Another DantexNero fic! I actually had this in my sketchbook for a while...along with a nice little drawing of the actual photo of Nero posing. -wink- It's a one-shot. Please enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Devil May Cry characters.

Works of a Magazine

Dante couldn't believe his eyes. It could have been an illusion or he could have had once too many bullets shot by Lady in his head and was hallucinating. The mint condition magazine could have been a Doujinshi for Hell's sake but the picture he was staring at was not drawn. Besides, the simplicity of art supplies would never have been able to capture the body of what caught Dante's attention. He didn't notice the blood fall from his nose until a drop went on the smallest corner of the page. He quickly wiped it away as fast as he could. He didn't want such a picture to get dirty even though the picture screamed the word and other ones similar to it. Dante stuffed a random tissue up his nose to prevent any more blood from leaking out. Usually this sort of thing never happened to him but looking at Nero posing with his Blue Rose gun hanging loosely from his human hand, a real blue rose dangling from his full lips, and finally, perhaps the best part of the whole picture:

Nero. With no shirt.

If Dante was a woman, he would squeal 'MOE.' His icy blue eyes traced every rough curve of muscle from arms, to shoulders, to chest, to stomach, all the way to the silver trail that disappeared at the edge of the page. Damn the photographer for not taking a full body photo! He carefully flipped the page and almost fainted. It was a centerfold with Nero lazily outstretched wearing god forsaken pants! One arm was draped over his stomach while the other was supporting the back of his head. The eyes so similar to Dante's shade of blue were so mesmerizing that the Devil Hunter found himself drooling. Thankfully on his desk. He searched for more pictures and found the younger man fully clothed in all of them with different poses. Some where he had a serious expression and some with a graceful smile Dante had never seen on the ex-Order. It was still better than nothing, he supposed. There was still one thing that baffled him:

Why was Nero posing for this woman's magazine? It was only a question that tickled his curiosity and he wanted it answered.

Dante checked the publication of the magazine's origination. The place was not of Fortuna City and if it was, Dante would have jaw dropped because it just didn't seem like the kind of city that sold magazines such as this one. But then again, it wasn't like the usual "Kittygirl" magazine that people would usually find Dante's nose in. And hand down his pants.

Honestly, if it wasn't for Trish who laid it out in front of him, book marking Nero's page with a small crease at the upper right hand corner, Dante would have never gave it a second glance. He carefully tucked the magazine into his red coat and walked out of Devil May Cry, heading back to the place where the one he has been having dreams about since their meeting was living at.

The son of Sparda got to Fortuna City in other seven hours on one of Lady's borrowed bikes. The city was still ruins but a few places seem to have been fixed. The main palace, however, was still broken like an old ornament on a Christmas tree, left to fall on its own and break. He zoomed pass the people and rubble, making sure to jump over a pond or two just for the hell of it. After an hour, he felt his stomach rumble, remembering that he had forgotten to eat breakfast. Luckily, an ice cream stand was in view and he quickly got a triple scoop of strawberry ice cream. People would have never taken him for the pink sweet flavor type but for some reason, he had an addiction (next to pizza) for the stuff. He was definitely grateful for his fast metabolism or it could have just been his thanks to constant demon fighting. Whatever works.

He sat down on a nearby bench and began licking away at the treat in satisfaction. When he was done, he wiped the left over ice cream off his face with the back of his hand.

"Looked like you enjoyed yourself."

Dante's eyes calmly looked over to see the real Nero staring at him. He had his own strawberry ice cream in his human hand while a bag of groceries in the Devil Bringer. The younger man took the empty seat next to Dante, placing the groceries on the ground while slowly licking his own treat. The Devil Hunter noticed the kid was disturbingly quiet. Last time he wouldn't shut up at all. The other's blue eyes seemed to be void of life.

"How you been, kid?"

"Good. Yourself?" The last time Dante checked, Nero hated that he called him a "kid."

"Typical. Demon slaying and all." He searched his arms above his head and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Nero was staring. The light conversation was getting Dante nowhere so he braced himself when he pulled out the magazine. Its covered was slightly crinkled but its context was still perfect. It flipped open to the marked picture of Nero. The ex-Order stopped eating when he caught sight of himself. It flashed a bit of light in him.

"…..where….did you get that?" he spoke quietly. It didn't sound as though he was angry or annoyed.

"From a source. I gotta say, kid: You ain't that bad."

That was a lie.

Nero was fucking drop dead gorgeous. Shoot, a few more years and he could be model of the year. Nero was a bit taken back by the response, assuming that the older man would be disgusted or making fun of him.

"But I'm just wondering about this. You don't seem like the model type."

"Well, after that day when Fortuna City was ruined, it has been really hard to find a job. Since the order was destroyed too, I kinda had to travel around fighting some demons. But the modeling thing is what really brought in the money."

Dante mentally sighed in relief. A part of him was thinking Nero was inching towards the porn industry (as if!!). It wouldn't have been bad since Dante would download the whatever movie Nero would be in a heart beat but he may not be able to handle it if the younger man was doing someone…or being ahem. It made him twitch in jealousy. Plus…

"How are you and your girlfriend?"

Nero shrugged his shoulders absently and finished the rest of his ice cream. "We didn't work out." He pushed his hair back with his Devil Bringer. "She left Fortuna a while ago and so I've been on my own pretty much. Couldn't handle the fact that her brother's dead so she went to live with other family members."

"Oh." That was pretty unexpected. It made Dante feel a bit sorry for the both of them. But Nero seemed to be all right with Kyrie leaving, at least by the way he was explaining it.

"So what brings you here? There hasn't been anything weird going on."

"Eh, just felt like comin' to visit you!" Dante said with a grin, earning an eye roll from Nero. The son of Sparda didn't miss the faint smile that traced the other's lips. "Plus, can I have your autograph?"

The smile was nowhere to be seen. Just a sharp blue middle claw, aimed in Dante's direction. It made the older man burst into a fitful laugh, happy to see that Nero was the same old broody guy. He stood up, brushing off dust from his red coat. "Hey, Nero."

Nero blinked dumbfounded. Dante never called him by his name. He kept the rising feelings at bay, waiting for what the other had to say.

"…If you want to leave Fortuna City…you can come live with me. I get a lot of jobs. Most pretty dull but it definitely helps the bills, ya know."

The ex-Order knight allowed the words to process. It made him shiver a bit but it was what he wanted to hear. It was like his wish came true. If he hoped enough, then Dante would come back and take him away. All those long months and going through the embarrassing photo shoot were worth it. Nero's voice or at least…feelings of needing to escape and seeing the man in red were finally answered. Subconsciously, his Devil Bringer glowed pleasantly as it reached out for Dante's arm. The Devil Hunter crouched down to meet the eyes that seem to glow along with the Devil Bringer. They didn't need the exchange of words. Dante already knew what Nero would say. He may have bet all his money on knowing how he felt about the him too. So he closed the gap between them, sealing the deal. Before, Kyrie and Nero's kiss was interrupted by annoying demons but Nero's first kiss with Dante had none of that. It was as though they were meant to be.

THE END.

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