Chapter Text
This is stupid, Lady thought as she parked her motorcycle. The building in front of her was a dingy little brick cube covered in graffiti and flickering neon. It was small, tucked between two larger structures on either side. The kind of place you only found because you were looking for it
I shouldn't be here, she told herself even as she dismounted her bike, careful not to step in the trash that littered the street. The road, wet from the rain, was covered in potholes and matched the cracked sidewalk nicely.
He didn't promise me anything, she reminded herself as her treacherous feet took her towards the door anyways. She'd been trying to talk herself out of coming here for days, but her heart wouldn't let her. Not after what she'd heard.
It happened last week, in another bar, another town. Lady had been trying to dull the frustration of not finding any clues about her father with a stiff drink when someone had called out to her.
“Hey, I know you!” A gruff voice stirred her from her staring contest with the whiskey in her glass, causing her to turn just enough on the sticky barstool to catch its owner from the corner of her eye. It was a man, tall and bear-like, with short red hair and a small beard. His most distinct feature, aside from his height and massive muscles, was the small metal plate over his nose. Lady made no move to acknowledge him, but the man shouldered his way through the packed crowd in the dim bar anyways, coming up beside her and placing an elbow on the counter. He squinted a bit as he got a better look at her face before his own lit up in a bright smile. “Yeah, yeah, we met last year, in New York! You were part of that DarkCom group that hired me and the boys!”
Lady flinched slightly as she recognized the man as well. He was one of the mercenaries ordered to capture Dante the night they had met. The bitter memory left a sour taste in Lady's mouth, but she stiffly turned to face the man more fully anyways. “Yeah, I was… there,” she replied awkwardly. The mercenary’s smile grew bigger.
“I knew I was right!” he cheered before taking a swig from the beer bottle in his hand. “Never forget a face. Names are a bit harder, though.” His brow furrowed as he tried to recall through the buzz of alcohol. “I think yours was-”
“Lady,” she cut in, not in any mood to hear that name at the moment. It had only grown more distasteful since she'd discovered the truth about her father. “I go by Lady now.” The man raised his eyebrows in surprise, but took her interruption with grace.
“Lady, then,” he agreed, smile slipping back onto his face. “Good to see ya!” Lady eyed the man suspiciously. They hadn't exactly been on friendly terms when last they met. Why was he acting so familiar?
“Is there a reason you wanted to talk to me?” she asked, probably more sharply than necessary. The man flinched and averted his eyes for a second, free hand coming to scratch the back of his neck almost bashfully.
“Oh, well, you see, I…” he stammered for a moment, finding his words as his gaze shifted everywhere but Lady's face. “I just wanted to ask after Dante, you know, how he got out and all that…” the man muttered. Lady huffed, about to ask why that was any of his business before the man continued.
“He wasn't exactly in the position to tell me himself when I saw him a few days ago.” To Lady, it seemed as if all the chatter and clinking glasses in the bar stopped abruptly, the man in front of her gaining her full attention.
“You… saw him?” she asked tightly. Her fingers clenched around her drink as she pressed her lips together. She'd believed Dante had survived the fight with Argosax, of course, but hearing it confirmed was different. Her heart started beating violently in her chest as a thousand questions raced through her mind. Where did you see him? Was he with his brother? What do mean he wasn't in the position to tell you? Was he okay?
While Lady frantically tried to decide which to ask, the mercenary before her continued on, blind to her inner turmoil. “Yeah,” he sighed. “Made me feel real bad ‘bout the whole ‘breaking into his house and trying to shoot him’ thing, y’know? I wouldn't’ve done it if I'd known about the kid.”
Lady's mind came to an abrupt stop.
“What?”
The man kept going, his eyes trained sadly on his beer bottle and slight buzz keeping him ignorant of Lady’s utter shock. “I'm a father myself, y’see, so when I saw him with that girl of his an’ their little one, I couldn't help but-” He was cut off viciously as Lady slammed her drink against the counter and stood with enough force to send her barstool clattering to the ground. In the same movement she reached up and grabbed the mercenary by the collar, dragging him down to eye-level.
