[who] Cyn and Luca [what] Cyn has some ... news. [when] Friday afternoon [where] Cyn's place [rating] PGish? [status] Complete.
It had only been a few days since she found out, but the world just seemed to drag on. She was scared and was not really sure how to feel about her news. Sure, she wanted this down the road more. When everything was settled and she was with someone for a while. When life was financially stable and she had plenty of backup and life experience. But not now, not like this. She knew that she could have told Luca before now, but she was scared. Cyn, for once, had no idea what to do. and so she hid. She hid away from everyone. She missed her weekly blog posting and her vlog update on YouTube. She never did that before, not even in the height of her school during finals weeks. She went to work, of course, because the only thing that kept her distracted and pretend like there was nothing wrong. She had yet to even tell her bosses about the fact that she was pregnant. She couldn’t even admit it to herself. She was walking around her flat when she looked at her phone. It had been off since she found out and her computer lay untouched as well. Nothing was going on that could make her feel better. Especially when she felt guilty about how she was ignoring Luca right after Christmas.
He had been perfect since they started talking at the ball. She never thought that he was such a nice person, Such the person she wanted to spend time with. She had half-apologized for giving him hell for so long, not realizing that he was really into her and not just chasing her for the fun of it. But this threw a wrench in her plans. She really wanted to get to know him- the few months it had been was not enough to really get a hold on their new relationship. And not this was going to fuck it up. In her musing over the past few days, she had come to terms with the fact that she was at least going to keep the baby. Maybe raise it herself if she could get everything settled and move to a better location. If not, she was going to give the child up. It’d be better than getting raised poorly. But there was a loud knock at her door that snapped her out of this musing. She looked over at the door and her heart dropped suddenly. She knew that voice. It was Luca. A part of her did not want to answer the door and face him. When he threatened to open the door himself, she gave up and desperately tried to hide the magazines about pregnancy and infants she had picked up outside of town by knocking them to the ground (failing as well) and opening the door.
She looked up at him with nervous eyes and she was a mess with her hair on the top of her head and baggy clothes. Her eyes were red from having been crying and she clearly did not want to see him, but regardless, she opened the door to let him in. “Hi…”
--
Luca didn’t really understand what was going on with Cynthia. She’d been sick at Christmas, and then she had barely spoken to him in the two days since. He silently wondered if she went to see a doctor like he had asked her to weeks ago. He was off duty today, and should probably be sleeping, but he couldn’t; he was too worried about Cyn. Like any rational person would do, he decided he should probably go and check on her and see if he couldn’t find out what was going on.
The route to Cyn’s was one he was well versed with. He’d learned a lot of shortcuts and back roads, so it took him less than ten minutes to get from the house to her apartment. He didn’t bother locking his car, and he wasn’t even sure he remembered to take the keys out of the ignition as he exited, making a beeline for her front door. He knocked, loudly, asking her to please open the door. When that didn’t seem to work, he threatened to pick the lock. It wouldn’t be the first time. Luckily, that seemed to have got her attention, and the door opened. He found himself looking at a very sad, very puffy, version of his girlfriend.
“You’ve been crying.” It wasn’t a question. The redness around her eyes was proof enough for him. Not bothering to ask to come in, Luca grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back into her apartment, closing the door behind them. He wanted to just wrap her up in his arms and hold her, but since she’d been avoiding him, he didn’t think that was going to help. “Do you want to tell me why you’ve been avoiding me?”
---
She had not meant to upset Luca. That was the last thing on her mind, in fact. He had always been there for her, so it felt wrong to do that now. But she could not handle being around anyone. No one had heard from her in the past few days. She almost forgot that Luca would take it personally that his attempts to get her attention would look like she was mad at him specifically. No, she was simply not really sure how she could talk to anyone about this. She had spent her time reading about it, trying to learn as much as possible. Trying to reorganize her finances to support this. She was simply forgetting the fact that she was sure he was her boyfriend. She had never really had a lot of experience with dating and right now, this was the worst introduction into it possible. Surprise, Cynthia! After finding out your mock prince charming was the guy you had been insulting forever, you are now carrying his itty bitty baby!
