it's on you now.

turns out, the blood hadn't fully dried to his skin. it passes along to the sides of his arms easily. no longer does the steam of hot water permeate with the pleasantness that comes with sandalwood and another scent he forgot the name of. he may as well have not washed at all, how quick the smell left. he's about to open his mouth and voice it, among something a little more revealing of his supposed indignation, but dante beats him to it. he'd been waiting for this, he's sure.

perhaps in another life , the elderly woman would have learned to embrace the teachings of which she preached. love thy neighbor , or whatever dictated the religious flock to care for another as their god did. given that he was none so fond of their beliefs and the majority of the hypocrites that preached the word of god , he saw fit to play the part of the devil they so hated. margaret was just one of many of his victims , to be quite honest. he shrugs , gently do his shoulders fall. ‘ good thing i'm only half demon. holy water , crosses , and all that mumbo - jumbo doesn't bother me. ‘ so often did he walk through cathedrals , stare at their messiah with a curious gaze , never was he burned alive while doing so.

gaze continues to follow the other , watching and observing as leon now lay himself beside dante. the sight and sounds of leon were vastly more comforting than that of his previous musings. all but forgotten with a kiss to his cheek , smile growing further. ‘ well , all depends on the jobs i get. but ... i think i can make it a few nights every now and again. how’s that sound ? ‘

" whatever it is,   "  it's wishful thinking to presume that their lack of enthusiasm — monotonous; indifferent; attention fully devoted to the book resting in their hand — will truly deter leon.  experience dictates the result is almost always the opposite, and anyway, the way his smug grin widens as vergil speaks isn't exactly discreet.  how very annoying.   "  i'm not interested. go and waste dante's time.   "

seems the only interaction the other had was with pleasant company : flesh eating creatures and the larger fella just around the hall. no demon sightings yet ? curiouser , he lingers at the door , closing it and stepping back in , forcing the other to push back. ‘ you mean you haven't seen anything else out there? ‘ the client said demons aplenty , but he’d yet to catch sight of a single one. they described a ritual , summoning of abyss - bound souls , hellbound sentinels … he’s yet to catch sight of something so fearsome as they described.

the demon realm , albeit only some what familiar , held no dominion here , based on dante’s instinct alone. ( but what did he know , only a year prior did he awaken to his powers fully , use them against his own flesh and blood. they could have been unreliable. ) he went simply based off of his employers' intel. ‘ nasty fuckers; things that go bump in the night. ‘ brow twitches , ‘ these guys aren’t much of a fight compared to the other things i've fought. ‘ one bullet to the head , rebellion jabbed in the skull and they were naught more than what they appeared to be : corpses .

he's considering : ‘ maybe i’m in the wrong spot. ‘ musing to himself before leon’s voice pulls him from his thoughts. a sigh , before the truth is revealed : ‘ demons … i was hired to kill demons. i don't see much though. maybe the guy confused zombies and demons , i guess. i dunno. ‘ either way , this is turning out to be a shit job. one of the worst.

" no—are you even listening to me? " his voice shifts a pitch, exasperated, but tony's question supports his growing suspicion. that there actually is something else out there, another thing to worry about, and it probably doesn't limp listlessly along the vacant hallways—or wear a trench coat.

which begs the question: what the hell has this guy fought? he looks about the same age as him, a year or two difference give or take. people their age have just started life; the way tony talks of fighting makes it sound an awful lot like he's been doing this for years, like some kind of seasoned veteran.

... demons, it turns out. tony's fought demons. right. of course. because that makes sense.

dialogue prompts from blue beetle (2023).

i've searched for _____ years, i don't want to wait another second.

even good news sounds like bad news when you deliver it.

it's good to know some things don't change.

i could have done something. i could have been here.

you always land on your feet. you're [name].

i was supposed to get all of us out of here.

we're invisible to people like _____.

i won't let you do this.

back away. i'm not afraid of you.

i think it's time to find a new job.

i appreciate the chivalry.

i can take care of myself, okay?

we're not all dicks.

give me your phone. let me give you my number.

i feel like i failed you.

this is just a stop in the journey. it's not the destination.

everyone has a purpose. you just haven't found yours.

you look like an asshole, just like everybody else.

you don't hear that?

no police. they work for _____.

i know who you are. what are you doing here?

it doesn't look that bad.

we're gonna figure it out. we always do.

to be honest, i didn't think this would work.

i'm not a killer.

you should've finished me when you had the chance.

please, just don't hurt my family.

you can call me whatever you want, i don't care.

your house is full of love. a family. that's a home.

i haven't talked about this in a very long time.

you're a good listener.

i'm gonna go for a walk.

it's not lost on me that your situation is a little out of the ordinary.

when we get hit, we only get stronger.

the universe has sent you a gift. you have to figure out what to do with it.

i know how you feel, but you have to be brave.

there will be a time to cry. this is not that time. now is the time to fight.

everything we've done was for this moment.

there's plenty you don't know about your _____.

you're sorry? what does that even mean?

sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.

my destiny was to be here with you in this moment.

this look really suits you.

you got this. you can do this.

where did you learn to shoot like that?

what a mess you have made.

use the pain you're feeling and turn it into power.

i thought i'd never see you again.

i told you i wasn't going anywhere.

i cannot protect you anymore. i'm sorry.

you are still a scared little _____.

do you remember everything i've done for you?

now we can cry.