Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Devil May Cry in any official capacity, and am writing this for fun.

Rating: M

Pairing: Dante x Nero

Genre: Romance/Humour

Warnings: Yaoi (this means two guys getting down and dirty). Language, sexytimes, possible OOC

Summary: Dante seems determined to keep flying around in stupid circles, and Lady's about ready to blast his ass out of the sky. Poor Nero gets to watch while it all crashes and burns. Dante x Nero.

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Holding Pattern

by Write-Error

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Chapter 7:

Sour Cherry

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-o-o-O-o-o-

Shout when you wanna get off the ride
Shout when you wanna get off the ride
'Cause you crossed my mind, you crossed my mind
Made my blood thump 7-8-9
Make my heart beat double-time
Now I'm the only sour cherry on the fruit stand, right?
Am I the only sour cherry on your fruit stand?

-The Kills

-o-o-O-o-o-

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Dante had tried very hard not to form any expectations about what would happen in the morning.

He tended not to worry about how things would fall out, just as a general principle. Having expectations just screwed things up, especially in his line of work.

In this case, he just didn't want to think about the slim chance that his usual shit luck would return. Nero might start thinking he'd bitten off something he didn't want to chew. He could take all those warm feelings he'd been broadcasting the previous night with him as he backpedalled out the door. Then Dante would be stuck having to track him down and try to lure him back with orgasms. . . or something.

So, while best case scenario was being roused by a Nero who was down for some morning playtime, the Nero whose feelings he'd been pretty certain of in the early morning hours. . . well, Dante would have been perfectly happy with one who didn't want to flee the premises.

Cuddling? Bonus.

So, yeah. Dante had not gotten his hopes - among other things - up. However, this possibility was way out of left field.

He'd awakened slowly as was his habit, starting with a leisurely stretch out, eyes closed. . . only to be constrained by the arms that were braced against the mattress to either side of him. He opened his eyes with great difficulty, only to let out an "eep" sound that was strange even to his own ears.

Nero's very serious face was glaring down at him, only inches away in the early morning light. Seriously, it was like the kid's eyeballs were shooting lasers or something - it was disconcerting as fuck.

Dante swallowed, his usual grogginess disappearing. He was the opposite of a modest mary, but the scrutiny was too intense. He had the oddest urge to cover up. When he reached for the blankets, he realized that the younger man had stolen them. They were now wrapped around Nero in some kind of fortifying tube. This only enhanced the weirdness.

The only thing he could say for sure was this: cuddles were off the table. This was more like regaining consciousness in an interrogation room. He felt cold, too, without the blankets - and he was completely in the raw.

"What the HELL?!" he demanded. He told himself that his exclamation had been full of masculine affront, bearing no resemblance to a startled yelp. He blinked up at Nero. The young man's unsettling focus did not waver, not even when a hand was waved front of his face. "Uh. . . kiddo?"

For a second, he wondered if Nero's brain had short-circuited. His mind sped through the possibilities, and when he considered the weird science that went down in Nero's original island habitat, his speculation spun out into increasingly unlikely scenarios.

Brain-washing. Dante's eyes narrowed in speculation. What if Nero's first blowjob had triggered something, and he'd gone into some weird hypnosis mode? Could that sick anti-fun cult really have set him up to self-destruct when he finally got some, like some kind of reverse Snow White?

No wait, we only made it to the pre-show, that can't be it. . . unless I'm really that good? Shit, all evidence points to me being that good - even for my first crack at man-canoodling. But now, baby's a creepy vegetable. . . shit! What do I do, I've doomed us both. Nero, come back to me, I'll try my best to be less satisfying in the future. . .

Then, the kid cleared his throat and finally blinked, derailing Dante's resolve to become a bad lover. Psh. As if that would even have been possible; it was like one of his core competencies.

"Um. Hey," Nero greeted.

Dante's eyebrows shot up. Nero's voice? Relatively normal. The continued staring? Less normal by the second. Despite finally having said something, Nero was still looking at him like he was trying to take an x-ray of his cranium by will alone.

He hesitated, then settled his hands tentatively on Nero's hips - or at least, where he thought they were under the thick armor of the bed linens. "What's wrong?"

Nero lips parted, then closed. He gulped, and finally blinked, looking away. Now it was Dante's turn to stare. The younger devil's mind appeared to be going a mile a minute, and he looked like he was having some kind of internal argument. Embarrassment flashed briefly across his features, followed by sadness, and then resolve. He returned Dante's gaze.

Dante exhaled in relief at the evidence that the kid hadn't randomly turned into a manikin. He yanked the young man down onto his chest and wrapped his arms around him.

"Hey, let go! I got somethin' to say to you!" Nero's exclamation was muffled against his neck.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and that's going real well right now," he drawled. "Look, Nero. You are kind of ruining the morning after. I thought I'd be enjoying this one, but so far it's probably the most awkward ever. Trust me on this; I've gone through a few really bad ones after unintentionally falling asleep in, uh, strange places." He shuddered for dramatic effect.

Nero scowled, but otherwise ignored the bait. He pried himself loose from the older man's embrace, sitting up and once again subjecting Dante to visual examination. Dante frowned; this shit was long past getting old.

"Is there something on my face?" he prodded impatiently.

The younger man's eyes narrowed. "Soooo," he began in the worst attempt at a 'let's be casual' tone that Dante had ever heard. "Uh, what did you get up to yesterday?"

Dante blinked. Small talk? Seriously?"Huh?" he responded after an extended, incredulous pause. "Uhhh. . . before or after you finally got your hot little hand and mouth on m-"

Nero clamped his hand over Dante's mouth, only releasing him when he stopped trying to speak. "Not that! I mean. . . did you take a job? Did you. . . maybe run into anything?" He looked up, apparently finding something fascinating to stare at on the wall. "Uh, maybe you got into a scrap with something weird?"

Dante narrowed his eyes. "Well, I'm starting to think you are pretty fucking weird."

Nero snorted, and then he was suddenly back in Dante's face - so close that his cornflower blue eyes nearly crossed. "Just answer the question!" he snapped, giving up on subtlety. "Did anything strange happen to you yesterday? Or the day before that? You know. . ." he shifted uncomfortably. "While I was gone?"

Dante's brow furrowed.

Ohhhhh.

He looked up at Nero's anxious face and bit back a smile, resisting the urge to kiss his nervous bed-mate. He furrowed his brow in thought. "Now that you mention it, I did run into a she-devil when I was out." He paused.

Nero tensed in anticipation, broadcasting more irritation with each second that ticked by.

"Ehhhh." Dante shrugged. "It was probably nothing anyway." He settled back onto the pillow, and patted the mattress next to him with his most inviting smile. "C'mere. I'm sleepy."

Nero looked briefly tempted, but then reared up and shook his head. "No, come on. It's important!"

"Well," Dante continued with a sigh. "She just said some stuff. Like she was tryin' to curse me or something."

Nero's face fell. "Oh. Do you remember what she said?" he asked, his voice flat and harsh with disappointment.

"Yeah, lemme think. . ." Dante paused for a theatrical moment. "Oh yeah, now I remember. She just went 'oogity boogity, love whammy gaytimes,' and disappeared into this puff of smoke!" he concluded with an exaggerated look of confusion on his face. "I wonder what that was supposed to do?"

Nero's crestfallen expression morphed into an unimpressed glare at Dante's evident bullshit. "Oh, ha ha. You are SO fucking funny."

Dante ran his fingers gently over Nero's cheek. "You're the one with the bad jokes. You think I'm under the influence of. . . what? Devil-roofies?" He picked Nero's hand up from where it rested on the coverlet and kissed the smooth blue skin on the inside of his wrist. "You've got to quit selling yourself short."

Nero huffed out against Dante's collarbone. "What the hell was I supposed to think? You're - well, the more I think about it, you're just way outta my league. And then I realized how weird you were actin' when I got back from Lady's, so I just thought, maybe. . ."

Dante shook his head. "You are too damned cute." He felt Nero tense up again - embarrassment always made his temper flare.

Good, babe. Get riled up. That was way better than letting that sad, insecure part of Nero run wild. It really pissed him off that the kid still carried that crap around with him - that bone-deep doubt that anyone could think he was worth something.

"Don't fuckin' call me that," Nero seethed.

"Well, it's only fair that you are," Dante went on. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your brain's not your strongest point, so you've gotta compensate for that somehow. Saying stupid shit about me being too amazing and sexy for you. . . just stop it, or I'll be infected by your dumbness."

Dante couldn't help but smile at the irritated look he then received. The kid slammed his fist against the pillow in frustration. "Oh, fuck off! I'm not stupid - for one thing, 'dumbness' ain't a real word! A-and I never said that you're - or that I'm. . ." Nero bit his lip. "I never said any of that shit."

