Immortals - The demon hunt (boyxboy)

Chapter 24

The first day...

"Last night, thousands of people all over the world have lost their lives in a battle more fierce than any ever before. Merely an hour after the first demon attacks, a strange light emerged from the middle of San Francisco and turned all the demons into ashes. There has been no word from the Vatican's spokesman about this yet."

The voice of the radio reporter filled the silence in the hospital room, where Caelan was sitting on one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs. His head was leaning against the wall and his eyes were closed. He had been watching over the sleeping figure in the hospital bed for several hours now and at one point, he couldn't fight the exhaustion anymore and fell asleep.

Then, the door opened quietly and Willow snuck in. Slowly, she walked over to Caelan and watched him with a small smile. Then, her eyes turned to Leon and she sighed. Getting him into the hospital had been a fierce fight. There were so many casualties, they couldn't even contact a doctor at first. But as the news went around, that Leon was the one who called the light and defeated the demon blight, the crowd in front of the hospital parted and they could get him in.

When the doctor, an elderly man finally inspected Leon's wounds, he had been truly speechless. Someone who was still alive with such severe wounds must have a truly strong will to survive, or so he said. He had treated Leon as well as he could but the rest, as it seemed, was up to the boy. And during the whole process, Caelan had been by his side.

Willow grabbed a spare blanket from a shelf and gently wrapped it around Caelan's shoulders. Now, all they could do was to wait and hope. Either Leon would fight his way through all the pain and come back to them... or everything was in vain. But Willow didn't want to think about that. She walked over to the bed again and bent down, pressing a soft kiss on Leon's bandaged forehead.

"Come back..." she whispered. "We need you... Caelan needs you. He won't leave your side until you wake up, you know?"

But as Leon didn't move, she sighed once again and pulled back. Waiting... for now that was all they could do. One last glance back, then she walked out of the room again, heading back to Reaver. The huge man was waiting downstairs in the lobby right now and if she guessed right, he had already gotten a steaming hot coffee for her. That thought made her smile and her steps sped up slightly. Reaver... what would she do without him?

Half a year later...

The sky was grey and the clouds hung over San Francisco like a thick blanket. After a while, a first snowflake found its way down. As it touched the warmth of Caelan's hand, it disappeared as if it never had existed. A few more followed and soon, the ground of the hospital's park was covered in a fluffy, white blanket.

It felt just like back then... during their first Christmas. And it was already december again. Caelan raised his head and looked up towards the hospital window, where he knew Leon was sleeping right now. Actually, he had been sleeping for more than half a year now. Even the doctors had lost hope, that he would ever wake up from his coma. But nonetheless, Caelan still waited for him.

Now that there were no demons left, Team Zero was practically unemployed. Willow was working at a common car shop and Reaver... well, he used his strength to help restore all the destroyed buildings. People like that were fairly paid right now, so they managed quite well.

And Caelan... despite his dislike for other humans, he had started to help out at the hospital. In return, Leon's hospital room and his treatment was paid and there was still enough to live off. And nothing the doctors said could change Caelan's belief. He would wait for Leon to wake up for the rest of his life. Him being an Immortal, time wasn't a matter here. One day Leon would wake up. And he, Caelan would be by his side when the time came.

The ex-hunter closed his eyes and raised his face to the sky. The cold snowflakes touched his cheeks and melted into small waterdrops, which ran down his cheeks. If not for his stoic appearance, they could have been tears.

"You miss him." a soft voice called from behind.

Caelan didn't open his eyes, but agreed with a small nod.

"Do you regret your decision?" Uriel asked.

This time, Caelan shook his head slightly.

"You'd wait the rest of your immortal life for his return, won't you?" A hint of pity filled the angel's voice.

Finally, Caelan opened his eyes. "I'll wait, even if this place turns into ruins. Even if humanity withers away and nothing but a cold, lifeless planet is left, I'll wait. Because one day, he'll wake up."

"And you'll be there." Uriel stated softly.

"I'll be there." Caelan agreed. Yet, there was so much despair in his eyes...

Slowly, Uriel turned around and looked at the sky. Snowflakes danced around her like a curtain and her lips curled into a smile. "It's christmas eve, Caelan." she whispered. "Did you know?"

"I tend to forget time..." the man admitted, his voice a little bit strained. "Even more this special day. Since last time, everything has changed so much..."

Suddenly, Uriel walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips close to his ear, she whispered: "Go upstairs, Caelan...Go to your Leon. And... Merry Christmas!" Her hand softly touched his cheek and then, she was simply gone.

At first, Caelan was frozen in place, not able to move at all. Then suddenly, he struggled forward and rushed into the hospital. On his way up, he almost bumped into the nurses on duty and quickly apologized, before he ran off again. As he reached Leon's door however, he stopped and his hand froze over the door knob. What if he was merely imagining things? What if there was no deeper meaning in Uriel's words? Could he bear such a huge frustration?

"Caelan...?" a faint, oh so well known softly asked from inside.

Immediately, his hand found its way down and pushed the door open. And right there in the hospital bed, Leon was sitting upright, his huge eyes watching the snowflakes outside. "It's snowing..." he whispered and his lips curled into a smile.

"Leon..." Caelan's voice broke. "Leon!" he called once again and with two big steps, he was by his side.

Finally, Leon turned around and looked at him. There was still a faint hint of the cross scars on his forehead, as well as his ankles and wrists. They would never really disappear, but it didn't matter anyway. There was one big difference though, which made Caelan hesitate to pull the boy right into his arms.

Those blue eyes held so much pain... so much sad experience. After all, something had changed. And just like a broken vase can't simply be turned back into a whole one, those scars on his soul would also never completely disappear.

"I missed you so much..." Caelan whispered and his hand trembled a mere moment away from Leon's face. "I've been waiting but..." his voice broke once again.

"It's okay..." Leon replied softly and took Caelan's trembling hand in his own, fragile one. "I've come back. And despite everything that happened, I'm alive again. I won't ever leave you again."

Those last words broke through Caelan's hesitation and he tightly wrapped his arms around Leon and pulled him into a deep embrace. "I won't ever let you leave." he promised and kissed him softly. Gently, Leon kissed him back and leaned into the embrace.

They sat like that for quite a while, Leon in Caelan's lap, both watching the snowflakes outside. "How are Willow and Reaver?" Leon asked quietly. "Both getting along well." Caelan replied. "They said, they'd get married once you woke up. Now they won't have an execuse to back off anymore."

"We should call them... shouldn't we?" Leon mused and leaned back against Caelan's shoulder.

"We will." Caelan agreed. "But let me have this moment with you. I've dreamed of this for such a long time..." Leon smiled and gave him a small nod, before he leaned back against Caelan's firm chest again.

"Hey...?" Caelan whispered after a while. Slowly, the boy raised his head and looked at him. "Mhh?" he murmured.

"Merry Christmas." Caelan replied and for the first time in half a year, there was a true, deep smile on his face.