#i'm currently finishing up the laundry. i even went outside for a little bit. so like. what else could i do to satisfy myself?

[workofthediesel]

i am once again struck with the sunday afternoon brain itch like i need to accomplish something, but i've already done plenty so i'm not sure what it is my brain thinks i'm supposed to do

[cloudrumble23]

It was a nice afternoon. One of those days where the temptation to spend the whole day outside instead of working on important chores was nearly unbearable. Jeremy's other friends had already gone home, leaving him alone with Mike on the grass in the front yard.

Mike was picking at blades of grass, not really focused on Jeremy anymore. The conversation had died when their other friends went home, and neither of them particularly felt like starting it again. So neither one of them did.

Jeremy laid back in the grass, feeling the sharp blades tickling his arms. "Hey, Mike. Aren't you hot in that jacket?"

"Hmm?" Mike glanced over at him for a moment, turning his head away again as his face reddened.

"Aren't you hot? You look like you're overheating, buddy."

"Oh, no. I'm... I'm fine." Mike shifted uncomfortably in the grass. "I'd rather the heat anyway."

Right. Mike ran extremely cold for some reason. He always wore that jacket in the summer. In other months, he layered up even more. Jeremy smiled to himself at the one time he and his friends convinced Mike to take the jacket off for once.

His face reddened as he recalled how toned Mike's arms were. He wondered just how strong Mike was. He didn't act strong, not really. Sure, he was loud and obnoxious sometimes, but so was Jeremy. And he didn't have a problem running during P.E., but weight room days were awful, as Jeremy's muscles always hated him after those first few days.

"Jeremy! Come in and get the laundry done! You can sleep on the lawn after you finish your chores!"

Jeremy sat up. "Yes, Mom!" He glanced at Mike. "I suppose this is-"

"I can stick around a while longer."

"Oh." Jeremy was a bit surprised, but Mike knew his responsibilities better than Jeremy did, and if he said he could stay, then that was Mike's business.

"Sorry. My, uh, room is a bit of a mess." Jeremy scrambled to collect his dirty laundry from the floor as quick as possible, intensely aware of the fact that Mike was standing behind him in the hallway. Mike, the neat freak, who'd flip out if someone wore their shoes into the house, who had lost his mind when his little brother accidentally dropped a full bowl of cereal on the floor.

That Mike was currently able to see all of Jeremy's messiness, in the worst possible way. Is he even going to want to be friends with me anymore? Jeremy wondered. This was it, wasn't it? Mike was going to ditch him, and Jeremy's stupid crush would never go anywhere.

"It's fine, dude." Jeremy couldn't even detect any irritation or discomfort in his voice at all, and he wasn't sure if Mike was being sincere or not.

"I wasn't prepared for company, otherwise I would have-"

"Jeremy. I said it's not a big deal." Was Mike amused? That was his teasing voice. "I'm not really surprised anyway. You kind of are a mess."

"I-" Jeremy opened his mouth to protest a moment before realizing that Mike was just joking with him. "Well, I guess so, yeah." He laughed awkwardly. "I gotta get this in the washing machine now."

Mike nodded. He wasn't in the way or anything, so Jeremy honestly didn't know why he'd felt the need to say anything. They just kind of stood there for a moment, before Mike glanced around him back into the room. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

Mike pointed, and when Jeremy turned to look, Mike tickled him. "Hey! Hands off!" Jeremy's attempts to push Mike away from him were unsuccessful, as Mike's strength gave him a distinct advantage. "I gotta..." Jeremy gasped a breath between words. "Mike, the laundry..."

"Fine, fine." Mike stopped tickling him and stepped back. Jeremy regretted making him step back, missing his closeness immediately.

He went to pick up the laundry basket again, and Mike whistled. "You know, it doesn't look as bad in here as you think it does."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Just clean up the trash and make your bed and it's basically clean. Cleaner than the basement at my house anyway."

"There's a room in your house that's messy? I'm shocked, Michael. Shocked, I tell you." Jeremy nudged him playfully as he started toward the cramped laundry room.

