"Oh the things people will say...letting a 'guy' move in with you." Said Taven with a chuckle, as IF blushed and said, "J-just shut up and help me!" With a grin he bent down and easily hefted the large suitcase she tried to lift. To be fair, it 'was' the heaviest, carrying his sword. He glanced at her, grinning, while she stared back at him with a blush on her face, before she scoffed and walked past him towards the house. With an amused shake of the head, he followed the girl inside.

The Guild had decided to give IF the month off, giving her plenty of time to help Taven move in and adjust.

The house itself was rather large, about two stories and was a light tan in color, with a balcony on the right side, over a small patio that was fenced off from the street. A few trees and bushes hugged the edges, with a few more houses flanking the home. Once he was inside, Taven sighed and took a moment to think on his new circumstance.

When IF learned that his business had been destroyed, she practically demanded that he pack up and move in with her until it was repaired. He still remembered how red her face turned when she realized what she said, and he said, "You don't have to-!"

"No! You 'will not' sleep on the streets! Not while I can help it. Once I'm out of here, you're coming with me to Planeptune!" So he did, and he had to say, it was his first time actually getting a good look at the capital city. Apparently, IF was friends with the nation's CPU, and she said that she would try to get his business up and running again with her nation's help.

"Why would Lady Purple Heart help a rival nation?" Taven had asked, with IF grinning when they were riding the train. "She's good friends with Noire, and Histoire, her oracle, would probably use it as a PR move, making Planeptune seem benevolent and increase their shares."

So now, here they were, with Taven setting his belongings down on the carpet floor of an empty room. What few things he managed to gather from the wreckage would allow him to continue his monster hunting, earning an income so he could help out around the house. Taking a moment, he thought, (At least this will net me some clients in Planeptune. Most of my jobs 'were' in Lastation.)

He then groaned as he remembered digging through the wreckage of his shop, cursing himself fro throwing the Minotaur through his home. However, rational thought was the last thing that concerned him when he saw IF, unconscious in the bastard's hands. As long as she was safe, he could stand some property damage.

(Still...I 'just' finished paying the loan off!)

A minute later, IF walked in, saw Taven fiddling with a wall outlet, trying to connect his landline phone so that he could get calls. With a grin, she reached into her back pocket and tossed an object towards his back. Without turning, he caught it, and brought it in front of his face, eyes widening. It was a cellphone. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"I think its about time you had a phone Taven. Now you can call me whenever you want."

Grinning, he asked, "Do you promise to come running every time?" IF blushed, before huffing and walking down the hallway.

Once he was alone again, he stared down at his reflection on the phone's screen, and sighed. Its been half a year since he left home, his father, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss it sometimes. He said some pretty harsh things, and he practically severed any familial ties between them both.

(I wonder if he misses me...even though I was the resident 'devil'.) IF's words came back to him suddenly. "Devils never cry."

That...had been the lowest he felt in years, rivalling the anguish he felt when he killed the thug all those years ago. However, unlike last time, someone was next to him, and that person...was IF. He was...no longer sure about the status of his relationship with IF. He'd never opened himself up like that...but...he didn't feel bad for doing so.

Before he could dwell any further on the subject, the landline began to ring. Taven stared at the device for a few seconds, before exhaling, and allowing a small smile to grace his face as he picked it up and lifted the receiver to his lips.

"Devils Never Cry."

Week One

The sleeping situation had been...interesting, with the two actually sharing her bed.

((Cue Neptune emoji with a mischevious lenny face, eyebrows bouncing in a knowing manner. Its not like that Neptune, go and eat some pudding or something!))

The first few nights were awkward, and they slept on the far sides from the bed, which was difficult considering it was barely big enough to fit them both. However, she didn't mind the extra heat, and she often woke up and was surprised to see that she had scooted closer to him. IF was often teased about it, as Taven woke up one morning and saw that she was nearly snuggling up to him.

"If you wanted to snuggle all you had to do was ask."

"Can you shut up!? Go and kill some monsters or something!" Yelled IF as she sat down at the table, eating a regular breakfast while Taven devoured some leftover pizza.

Seriously, he needed some help with that addiction. However, she agreed to not interfere with his eating habits, as long as he immediately threw away any empty boxes. It didn't stop the strange looks she got from her neighbors when they saw a ridiculous amount of pizza boxes piling in the dumpster.

Week Two

"I've got it!" Said Taven suddenly, eyes lighting up as IF jumped next to him in shock. "Give a girl warning next time!" She said with narrowed eyes, having nearly dropped her phone.

((Lenny face Neptune creeping in from the corner. Author-san slowly pulling out an eggplant, terrifying the strange being and causing it to run away.))

With an annoyed huff, IF asked, "What exactly did you get?"

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Taven said, "I thought of a name for my sword. I'll call it...Alucard."

((In the distance, and all too familiar laugh began to echo, sounding like a well known fuckmothering vampire.))

"Isn't that just Dracula backwards?" Asked IF incredulously. She glanced over to where the sword was hanging, and said, "It doesn't look like a vampire sword."

"It sucks up blood though. Think about it...its turned into a flame sword after it absorbed the Ancient Dragon's blood, then an axe after I killed the stupid bull."

Detecting a little bit of salt in his tone regarding the Minotaur, IF had to agree. The blade 'did' have a habit of absorbing the blood of its slain enemies, which sounded really messed up now that she thought about it. Taven then chuckled and said, "Imagine if it absorbed a Granddogoo."

