Back at Devil May Cry, Dante brought Lyssa into a quiet and lonely-looking place. He could tell no one else had been here since he left. The lights were off, and the empty, pizza box was still sitting on the table.

"Nero didn't even bother taking the trash out. Lazy bum."

"This is where you work?" The amusement in Lyssa's voice left Dante embarrassed.

"It's usually in better shape than this. I wasn't expecting company, and usually someone's here to-"

"Get the ants out of your pants, silly. I'm not judging you." Lyssa gave him a smile, closing the door behind her as he would flip the light switch on. The foyer became flooded in a dim, yellow light from the chandelier above, and he went to desk he usually sat at, picked up the phone, and dialed a number. He had to admit, he was glad to have gone a few days without hearing its insistent ringing, but sometimes, he missed it.

"Hello?" Nero's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Kid, where are you? This place is a mess. I sure hope your house doesn't look like this."

"Hey, you said spend some time with Kyrie."

"I also said hold the fort while I was gone. Get up here. I need your help with something."

"Ugh. Fine. Give me an hour."

Dante rolled his eyes, hanging up the phone, but he couldn't help his grinning. He loved picking on Nero, and he picked back at most times. "He's fired, he just doesn't know it yet."

Lyssa sat on the couch, looking comfortable enough for him to want to join her.

"So, you said this guy might know a thing or two about my mother?"

"Nero is a total bookworm when he's not breaking things. Believe me, he can shed some light on what we're up against."

While they waited for Nero to show, they just talked. While it wasn't easy, keeping his hands off of her, he was curious about the life she led before she found out what she was. He wanted to know more about her. Turned out she was adopted by a healer - not necessarily a witch, but the woman dealt a lot with herbs and other ingredients to cure ailments. There was a long line of healers in her family, both men and women that aided demon hunters in their missions by providing medical assistance when needed, and even other brews with more combative properties.

Lyssa learned some basics, but nothing groundbreaking, she said. She wanted to help people, and even started looking for places as a child where she could be useful. As she got older, her interests had obviously changed, though not entirely willingly.

The door finally opened, and Dante was pleased to see his nephew walking in a little earlier than anticipated. He didn't bother getting up, feeling perfectly comfortable where he was at. Nero, however, looked perplexed.

"I didn't know we had company."

"Nero, manners. This is Lyssa."

"Uncle Dante finally settling down, huh? Is that was this is about?"

Dante huffed. "Out of line, kid. I don't need you to be a smart ass, I just need you to be smart."

"Okay, okay." Nero held out his hands defensively. Since he had regrown his lost arm, he seemed more cocky than usual - starting to take after his uncle. "What can I do to help?"

After Dante explained the situation, though eliminated any details about him and Lyssa being a thing, he had the gears in Nero's head turning.

"Yeah, I've heard of Jezebeth. Just like your old man, I think just about any demon of noble blood is typically going to have places of worship - statues erected in their name, that kind of stuff." He opened a laptop that sat on the desk, helping himself to the seat and typing at a number of keys. "If you give me some time and some food, I can track them down for you, because I'll bet you if you destroy these icons, it will weaken Jezebeth's tie with her."

Dante watched him with a tense stare, hoping he didn't plan on going through the browse history. Dante needed something to ease his urges following his first encounter with Lyssa. Not that the porn helped that much; it was a very temporary solution.

"I'll let you boys handle that. Do you mind if I step outside for a few minutes?" He looked at Lyssa as she got up to stretch, heading for the door. He wanted to follow, but damnit, he didn't trust Nero alone on that computer for five minutes.

"Sure thing."

Once she stepped out, giving Dante a smile, the door shut behind her. It was a moment before his nephew broke the silence. "Not that it's my business, but if you two are fucking-"

"You're right, it's not your business."

"Well, she's a succubus, and a really powerful one, at that. You know why royalty is only supposed to mix with royalty? Because they're really freaking powerful together, that's why."

Dante looked at Nero, a lightbulb flipping on in his head. "That's not quite how I heard it. Supposedly, I've tainted her and made it so she can't be human."

"Face it, Dante, she can't be human no matter what. But let me ask you this: Have you noticed if she's been getting stronger?"

"She says she has."

"So, my argument stands." Nero looked braggadocios, like he just won a tournament, "Also, you literally just admitted you guys are sleeping together."

"Shut it. Just...hush." Dante put his index finger up as if to certify his demand. He was starting to put two and two together. Ardyn made it sound like Lyssa was losing control, but maybe Dante was able to keep her straight better than anyone because of their bond.

"How long do you need to locate these icons?"

"Give me a few hours. I'll partner with Morrison. Maybe until morning. Also, I'm starving."

"Take it out of petty cash." Dante waved his hand dismissively. "We'll crash somewhere down the street."

"Oh, I bet you will!" Nero teased. "Boom chicka bow-bow..."

Dante wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of a smart comment, but he was probably predicting the future anyway. Giving up on his quest to guard the laptop cookies, he went outside to check on Lyssa. It was pouring down rain, and to his surprise, she was standing right in the middle of it, but she seemed to be enjoying it. Summer rain always was pretty nice when it got too hot outside. He used to love it as a kid.

He came up behind her, uncaring at this point if Nero saw them through the window or not. His arms slipped around her, and he could tell she was deep in thought, even if he couldn't see her face.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

A few seconds passed - maybe ten. Dante was beginning to think she wasn't going to answer. Then... "I know we need to destroy these icons. It's the right thing to do, but..." Her words drifted into silence, but she didn't need to finish them. He understood.

"You don't want to give up the power." Dante had to admit, it was a tough choice to make, but she was brave to be able to admit her flaw.

"Yeah."

"It's either that, or you tear a bloody path through the ages to come."

"You know I don't want to become a monster, Dante."

He kissed her wet neck, the rainfall around them becoming more aggressive. "Maybe you don't have to give it up, and still keep your humanity. Look at me. I pulled it off."

"It's not the same, you know that."

"Actually, we don't know that." Dante turned her around to face him. She was soaking wet from the rain, her hair sticking to her face in an unruly sort of way. "Don't you think it's at least worth trying?"

"If you think it is, then, yeah. I guess you're right." Her smile returned with a certain hopefulness, and he took her face into his hands to kiss her compassionately. Just as quickly, he whisked her away on the Cavaliere to somewhere they would have more privacy. At first, he thought about calling Nero to let him know where they were, but then decided against it when he realized that at the bed and breakfast, they were completely alone. There were no other patrons there, and that left them with the whole place to themselves.

Hell yeah. He was going to take full advantage of this.