"Ha ha," Mike rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind them. "You're hilarious, Jer."

"I know I am. I am the funniest person on the planet," Jeremy declared, dumping his clothes in the machine and setting the temperature. "Could you grab the soap? It's on that shelf there."

"Yeah, sure." Mike handed him the soap, going quiet for a moment. Jeremy continued setting the machine before closing the lid. "You look so good doing laundry..."

Jeremy froze. Surely Mike hadn't meant that in a... no, he must've meant it platonically. Neat freak that he was, Mike probably was admiring his ability to clean or something. Still, his face burned at the thought, and he replied, somewhat confused, "Thanks?"

Mike's eyes widened significantly as his own face flared red. Oh. So he had meant it that way. And from the look of it, he had not meant to say that out loud at all.

Jeremy cleared his throat, a goofy smile spread across his face. "Neat freak."

"...Huh?" Mike was still trapped in an internal panic over what he'd said, hands coming up to cover his mouth.

"I said," Jeremy swallowed, his throat feeling dry, "you're such a neat freak, Mike. Complimenting my laundry skills like that." Why did I say that?

Mike's eyebrows scrunched, showing his confusion. "Jeremy, what are you talking about?"

He should address it, shouldn't he? It was clear Mike was expecting him to address it properly. "Do..." He couldn't do this. "Mike, do you..." He swallowed again. "Do you like me?"

"Like you? Jeremy, you're my best friend."

Not what I was going for, Jeremy thought to himself as he laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, I know that. But I mean, do you like me? Like, would you date me if you had to?"

Mike trembled, stumbling against the wall. "I... if I had to? Of course, Jer."

I shouldn't have phrased it like that. Jeremy scolded himself. "Cool..." Jeremy shrugged, feeling out of place and very uncomfortable with the awkwardness in the room. "I'd date you without having to," he suddenly blurted out.

Mike blinked. Once. Then twice. And suddenly, he was shooting forward, pulling at the front of Jeremy's shirt as he kissed him. Mike was kissing him. Jeremy eagerly kissed him back, hoping this wasn't just his imagination.

"So... you do like me," Jeremy whispered when they finally stopped. "And I look good when I'm doing laundry, huh?"

Mike's mouth twitched, but he still elbowed Jeremy. "Oh, shut up."

"You can't stand the sight of me cleaning, can you? It's just so attractive to you. Why, Mike, I bet if you had your way, you'd just watch me-"

Mike kissed him again to shut him up. "Fine, you win, Jeremy! Just shut up for once."

Jeremy grinned. "I think I can handle that. For you."

Based on this post by @hearts4ggy (sorry to tag, but you deserve credit for this!)

[sneezyminniejo]

hola can u do a enhypen maknae line allergy snz fic? i know you have a lot of requests so if you can't do it its fine :) . i hope youre healthy ;)

Here it is, hope you enjoy

Spring Cleaning or Not

Spring cleaning, everyone's least favorite time of the year. The members of Enhypen have been putting it off. They just haven't had the time. They've been attending schedules out of the country. And when they've been in Korea, they've almost exclusively been at the company building. Now they finally had a couple days off, so the group decided to clean their dorm.

The group decided to divide the cleaning up seven ways. Sunghoon was in charge of the kitchen, Jay, Jake, and Heeseung were tag teaming the bedrooms and doing laundry, Riki was cleaning the bathroom, Sunoo was cleaning the living room, and Jungwon was tasked with weeding the little garden that was on the patio. Before the group started cleaning, one of the members hooked their phone up to a bluetooth speaker to blast music throughout the dorm. The seven members began jiving with the music before moving to their assigned sections to clean.

After about an hour and a half later, the group decided to break for lunch. Sunghoon decided to order some food for the group so they could stay home but also not re-dirty the rooms that were being cleaned too much. The seven members  continued to clean until the food arrived. However, when the food arrived and the group met in the living room, it became very apparent to the four oldest that the three maknaes weren’t doing too well.

