This a sequel to Complications and Misconceptions, although it can stand on its own.

Guidance will be a series of one shots that revolves about the father-son relationship of Vergil and Nero. They are not going to be uploaded in chronological order.

Without further ado, on with the story. Hope you like it.

Vergil had no troubles with rain, in any case, he was fond of it and it was one of the things he truly enjoyed. Rain had a certain quality to it; he didn't know if it was the roar of thunder that occasionally accompanied it or the subtle soothing quality that irrevocably arrived when it started to pour. Perhaps it even reminded him of something that happened not so long ago; the glorious beginning of a carefully crafted plan that circumstances didn't allow to be completed. Yet, failure was not a word he relished, he thought of it as a mistake, one he swore he would never repeat.

At the time, the problem was Nero. He was too different from him, far too human for Vergil's liking. The little pest had decided that no matter how cold it was outside he wouldn't wear a jacket, and Vergil obliged. It would be Nero's problem. If he wanted to get sick so be it, he was not going to take care of him. Let it be a lesson for the kid for disobeying him.

Yet, he never expected rain or the occasional thunder. Those sounds acted as a lullaby and inevitably put Nero in a drowsy state that later became a tiredness that had him sleeping in one of the couches. And Vergil silently acknowledged that he would rather see the kid asleep that awake and bouncing around.

Vergil was beside the sleeping body of Nero, staring dully at the television screen waiting for the rain to quieten so they could leave when Dante awoke from his nap on his desk chair and walked over to the fridge to grab a beer.

The fridge's door opened with a clinking sound as bottles clashed with each other, followed by the high-pitched sound of aluminum snapping and the door closing harshly.

"The kid told you about his nightmares?" Dante asked out of the blue before taking a sip of his drink.

Vergil glanced at the sleeping child. "No." The kid could barely talk; he dragged words, spoke either too fast or nearly in a whisper. He confused words, tried to say something and end up naming something completely different. Hell, he even had to take a small pause to say his name correctly.

"Well," Dante started before taking a seat at the other end of the couch. "He's been dreaming about a so-called monster. He doesn't mess with his head yet, but appears far too often."

Vergil didn't have to ask. He knew exactly what it all was about.

Taking in consideration that Nero was only a partial Devil, Vergil even doubted that he would ever show signs of it. Still, Sparda's blood ran in his veins, even if it was just a fraction of it minimized by the human blood in his system.

Nero was a mistake. Vergil didn't deny it, but never say it out loud. It was a thought that pestered him deep down; every time he saw his son's face he saw his errors bluntly mocking him, a perfect example of what he had done wrong.

Yet, he wasn't going to deny him. He couldn't say that he loved Nero or felt a sense of affection towards the child; it was merely a primal instinct of protection for his spawn.

"Listen," Dante said before he could say anything. His tone drastically changed from the casual tone he showed before to a serious one. "Let him be a child. Let him believe that what he saw were just dreams; put a nightlight on his room and blame it on nightmares. Just…Let him be normal for a couple of years."

"He is my child. I do not care for your pathetic needs."

They both felt the atmosphere changing around them, this was no longer a casual conversation; it became a verbal battle that neither wanted to lose.

Dante signed and took a sip of his beer. "Kid doesn't have a mother, spends a lot of time in a questionable shop in one of the worst neighborhoods in the city, he doesn't have any friends other than us - for now-."

"Your point?" Vergil was not going to let Dante tell him what to do, if anything, he was the less suitable of the two to be taking decisions about Nero. Not that it truly mattered, anyways.

Dante leaned against the arm rest of the couch so he could face Vergil completely. "Kids are cruel, and he has enough to be set as an outcast. If you tell him what he is now, he's not going to keep it a secret. He's going to run around saying it to everyone. You are smart enough to figure out the rest."

It was past eleven when Vergil and Nero left Devil May cry. Dante had offered them to stay for the night and, even though Nero would have no objection if he had been awake at the time, Vergil refused the offering and opted to leave.

It wasn't a long walk from his home, and waking Nero to make him walk was a thought that didn't cross his mind, he merely carried the sleeping kid, fully knowing that he had woken up hallway there and then pretended to be asleep.

The kid didn't move until he was placed on top of his bed, where he worked his way around the cover and into the warmth of the blankets and pillows.

"Dad?" Nero called out, his voice coming out strangled and high pitched.

"Yes?" Vergil looked at his over his shoulder as he stood in the door frame.

"I think there's a monster in my room." Nero whispered in a hushed tone, almost as if afraid whatever monster was around would hear him revealing it.

"I recall telling you to stop eating sweets at night." Vergil replied after a pause before closing the door behind him.

Nero let out a shaky breath as he stared at the door and slowly but surely, everything around him started to look engulfed by darkness and, like every night, he placed the blankets over his head.

He wanted to call his father, tell him to stay with him for the night or at least until he feel asleep, to do anything that could make the thing that was bothering him go away.

Yet, he never heard that invisible call. Nero heard the door to Vergil's bedroom closing down the hallway and that was it.

Feeling suffocated and in need of air, he slowly poked his head from the blankets and gave the light seeping under the door a long stare before allowing his eyes to close.

Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and its characters belong to Capcom.