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Morrison walked into the Devil May Cry expecting the usual sight of Dante snoozing at his desk. Instead he was greeted with no one at the desk and what he first assumed was an empty shop.
When Dante left it wasn't like he locked the doors. What would be the point? Demons could just barge in locked or not, and no human was stupid enough to walk into the shop to steal something.
However as he looked around, he saw that it wasn't actually empty. Instead Dante was passed out on the couch with Lady sprawled out pretty much on top of him. Morrison had to give her credit it was a smart move, the couch definitely wasn't comfortable and Dante was likely marginally better.
Both were dead to the world and it was fair enough they'd both taken the job he'd brought yesterday. The only reason he was here this early was to pay them their chunk.
He considered dropping the cash off on Dante's desk and just leaving but thought better of it. Instead he went into the small kitchen and started a pot of coffee. As soon as he had a cup he looked back over to where the other two were laid out.
It was far from the first time he'd seen them in such a position. They'd been close since they'd met, and if he was a betting man it was because they were some of the only people who truly understood each other. He found them plenty of times passed out on the couch after missions using each other as a pillow.
Trish had been a wonderful addition to the duo and the girls did their best to keep Dante in line. But Dante and Lady always had something unique, and he's sure it's something that's helped them both keep going if they'll admit it or not.
Halfway through his cup Lady stirred. Blinking awake with a soft grown she sniffed at the air before finding Morrison. The huntress squinted at him before pushing herself off the hybrid.
Morrison remembers the first time he found them passed out on one another. Lady had been mortified, but as the years went on it became so normal it wasn't even worth blinking at. Hell, after hard jobs it didn't much matter who was involved, if the decision was just to crash on whatever the closest surface was? It was to be expected to find everyone asleep in some pile or another.
Lady got up, and the broker made her a cup and offered it as she came to stand next to him. Without comment he also handed over her money, and she hummed a thankful note as she took a sip before counting it.
Morrison looked back up to see Dante who was himself stirring. The man could sleep like the dead sometimes and wouldn't wake up if he was run through with his sword. Other times a slight breeze could have him awake and alert. Right now he was somewhere on the former side of that spectrum it seemed.
By the time Morrison finished his cup Dante was finally blinking his eyes open. The unnatural icy blue immediately locked onto them and seconds later he was grinning.
“Do I get any coffee?”
Lady scoffed at him. “You can make it yourself.”
The hybrid immediately started pouting and Morrison couldn't help but chuckle. Dante really hadn't changed much since he'd met the man, still just an overgrown child.
“You all hate me, I get it.” He grumbled as he sat up and immediately started wincing.
Eventually after some stretching and snagging his jacket off the floor where it had ended up he got his own cup. Coffee wasn't his favorite thing, but he'd drink it if everyone else was. Of course, he put an obscene amount of sugar and creamer in it to the point Morrison could barely consider it coffee.
Alas, he hated to be left out.
Once he had his own cup in hand he went over to the jukebox to turn it on before taking his normal place behind his desk. Morrison wordlessly put his portion of the cut on his desk and the hybrid's eyes lit up.
“WOAH!” Lady cut in immediately. “You still owe me money.”
Dante rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah whatever.”
Morrison decided to take his leave before he was subjected to another of their squabbles about Dante's debt. He quickly washed his mug before bidding them a good day.
oO0Oo
If there was one thing to be said about the Sparda boys, it's that they loved dancing. Patty had many fond memories of watching Dante dance around the office. The jukebox was nearly always on, and if he was standing he was at least swaying to the music. Even at his desk he'd nod his head and tap his foot.
She'd thought it was just a Dante thing until she'd met Nero. While he didn't dance nearly as much he still loved music. Besides, she'd walked in a few times to him dancing when the shop was empty. So in the end the only conclusion that could be drawn was that it was in their blood.
Secretly it was one of her favorite traits of theirs, and she suspected she wasn't alone. Plenty of times the others would be drug along into joining Dante. Patty always enjoyed it and she'd be lying to say she hadn't learned everything she knew from the man.
She'd been told by Dante that he himself learned most of what he knew from his mother. Explaining that she loved to dance and would often drag them into joining, citing that her boys should know how to. Once he'd even mentioned loving to watch his parents dance together when he was younger still.
All to say, Dante dancing around the shop was as normal as anything else. And getting dragged into his tomfoolery was to be expected. So walking into the shop to see Dante spinning Lady around wasn't even something worth blinking at.
Trish was perched on Dante's desk watching on in amusement and Patty made her way over to the demoness. She could never stop the awe she felt watching Dante and Lady dance. The hunter was unfairly good at it, putting anyone else she'd ever seen to shame.
Paired up he never got worse, but it was an impossible task to try and match him. Well, it was for everyone except Lady. She was always in sync with him in a way Patty could never quite grasp. She was also Dante's favorite dance partner for presumably that reason.
