DAYDREAMTOBER 2024 [DAY 15 / FAMILY]
╭──→ 💭 ── DAYDREAMTOBER 2024
│ 🌫️ PROMPT ❞ 15 / family
│ 🌫️ PARAS ❞ gaz dellacroy, natalia dellacroy, oscar dellacroy, irene dellacroy, seth dellacroy, luciana potenza, harley dellacroy, rowan dellacroy
│ 🌫️ PARACOSM ❞ eternal labyrinth
│ 🌫️ WORD COUNT ❞ 1,444
╰──────────── 🤍
Was gonna write about Cali meeting Rowan’s family for the first time, BUT it would’ve been a little complicated. The joys of having your paras go to an alternate reality for fun. THEN it was gonna be more infodumpy. And now it’s just a one shot of Seth acquiring a small child.
Technically a rewrite, since I did write about this scenario before, but that was back when Egyptian & Norse mythology was still part of this paracosm and obviously things have changed since then.
You know the drill. Not proof read or edited.
Seth knew he was in trouble when his parents called for him. Not serious trouble, hopefully, but trouble nonetheless. He swallowed, trying to push away the knot forming in his stomach. He was a grown man. For all he knew, his parents were just announcing that they were moving to the countryside.
Satisfied with the thought that their summoning of him probably had something to do with their retirement, Seth opened the door perhaps a little too eagerly, given what actually ended up being on the other side.
There were his parents, naturally, sitting next to each other. His brother, Oscar, and his wife, Irene. Harley, their son, was notably absent, though as he was only two, they probably opted for a sitter instead.
In the middle of the couch was Luciana.
It had been more than a couple months since he had seen her last. Really, he should’ve been more concerned that he hadn’t heard from her as of late. Then again, the two never had consistent contact with each other. Seth was sure he wasn’t Luciana’s only sexual partner.
“What are you doing here?” He asked. Luciana adjusted the ball of cloth she was holding. It was then that he realized — “Is that a baby?!”
Luciana gave a nervous look to Natalia, who returned with a glare before sighing and turning to Seth. “Yes. Luciana has reason to believe it’s your child.”
Seth wished he was sitting down. He should’ve moved to do so, but all he could do was stand there with a blank look on his face. “What.”
His mother raised her hand to stop him from saying more. “Nothing is confirmed yet. We will do a DNA test, and if the results say that you are the child’s father, then—”
Oscar cut their mother off, throwing a packet onto the table. “He is. I already checked.”
Natalia glared at him. “I told you, we were going to wait until—”
“I’m a detective, Mom. I had to know.”
“Don’t blame him,” Gaz said. “I asked him too.”
Before Natalia could scold both of them, their words finally sunk in for Seth. “Wait, you knew?!” He glared at Luciana. “You thought you had my child and you went to my parents?!”
Luciana shrunk, averting his gaze. “I wasn’t sure how you’d react. You always avoided the topic of having a family.”
“Yeah, a family with you.” Seth spat out.
“Enough!” Natalia exclaimed, regaining control of the room. “What’s done is done. Seth, honey, sit down. You look like you’re about to faint and I’d rather you have a short fall if that’s true.” Seth did as he was told, choosing to sit as far away as he could from Luciana.
Gods, he knew he should’ve been more careful when fooling around with her. He knew it. It was always in the back of his mind: wear protection, make sure she was taking birth control. But neither were the type to be cautious about anything. Maybe that’s why they never progressed farther than friends with benefits. Not that Seth minded, the benefits were enough for him. He didn’t particularly care for that lovey-dovey couple shit most chased after their whole lives.
Natalia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I think questions are in order.” Luciana looked offended, and opened her mouth to say something before Natalia continued. “No. You kept my son’s child and my grandchild a secret. If you wanted privacy, you wouldn’t have come to us.”
Luciana seemed to accept this. Long enough for Seth to ask the one question his mind could think of right now: “Why didn’t you just…”
“Get rid of it?” He nodded and she shrugged. “Realized too late. Gestation period is different for Halflings. It only took four months for me. By the time I realized, he was halfway cooked.”
