Vergil had tried to take advantage of the fact that he always woke up earlier than the rest of the family, only today he had done the bill without Dante. He had kept him in bed for an hour to cuddle and give him blood before he was allowed to leave the bed.
"It's after seven in the morning, how am I going to deal with everything Dante?" Vergil had grumbled at him afterwards. And as a punishment, Dante had carried him into the bathroom, let him have a bath and said he should relax. It was now after eight in the morning, Dante had completely dried him off and rubbed in with body milk.
And Vergil had to admit that he really needed such a relaxed morning. Since he knew he was pregnant, he just couldn't really relax. But now he felt heavenly calm and satisfied. Perhaps it was also because of the pleasant massage Dante had given him in the tub or just really because of the two hours they had just spent together without thinking about the children. Either way, Vergil felt relaxed and maybe that was why he was staring a little dreamily until he felt two strong arms around him.
"Still so bad the morning?" asked his brother and Vergil leaned against him.
"No, I needed that I ." affirmative words from him and he closed his eyes, put his hands on those of Dante which rested on his belly.
"Now I should start with the preparations anyway, also simply because of tomorrow. Unfortunately, the food does not prepare itself." it would be so much easier and Vergil would appreciate it.
Vergil now knew that next year someone else could make all the effort, only he knew inside that if someone else did it, he would definitely have something to complain about. So by next year, if there was a next year, his family had to be better at cooking and baking. Today he would just order his family around so that everything would be perfect for tomorrow. The turkey, the cookies, the cake, everything should be perfect for tomorrow. Not to forget all the other things, he really needed more than an oven when he thought about what he had to do today. It would be much work.
But miraculously, the day passed without any major problems. So now everything would be ready for tomorrow at Christmas. The only thing they had forgotten because there was simply no more time, the tree had to be decorated. They had postponed that until noon tomorrow, as none of them went to church and the guests came later, so there was still free time that could be used for this.
Lady would have understood this year if Dante hadn't spent Christmas with her. Normally they had spent these days drinking and bathing in self-pity, at least Dante and she always played babysitter for him, making sure that he didn't do so much nonsense during that time. Since he now had Vergil and the children, she had made her own plans that included a blonde demoness.
Trish had nothing against it and together they had also thought about which clubs and parties they wanted to make unsafe until the call from Dante came. It had really surprised Lady, she would have expected that Vergil just wanted to celebrate in the family, but that they were all welcome ... well, why not. When she thought back to how she had assessed him months ago, as a block of ice. She thought the change was good, even if she could now understand Vergil better why he was such an ass back then.
What Vergil went through, plus Nero and Amedeo. They could write a book or two about it and probably still have enough material for a third. But she had to admit, at the moment she was less worried about it, much more about what she should wear later. There she had the little black dress, but not really suitable for Christmas as she found. Then there would be a red dress, at least it went up to her knees, but she wasn't entirely convinced of it. The question was also how festive it was, did she even need fancier clothes or were normal clothes enough?
Lady sighed and threw herself on the bed, grabbed her cell phone and just texted Trish. 'What are you wearing today?' Maybe her friend could help her, she just waited and finally her cell phone hummed and she quickly looked at what Trish had written to her. Only it wasn't text, it was a picture. It was a jumpsuit in all black, which was cut tight at the waist and highlighted Trish's breasts perfectly, it also accentuated her long legs and Lady wondered what was actually not emphasized in the clothes. If she also looked at the high heels, her mouth watered.
This woman looked sexy as hell and it was Lady's girlfriend. She just grinned and sent her a few smilies before going back to her clothes. She took another closer look in her closet and then got stuck with the red cocktail dress, plus a pair of sexy tights so that she wouldn't freeze off and high boots in which she could walk longer. Add a few guns in the right places and she would be ready to go.
After she had really put some weapons under her clothes, Lady made her way to the Devil May Cry. She wanted to be there a little earlier and help. In addition, she believed that it wasn't so wrong to be there earlier, who knows what kind of chaos there might already be? Dante was no help in the kitchen, Nero was still quite young and Amedeo didn't really have any cooking experience. If nothing had changed in any way since she was last there, Vergil would definitely need some help in the kitchen if everything should be finished by evening.
