Messed 14
He had his head leaned back. She rubbed the hair gel into his hair. The strands of his hair were soft and she couldn't help but play with the strands.
He closed his eyes and relaxed to her touch. Her small fingers felt wonderful combing through his hair. She watched him close his eyes in relaxation.
She was studying his face as she touched him. His lips were parted some and she was suddenly drawn to his lips.
She had this insane urge to just kiss those beautiful lips. He really was beautiful she realized.
While he sat there leaning on her shoulder with his eyes closed.
Was his face an illusion or were those lips of his real? She swallowed and leaned forward. There was only one way to find out.
She gently touched her lips to his. She was drawing back when she saw the smile on his lips. He sat up slowly and turned to face her.
"What was that for?' he said
She blushed and started to stand up. He caught her hand.
"Please" he said gently.
She looked genuinely embarrassed by her actions.
"I don't know I just wanted to" she said
He smiled and pulled her closer to him. He looked up at her and met her eyes
"If there's anything else you feel like doing feel free to act on it" he said
He was smirking at her now and she turned an even brighter shade of crimson. He stood up slowly.
His hand was still gripping hers so he lifted it to his mouth.
"I will wait until you know why before I offer you more" he said
He kissed the tips of her finger. Then he dropped her hand and walked towards the door.
She stood there dazed for a moment. Surprised both by her actions and his.
She wasn't sure what he meant by that. He stopped by the door and looked back at her.
She was just standing there looking like a lost little girl. He felt the insane urge to protect her for some reason.
It was a concept that was foreign to him. The weak were supposed to perish so the strong could thrive.
That was how he was raised and honestly he hadn't questioned his beliefs lately. Not since his earlier rebellion in fact.
Eva had been an impulsive mistake brought on by centuries of loneliness and an overactive libido.
A trait Dante had inherited from him in spades. Vergil was a bit more cautious about his lovers.
He honestly thought that was more of a reflection on what their mother's actions had wrought.
Vergil's cold calculating air and his stand -offish attitude when it came to the human clients.
Definitively stemmed from abandonment issues. He turned to look at the girl she was standing there awkwardly staring at him for some reason.
The boys both liked Alex for some reason. Maybe it was because she knew what they were and didn't run.
Of course she couldn't really get away from them. Plus she had nowhere to go, not that he wouldn't take care of her if she let him.
"Are you coming?" he asked.
She jerked as if she had been asleep on her feet. She shook her head to clear it
"Yes of course" she replied
He held his hand out to her and she hesitated for a split second before taking it.
Her touch was gentle and she seemed nervous to him. He smiled at her in reassurance.
For some reason he wanted her to feel secure in his presence. He remained silent as he walked her back downstairs.
Oddly it was from a strange sense of nervousness not a lack of topics.
When he entered the kitchen he was gratified to see the boys had taken him seriously.
Dante looked worried about something but he thought it best to let him bring up whatever was on his mind.
Vergil was stacking the last dish in the rack and froze. He was staring at his hair.
"What did you do to your hair?" said Vergil
Sparda chuckled.
"I let Alex style it" he said
Smirking at the shocked look both of his boys were now sporting
"Get ready to go sons, we can eat there if we're still peckish" said Sparda
A light chuckle sounded from the doorway and the guys turned to look at her. Dante's face broke into a grin at her presence.
"Looking good babe" said Dante
Sparda glared at his retreating back. Vergil dropped the towel on the counter and walked past them.
He did nod in her direction as he passed her. It took them little time to get ready. Sparda finally ushered them out the door.
Both boys were smirking, when they noticed their dad's arm across her shoulders.
"Sure you don't want to be alone with her dad?" said Dante
Sparda glared at him and he put his feet down. He forgot his father hated footprints on the back of his Italian leather seats.
"So where are we going?" said Vergil
"Oh I figured we could take in a museum or maybe the boardwalk" said Sparda
The boys made a face when he said museum.
"You must have forgotten, Dante got us banned from most of the museums when he was younger" said Vergil
He glared at his sibling, who was sitting across from him in the back seat.
"We can always just go to the boardwalk. I've never been to one" said Alex
Sparda smiled at her and switched lanes. Alex couldn't help but notice he drove just as fast as his son.
She wondered if it was just a demon thing or something specific to them. He switched lanes again and got off the freeway.
He slowed down and they cruised down the street.
