Nero wasn't one to brag about the things he accomplished. In fact, he didn't enjoy it. Even after saving Kyrie from the Order, he wouldn't tell people about his heroic deed and even get flustered by any and all praise. It seemed too selfish for his liking.
Today was an exception.
Everything started four weeks before, when Nero had asked Morrison if he had any extra cases lying around that Dante was too lazy to complete. He needed the extra money and a little fighting could help relax his nerves. Morrison was happy to have someone complete them. Nero was only slightly dazed by Morrison's sudden happy mood but he figured (sentence just kinda cuts off here)
Turns out it the most of the jobs were actually terrible. Half of them involved small, easy to kill demons that the customer was either too lazy or too much of a chicken, as Nero thought of them, to deal with them. The other half had no demons whatsoever. Guard jobs, babysitting and even a fake date for some wedding. That one was the worst for the person tried to kiss him. Though the screaming toddlers weren't any better.
It was worth it. Anything was. For her.
After three weeks of self-inflicted torment, Nero finally had the money he needed. He walked down the streets of Redgrave with his head held high. His Devil Bringer seems to glow brighter as his smile widened. He confidently walked up to retail jeweler and simply pointed to the ring he wanted.
He didn't need to look. He knew it was the one. He's known for years.
Exactly a week before Dante had appeared in Fortuna, Nero was walking Kyrie to the front of the Headquarters of the Order of the Sword so that she could meet with Credo. They spent the day making sandwiches for the children at the orphanage. Nero would admit it was nice, even though there was an annoying little girl constantly asking them when they were getting married. After all the children had their lunch, Nero took Kyrie to get her something to eat. She tended to focus on feeding everyone else than feeding herself. On the way there, Kyrie became fascinated by the sparkly jewelry in the display window. The ring had fairly simple gold band with two small diamonds. The diamonds are next to each other, connected by the band itself, completely the circle. Kyrie smiled and then continue walking. Nero wasn't dumb, he knew that was her way of telling him she wanted it. Kyrie never believed in asking for things since there always is someone who's in need. So, to find a gift for her, Nero would watch what made her eyes sparkle, that she would smile at or even just comment on how nice it looked. He didn't mind, it gave him an excuse to watch her. Their lunch was interrupted when Credo ran up to them smiling. It honestly a terrifying sight to Nero. He brought the news that Kyrie would be singing at the Mass next week. Nero couldn't help but smile when Kyrie became excited over it. She paid for her meal and left with Credo. After he finished eating, Nero headed back over to the jewelry store. However, all the assurance he had before, disappeared the second he walked into the store. It was replaced with doubt he could actually give it to her, they were too young to be engaged, and fear of Credo killing him. He decided then a necklace would be better. After Fortuna was destroyed, the jeweler had to sell all his pieces to rebuild his home. Nero cursed himself for not buying it earlier. Luckily, with the help of the internet, he was able to track the movement of the ring to this very shop in Redgrave City.
He quickly paid for the ring and ran out of the store. His plan was to go home, ask Kyrie if she would like to go out for dinner, and then he would propose. Simple and sweet, just how they liked it.
His plan was doomed the second the old man called his name.
"Hey kid! Nero, turn around!" He turned to see Dante with his arm around Lady. Nero figured they were probably on a date and just stopping him to say hello.
"Hey."
"Where are you running off to? A job?"
"Nothing like that." He couldn't help but blush at the thought of asking Kyrie to be his bride.
That's all Lady needed. "Wait a minute...are you going to propose?!"
Nero quickly shushed her, even though Kyrie was on the other side of town. Dante smiled widely at him, the Sparda family continued to grow.
"Looks like someone's becoming a man, good job kid."
"Thanks. Now I got to go." He really wanted to escape this conversation and get home before Kyrie who spent the entire day volunteering.
"Come on kid, at least tell us what you have planned."
Nero sighed and gave in. "Well, I'm going to take her to dinner then propose at desert." Nero couldn't help but smile at his plan.
"That's so lame kid!" Leave it to Dante to make him down himself and his ideas. As Dante laughed, Nero's insecurities began to bubble up. What if she didn't like it? What if she wanted more? Maybe he didn't pay attention as much as he thought.
It was only when Lady spoke did he stop beating himself up. "Oh like you could do better."
"As a matter of fact, I can."
"Oh really? I doubt that. Considering you proposed to a mop at 3 in the morning drunk."
"Ignoring the fact that you still haven't let that go, when I propose, I'm going to take you up to the top of the tallest building where I'm gonna have Trish set up a picnic and then when you say yes, I'll get a helicopter to fly us around the city!" He suddenly picked her up and spun around. He couldn't stop the blush from appearing in her face. Not because of the sudden contact, she had gotten used to it, or the thought of how the hell he was going to get money for a helicopter but because he said when not if.
Nero would never admit that he was impressed by Dante's idea. It might be the perfect proposal. He shook his head, it was the perfect proposal. For them. They loved loud and exciting, he and Kyrie enjoy sweet and simple. "That's nice and all, but I got it covered."
