[What If?] Petra

It had not been the most ideal situation to finder herself in, she knew. There was little she could do about her luck, but neither was she about to complain. She viewed her predicament as a hurdle on the path to getting her second blessing. After a few hours of pain and perseverance, and ten months after the first, she held in her arms a second little bundle of joy, and she couldn’t be happier. 

“Mom, you’re being weird again.” one of her sons said with a laugh. 

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help but remember the day you were born,” she said, as she helped straighten his tie. 

“Where’s Nico?” he asked, looked around for his brother. 

“I’m right here,” Nico said, fussing over his appearance in a mirror. 

“Sweetheart, you look great, I promise.”

“Thanks, mom,” he said, smiling.

“Let’s go – we don’t want to be late for your commencement.”

They spent a few minutes gathering up some things, then they all made their way to where commencement was being held. They donned their caps and gowns and joined their class, while she took a seat with the rest of the parents. She couldn’t have been prouder when they called for Lucien Mykanos, and then Nicolas Mykanos, listing their accomplishments after calling their names. 

Petra was patient, waiting for them to mingle with their friends after the ceremony. It took a while, but they eventually made their way over, talking and laughing with one another. Most people were surprised to find out that they weren’t twins, and were even more surprised if it came up that they had different fathers, though she rarely discussed that with anyone other than her sons. 

She took them to a nice little restaurant for a celebratory dinner before they headed home. The boys were tired from a day full of excitement, but there was still something she had on her mind. Her boys, ever her protectors, eventually noticed. 

“What’s wrong mom?” Lucien asked. 

“Yea, something’s on your mind,” Nico said, looking concerned. 

“Go change. I’ll tell you once we’re all more comfortable,” she replied. 

“Promise?” they asked, practically in unison. 

“I promise,” she said, smiling at them and heading to her room. 

She had done her best to raise her boys on her own, and she thought she had done well. They were like her, in that they were respectful to those deserving of it and loyal to those they felt worth devoting themselves to. They were like their fathers in some ways as well, mostly in regards to their charisma. 

They had learned many things from her tutelage, but she had sent them to public school for social development, and they’d done well. As she changed out of the more dressy clothes she had been wearing, she could fondly remember teaching them about different things and trying not to steer them in any one direction. 

They had both chosen to learn how to dance from her, and they had both taken a liking to authentic sword fighting. Starting before they hit puberty, she had gradually started to tell them the truth about herself – what she was, how long she had lived, and so on, even going so far as to explain what their fathers were and what they were like, but never dropping a name. 

They’d asked questions over the years, and she would typically answer, not wanting to keep anything from them, though she always promised she’d give them all the details one day, and today felt like that day. Tonight she would give them first names, reiterate things she’d already told them, and ask if they wanted to meet their fathers. She still knew how to get ahold of each of them – it wasn’t hard. Well, with Vince it was a little hard, as he had nomadic tendencies. But she’d still been getting Brandon’s blood courtesy of Emilio, while trying to stay off his radar – that’s why their home was modest, and nowhere near as lavish as she could be living. 

When she finished changing, she headed to the kitchen to grab drinks, meeting up with them in the living room. 

“Okay, spill it,” they said, sitting down. 

“I was just thinking I should talk to you more about your fathers. Today seemed an appropriate time to do that, and, if you wanted, I could try to arrange for you to meet them,” she said, feeling a little nervous. 

The boys looked at each other and then at her. “Are you serious? You know how?”

“Lucien, your father might take a little work, but yet, I know how to get in touch with both of them – I just haven’t”.

“Because you were worried about how that might impact us growing up, right?” Nico asked.

“Yes. You boys have grown up so well and I’m so very proud…” she began, beginning to tear up a little thinking about things all over again. Her boys got up to hug her, one of them handing her a tissue. “Sorry,” she muttered. “Becoming a mom made me emotional, I guess.”

“You know that’s allowed,” Lucian said. 

“Is there anything you boys want to ask me?”

“Maybe just re-summarize? You’ve given us so much info over the years that a refresh might be nice.” Nico joked. 

She looked at her boys, starting with her oldest, Nico. He had the lovely Mediterranean features common to both his parental heritage, his father’s dark hair, but his mother’s dark green eyes. He was unquestionably good-looking, and knew it, but was hardly egotistical about it for the most part. Intelligent, a quick study, with a minor flair for the dramatic that he’d channeled into theatre over the years, and was open about his bisexuality. 

“Nico…” she said, then smiled. “I named you Nicolas for your shared Greek and Spanish heritage and gave you the middle name of Constantine to reflect your father’s Roman ties. Your father’s name is Brandon and, as I’ve mentioned before, is a vampire – no, I’m still not sure how it happened, but it did and I feel blessed,” she said, cutting him off before he could ask. “He was alive during Ancient Rome, so, he’s old. As for what he’s like, well…he isn’t someone you want to cross, or even annoy too much, really. He likes to think he’s evil, but he can actually be capable of decent behavior.”