"Oh yeah, grammar cop?" Dante returned, teasing. He ruffled Nero's hair, enjoying the heat coming off him - that feisty temper fired the kid up in more ways than one. "I have pretty stellar hearing, and I'm positive that's what came out of your mouth just a second ago. Like you were thinkin' I'm too good for you, or you're not good enough for me." He raised his eyebrow, sending a pointed look Nero's way. "You sure you don't believe that?"

"Yeah, that's right, I'm not thinkin' that!" Nero shot back. His jaw was set in defiance, and his eyes blazed with cobalt fire.

Dante smiled at the triumphant return of Nero's hellion side. "Well, fuckin' A! Good thing we're in agreement about that, kid."

"Y-yeah! Fine!" Nero's agreed with Dante as belligerently as he could.

Dante buried his chuckle in Nero's hair. It was standing up on end and fluffy as hell. He'd have to bug him about his incredible bedhead later. He kissed Nero's tense jaw. "I'm not arguing with you. What's with the yelling?"

"I'm not yelling!" Nero yelled in Dante's ear, before realizing how loud he'd gotten and tucking his face into the other man's neck. Dante couldn't help but smile at how warm it felt. Yeah, the kid was definitely tomato-red. "Just. . . oh, for fuck's sake, shut up. Goddamn it. Asshole."

Dante's lips twitched. He curled himself around the other man as Nero pulled at the covers so that they covered both of them. The younger devil continued to swear under his breath as he got himself comfortably settled, only stopping his disgruntled mumbling to press a kiss to Dante's throat.

The older man rolled his eyes. Sure, babe. You're definitely not cute at all.

Nero's arm settled possessively over Dante's waist, like it belonged there. The two of them just lay there in a comforting silence, dozing off in the quiet.

A little while later, he was rudely jolted when Nero sneakily extracted himself from the embrace and started making like he was going to get out of bed.

"Hm?" Dante tried to blink but his eyes felt glued shut from his catnap. He snagged Nero's wrist in his fingers before he could scoot away. "Where do you think you're going?" he yawned. "No getting up before. . . whenever an hour from now is."

"No one's makin' you get up," Nero replied with a little smile as he freed himself from the grip on his hand. Dante inhaled sharply at the sound of his voice, still a little rusty and sexy from sleep. "You can lounge around all day like the queen of sheba if you want, lazy-ass."

Dante dragged the blanket up over his head and wrapped his arm around Nero's hips. He made a happy humming noise and rubbed his nose against the younger man's side.

"Seriously, let go. . ."

Dante just shrugged and held on, noting Nero's reluctance to actually pull away. The kid was a total softie as soon as he was shown any affection.

His mind started to wander as he pondered just what he might be able to cajole Nero into. He'd already put together a pretty comprehensive mental curriculum for Nero's, uh, continuing education. The sooner they got going on that, the more practice the kid could get before the final. Oh, yeah. There was a lot of material to cover, and just the thought of it was bringing his teacher's pointer to a state of enthusiastic readiness.

"What is up with that weird smile?" Nero sounded suspicious.

"Nothing," was Dante's innocent reply. "Why such a hard-ass?" he pressed his face to Nero's skin and inhaled deeply - he smelled so good. Like salted caramel, musk, and sex. Dante's hand gave the younger man's thigh a warm squeeze, slowly sliding upwards.

Nero shivered and took a halting breath, before reluctantly stopping the hand's progress. "Wait. . ."

"Fine, fine, hold your horses, babe," Dante yawned. "I know you've got your pride. I give in, see? No need to get all crazy with the desperate humping. I'll serve you up some hot Dante in a second." He extricated his hand from Nero's grip, but despite his strong motivation to mobilize, he was still sluggish with sleep, blindly groping for the edge of the mattress. "Lemme go brush my teeth first though; I probably taste like roadkill right now."

Nero's stomach shook with laughter as the older man continued to fumble ineffectually with his eyes barely opened. "Aww. You really are kind of helpless when you're short of sleep and there's no crisis going on." Dante felt himself jostled as Nero shifted under him. He felt the soft pressure of the younger man's lips against the top of his head, and then the firm touch of warm fingers combing through his hair. "Go ahead and catch more Zs. I gotta go."

At that, Dante squinted unhappily and raised himself up on his elbow.

"I bet there's no food around here either, so I'll stop at Cappy's. You want anything from there?"

"Whatever," Dante sighed in resignation. He flopped back to the mattress and listened to Nero moving around and trying to locate his clothes. "Any food we need can be delivered in twenty, anyway."

Nero laughed, and the older devil couldn't help but smile at the sound. "What about food for people who want to eat stuff that's not pizza?"

Dante made an indifferent sound, before seizing the pillow Nero had been sleeping on. "So what? Once I find what I like, I never stop liking it. Anything wrong with that?"

Nero froze in the doorway for a second, and then turned around. Dante opened his eyes slightly to see him stalk back to the bed.

"Hm? OOF!" Nero had launched himself back onto the mattress, and suddenly Dante was alert, silently staring into blue eyes that were inches away.

It was a lot like earlier that morning, only this time, Nero's gaze was deep and heated. Dante felt he could be pulled into it and never surface again. "Nah, nothin' wrong with that," Nero murmured.

Their gazes held for a bit, but then Dante's brain caught up to his lover's proximity and he let go of the Nero-scented pillow in favour of the real thing. He pressed a kiss to the younger man's cheek, then his throat, as his fingers tugged at the belt-loops at his hips, trying to draw him closer. "If you actually do want to get out of here, you'd better get on that. I'm giving you ten seconds before clothes start coming off again," he told Nero with uncharacteristic seriousness.

Nero's arms latched around him strongly, but all too soon, the younger half-devil sighed and pulled away. He kissed Dante's closed eyelids, and then got up again with an embarrassed cough. "Um. Well. I'm. . . gonna go now."

"Just to verify, you don't want me to come with you, right?"

The look Nero gave him was one of horror. "No. Hell, no."

"Fine," Dante grunted. He reclaimed his Nero-pillow. "If Lady gives you trouble, call me and I'll. . . no. Don't waste time. Just run. Think of her as a bear coming out of hibernation, all crazed with rabies and whatever. You get the fuck out of there, even if you have to leave your pants behind."

Nero shot Dante an amused look.

Dante yawned and hugged the pillow tighter. "Be strong, survive and come home. We can find you a shrink later. And remember, no matter what physical damage you sustain, or how violated she might make you feel. . . you'll always be shiny and pure to me, because of love and stuff," he announced with a wink, his hand splayed over his heart.

Nero grinned. "I'm the one who needs a shrink?" he retorted with obvious skepticism. He made a show of backing away slowly, before sauntering out the bedroom door. "See ya soon, Dante."

Dante blinked, and then remembered something. "Oh yeah, If you're going shopping, pick up some lube. Like, lots of it." he called out.

Nero sputtered something unintelligible outside the door. His hand popped back through the doorway, and quickly flipped Dante off before heading down the hall.

"I'm telling you, you'll be glad you did, punk!" Dante laughed.

He lay there drowsily, listening to the clank and creak of the plumbing as the shower ran. DMC was like a living thing - a rickety, old, temperamental living thing that was in a perpetual state of falling apart. It was so rarely quiet - there were always sounds, and they comforted him as he listened to Nero move around the place, getting ready to head out.

Dante heard the front door creak shut. He realized he was wide awake - and, without Nero around, there wasn't much reason to stay in bed any longer.

He stretched out, rubbed at his beard, and headed to the bathroom for a shower.

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-o-o-O-o-o-

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Dante had finished getting dressed upstairs when he heard the front door open. Nero's characteristic steps sounded on the hardwood floor of the office downstairs.

"That was fast!" he called out.

He headed down to the kitchen to investigate. The kid's head was in the fridge as he shifted stuff to make room for the contents of the grocery bag on the countertop.

"Yeah," Nero explained distractedly, "I messaged her on the way and she was already out. She's comin' over later, though." He pulled a pizza box out, opened it, and squinted at the contents before closing the fridge and turning towards the older man. "Uh, Dante, how long's this been. . . whoa."

Dante grinned as Nero looked him over. The pizza box fell on the floor, forgotten. "What, you don't like it? Thought it would be better not to have you flinching away from my scruff. Here," he grabbed Nero's hand and pressed it to his cheek, "better, yeah?"

Nero just stared, transfixed. His fingers stroked gently along Dante's jawline. "Feels nice," he observed in a low voice. "And. . . well, it's not that I don't like it. I mean, you. . . it's . . . you look good. I mean, really good."

