#polyship implied

“Why would I do that when that just ruins the surprise?” Dante said with a grin at the skeptical look you gave him before he guided you into a small coffee shop, ordered your favorite, and paid for it. With real money. The look on your face was priceless and he couldn’t help himself as he burst out laughing as he gently placed his hand on the small of your back to lead you back outside. A few moments later he heard you give off a soft, almost self-deprecating sigh, it was  a noise he was used to hearing from you when you got lost in your head, so to bring you out of it he gently moved his hand to yours, and gave it a squeeze. 

Only to then be surprised by you when you gently pulled him to a stop.

“Dante, what is this all about?”

“What? I can’t take you out on a date ‘cause I wanna?”

“You never just want to though, there’s always something attached to it, or there’s a bill collector breathing hard on the back of your neck...”

“Well, this time I promise you it isn’t ‘cause of something like that,” Dante gently rubbed his thumb against your hand. “It’s ‘cause I know something is bugging you..” 

“Ah.. I wondered if that’s what this sudden ‘date’ was about…” 

Dante sighed as he moved just a step closer as you looked down at your feet. “Look, I just wanted to do something to try to lighten your mood a little. You’ve been working so damned hard for all of us lately, I figured I’d simply show you how much I--we appreciate you lately.” 

When you sighed again and kept your eyes on your feet he clicked his tongue and gently placed his finger under your chin to lift your face. When he finally could see your eyes he gave you a cheeky wink, and that signature lopsided grin.

“You know, my eyes are up here Sweetheart...” 

“Ugh,” you groaned but there was a hint of a smile on your lips and a little laughter in your voice. “Could you not?”

“Nah, no can do. It’s all part of the big, charming package that is yours truly." Dante gestured to himself with a bit of a flourish and a huge teasing grin. He watched you roll your eyes at him before you sighed quietly and looked back at the ground and a slight frown pulled his lips downward. He could see you getting lost in your head, and to stop you from staying there too long he simply reached out and took your hand again, gently petting his thumb against the back of it. 

"I'm sorry…" you groaned. 

"What for?" 

"Just…I don't know. For just being me?"

"You uh, wanna tell me what you mean by that?" Dante asked softly as you sighed deeply and looked back down at your feet. He let you collect yourself a moment before he gave your hand a squeeze. 

"For being someone that holds you back...?"

He could tell by the way you groaned and looked back down at your feet that he looked confused, but he was glad to hear you continue. 

"You could do so much better than me. Both with someone in looks and…I dunno. Maybe someone that could do more than just take care of the books in the shop. Someone that could fight at your side instead. Someone--" 

"Hey," Dante cut you off as he brought his hands up to cup your face, gently petting his thumbs against your skin. He smiled a little when you tried to pull away but stopped yourself. “You do know that there’s no one else out there like you, right?”

“Dante--”

“No, I mean it,” he then stepped just a little closer to you, part of his mouth turning up with a bit of a smile. “God, you’ve got no idea what you do to me, or the rest of us do you? How amazing it feels when it’s your body pressed up against mine. Shit. There's so many days I know I’ve had to take care of a few issues before coming back to the shop just because you were running around in my mind, while I was out on a job.”

Huffing out a soft laugh you gently shook your head. “Dante--”

“Hey, C’mere a sec,” and Dante gently pulled you closer by placing a hand on the back of your head to draw you to his chest. He smiled as he gently pressed his nose against the top of your head when your ear went right over his heart. “...I’m sure you can hear how loud it is right?”

Blinking a moment in surprise you remained where you were, then gently nodded. 

“Now…touch me.”

You snorted softly. “Dante--”

Laughing, he kissed the top of your head. “Not like that sunshine--well not yet anyway, but just humor me. Here--” and he gently grasped your free hand and placed your palm against his chest. He smiled when he felt you tense when his heart rate sped up. “--you are the reason it does that, y’know. It wants you, it has wanted you since I met you if I’m gonna be honest. And it doesn’t have a damned thing to do with how good you look. It doesn’t have a damned thing to do with how strong you are. It only cares about you, the fact that you love me, and the rest of us. The fact that I know you’re scared each time for me that I go out on a job...and honestly, that makes you stronger than me.”

“Huh?” you drew back from him, looking up at him confused. 

