She disdainfully glanced down at the slinky red dress she wore, with a slit on the left side that went all the way up to her hip. "Dante," she growled. "This had better damn well be necessary for us to dress like this in order to complete the job. I can't hide my weapons anywhere."
"It is, Lady, so calm down." The devil hunter smirked at her as he sat behind his desk. He was wearing a dress suit, looking as uncomfortable as she felt. Dante had even gone so far as to attempt to comb his snowy hair out of its usual unkempt mop, but it had rebelled against the comb. "Besides, you look smoking hot, babe."
Before he could react, Lady had a gun pressed to his forehead. "Say that or something like it again, Dante, and I'll give you a bullet to rattle around in your skull with that miniscule brain of yours." Her lips were pressed into a tight line. "I swear I'm already uncomfortable enough and I don't need you making it worse."
Dante pushed his chair back and ducked out of the gun's aim. "As you wish, Lady." He glanced at the clock and got up. "Now come on, we don't want to be late."
Lady glared at him as she opened the door. "Holy shit, it's fucking freezing!" She crossed her arms across her chest as she shivered. She heard Dante chuckle and then he draped a long black coat and a scarf over her. "Thanks."
"No problem, now let's get in the car before we freeze where we're standing." He opened the door to his black SUV for her before going around and climbing into the driver's side. "Fuck, Lady, you're right. It's freezing." He started the car and let it idle for a few minutes before reaching over to crank up the heat.
The warm air felt like a blessing to them both as he pulled the SUV out of the driveway and started driving to their destination. Dante was absentmindedly drumming the beat of the song on the radio on the steering wheel as he drove. Lady went to rub her eyes tiredly, but remembered at the last second that she was wearing makeup. "How far away from here is it, Dante?"
"Not far," The devil hunter said cryptically, causing Lady to glance at him. He wore a grin that told her a lot more than his words did.
"This isn't a job, is it?"
"Yes it is. So don't worry about it." He cut into the next lane, nearly causing the car behind him to crash into them. But as crazy as his driving skills were, Lady trusted them. The younger son of Sparda could master everything he put his mind to. He floored the gas pedal and they shot forward on the empty street.
Lady sighed. "If you get us pulled over, don't expect me to flirt with the cop to get you out of a ticket."
"In that dress, babe, you won't have to say a word." He held up a hand to catch her fist. "You might not want to punch me while we're driving."
She settled back in her seat and gave him a full dose of her death glare. "You better let someone else drive me back to the office later, Dante. Otherwise I'm going to owe you a whole magazine when we get back there."
He let out a hearty laugh. The sound was comforting to the woman. Lady knew that even if Dante seemed to have an annoying, arrogant, carefree, and reckless exterior, he did have a very vulnerable interior. She didn't blame him. His family had died on him one by one when he was young and she knew he felt a deep sense of abandonment. But he covered it up and to the normal eye he seemed recovered and happy. But someone as damaged as he was could see that he wasn't anywhere near happy. However, sometimes his laughter was warm and genuine and she thought that in those short moments he was actually happy.
Suddenly he slowed the SUV to a stop, smoothly pulling into an empty spot outside a swanky uptown club. "Out." He said as he opened his own door and got out.
Lady remained silent as she got out of the car and walked up to the door of the club next to Dante. Dante took the coat and scarf off of her before opening the door. And pushing her inside.
"Hey! What the—" Lady's voice fell silent as all the people in the club turned around to face her.
"Surprise!" They all shouted. "Happy birthday!"
A small blonde girl in her early teens ran up to Lady and wrapped her in a hug. "Hi Lady! I see that Dante got you here on time."
The devil hunter patted the teen on the head. "Jesus, Patty. You act like I'm a total loser."
Patty laughed and walked away to join the rest of the crowd. Lady looked over the guests who were there. There was Trish, of course, wearing a black mini-dress. Nero and Kyrie were talking to Morrison at a table by the bar. Lucia was trying to order a drink from the bartender, who was staring at Trish. Even the chubby Italian Enzo was there, hitting on Patty's mother, Nina. There were other people there from other aspects of her life and friends of friends, but no one that Lady didn't know.
"So what do you think, Lady?" Dante asked as he tossed the coats on a nearby table. "We rented it out for the night."
"I didn't think it would be here…" Lady's bi-colored gaze swept the room, still astonished.
"Didn't think it would be here? You knew?" Dante looked slightly crestfallen.
It was Lady's turn to smirk at him. "Of course. You started acting funny for a few days and it isn't all that hard to bribe Patty. But this is better than I expected."
"I'm glad you couldn't expect this. Otherwise it would all be ruined."
"Even if you knew I knew, it wouldn't be ruined because this is the best birthday ever!" She shocked the half-demon by throwing her arms around him and giving him a hug. "Thank you."
She quickly let go and went to go talk to the guests. By the end of the second hour, she was a little inebriated due to the never ending supply of drinks being bought for her. Around midnight, she pulled Trish aside. "Did you bring him here?"
The blonde demoness nodded. "He's waiting in the back room. He was a little peeved at having to wait, but after a few drinks he's good."
Lady nodded. She asked Trish to make sure that Dante wasn't paying attention to most of the room. Then she stepped into the back room and motioned for the man inside to come out. As soon as he was out of the room, she stepped away from him and pretended not to notice him.
"An' I was telling the kid that he was doin' it wrong but he wasn't listenin' to me." Dante was telling Enzo a story of a job he had done and taken Nero along with him. Nero was standing there rolling his eyes, until he spotted the new man in the room.
"Kyrie," Nero squinted, trying to remember how many drinks he had. "How much alcohol have I had?"
She patted his arm. "Only three, why?" Then she saw the man as well. "Oh my."
Dante was confused as the three around him fell silent and were staring at something behind him. He turned around and as soon as he spotted the man, he reached for his sword, only to remember he didn't have it. But some other feeling in him won over his shock and he pulled the man into a hug. "Verge?"
Vergil was rigid at first, but then he relaxed and returned his younger twin's hug. The whole room had gone quiet with everyone watching the twin sons of Sparda. "Hello, Dante." Vergil's voice was rough, like he hadn't used it in a while.
Dante wiped his eyes as he let his brother go. "Man, bro. You're making me cry, showing up after all these years. Fuck, and they say devils never cry."
Lady went to the bar and then handed each brother a drink. "I think you boys might need this."
Dante grinned at her. "This is some party, ain't it babe?"
She nodded back, letting his language slide. "It is some party."
