Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the song "Devil Inside." It belongs to INXS.
Chapter 5 – Demon Dance (Part 2.)
Nico took another generous sip of her wine. Her cheeks had taken on a rosy tint, giving her whole face an illusion of a soft glow. She'd slipped off her plaited brown hairband at some point during the past half-hour and placed it on the leather-covered booth beside her, causing her long black hair to cascade over her face and shoulders in luscious waves and making her look even more stunning than usual.
Dante watched her with silent interest from his position across the table, his hand absently stirring the remnants of his strawberry sundae with his spoon. His date had become rather chatty after indulging in a couple of glasses of the aptly-named "Demonic Shiraz" she'd ordered from Giuseppe's wine list and Dante found himself only half-listening to her passionate talk about engines, weapons and other technical lingo involving machinery and vehicle parts that he'd neither never heard of nor cared about for that matter…
Eventually Nico stopped talking after noticing the devil hunter's distracted expression and the fact that he'd been unusually quiet for some time. Even though he was staring at her, it soon became apparent to Nico that he was deeply lost in his own thoughts and wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to what she had been saying all this time. A sense of unease settled over the mechanic as she realized how much Dante resembled his older, more serious twin at the moment. He had the same cold, distant look in his eyes and pinched frown that she'd seen on Vergil's face once before, almost as though the human and demon halves of his soul were having a heated argument about something in his mind – a far cry from the lighthearted, charming man who had offered to take her out on a date earlier this evening!
Nico swallowed her wine nervously, her mind racing as she thought to herself, "Dammit! I'm losing him! I'd better do something quick if I want to keep him keen and interested in me a while longer…"
Putting her wineglass aside, Nico stood up and stretched elegantly like a big cat. Her gaze fell on the glass of partially-melted strawberry sundae Dante was fiddling with absent-mindedly. She couldn't help smirking as she told herself silently, "I've never met a guy who has dessert before the main course! It's time for me to show him that not all things that are sweet come in dessert glasses…"
Nico turned her attention to the jukebox not far from their table and gave Dante a seductive smile. "Hey, Dante! Care to join me for a dance?"
The question seemed to catch the devil hunter by surprise and he blinked several times before looking up at the grinning mechanic uncertainly. Nico felt her confidence waver slightly under his intense gaze and quickly added as an afterthought, "After you've finished your ice cream that is! Don't feel like you have to rush or anything!"
Dante was apparently satisfied with this response and nodded softly before turning his attention back to the melted strawberry mush in his dessert glass. Nico let out a small sigh of relief and headed over to the jukebox to select a song that she hoped would be more or less to Dante's liking. She took a deep breath and threw all her insecurities and doubts to the wind as the sound of a catchy guitar riff filled the room with its up-tempo beat and she started moving to the music. Before long, Nico began to thoroughly enjoy herself and as her confidence grew, she started busting out some the sexiest, most seductive dance moves she was capable of throwing together in an effort to impress her super-hot date.
The corner of Dante's mouth turned up in a small smile as he watched Nico's passionate dancing with a combination of admiration and amusement. "Hell! This girl is hot! She might even be able to teach me a couple of new dance moves…"
Dante had barely even finished the thought when he happened to glance at the kitchen window and noticed Giuseppe watching Nico's erotic dance routine with a bemused expression. Almost simultaneously, the devil hunter and the chef locked eyes before a teasing grin spread across Giuseppe's round face. He pointed to Nico and raised a finger to the side of his head. Then he proceeded to make a circling motion next to his ear, signifying the universal sign for "She's crazy!"
Dante nodded in response. A cheesy grin appeared on his face and he shrugged his shoulders as if to say: "Yeah, I know…"
The devil hunter gave his oblivious date a final amused glance, then got up and went over to the kitchen window to talk to Giuseppe. "Hey, Papa G? How long until that pizza is ready?"
The smile disappeared from Giuseppe's face and he slapped his forehead with his palm in exasperation. "Dante, you dumbass!" He waved an arm in Nico's direction indicatively before turning back to the clueless devil hunter and shaking his head in disbelief. "Can't you see that beautiful girl is trying to get a-your attention? Instead all you can think about is pizza! How many times do I have to tell you? You are always thinking with your guts and not a-your head!"
