Sorting

Summary: Eight months after the Redgrave disaster, everyone is still adjusting to the drastic changes that have occurred in their lives. One of the largest and most significant of those changes being Vitale’s subsequent revival. It’s been three months since that day, and V is just starting to try and put the pieces of his life together, starting with moving into his new base of operations and out of Nero’s place. Friendship and good feels.

Note: This is a short story based off of the main story that I will be releasing shortly after this one. However, prior knowledge of my AU, headcanons, and reworking of the story are not intrinsic to the understanding of this one. That's why I published it first. You can view it as a sort of Epilogue. I had originally published this story to Ao3, but when I opened my account here, I decided I would republish some of my favorite stories. Links to all my pages are in my bio.

I hope you like it! This was my first DMC5 fic and I was 5 years out of practice.

An almost unbelievable amount of things had happened in the aftermath of the Redgrave City incident. The general public no longer had the option of ignoring the existence of demons, and business had been booming as a result of the residual demonic activity that immediately followed the fall of the great demon tree. Naturally, the city was a lost cause in of its self; no construction equipment that currently existed could put that disheveled wreck back together. But the survivors, civilian and hunter alike, had picked up the pieces and started to move on.

But there was the matter of a certain hunter who had fallen as a result of laying siege upon the demon thrown its self. There was the unfortunate matter of V's untimely demise. It was something that most everyone seemed to either suppress or move on from with only a somber thought given towards it on occasion while shooting a disapproving glare towards Vergil. However, Nero's approach was drastically different. During their brief stint together, the two had cobbled together the foundations of a blooming friendship. Nero had all but carried V to his early death, and it didn't sit well with him. That wasn't something he could just forget.

So, he endeavored to try and set things right.

If the Yamato had the power to separate anything, be it physical or metaphysical, then the question of why it couldn't be used to divide a consciousness once more was raised. It had been a hard-won battle, but Nero had managed to "convince" Vergil of the merits of restoring V to his physical form again. Even harder still was the actual process of doing so, but that was a matter for another time.

What wasn't was what to do with V, who was as deeply shaken and baffled as to how he had been returned to the world of the living as he was grateful for it. He could never thank Nero enough. His feelings towards Vergil were a bit more… complicated, but he did acknowledge that the elder twin had contributed to his revival, even if only because of Nero. If only he hadn't directly contributed to his death as well. And, after an admittedly short time, V had decided that he wanted to venture out into the wide, terrible world and seek out his own destiny.

So when moving day came, naturally Nero was there to do some of the heavy lifting.

The coastal city V had decided to take up residence in was located only a few dozen miles across the sea from Fortuna, and a little less than twice that distance from Capulet City. One of the only ferries that connected Fortuna to the mainland was based not ten miles from V's new home, a recently built (at least by the old cities standards) stone row house in a quiet sector of town. He'd made a conscious effort to stray away from the city center with its gleaming glass spires, loud nightlife, and heavy traffic, and had settled in one of the cities hillside districts with its distinct mixture of Parisian architecture, tree-lined streets, and gentrified charm; that being more appealing to his sensibilities. There was no reading to be done amidst commotion and chaos… at least outside of combat, that was. He hadn't been doing much of that recently, but that was beside the point.

The floor space wasn't expansive, sitting around a comfortable seventeen hundred square feet, but the important thing was that there was only one flight of stairs in the residence for him to potentially have an accident on, and there was an upper balcony that made viewing the front entrance easy. Of course, protective wards were to be set in place at some point; that much went without question. V enjoyed the concept of indoor-outdoor living and being connected with nature but, unlike Dante, actually liked having his doors attached to the hinges. No, the small courtyard attached to the corner lot townhouse would have to suffice in that regard. It was soon to be well-stocked with beautiful plants that served questionable alchemical purposes, but that would have to wait for another day when the basics had been taken care of. Basics such as furniture, which he had surprisingly little of. And food. And clothing. And-

V not so surprisingly didn't own very much of anything.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. He owned plenty of one particular object...

"V are you kidding me?" Nero placed down the seventh medium-sized box in a row that he suspected to only contain books and slid his hands onto his knees, reeling for breath as he looked up at the coffered ceiling. He had nearly fallen trying to carry this one up the front steps, as it had to weigh at least sixty pounds and he couldn't see around it. "Where did you even get all of these damn books from? Did you raid some old library when I wasn't looking?"

