Wow, this one came along quite quickly! Hopefully I can keep to a better schedule this time. Thanks to all of you being so patient with this!

SirenaLoreley: Thanks for the review! I'll be explaining more about how the Incubi (well, mine anyway!) feed as the story goes along. Oh yes, Dante is certainly the innocent one here for a change, I'm not being kind to him! XD

Semjaza: Thank you for reviewing! I'm pleased that you're enjoying it so much so far, especially in regards to my Incubi. I always do like to include Lady and Trish (I like them as a couple!), so I'm glad you like how they're portrayed here.

Warrior Nun: Thanks for the review and yes, he is indeed! :3

Flowing Tears: Thanks for reviewing, I now have a brilliant image in my head of Lady and Trish showing up in the boys' bedroom to film them for blackmailing purposes (youtube anyone?)! I loved your comment about the death by Incubus part, mainly because of how I plan to mention differences between heterosexual and homosexual Incubi later in the story! XP

Thanks for your reviews again, you guys do keep me going! Be warned, there is a bit of angst in this chapter (I'm seriously hurting Dante here...).

Chapter 5 – The Pattern of Pain

The next three days yielded no positive results. Lady reported in with no unusual deaths, Trish hadn't caught the scent of anything out of the ordinary, Nero was getting frustrated and Dante was just plain bored. Since the death of Striker, they'd been around every pub in town each night and ended up in Love Planet each night; nothing. There had been no sign of either Incubus, the first one with the apparent golden eyes or the second one with the spicy scent. What had Nero frustrated was the fact he was convinced the newer Incubus was Vince and Dante refused to believe him. But with no action from them, he was far from close to convincing his mate of that fact. It also didn't help that the lack of action was boring Dante and, when the elder became bored, he was easily distracted. Nero, being frustrated with his older lover, had been denying him the pleasure of a decent nightly romp and was dealing with the consequences. It wasn't that he didn't want to sleep with Dante, he was just annoyed that he refused to even consider the possibility of Vince being an Incubus. When Nero was annoyed, Nero wasn't in the mood for sex.

However, on the night of the fourth consecutive day of turning up nothing, Nero had been left alone in the office with Trish after the elder had accepted a mission to clear away a load of Frosts. He had been pleased at the prospect with some action so had jumped at the chance. That and he probably intended to try and kill off some of his sexual frustration by riddling a few demons full of holes. The younger hunter sighed, almost happy when Dante left the office. Naturally he loved the man's company, but trying to hold back the guy's incessant horniness was a pain, especially with his devil side begging to dominate or to be dominated. Now he was alone with Trish, he thought he'd try and relieve some of his frustration by questioning her about Vince. She used to live with Dante, so she must have seen the guy before.

"Trish, can I ask you something?" he queried.

The blonde smirked. "Is this to do with your present discomfort?"

The teen blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

"I'm a demon Nero, everything is obvious to a point. You're frustrated about something and thus not in the mood to accept Dante's needs, but you're devil side has similar needs and is trying to get you to deal with them."

"Great, you can read me like a damn picture book."

Trish smiled. "What did you want to ask?"

Nero sighed, kicking his feet up on Dante's old oak desk much in the same fashion as the older hunter. "I recognised the scent of the second Incubus from a guy we met at Love Planet, but Dante refuses to believe me."

"Is Dante familiar with this guy?"

"Yeah, he used to be an escort. His name's Vince, I was wondering if you 'd seen him."

"Vince?" Trish looked thoughtful for a moment. "Black hair, about this sort of length..." she indicated to just above her shoulders. "Numerous ear piercings, hauntingly beautiful with a really kind, soothing voice?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"Dante used to bring him home quite a lot, especially when his luck was really getting down when it came to men and money. He told me that Vince was the number one at the male escort agency and very popular. Good in bed too, apparently."

"You don't seem to remember it so fondly."

The leather clad demon chuckled. "I have no problem with Dante being gay, just when he woke me up at night when he brought home his conquests. Aside from the obvious, I don't think anyone has heard such a range of male voices as I have."

Nero laughed. "He really was that much of a slut then?"

"Oh yes, but don't hold that against him. His heart's always in the right place."

"Is that why he refuses to believe I could be right about Vince?"

Trish frowned. "I've met Vince on a few occasions and I have to say, he's only every smelt of human. Admittedly, he is a pro when it comes to seducing men, but I never took it as anything more than an escort thing. However, if there is one thing that strikes me odd, it's the cologne that Vince wore; it's strikingly similar to the scent from the second Incubus."

"That's what I keep saying to Dante, but he disagrees!"

"Now I'm somewhat concerned."

