A/N: This was supposed to be an one-shot, but I don't want to keep you waiting for so long, thus I'm going to make it a 2 chapters story. Here you have the first one. Hope you enjoy it.

In Tenebris Spes Incensio – Chapter I

"Well, here we are. Hope you guys like it.", the blonde young man said to his friends.

"I don't care how it looks, I just want something to eat … and fast.", one of them replied, the others laughed.

"What do you think?", the blonde man asked the woman standing next to him. She was Evey Hammond, the one that not so long ago was Codename V's accomplice. Now she was Evelyn Blake just a normal woman enjoying her evening with her colleagues and friends. Or that what she wanted to be, in fact she was trying to get accustomed to her new life, the new job, the new England and most of all…the life without HIM. The blonde young man was Edward, her best friend. Neither he or anyone else knew who she was or what she has done, and thanks to Chief Inspector Finch it remained a secret: her past, her identity and her connection with V, the now national hero. And also the fact that she loved V, and despite the five months that passed since his death she was still crying herself to sleep in the dark confines of the Shadow Gallery, cursing herself for all the things she did and for all the things she didn't do.

"It's a very nice place, Edward.", she smiled. They were close … but she did not let him get closer.

"Let's find a table.", he proposed.

They sat down at one of the free tables and started talking about nonsense while waiting for their supper. But Evey was not there, at least her mind wasn't. The new colleagues were nice, but she did not belong amongst them. She was different in so many ways. She was participating actively at England's rebirth, helping Eric Finch and Dominic Stone at shaping Britain the way V wanted it to be. It was hard work, but things were going alright.

Unbeknownst to her, in the restaurant a man, that was about to change everything that was going on with her life, entered. He was tall and well built, dressed in a khaki trench coat with matching colour trousers and fedora. A cream-coloured scarf was hiding away his features along with black aviator sunglasses.

He sat down at the table next to the door, he removed his coat, then his hat and scarf, leaving only his sunglasses in place, took the menu and settled down to order something to eat. Evey felt herself pulled out of the reverie when one of her female co-workers exclaimed:

"Oh dear, look at that guy.", the woman said and covered her mouth with her hand. All her co-workers turned their heads in the direction of the man she pointed, which was now talking to the waitress. "She probably knows him.", she whispered again.

Evey's eyes remained transfixed upon the man's face and suddenly the need to cry swelled up inside her, but she contained it.

"Evey, are you alright?", Edward asked, "You don't look very well poppet."

"Yes.", she replied faintly. She wasn't alright though…seeing that man's face … it was like seeing him, finally seeing him … because he looked like she always thought he would, ever since she danced with him and she realized why he was hiding. But it did not matter now, because he was dead and she was starring at a stranger. Scars covered 80% of his face and head, he had no hair and his right ear was melted onto his head , while his left one was close to being intact but retained the same texture as the rest of his face. Raw red patches interlaced with an irregular pattern of white and transparent knots. The right side seemed to have been affected the most; his lower lip was ripped and melted in one. His nose was still in one piece at least. The scars looked superficial given the fact that his face was not completely melted or too disfigured, but they did seem untreated…and painful.

The scarred man left his table, most likely heading to the loo. The mumbling at Evey's table began, everyone making mean comments and jokes.

"Just imagine kissing that guy. Eww…", one of them laughed, unaware of the repercussion his words had on Evey. She suddenly sat up and hurried towards the ladies-room.

"What's up with her?"

"I have no idea.", Edward answered. Because he truly did not know … he did not know that Evey Hammond would have kissed those lips instead of a cold, inert mask. But you see, Madame Fate was about to play a prank on our poor heroine, so as she was running to hide herself, she made her crash into the very man that turned her day upside-down.

"Uff…", the man grunted as a small woman banged against his torso. He caught her when the hit almost knocked her down her feet.

"Oh God, I'm so sor…", she tried to excuse herself until she raised her gaze and saw the man she barged into. Her eyes widened, heart started racing and her breath accelerated.

"It's ok.", he replied. Her eyes were still stuck on him, he lowered his face and looked to his right as if trying to hide his face, because he knew pretty well that his right side was the most damaged and thus the most disturbing. He was used to people giving him odd looks, but those people were not as close as she was now. He tried to take one step backward but found himself unable to do so as the girl was still clutching at him, holding on to his waist. "I'm sure I'm the last man you wished to crush into.", he let out a nervous laugh as he excused himself for his appearance.

Evey managed to get out of the state of shock she was in and realized that the man understood her reaction in a wrong way.

"No…it's just that you…remind me of … someone very dear to me.", she tried to clear the misunderstanding and smiled back at him.

"Oh … people are often … repelled by my appearance, that's why I assumed…"

"It must be difficult…", she stopped him.

"It is but not as much as I thought it will be. The waitress became very friendly after I gave her a fairly fat tip.", he joked, making Evey laugh. "Now, that's better. That smile suits you more than tears do."

"Thank you."

"You are very welcome."

"Evey?...", Edward called. "God you gave me a fright. Don't just disappear like that again."

The young woman turned towards her friend. "I'm old enough to take care of my own, Edward.", she said with a serious tone then looked back to the scarred man, smiling.

"Thank you, you've certainly made my day sunnier. Good bye."

He just nodded and smiled back at her. A tiny, crooked smile, but very sweet none the less.

***

Only after she left he could release the breath he was holding. She'd been so close to him, too close......and still, not close enough. This shouldn't have happened, he wasn't ready yet.

