guffawsungraciously | psl time: single dad au edition

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...]

[As the door shuts behind him, Hendrik walks over to the table and seats in the middle of the room and sets down Celestine's milk bottle, rocking her briefly before adjusting her to rest against his shoulder. He takes a seat on the chaise as he talks to her.]

Your father chose an apt name for you. You are already shaping up to be quite the little star.

[He rubs her back as he encourages her to burp.]

I have every bit of faith you two will make each other very happy. Your father needs someone in his life so he does not overthink.

[Celeste responds by burping and drooling a bit on Hendrik’s shoulder afterwards.

...well, okay. She is not really sure what he’s saying because language is new, but it sounds nice and Hendrik’s comfy so she also lets out a bit of a chirpy little burble into his shoulder.]

[Honestly, this is all kinda therapeutic for Hendrik as well, as he doesn't get to share his thoughts privately with anyone other than ... well, Obsidian. It's possibly even preferable, seeing as grooming and taking care of Obsidian is considerably messier than feeding and changing a baby.

...In any case, Hendrik stands up to get a towel to clean up and put Celestine in her makeshift cradle to check her over as well. He can't help but think it will be very cute when she needs time on her stomach to start developing her neck and back muscles.]

[Celestine is very well behaved while Hendrik wipes her face, though she lets out a mildly confused squawk when set down in her bed. She is starting to feel a little sleepy, though, and this is where she’s been sleeping. So maybe she’ll just yawn some and settle in instead of fussing. She kind of misses the warm arms already though... they still exist, right?

...

She can kind of see them so probably. Hopefully they will still exist... later... or the other pair she likes a lot, that are smaller but a little more familiar at this point. She’s kind of... dozing off a bit now... because she is cozy, regardless. It is time for a nap, maybe. Yes, probably...]

[Hendrik smiles as Celestine yawns, adjusting her swaddling and the cushioning of her little bed before hanging back a little to keep an eye on her. After her fussing earlier, it seems like a good idea to stay close until she's shut her eyes, if not fallen asleep entirely.

...Well, seeing as she is just a little baby and cannot truly comprehend what's going on, Hendrik busies himself removing his jerkin and coat to check on the spot where she had spit up. Not that he's extremely worried about the mess, but it does have a bit of a smell.]

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