Since I like experimenting with genres, I've decided to write my first DxZ full romance story! (I already had written a ZxS like that)

I hope you'll like it…

~I know that you are not alone
But you steal my heart away
Yeah you steal my heart away~

Dante

"I can barely believe it Dave. Yóu, in a committed relationship," I said through the phone to my brother Dave. For as long as I could remember he had been one of those guys that date a different girl every week. But apparently he had changed.
At least, for now.

"I know and guess what? Tomorrow is our two month anniversary!"

"Really?" I snickered. That was a new record. "Are you sure you want to have dinner with me and Scarlet then? Don't you want to celebrate it with just the two of you?"

Dave laughed. "Trust me, we will, after we've had dinner with you two."

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow night at seven."

"See ya."

I put my cellphone back in my pocket and walked downstairs. I was looking forward to see my brother again, and I was really curious about his mysterious girlfriend. He had told us they had met in some bar, but that was pretty much it.

"Hey sweety, who were you talking to?" Scarlet asked.

"Dave."
Ever since she stayed at my place she had started to call me nicknames. And I really hated nicknames, but didn't tell her because she really seemed to enjoy using them.

I had met Scarlet on one of my missions to Ireland. She was nice, good- looking and a seeker just like me. That last thing was what had made me feel attracted to her the most. Almost all the seekers I knew were men, and all my relationships with 'normal' girls had failed because of my job.
Scarlet and I had a few drinks together, a few drinks turned into dating, and dating turned into a relationship. We have been together for eight months now, though we didn't see each other very often. She lived in Ireland, I lived in Italy, and our busy jobs at the Foundation weren't making things easier. So Scarlet had suggested we should take a break, a few weeks of vacation to 'work on our relationship' or something like that. First I wasn't very keen about it, but she kept nagging, so I gave in, eventually. We had decided she would stay at my place for two weeks. No work, no stress, just us.

"Isn't this great? Your brother and his new girlfriend are going to have dinner with us, at our place. So homey isn't it?" she said happily.

I wanted to correct her, this was still mý place, but decided it was wise to keep my mouth shut, and just shrugged. A little voice in my head said that Scarlet maybe didn't want to leave after two weeks, and that thought made me a bit nervous. I wasn't ready to live together, and I prayed Scarlet felt the same way.

"I think I already know what I'm going to wear… that one green dress with blue flower print design and matching blue pumps, you remember?"

"I remember," I lied. I honestly had no idea which dress she meant. Scarlet had a butt load of dresses, and a lot of them were green, her favorite color.

"Oh no!" Scarlet yelled all of the sudden.

"What is it?"

"What am I going to cook for dinner?" She looked at me with an upset glance in her green eyes.

"Why don't we just order pizza or something like that? I know Dave loves pizza," I suggested.

Scarlet chuckled. "Pizza, what a silly idea… I'm going to search a recipe book…" she said, and walked away.

"Hey bro!"

Dave hugged me enthusiastically and kissed Scarlet's hand. "Nice to see you again Signorita."

Scarlet giggled. "Dave, you're such a charmer."

"Well he's a lot more than that," I said, and an unfamiliar voice laughed.

"Tell me about it."
A woman stepped inside and shook my hand.
"Hi, I'm Zhalia Moon."

My mouth fell almost open, she couldn't be more different than I had expected. I didn't exactly know what I had expected, but definitely not this, apart from the fact she was really beautiful. My brother always had a good taste in women, but most of his ex- girlfriends had been blonde and petite. This woman on the other hand, had long midnight blue hair, a slightly tanned skin color and a very well- shaped figure. But what really got me hypnotized were her eyes. They had a deep brown color that reminded me of extra dark chocolate; creamy and intense.
It felt like the world stood still for a second, or maybe longer, as our gazes met. Dave brought me back to reality, by giving me a slap on the shoulder.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself and Scarlet?" he said.

"Oh... yeah…" I felt slightly disorientated, even a bit embarrassed for some reason.
Zhalia looked at me with a frown. I had the weird feeling she could look right through me, and quickly started talking.
"I'm Dante Vale, and this-" I gestured towards Scarlet "- is my girlfriend Scarlet Byrne. It's nice to finally meet you."

Zhalia smiled. "Thanks, I feel the same. Dave talks about you all the time."

"I do not," Dave protested. "Don't listen to her Dante, she's crazy."

"Oh, are you?" I asked to Zhalia with a smile.