V was leaned against one of the large arched bay windows in the living room, silently taking a detailed mental inventory of what was left to bring in, organizing where each object was to go in the space to save multiple trips around the house. He glanced up at Nero's quip and a slight smirk ghosted his face. He stepped away from the wall and started across the room towards Nero. "You are not exactly incorrect, Nero. There was a rather large library in Redgrave that was decimated during the attacks. I managed to save a few during a recent trip there."

Nero paused and did a double-take, completely taken aback by the statement. When had V gone back to Redgrave? Perhaps he had slipped away during one of Nero's extended hunting trips with Dante, but the idea that he would want to go there at all stunned him. If Nero didn't have to venture back there for the rest of his life, it would be too soon. He decided to just let it go and get back to the mater at hand for now. "A few? V, there are like fifteen boxes as big as you in the van! That's not a few books. Did you take every single one you could find or something?"

The smirk returned, this time with the threat of a chortle. Many of the books had been wiped out by the rain, fire, and demons. This was a tiny fragment of what had once been a grand archive, stored in a sizeable domed building. He actually had taken almost every book he could find. It was better than leaving them to decay with the fallen city. "... Actually yes, I did. But there were more. I exercised great restraint in not taking more of them."

Nero stared at him and shook his head, turning to head back out to the car to get another box. Niko had nearly died when they had suggested that they stuff her workspace full of boxes, but she had relinquished when V had offered to supply her with parts from a specific type of demon she had been looking to study. Thankfully, they only had to make one trip and it wasn't taking very long. Hopefully. Nero suspected that he'd be back at home with Kyrie before sundown. After retrieving a few of the boxes, he returned to the interior of the house. He'd nearly had to restrain V earlier when they had first arrived. For whatever reason, he'd thought it would be a good idea to try and move several of the pieces of furniture by himself in an effort to not feel like a helpless bystander. After almost losing his balance with one of the smaller boxes, he'd seen Nero's point of view and left the matter alone, electing to just sort and unpack things. Nero had chalked it up to over eagerness and moved on. It had actually been kind of fun to observe in retrospect.

Nero had never considered how important V's cane was until he'd been without it. At some point during their ordeal in Redgrave, it had been misplaced and was presumed permanently lost… that was until Nero and Niko had ventured to the outskirts of town and found it along with a few of Griffon's distinctly beautiful iridescent blue feathers during one of their jobs. It had been a huge shock to them, seeing as it had been missing for several months at that point. That had been the last straw that had convinced Nero to approach Vergil about the possibility of restoring V. He had clearly asked him to hold onto the book for a reason before swan diving into the underworld from Earth's orbit. The thought that all he had left of someone he had considered a friend was a piece of metal and a book was simply unacceptable, not when he was so sure that there was something he could do about it. They had fought side by side. He felt he owed it to him to at least try.

Now, Nero felt he should return it to him. After all, what was he going to use it for? V needed it to walk with after all. He'd been managing without it for a while, but it had obviously been a hassle. V wasn't going to complain about it though. That just wasn't who he was. Nero would have returned it sooner if he hadn't found out the V would soon be moving. What better housewarming gift could he have possibly given him?

- It had taken the better part of an afternoon, but they had managed to offload and unpack all of the boxes and furniture. As far as they were both concerned, they were done and had earned a well-deserved rest. V had retired to the rear balcony that overlooked the small walled-in patio and one of the backstreets and was leaned against the rail. He wasn't daft enough to actually sit on it and risk falling over onto the pavement, however, so he was simply slumped over against it in a semi-exhausted fashion. Nero found him there after a few minutes of looking and propped the cane up against one of the interior walls just out of V's line of sight. He slipped out of the doors and joined V, immediately noticing that his mind seemed elsewhere when he greeted him. At this point, Nero had become accustomed to how quiet V was, but this was different. He could practically feel the gears in his head turning; the thought circulating through his mind like tides parting against a causeway. Against his better judgment, he reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder, genuinely floored when V didn't shrug away from his grasp. V threw a glance in his direction and turned around to face him, his usual calm masking something Nero couldn't quite place. "Well, if that had taken any longer, I'd be spending the night!"

