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Nero carefully parked the van on the side of the garage. turning off the white headlights with a flick of a switch as he killed the engine and leaned back in his seat. Finally, they were home. He and Nico had been out for two whole weeks doing jobs and answering calls from the coast of the mainland. Ones that Dante and Vergil had left for them. One job specifically had taken a whole week to do just because the bastard was weirdly stealthy and loved playing an annoying game of hide and seek.
Finally, they could relax for a second.
His mind reminded him that there were still reports and damage control to do, that there was still a pile of paperwork that Nico had left for him. Nero sighed. Getting up from the driver's seat, he sauntered over to the back and picked up his weapon dealer's sleeping body from the desk she had lain over. Opening the door as quietly as he could, he stepped out of the van with Nico on his back, blissfully snoring away.
Nero made it up the stairs and into the living room with a surprising amount of grace for a tired man and laid his friend down on the couch. After bringing up a blanket to her chin and placing a pillow under her head, he went to the doorway and took his boots off.
As he pulled his leather boots off, shook them free of demon grim outside, and placed them back down, the warm light of a lamp turned on.
“Nero?” a soft voice called out. A little groggy but still enough to be heard. Kyrie held the edges of the cardigan close together. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she approached Nero.
“Hey, Kyrie, did I wake you up? Sorry about that—”
“Nonsense, it's fine. I was waiting for you,” she interrupted, placing a hand on her partner's chest. The woman smiled, and she gazed at his face, still covered with dirt and barely wiped away blood. “You must feel filthy. Come, I'll draw you a bath.” She took his hand in hers. Nero gently followed her, like a moth to a flame.
They walked to their bedroom in silence, past the photos of their new family on the walls and the trophies that their boys won in soccer. For a second, Nero paused at a picture that Nico had somehow managed to take of him, Dante, and Vergil playing a game of poker at the Headquarters of Devil May Cry. You could tell that Dante was losing with how few chips he had on his side and the worried look he let slip while looking at his cards. Vergil had a small smile on his face as he took Dante's chips. Nero had his feet atop the table, and his hand was revealed to the camera, showing a royal flush.
He remembered that night well. They all had a little too much to drink, and both Dante and Vergil had grown a little too bold.
Kyrie took him to the en-suite bathroom, which their room thankfully had. It was better that all the demon grim Nero took home from his job went down their drain than the boys' one.
Nero reluctantly let go of her hand as she adjusted the bath tap to an appropriate heat. Although, due to his demon genetics, for some reason, he liked it a little bit closer to boiling. Kyrie knew that and still set it for him to be comfortable. She turned back around and placed both of her hands on his chest.
“You know, most people get undressed for their baths.” She giggled at her joke, and so did Nero.
“Yeah, yeah. Just give me a second, ‘kay?” He started by shifting his jacket off his shoulders and tossing it aside. It hit the floor with a loud thunk and a few clinks from the metal accessories he made himself. Then, he moved on to his stained and torn shirt. He brought it above his chest, however, it had gotten caught on his chin, and Kyrie had to move in to help him get it off.
“There you go,” she whispered as she folded the piece of fabric. Reminding herself to sew up the slash on it later. She moved downwards and helped him unbuckle his belt before shimmying her hands between his pants and legs.
“Hey, I can do that myself—” he tried protesting, but she simply shushed him.
“It's fine. I want to,” she told him truthfully. A smile on her face as she looked back at him. “I know you always come back home tired, let me do this for you.” Kyrie took his pants and folded them as well, before placing them with his shirt on top of the toilet lid. Nero took her hands into his, brought them up to his lips and gave them a quick kiss.
“You already do so much for me,” he said while gazing into her eyes. Kyrie's mouth hung open before she remembered about the bath and pushed him teasingly towards the tub.
“Go take a shower already.” Nero laughed but quickly quieted down after remembering that there were other people in the house. Kyrie moved out of the room and closed the door halfway. The demon hunter took his underwear off and threw it into the laundry basket. Unfortunately, it seemed that his aim was off, and it landed only halfway in. He glared at it, and as if out of spite, the piece of fabric fell onto the floor.
You know what? He could leave that for later. He had a shower with his name written on it waiting for him.
Nero turned on the shower tap and waited impatiently for the water to heat up. Once it reached a lukewarm temperature, the man ran his body under the water and scrubbed off any dried grim that had stuck on him from earlier that day. The clear water turned a faint reddish-brown as the dirt and blood washed off him. After a minute or so of washing himself, the water started to run clear, and that was when Nero turned the shower tap off and sat back in the tub. He plugged the drain with a silicone seal and remained relaxed as the water slowly grew higher and higher.
