Work Text:
“Virgil...” DC said as soon as his husband walked into the house, pointing at the small... thing in his arms. “What is that?”
“It’s a baby,” Virgil whispered.
“That--Virgil, that is absolutely not a baby. It has a tail.”
The “baby” cooed, flicking its gold-scaled tail in the air. One of its little fists caught onto a string on Virgil’s hoodie--which was soaked, now that DC was looking closer--and brought the purple cord to its mouth.
“I found them when I was out doing my rounds in the tidepools,” Virgil said. He took a few steps forward, allowing DC to gaze into the shimmering gold eyes of the mermaid child. It was barely bigger than a human baby. “I expected there to be a parent or something around, but they were completely alone. I couldn’t...” He choked on his words for a moment as tears sprung up in his eyes. “Dee, I couldn’t just leave them.”
DC smiled slightly at his husband’s bleeding heart, but his mood was quickly washed away when he realized the implications of Virgil’s actions. “What are we going to do with them?”
“Take care of them as they grow up? We’d have to find a tank--I have no idea how large mermaids grow to be, obviously, but Dee, we can’t just leave them to fend for themself as a freaking baby!”
“Oh, Virgil...” DC murmured, pulling Virgil into a light hug. The baby made a soft noise as he leaned in, and damn it, DC felt his heart melt at the child.
“Please,” Virgil begged. “Please, we can’t let them die.”
With a gentle laugh, DC pulled back. “Of course not.” He gently tapped Virgil’s stomach. “Congratulations, Virgil Sanders. You’re a father!”
“Oh my god, we have a kid.” Virgil laughed a tad hysterically. “We’ve gotta name them.”
“How about... Roman,” DC suggested.
Virgil stuck his finger in the baby’s tiny fist and shook it lightly. “Hey there, little Roman. Welcome to the family.”