No... No... No... Wait. Perhaps...? ...no.
He let out a deep sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose and his eyes slid closed. Slumping back against the backboard of the bed, his frustrations began to assault his mind, asking questions that he knew could only emerge from such.
Giving up was not an option he entertained on any level, but sometimes his ambitions proved to be increasingly difficult for no reason. Not necessarily because there was anything truly challenging about them, but it was more so the grueling amounts of time he had to spend on sifting through countless resources and documents to find even a fraction of what he was looking for. Of course once he got the information, he then had to labor to find where it fit into everything else he had compiled thus far in order to bring together some kind of cohesive...thing...or what have you.
Vergil let his head fall back as his eyes desperately drank in the blank white ceiling above him, a nice shift from the tiny, black, repetitive print he had been scanning for the past three hours. He reached into the pocket of his sweatpants, pressing a button on the side of a small device before resting his hands on his lap. Despite his usual tendency toward silence, he recently decided to try listening to audio books while he indulged in his research. At first it felt somewhat strange to have the tiny little buds in his ears, but the various articles and tales he would listen to made them worth getting used to. Ari had offered him a pair of over-the-ear headphones to use instead, but he discovered he didn't like those because they felt bulky on his head, so he settled for the ear buds; he actually grew to not mind them much eventually.
Aside from the talking in his ears, the bedroom was otherwise silent. In fact, for a Friday night the entire house seemed quieter than normal. He didn't dare complain however, since he was never fond of a noisy environment, especially not the one that he lived in. Lifting his head and looking at the clock that sat atop the television stand, he decided now would be a nice time for a short break. He wondered how far Ari had gotten on her project since she retreated to what they referred to as 'the art room' a few hours ago, leaving him to the bedroom to work on his archive. Maybe he would peek in after he poured himself a cup of the tea he boiled earlier.
Perhaps she'd like a cup as well...
He made his way to the window and paused as he grabbed the string to close the blinds. The way the trees swayed against the dark, starry sky looked peaceful enough to almost lull him to sleep. Sleep...something he hadn't gotten much of lately due to a few reasons; Thankfully insomnia was becoming less and less present among such reasons. Nowadays he was so easily consumed with research, the sun would set and rise again before his attention caught up enough to realize it; that is, until Ari would come and 'shut everything down', as she liked to refer to it, practically forcing him to go to sleep.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. He didn't mind it really, and to be completely candid, it actually kind of amused him. The way she'd start taking his papers and closing his books, despite his protests, did annoy him to an extent but he knew it was for his own good. Admittedly, that was the reason he researched in the bedroom now instead of the study. Ari thought that if he was near the bed, perhaps he'd be more inclined to stop and go to sleep once he became drowsy since he didn't have to go far. Despite the logic, it had no effect whatsoever simply because of his stubbornness to search 'just one more' resource. Spoiler alert: "just one" translates into 'at least five'.
The other reason for his recent lack of sleep was more acceptable however; One that both he and her enjoyed quite a bit more...He gently pulled the blinds closed and went to sit on the bed to swipe at the scattered papers until he found his previously discarded socks and began to pull them onto his feet.
Marriage had brought something out of him that he didn't realize had been there otherwise. Throughout the first couple of years he seriously wondered if something was wrong with him, almost scolding himself for engaging her so frequently. And eventually it bothered him so much, he felt the need to ask her directly if he was offending her with his forwardness. He remembered how taken aback he was when she responded by laughing. It made him slightly uncomfortable to receive such a seemingly odd reaction but it soon melted away and made sense when she explained she wondered if she was offending him in such a way also. He was relieved to learn his concerns were unwarranted, especially since in the back of his mind he had an inkling that it was probably just all in his head. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a husband and wife coming together frequently.
He smirked. Pun intended.
Standing to his feet he began to walk to the kitchen as he continued to entertain his thoughts.
Now that he thought about it, perhaps he was even more relieved to find that there was nothing wrong with him personally even if he desired to make love to his wife, quite literally, almost every day. She had suggested that it may partially have something to do with the way he had suppressed his emotions and feelings for so long; something worth considering, but he had his doubts that it had anything to do with that at all. He believed it was solely due to the way he felt about her because he simply wasn't noticeably bothered by such inclinations before. If he wanted to be picky though, he supposed the reason why he wasn't bothered by them was still debatable; his pursuits and goals simply left no room for considering anything outside of what was necessary to achieve them.
He shook his head slightly as he watched the hot, steamy tea waterfall into the cup that sat on the counter in front of him. He really preferred not to remember that dark time in his life.
