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Nero loved to fan the flames on the battlefield. Everything, from his silly air guitar taunts to his ridiculously rip-roaring sword, was the brightest beacon for Nico’s research. She felt luckier than a pig at an all-you-can-eat burger buffet, getting the chance to gather so much data on hybrids, demons, and all sorts of nasties up close and personal. And all of them were drawn in because of Nero. His uncontrolled passion in the field was an amazing thing to behold when he really let loose. Nico damn near ran out of ink on serious missions with ‘em. Her observations tended to peg Nero as a blazing, out-of-control forest fire, unlike Dante, who was more of a controlled burn. It embarrassed the hell outta him every time Nico brought it up, but the fact was, that boy was a natural draw for trouble, and his fiery nature was the reason. He was made for kickin’ demon ass—smokingly stylishly, of course. The only downside was that his ornery nature had gotten them into trouble more times than out . But hey, it gave her a chance to bust out the Southern charm! But Nero’s affinity for places burning with energy gave him a special trait.
Nero loved being as warm as physically possible.
In fact, ‘being warm’ would surely rank second in a list of his favorite things, right under Kyrie. It was practically a given at this point. The sky was blue, and Nero had an uncanny fascination with heat. Shit, he’d been bundled up in thick, lined jackets for as long as Nico had known ‘em, which in her opinion, was damn near forever. Whether it was an open fire, a grill, or a lake of lava, Nero was sure to be nearby. Honestly, he seemed to unconsciously gravitate toward flaming pillars of death on missions. It was only slightly concerning. But by far his favorite place to hunker down was right by a certain radiator.
Dante’s Devil May Cry office had one of those old-fashioned metal death contraptions right smack beside his desk. Far too close for comfort, in Nico’s not-so-humble opinion. She bet anything that Dante’s ass was as red as his coat if the distance was anything to go by. The pair didn’t have missions near Red Grave very often; that was usually Dante and Vergil’s problem, which served ‘em right. Nero didn’t need to do any more fixing after the whole Qliphoth business. But it was usually after the rare mission near Red Grave that gave Nero the chance to plop his lazy ass right in front of the radiator. He looked like a damn fool, wedged between the side of the desk and the heater. Nico was always on the verge of telling him so, but Dante always smiled in a funny way when he saw ‘em sitting on the floor. The older devil hunter would move out of Nero’s way without saying a single word, which was mighty impressive for Dante.
Nero was always nodding off near it too, which didn’t help her relay missions to Dante. A big part of Nico’s day was dedicated to making sure Nero didn't get into too much trouble, and damn near hugging a radiator was more than likely under her jurisdiction. What did she know about clearing out demon nests and saving civilians? Her job was ‘kick-ass driver’ and ‘brilliant inventor’, thank you very much. She just knew that moron was liable to get burned while she was distracted talking to her idol and then blame her for it somehow! And after all the work she had put into his equipment? There was no way in Hell she was gonna let her babies get spoiled by the intense heat. The breakers were delicate works of art that needed proper care and maintenance. That included not melting them near a blisteringly hot furnace.
So when they arrived in Dante’s office, which was suspiciously sans Dante today, Nico warned him over and over not to sit too close to it. But he just brushed her off brusquely, like he was embarrassed or something. Honestly! How often do you have to warn a grown man something is hot?! It made her feel like Kyrie rounding up the kids in Fortuna. The thing was bare metal, no cover at all! Where was Dante’s sense of child safety?! Honestly, it seemed like the thing hadn't been serviced since the building was, well, built. The rusty, old machine hissed and spat like the demons they hunted. This time, as Nero slid into his usual spot, Nico resigned herself to watching and waiting. Maybe this could be a valuable research opportunity. Nero was oddly protective of any hybrid-related information anyway. She sat on Dante’s desk and swung her boots over the surface for peak observation. Nero already looked half-asleep. It made her feel a little indignant, to be honest. She’d done most of the work today! Driving his butt around and making Devil Breakers out the ass with next to no parts.
Well, she already told herself she’d be researching today, so she better start studying. Nico took a random pen and piece of paper from Dante’s cluttered desk and started jotting down some quick observations.
- Nero’s eyes were fully closed. And they didn’t flicker like he was dreaming or anything, they just stayed peacefully shut.
- His chest was angled towards the heater, maybe a few millimeters from spooning it entirely.
