Disclaimer: Don't own Huntik: Secrets and Seekers, nor any of it's characters.

Rating: T

As the summary said, basically a follow-up to my Huntik Book. Enjoy

Venice, Italy

Casterwill Townhouse

Hmm, looks like he might be fashionably late.

Zhalia let out a breath, already thinking in her mind how he'd appear, apologize, and then- mmh, a lot of things could happen after that. Adjusting against the chair, she waited in the soft desk light, fixated on her book – he wouldn't let her down.

Minutes passed...

Outside on the balcony, a glow began to appear - she quickly noticed the energy looked familiar, before a figure stepped out of it.

Dante slowly stepped up to the window, gently tapping the glass three times.

Letting out a slight 'Heh', Zhalia put her book down and got up, opening the sliding door. "On time?" she asked lightly, crossing her arms. "You could shake things up every now and then."

He hummed, stepping inside as she closed the sliding door behind him. "Well there's no doubt I could, but I'd hate to keep you waiting" Dante answered, entirely soft.

"A good answer" she snarked, slowly walking back with a small lip curve, returning to her chair. "Why am I not surprised?"

He chuckled, sitting down in another chair at the same time – in the process, he let out a breath. "I'm fine" he answered, holding up a hand after she'd noticed + raised an eyebrow. "That spell I used; it takes a lot out of you."

"I thought you said it was safe?"

"Yeah, but similar to Nexual, the energy drain is costly - and not only does it drain the users, it needs precision thoughts from the target, ie me, I'll tell you that much."

Hmm; Zhalia adjusted a bit, remembering their prior conversation. "For a first attempt outside of testing, it went well" she whispered, a little gentle. "For a moment though, I might've thought that was Umbra, with the colors that appeared."

Dante didn't answer, merely glanced downward, but his little smile said it all - it made her smile a bit, but mostly she just sat there, enjoying the moment for a few seconds. After an appropriate amount of time, she plucked a brownie off the small tray, tossing it to him... Dante caught it easily, but soon had a raised eyebrow, much the same way she'd done.

"The kids kinda went a little overboard today" she said, slightly playful. "We had leftovers."

A small hum, then Dante gave her a side-smile. "They're hardly kids anymore" he pointed out, playing along.

"So?"

They shared a little laugh, after which Dante started nibbling on his brownie - Zhalia settled against her chair, content simply to watch him in general, both enjoying this comfortable silence. It might sound boring as you'd expect, but it wasn't so bad in practice, even as she got herself used to them. Minutes went by while Dante finished up, and she- well, she made sure not to start thinking too much; it wouldn't do to get flustered over anything that might not even happen.

"Well" Dante breathed, pretty light. "I have to say I'm a little nervous."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Zhalia looked straight at him. "You?" she asked, tone saying it all.

"Yeah" he continued, shrugging a bit. "I mean, I don't think I've ever been invited into a woman's bedroom before."

"'Invited'?"

"Okay, 'walked in on', yet still" he admitted, looking at her evenly-

-probably to gauge her reaction.

Zhalia let out a breath again – outwardly, she looked fine, but her heart's beating faster at his mere mention of bedroom. She's certain Dante could tell this somehow, and is gradually-yet-gently coaxing her the way he always did.

"It's uh, a bedroom second" she admitted, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "More of a study first."

"I kind-of figured that part" he whispered, much softer.

"...I know" she whispered back, a little of the same before she slowly rose - Dante watched the entire time as she stepped closer, right to the side of his chair, while 'trying' for an arms-crossed look.

A little smile: "I was wondering when you might start with this" he teased.

Tentatively, Zhalia balanced upon the arm of his chair, one hand upon the upper woodwork of the back. "Let's call it my reaction to your overdoing 'on time'" she breathed, a little sly.

A hum to go with the smile, then Dante slowly leaned up, just a bit - his hand moved faster, touching her cheek gently. Despite being used to this, it didn't stop her heart from beating faster, but there's something comforting about the feeling. He waited even as she moved closer, before Zhalia closed the distance, sending small rushes of warmth through her body. Well, that wasn't the only response; the little things Dante did with her chin were good too, fingers brushing over there. She found it wasn't unlike when he'd lifted her chin with a finger, back in the Spirit World... still, she didn't linger, pulling back after five seconds.