“Are you guys okay?” Heeseung asked as they started eating. Jungwon and Sunoo both nodded their heads, although Jungwon was currently aggressively rubbing at his nose with his hand, while Sunoo was blowing his nose into a napkin. Riki, on the other hand, abruptly turned away from the group after shaking his head.

“Heh-stieeww, Hih-stieshhiew. My nose has been driving me nuts for like an hour.” The youngest said before sneezing again. Sunoo and Jungwon made noises of agreement, too preoccupied with their own noses to properly respond.

"Do you guys think you're coming down with something?" Jake asked as Sunghoon got up and left the room.  Jungwon shook his head at the question as he lowered his head.

"I don't know about Hyung or Riki, b-but I'm appar-arently allergic to heh-stieghh, hih-stieshhigh, allergic to whatever's planted outside. Jungwon said before fully succumbing to a fit of about seven sneezes.

By the time Jungwon had finished sneezing, Sunghoon returned with a fresh box of tissues and was passing it around to the three maknaes. All three took multiple tissues from the box and productively blew their noses. Sunoo sneezed a double while blowing his nose and needed to grab more tissues.

"Allergies make sense for Wonnie since he pretty much had his head right next to a bunch of flowers and weeds. But what about you two? Do you guys think it's also allergies?" Jay asked Riki and Sunoo. Sunoo shrugged while Riki shook his head.

“I don’t have any allergies.” Riki eventually responded once he felt his nose was under control. Eventually Sunoo also responded. “I’m not sure what I’d be reacting to if it is allergies, but my nose is definitely irritated.” Sunoo said before sniffling a bit thickly.

Lunch continued with the maknaes sniffling and sneezing throughout. It got to the point where the hyungs were considering sending the maknaes to bed or to the company while they finished cleaning the dorm. Although the maknaes vehemently refused, on the grounds that they weren’t sick. Jungwon even went to their medicine cabinet and took some benadryl to help with his symptoms before stubbornly going back outside to continue weeding.

Jay, Jake, and Heeseung had gone back to continue cleaning the bedrooms when they heard a particularly loud outburst coming from the living room. The three oldest members looked at each other before Heeseung left the room. Jay and Jake followed a couple moments later. The three found Sunoo sitting on the couch with his face buried in a handful of tissues.

“Ddeonu, you good? I’ve never heard you sneeze so loud.” Jay said, sounding impressed as the loudest sneezer in the group. Sunoo nodded his head as he finished blowing his nose. “I think I now know why I’m sneezing so much.” Jake gestured for him to continue.

“It hadn’t occurred to me before, but as I was moving that box over there I a-accidentally kicked up a b-bunch of d-dustschhhh.” Sunoo sneezed into the handful of tissues he was still holding. “I don’t think I can clean any more.” The older three nodded.

“In that case, you can just relax for a while. We’ll take care of the cleaning. It’ll probably only be-” “HEH-STIEWWW!!!” Jake was interrupted by a sudden loud sneeze coming from one of the bathrooms immediately followed by a clatter. Jake’s eyes widened a bit before he ran to the bathroom.

He found Riki standing in the bathroom with his hands a few centimeters away from his face. The clatter he had heard must have been from him dropping the mop, which now lay on the ground. He picked up the mop and placed it against the wall. It took a moment before Riki sneezed three more times and sniffled. Jake grabbed a couple of paper towels and handed them to the younger member.

“Any idea what’s making you so sneezy Riki?” Riki shook his head. “I was just refilling the mop bucket, when my nose got insanely itchy again.” Riki said as he blew his nose into the towels. Jake then took note of the lemony scent in the room. He looked over to the counter where a bottle of pine sol was sitting. He grabbed it and opened it up, taking a quick whiff. His nose scrunched at the strong scent.

“Riki, I want you to take a quick sniff of the cleaner you’ve been using.” Riki looked confused, but did as requested, only to succumb to a pretty intense fit of thirteen sneezes.

“Yeah, you’re done cleaning too. I’m taking you to the living room.” Jake said as he led the youngest to the couch. Jake and Riki walked into the room and just as Riki was sitting down and grabbing some more tissues, the door opened with Sunghoon half carrying Jungwon to the couch.

