(no subject)

[a_la_turk]

Characters: Valeria (a_la_turk), Dante (albinoidiot = red_as_sin), and CLOSED
Location: Dante's Room @ Dante's Crofts
Time: September 17th - dawnish!
Brief Summary: Having returned to her proper age at some point during the night, Valeria awakens disoriented in Dante's bed and recalls certain events. Dante, still affected by the timeline event, returns to the room with breakfast and they talk for the first time since the fight last Saturday.
Rating: G for once

With her head nestled against a feather-soft pillow and her very much adult body tucked carefully beneath the sheets atop a certain, familiar bed, Valeria breathed more easily than she had in a week's time, her chest rising and falling slowly with the weight of sleep. Every now and then, she breathed in deep, gloved hands unconsciously clutching where they knew a warm body should be. Her brows furrowed every time she gripped empty air, fingers tangling in the sheets as she turned her head to one side and tilted it down, then up. There was no one there and it was that that eventually had her stirring from an otherwise peaceful sleep, cracking dark eyes just slightly open only to scrunch them closed and voice the softest little note of displeasure when they caught the single bright ray of sunlight peeking through the mostly covered window in the distance. It was too bright, too early and she felt strangely, uncharacteristically tired. She looked it, too, and worse, but then, she had since Saturday. Since the fight.

That's right. She remembered the fight, how angry she'd been. How frustrated and confused and... hurt. Yes, hurt. She remembered it more vividly with each passing moment as the haze of sleep began to lift and something akin to clarity began to breach her mind's surface. Her heart twisted with the memory and she lifted a hand now to rub her face. Cracked her eyes open a fraction wider and dropped her head to one side, inhaling deeply and pausing with a sudden realization. That scent, she knew that scent. She had washed her sheets again and again and again after she and Luki had returned home that day and she hadn't been able to get it out, but this was different. It was stronger than it had been and it shouldn't have been. Dante hadn't been over since Saturday. The three of them hadn't shared her bed since then, so why...?

It hit her like a ton of bricks, dark eyes widening as the memories come flooding back to her. She remembered. She remembered arriving in Demeleier as a child and meeting a much older, more mature Dante in front of the Temple. She remembered how quickly she'd attached herself to him, how she'd put so much energy into keeping up with that man, a perfect stranger in whom she'd found a kindred spirit and who she'd been so determined not to lose. They'd picked up Luki the same day and -- she furrowed her brows -- they'd done a lot. They'd been inseparable. That he'd put up with her and her crazy antics was as confusing as it was oddly touching to the still very much disoriented woman, but it was short lived as her mind stretched and raced to make sense of those memories, to place people and events and figure her current location. Everything bumped into everything else in her head and she wound up falling back against the bed before she managed to sit halfway up, scrunching her eyes shut and allowing memory and emotion to pass over her, through her. She let go of time and welcomed a short eternity, grappling quietly with calmer waves of thought and emotion as it drew to a close.

What a mess. What a complete and utter mess and she couldn't even begin to fathom what to do about it. Moving would be a good, logical start, but she didn't jump with that knowledge despite that she was now well aware of where she was, that she was in Dante's bed in his room. Luki and Dante were safe, wherever they are, and Souji, he had things under control. She, on the other hand, was a mess. She didn't know what to think, how to feel, what to do and she sank her teeth into her lower lip sharply. It was only a matter of time before the questions started firing one after the other again and all she really wanted to do was turn her head into Dante's pillow, breathe in deep, and fall out of consciousness even if it was only for a little while. She cracked her eyes open to look past the higher ceiling, sighing softly.

Sleep would never come to a Devil King as he was sworn his powers, unfortunately, and this older version of our favorite devil boy had long since grown accustomed to this curse. For almost a week's period he had been living with two children and one dragon, ever watchful without sleep. It was this reason why he had noticed the child he was caring for was no longer a child.

