Hey there everyone. Before you read I must tell you this is a very emotionally draining chapter...lol It's angst ridden, and kind of sad, but I'm sure the prospect the end brings will leave you feeling better...lol

It's funny; I really hate it when my characters are fighting. It puts me in foul moods having to write stuff like this. Then again I usually tend to feel like my character's are when writing, so if they are sad it will put me there too so I can hopefully create a realistic feel that you guys can pick up on.

ANON REVIEWERS - Hey to all the people who have been reviewing my stories anonymously. Typically I reply personally to every review, but I can't to yours...lol So I just wanted to say thank you for reviewing my work. It would be nice if I could reply to you directly, but being ShyANON I can understand the benefits of remaining anonymous. Just wanted to let you guys know how grateful I am to you took the time to review. :)

Enjoy!

Homophobic No More

Chapter 10

Dante had the oddest feeling of deja vu as he leaned against the brick wall of Devil May Cry and eyed the fan girls who had once again appeared to gape at the boy wonder who had spent the last 5 hours working on the front of the shop. That...and ignoring Dante entirely.

So Dante stood by and simply kept an eye on him, all the while wondering how he could make everything all right again. He was determined the kid would not travel back to Fortuna.

He'd apologized to the stone faced kid a dozen times, tried smoothing things over with a myriad of things such as beer, food, and even offering to let him mess with his weapons. Even the prospect of killing demon's with Sparda, the sword he rarely touched himself, didn't sway the kid. He only stared pointedly at Dante before continuing on with his work.

Dante knew of course what would make it better. He knew, and yet... Had he really meant it when he told the kid he'd let him top him? Yes. But could he bring himself to actually do it now? No. There was something Nero didn't know. Something Artemis had tried to touch upon the night at the gay bar before Dante had changed the subject. Even now he pushed it from his mind, because he absolutely did not want Nero to know under any circumstances. Hell, no one but Artemis knew, and that was because the man had an issue with prying into people's private thoughts without permission. Dante's only consolation was that Artemis regretted it once he saw what was locked away inside his head.

For all Dante's faults he had tried several times to let the kid top him over the past two weeks, fully feeling that maybe this time he would go through with it. But the feelings that gripped him in those moments when they were so close always outweighed his feelings for the kid he was ashamed to find.

One thing he knew for sure was, if he didn't think of something soon Nero would leave and possibly never talk to him again. Yet at the same time he couldn't help but feel just a little bitter about the situation, as he hadn't pushed the kid like this his first time.

"Fuck off would ya?" Dante growled to the girls, who looked shocked at first, and then angry as they walked off, glowering at him. Good riddance...

"Here I thought you were only an ass to men alone. Glad to see you don't play favorites." Nero murmured without looking at Dante.

"So you're talking to me now?" He replied put off by the kid's comment.

Nero stayed silent and it only darkened Dante's over all mood.

"I see, you can dish it out but can't take it."

"Oh, I can take it." Nero growled as he attacked the nail he'd been hammering. "Apparently a lot better than you can."

"You're not gonna drop this are you?" Dante asked as he grabbed the kid's wrist to stop him smashing a hole in the wall he'd been repairing.

"No, but I might drop this hammer on your foot if you don't let me go." Nero snapped as his eyes finally came to glare at Dante's.

"Fine. You want to hurt me? Go for it." Dante said letting Nero go and standing back to give him a free shot. "Use your devil arm, break bones, split skin and get your frustrations out. Just don't go."

Nero stood and watched him before shaking his head and going back to his work.

"TALK to me Nero." Dante sighed.

"Would you look at that. I'm finished." Nero replied as if Dante had said nothing at all. He wiped his forehead and walked around Dante. "Time to go home."

But Dante grabbed his arm without even turning.

"I told you to let go."

"And I say you're not leaving like this."

Nero tried to twist his arm free, but Dante refused to let him go, finally pushing Nero to the wall to keep him there.

