Ok, hello everyone!!!
While I'm spanish speaker and don't have enough vocabulary to write down some decent fanfiction in english language, a friend of mine, Hope-To-Last, did a great translation of one of my fanfics... this one I'm uploading TOO LATE, I'm afraid ('casue it was for last year halloween...)...
'Cause I didn't update ANYTHING since a long (VERY long) time, I'm uploading this one, just to share it with you (I'm an eager DMC-Dante/Nero follower)... hope you like it...
Edit: I needed to put this here... if you have any problem reading this story, you must give me the exact advice, about WHAT should I do (for instance, what are 'speech marks'? I use the hyphen to mark when someone is speaking, and the italics when someone is thinking)... remember, I'm NOT a natural english speaker (I'm still learning it), I'm from Argentina, and this translation was made by a friend of mine... it's a very, almost ABSOLUTELY literal translation, word by word... perfect, if you ask me, 'cause it didn't suffer any substancial changes...
Thanks to all...!! and I must say too, that this is a one-shot, sadly... my intention was to leave a lot of doubts in the story itself, 'cause it was for Halloween, and wanted to write something very related to a supernatural situation (and you know about this genre in literature, the mystery ends unresolved...).
Ok, again... see ya around...!!!
LOVE BITES
-… do you really think this is a nice way to end the night…?
-… don't complain that much, kid… it's work…!
Truth to be told, Nero couldn't care less if it was an invitation to a dinner from the Queen Victoria of England. He was so comfortable at Devil May Cry in this night of freezing wind, watching a movie while eating pizza, and he was thinking of how wonderful was to stay at home in a horrible night like that, Halloween… when the sodding phone rang cutting off his precious rest. It was a natural thing; in dates like this, demons seemed to be more eager to come out and wander around causing their well known abuses, he was told by the Hunter; while they went through the streets where dozens of kids dressed up as the most bizarre monsters swarmed from house to house asking for candy, Nero grumbled about the demons, their contractors and that damned night.
-… aw, c'mon- Dante laughed, when they both got off the bike and walked to the alley where they customer had told them that some demons with firing skulls (Basilisks, without any doubt) were terrorizing the neighbourhood- … you always loved to go hunting…
-… yeah, but precisely this night…
Precisely, because of Halloween, there had been a whole day marathon of horror films; from classics like the black and white version of Frankenstein, to the most modern ones, like The Ring. Nero had been a fan of horror film since ever, and he'd thought to take a day off to enjoy that movie paradise… and here he was, against his will, dragged out by Dante into a windy, cloudy and plainly uncomfortable night only to chase after a bunch of annoying dogs…
-… what a way to ruin a beautiful rest…
-… well, you've already seen those movies thousands of times…
-… I don't care, it was MY rest, Dante!!! And to top it all…
-…? … to top it all what?
They were going like having a walk by the misty alley… the air smelled like sulphur, so the Basilisks were close…
-… to top it all, they were just broadcasting one of my favourites… "Dracula", the one directed by… ah, what was that director's name…?- Nero scratched his head, frowning, trying to remember…
-…Coppola?
-That one!! …ah, so you've seen it too? Isn't it great… ?
-… hehe, how to not see it if you have monopolized the TV the whole day… besides, I had already seen it before… anyway, it was alright, the vamps are sexy… - Dante smirked in his typical perverted way, making Nero snort.
-… bah, you only think of that… mh, I bet you've never faced a vampire in any of your works…
Dante made an odd face of complicity, but Nero did not understand the message.
-… ahhh, who knows…
-…?
Dante's smile didn't fade as they approached to the end of the alley.
-… vampires… they are such surprising creatures… in fact, I've only fought against succubi and incubi, but any of them has been a big rival for me… I've never met a…
-… a vampire like the ones in literature?- Nero tried, now looking at him with open curiosity. Dante laughed at his attempt.
-… I don't know if the vampires "like the ones in literature" do exist for real- he said with a side glance to the boy- … they are too "perfect"… so elegants and all that stuff…
-… hehe, well, there lies the charm of a classic vampire, …you know, like the ones of Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu, or Anne Rice among the modern authors… these novels were written in the Romantic period, or inspired in it… so it's natural that they have special characteristics: their supernatural beauty, the paleness, living isolated, being nocturne and melancholic beings… the loneliness… and the yearning for living company and their warm blood…
Dante stared at Nero, now arching his brows. The boy, startled, looked away, and blushed slightly noticing the not so little speech he'd just given.
