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that-gay-guy-from-hell · 2 years

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Fear of the Devil: Nero x G/N Reader

Summary: It always was the same nightmare. Spurred on by your inherently inferior humanity when compared to your hunting partner’s two halves. This fear consumed your mind every night and he’d always come to comfort you; so why are you still afraid of him?

Takes place in the time between the end of DMC 5 and the twin’s return from Hell. Nero and you live at DMC during this time to keep an eye on the shop and whatnot. When talking about his “Devil Bringer” I am talking about the DMC 5 version; the DMC 4 version is highkey ugly as fuck ngl. I also understand that you wouldn’t be able to get over something like this as quickly as you do; and as easily… Just let me have this lmaooo Fun fact: “Without You” is my longest (current) story at roughly 7845 words, this is my second longest at around 6645 (give or take due to editing) 🧸💞🧸 Y’all know the drill by now; You use this; https://devilmaycry.fandom.com/wiki/Revenant And this: https://devilmaycry.fandom.com/wiki/Agni_%26_Rudra Oh! You also have a pocket knife ;) 💞🧸💞 G/N reader x Soft Nero. Un-established relationship. Nero and you have known each other since you were kids and lived together in Fortuna. Violence is used against the reader; minor blood warning--universe typical violence. Dirty jokes and thoughts from both of you Fluffy comfort.

“Ha!” you shoved Nero’s shoulder playfully, “I win again.”

“Tch. Whatever,” the young hunter sauntered to the dartboard and pulled out the darts. This was the third round of 301 that you’d won against the teal devil; despite him boasting about having a "perfect" aim.

You stretched and cracked your back, “Think I’m gonna turn in for the night--if that’s alright.”

Nero walked over to the desk and put the darts away in the top drawer, “Yeah, probably a good idea--we’ve got an early morning.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” you sighed.

The coffee table made a loud scraping sound as you pulled it away from its spot. Then you moved to pull out the couch; revealing the bed you’d been using for the past few months.

“Hey…” Nero leaned his ass against the edge of the desk (totally not checking you out) and stared with a raised brow, “You sure you’re gonna be fine tonight? You can stay upstairs with me if you want.”

A part of you wanted to accept his offer, however, you shook your head ‘no’, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”

Nero’s lips turned to a thin line and he squinted at you, signifying he didn’t believe you. Over the past few weeks, you had woken him up almost every night by screaming bloody murder. Hell, some nights you’d wake up screaming several times. He’d never force you to talk about it; but, he was as concerned as he was curious about what nightmares plagued your mind. All he knew was that you were beyond terrified from how loud your heart was and the overwhelmingly intense smell of fear. Despite all this, you’d always refuse his offers of staying with him. He’d stay downstairs till you’d tell him to go back to his room.

Noticing his stare, you raised a brow, “What?”

The teal devil crossed his arms, “Would it help if I stayed down here? I don’t mind, you know.”

You shook your head, “I’m alright, thanks though.”

He stood upwards and pursed his lips as he sighed through his nose, “Fine, I’m leaving my door open just in case--don't hesitate if you need me, yeah?”

A small smile tugged at the corners of your mouth and you nodded, “Okay.”

He hesitated for a moment before deciding to saunter to the stairs, “Good night, hot stuff,” he winked and smiled.

You laughed and tried to ignore the small butterflies that had formed in your stomach, “Night, handsome.”

Nero smiled widely as a light pink blush dusted his features. The stairs creaked slightly as he went up them and to his room. Leaving you to your own devices.

You went over to the light switch, flipping the lights off. The shop was almost eerie when it was this dark and quiet. So, in an attempt to combat this, you turned on some soft music on your phone. The pull-out couch squeaked as you curled up on it. You hadn’t even fallen asleep yet and you already felt a coil of fear begin to form. A small amount of envy pricked at the edges of your mind at how Nero doesn’t have to sleep as often as you; even though he typically does. If you could have it your way, you’d never sleep again.

A heavy sigh left your lips as you inevitably drifted to sleep.

===

The two of you stood back to back; surrounded by a group of miscellaneous demons. Despite the aching of your battered body, you were smiling widely.

