Chapter Text
“Please pick up…Please pick up…” Kronos whispered, cradling the telephone almost softer than he did the bundle of blankets in his lap.
“Kronos?” Oulixes’s voice cut through the sounds of Kronos’s admittedly pathetic sniffling.
“Oulixes! Hello, uh-” He cleared his throat, willing it not to quiver or break.
“I, uh- I need your help with something.” He pleaded, knowing Oulixes’s good will was a fickle and short-lived thing at the best of times. And right now, after a few months of avoiding him for..her… it was not the best of times.
“Oh, is that so?” Kronos recognized the dark tone his voice took on in that, how couldn’t he? It sent shivers down his spine, but he couldn’t turn away from it. It was more than just him on the line, it was her son.
“Y-” Damn it, get it together Kronos, “Yeah. I…need advice for…” There was a second in which he questioned if Oulixes was really the person to go to for this. The man’s own children seemed miserable, but they survived infancy so surely he knew a thing or two on the matter, “childcare.”
“Why? Kid has a mother, doesn’t it?” Right, his mother… No, he needed to stay strong to get through this.
“Uh, about that… Me and Dalilah…” Oh god, he was crying again. He needed to stop that before he got wrinkles.
“We aren’t together anymore.” Kronos whispered, moving his hand up to wipe his eyes. He would drink but someone here needed to be a responsible adult around here and the baby-what on earth would he even name the thing!?- really couldn’t be trusted with that job.
“Hey! Congrats, man! Really, I knew she was never good for you-” It probably wasn’t a good sign that this was in the running for the happiest he’s ever heard Oulixes in regards to him, “I mean really, Putorius? Who on Earth-” He hated hearing him insult his wife-well, not wife, not even ex-wife, but definitely something, “I’m glad you finally came to your senses about that woman-” Should he tell him it was Dalilah who left and not the other way around?
“-So… Are you doing anything with that child you got?” Oh. Oh no. Kronos had heard that very same intonation before, though in a much lighter context, back when Aion (it hurt to think about her) would “imply” that Hannah should give her the food on her plate.
Well Kronos had no interest in his child being eaten, or even just giving up his child in general! (An ironic notion, he knew, having listened to quite a few of Oulixes’s talks on the matter.)
“Yes, I am.” The firm tone in his voice was dangerous to take up around Oulixes. Certainly, the man would see it as a threat. Kronos would have to live with that, lest his son end up the way that Ares girl did.
Still, his heart ached at the thought of his only friend being mad at him.
“Hmph.” Oulixes grunted. Kronos could practically see the glare he would be leveling at him. Or worse, that look of stark disappointment, meshed with patronization at his idiocy.
“I suppose it is your choice.” He said, though Kronos knew from experience that he meant the opposite, “Still! You’ve no idea how to raise the thing, do you?” He didn’t, really didn’t. He needed help, and Oulixes was the only man he could go to. He knew that. They both did.
Kronos stayed silent. It was unwise to interrupt Oulixes when he was in the middle of making a point.
“I could lend a hand with that much, at least.” Kronos let out a sigh of relief. He couldn’t handle this on his own, he needed this.
“Thank you.” He shouldn’t smile so hard, but he couldn’t help it. God, he looked like a mess. He really needed to get his house in order before Oulixes came.
“Course, what’re pals for?” He chuckled, that steady timbre of his voice a balm on his soul.
And then he hung up. Right. That’s normal to do when a conversation over the phone is ended. Especially if directly afterwards, you were planning on driving a car. Heaven forbid Oulixes got in a car accident because of him…
…But a little longer on call really wouldn’t have hurt, right?
At least long enough for Kronos to ask what he was supposed to do while he waited. He had prepared for the baby in advance of course, playing the doting lover during Dalilah’s pregnancy, but now, when Dalilah wasn’t here and it was just him and the baby, it all felt so much more…terrifying.
Could he put the baby in the cradle? That’s what cradles are for, obviously, but the baby wasn’t asleep yet, so would it still be alright? Oh god, wait, why wasn’t it making noise, then? What if it died while he wasn’t paying attention!?
