Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Life at the Devil May Cry has been strange since Mallet Island. Not a bad strange, but something that Nero has to remind himself is real. There’s no last minute warning of them needing to travel somewhere else soon. No having to ask when they’re visiting Uncle Dante next. Each morning he wakes up in the same room he’s known as safe since he was little. His family’s always there, as well as the new residents in the shop-

Trish “hit it off” with Lady within the first month as Dante put it, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Lady said something about girls sticking together when Nero was too busy with his own hobbies to listen during one visit. The extra company is a good source of background noise that helps him focus. Trish is distant but curious whenever they interact. He can’t seem to get used to seeing someone who looks like an adult respond to the world with almost as much surprise as he does. Everything’s new to her too, he figures.

Griffon on the other hand can’t seem to get along with anyone else. He’s a little annoying. Maybe a lot. The kind of loud unfiltered annoying that Nero knows his father doesn’t like. Yet Griffon’s imprinted on Vergil like a duckling and it’s been funny to watch the demon follow his father around.

Vergil never bothers putting any distance between them. Like they’ve made a game of seeing how long he can act like he hates him. Still- Griffon cares. He has to. He’d helped save Vergil after all, and that counts for something.

The most unnerving reminder that things aren’t the same as before is the jagged cracks that run along his father’s hands, arms, and shoulders. Nero’s made contact with them a lot over the past two months. He never feels comfortable with their uneven texture under his fingers like how the sand he’s digging in feels right now. They don’t seem to hurt, but Nero still wonders if his father’s hiding it.

Vergil had always made a habit in the past to explain anything he could that Nero didn’t understand- though this time he won’t say anything about what happened to him. Nero has a few guesses floating in his mind. None of them are good, and he doesn’t have any proof, so he keeps them to himself.

Nero, for better or for worse, has learned how to keep secrets from his family the same way that they keep things from him. When Vergil was missing, the same day Dante left to rescue him, Nero had a dream that felt too real to be his imagination.

(A world filled with darkness and devoid of anything swallows Nero’s vision. It should be scary. Like he should take it as a nightmare and wake up crying because being in the dark still scares him. Yet he feels protected from whatever could hurt him. Ahead is an armor-clad figure kneeling on the floor with slicked-back white hair. Nero can’t see his face from where he is but he would know that hair anywhere. Vergil.

The closer he approaches his father he feels this overwhelming sadness settle deep in his chest, marked by a few faint pulses of blue light that flare out before vanishing. Nero reaches out with a tentative hand. The rough metal his fingers rest on is cold enough that it hurts to touch. Up close Nero can see how pale his father looks, made worse by sharp crack-like marks running up his face and by a dim glow in his eyes obscuring their normal silvery blue. Yet even with these changes Nero knows him. He rests a hand on his father’s cheek and is startled to feel how cold Vergil’s skin is, too. Like how people say corpses should be. Like Vergil already has one foot in the grave and just needs a little push to go either way.

“You have to come home.” Nero says fighting back tears and hiccupping in the process “Please. I need you. You- you promised-”

Vergil leans his face into Nero’s hand, closing his eyes and for a moment he looks so much more like himself again. There’s a soft smile before his eyebrows pull together and his shoulders tense.

Nero jolts awake on the couch, gripping the blanket on him tight in his hands and out of breath. Lady doesn’t ask him what woke him, so he doesn’t bother telling her.)

Nero’s yanked out of his thoughts by a cold and damp item pressing against the side of his temple. He yelps, pulling away to slap his hand over the spot and warm it up.

Dante leans over him with a bottle of water in his hand and blocks most of the sun with his body. His flower button up is already undone and stands out against his black board shorts. The waves from the water that had become background noise are noticeable again. They lap at the shoreline only to sink back into the ocean once more. A gust of wind pushes up at the edges of the towel he’s sitting on. It’s not summer weather anymore but not too cold to go swimming. A chill washes over Nero’s skin. He’d left his jacket with Vergil and his own swim shorts do nothing to help him keep warm. The sun is his saving grace for the day.

It's not the first time Nero’s been to a beach, but it’s the first big trip since Vergil came back. Lady had recommended a more isolated spot that’s an afternoon’s worth of travel south of Capulet. The area’s framed by rocks and overgrown at the edges with clumps of deep green long-leaved plants bearing stalks of small bright yellow blooms. Goldenrod, he thinks he remembers the name from seeing them before. It seems right to him with their sunny color.

They’re out of the way of any public parking and had to leg it with their cooler and the other supplies. Nero thinks this has to be someone’s private property. He figures if they get in trouble it’s not his fault and he can “I’m just a kid I don’t know any better” his way into his own innocence. It’s just the three of them and Griffon for now, since Lady took Trish out to go shopping for a good swimsuit and promised to meet up with them later.

Nero squints and blinks up at Dante, the sun in his peripheral and trying its best to blind him.

“Got a little lost in there?” Dante grins and offers the water out “Verge didn’t want you getting dehydrated so he told me to bring you this.”

Nero takes the bottle, looking at it as Dante sits down to the side and knocks sand around in the process.

“You’re getting sand on my towel! Stop moving already-” Nero smacks at Dante, earning a laugh in response.

“It’s going to get on there one way or another. Think of me just speeding up the process to save you the headache later. I think you should be more worried about burning with how long you’ve been out of the shade. You’re looking a little- pink- right- here-“ Dante pokes at Nero’s cheek and he retaliates by tilting his head to bite at Dante’s finger. He misses of course. Not that he’d actually bite down anyway if he’d managed it with Dante’s speed.

“You’re messing with me.” Nero opens the water and drinks, not realizing how thirsty he was until the first sip. He wipes at his mouth and prods Dante with his free hand “I can tell you’re lying from a mile away. There’s no way we’ve been here that long already.”

Dante looks away, shrugging with a small smile as he rests his hands on his knees.

“We have?” Nero squeaks.

“Haven’t checked the clock, and Vergil’s too busy sulking under the umbrella to tell me. If I had to guess I’d say somewhere around an hour.” Dante points with his thumb behind them.

Nero looks back. Sure enough, Vergil’s on his folding chair crunching his torso to one side under the beach umbrella. He has sunglasses on top of his head, an open book in one hand that he’s shoving his face into, and his other hand clenching onto the side of his head. The most they’d gotten him to do was change into shorts and a T-shirt with a crooked homemade iron on decal of the words “Hi Motivated, I’m Dad” on it that Lady had thrown in with his new clothes as a prank. Vergil didn’t get rid of it. Nero knows it’s because he finds it funny even if he complains about how bad it looks.

Griffon is perching on the arm of the chair opposite of where Vergil’s trying to squeeze against to escape. He’s talking loud enough to be heard about some show Trish showed him at one point. Something about crime scenes and court that Nero doesn’t care enough to pay attention to. Even though Vergil can tell Griffon to leave him alone he doesn’t.

“The girls sure are taking their sweet time getting here. I swear- if Lady picked up Trish just to ditch us she and I are going to have a talk.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time she’s done it.” Nero digs the pad of his thumb into the water bottle to hear the plastic creak “It’s annoying.”

“Don’t stress over it too much.” Dante waves the topic off, a playful smile sneaking onto his face “Let’s just say we’ve got our own way of talking to each other and leave it at that.”

“Uh-huh. Right. You just wait for more excuses for her to come hang out with you and play pool rather than just inviting her yourself.” Nero tilts his head to let his gaze drift back to the beach umbrella.

Vergil must say something after all, but his mouth is hidden behind his book as his eyes flick towards Griffon. Griffon closes his beak and hops onto their small cooler, gripping onto it with his talons and flapping to lift the lid before dropping right into it.

Vergil bolts upright from his crunched posture. He drops his book to reach for Griffon and almost tips his chair from the motion. Griffon tilts just out of reach.

“You beast! We have food in there and you just put your unwashed feet on all of it.” Vergil snarls.

“Oh ‘scuse me, your Excellency!” Griffon yells back “You asked for a drink and I don’t exactly have hands! It’s all in sealed containers anyway so no harm no fowl.”

Griffon cackles after that, stepping onto the edge of the cooler with a single flap of his wings.

Vergil opens his mouth to shout again. Closes it. Stares. Squints, and bares his fangs.

“Was that another pun?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Griffon leans forward “It almost sounds like you want me to keep making them.”