“What happened?” Heeseung asked worriedly as he helped Sunghoon bring Jungwon to the couch.

“I was taking the trash out after I finished cleaning the kitchen and Jungwonnie here was digging through the air with his trowel. I think the benadryl has practically knocked him out even though he only took one dose.” 

“Okay, so none of them can continue cleaning and I think it would be best if we go to the company for a while.” Jake continued to explain that until the pine sol scent was out of the dorm Riki wasn’t going to get any better.

It was quickly agreed that they would all go hang out in one of the practice rooms for a couple of hours. Jay and Jake helped maneuver Jungwon to the van and everyone else piled in. When they arrived, Jay and Jake were once again supported a very out of it Jungwon. On the bright side, both Sunoo and Riki seemed to be doing marginally better even after only a few minutes away from the dorm.

The group was slowly making their way through the halls to a hopefully empty practice room. Sunoo and Riki were both still sniffly and sneezy. Jungwon was awake, but operating on some kind of auto pilot. Before the group could get to the elevator, they were stopped by a voice.

“Heeseung, what are you guys doing here? Shouldn’t you be at your dorm resting now that you have some time off?” Beomgyu excitedly asked. It took a moment for him to notice the disheveled appearance of the maknaes and face took on an expression of worry.

“About that, we tried to do some spring cleaning and these three discovered some new allergies. So we decided to come here for a while until the dorm can air out a bit.” Beomgyu look at the group in sympathy. 

“Well you’re in luck. Me and the guys are having a movie marathon in our practice room. Want to join us?” None of the Enhypen members knew how to respond to that, so they just nodded and followed Beomgyu. The members of TXT were very welcoming and sympathetic to their situation. They didn’t mind it in the slightest that the youngest of the group were periodically sniffling, sneezing, or blowing their noses. Jungwon was fully asleep five minutes into the movie.

After three movies, the seven men decided to head back to the dorm. Jungwon was much more alert, and Sunoo and Riki were also doing much better. Before they left however, Soobin revealed that he had texted his manager to talk to their manager about getting the dorm professionally cleaned while they’re in schedules tomorrow. The group thanked their sunbaenims before leaving.

[etlunainmorte]

“May I have the honor of this dance, my lady?”

"I long to see such things as those you have probably seen. I want to experience everything and I wish to see them with my own eyes. See for myself what these poems of mine describe. But, the idea of doing those things alone,… do not please me, at all.”

“Would I be selfish if I ask you to accompany me, little wanderer?”

“Those scars,… symbolize the true enjoyment and will that you felt doing that special something you adore. Those feet, my Lady,… I would kiss,… over,… and over again,… if I could,… ”

“What matters is that you still have precious people around you, my Lady. You must focus on not losing them, as well.”

“Those feelings you have for me, I’m afraid we do not share them mutually.” 

"I do feel obliged to tell you that I’ am not the person you seem to know. I’ am neither a good person, nor a hero you consider. In fact, I’ am the villain of your story. And I, may I add, only helped you because you seem so,… useless. Why would you even take up this massive commission in the first place? You are not as half as strong as the weakest Devil Hunter here to begin with. You are just a weak human who relies on others for survival."

“I choose,… POWER!”

"ENOUGH!"

You woke up to the sound of his frightening voice that seemed to rattle the whole place. Your eyes adjusted to the darkness inside your room as you hysterically felt for the things around you. And when your cold and trembling hands reached what felt like the soft and smooth bed covers you haven't used for what seemed like ages, your heart felt like it would shatter. You know he was there, just outside your dark and suffocating room, and you knew full well that if you get up, walk to that door, and open it, you will see him.

But, at the same time, you knew you can't.

How you've wanted so much to go to him, to throw yourself at him, to embrace him, and tell him that you love him very much but, you know you can't.

"I choose,... POWER!"

Those were the words that he told you after you bore your whole, fragile heart to him. It,... hurt you, and you knew you would be lying if you said it didn't. It hurts, and you could never deny that fact.

Then, darkness. You couldn't remember anything else after that. What happened after that? And how long ago was that? A week? A month? A year?

