Chapter Thirty Three: Leasure

Note: Wow current events really put me behind on my schedule this week! The anxiety is real, folks! I'll be okay though. Maybe. Also, I found out that I could actually listen to the DMC5 soundtrack through one of the streaming services and IT IS A BOP. I never realized how good some of that music is! I was too busy trying to achieve Smokin' Sexy Style! Totally gonna be using that to write to from now on. And also, l now officially consider listening to Legacy as a form of self harm because the feels are too real!

(-~-)

In all truthfulness, the botanist couldn't remember the last time that she'd spent so much time around other people that she held dear, her relationships with the rest of her family having been on thin ice for nearly two decades now. Conforming to tradition at all costs was encouraged in her little corner of the world, and as such, deviating from her family's wishes in the way that she had wasn't smiled upon. But then again, she had never been one to do what other people thought was right, only truly able to trust her own judgement at the end of the day.

But that didn't mean she wasn't terribly lonely. Perhaps the crushing silence was what had made her and Vergil such fast friends back in their youth, even if their idea of friendship was a bit unconventional. Most casual passers by would probably assume that they couldn't stand one another, but anyone who spent any meaningful time around them could tell that, at the end of the day, they had one another's backs no matter what, no questions asked. It could be tenuous at times, especially when Vergil showed up at her door after two decades to ask her to bend the laws of creation a little to help reclaim a wayward soul, but then then that just meant that even after all of this time, she was still one of the people he knew he could fall back on. There was a part of Magnolia that was actually flattered by that idea. He was legendarily difficult to gain the favor of, and the fact that he had still been able to trust her after so long was a testament to how well they got along, at least on most days.

Magnolia took a moment to collect her thoughts as she took a peak at the skillet brownie that she and V had been working on for the past hour or so. In all honesty, she got the impression that V wasn't accustomed to spending this much time in close proximity to others. From what she'd come to understand about him, he was more or less solitary, and that was something that she was able to relate to, albeit not due to her own preference. She was far from an extrovert, but one thing she could tell was that something had made both of them decide to just avoid people as a whole at some point. And she had a feeling that his reasons were deeply personal. Which was why she'd been so pleasantly surprised when he'd asked to join her in the kitchen. Be it a result of boredom, or out of a desire to not be alone, she couldn't tell, and she was not going to ask. At the end of the day, she didn't really care. She was just happy to see that both V and Vergil were starting to come out of their shells a little. It seemed that everyone in the Sparda family had unfortunate baggage, and she intended to do anything she could do to help them. She didn't want to see another family end up like she had with hers.

"... I can get that for you." V said almost offhandedly as he leaned against the window in her kitchen. He was so quiet that she nearly forgot he was there. In that way, he and his father were very much alike. They both had a tendency to blend into the background in a domestic setting, quietly combing through their thoughts or simply day dreaming. She couldn't be sure. What she was sure of was the fact that there was a key difference between the two white haired descendants of the Dark Knight Sparda. While they were both quiet, V lacked the -was bitterness the right word?- that his father possessed. Perhaps despair? While Vergil was more brooding and dejected, constantly lost in what had to be less than healthy thoughts, V was just… solemn in an almost despondent sort of way as though he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Both of them had been through entirely too much in proportion to the time they'd lived, and it showed. The question was where did they both go from there? Perhaps they could meet in the middle and their pain would cancel each other out in some sort of collision of mindsets? Wherever they both went from here, she could only hope that it was better than where they'd been prior to this, physically and mentally.

"Oh, don't trouble yourself dear! You're barely staying on your feet as it is. I've got this." Magnolia said with a pleasant smile as she removed the pan from the oven. V smirked slightly at the comment, painfully aware of how true that was. Due to the lingering weariness he was experiencing, his balance wasn't the greatest at that given moment. He was fine until he attempted to either bend over or lean downwards. Something about the shift in stance sent all the blood rushing to his brain. But aside from that unfortunate fact, he actually felt just fine, and was sure that by the next morning or so, he'd more than likely be back to normal. Or, at least what he considered normal.

