(Untitled)

[sendthefallen]

Characters: Yuna, Vergil, Roy, other visitors?
Location: Fatalitiy Condominiums 1A
Rating: PG
Time: November 3rd - 3pm onward
Description: Yuna settles in at home to recuperate from injuries. Awkward cuteness? Plus visitors?

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[blue_darkslayer]

True enough, Vergil had stubbornly refused to allow Yuna anywhere near the household chores since bringing her home from the clinic, which had been a careful and meticulous process in itself. Motorbikes aren’t exactly the safest option for somebody denied the use of one of their arms. Even so, it had been to his advantage that keeping busy meant that he hadn’t been constantly by her side or hovering, which was a decided improvement from the days previous.

He could understand and sympathize with her restlessness - he had been no different each time that he had been wounded. If there’s one thing he regretted though it’s that he couldn’t return the favour of treating Yuna’s injuries like she had his, more than once. Letting her rest was the best he could do, really. It was something of a small mercy to him as well, since catching sight of her sling frustrated him.

The opportunity had been there to follow her the night of the attack and keep her safe, and he hadn’t. Even if his decision had ultimately led to saving the lives of Dante and Date instead, he couldn’t help but feel at fault despite the futility of the matter.

Keeping Yuna from moving about hadn’t simply been a matter of concern, though. Vergil may have also had something an ulterior motive as well. That was particularly on his mind as he made his way into the living room and espied the girl putting her book down.

Leaning against the back of the couch behind her, he amiably asked, “Everything alright?” He did make a note of checking in with her numerous times a day.

[sendthefallen]

To be honest, Yuna was more than grateful for any distraction he could give her, so when he wandered into the living room, as he’d done several times that day already, the summoner smiled easily. Speaking with him made the time go by faster, rather than simply laying around with nothing to do. She had never been much of a reader, and so it didn’t hold her attention for very long. Plus, holding it with one hand got...uncomfortable quickly.

Leaning her head back against the pillow propped up behind her neck, Yuna’s gaze followed Vergil as he crossed the room and moved to lean against the back of the couch. “Mm, couldn’t be better,” she said pleasantly, with a somewhat amused grin on her face. She could be better, but he had made sure that she was remarkably comfortable and well taken care of. Boredom and restlessness were the only two things she was suffering from, currently. Even the lingering pain in her head was gone.

Yuna glanced over at the window, trying to catch sight of the sun outside. “What time is it?” she asked idly. It was hard to keep track of time like this. It seemed to pass infinitely more slowly. “Do you need to leave soon?”

[blue_darkslayer]

Vergil’s expression relaxed a fraction at Yuna’s grin. Not for the first time for that which he had known her, he had to marvel at her ability to smile even after being seriously injured and then essentially confined. For his own part, he would cringe at the thought of suffering any permanent damage to his body, no matter how minor. Even moreso in the case of an arm. As it were, though, he was insistent at keeping her off her feet primarily due to the head injury. That is one thing he himself hadn’t had the misfortune of suffering from just yet.

Were that not the case, he’d offer to go for a walk with her somewhere. Or something. There’s nothing he can think of really, which is why as always he was stuck on small talk. “Only three,” he answered. He didn’t have to be anywhere until six, and normally he’d use this time for training anyway. Making an amused sound, he added, “Why, trying to get rid of me so you can escape at last?” Or worse, do some work around the apartment. Too bad for her, I finished everything.

Hrm. That did only leave him with three hours before... well. At least then he could keep her company for a while, so long as he didn’t pay attention to the sling or the bump on her head. He considered briefy. I could always...

“Sorry to keep you cooped up like this,” he offered whilst leaking a trace of sympathy. He was, and he wasn’t. “You must be getting bored by now.” God knows he would be. Then again, he would have guarded his head at all costs.

[sendthefallen]

Only three? She felt like she’d been awake for ages already. Sleep would probably make the time go by faster, but Yuna had already done so much of that already, especially while she’d been in the clinic. She didn’t think she could nap again if she tried.

