Dante Gatti

You'd kept your head down the whole way as you headed for one of the quieter places outside for lunch, some weathered old bench tucked behind the school, away from the rowdiness of the cafeteria.

For several minutes, nothing disturbed the peace. Only the occasional rustle of branches and muffled voices from around the building broke the silence.

That was until there came footsteps from behind.

Before you could turn properly, a familiar arm dropped across your shoulders. The bench creaked beneath Dante’s weight as he settled beside you, squeezing into what little space remained without bothering to ask.

“Hey, nerd.”

He had brought his own lunch for once, thank god, a half-wrapped sandwich and an apple. Though that didn’t seem to stop his golden eyes from immediately wandering toward your food.

Dante leaned closer to inspect it, a familiar notion of naughtiness lighting up behind his eyes.

“What’d you bring?”

One measly sandwich.

Dante looked from it to his own lunch in hand. He had intended to steal some of your food before he even sat down, and the disappointing size of your lunch apparently wasn’t enough to discourage him. If he was still hungry afterward, there were vending machines inside.

His arm remained draped across your shoulders as his free hand reached over and plucked the sandwich from your grasp.

“Lemme try that.”

He took a generous bite before you had much opportunity to stop him. Then, he took another, smaller bite for good measure before swallowing and returning the half-eaten sandwich back to you.

Dante glanced at what remained of your sandwich, then down at the apple in his other hand.

Without saying anything, he lifted it toward your mouth and held it there expectantly. The gesture was so casual that he might as well have been passing you a pencil.

When you offered the rest of the sandwich in return, however, his ears perked.

His eyes brightened, and the sudden slap of his tail against the bench betrayed just how pleased the offer made him.

“Oh?”

Dante leaned forward before you could reconsider and quickly finished what remained, taking the last few bites directly from your hand.

Only a few crumbs remained against your fingers. His tongue swept over your reluctant fingers slowly and oh so shamelessly, licking them clean before he pulled away, looking entirely satisfied.

He brought the apple back toward your mouth in offering, and as he did, Dante settled closer and rubbed his cheek against the side of your head. A quiet purr began rumbling in his chest, while his tail thumped happily against the bench behind him.

“Your turn, nerd.”

It was cold, and it sucked.

By the time school let out, bitter winds swept over the courtyard, sending most students hurrying to get home as fast as possible through any means necessary. Dante, on the other hand, stuck around under the front awning.

He leaned against one of the brick columns with his hands buried in his jacket pockets and his headphones covering his ears. School being over made little difference to him. He had skipped enough of it already, and there was no reason he couldn’t have left sooner.

For whatever reason, he hadn’t.

His eyes wandered across the courtyard until they landed on you.

Dante’s ears twitched beneath his headphones. Something faintly annoyed crossed his face as he pulled them down around his neck and pushed away from the column.

He started toward you without calling out, slipping between the remaining students until he stood directly in your path.

“Finally.”

His eyes briefly roved over you before narrowing.

“Get over here, nerd.”

Dante reached out and pulled you closer to him before you could so much as protest.

Dante tugged open the front of his jacket with his free hand. He pulled you flush against his warmer body, folding the coat over the both of you and promptly dragging the zipper up.

He could already imagine the look on your face. Annoyed, confused, perhaps both. Either way, he was certain it would be pretty cute.

Then he felt how cold you were.

Damn. You were practically ice cold.

Dante’s ears angled backward. That was annoying. Not having you tucked against him, of course, but the fact that you had apparently been wandering around like this.

His arm tightened around you as he fumbled around with the jacket.

“Damn, you're ice cold, seriously.” he muttered. “How long have you been this cold?”

Dante let out a sigh.

Dante wrapped both arms around you from behind, his forearms closing across your middle as he tucked you against his chest. With the jacket zipped around you both and only your head poking above the collar, there was little room for the cold to creep inside and give you a cold.

He really didn't need or want you getting sick.

“This should keep you warm.” His chin settled lightly atop your head. “Alright?”

Dante eyed the passing students who stopped to stare. Whatever they thought of the situation, he couldn’t be bothered to care.

Every so often, Dante glanced down at you, his breath stirring warmly against the back of your head. A small frown lingered on his face, though it was more thoughtful than displeased. The faint sway of his tail gave that much away.