Nero groaned as he woke up, he looked around and saw he was in the living room at Dante's house. He didn't realize he fell asleep. He didn't see Dante in the room, though he figured he was in the kitchen when he smelt something cooking. It smelt amazing, Nero couldn't resist, he had to go check and see what it is. He stood up and slowly walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. He got an idea on what it is and was hoping he was right.

When he entered the kitchen, he saw Dante standing over the stove, cooking something in a skillet. He just stood at the entrance, not wanting to go any further but unsure why. Dante turned his head and saw his nephew standing at the entrance to the kitchen. He smiled lightly and said "Why are you standing there?" Nero shrugged and said "Don't really know." Dante turned his attention back to what he was cooking and said "Hope you're hungry, lunch is almost ready."
"Lunch?" Nero asked confused, Dante smirked and said "Yeah, it's lunch time. You were asleep for a long time."

Nero just stood silent, surprised he didn't sleep longer, he didn't get good sleep last night. Now he's thinking if he should stay here, he'd get better sleep and better food. But there was a good chance of Vergil finding him here. Nero was taken out of his thoughts when Dante handed him a bowl. He looked down and saw it was filled with rice, gravy, beef, and mushrooms. Nero smiled, he loves this stuff. Dante led him to back to the living room.

Dante sat down on the red leather couch and Nero sat down next to him. They turned on the T.V. , switched the channel to the Travel Chanel to watch Ghost Adventures and started eating. Nero slowly ate his food, wanting to savor it, not sure when he'll eat good food again. He decided not to stay, fearing Vergil would come here and catch him. He doesn't want to see his father, but part of him does. Part of him wants to go home and see his dad so bad.

Nero was about to cry but he quickly caught himself and cut off his emotions. He ate his last bite and set his bowl on the coffee table, rubbing his eyes out of a sleepy reflex. Dante caught him doing that and said "The rain isn't supposed to end for awhile. Go and take a nap. I still have your room set up." Nero yawned and nodded, getting up and thanking his uncle. He immediately went to his room and plopped down on his bed.

He looked around the room and saw his backpack was in here, 'Good.' Nero thought and pulled back the blanket, quickly getting under it and covering himself up with it. He curled into a ball underneath the blanket and enjoyed the warmth and softness. Finally he grabbed one of his two pillows and held it close, closing his eyes and soon falling asleep.

When Nero woke up, he saw on his dresser there was a plate of food and a note. He quickly but quietly went over and snatched up the note.
'Vergil is here, stay in here till I come to get you. Here's some food to hold you over.' Nero's heart dropped. He looked at the plate and saw there were two pieces of steak and a big mound of yellow rice. Nero quickly ate, overdoing it a bit, wanting to have the energy to get him back to his tree house through the rain. 

Nero ate one more mouthful of rice and grabbed his backpack, quietly opening the window and jumping out. It was dark, cold, and still raining outside. Nero shivered and sprinted down the street, not gonna stop until he was far away. The moon was out and shining brightly, providing enough light to see without the streetlights. Nero hoped he could make it to the tree house before the rain got worse or it got colder. He rubbed his arms to warm himself up a bit, feeling the coldness deep inside him.

At the edge of the city, Nero had to hide under a big elm tree, it providing enough shelter from the rain. He rubbed his arms furiously, leaning against the tree. He noticed his backpack was bulging out a bit more. He quickly pulled it off his shoulder and opened it, he smiled and sighed in relief at what he saw. There was a sweatshirt in his backpack, but Nero also noticed a container of food. He couldn't tell what it was and didn't check. Instead he put the sweatshirt on and zipped his bag back up, the sweatshirt instantly providing warmth. He allowed himself to warm up a bit more before sprinting into the woods.

~

Nero quickly ascended the tree branches, shoving his backpack into the tree house and quickly climbing in after it. The sweatshirt he was wearing was now soaked, and he himself was soaked to the skin. He quickly undressed from his drenched clothes and hung them out onto a branch that was protected from the rain. He dressed into a clean and dry pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt, wishing he packed warm pajamas. Nero opened his backpack and pulled out the container of food, attached to the lid was a fork. The teen smiled when he felt the warmth of the food through the container, maybe eating something nice and hot would warm him up.

Nero removed the lid and saw the steam immediately rise up. Thank God for insulated containers. Inside was more of the rice, beef, and mushrooms from lunch. He took the fork from the lid and instantly started eating, warming up slowly. Nero ate the mushrooms first, liking them a lot more than the rice but not more than the beef. After the mushrooms were gone, he ate some more of the rice and beef and put the lid back on. He stuffed it into his backpack and grabbed his blanket, wrapping it around himself. He curled into a ball and tried to sleep.

The cold was trying to take over the teen again, who shivered and huddled into a corner. He suddenly remembered something that happened last winter, now making him wish he was home with his father.

~

Vergil lit a few more candles before saying "Don't know how long till we get power and heat back." Nero just curled into a ball, being unresponsive. Luckily they lost power after dinner so they didn't have to eat cold food. But even then, Vergil has a camping stove in case something like this happens. Vergil watched Nero shake for a bit before leaving the room, heading off to his room.

Nero whimpered and grabbed the blanket that hung over the couch, wrapping it around himself. He shook and listened to the storm rage outside. He got on his knees and turned around, watching the snow come down angrily. He was so entranced by it that he forgot about how cold he was. His eyes went wide when he saw a branch ripped off a tree by the strong force of the wind.
"Cool." he whispered to himself.

"Okay, come here," Vergil said as he walked back in the room, carrying some warm clothes with him. Nero was taken out his trance and looked at his father, who said again "Come here." Nero sat still and said "I can't walk, my feet are too numb." Vergil quickly walked over with what he was carrying. His parental instincts kicked in, instead of handing the clothes to Nero, he quickly dressed him himself. He slipped a thick sweatshirt over his son's head, he put a matching pair of sweatpants on him and put a thick pair wool socks on his feet. Vergil kept these items plus extras in his closet, knowing they would be needed.

