He felt as if he were floating or maybe he was completely still, he wasn't sure. He thought that it was devoid of light and sound but then maybe it wasn't.
Dante felt his body stretch out on its own. He ran a hand down his face feeling more than just a little stubble, more than he usually had after a nights sleep.
He rubbed at his eyes before attempting to fully wake up. His arm went to Kyrie's side of the bed feeling her sleeping form comforting him in his hazy stupor.
Slowly he sat up wincing at the pain in his legs as if his muscles hadn't been used in a while. He felt weak physically and somewhat mentally, something had happened to him.
He made his way to the bathroom gingerly to avoid cramping in his calves and nearly jumped out of his skin at his own reflection.
"How the hell long was I asleep for?" He asked the image running the back of his hand across his cheek. "Geez dude, you're looking rough."
His abdomen was sore as if he had been hit repeatedly with a cinder block while his arms felt heavy. His throat felt raw and his voice hoarse.
He took his time brushing his teeth before grabbing his electric razor cutting through the worst of what had accumulated deciding he'd use his straight edge later on when he felt better.
It took some serious energy for him to summon the strength and will power to pull on a pair of sweat pants and socks making his way down to the shop.
"For fucks sake." He muttered under his breath closing the door softy behind him. From his vantage point he could see that the office was sparkling clean.
White lacy curtains hung from the windows and covered the front doors as well. It even smelled girly, like flowers. He knew Patty worked quick but it appeared as if it had been that way for a while.
There was enough light in the downstairs for him to see Nero and Patty camped out on the pool table with blankets and pillows. Lady and Trish each had a sofa where they were currently snoozing. "What is this a hostel?"
He eased himself down the stairs unable to remember a time when he physically felt his age. He made his way over to his chair carefully placing his feet up onto his desk wincing at the tightness that would not let up and leaned back slightly in his chair.
He let out a slow sigh as the floorboards creaked underneath him in the silence. Nero sat up at the sound with his pistol drawn placing it down when he saw Dante.
"Hey old man." He whispered. "Feeling better?"
"Not really, feels like I was run over repeatedly." Dante replied. Nero walked over to his desk leaning his back against it to stand next to the elder hunter.
"I'm not surprised. You were really sick." Nero stated. "That's why we're all here, we've been staying here to take turns taking care of you."
"Seriously?" He asked his brow furrowing. "How long was I sick for?"
"About two weeks." Nero replied scratching at his stubble.
"Bull shit." Dante called. "I don't get sick."
"Well to be fair it wasn't regular sick. It was you had your 'humanity ripped out of you and stuffed back in' sick." He relented.
"I was on a job, with Lady. We took out the demon and tried to destroy the mirror it was using." Dante said in thought. "There was this weird energy pulse and I...I knocked Lady out of the way and that's the last thing I remember."
"Yeah well, good to see you back on your feet." Nero said.
"Yeah." The elder agreed. "What's with all this shit?" He motioned around the shop indicating Patty's handiwork.
"She said you'd like it when you woke up." Nero said with a smirk trying not to laugh.
"Come on kid, you're supposed to have my back." He scolded receiving a shrug from Nero. "I know what it is, you're whipped."
"The hell I am." He replied.
"Yeah actually you are." Dante said placing his hands behind his head. "You must be getting it good at home to put up with her royal pain in the ass."
"Patty's not bad." He said. "We get along." Nero glanced over at her as she slept soundly before turning his attention back to Dante. "The only gripe I've got is the damn condoms she makes me use. I think I'm allergic to the things."
"Possibly. They make 'em out of latex, it's a common allergy." Dante said.
"What else can I do?" He asked. "She won't have sex with me with out them and I kind of like having sex."
"You could always use the old pull out at the last minute method." Dante suggested. "It's what I do and haven't had any problems to date."
"Really?" Nero asked.
"It's tried and true kid." He replied.
"That's gross Dante." Patty said sleepily, apparently she hadn't been as asleep as they had thought. "Condoms protect you from diseases that could make your junk fall off and kids."
"So doesn't pulling out and washing your self afterwards." He chided.
"It's a miracle you're still alive with the shit you pull." Patty said. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay." He said knowing that if he had been as bad off as the kid said he had been he would be asked that continuously through out the day. "You're gonna take your shit home right?"
