Devil May Cry © Capcom

Someday, You'll Blow Us Away

Jason M. Lee

Even though his school was on spring break, Nero wasn't let off easy at home, nor was Dante, as Lady had turned into a whirlwind of energy that the half-devil realized was nesting behavior from what he had read up. On Dante, she had him rearranging some of the heavier furniture throughout the building, from the main room ("No, sofa's gotta go there. Where's that fence that you used around your sound system years ago?"), to the kitchen ("Table's gotta move there, don't question me."), to her and Dante's bedroom, and the nursery. For Nero, she put him to work on the easier load, such as putting back the baby clothes and paraphernalia in their drawers and tables after they had been moved, to the more accessible baby-proofing parts such as making sure the furniture legs and wall sockets had the proper covers. Dante was mildly glad for his minor hoarding habit on keeping most of the baby-proofing materials even after Nero had moved into his own room (hoarding was apparently common among most devils, now that he thought about the many books and numerous items Sparda had collected over the years).

As he faintly listened to Dante and Lady debate over the positioning of something while in the first floor spare bathroom, Nero paused after snapping on the last cover for the pool table's leg. Even though the three of them had discussed about the incoming new addition to their family, he only realized that it was now hitting him where he wouldn't be the only part-devil running around the shop anymore. He had already noticed the few times both adults would be focused on something primarily related to the baby, giving him attention only after he had had to force it. Even though he had some sense of independence and was forever glad that his uncle had taken him in after being left at the orphanage, Nero couldn't shake off the nervous feeling that had been slowly gnawing at him.

"Nero?"

Lady's concerned tone from the sofa caused a blinked from him, and he quickly scrubbed his face before turning to her. After a near marathon of nonstop morning activities, Dante had finally put his foot down and made her take a break before stepping out to pick up something for lunch. "Nu-nuthin', Aunt Lady."

She couldn't help but smile a bit sadly, patting the spot next to her left. Hesitantly, Nero plopped down and nearly squeaked when Lady immediately pulled him as close as she could despite her large belly, placing his head on her chest. She did fight back the laughter that wanted to bubble out at the red blush that promptly appeared on his cheeks, no doubt aware of his head's position. Instead, she simply stroked his hair, letting him gradually relax to where he was soon purring like his uncle would and subconsciously snuggling in.

While she had grown up as an only child and Dante having had Vergil as his only other sibling, Lady hadn't missed the occasional forlorn look on Nero's face in the recent weeks as she and her partner pored over various plans. Both of them had just discussed about it several days ago after conversing with Sláine alongside another specialist he knew.

"Hate to say it, but I kinda feel like we haven't been paying enough attention to Nero lately. Don't think that make us really bad parents. ...I guess," he said softly as they laid in bed together, half-listening to the night life, ever aware with his arms wrapped around her. "But... this is our first kid together - Nero was already a few months old when I took him in, and you have to admit that both of us were still kind of screwballs back then."

"That, I won't argue with. Sláine's not sure either, having a twin like you," she added, burrowing into his warmth as much as she could, even with it being spring. "He might have knowledge in human pediatrics, but I doubt the three of us are going to be able to find a lot of info on part-devil families with younger siblings like Nero's case here."

Dante let out a quiet sigh, nuzzling into her hair as well taking in her scent and that extra indicating her pregnancy. While his devil was glad that /mate/ and /nestlings/ were safe, it was also a little upset on /older nestling/ not being happy at the moment. "Just makes me feel... guilty, y'know?"

"You're not the only one." More than once, the youngest of them had had to make some loud noise to get their attention, like dropping a pot or a heavy book. Unfortunately that had the tendency to further agitate Dante's demonic instincts that were already ramped up more into protective parent-and-mate mode. Lady let out her own sigh, stroking her middle when the baby shifted a little. "We're going have to take some time out with him soon."

"Yeah."

Lady waited a few more minutes, letting Nero's tension gradually bleed out but still keeping her arms wrapped around him. "You're worried, aren't you? That we won't notice you anymore."

Tightening a fist on her shirt and not trusting himself, he nodded, burying his face into her shoulder.

"Nero, look at me."

Stormy blue eyes peeked up.

"You're not going to be replaced." She took a page out of Dante's book, nuzzling into the quarter-devil's hair and pleased that it resulted in more purring. "Baby here is just being added to our little collection, so what we're doing is basically reshuffling things to make room."

"Like... how you and Uncle Dante sometimes reorganize the armory almost every time you get new weapons," Nero worked out, still a bit unsure.

"Probably not the best analogy, but similar enough. And here's another thing - Dante and I are also nervous about you and baby."

Nero gaped. Two of the most badass people he's known his entire life, and the thought of them being nervous had never crossed his mind. "You two, nervous? No way!"

Lady nodded seriously. "Hunter's honor. We're nervous and worried on how you'd handle being a big brother. You know your uncle's a younger twin, and I was an only child, so we don't know how it's like being the older siblings."

"Even Sláine?"

"Even Sláine, because he's a younger twin like Dante and it's only him, his sister, and his parents." She smiled softly, cupping his face. "When the baby arrives, there's hoping that you'll show Dante and I on what it's like being a good big brother."

He bit his bottom lip on hearing that term. The small part of his devil instincts really liked it, yet he could still remember some of the comments from school. "But... wouldn't we be cousins?"

