When I woke up, I thought I left a window open. Jesus, it's freezing in here! I threw a hoody on and went to turn the heat up. Who the hell would've put the air conditioning at sixty degrees? It's the middle of October and I'm pretty sure I haven't had my air on for a couple of weeks. I wonder...I got myself ready for work and threw my bag over my shoulder. Then, I knocked on the door of my next-door neighbor.

"Good morning, darling," he stood in his doorway, "I'm hoping you slept well."

"Hi," I was sweating already. Like the gust of air from opening the oven, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Sebastian nodded, "What's on your mind, Lumi?"

"Did you...?" I couldn't be around him anymore. My deodorant was working overtime and I'm sure I was already running a fever.

"Did I what?" he wondered.

"Never mind," I brushed him off, "I have to get to work.

"I understand," Sebastian let me go...and I knew it was killing him.

I can guarantee Sebastian was in my apartment last night. He must have forgotten to turn the air off before he left. A cold room would be the only way he could be near me. We were both desperate to see each other again. It's times like these where I wish I could do a seance and talk to my mother. If anyone could make me feel better, it's her. She knew Sebastian almost as well as I did. Unfortunately, I didn't have that kind of time.

When I got to the office, I shut the door and crashed on the futon. This sucked. I hadn't felt this physically drained since I was pregnant with Marcelina. I'd take that over this any day of the week. Even my usual cocktail of caffeine wasn't doing anything. Luckily for me, my regularly scheduled bundle of sunshine was due to come in any time now.

"Good morning, Auntie Lumi," Skye put her bag on her designated hook.

"Morning, Skye," I got lost in my ceiling instead.

"Are you alright?" she sat at the edge of the futon with me.

"I'm really out of it today, kid," I shut my eyes, trying to get my head to stop hurting, "Might as well go home."

"What about you?" Skye asked, "Auntie Lumi, I know you've been off since you got your memories back. I love you and I can't leave you by yourself."

"In that case," I thought it over, "Call your cousin. See what she's up to."

"Which one?" she grabbed my phone off my desk.

"Which one do you think?" I grumbled, "You couldn't apply logic to that? I'd only be asking you about one."

"Marcelina!"

"Bingo."

"On it," Skye scrolled through my contacts, "What do you want me to tell her?"

"Just have her come here," I ordered, "I'll think of something by the time she gets here."

"Okie dokie!"

"I don't deserve you, Skye," I mumbled through my arm, "You're a saint."

"Not quite," she giggled a bit, warming my heart, "Do I have to treat this like a work call?"

"It's Marcelina," I reminded her, "Has she ever been professional?"

"I don't know," Skye thought, "I've been to her studio before. She keeps her talent in line."

"That's my girl," I smiled, "I want to take credit for that, but I'm pretty sure she gets that from her father."

"Really?" she wondered, "Uncle Sebastian seems so docile, though."

"You never saw him run Phantomhive Manor singlehandedly," I sighed out, "That was a tight ship from sun up to sun down. And he still managed to keep Marcelina alive while I was working the paper. Uncle Sebastian can handle just about anything."

"Just about?"

"You don't want to open that can of worms, sweetie," I assured, well aware of the one thing I knew he wasn't handling well, "Call Marcelina."

"Yes, ma'am."

While I went back to wallowing in my misery, Skye carried out her orders like any good little assistant would. I needed something to even me out this side of getting completely wasted. Ideally, I'd ask Adrian if there were any other demons in the area outside of Sebastian and do a hit of demon blood, but Sebastian would have my ass for that. Able to touch me or not, he'd kill me. We learned from that. Once was enough. We didn't need another Claude Faustus situation. Did we know any other demons?

I didn't feel like drinking and I didn't have a demon on standby to bleed for me. Marcelina was half demon, but there was no way in hell I would ever ask her to do something like that. And God only knows what effects a cambion's blood would have on a human. There's no way that'd work out for anyone. Would it make me a cambion? Would I get badass powers, too? We're not going to find that out, Lumi. You're not tapping your daughter's veins just to get a fix. That's sick.

"Mother dear..." Speak of the half devil.

"Yes, my spawn?" I groaned.

"What seems to be your problem?" Marcelina kicked her feet up on my coffee table.

"Life, baby...Life."

"You and Dad again?" she assumed.

"That obvious?"

"She's been like this for a month, Marcelina," Skye chimed in, "Ever since she got her memories back."

