(Part 15)

He waited anxiously for something to happen. He waited, while he fought fiercely. By any rights, he should be focused on his task at hand. Killing demons, slicing them apart with his sword, pulling them apart with his bare hands, kicking them down with his demonic abilities...

His brain could not get past the fact that all he thought was about her. Was she doing fine? Was she okay? Was she in trouble? He wished to all ends of the earth that he could drop everything and go to her side. He would just hug her, tell her that everything was alright, and that she didn't have to be afraid. He would kiss the life out of her, and face anything together with her.

He swore that he wouldn't blame her. He swore that he wouldn't even raise his voice at her. He wouldn't send her those silent emotionless looks that displayed his displeasure. He swore to himself that he would never do those things, but there was no one around to hear it. There was no one around to know what he had decided.

There was no one around to know how close to insanity he was.

It was almost by pure effort of recall that Vergil remembered Leah's best friend. He had long given up trying to cajole the secret out of Sasha, and could only resort to the one other person in the whole of Limbo that he knew his girlfriend would tell her secret to. It had been rather hard to travel to Fortuna at demonic speed, contact Nero to force the young man into letting his capable partner for a 'short break'.

Trish had suspected nothing when she packed her bags, but Vergil had been responsible and instilling the idea of 'coming back for a visit' in her mind.

There were many things that the son of Sparda could do. He could manipulate strong, independent demons like Trish into doing things that he wished her to do. He could place subtle hints in her life that reminded her of Dante. He could place hints that took root in her head, to motivate her to come back to Limbo City for a visit. He could guide her to the bar nearby Dante's place, and pretend to be surprised to meet her there. He could implore her to visit Leah, to influence the woman to get the secret from his lover.

What Vergil could not do was open his god-damned mouth to ask Leah what the secret was.

It was pathetic, and he hated himself for every second of it. He channelled his hatred to the poor demons who had been foolish enough to cross his path. Limb from limb, he tore each demon apart with savage rage at himself. What kind of a fool, and a coward was he? How could he still bear to call himself Leah's lover when all he had done was to avoid her since her hospitalisation?

How could he think of having a future with Leah when he couldn't even control himself, when he could only make Leah cry quietly alone at night? How could he dare to claim to love Leah when all he did in those nights that she cried quietly beside him... was only to stay absolutely awake and praying for her to find some peace? He never dared to turn around, never dared to face her crying expression, never dared to comfort her.

The demons were gone in a blink; obliterated. And still Vergil had the primal rage and need to do something. To inflict some pain, to do something that could make himself a little less disgusted at the shameful self he had become. With a roar of anger, Vergil punched through a nearby wall, his knuckles sinking into the cement, plaster and brick. The pain was nothing. Nothing compared to the fire that licked his heart.

"Someone's being an angry little bastard." The calm, cool and collected tone of a demon huntress who knew what she was doing sounded in the empty alley.

Vergil didn't move, spending all his efforts on regulating his breathing, trying his best to not let his anger radiate from every pore of his skin.

"Should you really be punching walls at this time, Vergil Sparda?" She asked again, this time her voice closer. She must have jumped down from the roof, but being the demon that she was, she made not much of any sound at all.

"What did she say?" He asked, not even bothering to hide it anymore. She probably knew that she had been unwittingly sent as his spy. But now that she was back, and she held Leah's secret... she had to tell him. She was his last resort before he went entirely crazy.

Crazy was not him. Crazy was what a demon would do, but he refused to succumb to that.

"I'm sorry, Vergil. I know that I was your last hope, but I really can't tell. It's something she has to tell you personally."

He sank to his knees, his hand dropping out from the crater he had created in the wall. He leaned forwards, his forehead leaning on the wall as he hunched. He didn't know what to do anymore. He was Vergil Sparda, but he didn't know what to do anymore. This was the first time this happened, and he was utterly destroyed.

"I can't tell you what her secret is, but I can give you words of advice to act on." Trish continued, sounding empathetic of his situation. He didn't even react –too tired to do anything at all.

"She is scared out of her wits. Leah is trying really hard to go strong, but the thing she fears the most is you. She doesn't fear the secret, but she fears you leaving her. I know you will never do that, but she is still scared. She can't speak, and she can only cry at night because she is afraid. Even if you promise her that you will never leave, deep down, the woman is afraid. You need to show her, somehow, that you intend to go to the grave with her."

"How do I do that...?" Vergil's desperation very nearly pushed him to the edge, but he clung on to the brink of sanity as if his life depended on it. He loved Leah. They were supposed to be able to get through things together. Lily had tried to warn them, and yet it had done little good. "How do I tell my lover that I'm afraid for her as well...?"

Trish must have never imagined to see Vergil Sparda in such a vulnerable state, and she realized that there was quite possibly no way that the couple would ever break up. They simply loved each other too much to give each other up. Trish finally understood why some couples like Nero and Kyrie could stay together forever. While the kid and his girlfriend generally had less problems with their relationship, the crux of the relationship was that they loved each other.

