Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was an unusually warm day for winter in Capulet City, with vibrant white light and many children playing in front of Devil May Cry, creating snowmen and throwing snowballs at each other and the windows. The owner was visible from the grimy window, leaning back precariously on his chair, balanced on two legs. Every now and then he would glance over, keeping watch on the kids.  

To many people’s astonishment, Dante would let them carouse on his property. From the perspective of the parents, they knew that their children were the absolute safest playing in the winter near the devil hunter.  

To an outsider, the grungy and semi-unfriendly demeanor of the owner, along with the similar view of the building, most should be wary and pull their children away. Most of Capulet City was aware of the creatures that go bump in the night, or when the weather changed unexpectedly. So, of course their little ones were the best protected near the demonic mercenary.  

Dante won’t admit it, but he has a soft spot for children. The little menaces would sometimes drift in to escape the chill of winter, giggling as a few would try to talk with the devil arms, the ones that can communicate anyway. He blames Patty and her near-constant presence at the office. That of he is getting soft in his growing age...

Speaking of Patty, the blonde-haired brat was muttering to herself, carefully stitching up a pillow she found in the spare room. Even after rejoining Nina, she kept on coming over. She stayed around, occasionally spending the night, hence why she drifted in and out of the spare room. She kept cleaning the office, which Dante was still kind of annoyed by. He wasn’t that messy!  

But for now, she was muttering to herself, letting out a soft swear when she pricked her fingers with the sewing needle.  

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the issue now?” Dante asked, placing his feet on the ground. Patty sighed and placed down her sewing.  

“It’s nothing,” she replied.  

“Yeah...bullshit. What's really wrong?” he asked again. Patty glared at him for his swearing.  

“I miss Lady.” she finally admitted. Dante hmm’ed and stood to move closer to the girl.  

“She’s still in town. You know where she is. Why don’t you visit her?” Dante asked. Patty huffed.  

“I tried, but her boyfriend kept turning me away. I haven’t seen her in weeks! I don’t know if this guy is hurting her or what she is doing!” Patty replied. Dante gave a soft laugh. He reached out and ruffled her hair, earning an attempted smack to his hands.  

“You don’t have to worry about her too much. Lady is strong and tough. I’d be more worried for the dude. But remember, she is trying to be a normal human being, no devils or demons, no mingling with magic. Just plain, white bread human. That means no us.” Dante revealed.  

“I know that! It’s just...it kinda hurts. Like she doesn’t care. I mean, I can act normally. Better than you, at least.” Patty whispered. Dante gave the girl a rare smile, already moving towards the kitchen. Patty followed.  

“Look, this is a new experience for her. She never got to be a normal human. Believe me, I have known her since she was 15, she never knew normality.” Dante replied. Patty watched as the older man began to take out fresh vegetables and one beer. She already perked up.  

“You're making that stew again? Can I bring some for my mother?” Patty asked. She watched as the half-devil chopped up carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and onions to soak in some of the beer as he drank the rest, while he then browned cubes of beef in a mixture of spices. Patty theorized that due to his more hellish heritage, he liked spicier foods, which meant the stew was hot and delicious. She loves the food Dante makes, pleased that she got him to start cooking after so long on a pizza diet.  

“Sure. I usually end up making too much anyway.” Dante replied. He then added everything to a pot of broth, letting the food simmer for a few, rendering the meat incredibly tender.  

~~~>>>~~~  

Despite what his friends think, Dante is a fairly good cook. After months of berating him and calling him out on his devil-may-care attitude to everything, everyone found out why he was acting like such a bastard.  

 According to Lady and Trish, Dante has depression. And those were both a quick source of needed calories and comfort dishes. After finding that out, Trish and Patty kept on checking in, forcing him to interact with them, go outside, and accept plenty of jobs. They kept him busy, so he didn’t have time to brood and lament inside his head. He won’t admit it, not even on his damn deathbed, but he was thankful for their bossy intervention.  

Since then, he began cooking more, making his own meals, and cleaning up more. Small things, but those helped his mood considerably. He used to cook often with his mother, remembering her recipes and trying new ones. Some worked, some were obvious failures, but overall, he was doing better. He started reading again. Mostly Stephen King novels, but he was reading. He even began practicing guitar again. At times, Patty dropped in and heard him play, sometimes singing along. He has gotten quite good at playing songs from “Mermaid Rock.”  