You tried to move an inch, however, an unbelievable sensation of pain hit your mid - section, your arms, and your legs. You covered your mouth, trying to stifle the scream of horrified pain that tried to escape from it as you heard some more, incomprehensible noises outside. It seemed that he was not alone. There were others,...

... but you didn't have any idea who they were,...

... only that they sounded familiar.

With a huge amount of effort, you carefully sat up as you propped up on your elbows, still feeling the excruciating pain in your body. You carefully swung your right leg off the edge of the bed first, followed by your left one. When you felt the coldness of the floor through your toes, you slowly put your feet down, then tried to stand,...

... only for you to collapse and scramble on the floor. You swiftly covered your mouth once more and closed your eyes as you stopped yourself from screaming and crying.

Everything hurts. Everything.

You remained on the floor curled up like this as your tears fell silently from your face. Your arms on your stomach and your legs folded, you stayed there, embracing the coldness and loneliness and waiting for those ear - shattering sounds to subside. And when they finally did, you took a deep breath and tried to stand once more. It became awfully quiet but, you couldn't care less. At least, they were gone. He was gone.

And that was entirely better compared to him pushing you away and physically and emotionally hurting you yet again.

With a slight limp, you made your way towards the door, and,...

All of a sudden, you heard it - a knock. On your front door.

Your hand abruptly left the doorknob as the knock became more and more impatient. You were about to go back to your own bed, cover yourself with those heavy bed sheets, and pretend that you didn't hear anything, when you heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, V! You forgot something at the shop!"

What,... ?

Despite the pain in your stomach and limbs, you flung open the door and sped towards the front door, ignoring the mess in the living room and even failing to notice your precious antique record on the table. You grabbed the brass doorknob, flung open the door, and,...

"Whoa, Babe! You don't look so good - "

The man was startled when you threw yourself into his arms, and when he felt your body trembling as you let out those tears of agony, he couldn't help but feel even more protective towards you.

You looking so sad and broken and vulnerable,...

... it simply tore his heart apart.

He,... could not bear it!

"I'm sorry, Dante!" He heard your muffled sob. You were making his jacket wet with tears but, he didn't care.

He didn't care.

Because he only cared about you.

"I'm so sorry,..."

Wrapping his arms around your fragile frame, he said, "Why are you saying that?! You did nothing wrong, (Y/N)! You - "

"I'm sorry - !"

The man grabbed your shoulders and looked straight into your red and puffy eyes.

"Alright, babe." He told you straight in the face without so much as a hesitation. "You're coming with me."

***

I See My Future Before Me - Alternate Endings

***

***

To Dante, staying low and quiet for almost three months felt agonizing enough. He could only take small Demon hunting jobs for a while so as not to raise any suspicion. Hell, he even took a different name and went as far as Gaoltown ( where there was little to no demonic activity ) past Swan Lane where no one would recognize him. Not to mention putting Morrison in charge of Devil May Cry during his absence ( he just couldn't trust anyone, even Trish or Lady, for this ). 

Well, despite this meager choice of a lifestyle, Dante still miraculously pulled through. He often volunteered for farm work when he has no Demon hunting commissions, helping with the harvest ( people were kind enough to let him take home some fruits and vegetables after a hard day's work ) or taking care of the cattle ( the sheep were all nice to him, so were the cows but, all of the goats seemed to share the same interest of kicking him in the butt for some reason ). His new neighbors, a cute old couple ( who honestly looked like an old couple from a fairy tale ), although a bit suspicious of him at first, came to really like him, often giving him meals so he would not go out of town to procure some. The simple rural days felt so calm and peaceful, and the quiet nights felt so serene and cool, unlike the always busy and chaotic atmosphere of Red Grave.

Over time, the humble rural life of Gaoltown has grown on Dante, and soon enough, he has learned to accept his new life as a simple man with simple pleasures.

And the girl who was living with him? The people came to love her, as well, just like how they've grown to love him.

"You will take long?" You asked as you watched Dante prepare for another Demon hunting commission ( this time, a pair of Hell Judecas bothering the Gaoltown mayor's family ), confused as to the sudden change in his demeanor. Normally, his missions only lasted for a few hours, four to five, tops.

