guffawsungraciously | psl time: single dad au edition

[Jasper's first night as a father is, well... there's not necessarily an identifiable end to the night and start to the morning, really. He doesn't get much sleep, less because the baby wakes him up and more because he spends so much time worrying about oversleeping and leaving Celestine hungry that he has difficulty falling asleep. And, to his credit, he does a pretty good job for most of the night! ...until he crashes and burns an hour or so before dawn and ends up doing precisely what Hendrik told him not to do, which is only waking up when alerted to the fact that the baby is hungry by said hungry baby...

Well. She does, at the very least, wake him up at a reasonable enough hour that he thinks breakfast is still being served, so...

...

Wait. No. He... needs to ask one of the maids to get some warm water and take care of... other things first... so he steps out his door, upon which point he is immediately descended upon by... fuck, he doesn't know, perhaps half or more of the maids currently on duty who have somehow caught wind of the castle's newest resident and are practically falling over themselves to meet her. His initial suspicion falls on Hendrik, but... no, apparently one of them did see him rushing to his room with a wailing baby in tow the previous evening, and rumors spread as they often do, and...

...well, even if the experience is initially mortifying, they're all extremely helpful. Certainly, some of the younger ones just want to coo over Celestine as she gazes at them with the natural bewilderment of every baby experiencing a large amount of people for the first time, but they do, at least, offer to keep an eye on her while he gets breakfast, and the older members of the staff with families of their own offer even more advice than Hendrik had last night and give him some ideas for where to look for possible wet nurses and the like.

It's all surprisingly heartening, given that even the stricter individuals that he expected to lay into him a bit are at least happy he's taking responsibility, and it's also the most interaction he's had with people in general for a good long while given how much he's been keeping to himself, so he finds himself blinking blearily at the paperwork he's started on once the initial excitement has died down and he has a moment to himself and wondering... what on earth... just happened.

...well, he does at least manage to get some done before Hendrik is supposed to stop by, although his attention keeps being diverted to Celestine seemingly attempting to figure out how her limbs work when she's not napping since he moved a table over to keep an eye on her. He kind of ate a late breakfast anyway, so when it's time for Hendrik to arrive, he's kind of intermittently watching her wiggle a bit while he signs things...]

[Hendrik misses the initial chaos of the morning, though he becomes extremely aware of it early on when the maids arrange his armor for the day. They chatter amiably as he looks over his speech for the day, and he almost completely misses what they are talking about until he hears "Sir Jasper" and "baby" in the same sentence.

When he politely tries to inquire, they positively gush over the rumors about Jasper having brought in a baby. They must have somehow missed him entering Jasper's room, though that doesn't seem too surprising given he arrived later in the evening.

But he feels ... both awkward and heartened by their reactions. Awkward for playing dumb to the situation and heartened that they seem supportive of his friend's decision to take care of his baby (even if they only think it a rumor right now).

Once he is ready for the day, he immediately heads to the barracks for inspection. Lazarite is already there, checking over notes handed over from the senior knights, and he's able to take a few minutes prior to inspection to talk to the older knight about Jasper as a possible successor -- or at least an additional hand in the intelligence office. Lazarite welcomes the suggestion, mentioning that Jasper had already been on his list of potential replacements. Hendrik is happy to hear his recommendation may have helped his friend onto the shortlist.

The dismissal of the apprentice knights ... goes. He never feels properly inspiring or grateful as he gives his speech, but everyone assembled applauds and cheers regardless. He chalks it up to them being excited to go home until the turn of the season.

With his responsibilities for the day over, Hendrik heads back to his room to change out of his armor and into a coat and jerkin combination before heading across the hall to knock on Jasper's door. It's ... been ages since he's done such a thing, and it feels happily nostalgic as he knocks on the door.]

Jasper? Are you in?

[...He can't imagine him having already gone out, but it seems polite to ask...]

[Ah, there it is. The paperwork is finished for now, and while he’s sure there will be more later, that is for after he has done some shopping and ensured Celestine has a good setup. And many cute outfits. And some stuffed animals. And...

Oh! It is that time.]

I did get a few offers for someone to take over for you, but I am not one to leave you off the hook. Come in, Hendrik.