A flash of worried seared through Nero's chest. "What do you mean?"

"If what you say is true and Vince is an Incubus... can you be more certain?"

"I met Vince at Love Planet when we were looking for the Incubus that killed the young escort. My devil side instantly reacted to him, almost to the point where I would even forget about Dante just to get a piece of him. It was... I can only say terrifying."

"Did Dante notice?"

Nero shook his head. "We left after that. But what I did notice and I can say this for both of us, is that when we returned home, I had the sudden urge to dominate Dante. I mean, I've topped before because Dante likes it both ways and wanted to teach me, but this time was different. Not only did I need to claim him, I was... err... ridiculously turned on..."

Trish sighed and leaned back on the leather sofa. "Seems like Vince is one of our Incubi."

The kid almost felt relieved. "Then you believe me?"

"That reaction is typical of someone who'd been touched by an Incubus."

"Then why won't Dante see that?"

"Dante's known Vince longer than he's known me; when he introduced us, he told me they first met a few months after Temen-ni-gru."

"After what?"

"I take it Dante hasn't told you about his brother Vergil?"

"Not much, just that he thinks he's dead but isn't really sure."

"I'll say no more, he needs to tell you that in his own time. But Dante was, according to Lady, a bit of a mess for a long while after that incident and, when he finally went out again, he started seeing men from the escort agency. Vince was the first and has been one of Dante's regulars ever since. I'm concerned that because they've known each other so well, he's just blind to what the man really is. But what bothers me is that he's always smelt completely human."

"Can Incubi... I dunno... lose their powers somehow?"

Trish thought for a moment. "There is a way that can happen, yes. Incubi can feed off each other without causing harm, but they can also complete absorb the other's powers. When that happens, the Incubus doesn't die but just loses all of his demonic power and essentially becomes almost human. He would smell human to any demon, even a fellow Incubus."

"Okay, so can they get their powers back?"

"Oh yes, the same way as they were lost."

"Then maybe that happened to Vince."

The demonic woman leaned even further back into the red leather. "That would explain why Vince was so easily able to become the best of the agency... and seduce men so easily. Just because they have no demonic power of seduction anymore, that doesn't mean they can't seduce any less easily. In fact, it would be too easy."

Nero bit his lower lip. "Could Dante be under Vince's spell or something?"

She glanced at Nero somewhat sadly. "Yes."

"Shit!" the young devil hunter kicked his feet off the desk. "What if he's a target or something? He went out on that mission with a pair of Incubi around, most likely already under the spell of one and I'm not with him! What if he... he..."

"Calm down Nero, you haven't thought all of it through."

"What if Vince wants to get in Dante's pants? He wants to take my mate!"

Trish got to her feet, picking up the dark edge to the teenager's voice as his devil side reared up at the thought. "It's highly likely Vince has entranced Dante so that he simply ignores him. If it had always been his intention to get his powers back, he doesn't want a Devil Hunter after him, does he?"

Nero blinked at the woman before sighing and relaxing back into the chair.

"He may have done this so he could escape Dante," Trish continued. "He's not been around town for days, so I would guess he succeeded. He wants to live just as much as any demon and Dante was a threat to that. Now he's away, he can feed to his heart's content."

"You do talk sense Trish," the kid muttered.

Before the blonde could speak again, the double doors to the office were flung open, cold air instantly blowing away the inside heat. Nero and Trish turned to watch as Lady walked in, a thick fur lined coat over her leathers and her helmet tucked under one arm.

"Is Dante in?" she asked, an unusually concerned edged to her voice.

"Not right now," Trish replied. "He's out on a job."

"Good, then I don't have to break it to him straight away."

"What is it? Someone else has been killed?"

"Yeah, in the next place out of town."

"That explains why there's been no trace for a while."

"You're not going to believe who was killed."

"Who?"

"What's the problem babes?"

Lady jumped slightly as the red clad devil hunter entered the office behind her, Rebellion resting on one shoulder. The urge to shoot him for that was quickly overridden by the news she had to give him.

"There's been another death," Trish explained.

"Finally," Dante grunted. "This is all getting very tedious. Who is it now?"

"Good question."

Everyone in the room turned to look at Lady, who for once was feeling rather nervous at being put on the spot like this.

The brunette bit her lip. "Someone we've not seen for a long time."

"Come on Lady, who?" the elder asked, getting impatient.

"It's Lance."

