#its literally just a buncha thoughts i had and compiled as i was writing them

[t-citurnity-moved]

That last musing gives off SUCH post D//M//C1 vibes.

PORHAPS. It could even give AU ideas, hohohoho.

Like, Idk an AU where Dante isn’t quite strong enough to take on Nelo Angelo, even with ~m a g i c a l  b o y~ Caine. They’re so tired, about to fall over, but they give it their all and it turns out their all isn’t ENOUGH.

 But Caine, with all the magic he has left, shatters the helmet (aiming for the head to end this shit, ofc) Nelo Angelo has on and it’s just... revealed to be Vergil.

Dante and Caine just... look at each other. Dante looks so exhausted and utterly broken by this knowledge. And he’s frozen, for once in his life he’s frozen in shock.

But that doesn’t mean their enemy is relenting. The (almost) headshot might’ve thrown him off guard, but that doesn’t mean the fight is over yet. They try to take him on, but Dante’s so shaken he can’t really fight properly. It eventually gets to the point where Caine has to take this one on his own.

And he’s tired. And he’s out of magic. And he’s human. And he tries his best to wield Force Edge, but it’s heavy and he’s not nearly as strong as Dante. (There’s also the fact that he can’t wield it for long before its power gets unbearable and, naturally, he has to let it go to fight his own way, or else he’ll end up just like Arkham.)

But then he gets an idea: Force Edge is a Devil Arm. Force Edge technically gives off demonic energy. His magic uses demonic energy. It’s harder to collect magic from something that’s not living, but not impossible. But even then, it’s not enough.

And Nelo Angelo is honourable. He’s Vergil, after all. Does the phrase “defeating you like this has no meaning” ring a bell? He can’t speak, being corrupted like he is, but he’s honourable enough to allow them to rest from the constant onslaught they’ve been under from demons and him alike.

And they do. They do and when they meet him for the last time, Caine has been hatching a plan. He’s got the magic from a mixture of Force Edge and the demons they’ve encountered up to that point. He’s memorised the spell by the time they encounter Nelo Angelo again.

This time there’s no holding back.

They’re in the heat of battle, with Caine off to the sidelines - the one time since they’ve become friends that Dante is cold to him, “stay out of the way.”

And for once, Caine listens. For once, he allows Dante to handle the hard work, because he’s got something cooking.

Damnit, if it kills him, he’s gonna get Dante his brother back.

He’s waiting for the right moment and when it happens-

There’s a brilliant flash of light and a strangled, echoed cry.

It fades. Dante removes his hand from his eyes. Caine takes a knee, not by choice, but because he’s so tired. And for a second, he thinks his spell didn’t work until-

Nelo Angelo’s armour cracks. It cracks and crumbles and turns to dust and like that-

Suddenly it’s Vergil. And it’s Dante, freezing for just a minute before he rushes forward to catch Vergil when he collapses. And it’s Caine barely dragging himself to his feet to catch them both when Dante collapses because he’s tired and too emotional.

And they’re quiet. Vergil is only half-conscious, but if he had something witty to say, he would’ve. Dante can’t even muster a single word, but his shoulders shake as he cries.

The rest of the time is Caine is nursing Vergil back to health while Dante and Trish defeat Mundus. Mallet Island is collapsing and Caine is panicking, because what if Dante and Trish don’t make it back alive? What if he can’t protect Vergil? He did this, but if he can’t keep Vergil alive then what was the point?

But Dante and Trish do manage to win and it’s like a breath of fresh air when they finally escape.

And it takes some time and Vergil is stubborn as a mule, but he does warm up to the idea to working with them, to being able to restore his relationship with his brother, to becoming allies with a woman who looks like his mother.

And eventually, yes, come to address the strange feelings he has for a human who managed to not only defeat him once, but save him from a personal hell he was subjected to. Though he may not understand his reasoning, he will come to accept it in time.

But one thought will stick in the back of his mind and when it’s late one night and he can’t sleep, he’ll go downstairs to sit on the couch because he’d rather be anywhere but his room.

And when Caine comes downstairs from his room, he’ll look up at him and hide his concern, especially when Caine plops down next to him and calmly asks, “what’re you doing up?” What is he doing up?

And Vergil will remain quiet for a few moments. Before the silence gets deafening and he’ll have to say something. But what he says isn’t what Caine nor he expects.

“... Have you ever been to Fortuna?” And he tells him the story of his time there, of how he isn’t quite sure if he’s ready to be a father. He’s vulnerable, allowing his insecurities to peek through.

Of course, Caine will get mad and Vergil thinks he’s going to the kitchen for a drink (because why wouldn’t he?), but to his surprise, Caine starts putting on his boots and grabbing his jacket.

“... Where are you going?”

“We are going to get your kid.”

He’ll refuse at first. But he’ll come to be thankful that Caine is his voice of reason when he wakes one morning to Nero, probably having had a nightmare, curled up between himself and Caine, who is sleeping peacefully for once in his entire goddamn life.

And that’s when he finally accepts it. He’s in love and has been too stupid to notice.

And he’ll feel that every time Nero comes running into the kitchen with some kind of menial injury, crying. “Papa!” this and “I hurt myself!” that. Vergil won’t know what to do and Caine will roll his eyes and scoop Nero up, tending to his wound. And Nero will smile and run off to play again, shouting “thanks pa!” over his shoulder. Vergil will wonder if he heard that correctly, first, and then wonder if Caine heard it as well, second.

Or when Caine is going off to Dante about having taught Nero something he shouldn’t have.

Because “He’s 10, Dante,” Caine will say and Dante will huff and roll his eyes, “I was holding a sword by the time I was 6! Me and Vergil both, ask him.”

And Vergil’s heart will speed up when Caine says, “my son“ and he won’t catch the rest of what Caine had to say until later, when Caine is complaining to him about Dante’s stupidity. And Caine will say “our son,” and Vergil will fight the smile that twinges on his lips. Because that’s the first time Caine’s said it and he probably doesn’t even notice it.

And it’ll click in Vergil’s mind again - oh yeah, he’s in love alright. And he doesn’t know what the hell to do about it - despite the fact they’ve been subtly courting each other since they met.

(And not only that, they’re even sleeping in the same bed, damnit! Even Nero thinks Caine is is dad already, he calls him “pa!” And Vergil supposes he’ll have to accept that as fact; should anyone ask in the future, he’ll tell them Nero is Caine’s son with only minor hesitation, though it’ll take more for him to admit that Caine is his husband. Even after they’ve decided that fact on their own.)

#long post #self insert (dmc) #ship (demonic instinct) #ship bs #i need a name for this au.... #au (send me an angel) #???? i suppose that'll do #ALSO HEY LOOK I GOT AN IDEA #AND IT JUST GO WAAAAYYYY TOO OUT OF HAND #literally don't read this its so stupid and long #i guess its okay to interact with???? shrug emoji #its literally just a buncha thoughts i had and compiled as i was writing them #why yes #i did spend an hour writing this #and i am not sorry in the slightest