Hi everyone !
I'm Brokentimespace, a French writer. And this is actually my first English-only fanfic ^^.
I'm not used to write in English so that fanfic will most certainly contain an insane amount of mistakes and I'm very sorry for that. Scholastic English isn't really suited to write fanfic, but well, I've done my best with what I know.
Also, I know DMC for a long time but like in some of my other works, I just hope no one is too much OOC.
That fanfic is special for me, because I want people to have fun with its plot. I usually write longer works, with complex and very personal plots. Since it was my first English work, I wrote with only a few details and the most important concept, but I feel there is a lot more doable, like add lemons (I'm terrible with that stuff, sorry) or more obstacles to make the relationships more realistic, or whatever you feel is missing. I thereby leave the plot of this OS into your hands, have fun with it !
And for those who want like a prompt, it would be :
Write a story including a relationship between the Sparda twin and Nero, where Nero isn't the uke for both Sparda twin. No conditions on the roles (uke/seme) between the twins.
Feel free to leave reviews, commentary or corrections (this text is unbeta'd) !
Please enjoy !
Love Triangle
I never realised until I left Fortuna how the weather on the continent could be ungrateful. We were in the middle of Spring but it was raining buckets of water. Good thing I was near my destination. Apparently. I couldn't picture myself entering one of those bars or strip clubs and ask for directions, it was simply ridiculous. At the moment, I couldn't help but be mad at Dante. He gave me the name of the district, and the next indication was something along the line of 'look for the red neon light'. How someone that needed to be aware of his surroundings while hunting didn't realised there was neon light on every building here ! I went back to wander aimlessly after my anger subdued and after some time, as if on cue, I remarked the reflection of a flickering sign that read 'Devil May Cry'. Bitter but also a bit relieved, I walked the remaining distance quickly and knocked.
'Come in', announced Dante with a sleepy voice.
I entered as asked, only to find the elder hunter napping his feet on his desk and a magazine covering his face. It took him some time to raise it and acknowledge my presence, but once he noticed me, he was on his feet in no time to greet me.
'Man, I wasn't expecting you that early, Kid. Damn, you're soaking wet !', affirmed Dante after laying down a hand on the boy's shoulder, 'Make yourself at home, I'll bring some towels.'
Wow... It has been so long since someone welcomed me that warmly... But still, I was a little to shy to just 'make myself at home' already. I discarded my coat, my red shirt and my boots and crashed on the couch, waiting for the elder hunter to come back. The place was for sure messy, with pizza boxes next to the desk as well as some empty beer bottles. Only the drum set and the guitar under the stairs seemed to escape the ambient chaos. I would have loved to have a better look around but a clean towel expertly thrown blocked my view.
'Your aim ain't that off for your age, Old Man.', joked Nero.
'Yeah, keep talking, Kiddo. Too bad you won't have some beer 'cause you're underage~! So, is your chick in a safer place, now ?'
'Can I borrow your bathroom first ? I need to get changed.'
'Of course. The bathroom is in the back. You have some spare clothes, Kid ?'
'Yeah, right here.', answered Nero, pointing his bag.
'Good, 'cause you still lack a little awesomeness to fit into mine !'
I got into the bathroom and locked the door to get some privacy. Sadly, the fact was that the more Kyrie was away from me, the safer she was. But she wasn't in danger because of some demon. It was because of humans, and it make the whole thing worse. Fortunians were grateful I saved them and I quickly gain some trust, but the new Order, on the other hand... It turned into the more civilized and polite form of succession war I've ever seen. Except for the number one target. And I was that target, because I was Creedo's younger brother. They knew they were powerless against me, so they subtly choose to threaten the closest person to me : Kyrie. They started with insults for both her and me, then continued with death threats. We had to leave the familial house after some time and little by little, they drove us out of Fortuna. I naively thought it will come to an end after we moved to the outskirts of the city, but we had not such luck. I concluded that it would be better for everyone, and especially for Kyrie, if I left Fortuna. Dante, who I had kept in touch with for some times now, had offered me to stay with him as long as I didn't have another place to go. And here I was, now seated next to him on his couch.