"I am indeed," she said with a serious face. "But I'm no liar so when I say Dave really admires you that is a fact."

Dave moaned. "You need to know when to shut your mouth sugar," he said, and he took her coat. She was wearing a simple but elegant and even a bit endearing black lacy top, skinny jeans and black pumps.

"Dante!" I startled when Scarlet yelled my name. I turned around quickly.

"I really need your help in the kitchen," she said. She looked stressed. Scarlet and cooking was a good combination, but Scarlet, cooking and having guests wasn't. Then she always wanted things to be as perfect as possible. I had told her hundred times that all this effort wasn't necessary - after all it were just my brother and his girlfriend visiting - but she wouldn't listen.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Zhalia said.

"You will?" Dave said. He looked stunned.

"Yes, then you two can catch up together," she said.

"Wonderful!" Scarlet smiled brightly, and she walked back to the kitchen.

"Zhaal, are you sure this is a good idea?" Dave asked.

Zhalia threw him an irritated glance. "Of course it is, all my ideas are good," she said, and she followed Scarlet to the kitchen.

"I hope that ends well…" Dave muttered.

"What was that all about?" I asked him.

Dave grinned. "Well, first of all: Zhalia is good at a lot of things, but not at cooking. She's a terrible cook. And second: I don't know whether she and Scarlet will… like each other."

I looked at him confusedly, and he smiled again. "Zhalia can be a bit direct sometimes and Scarlet can be a little... sensitive."

I pictured Zhalia and Scarlet having a catfight, and smiled. Just one look at my brothers face and I knew he was thinking exactly the same.

Dave's fear seemed to have been unfounded. We were sitting around the table, Scarlet in front of me and Dave next to me. The food was good and Scarlet and Zhalia seemed to get along well. At least, well enough. I noticed a bit of reserved coolness between them, but nothing more than that.

"… and then I said: are you out of your freaking mind, this a one way street!" Dave laughed. I hadn't really followed his story, but laughed anyway. I hated to admit it but it was Zhalia that distracted me from the conversation. She didn't say much, but when she spoke, it was something that actually mattered. Her way of speaking, her way of moving, that somehow icy aura… she fascinated me, for some reason.

Zhalia took a sip from her wine, and glanced towards me. I quickly looked at Scarlet. Her mouth was moving but the words didn't really got through to me. I felt Zhalia's glance burning in the side of my head. I felt hot, and prayed this dinner would be over soon.

One and a half hour and three courses later we were finally finished. Not wanting to stay alone with Zhalia in one room, I helped Scarlet putting everything in the dishwasher.

When we returned to the living room Dave was sitting next to Zhalia on the couch, his hand on her tight and his lips on her neck. I felt a weird mixture of emotions inside of me, and couched.

"Oh, Dante there you are," Dave said, and he let go of Zhalia. "I want to tell about that mission I got last week..." His mobile rang, interrupting his sentence.
"Sorry, gotta take this one…. Jeffrey, you got news?" He walked towards the alley.

"Do you want some coffee or tea Zhalia?" Scarlet asked.

"Tea please, and I assume Dave wants a cappuccino."

I smiled. Dave was indeed a real coffeeholic.

"And you sweety? Coffee too?" Scarlet turned herself towards me.

"Nah, I feel more like drinking tea tonight."

Scarlet nodded and returned to the kitchen. A deep silence fell and with a shock I realized I was alone with Zhalia. It felt like the temperature raised twenty degrees in less than a second.
Dante what is wrong with you? a voice in my head said. Are you really afraid of being alone in one room with your brother's girlfriend?
I realized my feelings were ridiculous, but nevertheless chose a chair far removed from her.

"So… " she said, as if she expected me to start a conversation. Again I got the unpleasant feeling she could see right through me.
I suddenly realized I didn't know anything about her. Dave had told me she worked at the Foundation as well, but had never heard of her. I decided to take this opportunity and ask her.
"So… Dave said you work at the Foundation as well, how come I've never heard of you?"

Her lips curdled in a mysterious smile. "Because my activities are quite secret."

Her answer made me curious. "What, are you a spy or something?"

"You're the Foundation's top agent, what do you think?"

I knew the Foundation had a spy- department, but everything around it was very secret. Metz, the head of the Foundation and a good friend of mine, was one of the few people who knew what it was all about. It was very possible that Zhalia indeed was a spy, it would explain why I'd never heard of her before. Of course she could also be playing me.
Dammit, why is this woman so vague? I really couldn't make her out at all.