He quickly, but gently, unwrapped the blanket with his trembling hands, letting out a sigh of relief as he realized that the baby was asleep. Okay, that was…good. Great, even, that means he was allowed to leave it in the cradle while he took care of other stuff.
He wished he could fix himself a drink but he wanted Oulixes to be happy when he first sees him again, so it would have to be pushed back.
That was fine, it would be irresponsible to get drunk right now anyways, and he ended up acting pitiful everytime, so it was kind of a blessing in that way. Besides, liver failure would give him a swollen belly, and he sought to look his best, so that was a no-go.
After he put the baby inside the cradle and overcame copious amounts of thoughts surrounding what exactly could happen to it outside-or even inside-his field of supervision, he began straightening out the house. Fixing up the living room and hiding the imperfections in rooms he knew Oulixes wouldn’t care to visit.
And finally, he brushed his hair and covered himself in perfume, not having the time for a shower. Then, he did his best to straighten out the wrinkles in his normally perfect suit, and took out some scones. He set the tea kettle on, and waited.
His breathing evening out, he finally relaxed. Everything would be okay. Oulixes would take care of this. Would take care of him. It would all end up alright. He didn’t even know why he was worried-
And then the baby started crying.
And the world was broken again. Kronos rushed to the baby room, messing up the carpet in his running, he’d have to fix that later. For now, there was only one important thing.
“Hey-hey-hey, no..” Oh god, what did he do!? “What’s wrong? Wait, frick, you can’t understand me…” He ran his fingers through his hair nervously, what could he do if he didn’t even know why the baby was upset in the first place?
“Please don’t cry, hey, it’s okay, Oulixes will be here soon and he’s gonna know just what to do to cheer you up, okay?” He gently rocked the baby, and wondered just how he was gonna pull this off. For all that he knew Oulixes cared for him-or at least he hoped he did-, he had a life too, he couldn’t always be here to take care of Kronos or the baby. Kronos would have to step up.
Well, at least those “parenting for dummies” books won’t go to complete waste. He tried to remember some of the things he’d read in them. What did babies need when they cried?
Diaper changes-ew-, Kronos sniffed the air, okay not that. It just slept, that wasn’t necessary. Food? Food! Christ, the baby hadn’t been fed since he’d brought it home with him, since…since Dalilah left.
Fuck, but he couldn’t exactly just buy breast milk, right? He’d heard somewhere that goat’s milk was a good alternative, if prepared right. He remembered Dalilah buying some before she left. Guess she planned for this. Of course she did, there’s nothing that she doesn’t plan for.
(Something in him warmed at the thought of her caring for their child enough to prepare him to take care of it, even if she didn’t care for him the same way.)
He put the goats milk into the microwave. A million thoughts raced through his head, some about Dalilah, some about the baby, quite a few about how safe goats milk actually was. He didn’t dwell on any of them too long, couldn’t if he wanted to stay presentable.
Crud, why didn’t he buy foundation when he had the chance to?! He couldn’t let Oulixes see him like this, he knew his eye bags looked horrid. Not to mention how red his eyes were. Maybe he could lie about doing weed, would be better than admitting to having cried, at least.
He rocked the baby again, calming him down more than it did it. At least it wasn’t especially loud with how hard it cried, he didn’t think.
Then again, he never really met any other babies. Even Ares was already a toddler by the time they’d met, and she was almost creepy in how silent she was. He wondered if his baby would be like that by the time it was a toddler, if it grew up to be that old…
The beeping of the microwave jolted him out of his thoughts, and made the baby start crying again as well. Right, right, he couldn’t afford to get distracted. He took out the goats milk.
And then he remembered he didn’t have any baby bottles around.
Before he could panic, though, the sound of the door opening made him relax. Only people he trusted knew where his spare key was, and the only person he currently trusted-and would be coming to him at this time-was Oulixes!
“Kronos, my boy!” Kronos immediately went to hug him, before realizing he couldn't comfortably do that with the way he was holding the baby.