~~~<<<~~~  

Going back to the outside scene, many of the rowdy children left, heading home before the dark could set in, staying in groups for safety. Walking up to the building, dressed in a thick black coat, a woman approached. She looked up at the building with her heterochromatic eyes, tears in those jewel-colored eyes. She was tired, God she was tired. Over her slender shoulder was a large duffle bag, full of possessions, and another by her feet full of an impressive collection of weapons.  

Walking up to the building, she did something she hardly does, she knocked. She listened as a high-pitched voice ordered a deep tenor to answer it. She stood straighter, ready.  

“Devil May Cr- Lady?” Dante asked. Lady tried to give the man a sarcastic smile but failed.  

“May I come in?” she asked. Offput by her unusual politeness, Dante motioned her in, carefully taking her bags.  

“Lady!” turning around, Lady let out a soft grunt as Patty ran into her, embracing her in a much-needed hug. Dante watched with a quizzical scowl at the motion.  

“Are you okay?” Dante finally asked. Lady turned to look at the man. She shook her head.  

“Tobias kicked me out,” Lady replied.  

“Okay? It’s not the first time you have had a falling out with a partner. Why is this one more... chick flicky?” the man asked.  

“Can I sit?” Lady asked. The sudden timidness with the woman was unnerving, even to the point that Patty caught on.  

“I’ll get you some tea.” the girl chirped, already rushing to the kitchen. Dante moved to stand by his old jukebox, leaning casually, but still tense for turmoil.  

“She’s going to be a few minutes. Now talk. This isn’t like you. I’ve known you for 21 years, you’ve never been like this. Not even after Temen-Ni-Gru.”  

Lady let out a sigh, her body drooping with some unhidden burden.  

“Tobias kicked me out because...I’m pregnant. I’m going to have a baby, Dante.”  

Chapter Text

Six months ago....  

“Dante! Dante, open up! I know you’re in there!” Patty shouted at the doors of Devil May Cry. It was hot, the heat rising both in temperature and temperament.  

“He’s still not answering?” Lady asked behind the girl.  

“Nope. He’s been in there for a few days now! What a slug! I can’t imagine how filthy the place is now!” Patty griped. Lady smirked.  

“Luckily, I have a key.” Lady then pulled out a slim, kinda stylish key from her pocket. Patty waited for the woman to let them inside.  

“What the hell?” Lady asked, observing the room.  

Bottles. So many bottles of booze, the dark bottles on nearly every surface. Some tipped over and dripped on the floor. But that’s not all.  

“What happened here?” Patty asked.  

The walls were covered in burns, score marks from massive claws, the devil arms hanging crooked on the wall, blood spots on the floor, and then there was Dante.  

The tall man was curled on his couch, his shirt missing and streaks of dried blood on his back and shoulders.  

“Dante?” Penny asked, reaching out to touch the hybrid devil. Lady then stopped her.  

“Patty. Don’t. Somethings not right here.” Lady warned. Patty flinched, her hand just stopping a few centimeters from touching Dante's shoulder. She gulped and continued to reach for her friend/guardian.  

The minute her skin touched his, Dante jumped up, turning to face them, hissing like an agitated gator. Patty let out a shriek and jumped back.  

“Patty!” Lady moved quickly, pulling the girl back as she leveled a gun at Dante. She took in her friend.  

