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"Vergil," a sweet voice whispered from behind and woke Vergilius up. At the same time a pair of arms hugged his waist and pulled him ever so slightly closer to them. He couldn't tell what time it was but he didn't bother opening his eyes to check his bedside clock, he couldn't even if he wanted to, sleep was still lingering on him.
"It's late, go back to sleep."
"Can I ask you a favour?" They asked him, as if they didn't know the answer, as if they didn't know they were his light in the darkness and his sole beacon of hope amidst the misery that had been his life, especially those past couple of years where he's had to watch everyone he's ever loved perish. Everyone except them that is.
"Of course you can. You always can, you know this." He felt their breath ghost at the back of his neck and he got the same goosebumps that came along with it every time.
"I know... But I feel like this one favour may be too much to ask..."
"Out with it, I can refuse if I want to," he said impatiently. His partner tended to say the randomest things late at night and he kind of wished they could hurry this one up and go back to sleep. Neither of them would probably remember this come morning.
"Alright then. Vergilius... if I lose my memory, don't tell me of our relationship, as painful as it may be." That made him actually open his eyes.
Vergilius turned around to face his partner. Their amber eyes were only half lidded, unlike his, which had opened wide upon hearing their words.
"Dante... We don't know for a fact that you will lose your memory. Don't say such things..."
They had had this conversation a billion times before. There was a chance Dante would lose their memory once they replaced their head with the prosthetic. They had insisted that the clock was necessary for their mission, which he never got enough details to, so they had no choice but to take that risk. Vergil had argued that it was too risky, but when had they ever listened to anyone but themself?
If they lost their memories, Vergil would be lost, walking in the dark without their fire to light the way. And they'd forget him, everything they've ever had, every declaration and every promise would disappear from their mind without a trace.
Dante proceeded to completely ignore him and continue on with their subject. They had completely accepted that the memory loss was inevitable when it was just a possibility, or perhaps they knew something he didn't.
"It may be a little selfish of me to ask but I want to experience what it's like falling in love with you all over again," they said, ever the romantic. Their hand reached out to him and tenderly caressed his cheek, like he was something to be cherished.
"Don't be ridiculous Dante, that won't happen. I can't possibly get this lucky twice in my life." He put his hand over theirs, trying to keep it there for as long as he could and silently praying that they would never leave him.
"Of course it'll happen. And I'm the lucky one here! Do you know how hard it was to woo you Vergil dearest?" they said with a playful smirk on their face. "It's a miracle that you can even admit such things with such ease now."
That was true. As much as Vergilius tried, he could not resist the unstoppable force that was Dante Alighieri, no one could. There was this certain allure about Dante that drew people in, one which the Red Gaze thought he was immune to (at first). They had the power to somehow always get what they want, which made it all the more frustrating for them when they realized Vergilius didn't want anything to do with them at all outside of Limbus Company's business.
It was ironic how they were lying on his bed now, sleeping together as they did every so often. They'd wake up next morning and Dante would pester him to just stay and cuddle for just a few more minutes. Vergilius could have never imagined he'd be in a relationship with the Executive Manager.
"So... Will you do it? Don't feel pressured though, I know it's a lot to ask."
In the end, Dante always got what they wanted. (Not that Vergilius minded, half the time what they wanted was what he wanted too. This time not included.) And who was he to say no to them?
"...I'll do it."
Their smile widened upon hearing his words. Their hand moved from his cheek to the back of his head and they pulled him closer. The kiss they shared was sweet and it lingered for long enough to make Vergilius want to chase after them for more, to make this last for as long as possible before the last good thing he had was taken away from him. But they let go of him.
"Thank you Vergil."
Then their eyes closed, ready to go back to sleep as if nothing had happened. And so Vergilius followed, closing his eyes like they did, like he followed them everywhere and would continue to do so like the fool he was, until it was their turn to follow him.
[Vergil.]
The oh so familiar nickname made the guide's heart ache, Dante had started using it recently. Despite his best efforts the two of them had grown closer. He doesn't remember what his train of thought was or how he made the choice but he wished to set Dante free.
Free from himself, that is.
Dante, in comparison to everyone else on this wretched City, was a saint. They deserved to spread their wings and fly free of the chains of the City. And yet, here they were, tied down to the earth by the chains of the Sinners, Vergilius just couldn't bring himself to add more to the count. His chain was a heavy one, tied to a weight that he himself could barely drag, it would be best for them if they were free of him. And yet...
