Pairing: Dante x Reader
Words: 3,900-4,100
Enjoy ♡
Even After - Dante.
Secrets are something so common between people, that they almost make it look like a routine. Children keep secrets among each other all the time--whether it is about Johnny liking Emma or if Bill copied Anna's homework. Though those pure, innocent secrets don't always work the same with adults.
It was a disease, the one that was filling your lungs. An ugly and horrifying problem that wasn't easy to get rid of.
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Pushing any negative thoughts aside, you slid into the local bar where you and Dante usually met.
The calming music soothed your twitching fingers and the warmth wrapped around you like a blanket, which relaxed you as much as it could. After stopping in front of the entrance briefly, you spotted Dante.
It was hard to miss him, anyway. That platinum white hair and the signature blood-red jacket was enough to make him stand out even in the largest of crowds.
You stopped beating around the bush and with a final exhale, you approached him steadily.
"Heya, sweetheart.", he greeted confidently before turning away from the counter to face you. His charming smile faded for a few moments as his eyes took in your disheveled form.
"Were there demons on the way or...", he trailed off before smiling: "Car accident?"
"I wish it were demons." you muttered breathlessly, hopefully enough just for you to hear. "Just tired and, uh, long day...", you answered vaguely, sitting down on the stool next to him.
"Riiight...", he said sarcastically, "If that's what you want me to believe, I'll believe it. I got all my faith in you."
"Don't be so trusting, okay? Now I feel like I can never lie to you again.", you let a scoff out.
"Oh, so you've been lying to me, huh? Shame on you.", he feigned hurt as he brought a hand to cover his eyes.
You didn't say anything back. Instead, your cheeks turned red as raw embarrassment flooded your heart. No, it wasn't because he was funny. It felt more like being called out on something you actually did. If it were to compare you with a child that's been caught stealing candy from the fridge late at night, there would be minimal differences. After all, you weren't always honest with him. He would call it lying and you would call it keeping secrets. It was a bit comical, though. He just made a silly joke and your mind took it too far.
Dante had to physically snap you back to reality by nudging your shoulder and flicking the glass of his drink with his fingers.
"What's up with that look? Is that what they mean by 'deer in the headlights'?", he questioned aloud, shaking your shoulder firmly.
"I'm sorry, I got distracted."
"You're getting real distracted lately.", he added, a hint of suspicion creeping into his voice, "You're making me pretty worried."
Seeing him so serious was something foreign to the both of you. You would never admit it, but his serious act made him slightly more appealing.
The time with him passed smoothly, almost too quickly for you to cherish him. He was a loyal friend, a man who had values and standards. That's someone you could never be.
The temptation to tell him what you were hiding was getting stronger by the day and it was just so easy to confess. The words felt heavy on your tongue but they itched to come out. Maybe it was the ungodly amount of drinks he had bought you, -God only knows with what money-, but now felt like the right time to say it. You would definitely hate your decision the next morning but that deep ache in your chest was never going to abandon you if you didn't speak.
"Hey, I gotta tell you something.", you said suddenly, thinking that the faster you say it, the faster he will forgive you.
"Go on then, spill. ", he replied excitedly.
"I'm-..."
Before you could even start the sentence a group of teenage girls entered the bar and ran towards Dante. He didn't even have time to react since the kids were already on him, pulling his jacket, screaming and some of them even crying.
After the initial shock drained from his face, a cocky smirk formed on his face.
"Alright, alright! Make a line, ladies.", he tried to keep them calm, not wanting to cause a ruckus but also do their favor and sign their belongings.
Every girl pulled out numerous things that included: purses, photos, clothes and many more.
A few desperate bartenders tried to shoo the underage girls away, considering they neither had business being here nor harassing a poor man.
He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, but you were far from happy. He noticed quickly as ever and he didn't waste any time calling you out.
"What's with the face?", he pointed at your frown, not losing his smile.
"My family is visiting soon and I completely forgot about it. I haven't prepared anything...", you didn't bother to look him in the eye to say it and instead, got up from your seat.
"Hey, you're not gonna tell me what you wanted to say? Or maybe you want a little help?", he blurted out.
"No, I got it. Thank you, for the drinks and all.", you shook his hand in appreciation and nodded sincerely.
With that, you didn't wait for him to answer and exited the pub.
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You lied down on the end of your bed's silk sheets but they offered no comfort for your busy mind. The dilemma that troubled you for oh so many years had clearly taken a toll on you and it was now more obvious to anyone that met you.
You watched as your hair fell over the edge of the bed, following every individual strand with your eyes. But then, your eyes fell on the mirror right in front of you and a heavy sigh escaped your lips. The feeling of being so lost or having no one to turn to for advice was suffocating.
