"A Good Turn," Chapter 4:
An Unforgiveable Indulgence
Summary:
Dante lets Albus and Gwen take him back to the shop, the devil arms are introduced, and Dante is more vulnerable than he's comfortable with.
Excerpt:
"So," Dante said, heading for the bar, "I know it makes me a shit host, but I've got like, nothing to offer you guys except leftover hard cider and some very good cookies. Oh, wait a sec, I might be lying." Dodging through the doorway behind the bar to the kitchen, he checked the dusty cupboards and found that yes, Lady had left behind some of that licorice tea she liked. "Okay! I got tea, so I'm only a halfway shit ho—ooly shit!" He jumped as he turned and saw Gwen had followed him, crushing the box by accident.
She laughed. "Sorry! I came in to see if you wanted help."
"I can brew tea," he told her dryly. "Besides, stove doesn't work, so this is kind of a Dante-only job anyway."
Her laugh faded. "Your stove doesn't work?"
"Nope. Did when I got here… mostly anyway, but the earthquakes in April wrecked the gas lines and I, uh, kinda missed the deadline to get grants from the city to fix things." His hands clenched again before he could stop them, completely destroying the box of tea. That had not a good time in his life. "So, it's on my honey-do list." He nodded at the yellowed paper stuck to the fridge. That list had been one of the first things he'd done after moving in, going over the place as best he could with an untrained eye and writing down what needed fixing. While Dante had never cared about money beyond what he needed to keep himself equipped for hunting (or to feed his music habit), last year, he'd found a new rush of enthusiasm for life and began planning for a future further than next week. He'd been actually excited for the first time since Nell had made him learn how to repair his guns, enticed by a distant possibilty into feeling that most trecherous of emotions: Hope.
It hadn't lasted long.







