyed mime, her expression blank and depressed, the light from her eyes gone. Her lips were always shut in a tight line, and she spoke only when spoken too, but replied in monotone of one or two words. She refused to eat. She refused to work. She refused to step out of Sebastian's side.

Viessa had returned to her behavior last seen when she lost her son, and Lucilla didn't like it for one bit.

Frowning scornfully, she stopped peaking from the small gap on the door and pushed it open. She stomped on the floor, unlike Viessa and Gabriel's meek steps when walking about the room.

For a long moment, Viessa's eyes widened at her. This was the first time Lucilla visited Sebastian, though for the brunette fallen demoness, Sebastian was the least of her concerns.

She halted before her, shielding the blonde's view of the bedridden demon. She planted her hands on her hips, a habit of hers, as she looked down at Viessa, a bored expression on her face. "This came by for you today," she started, an ungloved hand reaching into the pocket of her dress and fished out a black card. The blonde stared at the dark colored enveloped that bared her crossed-over pentacle, looking hesitant for a couple of seconds. She made a move to open her mouth to refuse the request.

"Gabriel said that you're not allowed to decline anymore," Lucilla cuts the first word that left her lips. "We're starting to find your behavior intolerable. Contracts are booming, what with the chaos happening 'down below'. The two of us cannot fulfill all of this alone, especially since one of us has to take over your part. Six years is enough, Essie. I know that you don't want to leave Sebastian behind, but you still have a responsibility to fulfill. You need to do your part."

Viessa looked pensive. She glanced behind Lucilla at Sebastian's somber face, and she bit her lower lip.

The emerald-eyed female noticed this, and she sighs. Her earlier stern tone lowered to a softer and understanding one. "Gabriel and I have yet to receive assignments. We'll stay and watch over Sebastian for the time being."

She looked up at the brunette, still struggling with making a decision. Lucilla rolled her eyes and then shoved the black card into Viessa's hands.

"Hey, the quicker you get this done, the quicker you can come back." She announced, cheerful all of the sudden, grinning sheepishly at her as she helps her up and off the chair. "Don't you worry your pretty little face, Essie. Sebastian will be waiting here when you return. He's just being an asshole right now, indulging in the sin of sloth. I'm pretty sure he'd still be lounging by the time you come back. He won't disappear."

Viessa stared at her female friend as she gave her a thumbs up. 'He won't disappear', Lucilla's words repeated in her head like a mantra. She didn't know whether the brunette was aware at the gravity of Sebastian's situation, but her optimism was enough to lighten Viessa's feelings just the tiniest bit. 'He won't disappear,' it repeated, 'Sebastian will be waiting here when you return.'

"Wait for me." She recalled Sebastian once told her. His words and his voice mingled with the ones Lucilla shared in her mind, and with a final glance at the former butler, she left the room, her fingers gripping on the black card, the assurance of Sebastian's promise in her heart.

Lucilla remained in the room, still wearing that goofy smile, waiting until Viessa's presence left the entire premise before it was replaced with a frown. She turned around to face the dark haired demon on the bed, her green eyes narrowed.

She took a few steps forward until her knee touched the edge of the mattress. She scowled down at him for another several seconds.

"Hey," she called out darkly, "When the hell would you wake up?"

Of course, she did not expect him to respond, but she once heard from humans that it was encouraged to speak to comatose patients, because they were considered alive - that maybe though their body did not move, their senses still worked.

She tilted her head and snickered smugly. "Hopefully, I'm not speaking to a corpse."

Her eyes darkened again as she continued. "You truly are a bastard…a lying, lazy bastard…Always promising Essie happiness when all you do is make her cry. She's been sitting here next to you for the past six years and you didn't even make a single hint of being better. What kind of mate are you when you can't even open your eyes for her?"

No response. She didn't expect one, but still it irked her.

"And don't think I don't know what you did to her back at Elysium. If you hadn't tried to kill her, you wouldn't have to recklessly stab on your seal. You wouldn't have to drain your entire reserves to heal her, thus you wouldn't have been stuck in this coma, you wouldn't be in the edge of death, and she wouldn't be acting like the way she is now!" her tone increased in volume as she went, losing her English tones as the native Irish accent came out more apparent. Her hands fisted on her sides, and eyes shifted from green to red repeatedly. "And didn't oi tell you that if yeh try to kill her, I'll whip yah up good, Aye?! Oi, Sebastian?! Speak! Speak up yah bastard!"