It was exceptionally rare that Dante refused to drive. Nero had been given brief instructions on which signs to follow to get to the town, but that was it. The elder hadn't said another word since then as he sat in the passenger seat, one arm draped over the side of the door while the icy breeze ruffled his hair. The younger glanced at him for the umpteenth time since they left Devil May Cry, still failing to gain a response. Whoever this Lance had been, just hearing of either his death or his name had made the older male silent as the grave. He had seen him saddened by the death of Striker, but this seemed to hit him on a different level. Was Lance another lover? Had it been something serious? Nero began to feeler colder than the winter air at the thought that he really didn't know much about his lover at all.

The two continued to remain silent as the younger hunter drove into the town on the way towards the address Lady had given him. He drove by a club that was preparing to open up for the night, the neon green sign pulsing the name Gilgamesh in a rhythmic way. Nero recalled this particular establishment being mentioned when they'd met Vince at Love Planet, the thought instantly forcing him to glance at his mate. Dante still wasn't returning his gaze, but he didn't get the feeling it was because he didn't want to. He wasn't focused in reality at all, the younger beginning to feel even more concerned. The younger hunter growled a little, returning his focus back on the road as he turned down a new street to find the apartment block. If this was Vince's doing and if he hurt Dante by killing anyone else, he would personally kick his hauntingly beautiful ass.

Once they'd pulled up in front of one of the modern apartments, the two hunters got out of the car, their guns all in place and at the ready in case the Incubus had hung around. In the biting winter breeze, Nero briefly picked up on the same spicy scent as before, the claws on his Bringer unconsciously clenching into a fist. The conversation with Trish kept spinning round his head as they entered the apartment, the smell getting stronger and stronger. If Dante's under the Incubus's influence, then it's all up to me, Nero thought grimly as the approached the police tape covered door that was slightly ajar. The more experienced hunter stopped in front of the door for a few moments, taking a deep breath before letting it out shakily.

"You okay, old man?" asked Nero softly.

Dante paused for a moment. "No, kid."

The younger part devil made to take his partner's hand, but the older male had already pushed open the door and ducked under the tape. Nero stared after him sadly for a moment before doing the same, the spicy aroma burning his nostrils for a moment as he entered the room. It was quite dark inside as all the curtains were shut, but Nero could still here Dante moving about. He walked over to one of the walls, searching for a light switch until he eventually found it.

Now the room was fully lit, he could see that it was very well furnished, everything carrying a sleek, modern design that didn't detract from the comfortable looking surroundings. This Lance probably earned a fair bit from whatever job he had. Nero walked through the door that led the en suit bathroom, pausing in the threshold when he caught sight of Dante. The image was very much the same as it had been with Striker; the older male was sat on the edge of the double bed next to the deceased male. Only this time, he seemed afraid to touch him. Like it was forbidden to him. Nero felt a lump catch in his throat at the sight, a small bit of anger welling up inside at the Incubus that did this. A pattern had emerged in the three killings so far; each of them could easily be connected to Dante. The young escort, the former hustler Striker and now this guy. Only each one seemed to hit the elder hunter worse than the previous.

Breathing deeply, the teen slowly approached the double bed that was dressed in black satin sheets, almost feeling nervous as he reached out and touched Dante's shoulder. What happened next surprised the younger male. Dante instantly leaned over to him and wrapped his arms tightly about his waist, burying his face into his chest. Nero almost choked as he felt something wet soak into the red fabric of his hooded jacket, his fingers instantly reaching to thread through Dante's white mane. He held his sobbing mate closer to him, his azure eyes landing on the figure of the man lying peacefully on the bed. He was incredibly attractive with a strong, manly face, beautiful pale skin and messy red hair framing his features. He was naked apart from a pair of tight purple boxers. The rest of his skin was probably paler than Nero's; the alabaster flesh stretched firmly over taught abs and perfectly sculptured muscles. Dante's type without a doubt.

"Just don't try to tell me you didn't love this guy," Nero whispered soothingly.

Dante tightened his grip around him. "I did, Nero. I really did. Before you, he was... so much to me."

"Then tell me what happened."

In the next few minutes, Nero had prepared hot chocolate for both himself and Dante in the dead man's kitchen. He had made sure he'd sat his companion down in the living room away from where his former lover now lay deceased. The older male still looked miserable as Nero joined him on the squashy sofa, handing him one mug of the steaming drink. Dante accepted it gladly, taking a sip and pulling back slightly as he burnt his tongue.

"Hot," he grumbled.

"Moron," Nero chuckled lightly.

Dante smiled weakly. "I'm so grateful for you, kid."

"Then don't call me 'kid'."

"Never."

The kid smiled and gently rubbed his mate's shoulder. "So, you gonna talk?"

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"Nope."

The elder sighed lightly. "You've already guessed Lance used to be my lover, right?"

"Yeah, that would have been hard to miss. Besides, the guy looked like the type you go for."