It was the same with Vergil and Leah.

The worry that had been plaguing Trish was gone just like that. While she had been looking for Vergil after talking to her best friend, she had been worried, for a moment, that she might find Leah turning up at her doorstep, dumped by a heartless son of Sparda. While she could gladly take in her best friend, and support Leah and her unborn child, Trish had been worried –for the moment –that Vergil could be heartless enough to turn his back on his pregnant lover.

Now it was clear as day to the demon huntress.

It would never happen.

No matter what Leah told her about Vergil expressing his dislike for having his own children, Trish knew that Vergil would change his mind. She just knew that Vergil would love the baby.

All Leah needed was a little more faith and courage.

"Lily told Leah one thing that she probably never told you." Trish decided that dropping a hint wasn't going to cause any problems. She still respected that Leah wanted to tell Vergil about her pregnancy personally, but she could see that the man was going crazy being kept in the dark. Giving him a little hope, a little piece of information wasn't going to hurt. "'Take care of her. Love her the same way you were loved. Remember what Mum gave up for the both of us, and you will understand her emotions.' Those were Lily's very words."

Vergil spun around to look at Trish, wondering where those words came from. Were those the exact words that Lily said to his lover? Why did Leah never tell him that?

But there were no questions to be asked, because Trish was already gone.

Vergil sat, without strength, leaning against the wall he had just punched, looking blankly at his hands. He knew that Trish had just dropped him an important hint. And for all his wits and intellect as Vergil Sparda, he could not make sense of it all. Take care of who? Love who? Who was it that Lily was asking his lover to take care and devote her love to? How did that lead to Eva, Lily and Leah?

He wrecked his brain apart searching for answers, but none of them came.

Trish watched from the roof, interest piqued. Would the ever-so-smart son of Sparda figure it out? She expected Vergil to be able to.

Then again, when his emotions was placed on the line, Trish was beginning to realize that Vergil was similar to Dante in ways more than one.

Essentially, when Vergil was emotional and out of control, he was exactly like Dante.

Stupid, slow.

But passionate.

Trish smirked, watching Vergil's frustration grow. The man couldn't come up with such a simple answer.

She shook her head and walked away.

She had done her best.

The rest was up to Vergil and Leah.

____________________________________________________________________________________

He led her on gently, feeling her uncertainty. Still, his mind was made up as he led her slowly towards the bench at the park. She had been locked up in the apartment for so long, not daring to step out for reasons that he didn't understand. But he needed to tell her things, and he felt that the oppressive environment of the four walls were going to dampen the atmosphere.

He needed to make things clear, before they completed the next step of their mission, which was ready for them anytime. He was partially surprised that neither of them had been visited by the angels yet. Azazel had emphasized previously that their mission had a tight timeline, and yet, he had been taking his own sweet time searching for answers. The weeks had passed by in a blink, and he had still afforded time fretting about Leah's secret. He wasn't sure what they were waiting for. Was his mother about to give him a signal to move into the next stage? Were Azazel and Eva watching them run around in their own lives?

He could hardly imagine Eva remaining silent if she could see the suffering that Leah had gone through.

"Where are we going, Vergil?" Leah asked softly, but he only looked back at her, offered her the smile that was reserved only for her, and didn't speak a word.

And so, in the peaceful silence of a comfortable afternoon, Vergil led his lover through the small greenery of the park, to the edge of the pond. It wasn't the most scenic of places, but it was what he had to make do with, considering he had come up with everything in his haste.

Trish's hint had done him little good, but her words of advice, coupled with remembrance of what Lily had warned the both of them, had settled the chaos in his mind. There was only one way that he could promise that he was Leah's man forever, and he had done everything else in a mad rush.

Back in the early morning, Vergil would never have imagined that he could make his decision in such a snap-moment. Now in the late afternoon, well into the beginnings of a beautiful setting sun, Vergil couldn't think of things any other way. Silently, he led Leah to a comfortable spot and sat her down on the smooth, well-maintained grass.

"Vergil?" Her worry was getting obvious in her tone of voice, but he only kept his silence as he left her there. The unspoken instruction for her to stay put settled within Leah as she watched with increasing worry as he retreated. He made quick work going back to where he hid his things, glad that demonic speed was his ally this time.

With an eye out for details, Vergil checked everything over once more before he emerged from the shadow of the trees once more, to see Leah looking out over the pond with a distant, fond expression. She had long given up trying to guess his intentions, and had simply decided to wait. If Vergil had planned to confront her about her secret... then Leah decided that the edge of a pond was a good of a place as any to break up and leave him forever.

"Leah." He cleared his throat gently to catch her attention, watching as she spun around to look up at him standing beside her with surprise. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts that his arrival had missed her.

What she saw took her words away.

Never in her wildest dream had she imagined that one day, she would be sitting before a rather beautiful scenery, and find something even more beautiful than the still waters in front of her, holding on to a bouquet of red roses in pretty prink wrapping. The bouquet had been an easy thing to get, but embarrassment was something that often got in the way of Vergil's quest for something so romantic. The pride of a man who had been ruthless, heartless and emotionless for the most part of his life had often stopped him from getting his girlfriend roses.