But the sound of him at the door made her feel instantly broken. She forgot to think about him in this and she tried to fix her expression the best way possible, She had been crying on and off for the past few days and she could not hide it now if she tried. Simply opening the door was the only way to face him, now. Cyn was sure he was going to be angry with her. She couldn’t read him as she allowed herself to be led back into her own apartment when he mentioned she had been crying. Cynthia whipped her eyes and looked away. She had nothing to say about it because he was right,
To Luca’s next question, Cyn had no idea what to say. Her mind froze in that moment. now that the woman was forced to try and give him an answer, she did not know what to say to him. She knew what she should say, but the words seemed to be stuck in her throat. Her mouth opened and closes a few times before giving up. She put her hands in her hair and turned away to walk toward the couch and coffee table trying to think. Her eyes filled with tears as she tried to find a way to explain this easily. “I’m not. I-” her voice broke as she continued to wander away from him.
--
On top of the obvious fact that she had been crying, she was now again on the verge of tears. This wasn’t good. Luca did not handle crying women very well, and this would probably be no exception. The only thing he could think of to do was to pull her close to him. That usually worked, right? So that’s what he did; he pulled her close, and he held her tight, stroking her back gently. “Hey. It’s okay, Cyn. Whatever’s going on, you can tell me, okay?”
As he held her, he looked around her apartment. It was messier than usual. His eyes scanned a pile of magazines that were laying haphazardly on the floor. Magazines about babies. Magazines about pregnancy. He was so preoccupied with Cyn that they almost didn’t register with him. Almost.
Luca’s eyes widened. His heart rate increased, and he could feel his chest tightening. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be … right? The few times they had been together, they had been careful. He hadn’t rushed things with her, because he knew that when the time was right, it was right. They had only been together a handful of times, and now this? But he was getting ahead of himself. Maybe someone she knew was pregnant. Yeah. That was a totally viable option, right? Except that wasn’t what his gut was telling him.
He took a step back from her and lifted her chin to look in her eyes. He needed to know. “I saw the magazines.” He took a deep breath. It was now or never. “Cyn, are you pregnant?”
---
She felt horrible about the way she had fallen apart. Her puppy, who normally ran around the place sat on her bed and cuddled with her, but did not like leaving the room until he had to use the bathroom or eat. Everything was in disarray and she did not know how to fix it. Well, she did, but she could not find the energy to do so. She instead let it get progressively worse as time went on. It was amazing how much clutter could gather in a matter of days before she was able to notice. In fact, she had not noticed how bad it was until he was in the house. Even at the worst of times in school, her small dorm room had been clean, save her desk. But this was not like those times. She was scared. She was confused and now she was not sure how to answer him. The woman allowed Luca to pull her in, not having the strength to fight him. Really, that was all she had wanted, but she was not sure how to go about even asking for it when she could not face him.
When he told her it was okay, she nearly cracked. Everything was very much not okay. It was a long way from okay. She did not know how to tell him so she just put her head against his chest and tried to calm down and find a way to tell him. They had been so careful. He had been such a gentlemen. He had been everything she was sure he was not all through college. Nothing was rushed. Even in their most heated time, it was not like they skipped caution. She was not sure how it happened, but it did. She had forgotten about the magazines already, figuring they were covered in the other pile of crap on her floor. It did not occur to her that he may spot the,
When Luca stepped away from her, the color drained from Cynthia’s face. She looked up at him, almost seeming guilty as he asked if she was pregnant. She should have said something faster. She should not have let him find out by looking at her pile of magazines on the floor. She could tell by his face and his voice that he was nervous. Neither of them were ready for this. They had not even talked about a far off future, never mind the baby talk. Finally she nodded quietly, tears welling in her eyes. She pulled away from him to cover her face so he wouldn’t see her crying. “I found out three days ago,” She told him in a cracking voice. “I didn’t know how to tell you-“ that was obvious as she had not said anything yet. She was not sure what he was going to do now and she was scared to find out.
--
Pregnant. The word echoed in Luca’s mind as he stood there next to her front door. He took a few deep breaths and leaned up against the wall. It was a lot to take in, and he took a few minutes to compose himself and to think.
It didn’t take him long to come to a conclusion; it didn’t matter. The fact that she was having his baby changed nothing in his eyes. Despite the fact that they had only been together a few months, he loved the girl that stood in front of him. He had known that for a while now. Having somewhat of a grasp on the situation, Luca put his hands on her shoulders, and walked her to the couch. “Okay.” He sat down, pulling her down onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her so she couldn’t leave. “We’re going to handle this.”