-You definitely know a lot, kid, what a surprise… Did you read "Interview with the Vampire" or did you see that film? Well, in any case… it's clear that you like vampires, kid… well, I'm telling you… who knows, maybe one day you're lucky and then—WATCH OUT!!!!
Dante's scream coincided with the boom of a bomb… not, of an explosive skull that hit the corner of the alley, a few meters away from them. The creaking howl of the infernal dogs seemed to fill the place with insufferable echoes in mere seconds
–LET'S ROCK!!
Dante and Nero jumped to the sides, noticing the presence of about fifteen (not, sixteen) of these creatures, a considerable pack but it was nothing they couldn't deal with. Rebellion and Red Queen shone in the darkness of the night, cutting the air and slicing off those aberrations in a matter of minutes. The Basilisks might be agile creatures, but the hunters did already know it; no sooner were they stopping to launch their special attack with their firing skulls, and the death was upon them in the form of a shooting or a sharp-edged metal blade that destroyed their demonic heads and put out forever the fire in them.
It did not take them much… fifteen minutes of dance and the stage was covered of burning coals and partially disintegrated corpses… the last groan, the last explosion, and the last of the Basilisks fell at Nero's feet, who sheathed his sword with a satisfied smile.
-… that was quick…
-… yeah, right, yeah…- Dante kicked a pile of still burning ashes to the side- … I killed about eight of them, what about you… ?
-… bah, I think I killed seven… uhm, but… haven't we distributed the pack in a half for each one?- Nero turned around to look at Dante, who walked towards him unworriedly, charging Rebellion at his shoulder- … I thought it was an even number…
-… and it WAS an even number…- he cut the boy, frowning.
-… then wha—
Dante's eyes send him the warning before than his body or lips; Nero quickly turned around but it was already late, and a ball of fire impacted squarely on his head with a tremendous thump… he fell heavily, the howl of the monster, the whistling of Rebellion and Dante's scream, all mingling in his ears, becoming a murmur of a distant storm as he fell and keep falling while losing consciousness.
# / # / #
-… hn…
His head hurt terribly and, yet without opening his eyes, he sent his human hand to his temple; it thrummed like a drum (those damned dogs' skulls were made of stone o what!!). Nero groaned and rolled over himself till his back was against something hard and cold… the floor?
Dante, you bastard, aren't you going to help me?, he thought, believing that he still was on the alley's ground and the Hunter was surely waiting for him to react and make fun how he'd been so easily knocked out by a Basilisk that slipped away from him. However, when the pain that was beginning to fade let him open the eyes, he was utterly confused…
Instead of a cloudy sky over his head, he recognized an over-elaborated ceiling, with intricate ornaments in marble and gold. His hands, resting on the floor to help him sit up, felt the smoothness of china instead of the rough cement of the alley, and even if the atmosphere was cold and dark, he could tell he wasn't on any street right now…
-… what the…
The pain faded completely and his senses regained the control; apparently he was in the middle of a corridor in a silent mansion, the moonlight filtering in through the large ovalated windows that drew elegant shadow grilles in the polished floor. A better examination of his surroundings made Nero realize that the place was familiar to him…
-… the Fortuna castle?
That was why the atmosphere was so cold!! Of course, the snow caressed the glass of the windows with the gusts of wintry wind. The only and predominant weather in that region.
…wait a minute.
-… what am I doing here?!
Nero had hit his head a bit too hard, yeah, that was true, but he didn't think that the blow made him lose consciousness for such a long time… how did he arrived to this place!!?? The city where he worked on with Dante was several hours away of travel far from Fortuna. Moreover, who had brought him there and why for?!
Nero suddenly felt cold. He brought his hand to zip up his vest, and when he did not find it he looked at his chest; surprise and rising fear invaded him when he realized that he wasn't wearing his usual clothing: instead of his jeans and work overcoat, he wore black dress trousers, shoes and an old fashioned, linen shirt… half of the buttons had come off, revealing his naked chest.