“Best of Three?” Nero held up Blue Rose and had a smile that matched your own.

“You’re so on,” in your hands you held your own firearm, Revenant.

With that, the two of you split apart.

Nero emptied the barrel of Blue Rose and then pulled out Red Queen. In a vain attempt at winning, he began to use his wings to pull demons from your sightline.

“Hey!” you glared at him, “That’s so cheating.”

He laughed, “Says the one who stole from me last time.”

Without your attention leaving Nero, you outstretched your arm backwards and killed a Hell Antenora with a single shot. You rolled your eyes, “Bullshit, I had to help you since you were buried neck-deep in demons.”

“I knew what I was doing!” Nero jested.

The both of you laughed as you turned your back to take care of a few scattered Hellbats.

“I think I’m owed a--” you turned around to face him; however he was gone, “Nero?”

Feeling a slight breeze on your neck, you turned around but saw nothing.

“Okay very funny,” you crossed your arms, “You can knock it off now.”

Still nothing.

Your eyes scanned the area around you. It’s strange, you feel like something changed but couldn’t place your finger on it. There was no noise, no movement, no more wind--hell, there wasn't even any scent in the air. It was completely barren.

Confused and slightly alarmed, you continued forward down the road. A feeling of being watched crept around the edge of your mind as you picked up your pace to a light jog.

“Nero!” you began to call out, hoping for some sort of response, “This isn’t funny. Come on Nero.”

As you pressed onwards, you swore that you were going in circles; which wasn’t possible, since you'd only been going straight forwards. All the while, you called out intermittently for your hunting partner and began to fear the worst.

After what seemed like a lifetime, you came upon a new area. You slowly stalked forwards into the open lot, Revenant in hand. A quick movement in the corner of your eye caught your attention; however, before you could get a shot off, you were swept off your legs by someone else’s.

Now sitting on the ground, you glanced around for the culprit. Your mind was racing as you frantically looked around unable to spot anyone. Upon returning to your feet, you saw something once more. This time, you were knocked forward. Revenant went flying outwards and your twin scimitars--Agni and Rudra--had been pulled from your back; leaving you defenseless. With a groan and grimace, you pushed yourself up onto your feet. You spit a wad of bloody saliva from your mouth and wiped your bloody (and broken) nose.

Panic set in as you saw the movement for a third time, you decided to shoulder-roll sideways and managed to dodge the attacker. Once out of your roll and back upright, you finally got a glimpse at your attacker.

“Nero?” a pit began to form in your stomach.

His stare was soulless and cold as he turned to you. Something was off about him, but you couldn’t place your finger on it.

You began to cautiously approach him, “What the fuck was that for? I was just fuckin’ with you earlier you didn’t have to--”

The young hunter lunged at you and tackled you to the ground, only making animalistic growling in response. His hand gripped around your neck; which was notably his Devil Bringer.

“Fuck-” you grabbed his forearm and feebly attempted to pull him off of you, “Nero!”

Nero’s grip only tightened. Seeing no other choice, you squirmed as much as possible trying to break his tight choke. All the while, you dug for your pocket knife. Once you found it, you jammed it as far as you could into his ribs which made him release you.

Not wasting the chance, you kneed him in the crotch and shoved him off of you; leaving your knife behind. You stood back up and got ready to fight; putting your hands up. He looked down at the small blade and pulled it from his body, not flinching in the slightest. A twitch of his lip pulled up one side of his mouth into a smirk; which was usually comforting, but all it did was make you go pale.

He pocketed the blade and reached upward to retrieve Red Queen from his back. Without breaking eye contact with you, he thrust the blade into the ground in front of him.

Challenging you.

Your heart was pounding as the two of you began to circle one another. Nero had never asked you to fight like this and that doesn’t even include the evident intent to harm you.

“Nero,” your voice was loud but still quivered with an incomprehensible fear, “You don’t have to do this…”

All you got in response was a lip-twitch and snarl. Your heart skipped a beat as you barely dodged his pounce forward. He continued to try and grab you as you played defense; what else were you supposed to do?