Yet here he was once more, at the front of Mephistopheles, sitting in the passenger seat with Dante by his side, like every night since the incident at the Wuthering Heights Manor. They were worried about him, he was clearly unwell that night after he had overexerted himself on E.G.O. so they kept him company. "Just in case he needed some help" was their reasoning.
Even with every trace of who they used to be erased from their mind, Dante was still kind, their fire still lit up the darkness all around, albeit a little more literally this time. It amazed him how a person could just be so good after having already experienced the Hell that is this place, twice over. It worried him too, if they weren't careful the City would break them and Dante was all too easy to break in their current state. But maybe kindness was just written into their DNA, who knows?
"What is it Manager?" he asked without looking at them, his gaze solely focused on the text written on their PDA. He avoided looking at their clock face which, despite how different, how alien, how not-his-Dante it was... he had somehow come to love it too.
[There's something I need to confess to you...]
And he had done it again, somehow. Vergilius almost laughed in their face right then and there. That bastard, he thought, they were right. But of course they were right, they always were. What did they even see in him?
"I'm all ears."
[I-] They took a moment, their hands hovered over the keyboard. After a moment, they seemed to change their mind and pressed 'Delete', erasing their message.
[You-] They barely thought about it this time. They pressed 'Delete' again.
[We-] And again. Delete.
[Just to let you know-] Delete.
[I lo-] Delete.
Vergilius watched with a small smile on his face as the Manager deleted each letter almost as fast as they typed it. This too was something Dante shared with their past self. For all their confidence and their ability to outfox almost everyone, they'd still overthink and doubt themself once they got a chance to slow down and think.
"Do not take all night Dante, we need to wake up early in the morning you know and it's already fairly late." More than fairly late. The sky had darkened hours ago and the Sinners had all gone to their bedrooms to sleep, as Dante should've. The guide often worried they did not care for themself as they should. Yes, they didn't need sleep anymore but that didn't mean they needn't take a moment to rest either, but he supposed he'd be a hypocrite if he lectured them about that. And call him selfish but he did not wish to send them away and to their bedroom if he could have them sit next to him instead.
[I'm sorry!!! I just... I think I'm.]
"Out with it Dante, I promise you the consequences of whatever you're about to say won't be as bad as you're expecting them to be."
Their shoulders seemed to drop down, they had unconsciously tensed so much. Although confused but a bit more relaxed, Dante slowly typed;
[I want to say I like you, but that feels too light. I don't know how to say it but the feelings I have for you are much more intense than that.]
Dante wished to fall in love with Vergilius all over again, they weren't quite there yet but that's where they were headed. Contrary to his earlier thoughts, Vergilius couldn't be happier. He felt an almost silly smile creep up on his face, the kind you get when you're extremely happy and you just can't hide it, and got the urge to cover it with his hand and look away in embarrassment. But Dante had said once that they loved seeing him smile like this and, well, he supposed he could do them a favour just this once.
The manager, oblivious to their guide's internal thoughts, continued typing.
[And if you don't feel the same way that's completely fine! I'm just-] They turned to look at him just for a second before they turned back to their PDA. They had typed only one word before they paused, having realized what they just witnessed and turned to look at him again.
"Tick tick tock," they ticked absentmindedly.
"I still can't understand you Dante." Sometimes he couldn't. He knew them well enough to guess what they wanted to say most of the time.
They picked up their PDA once more and started typing as quickly as they could and with enough strength that made the tapping of their fingers sound much louder in the silence of the night.
[No offense but why are you smiling like that???????]
He let out a quiet chuckle then, unable to hold himself, making the manager all the more confused.
"No reason Dante. No reason in particular."
The guide proceeded to lay back in his seat and watch the scenery ahead of them. It wasn't anything extraordinary, but it almost looked like the stars shined a little brighter than they did before. Dante frantically ticked and tocked and let out a sound that sounded almost like a train horn next to him, the flame atop their head whooshed and flickered a few times in a mix of panic and confusion, he presumed.
Then it all stopped. The flames calmed, the ticking slowed down to a stop and if his hand that held their own and their intertwined fingers had anything to do with it, well, he wouldn't mention it.