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tsukuna · 4 years

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Side by Side - Ch. 6: Her

Summary: You wandered into Red Grave City to warn the “Legendary Devil Hunter” of a certain… negative shift in the area’s energy. It was an energy you knew to be demonic, and it grew stronger by the day. But on your way to meet with the intermediary, a noisy bird caught your attention. A noisy bird that would bring you to a frail man on the brink of falling apart.

Rated M • Female Reader • Before the Events of DMC V• Under the Cut • Please Support on AO3! • Part 5

The last thing V expected was to hear a woman’s voice after he had collapsed, but before he could interrogate you, Griffon swooped in. The demon vouched for you, letting V know that he would be dead without you. He was wary, however, V gave you a cautious thank you. It was certainly a strange, unexpected beginning to his first companionship since he was a child.

The weight of his likely demise and horrendous decisions were heavy, but your company dulled some of the strain. V didn’t understand why. Was it simply because you could fill in the cracks of his crumbling body? He didn’t believe that to be true, even though it would be easier to think of you as a tool as opposed to an individual he wished to be around. It appeared that the sentiment was reciprocated. Though they had yet to share much of their histories with one another, there was a sense of calm and trust. “How peculiar…” V mumbled, looking away from his book (that he wasn’t really reading) to see you sleeping--cuddled up with Shadow and Griffon. He knew that when you awoke, you would bring about another interesting day. It was only a few hours ago that Griffon was relentlessly attacking you with the worst puns. You said you hated it, but couldn’t stop grinning and laughing. You even exclaimed between fits, “STOP! I’m gonna pee myself Griffon!” A small smile tugged at his lips as he settled in to sleep as beside you. V--no--Vergil always found humans to be weak and of no consequence, yet he found himself enjoying these mundane moments.

It was one of those nights that he dreamt of a little girl outside of a shrine.

She was weeping endlessly, each sob rippling through her small frame. She wore a silken dress, though there were torn areas where he could see fresh blood and burns and her hair was a tangled mess. He could hear her singing, her voice laced with gloom

‘Sanctuary of the light moon, tainted by a crimson hue. Naught save the night shall know of my sorrows, I give unto her my all. No one, no more.’

It was a sad display. V took a step toward her, but stopped, noticing his own small stature. Am I a child once again? With his small hands, he grabbed a strand of hair from his head. White. Before any further confusion could occur, it seemed the little girl was alerted to his presence. He recognized those eyes. V softly said your name (though it came out as Vergil’s).

“Who are you?” You trembled, a wild expression on your face. “No one should be here. I’m not ready.” Your little voice was filled with fear and concern. It saddened him.

“I’m your friend,” he tried to smile. “Vergil.”

You shook your head vigorously. “I do not have friends, I am not allowed. The gods are above friendships,” your eyes went downcast. “That’s what Mama tells me.”

“Well,” he kept walking forward. “Demons don’t typically have friends either, but I think it would be nice to.”

“Demon?” You took a few sniffs. “You do stink…” You turned away from him. “You need to leave, I should kill you if what you say is true. But I don’t want to.”

V continued to press forward. “Well can I at least help clean those cuts up?”

He could see you flinch as you touched one of them. “They’re my lesson though. It will teach me to be a better host. Stronger.” You looked at him over your shoulder. “But they really hurt…”

V could tell you wanted help but didn’t wish to ask, you wanted to be strong. He knew the feeling. Gently, he took your hand and began to walk you to the nearby pond. There was no resistance on your part. In fact, there was nothing at all. As the two of you hit the water’s edge, you sat as softly as a leaf falling. V took his shorts in hand and ripped some of the fabric off then soaked them in water. “Sorry,” he apologized sheepishly. “I don’t have any actual medical stuff.”

“S’okay,” you whispered. He carefully dabbed each wound with some of the bigger ones causing you to wince. Once again, you began to hum, perhaps to hide any nervousness.