Instead of a very clingy child, there was a sleeping woman on his bed. In the middle of the night the transformation had caught his attention. Shortly after he found he could no longer stand being beside her, he couldn't help but feel he did not belong there, that he had moved to the kitchen. Years of living alone and having little to do had initially forced him to cook.

While Valeria slept, Dante had been busy in the kitchen heating and cooking what things he found in his home. For now, he had done a full coursed brunch. His appetite hadn't changed.

Sounds in the next room indicated Valeria was awake. He wasn't sure what memories the girl held but he doubted anyone could be angry with some breakfast still hot and freshly prepared. He was putting the finishing touches to the plate as he began to walk into the room.

"Don't mind me. Just leaving some breakfast."

Valeria knew that voice. Recognized it in two tones of time and it was strange, that recognition. She knew and recognized him both as her first love and as an apparently older version of the man with whom she actively shared a child, the very same man with whom she had been nothing short of furious as of Saturday morning. That anger, that hot fury does not resurface at the sight of him, however. Instead of turning rapidly away or bolting straight up, she peered up at him from her place in his bed and slowly, but surely pushed herself up, brows furrowing just slightly. That's...

"You didn't have to do that," she said, her tone still soft with sleep and tinted with a certain degree of uncertainty and... relief? Relief that he wasn't angry with her after everything that had happened, after everything she put him through, presumably recently given that he looked no different than she knew him as a child. Pausing, she speaks up again. "Not that I don't appreciate it, I do, but..."

But what? She didn't know what else to say.

Dante didn't hesitate as he entered his bedroom and swiftly moved to the bedside table where he placed the plates of food. The only thing he hadn't brought was something to drink, he brushed his gloved hands against his pant leg.

"If you are referring to these previous few days then save your breath. I can't blame you for something that wasn't in your control." He muttered, moving back towards the door. "Eat. Rest. Take your time."

"Wait."

The word was out of her mouth before she could stop herself, gloved fingers twitching as she gripped the sheets tightly. She'd spent the past couple of days as an adult wanting nothing more than to be near him, to talk with him like always and to watch him walk away now, when he was so close... she wasn't sure how much more of a fool she'd be if she let him.

"I know I'm not a kid anymore and maybe it's selfish of me, but... sit with me for a while? Please?"

When she called for him, the devil king stopped. He knew far too well what the woman wanted, he could smell it in the air, the tension. She wasn't angry, she was literally begging for him to stay. It wasn't very like her but he assumed being a child so recently had re-opened old wounds and made forgotten fears very fresh. Either way, Dante turned and slowly made his way towards her bed.

"You should eat." He repeated, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees as he rubbed his nose. She smelled almost the same.

Valeria reached for the plate on the bedside table without another word, gloved hand gripping the fork and pinning a piece of what looks like bacon with the eating utensil. She was glad he came back, that he sat down. Relieved really and for a number of different reasons, fear among them.

"This is really good," she exclaimed, her brows rising in surprise. "I didn't know you could cook."

"I can't. Well," and he had to rephrase, "the Dante you know never used the kitchen in his own home for about over twenty years."

Unfortunately, that was not an exaggeration. Dante was aware that as a younger man he had been immature and foolish. It was a miracle he hadn't killed himself with how he lived but it only gave a testament to his survival skills. No one would ever know the hazards and the troubles he went through. The pages in history between that time and what he was now would never be seen as they were written. Valeria didn't need to know.

"Glad you like it."

She dipped the fork again as she listened to him speak, pinning another piece of meat with her fork and raising it to her lips as she considered his words. Twenty years... and he was probably around twenty or thereabouts when he showed up in Demeleier the first time; though, there were times when she honestly had wondered about that. Twenty years, though. That was a long time and she wasn't blind. It was obvious he had changed in that time, that a lot had happened. The man she had met as a child had been Dante, but he hadn't been the same Dante she knew as an adult. Well, he had, but... people changed with the time.

"You always are -- were? You're full of surprises," she said, pausing to chew on the piece of meat. "I guess that much hasn't changed. Are there any others you'd be up for sharing?"

