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Dante sighed as he went through his routine of walking Duke through the park. He felt like he'd fallen into a rut lately; he hadn't really gotten out much, hadn't heard from his sister in awhile, hadn't really done...anything aside from the usual song and dance. He was realizing that starting a new life was hard, especially when your only friend and companion was a dog. He loved Duke, the dog had been with him through thick and thin, but sometimes you just needed a human companion.

He'd met someone awhile back. Someone he liked, but when he finally got the nerve to call her about a month prior, he was told she had gone to Africa. Every now and then he'd think on that and find himself spiraling into a pit of sadness and self-doubt.

Suddenly, however, Duke perked up and took off at a full run, quickly exhausting the leash, which slipped out of his hand as the dog bounded through the park.

"Duke!"

He took off as fast as he could, trying to catch up to the wayward bulldog-mix but if Duke didn't want Dante to catch him...Dante wasn't going to catch him.

Duke followed the familiar scent of a woman he knew--a woman he liked, and stopped in front of her as Dante came walking up later, panting.

"Damn it, Duke! I--"

He looked up to see Zoe, and his face turned a light shade of pink. "Oh, uh....Hey Zoe..."

Dante chuckled at the other mutant's suggestion. "That isn't a bad idea, actually," he said before waving the bartender over and asking for a bag of ice. The bartender gave a smile and a nod, then quickly came back with a bag.

"Rough night, kid?"
"Heh, yeah. Let's just say I learned not every bar is as mutant friendly as you guys are," he replied, holding the ice to his face with one hand as the other brought his drink to his lips.
"Yeah, I understand that, but that's what you get for going somewhere else," the stout bartender joked before giving a grin and walking away to tend to other patrons.

Turning back to Ezra, he listened intently, then gave a nod. "Yeah, some people just like to provoke others. Hell, this isn't the first bruise I've sported for defending a mutant. Growing up, my baby sister was always a prime target for bullies who liked to pull her tail, or just mess with her. I got in so much trouble at school," he gave a slight, nostalgic chuckle. "But...given the chance, I'd gladly do it all over again. People can't help how they look, how they were born."

He paused, looking Ezra over. "Like I said, anytime." He gave a smile as he finished off his drink and set the empty bottle on the counter.

For the first time since they'd started playing, the pair found themselves with their backs against the wall. They were doing a decent job at holding off the boss--though its HP was still barely dented, they were still putting up quite the fight. That is until the dragon's tail appeared on the other side of the screen, effectively bypassing the meat-shield that was Dante's barbarian, and laying the wizard out in one fell swipe.

He noticed Kitra's frustration, and her subsequent grumpy expression, and he willed himself to keep fighting. Her buffs had worn off, and his health wasn't so great anymore, but he was still giving it all he had. At least for about thirty seconds, at which point he fell, bested by the dragon's bite, and the big, bloody "Game Over" took over the screen. He was disgruntled, though he knew the second she went down that he wouldn't be far behind; as much as slaying that dragon would have hopefully impressed her, old videogames were not that cooperative.

"Hey, we gave it a hell of a go," he said with a chuckle as he looked into her eyes. Then, without even thinking too much on it, the shorter mutant leaned in, very briefly and gently letting his lips meet hers in a soft kiss that lasted all of a few seconds.

Dante put his cigarette out and tossed it in the trash as he walked inside and took a breath of familiar air. His home turf, if one would venture to say.

He chuckled as his circumstantial drinking buddy ordered something with a little kick to it this time. That a boy; you've earned it. And then, Ezra was speaking to him, and he curled his fingers around his bottle and took a hearty swig before looking at him. "Yeah, the smoke back there kinda surprised me too," his voice dropped to a mumble as he added, "Never had it knocked outta me before..." A pink blush rose to his cheeks as he turned back to his beer.

"I can manipulate smoke, but I actually have to have breathed some in to be able to use it, hence the cigarette," he explained. "So what about you? What's your story?"

"That bad, huh?" he asked with a wince. Then again, if she was showing up at his doorstep of all people, she must have been having a rough time of it. He looked up at her, her arms still around his neck and his still around her waist as he gave a slight shrug.

"Though," he murmured as he continued looking up at her, "from your actions, I think it's safe to say you don't wanna talk about it?" He pulled her closer as he rested his head on her shoulder, just trying to process this whole crazy situation.

Dante stepped aside so she could come in, and she pushed the door closed. But it was silent and he was still mildly confused as to what the hell was going on here. She'd just randomly shown up, and something was obviously going on, but he had no idea what--

Aaand she was kissing him. Her arms were clearly around his neck as her lips pressed against his, and he let out a surprised gasp, but....he wasn't one to argue with things like this, so his arms wrapped around her waist as he returned the sudden affection. But he couldn't shake the thought that something was amiss here. So after a few moments he broke the kiss.

"Seriously....what's going on."

It had been a slow day at the office, so Dante had left work early, directing all calls to his cell phone in case he actually had an appointment to make or something. He'd gone home, since it was too early to go out drinking--at least by society's standards, anyway, so he did the next best thing. Sitting on the couch, shirtless, playing his acoustic guitar.

The soft music filled the room as Dante's eyes closed. He was in his zone, letting his fingers dance along the strings. But then...there was a knock on the door and he snapped to attention. His eyes flew open, and he walked to the door, setting the guitar up against the wall as he opened the door.

He blinked when he saw it was Zora? Zara? Zelda? Zoe. That was it, Zoe. That girl he never called back...and here she was at his door? He furrowed a brow, hoping she wasn't too mad at him.

"Hey, Zoe. What's up?" he asked casually. Yeah, that was perfect, he hoped.