Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“What, you gonna go home now?” Dante mocked as Vergil turned his back on him and Nero. “Come on, we’re just messing around.” He glanced at Nero who was snickering. “But we do have a point, don’t we?” 

“I do not have time for this,” was Vergil’s indifferent answer as he drew the Yamato from its sheath. “You two can finish this up.” 

As Vergil slashed the space in front of him vertically then horizontally, Dante yelled, “Hey portal! Be a doll and bring him somewhere fun, he needs to pull the stick out of his ass. Maybe to a person who would love Vergil despite him being a stuck-up villainous dork, yeah, that could work.” He couldn't stop laughing, realizing what he just said.

Vergil stood silent in front of the open portal, as if weighing his choices. That was when Nero asked, “You’re really leaving?” That must have hit him differently; it was Nero after all, the son he unknowingly abandoned. 

Vergil then turned to face them, now with that cocky smirk that would always make Dante mirror the expression. But to Dante’s surprise, Vergil disappeared, damn this teleporting bastard. The next thing he knew, he was being thrown into the portal. Or was it kicked? It felt like a kick to his lower back. 

## 

Yep it was a kick, and his lower back still hurt. 

Dante stood up from where he landed and immediately noticed the unfamiliar room. This wasn’t his office. And why was his back still painful? It should have healed in just a few seconds. 

But he forgot about it when he saw himself on a TV screen. That him was fighting Vergil. On top of the Qliphoth? Again? He even looked down to check his coat – yep, it was the same with that one. Was that a satellite record thing? The one those conspiracy theories said that you are always being watched? 

“Ahhh! To hell with Hell and Hell!” he heard a girl’s voice. Oh so there’s a person there, how could he not have noticed. “Stop Royal-Guarding me, Dante!” she even added. She knew him? And his Royal Guard? What is happening? 

He walked closer to the couch she was seated on. Her back was on him and she seemed too focused on the screen that she didn’t notice him. Or had he perfected his stealthy steps from a lot of practice by pranking— or attempting to do so on Vergil? 

His playfulness was still on high level from all the ganging up he and Nero had done on Vergil a while ago, so he thought of sprinkling some of it on whoever this person was. He carefully drew close to her left ear and said, “Royal Guard!” and that got her springing up from where she was seated. 

What he didn’t expect was that she was holding something. It was not that big but it was quite heavy, especially if it hit you in the face. 

Chapter Text

Dante woke up to some sort of a chant that sounded like “Omigod omigod omigod omigod~” and some poking on his cheek. “Is he real? Omigod omigod omigod omigod~” 

“Am I being sacrificed or is that a resurrection spell?” he asked as he sat up and touched the aching part of his forehead. He found it weird why it still hurt when pain from hits like that would usually go away as soon as he felt it. 

But he got distracted when he heard, “Are you really Dante? Of Devil May Cry?” He turned to face the woman beside him. She looked so worried as she added, “I’m sorry I hit you with the controller. I was surprised, it was purely by instinct and--” 

“Your instincts are good, babe. It was my fault anyway.” He laughed as he stood up, and she gestured for him to sit on the couch. “So are you like my stalker neighbor or something? From what you were watching earlier, you seem to know the secrets of my shop. You a devil hunter too?” 

“Heh, I wish.” Her tone then turned dreamy when she added, “That would have been one step closer to Vergil then.” 

Hearing that made Dante eye this woman intently. She didn’t seem to possess demonic traits, she didn’t look like a threat, she was even putting an ice pack on his forehead right now, but she knew about him and Vergil and their fight in the Qliphoth. Who could this be? 

She looked like she was examining him too. One hand was holding the cold compress to his head as she was standing in front of him. The other hand was feeling his coat but just with a finger, like how one would when checking dust. Then she touched some strands of his hair, even lightly rubbed them between her fingers as if doubting they were real. But when she leaned a little to the side, most likely looking for his guns, that was when he grabbed her wrist. He knew women could be cunning sometimes, touching you around one minute then using your own weapon on you the next. So he had to be careful, even if she looked so innocent. 

The tug caused her to fall onto him, one knee leaning on the couch part between his legs – phew, almost cracked his future there. But since she didn’t seem to be one to fight back, what he just did felt like bullying a kid. It made him feel a bit guilty, so he helped her stand up. Though, of course, he still showed a little cockiness. “First meeting and you want to get handsy. Just say so, babe. I can make arrangements.” 

She laughed, to his surprise, as if she was finding him absurd. “So you really are Dante. But don’t do that babe thing to me, I know you’re not really a flirt. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have refused Matier that time when she asked you to be with Lucia.” 

That instantly made him alert. If she knew even that private conversation with granny, this woman must have been stalking him way before the Qliphoth. His instincts were telling him to point his gun at this possible threat and make her confess everything she knew and whom she was working for, but seeing how gentle she was while checking the bump on his forehead got him conflicted. Speaking of his forehead, why was it still hurting anyway? Had he gotten poisoned in the job earlier and his healing was not working? If so, where? 

“Uh, if I may ask... how did you get here? It’s like in those isekai anime... This is really amazing.” 

He found himself telling her the truth for some reason. “Vergil’s portal.” 

Then the girl squealed. “I knew it! I knew his portal can even cross universes! Some fanfics got him meeting other Vergils too, but that last one I read was a sad one. But he’s really amazing, isn’t he? And the multiverse thing is true, huh? Marvel Studios will flip if they find out about this.” 

He didn’t understand what she was talking about, but the way she spoke so fast and looked breathlessly excited made him laugh. Normally he didn’t like talkers – ask Agni and Rudra – but there was something about this one. She looked so amazed at what she was seeing, as if his very existence was a big deal for her. Relying on gut feeling that this person was harmless, he decided to ask her, “How do you know about me and Devil May Cry?” 

And she showed him something... no, a lot of things. The next few minutes were spent with her explaining with proofs and pictures, and as confusing as it was, the main thing Dante got was, “I’m a video game character in here?” That and, “I’m not in my world?!” He immediately extended an arm, making sure it was away from her, and summoned his devil sword. But to his dismay, nothing appeared. 

“Wait, let me try something.” He then stood up and walked a few feet away from her as he didn’t want to blast her small body with the impact. Then he called forth his inner demon... but nothing happened. 

Dante looked at her and saw wide eyes, which he was probably doing right now too. They were even in-sync in saying, 

“I’m human in here?” 

“You’re human in here?” 

Chapter Text

You'd thought Dante would be bothered about the fact you two had just learned, about him being pure human and powerless in here, but no, he wasn’t. He was even playing DMC5 right now while eating the pizza you'd ordered, as if he was just in a friend’s house for an overnight. Apparently, he was a natural not just in fighting but also in video games. 

“Be careful not to put oil and crumbs on the controller,” you reminded. It was a bit odd but you two had gotten quite comfortable with each other right away. 

“You sound like Vergil,” he remarked before laughing then taking a new slice to hang between his lips. He was eating it like a guinea pig to prevent soiling the controller. 

Of course that made you giggle to be compared to Vergil. “How’d you say so~” you asked but he just chuckled and didn’t explain. Upon watching the combos he was doing as himself in the game, you asked, “Are you not worried about being stuck without your power in here?” 

“Nah, Vergil will pick me up for sure. He’ll miss me in no time.” 

“Vergil will?” Images of Vergil arriving here with his I-own-the-place posture quickly flashed in your mind. “I have to clean up the apartment then.” 

“You have a thing for Vergil?” 

“I’m a big fan.” You grinned then showed Dante your phone wallpaper. 

He just glanced at it and made a sound of acknowledgement. Then he turned back to the game but added, “You know, it should have been him who entered that portal, but he kicked me right into it.” 

You got flushed just imagining it. Vergil in here, powerless and stuck in your world? Forced cohabitation and all the fun and fluff that would come with it? Aaaahhh~ 

“You still there?” Dante was then waving a hand in front of your face while laughing at you. “Man, you’re that crazy about him huh? Good thing he’s not the one in here or you might have jumped on him instead of throwing the controller to his face.” 

“No, if he were the one who got sent here, I would have been different with him. I’d be all shy and formal, and I'd try to rein in my fangirling. You know, how one behaves around her crush.” 

Dante was still focused on the game but was smirking when he asked, “So you don’t find me crushable enough for you to be like that?” 

“You’re adorable but I have been loyal to Vergil since... long ago.” 

“Hardcore Vergilist.” 

“You make it sound like a religion but I’ll take that,” you said while refilling his glass with cola. “And besides, you’re different, you’re not as cold and stoic as he seems, so I don’t feel the need to be so formal with you. I mean, look at you asking me that question straight, flirty as hell. Why do you even do that? I bet that’s just your wall against women. You make them flustered so you’ll have the upper hand.” 

“Don’t go reading me, babe,” he replied, still wearing that smirk. “It makes me realize things. Introspection is not my cup of tea.” 

“Don’t call me babe, it feels weird. Vergil might think of it differently if he hears it.” 

“He doesn’t even know you yet.” He laughed, then asked, “What should I call you then?” 

“My name.” 

“Nah, I wanna do nicknames. Let’s see, I wanna call you something with ‘little’, cause you’re--” 

“You’re just ridiculously tall!” You even gestured a hand to compare your sitting height with his. “Though Vergil is even taller than you, isn’t he? I won’t mind it if he calls me small.” 

“Vergilist.” 

“A proud one.” 

“I bet you’d be so red if you see him in person.” 

“You don’t have to bet, I’m telling you I will.” 

“If you’re such a big fan, why isn’t this place filled with his pictures or something?” 

“This was supposed to be a shared space. I had a roommate before but she moved overseas just last month. That’s why most of my Vergil goods are in my room.” 

“Should I be scared of what I'll see in there?” He was smiling knowingly at that. 

Recalling the life-size almost-fully-naked Vergil dakimakura in your bed, you just laughed and swayed the topic with, “Speaking of roommate, why don’t you just stay here while you wait for your portal back home? I have a spare room anyway.” 

“You just want to see him when he picks me up,” Dante teased. 

You wanted to deny it but you couldn’t, and your guilty smile and flushed face kept him laughing. “Aside from that, I can’t just let you be on your own in this world. There might be differences that could get you in trouble or something. And what concerns me more is that you’re a human in here. You might not be used to being one. I have to make sure you don’t stab yourself.” 

“You’re so kind while at the same time so transparent,” was Dante’s comment that made you slap his arm lightly. “And now we’re arm-slapping close, huh?” he added, making you laugh. “Would you do that if it were Vergil in here?” 

“Of course not!” But you giggled when you added, “Not unless he's already my boyfriend.” 

“And you’re already there.” He shook his head while laughing, though still focused on the game. “And I was asking about letting him stay here, not slapping his arm.” 

“Oh.” You laughed nervously at your mistake before saying, “Of course I’ll let him stay here.” You couldn’t stop smiling when you added, “I’d convince him the best I can to stay here.” 

Dante just laughed while shaking his head again. 

“I’m serious though, stay here while you wait for your portal, however long it takes. Some shows with an isekai plot has a time difference between worlds, so it is possible for Vergil to take a long time before realizing what happened to you, we don’t know,” you explained before handing Dante a sheet of tissue when a piece of pepperoni fell to his thigh and he picked it up to eat it. You were really concerned about the controller. “I won’t charge rent or anything. There might not be demons to bash in here, you won’t get jobs.” 

“I can do handyman jobs, y'know.” 

“But will you?” 

And he just laughed. Then after a minute or so, he said, “Alright then, I guess I'll take that offer. I hope it won’t take long for my ride to arrive. But I'll repay you, run up a tab for me.” 

“You don’t have to, silly. Consider it a fan’s service, not fan service, I'm also your fan anyway." 

“Nah, I insist. I won’t pay in cash though. Do you accept twin brothers?” 

You squealed at that, or maybe screeched, before covering your face. “Don’t joke around like that, it might get my hopes up.” 

“No, of course I’ll introduce you to him at least. I'll even bridge you two. I like you; you’ll be a good match for him.” 

“Aaahhh~ Promise?” 

He took another slice when he said, “Yep. I’d eat pizza with olives forever if I break it. You’re the one the portal chose anyway.” 

“What do you mean by ‘the portal chose’?” 

“Nothing,” was his muffled answer because of the pizza. 

“Ah I almost forgot, let’s order sundae! There’s this place that delivers them, I’ve tried it before and they’re good!”  

“Aw, I’m loving it here already!” 

Chapter Text

“Roomie~” 

“Hmm?” was the only response you could manage as you were seated on the living room floor, busy typing in your laptop, currently in a fanfic-writing momentum. 

“Tiny Roomie~” 

“Hmm?” You didn’t even react to the adjective he'd used. 

“How do you make that French toast again? Should I put it in the toaster oven first or… haha, French it first?” This one though, finally made you look at him. Unsupervised Dante in the kitchen might be one of the most dangerous things in the world. Seeing him about to crack an egg in the toaster oven got you standing up and hurrying to the kitchen. In doing so, you unintentionally left your laptop open, including the file you'd been working on. 

“I’ll make you the French toast. Just watch TV or something,” you said, pushing him to the living room. 

Dante smiled mischievously at that, even with a singsong “Okay~” It got you wondering if he just tricked you into preparing a snack for him by pretending to be dangerously inexperienced in the kitchen. Well, he did have Trickster as one of his styles, so maybe. But since he was being adorable, you just let it pass. 

As you got busy with the cooking, your mind was still in the fanfic, planning the scenes and lines you would put at the ending. That was why you didn’t notice that a certain man-child already had his nose on your laptop. He might have even timed it well, or it was just coincidence that you finished cooking the same time he finished reading. 

“You teach innocent pre-school kids but you write something this dirty,” was Dante’s comment that made you rush to the living room to grab the device. But he stood up and held it above his head, and you couldn’t do anything against the Sparda bloodline’s natural gift of height. “Don’t you girls just get blue-- uh, what’s the female version for that, blue tubes? Blue bean?” He laughed at his terms before continuing, “Don’t you get that when reading something erotic like this?”

You jumped a few times to reach the laptop, but Dante just held it high. After a few bumps on his chest and one time almost tripping on your landing, he probably took pity on you that he finally gave it back. Though not without some more teasing, “Need some help with that? We’re all adults here anyway.” 

You got even more flushed and a teeny bit mad when you answered, “I won’t simply do it with you just to fix up a blue... argh! You’re soooo-- Fake flirty!” You hit his arm at those two words, but he laughed, as it was probably just a baby slap for him. 

“I wasn’t talking about that.” So that was why he kept on laughing. You could only hide your face as he explained, “I meant help in what you’re writing. I can tell you Vergil’s sizes.” That earned him a muffled scream from you, making him ask, “Is that the thing you call a fan squeal or are you mad now?” But he was still laughing. “And don’t call it fake flirty. I can really get flirty with someone if I want to.” 

“That’s exactly why I call it fake.” You faced him to emphasize your point. “Because you don’t really want to, yet you do those things.” 

“Do you want me to seriously flirt with you then?” 

“No. I’m a Vergilist!” 

“Aren’t you a bit too red to be Vergil’s?” Dante even pointed to his coat then to your cheeks while still laughing. “But seriously, I can brush my hair up and pretend, wear blue and act all cold and arrogant.” 

“Stop it~ And It’s not just the looks and attitude that I like about him.” 

“Really? What do you like about him then?” 

“Everything.” You looked away, your answer muffled by your pout, as you sat on the couch and fiddled with the laptop. “His skills, how he’s a secretly caring big brother to you, how awesome he is when he’s motivated, how he’s a dork deep down, the whole package – trauma, past and all.” 

“Well isn’t he lucky.” Dante sat beside you, and his last tone got you a bit worried that you might have made him feel left out or something. 

So you added, “A lot of fans are like me, and there are also a lot of fans like me who feel that way for you.” 

“Really now?” But his tone seemed disinterested. 

You took the tablet from the table and accessed AO3. Aside from keeping him from peeking into your work on the laptop, this might make him feel loved too, so you showed him Dante&Vergil fluff fics. “In this world, there are a lot of people who want you two to be happy. We do that through fanfics.” You grinned and gave him the tablet.

As he leaned back and browsed, you took the plate of French toast from the kitchen and offered to make coffee for the both of you. When you came back to the living room and placed down the tray of snacks, he thanked you with an unusual smile. It was something that didn’t look so Dante-being-Dante, something gentle and grateful. You just shrugged it off as probably this guy, no matter how he liked to tease and mock others, knew how to appreciate little things. 

## 

When you left to make coffee and get the toast, Dante noticed that this website seemed to be logged in, or, did he term that right? Whatever. He wasn’t really into technology for he somehow chose to keep living in the past all those years, but he knew a thing or two. And he knew that this was your account, and that theeeeese were things you had written. 

He didn’t understand what those Dante/Vergil and Dante&Vergil meant. Though, from the text that he assumed to be the overview of the stories, he found out how much your creative mind had made him and his brother, even his nephew, happy in these. From those he scanned, there were stories of him and Vergil when they were still kids, after the Qliphoth, and even an alternative version of their teen years instead of Temen-ni-gru. There were also some with Nero and even with V. But what caught his attention more were those dull ones, such as their birthday, Nero’s birthday, a New Year’s Eve they all spent together, and all the characters on a road trip and singing in Nico’s van. There was even a summer outing to the beach and a lot more scenarios for normal people that seemed fun... those things that he'd never really experienced in life. Weird though, browsing through them got him feeling something strange in his chest... Nah that’s probably just heartburn from all the pizza. His body was completely human in here after all.

But Dante realized that with this, he found a good way to spend the lazy afternoons while you were at work. Maybe reading wasn’t just for Vergil, especially if there were these interesting stories. Maybe he'd start being a bit techie now too, for this, maybe. At least there was now an alternative to playing Devil May Cry and taking a nap. 

When you came back with a tray of snacks, he thanked you with a smile that took zero effort to show, unlike his others. He even found himself putting his hand on top of your head when you sat beside him. He only realized it when it was already there, so he had to scramble for a reason when you asked. “Your head is just at a perfect height for an arm rest when I’m leaning back on this couch. It’s funny.” He backed it up with a laugh as you lightly hit his arm away from your head and he kept putting it back. 

Chapter Text

## cOuch! ##  

“This is a different apartment.” 

“This is a different apartment.” 

“Different from the usual.” 

“Different from the usual.” 

“There you go,” Dante said, patting your head. “You have to accept that, okay?” You could only nod with a frown as you looked at the empty living room and the broken couch that Dante had just placed near the door. 

You had only noticed that the couch was broken upon waking up today. The middle part fell to the floor, much like a bridge sagging. Aside from feeling sad that you had to say goodbye to the couch you had been with for years, you got a bit scared, wondering how that happened. But Dante said it was probably just due to the furniture being old. 

“Is the universe trying to tell me something here?” 

Dante just laughed, but upon sensing how worried you were, he answered, “Hmm... My best guess, it’s probably to be free from expectations of the norm – not all living rooms need a couch.” He grinned then added, “Even if the apartment will look different from how you are used to, even if you have a different roommate now, you can still be you, you can still enjoy things you like.” He then put the bean bag chair in the middle. “And see, we have this.” 

“That’s just for one person.” 

“Then I’ll sit on the floor. It’s clean anyway because we use indoor slippers.” He showed the fluffy black dog slippers you made him wear. 

“I haven’t cleaned it in a week or two.” 

“Then I’ll sit on the not-clean floor,” was his quick reply before laughing, making you smile at how he did not even suggest cleaning. You could only imagine how messy Dante’s office was in their world. Ah no, Vergil was there with him, so it was probably being kept clean. It was a common thing in post-DMC5 fanfics. 

Your thoughts were interrupted when Dante pulled you to sit down on the bean bag chair. Then he sat beside you on the floor. “See, the TV angle and the table height are still good. It’s like we’re still on a couch.” 

“A spectral couch,” you added, smiling at how Dante kept on cheering you up about this. 

“That’s right.” 

“But I’ll just buy another one of these.” You tapped the bean bag chair. “I’ll get you a red one.” 

“No need.” 

“No, I insist.” 

“Alright, then I’m good with this old one. You have the new.” 

“No, this is blue, it’s Vergil’s color, I’ll have it.” 

Dante chuckled. “In everything, really?” 

“You do it too, you always choose the red one in everything,” you said and he just shrugged while smiling. 

He then stood up, went to the door and said, “I’ll just take this downstairs.” 

He was about to lift the broken couch when you said, “Wait, are you sure there’s no supernatural thing that broke it? Like a ghost or demon or something?” 

“You have a demon in here,” Dante stated casually, making you run to the door, beside him. Seeing you made him laugh and correct himself, “A half-demon I mean.” He pointed a thumb to his chest. “So there’s nothing to be afraid of.” 

“Nah, I’ll come with you.” You helped him by opening the door. “Let’s offer some prayers or candles or something to that couch and hope that in some other versions of the timeline, Couchy is happy and is being used well by the me in there.” 

Dante laughed. “Those movies you made me watch really influenced you a lot, huh?” 

“Well you are a proof that the multiverse is real, so other versions of the timeline might be real too.” 

“Other versions huh...” 

## Cooking? ##  

In the few days you had tried living with Dante, you had learned that he can cook. Can. A big emphasis on can. But he should not. 

He had once tried cooking something he called his Pasta al Dante. He perfected the al dente pasta –or was it by luck because al dente only needed a few minutes of boiling? But the sauce... He used a canned sauce, so it was basically heating up a ready-to-eat canned food and simply adding some garnishes or veggies or chunks of meat. It was a quick-and-easy dish as the recipe printed on the can’s label suggested. But... 

How Dante fought must be reflected on how he did other things – creative, impulsive, wacky-woohoo. The too much ‘salt and pepper to taste’ was understandable because he just winged it, as well as the other sliced veggies he randomly added while saying, “The more, the healthier.” He even grinned at you with eyebrows that sought for confirmation when he added, “We’re Human Mode in here.” 

But what made it inedible was that he Balrog’d the cooking. He had used high heat right from the start and he even said “Count from 1 to 10 and it’s done,” with an innocently confident grin. When he turned it over into a plate, his smile also turned over, as he saw the burnt parts. But he was quick to cheer himself up with, “Dang, I’m so hot I burned it,” and laughed as he was about to throw it away. 

But you stopped him. “There are still some salvageable parts,” you said as you took the plate and tried a forkful. It was salty alright, but you smiled at him and said, “A.” 

“Don’t mess with me, Roomie, I know it’s Dismal.” 

“A for A-ffort.” And you couldn’t stop the laugh that was coming. 

Dante tried a bite and dropped the fork when he said, “Tastes like a devil cried his eyes out into this,” before laughing as well. 

“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” you then asked, and you two mirrored a smirk. 

“Pizza?” 

“Pizza.” 

So it was you who mostly did the cooking, but Dante said he didn’t want to be a burden so he would often assist. But there were times like: 

“Tiny Roomie! C’mere! It’s starting, hurry!” Dante was patting your bean bag chair as he was seated on his. You two had become fans of this certain TV show about an assassin who was trying to turn over a new leaf but life wouldn’t let him. It was quite brutal but the plot was compelling and its episodes were always a cliffhanger so the first few minutes of the new episode were always a must-watch with full attention. 

“I’m supposed to cook.” 

“Cook? This is more important! He was caught red-handed by his girlfriend last episode.” 

“Ah yeah. I’ll just order pizza then.” 

“That’s more like it!” 

So in short, cooking was more like a casual hobby in this apartment. Ordering was more practical. There was a lot of choices anyway. 

## Cleaning Less-Dusty-ing ##  

“You’re allergic to dust?” 

“Yeah, that’s why I need to clean now. Last time I did this was... I can’t remember,” you said, laughing. You were covering your clogged nose with a sheet of tissue with one hand and holding the vacuum cleaner with the other. 

“So you can’t breathe when it’s dusty?” 

“I can, but mostly just with my mouth because my nose gets itchy and cloggy.” 

Dante paused and looked around, then asked, “Do you have a feather duster?” 

“Yeah.” You pointed to where it was. 

“Alright, I’ll take care of this.” He stood up and pushed you out of the apartment. “Hang out in the convenience store for about 15 minutes and comeback to a clea— less-dusty place.” 

“You sure? It’s a common headcanon in here that you don’t clean your shop and Vergil’s the one who does it since living with you.” 

He just laughed. “Vergil's methods are stiff and strict like him. How do you think I managed to maintain Devil May Cry all these years?” 

“With Trish and Lady doing the cleaning?” 

He just laughed again. “You underestimate Dante, Tiny Roomie.” 

“You’re underestimating my height too.” And he continued laughing as he pushed you out of the apartment. 

15 minutes later, when you came back, it was... less-dusty indeed. Some spots were missed but it was relatively cleaner than before, and you could breathe. You immediately saw the grinning Dante, slumped against his bean bag chair, greeting you with a wide smile and “See?” 

“How’d you do it?” 

“Trade secret.” 

You laughed and offered to prepare a snack for him. He looked like he hurried up with the cleaning as he was panting a little. You decided on a strawberry smoothie with the ice cream you had bought from the convenience store and a sandwich as a reward for him. As you prepared them, you imagined how Dante speedrun’d the dusting of the furniture -- throwing all dust to the floor so he could vacuum them all in one go, then opening the window for fresh air in case some dust remained floating. Trade secret huh? Still, he must have looked like a cute fool, trying to finish it all in 15 minutes. 

When you placed the snacks on the living room table, Dante thanked you and said, “Now you don’t have to clean for another three weeks. Efficient, isn't it?” That and his silly grin that accompanied it made you smile. 

Chapter Text

You and Dante were in the living room, seated comfortably in your bean bag chairs. You were reading fanfics on your phone while he was napping with a magazine on his face. When you shifted, facing his side, you realized how this looked like his usual thing in his shop. Only this time, his feet were on the floor and he was slumped against a comfortable seat. You couldn’t help but take a photo, for posterity. 

“You stalking me, Roomie?” he mumbled from under the magazine. 

“Your senses are sharp.” You just chuckled and didn’t bother denying it. 

“I heard the shutter sound. My ears are good.” 

“I better be careful then. You might hear things you shouldn’t.” You were honestly referring to girl-talk over the phone or whenever you are talking to your Vergil goods in your room. But the way Dante smirked at you after taking off the magazine and shifting to face you, you knew he was thinking of something different and wrong. So you kicked his leg. 

“I haven’t even said anything!” he complained, laughing. Then he faced the ceiling again and spread his arms, as if he were floating in the ocean. 

“Too comfy there huh?” 

“Yep. I’m thinking of replacing my desk back in the shop and just putting something like this.” 

“Where would you put your old phone then?” 

“Yeah, that’s what’s stopping me.” 

You laughed before realizing, “We’ve just had dinner and we are practically lying here. We're going to get fat at this rate.” 

“Nah. I don’t--” 

“You’re human here.” When you said that, he froze for a second then relaxed again. 

“Nah, I exercise when I fight demons. And upon stepping back in my world, my demontabolism will work again.” 

“How I wish I have that too,” you said before looking at your body. “I feel like I'm getting heavier these days. Maybe it’s because of all the pizza.” 

“No, you’re not getting fat!” was his quick remark. “You’re so light I can lift you with one arm.” 

“You just want continuous pizza.” 

“Nah, honest.” He laughed before turning a bit serious. “But if you’re concerned about your health then maybe we can jog or something.” 

“So you’re worried you’re getting fat too?” 

“No. Though I feel weird sometimes, in my chest. Sometimes there’s a tickling feeling, I don’t know, maybe because I’m human in here.” 

“Maybe we should have you checked!” You had been worrying about that, actually. With all the headcanons that Dante ate only pizza and sundae and drank alcohol regularly, you thought perhaps his bad habits would reflect on his body while he was human in here. So hearing about this made you think immediately of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and such. He was old after all. Out of instinct, you reached a hand to his chest, just curious if he had arrhythmia or so. 

“Ms. Feelsy?” 

“Silly. I’m worried that it might be something serious.” 

“No, it just happens sometimes.” 

“How often do you experience it?” You then took his hand to check his pulse, hoping it was on the average beats per minute. “When was the last time it happened?” 

“R-right now.” 

You look at him and made a face. You felt half-weirded-out and half-worried because Dante just stared at you. It took him a few seconds before he showed his usual grin, making you hit his chest lightly. “You always fool around, that I don’t know when to really get worried about you.” 

He just laughed. 

## 

Sometimes, it’s as though you two were on a bed with these comfy chairs. You put your hands under your cheek as you lay sideways on your bean bag and said, “Seriously though, if ever you feel odd or something, please tell me. I’m really worried about you.” You looked at him with a sincere face when you said that last part, and Dante felt that weird feeling in his chest again. But this time he couldn’t say anything, so he just nodded. Maybe he really had to do some exercises. He never thought he’d say this, but damn this 100% human body and its weird sensations. 

“Wanna go jogging or something? Or at least a stroll in the park; that’s exercise enough,” he suggested, and your face lit up. 

“Sure! I heard there’s a night market in the nearby park this week. Let’s check that out.” You stood up immediately, looking like you were more into the shopping than the walking. You being this transparent put a smile on Dante’s face. “You’re probably wondering if there are food stalls, aren’t you?” 

“Yeah, you got me,” he just said as he stood up. 

## 

The night air was pleasant and the streets were quiet, perfect for a stroll. But it was just a few minutes of walking, including the stairs down the apartment building, and you were already panting. “You throwing the towel already, Roomie? We haven’t even gotten to the park yet,” Dante mocked. 

“I’m not really-- the exercising type.” 

“How do you maintain that body then?” 

“Don’t-- start your Flirty Dante with me,” you warned in between ragged breaths. 

“I wasn’t. I’m a good human boy now,” he said with an uninterested tone, making you laugh. 

“Don’t make me laugh-- I’m already--” 

“Weak,” he teased and went ahead. “Try to catch up. Vergil won’t approve of you if you give up easily.” 

“Why did you-- Don't bribe me with Vergil!” 

But then something caught your attention. You were at the corner of the street, and to your right, you saw an old lady struggling because a young man was pulling her purse. It took a few seconds of processing before you realized, “A thief! Wait, woah, this is real. I- I have to do something, or granny might get hurt...” 

You were about to call for Dante but he was already quite far across the street. So you did the next best thing you could think of: you took off your shoe and threw it to the thief. Thanks to all those arcade games and throwing tissue balls into the trash can, you hit the guy right on the head. Realizing the absurdity of what you just did, you were almost laughing but then the thief guy turned to face you. Holding the knife he was threatening the old woman with, he started walking towards you. You shrieked and ran to the opposite direction, making a mental note not to antagonize people who are holding a weapon next time. This wasn’t a game after all, even if the hero of Devil May Cry lives in your apartment. 

You scolded yourself as you realized you didn’t run to where Dante was, you ran to the left. Well Chucky was on the right so... “Dante!” You yelled, but quickly realized you shouldn’t have, so you covered your mouth. He's human in here, he might get stabbed and he won’t heal. Okay so new plan, you run then probably hide wherever possible. The guy was not really Chucky, he didn’t have horror powers or so. 

You took a glance just to have an estimate of how long you had till he could catch you, and that was when you saw that he was already engaged with a big guy. “Dante?” Your spirit was lifted but was then dropped instantly. Dante didn’t have a weapon and he couldn’t summon his devil sword. Perhaps you should throw your other shoe to distract the guy so Dante could run away too? 

But it seemed like Dante didn’t need any help, nor any weapon. As the guy kept trying to stab him, he just evaded and used the guy’s momentum to throw him off his stance. Then in one of those times he blocked the guy’s stabby arm, the guy dropped the knife. Dante then seized the chance to land a punch on the guy’s stomach, thus knocking him out. 

You then heard whistling sound and when you turned to face its direction, you saw a police man. He was probably on patrol, and you recalled there’s a small police station near the park. He must have seen what happened, and granny was also explaining. They both thanked Dante and dealt with the unconscious thief guy. 

Dante then approached you. “You okay, Roomie?” His brows were furrowed and his tone was far from his usual. He sounded worried while at the same time angry, that you could only nod. “Why didn’t you call me right away?” and that, he said in a scolding tone. 

“I... You’re human here. I don’t want you to get stabbed.” 

He shut his eyes, sighed loudly and shook his head. Kinda scary. “Believe in me a little, will you?” He then checked your arms and legs, probably for injuries. “Where’s your other shoe?” 

“I threw it at Chucky.” 

“Huh?” 

“I panicked and didn’t know what to do. So I threw the thief my shoe to make him stop harassing granny.” And Dante burst out laughing, which gave you a feeling of relief. It seemed he was back to the usual him. “That was really scary.” 

“Damn, Roomie, why did you do something dangerous like that?” he asked as he went to get your shoe. 

You followed right behind him and said, “I... I don’t know, sorry, instinct? Too much anime? I don’t know...” 

## 

You looked like you were about to cry, probably from the horrifying experience or the way he strayed away from his usual calm when he was talking to you earlier. So Dante tried to sway it. Anything really, and the only thing he had thought of was, “Roomie, your shoe stinks.” Then he backed it up with a laugh. 

“I just washed that!” 

“Nah, just kidding,” he said as he helped you wear it. 

“You know, at some point back there, I felt like all those zombie apocalypse thoughts I've been having had come true,” you said before sighing. “I might have died there if you weren’t here.” 

Dante stood up and put a hand on your head. “It’s alright now, don’t be scared. I’m here.” Then the way you looked at him made him feel a little weird so he ruffled your hair. You made that cute face as you complained and fixed it. “Still wanna go to the park? Maybe the night market can make up for the experience.” And that got you nodding enthusiastically. 

“You’re amazing though,” you said as you two went on walking. “You fought him without a weapon. I was worried about you, but that was really cool.” 

“Nah, that was just luck.” 

“It looked similar to your Royal Guard.” 

“Did it?” 

“I used to hate it because it's hard to deal with in the game. When I’m playing as Vergil and it’s the Dante boss fight, Royal Guard stresses me out. Now I’m kinda liking it.” 

Dante smiled as you continued talking about the game. This whole ordeal made him realize that you are small but you are brave... Well, he recalled how you ran away, okay, not brave. But you threw your shoe at the thief, so somehow you know how to stand up for what’s right. But yeah you’re weak, so… 

“I’ll be your Royal Guard.” And his eyes grew wide upon realizing what he just said. 

“Hm?” You looked at him with those innocent eyes. Seemed like you didn’t hear it well, good. 

“Nothing. I said I’m hungry.” He put his hands behind his head and added, “I hope there’s pizza in the night market.” 

“We’re doing this jogg— walking because of too much pizza!” 

Chapter Text

You came out of your room sniffling, walking sluggishly, and holding a tissue pack, so Dante asked, “You crying, Roomie?” 

“No, it’s just my allergy. Sometimes I wake up like this.” You opened the fridge then asked him, “What would you like to eat for breakfast?” 

Despite his comfy position in his bean bag chair, Dante turned to show you a grin. “You know my default answer.” 

“It’s too early for pizza!” You laughed but with a sneeze in the middle. Then a tissue-muffled, “We're really going to get fat.” 

“Then let’s exercise.” 

“I’m not really good at exercising. Last time we jogged, I almost tripped.” 

“I know a different form of exercise, one that’s indoors but burns more calories.” His eyes deliberately turned to your bedroom for a second, while he was grinning mischievously. You threw him the tissue pack in response and he just laughed. You were still smiling though, for you knew he just liked fooling around and teasing you. 

Then while sniffling again, you said, “Give that to me.” 

Dante looked at the tissue pack he caught then hid it behind him, as he smirked and said, “No way, you got your own.” 

You realized that this was a quote-exchange so you played along, “Well I want yours too.” 

Dante laughed then threw back the pack. “You’re being a good Vergil.” But you were not able to catch it, it fell and slid under the dining table. You picked it up but as you got up, you hit your head on said table. Witnessing all this, he rushed to your side but he couldn’t hold back a laugh. “What kind of a catch is that, Roomie?” 

You were laughing too, while groaning lightly. “I didn’t notice.” 

Probably out of instinct, Dante rubbed the part of your head that took the hit. Then he sounded confused, “Hm? Roomie, were you always this hot?” 

You slapped his tummy with the back of your hand while mumbling, “Cut it out.” But gee, it was hard. Did he flex his abs upon noticing you will hit him? 

“No, I’m serious.” He then put a hand on your forehead. “You’re hot.” 

You held his hand and realized, "You’re hot.” 

“Why, thank you.” He laughed and received another light hit. 

“You’re weird. Your body is hotter than a normal human’s,” you said, even feeling his arm to confirm. You had tried checking his pulse before but that was just with a couple of fingers that you weren't able to notice his temperature.

“Really? But you’re hot right now.” 

“This is never gonna end,” you said. 

To your surprise, Dante quoted his brother and replied, “We got plenty of time.” Recalling Vergil’s smile in that cutscene made you giggle and cover your face. “Is that for me or Vergil?” 

You replied a muffled, “You know me.” 

“Tss. Vergilist.” Dante then went to where the first aid kit was. “You have a thermometer in here, don’t you? Ah, here it is.” 

## 

After taking your temperature, Dante’s brows furrowed and he must have sounded strict when he said, “You’re not feeling well but you still prioritized making me breakfast. You a fool, Roomie.” 

He turned off the stove and pushed you to your bedroom, with you still complaining, “Wait, let me at least finish that.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll eat everything half-cooked. You should take a rest,” he insisted, still a bit annoyed for some reason. But upon seeing the half-naked Vergil pillow on your bed, Dante broke into a fit of laughter. You dove into bed to hide it, but he took it to inspect and he won. “You sleep with this, Roomie?” He tried but he couldn’t stop laughing. “Let’s show this to him when he picks me up.” 

“Noooo!” You grabbed the pillow and hid with it under the blanket, but he caught a glimpse of how red you were. And whenever he would see that face, he felt like he was earning bigger points. Teasing you was just fun. 

“That’s good, keep warm. But don’t do uh, adult stuff to him in there, ‘kay?” Dante said, making you whine something incoherent. He just laughed and went out of your room to take the first aid kit and a glass of water. 

When he came back, you were still under the sheets but you peeked a little to see why he returned. Now that was cute. “I don’t know which one’s for fever so I brought the whole thing,” he said as he handed you the box and placed the glass on the bedside table. “Maybe you also have a cold, not allergy. Take the right meds. I’ll cook you some soup.” You got up and complied, making him smile. While you were exploring the first aid kit, he asked, “Do you have any request? I promise I won’t burn it or make it salty.” 

“You don’t have to take care of me. I’ll be fine just sleeping this off. You haven’t even eaten breakfast.” You frowned a little, looking worried when in fact you’re the sick one. 

“This’ll be my cooking comeback,” he insisted. “And I'll eat the half-cooked bacon while cooking, so don’t worry about me.” 

You chuckled before answering, “Alright then, creamy corn soup. There’s an instant pack in the cupboards. You’ll just put it in boiling water and add egg.” 

“That's too easy. You underestimating me, Roomie?” He might have pouted a little at that. 

Maybe that’s why you panicked. “No, I’m really just craving for that. Promise. Now I can imagine it.” You playfully smacked your lips in anticipation then grinned, and he couldn’t argue with that. But knowing you, you’re probably being considerate. And he wasn’t really that great at cooking so he decided to just do his best in not messing up that instant soup. He just hoped that there was a ‘cook for how long’ on the packaging. 

But before he could leave the room, you called his attention just to thank him. He hadn’t even done anything. And with that sweet smile, if he were Vergil, he’d probably say that line about being motivated. 
 

## 

“Roomie, breakfast in bed!~” Dante announced, and you both laughed. 

“You even made toast!” You looked happy over that simple addition he prepared. 

“I didn't French it though,” he said as he placed the tray in front of you. “I’m not sure if you want butter or jam or maple syrup or peanut butter, so I just brought them all.” 

You chuckled and started spreading peanut butter and jam on one slice of bread then butter and maple syrup on another. You even made two of each type. “It’s like half-and-half pizza,” you stated, grinning. Then you playfully pointed back and forth the toast types and said in a singsong manner, “Choose-your-fla-vor!” 

That made him laugh, of course. “These are for you.” 

“Let’s share them. Half-cooked bacon is not filling.” While laughing, you were about to get up but he stopped you. “I’ll get another bowl so we can share the soup too. I don’t want you catching my cold.” 

“Roomie! I’m supposed to take care of you,” he complained but you just grinned. Then you pointed to the bowl then to the door, all the while wearing that pout with those puppy eyes. Dammit. “Alright, I’ll just get mine. That whole serving is yours.” 

So he did as he said, and when he came back, “You haven’t started eating?” 

“I was waiting for you.” 

“Tsk.” But you just grinned at him again while patting the bed, gesturing for him to sit. Then you ate the soup and the toast as if they were the most delicious thing you’ve ever had. But human tastebuds are off when they have a cold, right? At least that was what Patty told him one time. He just shook his head but he couldn’t stop smiling. He was an expert when it comes to fake smiles, but this one you were giving him was just sweet that he couldn’t complain. 

When you two were done eating, he couldn’t help but tease you, for the idea was just there. “So our first romantic date was on your bed.” You laughed then hit him on the side with the Vergil pillow, so he said, “Ew, keep my naked brother away from me. I don’t want his pee-pee touching me.” 

You laughed even more while arguing, “This is the safe for work version! His pee-pee is covered with a blanket, see!” 

“Still ew. I can imagine it dangling under that blanket, all flaccid and--” 

Then you squealed while covering your face. “Don’t feed me ideas!” But you ended up laughing while mumbling, “Flaccid...” 

He couldn’t help but laugh too. “Now you won’t get turned on by that pillow. You know the secret hidden by his blanket.” You hit him again with it though, while still laughing. 

Dante then stood up and took the tablet he placed on the bedside table earlier. “Now go to sleep, Roomie. I’ll stay here and watch over you.” Then he sat on the floor, beside your bed. 

“You don’t have to keep an eye on me.” 

“I don’t have a busy sched anyway.” He laughed. “I’ll read fanfics here. Just tell me if you need something and I’ll get it.” 

“Are you gonna be okay there? At least sit on the chair.” You pointed to the one by your desk. 

“Nah, I’m good here. The bed is a good backrest,” he replied casually while accessing your fics. There were still ones he had not read, so this was a good chance for it. To his surprise though, he felt a hand on his head. 

“Thank you, Dante,” he heard you say, as you ruffled his hair. Everything stopped in those few seconds, and all his senses focused on your gentle hand. It ended right away though, leaving him kind of craving for more. But he felt something weird in his chest again so that got him distracted. Come to think of it, he had been feeling something weird in there the whole morning. It was just right now that he felt it stronger. 

He then turned around to look at you. Your eyes were closed and you looked relaxed. He wanted to brush those baby hair away from your face but he might just disturb your sleep. And he wanted to touch your cheek—ah no, forehead, just to check if your temperature improved. And he wanted to find out if those lips would taste like the jam or the peanut butter or the maple syrup. And... his heart was pounding in his chest. 

“Dammit,” Dante mumbled to himself. So the weird feeling in his chest meant... He shook his head as if to reset his mind, but his eyes still went back to you. Then he noticed how you were hugging the Vergil pillow. Your cheek was even on Vergil’s face, and you were wearing that smile as if you were having the sweetest of dreams... “Double dammit.” 

Chapter Text

Dante pulled you on top of him, hoping that this bean bag can carry the weight of you both. He stroked your cheek as he gazed at you, a bit worried that his rough hand would hurt your smooth skin. But when you smiled at him, he thought that was it, the permission he needed. He gently pulled you close and kissed you, his lips curving into a smile as he tasted his favorite flavor of pizza. Well you two were eating it right before this. While his tongue was invading your mouth and challenging yours to play, his hands went to your thighs, squeezing them lightly as he positioned you better on him. With the way you were kissing him back and burying your fingers in his hair, his hands gained the confidence to slide up and under your shirt, feeling your warmth inch by inch. He wanted more, he wanted you to moan his name as he gave you the best that was possible in this position but… 

“Dante…” 

But he woke up from his trance when you called him with that worried tone. “What happened to you?” Your frown made his guilt arrive twice as fast. “You suddenly stopped moving. You were in a boss fight.” 

Ah that’s right. This started when you fed him pizza. He was eating guinea-pig style again because he was playing DMC, and he playfully asked you to put a slice between his lips. But when you did, with the way you looked at him, he just... 

He was being this weird lately. This wasn’t the first time and this wasn’t the worst he imagined. All his foolish teasing were coming back to bite him. He knew he had to stop this. 

“Where are you going?” 

It was only then when Dante realized he was heading to the door, with a hand on his face. “I’ll uh, just take a walk,” was the excuse he managed, though he knew you were still wondering why. He didn’t bother explaining but he made sure to take the spare key from where you usually leave it and lock the door behind him. He kind of secretly promised to guard you, so he didn’t want this sudden need to be alone to put you in any form of danger. Though you had always lived by yourself here, so he might be going a bit overprotective or something. Yeah, just add that to his recent weirdness; there’s a lot already anyway. 

As he breathed in the calming night air, he sorted out the rules he had been telling himself. You were supposed to be someone for Vergil. The Yamato chose you, that’s why the portal brought him here. From how it recognized and bonded with Nero before, Dante knew that Vergil’s sword kind of had a mind of its own. Dante knew he wasn’t even supposed to be here. This was supposed to be Vergil’s stuck-up-villainous-dork-correcting experience, as he requested when he foolishly yelled that to the portal. And yeah, aside from that, the biggest reason probably was because you like Vergil. A lot. 

Though you haven’t even met Vergil... He doesn’t even know about you. 

But Dante promised you something over pizza with olives. Heh, idiot. Vergil might have been right when that dork said he still acts like an eight-year-old sometimes, especially when elated. Well, who wouldn’t? If your whole life had been hell, then by installment you get a few reasons to want to continue living, aka a nephew you didn’t know existed and a twin who you thought was long dead... you’re bound to drop your wall a few times, right? If it weren’t for that incident anyway, he wouldn’t have grown up to be someone two-faced. The real him would probably be the fake one he shows when someone’s watching, the one he could only wish to be real. 

Though yeah, in here, he had been that goof the whole time. He wasn’t really putting on a show, he wasn’t forcing it either. He was just too relaxed in here. Maybe because it was a different world? He was not ‘Sparda’s blood’ here like how demon enemies always called him. He was not the devil hunter who always had to clean up his family’s mess either. Or maybe it was because of you? You know a lot about him, those games and anime and comics and head...headcanons, was it? They were so spot on that pretending to be the reckless fun guy would be useless. So he just let himself be, and funny how he turned out exactly how he had always been pretending to be. Or maybe it was still because he was in a different world and he was a human here? Yeah, blame it all in being human, sounds like a familiar bad guy. 

Dante wondered where he ended up, both in thoughts and in his stroll. “Dammit, I need to stop.” Again, double meaning in that. 

## 

Dante had been acting weird lately and you could only guess why, for he just kept telling you that nothing was wrong. But there was definitely something wrong, because his fake flirtations were gone, not that you missed them though. He also didn’t put ‘Tiny’ when he would call you, and the way he would say “Roomie” didn’t have that familiar tone anymore. He still teased you about Vergil sometimes, but it felt a bit different than before. And ever since you showed him how geeky you were with Vergil’s quotes in the game, he had been doing line-exchanges with you. But in the past couple of days, there were none of those. 

Sure, some fics feature Dante with moods or depression episodes, but people don’t suddenly change like that without a reason. That made you wonder if you had done something that offended him somehow. He always fooled around and you hit him lightheartedly sometimes, but that wouldn’t possibly cause him to be mad now, would it? Did you say something bad then? You couldn’t recall any... Was it because of your rules such as the indoor slippers and not dirtying the controller? But he always complied with them even right from the start. He was not feeling suffocated by those things, was he? Probably not, since he said Vergil was strict with him about the shop’s cleanliness and his eating habits. And you were by far not as scary as a strict Vergil would be. 

Or was he feeling homesick? How long had it been?... Almost a month? And Vergil had not picked him up. Maybe it was getting to him. Maybe he was thinking that Vergil was mad at him and was not picking him up on purpose? So he was feeling guilty? Or... Maybe Dante was starting to worry that being stuck as a human in here was going permanent. But he always seemed to enjoy his entertainment here. He was even in DMD of every DMC game now. 

Or was it something physical instead of emotional? That chest pain perhaps? Though he was not complaining about that lately. He was more prone to zoning out the past few days. So maybe it really was something emotional. 

