***I know, I know: I said there would be two chapters. But this isn't a chapter: it's an epilogue. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Okay, I lied. You know what they say, though: you can always trust a dishonest (wo)man to be dishonest. Besides, my original ending was shit. It really was. I just wanted to get the thing done so I could go back to WTTN. I thought I was finished here; but obviously not.***

"Afternoon, boys!"

Lady flung open the front doors of Devil May Cry, the Kalina-Ann sitting across her back and Trish standing by her side.

"Hi, Lady; Trish."

"Whatever the job is, I don't want it."

Her mismatched eyes immediately zeroed in on the two men sitting on Dante's desk, Nero with his legs crossed and the older hunter with one leg bent under him, the other hanging off the front of the table.

…This was a new one.

Glancing around the room, Lady's eyes widened when she saw the annihilated state of the couch- the one that had been fine twenty-four hours earlier. Shaking her head with a small sigh, she wandered over to where the pair were sitting and devouring yet another pizza.

"And what the Hell happened to your couch? Maybe you'd better take this job, Dante; otherwise you'll never be able to buy a new one."

"Demons," the pair answered simultaneously, Dante snickering when he realised what they'd just done. The look he shot Nero made Lady wonder if that was the truth or not; it was almost as if the two men were sharing some obscure inside joke.

"Can you believe these two, Trish?...Trish?" Lady turned back to the door when she realised that her blonde friend wasn't answering. Instead, the other woman seemed to be focusing hard on…something.

With a smirk on her face, the blonde walked towards the three at the desk, her lips twitching like she was trying not to burst out laughing. Trish came to a stop in front of Nero, leaning in slightly as her smirk mutated into a grin.

"Nice catch, kiddo." Her gaze very obviously shifted from Nero to Dante and back again, coming to rest with a playful wink. "Maybe we should leave 'em to it, Lady."

The human woman's face crinkled in confusion as she wondered what the hell Trish was on about, and Nero seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. But, soon enough, the young hunter flushed almost as red as the jeans that Dante was wearing.

"But…I…How the…Oh, god no…" Nero hunched forward, hiding his burning face in his hands as Dante and Trish burst out laughing. Lady still just stared at him, wondering what the Hell was wrong with everyone else in the general vicinity.

She was startled when Trish suddenly grabbed her arm, giving it a tug as the blonde walked back to the front doors of the office. Lady dug her heels in, refusing to go anywhere before she got some answers.

"What the Hell's going on? If you don't all want to get shot, someone better tell me just what the fuck is happening!"

"Well, y'see…when two d-…" Dante's facetious explanation was cut off when Nero's Devil Bringer clamped over his mouth, the boy's face still hidden away in his human hand.

"Say another word and I'll cut out your vocal cords…as well as a few other bits and pieces," the younger hunter hissed in a slightly muffled voice.

Tugging hard on the demonic limb, Dante managed to get it just far enough away from his face to be able to gasp, "Alright, kid. I won't tell them that we-…"

Once again, Nero used his Bringer to forcibly prevent his new mate from giving Lady the information she wanted, a snarl escaping from his lips. He still hadn't managed to lift his fiercely-blushing face, though, which made Dante laugh hysterically against the hand digging rather painfully into his skin.

When it got to the point where Dante was doing less laughing and more wheezing desperately for oxygen, Nero finally pulled away and straightened up, clearing his throat whilst trying to regain his composure.

Lady seemed to have finally given up on trying to get a proper answer, throwing her hands in the air and walking over to where Trish was waiting by the front door, muttering under her breath all the while about 'insane demons' and 'fucking idiots'.

"Don't worry Dante, we'll take this job; it's a one-time-only deal though, mind you. Have fun!" Trish stepped behind Lady, taking the human by the biceps and steering her out into the wider world.

Lady started to protest, but Trish's demonic strength was just too much for her, and the doors of Devil May Cry slammed shut behind the two women.

Nero immediately jumped off the desk, whirling around on Dante and jabbing the older man in the chest with a human finger. "What the fuck, asshole?"

Dante raised both palms in mock surrender, clearly trying desperately to keep a straight face- and failing miserably. "Hey, c'mon now, kid; did you really think that I was gonna tell her? I wouldn't do that to my darling little mate, now would I?"

The force of the punch that connected squarely with the older man's nose sent him sprawling back over the desk, Nero having to step out of the way to avoid Dante's legs flailing wildly as he tipped over.

"Let me think about that for a minute…uh, yes? And don't patronise me, you goddamned bastard."

Groaning a little, Dante sat up and pinched his nose, trying to stem the blood flow while he shoved the broken bone back into place with an audible crack. As soon as he did, the blood dried up and stopped coming, the injury leaving no trace bar a few red flakes around Dante's nose and upper lip.

"Shit, I know I heal well and all, but that don't mean I'm willing to be your punching bag. Besides, Trish knows and since they left over a minute ago, I'd say that Lady got her explanation already."

"And how, pray tell, did Trish manage to find out?" Nero was only furious because he was embarrassed, the humiliation of being found out compounding with his uncertainty about the whole situation. He didn't know what else to do, and so he was lashing out at the only nearby target: Dante.

"Kid, there's not a demon around who won't be able to tell. You can't notice it, but we have the same exact scent these days."