At his amused accusation, though, her eyebrows raised as her eyes widened slightly and she shook her head a little too quickly than was probably necessary. Yuna winced slightly at the action, feeling stupid for not being more careful. “No, of course not.” Perhaps it was selfish, but she wasn’t sure she wanted him to leave. He wasn’t kidding about finished everything, too. There was literally nothing she could do while he was gone, and she was pretty sure that that had been entirely intentional. He’d simply accomplished her daily routine around the apartment before she’d even had a chance to try.

That was worth thinking about all on its own.

“It’s okay,” she replied quietly, blue and green eyes focused on his. “Doctor’s orders, right?” Yuna chuckled then, giving him a tiny nod, remembering not to move it too quickly this time. She didn’t want that old headache coming back. “Though I’m not as bored, now,” she said honestly. The summoner had never been to fond of being alone, and being essentially trapped in her apartment meant that she couldn’t go and find a way to remedy that situation. Having him out here instead of hiding in his room helped a great deal, but she knew how much he liked his alone time. She wouldn't begrudge him that just to save herself from a bit of boredom.

[blue_darkslayer]

Vergil’s brow drew in from his expression of mild amusement at Yuna’s registry of pain. It eased again just as quickly, though. No sense in worrying her, or more importantly emphasize the fact that she might be worrying him. Which, truthfully, she was. But that wasn’t something she could help. It was simply a case of new-found greater concern for her, along with a little self-admonition. But that honestly didn’t bear mentioning, since logically he already knew that he wasn’t truly at fault. Nor did what else had been on his mind on the night of Halloween. Not now.

He nodded in turn and when Yuna’s eyes met his he gave her a long and pensive look. It was partly feigned - deliberate - while in truth he was considering. No harm in doing it now. He betrayed a faint smile at her honest response, though. He’d have to remember to spend more time out here with her, rather than running around, if he truly wanted to do her service. Besides, despite being the aftermath of a crisis, he didn’t often get the chance to spend quite this much time with her. Even if opportunities had been more frequent than usual as of late.

Tilting his head at her with a supposed final thought, Vergil said quietly, “Well, I do have something for you to do.” He wasn’t sure how long it would keep her occupied, it ought to tide her over for a while. Hopefully for the time that he was off at work. Suppressing a sly smirk he asked politely, with a hint of mystique, “But could you first do me a favour and close your eyes? I’ll be back in just a second.” The reasons for which he had absolutely no intention of sharing.

[sendthefallen]

Fortunately, Yuna completely missed the darkening of his expression as she blinked away the dull ache in the back of her head. It faded quickly, back into near nonexistence. She’d been trying very hard not to worry him since he’d managed to get her home. Insisting that she was going to be okay hadn’t seemed to work; even though he spent a lot of time away from the same room as herself, there was this sense of presence and mild hovering regardless. She didn’t mind it, but she didn’t want him to be so concerned. People got hurt all the time and recovered just fine; she shouldn’t be any different.

Instead, the expression she caught was of him smiling ever so slightly at her response, which calmed her immensely. Her initial reaction to her sudden honesty had been an unnatural fear that he would be upset about it, so to see the opposite had a lifting affect on her mood. Still, she had to wonder if he was simply putting that face on for her benefit. Vergil didn’t like it when Yuna worried, either.

But at this point, they would both worry regardless, wouldn’t they?

“You do?” she asked back to his quiet statement, her brow furrowing slightly in confusion, which only deepened as he prompted her to shut her eyes. Yuna gave him a quizzical look for a moment before she nodded, her features shifting into something more amused and curious. “That’s easy enough,” she said, a bit of laughter reverberating in the back of her throat before she obliged him, her eyelids falling lightly closed.

[blue_darkslayer]

“Mhmm,” he simply replied, patiently waiting for Yuna to close her eyes as requested whilst betraying nothing of his intentions. Even when she did so he observed her a moment longer, both to purposely make her wait and to indulge a little on his own part, and allow him to reveal his unguarded expression. She was right - people do get hurt all the time, and most recover fine. But it’s become abundantly clear to him as of late that she is not just anybody. Not to him. It was a fact he found both puzzling and disturbing.

