Chapter Text
Julio was sitting in the grass that bordered the playground of Fortuna’s elementary school.
The weather was sunny and cold, the sun shining down on the busy city. The sea breeze held a frosty bite that made his skin red, carrying the scent of ocean spray and of fireplaces.
Soon it would be noon and it would be time to go home and have lunch.
Julio’s stomach grumbled in approval at the thought, he was already hungry. He hoped that Kyrie would let them have hot-chocolate for dessert even if they were going to have a party tonight.
Today was Friday, which meant there was no school tomorrow, and so Nero’s dad and uncle Dante were coming over.
The twins were helping the boy’s foster dad on a mission and they would be staying for dinner, as they now often did.
Ever since they had come to have dinner for the very first time a few weeks ago, Vergil and Dante were coming over very often.
Julio and Kyle had even been allowed to watch Nero practise taking on his demonic form, it had been so cool !
He really hoped that soon, Nero would take them to fly in the sky !
Julio closed his eyes and enjoyed the crisp smell of snow and the soft warmth of his scarf around his neck.
He had found himself a little spot beneath one of the trees, his book neatly stuck against his chest while he kept a distant watch over his little brother.
Kyle was on the swing despite the weather, balancing back and forth and giggling madly each time he managed to go a little higher.
Next to his little brother was a girl that may be another reason for Julio to stay around…Maya.
Maya was older than Kyle by two years, just one year younger than Julio himself, but the three of them had always liked to play together.
The girl had been staying at the orphanage at the same time as Julio, and they had been friends ever since.
Maya’s parents had gone missing during the Savior Incident but unlike Kyle’s, or Carlo’s, her mom had survived the attack.
And so one day, the little girl had been picked up from the orphanage by her real mom once the lady had been discharged from the hospital.
Julio had then lost sight of her until Kyrie and Nero had adopted him, and they had ended up in the same school.
What a joy it had been to see her again after so long.
The shy boy was observing Kyle and Maya fight for who could swing the highest. He was silently cheering for his brother even if his chances were pretty slim against the older girl.
Maya was taller than Kyle, her wavy brown hair tamed in two long pigtails on each side of her head.
She had big brown eyes and freckles on her nose, the warm tone of her skin complimented by the blue winter coat dotted with tiny red starfishes that she was wearing.
As far as Julio knew, the girl had always been absolutely fascinated by the sea and all the creatures that lived inside it.
She would often carry a large book in her arms, an encyclopedia on sea-life that was meant for grown-ups but that she knew almost by heart.
She was really smart and pretty, and Julio found himself strangely thinking about her even when he was back at home…
He had always liked her a lot, ever since she came to read next to him in silence one day at the orphanage.
He had been lonely but too scared to go talk to anyone, but all at once she had been there and the sad feeling had disappeared.
The boy forced himself to focus on the present and looked back down at his book.
It was rude to stare, Kyrie always said that. Well, his foster mom would often tell this to Kyle… because Julio was always too shy to look people in the face anyway.
Sometimes he envied Kyle and his ability to ignore every boundary and rule and go straight for what he wanted.
It often led his brother into trouble, big, big trouble, but most of the time… it worked out, and this felt so unfair.
It was especially true with Nero’s dad. Vergil.
The man was always so …silent. So… cold. Just like the weather today.
Julio was still a bit scared of him, even if Kyle was absolutely fascinated and forever talked about how he was so awesome.
The eldest child didn’t know the half-devil well enough to be able to guess what he was thinking. His face was always so neutral, so… controlled, and that made him feel awkward and intimidated by his imposing presence.
It frankly made him panic most of the time, as he always ended up terrified that the blue clad man was somehow angry at him. And so Julio tried his best to fly under the radar and stay away.
It’s not that he didn’t want to know Nero’s dad more. Quite the opposite, the boy was curious. Very curious.
He had many questions he would like to ask him. Some about Nero, many about his demon side that he had glimpsed outside their home, and about his powers.
But even more than that, he had an infinity of questions about his adventures in the Underworld.
Julio liked to know things.
He had always been really driven by curiosity, and he very much liked to read all the time. He liked the way words would create endless pictures inside his mind, allowing him to explore the world even if he was too scared to see it for himself.
Nero had told him that Vergil liked to read a lot too, but the boy had been too shy to ask him if it was true.
It was a little dream of his, that he would one day be allowed to read with the blue twin… maybe even dare to ask the man to read him something…
But it would probably never be more than a hopeful thought because Julio was always too scared. He was a coward. And he felt ashamed of himself anytime words got stuck into his throat, his fear preventing him from even talking correctly.
Asking for Vergil’s attention was proving to be a challenge he didn’t dare to take on.
He always watched from afar how Kyle did it with such ease, and it made him jealous and sad.
But the worst part was little Carlo.
