Welp, just got finished drooling over DMC the anime, so I had to write a fic about it hahaha. Based on the anime and DMC1-2 only, I haven't played the other games and I wanted to keep it cannon(ish). Dante/(legal)Patty (who didn't see it coming, come on?) Enjoi!

Poker Face

Chapter One

Aces High

"Three of a kind." Dante spread his hand to show three queens. "Pay up."

"Dante, you always were bad at gambling..." Morrison sighed. "Royal Flush."

Dante's expression sobered as Morrison took all his chips. "Fuck. You're worse than Lady. One more hand."

Morrison chuckled. "Do you really want to deepen your debt? At this rate you'll never get out..."

"Come on, old man, deal the cards."

Morrison shook his head. "Sorry Dante. Got another client to meet with. You know, if you came with me to these things you might have a bit more say over which jobs come your way."

"Pass." Dante threw himself back on his couch and had the magazine over his face in seconds flat. "Just order me a pizza and call it even."

"Call what even? Bah! Why do I bother..." Morrison put on his hat and pulled on his coat. "Don't burn the place down."

"Whatever."

Dante debated whether or not he was inclined to get up to put some music on and decided he wasn't. He ignored the phone twice and was just dozing off when the door opened. He cursed himself for not locking it. "Piss off, we're closed," he announced, not removing the magazine from his face.

"You haven't changed at all, Dante."

He peeked out from behind the Playboy over his face and didn't recognize the person strait off. So he sat up and scratched his head. "Do I know you, Miss?"

The blond laughed warmly. "I should hope so. I may have grown up, but you haven't aged a day. And it shows." She nudged an empty pizza box and sighed. "I'm surprised you don't have personal housekeeping. Or are you still up to your eyeballs in debt so you can't afford it?"

The woman was attractive, that was for sure. Her hair was long and blond, and the business suit she was wearing accented a wonderful, curvacious figure. Those blue eyes had a ghost of familiarity about them, however. "You're not ringing a bell, hon, sorry."

She laughed again. "Come on, I'll treat you to a strawberry sundae."

"... … Patty?"

"Took you long enough!"

Dante smiled and stretched. "Well, well. You've gotten yourself all grown up now haven't you?"

"More than I can say for you."

"Nagging, as usual..."

"Come on, I said I'd buy you a sundae, or have you grown out of them?"

"Not a chance." Dante rose and grabbed his coat and guitar case.

At Freddi's Restaurant, the waitresses had changed since Patty had last been in town, but the owner hadn't, and had the sundae ready almost before they sat down. "So what have you been up to?" she asked as they sat.

"What I'm always up to," Dante chuckled. "Saved the world a few times in the past eight years, yourself?"

"Business abroad. My mother took me out of the country after this place was trashed by Abigail. It's recovered nicely, by the way."

"Not like I had anything to do with it."

"Just saved it, right?"

"That was a long time ago."

Patty smiled. "I never asked. Why such a sweet tooth? All you eat is junk, is it all that demon-slaying that keeps you in shape?"

"Ah, Demons have this need for carbs, and lots of them," Dante replied through the spoon with a wink.

Patty wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"So is there a reason you've tracked me down? I don't suppose it's just a friendly 'hello' after eight years."

Patty lost her smile. "No. It's not just a hello."

"Didn't think so."

She glanced over her shoulder. "Dante … I'm in trouble." He leaned back, but had that attentive look in his eye, as if to say Go on... "I'm being followed."

"Not your average stalkers?"

"... No. It's pretty obvious that their from the Underworld."

"Any idea who they are?"

"No. And I don't know what they want. It's not the Tear either, I tried to get rid of it and they still follow me."

"So what, you need a bodyguard?"

"Well sort of, but you know it's more than that."

"Ah man, I have to figure this stuff out too?"

"That's what you're good at, right?"

"Goddammit..."

"What?"

"You know I have to charge you, right?"

"As if I could put a dent in your debt..."

"Well Patty, I work for money you know, not rainbows and farts."

Patty sighed. "I know... how much do you want?"

"Five thousand. And I'm being nice, you know..."

"Done."

Dante's eyebrows rose as she pulled out a very posh looking checkbook from a very posh looking purse. His cold blue eyes followed her hand as it wrote out a check for five thousand dollars and signed it, then ripped it out of the book to hand it to him. "Not married, I see."

Patty blinked. "Wha... What's it matter?"

"No ring. And if you're dropping this kind of cash, I'll bet your all sorts of out of league for any boyfriends that might come your way."

Patty blushed. "Well I haven't had time for that sort of thing! Mind your own business, Dante!"

"No can do. Gotta know everything about you for the past decade or so. Business, you see..."

She whapped him upside the head with her check book. "Pervert!"

"What? How does that make me a pervert! It's just an observation!"

"To be honest, I'm afraid to drag anyone into this..." Patty said sadly. "I feel like my mother..."

"How is she?"

"Dead."

"Ow."

"Yeah."

"How?"

"Cancer."

"Ow."

"Yeah."

"Tell me more about how you've been."

"Went to private school for a while, started my own business – "

"In what?"

"Antiques."

Dante laughed. "You're just asking for trouble!"

"Call me a masochist then," Patty said with a sad smile. "But the shops have nothing to do with my being followed. I've combed through each location for something – anything – that would provoke something like this. I haven't found anything like that."

"When did this start?" Dante asked.

"A few months ago. I can't really think of any correlation – "

"You turned eighteen."

Patty paused. "Yes, but what does my age have to do with –?"

"You are an official adult now. Did your mother have any of these... stalkers?"

"She died four years ago."

"Answer the question."

Patty thought. "If she did, she hid it well. I can't think of any time that she's had to deal with the Underworld since Abigail. But if they were following her before and are now following me, wouldn't it have started when she died?"

"Keep in mind that demons aren't all just bloodthirsty killers. Well, I can't think of more than a few exceptions, but hear me out. Legality plays a big part in this. Whoever is having you watched knows the mortal legal game. Your mother left you something, and they don't want you to have it."

"Your instinct is incredible," Patty said simply. "I never would have guessed. Wouldn't I have been contacted by now if my mother had something for me?"

"Not if the string-puller has anything to say about it..."

Patty was quiet. Dante rose to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I'm taking you back to where you're staying. I'm your bodyguard now, aren't I?"

Patty simply nodded and followed him out.

"Hey!" the owner called.

"Put it on my tab!" Dante called.

"Oh for the love of...!" Patty sighed. She paid his bill and huffed after him, shaking her head.

No, Dante hadn't changed at all...