He took a deep breath again. Where to start? “I guess the first big question is what do you want to do?”
---
She was not surprised that her reaction to the news. It was a lot to take in, especially with how young they both were. This was a surprise. It was out of nowhere and it was scary. But at the same time, she was hoping he would at least take it well enough. Maybe calm her down. So she watched him as he collected his thoughts against the wall as she chewed her lip in silence. Her eyes were still stinging with tears. It felt like forever before he said anything, but it was only moments. Not even long ones. She watched him quietly, unaware of the fact that he felt that strongly for her. She knew he had cared longer, or at least was willing to accept her feeling longer than she was, so the fact that he was wanting to take care of her if possible never even crossed her mind. She just did not want him to leave her.
When he finally spoke, Cyn nodded a little. He pushed off the wall and walked to her. Again, she let him guide her to the couch, not really there enough to argue. All she wanted to was to hear he did not hate her for it. So as Luca pulled her onto his lap and held onto her, Cynthia melted against him and a few tears escaped. They were going to handle thing. That meant he was at least willing to work with her on it, and that meant the world to her. The fact that she was not facing this alone was enough to calm her nerves even just a little. She nodded again, resting her head against his. That was easier to take than if he had just left.
When he asked what she wanted to do, the nerves hit her again. He had gotten over the first shock, but there was still this bit of news she had decided on. Her mind was set on it and she knew that it could be a deal breaker for him. Regardless, Cyn took a moment, fingers playing idly with his thumb before responding, “I’m going to keep it.” She took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford to raise it, but if not, I’ll put it on a list for a family to get her as she is born. You know, at least she’ll have a good family if I can’t be there for him or her.”
--
She wanted to keep the baby. He felt himself relax just a little, and he let out a slow breath. The faintest hint of a smile twitched at his lips, but didn’t make its presence quite known yet. “I’m glad you want to keep it.” But when she mentioned not being able to afford to raise it, he frowned. Did she think he was just going to let her go at it alone, or was that just her way of telling him that even though she planned on having the baby, she wasn’t sure she wanted to actually raise it? No. That wasn’t Cyn. If she said she wanted it, she wanted it.
He laced his fingers with hers, and let his thumb lightly stroke the back of her hand. “If you want to raise the baby, Cynthia, then that’s what we’ll do.” He brought her hand up and kissed her knuckles, never once letting go. “If you want, we can get nice, big place. Something with a nice back yard, I think. We can set up a nursery in one of the rooms, and when he’s older, I’ll teach him to play football out back, or if it’s a girl, you can teach her how to dance.” Yes. While it hadn’t exactly been in their plans, Luca was determined to make the best of this. The truth was, he had always wanted the stereotypical picket fence family life. He hadn’t expected it quite this soon, but somewhere, underneath the shock and the rational thought, he was a little bit excited.
It was then that he realized that he had been talking a whole lot of ‘we’. The way she was talking, it sounded like she didn’t expect him to stick around; to contribute to something that was as much his as it was hers. “I want you to know that you don’t have to do this alone.” He told her, running a hand over her hair. “I’m here, for as long as you want me to be.”
---
She may not have been expecting it, but she was not going to just give up on the option to raise the baby. She just was not sure she would be able to. Even more, she had not even thought that he would be willing to stay with her and help her out. She hoped, of course, but she knew how men could be. A lot of people she knew in school who had been in the same situation that saw their man leave them. And they had been together for longer. Maybe she was just fooling herself in hoping, but that was her dreamer side coming out. Her heart began to pound as she realized that he was happy to hear she was keeping the baby. She looked around at him, not seeing that hint of a smile. Still, she was surprised to hear he seemed not scared off by the idea.
And then he said if she wanted to raise the baby, they would do just that. The blonde smirked slightly blushing. The girl was happy, of course, but she was not sure how to respond to that. Mostly because the words suddenly disappeared as Luca continued to explain himself after kissing her hand lightly. The talk of the big house and a nursery were enough to make the tears start welling again, but for a good reason this time, The smile tugged at her lips as he continued. of course it was football, what was wrong with basketball? And dance. Finally, the well broke and she turned, burying her face into his neck. She thought he was going to be mad or at least a little put off by the idea. This was very much the opposite of what she was expecting. He seemed excited and happy about it.
