Mission One: Getting on The Road
"Alright, let's roll!" Dante slammed the trunk of the SUV, twirling the keys on one finger before walking around to the driver's side door and resting his arms across the roof, wearing that signature smirk of his before sliding a pair of shades on top of his head.
"Dante, aren't you forgetting something?" Trish sauntered out the shop door, peeking at him from over her own shades with a shoulder bag on her arm and holding out a large bottle.
Dante completely disregarded showing any discretion as his eyes scanned her from top to bottom. She was wearing a hot pink T-strap top with a long black tie-around skirt that was knotted on one side, generously giving him a peek of her thigh underneath. Her long hair flowed freely as she walked and the starfish emblem on one of her flip flops gave off a glint every time the sun hit it. In short, she looked absolutely beach-ready, and appropriately so, as that was exactly where they had planned to spend the day.
But today wasn't going to be like any old trip to the beach. Dante had caught wind of a beach party that was supposed to be part of the grand opening of a new seafood restaurant down by the water and felt like it was too good to pass up. If there was one thing he loved more than pizza, it was a good plate of seafood. He recalled the sushi platters his mother used to make for them back when he was a kid and the way he would practically eat them by the dozen; cooked or raw, he didn't care. But it didn't stop there.
He then went on to try scallops, lobster, clams, shrimp and fish of all kinds and soon discovered that he not only loved the taste of seafood but also the ways that each dish had its own unique way of being conquered. Whether it was plucking sushi with a pair of chopsticks, busting up the shells of crabs with his bare hands, delicately flaking fish off their skeletons or slurping the innards of clams, Dante liked to do it all; he counted it as part of the experience.
Of course, he did have his boundaries and wouldn't eat just anything from the sea. He wasn't too fond of things like dried seaweed or eel but he was open to trying most things that didn't look too creepy. The only thing that really stopped him from eating seafood more often was the fact it was just so expensive. But today, he had decided, would be a special occasion and with all the hard work he had been putting into cases lately, he felt he deserved to relax and splurge a bit. He looked forward to eating and partying on the beach all day then, once those festivities were over, staying and partying overnight at one of the hotels before heading back to the shop the next morning.
He reluctantly tore his eyes from the leggy blond and looked at the sunscreen in her hand, "That depends on whether or not you're rubbing it on me." He wiggled his eyebrows as she approached where he stood.
"What-ever. If I do or don't, you know you're cooked without it." Trish attempted to hide a small, smirk as she pushed the bottle into his chest.
"Being cooked wouldn't be so bad, would it? As long as I'm on your menu."
Trish hummed as she rolled her eyes before turning and heading to the passenger side door, completely dodging his attempt to lean in and steal a kiss as she did so. "We'll see if I have room after I get my oysters." She threw a small smile over her shoulder.
"I'll get ya before the day's over." Dante grinned as he tossed the sunscreen into the back seat and returned his attention to the shop doors expectantly, "C'mon slowpokes, what's the hold-up, I'm hungry!"
As if on cue, Ari came walking out the door, decked out in her tropical attire. She donned a lime green, spandex tank top with a long skirt similar to Trish's except it was blue with green flowers that matched her shirt. Her hair was tied in a ball that sat atop her head and her clear flip flops had some kind of shimmering blue glitter embedded in them. She was all smiles as she made her way to the car.
"Patience really isn't your best quality huh, Dante?" Ari raised an eyebrow as she opened her shoulder bag to pull out a small flower clip and handed it to Trish. Trish thanked her as she flipped down the visor mirror to put it in her hair.
Dante shrugged, "What can I say? I like my sea creatures. Where's Vergil?" Dante was eager to get going. He had foregone breakfast to save his appetite for the slew of seafood he planned to buy and he was growing hungrier by the second.
"He was right behind me." Ari voice trailed as she, glanced over her shoulder before climbing into the back seat.
Dante looked up as his twin emerged and made no effort to suppress the scoff that followed. Vergil came walking out the doors, reflective aviators obscuring his eyes as he locked the door behind him. He was wearing a white button down that had a silver stripe down one side and sleeves that stopped at his elbows. His beige pants were rolled up to his knees and his slip-on, closed toed shoes were only a slightly darker beige to match.
"You realize we're just going to the beach right?" Dante watched as Vergil went to place a duffel bag in the trunk. He knew his brother preferred a well-groomed appearance but to Dante, Vergil's standard attire always came off as somewhat 'flashy', no matter what the occasion was. Of course, Dante was mindful of the fact that his own wardrobe was also a bit different but he felt at least he knew when to turn it off. Vergil on the other hand never seemed to step out the door in anything that could be classified as 'average Joe'. He didn't understand it, really.
"I do." Vergil responded as he tossed the bag in, and closed the trunk again before heading around to get into the back seat, "Where are you headed?"
He saw that one coming. Dante huffed as he quickly glanced over himself, holding his arms out slightly. He was rather comfortable in his dark green cargo shorts, black slides and sleeveless red top, in fact, he thought himself to be rather appropriate for the trip; he had even trimmed his toenails the night before, so he was feeling especially neat. Regardless, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick on his twin for being so over-the-top, at least in his opinion, even if it ran the risk of starting a fight.