The older man felt himself smile at the look of appreciation Nero was giving him. He leaned in and nuzzled against Nero's throat. "No more complaints that I'm scratchy?" He tilted Nero's head up for a kiss but the younger man's hand shot up to his chest, holding him at a distance.

Dante raised his eyebrow at Nero's heated stare. That stunned look on the kid's face was inflating Dante's ego like nobody's business - frankly, it was way past time Nero started sexually objectifying him. "It's just that it's weirding me out. I'm not used to you like this."

Dante flashed his most dashing smile and gave Nero the look, gratified to see his adam's apple bob in a nervous swallow. After months of having zero game and floundering around like a love-retarded fish out of water, his mojo had finally returned - and not a second too soon. "C'mere babe," he purred.

The younger man took a step back, blinking in alarm. "No! I kind of feel like I'm cheating on you or something," Nero mumbled.

Dante winked, laughing as the flush crept steadily down Nero's neck and up to his hairline.

"Stop it!" Nero exclaimed with mock-outrage, eyes lit with mirth. He shivered as Dante squeezed his thigh. "Whoa there stranger, that's a no-fly zone!"

Dante cupped Nero's ass and leered, voice lowering into a sexually-charged growl. "C'mon, hot stuff. Forget that beard guy."

"No fuckin' way," Nero replied, breathless from laughter. He pulled Dante close, kissed him on the nose, and smiled until his eyes crinkled. "Sorry. I'm totally into him. No hard feelings, man."

Dante experienced such an intense rush of need at the earnestness and warmth in Nero's clear blue eyes that he had to lighten things up. He wanted to drag the kid to bed and spend hours worshiping him like a minor deity.

"Too late, I'm definitely having a hard feeling right now." He gave him a lazy smile, tugging Neros hand down to press against the growing bulge in his jeans.

Nero exhaled unsteadily as Dante pushed firmly against his warm fingers.

"C'mon, babycakes. I'm gonna give you a good, long tour of Fuck-town," he continued with a salacious wink.

He struggled to suppress his laughter at how Nero's expressive face went from turned-on to dumbfounded in no time flat.

Nero took his hand back and socked Dante in the shoulder as Dante lost the battle, cracking up at his own amazing come-on. "Ha! Man, that look on your face. . ."

The kid shook his head in disbelief. "When I first moved here I thought you were so cool. I got conned! Is this your pick-up material? 'Cause I didn't think anything could be worse than being offered a bag of tube socks by a bald, sweaty dude, but that was close."

Dante smirked and slid his hands up the back of Nero's shirt and tugged him closer. "Cool or not, it's working, isn't it?" he pressed his mouth to the side of Nero's white neck, tongue finding his strong and rapid pulse.

Nero's hands fisted at his sides before he let out a groan of frustration. "I can't even tell you how much self-respect I'm losin' here. You are so lame. I hate myself."

Dante grinned and he kicked the pizza box aside, slowly backing Nero up against the fridge door. "Shhh, shhh. It's not your fault. I'm too hot; you can't defy the rules of nature. Don't fight it."

Nero dropped his head to rest on Dante's shoulder and released a dismayed huff. "You are so full of shit."

"I'm a love genius, you mean."

"I'm gonna have to gag you, aren't I," Nero chuckled.

Dante lifted an eyebrow and leaned in close to whisper suggestively in Nero's ear. "What if I don't gag?"

"Oh my god."

Dante pulled back abruptly. Nero had sounded like Lady right then. It was super weird, like a wet dream turning into some kind of bizarre nightmare. . .

Oh. That actually was Lady's voice.

Dante groaned as he looked behind him. She was leaning against the door-frame with an incredulous look on her face.

"When the hell did you sneak up like that?" Nero demanded.

"Just now. Believe me, I would not be able to stand more than a second of what I just saw without saying something." She looked from Dante to Nero and back again, one eyebrow ticking upwards. "You were somewhat distracted - guess you didn't hear me come in." She spun on her heel and walked back into DMC's front area.

Nero followed, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Uh, hey Lady. You know, when you said you'd come by later, I thought you meant, like. . . more than twenty minutes later."

Lady crossed her arms in front of her as she stood by the desk. She tapped a contemplative finger on her forearm as she continued to look at them with her eyebrow raised. "Really. So, this is what goes on around here when you're not expecting me to stop by? It seems I'm interrupting something. I think you need to explain to me why it looks like Dante's trying to make time with my man, before I make sure neither of you has the ability to make it with anything ever again."

Nero stiffened and Dante took note of the look of extreme disbelief on his face. "What on earth are you goin' on about?! Didn't you read my text?"

Lady's gaze grew steely as she took a step towards them. Dante didn't find much reassurance in the fact that she didn't have her weapon in hand. Her fingers twitched, inches away from the gun strapped to her thigh, and Lady had always been a damned quick draw.

Nero had said he could handle the Lady issue, but Dante wasn't sure about that - the kid looked pretty surprised at how she was acting. Dante had learned over the years since they'd met that she could fly off the handle for the smallest reasons. He could still vividly recall one occasion when he'd accidentally taken her coffee.

She had put a hole through the cup as he tried to take a sip out of it. God only knew what she'd do if she'd realized he was about to take a long cool drink of Nero.

Dante's eyes were trained on Lady's hand's proximity to her firearm, so he never even saw it coming. One second, he was bracing for a bullet. The next, Lady was laughing. She walked over to his desk and pulled herself up to sit on it, hand pressed to her mouth.

"You just love to mess with me, don't you," Nero remarked bitterly. He walked over to the couch and collapsed onto it with relief.

"Hey, Nero." She turned back to Dante with a smirk on her face. "So. . . what's with the shave? Tired of looking like a hobo?"

Dante just looked at her and smiled - but it was one with a sharp edge hiding underneath. "Actually, Nero has really delicate skin. I saw I was leaving all these little scrapes on-"

Lady held her hand up. "Okay, stop."

"Dante . . . don't talk. Please," Nero interjected, sitting up in alarm.

Dante took a seat next to Nero, well within his personal bubble. He was fucking magnetic when he was all flustered like that - and though the older hunter wasn't too sure what was going on, he wanted to make it clear to Lady that her window of opportunity had firmly closed. "You don't need to be embarrassed, babe. I just felt bad about giving you rug-burn all ove-"

Nero just slapped his hand over Dante's mouth, eyes wide. "I mean it, Dante, shut up."

Lady was then treated to a good thirty seconds of an irritated Nero holding the older man's face away from him, all while Dante made muffled kissy-face noises.

Oddly enough, Lady wasn't pissed. . . she just looked amazed, maybe with a side of queasy. "This is bad. I knew it would be bad - it's Dante, after all - but this is just. . . This is so much worse than I pictured. Nero, honey? If you ever need a break for a while, just come stay in our guest room."

Hearing that suggestion, Dante narrowed his eyes. "Sorry Lady. I've licked him all over, so he's mine no-"

Nero punched Dante in the stomach, which knocked the breath out of him and effectively shut him up for a few seconds. The kid put some space between them on the couch before relaxing his defensive posture.

"Check out this domestic violence," Dante gasped, clutching his stomach.

Nero glared, running a hand through his hair in agitation. "I already told you, you got nothin' to worry about!" He then turned to Lady. "See what I'm sayin'? Set the record straight, already. I am beggin' you here. This seems to kinda resemble jealousy, but it's way over-the-top. Fix it, before he tries to pee on me or something." He slumped down in his seat, rubbing at his temple.

Lady stared at Dante in disbelief. "Nero, are you sure you're going to be okay like this?" She sounded genuinely concerned.

"Yeah." It sounded like Nero was grinding his teeth. "But he's a fuckin' handful, all right."

Dante wiggled his eyebrows and opened his mouth, but Nero pointed at him without even looking up. "Don't say it."

"Well," Lady began, obviously unsettled. "Let's just get this over with, then."

"YES!" Nero exclaimed with obvious relief.

Lady gave the kid an amused look before schooling her features. "Well, Dante, I've been enjoying how stupidly dramatic this turned out to be - but I guess all good things have to come to an end." She examined her nails. "See, I made a deal with Nero, the last time I shot you. We agreed that I would stop doing that-"

"As if anyone should even have to make a deal to get you to stop shooting people who are just hanging out at home. You are completely fuckin' nuts," Nero grumbled.

"In exchange," Lady continued without even acknowledging the interruption, "Nero had to go along with some stuff I wanted to do."

Nero scoffed. "And you kept changing the fuckin' deal!" He turned to Dante. "Starting out, it was supposed to be going along with her flirting that one night at the club. She wanted to bug you for sayin' she wasn't getting laid." He grimaced at the memory. "Then, she decided she wanted to keep going a bit longer, and it just never ended. But if I called it off or let on about it, she was gonna welch! So I kinda had to go along, or all of it woulda been for nothing and I would have wasted all that time."