It took minutes to clean, there were truly a lot of them. “None of them should get infected at the very least,” V leaned back.

You looked up at him, taking a softer expression. “Thank you, Vergil.”

“What else are friends for?” Your face blushed pink and you gave him a toothy smile. V suddenly felt his book tucked into the back of his pants. Dream logic was incredibly convenient. “Want to read this together?” He showed her the book with a V drawn on the front.

Your eyes lit up and you nodded. “Mhm!” V patted your head, pleased with the response. The rest of the dream was spent reading, the two of you taking turns. It appeared to V that even as children, the both of you could’ve been friends.

The initial day of the Qliphoth mission came and went, ending in utter defeat. Yet you chose to stay beside him in Redgrave instead of following Nero to Fortuna--somewhere that would be much safer and comfortable. “You need me,” you grinned at V, and it truly seemed that he did. He admired your strength, your intelligence and the kindness you showed, despite him being utterly undeserving. It was his sins that caused all this to happen. You were enigmatic to him. For reasons unknown, you worked hard and went out of your way to protect him. Moments like that reminded him of his weakness, reminded him that he could protect nothing. You never appeared to be in danger ( at least not in the waking world ), but if you were, would he even be able to do a thing? It was incredibly irritating, but all she had asked was for them to stay side by side. V agreed immediately in spite of himself.

However, there were moments where you and him had to split to lurk around for resources. Your subconscious pout let him know that you were hesitant to do so, but you were aware of the necessity. You grabbed his hand and shook it. “Stay safe, V.” He thought the little smile on your face was pretty.

“Oh don’t worry,” Griffon called your name. “We’ll keep Shakespeare safe and whole for you!” V shook his head in exasperation then began to ride away, using Shadow as a mode of transport. “I bless your union.”

“I have not a single clue of which you speak,” V side-eyed Griffon.

“Sure you do,” Griffon held out the last sound. “When you’re not thinking of our impending doom, you’re thinking of her!”

“Tch.” V whipped his head the direction opposite quickly, but Griffon maneuvered to be right in his face.

“Hey, hey, don’t get all shy now! Looks like she is into you too!” He blabbered on about you and all the ‘pros.’

The man gave a long sigh. “There is no point in engaging in any sort of relationship beyond this. In fact, this has already gone farther than it should have.” Though he said that, he knew he wouldn’t make any attempt to disengage. Such selfishness. His eyes turned downcast when he thought about it, “I won’t be here for long.”

The crow cackled. “Maybe you won’t be here as you are now, but, in the interest of optimism, you’ll continue to exist!”

V imagined your reaction to his rejoining. It was likely it would happen, he couldn’t imagine that you would suddenly be gone when he needed you most (though he hated to admit it). What would your face look like as you looked upon him--upon Vergil? He finally responded, “I don’t think she would care for him.”

“Care for you, you mean? If she can care for your weak ass right now, I’m sure she’ll be swept off her feet by you when you’re strong, heh, heh!” Griffon stopped chattering for a moment to speculate. “She’ll certainly be confused, but depending on how much you tell her beforehand, she may accept it or do something else first. Like decking you in the face or stabbin’ ya--something out of anger!” V frowned deeply. “But she’d forgive and continue to be there. I am certain of it.”

He put his face in his palm. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

Griffon landed on V’s shoulder. “Chin up princess! I’ll be your wingman. Heh, get it? Wing man?” V shooed him away. “Okay, okay, that was a bad one. But for realsies, I’m sick of hearing your internal pining but watching you do nothing.”

“I am not pining,” V vehemently denied.

Griffon began to mock him, “Oh I wish I could protect her. Oh she’s so pretty and strong and smart. Oh I’m so afraid of what will happen with her after this is over.”

“I get it, you can stop now,” those deep green eyes glared at the bird. “Had we met under different circumstances, had I been a better man, then… perhaps I would have attempted to pursue something.”