"Dad, hold me higher, there has to be a Christmas ball up there!" commanded Nero while he was being held up by Dante. Vergil was sitting on the sofa, Amedeo next to him and both just watched Dante and Nero.
"Do you think we'll lose another ball?" asked Vergil, looking at his son beside him.
"I don't know, but I think we still have enough for the tree if Nero would put them at the same distance." Vergil smiled and stroked his son's hair lovingly.
"That's not what decorating is about. Of course it should look as perfect as possible, but this is also about having fun. Now come on, attach your Christmas balls to the tree, too, Amedeo." he asked his son to.
He himself had left his blue balls to his brother and his little son so that they could attach them. His thoughts were on dinner anyway, they had baked two trays of biscuits today, because yesterday the whole load had somehow mysteriously disappeared. And Dante had said he would overdo it with the shopping list...
If he hadn't written more, they would have had nothing left for cookies. At the moment the turkey was still simmering in the oven, it had to turn golden brown, later he would prepare the sauce and put on the dumplings. But fortunately these were only small things, he had done the biggest job yesterday and he was glad that everyone followed his instructions. That's why he was able to rest a little and drink his tea, which he now reached for.
His stomach was still not his best friend in the morning, he was also giving him problems, but at least he had got the vomiting under control. His will simply kept him from it, but he had a stomachache for longer, but he got it under control with blood or, as now, with a soothing tea. Amedeo now looked at him briefly before he got up and went to Dante and Nero. His son should join in, after all, it was the first Christmas for his two children and he hoped that next year they would be able to welcome another little baby into their family.
Vergil sighed quietly with satisfaction when he saw Amedeo being spun in by Nero, he was still so glad that his children got along. That Dante had simply accepted Amedeo in the end, he was very happy about that. He knew enough stories where the Alpha had simply killed the Omegas children and then brought new ones into the world with him. There were enough gruesome stories, but the humans were no better here either. Wanted to have a wife but not the children from the previous relationship.
Fortunately, Dante was really easy to get along with and he saw how Dante was smiling at his two children and joking with them. He really had to blink briefly to fight the urge to cry. He wasn't even sad right now, this whole Christmas atmosphere just messed him up. After more than twenty years in hell, he spent Christmas with his family, which just makes him emotional.
"Keep decorating, don't forget the tinsel! I'll just be with your mom for a moment, and there's no music, I'll turn it on right away!" were Dante's words and shortly afterwards Vergil felt his brother staring at him and crouching down in front of him.
"Hey what's up, Verg?" asked Dante in a low, worried voice and he just had to look at him and smile slightly.
"Nothing." was Vergil's answer and actually nothing was going on, he was fine so far, he got enough blood, there were no demons after them at the moment. So actually everything was perfect.
"But you look like you're going to cry." Dante's worried words and he just had to smile a little more.
"It's ... all of this, it's too good to be true. I just didn't expect to celebrate Christmas with you and my kids. It all just feels so unreal." Vergil admitted and saw how Dante reached out his hand to pinch Vergil's cheek afterwards.
"Dante! What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, rubbing his cheek, it had hurt.
"If it hurts, it's not a dream, Vergil, so it's real." Dante simply grinned at him at the words, then leaned closer.
"It feels like a dream to me too, and even if it is, I'm glad we're dreaming the same." With these words, Dante stole a kiss from him before he went to his jukebox to look for music.
Vergil just shook his head and rubbed his eyes, his brother was such an idiot, but he always managed to cheer him up and when he finally heard really old Christmas classics from the jukebox, he relaxed more again. He wasn't going to let Amdusias or Mundus or anyone destroy him this Christmas. Let one be dead and the other locked in hell, they no longer had any power in his memories either. He just wouldn't let his experiences from hell ruin this beautiful Christmas! He wanted to approach the matter carefree, just like his children and Dante, who again helped the two with decorating.