'Are you sure it's okay if I stay until I find a place to live ? I mean, it's not like I don't like it here but...'
'Don't mention it, Kid. You do know what they say about the 'birds of a feather', heh ? So you're free to stay as long as you want to.'
And I must say that on that point, the adage didn't lie. I never left the shop. And doesn't plan to anymore. Because we're in a relationship. A serious one.
It came slowly, one thing after the other.
While it isn't usually the first step for most couples, we started by living together. First as good friends, or brothers who live together before finding the one girl to settle down. And as month passed, we grew to know each other better and better and before we realized it, we were like Ebony and Ivory : inseparable. In the meantime, we also worked together in the devil hunting business, mainly on solo mission, on our own. When we were lucky, we would find each other while cleaning the same nest and touch two rewards. It didn't happened that often, but for the few times it did, we used the excess money to renovate the office. To a human, all this reveal next to nothing on our relationship. But to our devil sides, it felt like we were building our nest. And it's them who sealed the deal, almost without our consent during one of those missions. Dante wasn't one to use easily his Devil Trigger. So when he used it against an inferior demon to shred him to piece with his own claws because it threaten to hit me while I was busy with one of his friend, we both knew something was up. We cleaned the nest hurriedly, collected the reward, went home and sat by each side of the coffee table in awkward silence. I think at the moment, we were both wondering if we should let our devil sides do their thing and don't mention it again. By the end of the day, no real decisions were taken and we were left to think by ourselves in our rooms. A week passed and the heavy atmosphere was starting to get the better of us. So I asked him out on a date. Surprisingly, he said yes. Our dates had nothing exceptional, they were even very commonplace : cinema, restaurant, night walks in parks... First kiss... And we talked a lot, to understand what was happening to us. All along, I've never been bothered by the fact we were both men, including during our first time together. Dante has explained later that it was thanks to our demonic blood. Demons weren't as picky as humans can be when choosing a partner. Moreover, as some demons were asexual or hermaphrodite, gender was one of the last thing they pay attention to. But Dante has other things to explain to me. And I felt this morning was the good time to ask.
'Hey, Dante, you hadn't said anything on that tattoo on your left arm yet.'
'I surprised you said nothing about us being from the same lineage.'
'Don't try to change the subject. But it bothers me as well. Don't you think it's immoral sometime ?'
He froze. It wasn't the first time we talked about those two subjects. For the tattoo, it came just the day next to our first time. I saw that katana that looked almost exactly like Yamato, with a snake coiled up around the sheath, drawn in hues of azure on the upper part of his left arm. I sort of already knew it was not a simple tattoo, but my devil side refused to say more. However, it seems today, I'll have my answer from the only other person who could gave it. Dante sat down next to me on the bed and pulled me into his arms.
'You remember when I bite you in the crook of your neck and you were angry for two days straight when it got swollen, because it burned and you said you had gotten all the worst infections on Earth ?'
'It hurt like Hell, you know ! But, yeah, I remember. So what ?'
'That bite is the first step in order to claim a demon mate. Yours seems to have well closed and healed by now, so maybe the second step is over, now. Look at your shoulder, you should have a nice surprise.'
And indeed, I discovered with him my new mate mark. I saw it upside down but the design was very clear. Rebellion, with Ebony et Ivory crossed by the middle of the blade, barrels down, in vivid red hue. That answered as much my question as much as it made bloom others.
'This mark shows other demon that if they mess with you, they'll have to expect me to join the fun and make them learn their place. It's a bound between us that nothing can severe.'
'I understand that but, in that case, who marked you ? And why isn't it my mark ?'
'It isn't your mark because you're not the Alpha. As for the one who marked me, if you think of our relationship as immoral, then you'll find that story utterly gross.'