Dante frowned. "Huh?"

Turning back to Lady, Nero took a deep breath, like he was gearing up to finally speak his mind. "I can't believe you and your shitty deals! Not only do you somehow get most of our pay, you had me at the end of my rope putting up with your weird-ass behaviour. I'm never makin' any kind of deal with you again," he ranted. "You're worse than a festival con-man."

Lady shrugged. "I gave you a valuable life lesson. Always check the fine print when you're signing an agreement."

Nero sneered. "What fine print on what agreement that who signed, huh?"

Her smile turned cat-like. "And now, you understand why you should always make sure agreements are in writing, too. See, honey? You may be slow, but you do learn. Good boy," she chuckled, apparently unperturbed by reason or morality.

Nero crossed his arms over his chest, a look of disapproval pinching his face.

Dante stared at Nero as his mind worked away. The kid had put up with this crazy woman, acted like her personal chew-toy for so long. . . all for Dante? It was hard to believe. Nero had been so obviously uncomfortable trying to fend off Lady's weirdness, but he'd done it.

He turned the idea over and over in his head. . . until finally, he just couldn't hold it in any longer. He wrapped his arm around Nero, nuzzling his neck with pure affection. Nero yelped in surprise, but didn't move away this time.

Just when Dante thought he'd hit the max on his internal love-meter, Nero completely fried the thing. The kid really was a total softie. He wasn't much of a talker, not one for words like Dante was. The older man knew he had a bit of a verbal incontinence problem, and sometimes he was only sincere about half of what he said.

Nero, on the other hand, didn't do much explaining. Even so, he broadcast his feelings, loud and clear. He mouthed off and acted all prickly, but he wouldn't think twice about sacrificing for someone he cared about.

He'd run a gauntlet of freaks and geeks for that Fortuna girl, but fighting to protect people was what he did naturally - the kid was built for it. He lived for it.

However. . . enduring Lady's strange schemes, just to spare Dante a bit of non-lethal pain? Dante thought he came out the clear winner when it came down to trials endured on his behalf. Sure, it didn't sound all impressive, but. . .

It seemed Nero could see the conclusions he was drawing, too, because he was shooting Lady and Dante embarrassed glances. He started trying to pry himself loose from Dante's iron embrace.

Then, Dante spotted Lady's smug expression and realized something. That weird feeling he'd had over the past while, the taunting, the goading, the challenges that he didn't understand. . .

It was now so obvious. "So. . . you got me all tied up in knots, all according to plan, huh? I'll admit it. You play a deep game."

She just smiled in satisfaction and leaned back on her hands, swinging her feet lazily. "Nero, you went back to Fortuna and Dante was pining twenty-four-seven." She looked at Dante. "And when Nero got back, I'd come in here, and you acted like you were a pile of puppies or something. Cute, but so dumb." Lady looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "He'd probably have had grandchildren before you realized what was going on, so I thought I should light a fire under your ass."

"Huh?" Nero just stared at her, trying to follow. "W-wait a second. . ."

Dante shook his head, impressed. "I can't believe you, Lady."

She just scoffed. "Well why the hell not? It's not like you listen to me when I try to talk to you, so when Nero started freaking that night before we went out, I decided to take that and run with it. But to be honest, watching you freak out over him?" She smirked. "It was kind of fun."

"You're a horrible person. I knew there was a good reason we've stuck together all these years," Dante drawled. "Thanks Lady, but no need to help anymore. I mean it. Your help does not feel like help."

"Well, now that I've cut my boy-toy loose, the reason I came here is this." She pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and raised it in the air. "Since Nero's around to help keep an eye on things, I figured it would be an appropriate time."

"Time for what?" Dante asked. He had no idea what she could be referring to.

Lady tapped the sheet with her fingernail. "Dante, do you even know how much money you owe me?"

Ah, back to the usual topics. "Uh. . . a lot?" he ventured. "Sorry ma'am, I don't have any cash right now. For real."

Lady gave him an exasperated look. "Forget about paying me today. Do you even have a ballpark idea of how much debt you're in?"

Dante tried again. "More than a lot of. . . many dollars?"

Nero slapped a hand to his face and groaned.

Dante hadn't paid much attention, even when the whole debt-due-to-property-damage thing had started. He wasn't sure what the initial sum had been. Shit like that never mattered much to him - as long as he had enough on hand for a pizza, he figured things were okay. "Why? Are you planning on adding to it or something?"

Lady looked affronted at the suggestion. "What? No. You don't even have a vague idea, do you? See Dante, this is why I have to be so type-A around you. Someone's got to keep track of what goes on around here. Listen up. You paid me back ages ago."

"Hey, don't blame me for the fact that you are a control freak, that's all on - wait a sec. What?" Dante blinked, unaccustomed to the concept of being debt-free.

She met his eyes "You've reimbursed me in full, Dante. But I sort of. . . kept collecting so you wouldn't blow it on liquor and hookers or whatever you used to spend it on. God knows you never saved anything before I started garnishing your wages." She slapped the paper on the top of the desk. "This is the latest statement for the account where I've been keeping your money - I got it printed at the bank after Nero texted me this morning."

Dante paused, trying to absorb the information. "Uh. . . there's something I don't get. Why didn't you just come out and say we were square when the time came? Seriously Lady, you've got some problems with communication. Watch carefully how easy this is." He pointed to his face and enunciated clearly. "'Dante, we're square now. Don't spend all your cash on booze.' See?"

Lady frowned, and it was unusual to see her so discomfited. "I just. . . I'd come by to check up on you, or say hi, and you'd always just assume I was here to shake you down. So, I'd get pissed and shake you down. You didn't seem to want me to hang out. . ."

Dante looked at her skeptically. "What? It's not like that at all. I've never-"

She arched an eyebrow. "What about lately? Trish is off the grid for god knows how long. My place is empty. And what did I get when I stopped by? 'Oh hanging out like a pal - you do that now?'" She glanced away, and Dante was amazed - he'd actually hurt her feelings with that one. "Good thing Nero is usually up for getting takeout, watching movies, or going for a drink after work, or I would have been spending all my downtime alone."

Wow. Dante did feel bad. It would always be true that Lady was a driven, work-focused person, but he'd just expected her to be pissed at him more often than not. Maybe they'd never really been the 'let's have fun together' kind of friends, but yeah, they were friends. Had he pinned her in a corner? If so, that was shitty.

Lady - well, she was family.

"Look, my bad. Stop in whenever, and I'll be happy to see you. But, for future reference, if a choice ever comes between hitting on the kid or shooting me, just shoot me for fuck's sake!" he muttered in reproach.

"No," Nero interjected, glaring at Dante and then at Lady. "I've suffered enough to ask for a little restraint around here. Lady, if I catch Dante poppin' any more of your bullets outta him, you'll be sorry enough to abandon that precious house of yours and leave town. And I know you don't wanna do that after makin' me renovate your kitchen while you yelled drunk instructions at me all fuckin' night that time."

"I wasn't drunk," Lady defended with a stubborn look on her face.

Nero narrowed his eyes. "Yeah? You were drinking at the club, and then you pulled the bottle out when we got back and kept going." He affected a shrill, girly voice and started waving his hands around. "Rip that counter out, Nero! Oh no wait, that was wrong, you can put it back, right?'" He glared at Lady, who was picking invisible lint off her jacket.

Lady sniffed. "Well it was never going to be done properly if you didn't help me out. And next time-"

"Next time?!" Nero groaned. "No. No, I'm cryin' uncle."

"Yes, next time you come work on my kitchen, I won't drink," she stated firmly.

Dante raised an eyebrow - that was as much of a concession as he'd seen Lady give anyone.

"You did great anyway," she went on. "Those guys I hired before were awful. They couldn't take constructive input, and they were lazy. Most of them just walked off after an hour."

"Oh, gee. I wonder what made them run for the hills. You know what? I got a lot of your input that night." He gave Lady a firm look. "I need to tell you, that shit was not constructive. It's even worse when you start waving your gun around."

Then, Nero nudged Dante. "So, hey, tone it down. It's like you want to piss each other off just because you're bored. That shit's tiring, man."

Lady smiled and turned to Dante. "Well? Does it feel good to have some money saved up? God knows you'd never have managed to put it away on your own. There's a good amount in there for a rainy day."

Dante got up and grabbed the slip of paper to check the account balance. His eyes widened. He then dove back onto the couch, resting his head on Nero's leg and waving the paper in front of the younger man's face. "Guess who's going motorcycle shopping?"

Nero grinned, lighting right up. "No way!" he exclaimed.