Vergil takes his chance and snatches his hand out, only to miss from Griffon ducking down. They launch into a back and forth with Vergil insisting that Griffon’s the most annoying animal he’s ever met, and Griffon getting offended over it.

“Are they gonna be okay?” Nero looks to Dante, opening his water again but not drinking just yet “I know they do this a lot but-“

“Let them get it out of their systems before the other two get back.” Dante pats Nero on the shoulder “If they start drawing blood or throwing lightning then I’ll step in. I know you’ve seen me use Royal Guard, but you haven’t seen the real use of it yet. I can separate them if I have to.”

“There’s more? What does it do?” Nero leans closer and almost spills his water. He imagines Dante’s powers forming a glowing red shield the way he’s seen Vergil create swords out of thin air.

He thinks that would be cool- Dante getting between the two and stopping them from fighting before it gets past words to make sure they don’t hurt each other. If Dante had Rebellion with him it would be a formidable view. Sword in one hand, shield in the other. Like a knight. Though that sits weird in Nero’s thoughts. It’s impossible to separate the word from his memories of Fortuna even after all this time. They’re faint and faded, yet when he focuses he can recall certain things. Some of it is bitter, filled with words that were said to him with the intent to hurt and make him feel hated. A few he feels more than recalls, stinging on his skin poisoned with a sharp fear.

The rest of the memories that come to mind have to do with the yard of the Orphanage. Two kids with rich auburn hair and their kind parents in white uniforms bearing intricate embroidery. They’d began visiting about a year before he’d left, and had paid extra attention to him.

Credo and Kyrie were his first friends. He wonders about them. Misses them a little still. Even though Mundus is gone now- with Vergil stuck recovering from whatever happened to him they can’t make the trip to Fortuna any time soon. At least, that’s what Nero tells himself it is because it makes sense. He wonders if he’ll ever get to go back. He wonders if he’ll even remember enough Italian to speak to them at all. He hasn’t practiced much with Vergil, and most places they’d gone to he wasn’t able to use it.

“Well, in the first place it doesn’t just block attacks like you think it does. It absorbs the impact and stores the energy for later.”

“What do you do with it after that?”

“Send it right back at ‘em before they even know what happened. It’s a concussive blast that hits faster than they can blink.” Dante glances back again “Looks like they’re settling down for- nope. Nevermind. Check out the ocean for a little bit while I knock some sense into them.”

Behind them Nero hears a very colorful string of curses leave Griffon’s mouth before cutting off. Dante pushes himself up with an annoyed grunt, turning away from the shore. He heads out of sight while Nero takes a sip of his water. It takes so much self-control to not peek back and watch to find out what Dante meant.

“Hey, what’d we say about using your powers until you’re back up to a hundred percent?” Dante’s joking-but-serious voice hits Nero’s ears and he knows that his uncle’s upset.

“This is hardly any-“ Vergil objects.

“On a good day for you, yeah.” Dante cuts Vergil off “Not now. Put the chicken down and settle before your skin starts flaking off again. You already look out of breath.”

There’s silence, and Nero wonders what’s going on. Then it’s broken by the fluttering of feathers before a thud.

“Fine. I have much better things to do than dirty the sand when we just got here, anyway.” There’s the squeaking of fabric against metal that tells Nero his father’s sitting down.

Nero digs in the hole he’d started earlier to busy himself, cupping his fingers and tossing it towards the water until the sand is damp enough that it clumps between his fingers.

Behind him there’s faint whispering between Vergil and Dante. Too quiet for Nero to pick up on but get him curious enough to try to hear. He closes his eyes and focuses and it’s still out of reach for him.

“Oooh- I can help!” Griffon interjects, at normal volume. A noise escapes him close enough to a squeak.

More whispering. Nero starts getting the feeling like they’re whispering about him. He sets his bottle down. Sand shifts just behind him and while he turns to look he’s scooped up by Dante before he can react. He squirms as Dante hefts him over his shoulder. Then he sees where Vergil is getting further away as Dante starts walking. Griffon takes off from where he is in the sand, gaining speed to catch up to them. He follows behind, feathers sparking and a glimmer of lightning in his eyes.

“Good morning, Capulet City!” Griffon announces.

“Not in Capulet-“ Dante snipes, cutting him off.

“Like hell I know where we are! Just go along with it or I’m not providing live commentary.”

Nero feels like he’s in danger. The kind of danger that he’s not going to get hurt from but absolutely means there’s something planned for him. He’s too caught off guard to form words for the moment.

“Just make it snappy. You’ve got less than a minute.”

“From the top then. Good morning, Capulet City! Today’s a brisk seventy degrees Fahrenheit with a lovely wind passing over the coast and an updraft that makes flying a breeze. There are no notable threats of rip currents, water spouts, demon attacks, or an impending apocalypse-“

Nero looks down to see that Dante’s feet are already in the water, the waves pass and push against the shoreline behind them. He squirms more. Smacks Dante’s shoulder.

“Uncle Dante- no. You wouldn’t- you wouldn’t dare-“

“-but we have reports of sassy little half-pint half-demons going airborne! So buckle up, hold your breath, and get ready to dive in!” Griffon raises his voice, cackling at the end.

Dante shifts his grip on Nero, holding him up under the arms at first so Nero has a full view of the open ocean.

“Don’t tell me you’d rather wait for Lady and Trish. I thought you told me you can swim.”

“Yeah I can swim but don’t throw me!” Nero grabs onto Dante’s arms and struggles in his grasp more. He shrieks in laughter as Dante raises him higher, digging his fingers into Dante’s arms.

“I don’t know- you seem like you really want to go for a dip.” Dante drops his grasp on Nero long enough to gather him in his arms, rocking him while counting “A-One! A-Two! A-Three!”

Dante makes a motion to toss Nero, but instead spins on his heels and sets Nero down on his feet. Nero smacks Dante’s stomach, ignoring how cold his toes feel from not being acclimated to the temperature of the water yet.

“Ow- not really nice of you.” Dante rubs where the impact was even though there’s no visible mark.

“That’s what you get for being a jerk!” Nero turns his nose up “You weren’t even gonna throw me at all, were you?”

“Only throwing I’ll do with you is up and back into my arms, kiddo. Vergil’d kill me if you got hurt.” Dante points to the sky, pauses, then crosses arms and grins “Unless you actually wanted me to toss you out there?”

“No.” Nero shoves his hands into the pockets of his trunks. He looks away, then back up, and away again to say quieter “Maybe. It sounded fun.”

Dante tilts his head a few times, eyes looking Nero over. He grins.

“Ah, what the heck. If he throws a fit I’ll deal with it. I’ll follow right after you, okay? Gotta send you pretty far out so you don’t end up getting hurt on any rocks around here in the shallow spots.”

“Like- how far?” Nero rubs at his arms, more aware of the wind now that he’s standing in the water “I know I said I can swim but I’ve never really gone into deep water by myself before-“

“Far enough so anything out there thinks you look like fish foo-“ Griffon’s voice cuts out to a long yell as Dante grabs him by the beak and chucks him off away from the shore. He disappears into one of the thick clusters of marigold. The plants shuffle and Griffon pops out of them, scattering yellow petals everywhere with a shower of small sparks that fizzle before they cause damage “Fine! I didn’t want to be a part of your gross family bonding time, anyway! I’m going back to Vergil.”

Griffon turns his beak up, gliding back to the umbrella to settle on the cooler facing away from them. Vergil lifts his sunglasses to look at Griffon and raise an eyebrow at Dante. He returns to his book.

“Sorry ‘bout that. I promise nothing’s going to try to eat you, and I’ll be with you if you get spooked.” Dante rests a hand on Nero’s shoulder “You ever learn how to tell when the water’s deeper?”

“No duh. It’s darker because the light won’t go past a certain point because it all gets absorbed and can’t bounce back. It looks a lot cooler from high up though.”

“Huh.”

“What?” Nero scowls, unsure why Dante’s giving him such a blank expression.

“No, don’t worry about it. You’re right. Let me give you a lift real quick so I can show you where I’m gonna send you.” Dante picks up Nero without warning again, this time to sit on his shoulders  “Damn, you might be getting too big for this to be easy to pull off soon enough.”

“I thought you guys can lift cars. What gives?” Nero rests his hands on top of Dante’s head, pouting.

