Closed Decisions

[Avaria Lockwood]

They were in Venice. The city was beautiful. The views were breathtaking. But Avaria was terrified. She didn't know what had happened. Well, she did. It had been lonely, she had gone out without Vader for drinks, she had drank too much and woke up in a strangers bed. She didn't remember what had happened. But the consequences were obvious.

Ava had no idea what she was going to do. What was she supposed to do? Vader was out, and she wasn't sure if she was happy or upset. Did she tell him? What did she tell him? Ava was curled up in a chair on the balcony, wrapped up in a blanket and curled around a pillow. She was crying; she'd been crying steadily for hours. Ava was frightened. What was she going to do?

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader had been loving Venice, it had been a beautiful city to be in and they had arrived at exactly the right time for him. The connections he had made during the spring fashion week were going to be invaluable. He was going to have so much work, so many possible avenues for contracts, it was just so good. He had had to leave very early that morning to be able to get some golden hour light for a test shoot and was coming back to the place he was sharing with Ava for a well deserved nap. So he was surprised when he stepped in and the room hadn’t muched changed but he noticed immediately that Ava was in tears. ”Ava?!” he said in alarm before moving over to her. ”What’s wrong?” he asked.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava hiccupped, opening her watery eyes to look at her best friend. Her lip quivered and she took her hand away from the pillow, holding it out, unable to keep from crying. "V-vader," she struggled to talk through the crying, but slowly she forced out the words. "I w-went, I went to the d-d-doctor," Ava curled up tighter around the pillow, struggling to catch her breath. "I-I, I'm so s-scared, Vader," she was gasping for breath, on the edge of panicking. After several long moments, she finally managed to spit out what was happening. "Vader, I- I'm pregnant," she whispered, her voice cracking. She crumbled all over again as she said it out loud, breaking down in sobs and burying her face in the chair.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader from her reaction wasn't sure what was wrong. he listened as she struggled to form the words, and was a little startled that she had gone to the doctors. He'd noted that she'd been a little sick lately but he just figured it had been from all the travelling and being in new places. He wasn't sure what would scare her like that and he had to admit when she finally said it he was a little confused. What was there to be scared about? He obviously knew this probably hadn't been in her plan but it wasn't...the end of the world. He gave a little soft sigh and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. "Ava, it's okay, it's not the end of the world," he said, "You have options of what you want to do, and if you decide to keep it and actually raise it, then you know I'll always be around and so will your family. This isn't maybe what you wanted but, it'll be okay?"​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava was having a hard time calming down. How was he so calm? She leaned into his touch. It was several long moments before she was able to get something resembling a grip on herself. She peeked up at him through her hair, her face tear stained and her eyes red. "What am I supposed to do?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "I don't know anything about children. There's no father. All of the problems I have because I grew up without a dad, how am I supposed to do the same to a baby?" She hiccuped, cuddling into her chair but turning more to face Vader. "What am I going to do?" she asked again, though she had no idea what answer she wanted.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader could see that she was still rather freaked by it all. He just shook his head at her and gave a little smile. "Well, even if you had it, you don't need to keep it, there's always adoption," he assured her, "And like I know you had bad experiences without a dad, but not everyone does, if you decide to have the baby and keep them, it's not like you'll be devoid of people. I'll be there, your family will be there, my family will be there. There won't be a moment they're alone..But you know you don't need to do it," he assured her, trying to suage her worries if she opted to have the baby but also if she decided to not have it. "The short of it is, no matter what you decide, I'll be at you side, as will many others,"​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava shook her head as he spoke about adoption. She couldn't put a child into the system. Sapphire had told her how bad the home had been. Ava wasn't going to chance that was only because of Sapphire's aunt. The few months Ava had been in the home hadn't been pleasant, either. Ava hiccuped, sitting up and holding her hands out to Vader. "I'll have to have the baby," she spoke. Her voice was soft, she was terrified, but she knew what she had to do. "There isn't another choice." She sniffled, looking up to him with tears shimmering in her blue eyes. "You'll stay with me, won't you?" She asked uncertainly, her hands still shaking as she reached out for him. "Hold me?" She added softly, wanting to feel someone close to her.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader shook his head lightly, "You don't have to do anything," he assured her, because even if she didn't want to, even if she thought she had no other choice there were always other choices, she didn't have to do this but it seemed for all her fear she was already pretty set on it. Vader smiled and nodded at her. "Course, me and Goku will be," he assured her, there would be as he'd said be plenty of people around her to help her with this, to be by her side with it. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a hug. It was odd that she would have kids, he knew he was calm about it because he didn't think it was the end of the world or anything close to it but it would still be a massive change. "We should head back to New Zealand soon," he said, he didn't mind, his connections in the time they'd been away had would easily enable him to open up a store front. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava settled into his embrace, burying her face in his neck and feeling herself relax as the familiar warmth washed over her. She sighed heavily. "Probably..." She agreed softly, reaching to tangle her fingers in the hem of his shirt. She sighed softly. "I love you," she murmured. He really was her entire world. "When we get to New Zealand, will you stay with me? Maybe... for a year or two after the pregnancy?" She asked, pulling back to look up at him through her lashes. "I... I know it's a lot to ask, I just..." she sighed, laying her head back on his shoulder. "I'm not ready to be without you..." she admitted slowly, biting her lip.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader smiled at Ava and nodded, "Love you too," he told her and he nodded. "Sure I'll speak to Goku and we'll figure something out so that I can stay with you and he can visit and stuff and I'll go there occasionally," he wanted to balance both parts of his life and knew that Ava knew it was important that he do. Goku was as much his life as Ava was. "We'll figure things out as we go, there's time for decisions and things, I know I'd like to open a shop front well, a studio for the photography stuff and everything, so as long as that can happen it'll be just fine." ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava nodded, feeling a bit better as he reassured her. After a good bit of therapy, Ava had finally decided that no matter what else was going on in life, she would always believe in and trust Vader. He was the most important person in her life, and she knew that even if he married Goku and if she and Vader weren't always together in the same bed or home, he would always be her closest friend and deepest confidant. He was her other half, her best friend, and she had come to accept that while he might not feel exactly the way she did, she still mattered a great deal to him.

