Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day Mary held her dead mother’s head in her arms was the day her life had ended. As far the world was concerned, Mary died along side her mother. This nameless hollow form of a girl she made three promised to herself:

1. She will avenge her mother.
2. She will kill her father
3. She will never feel the fear she felt at that moment again.

She had awoken from her bed by her mother’s scream. She ran towards the basement, she had to help her mother. She knew her father wouldn’t, he hadn’t been around lately. Besides, she was a strong girl, her mother told her so, she could handle this.

However, the second she saw her father standing over her dying mother, she froze. All she could do is fall on her knees, listening to her father calling her weak and useless. To this day, she has no idea why he left her alive. It was his first mistake.

She hated him. She wanted him to die. She didn’t care if she died too. Her life meant nothing else. She hated him. She hated him She—

“Lady. Lady! LADY! Wake up!”

She shot up, looking around the room in a panic. She wasn’t in her old basement, and her mother wasn’t dying next to her. She was instead in her bedroom, well their bedroom, with her husband standing over her.

“Babe, you okay? That sounded like a bad nightmare.”

“I’m fine Dante, it was just a bad dream.”

He kept staring at her, it almost made her laugh. She didn’t mind, he was always overprotective of her, especially now.

“Yea but you thrashing back-and-forth, you could have…you know…” He didn’t want to say it, he didn’t want to let her know what has been bothering him the past few days.

Lady looked at him annoyed, did he really think he could keep something from her? “Dante, the baby is fine. So stop worrying that if I move too much, we’re going to break.”

His eyes widened a bit though he wasn’t surprised. She had a knack for knowing everything. That didn’t convince him right away for he need to place his hand on her extended abdomen and feel their child’s soul before he would relax. Lady grew impatient. As much as she loved how her husband wanted to be as close to their baby as possible, she really wanted to go back to sleep. She was tired all the time from carrying the baby. Luckily, the baby kicked and Dante smiled. He lashed back down, gently placing an arm around her to hold her close and closed his eyes. She closed hers and drifted back off rather quickly. She never would admit it, but he always made her feel safe and secure.

“I love you” She wanted him to know, even if she’s said it a million times.

He smirks against her hair. “Mhmm…I know you do babe. I love you too.”

Chapter Text

“I’ll see you guys around.” Dante and Lady turned to Trish in shock. First she took the time to slowly count out the money to mock them for losing the race to the job but now she was dropping this bomb in them.

Lady wasn’t exactly sure how she was supposed to react to this. Although she considered Trish a friend, they only met a few weeks ago. They hit it off, much to Dante’s wallet’s dismay. However, Trish had only worked with her for one job after the trio killed the demon priest. Trish never came by Devil May Cry. They only ran into each other at the library and they fought together to defeat Abigail. She looked at the eerily quiet Dante before coming up with a response. “Oh uh see you Trish.” Lady was never good at goodbyes.

Trish smirked at their reaction, gave Lady a hug, shook a confused Dante’s hand and rode off on her motorcycle to who knows where. Dante and Lady stood in the middle of the shop for a few moments trying to comprehend what exactly just happened.

Dante stared at the floor for a little moment longer. “Are you going to leave too?” Lady looked at him confused. Why did he care where she went?

“Dante, are you okay?”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“You avoided mine.” Neither was going to back down.

“I’m fine Lady.”

“No you’re not. Dante, I’m not blind. You act happy around Patty, Trish and I but I’ve seen you at night, sitting alone in the dark and…drinking...What’s going on? Talk to me.”

“…”
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It was his fault she caught him. A day after they worked together with the highway department, Lady had been walking through the streets to get something to eat. As she was looking at her options, she accidentally bumped into a man, partially fell into his arms. Before she apologize, she heard a familiar voice. “Oh so now you’re finally falling for me.”

“Oh shut up Dante.”

“Where’re you headed so late Lady? You know what they say happens to beautiful women at night walking alone.” He couldn’t help but smirk at her blush.

He would never tell her, but loved seeing her blush. It showed that she had a softer side and it made her face glow.

All too soon for Dante’s liking, Lady regained her harden exterior. “I was on my way to dinner.”

“Oh so was I. Care to join me?”

“I’m not paying for you Dante.”

“Not asking you to.”

“Last time I checked, you don’t have any money.”

“That’s your fault.”

“Your fault for owning me money.” As they spoke, they kept leaning in closer as the spoke. It was somewhat childish and they received a few stares from people walking passed but they didn’t care. They both cherished these moments, not that they would admitted it.

Dante smirked seemed to somehow become wider. “Alright, you got me there. Now follow me for the best food this city has to offer.”

They talked about anything and everything they could think of as they walked to Freddy’s dinner. After grabbing a booth and giving Cindy, who gave Dante a thumbs-up and a good luck, their order, Dante brought up the topic of where Lady was staying.

“Oh just in a hotel room. Nothing too fancy.”

“Why? Your room is still untouched from when you left.”

She had almost forgot about it. After the duo killed the last of the demons in the ruins of Temen-ni-gru, Lady finally let how tired she was shown. Dante offered her a room in his shop and that began their partnership. Neither worried seemed to worry about the effects of losing the last of their families. They didn’t have time to do anything but fight demons and get food together at the very beginning. They slowly made the shop how it was today, replacing all the broke furniture from the demon’s visits. They had an agreement that if one went on a mission, the other would stay and watch the phone so to speak. However when Trish came to take Dante to Mundus, Lady had already left for a mission. When she returned and saw that he wasn’t there, she had planned to wait for him to return. However she received a call from a whole new country that need her help.

She figured it would be great to learn a new language.

She left Dante a note in the drawer where he kept his favorite liquor and left. She promised in the note to return as soon as she could, to collect the money from all the poker games they played.

She added that last part right before she put the letter away so it wouldn’t look like she was going to miss him. Because she wasn’t, she told herself that. She pretended she didn’t think about him the entire year she was gone. She told herself he was doing the same,

“Seriously Lady, just come back home.” She snapped out of her thoughts and he began to blush like crazy. There was no joking tone in his voice, he meant it. He wanted her to come back. Neither of them could remember having a true home, he cursed himself for saying that. He was ready for her to either laugh or yell at him. Instead he simply got an okay and she paid for dinner.

Patty was pleasantly surprised to see her there. It was nice having another girl around, even if at times Lady would be away on missions.

Lady loved hanging out with Patty. She always wanted to know what it felt like to have a daughter.

It was nice to spend time again with Dante too, not that she was going to say anything.
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Dante turned away from her and poured himself a drink. “You want some?”

She rolled her eyes at him but she expected this. He didn’t enjoy talking seriously. “Sure, But you have to tell me what’s wrong.”

“Well, see how drunk I get and maybe you’ll get what you’re asking for.”

A few hours later, Lady found out about the two levels of drunk Dante. The first was, as she expected, very flirty and joking. He called her sexy, hot and everything in between. This Dante used the corniest pickup lines and she couldn’t but laugh. She will admit she flirted a bit alone with him, only to see where it would go, she swore to herself. He didn’t touch her, just leaned in a bit too close to soak in her features.

The second level was kind of surprising to Lady.

It began after he took his fifth or sixth drink. He started to get very quiet. He turned to her and studied her face for what felt like eternity.

“Uhh…what are you doing?”

“You don’t realize how beautiful you are Lady.” If she was sober, she would have cursed him out, but drink Lady was actually curious about what he wanted to say.

“I know I’m attractive Dante.”

“You’re more than a pretty face Lady.” She was blushing now. She couldn’t help it. They were sitting together on the floor in the middle of the shop. drinking and saying whatever came to mind. Dante had a lot he needed to say to her. “You’re smart, skilled, and confident.”

“A-Are you finished?” Her face was redder than her eye.

“Almost. Don’t leave me Lady…” Her fluster face was replaced with confusion. He sighed as he laid on the floor. He stretched out his arms, holding the bottle in one hand and tapping the floor with the other. Lady laid down next to him and rested her head on his arm. He bent his arm and gently placed it around her shoulders. He was careful to stay away from her chest. He may be drunk but that doesn’t make him stupid. He put the bottle down to run his finger through his hair and turned to meet her eyes. They stayed quite for a few moments, just looking at each other. Letting the other know that it was okay to speak how they felt. It was just the two of them.

“You of all people know I’ve lost everyone. My dad, my mom, my brother…and then you left. God, I was so mad at you.”

“I was only gone for a year.”

“A year too long. You were the one person I had left Lady.”

“You had Trish.”

“It wasn’t the same. I told Lady, it was because of you I knew what’s important. You are so important to me. Sure, Trish is a good friend but she could never replace you. I missed you like crazy.”

“I missed you too Dante.” There was not point in holding back anymore.

“These past few weeks have been the greatest weeks of my life. When I finally think I’m over missing you, Trish leaves to go find herself. She wanted to make a new identity for herself become her own demon hunter. I’m pretty sure she just got sick of me, I mean who wouldn’t?”

“Dante, do not talk about yourself like that!”

“It’s true Lady! Why do you think I lose everyone in my life?! Even when everyone is here, they don’t stay! I should just give up already—” She slapped him. She hated that kind of thinking, it was too personal for her.

“Dante listen to me. When Trish told you she wanted to see the world and be a demon hunter, that was true. She told me so. She also wanted to give you space, you seemed to want to be alone. Patty now has her really mother, something she’s wanted forever.