Dante’s eyes were blood red, with his pupils a live wire blue. Around the front of his shoulders were more claw marks and red score marks that looked like scaly armor. Patty stole a quick glance at the older man’s hands. They were black-tipped, and clawed, both foreign on the pale man, yet fitted him perfectly. Those claws were also black, or yet a darker red, like dried blood.  

“He’s partially triggered.” Lady mumbled.  

“Triggered? What does that mean?” the young girl asked. Lady took several steps back, forcing Patty to do the same. Once they were about ten feet away, Dante’s demonic appearance receded, revealing the normally handsome and blase man. He was still covered in blood though.  

“Lady. Patty. What are you doing here? If you’re asking for money, you’re out of luck. I don’t have the energy or mindpower to deal with you two today.” Dante rasped. His voice, it sounded rough, like he was...crying.  

“Dante?” Lady asked, putting her gun back into its holster.  

“Seriously Lady. Not today.” Dante then sat up completely, his body still partially curled into itself.  

“Dante? Are you...okay?” Patty asked, wanting to touch him to see if he was well. Dante let out a soft laugh.  

“...No. I haven’t been okay for a long time.” he admitted. Patty took that as an excuse to run into the kitchen. She ignored all the blood peppering empty bottles but noticed that there was a surprising absence from all the pizza boxes. In fact, there wasn’t any kind of food. But she was on a mission.  

Grabbing what she hoped was a clean washcloth, she also filled a bowl with warm water. Carefully, she hurried back to Dante and Lady.  

Once there, Patty watched as Lady kneeled, putting herself slightly under Dante’s eye level.  

“Dante? What’s wrong?” the brunette woman asked. Dante smiled, but that quickly fell from his face. He bowed his head, burying it in his hands as he then let out shuddering, shaking sobs. Both Lady and Patty were now heavily concerned.  

“Dante?”  

“35.” he mumbled.  

“35? What’s 35?” Lady asked. Patty moved to begin cleaning off the blood on Dante’s shoulders. She moved to his hands, noticing that they were also covered with blood.  

“We would have 35...” he whispered. At that line, Lady stiffened. She knew now. Patty was still confused.  

“Who is ‘we,’ Dante?” she asked.  

“Dante’s twin. Vergil.” Lady answered. Patty looked at her friend.  

“Brother? You had a twin brother?” she asked.  

“We would have been 35 today...And I’m alone.” the three sat in silence as Dante quietly cried while Patty cleaned him up.  

“Look. Dante, go upstairs and take a shower. Put on some clean clothes. I’ll order some food.” Lady ordered. Dante was still silent but nodded.  

“Yeah, yeah I’ll do that.” Dante stood with a stumble, causing Patty to jump out of the way and Lady to lunge closer to steady him.  

“There you go. I got you.” Lady’s voice was uncommonly soft as she helped the larger man to the stairs. She kept by his side, leaning on him to steady his off-kilter gait.  

Patty watched as Dante slipped into the bathroom, closing the door with a soft click. Lady began walking downstairs, her steps quiet.  

“Lady? Is today...Dante’s birthday?” Patty asked.  

“I think so. Look, Patty, Dante, despite all his talk, was, is, a very private person. I met him when I was 15, he helped me out, and he lost his brother in the process. When I was younger, I tried to ask him when his birthday was, or if he had hobbies. But he always turns the question around and avoids answering. I don’t know, well, anything, about him. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it's our turn to help Dante.” Lady replied. Patty nodded.  

“What do you need me to do?” she asked. Lady smiled.  

“Get rid of all these bottles. Don’t toss them. Pack them away and we can take them to the recycling center. I’m going to order some food.” Lady ordered as she took out her phone.  

“What are you ordering?” Patty asked, already at work.  

“Something soothing. Not pizza, but something that he could use for now.”  

His head felt hollow and numb as he stood under scalding water. Naked, Dante cleaned his body limply, feeling nothing emotionally. He paused, allowing the dangerously hot liquid to beat down on his head. He just stood there, unfeeling for anything.  