"I'm going to a beach party." Dante slid into the driver's seat as everyone began to buckle up. He was the last one to strap in before turning the key in the ignition and glancing at Vergil in the rear view mirror, "But you on the other hand look like an old dude named John headed to a country club."
"Is that so? Well I suppose you dressed for the part of being the groundskeeper." Vergil stared back at Dante through his shades.
Ari and Trish looked between the two, stifling laughs as they took jabs at one another. They had grown used to the banter that Dante and Vergil always seemed to find a way to get into. It was entertaining to them to say the least, so long as swords and fists didn't start flying.
"Whatever." Dante shook his head, laughing a little to himself as well while he adjusted the radio.
"Well I think he looks sexy." Ari looked up at Vergil as she leaned into him, receiving a kiss on her forehead as he raised an arm to rest on the top of the seat behind her. Vergil lifted his shades to rest on top of his head as he gave Dante a somewhat smug smirk.
"Yeah, you have to say that because you married him." Dante shuddered as he put the car in drive, "Why did you do that anyway? Was it because you liked his..."
Trish gave a swift backhand to Dante's chest with a horrified look on her face, "Dante!"
"Ow!" Dante laughed, "I was only going to say 'motivation'!"
Trish gave him the side eye, regarding him in silence for a moment before smirking at the joke.
Ari laughed outright, "Really, Dante?"
"How original." Vergil's tone was bored, "Regardless, at least my motivation enables me to dress like something more than a yard man."
Dante faked a laugh, "That's a good one John. Really had me goin'." He leaned back comfortably as he rested his hand on the wheel and the car started to move.
Vergil snorted before directing his attention down at Ari, soon furrowing his brows as he caught a glimpse of a colorful box inside her bag that she was fumbling with. "What's that, doll?"
"What?" Vergil pointed his finger towards the box, "Oh that's my floaty!" Her face beamed as she took it out to show him."I hadn't showed it to him, Trish".
"Dante hasn't seen mine either." Trish turned to look back at her with a small smile, before pulling hers from her own bag. "We caught them on sale at the store yesterday." She looked over at Dante, "Look."
Dante glanced over before letting out a small laugh, "That's cool. It's one of the ones you lay on?"
"Yep. So I'll be tanning away on a slice of pizza."
"Looks like I'm adding you to my menu then." he winked.
Trish playfully glared over the top of her shades at him.
Ari eyes twinkled as she resisted the urge to laugh while she waited for Vergil's response to her floaty. When his gaze slid from the box to meet hers however, she couldn't hold it back anymore. "You like?"
A smirk slid onto his lips, "Quite a bit."
"What is it?" Dante glanced in the rear view mirror.
"It's a donut." Ari chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes still set on Vergil.
Dante caught sight of Vergil leaning over to whisper something in her ear before she started to giggle and was a little put off, "Do I even want to know?"
"Nope." Ari tilted her head playfully before relaxing back onto the seat with Vergil.
"You should have seen her when she saw it in the store," Trish began, "she told me Vergil would get a kick out of it, but didn't even tell me what the joke was." She looked at Ari again, hopeful that she'd satisfy her curiosity with even just a small clue.
Ari shook her head, pretending to zip her lips.
"We have to be careful with it in the water however, the waves could sweep it out." Vergil let his dangling fingers brush playfully on her shoulder.
"No way. This is going in the hotel pool; I'm not going in the ocean." Ari began to slide the box back into her bag as Vergil gave her an odd look.
"Why not?" Vergil furrowed his brows.
Ari shrugged, "I just prefer the pool." She smiled before redirecting her attention to the window, "Hey Dante turn the radio up, I like this song!"
"Hm." Vergil's curious gaze lingered on her thoughtfully for a few moments. Although he wanted to say more, he chose to not inquire further at that moment, despite how odd her reaction seemed to him.
"This song is so old." Dante thought out loud before he obliged, "You're so emo, Ari. Maybe that's why she likes you Verge."
Vergil gave Dante a bored look as Ari ignored his comment to sing along with the song.
Trish had joined in the sing-along before she paused for a moment, "MCR has always had a nice sound though."
Dante shrugged, "I'm more of a classic, hard rock guy." He turned the wheel, directing the car to deviate onto the interstate, "Alright folks, in about 20 minutes we will be sizzling in the sun and chowing down on sweet, sweet shellfish!" He reached to roll down all the windows as his hair began to whip around his head and Ari and Trish cheered. Let the party begin.
Author's Note: And thus a new chapter story is born. It's been a while since I started a brand new fic but here we are. In fact, this was only supposed to be a one-shot, but ideas and scenarios started popping into my head and I ended up with a full plot. With DMC 5 shedding light on a few other aspects of Dante and Vergil's personalities I'm starting to dig deeper into them and navigate their characters as I place them in different and somewhat slice of life situations that expand beyond what they're normally associated with (especially Vergil). I have a feeling this one is going to get wild guys. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next chapter :)
~Blair