Author's Note:

This story takes place in a sort of limbo between the anime, the games and my own imagination. For those of you who have read my Witch Hunter Robin-Devil May Cry story, this does not take place in the same universe. For more about my rants about the anime/DMC4, see my notes at the end of this chapter. If enough readers of Libera Me and Confutatis make the crossover with me into the DMC world, I'd be happy to include a quick primer in the next chapter for you to sum you up on the games, anime, etc. Let me know if you're interested.

This story essentially takes place in the anime world except that there is no little girl named Patty. Also, I think that everyone looks like they do in DMC4 because Dante's slightly older look is growing on me—so long as he doesn't look like Bill Pullman. Follow the link on my profile for more about that… Also, I'm assuming in this story that when Dante and Trish were partners before Trish decided to split up, there were no "benefits" in their partnership—which is not the way I usually write them.

This story is a Trish x Dante pairing (or at least will be) but I want to make sure that any Lady fans out there know that I like her too and want to strive to make her just as cool. I might even end up pairing her up with someone in the end…Vergil might even wander into this story before it's over.

Trish sipped at her cosmopolitan, drinking for the flavor more than for the ever so brief illusion of numbness it could give her. It was still early enough in the evening that the bar was mostly empty—a fact that pleased her since it meant she wouldn't have to waste her time turning down offers from desperate men. While she used to spend a fair amount of time at this particular bar, it had been over a year since she had visited it—mostly because she was never in town long enough to need its services.

"It's been a long time, pretty lady," the bartender said casually, sliding a new drink her way when he saw that she was running dry. Though she might have taken offense to his statement had he been one of the bar's patrons, she knew Bill well enough to know he simply wasn't that kind of man. "I've missed your gorgeous face around here," he added with a shy smile. "So, where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, I've been here and there," she replied vaguely, plucking the lime slice from the rim of her new drink. "Mostly there."

"Got tired of Dante, then?"

Trish regarded him with a careful smile, knowing Dante was not necessarily a well-received guest at the bar considering the number of times he had managed to damage the premises. "Demon hunters are in high demand. I thought it would be more efficient to split up and cover more ground." Lazily swirling the ruby liquid in her drink, she added, "Hope he hasn't been causing you too much trouble."

"Nah." He shrugged, mindlessly wiping the bar with a rag. "He doesn't come around much anymore either, and when he does he tends to keep to himself. He seems lonely lately."

Raising an eyebrow at him, Trish took a sip of her drink. Though she had originally been intending to avoid Dante on her trip through town, Bill's words sent a pang of guilt through her; if even the bartender had noticed, then Dante must really be down.

Lost in thought, Trish didn't recognize that someone had entered the bar until she heard the stool next to her whine against the floor. Trish immediately recognized the dark haired woman who perched on the stool with a scowl a moment later. She glared at the bartender and demanded, "Give me something strong. I don't care what. Make it strong enough that I'll forget why I started drinking by the time I'm done."

Grinning in understanding, he rushed off to fill her order.

Trish wasn't sure if Lady had even noticed her, but Lady quickly disposed of that question by commenting bluntly, "I didn't know you were back in town."

While she and Lady were certainly on better terms than they had been when they first met, Trish always sensed a hint of rivalry in Lady's voice when they talked, as if she couldn't help but feel they were in competition with each other. Exactly what prize they were competing for was up for debate. Whether it was fastest draw, most demons killed or best looking demon huntress, it had never really mattered to Trish. Good competition was hard to come by.

"Only for a little while," Trish replied. "Just passing through on my way to my next job."

Lady nodded. "He's impossible, you know," she announced abruptly.

Smiling wanly, Trish took another drink, realizing they really had little to talk about without the conversation quickly focusing on Dante. Still, it would have been nice to leave him out of it for a little bit longer. She craved normal conversation with another female—conversation that didn't have to do with hunting demons or purchasing new weapons. Every so often, Trish thought it might be nice to have a normal human conversation with a normal human about something boring like getting highlights in her hair or shopping for new clothes.

Nevertheless, Lady wasn't the best example of a normal human despite her very human blood. She could keep up with the demons without breaking a sweat, but it took a lot of dedication on her part to maintain such skill—enough dedication that she didn't have much time left over for living a normal life. The thought always made Trish wistful; Lady had the opportunity to be something that Trish could never be no matter how hard she tried, but she simply wasn't interested.

