A dim lamp across the room from the half-demon was the only other light in the room aside from the computer screen that he was currently staring at. Violet eyes had long since gone cross-sighted, but he refused to go back to sleep until he had figured out what he needed to figure out.
Dante sighed and leaned back, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and tilted the chair onto two legs. "Nothin'... not a damn thing on what I wanna know..." He was annoyed, far from placated, and he was beginning to get frustrated as Hell. "Probably just my imagination anyways... Verg ain't normally like that, so I probably AM just imaginin' it..." He muttered to himself, reaching forward to flick the monitor off. He needed his sleep anyway, if the line-up of missions for the next day was any indicator of how late they'd be out.
He could hear the bed shift above him, and he sighed again, standing up to head back up to his twin. He'd noticed a growing irritability with Vergil, especially since he'd struck up a friendship with a couple of the Turks from ShinRa, as well as a few of the SOLDIERs. He carefully avoided the trick stair that squealed loudly if stepped on after midnight, something he figured Vergil had done to try and trick him.
Once he was back in the room he shared with his brother, he stripped out of his sweats and lay back down, nuzzling into the pale neck. "Love you, Verg."
As soon as Dante slid into bed, a very naked and very heated body was atop him, Vergil moving onto Dante gracefully, one hard thrust from his pelvis into Dante's groin to assert the dominance he was feeling these days, accompanied by a bite to the throat--not hard, but enough to hold him in place for a moment--and then he slid back off again, point made. Or so he hoped.
"What were you doing, Dante, where were you? You know I wake up when you leave me..."
At 22, Vergil had come fully into young manhood, and he moved like a lithe panther, walking with pride but no swagger, a silken stride that was neither a strut nor a display, more of a stalk, every step predatory, his eyes glancing from side to side as he entered a room.
Vergil PROWLED.
And when they went on missions now, Vergil would literally sniff the air at times, feral, demonic, primal senses coming into play more and more--and he also increasingly encouraged it, actively. Whereas Dante rejected his demonic side almost by second nature, Vergil was yearning for his infernal side with even greater fervor. Now he slithered his warm body against his twin's, his lips finding and claiming his twin's, aggressively, no more the sweetness and tease of bygone nights, now only a power play, with love as the backdrop.
Dante was, as he saw it, HIS, body, soul, future and past, every inch and every thought and every desire and every need was owned, as only Vergil was capable of seeing it now.
"You know you belong by my side, Dante..."
"Was downstairs lookin' somethin' up for tomorrow." Dante barely even reacted to the bite or the hard thrust except to squirm a bit because any sort of movement like that got him hot and bothered easily. He couldn't push Vergil away when he felt his older twin making himself comfortable, nuzzling up to him, so he settled for wrapping his arms around him, pulling him closer as he returned the kiss.
He had barely heard what Vergil had said after the kiss, likely because he was so USED to hearing it. and he blipped over the tone of voice that the other used, not hearing the near-feral growl to it, the strong tone of ownership that was infused within it. "Yeah, I know Verg..." He nuzzled into the pale neck and rolled over, placing himself between Vergil's legs, pushing them a little further apart.
"Should be gettin' more sleep, got a long day tomorrow..." He murmured, leaning down and over Vergil, "But you got me all riled now... think you MEANT to do that, didn't you?" He felt something off with the entire thing, but he couldn't deny his needs, not if he wanted to be useful at all the next day. He was still shocked at being MADE to come home from the Seventh Heaven earlier in the night, and he was still trying to fathom just why there was, what seemed to him to be, a too-quick and rapid change coming over his brother.
Vergil slid closer to the edge of the bed, even with Dante basically mounting him already--and retrieved something from between the mattress and the box springs. The small vial of expensive scented oil was something he had been pleading--and now was demanding--that Dante use. "USE this, this time, look, I'll just apply it, since that seems to be too much--you think I like when you send all that up me dry, Dante?"
He writhed around so he could take hold of his brother's truly magnificent erection, already thudding with heat for him--just for him and no one else, as he liked to think of it. Vergil's strong hand slicked the oil over and down, pulling the foreskin tightly over as he applied the sweet scented oil, and the feel of that lovely weapon in his grasp began to have its effect on him as well. The veins were heavily cabled through it, and the sheer vitality of it, the potent thumping of its arousal sent shivers down his spine.
