It Had To Be You

Why do I do, just as you say?
Why must I just, give you your way?
Why do I sigh, why don't I try - to forget?

Nero groaned as he felt the warmth previously enveloping his body slide off of the bed. He blinked a few times, his Devil Bringer sliding over the sheets, still warm. Hearing the other taking a leak in the bathroom, his nose wrinkled in disgust as he snuggled closer to the warmer side of the bed. Inhaling deeply while his eyes slid shut, he took joy in the comforting scent that Dante always seemed to leave behind; a manly aroma, sometimes with a tinge of greasiness or beer left over from dinner. He grinned, shaking his head and burying it deeper within the pillow. Dante certainly hadn’t changed at all.

The young devil hunter stiffened, feeling Dante’s hands slide up his exposed back, taking in all that they could. “Dante,” he half-whined, his voice still groggy. “It’s too early to be doing this.” He glared over his shoulder at the man who merely laughed and continued rubbing his hands over the boy’s back. “Dante…” Oddly enough, the older man’s stroking of his back started to soothe him. He sighed, giving in as he laid his head back on the pillow. Soon he felt Dante’s lips descend, starting on his neck, and slowly moving towards his backside. Nero involuntarily groaned, arching his back when the pair of lips found their way to his hips.

“You’ve got a nice ass, kid,” said Dante, giving the boy’s buttocks a firm squeeze. He was grinning until he found himself roughly shoved down and underneath the younger man. His smile hardly wavered, though, even at the harsh look Nero was giving him. He was much too interested in the boy’s reddening cheeks. For good measure, he gave the kid’s bottom another squeeze, enjoying the rise in temperature of the others' body. “Dante, stop.” He was considering complying Nero’s request, but felt it was far too fun to tease him. His calloused hands slowly rubbed the boy’s sides, gliding up and over Nero’s bare chest, finally finding the smooth skin of his face and pulling the boy down for a kiss.

Sighing into the kiss, Nero eased his grip on Dante’s shoulders, lowering himself so that their bodies touched. He shuddered at the contact, his body’s temperature rising once more along with Dante’s own. Pulling away from the heated kiss, much to Dante’s dismay, Nero placed light kisses down the older devil hunter’s jaw, making his way down the strong neck and to Dante’s well-toned upper body. The man exhaled, enjoying the feel of Nero’s teasing mouth traveling over his chest. Soon he couldn’t bear the sluggishness of the situation, pulling the kid back up and taking control by flipping their positions. “Nero.” A genuine smile briefly made its presence on his lips before he lowered his face to Nero’s, connecting their lips.

It must have been, that something lovers call fate,
Kept me saying: I have to wait.
I saw them all, just couldn't fall - til we met.

Nero groaned, his backside aching from the morning’s previous events. He loved Dante, but absolutely hated how easily the older man could make him give in to his will. Though the boy was fine with being submissive, he still had some pride, and it killed him when Dante always seemed to overpower him. Letting out a sigh, he turned the shower head off, climbing out of the shower and hurrying to dry and clothe himself before his favorite demon hunter found him in such a state. As if Nero needed any more abuse from Dante to his rear…

Fortunately, the elder half-devil had gone out on a short mission during Nero’s shower. Feeling relieved, the boy sat himself on the dark couch, searching for only a minute before he found the television remote. He flipped through a few channels, quickly becoming bored. With an irritated grunt, he turned it off and sat back against the couch, his eyes closing as he let his thoughts wander astray. When did he realize he loved Dante…? Oh, yeah, he thought, smirking. When he let me keep Yamato. I felt something… Even to this day, Nero couldn’t figure out what was so fascinating about Dante at that time. Maybe it was because he had understood Nero, what he felt; that special connection only he and Dante could share. Perhaps he fell for Dante because he could relate to him, and they could be there for each other without worrying about the other getting hurt.

Chuckling, the boy shook his head, situating himself on the couch so that he was lying on his back with his arms behind his head. Nero felt frail and weak, easily submitting to these new emotions and even enjoying them. Two weeks ago, when he had come to challenge Dante, things sure took a strange turn. He figured Dante would win, but he had no idea the man would pin him to the ground just to kiss him. But at the time he was overcome by his own confusing feelings, instantly giving up any control he had and allowing the older devil hunter to do whatever he pleased. He wasn’t denying that he took pleasure in what occurred, but he still felt conflicted about the entire thing. Nero opened his tired eyes, blinking a few times as he continued to think about that first night at Devil May Cry. “Hah.” He snorted, disgusted at how feminine he was acting. Two weeks ago, Nero had given in to his gut feeling, that insight only women are supposed to exceed in. With a sigh, he sat back up, cringing a little at the friction from his clothed bottom with the couch. “A gut feeling, huh?” he questioned aloud. Guess I just wanted to see where this would go. Now look where it’s got me…

It had to be you, it had to be you,
I wandered around, and finally found - the somebody who
Could make me be true, and could make me be blue,
And even be glad, just to be sad - thinking of you.

After a few more minutes of tedious brooding, Nero lifted himself off the couch and half-limped towards the kitchen. It was nearly noon, and with Dante still out, Nero had to deal with what little food he had—if any. Luckily, there was one pizza box in the refrigerator with pizza that looked at least somewhat edible. Shrugging, Nero pulled it out, walking back into the main room and setting it on the desk. Eying Dante’s chair, he grinned mischievously at what possible reactions he could get out of the older man if he came back seeing the boy sitting so casually in his chair. Content with this new train of thought, he sat back, bringing his legs up and assuming the ‘Dante-position’ while devouring a piece of cold pizza.