He would just banish his negative feelings, he would ...
"Hello, I'm here!" Lady opened the door loudly, confusing everyone in the Devil May Cry.
"Christmasball!" Dante called when he saw how Nero had let go of her in shock. Amedeo just managed to catch her after moving quickly in the last second.
"Oops." Lady said softly and looked around apologetically.
"I didn't think you were down here, sorry." her words and she put down two full shopping bags. Vergil just clicked his tongue disgustingly and tried to stay calm and rubbed his stomach with one hand.
"Hello Lady, isn't it a little early?" he asked and looked at his watch which he had borrowed from Dante. With the clock he could at least keep an eye on when he had to go back to the kitchen and now it was very practical to see what time it was. It was definitely a few hours too early when guests were actually planned.
"I might be a little early, but I wanted to offer my help in the kitchen." she said and went closer to the big Christmas tree and admired it.
In the meantime the children had reached the tinsel to hang on the tree. Although Nero had some tinsel in his hair by now and Amedeo too, the children had even thought of Dante.
"It's really big, but really pretty. All the colors and the tinsel, really a good choice." praised Lady and looked around with a smile.
"Lady, you have to get tinsel in your hair and mom too." Nero's words, who meanwhile sat on Amedeo's shoulders, so he had been able to decorate the tree further up while Dante was with Vergil. Nero just knew how to help himself with his size.
"Well I won't say no. Are you going to take part too, Vergil?" Lady asked challengingly and Vergil put his tea aside.
"Of course, I don't deny my kids this fun." After his words he noticed how Lady began to grin and whispered something to his two children who nodded eagerly. Somehow he suspected something bad, especially when Dante started to giggle. What were these four planning to do, what would they do to him?
A little later, Vergil ended up having his hair braided and his children having woven tinsel into it, and to top it all off, Lady took photos of it with her cell phone. Dante couldn't contain himself from more giggling, so Vergil had threatened him that if he continued like this he would have to sleep again on the sofa and not in bed. That had made Dante calm down, which had made Vergil giggle, as if he was still letting his brother sleep on the sofa.
"I have to see after our meal now, it's time." Vergil said after a while and got up.
"I'll come with you, I'll help." Lady's words and Vergil nodded, she would see that there wasn't much more to help. She should have come yesterday when he would have needed her.
He gave Dante a meaningful look, who nodded with a smile, would he just clarify this matter, maybe it was even better to say it to everyone individually and not all at the same time.
After Lady and Vergil went up, Dante examined the two bags Lady had brought with her a little more closely.
"Oh, I see alcohol and presents. Then it occurs to me that our presents have to be under the tree too. Are you finished, boys? Is the tree now after your satisfaction, Nero?" Dante asked and turned to the children, saw Amedeo just lifting Nero off his shoulders.
"Everything finished, dad. All the balls are on the tree, and the tinsel is gone too. We had attached the fairy lights first, so now you can switch them on." reported Nero and looked very proud, he had decorated most of the tree and nobody had bothered about it.
Amedeo had been more shy, but he had also attached his Christmas balls. Dante had made sure that his and Vergil's came to the tree by always passing them to Nero. The little one had so much fun making the tree perfect, it had reminded him so much of Vergil when he was little. They had started celebrating Christmas because of her mother. She had loved Christmas and Sparda had never refused anything from Eva, so they had started celebrating it.
Dante could still remember how he had argued with Vergil about who was allowed to decorate the tree when they were about Nero's age. Vergil had won one year and had been allowed to do it the next. According to their parents, both had been perfect in their own way. Those were nice memories and he hoped that Vergil would still remember them, if not he would have to tell him about them. But now he switched on the fairy lights and really had to admit that Nero and Amedeo really had a hand to decorate the tree, they had to have it from Vergil. Because he knew very well that if he had decorated it alone, one side would probably be completely full and the other completely empty. He wasn't good at that.