Patty smiled and gave a nod. "Yeah. I did it to piss you off when you woke up." Dante smiled and gave a small scoff.
"You're a pain in my ass kid." He said hearing movement from the sofa.
"Dante, go make coffee." Lady's sleepy voice said from the corner.
"Pfft, yeah, I'm on it." He said. "You know how long it took me just to get down here?"
"After the last few weeks of helping to clean you and take you to the damn bathroom the least you can do is make me a fucking coffee." She replied.
"Great!" He exclaimed sarcastically. "Never gonna hear the end of this one."
From upstairs it sounded as if someone had fallen as the ceiling fan shook accompanied by a 'thunk'. The door to upstairs opened widely slamming into the wall revealing Kyrie who seemed to be still half asleep.
She hurried her way down the stairs, albeit clumsily, rushing over to Dante. She placed a hand to his forehead while two fingers went to his throat to check his pulse.
"Hey." He whispered out taking her hands in both of his and laying a kiss against her knuckles. "I'm okay."
Kyrie blinked slowly at him as if her brain wasn't running on all cylinders. She had purples circles under her eyes creating a hollowed out appearance accentuated by bags under the bags.
"Just like that." She said in a flat tone.
"Yup." Dante replied.
"Come on Lady, let's go make coffee." Trish said as she roused herself. "We could all use some."
In a minute everyone had scattered to somewhere leaving Kyrie and Dante alone in the office.
"You need to lay down." She said wearily.
"I will." Dante replied softly deciding it was best not to argue. "Just wanna stretch out in a different position for a bit." Kyrie gave a nod shuffling over to the sofa. "So I hear I was worse for wear."
Kyrie gave a short humorless laugh. "That's an understatement Dante." She quipped. "Every day, every hour I thought you were dying."
"Whys that?" He asked feeling his throat dry out more so than it already was.
"You stopped breathing more than once, you had a fever that just kept yo-yoing up and down...it made you vomit and convulse..." Kyrie trailed off bringing a hand to her eyes catching the tears before they fell. "And now here you are...just...like...that." She snapped her fingers together to accentuate the last word.
Dante eased his chair down and stood carefully. He cracked his neck and his back before walking over to where his lover sat. He took her into his arms nuzzling her hair.
"Sorry for all the trouble." He said meekly once she had settled and didn't seem to be crying anymore.
"All I could keep thinking of was what I would do if you died." She replied. "How unfair it was, that maybe I just don't deserve to be with anyone...all kinds of thoughts and that was in the few moments of down time."
He tightened his arms around her gently allowing her to vent. It was clear that the entire experience had been extremely frustrating, it unnerved him to think that all of this had gone on leaving him with no memory of it.
"Was I lucid at all?" He asked when she remained quiet.
"At first you talked to me, right after the mirror broke but after that you passed out." She said recalling the events. "You complimented my dress, I had on the little one you like. Afterwards when we were home you said that you heard me singing."
Dante closed his eyes trying to recall any of what she was saying. It had been void where he had been after the mirror had its hold on him, there was nothing there.
It unsettled him, he was alone and he was scared. Dante shuddered at the memory but pressed himself further to see if there was anything other than feelings, something more tangible.
It was almost the same as when he was dealt a mortal wound. There was a period where he blacked out and there was always nothing but he knew there had been something with this.
There was something that had reached him in the darkness, a reason why he was able to break out of the mirror when his devil couldn't free him.
Dante opened his eyes as he could hear the faintest melody reach far from the recess's of his mind. He couldn't make out the words but he felt the inflections in the voice.
"I do remember hearing you sing." He said. "You pulled me back from where ever it was i had landed in."
"I didn't know what else to do." She whispered. Dante readjusted himself so that he was laying down taking Kyrie with him. "You really are feeling fine?"
"Yeah, I mean, I'm sore as hell and feel like I haven't slept but I'm good." He said. Kyrie pulled the blanket that lay on the sofa up over them and rested in the crook of her lovers arm.
"Just don't do anything like that again, deal?" She drawled out sleepily. Dante traced over the nearly healed mark he had given her and smirked.
"Don't plan on it honey, trust me."