Someone knocked.  

“Dante? I got some clothes for you.” it was Patty.  

“Just leave them by the sink. I’ll be out in a minute.” he replied, his voice flat and dull.  

“Jesus, it's like a sauna in here. Dante? Dante!” said demon didn’t flinch or react when Lady threw open the shower curtain, revealing his nudity. Patty let out a squeak and quickly left.  

Lady reached in to turn off the water but hissed as the liquid burned her hand.  

“Fuck Dante. This water is fucking hot. Are you trying to cook yourself?” Lady demanded, turning off the basically liquid fire. She then took in Dante’s appearance.  

He was clean, so that was good. She knows his hybrid nature can handle a lot of things, but the heat of the water turned his shoulders a sunburnt red. Streaks of that same redness covered parts of his chest and back.  

“Come on. Let's get you dressed.” Lady then dragged the tall man out of the shower, ignoring his impressive nudity, and pushing him into his room.  

Once inside, Lady scowled. The room was partially empty. One full size bed with a single pillow and thin blanket, a side table with drawers, a cracked mirror, and a wardrobe with the barest amount of clothes. It was...devoid of anything that portrayed the man’s personality.  

“Get dressed.” Lady left the half demon alone, walking out and leaning on the closed door. She didn’t know what to think, what to feel.  

“Lady? Is Dante okay?” Patty asked as she approached the room.  

“I...I don’t think so.”  

Dante listened from behind the door. His sense of hearing was vastly greater than an average human, so he heard the two girls talking. He smiled to himself as he dressed.  

“Lady, Patty, I’m coming out.” opening the door, he paused as he saw Lady and Patty, waiting and each female grabbing his hands and leading him downstairs.  

He grunted as Lady then pushed him onto the couch. Glancing around, he noticed his area was cleaner, bottles of booze disposed of, and blood wiped clean.  

“Dante...How long were you depressed?” Lady asked. Dante shrugged.  

“I don’t really know. I’ve felt like this for years. It only gets bad on my birthday, or any of the holidays.” Dante hung his head low, defeated. He was startled slightly as Patty rushed and gave him a hug, clinging to him.  

“We can help. Will you let us?” Patty asked. Dante smiled softly.  