In all honesty, he was genuinely tired most of the time, but not in the same sort of way that he was now. It was more of a case of being low energy as opposed to being sleepy. Maybe he needed to move to a less dreary climate?

Ah yes, moving.

How had he forgotten so quickly?

"While we were away, I had ample time to consider your previous offer, Magnolia." V said as he watched her search for a knife. Surely she wasn't actually going to try and eat that so soon? Unless her mouth had a better coating in it than that very hot cast iron pan, she was going to burn every inch of her mouth. But then again, that was her prerogative, and he wasn't in the habit of reminding a grown woman what her limitations were.

She glanced over at him as she produced a knife and an odd shaped metal spatula that was reminiscent of a large nail file. She then began cutting segments off of the large brownie and used the second utensil to pick up two of the sections and place them into a plate, placing them on the tray next to the tea they'd fixed. She then gestured for V to follow her, picking up the tray and heading into the living room.

It had genuinely never occurred to V that she didn't own a TV until now, the part devil taking a moment to consider the fact that she seemed to have a plethora of books but never touched digital media. In fact, she even owned a record player. It was actually interesting to him how much their tastes seemed to be in sync with one another. While he wasn't exactly a Luddite, he tended to lean more towards more vintage solutions for things, simply enjoying their overall style and form factor. But he couldn't say that he was very interested in watching TV, either. In fact, he couldn't name a single show that had come on in the past… well, ever really. He honestly didn't care.

As soon as they both sat down, a perplexed look crossed Magnolia's face as if something seemingly just occurred to her. She practically leapt up and into the kitchen, returning a few moments later with two small glass dishes filled with a scoop each of vanilla ice cream. V resisted the urge to laugh slightly at the sight, settling instead to just smirk and be quietly entertained by the ridiculousness of the situation at hand. As foregn of a concept as it was to him, he was relatively sure that he actually enjoyed spending time with Magnolia. Her quirky yet lovable personality was comforting in a way that he found unfamiliar but welcome, almost as if he'd subconsciously been looking for something like this for a while but had never known it.

"How in the world did I manage to forget this." She said, placing the glasses down on the tray. The botanist shook her head as if she were deeply insulted by her own actions, her entire face pinched into a disapproving squint as she scooped the frozen treat onto her brownie." What kind of heartless monster bakes a giant brownie and then eats it dry?! Simply unheard of! I ought to be burned at the stake for the wicked witch that I am."

At that V couldn't' help but snicker a little. He was positive that she was more upset about this than she had been to see the amount of blood he'd tracked all over her pristine house just a few short days ago. It was pure poppycock, and he loved it. "Yes, it seems you're far overdue for a reckoning of some kind. Sins of that magnitude can't simply be ignored."

Magnolia raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by his statement. "Oh, so the young dearie does possess a sense of humor after all! Good thing, too. I was starting to worry!" She smiled and failed in her attempt to hold back a heartfelt laugh, shaking her head slightly as she did so." In other news, what did you decide to do?"
V leaned back slightly, exhaling before remembering that he could probably actually eat the brownie now. A soft smile briefly spread across his face as he looked at Magnolia, trying his best to make eye contact but then flaking out at the very last second.

"... I've decided to take you up on that offer."

(-~-)

There were brief moments in the lives of every living being when they committed to a plan of action, and then immediately regretted their decisions when they came to grips with the outcome. Fleeting things that, in most instances, had far reaching consequences that even the most powerful of beings were powerless to do anything about. But thankfully, this was one of those rare instances in which the consequences were largely inopportune, but also insignificant, aside from the monumental and disproportionate amount of over-dramatic misery that they resulted in.

In all honesty, there was no sufficient answer as to why Vergil had decided that going to a museum would be a riveting occasion. Although intelligent and well versed, Vergil didn't really care that much for human history, aside from what he already knew. Learning from the past wasn't one of his strong suites, but lingering in the past was, both metaphorically and literally. Somehow, some way, he'd just ended up in this place with no hope of understanding why. Aside from the fact that he'd talked himself into this mess, and didn't really feel like being there any longer, Vergil lacked a sufficient excuse as to why he should leave, for both himself and his youngest son.