Gracefully his long legs went up and around his twin's back, high and wrapping around.
"Match me, Dante..."
"Pussy." Dante stated, smirking at Vergil as he let the other prepare him. "You can take me stabbing you through with one of Dad's blades...but can't take my cock dry? You ARE a pussy." He knew that Vergil HATED being called that, but really, he couldn't stop himself when he got started, simply because it was in his nature to annoy and pester his twin.
He slid into Vergil easily, eyes falling shut as he felt the tightness threatening to send him over the edge, a sharp gasp falling from his lips. "Feel so good, baby... love it, love you." He leaned his head down and nipped at the pale neck, one hand running up to tangle in the white locks of his twin.
"DAMN it Dante, don't call me a fucking PUSSY, you KNOW I hate that...and it's different, the blades are sharp, it's--just a DIFFERENT pain, a totally different sensation. You KNOW this."
He finally hissed this out, exasperated. But his anger was short lived, as the deep throb of his brother began to slide in and out, forcing out the soft moans, forcing him to come to grips with the love.
The DAMNABLE, weakening, crippling LOVE.
It was, as he understood now, his Achilles' heel, the deep and gaping chink in his armor. The love for Dante, which at this point was shared for no others save their parents. There was NO love in Vergil's heart for anyone else now but family, and even THAT love was tottering, never really ABLE to be slain, but the flame MUTED. Vergil had in his long nights of study come to the conclusion that it was a VICE to love, and that the attachment to another being was the last thing standing in his WAY. And he already knew he was going to have to BREAK this off.
Give up the sweetness of their affair, the perfect bliss of being Dante's lover and twin and pretty much the heaven of that.
Give it ALL up.
So that in the END, the very end, he could return and be powerful enough to protect his beloved--because at this point he was not, and he knew this.
In the name of their love, and FOR their love, he would have to destroy it first--and then like a phoenix, it would once again arise, in a world rid of all threats--and all humans.
Unaware of Vergil's thoughts, thankfully, Dante continued his careful and loving ministrations. One strong hand reached down and wrapped around the matching length, pumping him in time with each thrust, leaning down to catch his twin's lips in a deep kiss. If he knew what his brother was planning, what his pretty little head had THOUGHT about... then he likely wouldn't have been doing this, would have been out the door because he needed to think, to get AWAY.
As it stood, at that moment, Dante was oblivious, and would remain so until it was too late, and he would suffer greatly from the harsh words, and even harsher actions of his brother.
"It's all for you, Dante, everything, all of it, keep that in mind. Always..."
It was cryptic, and Vergil was not likely to ever repeat it. But in the horrors to come--and Vergil knew just how terrible it would be for his brother--he could only hope that Dante could look back on this, and take some small measure of comfort. To protect both of them, Vergil was going to have to do this thing with the total concentration of his Will -- and he could not ALLOW paltry and weak hearted sentiment to SWAY him from the course.
For love, he would do this. For love, he would hate. And for love, he would KILL.
Letting the flush of pleasure rise up in cascading waves, Vergil wondered if this might be the last time he and Dante would make love for a long time--and he wanted to make it good, make it perfect, tightening around the thick shaft to seize it into absolute ecstasy. Riding up onto each thrust, bringing them both to a shattering, violent fulfillment.
Endless.
In the after time, lying in his favorite place, head nestled in the crook of the mighty arm, sleep coming for him, Vergil plotted, and even now, even in what was one of the last happy moments with his beloved, he could not still his raging thoughts, the yearning to have this begin was already ripping at his mind.
Let it begin so that it might be over, and he could come home again, on bended knee--and take back what was forever his.
Reno was leaning back on the sofa in the apartment he was sharing with his partner. He and Rude had only been partners for maybe six months at this point in time, and he was drinking a beer after having come back from a mission he would rather forget all about. The pay was WONDERFUL, and living above the plate was something Reno had never imagined DOING, but there were days he just wished he could do something ELSE. "I swear on my LIFE, Rude, if Fair scratches up my bike in the parking lot ONE MORE TIME I am going to string him up by his fucking hair and shove that overgrown Bowie knife up his shithole." He couldn't help but chuckle when he remembered the three had been there TOGETHER.
