Title: Christmas at the Order
Summary: Dante and Vergil have never celebrated Christmas before. Kat decides to change that.
A/N: Just a little fluffy Christmas fic in which Dante, Vergil and Kat are the super team and no one betrays or stabs anyone. Oh, and I 'borrowed' some names of classic DMC characters just for this story. If I were familiar with them, I'd actually use the characters and make them IC, but I don't, so in this case it's only the names that are similar, not the personalities.

'Hey, Vergil.'

Dante entered the room, finding his brother in the corner of it doing something behind the computer. Vergil didn't look up, but acknowledged Dante with a faint smile.

'Dante. Back from some demon hunting?'

'Yeah,' Dante shrugged off his coat and tossed it over the side of a chair. 'Sometimes I just need to blow off some steam.'

'I suppose I can understand that.' Vergil's word seemed absent and far away, he was way too caught up in his work to worry about small talk with his older brother.

Dante decided to leave his brother alone for now, and instead started noticing the slight changes in the environment of the Order. There was something different about it.

Ornaments of several colors were neatly placed over the otherwise dull, grey walls and there was a peculiar scent in the air. The decorations were modest enough to not be overbearing, but still… if he didn't know any better, he'd consider this someone's home.

Dante eyed the room for a second and turned around. Vergil was still extremely invested in whatever was happening on his computer, so instead of bothering him again, Dante decided to walk off in search of Kat.

'Trish.'

Dante's voice made the young blonde stop in her tracks.

'Have you seen Kat around?'

Trish spun on her heel, and Dante swore that a hint of a smile flickered across her face, but it was only barely noticeable because she instantly pulled a serious face again. 'I have, actually. I believe she's in the Research facility.'

Dante thanked her with a nod and a small smile, and watched her leave with a perky skip in her step. What is she so happy about? He wondered, but decided to let it go with a shrug. He was more concerned about finding Kat, anyway.

After Trish's tip, it wasn't too hard to find Kat. She was indeed in the Research facility, with another colleague from the Order. But instead of their usual routine of registering their findings on the demons, there was a completely different thing going on.

Her colleague, Nero, was a 20-something man with a love for computers (much like Vergil) and a passionate dedication for the protection of humans, was helping Kat stand steady on a ladder. While he was frantically informing her about the task, she was extending her arms while she attempted to apply a colorful string of light to an iron tube on the ceiling of the room.

Nero was obviously very concerned about the outcome of a clumsy looking Kat almost getting tangled in the lights so he constantly changed between holding the ladder and letting his hands hover behind Kat's back.

Dante alternated between looking at Kat ('I got this.' 'Don't be so concerned.' 'I know what I'm doing.') and Nero, and he'd be laughing about the sight if he wasn't so concerned about Kat as well, or the fact that Nero's hands got dangerously close to Kat's ass.

He was about to announce his presence in the room when the air was filled with a short shriek and before Dante knew it, Kat was tumbling to the ground and a panicked Nero attempted to break her fall by dropping down with her and letting her crash into his chest.

'Oof!'

'Oh!'

Kat was quick to scramble back on her feet, uttering apologetic words while her cheeks flushed a bright shade of red. 'I- I thought I had it- it can't be so difficult.'

Nero didn't seem annoyed. Instead he just smirked at her obvious displeasure with herself. 'I know you can do it, don't worry.'

'Are you alright?'

Nero nodded once, his brown hair bouncing up and down in the process. 'Absolutely. Don't worry about me.' He placed a reassuring hand on Kat's shoulder, which was Dante's cue to clear his throat and step into the room.

Nero instantly turned around and Kat met Dante's eyes in a hint of a second. Her cheeks, which returned to their original color, immediately turned tomato red again. 'Dante! Did you- did you see all that?'

'I did.' Dante told her with a grin. I think you're adorable. He opted not to tell her, in order to save her cheeks from exploding with embarrassment all together. 'What's all this?' He indicates the decorations in the room, inadvertently – or maybe not – putting himself in between her and Nero.

'Uh, Christmas decorations?' Nero offered him, trying his best to hide his annoyance with Dante's protective behavior.

'Christmas decorations.' Kat repeated. According to Dante, Kat's answer was far more appealing.