On an impulse, Vergil had attempted to contact Nero via a phone booth near a frankly disgusting nightclub that sat just a block or so from Dante's office before venturing to Fortuna to seek out his wayward son. The last time that he'd failed to answer the phone he'd been at Fortuna Castle with V, and the two of them had nearly gotten themselves killed. It was something that the two of them were proficient at when left unattended for long periods of time. But then again, getting several layers deep into an ocean of issues was something that ran in their family. Perhaps they were simply continuing the tradition. Regardless, the younger man had agreed to come with him, albeit reluctantly as he had other more interesting things to do like literally anything else other than going to a museum on a weekday.

A quick glance over at the oversized clock that adorned the third story of the museum wall confirmed the Darkslayer's suspicion: there was still another hour until the establishment closed. Re-adjusting to the flow of time in the human world was proving to be an ongoing task, but despite the fact that it flowed much quicker than many places he'd occupied in the Underworld, the Darkslayer couldn't help but feel as though time was standing still or going incredibly slow. He assumed that he was late to everything, only to find out that he was actually early, and it was starting to become taxing.

For a brief moment, he considered mentioning this to Magnolia in an effort to try and figure out what was causing this lingering sensation of temporal displacement before deciding against the idea. He didn't feel like dealing with that at the moment. It was probably best that he do one thing at a time and not dwell on it. His current guess was that his lack of action was what had caused such a strange phenomenon to occur. Being much more accustomed to an active and high octane lifestyle as opposed to a sedentary one, Vergil was almost positive that he simply didn't know how to relax. What a strange problem that was to have.

"Okay, so here me out." Nero said casually as he made his way over to Vergil, letting out a small yawn as he closed the distance between them." This place is super boring, and I can feel myself ageing literally every second we spend here. Either this place has a spell over it, or it's just the world's boring museum. I don't care either way. Your call, but I think we should leave and go literally anywhere else."

Vergil considered Nero's statement for a moment before giving a single nod. He agreed, this place was almost soul crushingly dull. While museums were not exactly the most lively of places to begin with, for a place to be so full of people and still be so silent was just unsettling. And that was before the approaching storm gave the entire place an extra gloomy ambience. At this point, he was inclined to agree with his youngest son. There was no compelling reason to linger in this giant, echo filled building any longer. If Vergil desired an empty space to occupy, there were plenty of options that didn't test his sanity in such an egregious manner. After all, the city was practically overflowing with places to see. Staying where they were any longer was simply illogical, all things considered.

"I'm inclined to agree with you. I didn't leave the Underworld just to continue to linger in hell." Vergil glanced over at the door as Nero sighed in relief and headed towards it, not needing to hear anything further. Neither of them needed the other to spell it out for them. How in the world had Vergil even managed to locate such a desolate place?

Was he actually boring like Dante had said?

Absolutely not. Dante wasn't allowed to be correct. There was simply no way!

The pair left the building and simply walked a ways up the road, no particular destination in mind. As long as they were not inside of the building, then they were fine. Vergil shook his head slightly at the ridiculousness of the situation they had ended up in, the almost grim hilarity of it not lost on him. Part of him wondered if the place might actually be cursed or under some kind of spell like Nero had joked. It was possible.

"Funny thing is that I actually like museums. Sometimes. It depends." Nero said as they walked along in the direction of who knew what. He didn't really care. At least he was out doing something and not at home. Kyrie and Nico were doing something at the orphanage with the kids, so he'd just been hanging out doing nothing of particular note. He was kind of surprised that Vergil had bothered to ask him over in the first place. From what he could tell, his father didn't tend to like to hang out with other people, least of all in public. What had gotten into him?

Vergil listened to Nero, somewhat surprised to hear him admit that he was interested in that sort of thing. While Dante had made a passing joke about it before he'd left, the idea of it actually being true was somewhat surprising to him. It wasn't so much the fact that devil slayer in blue was surprised that his brother might know more about Nero than he did. That was almost certainly true, regardless of whether Vergil liked it or not. No, he was simply surprised that Nero was interested in things like museums. The younger devil hunter didn't come off to him as the sort to hang around those sorts of places.

