Chapter 4 – Demon Dance (Part 1.)

Nico let out a loud cry of exhilaration as she and Dante sped through the deserted streets of Redgrave on Cavaliere. She had practically plastered herself against Dante's back, the wind whipping through her hair and the sound of the engine deafening in her ears as Dante opened up the throttle on the demonic motorcycle, causing Nico to wrap her arms even more tightly around his waist and laugh with sheer delight. She was amazed to discover just how weightless the bike felt beneath her the faster they went, as though the wheels were barely touching the ground and they were literally riding on air. Never in her wildest dreams had Nico imagined that she would find herself riding such a marvelous machine with the legendary son of Sparda!

Dante turned his head slightly towards his clingy passenger without easing off the throttle. He was forced to shout to make himself heard above the roar of Cavaliere's engine, but his tone sounded light and reassuring nonetheless. "Let me know if you'd like me to slow down, babe! You must be freezing in those shorts…"

"Are you kiddin'? This is amazing!" Nico laughed joyously, closing her eyes and relishing the experience. The combination of the wind blowing in her face as well as filling her nostrils with Dante's intoxicating scent raised her internal temperature to the point of overheating. "I feel hotter than a Hellbat inside a volcano right now!"

Nico didn't want the ride to end. She'd had a massive crush on Dante ever since she first met him and gave him that Dr. Faust Hat all those months ago. Now she was finally going on a date with him and she intended to milk this experience for all it was worth!

Dante took them to the outskirts of town and stopped the bike in a dark, quiet street a short time later. Nico looked around at her surroundings with slight apprehension. She'd never seen this part of the city before and she couldn't quite understand why Dante had decided to stop here. Many of the buildings looked old and were in disrepair, with tall hills looming in the distance and casting eerie shadows over the poorly lit street they were currently in. Nico saw a narrow trail on her left that appeared to lead to a rundown graveyard at the end of the street, while on her right stood an old-fashioned looking building with a small lantern above the door and a faded sign that read: Papa Giuseppe's Pizzeria and Italian Cuisine.

Nico furrowed her brow in confusion as Dante switched off the engine and dismounted the motorcycle purposefully. "Here we are, Sweetcake. Feast your eyes on the finest pizzeria in Redgrave city!"

Nico took the hand Dante extended to her and got off Cavaliere hesitantly. This place was far from the romantic setting she'd envisioned when she'd taken up Dante's offer back at the garage. But he did say he was hungry and she had agreed to join him without bothering to question what he'd had in mind. Nico tried to push the doubtful thoughts to the back of her mind and shrugged dismissively. She supposed they could grab a bite to eat here and hopefully, one thing would lead to another in due time…

Nico quickly tucked the stray locks that had come loose during their motorcycle ride back behind her hairband and smiled at Dante sweetly as she allowed him to lead her into the quaint dining establishment gallantly. The bell above the door rang out softly as they entered the building together and stopped next to a sign that read: Please wait to be seated.

"What the hell for? There ain't nobody else here!" Nico thought with an amused snort as she looked around the empty restaurant in bewilderment. Dante closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "It's good to be home! I've sure missed this place…"

All of a sudden, the door to the kitchen opened and a short, tubby old man with a balding head came out to greet them. He was wearing a green, white and red striped apron with the words Kiss the Chef written across it and when he spoke, he did so with a heavy Italian accent as he gave Dante a warm embrace and kissed the air next to his cheeks in welcome. "Dante, my boy! It is great to see you again!"

"Greetings, Papa Giuseppe!" Dante said merrily, picking up the little man under the arms and spinning him around in a friendly fashion.

"Eh! Eh! Put me down, my boy! You know I have the high blood pressure! I might get it the stroke!" Papa Giuseppe protested half-jokingly as Dante set him back down gently. The little chef patted out the creases in his apron habitually before turning his attention to Nico. He smiled at her warmly as he took her by the hand and kissed it politely. "And who is this pretty young bella?"

Nico felt her face blushing and she looked down shyly. "Pleased to meet you, mister. But my name isn't Bella. It's Nicoletta. My friends call me Nico for short…"

Giuseppe squeezed her hand and chuckled amicably. "Of course, my dear! In Italy we say bella as in bellissima. It means beautiful young lady." He explained with a friendly smile.

"Oh. Thank you, I guess…" Nico stammered, averting her eyes to the floor and clasping her hands in front of her waist bashfully.

Giuseppe bowed theatrically and made a sweeping motion with his arm. "Take a seat at any table you like, my friends. As you can see, business is a little slow today!"

Dante nodded and turned to Nico with an encouraging smile. "Come on, Sweetcake. I'll show you to my regular table." Nico felt a twinge of excitement as she followed Dante through the room to a secluded corner table near the jukebox.

"Oh, this looks promising! The restaurant is practically empty but he wants even more privacy!" She thought with elation, her heart beginning to beat fast with hopeful anticipation. Giuseppe brought them some menus as they sat down facing each other across the table. "Can I get you started with some drinks?"

"No drinks for me, Papa G. Just a strawberry sundae as usual." Dante said without glancing at the menu the chef placed in front of him. Giuseppe nodded and turned to Nico patiently. "And how about you, bella? Would you like the same as Dante?" The little man shrugged and gave her a wink before adding, "Or something a little bit stronger maybe…"

Nico looked at her menu indecisively. "Uh…"

"Bring us two strawberry sundaes, Papa G." Dante announced casually. Nico looked up from her menu and stared at the devil hunter in surprise. He shrugged at her nonchalantly and added matter-of-factly, "I'm sure she won't mind. Everyone loves strawberry sundaes."

