Diana (themysciraborn) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-04-13 00:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !log, [plot] future kids take 4, ~2017 april, ~25 points, ~~diana (themysciraborn) |
Who: Diana Prince and Aiden Sorrentino
What: Kids for everyone!
When: Thursday morning
Where: Diana’s place
Warnings: None!
Status: Closed/Complete
Waking up sprawled across the couch in the apartment wasn’t anything new for Aiden. Sure, the place looked a little smaller in her early morning haze, but with her mother was where she’d grown up, and it wasn’t the first time she’d been up late and just slept where she was. It was a little weird that her laptop wasn’t on the table, but she attributed that to her mom just putting her things away, and shuffled into the kitchen to find some breakfast.
Which promptly led to grumbling and a little crashing around as nothing was in the right place.
Quickly, she gave up. “Mom!” Not caring if her mother was still sleeping or not, she was sure that she was there. “Mom, everything’s all screwed up!”
***
Diana was unsure of who was banging around in the kitchen, so she was on alert and already on her feet when she heard an older voice calling for 'Mom'. That was unexpected. More curious than anything, she stepped out of her bedroom wearing an overlarge t-shirt and leggings, her typical pajamas when she was on her own.
She found a young woman in her kitchen, just barely on the cusp of puberty. Diana could see herself in the girl, but she couldn't quite place who her father could be. Who would she have gone through the process of pregnancy with? There weren't many she'd ever consider it for.
"It seems a great many things are 'screwed up' as you say," she greeted. "I take it you are looking for breakfast?"
***
“Yeah. But nothing’s in the right place.” Aiden was stubbornly independent, and had been determined to take care of things on her own, but everything was wrong and she wasn’t old enough to just take it in stride. Not when it was wrong in her own house. At least when weird things happened in town, the apartment was a safe place.
She slumped into a chair at the table, folding her arms beneath her chin. “Do it for me.”
There was enough going on in Aiden’s little life these days to deal with the house being all messed up too.
***
Diana was quickly gathering that something was wrong and that this young girl wasn't likely to take the news all too well that she had no clue of her name or identity. She decided that some food was in order, though she put the pot of coffee on first because it seemed like the reasonable thing to do.
"How do you feel about pancakes?" she asked, moving about the kitchen with ease. Diana had taken up more cooking now that she had the time, so pancakes were easily in her repertoire. She was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the teenager currently claiming her as mother.
"Did you sleep well?" She had no clue of her name, but it was a question her own mother had asked of her when she was younger and it seemed appropriate enough in this situation. Something had thrown her off, enough that this kitchen wasn't quite set up the way she recalled. Diana wondered how long she would be in Madison Valley for. Clearly at least a decade, to lay claim to the child before her.
***
Obviously, since there was no quick objection, pancakes were fine. Anything would have been fine, honestly. Aiden would have been happy with a bowl of cereal.
Instead she just perked up a little. “Yeah. Hey. Did you put my computer away? I passed out on the couch but it wasn’t there when I woke up.”
Her phone, of course, as it was for anyone her age, was practically glued to her hand, so that was fine. But she had homework, and she was going to get in so much trouble if her homework hadn’t saved properly, and if she didn’t have her computer to finish it even if it had. “I was writing a report it’s due in a couple days and I just started.”
That wasn’t a great thing to admit, but it was better than saying she hadn’t started at all. Which was closer to true. The internet was super distracting.
***
Diana was going to have to break the girl's heart sooner or later, only she was a bit disappointed that it would have to be so soon. She couldn't answer about the laptop or the homework, but perhaps it would be good news that the assignment was no longer necessary? That would have to be the way she approached it, she decided, mixing up the batter.
"It seems I have good news and bad news for you," she replied as she pulled a pan from the cabinet. "On the one hand, it looks like you might not have to write that report because school will likely be out for the time being." Diana winced at that, but at least she had her back to the girl. Her daughter.
"Unfortunately, I'm not certain that your laptop has made the trip with you. I cannot be certain, but I think the year is not 2017 for you?" Diana glanced at her daughter. "Because that is what year it is now and, though I can easily see and will lay claim to the fact that you are my blood, I cannot say I know your name, child." Nor how she came into this world, but that was neither here nor there.
***
“Huh?” 2017? It was supposed to be 2030…. “Oh.”
Madison Valley was known for its weirdness. Things happened all the time, and Aiden knew that. After all. Her mother was an Amazon and her father was a werewolf. Who weren’t even together and had made it very clear to her growing up that they didn’t have romantic feelings for each other, that they were never going to be a family like that, and that she definitely hadn’t been planned. She was pretty much the definition of weird.