"Is that so? I… wasn't aware that you had an interest in such things." Vergil raised an eyebrow slightly, genuinely impressed with this revelation. Although it was a small thing, it was something they had in common, and he derived some level of reassurance from the idea that he and his younger son were not so different after all. Perhaps if he made more of an effort to speak with him sooner, he would have figured this out already. There was a part of him that felt as though he hadn't given Nero the time that he deserved, and he desired to change that. He just wasn't entirely sure how to go about doing so just yet.

Nero nodded, shrugging slightly as they continued up the street." Yea, I like that kinda stuff sometimes. Even read that whole damn book after you gave it to me to keep an eye on. What the hell is it with you two and books?" Nero trailed off towards the end, something clearly occurring to him." … You said that V was awake. So what happens now? What's the plan?"

Vergil's lack of diction belied his vested interest in the conversation they were having. For once, they were actually getting somewhere. It was a refreshing change of pace between them, especially when he took into account the fact that Nero had barely been able to stand in the same room as him when he'd first returned. It seemed that he was gradually warming up to the idea of being around him, but he couldn't quite place what he had done to help facilitate this? Had it been the incident at the castle? Perhaps when he'd saved the two of them during their tragically short vacation? Did it have something to do with V or Dante? There were certainly several possibilities, but he didn't honestly care at the moment. The fact that the two of them were on speaking terms at all was enough for him, at least for the time being.

"You actually read?" Vergil paused for a moment, mentally kicking himself when he saw the slightly irritated look on Nero's face. He vaguely remembered V telling him something about the way he tended to phrase things at some point during their trip, and he was starting to comprehend what he'd meant by that. He needed to find a way to make that insult less insulting." I'm fully aware of the fact that you are not illiterate. That isn't what I intended to convey in that statement. I've just never seen you actually read anything."

The youngest of the devil hunters shrugged nebulously, less irate now than he had been a moment prior." That's probably because you never come over and visit or anything. I told you that you could eat dinner with us. That wasn't a one time thing." Nero closed his eyes for a moment as if irked by the fact that he was having to say this for a third time. He'd never met anyone this adverse to spending time with their own family before. It was as baffling as it was disheartening, and he really was trying his best." You'd probably have to fight V for all the extra food though. He eats a staggering amount of food. It's genuinely shocking. I have no idea where he put it all."

It was Vergil's turn to scoff slightly as the mental image of Nero being eaten out of house and home by literally everyone he lived with aside from his tiny girlfriend passed through his mind. Somehow he wasn't shocked that V could eat his body weight in food every day if given the opportunity. He'd do the same thing if he lived with that friendly little woman. Her cooking was exquisite, and she did tend to make excessive amounts of it from what he could tell. That, and their inhuman appetites were not easily tamed. Dante's frankly appalling relationship with pizza was a perfect example of this phenomenon.

He desperately needed his twin to start a love affair with some other type of food…

"... Then perhaps I will drop by as I did today more often." The Darkslayer noted that Nero seemed almost relieved to hear this. Had he genuinely just wanted him to do so in the first place? Was that part of the tension between them? The idea that such a little thing could mean so much to him was a bit of an eye opener as far as Vergil was concerned, and he had no way of reconciling the fact that he'd overlooked this.

A small smile dared to make itself known as they crossed an intersection, still not paying much attention to their destination. At this point, they were purely on this trip for the conversation, and that was something that Vergil could see himself getting used to. He'd come to realize that talking to both of his sons made him slightly less sick than it did when he was forced to deal with everyone else, possibly because he generally chose to do so of his own accord.

"Okay then. That's good. So where are we going? Because I'm pretty sure we're lost." The young demon hunter glanced around them, noticing for the first time that he didn't actually recognize any of the buildings around him. That didn't really bother him, all things considered, but he couldn't help but notice that they were quite a ways from where they'd started out.