"Great news Dante!" Dave entered the room again. "Jeffrey has found those artifacts I told you about, next week we'll go search for that titan."

Dave and Jeffrey were also top agents of the Foundation, and often worked together. I preferred to work solo, but I sometimes went with them. It was a welcome chance but still, after a few days with them I already longed for a solo- mission.
I wondered whether Zhalia worked alone or with a team, but for some reason I didn't dare to ask. She would probably give me a vague, cryptic answer anyway.

Scarlet entered with the tea and coffee, and asked Dave and Zhalia where they would stay for the night.

Dave shrugged. "Dunno yet, I guess we'll go search for a hotel or something like that."

I saw the look on Scarlet's face and instantly knew what she was thinking. Scarlet hated hotels, and I realized she would invite Dave and Zhalia to stay here.
Oh shit…
My intuition screamed that something terrible would happen if they stayed her. I desperately tried to think of a way to warn Scarlet, but it was already too late.

"Nonsense," she said. "You can stay here for the night, the house is big enough."

Argh, Scarlet!
She did things like this all the time, making decisions without asking me. I knew she meant well, but it frustrated me, and I sometimes even wondered what the hell I was doing with her.
I sighted. Maybe I was overreacting, again.
Keep it cool Dante, it is just one night, tomorrow they'll be gone… shé will be gone…

That night I couldn't sleep. With sheets it was too hot, without too cold, and annoying – but pleasant at the same time – thoughts were roaming around in my head, driving me crazy. To make it even worse Scarlet was snoring. She did that sometimes.
I kept thinking about Zhalia. I wondered what she saw in Dave, because they didn't seem to have anything in comment. I also wondered what kind of work she did at the Foundation. The possibility she indeed was a spy seemed more likely every second, which made me wonder how high in rank she was. She seemed like a strong, powerful woman to me, so I guessed pretty high.

I couldn't take it anymore, and stood up. I figured some exercise would maybe make it easier to fall asleep, and left the room quietly. I walked through the dark hallway, and felt myself getting calmer with every step I took.

All of the sudden I heard a weird noise downstairs. Like somebody was walking.
Who could that be?
I descended the stairs, and carefully walked towards the living room, where the sound had come from. I looked around the corner, and saw a dark shadow standing in the middle of the room, barely three meters away from me. I immediately though of an intruder, and decided to confront him.
I pounced on him, but the intruder reacted immediately, and used my attack against me. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach but managed to push him to the ground.

"Dante? What the hell are you doing here?" a female voice said. It sounded surprised and maybe slightly irritated, but not mad.
It was then that I realized the intruder was Zhalia. The moonlight fell through the window, and enlightened the contours of her face. Her cat- like brown eyes were sparkling and her caramel skin seemed to glow in the soft light. Again her beauty struck me like lightning.
When I realized I was lying on top of her, my legs between hers, the blood started to pound in my veins.
I managed to get myself together.
"What am I doing here?" I asked, trying hard to keep my slightly trembling voice under control. "This is my house! I'm the one who has to ask yóu what yóu are doing here in the middle of the night…" I started whispering, afraid that the sound of my voice would wake Scarlet or Dave.

Zhalia looked at with an expressionless face. "I couldn't sleep. I always start walking when I can't sleep."
Her warm breath caressed my face, and shiver ran down my spine. It wasn't an unpleasant shiver.

"So… what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I had the same problem…" I was suddenly very aware of the disturbing fact that her - only by a thin tank top covered - breasts were pressed against my bare chest, and that our faces were only inches removed from each other.
There was a weird, silent tension between us, and I didn't dare to speak or move.

It was Zhalia that broke the tension. "Dante… can you go off me?" She had said the words coolly, but I didn't fail to notice the blush on her cheeks. It was contagious, and I felt blood stream to my cheeks as well.

"Yeah… sure, I- I'm sorry," I said, and I got to my feed. I grabbed Zhalia's hand and helped her up.
Without a word she walked pass me, back to her room, leaving me behind in the darkness of my livingroom. I felt more confused than ever.

~Just like a star across my sky
Just like an angel off the page
You have appeared to my life
Feel like I'll never be the same~

And that was chap number one! Another two to go! At least, if there are people who want me to continue ^^

So… if you liked it, please review and let me know! (A)

ps: The little piece of lyrics were Heartbeat from Enrique Iglesias ft. Nicole Scherzinger and Like a star from Corinne Bailey Rae.