The crow rolled his multiple eyes and feigned a yawn. “C’mon now V, haven’t you two practically already pursued something? You’ve been on shitty food dates, you have some similar interests, you guys have shared the same sleeping space since you’ve met.” Griffon sighed at the silence. “Since you’re clearly not going to say something, what if she does? What will you do then?”

“The answer to that question is unclear,” V admitted after a time. It has been such a short amount of time, and yet all the moments spent next to you have been the most fulfilling in his pathetic, misguided life. Every smile you gave him warmed his chest and he tended to smile in spite of himself. “I don’t deserve to accept her feelings if she wished to express them.”

“Oh screw whatever the hell that deserving bullshit is about! There’s no guarantee that we’ll survive this whole Qliphoth business, so why not just have fun with some young love?”

V quirked his brow, “I’m not young.”

“Your romantic maturity is that of a child so let’s just continue to call it that!” V smacked him on the head with his cane.

“I tire of this conversation with you.”

“Just trying to help ya’ out buddy.”

“Truly appreciated,” V mumbled. Have fun, huh? You often talked hopefully about doing fun things together. He fondly remembered you jumping on the bed and chattering about going to an amusement park together after “all this demon shit is over” before taking him by the hand and forcing him to jump with you. V yearned for the ideas you planted in his head. If you were to say something to him… should he forgo any of his concerns and embrace it? V and his familiars began to search abandoned buildings, looking for any sort of nourishment. Much of the area was already so destroyed and infested with roots that it was hard to tell which business did what. He walked through the rubble of one shop when something sparkling caught his eye. V bent down and took the object in his hand. It was a necklace--a crescent moon pendant with amethysts set inside of it. He chuckled to himself at how fitting it would be for you and pocketed it. V imagined your face flushing when he gave it to you, it was a soft thought.

After a time of sifting through both his thoughts and the destruction, Griffon and V managed to scrounge up some snack food, but it seemed like resources were drying up, and he couldn’t help but wonder what the two of you would do to sustain yourselves for the next month.

V was exhausted by the time he met back up with you. Each time he summoned Nightmare, it took a sizable toll on his energy, plus he was still hungry. Griffon broke the news to you about what you were to be surviving on for the time being--demons. It was quite obvious that you were unhappy with the news, but being strong, you would take whatever you could to live. You resigned to the reality of the situation and helped transport the bodies to a safe area where the group would be able to rest for the night. In fact, you made sure of it that you would be able to rest for the night. While he was requested to gather materials for a fire, you began to set up wards around the abandoned courtyard. It was a curious thing, but V remembered you were the daughter of a shrine priestess (at the very least).

Griffon helped start the fire by striking the wood with his lightning and Shadow came trotting back with the butchered meat. He watched you warily eye the roasted meat before taking a bite. Both of you agreed that it was utterly vile, much to the annoyance of the crow who always screamed about the disrespect.

The man felt strange--strange about his interactions with the boy, strange about his fate, strange about you. Upon expressing that, Griffon grabbed him by shirt and unceremoniously dropped him into the fountain, taunting him about stinking like demon blood. His clothes were drenched, so you and his familiars got to work on drying them out. V figured that while he was stuck in there, he may as well try his best to clean out. He sunk into the water, thoughts filled with where he went wrong in his life, his cowardice, his ignorance towards what strength truly is. It was as if he were about to melt away; however he was once again gripped by the demon’s talons. V was scolded and talked down to like a baby, but he was still too lost in thought to really care.

“I’d barely call these dry,” V lightly complained once Griffon brought the clothes to him.

“Sorry,” you shrugged with a dry laugh. “I can only work so hard to clean up the mess of this chatterbox right here.”

“Well, as long as it’s wearable, anything goes,” V responded while pulling up his pants. As he moved by the fire, you began to undress, complaining that you smelled as well. He wanted to give you privacy, but your bare skin was still visible from the peripheral view. A thought or two passed through his tired mind, but he shook them away.