Continuing despite Trish's silence, Lady grumbled, "Lately he has just been such a…" She made an incomprehensible sound as she snatched at her drink the moment the bartender slid it toward her and threw back a gulp. "A complete ass," she finished finally. "He's completely antisocial, sarcastic twenty-four/seven, and even moodier than usual. And then," Lady focused on Trish, anger glinting in her multihued eyes, "he refuses to even shave properly anymore. He's got this constant five o'clock shadow that's all scruffy and…ugh, it's so annoying!"

Trish blinked at her wide-eyed, thinking—not for the first time—that at least half of Lady's frustration with Dante was due to the pent up sexual tension between them. But thinking about that only made her feel vaguely sad, despite the fact that she had absolutely no right to feel that way. "Has something happened?" she asked casually.

"No, but I almost wish something would. He's completely unmanageable and I'm sick of it." Huffing as she tossed back the remainder of her drink and tapped the bar to request another, Lady shook her head. "I know why you must have left in the first place. How could you ever stand being his partner? I don't think he understands the meaning of the word compromise."

Staring down at her empty glass, Trish considered her response and decided to avoid the question entirely. After all, her reasons for leaving were becoming less clear to her every day. "Why do you keep hanging around him?" she asked instead, returning the focus to Lady. "You have no obligation to torture yourself by trying to keep him in line. He's a big boy. He can take care of himself—and it sounds like you'd be much happier without him."

Lady sighed deeply. "I left him behind before. We were both barely more than kids back then and he was still raw over what had happened with Vergil. I realized pretty fast that there was nothing I could do to bring him out of his funk while I was still brooding about my father, so I decided to move on."

Pushing her glass aside, Trish rested her chin against her palm, brushing hair out of her face so she could see Lady more clearly. She knew very little about how the two of them had first met, and while she had been curious about their history, she had never felt that it was her place to ask.

Shaking her head with a sour smile, Lady continued, "I was so self righteous back then and he was such a shameless flirt."

Trish laughed. "And he isn't now?"

"He's different." Lady looked up at her with a strange expression. "He's sarcastic and seductive as hell, but he never lets his guard down. Back then, he was more fragile somehow…there were chinks in his armor. It was annoying how he was constantly pushing the envelope, always trying to charm me out of my pants, but it was also somehow endearing. I refused him at every turn, but he never crossed the line or tried to force me into something against my will."

Nodding in understanding, Trish concluded, "You regret it."

Lady looked at her sharply, but did not respond.

"You regret turning him down," Trish elaborated.

"Hell no," Lady replied quickly. "There's no way I'd let him win without a fight."

Trish smiled. Lady was still denying the truth. Returning her glass to the bar, she said firmly, "Dante is neither subtle nor deep. He's not going to pick up on what you want if you don't come out and tell him. So, if you want him, then you need to take the initiative." Leaving a pile of cash on the bar for her drinks, Trish slipped off her barstool and reached for the jacket she had slung across the stool next to her.

Lady caught her arm suddenly and she met Lady's intent gaze in surprise. "Why would you give me advice like that?" Lady demanded, her eyes narrowed.

Uncertain, Trish replied slowly, "It's fairly obvious how you feel about him—he wouldn't annoy you so much if you weren't attracted to him."

Her finger's tightening on Trish's wrist, Lady frowned. "It's pointless. He might have been chasing my ass back then, but I'm not the one he spends his time brooding about now. I'm not so deluded as to think I have a chance."

"Really? Who's this new woman?" Trish asked blankly, utterly confused.

"Are you saying you seriously don't know?" Lady shook her head incredulously. "Or is it that you truly don't return his feelings? Is that why you left? Because he wanted something you couldn't give him?"

Trish's jaw dropped and she tried to cover her shock with a laugh. "You were talking about me?"

"Yeah," Lady said as if Trish was crazy. "He only stares at you every minute you're around and starts pining for you the second you leave."

"Dante doesn't pine for anyone," Trish protested, feeling as if she were being forced into uncertain territory. She had drawn conclusions about Lady's desires long ago, but she was far less certain of her own.