Dante waved off the irate Italian's accusations dismissively. "Ah, come on Papa G! You know I like to take things one step at a time! And first thing's first…" He looked over his shoulder at Nico, who was so preoccupied with her dancing that she hadn't even noticed that he wasn't paying attention to her anymore, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief. Dante turned back to Giuseppe and keeping his voice low so that Nico wouldn't overhear, explained to the chef sheepishly, "How do you expect me to show her a good time if I haven't had dinner first? My tummy won't stop rumbling and I don't think that's very sexy or appealing, do you?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Giuseppe exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air dramatically. "Thunderstorms rumble! Tigers rumble! She'll probably think she's bagged herself a tiger!" The chef proceeded to do his best impersonation of a tiger's growl and clawed the air, catching Nico's attention just as she pirouetted in their direction right at the same moment. The mechanic smiled at Giuseppe charmingly, responding with a claw swipe and growl or her own before continuing to dance with renewed vigor.
"Oh mama mia! If only I was-a 25 years younger…" Giuseppe gave a startled gasp when he heard Dante clearing his throat impatiently and he forced himself to look at the devil hunter with as much dignity as he could manage. "By the way, Dante. You forgot this the last time you were a-here…" He reached underneath the counter and brought out an inconspicuous-looking white cowboy hat with a fancy golden letter D embroidered into the underside and handed it to Dante.
"Put that on. She might think you look a-smarter wearing a hat." Giuseppe suggested helpfully as he left a slightly bewildered Dante standing at the window to check on the pizza in the oven. Dante turned Dr. Faust over in his hands thoughtfully before giving a small shrug and flipping the hat onto his head with a nimble flick of his wrist. He didn't really know what it was about this unusual Devil Arm, but something about wearing Dr. Faust always made him feel like dancing. It was as though the hat would not allow him to stand still for very long, urging his muscles into motion without him being consciously aware of it until he was no longer able to resist the temptation to join Nico on the dancefloor. He sashayed up to the mechanic and tapped her on the shoulder invitingly, causing her to whirl around and let out a squeal of delight when she noticed him wearing her precious gift.
"Wow! You kept my present!" Nico suddenly felt herself blushing and she dropped her gaze to the floor before adding, "You look so handsome wearing it."
"Of course I kept it, babe!" Dante said with a soft chuckle. He placed one hand on Dr. Faust's brim and dipped his head forward slightly whilst striking a stylish pose in preparation to bust out some smokin' hot dance moves. "There's something about this hat that really brings out my inner dancing demon!"
"Well what are you waitin' for then?! The only thing I would love more than watching you dance, is having you dance with me!" With that, Nico grabbed hold of both of Dante's hands and started swaying her whole body provocatively. The song currently belting out of the jukebox filled her with ecstasy and she soon found herself singing along to the chorus enthusiastically:
"Devil inside,
The devil inside,
Every single one of us,
The devil inside!"
"Oh, Dante! I love this song!" Nico threw her arms around Dante's neck and started laughing giddily at the irony of those lyrics. "You literally have a devil inside you! It's like this song was practically written about you!"
Dante smirked deviously as he placed his hand on Nico's lower back and pulled her towards him with such unexpectedness, she almost smacked her nose into his chin from being jerked forwards so suddenly. The mechanic put both hands on his chest to steady herself and looked up at her dance partner with a mixture of surprise and delight. "Well, well! It looks like I've awakened your inner demon, huh? Just promise you won't go full-blown Devil Trigger on me during this dance, okay? I don't think I'm ready for that much excitement yet…"
Dante and Nico started dancing together passionately. Nico didn't know what had come over her all of a sudden, but she wrapped a leg around Dante's hip and tried to execute a complicated backwards dip when she felt her supporting foot slide out from underneath her. There was a sickening popping sensation in the region of her left ankle as Nico lost her balance and hit the floor with such force, her glasses were nearly knocked off her nose and she landed on her backside with an undignified "Oomph!".
"Shiiiiiit!" Nico gritted her teeth and swore, a wave of pain pulsating from her left foot as though her ankle had been hit by a red-hot ball of Pyrobat spit.
"Whoa! Are you okay there, Sweetcake? Here. Let me give you a hand." Dante said in a soothing voice as he helped Nico to her feet carefully. Nico leaned into his shoulder and hobbled back towards their table with her sore foot clumsily, cursing herself inwardly for being so stupid and throwing away what was probably the one and only chance she'd ever get to dance with Dante in her life!