That’s when you got an idea; maybe he put Red Queen there not as a declaration of his challenge, but rather, to taunt you. You and your weak human existence. Nero knew that you were at a disadvantage, so he put his prized weapon there to give you a chance… or maybe you were grasping at straws. Regardless, it was quite difficult for you to wield such a heavy blade so it wasn't the best plan… but it was the only thing you could come up with.

You slowly moved the fight towards the center of the lot; moving you closer to your only chance of winning. After he lunged again, you moved to pull Queen from its resting spot. Surprisingly, you managed to pull it out with ease, however, Nero was right back on you. Without thinking you moved the blade in a large sweeping motion; spinning on your heels for momentum.

The hunter went flying. You winced as he hit the ground causing dirt to fly up into the air. You looked down at Red Queen's blade, it had been spattered with his blood. With great effort, you held the specialized durandal with both hands in front of you; unsure of how to properly use such a cumbersome weapon.

With wide eyes and a hard swallow, your blood ran cold upon seeing Nero stand. The slash along his middle had healed and he looked pissed. In an instant, Nero was in his triggered form.

His voice was warped and filled with cold anger, one you’d never seen nor heard from your partner.

You swung the blade as he sprinted at you, however, his wings caught the edge before the strike landed. The teal devil grappled your forearms and, as he stared you dead in the eyes, crushed the bones in your arms.

You screamed and unwillingly released Red Queen; giving Nero the blade. With a stumble back, you grimaced as tears pricked at your eyes. If you hadn't been through as many fights as you have, you definitely would have passed out. Thankfully your adrenaline from being in fight-or-flight kept you upright as you stood with a slight crouch; even if you couldn't fight. You were unable to feel your hands as you jumped back out of the swing from Red Queen.

However, that quickly changed when he used one of his wings to grab your arm. With all his strength he yanked your arm harshly against your backward movement and pulled it out of its socket.

“Fuck-!" your voice cracked as you yelled.

Nero charged you again, not letting up. The two of you continued this for a few swings before he grabbed your leg. It wasn’t clear if it was intentional or not, but Nero sloppily threw you off to the side into a nearby building. The bricks cracked from the sudden impact of your body. Blood flew from your mouth as you felt everything inside you lurch and contort in ways it shouldn’t.

You landed on your side with your back to the building, leaving you to face and watch Nero. Each one of his steps made your body panic, doing everything you could to try and move. Ignoring the screaming pain of your body, you desperately clawed at the ground to move but it was hopeless. He stopped only a few feet from you.

Using his wings, he picked up from the ground; making you shout in sheer anguish. You were held in front of him as if you were nothing but a piece of meat being examined. His eyes were sharp as they locked with yours and you began to cry; unable to recognize your childhood friend through that goldenrod stare.

Without a second thought, Nero plunged Red Queen through your middle and pinned you into the building behind you. Your mind went blank as you felt the searing blade slice through everything inside you.

“Pathetic,” Nero’s eyes never left yours as he twist the blade and handle; adding to your pain.

Through your screams you heard something, someone, calling out to you.

===

The next thing you knew you were awake. Your head was spinning as you jolted upwards and violently grabbed whatever was in front of you… Which ended up being Nero’s neck.

“Hey--!” Nero grabbed your forearm, trying to make you release your death grip.

Which worked, kind of… you shoved him back and made him land flat on the floor. You then retreated as far back on the couch as you could, your mind still clouded in fear.

Nero groaned and stood up. He was in nothing but a shitty grey t-shirt and dark-sage-colored boxers with his hair an absolute mess. Without thinking, he piped up using his normally abrasive tone, “What was that--” his eyes met yours, “Hey…” you had a deer-in-headlights stare and were shaking. Nero’s voice slowly became softer with each word, “Hey, everything’s alright,” he got back onto the mattress and slowly eased his way towards you, “You’re okay.”

You shook your head and tried to move further into the couch as Nero reached his hand outward. His voice was barely over a whisper, “Easy, easy-- I’m not going to hurt you,” his hand gently brushed your leg.

You kicked at his hand and reached for anything you could; anything to defend yourself. Right behind you, in the corner of the room, were shelves with random items scattered on them.