“Well for one, even with you weighing next to nothing for me you’re gonna shoot up like a weed soon enough. You’re already pretty lanky as is. Manhandling you is just part of the fun, to put it the best way.”

“You mean it’s part of the fun for you.” Nero crosses his arms.

“Aw- don’t get like that. I think Verge and Griffon’s bad attitudes are rubbing off on you. You used to love getting tossed around.”

“Yeah. When I was little.” Nero does like getting tossed even now, but he’s not about to admit it and prove Dante right.

“Still are from where I’m standing.” Dante laughs “So are we doing this or what? I think even if you end up belly-flopping hard you should be able to handle it. We’re aiming for that stretch of darker water just out that way.”

“Yeah! Before dad sees what’s going on.”

“You gotcha. Be sure to use your arms to break the surface of the water before impact so it hurts less.”

Nero uncrosses his arms to wait and hold his breath in suspense. Dante reaches back, grasping Nero’s waist and lifting up in a slight toss while ducking. He braces his legs and catches Nero just long enough before dashing forward to hurl him out over the water. The wind whips past him and before he thinks to pay attention he realizes the water’s right there. He smacks against the surface of it and skids a few feet, knocking the air out of his lungs. He flails, realizing his feet can’t touch the bottom. Which of course. Dante warned it would be deep. He knows how to tread water but it’s colder than he expected even though he’s managing to keep his head above the surface.

Before panic can set in Dante’s there, holding out an arm for Nero to hang off of and laughing. Nero spits out the water he almost swallowed before laughing as well. Dante tosses him up in the air and catches him again.

“Got a little awestruck from being airborne? Remind me to teach you how to dive if you’re going to give me a heart attack like that again. I think they heard that impact all the way in Capulet. We should call Morrison up on the way out later to get notes on it.”

“I didn’t expect you to throw me that fast! You didn’t give me a chance to do anything.” Nero glances back to the beach umbrella, where Vergil’s staring over his book with his fingers curled over the cover and his eyes brighter than before “Uh oh. I think dad’s mad.”

“You’re fine. He’ll get over it.”

A flash of color coming down the shallow incline they’d gotten to the beach from catches Nero’s eyes. Lady’s ahead of Trish carrying a bag over her shoulder, wearing a light blue two-piece that’s shorts and a sleeveless shirt. She turns to look back at Trish while saying something, too far away for Nero to see her expression. Trish’s own suit is a black one-piece, and there’s black fabric tied around her waist to look like a skirt. The bulk of her hair is tied up in a- Nero thinks he remember it’s called a bun. Which doesn’t make sense to him.

“Well I’ll be. Looks like they didn’t ditch us after all.” Dante hauls Nero over his shoulder “Let’s save you the trouble of walking back and skip to sticking you in the sun for a bit. What’d’ya say?”

Nero nods. Dante heads for the shore, his steps unhindered by the water. Vergil tucks his nose back into his book. Griffon raises his head to watch Lady and Trish approach.

Lady’s already setting down a towel in the sand by the time Dante and Nero make it to the umbrella. She sets her bag down on the corner and unzips it. Trish stares out past Dante and Nero to the ocean, some weird look on her face. She’s seen the ocean before. That much he knows. She shifts her gaze over to them.

“Is he bothering you again?” Trish motions to Nero with a loose gesture of her hand.

“He’s bothering me!” Nero corrects, emphasizing his words.

“You asked him to toss you, so I think you get what you deserve.” Griffon adds.

“You’re not supposed to tell them that.” Nero grumbles. Dante sets him down.

“If you’re looking for pity points you’re barking up the wrong tree anyway, Tiny.” Lady pulls a bottle of sunscreen out of her bag. She sits down on her towel and pops the cap open, motioning between Vergil and Dante “Wait. You two did remember to give him sunscreen this time, right?”

“So- about that-“ Dante scratches the back of his head before pointing to Vergil “-his fault.”

“My fault? You’d neglected to tell me we needed a new bottle.” Vergil looks up from his book and frowns.

“I didn’t know the stuff expired that soon! Do I look like I use any of it? Pretty sure those expiration dates are just a guideline anyway.”

“You don’t want to try your luck with expired sunscreen. Especially since you’re so shit at gambling anyway.” Lady squints to the side at Vergil when he frowns at her. She sighs and looks towards Nero “Go grab your towel and get dried off. Better to put it on late than never, and you’re pretty pink already.”

“Told you.” Dante adds.

Nero stalks away from the group, snatching up his towel, shaking the sand out of it, and wrapping himself in it as he returns with his water bottle tucked under his arm. Lady pats her towel next to her for him to sit down.

“Did you guys actually bring anything to eat?” Lady asks, looking at Dante in particular.

“Sandwich stuff’s all in there, with an extra special secret ingredient.” Dante waves his hand towards the cooler. His tone curves up at the end and he looks away with a forced down smile.

“Why do I get the feeling I don’t want to know what that means?”

“He means that Griffon put his filthy feet all over the supplies.” Vergil snaps his book closed and rests it on his lap “He’s lucky he didn’t crush the bread. Though in his defense- I had made the error of requesting a drink in the first place.”

“If that’s your way of apologizing for trying to give me a lobotomy earlier then you’re not welcome.” Griffon harrumphs as his neck feathers fluff up. He keeps himself planted on top of the cooler lid.

“Be like that, then.” Vergil’s nose scrunches up.

Nero holds out his hands for Lady to give him sunscreen. He smears it in uneven layers on his arms and legs first. It’s slimy and he remembers that he hates the smell of it the moment it reaches his nose.

“Do you want help reaching your back?”

Nero tests first, flexing and checking to see how hard it would be, and after a few moments he frowns before nodding.

“Yeah.”

“Honestly, you shouldn’t have gone running off to swim without making sure you had sunscreen on first. Those two don’t take care of themselves like normal people should. Half-demons or not I’m willing to bet their only saving grace is their healing at this point. It’s a bad example to set.” Lady says. Nero feels her spreading sunscreen on his back in large circles. Her hands pause without warning “The fu- what are you looking at me like that for? You lose that last braincell of yours in hell?”

A sharp exhale, normal from Vergil when he finds something funny.

“It’s amusing hearing someone like you be responsible towards anyone else.” Vergil says “Maybe Griffon wasn’t lying about his recounting of Dante saying Nero has everyone wrapped around his finger.”

“Just- shut up or do this yourself. He’s your son anyway.”

“Why should I insert myself into your task? You’re already halfway done. I see no point in interrupting when you took it upon yourself to aid him without requesting pay first.”

Lady makes a noise under her breath, and she finishes applying the lotion to Nero’s back before returning to her own. Her cheeks are red.

“Do you need help, too?” Nero offers.

“I can get my back just fine.” Lady insists “You make sure to let yours soak in before you do anything else, or you’ll burn worse.”

Nero looks up to Trish, rolling the words around in his head that he’s thinking about saying. He knows it would be nice to offer to help her but common sense reminding him that she’s a demon makes him wonder if it’s something she even needs. If Vergil and Dante don’t need it- then it’s easy to guess that she would pass on the offer.

Trish notices him looking at her. She returns the eye contact and squints. Nero gets self-conscious. He blinks a few times, unable to form words for the moment, then moves to look away while wiping under his nose. He freezes as he feels unabsorbed sunscreen smear across his mouth. Sputtering, he uses his towel to wipe it away but the taste reaches his tongue in moments.

“You’re supposed to wear it, not eat it.” Vergil notes.

“It’s gross.” Nero objects “You’re lucky you don’t have to use it.”

“Them being lucky doesn’t change that you need it. Better to protect your skin now than regret it later.” Lady warns. She tucks the sunscreen back into the bag and spends more time rubbing at her arms.

“I know.” Nero huffs.

“He’s never liked sunscreen. Even when we were traveling.” Vergil adds, returning his focus back to his book “I don’t think that’s going to change any as he gets older.”

“You bet! I’m going to hate it ‘till the day I die.” Nero insists.

His reaction seems to be funny, because Dante’s bark of laughter catches him off guard. Which only annoys him more.

Griffon hops off the cooler and creeps closer to Nero. He shies away, still not quite certain how to view the bird demon just yet. Not an enemy, but not a friend either. Griffon makes a show of sniffing the air around him.

