Dante (Season of Budding / April)

[red_oni]

Who: Dante & Cool People (You~)
When: April...!
Where: Throughout Rosavelle (per prompt)
What: Mail Delivery(Quest) & A generic prompt or two
Warnings: It's Dante, so there's going to be a dumb boy cracking jokes. Will update if necessary?

Comments

Neither Snow Nor Swoon | Throughout the month, except for the Laurel-bond | OTA | Quest

[red_oni]

[Did anyone like working? Normally, Dante emphatically deny the possibility. That self-proclaimed detective could never understand the whole 9-5 concept, though maybe it was just because he preferred an AM and PM switch. Still, what he understood was that, evidently, this job was all about completing the task rather than the hours. If he ran out of letters and it was still the morning then he'd come out on top.

Sucking away at a piece of hard caramel, he flipped through envelopes and shuffled them no differently than he might flip through a deck of cards while the postmaster doled out instructions to the couriers. He'd grinned at whoever was beside him--clearly not paying attention.]

Bet we could wrap this up before lunch. You in?

[alchepistol]

[ Saint-Germain believes she can complete this task efficiently, as well. But this man's words and actions indicate two different outcomes. After all: ]

You're disrupting the order.

[ How is he supposed to deliver them in a timely manner, ensuring the recipients learn as quickly as possible of the affections contained within, if he SHUFFLES THEM FIRST? The agony. ]

[red_oni]

Disrupting what?

[He asked, even as he continued to skillfully shuffle them across a foot or so of space. How were they even moving like that in the first place? Saint-Germain looked pretty certain of herself but she was giving him a bit of a funny look... or, no, a really serious one.

Though, he did stop when they all fell into one hand so he could ask:]

Hey, do I know you?

Ice to Meet You | OTA | Whenever

[red_oni]

[Whether it was boredom or because he was flat out tired of searching for it himself, Dante set out to make his own ice cream.

How hard could it be?

Well, he'd frozen over a good part of the beach beside Lucy's place and made a gigantic mess. There was cream frozen mid-splash in an arc cast over the sand along with a large metal bowl that was a few feet deep in a craggy pillar of ice that he'd missed on his search through the sand for the utensils that went flying every which way when he'd started messing with Cerberus' ice.]

Alright, how do I get that outta there without melting or breaking it?

Kaede | One Night...

[red_oni]

[Oh, it'd been a while since the last time he found himself in that closet. The heat of the fire washed over him in waves, bellowing from a door that kept opening and closing over and over, bumping into his mother's ankle where he could just barely see her. The grating sound of claws scraping the walls, trailing about in search of him and the rattle of chains kept his eyes wide open and, when they were all gone and the flames dispersed, he called for her in vain.

He never could figure out why he'd even bothered. She was dead because he wasn't brave enough. He couldn't even raise his voice, murmuring against the sounds of that empty home to no one at all and...

He stood up, walking into the hall. The flames had burned themselves out but he could feel the heat through the floorboards. One cracked under his foot and he'd tripped, falling beside her. In the dark, he could see something reflected off her eye but it was nothing more than his own reflection. The bottomless love he'd always sought after wasn't there anymore.

So, he'd wept. He wept for her, called out for her and begged it all just to be a bad dream.]

[saudadist]

Dante-!

[ Kaede's hand rested on his cheek first then glided up to his forehead to brush his hair from his face.

She wasn't sure what time it was. It was still dark outside, no chirping birds of early dawn, so it must've been sometime after midnight. The specifics weren't important.

What was important was that Dante was crying in his sleep, still nestled beside her in bed. She barely knew what he was saying as she stumbled into consciousness, but once she sat up it was all too clear. He was soaked with sweat too, so she pushed the blanket away and called for him in turn while gripping his hand tightly. ]

It's a bad dream, Dante. Just a bad dream, wake up...

[red_oni]

[The real world was colder. The breath he took in when he woke was sharper but easier and he'd raised his hands almost as a trained reflex, fanning fingers through his hair. He felt his fingers bump Kaede's and realized she was there with him, with him covering his face and knowing the texture under his palms were running tears.

He was in her bed and she was awake, watching over him. She was assuring him, her voice soft and loving in that way that made his heart feel whole but his instincts kicked in. Seeing a wound in himself made him want to rip that part away so it wouldn't hurt rather than let it be mended. He made himself sit up a little, the chain from his necklace ringing and making his heart ache. Forcing a smile on his face, even if it was wet with tears, he sniffed and made the effort--]

Hey... Good mornin'. [Even if it was still quite dark.]

[saudadist]

[ At first, she didn't say anything but just watched him sit up, worry creasing her brow. Despite his smile, she leaned closer and cupped his face in her hands. ]

Are you alright? You were crying.

[ Her thumbs brushed across his cheeks to wipe any lasting dampness. She's woken up in tears from enough nightmares to know how they can shake the soul, so his attempt to cover it didn't convince her in the slightest. ]

[red_oni]

[Without any build-up or preparation, he was left pretty exposed. Even the devil hunter needed a moment to rebuild his composure once it was crushed so what was he to do when she took to him so swiftly, drying his tears and seeking to comfort him?

He held up a hand in weak protest between them, huffing halfheartedly.]

Hey, c'mon... It's alright, it's nothin'--nothin' new.

[saudadist]

[ "Nothin' new," he said. As if that was supposed to make it better. It didn't help her face unscrunch or her frown ease up. She breathed in a steadying breath before smiling a little up at him. One of her hands trailed up and back to comb her fingers through his hair again, keeping it out of his face. ]

It's okay now, just breathe. [ She could only guess how badly his pulse raced after that. ] I'm right here.