Nero noticed you grab one of those items; which happened to be a half-empty bottle of beer, and ducked as you threw it at him. Seeing him dodge your pitiful attempt at self-defense made you crawl further up on the couch. Now you were sitting on top of the arm and back. Your eyes were dilated and your heart was pounding as you watched him sit up.

“Whoa-- okay relax,” Nero put his hands up with the palms facing you, “I’m not attacking you. You're safe. I'm not going to hurt you…”

The two of you sat in a standoff for what felt like an eternity--in reality, it was only a few minutes. The young man kept his hands where you could see them and didn’t move a muscle; only continuing to stare you in the eyes.

Tonight was the first time you’d reacted this violently to being woken up. Nero had never seen you this terrified before; no matter what hellish things you'd seen and been through. Seeing you have such an intense response made him want to comfort you; to help you.

Eventually, you spoke, voice scarcely audible, “N-Nero?"

“It’s me,” his gaze softened slightly, “You okay?”

You gave a small nod and looked away from him. Slowly you slid back down to sit on the couch, resting your body on the back cushions of the pleather couch.

Without skipping a beat, Nero moved to sit next to you. Your shoulders gently brushed together as you sat side-by-side. Another few minutes passed without either of you speaking.

“I think I’m gonna stay down here tonight,” Nero looked over at you, “I don’t know what is scaring you so much, but,” he looked down at your hand, wanting nothing more than to hold it, “I want to help.”

“You don’t have to, Nero; I’ll be okay,” you mumbled.

“That’s what you said earlier, only for you to start screaming barely an hour after I left you,” Nero cautiously reached for your hand.

Seeing his hand near your forearm, you flinched and yanked your arms away. With raised shoulders, you turned away from him, “No--!" your voice was laced with a tremendous amount of fear.

He gently grabbed your shoulder, “What’s going on… Did I do something--”

Your body lurched forwards, pulling you away from his touch. Quietly you whimpered, “Don't...”

“What-” Nero scrunched his face with his lips parted slightly in thought. He slid to sit in front of you, resting on his knees. The concerned hunter grabbed both your hands tightly, not allowing you to pull them away, “What is going on?”

“Please,” tears pricked at the corners of your eyes as you tried to pull away. Pulling your shoulders and legs as close to you as you could, you let out a half-choked sob, “I'm sorry.”

“This have to do with your nightmares?” Nero saw you flick your eyes up to his for a moment before you looked away again, “It does, doesn’t it?”

Your body shook as you began to cry and finally pulled your hands from his, saying nothing.

Nero leaned his weight back and rested his hips on his heels. A heavy sigh left his lips as he thought about what to do; about what this meant. That’s when it clicked.

“Your nightmares are about me; aren’t they?”

The glance upwards from you cut through Nero's soul; you were telling him yes without even needing to speak.

His expression fell as he realized the gravity of the situation. How could he comfort you if he was the reason for this in the first place?

“Could-” Nero’s voice was quiet, “you tell me about it?” he gently reached out and touched your leg with his fingers, “Please?”

You looked up at him, tears still sliding down your cheeks. No response.

Nero sighed and moved to sit back next to you, “I want to help you, but I can’t if you don’t tell me how.”

A few minutes passed of you sitting with him. The only sound in the DMC was the gentle piano music from your cellphone. If he wasn’t able to hear your heart, he would’ve figured you were telling him to fuck off; however, Nero noticed your heart rate was slowly returning to normal. Your legs had gradually relaxed in a crisscrossed position and your hands were in your lap; opening yourself back up to the world.

With a voice low and rough, you finally spoke up, “You sure you want to know?”

Nero looked over at you and met your bloodshot eyes with a nod, “Yeah, I’m sure."

“It’s always the same and,” you looked down at your hands as if they were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world, “it’s about you and me…”

Nero’s brow was furrowed sadly as he watched you struggle with your words.

“We are doing a normal job, but you disappear. I can’t find you for a long time and then I…” you swallowed hard, fighting back another wave of tears, “I get attacked by… you .”

Your partner turned to face you fully, a pit slowly forming in his stomach.

“You disarm me and then…” you looked at him for a brief moment, his eyes were filled with a sad expression as he hung on every word you said. You turned back to stare at your hands, “then I approach you, but something’s… something’s wrong.”