Come to think of it, Dante now preferred hanging out in his room instead of in the living room when you two were not doing something together. While before, you two would be in your bean bag chairs even while doing completely different things. Then random conversations would start. Sometimes one would say a line from the game then the other one would respond, like a way to check if the other one fell asleep. Now that fun, weird roommate thing was gone. Maybe you really did or said something that hurt him... 

So you tried doing nice things. You tried his usual weaknesses – pizza and sundae, but they did not bring back the usual Dante. You tried doing small talk, you even doodled a flowchart for a casual conversation that would encourage him to share what was bothering him. But it was still not effective. He would just give short answers then dismiss the whole conversation by saying he would go to his room to lie down for a while. If you asked him if he wasn’t feeling well, he would smile and say he just wanted to take a nap. But the smile was not the one you used to see on him, the real him. And he liked taking a nap on his bean bag chair... 

## 

Dante was used to living alone. When Vergil started living with him, it was almost the same as before. Even with his twin around, they didn’t do much activities together aside from sparring. Even meals were not required to be done together. So whenever Dante had the need to be alone, it was easy, for Vergil also had that kind of need sometimes. 

But Dante learned that his current living situation was different. It might have been his fault anyway, because he got used to being playful with you and you two even spent time together in the living room doing nothing. So when he had this need to be alone to sort out his thoughts and feelings, he didn’t expect that you would be affected. Stupid mistake, really, but he just wasn’t used to having someone caring about him all the time. He only realized everything when you blocked his way when he was about to retire to his room early again tonight. And it struck him because you looked like you were on the verge of tears. 

“Dante…” You looked down as you continued, “If there’s anything I did or said, or failed to do, I’m sorry… I’m not really good at conflicts and this recent uhm coldness is just eating me up.” 

That got him feeling guilty instantly. He really didn’t expect that you would end up blaming yourself. Though he should have expected that, with self-blame being one of his tendencies. 

He was not able to respond though, so you were compelled to fill the silence. “I’m really nervous. Maybe it’s not something I did, so this is going to be embarrassing… If it’s something that you are just worrying about, you can share it with me.” You looked at him with a bit more determination when you said, “I might be Vergil’s big fan but I still know you considerably well, because of the lore and common headcanons. So you can talk to me if you have problems or worries...” 

But hearing you say ‘Vergil’ somehow rang different to his ears. A part of him argued, ‘I’ve been telling that to myself, you don’t have to remind me,’ but he tried to suppress that. Although, something like it still came out. He even gave a sarcastic smirk when he said, “What does a Vergilist know about Dante? Tell me.” 

The way you frowned made him regret what he just said. But you still explained, while looking down again, “To be honest, my headcanon... I think you have thicker walls than Vergil does. He’s an introverted dork deep down but he hides it behind a cold wall of indifference. But he might be someone who can feel hurt easily, but he just tries not to. I can somehow relate to that, it’s why I got more drawn to him.” 

You seemed nervous with all those hand movements, but you continued, “Meanwhile you, I imagine you to have complex layers of walls. You show people that you are carefree, but in fact you are careful – careful not to hurt others, careful not to be too close with someone, careful not to show how you truly feel... probably afraid of how others would react or how things would turn messy if you involve emotions.” 

You paused for a while. You were still looking at the floor but your shoulders were kind of quivering when you added, “But deep down, you really want to be carefree, to be able to simply tell someone you trust what’s bothering you, to be free from worries or guilt and just have fun. Ironic because your default mask is someone who always finds fun in everything. So it’s like you put forward something that’s not really you while at the same time it is how you really want to be.” 

And now your nervous hands were clasped together, tightly at that. “I have always liked Vergil but actually whenever I read about you, I get this feeling that... if only it were possible, I'd be a friend you could be super honest with. I'd listen to your concerns, I’d give advice if you need one, and I'd stay quiet if you just need to let things out. And now that you somehow ended up here, I just wish I could do that. I'm sure all your fans want to be your confidant, but... if you’re willing to settle, will you accept me, a Vergilist, as a representative of your fans to be your uh, person-you-can-be-completely-honest-with? I ought to think of a better name for that--” 

Dante then found himself hugging you. But he realized it soon, so he had to let go. Part of him wished he should have let himself be lost in thoughts before realizing what he did. To his surprise though, when he let go of you, you cried. “Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?” He might have panicked a little too much when he asked that. Well you’re human, he’s not really. He felt your shoulders for any broken bones, he checked your head for cracks, he lifted your face to... 

Good thing you spoke, otherwise he might have gotten pulled in. “Sorry, I really cry easily but I try not to. I don’t know, maybe because we’re okay now? Ah sorry, I assumed from the hug... I have been trying to pull myself together when I was giving a speech earlier.” You chuckled a little as you wiped your tears. “But I was really afraid of making things worse. I've been guessing what was wrong and I’ve tried different ways to get back my fun roomie but they all failed. So now that we were able to talk, I’m relieved. Maybe these are tears of joy? I don’t know...” 

“Stop crying now. Sorry for making you worry that much.” Dante wiped the remaining tears then rubbed your head as gently as he could. But with this distance and how his other hand was just there on your shoulder, he couldn’t help but pull you to his chest again. Damn. He scolded himself, but his uncooperative self only kissed the top of your head. That made you look up at him, and it was his turn to be nervous when he let you go. “Sorry, you’re uh, just perfectly small I couldn’t help it.” 

Good thing you laughed and hit him lightly on the stomach. “I missed you teasing my height and everything. Even though I’m not really small and you’re just ridiculously tall.” You both chuckled at that, but you turned serious when you added, “Don’t be weird again...” 

How could he possibly refuse that cute frown? “Alright, I won’t, I promise.” And then that frown turned into a smile that was twice as—Damn. 

“Fun roomies again?” you asked. Dante simply nodded, but it made you smile wider, as if flowers suddenly bloomed in the background and-- 

‘Dammit.’  

Chapter Text

Dante was playing DMC5 DMD as himself, and he was already in the Vergil boss fight. But he wanted to play this with you watching him, because last time in Son of Sparda mode, you'd been groaning like a cute fool every time he would land a powerful hit on Vergil. You'd said you wanted to watch their rematch in DMD, so he wouldn’t be playing this now. You'd fallen asleep, that was why. 

It was a Friday, so you must really be tired, and post-dinner naps were perfect for that. Dante was choosing between letting you be or carrying you to your bed, but you just looked too cute—comfortable in the bean bag right now. Not that he kept glancing then lost to V’s familiars twice before finally being able to focus, nope. 

He exited the mission before standing up. Then he went to the small table where the telephone was located, for one of the drawers there contained what he needed. The top drawer had the usual things related to phone call – paper, pens, markers, sticky notes. But the second drawer, you'd put a blanket in it, just a thin and small one that suited its purpose. You called it a Nap Blanket, because one of you two would always fall asleep in the bean bag chair. Well, you'd put that blanket in there because one time you'd fallen asleep, Dante took the duvet from his bed and placed it on you. He smiled as he recalled that and how you were laughing when you woke up that time. You said he'd overdone the sweet gesture, but you still thanked him for it. Since then, you kept this small blanket in this drawer. So he wouldn’t have to sacrifice his bedding, you'd said. 

Dante couldn’t help but gaze at your face as he carefully put the blanket on you. It might have lasted a little longer, that he felt a bit guilty when he turned to face the TV. The main menu background was that with him and Vergil in the van, and Vergil was looking unimpressed. “I know she’s supposed to be yours. I’m trying,” Dante mumbled as he went back to his seat. “Just pick me up so I can start moving on.” He sighed as he closed the game and turned off the console.

Upon putting the controller on the table, the tablet caught his attention, so he took it. He intended to read fanfics but when he unlocked it, he saw what you had been reading before dinner. “Visions of V? What’s this?”

Dante got curious, especially since it wasn’t just text; there were illustrations. This wasn’t the comics you'd shown him before, and even the art style was different. The other one was the story of his encounter with Vergil a year prior to Temen-ni-gru. What could this one be about then?

In no time, he found the very first chapter, and he spent the evening reading in his bean bag chair. 

## 

It was dark when you woke up in the living room. You immediately realized that Dante must have turned off the lights upon noticing you were asleep, aside from putting this blanket on you. He was just sweet like that. But… something seemed off. Normally once he heard you shift a little when waking up from a nap, he would say something right away – something that would either make you throw a tissue pack at him or make you laugh. 

He was on his bean bag chair, curled up facing the other side where a weak light was coming from. You glanced at the table and figured that the tablet must be with Dante. Tablet… The last thing you did with the tablet was… Visions of V! 

You immediately stood up, worrying how he would react if he read Vergil’s POV. Although it would do him good to see the familiar events from his brother’s eyes, the fact that he was in a different world right now might have a different effect. For one, he might be worrying even a teeny bit that Vergil was mad at him, and he could associate it to why Vergil was not fetching him from here. He did say that this wrong portal happened because he was teasing his twin to no end. 

But upon noticing that you were awake, Dante sprung up from his seat and was about to go to his room, leaving the tablet and without any word. Out of instinct, you grabbed his arm, stopping his tracks. Still, he didn’t say anything, and it didn't help that his hair was covering his face. This, however, quickly reminded you of DMC3 ending, so without much thinking, you wrapped your arms around him, even if his back was on you. You didn’t know if this would do any good or just worsen things, but as the tag goes, Dante needs a hug. 

You racked your brain for anything to break the silence with, but you only came up with, “Devil May Cry.” 

To your relief, you felt Dante chuckle at this, before he finally spoke. “I would have said it’s only the rain, but we’re indoors.” Then he turned around and hugged you back. 

It was silent again for a moment, until Dante said, “I didn’t know, Roomie. I thought I knew enough about him.” His hold on you tightened the same time your ‘rain’ started welling up. “I always fool around and we don’t really talk seriously that much, I mean… We did talk a little but…” Dante then laughed. “Sorry, I’m not making any sense.” 

“No, it’s fine.” You rubbed his back gently, careful not to make him uncomfortable. “Spill the orbs, I’m here to listen.” The way you DMC’d it a little made him chuckle again. 

“I wanna kiss you right now, Roomie. You're just so sweet.” And that reply made you laugh in return and hit him lightly. 

“You do always fool around,” you said, before a more serious, “Tell me if there’s something bothering you, okay?” 

“Don’t wanna.” 

“Tsk.” 

“Just regrets.” 

“What regrets?” 

He then pulled away while saying, “Let’s play DMC5! I’ve been waiting for you to--” But you pulled him back. 

“It’s like you opened a fresh box of pizza and you let me smell it but you’re not giving me any.” 

He whined at your analogy, “Don’t use pizza. And it’s awkward as hell.” 

But since Dante seemed to be in a lighter mood, you decided to take this opportunity to help him with the regrets he was talking about. You were a bit worried about stepping on some trauma but the can of worms was partly opened, so why not put those worms to good use and fish or cultivate soil or something. 

So you pulled Dante to his bean bag chair, took the tablet from it and made him sit there. Then you went to your room for a minute and came back with a Vergil plushie. When he saw what you were holding, you explained, “At school we use a Feelings Bear, but all I have are Vergils, no bear. Let’s call him Feelings Bearother. Or Beargil.” Dante laughed and shook his head as you handed it to him. 

“Don’t make me do this, Roomie,” he whined lightly, though he was squishing the plushie. 

You just smiled and pulled your bean bag chair behind his, and you sat there, with you two literally head-to-head. “This way it’s not awkward. You won’t see me so it's just like you’re talking to yourself.” He laughed when you added, “Imagine me as your conscience or something.” 

It turned quiet for a while, so you said, “I have a weird trick against regrets. Wanna try?” 

And he did get curious. “What trick is that?” 

“Insert a coin so it will work,” you said, making him laugh softly. 

Then after a few seconds of silence, he said quite seriously, “I regret hiding in the closet.” 

That struck you hard. But for Dante you tried. “Can you imagine a scenario if you went out and followed your mom?” 

“Yeah.” He laughed a little. “She’d be mad.” 

At least he was still able to laugh… Though this was Dante, laughs and smiles are his cover. “Then, what would Little Dante do?” 

“I guess I’d try to protect her. Though I'm not sure if we’d make it out alive. Would a child make a difference?” 

You tried not to cry so it took you a few seconds before you could reply. But perhaps the sniffling or your voice still gave you away. “Maybe, maybe not.” 

“Vergil awakened his demon that time, so maybe if he’s the one with mom…” 

“It must have been with the situation, Dante. Vergil was alone and cornered, and was probably worried about you and your mom. Probably regretting that he left the house too. All of those must have been a factor.” 

He stayed silent so you added, “Meanwhile, when a child is with an adult, the tendency is for the adult to take over and prioritize the child’s safety, and for the child to rely on and obey the adult because that’s what we are all used to. That's probably why you stayed in. You love your mom, you trusted her, you didn’t want her to worry more because she was already worried about her other son who was not with her.” 

Dante was still quiet, until you said, “Imagine being in your mom’s place. You have two kids. You have one with you, the other one is somewhere outside, there are enemies around. What would you do to the kid who’s with you?” 

“Keep him safe.” 

“See?” You were glad that he was participating. “It’s like instinct, isn’t it? Keep the one you have safe, so whether you be successful in finding the other one or not, at least you have secured the survival of one of them. Your mom had to make that choice quickly. And she… she probably knew she wouldn’t stand a chance against those demons, so she kept you safe but she still tried to find Vergil.” 

“Yeah…” 

“I’m sure deep down you already knew that.” You reached a hand to ruffle his hair a little. “So don’t blame yourself for staying inside. You did what she trusted you to do. If you didn’t, you would have ruined your mom’s plan and gave her regret, instead of the little peace of mind she must have had, knowing she at least kept one of her sons safe.” You felt him nod at this. 

After about a minute of silence, Dante spoke. “I also kinda regret living as Tony. I mean… We might have found each other sooner if…” 

You were glad that he was opening up, but you tried to be careful still. “Your mom told you to do that, didn’t she?” He just made a sound of acknowledgement. “You would have ruined her protection plan if you didn’t obey that.” He chuckled a little, to your relief. Then you added, “What if, just a what if… What if Vergil somehow already found you, but just chose not to be with you so that Mundus’ minions who were chasing him won’t get to you. He knew you haven’t awakened your demon that time, right?” 

“Yep, he did the honors.” 

That made you both laugh a little, before turning serious again. “So, even if you lived as Dante, maybe Vergil would still stay away from you. I don’t know, something like a stubborn protective older brother thing?” 

“Yeah, that sounds like something he’d do.” 

Then it turned quiet again. 

This time about a minute had passed before Dante wondered, “Then what if we didn’t fight that day? What if we were together in the house, or what if I ran after him immediately?” 

You couldn’t help but find him a bit cute. He was actively asking you to do the what-ifs with him now. “Then things might have been different, but we cannot be so sure that they would be better than how things turned out. Sometimes, even if it's unpleasant, the what-happened is still better than the what-ifs. There might be some fanfics about that though, they can help us imagine the possibilities.” He chuckled upon mention of fanfics. “Maybe you both got tricked by Arkham and no one would be there to stop Temen-ni-gru. Or maybe you’d both kick Arkham’s ass before he could trick any of you. But one thing’s for sure though.” 

“What is it?” 

“If you were with Vergil the whole time, Nero wouldn’t have been born.” 

“How’d you say so?” Dante sounded amused. 

“You would’ve smooth-talked the girl and Vergil wouldn’t get her!” And he did laugh. “That, or you’d block his chances to score, teasing him every time or something.” 

“Hey, I can be a good wingman!” This time he sounded like his usual self, so you were glad. Then Dante reached a hand over his head like what you did earlier, and you thought it was for a high-five this time, so you complied. But then he intertwined his fingers with yours and gave your hand a squeeze as he said, “Thank you, Roomie.” 

You would have been startled a little with such a gesture, but this was Dante, he was just always sweet. And you were glad that he sounded okay now, so you replied, “Anytime. That’s what roomies are for.” 

Chapter Text

One evening, Dante was in the shower when the pizza for dinner arrived. You knocked on the bathroom door just to inform him, “Pizza’s here,” because before he went in, he said he was hungry. Sure enough, Dante did hurry up, but he came out with only a towel around his waist. It didn’t help that the towel was on the lower waist, and he had like a visual-tour guide on him, with that light dusting of chest hair trailing to his abs, then his abs leading to the V-cut right there, which points to… 

 
“Dante! Get dressed! My eyes are committing Vergilist sins.” You covered your face but he just laughed. 

Then he went straight to where the pizza was, took a slice and said, “My hands are now pizza-greasy. How about you help me get dressed?” He grinned as you grumbled, before adding, “It’ll be the opposite of how things usually go between two consenting adults, but that’ll still be fun.” 

You wanted to give him a tummy slap like usual but he was half-naked right now. He would probably tease you if you do, something like you being feelsy again. Besides, your hand would only commit a sin against Vergil if you touch Dante’s abs. 

But you were glad that Dante was back to teasing you. He was being fake flirty as hell that sometimes you just want to pinch his ear and scold him like how a mother would, but you knew that this was just your dynamic. You’d rather have fake flirty Dante than the silent lonesome one, so you would never really get mad at him for all his antics. 

“Roomie…” Dante then said in a tone that made you worry a little. He sat on his bean bag as he continued, “I want to tell you something.” 

“Your chair will get wet from your towel,” was what got you distracted. 

He just laughed and offered, “Should I take it off then?” 

You decided to bring the box of pizza to the living room table, but made sure to give Dante a loving head-smack on your way. As he laughed some more from the hit and you sat on your bean bag, you asked, “What’s that you wanted to tell me?” 

## 

“I have this situation,” Dante started, his tone going a bit more serious. “It’s hard to explain but…” He looked at the half-eaten pizza slice he was holding. “I like… pizza. So much.” 

He feared you might laugh at him but when he glanced at you, you had that knowing smile and you seemed to be waiting for him to continue. So he did, while staring at the food in his hand, “I… want to be with—er, eat pizza, everyday if possible, but I know it’s not right. It’s not mine, I mean, it’s not healthy, and I don’t even belong here, in the pizza joint I mean. But it’s just comfortable in here, so much, that I want to… be selfish and eat pizza everyday and not care about anything else, but I know it’s wrong and I need to stop. But I might have fallen in… in a deep uh, pizza craze or something, I mean… I tried not to, really, I tried. But it’s just… irresistible. The more I tried not to, the more I end up being drawn to… pizza.” Realizing he had been going on for a while now, he faced you, scared of how you would react. 

But you were smiling when you said, “Go on.” Were you somehow getting what he meant? 

“I… I just like pizza so much but I know I need to stop. It’s not right.” Dante sighed before eating the rest of the slice he was holding. 

You were silent for a while, so he was starting to get nervous. But you were chewing, that’s why. You then stood up and took a new slice from the box. But to his surprise, you knelt beside him and put the slice in his hand. You smiled at him before saying, “Why do you need to stop? If you love something then enjoy it. Life is too short for you to keep torturing yourself, and you’ve already experienced enough hardships in the past. If you know what makes you happy, then do it. Eat as much pizza as you like. Maybe just exercise regularly and try to have some veggies on it sometimes, so you’ll still be healthy.” 

Dante stared at you for a few seconds before laughing weakly as he looked down and rubbed the back of his head. 

“Why, did I say something wrong?” you were instantly worried. 

So he quickly looked at you, and with his clean hand, he pinched your cheek. Meanwhile, his other hand placed the pizza slice on his lap, took a piece of pepperoni and put it on your nose. Then he said, “Now you’re pizza.” 

Of course you got mad, though not really. You slapped his hand off your cheek, you made that cute fake-angry face that he enjoyed seeing, then you took the piece of pepperoni and shoved it in his mouth. All the while you had a hint of a smile, even when you said you would get back at him for this and turn him into a giant pizza slice. Dante had no idea how you would do that but he was looking forward to it. 

Chapter Text

You were playing DMC5 with earphones on, because Dante was about to take a nap. But the doorbell rang, and you didn’t seem to notice it. You were in the Dante boss fight as Vergil after all. So Dante went to answer it instead.

There he saw a guy holding what he figured to be an acoustic guitar based on the shape. Dante’s face lit up upon seeing it, but the guy flinched upon seeing him. 

“I… I’m here to return this,” The guy sounded unsure though. Maybe it was because Dante was towering over him and was leaning on the door frame while emitting a bit of a scary aura. Why he did that, he wasn’t sure either. Perhaps his instincts were sensing something from this guy. “I mean, teach—er, tutorial, guitar—” the guy continued stammering. 

But upon hearing that the guitar belonged here, Dante grinned and took it. “Nice. Thanks.” He didn't bother listening to what the guy was saying as he got excited to open the case. 

When the door closed, you came to check. “Who was that?” 

“Dunno. Said he’s returning this.” Dante showed what he was holding. 

You looked like you immediately recognized the guitar case, probably because it was dark blue unlike the typical ones that were black. So you must have known who the guy was. “I told him it’s his.” 

“You give away guitars?” Dante asked as he opened the case, revealing a blue acoustic guitar.  

“No, I…” You were unusually rattled, but you covered it with a grin. “I don’t use it that much anymore so I gave it to the neighbor.” 

“What a kind neighbor you are!” Dante laughed. “Either you got rid of this thing because of an ex-boyfriend connection or you have a thing for that neighbor.” 

“Huh? No!” You laughed as if the idea was absurd. “He’s just my old roommate’s friend and we used to hang out a little.” Okay, clear about the neighbor, but the ex-boyfriend thing, you didn’t answer. 

But the present was more pressing than the past so Dante asked, “Is it the other way around then? Does that guy have the hots for you, Roomie?” He recalled the guy saying something about tutorial, making Dante realize that he'd really been listening and that the guy earlier must have been pulling off some classic moves. Too bad for him though, Dante was here. 

“He’s just friendly. Sometimes he even lends me his dog then gives me sweets for taking care of it.” You smiled innocently. It suited how you were oblivious to that guy’s intentions. Oh well, sucks to be him. 

“Just be careful of guys that are too nice, Roomie,” Dante said as he took a chair from the dining table and brought it to the living room, next to his bean bag. “It’s better to go with someone who has shown you his bad side too. That way you won’t get trapped.” 

“Like Vergil?” you said then giggled. Dante just chuckled and shook his head as he started tuning the instrument. 

You then went back to your seat and mumbled in awe, “So you really play the guitar…” You looked excited when you asked, “Can Nevan really be used to play music? I mean, without the bats.” He laughed and nodded. At least this Vergilist knew these things about him. You even looked interested that you put the controller on the living room table. 

Dante then searched the pocket of the guitar case for something. "Capo?" you asked, and he nodded. Then you hurried to your room, came back and handed him a blue one. You even gave him a few guitar picks along with it, different thickness and different shades of, yep, blue.

"Everything blue, really?" Dante smiled as he shook his head. He then played something, hoping you knew this song.

Look into my eyes 
You will see, what you mean to me 
Search your heart, search your soul 
When you find me there, you'll search no more 

The way he was singing it with a bit of exaggeration made you laugh. At least that was a success. Though, please listen carefully. 

Don't tell me it's not worth trying for 
You can't tell me it's not worth dying for 
You know it's true 
Everything I do 
I do it for you 

Dante ended it at that, then smiled at you. His heart jolted a little when you smiled back at him, but then you said, “Everything I Do, I Do It For You!” 

“Oh so this is a guessing game now?” he kidded, and you nodded with enthusiasm that he just couldn’t disappoint. So he played another one. 

I can't fight this feeling any longer 
And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow 
What started out as friendship has grown stronger 
I only wish I had the strength to let it show 

Yep, the feeling had indeed grown stronger. Dante only wished he had that strength. 

I tell myself that I can't hold out forever 
I said there is no reason for my fear 
'Cause I feel so secure when we're together 
You give my life direction 
You make everything so clear 

And even as I wander 
I'm keeping you in sight 
You're a candle in the window 
On a cold, dark winter's night 
And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might 

You looked like you already knew the answer. He confirmed it when you sang along in the chorus. 

And I can't fight this feeling anymore 
I’ve forgotten what I started fighting for 
It's time to bring this ship into the shore 
And throw away the oars, forever 

'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore 
I’ve forgotten what I started fightin' for 
And if I have to crawl upon the floor 
Come crashing through your door 
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore 

Dante wished you were looking at him when he sang the last part that he really meant. But you were so cute singing with feelings, even with an invisible pretend-mic, that he ended up laughing to himself. When you noticed his reaction, you just made a face, then smiled, and said, “Next?” 

“What’s your answer?” 

“I even sang it!” 

Dante chuckled before playing another one. He just hoped that you were listening to what he was saying though, because all of it were... 

He played the intro of a song, and you guessed it immediately. “True!” 

“I haven’t even sung a word aside from 'huh'!” 

“Alright, sing a part, I’ll allow it.” 

You were snickering so he played along, “Thank you, your honor.” He intentionally changed some words in the lyrics though. 

I bought a ticket to Your world 
I'll surely come back again 
Why do I find it hard to sing the next line? 
Oh I want the truth to be said 

Then you sang the chorus with him again.  

Huh huh huh hu-uh huh 
I know this much is true 
Huh huh huh hu-uh huh 
I know this much is true 

That was fun, but please know that all of these really were true. 

“Something mellow next,” you said with that silly smile. 

“Now requests are coming, huh?” Dante laughed. He was not that confident about this one because this was originally played with a piano but, yeah, for the audience. So he played a guitar version of the intro and sang. 

Take my hand 
We'll walk a while, we'll talk a while 
Feel my love, always there beside you 

Be the one 
I know you'll tell me everything 
You are the one I cherish more than anything 

I love you more than you'll ever know 
I love you more than you'll ever see 
More than my heart could ever show 
I love you more than you'll ever know 

He deliberately looked at you when he sang the last line. You were staring at him in silence that he thought you got what he meant. To his dismay —though not really because you were so adorable— you looked like there was a lightbulb that just lit up. Then you raised a hand and said, “More Than You’ll Ever Know!” So you were just thinking about the title. “I was hesitating between that and the full ‘I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know’. That's why it took me so long,” you even explained. 

But that still made him smile as he nodded. “You’re good at guessing the title, Roomie.” But you’re not so good at listening, Roomie.  

Dante then played another one. 

The closer I get to you 
The more you make me see 
By giving me all you got 
Your love has captured me 

Over and over again 
I tried to tell myself that we 
Could never be more than friends 
And all the while inside I knew it was real 
The way you make me feel 

Oof, that part kinda hurt. But he smiled because you were watching him. 

Lying here next to you 
Time just seems to fly 
Needing you more and more 
Lets give love a try 

You'd been quiet since the song had started, so Dante stopped and looked at you. You smiled and said, “I guessed it right from the intro, but I wanted to hear your version of it.” 

“You falling for my voice now?” He would have said ‘me’ instead of ‘my voice’ but that would hurt a little more because he knew what your answer would be. 

Though, he didn’t expect that you would say, “You have a great voice! And you play so well, amazing...” You did seem amazed, that he felt like he wanted to see more of that look. “I love acoustic version of songs,” you added in a dreamy tone. 

That moment, Dante wished that his name was ‘Acoustic Version of Songs’. He would gladly write that on every document and even wear a nametag every day. He couldn’t stop smiling though, and he was getting a bit self-conscious because of your comment. So he pulled a Dante and fooled around a little as cover. He started a song and sang it playfully. 

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing 
Watch you smile while you are sleeping 
While you're far away and dreaming 
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender 
I could stay lost in this moment forever 
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure 

And it was working. You were snickering at how he was trying to imitate the original’s inflections. Since he loved making you laugh, he added some light headbanging on the chorus. What good was his long hair for if it wouldn’t be used for something like this? 

Don't want to close my eyes 
I don't want to fall asleep 
'Cause I'd miss you baby 
And I don't want to miss a thing 
'Cause even when I dream of you 
The sweetest dream will never do 
I'd still miss you baby 
And I don't want to miss a thing 

And you couldn’t stop laughing, success. You even teased him, “Your songs are old, old man.” 

Now that one, he hadn’t expected. Dante laughed as he thought of intentionally playing a really old one. “Old man, huh?” This song had been revived a lot of times, but he tried the Elvis version, hoping the guy existed in your world too. 

Wise men say 
Only fools rush in 
But I can't help falling in love with you 
Shall I stay? 
Would it be a sin 
If I can't help falling in love with you? 

Like a river flows 
Surely to the sea 
Darling, so it goes 
Some things are meant to be 

Take my hand 
Take my whole life too 
For I can't help falling in love with you 

Your smile told him that you recognized the song. Dante even finished it with the Elvis way of, “Thank you, thank you very much.” You laughed so you must have known the man as well. Did you get the message though? 

“Something modern next,” you then requested, so he complied. You were not guessing the titles anymore for they were easy, so he'd thought of playing the bridge of this particular song as a challenge. 

Use me as you will 
Pull my strings just for a thrill 
And I know I'll be okay 
Though my skies are turning grey 

I will never let you fall 
I'll stand up with you forever 
I'll be there for you through it all 
Even if saving you sends me to heaven 

You were smiling like you knew the title. You even said, “It doesn’t suit you though. Guardian demon perhaps?” 

“Royal Guard.” Dante grabbed the chance to let you know what he'd secretly promised you. 

But you just laughed. Though it was music to his ears, so it was okay. You even teased him again, “What other non-old songs do you know?” making him laugh. 

“You really think I’m old, Roomie?” 

“Well, jukebox…” 

Shaking his head while trying to regain seriousness, Dante started another song. He made it an acoustic version again, because you'd said you liked that. 

It's her hair and her eyes today 
That just simply take me away 
And the feeling that I'm falling further in love 
Makes me shiver but in a good way 

He couldn’t help but glance at the parts being mentioned in the song. He did find your hair and your eyes pretty. 

 
All the times I have sat and stared 
As she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair 
And she purses her lips, bats her eyes as she plays 
With me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say 

'Cause I love her with all that I am 
And my voice shakes along with my hands 
'Cause she's all that I see and she's all that I need 
And I'm out of my league once again 

“Out of My League!” you exclaimed, for you seemed to be having a little difficulty guessing it from the first verse. 

Dante nodded and smiled, despite feeling a bit down. Maybe it was because you being out of his league actually translated to you being meant for his twin. He didn’t want to think much about it so he played another song right away. But he doubted that you knew this one. 

Just an ordinary song 
To a special girl like you 
From a simple guy 
Who's so in love with you. 

Yeah, maybe all he could do now was offer you a song. And himself, even just as a backup. 

I may not have much to show 
No diamonds that glow 
No limousines 
To take you where you go. 

But if you ever find yourself 
Tired of all the games you play 
When the world seems so unfair 
You can count on me to stay 
Just take some time 
To lend an ear 
To this ordinary song 

“I don’t know the song but it’s beautiful,” you said. Funny how your smile was also beautiful. “What’s the title?” 

Dante was still playing the melody when he answered, “Ordinary Song.” 

“Ooh...” You looked amazed again as you were nodding. But then, you took the controller from the table. You didn’t wear the earphones so he knew you were still in your guessing game. But when he saw how your face lit up upon unpausing DMC5 and seeing Vergil on the screen, Dante stopped. “Why’d you stop playing?” You noticed it right away and looked at him. 

Dante just smiled. He wanted to say something funny, something like ‘Don’t want Vergil hearing me sing’ or ‘I wanna watch you get defeated by me there’ but he just couldn’t speak. He tried opening his mouth but his voice just wouldn’t come out. For some reason, he only managed a smile. Well, he had always been good at that. 

Chapter Text

You were playing DMC3 today, as Vergil of course, while Dante was playing the guitar, both of you in your respective bean bag chairs. This time Dante was just plucking or something commonly known as fingerstyle; he wasn’t singing today. He was relaxed in his seat and just lost in his music, while here you were, distracted. 

It was not because of the noise, but because he was amazing! Last time he sang and you two played guess-the-song, you were fangirling on his musical skills that you felt like you were betraying Vergil. That was why you tried multitasking DMC5 and the guessing game, for a healthy distraction, but too bad that he stopped. Maybe he thought you wouldn’t be able to focus on the boss fight with him playing music in the background. He had a point though, because right now you couldn’t focus even if you were just playing the Leviathan mission. Well he was playing Now and Forever, that’s why. The song itself was just lovely, and the solo part you had been waiting for, he played it smoothly, even those sudden fast parts. You might be a 100% Vergilist but you still had eyes and ears. Dante, stop being amazing~ 

And now he had just started Sweet Child O’ Mine the same time you restarted the mission for dying shamefully because of those acid puddles. This was Heaven or Hell, and you just sent Vergil to hell by burning his feet with acid. Was that acid jealousy? No, you were being a bad Vergilist right now. And wait, is that why Vergil now wore gaiters? To protect his feet even more from minor damages like these? Maybe someday you’d get to ask the real Vergil about that. And that was more likely to happen if you would stop drooling over his twin brother. 

“Dante, wanna play a board game?” was your great idea to put a stop to this sibling uh, crushing. 

“Sure.” But he still didn’t stop. And you fell prey to his plucking style. It sounded as if there was a rhythm and a lead guitarist when there was only one person playing the guitar in here. “What game are we playing?” he asked, making you realize that your brain just had a glitch. Oh no, he started tapping the guitar in this part of the song, so now there was also a beatbox in this one-man band! 

“I-I have a few in here.” You quickly ran to your room to get the board games while your mind was screaming, ‘Any game, hurry! Before he reaches the Slash guitar solo part!’   

## 

Well you did tell him to enjoy what he likes.  

That was what Dante was telling his conscience whenever that guy was pretending to be righteous and forgetting he’s a half-demon. 

‘Why do you need to stop? If you love something then enjoy it. … If you know what makes you happy, then do it.’ Dante selectively memorized that. That moment when he indirectly told you about his situation and you indirectly gave him permission to continue, it might have been a bit of a downer but he was able to bring out something good from it. Yeah, much like his Royal Guard Release, putting the energy from blocked attacks to good use. Though, like Royal Guard, being able to block an attack doesn’t mean he won’t feel pain from blocking it. The same goes for this case – it still hurt whenever you Vergilize every moment. But Dante wouldn’t lose hope, not yet, since it was just strike two so far. 

So here he was, asking you to tie his hair, because this would make him happy, and you said he should do those things. You two were seated on the floor, playing a board game on the table, a game that required a lot of looking down and intense focus and unwavering concentration and some more convenient excuses for him to say, “Tie my hair, Roomie.” And when you simply said, “Huh?” because you seemed preoccupied with your thoughts, Dante blew his bangs to demonstrate how they come back to block his view. 

His charms worked, so you were tying his hair into what you called a ‘half pony’ because you said it would suit him better than a ‘man bun’. Are hairstyle terms always so horrifying? He asked you that but you just laughed. Though it sure felt good when your fingers were combing his hair that Dante hoped this hair tie you used would snap or fall off, so you’d have to comb then tie his hair again. Maybe this could become one of those things that he liked but would never learn how to do, no matter how easy, like the French toast that he would always ask you to make. 

“Yeah, your hair is different every game!” you suddenly realized. 

“You’re probably too focused on Vergil that you didn’t notice,” Dante said, stabbing himself. 

“Guilty as charged.” You laughed before adding, “I was imagining what if in DMC6 you have a super long The Witcher hair or a super short DILF hair.” 

Dante’s attention was caught by, “Super short what hair?” but you just laughed again. Then the tying was done so he was not able to make you say it again, tsk. 

But you said, “You look cute! Let’s take a photo,” so he was happy still. Though after taking a shot with your phone, you ran to your room. Turns out you just took a different camera. “Let’s use my instax so you can have a souvenir.” And he did the poses you asked him to: serious, woozy, puppy eyes. You just had that power—oops, that’s Vergil’s thing. 

But what wasn’t Vergil’s thing was the stubble… the stubble which you were getting curious about right now. As you lightly traced your index finger along his jaw, Dante recalled your very first meeting. You were so curious about his hair and his coat that time. Then he pulled you close for he thought you would steal his gun as he didn’t trust you yet back then. Funny how he also wanted to pull you close right now, but for a very different reason. And right now, contrary to how he doubted you before, he trusted you, he… 

“Love what you’re seeing, Roomie?” he teased, before grabbing your hand, gently now though. He unfurled your fingers and had your palm touch his chin. “Tickles?” 

You nodded then laughed and pulled away. “Y-You didn’t have that in 2, right? I mean uh, Dumary.” 

“It’s okay, I’m familiar with the games now.” Dante laughed. “Let’s see, when did I…” He rubbed his chin in thought. “Yep, that time I… still had a different uh, look.” 

“Emo look,” you remarked, snickering. 

“Which one’s your favorite?” He somehow got nervous, but he still showed a smirk. 

“Hair? Probably 3.” Aw, does that mean he had to bring back his teen hair for you to like him? You went back to your spot at the other side of the table as you continued, “Outfit, hmm, 5.” Well at least that one was not difficult. 

“Favorite Dante?” he uttered it before he could stop himself, making him more nervous for some reason. 

But you seemed to have learned from his antics; you finger-gun’d him with a wink and said, “You.” 

Dante laughed, half proud of rubbing off some of his fake flirty ways on you, half because there was a warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest. This time he was sure that this wasn't heartburn. He couldn’t stop smiling as he scrambled for a new topic. His brain wasn’t cooperating though, damn. But since his hand subconsciously went to the back of his head, he realized, “I should play with—er, you should teach me how to do this, Roomie.” He pointed to his hair. “Let me practice on yours. I don’t wanna ruin your masterpiece on mine.” Then he grinned, his most convincing one. 

And you must have been the best roomie in the world because you let him. You two were like kids playing salon on the floor but he didn’t mind. You taught him how to make a half pony on your hair, guided his hand in gathering the strands, and gave him some tips. In return, he held your hair with utmost care and made sure to mess it up a little so you would have to teach him this again next time. Or simply do his hair again, that’d be better. 

You laughed when you checked how you looked using your phone. “A.” 

“You won’t fool me, Roomie. That's a C.” 

“Ain’t doing this again with you,” you added, laughing. 

“I should take a photo then.” Dante took the phone from your hand, sat beside you, even leaned his head close then took a few shots. You were quick to do different faces with him, which told him how you two were really in sync in terms of foolishness. 

You even suggested to take a photo with the polaroid, and handed it to him, saying, “You have longer arms.” That made him laugh, and gave him the idea to put Dante attack grunts as sound effects when positioning the camera and taking shots. That was just silly but it made you laugh, so… 

There were three print outs, so you made him choose one, and you would have the other one and you said you had a plan for the third one. “I’ll put this on my desk,” he said upon choosing. “I’ll introduce you to Mom.” You looked like you were touched with what he said that you got a bit teary-eyed, so he pinched your cheeks. Then he asked, “What will we do with the third one?” 

You answered, “Put it on the fridge door,” even while still cheek-pinched, which was just cute. And when he let go, you added, “That’ll be like a reminder for us to eat proper food instead of pizza.” 

So you two went to the fridge, with you taking something you called 'gum tack' from your room. "I think it's really called sticky tack but it looks like a piece of chewed gum," you even explained. Why was it that everything you do or say, he found adorable?

And with that gum tack, you posted the photo on the fridge door. Upon doing so, Dante noticed, “Tiny Roomie, your pinky is so small, it’s cute.” He took it for a closer look and added, “It’s like a child’s index finger.” He was laughing so you hit him lightly with your free hand. Of course he flexed his abdomen just when your hand was about to land. Then he compared his pinky with yours while still laughing. 

Dante realized that he was practically holding hands with you, even as you pulled him back to the board game. He scolded himself for his cunning ways, but part of him defended it, and said that he really just found your pinkies so small and cute. ‘How about the other ones, Dante?’ asked his conscience. ‘Those times you just lean on her playfully when you two are standing next to each other? Or those times you deliberately put your head close to her so she would ruffle your hair again?’   

Dante had two answers for that: ‘It doesn’t mean anything to her anyway. She doesn’t see me as a man, just as Dante, Vergil’s twin,’ and ‘Shut up, conscience. No talking.'

Chapter Text

I have long since closed myself off from relationships. I didn’t want our bloodline to continue for I didn’t want to have a kid who would just be chased by demons or be forced to live a not so normal life. But then, I ended up here and I met you.  

I fell before I realized it. You are just so sweet, so kind, so cute… and caring for me just comes naturally to you. You've been doing it since I arrived here.  

I tried not to entertain the thoughts. I tried not to feel, and I thought I was an expert at that. But you are just...  

Something makes me want to protect you. Weird but I get annoyed when something even so little happens to you.  

I tease you so I can see your laugh, your smile, your face when you get lightheartedly mad... so you will hit me with your cute little hand that does only 10 points of damage.  

I know you are meant for Vergil and your heart no doubt belongs to him, and I don’t want to steal what’s supposed to be his, but... if you would give me a chance… I want to show you how I feel about you. I won’t ask you to feel the same way, well yeah, of course I want you to feel the same way but I know it’s a long shot. So I just want to at least be able to freely care for you, to love you without feeling guilty about it.  

Dante wished he could just say those things. He had been composing and editing that in his mind for a few days now. He had been feeling this way for a few weeks now. He was hesitating about confessing his feelings, though he got tempted to do some attempts. 

The pizza analogy didn’t work, nor singing his feelings for you. He also tried to just go with the flow, just continue being sweet, being close, and maybe wait for you to fall for him too. But he thought he had better chances of not getting turned down if he told you of his feelings while he was still stuck here, while you hadn’t actually met his twin. So he told himself he ought to be direct with it. No more Dante being Dante. Just a man who wanted to express his feelings to the person he cares about. Was that a bad idea though? Was this something like stealing what’s supposed to be Vergil’s before Vergil could even find out? He wasn’t really sure. Okay, so his resolve was still wavering. 

But then this chance came. 

If he were to be honest, Dante wanted to just kiss you, no words, just actions, all his fake-flirty jokes be made real. But he respected you and he didn’t want your friendship to be ruined should he be rejected, so he wanted to do it properly. 

So here he was. Dante already forgot how you two ended up this way. He didn’t care anymore actually, for he was really nervous at the moment. One thing led to another, some teasing, some playful hitting, and now he was holding your hands with both of his. He got lost in your eyes that his laugh turned into a gentle smile. And because he kissed your right hand, you turned serious too. 

Before the loud thumping of his heart drowned his ears, he started, although softly, “Roomie...” You looked calm compared to how he was. Well it was his fault, he made you so used to his touches and fake-flirty antics so you were probably not treating this moment as anything special. But to him… 

“I’m afraid I’ll be breaking my promise…” You tilted your head a little, so he knew he had to elaborate. “I’ll eat olives in my pizza forever for breaking this, even if I hate them.” Dante took a deep breath before continuing, “I… I don’t think I can bridge you and Vergil anymore… because I--” 

But then he heard, “Foolish little brother, I have been looking for you.” 

And you turned to look at the source of the voice, with your face lighting up in excitement the same time Dante’s face froze in disbelief. Talk about timing. 

Chapter Text

‘Have you seen Dante?’ 

Vergil wanted to ask that to everyone who came to the shop but he knew that those people came there for the very same reason, looking for his brother. So the more people who visited, bearing the same question, the more he got worried about his twin. 

It had been about a week since that day he pushed Dante into that portal, and he thought that the goof might just be playing a disappearance prank on him. He refused to partake in Dante’s foolish game so he opted to wait for the younger twin to get bored and come back on his own accord. But days passed and there wasn’t any sign of Dante. 

Nero was the one who was more worried, calling everyday to check since the third day of Dante’s disappearance. Vergil was calm though, for he knew how to easily locate his twin – using the portal. What was bothering him, however, was the possibility that he had been misunderstanding everything, that Dante might have been put in harm’s way while he was here, thinking that this was just a prank. Although Dante once did a trick as elaborate as this, even made Nero his accomplice that time, so Vergil still had a little bit of doubt. Perhaps one of those that came here looking for Dante was just checking his reaction and would report everything to his twin. Perhaps Nero was involved with it again, but Vergil refused to doubt his son. 

It was actually what motivated him to start actively searching for Dante. Nero came to the shop, worried about his uncle and was suggesting that they look for him. Nero even said that if this was all just a prank, he would be the one to smack Dante’s head first. So Vergil was finally convinced.

Concentrating hard, he located his brother’s presence and conjured a portal to this place. He willed the portal not to close until he was done with his intended task. Before entering it though, he told Nero to be on guard in case he would be needing backup. 

“What the hell, old man. Is it some kind of a battle?” 

“We can never be so sure. You know how strong Dante is. For him to be stuck in this place,” Vergil pointed to the portal, “It must mean that he is facing a formidable enemy.” 

“Then you be careful too,” Nero bid, scratching his nose. Vergil couldn’t help but smirk at that, perhaps that was why Nero was compelled to add, “Just don’t wanna lose both you old men to some enemy we don’t know.” 

## 

When Vergil came out of the portal, he immediately saw Dante and a woman, standing face to face. Dante seemed to be holding the woman’s hands, so maybe he was trying some sort of an attack. But the moment Vergil said, “Foolish little brother, I have been looking for you,” he saw a sequence of Dante’s downfall.  

The younger twin fell to his knees, put a hand on his face, then pounded the floor with his fist a few times while groaning something like, “Strike three...” Vergil did not understand what that meant but for Dante to be brought to his knees like that while looking in pain… Dante wasn’t someone easy to defeat, he knew that all too well. So there must be something uncanny going on in here. 

Vergil immediately drew the Yamato and pointed it to the woman in front of Dante, while saying, “Who are you and what have you done to my brother?” But as much as Vergil wanted to aim summoned swords at her, to help in interrogating her and to ensure that she wouldn’t do something underhanded as he pulled his brother, he couldn’t conjure them. He couldn’t even teleport nor call forth his doppelganger. There was something odd in this woman’s lair that seemed to be blocking their demonic abilities. What form of power could this be? 

Perhaps that was why Dante had been missing for a week; he must have been stuck and powerless in here. Unlike Vergil's, Dante’s sword needed demonic power to be summoned now, so it must have been why Dante couldn’t fight at his best. Fortunately, when Vergil pointed the Yamato at this probable witch, she took a few steps back. That gave him the opportunity to grab his brother who still seemed to be stunned. What could this woman have done to Dante? 

Thinking that there was someone as powerful as this piqued Vergil’s interest, but his priority was to rescue his twin. Engaging this woman in a fight might only end up with both of them trapped in her lair. But with the way she was looking at Dante, she seemed worried. However, when she turned to face Vergil again, she instantly flushed and looked hesitant. What was that all about? For a powerful witch, she certainly lacked a poker face. Her emotions were very evident on her features, a complete opposite of how Vergil trained himself to be. At least with the Yamato pointed at her, she knew better than trying something. With this, Vergil was able to drag his dazed brother to safety. 

Chapter Text

Everything happened so fast. You saw Vergil coming out of a portal and you heard the Mission 20 version of Bury the Light play in your mind. Then he pointed the Yamato at you and he seemed to be doubting you, based on what he said and on how he glared at you. All the while, you were too nervous to say something to the real Vergil. You had been waiting for that moment, even imagined it a lot of times, even dreamt of it a few times. But when it did come, when Vergil arrived at the Dante boss fight—er, to retrieve Dante, you were too much of a wuss to even introduce yourself to him, to even talk! Your mind was in full-on fan mode, but your heart was racing, your voice wouldn’t come out, and you just stared at him. Well it didn’t help that he was scary and the tip of the Yamato looked so deadly up close. And now he was gone, along with Dante.  

Now it was awfully quiet at home, a bit empty even. You had gotten quite used to Dante’s teasing and playfulness, and it made you frown to see his bean bag empty. It also felt like your stomach had been conditioned for a regular pizza that you had been craving it since he left. It had just been two days though, and he just stayed here for two months, but somehow it felt as if he left a big hole.  

Dante forgot some things though, and when you saw them, they got your hopes up. When you went to clean his room, Ebony and Ivory were there, along with his coat. He would surely come back for it, wouldn’t he? The guns were from Nell, and he had been using it since DMC1. Ah no, in his world, he had been using it since before Temen-ni-gru. And Dante wouldn’t be Dante without his trademark red coat. You just hoped that he wasn’t like Sakata Gintoki who comically had a lot of spare copies of his trademark outfit. Dante was being compared by some people to Gintoki after all. And yeah, you forgot to let him watch that anime! And you two still hadn’t finished the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe set. You hadn’t even tried the new flavor of pizza coming out at the end of this month. He was even looking forward to it.  

