Vibrate

My phone's on vibrate for you…

The night was like any other except with snow added. Demons would appear, he'd slice and dice until none were left, he'd collect payment, and then head home. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Like every other night. Except lately the demons have been gathering in larger clusters. Dante didn't even want to speculate as to what their increased presence portended. Either way, it spelled good news for business and bad news for the demons, not to mention his sleep schedule.

There were far more demons than he expected and the battle waged far longer than he wanted. The fight was so taxing, that he didn't even bother to pick up his fee from the client. He figured it could wait until the morning. All that mattered to Dante was that he was finished and he would soon head home for some much-needed R&R.

BZZT. BZZT.

The phone vibrated in his pocket. He freed it from its leather confines to find that the screen was completely shattered. He threw his head back with a mental groan. I guess that's more money out of my pocket.

Despite the spider web of cracks, he could still make out the text from Lady.

What are you up to?

Dante quickly tapped out a response. Finishing up work. Going to shower and head straight to bed.

BZZT. BZZT.

Later then.

He released sigh. Bloodied, bruised, cold, and tired, Dante turned and marched the ten or so blocks through fifteen inches of snow back to his shop.

:.:.:.:.:

Lady held her phone in thought, still gazing at their short exchange. She had known Dante for several years. His text messages, like his daily banter, normally contained his crude humor. What she saw tonight was devoid of any of the lewd comments he called pillow talk. It was unlike him. It disconcerted her.

:.:.:.:.:

Dante shrugged out of his coat and tossed it onto his couch. He dragged his aching body upstairs and into the bathroom. The phone buzzed again. A message went ignored. I'm on my way.

He turned on the shower and the pipes groaned, rattled, and clanked before the showerhead sprayed any water. Dante knew it would take a few minutes before the water would reach tolerable temperatures. Until then, he went to the bathroom mirror to reset his broken nose, which had already healed-over. It took at least five minutes of re-breaking and resetting his nose before it was perfectly straight. He was getting good at it. Dante mused of how depressing that was.

Dante ran his fingers through the water again. Satisfied with its temperature, he undressed, stepped into the tub, and drew the curtain. He spent most of his time allowing the steamy hot water to beat onto his achy muscles before using his soap and shampoo.

At some point, his senses picked up on someone entering the shop. He figured it was Lady. Maybe she had a job of her own and just wanted to stop by for a moment. Maybe she was coming to tell him that he caused millions of dollars in collateral damage and needed to pay the city back. Whatever the case, she was never there for more than a minute. There was never time to appreciate her company. Why couldn't she stay longer? And now he felt too exhausted to enjoy her brief stay.

He rinsed off and grabbed a towel from the nearby rack. He dried off enough so that he wouldn't leave behind any puddles. He went to his room to dress, but was more than surprised to see the sight before him.

A six-pack of beer sat on his night table. A boxed pizza sat on his bed, filling the room with its heavenly aroma and beside it, and opened, red heart-shaped box filled with chocolate covered strawberries. He stood there a few moments longer, hoping that it wasn't a dream.

A hand snaked its way from his right side and up to his chest. He jumped at the sudden contact. He hadn't even sensed her approach.

"And here you are, all slack-jawed and you haven't even gotten to the good part," Lady said.

Dante turned to see her dressed in a white satin teddy that hugged her curves and displayed her ample cleavage.

"So, what's first? Dinner or dessert?" He quirked an eyebrow.

:.:.:.:.:

Dante lay in bed, lazily picking bits of strawberry and pizza from his teeth. Lady smirked as she observed his obvious satisfaction.

"Want more?" she said.

"Three times, Lady. Three times. How do you have any energy left?"

Lady rolled her eyes. "I meant food, Dante."

Dante's face fell. "Oh." He eyed the empty pizza box. "So, what's open at 3:00AM?"

Lady arched an eyebrow.

Dante quickly corrected himself. " …other than us."

Lady threw off the duvet and rolled to the edge of the bed.

Dante sat up quickly. "Hey, don't leave."

Lady returned with another box of pizza.

This time, Dante raised an eyebrow. "Did you just pull that out from under the bed?"

"When have you ever been satisfied with one pizza?"

"You know me so well, babe." He picked up a slice and paused before taking a bite. "So...you staying this time?"

Without answering, she pulled up the duvet, eager to get some sleep.

A special shout out goes to Mike Brown for all of his help and patience. Happy Valentine's Day!

Should we have included our alternate scene with a naked Trish sliding from underneath the bed with the extra pizza? This was the first time I wrote sometime almost entirely with Dragon. Give me your criticisms.