I have a secret.

"She's taking her damn time," Dante muttered, reclining on my living room sofa with his arms behind his head and his feet on my coffee table.

"You should have called first. She would have been packed and ready to go before you even got here," I countered, leaning up against the wall on the opposite side of the room. I cast a despondent look out the window and shifted my weight impatiently.

It crawls beneath my skin and makes me feel alive. It breathes power through my veins and keeps my heart pumping.

"The weather is looking poorly," I said when I caught him peeking at me through strands of silver hair.

"Not still afraid of lightning, are ya?"

"No," I said curtly. "Do you want a coffee or something while we wait?"

"No, I'm good," Dante said and dropped his hands to his knees. "So."

I am a demon with the appearance of a human, you see.
The few who are privy of this fact are long dead. Those who didn't perish by my hand, met their demise through the grunts I order around.
But demons only exist in grim fairy tales. If you can't see it with your own eyes, then it's not real.
Or that's what people believe nowa days. The face off between Sparda and Mundus had wounded the prince of darkness's pride. He'd called back his troops from the human realm. The demons who were left wandering did well to keep hidden - like me.

"So," I repeated and shadowed him when he tilted his head back to study me curiously.

"How are you finding things with Karla?" Dante asked after a minute of silence. He lifted himself off the couch and wandered about the room, pausing to gaze out the window at the sky before sending a small, brief smile my way. "She's not giving you too much trouble, I take it."

"She's a teenager. I'm lucky if I get to see her for dinner some days."

"Vergil won't be pleased," Dante said, giving me a mock-grave expression.

"Vergil doesn't know," I shrugged. "And if he finds out, I'll know it was you who told on us. It's up to you whether you want to stay in our circle of trust or not."

"Circle of trust, eh?" Dante asked lightly and came to a halt a few steps away from me. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned up against the wall. "So I get all the dirt on you ladies."

I stood rigidly with gritted teeth and clenched fists, staring back at him in dismay for a second before I retreated from him and made my way to the open-plan kitchenette. "Sure you don't want a drink? I've got beer in the fridge."

"I'm driving," Dante said, leaning on the counter behind me as I boiled a pot of coffee. "What has she been up to that I need to know about?"

"Nothing. Just kids stuff," I said dismissively, and turned to him thoughtfully. "Although I did catch her and her friends playing pass the parcel the other day."

"Ah, well that's alright."

"The teenage version of it."

"It's different from the kid version?"

I wrinkled my nose at him and shook my head. "Don't freak out."

Dante pushed himself up, seemingly bracing for the worst. His face said it all. "What?" he bit the word off.

I leaned across the counter and cupped my hands around my mouth with a faint smirk. I whispered, "I don't think our baby-girl is a virgin anymo-"

"Shut the fuck up," Dante exploded and I backed away to pour myself a cup of coffee.

"I thought I should say something. Y'know," I said vaguely over my shoulder.

When I turned around, Dante was pacing the short length of the room, obviously agitated by this news. "Well... did you talk to her about it?" he finally whirled on me.

"Of course I did!" I sighed. "I found a bunch of condoms very poorly hidden in her room."

"Yeah?" Dante paused, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at me.

"Yeah."

"So did you tell her it's not safe?"

I choked back a laugh at the hard scowl lining his face. "No. She seems to be smart about it. Hell knows, I never used any of those."

His expression didn't change. I didn't think it would. Dante was hard-ass when he went into all-out Uncle mode.

"I did tell her not to get involved with brothers, though," I said, and this time I let the laughter escape my lips.

"Cora," Dante said in disbelief.

"What?" I chuckled. "It's good advice!"

I rounded the counter and purposely sank down on the single armchair near the window. I watched the rain. Dante settled back onto the sofa. For a while we both listened to the rush of water outside. The conversation between us was uncharacteristically lacking. There had always been some level of banter - pointless, fun, harmless banter. Now there was nothing but silence, heavy with our thoughts and hearts.

