I had thought that maybe, just maybe, Dante would be willing to finally I hear me out, to let me explain that I hadn't been able to bear the idea of any sort of harm befalling him. Instead it was me who had hurt him far worse than any other was capable of, both physically and emotionally, and realizing that is far more crushing than the absolute fact that I had indeed abandoned him. That I had been wholly selfish and self-serving. That I had incorrectly assumed him to be far too human.

It should have been clear from the start that he feels emotions as demons do, as I do. Heightened to the extreme, beyond all rational thought and well out of the scope of what any language can possibly convey, never any less. So it should have been clear that his love for me is as boundless as mine is for him, that there would never be room for another in his heart, that we are the only ones ever able to complete one another.

He is justifiably angry at me, the pain that I had I inflicted upon him so deeply rooted, and it feels like no amount of apologizing would make up for what I've done. I can live with his anger, for it is no less than what I deserve, but-

"I need to go."

My heart constricts at those four words, the pain so acute that it feels as if I might die, and I move before I can even begin to process what I'm doing. With those four words the slim grasp I had on my emotions is completely severed, a keening wail escaping me as I barrel into Dante and send us toppling off of the corner of the bed. We land on the hardwood floor in a tangle of limbs, my brother taking the brunt of the fall, and I desperately cling to him with my face buried in his chest.

For several seconds Dante is still beneath me, his body stiff, and then at the slightest shift I tighten my hold on him, fearing that he's going to push me away. That he will leave me as I had left him, and as hypocritical of me as it is I cannot let him go. A violent tremble runs through me as his hands come to lightly rest on my shoulders, a sob issuing from me as I screw my eyes shut, expecting the worst. Instead of pushing me away he wraps his arms around me, the tension draining from his body, and he gives a softly muttered, "Damnit."

All that I had wanted to say prior is lost in the overwhelming surge of the emotions I had tried to suppress for so long, even going so far as to cast them off with my humanity, and all I can manage is an, "I'm sorry," that is whimpered out in between sobs. A short, simple phrase that will do little to ease the pain, but I speak it nonetheless. I absolutely mean it.

Dante gives a choked sob of his own, claws digging into the back of my shirt before his embrace tightens further. "I know," he whispers, voice cracked with the rawness of his pain, and curls his wings around me. It is an added comfort I know I don't deserve, much like I don't deserve my brother, but I am all the more grateful to receive. "Love and harmony combine And around our souls entwine, While thy branches mix with mine And our roots together join."

A lump forms in my throat at Dante's recitation of Love and Harmony Combine's first stanza, the very same that I had uttered to him time and again before I had left him. For him recite it to me now, after all of the pain and heartache he has suffered due to me, I truly do not deserve him. "Dante…"

"It hurt a whole hell of a lot, it still does, but I-" He pauses and I'm certain that he's worrying his lower lip without even needing to look up at him, his body giving a subtle quiver beneath mine. "-I still love you so damn much. I thought I could maybe deal with trying not to, that I could just go back to how it was before you returned, but it all hurts so much more without you, like-"

"-you can hardly think, let alone focus on anything else, and it feels like the air is slowly being stolen from your lungs. It feels like you're dying, endlessly, and it only worsens the longer your are away." I know how it feels all too well, having chosen to suffer it for myself, but I shouldn't have forced that upon Dante. "And when you are finally reunited you can breathe again, finally live again."

My twin goes silent for what feels like an eternity and then his arms loosen around me, his hands grasping at my arms. "Vergil, look at me." He speaks just barely above a whisper, claws briefly digging into my arms.

I lift my head up with a sniffle, my vision blurring temporarily as I open my eyes and gaze upon Dante. His eyes are reddened and puffy from crying, likely a perfect mirror of my own, tears clinging to his lashes. A worn smile flits across his face, marred by two and a half decades worth of grief, and he reaches up to push my sleep-tousled hair back. It is unexpected and touching all the same, bringing a ghost of a smile to my lips.

"I'm sorry too," he starts, fingers sliding back around to graze down along my jaw. "It hurt just as much for you, if not more, and I didn't want to acknowledge that." His touch lingers, the tips of his claws a feather-light press on my skin. "You always seemed like you were so fucking impervious, that nothing could move you, and I was wrong. You were moved by love."

It is so much more than that, my love for him just a mere piece of the puzzle. "You, Dante, I was moved by you, and have always been. You, my heart and soul, my everything, my motivation, my reason… I am alive, here and now, because of you." I had, as that twisted and corrupted remnant, wanted to fight Dante one last time, to defeat him and prove myself superior once and for all, but even that had been wrong. Though Mundus' control had long since been severed there had been some lingering affects, all of which are thankfully gone.

"God, Verge, you're so fucking extra sometimes," Dante says with a sniffle and a few more shed tears. "And don't you dare tell me you were dying." There's a bite to his voice with that one, and just underneath of it is fear.

"Then I shall not tell you." He gives me a heatless glare along with several more tears. "I am in no danger of dying, Dante, so cease your worrying."

"I think I will be keeping an eye on you after all," he grumbles out.

"Is that a promise, Dante?" There is a quick blink-and-you'll-miss-it flicker of surprise in his eyes at my question, and then the corners of his mouth twitch before a smile settles there.

"Yes, that's a promise, Vergil." His touch vanishes, hand dropping down to rest on his chest where my tears had soaked his shirt. "And you, promise me you won't leave me again."

"I promise to never leave you again, Dante." I drop my head back down onto his chest, trapping his hand there, and rub my cheek against the back of his hand. The temptation to close my eyes and bask in his scent is strong, but we are due to get up and-

"Boys, it's past time to wake up," father calls as he opens the door to my bedroom and sticks his head in. I have to wonder just how long he's been outside of the door and listening in because he spots us straight away where we're sprawled out on the floor by the foot of the bed at the far end of the room.

Though this is their house, and we their children, I find the intrusion into what I view as my domain to be a touch bothersome. A low growl of warning bubbles up in my throat and I lift my head up from Dante's chest to bare my fangs at father, my tail lashing.

Father merely chuckles, as though amused by my possessive display, then sends out a pulse of his power that makes me flinch and stops my growl short. "You still have quite a ways to go before that will have any sort of effect on me, Vergil." Yes, he is definitely amused, and quite proud. "Now get up and go take a bath, both of you. The tailor will be here soon."