'Christmas. That's a human holiday, right? Um…' Dante's voice trailed off as his mind began to scour for memories of Christmas. 'People get together with their families, eat food, give each other presents?'

'Exactly. Didn't you,' Kat paused for a second, obviously deciding on whether or not the question was appropriate. She continued anyway. 'Didn't you ever celebrate Christmas?'

Dante shook his head once, suddenly feeling very aware of Nero's presence behind him. 'When I was at the orphanage, I heard some nurses talk about it. And after I ran away, I do remember one day where I'd look into some family's house and they'd give each other presents and just sit with each other. But I don't believe I ever celebrated it or anything. Hell, I don't even know what it's about.'

Kat fell silent, obviously unsure of what to say. Dante – once again – opened himself up to her again and she knew she wanted to tread carefully when that happened.

'This'll be your first official Christmas, then.' Nero decided to break the ice, and Kat couldn't help but roll her eyes a little. She's been friends with him for so long now, she knew exactly that he was the kind of person who couldn't really handle these kind of tense situations. 'Well, on behalf of the Order, I'd like to let you know that we're honored to be your first.'

'Nero…' Kat hushed him, but Dante laughed it off, turning around to Nero.

'Well, if it's that special, I'm curious to find out more about it.'

'It's not much of a big deal, really.' Kat tried, but Nero interrupted her.

'Not a big deal? This entire thing was her idea. Vergil was all against it, but she managed to talk him into it. She took care of all the decorations and the food tonight. And all because she wanted you to-' Nero stopped mid-sentence and earned himself a glare from Kat. 'Uh, I forgot, speaking of Vergil, I need to tell him something.' Nero excused himself awkwardly and marched out of the room.

But despite Nero's 'smooth' exit, his words did not go by unnoticed. Dante gave Kat a puzzled look. 'You wanted me to what?'

Kat's gaze fell down to her hands, to the ball of strings and to her feet which she nervously moved across the cement floor. 'I, uh… I know about the Christmas thing,' She started, 'Vergil told me. He never celebrated Christmas ever, either. And he never allowed me. But now that you're here, apparently things changed. It's not a big deal, but I just want you guys to experience Christmas just once. To me, Christmas is all about spending time with your loved ones. I don't have any family left, besides my friends, but they're all from here, from the Order. Especially Vergil, who has been so good to me. And then there's you…' She averts her eyes, feeling the urge to writhe under Dante's scrutinizing look.

Dante notices her discomfort and takes a few seconds to let her words sink in. Apparently, Kat did all of this just for him and Vergil? He doesn't feel like he did anything to deserve it. But she seems happy to do it, and he wants to make her happy, too. So he steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder – much like Nero a few minutes ago, though he likes to think to himself that she likes his touch a little more – and gives her an honest smile. 'Thank you, Kat.'

'You're… welcome.' Dante's words calmed her a little, but she can't help but continue feeling a bit uneasy, especially with him now being so close to her.

A moment passes.

'I should finish up.' Kat spoke up, breaking the silence between the two of them. She headed over to the ladder again, and Dante couldn't help but think about what just happened.

'Do you need help? You'll land softer when you land on me.'

Much to his surprise – and maybe hers – Kat let out a laugh. It was a short amount of 'ha's', but it instantly filled the air with comfort and Dante couldn't help but enjoy the melodic tune of her laugh in his ears.

'Well, you're a confident one.' She told him, while ascending the ladder again.

Without asking for her approval, Dante stepped behind Kat and prepared himself for another tumble down. He laughed. 'How long have you known me? I know it's only been a few days, but come on.'

She laughed again. 'That's a good one, actually.'

Dante smirked and held up his hands as Kat extended her body to reach the tube again. This might actually be a little fun. He thought to himself, and that thought was both about Kat's glee and the fact that she did something physically appealing in front of his very eyes.

A/N: Since it's Christmas tomorrow, I'll try to finish this up as soon as possible. This is actually going to turn out longer than I'd originally planned. Don't hit me for using the classic characters, please! I don't possibly know how to put the IC since I don't know them that well. If you have any tips on how to write the classic characters, hit me up. If you're too annoyed by how OOC they are, let me know that too and I'll try to replace them with others.