"Now kid…" Before Nero could react, Dante had put Lady down and had his arm around Nero's shoulder. "You got to trust your uncle Dante on this." Nero rolled his eyes at the statement. "This is very important, mainly to her and if you screw this up, Kyrie will hate you forever."
"I highly doubt—"
"Trust me, I know a lot about women." The silence confused Dante as he turned to his girlfriend and nephew. A few seconds went by before the two people near and dear to his heart began pointing and laughing at him.
"What?"
"Dante, I of all people know you have the worst luck with women." She cupped his face in her hands and smirked. If there was any moment in his life that he hated her, it was now.
"I'm pretty sure the whole world knows that Lady. Everyone is still trying to figure out how he got with you." Nero, his own flesh and blood, how could he?!
Unlike Dante, Lady laughed at Nero statement. "Well to be fair, I don't—"
"OKAY I GET IT!" The outburst only made the two laugh more. "AsI was saying before you both rudely interrupted me…" He turns to Lady with a smirk, his cockiness and confidence had returned. "Babe, we have to help Nero."
"You really don't have to do that."
"Too late, we are."
Nero sat annoyed on the couch inside Devil May Cry with his chin resting on his palm. Dante, Lady and newcomer Trish who was more than happy to help.
Too happy in Nero's opinion.
"No! No! Doves are way too cliché for them."
"That's your issue with it? Not that we could never afford that?"
"Oh love doesn't have a price."
"Who are you and what have you done with Trish?"
Trish brushes off her comment. It was true that this stuff wasn't usually her style. It did however peak her curiosity. As a demon, she didn't feel that many emotions. She craved to learn how to truly feel. It was the closest thing she had to being human. She blamed Dante and Lady for not being able to learn love right away. She enjoyed watching Nero and Kyrie interact,,they were much more about their feelings than some people.
She also wanted to see what a proposal looked like in person and she wasn't going to wait another 20 years for Dante and Lady to do it.
"I still say we rent out a bar for ourselves. Free booze to celebrate."
"And how exactly are we supposed to afford that?"
"Lady would you stop worrying about money for once?"
"I'm the only one who does!"
"Well I think—"
"ENOUGH!" The trio turned to the now angered Nero. "THIS IS MY PROPOSAL! I DECIDE HOW IT GOES!"
"Wow...kid we were just trying to help."
"I KNOW! I know...sorry, I'm just nervous…"
"Why? We all know she's going to say yes."
"It's not that...I just want it to be perfect…"
Dante smiled and gave his nephew a quick hug. "Sorry for stressing you out kid. You can keep your original plan."
"We'll just help you dress nice."
"TRISH!"
"What?"
"What's wrong with how I look?"
"No offense kid but you need a haircut."
"And a suit."
Nero looked himself over in the mirror. He had let his hair grow out, always putting off a trip to the barber in exchange for time with Kyrie or another demon trip. He also would have remembered to her a suit if he hadn't run into the crazy couple. Nero suddenly became frantic; how was he supposed to get this stuff done in…he glanced up in horror at the clock...in an hour?!
Dante immediately picked on it. "Relax kid. I'll get you the best suit I can find." Before Nero could question his particular choice of words, Dante was out the door. Lady rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and remarked as she followed him. "And I'll make sure he gets a nice one."
"Thank you Lady…" He turned to Trish who was covering her mouth as she laughed at her partners. "I guess I'll see you around Trish."
"Where are you going?"
"To the barber."
"Why? I can do it." Nero looked at her skeptical. In the time he's known Trish, she never mentioned anything remotely related to haircare. "Have you ever cut anyone's hair?"
"As I matter of fact. I have." Truth be told she had only cut her own hair but needed to practice in the event Dante went so into debt, her earnings could be compromised. "Come on, just call Kyrie to meet you at the restaurant and I'll have you done before she even gets there."
Nero sighed and gave in. He took out his phone and dialed Kyrie's number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kyrie."
"Oh hello Nero! How are you?" Kyrie was very happy to hear from her soon-to-be fiancé. Nero was glad to hear her voice as well. He needed some way to relax himself.
"I'm fine. Listen I was thinking...maybe we could go out to dinner tonight."
"Oh? What's the occasion?"
"N-No reason, I just wanted to do something nice..." Nero didn't know it then but Kyrie smiled at his comment. He always did such nice things for her, and she wasn't just thinking about him rescuing her from the Order.
"That sounds wonderful Nero. Are you coming home or am I meeting you there?"
"M-Meeting there. In an hour!"
"Perfect. I'll see you soon! I love you!"
Nero blushed as he remember Trish was right behind him snipping his hair, no doubt listening to the exchange. "I-I love you too." He whispered into the phone, trying to ignore both his red flushed face and Trish's smirked.
Forty-five minutes later, Trish completed her masterpiece. She turned Nero to face the mirror. "Well? What do you think?"
