Fearless…?
Thanks to Bustahead for the idea.
Some time around three o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon during the school holiday, Vergil was racking up a Sonic high score and Dante was attempting to wrestle his second favourite t-shirt from the jaws of their pet hellhound.
"C'mon…give it over!" Dante grunted, sitting on the floor and jamming one foot against the sofa for leverage.
"He's not going to." Vergil told him. "Let go or you're going to rip it."
"Don't care…grrr…it's the principal of the thingggrrrrrrr…give it…"
"The seams are already going." Vergil warned.
"…don't…care…giveitbackalready!"
"Cut it out will you; you're distracting me and I'm this close to beating your high score."
"You'll never beat that score…it took me forever to get it…cut it out and give it back!...I faked being sick so I could get the day off to get that score…"
"Freak."
"Like you can talk when you've been trying to beat it all break. Yeee-esss! I got it! Haha! Aww man…that's one hell of a hole…"
"I told you so."
Dante sighed and held his second favourite t-shirt out while staring mournfully at the large hole now gracing the centre of it, not to mention the other rips and the vast quantities of dog spit.
"Mum's not going to be able to stitch that one." Vergil mumbled. "Guess you could make patches out of it."
Dante mumbled something indistinct and crossed his arms, shuffling over to sit just behind his brother so he could annoy him by breathing down his neck and watching his game over his shoulder. Just as planned, it put him off so much that he screwed up the game and soon ended up loosing his last life…falling just short of Dante's prized score.
"Dammit."
"Bad luck, bro."
"Shut up, you still can't top my points on Mario."
"Like I care about Mario when I can kick your ass at every other game we have."
"Only because you never let me get a look in."
After a couple more minutes of half hearted arguing and Dante nearly loosing his t-shirt all over again, they both decided that the day would be more fun for both of them if they could go and pester their father. They found him slouched comfortably in a garden chair with his arms crossed and chin resting on his chest which rose and fell in the steady rhythm of a man happily asleep in the sunshine. The boys shared a sly nod of agreement and proceeded to sneak up on him. With both of them poised to pounce on either side they waited a moment for complete silence to settle and then both jumped on him, roaring and digging at his sides with questing fingers in the hope of finding a ticklish spot.
Sparda woke with a start, practically leaping from his chair and automatically dropping into a fighter's crouch, scanning the area for threats. He spotted only his boys and relaxed.
"Never do that again." He told them, flopping back down into the recliner.
"Hahaha! We scared you!" Dante sniggered.
"Don't be daft." Sparda sniffed. "You just woke me up unexpectedly, that's all."
Vergil considered this and realised that this was a perfect opportunity to gather some fresh ammo for when April Fools day rolled around. "So what are you scared of?"
Sparda looked over to him. "Nothing."
"Nothing at all?"
"Nothing at all." He confirmed.
"Liar, everyone is scared of something."
He supposed that he could have told them, in all honesty, that his greatest fear was loosing his family but that was a grown-up thing and not something that his son's were interested in. So instead he told them. "Well, I'm not."
"I bet," said Dante thoughtfully, "that you're afraid of something really stupid. Y'know, like how superheroes can do all this cool stuff and get through really scary things but then have this really dumb weakness."
"Nope." Sparda said with a smile. "But…you're mum can be scary sometimes."
All three shared a chuckle of agreement.
"Aw, c'mon dad; tell us what you're scared of." Dante whinged convinced that if he was this intent on not telling them then it must be something worth knowing.
"No, now go away and…I don't know…play those videogames or something. I was in the middle of a nap."
"Only old people nap." Dante informed him.
"I am old." He said indignantly.
"Yeah, but not wrinkly old."
"Fine, then if you don't mind I would like to continue resting my eyes. Away with you, pests." He said, shooing them away with his hands in a playful manner.
The boys snickered and left, retreating to whatever they could think of to keep them amused.
-An Hour Later-
Dante had wracked his brains for everything he could think of that might possibly frighten his father in the slightest and had spent a while going through this list with Sparda himself…who had quickly grown annoyed. The Dark Knight had been politely asked if he had a problem with churches…what with being a devil and all. Sparda had chased him up to his room and had then retreated to the sitting room to channel hop on the TV.
Convinced his father was lying about his fear Dante decided that he would test out each one he could think of on his father…first up was going to be spiders. He had spent ten minutes looking for the biggest spider he could find with Jackpot's help…well…if running around randomly and barking his head of at caterpillars could be considered help. Dante then snuck into the room where Sparda was dozing in his favourite chair in front of the TV with the Orb Web spider perched on his palm and a torch he had taken from the shed.
And then Eva walked into the room. "What do you think you are doing, young man?"
At the sound of his wife's voice, Sparda woke and the first thing he saw was the large silhouette on the wall beside him. He yelped and nearly jumped out of his chair, eyes flying wide.
Dante started laughing and Sparda looked both sheepish and annoyed as he saw that the giant spider shadow was being cast only by the torch and the arachnid his son had cradled in his left hand.
"Are you alright, honey?" Eva asked him as he clutched his chest like he was going to have a heart attack and gave his son a glare filled with venom.
"Dante, don't you ever do that to me again!"
"You're scared of spiders! I knew it, I just knew it! I've got to tell Verge! Hahahahaha!"
"I am not afraid of spiders…I though it was Phantom! I still owe him because of that stupid bet." he tried to explain through his boy's laughter.
Eva backed out of the room very confused and not sure whether to scold Dante or join in his mirth with her own giggles.
End
Author's Note – Here we have what I hope to be the first of many chapters based off reviewers suggestions. Just to let you know, I am already working on the Christmas one but I think that it may come in parts because it could turn up to be a bit longer than most of these chapters. So stay tuned.
Thanks and cookies as always!
Kerrianne Harrington – I try so hard to keep the boy's in character but there's not much I can do for Eva and Sparda…hey ho…I can't imagine Vergil being 'huggly and soft' anyway, even as a kid. I'll try and stick with the humour but sometimes I fails me.
mrs.johntracy – Yeah, a teenage one has been suggested before and l may do one at some point but right now I have no solid ideas. Well have to wait and see. Thank you for reviewing!
windchaser90 – Thank you and welcome to my insanity.
Bustahead – Probably not what you expected but here you go…I tried my best with your suggestion. Hope you like it. And TRAINERS all the way! Not that I even own a pair…(looks at the Dr. Martens and New Rocks in the corner)
Meirelle – (gasp!) If you draw a picture, pleasepleaseplease show me? I'm glad you liked the image…it got stuck in my head and begged to be written.
Ri2 – Uh…ok…Well, there was nothing in the dark actually; he just brushed up against something normal and got spooked. Daft, I know, but it seemed alright at the time.
Yasmine – Glad you liked! Thank you!
BiOhAzArD – I'll tell C-chan you liked it when I next see her. And I know already she will grin and say thank you but then say it was not really her best…and I will hit her for putting herself down again. And don't worry; I will not let your comment cast aspersions on your manliness.
Tenshi no Eikou – Glad you like it and I'll try to keep with the humour more…but when I run out I have to resort to cute. Thank you for the review!