Another two hours went by, causing Nero to worry ever so slightly. He never liked worrying; the only person he ever worried about before was Kyrie, and he was not about to allow his feelings to get the better of him this time. He cared for Dante, but he knew in his heart the man would come back alive. Hell, the savior’s gigantic possessed statue, well over one-hundred times Dante’s size couldn’t even beat him! He grinned, his eyes softening as he felt pride for his lover’s awesome strength. But soon he jerked up from his lazy position on the chair, blushing. Did I seriously just feel pride towards Dante?! he thought, his Devil Bringer running through his messy locks. With his cheeks still barely pink, he pouted a bit before continuing on to another piece of pizza.

“God dammit!” he shouted, halting his pacing as he violently grabbed the elder devil hunter by the shoulders, slamming his back into the closed doors. “What the hell took you?! It’s been five hours since you left!’ He tried to conceal the tears forming at the brim of his eyes, but to no avail. Nero had no idea why he was so bent out of shape about Dante’s disappearance; it was supposed to be an easy job, right? “Then what took you so long?” His words faltering, he lowered his gaze to the floor, not wanting to meet the other man’s gaze. The kid was way too emotionally stressed to deal with this right now.

“Hey, Nero, come on now kid…” Dante felt uncomfortable at seeing his younger lover so hurt as soon as he walked back into Devil May Cry. He never knew what to do in these types of situations, but he certainly didn’t want his Nero to be sad. “There were more than Lady warned about. I’m sorry it took so long. Didn’t mean to make you wait so long.” He wrapped his arms around the boy’s shoulders, pulling the reluctant Nero to his chest as he attempted to soothe him. Sensing the younger man’s unhappiness, he placed a gentle kiss atop his head, murmuring into his ear, “Nero, I’m not gonna leave you.”

The younger devil hunter sighed, his tears flowing more and more as he heard Dante’s promise from two weeks prior reiterated. Though he was more relieved now than he was that first night, he couldn’t help but cling frantically to the older man before him. He was so afraid that Dante may get tired of him, or that Dante could in fact get hurt, were the mission dangerous enough…

A hiccup escaped his throat, followed by a an almost-yelp as he felt himself being lifted up and brought to the couch. Blushing deeply as the older man tenderly sat him in his lap, continuing to appease the boy’s anxiety, Nero promptly wiped at his eyes with his human hand before looking up at a smiling Dante. “Kid, you know I wouldn’t.” He sighed, nodding at the man’s statement before laying his head against the strong shoulder beneath it.

Some others I’ve seen, might never be mean,
Might never be cross, or try to be boss,
But they wouldn’t do.

Astoundingly, Dante was quite comfortable and content sitting on the couch with Nero in his lap. The boy’s breathing was erratic for a while, but slowed down to a normal rate after Dante had successfully calmed him down. The two sat in each others arms, Dante stroking Nero’s hair as the kid’s thoughts continued to wander.

Kyrie…

Undeniably, at one point Nero truly believed that Kyrie was the only person he could ever love. He could see himself making acquaintances such as Dante later in life, but he could never imagine himself living the rest of his life with someone else. And much to Nero’s dismay, he usually felt awkward around Kyrie after the entire ordeal that happened in Fortuna. They had only shared a few kisses, but most always they were too shy to try much more. Nero didn’t want to deal with that for the rest of his life; besides, he had known Kyrie for a long time. He had long since decided that his love for her was that of an overprotective brother, rather than romantically.

A sigh escaped his lips, fortunately not loud enough for Dante to hear. He thanked whatever possible gods were up there before resuming his thoughts. Kyrie was still very important to him, and after the events following his fight with Dante, he wrote to her and explained he’d be living with the older devil hunter from then on. He had recently received a return letter, but had yet to open it, as Dante kept him preoccupied with other things. Closing his eyes, Nero tried to pull himself closer to his object of affection, feeling his stomach fill with fluttering butterflies when Dante immediately helped by pulling him closer, holding him tighter. No one else, he thought, placing a kiss on the older man’s neck. No one could ever be as good as Dante.

Feeling the kid’s lips curve into a smile on his throat, Dante’s shoulders eased. Thank god the kid was finally feeling better. Both men tensed, however, when a loud rumbling filled the silence of the room. With a nervous chuckle, he asked, “Say, you hungry? Let’s go out for pizza tonight…” Nero shook his head, and for a moment Dante thought the boy had started sobbing again for his body was once again shaking. He was a little more than worried when he heard the kid laugh vigorously.

“You stupid old man! If you keep eating pizza at your age, you’re gonna get fat.” He wiped at his moistened eye, letting out a small gasp when Dante pulled his hand away and replaced it with his lips.

“Well, guess you’ll have to look after me then, kid.” He couldn’t stop the grin from gracing his lips, still apparent even as he leaned down slightly to feel the soft lips of Nero attach to his own.

Nero couldn’t have asked for a better way to end a stressful day.

For nobody else, gave me a thrill - with all your faults, I love you still.
It had to be you, wonderful you,
It had to be you.