"Oh yeah, he certainly was," Dante smiled wistfully. "I remember when I first met him on a night out at Gilgamesh; he just stood out from everyone else and I had to have him. At that moment, I guess I never knew what would come from meeting him."

"Gilgamesh? That's the club here right?"

"Yeah. There's no gay club back home, so I used to come here a lot."

"Let me guess; you'd rent a room in a motel for the night, go to the club, scout for some hot guy and then bring him back for a night of fun?"

"Got it in one, babe."

"But Lance... he was different, wasn't he?"

Dante took another sip of hot chocolate, his shoulders beginning to shake a little. "At first, I never intended it to go further than a night. From first glances, he was just another pretty face with a hot body to match. So I took him back, fucked him for the night and then I had to run off before he woke up to kill a few demons. It just so happened I returned to Gilgamesh again that night and we met again. Seemed he was looking for me so he could force half of the room bill out of me! I totally forgot I left him with it."

"So what happened when he saw you again?"

"He kicked my ass."

Nero had to laugh. "Definitely your type."

"I don't think there's any guy in the world other than me who could fall in love while curled up on the floor clutching at his crotch!"

"You must have looked like an idiot."

"Guess I did."

"And?"

"He helped me back up, saying he'd punished me enough and asked if I wanted to go somewhere else for drink and a pizza. Naturally, at the mention of pizza, all was forgiven and we left the club together like nothing had happened. We just spent the night talking. It was like we'd known each other for years by the time we left. He invited me back to his, I couldn't say no, so I went. We watched a movie with some ice cream, talked some more, started kissing and very quickly things got hot again. I woke up in the guy's bed the next morning and for the first time in years, I didn't feel like leaving for the office, whether it was something I probably should have done or not. When he woke up, we spent some more time together before I eventually had to leave and go home. Lady shot me several times for missing her calls for at least three jobs."

"So you continued seeing him?"

"Yeah," Dante drained the rest of his hot chocolate and relaxed back on the sofa. "It was just casual dating at first, including the sex of course. In fact he was just as much of a slut as me and for him, I was actually the first guy he'd been serious with. We had so much in common and so many differences that we just seemed perfect for each other. From a month or two of being casual, things quickly turned serious."

"Did he ever know about what you do? Hunting demons and all that."

"He found out completely by accident! We were out one day looking for somewhere to eat; like you he kept trying to convince me to eat something other than pizza. On the way, we ran into a nest of Hellhounds. It was his first time seeing real demons and he wanted to run like hell! Fortunately I had my guns on me, so I was able to deal with the things pretty quickly. Lance was still in shock by the time I'd finished, so I took him back to Devil May Cry for the first time. I expected things to be over between us then; most guys I bought home who knew I was a devil hunter rather than just a collector of strange weapons tended to run out on me pretty quickly. But not him. He stayed and didn't give a damn that I made a living running around with swords and guns killing demons. In fact, he thought it was cool! I told him being with me could be dangerous, I told him my job was very important, but he still didn't care. I was probably the happiest I'd been for a long time when he told me that."

Nero set his empty mug down and wrapped his arms about his mate's neck. "Things must have been pretty lonely before you met Lance, right?"

Dante smiled as Nero nuzzled the junction of his neck. "Very. Being a devil hunter isn't good when it comes to trying to hold down a decent relationship. Unless of course, if you're lover happens to be one too," he kissed Nero softly before continuing. "For months and months after, it was like living a dream. Lance started to spend more time round the office with me; hell I even took him round to Love Planet and introduced him to some of the escorts! By the time we'd been together a year it seemed like nothing could go wrong..."

The elder paused for a bit, a lump forming in his throat. Nero raised his head to look at him, gently stroking his hair with his human hand. "What happened?" he asked.

Dante closed his eyes and rested his head back. "My devil side, that's what."

The teen worried his bottom lip for a moment. "Don't hold back on me, old man."

"I'm part demon, Nero. What else would you expect?"

"I don't know, I've never actually been able to explore my demon side, have I?"

He sighed. "True..." he leaned forwards again, smiling slightly as Nero's human fingers still stroked through his hair comfortingly. "All devils have a mating instinct, that's what I meant. I guess it's something you wouldn't be aware of, having never been put in a situation like that. I'd never been in a relationship that long before and, because my devil side has never been interested in mating with any of the human men I took home, I didn't give it any thought. Eventually, I started having to fight the urge to claim Lance as my mate."

"Like you did with me?"

"Yeah."

Nero's azure orbs widened. "Shit! You mean you... did you?"