Shaking his head to dispel such notions - not now - he finally rose from behind the couch and ambled back towards his room. There was a reason he hadn’t wanted her down his side of the apartment beyond the need for privacy for her well-being, but he wasn’t going to be able to hide that for much longer. She’d be better soon, at the very least, so he may as well take care of this now. In a sense it was already overdue - he’d meant to do this the morning after Halloween.

Hoping no quiet sounds would nonetheless succeed in giving him away, Vergil eventually made his way back to the living room to his former position at the couch. With extreme care, though, he lowered a certain something just an inch above where Yuna was spread out before letting it drop the rest of the way with a soft “flump” onto the blanket. He didn’t say a word - he felt the gesture spoke for itself. He simply curiously watched her expression, not without a little anticipation. He hadn’t told her about this, and he hadn’t quite meant to surprise her this way, but now it seemed fitting.

[sendthefallen]

Yuna sat in her warm spot on the couch with her hands clasped above her lap for quite some time, her eyes softly closed and her lips wearing a faint smile. She had barely heard the direction that he’d headed off to; Vergil made surprisingly little noise when he moved based on size and stature alone, though it had always seemed to match his personality. Yuna had never thought of him as particularly sneaky, but now that she thought about it, behind the darkness of her eyelids, he would probably be very good at it given the opportunity.

In fact, he must have been actively trying to be quiet when he made his way back, but she didn’t hear a thing. She had briefly entertained the idea of peeking ever so slightly when she felt the gentle weight drop into her lap, surprising her momentarily. Her eyes flipped open without a thought even as she felt the bundle squirm and move above her body on the blanket, tiny paws gripping the fabric. She blinked down at the creature with shocked eyes before her chin raised to look up at him. Yuna held his gaze for a long moment, stunned into literal silence, before she looked back down at the tiny thing, reaching out for it with her good hand.

As her fingers touched the soft fur, her face literally melted into happiness, a look of pure adoration in Yuna’s eyes.. She still couldn’t find words to speak, unsure of what to even say, or if she should say anything at all. The summoner marveled at the interesting color of its fur as she finally dragged her gaze away to look back up at Vergil with a very different expression this time, taking in the cool blue of his eyes. They almost match, she thought suddenly.

“It’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen,” she said after another long moment. Yuna’s eyes stung lightly, as if she might tear up, but she didn’t look away from him just yet. “When did you do this?”

[blue_darkslayer]

Vergil didn’t say a word as Yuna’s eyes rose to his. He simply gazed back, reading her expression calmly, hoping all the while he’d chosen wisely. He couldn’t quite keep the tiniest trace of a half-smile out of corner of his mouth though when she looked back at the small bundle of fur. He then decided that he most definitely had. Beyond the mere fact that she was taken by the creature seemingly immediately, with any luck the two of them would be able to keep each other occupied while he was away. He was a little surprised at just how much it pleased her, though.

He was far more surprised at her unguarded look of joy, apparently enamoured. It caught him off-guard as well. That’s new. He’d certainly never seen her turn that upon anybody before. Happy, yes, but... His eyes softened of their own volition and when she looked back up at him he didn’t immediately reply, momentarily lost for words. There was something about that unexpected tenderness that affected Vergil profoundly.

“He wasn’t ready for me to pick up until just before Halloween,” Vergil explained quietly, “I’ve had to hide him in my room.” He hadn’t exactly gone and picked an average housecat for their pet, as befit his nature. He might have been thinking a little of himself in choosing a Russian Blue, but the thing had seemed endearing enough, and evidently it was good enough for Yuna.

Prompted by curiosity, he circled the couch and knelt down by the two of them and idly scratched behind one of the kitten's ears. Despite having been the one to pick it up, he'd barely looked at it more than once or twice.

“He needs a name, too.”