Speaking of pizza, Dante was saying something that seemed important before he left. Something about pizza with olives… You got distracted that time because he kissed your hand so you were not able to listen well. You wanted to scold him for being too fake-flirty for he was making you feel a bit uneasy. Well who wouldn’t, if someone like Dante would suddenly hold your hands then kiss one, then look at you that particular way he did, and speak in that gentle voice and tone… He wasn’t Vergil, the Qliphoth-apple of your eye, but he was still Dante, come on!  

Foolishness aside, Dante would surely come back, wouldn’t he? If he was able to come here and Vergil did too, maybe it wasn’t impossible. Although, if it’s the multiverse we were to talk about, there are a lot of universes and perhaps some parallel timelines too, so what if he couldn’t find this one again? What if he tried but he arrived at a different one? But then again, that info was just from fictional stuff, you weren’t really sure. Though Dante used to be just fictional too, and now he wasn’t.  

You kinda missed him so you were playing DMC5 as him right now. In other words, back to 2D, fictional Dante. Though you had to restart Mission 10 a lot of times because you kept dying. You were focusing too much on pulling off the skills and combos, that you kept forgetting about your HP. It really was hard to be Dante when you’re a Vergil main. How do those people in the mad combo videos even do that?  

But right when the ‘The last judgement draweth nigh’ screen was shown and the game turned quiet, you heard some sounds from Dante’s room. You quickly got off your seat to check, though something bothered you a little. If it were Dante, why would he arrive inside his room, not in the living room like he said he did the first time? Perhaps it was someone or something else? You’d be doomed if it were some random demon from their world that somehow gained access to yours. So you wanted to get some sort of weapon but you didn’t have anything like it in here. You were holding the controller though, and it did knock out Dante before… So you held it tight, ready to throw it should there be an enemy.  

Then, the door opened.  

Chapter Text

When Vergil picked him up, Dante was a mix of annoyed, frustrated, guilty of trying to steal the girl meant for Vergil, and embarrassed for being caught in the act of doing so. Because of that, he might have zoned out for a while, and when he came to, he was already being dragged through the portal. He wasn’t even able to say goodbye to you.  

Dante explained everything, except the feelings part, to Vergil and Nero. That included being video game characters in your world and not having their demonic power in there. In return, he found out that he had been missing in his world for only a week. He was in your world for about two months, so with a little math, that’s about 1 is to 8 ratio. Upon realizing the time difference, Dante asked Vergil to bring him back there, worried that it had been so long on your side already. 

“You have been here for less than an hour,” Vergil replied indifferently. 

“Roomie might be worried or something.” Though if he were to be honest, Dante was the one worried. He was in the middle of confessing his feelings so he was worried if you got it or not. He also recalled Vergil sheathing the Yamato upon arriving at his office, so that meant Vergil had been threatening you with it. Although it would mean minus one point for Vergil if you end up scared of him, Dante was more concerned about how you felt. Bridging or not, he promised to at least introduce his twin to you, and he was sure that what happened was not proper introduction. But above all that, Dante was simply worried how you were doing. He had somehow gotten used to knowing where you were and what you were up to, so the fact that hours were passing there in your world without him knowing how you were was just driving him restless.  

But why was it that his supposedly awesome twin was failing him right now? He knew Vergil to be someone able to do anything with motivation, even extraordinary things like splitting himself then recombining himself, so why would this portal back to you be difficult? 

“I opened a portal to where you were, Dante.” 

“You have seen Roomie. Can you not portal to her then?” 

“We did not establish a connection.” 

“What connection is that?!” he said in a very frustrated tone. Dante took a deep breath to calm himself. He was not that knowledgeable about portals and he was the one asking for a favor here, so he retried, “The wrong portal, it brought me there in the first place.” 

“Wasn’t that wrong portal your doing?” Well Vergil had a point there. 

“Then let’s try the same thing. You make one then I yell the same line.” Silly as it was, the idea gave Dante hope and a smile. 

“Are you seriously asking me to send you to somewhere uncertain? Are you not afraid of the consequences? I can indeed have it remain open so you can check if it is the correct destination. However, not everyone can be calm when a portal suddenly opens in front of them. A wrong portal to a hostile environment, especially if your healing is not present in there, could get you killed.” Damn, why did Vergil have to be so big-brotherly and have a point? 

“Then how about the apartment?” Nero suggested. Dante was glad that his nephew was being supportive. “You’ve been there when you picked him up. Can’t you uh, establish your connection to the place itself?” 

“I can.” But Vergil looked away, and Dante knew it was bad news. “But I am not certain if I can visualize it well, as I did not even take note of the details of the place. Aside from being in a hurry to rescue Dante, I was preoccupied with the power-cancelling properties of her lair.” 

“It’s not a lair, that’s just our—her apartment.” Dante let out an exasperated sigh before he added, “And like I said, we’re video game characters in her world that’s why we don’t have our power in there. I couldn’t even summon my swo--” That was when Dante remembered, the same time he subconsciously patted his sides. “Ebony and Ivory! I left them there! Don’t tell me you can’t connect to that! You’ve used Ebony before, when we fought that blob man.” Dante’s confidence was brimming at this for the last mission he finished in DMC3 was Mission 19. The final Vergil boss fight in DMD was a pain, much like what he was dealing with right now. 

Though frustrated, Dante almost laughed because of Vergil’s answer. “Dante. That was a long time ago.” He remembered a line from DMC5, that’s why. All this quote-exchange with you made him memorize Vergil’s lines somehow. But the older twin had a point. “It has been about 25 years since then.” And with the way Vergil looked at his hand holding the Yamato, Dante didn’t want to push it lest he triggers unwanted memories, not just in his brother but in both of them. 

Ah that’s right, in Nero too, for the kid said, “Damn, that’s like my age.” 

Dante put a palm over his face as he suggested another one, for he knew that this would also be rejected. “How about my coat then? I also left it there.” 

“Do you think that the Yamato’s portal is something akin to a hound locating a person through their scent that remained in a piece of their clothing?” 

Dante tried not to laugh at how Vergil put it. He might have offended the dork or something. But what Vergil said next gave him hope. “How about I train you on how to conjure a portal?” If you were here, Dante would have replied with his line from DMC5, ‘Now that’s the smartest thing I’ve ever heard you say.’ That would’ve definitely made you smile. But Dante had to focus as Vergil continued, “ Everything you suggested, you can locate if you learn how to, as you have a connection to all of them. Your guns, your coat, the apartment and even that w--” 

“Not a witch.” 

“Woman.” 

“Alright. I guess I have no choice.” Dante sighed before saying, “Got a feeling this one's gonna be a doozy.” And once more, he wished you were here to raise a hand and say ‘Quote!’ like how you usually do. “Kind of you to offer to train me though,” he lightly teased. 

“I had to cut it short for I have a feeling this is never going to end,” was Vergil’s answer. 

Almost another quote for Roomie there, that Dante couldn’t help but reply, “Maybe. We got plenty of time.” Vergil looked weirded out by him, but Dante just laughed. With the line he said, he realized that you had Vergilized him a bit too. 

Chapter Text

A few hours, a half pony, and a training montage later, Dante was able to conjure a portal to his strawberry sundae shop as practice. He also tried some other familiar places, and even tried staying in there then conjuring a portal back to his office. In his standards, he was already nailing it. Well Vergil had made him do it 10 times for each place, that’s why. 

Vergil was no doubt a good trainer, though a strict one. A single successful attempt only meant a stroke of luck for him. He said that an ability to do something meant you could do it more than once, hence the 10-times rule. But Vergil knew how to motivate Dante whenever the latter was getting frustrated with his failed attempts.

This somehow made Dante imagine a what-if scenario, of him and Vergil growing up together, with the dork training him on some things like this. After all, Vergil had always been the one about discipline and training, while Dante was the more creatively-winging-it type. If that what-if were what had happened, Dante would probably not comply properly in Vergil’s trainings; maybe too lazy or just annoying Vergil for fun. Smiling to himself, Dante made a mental note to tell you about that idea and ask you to make a fanfic out of it. 

That smile didn’t last long though, because when it was time to try opening a portal to you, Dante couldn’t do it. He tried and tried for about an hour, but nothing. He had everything done perfectly – the concentrating part, the 'visualizing the destination' part, the 'proper wielding of the Yamato' part…

Ah yes, the Yamato. That must have been the reason. When Dante was trying to go to his sundae place, it wasn’t a problem. But when he was concentrating on opening a portal to you, the Yamato in his hand kept reminding him of the fact he'd been trying to ignore. That the wrong portal before was supposed to be for Vergil. That his experience in your world should have been for Vergil. And that you… were also meant for Vergil. 

Now Dante understood why the wrong portal had happened in the first place, despite Vergil being a pro at this. When it was about portal-opening, distraction was a bitch. At least, in his case, he was just creating the cross-shaped thing in space but ones that didn’t open. Another wrong portal would lead to a bigger problem after all. Though, this brought Dante to the idea that maybe, with the Yamato, there really was no such thing as a ‘wrong portal’. Because it wouldn’t just let you open a random one. So when you open a portal to somewhere you did not intend to go to, a wrong destination in other words, it still meant that you had a connection to it, that you were still somehow meant to arrive there. So maybe the so-called ‘wrong portals’ would happen for a reason.

So yeah, that just added more to the guilt. Vergil's ‘wrong portal’ to you meant that he was really supposed to go to you. And Dante had unintentionally taken his place, damn. 

Dante shook his head, as he told himself that these thoughts wouldn't get him anywhere. So he shifted his focus and located two other babes instead, those that had been with him for far longer, those that he knew really belonged to him: Ebony and Ivory. And what do you know, success in his first try!

“You were able to conjure a portal to her,” Vergil stated, like his way of saying congratulations or ‘job well done’. 

“No, it’s to my guns,” Dante replied, with a bit of unintentional self-stabbing pain. “I guess I need more training or something.” But he knew that it wasn’t the case. It was the same reason why he went to his desk first and grabbed something from one of the drawers. 

And when Vergil saw what he'd taken, the older twin instantly knew what that was for. “Is this person really important, that you intend to leave that in place of your guns as a future portal connection?” Vergil’s tone was calm though. Probably because what he was referring to was only Dante’s half of the amulet. Dante had already returned Vergil’s half soon after they'd come back from the Underworld. If it were the whole amulet he was holding right now, Vergil would probably flip. 

Dante just grinned. “Mom will understand.” Then he returned the Yamato to his brother, along with a sheepish smile accompanying the request, “Pick me up again after 15 minutes.” 

He made sure to take off his hair tie before entering the portal though. He didn’t want you to know that he could tie his hair neatly. Ah but with all this Yamato-portal guilt, maybe he should stop even these playful tricks with you… Maybe later. Right now, he really just wanted to see you again, especially since the six hours that had passed already meant two days in your world. 

## 

Dante arrived at his bedroom, but he hadn’t expected that upon exiting the portal, his leg would hit the bed frame. Was it really just bad luck or was the Yamato trying to tell him something? The first time he'd arrived here, he had an aching lower back and had even fallen to the floor upon arrival. Now he had an aching leg. That made him wonder if you would hit him again with the controller this time, like what had happened in your first meeting. Recalling it made him smile and more excited to surprise you now. 

So upon retrieving his guns and wearing his coat, he put the amulet in their place. He noticed how his room was arranged, so you must have cleaned here when he'd left. But you'd made it in such a way that the room looked like it was waiting for his return. His bed was neatly made, his things were on the nightstand and not in an ex-roommate box of sort. His fluffy indoor slippers and pajamas were here too. He was touched, and he wouldn’t deny it, even to himself. You were really sweet… 

But when Dante came out of his room, he immediately saw you ready to throw the controller at him. So to keep himself from getting knocked out by it again, he did his trademark pose and said, “Royal Guard!” 

Upon recognition, and probably because of the absurdity, it made you laugh. Then you cried, ah you silly Roomie. But Dante knew exactly why, so he hugged you. Sorry, Yamato, Roomie needs a hug. If he didn’t have this guilt and if the Yamato wasn’t subtly antagonizing him or something, he would have even kissed you, like in those romantic-dramatic reunion scenes of the chick-flick movies you had watched together before. 

“Stop crying now, I’m back,” he said as he stroked the back of your head. 

You were nodding and sobbing, but you managed to say, “I was worried about you. And you left Ebony and Ivory and Coaty.” He couldn’t help but laugh at that. Silly naming of things was really a common trait to you both. “And it’s just sad if you never returned.” 

“I told you through that song I changed the lyrics of, didn’t I?” 

“Which one?” 

He was still close to your ear so Dante sang it as softly as he could, “I bought a ticket to your world… I’ll surely come back again…” But that just made you cry more and hit him lightly where your hand was. Then you laughed. Your reactions were really weird but interesting. 

But somehow Dante felt like his tears would come out too if he stayed this way. In his mind, the rest of his version of the song played, ‘Why do I find it hard to sing the next line. I want the truth to be said.’  You were so close, literally, but he knew this wasn’t right. In just the past hour, a lot of things had served as hints. Not just the past hour actually, his three failed attempts to tell you how he felt, those were also big hints. Failing once could mean 'try again', failing twice might mean 'don't give up', but failing thrice… Maybe that one meant 'Are you really that dense, dumbass?' Yep, big hint.

Funny how the next word from you was also a big hint: “Vergil was scary in person.” Dante just laughed. 

And you must have thought that he was laughing at you, not at his own pain. That was probably why you explained, though in a cute way, “Seriously! That moment was really scary. The Yamato was pointed at me. Then I don’t know what happened to you, you looked like you had a glitch or something.” But everything you said eventually made him smile. You just had that power—oops, that’s Vergil’s thing… Well you’re Vergil’s anyway… 

Yeah, he had to do this. Dante convinced himself. He was grateful for all your hospitality during his stay in your world. If this would bring a smile to your face then, it would be worth it. A bit painful but anything for you. He had a healing ability in their world anyway. Heh, funny. 

So Dante pulled away from your long hug. He was even reluctant for he felt like this might be the last. Then he showed you his best fake smile, the one he had mastered all these years, and asked, “Wanna come with me to my world? I’ll introduce you to everyone, including Vergil, of course.” That made you smile wide, blush a little, and be all cute worrying about what to bring. You had even thought of baking cookies for them, you were just so painfully sweet. 

At least though, he would still be with you. If this inter-universe visits become frequent, then he would still see your smiles, hear your laughter, receive your tummy-slaps and just spend time with you. Maybe that alone would be enough. 

Chapter Text

You and Dante were in his office one evening, both sitting on the couch near his desk and eating pizza for dinner. The setting might have changed but some things remained the same, to Dante’s delight. 

Today he'd gotten to introduce Patty to you. It had been a long and loud day, to say the least, but you seemed to have enjoyed it. You were good with kids after all—er, well, yeah, Patty was no longer a kid.  

Every time you would visit here, Dante made sure that there was always at least one thing that you would uh, as you called it, fangirl about. He would make sure that there was at least one DMC character to meet, a significant place to go to, or a game item to see. Well except demons, of course. Needless to say, every visit from you was fun for him. Dante had never thought that even the simplest things he considered common and dull would be something special for someone… special. If only he could, he would have counted these as dates, but… 

He was a bit conflicted though, because an hour in here was already eight hours in your world. He had to make sure that every visit would be worth your time, but somehow, he didn’t want to run out of special things to show you. He wanted you to keep coming back… Was that bad? He might be a bit guilty of not showing you everything yet. His devil arms in particular, he was reserving those, and he was planning to show them to you just one at a time. Maybe a demo with each weapon would help in buying time to keep him from running out of cool stuff to show. And who knows, maybe showing his skills in real life would earn him some points. Though, would those points be big enough to compare with Vergil’s default count? 

And because the key of the ‘car’ to your world was with Vergil, that meant every time you'd arrive and before you'd leave, you would see him. Even if Dante was the one to conjure the portal to his amulet in your apartment, you would still see Vergil. So Vergil’s points would always be up by one… hundred? Thousand? Maybe even hundred thousand, seeing how smitten you were with him. 

Good thing—er, it wasn't that Dante was taking pleasure in this but, even after how many visits, you hadn’t gotten close with Vergil. Well the icy demon king didn’t normally small-talk with people here, so you were being treated the same. For some reason, you wouldn’t start a small talk with him either. How much of a Vergilist you were didn’t reflect on how shy you were around the real deal.  

Though you did mention something like that before. That if it were Vergil who was stuck in the apartment with you, you’d be all shy and formal with him. Something about how you were with your crush, you said. Dante could still remember that. He also remembered asking you that time if you didn’t find him crushable. Ahh, he really was a fake flirt, wasn’t he? Now though… He had just smudged pizza sauce on the back of your hand when you both reached for a pizza slice at the same time. Of course that made you hit him like usual. Then he just laughed at how you were pouting at what he did. He just couldn’t help it.

Is being a flirt already in his blood or something? Was Sparda a big flirt? Vergil isn’t… or is he? No, no, this isn’t flirting. This is just his childish thing. Something like an innocent fun with a friend. Yeah, that’s right. 

And speaking of crush vs friend, Dante was glad that at least you were comfortable with him, unlike how you were with Vergil. Maybe that meant a chance for him? Nah, he shouldn’t get his hopes up. Was it possible for everything to remain this way then? Just you two being friends with you having a crush on his twin, but it’d just be up to that. Though who was he kidding, you three were too old for something like that. You three might not have raging hormones like that of teenagers, but this thing would eventually end with someone kissing someone, maybe even beyond, and that would definitely not be him and his brother. 

Dante was pulled from his thoughts when he was about to get another slice and he noticed that you were still halfway through your current one. You looked a bit bothered too, so he asked, “Something wrong, Roomie?” 

“Pizza,” you said, frowning at the slice you were holding. “I think I feel the same now.” Hearing that got Dante’s heart racing with Schumacher. Did you perhaps got his pizza analogy all along and he just thought you didn’t? “I also feel like I live in a pizza joint now.” And Dante’s ears exploded in his imagination. Though he had to regenerate them so he could listen to what you would say next. 

Putting his poker face to practice, he asked casually, “Something like you wanna eat pizza everyday?” And you nodded. You nodded! Dante had to scold himself to calm down. Assuming too much would just feel like jumping from a certain tower, running along its surface while fighting flying demons, only for the thrill to be dampened by that damned fish. 

Realizing that your 'pizza' might be Vergil got Dante deflated instantly. But as he listened to your explanation, he found out that he got it wrong, you got it wrong too, but at least it was middle ground, safe enough. So you caught his analogy before, but just a different one. Turns out your ‘pizza’ meant enjoying your time in his world. You thought that it was also what Dante had meant before – enjoying his time in your world too much despite not really belonging there. As well as feeling guilty because it wasn’t right to be selfish and to just be on a long vacation, when in fact, he had a life he was supposed to be living in his real world, demons he was supposed to be bashing, and a brother and a nephew who were probably worried about him. Well that also made sense. Although, back then when he was stuck in your world, he wasn’t really that worried about it, because he trusted that Vergil would eventually find him. He just hadn’t expected that his twin's timing was awful. 

“I can’t just eat pizza everyday, right?” you said, still trying to smile. “I might even be disrupting your routine here.” 

“Are you kidding me, Roomie? Routine?” Dante laughed. “Does napping with a magazine on my face count as a routine that shouldn’t be disrupted? If anything, you even make my days more uh, active.” He should have said ‘fun’, ‘exciting’, or ‘worthwhile’. Why didn’t he? 

Well at least you laughed before adding, “Sorry if my advice to you that time was inappropriate. I might have been too much of an enabler without really knowing how the situation feels. Now I think I get it. Even if I love pizza, I can’t just eat pizza everyday.” 

Hearing all that and seeing how you were slightly frowning at your pizza again, Dante took it. He grabbed the half-eaten slice you were holding and shoved it in his mouth, just so he could do what you did back then. He took a new slice and placed it in your hand then grinned at you, like it was the most normal thing to do. You looked surprised at first then you ended up laughing until he said, “You can come here anytime, Roomie. Just tell me when and I'll pick you up with my Porsche-tal.” That made you laugh again, and Dante felt like he was having a winning streak. “As long as your work or your schedule in your world won’t be affected badly, go ahead and visit Danteland. We have MiNico Mouse here and DoNero Duck.” Now you were hitting his arm as you laughed, nice. Dante felt like he could do this all day, make you laugh and just watch you. 

But Dante realized that no matter how his twin could somehow bend time with some of his attacks, Vergil just had a terrible timing. He popped up from a portal, a couple of meters from you two but still enough to make your laugh peter out. But Dante knew Vergil didn’t mean it, so he still welcomed the older twin with, “How’d it go?” Vergil did just come home from a job that Dante had passed to him, just so Dante could go to your date—er, day out with Patty. 

“It was fine.” Vergil just spared you two a single glance and he busied himself with the documents on the desk. The mess on the desk rather. He was playing one of Dante’s favorite games to make him play – Find the Paper You’re Looking For. Sometimes it was a trick question because the correct paper was on the floor, like that one flyer down there. And Dante loved seeing how Vergil’s face would turn from calm to frustrated whenever he was doing this. 

That was why Dante was snickering when he said, “Must’ve been easy. You're not bloody today.” 

“Relatively easy.” 

Before Dante could make fun of his twin because he knew what invoice Vergil must’ve been looking for and where it was, he felt you nudging him. When he looked at you, you were gesturing for him to offer pizza to Vergil, pointing at the pizza box then towards the older twin. But Dante just grinned and pointed to you then to his brother. You must have gotten what he meant, for your eyes widened and you shook your head vehemently. But Dante just handed you the whole box of pizza before giving you a ‘Go ahead, you can do it’ look as he gestured his head towards Vergil. 

Dante didn’t know why he'd done that though. Maybe he really just enjoyed teasing you, like how he enjoyed teasing his twin. Though teasing you and Vergil together… Yeah, so maybe he also enjoyed stabbing himself? The idiot he was sometimes. 

You still looked unsure but you tried. You stood up and carried the pizza box to Vergil, in an obviously nervous manner. Your eyes were locked on what you were holding; you were not looking at Vergil nor at the flyer on the floor that you just stepped on and-- shoot! 

Seeing you slip on a piece of smooth and glossy paper gave Dante a new reason to clean his shop regularly. Luckily, Vergil caught you, along with the contents of the box that you almost threw at him. Thanks to Vergil’s teleport and speed, two of the most important things for Dante –Roomie and pizza– were safe. 

Although, because of what had happened, the two of the most important things for Dante were now in Vergil’s hands. Vergil held you in his right arm like some smooth casanova doing tango with you. Aww, that was supposed to be Dante’s thing! Vergil was also balancing the pizza box he saved on his left palm like a cool kitchen hero of sorts. It looked like a scene in romantic movies – not that Dante liked watching those. Patty just used to watch them in his office, that’s why. Those kinds of scenes that just turn slow-mo the moment the man and woman gaze at each other’s eyes. Like what you and Vergil were doing right now. Dammit. 

## 

At that moment, in the minds of these three… 

Vergil: 😒 What is with this ridiculously clumsy girl?  

You: 😍 Vergil is so amazing… *heart rate at 120bpm* 

Dante: *looking at how Vergil was holding you and how dreamy you were* So I really do tend to get myself stabbed. Damn. 😑 

Chapter Text

Ever since Dante had started bringing his new human friend to their world, Vergil had been noticing a few things.  

You and Dante would always spend your idle time in the shop, before or after your itineraries. You two would always be laughing, enjoying the time together, and Vergil knew that Dante was the one always joking around for you looked quite meek. But the mirth would then stop whenever he would arrive, whether from a portal, from upstairs or from the door. It wasn’t that he felt like you two were laughing at him, no. It was more like you two were feeling awkward whenever he was around. Vergil had expected it from you, since you always seemed too shy or nervous when talking to him. In fact, he was feeling a miniscule amount of guilt for it might have been because he had pointed the Yamato at you on your first meeting. But Dante? Why would Dante feel awkward whenever Vergil would see you two together? 

Sometimes he would even catch Dante touching you, not the lewd kind, but just Dante’s usual playful ways. Then upon realizing that Vergil was there, Dante would instantly pull away as if he were a child caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar and ruining his appetite for dinner. In a way it was amusing, that his little brother was acting like that. They didn’t grow up together so for him to witness Dante behaving like a teenager now, that was something precious. Although, in this scenario, Vergil was being treated as the parent. At least Dante somehow graduated from being like an eight-year-old with his pranks and antics whenever he was with Vergil and Nero. 

It had just been almost a year since Vergil had regained some semblance of a normal life with his twin. But he knew that no matter how much he wished to recover the lost time, he and his brother were quite old now. Dante might be leaning towards starting his own family at this age, and Vergil knew he ought to support that. 

So one morning when Dante caught him preparing coffee in the kitchen, Vergil offered not just a cup of the caffeinated beverage but also… “Dante.” 

“Hmm?” The younger twin had his head in the refrigerator, probably looking for some leftover pizza. 

But Vergil continued anyway. “I am planning to find a place of my own and move out, so you can have some privacy with your girlfr—” But he was stopped by a loud thud. 

It was Dante hitting his head on the refrigerator as he hurried to face Vergil and say, “Hold up, she’s not! I need to make this clear, there’s nothing between me and Roomie. We're just friends, I lived with her for two months and we’ve gotten quite close because we literally spent a lot of time together. She’s not my g-girlfriend, okay?” 

Vergil had to blink a few times before he could respond with, “Understood.” It was unusual for Dante to be that agitated, so Vergil couldn’t hold back saying, “There was no need to explain it in detail.” 

“Uh yeah, I knew that. I just…” Dante laughed then busied himself with making his own coffee. “I just thought that us being twins, uh, you know, I don’t want you to misunderstand something like that.” And now Dante was putting in his 5th teaspoon of sugar, but before Vergil could call that out, Dante spoke again. “You know, when you opened that portal back then, the one you pushed me into…”  

“Kicked.” 

“Ah yes, kicked.” Dante laughed. This one sounded more natural than the previous one. “Remember what I said to the portal?” 

“Unfortunately, yes. Why?” Vergil had taken a sip of his black coffee, but Dante remained silent. The younger twin was just staring at his sugary drink, as if deciding on something. It had been almost a minute so Vergil called, “Dante.” 

“Uh, yeah. Well… Try to get to know Roomie.” Dante then showed his usual grin. “The Yamato really is something, I’m telling you.” Then Dante exited the kitchen with his drink, even laughing on his way. This left Vergil curious and glancing at the katana he would always carry around with him. What could Dante possibly mean by that? The goofball rarely spoke cryptic, but he sure knew how to pique Vergil’s interest. Vergil just hoped that this wasn’t one of Dante’s mind games. 

Since that talk, Vergil had noticed how Dante seemed to be sharing his new friend with his brother more. Was it out of guilt? Perhaps the idea of Vergil moving out had made Dante feel guilty of not including him before? Or maybe Dante merely wanted his girl and his twin to get along, for future in-law purposes? Ah but he'd said that they were just friends, and Vergil knew that Dante would trust him enough not to keep his romantic relationship a secret – there was no point in doing that anyway. Perhaps this was still part of how Dante had been making him feel at home in this world after disappearing for years. Dante had been doing that since they had returned from the Underworld, asking him to stay here included. 

So out of appreciation, Vergil tried. Even if Dante’s attempts to bridge him and the human friend were strange, he still tried to cooperate. Such instances were to make him accompany you to some nearby stores, and to make him guard you in the lobby as Dante would leave for a few minutes to run some errands. The company was considerably pleasant for you were not as animated with him as you were when with Dante. It felt like he was just with a… probably something close to a familiar? Though not one as cheeky as the bird. 

The difficulty, however, was in the fact that you were ridiculously clumsy. There was never an encounter with you that you didn’t drop or spill anything, and sometimes you would even drop yourself. Witnessing all of your blunders, Vergil couldn’t believe that he had once thought that you were a powerful witch. You had mentioned a few times that you were simply too nervous around him for you had always been his big fan. Why would you be nervous if he was only a video game character in your world? Every time your nervousness-induced clumsiness would cause trouble, Vergil would get compelled to save you or whatever it was that was about to fall. He was doing it because Dante had entrusted your safety to him. But it was still troublesome for Vergil always needed to regulate his strength when holding you because you were human. And whenever he would get frustrated at whatever trouble you were causing, you would apologize with that look that he couldn’t quite explain. That frown, for some reason, was always powerful enough to make him slightly regret getting mad in the first place. Perhaps it was a trait of the people from your world? He would one day confirm that. 

Vergil still tried his best though, for his brother. Because it seemed like Dante wanted Vergil to be in good terms with his friends too. At least among Dante’s friends, you were not like Arkham’s daughter who always looked like she wanted to shoot him in the head, or Mundus’ creation who would just remind him of his mother. At least, no matter how troublesome, you were always trying to be nice to Vergil. You never failed to thank him for all those catches and even for merely accompanying you. You would always offer tea and snacks to him, sometimes even bring something from your universe to share with him and his twin. Dante had said that you were simply that thoughtful, even during his time in your world. Sometimes you would even help out in the shop – cleaning, answering or making phone calls, cooking. And no matter what you were doing, you would always greet them with a smile. It somehow led Vergil to thinking that perhaps this was how coworkers coexisted in a normal, not demon-related environment? Or, ah yes, friends, as Dante called it. 

Chapter Text

“Rumi, where is Dante?” 

“Rumi. Rumi. Wake up. A woman should not sleep like a slob in a lobby. This shop might not be frequented by people but it is still inappropriate. Sleep in Dante’s or my room upstairs if you need to.” 

“Does Dante always act like a child around you, Rumi?” 

“Foolishness, Rumi. Foolishness. Might controls everything.” 

Okay, the last one might have been from a dream, but you had been noticing it… that Vergil thought your name was Rumi. 

You recalled the very first time you stepped in the DMC World. That time, Dante had said to Nero and Vergil, “This is Roomie.” You were too nervous to speak, or too busy gazing at Vergil and absorbing the fact that you were in their world, so you weren’t able to tell them your name. Then Dante kept calling you Roomie, and Vergil didn’t find it weird nor asked about it. 

So that was probably why Vergil thought your name was Rumi… like a Japanese name. Well, yeah, he had the Yamato, so a name like Rumi was nothing strange for him. Yamato Rumi… It had a nice ring to it. Maybe if you two got married someday then that would be your name. Ah but no, Yamato was not Vergil’s surname— 

“Rumi.” You were awakened from your daydream when Vergil called you. He was handing you the pens he managed to find in Dante’s drawers. You gave a sheepish smile as opposed to his level 1 grumpy look as you took the writing materials and put them in the pen holder. It was another chance to correct the mistaken name, but when the very end of Vergil’s fingertips grazed your hand, you got busy etching the moment in your mind. Maybe that was why you hadn’t been able to correct that, you would always fangirl on everything you do together. But you didn’t want to change it anyway, because the way Vergil would say ‘Rumi’ just had that sweet, melty sound. Or your ears were just biased. 

You two were sorting out the files on Dante’s desk while Dante was in the shower. You had brought a desk organizer from your world as a gift to the shop, so Vergil volunteered to do the organizing. He said it would be more beneficial if he knew where things were, instead of having to ask Dante and Dante not knowing either. The younger twin quickly agreed to this and left the task to you two, but he asked not to open the lowest drawer. Somehow, you had an idea what was in there. Dante probably didn’t want to remind Vergil of the moment he leaped into the Underworld and slashed his brother’s palm, leading to that torn glove. 

It was amusing though, when you two were faced with Dante’s magazines, the ones which were not about guns. Vergil seemed careful not to let you see them, as he made sure those magazines were sandwiched between more decent ones. He probably didn’t want you to get offended by them or something, such a gentleman… or a dad. While you were busy recalling those moments, you didn’t notice that the task was finished, and it was Vergil’s turn to have a glitch, as you caught him staring at the photo on Dante’s desk. At the bottom of Eva’s photo, Dante had inserted the small instax printout from that time you two played with each other’s hair. Vergil’s face was unreadable so you didn’t know if he was reminded of his past or he got a bit bothered by your silly photo tarnishing his mother’s elegant one. You thought assuming the latter and apologizing for it would be safer, so you intended to do so, but Dante interrupted. 

“You two done?” he asked as he went down the stairs, with a towel on his shoulders but without a shirt. He was wiping his damp hair when he said, “Sorry you had to wait. I didn’t want to go out with you while I smell like demon blood.” Dante had just come home from a job when he fetched you from your world, that was why. 

“It’s alright,” you said, smiling while at the same time, trying not to look at Dante’s sculpture—er abs. It was a mortal sin for a Vergilist to do that in the presence of Vergil himself. 

But before you could call him out on the very thing, Vergil got ahead of you, probably on his dad mode again. “Dante, avoid being shirtless at least when Rumi is here.” 

You just laughed nervously and said, “It’s alright.” You wanted to say that Dante even once went out of the shower wearing only a towel then ate pizza with you. But before you could decide on really confessing that Vergilist sin or not, Dante got ahead of you this time. 

“What did you call her?” Dante was snickering, and at that moment, it hit you – the fact that Vergil had a foolish little brother, one who enjoyed teasing him. That mischievous smile forming on Dante’s face made you regret not correcting Vergil’s mistake when you had the chance to, before this goofball ever heard it. 

But Vergil went right into the trap and answered indifferently, “Rumi.” 

Then Dante dropped the bomb. “That’s not her name.” And he couldn’t contain his laugh as he added, “I call her Roomie because it’s short for roommate.” 

You saw how Vergil’s eyes widened, though subtly, then he looked away from you and Dante. When Vergil went to grab the Yamato, you thought that this would turn into a fight. But he walked to the door and said, “I… n-need to buy something.” Then Vergil went out, while Dante was still laughing. 

His laugh was kinda contagious, and Vergil looked so adorable when embarrassed, but you tried not to laugh too. So you tiptoed and gave Dante a loving head-smack while covering your mouth. But a chuckle still escaped you when you said, “You’re so mean,” and he just laughed harder. 

Calming your urge to laugh, you chased after Vergil. Good thing he was still there, about to enter his car when you called, “Vergil, wait. I…” You knew from the lore and common headcanons that he was an introverted dork behind his cold wall of indifference so he must have felt so embarrassed with this. Luckily, he stopped and gave you a chance to speak, though he didn’t turn around to face you. “I’m sorry…” You walked closer to him before continuing, “I didn’t correct you because I liked that name. I like how you call me Rumi. It… makes me feel a bit more comfortable in here and around you—I mean, it’s not that I’m uncomfortable around you, I’m just nervous.” And right now, you really were. You could even hear your own heartbeat. 

But you continued, despite not getting any response from him. “Every time you call me that, it makes me smile—not because I find it funny! It’s… it’s because it’s special. It's like your nickname for me. So uh, please keep calling me that… if it’s okay with you. Don’t mind Dante, he just enjoys teasing you. That’s just how he shows his care, right? Teasing the people he loves. But I’ll tell him I asked you to call me that, because, yeah, I just did.” 

It took a few seconds before Vergil turned to face you. “I don’t need your sympathy… Rumi.” He sounded cold, but him saying that name and with that confident smirk he wore, ah you just melted. 

Then he went in the car and drove away. Your dreamy eyes remained on him for as long as possible, for you were still amazed at how very human he looked while driving, not flying nor entering a portal. You didn’t know where he would go though. Maybe he just wanted to avoid getting embarrassed further by his brother. Maybe he would buy something to distract Dante with, or bribe Dante with. But at least he still called you Rumi. And recalling how he said it last, you couldn’t contain your foolish smile. 

But somehow, realizing that Vergil could make mistakes reminded you that no matter how much you looked up to him, Vergil was still, though partly, human too. You should not put him up so high, well maybe just a little high. You might not be on the same level as him but he was here with you, existing on the same plane, both real and not just a cool game character. And he would call you by ‘your name’ so that made it more real. You two were on first-name basis, yeah. Though silly, maybe that idea could somehow reduce your nervousness around him. Even just a little. 

Chapter Text

Dante bought a bouquet of red roses today. The old woman in the flower shop offered to decorate it with ribbons and stuff, but Dante refused it. If only granny knew what he was planning for this.  

When he got home, he tried to sense if Vergil was really not there. He timed this well, on a day that Vergil would go to the library, so he could be sure that his brother wouldn't be at home for more than an hour. And when he confirmed that the coast was clear, he went straight to his room. 

He held the bouquet in front of him and said, “Cooperate with me, guys. I know you’re not demonic in nature, but I don’t wanna use that weapon to do this.” He closed his eyes and concentrated hard, then— “Ah, maybe one at a time.” He placed the bouquet on his bed, took a stem of rose and held it the same way as earlier. “Alright, let’s do this.” 

Dante tried but he couldn’t put it there. So he thought of summoning his devil sword first. Then he held both the DSD and the rose with one hand and willed them to return to wherever that place was, where his sword would go. And they did, they disappeared. Then Dante tried summoning the rose, but the DSD came out with it, making him realize, “Gotta be careful there. Don’t wanna hand out the sword when giving her the rose. That's dangerous.” 

So he tried again and made the two disappear. He took a deep breath and concentrated hard, willing only the rose to appear in his hand. And when it did, he couldn’t hold back in saying, “Jackpot.” He re-tried, just to be sure, and he was glad that it was a success again. 

The next step was the supply. So he put the rose back into the bouquet and he held the whole thing. He did the same as earlier, same method of clearing his mind and concentrating on what he wanted to happen, and the bouquet did disappear. But when he summoned a rose, the whole bouquet reappeared. Sighing, he placed it on his bed again and set free the 12 roses. He held them all in one hand and willed them to go to that place again, that void, that other-dimensional pocket, that—maybe he should ask Roomie what to call it. 

And the 12 roses did disappear. So the next challenge was to make them come out just one by one. He only had to do something similar to how he'd separated DSD from the rose earlier and summoned only the flower despite both of them disappearing together. With that clear goal and method set in mind, Dante tried. Just one rose, one stem— no don’t think about the stem lest only the stem come out! And with enough motivation and concentration, despite those being Vergil’s thing, Dante was able to bring out a single rose in his hand. He tried to make it disappear then reappear just to make sure. And when it did, he said in a very DMC4 manner, “Summon and keep! Summon and keep.” 

## 

When Vergil arrived and Dante borrowed the Yamato to pick you up, Vergil asked, “Why do you smell like roses?” 

“I uh, I was putting up a room freshener and it spilled on me.” The younger twin grinned wide, hoping it would work. 

“You? Room freshener?” Vergil said with that incredulous look. 

“Roomie gave it so I had to use it! Aromathingy,” was the excuse Dante managed. Vergil just made a sound but he seemed a bit grumpy. Why could that be? 

But Dante brushed it aside as he was excited to show you his new trick. He conjured a portal and welcomed you by ruffling the top of your head. Then you pouted as you complained that you had just fixed your hair. His usual fun. 

When Dante returned the Yamato to Vergil, the latter was heading to the door. “You’re leaving so soon?” Dante asked, though it would actually be good for his plan. 

“I’m meeting a client.” 

“Aw, so you just dropped by to lend me the Yamato?” Dante was about to hug his twin but was stopped by a summoned sword pointed at him. He laughed as he swatted it to the side, making it shatter. He glanced at you, and you seemed amused. Dante had been noticing it too, that you loved their brotherly antics, so he would often try to annoy Vergil while you were here just to make you laugh. 

Then Dante realized, “You’re not going by portal? Traffic is bad at this time of the day.” 

“I can manage.” And with that, the older twin left. 

Maybe it was just the excitement getting to him that Dante couldn’t help but express his thoughts to you, “Sometimes Vergil’s weird, Roomie. He likes to be fast and efficient, and he can travel through portals, but he still bought a car. I mean, a car is prone to traffic jams. Maybe that’s just for a chick magnet?” Dante covered his mouth upon realizing he might be making you jealous or something. Though, if you would be, if Vergil would have some other girl, Dante would still be here, ready to catch you and— 

His simp thoughts were interrupted when you said, in a rather sad tone, “I have a headcanon why.” 

“Oh? Let’s hear it.” 

“I think he wants to be normal sometimes,” you started. “I mean, with the way he grew up… He was always chased by demons, he probably couldn’t live like a normal person. Maybe everywhere he went to, he always had to fight, always had to be alert. So now that he’s powerful enough, overpowered actually, and now he’s got you to watch his back, maybe he lets himself try normal stuff too.” You chuckled at the end but Dante noticed that your eyes were welling up before you looked away. You even subtly wiped your cheek. Damn, that’s how much you know and love Vergil huh…  

You tried to be cheerful when you added, “It’s like your version of eating, despite not really needing to?” The last part, you said with an unsure tone as you faced him with that look that was seeking confirmation. Dante just smiled, so you added, “Who knows, maybe Vergil even goes to his favorite coffee shop every morning like typical office employees. And maybe he has his special blend, and maybe the cute female barista has memorized it because he’s always there, consistent in time and in the seat he occupies. So the barista talks to him one day and they get to know each other and they fall in love and noooo!” 

Dante laughed. “That’s already a fanfic, Roomie.” You shook your head, looking anguished but still cute. “Make it a reader-insert so you and the other Vergilists can be the girl in the story. Everybody happy,” he tried to cheer you up, and it did make you laugh then hit his arm. Two points. 

But Dante had prepared something that would earn more than that. He had been excited about this so he quickly shifted the conversation to it. He just hoped that he could pull this off successfully in front of you. “I have a surprise for you, Roomie.” 

“Really? What is it?” 

Dante took a deep breath and extended his arm to the side, away from you, just in case DSD came out too. Then he willed one of the roses to appear, and he was glad that it did. He was twice as glad to see your reaction though: a beautiful mix of surprised and amazed. It was worth the hour he had spent mastering this. 

“The rose taunt!” You were muffling a squeal when he handed it to you. Then your foolishness took over for a second, “Does this explode?” to which, you both laughed. But when you turned serious and smelled it then smiled, Dante felt his heart low-key explode. It happened again when you mumbled, “Amazing…” 

But it seemed that fate was really against Dante/Roomie for while he was gazing at you, you suddenly winced. Turns out, there was a stray thorn that hurt you. Damn that thorn, how dare he. 

Dante quickly took your hand and checked it. Then out of instinct, he sucked the blood oozing from your finger. You were surprised at what he did, and honestly, he was too. You flushed slightly when your eyes met, and with that, Dante realized that this was a moment! Fate was not against him after all. Maybe. 

But then you pulled your hand away and laughed nervously, saying, “I-I think it’s alright now. Thanks.” Then you almost dropped the rose but Dante caught it and gave it back. Clumsy Roomie. 

“Sorry I wasn’t able to check them—er, it for thorns. I got too focused on—” Dante stopped. He didn’t want to reveal it, but you were sharp. 

“Focused on what?” 

“Nothing.” 

But you smiled knowingly and asked, “How long have you been able to do this rose taunt?” Dante didn’t answer so you said, “Honesty, roomie.” 

“Tsk.” Dante sighed in defeat. “Successfully? About an hour.” 

“Wow, that's amazing! So you just learned it from the game and tried it?” 

He nodded and you looked more astonished. But it was making Dante feel a bit uneasy. “Well yeah, that and...” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

“That and?” 

Dante shook his head and changed the topic, putting his trickster side to good use for he was more determined this time. But in his mind, he continued, ‘That, and because you were having fun throwing roses at the enemy in the void as me before. One of your silly stunts when you were trying our different taunts.’  

He got you distracted by asking you to name his other-dimension storage, and sure enough, your suggestions were interesting: 

“Inventory! Because you were supposed to be the main character of Resident Evil 4. Or should it be Item Box?” 

“Or maybe Dorantemon Pocket, because it’s like Doraemon’s 4D Pocket, but Dorantemon has both Dante and Demon in it. So it’s like Dante Pocket and Demon Pocket for devil arms at the same time.” 

“Or Void? Like Janet’s Void in The Good Place. Ah but there’s already a Void in DMC5.” 

While chuckling at how serious you were thinking about it, Dante remembered an important concern. “Roomie, how long do roses last?” 

“Depends. Less than a week?” you said while touching the petals. “Probably longer if at least the bottom of its stem is soaked in water. So I have to put this guy in something like a vase before we leave.” Then you got curious, “Why are you asking?” 

“Nothing.” Dante just grinned, but in his mind, he was scheduling the other 11 roses versus when your next meetings would be. He didn’t want to give you half-wilted roses on Sunday so he said, “That guy will be lonely by himself. Let’s give him a roomie to occupy the vase with.” Then he summoned another rose and gave it to you. 

You were chuckling when you said, “So these two are roomie roses.” Then you smelled them again and smiled. “Thank you, Dante.” 

If the simple rose taunt made you smile like that, Dante wondered if he should do the EX Provocation next time. 

Chapter Text

Last time you were here, Vergil left you and his brother in the shop. But in reality, he was supposed to come back in, for he wanted to ask Dante what time the Yamato would be needed again. However, as he took the steps back, his heightened sense of hearing made him stop a couple of meters from the door. He heard his name from the inside, as it seemed you and Dante were talking about him. He did not intend to eavesdrop, but what you said got him frozen in place. His initial reaction was to be mad, for it was an embarrassing and personal detail, but how could he be mad upon hearing that someone understood that… that, foolish as it may sound, he wanted to experience ordinary things, with his reasons being exactly what you said.  

So now that you were here again, Vergil was feeling a bit uneasy. He knew you didn’t have the power to read minds, but he just felt a little afraid of you seeing through his walls again. Though, it wasn’t really afraid; it was more like uncomfortable? Unprepared?  

To make things worse, now you were even handing him something. A gift, you said.  

##  

Dante would often tease you for being a wuss when with Vergil. But you would always say that it was just that Vergil made you nervous. You were simply like that when you were having a crush on someone, but Vergil being his default cold self just amplified your nervousness… and clumsiness. Sometimes you would even stutter, aside from turning beet red. And right now, you were probably showing all of those symptoms for you were handing a gift to Vergil and he was just staring at it. After mustering all this courage and waiting for the perfect chance to corner Vergil in the kitchen to personally hand him this notebook, he just stared at it.  

It wasn’t simply any notebook; it was a notebook version replica of his William Blake book. When you and Dante went to a gaming convention in your world, you bought a lot of DMC merch as usual but this one just called on to you, and you wanted to give it to Vergil, now that you knew the real him.  

“It’s a notebook,” you explained as he stared at what you were holding. “I… just thought it might be useful while at the same time uh, meaningful. When I saw it, I immediately thought of you.” The continuing silence compelled you to add, “ Y-You can write your own poems in this. Or… not only poems, uh, like thoughts, realizations or quotes that will motivate and encourage you. I-I mean, I do that sometimes. I have my own note-tivation back at home…”  

But Vergil was still silent that you were starting to regret insisting on this. Maybe you should have just asked Dante to hand it to his brother. Or, it might have been a foolish idea all along. Maybe giving him a replica of his book was like reminding him of his childhood trauma, or his struggles during his time as V, or his familiars. Maybe casually giving him something like this would seem like you were belittling his experiences related to that book.  

All those thoughts made you feel as if your confidence around Vergil just went past zero and was now in the negative. You wanted the floor to just eat you and hide you till Vergil goes out of the kitchen. As you tried to think of or wished for an escape, you felt like your hands and legs were getting wobblier by the second. And it must have been your unlucky day because your right hand that was holding the notebook was the first to give up, that you dropped the gift to Vergil’s feet. It wasn’t only hurting him that concerned you. There was also blood on his boots, as he had just come home from a job and only went to the kitchen to get a drink. You didn’t know if that was demon blood or Vergil’s blood from a wound that had already healed. But seeing the notebook land on that smudge of blood, of all places, just got your heart dropping too, as if catching up with the now sullied gift. Then your vision got blurry. Curse these tears, don’t make it more embarrassing!  

You realized that Vergil would always catch whatever your clumsy hands would fail to hold, but this time he wasn’t able to do so. Maybe he really was bothered by seeing this thing. This really was a mistake then. So in an attempt to hide your failure and your face, you bent down to pick up the fallen item, planning to keep your head down the rest of the way out of the kitchen. But Vergil beat you to it as he was, after all, the fast and efficient Dark Slayer.  