"I still think you'd be funny in a sidecar. We could get you goggles and a scarf."

Nero made a disgusted sound. "No way," he repeated, with far less enthusiasm.

Lady flicked her bangs out of her eyes. "Figures. Blowing your money on toys."

Dante frowned at her. "What? It's a business expense. We would get more done if he's not clamping his legs around me every trip." He gave Nero a suggestive smile, which was pointedly ignored.

Lady nodded. "Fine, it's a good idea. He'll need a way to escape from you when you get really bad."

"Hell, yes!" Nero cheered.

Dante sat up. "Hey!"

"The bike, not the fleeing," Nero said with a grin, forcing Dante to tug him down for a little taste of that smile.

Lady cleared her throat.

Nero had pulled away, but was still looking at Dante through half-lidded eyes. The older man could actually feel his brain slowing down in the face of that look. He'd had enough problems when the younger man was just walking around the place all oblivious; this was going to be impossible.

Lady was coughing like she was trying to dislodge a hairball.

Dante could barely hear her through the roaring in his ears. God. He was dead in the water. Nero was gonna walk all over him, but it was hard to care. He wet his lips, swallowed, and lowered his voice. "If you keep eye-fucking me like that, my zipper's going to leave a permanent mark."

Apparently he hadn't lowered it enough. "Ugh." Lady muttered, and Dante shot her a grateful look when she made a beeline for the door. "I'll come back tomorrow. . . er, actually, call me when you surface. And try not to break anything, boys. You can't afford it."

Nero looked up, suddenly remembering that they weren't alone. "Oh Lady - next time you come over, can you bring those DVDs? The train robbery flick looked pretty cool. I still have a pack of the cherry blaster things you like, too."

"Sounds good," she replied, pulling her sunglasses from her purse and sliding them on.

Dante frowned up at Nero. "Have you been hiding candy from me?"

"Well, yeah, obviously," Nero gave him a look. "You eat any that you find around here. Lady likes those cherry things the best, so I save 'em for when we watch movies here."

Dante looked towards the door and caught Lady looking back and smiling. He filed the observation away - she definitely had a soft spot for the kid, and vice-versa. It was nice to see.

Then she saw Dante looking, and her expression hardened. She pointed two fingers at her eyes and then pointed at him. It was the universal sign for 'watch your ass, I've got my eye on you.'

Dante shuddered. Maybe Lady looking out for Nero isn't such a good thing.

By the time Nero looked up, Lady was already closing the door behind her - and Dante had more important things on his mind.

He slid a hand over Nero's ass and squeezed. "So, babe. . . when do I get some sugar?"

Nero slithered free with a smirk and made a break for the stairs. Dante was hot on his heels.

.

-o-o-O-o-o-

.

So much for being shy. It was like Nero had never wanted anything more than to get into Dante's pants. It was a miracle they'd even made it to Dante's bedroom, but he'd managed to pick Nero up while they made out against the wall in the hallway and thrown him through the bedroom door so he landed on the mattress.

Their shirts had come off at some point during the frantic grope-session - Dante was pretty sure his was in two pieces at the top of the stairs.

But yes, they made it to the bed. Nero writhed eagerly under Dante as he made an attempt to taste every inch of the alabaster flesh that was exposed to him. The younger man's fly was open, the waistband pulled down enough to expose the top of his snowy pubic hair.

Dante pulled his mouth away from Nero's nipples, reduced to gasping for breath at the other man's confident touch on his dick through the heavy denim that restrained him. Then Nero's palm pressed firmly against his chest, shoving Dante onto his back. Nero pulled Dante's pants off while impatiently shucking his own, and then crawled forward, head bent, fingers digging bruises into Dante's thighs. The older man inhaled with a hiss as he bucked up into Nero's lazy tongue.

"Shit," Dante groaned, speechless at his partner's aggression and sure movements. Goddamn it, it was going to be tough to hang on. Nero's tongue curled around the head of his cock with a hum of pleasure.

"Baby. . ." Dante muttered, nearly inarticulate. "Oh my fucking god. . ."

Nero's warm tongue lapped down the shaft, meeting where his fingers rolled Dante's heavy testicles together. "Fuck," Nero whispered between licks. "I dunno what it is, but you smell real good to me. Drives me crazy," he murmured. He then wrapped his lips around the side of the shaft, sucking wetly and sliding his mouth back up as Dante's hips bucked helplessly, wanting more.

Dante was so surprised and turned on that he could barely put two thoughts together. Nero looked up for a moment, meeting his eyes. Then he took the thick shaft in his hand, stroking and tugging, and slid his mouth down over the blood-dark flesh as Dante's fingers curled hard into the duvet beneath him.

Nero looked so good like that, felt so good like that. . . His mouth was amazingly hot, and he rubbed his soft tongue over the twitching flesh like he was utterly enjoying it. Nero pulled off him with a wet slurping sound and rubbed the head over his cheek. Dante's leaking dick painted a wet line over the skin. Nero's eyes sparked in challenge as he extended his tongue to lap teasingly over the needing flesh.

Dante lost it at that display. Shoving Nero to his back in one movement, he grabbed a handful of his hair and straddled Nero's shoulders. His cock hovered, twitching, over the younger man's wet, swollen lips, and pushed out another big drop of lubrication. Dante watched Nero lick it up, the younger man's pupils dilated with arousal.

"Open for me," he commanded roughly, pressing the head against Nero's lips. With an almost insolent look in his eyes, Nero slowly obeyed, swirling his tongue over the throbbing flesh as Dante pressed inside. His cock met a warm welcome as Nero started sucking.

Dante was careful, not wanting to choke him, but Nero just moaned around the cock that opened his throat, swirling his tongue, asking for it with his dark eyes.

"Fuck," Dante grunted. He pulled himself away, pinning Nero's wrists to the bed when the younger man reached for him. He stilled, panting heavy breaths. Dante needed to get him ready. He didn't want to hurt him any more than necessary - he needed Nero to love this as much as he was going to.

He slid back down the bed when he'd regained some composure, and draped himself over Nero, kissing him. "Baby," he murmured. Nero was touching himself, and Dante took over, as their kisses turned rough, all teeth, tongue and deep breaths. He could taste it - the sweet, musky tang of his pre-come, everywhere in Nero's mouth.

It was hard to tear himself away from those lips, but he did. Nero's hiss of pleasure encouraged him as he kissed his way down to shell-pink nipples, laving and biting at them. It seemed decadent somehow, knowing he'd have forever to learn everything about Nero's body. Dante sucked wet marks down Nero's stomach and pulled away to grab the bottle of lubricant. He slicked his fingers with it, and then lowered his head to slide Nero's dripping length down his throat.

Nero let out a roar of pleasure that vaguely resembled Dante's name. Dante draped the younger man's thighs over his shoulders and slid his slippery fingers into the crack of Nero's ass. The pads of his fingers rubbed tenderly over the tight pucker, teasing and getting it wet. Then, he gently pressed one in. The younger man moaned as Dante curled the digit inside him, rubbing at the silky walls until he found the spot he was looking for, eliciting breathless curses. It was hot and tight, especially with Nero reflexively squeezing down on the penetration. The younger man was working his hips to get what he wanted from the finger inside him even as he sought more pleasure from the teasing attentions of Dante's mouth.

He'd have to take his time preparing Nero, but it was hard to resist him when he was going wild like this.

"Fuck, Dante, fuck. . ." Nero was leaking so much pre-come that Dante's mouth was soon full of the warm, sweet taste of it. More came out of him each time Dante stroked his finger over the button in Nero's increasingly yielding passage. Every time he touched Nero, he couldn't help but feel like the luckiest bastard in existence - everything he did got Dante's motor running.

"Dante. . ." Nero panted, looking down at him with heavy-lidded eyes, spreading his legs wider. "M-more. . ."

Dante pulled his mouth away to smear more lube over Nero's opening. He held Nero behind one knee and pressed the leg upwards, watching as Nero accepted two fingers, squeezing around them as he stroked and stretched the tight walls, pushing the slick stuff inside to ease the way.

"Oh, fuck," Nero muttered breathlessly. His human hand moved over his erection, still gleaming wet from Dante's mouth.

"That okay, baby?" Dante husked. He pulled his fingers out and slicked them again before pressing back inside, working the lubrication in deeper and parting the digits in the tight clasp of Nero's body. It was softer now. The passage gave graciously around Dante's fingers as they flexed to stretch Nero, and pressed against the spot that made his body jump like a live wire.

"Hurts a bit," Nero said, his voice rough with want, "but I. . ." He trailed off, panting, pushing harder into the invading touch.

