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No one ever gets close to demons enough to know that they are cold blooded. No one ever really explains that it wouldn't matter in the demon realm. That the only problem that would be for, are the demons that roamed on Earth and it's never ending climate change. A problem that no one in particular warns a newly bloomed demon hybrid living in Fortuna.
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Achoo?!
Nero was slightly spooked by the sounds of his fiancee sneezing at the edge of the bed. It was usual for her to have a cold at the beginning of winter. He would use that option to take care of her, Nero loved Kyrie and if he had it he would spoil her every second he could. The only problem is that he felt abnormally sluggish this time around.
It started right around the time of the cold temperatures setting in. At first Nero thought he was coming down with something but the more time passed the more it just stayed like that. He was slower, lazier and overall he was starting to act like Dante and he hated that. But he couldn't tell what was making him completely useless.
"Bless you." Nero willed what little energy he had to sit up in their shared bed.
"Thank you. You sound more groggy than I do and I'm sick." Kyrie gave him her signature sweet smile but it was cut short by a small coughing fit.
Nero moves across the bed to grab her usual glass of water before inching closer to her so she could take it. Being useless when his fiancee was sick sucked. He leaned against her before closing his eyes, even if Nero knew it wasn't going to work he wanted to try manifesting her feeling better. Maybe mental waves could save her from being sick.
"Hm~ oh? Hello there?" Nero looked up briefly to see who she was saying hello to.
There was no one else in the room but them so he looked at her in confusion. But Kyrie was looking at him, Nero tilted his head a bit which caused her to giggle. He wasn't sure what she found amusing but he didn't want her to strain her voice. When he went to cover her mouth he noticed the reason she was looking at him.
Nero had changed into his demon form.
As strange as it was Nero wasn't completely panicked. His logical side would have completely flipped out for turning while in front of Kyrie. But he had no energy to actually try dealing with the fact he turned into his demon self so he was left dazed. There had to be a reason it switched though, especially at home with no danger.
"Should call the shop." Nero said absent-mindedly.
He actually meant to say he was going to call Dante but something in him was itching for the whole place. As if he should be there instead of here. But his stupid brain wasn't being nearly as cooperative as it should be today. He really just wanted to spend the day in bed with Kyrie with no care in the world.
"Need help big guy?" Kyrie asked.
Without fail he was blessed with an angel sent from heaven being worried about him instead of herself. That question did seem to spark some energy as the idea of her helping while not feeling okay didn't sit with him. He shook his head before getting off the bed and gently giving her a kiss on the forehead. Big boy problems were to be handled by him.
Nero tried releasing his devil trigger so he could walk around the house without knocking something over. To no success. He would simply have to fold in his phantom wings and pray he doesn't poke holes into their ceiling with his horns. Once he got to the landline, he was met with a different problem. His claws would definitely break the little thing, his talon alone was the size of 4 buttons.
"Let me." Nero fumbled for a bit, he didn't even hear Kyrie leave their room. He wasn't sure if the disappointment showed on his face but she put her hands up in surrender. "I'll go back to bed after I dial it, promise."
Nero wanted her to go back now, a shawl wasn't enough to keep her warm. But he stepped aside so she could do it anyway. This was not only to help himself but to help her. Fighting it will just make the process take longer and that wasn't a good idea. Making her feel worse because he couldn't provide was the worst thing in the world.
Once she finished dialing the number to the Redgrave Branch Kyrie handed the receiver to him and went back to their room as promised. Nero hummed watching her leave, he definitely needs this sluggish problem solved so he could work around the house. The house hadn't been cleaned up with them both down and with three kids running around? Yeah he was going to deep clean.
"Devil May Cry." A feminine voice sounding unamused answered. He wasn't expecting to hear Lady pick up the phone.
"Lady?" Nero let out a low growl knowing that over a crappy phone his voice probably sounded like shit.
"Oh hey kid. I'm surprised you are even up. What can I do for you? I did hear Kyrie was sick, need me to drop by with some food?" Lady blew past the one part Nero was curious about. She wasn't expecting him to be up?
"What do you mean by 'being up?'" Nero might not even need to ask his dad or Dante if Lady knew.
"Huh? Exactly that? It's cold here it's probably even colder in Fortuna. Dante and Vergil are all grouchy in their new shared room. Something about nesting, said you were probably doing it too. I haven't seen Trish in days so she is either bunkered somewhere or in a different country." Lady made it sound like he should have known what he was doing.
What was he, a fucking reptile?!
"Get one of those dumbasses on the phone." Nero growled.
He wasn't going to get much from Lady. The twins gave her a vague answer for her 'probably just as vague' question. There had to be more to this because he isn't a damn lizard. Nero had wings, the twins had wings, his grandfather had wings. They had the ability of flight and Nero has seen Lizard demons. The Spardas were not fucking Lizards.
Lady scoffed at his response but she didn't hang up. There was a light thud which he assumed was her placing the receiver on Dante's desk. After what felt like forever he heard something that seemed like footsteps but they were far too heavy to be human steps. Nero whined and on the other end came a growl that resonated with him. His dad came to the phone.
"Nero." The sound of sleep from the older Sparda didn't escape Nero's notice.
His dad was infamous for never being caught sleeping. Despite being half human out of the two twin brothers Dante slept the most. Nero honestly thought it was possible for all the sleep brain cells to live in one brother and not the other. But clearly he was proven wrong just now.
"Hey old man. Didn't mean to pull you from your nap but I have questions." Nero could feel his fatigue from earlier slowly creeping in so he was going to have to be quick. He heard a crude hum and that was enough for him to keep going. "I'm exhausted. I don't know why, it was never like this before and it seems to be a demon thing according to Lady. What the fuck is wrong with me?"
Nero wanted to know why he was useless and once he was finished he got a short hum from his father again. It took a second too long and Nero was slightly worried that he fell asleep at the phone. Though his dad was back to attention with a short explanation. His drowsiness was very apparent in his speech.
Apparently their family was in fact cold blooded in human terms. It hadn't really affected Nero up until now because he wasn't fully awakened to his demon side until recently. Since his dad and uncle had more demon blood in them they felt it immediately, Nero felt it over time. So they hibernate and since it was winter, Demons weren't going to come knocking because they would all have the same reaction.
"So we aren't just Lizards but bears too? Weird fucking combo." Nero tried wiping the sleep away.
"When you feel the shudder through your body when you are cold, that is the tell of it approaching and to prepare accordingly." His father added.
Now that he thought about it, there was one day at the shop where Nero was collecting his pay from Dante. He found himself shivering with his dad and uncle all at once and Dante offhandedly said winter is coming. At first Nero thought that was some weird joke that Dante just had but now that he knows? It wasn't a joke, Dante was being serious.
"If that is all I will let you return to your nesting." His dad spoke and for some reason Nero let out an audible whimper. "Perhaps next winter you come to Redgrave. I'm sure we can keep you and your nestlings fed." Nero doesn't know where that idea came from but he kinda liked it. His demon mind hummed.
"Brother!" In the background Nero could hear his uncle roar loudly.
"Ever so clingy. Until spring Nero. Do well to feed your love, Lady spoke of her being ill." Just in his dad's fashion of telling him what to do and hanging up.
He already knew that but he was also glad that he had the answers he was looking for.
Fuck their demon bloodline.