["Child." Nero can't help but twitch a little every time he hears it. Though it's become obvious now that it's Vergil's stilted, stuffy attempt at a nickname or... an endearment, even, rather than some kind of insult meant to belittle or patronize him. It still earns his father a side-eye and a smirk, along with that teasing warning.]

Sorry to say, old man, showing you up's gonna be my victory lap.

[So far, "old man" has been reserved for Dante in the sense that Nero frequently calls him old. Maybe it's a good sign that he's comfortable enough to try it out on Vergil... in the sense that Vergil is, in fact, his old man.

And also old.

He takes another sip of his cocoa, and with his other hand turns down the volume on his wrestling match. They've started pummeling each other with chairs now, and this indicates he actually wants to chat with Vergil.

Nero would ask how Vergil trained his powers back when he was young, except he gets the feeling he already knows the answer. And that he wouldn't get a straight one out of Vergil anyway.]

My powers always have been kind of fucky. Always been more or less how I could best make it work, rather than actually knowing how anything worked.