A knock came at the door, and he faintly called for the person to come in. Auburn hair walked through the doorway, and Kyrie took a few jars from the cabinet under the sink. She knelt down next to the white porcelain tub, opened the jars one by one, scooped out a handful of dried petals and sprinkled them in the bath. Next, she poured in small clumps of texturised clay. The pieces floated up and let out a soft hiss as they touched the water.
“I feel like you're trying to turn me into soup.” Nero joked, leaning towards Kyrie and brushing a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.
“I would never! Although now that I think about it… you might taste good,” she quipped back. The man felt his face and ears warm up suddenly at her retort. The two relaxed in the mutual quiet. Nero pushed his face into his crossed arms but still stayed by Kyrie. The woman brushed his hair back with her fingers and nudged him to move back a bit and to turn around. While he moved from his position, she squirted out a dollop of shampoo onto her hands and inched for him so she could start her work.
The hands on his head felt heavenly, not too rough but not so gentle. A perfect mix. The man purred as her fingers made their way through his short white hair. Kyrie made a cup with her hands and carefully rinsed the hair product out, trying her best not to get any excess in her lover's eyes or face.
She hummed a light and soothing melody as she continued. Next was the conditioner, and she replicated the process she had done just a minute earlier. Nero wished he could pause time to stay like this forever as she re-rinsed his hair once more. The woman laid a quick kiss on his cheek just as she finished. Just as she was about to stand up and leave Nero to his devices, he took her hand in his and pulled her back down.
His hand left her wrist and danced upwards to her cheek. He pulled her in for a kiss that felt smooth against his lips.
“Come in, please?” he asked with a breathy voice. Kyrie simply nodded and slowly but surely took her own clothes off. Soon she was only in her underwear and bra. After putting her dirty clothes in the laundry basket, she hooked her fingers behind her bra strap and unclipped the metal bits. She dragged the straps off her shoulders and slipped off the underwear she wore.
Then, she took a step into the bath in front of Nero. She lowered herself until she was sitting in between his spread legs comfortably. The hunter turned her around and pulled down until her back aligned with his chest. Together, they felt perfect.
When they were both absorbed by the statue in Fortuna, they were no longer two separate beings. Instead, they existed as one. There was no ‘Nero’, and no ‘Kyrie’. They simply existed in a shared space. Their souls had entwined together and merged as if they had already been one beforehand.
They both longed for the feeling of mutual closeness.
In the tub, the two sat together, Nero's arms around Kyrie's shoulders and her hands holding onto his muscled forearms. It was a similar sensation. Coexisting in a space so close. Nero couldn't tell where he ended and Kyrie started. His lips found their way in the area between her jaw and shoulder. The man lay down, kiss after kiss, glad that he would be able to do this after two weeks of holding back the urge to just drive back to Fortuna just for her.
The woman giggled as he kissed every inch of her pale skin that was available to his ravenous affection, both suspended in a blissful state where nothing could ruin the love they held for each other.
Kyrie smiled as she was held tight in her lover's embrace, feeling his reassuring strength behind every touch.
Eventually, the water started to grow too cold for either of their liking, and Kyrie called for him to let go. The hunter complained under his breath as he reluctantly removed his arms from around her and brought them to himself. He rubbed his nose and couldn't help but stare as she stood up and took a clean towel from the rack to wrap around her body. Nero pulled out the plug as he quickly followed her movements and snatched a towel for his own, this time wrapping it around his hips.
The two left for their bedroom after drying off. Kyrie pulled out a thin gown from their shared wardrobe and slipped it on, as well as a pair of fresh underwear. Nero shuffled through the drawers for a clean pair and brought out a grey pair of boxers and lifted them to his nose for a quick sniff test. After deeming them wearable, he threw them on, as well as a worm-out band tee he had stolen from Dantes. It's not his fault. it was a good band, and the older man didn't wear it often. Nero, quite frankly, didn't think Dante even realised it was missing.
The sound of footsteps brought him out of his thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his lover leaving the room to go into the hallway. What was she doing now? Nero's curiosity got the better of him, and he promptly decided to follow. Stealthily, he crossed the dimmed hallway with light steps and saw Kyrie standing in front of the microwave.
The smell of cooked chicken, potatoes and vegetables filled the air of the kitchen with a savoury scent Nero could just barely taste. It smelled delectable, as Kyrie's cooking always was.
“What's this?” he questioned, approaching the granite island counter.
“Nero— oh, you scared me,” she sighed with a hand over her racing heart.
“Heh, sorry, sweetie. Just wanted to check up on you,” Nero reassured. “It's late, you should already be in bed by now.”