“You’re being an overdramatic baby. The smell’s survivable.” Griffon’s tail feathers rustle as he turns around.

“With how bad hell smells? I’m surprised you’re even capable of that sense anymore.” Vergil speaks up, using his finger to save his place in the book “I’m inclined to agree with Nero. It reeks. Dante thinks so, too.”

“Don’t put words in my mouth! Sure it’s a strong smell, and it stays on literally anything it touches for days-“

“-so you hate it-” Vergil insists while Dante’s rambling off his opinion.

“-maybe.” Dante doesn’t miss a beat, cutting Vergil’s own sentence off like it’s a game to them.

“You guys are ridiculous.” Lady raises her voice to catch their attention, pointing between Dante and Vergil with a sly smile “Nero I can understand, but you two? You’re a pair of overgrown kids.”

“You forget our senses are stronger than yours.” Dante defends “I’m sure if you were put in a room that smelled like sulphur you’d hate it just the same.”

The discussion that’s borderline an argument begins anew, with Griffon offering his own perspective that seems to be considered at surface level before it becomes more entertaining to them to keep it going. Nero gets bored of listening to them bicker and notices Trish wander away to the shore.

Nero takes a look at the distracted group, leaves his towel behind, and trails after. He keeps a cautious distance away. Trish stops just before the oncoming waves where the damp sand sinks under her feet. The oncoming wind tugs at her skirt and stray hairs that aren’t tucked into the bun.

“I know you’re there.” Trish speaks, and Nero takes a step back.

“Right. I knew that.” Nero claims “Why’d you come over here?”

“They’re noisy, and seem to like hearing themselves talk more than they listen to anyone.” Trish says, crossing her arms “I don’t have any interest in feeding that beast right now when we’re supposed to be relaxing.”

“Yeah.” Nero sticks his hands into his pockets, stepping closer until he’s standing beside Trish “They don’t mean anything by it. At least, I don’t think so. It’s like a game to them for some reason.”

“Fighting is just in a demon’s nature.” Trish says “There’s no separating yourself from it. The more you put in the same place the worse it gets.”

“What about Lady?”

Trish tilts her head and doesn’t answer, gaze focused on the horizon as the waves brush across their feet. She reminds him of how Vergil acted years ago when they first met- awkward pauses of silence where it’s obvious that normal communication’s almost out of reach for them. It’ll get easier, he wants to tell her. He doesn’t. He’s just a kid- so the chance that she’ll believe him is low.

“She might not be by blood, but I guess she counts as a demon in her own right.” Trish finally breaks the silence between them.

“Is it because she hunts them?” Nero asks “Not to be mean, or anything, I know you’re a demon too so I don’t know if that upsets you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Trish looks down to Nero, a small smile showing her amusement “Demons kill each other all the time. You’re right, though. Shows of power, fighting, killing- it’s the main language of demon culture. It’s how hierarchy is established.”

“What’s it like?”

“Bloody, and not safe to talk about with kids like you.” Trish insists “It’s nothing you’ll ever have to worry about.”

Trish’s head tilts away and she frowns.

“Do you miss it?”

“A little, but only for how familiar it felt.” Trish answers “After Mundus made me, I’d had no freedom, and no option but to follow his orders. He gave me everything I needed to know about the underworld just to drive home the idea that I needed him to survive. Nothing else. Not even about your world.”

“Is that why you looked so angry when we met?”

“Part of it. I knew Griffon had planned something on his own, but I didn’t know what. Seeing you pity him, among other things, made me start thinking that Mundus was wrong.” Trish lets her hands fall to her sides. She looks uncertain “I can find myself on my own without someone else deciding what that means.”

Nero takes a deep breath before reaching over and grabbing Trish’s hand. He squeezes it a bit and waits. When Trish squeezes back with very light pressure he brightens up with a smile.

“What’s this?”

“I’m holding your hand.” Nero says “You do that with people you care about. It’s a way to say you’re there for them without having to talk.”

Trish squints, looking at their joined hands.

“This is normal for humans?”

“I used to hold dad and Dante’s hands more, but yeah.” Nero shuffles his toes into the damp sand more “It’s a little embarrassing when you get older apparently. I don’t care though. It’s not like anyone’s watching us right now.”

Trish squeezes his hand again, a bit firmer.

“I changed my mind.” Nero announces, coming to an understanding with his thoughts on Trish.

“About?”

“Nothing you need to know.” Nero deflects “Just something I’ve been thinking about. I’d tell you if it was bad.”

Trish nods her head. She opens her mouth to speak more-

“Hey! We’re having lunch now! Get over here or we’ll eat it all without you!” Dante shouts.

Trish snaps her hand away from Nero’s, looking back to the group. Nero frowns and flexes his fingers while looking at his empty palm.

“That was- nice.” Trish says, quiet and unsure in how she words it. She walks away without elaborating on if she meant the talk or them holding hands.

Nero sprints back to everyone else, kicking up sand behind him and stumbling before regaining his balance. He makes it before they start making any sandwiches and is stubborn about not having an end piece from the loaf. Which he wasn’t going to get anyway since Griffon snaps it up out of Dante’s hand, cackling and taunting that he’ll have to get a different slice.

Trish sits down on Lady’s towel with her, the two unbothered by Vergil and Dante both trying to get their hands on ingredients at the same time. Nero lets them argue it out and chooses to take his time picking what he wants.

Lunch comes and goes without much fanfare. Once the trash has been tucked away and the food stored in the cooler, Lady pulls a deflated beach ball from her bag. Nero’s eyes widen and he reaches out for it.

“Can I blow it up? Please?”

“I don’t know, can you?” Vergil says.

Nero pouts, he takes a deep breath to devise a comeback.

“I’m starting to think you like using those dad jokes.” Dante stretches out his legs with a few lunges, stealing Nero’s thunder in the process.

“Believe what you want.” Vergil denies. The shine in his eyes tells Nero that Dante’s right.

Lady offers the ball to Nero, who takes a good chunk of time inflating it until his cheeks hurt and he’s giggling with lightheadedness from the effort. He holds the ball out with one hand. Before Lady grabs it he smacks the underside of it with his free hand and knocks it up out of her reach. It rolls away closer to where Dante is.

“Too slow!” Nero grins.

“Oh, are we playing keep away?” Lady questions “We both know I’d win. You’re so short we could just hold the ball over your head and you’d never be able to reach it.”

“That’s not really fair. Sounds like you’re trying to bully me.”

“I’d like to return to my book soon without interruption.” Vergil speaks up “So if you plan to continue being this noisy take it further away.”

“Sorry.” Nero rubs at the back of his neck “We’ll try not to bother you too much.”

Vergil’s face softens. He keeps eye contact as if deciding to say something, but instead opens his book.

“While you two were busy arguing-“ Dante catches Nero’s attention. He’s holding the ball in his hands, waving it in their general direction “-I’ve kept my eyes on the prize. Give me your best shot if you think you can catch up to me. Are you joining us, Trish?”

“Not really.” Trish responds, sipping at her drink while leaning back “I’ll just watch for now.”

Lady launches up from her seat, chasing after Dante with fire in her eyes. Nero does his best to keep up with them. He runs out of breath and leans over with his chest heaving and a smile on his face. Dante plays keep-away, heckling Lady and trying to get her to agree to lower his debt while she does everything in her power to catch him off guard. They weave around each other with near inhuman reflexes. Too fast for Nero to keep pace with, but he figures a quick strategy could let him emerge the winner.

Nero notices their path heading his way and hatches an idea as simple as sticking his foot out before Dante’s past him. Down Dante goes, tripping and falling onto his side while holding the ball up to not land on it. Nero plucks it from his grasp while Dante gathers his bearings.

Dante laughs, spitting sand out and sitting up to look from under his bangs at Nero with a toothy grin.

“Smart move. Let me guess, you learned that from Vergil?”

“Thought of it myself.” Nero holds the beach ball close, arms wrapping around it to not let it go “You thought I gave up and focused on Lady, which was a mistake because now I won against both of you.”

“No way.”

“Just give up and admit you lost, Dante.” Lady strolls over, resting her hands on Nero’s shoulders “He never said he quit.”

Nero sticks his tongue out at Dante, tilting the ball away from him.