“Sunshine, if you did my job...I don’t think I could let you go out the door. The idea of losing you scares the fuck out of me,” he reached up to gently brush the back of his knuckles against your cheek. “You’re stronger than me because you let me go each time, with only the hope that I’ll come back.”

“You…you promised me you’d come back and I believe that.”

“Good, then believe that I’m always going to be here. Right here. At your side where I want to be because of one reason.”

“And what reason is that?” you asked timidly, your voice soft as he felt you gently press your cheek into his hand as he cupped your face again.

“Because, I love you.” Dante said with a sigh as he leaned to rest his forehead gently against yours. “I love you. Not because of your looks or your brains--well okay, maybe your brains. ‘Cause you’ve gotten most of the bill collectors off my ass but that’s beside the point...”

You laughed softly and closed your eyes a little. “That’s called actually paying your bills Dante.”

“Wow, what a concept!” he laughed softly before lifting his head enough to gently kiss your forehead. “It’s something I would have never thought of!”

“Apparently…” he heard you huff out another laugh then move your head away from his chest, and before you got too far he leaned in and kissed you silent. He felt you tense for a brief moment then practically melt into that kiss as he put all of his feelings for you into it, and he felt damned proud when the kiss broke and you chased after him a little.

“God, I love doing that…” Dante laughed as he brought you close to his chest again once more nosing into your hair with a sigh. “Now then, how about we finish this date I got planned with you, and we head home and just snuggle on the couch for a while?”

“How about--” you began with a sigh as he finally watched you shake off that slightly dazed look on your face and smile. “--we just skip right to the snuggling on the couch and we get pizza and watch movies instead?”

“Did I happen to tell you I love you? Cause god do I love you.”

Hearing you laugh softly as Dante took your hand and started to lead you back toward Devil May Cry he was content with how you fell in stride next to him and loved how the light returned in your eyes when you mentioned watching some sort of cheesy action flick and what kind of pizza the two of you should order.

Shadow made a noise that was a cross between a purr and a chuff as he languidly got to his feet and slowly padded his way into the kitchen after you, which caused V to smile. 

“You gonna let him take the lead then, huh Shakespeare?”

“No one is able to resist Shadow when he is in a friendly mood.”

“Friendly? I ain’t never once seen him be friendly to me.”

“Oh but of course you have,” V reassured him as he set his book aside and scooped his cane up from where he’d left it resting next to him. “I believe just the other day he was showing you just how friendly he could be.”

"Excuse me!? That was him  bein’ friendly? Bullshit! He was tryin’ to bite my tail feathers off!” Griffon huffed as he fluffed up at the memory, before he ducked his head under a wing and preened himself a little.

V couldn’t help but huff out a soft laugh that caused the corner of his mouth to pull up into a lopsided grin as he stood up easily from his seat and adjusted the cane in his hand. He marveled at it a moment, knowing that he truly didn’t need it to walk but he had always found the weight of it in his hand a strange, yet odd comfort. Perhaps it had become to him the same comforting weight that the Yamato had become to Vergil, and that thought amused him even more. With a shake of his head he slowly made his way toward the kitchen where he found you, on your knees gently rubbing the sides of Shadows face in both your hands. 

“Good morning lovely,” you cooed as you pressed a gentle kiss to the space between Shadow’s eyes. “I am sorry I didn’t say anything to you sooner. Yes yes, I apologize, and no I was not ignoring you, I was simply...lost in my head.”

“And have you now found your way?” V asked you softly as he leaned gently against the entryway to the kitchen. He let his eyes roam over you and felt a frown pull his lips downward at the dark circles he saw under your eyes, the lack of color in your cheeks. It was as if the whole world was suddenly on your shoulders and he could do nothing but watch you succumb to its weight. “And if you have not, Little Sparrow, I do hope that you remember that I--we--” and he gently gestured with his hand to the large, demonic cat in front of you. “--are here to guide you back to where you wish to be, should you require it.” 

“...Little wanderer hie thee home…” you mumbled softly and gently rubbed Shadow’s ears with a little smile. 

He felt his lips pull upwards into a gentle smile as he slowly started to move closer, his cane gently tapping against the floor as he watched you, your shoulders drooping further the closer he got to you as your brows pinched together with an almost sad expression. 

You reminded him much of a child that feared being scolded for doing something wrong. 