However, like every other adult 'human' being, you had to make a choice in order to avoid worsening the situation.
You snapped your fingers and within seconds, the beautiful human form people thought you had melted away into nothingness. Under your once smooth skin, was now a battlefield of both the petrifying and the ethereal.
Scars were littered on your chest, stomach and arms, both large and small, healed or still a bit open. The years were kind to you, as you looked like you hadn't aged at all but in reality, you were as old and precious as remarkable works of art from the 80s. Not only that but your long, translucent, scarlet red hair matched the color of Dante's jacket perfectly.
Placing a hand on your deathly pale skin, you traced your cracked lips, taking your sweet time to feel one out of the countless imperfections you had.
Every person you'd ever opened up to and had revealed your true form had left coincidentally. They'd always react the same way: first, the shock, then the fear, then begging on their knees for you to spare them, as if you were a heartless monster.
But that's how demons were known to everyone in the world. Heartless, cruel and absolute savages with the most hideous of faces. Maybe they had considered you to be one of them as well? It's too late to wonder now.
That could never be you. It never felt like nature to think negatively, let alone tear humans apart.
After so many years, concealing yourself was something you were used to. You had practiced since the beginning of your life. It used to be a fragile dream, and now it was your daily life. It was so easy to hide your scent, to keep your human form intact and even managing to slip past unnoticed from your demonic brothers and sisters or even Dante himself.
Even in this form, you felt more close to humans that humans were to each other. Still, one thing that will never change is that people may fear you, but you feared them the most.
After all this lingering, it was time to make a decision:
Tell him, your childhood best friend, the truth that could possibly make him drift away from you, or keep quiet and never confess your dirty secret and live in peace with him.
Would your heart break first? Or would his? It was a race. A race in which none of the two runners were going to win.
And just as quickly as it went away, your human form reappeared. You didn't feel comfortable in your own skin, and it was something you had to live with till the end of time. Or at least however many years you had left.
The doorbell ring snapped you out of your deep sorrow, bringing you back to your unwanted reality. Who could it be at this time? It's not like it was your family, considering you didn't have any.
You slid off the bed smoothly and glided through the hallways to open the front door.
Opening the door, you were met with Dante casually leaning with one arm on the doorframe and the other resting on his hip.
"Hey.", he said simply, a sly smile plastered on his face.
"Hi...?", you scratched the back of your head in confusion, "Why are you out at this hour?".
"Wanted to show you something.", he explained, "If you let me come in, I'll show you what I'm talking about."
Needing no more convincing, you stepped aside and closed the door behind him.
"While you're here getting your beauty sleep, I'm saving the city.", he laughed mischievously before going over to your television and turning it on.
On the news, a reporter explained in great detail about a new species of demons that have caused extreme chaos all around the city.
All you could do was stare at the bright screen in shock as they showed a somewhat censored photograph of who seemed to be a semi-close demon friend of yours.
To think that you were talking to him this morning out of doing harm to himself and humans around him was and now seeing his unmoving, bloody form was absolutely depressing.
You took a deep breath, trying your best to stabilize your mixed emotions. Dante was only doing his job, so naturally, he didn't think of the consequences of his actions.
"What, you don't find me impressive?", he asked, completely oblivious to the fact that he had killed one of the few demons you were a bit emotionally attached to.
"You...are.", you sighed heavily, swallowing down the lump that was slowly forming in your throat.
None of you spoke for what felt like eternity and instead just exchanged a few awkward glances before he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Pretty clean house, considering you've had a family party in here.", he looked around but waved it off, "I bet it took you like two minutes to clean, right? I mean, look at you, you're unbelievably smart. Sometimes I doubt you're even human."
"If only you knew...", you thought, scoffing.
Right then, the news reporter on the television started talking about a new demon attack that was unfolding as you were both talking.
"It's nearby. In that park, right?", you pointed out worryingly.
"You know what that means.", he smirked again, taking a hold of your hand.
"What?"
"We're going demon hunting. Well, me mostly. You just sit back and cheer me on.", he didn't wait for you to accept and pulled you along with him to your front door.
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Like he had promised you on the way to the incident, he was fighting very carefully, swinging Rebellion left and right with practiced ease under the rain.
You could only watch from afar and be his emotional support, or 'the audience that applauded at the end of a movie', like he called it.
The fight was not difficult for Dante, as he seemed to taunt the demon before him, trying to rile him up as much as he could. Unfortunately for him, he had just signed a death contract.
When he noticed a few injured civilians on the very end the road, he signaled you with his hand to take them as far away as possible while he distracted the demon.
