[[A/N: Wow okay... it's been far too long since I updated, sorry... bad habits die hard, I guess. I haven't been feeling very motivated lately, but the wonderful comments you guys have left me lately really gave me the jumpstart I needed. This was a difficult chapter for me to write, because it's kind of a weird transition point for me for the story, but entirely necessary in my opinion. I don't predict there will be a ton more chapters, maybe 3-5?
Once again, just a reminder, this is a canon-divergent story, so essentially... DMC5 does not exist/did not happen (so sorry, no Nico, no V). I actually wouldn't mind writing some DMC5 stuff later... but definitely not with this. I've been churning this idea around since 2010 or so, so while some things might seem in a similar vein/somewhat like the current DMC5 situations, they are entirely from me and what I've been planning to write the entire time (I don't think it's that similar, but still). I think it would compromise the story to try and change anything at this point tbh, if that makes sense?
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it, and thank you again to everyone who read/reviewed/etc. 3 ]]
After the success of the sparring session earlier in the day, Vergil was feeling pretty good. The expected awkwardness after the fact hadn't even been that bad, and the devil had managed to settle into a comfortable silence with Nero in the main room of the shop. The younger of the pair was flipping through a magazine while lounging on the couch, and Vergil was reading a book in Dante's ratty armchair. Neither one had felt the need to chat, for which Vergil was grateful, and the air in the room was comfortable.
The devil barely glanced up when the front door opened and his brother walked in, followed by the rest of the 'gang'. What convenient and utterly obvious timing they all had, to arrive home at the same time. He gave a little snort to himself and shook his head, turning his attention back to his book after a small grunt in response to Dante's cheerful greeting. His brother was probably just thrilled the shop was still standing after leaving the two of them alone for so long.
It took a few minutes for the rest of the cacophony to die down and everyone to settle in, but eventually things settled to a level more acceptable for Vergil. It wasn't even two minutes later, however, that he felt someone staring at him. He tried to ignore it, but the sound of a small snicker passed through the room, and Vergil felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. He glanced up for the source and spied his brother in the doorway to the kitchen, smirking at him like he'd discovered some embarrassing photos or something.
"...What?" Vergil demanded, glowering a bit at his twin. No one else seemed to notice or care about their standoff, or at least they were good at hiding it. Lady was sitting on the edge of the pool table fiddling on her phone, and Kyrie had taken a seat next to Nero on the couch, but was quietly discussing something with Trish who was perched on the far end of the couch while they looked in one of the many shopping bags they'd brought back with them.
"Oh… nothin'," Dante shrugged, though he was still grinning like an idiot. "Just funny, is all."
Vergil narrowed his eyes further at his twin. Dante was really trying him.
"And what is so funny?" he asked, scowling even harder. Was there something on his face?
"Heh, just you guys. Apple doesn't fall far, and all that crap," the younger twin shrugged and made a vague motion in Nero's direction.
Vergil snapped his head around to see what the hell his brother was on about. He didn't notice anything amiss - Nero was exactly as he had been for the past hour or so, just reading quietly to himself. Vergil turned to snarl at his brother and ask for clarification, but Dante was already gone, into the kitchen most likely. He huffed quietly and shook his head as he settled back in to return to the book. Stupid, idiot brothers.
A minute or so passed before Vergil couldn't resist the urge to take another look, but he did so as discreetly as he could over the top of his book, not wanting anyone to catch him staring. Nothing looked odd to him… Nero was sitting with his chin propped up on his left hand, occasionally turning a page with his right. When he wasn't flipping pages, Vergil noticed the boy had the habit of absently chewing on his right thumb nail. He wrinkled his nose slightly, and reached down to flip the page of his own book, his right thumb coming up to his teeth after a moment. Vergil jerked his hand away quickly, glaring at it as if he'd been stung. So they were both fostering a bad habit at the same time, so what?
Vergil huffed quietly and closed his book; there was no way he was getting any reading done now. Rather than glowering in his chair, the devil headed into the kitchen to see what his stupid brother wanted to do about dinner. He wasn't sure if he was bothered by what Dante had pointed out or not - he truly had no reason to be, but it was still… unsettling, to say the least.