“Then I guess it’s time for round two.” Dante stands up, cracking his neck “I’m not about to give up after one loss. After we’ve settled this it’s swimming time.”

Nero’s eyes widen. He darts away before Dante or Lady can reach out to grab him, urging his legs to carry him as fast as possible from the rush of adrenaline.

It doesn’t last long, as much as he wants it to. His endurance wears down and he doesn’t duck out of Dante’s way fast enough to avoid Lady. They catch him at the same time, pinned in with a pincer attack that he’s too small to muscle his way out of. He’s out of breath with his legs too tired to stand.

“Good job, buddy.” Dante ruffles Nero’s hair.

“But you guys still caught me.” Nero huffs.

“Lasted a long time, though. I figured you’d be caught within the first minute.”

Nero sits in the sand with the beach ball in his lap. He leans against it and peers over to where Vergil is. Vergil has reclined in his chair, book set aside on the cooler. He has his sunglasses on but from his posture he’s fallen asleep like he does a lot of these days. The surprising thing, that Nero doesn’t notice at first because it feels like he’s seeing things that aren’t there, is Griffon settled on his legs with his head tucked down and wings fluffed up. They’re close enough that Nero notices Griffon’s eyes are closed.

“Leave him alone so he can read without us bothering him, he says.“ Dante laughs and scratches at his jaw “Then he goes and knocks right out for a nap with the bird he says is annoying. If I wasn’t seeing it in front of me I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“I think I have a disposable camera in my bag with a few shots left. We can try to get a photo of them for blackmail later.” Lady rests her hands on her hips, cocking an eyebrow at Dante.

“I like where this idea’s going. Think we can manage it without getting caught?” Dante leans a bit closer, eyes glued to where Vergil’s sleeping.

Nero notices Griffon ease his eyes open and snap shut when they make eye contact. He nods to himself, aware that the plan Dante and Lady have could fall apart if the demon chooses to cause chaos at the last second. Then something starts bugging him when he watches the area under the beach umbrella.

“Wait, where’s Trish?” Nero looks around, coming to the realization that she’s not where she’d been sitting before they started playing and instead it’s just her skirt left on Lady’s towel. He spots her past the shoreline, standing in the ocean in thigh deep water looking down. The faint panic that had begun quells down at confirming that she’s still nearby “Oh. Is she okay doing that? Doesn’t she control electricity or something?”

“She uses it, yeah.” Dante says “It’s not like she’s covered in it all the time though, so I figured if something was wrong we would’ve found out immediately. You didn’t seem bothered when you held her hand earlier.”

Nero’s face heats up and he turns his head away. He stomps off to the water.

“Hey- was it something I said?” Dante asks, quieter so Nero’s sure it’s directed at Lady.

“I’m gonna go to Trish, since you two will just annoy dad when you get caught. I don’t want to be a part of that.” Nero huffs. He hesitates at the shoreline at first, dipping his toes in the thinning waves before picking his way through the water towards Trish.

Trish glances over when Nero nears, then back down to the water side to side in an attempt to find something.

“What’s up?” Nero asks, getting a face full of Trish’s hand signaling for him to be quiet.

Trish motions down to the water around her. At first Nero doesn’t see anything and wonders what he’s missing. Little by little he notices a weird pattern of movement between the sand he’s kicked up and the distortion from the waves. A school of small fish. They’re silver with flecks of color along their backs and dart around Trish’s legs in her shadow. Nero’s surprised he spotted them at all.

Nero wants to open his mouth and tell her about the time he was younger that something like that happened to him at a different beach. He decides against it because of how Trish motioned for him to not talk.

Instead he watches the fish with her, looking back every so often to see if something happens. Which since it considers Dante, Vergil, and Lady- of course it does. Once it appears the picture’s been taken Griffon hops to attention and launches off of Vergil’s lap. He snatches the camera from Lady with his talons and glides out of reach. They’re too far away for Nero to place what they’re yelling about, but he can figure that Griffon’s holding the camera hostage.

“I can’t believe them.” Nero breaks his own silence, heaving a sigh “Griffon should throw the camera in the ocean if he’s so mad about it. But-“

“Hmm?”

Nero looks to the group and away, crunching his shoulders up as he can’t bring himself to look at Trish.

“We don’t really have a lot of pictures. Dad always said we had to travel light, so most of my school work was the limit. Now that we don’t have to hide- I want like an- album- or something.” Nero picks at the skin next to his thumbnail “So I want anything we can get.”

“Even the embarrassing ones?”

Nero nods.

Trish holds her index finger to her lips for a moment, eyes focused on the fish in thought. She pulls her finger away to look back at Nero.

“It sounds like a tough job for someone your size.” Trish answers.

In the distance Nero spots Dante leap up, a red sigil forming under his feet to propel himself higher. He grabs Griffon by the leg, pulling them both down to the ground. After wrenching the camera from Griffon’s grasp and tossing it to Lady he tucks Griffon under his arm. Griffon wiggles, flails his legs out against the air before falling limp in defeat.

“Should we help him? Griffon, I mean.” Nero watches Dante say something to Lady that he can’t make out.

“Why?” Trish, despite her questioning, is moving towards the shore “He made his own problem for himself.”

“Well- uh-“ Nero trails at her heels as best he can “He’s annoying, but dad likes him, and don’t think we should just decide that being mean to him all the time is funny before he can learn anything.”

Dante sets Griffon down on the sand, his words close enough to be heard but not understood. Griffon tilts his head away. His feathers fluff up as he hops a few times towards the umbrella.

“Fine. Keep it if you really care that much.” Griffon concedes, voice wavering as his eyes look everywhere but the group “I’m going for a fly around, check for demons and stuff, since all you guys want to do is chase after each other and splash in the water. I’ll be back later.”

Griffon takes off, casting a shadow across the sand as he soars out over the water.

“He sure ran off fast.” Dante says “Looks like we flustered him a little too much.”

“You’ve gotta be nice!” Nero swats at Dante without hitting him the moment he’s close “Everything’s new to him, and he’s probably upset with you ‘cause he doesn’t know how to act and feels left out. Shouldn’t we give him a chance?”

Dante freezes, looking at Nero with a blank stare. Nero keeps a wide stance and scowls.

“Geez.” Dante reaches down and ruffles Nero’s hair “You’ve got some pretty wise words knocking around in that head of yours, kiddo. Makes me wonder who taught ‘em to you.”

“Beats me.” Nero ducks out of Dante’s range, turning away and crossing his arms “Not from any of you guys, I guess. I’m used to you messing with me.”

“Looks like he picked something up from the two of you after all.” Lady teases “What a surprise, it’s your family’s attitude.”

“You’re not any better.”

“Touché, but he’s your nephew.” Lady waves her hand. She tosses the disposable camera to her tower before sauntering away “I’m going to cool off for a bit, since we got the blackmail and Griffon gave up on trashing the camera. It would be a shame to waste the daylight while we’ve got it.”

“Sounds like a plan. I could go for a proper swim right about now after all this clowning around.” Dante offers his hand out to Nero “We should probably let Vergil keep sleeping. He wanted you to be able to have fun today without worrying about him.”

Nero grasps Dante’s hand, eyes trailing behind them as they head for the water. He notices Trish stays behind but doesn’t bring attention to it.

“I’ve got an idea! Let’s see if we can find something cool to show him when he wakes up. Like a shell, or maybe-“ Dante’s thought trails off.

“Buried treasure?” Nero suggests.

“Chances would be pretty low so find something like that.”

“But not zero?”

“Not zero.”

“Don’t put any weird ideas in the kid’s head, Dante.” Lady scoffs “Last thing we need is him wandering off when we’re not looking.”

“I won’t-“ Nero claims, lowering his voice into a mutter “-not unless I see something.”

“Uh-huh.” Dante steps into the water, motioning at Nero “So we can trust you not to run off without telling us?”

“Yeah-“ Nero doesn’t make eye contact, fully aware that he’s lying and trying to get past Dante’s ability to figure him out “I’ll tell you first. Then we can check it out together.”

Dante nods, scratches at his jaw with his free hand, and wades into deeper water with Nero. Lady’s the first to reach a good depth that she can swim in. Her hair loses its volume and falls flat against the sides of her face when she surfaces. She flicks the strands out of her eyes and leans back to float.

“It’s not too cold for you still?” Dante asks.