It was not long before she had herself under control again. Cyn pressed her lips against his collarbone and smiled. “I don’t think I could get rid of you now if I tried,” she replied with a little bit of humor returning to her voice. Her arm moved behind his back and he tried to calm herself. “I just don’t know if I am ready. I don’t want to be like my stepmom.” She was terrified she would end up being mean or possibly raising her own spoiled hellion child who wanted everything for themselves.
--
He hugged her to him when she buried her face in his neck. Letting his fingers get tangled in her hair, he kissed the side of her head and smiled. Despite the fact that this was completely unexpected and a little insane, Luca was happy. Sure, they weren’t totally ready for it, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make it work. He shook his head a little, still grinning. “Nope. You’re stuck with me, now.” He was glad to see that she was finally relaxing, and acting a little more like herself.
When she mentioned her stepmom, he frowned. How could she ever think that she would be anything like that wretched woman? He turned so he could lift her face up, and stare directly into her eyes as he spoke. “Cynthia, there is no way on earth you could ever be anything like that woman. You are so much better than that.”
----
Perhaps it was simply because he was so calm right now, but Cyn felt a lot better about the situation. She had been scared for no real reason, it seemed. She had figured the man, who always seemed to be ready to live the high life and not settle just yet was still full of surprises. And he was also willing to be there for her and be happy in her choice. The hug only made the woman feel better, relaxing in the feeling of his hand in her hair as the other held her hand still. Maybe this would work out better than her worst case thoughts had calculated. He certainly seemed more than willing to ensure that it did. In fact, he seemed to be able to make the whole situation seem like it could be a good thing. “I’m sure I’ll find times to complain about that later down the road,” she teased him, not moving from her spot on his neck.
The silence after her comment made her pause in concern. She was not sure what he was thinking and not seeing his face was not helping either. Sure, she knew she did not have a mean bone in her body, especially not compared to that woman, but it was the fact that she may over indulge the child and make her a pain in the royal ass that she was also afraid of. She knew her father and mother made sure she learned the meaning of no and she hoped she had the same strength in her to not simply give in because it was easier. When he lifted her face to look at him, she could tell he did not like her answer before he even spoke. “I guess it’s just a fear I’ll have in the back of my mind, making more monsters like I have to work against your ego.” The playful bite was back in her tone as she felt herself relaxing more. Luca was full of surprises it seemed. “You don’t have to do all that if you don’t want to, I didn’t think you were just going to leave,” entirely. She was still unsure if he was offering because he genuinely wanted to live with her or if he felt he had to. She did not want this to become a shotgun wedding-like situation.
--
He continued to hold her like that, content in the moment. He laughed a little at her comment, and kissed the top of her head. He was glad that she was finally calming down and cracking her usual jokes. It made it easier on him as well. The calmer that Cyn was, the calmer it seemed that he was, which was saying a lot, since he was handling this a lot better than anyone (himself included) could have expected.
Leaning in, he kissed her softly. “You don’t need to worry about that, Cyn. I have, without a doubt in my mind, that you are going to be the best mother to this child.” He kissed her again before removing his hand from her chin. “I know, but I want to do this. I’m not going to let you go through this alone, and frankly, I love you. I would be crazy not to want this.”
---
Handling it better than anyone thought was the best way to sum up how he was handling things. No, she was genuinely surprised to see that he was not freaking out about this or even slightly mad. She figured he would have been at least less calm, if nothing else, yet here he was. Making it seem like they could take this on and make it through like they had been together forever. Sounding like planning for this over the next few months would not be an issue and that he was ready to start as soon as possible. All the talk of a house and being together to raise the child that was about the size of a walnut at the moment was more than shocking to Cyn, but it was also touching. She seemed to always be misjudging him, even now, when she knew he was not the selfish asshole she once had to throw out of the dorms every night. “I’d settle for just a good mother,” she replied to his comment, but enjoying the way that kiss felt.
When he removed his hand from her chin, she continued to look at him. She could tell there was something else he wanted to say, so she waited for it. When he did, Luca proved once more how effective he was at throwing the woman for a loop. She had not been expecting that word, not for a while. Sure, most people were “in love” with their boyfriend and girlfriend after the first few months, but they had not started saying it yet, and it scared her. She was not sure she knew if she was in love. She had barely dated before him, so everything was new and altogether different. She did not want to say it and realize later that she wasn’t at that point yet, but she did not want to leave him hanging. But Cynthia knew she felt something strong, and so, despite her confusion and shock at his confession, she felt a smile form as she nodded. “Not too big of a house, I don’t want it to feel empty while you’re at work and I’m not,” she told him, resting her head against his.
