The night was as silent as a graveyard. Not even a distant howl of a cayote or wolf that had walked upon the forsaken stretch of land. It was just them, some fire, the moonlight, and his injuries. There was a look of worry on Isabelle's face as she dipped her hand into the bucket of water and then wrung it out to put it over Dante's forehead. Sweat had formed over his body and all she could think of was making sure he lived. She'd given him a 'sponge' bath of sorts and now she just sat and waited on edge.

Who would have thought that one brief encounter between the two, 3 years prior, would be witness to one of the more interesting and turbulent friendships. She'd followed him in hopes to steal from him and ended up gaining so much more. She smiled, remembering the little exchange and how she called him 'Hellboy' as a nickname. She was afraid to admit it verbally, but the more they saw each other the more attracted and attached she'd become to him. He was unlike anything she'd ever met. He had confidence in himself, feared no one, even if the people in question were stronger than him. He had quite a sense of humour, and she loved his charlatan nature.

"Dante, you better not die on me. Or I'll kill you, Hellboy..." She sighed and brought her chin against the palm of her hands, just staring at the injured half-devil in front of her. Closing her eyes, she tried to relax and stop worrying since it would get her nowhere.

It all started two days ago. They'd been convinced to come here by a mutual acquaintance who said the area was in badly need of help. Which struck her as odd because the person who had sent them here knew she was more of a 'hooligan' than anything else. But knowing the reputation and not wanting Dante to go at it alone, she came anyway. She had to be here for her friend (who had become so much more to her by now.)

At first glance everything seemed normal. Nothing out of place in the area. There was the quintessential criminals, some shady characters, some prostitutes, some vampires, some werewolves, some demons, and so on. The terrain was not as bad as previously thought so it gave them a chance to travel with a bit of peace of mind. But it wouldnt last for long. It had been a setup and one that they didnt realize until it was too late.

They appeared out of the woodwork like moths to the flame. An entire clan of Demons, Vampire and Lycan hybrids all come together to stop them. But for what reasons? It hadnt been made clear and it wasnt as if they were going to think about it when they had quite the fight ahead of them. The odds were against them 150 against 2. And amongst the bunch were some rather high level creatures too. But they stood their grounds.

They came at them from every nook and cranny yet they kept fighting. Even when they were hit they kept going knowing that it would be the difference between life and death. Swords against sword. Martial Artist against martial artist. It had been brutal but when everything was sad and done, and with quite a good amount of injuries, they were the ones to remain standing, just barely. Or so they first thought. As they used each other as braces to get out of the area, there was still one hybrid that had life in him and he came charging for her. She barely had a chance to react, when the beast held it's sword. She moved, to try the first thing to come to mind but at that moment Dante stepped in and took the full blow of the attack.The sword stuck in him and still the half-devil managed to swing his own sword and put an end to the cheap-shooting hybrid.

She barely managed to hold Dante up as he got to his knees, breathing hard. He was losing blood and fast but that wasnt the worst of it. The sword had been poisoned and it was seeping into his blood so quickly. She did her best to stand him up and take him away from the area. Dante had been impressive, even as he was slowly being poisoned he still managed to walk for far longer than most people could, but he eventually fainted. And now that's where they stood. In the area where he had fainted, and she had been doing everything in her power to care for him. She had been afraid to leave him at first but knowing that he would die if he didnt have an antidote to the poison she left his side to search for herbs. Herbs that even existed in this desolute land. After finding what she needed she used it on him and tended to his wound the best she could. And all those actions would lead her to the next day. The one she was living right now, scared out of mind, and trying to fight back her tears.

She hadnt left his side since she went after the herbs and all she could do was just stare at his sleeping face. Hoping that he could hear her and come back to her. She felt like an idiot. She should have been the one to die, not him. And now she wasnt even sure if she would ever be able to tell him how she felt. Finally, she couldnt take it anymore and she came behind his head and laid it on her lap and looked down. Several tears streamed down her cheeks and hit his forehead and she whispered. "I love you, Dante..." Her head leaned forward until both their foreheads were touching and she just whispered to him everything she had always wanted to tell him but could never say.

"I love...you too, Babe..." Said, the groggy voice of Dante.

Isabelle picked her head up almost immediately and looked down. He was alive...he was awake. And he'd just told her he loved her. (SCOOOOOOREEEEEE!)

A nervous smile played on her face. "I...thought you were going to die on me, you damn Hell boy." She could hear him laughing and she just let her eyes remain fixated on him.

"It'll take a lot more to keep Dante Sparda down..." He chortled and brought his hand up to touch her face. "Should have..spoken up sooner, Beast." She remained still, as his hand just caressed her face, and she rolled her eyes.

"The only Beast here is you." She scoffed back, to see him smirking.

"Naw, it's you, Beast. And you're the prettiest Beast there is." He said softly as he moved himself to sit up with her still behind him.

"Th-Thanks...for saving me. You should have just let me taken the blow..." She frowned, and turned her head away. She felt guilty for this. She should have been the one to almost lose her life and not him. He had worth. A worth that he didnt realize but she could see as clearly as day. A life and a future where he would become a legend, even bigger than he was now.

"No, I shouldnt have..." He said quickly, and turned his head to stare at her seriously. "Dont ever think that way, Babe. I did it because I care about you, Isabelle." His hand ran over her cheek and then he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. The kiss was held for a few minutes before she pulled away.

"You should rest, Hellboy. You still need to finish healing." She saw a nod come from his face and he pushed his body down so he was laying down again.

"Love you, Babe.." He whispered and he shut his eyes.

"Love you too, Dante.." She smiled and just sat there, letting the world fade around them, as the magnitude of the words they just exchanged hit her.