Papa Giuseppe shrugged and was about to head off to the kitchen to prepare the requested desserts when Nico cleared her throat loudly. "Actually Dante, I wouldn't mind something a bit stronger." Giuseppe turned back to them and smiled at Nico approvingly. "Why of course, bella! Let me bring for you the wine list. We have many fantastico reds to choose from…"

Dante looked at Nico with raised brow as Papa Giuseppe left to fetch the wine list. "What? I have refined tastes okay!" Nico said defensively. Dante held up his palms in an appeasing gesture and shrugged dismissively. "Suit yourself, babe. You don't know what you're missing though..."

Giuseppe returned with the wine list and some cutlery which he laid before them courteously. Nico took the wine menu from him with a gracious smile and began looking through the fancy names on the list carefully. The last name on the list caught her eye and she pointed to it thoughtfully. "I like the sound of this one: Demon Dance. Is it any good?" She asked Papa Giuseppe inquisitively.

"Ah, an eccellente choice, bella! That one is a magnifico Demonic Shiraz! It is a dark and rich with a hint of blackberry fruit and vanilla." Nico nodded as she listened to Giuseppe's passionate description with intrigue. "It sounds very appealing when you say it like that! I'd like to try some if you got any."

"Of course! One bottle of Demon Dance and a strawberry sundae coming right up!" Papa Giuseppe made a quick detour to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two wineglasses and a bottle of the so-called "Demonic Shiraz" as well as Dante's strawberry sundae.

Dante looked at the two glasses in confusion and raised his brow at Giuseppe questioningly as the little man put his strawberry sundae in front of him. "Hey, Papa Seppe? Why did you bring two glasses? I told you that I didn't want any drinks."

"No, no. This is not a for you, Dante! Is for me!" Giuseppe expressed boastfully, pointing a finger at his own chest before turning to Nico with a charming smile. "Do you mind if I have a glass with you, Nico? It helps me make a better pizzas."

Nico smiled at Giuseppe sweetly as she allowed him to pour her a glass of wine. "It's up to you. I mean it doesn't look like Dante intends to have any and I doubt that I can finish the whole bottle by myself…"

Giuseppe was just about to start pouring himself a glass when Dante interrupted him impatiently. "Papa G! Do you mind? I'm starving here!" He waved his arm in a dramatic gesture and stated brusquely, "I'd like my usual and make it extra-large since there are two of us this evening."

Giuseppe gave the demanding devil hunter a dirty look. He fancied himself as being quite the ladies' man back in his day and was looking forward to having a glass of wine or two with Nico, maybe even charming her a little before retiring to the kitchen to prepare their meals. But apparently that wasn't going to happen now…

The disgruntled chef sighed grumpily and nodded. "Fine. You know what they say: the customer is always right." He looked at Dante with narrowed eye, his tone sounding noticeably tart after being denied of his chance to impress the fine bella next to him. "I guess that will be one extra-large Divino Purgatorio then?"

"That's the one." Dante affirmed with unflinching self-assuredness. "And don't put any olives on it this time. I hate olives!" He called out to Giuseppe's departing back as the chef left them and disappeared into the kitchen reluctantly. From across the table, Nico stared at Dante in open-mouthed disbelief. "Are you fuckin' kidding me?! The Divine Purgatory is a type pizza?!"

Dante grunted in bemusement. "Of course. What did you think it was?" His blue eyes searched her face thoughtfully for a second before he asked, "Did you have something else in mind when I mentioned it to you earlier?"

Nico dropped her gaze to the table uncomfortably. She could feel her face turning hot and her hands started fiddling with her wineglass nervously as she offered up an explanation hesitantly. "Well, I…ah…thought that a purgatory is somewhere that you go to confess your sins? Then…um…afterwards you are sent to someplace nice like paradise? I'm not so sure really…"

Dante listened to her insecure chatter with mild interest. A smile slowly worked its way over his lips as he looked around the room before suggesting in a lighthearted mannerism. "Well babe, I don't know whether any of that is true or not. But here in Papa Giuseppe's place, you can confess to all the sinful foods that you don't get to eat very often and when he works his magic, the result is nothing short of divine!" As though to prove his point, Dante picked up his spoon and dipped it into his rapidly-melting strawberry sundae before adding passionately, "I can promise you that from the first bite, your taste buds will feel like they've arrived at this 'paradise' you speak of!"

Nico was still feeling a little skeptical. But in the end she gave in as she watched him begin to eat his dessert eagerly. "Okay, I'll take your word for it. You've obviously been here many times before, so if you say the food's good, then I believe you." Nico picked up her glass and took a big sip of her Demonic Shiraz, a pleased smile appearing on her face as she thought, "I don't know about that darn pizza, but this wine sure is divine!"

Nico looked up from her glass and noticed that Dante was well and truly digging into that strawberry sundae with gusto. In fact, he kind of reminded her of an overexcited kid attacking his ice cream dessert like it was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted in his life! Nico found that thought adorably endearing and smiled at him fondly. She suppressed a laugh and reached over the table with one hand. Dante paused his enthusiastic shoveling for the briefest of moments as Nico wiped a glob of strawberry cream that was sliding down his chin with her finger and then licked it off in satisfaction.

A/N: Thank you to all the kind people who have been reading/supporting this story so far :) I know this chapter was a bit short, but I decided to split this restaurant part into two separate chapters otherwise it would have turned out really long by the time I mentioned everything I planned! The next chapter will contain the rest of Dante and Nico's shenanigans at Papa Giuseppe's Pizzeria (which I hope will make many of you smile because I have lots of fun planned for them, xD)

Speaking of fun, here's a little fun fact that I wanted to share with you: Demon Dance is actually a real wine! It is a type of Shiraz we have here in Australia and as soon as I saw the name I was like Nico, "I just had to try some!" All I can say is I hope Nico enjoyed her glass as much as I did :)