A quiet chuckle escaped her, having expected that. "On a drawn out family tree, that's technically true. You'll learn more how human genetics work once you reach middle or high school, so we'll hold off on the heavier details for now. But here's a fun trivia: when it comes to kids from identical twins, they can be also considered as half-siblings."

"That's kinda... weird." Gray eyebrows furrowed at that. It was his first time hearing the idea of half-siblings. "Although it sounds kinda cool at the same time."

"See, it's not that bad." Lady rested her forehead against his, keeping her hands on his cheeks. "There's probably other kids out there whose cousins are also their half-brothers and half-sisters when their parents are identical twins. We just don't hear about it all that often. Besides, there's nothing stopping you or us from considering you as baby's older sibling."

"Huh..." Now he didn't feel as bad, although there was still that lingering doubt. "Do... Do you mean it, Aunt Lady? About you two hoping me on being a good big brother?"

Warm arms wrapped around surprised aunt and nephew, Dante having slipped in unnoticed from the back of the shop and eavesdropping on their conversation after dropping off their lunch in the kitchen. "Bingo, Nero. That's what Lady and I are hoping of you, being a good big brother to our baby."

Neither Dante and Lady were sure on what to expect of Nero when his face scrunched up, but it was utter relief both felt and seen as tears started leaking, followed by soft hiccuping. Nero couldn't remember how long he had kept his worries bottled up (probably after the courthouse visit in February), only that hearing their words was like breaking that painful dam. As Lady gently wiped his face with a quiet humming of Eva's lullaby, a deep purr emanated from Dante, the low rumbling from his devil on soothing their /nestling/.

"It's just... It feels so... stupid," the young quarter-devil all but wept, burrowing further into their hold. "I'm such a wuss, crying over something dumb like this."

"Nero..." Dante smiled warmly as his nephew glanced up tearily. "It's not 'dumb,' you're not a wuss, and you're within reason for worrying. Hell, me and Lady were just as worried about you and we both feel crappy for not paying as much attention to you lately. As to you crying?" Leather wings without fully Triggering wrapped around them gently, glad when Nero relaxed further. It was a trick the older hunter had learned to do not long after taking in the younger part-devil from Fortuna, the encompassing gesture creating a sense of comforting protection for his then baby nephew. Eva's journals had mentioned how Sparda used to partially summon his own wings to calm the twins down more easily, be it for naps or during loud storms, something about nestling instincts associating the move as safety. "Devils never cry, but at the same time..."

"...even a devil may cry for loved ones," Lady finished, lightly kissing Nero's forehead. "For humans, it's not always a sign of weakness, but it can be a different sort of strength."

Calloused fingers stroked white hair, his wings encompassing them a bit more. "So don't you dare think for a millisecond that you're being replaced, because you could never be replaced - we're just adding one more."

This time, Nero didn't fight the sniffle as he smiled back weakly, nuzzling into Lady. "...thank you."

As Dante and Lady talked over cleaning the dishes after lunch, Nero stood in the nursery, studying some of the furniture that no doubt had been used when he was far younger. Even with fresh coats of paint (that was the first time he's ever heard of milk paint, but it didn't offend his or Dante's noses, which was good), he could still make out some wear and tear marks on the feet and legs, some that looked suspiciously like bite marks. Dante and Lady were also going to try out a sidecar sleeper for their bed, something Dante had discovered when Sláine mentioned some benefits, but his old crib was also pulled out just in case. The young part-devil had to snicker at the mobile that now included what looked miniature rocket launchers alongside swords, bats, guns, horses, motorcycles, and dogs. Several of the baby clothes looked a bit faded from multiple washings, yet retained their softness as he refolded them back into the drawers.

Taking in a deep breath, Nero held it in before releasing it slowly, letting the worried tension within him be finally dispelled. In its place, he accepted that growing sense of resolution and protectiveness from his small devil side, silently promising himself to be the best big brother he could ever be.

He was determined to make his parents proud on that part.

A/N: Yes, "Dear Theodosia" from Hamilton again.

Genetically speaking in a nutshell, Nero is half-brother to not-yet-born Cato here, while on a family tree they're first cousins.

I'm an older sibling myself, although there's a 16 month difference between me and my younger sibling. Obviously, I can't remember whether I had any tantrums or if I never showed any signs after they were born, but what I do remember was how often we got mistaken for twins, even though we were in separate grades and classes (drove both of us absolutely nuts and looking at old pictures, we barely looked like twins despite the family resemblance). Also, some additional inspiration from Addams Family Values, where Wednesday and Pugsley were nervous about their new baby brother, Pubert.

Milk paint is a non-toxic water-based paint where it doesn't emit volatile organic compounds, so it's rather common to see it recommended for baby nurseries, and having been around for thousands of years. One disadvantage is that it is a bit caustic because of the lime (the mineral, not the fruit) that's mixed with the milk/casein.

A sidecar sleeper, or a bedside sleeper, is a baby cot that's attached to the parents' bed with only three walls (the four-wall variant is positioned close to the parents' bed), allegedly to help with better bonding between baby and parents. One of my headcanons is that for most of the portrayals of violence-inclined demons and devils plus "serve the strongest" philosophy seen predominantly in DMC, there's probably types out there that are far more social in the sense of either collective animal behavior (e.g., herds, pods, or flocks), or pair bonds that mate for life (e.g., ravens, bald eagles, and black-backed jackals)