"You bastard, let me go NOW!" Nero growled angrily as he clawed at Dante's hand with his devil arm, leaving bloody welts in the wake of his claws. It hurt, a lot, but Dante knew the kid's departure would hurt for a lot longer and cut him far deeper than any physical wound.

So Dante leaned in. Maybe if he could recapture some of that emotion expressed between them the kid would settle and listen to reason. It only seemed to anger him further as he raked those claws across Dante's cheek.

"Better not kiss me. Someone might see Dante. I wouldn't want to have to embarrass you any further." Nero hissed even in the face of what he'd done. Dante only looked at him, desperately thinking of how to repair the damage. "Or are you going to force me like the last time I tried to go home?"

He let Nero go, allowing the boy to push him away as the pain of those words sunk in. The image of Nero at that time pushing him away, telling him no even as he struggled to keep himself in control. Dante tripped on his own feet, fell back onto the concrete and for the first time knew real regret. He had thought Nero had forgiven him. That despite his initial protest it had all been a facade to not show that he too wanted to be with him.

Nero's face for a second looked apologetic at his own words and Dante's reaction to them before that sneer returned. He turned and walked into Devil May Cry, slamming the door shut behind him. Dante only lay on the hard ground, silently waiting as the cut on his face healed over.

As he lay mulling it over in his head though he saw the kid's face, not angry, but laughing. Sure they had fought, but for the most part their relationship had been pretty good when they weren't both being stubborn.

If Dante really thought about it, did he truly regret finally showing Nero physically what he could not tell him verbally? He regretted the circumstances, the scenario under how it had begun, but he did not regret it because of all that had come after. Nero's confession of his own feelings, waking to Nero beside him, sharing many intimate moments that made his heart swell at the very thought of them. Sure Dante was a fuck up, but it came with the package.

If Nero truly meant it when he said he loved him, then he really didn't want to leave either. Maybe this too was a facade, another stupid show of anger to hide other feelings.

Dante stood and walked to the door. As he opened it Nero appeared as if about to open it, a duffle bag slung on his shoulder, and a look of such sadness Dante couldn't help but notice. Nero though hadn't expected to see Dante standing there. He thought he had a moment to relay his true feelings of leaving before he walked out and showed a stone face to Dante.

It changed in a split second, the facade up in the blink of an eye and Dante wasn't buying it. He pushed Nero in, causing him to fall back onto the floor as Dante closed both doors, locked, and leaned against them to block Nero from leaving.

"What the hell?" Nero asked.

"You are not leaving." Dante replied.

"Like hell I'm not!"

Nero stood and went for the door, but Dante blocked him from getting anywhere near it. Nero dropped the bag as if in preparation for battle.

"You either move or I make a new hole in that wall to get out...taking you out with it." He growled dangerously as he flexed his devil bringer.

"Go for it. You break that wall, you stay until it's fixed." Dante said with a non-caring shrug. "Either way, you're not leaving."

--

Nero glowered at him, debating on how to get out of there. He would punch, bite, and kick if he had to. After all, it's what the old man deserved.

What pissed Nero off the most was that Dante STILL denied he'd really done anything wrong. Those apologies were about as genuine as the promise he'd made. He only wanted to talk to make himself feel better, not to ease Nero. Even this attempt to keep Nero there was all for the hunter's benefit.

Nero pulled his fist back and aimed it straight for that overly calm face. Dante dodged it; undoubtedly seeing it coming. Instead he made as if to tackle Nero to the floor when he ducked to avoid the blow, but rather hugged him around the waist and lifted him over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" Nero snapped as he brutally attacked Dante's back. All he could see was the floor over it and suddenly they were going up. Oh shit. "Dante!"

He was pissed yes, but it didn't change the fact that he wasn't 100 percent immune to the old man as of yet. He still loved the old fool, which was making everything that much more difficult. He dreaded being taken to the bedroom and felt a cold tingle creep down his spine. He let out a sigh of relief when Dante bypassed both bedrooms. Where is he taking me?