Shadow gently nuzzled his head against yours as he let out that soft, deep rumbling chuff before he turned his head to V and growled, that red glow rippling down his hide as V moved closer and knelt down beside him as he simply rested his hand against Shadow's back.

“I know, my friend,” he soothed Shadow softly, his green eyes lifting to you once more. You had yet to look up at him but you kept petting your fingers slowly through Shadow’s fur, as if you were grounding yourself, and then, he got an idea. 

“Little Sparrow…”  When you lifted your eyes to him finally he gave you a gentle smile. “Will you come with me?” and he offered you his hand and waited. 

It took you a moment to place your hand in his, but it caused his smile to brighten as he got to his feet and pulled you up with him. He didn’t grip your hand firmly, more he just gently grasped your fingers just enough as he led you from the kitchen. 

“Oh, but my--”

“I promise you that you can come back for your drink in a moment, Little Sparrow, for the moment, I simply need you to follow me...please?”

Feeling his heart flutter in his chest when you gave him a gentle smile, then a nod of your head as you moved up alongside him he had to laugh softly as Shadow brushed his entire form against your leg. You reached down to gently pet your hand over the top of his head as V led you back to the couch, and sat down. He rested his cane near the arm rest, and when you sat down he quickly, yet gently, reached over for you, placing a hand on the back of your head while the other grasped your opposite shoulder. 

He paused when you tensed and gave you a gentle smile. “Do you trust me, Little Sparrow?”

“Yes of course,” you blinked at him once, then gave him a smile. “Always...” 

“I am glad. Now then,” and he guided your head down to his lap, letting your head rest gently against his thigh. He waited a moment as you shifted to get comfortable.

“Well now, ain’t you a sight for sore eyes,” Griffon huffed at you as he shuffled on his perch from the back of the couch, fluttering his wings a little before leaning down just a bit to get a better look at you. 

“Ah,” you blinked at the bird then laughed a little. “Sorry Griffon, Good morning.” 

“Bout time you said it, I was beginning to think you forgot all about little old me!”

Laughing again you turned your head enough to be able to look at the bird properly. “I could never forget you…” 

Griffon puffed himself up proudly again as he ruffled his wings, showing that he was quite pleased with your answer, before he shuffled along the back of the couch to get closer to you, leaning down enough for you to pet him, and his eyes closed in bliss. “Good morning to you too, Sweetheart.”

V watched you a moment, the way you huffed out a little laugh and yet how the smile that came with it didn’t reach your eyes. He then started to slowly pet his fingers along your hair, and when you paused to look up at him, he simply smiled down at you and then worked his fingers, featherlight, over your forehead. 

He watched your eyes flutter shut as he gently continued to work his fingers along your skin, down over your ear, then up along your jaw, only to chuckle a little when you tensed and audibly swallowed as his finger worked down along the side of your neck. 

“Something weighs on you, Little Sparrow,” and he watched your expression shift to something sad as you turned your eyes away from him. He felt his heart clench in his chest as he continued to pet his fingers along your skin, as he took a little breath and started to recite a poem to you that he knows is one of your favorites.

“A truth told with bad intent,    Beats all the lies you can invent.    It is right it should be so;    Man was made for joy, and woe;    And when this we rightly know,    Thro’ the World we safely go.”

V watched your brows furrow at his words before you screwed your eyes shut and simply nuzzled gently into his thigh. You were fighting with yourself, he could see and feel it in the way you moved against him, but he did not push you. He only hoped that his words, though they might be the words of his beloved poet, may help you in return. 

“Love seeketh not itself to please,    Nor for itself hath any care,    But for another gives its ease--”

“...and builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair…"

V paused in his petting of your skin as you finished the poem for him, only to let his fingers trail down your arm to gently take your hand in his. He gently laced your fingers together and simply kept it close to your chest. And again he waited. He could feel Griffon shift next to him, growing anxious at how you were acting, and Shadow too, his  coat glowing red as he edged himself closer to the couch, giving you a rumbling huff before you spoke. 

“...I’m sorry...”

It came out breathy and V’s brows pinched in confusion as he looked down at you. “Why are you sorry, Little Sparrow? There must be a reason for me to forgive you,” and he pet his thumb slowly against your hand. “And as far as I know you have done nothing to wrong me, or mine...”