You could only stare at him with your mouth agape as he picked up the notebook then wiped the blood off it with his sleeve. But when you noticed that a stain was still left on the cover, you apologized quickly that it might have seemed like a rap, “I’m so sorry I dropped it now it’s stained I’m such a klutz I'm really sorry my right hand failed me I’ll just buy a new one and replace that I’m sure the seller has a shop online or I’ll just--”  

“Rumi.” Vergil’s firm tone stopped your rapology but not the trembling of your hands. But when he spoke again, it got you focused on him that everything else didn’t matter. You didn’t even know if you looked foolish while gazing at him. “I prefer it this way… stained with blood… but is still redeemable… Thank you… I will put this… to good use.” How he spoke with all those pauses was the complete opposite of how you apologized, but it wasn’t a bad thing to your biased ears. You even found it better because you were able to digest his words and record his speech with your brain camera so you could rewatch it in your mind before sleeping.  

After that, you smiled with a series of nervous gestures then ran out of the kitchen and told Dante of your success. And yeah, tried to catch your breath and calm your pulse. You realized that now you knew how those high school confession scenes in anime felt like, especially if the guy is the cool but cold type like Kaede Rukawa and Levi Ackerman… even though you simply gave a gift to Vergil. But you were happy, really. Hopefully Vergil would find the notebook useful.  

##  

‘Notebook … Useful … Meaningful … Realization … Motivate … Encourage…’  

As Vergil listened to you explaining what you were handing him, his mind was repeating some of your words. It was as if an echo was helping him process what was happening, even though he got stuck at the word you said prior to all of those.  

Gift…  

How should a person react upon receiving a gift?  

As he asked himself that, Vergil realized that this must have been the first time he received a gift from someone in a very long time. The last one would probably be that book from the old man, the one that looked exactly like what you were giving him. That was probably one reason why he was struck when you were handing it to him.  

How do people react when someone gives them a gift?  

No matter how many books Vergil had read, there might be things that were supposed to be basic for people, but he didn’t know of or had already forgotten. All those years, he had been… busy.  

He had been living with Dante for a while now, and one might think that he had already adjusted. But truth be told, he merely kept himself occupied with fighting demons and avoiding unnecessary interactions with people. Those were two things he had always been good at anyway. It was even a relief that most people here were avoiding him too, so he was able to stay in his comfort zone the whole time. But this human from another world… this one had been reaching out to him, unlike the others.  

Vergil couldn’t help but wonder if this was what Dante was talking about when the younger twin mentioned that the Yamato opened a portal to this human for a reason. Was this person meant to help pull him out of his isolation? Should he reach out too?  

But he was taking so long in deciding, that you were getting flustered. You might change your mind now and pull back. That is how things go, isn’t it? People will give up on you if you don’t reach out too. But you still held the notebook to him despite looking like you were about to crumble. You said you were giving him a gift, but oddly, you seemed apologetic while doing so, and a bit hurt at the same time. It got worse when your grip on the item loosened that you dropped it to his bloody boots. You seemed as though your world fell apart, and for some reason he couldn’t fathom, Vergil felt like he didn’t want to see that any longer.  

He had reached for the notebook before realizing it, and instinct told him to wipe it with his clothes. He knew this wasn’t the proper way to keep blood from staining this kind of a material but he felt like he had to do something about it right away, so he did. Then you apologized. You gave him this precious gift and you apologized. What foolishness was that?  

So Vergil stopped you. “Rumi.” And he tried his best to express his thoughts, though not all. “I prefer it this way…” flawed and “stained with blood” just like me, “but is still redeemable” hopefully. “Thank you…” for reaching out. “I will put this…” chance “to good use.” And the notebook too, of course.  

Your face lit up with what he said, as if all your sorrow was completely gone with such a simple thing he did. Having been used to putting on a cold façade, it certainly was refreshing to see that. It was followed by a series of your usual timid smile and nervous hand gestures, then you were out of the kitchen. He could hear you telling Dante something like “Vergil accepted it.” He wasn’t sure about the other things you said for they were muffled along with some high-pitched sounds that he knew you would make whenever you were pleased.  

Vergil found himself smiling at the notebook he was holding, that he didn’t know if it was you or himself he was referring to when he remarked, “Simpleton.”  

Chapter Text

Whenever you and Dante would go to places by riding Caveliere, you would have to hold on to him. Your arms would be wrapped around him, like a hug, but not really a hug. Well,  Cavaliere didn’t have those handgrips for the passenger. And whenever your hold on Dante would be light, he would pull it tighter, pull you closer. Actually, he just did. It was really for your safety, honest. The closeness was just a bonus. But it was nice, without a doubt, that sometimes he wished that the ride would never end. Why did he have to drive so fast anyway? Why did this thing run so fast? 

Though, there was also another ride that Dante wished would never end. 

Whenever he would see you and Vergil being a bit less awkward with each other, he felt like his time was running out. He wished that this period, one where he was still free to feel something for you, would never end. Sometimes, Dante would get the urge to be daring and just tell it to you straight. But then he would notice how you were looking at his twin and his uh, yeah, motivation would go down. Funny how a simple look was powerful enough to defeat his resolve. And isn’t there a Dante equivalent for ‘motivation’ and ‘power’ in the games? Maybe he had to play them again and observe. He would always say different cheesy lines and taunts there that he didn’t have a consistent catchphrase in them. Except for the ‘Eeyah!’ when performing Stinger, probably. 

Seriously though, he was still somehow glad that he didn’t dare to just tell you or just kiss you in those times he had the urge to. You had taught him to imagine what-ifs, and whenever he had a failed or ignored impulse to confess, he would imagine what if he succeeded, what if he pushed through with it. But all those what-ifs only led to the same thing. Whether he just told you how he felt for you or simply kissed you to show it, after the very deed, you would definitely feel bad because you didn’t feel the same. You might even feel too guilty to be around him, knowing how all of your Vergilist acts were hurting him. And you would probably choose not to visit here anymore just so you wouldn’t hurt him. You would probably do that and give up on seeing Vergil too, just so you wouldn’t hurt Dante. 

And Dante didn’t want that. So he would rather keep his feelings to himself if it would mean you would still be with him as the usual cheerful Roomie. He wanted you to keep coming here, he wanted to keep visiting your world too. He wanted to continue seeing you, continue being with you, even just as your friend. Just spending time together like this, going on a DMC Tour that would never end, just having fun together like how friends would. But he knew deep down that even that had an expiration date. 

When you and Vergil finally end up together, maybe he won’t be able to come to your apartment and hang out in there anymore. When that day comes, can he even still be around you? Not permission-wise but ability-wise… because it would probably hurt a lot to see you two be so sweet, get married, start a family-- 

Dante’s thoughts were interrupted when he felt you lean your cheek on his back. “Roomie? You alright?” 

He felt you nod before you answered, “Just a bit sleepy. I came straight from work and I all-nightered some materials.” Hearing that, he pulled over right away. “Why’d you stop?” you asked. 

“Let’s uh, what do people call that… change trains?” Dante made Cavaliere disappear, but before your feet could hit the ground, he turned around and caught you, like a princess. And with the way you looked at him, a mix of surprised and amazed with a tinge of pink on your cheeks, he badly wanted to be the prince and end this story. But he knew this wasn’t a fairy tale, his what-ifs every night had taught him that. 

So he carefully placed you down before moving a few feet away to transform without hurting you from the impact that came with it. This must have been the first time he showed you his true devil form, SDT as the game called it, and as he had expected, you didn’t get scared. Your eyes were sparkling with excitement like how they always looked in every part of this DMC Tour. This actually made Dante realize that you never requested anything the whole time. You just let him show you things or bring you to wherever he planned to. You were that considerate, and you never failed to express how you appreciated his efforts and planning. Aww, Roomie, you’re so lovable, it hurts. Good thing his demon form didn’t have tear ducts. Or did it? Well the title is Devil May Cry... Damn. 

Dante got distracted immediately when you asked, “Can you talk while in SDT?” That instantly made him laugh, and made him hope that his demonic laugh didn’t sound so horrifying to you. It probably didn’t, because you were chuckling when you added, “In the games you just growl! Some people in Reddit have theories about that.” 

“Roomie,” he said, deliberately choosing his nickname for you as the first word you would hear in his SDT voice. 

“Wow, distortion is real!” was your comment that almost made him a bit disappointed for his sweet stuff not being noticed as usual. But that was until you added, “And ‘Roomie’ was SDT Dante’s first word. How I wish Reddit heard that!” 

Dante opted to play along, “First word? You think I'm a baby?” He was glad that it made you laugh, but of course he wanted more. “Now come to baby.” He opened his arms, and he was glad you did drew close while still laughing. “Baby's gonna fly you to our tourist spot for tonight—no don’t tummy-slap me, you might get hurt!” 

After figuring out how to do this carefully, Dante managed to carry you in his arms, princess style again of course, then he took off. That was why he suggested, “Roomie, make a fanfic called ‘The Princess and The Demon.’” 

“Should I make it a Dante/Reader?” 

“Make it a Dante/Roomie,” was his quick reply that made you laugh. 

“Even in SDT, you’re still fake-flirty.” 

“I figured you might wanna hear some of it with distortion.” 

Then you remembered a concern, “Won’t people spot us and be worried we’re some dangerous demons?” 

“It’s nighttime anyway. They’ll just think I’m an airplane or a shooting star.” And that made you laugh again, the perfect flight background music for him. But he remembered why he chose to fly in the first place, so he turned serious and said, “You can sleep during the ride, Roomie.” 

“How would I? This is like a special rollercoaster ride. It's too awesome to sleep on this!” 

“S’that so? Then at least I don’t have to worry about you falling off if you fell asleep.” 

“Thanks, Dante. For all the DMC experience.” For some reason, that just tickled his chest, his fiery demon chest. 

“Anything for Roomie.” He would have held you closer, tighter, if he didn’t worry about you getting hurt with his selfish desires. Funny how that turned out to have a double meaning. 

‘Even just as Dante and Roomie, ah yeah, Dante&Roomie like in that fanfic website, I hope we can stay this way. I really wish this ride would never end.’  

Chapter Text

You and Dante were supposed to go somewhere today. You didn’t know where because he would always surprise you with the DMC-related place, person or item he would show you. But before you two could leave, Morrison came in. From the way he strode, you could tell that he was bearing a job, and your mind instantly played his line from the game, ‘Big job, Dante. You’re gonna need the help.’  

Morrison took off his hat when he greeted you, Lady Roomie as he would always call you. It was because Dante introduced you to him as Roomie before and Morrison said that in his line of work, it was better that you had an alias he could call you with. The man went to talk business right away, saying he had a big job for the twins, literally big. Hearing that, you instantly got worried, and it doubled when you took a peek at the document Dante was reading. “It’s a big demon?” you mumbled, to which Dante nodded. 

“Probably same size as that first boss in DMC5,” he said before handing the document to his brother. “No worries, Roomie. We can handle it.” He gave you a pat on the head along with a grin. “But I would have to postpone our plan—” 

“There is no need for that,” Vergil interrupted. “I am more than capable of handling this on my own.” You would have raised your hand at that and pointed out ‘Quote!’ but what he said just made you more worried. It wasn’t that you didn’t believe Vergil could go to the job alone, but you were just feeling uneasy about it. So you looked at Dante and shook your head, as if telling him not to allow his brother to do this alone. 

It seemed like Dante got your message for he rubbed the top of your head then turned to his twin and said, “Nope, I’m coming with you. I’m craving for some stretching.” Vergil just scoffed so Dante faced you. “This might take an hour or two, Roomie. Want me to bring you back to your world so you can relax there for a few hours?” 

“I won’t be able to relax, I’ll be worried about you two.” You then requested, “Can I just stay here? An hour of waiting is better than eight.” 

Dante laughed but he turned serious immediately and said, “I guess I’ll call Trish or Lady to keep you company.” 

“About that,” Morrison said, “I actually have a different job for the girls.” 

“I’ll be alright here on my own, Dante.” You showed him a convincing smile. 

Then Vergil said, “I have cast a ward against demons upon the shop up to a certain distance from its perimeter, but if you are still worried about Rumi, you may stay behind, Dante.” 

You shook your head vehemently at that, and thankfully, Dante was on your side, saying, “Nope. Roomie doesn’t want you to go alone.” You got a bit shy, hoping that Vergil wouldn’t get mad at you thinking you were underestimating his skills. You were really just worried. Why go to a literally big job alone when you have a twin that was equally powerful. The task would be finished faster if there were two of you. More importantly, it was better to have someone watching your back. 

And so, Morrison left then Dante and Vergil went into a portal to the job’s location. That actually made you admire Vergil more for he was able to conjure a portal to that place even if he hadn’t been there. Dante had told you a few things about portals, and he said there had to be a connection for one to successfully open a portal to a certain place, a connection that the conjurer could focus on and visualize. That made you wonder, if possibly, Vergil had faced a demon like this before. That might have been why he had the confidence to insist twice on going to this job on his own. If he had, then that was better, right? Having knowledge about the enemy was good news, right? Even in the games, you could use it to your advantage, knowing the enemy’s attack pattern, weak points, and special abilities you should be careful of. 

Turns out, it was both good news and bad news that Vergil did know about the enemy. About an hour later, a portal opened in front of you and from it came out Dante, carrying an unconscious and bleeding Vergil. “What happened?!” 

You could see from Dante’s face and the way he was rambling that he was panicking. He carried Vergil upstairs as he tried to explain what happened. “There were two of those demons, we didn’t know. They can blend in and hide their presence in the surroundings. Vergil knew about their kind, that’s why he— he pushed me out of the way and he got stabbed with the demon’s tail, and it seems it has poison because he didn’t heal when he was clawed by the other one.” Dante explained all that while still trying to sound okay. He placed Vergil on the bed, not minding how Vergil would probably get mad for bloodying his room. It was the first time you entered here but you couldn’t even indulge your fan heart with it because of the situation. When Dante went to Vergil’s bookshelf, that was when you understood why Dante brought him here. “I-I’m sure there’s something about demon poison here,” he said as he fumbled through the books, even dropping some of them. “Dammit, Vergil, why do you have a lot of books!” Dante chuckled but you could see through his façade from how his hands were trembling. 

You had thought of helping Dante find what he was looking for, but you couldn’t take your eyes off Vergil. He had three big gashes on his chest and abdomen, and from them you could see how his insides were also torn. You had noticed earlier that he also had a smaller wound on his back, and it was probably the stab from the demon’s poisonous tail that Dante had told you about. When you checked closely, his organs and cuts seemed to be repairing themselves, although very slowly. But with how he was bleeding profusely he would probably run out of blood before his wounds could close up. Scenes from movies told you to put pressure on his wounds to keep them from bleeding too much but how could you possibly put pressure on those three large claw marks? And it wasn’t only the bleeding that you were concerned about. With those torn organs, wasn’t that fatal? It must have even been a great thing that he was still breathing, though weakly. You were anxious every time his chest would subtly rise with every breath, wishing there would still be a next one. 

And with the way Dante was panicking but was trying to hide it, you knew that this was really serious. This wasn’t something like in the games where they could simply use a gold orb and replenish their HP, or have a phase 2 of their boss fight like how Urizen— Wait, Urizen! That quickly reminded you of how eating the Qliphoth fruit gave Urizen a power-up. You had always been wondering about that, about human blood working as a power booster for demons or demon hybrids. You even had a headcanon that Dante and Vergil were so strong because the human part of their blood must have been acting like a fuel, a constant power-up for the demon part of their body. 

So with that idea in mind, though you knew it was a foolish one, your shaking hand reached for the Yamato, which Dante had placed on the bed beside its owner. You told yourself that this wouldn’t be just for Vergil. This was also to help ease Dante’s worries as he was obviously just trying to keep himself together. You knew what the twins had been through, and you knew how many times Dante had lost his brother. He even blamed himself for those. Even that one in their childhood, Dante had found something he could blame himself with, as what he had told you back then when you two were talking about his regrets. If he lost Vergil now, he would probably end up blaming himself again, as he said he should have been the one to get hit. You feared how Dante would take it if he lost his twin once more and maybe for good.

You just didn’t want to lose Vergil, and you didn’t want Dante to lose his brother again. So you told yourself, ‘This is hitting two demons with one orb,’ before you partly pulled the Yamato from its sheath and put your left palm against its sharp blade. This might be a foolish idea but there was no harm in trying. You were willing to try anything just to keep these two from losing each other. As you put your bleeding hand over Vergil’s chest wounds, you couldn’t help but recall his Temen-ni-gru line when he also slashed his left palm and made his blood drip then said, ‘Why isn’t this working!’ You hoped you wouldn’t be saying that. ‘Must more blood be shed?’ That one though, you were willing to give as much as needed. 

But then you heard, “Roomie, what are you doing?!” 

Chapter Text

‘I can’t lose him again. Not this time. Not when we’ve just been reunited. Not when I was supposed to be the one to get hit.’  

Dante was quickly flipping the pages of every occult book he could find. He knew Vergil would get mad at him for how he was handling the dork’s precious books, but he was even looking forward to it. He would gladly welcome Vergil getting mad at him, if that meant Vergil would survive this. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing was registering to him. All he saw were letters, symbols, but none of them made sense. Dante knew that if Vergil had fought that kind of demon before, then his curiosity must have led him to studying it and finding out how to deal with it and with its poison. Dante believed that the answer was somewhere in here, but he couldn’t concentrate. He just couldn’t take it off his mind, the fear that this very second that he was spending on this page, or this page, or this page, might be his twin’s last. 

He knew that the sooner he could find the solution, may it be a spell, a potion or a simple set of instructions, the more it was likely that Vergil would live. But Dante just couldn’t focus, as part of him was telling him to just seize his brother’s final moments… be there beside Vergil, tell him those cheesy lines you wouldn’t say to your brother under normal circumstances… or at least apologize for all the times that Dante killed him. 

And when he finally decided that he wanted to have at least one regret off his list, that was when Dante saw you. “Roomie, what are you doing?!” He rushed to you upon recognizing that you were doing a makeshift blood transfusion to Vergil. He held your arm and raised your palm in an attempt to stop more blood from coming out. “Are you out of your mind?!” 

But you pulled away and he didn’t want to hurt you so he let go. “No, look, I think it’s working.” You pointed with your other hand and showed him how Vergil’s wounds were reacting to your blood. Every drop, upon spreading to where it landed, would turn into something like a blanket of microscopic flame or sparks. Then after that second of flare, they seemed to copy the skin or organ they had come in contact with. So it was some sort of a healing matter. “I figured maybe human blood can help,” you started explaining. “The Qliphoth fruit contained concentrated human blood and it became a power-up for Urizen. So I thought maybe, although I’m just one and I'm not even sure about the quality of my blood, maybe it can help.” You tried to sound optimistic about this, but from that forced smile, Dante could tell how worried you were. Your bleeding hand was even trembling, and when you realized that he noticed it, you clenched it to hide the shivers. But that only made it bleed a bit faster. 

“You’re losing a lot of blood, Roomie. That's dangerous for a human…” Dante could only state the obvious as he felt helpless at the moment. He wanted to stop you from putting yourself in danger, but seeing how it was working and it was the only thing that could help save his twin right now, he couldn’t bring himself to really be strict with you. 

“At least until the wounds close. Or until those organs are fixed. At least until he’s not in a dangerous state.” You were still smiling the whole time but when you said the last part, realization must have dawned on you that you broke into tears. “We can’t lose him.” 

Dante focused on wiping your cheeks to distract himself from doing the same. “Maybe I should try it too, I’m still half human,” he suggested, to which you nodded eagerly. He saw how there was blood on the partially-unsheathed Yamato and he figured that it was what you had used, so he cut his palm with it too, both palms.   

“Dante!” Now it was you who was trying to be strict with him. 

“I’ll be fine, I will heal,” he reminded as he wrung out his blood from his hands. He poured it over a different wound to see if it would work the same, but to his dismay, Vergil’s body wasn’t reacting to his blood. It was even more upsetting that his hands were quick to heal, as if mocking him saying ‘try again’ or reminding him how fast Vergil should be healing up too, if only he wasn’t poisoned. As Dante wounded his palms again in another attempt to help, he remembered the fact that it should have been him; he should've been the one dying right now, not Vergil. And when it didn’t work still, he retried, now putting the blade against his wrist. Poetic, because right now he hated himself for being that careless and this useless. 

But you stopped him, not with a firm grip on his arm but with a gentle palm to his cheek. “Dante, let me handle this. I don’t want to see you keep hurting yourself like that.” And that warm smile you gave froze him. “Even if you heal, that still hurt and you’re doing it over and over.” But the way you slurred a little at the end woke him up instantly and shifted his self-blame into worrying about you. 

“Roomie, you have to stop now. You’re getting diz--” 

“Liver!” You showed a sudden burst of energy just to fool him. “I will eat a lot of liver after this.” You even scrunched your nose when you added, “Though I don’t like it.” 

“Roomie... Stop--” 

“Are there really Vital Stars, Dante? I’ve been meaning to ask you that.” 

Dante chuckled weakly before saying, “I know what you’re doing, Roomie. You're distracting me to keep me from stopping you.” 

But you were still at it, as you quoted him from DMC3, “My soul is saying it wants to stop you!” Then you grinned. Your antics made him smile a little, but Dante was more determined now. As he reached for your bleeding hand, however, you stopped him with, “Wait wait!” He thought it was something important, only to hear you say, “Let’s call this move Emergency Energy Drink.” Then you gave a silly laugh. 

Dante shook his head but he couldn’t stop his lips from curving up. Even in this situation, you were able to make him smile. You're really powerful, Roomie. So he decided to humor you a little. “He’s not drinking it.” 

“Well, yeah, but Urizen ate it. Though, my original idea was something like Dracula, you know, blood drinking. Speaking of which, I once saw a fic where you’re friends with Dracula. I haven't read it but by any chance, do you really know him?” 

“Tsk, Roomie, stop--” 

“Wait! I’ll count backwards from 1000 in intervals of 7, like in Tokyo Ghoul. I’ll stop if I’m too woozy to subtract correctly. Deal?” 

Dante sighed before saying, “Alright.” But you had just started with 1000 then 993, and you already passed out. Silly Roomie. Good thing Dante was just beside you. 

He carried you in his arms but before bringing you to his room, he checked Vergil’s wounds first. They were healing faster than earlier, although still far from how it should be. But because his body seemed to be prioritizing the important parts, he wasn’t bleeding as badly as before. Seeing this as a good sign, Dante held you a bit tighter and whispered, “Thank you, Roomie.” 

As he placed you on his bed, a different concern hit him right away. He knew you had just passed out from losing a lot of blood, but he wasn’t sure if this was something to panic about or not. You looked peacefully asleep, a bit pale but you were breathing fine. He didn’t know if this pulse was right though. He wasn’t really well informed about human medical stuff. Maybe he ought to study about humans more, so he would know how to take care of you better. 

But what you did made Dante realize that you really were this into Vergil that you were willing to risk yourself for him. It sure hurt but there was nothing he could do. He wasn’t even able to help. Maybe he really should be out of the picture. 

But no, he shouldn’t wallow in these feelings and thoughts of being useless. If you were awake and seeing him right now, you would probably ask what was on his mind, and you wouldn’t stop until he answered honestly. Then you would tell him something like if he had time to call himself useless then he should be using that time to do something that would help. That’s right, even little things that would help. 

The first thing Dante had thought of was to treat your wound. He intended to get the first aid kit he had just recently bought for the recent regular human visitor in the shop who also happened to be a bit too clumsy. But before leaving, he took your hand and kissed it. “Roomie, please get better, okay? I promise I will bridge you and Vergil more when you wake up.” His free hand brushed your hair away from your cheeks as he continued, “I’d rather lose you to Vergil than lose you or Vergil. So don’t die on me, please. I’ve been planning a special DMC Tour for you, something I'm sure you will… love. So make sure you get better.” He flashed his usual smile, before realizing he didn’t have to because no one was looking. As Dante gazed at you, he found himself getting pulled in. But he didn’t want to earn your lips in a sneaky way so he shifted to kiss your forehead instead. “I’ll be right back, Roomie.” 

Chapter Text

You woke up in an unfamiliar room. But upon glancing around, you noticed that it was a mirror of a certain room you had been to recently, minus the shelf full of books… Vergil!  

You quickly got up, all your worries from last time instantly coming back to you, plus some lightheadedness. Upon holding onto the nearby wall for support, you noticed that your left hand was wrapped in a bandage. You immediately figured it to be Dante’s doing, and it made you smile how it was done neatly except for a little part. It just reflected how Dante would always surprise you with what you didn’t expect he could do, but there would always be a touch of Dante being Dante on them. 

With the need to lean on furniture and walls for support, you were able to go into Vergil’s room. He was still unconscious but you noticed how his wounds were neatly wrapped up too. You would have indulged your inner fangirl seeing a topless Vergil in front of you, but you were still worried about him. But Dante patching up Vergil’s wounds might mean Dante had considered them to be on the right track. 

You sat on the chair beside the bed, deciding to stay here and wait for any progress. “I hope your body is healing itself faster now, Vergil,” you whispered, still somewhat shy around him even if he was currently unconscious. But your foolishness still escaped you as you added, “If you need some more blood, I’ll--” 

You jolted a little when you heard from behind you, “No need for that, Roomie.” You turned to see Dante, looking serious, which was always a bit scary. The polls might be right, that Angry Dante was scarier, though you hadn’t seen Angry Vergil in person. But whenever you would see Dante serious and scary, like that time when there was a thief and some other minor clumsy-incidents, there was always this weird fuzzy feeling. At first you thought you were some sort of a masochist who enjoyed being scolded, but you realized that it must be because he was being serious and scary out of concern. And he would rarely get angry so that was kind of special. That was probably why most of the time he was like that, you could still give a silly grin, then he would turn back to his usual self. Like what happened just now. 

“I really can’t win against that smile with the ‘ehe~’ sound,” Dante remarked as he placed down the bags he was holding. Then he put a hand on your forehead as if checking your temperature while asking, “How are you feeling?” 

“Good.” You raised your bandaged hand and said, “Thanks for this.” 

Dante just nodded and he looked worried. “You should take a rest, Roomie. It’s been just a few hours since you passed out.” Then he rummaged the bags he placed on the bedside table as he explained, “I called Morrison to ask his connections to get me some blood bags, but his blood guy ran out of type O.” You chuckled at the mention of ‘blood guy’ and Dante noticed, making him smile as he continued, “So he was asking for your blood type. That's why I bought this thing that gets a sample then identifies the type. Humanity is this high-tech now, huh?” He showed you a small device. 

“Aww… It’s alright, Dante, I’m fine. No need for a blood supply.” But you took the device from him and inspected it. Then you realized, “Although, it might help Vergil…” Images of Vergil going Urizen and eating a blood bag flashed into mind and you quickly shook them away. 

“His wounds were already closing up last I checked, though still slow,” Dante said. “I think his healing can handle them as long as he takes a rest and not move too much.” He put a hand on top of your head when he added, “So you don’t have to worry.” You nodded, then he offered, “Are you hungry? I’ll make you corn soup.” That made you smile instantly, remembering how Dante nursed you back to health before. But then he added, “And liver too. You said you’ll eat a lot of it after your blood drive.” You pouted at that, which made him laugh. “You sure you don’t wanna lie down?” 

You nodded eagerly and said, “I’ll stay here and be your baby monitor. I’ll call you when he wakes up.” Dante just laughed and ruffled the top of your head before leaving the room. Upon being alone with Vergil again, you noticed that the Yamato was no longer beside him. Maybe Dante used it and portal’d to the stores he went to, so he could come back sooner. He must still be worried about Vergil, and portals really were convenient. Good thing that their portal-opening days were not over. You smiled to yourself recalling that cutscene. 

But that somehow reminded you of how Dante and Vergil in the games had always been fighting each other yet still showing concern for one another. Like that ‘Heal your wounds, Dante’ and that time in DMC3 where Dante reached a hand to Vergil, and a lot more instances. Today, you witnessed the real them showing care for each other, with Vergil saving Dante from that demon poison and Dante being so worried about his brother, even wounding himself a lot of times in hopes of helping Vergil heal. They really do love each other so much despite not saying it directly and even trying to hide it sometimes. Somehow, this train of thought got you reaching a hand to Vergil’s, while saying softly, “I hope you wake up soon. He may not show it but Dante’s still worried about you.” But upon realizing that you were touching Vergil’s hand, you quickly pulled away, panting and with your heart racing. 

But your heart rate accelerated upon seeing Vergil weakly getting up. Your panicking brain was alternating between ‘OMG he’s awake!’ and ‘Did he see me touch him? Nooo!’ But your caring side quickly took over and helped him fix pillows to lean his back on. Though, you couldn’t help but tell him, “You shouldn’t move too much. Why did you get up?” 

But he just answered with, “I’m fine,” even though he didn’t look so. He tried not to show it but you caught him wincing at some of his movements. Ah, Stubborn Vergil, the tags are true.  

“Just take a rest, okay? Tell me if you need anything.” He didn’t even nod nor spare you a glance. But you thought this was probably just Vergil’s hmm, how would one put it, shyness-turned-coldness. Being a Vergilist, you knew he was just probably calibrating right now, recalling what had happened and rebuilding his walls. You were here, a human from another world, seeing him in his weak state, so he was probably a bit on the defensive. That was probably why he insisted on sitting up instead of lying down. So to give him a few minutes to himself, you said, “I’ll call Dante.” 

But upon standing up, you felt a hand grab your left arm. Your excitement increased with the realization that it was Vergil who was holding you, but when you turned to face him, he looked mad. Now you have officially met Angry Vergil, congratulations. “What happened to you?” he asked in a very scary tone as he raised your bandaged hand. 

Your usual nervousness around him doubled when you answered, “I… gave you some of my blood.” 

“Why did you do that?” His follow-up question was quick and scarier. 

So you decided to be honest, fearing that it might just get worse otherwise. And besides, even a white lie wouldn’t be believable if you were this nervous, so you confessed, “It’s… I got the idea from the game… Urizen, the Qliphoth fruit, human blood as power up, it worked and—” 

“You shouldn’t have done that.” You didn’t know that it was possible but he was now three times as scary. 

## 

“You shouldn’t have done that,” was the only thing Vergil could say as he tried to rein in his frustration. He got poisoned and injured, and now he found out that you had to give him your blood to help him recover. This was beyond shameful. 

“But it helped—” 

“I didn’t need help. Not from you,” he cut in. “This isn’t the games, this is real. If you are too caught up in all the fantasy aspect of our lives, perhaps you should just remain in your world. In here, you will only—” He was stopped when he turned to face you. You were crying but with evident effort to stop it, as you tried to listen attentively. And when you realized that he took notice of it, you quickly looked down and apologized. You even called what you had done as foolish, then you apologized again before running out of the room. 

Vergil could only pinch the bridge of his nose as he muttered, “Think before you speak, you fool.” 

## 

A few minutes later, Dante came rushing in, and Vergil already knew what it was about. 

“What did you say to Roomie?” From how he was clenching the Yamato with his left hand turning white, Dante seemed to be restraining his anger and it must have been taking him a lot of self-control. “She was crying but was trying to look like her usual cheerful self, and she asked me to send her back to her world with some bullshit excuses.” 

Vergil didn’t answer. He just sighed then said, “Give me the Yamato.” 

“Dammit, Vergil. Is this more important?!” Dante threw the katana and Vergil caught it, but with a bit of pain from his wounds that he tried not to show. He thought Dante would give him an earful but the younger twin just gave an exasperated sigh before leaving the room. He heard a loud thud from the hallway though, and he had an idea what it was. 

## 

If Vergil weren’t injured, Dante would’ve confronted him with a sword, not questions. That was partly the reason why Dante brought the Yamato with him, but he knew he had to control his anger. Vergil wouldn’t be in this state if it weren’t for him. And yeah, this was Vergil, his emotionally constipated twin. He knew that Vergil’s silence meant a million things going on in that dork’s mind. At least that was what he had learned after living with his brother for almost a year. 

So Dante really tried— no, he did his best, and just left the room and poured all his frustration on the next wall he saw. Too bad it was his room’s wall though, and now it had a shallow crater the size of his fist. 

His feet brought him downstairs as he thought of what to do. He wanted to check on you but he had just given the Yamato back to his brother. Going back there again and seeing how emotionless and without a hint of remorse Vergil would look, he wasn’t sure if he could still keep his calm. But he was worried about you, and the fact that every minute here was eight times in your world got him imagining how puffy your eyes would be from all the crying. It was making him restless, that he finally gave in. If need be, he would just close his eyes as he borrowed the Yamato, just so he could be with you sooner. 

So Dante went back upstairs and into Vergil’s room, only to find it empty. But the katana he wanted to borrow was there, on the bed, with a piece of paper under it. 

Chapter Text

Vergil arrived in your world, in the living room he saw before, in this realm he had found strange before. 

Upon exiting the portal, he felt as if his anxiety was increasing every second. He didn’t have his demonic power in here, and his injuries hadn’t completely healed. How you or Dante wrapped his wounds was indeed helping in keeping them from bleeding again, but every simple movement hurt. To make matters worse, he didn’t even have the Yamato with him, as he had to leave it for Dante to pick him up later. Simply put, he was completely defenseless whilst not in his best state. And as Dante had mentioned before, in here, they were fully human, that was probably why he could feel that his disappointingly slow healing had stopped upon taking his first step. 

But Vergil knew he had to do this. He had hurt the human who had always been kind to him, and he couldn’t stand knowing that every minute he hesitated in his world meant eight times the duration that you were feeling upset because of him. So he took a deep breath and made sure to keep his posture straight so you wouldn’t notice how he was still in a lot of pain. You were not in the living room nor in the kitchen but he sensed you in one of the bedrooms so he knocked. 

And when you opened the door, you were holding something, a makeshift weapon that you almost hit him with. Fortunately, you recognized him before it landed. “Vergil? What are you doing here?” You explained as you came out of your room, “Sorry, I thought you were some sort of an intruder. It was scary to have someone knock on my bedroom door when I’m alone in the apartment.” You then made quick gestures to fix your hair and wipe your face. It seemed you were still crying before he arrived. 

“I’m sorry for giving you a scare,” Vergil started. “I am here to apologize for earlier. I have said things that seemed to have upset you. I… simply expressed concern for your safety but as you might have noticed, I am not good at treating or speaking to people nicely.” That was the best explanation he could come up with, as he couldn’t simply tell you how he felt frustrated upon finding out that you risked yourself for him. Even he didn’t know how to explain that. 

You had a look of disbelief when you said, “You have always been nice to me. Well except the first meeting.” Then you smiled sheepishly but added right away, “Though you were still nice back then because you didn’t hurt me. And even to Dante, you’ve always been nice!” This time it was Vergil’s turn to give a doubting look, so you were compelled to explain, “In 3, you told Dante to leave you if he doesn’t want to be trapped in the Demon World. And yeah, you fought Arkham together, and you also awakened Dante’s demon. That one, I’ve always seen as your big-brotherly love… unlocking Dante’s true power so he could protect himself better. Though you stabbed him with the Yamato then Rebellion that time. Was it like an experiment? You tried if the Yamato would work like it did with you, and when it didn’t, you tried the Rebellion?” You seemed to have gotten sidetracked but he let you continue. “Then in 5, you told Dante to heal his wounds and get strong before you fight. That was super sweet like a very big brother concern plus an honorable warrior that doesn’t want to take advantage of his opponent’s weakened state. Though the way you said it with that smirk… Yeah okay, maybe you do have a bit of a problem— I mean you do nice things but you just don’t look nice when you do them.” Then you seemed to have realized that you had said a lot so you gave an embarrassed smile then covered your flushed face. 

While listening to everything you were saying, it dawned on Vergil how much you really knew about them. It was partly amazing how their lives were made known to people of this world while at the same time, partly displeasing. But before he could dive into wondering what other private details of his life were common knowledge in here, his attention was caught by your bandaged hand. 

He took it and held it as gently as he could, careful not to hurt the wound underneath. With the gesture, he witnessed how your pink cheeks turned red as you stared at him wide-eyed. “Thank you for what you did.” Vergil made an effort to sound as amiably as he could when he continued, for he didn’t want to upset you further. “But don’t do something dangerous like that again. Even for me, even for Dante.” 

But you shook your head and you sounded firm when you answered, “My number one rule as your fan is to make sure that you two will not get separated again. You were… dying.” 

“I was ‘dying’ a lot of times before, but I'm still here.” Memories flashed in his mind but he tried to ignore them by focusing on you. 

“Well before, you were aware that you were dying,” was your counter. All your usual shyness and nervousness were replaced by determination. “That’s why you were able to do something about it, you… had thought of a plan or a way to survive.” He noticed how you were trying to be careful with your words. You probably didn’t want to rub it in that he ripped his son’s arm one time he was also dying. “But this time you weren’t aware, you were unconscious. You had big holes in you, and—” Then you burst into tears as you continued, “We saw how your organs were torn, and you were bleeding so much. Dante was panicking but he was trying not to show it, probably just so I won’t get worried. And he said you were poisoned that’s why your body was not healing. So Dante was looking through your books for info about that poison but it looked like he didn’t really know where or what to look for, and I wasn’t of any help and I was so afraid that we might lose you and—”  

Helpless and afraid, very familiar. As he listened to your account of what had happened, Vergil felt like he didn’t want to see any more of this. You were crying again while telling him of how his condition had caused you distress. But he didn’t know what to do either, so he just followed his instinct and pulled you close then wrapped his arms around you. He was used to relying on his demonic instincts for most of his life, but it might have been the human one that made him do this, as he was fully human in here. Human instincts sure are strange. 

Chapter Text

You were recalling how horrifying the bloody experience had been, and you were crying in front of Vergil again. But before you could mentally scold yourself for piling up the embarrassment, you suddenly felt him pull you close. Then his arms went around you, making this officially the real version of what you could only dream of before. Vergil was hugging you! 

You felt like everything was paused, even your tears. This wasn’t a Void Slash nor a Judgement Cut End, he didn’t have his power in here, but time seemed to have stopped. So you did what a Vergilist could do best in this kind of a situation, you enjoyed it while it lasted. Too bad that all this crying had clogged your nose; you couldn’t smell him. You wanted to nuzzle his chest but your tears would just ruin his simple yet stylish clothes, so you tried to stay still. You wanted to put your arms around him too but you were hesitating. What if he pulled away right when you were about to hug him back? That would be embarrassing. No, it’s now or never!  

But when you were finally moving your arms, Vergil spoke softly close to your ear, halting your move and your thoughts. “Everything is fine now. Stop crying.” He didn’t actually need to say that because the moment he'd embraced you, it was as if the switch to the waterworks had been turned off. Then he added, “And I mean this in a good way, even though I sound strict or cold.” But that made you laugh, making him say, “You are laughing at me.” It wasn’t a question but it was said emotionlessly with a hint of disbelief. 

“No, sorry, I didn’t mean—” 

“It’s fine. I am merely not used to it.” He pulled away, probably because you laughed and were no longer crying. Before you could regret causing the hug to end, he added, “I am not the humorous type like Dante.” 

The way Vergil said it with a dissatisfied tone while turning his eyes away from you got you compelled to say, “You don’t have to be the humorous or funny type to make someone laugh.” 

“Is that so?” It didn’t sound like a question though, and he was nodding as if he was taking note of it for future reference. Sometimes he seemed like an adorkable robot. But then he held your arm and you jolted in surprise and hopefully-spark. “You should take a rest. You must have lost a lot of blood seeing as how pale you are compared to your usual complexion.” Does that mean Vergil has looked at you enough to notice that? “Have you eaten anything since doing that foo— unusual endeavor?” 

You shook your head then grinned. “It’s alright to call it foolish.” 

But he was still serious when he said, “Allow me to repay you by cooking something for you. It may not be of equivalent value as the blood you have given me and I would have to use your resources in here, but consider it a start. More importantly, you require nourishment for all the blood you lost.” He must have noticed your smile, for he asked, “Do you find me amusing again?” 

“No, sorry. You're just so adorable, you’re explaining everything.” 

“I simply intend not to cause another miscommunication.” Vergil looked away again when he said this. Then he asked, “Do you agree to my proposal?” 

But his wording made you flush and cover your cheeks. “I do.” Then you noticed that you were about to give him your left hand, but good thing you got back to reality before he could find you weird. He then asked you to guide him to your kitchen, so you did, but not without asking with a silly smile, “Can I watch you?” 

“Is me doing a mundane household task that interesting?” 

You nodded and grinned wide. “It’s like a dream come true.” 

“Fine.” 

“Can I also take pictures?” You showed him your phone but hid your face. 

“Huh?” But he was smiling slightly. 

“Well it’s you, the real Vergil, cooking for me. It’s like Gordon Ramsay in my kitchen. I mean, it’s a rare special chance.” 

“Suit yourself.” Although said without emotion, those two words sounded like an early Christmas gift that you had to stifle a fan squeal. But when Vergil was about to get something from the refrigerator, he saw your photo with Dante on its door and he seemed to have had a glitch again. This had happened before, and it was him who reminded you when he said, “This is the same photo as the one on Dante’s desk.” 

“Yes, we have a copy each and that’s the third one,” you explained, getting a bit shy because of how silly you looked in it. “We put it there to remind us to eat properly and not all pizza.” 

Almost a minute had passed in silence as Vergil just stared at the photo. You were starting to get worried, wondering what was on his mind, until he asked, “Rumi. Do you… have feelings for Dante?” 

“What?!” Why would he ask that? Is this a Vergilist initiation? Somehow you felt guilty, and it didn’t help that images of Dante’s fake flirtiness, Dante playing the guitar and singing, and all of Dante’s sweet efforts to tour you in his world flashed into mind. You panicked as you answered with head and hand gestures, “D-D-D-Dante and I are just good friends.” When Vergil turned to face you, your nervous movements got worse that you dropped the phone you were holding. Luckily, he caught it like usual, even if his demonic-powered speed was not present in this world. 

 
But because of the sudden action, you noticed how Vergil winced and almost held his abdomen but he stopped. Then he handed you back your phone with a blank expression, and that was when it hit you: He might still be in a lot of pain but was just hiding it. What Dante said replayed in your mind, ‘His wounds were already closing up last I checked, though still slow. I think his healing can handle them as long as he takes a rest and not move too much.’ And right now, Vergil’s healing was not present, he wasn’t resting and he just did a quick and sudden move. When you checked the part that he almost held, you saw a stain slowly appearing on his shirt. 

His wound might have reopened and bled because of catching your phone. All the guilt and concern made you run to get the first aid kit. You were on autopilot when you came back – you knelt down in front of him, unbuttoned that part of his shirt and fixed the dressing to help keep his wound closed. When you were done, you noticed that Vergil had his gaze fixed somewhere else, and he was a little flushed. He gulped like twice when you were looking, while his fists were clenched on his sides. Those were all telltale signs of being uncomfortable, and realization made you as red as Dante’s coat. 

You apologized as you stood up, and it was amazing how Vergil still looked calm when he said, “You are usually nervous around me but when you saw me bleed, that nervousness was all gone.” 

“No, I— it’s probably out of instinct and— I’m sorry.” 

“Fool, why are you apologizing? What I intend to say is that… stay that way, be comfortable around me.” That got you staring at him, not knowing how to react. Then Vergil looked away and added, “It is just so you won’t be nervous and your clumsiness will be reduced.” That one made you frown though. Maybe that was why when he looked at you, he added, “It’s not that I am burdened by it. I will still catch whatever you drop, clumsy human. I just don’t want you getting hurt from slipping or hitting your head and such.” That last one just made your day. Your silly laugh, though, made him mumble, “Fool.” But he had a hint of a smile when he proceeded to opening the fridge and starting his cooking plans. 

But you remembered his wounds so you suggested, “Let’s just order pizza so you don’t have to move so much. You need to rest too.” 

“I am not Dante. And you need to eat something more nutritious. I can handle this.” 

“You’re not Dante, you’re Stubborngil.” That made him glance at you, but you blocked the semi-scary look with a grin. “Let me help at least.” 

“You don’t have to.” 

“I’m stubborn too.” You shrugged. 

“Fine.” 

You would have insisted on ordering pizza but you let Vergil push through with the cooking because it might make him feel a bit better, or at least less embarrassed for having to need your blood. You just made sure he wouldn’t move so much and put everything he would need nearby. “Let’s be careful not to cut ourselves with the knife or something. You're human in here,” you reminded. 

“You should be telling that to yourself, clumsy little human.” 

“I’m not that small. You guys are just ridiculously tall!” 

Chapter Text

‘Maybe some things are really meant to happen.’

That was what Dante told himself as he stared at the note he took from Vergil’s bed.

Fetch me from her world after 15 minutes.

“Heh, this idiot, I don’t know exactly when you went to her. So how would I know if 15 minutes were already up?” Dante said as if talking to the piece of paper. He was glad that Vergil had the initiative to go to your world to apologize, but there was this weird feeling…

As he sat on the chair and started fidgeting, he realized that being alone here and with about 13 more minutes remaining, he had no other choice but to be honest with himself. He was feeling a bit threatened that Vergil went to your world. He knew it was silly but it felt like his territory had been invaded. Your world was like your thing as roomies, it was his…

Somehow, Dante now understood why Vergil used to name his things. This was probably how it felt when your twin was playing with your toys and reading your books without your permission. You wouldn’t want to mind it but it just felt a bit annoying. And what was worse was that you would also get annoyed at yourself for feeling this way, because you knew you should trust your brother… that he was just borrowing it, he wouldn’t take it for himself and he would be careful with it. But being completely fine with what was happening was easier said than done, so you’d want to just put your name on it just to silently announce that it was yours. Maybe Vergil used to experience this when they were little. Now Dante felt like he wanted to put his name on you, though he knew you weren’t really his. It didn’t help to know that every minute passing in this world was already eight times in yours. Every second in here could already be a sweet moment between you and Vergil in there.

But Dante tried to tell himself that you and your apartment experience were all supposed to be for Vergil anyway. This right now, Vergil and you being together in your world, getting to know each other, developing feelings, changing Vergil for the better, all of that was what was supposed to happen. This was too big a reminder not to notice. Maybe he really had to back down now. For real. Because he knew deep down he was still hoping despite telling himself everything he had been telling himself.

He glanced at the Yamato on the bed and he smiled to block the awful feeling that was creeping up his chest. ‘Why?’ He bit his lip hard to keep himself from cr… crumbling. ‘Why did I have to go through all of that?’

As his mind gave him an irritating replay of events that normally made him smile while reminiscing, he tried to think of when, at what point in time should he have really stopped himself. He never really was one for discipline, that was Vergil’s thing. But maybe he should have really been strict with himself at some point so he wouldn’t have to feel like this now. For sure this would only get worse in the future.

If only he could confide in you about this… That thought made Dante smile though. He recalled one time you were giving a silly speech about change, when you two were just talking about pizza. That time, you two found out about a promo package that you should have been ordering from the start, one which included sides and desserts for the same price you had been paying. “There’s no use crying over spilled Tabasco!” you said in that cute determined manner before pointing to the promo on the flyer. “We might have been mistaken before but from now on, we will order this! Change doesn’t start in the past nor in the future; it starts today!” He was snickering that time but you went on, then you ordered that promo package. Silly, but you had a point.

Maybe that was what he should do. It might be a bit late but it was better to start now than later. The special thing he was planning, he could use that. Yeah, maybe that was the right thing to do.

Chapter Text

Vergil sighed as he put the bandages and other things back into the first aid kit that was on his bed. It had just been a day since the incident— no, it had already been a day and his wounds were still there. He didn’t mind the pain nor the effort of patching himself up but what was getting to him was the frustration. He wasn’t used to being injured for this long, and the poison that was apparently still present in his bloodstream was making him sluggish. From his prior research about such demon kind, the effects of the poison would typically last for a few days and would dissipate on its own. What was more irksome was that there was nothing to do about it but wait. 

He sighed again after checking the mirror if he was able to neatly put the gauze pad on his back wound. “Disappointing,” he mumbled as he went to the bed. He didn’t bother wearing a shirt as his body already felt drained from all the wound treatment. He was about to sit down on the bed when he heard Dante from outside the room say, “Vergil?” He already knew his brother’s purpose – it was probably to borrow the Yamato. That was why he was a little surprised when the younger twin continued, “Could you pick up Roomie at 1:50?” 

Vergil glanced at the clock on the night stand and saw that there were still 7 minutes before the designated time. “Fine.” 

“Thanks!” 

