A/N: Man, I am on roll this month! Quickest update I think I've ever done, too. Anyway, this one is short and sweet, I know you guys have been asking for more romance so this is my response to those requests. Hopefully, it isn't as crappy as I think it to be, I'm not too good in the romance department but I'm working on it. For anyone who doesn't have a valentine or didn't get anything on this stupid holiday (I was one of those unfortunates*tear*) Enjoy my Valentine's gift to you!
Chocolate Covered Strawberries & Charm Bracelets
For the first time in years, Dante found himself alone on Valentine's Day.
Don't get him wrong, it wasn't like he cared, he just found it strange that at least one person-he would not be naming names- was around to spend the overpriced holiday with. Well, no, that wasn't right. Patty had come around earlier, but he had kicked her out to go spend the day with her mother. Those two were currently spending the rest of their day baking cupcakes and doing whatever it was mothers and daughters usually did on days like these. And she would be bringing him a half-dozen of those cupcakes-she had unnecessarily called to tell him in that cheery little voice of hers- first thing tomorrow morning before school started.
If Patty still decided to deliver those cupcakes the next morning and she happened to be wearing a very vicious looking scowl on her face, he would tell her that the phone slipped.
Besides her, Trish and his brother were out doing who-knew-what (Dante didn't even want to imagine what that could be), and Kyrie and her Teddy Bear people liked to call Nero were, thankfully, not around him or his shop. He wasn't too upset with that loss. If they acted as cuddly as they did on a day-to-day basis-as his eyes were unfortunate to witness- he didn't want to know what they could be up to when they had an actual reason to be all lovey-dovey. It saved his eyes the agony.
So, that only left him with one person. The heterochromatic eyed beauty was usually the one he spent this crappy holiday with, as she also seemed to never have any plans, but maybe this year was different. Hell, for all he knew she could've found some random guy at the last minute and decided it would be in her best interest if she spent the rest of the evening with said lucky bastard. But, as stated above, it wasn't like he cared. If the bitch decided to go AWOL and waste her time with somebody not him, he wouldn't lose sleep over it. It wasn't like he got her anything…so the lack of her presence did nothing to dampen his already dull mood.
And that was why, with these thought in mind, the devil hunter found his heart not skipping a beat when the roaring sounds of a familiar motorcycle pulled to a stop at the front of his shop, and why he didn't feel relief flood his very being when the black-haired huntress entered his shop a moment later.
Dante could taste the familiar tangy sting of a snarky remark on the tip of his tongue as he studied her disheveled appearance from where she stood in the doorway-the newly glow of the breaking twilight illuminating her figure- but effectively cut off when she started toward him like a woman on a mission, her hand violently digging into a translucent bag he only now noticed, and took his face into her hand.
"Say 'ah'." she ordered. Ignoring the almost alarmed look he gave her, Lady stuffed whatever it was she had taken out of the bag into his mouth. Disregarding the gagging noise coming from the back of his throat as he grabbed at her wrist, she held a hand over his mouth until he stopped his panicking, chewing thoughtfully for a few seconds before he swallowed. "You better like them, I made them myself. Good?" she asked, shaking the bag of what he could now see inhibited burnish color covered fruit in front of him.
"Yeah." He said, taking the bag of chocolate covered strawberries-his second favorite to his sundaes- from her with a frown. "You didn't have to shove them down my throat though."
"Like I had a choice," Lady scoffed, licking off the chocolate residue that had smudged her finger, "You ask too many questions."
Dante grunted at the remark, feeling the creamy mixture coat his tongue as he stuffed another of the confections into his mouth grumpily. "So, is that where you've been all day? Making these?" he shook the bag for emphasis.
She gave him a look. "See what I mean about the questions?" Chuckling when he gave her a look of his own, she pushed off of her previous position, hip resting against the edge of the desk, to start towards the kitchen area. Feeling her hand skim the top of his hair as she passed by him from behind, one cobalt iris watched her from the corner of his eye until she disappeared from sight.
Letting out a heavy breath, Dante shook his head clear of the thoughts that came unbidden to his mind. That touch had been no accident, he knew. But still, It was no use getting worked up over. He was aware of how much Lady liked to tease him, and he was also aware of how much more constant it had gotten recently. Smirking as the memory of flushed cheeks and wide eyes came to mind, he leaned his seat further back from his usual laid back position, not bothering to fix the mussed up strands of pale hair that lay in a mess at the top of his head at the woman's earlier actions.
It wouldn't be long now…
Snapping out of his daydream when Lady came out from the back of the shop, he rose a white brow when he caught sight of the large hunk of ice cream cake he had purchased just the day before on one of the still surviving porcelain plates his kitchen cupboard had to offer. "You don't think that's a bit much?" he inquired, taking another strawberry out of the bag.
"Of course not," Not taking offense to the question whatsoever, she brought a forkful to her mouth, smudging vanilla against her lip. He watched intently as the pink muscle of her mouth came out to lick the mess away. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"Famous last words."
"Shut up." Setting the plate down on the desk with a loud sounding clank, she grabbed the back of his chair to pull him up, catching the usually on-guard hunter off guard. Using his dropped guard to her advantage, she leaned over him to place a kiss to the corner of his mouth, full lips lingering there for more than necessary before she pulled back, her half-lidded eyes staring into his surprised blue ones.
Dante knew he must've looked like an idiot, slack-jawed and eyes wide as he tried to call his thoughts back to order and process the information on what had just occurred. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears, making his head lighter than what he recalled it being just moments ago.
How was it that it was only Lady that could make him feel this way? If it was any other female, he would be taking advantage of their close proximity instead of taking note of how long and dark her lashes were as they framed her half-shuttered orbs. Or how pink and plump her lips looked as they hovered so close to his own, the same lips that were now parting to breathe out a simple, "Thank you, Dante." against his cheek.
Lady watched as his gaze seemingly came into focus in response to her words, backing out of the way when he made a grab for her. She heard him hiss a curse under his breath when she spun out of the way of his second grab, leaving him to catch himself with one hand on the edge of his desk and one foot planted on the floor when he stretched out too far.
"Bitch," he snarled when he heard her give a laugh. He really shouldn't have expected anything less from her; she was getting him back for that trifling stunt he pulled on Christmas. Watching the woman as she grabbed her plate up from off the desk and start towards the red furniture decorating his living space, he pushed himself right again. Another set of explicits rolling off of his tongue. "You play too much."
Sending him a saucy wink over her shoulder in response to his comment, she continued to the couch situated opposite of the currently muted TV, popping the strawberry that he only now realized was missing from his hand into her mouth. "These are good." she simply said, the silver charms of her newly adorned bracelet making clinking noises against the porcelain of the plate when she reached down to grab her fork. Dante grunted in affirmation.
Yeah, they were good, he thought to himself as he planted his boot-clad foot back to settle against the ankle of his left one from where it rested on top of the wooden surface of his work desk. If she really made them herself like she said she did, then her cooking skills were finally looking up. Dante smirked again, a white canine peeking from between his lips as he picked out another of the plump red fruit from where it had previously resided inside the bag to take to his mouth.
But he was willing to bet a chocolate covered Lady tasted even better.
A/N: This took longer than what I thought it would on account that I was too busy doing this and watching The River when I started. Does anyone even know what show I'm talking about? It started last Tuesday…? Well, anyways, I hope you liked it, and if you did like it, leave me a review!
