Chapter 13

After the group cleaned up most of the tsunami of demons, everybody went to their respective places. Except for Vergil, who wandered through the streets, mainly because he had nowhere to go. Staying with Nero would be weird, he barely knew the boy and he knew he was expecting some sort of father and son relationship. Staying with Dante would be even weirder considering their history.

Suddenly, he acknowledged the fact that he had stopped on his tracks and was watching a bird chirp from a tree. Honestly, there were a lot of things he missed from the human world, like birds, or the feeling of the wind against his face, and the lack of the constant smell of rotten eggs. He furrowed his eyebrows.

Ever since he had become his complete self again, there were some stubborn thoughts that randomly came into his mind unannounced. Vergil could feel that experience had made his human half stronger and that was deeply bothering him, as well as the revelation that his father had sacrificed himself for his family.

The half demon had always believed he had died in some important fight, most probably against Mundus, the thought that a powerful demon like him had just surrendered himself made absolutely no sense. His thoughts were interrupted by the most annoying sound in the world: his twin's voice.

"There you are!" "The hell are you doing just standing there like someone who just fled from the asylum?"

"How did you find me?" Vergil coldly asked, his patience for small talk was non-existent.

"Pheebs placed a magical tracking thing on you." The younger half demon said as he leaned against the tree and crossed his feet. "You were gone right after the fight ended."

"I had no other business there."

"And what are you going to do now, genius? Live on the streets? Or do you have some secret money stashed somewhere that you wouldn't share with your bro?"

The older twin did his best not to even glance at him, otherwise the obvious smug grin on his face would be enough to make him pierce his heart with Yamato.

"I am an adult, Dante, I can handle myself."

"You were MIA for twenty years, do you have any idea how bad the economy has become in the meantime?" Dante had finally managed to make him look, even if it were with a raised eyebrow. "My point is: you can stay at my place."

"I prefer being alone than having to deal with your foolishness on a daily basis."

The younger half demon took a deep breath and furrowed his eyebrows. Vergil's abilities of being an insufferable asshole never failed to amaze him. He used all his strength to go back to his usual carefree and sarcastic mask.

"Well, just make sure to tell me what bridge you're living under." He waved the index and middle finger of one of his hands as he turned to walk away.

"Wait." The older twin kicked himself mentally for doing that. Dante at least had the courtesy of hiding the satisfied grin on his face before turning on his heels.

"Yes, big bro?" He teased and his older twin considered giving up on what he was about to ask.

"What's your theory?"

The younger half demon arched an eyebrow, he had no idea what he was talking about. "On what? Because I've got plenty, especially about why you behave the way you do."

"About—" Vergil interrupted himself by taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes. Beating the crap out of his brother in public would be a bigger headache than it was worth it. "About our father."

"Relax, Vergil, if he somehow survived like you did, he's bound to show up eventually."

"Not that..." The older half demon growled in annoyance.

"Are you having trouble talking?" Dante tilted his head to the side as he examined his twin. "Did you have a stroke? I heard it's more common after you're forty." He grinned mockingly, earning a hit of Yamato's sheath in his stomach for that.

"Why would our father sacrifice himself?!" Vergil had no patience left, but at least that helped him finally speak his mind. "I've always thought of him as someone incapable of doing something this stupid."

"You seriously don't know?" He stared skeptically into his older brother's eyes for a moment, until realization crossed his mind. "Of course you don't, I don't even know why I'm surprised." He mumbled to himself.

"Stop being emotional over the fact you finally have a piece of wisdom to share." Vergil said between gritted teeth.

"Because, dear brother, he allowed himself to care. Maybe you should try that too every now and then." The legendary devil hunter watched with a grin as his twin grabbed the hilt of Yamato. "Is that all?"

The older half demon didn't know whether his sanity had started to spiral down ever since he had split himself in two, but sometimes he could swear he could hear V yelling from some deep corner of his mind. It felt like having his own Jiminy Cricket, however, instead of giving good advice it would just call out on his stupidity. That was one of those moments, and unfortunately, this time it let a feeling slip right through his lips:

"No. Help me bond with Nero."

Dante's jaw dropped and he almost pinched himself, unsure of what he had just heard. "What?"

"Are you deaf? I heard it's more common after you're forty." Most people would think he was making a joke, but his twin knew very well he was just being rude.

