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Dante and Vergil were just finishing off the last of the most recent demon horde to come their way when Dante remembered something very important. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten up until now!
After Vergil determined that the immediate vicinity was clear of demons, he held the Yamato up to inspect its condition; it would need to be cleaned. He made his way over to a nearby rock formation and sat down, leaning against it. He glanced up to check what his brother’s status was and saw that he was digging through his coat pockets, looking for something? Dante shouted an “Ah-ha!” and turned to look at Vergil with a great big smile on his face. Now Vergil was concerned.
Dante started walking over to where Vergil was sitting and in his hands Vergil could see… some kind of electronic device. Vergil shot him a bemused look and Dante held up the device to give him a better look.
“A music player, Nero gave it to me as a gift. Forgot I had it on me still.” Dante looked down at the player with fondness; Nero was a good kid despite all his roughness and bravado… he hoped the kid was doing alright back in the human world.
Vergil shifts awkwardly at the mention of the boy, still uncomfortable with the thought that he has a son. He focuses his gaze back down to the Yamato and continues silently cleaning it.
“Now let’s see… ha! Still got 70% battery! We got plenty of listening time left before this thing gives up the ghost.” And plenty of time to annoy Vergil with music he knows his brother won’t like, Dante thinks with a smirk spreading across his face. He briefly scrolls through the music library before deciding to just hit shuffle.
The first song starts with an opening drumbeat that Dante recognizes and he immediately starts bobbing his head and tapping his foot. The electric guitar kicks in and he’s totally caught up in the rhythm. Before he knows it he’s swaying side to side and snapping his fingers with the beat.
“What are you doing?” Vergil asks while giving him a rather incredulous look.
“It’s called feeling the beat, Verge.”
“Is that what you call it.”
“You should try it sometime!”
That earns him a dismissive “hmph” and a shake of the head as Vergil goes back to cleaning the sword.
The song continues and the lyrics come in. Dante’s not familiar enough with the words to sing along so he just carries on with ‘feeling the beat.’ The guitar solo starts and Dante raises his hands as if holding a guitar and starts to thrum along with the notes. His fingers fly over the imaginary frets with an accuracy and deftness that indicate a degree of expertise. Vergil notices this and it gives him pause.
“You play?” Vergil asks, schooling his tone so as to not sound too curious.
“I dabble,” Dante says with a very self-satisfied smirk.
Vergil makes a low sound of acknowledgement, finding himself a bit taken aback by this revelation about his brother. Growing up Dante never seemed to have the attention span for music, always opting to run around the yard playing swords rather than sit in a stuffy room practicing for hours on end.
Vergil on the other hand showed great interest in music from a young age. He always favored the more classical genres and early on his mother urged him to take up an instrument. She herself was a proficient pianist, and would often play some of her favorite pieces for them. If he focused, Vergil could still hear some of those melodies that echoed through the halls of their childhood home.
“I could teach you~” Dante offers in a singsong voice.
“What?” Vergil has to ask, having lost their conversation during his musings.
“Guitar! Well, ya know, if we ever get outta here.”
“Hrm, I don’t think guitar would be quite to my tastes.”
Dante quirks his head up, as if recalling something, “Oh yeahhh, you used to have a violin.”
“Mmm,” Vergil nods, barely suppressing a sigh at the memory. It was yet another casualty to his life-long quest for power, and another newfound source of guilt. A part of him— the human part of him— laments the loss of these little things. They signify his lost time, his loss of perspective. Music was one of his strongest ties to his youth, to his mother. After the incident though… with both his mother and his youth gone… music no longer seemed important. Only now does he realize the folly in this.
“I always hated when you practiced with that thing…” Dante muses, a strange tone in his voice.
“Surely it wasn’t that bad,” Vergil defends.
“Nah, I mean… I think I was kinda… jealous, in a way,” Dante says, now taking a seat next to Vergil against the rock.
Vergil raises an eyebrow at that, looking sideways at his brother, “Jealous?” he asks.
Dante chuckles softly, shaking his head, “Just a silly thing… a little kid wanting his brother’s attention, I guess.”
Vergil’s brow furrows, unsure just what to say to that.
Mercifully, Dante seems ready to drop the topic when the next song comes on; although, Vergil suspects this is more for Dante’s own benefit than his. The tempo is quick and upbeat, with the lead singer’s voice being in an almost constant falsetto. “Ah! Love this one!” Dante exclaims before trying to sing along. Emphasis on trying. Dante might have acquired a skill for the guitar, but his singing was… unpolished, to say the least.
Vergil found himself wincing as if he’d been dealt a physical blow. His brother’s voice was shrill and piercing, and judging by the grin on his face, he was taking great pleasure in Vergil’s discomfort. Vergil rolls his eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh, trying to lean away from the source of the screeching. The song eventually hits an instrumental section and now instead Dante is laughing. “That look on your face, priceless!” he manages to say through his laughing fit.
“Perhaps our next sparing match should come sooner rather than later,” Vergil grinds out between his teeth. He flicks the Yamato back into its sheath a little harder than is strictly necessary before finally setting it aside, now content with its cleaning.
“That eager to be down two points?” Dante jabs back.
“I told you already, Dante, we’re even—“
Dante waves a hand dismissively, “So you say… but frankly, I’m not convinced.”
Vergil gives a dangerous half-smile as his hand drifts back down to the Yamato, “Then allow me to convince you, brother—“
Vergil freezes in place as his ears pick up… a familiar tune. His momentary confusion subsides when he realizes the source. The music player in Dante’s hand… the previous song must have ended during their bickering, and now it was replaced by a… gentle piano piece. “I know this song…” Vergil all but whispers.
“Oh, uh…” Dante coughs a little, “That’s just… I put that on there one day. It’s—“
“You… remember.” Vergil states, surprise evident in his voice.
Dante’s gaze falls to his lap. If he’s insulted by his brother’s disbelief that he’d remember one of their mother’s favorite songs, he doesn’t show it. “Yeah… yeah, I remember.”
They sit in silence as the soft sound of the piano continues. Dante finds it… awkward, and almost thinks to skip the song; in order to dissipate the tension he’s feeling. That’s when he hears a soft rustling next to him. He looks sidelong at his brother and sees that Vergil has shifted to lean more fully against the rock face. His eyes are closed and his head is tilted back to rest on the hard surface as he quietly exhales through his nose.
It’s the most relaxed Dante has seen him since they were kids. Hell, for all he knows it’s the most relaxed Vergil has been since they were kids. Dante tries not to dwell on how goddamn tragic that thought is.
There’s a small reflex that Dante suppresses; the little brother in him wants to take advantage of this opening, to poke his big brother in the side of the head or elbow him in the ribs while his guard is down. But no, Dante thinks, this… whatever it is… it’s too new, and all too fragile. He could breathe wrong and the spell would be broken.
Vergil needs this, Dante decides. Maybe Dante needs it too, to see his brother like this, to see that even after everything that has happened, the brother he knew is still in there… albeit scarred… but intact nonetheless.
Dante glances down to the music player— 68% battery left, good. He flicks through the menu and turns on the ‘repeat song’ option. He then sets the player down on the ground between them before reclining against the rock himself. His eyes drift closed as a soft smile tugs at his lips.
Maybe this thing will be good for more than just annoying his brother after all.