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.
Chapter Eight: Past and Present Demons
The rain was still pouring heavily outside, drumming against the windows as a sharp crash of lightning struck occasionally. It was hard to tell what time it was from the sky. The swirling black clouds blocking any light from breaking through the clouds other than that from the streaks of powerful electricity.
Dante paced the floor of the office, a wary feeling that everything was not over yet sinking into his mind and distracting him from doing anything to get his mind off the ordeal of the day before. He wondered if he should have stayed upstairs and slept with the younger hunter, just to make sure he would be alright with the extent of his wounds and that he would be there in the morning this time instead of in the hands of some ugly demon. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he did not even search the fridge for anything edible that was still good enough to eat nor did he notice that he was using the white hoodie he had taken Nero for the very first time in as a pillow.
Dante fell asleep on the brown leather couch, not able to get his mind off the injured young man and his late brother. He woke up a few times in the early mornings as memories of fighting Vergil flooded his dreams, Nero sometimes taking the place of his deceased twin. The devil hunter woke in a cold sweat when Nero took Vergil's place as he fell into the demon world without him. It was torture to live through that once and he was determined not to live it again with the younger man.
The opening and closing of the front door in the office woke Nero from his deep and dreamless sleep. He stretched his devil bringer over his head as he opened his eyes, glancing at the clock and wondering why Dante would be leaving the office or even awake before noon. The young slayer also felt a little worried at how the older man had not slept in the same bed as him, knowing that he was injured but that did not mean he wanted Dante to stay away from him.
He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, pushing the confusing thoughts out of his mind. His chest still ached slightly but it was not as bad as his arm, the bone still stitching itself together as he looked over the red and purple bruised skin. He swung his legs over the side of the bed as he tossed the sheets off himself, glad that the gash in the back of his left leg had healed until it was nothing more than a light scar.
Nero pulled himself up with a little help of the bedside table, blushing faintly at how he was still not dressed and grimacing at how he was still covered in a thin sheen of violet goo. He grabbed some of the clothes Dante had bought him over the months from their shared closet, heading to rinse himself off in the shower before carefully pulling on the black jeans and thin navy t-shirt. After a moment, he headed back to the bedroom, grabbing his holster and Blue Rose from the bedside table. He decided to carry a weapon from now on, in case another demon reared its ugly head and attempted to hold him hostage half naked in the demon world.
Nero froze at the stop of the stairs as he heard a mummer of hushed female voices in the office, peering down to see two woman chuckling at a sleeping Dante lying on the couch. He hesitated on greeting them, not sure why they were there in the first place. The brown haired woman by the door must have heard him, her mismatched eyes catching him and her hand went to the large customized missile launcher strapped to her back. Nero's own hand went to his revolver, not able to pull it out of its holster when the blond woman put a hand on the brunette's shoulder.
"Come on down, Nero. We are not here to hunt you." The blond woman said, looking up at him with a smile on her face. Nero raised an eyebrow, recalling the voice and seeing the woman next to Dante during the Savior incident.
"Gloria?" He questioned as he relaxed and made his way down from the small balcony. The woman chuckled lightly, remembering meeting the young man while under her disguise.
"I prefer 'Trish'." She said, taking her hand off the brunette's shoulder and smiling at the younger woman as Kalina Ann was put away. "And this is Lady. We're sort of partners of Dante. We just wanted to pop in and see how he was doing."
"He's sleeping on the job again. I'm pretty sure that means he's fine." Lady crossed her arms over her chest, glaring down at the sleeping devil hunter before glancing up to Nero. "Hmm, wait a second. Is he..." She turned to look at Trish, a smile finding its way onto her lips as the blond haired woman nodded. "Oh, so you're the kid Dante won't shut up about. He kept calling us while we were on our mission to talk about you and he didn't even mention your name. Trish had her guesses though."