After what seemed to be a micro-second of confusion, Dante knew instantly that she's teasing him.

"A little shy tonight, are we?" he asked, smile saying it all.

Her only answer to shrug innocently. "Sometimes I start off small, work my way up" Zhalia answered, mild. "Can't say the same for you."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "That's actually my entire operating method for you" he mused, but smirking.

"Isn't."

"Is."

Zhalia could barely keep from smiling big, even laughing, but refused to give in. "Isn't, Dante" she teased back.

Dante actually had a moment where he 'twitched', from suppressed laughter, but only a moment. "Alright, have it your way, Zhalia" he said mildly, arms crossed, eyes closed.

She had to cover her mouth briefly, but kept a little smirk.

"Keep that up though, and you might make it sound like I do big things regularly" Dante answered, humming. "Such as trying to get you into my lap, for instance."

Zhalia hitched, nearly wobbling off the chair's arm before she steadied, and heart pounding... it took a few seconds, a hand briefly over her heart, but she looked at Dante again (who remained unfazed). "And then of course, you say something like that" she spoke, more uneasy, "Something you know is gonna make my heart race."

Dante cracked an eye open, smile soft.

She sighed, but playfully exasperated. "And also on purpose, as a way to get me to loosen up" she continued, more soft.

"Would you prefer the alternative?" he asked gently.

She didn't answer, but had a good idea...

"Honestly Zhalia, if it isn't with words, it's classically cliché 'incidents' that tend to occur during situations" he whispered, looking straight at her. "Sure, I could get you to gradually open up, but then we'd get so caught up in talking, perhaps kissing, that we might fall out of this chair... with one of us on top of the other."

Her cheeks were hot. "You're making that up" Zhalia retorted faintly, having to keep herself from mumbling, "There's no way either of us would be 'that' into things."

Dante looked at her evenly.

"Well, this early anyway."

"You never know" he answered, still gentle. "Still, you're right; I wouldn't allow something like that to happen."

"Because I'm not comfortable enough?" she asked, lip curving. "That I wouldn't be able to handle such situations?"

"Did I say that?" Dante asked, before shaking his head. "No, I didn't; you can handle a lot of things, Zhalia. I simply want to make sure you take your time."

A moment, before she moved closer... slowly, she brushed her hand over his bangs.

"You have, Dante" Zhalia breathed, soft. "You're always making sure that we move at my pace."

His smile basically warmed her heart, no matter her instinctive reactions to that – she continued to brush that hand over his hair, before leaning all the way down again. Dante met her lips head-on, not even having to hear her say that she's grateful; this kiss was saying all that, among other things. One hand touched her shoulder + neck, teasing the tips of her hair- of course he was doing that, as usual. She mostly let him, focusing on the kiss itself, but feeling herself starting to heat up (in the good way), if low-key.

…

"Things are going well for the team?"

Zhalia paused a moment, adjusting Dante's trenchcoat, which lay draped over her shoulders. "Of course they are, Dante" she whispered, very near his lap. "Haven't our mission reports said that?"

"That's not what I meant" Dante answered, mild.

"I know" she continued, glancing up. "Sophie misses Lok of course, but she's glad to see him and Cathy working with their father again via their occasional chats, along with Sandra's happiness – Cathy's also healing, though she gets moments even now, but being home is no small comfort. Den is pushing himself, trying to get acclimated to his new confidence booster, and I think still working on Medusa. Cherit is well, Cherit, except a ton more excitable... but that's understandable, given we found his home and everything, so we only see him half the time for now."

"Of course, Zhalia."

She glanced back down. "You guessed all that easily" she stated, a little playful. "You're only making me say it to loosen me up more."

"Well I did guess, but it's still nice to hear" Dante whispered, close. "And that is a perk, which you knew the moment I asked, but you're still going along with."

She slowly brushed her fingers over his cheek. "And of course" Zhalia whispered back, "you figured I'd think like that, which is why you asked."

His smile got a little crooked, "I don't always think that far ahead, Zhalia" he breathed mildly. "Sometimes I just go with my gut, and hope for the best."

