You Know Me Through The Years

The Client

The middle of July always came with a lull in business at Devil May Cry, which was sometimes a good thing as Dante could do a few repairs around the shop. Which sometimes required the help of one teenager that looked exactly like him. Said teenager was currently standing on top of a ladder trying to replace a litghbulb in the loft while Dante worked on the AC unit.

The dammed thing went out right in the middle of a heatwave. When Dante got to the roof he was not surprised to see a bunch of pigeons had nested in the intake of the unit itself. How they got in there was another story, but it had caused the motor to overheat and almost combust. The whole part needed to be replaced and he ordered said part days ago.

It was Saturday, so Dante voluntold his son to help him out as parents do. The teenager reluctantly decided that going with his father was better than staying at home with his mother and little sisters. Dante told him to change the light bulbs as soon as they walked in the door of Devil May Cry and the teenager was more than happy to do so. Cade could handle lightbulbs without an issue.

At some point Patty came by to see what the two were up to, but she was also on her lunch break. The girl had also brought over some things for Mara and Evie, as she tended to do. As soon as she was gone, Dante went right back to working on the AC.

Now he was trying to screw in the compressor. He was laying on his side as he worked to screw in the last bolt on the base of the part. The sun was beating down on him and he was pretty sure his shirt was soaked through with his own sweat. Like it or not, he was still half human and he could still work up a sweat in the middle of summer. A shower was going to be a relief once he finished this task. He was also pretty sure that wearing a black t-shirt was not helping either.

Dante was just finishing up when Cade came up to the roof. He wiped his hands on the shop towel that he had brought up there with him when he noticed his son. There was definitely something up when the devil hunter noticed the look on the teens face.

"What's up, kid?" Dante asked as he threw the rag towards the toolbox sitting near the AC unit.

"I finished with the lightbulbs."

"And?" Dante asked. "You want a prize for that? It doesn't take a genius to screw in a few lightbulbs." The teenagers shoulders sagged at his father's words. "At least you can light up a room." Dante could not help but to smirk at his version of a dad joke.

"Ha ha." Sarcasm dripped from Cade's mouth as he deadpanned. "You come up with that yourself?"

"Actually, that's your mom's joke." Dante said as he picked up the toolbox. "Anyway, you didn't come all the way up here to tell me you changed the lightbulbs, so what's up?"

"So, if you had a client does that mean I can sneak over to Nate's?" The teen asked as Dante walked up to him and threw an arm over his shoulders. Cade instantly recoiled as he realized his father was soaked with sweat. "Ugh...get off." He tried to push Dante off of him, but the older man just laughed and ruffled his hair. Cade still had a couple inches left before he'd be as tall as Dante, but he was getting there.

"Sure." He handed the toolbox to Cade. "Who is the client?"

"Some lady." Cade said as his father moved to go down the ladder from the roof. "She sounds like she's British or something. I told her you were here."

"Can you stall her while I clean up?" Dante said coming to land on the fire escape platform next to the building. He lifted his arm and sniffed. "I might scare her off." He knew he smelt worse before. Cade landed next to him getting a whiff of the odor and waved his hand infront of his nose.

"How does Mom put up with you?" Cade said before walking through the door into the shop.

"I ask myself that all the time and I never seem to get a real answer other than it's my natural charm and wit." Dante saw his son slap a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Anyway, just go stall the lady. Offer her something to drink or whatever. You know what to do." Dante said moving towards the bathroom.