She dropped her knee on the bed, the springs in the mattress squeaking due to the long time since it was last moved. She raised her hand and slapped Sebastian across the face, leaving a reddish mark as his still somber face moved to the direction of the strike.

"Open yah god-damn eyes! If you won't open them for Viessa or Gabriel then do it to glower at me!"

She gave him another hard slap, this time on the other cheek. But the dark-haired demon remained still and unresponsive. Lucilla gritted her teeth and raised a hand again for another hit, but was stopped by a firm hold on her wrist. She turned to find Gabriel behind her, looking irritated at her behavior, but not as upset as last night, as he kept a stern glare at the fallen demoness.

"That's enough," his voice betrayed his looks, it was poignant and defeated.

She held her ground for a short while, eyes still upset and frantic, but then lowered to look away from the topaz-eyed demon. She grumbled a curse before prying her wrist off his hold harshly, and stormed out the room without shutting the door.

Gabriel shuts his eyes and heaves a sigh, ignoring the crashing of what sounded like a vase from downstairs followed by the slamming of the front door. He would deal with Lucilla later, once her head cools down.

When he opened his eyes, he frowned at the disarrangement on the bed, and with swift movements he straightened Sebastian on the bed, smoothing the sheets and arranging his arms in the same way for the past six years.

Sebastian's head was still tilted to the side from Lucilla's slap, and he carefully moved his face by the chin to its previous position before inspecting the fading red hand prints on each pale cheek. Whips of Sebastian's ebony black hair had been messed by the brunette's strikes and Gabriel fixed them, making sure he kept his long bangs off his face.

He found it difficult to believe that this used to be the small and frail demon-boy with the messy and coarse coal hair, who was always conscious at how they stuck at different angles. As a fully mature demon, his hair had turned into smooth ebony, like crow feathers, feeling like silk to the touch. Gabriel's hand settled on Sebastian's crown, smoothing his hair, patting lightly, the older demon sat on the unoccupied chair as he did.

His eyes softened and he gave a faint smile. "I don't know if you remember, but when you were younger, you always wanted to sleep, even if I told you so many times that demons do not require it all the time. Still, you insisted, especially after training you. You even wanted me to stay with you during those nights so very long ago." He said in a gentle tone.

"You liked it when I pat you on the head. You said it was soothing and it helps you sleep. You did act more like a cat than I." He leaned down a little, slouching on his seat, still running his palm on his forehead and crown. "Sometimes, you'd ask me to tell you a story while I pat your head. I wasn't used to something like that, and I didn't know of any tales worth sharing. But you kept insisting, and I decided to make one up on the spot: The Story of the Old Man and the Much Older Woman…though you never got the chance to hear the end of it. You always fell asleep with just the patting before the story even started. I must be a very boring older brother." He chuckled lightly.

And then he stopped, with both the chuckling and the patting; his hand going still, his smile diminishing. Slowly he straightened, pulling his hand away. The silence in the room was heavy.

"But, right now, I don't want keep you asleep with my boring stories or my constant head patting. You need to wake up." He said in a soft, whisper-like tone, "Vegēre, frater."

''''''''''''''''''''

Her assignment was apparently longer than expected. Months and seasons passed before the night sky erupted in a flurry of lights and colors, accentuated by whistles and booms and cheers from the crowd that gathered in town squares. Today marked the year 1911.

There was a burst of demonic energy from the foyer of the Fallen Demons' mansion. Lucilla looked down from her spot on the balcony, averting her attention from the bright fireworks at the distance as soon as she spotted the head of platinum blonde hair in the distance speeding towards the front door. She hummed to herself, leaning away from the marble railings, slipping the slender neck of the wine glass between her fingers.

She was dressed for the small occasion, the skirt of her gleaming satin gold dress swayed as she made her way back into the hall in a calm and leisurely pace, the heels of her stilettos tapping on the floor like a metronome as she hummed 'Auld Lang Syne'.

Her humming cease when Viessa came into view at the end of the hall, walking faster than usual. Lucilla halted, grinning wide.

"Welcome back, Essie! You're just in time for–" Her greeting was cut short when trembling hands grasp her shoulders firm, and she was pushed back a little at the force, the wine jiggling with a little spill from her glass.

"Where's Sebastian?" Viessa questioned with wide, panic-filled purple eyes, her fingers gripping on her companion's bare shoulder's tightly to control the tremors. She had just returned from her recent assignment, and had went straight to the familiar bedroom only to find out that the usually quarter-opened door was shut completely, and when she stepped in, the lights were off and the bed was made and completely bare of the dark-haired demon.