[sendthefallen]

‘Good enough’ didn’t even begin to cover it. The furry gift wasn’t just the cutest thing she’d ever seen, though that did help. The softness and color of it’s fur, the way its tiny nose nuzzled against her hand, the way it curled up into a ball on her lap comfortably, these things helped too, but there was still more to it than that. Yuna wasn’t quite sure how to put it into words, but the gesture meant an incredible amount to her.

Perhaps it was part coincidental foresight, since he couldn’t have possibly known that she would soon be stuck at home and have a desire for company, but at the same time maybe he had, acting under the assumption that he’d realized she’d miss him when he was gone during his shifts in the evenings. That this fact didn’t bother him enough for him to act upon it also meant something important. Either way, the gesture left her feeling incredibly happy and warm. Vergil didn’t seem the type that simply bought gifts for others, or took the time to surprise anyone. And yet here he was, crouching beside her, watching her for her reaction in a way that suggested that how she felt about it mattered to him.

Yuna wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, pull him towards her and hold him tightly. With one of her limbs properly held in the sling, she had to settle for slipping her other good arm around and over his shoulder, settling her forehead and cheek against the slope of his neck. “He’s wonderful,” she said genuinely, quietly. “You’re wonderful. You didn’t have to do this.”

Yuna had never had a pet in her life, and she was unsure how to go about naming one. She remained where she was, still for a moment, before she lifted her her head to look at him thoughtfully before speaking. “Well, you’ve spent more time with him so far. Have you thought of anything appropriate?”

[blue_darkslayer]

Perhaps Vergil ought not have been surprised by Yuna's gesture by now, recent events considered, but if her look of adoration a few seconds previous came as unexpected the sensation of her arm sliding about his shoulder did even moreso. It was a good thing - or maybe not - that her face was against his neck, since she couldn't see his eyes widen. The notion of the girl hugging him wasn't foreign by now since it had occurred a couple of times already, but that had been sudden, and it somehow felt more heart-felt intimate.

He could feel her breath against his skin as she spoke.

It was a miracle that he had even caught the words. He'd had the presence of mind at least to reach out with one hand and steady her, holding her against him in a manner that served as a medium between familiarity and propriety. He was as much conscious of caring for her as considerate of the fact that she was injured. Nonetheless, he discerned her quiet words.

You're wonderful. Now there was a foreign and conflicting concept. Inwardly he was torn between yearning, self-admonishment, confusion and uncharacteristic uncertainty. His eyes and expression were unreadable when Yuna finally lifted her gaze to his.

"Not really," Vergil murmured, before answering more audibly, "I've barely given it much time at all since bringing it home." That and, privately, meeting the new pet was something he had decided to share with her. It was theirs to share after all and if there was something he was guilty of, but would never admit, it would be sentimentality. "Any ideas?" he asked genuinely. He had absolutely none. The sort of naming conventions he was accustomed to were completely unsuitable for a cat.

[sendthefallen]

His skin felt pleasantly warm against her cheek as he moved to hold her, and it almost felt as is he were trying to carefully cradle her against him, as if she might suddenly fall to the ground and break like some sort of doll. It felt nice to be cared for this way, nice and yet strange all at the same time. It made her emotions swirl within her, made her eyes sting, but all in a good and warm way.

Yuna wanted to stay like that for a long while, but she knew better. It was wrong for her to push her affection on him. She slowly pulled away to sit back up on her own, though her hand slide from around his shoulder to instead linger on his forearm.

As she brought her unmatching eyes to meet his cool blue ones, she found his expression entirely unreadable, and she schooled her own features into one of practiced calmness. She was being too pushy, she was sure.

"None at all," she admitted with a chuckle and a smile as Yuna shook her head slightly. "I've never needed to name anything before. Even my aeons already possessed names, though some summoners chose nicknames for them. I never felt that to be appropriate, so..."

[blue_darkslayer]

Vergil released Yuna without protest as she made to relax back into the couch again, though it wasn't without a muted sense of reluctance. He found himself wondering when she reverted to her usual serene demeanor: what is she thinking? He wish he knew. Motion was something he was flawless at reading, but people and their thoughts and feelings were other things entirely. Then again, he had a hard enough time with his own emotions.