Nero made inarticulate sounds of pleasure and pain. Then, Dante ran his tongue up from Nero's balls and up the shaft of his pulsing cock, before slurping the deep rose head into his mouth and going down, down, down. Dante hummed around his mouthful, swallowing, as his fingers continued to work Nero open. Nero grunted at the continuing stimulation, hands tangling in Dante's hair to pull his mouth away.

"Baby, I still gotta-"

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Nero stared down Dante's body at his painfully denied erection. "I'm happy you're being careful with me, but I'll be pissed if that falls off. I'm gonna need it later."

Dante breathed deeply and took in the delicious sight of Nero's body spread under him like a feast. "Just a bit more and we'll be good to go," he promised. Nero curled his arms around Dante's neck, pulling him upwards for several wet kisses before pulling away and scowling.

"Well then, hurry the fuck up!" Nero commanded. His eyes moved appreciatively over Dante's body. He reached out to touch him, but Dante stopped him with a shake of his head.

"No, babe." He smiled, slow and dangerous. He bit a crescent-bruise into Nero's thigh. "The more of this stuff I get into you, the better it'll be for both of us." Nero was soft and relaxed around his fingers. Almost perfect now. The smooth muscles milked his invading digits in a way he couldn't help but imagine around other parts of his anatomy.

Nero slapped the mattress in frustration. Dante couldn't help but chuckle. "C'mon Dante," Nero said, his voice husky. "How long are you gonna make me wait?"

Dante's breath was coming ragged and heavy, all amusement forgotten. He yanked the drawer of the nightstand open and grabbed a rubber, tearing the packet open with his teeth before rolling the thin, lubricated sheath down over his length. He saw the questioning look on Nero's face. "It'll help," he explained, before pushed his arms up beneath Nero's knees.

He let out a gasp of relief when the head of his cock popped inside, and he gained access to the smooth heat he'd opened up with his fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut as his flesh jumped happily in Nero's hold, and opened up to find Nero's eyes on his, a deep wet blue, hazy and unfocused with lust.

"Oh, fuck. . ." Nero moaned.

Dante kissed Nero gently as his hips eased forward and he gained another couple of inches of depth. "That all right, baby?"

"K-keep going." Nero had such an intense voice - low and raw and rough.

That wasn't really an answer, but Dante pushed in deeper, unable to tell if the low cries were pleasure or pain. He licked Nero's neck, eyes closed, invading him firmly and steadily. The younger man squeezed his eyes shut, hands clenching, leaving bruises in Dante's back.

"Hold up! Hold up a second!" Nero panted, sounding distressed. He inhaled through his teeth, his eyelashes spiking with moisture.

Dante made a soothing sound, kissing Nero gently. He exhaled a shaky breath. "You're real tight." He exhaled again, trying to keep his control when all he wanted was to bury himself deeper. He rubbed his knuckles up the underside of Nero's dick to take his mind off it. The younger man relaxed slightly as Dante took him in hand, a light, unsteady rhythm to distract him from the pain.

Dante leaned down to drop kisses all over Nero's face. He slid his palm up the underside of Nero's erection, and then pulled back to survey his body, entranced. "If you could only see. You got no idea what it does to me, watching you take me in."

Nero tightened, as though he was testing the feel of how Dante was pushing him apart, and blinked slowly before meeting the older half-devil's hot stare. He shifted, rolling his hips slightly. "It's starting to feel good again."

Dante leaned down, parting Nero's lips with his, sliding his tongue into his mouth, before pulling back and repositioning. Nero's long, pale legs fell to either side as Dante held him behind the knees. The sight was unbearably erotic. Nero's head falling back on the mattress. His body arched like a bow as he was penetrated, and his devil bringer pressed his own erection against his belly.

"All mine," Dante voice was rough with lust. "I'm gonna fuck you now." He gripped Nero firmly around the waist as he rocked back in, a little more each time, until his balls were pressing Nero's stretched opening.

Nero's eyes were glazed, heavy-lidded, half closed as he braced his arms above him so he could push himself down into Dante's lap. His mouth hung open, his expression a mix of pleasure and pain. "God, Dante. It's good."

He closed his eyes at the sensation, flexed his hips slowly, watched Nero's lips part in a hoarse, "Oh yeah, there. . ." when he stroked the spot he'd been looking for.

Dante's eyes hooded with lust as he watched Nero bite his lip, hips rocking up and asking for more. He had thought for a little while there that he'd overdone it with the lube, but it would have been hard to even move without a good amount of it. He pressed his hands up under his lover's knees.

"Nero," he husked into the other's mouth, hips continuing the slow, grinding movements. "Touch yourself, baby. Show me how you like it."

He didn't hesitate at all, but took his time sliding his fingers down over his stomach. Little gasps and moans slipped from his parted lips. Dante watched in hungry fascination as Nero started to stroke himself slowly, his hand a dark, rough visual contrast with the rest of his pale skin. Nero held his tongue between his teeth as he gave Dante a show. The gleaming pink head of his dick slipped in and out of his grip, and all the while, his hot ass rippled and squeezed around the shaft that had him spread and thoroughly impaled. He twisted his hips into Dante's lap, his entire body practically begging. The gorgeous, lean-muscled length of his torso was gleaming with sweat.

Dante groaned, imprinting each detail in his mind. He'd never seen anything so hot. Nero was a seething, needy mess, and Dante adored him completely. His cock throbbed; he was hard as a goddamned crowbar and he wanted this forever.

"Fuck, move it!" Nero demanded desperately.

Dante leaned down to kiss Nero again, bracing his arms up under Nero's knees. "Mmm, I'll give you everything you want, baby," he grunted. He started it up - a slow, pounding rhythm, in time with Nero's hand. His eyes closed as he reveled in the heat of Nero's slick passage as he surged into him - so hot, almost too tight. Dante thought the constriction and the muting effect of the condom might be the only things letting him hold on.

Nero felt amazing - smooth and so warm. Dante was leaking like a goddamn faucet and it was slicking up the inside of the rubber, making the sensation dangerously good despite the barrier.

"Nero. . ." His eyes opened again, fixed again on the sight of Nero pulling at his own cock, head thrown back, eyes narrowed in pleasure.

"Damn it Dante, fuck me properly already!" he gritted, trying to move and increase the force of Dante's thrusts. When it became clear he didn't have the leverage to do so, he reached up and grabbed the head-board, pulling himself up and off of Dante's erection.

Dante winced as he was pulled free of his new favorite place, slapping against his stomach.

Nero sat upright, eyes dark with need and aggression, before wrapping his hand around the base of Dante's erection and pulling the condom off him. He dropped the rubber off the side of the bed and lay back down as Dante watched him, stunned. "Come on," he panted in challenge, grinding his ass ruthlessly against Dante's naked, slippery sex. "I'm sick of bein' the only one goin' mental here."

Dante leaned down to bite at Nero's neck. "That's it. You're gonna take what I give you." He tugged Nero's legs up, watching himself sink back inside.

Nero let out a low cry as Dante grasped his hips, pulling him onto the long thrust of his re-entry. Then, Dante started pounding him in earnest, thrusting up into him, reaching deeper than he could before. He rolled his hips against Nero's ass, loving how it opened to him fully.

"Yeah, right fucking there." Nero started stroking himself again, legs flexing against Dante's shoulders and back, pushing into each hard movement. His breath came in harsh pants, and his skin was slick. Dante's fingers dug bruises into Nero's hip and thigh as he tried to keep his grip.

"Fuck," Dante said roughly, pushing hard into Nero's depths. His eyes squeezed shut at the increased heat, at the slick, wet clutch of Nero's body on his. His hips worked furiously, pumping deep. "You're so hot inside."

Nero was babbling raggedly under him now, his voice low, rough, and nearly incoherent. Dante couldn't make out any words besides 'fuck' and 'more.'

He could definitely work with that.

Dante made sure he was riding that spot hard with every entry. Nero was accepting it easily now - hungry for him, pulling him in. It felt incredible, and Dante was on borrowed time. He was losing control like he'd never been able to with anyone else. He just couldn't help it - couldn't restrain himself, even if he wanted to. His entire body was consumed with need. . . the need to get in deeper, to feel Nero completely. He could feel it, the dark side of him, growling and snapping, his skin prickling with a hunger to possess.

Then, Dante was holding Nero's thighs apart, pinning him open using Nero's weight to get in deeper. He leaned down, teeth in Nero's swollen lower lip, tongues tangling in an open-mouthed kiss. "So hot and wet, like you're suckin' me in. . ." he ground out. "I'm gonna ruin you, Nero. My scent's all over you, soaked into every bit of you, you'll never be rid of me now."

Dante's words pushed Nero over. He stiffened, gave one last tug at his dick, and then came with an inarticulate cry over his stomach and chest.

