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ABBY COULDN'T sleep, not that she expected to. Sebbi was alive. Sebbi was back. Sebbi had changed, in a way that made her heart beat uncontrollably. She'd held him, felt his skin, cold and clammy against her own. In his arms, head against his chest, she'd heard his heart.

It had been so different from the last time she'd held him - in that pit, blood gushing from the wound in his stomach, her fingers fumbling, her mind racing, as she tried to stem the flow, to keep enough of Sebbi inside his body, he wouldn't leave her. Then he'd stilled, and his skin had paled, and his last word had silenced her world.

She shot up in bed, threw off the covers, her bedroom's floorboards creaking under her feet. She slunk into the darkened hallway and made her way to the kitchen. Dishes were piled high in the sink, most of them glasses tinted purple from wine. The leftover stew had been portioned into bowls and covered with tea towels. Her trash bin overflowed with the wax wrappers from Axion's sandwiches. While he'd given Abby, Lucy and Sebbi time for their reunion, he'd visited Ean's sandwich shops, lugging with him so many, Abby though he must have put a few out of business. She never asked how he procured his sandwiches, or how he paid for them, but she was certain he hadn't done anything unsavory. Suspicious? Most definitely, but not anything that would cause real problems.

Crum had brought a dozen red-berry tartlets from the bakery in East Market. He welcomed Sebbi and it was much warmer than Abby thought it'd be, and she was grateful. Crum seemed to know how much Sebbi and Lucy meant to her, and while his feelings were complicated after his stay in Aelurus, he respected their relationship enough to avoid any awkward encounters. A bag of caramel twists, a gift from Alfren, was propped up on the window ledge. Abby opened the wrapping, the paper crinkling, and popped one into her mouth. Salt and butter, and loads of sweetness broke over her tongue.

While Alfren was no longer the only good Hudginns, he still gave out the best treats.

Abby rounded the table, fingers grazing the top. Their bowls were still set out, all six of them. She smiled. Her gaze roamed over to the sofa. Nobody was stretched out on its cushions, nor was anyone sprawled out on her rug.

Not asleep yet.

She giggled, her head turning in the direction of her door. If Lucy and Sebbi weren't inside, she knew exactly where to find them.

The door was only open a crack, the bell trilling overhead, when Lucy peeled himself off the railing and turned to face her. "Love?"

Sebbi sat on the railing, legs dangling over the edge, toes scraping the ground. He'd been gazing out at Ean, but at Lucy's voice, he turned and gave her a smile.

Two pair of gold eyes peered up at her from the dark. Just like before.

She settled between them, arms curling around herself to fend off the cold.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Her gaze flitted between the pair of them.

Lucy wrapped his arms around her, his breath tart and floral, his eyes rimmed with red and a bit watery. The ends of his hair, tied and gathered over one shoulder, tickled her cheek. He smiled, and it was dopey and lopsided, his lips a dark plum-color.

She turned her gaze upward, and flashed a knowing grin. "Wine?

His smile spread. He gave her cheek a kiss before releasing her. Sighing, he raised his arms into the air. "Yes, wine, love!" His eyes glittered just like Aelurus's moon. "We were celebrating." He nodded at Sebbi, who shook his head. Sebbi's head always shook, when Lucy said something ridiculous, though his gaze never hardened or glazed over. There was love for his brother, even when he was at his most maddening. "Right, brother dearest?"

Lucy lowered his arms, a hiccup squeezing through his teeth. He giggled. Another hiccup cut his giggle short.

Sebbi leaned in toward Abby. His breath, hot and sweet, and a bit floral. "He was celebrating." He crossed his arms over himself, bumps prickling his bare flesh. He'd only been human a handful of times. One of which, he spent the entire time fighting for his life. He wasn't as used to being without his fur as Lucy was, and yet, he'd waited for gods knew how long, for Abby and Lucy, getting soaked in the rain. Abby should have felt anger, that he'd put himself in harm's way, just for her, but warmth blossomed in her chest at knowing he missed her as much as she had missed him. "I was merely a witness to brother dear's merriment." Sebbi's tongue seemed to trip over the word, "merriment." 

