[That his father and uncle want him to be safe and happy. Sometimes, it's to an annoying level-- like Dante's bad habit of shoving Nero out of things that really ought to be his business, even for his own good. But that aside, neither of them have ever given him reason to believe he's only worth what strength he has as a fighter. Dante, certainly never. And Vergil... even his far more stern, less social, more combat-focused father has done nothing to suggest it. Not with any of his cognizant actions, anyway. It's not fair to hold Urizen against him, or to extrapolate assumptions about him into unwritten standards that Vergil himself has never tried to impose.
It's as Nero said. A problem he created himself, spun up from his own experiences, the damage he carries from his childhood. On some level he knows that, and yet... there is something incredibly powerful about hearing Vergil say it all explicitly.
He sniffles. Clenches his eyes shut when Vergil touches his face. So this is what it feels like to have your father wipe your tears away... even as part of him is embarrassed for it, another part marvels and treasures the opportunity. And he can't help but crack a smile when Vergil mentions the sweater, which he was inarguably a good sport about. And the wrestling. And all the other shit Nero's been putting him through out of powerful desire to find common ground, to build something solid with his father. The same desire that makes him panic when he feels inadequate at the one thing he does know they both share.
Nero shakes his head a little and reaches up to rub his own eyes with both hands. Building his composure back, little by little.]
I'm not good at believing that kind of stuff. But I'm trying to learn how to. [A swallow, and he peers at Vergil between his fingers. It's just as he said before.] New at this "son" thing, you know?
no subject
[That his father and uncle want him to be safe and happy. Sometimes, it's to an annoying level-- like Dante's bad habit of shoving Nero out of things that really ought to be his business, even for his own good. But that aside, neither of them have ever given him reason to believe he's only worth what strength he has as a fighter. Dante, certainly never. And Vergil... even his far more stern, less social, more combat-focused father has done nothing to suggest it. Not with any of his cognizant actions, anyway. It's not fair to hold Urizen against him, or to extrapolate assumptions about him into unwritten standards that Vergil himself has never tried to impose.
It's as Nero said. A problem he created himself, spun up from his own experiences, the damage he carries from his childhood. On some level he knows that, and yet... there is something incredibly powerful about hearing Vergil say it all explicitly.
He sniffles. Clenches his eyes shut when Vergil touches his face. So this is what it feels like to have your father wipe your tears away... even as part of him is embarrassed for it, another part marvels and treasures the opportunity. And he can't help but crack a smile when Vergil mentions the sweater, which he was inarguably a good sport about. And the wrestling. And all the other shit Nero's been putting him through out of powerful desire to find common ground, to build something solid with his father. The same desire that makes him panic when he feels inadequate at the one thing he does know they both share.
Nero shakes his head a little and reaches up to rub his own eyes with both hands. Building his composure back, little by little.]
I'm not good at believing that kind of stuff. But I'm trying to learn how to. [A swallow, and he peers at Vergil between his fingers. It's just as he said before.] New at this "son" thing, you know?