The elder woke to the smell of something delicious floating through the office, his growling stomach waking him up and demanding he find the source. He lifted the arm he had over his eyes, shutting them immediately when the bright lights of the office shined in his eyes. Dante made a mental note to turn the lights off before he fell asleep in the office next time, not wanting to think of how much the electricity was going to add to the accumulating bill of yesterday. He stood up from the couch, following his nose into the kitchen as he wondered who had broken into the office to cook what he almost thought was steak. He assumed he was hallucinating until he walked into the kitchen, eyes widening when he saw Nero standing over the stove cooking the steaks he thought he was just imagining.
"Hey, kid. How are you feeling this morning?" Dante asked as he walked up behind the other and wrapped his arms around his waist, nuzzling the back of the younger man's neck. He smiled when he felt a shiver run down Nero's spine at the light touch.
"Better." The ex-order member attempted to keep his attention on the frying pan in front of him. It was hard enough to cook one handed without Dante's breath on the nape of his neck. "You finally woke up. You missed two girls that stopped by to see you." Dante groaned softly, now certain that something was out for his wallet.
"Let me guess. A blond and brunette that probably threatened to shoot me in the crotch when they found me on the couch?" He sighed when the younger devil hunter nodded. "Forgot to warn you about them, kid. Where did you get the steak from? I don't remember buying any recently."
"I asked Trish and that other girl to head to the store for me. I told them that I was sick of eating pizza for every meal and they got this for us. They said that they would just collect the money from you later. They had to run off for a mission an hour or so ago so I started lunch without them." Nero felt the elder press his forehead to the back of his neck, a loud groan coming from the older man.
"Damn it, kid. You just gave Lady and Trish another reason to add to my debt. At this rate, I'll never be able to get out of it. I'll be dead for forty years before Lady decides to give up on collecting it from me." Dante kissed the nape of the other slayer's neck unable to resist the urge as he lifted his head up to look over the younger man's shoulder. "I have to admit, it looks good though."
"You're in debt? I thought you made a couple thousand per job around here." Nero ignored another shudder that wanted to run down his spine at the lips that had pressed against his skin, getting out plates from the cupboard next to the stove instead. He had to let go of the pan's handle to move the elder's hand, unable to reach said cupboard with Dante's arms trapping him and a hand slipping down his torso slowly.
"Sometimes. Other times, I don't even get paid. When I actually do, those leeches suck nearly every last penny out of me. I have to hide money in several places in my room before I can even think about leaving the office. I wish I could find all of it when I get back..." Dante watched as Nero set the two steaks onto the plates, not wanting to detach himself even when the younger man was trying to shove the hot frying pan into the sink. "I had some money that I managed to save up while they were gone but after yesterday, I'm wondering if I have enough to replace everything. I think we may have left Ebony behind with that stupid rabbit."
"Oh." Nero pulled out of the embrace, dumping the pan into the sink quickly before running into the office. The elder stood by the stove, confused until the other man walked back in, twirling Ebony between his demonic fingers. He held it out by the long dark barrel, smiling slightly as the older hunter took it from him. "Lady found it under the desk when she sat in your chair. It looks like it's in better condition than Ivory at least. The picture is cracked but I'm pretty sure everything else is...alright." Nero felt his cheeks heat up when he was suddenly pulled into Dante's arms again, hesitating before hugging the other back. "What's up, old man? You don't seem like yourself ever since we got back. If it's about hurting me, I told you already that I'm fine. You don't have to try so hard to make up for it. It's...Dante?"
Nero felt a lump form in his throat when he felt something wet sink through his navy shirt, noticing how tight the older man was holding him. He winced when Dante pulled him closer, bumping his left arm slightly but he ignored the pain in favor of knowing what exactly had the elder slayer desperately clutching him as if he were the only thing keeping him on the ground. The younger hunter started to wonder if Dante's demon side was effecting him once again as the other repeated an apology in the crook of his neck.
"I'm sorry, Vergil..." Dante buried his face deeper into Nero's neck, positive that the younger man thought he was going insane but the mere sight of Ebony mixed with Nero's words had reminded him of his brother again. He could not find the strength to push the feelings away without risking losing his mind, already guessing he was by the way his demon side was whispering to him softly behind his thoughts.