(no subject)

[the_dorian_gray]

Dorian stares out the window of the cab on their way to LAX, lost in thought.

Just a half hour more and he'd have a child in his home.

His child.

For a year.

The room was set, food bought, toys invested in, and now all they needed to do was pick Christopher up from the airport.

Thirty more minutes, and the child would be with them.

God help him, why had he agreed to this?

Comments

[the_cupbearer]

"You look lost. Are you worried?"

It made Ganymede curious, when he looked like that...he knew some of what had happened over Dorian's life--some he'd been told, some he'd read--but that faraway look was always so strange to see. Like he wasn't exactly in the right time, let alone place.

[the_dorian_gray]

Dorian blinks a handful of times and looks at Ganymede.

"I've never been around children," he murmurs. "I've certainly never been in charge of a child."

It was worrisome.

[the_cupbearer]

"Don't be worried. It's easier than you think," he assures Dorian, leaning over and laying a small kiss at the corner of his lips.

"It's almost as if you're not quite here, when you look like that," Ganymede notes softly. "What are you thinking about?"

[the_dorian_gray]

He reaches up and cups Ganymede's cheek, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin.

"The reality that I have a child is something I'm still trying to come to terms with. Knowing about them in the abstract is one thing, but this... this is real. He's my son. And he will be living in my home."

[the_cupbearer]

He leans into the touch, liking the warmth of Dorian's palm against his jaw. "I hope you'll enjoy him there, even if it's new."

It hadn't yet ceased to really amaze him, the perfection Dorian was. He supposed he was the same way, but it didn't affect him like seeing it in his lover; the way he looked, and moved, and simply was. Ganymede slid closer and brushed a fingertip over Dorian's bottom lip, with a soft smile.

[the_dorian_gray]

"I enjoy you here, pretty," he murmurs, pulling Ganymede closer. "And you are most certainly new. Something I certainly hadn't been expecting. Beautiful and sweet." He kisses Ganymede, ignoring their cab driver. "So sweet."

[the_cupbearer]

There's a soft sound, between a laugh and a pleased sigh, at the gentle kiss. "I enjoy being here. And you are so very good to me. Beautiful--and perfect, and...new," he whispers between kisses, settling against Dorian's side.

"I'm very happy with you." Ganymede plays with the ruby on the anklet he has on, thinking it wasn't a good idea to wear his collar around so many people, and children, and have to explain it over and over.

[the_dorian_gray]

Which was why Dorian had also had the anklet made for him.

"Good thing, since I intend to keep you for a while," he says with a smirk. "It's good you're happy about it."

[the_cupbearer]

He chuckles lightly. "You can keep me as long as you want me. We have forever," he murmurs with a kiss to his cheek.

[the_dorian_gray]

Dorian nuzzles Ganymede's throat, smiling.

"That we do."

The cab pulls to a stop outside the arriving flights, and Dorian parts from Ganymede, turning his attention to the cab driver. He hands him a $100 bill.

"Stay here. We'll be back in twenty minutes. Keep the meter running if you want," he says and then steps out of the cab.

[the_cupbearer]

He chuckles at the lips on his throat, threading his fingers through Dorian's hair before letting him go, stepping out with him. "Do you know what he looks like?" he asks, slipping his hands into his pockets as he walks.

He doesn't know yet that he'll be quite amazed at Christopher's resemblance to his father. "I imagine he'll be quite as handsome as you are..."

[the_dorian_gray]

"She sent me a picture a couple weeks back," he says, making their way to the gate. He keeps his hand in Ganymede's uncaring of the looks they receive. "He... looks quite a lot like me."

It had been uncanny, really.

[the_cupbearer]

"That's a good thing," he murmurs, making no move to take his away. "I wonder what he'll end up calling you," Ganymede chuckles, with a smile. "Since we know what he'll be calling me."

[the_dorian_gray]

He pushes through the crowd at the gate until they reach the front.

"I'm sure he'll call me whatever Beth told him to."

The PA system announces the arrival of the flight, and Dorian stands there, shifting, fidgeting, very unlike his usual, calm self.

[the_cupbearer]

Ganymede stands next to him, after a minor tense at the announcement system. "Don't worry..." he gives Dorian's hand a gentle squeeze, leaning up to kiss his cheek gently. "You're nervous?"

[the_dorian_gray]

"Unsure."