"I guess someone suddenly got interested in meeting his future grandsons." And the enfuriating smug grin was back. "Y'know, he takes care of a lot of orphans, so technically you can all become one huge, happy—" He was interrupted by the cold tip of a certain katana on his chin.

"Are you helping me or not?"

The younger twin raised his palms in mock surrender. "Relax, I am." Then, he pointed his index finger to Vergil's face. "But I'm doing this for the kid."

"Your motives are the least of my concerns." He slowly said as he resheathed Yamato. "And I accept your invitation to stay at your place. For now." The dangerous tone on the last two words caused Dante to roll his eyes.

"Well, see you later, then. When you stop reflecting on your mistakes." He teased and hurriedly left, leaving his brother growling with dissatisfaction.

He growled even harder when he realized the warmth in his heart after his brother had agreed to help him. Unfortunately, Vergil was becoming the very thing he had swore to destroy: a big old softie. He desperately wanted to bang his head against the tree right in front of him, however, refrained from doing so as people already watched him weirdly enough thanks to his katana.

Unlike his twin who struggled mentally regarding his emotions, Dante arrived in his office with the most satisfied smile he displayed in years. As soon as he closed the front doors behind him, he heard the redhead's voice coming from the kitchen.

"Did you find him?"

"Yeah, he was just... Standing there, looking at a bird." He leaned against the door frame with his hands on his hips. The half demon raised an eyebrow as he watched her cooking something. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making hot cocoa." She looked at him with a sweet smile on her lips that would make his heart melt during normal circumstances. However, Phoebe in the kitchen was the sign of ultimate danger.

"Uhm..." He mumbled nervously.

"Hey, I can make hot beverages without setting the kitchen on fire!"

"Okay, but what's that over there?" Dante pointed at the burnt dish towel tossed on the counter. He had to hold back his laughter as desperation washed over her face as she didn't know whether to hide the towel or leave it there.

"I... Actually burned it with my own hands." She finally said with all the fake confidence she was able to gather.

"Oh, the towel was bothering you, was it?" He grinned devilishly.

"As a matter of fact, yes, it was."

"Did it tell you a sexist joke?" The half demon laughed as he watched her furrow her eyebrows and narrow her eyes. He hugged her from behind and got a few playful slaps on the back of his hand to let her go as he placed a few kisses on the crook of her neck. "I thought you girls were going out after the job."

"We rescheduled it for tomorrow." The sorceress said as she turned off the stove.

"Why?"

"Because..." Phoebe turned around to face him. "Tonight I'm taking care of my devil." And then she pressed her index finger against the tip of his nose.

Dante frowned at the answer. "What? I'm fine."

"Dante, you just had to kill your father." It was her turn to frown as he snorted at her answer.

"Oh, c'mon, this is like Tuesday for me." He shrugged. "Vergil shows up, I fight him, Mundus shows up, I kill Vergil, I go to Fortuna, my nephew wants to kick my ass, my father shows up, I kill him." He was listing things as he counted on his fingers.

"You done deflecting?"

"I'm not deflecting." The half demon confidently answered, until the redhead tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes, making him sigh. "Like you don't do that too with all that jokes about how hot you are."

"Hey, they're not jokes, I'm a legit snack!" She said with one index finger up in the air and he chuckled. "Anyway, go sit on the couch and pick something for us to watch while I shower you with love." Phoebe poured the hot cocoa in a mug and took a sip to taste it, grimacing immediately and making the man in front of her burst out in laughter.

"How did you manage to make hot cocoa taste bad?"

"I used salt instead of sugar." She said breathlessly as she desperately got herself a glass of water. Dante was laughing so hard he actually had to lean one hand on the kitchen counter to help his urge to roll on the floor.

"Save this in case we need to kill a demon with high blood pressure." He finally managed to joke, although still during laughter, once he regained some of his breath.

"Okay, so, I'm just gonna go kill myself pretty quickly and then we return to our schedule." The sorceress threw all the salty hot cocoa away and left the mug in the sink. "You know what? I'll just teleport to Naples and get us some legitimate Italian pizza."

"Can't you just conjure that up?" The half demon had finally managed to stop laughing.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be able to pay like that and you know I only steal from the rich." Phoebe eyed him weirdly, as if he should know that by now because it was obvious. However, before Dante could say anything, she just teleported away. Her and her weird principles.