"Maybe there's a correlation," Marcelina shrugged, "Until then, you need to get out of whatever funk you're in."

"And how do you propose we do that?" I wondered.

"Come on," my beloved daughter pulled me up by the bootstraps, "You're done wallowing in self-pity."

"But I want to wallow in self-pity..."

"Too damn bad," Marcelina put her foot down, "I know a place we can go. It's a little on the pricy side, but it's totally worth every penny."

"Marcelina," I pointed out, "The last time we went and got pedicures together, I ended up kicking my nail tech."

"That's not what I'm saying," she got my cardigan for me, "Besides, I just got one yesterday."

"Who do you go to, Marcy?" Skye asked, looking at the detailing on her toes.

"Lucifer," Marcelina said nonchalantly, "He does a really good job. I'd take you down there, but there's no telling how you'd come out of it, Skye. Your soul might end up trapped in Hell. And I know better than to bring Lucifer up here. On a leash or not, he's a slippery son of a bitch."

"That's true," I agreed, "Where is this place?"

"Down the street from my studio," she pulled me onto my feet.

"Wait a second," Skye snapped into reality, "You go to the devil for your pedicures?!"

"Yeah," Marcelina nodded, "He has a brand on his lower back that says, 'property of Marcelina Michaelis', too. I did that when I was ten."

"I remember that," I gushed, "Your father was so proud."

"He screamed," she sighed out, "He squealed like a stuck pick. We got ice cream after that, didn't we?"

"I think so," I thought back.

"Shall we then?"

It had been quite a while since I last treated myself. And it wasn't even me buying. Marcelina was being kind enough to spring for this trip. We haven't done this in ages and it couldn't have been at a more perfect time. My baby knows me. A massage and a nap could always do the trick. Usually, I'd get one from Sebastian, but given our current circumstances, we can't have that. Such a shame, too. Sebastian did a hell of a job.

"Hello," an ethereal voice shattered me to my core. Standing on the other side of my face cradle was a beautiful, white haired creature. My god…You're a married woman, Lumi. You're a married woman. But all it took was one word out of his mouth and he put a whole lot of sin in my head. Pull yourself together. I understand things with you and Sebastian are a little dicey, but you still love him. A hundred years of marriage are worth more than a one night stand with this guy. No matter how unnaturally beautiful he is…

"Hi," I wiped the blood from my nose.

"You're Lumi, yes?" he assumed.

"Yes," I could hardly speak. This guy was practically glowing.

"I'm Ash," he introduced himself, "Is there anything I can get for you before we begin?"

"No, thank you," I didn't want to trouble him. I'm sure he had better things to worry about.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked, "It's really no trouble."

Weird. It's like he was in my head, "Maybe a green tea would be nice."

"Was that so difficult, dear?" he smiled a bit, turning me into a puddle. He called out the door for someone to get my drink, but he didn't stay away from me long, "Now…What to do with you. Are there any areas I should avoid for any reason or are very sensitive?"

"No…" How did this guy have such a power over me already? The face, the voice. I was rendered a babbling mess so quickly. How?

"In that case," he stuck his arm out the door and got my tea for me, sticking the straw in my mouth, "Shall we begin?"

"Ok…" Dammit. I must learn the source of this man's power. Or maybe I was just paranoid. That was until he put his hands on me. Perfect…Absolutely perfect…They weren't burning my flesh like Sebastian's or freezing it like Marcelina's. They were perfect. And he was perfect. Almost too perfect. But I didn't care. For the first time in ages, everything felt right.

"There's quite a bit of tension in your shoulders, Lumi," Ash spoke gently in my ear, "Is everything alright?"

"No," I let out a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?"

I bit hard on my tongue. That wasn't supposed to come out, but it did. Like a sneeze, "It's a very long story."

"I've nowhere to be," Ash promised, digging deeper into my muscles, "Go ahead. Tell me as much as you need to and I'll do my best to make all of your problems go away."

"Thank you," I moaned, "Just some issues with my husband. No need for you to worry."

Come on, Lumi. Fight him. Keep everything bottled up like Mom taught you. Your emotions are your biggest weakness. Don't let him use them against you, "I'm so sorry…What kind of problems?"

"He…" No. Make something up. Don't start venting to a complete stranger. Keep your mouth shut. I don't care how magical his hands are or how soothing his voice, "He's distant. And I miss him."

"You don't need him," Ash assured me, "Why don't you stay here a little longer with me?"

