When Vergil pulled up outside Lady's house in a sleek looking car that evening (he had spent the better part of the last year finally learning how to drive), Trish was just closing the front door behind her. She caught sight of the smooth black vehicle and paused, before sauntering over.

"Not bad," she said, leaning down as Vergil lowered the passenger window. "A little close to the ground though, isn't it?" She smirked. "Hoping to catch sight of something as she gets in?"

"How crass," Vergil tutted, trying to look past her. "Why are you still here?"

"Well someone had to help her get ready," Trish said, straightening up and crossing her arms. "You know she doesn't dress up very often. Poor girl needs all the help she can get."

"She seemed to manage just fine without you before," Vergil mumbled, recalling the few times he had actually seen Lady in a dress. Sure she tended to have a few guns hidden here and there, and more often than not seemed to prefer combat boots over heels, but who could blame her? Vergil didn't exactly go unprepared during their outings either. Besides, her somewhat rough look was what made her so appealing.

"So she tells you," Trish sighed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She bent down again and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Listen, you'd better not mess up tonight, alright?"

"Excuse me?"

"I've actually managed to convince her to leave the weapons behind for once and put on something more feminine for a change. Girl's had her make-up done and everything. I'm counting on you to make sure her perfectly styled hair stays that way, got it?"

"I..." Vergil glanced over at Lady's door. He felt his cheeks warm slightly as he imagined what she must look like behind the thin layer of wood. He couldn't deny that the image Trish had conjured in his mind was somewhat… enticing. He cleared his throat. "We are merely going for a simple meal and perhaps a visit to the cinema. There should be no cause for alarm." Or so he hoped, anyway. He could count on one hand the few outings they had managed to enjoy without some sort of interruption. Still, he had the Yamato back now - if anything tried to get in their way he'd just dispose of it before his companion even realised there was an issue.

Trish raised an eyebrow and stepped back from the vehicle. "Sure," she said dryly. "Anyway, I'd better get going. You probably should too given how insistent you were on the timing," she added, tapping her bare wrist.

Vergil glanced at the clock on the dashboard and flinched as he realised that it was just about to hit seven. He quickly shoved the driver side door open and stepped out into the road, somehow maintaining an air of elegance despite his haste. He gave Trish a quick nod in thanks as he pushed past her, then jabbed at the bell on Lady's door just as the faint sound of bells began to sound in the distance. By the time the door in front of him had cracked open slightly, Trish was gone.

"Wow you weren't kidding when you said seven on the dot, huh?" Lady's nervous voice said from the darkness beyond. A solitary crimson eye stared out at Vergil from the shadows.

"Are you ready?" Vergil asked bluntly, trying to resist the urge to push the door open a little further.

"I'm… not sure…" Lady's left eye looked past him and seemed to scan the area. "Is Trish gone?"

"Why should that matter?"

"It's… well…" Lady sighed. "I-I think I just need a bit longer to get ready, okay?" she stammered at last, moving to close the door. Without thinking, Vergil pushed his foot forward, widening the gap. Something didn't seem right. Lady let out a small yelp and jumped backwards into the darkened apartment.

"What's the matter?" Vergil queried, stepping inside and reaching for the lightswitch. His hand felt for the hilt of the Yamato, forming an empty fist as he remembered that he had left it in the vehicle. He needed to get used to carrying it around again it seemed, despite his joy at its return.

"Damn it…" Lady hissed. "Look, I'm just a little embarrassed, okay? So just give me a moment to-" Her words were cut off as the whole room lit up. She had to shield her eyes for a moment, and when she could see again she almost burst into tears. "Oh no!" she practically sobbed. "I told her I looked ridiculous! She's gonna pay for-"

"No!" Vergil exclaimed suddenly, pulled out of his momentary stupor. He was suddenly painfully aware of how his expression must have looked to Lady when she saw him - widened eyes, furrowed brows, his mouth hanging open slightly… easy to mistake for horror or disgust. But in truth what he was feeling couldn't be further from those things. "Y-You look…" he gulped.

"Like a complete idiot right?!" Lady asked, dabbing at her heavily make-up covered eyes with a piece of tissue. The small piece of fabric came away almost completely black.

"...Different," Vergil said at last. "In a positive way," he hastily added when Lady raised her flushed face towards him. Up until this point, Vergil had thought that makeup looked cheap and false (in fact, he still did) but there was something about the way Lady's had been applied - a gentle darkening around the eyes, a soft blush on her cheeks, those dark red lips - that somehow made her look even more alluring than he'd already thought possible.

"I look like a freaking doll!" Lady grumbled, staring into a small mirror hanging next to her door. She barely recognised herself.