Before he could ask why Dante passed the task to him, the goof had already left. Perhaps Dante just didn’t want to disturb his rest by borrowing then returning the Yamato. Though technically, he was no longer undisturbed. Instead of his original plan to sit on the bed, he went back to the cabinets and took a button-down shirt. He chose a white one, simple yet respectable. But when he was already halfway wearing it, with all this effort against the sluggishness, he realized that you might see his bandages through the fabric, depending on the lighting. So he took it off and chose a black one instead. At least this one was classy enough while at the same time able to hide everything. As he was folding up its sleeves, though, he realized that he was wearing all black now. Well his hair was white anyway and he wore all black as V before and— why was he even fussing over his clothing? 

He glanced at the clock again and upon seeing that it was already 1:49, he hurried to get the Yamato. A minute late meant you would be kept waiting on your side, with a possibility of you getting worried about them, and he didn’t want that. As he unsheathed the katana, he noticed that the first aid kit was still left open on his bed, so he threw the blanket over it. Then he conjured the portal, making sure that his posture and appearance wouldn’t give away any hint of his disappointingly still-healing languid body. 

“Vergil??” you were evidently surprised. You have gotten used to your system with Dante where he would just open a portal at the set date and time, and you would enter it without the need for Dante to come to your side. So it was understandable that you didn’t expect Vergil would be the one to greet you. 

“Dante asked me to,” he said, hoping that his voice wasn’t betraying his façade. You simply nodded but subconsciously smoothened your hair and clothes as you showed a shy smile and looked around. “Ah, forgive me, I had to do this in my room. I was—” 

“No, no, it’s alright. Sorry to disturb you.” You looked worried when you added, “You’re probably still recovering. I mean, it has been almost a week for me but it was just yesterday for you guys.” All this effort to hide it yet you still knew. 

“I’m fine,” was all he could manage as he tried to think of a way to lead you to the door without making you feel like he was throwing you out. 

“Wait, how did you— all the blood on the floor is gone!” You tilted your head a little and added, “The bed too! How’d you do that?” You even looked impressed. 

“I…” Vergil figured that it was harmless to be honest about this part. “I summoned a demon. A sub-class of Empusa that can suck even dried-up blood from hard surfaces. Their kind spews out a type of fluid that helps them extract it.” He thought he had gotten a bit too demonic-technical with it but your eyes grew wide in amazement. 

“That’s… awesome.” You looked like you were trying to stop your usual happy-sounds— what did Dante call that, uh, fan squeal, was it? And you started rambling, “You’re so cool! So you can summon demons. Probably like how Doctor Strange did in What If, though those were mystical beings, not demons. Did you use a ritual circle? Like a transmutation circle on the floor or something like those red circles in the air where those lesser demons in the game spawn from? You’re really knowledgeable about demons, amazing. Does it have a specific command or spell when you are summoning a specific kind? Can it also summon objects?” Realizing that you had been going on for about a minute, you covered your mouth then showed a sheepish smile. Though it was, in fact… amusing and pleasant to watch. You really did have a profound interest in their world. And he thought what he had done was uh, strange, like what you said about some doctor, whoever that is. Strange and excessive, to use a demon to clean up the blood in his room. But for someone to be astonished by it… 

But then you asked, “So where’s the Empusa Junior? Or, ah sub-class doesn’t necessarily mean little, silly me. So where is it?” You glanced around then looked at him, waiting for an answer. Vergil, on the other hand, froze. 

“I s…” 

“Slayed?” All the excitement in you was quickly replaced by devastation. 

That was why Vergil was compelled to say, “Sent it back. I… sent it back to where it came from.” 

“Ohh…” You sighed in relief. “That’s good to hear. It didn’t do anything bad, and it even helped you, so I thought it didn’t deserve to be killed.” You grinned with a hint of embarrassment. “Sorry, am I weird? That must be a weird thing to say to a devil hunter, isn’t it?” 

He shook his head. “Do you… have some hope that not all demons are uh, bad?” 

“Yeah, your father is the best example. Even those not so powerful ones, maybe they still have some good in them, you know. Like wild animals that just live following their instincts but don’t really intend to cause harm to others, but turns out they can be tamed somehow. Probably by experts or something.” It might have been because he was staring at you, dumbfounded by what you said, that you laughed nervously. “I was wondering that, actually. If demons can be pets. I mean, from the game— although they were not technically demons—er, sorry, I guess I shouldn’t talk about them.” 

“It’s fine. They are, indeed, technically not demons. But perhaps you have a point.” What you said somehow made Vergil realize that he did always treat demons as enemies, despite utilizing some of them uh, at some point in time. Well who wouldn’t, if, as a child, you— no, he should not go down that train of thought. He sighed to shake away unwanted recollections, but you must have mistaken it as him getting bothered by your presence. 

“Sorry, I have disturbed you enough.” You looked apologetic as you nervously went to the door. “I guess I’ll be going to Dante now. Thanks for picking me up. And I hope you get well soon.” At least that smile you showed before you left was pleasant enough to compensate for the very slight regret he had for seeming cold and that peculiar sensation he felt when you said where you were going. He found it odd, though, how that simple encounter made him feel different things all at once. Perhaps all this strange feeling was merely due to the poison in his body. Vergil just hoped that taking a rest would help speed up his recovery instead of making him feel more listless. 

## 

You ran down the stairs, thankful for not making a misstep this time. You were nervous, to say the least. But also excited, happy, a mix of different positive emotions. You didn’t only get to talk with Vergil that casually, and in his room at that, you also learned something interesting about him, another amazing thing about him. 

But your Vergilist thoughts were interrupted upon noticing how Dante panicked when he saw you. He looked as if he was caught doing something— was he— no! Dante was not a high schooler, despite how childish he would sometimes act. And he was in his office, for goodness’ sake— though an office is— no. It was also kind of a lobby, a reception, and the main door was just there and people would usually just barge in without knocking. Enough with this idea! 

Good thing Dante greeting you got you distracted. “Roomie! ‘Sup?” 

“What do you mean ‘sup?” You laughed for he was acting a bit weird from his usual. “Did you ask Vergil to pick me up just to tease me?” 

Dante just laughed. “Liked your new school bus?” 

“Don’t surprise me like that.” 

“Speaking of surprise…” He took the piece of paper from his desk and handed it to you. Was it an invoice? A certificate? And upon flipping it over, you saw, in Dante’s cute childlike handwriting in the middle of a blank page: 

Congratulations! You won a Fortuna Vacation! ♡＼(￣▽￣)／♡ 

While laughing, you asked, “What’s this?” 

“Coupon,” he said nonchalantly. Well from what was written, you already had an idea and this was really sweet, but why would he give you this? As if he read your mind, he answered, “Well you arranged my stuff so I found out I have a pen and paper in this office.” And he just laughed again. 

But probably because of your usual ‘stop fooling around’ look that he enjoyed laughing at before obeying, he did explain in all seriousness, “It’s the special finale of the DMC Tour.” 

“Finale?” You frowned. “I thought the tour is endless? Because when the anime comes out or when Capcom releases the next game, there will be more places and things to show me…” 

“Well Ninja Theory’s in charge now.” 

“Dante!~” you whined but he just laughed. His joke would have been funny under normal circumstances, but you just couldn’t smile after hearing that he was ending the tour. Although this Fortuna coupon seemed so special, being labeled as a vacation, but still… 

“Stop frowning like that, Roomie.” He turned a bit serious, to your surprise, and he stood up to ruffle your hair. He had a wistful smile and a gentle voice when he said, “This doesn’t mean you can’t visit here anymore. It's just uh, like I said, a special finale to mark the transition.”  

“Stop the reboot joke already.” You pouted and took his hand off your head. 

Then he smiled wider, his usual. “Consider it a gift, in honor of us finally—” 

“Don’t quote Nico!” 

And Dante just laughed again. But you might have seemed mad now that he got compelled to really stop fooling around. But this time the wistful smile was back as he gently rubbed the top of your head and explained, “It’s like my thank you. For the two months in your world with all those pizza and sundae, for letting me play the games and read the fics…” 

For some reason, it felt like he was saying goodbye that your eyes started to well up. And he noticed it so he said, “Don’t cry, Roomie. This is a good thing.” Then he messed the top of your head as he explained, “I can’t take two months from you because that would mean uh…” He looked like he was computing mentally. “A year and four months, wow. I can’t take you away from your world for that long. So is two weeks alright? Though that’s already four months—” 

“It’s alright, I can work it out. It's a special thing you planned.” And he smiled wide after hearing that, but it quickly disappeared when you asked, “So we’ll stay in Fortuna for two weeks?” 

“No, not me, Vergil.” 

“What?!” 

“Told ya it’s–” 

“You’re not coming?” The thought of going on a vacation with Vergil was supposed to be exciting but something was off with Dante and it was worrying you. 

“Well I’ll be busy with stuff and…” 

“You said your routine is just sleeping with a magazine on your face.” Saying that out loud, though, made you smile. 

He laughed and mumbled, “I shouldn’t have told you my biggest secret.” Then he turned serious again when he said, “It’s kinda for Vergil too. I mean, you know, Nero. So I'll stay behind and run the business while you help that dork be a bit closer to his son. Like those things in your fanfics.” 

Hearing that somehow got you on board. It was one of the things you wanted to help with, even just as a fan from another world before. Though you felt bad that Dante had to stay behind and you couldn’t force him to close the shop for two weeks either. His job, after all, was something that involves saving people. But the paper you were holding gave you an idea, so you went to his desk and looked for a pen and a piece of paper. “If you can’t come then I’ll give you a special coupon in return.” He didn’t object nor laugh, and when you glanced at him, he was smiling, though a sad-looking one. 

Since you couldn’t find a blank piece of paper on the desk organizer, you tried to check the drawers. And the first drawer was so weird for you found a glass there, and it wasn’t empty. And yeah, Dante looked like he was about to stop you but he was a few seconds late. “What’s this?” Careful not to spill the small amount of brown liquid in it, you tried smelling it and figured, “Whiskey?” Dante just grinned, a guilty-looking one, like a child caught in his prank. It was a cute reaction actually, but the alcohol got you worried. “You’ve been drinking?” 

“No, that’s from last night. Couldn’t sleep,” was his quick explanation as he took the glass from you. You thought he would put it aside or on the bar but he just placed it down on the desk and subtly switched places with you, as if he was hiding something else in those drawers. But since he said he couldn’t sleep, and technically the incident with Vergil happened just yesterday for them, maybe Dante was still bothered by it. Well he almost lost his twin again. So maybe this was just his way to destress or, like he said, help him sleep. 

But just to be sure, you said, “Dante… If there’s something bothering you, you can always talk to me about it, okay? Even awkward stuff, remember our head-to-head bean bag talk before?” He just smiled and nodded. You knew Dante wasn’t really the type to open up, but from your time together in your world, he had tried telling you about his regrets and his ‘pizza’. So you chose to trust that he would tell you once he was able to sort out his thoughts or once he felt comfortable enough to talk about it. It was fresh, much like Vergil’s wounds that probably hadn’t completely healed, so you didn’t want to pry. You knew you could trust that Dante trusted you, so you would just do your part and make him feel that you were there, ready to listen once he was ready to talk. 

Chapter Text

## There’s No Other Way than to Say Goodbye ##  

“Her name is Rumi, isnt it?” Nero asked from the other end of the line. 

“Ah you really are your father’s son, aren’t you?” Dante laughed, before holding the receiver with his shoulder temporarily so he could pour himself another glass of whiskey. 

“What does that mean?” Nero sounded a bit annoyed, probably because the older man just kept on laughing. Dante couldn’t help it for he recalled Vergil’s reaction upon finding out that 'Rumi' wasn’t your name. 

“Anyway,” Dante turned a bit serious, just a little. “She’s a really good friend of mine and our fan from a different world. Indulge her a little, show her your devil bracelets—” 

“Devil Breakers!” 

“Yeah, those.” Dante laughed, realizing that another father-and-son thing Vergil and Nero had was that Dante enjoyed teasing them both. “Nicoletta’s trinkets too, but only those that are safe for a human and are not sharp. This girl is a bit of a cute— klutz.” 

“Did you just say cute? Don’t tell me you’re–” 

“Kshhhk ah, Nero? Kshhhk— Your signal is bad.” 

“I’m using a landline too, dumbass.” 

Dante laughed then changed the topic quickly. “Oh, and give her a tour in Fortuna Castle and that forest. And that opera house too. All those things involved in the uh, incident back then.” 

“What? It might be dangerous in those places.” 

“Then bring your old man along.” Dante paused for a few seconds to consider. Safety or enjoyment? But Vergil and Nero being with you would keep you safe enough. And DMC Tour was the main purpose of going to Fortuna— well, not the main but one of the purposes. And in his mind, Dante added, ‘I’d give her a tour in Temen-ni-gru, Mallet Island castle and the Qliphoth if those things were still around. I can’t bring her to Dumary either because granny will just… Anyway, Fortuna is the only one available.’  

“Alright, I'll see what I can do.” Nero’s tone then changed into a teasing one. “This one’s special to you huh?” Special? Is ‘special’ the word for someone to whom you would literally give your heart if it would be of any use to her? Yeah, that was dumb, but Dante would do even things beyond reason for you. Too bad though, that he could only do that secretly… Ah no, now he had to stop it. That was what this little vacation was for.  

So Dante uttered what he practiced, and this was the third time now, “No, it’s just to return the favor. She let me stay in her place for two months for free, and kept me fed with pizza and sundae.” 

“Oh, right. Now that got me uh, motivated to show her around here.” 

“Thanks, kid. And you’re really starting to sound like your old man, that’s good.” 

“What do you mean by that?” 

Dante laughed as he realized Nero hadn’t played the games yet nor heard Vergil say 'power’ and ‘motivation’ in person. “Nothing. Ah but you’ll soon find out.” 

“Speaking of which, why is my old man coming too?” 

“He uh, I assigned him to guard her.” 

“Why don’t you do it yourself?” 

‘I badly wanted to but this is the right thing to do,’ was Dante’s honest answer, but he gave his not-so-honest one, “I’m busy with jobs.” 

“Really now? Since when have you been that active?” 

Dante just laughed. And when Nero didn’t buy it, he said, “I gotta earn some money for their expenses there. I’ll send it to you.” 

“Idiot, you don’t have to.” 

“No, I insist. I don’t wanna burden my cute nephew. And besides, being someone’s Daddy Long Legs is kinda my thing, let me do this.” 

“Fine, have it your way.” 

“You guys bring her to fancy restaurants and pretty places there, ‘kay?” 

When the phone call ended, Dante poured all that remained in the bottle into his glass. He drank it straight, as if to drown those unpleasant feelings, to keep them from climbing up to his brain, or to drown out that little voice that was telling him he was being foolish. Yeah, hitting three things with one shot. Just like what he was doing with this Fortuna thing. As he stood up to get another bottle, he reminded himself of his reasons for doing this. 

1. For you. To show you his gratitude for taking care of him in your world. But no, that was his official reason. He just wanted to make you happy in general. 
2. For Vergil. To somehow make it up for all the lost Nero-fathering time which was kinda his fault for uh, not doing better in keeping the idiot from jumping into hell and for sorta killing him on their next meeting.
3. And for himself. An effective way to force himself to stop is to keep you away. 

He would use this time to build a wall or bury his feelings or something. And if you and Vergil got some progress while in there then that would be better. That would be more reason for him to stop… right? 

Before he could doubt himself, he gulped down his refill. He was sure about this. He had given it a lot of thought. Even if he did something extreme and outrageous like just stealing you and running away to your world while bringing the Yamato with him so Vergil wouldn’t be able to catch up, Dante wouldn’t be able to live with it. Guilt would just eat him up. And yeah, why did that idea escape anyway? He shouldn’t be entertaining hopeful thoughts. So he downed another shot. 

But how about the future then? Like, when you and Vergil get married, for example. Wouldn’t that hurt a lot?— Ah yeah, that was why he was doing this, so by that time he had already moved on. The sooner he stopped, the less painful it would be. He shouldn’t be thinking about these things anyway. Everything was set, you’d be going there tomorrow. He shouldn’t be having doubts. Damn this demontabolism. Can’t even get the luxury of being too drunk to think or too numb to feel.  

## One Last Cry <Hug> Before I Leave It All Behind ##  

You had just exited the portal and found it weird that Dante had his back on you. Normally he would welcome you by ruffling the top of your head, but right now he seemed to have prioritized placing the Yamato on his desk. Then he was tapping the wooden surface with a finger fast, as if out of impatience or a time-pressured decision-making. 

You were starting to get worried, but before you could speak, he suddenly appeared in front of you, making you realize two things a bit late: (1) that even in the game, he could do some teleport too, with Trickster, and in their real world it was probably because of his speed; and (2) he was now hugging you. 

“Something wrong?” you asked for he hadn’t said anything since your arrival, but he just shook his head. “Did you drink again?” 

“Just a little. Couldn’t sleep.” 

“Still? Is there something bothering you?” 

“I’ll miss you.” 

Hearing that, you dropped your bag and hugged him back. Then you asked, “Is that what’s bothering you?” 

“Secret! Nah just kidding. You be careful there, okay?” You couldn’t help but laugh at his quick changes in tone, from playful to indifferent to worried. 

So you got curious and asked, “Are you drunk?” 

“Nope.” 

You wanted to say ‘don’t drink too much’ but it might seem too serious, or ‘eat something else other than pizza’ but it might seem like you were just kidding. So you settled on “Take care of yourself,” and hoped that Dante would get what you meant. But he just made a sound as acknowledgement, so you added, “If you can, try to visit us there. Even just for a day. You guys can portal anyway.” 

Dante shook his head. “I can’t, Roomie.” And he hugged you tighter. You wanted to ask why but he quickly let go and said, “Vergil’s here. Time to go.” Then he grinned and ruffled the top of your head, which got you a bit distracted for you didn’t want Vergil and the Fortuna group to see you with a messy hair. But Dante just laughed at your protests and continued till you were about to enter the portal to Fortuna. It was the longest head-rub he ever did to you. 

## I Don't Like The Way He's Looking at <Holding> You, I'm Starting to Think You Want Him Too ##  

You and Vergil arrived at Nero’s garage. 

You: W-Why did we arrive here? (I’m worried about Arm-ripping memories!! >_<)  

Vergil: I… wanted to ask you something. (Before we meet Nero and the others.)  

You: Hmm? (OMG I do, I do! For better, for worse, in sickness and in health—)  

Vergil: Before we left, Dante was… embracing you. 

You: *panics* He… was just saying goodbye. *nervous laugh* (Is that the question? That wasn’t a question.)  

Vergil: And you were also… hugging him. 

You: 😅 I… guess because I’ll miss him too. I haven’t been away from Dante for this long since we met. (Wait, is this a Vergilist initiation again? Did I answer correctly? Can he sense if I’m sinning? I’m innocent, I’m still a Vergilist 😭 Why am I feeling guilty. Am I only 95% Vergilist now? No… Maybe Fortuna Vacation will make me 100% again, a pure Vergilist. People here are religious anyw— no, Vergilism is not a religion. Funny if it were though, it’d be like father like son, since in Fortuna Sparda is treated as a god. Why isn’t he saying anything yet? My mind has already said a lot!~) 

Vergil: I see. (You hugged him back. Last time with me, you didn’t– Foolishness. What nonsense have I been spouting?)  

*door to the house opens, revealing Nero* 

Nero: I knew it. (This asshole looks so calm and yet I sensed tremendous power. 😮 Or maybe my senses just became too sensitive to demonic presence in the garage? 👀 )  

## We Got The Afternoon You Got This Room for Two, One Thing I've Left to Do, Discover Me Discovering You ##  

“The thing is… The only guest room left is a twin room.” Nero smiled apologetically. “I would’ve asked Nico to move so you’d be with her, I mean both girls together in the twin room, but Dante told me my old man’s coming just last night, and Nico’s still sleeping like a log.” 

“No, no, it’s alright— I mean, I don’t wanna burden you guys. I’ll be fine anywhere.” Then you remembered that it wasn’t just up to you, so you turned to look at Vergil with a nervous smile. 

“It’s fine.” Vergil turned to Nero when he said, “I’m certain Nicoletta will not appreciate being thrown out of her room.” 

“Yeah, and I’m worried the demon king might not like a cigarette-smelling messy room,” Nero said, smirking, to which Vergil just scoffed. 

Then Vergil turned to face you, and you flinched a little. “Consider it training,” he said. “If you become comfortable around me, you will no longer be nervous, no more dropping of things and slipping.” Then he put a hand on top of your head, though quite awkwardly, as if he wasn’t sure of what he was about to do but he did it still. But it didn’t matter to you for the simple gesture, the first time Vergil patting your head, got you smiling like a fool and temporarily forgetting to worry about sharing a room with him. 

Chapter Text

## Officially Roomie Rumi ##  

“It’s like we’re official roomies now too.” That was what you were holding on to, to keep yourself from getting too nervous or self-conscious with Vergil being in the same room. It would be like how Dante lived with you, only, in here there wasn’t a wall to separate your beds. But Vergil had invisible walls anyway, maybe that would be enough. “Me and Dante were roomies in my world, you and I are roomies in here, and yeah, you and Dante are also roomies in the shop. By some algebra theorem, we three are all roomies!” you said while unpacking some of your things. It was quickly followed by a silly laugh, as you realized that you were saying nonsense just to fill the awkward silence. 

But you were a bit surprised to see that Vergil was looking at you with a very slight smile the whole time you were jabbering. At least he didn’t look the ice king he was known to be in fanfics. But it was indeed difficult to read him. Well he had probably developed his poker face for years. Dante kind of used to be the same but smiles were his cover. Somehow, being roommates with Dante and you two being good friends got you the skill to at least realize it whenever he was bothered by something. Though what that something was, you still had to ask him and he wouldn’t say it easily. Sometimes he would still keep his worries to himself, like how he was doing these days. With this, you made a mental note to call Dante later to check how he was doing. If you could, you also wanted to catch him while he was drinking so you could be a little strict and remind him to take it easy. And if you were lucky, you might also get him to open up, so he wouldn’t be carrying his problems on his own. But you would always try not to push it too much, for you didn’t want to be the meddlesome friend. Speaking of friend, if it were Vergil who got transported to your world, would you two be close friends like how you and Dante had become? If that were the case, then maybe, by this time you could somehow read Vergil too, even a little. Even at least sense if there was something bothering him. Though like Dante he would probably be still hard to read. 

You almost sprung up from being seated on your bed when Vergil called, “Rumi.” It was only then when you realized that you had been staring at him while you were busy with your thoughts. He sounded a bit worried when he asked, “Is there something wrong?” 

“N-Nothing, I just got lost in thoughts.” You grinned, hoping you didn’t look foolish while you were staring at him. 

Then he said, “The way you reacted when I called you… Do I scare you?” 

“Ehe, a little” 

He sighed. “Make use of this training then.” 

You gave a playful salute, and replied, “Yes sir.” And he smiled a little again, making you feel like you were already winning big in casino. 

“What were you thinking about?” 

You didn’t expect that. It was an honor to have Vergil be curious about your thoughts, so you shared them, “That maybe if you were the one transported to my world instead of Dante, my nervousness around you would probably disappear sooner. Exposure therapy.” 

“Am I some kind of a phobia or an allergen?” he said that with an indifferent tone and a straight face that you couldn’t help but laugh. Then he stated in the same manner, “I made you laugh again,” which you found so weird but adorable. 

“See, I told you, you don’t have to be the funny type like Dante to make someone laugh.” 

“This might have been just a stroke of luck.” 

“Maybe. We got plenty of time.” You were celebrating internally for quoting Vergil in front of the real him. 

“Huh?” He was weirded out by it, though the slight smile was still there. 

“It’s one of your lines from the games!” 

“You have memorized my lines from the games?” 

“Kinda…” Then you gave a silly grin before adding, “Dante and I do line exchanges sometimes. One of our weird roomie things.” 

Vergil’s smokin’ slight smile instantly disappeared and became a dismal look. It made you frown as you wondered what you had said wrong. Then his eyes glanced left and right and he looked as if hurrying to find a solution for something. “You… have also memorized Dante’s lines?” 

Relieved that the conversation was back, you answered, “Hmm, a little, his famous lines with you. I mostly memorized yours though.” That last part, you said shyly, but somehow, it made Vergil smile. 

## Training, Reward, or Punishment? ##  

One time you were in the kitchen, pouring hot coffee in a cup, when someone came in. You casually looked to check who it was, and were surprised upon recognition that it was Vergil. Along with the reaction, your foolish hands malfunctioned and you ended up pouring hot coffee on your left hand. Then you did the ‘Ooh hot hot’ dance but stopped right away after realizing that Vergil was seeing you. 

While you were blowing and patting the affected part, Vergil came close, sighing audibly on his way. He took your hand to check it, then put it under running water. After patting it dry with a paper towel, he went to the fridge and came back with a cold compress. He didn’t say anything the whole time, so now that he was just holding the ice pack against your hand, you asked, “Are you mad?” 

He just shook his head and said, “Frustrated.” 

You didn’t expect that kind of an answer so you asked, “Why frustrated?” 

“You got hurt when you saw me. You really need this training.” Then he got busy inspecting your hand and checking if the compress was too cold. Meanwhile you were staring at him, that was why you were startled a little when he looked at you and asked, “Does it still hurt?” You shook your head but he sighed. “That was another surprised reaction.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and it turned silent for a few seconds. He seemed to be... thinking? Calming himself? Or composing what he would say? It was probably the last one for he looked at you and said, “You may drop or spill things everyday, and I will do my best to catch or prevent them, but please try to avoid getting hurt.” 

Your nod came out a bit late, because what he said and how he looked at you when he spoke made you stare at him as your heart skipped a beat or two. He looked a teeny bit mad but one that was due to concern – the same look you liked seeing on Dante, er, the same with Dante back then, sometimes, er, why were you thinking of Dante during a Vergilist moment! Ah maybe that was just because they were twins, they looked similar when angry out of concern. 

Then Vergil let go of your hand but he watched you prepare your coffee. Your hands could feel how he was like a strict spectator, waiting for a mistake to scold you for or to save you from. So you did your best at being careful. You thought it would end when you were done preparing coffee, but when you sat at the counter, Vergil followed and sat beside you. “W-Why are you—” 

“Training. You need it.” Then he smirked as if he suddenly had a good idea, and he shifted so that he was looking at you. He even cupped his cheek with a hand, his elbow propped against the counter. 

You tried not to look but you could see from peripheral vision that he still had that gorgeous smirk on. “W-What are you doing?” 

“Training you. Go ahead, drink your coffee.” 

“This is more like a punishment,” you lightly whined. “But a reward at the same time~ I’m going to melt anytime soon. Please take care of my remains.” 

He chuckled and said, “Fool,” but he just kept on gazing at you. 

It was making you too self-conscious to drink. ‘Casual, let’s drink casually, pretend no one’s looking. How do you drink coffee again? Try not to pucker your lips too much— No, don’t think about Vergil’s lips!’ Luckily, you had thought of a temporary escape, “Would you like a cup of coffee too? I’ll—” 

But Vergil held you by the arm when you were about to stand up. “No need. Watching you is enough.” 

You blinked a few times, processing if his answer was something to squeal about or not. But you made a “Hm?” sound faster than you could think. 

Vergil seemed to have panicked a little when he said, “I- I mean, watching you drink coffee, the aroma, it is enough as a wake-up for the senses.” 

“Oh…” Then you smiled upon realizing, “You're adorkable when you are compelled to explain.” 

“I will take that term as a compliment.” 

“It is.” You nodded and grinned. 

## A Gentle Reminder ##  

That time you, Vergil, Nero and Nico went to Fortuna Castle— snuck in, rather, it went smoothly except for one part that was a bit scary. 

It was when you found a certain room that didn’t seem familiar from the games. Though you hadn’t played DMC4 in a while so you weren’t really sure. This one looked like a study room or someone’s office, with some bookshelves, a desk, and an area with a couple of seats for guests. You four were exploring it, wondering whose work area it was and what interesting information you could get, especially since there were dioramas of famous places in Fortuna. It was mostly Nico who was curious about the info and you who was thrilled about the gathering-info part like in an escape room or in secret agent movies. 

Then one of you four must have pulled some sort of a lever or pressed some kind of a button that the very moment you were standing on the area for the guest seats, the whole carpeted part of the floor opened. Turns out, it was a trap door, but more literal with the sense of ‘trap’. It was probably meant to capture or execute guests that the owner considered their enemy or something, and lucky you, you were the chosen guest for today. 

As you fell right into it, you caught a glimpse of Vergil rushing towards you but you didn’t know if he made it in before the door closed. It was like falling in a dark well, though a wide one, and your scream was echoing. You knew you were doomed, but your instincts were different from the usual. Other people would probably have a quick flashback of their whole life, some others would probably still try to find a way like try to grab onto something. But you, your mind played the scene where Loki said, “I have been falling for 30 minutes!”  

But maybe that was because when you saw that Vergil rushed to you, you trusted that he would pull off the impossible and save you. And damn right, he did. A few seconds later, you saw a familiar blue flame-like light coming towards you – it was Vergil in his SDT form. He grabbed you and you didn’t know how he maneuvered it but he was now carrying you and you didn’t get hurt anywhere. One moment you were about to die, then the next, you were in one of your dream-come-true's as Vergil flew you up to where you two had fallen from. But it seemed like the material of the now-closed floor was too thick as his summoned swords just stuck on it without much damage. He couldn’t wield the Yamato either for he was carrying you in his arms. His doppelganger could possibly slice through but maybe Vergil was worried about the debris falling onto the two of you, especially you. He could shield you with his body and his wings but he might not have wanted to risk it. Those were probably the same things that ran through his mind during those few seconds he was silent and was looking up. Then he said, “Let’s try to go down and find another way.” Relishing how his voice sounded with distortion, it took you a bit of delay before you could nod in agreement. 

So he flew you down and you both landed in a place that seemed like a dump of skeletons. No, it was probably a place where unwanted guests were dumped to their death. An ordinary human wouldn’t survive that fall especially if they would hit that hard ground where there was a pile of bones. Although a bit unexpected from the Order of The Sword, some movies and anime with castles and dungeons and trapdoors made you accept the fact. This was a castle after all, so it was probably built with some architectural defense thing. What was worrying you, however, was what if those who were sent here were meant to feed some kind of a big creature?

Vergil reverted to his human form before he placed you down, probably to make sure he wouldn’t hurt you with his scales and claws. Then he said, “I can go back up and open us a way out of here and back to Nero and Nicoletta, though I am uncertain if I can leave you here by yourself. But I can—” He stopped when he noticed that you were looking around. “Are you afraid?” 

“A little.” 

“Don’t look at the skeletons.” He moved and blocked your view as he said that. 

“I’ll try. But I'm also worried what if there’s some monster in here that they feed with those bodies they send down. I don’t know, maybe I just watched too much movies.” 

He didn’t answer right away, and to your surprise, you felt something warm gently catching your left hand. You looked at it and saw Vergil’s right hand making its way between your fingers. Your hand complied, of course, and welcomed his. When you faced him, he looked away and said, “To remind you that I am here. There is no need to be afraid.” 

You smiled and nodded, but your heart started racing for a different reason. Vergil must have felt your pulse or the coldness of your hand that he asked, “Are you alright?” 

“Just nervous, I guess.” You managed to show a smile. 

“Because of this?” He lifted the hands a little, and you nodded. “Think of it as part of the training,” he said firmly as he gave your hand a light squeeze. 

You nodded and somehow, the idea helped calm you down. Or it might have been because you got a bit distracted wondering, “What if there really was a monster, or a demon all of a sudden? How can you fight if you’re holding my hand? I mean, what if I was holding it tight out of fear and you got a delay in drawing the Yamato?” 

“I can summon swords and my doppelganger first. If needed, I can wield the Yamato with my left hand as well.” 

“Ah yeah, in the game you double-wield with the Force Edge or the Mirage Edge in some moves.” 

Vergil smiled a little. “You seem to know me that much from the games, so trust that I will do everything to keep you safe.” You nodded eagerly, then he continued, “As I was saying earlier, I will send my doppelganger up there to open us a way back to Nero and Nico. But we have to move a few meters away to ensure that you wouldn’t get hurt with the debris that would fall.” You nodded and he led the way while still holding your hand. 

When you stopped at a safe enough distance, you asked, “Can you command George even if you won’t see his way? Or can you somehow see through his eyes?” 

“Who is George?” 

You covered your mouth then grinned sheepishly. “It’s what I call your doppelganger.” 

He smiled and said, “I’m certain there is an interesting story behind that. Tell me about it when we get home.”

You nodded with a foolishly excited smile. You didn't know if Vergil did it intentionally, but when he mentioned going home, it made you less scared of the current situation and more focused on your goal to arrive home safe so you could tell him about George. It seemed like Vergil just did some motivation magic on you, and you couldn't stop smiling upon realization. But before he could find you weird, you turned a bit serious and said, “Thank you, Vergil… for jumping in the trap door with me. It would’ve been scary if I ended up here alone. And yeah I would’ve broken my bones.” You shuddered. “Or died with the fall.” 

He gave your hand a squeeze again, but not as gentle as earlier, when he said, “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I will always protect you.” 

And with that, Vergil did as he planned, then he flew you back up to where you had come from. On the flight back, he just partial-DT'd his wings so it was his human arms that carried you. He said it was, “So I won’t hurt you with my demon form.” He was very protective. That made you recall that time Dante flew with you in his SDT form, and you wondered which of the twins was more protective.

Falling right into a trap door might have seemed an unlucky thing at first but it earned you a lot of memorable Vergilist experiences in just one day. You even met George in person. Too bad you were too shy to ask Vergil to make him dance. Maybe next time. A little more closeness and maybe you could request such foolish things. 

Chapter Text

Some are already asking, and I don’t want readers to get disappointed (and angry) in the end. I also don’t want to spoil things for those who don’t want spoilers. But the fear of making people disappointed and angry at me is stressing me out 😂 I’m a weak-hearted human (Mundus will laugh at me). And worrying makes me lose motivation to continue this story. Balancing the stuff in the story and making plans happen is already challenging as it is, so at this rate I will be too lazy to continue. (Why do something that stresses you out and will make people mad at you, right? You’re better off doing something else.) But I feel bad for the drafts and for all the pining I made Dante and Vergil go through if I will simply abandon this. 

So I was weighing the choices and my thoughts were talking to each other (there’s two of them, like Agni and Rudra XD oh hey, R and A are my initials here!): 

‘I thought people are supposed to wait for the ending to know the ending, like when watching a movie or reading a book.’  

‘Nah, in this day and age, with technology and stuff, people can just google how the story will go and if it interests them then they will watch/read it. People don’t want to waste time and people will get mad if they feel like their time is wasted.’ 

‘But I also wasted a lot of time in planning and writing this…’ 

‘Well yeah, tough shirt.’ 

‘Should I have warned them how this will go right from the start then?’ 

‘No, that’s like starting a story with the ending already revealed. They won’t be interested in reading it that way. Even you won’t be interested in that, right?’ 

‘So what should we do then?’ 

‘Hmm... Let’s see... Technology, let’s use technology!’ 

So I have thought of this solution (using a link and an online drive, that’s what Rudra meant by technology XD): 

If you want to protect your heart from disappointment and to find out Where This is Going, click the link. Though, be warned that the file contains a lot of spoilers, especially how the whole story will end. It’s like opening Pandora’s box (not Dante’s weapon) and there’s no going back (though there’s a back button). But the link also contains some sort of a discussion of each season so… I don’t know. It's up to you. To click or not to click. Or tap, if you’re on your phone. XD 

If you choose not to open the link,

thank you for your trust in my imagination.

But not opening the link means you won't get mad at me if you end up disappointed, okay? ^_^;

Sign the waiver form *hands you a paper* sign here, here, and here. Okay, thank you. 😆

PS: If you opened the link and read everything, then you decided to write a comment, please refrain from mentioning a certain term, to protect those who didn't open the link 😋

Chapter Text

Sending you and Vergil to Fortuna was supposed to be Dante’s ‘hitting three demons with one bullet’ plan. He was trying to be strong and was trying to stand by it, despite the easy way out, which was to call Vergil and ask the older twin to portal him to Fortuna so Dante could join the fun and throw all care in the wind. He wanted to seize this chance to set himself straight; he wanted to stop hoping and accept reality. But… How weak could his resolve be? 

It started right away, on your first night in Fortuna. You just called to check on him. You asked if he ate something other than pizza, and if there was a client or visitor today. Just the basic stuff, before you went to what you probably really wanted to ask. You asked him if he was drinking, and he couldn’t lie to you. But he always loopholed his answers when it was about this topic, so he said, “Just a glass.” Well, the bottle was made of glass, wasn’t it? 

Then you asked if there was something bothering him, and he could tell how careful you were in asking. He knew how you would always try to make him feel that you were there to confide in, but at the same time, you would always try not to pry so much and let him spill just what he was comfortable to. So he cooperated a little and gave a technically-true answer. “I’m just thinking about you… and Vergil.” He was surprised himself at what he added, but at least he quickly came up with a possible follow-up: something like wondering if you and Vergil were enjoying your time in Fortuna, if Vergil and Nero weren’t bickering in front of you, and some more along those lines. 

But it seemed that you thought that he was traumatized with almost losing Vergil a few days ago. Well, it was true, but for some reason, he had gotten over it quickly. Maybe because when Vergil had gone to your world, it had presented him a different concern, something he had been putting on the back burner up until that day. But Dante appreciated how you were trying to console him, telling him that Vergil seemed to have recovered, and that you would always be their Emergency Energy Drink whenever needed. That last one, he tried to sound strict and against it, but you just laughed at him. And he could imagine how you looked, laughing like that. 

But his fun was instantly ruined when you told him that you and Vergil had to share a room there. He laughed to himself after hearing that, the laugh meant for something painful. Was that really a thing or was it just his own coping mechanism? But you thought he was just laughing at your predicament, that you explained how you were trying to see it just as being roommates with Vergil, like how you and Dante used to be, so you wouldn’t feel awkward about it. And he just laughed again because it kinda hurt to even be superseded as the roommate. He had to gulp down some liquid just to keep some other liquid from dripping down. And because of that, he had to get another glass of his drink. 

“Your inner Vergilist is so happy right now, isn’t it?” Dante tried to joke his way out of the awful feeling. “Don’t jump on him while he’s asleep. With his reflex, he might end up hurting you.” 

“Of course I won’t do that!” But with the way you answered and complained for him teasing you, he could imagine how cute you must have looked, and it quickly took away the unpleasant sensation. You really did have that power. One smile could complete his day, one teardrop could make his blood boil, and one call could shatter the walls he was trying to build. 

And Dante wasn’t able to rebuild those walls even if he kept trying to, because your calls became a regular thing. Every 8pm, his phone would ring, and with a smile and his heart racing in excitement, he would answer it as he sat comfortably in his chair. You would tell him of your experiences in Fortuna, and even though there were a lot of mentions of Vergil in those tales, you would always thank Dante for setting this up. 

Some would say that alcohol was addictive, but Dante learned that there was a vice more addictive than that and it wasn’t drugs; it was waiting for your call every night. Hearing your voice tell him how your day had been was more effective than whiskey in helping him have a good night’s sleep. It was something couples do, wasn’t it? Tell each other about their day before they go to sleep. That is, if they weren’t— No, this was a bad habit, he wasn’t supposed to look forward to your call every night. 

But yeah, he did. It became a routine, even the highlight of his day. It would last for about 30 minutes, but Dante was good at asking the right questions that it would often extend to an hour. And you would always end the call with that sweet way of you telling him to take care of himself, to eat properly and not to drink too much. It was like the syrupy strawberry on top of his sundae. You didn’t even have to worry about him drinking too much for the Victorian phone handset had replaced the glass that he would hold at night. 

Dante made sure that he was always in the shop at 8pm, no, a few minutes early so he was ready to catch you with just one ring. He refused the rare invites from Trish and Lady and he made sure he would finish jobs and be able to come home before 8pm. He had turned into a pathetic teenager waiting for his crush to call. That one, he realized because of one time Trish and Lady were with him when the phone rang. 

It was a post-job pizza mini-celebration for they scored a big amount and there were not much damages to pay for. He started to look anxious around 7:50pm. He wouldn’t leave his desk, he couldn’t focus on what the girls were saying that they noticed. 

“Something wrong, Dante? You seem out of it.” It was Lady who asked, but Trish looked a bit worried too. 

Then the phone rang before he could come up with an excuse. And with some sort of muscle memory, the handset was already on his ear before the second ring. Trish smiled upon noticing that and said, “I see.” Dante knew Trish had been sensing it for a while now. It was probably because of his mom’s portrait bearing your silly hair-play photo that Trish had noticed and asked about before. 

“What is it?” Lady was a bit clueless but was very curious. 

“Dante’s got a little crush,” Trish stated and turned Eva’s photo around for Lady to see. 

“Aren’t you too old for that?” Lady teased before checking the photo up close.  

Dante couldn’t understand them that much for he was focused on what you were telling him, but he gestured a ‘go away’ with his hand to the two. The girls just laughed and took the last two slices of pizza then went to the door. But before they left, they said, “Good night honey!~” and “Love you!” plus some kiss sounds, which made Dante ball the Ciacco’s Pizza flyer from his desk and throw it at them. 

Chapter Text

You would always mention Dante… 

When visiting tourist spots in Fortuna, when talking about the games in your world, during meals, when you suddenly recalled something, whenever pizza was mentioned, whenever you see items that come in both blue and red, and a lot more. There was never a day that Vergil didn’t hear Dante’s name from you, that sometimes Vergil wondered if you would have enjoyed it more if it were Dante in here with you. 

Despite that, there were times when you made Vergil happy with simple things, even if he wouldn’t show it, and those instances made him grateful that it was him who was here. For starters, you would always greet him good morning, and it was always paired with a bright smile. Although, a very difficult question usually followed it, ‘Did you sleep well?’ You were probably asking that because you would always catch him awake before you and not in the room around your bedtime. And Vergil was always conflicted on how to answer it. If he nodded, he would be lying to you, but if he shook his head, you would get worried. After trying and disliking both, he had resorted to what Dante lovingly called ‘cryptic bullshit’. It was probably out of defense mechanism or force of habit, and he didn’t expect that you would even enjoy it. 

It started one time when Vergil had a light nap, but not really enough to be qualified as a sleep. So when you asked, "How was your sleep?" he didn’t answer and instead, he threw back a riddle, “What fills a room but takes no space?” You smiled upon hearing it, as if delighted with the challenge. Then mid breakfast you blurted out, “Light!” which was just so amusing yet charming. And after apologizing to the others for your strangeness, you whispered to him, “You only had a light sleep? Take a nap during the ride later, okay?” It amazed Vergil how easily you could show care like that, not just to him but to everyone around you. 

Giving a riddle as a response to your good morning question became a routine, even if the answer wasn’t about his sleep anymore. You even said, “Now we have a weird roomie thing of our own.” And because of that, Vergil became motivated to spend the nights thinking of a good riddle for the next morning. There were times when he would try hiding a secret message in it, that it was no longer a riddle but something you called ‘punny dad jokes.’ But they always made you laugh, even if you couldn’t answer some of them, so he kept on trying to come up with those things. Such as that one, 

Vergil: What did the paper clip say to the magnet? 

You: Hmm… “Come here”? Ah no, it’s the other way around. “Why are you bipolar”? *Stifles a laugh* 

Vergil: *tries not to laugh, pretends to scratch his nose just to cover a smile that escaped his control* 

You: *thinks but excited for the answer so gives up* What’s the answer? 

Vergil: “I find you very attractive.” 

You: *laughs* Why didn’t I think of that! 

Vergil: *slight smile while gazing at you* 

Of course Vergil would only do those secret-message questions when no one else was around. Even if you weren’t getting what he was creatively telling you, it was fine as he still found it enjoyable. If Dante were there to hear them, Dante would probably call him a dork, but it was amusing to learn that you were also one. Well you said you had memorized his lines from the games, so you were not that different from him memorizing his favorites among Blake’s poems. So when those kinds of morning questions started, Vergil tried to be present in the bedroom around the time you would usually wake up. He would read a book as he waited, but watching you was more interesting, that one time you almost caught him holding a book upside down. Thanks to his speed and you rubbing your eyes, he was able to correct it before you could notice. 

Aside from that, there were also interesting things you showed Vergil that he appreciated. Unlike Dante, he hadn’t spent more than two hours in your world, so when you showed him pictures and videos related to the Devil May Cry games, he realized how uncanny it was, while at the same time fascinating, to really be a fictional character in another universe. Not to mention having a conversation with a person from that universe. This somehow made him feel like he had caught up to what Dante knew about those games in your world, even a little. Ah but trying them was a completely different experience. That was why Vergil was glad that you invited him to come to your world next time to play the games. You even looked too excited while you were babbling on about something that was a special edition and something about a light being buried. He didn’t comprehend most of what you said but he couldn’t stop smiling, though just slightly, as he watched you. 

You had also suggested that Vergil train Nero how to open portals. It started when you mentioned that in the latest game, Nero had some special attacks that used a spectral Yamato. And with the topic being about Nero and the Yamato, you panicked a little. He figured that it was probably because you were worried you were hitting some unpleasant things in the past. It led to you suggesting portals, like how he had trained Dante, you said. Vergil found it unnecessary at first. But when you said that it would be like a father-son bonding activity, and that it would probably make Nero happy to know that Vergil would entrust the Yamato to his son even for temporary usage, Vergil was more than convinced. He wouldn’t tell anyone about it, but he would sometimes think of ways he could do to make it up to Nero —for the arm and for not being there in his child’s whole life— so this idea was a great start.

He was pleased that Nero agreed, for he didn’t expect it to be that easy to convince the lad to be trained by him. Though Vergil was speculating that it was your doing, for Nero looked quite reluctant and slightly bashful. But it all turned out well because Nero was quick to learn, and Vergil couldn’t help but be proud of his son. Vergil might have been a little too elated that he wasn’t able to stop his hand from invading your space and patting your head again as he thanked you for instigating this. He got worried that he might have overstepped his boundaries or was hurting you with his innate strength, but he was relieved that you were smiling like a fool while trying to hide your flushed face. 

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There were times when relatively big things happened, but there were still a lot of little things you did that made Vergil smile. Such as that time you four went to Mitis Forest as part of your DMC Tour as Dante called it. Vergil was almost against it when Nero mentioned that there used to be a hell gate in the forest. Even though it was man-made, by Nicoletta’s father actually, it was still able to act as a portal for demons from the Underworld that time. So Vergil was worried that perhaps misplaced fragments of it could still act as a gateway for lesser demons. And sure enough, at some point in the journey, you encountered a group of humans who seemed to have gone there to camp or hike. But they were running away from what turned out to be demons.

Vergil quickly pulled you behind him, as he surveyed the area for a spot safe enough to bring you to. …and Nicoletta of course. He preferred to keep you two somewhere those demons would have to make an effort to reach and somewhere he could easily monitor. Fortunately, there were large rocks nearby and Vergil chose the one that had a surface flat enough to stand on. Upon placing you two there, his protective instincts might have gotten the better of him that Vergil cupped your cheek and said, “Stay here and don’t be afraid. I will put swords around this whole area as protection but make sure you don’t touch them.”

“Spiral swords,” you said as you nodded, and Vergil figured it must be what that trick was called in the games. But then you held his arm and said in a more serious manner, “You be careful too, Vergil.”

He was struck by it, especially with how sincerely concerned you looked. But he managed a nod, then changed the topic with, “I will leave uh, George here as well.” When he said that, you smiled, the foolish one, probably because he used the name you gave to his doppelganger. At least you didn’t look terrified of the situation, and that was one less thing to worry about.

“Demon-Dad’s so protective,” was Nicoletta’s comment that Vergil just smirked at. And upon conjuring the swords around you two, the girl added, “Can I keep one as a souvenir?” which made you laugh. It was probably her way of keeping you from being afraid, given that Nicoletta was considerably used to demon encounters.

The fight was easy, more so since there were two of them hybrids present, but Vergil made sure he kept on glancing at you. One of those glances lingered, for he saw you doing something foolish yet amusing, though he quickly figured out what that was for. You looked worried and a bit in panic before you took off one of your shoes and threw it. Apparently, a demon was able to sneak from somewhere and was approaching those humans that huddled together far from the fight. You successfully hit the demon with your shoe, and when it turned to face the source of the projectile, you squeaked. Then you said, “George, I need you!” as you looked at the doppelganger while pointing to the demon that was heading to your direction. “Rapid Slash him! Ah no, you might hit those people. Do a Triple Judgement Cut instead.”

