A/N: Sorry for the dely. I have no excuse, other than lots of school and work, so I'm not going to bore you with a poorly made up one. Enjoy.

Chapter 3

One week. It had been one full week since Lady had left Dante to live alone, with her things, in the shop. Dante sighed as he leaned back in his chair and placed an old magazine over his face. He was tired. He hasn't been able to sleep since Lady had left. He missed the warmth she provided.

Dante wondered how Lady was managing. Was she eating right, sleeping, thinking of him? He hoped she wasn't still crying. He really hated when she cried and now he hated himself more for being the cause of her tears.

Getting irritated with his forming thought, Dante got out of his seat and walked into the bathroom to splash some cold water onto his face. Once his mission was accomplished, and his face dripping wet, Dante looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't like what he saw. His eyes had dark rims around them, had heavy bags under them, and were bloodshot. His skin was pale from lack of sunlight and his hair wasn't as lively and snowy as it used to be. Since Lady's departure he had been refusing every mission offered to him, passing them to Trish instead. Dante did not want Lady to return and him not be there, obviously, she never came back.

Rolling his eyes at himself, Dante walked out of the bathroom and surveyed his office. It looked so empty and he felt so alone. He didn't know what to do anymore. It was as if he cut his reason to live free.

Feeling his eyes water up Dante wiped at them. He didn't want to cry. Dante was sick of crying and he didn't want it to happen anymore. The man in red walked through his office and up stairs to his bedroom. Lying down on top of the blanket, the man closed his wet eyes and fell into a restless slumber, hoping to wake with his Lady in his arms.

There was a quiet knock at the door as Trish silently let herself in. She walked over to the empty desk and shivered, had it always been so cold in the office? Wondering where Dante was, Trish dragged her feet up the stairs and stood in front of her companion's door, it was open. Peering inside Trish felt a pinch of sadness hit her as she looked at the sleeping man.

Trish let out a shaky breath as she moved to stand next to the bed, Dante looked terrible and she didn't know what to do.

"Dante," the tone of a mother "you need to wake up. Have you eaten anything?"

She watched as Dante woke and sent him a small smile as his eyes met hers.

"You're not her."

It was silently said but Trish heard it loud and clear.

"Come on, let's go down and eat some lunch, I'll order pizza."

Trish waited until Dante sent a nod of approval and exited the room. She walked down the stairs and made her way to the phone. Trish ordered the pizza, 30 minute wait. After placing the phone back down on the hook Trish walked over to the couch and sat down. Another shiver made its way through her body.

What was wrong with this place? The warmth and homely feeling was no longer there. Was it because Lady was no longer there? A sigh escaped Trish's mouth. She was beginning to hate visiting the man. Every time she would enter the shop an air of depression would attack her and she didn't like it. If she was Dante and had to live in this environment she would have killed herself a long time ago. It was just that bad.

Thinking over the events of that last week, Trish didn't feel sorry for the man. He asked for this, now he's getting what he asked for. A part of Trish ached at the thought. She didn't believe that whole heartedly. The part of her that supported Lady believed that, the other part had felt nothing but pity and sorrow for the man. Everyone says things when they're mad, whether they mean it or not.

Thumping of boots broke Trish out of her thoughts. Dante was walking down the stairs shirtless with a towel over his head. He must have taken a shower; Trish didn't even hear the water running.

Dante finished drying his hair and threw the towel down on the desk. There was a knock at the door. Trish watched as Dante quietly walked to answer the door, it was the pizza guy. Standing up to go pay the man, Trish stopped as Dante gave some money to the guy, grabbed the pizza and slammed the door in his face.

A smirk crossed her face, "I thought I was paying?"

Dante walked over to her and place the box of pizza on the coffee table.

"Yeah well…"

Trish's smirk fell at the tone of his voice; the depression was such a mood kill.

Sitting down with Dante next to her she opened the box of pizza and handed Dante a slice. He accepted and started to eat.

"It's cold in here, why don't you turn on the heat?"

He finished his slice before he spoke again.

"I don't know."

Trish was starting to get annoyed; this whole depressed thing was starting to work her nerves. Opening her mouth to voice her opinion, she closed it as Dante began to speak.

"Have you heard from her?"

Trish looked at Dante in surprise; he had not said one word to her about Lady these last seven days later this is his question.

"No, but I have spoken to Nero."

"Do you know how she is? Is she eating alright, every meal? Does Nero cook for her? Home cooked meals are her favorite. She doesn't like Chinese cause it makes her sick and she loves Italian. Is she getting a full nights rest? She has a habit of waking up in the middle of the night for no reason. Does she still go on her daily walks? She loves walking in nice weather, she says it relaxes her. Does she miss me as much as I miss her?"

Trish stared at the man as he asked these questions. Did he really expect her to answer them by just speaking to Nero? When Dante spoke the last question she understood. Does she miss me as much as I miss her? That was the only answer he was looking for, he wanted encouragement in his hope in her return.

Smiling at the realization she answered.

"I believe she does"

AN: YAYYY! 3 pages! I hope you like it! And can you please review? I really hate asking for review but at least on review? Please? Chapter 2 didn't receive not 1 review and its making me wonder about the quality of this story. Until next time, Adios!