"Nero," Dante gasped. He pressed his face into Nero's sweaty shoulder, tasting him, surrounding himself in his mate. His hips jerked helplessly as a raw cry was torn from his throat. He throbbed hard in Nero's grasp, releasing into the slick channel. Dante's hips kept moving in a slow roll against Nero's buttocks. He felt Nero tighten, trying to keep the warm wetness inside.

He fixed his mouth to Nero's shoulder, sucking wetly. His possessive hands slid, gentle, over his lover's sweaty skin.

They lay there panting, plastered together, shivering slightly as they cooled down.

"Oh my god," Nero managed finally.

Dante sucked another red mark into his throat and then kissed him again, still harsh and hungry and breathless. "Yeah. You sore?"

Nero wiggled experimentally, his wide gaze flicking to Dante's when he realized that he'd had barely softened inside him. "Kind of," he panted, "but I think I'm okay."

Dante made a low sound of satisfaction and then rocked his hips again, hearing Nero gasp his name.

Nero tensed, eyes fluttering shut as he bit his lip. "Oh god, really?"

Nero's opening contracted on him then, and the pull of it caused Dante to take an uneven breath. He brushed his fingers through Nero's hair, murmuring into his ear. "You feel so delicious now that I finally got inside you."

Nero shivered under Dante and let out a moan as the older man slid a hand between them, wrapping his fingers around Nero's reawakening cock with a low hum of satisfaction.

"Fuck, you're so sexy." Dante grasped Nero's hips and gently turned him without disengaging their bodies. Nero whimpered as the hard flesh twisted inside him. He was guided up onto his knees as he languidly rested his head on his forearms, chest on the mattress, ass in the air. Dante shoved a pillow beneath Nero's stomach as he eased himself in and out, just a little - shallow and slow, drawing a low rumble of pleasure from the younger man's throat. A possessive smile curved Dante's lips. He really was lucky. Now that he'd had Nero, Dante couldn't imagine wanting to be with anyone else.

"I wanna go a little harder this time," he murmured, palms stroking Nero's back. "You all right with that?"

Nero laughed then, his body shaking enough to make Dante grit his teeth in pleasure. "Give it to me," he rasped, extending his arms to brace himself against the headboard. "Just understand I'm takin' this out of your ass later."

"You're gonna want to bite that pillow," Dante purred. "I'm gonna pound you through this bed."

Nero's response was lost in a grunt as Dante withdrew, and then slammed back inside. He soon started into a hard, fast rhythm that had Nero cursing. The bedframe creaked in protest.

This was the best thing he'd ever felt - Nero all around him, panting his name, rocking up to meet him as they lost every bit of restraint they had. Dante pressed his mouth to every bit of skin he could reach, licking, biting. So gorgeous. All his.

Dante felt it. The part of him that had always been unsatisfied, always hungry for more violence and more sex and just more. . .

Well, that part of him was in love with Nero, too. It rose now under his skin, stretching and vulnerable in its pleasure, like a cat starting to purr.

"Oh, oh, oh," Nero repeated in a hoarse shout, in rhythm with the hard thrusts rocking his body forward.

Dante slid his hand over Nero's sweat-slicked chest and stomach, reaching to help him get off, but-

"Oh, fuck! Dante!"

Nero was already there, trying to hold on, hands still braced against the headboard. He shuddered, spurting over the pillow beneath him with a ragged yell.

God, he was loud - the sound of Nero unleashing like that drove Dante insane. "You love it that much?" he asked, possessive in Nero's ear as the younger man trembled out his orgasm. "You came just from feelin' me inside you?" The words that spilled from him were rough, guttural. "You're always gonna be mine." His fingers were digging bruises into Nero's hips. His mouth was sucking at slick skin, his hips slamming against him now, just trying to get closer, deeper. Dante wanted to crawl inside, mark Nero with his mouth, his fingers, his sweat, his semen.

Dante gasped, feeling his orgasm approaching. He scraped his teeth over Nero's shoulder and licked the salt from his skin. Nero's heat tugged him, and Dante shoved himself in as deep as he could, burying his face against Nero's back. The pleasure hit him hard, had him shaking, blood roaring and electricity in his veins as Nero trembled at the sensation of being filled.

"I'm making such a mess of you," Dante rasped, unable to keep his mouth off his lover's skin. He alternated between light bites, soft kisses, and lazy sweeps of tongue on Nero's pinkened flesh. He was spent, and his blood buzzed with satisfaction over the thorough claim he'd made.

"Ungh," Nero mumbled, incoherent. He slumped between the mattress and Dante's weight against his back. A few minutes passed as the two men lay there, skins sticking together, their heart-rates and breathing slowly returning to normal.

"How are we supposed to do anything else if it's always this great?" Dante murmured against Nero's neck after quite some time.

"Dunno," Nero managed with great effort, his voice muffled. "Why'd it take us so long to try that?"

"We must be stupid," Dante answered, a little light-headed. He pulled the soiled pillow off the bed and then shifted them both so that Nero wasn't in the wet spot. For a while, he just held the younger man close, basking in his warmth, feeling the soft rhythm of his breathing, listening to his heart beat as Dante softened inside him.

"Please tell me you have somethin' to clean up with over there," Nero murmured with a snicker. "I can't believe how much you squirt."

"Mm. I think you like it. I felt you shivering when when I was tryin' to knock you up," Dante whispered, biting teasingly at Nero's earlobe. He nuzzled him and then reached over Nero for the nightstand, fumbling blindly until he found the much-needed box of tissues.

Nero swatted at Dante's arm, turning his head so he could glower at him over his shoulder. Dante gently pulled free before following up with a wad of tissues. He kissed Nero's cheek tenderly as he cleaned them up.

Nero was wincing - sore, and still over-sensitized. He turned to face Dante, and then socked him in the chest. "What the fuck, man!" Nero's eyes looked hurt. "Knocking me up? I'm not your bitch!"

Dante frowned in confusion. He grabbed Nero's fist and tugged it over his shoulder so he could hold him close and look into his face. "What?! I don't think that at all. I was just kidding, don't take it that way, Nero."

After studying Dante suspiciously for a few seconds, Nero calmed down a little. He plumped the pillow under his head and snuggled down into it. He looked a little ashamed, like. . .

Dante blinked, and held Nero tighter, rubbing his back in reassurance. "There's nothing weird about enjoying it, if that's what you're thinking. We're built like that, so-"

Nero ducked his head, hiding his face against the pillow "S-shut up! I'm not sure what's more humiliating - what I just. . ." he bit his words off. "Or the fact that you're trying to drop sex ed on me right now!"

Dante frowned. "Whatever hang-up you're nursing there, just give it up. What feels good feels good. That's all it means. It's not about power games." He felt Nero relax. "Don't be embarrassed. You never have to be embarrassed with me."

Nero peeked up at Dante then, and just stared at him as though he were examining him for truth. Eventually, he smiled and gave Dante a soft kiss, lips parting and tongues playing lazily. Then, he tucked his face back against the older man's neck with a yawn. "Right. Okay. I'm gonna sleep for a little bit now."

Dante was taken aback by the abrupt dismissal, but felt better when Nero's soft lips brushed against his again and the arms around him tightened.

Nero sighed. "I'm not tryin' to shut you out or anything, I just feel like I got hit by a truck. In the ass," he explained. "I don't wanna move. I'm all sexed out, and my back kinda hurts. Cut me a break, man."

Dante nuzzled Nero as his eyes drifted shut. "So. . . would you say the truck that hit you was a sexy truck?" he inquired.

Nero cracked one of his eyes open, and then closed it again, apparently deeming the question unworthy of a response. "Are you serious? Stop your fishing expedition and lemme take a little nap," he mumbled. He smoothed his hand affectionately over Dante's forehead and cheeks. Dante turned his face into the touch with a happy hum.

"But. . . I blew your mind, right?" Dante prodded. His jaw set in a stubborn line when Nero looked like he was just going to fade out on him. "I need to know that I showed you a good time."

Nero grunted, seeming annoyed. His eyes snapped open as he gave up on getting any peace for the time being. "Like you need me to say it," he complained. "I ruined the sheets and my throat hurts from all the yelling I did." He scratched his nose and blushed, looking pretty mad, before punching the pillow and glaring. "Y-you know how good you are, dumbass!"

Dante's eyes crinkled as he embraced Nero and kissed him. "See? I'm happy now, knowing I did a good job for you."

"Nice work. Gold star. Employee of the month," Nero replied dryly, still red-cheeked.