Nero had several thoughts in his head. The first being that she cut his hair was short. Very short. The second was that he couldn't tell if her smile mean 'If you say you hate it, you will crush all my hopes and dreams' or 'if you say you hate it, I will kill you.' He decided to go with the latter. The last thought he had was that it wasn't horrible.
"I think—"
"What the hell did you do the kid's head, Trish?" He really was getting tired of being interrupted.
"DANTE! SHUT UP! I think it looks great Trish."
"No it doesn't! He looks—AHHH! DAMMIT TRISH!" Dante absently rubbed his arm were she electrocuted him with the look of betrayal in his eyes.
"Oh you'll live."
"GUYS! The haircut is fine. I needed to update my look. Now can I have to the suit? I don't want to be late." Lady quickly handed him the suit and he ran into the bathroom. It was a very nice suit. A dark blue jacket and pants and a white shirt. He would have to thank them later, but first he had a girlfriend to get to.
After what felt like eternity to Nero, he finally was able to get to the restaurant. It wasn't too packed, much to his relief, and he quickly located Kyrie. She looked beautiful. She wore a strapless white dress with a brown belt around. She let her hair down with a single white rose pin on it. If they were back in Fortuna, she would have been arrested for even thinking of wearing an outfit like that. That only make him love it more.
"You look beautiful Kyrie."
She blushed at his compliment. "Thank you Nero, but I feel underdressed compared to you." Nero scratched the back of his head as he turned to hide his blush, he should have stuck with his original outfit.
His original outfit…with his keys…and wallet…and the ring.
Nero eyes widen to the size of cantaloupes. In his rush, he didn't even think of making sure the ring was in his pocket, much less his wallet for the dinner.
Nero wished Agnus had successfully killed him in that lab. Kyrie looked concerned and confused at his apparent distress, Nero scan the room for a bathroom. If he timed it right, he could be back before their appetizers would arrive. Kyrie knew his order by heart anyway.
As he was about to make his daring escape, he locked eyes with the very man that got him into this mess. Nero didn't knows if he wanted to growl or sigh.
Dante jokingly hide his face behind his menu which only earned him a facepalm from Lady who sat across from him and a death glare from Nero. Kyrie would have almost saw the couple if their waitress hadn't arrived. A new waitress, one that seemed to have just started work here and had a very familiar smirk.
Trish.
She slid him a piece of paper as she took down the couple's orders. Don't worry, we took care of everything.
Nero become the most stressed he has ever been, if that was even looked over at Dante's smug smiling face and smiled back. His eyes however said: 'Tomorrow, I'm killing you.'
The dinner went on quietly, aside from the one-sided light conversation on Kyrie's part. She was now very concerned. He had changed his look, his hair and was barely speaking. Was something happening with his job? He always did have the tendency to overwork himself.
When Trish, or in this case Tara, placed down their dessert, Dante gave the same signal he gave when they were about to attack a horde of demons.
It was showtime.
Kyrie's usual order of a slice of strawberry cake was replaced with the ring box Nero left in his coat pocket. She turned to "Tara" to question when, in her stead, a group of young men began dancing. Apparently the trio had decided upon a generic flash mob for the purposely. It was so…cliché.
Nero knew better.
So much so that he wasn't at all surprised when another group came in with giant flower covered bushes that spelt out: Kyrie, will you marry me?
Nero didn't want to see Kyrie's face. This was embarrassing, especially when Dante physically forced him onto one knee and put the ring box in his hand.
Kyrie was ecstatic. This was so unlike Nero and that in itself is exciting. She jumped out of her chair, embraced him and repeated the word yes over and over again.
Nero nearly dropped the ring box to catch her properly. It took him a few moments to process what just happened. Kyrie had said yes. They were engaged. He slipped the ring onto her finger with his shaking hands and embraced her for a kiss.
The trio make their way over to the newly engaged couple to give their congratulations. Lady paid for the meal when the two were distracted by Dante's very obviously drawn out speech.
"We should get drinks to celebrate!"
"That's very kind of you Dante, but Nero and I really need to get home." Nero mouth thank you to Kyrie, he was so lucky to have her.
The quiet streets of Redgrave were Nero's new drug. He held Kyrie's hand as they walked down the street, ready to pass out. However he needed to know something.
"Did you like it?"
"Of course I did Nero, it was spectacular." Nero looked at the ground, somewhat ashamed. He was now certain she would have hated his original idea.
Kyrie then suddenly stopped walked, she looked at him worried. Had she said something wrong? Nero looked at her, he knew how much she hated him keeping secrets. He promised he wouldn't after keeping the truth about his arm from her for so long. He explained his day, expecting her to be disappointed in him.
Instead, she laughed.
She laughed widely, what a story that was! She then embraced him, tears from the laughter in her eyes. "I should have known they would do something like this." She paused to wipe her tears away. "Oh Nero, I love your original idea more than what they did. You know why? Because it perfectly describes us. We always knew from the beginning we are in love. No need to complicate anything."
Nero surprised her with a kiss, he was the luckiest man on the world.
"But Nero?"
"Yes?"
"I'm planning the wedding."
