Go Get Your Own

Disclaimer: Devil May Cry belongs to people who are not me. I am making £0.00 out of this fic; it is written purely because I had some Dante angst.

Rating: PG-13

Part: One of Three

Set: Post DMC5 - Several months after my fic Emotional Support Demons

Authoress note Dante wants what Vergil has.

NOTE: I don't normally speak with you all directly, but I have an announcement. I'm currently doing a tidy up/purge of my fics. Hopefully by the end of April 2022 this will be complete. So, if a fic you enjoy disappears at the end of April, please reach out to me as I am happy to share them privately with you.

For all my reviewers, who without I would have surely given up a long time ago.

Chapter One

"So, you're mad at Dante," Nero said.

Vergil said nothing. He hadn't spoken other than a grunted "welcome" since Nero walked in. The shop was quiet. Shadow slept on her back, all four paws in the air at odd angles. Griffon had perched on the banister and also seemed to sleep. A dark puddle bubbled in the far corner, which Nero took to mean Nightmare was maybe sleeping. Did Nightmare sleep? Damn thing didn't have a proper face. How the hell was he supposed to know what it was doing?

The only absence in the shop was Dante.

No Dante, a silent, sullen Vergil and subdued familiars meant they'd had a fight.

Again.

They'd been getting better at not making their disagreements everyone else's problem, but sometimes they still needed a little help. Nero wasn't sure if this was one of those times, so with all the finesse of a tiger with a burning tail, he poked Vergil with a metaphorical stick.

"You mad?"

"I am not mad."

"Could have fooled me." Nero leaned back. He waited for a moment before leaning forward and plucking the book Vergil was reading out of his hands. Nero put it down on the floor. "Talk."

He realized then, as he sometimes did, that as little as a year ago he'd have been far too nervous to treat his father in such a way. Vergil had been intimidating by existing. He'd also had a famously short temper. It was nice now to know that these days he was no longer afraid of his father and that Vergil was unlikely to lash out at Nero's persistence.

"There's nothing to talk about," Vergil said. Griffin scoffed from the banister, not as asleep as Nero had suspected he was.

"You're home alone, sulking, and Dante is out by himself. Something happened. Talk."

"About what?"

"Fine," Nero huffed. "If nothing happened, then why don't you just tell me about your day? How's it been this morning?"

"Undeserving of comment."

"See now I know you're mad." Nero grinned. "You've always got something to bitch about. Dante bought substandard coffee. The mattress needs replacing. The house is filthy. For there to be no comment… Well, that tells a story all its own."

"You are persistent." Vergil reached for his book, Nero kicked it away.

"Yup."

"Has it ever occurred to you that people may not enjoy having their private business interfered with?"

"That's rich coming from the guy who crashed around in my kitchen looking like a god monster to make a point to my wife." Nero raised an eyebrow. Vergil smirked.

"That was fun," he admitted. "Is that why you do this? Do you take some perverse pleasure in making me uncomfortable?"

"A little," Nero said. "It's fun to make god monsters uncomfortable and know there won't be consequences."

"Who said there won't be consequences?" Vergil let blue fire shimmer over his skin.

"Distractions won't work." Nero closed his eyes and made a show of being relaxed despite his father's display. He heard Vergil sigh and felt the heat from the flames vanish.

"Dante is on a mission." Vergil said eventually.

"You mean a job?" Nero said. Vergil shook his head.

"Geeze the suspense is killing the kid." Griffon swooped down and landed on Nero's lap. The oversized demonic bird glanced at Vergil, who stayed still. Taking that as freedom to continue, Griffon faced Nero again.

"Dante wants us." Griffon's feathers fluffed out in pride.

"Huh?" Nero snorted. "Dante wants you?"

"Don't sound so surprised," Griffon snapped. "We're amazing." There was a loud purr from the stairs. Apparently, Shadow wasn't asleep either.

"But why would Dante want you?" Nero said. There was a low growl from the stairs. "I mean, you're already here; he's got you, kinda."

"As always, you are as eloquent as a squashed grapefruit," Vergil muttered, but he reached forward to scratch at Griffon's head feathers.

"Yeah, not helpful chicken," Nero said.

"Dante always wants what I have. If I have a book, Dante destroys it. If I have food, Dante takes it. If I have clothing, Dante wears it."

"Yeah, I get it. He's petty," Nero said.

"Now that I have underlings." Vergil gestured to Griffon, Shadow and Nightmare. Shadow yowled and came over to Vergil, grumbling the entire time. The cat sat in front of him and glared. "Very well, now that I have valued companions, Dante also wants valued companions."

"He want's pets?" Nero said.

"He does."

"And you fought about this?" Nero raised an eyebrow.

"I do not have under… valued companions because it's fun," Vergil said. Shadow growled again, but stopped when Vergil rubbed her ears. "I have them because they serve a purpose. We do not have space for more, especially if they are only here because Dante can't let me have something of my own."

Nero glanced around the shop. It was odd; the place had always seemed big to him, but now with two high Demons and three lower form demons living in it, the shop felt small.

"Maybe you've got a point."

The door slammed open, and a dog came bounding into the shop.

Only this dog was the size of a dire wolf and was on fire. Despite its flaming condition, it did not seem to be unhappy. Quite the opposite. The damn thing was exuberant. Bounding around the shop delightedly.

"Hey bitches!" Dante's voice crowed from the doorway. "Guess what I got."

End Chapter One

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