Seth’s eyes softened. “It’s a boy?”
“I haven’t named him yet. I thought—” She looked up at him. Somehow, Seth felt bad that there were tears forming in her eyes. “I thought maybe you’d have a name in mind.”
“If I had time to think about bringing a child into this world, I might even have several. We can — I’ll decide on a name later. After you’ve explained yourself.”
Luciana scoffed. “What else is there to know?! I got pregnant and had your son. That’s the full story.”
“You didn’t say why you came back,” Irene piped up. She had barely said a word, aside from the occasional whisper to Oscar. “While I’m sure we…appreciate you telling us, there must be a reason for doing so.”
She blinked. “Ah, haha,” laughing awkwardly, she looked around the room. “Isn’t wanting my sweet boy to know his dad enough?”
“No,” Seth said. “If you really didn’t want him, you would’ve given him up for adoption. Or, I dunno, figured out a way to abort him.”
Luciana closed her eyes and sighed. “Fine. I want you to take him. And, y’know, some money.”
There it was. Good ol’ Luciana.
“Hang on,” Gaz said. “What do you mean ‘take care of him’? And where’s this talk about money coming from?”
“Since I found out so late, I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. I’m low on funds due to medical bills and needing to pay some friends back.” She paused. “As for ‘take care’...I—I don’t want this baby. I never wanted to be a mother.
Seth laughed. “Money. Typical. Is that why you didn’t get rid of him? So he could be a bargaining chip?”
“No, I—”
“Save it. I know you, Luciana. You only care about yourself.”
She shifted in her seat. “Th—which is why I can’t take care of him…?”
“Are you serious?!” Seth yelled. Oscar put a hand on his arm, perhaps a touch too firmly to keep him on the couch. Seth was thankful, for he felt ready to leap over and slap her.
“Please,” she pleaded. “I can’t take care of a kid.”
“And I can?!” Seth snapped. “Luciana, you can’t just throw this on someone!” She looked down at the child, avoiding Seth’s glare. He sighed, running a hand through his hair to try and calm himself. A hard task, it seemed. His mind could barely form a coherent thought.
Thankfully, his mother seemed to have thought this through already. “Luciana. You understand that if you give the child to us, you won't see him again?” Luciana blinked. “If you stay, then you and Seth would have to work out a custody agreement. We are willing to work with you on that. Gaz and I will even provide funding for you to repay your debts. But if — and only if — you stay and take responsibility.”
The room was quiet for a while. Luciana looked to Seth, as if to plead with him. He just glared at her. She looked down at their — his son. Seth knew the child was solely his when Luciana sighed. Her slowly moving to put the infant in Natalia’s arms was only confirmation.
She didn’t say anything as she left the room.
Oscar and Irene politely excused themselves, their presence as moral support no longer needed. Part of Seth wished they stayed. Maybe then this moment wouldn’t feel so…real.
“Save it,” he said when his mother looked at him. “I know what you’re thinking. I don’t want to hear it.”
Natalia hummed. “Well, if you already know what I want to say, then there’s no point in repeating it. Would you like to hold him?”
“Gonna have to at some point.” Seth mumbled, switching seats so he was closer to them.
Babies always looked relatively the same to Seth. They were small and wrinkly, with smushed faces and minimal defining features. And yet, there was something oddly endearing about the one he was currently holding. Maybe because he had some of Seth’s DNA, and Seth was, naturally, a handsome man. But as far as babies go, he didn’t mind staring at this one a little longer.
“I know it’s still sudden, but do you have a name in mind?” His mother asked. “It doesn’t have to be permanent. We can change it when all the paperwork is filed properly. But just for tonight, I’d like him to have a name.”
Seth thought, staring at his child’s unopened eyes. He never thought about having children. Thinking of names for someone that would likely never exist seemed like a waste of time. “Rowan sounds nice,” he said aloud. His parents nodded in approval.
He looked down at his son. At Rowan. “That was probably the easiest decision I’ll ever be able to make with you, isn’t it?”