Another challenge community, this one is for 30romances on LiveJournal. The pairing is Dante/Lady, thirty stories of any length, so long as the theme is romance. I need to sign up for less of these -- but they keep me writing.

Fandom: Devil May Cry
Title: Best Unasked
Author: Britani Gael
Theme: #35; memory; photo
Pairing/Characters: Dante/Lady
Words: 332
Rating: G

"Who's this?"

It's the first time she's ever seen Dante freeze up, and he doesn't do it with style, unlike everything else he does. He stares at her for almost a solid second with his mouth open, and then he grabs the picture out of her hands. "Nobody," he says.

Lady cocks her head and looks at him. "Dante, I think you're lying to—"

His face stops her.

He sets the frame carefully back onto the desk, and makes sure the woman in the picture is facing away from her when he does so. "It's… not you," he says, lamely. "I just—"

"You promised me dinner," she interrupts, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. She's already decided to change the subject; in fact, she wishes she'd never brought it up at all. They both have pasts better left buried, and Lady's the last one who would ever pry into his. "We're running half an hour late already."

His relief is obvious – Dante loves attention, but getting put on the spot is something entirely different. He grabs his coat off the back of his chair, shrugs into it, and holsters both pistols with his usual flair. Heaven forbid he goes anywhere unarmed, though Lady is hardly one to talk. She has a nine millimeter strapped to her thigh, under her skirt, and she knows the most dangerous thing they're going to encounter tonight is cheap Italian food.

Seeing that he's finally gotten the lead out, she turns towards the door. She's reaching for the door when she's jerked to a stop, halted by Dante's arms snaking around her waist and across her shoulders, pulling her against him in a possessive bear hug. He rests his chin on her head, and they stand there.

He has her effectively pinned, and she looks up at him, annoyed. His eyes are closed. "What?" she asks.

"Thanks," he says. "For, you know, not asking."

"Hey," she responds. "I have a dysfunctional family, too, remember?"