Lucilla was too stunned at the moment at her sudden demand, and merely blink at her. The blonde gritted her teeth and repeated her question with a more desperate approach.

Annoyed at her frantic shaking, the emerald-eyed female planted a hand on Viessa's shoulder and hushed her. "Calm down, Essie!" she cried out, squeezing her arm.

"He…he's not in his room…" Viessa quivered, "H-he…w-here…S-sebas–"

"Relax…Don't worry. He's fine. Gabriel had him moved to a much bigger room." Lucilla consoled in a softer tone and a calming smile, "He's in the suite across yours."

Viessa immediately spun in her heels and stormed out, disappearing in a blink of an eye as she had used her outstanding speed to take her to the hall where said room was located, and just like before, the door was left slightly ajar. She did not waste the time to peak through the gap like here usual routine and flung the door open with a quick shove of the palm. Viessa halted by the entrance, chest heaving deeply but began to calm at the sight of her mate still lying at the center of a much larger bed with velvet red sheets.

Gabriel, who was standing by the bed, turned around at the sound of the door knob hitting the wall. Just like Lucilla, he was dressed in casual attire: a dark brown blazer over a crimson polyester dress shirt, dark slacks and leather shoes. Held in both of his hands were two slender necked glasses half-full of claret-colored wine, the other glass he had just placed on the bedside end table at the same time she stormed in. With both topaz eyes open, he stared at the pale-blonde nonchalantly, waiting for her shallow breathing to return to a calmer pace.

When she finally did compose herself, the older demon turned fully to her and leaned back until his lower back touched the edge of the table. He looked down at the wine as he twirled the glass nested between slender fingers. "The room he was in had begun to feel stuffy," he started, his tone ever deep and serious. He turned his attention to the slumbering demon on the bed, taking note that his chest was rising and falling more obvious than before. "So I took the liberty of moving him here after I set this room to be good enough for living. I also thought that having him close by your suite would be convenient for you, as I found it troubling for you to have to walk such a long way in the house just to see him."

Viessa's arms fell limply at her sides as she stared at her superior, then she shuts her eyes a little tightly and sighs in relief before stepping into the room. Compared to the previous room, in here it was warmer, cozier, the atmosphere a lot less heavy, and she found herself breathing a lot more easier. She halted at the other side of the bed whilst Gabriel was at the other end, and she bends down, a hand propped on the bed while the other reached out to caress the side of Sebastian's face lovingly. He was warm, which surprised her greatly, because he was always a bit chilly even before he turned to a fallen one.

A small smile graced her lips at the sight of Sebastian and the feel of his skin. Her amethyst eyes seemed to give a spark as she gazed at her mate. "My love," she whispered, her voice cracking just the tiniest bit, "I'm home."

Gabriel watched this moment, the corners of his lips twitching up to a faint smile. At the entrance, Lucilla appeared and took slow steps into the room, watching the scene, an amuse smirk on her painted lips. She was now carrying two wine-filled glasses in her hands as she approached Viessa's side to nudge her shoulder.

"Well, now that we're all here, shall we start the celebration?" the brunette said cheerily, her grin wide as he reached out the other wine glass for Viessa to take.

The blonde looked up at her, her mauve eyes wide and curious as she stood up straighter, "Celebration? For what?"

Lucilla chuckled. "Why, it's the new year, Essie!" She reached for the purple-eyed fallen's hand and made her fingers curl around the neck of the goblet.

Viessa blinked, staring down at the dark-red liquid in the glass, confused. They don't normally celebrate any holiday, New Years Eve being no exception. For demons, a full year is but like a second in their immortal lives. Though they acknowledge the changes of the times, its beginning and ends would pass by without much of them noticing it.

She looked up, snapping her head to the sound of glass clinking. Apparently, Gabriel had touched his goblet with the one standing still on the surface of the bedside table – a glass intended for Sebastian – and the wine within rippled while the high pitched sound produced continue to echo in the room. The red-haired male looked up at them, eyes soft and a rare and genuine smile on his face. He walked towards the two females and raised his glass between them.

"Cheers," he said in a voice brimming with emotion, "for a prosperous new year."

Lucilla smiled wide, raised her own glass, clicking it with his as she added: "For another year of life."

Viessa pursed her lips, looking down at the wine in her hand with furrowed brows. Another year. What could possibly be in store for this year? For her, it was but another year of worrying, another year of waiting…Another sad year to remind her of a long and unpromising fate of one individual who's recovery continues to decline day-by-day…and, she dread, the year such a fate had a probability of ending.