"Vergil will lose it when he finds out," Dante finally said.

"I don't think he will," I said distractedly. "He probably already knows. He's usually a couple of steps ahead of us."

"I still don't like it."

"It's child's play."

Dante let out a long-suffering sigh. "You still worry about someone coming after her?"

Sparda was sure that Mundus wouldn't try anything again. I had my concerns that he may be brewing some massive revenge attack. When I mentioned this to the Redgrave family, the only one to respond was Dante with a vague 'who knows?'
Who cares?

Bring it on.

"They don't even know she exists."

"They didn't know Vergil existed, either," I said slowly, and glared out the window when lightning struck. "I hate this damn weather."

"I like the cold," Dante contested. I narrowed my eyes at him and tensed, clutching my cup when he came to perch on the armrest.

"What are you doing?" I asked tightly.

"Enjoying the view," Dante said innocently with a shrug. He stretched an arm around my back and I flew out of my chair before he could touch me.

"I thought I told you that I need space, Dante," I said accusingly.

Dante took over my seat with a grunt and smirked. "I thought you meant that figuratively."

"Figuratively, literally, it makes no difference," I snapped.

"I get it," Dante said irately.

I went to lean against the wall again and we eyed each other across the room distrustfully. I'd just finished my coffee when Dante leaned over to the window.

"Looks like you've got a visitor."

"Are you sure it's not Karla?" I asked, frowning as I put my cup in the sink and went over to peek through the blinds a few feet from him.

There was no one outside. I squinted, looked harder, and felt my skin set on fire when arms circled me from behind. "Nice. You're reverting to lying to have your way now, are you?" I asked.

I didn't struggle or resist. I was good at keeping my temper at bay. A second later Dante pulled away from me with a disgruntled sigh. "I had to check."

"Check what?" I turned on him, surprised and confused.

"I had a hunch. I guess it was wrong. Anyway, I wasn't lying," Dante added and pointed toward the front door just as it opened.

Karla came trampling inside, soaked from head to toe. She noted our presence briefly before fleeing to her room. "I'll be ready in a minute, Dante!"

"Hurry up, will you? Your old man gets grouchy when we're not on time!" Dante called after her.

He gave me a sheepish grin. "When are you and Vergil going to meet again?"

"We're not. That's what mobile phones are for," I started, half turning when he brushed past me. A second later I felt a good hard smack on my butt - accompanied with a fairly distinct snap - and spun around in startled fury. "What the hell?!"

Dante backed away, shaking his shocked and injured hand."I knew it!"

Dante was one of those people who just never changed.

We stared at each other for a heartbeat. "Why?"

"Like I said, I had a hunch," Dante shrugged.

"So?"

"I'm a devil hunter," Dante sighed, clenching and unclenching his fist. "It's my job. Can't ignore my gut."

"That's why you're constantly eating pizza, because your gut tells you to," I said sarcastically.

"Exactly!" Dante said, widening his eyes. "Finally, somebody who gets it!"

"Dante, seriously," I said grimly. "Don't tell."

Dante flashed me a charming grin just as Karla rejoined us with a bag over her shoulder.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go," Karla said.

"Babe, you know the only one you need to be afraid of is me," Dante said casually.

"Did...do... gross, can you not call my mother any petnames?" Karla said, disgust etched across her face.

"What would you have me call her? Mrs. Vergil?" Dante quipped as the girl linked her arm through his and started for the door.

"It'd be a start. Bye, Cora!" Karla called over her shoulder.

"That's too long for a petname. I like babe," Dante said, sending me a wink before they disappeared through the front door.

I stood by the window and waved lamely as Karla bundled into the car. Dante paused for a moment and looked back up at the house. He spotted me, and made a quick salute before he, too, climbed in. I watched them drive down the road, until I could no longer see their little red car.

I dropped the blinds back into place.

~The End~

This totally sucks.