You shook your head, “You have your Devil Bringer still and don’t acknowledge me. Once I get up to you,” a shiver ran through your body, “you try to choke me out, but I stab you and…” your pulse and words quickened, “and we fight. I get Queen and hit you with it. But… but you…”

Nero noticed your sudden and alarming increase of fear, “Hey, you don’t have to continue if--”

“No,” you looked at him tears once more in your eyes, “I can do this.”

He nodded, allowing you to continue.

You cleared your throat and looked away from him, “You trigger and I can’t stop you. I tried to use Queen but you stopped it and…” you let out a shuddering breath, “you broke both my arms.”

Nero’s posture stiffened, “ What? ”

“I try to fight, but you toss me around and dislocate one of my shoulders.”

The young man’s face continued to become more distressed as he heard you continue.

“It gets blurry from here… I hit a wall at some point and everything just,” you shook your head, “breaks… but you aren’t done…” you unconsciously held your middle as your voice slowly became softer, “You impale me with Red Queen and pin me up on the wall… Calling me pathetic. I usually wake up after that…"

The room fell silent. Neither of you spoke as the air slowly became thicker with dread. Nero’s mind was racing. He's never hurt you, not once. The boy's overly stubborn about sparring with you because of his fear of doing just that. He expected your nightmare to be something less violent; maybe some harsh words or fear of being abandoned (similar to ones he has had), but this… this was more than he could’ve imagined.

The two of you had known each other since you were young. You grew up together. Played together. Fought together. After Nero was hurt and lost his human arm, you were right by his side. Despite his resistance, you sparred with him and helped him learn about his Devil Bringer--even if neither of you knew what it truly was capable of. It made his gut wrench in frustration. Here you are, afraid of him. Needing his help and he doesn't even know how to.

You looked over at him. Nero’s face had hardened into a pissed-off scrunch and you spoke with a barely audible voice, “Sorry… I said too much…”

His eyes widened as your voice pulled him out of his thoughts, “Hey, don't apologize," he noticed your hand on his knee and cautiously grabbed it, fearing you'd pull away again, "It's not your fault…”

The feeling of his calloused warm palm against your icy hand was a small comfort. You leaned against his shoulder, letting out a shuddered breath, “I just don’t know why this…” your voice trailed off.

In Nero’s mind, he was replaying the past few months and was trying his best to pinpoint why this would’ve started. That’s when he realized what unintentionally started this avalanche of twisted dreams.

A few months ago the two of you had been on a job together; which was nothing special, just destroying a demon nest. However, you were pretty concussed and having a hard time staying upright; relying on Nero to help you move forward. The two of you got into a bit of a tough spot when making your way back to the van. A group of Scudo and Proto Angelos cut off your exit. Knowing you weren’t able to fight, Nero leaned you against a nearby wall and told you to stay there.

The young hunter was doing fairly well against the small pack. Right up until he heard you shoot Revenant. Immediately he pivoted around and saw that you were being attacked by a stray Scudo Angelo. In an attempt to defend yourself, you put your forearms up as the Scudo Angelo bashed you with its shield. This landed you on your ass; which was bad since you were unable to properly stand back up unassisted. He saw that both your arms already had started to bruise and you were looking around, more confused than before.

Nero lost his cool and triggered. With a quick lunge, he tackled the Scudo Angelo to the ground. His hands were wrapped around the demon’s neck and he doesn’t remember much; although he knows he said some very aggressive words and strangled it to death.

After the demon was dead, he moved back to the few that remained and wiped the floor with them. This had been the first time you saw his triggered form and, from the look you gave him, it wasn’t a welcomed experience. He hasn’t used it around you since.

“Can I ask you something?” Nero leaned his cheek against the top of your head.

“Sure,” you had laced your fingers with his and were rubbing your thumb against his hand.

“Are you afraid of my trigger?” his tone was almost sad

You waited a moment before responding, “What makes you say that?”

“This all started shortly after you banged your head really hard on that one mission… which you also saw my triggered form for the first time,” Nero sat with bated breath.

Giving it some thought, certain things about the nightmare started to make sense. All you could do was nod in affirmation; knowing that it was a stupid thing to be afraid of.