Vergil was half worried and half amused. He could imagine how you were when playing the games in your world, and you seemed determined to keep those humans safe. So he went along and made his doppelganger attack that demon. You mentioned Judgement Cut, and Vergil could remember it from the videos you had shown him, so he willed George to perform that attack. It was foolish for he could do it himself or simply hit the demon with a summoned sword, but he wanted to indulge you, make you experience as if controlling George, at least, in real life. And it did earn him a priceless smile from you when the move was successful in eliminating the demon. Your excitement got you jumping in place then raising a palm to George while saying, “Jackpot!” But you pulled back your hand in realization and embarrassment. So Vergil made his doppelganger face you and offer its claw as a spectral high-five. You squealed as you responded, and you looked so happy even though your hand just went through the apparition. All this made Vergil appreciate it even more how he was used to multitasking, for he was currently slashing one demon after another while watching you and controlling George.

When it was certain that the area was cleared, Vergil immediately went to you, willing the summoned swords and his doppelganger to disappear in the process. “Are you not hurt anywhere?” His instincts got him checking your arms and legs for any injuries, even though he was confident that he had kept an eye on you enough to know that you were fine.

“I’m alright,” you said, a bit embarrassed when you saw that he noticed you were missing a shoe. Nicoletta and Nero who seemed to have witnessed what you did were laughing at it too, saying you have your own special move. “I had to catch the demon’s attention before it could attack those people,” you quickly explained with a silly smile as you tried covering your reddened face. “Something similar happened before when Dante and I encountered a thief. Maybe shoe-throw really is my special move.” Even if you unexpectedly mentioned Dante again, Vergil found you too adorable to mind it.

He carried you and Nicoletta down from the rock, then retrieved your shoe. While he was assisting you in wearing it, you said, “You’re like a hero now – fighting demons, saving humans. I’m so proud of you.”

‘Proud of you’? Vergil wondered when he had heard that last. The first thing that came to mind was his father saying it to him and Dante for doing well when they were being taught the basics of wielding a sword. Then his mother too, but it was something about her being proud of them for apologizing to each other one time they fought and were reprimanded by her. This was probably the first time that someone had told him they were proud of him for saving humans, and it felt strange. Part of him was oddly telling him to feel offended, get mad, and say something like ‘Are you mocking me?’ Another part of him was telling him to accept it and not be too antagonistic towards compliments about him saving humans… even though he found it a bit ironic.

But he noticed that you were starting to look worried about his silence so he shook away his thoughts and replied, “I simply slayed the demons. Humans getting saved was merely a consequence.” You gave a knowing smile in return and he had to look away to keep his composure. But it felt oddly good, to know that someone appreciated what he was doing. Vergil had always played the other role, harming humans whether directly or not, so he had never thought of what he was doing these days as something someone would commend. And because of that, he found himself smiling then patting your head again. Realization gave him a little internal panic, which he resolved by saying, “You did well with George.”

“You’re the one controlling him.” You pouted a little then smiled wide. “But it felt like playing DMC5 VR, thanks.” Vergil would have summoned his doppelganger for you to play— no, for added protection, in case demons emerged again, but Nero called. He and Nicoletta were already far ahead, and realizing that, you pulled Vergil by the arm to catch up to them.

Vergil weighed his choices: let you continue pulling him, which was making him smile for some reason; or carry you and use his speed to instantly reach the other two and possibly make you smile with another DMC experience. He gambled on the second one, and he didn’t expect that he would win double. You grinned from ear to ear after realizing, “Teleport!” and seeing that, Vergil couldn’t stop his own smile.

And regarding winning something unexpected, there was also this time when the tour destination was this street where burnt houses and half-ruined low-rise buildings were lined up. You and Nero were talking about Berial while Vergil was observing the surroundings, just to ascertain that there wouldn’t be another demon encounter. Then one of you three had the idea of entering one of the ruins. Vergil couldn’t decide if he would let his protective instincts hinder your unconventional tour experience or not. But since you three were already inside, he went in and just stayed on alert. Upon stepping in, however, he noticed that there were falling particles from the ceiling, so he suggested that you all vacate the establishment. You all complied easily that Vergil somehow realized he was the oldest one in the group and you three were being pleasingly obedient.

His musings were interrupted, though, when you noticed that the bracelet that the kids had given you was missing. It was one that Julio, Kyle and Carlo had made for you when you'd taught them those braided string crafts. It would always fall off because they had overestimated the size of your wrist. There had been three children working on it after all, and they'd probably taken turns braiding that it had gotten too long. But you kept on wearing it for you appreciated their gift, and now that it was missing, Vergil knew where it was. Well you were still wearing it before entering that building – not that Vergil was observing everything about you.

So he went in and told you three to stay back. Then what happened next made Vergil think that he might be cursed, but what happened after that contradicted it right away. The one about being cursed was that a couple of minutes after he had entered the building, ah no, the moment he found the bracelet, the building collapsed on him. It was absurd. And quite heavy, particularly that big piece of concrete that hit him on the head.

Then Vergil heard you scream his name, plus some sounds of rubble being picked up and thrown. He might have even heard Nero say “Dad” but he wasn’t sure for there was a continuous ringing in his ears for a minute or two. Then he got up from where he was forced to lie down, pushing the bigger debris off him. While Vergil was dusting himself, he was surprised to see you rushing to him. You almost stumbled on your way but that didn’t stop you from hugging him. You… hugged… him. And that was the bit that contradicted the one about being cursed.

There was no denying that Vergil was taken aback and was frozen in place as you held him tight. You were crying while apologizing and saying, “I thought we lost you.”

“I’m fine,” he said upon regaining his composure. “There’s a Spanish saying about a bad weed.”

To his surprise, you replied, “Fool,” then held him tighter. You seemed really worried, and it might be rude if he didn’t return the gesture so Vergil wrapped his arms around you too. He ignored the fact that Nero and Nicoletta were seeing you two, for manners were important and he ought to be a good example as the oldest one in the group. It was a dismay that the blood dripping from his head to your shoulder caught your attention and made you pull away. “Your healing is still slow?” You sounded worried as you took a handkerchief to wipe his forehead with.

“It seems so, but I'm fi—”

“Don’t keep saying you’re fine when you’re not.” Now you sounded strict. But that just made him smile. Then he took your other hand and put the bracelet he had retrieved back to your wrist.

And when your strict and worried look was replaced by your usual smile, Vergil said, “Now I’m healed.” He wasn’t being cheesy there, it was a coincidence. He felt the wound on his head really healed at that instant.

##

Vergil couldn’t stop smiling to himself as he recalled that last part. But since he could see the sun rising from the horizon, he decided to come down from the roof, his usual night spot. He stealthily made his way into your shared room, careful not to wake anybody, even his son who had keen senses same as his.

When he reached his bed, he immediately noticed how your blanket wasn’t doing its best in covering you, especially now that your button-down sleepwear was a bit displaced that part of your chest was showing. He would be lying if he would say that certain thoughts didn’t cross his mind. He was still a man, and a half-demon at that, if that made any sense. But he didn’t want to entertain such thoughts, not until he had earned you, properly, no matter how long it would take.

As Vergil carefully pulled the blanket up to your shoulders, he thought of how much he wanted to protect you, give the best to you, and make sure that you were always happy. Because you keep making him smile with the little things you do. Even right now, when you shifted a little, mumbled something incoherent then gave a pleased sigh.

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You had been noticing it… that while you were in Fortuna, Vergil wasn’t sleeping. 

It wasn’t obvious from his face, he’s gorgeous. Err, he had light eyebags but his demonic healing might be the one responsible for why he still looked so fresh everyday. At first, Vergil not sleeping was just a hypothesis, because he wasn’t in the room during bedtime and he was no longer in the room when you wake up. That was exactly why you would ask him every time you greet him a good morning if he slept well. But he was good in deflecting the question and in distracting you with interesting ones. Later when his morning riddles became punny dad jokes, you would find him sitting on his bed when you get up, but you still doubted that he slept. 

So one time, you tried an experiment: you put a note under his blanket. The content shouldn’t be important but because it was for Vergil, you fussed over it a little, even if you didn’t want to. In the end, you settled on a riddle of your own. Since he liked giving you questions to think about, you figured he wouldn’t let it pass unanswered if you also gave him one. That is, if he saw it. But he didn’t, because the next day, the paper was still there, untouched. You gave him another chance, but it remained in place. 

So one night, you decided to ask him about it, about his sleep. They did have regenerative abilities and demonic metabolism and all, but Dante liked taking a nap! You were actually worried more on the aspect of you being in the same room that might be the reason why Vergil couldn’t relax. Or, to be specific, couldn’t let his guard down, couldn’t allow himself to sleep and risk having nightmares and be seen by someone else. From fics and common headcanons, he was one who was always bothered by nightmares and you knew all too well why. But sleep deprivation could be dangerous. They might be awesome demon hybrids but one mistake in aim or in the estimate of proximity could end up with them getting hurt. You weren't really sure but you didn’t want your presence to keep Vergil from getting the rest he should be having. Especially since his healing was not yet fully back to how fast it should be, which meant he was still poisoned somehow. 

But Vergil wasn’t anywhere in the house. You tried looking everywhere but to no avail. You were starting to think that perhaps he still had some contact with his ex in Fortuna, the famous ‘lady in red’, and he might be going out every night to see her secretly or something… 

Then Nero saw you in the garage while in your pajamas. “Looking for the distant old man? He’s on the roof.” 

“The roof?” 

“I sense him there every night. He stays there till sunrise.” You might have looked worried or ridden with guilt that Nero added, “It’s not because of you two sharing a room. It’s… I uh, asked Dante about it too.” So even Nero got concerned about his dad’s sleeping habit. “He said my old man just doesn’t like to sleep.” But the way Nero scratched his nose told you that he was keeping some details he found embarrassing to tell. 

“But you guys still need sleep, don’t you?” you grabbed the chance to confirm it. 

“I do, but I’m just a quarter demon, so I’m not sure about those two.” Then he offered, “Want me to bring you up there so you can talk some sense into him?” Aww, so Nero was that concerned. Such a cinnamon roll. 

But you didn’t want Vergil to feel cornered or as if you were doing an intervention on him so you said, “He might not like 2 vs 1, so I’ll try to wait for him for now. But if it doesn’t work, can I take you up on your offer tomorrow?” 

“Sure.” Nero smiled. “I’m glad I now have an ally against the stubbornness of those two old men.” What he said felt like he was welcoming you as a part of their group, or family or cast of DMC. That was probably why it made you giggle like a fool that Nero laughed as he bid good night and went upstairs. 

So you settled on waiting for Vergil to come back. You drank coffee, you drafted fanfics, you made sure you weren’t lying comfortably in bed. It was around 4am when you heard the door open, and Vergil had the guts to greet you with, “Why are you not asleep?” 

You quickly sat up and playfully did the Royal Guard pose and said, “Right back at you.” 

“Foolishness,” he mumbled as he closed the door. He was shaking his head but was wearing a slight smile so he must have recognized what you did. But when he approached his bed, he looked serious. “Are you bothered by something that you cannot sleep?” 

You shook your head and stated, “I even drank coffee.” And he pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat on his bed. Since he was still facing you, you started, in a more gentle tone, “You haven’t been sleeping, have you?” 

“I have.” 

“Yeah, right.” He looked at you, and you showed a confident yet still silly smile then pointed to his bed. “You haven’t even seen my riddle!” 

He quickly checked and when he found the piece of paper, he lightly argued, “I still slept once, twice, a few minutes, so technically…” 

“That doesn’t count.” 

“River,” he said as he handed you the piece of paper. Like his usual strategy in the morning, he was distracting you with a riddle, now your own. 

Good thing you have a different answer for it. “Wrong!” 

His brows furrowed and he showed you the paper as he repeated what was written on it, “What has a bed but doesn’t sleep? It’s a river. And this one is lacking the other parts. There should be ‘It has a mouth but doesn’t eat. You can see it run but it never walks, hear it whisper but never talks.’ Your riddle is incomplete.” He smirked but was a bit surprised when you mirrored the expression. 

“It has a different answer, that’s why I cut it short.” 

He scowled a little and said, “What’s the answer?” 

“Vergil.” 

“Hm?” 

“Vergil has a bed but doesn’t sleep.” And you backed it up with a finger gun and a silly smile, followed by a laugh. 

“Fool.” He tried to hide it but you could see that he was trying not to smile. And he changed his mind about the paper, he folded it and put it in his chest pocket. 

And somehow, you figured it was time to be serious so you asked, “Why do you spend the nights on the roof?” 

He looked away as he answered confidently, “Your training should only be during the day. You need to have a good rest so you must be comfortable and relaxed before bedtime.” 

“You don’t have to prioritize that. And I’m fairly comfortable around you now. See, I even did a Royal Guard and finger gun at you. Maybe you can imagine me as Dante so you’ll be more comfortable to sleep with m— er, here.” 

And Vergil chuckled then said, “Fool,” which made you smile wide. 

But you had to be serious again when you said, “All jokes aside, you should sleep. We’ve been here for about a week now…” 

“I don’t need to. Don’t worry about me.” He was equally serious, bordering on scary. 

But your concern was prevailing, so you mustered enough courage to ask, “Are you not sleeping because you’re worried you might get a nightmare and I might witness it? And… see you in a vulnerable state?” 

Vergil seemed to be caught off guard. So you explained, in your most gentle tone, “I’m your big fan, remember? I kind of know a lot about you. I… In my world, we have a headcanon that you often have nightmares. So you don’t have to be embarrassed about that. I understand it, and probably the reasons too.” Realizing that it might seem like his private stuff was a public feast in your universe, you quickly added, “I’m sorry that my world knows about that. Though, actually, we don’t know about the details, just a few, some are just theories. Sorry if I'm not making any sense…” 

You paused for a while, waiting for his reaction, but he remained silent. He was facing you but his eyes were fixed on your bed, avoiding your gaze. But at least he was listening, and he didn’t seem angry, so you continued, “I searched the internet for tips on how to prevent and how to deal with nightmares… So instead of not sleeping just so you can avoid me seeing you having one, let me try to be helpful with it instead.” 

He was still quiet that you were starting to regret this. But no, you had to be firm if you really wanted to help, so you said, “I… I promise that if you get a nightmare, I will wake you up to end it sooner. And I will comfort you, uh, listen to you talk about it. That is, if you’re willing to. We can also rewrite it, so it won’t be a bothersome nightmare anymore but just a negative thought that has been overcome. Like changing the ending, or solving the problem, or editing it a little… I do that sometimes, when my dreams leave me hanging. I try to add what I want to happen next, then I end up falling asleep again and dreaming about the continuation.” You smiled sheepishly, but he still wasn’t reacting, nor moving. 

But since you were deep in this, might as well finish your point. “I’ve always wanted to help you in that regard, even before when I still didn’t know the real you. I have a few fics about your nightmares, to be honest. So please allow me to help, and please stop not sleeping, and uh, please get some sleep… I’m worried about you. Even if a half-demon doesn’t need to sleep, it still helps if you recharge your mind and body. It feels good to wake up refreshed. And besides, sleep deprivation sometimes leads to headaches, among other things. And you are the type to keep your pain to yourself. I don’t want you to be enduring a headache while we go to different places, you wouldn’t enjoy our vacation that way…” 

Realizing that it had been a few minutes and that you didn’t have anything more to say, you were getting nervous and scared that Vergil was still silent. If he got mad at you, that might make the rest of Fortuna days be awkward in this room. It didn’t help that it was hard to read him. He didn’t look angry nor pleased. He seemed to be thinking but you couldn’t tell how his thoughts were going. Though, it was actually an amazing thing, to be unreadable. That would be very useful in battle. In relationships, however, probably not. Maybe Nero and Dante were finding it hard, or sometimes end up misunderstanding Vergil. So if you were to be Nero’s ally against the stubbornness of the twin old men, you ought to learn how to read them well! 

Your thoughts got you distracted and quiet for about a minute, that you didn’t notice right away that Vergil was already looking at you. Under normal circumstances, you would have squeaked in shock, but sleeplessness made you grin instead. Well you were glad that he didn’t seem mad. That was also why you said, “Anti-nightmare project, deal?” then you offered a handshake. 

He did take your hand, but to your surprise, he stood up and lay down on your bed with his head on your lap. He put your hand on his hair, while saying, “For starters, help me with my headache.” 

You smiled and said, “With pleasure!” But in your mind, there were ‘Vergil is letting me touch his hair!’ and ‘Vergil is on my laaaap!’  among other fangirl thoughts. You tried to contain your smile as you told yourself that you better do well in this head rub. But since he mentioned headache, you said, “Allow me to do this one first.” 

“What is it?” he asked, eyes closed. 

Taking that as permission, you slapped his upper arm then said, “Bad Vergil! You’ve been suffering from a headache but you're still not sleeping.” He just smiled a little, so you added in a more serious tone as you resumed massaging his head, “Please avoid doing that.” 

“Let’s see. If your anti-nightmare project works and if this,” he pointed to your hands, “relieves my headache.” 

“I’ll do my best then! Now I’m a little motivated!” 

Vergil smiled and said, “That’s my line in the game, I presume.” 

“Yes.” You poked his cheek and remarked, “You’re so cute when you smile.” Then you bit your lip and backtracked, “Sorry, that might be out of line. Sometimes when I’m sleep-deprived I’m too courageous or hyper. Sometimes like a drunk.” 

He chuckled and said, “Then allow me to use the same excuse for doing this to you. This might also be out of line. I mean, this is only because I'm sleep-deprived.” 

“Sure. Now we’re even.” 

But then, Vergil said, “No, I’m up one.” He was smiling while his eyes were closed. 

“That’s a line exchange between you and Dante in the game!” 

“I thought so.” 

You gave a toned-down squeal and said, “So you have memorized Dante’s lines from real-life experience. That's so sweet.” 

“Foolishness, Rumi. Foolishness.” 

This time you muffled a real squeal then giggled. “Now you’re reciting lines from the game but from your memories, that’s–” You tried to contain your excitement, and Vergil just kept smiling. 

## 

About three hours later, Vergil woke up. His head was still on your lap, your hands were still on him – one buried in his hair, the other one resting on his cheek. You had fallen asleep sideways, leaning on pillows and the headboard. Realizing that your position might cause you body pain later, he quickly but carefully got up. But before he did, he took your hand from his cheek and gave it a kiss. He wanted to just stay there, and put your hand on his chest so that you were embracing him again even just half, but he had to make you more comfortable. 

He lifted you gently and made you lie down properly, then put the blanket on you. Seeing how peacefully you were sleeping, he badly wanted to repeat the same stunt and squeeze himself beside you this time, pretend that this happened without you two knowing. But you might get embarrassed by it upon waking up, and he didn’t want that. And he wouldn’t be able to use the sleep deprivation excuse because he had slept now, technically. 

Smiling at his foolish thoughts, Vergil leaned in and kissed you on the forehead. Then he stroked the top of your head gently and said, “Thank you, Rumi. It has been decades since I’ve had a pleasant dream instead of a nightmare.” 

Chapter Text

You had convinced Vergil to sleep, to stop depriving himself of rest just to avoid the possibility of having nightmares and you seeing him be flustered with it. He didn’t expect it himself, that he would let his guard down and even be audacious enough to sleep on your lap. But everything you had said to him just struck a chord. Part of him was urging him to snap at you for knowing so much, but he couldn’t do that, not to you. Even before, you had been showing how much you knew about him. He didn’t know if that was normal for everyone in your world, though he doubted it. It was probably just you, who knew him that much while at the same time knew how to be gentle in expressing it, making him quite comfortable to be himself with you… making him feel things he had never felt before. Perhaps that was exactly why he had done that, and just used his headache and sleeplessness as an excuse. 

That was also why Vergil was in your shared room tonight, willing to stay here instead of the roof. He was looking forward to you telling him more about your world, him asking some of your preferences on things for future reference, you two talking about anything… Even simply staying silent but with you in the same room would already be pleasant enough. 

But you were not in the room. You were still downstairs, on the phone, talking with Dante. Vergil knew you would call every night to check on his twin, but why was it taking this long? He had been wai— you had been on the phone for about an hour now. Vergil was getting tempted to go back to spending the night on the roof, but he wanted to show you that he was willing to try sleeping like a normal person for your sake, because you had convinced him. He wanted to let you know that he appreciated how you reached out to him again. 

What could be so amusing to talk about that your phone conversation still hadn’t ended? There wasn’t anything too special on your tour today. There were no demons nor collapsing buildings. Was Dante, perhaps, the one telling an interesting tale? Did he experience something unusual today? Was he alright? Perhaps Vergil had to check. Just a peek. He could do that anyway; he had the ability to. Just casually pass by, take a glance, just to see if his twin was doing well. Maybe in the process he could also casually tell his brother to take a rest. It might be a little too early to sleep but Dante liked taking naps anyway. 

And so he did. Vergil got up from being seated on the bed. Yamato in hand, he opened a portal to Devil May Cry. 

## 

Dante was about to reveal what he had been making you guess the whole night – who his client was today. He said it was someone famous that he knew existed both in his universe and yours. He gave you five chances to guess, with an additional clue every mistake, but each one would reduce your chances of getting a prize from him. You had been trying to figure it out as best as you could, but it was really difficult. And right when he was about to say the name, you heard him say, “Vergil?” 

“Huh? Vergil was your client today?” 

“Why are you— No, he wasn’t my client today. What are you doing he—” Then there was noise. It seemed like Dante dropped the phone handset but he caught it right away. “Sorry Roomie, wait a sec.” 

Then you heard a muffled, “Book? … You couldn’t have portal’d straight to your room? … You left Roomie there. … Yeah, Nero’s there but— who’s George?” Upon hearing the familiar name, you turned around to look and were shocked to see a familiar blue figure behind you. His back was on you though and he was holding his version of the Yamato, unsheathed. He was like a bodyguard on high alert.  

But it got you wondering how Vergil was able to do that. Did he leave the portal open? That would be fun if you could also pop in and surprise Dante. One minute you were just on the phone with him and the next, you’d be right in front of him. But you weren’t sure about the portal, and it’s not like you could ask George. Though that would’ve been cool if talking to George meant Vergil could hear you. That would be like a telephone of its own kind. And since checking upstairs was the only way to confirm the portal, it would be rude to just hang up the phone on Dante only to find out that there wasn’t any open portal in here and Vergil was just that amazing, being able to leave George here despite him being miles away. You also couldn’t just leave the line hanging; you didn’t want Nero, Kyrie or Nico to find you irresponsible. 

So you settled on the safer choice, to just stay on the line. It was funny though, while at the same time amazing, how Vergil could easily go back to the office on a whim, just for a book. Or maybe he wanted to check on Dante too. That was probably the reason why the portal was intentionally to where Dante was and not to Vergil’s room, like what you heard. That was just so sweet of him. Those two could really be sweet to each other in their own little ways. 

## 

Vergil was seated on the bed, reading the book that took a portal to acquire. He couldn’t focus on it though, for he was starting to regret what he had just done. Was he being a little too possessive? The idea got him closing the book to check the cover despite not needing to. He knew he didn’t put his name nor initial on this. He didn’t have to; they were no longer kids. But what he had done, was it akin to a subtle way of telling Dante that he had put his name on you? Though you weren’t really his, not yet. And if you were, he knew of more non-foolish ways to mark you as his. There was the human method, the demon one, and he could also put his scent on you, but that would require your consent and— 

Vergil hurried to open the book when he heard the doorknob turning. It was not just to cover his face but to show you how he really wanted to read this one. But should he greet you upon entering the room? What should he say? Should he ask how your conversation with Dante went? But that would lead to the portal, and he didn’t want to talk about that. He was starting to feel embarrassed about that, he foolishly indulged an impulse. 

But as expected, that was what you greeted him with. “You went to Devil May Cry just to get that book?” you asked as you strode to your bed. 

He gave a simple and firm “Yes. We are just a portal away.” ‘We’re not so distant for you two to talk on the phone for an hour every night.’ The last part was just in his mind, but he might have sounded a tad too ill-tempered, so he peeked to see how you reacted. To his surprise, though he didn’t show it, you looked astonished. You had that same sweet— naïve smile you would wear whenever you would see something related to their game version in your world, those things he once heard you describe as ‘something to fangirl about’. 

“That’s amazing,” you said, which was slowly taking the ‘embarrassing’ tag away from his foolish stunt. “It’s convenient to have that power, isn’t it?” You even gave a dreamy sigh as you sat down on your bed. Then your tone changed into a worried one when you asked, “Wait, does that mean you ran out of books? Nero and Kyrie have quite a collection here.” He could say that their books weren’t to his liking, though that would be untrue for he found some of them really interesting, especially those containing legends about his father. But it was easier to say yes and he wouldn’t have to explain, so he just nodded. 

And he found it fortunate that he did, because that led you to offering your own collection. “So headcanons about you being a fast reader are true huh? If you’re interested, I can lend you my phone to read fanfics. So you wouldn’t have to portal every time— Though who am I kidding, that’s like just a snap of a finger to you. Haha, snap, reminds me of Thanos, which connects to Thor and then Loki. People of my world sometimes compare you and Dante to Loki and Thor.” 

Vergil used the book to hide his smile at how fast you said those. You had a tendency to talk about things then jump to something related, like a chain of ideas. But you would sometimes do them in such a way as if there were no periods in your sentences. He was glad about that though, for it meant you were already that comfortable with him. He used to just hear you speak like that with Dante, and just short lines with some stuttering when you were talking to him. Now you seemed to be equally comfortable with both of them, that was good. But his curiosity was piqued by the thing you called “Fanfics?” 

“Fan fiction. Since you guys are kinda famous in my world, fans write stories about you.” You were showing him your phone as you explained. “I have downloaded some, for bedtime stories in case I find it hard to fall asleep here. But I always fall asleep quickly, maybe it’s from all the walking in our tour. So you can read them on my phone at night if you want. Or even during the day.” 

You handed him the device then showed how you tapped something. It revealed what appeared to be a story. From scanning, it seemed to be about him and Dante. “This is something written by fans?” 

“Yes, this one’s by my fic-friend. I have downloaded quite a lot for this two-week vacation, fics about you guys, of different genres, by different authors.” You were swiping the screen of your phone upwards as you explained, and he saw a lot of those similar icons. 

But his interest was stuck in, “Do you also… write such things?” He hoped he didn’t seem demanding with that. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate what you were offering, he was just curious to see the creative side of you. 

You flushed and tried to cover your face with one hand when you answered, “I do, I mean, yes.” Then you mumbled to yourself a fast-paced, “OMG Vergil is asking about my fics OMG…” 

“May I… read those as well?” Contrary to how you were trying to hide your face, Vergil put his book behind him and shifted so he was facing you properly. 

You nodded while biting your lip as if to rein in a smile that you then covered with your hand. You were squirming as you accessed your phone for a while, really adorable, but he hoped that this wouldn’t make you shy around him again. He didn’t want to go back to square one, especially now that he was enjoying your reactions and antics. 

“I have a local copy of my fics because I often write with my phone. Here.” You handed him the device. “Just tap the one you like.” It was amusing how at that instant, he held the phone and his finger tapped your hand. It was a coincidence. …Wasn’t it? Sometimes his reflex was faster than his mind. 

Vergil couldn’t stop smiling after that, and you might have misunderstood it that you said, “Don’t laugh at my errors okay? And the foolishness in the author’s notes.” 

“Of course.” He showed you the best gentle smile he could. “Thank you for this.” 

“You don’t have to thank me, it’s an honor!” You were blushing again, making his smile linger. But then you added, “Dante likes reading them too.” 

“Your fanfics?” 

“Yeah, and others too.” 

“Has he read all of your works?” 

“Hmm, not all, I think.” Then you smiled a bit differently and looked away, as if there was something you were hiding. Did you, perhaps, have fanfics that were considered classified? 

But because of your answer, Vergil’s competitive side said, ‘Now I’m a little motivated.’ Even those classified ones, he would one day convince you to let him read them, so he could say with certainty that he has read everything you have written. 

He might have gotten a bit too motivated that he pressed a wrong button. That led him to a screen that was showing… him. “This is…” 

You peeked then panicked slightly. “I-It’s from the game. I call him Wallpaper Vergil.” 

Vergil didn’t know if it was your sheepish smile, or the fact that his picture was your wallpaper, that was making him feel something odd… though pleasant. As if something was tickling his chest from the inside. That wasn’t from the poison, was it? He had tried making a cut on his palm early today just to check and he had confirmed that his healing was back to normal. A curiosity got him distracted though. You already knew him for a while now, you had even been together for a week— together as in the literal sense, here, in Fortuna. So why were you settling on this picture from the game? “Do you not have a photo of the real me?” 

“I have a few. A few shots from when you were cooking in my world then another one, the group photo that Nico took on my first time in the van. But you are not looking at the camera in those photos.” So that was why. 

A simple problem that required a simple solution. “Take a photo now.” He handed you the phone. 

“N-N-N-Now?!” 

Vergil nodded. “Our… photo.” Then he patted the space beside him. You looked as though you were having a difficulty breathing as you complied and sat beside him. But you went on and tapped some icons on your phone then positioned it away from you two. 

Your hand was trembling a little though, so he said, “I thought you were no longer nervous around me?” 

“Well yeah, but us taking a photo together, it’s just…” 

He wasn’t an expert on cameras especially high-tech ones, but he knew you would end up with a blurred first photo together at this rate, and he didn’t want that. So Vergil took the phone from you, then his free hand pulled you closer to him. That might not be necessary but just to be sure that you two would fit in the photo, he wasn’t an expert after all. Then he tapped what he figured to be the shutter button. A few times too, just to be sure again.  

When he returned the phone to you, he said, “Get used to it.” You briefly showed him the result, one of them. It was showing you two both smiling quite shyly. Compared to your photo with Dante, in those two that he had seen before, you two looked silly. But Vergil wasn’t one to pose like that… And besides, the way you were in this photo just now, that timid smile, it was how you usually looked when with him, particularly in the first few times you were visiting their world. So it was definitely more meaningful than a silly one. And perhaps in the near future you would show your foolish smile, or even be the one with an arm around him when you take a photo together. Yes, that was exactly why he told you to get used to it. 

Speaking of which, while you were checking the photos he took, you were squealing onto a pillow. Then his enhanced ears heard a muffled, “Get used to us taking a photo together? Or you putting an arm around my shoulders?” It was followed by another muffled squeal. 

In his mind, he replied, ‘Both.’ But he wanted to make something clear so he added, trying his best to sound indifferent, “You may take as many photos as you want. You don’t need my permission for it.” 

“Permission to take stolen photos granted!~” 

“Fool.” He couldn’t control his smile so Vergil looked away when he added, “If you want… you may also… put it up on somewhere.” 

“Like upload it?” 

“Post… it.” 

“Like Instagram or Tumblr?” 

“Refrigerator…” 

“You mean I can put it on display like—” He nodded and you stifled a squeal. “I’ll print it then put it beside my photo with Dante on the fridge.” 

Vergil put on a cold façade and shifted to sit comfortably on his bed as he replied, “Suit yourself.” 

“You’re the one who gave me the idea.” 

“Give meaning to it as well.” 

“Like my photo with Dante? Hmm, let’s see. It will remind me to eat vegetables. Like the one you cooked for me. I mean the side dish, because you cooked a lot.” 

“Call it a balanced meal.” 

“'Vegetables' is fine. Sounds closer to 'Vergil.'” 

What you said and how you looked was making his smile difficult to hold back, so he had to distract himself with, “Where are the fanfics?” 

“Ah yeah.” You hurried and did a few taps then gave the phone to him while grinning wide. 

“These are the ones you wrote?” he asked to confirm, and you nodded. And since it was getting late, he said, trying not to sound too strict, “Go to sleep.” 

“Let me say good night to Wallp—” You covered your mouth, then gave a nervous laugh. 

But he got what you meant so he said, “You can say good night to the real me.” 

Then there was another pillow squeal followed by a muffled, “I can’t kiss you like how I do to Wallpaper Vergil~”  

He smirked but he kept his eyes on the phone. You probably didn’t know about their keen hearing, or perhaps Dante had told you or demonstrated a powered-down sample in your world. In here though, their ears were twice as sharp. But Vergil couldn’t tell you that for this was amusing. So he just replied in his mind again, ‘You can.’  

Chapter Text

Nero had to go to a job today so the tour was on break. But for you, it was fine. It was a chance you had been waiting for, the chance to explore the Devil May Cry van. It was quite difficult to fangirl over its contents and features when on your way to the tourist spot for the day. While on the way home, however, you were usually tired and sleepy. And besides, Vergil wouldn’t allow you to move around the van while it was running. He was like a dad even to you sometimes. You also wanted to interview Nico and ask about her creations, and she was always driving to the tourist spots. So now that the van wasn’t on the go, you got that chance. 

Oh yeah, Vergil went with Nero. That was why Nero didn’t need the van, they went there via portal. It was hard to convince Vergil to go, as he didn’t want to leave you here. Even if you would just stay at home, even if you promised you wouldn’t go out  to buy something from somewhere, he didn't want to leave you unwatched. He said he was just fulfilling his role that Dante had assigned to him. But you wanted him to grab the opportunity to bond with his son, so you insisted and convinced him. “You’re always just portal-distance from me anyway,” you said, deliberately using his argument last time about Dante’s shop being just a portal away. “If there’s trouble, we’ll call Nero and you two can come back here in a second.” He looked like he was just 50% convinced so you used the magic word, ‘father-and-son bonding’ and it sealed the deal. Vergil wouldn’t show it but he seemed to want to get close to Nero. Though he wasn’t good at finding the chances he could use, so he would always need a push. 

So you were with Nico in the van that was just in the garage. She offered you beer, even though it was just the afternoon. But since it was a rare occasion, you accepted it. She showed you the devil breakers she had made before and the new ones that worked like gauntlets for Nero’s lizard-tail arm as she called it. She also showed you some other projects she was working on, including a gun of her own design. But when she offered for you to hold it, you said apologetically, “Vergil told me not to touch weapons while he’s away, especially guns.” And Nico’s smile slowly grew wide. 

That was when she started the reverse-interview. “Should I tell Nero to start calling ya mom now?”  

“Huh?” 

“You and Demon-Dad, yer like a couple, for real.” 

“We’re not! Honest.” But your reddened face might be causing her to doubt what you were saying. 

“Aw come on, the signs are all around that even the kids thought you two were a thing that they made you those couple paper necklaces.” 

You laughed nervously. “I think that’s just plain paper chain necklaces and they just made one for us each because we’re visitors.” 

“Nah, even Kyrie thinks so.” 

“Really?” 

“She was asking me if I think you would appreciate those cliché couple souvenir shirts as a parting gift.” 

“I think that’s just souvenir shirts, no ‘couple’ word needed.” 

Nico laughed, then brought the big guns to the table, figuratively, as she handed you a new bottle of beer. “Let’s see, he always holds your hand when you enter or leave the van.” 

“Gentlemanliness?” 

“Nah, I doubt it. During meals, he always serves you food first.” 

“Maybe he’s just being a dad?” 

Nico laughed. “Yer a tough one, huh? Then how about the times he puts a hand behind you, on your waist, when entering a place that looks a bit scary. It's as if he’s telling you not to be afraid ‘cause he’s just there beside you. And those times you fall asleep on the ride home and he pulls you to lean on his shoulder. When I subtly told Nero to look at it through the rearview mirror one time, even he got a bit flushed as if he was the one caught or something. What else, ah! When we were in Fortuna Castle, after you two got out of that hole you fell into, you two were holding hands.” 

You were covering your face so your reply was a muffled, “That was because of the skeletons and the scary dungeon trap door thing.” 

“Extended? The rest of the castle tour and on our way back to the van that time he still held ya.” 

“H-He said it’s so I won’t fall again if ever there was any more trap doors.” If this were anime, steam would be coming out of your ears from too much blushing. Nico probably noticed it, that’s why she was snickering. 

“Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with it.” 

“We’re really not.” 

“But ya like him?” 

“Uh, yeah… Even before I met him, I like him a lot… I’m a big fan.” 

“But do you like him like him?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, for example I’m a big fan of this certain wrestler, but that doesn’t mean I'll date him.” 

“Well… That’s kinda out of the question. I mean, he’s Vergil. I'm just a human fan from a different world…” 

“Seems to me he likes ya too.” 

You covered your face again and stifled a weird toned-down squeal. “No, don’t get my hopes up~” Nico just laughed. “He might just be doing those things to be nice to me, because I'm Dante’s friend and Vergil values what’s important to Dante. You know, their twin brotherly love thing…” 

“Is there such a thing?” 

“I believe they do have that. They don’t communicate like typical people do but they show care for each other with actions.” 

“You really are their big fan, huh?” She then smirked as if a new idea came to mind. “Or maybe you like someone else?” 

“S-S-Someone else? W-Why— Who— I don’t think I do, I’m a Vergilist…” 

Nico laughed again. “Is that a religion?” Then she turned a bit serious, though not really, as it seemed she was enjoying teasing you. “What’ll you do if Demon-Dad really likes you?” 

You gave a hybrid of a squeal and a screech that you managed to muffle when you covered your face. “I don’t know… I just don’t want to assume things then end up getting hurt. Don’t plant ideas in my head!~” 

“I wasn’t.” She laughed yet again. “Seems to me like you just need some sort of a big proof.” 

You peeked between your fingers and asked, “What proof?” And Nico simply puckered her lips, and it made you squeal and squirm and get red again while she laughed at you. 

So you tried your best to sway the topic to different ones, and you were successful enough. But when Nero and Vergil returned, and Vergil went in the van looking for you, Nico smiled mischievously. 

Upon noticing the beer bottles on the table, Vergil asked with a semi-strict tone, “You’ve been drinking?” 

“I— just a little.” 

“How many?” 

“Two.” You grinned sheepishly and he narrowed his eyes. “I’m fine. I can handle a few drinks.” But when you were going out of the van, Vergil held your hand and was extra attentive to your movements. You noticed how Nico was snickering at this, and you could only make a face at her. 

## 

You volunteered to assist Kyrie in preparing dinner. Kyrie insisted that Nero just relax, so he had thought of doing so in the backyard, with beer, just to unwind after a job. And since he went with Vergil, he figured inviting the old man for a drink with him wouldn’t be so out of line. 

Vergil looked like he was about to refuse, but you gave him a light push and whispered something that convinced him to agree. Nero’s keen ears picked up something like ‘father-and-son bonding’ but he wasn’t sure. Though it was amusing how with one simple move, you were able to change the mind of the stubborn old man. 

When he handed Vergil a bottle of beer, Vergil just stared at it, so Nero said, “What, do you need a glass? Or you want wine? When in Fortuna, do as Fortuna people do.” He laughed before drinking straight from the bottle. 

Vergil just huffed but did the same. Then Nero noticed that the old man was holding a phone, but he recognized it to be yours so he remarked, “She lends you her phone, you two must be close, huh?” 

“I was reading the stories she wrote before you called me here.” 

But Nero noticed that Vergil was typing, so he asked, “Now you’re writing?” 

“Searching.” 

“About?” 

“Hangover remedies.” 

“What the fuck, we’ve just started and you’re already worried about hangover?” 

“No, not for me.” 

“What, is it for me then?” Nero laughed derisively. 

“No, it’s not for you. Nicoletta made her drink.” 

“Ah, that explains it.” Nero smiled. Then he realized, "Aren't you a bit too worried though? Nico said they just had a few bottles."

"One can never be too careful." And Vergil seemed serious about that so Nero couldn't help but laugh. 

It turned quiet for a minute, so Nero took the chance, “Say, old man.” 

“Hm?” 

“I’ve been noticing… Are you two uh, something?” Vergil didn’t answer right away so Nero was somewhat regretting his question. 

“What is that something?” 

Nero panicked a little. Why did he even ask that? He shouldn’t have gone to that topic… But then he saw that Vergil was smiling a little. “Damn you, old man, you’re playing tricks on me. You know what I’m talking about.” 

“We are not something.” 

“Is that so. But do you uh, you know…” 

“Do I what?” Vergil’s tone was flat but with the slight smirk that Nero could see, he knew the old man was at it again. 

“Asshole. Let’s not talk about—” 

“I do,” Vergil cut in, to Nero’s surprise. So the old man was willing to talk about it, and he was unexpectedly open too. Though it was kind of typical of him to emotionlessly state facts even if said facts were sometimes embarrassing for others. His sense of shame seemed to be different from that of ordinary people. At least that was one of the things Nero had learned about his frigid father after knowing him for almost a year. 

“Is that so. Well I like her—” To Nero’s surprise again, Vergil shot him a look. Still without emotion though. “Dumbass, not like as in— ah, why am I even explaining this? What I mean is, she’s nice, she’s kind. When you’re around her, you’re different, like softer, less stoic, I don’t know. I think she has a good effect on you.” 

“Is that your declaration of support?” 

Nero laughed. “Stiff bast— old man. Yeah, if it means anything to you, I do support it, but I just think you ought to make sure you’re uh, how do I say this… you’re free to uh, pursue her or something. I mean…” Nero scratched the back of his neck. He wasn’t really sure but he just sensed that Dante had a thing for you too, based on their phone conversation before. And that time when Dante had just returned to their world after going missing for a week, Dante wanted to come back to you as soon as possible. He even did his best to quickly learn how to open portals, and that didn’t seem like something you’d do for any ordinary friend. And yeah, Dante setting this whole Fortuna tour thing for you, that was also a big hint. “Just uh, try to check things, I guess. If she’s really available, I mean she might have someone she likes or so. I don’t know.” Nero gave a shrug, as if to seem casual, to mask his speculations.

“I have already done that. I asked her if she has feelings for Dante…” This time it was Nero who quickly looked at Vergil, for he was surprised with the answer. “And she said they are just good friends. Dante said so too.” 

“Oh.” Nero was glad that at least, Vergil was aware of the Dante thing. And for him to ask, wow, this man really was courageous huh? Though, with how Nero would hear you mention Dante everyday, and with you calling Dante every night, he was doubting it a little… Maybe Nero was just afraid for his old man to get hurt in the end. So he said, “I guess it’ll be better to confirm things again. I mean, uh, feelings change. It's common. That's why saying you love someone is not a one-time thing; it’s an everyday thing. That's why people who are in a long-term relationship can still break up.”  

“Duly noted,” Vergil answered emotionlessly again. 

“Hey, I don’t mean to discourage you or something, okay?” 

“I am not discouraged. From my observations, I gather that she finds me likeable, but I am uncertain if she only sees me as her favorite video game character. That is, perhaps, something I need to verify as well.” 

“Yeah, yeah, that too.” Nero looked away and took a sip, a long one, ah now it was bottoms up. ‘I swear to Sparda, this is awkward. It’s like I’m raising my father and now he’s a teenager.’ It felt weird for Nero to be talking about things like this, to his father of all people. It was even him who seemed to be the one giving relationship advice. Was he really in the position to do so? But he just reminded himself that from the bit of history he had managed to wring out of Dante, Vergil kind of had some missing years in the overworld, so this man might not know how to do some things properly. It was also what Nero had been telling himself to help lengthen his patience with his old man. 

“I appreciate you talking with me about this matter, Nero. I am uncomfortable,” though Vergil was saying that indifferently, “but I am grateful that someone experienced in this aspect is showing concern. I am not quite good at such things.” 

Nero was touched to hear that, but it was a bit funny, especially when said the way Vergil did. While subconsciously scratching his nose, Nero replied, “It's weird that I'm the one giving relationship advice to my old man but yeah, we’re not really that normal to begin with. And at least, being able to talk with you about something like this is some semblance of uh, family, I guess.” 

“It is.” Nero was surprised to see Vergil smiling at that. 

Chapter Text

Vergil had made sure that the coast was clear and that he wasn’t stepping on anything before he allowed himself to entertain what he was feeling for you. Back then when he asked you how you felt for Dante, he was only finding you charming, kind, fascinating… those things and their synonyms. He was actually a bit nervous that time, that he had to take a few seconds of staring at the photo while composing the question in his mind. Thankfully, his years of controlling his emotions paid off.

Then as he got to spend more time with you in Fortuna, he grew more interested in you, more protective, sometimes maybe a little too possessive. You were simply captivating, and whenever you would show concern for him, he felt weak while at the same time, more motivated. It was really difficult to explain, but then again, he never was good at feelings. You also kept bridging him and Nero, that whenever he was able to spend time with the lad like how an ordinary father and son would, he felt warmth in his chest. He didn’t know if that was because of the opportunity with Nero or because he found himself fortunate to have someone sneakily helping him with it. One thing was for sure though, everything you do, even the foolish things, always made him smile. Except perhaps those that made him worry about you. 

Simply put, these feelings were becoming a little too much to keep to himself. He wanted to be able to hold you freely, without having to disguise it as training or protection. He wanted to keep seeing you smile at him, talk about your world, be enthusiastic about every little thing related to that game they were the characters of. He wanted to spend more time with you even after this vacation in Fortuna. He wanted you to be his. 

Perhaps that would explain what happened… 

Vergil only intended to do as Nero had told him, to confirm if things were the same as the last time he checked, for he had also been noticing how often you would talk about Dante. The nightly phone calls were already making him feel a bit j— just a little strange. There were also other times when he would oddly feel some sort of pinch in his chest whenever you would wonder how Dante was doing, while there he was, wondering if you were thinking about him too. 

That was actually another thing he wanted to verify, what you think of him. You were indeed knowledgeable about him that even things related to his past that he didn’t want you to know, you already knew. And that was because, as you had always been saying, you were a big fan of him. Was he really just a game character to you though? 

So Vergil had a lot he wanted to ask. He also had the perfect chance to do so, because after dinner, he was in the room, supposedly reading a book but really just contemplating, and you came in. Normally you would spend time with the children, or Kyrie, or Nicoletta, then it would extend up to your phone call with Dante, and Vergil would only have your attention an hour or two before your bedtime. 

But now you were here, asking him, “Are you busy?” He looked at you, trying to stop himself from mirroring the smile you were showing. He shook his head, and to his surprise, you grinned wide, seemingly excited for some reason. Then you went to his side and pulled him by the arm to get up from being seated on his bed. “The kids and I made sweets. It pairs well with tea. Let's have them with everyone,” you said with so much enthusiasm as you kept hold of his arm and led the way. 

After a few seconds of being taken aback, Vergil smiled. He was just thinking about it a while ago, how thoughtful you were, how you would always reach out to him. And right now, you were doing it again. You would always make him experience ordinary things with other people, something he used to avoid for it was more convenient and comfortable to. But it was also something he wanted, like what Nero had said, some semblance of family. You always made Vergil feel included, and realizing that, plus all his thoughts before you came in, add in those feelings he was finding hard to restrain… 

“Rumi,” Vergil called and when you turned to face him, it just happened. 

You had said you made some sweets, and from your lips, Vergil tasted chocolate. Or perhaps it was just you. You were always so sweet, so a kiss with you must be the same. 

He felt your surprise the moment his lips caught yours, but you didn’t pull away. And now that you seemed to be welcoming him, he pulled you closer to make it more intimate. One arm kept your body pressed against his, probably his demonic side that wanted to own all of you. But he also wished to show you how he wanted to treat you delicately, so his other hand did, as it gently cupped your cheek. 

Everything was just… there was a swirl of emotions in him, but all he knew was that he was pleased that you were allowing him to do this. He felt your hand on his chest sliding up to his shoulder then his neck. You might have pressed some sort of a switch there, for he then found himself guiding you to lie down on his bed without letting go of your lips. Was this too fast? He had always been fast anyway; he could teleport, for goodness’ sake. 

But what happened next made him grateful for the fact that he was indeed fast. Someone barged in, so Vergil had to… teleport to the other bed. 

He sat there leaning an elbow on his knee and with a hand on his face, for he shamefully left you lying bewildered on his bed. It was a good thing that he still hesitated in undoing your clothes. The blocker, who turned out to be his son, stood silent by the open door. Vergil couldn’t see Nero’s face but he guessed that the lad might have found the situation strange if he didn’t get what was happening or awkward if he did. Well Nero was an adult anyway, and it was him who suggested confirming how you felt, and Vergil did confirm it, without the need for words. That somehow made him smile to himself, but it was short-lasted. 

All his foolish thoughts were halted when Nero said, “Something bad happened to Dante.” And it was as if the whole world turned silent and dark. 