Then boots met tiled floor as they turned a corner, and he was unceremoniously dropped into the bathtub. Freezing cold water came from the shower head and Nero nearly jumped out of his skin.

"You fucking bastard!"

"You need to let off some steam."

Nero stood and pushed Dante backwards into the sink before punching him hard in the jaw. Still Dante did nothing, so he hit him again and again.

"Not going to fight back?"

"No." Dante said flatly as blood trickled from his nose and mouth. Nero sneered and went out the bathroom door. He got to the landing of the stairs when he felt a hand on his wrist. "But I'm not letting you leave either."

Nero twisted his wrist in his hand, pulling towards the stairway while using his other hand to push at Dante's chest. Dante though somehow was pulling him closer. As he pulled Nero's foot slipped on the wood and he was falling backwards, towards the stairs. He closed his eyes in preparation for the first sting of pain at falling down a flight of stairs, but it did not come.

Dante sat on the top step, having pulled him back towards him and now Nero sat facing him on his lap, legs dangling over the sides, face on his shoulder with arms hanging limply at his side like a tired child in its mother's embrace. Oh, how tired he was at the constant stimulation of emotions this man evoked in him only to be cut by disappointment and hurt. Somehow the poet's never conveyed in all their poetry just how much unrequited love truly tore oneself apart. Nero truly believed his love for the man was not mutual between them. Dante did not love him, and that hurt.

But still, Nero sat motionless as the arms tightened around him and only stared at the wall behind Dante as if numbed. Too much of one thing could do that to a person. In Nero's case it was doubt.

"Stay with me." Dante said over Nero's left shoulder. "I'll do anything... just don't go."

"What's the point?" Nero murmured. "The damage is done and I'm tired of playing this game with you." Hurting the elder would be easy, and it would make leaving easier for Nero who just knew things could not be the same. Nero didn't trust easily to begin with, and once lost he would never trust again. He'd just been hurt too many times by people to allow for second chances.

"I love you."

Nero pulled back from him to look at his face, to see if he really had said what he thought he did.

"Don't say that." Nero whispered.

"I'm not letting you go." Dante continued. "I love y--"

"DON'T say that now!" Nero yelled as he tried to remove himself from the elder's possessive hold. "You're only saying that to make me stay and it's cruel if you don't mean it!"

He twisted, pulled, and pushed to get himself away but Dante only tightened his embrace.

"Let go!"

"No."

"NOW"

"No. I love you." Dante repeated, and suddenly he was saying it over and over again, driving Nero insane at hearing those words come from his mouth. The effect of them was so harsh, because they sounded genuine, desperate, and so very sad. Nero felt his eyes well up in frustration.

"Stop," he cried as he slowly began to wind down after using so much strength to beat the old man away from him. The tears made him feel weaker, and he couldn't stop them at hearing those words repeated.

"Don't cry." Dante whispered into his shoulder, and it only made it worse. Damn Dante for making him love him for so long, for making it so hard to walk out that door when he knew he should. He should... but he stopped struggling in that embrace, and his hand slowly moved up to grasp onto the back of Dante's shirt.

He wanted to believe him, but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't in his nature to believe blindly. He had never been a man with an abundance of faith in man kind, or devil kind for that matter. Too much had happened in his life when even those who were supposed to protect him... violated his trust. He'd learned it young, and oh had he learned it hard.

Dante wasn't going to let him go, he knew that and Nero knew he needed to go. These emotions proved how dangerous his attachment to Dante had become, but without trust there was nothing to hold them together. Nero knew he would only be hurt if he remained without solid proof that Dante meant those words.

Nero pulled back slightly from Dante, lifting his face to see the damage he had caused in his anger. Dante's eyes looked tired, his stubbly face waxen in comparison to the normal cocky glow. It was as if the hunter had perfected crying, without really crying at all. Nero wiped the blood from the side of Dante's mouth where his split lip had healed.

He searched the hunter's face, and when Dante slowly pressed his lips to Nero's he decided what had to be done.