Nero shakes his head, still holding onto Dante’s hand even as the water is nearing his neck.

“You’ll have to let go of me at some point, you know.” Dante chuckles. He stops walking “You want up for a bit?”

“You said I was getting too big earlier.”

“I said getting. I didn’t say you were.” Dante lowers himself down “Hop on. I’ll let you down when we get out to where Lady is.”

Nero’s reluctant, but the next wave that rolls through almost ends up in his mouth and he climbs onto Dante’s shoulders with a little help. He fights to keep balance when Dante stands up again until he’s steadied by hands resting on his thighs to hold him in place.

“So, say we did find treasure-“ Dante asks “-what would you do with it?”

“Depends what it was.” Nero knocks the idea around in his head, peering up at the sky to see Griffon soaring in the distance “Oh! What if we found like- a big treasure chest filled with gold and gems? Did pirates even travel this far north though? I bet they did and lied about it to everyone. That’s what I’d do if I was one.”

“Still doesn’t answer what you’d do with a whole treasure chest.”

Nero pauses. He blinks a few times to try and grasp just how many gems would fill a chest like he’s imagining.

“That’s like- at least a couple thousand dollars.”

Dante raises one of his hands long enough to point up.

“Higher?”

Dante nods.

“Uh-“ Nero crosses his arms “-I don’t really know. Maybe like buy a house, or something.”

“You’re a little young to be worrying about something like moving out.” Dante’s voice sounds weird when the words leave him. Like he didn’t have enough air to say it.

“Well what would you do then?” Nero questions, tugging on some of Dante’s hair with just enough force to annoy him “Since you think I’m not taking this seriously?”

“Realistically? I think I have a few loan sharks who would be all too eager to take their cut.” Dante answers “All in good faith. I owe them anyway. Ideally? Hmm- maybe buy a new pool table first. The one we’ve got has a damaged leg. I’m worried one wrong hit will finish it off for good.”

When the water is up to Dante’s shoulders he lets Nero down. Without missing a beat Nero hangs off of Dante’s arm. The waves are less forceful further out, but the deeper sections of the water feel colder.

“You can tap out anytime if you need to, buddy. It’s pretty deep for you.” Dante assures “But if you want to try and find anything you’re going to have to let go of me sooner rather than later.”

Nero takes a deep breath, puffing out his chest and squaring his shoulders. He eases his grip on Dante and lets go. The initial panic of not being able to touch the bottom with his feet passes. Though it’s been some time since he’s had to use the technique he manages to tread water fine enough to keep his head up.

Lady surfaces not far away. She shakes her hair out and lifts her arm to visibly point down away from them with a sly grin.

“What’s up with that face?”

“There’s a blue crab big enough to be someone’s dinner.” Lady says “Or even the right size to take a toe or two if you go stomping around there.”

“Eugh. You can have it if you want.” Dante waves her off “Never been much of a fan of crab. It’s too much work for too little payoff.”

“No way. I am not cooking that.” Lady snorts.

“So we’re in agreement. The crab stays here, and you’re still not allowed anywhere near a kitchen.”

Nero giggles.

“You burn a dish one time and suddenly you’re banned for life. That was, what, eight years ago?” Lady pokes at Dante’s chest “At least I made an attempt at all compared to your sorry ass at the time.”

Nero holds his breath and dives down, blinking to try and see with the blurry vision that underwater offers him. He squints and surfaces again for another breath of air. The bottom is sand with patches of a flowing dark color which could be seaweed. There are masses sticking up scattered about that Nero recognizes are rocks. Before long he’s spent too much time and his chest is aching from needing to breathe.

He surfaces again, coughing as his lungs fight to get air in fast enough. Arms loop under his to help hold him up, supported back against a chest that can only be Dante’s.

“Don’t go hyperventilating on us.” Dante warns.

When Nero recollects himself Dante lets him go.

They continue to swim for some time. Nero attempts to stay underwater with Dante and Lady but can’t hold his breath as long. He grows frustrated by it, only managing to get his hands on a scallop shell that has a notch out of the outer edge. The inside is a smooth pearly white that shines in the sun. Trish joins them at some point. She finds the blue crab that he’d yet to see and without any fear hefts it out of the water. It’s as big as Nero’s head. Maybe bigger. She releases it, making a joke that the thing might take revenge on them someday.

Soon enough, Nero and Dante both complain about being hungry, and the decision is made that they should call it a day. Nero’s carried back to the shore piggy-back with the shell clutched tight in one hand. He doesn’t climb down when offered, happier tucked against Dante for warmth while resting his eyes.

Vergil is awake. Whatever conversation he was holding with Griffon cuts off as they approach.

“Let me guess-“ Vergil’s sentence trails off.

“Ready to go get dinner somewhere on the way back?” Dante asks, the words faint to Nero’s ears as he closes his eyes to rest them “Besides the hunger, I think we tired Nero out already.”

“It seems so.”

“He brought you something though.” There’s a nudge, a soft whistle. Nero doesn’t budge “Hey, you can’t fall asleep on me like this. We still have to drive home.”

“Good luck.” Uneven fingertips brush through Nero’s damp hair, rousing him just enough to ease his eyes open a sliver and see Vergil’s cracked fingertips pulling away from his face “I should have warned you this would happen.”

There’s a small pocket of silence between the brothers, filled with Trish and Lady speaking to each other about things that Nero doesn’t pay attention to.

“You let him get sunburnt.”

“We got caught up in swimming and forgot to re-apply it. He’s definitely going to be feeling it later. Important thing is he had fun like you wanted him to.”

Vergil is silent. With Nero’s eyes closed he can’t see what expression his father’s making, but he can only guess that it’s a smile. A yawn escapes him and he rubs at his eyes.

“Nero, would you mind if I set you down to sit with Vergil while we pack up? I can carry you again after.” Dante readjusts his grip.

Nero nods, cracking his eyes open as Dante shifts to set him down on the sand at the foot of Vergil’s chair. He leans back against one of Vergil’s legs and runs his thumb over the smooth inner surface of the scallop shell. Dante walks away.

“Did you find something out there?”

Nero hums in confirmation, raising the shell to offer for Vergil to see. Vergil lifts it from his grasp and out of view. He brushes away the sand sticking to his legs only for it to cling to his hands instead. Granted his legs are less worse than other places he can feel sand on.

“You found one in very good condition.” Vergil offers it back “Do you plan to keep it?”

Nero scowls, shoving it closer to Vergil.

“I got it for you. As a souvenir.” Nero grumbles “We couldn’t really do that before.”

Vergil doesn’t respond beyond accepting the shell back with both hands.

“Thank you.” Vergil says “I suppose I’ll have to delegate space for it on our desk as soon as possible.”

Nero smiles.

Griffon returns to the beach, swooping down and landing on the cooler without struggle. He stretches his wings out and flaps them before tucking them against himself.

“Where were you?” Vergil questions.

“Out.”

“Enlighteningly specific.” Vergil rolls his eyes.

Nero giggles.

“Kid looks like someone boiled him while I was gone.” Griffon leans over, blinking and tilting his head to look Nero up and down.

“That tends to happen when out in the sun.” Vergil rests the back of his hand against Nero’s forehead “He’ll heal just fine. There’s no need to worry for him.”

“I wasn’t.” Griffon tilts his head up. He turns as Dante approaches again.

“Alright, no more perch for you. We’re getting ready to head out.” Dante shoos Griffon off of the cooler, locking the lid down and undoing the breaks on it “Are you traveling with us, or following the girls? It sounds like they’ve got some other plan brewing over there.”

“That depends what you’re doing.”

“Probably fast food if we can afford it.”

Griffon tilts his head a few times, craning his neck to look towards Lady and Trish.

“I guess I could go with you, if you buy me fries.” Griffon heaves a dramatic sigh, hopping up onto the arm rest of Vergil’s chair.

“We’ll see.” Dante pulls the umbrella from the sand and closes it.

Vergil taps Nero on the shoulder as he adjusts to stand up. Nero rises and steps to the side, watching Vergil keep the shell in his hands. He’s handed his jacket that had been left on the chair.

The trip to the car feels longer than it had taken to get to the beach, and Nero drags his feet up the whole slope. While Dante volunteers to pack everything away in the car Trish and Lady take their leave with a quick goodbye before speeding away on Lady’s motorcycle.