She snickered. He might not have indulged as Lucy had, but Sebbi had done a glass or two's worth of celebrating, surely.

"And what brilliant nerrifent it was!" While Sebbi could still pronounce words, Lucy was content letting the wine speak for him. It jumbled his consonants and vowels, creating entire new words. Nerrifent being the first in Lucy's drunken lexicon. 

He draped his arms over Sebbi's shoulders. He wobbled, and the wood railing hissed, and Abby thought both cat brothers might land on their backs in front of her plant shop. Thankfully, Sebbi forced himself upright and Lucy back. Lucy cackled. "My barling little brother is back." He ground his knuckles into Sebbi's scalp, the friction causing his hairs to raise like agitated eels. 

Sebbi frowned, swatting at Lucy's hand. "You're messing up my hair."

"Oh?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. "And when has that ever been an issue for you? You used to run around with whole trees in your fur, and if I remember correctly, you turned down my offer to groom you. You'd shrink, and your tail would dangle between your legs as you retreated back into the woods, belly on the ground."

With a grunt, Sebbi pushed free of Lucy's grasp. He immediately set to righting the hair Lucy so careless wronged, but the strands were tangled, and no amount of effort would have them laying flat anytime soon.

"I did not retreat." A growl bubbled up Sebbi's throat, though it had no real bite. He was annoyed, certainly, but not truly mad. Lucy was after all, being Lucy. "And a few twigs hardly counts as a whole tree." A few slats of lantern light sprawled across the lawn, and over the porch, and under them, Abby noticed the faintest pink on the tips of Sebbi's ears.

"Brother dearest." Lucy yawned and stretched his back, as he had whenever Abby had awoken him for the morning. He'd hop from the pillow next to her head, knead the covers under his paws, and then arch his back and tail and meow. He told her later, his meow was his way of saying good morning. "Some days you were more mud and twig than fur and flesh. Luckily, I was, I am, handsome enough for the both of us." He gave his brother's back a slap, and Sebbi pitched forward.

This time, Abby was certain he'd fall. Her arm shot out, her hand resting on Sebbi's chest to keep him from toppling. Beneath her fingers, she felt him go rigid.

Her eyes flicked up. His face was inches from hers, his gaze like melted gold, his lips pressed tight.

Abby removed her hand, desperate to focus on anything else. A cable car rumbled down the road. Smoke stacks coughed a thick, bluish haze into the air. Lantern light flickered and crackled, a curl of smoke rising off the heating coil, signaling another bug had gotten too close. No matter what she focused on, she was overly aware of Sebbi's proximity and was certain she'd end up like the bug, zapped and body smoking, at having gotten too close. 

"Hi," Sebbi said sheepishly, his attention on the street. He straightened, fingers clutching the railing.

Abby ran her hands over her nightshirt. A breeze blew through the buildings, cooling her cheeks. "So--" 

"So--" he repeated, hand scratching the back of his neck.

Behind them Lucy squealed. He danced along the porch, his swaying dangerously close to the ground, his twirling leaving him green in the face. 

Abby's eyebrows raised. "He's a king."

Sebbi grinned. "I know. Aelurus is doomed."

Any previous awkwardness evaporated as they shared a laugh. Abby hopped up onto the railing. Sebbi offered her his hand, and she took it, his touch gentle and secure, a shock of electricity skimming the skin where his fingers grazed hers.

"He's a good king, though." She glanced back at Lucy, who had settled himself in a corner of the porch, back against the shop, arms looped around his knees. Head lulled to one side, he snored. But it was a contented snore, not one of those purposefully loud snores he used to convey his annoyance. His eyelashes fluttered in the breeze, wisps of hair lifting around his face. 

Dream well, Love. 

With Sebbi back, there'd be no more walking the streets, or shuffling down Darkmoore's corridors. He'd find sleep, knowing he wasn't alone. The cat brothers, together, always. 

She excused herself, slipped off the railing, and snuck back into the house. She was only gone a few seconds, and when she returned she had two blankets over her arm. She draped one over Lucy, ensuring it was snug under his chin and over his shoulders. Daring to do what she never would while he was awake, to prevent her from being reminded of it constantly, she planted a kiss on his cheek. 