“And you?

“Circumstance slips us apart. I regret not coming back soon. You were hurting and I wasn’t there to help you. I’m sorry. I can’t change the past but I’ll make it up to you.”

“Does that mean you’ll stay?” He had to know her answer. Morrison has other clients, Patty has her mom and Trish has adventure. He needs her. He doesn’t want to be alone anymore.

“Yes Dante. I promise I won’t leave again.”

His eyes widen in shock and he leaned in to kiss her. Unlike in the library, she didn’t pull away. It was brief but perfect. He then hugged her and she felt him crying against her hair. This is the second time she has seen him cry, but they were happy tears this time.

She hugged him back. There was no reason to be pretend they didn’t feel anything for each other at this moment. She began to cry too, she regretted all the times she was mean to him. They laid there crying for a little longer until they fell asleep on the floor in each other’s arms. It was what they needed it.
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The next morning, they were awoken but a sharp gasp.

“Oh my god! I don’t believe it! On the floor?!” Lady shot up. To her horror, she saw Morrison and Patty in front of them in the doorway of the shop. Patty figured Dante had dirty the shop again and Morrison had a job for him. Morrison hide his laugh behind his hate and Patty had a look that was mixed with confusion and happiness for the two.

“Ugh Patty…why do you have to be so loud?” Unlike Lady, Dante got up slowly and rubbed his head. He was a little hungover and annoyed his cuddle time with Lady came to an end.

“This isn’t what it looks like!” This was her worst nightmare come true.

“Come along Patty, let’s leave these two alone.” Patty, nodded smirked, and walked out the door. Morrison closed it with a smirk.

“Wait no! This isn’t—Dante let go of my waist.”

“Come on babe, just let them go and believe whatever they want. When she stopped struggling he smirked. “Besides, there’s worse things than us sleeping together.”

“Idiot!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Lady found keeping her drunken promise to Dante to be surprisingly easy. The closeness they had before she disappeared had been reborn, as if she never left at all. Nothing seemed to change.

Expect their dynamic had completely changed.

Maybe it was the kiss or maybe it was loneliness, but they changed nonetheless. It was enough of a change that Lady took notice.

The first sign was when she asked if they were going to go back to their routine of one staying while the other one goes off, Dante’s eyes widen in fear. He would never tell her but he hated that system. He liked having her by his side. They work well together, their individual fightings styles complemented the others. He also liked when they would talk before and after the missions. They always seemed to have something to talk about, though it would always end with him complaining about her talking all the money.

He loved having her around, next to him. He loved her eyes and how they look like fireworks, her beauty inside and out, he loved her.

Not that he ever tells her.

Instead, he decided to simply lie. “We don’t have to. Trish called and told me to give her all the far away missions.”

“And you agreed?”

“You try reasoning with her. Sorry babe, but you’re stuck with me.” She decided to drop the subject, figuring it was better to just believe the half-devil.

So their days were spent fighting demons side by side. After they would go and get pizza, once a week Dante would let her pick something else. It was simple, easy.

They liked easy. Neither had to try or learn more above the other.

Alcohol did that for them.

It gave them the excuse to let their guards down. They spoke mostly about happier times, mostly they spoke of their mothers.

“Adored by our mothers, full of hate for our fathers. What a pair we make…” Dante swung the bottle in his hand, watching the whiskey swirl with an intense glare.

“Dante...” She gently grabbed his face and he turned to look at her. He smiled. She always knew how to bring his back. “Why do you hate your father?” It was one thing that Lady could not understand.

“I don’t hate my dad, he was the one who tucked me in at night, played games with my brother and I, kissed my mother every chance he got and would never admit to his love of gardening. I hate Sparda. Sure, he saved the human world but he caused my mother’s murder and my brother’s lust of power.” He paused to take a sip and sigh. He would have slipped into utter silence if she hadn’t squeezed his hand. He didn’t look at her this time.

“Even if none of that happened...I would still hate him…because I could never be as good as him.” This was Lady’s favorite side of Dante, the one that didn’t hide from her and was ever so gentle.

“To demons everywhere, I’m just the Son of Sparda…anything I do will always be compared to him…”

“Dante, that’s—”

“Don’t give me that bullshit consolation or whatever the word is…I know it’s true. See that guitar over there?” Lady turned to see the purple guitar he was pointing out.

“That’s Nevan. I fought her when we were in that tower. You know the first thing she said to me? ‘Your father was very handsome. You’re not so bad looking yourself.’ Something like that…”

“Dante, you shouldn’t care what she or any other demons have to say.”

“Well I do Lady!” He stopped himself, he couldn’t let his anger take him over. “I do…” He felt himself close to crying, not that he ever did. He liked keeping his record at 2 times.

Lady grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. He was shocked to see how angry she looked. “You didn’t let me finish. I was saying you shouldn’t care what they have to say because I don’t see you as the son of Sparda. I only see Dante. My lazy, pizza and strawberry sundae loving partner.” To make sure he really understood, she gave him a kiss. It was the first time she kissed him first. He happily accepted it.

Most of their kisses were exchanged when they were drunk. That way they could pretend they didn’t remember it happening or the sensation each kiss brought.
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The first time they kissed sober, they had a long day of fighting demons but could not find the hole where the demons came out of.

When it seemed that all was lost, Lady was able to catch one of them trying to flee to the sewer. Finding it odd, they headed back to Devil May Cry. Lady jumped onto her laptop while Dante got them both drinks. Lady shouted for him to come into her room.

“Find something?”

“Yup. Apparently the city is adding a new subway system.”

“Only took them a decade.”

“Well, where they decided to start construction? It hasn’t been touched for years. I doubt they even had the right permission to start construction.”

“Which is why our contact was being so vague! Babe, you’re a genius.” In a flash he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You go confront our client while I deal with the rest of the demons.” He ran out the door, excited by the news.

The realization that he kissed her didn’t hit them until the door shut.
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When Trish returned to Devil May Cry, she could feel the tension the moment she stepped in. She contemplated leaving, figuring they needed more time.

“Hey, look who it is!” Oh well, if you want something done you have to do it yourself as they say.

Over takeout, Trish recounted her adventures across the world, purposely adding how she was so grateful that Dante had listened to her and handed over those missions. It was easy to be a wingwoman.

Unfortunately her return had backfired. Lady had decided that it should be her turn to go on the away missions and there was no changing her mind.

It hurt him a lot, and his demeanor changed once again. He would be his joyous normal self when she was around but when she left he more stoic and reserved. Trish made sure to accompany him on all his missions so he, as she put it, wouldn’t do anything irrational stupid. It help, he joked around with her but it wasn’t the same.

At least she came always came back, Dante would told himself, she technically didn’t break her promise.

That mentality kept him going. Her visits were always pleasant, his favorite one was when she had no work and stayed for four whole months. He didn’t even mind handing off all his money for her, it allowed them a private moment together since Trish wasn’t aware of his debt to her.

So when Lady came in complaining about so group calling themselves the Order of the Sword, he was very willing to check them out.
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“Hey Dante?”

“Yeah?”

“Ever considered expanding the business?” Lady was about to commit a huge sin, officially break her promise to Dante. She felt it would be best for the both of them. During one of their drunken conversations, he told her that he feared falling in love. That if he did, they were good as dead.

It wouldn’t have been a problem if she hadn’t already fallen in love with him.

She had attempted to leave without explanation, after their battle in Fortuna. No words were exchanges between them but they both new what the mostly empty suitcase meant. With the wave of her hand, she was out of his life. At least that’s what she planned to do if the phone had not rung. She let her heart take over and ask him if she could tag along, ignoring Trish’s knowing look.

Dante raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ve thought about it. Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking of...spreading my wings.” Why did this have to be so hard?!

“...What do you mean?” He really hoped that she was about to reveal she was really an angel.

“Well, since Trish is now your permanent partner, I was thinking of taking Devil May Cry to new places.” That came completely out wrong, she sounded like she was jealous. The last thing she wanted to do was blame Trish, she listened to her complain about him and her shopping buddy.

He refused to make eye contact with her. “Well, I already gave the kid the sign. I’m sure he’ll expand on his own.”

“Right…” He was trying to end the conversation before it started. He didn’t want to talk about it, she didn’t either. She decided to look through the menu in front of her. “So, what are you going to order?”

“Probably just the linguini and chicken, how about you?”

“You’re eating something other than pizza? Who are you and what have you done with Dante?”

“Well they don’t sell pizza here. Too fancy for that.”

“You were the one who picked this place.”

“I knew what I was getting myself into Lady.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

That I knew you were planning on leaving me and I’m taking you on a date to a place you would like because I love you. “Nothing. I just knew this place had no pizza.”

She watched him. This was the second sign something was up. He just randomly asked her to dinner, no reason given. She was about to question him when the waiter made his way over.

“Are you ready to order?”

Dante quickly answered. “I am”

Lady had completely forgotten to pick something. “Uh sure. I’ll have the steak, medium rare please.” She needs something to chew on to avoided telling him.

“I’ll take the linguini with chicken and shrimp.” The waiter nodded, took their menus and walked off to the kitchen.

Lady watched a couple across the room laugh and eat. She envied how easy it was for them. That neither was a half-devil and a scarred woman.

“You okay Lady?”