“So I time travelled to before you had me?” That was weird even for Madison Valley.
***
Diana nodded, though she abandoned the pan on the stovetop to take the seat next to her daughter. "Aye, it is unexpected," she replied, "and I cannot say this is something I have faced before, but I have yet to carry you within me."
She wished she'd had warning, had time to craft what to say, but at the very least she could reassure her daughter that she was welcome for however long she was meant to stay here. Diana would not have ever turned her back on her daughter, regardless of the situation they found themselves in. She took her daughter's hand in hers to provide that reassurance.
"You are welcome to stay with me for as long as you're here, but I will also not require you to stay here. If you wish to stay with your father, whomever he may be." Diana could name only a few men in Madison Valley she would lay with, but she didn't want to cause any problems by naming the wrong man as her father. "You are old enough to decide what you wish."
***
Aiden was used to being unexpected, but had never felt unwanted, and would never question that. Her parents loved her no matter what. That, at least, she didn’t worry about.
“I’ll stay here until it fixes itself,” she decided without missing a beat. “There’s way too many people at the Pack house to try living there.” A beat, and then she realized that her mother didn’t know. “Do you not even know dad yet?”
She must have come back really far if that was the case. Her parents had always known each other, as far as she knew. At least known of each other.
***
That told her some about the relationship her daughter had with her father, but Diana didn't know to make the connection between the Pack House and who this father could be. She'd had more than a few dalliances in Madison Valley, though she'd never considered it anything to be ashamed of. Now, it was a bit difficult to pinpoint who this girl's father could be.
"We'll ready the spare room then," she replied, since naturally she'd volunteered to be a guardian when she'd first arrived. "I cannot say I am familiar with any packed house, but perhaps if you give me your name, and his, I can answer that question more aptly." Diana gave her daughter a smile and then a kiss on her forehead.
Those pancakes still needed to be made, after all. Diana busied herself making the pancakes for them while her daughter told her more.
***
So that was a no, then. Aiden burst out laughing. “Not a packed house, Mom. The Pack house. You know. The werewolves.”
Everyone knew who they were. Maybe they didn’t know them know them but everyone knew who they were.
It really shouldn’t be surprising that her mother didn’t know who her father was, especially if Aiden hadn’t been born yet. She was pretty sure that, between the two of them, and probably with a lot of overlap, they’d slept with everyone in town. That was just the way that they were, and Aiden had been raised to accept that. It was nothing to be ashamed of.
***
Diana chuckled at her own mistake. "I am somewhat familiar with the werewolves that are in Madison Valley, but only in passing." Bruce would likely know more, considering he was the kind of man who felt better about having that kind of information.
"A name would at least let me answer if we've slept together yet," she pointed out, reminding her daughter a bit more firmly that she hadn't yet shared that information. "And your name would be appreciated as well, unless you'd like for me to refer to you simply as Daughter?" It was entirely possible, but she doubted she would only ever address her daughter that way. Perhaps in times of great affection, she mused, or great disappointment.
Diana set a stack of four pancakes down in front of her daughter the moment they were ready. If she was half werewolf and half Amazon, she'd have quite the appetite.
***
“You call me that half the time anyway.” She hadn’t thought anything of it. Even not being recognized, it hadn’t occurred to her that she should fill in those blanks. “My name’s Aiden. And my dad’s name is Nick.” She paused for a moment before adding: “Sorrentino.”
Aiden’s relationship with her dad was just as complicated as the one between her parents. He wasn’t really the sort of person someone expected to be a great dad, but he was good to her, when she saw him. When she’d been younger, she’d spent a lot more time at the Pack house, split the time between her parents more evenly. These days she just preferred to stay at the apartment.
“I think you’d know I was coming if you knew who he was, though.”
***
Diana grinned. "I'm not surprised by that, Daughter," she replied teasingly. Aiden was a pretty name, and she did, at least, recognize Nick's name. They had only passed the time together once, however, and she was not two months pregnant, so Aiden would likely never exist unless they were to have another tryst.
"I think you are correct in that," she said with a small frown. "There was a...confusion, that went around town two months ago. Your father and I enjoyed each other's company when he thought himself not mated." Diana rested her hand on Aiden's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "I know not if our paths with cross again in that way, but I am not currently with child."
And now, knowing that Aiden was a possibility, she would certainly be more careful in her dalliances. It wasn't that she didn't want Aiden, only that she didn't wish to be surprised by it. "Things are...good? For you? Even though your father and I are not together?"