For a moment, Vergil fell silent. He considered all the possible options available to him in regards to what he considered acceptable answers to that question. This had been an eye opening experience for him in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps he'd been too quick to write Nero off as uninterested in pursuing any sort of meaningful relationship with him, opting to talk to V as he assumed that they had more in common with one another than either of them did with Nero. Even if that had been the case, he still found it fascinating that his youngest son possessed a more intellectual side to him that he'd failed to notice in the past. While he hadn't thought of Nero as unintelligent by any means, he'd never considered the fact that they might like the same things as one another.

Now the concept of Yamato allowing Nero to wield it made much more sense to him.

They might not be as dissimilar as he'd originally assumed.

A part of him couldn't help but wonder how his beloved blade would react to V if given the chance. He'd never seen Nero wield it, but considering the fact that it had bonded with him so thoroughly, Nero seemed to be relatively well versed with it. And as for V's prospects, Vergil had the distinct feeling that he might actually be able to wield the blade, at least physically. That was, of course, if he didn't swing it and then fall flat on his face. But the idea of what he might be capable of if given the opportunity was admittedly fascinating to him.

It was settled then. He would have to find some excuse to get V to try and use a devil arm once he was in better condition. For now, he needed to allow him to fully recover and actually build up some measure of strength. The cult seemed to be eradicated, and due to the time gap between the underworld and the human world, they had at least a few weeks before Belial could do anything, especially with the majority of his cult decimated. They still needed to visit this island that Dante had spoken of, but the urgent need to do so was suddenly less at the forefront than it had been previously. They would wait for at least a week or two and plan their next steps carefully, lest they spring a trap that they didn't know was there. And in the meantime, Magnolia could worry over V, and Vergil could attempt to get to know his son a bit better.

The realization that he'd been briefly lost in thought suddenly hit Vergil as he stopped walking and took a moment to collect himself before speaking. Yes, he had the distinct feeling that he now knew where they should be headed." You asked where we should go next." Vergil watched Nero nod, clearly wishing for him to hurry up and get to the point. The sun was starting to fade below the horizon, and he was eager to get out of the light rain that coated them as they ventured up the murky streets." … Is that invite for dinner still valid?"

Nero looked surprised for a moment before allowing a rare, genuine smile to briefly cross his face. He was surprised to see Vergil take him up on his offer so soon. It was a good thing that Kyrie always made extras. "What, you gonna make me ask you a fourth time? Sure, let's go. Since V;s not there right now, we might actually get to eat something!"

Vergil nodded and gestured towards the alley they were nearest to. He wasn't keen on attracting unnecessary attention from the general public by drawing Yamato in full view of the now rightfully paranoid populace. At first glance, he could almost swear that it was the very one that he'd excited though when he'd returned to the human world with his younger twin brother just a month ago. Well, he'd been kicked, but that was neither here nor there, and he would never let Nero know that Dante had managed to get the drop on him.

As they entered the alley way and he drew his blade, Vergil couldn't help but feel a strange feeling of contentment at the fact that he actually had somewhere to be for once. Perhaps this was something he could do more often if things went well. He swung the blade, making his signature mark in the air as a portal opened. The Darkslayer then gestured towards the opening that his blade had manifested as if to invite Nero to go ahead of him. The younger man nodded and stepped through, Vergil following closely behind him.

Perhaps the idea of belonging somewhere was something that he could get used to.

(-~-)

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote a chapter this long! I thought that considering current events, we could all use a little bit of hope in our lives. It's a scary time, at least where I live. This toxic hellhole that I live in can't get it together, but maybe the Sparda family can. I don't know, maybe a few good moments between everyone is what I need to keep my anxiety down right now. This story is my emotional support project, and I hope it's a safe place for all of you, too. Everyone is welcome here :D I won't bring all that scary stuff into this. Take care everyone! I'll see you next week. It's gonna be interesting since I go back to work for the first time since the pandemic started on Wednesday at 4pm. I'll try my hardest to get the chapter uploaded by then. Just gotta keep myself sane until after 8:30pm and hopefully I'll be alright! Curse the holiday season. UG! Stay safe!