“I’m fine.”

She was always bad at lying. “You sure?”

“Yes, I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

“Places I could go.”
“Oh…”

“I’m just being practical Dante. There really is no reason for me to be around.” She felt that she couldn’t keep up with the two demons. It may not be the real reason she wanted to leave, but it was a factor.

“But I—” He stopped himself. He didn’t want to tell her. If she was going to be stubborn, so would he. “The shop won’t be the same without you. Plus Patty will eat off my ear about how much she misses you. Trish too.” Especially me.

“Well I’ll come back and visit.”

“Or you could just stay.” Instead Of arguing, she sighed. He was acting like a child in her eyes. They stayed silent until their food arrived. Well, she thought, if he won’t talk about that, he’ll have to talk about this. “So why all this?”

“Huh?”

“Why dinner?” For the first time tonight, she smiled and laughed. “Showing off how much money you have now that you don’t own a debt to me?”

“Nah, just thought it’d be nice.”

“Really? Alright.”

“Yeah…” They decided to eat in silence, both feeling guilty for ruining the night.

The waiter seemed to feel the tension as he came over with a large smile on his face. “Care for dessert?”

“Sure. I’ll take a strawberry sundae.”

“I’ll have the cheesecake.”

He quickly wrote down there orders, biting him tongue to avoid commenting about the adult man’s order. “Great. Your desserts will be with you shortly.” He ran back to the kitchen to gossip there, not knowing that very same man has super hearing and his tip money.

Finally, Lady decided to break the awkward silence. “Have you talked to Nero lately?”

“Yeah, Kid said he and Kyrie are moving from Fortuna.”

“I would hope. Did he say where?”

“Said they’re still looking. They’re considering moving to Redgrave.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah.” Right on cue, the waiter came with their desserts and the bill. Without real thinking about it, Lady reacted for the bill. Her hand was met with the table cloth as Dante snatched the bill.

“I got it.”

“Wait, what?”

“I said I’ll pay for it.”

“Seriously, who are you?”

“What?”

“You, Mr. always in debt, is going to pay for a meal at an expensive restaurant.”

“Yes.” He laughed at her confusion. “I can be nice too you know.”

“Alright then.” She watched him take out a wad of cash, no doubt from the latest mission they went on. Lady put a few bills down for the tip, saying she wanted to pay for something. They walked back to Devil May Cry, much more calm. Having a pleasant conversation about nothing in particular.

The night was calm, Dante even commented that the demons must be resting. He walked her all the way to her bedroom door, both unsure what to do now.

She wonder if she should say anything, she had already thanked him during their walk, twice. Should she share her confession?

Unbeknownst to her, he was having the similar dilemma. His mind shouted at him to tell her that he wanted her to stay and be with him.

But as expected, neither could do it. It was too hard.

“Well thanks for tonight. You really didn’t need to do that.” One more time couldn’t hurt.

“It’s nothing. Just wanted to say thanks for everything.”

Before another awkward silence could begin, Lady piped up. “Well, goodnight.”

“Night Lady…”

She quickly ran inside her room and shut the door. She rested her body against the door and sighed. She hoped he walked away and had not seen her blush.

He silently pushed his fingers through his hair, his mind mocking him for being shy. He, Dante the great Devil Hunter, being shy towards a girl. He kissed his hand, placed it on the door before walking off to bed where he didn’t get much sleep.

The next day they both woke feeling guilty and angry at themselves. They both wish they got drunk and woke up together, that way they would have to talk.

Fate wouldn’t give them the easy way out.

Lady opted to take the first mission of the day and left as soon as possible. Dante was halfway down the stairs by the time she was already down the block. He decided to see an expert.
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“So what’s so important that you called me here Dante.”

“I have a problem Trish and you’re the only one I can talk to.”

“About?”

“Lady.”

“I thought you said you were going to take her to dinner like I told you.”

“I did. Let me explain.” Trish paid close attention to every word, silent judging both of them and pretending Lady didn’t call her last night and told her everything that happened.

“So let get this straight. You want me to help you come up with a way to get Lady to stay without just asking her to?”

“Pretty much.” Trish blinked at him, her face unreadable.

“Okay then.” They spent the next 30 minutes staring at the wall, trying to come up with something. Well, he was. Trish was trying to come up with an explanation for how blind the both of them are. Then she was struck with an idea.

“I got it!”

“What?”

“Why not buy her something? You know how she loves new clothes and the newest weapons. It”lol show her how much you care.”

“That’s a great idea Trish!”

“I know.”

“I’ll be right back!” He joyfully ran to the nearest mall, recounting how many bills from this place where mailed to him.

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Lady returned to Devil May Cry, exhausted from stress and her missions. She longed for a nice warm bubble bath. She was happy that main floor was empty but she needed to make sure no one was truly in the building.

“Dante! Trish I’m back!” When she got no answer, she made her way up the stairs. “I may have gotten my pay docked but for a good reason! Guy was an asshole!” Again, she was met with no response. Figuring they were out on a mission, Lady went to her room to grab her towel and bath essentials.

In the middle of her bed was a large shopping bag. Curious, she slowly opens the bag. Inside was a light pink shirt, blue jeans and brown long boots. There was also one top of the line gun holster with new bullets in the pocket.

She tried to remember if she had ordered anything recently. As she looked for a receipt, she came across a note:

Figured I’d cut out the middleman and just buy you new stuff. -Dante

She was glad she shut the door when she walked in because she held the note close to her chest and blushed. A million thoughts rant her head. He knew exactly what to get her. This was the third sign that something was up. He paid top dollar for it.

She feel deeper in love with him.

But what did it all mean? It was out of the blue. She had to confront him.

She ran down the stairs to find Dante sleeping peacefully in his chair. She can’t help but smile at him, he was everything she wanted and needed.

Sensing her presence, he popped up and smiled. She prepared herself for a joke about her watching him, so when he asked her a question, she was more than confused.

“What did you say?”

“I asked you if you wanted to pick what we’re eating tonight.”

“Today’s not Saturday.”

“And? Figured it was about time we changed it up.”

“Why?”

“No reason.”

“...” With that, he went on to order her favorite meal.

Throughout the night, he didn’t tease her once. In fact, he only spoke about things she liked. She didn't need a fourth sign see that this was point to complicated feelings. Did he like her or not?! It was too much for her.

“Would you like to go to our favorite bar? Heard they’ve invented a new drink.”

“I think I just want to go to bed.”

“Oh okay…” Dante watched her quickly run p to hr room and sighed. He hoped this would be enough.

Lady hide in her room until she was sure he went to bed. She quickly packed her things, include her new outfit, and headed out. She decided to take the coward’s way out, running without a word. She was just about to put her helmet on when she heard a voice behind her. “So you’re just going to leave without saying goodbye?”

She didn’t need to turn around. “It’s for the best.”

“No, it really isn’t”

“Why Dante?! Why not?!”

“BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO STAY!”

“Yea, I got that! Why?!”

“Because I do!”

“That’s not an explanation!”
“Well, not everything needs an explanation Lady! Somethings can’t be explain!” As he spoke, he made his way over to her, blocking her escape path.

Screw Trish’s idea, he was going to tackle this the way he did when she refused to get out of his way in the tower, head on.

“Lady look... I want you to stay. More than anything, and not your ‘you live here but go away almost everyday’ thing either. I want you by my side Please.”

“Dante, I can’t…”

“Then fine, if you don’t want to stay as a devil hunter, will you stay as my girlfriend?”

“What did you say?”

“I want to be with you Lady. I want to wake up with you sleeping next to me. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up and when I go to bed. Please Lady, stay with me.”

It wasn’t I love you, it was much more.

But he said he didn’t want a relationship, that he was afraid of love, he loved to look at other women, he hadn’t really told her how he felt.

“Okay.”

“Really…?”

“Yes. I will be your girlfriend Dante if you’re willing to be my boyfriend.” He smirked his signature smirk, this was really happening. He scooped her up and swung her around, he was ecstatic. So was she, shown by her smile and laughs as he spun her.

This would be hard but they were ready for hard.

Together, they can do anything.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Dante couldn’t believe he waited this long to go out with Lady. She was the best thing to ever happen to him. Every day he would wake up to her sleeping on his chest and he smiles. He would smile knowing that he finally had his happiness, his reason to live, by his side.

She was his, possibly forever.

He hoped forever. Their one year anniversary was close and he was ready to get down on one knee.

He wouldn’t, not now, it would be too much for Lady. He didn’t want to push her away when he just was pinned her down.

The sex is amazing. Enough said.

Their fighting improved. They knew everything about the other, it was like dancing for them. They hardly broke a sweat nowadays. No demon dared to touch her. He would tear them apart if she hadn’t already killed them by then.

Devil May Cry had never been cleaner, much to Patty’s relief. She had too much schoolwork to be worrying about keeping Dante’s place cleaned. Though she wouldn’t lie that she loved spending time with Dante, Lady, and Trish. It was too early to tell, but she thinks she’s going to start a business after college.

Lastly, Lady gets Dante out of the shop more. She’d force him to get out of his chair and try new things. They went to restaurants, movies, countries that had a minimum to no demon problems. Everything she could think of, or find on the internet. It was exhilarating. He couldn’t believe he had been missing all this. The city was so much better when the world wasn’t ending.

