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It was a hot Sunday evening in June, and Roman and his partner Victor sat on one of the former’s expensive chaise longue’s. Zsasz had his arms around Roman’s shoulders, since his boss lied between his legs, the back of his head resting against Victor’s bare, scarred chest. They were watching TV to relax from the busy week they’ve had. They had been zapping through the channels for quite a while, until they’ve finally given up and agreed to watch the Gotham Pride Parade that’s been live-streamed on almost every news channel instead.
Both of them startled a little, when they suddenly heard a very familiar voice come from the television. Apparently, their seventeen-years-old son, Andrew, was giving a speech on one of the stages that were part of the parade. They knew he went out to be part of the march, but he hadn’t told them about, well, that. Roman was gripping tightly onto one of Victor’s hands, which has been resting on his chest.
What the fuck did Andrew think he was doing there!?
Someone could be hurting – killing – him, being on display like this. A lot of rivals were out there, trying to tear Sionis down, and Roman didn’t fancy admitting it, but he was terrified of losing his son to any of those bastards every single day. Which is why he hadn’t let Andrew go to the Pride Parade all by himself, he had some of Roman’s staff with him. Staff that wasn’t visible anywhere on TV. Fuck, he hoped they only stayed out of frame for safety…
“He’s okay, baby. You worry too much,” Victor remarked calmly in his gravelly voice that sent pleasant, hot tingling shivers down Roman’s spine every time he spoke.
Sionis fixed his partner with a deathly glare, “What the fuck? I don’t worry too much! I’m worrying just the right amount, thank you very much. But you’ve got to admit that what he’s doing is not only dangerous, but also fucking stupid!”
Victor just swayed his head from side to side in a – “I kind of agree with you, but also not really” – manner.
Huffing, Roman turned his attention back to the TV.
“… And this is why I’m proud to say that I’ve been raised by two men. Two wonderful men, who’ve taught me so much and who’ve always encouraged me, no matter what. It’s nothing shameful, or disgusting, or odd. It’s normal! This is what the modern family looks like. Not just man, woman and child, but two men, two women, non-binary parents, queer children and parents, no parents, one parent, no human children, but pets, and so forth! The point is that no matter what, a family can be anything you want it to be. There is no rule, nor a ‘perfect family’. And every day, I’m so grateful for the two men who’ve raised me, when my biological parents didn’t want me. Thank you,” Andrew finished his speech on TV, receiving a very loud chorus of applause, praise, and love from the spectators.
They would never dare to admit this outside of their apartment, but both Victor and Roman felt such a swell of pride – and love – in their chests; it momentarily took their breaths away.
“That’s our son,” they both breathed in unison, huge, genuine smiles on their faces.
Hours later, when it was already nearing midnight, Andrew finally returned home. As soon as he stepped into the penthouse’s living area, he was greeted by two very familiar faces staring back at him. There was warmth in both pairs of eyes, which Andrew only got to see every now and again.
He smiled brightly at his parents, “Hey, dads!”
“We’re very proud of you, son,” Roman replied, smiling back at him.
For a moment, Andrew frowned, confused about why his father would say that so unexpectedly.
Then it dawned on him.
“Have you heard my speech?”
His dads nodded and the teenager felt his face turn a little hot. He hadn’t expected that at all. In fact, he had hoped they wouldn’t know about it. He didn’t know how they’d react after all and he really didn’t want to be kicked out for embarrassing them in public or something. Even after so many years, he was still afraid that they’d have enough of him after all.
“Oh. I- Wait. You’re actually proud of me - for my speech?”
Roman chuckled, “Yes! Fuck!”
“Wow, thank you! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it before, I was just afraid that-,” he never got to finish that sentence, since he was startled out of saying it, when both of his dads suddenly embraced him tightly. Andrew melted into the hug, wrapping his arms around his parents. This was actually quite rare to happen at all, so he savoured every second of it. Tears shot into his eyes – he was so exhausted that controlling his emotions was even harder than usual – and he snivelled a little.
“Are you fucking crying, Andrew?” Roman asked surprised, the hint of a laugh in his voice. It wasn’t mean, or mocking, though.
“Maybe a little,” he admitted quietly into Sionis’ chest, who laughed heartily in response, muttering “fuck” under his breath. Andrew smiled in response.
“He’s got that from you,” Victor chimed in and Andy could practically hear his smirk.
“That- No! You’re sleeping on the fucking roof tonight, you asshole!”
“Dad, no!” Andrew laughed, finally letting go of his parents, who were both smiling, still.
God, he really loved them so much. Some people might think that it was odd for those two particular individuals to adopt a child and be somewhat decent parents to it, but Andrew couldn’t possibly imagine it to be any better than this and he was happy he didn’t have to.