"I'm aware, but I was teasing" she breathed, slightly closer- he just kept smiling.

"Well then" Dante whispered, before leaning forward... but his kiss touched her neck.

Zhalia nearly gulped, heart beating faster – not his first time teasing there, but it still made her feel 'the rush', even as she looked at him. Dante met her gaze evenly, just as they remained how they were, her breathing a little heavier.

"When you do things like that" she breathed, shifting a bit. "How will I ever know if you're seriously hinting things?"

He seemed a bit surprised, before glancing to the side for a bit. "Well- I'm not sure yet, Zhalia" he admitted, moving a hand across her body, enticing her to move even closer. "I haven't thought that far ahead, knowing it's gonna take awhile before you're comfortable enough with the tease... let alone wanting to start getting serious."

"Being comfortable with it, and being able to handle it are two different things" she pointed out.

He looked at her a moment. "Fair enough" Dante breathed, a little more serious, "but Zhalia- does that mean you think you could handle a small step up? Want to do so? Or both?"

Despite her cheeks heating up, Zhalia recognized what he's doing. "How small are we talking about?"

He looked at her for a bit, then started to lean forward, she responding – the kiss lasted a second or two before he pulled back, slightly. "If it were purely up to me, the next step up in that affection, at least" Dante whispered, she moving in response... "At most, having us physically snuggle."

This time she really did gulp (somewhat) at the image of them laying side-by-side and/or 'on' each other... but her reaction wasn't purely on the idea; it's also that, just a little, the idea appealed to her.

Dante pulled back, eyes closed. "And right about now, I expect us to go back to talking about the team" he said, like nothing happened.

Yeah, their usual routine.

"Not quite, Dante."

His eyes opened, slightly surprised – her mouth twisted, testing how she is internally, even as he looked at her. Zhalia spent a few seconds doing this, before she looked back: "I'm not sure what's come over me" she added, slightly playful, yet mostly serious, "but apparently I don't need a breather right now."

An eyebrow raised, before Dante smiled. "Every now and then, you surprise me that way" he answered softly, watching as she rose from the chair. "I swear you get more and more comfortable every day."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Dante" she told him, mild again, before she slowly took off the trenchcoat from her shoulders (just holding it now). "Now... get on the bed."

He actually leaned back, blinking several times; quite the statement for him.

"You heard me" Zhalia added, even surprising herself, that she'd said that without any trouble; weird. "Get on, and lay down. It sounds crazy even to me, but nothing's changed."

Several seconds passed as he digested that... then Dante smirked, standing up. "Well I'll be, Zhalia" he said, completely mild as well, remaining in place for now, "You've gone from shy to confident in zero-to-sixty, and said that of all things, even if it's casual in context – have we switched personalities or something?"

"Get over there before I drag you."

He chuckled. "That I'd like to see."

They said nothing more as Dante walked over, by himself for the moment... she watched, but started to feel her sudden burst of confidence draining away. Zhalia briefly wondered if she'd gone crazy, having said everything she did, but obviously she's now committed to this – and not entirely opposed to the idea, despite her returning embarrassment. It wasn't as bad as she thought though, as while her heart-rate's up, it wasn't crazy out-of-control. That thought gave her a small degree of satisfaction, before she saw Dante finish up, now half-laying on her bed- he glanced in her direction.

Heh... yeah, her turn now, though she put his trenchcoat down first.

Her waning burst of confidence continued as she stood up, getting closer- recognizing this, Zhalia powered through before her nervousness could incapacitate her. Dante remained how he was, even as her last burst got her to lay down, arms free. He then slowly lowered himself until he was fully laying down, arms free too, just looking at her from a foot away. Zhalia felt all this from the moving bed contours, but for the most part, her gaze remained down, trying to calm herself.

When she finally looked up again, she saw Dante's look – a little soft, but mostly intent.

"What- what is it?"

He tilted his head slightly. "I'm trying to decide what level of surprising this is" he admitted, faint.

She didn't move. "So, despite you playing it off, you were affected" Zhalia whispered, very slightly teasing before it faded; his lip curved slightly. "Well uh... I'm surprised by what I said too. It wasn't really like me."

