Chapter 11: How do you do it?

They got through their first breakfast together without much talking, other than Dante complimenting Nero's cooking every now and then, which definitely made Nero rub his nose, his signature move when he feels shy or embarrassed. Nero has never cooked for anyone but himself in the past, but seeing Dante enjoy it this much made him genuinely happy. He was confident, he'd be the cook around the place if it meant getting to see Dante enjoy what he'd made.

Nero's thoughts began to wander. The strange feelings he'd get any time he was around Dante were kicking in again. Nero tried to brush it off. 'He's liking the FOOD, not you. The cooking. The stuff you bought and prepared. That's what he likes. Don't flatter yourself.'

Despite the positive response he got, Nero did notice that Dante was still very much out of it. The look in his eyes wasn't the same, his posture was more closed off than it usually is, the way he spoke was somehow deeper. He felt like Dante avoided looking his way, his eyes gazing everywhere around him, but never stopping on his own. It was definitely different from the usual Dante who always had his eyes glued on Nero's when they were around each other. Nero decided to let him eat in peace.

When Dante was finished with the food, Nero finally asked his question.

"So… you wanna talk about it?"

Dante was in the middle of his last sip of coffee. He swallowed and put the cup down on the table. "Talk about what?" He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. Their gazes finally met again.

"Can't help but notice that dream really kicked your ass."

Dante's eyebrows furrowed, he looked down at the empty plate in front of him. The eye contact they shared reminded him of the images he had seen in his nightmare. Both of the absolute best, most adorable yet incredibly attractive and arousing look he could ever hope to see on Nero's face, as well as the horrific, gruesome, painful imagery that followed. His mind was full of confusion, he didn't know how to feel. He had to clear his head of all of that, fast. "Yeah, you could say that."

"You barged in here earlier, looking for me."

"Yeah."

There was silence, Nero expected Dante to continue explaining why that was, but he didn't say any more than that.

"If you wanna talk about it-" Nero continued, but Dante cut him off.

"Not really, no." Dante stood up from the kitchen table, collecting the plates and cups left over from their breakfast. His expression was still grim.

Nero's heart sank a bit at that. He didn't anticipate such a cold answer from Dante. He expected some clever remark followed by a sarcastic, even ever-so-slightly flirtatious answer, but he understood nonetheless. The dream must have been bad enough for Dante to not feel up to his usual spirits. He was worried his questioning might have upset Dante. 'Shit…' he thought to himself.

"Alright," Nero stood up as well, turning after Dante as he walked past him. His tone was different this time. "Got it."

Despite having his back turned and not being able to see Nero's face, Dante noticed the change of tone in Nero's voice. He sounded apologetic, possibly upset. He couldn't tell, but he felt he had probably been too direct with his answer, as he knew Nero meant well. He put the plates away in the sink and took a breath.

He turned back around again and gave Nero a genuine, warm smile. "Don't worry about it."

Nero nodded in response and made his way towards the door.

Dante stopped him just as he was about to exit through the door. "Hey."

Nero stopped, his head turning somewhat, but not enough to face Dante. He listened to what he had to say.

"We haven't gotten any calls, so. You wanna train?"

"What do you mean by 'train'?"

"I can teach you a couple of fighting techniques."

Nero seemed very interested. "Yeah, I'm in."

"Alright."

They grabbed their gear and made their way on foot to a nearby forest. They needed the space to properly move, and a forest with an open, grassy area was perfect for that.

They put their weapons aside as they weren't going to use them for practice.

Dante gave Nero instructions on what to do, how to attack him, and show him how to dodge or block his attacks. He shared whatever fighting knowledge he had taught himself or learned throughout the years, with the younger hunter. Then, it was Nero's turn to show off what he had learned, and Dante would correct him as he went along.

As Nero successfully pulled off the moves Dante had taught him, the seriousness around the lessons dropped and their practice would gradually turn into them just going at each other, freestyle. Dante felt his spirits lift, just having some fun with Nero made him put the dark imagery of his nightmare aside.

