They left the ruins behind them with a slumbering Nero in Dante's arms. The journey to Lady's place was long, made worse by their silence. Neither said anything about what happened at the ruins, each probably lost in their thoughts. Dante had a lot to think about. He had to figure out what he was going to do with Nero now. The young hunter had exploded after their confrontation and tried to kill them after temporarily losing his sanity. If that wasn't a red flag that the kid needed help, he didn't know what was. But was he the help the Nero needed? Was Lady? Was anyone for that matter? Nero needed guidance; he needed someone to snap him out of his depressive stupor. Only Dante was afraid that maybe he was too late. Maybe Nero couldn't be saved at this point. Maybe Dante should just let this sleeping dog lie and move on.
When Lady let them inside her apartment, Dante began having second thoughts about Nero staying with her. Considering she was the one who lit the fuse so to speak, he didn't want her in any potential danger when the kid woke up. Not that he expected Nero to have the strength to fully devil trigger again, but Lady was only human, and Nero had already proved he didn't like her.
After leaving Nero's things in the living room, they brought him to her bedroom.
"Start undressing him and I'll go get some supplies to start patching him up."
Dante raised an eyebrow at her and then looked at Nero.
"What?" she asked, before she left the room.
"Do I have to undress him? Why can't you do it?"
"Because I know where my supplies are and better you than me since he'll probably devil trigger at the sight of me again."
"I don't think he'll take kindly the idea of me taking his pants off," he said, holding off.
"Then pretend it's your wedding night with him," Lady said, pushing her sunglasses into her hair. "Look, just get the job done. I doubt the kid will know unless you told him. So get over it and start undressing him."
"Yes, Mama Bear," Dante sighed as Lady left.
Dante began at the top, removing Nero's jacket and the tattered remains of his hooded vest and shirt. He was surprised the kid lived through the beating he got before they arrived, but Nero had always been both tough and strong-willed when it came to battles. As he went lower, unbuckling his belt and undoing his pants, Dante saw what he wished he didn't have to see. The battle had left Nero extremely bruised, dark spots marring his legs, blood encrusted wounds that stopped bleeding only because they'd begun to scab. He wondered why his demonic metabolism hadn't kicked in yet and realized that the Devil Bringer, which usually had a faint glow, was now dormant.
The kid went beyond his limit and was at the moment human. He felt a pang of guilt and swallowed it, focusing on removing Nero's boots before he got his pants all the way off. He didn't want to look anymore, not at his wounds or his painfully thin frame. Dante had been the cause of half those injuries and whether he owned up to them or not didn't matter because the kid looked like shit and he was now going to turn his back on him because Nero didn't want his help.
Lady came back and he let her get to work, not saying anything as he went toward the window. He opened it, letting a nice cool breeze in and leaned slightly on the window frame, arms crossing over his chest. He thought about Lady's role in this now. She didn't have much to lose, nothing to stake, and even less to gain. And yet Dante thought her perfect for the job as she was someone who could relate to Nero despite the age difference. She could've shown him that there is life after death and there was no shame in living. Dante wished he'd gone about it differently, but wishful thinking wasn't going to bring him anything but a bruised ego over how much his plans sucked, so he didn't give it another thought.
For now, he wondered what Lady would do. Would she back out now that things pretty much blew up in their faces? And he thought of something else, a nagging thought he tried to smother on their trip back from the ruins, something that didn't bug him, but worried him once he began to teeter into that frame of mind. And it was if Lady-no if they were okay after their morning spat. He hadn't meant to lash out at her, but he did and he felt like he had to make it up to her somehow.
"Listen, about this morning-"
"Don't," she said, cutting him off. "What happened this morning isn't important now in the grand scheme of things."
He turned around from the window.
"It is important, to me, Lady."
She looked up from working and stopped. Dante was at a lost at what to say, especially when her bi-colored eyes bore into him like that. He felt naked with her staring the way she did and confrontation wasn't really his forte, especially when it involved such complicated matters like feelings.
