The Devil's Mask - Chapter 2/?
Title: The Devil's Mask - Chapter 2
Fandom: Devil May Cry X Hellboy
Pairing: Dante/Myers
Rating: T for now
Word Count: 2,373
Summary:The Devil's Mask... A ancient treasure from mythological origin. It was once said to belong to a mighty demon that was worshiped by a cult an unknown civilization. The mask is believed to grant its wearer the immense power of the demon god. Many have searched far and wide for it, but none have found it til now.
Chapter 2: Uh oh! Here come Trouble
“Dante!”
At the sound of his name, the blond turned around to face the red-haired teenager behind him. She stood with her hands on her hips giving Dante a disapproving look.
“What did I tell you about teasing customers?”
“Hey, Angie. When did you get in?”
“Don’t you ‘Angie’ me, Dante! I’m going to make you drink health drinks for two weeks.”
“Why am I the only one be punished?! What about her?” Dante pointed his thumb behind the counter between John and him. John could swear that he heard Echo mumble the word ‘snitch’ under her breath as she stood up from her hiding place. She glared at Dante while she gave him the finger. Dante stuck out his tongue in retaliation.
The redhead, known as Angie, merely rolled her eyes at their antics and turned her admonishing stare to Echo. “And boss, you shouldn’t be encouraging Dante like this!”
“Aw, Angie. We’re just having some harmless fun with Emmy’s friend here.” Drawled Echo, with a nonchalant wave of her hand.
“I’ve told you two of you time and time again not to mess with customers. As punishment for you, Echo, 3 weeks of health drinks and I’ll use Helena to convince you!”
“Hey, that’s no fair! Why do I get 3 weeks while he only gets two?”
“Because you tried to hide like a coward, instead of taking your punishment like a man.”
Echo climbed over the bar until she stood in between him and Dante.
“Dante, did you hear what Angie said? That I should take my punishment like a man! Like a MAN! Oh, my poor feminine sensitivities!” She said as she had pretended to faint into Dante’s arms. From the second eye roll that Angie gave the pair, John could guess that the pair were usually birds of a feather when it came to mischief and this situation was probably no different.
When the bell chimed again, in stepped an olive-skinned man with smooth dark curls that was around Angie’s age. He was followed by a chocolate skinned girl that wore a knit cap that had what looked like a rainbow Mohawk on top of it. If John had to guess he’d say that the girl was around 10 to 12 years of age. The girl walked with a spring in her step as she dragged the young man towards the bar.
The girl let go of the young man’s hand as launched herself at Echo. John was surprised at the cheerful shout of “Hey, Mama!” came out of her lips. Echo moved from Dante’s arms to hug the girl.
“The little hellion didn’t cause you any trouble, did she, Charlie?” She joked from over her daughter’s shoulder as she looked at the curly haired man.
“Nah. Helena been well-behaved the whole way from school.”
Helena nodded her head vigorously as she jumped up and down in her mother’s arms. Echo ruffled the Mohawk on her daughter’s hat before Helena gave Emma a hug and over ran to Angie then Dante to do the same.
“You heard Chuck, Mama! I’ve been good! You promised that I could have gingerbread cookies and eggnog if I was good.” Chirped the energetic preteen as twirled on the free bar seat on the other side of Dante.
Echo jumped over the counter with a grumble of complaint from Angie. John felt a tap on his back and turned to see curious hazel eyes looking back at him. Helena looked up at him, smiling, with a birdlike tilt of her head. John waved back at the girl, a confused smile made its way on his face.
“You must be Emmy’s friend John. The one who is lonely and hasn’t have a date in about six months.” Helena stated with a grin.
John’s jaw dropped in surprise as he stared at the girl who just stood there smiling like what she had said wasn’t straightforward and blunt. He glanced at Emma with a glare that screamed ‘I’m going to get you later’ then looked back at Helena.
“You should cheer up, Mister John. Here have some cookies I made in class.” The young girl had pulled out a see-through green plastic container filled with star-shaped cookies.
“Mmm. These are really good.” John said after taken a few nibbles of the tip of a star.
“Hey Hellion! What about me?” Dante pretended to whine with a pout to go with it and reached for one of John’s cookies. John moved the container as far as he could from the blond’s grasp as he could get.
“As if I would forget about you, Dante.” she commented, still with the innocent smile on her face. “You whine too much, so how could I forget?”
Unlike John who was yet again surprised by the things that came out of the child’s mouth, Dante just gave her a cocky but proud smile back. Helena pulled out two containers, one red and the other purple from her backpack. The red container with ginger-man shaped cookies went to Dante and the other which held cookies hearts she had given her mother.
John wasn’t sure if the small smirk and devious wink he thought he saw on Helena’s face was a figment of his imagination or not as he blinked. When he looked at her again, the cherubic smile remained on her lips.
At the moment that Dante and Echo had taken a bite of their cookies, Helena appeared to look all the part devious as her nickname implied.
They both spat out the cookies at the same time, matched looks of disgust on their faces. A chuckle slipped out of the little girl that stood next to John. The sound that escaped Helena caught the attention of those around her. She merely tilted her head again like a curious bird, eyes open and innocent.
“Too much candy gonna ride your soul.” she sang and ended with a sweet smile. Helena skipped her way around and disappeared behind the bar. She reappeared with a huge jar full of money that she placed onto the counter, her fingers tapped on the lid in a tune.
“What the fuck was that?” Echo spat out.
“Just some cookies that are made from flour, eggs... probably some vegetables and maybe a bit of vinegar.” Helena said sweetly as she held the now opened jar in front of her. “Now pay up, Mama. 5 dollars into the swear jar.”
“Hellion, I don’t know why I let you have that thing in the bar?” Echo pointed at the money-filled jar that was in her daughter’s grasp as she handed the five-dollar bill over. Helena put the five-dollar bill into the jar and looked back up with a smirk.
“Three reasons. Reason one, because I’m your spawn and you love me. Two, it curbs the influences of bad language. And three, it’s the closest thing you give me to an allowance.”
Angie chuckled before she gave the younger girl a high-five. Helena placed her jar back into its place under the counter, her quick feet moved to bring her back to her seat. John looked surprised as both girls raised their hands in his direction.
With a smile, he gave them both a high-five in return. Dante had given him a gentle playful shove on the shoulder. Charlie shook his hand while Echo watched from behind the counter, amused.
“Seem like you fit in here perfectly.” Emma grinned at him. “Welcome to the gang, John.”
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