You jumped face-first into action, immediately speeding through the rough and cracked cement of the street to reach the distressed family.
The kids were scratched up but it was nothing major. The same couldn't be said for the mother.
She was bleeding on her side, maybe the cause was a sharp metal that sliced her or anything else that could be unsanitary enough to cause infection.
You reach down for her to grab your hand but the kids were both screetching messes and made it almost impossible to keep your thoughts in order.
Pulling them away by the shoulders from the woman, you were able to kneel down and pick her up in your arms.
With a loud grunt, you stood up and kept one hand under her knees and the other gripped her shoulders tightly.
"I'll take you somewhere safe. Follow me, alright?", you tried to sooth the crying children but it offered little comfort.
The mother was squirming in your arms and that only fueled your determination to keep them alive at all costs.
You guided the kids through the ruble, making sure they didn't hurt themselves any further.
Just as you were about to take more than twenty feet of a distance, the demon turned its attention on you solely.
Its dark, bloodshot eyes bored into yours, as a predator did to its pray. You knew the demon personally, maybe even considered him a rival. His slumped shoulders, the muscular build and the the height of a skyscraper. How could you not know?
You paused momentarily, the fear nesting deep in your bones. Both of you held eye contact and waited for someone to break first. All you could think about was securing the family's safety but each and every step you took felt like bringing them closer to their death beds.
"Hey!", Dante yelled out to keep the demon focused on him.
But fate had different plans.
The demon dashed to you within nanoseconds, and that is the moment that Dante had realized he had overdone it with all the playing around. He didn't hesitate at all to jump in front of you and take the hit for you.
Thus, he held Rebellion downwards and shifted so the demon would crash against his shoulder if the sword couldn't absorb the most of the attack.
At that point, time seemed to stop completely.
With a swift move, you get on one knee to let the woman rest behind a wall and pulled the kids with her.
Spinning around, you saw as Dante braced himself to take the hit and by pulling him from his hair, you managed to push him aside in just enough time to take the damage for him.
The unfamiliar sense of power surged through your veins, almost making you see stars. You were forced to strip yourself from your inviting human form to this distant, red and white structure.
Extending a scarred arm, you created an energy field that was enough to withstand every last inch of the powerful strike. The force around you was so strong that it lifted you off the ground by a few centimeters.
By absorbing the demon's assault, you reflected it right back to him, smashing it against its upper body.
The monstrous beast let out a blood-curdling cry that echoed through the restless streets.
"Syra...", the demon coughed out your name as it tried to stand up. "Why are you defending them?"
"Syra? What the hell did he just call you?", Dante spat out, too stunned to even get up on his feet.
You couldn't look him in the eyes. The day you dreaded the most had just bloomed to life.
"I will not stand for this, Thalor.", you shouted, your voice uncharacteristically firm.
"Just whose side are you on?", the demon's tone now matched yours.
"I think I made it crystal clear.", you balled your extended hand into a fist and watched as the demon crumbled into the ground, fading into ash.
It screamed and cried all while it dissipated into thin air slowly, but not painfully. You would never be that cruel.
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Police cars, ambulances and reporters surrounded the perimeter.
The sound of sirens faded into the windy background as you and Dante stared at each other helplessly.
"I can't believe you...", Dante muttered, but loud enough for you to hear.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't bring myself to-"
"To tell me you're a demon?!", he yelled, eyes wide and anger seeping into his voice. "We promised."
Following that statement, your mind traveled back in time to what felt like eons ago.
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.
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"Honey, do you know when your parents will be home?", Dante's mother's voice broke the silence over the awkward dinner table.
"Does she have parents?", young Vergil asked her innocently.
"Vergil!", she warned him, squinting her tired eyes.
"It's fine, miss. And no, I'm not sure.", you smiled at Vergil, without even understanding the underlying insult.
You were so well-spoken and formal. Someone could even say you were an adult stuck in a kid's body, as alarming as it sounded. Since your parents never really were around, -always busy with work, spending what little money they made on gambles, alcohol, etc-, you had to be the 'man of the house'. Maybe it was maturity or maybe it was your innocence that blinded you from seeing into the demon you were turning to.
"Well, you're always welcome here. Don't forget that.", she reminded, getting up from the table and picking up all the plates.
"Dante, why don't you play with Y/N outside for a bit while I have a talk with your brother here?"
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He was abnormally quiet that day. His lips were pressed into a soft frown as he took your hand and led you to the backyard.
"Did I do something to upset you?", you asked softly, stepping outside with him into the warm afternoon sunlight.
"No...", he trailed off.
"Then what is it?", you let go of his hand to sit down on the grass.
"You wouldn't understand.", he scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.
"Then let's play something.", you smiled up at him.