"I wonder about that."

Her heart started beating faster, wondering what he's about to say.

Dante paused. "Above all else, Zhalia, you do what needs to be done" he breathed gently. "It's something I admire about you (her cheeks heated slightly), and maybe some part of that pushed yourself to make this step. Either because you wanted to, or possibly for your own sake, as you know your own struggle as well as I do."

Zhalia thought about that for a bit, before her hands slowly reached – Dante moved as her hands snaked up his arms, resting on his shoulders, after which he slowly returned the favor. Never looking away, she then moved her legs closer, Dante's jolting slightly as he got the idea. Then he started to move, slowly + gently pulling her forward, where she didn't resist... she almost-imperceptibly hitched upon contact, but that fell beneath the slow warmth, curling against him. In return, his hands moved around her back, moving in very small circles as the long seconds passed, that managing to ease her.

"Maybe" she whispered, slowly drawing herself even closer. "I guess I'll figure it out later – right now, I'm just getting the first time reactions out of my system."

"Well, keep the good ones around, Zhalia."

"Heh."

…

Zhalia just listened to her own breathing, focused on it to keep herself calm, and partly to enjoy this without restriction. Laying there, hands gently moved up and down her back, in a steady, regular pattern – she knew Dante was facing her back to do so.

"Zhalia?"

"Yes, Dante?"

A moment where he moved closer. "I think I might have an idea, for that 'want to be intimate' signal" he whispered, close enough that she felt it on her neck, making a sound. "Would you mind if I tested it?"

She turned her head slightly, but her lip curved. "Do what you have to do" Zhalia repeated to him, slightly teasing before it faded. "Just don't linger."

"Mmh."

Several seconds passed, then Dante moved closer from behind... she could tell he's inches away from her...

When his lips touched her neck, she restrained the urge to hitch, barely. However, his next action – light nibbling – made that restraint impossible to achieve; luckily he's as good as his word.

"There" he breathed, focusing on the back motions now. "That should be a signal, for both of us if you'd like."

Zhalia needed a few seconds, panting slightly, but she slowly turned onto her back (his hands moved out from underneath) – she could feel her cheeks heating up. After a few moments, it started to fade away though, especially when she turned onto her other side, facing Dante, who was intently curious about her reaction.

"If I were to give you that signal right now" she whispered, slowly breathing out. "How would you react?"

Dante looked at her a moment, before his gaze went to her hand, both of his slowly covering it- his mouth made little motions. "Well, I'd be surprised" he admitted, faint-but-gentle, "It'd be a fairly important step you're taking Zhalia, and though I might not mind, I'd want to make sure you're truly willing."

Her lip curved, fingers moving against his.

"If you wanted to do a single step up, something relatively small and go from there, I'd probably go with it myself" he continued, before his mouth twitched. "Anything bigger though-"

"-and you'd think I'd gone insane."

Dante slowly chuckled. "No, but I'd be worried about you" he breathed, gentle and a little relieved, "Wondering about that seems more of your thing, trying to rein yourself in."

"Heh" Zhalia breathed, resting her head more. "You're right about that."

He leaned toward her, very close, kissing her with all softness, which she managed to return as warmth went through her. This continued as Dante's hands touched her shoulders, Zhalia moving her own down his arms, both of them rubbing in place for certain spots. It seemed to go on for a full minute before they pulled away, close enough that they could feel each other's breath, while Dante of course didn't prolong this. Still, his grip on her shoulders continued, as did her little movements up/down his arms, breathing a little heavier...

"Before we sleep, should I get off the bed?" he whispered to her-

-"No" she breathed, not opening her eyes. "Just stay with me, Dante."

"You're sure?"

"Of course."

/

The next morning

Zhalia stirred, half-aware that she's awake, before that faded and she began to open her eyes. Something didn't feel right though, but what was it- wait, last night, she tried to remember...

Dante.

Slowly, she used her senses, and found he wasn't laying in bed with her.

While the thought of that + last night caused her heart to beat faster, she slowly lifted herself up, adjusting to the brighter lighting. The carefully-arranged covers on her other side briefly caught her attention before she swept the room, finding Dante seated in a chair, writing down in what saw was a Logosbook. He didn't look over as his lip curved: "Good morning."