But, now, he said that the mission would take an entire day to do.

And for only a couple of Hell Judeca's? That sounded so suspicious,...

The Legendary Devil Hunter, whose skin has become tan due to many hours outside helping the neighbors with farm work, looked up and gave you that charming boyish smile. "You sound like a worried wife."

You sighed as you shook your head. "I' am worried. There are only two Demons. It shouldn't take you an hour or so." You placed the kitchen towel impatiently on top of the wooden table and stepped closer towards him. "Tell me, why do you need a whole day to do this?"

The man stood up and gently laid his callous hands on your cheeks. "And now, you sound like a jealous wife."

"Stop that, please,..." You uttered as you shook Dante's hands off and turned away from him. You went towards the window and stared at the peaceful scenery, unable to explain the sudden heaviness in your heart upon hearing those words from Dante.

A worried wife? A jealous, worried wife?

Impossible!

"Impossible,..." You whispered.

"What is?" Dante, who had preternatural hearing, being a half - Demon, and all, asked, walking towards you and placing a gentle hand on your shoulder.

"Nothing." You said, facing him and looking straight into his eyes. "You'll be late. Go now."

To this, Dante only scratched his head in confusion. "Alright, then. I'll see you later."

"Yeah." You answered, getting your stitch work from the sofa and picking up where you left off. "Take care."

Dante's words were still ringing quite clear into your head as the hot and lazy day passed. As usual, the grandma from next door visited you once more to bring you lunch but, this time, she also gave you some linens you might find useful later on. That little boy from the farm where Dante often helped came and read books with you again. He even gave you flowers, the adorable little thing. Said he wanted to marry you when he grew old. You even managed to finish the laundry and the rest of your chores a few minutes before twilight.

For three months, your quiet life went like this. At first, you felt uncomfortable with it, being a person who was so used to traveling and doing lots of activities. But now, the silent life felt like a blessing to your tired body and battered mind. You have learned to be content with the things you currently have, you have learned to appreciate nature even more,...

... and most importantly,...

... you now see Dante in a different light. He,... changed. And not for worse. Your three months of stay in Gaoltown has taught the both of you a lot of things, simplicity, hard work, appreciation,...

... your isolation from the rest of the people you knew has taught you how to appreciate Dante even more.

Well, not that the man has been unkind to you, no. Somehow, it felt like you haven't acknowledged the man enough for all of his hard work. He even chose this kind of life for your own well - being despite knowing all of the consequences. He even did his best in fulfilling his promise to you that no one would ever find out that you're here, hence, all that secrecy and staying low away from everyone.

And honestly? He did all that wonderfully and without a hint of the slightest hesitation.

Just for you.

Of course, the pain was still there. After all, it was evident with the scars on your body and the changes you've recently been going through. You don't want Dante to know about this but, you were feeling as though you were getting weaker and weaker as the days passed, like a battery that was getting closer to its limit. Waking up every morning and getting up from bed felt like a huge struggle, and doing simple chores took most of your strength. Hell, even your hair looked different. Most of its strands were still (H/C) but, should one make the effort of taking a closer look at it, one would surely notice the strands of silver - grey here and there.

And just now, just this morning, you felt,... different. Calmer. More at peace,...

You knew you're time was coming. And Dante being gone for a full day? It felt really frightening.

You were so scared to go without Dante by your side.

Did you learn how to love him just like how he loved you? No. Of course, you were still in love with that man, and Dante knew that. He respected that, even though it hurt him too much deep inside. It broke him.

And still, despite knowing all that, he persevered for you. He may not say it to you outright but, he knew what was going on with you. He noticed your difficulty in getting up each morning. He observed how the simplest of chores would take the most out of you. And most importantly, he knew all about your granny hair problem.

Dante knew but, he never spoke up about it.

And now, as the clock struck six in the evening, you sat in front of your door, waiting for Dante to arrive,...

... only for someone else to come.