He watched you quietly, his fingers still gently working over your hair as your brows pinched in thought. It was as if you were struggling to tell him the truth. He took a bit of a breath, and opened his mouth to speak--

"I’m sorry for being me..."

"...for being you?"

"I'm weak," you stated softly, turning your head further away from him to look at the floor. "I'm nothing but a weak little human that can't--I'm not even someone worth looking at twice. I'm not as strong as you...as the others. All of you could do so much better--"

"That’s enough."

He felt you tense at his slightly sharp tone, and when you tried to get up he gently placed his hand on your shoulder and kept you there as he took in a deep breath through his nose then let it out with a sigh. "You should know that I have felt the same--  believed  the same, as that was the mentality in which I was born..."

His hand moved away from your shoulder as you sat up and you turned your head to face him, and before you could say anything he gently moved his hand to place a finger gently against your lips, as a soft smile turned his own upwards.

"You will dispute me. Say that I am much stronger than you because I have the ability to fight demons. But you must remember that it is not  me that fights them, it is my familiars, those that I have created a pact with--" he shushed you gently when you made a noise. "--you may even say that I am stronger than you because I was able to form such a pact, that because I am stronger than you that I was not devoured by the feline at your side, or the bird at your back. When I believe wholeheartedly, that anyone; including you, could have done so."

V watched you slowly blink at him, sigh then look down at Shadow, who had moved to push himself against the couch and chuffed up at you. 

"You do know that he's right, don'tcha Sweetheart?" Griffon huffed from his spot on the couch, moving just a bit closer to you. "It's us that does all the fightin'. There ain't once that Shakespeare ever lifted a finger to do any sort of damage to any--AWK! HEY!"

Griffon had puffed up after getting tapped on the head with V's cane. You'd never seen him move to grasp it either, so it surprised you enough that it caused you to laugh. 

"While you believe you are weak, Little Sparrow, it is actually the opposite. I have learned; thanks to you, that it is humans like you, with such an indomitable strength of will...that  you  are so much stronger than one that has the blood of Sparda in his veins."

He couldn't help but chuckle at the rather surprised look on your face, as he gently moved his finger from your lips, to brush the back of his fingers against your cheek before cupping your face in his hand. "It is you that is stronger than I. You, every day, understand the weight of what we do. Everyday you fear that we may not come back, and yet you simply believe in the hope that we will. That, my darling Little Sparrow, makes you stronger than all of us."

V gently pet his thumb under your eye to gently wipe away the tear you hadn't realized to fall. He waited a moment for you to take a deep breath to calm yourself, and then smiled when your eyes met his. 

"This life's dim windows of the soul,    Distorts the heavens from pole to pole, And leads you to believe a lie,   When you see with, not through the eye."

"...please don't make me cry…"

He chuckled softly as he moved his hand to the back of your head to pull you closer so he could rest his forehead against your own. He remained there for a moment, just quietly breathing you in before he let his eyes close. "There is nothing wrong with crying, Little Sparrow, but you do not see what I see. What  we see when we look at you. You, as you are and as you have been are enough." though when he heard you sniffle, he felt his heart clench as he slowly brought his hand away from your cheek to wrap his arm around your shoulders so he could gently pull you closer to his chest, as he gently pressed his nose into your hair. 

“My Little Sparrow. You have always been enough. You always will be enough. And you should remember that I love you, and shall love you till the end of time itself.”

“Hey, it ain’t just him y’know,” Griffon fluttered his wings a little as he simply leaned over and rested his beak gently against the top of your head. You couldn’t see it, but something about the way Griffon rested against you felt as if the bird was smiling and felt rather content. “I mean, sure, ya know that those other Sparda jerks adore ya to hell and back, but...remember, that includes us too.” 

Shadow moved then, a quiet rumbling purr reaching your ears as he gently put his paws on the couch in front of you and moved to nuzzle his large head against your neck and face, causing you to laugh quietly, but then the cat’s eyes met yours. You blinked slowly as they seemed to stare into your very soul, and while anyone else might have been afraid, all you felt was peace before he chuffed again, that red glow rippling down his hide as he once more pushed his head against yours and only moved away when he heard you huff out a soft laugh. 

“See? Shakespeare ain’t the only one that can say something from the heart.”

