#dadnte

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:

- he doesn’t think he’s worthy of being anyone’s father. Even if the kid(s) is/are his bio kid(s), he’s still hesitant to assume any parental role. Mostly because he’s worried he A) would be a terrible dad and B) would put the kid(s) in danger by virtue of his own reputation (I mean the Devil May Cry gets broken into like every other day). Eventually, he’d take up the mantle as a father (remembering his own issues with Sparda would’ve probably pushed him to), but he’d still be terrified of fucking up.

- On that note, though, he’s actually a very responsible parent. Like does all the research and everything; baby proofs the shop even if it draws away from his grunge and swag vibe Ksjfjgjjgn

- He buys those stupid embarrassing kid clothes that say stuff like “daddy’s little devil” KWJDJFJFJ

- When they’re small, he sleeps with the kid(s) lying on his chest. Lady yells at Dante that it’s unsafe and he needs to get a crib, but he waves her off that he can’t afford one (he can; he just prefers having his kid(s) close to him, especially when they’re that young. And there’s no real hazard to them; Dante’s senses are so absurdly attune if they slipped off his chest he’d catch them far before anything dangerous happened).

- Similarly, Dante keeps the kid(s) near him in the office. He says it’s because “the ladies like seeing such (a) cute kid(s)”. Again, he doesn’t like being far from them (and who can blame him, considering how dangerous his line of work is).

- he has two rules for his child(ren): “don’t be an asshole and don’t do anything stupid”. If they do something stupid, he’ll try to help them as best as he can. If they do something asshole-y, they’re on their own.

- He’s one of those parents that makes an effort to embarrass you (lovingly). Like. Drops his kid(s) off at school blasting his dad rock and screaming “HEY KIDDO I LOVE YOU SAY IT BACK-“

- When Dante thinks no one is around he’ll sing/hum to his kid(s). Lady and Trish absolutely have footage of this that they black mail him with 💀 But, really, it’s one of the only guaranteed ways he can get them to sleep.

- HE TELLS HIS KID(S) STORIES ABOUT HIM AND VERGIL AND ITS ADORABLE AND HEARTBREAKING ESPECIALLY WHEN THE KID(S) WILL REENACT HIS STORIES-

- If he has to go on a long trip for you know, killing demons, he’ll always leave the kid(s) with something to remember him by (like a stuffie or something). When they get a little older he’ll start leaving notes around the house (I’m imagining stuff like “hey kiddo, don’t eat all the pizza before I get back! Love ya -D” on the refrigerator KDJFJV) before he leaves so he can still be there for them. Lady and Morrison are the certified babysitters (not Trish. Trish was born in the underworld; she has no idea how to take care of a human or mostly human child 💀)

- EXHAUSTED 24/7. Literally his doppelgänger move is his life saver; poor guy’s a single dad who can barely afford to keep the lights on, you already know he’s stressed tf out KDJFJFN.

- If his kid(s) asked for a pet, Dante refuse immediately and repeatedly. They get the pet. *insert dad and the dog meme*

- Dante is so fucking protective of his kid(s). Like would fight anyone that messed with them. He doesn’t, of course (most of the time), and instead teaches them self-defense and conflict resolution skills. The last thing he wants is his kid(s) to end up like him or his brother— where they have to resort to fighting more often than not.

- Whenever he’s mournful over the loss of his parents he’ll immediately check up on/go play with his kid(s). Dante doesn’t want them to know abandonment or the feeling of having to grow up faster like he does.

- If Dante’s kid(s) are adopted he’ll tell them from an early age that he’s different, and there are things he can do that they can’t— but that doesn’t mean they’re any less of a family.

- His kid(s) absolutely adore his different abilities. They’ll always ask him to DT and fly them around and stuff. Dante acts annoyed about it, but secretly he loves how happy his child(ren) get(s) from him just doing some tricks.

- Dante teaches them guitar. Just. Yeah.

- Dante is surprisingly good at Just Dance and that raises some,,, questions about his past

- Actually he’s good at like practically every game that doesn’t require logic (twister and tag and hide and seek and such). His kid(s) is/are 100% fed up with it, but Dante and his superhuman ass can’t help it 💀💀💀

- He finally has a mostly stable income (he’ll prolly take up a second job because I can’t imagine he’d completely throw away his empathetic tendencies that lead him to refusing pay from most of his clients) because Dante feels like he finally has a reason to take care of himself (being that he has someone else to take care of). He’ll prolly try quitting alcohol for the same reason.

A possible future fic.  An AU where Vergil falls to hell, encounters Mundus, but manages to escape using Yamato before being captured.  He ends up on Fortuna, and meets his son, a five year old Nero.  For three years, they’re both on the run from a very angry Mundus.

Nero wakes up that morning, hoping that his father will be in the other bed beside him, but unfortunately, it's still perfectly made.  This is his third morning he’s woken up alone.  His dad has never been away this long before.  Once or twice, he would assure the eight year old that he had to go out during the night, and to stay put in whatever motel room they were staying at.  And Nero would obey.  He would always obey.

But now, as he opened the little fridge to pick out the final yogurt cup, and the last bottle of orange juice, the eight year old is starting to really worry.

Ever since his dad showed up out of nowhere when he was stuck in that horrible orphanage, on that terrible island, Nero’s life finally has stability.  Sure, he and his dad have to stay on the run, because of someone called Mundus chasing him, but for the first time, he’s not anxious, not worried that his misbehaviour will send him back to the scary building.  His dad had assured him of that.  

“No matter what, Nero, I will never abandon you.”

A Dozen Bottles of Beer on the Wall

Where a man who’s resigned himself to a lifetime of lonliness and regret, finds out he’s not really alone.

Dante nursed a drink, some of the good stuff this time, not the cheap shit he usually drank.  It didn’t matter, the purpose was still the same, to shut off those thoughts that always intruded when he was alone with his thoughts.But this time, he wasn’t alone.  His eyes never left the sleeping form of the kid on the couch, Nero, his nephew.   For the first time in over a decade,

he wasn’t alone.

He had to admit, when he laid eyes on the kid, that moment when he saw the disheveled white hair, he had suspected this was yet another lure sent out by Mundus.  The first one, a couple years back, a lady that looked like the spitting image of his mother literally crashed into his life, saying something about a place called Mallet Island.  His gut screamed that it was a trap, and after a few nights infused with alcohol, he’d decided to just ignore it.  Unlike his brother, he felt no compunction to throw his life away on a futile quest of revenge.