[He straightens out his paperwork and sets it to the side, caps his inkwell, and checks on Celestine... yep, still cute. Still baby. Still too young to do even the bare minimum of trying to fit her foot in her mouth.]

[He pushes the door open and takes stock of the room, glad to see the rather ... messy state from last night has been righted, whether it be by Jasper himself or the maids. He smiles as he spots his friend by the baby's makeshift cradle, briefly making an attempt to crane his head to see Celestine before resting his eyes on Jasper.

...And oh, does he have a few words.]

Ah. And so begin the days without proper rest.

[Jasper grimaces a bit at Hendrik’s words, because he does feel just a bit called out...]

Do I look that bad...

[Maybe he should take another moment in the mirror before actually leaving...]

Well, in any event, I believe I did well enough for my first night. There may have been a rough spot or two, bur Celestine is fed, clean, and generally seems like she is generally content enough.

[He looks back at her fondly and gives her nose a gentle poke, which elicits a mildly confused squeak out of her.]

You would let me know if you were not content, would you not?

You look like you fell asleep on a table. Face down.

[This is probably an instance where being a little more careful with his words and a little less honest would be a good idea. Too bad that's never particularly been a strong point of his.

He follows Jasper's attention over to the baby, and he can't help how his smile widens at how easily Jasper interacts with his daughter.]

Heavens, look at you now. One would not think you had just met her yesterday. That in itself is commendable.

I did at least fall asleep face down on my pillow.

[GRUMBLE GRUMBLE... In any case, he gets up and heads back over to his mirror, continuing the conversation as he goes.]

Well, it helps that she is not particularly intimidating by virtue of being a tiny soft thing who cannot do much but flail adorably and ineffectually.

[uggggh yeah he does look like shit. Maybe he can just... dip into the makeup to cover up the dark circles... he’s done that once or twice when he was extremely hung over...]

But she certainly seems to be adapting well enough. I was a bit concerned she might not take well to the change of scenery, but perhaps she is too young to truly be concerned with that sort of thing as long as someone is doing their best to take care of her.

[His eyes follow Jasper for a moment to see where he's going before he averts his eyes over to Celestine. He sidles close to the baby's side, looking over her as she squirms and looks around with her familiar golden eyes.]

I suppose it also depends on how familiar she was with her mother and possible caretakers. My mother once said babies could tell who was their mother by smell.

[His gaze shifts slightly to Celestine's clothes and swaddling.]

Perhaps she has not yet found reason to be concerned. Only time will tell.

Hmm. I suppose only time will tell. She does seem as though she has not been terribly intimidated by groups, although I do not know if that is typical.

[honestly, it was a little hard to tell if she was taking it well or if she was just confused into silence...]

I do think part of the reason her mother asked me to take her was that things were very hectic with the rest of the family, so perhaps she was passed around a fair amount. I did not pry too much, but it was the impression I got.

[okay. He looks less dead on his feet, even if he still feels it to a certain extent. Time to pull on a winter coat... and he’s got a nice cloak, too, there’s that...]

Regardless of what else is going on, it is good to strive for a calm and happy environment for a baby. If her mother thought she could not provide that, I am glad Celestine has the option of being with you.

[He does wonder if that means the mother will appear in the future, but that's ... really something to be handled if it ever actually happens. Worrying about the possibility now seems like a terrible idea.

While Jasper continues getting ready to head out, Hendrik carefully hovers over Celestine. The tiny baby seems to be looking at him (or his general direction) for the most part, though her eyes do wander to the sides of her cradle as well.]

Is there anything of note that I should know? When was she last fed?

[Jasper feels a mild twinge of guilt in his chest at Hendrik's statement; he'd been given every impression that things would be decidedly not calm and happy with her mother's situation, but... could Heliodor Castle really be considered much better, given everything that was going on behind the scenes?

...then again, there was only one person who hadn't welcomed her with open arms. But that was the one person who was the biggest problem...]

We are moving in that general direction here, at the very least, and she seems to be both at the moment, so I will call that a victory.

[there. he looks entirely presentable. you can barely tell he's running on maybe three hours of sleep.]