The fate of Fallen Demons had always been a tragedy of sorts…they've been continuously bombarded with memories of a heart-wrenching past and excruciating suffering, of wishing impossible wishes, of mangled skin and scars that seem to grow eyes that glare and haunt them endlessly, and having to go on living with the torture of all these in mind. What else will another year promise to creatures like them that are neither white or black or even anything in between?

But then, she heard Gabriel's deep and smooth voice, a tone of comfort and assurance in them accentuated with a confident smile that Lucilla wears as well, announce as he raise the glass higher:

"For another year…of hope."

Power, will, and hope.

How foolish of Viessa to forget such a vital ingredient that had molded them into something better then they had ever been before. All of these attributes are found within each one of them, and was the sole reason why they continue to stand in their two feet against all the odds the world and hell threw at them. It was the reason why they are able to tolerate all the heartache and suffering, and experience the happiness and fulfillment a normal demon could never achieve.

They were all born into an abyssal labyrinth, with no other route by down, deeper into the dark, only yearning for power, always bathing in sin, until they couldn't take it anymore and dug deeper, crawling for an escape, grasping the will to get out…to find a way…to find hope.

"We've been spiraling down in the darkness…but then we landed into the light." She remembered awakening from her own coma, how her lungs filled with air that had never been fresher before, and the world she had always seen as dim was actually brighter. If she had reached such a state, then there is no doubt in her mind Sebastian would see this world as well.

When their small celebration ended and her two companions retired to their quarters, Viessa slipped outside her room, passed through the darkness of the hallway towards the door opposite hers and slipped inside the slightly ajar door silently, closing the door fully for the first time.

The softer bed dipped at the left side as she lay down, fanning her golden curls on one of the pillows, stretching beside the still body, and turning to her right. She sighs silently, gazing at Sebastian's profile, the faint moonlight that passed through the curtains created shadows on his face dreamily.

After she raised the covers around both of them, she realized that this was the first time in six years that she shared a bed with him. She always sat on the chair during the length of his coma. She had forgotten how nice it felt to lie with him, how it would make her chest flutter to be beside him in one comfortable bed. She recalled all those nights back at the Phantomhive manor, when they would lay side-by-side, sharing stories, rekindling memories, or throwing each other witty comments or funny insults. Sometimes they'd play cards or bring out the chess board, competing with each other until dawn. Sometimes they'd make love, slow and beautiful, or just tease each other with feathery touches, nips and kisses.

Sometimes they would sleep, huddled in each other's arms, or at least feign it until one of them would comment how boring and unproductive it was, and then they'd laugh about it. Either way, Viessa loved the feeling of opening her eyes at the first crack of light, to find soft crimson eyes and a sweet smirk to be the first thing to greet her every morning.

The combination of having returned from five long months of watching restlessly the length of a random demon's contract, and the alcohol that she decided to let her body absorb, took its toll on her and her lips parted in a silent yawn. She scooted closer to Sebastian's side, resting her head on his shoulder while her left hand reached up to slowly tilt his head, so that his nose and lips was buried slightly on her hair, before descending to clasp his bandaged hand that lay still on his stomach, carefully intertwining their fingers.

Her eyes fluttered close, purple-orbs slowly being veiled behind long golden lashes. The last thing to fleet her thoughts was the hope to be able to see those pair of tantalizing vermillion eyes looking back at her again, the morning light of day reflecting on them as if it was the brightest light he ever saw after years of total darkness, before she succumbed to sleep. So deep it was that her senses failed to feel the slight twitch of the bandaged index finger, or the quick rolling movement behind thin eyelids that lasted more than a mere second; failed to notice the quick sharp intake of air from the nose that was buried in her asphodel-scented hair; failed to see thin lips open millimeters apart and hear the barely audible, wind-like whispering of her name.

''''''''''''''''''''

The ending pretty much suggests that Sebastian was about to wake up from his coma. What happens next, or how everyone reacted to his recovery, is up for you to imagine. You might say that I am once again leaving a story open-ended to leave that 'air of mystery'-thing, but I want you all to have your own interpretations of such a situation. It's a lot fun that way, and surely a lot of you would think up the most positive and satisfying things (because I did, hehe).

So that's it for now. Expect the next story to be as delayed as this one. Med-school's been hectic, and though this story had been finish for a while, I couldn't find time to post it without being called to do something or buy something or study something. I hope you all understand.

Keep up the sweet reviews, faves and follows. They sustain the imaginative side of my stressed out brain. In the mean time, I'll be practicing suture patterns. Have a pleasant something everyone!

- SafireLupe, 7-13-2013