- It had to be uncomfortably warm sitting that close. For fucks sake, the plastic leather of his coat was starting to smell like it was melting!
His hands were folded neatly in his lap too, as still as she’d ever seen ‘em. Wait a damn minute; only his right hand was in his lap. The Gerbera attached to his left was fully gripping one of the spokes of the radiator! Goddammit, that arm wasn’t made to conduct heat long-term.
Ugh . For the sake of information, Nico would have to let it go for now. It was honestly starting to get a little unnerving how still he was being. The guy usually had all the classic symptoms of ADHD: always moving, always looking somewhere else, and always talking at random places in a conversation. Thinking back on it, all of Devil May Cry’s resident hybrids had the same traits. Maybe it was a demon thing. Well, maybe not for Vergil with the talking. But he was probably just better at hiding it.
Nico was borderline afraid Nero had spontaneously dropped dead from heat exhaustion with all the dreadful silence filling the place. That’d be a real hassle to explain to Dante. And Vergil. But on closer inspection, Nero’s chest was still rising and falling, albeit very slowly. A low rattling noise was slowly building from the ancient radiator though. Jesus, It sounded like the pipes hadn’t been cleaned in decades. If it exploded while Dante was out, she was not getting blamed for that. But just as Nico was about to kick Nero awake in a valiant attempt to save him, she realized something. The noise wasn't coming from the radiator; it was coming from Nero . She damn near fell off of the desk in her haste to lean over the side. With every rise and fall of his chest, the warbling purr would rise and fall as well. Nico scribbled down her findings furiously. She didn’t want to miss a thing; this was critical information on demon physiology! Critical! Definitely not blackmail material.
Never.
Well….
Nico wanted to explode with excitement over her findings. How had she missed this all the other times?! She must have been too far away to hear it before. No wonder it made Dante look so sappy. Nero was basically a limp kitten beside his desk! It was kinda cute. As much as a grown man purring could be. It made her wonder if all demons had the capacity to purr or if it was just Nero. Damn, she’d probably never find out. Not even a weak-ass Empusa would let her gently lull it to sleep. Did Dante purr? Did Vergil ? What other noises did demons use to communicate? Shit, this was opening a whole new line of intrigue for her research! Eureka! Nico knew her studies into demonology would be appreciated someday!
THUNK !
Uh oh.
Nero’s head slipped from the wall and hit the radiator so hard that the resounding bang was borderline cartoonish. But he still didn’t get up. Not even with his face pressed against what had to be burning metal. Ok, fun time over; she definitely had to wake ‘em up now. But just as she slid off the desk, a hand firmly came down on her shoulder. A familiarly leather-clad hand. It looked like Dante came back just in time, as per usual. He started to pull her away from Nero’s sleeping form, but Nico wasn’t having it. She made to kick Dante squarely in the balls, but it was a futile struggle against the half-demon’s strength as he gripped her more securely. Usually, this would be a dream come true, but if Nero woke up with a burn on his face in the shape of the squared-off radiator, she’d never live it down with Kyrie. That woman was a devil all on her own.
“He’s gonna get bur--!” Nico started, but a hand quickly clapped over her mouth before she could finish her exclamation. Dante just laughed at her furious expression, “Kid, Demons are made for the heat!” Before she could spit out an argument and spit on him literally, Dante cut her off again, “Look at him if you don’t believe me!” Unfortunately, the red eyesore was right. Nero didn’t seem bothered at all; if anything, he seemed even more boneless than before. There wasn’t even a mark on his face or anywhere the metal was touching his body. His coat was getting slightly singed though. Dante nodded sagely, “Come on. Kid needs his sleep.”
Whatever. Stupid Nero. Stupid Demon physiology.
Dante took his hand off of Nico’s mouth, and she immediately threw a punch at him for her troubles. Of course, the bastard caught it easily. Well, without Nero as an available subject, she’d just have to turn her attention to Dante. The older demon surely had more information about hybrids than Nero would.
“How much heat can you withstand?” She started to box him in against the wall.
“Wait, um… Probab--”
“What’s your internal temperature?!” Nico had pulled out a clipboard now for optimal note-taking.
“Uhh…. Maybe ninety--”
“ Can you burn your tongue?!!!! ”
The inquisition lasted a few hours. Nico was anything but inconclusive—data was the driving force of invention! And if she had to ply Dante with pizza to get her answers, so be it.
At least Nero looked well-rested by the time the pizza was delivered.