Nero pulls himself into the back seat. Griffon ducks in before the door closes and wherever his feathers brush against Nero’s skin it stings. Nero whines and nudges Griffon away. It hurts worse when he rubs against the spots that already sting, which doesn’t hurt any less than the last few times he’s been sunburnt.

“Stop whimpering. I kept my electricity to myself.”

“That hurt.” Nero mumbles.

“It’s the sunburn, Griffon.” Vergil explains, looking over his shoulder from the passenger side at them “Any contact with enough pressure will make it hurt.”

“Glad I’m not that fragile.” Griffon settles in the empty seat, ruffling his wings “Before you say anything- I’m keeping my talons to myself.”

“Good. I’ll not have you ruin this upholstery.” Vergil taps the arm rest built into the car door “Dante would never hear the end of it from Morrison.”

Dante closes the trunk behind them, and the moment he sits down in the car the sparse conversation slides to a close. Nero uses the seatbelt as a pillow and watches the scenery pass. He shifts in the seat every so often. Unable to get comfortable while covered in half the beach, he closes his eyes and relaxes the rest of the way to the radio that’s switched on for a local Rock station once they hit the highway.

That night Nero watches Vergil rearrange a few things, making sure to display the now clean scallop on top of their shared desk organizer.

Chapter Text

Vergil is hardly paying any attention to his book by this point. Too stubborn to give up he holds it open using his thumb as a brace. He’s struggling to process the words in front of him.

Nero’s head is resting against his thigh to doze off. He’d finished his the last school assignment that he’d put off for most of the day less than an hour ago.

On reflex Vergil’s empty hand settles on the top of Nero’s head, index and middle fingers stroking through the strands idly. He does his best to not think about the cracks that are still lingering on his own skin.

It’s late. About four months since regaining his freedom from the jaws of Mundus’s control and he still struggles with grasping his reality. The peace. The quiet. The relief in his chest at knowing that Mundus is no longer an immediate threat to any of his family is nigh incomprehensible to him who had spent the majority of his life in a blood-stained game of cat and mouse.

Vergil watches the goings-on of the office from the safety of the couch closest to the wall. Dante and Trish are locked in a decisive game of pool that has slowed to a crawl. They’ve started to favor more banter in an attempt to get the other to falter. Decisive in what way? Loser has to clean the bathroom. The bathroom that is well overdue for some form of renovation that no one in the building is capable of affording. The same bathroom that has uneven tiles and a section of grout by the shower that’s discolored either from a bloodstain or something growing in it. It’s not mold, whatever it is.

Dante hasn’t received a job yet that funds beyond the necessary bills and minimum food costs. Trish is also on standby, having chosen to try out the lifestyle of a hunter despite the sporadic assignments and competition.

As for Vergil himself- well- with being in such a pitiable state he’s certain he would sooner embarrass himself than be victorious if he attempted any hunts in his condition. Not without pressuring Griffon to accompany him and handle most of the combat. Which could be a possibility if something comes along that the others aren’t interested in. Though he’s certain that he still has a stash of funds left at one of his scattered hideaways- there’s no way that he can get there anytime soon. Which is a shame. Without Yamato-

“I’ve almost won.” Trish teases. She rests her free hand on the pool table and cocks her hip with the pool cue still in her grip “I hope you’re ready to not be able to smell for the next hour.”

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” Dante returns the same energy, a cocky grin as he looks the layout over and points at Trish “I can still win this.”

Vergil stifles a mocking scoff in his throat. From the setup of the table it’s a trick. Trish must have learned something from Lady when no one was looking. Either Dante is putting up a front for the entertainment knowing he’s already lost or he well and truly hasn’t noticed Trish’s tactics. Or the third option, which Vergil can’t fathom, is that Dante’s letting her win.

“Does the peanut gallery have some wisdom to impart with us?” Dante questions “Please- we’d love to hear it.”

“None that will save you from whatever fate in store for you.” Vergil responds, making a show of turning the page to the book that he has stopped reading in favor of observing.

Nero shifts in his sleep, cheekbone digging into Vergil’s leg in an uncomfortable angle. He should be told to go to bed for the night if he’s tired but Vergil doesn’t have the heart to wake him up for the time being.

Griffon, having gifted the Devil May Cry with blessed silence for too long, lifts his head from where he’s flattened out on the jukebox machine. He stretches. As he rises to his feet his talons clack against the shell of the jukebox.

“Glad to see you’re still with us, chicken.” Dante twirls his cue before he leans over and aims it. He sinks only a single ball with a decisive shot and frowns. It’s not going to be enough to pull ahead in Vergil’s opinion.

“Hah, you only wish I’d croaked by now.” Griffon launches from the jukebox. He glides overhead to land on the back of the couch, creeping sideways closer to Vergil  and peering at the open book “Unless you plan on finding a generous blood donor any time soon, you just have to deal with me taking power naps.”

“And here I thought that feather we kept fixed you right up.”

“Picture it more akin to jumpstarting a car.” Vergil explains, trying to adjust his sitting position and unable to the moment he notices Nero shift under the movement. His leg falling asleep the longer Nero uses it as a pillow, so he tenses his jaw instead to bear the discomfort “He had more strength when he’d first escorted me to Mallet Island. While his upper abilities are cut short and he’ll never regain his original form- his recovery is stunted far more than mine without access to the demon realm or Human blood.”

Dante looks to Trish who nods, confirming Vergil’s words as accurate without needing to say a thing.

“I might not need sleep like your half-breed feeble bodies-” Griffon pipes up “-but that doesn’t mean I can’t rest. You don’t bat an eye when Trish does.”

Dante nods, and returns to his focus on the game of pool. Banter between himself and Trish resumes where they’d left off, even when Griffon gripes about being ignored.

Vergil watches with interest the moment that Trish announces her plan to sink the 8 ball in the far corner pocket, with two of her balls still left on the table. He leans forward with interest to see if she can pull off the timing- something he’s witnessed both Lady and Dante succeed at before in the past.

Trish takes her time, focusing even as Dante warns her that it’s going to be a tough move. At last the strikes, sinking the rest of her balls and then the 8 ball in one fell swoop. Most notably- the 8 ball in the pocket she called for. There’s a moment of silence, almost in disbelief. Dante grits his teeth and chooses to heave an exhale in defeat than try asking for a rematch.

“You win.” Dante resigns, tugging off his coat and tossing it onto his desk “I’ll get right to work.”

“You do that.” Trish pushes her hair back, freeing strands that have fallen under the collar of her jacket. She settles on the free couch and stretches a leg out over the arm rest.

Dante meanders to the bathroom, sighing all the while to make a show of it.

“Did you really have to make a fool of him in such a manner?” Vergil closes his book and sets it aside with the entertainment over.

“I thought it would be fun for you to watch. It worked, didn’t it?” Trish shrugs “Though I think he figured out my plan early enough he could have beat me if he tried hard enough.”

“Perhaps. You’re crafty, albeit still learning the nuances of deception in friendly matches. After that game I’m certain he’s being nice to you.”

“Ew.” Trish grimaces at first. The smirk that settles on her face after is enough to show that it’s not wholly unwelcome “Did you have something to do with that?”

“No. I have no intentions of coddling you. You would have to swallow your pride and ask for special treatment.” Vergil says “You’ll adapt on your own well enough without my help, if these months have proven anything.”

“Good. I’d rather be an equal with you than be seen as some kid.” Trish’s eyes dart to Nero on reflex.

Vergil nods. He doesn’t feel too keen on the thought of teaching anyone else about the world. Nero’s a handful enough as it is- and he’s already spectacularly screwed that up without adding another charge under his wings to keep watch over.

“Special treatment? Why don’t you offer me anything like that?” Griffon pesters.

“You’re still alive, are you not?” Vergil questions “I believe that’s repayment enough for your deeds.”

Griffon grumbles something under his breath. He clicks his beak a few times.

“You’re thousands of years old compared to me. Act like it.” Trish rolls her eyes “Unless you want everyone to treat you like a pet.”

“I’m not an animal, but if you’re retiring me from the line of duty then I expect something worthwhile out of it besides the “we let you live” excuse.” Griffon scratches at his beak.

“Who said anything about retiring?” Trish raises an eyebrow, pressing further back into the couch “Soon enough you’ll be coming with me for work.”