"I think you're the one who's dying to get something out of your system." Dante muttered, turning his head to look at her.

Back then, he wasn't very good at reading people. Sure, he had his skills but it took him a while to figure most out. As a grown man, he didn't need to test the waters or survey individuals. He was the devil king and all human souls were in his territory. He could taste them, smell them, read them like open books. It was unfair, of course, but it was a neccesary curse. He wasn't supposed to be near humans to begin with, he couldn't blame that on anyone but himself.

Valeria swallowed somewhat loudly immediately following his statement, slender brows rising as dark eyes moved rapidly to meet and hold cool blue. She hadn't been expecting that and it was plain on her face for a few seconds before she consciously reined her expression back in, lowering the fork to the plate and the plate to her lap. He was right. Regardless of whether she had or had not been obvious, he was right, but she wasn't even sure where to begin, let alone if she should.

"Let's say you're right," she started. "Even if that was the case, it doesn't mean I should. For all I know, you'll wake up as I know you in a few days without any memory of this conversation or the time we spent together when I was a child. We'd be right back where we left off on Saturday and --"

And she didn't want that. She didn't want to be right back where they left off on Saturday. She hated it. She hated that he wasn't around, that they weren't talking, that she didn't know how he was, if he was okay. It felt wrong, the absence of his presence, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get him off her mind. She barely managed to stay a sigh in the face of these thoughts.

Dante wasn't going to argue with her, there was no way of knowing what the over all outcome of tomorrow morning would be. It was something he had been wondering since he realized there was a possibility this was all an accident. Nothing he could say would ever alter what had happened, he knew far too well what their history had been and... what it was going to be. He had no place in divulging the future.

Instead, he figured he'd approach the woman through another direction: her insecurities. Her fears. He hesitated for several moments trying to find the right words to say.

"You and I both know that the only thing keeping us apart..." or perhaps he should emphasize, "as in, from speaking to each other, is the fact that I'm an idiot at that age and you have every right to be angry with me. I won't approach you if you do not wish to be approached. It's not cowardice, it's plain and simple. I'm an idiot."

And God did he know. He had been a little terrified to say the least when he knew there was a possibility of reuniting with old... acquaintances. Let's call them that.

Valeria opened her mouth and closed it just as fast, considering and reconsidering Dante's words. She couldn't really argue that. At his usual age, he was nothing if not an idiot and it was as infuriating as it was strangely endearing at times. That he openly admitted as much now alongside that she had every right to be angry with him was a testament to just how much he had grown and matured in the years since his departure from Demeleier and she recognized that. She recognized, too, that the anger that should have been there wasn't there. It hadn't resurfaced even when she'd tried to stir it in recent days, to hold onto it instead of falling into the miserable state she had.

"I know," she said, lifting a gloved hand to tuck a few stray strands of black behind her ear. If he listened closely, he might just hear something akin to fondness in her initial words. She doesn't sound irritated in the slightest when she speaks again, her tone one of knowing resignation. "I guess... that means it's on me."

Cold blue eyes watched her for several moments but he couldn't form any words to sooth her with. The entire affair was out of his league, he had no business meddling with it lest he accidentally screw up something. It wasn't a rare thing for Dante to find himself in strange intervals of time. Hadn't he just recently traveled to new dimensions? Who would have thought Demeleier was yet another frontier he was still connected to. Regardless of his detachment, he did pity Valeria. Why the girl so much as cared about him had always been a mystery but to continue to push towards him despite the pain- well, it was situations like these that always left Dante guessing at how little he knew of human will despite having one himself. If only things had been different. If only he hadn't done the deeds he did.

Perhaps, in the end, the person he pitied the most was himself. Trapped in a wretched nightmare since the age of six, could anyone blame him for overlooking the things that were best for him? Valeria had been a fresh air and unfortunately, he knew just as well he wouldn't be able to appreciate or understand her significance until he was gone. Ironically, as always, he was always too late. The hope fell on Valeria and he found himself blank of all thoughts and numb from all feelings to offer her any comfort. He was a hopeless and hollow case.