V shook his head and glanced down at the floor, a hint of what Nero swore was a sad smile on his face. He took a moment before speaking, clearly needing a second to fully compose himself. When he finally looked back up at Nero, he raised his hand as if to place it on Nero's shoulder and then stopped. Something was clearly getting the better of him, and he was wearing it on his sleeve. "I… thank you for allowing me to stay with you… and for…" he stopped a moment, glancing back down at the pavement and then over his shoulder. As much as he'd have liked to face Nero, he simply lacked the capacity at that moment in time to do so. "Thanks to you and Kyrie, I can now say I know what it is like... to actually have a family. Please, thank her for me when you return home?" V raised his hand again, but then quickly returned it to his side as he did before.

Nero blinked rapidly a few times in surprise and shook his head before pulling V into a sudden but affectionately tight hug. V tensed against his grip for a long moment before he relaxed, slowly returning the gesture. Nero laughed uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. He knew that feeling all too well. Growing up in an orphanage had made him value the family he had now even more. As far as he was concerned, everyone who was a part of Devil May Cry was a part of his family now, regardless of how damaged, particular, or unstable they were. V was no different. "You tell her when you come to visit, V. You don't live that far away, and If I don't see your skinny ass around enough, there's gonna be hell to pay. Someone has to keep the kids quite some time so Kyrie and I can have a second of peace."

Nero released V and a familiar smirk returned to his face; lingering a little longer than what he was accustomed to. There was genuine happiness in his eyes that Nero rarely saw there, and he was proud to have played a part in it. A bittersweet silence spread between them before V chuckled and shook his head. It was going to be strange not having him around the house. He and Kyrie had become fast friends, and the kids were quite fond of him. He'd kept them entertained for hours by reading to them. "I would not dream of missing dinner. Someone has to help consume all the extra food she keeps making."

At that Nero, reached inside of his pocket and produced three long iridescent blue and green feathers. He placed them in his hand and, at the sight of them, V recoiled in shock and folded his long fingers around them, holding them up and just to the right of his heart. His basil tinted eyes closed for a moment as he leaned forward and he let out a long sigh, his hair falling down onto his face. There was a certain mixture of pain and nostalgia that hit him in waves, and it couldn't be more visible to Nero. Any lingering doubt that Nero had as to whether or not V cared for his familiars was gone in an instant, and he felt for his loss." When I returned to Redgrave I was looking for… You have no idea how long I searched for something; some trace of them... I cannot believe these found their way to you...I-" V's voice broke a bit as he spoke, as though he was attempting to hold back a flood of emotions. His voice fluctuated in crescendo between his normal timbre to a whisper.

Nero took that moment to reach behind himself and into the house to grab the cane, producing it and offering it to V. The look of profound shock and awe on his face was something to behold and he extended his long, graceful fingers and wrapped them around the thin piece of octagonal metal. It was as if Nero had returned a piece of his very being to him that he had misplaced; a relic of his past he had long since counted as a lost cause. "I found them together. I think Griffon took it when you… you know. Maybe he was keeping it safe for you in case you came back."

V placed the cane under his arm and looked up at Nero what could only be described as a fond but heartbroken smile. He placed his hand on Nero's forearm, the look of gratitude in his eyes a perfect substitute for what words could not express at that moment. "I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine love."

Nero snickered, pinching the bridge of his nose in embarrassment. V simply shook his head and continued to smirk. "V, nothing you say is ever going to make any sense to me. You know that, right?"

V turned to head back into the house, leaving Nero to his machinations. Of all the things he hoped would never change, Nero was one of them. He was a universal constant; an anchor for a flailing ship in a brutal storm. For in him, he had found something he had sought for a very long time but never truly found. Friendship. "I need not make sense for you to understand me. I believe you already do. I only ask that you stay as you are now. That is enough for me."

With that, he disappeared into the dark house and Nero followed closely behind him. The sun was setting soon and they needed to turn the lights on before they both fell to their untimely deaths over one of the many piles of books and boxes. This was just one it what would be many long days, but the key difference was that this was a happy day filled with what was sure to become fond memories; something wonderful to look back on one day. "That's one thing I can do, V. Thanks for taking it easy on me for once. Now let's get the lights turned on before you break your own ass."

Please, let me know if you liked this! If you find any misspellings, I'd be happy to correct them as well. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed my fic.

Edit: I went through and proofread the story with fresh eyes today and updated a few of the paragraphs as well as adding a little to the narrative. If you liked this (or my non-canon-compliant AU) keep an eye out for the first part of my much larger mega fic "Soliloquy" that is coming soon! Have a great day!