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“Nero, would you like to go out for ice cream ?”
Those were the words he dreamed about seventeen years ago. It meant a lot for him as a kid. Whenever he passed by some kids and their parents, he would overhear those small promises being made by families. His heart would swell with jealousy and longing until he outgrew the need for parental figures. Until he reached the point where Kyrie and Credo were family enough for him.
So to hear that sentence come out of his deadbeat dad’s mouth, it triggered something gut wrenching in him.
“Why ? I swore Dante asked you out for some weeks ago.” Nero’s words came out a lot sharper, “And you said no.”
“I wasn’t in the mood.”
“Now you magically are ?”
A small part of him wished Vergil would finally lose his composure, but it didn’t take much to notice all the small details that screamed ’Please, I am not good at being with people and I want to.’ From the way he had that same aura of uncertainty Dante had when he first started to work for the shop, albeit a resting bitch face replacing a laid-back one. To the way his hands slightly fidgeted, ready to grab Yamato but was restraining from doing so.
The guy was really trying, huh ? The years of abandonment can’t be undone, nor the more recent fact that the guy chopped his arm off.
“The ice cream will be on my brother’s card until I could open my own account.”
There was a slight lilt of playfulness and asshole only the kin of Sparda can master. Nero knew this because he heard it from both himself and his uncle. Not to mention they really had a huge influx of money since Vergil came back all those months ago, so technically it was also his money.
“Who am I to say no if Dante’s paying ?”
It was a weird understanding for them. Maybe the demon part thought it was a truce or whatever. Or maybe his human side was just tired of being angry and bitter all the time. Nero could never tell
When they got there, they both ordered chocolate sundeas with extra cherries at the same time. The waitress couldn’t help but call them cute. Nero vehemently denied it while his father looked both impassive yet slightly amused somehow.
The younger wanted to punch that smirk on his face, unaware of the warmth in his heart while they enjoyed their snack.
—-
“Help me out, kid.”
“I am helping you out, old man. It’s not my fault that you pissed him off that bad. What the hell did you even do ?”
The lady in the back gently tapped his back, signaling the young hunter to move forward. He quietly apologized and took a step before returning to his phone call with Dante.
Why ? Well, his uncle managed to do something incredibly stupid and has been locked out of the bedroom for over a week. It was a feeling he knew all to well, especially if Kyrie and him got into a particularly bad argument regarding his safety and long travels.
Well, except for the part where somebody gets physically stabbed. That’s exclusive to Dante and Vergil alone.
“Look, I’ll tell you when you’re older, but I need you to get a specific cake right now.”
“Older ? I’m fucking twenty-“
Another tap and he was halfway to just glaring at the woman, but he knew better and just moved along while apologizing for his volume. Nero could almost feel the judgemental looks.
“Fine, what’s the stupid cake ?” He asked, his voice barely restraining his irritation.
It took a few seconds for Dante to actually answer, “It’s this devil’s food cake- hilarious, right ? They only make it in the area or in your city, but Verge said it has the best dark chocolate frosting that had-“
“-Toffee nut and candied pecan toppings with a mixed berry drizzle” Nero finished in a surreal tone.
No fucking way. The universe had to be joking, right ? That’s the cake he would buy at the bakery near the orphanage whenever Credo had the money. That’s his birthday cake every year.
“Woah, kiddo. You sure you never ate out without me ? Because that’s your father’s favorite cake. Back then, we would fight over what the cake would be topped with and he would always go with that.”
He could almost see the nostalgia radiating from here. Nero finally made it to the counter, “Look, I’ll call you back. This cake is on you, right ?”
The moment was broken when he heard his uncle gave a hollow laugh, “Yeah, it’s on me. Now go grab it and get a slice for yourself.”
____
Olives were actually good in Nero’s humble opinion.
So good that he has to fight tooth and nail with Nico and Dante to get it on a pizza, which is happening right now.
“I swear that you ain’t sane. No actual person would want olives,” Nico spat the word out like it was cursed, “On their pizza. Nobody”
“See ? Your mechanic friend gets it.” His uncle turned his attention towards the phone, “No, we’re not getting olives. C’mon, you know me, Leo.”
Nero could only roll his eyes. Everytime they had this stupid argument, he would fucking lose since no one working here would want to get something that isn’t meat lovers or everything except olives.
Well, until now.
His father came down the stairs like the extra he was and looked at Dante straight in the eyes, “If you want to subject me to more pizza as dinner, there better be olives this time. You could use the variety”
Nero made wild arm waving motions that said, See ? I’m not the only one !!!.