"Here we are." Dante gently eased his injured date back onto the leather booth and sat down opposite her, propping her left foot on his knee as he began taking off her boot. "Let Doctor Dante take a look at your foot. I think you probably just twisted your ankle really badly." Nico didn't protest as she allowed him to slip off her brown cowgirl boot and inspect her sore ankle. She glanced down at her foot herself and saw that the area around her ankle looked a little swollen and bruised. But apart from that, there were no other physical signs of injury and she let out a relieved sigh.
"Okay. It looks like Dante was right. I only twisted it after all… Ow! Son of a bitch, that hurts!" Nico thought peevishly, screwing her eyes shut and biting back a sharp insult as Dante prodded her puffy ankle with his finger experimentally. The devil hunter looked up at his "patient" with a reassuring smile.
"I can give you a foot rub if you'd like? It might help ease some of the pain…" He offered generously.
Nico immediately forgot about the discomfort coming from her throbbing ankle and nodded vigorously. In reality, the pain wasn't quite as bad as she made it appear. But how could she possibly say no to getting a free foot massage from Dante?! An offer like that doesn't happen every day!
"Sure, Dante. If you think it'll help…" Nico said as casually as she could, hoping that her voice wouldn't betray the eagerness she was currently feeling on the inside. Dante smiled at her warmly and started massaging her whole foot with his strong battle-hardened hands, beginning with her toes and working his way towards her ankle methodically. Nico closed her eyes, her whole body instantly relaxing as she sank back into her seat from pleasure.
"Does it feel any better yet?" Dante asked quietly, the pressure from his fingers becoming gentler as he reached her sore ankle and massaged the injured area carefully.
"Does it ever! If I could, I'd be purring like a cat right now!" Nico replied with a blissful expression. She opened her eyes and reached for her glass of wine, taking a generous sip before leaning back in her seat with satisfaction. She soon found herself starting to feel a bit amorous as a result of the alcohol and dim lights shining overhead. A sly smile spread over her lips as a devious thought suddenly crept into her mind...
As Dante continued massaging her left foot, Nico pretended to close her eyes again and ever so slowly, lifted her right foot and located his pant leg beneath the table. Then still keeping her eyes half-closed, she carefully trailed the toe of her boot along the inside of Dante's leg, starting just below his left knee and gradually heading higher and higher, trying her hardest not get overexcited and unintentionally kick him in the crotch in the process…
Through her half-closed lids, Nico saw Dante tense ever so slightly and he paused massaging her foot uncertainly. The mechanic had to restrain the urge to laugh as she watched his expression go from initially shocked, to pleasantly surprised as he resumed massaging her ankle with a wide grin on his face. Just as the tip of Nico's boot was about to reach its intended destination, both she and Dante were brutally jolted back to reality by Giuseppe slamming a large plate of pizza on the table between them.
"There! Your extra-large Divino Purgatorio has arrived!" The chef announced with his usual flair and lightly-teasing mannerism.
"Damn it, Papa G! This is the one time I wish you could have been a little late with that pizza…" Dante remarked with a deflated sigh. He slipped Nico's boot back on and pushed her foot off his knee rather roughly, ignoring the grimace she pulled as her foot hit the floor with an audible thud.
"Eh! First you come and ask me why your pizza is taking a-so long to make? So I bring it for you pronto and now you complain it not take a-long enough?!" Giuseppe gesticulated irritably as he spoke, his hands flying around all over the place as he looked at Dante with an annoyed expression. "Pizza is here now, so eat and then get-a out of here!"
As the chef turned to leave, he glanced at Nico and smiled at her before adding with a wink, "It is a full moon tonight after all. Maybe if you two are a-lucky, you may get a little bit moonstruck…" With that, Papa Giuseppe waddled off to the kitchen, rolled down the shutters on the window and put up a sign that read: The Kitchen is Closed.
A/N: Sorry if the ending seemed a little rushed, guys! I had originally planned to add a bit more to it, but in the end I just could not get it to flow the way I wanted and I got really frustrated with myself :( Don't get me wrong. I thought the start and middle turned out decently enough. But I feel like something went a little amiss towards the end! I actually had a lot of difficulty with this chapter in general for reasons I can't quite understand (it all looked so simple and straightforward when I was making my notes for it…)
I also feel as if Dante and Nico were both a bit ooc in this one. I always try my best to keep everyone as close to character as possible, but sometimes that's not so easy when trying to write humor. Anyway, I'd like to send out a huge thanks to all the wonderful readers and my dear friends who have been supporting this story up till now :) Hopefully the next couple of chapters will turn out a bit better…