***
That was more surprising than just time travel. Aiden was used to weird things in Madison Valley. But she had apparently not just time travelled, but time travelled into a different reality. She knew the story of how she’d come to be, and it had already happened. If she was going to be born, her mom should be pregnant with her.
Her brow creased momentarily before she shook it off. Things would go back to normal soon enough, and until then she knew her parents well enough to know that she didn’t have to worry about them not taking care of her, not caring about her.
So instead of thinking about it, she just smiled and nodded to answer her mother’s question. “Yeah. It’s not like I’m the only kid who was an accident. And you guys get along and everything. I live here with you mostly. I used to go to dad’s more but there’s always a lot going on there.”
And the other kids were a little older than she was. At her age, two or three years mattered.
***
Diana felt her heart waver just a bit, aching for her daughter who deserved so much more than what she'd been given. She'd done the best she could though, that much was certain, and Aiden did seem to be well adjusted despite everything. She pressed a kiss to the top of her daughter's head before returning to the skillet to make more pancakes.
"Is it very busy there? I haven't had cause to visit the Pack House, and after our dalliance, I am not so certain it would be wise." She would not wish to come between a mated pair, and although the circumstances they'd lain together hadn't been correct, they hadn't believed themselves to having done anything wrong. Still, Diana had no wish to cause any concern or drama.
"Do you...take your father's name?" she asked as well, after a moment. It was a situation she wasn't sure she'd ever find herself in, but Diana found herself uncertain of how to feel about her daughter carrying her father's name.
***
“There’s just a lot of people,” Aiden shrugged, happily tucking into her pancakes. Being a girl, she hadn’t inherited any of her dad’s werewolf stuff, but she was still the daughter of an Amazon, and a teenager at that. She had an appetite. “Between the Pack and people always visiting.”
It wasn’t like that was a bad thing, but the house was too crowded. Aiden also hadn’t inherited her dad’s need for Pack like that.
To the next question, she paused, poking her food a little before answering. “I do for now.”
She didn’t know how she felt about it either. Just another thing she’d liked a lot more when she was younger, but as she got older was starting to reconsider. She could be close to her dad without having his name, right? She didn’t need to be Pack to be family. And maybe it would make the rest of the werewolves feel better about her if she separated herself a little more. She didn’t know what she wanted just yet.
***
"So my assessment of it being a packed house was not inaccurate?" she asked innocently, though she couldn't help smiling for too much longer than it took to make her silly joke. She hoped it would be enough to make her daughter smile.
"It is a thing most in this world take for granted, carrying a Man's name. I trust I have raised you to understand the gravity of that, so you might make an educated decision." She would support Aiden in whichever decision she chose, and she wouldn't weigh in on that decision either. Diana held the last name of Prince for all of Man's records because they demanded one of her, but it was not her name in truth. Aiden's name was different, however. She could choose to take her father's last name, to be tied to him forevermore, or she could choose not to.
"But it is not a decision you need make now, of course." Diana finished her own stack of pancakes and sat down at the table with her daughter.
***
Aiden just rolled her eyes at the joke. It wasn’t funny. Her mom was never funny. She told terrible jokes, sometimes so bad that she actually laughed at them, but she wasn’t funny.
“I know.” She’d heard the spiel a thousand times. The importance of everything her mother had been raised to believe, and everything the world they lived in expected of her. It was a big weight for a girl her age, but she bore it proudly. Not many kids got to have the choice of deciding who they were going to be for the rest of their lives. Of whether or not they wanted to be a part of one thing or another or nothing at all. “I’ll make it when I’m ready to make it.”
She knew she could take as long as she wanted and neither of her parents would pressure her at all. But she knew where both of them stood. It was sort of like having to choose which one she’d disappoint.
“For now, no school? Awesome. I totally wasn’t ready to hand in that paper.” The one she’d barely started. “Even if I have to be in some weird alternate past.”
***
Diana was amused, more so because Aiden wasn't. It seemed there were some things she inherited from her mother that weren't just looks and skill. She was looking forward to getting to know her daughter better, and she would certainly enjoy her company for however long she was to be here for.
"And not a moment sooner," she agreed, glad at least that she'd stressed the importance of making the choice once she was certain of what it would be. "Hopefully, this weird alternate past is not too disconcerting for you. You're free to move about town, but please let me know where you are if you intend to stay out past midnight." That seemed a reasonable enough curfew. "I work at the Combat Sports Academy and my classes will take me through the afternoon." It was important to her to give her daughter some semblance of freedom while she was here.
For now, aside from not going to school and having the freedom to spend as much or as little time as she wanted with Diana, they could at least enjoy breakfast together.
***