Their baby brother was always clinging to the scary man like he was his plushie. No fear, no holding back, no doubts. He would just wobble in Vergil’s direction and raise his arms to get picked up.
Nero’s dad always let the two younger boys come close to him, allowing them to sit on his lap or cling to his legs.
Julio would like to do the same thing but he was too afraid. He wasn’t as young as his brothers. What if the half-devil grew mad at him for acting like a baby?
What if he rejected him ? What if it made Nero angry too ? Would his foster dad scold him ? Would he bring him back to the orphanage?
Julio didn’t think he would do this, but doubts were still keeping him awake at night.
His mom was dead and he had never met his own dad, without Nero and Kyrie... he had nowhere to go, no one to care for him. He would be all alone.
This situation was making him pretty sad but at least the boy was feeling better around Dante.
The red twin was always so much fun and so kind. Julio loved to play with him.
The child was always eager to see the hunter even if he always felt a tiny bit of hesitation at first, but that was never a problem for Dante. He would simply call his name out and grin at him; he had a way of making Julio feel safe and free.
His shyness would simply fade away in front of the man’s burning presence, and Julio could play and scream and hug him all he wanted.
There was no risk to mess up around the red twin, there were no boundaries, no rules, no need to be brave, just… fun.
Julio didn’t dare to simply be himself around anyone else besides Kyrie, Nero and Dante.
But now that Nero’s dad was here, Julio was scared that things had changed, because Vergil was more important to Nero than Julio was.
The boy understood, he would feel the same way if his own parents were back but… Julio would really like to keep on staying with this family…
Sadness and fear made his heart clench inside his chest.
The boy’s dark thoughts were interrupted by a baby girl that came running toward his little brother, shouting out his name in her shrill voice.
The little red haired girl was one of Kyle’s classmates, she was the daughter of the dentist Kyrie always took them to. Nina.
Nina was only five and while she wasn’t really “mean” per say, Julio didn’t like her too much either.
She once said bad things to Kyle and it had made his brother try to go back to his old abandoned family house, which had been very dangerous.
The scar that was now on his little brother’s forehead was pretty much her fault and Julio was angry at her for this.
Now that the little girl was shouting Kyle’s name again, Julio stood up and went to join his brother and Maya. He wouldn’t let little Nina say mean things to them.
“Kyle ! Kyllleeeee !” The red haired girl shouted, her cheeks flushed bright red as she was out of breath, leaving her to look like a tomato. “I saw a mermaid !” Nina shouted as she came up to the boy and grabbed his T-Shirt.
She pulled at the fabric and shook him back and forth in childish excitement. Julio winced at her brutality but his brother didn’t seem phased at all.
“What ? Really ?” The boy asked his classmate, his eyes growing wide in awe.
“That’s not possible. They’re not real.” Maya mumbled, looking at little Nina with skepticism. She picked her large book about sea-life up, which had been laid neatly on an empty swing while she was playing, holding it tightly beneath her arm.
Julio kept silent as he watched the trio from the sideline, listening to their conversation.
“They are ! I saw her on the big rocks! The ones that are at Viridis Beach ! She was so pretty ! She had red hair and all, just like in the story ! ” Nina shouted, overexcited.
Julio frowned, he had never heard of any mermaids on Fortuna Island. He knew there were legends and tales about their existence all over the world but he had always guessed that they were nothing more than fairytales.
“Impossible, there is no half-fish, half-human ! It’s not possible !” Maya rejected her tale, not buying her story at all.
“Why not ?! Demons are real, so why not mermaids ! “ Nina pouted, looking frustrated at Maya’s refusal to listen to her.
“Maybe it’s a demon ?” Kyle asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “We could ask Nero …”
“No! It was a mermaid ! She had very long red hair and a blue-green fish-tail! She was napping on the rocks!” Nina insisted, growing angry as she disliked Kyle’s theory.
“Nina! There are no mermaids! If there were, they would be listed in my book !”
“Your book is just stupid ! And you’re just jealous because I saw her, and you did not.” The red haired girl stuck her tongue out at the older girl in defiance.
Maya’s temper flared at the baby’s obstinate refusal to listen to reason and she smacked her with her book.
Julio winced in sympathy, he had already tasted the bite of that book on top of his skull a few times.
The small red head froze and went all red again, tears pooling in her eyes as she started to wail.
Uh-oh…
“Kids ! What are you doing?” The teacher’s voice called out and the three children winced.
They were going to be in trouble… they were not supposed to fight.
“Maya hit me!” Nina shouted, bawling her eyes out as she ran to the teacher.
“She should have hit her harder.” Kyle mumbled grumpily and Julio couldn’t help but grin.
He tried to hide his amusement but it was too late and their teacher looked at them angrily.
They were all in trouble…
Julio glanced at Maya next to him but the girl with her blue coat looked upset. She was holding her book tightly and her eyes were all wet.