"So Alex where are you from?" said Vergil
"Oh Seattle but I moved to Los Angeles when I was little" said Alex
"Where's Seattle?" said Dante
Alex's mouth dropped open in shock. Sparda was looking at her funny
"Not around here apparently" said Alex
The look on Sparda's face was unreadable. For some reason he closed his hand over hers.
It was an unmistakable gesture of comfort. Dante was remembering what she had told him earlier.
"That reminds me we need to check out an alley" said Dante
"Not now Dante, I'm sure Alex doesn't want to check out alleyways" said Vergil
"Is it the alleyway you talked to me about?" said Sparda
"Yes" said Dante
Vergil glared at him. Dante shrugged he knew why Vergil was upset with him.
"We will check it out later" said Sparda
He pulled up to a parking garage and paid for the day. Shoved the tag into the windshield. He found a spot and parked.
Got out and walked around to Alex's side. He held the door open for her. Vergil was already climbing out by the time he walked around to release Alex.
Both boys were amazed at the care their father was showing her. Sparda casually draped his arm around her waist.
The boys fell into stride just behind them like an honor guard. Alex could hear the screams of the people on the roller-coaster from halfway across the parking lot. She guessed by the way he was tensing that he could hear them much sooner.
"Relax they're only having fun" said Alex
She nodded in the direction of the ride. Sparda eyed the contraption for a few minutes.
"You've never seriously seen an amusement park ride before have you?" said Alex
"I have, I simply do not understand the appeal" said Sparda
Alex chuckled at that admission.
"It's simple really, the ride provides the illusion of danger without actually being in danger" said Alex
"Actually there are a significant number of injuries and fatalities attributed to amusement park rides each year" said Vergil
Dante glared at him, because he noticed his father's grip had tightened on Alex when he said that.
"What it is true?" said Vergil
Alex leaned into Sparda and he relaxed noticeably. They reached the board walk and the first thing Alex noticed was the shops. Sparda sighed when she approached one of the racks outside. She briefly flipped through the rack and wandered inside. Sparda followed her in. the place was quite obviously a tourist trap that sold what looked like useless items to him but Alex seemed amused by the objects. In fact she was currently trying on a winter hat with cat ears and attached mittens that looked like paws. It looked like an object a child might own but for some reason Alex appeared to like it.
She also seemed to like the cheap tacky shoe shaped pendant with her name on it. In the end he bought her the hat even though it made her look younger than she actually was. Dante promptly pulled the hat out of the bag and tried it on.
"What do you think babe, is it me?" said Dante
Alex giggled at him and Vergil swiped it off his head.
"Only when you were five" said Vergil
He dropped it back in Alex's bag. She chuckled again and wandered down the walkway. She stopped by two kids standing by a claw machine. The older child, a little boy was trying to get a stuffed bunny out of the machine for the little girl next to him. He was having horrible luck doing so. The bunny fell back into the bin and the boy slammed his palm against the side if the glass enclosure in frustration
"Would you like me to try?" said Alex
The kid turned to look at her.
"Yeah sure we're done anyway" said the boy
"But you didn't get Mr. Fluff, fluff out for me" protested the girl
The boy sighed
"I'm out of money Hannah, we'll have to try next time" said the boy
Hannah scrunched her face up and tears welled in her eyes. Alex held out her hand to Sparda and he dropped a five dollar bill into her hand. Alex fed it into the bill reader and grabbed the joystick. She expertly maneuvered the claw to the side of the rabbit and dropped the claw.
She heard a gasp and knew the kids had stayed to watch. The claw went right under the ribbon on the stuffed animal's neck and when the claw retracted the rabbit dangled from the claw. Alex quickly maneuvered it back to the drop chute and the claw opened over the opening. The rabbit dropped smoothly into the retrieval slot. Alex reached inside the slot and pulled out the rabbit
"Here you go sweetie" said Alex
The girl took the rabbit from her hand with wide eyes.
"Thank you" said the child
She held the stuffed animal tightly as if her life depended on it and eyed Alex with wide eyes. The little boy led her away when a woman at the edge of the sand called them both away.
"That was sweet babe but I bet you can't do it again" said Dante
Alex smirked wickedly.
"Challenge accepted" said Alex
She had four more play credits anyway so why not use them. She grabbed the joystick picked an object that looked like she could get it free and tried for it. Once again the stuffed creature was dropped in the retrieval area and the claw returned to the rest position. They were all gathered around the glass enclosed machine watching her grab stuffed toy after another.
