𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘

𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐗 ━ 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡

chapter twenty nine
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After letting (Y/N) hug him for as long as she needed, Dante felt strangely disappointed when she finally pulled away. He coughed awkwardly as she hastily pulled away to rub her face of any tears or snot that might have run down her face, something he couldn't help but find slightly endearing. After all, he knew how hard it was to let himself cry in front of another person, so he wondered if it was as difficult for (Y/N), too.

"Come on in," she sighed as she gestured for him to walk inside with her.

Dante walked with her into her apartment, closing the door behind him as he glanced around the space. It was just as nice as the rest of the building that he saw, however with a more familial touch to it.

"Nice place," he hummed.

"Thanks," she mumbled. "Come on, my room is upstairs."

Dante's eyes widened at that.

Her... room?

Though he felt a bit flustered at the idea of going into a girl's room for the first time, especially the room of the girl he liked, he knew he would just be making the situation more awkward if he started to make excuses about not going. So, hesitantly so, he followed her up the stairs towards her room, his breathing growing just a tad bit shallower than he was comfortable with. Feeling his palms start to sweat, he rubbed them off on the sides of his pants to calm himself down, shaking his head rapidly to dispel any and all indecent thoughts.

It's fine...

It'll be fine...

You're here to support (Y/N).

Stop being such a dude, dude... so freakin' uncool of me, jeez...

Finally, they reached the landing to (Y/N)'s room, and when she opened the door, Dante's eyes flicked around the space to take everything in. Her room was cute, and decorated definitely in her kind of style. It also smelled nice, like she had used something straight from Bed, Baths, and Bodywork's. He awkwardly stood in the middle of the space as she closed the door before then sitting on her bed, unsure of what to do before finally making the decision to sit next to her.

They were friends, after all.

So, he assumed it wouldn't be too weird.

At least, that's what he hoped.

Thankfully, (Y/N) didn't seem to mind, staying silent as she stared down at her hands that she was mindlessly fiddling with, her eyes glazed over to show that she was lost in thought. Dante didn't say anything for a moment, instead allowing for a comfortable type of silence to descend between them. He decided that until she was ready to speak, he would stay quiet, opting to instead just sit by her to show that he was still with her.

"You know..." (Y/N) started, her voice so soft he almost didn't catch it. "...my mom was the kindest person you could've ever known."

"Really?" He murmured.

"Mmhm," she nodded, a dry laugh escaping her lips. "She was almost too kind, sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

"She was a saint to a T, and you could never catch her saying anything bad about anyone," she continued, tilting her head slightly whilst her eyes lidded, her mind recalling several specific memories in particular. "It was to the point where people walked all over her. I'd see that whenever she'd come home from work. She put a smile on her face, but... you could tell—tell she was hurting. I always wondered why she did it, and then..." Trailing off, swallowing, her brows slightly furrowing, she continued, "Then she told me that once you stopped smiling, you've truly lost. After all, a smile is worth a thousand words."

Dante listened.

The more he heard (Y/N), the more he could tell that she needed this.

Desperately, she did.

In fact, he was sure that all she really wanted in that moment was what he was doing: someone to listen to her speak about her mother. It was a proper way of grieving—a healthier way, in hindsight. It would allow for (Y/N) to finally release any pent up feelings she might've been tempering just for the sake of not breaking down crying.

"Your mother..." he started after a few beats, his smile soft. "...she sounds like she was a wonderful person. Smart, too. Resilient, at best."

"Yeah..." (Y/N) sniffled, tears falling down her cheeks again even as she smiled. "She was..."

Dante gazed at her from the corner of his eye, finding her to be so beautiful in that moment, even if he knew she believed she was at her lowest point. He could see that the pain from losing her mother, her main support, cut through her deeply—so deep it seemed that the wound would never heal; would never close up and be sealed. Slowly, he reached his hand out and gently guided her head down to his shoulder so she could continue to cry once more, wrapping his other arm around her shoulder in a somewhat clunky embrace.

Yet, she didn't pull away.

The only thing she did was seem to sink further into his comforting hold.

Dante let out a silent sigh.

Yeah.

I was right to visit her.

Threading his fingers through her hair in a soothing manner, able to feel each rise and fall of (Y/N)'s chest since she was pressed against him, he could sense that she was finally done crying. He hoped that this would be the last time she cried for the day, as he was really starting to dislike how much it physically pained him seeing her so upset. If anything, he wished he could do more than just hold her, that like Superman he could fix all of her problems, but even he knew that was wishful thinking.

"(Y/N)..." he started again softly.

"Yeah?" She mumbled.

"Thank you for telling me about your mom," he stated in a light tone despite the somber mood, his hand retracting from her hair when she pulled away slightly to stare into his eyes. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to meet her. But... I am thankful that her being here allowed me to meet you. Truly, I am." He then sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, continuing, "And... sorry if that sounded so corny. To be honest, it sounded a lot better in my head."

"No," (Y/N) chuckled, shaking her head. "It was sweet. Thank you."

"Yeah... no problem."

The two continued to stare at each other, unconsciously inching closer together until only a fraction of space between them remained. So, when Dante's gaze momentarily dipped to her lips, she didn't hesitate to lean forward and kiss him.

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To be continued...