He had been glad to learn that she felt the same way about him also, the only difference is she was too timid to make the first move; That perplexed him every time he thought about it. He did his best to assure her that she had no reason to be timid about her desires, but it seemed she was still having a bit of trouble. 'When you want it, come claim what's yours.' The blush on her cheeks amused him when he told her that. A full smile slid onto his face as he remembered her telling him she didn't want him to think she was some kind of 'crazy addict or something' as she put it.
" What's wrong with being addicted to me? I'm addicted to you..."
She had no response when he said that and he knew at that moment that they had reached the same conclusion. Especially since they then proceeded to engage in said 'addiction'. Since then, things only got more heated. So much so, that when one felt the other in the mood they would quickly find each other and disappear to have their rendezvous. The only time they put it off until a later time was when they were in public, but at home all bets were off.
Much to Vergil's chagrin, Dante had caught on to the nature of his sudden departures after being left alone and perplexed in the middle of a what was previously a conversation or game of cards quite a few times. Of course, Dante soon decided it was something that he found entertaining to tease him about probably if for no other reason than to show his appreciation for being abandoned. After a while Vergil completely ignored his comments and looks, concluding that once he saw it wouldn't bother him he would eventually stop.
However, he assumed it also didn't help that he and Ari had become increasingly vocal as the timidity she once had, started to become a thing of the past. About four years into their marriage, she began to get bolder in her advances and, subsequently, the ways she allowed herself to let loose in expressing herself towards him while they made love; A shift he enjoyed thoroughly. That being said, Dante and Trish had not beat around the bush when it came to letting them know that they could hear them through the wall in the twilight hours so much so that they would wake from their sleep.
Vergil lifted the cup to his lips, gently blowing away the heat before taking a sip.
He didn't feel bad about it though. Why should he? It wasn't like they hadn't experienced the same thing when it came to Dante and Trish. In fact, he thought they were worse because they would blast music in addition to their loud outbursts, so they really had no room to talk. Vergil however wanted no such distractions when it came to his lovemaking. He wanted to take in every visual and audible detail that he could and wanted Ari to do the same. 'I'm going to make you remember this.' He meant it every time he said it to her and he was sure he did just that. Surely she had quite the collection to pull daydreams from until the next time they would come together to add another to the list.
He would put sleep on hold and stay up for a thousand years if it meant making love to her for every moment of it. And he knew that his love for her was the catalyst behind it all; in his mind, that was what mattered the most.
He took another sip of his tea before setting it on the counter top and resting the palms of his hands on the edge as he stretched a bit.
The way she cared for him, the way she spoke to him, the way she treated him in general... All of it combined, with so much more, never ceased to amaze him. He had not experienced such love from another person since...his mother. He furrowed his brows, a slight frown marring his features as he stared into his cup. At times he couldn't understand it; many times he even felt guilty. He wondered why God decided to give him a second chance by sending Ari into his life, despite all that he had done in his past.
Vergil blinked as his mind raced. His fingers began to curl as he now rested his fists where his palms once were. Despite not understanding, he was thankful and had made up in his mind a while ago that he would not take his second chance for granted. He was determined to do things differently this time no matter what it took and he knew it began with her...
He suddenly looked down to get the small player from his pocket as the article he was listening to began to start over. Pecking a finger at the screen a couple of times he took a deep breath as it lagged and froze. He swiped back and forth to try and get it to work again but only ended up activating other apps when it finally began to catch up. He shook his head, thoroughly annoyed with the piece of technology. He decided to redirect his attention to shuffle through the cupboards and grab a second cup, abandoning the device to his pocket until it got itself together.
His frown deepened as he heard the obnoxious voice inflections of a radio announcer beginning to ramble; he assumed he must have activated a radio app. He started to pour tea into the second cup in front of him as a song began to play in his ears. The melody was not one he knew, but he admitted that it sounded kind of nice. It wasn't until the artist began to sing the lyrics that he was slightly intrigued. He lifted a brow as the song continued to play and he went to spoon sugar into the cup.
His frown melted and his lips slowly formed into a smile as one of his feet began to tap gently with the beat. Before he knew it, his head bobbed and swayed as he connected with the words that were being sung. A part of him was acutely aware that although no one was around, he was slightly embarrassed at the way he was letting himself get into the song but his spirit just couldn't ignore what was reacting deep within him; the music seemed to speak directly to the feelings he had been musing over just moments prior. It wasn't until the refrain entered the mix that he abandoned restraint, the tea becoming a distant memory as he spun on his heels and started to freestyle a sensual, yet graceful dance.
He ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes and sliding across the floor into a short moonwalk before striking a pose and rolling his hips with the beat. A spin, then a glide before he put a hand over his heart, rhythmically mimicking a heartbeat before rolling his hips again but this time in sync with the snapping of his fingers. Biting his bottom lip he lifted his arms to lock his hands behind is head, which he bowed slightly with his hair falling over his face as he rocked slowly from side to side. After a few beats, he switched back and forth between moves that rocked slowly and others that involved grinding his hips.
Unbeknownst to him, a set of eyes had soon discovered him...
Arms crossed slowly as a mix of confusion and amusement appeared on the face of the one that stood awkwardly in the kitchen doorway. Dante didn't know what was happening but he was shocked to see his twin in what seemed like such a wanton state; so much so, it seemed like he had not even noticed his presence when he arrived a few moments ago. Dante watched curiously as he saw Vergil's lips begin to form inaudible words. Just a few years ago he could not fathom Vergil being able to be intimate in any way whatsoever. Heck, even though his ears heard sounds late at night coming from his brother's room that he had much rather not, he still had a hard time believing it. But based on what he was witnessing at that moment before him, things were definitely unquestionable now; How Nero got here suddenly made sense to him too.
He could faintly hear small sounds indicating that Vergil was listening to something in his ear buds, but he couldn't quite make it out. Either way Dante decided he wanted what his brother was having; he was really into whatever it was. And to top it off, he had to admit, he was shocked that Vergil actually had moves. He always imagined him being stiff and having no rhythm, if he would even dance to begin with, but at this point he was glad he hadn't bet any money on that.
Amusement remained even as suddenly startled eyes blinked at him.
Vergil felt his ears starting to get warm as he slid a hand through his hair in one smooth motion, returning to the abandoned cup he had been tending to minutes earlier and attempting to play everything off.
"Dante, what are you doing?" he made his tone as uncaring as possible, knowing better than to let on to anything that would encourage Dante to make a big deal out of what he felt was one of the most embarrassing intrusions of his life.
A silent grin.
Vergil wanted to kick himself for making it so easy for Dante to get something else to annoy him about.
"I was about to ask you the same thing." Dante walked to the fridge, his eyes not wavering from Vergil's now tense form, "What was that about?"
"..."
Dante chuckled lightly as he grabbed a soda before cracking it open, "You don't have to be ashamed bro..."
"I have no reason to be ashamed brother." Vergil hoped he didn't answer too quickly but at this point all he wanted to do was get out of there.
"For what it's worth, you're actually a pretty good dancer." He took a big gulp before releasing a burp and staring at the back of Vergil's head. "What was the song?"
"I don't know." Vergil placed the second cup of tea alongside his unfinished one onto a small tray, "I had not heard it before today."
Dante shook his head and smiled. "Look, I'm not picking on ya, alright? It's an actual compliment."
Vergil turned his head to regard him slightly and was beyond suspicious. Since when did Dante compliment him without some kind of jesting? Especially after something of the likes of what he had just seen. "And why are you suddenly complimenting me?"
"Would you rather I go on about the fact that I just walked in on you practically having sex with the air?"
"You're ridiculous."
"And from the looks of it, you're horny. You'd better go find Ari, stat."
Vergil sighed in annoyance turning back to pick up the tray he had prepared.
"Verge, just accept the compliment will ya? Sheesh. Then we can forget all about it. I won't mess with ya." Dante started towards the living room only stopping short to anticipate a response from Vergil.
Vergil doubted that, but if answering in the positive would get Dante to leave, then why not go with it? "Duly noted."
Dante flashed what Vergil assumed was supposed to be a reassuring smile over his shoulder before leaving the kitchen, "When you find out the name of that song, let me know. It must be pretty damn good, that's for sure."
Vergil shook his head, just glad Dante had gone. Sighing, he let that unexpected and embarrassing interaction roll off his shoulders and refocused his thoughts on where he was headed next. Whether he heard about what had just occurred in the future, he really couldn't care less. As far as he was concerned, that little outburst was yet another testament to how genuine his feelings were for his wife.
He let a smile slide onto his face and he walked towards the doorway; He had to admit though, aside from being discovered, he enjoyed himself quite a bit. Perhaps he would do it again sometime except next time it would be in her presence. He lifted an eyebrow thoughtfully. Maybe even a little slower as he removed his clothes? That is, before unleashing his feelings in the midst of a dance that they'd both choreograph.
A/N: In case anyone is curious as to what song Vergil was listening to, it's "She" by Stokley. Thanks for reading ;) ~Blair