Dante hadn't been sure what to expect when he arrived back at his store, his house. The girls having taken it over, maybe, if Morrison had let them. The place in disrepair when they realized they had their own, better places already and didn't want to invest any more time or money into maintaining the old building-replacing rusty pipes and old wiring wasn't for everyone.

But when Dante arrived from his third-ish stint into hell-Virgil lingering at a place with "Actual food brother, not pizza."-he found the lights on.

The building was in good shape, and he could feel someone inside. As he got closer, he realized who it was. Dante pulled a lazy smile onto his face as he pushed at the double doors. They swung open easily, no squeaking in the hinges, and Dante looked up to find the kid sitting at his desk, feet casually thrown up on the solid wood.

A frown marred the kid's face, an eyebrow twitching, but it also looked like he was trying very hard to smooth out his expression.

"Hey kid," Dante said. "Can't believe Morrison had you running the place."

Nero stood up, booted feet making a solid clomp on the floor with each step, the only sound in the room. Dante narrowed his eyes as Nero came closer, not saying a word. Uncharacteristic for the brat.

"Hey k-"

A quick punch caught Dante off guard, and he slammed into the wall right next to the doors.

"Ah, damn, you kept your right hook strong, huh kid?" He rubbed at his cheek and brought back his grin. "Well it's good to-"

He was caught off guard when Nero stomped up to him and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"-...Good to see you too."

"Stupid old man," Nero muttered. "What the fuck took so long?"

Dante tuned out the berating after a few moments, just focusing on the arms wrapped around him, and wound his own around the kid in return. He really had missed the little brat.

There was a part of him which seemed to low-level want him around all the time. He had actually never been able to tell if it was a demon he-is-family-so-fight-and-accept-him thing, or a human I-lived-alone-and-can't-do-it-again thing. Probably both. It had appeared in Fortuna and hadn't changed much since then, except to grow stronger.

Just instinctually, he wanted to fight Nero, train him, and protect him. Seeing the kid go up against Urizen while injured had been one of the hardest things for Dante, something he hadn't been able to cope with, and so he'd told him to leave.

He squeezed the kid harder, ducking his head to nudge it against the short-clipped hair. "Sorry, Nero."

The kid paused in his half-hearted rant. Quietly, gently, like he'd disturb the still air otherwise, Dante continued.

"Thanks, for sticking around. Dunno where I'd be without you."

Nero was quiet too, grasping tightly before pulling back a bit. "Whatever," he said, but his eyes spilled relief. "Just don't do it again. I'll kick your ass. Again."

"Sure kid," Dante said, and ruffled his hair.

He chuckled when the kid squawked and moved away.

"And hey! You kept the place clean. Can't say no to that. Can I convince you to stick around for a little longer?"

"Shut up old man," Nero growled. His posture was still loose though. "You're getting off easy. If you want a clean place do it yourself."

Dante put up a token protest about how Vergil was going to bully him into doing it-so couldn't his kind nephew help him out?-but all he felt was a calmness, something clicking into place. He sure had missed the brat, and more than that, he could see Nero had missed him too. It made all the difference to know he had even more people who would wait for him to get back, no matter where he ended up.

A place with people, with family, who made his house more like a home.

Dante has always seemed interested in Nero's well-being, since they first met, really. He's just acts like an ass. xD I always like seeing family bonds in fic, and DMC is rife with possibility. I mean, Nero devil-triggers because he doesn't want his family to fight anymore? OOF. That's feels.