She last ate about two hours ago, so you may need to feed her while I am gone. Also, the maids have requested that I put anything that would, shall we say, require more cleaning than usual in its own container, so if anything particularly messy occurs, said container is over by the door.

[He points to a covered basket that is, at least, difficult to trip over...]

Other than that, I cannot think of anything in particular. Several of the maids have offered advice and help, so I am certain if things get out of hand, you will not be left high and dry.

[Hendrik's eyes wander over to the covered basket; he's thankful that the maids will be able to help with such matters now.]

Hopefully there will be no sizable accidents until you have returned. I would hate to make do without any clean swaddling cloth for her.

[What would he do? Wrap her in a towel? ...That would probably be the best option, really, if nothing remained from the Princess' time as a baby.]

We will be waiting here for your return. Best of luck in your shopping.

[He almost mentions not worrying about repaying him for the goods from yesterday, but bites his tongue; best not remind him of that, seeing as he may have forgotten about it.]

She has not been too much of a problem in that regard, though I have to wonder if it is just a matter of time...

[on the one hand: she’s precious and he would die for her. On the other hand: babies just kind of exist to convert milk into waste at this stage of development, so. You know.

Jasper will at least go over to her before he leaves, giving her a smile and a pat on the head.]

Now, try not to terrorize Sir Hendrik while I am gone, young lady. If you feel like doing him any mischief, keep it manageable.

[Celestine wiggles a bit before yawning adorably in response. Jasper smiles a bit more, and turns to head out the door.]

Good luck to you as well, Hendrik. I shall return in several hours.

[annnd he’s off!]

[Silence settles upon the room as the door clatters shut behind Jasper, leaving Hendrik practically twiddling his thumbs while looking at his friend's daughter. He can do this. It's only a few hours. It's really not that much different from when he was a child.

...Except he was "helping" his older sister while she "babysat" the neighbor's child at one time. And he's pretty sure they were being watched the entire time anyway.

He peers over at Celestine as she wiggles in her cradle, tentatively deciding to strike up a conversation.]

You are a very stalwart little one. I had to be held all the time when I was your age because I hated to be alone.

[...]

But look at you. Your father is out the door and not a whimper to be heard. Perhaps you take after him.

[...Wait. That's probably not a good thing. His brows knit together as he prods at Celestine's little feet, just short of actively tickling her. He'll stay with her for a little while longer before trying to figure out what to do with himself.]

[Celestine continues to wiggle and squeaks a bit at the prodding, though she is admittedly at an age where it is still somewhat difficult to tell if she is enjoying it or if she’s mildly distressed. Though, she would probably be bawling if she was truly distressed... in any case, while she does not seem immediately concerned about her father’s departure, it’s hard to tell if she will continue in that vein. She’s definitely keeping an eye on Hendrik, at the very least, and there may be a sense that she’s content to have someone to look at and who is giving her attention...

But, well, this is your afternoon now, Hendrik. It will, indeed, be quite a few hours until Jasper returns, because he has many things to buy! ...so many things to buy...]

[Well then. First things first. Finding something to do. Hendrik wishes he had thought ahead to look through his own collection of books or the library to find something he could potentially read to Celestine; that would have been both distracting for himself and entertaining for the baby. Maybe he can find something in Jasper's bookshelf...?

As he walks across the room to check out Jasper's trio of bookshelves, he finds himself thankful that Jasper still trusted him enough to ... well, not just leave him alone with his baby daughter, but also leave him alone in his room, where he could potentially rifle around.

Jasper's preferences ran towards nonfiction, so it takes Hendrik awhile to find something he considers interesting. It's a little ... unsurprising, but he selects a book of history of Heliodor and starts flipping through it.]

[...the large man... has left Celestine's field of vision... sure, it was fine when the other guy stopped existing even though she likes him best because he pays attention to her all the time when he exists, because someone else was there in the world with her, but now! Now she is all alone in the world! She doesn't know anything about object permanence, and this is freaking her out! SOMEBODY ELSE EXISTS IN THE WORLD, RIGHT...

...anyway yeah she starts fussing a little bit after he heads over to the bookshelf.]

[Hendrik is alerted to the fussy little sounds as he starts making his way back to the other side of the room, and he picks up the pace to check on the little one.