“I don’t mind.”  

~~~Present~~~  

Patty came back with the tea, catching the last word Lady uttered.  

“You’re going to have a baby?!” she squealed, elated, albeit more than the expecting mother.  

“Patty, calm down. Let Lady finish what she was going to say.” Dante ordered. Patty bit her lip as she bounced in place, full of energy.  

“Yeah, I’m going to have a baby. But right now, I need a place to stay. Just long enough that I can get my own place.” Lady replied, sipping a bit of the tea she was given.  

“You’re welcome to the other spare room upstairs. Patty claimed one of them for herself.” Dante replied.  

“Patty is staying here?” Lady asked.  

“ON occasion. Every now and then she has an issue with Nina so I let her stay.” Dante sighed.  

“What’s going on with Nina?” Lady asked her friends.  

“Mom is always a bit leery when I say I want to spend time here. She doesn’t trust demons. No matter how many times I tell her, she doesn’t like Dante being around me. She gets into a snit and I just leave.” Patty replied. Lady hissed.  

“Well, I can’t say I blame her. I was like that too. It was because of Dante here that I found some ease with certain demons, Like Bradley and Trish. Not everyone is comfortable with demon kind.” Lady revealed. Dante let out a puff of laughter.  

“At any rate, when they fight, I let Patty stay here until their tempers cool down. Lately, though, she has been staying over more and more.” Dante added. Patty nodded, not even trying to look chastised.  

“I know she is my mom! But Dante has been there for me when others weren’t.” Patty chirped.  

“Okay, one problem at a time. Lady, would you like to stay here? My door is open.” Dante finally offered, redirecting the Lowell family drama back to his friend. Lady smiled.  

“I would love to. I grabbed most of my stuff.” Lady motioned to the two bags by her feet.  

“Bullshit. Is he holding the rest hostage?” Dante growled.  

“Kinda. Said he will give it back to me, and take me back if I abort.” Lady admitted.  

“OH HELL NO!!” Patty shouted angrily. Behind her, a red aura leeched from Dante, forming an angry red cloud. It wasn’t often his more devilish side peaked, but when it did, it was a sight to behold.  

Patty was already bustling about, bitter and angry. She even grabbed one of Dante’s smaller guns.  

“Whoa. I’ll take it from here.” Dante cut her off, slipping the gun from her fingers and into his holster.  

“He needs to pay! I can help!” Patty growled out. Lady gave a small smile at the ferocity of her little friend.  

“I know. But I need you to stay here with Lady. Get her sorted out in the spare room. I'll go deal with the fucker.” Dante reassured.  

“Make him pay! For Lady, for the baby, and for me!” Patty shouted. Dante let out a rough snarl as he spoke.  

“There will be hell.” Throwing on his trademark coat, the man left.  

Lady and Patty sat alone in the office in silence.  

“Your boyfriend is screwed, ain’t he?” Patty asked.  

“He had it coming.”  

Chapter Text

Tobias James held a well-paying and fulfilling job working with the mayor of Capulet City. He raked in a good income, kept his mouth shut when the mayor’s ditzy yet cute daughter came about with her eerie/creepy boyfriend, he had a great place within a great location, and even dated one badass of a woman. But that's where his troubles started to grow: Lady.  

Lady, while she was great in bed, had a lot of baggage that he was in no mood to help her unpack, nor did he really care. But he never expressed that. He wasn’t that stupid to piss off a lady with a rocket launcher. So instead, he had his fun with her; wined and dined her, fucked her, and was happily living with her. Until she went and got knocked up that was.  

He gave her an ultimatum: abort the fucking thing or leave. When she chose to keep the little parasite, he packed up two bags of her stuff and shoved her out of the door. She could go on back to that Creep on Macbeth drive, with the Lolita brat. Freaks for a freak.  

So here he is, sitting on his couch, enjoying a nice cold glass of expensive beer. Well, he was until somebody, or something distracted him.  

Someone was knocking on his door, kind of hard too. With a sigh, he stood and went to answer. That was a mistake.  

“Who is it?” he asked as he opened. Only to face a broad chest decked in red leather. He looked up to see one of the most feared men in Capulet City. Who was also the Creep friend of his newest ex?  

“What the hell do you want?” Tobias demanded. The larger man gave him an ice-cold glare. Tobias inhaled to make himself seem more assertive. (it failed...)  

“I’m here for Lady's stuff. All of it,” he ordered. Tobias snorted.  

“That bitch sent you? If you want her shit, tough luck. I already threw it out in the dump. Should have just got the abortion.” the man sneered.  

Dante leveled the man with another cold glare.  

“Is that right?” quick as a viper, Dante lifted the man up in the air by the collar of his designer shirt.  

“Hey! You best let me go! Do you have any idea who I am, you albino freak!” Tobias began kicking, hoping to aim for Dante’s crotch. The larger man then shook him as his victim did his best to claw at the red-clad arms.  

“Not so fast, you judgmental fuck! Lady is my friend and normally can fight her own battles, but she came to me for help. She never asks for help with shitholes like you. I came here to do a job and goddammit I am going to do it! Now I will ask you again: Where is her stuff?” Dante snarled out, a faint red light starting to glow around him. Tobias flailed about even more, sensing the barely veiled blood lust.  

“Fine. Fine! I sold her weapon shit and dumped her clothes at the homeless shelter. I ain’t telling you any more to that!” the smaller man whimpered, clawing at Dante’s hands. The larger man dropped him on his ass. The smaller man scurried backward, his spine hitting his desk.  

“Where?” he demanded with a deep tone. Tobias trembled as he threw several receipts at the man. Dante caught them before they hit the ground.  

“Is this all of them?” the man in red demanded.  

“Yes. I swear, that's all. Please, get the fuck out now! I will call the cops!” Tobias stammered out, a false sense of bravado giving him an ounce of courage.  

Quicker than he could see, Tobias then let out a shriek as Dante’s guns were pointed at him.  

“Wait! I did what you asked! I was just bluffing! Please don't kill me!” he wailed.  

The sound of a barrage of bullets made the usually well-put man do the most embarrassing thing ever: he both shat and pissed his pants.  

Behind him, Tobias heard a wet groan. Turning, he came face to face with a creature that mostly resembled a cherub dipped in hot ash. He looked back at the larger man. The creature then disappeared in a glittery soot.  

“Now I’m finished. I better find all these, or I'm coming back.” Dante reholstered his guns and left.  

Tobias fell to the ground, ignoring the mushy foulness sticking to his once silky briefs from his incident.  