“Oulixes, thank goodness you’re here. I- I don’t know what I would do without you. The-the baby, it needs-”
“‘The baby’? Doesn’t it have a name?” Right! Crap, how did he forget!? That’s like, baby-having 101. Lord help him, he was a terrible father. This child might be better off on the streets. Heck, even the Umbras could do a better job, and that family didn’t do a good job with anything!
“N-no, not yet.. Well, maybe Dalilah gave him one while she was still at the hospital, but we never actually decided on a name together, she said she wanted it to be a-”
“Oh, forget about that woman. What good did she ever do for you? This kid needs a new name, a better one. I’ll change his legal records, don’t you worry.” The side-hug that Oulixes pulled him into was grounding, but… He wanted the baby to at least keep the name Dalilah gave it, it would be nice for him to have something from her.
…But he wasn’t living for Dalilah anymore. As much as he hated to admit it, Oulixes was right. Right now, she was not priority. Priority was pleasing Oulixes, and that meant the baby needed a new name.
“But- what… What exactly do we- y’know?” He made a gesture with his hands. It was a bad habit. He really needed to get better at articulating with his words and worse at articulating with his body. It wasn’t professional.
“Hm… Well, why don’t we name it after you?”
“H-huh?” Named.. After him? Well, it was his son, but. This felt too important to be his, almost. He wasn’t used to having this kind of… well..
He supposes it’s just the novelty making him nervous. Before Oulixes took over, everything was named either after him, or Hannah, or Aion, or something they were interested in. Now, it was mainly just Oulixes or greek mythology. Well, technically he was also named after greek mythology. Maybe that’s why Oulixes is okay with it?
“Well, I-uh, I don’t know what… What did you have in mind?” Kronos floundered a little, face heating up in mild pride at this moment.
“Why not Corvus? Y’know, sounds rather a bit like your name, doesn’t it? ‘Sides, dont’cha know ‘Cronus’ actually had a connection to crows, and ‘Corvus’.. Well, it just makes sense, crows and corvids, and the like. Theming.” He said as though he was pitching to a crowd of businessmen, and Kronos had to admit, it felt nice to be treated as though he was important. That award winning smile Oulixes was putting on certainly didn’t hurt.
“That’s… actually rather nice.” He took a look at the teary eyed boy- tears! Crap, right, it was crying!
“We- I-” He took a deep breath.
“I need to feed him, but I don’t have any baby bottles to use, y’know? I do have some warmed up goats milk, but uh…” He trailed off lamely, not having anything else to add.
“Oooh, yeah. Well, aren’t you lucky to have me?” He said, pulling out a few bottles from his bag.
“I got these when the missus-” He smiled as he thought of his wife, Kronos could relate to that giddy feeling, “-got sick. She couldn’t breastfeed anymore, and I had to rush to get these right after I found that out. Figured a similar thing happened to you.”
That was Oulixes for you! He could always figure out just about anything, he was always clever like that, and looking out for Kronos. It was touching, really.
“Thanks- I.. I really don’t say it enough. I-... I really wasn’t prepared for this, but… I’m glad I have you to help me.” He needed to stop talking before be cried again, it was pathetic. He passed the baby to Oulixes so he could start pouring the goat milk into the container.
“Well, I know how fatherhood is… Hell, I've got a second bun in the oven, so, well, I have to say I empathize.” That statement almost made Kronos spill the milk, and he just barely managing to put the cap on without completely knocking the bottle over.
“Hannah’s pregnant?!” He whisper-shouted, not wanting to upset the baby-Corvus- anymore than he already had.
“Yeah! What can I say? I’m a very lucky man.” He chuckled again, handing Corvus over for him to feed. The baby was still making displeased sounds, but started sucking on the bottle as soon as he put it to its lips.
At least the noises were done with. But, now he would have to worry about all the things you have to do for babies after you’d fed them. Like, uh….
“Sooooo….what now?”
Oulixes merely clapped him on the shoulder. “What happens now is up to the both of us, Kronos.”
And at last, his world was back to normal.