“Aw, you have a heart?" V said with a rather dramatic sigh. "I never would have guessed..”

Griffon fluffed up against the back of your head, giving off a soft, almost indignant squawk as he lifted his head. “Shut your trap Shakespeare! I’m only like this cause--”

“Cause you love me. The same as I love you,” you laughed softly when Griffon audibly snapped his beak shut, made a soft cooing noise then turned his head away from you as you looked up at him from the couch. “Thank you...for reminding me,” you then quickly moved to take Shadow’s head into your hands and press a kiss to the top of his muzzle, earning you a soft, rumbling chuff. “And you…”

V smiled softly as he watched you only to lift a brow when you finally turned back to him. Your eyes seemed to search his for a moment before you sighed, then gently snuggled yourself up against his chest. He gave off a quiet, relieved sigh as he let himself gently rest his chin against the top of your head as you spoke softly. 

“I love you too, V. Very much. I just...sometimes--”

“I understand,” he said with a gentle smile as he simply pet his fingers along your arm and shoulder. “I understand the struggle well with inner demons, but I wish for you to simply remember, that I will always be here to help you fight them should you wish me to, or if you simply wish for me to be nearby while you eliminate them yourself.” 

He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of your head as you gave him a gentle nod, and with another content sigh he moved to grasp his book. He glanced at you briefly as you shifted against him, getting comfortable as you kept yourself snuggled up against his chest. He adjusted the book in his hand as his other arm simply draped over you as he began to read to you. He smiled a bit more so between his words when you relaxed against him further and let yourself drift back to sleep.

“Sleep well Sweetheart,” Griffon cooed softly as he settled on the back of the couch, his head turning gently to the side. “Don’t you worry. We’ll be watchin’ over ya…” 

Shadow chuffed himself and got up slowly to move himself to the far end of the floor by the couch, as if he was putting himself in the way of you and anything that might come in your direction which got V to smile, he did love giving the youngest Sparda a hard time anytime he came close to you after all.

With a soft smile V continued to read to you, hoping that his words would reach you in your dreams with the hope that you would remember that no matter what your inner demons tried to get you to believe, that he would always be here to rebuke them. 

To help you slay them. 

V huffed out a little laugh at that. “I know that it is not just her that appreciates the artwork that trails over my skin...as you have told me many times as your touch has danced, feather light across it. I figured I would simply get that which distracted you both from it out of the way.”

Snorting out a soft laugh you gently got up from your spot next to Gladio to move over to V to gently take his hand in yours, though you were a little surprised that he didn’t have something that he always had with him. 

“V? Where is your cane?”

“I am alright without it for the moment, I promise you.” he smiled gently as he stepped close enough to gently press a kiss to your forehead. 

“Are you sure?” 

“I am.” V reassured you gently, his hand lifting to gently brush your hair back from your face. “I promise you Little Sparrow, I will not push myself too far.”

“You’d better not,” Gladio rumbled with a huff as he snapped his book shut and got up from his place on the couch to move closer to the two of you. He gently wrapped one around you, while the other lifted to simply let his fingers trail along some of the tattoo’s on V’s shoulder. “You know she doesn’t like it when you do.”

V laughed softly. “It would seem that she is not the only one. Am I correct in this assumption, my darling Eagle?”

Gladio snorted out a soft laugh before giving V a rather charming smile. “Yep. Though don’t think that I won’t carry you everywhere anyway.”

“I will keep this in mind,” V smiled back to him before leaning toward you to gently press a kiss to your forehead. “I am glad to hear that you are feeling better, Little Sparrow. But I do hope you will tell us if there is something else that we may be able to do for you, to make it better?’

With a teasing smirk of your own you tilted your head. “Oh, there will be plenty that you can do for me. Later. After dinner,” and when V simply lifted a brow you grinned. “I mean, you did say that he had to wait till after dinner to get handsy. I suppose that means that I should do so too.”

Gladio laughed. “She did get you there.”

“So it would seem, come then,” V smiled again, gently taking your hand in his as he pulled you back to the small dining room attached to the kitchen to guide you to a seat around the small dining table. “Let us get dinner started then so you can be as handsy with us both, for as long as you like.”

“Six, I like the way you think…” Gladio rumbled softly before he started to laugh at the blush that had risen to your cheeks.