"Despite what I said earlier," he began. "I don't really think those things about you. I mean, sure I did once. But I don't want you to think that's all I see in you. I see a comrade, a business associate, a woman who literally sticks to her guns when I try to get her to sleep with me."
That part earned him a small somewhat bashful smirk.
"But most of all, I see a friend. And I don't want to lose you, even if I'm up to the neck in debt to you. What I'm trying to say is that, I think you're one of the most generous people I know. Hell, I think you're amazing. You're patient when you wanna be." At that she raised an eyebrow and walked around the bed to join him.
"And a hard ass when you need to be," he finished as she looked up at him. "And-"
"I'm sorry too. There, is that what you've been dancing around by rambling about how awesome I am?" she asked, drawing in a bit closer.
"It takes grace to dance around a subject like I do Lady," he said, raising an eyebrow which made her smirk.
"Look," she grabbed his hand and though the act was simple, he could tell by how flushed her cheeks were that it had taken a lot of nerve on her part to do it. "You mean more to mean than just dollar signs," she said, "I know I'm not the nicest person, but that's why I have you, right? To teach me."
He didn't know what it was at that moment that made him lean in. Whether it was her soft looking lips or the way she looked at him, so hopeful and innocent. It made her look younger than she was and he couldn't help but feel like he was falling and he leaned in, not thinking about the boundaries that they had set, not caring if crossing the line was going to change things for the worse. He leaned in and she turned her face, his lips met with a soft cheek. Dante felt everything about him-from his accelerated heart beat to his jumbled up nerves-come crashing down with disappointment.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He wanted to reply with a 'me too' but decided against it. It was bad enough that he struck out, didn't need to rub salt in the wound with an apology he didn't mean. He withdrew and went back to looking out the window, watching the traffic line up on the bridge connecting the city to the suburbs of the island. They were silent for a moment as she went back to bed and worked on patching Nero up.
"So what are you going to do now?" she asked. He shrugged, not turning to look at her.
"Send him home I guess. Let him deal with it like he wants."
Dante couldn't help someone who didn't help themselves. If the kid fought them this hard to the point of devil triggering, then maybe it wasn't meant to happen.
"I'm surprised you're giving up," she said as she redressed some older wounds.
"It's none of my business."
"Or maybe." He heard her shuffle about the room, probably throwing away the used medical supplies in the waste basket. "It is your business because you care about him."
She joined him at the window again.
"I don't think you should give up," she said, looking out the window with him. "He obviously needs help and if something were to happen to him, I don't think you'll forgive yourself knowing you could've done something."
Dante look at her. She was right. He wouldn't be able to move on if something happened to the kid. He didn't want to have that on his conscience. Vergil was enough.
"But how can I get him to want the help?" He could try again, but if Dante met with as much resistance as he did today then what was the point?
"Easy. Give him a choice." She pushed herself off the window sill.
"Be honest with him by laying all your cards out. Let him know your intentions." She got a couple of small towels and disappeared into her bathroom. When she came out, she tossed a damp towel at him, which he easily caught.
"Here, help me wipe your boyfriend down."
Dante rolled his eyes, but joined her nonetheless.
"Explain the risks he'll undergo, but also explain what he can gain." She wiped the younger man's face and neck. Dante started at his feet and worked his way up, carefully avoiding any bandages.
"After that, if he still wants to go home, let him. The point is to let him have control and say over his fate. You can't take his choices away from him just because it's for his own good. He'll fight you harder that way."
That all sounded good, in theory. But Dante didn't want to risk putting it into practice again. Not when it created such disastrous results.
"So if he doesn't want to do this then I should just let him go where he'll probably go off himself?"
"He won't off himself," she said, wiping down Nero's collar-bone. "If he leaves, then he'll leave knowing you'll be there for him, no matter what. It'll make him realize you're not just there to control him, but help. Trust me, Dante. I know."