“You make him sound like some kind of deviant,” Nico said. 

“Well, that’s not far off. He is a hedonist after all,” she said, then paused for a moment. “Honestly? Think of him as being similar to Tom Ellis’ portray of Lucifer on the DC show.”

“Gotcha…” he said slowly. “Do you think he’d like me? Be…accepting?”

“Honey, he’d be fine with you being bi. I mean, he’s pansexual himself. As far as him liking you?” she said, then smiled. “I think you’d grow on him.”

He smiled, relaxing somewhat. “So what was that last name again?”

“Nope, I don’t think so. You can get that when we meet him, assuming I can arrange it.”

“Damn,” he said, snapping his fingers and sighing. 

Petra looked then at her younger son, Lucien. He had that same complexion as his brother that gave the impression of a light tan that he got from his Greek heritage, but the rest of his features were decidedly more European, making him look more like his father. While his hair was dark, it wasn’t the black of his father, but more of a sandy hue, though he had his father’s brilliant blue eyes, though not his father’s sexual preferences. 

“Lucien, you are so named to reflect your father’s Romanian heritage, and were given the middle name of David to reflect his taste in music.” at his confusion, she sighed and smiled a little. “He’s very much stuck in the eighties, and his favorite band is Whitesnake. Their lead singer is named David Coverdale.”

“Note to self, look up their music,” he said. 

“You’ve heard it, I’m sure,” she said. “It just may not sound familiar at the moment. In any event, your father’s name is Vince, though he himself is a half-vampire. Again, I don’t know how that works, but I always told you boys about it incase oddities cropped up and you became, like, X-Men at puberty or something.”

The boys laughed. The mutual nerd-dom was strong in this small family. “So which X-man would he be?”

“I have no idea. I want to say Wolverine, but lazier.”

The boys laughed again before letting her continue. “He was born sometime in the fifteenth century, and yes, in the Wallachia region of Romania.”

“Did he know Vlad?” Lucien snickered.

“Vlad was before his time, I think,” she said. “Now let me finish. For what he’s like? To put it bluntly, most people call him an asshole, and frankly…he’s a stubborn, aggravating man that doesn’t know how to properly convey his thoughts or feelings. If you’re his friend though? He’s fiercely loyal, and he has high ideals. He’s not a bad guy once you get to know him, though he thinks he’s undeserving of any kind of good fortune. Above all though? He’s a pretty simple guy.”

“To mimic Nico’s concerns….what do you think he’d think of me? About my being gay?” he asked. While he was at peace with himself for being gay, and new he was loved and accepted by his brother and mother, he had a tendency to worry if others would accept him or assault him, so going into a situation with their views on gays unknown tended to make him nervous. 

“I don’t think he’ll have a problem with the person you are. I’m just not sure I can be so confident about your sexuality, sweetie. I’ve never known him to not be all for a person to love who they want, but then there are other times he seems uncomfortable about the whole thing. I really don’t think he’ll hate you in any case though.”

Lucien nodded, and thought things over a bit, as was Nico. She swore sometimes they communicated via telepathy or something because now seemed like one of those times, but she let it slide, and let them do what they needed to process. After a while though, she spoke up. 

“Do you boys want me to try and arrange a meeting?” she asked. “I’ll see if I can get them both together.”

“Wait..our Dad’s know each other?” they asked, trying to process this new piece of information. 

“Yes, they’re friends, believe it or not.”

“If you can, then yeah…together is best,” Nico said. “That way the three of us can support everyone else.”

“Alright then. Go to bed. Pack your bags, on the off chance I get ahold of them because that might mean a quick trip to who knows where.”

They nodded and said goodnight, while she stayed up for a while, before giving it some time. When the house was quiet, she cleared her throat and tried something. “Emilio?” she said, waiting…one…two…three minutes later, there was a voice from the shadows. 

“You called, Miss?”

She smiled at seeing him. “I wasn’t sure if that would work. Emilio, are you capable of doing a favor for me?”

“Si,” he replied.

“I would like you to get Brandon and Vince together for a meeting, at a place of their choosing, preferably private. I’d like to have a meeting with them. Let me know when? You can just text the time and location.” 

“Of course. I’ll get back to you soon. And Miss?”

“Yes, Emilio?”

“Congratulations on your lovely family.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“Of course not,” he said, then slunk back into the shadows before disappearing. 

With that settled, she made her way to bed, hoping to get a good night’s rest, and wake up to a meeting date she could tell her boys.