She slowly went 'heh', sitting all the way up. "Isn't this the situation where I'm supposed to ask 'did we do it'?" Zhalia mused.

Dante gave her a look, but his lip remained curved like before. "I think it is, but you and I both know we didn't" he said mildly, "We didn't do anything near that level of things."

"Of course" she added, before chuckling quietly, seeing that while her heart's beating faster, she didn't feel at all embarrassed- maybe she's still waking up, yet she could use it. "But isn't it another cliche that when asked such a question, the guy doubts himself, trying to figure out if they did, and panicking a bit until the woman relieves his anxiety?"

He just smirked a bit. "Are you gonna list cliches all morning, Zhalia?" Dante asked playfully, making her start to shake, "Because while it's true, it's not in my nature to go through that whole spiel- it'd be downright uncharacteristic in fact."

Zhalia couldn't take it, but she's still holding a fist to her mouth, letting chuckles rack her frame- it didn't help when Dante's composure broke, laughing too.

"Uh, Zhalia?"

That stopped both of them, considering the question came from outside her door - "Den" Zhalia breathed, looking at it.

"Either I'm hearing things, or that's Dante laughing – is he there in your study with you?"

She slowly sighed, figuring this is a heck of a time - she could play it off, but Den would still be suspicious. Then when Dante inevitably reappeared and hung out with them, he'd get this smug expression when given the chance- perhaps not say anything to Sophie or Cherit, but he'd know.

So why not?

Getting off the bed, Zhalia slowly walked toward the door, opening it wide- Den was surprised, but quickly looked at her. "See for yourself" she said easily, arms crossed.

Just as he looked, Dante raised a hand, quite at ease. "Hey there, Den."

"Hey Dante" Den replied, then turned toward her with a raised eyebrow. "Knowing you, this isn't what it might look like, especially since you're not at all embarrassed" he continued, getting a little smile.

"Perfectly."

Dante hummed, stepping up beside them. "Yeah, especially since I only just arrived" he added, "I hate to impose, but-"

Den laughed. "If it's you, Dante, it's not imposing" he said mildly, "I would think you'd know that."

In answer, Zhalia pushed his shoulder, which got both him and Dante chuckling. "Definitely improving on the snark, Den" she said, approving but similarly amused. "Though your timing could use work."

"What about it?" he asked, a little confused.

"You're being nearby a minute ago."

"How is that Den's fault?" Dante asked, subtly teasing, "He didn't even know I was here."

"Yeah, Zhalia, how?" Den questioned, smirking

She chuckled. "Oh look, now I'm being double-teamed" she said a little airily, to which both guys started laughing. "Joy."

It lasted at least a few seconds, Dante recovering first: "Ah, how I've missed these little moments of ours" he said easily, before starting to move, taking his trenchcoat with him. "But before I get too caught up in things, I better get down to ground-level, and properly come in through the front door before anyone else comes around."

"Yeah, you'd better" Den answered, glancing down the hallway (both ways). "If Sophie found you in here, she might assume things."

Zhalia made a sound at the imagery, but shook her head; she could handle Sophie. "Will do, Den" Dante finished at the same time, outside the sliding door now before closing it- within moments, he'd jumped right off the balcony, but that's not an issue for an experienced Seeker.

She raised an eyebrow faintly, before she and Den shared a shrug.

"I should get back down there" he said easily, starting to turn. "Just don't take too long, Zhalia."

"Do I ever?"

Den was already walking away, but though he did his best to hide it, she saw the telltale curve of his facial muscles. "Nah."

Not too long after everything, but they're certainly adjusting back, particularly Zhalia :P

But as the pairings suggest, this isn't purely about Zhante, or Lophie - will involve them, sure, but not purely about the romance (despite this first chapter). The fic itself will consist of five chapters, each primarily from a different viewpoint with this one being from Zhalia's, and the others to involve others from the team. I will also say that, as of yet, I don't have an idea for a second Book (sorry) - in case I do in the future, a number of little hints I've planted in the previous book + this followup could be used.

That's not to say I'm not open to suggestions though ;)