Nero's shivering lessened slightly, causing the corners of Vergil's mouth to turn upward, a slight smile appearing on his face. 
"Come with me, I'm gonna make hot chocolate, the heat from the camp stove will warm you up a bit." Vergil said and walked into the kitchen, Nero following close behind. His father attached a canister of propane to the little stove and started it up.
"Do you want homemade? It'll take a bit." Vergil said, Nero nodded. He only drink's homemade hot chocolate. Ever since his first time having it, he has never drank packet cocoa again.

Vergil grabbed the milk, water, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and salt. He set a pot on the stove and boiled the water for a bit before adding in the cocoa, sugar, and a pinch of salt. While his father stirred, Nero stood close to the flames, enjoying the warmth. He watched Vergil stir and grew impatient, wanting the hot chocolate now. Vergil could sense his son's impatience and said "Calm down, you need to wait only a little longer." Vergil added the milk and kept stirring. Nero groaned and leaned against the counter.

Vergil smirked, his son's display of impatience was amusing. He turned the heat off and poured the hot chocolate into two mugs, purposely giving Nero more than him.
The impatient teen turned happy and cheerfully said "Thanks!"  he eagerly drank his hot chocolate, though he burned his tongue and the roof of his mouth. He pulled the cup away and clamped a hand over his mouth. Vergil smirked and said "Got pizza burn?" Nero gave his father a confused look and said "What's what?"
"It's when you burn the roof of your mouth on hot food or drinks." Vergil said and drank half his cup, the heat not bothering him in the slightest.

Nero blew on his hot chocolate to cool it a bit, quickly drinking it afterwards. He drained his cup within seconds, sighing in content afterwards. Vergil smiled when he saw his son stop shaking, the hot chocolate did wonders to warm him up. He poured the rest of his hot chocolate into Nero's cup and said "Hurry up and finish, we need to head to bed." the teen nodded and drained his cup again. He put it in the sink and rushed upstairs, eager to get in his bed, hoping he would stay warm there.

As soon as he got to his bedroom door, Vergil grabbed his arm and said "You're sleeping with me tonight, we'll stay warmer if we sleep together." Nero groaned, not wanting to. He remembers so many times when he was little, he would crawl into bed with Vergil after having a nightmare. It was okay at the time but now Nero doesn't like doing that anymore, he feels like a kid when he does it.

"You don't have a choice, now come on." Vergil said and brought Nero to his room. He pulled back the blankets and two of the three sheets, waiting for his son to get in. He didn't want to but he was so cold so he got in anyway. Vergil got in after him and covered them. The bed was freezing and Nero started to shake, but Vergil pulled him close and said "Don't worry, you'll warm up in a bit." Nero shivered and curled into a ball, trying to warm up, but it didn't take long for him to warm up. The thick clothes, blankets, and sheets were starting to provide heat, but Vergil was providing plenty of heat. Vergil pulled his son closer to warm him up more, and soon they both fell asleep.

~

Nero whimpered and started to cry slightly, at the time he didn't appreciate what his father did but now he does, he even wishes he was here now to warm him up. He quickly grabbed his dry hoodie and put it on, remembering that Vergil said a way to warm up is to layer your clothes. Now he feels bad, he wants to go home now, but he can't. He already left, and he hurt his father so much. He doesn't deserve to go back. Vergil probably doesn't even want him back, after doing this to him. He slipped his arms out of the sleeves of his hoodie and kept them inside and close to his body, this helping to warm up. The teen closed his eyes and slowly fell into a restless, painful sleep. 

~

Vergil sighed and finished coffee, Dante poured him another cup and the elder of the two thanked his younger brother, taking a sip of the dark, soothing liquid. He watched it rain, hoping Nero was okay. It was so cold outside, Dante had to turn the heat on, a sign summer has come to an end. When thunder started up, the young father put his head in his hands and started to softly cry. Dante hugged him and said, "It's okay. I'm sure Nero is fine. The kid knows how to take care of himself." He lied at the last part, he just said it to comfort his brother. Nero can't take care of himself, that's why Vergil babies him, he feels like Nero is still a kid.

Dante hadn't talked to Vergil about that being one of the reasons his son ran away. But what they both don't know is that now Nero misses being babied, he realized it's hard to take care of yourself and even harder to be one your own. Right now, he wants nothing more than to be home and in his father's arms. Vergil picked his head up, not believing his younger brother's lie, he turned to him and said "Nero can't take care of himself. That's why I'm always with him and if I can't be with him then I have a babysitter for him. He doesn't know how to take care of himself." Dante then said "Yeah, but Nero hates his babysitter. He has told me before that he's a complete bastard." 
"Why didn't he tell me?" Vergil asked, Dante faked a sighed and kept up the lie, saying "He knows you had a hell of a time trying to find a babysitter for him because of how old he is. He didn't say anything because he thought you wouldn't be able to find another babysitter, then you wouldn't be able to go out."

Vergil sighed and put his head in his hands, thinking that is why he ran away. He already fired the babysitter though. He left early on the job, leaving Nero all alone. That was the day he ran away. Dante pulled away and went over to the counter, starting to make another pot of coffee. Once the new pot was brewing, he turned to face his brother and said "I could be his babysitter, you know he likes me and you know I don't mistreat him." Vergil nodded and said "If Nero ever comes home, you got the job." Dante smiled lightly and went back to sitting next to his brother.

Thunder was heard and lightning flashed, then the power went out. Now Vergil is the one to remember last winter. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he looked out the window, whispering "Nero, please be safe, and please come home."