He pushed Dante back, allowing himself to be pulled down until they were both on the floor.

"Nero, I--"

But Nero cut those words off with a soft kiss, unable to hear those words, whatever they may be. It would make this harder.

"Take me," he whispered against the hunter's mouth as a tear rolled down his cheek. Dante looked confused, but Nero only sat back to straddle the old man's hips as he began unzipping his hoodie. Dante sat up, looking into Nero's eyes as he cupped the side of his face. He put his other hand on Nero's, stopping him from going any further. "What's wrong?"

Dante gave him a tired smile as he tilted Nero's face down and kissed his forehead. Nero swallowed, not knowing what was going on. Then Dante pulled Nero's leg from the side of his hip until he sat crossways in his lap.

"Don't punch me." Dante said as he moved to stand, scooping Nero into his arms...bridal style. Nero wanted to laugh, and wanted to protest. But he didn't do either as he laid his head against Dante's shoulder like he hadn't slept in days.

It was then Dante took him in his bedroom, the first time since the night Nero passed out drunk in his bed that Nero had been brought there by Dante. Nero didn't know what to expect, but when Dante merely laid him down and curled up beside him he felt himself relax and move further into the hunter's embrace.

Dante idly twined his fingers through Nero's hair as Nero just stared at the hollow of Dante's throat with his forehead pressed under his chin. He felt like hiding his face from the hunter, so he wouldn't see the internal struggle brewing within him. Dante thought Nero had forgiven him, that he would stay.

What Dante did not know was that when he woke the next morning... Nero would be gone. So Nero wrapped his arms around the elder devil to memorize the feel of his embrace as he felt the stubbly chin drop to gently kiss his forehead again. There would be no lovemaking on their last night together, but a quiet fulfilling of the base need they'd both had from the day the two had been forced to kiss one another.

I want to be close to him... always.

--

Thunder boomed and caused Dante to sit straight up in bed. It was pitch black and it took him a second to realize where he was. Rain lashed against the roof outside and lightning struck chilling Dante to the bone. He turned to see if Nero too had heard it, but noted his young companion wasn't beside him.

"Nero?" He called out to the darkened room, but no answer came. He went to the kid's room, to the bathroom and by the time he was taking the stairs he began to feel panic seizing his chest. It only worsened when he did not find him anywhere downstairs.

Without thinking he ran out the front door into the rainy street and looked up and down it for signs of Nero. He saw nothing but heavy rain that soaked him within a few seconds. He thought everything was OK between them again!

Dante put his hands on his hips and dropped his head with a heavy sigh. What the hell was the kid thinking doing something like that? He had prevented intimacy when Nero had offered himself to Dante to prove a point. That he did not think of Nero as a toy to be played with, and that it was his soul and not his body Dante was aiming to secure. He thought it had been conveyed pretty thoroughly as the two held one another in the darkness.

Tonight I want to feel you... Nero had whispered to him, and thinking back on it Dante could almost hear the remainder of that unspoken message. One last time.

"Damn kid..." Dante growled as his resolve slipped, and he gripped his fist in anger. He would give the kid two days... Two days to come back to him before, well... He didn't really know what it was he would do as he was the one who was always chased rather than doing the chasing.

What he needed was advice on what to do next. His head was too jumbled with thoughts of anger and hurt from the kid's departure to work rationally. Artemis? No. That guy would only tell him the obvious and say I told you so.

He wouldn't go to Lady, because she would undoubtedly shoot him in the balls for hurting the kid enough to make him flee. Trish was out of the question since he didn't even know where she was and that would be the most uncomfortable conversation in the world.

Well... maybe the second. Because there was one other person Dante could go to who knew him better than all three of those combined. But in going to him Dante would have to open up about the fact he and Nero were together. He sighed and headed back into Devil May Cry with a small smirk.

"I wonder what Vergil would have to say about all this," he murmured as he entered. "Guess there's no better time than the present to find out."