The boy felt strangely disturbed at seeing her so sad, it was making his chest ache strangely.
Sadly, he didn’t get time to ask her what was wrong because the teacher was coming their way.
Three hours later Julio and Kyle were back at home.
Kyrie had been quite angered that they had ended up in trouble at school and the two boys had been scolded for laughing at Nina while she was hurting.
“It’s her fault. She was mean again.” Kyle pouted as he sat in the kitchen, his arms crossed over his chest.
“She is a baby. She doesn’t know how to behave yet.” Kyrie corrected him while Julio sat in silence.
The boy was lost in thoughts, still feeling pretty distressed as he remembered the sad look on his comrade’s face.
He didn’t want her to cry… she was always so nice…
The afternoon soon turned into evening, the night falling early, and this feeling of unrest inside Julio’s chest was not going away.
The boy wondered if there was anything he could do to appease his friend.
Maya had always been fascinated by the sea and she wanted to become a biologist one day. It was her dream.
Julio knew how much it meant to her, and he really liked it when she would explain what kind of fishes lived in the sea around their Island.
But what could Julio do ? Was there something that could help her feel better ?
The boy was absentmindedly toying with his snack as the entrance door to the house abruptly opened.
Heavy boots echoed on the floor and Kyle jumped down from his chair at once, making a bee-line for the newcomers.
“Man, I’m hungry as f…”
“Children, Dante.”
“We’re back!” Nero’s voice echoed and Julio smiled, happy that everyone was home now.
He could hear the voices of the three hunters talking in the entrance and the boy followed his brothers to greet them.
He felt the usual uncomfortable moment of awkwardness when he saw Vergil and Dante.
“H-Hello.” He mumbled, feeling shy but still wanting to be polite.
Carlo squealed in delight and clumsily walked up to the trio, promptly extending his arms towards Vergil.
“ ‘gil! ‘gil ! Up!”
The blue half-devil bent and picked his baby brother up while Kyle jumped onto Nero.
The chestnut haired boy was cackling madly as he hung upside down from their foster father’s shoulders, and the oldest kid felt a small pang of envy.
These two made it look so easy… and he was always left on the sideline.
But as soon as the thought formed, a deep voice boomed and everything faded under a wave of delight.
“Hey, Julio!” Dante shouted, extending his arms wide and rushing to him, coming to mess his hair up.
The brown haired boy chuckled at the playful attack and he felt all tension vanish inside him.
He gasped as the hunter picked him up and made a show of throwing him upwards, and Julio couldn’t help but laugh again.
“Oof ! You’re getting bigger every week, soon you’ll be taller than me!” The red twin grinned at him as he launched him one last time into the air.
His head brushed against the ceiling this time around and he heard Nero gasp in fright.
Strong arms caught him as he fell, but the kid couldn’t help feel a tiny bit of fear. They had almost made a mess.
“Dante.” Vergil hissed and he sounded angry.
Julio winced, he hoped the hunter wouldn’t get into trouble for playing with him.
He glanced up at the red half-devil, hoping that he wasn’t scared of being scolded but he found the man still grinning.
The large smile was enough to make him feel better, and he was quickly reassured that everything was alright.
The boy felt fingers comb his hair gently back into place, pushing lightly on his scalp. It tickled but he liked the feeling.
Julio looked back, expecting to find Nero but he could only stare as the gloved hand on his head was his foster grandfather’s.
Vergil was frowning, his eyes looking at Dante angrily while Carlo was held in one of his arms.
His hand gave Julio one last pat on the head before it dropped back down to his side.
“He almost hit the ceiling. You need to be more careful.” The blue twin hissed, glaring at Dante.
“I had it all under control, mother hen.” The hunter chuckled, not sounding worried at all.
“Yeah well, please do the acrobatics outside of the house next time.” Nero scoffed as he looked at the three of them, amused and tired at the same time.
Dante let Julio down, and Vergil did the same with Carlo, before the three adults went into the living room, leaving the kids in the corridor.
“That was awesome ! You went so high! I want to try that too!” His younger brother shouted, longing and excitement in his eyes.
Julio didn’t really listen to him, still shocked at what had just happened. It was the first time that Vergil touched him.
He had looked worried that he may have hurt himself and it felt strange, but… it was nice.
The boy felt joy run through his veins.
He had been finally granted some attention too, just like Kyle or Carlo. Something just for himself, something he had wanted, but never dared to ask for.
The boy should have been satisfied with the small caress on his head but now… Julio wanted more.
It was gnawing at him. Could he ask for another pat ? Could he hope for some attention? Would he dare to ask him some questions ?
Curiosity and longing were slowly chipping away at the boy’s shyness. Now that the first contact had been initiated by the blue twin, he felt less… unapproachable.