Who: Ren and Nora and a small child What: Kid Plot When: First day of the Kid Plot Where: Their apartment Warning: Low/None Status: Completed via Gdoc
Ren had been up early. He did his morning meditations and exercises, then cooked pancakes, eggs, and sausage, and left them in the oven to keep warm. After, he hopped in a three minute shower. He fully expected Nora to still be asleep when he climbed out of the shower and into the bedroom, wrapped in a towel. He was absolutely not expecting to hear something rustling from the front room.
Plates and cutlery being arranged on a tablecloth. Ren poked his head through the doorway and his eyes went wide. There was a small boy setting the table for breakfast.
“Nora,” he spoke softly, turning back to the bed. Was she still sleeping? “I think we have a visitor.”
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Nora was, indeed, still sleeping. She rolled over when she heard Ren speak, though, her eyes blinking open. She had learned to wake easily, especially when a member of her team was speaking. Especially when that member of her team happened to be Lie Ren.
She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, his words registering. “It’s not Loki is it?” she asked. “I’ll kill him if it is.”
The aroma of breakfast hit her just then, and she rose from bed and headed toward the kitchen. She stopped abruptly when she saw a small boy in the kitchen, setting the table.
“Hello,” she said, softly, greeting the boy.
—
The boy looked up from where he was setting dishes on the table. He paused, and gave his mother a small bow. “Good morning.”
It only took Ren a moment to pull on some clothes, before he was able to follow Nora into the front room, almost nervous at what they were about to find there. The small boy looked like a cross between the two of them, but was acting like Ren. How did he get into their apartment?
“Good morning,” Ren repeated, stepping up behind Nora and resting a hand posessively on her shoulder.
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“Ren, I believe this is our son.” she said. She looked toward the young boy setting the table, her head tilting slightly. “Is that right? Are we your parents?” She leaned into Ren at his touch, her head resting on his shoulder for a brief moment. “I should have told you before, Ren. The Dome – Madison Valley – likes to do things like this every once in a while.”
She stepped into the kitchen, to help the child with setting the table. She couldn’t just stand there and watch him do it on her own. “Sometimes the town messes with our age, or relationships, sometimes it gives us children. This seems to be the latter.”
Nora ruffled the kid’s hair briefly, “What’s your name?”
—
Ren’s face went a little pale. “Our… son?” He asked, astonished. Of course, he knew about how this place liked to mess with its residents, but… well, it was one thing to create a portal to a different world, and quite another to create fictional offspring? But there was no denying that this little boy looked like a cross between him and Nora. He had her same button nose and bright eyes, and he had Ren’s unruly hair and sharp chin.
“Pyrrhus,” the boy said, simply, looking up at his mother. It was as if he expected something like this to happen, or, at the very least, he wasn’t surprised at all by it.
Ren’s breath caught in his chest. They’d named their son after Pyrrha? He was speechless for a moment, trying to will the emotion down.
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Nora gasped audibly at the boy’s name. Pyrrhus. Of course that would be something she and Ren would name their child. It was a logical thing for them to do. Pyrrha had been an important person in both of their lives. Her death had hit them hard. At least, it had hit Nora hard. She assumed it had Ren as well.
“Are you hungry, Pyrrhus?” she asked. She headed toward the oven, where she assumed Ren had left the breakfast food to keep it warm. “Ren’s a good cook,” she said. “Though you probably knew that already, right?”
She offered the small child a small, nervous smile.
—
“Yes. Father is a good cook.” The little boy was focused on putting out the silverware properly, lining up the forks next to the plates, folding a napkin underneath each of the forks. “My favorite is when he makes eggs.”
Ren could hardly believe what was happening here. He tried to act like nothing was wrong, though, as he moved into the kitchen to help Nora get the food out and plate up their breakfast--adding a third plate for the boy. (Their son?) Then he brought the plates to the table and set them down.
The boy waited for his father to finish setting the plates down, then reached over and wrapped his arms around Ren’s waist for a tight hug. Ren was completely caught off guard. He slowly lowered a hand to gently pat the boy’s back. Awkwardly.
___
Nora had to smile a bit when the young boy – Pyrrhus – wrapped his arms around Ren’s waist for a hug. While this was all quite strange for her, she was glad she had a child with Ren. It wasn’t something she had expected, and she wished it had been under different circumstances, but at least she knew the possibility was there. She was grateful for that.
“I like it when he makes eggs, too, Pyrrhus.”
She settled down at the table, and started to plate up some food. She looked toward her son, “What would you like to eat?” she asked, starting to put some food on his plate as well.
—
Ren’s heart was thundering in his chest. He could hardly believe that this was real. How… some dark magic. This place really liked to mess with people. Still, something about it felt… domestic. Natural? It was as if he and Nora were meant to have a life like this.
Pyrrhus sat at the table next to his mother, and waited with his hands folded in his lap. His back was straight and his chin up. He watched his father setting things down on the table, then finally lifted his hands to reach for his silverware. “Eggs, please. And toast.”
Ren spooned eggs onto Pyrrhus’s plate, then his own. “Nora--your mother--will have to go to work soon. But you and I can spend the day together.” Ren suggested, glancing over at Nora. He would have to research this, to figure out what on Earth was going on. But he also felt like he wanted to spend time with this boy. His son?
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Nora didn’t want to go to work. For once. She loved working for Loki, but this was her son. She knew she should probably do the responsible thing and head to work, though. She didn’t want to be a bad influence on Pyrrhus. No, that would definitely be a bad thing.
“I’ll bring us home dinner, though,” she suggested. “What would you like to eat, Pyrrhus?” she asked as she snatched some bacon and placed it on her plate.
This was all so strange, but she found she liked it. She liked that she and Ren had a child together. It felt natural to her.
—
“Chicken?” Pyrrhus said, before starting in on his food. He ate politely, but hungrily. Much like Ren would when he was younger. No matter how hungry they got, Ren kept his composure.
“I can make chicken and rice,” Ren suggested, eating his breakfast with the same sort of hunger and grace that his son used.
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The fact that Pyrrhus was so similar to Ren made Nora happy. She loved Ren for everything that he was, and she already loved their son as well. It pleased her that his personality seemed similar to Ren’s.
It probably made it easier on him to grow up like that.
“Chicken and rice sounds delicious, Ren,” she said, offering him a small smile.
—
“Then chicken and rice you shall have.” Ren smiled over at Nora, then nodded to their son. “Pyrrhus and I will take care of dinner.”
“I’ll help!” The boy said, sitting up straight. “I can help with dinner!”
“You will be a great help,” Ren said, the smile brightening. “And your Mummy will be home right after work, so we can tell her all about our day.”
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“I bet you’re an excellent help, Pyrrhus,” she said, smiling at the young boy. At her son. She loved him already, She couldn’t believe how quickly she had fallen in love with this child, but there she was. Loving a child she’d had with Ren. It made sense, really. It was her son with Ren, of course she was going to love him.
After finishing up her breakfast, she rose from her spot at the table to take her plate to the sink. “I will definitely be right home after work,” she assured the two. The two most important people in her life. “I look forward to having a delicious dinner with the two of you.”
She really did. She was going to have a wonderful week, she could tell.