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It's probably the last thing anybody would expect Nero to be into but Kyrie always did make baking look easy and fun. And it actually is much more interesting than he expected it to be, it's like if your lab experiments were edible or something… Probably not the best analogy but it's a close thing.
Now that they are doing better, financially speaking, Nero’s got the DMC’s kitchen to actually look like a kitchen. The shop's looking much better too and it's mostly thanks to Vergil also joining in on the ‘family business’ as Dante puts it. Turns out the elder twin actually is quite proficient in managing finances, who would've thought. Nero initially didn't think it would cause much of a difference but here they are.
Today, he's decided to try out a simple strawberry cheesecake dish. The cookbook Kyrie lent him is certainly coming into good use. There's no special occasion, really, but Nero’s had his eye on some of the cakes they put up on display in the nearby cafes. Also, because Dante enjoys it so much and if Nero manages the sugar well, maybe it won't be too sweet for Vergil and his father could try it as well. Though, lately, Vergil has seemed quite keen to try his dishes whenever he's decided to cook so maybe it won't be an issue at all. It's also one of the calmer days they've had too, rare as they tend to be, it's perfect to get to some experimental cooking.
In fact, he's almost done, the cheesecake’s in the oven and the only thing left is the strawberry sauce still cooking on the stove. It smells quite nice, already. He's got some more spare strawberries to decorate and finish the piece. He's looking forward to it, maybe he could take a picture and mail it to Kyrie too.
As the strawberries simmer on the pan, Nero dips a spoon to taste it. It's actually not cloyingly sweet, which is good news to him. Hopefully, the cheesecake’s alright too. He hears soft footsteps near the door and in comes the first twin, probably lured by the smell. He glances and ironically, Nero wasn't expecting it to be Vergil because of the sweetness of the aroma. His face is devoid of any expression but Nero’s gotten better at understanding him: He's curious. It makes him feel warm knowing Vergil is interested in his little hobbies even if it's not something the twin would prefer to engage in himself. Nero smiles at him in greeting.
Vergil stands in the doorway momentarily before making his way closer to Nero near the stove.
“What are you making?”
“Ah, a… strawberry cheesecake.” Nero looks sheepishly at him. “I was hoping you can try it too.”
“Hm…” Vergil regards the strawberry sauce in the pan.
“Only if you want to, I mean. I tried to make it less sweet, so maybe you could have a taste?”
Vergil simply looks back up at him and then at his mouth. Nero feels confused for a moment and then realises, raising a hand, “Oh, is there something…”
But before he can finish, Vergil holds his hand still and is already guiding Nero's face closer to his. Ah. Vergil promptly licks at his lips and presses a slow, chaste kiss into them. Nero closes his eyes and pushes in, returning the kiss.
Vergil lets him go as they part and makes a show of licking his lips, “Sweet enough.”
God. If Nero wasn't already red in the face, that would've done it. His father doesn't even need to put in any effort to flirt, Nero’s far too weak to it, it will just work on him no matter what. Vergil certainly looks pleased with himself.
Nero looks away, abashedly, focusing on the stove and murmurs, “...You could've just asked.”
Loud footsteps resound in the mostly quiet kitchen and it's no wonder to who those steps belong to. Dante whistles loudly.
“Whoo, smells great in here, Chef. Don't tell me you're making what I think you're making!”
Nero groans, “Not with the ‘Chef’ again.”
Dante laughs, “No one cooks as good as you in this house, do they?” Well, Nero can't argue with that, thinking of all the times Dante has burnt the most un-burnable items. It's a unique skill in and of itself. He peers over Nero’s shoulder from the other side.
“Ha! Strawberries! See, I told you, Verge.”
“With the rate at which you consume them, I'm almost surprised you could register what they would even smell like.”
“...Wow.” Dante immediately looks to Nero. “Chef, permission to take away your food privileges from this man?”
Nero bites a laugh. He prefers to remain as neutral as possible to the brothers’ little feuds, they can get way too heated sometimes without any way of predicting it.
“I will have it regardless, you cannot stop me.” Vergil replies haughtily, crossing his arms.
“Oh, is that a challenge?”
Yeeeah, no.
“There are no challenges happening near the stove while I'm cooking!” Nero slightly pushes the two away from crowding near the stove. Their antics may be fun at times but there's always a big risk of complete and utter destruction that Nero just doesn't feel up to taking care of today.
“Okay, Okay.” Dante raises his arms in mock surrender and leans against the counter next to the stove. The two still move back into their positions the minute Nero’s focus is back on the strawberries.
A beat of silence passes before Dante speaks again. “You gonna taste that?”
“I already did… Why?”
“The texture's probably changed, makes a big difference right?” Dante shrugs.
“Huh… I guess you're not wrong.” It wasn't as smooth when Nero tasted it before, he did want it to be quite sauce-like rather than clunky with pieces.
“Don’t you wanna taste it too?” Nero asks as an afterthought as he slips the spoon in his mouth. After all, strawberries are Dante's favourite, how’s he resisted it this whole time?
Dante eyes him and smirks. “Sure.”
He quickly grabs Nero’s jaw and pushes their lips together.
“Mmph-?!”
In no time, Dante pushes his tongue in, licking into his mouth and sucks at his tongue. Nero can't help but groan at the sensation, saliva sticks to his lips and Dante kisses it all away, not wanting to miss the sweetness of his mouth for even a second.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Vergil smiles as he beelines for Nero’s neck, biting a mark in fast. The sting on his neck finally gets him to start struggling so Vergil quickly leaves a gentle kiss on the forming bruise as a way of slightly appeasing Nero. Once their deeds are done, they let Nero go and immediately move away from him, before he decides to inevitably get violent with them.
“What the hell!-” While a furious Nero wipes the excess saliva on his mouth with the back of his hand, Dante swiftly dips a finger in the sauce and smears it on his cheek as additional damage.
“You—!!”
“Tastes amazing, Nero. Can't wait for the full thing!” Dante says as he basically runs out of the kitchen with his brother quickly following suit. Both disappear before he can completely get his bearings.
“HEY!”
Right as he does, he remembers the stove and panics, just to see it has been switched off. Nero groans, they're really asking for a severe ass-kicking, fucking around when he's cooking of all things. He faintly hears their voices from the main hall.
“I'm up one.” Vergil's gruff voice says.
“Laugh it up, brother, but it won't last long!”
Maybe Nero should poison the cake.