The two of you sat for another few minutes as Nero mulled over ideas in his head on how to make this better. Before he moved to get up from the couch.

Once fully standing, he looked over to you, “I’ll be right back,” and disappeared up the stairs.

You moved to sit on the edge of the couch, letting your feet hit the floor. The music on your phone had begun to annoy you, so you grabbed it and turned it off. “Great…” you mumbled, reading the time on your phone: 2:33 AM. Nero and you were supposed to be leaving for a job in only a few hours.

“Here,” you turned to see that Nero had come back downstairs.

“...what..?” you were confused, to say the least. In his outstretched hand was Blue Rose.

“Well,” he smiled, “I think I know how to solve your nightmares.”

“By what? Shooting you?” you asked sarcastically with a raised brow, grabbing the revolver.

“Kinda, but only if you feel you have to,” Nero moved to the other side of the room.

“Nero--” you shook your head, “I am not shooting you.”

“If it's any better, they aren’t real bullets,” he shrugged, “figured holy water capsules should work, right?”

“You still have some? Damn,” you opened the chamber and, sure as shit, there were slugs filled with holy water, “Thought that you used them all?”

Your partner laughed, “Yeah, I have them in case of emergency.”

“Which this is?”

Nero answered without skipping a beat, “Yes it is.”

“Alright,” you stood up and faced him, “What’s the plan?”

“Sit back down, yeah?” with pursed lips you sat back down on the edge of the bed, “I figured …” Nero hesitated, “that if you see me triggered,” he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, “then maybe the nightmares will stop.”

“That’s a horrible idea, Nero,” you pinched the bridge of your nose, “These bullets may as well be real then; you’ve seen what they do to demons.”

“I’ll be fine, plus,” he smiled warmly at you, “I don’t think you’ll need them.”

You shook your head, “I think that this is a bad idea… but,” you flicked Blue Rose closed, “if you’re fine with it then I trust you.”

“Thanks, babe,” Nero winked at you making you roll your eyes and smile.

The room lit up a bright blue from Nero’s trigger. Your heart had picked up several paces and it took everything in you not to keep your finger on the trigger of the revolver. The teal demon stood only a dozen or so feet from you and had his goldenrod eyes trained on you.

Involuntarily, you had begun to tremble as your body replayed the several weeks’ worth of painful sleep. The two of you had locked into a stare. Upon doing so, you noticed that Nero’s eyes had begun to dilate slightly--reminding you of a cat. Your eyes broke from his as you began to scan over his body.

It was strange how Nero looks so different but still looks like himself. As much as you loved his short hair, it was nostalgic seeing him with longer locks--even if it was quadruple the length. Your lips twitched upward a bit as you thought about how you purposely learned to braid hair just to braid Nero’s. You found yourself wondering if it is as soft as his hair was before.

However, the moment Nero tried to move towards you, everything in you shot right back into a panicked state. He noticed and stopped his slow increments. A part of Nero wanted to speak and tell you that it was alright but figured that hearing his distorted voice would only make things worse.

After a moment of calming yourself down, you trailed your eyes down his arms and winced slightly at the sight. Although you already knew his Devil Bringer was essentially his triggered form's arm; you never got to look at the scaled skin and compare the two. Once more you found yourself thinking about your time on Fortuna together.

The first time you were alone with Nero after he lost his “real” arm, you spent nearly an hour just tracing the bright blue lines. It was soothing to you and Nero never understood why. He hated his arm for quite some time and was always apprehensive about you touching it. However, he never pushed you away or moved to stop you--maybe he liked it more than he cared to admit. You smiled and laughed to yourself at the thought.

While you were lost in good memories, Nero slowly moved forward and now stood only a few feet from you (you both were basically playing the world’s most tense game of “red light, green light”). The bright light thrown from his body snapped you out of your head and you tensed. You kept reminding yourself that it was Nero standing there and that he was still himself.

He stood still as you continued to look at him. With a slow panning sight, you wandered the faint lines of his pecs and watched his chest rise and fall. You wished that you were running your hands over him rather than your eyes.

