Author's Note: Well here is another chapter, and I'm finally feeling a little bit better. Also I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed and for your get well wishes, you all rock my socks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry, its characters, or Capcom.

~*I Cry Wolf: Chapter 10*~

Very slowly Nero felt himself begin to regain consciousness. The first thing he noticed what that he was somewhat completely alone inside his mind which was unusual, even the wolf part of his mind lay still and quite. Ignoring that for the time being, the second thing he noticed was that he hurt everywhere. Every muscle, especially those around his chest, throbbed with a persistent ache and soreness that only came with heavy trauma. The problem was…he couldn't remember getting hurt. The last thing he remembered was trying to talk to Cerberus then passing out on his bed. Pushing that aside as well, the third thing he noticed was that something warm and wet was caressing his side in slow steady strokes, occasionally applying light pressure before fading away and reappearing seconds later.

Slowly Nero cracked open his endless blue eyes and found himself staring at a sea of red. Instantly Dante's comforting scent assaulted his senses and he found himself sighing as it soothed his raw nerves.

"Hey sleeping beauty did you finally decided to join us?" Dante's voice sounded somewhere next to him.

Slowly Nero turned his eyes until they found the red clad hunter kneeling beside him. Dante had a bloodstained washcloth in his hand and a very red bowl of warm water sitting next to him. Nero watched as Dante dipped the washcloth in the warm water and swirled it around a bit before wringing the excess water out and bringing it up to Nero's fur as he continued the lengthy task of removing the slightly dried blood from Nero's fur.

Wait…blood?

"How are you feeling kid?" Dante asked quietly not looking up from his task.

'Like shit…' Nero thought as he snorted slightly.

"Yeah that's to be expected I suppose, Lady can pack a punch when she wants too," Dante chuckled quietly.

'Lady…' Nero felt his thoughts run thick with questions.

"Yeah, she burst in here this morning to make my life Hell like usual and you…." Suddenly Dante stopped and turned his full attention onto Nero.

"Did…did you just say something?" he questioned. Maybe he really was going crazy.

'Uh no jackass I can't talk remember,' Nero thought as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey who are you calling a jackass!?" Dante sputtered as he threw the ruined washcloth into the bloody water.

'Holy shit you did here me, but how!?' Nero demanded as he stared hard at his partner.

"Yeah I heard you and how the hell should I know? I don't have a clue what's going on right now about any of this. Christ, Lady better get back here with dear old daddy Arkham's books soon," Dante cursed as he picked up the bowl and headed for the bathroom.

'Lady I thought you said she's the one who did this to me, and what exactly did she do and why?' Nero asked as he shakily got to his feet.

"Oh well…like I said she came bursting into the shop this morning and she must have startled you or something, but anyway, you kinda went feral and tried to kill her, so she shot you…a lot. Then I came downstairs and…I uh, explained the situation and asked her to help me try to find a cure, and she agreed. So she ran home to collect her father's old books and curses and the rest is history…" Dante stated still not turning to face Nero directly.

'Wait…Lady, cold hard bitch of the North, agreed to help you just like that,' Nero asked disbelievingly as he stared the elder down.

"Yep, just like that," Dante replied a little to quickly before jogging up the stairs and disappearing into the bathroom.

Nero shook his head as he lay back down and began licking the blood from his paws and legs. He knew it was weird, but something about seeing his white fur stained a sickly rust brown from dried blood was rubbing him the wrong way, and making his antsy. He thought about was Dante had said while he waited for the elder to return and he couldn't help but feel like Dante wasn't telling him something. However more pressing, was the fact that he had gone 'feral' as Dante had put it and had tried to kill Lady. To make matters worse he didn't remember any of it. Nero was brought out of his brooding as he heard Dante return down the stairs with a clean bowl of steaming hot water in one hand, and clean washcloth in the other.

"I'm all for being clean and all, but that's just gross kid."

'It's…bothering me,' Nero replied, but stopped his self-cleaning all the same.

"Yeah I get that, here let me help," the elder stated as he sat the bowl on the floor and after wetting the washcloth resumed trying to clean Nero's fur.

Silence reigned for awhile before Nero finally asked what he dreaded the answer too.

'Hey Dante…what if, what if this get's worse. What if I lose it completely and don't come back as…as me…'

"That won't happen kid, I already told you that Lady is getting the books we need and we're going to find a cure as soon as she gets back." Dante stated a little roughly as he scrubbed at a particularly stubborn patch of fur.

'What if there isn't a cure?'

"There is, there's a cure for everything." The elder stated as he returned the cloth to the bowl to rinse it out.

Silence once again took its place between the two and Nero was left to brood in his thoughts as he slowly relaxed into the elders large hands as they continued to work on his matter fur. He didn't know how to read the elder hunter anymore. A part of him wanted to believe more than anything that Dante was doing this because he had feelings for him that ran far deeper than mere friendship but…

'Why are you doing this Dante, I don't want your guilt or your pity,' Nero bit out harshly as he stood, planning on putting some distance between himself and said hunter when a hand on the collar around his neck stopped him. Blue met blue, and Nero felt like howling in frustration and heartache as he was forced to stare into those beautiful icy depths.

"Nero. I…I need you, and I can not lose you. You mean more to me than anything else on this earth. I want make you, you again, but I don't care what you look like. I meant it when I said you were beautiful, no matter what shape you're in. I just want you all of you," Dante stated as wrapped his other hand around Nero's Bringer.

Not for the first time, but certainly the worst, Nero wanted to scream at his lack of a human body, mainly his lack of arms, hands and lips. Almost as if he sensed his pain, Dante leaned forward and placed both hand on either side of Nero's head and placed his forehead against Nero's own and began rubbing slow circles through the thick fur beneath them. Nero closed his eyes and leaned into the touch…a single tear escaping as he felt his heart and soul melt as well.

'Dante…'

"I should have said something before, but I was to much of a chicken shit, and I'm not exactly known for my commitment, but I swear to you…I only want you for as long as you'll have me," Dante whispered as he placed a small lingering kiss between Nero's closed eyes and brought his thumb up to wipe away the single tear.

'I want you too old man…I have for a long time,' Nero whispered as he leaned into the elder's kiss.

Silence once again filled the shop, but this time in a comforting way, as the two sat basking in each others warmth, as Dante once again began to clean his future mate's fur until the white shown like fresh fallen snow.

~*To Be Continued*~

Author's Note: Sorry if this was a little OCC, I tried to keep it pretty true to character, but anyway. Thanks for reading!