Kyrie hummed in thought. “I should but…” she paused, a finger tapping the edge of her chin. “I wanted to catch you when you got home. Plus, you would've just gone straight to sleep if I didn't heat this for you.”
Nero quizzed her reply. His arms wrapped themselves around her torso once more as he looked up to the microwave. On its spinning glass dish was a plate with what he assumed to be leftovers.
“You really didn't have to—”
“I'll have none of that, thank you,” he huffed as she cut him off. Then a loud beeping brought their attention back to the food. Nero quickly opened the door to stop the loud noise from awaking the rest of the people in the household. Thankfully, Nico, who was still tucked in on the couch, slept like a coma patient, and it was impossible to wake up unless it was one of her babies beeping.
Kyrie reached out from his hold and took the plate with food in her hands, also grabbing a clean knife and fork from the drying rack in a swift motion.
She handed the plate to Nero, who sat down at the counter. Taking the utensils in his hands, he dug into the food with feverish intent. You would assume he hadn't eaten in days by the way he was borderline shovelling the delicious food into his hungry mouth. He chewed as he savoured every taste. Potatoes crisped in the perfect way that made a loud crunch when you bit them, chicken seasoned with just the right amount of herbs, salt, and pepper. Nero had to hold back a moan as he dug thankfully into the meal before him.
Eventually, like all good things, it had come to an end with the plate cleaned off of any and all crumbs.
“Wow, you sure liked that.” Kyrie chuckled while taking the dish away and putting it in the sink.
“You underestimate how good home-cooked food is after spending two weeks on protein bars and whatever Nico makes, which, I'm pretty sure, had cigarette ash in it at some point. Wait, I don't mean that your food is only good because Nico is shit. That's not what I mean—”
A laugh escaped her mouth as she tried to hold it back. “I know what you mean, don't worry.”
The edges of Nero's lips rose to a smile as he leaned his cheek against the palm of his hand. Nico's food truly was terrible, but nothing, no matter how good or bad, was in comparison to Kyries. Somehow, in the past few years of them co-owning an orphanage and starting a family, she had become the chef behind it all. Every meal was packed with nutrients and proteins. Each dish is carefully curated to be both equally healthy and mouth-watering.
There was no way Nero was biased. She was simply that good.
Nero stood up from his seat. Walking over to his lover, he took her hand in his once more. He led her down the hallway just like she had half an hour earlier, making sure to turn off the lights along the way. While Nero could see better in the dark than the average person, Kyrie was still blinded by the darkness. However, she trusted the hunter to lead her patiently back to their shared room.
She trusted him with all her heart that he would never bring harm to her or their quaint family. The wooden floorboards creaked underneath their weight as they walked. Luckily, the sound was barely audible and had no chance of waking the other household members up from their rest.
Their door opened with a slight push, and a familiar warm light shone through the gap. The carpet beneath felt soft and fuzzy against the soles of their feet. Nero pulled her close, arms wrapped around her shoulders as he dragged her down onto the bed with him. The mattress let out a squeak and bounced under their shared weight, and the two laughed in a synchronised exhale. The man leant forward, and over her, his lips carefully kissed her cheeks as she tried to calm his eagerness.
“Nero—- we should sleep,” she tittered as she used her arms to try to push him away.
“In a minute. I've been waiting too long to do this,” he smirked back as he laid down another chaise peck against her collarbone. Kyrie purred against his loving affection. Behind closed doors, he was always so eager to show his love. It was a shame the hunter was reluctant to show much when others were around. Although Kyrie worried that if he did do it in public, they might never get any work done.
The reverberating sound of purring brought the singer out of her thoughts. She looked down, her hands now sifting through Nero's short, soft spikes. Her nails dug in a little deeper, and the sound grew louder.
Wait, is it… Nero making that sound?
Who knew even with such diluted blood, he still took on such traits? She could feel vibrations dancing in the air as he unknowingly let out his bottled-up emotions. Her lips curled upwards in a bright smile. Eyes shining as if she had just hit the jackpot of a lifetime.
Kyrie shuffled herself up on the bed as she reluctantly made Nero let go, her back now leaning against the wooden headboard. The woman beckoned Nero to follow her, and in his tired state, he followed wordlessly. She held his face in both of her hands and gave a smooch on his forehead before laying him down on her stomach. The hunter curled up closer, moving towards her chest and relaxed. He brought his arms back around her and held his partner tight. The echoing of her heartbeat in her chest was music to his ears.
Each beat calmed him down. Each beat reminded him of what he was fighting for.
For the boys they fostered, for the family they built together, for her.
He did it all for her.