Chapter Text

It was the first time you had seen Lady rattled when you and Vergil arrived at Devil May Cry. She had always been a badass in the games and in person, but at that moment, she was apologizing to you for some reason and she looked like she was trying her best not to cry. She said it was supposed to be her but Dante blocked it and he got hit instead.  

Trish helped in explaining what had happened. The three of them went on a job to bust some sort of a cult that was responsible for the disappearance of young women in a certain city. Apparently, those people were doing some witchcraft or ritual, but you didn’t bother listening to the details for you were more focused on what had happened to Dante. To put it simply, he was inflicted with some kind of a spell, something that they presumed to have been cast upon him when that cult head threw a cupful of sand while uttering some enchantment. Dante must have sensed something dangerous about that, which was why he pushed Lady out of the way. They said Dante just eerily fell unconscious after that. It was the same method that the cult was using on those young women they were sacrificing for a demon protector they believed in. In fact, those women that the trio had managed to rescue were still unconscious, much like how Dante had been.  

They couldn’t wake him up nor any of those girls. They had asked for Morrison’s help to bring those girls back to their families and Dante back to the shop. But even after transporting him and everything, Dante was still out cold. His body seemed fine, he had a normal heartbeat, he wasn’t too hot nor cold, he wasn’t bleeding anywhere. He was just asleep. Part of you was wishing that he was just pulling a prank on you and had asked for his friends’ help to make it look more real, but that didn’t seem to be the case. 

“Dante, stop being Sleeping Beauty and wake up now…” you foolishly said to him upon being left alone in his room. You had been trying your best not to cry when the others were here, but now you were free to.  

“You can take a nap as much as you like but don’t oversleep…” He seemed fine indeed, but part of you was afraid of this being permanent. More so when Dante had been this way for a few days now.  

“Don’t you miss pizza?” You had even thought of ordering from Ciacco’s and bringing it to his room, hoping he would wake up from the delicious smell. 

Days were passing but you kept talking to Dante as you watched and took care of him, hoping he would hear you and he would decide to wake up soon.  

People say that you would only know what you had when you lost it. Was that why you were feeling this way? Since finding out what had happened to him, all you could think of were memories with Dante… from the moment you hit him with your controller, to him playing the guitar and you finding him illegally crushable, to all his sweet efforts to give you DMC experiences in his world… But no, you hadn’t lost him! He was still here, just asleep.  

You had always thanked him for the sweet things he had done but why did it feel like you hadn’t been appreciating them enough? Why were you feeling this guilt or regret? He was just unconscious; he was still there. You just had to wake him up.  

He was probably just having a long dream, and once that dream came to an end, perhaps he would finally wake up. Sometimes you would take a nap while sitting beside his bed and holding his hand, foolishly hoping you could somehow enter his dream this way and be able to tell him to wake up with you. 

And of course, since you had thought of Sleeping Beauty, you had also wondered about true love’s kiss, but that was a foolish idea that only reminded you of Vergil. You two hadn’t talked about what had happened in Fortuna. Aside from not knowing how to start that kind of a talk, you knew it wasn’t appropriate to squeeze in that topic in the midst of this glum situation. And you could somehow tell that Vergil was out of his usual composure, so as much as you wanted to talk about the kiss, you had thought better of it. If you were this worried about Dante, you knew Vergil was probably twice as worried or even more. From headcanons combined with the things you had learned from knowing the real them, Vergil was not one to show emotions but he was one who was protective of those he cared about. Recalling how he had saved Dante from the poisonous demon before, you could only imagine how Vergil was probably frustrated right now for not being able to do anything to help his twin.  

That was also why you told him he could focus on finding the cure and that you would keep an eye on Dante in his stead. You didn’t know much about demons and spells and their supernatural world, but Vergil was an expert at that. He had even once summoned a demon just to clean up the blood in his room, so you trusted that he would be able to find the solution for Dante’s case too.  

Fortuna-thing talk would be for later. That was what you kept reminding yourself whenever it would cross your mind. Vergil had to focus on finding the cure for Dante and you didn’t want to add things that could distract him. 

Chapter Text

Vergil had been trying to find ways to undo that spell. He was grateful that you were there to care for Dante as he went to different places for materials and information. He had been looking through his books and going to libraries, hoping he could find answers in what he had always relied on when it was about their demonic background. He even went as far as searching for people who were capable of, or at least more knowledgeable than he was about witchcraft and spells. He was trying his best to still function well despite being utterly worried about his twin.

Though it wasn’t just Dante that was occupying his mind. He was also concerned about you and the time that was passing in your universe while you were here. But you had insisted on not leaving Dante’s side, saying you would be more restless in your world because of the time difference. So Vergil couldn’t do anything but to let you.  

Still, he was worried about you. You would stay with Dante till you fall asleep, often from crying. Then you would wake up only to cry some more. You would always try not to show it but Vergil could tell. Whenever he would catch you sleeping, he would carry you to his bed so you could have a proper rest. But upon waking up, you would hurry to Dante’s room, as if being away from him would mean losing him. You would tell him your thoughts, even random ideas, aside from trying to wake him up. Once, Vergil saw you stroking Dante’s hair lovingly while telling him how your day had been, even though you were spending the days mostly just watching him sleep.  

Vergil knew that you were only afraid and worried. He was afraid of losing Dante too, and he was trying everything he could to bring his brother back. But there was just this unpleasant feeling… Perhaps it was because of where you two had left off and you hadn’t had the chance to talk about it. Perhaps it was because he could see how Dante was constantly on your mind that you were neglecting even your own well-being. 

But as how you usually were, you would even encourage Vergil or try to cheer him up, despite being so distressed yourself. “We won’t lose Dante. We won’t allow it,” you once said. He didn’t know if you were telling him that or you were telling it more to yourself. But at that moment, especially with how your eyes were welling up, Vergil wanted to just pull you into his arms, but he hesitated. Sometimes when he would see or hear you crying, he wanted to just embrace you, tell you that everything would be alright, but even he, himself, didn’t know how to make it true. And holding you somehow felt wrong now, Vergil didn’t know why.  

Seeing how concerned you were about Dante, part of him was telling him something but he was trying to ignore it. But as the days passed, the more Vergil was doubting what he thought he had found out. From how you two had shared a passionate moment, he had thought that the feeling was mutual, but with how you were solely focused on Dante, perhaps he was mistaken. He tried not to think of it though, and set it aside until Dante regained consciousness, until things returned to normal and he could get your attention back. But it was difficult. 

It was frustrating that despite the situation, Vergil was feeling j… just this unpleasant sensation. He knew he shouldn’t be entertaining that, and he had always been good at not feeling anything, or at least showing so. But why did this pesky emotion keep coming back? Whenever he would be able to bury it deep along with other things he didn't want to think about, it would resurface the moment he would enter Dante’s room and see how you were afraid to leave Dante’s side... sometimes even afraid to let go of Dante’s hand. It was truly frustrating to get distracted with this feeling, which was why Vergil tried to be away, whenever possible. He opted to monitor his brother’s state from outside the room for he could sense movements and aura anyway. He could also perceive sounds that the ordinary human ear wouldn’t be able to catch. But even from outside, he could hear you weeping and sniffling. He would also hear you talk to Dante, as if convincing him to come back, reminding him of the memories you had shared.  

Hearing those recollections made Vergil realize how profound your relationship with Dante was. You two had been through different things, both the amusing and the challenging ones. You and Dante had a lot more of what you called ‘weird roomie things.’ You and Dante had known each other for far longer. You and Dante…  

Vergil thought that what he had with you was special, but it seemed there was something more significant than that, something he wouldn’t be able to level with. But he tried not to think about those things as he knew he needed to focus on finding the cure for Dante, and on taking care of the foolishly sweet human who was just too concerned about his twin. He didn’t want to prioritize his matters that he deemed less important than his brother’s situation. That's right, feelings later, actions now. He had always been good at that anyway.  

Chapter Text

Dante woke up and found himself in an unfamiliar room. “Did I sleep for a month again?” he muttered as he stretched his stiff arms. Upon sitting up, he noticed that he was on a… beanbag chair? He wondered why it was a beanbag chair, of all things, and why it was white— heck, he was also wearing all white. This room he was in was no different, with all those white walls. “Either I died or I’m in some sort of a lab, being observed or something.” He laughed as he looked around.  

There was a small round table beside him, and on it was a remote controller. Both were white as well, which made him comment, "You guys sure put a lot of effort in this, huh?" The remote had a red button which he figured to be the on/off, and below it were the previous, next and pause/play ones. “Where’s the TV or radio?” he said out loud, for those observing him to hear, if there really were any. But instinct told him that he would probably locate the device more easily if he turned it on, so he did. And the wall in front of him turned on like a big flat-screen built-in TV. “Cool.”  

It was half eerie yet half amusing how this TV thing seemed to be playing videos showing his memories, mostly the remarkable and the considerably happy ones. They were randomly playing on their own and they would jump from his childhood to his adult life without a pattern. Though he seemed to be able to control it a little – the current video would stop and switch to the next once he pressed the next button. But since they were seen from his own point of view, he could only arrive at one conclusion. “I guess I really died huh?” A wistful smile made its way to his face, but he threw his attention to the remote he was holding. “At least there’s this Memory TV. Could've been worse.” He looked up and forced a grin, as he tried to recall what he could remember last. 

And funny how when he hit the next button, a scene where he was going somewhere with Trish and Lady played, up to the moment he had lost consciousness. “Damn, that’s a dull way to die…” He laughed. “Well yeah, I’ve had enough stabs for one lifetime so maybe fate gave me a less bloody way to kick the bucket, huh?" 

But then he heard a female voice say, “You get stabbed every game except in two."  He looked around, wondering if there was someone else in here, only to find none. "I know you won’t die with just that…” She trailed off at the end though, for it seemed she was crying. Why was she— who was she?? 

But she didn’t say anything again, so Dante just shrugged it off and focused on the video playing in front of him. It was one from his childhood, when his family was still complete. “Ah, I remember this one!” He smiled, awaiting Vergil’s reaction when the older twin found out about Dante’s prank. He sat back and mumbled, “I guess I can live with this. Er, not live, uh…” He laughed. “Would’ve been better if there’s pizza here, uh, Mr. God, Miss Fate, uh, Pops?” he yelled to the ceiling before snickering at his own foolishness.

And maybe the Fortuna people were right about his father being their god, because upon looking down, he saw a box of pizza on the table. “Sweet. That’s more like it. You guys will get five stars in accommodation if you keep me supplied.” He laughed as he took a slice. “Thanks for letting me keep my tastebuds, by the way!” 

While munching on his favorite food, he sat back and pressed the next button. In his mind, he was thinking along the lines of ‘a box of pizza for one’, which then led him to recalling when that had changed. And as if the TV could read his thoughts, the video that played next was when he had first offered pizza to Vergil upon coming to his shop after their Underworld clean-up.

Dante had to wipe his cheek, seeing how his twin looked so awkward. It was as though Vergil didn’t know how to exist with him when they weren’t in a fight. “Come on, my pizza will be salty this way.” He laughed but he just continued watching it, despite knowing that he could will it to change to something else with just a press of a button. 

“Sorry I had to go first, Vergil… All these decades that I lost you and now I left…” he mumbled as he looked down, but it didn’t take a minute for him to be cheerful again. He felt like he had to, because his eyes were welling up. “Hey, one day dress up as me and prank Nero and the others! That'd be funny. Or… Yeah, they might think you're a sociopath, so I guess don’t do that.” He laughed yet again, but it came out weaker than he had intended. 

Hoping that pizza could take away this not-so-fun mood, he was about to take another slice. But then he heard Vergil’s voice in the background say, “Foolish little brother, how long are you planning to stay this way? Stop making her cry…”  

“Huh?” But that only made Dante’s forehead crease. “What are you talking about? Me eating pizza makes someone cry?” He didn’t hear Vergil again, even when he tried calling his twin’s name twice. So he just turned the video to the next one, hoping he could find some answers there. 

He did find something unusual, but it only confused him. There was someone else with them in the shop, but their face was a blur. From the clothes, he could tell that this was a woman, and she was talking with Vergil. Because he couldn’t see her face, he was left to see only Vergil’s, and he could see that the dork had a hint of a smile. Dante knew that all too well, for he could remember a few instances from their childhood and from their recent time living together. Vergil would smile ever so slightly like that whenever Dante did or said something funny but Vergil didn’t want to admit being interested. When they were kids it was because Vergil was telling Dante to leave him alone, and when they were adults, it was probably because Vergil was simply emotionally constipated. 

That realization made Dante smile. “So you like this girl huh?” But oddly, after saying that, he felt a pinch in his chest. Weird. That made him look up, then around, as if he wanted to ask someone how this afterlife thing worked. He had expected himself to not feel alive-stuff like pain, but then again, he could taste the pizza, so maybe those senses came as one. 

Shrugging his shoulders, he sat back with a new slice and switched the video to the next one. But he was made to sit up alert when he heard from behind or above him, “Remember when I hit your face with my controller when we first met?” And as if on cue, the video seemed like that very moment, when something was swiftly landing on his face so hard. Then the screen turned black. 

“Now that you mentioned it, I do remember something like that… But when did that happen?” He recognized the voice to be the same one a while ago, and she must be this faceless girl on the TV that Dante saw after the black screen. She gestured for him to sit on the couch, then she was putting something like an ice pack to his head. She was standing close and she seemed to be inspecting him in the video, but he couldn’t make out her face. “This is starting to get creepy, guys,” he said upwards before chuckling to himself.  

But somehow it felt annoying. It was as if this person’s name was on the tip of his tongue, but he really couldn’t remember anything about her. Deciding that it was pointless to stress himself out with this, he pressed the next button. But he wasn’t able to focus on the next video because he recalled that this female voice had said something about a game earlier. "She said I was stabbed in a game, didn't she? What kind of a violent game could that be?" he mumbled while scratching the back of his head.

Then he heard her again. “You said we’ll make Vergil play the games too. I already invited him and he trained Nero with the portal so you can both visit my world at the same time now.” She stopped and he heard some sniffling before she spoke again. But this time, she seemed to be crying as she continued, “We still have a lot of things we planned to do together. You haven’t even claimed your coupon…”  

“Hey, don’t cry, whoever you are, uh, lady, er, miss…” It might be out of instinct that he found himself consoling her, even if he didn't fully understand what she was talking about. But it was weird that he was feeling pain in his chest again because of this. Since she turned quiet, his eyes landed on the box of pizza that he had already halved. “What, is this heartburn? I’m supposed to be dead.” 

Dante was about to get another slice, but the chest pain somehow made him change his mind. Maybe he could ask those people in charge for a strawberry sundae instead and he’d eat the rest of the pizza later. But before he could speak, he heard her again, saying, “Don’t you miss pizza?”  

He laughed and replied, “I think I’ve already eaten a lot of pizza, Roomie—” 

He froze upon realizing what he had just said. “Roomie?…” 

Then the screen had some static and the video being played changed. 

Chapter Text

“Dammit, how could I forget about Roomie!” Dante ran a hand on his head, almost pulling his hair in frustration. The videos that were playing on the screen now had you recognizable in it.  

And with those scenes he could now remember, he also recalled what he had been doing the past few days. It must have been why he couldn’t recognize you a while ago – he had been trying his best to forget you. Was that his subconscious doing the right thing for him? He didn’t know. But right now, there was this annoying feeling he couldn’t quite comprehend. Aside from being dismayed with himself for realizing it late, he also felt trapped or something. He couldn’t hear you anymore; the last one was what, three videos ago? Well your previous lines weren’t that frequent anyway. But somehow it just felt so much like how his last days had been, simply waiting for your call, for the chance to talk with you once a day. He had been wanting to forget you but he was clinging on to that routine. And right now, it somehow felt the same. He knew he was dead so he knew he really had to move on but he was still foolishly waiting for your voice again. 

And right when he had admitted that to himself, he heard you once more. “Dante… please come back to us…” But you seemed to be crying again, dammit. 

“Roomie!” He tried searching for the direction where your voice was coming from and he hoped that you could somehow hear him too. “I’m already dead, Roomie—” Damn, saying that out loud was kinda heart-wrenching. “I’m so sorry. Please stop crying.” He didn’t know what to say, really. He just didn’t want to hear you like that. From simply how your voice sounded, he could tell how you were, if you were excited, sad, disappointed… He didn’t know how but he just knew. 

Perhaps it was out of force of habit, but he faked a laugh and said, “This isn’t the games, Roomie. You can’t revive me with a gold orb.” 

It did seem like this thing worked only one-way. With what you said next, he confirmed that you really couldn’t hear him. But because of that, he realized something. “Dante, please wake up already…” 

“Wake up?” He looked around. “So am I supposed to just leave this place or something?” But there weren’t any doors nor windows. There were only white walls around him and this memory TV in front. “Roomie, I can’t wake up from this, I’m sorry.” But you saying that was giving him some sort of hope, that he wasn’t really dead. 

But then again, he didn’t know how to get out of whatever this was, and if ever he did, he would only go back to how his life had been. The life full of pain. He couldn’t help but smile as he thought of that, but it was true. He had known almost only pain from that time in the fire. Pain and guilt, to be specific. Then of course, there was fighting with Vergil, and then killing Vergil, then fighting some more… Though now he had Vergil back with him, and they were okay. Or so he wished.  

As much as he tried to deny it, he had thought that having Vergil back was the long-awaited happy ending of his damned life, but turns out, it was the one hurting him these days. He really wanted his brother to be happy for once. The dork had lost a lot of years in the Underworld, so he wanted Vergil to experience some sort of normalcy at least. He was sensing it after all, that Vergil also had feelings for you. For instance, that emotionally constipated ice king wouldn’t make an effort to go to your world just to apologize while he was still unwell. It was exactly why Dante had pushed you both away to Fortuna. And based on what you were telling Dante through the phone calls, he knew that you and Vergil had some progress there.  

You being someone who was always fun to be with would definitely give Vergil the happiness he deserved. Surely you would have a blissful life too. Vergil was one who would give his all when he was aiming for something, that single-minded SOB. Vergil would certainly do everything for you, and Dante was satisfied with that. He wanted that, he wanted both of you to be happy, and the best way to achieve that was for you and Vergil to have each other.  

But that just uh, kinda hurt for him. Yeah, he was fed up with the life of pain and guilt, so maybe he’d just stay in here, chilling in this peaceful realm, wherever this was. There was this awesome Memory TV that showed him only the good stuff anyway. He could somehow control the videos that were playing in front of him too. He could spend forever watching memories with his parents, with Vergil when they were kids, with Nero, with everyone he knew, with Vergil again when they were reunited after the Qliphoth, and with you… There was also this five-star accommodation, yeah, he could request as much pizza and sundae as he’d like. He could live—er, remain here for good. Even if there was a chance to go back because you’d said he just had to wake up, it seemed that simply staying here would be good for everyone. 

That was, if only he couldn’t hear you crying and calling him. 

“Dante, stop being Sleeping Beauty and wake up now…” 

“You can take a nap as much as you like but don’t oversleep…” 

“Vergil is doing his best but he’s so worried about you…” 

He tried to focus on the videos, but he couldn’t just ignore you. And that last one, it compelled him to respond. “Hey, Roomie, listen, uh, it all turned for the better. This way you can be with Vergil and I won’t… I…” He just smiled. “You guys will be alright there.” 

“I hope you can hear me. If you’re floating in space or somewhere, maybe you can follow my voice or something. Movies do that. I can’t think of anything specific right now—ah, yeah, that one movie with the cello, ah, ‘If I Stay’! Though you probably don’t know that and I can't remember what happened in that movie. We can watch it together! If you stay…” 

He laughed. “I’ll surely miss your silly references, Roomie.” And he willed himself to laugh again. Dammit. Dead people shouldn’t have tears, come on! 

“I miss seeing you laugh.” That made him look around again. Were you seeing or hearing him? He thought you couldn’t. “I miss hearing your voice. Listening to Reuben’s voice won’t be enough.” And you laughed at your own foolishness. 

“Damn, Roomie, I missed that…” And it didn’t help that the video in front of him showed you laughing. Then the next one was your usual reaction whenever he was fake-flirty. Then your smile whenever you would see and greet him. “I miss you…” 

But then you cried again. “Please come back…” You kept crying as you spoke to him. Even when you shifted into reminding him about your fun memories together, you still cried.  

Dante felt like he wanted to go to wherever you were just to comfort you. But how? “Stop crying please… I don’t even know how to come back.” 

“Remember how we usually say lines from DMC?” He couldn’t help but chuckle at how you suddenly shifted to a random topic. You made him laugh right when he needed to. Even in here you were the one cheering him up. “Continue the quote or say the reply, okay? I’ll wait for you,” you said, making him a bit more alert while at the same time amused. You two were about to play some sort of a game despite being separated by life and death. You really were foolishly fun. “Are you ready?— no, that’s not yet the start, that’s not a Dance Macabre.” And with that, he laughed out loud, before biting his lip to stop some pesky rain. “Game…” You sniffled a little before saying, “I’ll try it your way for once.”  

Dante smiled and answered, “Remember what we used to say?” 

“Give that to me.”  

“No way.” He chuckled. “You got your own.” Now he was imagining these moments instead of watching the Memory TV. 

“You sure know how to throw a party…”  

“No food, no drinks, and the only babe just left.” 

“Hey Vergil!”  

“Your portal-opening days are over.” Dante laughed, before adding, “Give me the Yamato.” Funny how he frequently said that to Vergil, though in a nicer way, ever since bringing you to his world. 

“When in doubt…”  

“Smack it. That's our family motto—” Dante froze in realization.

Then he quickly stood up, subtly wiping his cheek as he did, and stretched his arm to the side the usual way. He wasn’t one with a concentration gauge even in the game, but he tried his best. He closed his eyes and poured all his desire to see you into summoning his devil sword. He was still hearing you say quotes in the background, but that didn’t distract him. Instead, it made him smile and imagine being with you again, playing the Devil May Cry games in your world again, doing the DMC Tours again… Even if it meant he would return to the world full of hurt, he wouldn’t mind. He just wanted to make you stop crying. He’d get hurt over and over just so you would smile and laugh again. 

And when the sword appeared in his hand, his clothes changed into his trademark red coat – his outfit in 5, your favorite one. “That’s more like it.” He smiled then faced the wall behind him, the direction he could hear your voice coming from. Though in doing so, he turned his back on the memories playing on the screen. He felt a bit guilty realizing that, so he gave it one final glance, as if to tell those happy memories not to worry for he wouldn’t forget them. He would definitely carry them with him, even add more to them, if possible, with you, with Vergil and Nero, with everyone. 

“Now Dante’s gonna break the fourth wall,” he said with a smirk before charging at the wall in front of him. 

## 

“Roomie…” 

“Dante?…” You seemed to be crying while almost falling asleep, with your head resting on the bed beside his hand, the hand you were clasping. So he gave yours a light squeeze, like some sort of proof, even to himself, that he was still alive. “Dante!” Upon seeing him sitting up, you jumped from your seat and hugged him. “You’re back…” You seemed thrilled but you cried some more, though probably for a different reason now. 

“Yeah, some people still ship Dante/Roomie so…” he whispered close to your ear. He was glad that it made you laugh, even in between sobs. It even made you hold him tighter. 

Something was weird about him though, and he couldn’t quite identify what it was. Contrary to how you seemed to want to hold him close for a while, he pulled away. You looked surprised at first, but you quickly gave him your usual warm smile, as if to welcome him back. But before you could speak, he leaned in and captured your lips with his. 

Chapter Text

The kiss was supposed to be from the prince to the sleeping princess… 

It was meant to wake her up, to lift the curse, to undo the spell… 

But Dante had gotten up, and now he was kissing you. Why? But this… 

## 

‘Roomie’s lips are so soft— I should stop now— Darn, I don’t want this to end— This isn’t— I want you—’  

Dante’s mind was spinning but it felt like this was right, this was something he had wanted for so long. He had expected you to push him away, but you didn’t. Instead, you were kissing him back, so he… uh, kinda lifted you to sit on the bed, on top of him, without breaking away.   

This seemed familiar… He might have daydreamed something like this before. Or maybe this right now was just one of those? But you were real… He could perceive your sweet scent, and doing so this close, it was more intoxicating than a bottle of his whiskey. His hands could feel your warm cheek, your smooth neck, your delicate curves, your…

Part of him knew that this was wrong, but he just couldn’t stop. Though he still felt a bit loopy, he gave the surroundings a quick review. He was in his room, already on the bed, good. The door was closed, though it wasn’t locked, but maybe it was alright— But he suddenly felt movement outside, there was… And it reminded him of reality, the same time dread washed over him. 

So Dante pulled away, mumbling, “Oh boy.” Then he added, “No, don’t say ‘already’, I…” He almost laughed at his own joke that you didn’t seem to get. At least his usual humor-mask was already back on, talk about second nature. But he figured it wasn’t the right time to goof around as he had just done something inappropriate.  

He put a palm over his face as he spoke. “I’m sorry, Roomie. I got carried away.” He couldn’t look at you, nor at how he had disheveled your clothes. 

“N-No, it’s alright, I…” But he sensed that you were getting up so he quickly gave a hand to assist you. All embarrassment didn’t matter as your safety was always top priority. Though you seemed to be equally embarrassed as you continued to stutter, “I-I think I have to uh, tell Vergil that you’re awake.” You still had nervous gestures as you went to the door. “H-He’s been so worried about you, I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear about this.” 

‘No, Vergil won’t be glad to hear about this, Roomie.’  

Dante put a hand on his face again upon being left alone in his room. He could only hope that he had sensed it wrong. He was still feeling off after all. 

## 

You could practically hear your heart pounding against your chest as you went out of Dante’s room. You had to lean your back on his door for a moment to sort out your thoughts. 

Dante had just kissed you. And it almost—and you’d let him because…? It felt right? Did you have feelings for Dante? Was it the reason why you were too afraid to lose him? Or no, it might just be because you had almost lost him? But no, you wouldn’t just do that with anyone, there was something about Dante… There was some sort of relief when he kissed you, as if everything you'd been waiting for had finally arrived.  

As you forced yourself to head to the stairs, you tried recalling the kiss with Vergil. You could remember that one to have felt kind of magical, as if there were fireworks, yeah cheesy but… Maybe that was because you had always liked him a lot, so it was something like a dream come true. While with Dante, it was different but it also felt… There was something like longing, and you felt as if you just wanted to keep him close, and it felt like this had long been due. Had you always been feeling that way for him?  

Well to be honest, you were not unattracted to Dante, he’s… and everything you had been through, the closeness… It felt like it was just right, but there was this guilt. Perhaps it was because Vergil had kissed you first and in Fortuna, it was as if there was this unspoken thing between you two, and the feeling seemed mutual… or were you just assuming things? And was this a matter of first? If that were the case then Dante had met you first, he'd gotten close with you first, and the feelings for him you’d been trying to ignore had been there first— Feelings? Ah that’s right. 

As if your mind was in cahoots with this new idea, you recalled moments with Dante, those instances that you felt nervous around him, stuttered a little, became extra clumsy and a bit too self-conscious… Those were your symptoms when with someone you like. It was also how you’d always been when Vergil was around. So you also had feelings for Dante long before? 

Ah no, if it was a matter of feelings then Vergil was first because you had always liked him even before meeting them. More than 'like' actually, you were crazy about him. It wasn’t just crush on his appearance or coolness, but you felt his pain, you cried for him, you wanted to make him happy even just through your fics, you loved him more than a simple fan thing that you’d always thought that it was crazy. But didn’t you also do those things for Dante? Felt his pain, cried for and with him, made an effort to make him smile… 

But no, Dante had apologized, and he had said that he’d just gotten carried away. You too, probably. And besides, you and Vergil hadn’t talked about what had happened on your last night in Fortuna. Maybe talking about it would help you figure out these things… Would it? Dante was now awake, so you could finally get Vergil’s attention from all his worries and his search for ways to save his twin. Or maybe you ought to figure it out on your own first? But you needed to tell Vergil that Dante was awake now, to ease his worries, so you still had to go to him. 

Though it was weird. Upon exiting Dante’s room, your racing heart was more akin to excitement, but the closer you got to the kitchen where Vergil was, it felt more like due to guilt. You felt as if you had done something wrong to him. Maybe it was your Vergilist heart feeling guilty for that kiss with Dante, or yeah because of the Fortuna thing that had happened first but was still uncertain. Maybe to Vergil, you two were already something... Well honestly, part of you had been kinda hoping so, but now... and you letting Dante do that was...

No, it wasn’t just that. This guilt was because you knew that this was wrong. You having feelings for both of them, though still unsorted, was wrong. You cared about them both, you didn’t want to go in between them. They had just gotten each other back after three decades of an awful past. If you were to entertain feelings for them, you had to make it clear which one. You needed to figure out how you really felt, and perhaps having this long-due talk with Vergil about Fortuna would be good as the first step. 

So you mustered up all the courage you could, even subconsciously wished for Sparda and Eva’s guidance, as you entered the kitchen. But then… 

Chapter Text

“Vergil!” You rushed close to him, held his right arm to stop him from pouring more hot coffee to his left hand, which was holding an empty cup. It would have been a funny scene if he didn’t look so out of himself. 

“Are you alright?” you asked as you took the coffee pot and cup from him to place them on the counter. Then you led him to the sink to put his hand under cold running water. This somehow reminded you of a similar thing that had happened in Fortuna, when it was Vergil who was doing this to you. Recalling how he gazed at you while you were drinking coffee later that time was making you smile, but your worry for him was greater at the moment. “You should be careful, even if you’ll heal.” And indeed, when you turned off the tap, the patch of red on his hand was no longer there. “Does it still hurt?” 

He didn’t answer and was just staring blankly at you, so you touched his neck, then his cheek. You were hoping that their normally-hot half-demon bodies would still give a hint in temperature change if they were sick, but he didn’t seem too hot nor cold. “You’re probably exhausted and stressed out,” you said, a hand still on his cheek, and the other still holding the hand he'd burned. “I’ll take care of this.” You were referring to the coffee he'd spilled on the floor. “You need to take a rest. Dante is—” 

But then he pulled his left hand out of your hold and took your palm away from his cheek. And he said coldly, “Your concern is unsolicited.” 

## 

I thought we had something.  

I thought it was real.  

I thought you felt the same way.  

But I was a fool.  

Vergil had made sure that he wasn’t disrespecting anything or trespassing on something. Dante had once told him that you two were merely good friends, and when Vergil asked you, you had also said the same. With that in mind, he had allowed himself to entertain these feelings.  

He might have even been a tad too silly sometimes, trying ways to make you laugh, to earn your smile… Such things as recalling what he had said in remarkable moments of his life, hoping that they were his quotes in the games in your world that you seemed too fascinated with. He knew he was also guilty of doing some cunning tricks just to get close to you, indulging your enthusiasm in his demonic world, or touching you but telling you that it was all just part of the training. Though they really were – training for you to get used to him and for him to get better at handling and caring for you. He had thought that he was free to do those things, and he had sensed that you were a little attracted to him too. Well you had said you were his big fan and all your reactions led him to thinking that you might indeed be drawn to him the same way he was to you. 

But then he witnessed you and Dante kiss. He didn’t literally see it, but being just outside the door, with his heightened senses hearing how you were crying and welcoming Dante one moment and then you two suddenly turning speechless. You were excessively worried about Dante and now that he was awake, there was no way that you would be that tongue-tied— well now, with Dante… Anyway, Vergil had expected you to laugh while trying to stop your tears, or to tell Dante how you were worried about him, or tell him how glad you were to see him now awake. But there was none of that. 

To hell with these heightened senses. Vergil had never thought that they would be to his disadvantage. He was indeed just assuming it, but those distinct sounds were painful enough to make him frozen in place only to hear more. The sheets, the soft moans and the sounds of lips parting for a split second just to come back and claim each other again. He knew them because he had just done that with you, on your last night in Fortuna. He knew them all too well for he still couldn’t forget that moment. It still played in his mind as though it had happened just yesterday, which was why he had been wanting to speak with you about it. And perhaps it was a good thing that he wasn’t able to, that he kept dismissing it to focus on the cure for Dante, because it would have hurt a lot more if he did tell you how he felt and you would simply turn him down for his twin. 

As Vergil quietly dragged his feet downstairs, he tried his usual ways of blocking emotions, but the more he tried not to feel anything, the more he felt regret for not doing this sooner. Had he known that you and Dante were… something, he would have stopped himself. You were just so kind, so warm, so… the more he got close with you, the more he fell. And now he learned that he shouldn’t have let that happen. 

He then found himself in the kitchen, probably the only area in the shop where he was far and secluded enough not to hear what would happen next with you and his brother. He was staring at nothing in particular as his mind kept spiraling down the same train of thoughts. He really tried to suppress it, to be numb, but there was regret, shame and hurt that he didn’t know how to handle all at once. He did numb his hand successfully though, for he didn’t know he was already pouring hot coffee on it until he heard you calling his name. 

It was you who panicked about it and guided him to do things as he stared blankly at you. Then you showed your usual concern. “Are you alright?” You even put a palm on his neck, then his cheek, and you said in that caring tone that he always loved hearing from you, “You’re probably too exhausted and stressed out. I’ll take care of this. You need to take a rest. Dante is—” 

But hearing you mention Dante’s name brought Vergil back to reality. So he pulled his hand out of your hold then took your hand away from his face. He would have wanted that, your gentle touch, your warmth, your care, but it only hurt him now.  He had fallen for those— he had been fooled by those. You were simply too kind and he had mistaken it for something that you had only for him. 

He still tried to be careful when he pulled away from you, for he didn’t want to cause you harm. But he might have been a bit harsh when he said, “Your concern is unsolicited.” 

“Ah, sorry.” You withdrew your hand as if in embarrassment, but you still had that worried look when you said, “I actually came here to tell you that Dante’s awake.” 

“Yes, I sensed so.” 

“Aren’t you going to see him? You’ve been so worried about him.” 

“You don’t have to mind me. You two can catch up as much as you need.” 

“That’s almost a quote.” You laughed weakly. “You seem off though. Is there something wrong?” 

“There is nothing wrong. Stop assuming things.” 

You frowned, something he’d never liked seeing on you. “Speaking of assume... Am I… wrong to assume that… Fortuna…” You were evidently embarrassed about it, and if only you knew that he felt twice as much. 

Now that he had learned that your heart belonged to his brother, he didn’t want you to get bothered by all the foolish things he had done in Fortuna. Now that he knew he had foolishly put himself in between you and Dante, he wanted the ground to swallow him for his shame, but at the same time it just felt… Vergil might have only been ignoring the hints he had been seeing, probably because he was being selfish, because he wanted you for himself. But seeing how you and Dante clearly had feelings for each other, Vergil felt like he had intervened in something he shouldn’t have. And he wanted nothing else but for his twin to be happy, the same way he wanted what was best for you. Conveniently, it all lined up in front of him, and all he had to do was back down. 

When you opened the Fortuna topic, he knew what must be done. He thought it would do you better if he just took away the guilt you must be feeling. So he made use of his best skill, the one he had mastered ever since he had been forced to live on his own. He buried all emotions deep within, wore his usual, more comfortable cold façade, then used something he knew that you were well aware of. It was still a wonder for him how you knew so much about him from the games in your world. But this time, he had to use the same knowledge just to make you forget about everything you two had shared. “You said you’re a big fan of mine, so you, of all people, should know it all too well.”  

You seemed confused, which urged him to do this more properly. After all, a smooth and quick kill wouldn’t hurt as much. So he did his best to sound apathetic and be emotionless when he added, “I also had something in Fortuna a long time ago… and I left. Because such things mean nothing to me.” 

You opened your mouth slightly but quickly pressed your lips shut, as though you wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words for it. With that, Vergil knew it was effective. The hurt he could see on your face told him that it was even too effective. But he had to make sure, he had to seal it with, “So stop making a big deal out of it.” 

“Ah, that’s right.” You gave your typical nervous laugh that he always found charming, but your eyes were glistening more than usual. “Sorry, I thought— I got too— Ehe, sorry.”  

He remained impassive even though deep down he was crumbling. That look you gave didn’t help. You seemed to be a few seconds from crying but were forcing a smile. You were trying to catch his gaze as if asking if he meant what he’d said. It only made his heart clench, so he turned away and sought for a distraction. He just had to stay strong for a few more minutes, just a few more minutes…  

“Bring this to Dante.” He took the tray of breakfast from the counter, the one he had prepared for you, the reason why he was there outside Dante’s room in the first place. He was supposed to ask you if you wished to eat, for he didn’t intend to compel you by bringing it right away, since the past few days you didn’t have much appetite. He had really wanted to take care of you, not just today, not just recently, but from the moment you had reached out to him. But now he said, as though he was bidding his farewell, “You take care of him.”

You nodded and quickly took the tray. You kept your head down, but you still tried to sound cheerful when you said, “I’m sure he’s hungry. He hasn’t eaten for a week.” And you still showed concern that just pierced his chest hard. “You take a rest, okay?” You even gave him your usual warm smile along with it. 

But Vergil noticed that teardrop rolling down your cheek as you were leaving. He knew he had hurt you. He didn’t want to, but he had to, to make it easier for you. He would rather be the evil one, he was used to it anyway, just so you could pursue what you really wanted… so you could have what was best for you without feeling guilty about it. 

Though he still watched you run upstairs to Dante’s room, as he was worried that you might trip and fall. He was still alert and was ready to catch you in case it happened. Meanwhile, there was this inexplicable pain in his chest as he watched you go. But he couldn’t fall apart in here. He didn’t have the courage to come up to his room either, for he feared he might overhear you and Dante again, or hear you crying because of him.  

So he grabbed the Yamato and conjured a portal to a place where he could be by himself, somewhere he had an excuse to be vulnerable. Not in the manor, no, for he didn’t want even the portrait of his mother and father to see him be weak. Somewhere else, somewhere bleak and desolate.  

He felt unease in doing this, but he left the Yamato on Dante’s desk before entering the portal. It was so that Dante could send you home should you wish to take a proper rest in your world. If there were still demons that remained in this place, he would just fight them wielding a summoned sword and with Geor— his doppelganger. He could manage anything; fighting barehanded would probably be easier than forgetting about you, seeing as how every little thing could be a reminder. It was even ironic how this was the place where he had first felt helpless, where he'd first thought that he needed to gain enough power so as not to feel afraid and hurt again. And now he returned here, decades later, now all powerful, but still… 

Vergil sat on the ground and leaned his back on the side of a tombstone that amusingly remained standing despite all the ruins around. At least, in this place, no one would see him, no one would hear him. This was where he'd started to be alone after all. He should have just settled on staying that way. He was really a fool for letting himself feel things, assume and hope. 

Chapter Text

You entered the room carrying a tray of food so Dante quickly went to your side to assist you. When he took the tray, you said, “This reminds me of when we had breakfast in bed when I was sick. Too bad you don’t seem to have a naked pillow here that I can hit you with.” You even laughed, but still, Dante could tell that something was off about you. You were avoiding eye contact, even keeping your face down as you sat on the chair. So he thought that maybe you were feeling awkward about what he had done. 

But somehow, he was sensing something else. He wanted to summon his usual playfulness and bend down to take a peek of your face. Or perhaps do his old fake flirty antics on you and lift your chin up so he could take a look at your eyes, but that might just pull him into you and make things worse. 

Even when he offered to share the food, you still avoided his gaze and just said, “I’m not hungry. You're the one who needs to eat.” So he’d thought of trying something – something he knew would really make you look at him, but something that would take advantage of your kindness. He apologized to you in his mind before pretend-choking with the pancake. And it did make you look at him, along with a worried look and the glass of juice you were holding out to him. As he drank a little, you said with a weak smile, “I know you haven’t eaten in a week but take it slow.” 

He would have replied with something silly, but seeing your eyes got his blood boiling. He knew you had been crying before he’d woken up, but this was different. Your lower eyelids were redder and puffier than a while ago. Yep, he could tell because he kinda took a good look at you upon waking up, almost like a photo with his brain camera, for he had missed you badly. And it was probably that same reason why this matter got him fuming. “What happened, Roomie? Did Vergil make you cry?” 

You shook your head vehemently, as you might have gotten scared because of his tone. But it was the only possibility that Dante could think of, so his quick alternative was to ask the suspect instead. As he was getting up, though, you blocked him and said, “No, don’t confront him or something. It's my fault anyway. And it’s nothing.” You forced a smile. “You know I just cry easily.” 

But he wasn’t buying it, so he told you the same thing you had used on him before, “Honesty, Roomie.” It seemed to have worked; you looked guilty of keeping it from him but you were still hesitating. So he took the tray and put it on the nearby table. Then he pulled you to sit on the bed, with your back on him. He felt a bit embarrassed when he did that though, and he hoped you didn’t remember the kiss—Damn, that stung a little. But no, this wasn’t about him. Better him to get hurt than you. After all, that was what he’d said to himself when he had chosen to come back here from wherever that was. He would come back to the life full of pain if it meant he could keep you from crying, from getting hurt. 

So Dante sat behind you, even leaned his back on you, his head on yours too, just to let you know what he was planning. “I don’t have any bear or plushie in here so maybe a wilted rose will work? I haven’t replenished my stock.” Chuckling, he extended his right hand where you could see it. But before he could summon a rose, he realized, “Ah no, use my pillow instead.” And he handed you one. “It smells like a week-old Dante though.” At least that made you laugh. How he wished that it was him, especially if you were hugging that pillow right now. But sitting back-to-back like this was probably the closest he could allow himself with you. He really had to stop these feelings for real… 

And when you explained to him what had happened, Dante felt more guilty of not being able to completely rid himself of these feelings. It was his fault, and it felt beyond awful. Vergil had already made his move, but Dante had to ruin things for his twin again. What he’d foolishly done was clearly the reason why Vergil had said those things to you. Why couldn’t his dork of a twin just be honest with himself for once! Well Dante wasn’t any better, but still. 

“That idiot… Wait here, Roomie. I’m gonna—” But before he could stand up, you grabbed his arm and faced him. 

“No, don’t, please.” And with that, you couldn’t hold back your tears. “I don’t want you two to fight or even argue, please. It’s my fault anyway. I just misunderstood stuff.” You were even forcing a smile while wiping your cheek. 

Dante could only put a hand on his face in frustration and shame. This was clearly his fault, but somehow, part of him was telling him otherwise. This part was even saying that everything would be settled because of this. Vergil had clearly backed down so all he had to do was comfort you, tell you how he felt for you, and maybe wait for you to get over his twin and fall for him instead. But he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t be able to live with knowing that he got you through a lie… and that he took something from Vergil again, which caused his twin to suffer alone once more. 

So clenching his fists, Dante looked at you and did his best to show you the most convincing grin he could. “We won’t fight, Roomie. I’ll fix this, I promise. Don’t believe any of what he said. This is my fault. I’m really sorry about…” He had to pause to keep some stuff from coming out. There was no rain in here that he could use as an excuse. That kiss was the only moment he had you for himself, with you responding to how he felt, and yet he had to apologize for it. He really had bad luck with women, didn’t he? 

“I uh, I’ll be right back.” He pretended to be in a hurry so he could turn his back on you sooner. ...because he couldn’t fake his smile anymore.  

But he knew that once he faced Vergil, he had to put on a goofy façade again. That was why upon exiting his room, he took a moment to lean his back on his door. He had to strengthen his resolve before facing his foolish twin. Even if it sucked big time—Damn it, he’d prefer a sword through his chest a hundred times over. At least that kind of pain would go away in a few seconds as the wound healed, unlike this one he was feeling right now. But no, he had to do this. Ah that’s right, he was used to getting stabbed anyway, like what you'd said in his dream thing. So maybe he could just imagine this annoying sensation as a million stab - so fast and so many that it felt permanently there. Or a heartburn, yeah, like in your world before, when he’d just started falling—damn. 

Chapter Text

Dante didn’t see Vergil anywhere; he couldn’t even sense Vergil in the shop. But he found the Yamato on his desk, and he quickly understood why it was there. Vergil had surely left it there so Dante could send you back to your world when needed. That brooding idiot, he really did care about you. He wouldn’t go anywhere without the Yamato, but for you he did. And realizing that made Dante even more guilty and frustrated with himself. 

But apart from those two, he was also feeling something else: fear. It might be weird of him to be so, but there was a part of him that was afraid of losing Vergil again. He couldn’t go through that again, not a fourth time, not now when he had foolishly believed that this would last for good. If ever the dork had run away, swear to Sparda, if he’d run away to hell and got himself in trouble, Dante would— No, as long as he had the Yamato, he could find Vergil anywhere with the portal. 

And find his twin, he did. 

 
It was raining where Dante located him, in a graveyard that was mostly unrecognizable to be one because of all the wreckage. But he knew this place; he didn’t actually like coming back to this place. Vergil was about 10 meters away, sitting on the ground, one leg outstretched, the other knee up and with an arm on it. His back and his head were leaning on the side of a tomb stone, and his eyes were closed, as if he was taking pleasure being under the rain. How Vergil’s hair was down and soaked would have reminded Dante of their fight back then in Temen-ni-gru, but Vergil wasn’t in his usual glory right now.  

There were no cocky taunts such as “You showed up,” nor swept-back hair and coattails fluttering in the wind like on top of that tree. All Dante could see was someone like him, someone who looked exactly like him, someone who was probably feeling exactly like how he was…  Yep, they were twins alright. He had long been wanting to feel that, to enjoy that – having someone exactly like him while at the same time someone who complemented him perfectly. Even as a kid, he had always wanted them to be together like how twins should, so much so that he would come up with creative ways to make Vergil spend time with him. But why did he have to keep ruining it all the time?  

Vergil wouldn’t have been separated from him and their mom that time if Dante didn’t annoy the hell out of the dork with his new book. Vergil wouldn’t have jumped into the Underworld and faced that fucking prince of darkness in that weak state if Dante didn’t intervene and have that fight. Vergil wouldn’t have been tortured for years if Dante wasn’t there in that tower. Vergil wouldn’t have lost decades of his life if Dante wasn’t in that island like a clueless dumbass who didn’t even recognize whom he was fighting. It was always him who had caused Vergil’s suffering, and yet he couldn’t stop doing it, he kept on causing it.  

If only he didn’t exist… no, that was dumb. If Dante didn’t exist then this dork who didn’t like making friends wouldn’t have anyone to keep him company, to make him laugh even if he was trying to hide it, to knock some sense into him whenever he was too motivated in the wrong path… Dante still wanted to be here but he wanted to do the right thing, for once. With that goal in mind, he took a step forward.

But before he could even think of what to say, Vergil noticed his presence, and after sparing him a glance…

…this teleporting bastard disappeared.  

But Dante didn’t improve his skills all these years for nothing. He followed where he could sense Vergil, vanishing in the air, stopping on top of rocks when needed, only to teleport once again. Like in the game, his version of this trick wasn’t as smooth and as long-distance as Vergil could do, but he was damn motivated to catch up with this fool.  

Well, what do you know! One could really achieve high when motivated! And funny how they were also literally on a high spot, somewhere in the game where V took a detour and there was a red orb tree on top of—Wow he sure was influenced a lot by you, now referring to places as ‘That one where this character did this.’  

So upon being able to grasp Vergil with a little more struggle, Dante was able to keep his twin in place with his hands grabbing the latter by the lapels of his coat. Dante was bracing himself for a fist, a kick or even summoned swords. He was willing to fight even in this limited space they were on, but there was nothing. Vergil didn’t even seem to care that he was caught, and from the distant look in his eye, it was as if he wasn’t there. 

So unlike this chase, Dante went straight to the point. “Come back and apologize to Roomie.” 

To his surprise, Vergil answered but it was almost a whisper. “Leave me alone.” Even if this rain was making Dante feel as if he was staring at himself, one who was stubbornly avoiding his gaze, that reply sounded so familiar and nostalgic to Dante’s ears. It was what Vergil would often say to him when they were kids, when he would chase the older twin as he carried their wooden swords and kept insisting that Vergil had promised that they would play.  