"You're...not gonna make me tell you?", he paused as he watched you tilt your head to the side. Sighing, he sat down in front of you.
You instinctively reached to get a nearby ball for you two to play with but he immediately protested.
"No, not that.", his face scrunched up in annoyance and grabbed your wrist to stop you.
It was supposed to be a harmless little touch but when his hand came in contact with yours, pain exploded in that area.
Your eyes shot down at his hand as you let out the loudest shriek a kid could possibly make.
He flinched, immediately retracting his hand.
"Y/N...?", he finally said, guilt written all over his face.
Tears streamed down your pale face as you clutched your already bruising wrist.
"I'm so sorry.", he went over to you to caress your face but hesitated. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's...it's this necklace mom gave me. It wasn't me.", he tried to defend himself desperately.
"What necklace?", you coughed out, your cries getting louder.
"This one.", he pulled it off of his neck quickly, "Ever since I got it I've been getting these crazy powers. I should have told you sooner."
But it was already too late. The damage had been done and ever since that day, he was always hesitant when he got too close. Your cries, his mother's yells...it was etched into his mind. After the incident, you and him promised to never keep secrets from each other again.
"I won't do it again. I promise."
"Same goes for me. Pinky promise?"
"Yeah..."
And with that childish promise, you sealed your everlasting friendship.
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The rainy weather only made it harder to see him. Even at the attempt to look at him, his gaze averted from yours. For a split second, he looked like he was crying. Or maybe it was the rain?
He was becoming the perfect stranger right in front of your very eyes and just like that, you lost him in the midst of the crowds.
You put a hand in front of you to shelter yourself from the rain and you approached where he was standing but it was no use. His figure was already swallowed by the unkind storm.
Now, he was the one who was crying and you were the one who had hurt him. Oh, the irony.
With all your might, you called out to him, hoping that the desperate cry would reach his ears, or even better, his heart.
"No! Don't leave me here, please...I'm sorry."
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You had given him his space. Two never-ending weeks. He would have reached out if he wanted to talk it out but he hadn't. Though it was hopeless, you clung onto the fact that he had forgiven you.
Standing out of the bar you had hung out in, you clutched your phone in your left hand. He was in there, drinking but not smiling. The slumped shoulders, the swishing his drink around certainly didn't go unnoticed. So, you press the phone to your ear and heard as his rang inside the bar.
He looked at the name but didn't pick up. Instead, he turned around and saw you standing outside the entrance. It was easy for him to spot you, as he could feel your eyes literally burn holes in his back.
It was his sign to get out and have your so longed chat. He picked up his things and left a few bucks under his unfinished drink.
Your heart was beating out of your chest by that point, but you remained still after you put your phone in your pocket.
He grabbed the door handle, opened the door and stepped out into the cold, snowy sidewalk. After so many days apart, your eyes finally met.
"Don't say sorry.", he started, his voice low, "I wouldn't deserve it."
"What?", you shook your head, "Of course you deserve it. I lied to you about something that completely changes your view about me."
"So?", he put a hand behind his neck. "Now we're even."
You couldn't help but chuckle, "Then why wait two weeks?"
"I didn't know if you wanted to see me. I wouldn't want to see me if I were you.", he furrowed his eyebrows.
"That's not exactly helpful.", you laughed, a bit more relaxed now.
"Well, uh, you get what I mean, right?", he mumbled.
"I do. And again, I don't understand why you don't want me to say sorry-"
"Stop. No need for 'sorry's. We're here now, after everything we've been through. You really think I'd break our friendship over that?", he smiled lightly.
"Can I take you somewhere?", he suggested.
"Anywhere you want."
With that, he wrapped a strong arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to his side as you two started walking the icy streets. Perhaps it was his first time in a long time that he wasn't hesitant to touch you.
"Demons don't get cold, you know.", you said, letting your eyes travel over his face to see how he took the joke.
"Oh, yeah.", his grip on you loosened.
"But I don't mind.", you shrugged.
He let out a huff, though a smirk was tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Hey, I was thinking...that demon you killed. Why did you pick me over your own family?"
"You're asking why?", you replied, stunned, "Who's my family if not you?"
He paused, looking forward instead of down at you. It hit too close to home, but he couldn't deny that his heart felt heavier than any sword he'd ever wielded. He wasn't hurt by your comment, he was delighted. It was moments like these that reminded him that he was partly human. But even the strongest of demons were allowed to feel vulnerability.
He simply nodded, afraid that if he uttered a single word, he'd be crying like a baby.
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You two might have been quiet that night, but the silent glances, your intertwined scents and the way you two refused to let go of each other spoke louder than any sad, love poem.