Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of the Devil May Cry characters in this fiction, if I did, Kyrie would have died in the first ten minutes of the game, very brutally and with lots of blood, Dante and Nero would be together...and Vergil would be shirtless in the third game...and Arkham would wear a frilly princess dress for my entertainment.

Rated Mature for Blood, Gore, Language, Angst, Future Hot Man Sex, Hurting Nero, and Hurting Dante. I'm cruel to everyone~!

Chapter Seven: Rubbing Salt in Old Wounds

Dante sighed sadly as he grabbed another large strip of gauze from his desk, sort of missing the coffee table he had yet to replace. He made his way back to the couch where the injured slayer was resting, lifting Nero's head gently as he carefully wrapped the gauze around the deep claw marks on his neck. The elder devil hunter turned his head away as he saw that the wounds were still bleeding. He was used to bandaging the younger man's wounds but they were always from some demon that caught him off guard or a mission that he took on his own in an attempt to prove himself, never Dante's own hand. The older hunter did not even glance at the large cut across the ex-order member's chest, knowing all too well that healing a wound from Rebellion took a bit more demon blood than the other man had.

Or maybe he has the same... Dante shook his head before standing to get more gauze and rummage through the small first aid kit to see if there was still some pain killers for when the other woke up. Vergil died ten years ago. My brother died long before that. I don't need to open old wounds because of a damn rabbit. Dante slammed his fist onto the oak of his desk. The wood creaked at the harsh treatment as he cursed the missing pain killers, taking out his anger on the minor issue. It doesn't matter anymore. Nero's more important than any of that and I finally got him back. Even if I did hurt him...I hope he heals soon. Damn it, Dante, get your mind off the heavy stuff. Nero is back. He's breathing and that damn rabbit and any other demon brave enough to even think of going near him is going to be dead when I get my hands on them. I swear it.

"Dan...te?" A half choked voice broke through his thoughts. Dante tore his eyes away from glaring holes into the first aid kit to see Nero grabbing the back of the couch with his devil bringer and attempting to sit up, one of his azure eyes closed tightly as a few drops of blood slid down the young hunter's chest. The older man dropped his search for the pain killers, rushing to Nero's side and helping him sit up before he made his wounds worse.

"Kid, you shouldn't be up already. I haven't even gotten around to resetting your arm yet." Dante said, concern filling his eyes as he glanced at the younger man's still limp arm. "Do me a favor and actually listen to me. Lie down and try not to move your arm yet."

"I'm fine, old...man." Nero breathed, trying to ignore the pain the seemed to assault him from several places at once. He did not even want to look down at his left arm, a disturbing numbness in his fingers and a sharp pain in his upper arm telling him he would not be able to fight with Red Queen for a while. He panted lightly and swallowed occasionally as a small amount of blood filled his mouth, hiding the possible internal injures he had from the older demon slayer. "Just let me-" Nero bit his bottom lip sharply when he started to stand up, his left arm hitting the edge of the couch and sending a spike of screaming pain through him.

"Nero." The younger man opened his eyes meeting Dante's ice blues. He let go of his lip when he saw the caring stern look on the man's face, his eyes holding a hint of regret at the younger hunter's condition as well as something else entirely that made Nero's breath hitch. He sighed after a moment before carefully lying back down on the couch, covering his eyes with the forearm of his devil bringer as he closed them.

Dante leaned in and pecked Nero on the lips lightly before returning to the first aid kit, searching for the pain killers again and something to use as a sling for the injured man's arm. Nero waited a few moments, opening his mouth to speak only when Dante returned to his side.

"What about you, old man?" He asked, lifting his arm enough to watch the other set the gauze aside along with the sling he normally used to hide his demonic arm. Dante raised an eyebrow at the comment, gently feeling the young man's upper arm as he tried to judge if the bone needed resetting or if it would heal properly.

"What do you mean, kid?"

"You weren't really yourself when I passed out. What the hell happened to y-ou?" Nero yelled out the last word, wincing as a sharp pain came from his arm as the elder set the bone back to where it was suppose to be. He sucked in a breath slowly as he felt a small kiss on his left shoulder, cool cloth wrapping around the break. Dante helped him into the sling before he replied.