“It’s two against two, old man. I’m this close to fighting you and I bet that dad over here might join me.” The young hunter said with the biggest shit-eating grin that could almost rival Dante’s.
Nico just rolled her eyes in resignation, “Whatever, I wouldn’t wanna fight V anyways.”
The three almost winced at that nickname, but oh well. One down and one more to go.
The three had a huge staring contest before Dante sighed. That was a first in Nero’s book. Both he and his father shared the same look of victory while the other two were visibly disappointed.
“Fine, one half with olives and the other without. Look, I’m not drunk, Leo. Just punch it in and don’t mix it up like last time.”
______
It’s a well established fact that while Nero acted like an angrier Dante, he had the same taste with Vergil when it comes to food. And he loves Kyrie’s home cooked meals. In theory, that would mean his dad would love his girlfriend’s cooking.
So when Kyrie decided she wanted to cook dinner for the three of them, he just had to calm her down.
The kids were all outside marveling at the two guests, asking innocent and invasive questions about the two adults.
Like why they left Nero and whatnot. Did he mentioned he’s a proud guardian who loves his kids ? They were good retribution for those he brought over.
Inside the house, the smell of herbs and seafood filled the kitchen air. The sound of pots boiling and pans frying were always associated with home. He was just finished steaming some vegetables when his girlfriend started to panic about the food midway.
It happens everytime an important guest would arrive, Nico being the few exceptions to this. When Dante first came over, she was really close to just eating out before Nero calmed her down. Same with the social workers and potential adopting parents who visited them for contracts.
The first thing he would always do would be to turn the stove off and wait for Kyrie to say something. It’s better for her to sort it out when he can properly answer her rather than just say something beforehand.
“What if Mister Vergil doesn’t like the food ? Should we have eaten out instead ? Nero, I don’t think-“
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her forehead, “If he’s anything like me, he’ll love the food.”
“If not ?” She said as she looked up, nervousness evident in her eyes. Nero gave her a reassuring smile and cupped her face.
“Then I’ll kick their asses all the way to Sunday.”
Kyrie playfully swatted him away, breaking away from his hold and turning the stove back on. She still seemed a bit nervous, but not to the point of freaking out anymore.
“If you do, you better do it outside and away from the kids. I’m not explaining to them why they can’t do swordfighting at their age.”
Once dinner was done and everyone ate, they all looked at Vergil in shock at the small smile that graced his lips. A rare sight for Dante and an even rarer sight for anyone else.
“That salmon was quite delicious, Miss Kyrie. I’m glad my future daughter-in-law is capable where the rest of us fail.”
Nero didn’t know whether to be insulted or blush at his father’s declaration of ’future daughter-in-law’. So naturally, he acted on both instincts that resulted in a food fight. Dante immediately retaliated with some collared greens while Vergil was just content watching the children make a fool of themselves with Kyrie. It wasn't until a stray shrimp landed on the older twin's face that he decided to join in.
By the end of the night, all three demon hunters were scrubbing the kitchen top to bottom under the songstress’ watchful eye. Let it be known only she can intimidate Vergil without malice and getting hurt.
____
Ever since the fridge was cleaned out, both Nero and Vergil made it a habit to label everything. Not that it stops Dante from taking their respective leftovers and ingredients. That would be his uncle’s first mistake since demons tend to be very territorial when it comes to prey and such.
Or in this case, food.
No matter how much the two berate and occasionally stab him, they can never get him to stop. Nero would even go as far as to say his uncle was enjoying the way he riled them up. Which is why both him and Vergil are currently hiding under the best concealment rune his father knew while waiting for Dante to spring the trap.
The second mistake being that both father and son can be vindictive and petty if given the chance. As long as it’s light-hearted enough for Nero’s conscience to be at ease and as humane as possible, he’ll go for it.
The young hunter could barely hold back his snickers as Dante sauntered (Wait, he did that naturally ?) towards the fridge and stepped in the bindings dead center. All at once, his hands and feet were bound together and got hung upside down.
Nero bursted out laughing as the concealment was dispelled. Vergil walked towards Dante with a slight smirk that oozed in arrogance as their target wiggled around like a caterpillar. Call Nero petty, but after years of his uncle messing with him, it felt good to get him back.
“What is it with you two ?!!”
“The both of us were merely making a point, brother dear.” Vergil started with his tone soaked in smugness, “You’ve been taking what’s ours, so we decided to catch you in the act.”