He grimaces and sets down the book long enough to pick up Celestine, gathering her up and against the crook of his arm before retrieving the book. And then... Er... Well, he guesses he can try reading to her on the chaise.

It certainly won't last the entire shopping trip, but maybe Celestine will find being read to a good pastime? Better than staring in the general direction of the ceiling, at least?]

[OH... oh okay. There are other people in the world, that's good. Celestine does not calm down immediately because it's kind of hard to come down from existential terror easily, but she's kind of settled down by the time they're on the chaise. There is a lot of person here, and he is warm and comfy, so while her hands and feet are still a little restless her burbles are decidedly more neutral-to-positive.

...and she does seem to be kind of pleased by being read to! She's still not the best at expressing herself since the world is very new and overwhelming and she's not sure what to do with it the majority of the time, but that did happen a few times overnight after she'd eaten and before she'd gone back to sleep, so... good babysitting choice! She won't get bored with it easily, so it's definitely going to eat up a good chunk of time.]

[Baby burbling...! Hendrik can't help but fawn a little over the little noises Celestine makes once they're more happy than upset, holding her close and also adjusting the book so she has something else to look at once in awhile.

Of course, Hendrik does keep what Jasper mentioned in mind, and he eventually gets up to wander around the room in search of milk for the baby. He can't imagine the milk he had brought last night would have lasted, so if he can't find anything in Jasper's room, he'll, um, open the door and stand in the hallway to flag down one of the maids for some help.

He's not proud when it comes to things like this! Just ... awkward!]

[Celestine doesn’t know what a book is, but she does kind of wonder what these white things with all the squiggles on them are. And there are so many of them! They’re not super interesting to her since she is a baby and can’t read, but she does move her gaze from what she can see of Hendrik’s face to the pages when he turns them.

...and yeah all the milk from last night slowly went into baby. Fortunately, the maid Hendrik flags down is very happy to help, though she does giggle a bit over what an incongruously cute pair Celestine and her big, beefy babysitter make before heading off to the dining hall to get some milk.

...she comes back with a few more staff members of various types who want to say hi to the tiny new celebrity.]

[Goodness. Even having heard how excited the maids were just from rumors of Jasper bringing in a baby, Hendrik is still a bit overwhelmed by how happy everyone is to see Celestine. His main contributions to the conversation are supplying Celestine's name to those who haven't heard her name yet, and confirming that Jasper is out on a shopping spree for all the baby supplies ever (paraphrased, of course).

Hendrik offers Celestine the milk as soon as it's in his hands, continuing to converse with the maids while they are clearly so enamored with the baby. He'll excuse himself once it comes time to burp Celestine.]

[Celestine is just kind of taking it all in, because so many people...! She looks around at them as she is able, because she has seen a lot of different people in the short time she has been alive and while they’re kind of hard for her to focus on, she just thinks they’re neat.

...OH BUT THERE’S FOOD FUCK YEAH GIVE HER THAT MILK. Perhaps if she has inherited anything immediately identifiable from her father it’s how she goes for her (current) favorite food with gusto even though she has been fed regularly and well. The maids are very amused by this, at the very least, and laugh about her appetite. It probably was a good thing that Jasper was warned to keep her in check...]

She is very much like her father when he was young, when it comes to food.

[He tries to ease the bottle away from Celestine, amused by how she remains latched onto the bottle and follows his hand. It's impressive for a little baby!

The small crowd does attract the attention of some of the patrolling guards as well, some slowing down to take in the boggling sight of the general with a baby and some a little more bold to stop altogether and stare more openly. It's even more reason to retreat back into Jasper's room with Celestine.

Besides, so much stimulation is bound to either tire out a baby or overwork her so she can't sleep. One outcome is definitely preferred over the other.]

[...oh, is food over? ...she’s not really hungry anymore now that she’s been eating for a while but she likes food! Oh well, she isn’t really angry about it, so she doesn’t give Hendrik any lip once he successfully pulls the bottle away from her. Between all the excitement and now having a full belly, she is feeling a little sleepy... of course, she does need burped first, but you know.

The maids are understanding, and they take their leave cheerfully discussing that Sir Jasper hasn’t changed that much, and they really need to ask him how he keeps his great figure...]

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