Then you slid your gaze down his abs to the glowing highlights there, tracing them with your eyes. You remembered how soft the lines on his Devil Bringer were and wondered if the other lines were the same.

Your eyes then wandered to his hips and you froze. It hadn't hit you till now that Nero was practically naked right now. Butterflies formed in your stomach at the thought. Of course, you had seen his ass on accident more than once--even whistling at him a few times just to mess with him--but you'd never seen his front bits. A distant part of you wondered if Nero actually had a functional dick when in this form and if it was different than a human’s.

The teal devil had been watching you stare at his codpiece for some time, "Checking out the merchandise, huh?" Nero couldn't help but revel in calling you out, "Care for a sample~" even with the distortion, your heart skipped a beat at Nero saying such a thing.

Your face lit up bright red with embarrassment as you quickly sputtered in response, "I wasn't-- I just--"

“Uh-huh sure,” he laughed, “You know if that’s what I gotta do to help you--”

“Oh-- shut the fuck up--” you laughed and tried your best to play it cool.

Nero cocked his head to the side, “Still think I’m scary?”

You rolled your eyes, “You’re always scary, Nero.”

“Oh? Well then…” he smiled goofily and pounced onto you; not thinking about how this is the worst thing he could do right now.

In a panic, you raised your hands and defended yourself; completely forgetting about Blue Rose (thankfully). Along with your hands, you swung your feet upwards to push him. You grabbed his face with one hand and used the other to shove his chest. In the end, however, Nero was much heavier and larger in his triggered form so you couldn’t move him off of you.

Nero realized his mistake and stood upright, “Shit-- I didn’t-- I’m sorry,” as he stared his worry only grew worse.

Your face was pale and you had frozen in place; holding your hand upwards still. With a hard swallow and deep breath, you tried to relax, “Nero, what the fuck..?”

“I--” his goldenrod eyes were trained on your held-up palm as he slowly re-approached you.

“Nero?” you were confused and had a bad feeling start to grow once more in your gut; however, this was quickly replaced.

The teal demon kneeled in front of you and reached out to your outstretched hand. He held it in his hand with your palm up, “You're bleeding…”

You looked down and saw what he meant. On both edges of your hand were matching slices. At first, you were confused about what happened then you looked at Nero. The two spikes on his face had blood streaks along them: you must've nicked yourself when grabbing him.

You sighed, “Damn it… I’ll go take care--”

“Wait,” Nero placed his other hand on your leg, keeping you seated, “I’ve got it.”

“What--”

It was too late for you to question him; he had already moved to clean it. His tongue was hot as it ran along the sides of your hand. You wanted to be afraid of him, however, a pleasant chill ran up your spine. Seeing Nero kneeling before you and tending to your wounds; you couldn’t help but wander to tasteful thoughts.

“N-Nero,” you stammered, “st-stop.”

He flicked his eyes to yours and, without breaking eye contact, he took a long lick against your hand. You unconsciously bit your lip at the sight, making him smirk. It was strange seeing Nero with a split tongue; not to mention how well he seemed to be able to use it. You found a distant part of yourself thinking about what else he could do with his longer demonic tongue. After some time, the bleeding stopped.

The teal devil kissed both gashes and looked up at you with a warm smile, “There, all better.”

A breathy laugh is all you could muster in response.

“Regretting not accepting my offer, huh?” he stood up and had a raised brow.

“Hah,” despite your confident tone, your face was bright red with embarrassment, “You wish.”

He eyed you up and down, deciding his next move. Although his mouth was closed, you could see him playing with his tongue in thought. Combine that with his glazed-over stare, you squirmed at your perverse thoughts.

Nero’s eyes met yours as he leaned forwards, connecting his lips to your forehead, “It’s late, you should get some rest,” he stood back up and watched you begin to pout.

“I thought you said you’d stay with me?” you gave him the best puppy dog eyes that you could.

He opened his mouth slightly as if he were going to say something, but quickly closed them with a shake of his head. Without answering you, Nero moved closer. His hands sat on your hips as he picked you up.

A surprised squeak left your lips as you wrapped yourself around him--or at least the best you could. You noticed how warm he was and found that your eyes had begun to blink slower and slower. Nero carried you up to his room and gently laid you on his mattress.