He hears the doors down the tunnel open, and then footsteps. First, a woman in a wheelchair appears, and then, behind her, a stewardess with a young boy's hand in her own, leading the child towards them.

Dorian's hand tightens almost unbearably so in Ganymede's as he stares at the boy, who could very well have been him at that age, except for the lighter eyes.

The stewardess beckons them to the podium. "Are you Christopher Gray's guardian?" she asks.

Stunned, Dorian just stares at the child for a few moments, and then nods mutely.

"We will need identification that you are Dorian Ethan Gray and live Malibu, California," she says, waiting for Dorian to produce his wallet.

[the_cupbearer]

"Don't be. It will be fine," Ganymede says as he squeezes Dorian's hand back, very aware that he's going to have four nail-shaped impressions from Dorian's fingers in his palm, before he looks down at the little boy and smiles.

He hears the middle name and blinks at it once, smiling a little and remembering it. It's a prettily flowing name. Ganymede leaves his hand in Dorian's as he kneels down to be eye-to-eye with the little boy. "Hello there. You're Christopher?"

[the_dorian_gray]

Christopher nods, looking at Ganymede with large, gray-blue eyes.

Dorian manages to get his shit together and pull out his wallet, giving his driver's license to the woman. She writes several things down, has him sign three forms, and then smiles at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Gray. His luggage will be on carousel 15."

Licking his lips, he nods, and looks at the boy he'd just accepted responsibility for. "Hello, Christopher."

The boy looks up at him. "'Ello, Daddy," he says, sounding small and scared and quite tired.

Dorian shifts for a moment, feeling even more uncomfortable, and looks to Ganymede, whispering, "Now what?"

[the_cupbearer]

"Now, you calm down," he murmurs, turning to his lover's child, bringing Dorian's to his lips and kissing the backs of his fingers before letting his hand go. "You look tired, Christopher. Do you want me to hold you?"

He smiles up at Dorian as the boy comes closer, taking his hand. "Don't be scared. I live with Dorian," he explains.

[the_dorian_gray]

"This is Ganymede," he says.

"Gahn-eee-mead?" Christopher tries, looking up at Ganymede.

"No, Ganymede," Dorian corrects, and then listens to Christopher butcher the name again. "Kai. Call him Kai."

Christopher smiles at Ganymede. "Kai."

"Yes." Dorian looks at Ganymede as well. "Kai. He is my... He sleeps in my room with me."

The boy yawns, his flight having been a long one. "Kai and Daddy."

"Yes." Was the child slow? "He will help care for you while you are here."

[the_cupbearer]

Oh, this was going to be interesting, Ganymede knew now. "Kai, indeed. I care very much for your father," he says, standing with Christopher settled on one hip, where he can lay his head on Ganymede's shoulder.

"You can sleep, little one. It's been a very long flight for you, hasn't it?" he asks, smiling at the expression Dorian had. "He's a child, and tired. They don't tend to be very talkative," he says softly, pulling one hand away and reaching for Dorian's again. "Let's get his things, and we can go home, and put him to bed. He'll likely sleep through the night."

[the_dorian_gray]

"I've never had a pet, let alone a child," Dorian tells Ganymede, taking his lover's hand and making their way through the airport. In mere moments, Christopher is asleep on Ganymede's shoulder. "Is it uncommon for them to sleep through the night?" he asks, worried. If they were going to be subjected to all-night tantrums, he really should have hired that governess and not relied solely on their ability to care for the boy.

[the_cupbearer]

"By the time they're six, no. He should sleep through the night most times, but he's still young enough to wake up for a drink, or something similar. He's just very tired, probably enough to not be woken up by his schedule being off." Ganymede lets him rest there, asleep with one hand clenched in his shirt.

"It's a new place, though. He might be upset some tomorrow when he realizes he doesn't know anyone. But it should be fine."

[the_dorian_gray]

Dorian navigates the airport until they find themselves at the baggage carousel, and he keeps an eye out on the tags affixed to the luggage.

"I'm glad one of us has the first clue what to do with a child," he says, eternally grateful for the godling.

[the_cupbearer]

"Do you not remember what you were like as a child?" He barely remembers it himself, but there are things that stand out about it; how children around him had acted when they were tired, or wanted something.

Though the child he's holding isn't heavy, for a moment it strikes Ganymede as odd and terribly domestic; carrying his lover's sleeping son, holding Dorian's hand because he's unsure about having a child.

When did all of this happen?