"I'd rather not explain or recall it. Rabi sent us back when he realized I wasn't going to go along with his little plan. I'm just glad that I got you back before those damn demons could kill you." Dante carefully checked the gauze wrapped around the younger man's neck, sighing in relief when the red stains were smaller than his first few attempts on stopping the bleeding. "Your wounds are starting to close up already."

Nero nodded, groaning after and deciding not to repeat the action as it moved his neck too much. He lifted his devil bringer from over his eyes, about to repeat that he would be fine on his own when he noticed part of the red hide that covered his middle and ring fingers was missing, a large crack in the remaining hide running down to his wrist. The blue skin underneath glowed dimly, dried blood covering the parts that had just grown to replace the red hide.

"I don't think that's going to grow back, kid." Dante said, boldly taking the younger slayer's devil bringer into his hand and running a thumb across the new skin. Nero shivered as a confusing mix of pain and pleasure ran up his arm. He tore his hand away from the older hunter's hand after a few swaps of the gauze cleaned off the dried blood, a faint blush on his cheeks as he glanced down at himself and finally noticed that he was still naked.

"Erm...Dante? Why-?" Dante laughed as he finished bandaging the large gash on the other man's chest, realizing why Nero was blushing.

"I told you, we just got back. I was so concerned about stopping you from bleeding to death, I guess I forgot about modesty." He smirked at his own jest and stood up from crouching by Nero's side. "I'll go get you something to change into. Stay here and don't move and maybe I'll think about ordering something besides pizza for...What time is it anyway? Huh."

Dante walked up the stairs, checking the clock and raising an eyebrow at how it was nearly eight at night. Time flies in the demon world, I guess. He thought, frowning as he remembered that he had lost a few of his spare clothes there. What was worst was that he could not find Ebony anywhere and Ivory was in pretty bad shape. That's two guns, a coat, a pair of my favorite boxers lost to that fucking place. I don't get paid enough for this.

The devil hunter pushed open the door to his room, throwing off the shreds of his red leather coat and clothes. He pulled on a pair of leather pants before grabbing the closest shirt and boxers he found, not really paying attention as he heard a yelp of pain come from the downstairs office. Dante made his way back down the steps, sighing and placing a hand on his hip as he saw Nero lying with his face kissing the floor.

"I told you not to move, kid."

"Shut up." Nero said, the words muffled by the floor as it hurt too much to turn his head to the side. He groaned lightly as he moved his devil bringer under his chest, pushing up so he would not have to taste the wood and tile to speak. "I tried to stand up and my left leg refused to hold me up." Dante held back a laugh and set the clothes on a side of the couch, leaning down and helping the younger hunter back onto the brown leather.

"That's because you came really close to loosing your leg, idiot." Dante smiled and messed up the other slayer's already tangled hair. "Whatever you ran into down there didn't play very nice."

"Tell me about it." Nero said, a yawn catching him as his eyes started to droop again. "I might have to take up on that offer of something to eat later. I want to get a few hours of sleep before another demon breaks in here and takes me hostage at three in the fucking morning."

"Alright. I'll help you upstairs." Dante stood and offered a hand to the younger devil hunter, humming in confusion as he pushed the hand away.

"I can do it without your help, old man." The elder could not help but laugh this time.

"Kid, you couldn't even stand up without falling flat on your face. And, as amusing as watching you fall down the stairs after acting like a proud punk would be, I care too much about you to let you do that." Dante grinned as Nero crossed his devil bringer over his chest, sticking his tongue out at the older man before attempting to get up himself again. The older man watched Nero struggle to his feet, catching him as he started to fall. He grinned and tossed the injured man over his shoulder, ignoring the shouts and cursing of his name as he carried him up the stairs and into the bedroom.

"Put me down, Dante! Come on already." Nero hit the older hunter lightly with his devil bringer, snorting angrily when Dante nearly dropped him on the bed. "You said I was healing already. You don't need to-" He was silenced when he felt the elder's lips on his, a warm hand cupping the side of his cheek. The ex-order member let out a puff of air before kissing back, glad that Dante was still Dante. The older devil hunter parted their lips after a long moment, leaning his forehead against the younger slayer's.

"I need to and want to, Nero. It's my fault you're like this and I want to make up for it." Dante stared into the captivating azure eyes that had grown on him, wondering what part he was making up for, ten years ago or an hour ago. "Get some sleep and don't get out of the bed alone. I'll hear you if you do." He kissed him again and tossed the sheets over him before leaving the room, not sure how he was feeling at the moment.