The huntress would gripe and complain, but she couldn't fool anyone. If she really hated it she'd shoot him anytime he snagged her. Instead, she'd just grumble and make comparisons to the birds of paradise, Dante never argued the point to his credit.
Patty snickered to herself as Dante dipped the huntress dramatically before pulling her up quickly in a twirl that had Lady swaying and blinking hard. They continued on for a few more minutes before the song eventually came to an end.
They came to a stop, foreheads resting against each other, with Dante hunched to meet her. Lady was breathing a touch harshly trying to regain her breath in the face of the unaffected hybrid.
Dante was just grinning widely, fangs gleaming in the light. Lady couldn't stop her own smaller smile despite her short breath.
Patty clapped and cheered which caused Lady to immediately push Dante away with a roll of her eyes. The man in question just pouted but bowed dramatically to his audience before following after Lady to continue pestering her.
He'd likely get shot in the next half hour and Patty asked if Trish would be willing to make a bet on it. The demoness just chuckled and said it would be fifteen.
In the end he'd gotten a bullet between the eyes in the next five.
oO0Oo
Trish always enjoyed watching Dante in his devil trigger. It was easy to forget just how powerful he was. But every once in a while, you get to see him in all his capable deadly glory. Oh, and what a sight it was every time to see a red and silver blur and disintegrating demons.
Then of course there was the aftermath.
It was very rare that Dante didn't snap out of his devil trigger immediately after a fight. Now of course, that wasn't to say it didn't happen. However it usually only happened when he got particularly mad and bloodthirsty, and even then he could usually snap himself out of it with little effort.
If there was one thing to say about Dante it was that his self-control was extraordinary. He was very aware of how much damage he could do and just how dangerous he was. And it was very rare that one got to even see the full depth of his abilities. No, he much preferred to have fun and toy with demons.
But every once in a while he'd be out of it enough that he couldn't snap himself out of the battle haze. Thankfully it was never an issue because as lost to the battle as he may be, he was still Dante.
Also there was Lady.
Lady had met him the night his full powers had awakened and had never once blinked at him. In fact Trish is pretty sure she's the most unimpressed person that had ever seen Dante’s full potential. And ironically, it led to the man trying constantly to impress her. Which perhaps was the most entertaining thing in their lives.
The point being she never blinked at him in his devil trigger and could easily snap him out of it. Trish had to give her props even so many years later, seeing him covered in blood and growling still had her good sense telling her to back up.
Lady however would just bitch at him, and if that didn't work she'd start poking him with the blade on Kalina Ann. She'd said she'd poke him herself but had learned better after realizing he was hot enough to burn her while this keyed up.
His head snapped towards her as she approached. She ignored him until she came to a stop in front of him and crossed her arms, the picture of unimpressed. He tilted his head in an incredibly animal-like move and made a low questioning noise.
“Come on Dante, we still need to get paid, and I don't want our client to have a heart attack and die without paying us first.”
His wings folded back around and under his shoulders, but he remained in his trigger form. Lady sighed almost theatrically before shrugging and turning on her heel.
Trish winced internally, the idea of turning your back on the apex predator had her survival instincts screaming.
“Guess you're not getting any pizza or strawberry sundaes then.”
The hybrid jolted forward then his eyes going wild as he made a panicked noise.
Lady ignored him as he tried to stop her and block her path, but the huntress was unmoved and just stepped to the side. At that he flared his wings and eventually, after some effort, managed to sweep her close and into his chest.
Trish knew it couldn't exactly be comfortable Dante was pointy in this form. And the demon blood that covered him didn't help any. Trish was also willing to bet it was like a sauna being wrapped up in his wings like that.
Lady of course didn't blink or flinch, just huffed an annoyed noise and tried to escape. She of course had no luck, and Trish was willing to bet she'd have an easier time pushing a mountain.
The woman finally looked up then and locked eyes with the blazing red. The burning gaze bore into her with an intensity that would send anyone else scrambling to placate the devil. Yet she remained unimpressed as usual.
It didn't stop Dante from cocooning her tighter in his wings and making displeased grumbles. Clearly, he was expecting a different reaction. Why? Trish wasn't sure considering they both knew Lady as well as they knew themselves.
“Well we might be able to swing it still, but we would need the money. Which we have to go get, but you have to turn back to normal first.” Lady told him flatly.
Dante purred happily at the thought and seemed to see it as acquiescence, even if it was nothing of the sort. Then the hybrid seemed to consider the proposition for a moment. Trish watched in real time as Dante blinked back into complete awareness, before in a shower of sparks he was back to normal and grinned down at Lady.
“You're too easy.” Lady huffed as she pushed herself away from his chest and started walking back over to Trish.
The demoness just snorted and shook her head in exasperation. The huntress was right Dante was quite easy to sway and influence. You just had to know the right words. Though she never could quite get the same results as Lady. Or at least not as quickly.
Dante yelped before scrambling to keep up.
“Hey wait, you promised me!”