Two more dropped in the slot the next time because they had been hooked on each other when she caught the first one. Vergil and Dante were holding her winnings while she tried for more. They were slowly gathering a small crowd and he had resupplied Alex with change four times after Dante lost his initial challenge. So far she had won at least a dozen of the stuffed toys already.
The boys were running out of hands to hold them all and she was starting to hand the objects to him now. She was on her last credit and the machine was a great deal emptier than it had been. The last object dropped into the slot and Alex retrieved it and turned to address them all. Her face broke into a grin and started laughing at them. They frowned at her and she laughed harder. All three of the devil hunters had their arms laden with stuffed animals. It was absolutely the silliest thing she had ever seen.
"Okay I think that's enough for today" said Alex
Sparda gave her a look of dismay over the top of what looked like a stuffed elephant.
"I believe we should have stopped at the initial five" said Vergil
Alex grinned at them.
"So just give them to passing kids" said Alex
She plucked one from Sparda's pile and handed it to a kid who was staring at his lost ice cream cone top. The urge to cry simply vanished and the kid's face lit up with happiness instead.
"Thanks lady" said the kid
The kid rushed off to show his friends. As they made their way down the boardwalk the guys followed Alex's example rather awkwardly handing out stuffed animals to random kids. After a few minutes and quite a few genuine thank you's the beaming smiles had the boys relaxed.
They were down to three stuffed animals and Vergil seemed intent on keeping the dolphin in his hands. Dante spotted it and opened his mouth to tease his brother. Vergil looked pointedly at the stuffed cartoon dog in Dante's hand and shoved the dolphin into the inside pocket of his jacket.
Alex had spotted a stand selling what looked like rocks. Sparda frowned and followed her to the stand he still had the stuffed turtle she had wanted to save for herself. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted his boy's tuck the sole remaining stuffed toys into their jackets and chuckled.
Alex was standing next to a woman who was fishing around in a bowl for what looked like a shelled sea creature. He frowned at the bucket. Was this another strange human custom? Sparda wondered as he watched the other woman pick up a shell with a pair of wooden tongs. The sales lady was saying something about three being lucky and urging the woman with the tongs to do a pseudo blessing on the shell.
"On three" said the saleswoman
Together they loudly chanted one, two, three and then the woman rang this large ships bell. Sparda winced, when she did so but didn't take his gaze from what the saleswoman was doing. She was opening the shell of the creature and digging through the flesh inside for something.
A second later she pulled out a round white object set it on a towel dumped salt on top of the object, rinsing it with a small squeeze from a bottle of what looked like water,before wiping it withe towel. the woman was using the towel and the salt to clean it.
"There you go, that's a nice pearl would you like a setting for it" said the sales woman.
The customer nodded and the saleswoman promptly began showing the customer trays of what looked like settings for the pearl as the saleswoman had called it. Alex was looking at the displays.
"See anything you like?' said Sparda
Alex grinned
"A great deal actually but it's all so expensive" said Alex
He smiled at her.
"Money is no object, chose what you want" said Sparda
She bit her bottom lip and looked at the bucket.
"Go ahead, but ask her to refrain from using the bell" said Sparda
"Would you like to choose your own pearl miss?" said the saleswoman
Alex looked at Sparda and he nodded in her direction.
"Yes please" said Alex
The saleswoman handed her the wooden tongs and indicated that she should shift through the bucket. Alex did and she chose a small shell hiding at the bottom of the bucket. The saleswoman looked almost disappointed by her choice.
"Are you certain you would not like one of the larger ones?" said the saleswoman
Alex shook her head no.
"Nope this is the one" said Alex
The woman frowned then quickly composed her features
"If there is no pearl, we will allow you to choose again" said the saleswoman
She set the small shell on the board just like she did with the other lady and instructed Alex to tap it as they counted
"Oh can you not do the bell it's a bit annoying to my companion he has a bit of a migraine you see" said Alex
"Ah okay we'll just tap it once, it's kind of a tradition" said the saleswoman
"That is fine" said Alex
They began to count and Alex tapped the shell as they did so. The woman tapped the bell once and proceeded to open the oyster up. It took very little digging to yield the almost black pearl contained within its depths. The saleswoman gasped and looked around for her superior. She quickly gained the attention of an older woman and waved her over.
They talked hurriedly in another language. Sparda moved closer and listened intently to what the women were saying. Fortunately he understood the language they were speaking and they had no idea that he could.
"Miss, this pearl is defective we cannot sell it to you, perhaps you would like to choose another" said the saleswoman
Alex looked upset and she had reason to be. Sparda frowned and moved closer to the three women he rested his hand on Alex's back.