“What-” she forced out, anger rising. “What little one?” she demanded, voice dangerously controlled.
“Well, uh, I mean- y’know, the kiddo,” the man stammered in confusion. “Couldn't’ve been more than four ‘r five.” The other customers at the bar had taken notice of them. Lady numbly registered one of the mercenary’s friends call out to him but couldn't be bothered to decipher what he was saying.
“Where did you see him?”
And now here she was, after days of trying to convince herself not to come.
You were the one that left, she reminded herself. You didn't bother to wait for him, to make sure he was alive. Lady pushed the door open on squeaky hinges, doing her best to ignore that infuriatingly judgemental part of herself. You have no right to be mad at him, especially not after all you did to him. She walked up to the bar and quietly ordered a drink.
But isn't it strange? another part of her asked. I read Dante's file cover to cover. Sure, there were some gaps in his early years, but never anything about a kid. Yes, yes that was it. She was just investigating. After all, DarkCom had been excruciatingly detailed with Dante's case file. They could probably say more about the half breed than he could about himself. Even if Dante had been unaware of a child, it would have turned up in the investigation at some point.
But…. a kid, huh? Dant was good with kids. He'd played at being reluctant, but he'd humored Maddie’s antics with grace. Lady still remembered how gently he'd tucked the little girl in when she finally fell asleep, how effortlessly he had convinced her to hide from the demons invading her home by giving her something of his to protect. Lady was sure that Dante would do anything for his own kid.
Lady's leg jittered on the barstool as her index finger tapped on her glass incessantly. It earned her a dirty look from the sole other customer in the bar, but she was too wired to notice, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings.
You're being an idiot, she scolded herself. You don't even know if he's still in town, let alone if he's gonna-
Her train of thought was cut off abruptly as the sound of a loud, rumbling engine cut through the night. Lady's head whipped around as she went to the window, trying to identify its source. The mystery was solved as a large, musty van -almost a camper, really- turned onto the street. It didn't take Lady long to identify the shock of white hair sitting in the driver's seat.
Dante, she thought as he put the van in park at the gas station across the street and stepped out. She couldn't see him clearly through the dirty glass of the bar windows, but his silver hair and long red coat were unmistakable. It took her a moment to find her feet, but once she did Lady was out of the bar, drink forgotten on the counter. She was just about to call out to him when he opened the side door and she remembered why she'd come here in the first place.
A little boy, rubbing his eyes sleepily with one hand and holding a beat up stuffed animal and the other, glared grumpily at Dante. His snow-white hair told more of a story than words ever could. It was like looking at a mini-Dante.
“M’seepy,” the child complained, making no move to get out of the van.
“I know, kiddo,” Dante sighed tiredly, reaching his hands under the boy’s shoulders and placing him gently on the ground. “But you and your mom have gotta eat something before you go to sleep. You don't want her to be hungry all night, do ya?” The kid didn't answer, instead just continuing to scowl at Dante with a little pout on his face, but the mention of his mother brought Lady's attention to the woman standing behind him, undoubtedly the boy's mother. She was shot, but slim and willowy. Her slight figure was accentuated by the white sundress she was wearing that fluttered in the wind. Her long, dark hair fell to her waist and framed a pale face. She had pretty features, with rosy lips and big blue eyes.
Eyes that were looking directly at Lady. The huntress stiffened when she realized this, and not just out of surprise. There was something…. unsettling about the other woman's gaze. It was almost as if she was looking through Lady rather than at her. Before Lady could process anything, the woman gave a sweet, gentle smile.
“Hello.” Her voice was as delicate as the rest of her, soft like a spring breeze, and carried across the street easily despite how quiet it was. The woman's greeting caused Dante to look up from the kid, following her eyeline to…
“Lady!” he cried, face breaking out in a sunny smile. In a matter of seconds, before Lady could say anything, Dante had stood up and bounded across the street, taking her into his arms in a tight embrace. She automatically returned it, taking a moment to soak in his warmth and scent laced with gunpowder. “It's so good to see you,” he whispered into her hair.