He shuddered again, because of the cold and outrage. Who had dressed him like that!?? If it was a joke, it was extremely tasteless…Nero got up on his feet, thinking that if it was indeed a joke, it could only be from…
-… !!!
A murmur at the end of the semicircular corridor captured his attention. There weren't much light, the moon was hiding behind the winter clouds crossing through it way, leaving everything bathed in the dull shadows. Nero walked with slow steps, frowning, internally wishing to have his weapons at hand and cursing whoever that had concealed them… his Devil Bringer sparkled lightly, reflexing his nervousness.
-… who's there…?
No one answered. Nevertheless, once his eyes got used to the semi-darkness, Nero could only state that there was a darker figure in the end of the corridor.
Highly used to face demonic creatures without fear, he only kept a healthy suspicion while approaching to the stranger… his steps rose low echoes in the empty corridor, making him shiver…
… everything was so… surreal…
-… hey… you… who—
In that moment, being only a few meters away from the stranger, the moon showed up again and bathed the corridor with its cold light; in front of Nero's eyes, the stranger finally revealed his features, and the tense face of the teenager was distended with a sigh.
-Dante… !! –his voice, however, showed his anger; clearly that was a very bad joke from his mate and he wasn't going to let it go so easily-… what do you think you're doing coming here?! Are you nuts, this place is miles away from the city… !! how much did it take you to come here, and why did you bring me…?? And were are my clothes!!??- he blushed noticeably with the last question; if it had been Dante who brought him there, then it must have been Dante too who…
Nero stood in front of the hunter… his anger slowly easing off, and he sighed in defeat in front of his mate's silence, who only looked t him…
-… well, are you gonna tell me why—¿?
In that moment, the young hunter noticed that something was wrong with his mate.
The man in front of him was, definitely, Dante; his silver hair, his cold eyes, his handsome yet masculine features, even his stubble was one of his trademark characteristics… but under further examination, Nero noticed that the elder hunter's clothes had been replaced by an elegant, black suit: trousers and tail coat, dark shoes, white shirt with a rose-shaped ruby brooch holding in place the fine bow tie; a dark velvet cape over the hunter's shoulders, almost covering him completely, tied at the neck with a fine lace.
Nero was speechless, looking at Dante and his strange clothing… it was almost like the Hunter was a gentleman drew out from the 18th Century. Nero shook his head, trying to reorganize his ideas.
-… but why did you dress up like that!? Perhaps it was all planned, then what happens—
In that moment, Dante smiled. It was such a simple gesture, and nevertheless Nero felt a shiver running down his spine…
… something wasn't alright, something was… amiss…
-… Nero… -it was Dante's voice, that strong and dreamy voice, now laced with an affectionate tone… or maybe it was… seductive!? Nero straightened up like he had been pricked- … Nero…
-… wha-what happens to you… that isn't…
Dante went one step forwards to the boy, and Nero unconsciously went back another…
… and then something got his attention. A movement in the wall made the boy look to the side, but it only was one of those large mirrors that, he then remembered, decorated the corridors of the Fortuna Castle; precisely the silvery glass reflexed the window, and the moon, and Nero…
… and Nero…
-... hh…
The younger hunter felt how his heartbeat stopped in his chest… the mirror was reflexing him… him… and only him.
-… b-but… - Nero sensed his Devil Bringer's shine soften and turn off for a moments, a reflection of his spiritual confusion and disbelief in front of what his eyes had seen. The mirror was there, and Dante was in front of it, and he WASN'T REFLECTING on it… could it be a trick of his eyes!!?? Maybe all this was a mirage or maybe the mirror was broken and by some odd chance he couldn't see the whole scene from his point of view… ?
… he was lying to himself, the mirror was in perfect conditions… he was perfectly aware of that…
-… D-Da—
Nero looked at his front again, and a new shock made him fell on the hard marble floor, with a strangled cry.
Dante had come so close, and in such a subtle way that he hadn't noticed it.
