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It was the crying that caught Vergil’s attention; soft meows coming from an unknown source.
In his past life he would just keep going, unconcerned by matters that were unimportant to him and his quest for power. Even now, it was tempting, but an image of Shadow formed in his mind. While he didn’t want to admit it, his familiars had meant a lot to him. They has been his allies when he had no one left and a body that was barely being held together. That was why he stopped.
The kitten, he discovered, was trapped under a pile of garbage. Either it had gotten stuck while seeking food, or someone had tossed it away with the rest of the trash. Vergil chose to think it was the former, even though he was very aware how cruel humans could be.
“Go home to your mother, little one,” he said as he placed the kitten on the ground. It was entirely black, reminding him even more of Shadow, but he pushed that memory out of his mind. The familiars had sacrificed themselves for him, they would not want him to dwell on their loss.
The kitten however didn’t move. It simply sat in front of Vergil as it continued to cry. As Vergil glanced around, the message was made clear, there was no mother for the kitten to return too.
“You’re insufferable,” he said as he picked up the kitten by the scruff of its neck. He wasn’t sure if he was talking about the kitten or himself.
The kitten meowed as Vergil brought it closer to his body so that he could carry it. The smart thing would be to take it to an animal shelter and wash his hands of the issue. But Vergil knew all too well what it was like to be lost in the world without a mother.
Fortunately there was a nearby pet store. Entering the store, Vergil held up the kitten in front of the store clerk. “I require everything necessary for this thing.”
There was a fearful look in the clerk’s eyes, which Vergil noticed was a common thing among humans upon his return to the human world, but nonetheless she nodded her head and showed Vergil what he needed.
With his purchases in hand, Vergil, along with the kitten, headed back to Devil May Cry where thankfully Dante was nowhere to be seen.
Vergil had mixed feelings about Dante finding out about the kitten. He knew he would be teased relentlessly because that was what Dante did. And any sign of weakness, like taking in a kitten, was definitely a negative thing in Vergil’s mind. For the time being, the kitten would stay hidden until he knew what he was going to do about it.
Maybe Nero could take it in. Nero had a habit of collecting strays, although it was usually of the human kind. A cat shouldn’t be too different though.
Until then the kitten would stay in his room. It seemed like a good plan. Dante wouldn’t dare to invade his private space. At least not now. When they had been children, privacy meant little to his brother.
A more pressing concern was what to name the kitten. The clerk at the pet store has said the kitten was female, not that it particularly mattered to Vergil, it wasn’t like he was keeping her. But a name could be handy until he was able to sneak her to Nero.
As he stared down at the kitten though, nothing in particular came to his mind.
Agrippina, perhaps, he thought, still thinking about Nero. Agrippina had been the mother of the Roman emperor that Nero shared his name with. An ambitious, ruthless and cunning woman. It was a good name for a kitten who would grow up to dominate Nero’s household.
It was a thought he dismissed, however, when he remembered that the emperor Nero had eventually turned on his mother. He didn’t want Nero getting any ideas. Not that he didn’t trust his son. Plus Kyrie would be there, who wouldn’t let anything happen to the kitten, and his son was weak against her charms. But some names were a bad omen.
Oh well, he guessed it didn’t particularly matter.
Retrieving one of the cat toys he had bought, he rolled it across the floor for the kitten to chase. It wasn’t like he was going to become one of those weird cat people he had heard about. All he was doing was giving the kitten a safe place to stay until he could get her to Nero’s. That was all. Nero or Kyrie could name her.
Vergil smirked as the kitten batted at the toy. Dante would name the kitten something stupid. His brother was the one after all who took on the name Redgrave, the name of their hometown, and thought he would be safe from Mundus.
Oh, Vergil knew all about that part of his brother’s life. Their lives had been something they had discussed together while in the underworld and Dante had been more forthcoming with details than Vergil had. There were some things he would never tell his brother. Like what he went through after Mundus’ defeat.
And the fact that no matter how annoying Dante was, Vergil loved him.
It was more than a brotherly love. Vergil wanted to touch Dante and be touched in return. Wanted to press their lips together and fight for dominance until one gave in. Sometimes he even fantasized about giving in on purpose, let Dante ravish him and bask in pleasure.
The fact it was incest was no big deal to him. He had spent half his life among demons who didn’t get concerned about issues like that. All that mattered was finding a strong mate, even if it was family. Humans however were different, Vergil knew that, and Dante had spent his entire life as a human no matter how much he currently was at peace with his devil side.
Dante couldn’t know.
And Vergil had made his peace with that. Hiding his feelings wasn’t the hardest thing he had gone through in his life.
Nor would be hiding a kitten in his room.
