[ for a moment dante's hand hovers awkwardly in the space between them, absently curling into itself as though to keep the warmth that vergil's provided from fading entirely before it falls to his side fingers curled into a light fist. he has always been more contact focused than vergil, ever since they were kids, something that shifted after that fateful night, after that day he watched his brother plummet into the underworld. he kept people at a distance and didn't physically reach out as much as he used to out of fear. fear of losing someone else he loved. but now? now dante feels the need to reach out, to touch, as though to remind himself that this isn't some sort of insane hallucination brought about by loneliness.

pathetic, right? ]

We're brothers, Verg. Brothers share. [ familiar enough to almost feel like a punch to the gut, but dante recovers spectacularly, even though the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. ] Is that your way of saying you'd be worried about me out there on my lonesome?

[ but the smile faulters slightly and dante shifts his weight, a darker look finding his eyes. i came to kaisou in search for power. it shouldn't surprise him and, in truth, it doesn't, that drive dragged vergil back from the very brink, drove him to rip his humanity, his memories and nightmares, from his very being. but he doesn't remember the why, what set that feeling so deep in his chest that he carried it for over twenty years. ]

I could tell you, but it's a long story and I don't know if you can handle another heart attack today.