With every little thing she did, including sitting on his lap for seemingly no reason, made him fall deeper in love.

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Lady had a similar mindset.

Dante was now willing to tell her anything without the need for alcohol. It was nice. She kept learning new things about him, amazing things. His childhood, his mother, how soft his muscles actually felt...

They didn’t fight anymore, only argued if needed. Usually, it was over whose turn it actually was for movie night or whether or whether he actually ate her food.

Lady noticed the little changes.

Before it was either staring at the ceiling wide awake or constant nightmares. The first time they held each other, it was sensational. The warmth, the feeling of being held. They sleep with no problem ever again, it was like they were fighting each other’s demons as they slept.

It was paradise.

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Dante smirked as he walked out of the bathroom, he loved when the steam surrounded him as if he was a rockstar exiting the stage.

He confidently checked himself out in the mirror before getting dressed, he laughed at the small wrinkles on his face. He loved aging. Shocking, he knows. His brother would be appalled that he didn’t use his ability to not age but Dante could care less. He wanted to be as close to his mother as much as possible.

But he wouldn't lie, he uses it from time to time if his hair seems to be getting grey.

He opened his closet only to be drowned in clothing. He deduced that Lady must have gone shopping when he spent four hours convincing the neighboring business that the screams they were hearing at night were all sex-related.

He quickly got his outfit together and neatly put her clothes back. He wore a simple red button-up and black pants, figuring he only had to put his vest on if he had a mission to go on. He hoped he didn’t.

He was descending when he heard a familiar motorcycle seem to come closer and closer to shop. He practically jumped into his chair and placed his feet on the desk. He was not ashamed of the fact he got very excited whenever she came home, he had no shame.

When Lady walked through the door, it was like a spotlight appeared over her. Every day felt like he was meeting her for the first time. He was stunned by how gorgeous she was. She was wearing the outfit he bought her when his worst fear was going to come true. She smiled at him, both taking in each other’s features.

Without a word, she makes her way over to him. She sits on his lap, her favorite spot in the whole building. They exchange kisses instead of words, their favorite language. He notices she seems tired out as evident from her resting her head on his shoulder. He protectively wraps his arms around her, making sure she is real. This moment is real.

“Rough day?”

“Mhmm...so many pests to deal with…”

“Are you need a nap tired or need a message tired.”

“I’ll give you a third choice and say I need a long bath tired.”

“Well, then you’ll be disappointed when I tell you that the hot water doesn’t come back on until Thursday.”

“I thought we paid the bill…”

“We did. The vultures can’t believe I actually have money. They’re verifying the check as we speak.”

Lady sleepily laughs at him. She was in charge of the money, clearing Dante’s debt in almost a week. “A message it is…”

“Your wish is my command.” He gently kisses the top of his head before moving her so he could give her a proper back massage.

Lady felt like puddie under his fingers. He kneaded her tense shoulders in a way that he was somehow rough and gentle. Her muscles and both ached for his touch as if they never touched each other since first meeting. He always had a trick up his sleeve that turned her from a ball of stressed to a puddle. It was as if they left this horrid planet and actually entered Heaven.

It was heaven until the phone rang.

Lady didn’t hide her annoyance, letting out a loud growl at the ring.

“We don’t have to pick up.”

“Yes, we do. We need hot water.” He chuckled as he picked up the phone.

“Devil May Cry … Uh huh … Uh huh ...Well you see, I take jobs depending on my mood and right now…” His eyes shifted to Lady, ignore the pleads from the person on the other end. Lady motioned for him to accept the job. “...but since YOU insist, we’ll take it. … uhh … uhh … yea I know the place. Be there in an hour.”

With that, they were on their way.

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Dante knew something was wrong the second he turned off the motorcycle. The air was thick but they hadn’t gone up a mountain. The address brought them to a seemingly abandoned cemetery with a letter from their client taped to the gate. How not like a trap this felt.

He wasn’t alone in his doubt, Lady’s gut is practically yelling at her that this probably wasn’t a job. Too bad both he and she were too stubborn not see this through.

As they walk deeper, Dante’s worry turned into laughter. He couldn’t help it, the names on the tombstones were too much for him.

“Lady I think we found our demon, Sir Dicklet.”

“You’re a child.”

“And proud of it.”

“It’s not even that funny of a name.”

“Oh? Are you challenging me to a battle of who can find the better name?”

“We have a job to focus on.”

“Admitting defeat already?” She simply rolled her eyes. Truth be told, their bets nowadays ended with the loser doing the laundry or washing dishes. Not as exciting as playing for money but she still had her winning streak that was too precious to lose. Humor was where he reigned.

After about ten minutes of walking around, Dante decided he was done with this mission. “I say this is a dud.”

“We’ve barely looked around.”

“Your point?”

Lady couldn’t hide her smile. He wasn’t one to give up on a job. He was trying to convince her to play his little game.

How childish. She was in. “If we leave, I won’t beat you at finding the funniest tombstone.”

Dante smirked. “Loser does the dishes for a week.”

“Deal.”

They spent the next hour running around like teenagers in an abandoned cemetery.

Why use demon powers to keep you young when you have someone as child-like as you.

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After about an hour, they both decided Dante won with the discovery of Dick Assman. They laid on the ground, staring at the sky. Being professional was for suckers.

“I’m guessing it’s safe to assume this is the best mission we’ve been on?” She rolled onto his chest and smiled. He gently wrapped his arms around her.

They used an excuse they could to hold each other. Could you blame them? Circumstance ripped this tenderness from them so quickly that they had unfading scars on their hands.

They wondered if their mothers would be happy for them.

“Wrong”

“I am, am I? Enlighten me then Malady.”

“You’re so weird.” She ran her fingers through his soft white hair. "The best mission we've been on was our very first one."

“Ah, so my theories are true. You did fall in love with me the moment we met.”

“Get over yourself. It took me years to stop hating you.”

“Oh really? I don’t believe you.” In flash, he was on top of her, he leaned down, just enough that the tips of their noses touched. “I think you feel for me when eyes met after you broke through the wall. I wouldn’t blame you. The scene was very romantic. The light reflecting off the glass made you look so beautiful…”

“Sounds like you feel for me at that moment.”

“I tried to kiss you for a reason.” She leaned up to meet his lips and they kissed passionately. Moments alone were far and few in between, they milked them as much as possible.

Lady’s eyes snapped open when Dante suddenly pulled back. She watched him look around from danger. “Dante?”

“Sorry, I got a feeling…” He stared off in the distance at a small seemingly untouched hut. She felt his grip on her shoulder tighten.

Dante’s fear of losing her never subsided. She was his other reason to be as human as he could. But he couldn’t forget, he wouldn’t forget that no matter what he did, he couldn’t be exactly like her. He could survive being stabbed multiple times, she couldn’t. Bullets could kill her, his enemies could use her, her death was inevitable.

He knew, she’s proved time and time again, that his fear was baseless. He knew she was right. She always was.

But at moments like this, where they were completely exposed, his fears were heightened to the max.

“Let’s check it out then.” She cupped his face, pulling him away from his thoughts. He didn’t have to say anything, she already knew what he was thinking. She kisses him quickly and sat up. She followed his gaze.

When they got to the entrance to the hut, they discovered it was actually a large tomb. It gave off a very dark aura. Lady read over the note carefully this time. “This is the place we’re supposed to be.” She handed the note over to Dante and walked inside. He followed closely behind her, tempted to reach out and hold her hand until they were back in their shared bed. She motioned for him to examine the artifacts on the left wall as she walked over to the casket. He complied but as he walked over to the artifacts, they turned into small demons that launched on his face and body. He was too late to react, all he could do was shout to her. Lady quickly turned to him but as she attempted to reach for her guns, the casket morphed into a demon and prevented her from moving any farther. Sensing that something was daring to touch his Lady, Dante’s instinct took over and he used Ebony and Ivory to eliminate the smaller demons. When he turned to help her, his fear washed away. Not only did she escape the demon’s grasp, she had already brought it close to death.

She never ceased to amaze him.

Seeing that the scarlet demon hunter had joined the fight, the demon used every bit of strength it had left to destroy the floor of the tomb.

It would have been fine if there wasn’t a tunnel beneath them. Dante reaches for Lady, hoping to absorb the fall for both of them.

Lady had other ideas.

Firing Kalina Ann’s bayonet, it hit the demon right above its heart. With all her strength, Lady slammed the demon into a wall of a tunnel. She slams the blade of Kalina Ann into the wall on the opposite side to stop her and the demon from falling. As security, Lady shot the demon three times.

Dante watched the exchange as he fell down, he was beyond impress. He could faintly hear her calling his name, which confused him…

Until he hit the ground.

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The sound of Dante hitting the ground was deafening. He was always doing something like this. As much as he was a demon, he was just as human. He still aged, he still felt pain and he still bruised. His healing could only do so much for him. It removed the marks, but the wounds were still there.

Pulling back the bayonet and removing the blade, Lady fell a few feet. She deployed the bayonet and paused to see if he would react. He didn’t move, she could tell he fell hard. Slowly making her way down, she wondered if the great demon hunter, the son of Sparda, would actually be taken out by a fall.

It would be an interesting way for him to go. An average human death for the infamous half-demon. The half-demon that made her happy, that relieved her stress, that she loved.

Could you tell she was stressed?