--
He was perfectly okay with her not saying it back. Luca knew that sometimes, it took time to realize that you were in love with someone, even when your feelings were strong. Not everyone was as sure of everything (most of the time) as he was. He wasn’t about to let it bother him that she wasn’t quite ready to say it back to him. When, and if, she was ready, the words would come. He wasn’t going to push it.
When she said not too big of a house, he nodded. “Alright. If you want, I can see what the office has on the market and we can go look at them this week? Or whenever you feel like it.” He actually knew of a few pretty nice ones off the top of his head. Maybe he would just send a text to Cai and have him email the files to him. That seemed easier in his mind, and it gave Caius something to do instead of playing on his 3DS all the time. That’s what friends were for, right?
---
Time. Maybe that was what she needed, But Cynthia was glad to see he did not seem like he was upset with how unsure of her feels the girl found herself. This was all new and sudden- everything. The baby. The magic word that usually meant dangerous things in a relationship from what she knew. The girl was in a bit of culture shock. More so than when she first started dating someone who had a jeep worth more than her life savings would have ever amounted to. She just needed time to get used to it all, she knew that. But still, she smiled and rested against him. At least she had Luca around to help her figure things out.
“I still have two months on my lease, so that gives us time to get settled I guess,” she told him. She hadn’t even thought about the moving part yet. But maybe getting the place sooner would be the best. Get them prepared. As prepared as people could be. Then something else hit her and she felt the color drain from her face. There was one thing she had yet to do still when it came to her relationship with Luca. She had met his family, but she had never been to the house. She felt awkward just pulling up to the driveway. “Should we wait to tell people? Your dad will wonder why you are moving out,” she commented. She was glad her stepmother would not care that she was pregnant. After all, she was all but disowned. Maybe it would make the cow happy to think Cyn was going to be scorned for this, but she did not care. His father, on the other hand, was another story.
--
Luca hadn’t even given a second thought to how his parents were going to react. His mother would probably be thrilled. She always wanted grandchildren, and was always pushing Luca to settle down and have babies. His father, on the other hand, was not so on board with his mother’s ideas. He wanted him to be married to work first, and that just didn’t sit well with Luca, at least not when he was still working for his father. He hoped that he heard back from the jobs he applied for with the fire department and the hospital soon.
It was a good question. Should they wait until they had things figured out in a bit more detail before they started spilling the beans to everyone? He thought on this for a moment, and decided that he didn’t really care about what his dad thought. “My dad can shove it, just like he had to do when I quit my job.” He said, lightheartedly. “Whenever you want to start telling people, we’ll tell.”
---
Perhaps it was easy when your family liked you. She was still unsure about how her sisters were going to react. Probably make it sound like she had planned this from the start or something to ruin the moment for her. In fact, Cyn kind of hoped her sisters and step mother would ignore this entirely. After all, they were doing a grand job of it with everything else other than claiming he was with her out of pity. His family, she still was not even sure who liked her. His mother seemed genuine enough and his brother was nice. It was Luca’s father that she was more worried about. She took a deep breath as she waited to hear his response. When he said his father could shove it, she smiled and closed her eyes. So very Luca.
Who should they tell? I mean, she knew that Cai would find out before the night’s end because that was Luca’s best friend. If they waited any longer, his tender feelings would be crushed. And they were tender at times- his ego is worse than Luca’s. Parents were another thing. “Maybe when we have a better idea about the housing.” She took a moment and finally looked back at him. “I’m sorry for cutting you out like that. I’m just scared.”
--
He nodded in agreement. “I think that sounds like a good idea. If we find a place earlier, I’m sure I can get you out of your lease here. I know the owner, and he owes me a favor.” Luca sighed a happy sigh as he let himself get more settled on her couch.
Luca shook his head. “You don’t need to be sorry. I don’t blame you for being scared. It’s not an easy thing to deal with.” He kissed her forehead and smiled. “But you don’t need to be scared anymore. You aren’t alone in this, and I don’t want you to have to worry about anything. I’m going to take care of you.” He meant it, too. He was going to do everything within his power to take care of her, and the baby.