"Emobutt had him so damn distracted he wasn't even watching the fucking car door, of course that might be because Strife was trying to eat his fucking FACE. That might also be why the General never lets him drive." Reno took a deep guzzle off the brew in his hand, then sighed, thinking of the event that had occurred just a couple of hours before. "I ain't EVER seen Vergil look like that before, Partner. . .when he came into the Heaven looking for Dante, I swear, it looked like he wanted to KILL someone." He snorted as he set the beer down on the coffee table without remembering to put a coaster down, something that drove Rude nuts usually, but oh well.
He'd had his eye on Dante for a while of course, not that he'd even THINK of touching him with Vergil there, the man would kill him in the blink of an eye, and he KNEW it. There was no even THINKING of chasing the half devil with his brother always on his ass. The look Vergil had shot Reno himself had given the teen CHILLS, and he'd just been TALKING to Dante, nothing more, hadn't even been touching him. "Did you see that shit, Rude? He woulda been GLAD to rip my throat out. I oughta try ta warn Dante what I'm seein', might tomorrow when we go out to the Heaven again after work."
Irritated at Reno's lack of concern for their furniture, Rude simply reached over and placed a coaster DOWN, with a sigh.
"You need to stay AWAY from the Sparda twins, Red. I mean, hanging out at the bar is one thing, but I don't think gettin' Dante alone and talking to him is a very smart move. You know--or maybe you DON'T--they--ahh--got a special --shall we say--sort of relationship. I really don't know for sure just how much you DO know, but let's just say, it's a LOT more than just a brother thing, Ren. If you GET my drift. And Dante's pretty laid back, but Vergil--no, you DON'T want him to think you are tryin' to get Dante alone. I'm tellin' you, it could get bad. And yeah, I have noticed the change in him. S'why I'm sayin', give them a WIDE berth as far as bein' alone with EITHER of them."
He really hoped Reno was going to listen to thim on this.
Vergil had gotten strange lately, in the last few months. He had been more open and friendly before, willing to sit with them and even have a drink, laughing with them and Dante, all of them together. The last time Rude had offered to buy Vergil a beer, the man had fixed him with an ice cold gaze, and answered that he didn't drink that shit anymore.
No thank you, just...yeah.
And Rude didn't WANT Reno to be on the business end of the fucking O Katana that Vergil now carried EVERYWHERE.
He cared about him too damned much for that.
"Rude, I'll be FINE, ok? You know Strife and Fair and the General hang out there too, and yeah, I knew they were skeevin' with each other, it really doesn't take much to see it." Reno chuckled, in an extraordinarily good mood considering how close to THAT time of the month it was. As a born fully functional hermaphrodite Rude had had to adjust to his many mood swings, and around the time of the monthly he was normally brittle and short tempered. Not so, at least for the time, though that could of course change at any moment.
He had at least gotten better about wrapping the pads firmly, after Rude had gotten BEYOND pissed off at him about it when they'd first moved in together. Reno was a self-proclaimed slob, and he had no shame at all about it, really. "But yeah, I know they're an item. . .but. . .Verg has gotten MEAN lately, REALLY mean. He used to be a decent guy to be around, but fuck, lately he makes people wanna slap him. . .hard." Another snort, and Reno lit up a cigarette, downing the rest of the beer in one gulp. He was too young to be drinking or smoking but being a Turk had its advantages.
He had no idea that in just a few short months he would no longer just be Rude's room mate, and that things would down the road buckle yet more. It was just one of those odd things that would happen with no one quite knowing why. He also did not know that the close friendships he'd come to so cherish would soon evaporate like mist on the wind when an order came down that would destroy their camaraderie forever.