Nero's goal was just to come out on top, and Dante continued taunting him by explaining exactly why he was failing at winning. They were both having a damn good time, their hearts racing, punches, kicks and grabs thrown everywhere like they did the first time they met. It was fast, messy, it was all about trying to outwit the other with clever moves and bring the other down.

Dante was going easy on Nero. He knew the kid packed a punch, and he let him hit as hard as he wanted. But when it came to him making the impact with Nero, he held back.

Nero wasn't human, of course. You can stab and jab Dante as many times as you'd like, and he wouldn't feel a thing. Nero however, felt the pain on a stronger level and didn't quite heal as quickly as Dante did. He needed to be triggered for his healing to kick in on Dante's level, and they weren't going there. This was all practice and training. Nobody was getting hurt.

Finally, Dante managed to push Nero strong enough for him to fall backward on the soft mossy grass. Before Nero was able to make his move, Dante got on top of him. He grabbed both of Nero's wrists, pinned them together above his head with his left hand, and put his right hand on Nero's neck, holding it down, but not choking him. It was a demonstration, after all.

Dante looked him straight in the eye, a smile on his lips. "...and that's how you disable your enemy."

They stayed in that position for a bit, both cooling off and breathing heavily from the combat, eyes locked together. Both of them felt all kinds of ways in that moment. Whatever this feeling between them was when they were around each other, especially this close, and in this position, it was stronger than ever. It was a strong mixture of feelings they couldn't quite pinpoint, but attraction seemed to be in the mixture.

Nero definitely felt defeated, but being pinned down by Dante, with that look in his eyes… yeah, it really pissed him off that he let himself get rendered defenseless by the old man, it was embarrassing, but he also may or may not have enjoyed it. Just a bit. Possibly. Who'd know?

And Dante? Well, he was practically sitting on top of Nero. Of course, he was having a blast. His hormones were probably through the roof, whatever his demonic side was going through, it was overwhelming for him, but in a positive way. It was pumping him with energy. Whatever was left of the shit mood he was in this morning, all gone, just like that.

Finally, Nero closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright, you win."

Dante's smirk was, as always, plastered on his lips.

"Now, get off me before I tear you a new one."

He didn't actually mean it, of course. But the damn pressure from the pounding in his chest was getting too much to handle. They both felt it.

And Dante did just that. He let go of Nero's arms and got up, offering a hand to help Nero stand up. Nero took it.

They ran into some demon activity on their way back, which they happily took care of. They also decided to stop for pizza, and Nero insisted on paying because he really didn't feel like making the older hunter food after being embarrassed like that. Pizza would have to be dinner, and Dante didn't mind at all. It was his favorite, still.

By the time the hunters finished their dinner and got back to the office, it was already late in the afternoon. They were both exhausted.

They took their coats off and put their bloodied weapons away. Dante hit the fridge and returned to the younger hunter soon after, offering him one of the two beers he was holding. Nero happily took it, thanking Dante as he sat down next to him on the office couch.

They sat there and had their drinks. Nero began.

"I really like your choice of music."

"Yeah?" Dante asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nero nodded. "I checked out the Jukebox earlier. Took its damn time, barely worked, but I browsed through a few songs. Not a bad collection."

Dante smiled. "Use it whenever you like. I don't mind at all."

Another silent moment passed between them.

Nero got more serious.

"Listen…" he paused.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Dante looked at him, giving him a questioning look. "What do you mean?" Nero didn't look back at Dante. He continued.

"I know I've been annoying with the apartment talk since I got here. But you don't have to worry about me leaving out of the blue."

Nero didn't wanna bring up the dream, he knew it upset Dante to think about it. He just wanted to assure Dante he was there to stay, for now.

"Besides, I think we make a good team. I've got a lot to learn. So, yeah. I'm staying." He finally looked at Dante and smiled.

Dante knew Nero probably figured his nightmare had to do with Nero being gone. The kid really knew exactly what to say to hit him right where he needed to.

Dante smiled back. "I know. I'm the best there is."

Nero laughed. "Don't flatter yourself."

They sat there, joking around, finishing their drinks before deciding to call it a night.

Despite the rough morning, it was a damn good day.