"Oh come off it," Dante needled, a grin turning his lips up. "No need to be shy with me after that." He sighed contentedly. "You are ridiculously hot in bed. Damn. I can tell you've got a wild, kinky streak a mile wide. We are going to have so much fun, babe." He tweaked Nero's nose.

Nero rolled his eyes and shoved the hand away from his face, but sent a breathtaking smile Dante's way. "Sheesh, stop talking and let me sleep for a bit." He turned redder and scratched his nose. "'C-cause you're amazing, but I'm kinda worn out."

"Okay." He rubbed his cheek against Nero's hair. "Love you. You're the cutest."

"H-hey! You said you'd shut up." he retorted, giving Dante's shoulder a feeble shove. "And I. . . well. Uh, you know. Too."

Dante raised an eyebrow, but could see Nero's sincerity all the same. "Whoa. That was pretty half-assed, but I'll take it for now." He pulled himself up and away from Nero to replace the tissue box back on the nightstand.

"Sleepy-time." Nero tugged at Dante's arm. "Cuddle me, old man."

Seriously, life just didn't get much better than this. Dante flopped back down on the mattress with a creak, and curled up against Nero's body with a sigh of pleasure.

Just then, the metal frame of the bed beneath them let out a shriek, as though that was the absolute last straw. There was a popping noise, and then some ominous creaking and scraping sounds. Dante's eyes widened as Nero's side of the bed seemed to slowly collapse towards the floor. Then, the entire mattress began to slide off the frame, as the abused piece of furniture just gave up and caved in on itself.

Dante tightened his grip on Nero when he started to slip. "Shit!" He dissolved into chuckles, hugging Nero closer. The kid was laughing as well, and the mattress slid faster as their mirth shook it. "Damn, we're good."

Nero snorted. "Seriously, what's a guy gotta do to get a nap around here? First, you never stop talking. Then, just when I think I got a chance for some shut-eye, the bed falls apart." He let out a huff. "Well, screw that noise!"

As Dante looked on in disbelief, Nero hooked one leg over his and closed his eyes like he was going to be able to ignore the fact that they were sliding off the mattress at a forty-five degree angle.

For a moment, Dante surveyed the damage to the bed. His bed was too big for the room already, and there was no space to pull the mattress completely off the wrecked frame. The warped metal that was sticking out all over the place made staying there seem like a pretty bad idea.

Dante grinned and kissed Nero on the nose. "It's all right, I've got your nap time covered. We've still got one bed intact." He hopped to his feet, gathered Nero up in his cocoon of blankets, and headed for the other man's room with a wicked grin on his face. "And when you're done your nap, I'm just the guy to help you out with that last cherry you got."

The younger man groaned. "You're so lame." Nero rested his head against the older man's shoulder as they moved down the hallway. His hand curled over Dante's arm, and he gave him a warm, steady look from beneath his drooping eyelids. "I love you, you know. A lot," he said in a sleepy voice.

Dante smiled as Nero conked out in his arms.

.

-o-o-O-o-o-

.

A number of hours later, Dante hit the floorboards with a loud smacking sound and a groan. Nero landed half on top of him, eyes wide and incredulous.

"Oww, fuck," Dante complained. His state of satisfied relaxation meant all his muscles had been completely slack at the moment of impact, so luckily it hadn't hurt much. His ass was sore., but that was a preexisting condition. If Nero's quick recovery had been anything to go by, he'd be right as rain in no time flat.

There was a loud crashing sound next to them as the wooden headboard detached itself from the busted frame, hitting Nero's bedroom wall. It was immediately followed by a crunching, splintering noise, and then a dull 'whump' as the mattress flopped the rest of the way onto the floor.

"Sh-shit!" Nero exclaimed breathlessly, coughing and waving his hand at the dust that flew up. He peered down into Dante's eyes, brushing some splinters of wood from the older man's hair. "Dante? Babe. . . you okay?" His head popped up and he looked at the damage, clearly not wanting to believe what he saw. "How the hell does this. . . has this happened to you before?"

"Fuck no," Dante replied, dragging Nero down against his chest, and planting several sloppy kisses over his face. He grinned proudly. "I think we're setting a combined record for orgasms and destroyed beds in one day."

Nero bit his lip, and then surveyed the wreck that the bed had become. He shook his head in exasperation. "How is this even possible? I mean, this has to be the shoddiest. . ." His voice was filled with disbelief. "Who the hell builds such crappy furniture? It can't even take a little bouncin', it just falls apart when you breathe on it. . ."

Dante couldn't help but crack up. The way they'd been going at it, he'd be concerned even if they were against a wall - DMC wasn't the sturdiest building around. Nero, however, was still in a state of denial. He seemed genuinely offended at the poor construction of the beds they'd wrecked.

"Trust me. No warranty in the world covers what we just put this furniture through. But hey - talk about memorable first experiences, huh?" He twisted slightly and flicked a wood-chip out of his partner's hair. "It's like that saying with bells ringing and angels getting wings. Except it's like. . . if bed-frames just collapse into nothingness, it's 'cause Nero was flipping a v-card," Dante trailed off, shuddering with mirth. "Babe, you're awesome."

"That's messed up," Nero mumbled, mortified. He couldn't contain his guffaws for long, though, and the two devils lay on the floorboards in a shaking heap for a little while.

Finally, Nero collected himself enough to extricate himself from Dante's embrace. He got up, shoving the remnants of the bed to the side of the room, and dragged the mattress clear of the debris.

Dante pulled himself back onto it with a groan, and slapped his hand repeatedly over the spot next to him. "C'mon, you need to be romantic to me. You broke a bed with my ass." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Let's see. I want kisses. A pizza. Nude photos of you. A beer. Yeah, that's a decent start."

"Ha fuckin' ha. Like I need to bribe you?" Nero snorted. "I pre-paid, dude - you're the one whose dick seems medically impossible." Then, a cocky smirk spread across his face and he smiled at Dante. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you had a great time - I wanted to be sweet to you, and then you started kicking me in the ass." Nero's gaze swept possessively over the length of Dante's body, before he turned, trying to retrieve some of the bedding that they'd dislodged as they crashed to the floor. Dante noticed the purpling remains of a bruise on Nero's lower back where Dante had, uh, nudged him encouragingly.

The sight of the mark he'd left made a low, rumbling noise fight its way out of his chest. Nero belonged to him now, from top to toe. Being unceremoniously thrown onto the cold floor couldn't even begin to kill his sense of post-coital well-being. Dante smiled. "Hell yeah I did - but you still need to be holding me, so get your ass back here. . ."

"Sure thing," Nero replied, joining him with the comforter once he'd shaken it clean of splinters. He tucked it around them, and kissed Dante - a soft meeting of their mouths and tongues. They held each other for a while, before Nero broke the comfortable silence with a sigh.

"I'm tired of getting dumped onto the floor when we're just chilling and trying to cuddle," he muttered. "It just messes up the whole mood, you know?"

Humming his agreement, Dante wrapped his arms more securely around Nero. "I'm glad Lady gave us that bank account. Do you think she'll keep putting cash away for us? 'Cause I don't really think about that shit; she should probably just keep doing it." He pinched Nero's side. "It's gonna be expensive as hell to keep you in furniture."

Nero started chuckling again. "Okay, what the hell am I hearing?! The savings thing, yeah that's probably smart. But that first bed was definitely your fault! Why do I cop the blame? That ain't fair."

Dante nuzzled the man in his arms and then pulled back to look at him. "Yeah, I guess that's right. We gotta share responsibility."

Nero smiled at Dante, sweet and warm, and held his fist up. Dante bumped it with his own, and sealed it with a kiss.

A split-second later, they winced in unison as they heard the ceiling fan downstairs wrench free of its mooring beneath them. It hit the floor with a loud clang, followed by what sounded like a shower of plaster fragments.

"Oh, no. No way," Nero muttered against Dante's lips after a brief, frozen silence. "Lady's gonna flip the fuck out."

"The world ain't ready for us." Dante grinned, and then got back to the kissing.

.

-o-o-O-o-o-

A/N - So, like, hi guys! I'm, uh, semi-alive! *crickets chirping*

I am ashamed of myself. My writing morale has been low for a long time. DmC happened, which was like multiple kicks to the ovaries, and lots of personal stuff.

But but but, I did not give up! I hope I have redeemed myself somewhat. I've written five totally different versions of this chapter, and finally managed to frankenstein it together. I cut tons out (yeah, this is what it's like after removing 70%, sheesh), and I was never really happy with it. However, I hope that my intentions came through and Dante can forgive me for the most protracted case of blue-balls ever. Poor guy.

This is really long, so I probably have missed a lot in my proof-reading. Let me know if you see something. And please, drop me a review - they are much appreciated.

Epilogue up next and I will finally have managed to finish a long-ish story!

-Volpa