Once her feet touched the ground, she gave in to her fear and ran over to him. HIs eyes were shut, he didn’t seem to sense her presence. She pressed her ear to his chest, she froze when she didn’t find a heartbeat.

Her instinct took over as she began CPR.

The second she placed her mouth on his, she felt a smirk against it. Before she could react, Dante flip over, plant a kiss on her lips and hovered over her, his hands holding her arms down.

“Got you.” He got a knee in the balls as a reply.

He immediately jumped off and curled into a ball. “OWW! WHAT THE HELL LADY?!”

“YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSHOLE!” She sat up quickly in anger. She was beyond pissed. How could he do that to her? How could he fall for something like that? “I THOUGHT SOMETHING BAD ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO YOU!”

Just like the fall, he recovered from the kick to his genitals quite quickly. He smiled at her outburst. “Babe, you know something like that couldn’t take me out.” She turned away from him, she wasn’t going to instantly forgive him. Not this time.

He made his way over to him. “Okay, I’ll admit when I hit the ground, to do a bit of damaged but you know I heal quickly.”

Lady continued to ignore him. “Come on babe, please don’t be mad. It was just a little prank.”

“You’d figure a guy who’s lost almost everyone he loves would be more sensitive to joking about death.” With that, she made her way back up the tunnel.

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Nothing but the wind could be heard as they exited the tunnel. Lady looked around the tomb. Dante knew he messed up pretty badly. He was trying to make her laugh, she seemed so worried that he might have actually gotten hurt. He hated when she was sad and now he made it worse.

“Babe…?”

“According to the phone call and the note, this was the only place where any demon appeared. I guess I could go get the pay now.”

“Lady?”

“I don’t have anything planned for after so I might go look for single apartments.”

“Lady.”

“Then I can give Trish my resignation to give to Dante…”

“LADY!” She turned coldly to him, still refusing to speak.

“Look, Lady. I’m sorry. I’m really, really, sorry. That was really, really, really stupid of me to do. I wasn’t thinking when I did it. But I do know this. I know you’re still mourning your parents. I see it when you have a nightmare about them, I hear it when you cry on mother’s and father’s day. I know because I feel it too. I know you won’t believe me but--”

“I know Dante.” That shut him up. He made his way over to her, only gently touching her arm. The stared at each other, her eyes were softer.

“As much as you cut back, you still drink yourself to sleep on her birthday and her day. I know you still have your brother’s glove from that day. I know you mask your pain with jokes. I know you wait to get up in the morning to make sure I’m there. I know Dante and I still love you.” With that, his guilt melted away and he kissed her gently. He was so ecstatic. He didn’t push her away, she was willing to put up with him. All of him.

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The stars seemed to be lined up in Dante’s favor.

The client was waiting for them at the entrance of the cemetery. He had been at the bank getting them the full payment agreed on. Dante drove quickly back to Devil May Cry to spend some private time with Lady. He picked her up off the motorcycle and ran inside.

He only paused when he saw he had mail.

Normally, he would ignore the mail, which usually consists of bills and more bills, but something inside him said he should check.

Using his free hand, he pulled out a simple white letter. He placed Lady down and ripped open the letter.

“Not so rough Dante.”

“First time I’ve heard you say that.” She rolled her eyes at his smirk.

His devilish smirk turned into a sweet smile once he finished the letter.

“What is it?”

“The Kid and Kyrie finally set a date."

Chapter Text

Kyrie stepped out from behind the curtain to be greeted with gasps and woos that made her blush. She gave a little twirl in her fancy white dress. She was having so much fun picking out the dress.

So was her bachelorette party. She was surprised that Lady, Trish, and Nico, whom she was just getting to know, all agreed to not only to help her find a dress but with every responsibility of the wedding.

Trish took it upon herself to be the wedding planner. Nero was very hesitant to give her that much power over the wedding, he feared what she would deem “interesting and exciting”. Oh, did she prove him wrong! She made sure to have Kyrie’s and Nero’s approval before she made any decision. She had Lady help her out and balance the budget. She did it so well that Nero gave her an apology willingly.

Kyrie was so thankful for them, maybe more than Nero. After the incident with the Order, Kyrie tried to tell everyone in Fortuna what had happened only for it to fall on deaf ears. They rebuked her, exiling her and Nero from the town. She physically had to stop Nero from harming any of them. It hurt her that all her once close friends saw her as an outsider for simply trying to speak the truth. She missed having someone to talk to, to go to lunch with, to shop with.

When she first got to know Lady and Trish, she was worried they would find her boring. Their lives were so exciting and they have a similar fire in their eyes that Nero did. Still, they took her shopping, would gossip with her, and cook with them.

It turns out they had many similar interests. Lady and Kyrie would exchange books to read. Trish and Kyrie would sing together. It was the best connections she has ever had with a person. So when Nero brought home Nico one day, she accepted her with open arms.

The clicking of glass brought Kyrie out of her reminiscing and she turned to the three women on the couch.

Lady had an eyebrow raised and her face was scrunched up “I don’t know about this one.”

Kyrie was wearing a strapless plain mermaid dress. Trish nodded in agreement “Yeah, this is totally not your style, plus it looks like something you would wear back in Fortuna, not on your big day.”

Kyrie replied, “Women aren’t allowed to show their shoulders. Or really any skin”

Trish smirked, “Oh so that’s why you want to wear a strapless dress.”

Kyrie blushed in embarrassment. Trish was both right and wrong. It would be such a scandal back home if she was seen wearing that and the idea excited her. However, she felt naked in the outfit and crossed her arms around her chest to rub her shoulders.

Lady got the message almost immediately and stood up “Kyrie, go back to the dressing room, I know the perfect dress for you.”

Kyrie nodded and walked off. Lady sprinted out of the room, nearly knocking over a poor employee. Trish laughed at her antics. 

She turned to Nico with a smile and raised her glass, “A toast.”

Nico tilted her head “What in the hell for?”

Trish offered “Our shared bond over having dads that Dante killed.”

Nico laughed and clicked her glass against Trish “Here! Here!’ Nico took a sip and questioned, “I thought you were a demon.”

“I am,” Trish said plainly. Nico didn’t push the issue any further, not wanting to annoy the beautiful demon lady next to her.

~

A few minutes later, Lady returned to her seat with a proud smirk on her face. 

Trish commented, “You look cocky.”

Lady waved her off, “That’s because I know this dress is perfect.” She then called out “Come out Kyrie.”

Kyrie steps out and was met with silence. She was wearing a white ball gown, with lace sleeves that went just up to where her collarbone meets her shoulder. It showed off the necklace Nero had given her and the sleeves were thick enough for her liking. 

This was the perfect dress.

Kyrie looked between them nervously “H-How does it look?”

Nico grinned “You look amazing K!” The compliment allowed Kyrie to relax.

“Absolutely stunning” Trish added

Lady smirked, “Told you it looks great.”

Kyrie replied, “Thank you, friends.” Kyrie twirled around in her dress, it flowed nicely around as if it was a cloud.

Lady copied down the price of the dress into her small black book. The book contained every single detail of the wedding. Trish would constantly joke that she would totally lose the book like in those cheesy romantic comedies but Lady was prepared for this. She had an electronic copy on her laptop, another handwritten book locked in her safe and everything memorized. 

Contrary to popular belief, Lady loved weddings. She loved the pageantry of it all to celebrate the love between two people. Kyrie and Nero deserve only the best.

The thought of what hers would look like flashed into her mind before she shook her head, she couldn’t allow herself to get distracted now of all times. 

Lady stood up “I'm going to put the dress on the card, I'll catch up with you guys at the bakery”

~

Nero had planned to have a quiet day to himself while Kyrie was out with her friends. He was going to order some Chinese food and watch a movie marathon.

He should have known the old man would never let him do that.

Not even ten minutes after Kyrie left, there was a very familiar banging.

“HEY KID! OPEN UP!” An all too annoyingly familiar voice called from behind the door.

“I’m not home!” Nero shouted back as he settled into his seat

“I know you are! Look the girls are gone having a girls day so we’re gonna have a guys day.”

Nero stayed silent, hoping it would make him go away.

“Come on Kid, I promised Lady we’d get some stuff done…” Dante pleaded before unleashing an endless string of “please”.

Nero groaned and held his face in his hands for a few moments. “FINE!” he shouted as he got up from the couch. Nero yanked the door open. Dante had a huge grin plastered onto his face, it made Nero give him the stink eye.

“You are the most annoying person in the world, you know that right?” Nero said exacerbated.

Dante happily nodded “Lady tells me that every day. Well, except when we’re having—”

“I don’t want to hear about it! It’s like walking in on your parents…”

“Hey! We apologized for not locking the door at that time.”

Nero sighed “Let’s go before I kill you.”

~

It would be years before Nero would admit he had fun that day. First, that took care of all the “boring stuff” as Dante dubbed it. With Dante’s impatience and Nero’s persistence, they were able to get the deposit to the DJ, get Nero a suit, and Nero a haircut. His hair was now a lot shorter than before but Nero liked it.

The girls successfully secured the cake, after a handful of free samples, and took care of any other lingering tasks that needed to be accomplished.

By the time both parties were done, they all but collapsed in their beds. 

They all needed the rest for the bachelor and bachelorette parties were up next.

~

Nero day down at the table, attempting to suppress the whine that came out of his lips. The spread Kyrie made was smaller than usual. 