"He pined for Vergil," Lady pointed out. "I figured out what he looks like when he's pining pretty early on."

"Then perhaps you're confusing carnal desire with his longing for family. Dante is such a natural flirt that I wouldn't doubt he could flirt with his own brother without batting an eye, but his motivations are hard to read sometimes."

Lady grimaced and looked like she wanted to say something, but she held her tongue. Her silence only intensified Trish's insecurity and she found herself wondering what it might mean. Then she realized her argument probably didn't make a lot of sense to Lady because she didn't know why Trish might be considered family in the first place.

"Listen," Lady said finally, her expression painfully serious. "I know we haven't always been on the best of terms, you and I. And I imagine part of that has to do with the fact that I was intimidated by you." Trish raised an eyebrow, but let Lady continue. "The first time I saw the two of you together I finally understood where the Dante I once knew had gone. He was still there in that heated gaze he turned on you. And I was jealous. I had known him a long time and had always imagined I had some kind of secret hold over him, that despite the endless stream of leggy, brainless women he seduced, if he had the choice he would still choose me over them in the end. Then you came along and I knew right away that I was wrong."

"Are you saying I'm leggy and brainless?" Trish asked with a smirk, trying to make light of the grueling conversation.

Lady met her gaze sharply, effectively shredding Trish's attempt at humor. "I'm saying that he was seducing those women because he was always looking for you and none of them could quite match up. He might have chosen me over them, but he would never choose me over you."

Her mouth dry despite the fact that she had only just finished her drink, Trish shook her head. "I think you're selling yourself short, Lady. And even if you weren't…Dante and I…our relationship is complicated." She couldn't quite bring herself to tell Lady exactly why she had been created or who she had been made to resemble, but it seemed important to impress upon her that Dante's feelings for her were complex at best.

Smiling sourly, Lady looked away, fingers tracing absently over the wood grain of the bar. "I don't think it is to him. I think it's really simple."

Trish shook her head slowly, but didn't reply. It had never been simple and Trish had gone off on her own partially because she was tired of dealing with the constant complications. She had a hard time imagining Dante could ever see her as anything other than a poor reproduction of his mother, and while she had not been exempt from his lewd jokes or teasing touches, she had never truly believed they meant anything at all to him.

"Talk to him," Lady insisted. "At least find out whether my theory holds any water."

"I was hoping to avoid him on this trip," Trish said feebly though she was quickly realizing that there was no point in trying to convince Lady that her theory was ridiculous without proof to back it up.

"If he finds out you've been in town and didn't stop by to say hello he is going to be even more difficult to deal with than usual. Please, for my sake, pay him a visit."

"Okay," Trish finally gave in with a sigh. "I'll test your theory, but if it turns out you're wrong, will you start giving yourself a little more credit? Dante wouldn't let you hang around if he didn't like you."

Lady shrugged. "Sure. But I really don't think I'm wrong." She wasn't lying and her surety was downright unnerving.

"We'll see."

Throwing her jacket around her shoulders, Trish stalked out of the bar, waving back at Lady over her shoulder. She should have known better than to stop off at the bar on her way through town. She might as well have been asking to run into someone she knew. And now she was trapped.

Jumping on her bike and taking off down the street, Trish tried very hard not to consider the fact that part of her just might have been looking for a reason to see Dante all along.

Author's Note: The next chapter will be Dante's point of view and should be up before too long. I'd appreciate hearing what you think about it so far.

Now for the rest of my ranting about the DMC-verse if anyone is interested in hearing it.

While I mostly enjoyed what I've seen of the anime, I was annoyed that it not only ignored any overarching plot of the DMC series but it also did some strange things with characters. I found it odd that Lady looked almost exactly the same as she did in DMC3 when it must have been a lot later in the timeline and I was bothered by the severe lack of Trish stories.

I'm already preparing to be disappointed by the DMC4 story as well because of the fact that Nero looks like a total whiner and it irks me that they replaced Dante with someone who looks a lot like him but "has no relation." But anyway, I was excited to hear that Trish and Lady would make an appearance in 4, but when I saw the trailer, I realized that they seem to be lifting their new characterization directly from the anime. We'll just have to see...