She was right. How often did they struggle at putting her back together after Temen-ni-gru? He always pushed himself on her, thinking that he was what she needed. That maybe after the loss and hurt they both experienced, they could somehow build something out of love for each other. But no matter what he did, she pushed back, until finally, he let her go. They were mad at each other for some time, but he couldn't cut her out of his life entirely. He had loved her at some point, still wanted her, and didn't want to lose her in the end. She came back to him, on her own terms and he noticed the change in her. Not only had she grown physically (not that he was complaining), she had matured as well. She realized that being angry all the time wasn't going to get her anywhere, wasn't going to change her role in her father's death and his role in trying to destroy human kind. Gone was the short-tempered girl who blamed herself for everything and in came a woman ready to deal with things and adapt not because she needed to, but because she wanted to and wanted to have a life. She was a person Dante had and probably will always admire for her strength. It was why it made so much sense that she played a role in this. He wondered if she still wanted to be a part in all of this now.
"Listen, about your role in this." He stopped cleaning when he got to the younger man's waist. "Seeing as the kid tried to kill you, maybe it's best that I take this on alone."
"So the kid throws a tantrum and I'm the one that gets a time out?" she looked up at him with a smirk but it soon died when she saw how serious he was. "I'm not going to leave you alone in this, safety be damned. Besides," she finished cleaning Nero off and took the towel that Dante had used. "I was wrong back there. I lost my temper and said things that weren't fair considering the situation."
"They needed to be said."
"Yeah and look at the price paid for it," she said looking at Nero. Dante couldn't deny her there. The kid got the physical brunt of everyone's frustration in the situation.
"At least it's all out in the open. No sense in letting all that stuff bottled in," he reasoned. She disappeared into her bathroom and came out without with a fresh damp towel.
"You're right in that respect," she said, folding it and placing it over Nero's forehead.
"He's gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, just a small fever. I'll watch him to see if it increases." She looked at Dante. "And he's still welcomed to stay here, given that he wants to."
"You sure?"
"Are you so certain he's going to wake up and eat me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Honestly?" He rounded the bed to stand in front of her. "Yes. He might take a bite outta ya and I'll be left a widower. Think about me in all of this. Also, Trish and the Ménage à trois that could've been."
Lady rolled her eyes, but didn't hide her smirk.
"So, I'm guessing you're feeling better after the vital star treatment?"
"Actually," He put at hand to his forehead. "I think I'm coming down with something."
Lady raised an eyebrow and removed his hand to place her own there. "Really? You don't feel warm."
"That's because you can't feel it, but I'm practically on fire," he grinned.
The woman smirked, knowing the games he liked to play and went into her bathroom. She came out with a small med-kit, opening it up to produce a thermometer. Lady approached him, his eyes glued to the way her hips swayed. She knew what she was doing to him by the way she came up and pressed against him. Lady, for all her bashfulness when it came to awkward moments, could be a real vixen when she wanted to be, especially if they were playing the flirt. She traced his jaw line with the thermometer's tip.
"Alright then cowboy, " she said, huskily. Dante couldn't stop smirking as her free hand traced a line down his chest. "How about you drop those pants of yours so I can insert this anally."
...what?
Dante could only blink, which made Lady laugh, breaking out of her sexy vixen routine.
"God, it was hard keeping a straight face."
Dante gave her a pout, though he wasn't angry.
"I'm glad I amuse you," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You'll live, Papa bear." She went and put the thermometer away.
"Mama bear should give me a kiss for the sudden disappointment," he said, walking over and closing the med-kit for her.
Lady tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "How about I order some pizza and pretend Papa bear doesn't owe me thousands of dollars for the rest of the day?"
Well then. He slowly backed off, raising his hands up in surrender.
"That works too."
"I'm sure that does," she smirked and placed the kit on the nightstand. He watched her walk to her door.
"Extra olives?" she winked.
"You know better."
"I don't think I do," she said, chuckling as she left.
Before heading to join her, Dante got a blanket and tried his best at tucking Nero in. Didn't want the kid catching a cold. Satisfied that the young man had enough move to move under the covers if he needed to get up, Dante left to stop Lady from ruining their lunch.