~~~...~~~  

It didn't take long for the second room to get cleaned. After finding the elusive clean blankets and bedding, Patty was quick to make the bed. Patty smiled as the deceptively soft and fluffy bedding swallowed each nudge from her hand, the thickness fighting the unknown draft that flittered about the room.  

Lady was finishing up sweeping when she heard the door of Devil May Cry open. The heavy footfalls and the faint swearing gave her a view of Dante lugging in several boxes full of her stuff.  

“How did you get it all back? I thought he would have thrown it all away.” Lady asked, intrigued. Dante gave her a cocky grin.  

“He tried to. But i grabbed it all. If anything is missing, let me know. I’ll go deal with him again.” Dante offered. The dark haired woman smiled, already digging through her weapons. Not her clothes, the weapons. She had priorities.   

“Dante, thank you,” Lady whispered, still smiling. The red-clad man scoffed humorously.  

“Hey, It's what kind of guy I am. Can’t leave pretty ladies without their things now, can I?” he joked.  

“Dante!” said man turned to catch Patty, who flung herself in a joyous embrace at her guardian. Patty grinned as she saw all of Lady’s things.  

“Did you get it all?” she asked. Dante rolled his eyes.   

“If you heard, I did. Dealt with him too. Doubt we will have any problems with him from now on. Unless Lady wants to shake him down for child support.” Dante explained. Patty's small head quickly rotated to stare at Lady, her eyes bright with both mischief and demand.  

Lady shook her head.  

“I want nothing to do with him. If he wants to see my baby, he is going to meet my boot up his ass.” Lady explained. Dante grinned.  

“Thats my girl....so what now? Not that i mind you staying here, but I’m guessing you are giving up devil hunting?” Dante asked. Lady sighed and sat down on the incredibly soft bed.  

“I don't know. Think Fredi might hire me as a waitress?” she asked. Dante sighed and began to remove his coat.  

“I can ask. However, I know you, Lady. You aren’t going to be satisfied taking orders for ice cream and coffee.”  

“Then what should I do then, Dante? What can I do with a baby on the way?” Lady demanded.  

“Simple: I’ll call Morrison. You can be my manager. Can find me jobs and I’ll split the money with you.” the half-devil offered.  

“That is if you can do the job properly, Dante.” the small brunette snipped.  

“I can be efficient.”  

“Then why aren’t you?” Patty chimed in. Dante didn’t respond.  

“Even if you do the jobs well, why split with me?” Lady asked.  

“I have my reasons. Lady, take the offer. I won’t let you down.” Dante asked.  

Lady sighed, placing a slim hand on her still-flat stomach. She looked up at Dante, who stood protectively in front of the window. She glanced at Patty as the young girl also waited for her answer with a dust cap in her fretting hands.  

“...alright. I’ll do it. I’ll help run Devil May Cry. You better not make with regret this, Dante!” Lady growled. Dante smiled.  

“I wouldn’t count on it.”