But Dante didn't have to worry about that anymore, Vergil's children had taken over the job. But it was his children too, not just Vergil's. Even if it was still sometimes difficult to really realize that he was no longer alone, that he had his brother back. That he was not only uncle, but also dad, at least from Nero. Amedeo has so far held back with the designation, but he did not urge him to either. Amedeo certainly didn't have it easy to deal with all of this, Nero saw it even easier, the little cheerful nature, but he was also younger.
Now Dante distributed Lady's presents under the tree and chilled the alcohol. It was good that he had space again in his mini fridge because the turkey was no longer stored there.
"Boys, since the tree is ready, it's time for you to bathe, you promised your mom. So up with the two of you." he shooed the children and Nero gave the tree a brief critical look before he ran up the stairs. Amedeo simply used his ability to merge with the shadows and reappeared at the top next to the door.
"Unfair Ame! You cheated." Nero grumbled at his big brother who looked at Nero completely confused. "I didn't know it was a competition." he apologized and Nero nodded and smiled at him again.
"Of course it was, but next time you will know it now and when I grow up later, I can do something cool too." Nero's words slowly became quieter when he went into the apartment with Amedeo.
Dante just shook his head with a grin as the children disappeared into the apartment and then went upstairs himself, but pulled down the stairs to the attic, where he had hidden his presents for the children and Vergil. With Nero it was easy what he would get, the second visit to the toy store was still good in his mind. He even bought two presents for the little one, one that he could share with his brother and one for him personally. It had been harder with Amedeo and Vergil, but in the end something had occurred to him from his childhood that Vergil had loved back then, but unfortunately he had not had many opportunities to use this gift back then. But now his brother would have time, especially Vergil could be twice as happy, he got his present and matching books.
Only with Amedeo was he desperate, he had no idea what he would like, the boy probably didn't even have that himself. Since Ame spent most of the time with Nero or with his mom, Dante had finally decided to buy almost the same as he did for Nero. Next year he might be able to do more specific shopping for Amedeo, or for his birthday. As he just remembered, when was Nero and Amedeo's birthday? He had to ask Vergil that. He knew when it was his own birthday, but the children? Somehow the question never came up before.
But now he carried the Christmas presents down, even ran several times because he was careful and didn't want to break any of them. The gifts had been expensive and he was glad that he had been able to buy them on the side when he had bought food. He had even bought the last presents together with Amedeo, he hadn't even noticed it. Probably he hadn't even understood it, Nero would have immediately asked why he put toys in the shopping cart. Maybe Ame would remember when he recognized the gifts later, then maybe next time he would pay more attention to what Dante was buying.
Just as Dante was putting Vergil's presents under the tree, the doorbell rang. Did everyone come too early today somehow?
Lady wondered what this meaningful look meant between Dante and Vergil. She was really curious, but she was patient until she was upstairs with Vergil and in the kitchen. Even let him see after the turkey first, which she had to admit now looked damn tasty before she opened her mouth.
"Spit it out, what did the look between you two mean? What do you want to tell me?" she said, making herself comfortable on one of the kitchen chairs. Vergil himself sat down across from her after he was satisfied with the turkey, lowered the temperature of the oven a little and finally he looked at her.
"Dante and I thought about how we should say it. Well we didn't quite agree, but this time I'll put it in Dante's way. You'll be an aunt." Vergil finally came out with the language and Lady did not understand it immediately. Should she be Nero and Amedeo's aunt right now? Or what did they mean?
"Neros and Amedeos ... or what?" she asked about it and Vergil shook his head.
"But then ..." she started and closed her mouth again.
"Oooooooh!" she finally said when she understood it and stared in disbelief at Vergil who was even slightly red around the nose.
"You're pregnant." finally brought Lady out and Vergil nodded. Why did he look so insecure about it?
Was Vergil afraid that she wouldn't like to hear that? Well she wasn't a moral apostle, she really wasn't, but somewhere she could understand Vergil's contemplation. Twins, half demons at that and one made the other pregnant. Amedeo and Nero were not Dante's children, she had no big thoughts on that. But this child that was growing up in Vergil was from her best friend. She sighed for a long time and rubbed her forehead briefly, brooding.