That familiarity would probably explain what Dante said next. “I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t mean to steal what’s yours again, trust me.” He gave a short chuckle, a sarcastic one though. “I feel like shit, I’ve always been.” His grip tightened as he continued, “I know you must be hurt right now, and I know how it feels—” 

“You misunderstand—” 

“Damn it, I understand! Because I’ve been feeling that way, every day. I’ve loved her for a long time, but I’ve always known that she was for you. The Yamato chose her for you,” Dante gestured to the katana between his left hand and Vergil’s coat. “And I've witnessed how she was indeed perfect for you. Despite that, I still…” He had to look away as he bit his lip, but then he realized that it was still raining so there was no need to hide his face. “I’ve tried everything but it was just hard to stop. I’ll do better, I swear.” He looked at his twin eye-to-eye, showing how he meant what he was saying. “I'll even move away if needed.”  

Vergil wasn’t responding so Dante thought that his proposal must have been agreeable. That was why he forced a smile and said, “So enough brooding and get your girl. I know you didn’t mean what you said to her. Don’t hurt Roomie like that. She has always liked you, even before she met you. She's a great person, she…” Damn this 'heartburn' and this surge of memories. Dante had to wipe the rain off his face because it was blurring his vision. “She knows everything about you, she can tell when you’re troubled, she will do her best to cheer you up, and she will listen to you even when you can’t explain how you feel.” He laughed. “Yeah, that doesn’t make sense but I'm sure you know what I—” 

“Dante,” Vergil interrupted. He no longer looked empty. Instead, he was back to his cold and emotionless demeanor. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Dante clutched Vergil’s coat tight when he heard that. “And it seems to me that you are…” But Vergil’s eyes strayed away from Dante’s, and he couldn’t finish what he was supposed to say. Then he said in an unexpectedly gentler tone, “You need to be honest with yourself.” 

With that, Dante couldn’t stop his fist from landing on his brother’s face, causing the latter to take a few steps back. “That’s rich coming from you!” Dante laughed, though he felt like he deserved a punch too. But Vergil wasn’t returning the favor so Dante tossed the Yamato back to its owner. 

And twin minds really did think alike, Vergil drew his katana. But his taunt this time was unlike his usual ones, “You are too blinded by your guilt that you can’t see she has feelings for you.” 

“Don’t get my hopes up, dammit.” Dante called forth his devil sword. “That's what Fortuna was for, I’ve already given up.” 

“What you are telling yourself doesn’t match how you really feel!” 

“You’re one to talk!” 

But the moment their swords clashed, they heard from below, “Stop fighting, you fools!” 

Chapter Text

A few minutes after Dante had gone out, you also left his room, as you couldn’t stand worrying about them and just sitting there doing nothing. Despite trusting in Dante, you were worried that their talk might still lead to an argument or fight. You could somehow tell that Dante seemed mad earlier even if he was smiling, so it was better to make sure.  

But it was strangely quiet in the shop. Even when you called out their names, no one answered. And upon reaching the stairs, you immediately saw a portal in the lobby. You found it weird why it was left open. Did one of them just went somewhere temporarily? Or did both of them go? Did something happen?   

The last time that you had seen both of them come out of a portal flashed in your mind. It was when Dante had brought in an unconscious and bleeding Vergil. Recalling that somehow got you even more worried about the two, which explained why you were stepping closer to this rift in space. You could imagine Vergil or Dante scolding you for being careless if you simply entered it and got in trouble, if ever this was a portal to a dangerous place. So you waited a minute in front of it, giving them a chance to return.  

But as you did, more bothersome images and ideas came to mind. What if Vergil got hurt, because he had been spacing out due to exhaustion again? Maybe Dante had to hurry and bring him to a hospital or their version of it, like a newfound healer or something… If that were the case then maybe you could help with your blood again so you should definitely go in. And maybe that was why the portal was left open - for you to follow after them. Or what if it was Dante who had experienced some kind of an after-effect of his spell-induced coma? Maybe Vergil brought him somewhere, maybe his latest research had led him to an expert in spells. You being there might not be of any help but you wanted to at least be updated with what was happening to Dante if that were the case. And whichever of them was hurt, you wanted to be there to help the other one calm down, as you had experienced both scenarios. Despite them being cool and badass, they both tend to worry so much when the other one was hurt. So with those ideas in mind and with more than a minute passing and yet this portal was still open, you finally decided to enter. 

And upon stepping out of it, the portal closed. It was a bit weird, while at the same time kind of magical, that it was as if the portal had really been waiting for you to enter it. But thoughts about it quickly escaped your mind as you recognized the place you were in. It was raining and it was a bit messier here than in the game, perhaps because it was post-DMC5 here now. Despite that, you still recognized this place as you had kept on dying in Hell and Hell as Vergil in this mission because of those Judecca’s. But Dante and Vergil weren’t around. The portal behind you had already disappeared so you really had no choice but to go forward and look for them. And that was when you heard familiar voices. They were echoing a bit, and they seemed to be coming from above. 

##### 

When they were little, Vergil would always try to get away whenever Dante was pestering him to play. For him there was time for training, which Dante called ‘playtime’, then there was time for study, time for reading leisurely, and perhaps time for chores with their mother. But Dante would always label everything as playtime, and he would even entrap Vergil with tricks. One of them was Dante ‘misunderstanding’ what Vergil had said as him promising the younger twin that they would play for the whole day tomorrow. Dante was always full of such mischief, but it wasn’t always the case. There were times when Vergil might have rejected him far harsher than usual or broke his toy to keep him from bothering the older twin. In those times, Vergil had realized that Dante, despite being Dante, was still a child, his younger brother at that. Because there were a few times when he’d caught Dante secretly crying somewhere, on top of a tree, in the attic, or behind the big boxes in the basement. It was because the surroundings would suddenly be peaceful and quiet, that he would feel as if something was wrong. So upon looking for his twin, he would hear those distinct sounds of sniffling, smell those salty tears and consequently, feel the pang of guilt. And whenever those times would happen, Vergil would get compelled to really play with the younger twin. It would even be a bit excessive, such as letting Dante choose and decide what they would do. But of course, Vergil would do it subtly. He would make it seem as though he was merely cornered by his brother or because he was just immensely bored, for he had finished the book he had planned to read for the day. He would even make an effort to make it true; he would really hurry up in finishing a certain book, in case Dante doubted it and asked him a question about it. 

Vergil had always known that his younger twin was his weakness. That was why when he saw Dante trying to hide it in the rain, it was as if a big brother switch was flicked on inside him. Dante was convincing him to come back and apologize to you, telling him that Dante didn’t mean what had happened. But in the process, Dante was also coincidentally spilling how he felt for you. So naturally, Vergil had to do his old ways and spoil his younger brother the way he was used to. He tried feigning ignorance, he tried seeming disinterested, but he couldn’t quite keep it up for there was a bothersome sensation in his chest whenever he would lie about how he felt for you.  

So Vergil ended up just saying something foolish as an advice to his little brother, something he knew he meant to tell himself as well, “You need to be honest with yourself.” Dante might have found it inappropriate, or perhaps too spot-on, that it was when they started to fight. But that was until they heard your voice, calling them fools, telling them to stop fighting.  

“You left the portal open?!” Vergil couldn’t rein in his frustration and worry. 

The moment he recognized you, his mind quickly told him of his top priority: your safety. Because before Dante had arrived, Vergil had fought a few demons in here. Well, they were lesser demons that didn’t even require him to move from where he had been sitting, but still. He could sense that this place was still infested, and he didn’t want you to be anywhere near danger. That was why even before jumping down, he had conjured spectral swords around you, just in case some demons suddenly appeared. Those were what you called as ‘Spiral Swords’, and recalling it made him smile to himself, because almost every skill and attack he could do, you had a name for it. He had memorized them to use when indulging your fascination about their video game versions, which was why now it was a tad difficult not to call them as such. 

“No! It always closes automatically.” Dante seemed equally worried as he was the first to jump down. “Why did this happen?” But upon landing and seeing you, Vergil noticed that Dante put a palm on his face and muttered, “Dammit, I think the Yamato really hates me.” 

Vergil glanced at his katana as he thought, Is it really ‘hate’? It seemed that the Yamato had even helped Dante convey his feelings for you, indirectly though. So what he had been saying about the Yamato and the portal choosing you for Vergil, that might not be entirely true. But Vergil didn’t have time to think about that right now. 

Upon meeting your gaze, Vergil had the urge to look away, but he willed himself not to. Ridding himself of all emotions, he asked, “Are you not hurt anywhere?” He only wanted to make sure, being aware of your clumsy tendencies and of the fact that the ground was uneven and was with plenty of stones that you might have tripped over. You shook your head as you wiped your face, which brought him a little relief. He wasn’t sure if it was just the rain, but knowing you, especially if you’d heard everything Dante had said up there, you had probably shed tears again. 

Sighing, Vergil took off his coat. He willed the spectral swords around you to disappear before draping the coat over your head and shoulders. “Humans can get sick from the rain.” Then he handed the Yamato to his brother and said, “Take her back to the shop. It’s dangerous in here.” 

##### 

Hearing everything made you realize that Dante hadn’t just gotten ‘carried away’ when he’d kissed you. Everything he said got you frozen in place as realization hit you. It was as if your mind just painted all of Dante’s sweet gestures with beautiful colors, from being just plain black-and-white before. Indeed, you had been noticing them as sweet, sometimes even too much, but you just didn’t want to see them as something, for you didn’t want to taint your good friendship with Dante. But now… 

Ah, but now, those two might have started fighting, because you heard a clanking sound of metals. You couldn’t see them well but hoping they would hear you, you screamed, “Stop fighting, you fools!” You would have quoted Nero in DMC5 Mission 20 but you might have been a little bit on the crying side again right now because of everything you’d heard. Dammit, was it Human May Cry day today? 

And it wasn’t just Dante’s feelings for you that you had blatantly found out after entering that mysterious portal. You had also witnessed things that confirmed how Vergil was only lying when he’d insinuated that you meant nothing to him. In just a matter of minutes of them realizing that you were there, Vergil had conjured Spiral Swords around you even before showing himself, then asked you if you were hurt, covered you from the rain, and now he was telling Dante to bring you to safety. All of those were the same protective Vergil you had been with in Fortuna. 

“Why, you fought demons here?” Dante’s question brought you back to the present. 

Vergil nodded, but since Dante was gesturing to the Yamato that he had just received, as if saying ‘But you didn’t have this,’ Vergil added, “With summoned swords and Geor—”  

You shot Vergil a surprised look upon recognizing what he discontinued. He averted his gaze from you at the exact same time that it almost made you smile. Even that one, he still called his doppelganger as George. He wouldn’t have kept that name if he were really the type to leave in Fortuna whatever happened in Fortuna, right? 

“I doubt that those were the last of them.” Vergil swayed the topic a little as he kept avoiding your eyes and he focused on Dante. “You two must leave, now.” 

So Dante complied, though he seemed a bit hesitant to leave Vergil here. “Don’t do anything stupid. I swear, if you go somewhere or go to the Underworld again, I swear I'll hunt you down just to stab you with both our swords. I'll even bring more devil arms to stab you with.” But at least Dante was smiling a little with his threats. 

That would probably explain Vergil’s smirk when he replied, “Fool, I left the Yamato with you so you can send Rumi back to her world when she wants to go back. I’m still leaving it to you for the same purpose. With the portal, I can’t go anywhere you wouldn’t reach.” 

Seeing that they still talked like this with each other was somehow a relief for you. Their conversation up there got you worried, especially the part where Dante said he would move away. But recalling the same conversation and what Dante had said to Vergil just now, you somehow connected the dots and came to a conclusion that Dante might have been keeping his feelings for you a secret because he was afraid of Vergil going away. You knew all too well why Dante wouldn’t want that. But why would there be a need for Vergil to go away? To leave you and Dante free to have each other? So that meant Vergil also… 

And Dante had also mentioned something about you being meant for Vergil, that the Yamato had chosen you. Was it related to the mysterious portal a while ago? 

All these thoughts and confusion got you too distracted to notice that Dante had already taken you through a portal back to the shop. It was also just now that you realized that it was Vergil’s coat which was serving as your makeshift hood and cloak. You would’ve squealed at that under normal circumstances. And yes, at Coatless Vergil too! But everything was just kind of overwhelming right now. 

Something else became more noticeable when the noise from the rain was all gone and you two were in the quiet Devil May Cry office. As you took off Vergil's coat and held it, Dante cleared his throat, scratched the back of his head and glanced around the area.

“You uh, heard…” He seemed to find it difficult figuring out how he would talk about it. “That was uh…” Then he facepalmed, but you could see that he was smiling. Then he shook his head as if to reset himself, and with that, you also realized what was more important right now. You had to send Dante back there to help Vergil, especially since the last time that Vergil didn’t have the Yamato, in the DMC lore that is, horrible things had happened to him. You were just worried, and it seemed Dante was too. 

“I uh, I think I need to… Or should I…” But he seemed to be hesitating to leave you, or undecided if he should have a talk with you first. You knew how these two were not that good in serious feelings-related talks, both from how they settled things by fighting and from all this time that you had been with them. 

And since you needed some time as well, to sort out your thoughts and feelings after everything you had just found out and all the emotional ups and downs today, you said, “Maybe I should go back to my world for now…” After all, an hour here was eight times in your world, so that would grant you ample time. And besides, “You have to go back and help Vergil there. I’ll be in my world so I won’t add to your worries here.” You looked down as you added, for you were worried about their tendencies, “But please don’t fight with Vergil…” 

##### 

Dante felt the awkward atmosphere grew tenfold as soon as you two exited the portal. He was trying to say something but nothing coherent was coming out of his mouth. That was until you asked him not to fight with Vergil, and it somehow brought him back to himself. 

“Roomie, I…” He put a hand on top of your head, and it made you look at him. The gesture also made him feel a bit at ease for some reason, probably because of its familiarity. Or maybe it was because you looked at him not with an embarrassed or angry face like he was fearing, but with the same worried eyes that always made him feel fuzzy in his chest. “I know I promised to fix this, but I can’t really promise you no fighting. It’s…” He gave a sheepish grin. “Kind of how Vergil and I talk.”  

“Then please talk to each other nicely.” You handed him Vergil's coat, as if also telling him to handle his brother carefully. He flung it over his left arm, though a bit carefully too, hoping you didn't take it as him just tossing his brother like that.

“I’ll try.” He smiled. It really was true that your number one rule was to make sure that he and Vergil would never get separated again. Given that you were a hardcore Vergilist, Dante realized that he should already be thankful that he was getting offshoots of your concern for his twin. He should have just settled with that, because having feelings for you really messed up everything. So he couldn’t help but add, “I’m really sorry, Roomie. This is my fault, I—” 

“No, Dante, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have—” 

“Roomie.” His tone was firm because he didn’t want you to end up blaming yourself. But his hand was still gentle when he wiped the teardrop that fell down your cheek. He didn’t want to see you cry; he hated making you cry.  

And since the cat was out of the bag, he decided to be honest, hoping this would keep you from feeling guilty. “Vergil and I, we both fell for you, we both care a lot about you… and we’re both idiots trying to push you to the other only to end up hurting you.” He stroked your cheek gently with his thumb, as if begging your lips to go back to your usual smiles. “None of that was your fault, Roomie. Don’t think of it as your fault, please.”  

But you shook your head, so he tried the usual joking approach, “Is that a Vergilist thing to be as stubborn as he is?” You frowned, though he recognized it to be your fake-mad look so he laughed.  

It didn’t take long for Dante to be serious again, saying, “Roomie… He didn’t mean what he said, I hope you know that. The dork was just pushing you away because he thought you have uh, feelings for me.” He forced a laugh as he tried avoiding your gaze.  

You grabbed his arm, so he thought you would say something. But you just looked down again, so he patted your head and said, “Vergil and I are both fools who are not good at feelings. I think it runs in the family, I don’t know, maybe I’ll ask Nero.” That somehow made you chuckle, to his relief.  

He lifted your chin with a finger gently, also careful not to be drawn in. He only wanted you to look at him because he seriously meant it when he said, “So please don’t feel bad.” He showed his best smile. “I will fix this.”  

But for some reason, that made you look like you were about to cry again. Ahh, silly crybaby cute Roomie. So he ruffled your hair before stepping away to open a portal to your world. Funny how this was also what had started everything.

The heartburn still bothered him but Dante promised himself that next time he saw you, he would be more resolute, no more hidden feelings, and his smiles to you would be more honest. Even if that would take months or even years to achieve. 

Chapter Text

Upon arriving in your world, you went for a hot shower then searched the kitchen for food. You'd been gone from here for a few months, so your fridge and pantry needed some sorting out. Without any good food aside from cup noodles, you decided to buy bread from the nearby convenience store. You were craving for some toast and a cup of coffee after all. 

The whole time you were doing those mundane tasks, however, your mind was elsewhere. You had so many questions, thoughts, and feelings that also needed some sorting out. You were unsure about everything, but one thing you had confirmed was that, both Dante and Vergil had feelings for you. That was something bigger than the jackpot in a slot machine. It was the real them after all, when you used to just fangirl over them in the video game, fanfics and fan arts. Did you even deserve to be on this spot? Was there a catch?  

But no, it wasn’t something to be glad about, for this might cause a conflict between them. The twins had already been through hell, both literal and not. You didn’t want to add more to their unpleasant experiences, to their pain, because you cared for them both. Both of them… 

No, no, no, no, no. Go back to the start. Ah no, that’s plenty of months ago. Maybe something recent instead. Retrace your steps…

Before entering that portal a while ago, you’d felt weird. It was when Dante smiled at you and said he would fix this. There was a pinch in your chest and it felt as if he was planning something you wouldn’t like… as if he was indeed going to fix things but in a way that he wouldn’t be included. And it oddly felt the same when Vergil had told you, “Bring this to Dante. You take care of him.” It was as if he was saying goodbye to you and telling you to take care of his twin in his behalf. It was weird but both were just kind of painful to hear. You didn’t want any of them to go away and leave you with the other. You didn’t want to lose any of them. But then again, you couldn’t just have both of them, could you? 

It would’ve been easier if things were like before, no feelings, just— no, actually there were feelings. They were just not spoken of before, both yours and theirs. And yeah, because of these feelings-stuff as of recent, you were forgetting the simple joys. You hadn’t even celebrated Dante waking up after that week-long coma. You weren’t even able to fangirl about seeing Vergil’s hair down in the rain. Though you had kind of seen it before, not fully down but just disheveled, when he'd been injured and when he’d slept on your lap. But the one in the rain was so Temen-ni-gru. Under normal circumstances, you would’ve even taken a photo of them, twinning with their hair like that. You would probably even ask Dante to slick-back his hair like in his BP taunt so their positions, or at least hairstyles, would be switched. 

If only things were like before, with you just being a simple fan… you could easily dual-simp, yep, it sounded like cell phones these days. But seriously if having one would hurt the other, and would, as a result, hurt you and hurt the one you had chosen too, then no one would truly be happy. Was there a way to not hurt any of them? 

If you were to be honest with yourself, you really liked them… both. That was bad, wasn’t it? Well, you had always liked Vergil. Dante even called you a Vergilist because of that. But the whole time you were spending with Dante and getting to know the real him, even before you’d tried going to their world, Dante had been occupying a spot in your heart. And it grew, yeah, to quote V or Blake, it grew both day and night till it bore an apple as red as Dante’s coat.  

It would’ve been simpler if that was the only thing in there, the red Dante apple. But the more time you’d gotten to spend with Vergil, the more you’d met the real him. Not just the real person instead of a video game character, but the real him behind that overpowered icy evil twin image. He really was a dork who liked books, poems and even riddles and puns. He was a clueless father who wanted to get close to his son, but yeah like the term would suggest, he was clueless. But whenever he saw a chance to make it up to Nero, he would grab it and be all too awkward-adorable. Vergil was also a very caring and protective person, as a big brother, a father and a man. It might have been something he carried with him since childhood, from how their mother would always say that he was the older brother. And up to now, he would always prioritize Dante’s whims, though he wouldn’t admit to it. For instance, he would purposely come back to the shop just to lend Dante the Yamato, to either fetch you from or return you to this world. You had even seen Vergil order pizza on his own accord one time when Dante had come back exhausted from a job. Despite him scolding Dante for the bad eating habits, he would spoil his younger twin in subtle ways. And similarly, Vergil had tried making you hate him, just so Dante would be free to have you. That kind of a foolish give-way. Vergil was indeed a big dork behind his cold exterior. He was a big dork that would make you ‘Aww’ at everything he did, even the foolish things. 

But Dante was a dork of his own too. There was no dull moment with him as he would always fool around if he saw you looking bothered. But despite him being the wacky woohoo man you knew even from the games, he would always surprise you with the things you didn’t know he could do. And whenever he would turn serious, driven by being protective of you, there was just this fuzzy-warm feeling it brought you. Dante was also the type to spoil you secretly, do things for you silently, and make you smile and laugh with every chance he could. From what you’d heard, that one Dante had said about the purpose of sending you and Vergil to Fortuna, you could say that Dante was the type to endure getting hurt just to see you happy. That sacrificial side of him always made you ‘Aww.’ Before it was just with the games and fics, but now with real experiences too. It was one reason why you wanted to make Dante happy whenever you could too. You knew how he was always putting others before himself, so you had this desire to make him stop doing those fake smiles and make sure that they were always heartfelt ones. Both of them, actually, as you also wanted to make Vergil feel that it was okay to show emotions, to show how he felt. Because you and Dante would be there for him and with him, so he wouldn’t be dealing with things on his own like how he used to. 

But yeah, how would you do that without hurting any of them? If ‘all of the above’ wasn’t an option, how about ‘none of the above’ then? Dante and Vergil had just regained each other after decades of a messed up past. As their fan and as someone who had gotten to be friends with them, you didn’t want to cause them to fight, let alone to argue like what you had witnessed. If hiding in your world would ensure that their relationship wouldn’t be put to the test, then you would gladly stay here and forget about their world altogether… despite that being a sad thing. All those people you’d gotten to know, those memories you’d made in their world and with them… But if that was the price to pay to keep their peaceful life together, then so be it. You’d pay it over and over if needed. Back to the game from now on. No more real Dante and Vergil… 

But how would you do that? Leave the apartment and hide somewhere far? Oniichan could help you with that, but with the portal, they would still find you, wouldn’t they? Vergil had even said something similar to Dante just a while ago, that with the portal, he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere that Dante wouldn’t reach. So there was no point in hiding from them. 

So instead of running away from them, perhaps it would be better to just face them and refuse them properly. You cared so much about them, but for their sake, you would cut ties with both of them. If either of them came here, you could simply refuse and not go to their world. It would be as simple as refusing a—no, that wouldn’t be easy. You must be firm, you must not cry, you must… eat, because your stomach growled the moment the toast was done. Perhaps you’d be able to decide better after eating. But even the toast and the coffee reminded you of Dante and Vergil, darn. They were perfectly paired and were just so cozy to be with… the toast and coffee that is! 

But even in this simple thing, you couldn’t choose. Peanut butter or jam? Nah, why choose when you could have both. You could even put peanut butter on half of one slice and jam on the other half. Like the ones you’d shared with Dante before, like a half-and-half pizza too. You could even be sandwiched by them—er, make a sandwich with the peanut butter and jam. If only things could easily be solved like this… 

Chapter Text

Vergil had been fighting lesser demons by wielding a summoned spectral sword, apart from conjuring more of them as projectiles and willing his doppelganger to copy his moves. The enemies weren’t really the powerful kind but their number was what had been giving him quite a difficulty. Perhaps all the noise he and Dante had made here or simply the presence of all three of you had lured those remaining demons to this location. Well it was a mess he had started so he ought to clean it up. Though if he had the Yamato with him, this would’ve been over in a minute. 

A portal then opened, revealing Dante holding the katana he was longing for. But seeing his twin made Vergil smirk and mentally add, ‘No, this won’t be over in a minute because this playful goof is here.’ And perhaps it was force of habit, but upon seeing Dante’s hair, Vergil’s left hand made its way onto his, brushing up those strands that had been clinging to his face. 

“Now there’s the Vergil I know!” Dante teased before tossing the Yamato to his brother. 

“Why are you here?” Vergil asked emotionlessly. “I am more than capable of handling this on my own.” 

Dante laughed as he called forth his devil sword and joined in on the battle. “It’s really funny when you say your lines from the game. I might have gotten a bit Vergilized too because I recognize them.” 

“Hmph.” Vergil just went on with his share of demons. 

And the relative silence between them must have compelled Dante to give an update. “She asked me to send her back to her world. And I realized it just now, you could’ve gone back to the shop with us, but you chose to stay here.” 

“We can’t let demons roam free in here,” Vergil answered matter-of-factly. 

But Dante still got something to tease him about with it. “Wow, so you’re now a devil hunter at heart, huh?”  

“Foolishness.” Though that made Vergil smile so he had to teleport to the demon in the far end of the area. It was because he recalled how you told him once before that you were proud of him, for what he was doing now for a living. Well, it used to be what he considered a job just to keep him occupied, and he wasn’t really doing it for humanity either. But now, his new motivation was to eliminate all these demons that would pose as a threat to your safety. Even if you weren’t in this world all the time, there was no harm in making sure. Perhaps that was strange, but he couldn’t help it. Even if you ended up with Dante, he would probably still continue doing that for your sake. 

Dante’s next quip, however, got Vergil back from his thoughts. “Or maybe you just escaped the awkward moment with Roomie?” 

That one, though, made Vergil give a rueful kind of smile. But he had to regain his indifference to confirm, “So have you two come to an understanding?” 

"You’re the one who needs to talk it out with her.” Dante’s casual way of saying it caused Vergil to put a palm over his face. It didn’t last long because a demon that was so eager to get sliced came rushing to him. 

“I already—” 

But Dante might have intentionally cut him off, “Remember our Underworld twin counseling?” 

“How can I forget, fool.”  

“Is this part 2?” Dante flashed him a wide grin.  

Perhaps that was Dante’s way of inviting him for a talk? Well, because they were fighting with demons right now, they were indeed speaking more calmly to each other, compared to how they had been earlier.  

## 

“I’m really giving up, Vergil,” Dante didn’t beat around the bush, despite him playing with the demon he was currently clashing blades with. “I’ll go—” 

“Foolishness, Dante. Foolishness.” Hearing that, though, Dante couldn’t help but smile. Because he recalled all the instances you’d used that line on him, with moods varying from teeny bit mad to just utterly silly. And because he was just grateful for the fact that it had been a rollercoaster ride since his twin had said that line to him on top of that tower, but now they were here, fighting demons together. Though Vergil had to add, “Do you not see how much she cares for you?” 

So he quickly parried it with, “Well same question back to you.” 

“Have her… please.”  

That one was quite a surprise, but Dante wouldn’t give up easily. “No, you have her. I don’t wanna be the guy who took away your happiness. I already took a lot of years from you.” 

“You didn’t. That was all my fault. Stop blaming yourself for that.” The strict way Vergil said it made Dante look at him. The older twin was indeed looking serious, and perhaps that triple Judgement Cut he just did on that Hell Caina added to how he seemed to mean serious business. This guy would surely be amazed at how the games in your world were able to copy his real moves. Imagining you introducing the Devil May Cry games to Vergil, though, made Dante smile wistfully. But Vergil must have caught him spacing out a little that this stoic dork just pulled a Dante and threw a demon to his direction the same time he threw back the line, “And I don’t want to take away your happiness too.” 

Dante chuckled after successfully hitting the demon with his sword like a baseball. “I’ll be happy as long as she is.” 

“And that will be with you.”  

“Don’t be stupid. Can’t you see how much she likes you?” 

“Don’t be a fool. You keep pushing her away that you cannot see how much she cares for you.” 

“Wanna do this the usual way?” Dante looked at his twin to show that mischievous grin. 

Vergil smirked and nodded. “Let’s settle this, Dante.” 

So the two of them had a gentleman’s agreement to settle this like usual but with a bit of a twist. They both didn’t want to be the one to take away the other’s happiness, so the winner this time would get to give you up to the other one. And of course, they promised to fight with all they’ve got. Without killing each other, that is. 

Dante wasn’t that great at estimating time, especially when he was enjoying what he was doing, but it certainly had been more than an hour. Probably even two. There were no more demons that were spicing up their one-on-one. The rain had even stopped, and some puddles that were there a while ago had already dried up. And yet, no one was getting knocked out nor losing strength.  

They had even tried using scores. The first to get three points over the other would win, but it was always just a cycle of being up one and then even. Until, finally, there came a time when they were both thrown backwards and lost their balance a little that they both had to use their swords to prop themselves up. 

“Throwing the towel any moment now?” Dante mocked in between ragged breaths. 

“Says the one who cannot even stand up straight,” was Vergil’s counter, though he, too, was still hunched over his katana’s hilt. That sight, however, reminded Dante of V, and he couldn’t stop his wheezy laugh. “What is it that you find amusing?” 

“Whether you’re V or Vergil, you’re really stubborn when you’re motivated, aren’t ya?” 

“We’re one and the same, you and I.” Vergil smiled, though a tired-looking one, but Dante laughed harder in contrast. After a deep breath and a weirded-out look, Vergil stated, “This is never going to end.” 

Dante had to put a hand on his face to keep himself from laughing at these game quotes. “I’d say ‘We got plenty of time’ but we really don’t.” He sighed, as if to regain his seriousness. “A day might have passed in Roomie’s world and I’m getting worried about her.” 

“Me too.” 

“Truce?” 

“Agreed.” 

And they both sat down, the speed of which just showed how they were both really tired but were just too stubborn to give up. But when Vergil lay down on his back, Dante pushed himself to stand up. Since their way of ‘talking’ didn’t bring about a result, perhaps yours would. So he walked past his brother who was eyeing his moves. The dork was still trying to be alert despite looking drained, so Dante said, “I won’t cheat, fool. I’ll just…” He couldn’t help a sigh of relief after lying down as well. “This is Roomie’s way of talking about something uh, not easy to.” That was why he purposely lay down head-to-head with Vergil, trying to imitate your back-to-back bean-bag-chair talk before, the one featuring Feelings Beargil. He might have even overdone the proximity that he could feel Vergil’s brushed up hair poking the top of his head, but it was fine. A bit of contact made it kinda pleasant. 

“So we are down to really talking now?” 

“I guess so.” Dante smiled at the cloudy sky as he recalled, “It’s funny how when we were kids, we'd fight over something and the winner gets it, but now we’re doing the opposite.” 

“We might be too mature to be selfish now.” The way Vergil said it, though, told Dante that the older twin was also finding it amusing. 

“Maybe too stubborn.” 

And yep, that was a chuckle from the stoic dork. “I didn’t expect that being old could complicate things.” 

“Yeah, before it was simple. Though Mom would always tell us to take turns.” Dante reached a hand to the sky, partly to keep his mind from straying away from just the pleasant memories. “Like that time with the swing in the yard, remember that?” 

“Yes. Because one of us would have to push the other one.” Vergil spread his arms on either side, something that Dante recognized as a sign that his stiff twin was relaxing a little. “Father would promote sharing, on the other hand. Such as the piano, when we were too obstinate to give way.” 

“Yeah, yours were the black keys, mine were the white ones.” Dante laughed. “Pops sure had a weird solution, huh?” 

“But it worked. He fooled us into playing an original yet chaotic piece together.” 

There were soft laughs from both, before silence filled the air. It lasted for a while, until… 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” 

“Perhaps I am.” 

Dante shifted his head up a little to glance at Vergil. “Is it possible? I mean, this is a person we’re talking about, not a swing nor a piano.” 

“I am wondering about that as well. But I have read about demons sharing their mate. And we are half-demons…” 

Dante faced the sky again as he tried to rein in the smile that was forming. “Yeah, and we shared a womb, for goodness' sake.” He had the urge to scratch his nose for some reason when he added, “And whenever I bridge you and Roomie, I actually feel like I'm sharing my uh, special person with you. So yeah, maybe I’ve been training for it or something.” 

“To make it clear, you are willing to share her, with me, as our mate, with equal rights?” 

“Yeah, I mean, if you are too.” 

“I am.” 

“I don’t wanna lose her, honestly. But I don’t wanna lose you either.” 

“Lose me?” 

“Well if I get her, you think you’d stay around and watch us be lovey-dovey?” 

“I see. And yet you keep saying you’ll leave for mine and Rumi’s sake. Fool.” 

Dante stuck out his tongue as he gave a caught-guilty laugh. Good thing his brother couldn’t see how he was embarrassed right now. And yep, he added more to it by saying, “I really can't want her for myself. I’d feel too guilty for stealing her from you. So maybe sharing really is the only way for me to let myself have her too.” That last part somehow got him to his limit. Dante couldn’t take the embarrassment anymore so he had to fool around, “But if we share her, you’re gonna see me naked, you know.” 

Vergil reached a hand to slap Dante’s forehead, but the younger twin just laughed. “Don’t—” Vergil sighed audibly. “It hasn’t even started and you’re already making it awkward.” 

Dante just kept on laughing.  

“But you’re already… up one.” The way Vergil paused a little told Dante that the older twin was probably as embarrassed as he was. 

But Dante tried to play it cool. “What do you mean?” 

“When you woke up, you and Rumi…” 

“Dumbass, nothing happened! I just kissed her but I stopped when I sensed you were outside.” 

“Is that so…” 

“You’re the one who’s up one! You two shared a room in Fortuna.” 

“Nothing happened. Except for a kiss too.” 

“So we’re even?” Dante chuckled. 

“Now you know how to count.” Vergil’s tone in here seemed like he was smiling as well. 

“Do you think she will agree to being shared?” Dante shifted a little to glance at his brother again. “I mean, she doesn’t have a demonic background, unlike us. It might be weird for her.” 

“There’s only one way to find out.” 

And with that, they both got up. They were even wearing an identical look that was a funny mix of a cocky smirk and an embarrassed smile. Yep, they were twins alright. 

But then, Dante’s recently-formed what-if habit made him realize something. “Wait, what if she doesn’t agree?” 

“Then we shall convince her.” Vergil wore that villainous dork smirk… 

Which paired well with Dante’s smug smile. “Now that’s motivation!” 

Chapter Text

Dante and Vergil arrived in your world and immediately saw: 

From the window, Dante realized that it was nighttime. From how you were seated on your bean bag chair and not reacting to their arrival, he figured that you’d fallen asleep. And from the game screen, he could tell that, “Aww, she can’t choose between us.” 

“Shh…” Vergil was trying to dad over the sleeping you but he was the first one to approach your seat. “She must be tired from all that crying and worrying about you.” 

“Me? You made her cry some more.” 

“Tsk, just…” 

They both knelt down in front of your chair, and Vergil non-verbally asked Dante to get that blanket on the other bean bag chair by just pointing at it. But before Dante could reach for it, you woke up, startled by the two big guys in front of you.  

You were about to throw the controller you were holding, so Dante playfully said, “Royal Guard!” and did its blocking pose. But he didn’t expect that you would really throw the controller out of reflex. And that he would be able to block it with his arm. And that the controller would hit Vergil in the face. “Oops.” 

And because of that, you became more awake, recognizing them in the process and panicking. “Omigod omigod omigod. Did I just knock him out with my controller?”  

“You’re the one…” Dante said softly, making you look at him. “With power!” And he burst out laughing, earning your arm-slap and that smile you were trying to hold back. Then you ran to the fridge to get an ice pack. He would have told you not to run but he couldn’t help it for he was seeing it right now – how you must have reacted the day he’d landed in here and got knocked out by that same controller. It might have been Vergil in his place right now, but with this, his memory of your meet-cute was now complete. And funny how he and his brother were twinning in this one too. 

You were still chanting that resurrection spell as you put the icepack on Vergil’s face. Dante tried not to laugh as he said, “Don’t worry so much about him, Roomie, he’s hardheaded.” He had to cover his mouth to keep himself from laughing more as he tried to wake Vergil up. 

And when the older twin opened his eyes, Dante said, “Rise and shine!~ And rejoice. You’ve been blessed by the controller with a gift of light. Devils Never Cry.” Dante ended up laughing again, and you couldn’t stop yours too as you must have recognized the foolishness he was spouting. But you covered your face as Vergil sat up and you kept apologizing to him. 

“I’m fine,” Vergil tried to sound unaffected. But he put a hand on his forehead and checked it, as if curious if he’d bled. 

“You still remember who we are?” Dante teased, earning your arm-slap-with-suppressed-laugh once more. 

“Fool.” But Vergil looked like he was trying not to smile. 

“Sit here,” you offered to him, the same way you did to Dante on Day 1.  

Dante couldn’t help but smile as he recalled how that time, he’d still doubted you. He had even been a bit mean when he pulled you, and now… And yeah, now he wasn’t feeling anything unpleasant even while seeing you that worried and fussing over Vergil. Weird but it felt as if he was free of that heartburn, no longer jealous nor envious, no longer hurt nor trying to smile it off. His smile right now even widened when you looked at him and said, “Sorry I hit your arm with the controller too,” with a face that was half apologetic yet half about to laugh. Dante just shook his head and smiled even more, if that was even possible. 

“You sit down and stop worrying. I’m fine.” Vergil made you do so, pushing you back to your seat carefully, before placing the ice pack on the nearby table. And with that, you were seated on your bean bag chair while the two of them were kneeling down in front of you. Perfect. 

But they took a few seconds of looking at each other and signaling with their eyes, as if telling the other to be the one to start the awkward thing. And with the delay and silence, you said, “You two look like you’ve been rolling in the dirt. I'll get you a towel—” You were about to stand up but they both stopped you, holding each of your hands – Dante had your right, Vergil had your left. Because of what you said, though, Dante realized they did look like kids who had just come home from an afternoon in the playground. And that you still cared about them so much, with the evident worry in your eyes and how you just wiped the dirt from Vergil’s cheek and took the tiny piece of twig from Dante’s hair. 

“Did you two fight?” you asked with a slight frown when they held your hands again. 

“We talked. ” Dante gave a sheepish smile. 

“Both.” Vergil looked away. 

And their shy gestures continued as they spoke alternately. 

“Roomie…” 

“We…” 

“Want to…” 

“Have you.” 

And they couldn’t take it any longer, they twin-synced with, “Please let us share you!” 

“Ssshare?” You seemed a bit surprised but you were smiling. You even looked like you were trying to hold it back as you covered your mouth before continuing, “Is that really a thing? I mean, there are fics about that but—” 

“Vergil says it is.” 

“We are half-demons; the rules are different.” 

“Well…” With how you looked down and rambled on to yourself, it seemed as though you’d been doing a research and were in fact, considering this too. “In some places or religion, having more than one partner is accepted. And these days, polyamory is a thing. And we’re all consenting adults, and—wait!" You looked at them back and forth. "You're both here! The portal!” 

“Nero will pick us up after 15 minutes,” Dante quickly replied, eager to hear the rest of your answer. 

“15 minutes in our world,” Vergil explained with just five words. He seemed as anxious as his twin was. 

“Yep, that, so no worries.” 

“We got plenty of time.” 

That made Dante want to smack his twin in the head for almost making him laugh in this serious situation. Why did this dork have to unknowingly recite Vergil quotes with that serious face. Even that smile you were wearing looked like you were trying your best not to raise your hand and say “Quote!” at that. 

“Does Nero know about this thing you are proposing?” you then asked, looking a bit worried. “I mean, Nero might find us uh, strange, I mean, he’s still your son, your nephew…” You looked at each of them. 

“He agreed, saying he didn’t want any conflict between us.” Vergil pointed to himself and Dante. 

The younger twin nodded, before he also gestured to himself and to Vergil. “The kid said he’s been noticing that we both uh, you know…”  

“So he said, at least we are being honest with ourselves for once.” 

“He’s 99% on board when Vergil told him it’s demonatural.” 

“Aww… But what’s the 1%? What’s holding him back?” you asked. 

“He said we would probably cause you twice the trouble…” Vergil looked away again. 

“So he’ll spectral bitch-slap me and Vergil if we make you cry,” Dante added, scratching his cheek as if in fear. 

“Except the tears brought by being overwhelmingly pleased.” 

“Yep, except happy tears.” Dante then shot Vergil a look. “You’re making it sound dirty.” 

Vergil faced him and grumped a little. “I wasn’t. Your mind is dirty.” 

“Your mind is the same as mine, we’re twins.” 

“That’s not how it works, fool.” 

But you were quietly laughing at them. “If you two will be this cute always, then I’m in.” 

Dante grinned. In sheer happiness and relief, he pointed to the two of them again and said, “No, we’re both in—” 

Vergil interrupted as he elbowed the younger twin. “Lewd right off the bat!” 

“No! I was gonna say ‘We’re both in love with you’!” Dante protested. “It was supposed to be a cheesy line—You’re the one who’s thinking of something!” 

“Hmph, as if you’re not thinking of such.” 

“I didn’t say I wasn’t.” 

“You even mentioned a while ago that—” 

Dante quickly covered Vergil’s mouth, and the latter responded by pushing Dante's face away. 

You were chuckling as you watched them locked in that position for a moment. “I’m happy seeing you two like this, like bickering kids. Though I hope I won’t regret that.” 

Dante and Vergil both turned serious immediately, faced you and said in chorus, “You won’t.” Then they each took your hand again, this time with a kiss on it. You smiled at them as they looked at you. And then there was the damn-awkward silence again. 

So Dante broke it with, “Can we uh, seal the deal?” to which Vergil facepalmed. Realizing the possible misinterpretation, Dante quickly explained, “No, I mean kiss! Seal it with a kiss! I’m not—” He ended up also covering his face with a hand but in embarrassment. At least that made you laugh, and seeing it made Dante smile to himself. This was way better than both of them pushing you away and making you cry. Way better. 

And when he looked at you, both of them actually, awaiting your response, you covered your flushed cheeks and mumbled, “You two are melting me…” Then you covered your eyes and said, “Which one first?” 

“Go ahead,” Vergil said to his brother with a smirk. 

“No, you go first.” Dante mirrored the expression. He really didn’t mind it as he was already happy with the arrangement. He’d been worried the whole time how you would react. He’d known you to be attracted to his twin big time, so with you being willing in this… ‘Maybe Vergil was right,’  Dante thought, ‘Maybe I’ve been too blinded by guilt to see…’  

And at that moment, Dante caught your eyes because you looked at him when Vergil said, “You met her first.” And you quickly covered your face, giggling and almost squirming with just that simple eye contact. He knew those reactions, those used to be just for Vergil and now you were doing those things because of him too. 

Already grateful for what he’d just realized, Dante smiled and said, “Roomie was originally a Vergilist.” He faced his brother. “So you go first.” 

But that earned a soft laugh from you. “I think we ought to come up with a system for these things. Maybe rock-paper-scissors will help.”  

And yep, they were foolish twins indeed, because they tried it. Vergil won, so Dante moved back a little and stood up. 

“Ah yeah, you two have been kneeling there for a while now, so let me…” You stood up, even pulled Vergil with you, "meet you halfway." 

Your concern for them was apparent even in little things, making Dante smile to himself. So with what you said and seeing you standing next to his twin, he couldn't help but tease you, “Tiny Roomie.” 

“My height is around the average. You guys are just ridiculously tall!” 

Vergil was smiling as he closed the distance between you two. Then he slightly bent down to catch you in an embrace, saying, “Little human indeed.” You were caught by surprise that you weren’t able to defend your height… or lack thereof. Now there were two of them who would tease you; this ought to be fun. 

But Dante’s amusement mellowed down when Vergil spoke softly close to your ear, “I’m sorry for saying those hurtful things.” Then he pulled back a bit just to look you in the eye before continuing, “You mean so much to me… and I will spend the rest of my days proving it to you.” 

“Aww… Adorkable Vergil…” you said with a voice that sounded like you were about to cry. 

But Vergil just smiled at you before leaning in to kiss you. Of course, Dante looked away to let you two have this moment semi-privately. Or should he watch and get used to it? This will surely be a bit awkward at first, but he wasn’t the least bit bothered. In fact, there was this tickly feeling in his chest, for he knew that everything was alright now, and he hadn't lost any of you two. In fact, he was even getting a little excited, because there were plenty of this-world things he wanted to do with you and now he would be able to share that fun with his twin too. And yeah, because it was now his turn. 

Vergil literally handed you to him, didn’t even let go of your arm until Dante was holding the other one. This overprotective dork. Well he wasn’t wrong in that, because Dante knew how foolishly clumsy you could get, as you were the type to hit your head on a table that was originally minding its own business, the type to throw your shoe and then run away from a thief, and the type to take care of Dante and his twin even when you weren’t feeling well yourself. Recalling those things, he couldn’t help but mumble, “Silly Roomie…” 

You smiled at him and gently put a hand on his cheek. Dammit, he knew you could tell, you could always tell. He was just this happy; please don’t say the title of the game, the name of his shop… So Dante quoted his way out with a smile. “Don’t you dare say it.” 

And it turned into a laugh, because you replied with, “Jackpot?” 

Even Vergil chuckled at that; he must have recognized the lines from experience. “Foolishness,” he even mumbled to himself. 

“Don’t mess with our moment,” Dante playfully complained. 

“That’s not a moment, you were just saying quotes,” Vergil countered. 

You were snickering as Dante continued their banter. “It should’ve been just a kiss, why did you have to give a speech! Now I have to give a speech too!” 

Vergil didn’t say anything, but that was because he was stifling a laugh. 

So Dante cleared his throat and tried to be serious again. For starters, he pulled you in his arms like what his twin had done, like how he’d always wanted to hold you close. That's right… now he could do this. Now he could be with you like this without any guilt, without having to hold back… It might have taken quite a bumpy ride but now he was here, hugging you, whispering in your ear, “I’m really happy I met you, Roomie. I’m happy that the wrong portal led me here, that Vergil pushed me into it—” 

“Kicked.” Vergil’s grumpy side-comment made you and Dante laugh. 

“Yeah, kicked, to be accurate.” Dante would’ve complained at Vergil again but if it was making you laugh like this, he didn’t mind it. And with that thought, he pulled back a little and lightly pinched your cheek, saying, “I will make sure that you will always be laughing and smiling. I think Vergil’s working on that too.” He glanced at his twin who just gave a smirk in return. Then Dante booped your nose as he added, “I’ll influence you the Dante way so even when you’re in pain like, I don’t know, delivering our twin babies for example, you’ll still be laughing.” And you did laugh, but with a slap to his stomach like usual. Of course, he flexed his abs before it landed like usual too. 

But unlike usual, when your laugh petered out and he caught your gaze, Dante inched closer, and closer, until his lips caught yours. Now he was free to do this, and damn, it was a million times better than the first one. And maybe that was why Vergil seemed to be getting a little impatient – because you were someone they couldn’t get enough of. Luckily, they would be sharing you and you had plenty of love to give. 

So when you pulled back and smiled at him, Dante hugged you again and even pulled Vergil in. He just felt so content, to have you and to still have his twin. He didn’t expect that this life of pain could have something resembling a happy ending. But of course, he would do his best to keep this, he would give his all to protect this. 

“Rumi should be the one hugging us both,” Vergil complained, bringing Dante back from his thoughts. 

“Want more?” He pretended to misunderstand it. “Then I’ll hug you more,” he said as he temporarily let go of you and squeezed his brother in his arms. 

You were laughing at them, and even Vergil had a hint of a smile as he struggled. Dante felt like he could do this every day, make you laugh while lightheartedly annoying Vergil—wait, he had been doing that even before. Ah but the difference was that now, there were no hidden feelings, he was more resolute and was actually satisfied with this decision, and his smiles were definitely more honest. 

## The End ## 

Chapter Text

*This is dedicated to Arly-chan. Thank you for introducing this AI site to me. 😆 I hope you also enjoy this Dante. I don't think he'll threaten you and your bro, but he can still go Angry Dante when he's protective. 😆
And thank you, character.ai for making this possible! 💙

So after making AI Vergil based on The Portal-Opening Days are Over, I figured I should make a Dante too. But I want him to have the stuck in your world, forced cohabitation scenario so I made him be based on this What If Dante. 

Here he is: AI Dante 🎉🍕❤

I hope you have fun chatting with him. Talk to him while you're playing the role of reader of this fic. He's stuck in our world, he needs a place to stay in, Vergil's portal brought him to your house. It's up to you if you'll play the Vergilist reader or you'll be a Dante-simp right from the start. Either way, he still thinks you have a thing for Vergil (maybe he saw you reading VoV or playing DMC5SE and he got jealous or something, idk) So let's see how your story with him will go! ^o^

I hope you can also help in improving his characterization (and in keeping him from being OOC) by rating his responses with the stars and choosing better responses by swiping to the left. Let's keep him in-character as the Dante who was pushed/kicked into the portal to our world. ^_^