“Kyrie, sweetheart, the light of my life, when I say you make too much food, I never mean that as a bad thing,” Nero remarked, he hated that he sounded a bit desperate.

Kyrie giggled “Oh shush, we’re having those parties tonight right? If they take us out for dinner, we don’t want to have full stomachs.”

“I have a feeling Dante is going to take me to a bar so I’ll need all the food in the world to make sure I don’t pass out.” Nero took a bite into his chicken “I’m going to regret this…” 

Kyrie sat down “I’m sure you’ll have a great time, it’s your party after all.” Kyrie replied genuinely

Nero leaned over and held her hand gently “ You always know what to say.”

They ate their meals in happy silence, just enjoying each other’s company. When the doorbell rang, Nero reluctantly got up from the table. 

Kyrie had a genuine smile on her face. She walked around the table and kissed Nero on the lips. “Let’s go have fun.”

They headed to the door and opened it to reveal Lady and Trish. They were both in simple t-shirts that had the message “Kyrie’s Bachelorette Party” and blue jeans. Kyrie squealed happily at the time.

“There she is! The blushing bride!’ Trish announces as she drapes a white sash with the word “Bride” sown in gold over Kyrie.

Lady took one of Kyrie’s arms as Trish took the other and they led her to Nico’s van.

“Don’t worry Nero! We’ll take care of her! We’ll return Cinderella before midnight…tomorrow.” Nico called out, making Nero facepalm.

 Kyrie hopped into the van and ran to the front so she could wave at Nero before Nico sped off. 

Nero couldn’t contain his smile. Kyrie looked excited. She was an open book and he could see the anticipation and joy gush out of her. 

Suddenly, two hands grabbed Nero’s shoulders and spun him around.

“HEY KID!” Dante shouted happily into his face.

“Oh hey, Dante…” Nero said before sighing

Dante tilted his head “Why so mopey? It’s time for your bachelor party! We’re gonna get hammered!” 

Nero rolled his eyes at that, he was already dreading the hangover he was going to have tomorrow. 

“We’re not going to do that” Nero had never been more happy to hear Morrison’s voice. Morrison walked over Nero and shook his hand while smiling. “Good to see you.”

Nero smiled back “Hey Morrison, Dante drag you here?”

“Nah” Morrison replied with a chuckle, Lady said I need to come to make sure nothing goes stupidly wrong.”

“Which just makes no sense,” Dante remarked

Morrison and Nero shared a knowing look. “So what exactly is the plan?’ Nero asked

“Well since you’re so dead set on not doing anything ‘overly exciting’, it’s Sunday which means there’s some sports game on and Enzo has already called to guilt-trip me into coming over and watching so we can catch up.” Dante explains “He always has at least a few bottles of beer in the fridge.”

Before Nero could reply, Dante continued “Or we could do my idea and visit my favorite after-work spot.” Dante smirked.

“OR!” Nero interrupted “You could invite Enzo to meet at the bar down the road, and we can watch the game and not in his sticky apartment.”

“If it gets Enzo to stop guilt-tripping me then hell yeah!” Dante replied, trying to not his relief slip through. The truth was, he actually forgot to play Nero a bachelor party. Jobs, his usual hectic life, and procrastination caused the responsibility. Besides Nero planning something for himself is something Nero would do.

They all piled into Dante’s red car and headed to Enzo’s since they knew he had no way of getting to the bar on his own.

~

The girls headed to a spa to destress. Unlike Dante, Lady had this planned weeks in advance. Lady picked out a great package which included a 60-minute massage, a manicure, a pedicure, and a large bottle of champagne.

The champagne was untouched for the first hour, the girls were focused on enjoying every single second of their message. The masseuse giving Lady her massage was a bit concerned with how many knots Lady seemed to have but she silenced him immediately. “I’m a gymnast”, “Yes, I’ll see a masseuse more options”, “No, I do not wish to buy your products.”

Once Lady was able to pry herself away, and Trish finally stopped laughing, they headed over to get their manicures.

“This place is amazing. Thank you so much Lady” Kyrie said as a worker painted her nails. She chose a clear nail polish since she didn’t want anything too bright. 

Lady smiled proudly “No problem! I made sure to get only the best for you.”

“So when it’s yours and Dante’s turn, we’ll be back here?” Trish teased

Lady, used to Trish’s comments, replied: “Of course not, that will be your job to plan this.”

Kyrie’s face brightens “Wait, are you two going to get married?!”

Lady shrugged, well as best she could to not mess up her nails, “I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but he’s gotta ask.”

“Well we both know that Dante is an idiot so unless you push the idea, you’re not gonna get it anytime soon,” Trish said

Lady sighed “I hate how right you are. But I want him to be ready as well. I don’t want to rush him into anything”

The three other women nodded their heads, though Trish really wanted to smack them both upside the head.

You think after they finally confessed, they’d stop being so oblivious.  

~

“Thanks for finally inviting me out Dante.”

“Uh-huh”

“You never invite me out”

“Uh-huh”

“Too cool to give this old man the time of day anymore?”

“Keep trying to guilt-trip me and this will be the last time I take you anywhere Enzo.”

Enzo waved his hand dismissively. Dante perked up when Morrison and Nero return with the drinks. Dante grabbed his beer and began to chug it.

“So how does it feel to be watching your prodigy get married before you?” Enzo asked after taking a sip of his whiskey

“Prodigy? How am I his prodigy?” Nero asked bewildered. Nero’s question would never be answered.

“That’s rich coming from you, old man,” Dante replied

“Says the man with white hair--”

“It has always been white”

“--that’s turning grey!”

“Hey!”

“SPEAKING OF THAT!” Morrison interrupted, silencing the two men “That is a topic of discussion.”

“Huh?” Dante turned to Morrison who was lighting a cigar.

“What I mean is, why haven’t you and Lady tie the knot yet?” Morrison asked, genuinely. He had been rooting for the couple ever since he watched them both interact.

Dante rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, Lady’s not ready for that.”

“And how do you know that?” Nero asked

“She’s never brought it up.”

“Have you asked?” Morrison inquired

“Well, not exactly…”

“Don’t be a spineless chicken. Ask her, the worst she can say flat out reject you.” Enzo remarked

Dante rolled his eyes at that.

“On a more positive line of thinking, you know Lady. She’ll say whatever she’s thinking. And she loves you so she won’t break up with you if she’s not ready. Just go for it.” Nero added. He patted Dante’s hand, making the devil hunter smile.

“Jump right into it as you do in battle so you have no time to even think about being scared,” Morrison said.

“Alright! Alright!” Dante shook his head “But after the wedding, don’t want to steal the spotlight from the kid.”

The group laughed among themselves and had a very calm and relaxing night.

~

A few uneventful days flew past before it was time for the big day. Dante joked that this was the demons’ wedding present. They all hoped this was true and not alluded to an attack at the wedding.  

Lady stared at herself in the mirror the morning of. She had just put her bridesmaid dress. It was a bright pink dress with spaghetti straps and a slit down the side. .Her heels and nails matched it in color, she made sure Trish and Nico’s did as well. Compared to her other dresses, this was extremely plain.

She loved it.

True, it wasn’t something she would normally wear. It was because white is her color, red too but Dante acts like a child when it comes to sharing. But she knew he looked good in pink. She loved dresses, ankle-length specifically which made this dress even better, heels, makeup and all things that are considered girly. Her feminine side was the one thing that was not stolen from her that dark day. Her mother loved to give her a princess makeover and putting on extravagant tea parties.

She promised her mother at age 4 that she would do the same with her daughter and she meant it. 

That memory caused her to blush. She did not know why, but the idea of a baby kept popping into her mind. She would linger at windows of shops that sold baby clothes, write down names she overhears to not forget them, and once almost bought a pregnancy test. She wasn’t sure when it started, but she knew he really wanted to have a baby.

And she was doubly sure she wanted Dante to be the father.

Though she had not been in many relationships before Dante, she knew he was the one. It just felt right to her. 

He would make a great father too. Dante was protective, caring and considerate. She knows he would never leave her because of the baby, he was too good of a guy to do that.

She thought about it over some more. They were in a good place financially and they could fix up one of the spare rooms to make up a decent nursery. 

She smiled to herself, she was definitely going to bring it up to him.

A knock at her door brought her back to reality. “Lady, we got to go!” Trish called.

“I’m coming.” Lady quickly scooped up her purse and walked out of her room. Behind her door, Trish stood in the exact same pink dress, still wearing her signature leather jacket.

“You do know you have to take that off before the ceremony, right?” Lady remarked  

Trish replied, “I know. I also know it’s going to get cold later.”

Lady raised an eyebrow “Demons get cold.”

“They do when they’re surrounded by humans and want to blend in,” Trish replied

 “I’m human and I hardly wear a jacket.”

Trish sighed “Fine, I just don’t like being without it, is that what you want to hear?”

Lady smirked, “Yes, yes it was.”

Trish rolled her eyes “Great, now that that’s over with, we have to get going.” Lady nodded and followed her to the chapel.

~

Kyrie stood before the doors, patiently waiting for the music to play. Her mind wandered to tell Nero when they were little how they were going to get married. When they were children, they would enthusiastically nod along. When they were older, he would blush and wave her away.

And how, they were here. 