Nero was having a pretty good day so far. The little spar he'd had with Vergil had been pretty fun, if a bit short, and afterward they had just chilled. The whole thing was a lot more lowkey than he'd been expecting, and for that he was grateful. He'd even gotten a tiny sliver of info about his mom. It wasn't much, but it was something to put to the faceless person in his mind. The woman who'd brought him into the world most likely had long, dark hair, according to Vergil… no other features so far, but he already knew he got his looks from his dad's side of the family… and that was a weird thought on its own already.
It was nice to just kick back and do nothing without feeling like something bad was going to happen. Vergil hadn't spoken to him much after they'd both gotten cleaned up, but the man had hung out downstairs to read instead of vanishing upstairs, so that had to count for something. Nero was just fine to go without the awkward small talk anyways, so reading together in silence was welcomed.
The teen glanced up when the front door opened, and gave a lazy reply to Dante's greeting as the entire crew poured into the shop. He couldn't help but to think about how convenient it was that the older hunter's job finished exactly when the ladies were done with their outing, but he just rolled his eyes and kept his thoughts to himself. No point in calling them out on it, especially when the day had mostly been a success. A quick kiss to his cheek from Kyrie momentarily distracted Nero, but then he was right back to reading his magazine.
An hour or so passed, and Nero found himself being shaken awake by Dante. He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep, and it was apparently dinner time. The teen rubbed his eyes as he stood up, and after a quick stretch he trailed into the kitchen to see what was for dinner. Kyrie saw him coming and deposited a bowl of salad in his arms before she nudged him toward the backdoor - it had already been determined that six people were never going to fit at Dante's tiny little table in the kitchen. Nero blinked a little but followed her instructions to deposit the food on the picnic table, and then sat down beside Trish who was already there placing plates down.
It didn't take long for the rest of the group, and the food, to arrive at the table, and soon Nero was filling his plate with some of the most delicious smelling pasta he'd ever encountered. It wasn't pizza, but it still looked pretty good. Even the salad looked delicious, and he got the chance to tease Dante for actually grabbing some.
"I didn't realize you ate vegetables that weren't on top of a slice of pizza" Nero snorted at Dante as he filled his own salad bowl.
"Hey now, pizza covers all the major food groups, you know," Dante replied. "And since we ain't havin' pizza, I gotta get my vitamins somewhere, right?" Several eye rolls and sighs followed, Nero included.
"Yeah… whatever, old man," the teen snickered as he reached for the salad dressing. Nero hummed quietly as he made a spiral formation with the dressing on top of his salad like he always did, and then passed the bottle along. He was about to jab his fork in to grab a slice of cucumber when Trish's hand shot out and grabbed him by the wrist.
"H-Hey!" he huffed, trying not to squirm too much in her iron grip. "You against vegetables too or something now?"
Trish shook her head and pointed right at Vergil, and gave a small snort.
"Check it out! Weird…" she murmured as she let him go, and moved slightly so he could see. Nero leaned over the table some, and he felt Kyrie lean in as well to get a better look.
Right in front of Vergil was the man's own bowl of salad, the same spiral of dressing dripping and starting to lose its shape in the lettuce leaves. Vergil hadn't noticed all the commotion yet, too busy talking about something with Dante, but Lady had, and she raised her eyebrows at the weird reactions until Trish pointed out Nero's own bowl. Nero huffed and jabbed his fork into the salad and mixed it up before anyone could say anything else.
"Whatever… lots of people do it," he muttered and shoved a forkful of vegetables in his mouth before anyone could say anything else. Nero made himself busy by scarfing down his food, occasionally throwing in a reply here and there to the conversations at the table. Trish and Lady didn't tease him anymore about it, but he caught himself doing the same stuff as Vergil a few more times. Nero had never been more self conscious about the way he'd held a glass in his life until he caught himself holding it closer to the bottom like Vergil was. It shouldn't be a big deal, but it was freaking him out a little. There was nothing to do, however, except act normal and try not to be weird about it - he could have an identity crisis later when everyone else was asleep.