You looked up, stood, and took a few steps back. And in shock and fright, you turned away and tried to close the door, only for the visitor to take hold of your arm.

"Hon, talk to me, please!"

"Nico, leave me alone,..."

The Artisan only tightened her grip on your arm as she forced you to look her in the eyes.

"Girl, listen to me." Nico pleaded as quietly as she could so no one would notice the two of you in such a situation. "V has been lookin' all over for ya! But, for some reason, he can't see ya! He is worried sick about ya!"

That name,...

"I - i d - don't know who you're talking about,..." You stuttered as you felt your heart being crushed all over again.

The man,... actually looking for you?

Impossible!

Impossible,...

"What?! Aww, come on! I know Dante has been hidin' ya! Morrison is way too suspicious. And I'm right! Ye're here all along!"

"Nico, can you please leave me alone?" You pleaded for the second time, avoiding her eyes so she won't see you crying. But, it was no use. Nico just wouldn't be budged.

"No! V has changed! He loves ya! He still does! And he wants the two of you to start all over again! He,... wants to make it up to ya! Right every mistake he has done,..." And as if in an effort to throw all of her trump cards at the table for her to win this battle, she desperately added, "V,... can't live without you!"

For a moment, you stopped struggling against her. You took a deep breath, and exhaled, dragging the air out of your lungs as long as possible. You wanted to calm down, you do.

Yes, you love him. You still do.

But,...

... it was too late.

"Where is he?" You asked, making your voice softer.

*

"Babe, I'm home!" Dante greeted you a few hours later as he entered the house.

"Dante, I'm right here!" You called. The man followed your voice and found you sitting on the sofa in the dark living room.

"Eh, it's too dark in here! Why don't we - ?"

"No!" You cut him off as he was about to turn on the lights. "Please."

Dante only raised his eyebrow in confusion. "O - kay?" Shrugging your strange behavior off, he brought what he was carrying to the middle of the room and placed it on the floor near the windows. "I think it's time we liven things up in here! It's getting a bit boring!"

In the darkness of the room with only the moonlight as your guide, you observed how Dante arranged and connected some wires to the thing he just brought, and a few moments later, the thing lit up, brightening the whole room.

It was a television, and connected with it was a decent dvd player that must've cost Dante a huge sum of money.

"Had to go back to Red Grave to purchase these." Dante smugly confessed. "Hey, I'm sorry I wasn't able to buy Titanic and Dracula for you. They're sold out!"

"What did you get?"

"This."

"Here's Charles Muntz piloting his famous,... "

Your eyes widened at the wonderfully colorful sight before you. 

" ... is there nothing he cannot do?! Yes! As Muntz himself says,... "

"ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE! Look out, Mount Rushmore!"

"I, ah, hope you like Pixar." Dante asked as he sat on the floor next to your form.

"It's great." He heard your simple answer. "Pixar is great."

With Dante's head on your lap, the two of you watched as the two characters interacted, how they met, and what started their romance.

"I saw where your balloon went. Come on! Let's go get it. My name is Ellie."

"I thought that's a boy!"

"Dante, it's clearly a girl."

"What? I don't get it!"

"Just watch!"

"There it is! Well, go ahead."

"Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you, kid."

"Agh, Dante, just - !"

"Okay, okay,..."

"Go on! 

"AAAGGGHHH!"

"Told ya,..."

"Oh, poor kid,..."

"HEY, KID!"

"AHH! Ouch!"

"Thought you might need a little cheering up! I have something to show ya!"

...

"I' am about to let you see something I have never shown to another human being. EVER! In my life! You'll have to swear you will NOT tell ANYONE! Cross your heart! DO IT!"

"Aww, that's so cute."

"Really? That seems creepy to me."

"You know what's even creepier, Dante?"

"What?"

"Lady and Trish taking over your shop."

"Oh, right,..."

"MY ADVENTURE BOOK! You know him: Charles Muntz, explorer! When I get big, I'm going where he's going: South America! It's like America but, it's South!"

Dante felt a gentle hand caressing his hair, and he fought the urge to take it and kiss it.

But, somehow,...

... it felt weaker.

And you,...