Vergil and I, we once had a very close relationship. And by 'very close', I mean incestuous. As far as I can remember my childhood, we always slept in the same bed, we couldn't stand being separated for more than a few hours, we would never play with other children because it was out of question to share the other part of the pair we were. We had each other, we needed no one else and won't tolerate anyone getting near the other twin. Our parents welcomed that with vastly different reactions. Eva was completely horrified when we were on our more possessive moods. And nothing of what our father tried to explain to her calmed her. To him, it was a understandable reaction. We were an unique case but from some other cases, he hypothesized some interesting things. Brotherhood is an obscure concept to demons. Demons come in two kinds, either they are individuals or part of a hive-mind. Vergil and I, being brothers, were individual-typed demons but without the instinct to kill each other to ensure survival. In itself, it was new, but not necessarily an isolated case as experience proved it to me with Baul and Modeus. However, we were not simple brothers, we were twins. And that simple fact complicated the matter. We are identical being genetically, but each one of us is his own person. To a human mind, there was no problem with this. To a demon mind, it was an abnormality, we should have been a hive-mind. The closest explanation our devil sides found was that they were the same demon split in half and tried anything in their power to be back together. Thus why we were that close while children. Then, adolescence came by, and it got even worse. With puberty, our devil sides get the weapon they needed to bring us even closer. They made us want each other, crave each other, need each other more than all human being need air or water to live. The attraction was irrational, inexorable, it has always been there, will always be there and will never change. We didn't fight it, we didn't have the mean to. So we gave in to it. Somehow, we found solace. Because we never thought too much about it. Because we knew, in our very cores, we had no other choice. That we were, as they say, 'meant to be'.
I think neither of us realized when we lost each other. Or maybe it was just gradual. Father departed, Mother got killed, we lost sight of each other. Temen-Ni-Gru rose. When we met again, our minds were clear and even with the bond linking us, I knew what you were doing was insane and it was my duty to stop you. What I didn't expect was that you were seemingly beyond redemption, and this time, I was unable to do anything. After that, every time my eyes would land on the mark you laid on me, my heart would sink a little. I only get over it after finding what happened to you after the fall. I freed you from Mundus grasp because you were my brother, my mate and because I needed to move on with my life.
'And here I am now, telling you that story. I'll let you think about it. I'll be downstairs.'
Nero nodded. I could do nothing but hope he won't be completely disgusted with me. Of course, I knew Vergil, Nero and I were from the same lineage. But as much as I like to say I live by humans customs, I never forget that I'm also a demon and use it when it's convenient enough. And my relationships with Vergil and Nero were important enough to me to justify that for once, I disregarded human morale and rules.
Nero came downstairs in the afternoon. He had a gentle smile and seemed in a good mood, so I let him do whatever he had to do. The day has been rather uneventful, so we went to bed early, since we had no plans for the evening. However, I had a strange feeling that prevented me to rest. I settled for a glass of water, hoping it would help me fall asleep. I suddenly choke on the water I was drinking when I heard a knock. It was two in the morning, who could that be ? I went a little warily to the door and opened it slowly. For a moment, I felt like I was hallucinating. It was like I was watching my twenty-years-old self, wearing a long blue coat, spiked hair, rings under my eyes and face twisted in a grimace.
'Good evening, Dante.'
'Wait a sec', I know that voice.', thought the red hunter, 'Vergil ? How is that even... possible ?'
'I'm sorry, the middle of the night isn't exactly an appropriate time to pay a visit, but if you let me in, I can explain everything to you.'
'Of course, come in, you must be freezing out there !'
Please, if it's a dream, don't let me wake up now.
'Thank you, dear brother. I was afraid for a moment you'd try to kill me on the spot.'
'What are you trying to do with your face right now ?', asked Dante, genuinely confused.
'I believe it is called 'smiling'.'
'Really ? You should quit it then, it's weird. Hey, why don't you try to catch some sleep ? You look completely worn out.'
'You're probably right, some slumber will benefit us both. Where is the guest room ?'
'First door up the stairs. Good night, Vergil.'
I heard him climb the stairs behind me. I went to my room without turning back. Just in case he would vanish if I do. I still couldn't believe it. My brother, restored to his youth, was going to spend the night in the room opposite to mine. And tomorrow, I'll know how that miracle came to be. I simply couldn't wait. At the moment, I didn't know if I was really joyful or ironic, though.