"Won't there be any problems for the child? With human children it can lead to malformations and everything, especially when there are twins who are the parents." she asked Vergil and he gently shook his head.
"Our demonic blood ensures that everything is going to be okay. I didn't even believe that I could get pregnant at all ..." he said quietly and Lady could well imagine why Vergil had thought that. When she got to know him he was really skinny, he didn't look really fragile on the outside, but after everything Dante and Nero had told her. She would have doubted that he could still get pregnant.
"Is it a problem for you?" asked Vergil and she thought he sounded shy? So she really didn't know him, that she had probably not given a clear answer to the matter so far, really unsettling him.
"No. As long as the baby and especially you are fine, everything is great. It was just the shock at first, Vergil. Damn it, how does an aunt behave?" she asked and grinned at Vergil who slowly relaxed under her eyes.
"I don't know. I don't even know if the baby will survive ..." Vergil mumbled softly and she just had to bend over and flick his forehead.
"What?" Vergil asked, irritated and she put a finger to his lips.
"Quiet. Now listen to me. You and your baby will make it, what is the point of this negative attitude? Please think positively, I don't want to hear 'whether I'll keep it' or 'whether the baby will survive' or anything else. You will please keep it inside you. And godchild, you will please survive, understand?" Lady sat back in her chair and saw Vergil turn his head and wipe away a few tears.
"It will be alright, Vergil." she added now more calmly and watched him as he still wiped a few tears from his face. She did a great job, she doesn't want to make him cry.
"Thank you." Vergil finally said quietly after what felt like an eternity which in truth was maybe only a few minutes.
"Don't worry, really, don't approach it with that attitude. Try to think the best, is Dante taking good care of you?" Vergil nodded and finally looked at her again with a small smile.
"He does. I am barely allowed to move, according to him. I have a lot of books about pregnancy here and he gives me blood every day, even several times if I just look a little too pale." Vergil explained to her and Lady was really pleased with the words she heard.
"Then that would be another moment." she said, amused, and Vergil just nodded resignedly.
"Probably, yesterday he made me take a long bath and massaged my shoulders. Before that ... we had been in bed ..." he said and Lady covered her ears for a moment.
"No bed stories, please!" she quickly brought out what made Vergil laugh.
"Don't worry, we were just cuddling. He's really trying everything to make me and the baby feel good." Vergil continued and Lady just had to take a picture. This facial expression that Vergil was showing, this blissful happy smile, she just had to hold onto for posterity.
"Lady ..." Vergil grumbled and she just laughed herself and showed him the photo.
"This one, Dante has to see later, and the baby later when it's born. You look so happy." she said and giggled what made Vergil look angry, or at least he tried, Lady found.
"Mother, we're going to bathe." Amedeo interrupted their togetherness followed by Nero.
"Are you done with the tree?" Vergil asked and Lady had her cell phone at hand again in case she had to take another picture.
"Yes we are done." Amedeo's words and Nero nodded in confirmation.
"The tree is perfect now. All the Christmas decorations are on the tree and dad turned on the fairy lights, it looks great mom." reported Nero and literally beamed because he was so happy.
"You two did a great job, then quickly to the bathroom, the other guests should come soon." Vergil's words and Lady just watched the whole conversation and smiled contentedly.
Lady also grabbed one of the cookies that were in a bowl on the table and nibbled on it.
"They'll be two great guys when they grow up." Lady muttered her mouth full and Vergil just looked at her disapprovingly.
"Don't speak when your mouth is full. But yes, there will be good boys. Amedeo is developing well, he learns just as quickly as Nero. After the holidays I wanted to start teaching them to read and write properly. Nero is now at that age and Amedeo should also be able to do it and not only demonic. " Vergil's words when he went back to the stove and prepared everything he needed later. Lady just nodded and first chewed up her biscuit and then stood next to Vergil.
"Let me help you, otherwise Dante will complain later."