What am I even doing? He was torn between continuing as if nothing had happened, and blurting out what had been on his mind the other night. If he was quite honest, it wasn't his own perceived mistake that was stopping him. It was the fact that for now he had to take care of her, which meant he didn't have the freedom to walk away or disappear if things turned ugly. He didn't have an avenue of retreat.

It felt difficult to continue holding Yuna's gaze, in any case, and Vergil shifted his eyes towards the kitten.

"I see," he mused thoughtfully. But really, it was all the same to him. It was just an animal. "There's no harm in waiting before naming him, I suppose. It's not like he needs one right this second." So long as they didn't leave it too long. But honestly, what the heck do you even call a cat? They didn't even know what its personality was like yet. If animals really possessed much of one. It was all foreign ground for Vergil.

[sendthefallen]

Yuna's hand remained where it was, laying lightly atop Vergil's forearm, as they spoke when he didn't move away or otherwise indicate that he disliked the contact. Still, as he broke eye contact with her to glance down at the kitten sitting top the blanket, Yuna did the same.

The small creature was taking turns between padding shakily around the uneven surface of the covers on her lap and sitting down to look up at them. The sight of its big, bright eyes made her smile. "Perhaps something will come to us later," she agreed, glad to leave the decision til later.

With that predicament decided (if only for the moment), Yuna's eyes lifted back up to his face as a question that had been swirling in her head for some time rose to the surface of her mind. It was something that she had put off, mostly due to other more pressing circumstances, but her curiosity got the better of her as usual.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened the night of Halloween after we separated?" Clearly, he had fared better than her, and the evening had been chaotic. Yuna found that, even though she knew he'd ended up safe and at home with her, she couldn't help but want to know more.

[blue_darkslayer]

Vergil continued observing the kitten for a moment longer following Yuna's question, musing. He couldn't help but be a little amused by its intent staring. Given how huge they must appear in its eyes, it came as a surprise that it wasn't intimidated. On the contrary, it was either fearless or completely oblivious. He, not it. He'd been thinking of the creature as a material thing.

He glanced back across, then. "Do you remember the man I mentioned back during the meeting with Date and the other daimyo?" he asked, before continuing, "Ishida Mitsunari. Right after we parted ways, Koujurou found me and asked for my help finding Date, who was apparently missing. It turned out that he was in the Shopping District as well.

"Mitsunari located him at the same time we did, and he was after Date. One of the other daimyo, Chosokabe Motochika, was with him so Koujurou and I had to intervene." He grew thoughtful, then. "Now that I think about it, that's the first time I've had to fight Weapon and Meister versus Weapon and Meister." It was nothing short of a miracle that he'd come out at the end of the night without serious injury.

"After that we went to rescue Date and Dante. They'd been fighting one of the infected Berserkers. Dante had - unsurprisingly - tried to fight them alone, Date had come to his rescue, together they lost, and then Koujurou and I had to finish what they started."

Overall, his night had been pretty eventful.

[sendthefallen]

Yuna nodded. "Yes, the one who was...angry a lot." And apparently hated several of the other people at the meeting, including Dante's partner, Date. After that, Yuna listened to his story intently, attempting to hide the silly bouts of worry that formed as she heard about the danger he had been in.

It was certainly foolish of her to worry now, when the evening was done and over, and he was clearly safe. Vergil was fully capable of taking care of himself in a fight, but the idea of him being in danger always made her nervous, especially after having to take care of many of his wounds.

At the mention of the kind of fight he'd been involved in, Yuna tilted her head. "Oh, so Koujurou is a Weapon? You wielded him?" That was definitely good news. Vergil had been having difficulty with resonance, but if he'd been successful with another Weapon, than perhaps they were on the right track. "How was it?"

From the sounds of it, and the fact that he was completely unharmed, Yuna could guess that it had gone well enough, if not better so.