Lady almost replied, but quickly remembered their audience across the street and stiffened. Dante noticed her discomfort and pulled back slightly, a confused look on his face.
“Lady?” he said again, trying to read her.
“Hi, Dante,” she said thickly, looking down at the ground and pushing Dante back gently. Out of the corner of her eye she caught the look of hurt on his face and winced internally. Still, she held firm and took a step back. “Glad to see you're in one piece,” she tried to joke awkwardly, still unable to look Dante in the face.
“Yeah,” he replied uncertainly, reluctantly letting his arms drop away from her. “Sorry I couldn't make our date.” His joke didn't have the desired effect, instead causing Lady to flinch suddenly and look over his shoulder at the woman and child still standing by the van.
“Dante…” she said in a low voice, finally managing to look him in the eye. It was a mistake. He looked like some kind of kicked puppy left out in the rain.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, confused and hurt.
“I just-” she started, letting her gaze flicker behind him once more. “I don't think this is the right place for that,” she tried to explain, crossing her arms.
“Why?” Dante pressed, not understanding. “What's wrong with here?” Lady gave him a look like she couldn't believe what she was hearing, causing Dante to be taken back.
“Seriously?” she hissed, incredulous. Dante still looked bewildered. Lady let out a huff. “We're in front of your family,” she tried to explain.
“Yeah? So?” He really didn't understand the problem. Lady couldn't believe what she was hearing.
“Well, I don't exactly want to look like some kind of home wrecker in front of your kid!” she snapped, turning to the side to make it easier not to look at him. She still caught Dante's stunned look out of the corner of her eye, taking a step back as he turned his head between Lady and his family by the van. After a few rounds, understanding finally dawned on his face.
“Oh- oh,” he sighed, turning back to Lady fully. “So you think- I mean, that he's - that I-” Dante began to stammer, seemingly having difficulty finding the right words.
“That the kid is yours?” Lady offered, cocking an eyebrow. She could see the gears turning behind Dante's eyes but couldn't figure out what he was thinking.
“Well, yeah, I mean, he is mine, but he's not mine, you know?” Dante began to blink rapidly as he tried to find a good explanation.
“Dante-” Lady started with a sigh before the man in question cut her off.
“Nephew!” He cried out, taking a step forward and grabbing one of Lady's elbows gently, just trying to get her to look at him. “The kid- he-he’s my nephew.” Lady's crossed arms relaxed as shock spread across her features, slowly turning back to Dante. Her eyes shot another look at the small child nodding off by the van next to his mother.
The first thing Lady really felt after that was relief. He's not Dante’s. She let out a sigh as she released all the wordless anxiety she'd been holding onto, trying not to give form, ever since she'd heard about the child. But… Lady's brow furrowed.
“But, if he's your nephew, then that would make him-”
“Vergil's,” Dante finished for her tiredly. His lack of usual cheer caught Lady off guard and she finally took a good, long look at Dante. He looked … exhausted. He was normally pale, but right now his skin looked downright sallow. It wasn't helped by the dark circles under his eyes or the days-old stubble on his chin. His limp, greasy hair was pulled back into a hasty ponytail at his neck. His clothes were rumpled and stained, and only one of his boots had shoelaces. He was a wreck.
“Dante, what the fuck happened?”
“Language!” the woman by the truck scolded, kneeling down to hold her child as she gave Lady a glare. The huntress simply raised her eyebrows and looked back at Dante, who awkwardly raised one hand to scratch the back of his neck.
“It's… kinda a long story….” he admitted sheepishly, giving her his best attempt at one of his cocky grins. Lady sighed and put her hands on her hips.
“Well, I'm not going anywhere until you explain all of it, so start talking.”