“Putting words in my mouth Dante.” Lady sniped right back.
The wounded noise that escaped him then was what finally tipped Trish over the edge into cackles.
oO0Oo
The demon was getting on Lady's nerves, Nero wasn't blind to that. He'd ended up stumbling across the scene he was now witnessing.
The demon or perhaps devil, sometimes Nero just couldn't tell, was currently flirting hard with Lady. The human huntress (no Nero still couldn't believe she was human) was thoroughly unimpressed.
The creature was a humanoid that Nero supposed was objectively attractive. Not unlike his own devil trigger form, looking relatively human though still clearly demonic. But the fact it was trying to flirt with Lady of all hunters?
Nero couldn't help his own scoff. He'd been subjected to her rants about her opinion on demon kind. Clearly there were exceptions like Trish, Dante, and himself (Vergil…was a touchy subject). But in general anything not human was seen as a paycheck and target practice.
Currently Nero could see the blood-thirst in the huntress's eyes as well as the deep-seated hatred. She spit and cursed at the creature as she attempted to blow him to pieces. But the creature was slippery and able to teleport, which made her task more difficult.
Then the creature got the smart idea to start touching her. Nero nearly jumped in at that but held himself back. He knew Lady despised others fighting her battles, and hated it even more when it was him or Dante. According to her she didn't need any Sparda descendant to treat her like some delicate princess.
Nero respected it and he definitely understood. He'd gotten pissed at Dante plenty for occasionally jumping into his fights. So he remained on the sidelines and continued to watch. And because of that he watched in near glee as Lady's plan came together.
She was timing the thing, counting and getting into its rhythm before just when it appeared at her side, Kalina Ann’s blade went through its chest. The thing screeched and scrambled back but Lady was quicker as she started to shoot the thing's limbs.
Nero could only wince as she quickly and methodically blew off each one until the creature was merely a torso bleeding out. He had no sympathy for the creature, but he wasn't blind to how brutal this was. However Lady never took the shot to finish it off.
No instead she let out a sharp whistle and Dante appeared from where he'd been on the far side of the battlefield. He had apparently been keeping an eye on the situation as well. The look of contempt and hate in his glare was clear as day. Nero shuffled back as his hair did its best to stand on end, and the look wasn't even directed at him.
Dante manifested his sword and leaned on it as he leered down at the creature before with glee, impaling the thing through the shoulder. Nero blinked confused before Dante lurched down pulling out the thing's heart.
Lady just watched and only reacted visibly when Dante spun on his heel and offered her the heart with a smile. Nero shuddered violently when Lady gave the older man a genuine smile at the offering. How she wasn't a demon or devil, he'd never know.
It was a few hours later when Nero joined them back at the shop. Lady had got her pay and was hassling Dante about how much of a cut he was getting. Though unlike usual, Dante wasn't rising to the bait. Instead his mind seemed to be elsewhere.
Nero got the answer as to where as soon as they stepped foot in the shop. The older hybrid had almost immediately rounded on Lady and pulled her to his chest. The growl that followed had Nero taking a step back and sharing a look with Nico.
Lady didn't fight him much to the younger hybrid's confusion, just let the hunter bury his face in her neck.
“Mine.” His voice reverberated like it did in his trigger.
Lady ran a hand through his hair almost…soothingly.
“Yours.” She agreed, sounding amused.
She made no move to get away, and Nero has to give her props for it. He was perhaps lost on the why, but he knew better than most about those demonic instincts.
“Mine.” His fingers had become more claw-like as they held her tighter.
“No one's contesting you. Besides you know how much I hate demons. That's why you offered me it's heart right?”
The hybrid pulled back far enough to look into her eyes, his own were glowing red as he nodded.
“Exactly. Like I said there's no contest despite what some creatures want to believe.” She brought up a hand to cup his cheek.
And like the apparent Dante whisperer she was the hybrid relaxed all at once and slumped against her. His grip loosened slightly as he let out a content purr
Nero looked back over to Nico, expecting a similar dumbfounded expression to his own. Instead he was greeted with her looking amused. Nero gestured, perhaps a bit wildly, and she just blinked back at him confused.
Then her gaze turned to being unimpressed, which he took offense to.
“You didn't know, did ya?”
“Know what?!” He whisper shouted back, utterly lost.
Nico just rolled her eyes. “Yer blind as a bat. They're together dumbass, do you not remember how she freaked when ya came back without the shit twins.”
Nero remembered that yes, Lady had nearly jumped out the van like he had not too much earlier. But he'd never thought it was because of…a relationship?
Nico grabbed his hand and started to pull him back out of the shop. Nero went to protest because now he had questions (which likely wouldn't be answered but still), but Nico just glared.
“Please tell me what happens when ya start getting possessive over your girl?”
Nero’s mouth clicked shut, a good point. Nero was only a quarter and those instincts were strong. Yeah he could come back later and ask the questions he wouldn't get answers to.