… he hadn't noticed it? HOW could he DIDN'T notice this man and his powerful aura approaching to him… ?? And, however, he didn't noticed it…
Dante was now only one step away from him, standing up like a tower, his sky blue, supernatural eyes focused on his with an almost painful intensity…
… he did not noticed it… maybe because…
Nero began to crawl backwards, going away from that presence… his eyes opened wider, he still couldn't feel his presence…
… he couldn't feel Dante's warmth…
… he couldn't feel…
… it cannot be… !!
-… Nero… -the hunter's voice was so sensual, the way he spoke was almost hypnotic- … my precious Nero…
-… eh!?- the boy finally got up, but he stumbled and fell against the wall… not even a second later the shadow fell upon him, trapping him against the wall; his terrified eyes got captured by that icy stare, like a rabbit in front of the snake- … Dante—
-… don't be afraid, Nero… - that voice… how could he resist that sweet, masculine and charming voice?- … I'm not going to hurt you…
Nero went all tense, why his instincts were telling him to not trust that affirmation?? … perhaps it had something to do with the fact that who said so wasn't reflecting in the mirror? Highly probably…
-… b-but, Dante—
The person in question smiled, getting closer until he was the boy's face level… Nero felt the chilling caress of his breath, cold, against his lips. His eyes, getting free from the spell of those others, stared at that sensual mouth…
… his lips… his lips and his… his…
-… !!
He immediately knew he shouldn't stay there… his instinct reacted suddenly and shoved away the other man, who didn't resist in the least but simply moved over to let escape his young prey. Nero didn't look back to check if Dante was following him, he was terrified at the idea of doing so and discovering that the other was already upon him, like a shadow menacing to trap him in any moment… the pressure of his stare chased and spurred him, urging him to go faster in his runaway through empty corridors full of shadows and the echoes of his own steps.
… Dante… no… it cannot be… !!
He walked pass the hall connecting with the indoors courtyard of the castle. It wasn't a safe exit, the wind still blowing outside… he walked past it and turned at the right in the first corner; the richly ornated door gave way, ironically, to a dark and dampened area of the castle, the short corridor leading to a spiral staircase… Nero didn't remember very well the disposition of the castle's rooms, and for now he didn't care, he could only think in escaping… in getting away from Dante as much as he could, dominated by an irrational terror…
He couldn't think about it in a rational way, his body seemed to follow only the instinct of survival and not his brain, while he went up and crossed the metallic bridge leading to another door… he pushed the door open and then shut it back with a loud bang, trembling and feeling agitated, not safe but at least slightly relieved to have put some distance between him and…
-… it cannot be… it had to be a mistake… all this…
But the mirror did not lie… his senses didn't lie…
… Dante's fangs didn't lie…
-… Dante it's a… a…
He fell against the closed door, feeling the sweat freeze on his skin. Showing his face between his knees, he noticed the new room where he was… startled, he remembered the place: it was the bedroom looking onto the Soldier Cemetery. In a sudden flash of memory, he remembered that beyond the cemetery, there was a door connecting with the central courtyard and to the corridor again… with his heart dropping to the ground, he realized that he'd been running in circles!!
He got up, he had to get outta there; he thought in retracing his own steps, but his mind screamed the futility of doing that. He turned around, hurling himself against the glass door, which glasses were steamed up because of the cold and the snow and the mist…
-… h?
… mist?
While holding the knob of the double door, his eyes scanned the exterior with an oppressive sensation settled in his chest again. The graves were barely visible and the monolith of the cemetery's central yard was nothing more than a ghostly shadow of undefined contours… the mist had a steely grey colour and stuck to the glasses in an almost animalistic attitude, like wanting to enter, scratching, clawing…
… or perhaps something was scratching it for real…
Nero got away from the door, rising his eyesight a bit… it wasn't his imagination, something was scratching it, something—
… something wanted to enter.
The teenager's throat went dry, and his heart stopped beating for an infinite second. His terrified eyes saw then what his mind refused to acknowledge: against the door, wrapped up in mist, becoming more clear each passing second, there was the large figure of the nightmare he was trying to escape from…
That man…
-… Dante…
He had barely whispered his name, with fear. But the cold eyes of the forenamed man focused on his, and a soft smiled graced his features; one of his hands was clawing and ripping the thin wood that the glass door's panels were made up with, searching for a gap where to slip his hand and open the lock.