"I KNOW he's gotten mean, that's why I'm saying, stay away from the guy. Look, Red, I overheard him at the bar the other night--he had backed some young punk into a corner and I sorta thought he was making a MOVE on him--but he wasn't. He had some pretty NASTY shit he was threatening this kid with, if he ever saw him talk to Dante AGAIN. He's losing it, and he's gonna have you in his line of fire if you get caught talking to his twin. I mean it, I got a bad feeling. Only the SOLDIERS go around with fucking swords ON them at all times, even on off times, and that's because they have to--and now Vergil is doin' that same shit. He has that sword--what the hell has he named it?--YAMATO--he has it ALL the time now. And he didn't used to. DANTE doesn't have his all the time, I think he packs his guns but you know what I'm gettin' at: Vergil has some kind of big man thing goin' on in his head--and I think he's getting DANGEROUS."
Rude went so far as to place a hand on Reno's arm.
"Leave those boys ALONE, Ren. We can live without them. Somethin' bad is gonna happen the way Vergil is going, and I don't want YOU in the middle of it."
"I ain't afraid of him, Rude. I ain't. I ain't never gonna be afraida the bastard. Dante needs to KNOW what he's getting into though, he just does." Of course Reno had no idea that he was going to EAT those words in just one night, when he came crawling to Rude because he wouldn't be ABLE to walk. His brave insistence on helping out a friend would cost him a lot of pain, more than he was used to dealing with. "'Sides, Dante's my friend, I protect my friends, ya know? He helped me out when I had no one lookin' out for my back, an' I owe it to him to do the same."
Yes, that want, that desire, pulsed hot and heavy through his veins every time he looked at the younger of the twins, but that had nothing to do with the wish to keep him from getting hurt. That came straight from Reno's concern for Dante as a friend. He CARED about the half-devil, the way he cared about Cloud and Zack, the way he did about Rude, and he'd do the same for any of them.
"I know you're worried, Rude, I know you are, but I'm gonna be ok. I'm just gonna let him know to watch his backside, nothing more. This whole thing stinks like a Junon summer, and really I don't know what else to do except give him the heads up."
Rude began to lose ALL his happy thoughts, and he struggled to stay patient. This boy was YOUNG, he didn't seem to GET it. And while he no doubt really was worried about Dante, and maybe with some pretty good reasons, Rude knew better than to believe that was the ONLY thing going on here.
"Look, never mind that shit, there's more to it, ain't there? You are hot for the guy, and I SEE it every time you two are together. Don't you think VERGIL sees it?! And besides, really Red, besides the obvious danger, don't you think this is probably a bad idea to imply to a man older than you--SIX years older-- that he NEEDS protecting? That he somehow is missing somethin' about his brother, his fucking lover? I know you been around, okay, but let me tell you, DANTE ain't gonna be nearly as TOUCHED as you seem to think. If anything, he'll likely be pissed you are implying something about Vergil. I fucking BET on that. This is a RELATIONSHIP, Reno, they are wonderful things, they are FRAGILE as a new snowfall and as fuckin' STRONG as iron, too. Might just be a one nighter that you want, to Vergil, he'll see you tryin' to take something DEAR to him away from him, tryin' to drive a wedge between them. I'll say it once more, BAD idea, really fucking BAD. Dante is a big boy, he doesn't NEED you to protect him--and he LIKELY ain't gonna be swooning over it--and fuck--"
Rude sat down, suddenly exhausted. "I don't know HOW far Vergil might go, if you make a mistake here. You are juggling DYNAMITE, Ren!"
"It ain't that Rude! It ain't! OK, let me put it to you THIS way. Say you were my friend, like Dante is mine. You saw me in situation where you KNEW the guy was no good, you just KNEW it, don't tell me you wouldn't wanna give me the heads up. I don't know if he doesn't GET it, or if he's just ignoring it, but a little word just ta keep an eye on his ass is NOT gonna hurt anything. " He shook his head. If Rude pushed his luck tonight Reno was just going to walk right out. He was beginning to slip into his normal pre-monthly piss poor mood, and that would not be helpful at all. "Listen, I KNOW you're lookin' out for me, ok? I understand that. I'm gonna be fine, though, trust me on that."
He knew Rude would likely recognize the mood change, and it signaled an utterly unreasonable mood. He was ALWAYS at the height of stubbornness during that time, and nothing anyone said would talk him out of what he'd decided to do once he'd chosen a course of action. It was his way, really, and everyone he knew knew it. "I promise I'll be fine, ok? I will be."