And now Vergil had finally done it.

Leah decided that her bucket list with Vergil was complete. She had already ticked off so many things while in her world: kissing him, cuddling with him, going to the movies with him, going on dates with him. She had even forced him to go to the amusement park along with her and Marielle in the past.

But this... this had to be the last thing on her bucket list with Vergil. He was finally giving her a bouquet of flowers.

"Vergil..." Leah jumped to her feet in an instant, her eyes glittering with touched tears. "Vergil, they're beautiful."

"I know you always wanted me to give you some flowers. But you never complained when I never did. You never said a word, you never asked for it. Your eyes always went to beautiful flowers whenever we went to the park. Marielle always asked me why I never seemed to give you any flowers while we dated. The truth is: I was embarrassed." Vergil explained. He had been embarrassed getting the flowers, but seeing Leah's reaction now... it made everything worthwhile.

"I know." Leah smiled, eyes wet. "That's why I never asked. I would never expect you to..."

"Leah, I know." He offered the flowers to her receiving arms, watching her admire its beauty. The beauty that could never be compared to the woman that stood before him at the moment. "Leah, I know you have a secret that you've been hiding from me."

And even though Vergil didn't need that confirmation, Leah's sudden tensing up answered everything. The fear came flooding back into Leah's eyes, along with a good measure of worry. Vergil saw all these, and could only sigh painfully. When would she free herself from the prison that she was placing herself in?

He closed his eyes briefly, taking in a deep breath.

"I know you have a secret, and I know you're afraid to tell me about it. I know that you are scared of my reaction to that secret. I know that you've been scared of me all this time since your hospitalisation and that you're scared that I would –for some reason –leave you because of this secret you're hiding." He confessed. He would never dare to tell anyone else that he didn't know a thing, but with Leah, he would dare to say anything. She was the only woman in the two worlds who had taken his heart, and turned it into mush. She was the woman who could make him turn into his true self –a side of him that was hungry and passionate for love. Not for just anyone's love, but only Leah's love.

"V-Vergil..." Her stutter only spoke volumes of exactly how scared she was. That was the problem; he didn't want her to be afraid anymore. He wasn't going to look for the answer anymore, until she was willing to tell him. He needed to trust her, and have faith in her.

He needed her to know that as well.

He put his arms around her, and pulled her against his chest, the flowers crushed between their bodies. But he just didn't care as he put her head against the crook of his neck and smoothed the back of her head.

"Shh. Just listen to me first." He urged, glad that she couldn't see the conflict of emotions on his face. He was so worried about her, and yet his determination was that she could sort out her feelings on her own. He wished so much to beg her for her secret, and yet he didn't want to force it out of her. He could only do things this way, to let her know that he trusted her no matter what she had done.

"I love you, Leah. I don't know what secret you are hiding from me, and I cannot promise you that I will not get mad at you if you tell me about it. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to remain calm when you tell me about it, Leah. But there is one thing I can swear on my life. I will never leave you. Even if you have given me the worst news, I will deal with it, and I will come back to your side. You need to know that I love you. I love you so hopelessly that sometimes, I wonder if all of my existence was created just for the sake of loving you." He whispered, not daring to speak the words aloud. The words were only for her ears, and he could never bear if someone else heard it. It was meant for only Leah, and Leah Katherine Cartlier only.

"I promise you my life, Leah. Even if something were to happen to us this very moment, I will not hesitate a single moment to end myself should you leave me. No matter what happens to us, I will never speak about leaving you. No matter what you are hiding from me, what you are afraid about me knowing... Even if you were to tell me that you have lost your faith and love in me, I will still never leave your side." He pressed a kiss on the top of her head, feeling his shirt getting moist with tears.

Vergil could only pray that those tears were touched tears, not guilty or fearful tears.

And thus, it all boiled down to the single-most important moment of his life since he met this woman named Leah Katherine Cartlier. He could hardly remember the times before he first saw her running towards him, emerging from the woods, fresh from travelling to Limbo. He could hardly remember any other woman's voice before hers, when she had told him to run away from the demons who had been on her tail.

He could not, for his life, remember the last time he felt so much love showed towards him when she first said she loved him.

Vergil pulled her out of his embrace, took a step back and fell to one knee. Her gasp was almost immediately cut off when he opened the box in front of her.

The tears coated her cheeks, but he was utterly relieved to know that they were happy tears.

"Will you marry me, Leah? I want you to be mine forever, no matter what future we have."

She shrieked a little, futilely trying to wipe away the tears leaking uncontrollably from her eyes.

She had been so scared, so worried for this whole time that he would leave her. She had had so many nightmares in the middle of the night, imagining the angry expression that he would have, imagining the hardness in his shoulders when he would walk away from her forever.

Leah had never imagined the hardness in Vergil's shoulders when he was on one knee in front of her, proposing to her.

And of course, there was only one answer for the man that she loved so much.