Although you were laying back, you saw a bright blue flash of light come from your partner and moved to one side; allowing him to lay beside you. However, he didn’t join you.

“Where are you going?” you leaned up on your elbows and saw him on his phone.

“Hm?” he looked over at you, “Oh-- I was just telling Nico that we aren’t going to that job--at least not till later,” he jumped onto the mattress beside you, bouncing you a little.

With a bright smile, you chuckled at the ‘childish’ action of the young hunter, “You sure that--” you turned on your side to look at him and were met with him staring at you. A blush began to creep across your face once more as you stared back.

Nero and you have known each other for a long time, but you’d never gotten this close to his face; at least not for very long. Your lips parted slightly as you counted the plethora of colors within his irises. Those said sea-green eyes were flipping between your eyes and lips; waiting for a sign of acceptance or denial.

You pursed your lips as you noticed it, heart skipping a beat. A breath hitched in your throat as you copied his flickering sight. Nero moved closer to you, putting himself as close to you without touching you as he could. Without thinking, you moved closer and closed the gap between your bodies. He put one of his hands on your side, ghosting his fingers down it.

A sly smile adorned Nero’s face as he heard your trembling breath at his touch. It wasn't clear who moved in first, but the next thing you knew is that Nero’s lips were intertwined with yours. The kiss was slow and steady, kind and loving, sweet and innocent, completely pure. It didn’t last too long before you both broke it off, however, your faces stayed close together.

With a voice as soft as silk, Nero spoke, “You know,” he smiled and nuzzled his nose against yours, “I really wanted this.”

You sighed contently, “Me too.”

The two of you reconnected lips. The young man pushed his lips harder into yours and moved his hand from your side to your face, cupping it. Admittedly, Nero wasn’t the best at kissing but he was trying. It made you smile as you both continued to give each other gentle pecks. You took your hand and knead his side.

Nero whispered in between kisses, “God,” his voice gave you goosebumps, “I love you,” he moved his hand down your body and grasped your hips.

He moved his kisses down your jawline, “I love you, too,” you felt his teeth gently graze your neck, “Nero..!”

A strangled moan left your lips as he bit down on your neck. Once he felt it was dark enough, he placed a gentle elongated kiss on it and whispered; quietly enough that you barely heard him, “mine...”

Before you could respond, he shoved you over and pinned you beneath him. You cocked your head slightly, “Am I now?”

He stared at you for a moment and smiled sheepishly, “I didn’t think you heard that…”

“It’s nice, you know?” you placed a hand on his arm, “To know that…” you laughed slightly, “that you want me that badly, Nero.”

The teal devil laid on top of you with his head on your chest, “More than I can explain.”

You ran your fingers through his hair and noticed something odd, “Nero?”

“Hm?” he rubbed his head against you.

“This is going to sound stupid but are-- are you purring? ” you felt overwhelmingly stupid asking him something like that; there’s no way that--

“Mhm,” the sound got louder and his voice got quieter with every word, “It’s cause I’m happy…”

“Oh--” you ran your hand down the side of his face, “It’s nice.”

“Yeah?” he looked up at you without moving his head from its spot, “It’s only for you, babe.”

However, you didn’t respond. Nero looked up fully at you and noticed you were already fast asleep. A large smile decorated his face as he set his head back down. Resting easy, knowing that whatever frightening devils you might face that he would be right there to protect you

===

I don't know why, but I really wanted some Nero fluff ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 🧸💞🧸 What is currently in the works: Valentine's Devil: Dante x Male Reader (hopefully will be done by 2/14/23) Phantoms of the Past: Vergil x Reader What do you Call Me?: Vergil x Male Reader Tainted Purity: Vergil x Reader Stubborn and Old: Vergil x Reader … Yes I know that there are a lot of Vergil stories… lmao 🧸💞🧸 Also, I have to ask: do y'all like fluff or smut more? I don't know what y'all would rather want; I personally don't mind either way.

Want to see more like this? Want to read my work quicker and several stories that are not on Tumblr? Check this out on my AO3 (Linked here)

MASTER LIST FOR TUMBLR

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