Nero retreated, never tearing his gaze apart from that other one, not towards the door but the other piece of furniture in the room: the canopy bed. His hands met the soft texture of the blanket, and nervously scratched the fabric while his eyes were still fixed on the door's apparition, that still struggled to enter… he couldn't react, suddenly all his muscles were paralyzed by a deeper fright, a fear that he had never felt before in his whole life, not even fighting against the horrendous infernal creatures…
… a creaking indicated that the door had been beaten. Nero tried to force his body to react, to run, to attack and to defend himself if necessary…
It was useless. The almost tangible mist spilled around, quickly covering all the area from the floor to ankle's level, sinuously climbing up the bed, brushing Nero's legs, who, when feeling it, was startled and got his body on the bed like it was his salvation. He turned his head to the door, sitting on the bed, his heart beating wildly…
The mist got up on the bed, subtle like a snake, sliding over a distracted Nero's body with such thin strands that were almost impossible to discover… but the boy felt those strange caresses, sneaking inside by his open shirt and gliding over his exposed neck like soft kisses… seductive like a lover's hands… hypnotic like the whisper of a beloved voice, urging him to relax, to not fight… to abandon himself to a secret delight that was waiting for him, waking up unspeakable desires in Nero, foreign to his normal wishes…
A moan escaped from his lips, half of yearning and half of defeat… he sensed the slow fall of his body until he was completely lying on the bed, unable to move; his muscles weren't responding, but instead of feeling anguish like a while before now he was experimenting a secret pleasure, an inner peace filling him…
-… so much time…
The voice was sweet like honey, soft, masculine, caressing… Nero squinted his eyes languidly, and a shiver run through his body when he felt a more solid touch caressing his throat…
-… so much time waiting… I waited patiently… I've gone through Oceans of Time, only to find you…
A cold kiss, burning the skin of his neck. Nero moaned, shivering.
-… Dante…
Those lips crept up from the curve of his neck to his chin; when he felt the contact fading, he opened his sleepy eyes to find the perfect face of that man only a few centimetres away from him… Nero knew he was over him, covering and trapping him with his body, but he didn't mind; in that moment he did not feel fear or the eagerness to escape, he only wanted to lose himself in that azure look forever, he wanted those lips to kiss him until he was breathless, he wanted the dark Paradise those words promised… a Paradise of darkness where they could be together… forever…
-… Nero…- eyes got closed when he leant forward and conquered the teenager's lips, and Nero in turn lazily glided his hands over Dante's arms and shoulders, not caring about how bizarre, dangerous or sinful was the current situation… that kiss was the Life for him, and there was nothing in this world or in other capable to made him move away from the other man right now. The boy's back arched when he felt his partner invading him, deepening the kiss, the adult's strong hands sneaking behind his waist, latching him onto the man's hard body; the contact made Nero moan, separating from those lips and tossing his head back, both of his hands gripping the silver locks of the one who was driving him mad with only a kiss… Dante's lips, his tongue and his teeth, now claiming the tender skin of his throat again, covering all the area and tearing more and more moans from his beautiful victim…
-… D-Dante… nhh…
-… I'm going to make you mine, Nero… -those words were both a menace and a desired promise- … mine, only mine…
-… ye-yeah… -Nero closed his eyes again, he felt the hands of that man now sliding over his chest, delicately removing the white linen shirt; the fabric run by the boy's smooth shoulders, uncovering part of his chest and back, and the teenager felt again the seductive brush of those lips on his bare shoulder. He felt his heart beating wildly within his ribcage, almost painfully, his hands tensing in nervousness on Dante's white shirt (he hadn't noticed it, but Dante got rid of his tail coat and that elegant cape), more trembling while the more than slow and delicious torture was extended… propelled by the dominant adult he now was sitting against him in the bed, slightly leaning back and held by those firm hands he knew so well; Nero closed his eyes, feeling the kisses on his neck grow hungrier…
-… oh!!