Snap out of it, Lumi! Ash clearly has you under some sort of spell. Why he'd target me is beyond me, but maybe I'm not the one he's targeting. Maybe it's any girl that comes in here. Creepy. You said this was a good place, Marcelina, "Look at that. My hour's up. Thank you, Ash."

"Be careful," he helped me up, "Rapid movements afterward are no good for you. It was nice meeting you…"

"You, too," I smiled politely and got the hell out of there, grabbing Skye and Marcelina on the way out. Something about Ash seemed weirdly familiar. I couldn't get him out of my mind.

"Thanks for this, boss," Skye chimed, "It was sorely needed."

"No problem, sweetie," I stumbled a step or two.

"You ok, Mom?" Marcelina worried, "I mean, I know things have been hard on you lately…"

"Actually," I rubbed my eyes, still sort of disoriented, "I am feeling a little better. I'm just tired now."

"Are you sure?" she held me up, chilling me to the bone.

"Positive," I shook her and Skye off, "I think I'm just going to go home. Skye, honey, sweetie, baby doll, you know I love you, right?"

"I'll go take the heat from Regina," she insisted, "It's the least I can do for this."

"You are a blessing," I kissed the top of her head, "And I love you."

"What about me?" Marcelina whined, "What am I?"

"The result of a human and a demon having sex after their wedding," I explained, "He had just killed a man for me."

"Mom," she gagged, "I don't need to hear that."

"Hard to believe you have a child," I teased.

"My baby's almost forty," Marcelina defended.

"Alright, alright," I let it go, "I'll see you two later. I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom."

And just like that, I ended my day with the removal of my heels, my feet up on the coffee table, and a bottle of wine to start with. There was something off. I wasn't sure what, but there was something definitely off. Ash, mostly. Why did he feel so familiar? I've never met him before. I'm pretty sure I would've remembered his pretty face. And he seemed pretty adamant about me leaving my husband. He wouldn't know Sebastian. Sebastian doesn't go there. The thought of anyone besides Ciel or me touching him makes him cringe.

I downed more of my wine and started to get a little hazy. Was I losing my touch? I could usually drink more than this. A bottle of wine wouldn't do squat to me. Until I looked a little closer at the label. Written in Latin. Sebastian, you shouldn't have. Unless Marcelina got me some, but she didn't really like the idea of me drinking anymore. After the anniversary party, we both decided to ease back on the booze department. Bed. I needed to go to bed. Besides, it was getting pretty late.

Just one thing…Before I go to sleep…

"Hello, Mrs. Michaelis," Sebastian's warm voice answered on the other end, "You do realize I could have just come over. It's no trouble."

"As much as I love you," I shot him down, "You're too hot, sweetheart. I miss you."

"I miss you, too, darling," he sighed, "Have you anything to report? Any memories that may have surfaced?"

"No," I shook my head, "But I have a question."

"Of course."

"Do you have any grudges with any angels?" I asked.

"There are probably a few that wouldn't mind my head on a spike," Sebastian thought, "Perhaps we should look there."

"Capital idea," I praised, "I think I'm going to go to sleep."

"Go ahead, my love," he allowed, "I love you. And if we're lucky, maybe a trip to a walk-in freezer would be in our future."

"In a perfect world," I smiled, "I love you, too."

"Good night."

"Night."

Click.

God, I miss him. I wish Sebastian was laying here with me instead. At least we had these modern technologies to keep us connected. Suck it, angel that's trying to keep us apart! We'll be fine. For now. I think. If I stay away from Ash, I think things will be good. Don't get me wrong. Sebastian's temptation on legs, but Ash…? Ash was a different ball game. I shut my eyes and drifted off to sleep. And my dreams took me somewhere weird.

An empty ballroom. This place looked deserted. I've been here before, though. Many, many times. Phantomhive Manor? No. Phantomhive Manor didn't have pillars like these. Phantomhive Manor didn't look like an abandoned cathedral. This was home.

"Have you figured it out yet?" a voice broke the silence, "Why we need you?"

"We?" I did a glance around the room, "What do you mean, we? Who are you?"

"You were right to look for an angel," he spoke again, "But everyone has a weakness, Lumi. Yours happened to be Sebastian all those years ago. And now, he has a weakness, too. One less demon in the world to worry about…"

A/N: Hi guys! There's a chance that this little story may be coming to an end in the next few chapters. With the visions of angels, things are going to get a little…interesting around the Michaelis household. So until then, see you next chapter! xx