"We what?" Nero yelled, slamming his fist on the desk and making the half-empty pizza box jump. He was beginning to realise just what he'd accidentally gotten himself into: not only was his inner devil forever going to want Dante's, but every single other member of the demon population was also going to know about it.

Not to mention the fact that Dante had informed him that the new bond was permanent.

"You make it sound like a bad thing. I give you a week 'til you love me completely." Picking up a slice of cooling pizza, Dante took a massive bite and summarily attempted to end the argument.

Nero wasn't quite done yet, though.

"Somehow, I doubt that'll ever happen. You're too much of a prick."

Dante feigned being upset, wiping away a pretend tear with the hand that wasn't holding food. "You wound me, wifey. But you'll fall for me eventually- they all do."

Nero's demonic hand clenched, but to Dante's surprise, the younger man didn't physically lash out again. "Don't. Call. Me. That. I'll k-…wait, 'they'? Who the fuck are 'they'?"

"Ah ha! See, right there: you're jealous. You like me. You totally do!" Laughing madly, Dante reached out and playfully tweaked his mate's nose, ignoring the way the man was almost twitching in anger.

This time, the older hunter easily ducked the fist that swung in his direction, still nearly pissing himself with laughter. Nero fumed, but didn't go for another punch.

"Y'know what? I'm goin' out. I might be back." Flipping Dante off, Nero turned and stomped towards the front door, only pausing to make sure that Blue Rose was still attached to his thigh.

"See ya soon, kid," Dante mumbled through a mouthful of pizza. He might have given Nero a week to fall in love with him, but he only gave two hours, tops, until his younger mate would come crawling back.

A little over an hour later, the well-abused doors of the office swung open once more, revealing a grumpy-looking Nero.

Dante had moved behind his desk, sitting in the chair as he inspected his extensive weapon collection. Polishing the grips of Agni and Rudra, he growled at them to 'shut the Hell up' up as they began muttering to each other. When he heard the doors, he sat the twin weapons aside and leant back in his chair, hands linking behind his head.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" The younger man still sounded pissed off, even more so than before.

"Hmmm? What d'ya mean, wif-…kid?" Dante knew exactly what Nero was on about- he'd been polishing his weapons to give his mind something else to focus on, after all.

He just wanted to hear Nero say it.

With a disgusted sigh, Nero walked over and planted both palms on the desk. "From the moment you were out of my sight, all I could think about was gettin' back here. I don't need you; so what is this?"

Standing up, Dante walked around the desk and put his hands on Nero's waist, easily turning the part-demon and sitting him up on the wood. The younger man opened his mouth to argue with the treatment, but Dante raised a hand to stop him.

"It's gonna be like that for a while. Guess you'll just have to get used t' wanting some of this." Dante winked, pouting and preening like a fashion model while Nero growled under his breath.

"You're a fucking idiot."

"And you love it."

Smirking, Dante leaned in and placed a quick kiss on Nero's frowning lips. Ruffling his mate's hair, the older hunter stepped back to avoid the half-hearted kick that was directed at his groin.

"Like Hell I do. Seriously, can't you make it stop?" The anger began to disappear from Nero's voice, his tone taking on a bit of a whine. It made Dante want to ruffle his hair again, like a child.

"Nope. But you've missed the most important bit, babe." Dante lightly rested his hands on Nero's upper thighs, snickering at the scowl the younger man made at the affectionate nickname.

"What?"

"It goes both ways."

Leaning in again, Dante placed a line of kisses along Nero's jaw, feeling the man shiver against him. Doing this was all he'd been able to concentrate on since Nero had walked out the door; that was why his Devil Arms were all impeccably cleaned, the task a distraction that had been gladly welcomed.

His demon, which had been grumbling miserably, began to purr like a contented feline. It was a natural progression to start running his hands along the insides of Nero's thighs, trying to make the man submit to him.

His hands continued to move, even as the younger man pulled his face away from Dante's. "Ha! You missed me!"

Dante shrugged- it was true, after all. This whole 'mate' thing was hard. "You broke and came back first, though. That must mean I win."

Nero scoffed. "Yeah, but you're the one tryin' to jump me, so I win."

He batted pointlessly at Dante's hands, which were getting dangerously close to his partially-awake groin.

"And you ain't trying to stop me. I was right- you do like me." To prove his point, Dante cupped Nero's groin, squeezing lightly and thoroughly enjoying the little moan that fell from the younger man's lips.

"Fuck you," Nero hissed, wrapping his legs around the older hunter's waist.

"Other way 'round, wifey. It's fuck you. But not on my desk- I kinda need this thing."

Slipping his hands under Nero's thighs, Dante easily picked the younger man up and was instantly backhanded across the face for his efforts.

"I can walk, bastard!" As soon as he was set down, Nero moved straight for the stairs, either ignoring or unaware of the way that Dante was staring intently at his ass.

The younger man realised that he wasn't being followed, and turned back to where Dante was standing on the ground floor. "Well? Are you gonna get the Hell up here?"

Laughing, Dante walked up to meet Nero. The kid was good to look at, and he was good entertainment…not to mention a great fuck.

Dante might have been betting that Nero would fall in love with him before the week was out; but as he'd said…

It worked both ways.

-THE END-