She calmed down after a bit longer, and realized she was just starving. They ordered in food, and she settled into her chair again with her pasta. She turned to Vader, giving him a shy smile. "I suppose I have a few things to consider, then," she murmured, poking at her food more than she ate it. "We'll need to put together a nursery when we're home, telling everyone," she winced at the thought. She picked up a single noodle and ate it slowly, thinking heavily. "I have an idea for a name, though," She peeked over at him, a slight blush on her cheeks. "If... If I have a girl, I like... Aurora, Aurora Alice." She nodded, knowing immediately that it was perfect. She glanced away, twirling another noodle slowly around her fork. "And... if its a boy..." she bit her lip, considering for a long moment and toying with several things before settling. "I like Nico. Nico... Timothy." She peeked at Vader, gauging his reaction.

 

[Vader Hume]

It took a while for her to calm down but eventually she did. They got food and Vader took care tidying up and beginning to get their things in order to go back home. He eventually joined her at the table and nodded, listening to what she said and just nodding, smiling softly at the last thing she said. It was sweet of her to want to name them, if a boy after him. And he knew that no matter where his life took him or the children he and Goku had in their own way that he would love Ava's child as his own. As he would be with any of his sisters' children, though both of his younger sisters felt all too young to even be thinking about kids. "Little Nico Timmy," he said with a little smile. "I'll make sure they love photography and sleep perfectly through the night," at the very least he knew that Ava would likely have to worry a little less about night time given that Vader was sure he'd probably a lot of the time already be awake. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled softly, relieved with the way he reacted. She would need to go see Alice when they got back to New Zealand. "They're going to have the best uncle ever," she teased, offering out her hand. "When we get back, we should start looking for a house. I can try and find a tattoo shop when we get back, see if anyone will take me on as an apprentice," She mused, taking a bite of her food and chewing slowly.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader gave a little smile and nodded. "Hopefully," he was unsure if he would be good at it but he would give it his best try, that was all he could do. "Yeah, maybe we could get a shop with a house or something above," he said, at least that would satisfy him, but it might not help her. "I can reach out to my contacts, one of them might be able to connect you up?" he offered. He was was sure that he had a contact somewhere who knew someone else who would be able to get her a job nice and quickly. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava nodded thoughtfully. "You know, my mother in law was mentioning something. She says that there's a shop, about three blocks down from thee bookstore. It's right on the edge of main. Were you ever in that old pharmacy?" She asked. It was popular enough. It was roomy, spacious, it might work well as a storefront for Vader, with an apartment above it. "Apparently the owners have been talking about retiring the shop sometime in the next few years, if they meet their sales." She told him, sipping her milk. "Actually, I might have my own contact," She set her glass down.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader nodded as she said it, it would be a good place to put it, probably quite enough that he wouldn't have too much to stress over, but enough space for what he needed and likely what she needed, and he was sure it wasn't too far from where Goku was either. "It'll be perfect," he said, already thinking about the pictures in his current collection that he might use as display pictures. He then smiled at her as she said she had her own contact, "Wow, whose your contact? I don't we'll have to worry at all," he said with a little smile. Despite this he was sure everything was going to come together easily. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava took a bite of her food, chewing while he thought over what she'd said. She smiled as he asked her a question, sipping her drink before answering. "An older man, his name was Gabriel I think, he owns a tattoo shop." She told him, running her fingers lightly over the tattoo on her shoulder and sighing softly. It had been a long time since she'd heard from Zephyr.