The music began to play and the doors opened slowly. She began her walk down the aisle, smiling at every person she made eye contact with. When her eyes locked with Nero’s, she had to grip her bouquet to ground herself.

He looked so handsome in his suit. His hair was slicked back so formally and she could see the tears already forming in his eyes.

Kyrie looked like an angel to Nero. The way the light hit her, her smile, she was definitely an angel in disguise. She must be an angel Nero had to be dead for any of this to be real. He didn’t deserve someone like her in his life. When he climbed that three at age 5 to see if he could find his parents, he must have fallen and died. That was it. This was not real, it couldn’t be.

And yet, Kyrie’s real hands held his real hands and her real voice whispered that she was the happiest she had ever been. His real friends smiled at him from their seats. Credo’s real medal was on her arm. (Kyrie always wanted him to walk her down the aisle, this is the closest she was able to get).

The rest was a blur, though that could be because of his tears. He did, however, hear “I do” very clearly leave hers and his mouth. 

Dante let out what could only be described as a howl when Nero and Kyrie kissed. Lady rolled her eyes at him but hugged him all the same. 

Today was a good day.

~
The reception was held in Devil May Cry. Nero joked that the only reason Dante offered was to get to keep all the extra food but they all knew better. It would be too heartbreaking to get a big reception hall when it was only nine of them.

When they arrived back, the first thing they noticed was the large packages outside. They were from Patty, she wasn’t able to make the wedding and these were to make up for her absence.

“She always finds a way to bud in, doesn’t she?” Dante asked Lady, though there was no malice in his question. Lady only light nudged him for it

They danced, they laughed, they ate, and had a great night. Lady made sure they would never forget it by hiring the best photographer she could find.

After making sure everyone had a slice of cake, she took one for herself and went outside. Lady took in cool air happily.

She could finally take a sigh of relief, all her hard work had paid off. She heard the door open behind her but she didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“Did you get lonely without me?” she asked coyly

Dante chuckled and stood next to her “Nah, I figured you would get bored out here without me.”

“How thoughtful.”

They stood in silence for a while, just taking in the beautiful night sky and being in the other’s presence.

“I want to get married,” Lady said suddenly. There was no point in hiding it, it was Dante. She could let her guard down around him

“So do I.” he replied without missing a beat “In fact, I might as well do this now. Since, you know, you’re not supposed to upstage a wedding.”

Lady turned as Dante got down on one knee “Lady, I don’t have some great speech planned or anything like that. All I have is that I really, really want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you and I care about you. So as sucky as this speech is, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Lady whispered, tears pouring down her cheeks. Dante happily slipped the ring on her and they embraced

“FINALLY!” The newly engaged couple snapped their heads to the open window where all their friends had been watching from.

“Come inside lover birds, we got to celebrate this!" Trish shouted

~

Chapter Text

~

Growing up, Lady never got into jewelry. Her classmates would show off the necklaces and bracelets their parents gave them and Lady wouldn’t care. Maybe it was because her father spent any money that could go to things like that on books about demons and ritual items. 

But after her mother’s murder and only having her necklace as a reminder of her, Lady found herself wanting jewelry. (Along with other normal things since she was now a runaway child.) When she bought her first bracelet, she could not explain the amount of joy and happiness that filled her at that moment. She loved that bracelet so much that she wore it every day until it broke. It sits in an old jewelry box in her room to this day.

Jewelry collecting became an obsession of hers. Every time she bought one, she felt like she was living the life she wanted, not the one her father forced her into. She has never felt any shame from how much money she has spent on jewelry since she was always good at managing her money.

She has gotten jewels from all over the world and different pieces from all the famous jewelry designers but none of them compare to the small ring on her left ring finger.

It was a small ½ carat diamond with a simple golden band and it is Lady’s prized possession, next to her mother’s necklace. While she other pieces of jewelry, these two were given to her by the people she loves and they both have a meaning that isn’t “fuck you dad”.

Her mother’s necklace represents her promise to her mother to avenge her murder and for her, Lady, to live. Her engagement ring represents her promise to be with Dante forever and be with him in marriage.

She smiles at her ring. Lady had never thought she would have gotten this far. She expected to have died when she was young or lived long, too traumatized by her father to let anyone into her life. Her new “found family”, as Kyrie calls them, are everything she didn’t know she needed. 

She pulls her gloves over her hands, put on said gloves became the last thing she would put on when she got dressed for some reason and left the room.

There was much to do for today.

~

 “Wow! This shop is so cute!!!” Patty exclaims as she walks into the bridal shop, making Lady smile and Trish laughs. 

A sale associate walks over to the group and smiles, “Hi, Welcome to Redgrave Bridal Shop, my name is Kelsey, how can I help you?”

Patty puts her hands on her hips and says determinedly, “Yes, we are looking for the perfect dress for my dear friend here.” Patty says as she motions to Lady who is covering her mouth to muffle her giggles.

Patty was allowed to go on a month-long trip with her mother so she missed almost all the planning for Kyrie’s and Nero’s wedding and the wedding itself, which truly broke her heart. While she will never regret her trip, Patty was determined to be as helpful as she could.

The sales associate made a face at Patty before stepping past her to shake Lady’s hand. Patty gasps and Trish snickers. Lady smiles and shakes the Lady’s hand before following her to the large couch in the store. The group sits, though Nico, more accurately flops onto the couch which made it squeak.

The sales associate tried to hide her cringe and ask politely, “So, what kind of dress were you looking for?”

“I was thinking of a tight fit dress but other than that, I don’t have a huge preference,” Lady replies.

Patty gasps and puts her hand to her chest, “Lady! There are hundreds of different types of wedding dress, you have to narrow it down or we will be here for hours!”

“And our appointment is only two hours,” Trish adds.

Lady nods, “Hmm, okay nothing with feathers and a bunch of tutus. I don’t to be drowned in the dress.”

The sales associate nods and walks off. A different associate walks over to the group and hands them all bottled water.

The first associate comes back with a rack of dresses and pushes them in front of Lady. “I picked a bunch. You can try as many as you want.”

Lady spends the next two hours trying on different dresses and watching everyone’s reaction to it. Kyrie and Patty seem to like all the dresses, Nico seems to hate all of them, and Trish keeps giving her in-depth opinion of every dress.

At the end of the second hour, Lady smiles sympathetically, “I’m sorry but I don’t think I found the dress. Thank you for all your help.”

The sales associate sighs but gives Lady her best customer service smile, “Of course, miss. Please check out our website, we have more dresses on there.”

“I will,” Lady says and the group leaves.

Once they leave, Patty announces, “I can’t believe there was not a single dress in that shop that was the one!” Patty turns to Lady and points at her, “But don’t you worry Lady! I will find you the perfect dress for you!”

“Oh don’t worry about that Patty, I did find it,” Lady says casually as she walks down the street.

“Huh?” Patty says as she stops walking. “But you said you didn’t like anything you tried on.”

“I know, but was only saying that for the sales associate.”

Patty looks very confused so Lady continues, “I was never going to buy from them, they are way too expensive. We are going to go to a cheaper place to get a dress like the one I found here.”

Trish nods and says, “If you take any advice from us, take this: Never buy a wedding dress. You’re only ever going to wear it once so just rent it. You only go to an expensive place to find the style you want”

Patty nods and writes that statement on her phone to save it for the future. The group heads to a cheaper wedding dress outlet. They spend a couple of minutes scanning the racks for the dress and once they find it, Lady quickly tries it on. It fits her perfectly. She steps out of the dressing room to show it off. Everyone loves it, of course so Lady quickly pays to rent it. 

It’s an off the shoulder long-sleeved wedding dress. The sleeves are made of lace and there is a slit in the middle of the chest. The skirt is long and flowing but not too much that she couldn’t run around it is if she wanted to. 

Once she is finished, Lady heads back over to them with the dress in its bag and says, “Okay so next, bridesmaid outfits. We’re going to head to the mall. Now all I require is red, I mean it this time. You get to pick whatever, any type of dress or suit you want, as long as it's red. Any questions?”

Nico raises her hand, “Yes Nico?”

“Is this a completion of who finds the best dress?” Nico asks, very seriously.

“It’s...not supposed to be,” Lady replies, a bit taken aback.

“Can it be?”

Lady pauses for a minute and ponders the idea before deciding: “Yeah sure, why not? The winner gets the first slice of cake after Dante and me. Once we get to the mall, you will have two hours to find your dress”

“Oh, you guys are so going down!” Patty announces, “If there is anyone here who knows pretty dresses, it’s me!”

Nico shakes her head, “You have no idea how much I live for competition, little girl. I’m going to win this.”

“Please, neither of you two know fashion like me,” Trish says smugly.

“I don’t think making this a competition was a good idea…” Kyrie mutters but Lady waves it off.

They head to the mall and Trish, Patty and Nico immediately run off in different directions. Lady laughs and Kyrie nervously laughs. 

“Oh don’t worry about them Kyrie, it’s all in good fun,” Lady reassures.

Kyrie nods, “If you say so, then I shall be off to find my dress. What will you be doing?” Kyrie asks.

“I’m going to get an hour-long massage and then get my nails done.”

Kyrie smiles, “I’ll leave you to it, enjoy your relaxation time!” Kyrie says before walking off to find her dress.

As the other girls rushed from store to store, fitting room to fitting room, Lady had a very nice massage and has her nails painted a nice velvet red.