"Oh, Evey...", he found himself whispering. It's been 5 months since he seen her last on that train platform. When she told him she didn't want him to die, and somehow ... he complied.

But still this shouldn't have happened. Meeting Evey was not part of the plan yet. His body was still recovering; some bullets were still inside his torso, one of them heavily infected. Fortunately his body was strong enough to resist it. But was his psychic strong enough to tell her the truth, and show himself to her?

His plan definitely had to change, in fact it already changed the moment she bumped right into him, and showed no sign of disgust or fear. No, never will she feel fear again, he took care of that.

He had to show himself to her much sooner than it was originally planed, but at least now he knew she won't be driven away by his features. And what a delightful thought that was.

"No more tricks, no more lies. Only truth.", he remembered saying. The only lie remaining was that of him being an idea, because it became a lie as she soon as she came into his life. Nothing made him feel so human before. For the first time in his known life he felt vulnerable, breakable. And now, after his vendetta was fulfilled, all that remained of him was ... the man.

He hurried back to his table, her hands still burning on his chest and waist. When he passed by Evey's table, he could see her staring at him. It really made him wonder if she was suspecting anything. V sat down and continued with his meal still feeling Evey's eyes on him. Truth be told this was the first time he ate in her presence, and it made him rather nervous, his already reddish skin turning to a blood red tint. And it didn't help him at all seeing that she actually noticed the sudden change of his skin colour, her face being covered with a meaningful grin.

'Hold your horses, old man! You don't want to ruin everything before it even starts.', he thought, forcing another mouthful of his food down his throat.

***

Evey's cell phone rang, announcing the new text message in her inbox. V noticed, he knew who it was of course, he knew everything his beloved did to make England the country he and so many others dreamt. By the looks of it, the man named Edward, which seemed to be very close to Evey, knew nothing about it, or about who she really was. It was a good thing, thus she will be able to have a new start and a beautiful life, in which he hoped to have at least a small place. He saw her leaving the table and heading to the exit. This was the perfect time for him to leave too, this way he could keep an eye on her until she was safe with Eric Finch, and then head home to get ready for whatever it was to come.

***

Evey was on her way to meet Eric and Dominic. They all decided that the best meeting place was the mausoleum raised for the Saint Mary's victims. It was the perfect location since not many people visited this place, especially after dark. Evey felt someone following her but decided to let the man come closer and then make her move.

That was close enough; a dagger flew in the darkness embedding itself in the asphalt in front of the pursuer's feet.

"Who are you and what do you want?", Evey asked, being unable to see the man's face in the dark.

"Oh my God, Evey, you almost killed me."

"Edward? What in the world are you doing here?", she asked, a tint of anger colouring her voice.

"I've seen the man from the restaurant following you, and I've followed him.", he offered an explanation.

"Oh, really? And where is he now?"

"I ... I don't know. He was right in front of me before you threw ... that.", he said pointing at the knife that was still stuck in the concrete.

"And he just disappeared? Seriously Edward, you have to learn how to make better excuses."

"Where are you going anyway? You're always leaving like this, not telling me anything. I'm worried about you. I really care about you Evey, but you act like you don't even notice. Or maybe you don't care."

Evey sighed. She couldn't tell him the truth even though she felt terribly guilty for lying to him.

"I do care, just that I'm too busy with other things.", this was the only explanation she could give him. "I have to go now, if you don't mind. And please stop following me."

"Ok, I understand. Seems you have someone else, I would've liked you to tell me at least.", Edward whispered disappointed.

"I'm sorry Ed, there are many things you don't know about me. So many things that you may never find out. Good bye.", she said taking the knife and left.

***

Up on a building, a shadow moved. He almost got caught, this never happened before. Luckily his body, though wounded, cooperated this time helping him get out of sight before it was too late. She was fantastic, it was him that she felt following her, he knew that very well, and it made him so proud. She did not need him anymore; she was indeed able to take care of herself.

Well, that was it. He will leave her take care of his legacy; she was strong enough to do it. As for him, it was time to head HOME.

***

When Evey entered the tunnel that led to the Shadow Gallery the sun was already at dawn. She felt so tired she could sleep a week, her past few days and nights were horrendous. Taking down Norsefire was much more difficult than she expected, especially now that V was dead, and Evey Hammond disappeared. People were being fooled again by former Norsefire party members, now assembled under a different name. She had to quit her identity as Evelyn Blake and speak to the people as Evey Hammond. It was the last resort but she had no other choice, she couldn't leave everything that V worked for just go to waste. And she did not mind being Evey Hammond again since this new life was not for her anyway.

She pushed open the large wooden door that guarded the entrance to the Gallery, and noticed that the light was on, though she remembered very well dimming it before leaving. A knife appeared in her hand, ready for what was to come. She got closer to the piano room when she saw him: a man was in the Shadow Gallery!

A/N: Thank you for reading! Yes, it's another V lives story. Hi!hi!

I will upload the next chapter as soon as I finish it, don't know when that will be, but I promise I won't leave it unfinished. I really want to know what you think this time, so if you read it please review.

I described V the way I thought he would look, I don't think his face was melted or anything because his hands aren't melted either. I asked my uncle how he looked when he was burned (he had 2nd and 3rd degrees burns but he had medical treatment and they're not visible anymore) and I used the information. I also assumed that the burns healed a bit over time. Hope it's good enough.

I've made a picture of V as I imagined him, you can find the link towards it on my profile.(It's the image on my avatar)