She hoped he was all right. It saddened her to think that he wouldn't know her baby. That she couldn't tell him she was pregnant. "Oh, Timmy," Ava started, looking up again. "It should probably go without saying, but will you be the godfather of my baby? Er... our baby?" She offered hesitantly, unsure if what she was saying made sense. "I'll need to go see Alice soon. Probably ask her the same. Though as a godmother, I mean," she laughed nervously.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader nodded, he didn't know any Gabriel, but he trusted that Ava would keep ehrself safe and know who to trust. Which would be especially important now. He nodded at her question, he wasn't entirely sure about the use of our, but he knew what she meant with it, and knew that because they were close and he was going to be around a lot with the baby it made sense. "Sure," he said, "And I'm sure Alice will be happy too, she might be surprised, but she'll be happy," he didn't want Ava getting upset about if Alice was maybe a bit surprised or not just immediately happy with it all. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava smiled softly, feeling better. She was surprised, though she supposed she probably shouldn't be that surprised that Vader had turned around her emotions so completely. She unthinkingly reached down, pressing a hand to her stomach. She swore she could feel a twitch, though in her mind she knew it was probably too early for that sort of thing. "We should probably pick up some books on babies or something," she commented. "I don't know anything about infants," She propped her chin in her hand and looked to Vader.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader nodded, "Books would be good," he told her. He thought reading would be a good place to start but he'd also ask his mother and father about it. They would know. "I bet most new parents don't know anything about infants," he said with a shrug, everyone had to learn from some point and he felt they had enough they could do just fine. He knew too that he would capable of staying up late a t night with the baby to make things easier for Ava. "I guess my sleep will never recover," he joked lightly. Knowing there would be lots of sleepless night. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled softly. "I'll buy you your own espresso machine," she promised, finishing her food. "When do you think we should go back?" She asked, sipping on her water. She hesitated a moment before sighing. "I suppose I should tell my father, shouldn't I?" she sighed. "We couldn't just... not tell him, could we?" she gave him a soft smile.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader gave a little laugh before thinking for a moment, "I think we can finish up our time here, and then go back, at least to get things in order," he knew that while he'd love to do more exploring of the world that it would be possible in smaller chunks, as he did other work. Vader felt sympathetic that she didn't want to tell her dad. "Well, you don't have to, but he'll find out...and it's up to you to decide whether that comes from you or from someone else," ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava sighed softly, running her hand through her hair. "I should probably tell him," she twirled a strand of hair around her finger, staring at it dully for a moment. "Will you go with me?" She asked, looking over to Vader. A wave of exhaustion came over her. She just felt so tired. She sighed, shutting her eyes. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked softly. Her emotions had just been on an absolute roller coaster all day and she felt drained.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader nodded, "Course, just let me know when and I'll make sure to have time for it," he would need to get himself working quickly but Ava and her baby would always take priority over it. "Sure, go on to bed, I'll tidy up and be there soon," he was planning to also write to Goku, tell him about the change in plans, planning to get a little work done but he would just tidy up and join her soon. His day really hadn't ended in the way he'd thought, and though Ava was maybe a bit reluctant and he knew how much stress this would all cause him he, it was quite exciting too. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava smiled softly, letting out a soft breath. She finished her drink before standing and stretching. "I love you, Timmy," she reached over, wanting to brush his hair back and rub her thumb lightly over his cheek before stretching. "I'm going to go put in the music box. Don't be too long?" She yawned, rubbing her eyes and wandering off to bed. She had picked up a new set of soft pajamas and she was eager to get some sleep in.