As soon as Lady stepped out of the nail salon, Trish and Patty ran right up to her, looks of excitement on their face. A few seconds later, Nico turned the corner with Kyrie, walking much slower than Lady expected. She figures Kyrie calmed down Nico.

All four of them were holding different colored garment bags and had wide grins on their face.

“Alright, ladies.” Lady claps her hands together, “Show me what you got.”

Nico is the first to go, showing off a dark red strapless floor-length dress with a sash around the waist that ties into a bow. Lady is impressed, she expected Nico to have something much more ornate but it was still a pretty gown.

“Very nice Nico. Patty, you are up.”

“I present to you the most amazing red dress in the world!” Patty reveals a sequin short sleeve with a puffy tutu skirt. She also shows off a making red headband with a bow.

“Very fancy, very you. Kyrie?”

Kyrie nods and shows off her long-sleeve light red mermaid dress. It looks similar to her normal white dress but with fewer details and no puffy shoulders.

“Ooo, I like it. And last but not least, Trish.”

Trish smirks, “Well, as your maid of honor, I didn’t want to upstage you but I also wanted to look better than everyone else.” Patty rolls her eyes at that statement. “So behold.”

Trish reveals her dress. It is velvet red. The right side has a long red lace sleeve while the left side has no sleeve. The back is slightly see-through and also made of lace. The rest of the dress is silk. There are studs of fake diamonds on the right shoulder and a small slit at the bottom.

Lady looks over the four dresses very slowly and carefully that Patty can’t help but laugh. After a few minutes, Lady clasps her hands together and announces, “I have made my choice. It was tough since you guys have such good taste but I am going to have to go with…” Lady pauses for dramatic until she smiles and points at Trish, “Trish.”

Trish smiles in triumph as Nico and Patty groan in defeat. Kyrie pats their backs in comfort.

“I told you ladies, I am the most fashionable of the group.” Trish proclaims.

Lady puts her hand on her shoulder, “Alright, enough gloating. Let’s go home.”

The group agrees and they head back to Devil May Cry, proud that they accomplished their tasks. 

~
The boys were not as lucky.

They also had two tasks that day. Buy their suits and submit the cake order. 

Getting the suits was the easy part. Dante picked an all-black suit, black tie, and black shirt while Nero and Morrison picked out matching red suits.

“Isn’t it funny Nero?” Dante says as he stands behind Nero in line. 

“What is?” Nero answers as he finishes paying for his suit.

Dante steps forward and puts his suit on the counter, “Well Morrison and I were groomsmen at your wedding and now you two are groomsmen at my wedding.”

“Nah it’s sad. We have no friends” Nero teases.

“Eh, fewer people to keep track of,” Dante replies while he pays for his suit. Dante’s tone is almost joking, almost so no one laughs. The quiet is a bit uncomfortable and they don’t talk until they get out of the suit shop.

What actually breaks the silence is Dante’s phone buzzing. Dante pulls out his phone and sees a text from Lady.

Don’t forget, you need both the order slip and the money for the cake.

Dante chuckles and shakes his head as he texts back: Of course, I didn’t forget.

“Who’s that?” Nero asks curiously. 

“Lady. She thinks she has to remind me to do simple tasks like forgetting the deposit or the order slip.” He gently hits Nero’s chest, “Nero, pass me the order slip.”

“Huh? I don’t have it.”

Dante stops walking, “What do you mean you don’t have it? I gave it to you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Dante and Nero have a bit of a staring contest before Dante turns to Morrison, “Please tell me you have the money.”

Morrison smirks and pulls out a small manila envelope, “Someone has to be on top of things.”

Dante sighs, “Alright, Nero, run back to the shop and meet at the bakery. Please get the slip before Lady gets back.”

Nero nods, “I got you, I got you.” Nero runs off and transforms his arm into a floating skateboard before taking off. 

Dante walks the rest of the way with his head down, hoping that Lady somehow got off schedule for the first time in her life.

About 10 minutes later, Nero returns, waving the piece of paper in his hand, “I got it and no puddle stains.”

“Thanks, Nero. … Wait, why did you bring up a puddle?” Dante says nervously.

“No reason,” Nero quickly backtracks.

Dante, still eyeing Nero suspiciously, heads into the bakery. It is thankfully empty, the only person in the building is the young man behind the counter.

“Sup man, I am here to make a wedding cake order,” Dante says as he puts the order slip on the table. The young man, looking like he is in his late teens, nods and takes the order slip. He reads it over before walking over to the iPad-like cash register. He pushes some choices for the screen then fronts. He does it again, the frown deepens. He does it a third time and then turns to Dante and asks, “Are you sure this is the correct store?”

Dante dumbfounded, replies with as much confidence as a young boy who just got caught peeking at his Christmas presents, “Yes?” 

The kid nods and walks in the back. Dante finds himself sweating.

“Are you sure we’re in the right store?” Nero asks.

“This is where Lady told me to go,” Dante replies

“Maybe it’s this chain but a different location.” Morrison offers.

“God I hope not.”

The teen comes back with an older looking gentleman who Dante assumes is the manager. They head to the iPad cash register. The teenager plugs in something again to show the manager. The manager pauses for a minute before going, “aha!”

The manager swipes his card and then types something different into the machine that Dante cannot see. He walks over to Dante and smiles, “Sorry about the inconvenience sir but your order has now been completely processed.”

Dante sighs of relief and slides the envelope to the manager. “That is great to hear.”

As soon as Dante gets the receipt, he quickly leaves the sword, hoping his heart will stop racing from the embarrassment. 

“Well, that was an overly complicated day, I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Dante says before walking off, not waiting for a reply. 

When Dante gets back to the shop, he sees Lady leaning against his desk. She smirks when they make eye contact. He walks over, tossing his jacket and suit on the couch on the way, and wraps his arms around her waist.

Lady gives him a quick peck before asking, “How did your day go?”

“Oh pretty well. We got the suits and the cake.”

“No issues?”

“Of course not! This is me we are talking about!”

“Oh, you had no issues getting the cake without the slip.”

Dante pauses and narrows his eyes, “Who told?”

“The slip was on your desk when I got home then two minutes later, Nero ran in to get it,”

Dante sighs and pouts, “Don’t be mad.”

“Oh, I am not mad, I am just going to make fun of you for it for the rest of our lives.”

“Yeah, I figured, I can’t wait to marry you,” Dante says before kissing Lady again.

~

Thankfully, the rest of the party planning went smoothly. Trish did almost all the work, only going to Lady to get things approved. Dante was, of course, stuck with the bill. 

Dante did have one happy surprise and one he was not expecting.

Enzo slammed open and marched over to Dante, “Hey kid! Why the hell was I not invited to your wedding? 

Dante was stunned. He hadn’t seen Enzo in years, something about working with a witch or something. He wasn’t even sure how Enzo even found out about the wedding. He had so many things he wanted to say to him, and yet all he could do was a gap at him like a fish.

Finally, he said, “Do you want to officiate the wedding.”

Enzo smiles, “Sounds like a plan.”

The two shook hands and headed to the nearest bar to catch up.

Lady watched the entire exchange in pure amusement at the top of the stairs. She didn’t even care that Dante didn’t ask her if he could do this. It was nice to see Dante genuinely happy.

A few hours later, the two return with a couple of beers in their system. Dante introduced Lady to Enzo and the two got along quite well. They spent the night teasing Dante and sharing stories at his expense but Dante didn’t mind. 

This was the only time he was glad his future met his past.

~

The wedding took place on the roof of Devil May Cry. It was a cool summer day. On the left side of the roof were chairs and, in front of the chairs was a lace canopy with flowers. On the right side were food, drinks, and a stereo.

Dante could barely hold back the tears when he saw Lady walking down the aisle. Nero playfully elbowed him and handed him a tissue. The usual best man duties.

“Welcome everyone to see the union of this demon-spawn and this woman.”

Dante playfully glared at Enzo but let him continue. He smiles at Lady whose beauty distracts him from Enzo’s teasing.

Lady goes through most of the wedding without trying but cracks when they got to the vows.

“Lady, they say that when you meet your soulmate, you get shot through the heart. You, who hates convention, shot me in the head,” Dante pauses as the other laughs, “but that’s what I love about you. You do what you want, say what you want, and live as you want. I am so happy that you let me into my life and now are agreeing to be my bride. I was spend all my life with you, protect you, share my pizza, anything to make you happy. I never cared about the future until I met you. Now I can’t wait for it.”

Lady took a moment to compose herself before speaking: “Oh Dante, I never thought this day would come. I use to not care if I woke up or not because I didn’t think life was that meaningful after my mother died but now, you give me meaning. You push me, tease me and make me want to live life. I am so happy to have found you, even if it was in a demon tower your brother summoned. I love you, so, so much. Now I would say more but I want to kiss you.”

Enzo chuckles, “Well by the power vested in me, kiss already.”

The two share a kiss as all their friends cheer. After throwing rice at them and exchanging hugs, the DMC crew parties the night away, except for Patty who left with her mother at 10.

Once their guests leave, Dante and Lady head to bed to sleep off their hangovers before having to go to the airport for the two-week honeymoon.

Dante stares at the ceiling before falling asleep, hoping his mother is watching him now and is proud of him for finally having s family again.

~