As usual, Nero woke up first and went to prepare breakfast. Or rather lunch. Once dressed, I took a look at the living room and found it empty. I was one door away from realizing I had a nice dream last night. But instead, I found my elder twin studiously reading a book in the guest room. He closed the book and greet me with a chaste kiss.
'Hello, Dante. How was your night ?'
'I thought I dreamt. Turns out it's reality. So the night was nice, I guess.'
'Will you introduce me to the young man downstairs ? Our devil sides seem to have noticed each other, but I felt it would have been impolite to go ahead without your approval.'
'Well, you'll meet before lunch. Come with me.'
'Nero, can you come here, please ?'
'Is something wrong Dante ? Oh.', said the youngest.
'Nero, this is Vergil, my twin brother, and as you know, my Alpha.'
'Nice to meet you.'
'Vergil, Nero, I'm his Alpha.'
'All the pleasure is mine, young man.'
They shake hands and both felt silent after that. Nero mumbled something about going back to the kitchen and coming back in five minutes. They weren't at each other throat after the first eye contact, so I supposed that first encounter held a positive result. Before I had more time to think about it some more, the phone rang. I took the call, waited for the password and scribbled the address. In the meantime, Vergil had set the table and Nero emerged from the kitchen soon after. The prospect of having a calm meal with the two other men was rejoicing. I hadn't expected it to be that quiet, however. I really hoped it was because Vergil liked the Nero's cooking rather than some silent war going on between those two.
'The call was for a mission, wasn't it ? Do you want me to go ? You may want to talk in private so...', asked Nero.
'Don't worry for that Kid, it's more important that the two of you get to know each other. Since Vergil will probably stay with us from now on, you deserve his explanations as much as I do. Thank again for the meal, it was delightful, as always.', complimented Dante, 'Try not to be naughty boys while I'm not here, ok ?', the Red Hunter added with a wink.
And with that, my brother left, leaving me alone with Nero. The lad was polite and well-mannered, although a little shy. We discussed for some times around a cup of cheap tea and some biscuits. All of a sudden, the curtain fell, the masquerade ended. Devils instincts expected of us to fight in order to defend what was legitimately ours. We both fought for Dante and the office. But by the end of the first round, which saw a surprising victory of the younger, all that was left to fight for was Dante. And the office state only get worse after each consequent set. And after each one, we were both getting more vicious and animal. While we were fighting, I got to understand the interest my brother had in the boy. Nero was not only young, had a nice physique and a good temper but he was also a fierce fighter with an impressive raw power when needed. He was neatly balanced between caring and harming potential. And at the moment, he was showing me all the extent of his harming potential with his demonic right arm. That arm was an interesting feature and I wished I could have examined it rather than having it connected repeatedly to my jaw. I lost my patience after some time and stopped his demonic fist from connecting again. Thus, when Dante came back, Nero and I were barring fangs and claws at each other amidst a devastated office, with the youngest straddling me to the floor. I took some persuasion on my twin part to make the young man break his lock and ensure we won't be going to fight again. Under Dante's watchful eye, we repaired as much damage as we could and settled down for a talk.
'Now that you ain't two rabid beasts anymore, maybe we can have some explanations. First, how did you came back to life all of a sudden, Vergil ?'
'After you defeated Nelo Angelo on Mallet Island, a demon went to retrieve my body.'
'Sorry to interrupt that early, but you were the 'Dark Angel' ? But I thought the Order had recovered my body in order to create the Bianco Angelos ?'
'They could have only retrieved the armour.', suggested Dante, 'It is more than enough to design devil-possessed armoured suits. So, what does that demon wanted ?'
'Apparently, she was one of Father's follower. She thought it was her duty to bring back the son of her Lord to his former glory. Thus she began using her symbiotic powers and a vial containing Sparda's blood to restore me. I have no idea how the process worked, but she gave up her life to make this possible. So the least I could do for her sake was to find you and start a new life here.'