"It's far more subtle than you think," Vergil insisted, walking behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders. They looked into the mirror together and Vergil noted not for the first time how tired and worn out he looked in comparison to the woman in front of him. He gently reached up and cupped Lady's chin, slowly turning her head from side to side, so that she could look at herself. "I'm sure it's because you're not used to seeing yourself this way, and you know I'd be the first to chastise the she-devil if she'd made even the slightest error." He lowered his hand and placed a kiss on the top of her head. He noted that her hair had indeed been straightened and then perfectly maneuvered into shape. It smelt vaguely floral. "You look…" he glanced away in embarrassment. "You look beautiful."

"You really think so?" Lady asked, leaning her head back against Vergil's chest and staring up at him. "You're not just saying that so we can leave on time?"

Vergil forced himself to stare into her shining eyes in order to avoid accidentally looking somewhere he shouldn't. The floor-length midnight blue dress Lady was wearing hugged her figure almost too perfectly, and didn't leave much to the imagination. There was a long slit down the right side, and Vergil gently stroked his fingertips against the smooth skin of her thigh through the gap. It was rare for her not to be wearing stockings or tights underneath. "I have no reason to lie to you," he stated, maintaining his gaze. He smiled slightly as a shiver ran through Lady's entire body. "Although I would like to leave sooner rather than later," he added, gently pushing her away from him. He suddenly felt quite underdressed in his dark blue suit and black silk shirt. If Lady had any objections however, she didn't voice them.

"I'm trusting you..." Lady grumbled, checking herself over in the mirror one more time. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Your... assistant didn't tell you?" Vergil asked in surprise. Given how much Lady's attitude had changed after his call to Trish, he'd assumed that the she-devil had said at least something.

"She said she'd suggested a few things to you, but she didn't give me any specifics…" Lady replied, pushing past him. "Honestly, just the fact that you called her for advice was enough to make me happy."

Vergil hummed thoughtfully. He and the doppelganger had ended up speaking at great length about his plans for the evening. Trish had insisted on knowing every last detail so that she could ensure that Lady was 'appropriately dressed' for the occasion. Once it was clear that there was to be no (planned) combat involved for once, Trish had excitedly ended the call saying something about a 'shopping spree'. He had expected her to reveal everything to his date for the evening, but perhaps she was better at keeping secrets than he'd previously thought. "Well then, I'll just have to show you," he said, gesturing towards her front door.

"Can you at least tell me which of these would be more appropriate?" she asked, holding up a pair of blue stilettos and a pair of dark coloured combat boots. Vergil stared at her for a moment. Ideally, the answer should have been obvious, but when he thought back to some of their previous attempts at meals out... No. He wouldn't allow anything to go wrong tonight. He silently pointed at the heels, then held onto Lady's arm to steady her as she struggled into them. Finally, she draped a shawl of some sort over her shoulders and the pair headed outside.

"Nice ride," Lady said, automatically heading for the driver's side. Vergil cleared his throat and intercepted her path, gently leading her towards the passenger side. When she looked up at him in confusion, he carefully slid his driving licence out of his breast pocket and held it in front of her.

"I wanted to surprise you with this," he said, tidying the small card away again. Lady had known he was taking lessons, but was unaware that he'd passed. He assumed that she'd thought he'd given up.

"Congratulations!" Lady smiled. Then asked nervously "...How long?"

"Around five months," Vergil stated. "Don't worry, I have been practicing. The opportunity just never came up to reveal it to you until now."

"You should have said something, we could have gone out to celebrate!" Lady pouted. "I can't believe you managed to keep quiet about this for so long…"

"Well then, perhaps tonight can be a celebration of many things," Vergil said, reaching around and opening the door for her. "This is a rental by the way, so don't get too attached," he whispered into her ear as he straightened up.

"Is there anything else you're hiding?" Lady asked, only half-jokingly.

"Nothing comes to mind…" Vergil said after a moment's thought. He'd briefly recalled the odd conversation he'd had with Dante that morning, but decided not to dwell on it any further. "Shall we?"

"Of course," Lady said, holding his gaze just a little too long. Vergil looked away as she lowered herself into the vehicle. Take that, she-devil, he thought smugly to himself, carefully avoiding turning around until he heard the click of Lady's seat belt.

After making sure she was comfortable, Vergil closed the passenger door and headed over to the other side. He slid into the driver's seat and shot Lady a confident smile. "I've been waiting for this moment," he said, starting the engine.

"Just try not to get lost," Lady said, sticking her tongue out at him.

A/N -

Lady: I have too much make-up on!
Vergil: It's barely there.

Lady being too self-conscious, or Vergil being an oblivious guy? Who can say? XD

Thanks for reading! Next chapter may be a little while again and updates will probably slow down even more for a while (sorry!) but please bear with me and I'll try to update when I can ❤️