Dante nodded his head solemnly. "Lance only joked with me at the time, saying I seemed hornier than usual. I was trying desperately to hold back on having sex with him, but with him being like me, there was no hope. I was hesitating, so he decided he was going to top me; that was nothing unusual, we switched positions all the time. My devil side instantly caught onto this, feeling that it had to be the dominant one. I was holding it back until Lance tried to fuck me and..."

The elder bit his lip, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Nero inched closer towards him again, his Devil Bringer now gently enclosing one of Dante's strong hands. "Dante."

"I... I took charge and pinned him down and then... then I bit into him to try and mark him. It wouldn't have been unpleasant for him, marking during mating isn't that simple, but it shocked him. He'd seen my eyes turn red and naturally tried to get away to see what was wrong. My devil side took that as playing hard to get, so when he kept struggling, I just got more turned on until the point where I... shit..." he held his head in his hands. "I Triggered on him, Nero. I tried to mate with him while Triggered; he didn't know I was a half devil... I never told him."

The younger hunter wrapped his arms back around his mate, holding him close while he continued. "I struggle to remember exactly what happened; I know I didn't go any further than attempting to mate, but I don't recall how long it took me to calm my devil side down. I'd never seen Lance look so frightened, it was worse than it had been with any other demons he'd seen. I don't think I've ever seen that expression on any man before. I tried to explain myself, but I knew it would do no good. I hurt the man I love and... and my damn devil side would have been more than willing to take him without his permission if I hadn't had stopped myself! So I let him leave. He returned the next day and took his things home, I never saw him again, not even at Gilgamesh. That all happened four years ago."

The teen remained silent for a time, still gently trying to comfort the elder slayer. He had never thought of that before. The idea of Dante's devil side actually having different sexual needs to Dante himself. Now it all made sense, of course. Nero knew himself that his own devil side had responded to Dante's desires to mate. Having sex when Triggered had always been a different experience than when not, but he had never thought of it like that before. When the elder male took human lovers, there was no way any of those men could face up to a fully Triggered half demon in the bedroom. Lance's reactions had been understandable and, in that instance, Nero fully comprehended why Dante was so lonely. Because of his devil side, he'd never be able to hold down a long term stable relationship with a full human. It just wouldn't work.

"God Dante," Nero murmured. "I'm so sorry."

Dante shrugged. "It happened, didn't it? I didn't cause Lance any serious injury. But I broke him so badly all the same. I was responsible for what happened to him and I wanted to try and find him to see if he was okay, but I never could. I think he left for a while and I just had to force myself to forget about him. I've never forgiven myself for what happened to him and it just reminded me all over again why I shouldn't have anyone. Why no one should be with me."

The elder turned to gently stroke Nero's cheek. "But then I met you. A part devil I could trust myself to court properly, the only reason why I couldn't do it the way I wanted being because Fortuna made you hate your demon side. I was so afraid that you'd reject me that I couldn't say anything to you straight out! You were my best chance at easing my loneliness."

Nero smirked. "I know you've just poured your heart out to me and all, but lines don't come much cheesier than that, old man!"

Dante managed to laugh at that. "Hey, it happens."

"How did you try to forget about Lance? It must have been hard even for you."

"How do you think, kid? I drank the night away in Gilgamesh and didn't leave until I had at least one guy on my arm after taking a few in the back room."

"Tch, should have guessed that was coming."

"Well, you know me," he nuzzled the teen's cheek. "Dante the man whore."

Nero chuckled. "Yeah..." he paused for a moment, Dante sitting back up again to observe his mate while he remained silent in thought. "How about we go there now."

"Hmm, where?"

"Gilgamesh."

Dante raised a silvery eyebrow. "You sure? A punk bitch like you in the sexiest gay club this side of town? The same punk bitch brought up in a religious city as tight as your cute little butt?"

"Shut up, asshole. I'm trying to suggest something nice for you!"

"Then why ask me to go there?"

"Because I want you to have a good time; drink and dance as much as you want. The only thing I want to be different is that you don't have to just take anyone for the night. I expect you to give me a good night, then take me home and fuck me all night long."

The elder hunter stared at him for a moment, almost gobsmacked by what his younger lover was suggesting. The same kid who hated it when he smelt and tasted of alcohol. The same kid who was jealous when he danced because of all the eyes watching him. The same little spitfire who complained if he was taken out clubbing too often. Dante smiled.

"Thanks babe," he murmured, kissing his lover on the lips.

"Then let's go," Nero replied, a thoughtful smile crossing his lips. "I've never been to a proper gay club before."

"But not right away, we need to go home first."

Nero titled his head questioningly. "For what?"

Dante grinned devilishly. "We can't go to Gilgamesh dressed like this."

I'm going to have fun with the next chapter... a lot of fun! :3