"Damn it , Reno, this isn't LIKE that! They are twins, and they are brothers, even if they weren't knocking boots! You don't GET to tell a man his BROTHER is no good, unless you want a fucking knuckle sandwich! And really, partner, how the hell can you just suddenly decide that Vergil is completely no good?! We've had the guy here as our FRIEND -- maybe he's goin' through something, YOU don't know, and I don't know. I thought they were BOTH our friends, and now I see you tryin' to get in between the two of them, because Vergil is actin' like a dick. And he IS--but-- this TROUBLES me. I didn't see you as a troublemaker, Ren."
Rude was losing his temper, and he took a breath.
"Look, used to be OUR friends, Vergil AND Dante, OUR friends, Reno. Now I hear this motherfucking "Dante is MY friend' shit. Talkin' DOWN about Vergil, like he's your fuckin' ENEMY. What the FUCK, partner? No Vergil at all now, no ME, either. Just you two, sailing off together, best buddies. If I feel this way, wonder how Vergil will feel?"
"Vergil is doin' shit he never used to do, and I think even YOU can see that." Yes, almost bullheadedly stubborn, and it was how he was. "He used to be a Hell of a lot more fucking friendly, and now I don't know WHAT'S up with him." Then, he realized the implication of what Rude had said, and his eyes narrowed. "Besides, since when do you OWN me, Rude? You never said a damn WORD about ANY of it, never said a damn word about a tie any deeper than the one we have. So before you get off gettin' pissed off, about something you took COMPLETELY out of context, by the way, ask yourself where the HELL you have a right bein' jealous of Dante when YOU never spoke the fuck up!"
That mouth turned down into an almost VICIOUS scowl, as he finally just shook his head and got up. "You know what? I'm goin' out for a bit before I get pissed off enough to say somethin' REALLY stupid outta bein' far too pissed off for my own good. So if you got somethin' ta say, you best say it now."
Rude blocked the doorway, with a very deliberate move, and stood there with arms crossed, a veritable human WALL.
"RENO. Don't INTERFERE. Look, I wasn't even gonna fucking SAY this, but they had a bad, bad fucking fight behind the bar a week ago. Vergil had that fucking SWORD to Dante's THROAT--and I watched, I was frigging WORRIED. Dante got him soothed, got him calmed down, and they were in each other's arms when it was over. It was all kisses and honey when I finally slipped back inside the door again. But it was bad. So, yes, they are having PROBLEMS. Very serious ones. And if you light a MATCH where there is an open flame--Red, just don't DO it! They are gonna blame YOU--or anybody--who gets in the MIDDLE of this! Let them work this OUT, they been together-together since FOURTEEN. They can HANDLE it."
He took a more gentle tone, and was almost pleading. "Ren, I got a BAD feeling. Please, just once, get over the crazy brave kidstuff and HEED me on this? PLEASE?"
Finally, a gentle nod, and Reno took a deep breath to calm himself down. Not that he intended to actually go along with it, of course. But he had this intense need for Rude to understand why he felt as he did. "I can't just stand by, Rude. . .I can't. The other kids stood by and WATCHED while Dad beat the Hell out of Mom, and out of me. I can't sit back and watch it. I just can't DO that." He shook his head. "I know you're going to say something about Dante being bigger and alla that jazz, but Vergil can STILL take him by surprise. There's no harm in warning him to watch his back, but if you want me to. . ."
He sighed and began to head up the stairs. "Long day tomorrow, 'bou. We should get some rest and get ready for it, I guess." He was in reality just not wanting to discuss the issue anymore if he could avoid doing so. He stepped into his own room, getting into his night things and climbing into the bed.
Rude finally allowed himself to BREATHE again, and watched Reno head for his room.
This wasn't OVER, and he knew that. Rude Urar was not a stupid man. But he did make himself believe that Reno was at least going to let this go for NOW--and hopefully, maybe the twins would get their SHIT together--and then Reno wouldn't have the DESIRE to fucking meddle at ALL.
He didn't know WHAT the hell was wrong with Vergil, but whatever it was, it was NOT anything he wanted Reno within a MILE of.
TBC