A light scratch made him tense, the pain was almost non-existent, but it made him open the eyes, fear crawling back to his chest…
-… relax… -Dante's voice sounded so close, kind and sensual…- don't be afraid, it's just a moment, nothing else… it barely hurts…
-… p-please…
The adult's lips silenced the boy again; Nero surrendered completely then, letting himself go into the arms, the lips, the thirst of his lover…
-… you're so beautiful… Nero…
There was no answer, and Dante neither waited one. He lowered his head to Nero's throat, mouth ajar, and definitely captured that virgin skin…
Nero held his breath…
-… ah!!
… a sharp pain began in his neck, spreading like a hot shiver through every cell of his body; the sensation was sharp, incredibly sweet and pleasurable, which set his heart to a wild beating and made him clung to his executioner's back like it was his salvation, wishing that Dante never let him go, wanting to prolong this ecstasy forever if possible… he felt perfectly the lips, the tongue, the fangs tearing a wound on his flesh and drinking his life slowly, seductively, like it was a stylish way of making love… the strong yet kind hands of Dante were around his waist, and soon he brought one up to held the boy by the back of the neck, leaving him relaxed on his arms while he continued with the languid ritual. Soft sighs escaped from Nero's lips every now and then, unable to resist the pleasure, experimenting what surely could be called an orgasm at spiritual level, sensing the tiny streams of his own blood flow down his back and chest, staining his immaculate white shirt…
… that bite staining his immaculate soul… his virgin flesh…
-… Dante…!!
Nero felt he was losing consciousness, Dante was invading him once and for all, making him 'his', by marking and taking him this way… the hungry mouth finally released his throat, and between his lashes Nero saw the reddened lips and the stream of his own Life dripping at the corner of the man's mouth.
Dante was smiling at him with genuine affection… and before the teenager could say anything, he kissed the pale lips of his lover, and Nero felt like he was falling in a deep and dark well, warm and peaceful… darkness filled everything, but in this darkness he sensed Dante, his lips, his tongue, his blood…
His hands barely trembled for a moment, and finally they relaxed and fell to the sides of his body, slack…
His last sensation was the one of a pair of pale eyes looking at him with tenderness…
Nero...
# / # / #
-… Nero… Nero… NERO!!!
The last scream made him jump.
-ARGH!! WH-WHAT— WHAT HAPPENED—WHERE!!??
-… boh, it took you long to wake up, kid…
Nero straightened up in the bed, and frantically looked around. He was on his room, the one that Dante gave him when they decided to work together at Devil May Cry, and said hunter was sat on the bunk bed, looking funny at him. Nero gazed at him from head to toe, still bewildered and puzzled… but the owner of the house was dressed with his normal clothes and was looking sympathetically at him.
-… you were having a bad dream, kid… it seems that the Basilisk's blow knocked you off for good, eh… ?
There was a moment of silence, while Nero tried to reorder his ideas.
-… a… dream… ?
Confused, he looked at the window… they were on the city, at the DMC local, it was still windy and cloudy…
… a dream…
He blinked and looked at Dante all embarrassed, it was so out of place that the Hunter himself felt confused. He slid his fingertips through the boy's cheek to catch his attention; Nero gave a start…
-… what happens…? You have made such a face…
-… ah? … oh, Dante, you have no idea, I had the most strange dream, I was on the Fortuna castle, but dressed in another way and you were also there, but it wasn't you, you were a— Nero stopped, blushing. Dante blinked and gestured with the head encouraging him to continue.
-… ah …eh… -Nero felt himself blush further, and shook his head- … f-forget it, I think I saw too many vampire movies…
- … oh, really…?
Dante smiled and got up of the bed. Nero's gaze followed him, frowning lightly at this mysterious answer, uncharacteristically of the Hunter… Dante smiled to him again from the door (a gesture that made him shiver, he didn't know why), and finally left him alone…
Nero was sitting on the bed, with the sheets rolled up around his waist… he was looking at his hands, the demonic one and the human one, resting against the blankets…
-… b-but…
They were so… lifeless… one pale and the other one dull… almost like if…
Suddenly he got out of the bed like propelled by a spring, not caring about his state, ignoring the dizziness that took over him and rushed towards the only mirror in the room… he did not feel the beat in his temples, neither noticed the rings under his eyes, not even his unnatural paleness…
… his eyes were fixed on the mark of a bite, just above the artery of his neck…
The End?