He gave ear to the exchange you and Griffon were having, it sounded like you were revealing more of your life, and V was always curious to learn more. The fire was flickering in his deep green eyes when he noticed the splash of you moving up behind him.

“Here.” His eyes focused on the ring you dangled in his face..

“Your ring?” He questioned. “Do you need me to hold onto it while you are in the water?” V brought his hand up so you could give it to him. “Nope, it’s yours now.” You responded as he felt the ring fall into his open palm. “If you are okay accepting it of course…”

V couldn’t stop himself from turning his head to look you in the face. “Why would you give this to me? Don’t you need it for survival?” With a furrowed brow, he examined your features, searching for any trace of a joke.

“Well,” you began, “I trust you with it, and it will help keep you safe when I can’t be there.” V . “This way, wherever you go, I’ll always be with you,” you smiled.

He closed his hand around the ring, still warm from being around your finger. “I don’t understand you,” he admitted to himself out loud. “Why do you care to help me so much? You have since you met me. Even amongst all the insanity and information I have omitted, you have stuck by my side. And now you wish to give me a piece of you. Why?” The question almost came out like a plea for the answer.

“Well, it’s because I like you of course,” you smiled shyly, “As in like- like.” V heard you giggle as his lips parted in surprise. You reached your hand out of the water and took his hand, plucking the ring from his other palm. “Here,” V watched as you slipped the ring onto his pinky finger. “I was worried it’d be a bit too small, but it’s a perfect fit!” His chest hurt as he stared at it. The last time he was bestowed such a gift was on his birthday--his half of the perfect amulet from his mother. Once again, he was being given a jewel that had responsibility attached to it. “I hope you will accept it.” You said once more as your face took on a nervous expression.

V hesitated but eventually responded. “I… will accept it.” He had grabbed it a couple days ago, but never gave you the necklace. If there was a good time, it was now, and so he shuffled through his pocket. “Here,” he dangled it and you gently grabbed it. Your mouth formed an ‘O’ shape.

“This is my first gift.” He saw tears prick your eyes and was reminded of the child in his dream. Despite being naked, you leaned out of the fountain and threw your arms around his neck, burying your face in the crook of it. Slowly, he reciprocated the embrace, fingers feeling the lines of rough, scarred skin. “Thank you, V.”

“Mm,” he hummed with a nod.

You pulled back and began to stand up, to which he turned back around in response (though it’d be a lie if he denied getting a decent glimpse). V listened to you quickly shuffle back into your clothes before plopping down next to him in front of the fire. “Will you help me with this?” You turned your head away and held up the pendant for him to take.

“Of course.” V did the clasp, letting the moon of the necklace hand a little bit below your collar bones. You seemed… so happy with it.

“I love it.” You affirmed his thoughts and planted a kiss on his cheek, an purposefully intimate gesture he didn’t know how to respond to. You seemed to sense his unease. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say anything just yet. I know that shit is bad right now.”

‘Your romantic maturity is that of a child…’ Griffon’s words rang out irritatingly in V’s head, and he wanted to prove the bird wrong. “Your feelings,” he felt you stiffen, “I won’t deny that they are… reciprocated.”

“V…”

“I care for you.” It felt strange for him to say those words. “But it wouldn’t be right for me to indulge in these feelings. You’d only be hurt.” You were clearly confused. “There’s more to me than I have let on,” V admitted.

“As if I didn’t know that,” you laughed. You clapped your hands on his cheeks and leaned your face towards his with an amused smirk. “Hope you don’t mind this!”

“Mind wh--” You pressed your lips against his and after a second of hesitation, he pressed back.

#v/reader #v/you #v x reader #v x you #Female reader #vitale #vitale x reader #vitale/reader #vitale x you #Devil May Cry 5 #devil may cry #DMC 5 #dmc #ghuoligans #tsukuuyomis #also posted to ao3 #find me on ao3 at Adagium (ghuoligans)

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