Then she was back on the railing, tossing a blanket over her lap. She held it open, offering Sebbi its warmth, if he wanted it. "It's cold. I don't mind sharing." 

Sebbi's gaze swung back to the city, and then towards her. Finally, he scooted close, shoulder to shoulder, the blanket warming them both. 

"Thanks," he said, his voice a whisper. 

They stared out the city, Abby listening to Ean's song. The hum of the machines that ran all night, the sharp firing of pistons, the rumble of cable cars swooping through the city. The sizzling and inevitable pops from the lanternposts as more bugs fell prey to the allure of magickally enhanced light. 

A murmur of voices from people, who against their better judgments, stayed up late though they had an early start the next morning. She heard the creak and gentle slam of doors being closed, and curtains being ruffled, and the sigh of exhaust. 

She breathed in the city air. Charred and tinged with mechanics' grease. Something clean and woodsy clung to the air. Foreign to Ean, yet perfuming a great deal of Abby's memory.  Sebbi's smell, she realized. One that reminded her of the woods behind the Tells' estate where she'd find him harassing beetles and mice, or terrorizing bushes. 

Home, she thought. He smelled of home.

"Here." Sebbi held out his hand, his teeth digging into his lower lip. "I was waiting for the right moment." Lucy belted out more snores, each one as shrill as Ean's bells. Sebbi shook his head. "This definitely wasn't what I had in mind, but –" He opened his hand. "For you."

A ribbon laid in his palm, thinner at the ends than it was in the center. To an untrained eye, it was blue. To someone with her knowledge of all things Wizard Kellog, it was an exact cornflower blue. Clusters of stars shone as they drifted over the fabric. She stuck out her fingers, the stars drawn to her touch. 

"It's...enhanced?"

"Huh?" Sebbi's head shot up, his eyes capturing hers. "It's–" He sucked on his lower lip so hard Abby thought he'd swallow it. "Not enhanced, at least I don't think it is. The Wizard Kellog didn't tell me it was."

The ribbon almost slipped from between Abby's fingers. "The Wizard Kellog?"

Sebbi nodded. "Yeah, the Wizard Kellog gave me his pocket square. I made–"

She whirled him to face her, hands digging into his shoulders. The blanket flew off their laps. "You met the Wizard Kellog?"

"O-oh." He blushed. "Did I not tell you?"

Abby sprung off the porch, landing with her hands on her hips. "Sebastian Tells! You most certainly did not tell me." She stomped a bare foot on the ground.

"In Noriie, the Southern Continent, I went to one of his shows."

Her eyes widened, though they were already so wide, the notion of them going wider, without enhancement, should have been impossible. "You saw him perform?"

"It-it was alright."

She leapt forward and slapped his leg. "Just alright? He did real magick, didn't he?"

Sebbi nodded. 

Abby paced in front of him, ribbon clasped in her hand. "You..." she said, after a moment, eyes narrowed, "have so much to tell me."

"I promise," he said, placing a hand over his heart. "To tell you everything."

She nodded, her gaze dipping to the ribbon, its edges roused by the breeze. A smile returned to her face, bigger, brighter, bolder than any moon. "You made this?" She noticed then, the thread wasn't the same cornflower blue, but a few shades lighter, more green than violet, the stitching uneven. "For me?"

He jumped down too, effortlessly graceful, and landed without a sound. "I did." He glanced at her hand and at his work.

She closed her fingers around it, bringing it to her chest.

"Do you..." Sebbi shuffled, his feet kicking up dust and bits of browning grass. "Do you like it?"

Her heart stammered in her chest, her breath catching in the back of her throat. "I love i--"

"Look!" 

Sebbi was craning his neck, one hand pointed at the sky. Abby did the same, and gasped. Above them, the clouds had parted. A piece of the night sky shimmered just for them. 

Abby moved closer to Sebbi, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I love my ribbon, Sebastian Tells," she said quietly. "And I love you." 

"I love you too, Abbernathy."

In that moment, beneath a sliver of stars, Abby wished dawn would never come.