"Please don't try it..." She groaned, though she couldn't stop the smirk from growing on her face at the thought of a sword shaped Dogoo.

Then she shuddered as she imagined the blade growing tentacles and getting...inappropriate.

1 Month

Work began to pick up, and IF found herself feeling strange whenever she saw him off on his contracts. Without fail, Taven poked his cheek every time and asked, "Can I get a goodbye kiss Honey?" Before heading out the door. Instead of a kiss, IF either ignored him, or flipped the bird, causing him to smirk before he headed out. When his back was turned however, she couldn't stop the blush that grew on her cheek, and her imagination from running wild.

For a moment, she pictured the two of them giving each other a chaste kiss, before Taven would head out to complete a contract, like a soldier promising a loved one that he would come home. However, that thought was shattered by IF frantically shaking her head and muttering, "Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope! Don't go there Iffy!"

She couldn't stop the swelling of her heart however.

Three Weeks Later

Some time passed, with Taven currently doing small exercises in his room. He had his own bed now, something he thought IF would be grateful for, or, at least he thought she would. She looked downright sad as she watched the delivery men pull the bed frame in through the door. Was she honestly sad that they would no longer be sleeping together in the same bed?

With a shake of the head, Taven stopped doing push ups and sat cross-legged in the center of the room. (Women...they'll forever remain a mystery.)

Speaking of mystery...Taven had decided to frequent the library, and much to his confusion, couldn't turn up anything on this so called 'Sparda'. It was bothering him, honestly. The Minotaur's only words throughout the battle had been that name, and Taven noticed that throughout the fight, it was dead-set on killing only him, ignoring Uni almost entirely. Did he look like this 'Sparda' guy? And what did Sparda do to get on the horned bastard's shit list?

(Not to mention...it seemed capable of tapping into some sort of power, the same ability I have.) Sighing, he fell onto his back, eyes closed in deep thought. He would really like some answers, and he was sure they were out there...be he had no fucking idea on where to start.

A soft click alerted him that his door was opening, and he opened his eyes to see IF, sans the trench coat.

Call him a pervert, but by the goddesses...Taven would totally hit that. She was lean and fit, her body suit showing her curves and accentuating her figure. He'd seen her move on the battlefield, and knew that she was flexible as well as strong and skilled, traits he found incredibly sexy. He felt something stir within his being, something more than lust...a desire.

She looked down at him and asked, "You wouldn't happen to know how to fix the air conditioning would you?"

(If breaking it means you stop wearing that coat and show more of that creamy skin...woah! Down Taven! You are 'not' that type of man!)

With a cough, he smirked and said, "Please. You obviously turned it off to make me take off my clothes."

To her credit she didn't blush, IF simply rolled her eyes and said, "I'll take that as a 'no' then." She then walked down the hall towards the kitchen, intending to grab some ice cream to cool off.

Five minutes later, she heard a small explosion, causing her vanilla popsicle to slide across her face when she jumped in shock. She ran through the house towards the source, and to her shock, saw a singed Taven laying down in the hall, blasted backwards from the explosion of the AC's main console, eyes shut as his body was hit with the stinging feeling of pins and needles. With a cough, he muttered, "Shit it 'was' broken!"

"What did you do?!"

He shrugged. "Tried to fix it." That's when he opened his eyes, and saw the mess on IF's face. Needless to say, it looked 'more' than a little lewd, the white cream trailing from her mouth and down her chin. That inner desire practically went berserk, demanding that he 'do what must be done'.

Slowly, he got to his feet, and IF tensed as she saw him lean forward.

(W-wait! IS he actually-! Are we about to k-k-kiss!)

She closed her eyes and waited for his lips to meet hers, surprising herself with how willing she was. However, instead of his lips on hers, she felt something rubbing her chin, and she opened her eyes to see that he was rubbing his thumb on her face.

"You got ice cream on your face. " He said simply, licking his thumb and cleaning the mess of her face. A moment later, he nodded in satisfaction, her face now looking more presentable and less like...uhhh...

IF, meanwhile, was refusing to meet his gaze out of complete embarrassment.

(Lady Green Heart's Bosom...I actually thought...I actually wanted...!) A bright blush dusted her cheeks, while Taven coughed and said, "Well, considering this is my fuck up...I'll pay for the repairs. I'll call a technician tomorrow."

Had IF looked at his eyes, she would have seen the silver orbs were now glowing scarlet. Entering his room, Taven let out the breath he was holding, feeling the tension slowly leave his shoulders. Inside, he heard countless perverted voices cry out, then fall silent, while he fought back all the dirty images that had popped up in his head.

Now, he was no stranger to lust, but this level of it was damn near ridiculous! Did it have something to do with his power? Did it boost more than his physical attributes?

Goddesses help him.

With a sigh, he removed his shirt and flopped onto the bed. His body was burning up, and he growled before closing his eyes, calling upon the meditation training from his father to quiet his thoughts and get some sleep. He really hoped that there was a contract tomorrow, he could use an outlet. His hand fiddled with the necklace he wore as he thought this, deep inside, knowing that he was just looking for an excuse to not deal with his feelings at the moment.

Meanwhile, on her end, IF was curled up on her bed, her expression blank, but the blush persisting.

(I...wanted him to kiss me. I want...I'm...am I...in love with him?) The 'L' word caused her to grip her pillow and curl up even further. She needed advice, medical advice!

(Y-yeah. I'll ask Compa to do a check up tomorrow. Maybe I just caught something, and its making me act like this.) Deep within however, she already knew the truth, and was just looking for an excuse.