During my journey to the office, I often thought of that demon. She left nothing of her behind, no name, no face, no belonging, except for her masterpiece, as she liked to call me. I had no way now to know if she was compelled to give in her life, but even if she wasn't, I wouldn't dare think of her with disdain. Being a servant of Sparda wasn't the kind of life someone could bear easily. She died fulfilling her duty, and to her, it was probably the only thing that mattered.
'You always were the lucky one, heh ? I wish I could thank her, though. Now tell me why you were trying to kill one another ?'
'We both tried to protect what was rightfully ours : our mate, the nest. I'm afraid you'll have to settle the matter, brother.'
'Convenient enough for you, isn't it ? If Dante had barged in a second later you wouldn't have that precious pretty face anymore.'
'Remember you owe me some respect, lad.' said Vergil darkly.
'I'm sorry guys, but you can't ask me that.'
Seeing Dante in pain was the best deterrent he could ever find to our murderous inclination. Nero tried to reach out for him when he left the room, and didn't protest when I prevented him from doing so. We didn't resume fighting either. He even apologized for starting it in the first place. From then on, we concluded a peace agreement of sorts. For a few weeks, we tolerated each other presence in the same household and Dante's mood improved as a result. On some occasion, we would still be glaring at each other but we made efforts to quit it as fast as possible. I would sometimes lend a hand to the young man with the chores and I could tell he was grateful for my help. And that's how I discovered he liked to read on his spare time. We started to talk about it sometimes and that helped the formation of a weak, but nonetheless existing, link. We started to build around it a bit unknowingly, gradually. Before we realized it, we were going to the library together and exchanging books. By the time one of his favourite book's cinematographic adaptation went out, the link has fleshed out enough for him to ask me to go with him. We went to the theatre and kissed during the screening. I wasn't surprised by the method or the place, Nero was only a young adult, but by his sudden enthusiasm. But at the moment, my devil side was pleased with what was going to happen when we would be back home. And Nero didn't disappointed. Until I felt two points puncture the crook of my neck. That simple try to place a mate mark on me made my devil side snap, send the boy reeling almost on the other side of the living room and it took me a great deal of cold blood to retire peacefully to my room. Demonic hierarchy is very strict, and a lower ranked trying to mark a higher ranked was an offence. Our present situation worsened even more the offence because Nero the lowest ranked and I was the highest ranked. In any case, those acts were sentenced by death. But the next morning, Nero was having nothing of this :
'Don't give me that bullshit about ranks ! No such things exist in human relationships !'
'Watch your mouth, lad. That's what you didn't understand when my brother marked you, we aren't in a human relationship !'
'I know that ! We're related but we're lovers, isn't that enough of a proof ?'
'You're pretentious to think you can abuse the advantages of our demonic traditions without suffering from any of its drawbacks.'
'I'm not pretentious ! Naive, maybe, but not pretentious. Open your damn eyes, we're not only mindless bloodthirsty living nightmares, we're also human. That's why we can ignore demon's shitty hierarchy system !'
That day, I discovered here one of the quality I was found of in Nero : he was a visionary. I wasn't entirely convinced but I liked the idea, it was worth giving it a try. I knelt before my soon-to-be Alpha and asked him to finish what he started. He blushed, mumbled he couldn't to do it out of the blue like that. It was still early, so I enticed him into my room in order to give him the warm-up he needed.
In the first time for two weeks, I caught Vergil in the bathroom. I always was aware my twin brother was very proud and dignified. But I couldn't imagine he will pout, avoid us and put on a scarf when he ventured outside his cocoon just to hide his healing bite mark. This morning however, he seemed to be back to his old self. With a dark blue rose which stem seemed to the Red Queen tattooed on his left shoulder.
'Nice mark, bro' !'
'Good morning to you too, Dante.'
'Hurry up you two ! Lunch will become cold ! Where's your coat, Vergil ?', inquired Nero.
'In my room. I didn't put it on today because I have something to show you today.'
The Kid immediately understood what Vergil was taking about. He rushed to our side and got a good look at the visible manifestation of his link with my Alpha. They were still a little aloof and I felt relieved to attend to one of their display of affection. However, today wasn't an important day only for them. It was a crucial day for the three of us, because it was the birth of our triumvirate.