He walked to the couch and threw himself on it with the remote in hands. He suddenly snorted and started to laugh all over again.

Salt instead of sugar.

Some days later, Nero was absently-minded watching the orphans run around on the orphanage's yard. Kyrie had just finished her obligations for the day and he stood outside waiting for her, but he hadn't realized she was already right in front of him.

"Nero?" She tenderly called out.

"Oh, hey!" He jumped and she chuckled lightly at his reaction. "Ready to go home?"

"Yes."

He opened the RV's door for her and she stepped inside, taking the passenger's seat.

"You still haven't told me about the job from days ago." Actually, the girl had been waiting for the right opportunity to ask. With both of them shut inside a vehicle seemed like a good enough shot.

"It was the same crap as always, nothing to worry about." Nero shrugged as he turned on the engine.

"Yes, but... This time it was Sparda, wasn't it? Wasn't it weird for you?" Kyrie managed to have the sweetest voice in the entire world, it was almost strange talking to her after spending so much time with Nico.

The devil hunter scratched the bridge of his nose, this was a pretty awkward topic. "Because we live in a city that worships him or...?"

"Both."

"I had never met the guy, it's not like I—" His prayers had been heard, because the phone thankfully had decided to ring. He gestured for his girlfriend to hold that thought and grabbed the phone. "Devil May Cry?"

"Nero?" The boy widened his eyes as he recognized the voice on the other end: Vergil.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you have read any of those books I picked up for you."

"I-I... uhm..." First, Nero felt desperate because he hadn't even touched any of them. Second, he heard a scoff that seemed to come from behind his father. Third, his guardian angel decided to act for the second time on that day as he heard his uncle's voice.

"You called the kid to ask him about books?! What a fucking nerd."

"You should ask him to hangout with you sometime." He also could hear Phoebe.

"Will the two of you shut up and let me do the talking?" There was a moment of silence, and then a sigh. "Could you find some time to come to Dante's office so we can..." And now a weird pause. "Engage in conversation?"

"Are you asking me or Dante if you guessed his mimic right?"

"Being completely honest? Both."

Nero chuckled, especially after hearing a loud thud coming from his father's end.

"I'm free tomorrow."

"Good, tomorrow is... fine. Bring the books with you." And another weird sound, this one sounding more like a punch.

Nero could feel some droplets of sweat forming on his forehead, he would have to read at least one in a hurry. "Okay, so... See you soon, father." He quickly hung up the phone after teasing before Vergil could threaten him.

"What was that?" Kyrie asked as she chuckled.

"Well, apparently not only I have a family, but it's also getting less dysfunctional over time." Nero smiled, an honest smile from the bottom of his heart.

"I'm so happy for—"

The girl got interrupted by a voice coming from the back of the vehicle.

"WAS THAT MY FUTURE BOYFRIEND?"

The couple exchanged look between themselves, until they finally looked in the direction.

"Nico?! How long have you been here?!" He asked.

"Since you left the garage, dumbass!" She approached them with one of her tools in her hand. "I was working on something over there, were you just going to lock me inside the RV when you reached home?!"

"Uhm... Maybe?" Nero stratched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment.

"Wow. Asshole." She pointed the tool at him while Kyrie stared her with her head tilted to the side.

"I'm sorry, but what did you say about boyfriend?" She asked, causing the gunsmith's eyes to gleam with malice.

"Ooh, didn't you know? I'm gonna be Nero's stepmommy."

The devil hunter frowned and turned his head to his girlfriend's direction. "Ignore her. She's trying to mess with me."

"No, I ain't."

"Yes, you are."

"Nope. He's hot... Unlike you."

"You do realize I look a lot like him." Nero frowned harder.

"In a non-sexy way."

"Okay, shut up." He turned his eyes back to the road, and there was a moment of silence while Nico stared at him with her arms crossed and a devilish grin on her lips.

"Maybe I should ask your father to shut me up."

"OH, MY—"

There was a loud sound as he accidentally hit the RV against a street light pole, and a second one as the pole fell on the top of the vehicle. Meanwhile, Nero was screaming every swear word he knew.

The end

Notes:
People: I read fanfics to escape from reality

me: *mentions how bad the economy is*

people: oh, c'mon

sorry, guys. Anyway, friendly reminder that there's still an epilogue coming!