A Barisi son 🤔 elaborate more because I rarely hear that.
(I know a speech and debate team is sick to see him coming omg. Do you think he plays an instrument? I'd say a cello because Sonny and Rafael have string player vibes themselves, lol.)
I have yet to decide on a name, as I'm debating between going with traditional naming conventions or to giving him one that's entirely unique but still culturally relevant to his parents. One headcanon I do have, though, is that Sonny calls him Topolino, meaning "little mouse". It gets shortened sometimes to just Topo. Even when he shoots up in his teen years and eventually gets to be the same height as Sonny, if perhaps a smidge shorter. Either way, he still definitely grows to be taller than his Papi.
Rafael uses the nickname too, on occasion, but usually sticks to his own terms of endearment: nene, mijito/mijo, principe, hermoso, ect. He is furious that their son gets to be taller than him, and does start to jokingly refer to him as a skyscraper. (I believe that "Poste" is a common Spanish-language nickname for tall guys.)
Oh my god, yes, the opposing Speech and Debate teams either roll their eyes or run for the hills whenever the Barba-Carisi kid shows up. He is definitely taught from a young age how best to take on authority and advocate for himself and others. Having two lawyer Dads, one of whom used to be a cop? That boy knows his rights, and he's definitely a student who sits, arms crossed, during the pledge of allegiance at school every morning, glaring at anyone who dares to question it. He's a quiet rebel usually but can get loud. The school administration are often calling Rafael or Sonny in for meetings.
I imagine him as headstrong but still shy. Like the kind of kid who no one actually thinks can talk until he opens his mouth to rattle off some incredibly specific and well researched opinion on whatever the topic at hand is. Most of his teachers like him... to a point. He's stubborn too, which he definitely gets mainly from Rafael. (In a world where he does have a younger sister, they would be very protective of each other, with her being the more extroverted personality to his more intro-leaning ambivertness.)
The cello playing is an interesting idea. I was thinking more of maybe the piano or even clarinet? His dads would nix any brass or percussion instruments for the sake of their own ears. But cello does actually fit rather well, if he played an instrument at all. For other extracurriculars, I can definitely see him and Sonny bonding over baseball from a young age, and him continuing with it through school, maybe even getting a scholarship because of it. And of course, as above, he crushes it on the Debate team. Rafael attends every competition he possibly can.
Sonny's also the kind of dad who does bring his baby everywhere with him when possible. He has the boy strapped to him when he goes for errands, has him in a stroller for when he goes running, and even has a little corner in his office set up specifically for his son for whenever he might need to bring him in. The contents of the corner evolve as he ages.
One thing that is always true is that Rafael and Sonny adore their son to the ends of the earth and would gladly do anything to keep him safe and happy. Rafael's refrain throughout fatherhood is that he wants to give his son the childhood he himself never had. He is eternally grateful for his mother and abuela, but knows how much a bad father can affect a child. And everyone can see just how amazing of a father he becomes once the kid arrives in his life. It takes some time for him to find confidence, and even after many years he still has nerves like any other parent would, but everyone (especially Sonny) sees how hard he tries.