Taking a moment, Vergil dumped the rest of the bag of toys onto the floor and watched as the kitten darted among them, checking out the items. When he was satisfied that the kitten would be okay for a few minutes on his own, Vergil slipped out of the room to assess the situation.
A quick search revealed that Dante still hadn’t returned. Given the time, it was possible that he was already out for the night on a job. That made things easier.
Retrieving the kitten from his room, Vergil carried her to the bathroom where he gave her a flea bath. After drying her off, he returned the kitten to his room. Thankfully there was still no Dante in sight. Vergil wasn’t concerned, the only person capable of defeating his brother was himself.
Upon leaving the kitten in his room, Vergil returned to the bathroom for a shower and to get ready for bed. Not wanting to leave the kitten alone, he didn’t take long, showering quickly and exiting the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He only got part way to his room when he heard the sound of a cat call whistle from behind him.
Dante was home.
Pausing his step, Vergil turned to look back at his brother, glaring at him. It wasn’t the worst time for Dante to return, but it also wasn’t a good time.
“What?” Dante asked, acting all innocent with a grin on his face. “Can’t a guy compliment his brother?”
Vergil made an annoyed noise as he turned away, not bothering to indulge Dante and his teasing. Things would be easier if he wasn’t in love with the fool. Comments like that didn’t help. It was easy to take them the wrong way. Fortunately Vergil knew better.
Thankfully the kitten didn’t try to escape when Vergil opened the door to his room. With Dante still behind him that would have been a sure way to get caught and then Vergil would have to explain how a kitten found her way into Devil May Cry. He doubted that saying she sneaked in looking for food would work. The kitten wouldn’t have made it past the entrance without finding discarded pizza boxes and Vergil had a firm no food policy in his room which Dante knew about.
Well, at least no food except for kitten food.
Sometimes rules had to be broken.
Speaking of the kitten, Vergil saw no sign of her in the room. He was about to storm out and accuse Dante of invading his space when he noticed movement from under the blankets of his bed. Tossing the blankets aside, he found the kitten looking up at him.
“You don’t belong there,” he said, picking up the kitten who pitifully meowed at getting moved. He wasn’t sure how she managed to get up on the bed. She was too small to jump that high but there was nothing that Vergil could see which could have added her. Regardless he didn’t bother to think about it too hard as he placed the kitten in the cat bed he had bought. “You sleep here.”
The kitten meowed again in protest but Vergil ignored her as he got ready for bed, dressing in soft clothing. After so long of no comforts, he did like to spoil himself.
Not that he would ever admit it.
He ignored the kitten as he turned out the light and got into bed. He was only settled for a few minutes when he felt a tug at the blankets.
Vergil didn’t need to turn on the lights (his eyesight was excellent even in the dark) to watch as the kitten used the dangling blankets to climb her way onto the bed. He didn’t bother to help her, or force her to stop, he simply watched quietly as she made her way back up onto the bed, which she achieved with a triumphant meow before settling down on the pillow next to Vergil’s head.
“Very well,” he said as he closed his eyes. The kitten had earned his respect.
After that night it was surprisingly easy to keep the kitten’s presence hidden from Dante. The kitten was content to remain in Vergil’s room, playing and napping. He even smuggled in a cat tree when Dante was out for her to climb and sleep on. Although when it came to the latter she still very much preferred his bed.
Things were definitely going well. Enough so that Vergil felt confident to spend more time away from Devil May Cry. He was never gone for long, simply spending more time on research or taking on jobs dealing with demons. It was strange having a normal life after so long.
Or at least as normal as it got for someone in their line of work.
It was one of those nights when he was out late when everything came crashing down.
It was still a few hours before dawn when Vergil entered Devil May Cry. He was greeted by Dante, stretched out on one of the couches fast asleep. There was nothing unusual about that.
A fond smile crossed Vergil’s lips. After so many years his brother was still a child at heart, falling asleep wherever it suited him instead of just going to bed. It was tempting to reach out, brush the hair away from Dante’s face, just like he would do when they were children, but Vergil instead backed away before he did anything that would awaken his brother. That was when he noticed it, a black fuzzball loafing on top of a pizza box that had been left on Dante’s desk.
Vergil’s eyes widen in horror before quickly recovering. He could figure out later how the kitten escaped his room. The important thing at the moment was to get the kitten back hidden away before Dante woke up and saw her.
“Stay,” he softly commanded while raising a hand to show that he wanted the kitten to not move.
The kitten however had other plans.
First, she meowed at Vergil, loudly, forcing him to glance back at his brother’s still sleeping form. Second, while Vergil’s attention was on Dante, the kitten got up and leaped off the table, disappearing into the mess that was Dante’s office before Vergil had a chance to see where she went.