"In my experience, I've always found that the more important things are always difficult to achieve." A hand slipped into his pocket, taking out a small silver coin. "It was why I gave up any trying and left it all to chance."

To chance. Those words sounded strange coming from Dante, who she had always known to be extremely willful and hardheaded on top of that. When he wanted something, he went after it. He never waited, never hesitated, and one was more likely to be worn down and give in to his demands than he was to be dissuaded once he'd made his mind up about something, so to hear something like this from that man gave her pause. It was surprising, confusing. He wasn't just saying this to have something to say. Of that much, she was certain, so why...? She dropped her eyes, looking between the coin and the man holding it. Just exactly where was he going with this and why --

"To chance?"

"Yes. Chance."

He could understand where that uncertainty in her voice came from but at least he had her with her thinking cap on. That's what he was trying to do. Without another moment's hesitation, he began to flip the coin in the air and catch it without a moment's hesitation. He didn't seem to be looking at his handy work, it was all so mechanical.

"Once in a while, you're forced to make a choice. Whatever the circumstances are, there's always going to be a few choices that you're going to have to make that are against your principles or your... heart." Because he couldn't find a better word. He shifted where he sat, catching the coin one last time and turning to look at her. "You might not want to do it, all odds might seem to be against you, but sometimes things have to be done. The worst that could happen is, you don't do it and you live the rest of your life regretting it. It's worth taking a chance, isn't it? A small period of discomfort in comparison to a life of regret?"

He flipped the coin in her direction making so that she could catch it. "When I don't want to make a decision myself, I leave it to chance. The good thing about is: chance is always fair."

Gloved hands left the plate of food at rest on Valeria's lap and the fork atop that and jumped with the uncanny speed one would expect of a combatant of her caliber to catch the silver coin. Nimble fingers closed about the piece, pressing it firmly against her clothed palm even as she drew it back and to her. Turning her hand over, she opened her palm and peered down at the coin at rest there, his words echoing in her ears even as she reached and lifted it with her pointer and thumb to take a better look at it. It was different from any coin she had ever seen, her eyes sharpening as she observed the details of the side facing her. Something bothered her, though. His words, they just didn't add up and he wasn't an idiot, not at this age, so what was she missing? She was missing something, right?

"Chance is fair, but leaving something you believe would affect your life so profoundly up to it hardly seems --" She paused, dark eyes widening as they fell upon the coin's other side. She turned it back again and again, but it remained the same. The faces were identical and she lifted her eyes sharply to look at the man, lips parting slightly. "This coin has two heads, Dante."

And it clicked. His words, their meaning as it was intended. Together with the coin, there was no mistaking it and Valeria couldn't help but stare at him, her mouth slightly agape. He was encouraging her. No matter which way she spun it, he was encouraging her. He was telling her not to give up on him and the realization struck a chord in her. Caused the corners of her mouth to tug upward into that very rare, very real smile so seldom seen save in the presence of Luki and Dante, her family as she had come to know them in Demeleier. She closed her fingers around the coin then. Gripped it firmly and inclined her her head just slightly forward. She understood.

It was plain on her face when the pieces clicked together in her mind and Dante was sure his deed was done. A devil of his caliber knew well enough what silky ribbons in an individuals mind to pull in order to get them running in the right direction. Considering his new position, the throne he occupied, and the title he carried over his head, a devil king like himself could offer warnings and precautions. It was the way's he had become accustomed to dealing with humans. Detached and yet so intrigued.

"I should get my breakfast." He muttered finally, seeing as she was concentrating on her own thoughts. It was the right time to leave. "I'll get you something to drink." Dante got up and began walking to the door.

"Hey Dante?"

He paused as he reached the door and turned his head, "Yes?"

She tilted her head slightly, pausing for a fraction of a second as she considers her words. "Nevermind. I'll tell you later."

Dante chuckled and passed across the threshold of the door.