Chapter Text
Nero threw down sheets of paper on the coffee table. “What. The. Fuck. Vergil.” The young man said, staring his father down as he did so. “Why? HOW? I- …… jesus fucking christ.” At a loss for words, Nero rubbed at his temples.
Dante felt for the poor kid, truly. Finding out your dad was the whore of the century and having a four page list of women, men, and even demons who could potentially be the one to give birth to you; it would be quite the shock. “Well, at least you lived up to our old man’s reputation in one way, Verge.” Vergil glared at him for finding his predicament funny, knowing damn well Dante sold his body to any old lecher willing to give him enough to make rent.
“I don’t even understand how this is physically possible. And how did you even remember all of them?” Back to poor, shell-shocked Nero. Vergil finally broke his continuous silent threat to his twin to turn to his son. He cleared his throat “My body, beginning its age of maturity-” “NO. NOPE. STOP. FORGET I SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THAT” Nero interjected, he’s trying to get through this ordeal as mentally unscathed as he can.
The youngest Sparda sighed. “Where did you even get this list? And are you a hundred percent sure it’s accurate?” Vergil glanced back at his twin before nodding. That was odd. “Yes, it's accurate. I had managed part of the list on my own, however, due to the gaps in my memory from my time in the underworld; there was much I couldn’t be sure of. Thus I sought the aid of a certain witch.” He glanced at Dante again. Ohhhh. It finally clicked in the younger twin's mind. And then said twin immediately began laughing at his brother. “Holy shit really? Her? I thought she hated you.”
Vergil rolled his eyes at his brother’s laughter but answered nonetheless. “While I’m sure she still loathes me as much as I her, she deemed this a worthy request. All while staring at me as though she were studying me under a microscope.” Dante let out a final sigh, “ah classic Harmony. Well if anything we know the info is accurate then.” Taking a sip from his beer Dante picked up the list to have a look himself. “Someone on these papers is your mommy kid, now we just need to go down the list.”
Nero sputtered at the phrasing but Dante wasn’t wrong. Someone here was his mother, the person who gave birth to, then abandoned him on Fortuna island. He’d never thought he’d be so close to finally finding out the truth. He convinced himself that he had let it go and accepted that he’d just never know. But now that his father had returned, with the revelation of Dante being his uncle as well. He wanted to know. And now, he could find out.
Next to each name was an address and a small picture. Looking back through all of them, Nero noticed an interesting pattern, every single picture had the same color in it. He almost wondered if it was some kind of filter or something wrong with the way the pictures were printed. “Why are they all red?” Nero blurts out before he realizes it doesn’t make sense. “I mean they all have something red on them, like this one she has red earrings. And this guy has red skin.” The next woman he points at has red eyes and lipstick, she has a warm smile in a way that almost makes him pause. Until Dante lets out a low whistle, “wow. She looks kinda like mom.”
Vergil scoffs at this, “Don’t insult mother by comparing her to a one night stand I had nearly three decades ago.” He’s blushing though, so clearly a nerve was struck. And well Dante is nothing if not a shark when he smells blood. “Maybe that’s why they all have something red goin’ on huh? Horny teen Vergil trying to take out his mommy issue by making one of them a mommy-” Dante is cut off with several summoned swords in his head and chest.
It was around this point Nero decided he’d had all he could take for one night and headed upstairs to bed. Dante picked up the list again and really looked this time. Nero was right, every single picture had something red in it. “Heh. You really were thinking of someone, weren't you big brother?” he muttered to himself.
Dante felt a finger under his chin, lifting his gaze to the man that shared his face. “You grew into her looks, you know. Her color, now yours. Her smile, even her eyes.” Oh man. He wants to act cool and brush the compliment off but he knows damn well Vergil can hear exactly how fast his brother’s heart is beating right now. His face flushes, betraying him as well. “Well since we already established that you’re like dad, does that mean you’re gonna propose to me and we’re gonna have a house in the countryside?” Dante smirks.
Vergil smiles back at him. “Something like that. I was considering renovating the Redgrave manor. I want to take Nero there, show him his heritage and where we were raised.” Dante takes his brother's hand. “Is that why you want to help find his mother? Figure out the other half of his heritage? See if he really is only a quarter demon like we thought or..” Vergil nods, responding seriously, “Everything about him before his awakening had led me to believe he was more human than us. Then at the top of the Qliphoth, with his demonic side fully awakened. It seemed far more likely that he was more demonic than I had initially thought.”
Vergil does not mention how he thought Nero was Dante’s son rather than his at first. Nor did he have the slightest clue how correct that initial assumption really was. That night, in the safety of his brother’s arms, Dante dreams.
His dream begins with a memory of earlier in the night. Vergil on top of him, thrusting rhythmically inside him. The pleasure crawled under Dante's skin, feeling tight and lighter than he was used to. Even the brother above him seemed different. Younger than hours prior. “Dante” His dream brother moaned and himself calling his twin twin in turn. Their hands clasped and fingers interlocked, the brothers climaxed together.
Almost immediately afterwards, even as he catches his breath, Vergil pulls away. His face is dark and with an expression of… disgust? Why? A strange intense cramp in his abdomen made Dante look away from his brother and look down at himself. His stomach was incredibly enlarged and…. Something…. Was squirming inside him. He could see movement under his own skin. Rubbing his hand over his stomach to soothe the thing inside him. It only squirmed more and the cramping became an intense pain and tearing. Blood poured from his young body, much too young for this pain. And much too early for the thing trying to claw out of him.
“No, no no no, come on, it's too early. You’re not ready yet! I-I’m not ready for you yet! He’s not-” Dante feels himself crying, “He’s not here yet! Vergil! Vergil, where are you big brother!? Big brother please! I need you!”
His voice is hoarse, a crying scream is ringing in his ears. It should be his own but he knows it's not.
He’s shaken awake. “Dante! Wake up!” It’s Vergil. Not the young man from his dream but the real one. Haunted and tortured and his. His big brother. He breathed, letting himself calm down. “You were having a nightmare.” The elder twin states plainly. “Do you want to tell me about it?” The younger twin shakes his head in denial. He smiles, “Nah, I’m fine. Don’t really remember it anyways.”
Dante excuses himself to the bathroom. He stops in front of the mirror and touches his toned abs. No disturbing crawling underneath his skin, no horrific pain tearing him in half. No agonizing cry that keeps him awake. Just silence, his brother's heartbeat waiting for him back in bed. Nero’s slow steady beat from his own room down the hall.
He returns to bed, to his brother's arms. And safely in empty sleep. The night is peaceful.