... you sounded different.

"You know, you don't talk much. I LIKE YOU!"

"(Y/N),..."

"Please,..."

Dante felt his breath hitch when you prevented him from seeing your face.

What,... exactly is going on?!

"Babe, you okay?"

"Yes! As fine as I'll ever be."

"(Y/N), tell me the truth, please."

"I'm fine. Don't worry. And, Dante?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. For the television. But, really. You should've told me earlier you're gonna be late because of it."

"Ahh, you sound like a jealous wife again."

"Hmm,... maybe?"

"(Y/N)," Dante began, trying his very best to see your face but, you just wouldn't let him.

Not now.

"Babe, please, tell me what's wrong. Are you hurt? Did something happen? Did - ?"

"Dante, listen to me very carefully." With those words, the man felt your caress once more as you tried to calm him down, all the while preventing him from seeing your face. And your voice,... it sounded so,... "Thank you,... for this house."

"(Y/N),...?"

"Thank you,... for this quiet and humble life. Thank you for taking care of me. For your hard work. For accepting me into your life. For,... accepting me as I' am, flaws, quirks, everything. Thank you,... for your unconditional love."

And to those words you just uttered, Dante felt his whole world collapse before him.

He knew what you meant.

He knew.

Ah,...

"T - the screen," Dante stuttered, his voice failing him as he felt that burning sensation in his eyes once more. And he hated it. " ... it's getting blurry! I should have it changed first thing in the morning - "

"STAY." You almost yelled, your cracking voice giving you away. "Please."

And Dante couldn't do anything.

"I - i'm sorry." The man cried. "I,... f - failed you! I'm sorry, (Y/N). I'm so sorry,..."

"No! You didn't! You did,... wonderfully. And you sound like I'm gonna leave you. That hurts."

"Aren't you?"

"Who told you?"

"Well,..."

You hummed as you bent and wrapped the man in your arms. "I'm not gonna leave you, Dante. I,... might be,... going somewhere,... but, my spirit will stay with you. I will continue to watch over you. I will stay with you,... for as long as it takes. I will never,... leave your side."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

The man felt your soft lips ghost the top of his head, and this only made him hold onto the fragile arms wrapped around him even tighter. He would cherish this moment, this very moment, for as long as he lived.

For as long as he breathed.

"Let's watch, Dante Sparda."

"Alright, (Y/N) (L/N)."

***

❤ @la-vita and @clevermentalitybeliever . ❤

***

A few hours earlier,...

"Where is he?" You asked, making your voice softer.

"Somewhere!" Nico answered. "He could see us right now. He could hear us."

You smiled. "If he could hear me, then,..." You cleared your throat and made your voice a bit louder despite your failing lungs. "Listen very carefully, V.

"I,... love you. I still do. And I missed you so much. So much it hurts. I still love you,… despite everything. I tried to get you out of my mind, to forget that I've known you. To forget that I have fallen deeply in love with you for the very short time we've been together. And it hurts,... so much,... to know that I will not be able to see you again, that I will not be able to talk to you again. That I will never hear your voice again as you read to me your favorite poems.

"If I could only go back in time, I would prevent all the pain and suffering from happening. I will tell you to run as far away as you can from that place. I don’t care what happens to Red Grave! I will,... save the both of us from that huge blunder. Maybe then, we could start all over again, to get to know each other again. Maybe we could take another shot at it.

"But, it is too late. I'm,... dying, V. Very soon, I will leave this world, and you will be left devastated. However, you have a wonderful life ahead of you. So,... go. Do everything that I told you: travel the whole world, watch all kinds of movies, eat popcorn and lots of junk food, go fishing and catch a boot, win the stuff tiger. See the world that your poems describe. Go,... and do all of those with the person you will love and cherish,... until the end.

"And I? I will stay with the person who gave me unconditional love. I will stay with the person who didn't give up on me despite everything. I will stay with him,... until my last breath.

"I will stay with Dante, until tonight when I close my eyes and enter eternal slumber.

"I love you, V. Now go,... and live a life you'll be proud of."

***

❤❤❤

***