Griffon squints, craning his neck to peer at Trish.

“You think I’d agree to that? I don’t see you being trusted with weapons any time soon.” Griffon cackles.

“If I have to help pay to keep the lights on then you should, too. Weapons or not.”

“What about Vergil, then? He gets to sit around on his throne like a princess all day and I have to do the heavy lifting?”

“He’s just as busy in his own way. Besides the obvious.” Trish motions to Nero, who is showing signs of stirring from his sleep soon “I doubt you want to be the one giving Nero math lessons.”

“Haven’t got a clue about whatever they’ve got him learning, and I don’t care enough to know. Never liked the thought of math much.” Griffon argues “Next you’re going to tell me they added letters.”

“Letters? It’s math, birdbrain.” Trish says.

It makes sense that Trish wouldn’t know. Vergil doubts that Mundus would have seen it necessary to teach anything of the sort to a creation he considered expendable.

“I despise the idea of ruining whatever innocence you’ve somehow managed to retain-“ Vergil’s lying through his teeth. This is the funniest thing to happen in a week, and Dante won’t be able to witness it because he played nice and let Trish win “-but-“

“Oh, don’t say it. I can figure out where you’re going.” Griffon hangs his head, tone falling into a pitiful state as he tilts his head side to side “Separate the worlds for a couple thousand years and suddenly the Humans are putting letters where they shouldn’t be. Point me in the direction of the wacko who started it and then it won’t be a problem anymore.”

Nero stirs at last, head lifting from Vergil’s thigh as his eyes flutter open. He rubs at his face. The pale scars on his right hand catch Vergil’s gaze.

“They’re long dead, so you’d be wasting your time.” Dante’s voice cuts in. He leans against the doorframe to the bathroom, shirtless with an old sponge in his hand “I say if you don’t need to use it then don’t worry about it. Not likely that it’ll show up in your case anyway.”

Vergil crinkles his nose at the first whiff of whatever cleaner was stashed in the bathroom that’s being used. It’s acrid and makes his nose hairs curl.

“Well, what about you?” Griffon ruffles his feathers “Since you’re acting so smug you better have something to show for it.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Dante flashes a grin, obvious in his play to not reveal anything useful.

“That’s the point of asking the fu-“ Griffon squeaks when Vergil clamps his beak shut.

Vergil turns his attention from the conversation down to Nero. He’s met with a small wave, hair messed up from the position pushing Nero’s hood up higher on his head.

“You can’t sleep here all night, child. If you’re this tired then it’s best you retire to the room. I doubt it will be as quiet for much longer.” Vergil says. He releases Griffon and pushes Nero’s hair back into place, combing the bangs out of his eyes.

“But what happened to the pool match?” Nero sits up, almost knocking the top of his head into Griffon’s beak before tilting more to the side to avoid it “Is it over already?”

“You missed it, squirt.” Trish says “Knocked right out before the good part. I won.”

“From how Vergil sees it- Dante let you win.” Griffon’s feathers fluff up as he peers forward to get a better view of Dante.

Dante huffs from his spot in the doorway, pressing his free hand to his chest.

“You really think I’d throw a game?” Dante questions

“Didn’t you?” Vergil’s retort is immediate. He knows Dante well enough “Because I believe it would be preferred for your public image over having fallen for a half-baked attempt at deception.”

Dante’s cheeks flush, which is a rare sight in itself, and he ducks back into the bathroom.

“Yeah, well, think whatever you want. I don’t have time to mess around when I’m burning my nose hairs off in here.” Dante raises his voice to be heard properly over the echo of the tiles in the bathroom.

“I can’t believe you managed to insult the both of us at the same time.” Trish’s pupils narrow a bit, and Vergil can guess it’s in annoyance.

“Not an insult if he’s tellin’ the truth.” Griffon mocks “You’ve got a few centuries of-“

Nero reaches up before Griffon finishes his thought, curving his fingers around to the back of Griffon’s head from where he’s sitting.

“-hey- hey you little punk what do you think you’re up-“ Griffon freezes as Nero digs his fingers in, before he fluffs up and his eyes squint closed while he leans to give Nero a better reach “-to- oh man that feels good.“

“Stop trying to get them to start a fight just ‘cause you’re bored.” Nero’s still sleepy, some of his words more mumbled than spoken as he scratches under Griffon’s feathers just behind the horns “It’s almost bedtime, so you’ve gotta be more quiet.”

An abnormal noise escapes the back of Griffon’s throat, akin to a trill but closer to a disgruntled chicken. Nero pulls away and stands up. He puts his hands on his hips.

“Why’d you stop?” Griffon stamps a foot.

“If I’m going to bed then you’re coming, too.” Nero announces “You can sleep on the desk again if you want but you’re not bothering them till tomorrow.”

Vergil would rather Griffon not bother them at all, but he’ll take whatever compromise Nero manages to squeeze out of the demon.

“No.”

“Then I’m not going to bed, either.” Nero crosses his arms. He sticks his nose up.

Vergil feels the first hint of a headache starting, and raises his fingers to rub at his temple.

“Not on your life! I’m not some stuffed animal you can drag anywhere you want!” Griffon’s temper tantrum matches Nero’s energy without missing a beat “You’ve already got your little kitty for that, don’t you?”

“Griffon, just go with him.” Vergil sighs “I may follow soon after as it is. The sun set quite some time ago.”

Griffon fluffs up, turning his head to look away before hopping off the couch and gliding to the hallway door.

“Fine! Don’t go making a habit of it though superstar, or you’ll to be in for a rude awakening soon enough.” Griffon hovers by the door.

Nero smiles and sprints to the hall, opening the door and waiting for Griffon to tuck inside overhead before closing it behind them. Vergil stares at the door. A few moments pass in silence. Perhaps a few minutes.

“Nero really is something else, isn’t he?” Trish sits up, lowering her leg from the arm rest only to cross her legs instead and stretch her arm out across the back of the couch.

“He is.” Vergil breathes “His determination reminds me of-“

“Yourself?”

Vergil shakes his head at Trish’s incorrect assumption. He entwines his fingers together and ignores how he can feel the uneven edges of the cracks in his fingers catch on each other. Faint flashes of old memories surface that he grasps onto as best as he can, as hazy as they may be. He’d had far too much on his mind back then to commit everything to memory.

(“I fear no devil nor man the same way that I fear being alone.” A woman with a deep red dress and a fiery personality looks him in the eyes without so much as flinching despite his imposing demeanor. It’s a sentiment that a younger him can’t comprehend- or simply can’t admit to himself.)

“Dante?”

Vergil catches a faint smile tugging at his lips. He decides to leave Trish without a proper answer. He lifts his book from the table and stands.

“I think it’s best I take my leave, as well.”

“So you’re going to just end the conversation on a cliffhanger like that?” Trish leans her head back as she sighs “Dante wasn’t lying. You really like keeping secrets just to be obnoxious.”

“I would have told you on my own, had you not been overeager to interrupt me.” Vergil taunts “Now you’ll be left with an unsated curiosity and no one to blame but yourself.”

“No skin off my back.” Trish shrugs, lifting a hand enough to wave him off in a dismissive manner. She leans more to the side against the arm rest and changes her focus to look over her shoulder where Dante can be seen cleaning the bathroom “Goodnight, I guess.”

Vergil tips his head and removes himself from the conversation. He finds Nero tucked in bed under the blankets with Griffon nestled and fluffed up on the same pillow. Griffon shoots him a glance and settles back down without a word.

It dawns on Vergil then, after so long of avoiding the thought, that the bed is getting far too small for the both of them to keep sharing much longer. It had been chosen at first for the sake of saving what little money their family has in the first place.

Nero is only going to grow more with the passage of time and should have his own room. Should have had his own from the beginning- but income is sporadic and renovations are expensive. Whatever they were able to get was sufficient back when the threat of Mundus still loomed over them. Now however they have the luxury to not be bound to wherever Dante is for the sake of protection.

Yet Nero has come to see the Devil May Cry as his home. No doubt if they were to leave he would be distressed.

Vergil makes the decision to not make a decision at all for Nero’s sake. At least until he’s recovered enough to be able to hold his own against any enemies should the need arise. For now he’ll take each day as it comes and hope that it will be enough for all of them.