Vergil was having a pretty decent time, he had to admit. Even Trish wasn't grating on his nerves as much, but that might have also had something to do with the talk that he'd had with Dante about her, and everything else, the previous night. It hadn't been easy to let go of the pain and anger toward Trish for her involvement in his previous demise, but it became a little easier when he owned up to his own part in it. The whole conversation had been uncomfortable, and though they both would deny it, a few tears had been shed by both the twins. They hadn't exactly forgiven each other for everything, but there was a sort of truce in there to just move on because the past was over with, and they had something more important to focus on now than past regrets - their family.
"I honestly can't believe you guys managed to make something this good in that ratty old kitchen," Lady spoke up as they were finishing eating. "I keep thinking the oven will explode anytime anyone touches it…" It was true, the thing was ancient and Vergil was surprised it even worked.
"Well, it was pretty easy with such a talented co-chef in the kitchen," Vergil replied and gave a nod in Kyrie's direction. "Though even Dante managed to assist without burning anything… for once," he added with a smirk. The elder twin didn't even bother responding to the middle finger aimed in his direction from his brother - they all knew it was the truth, though he was mostly joking.
"I'm glad you all liked it," Kyrie piped in, flashing a bright smile to Vergil. He found that he enjoyed working beside her in the kitchen, and her quiet temperament was a refreshing change when dealing with so many over the top characters in Dante's little gang. She and Nero seemed to make a good pair as well, and he was glad, though Vergil didn't really know if he had any place having any feelings on that, but… if he was to continue to have any sort of relationship with his son, he definitely wouldn't mind having her for a daughter-in-law.
The conversation continued for a while longer until all the plates were empty and it started to get late. Eventually Vergil stood up and started clearing things from the table. He shooed Kyrie away when she tried to help, she'd already done enough, and insisted he could handle it. Nero jumped up and grabbed a few things, but Vergil didn't stop him, and the pair trudged into the kitchen to clean up. Vergil noticed no one else was following, but he took that as more of a 'give them some space' situation and not just laziness.
"So, uh... you're a pretty good cook and all. Usually Kyrie does all the cooking since I just burn everything," Nero rushed out as he fumbled with putting the plates into the shotty looking dishwasher. "I mean, uh, I guess I just wanted to say that I appreciate you like… taking the time with her and stuff. I mean you know." Vergil blinked and tilted his head, a bit confused but also amused.
"There's nothing to thank me for, you know," the devil replied as he started packing leftovers into the fridge. "Kyrie is an excellent cook, but even if she wasn't, she's a great conversationalist. I enjoy talking to her," Vergil explained. "And besides… I can get even more embarrassing stories from her about you than I can get from Dante," he teased lightly as he closed the fridge. The sound of silverware clattering to the floor caused him to snicker softly to himself, and Vergil moved to help Nero pick up what he'd dropped.
"What?! Ugh, you're kidding... " Nero grumbled as he packed the last of the dishes away and glared somewhat half-heartedly at Vergil. "I expect this from her, but you? Give me a break," he muttered and shook his head.
"What can I say?" Vergil shrugged. "I've missed a lot. I have a lot of ground to cover."
The devil didn't miss the slightly pained expression that tightened Nero's features for just a moment, but the teen just shrugged back at him.
"It's okay, you know… I don't blame you," Nero murmured after a moment of awkward silence between them. "I guess… I mean, you didn't even know about me. So really, it's okay."
Vergil leaned back against the counter and let out a long, deep sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest. It really wasn't, but Nero also wasn't a child that still needed raising or anything.
"I have to be honest… when Dante told me you were my son, I thought he was lying, or confused. It seemed insane…" Vergil explained. "I didn't know what to make of it, and to be honest… I still don't know how I feel. Part of me worries that I'm just inconveniencing you in some way. I just… don't want you to be resentful of me," the devil admitted. "I can't change what happened in the past, or my absence, but as long as you're interested, I'm here."
Nero gave him a nod, and a small smile spread across his lips. Vergil smiled back and pushed off of the counter with a sigh.
"Come on, let's go finish cleaning up before Dante eats all of the dessert that Kyrie made" Vergil snorted and nudged Nero in the shoulder. "It's a strawberry shortcake, and she had to smack him with the spoon earlier to keep him out of it," he explained as they walked.
Things were still a little awkward, and Vergil was continually trying to figure himself and the whole situation out, but the genuine laughter coming from his son in moments like this made things a little easier.