WARNING: Contains Yaoi - malexmale

Hi! This is my first piece. It's actually a prequel on an msn roleplay that I and my best friend did that I loved so much I just had to write an official fiction out. This story is set sometime during and after DMC4 (which to speak the truth I've never played any DMC games before xx; so please be kind to me if I get anything technical wrong!) and where the brothers actually cared for each other. Now that's done, let's get on with the story. Please ENJOY!

Disclaimer: Vergil and Dante belong to Capcom. Shahi is purely my own creation, except that his model belongs to Lasaro.

1. Breaking Dawn

Morning sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm honey golden glow through the room. Frozen in time, he felt the gentle caress of heat upon his skin, waking him from his thoughts as he sat on the window sill. He'd been there before the dawn, awoken by an overwhelming emotion that stressed him out. Looking out at the stars in the velvet sky helped him to clear his mind and think. Wait. Damn. What was it? It was something important, like... The line of thought was interrupted by a soft creaking of wood that only the half-devil could catch. There was only one other in the house that could have caused that, so when rustling cotton came down the stairs, eyes of light sapphire moved to capture a sight so heart-achingly familiar. Something important, like...

From that ash blonde hair of the lightest shade that it was nearly as white as his - to those sky blue eyes shot with silver, was someone he knew so well that he would never forget. Recently though, how he wished to forget that the one he adored was human. Only a human - but also a human who was his everything.

Having faked his death together with Dante, he had, really, finally, given up on his ambition and 'retired' from the demon fighting scene. But that was only because he still had this person to fall back on. This person, for him to love and protect. Of course he still had that love-hate relationship with his heaven-knows-where-godforsaken-brother but that is a different matter all together. And now... his beloved approached slowly, languidly. Slender hands reached out and slid themselves over his shoulder, a weight he considered light rested now on his back as the other held him close from behind. Such a warm human body... it shivered, taking in his cold without complaint as it always had. In the past, it would have bothered him to cause such discomfort yet he would still delight in the fact that he was accepted in every way for what he was. Now, it just worried and dismayed him and he reached behind to pull that frail body gently onto his lap.

"You'll catch a cold dressed like that." Vergil admonished, his hand clasping the other's tightly together. "I'd never had to worry about the cold." A soft, sensual and dignified voice playfully teased back, hands breaking free from his hold, the arms of its owner looped around his shoulders loosely. The icy Sparda gave an exasperated sigh, raising a thumb to rub across his lover's face, letting his gaze wander over that face he loved and now also dreaded. His beloved had a face and skin fairer than many - like a treasure kept from sunlight but not unhealthily so. Now that skin wrinkled and that flesh lost its elasticity. It was now a face that bore age. "You're no longer as young as you were. Take better care of yourself." "Vergil, Vergil, Vergil..." Lavender sadness laced through those sky blue eyes watching him. A hand moved up to brush his now-floppy fringe back. "A lecture in the morning, tut..." Lips as gentle as the sunlight alighted on his brow, the comfort and love washing over him like a warm shower, his eyes closing restfully.

Shahi pulled away slowly, breaking off the kiss and settling comfortably back on his soulmate's lap. His hand now caressed the other's face, tracing with his fingers over that high cheekbone and gorgeous jaw line then cupped the side of that beautiful face. Vergil leaned into it, the action filling his heart with a joyful bliss that he appreciated and held onto more and more each day. Just having him by his side – he would forget his need of anything else. If only it was true… Seeing that withered hand, he was once more reminded of his mortality and how, their time now was so much more limited. He felt something give in his eyes – a sense of despair – not for himself but for his immortal lover, feeling selfish for clinging on till the end and tormenting his beloved with the sight of his slow death.

Catching himself, he quickly averted his eyes and tried to look happier but Vergil was caught him at it. His lover was always sharper, opening his mouth to speak… "I'd go make breakfast." Shahi cut him off, already knowing what Vergil would say or do. They had that discussion so many times before. "Don't worry about unnecessary things, Shahi. You know that having you with me is the only thing I want and there's nothing more that I want than to spend the rest of your life with you." "But Vergil, what about y-" "Shush. Lose that thought in your head. I love you." He could tell Vergil was remembering the same thing too. Making his move to slide off his seat on Vergil's lap, the physically younger male held him and helped put him down on the ground as if he was a fragile child – or elderly rather.

"I'd make the breakfast. Go outside and have some fresh air… And take this with you." Vergil sighed and said, finding a warm blue woolen scarf which was in a pile under the cushion of a couch and wrapped it over Shahi's shoulders. Standing there, he watched the graceful form of his snow haired half devil go into the kitchen before walking over the parquet to their back door. It opened out into a wide and airy patio of lacquered white oak and a tended backyard with high iron fencing. Moving to sit into one of those lavish lawn chairs Vergil bought for him, he remembered how they had squabbled over having wooden or iron fencing. Shahi had been in favor of wood, to match the house but Vergil won out in the end, partially for humane safety reasons.

Remembering that also made him remember when they got the house after moving out from the one Vergil had shared with his brother, the half devil had given into his wishes of having rustic paneling as opposed to the white and blue plaster the other wanted. Of course, they compromised on everything else, the kitchen with blue and white checkered marble for flooring as are the bathrooms, as well as white and blue for fabric on wooden furniture. In fact, the lawn chair he was on was cushioned with lush Vienna blue damask. An image of the two-story house – painted ash with blue tinted windows on the outside and wooden paneling and parquet on the inside, with lush flowering plants, shady stout palms and Koi fountain and ponds in both front and back yards – floated up in his mind's eye.

If he remembered correctly, there would be a photo of them when he was still young, posing in front of the house with blissfully-in-love faces in their countless albums. All the sudden, he had the urge to flip through them once more, a morbid thought having flitted through his mind too quickly for him to grasp. Shahi tried to get up. His body wouldn't obey him – his limbs clumsy and weighing a ton. He startled. Even now, at the age of 73, he still wasn't used to his body failing him like this. It was at such times when he felt weakest and useless. A failure to Vergil's faith. He collapsed back into the seat with a small gasp.

End of first chapter.