"No we are quite satisfied with the color and size of that one" said Sparda
He pinned the saleswoman and her boss with one of his signature glares. They swallowed nervously.
"But sir?" said the supervisor.
Sparda turned and calmly addressed the woman in the same language she used to speak to her coworker. He convinced them in no uncertain terms was he going to allow them to cheat Alex out what he knew was a rare gem, just by the way they were discussing it. The women hesitated and looked at each other, then the supervisor relented and the saleswoman let Alex pay the posted price for the pearl, which was a mere pittance of its true worth.
Sparda declined their offer of setting it for them and promised Alex they would visit a jeweler to have it set. He did not trust the two women to not switch the gem with a cheaper or fake version. The pearl was reluctantly bagged and handed to Alex by a very disappointed looking sales manager.
Sparda put his arm around Alex and led her away from the small stand. They wandered down the boardwalk until Alex spotted the candy shop and walked inside. They came out each holding a bag of their favorites. Dante was currently digging into some strawberry flavored chewy candies.
"Son you should wait until after we eat" said Sparda
Alex smirked that sounded so dad like, it was hilarious. Dante reluctantly put the candy back in the bag.
"Speaking of which I am getting kind of hungry" said Alex
Vergil pointed out a restaurant with chairs on a small patio that looked out over the water. It turned out to be a rather nice Italian restaurant. The place looked expensive and Alex worried that they were spending a great deal on her already. She was no fool, she knew those ladies had tried to cheat her out of the pearl she found. Sparda had stood up for her and quite frankly it shocked her. She wasn't sure how to react to the man's obvious affection. She wasn't even sure she could classify him as a man even though he was obviously male. Yeah very male.
"Are you sure we could always get a hot dog or something" said Alex
Sparda snorted
"I do not dine on canines hot or cold" said Sparda
Dante opened his mouth to explain to his dad what a hot dog was and Vergil shook his head no.
"Actually dad if you don't mind I have something I need to pick up while we are down here, preferably before the shop closes" said Vergil
He gave his brother a look and nodded in Alex's direction. Dante gave him a confused look until Vergil said "why don't you two go on alone, Dante and I can always grab a slice of pizza on the way"
Dante frowned at him until he realized what his brother was trying to do.
"Oh yeah the thing, um that you told me about. Yeah we should probably go do that, before they close" said Dante
It was such a lame excuse that even Alex didn't believe him. Vergil glared at Dante's lame delivery and actually smacked his brother's arm. Sparda gave them both a suspicious look, but relented and let the boys leave. They entered the restaurant and got a table for two or at least Alex thought that was what he said, because he talked to the host in what sounded like Italian.
The man seemed to know Sparda and found them a nice secluded table. The sun was starting to go down so the wait staff was lighting the tea light candles on everyone's table. It was actually quite romantic and it made Alex somewhat nervous.
"Would you allow me to order for you?" said Sparda
Considering she couldn't even read half of the menu Alex figured that was a good idea.
"Yeah sure, just no fish I can't stand it" said Alex
He smiled at her grateful that she trusted him even a little bit. When the waiter arrived he ordered the house special which was a stuffed pasta dish that he personally enjoyed. He knew his son's had nothing they needed to pick up, they were simply giving him some alone time with Alex.
Now that he had it, he was drawing a complete blank. He honestly had never been as nervous as he was now. Facing a demon horde had been marginally easier than this. He briefly thought about slipping out to call one of the boys, just for some advice but knew that they would never let him live it down if he did.
The waiter saved him the embarrassment of having to start an awkward conversation by providing the wine list. He ordered a glass for himself and Alex declined, stating her age as the reason. It made him remember just how young his companion actually was. He bit his bottom lip and eyed her uncertainly.
He wanted to ask her so many things but he had no idea where to start. Thankfully she saved him the trouble.
"So what did you want to ask me? And what do you think the boys are really up to?" said Alex
He smiled at her perceptiveness. Such a short time together and already she could read him like a book.
"Knowing my boys they are most likely checking out the alleyway you arrived in and I simply wanted to know more about you." said Sparda
She frowned at him at the same time the waiter returned with his glass of wine. He wasn't sure if the frown was from his evasive answer or his beverage choice.
"Why are they checking that out?" said Alex
He sighed and downed the glass in one gulp. She gave him a worried look when he ordered another. Sparda debated lying to her for a few minutes but the look she was shooting him shot that down. She trusted him or was starting to finally do so, he didn't want to spoil it with a lie.