“Kitten!” he hissed, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. He glanced again at Dante. It was a good thing that his brother was a heavy sleeper.
While keeping his steps light, because he still didn’t trust that Dante wouldn’t wake up before he found the kitten, Vergil moved around the room. There was nothing behind the jukebox and under the pool table. Dante’s desk was also clear. Vergil knew for a fact that the kitten didn’t go back upstairs and there was no other way she could escape the room since all the doors were shut.
Then he heard it. A meow from the direction that Dante was in.
Slowly he turned to find the kitten sitting on Dante’s chest and she meowed again. It was like the kitten was trying to wake him on purpose.
There was no time to react before Dante yawned and stretched his arms over his head. All Vergil could do was freeze in place as Dante opened his eyes.
“Hey, Pizza,” Dante lazily said as he petted the kitten on the head who purred and leaned into the touch.
A cold chill went through Vergil and his fingers itched for the Yamato. “Did you just call my cat, Pizza?”
His voice was icy and full of venom, all of which went unnoticed (or maybe he simply didn’t care) by Dante who laughed. “Yeah, I figured you’d give her some weird name when she deserved something normal.”
“Pizza is not a normal name.”
“It’s her favourite food,” Dante replied, like somehow it made perfect sense. Maybe in Dante’s mind it did. He scratched her head again, which caused anger to stir once again inside Vergil.
“How do you even know about her?” And how did Dante know she liked pizza? Vergil never fed her anything like that. She only ate premium kitten food.
Dante shrugged. “Found her a few weeks ago.”
“Dante…” Once again he wished he had the Yamato with him. It was not okay for Dante to go into his room and invade his space.
There was a sigh from Dante as he sat up and he moved the kitten to the cushion next to him. “Look Vergil, I want to trust you, I do trust you, but sometimes I just need to reassure myself that you’re not going to try and raise another tower or let your gardening get out of control again.”
Vergil made a noise of displeasure as he crossed his arms over his chest. He understood Dante’s reasoning, even if he didn’t like it. He also had no desire to remain mad at his brother. “Very well.”
Dante gave him a surprised look. “Really?”
Vergil shrugged as he moved closer, picking up the kitten (who he refused to call Pizza) and sat down next to Dante in her place. “I’m aware of my past.”
Plus it was hard to remain mad with someone you were in love with.
While Vergil couldn’t see Dante he could sense that the big dumb idiot was grinning. That was exactly how his brother would react. What he didn’t expect however was for Dante to grab him and plant a kiss against the side of his head.
“Careful, brother,” he warned, even though he secretly liked the affection. “You wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”
It was a safe thing to say. Dante would just assume he meant that they were getting along.
“Maybe I want to give the wrong idea.”
Vergil’s eyes widened as he jerked his head towards Dante who was looking at him with a serious expression on his face. It just made him angry again and he narrowed his eyes at his brother before looking away in a huff. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Dante sighed. “Yeah, I do.”
Vergil didn’t want to hear it. “It’s not human.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not fully human.” Those words caused Vergil to look at his brother again. “What? Aren’t you the one who always likes me to embrace my demon side?”
Vergil shook his head. He wanted to believe Dante but-
Before Vergil could finish that thought, Dante grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss. It was hot and wet and Vergil didn’t want it to end. For so long he had wondered what it would be like.
It was surprisingly easy to give in and let Dante control things. Let himself be kissed, obediently opening his mouth when he felt Dante’s tongue swipe against his lips, just giving in to the moment.
But then instinct took over.
He grasped the back of Dante’s head, his fingers burying into his brother’s shaggy hair, as he took control of the kiss, demanding to be allowed the attention that he had craved for so long. Fortunately Dante didn’t seem to mind, letting Vergil do whatever he wanted.
When the kiss broke Dante pressed their foreheads together. He grinned again, which Vergil didn’t mind. He was content to simply close his eyes and relax in his brother’s presence.
He was soon interrupted though by a meow.
“Pizza…” Dante playfully warned as the kitten jumped up onto his lap. “Be a good girl.”
Vergil scowled. “We’re not naming her Pizza.” There was no way that was going to happen. Dante wasn’t going to win that one.
He was quieted, however, by another kiss.
That night Pizza had Vergil’s bed all to herself. Not that she wanted it. She wanted in behind the closed door of Dante’s room where her two daddies were hidden away, making strange noises.
Eventually she gave up and made her way downstairs to the office where she found a discarded pizza box on the floor. Nudging the flap of the box open, she found a slice of pizza had been left behind.
Jackpot!
As she nibbled on the food, Pizza couldn’t help but think she had a good life. And when she was finished eating she was going cry as loud as possible until her daddies let her in the room to go to sleep.