“Yeah, I mean, I was pissed when I saw my chicken parmesan gone. It couldn’t have been dad since he always washes his dishes. Nico, Lady and Trish were all out eating crepes. And I definitely didn’t eat it. You, on the other hand, would leave your evidence without cleaning up.”
“I swear you two-“ They both watched as Dante stopped squirming in defeat. He gave a smile that was more teeth than actual happiness, “Look, I’ll replace everything. K ? Just get me out. I’ll even treat you out to dinner tonight.”
“Hmmm, I don’t know. Wanna go to the diner and think about it ?”
“That sounds like an excellent idea.” The smile on Dante’s face immediately fell as Vergil kissed his twin’s cheek, “It should give him a generous amount of time to think about his actions.”
“Wait, you two- Damnit, don’t ignore me !!!”
Eventually, Nero got him down ten minutes after leaving once he realized his father still hasn’t opened an individual account yet. They begrudgingly had dinner together before the twins left him to do more ‘intimate’ bonding. If Nero saw any hickeys on both of them the next morning, he didn’t make any comment about it. After all, if he and his father can make some mischief like that. What more when the infamous Sons of Sparda team up ?
Unfortunately, the visiting officer who wanted to notify them about noise complaints didn’t suspect a thing when he came knocking on the door. Leave it to Nero to clean up the mess and get the poor man down.
_______
Whenever Nero got sick, it felt like the world was trying to kill him. He rarely caught anything as a kid due to his demonic heritage, but when he did get sick. Well, you can already tell how he felt about that. His human side and demon side often fought over which healing factor would work first, so of course it would feel like shit. It would leave him lucid and so out of energy to deal with anything. Like Nero himself, his fevers were all or nothing.
They were also the worst periods in his life since it isolated him from everyone. None of the healers or doctors knew what was wrong with him, so they quarantined him until it was gone. Only releasing him after the week he got better. Just a few people could see him so they could force medicine down his throat. That’s why he tried his best to never get sick again.
So when he had a fever, he kept ignoring it until he collapsed right inside the shop.
The twins were eye-fucking each other while arguing when Nero stood up to only lose his balance immediately. The loud thid alerted the two as he just laid there groaning. The two immediately stopped arguing to carry him up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. Their conversation took a serious turn, but Nero couldn't focus on the words as they dragged him. He tried to fight back, but his body could barely deliver a punch.
He thought it would be like before, that no one would visit him. The amount of loneliness from those days rose up to the surface. That was until Dante came inside the room. He half expected the guy to just leave the food on the side desk until Nero was strong enough to get up. But no, that's not what happened
“Here we go,” he said as he propped up Nero against the bed rest. He wanted to say something, but was too delirious to say anything. God, he hated this.”C’mon. We need to get something in your system. Up you go.”
Nero wasn’t sure if he mumbled something in protest or what, but the sinking feeling in his gut slowly disappeared at the smell of food. He couldn’t really tell what it was, but it smelled like some creamy soup. He weakly lifted the spoon up to his mouth and let the plethora of flavors burst.
After a few minutes of just silence and eating, the bowl was almost empty and Nero went back to lying down. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard Dante confess something.
“Y’know, this was the same soup we’d make with our mom when the other was sick. I couldn’t remember jack shit, but Verge found the recipe in an old journal that survived in the wreck. Mind you, I was the one who actually cooked it.” A small laugh, “While Vergil was kind of busy making some medicine to harmonize your demonic half and human half or something.”
A pause. Nero could almost feel his uncle’s hand right above his head. Almost like he was scared to touch him. If he had the strength or the mind, he'd swat it away.
“Sometimes, we wish that we found out about you sooner. Especially your father. Have I ever mentioned how much of a lightweight he was ? He’s the honest type, too. He’d go on about how he wished he didn’t leave, but then that wouldn’t have made you who you are now, huh ?”
As much as it would make sense lucid, but didn't register when he was sick. He couldn’t really keep up with the rest of what Dante was saying. At some point, he felt a hand ruffle his hair and the weight next to him shift. Nero's mind wandered back to the orphanage again until he felt another weight at the side of his bed
His father coaxed him to take the spoonful of herbs after awhile, letting his calm presence give the same impact as Dante’s words. Wish he could say the medicine was as good as the meal earlier.
He could think about how unnaturally caring the two were right now, almost like doting parents. He could think about how complicated it felt to be around them. How pissed off he could be, about how it was too late for this type of treatment.
Of course, Nero wasn’t really thinking about that at the moment.
He was really thinking about good rest, his family and warm soup.