The Baker's Assistant (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"You wouldn't have it any other way." Kayla said quietly as Lucy came to his side at the mention of her name, hugging her uncle tightly. "Although, I saw that Grandpa has a nice little pony for you at his stable. What did you name him?"

Lucy looked up at Leon and blushed a little bit before she turned her attention towards Kayla. "Eli."

Kayla smiled at that and reached out to run her hand through Lucy's thick curls. "Then he must be mighty special."

 

[KieranSoares]

It had done Leon some good to hear Lucy name her pony Eli, because it told him she was starting to get better too. Aside from losing his twin brother whom he'd loved more than anyone or anything in the world, Leon's greatest heartbreak was for Lucy, especially when he'd decided immediately that he would care for her. He had been worried she'd never be happy again, that he wouldn't be able to bring her out of the loss.

 

[heartofcourage]

Lucy simply smiled and hugged her uncle a little bit tighter as the attention was placed solely on her. She adored Leon and she always had, but now that he was taking care of her, she made sure to show him just how she felt about him as often as she could. He didn't go away for long stretches like her Da had. He was always there, entertaining her and taking care of her. It was amazing how she had flourished since the grief had passed, even if she still had sad moments from time to time.

"We can all help Uncle Leon cook a nice meal, right?" Kayla asked as Lucy nodded and looked towards Dazu.

 

[KieranSoares]

"But I'm always 'playing' all day at the bakery. I'm too tired to help," Dazu complained jokingly with a smirk at his love. "Besides, you never let me forget how useless I am at helping around the house." Leon liked to tease him because he was usually exhausted when he came home and fairly useless at anything that required energy.

"Keep talkin', kitty-cat. I'll put you outside for the night like a barn cat."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Don't believe a word he says, Dazu." Kayla said with a laugh as the two of them fought playfully. "He won't turn you out just as you will never turn him out. I think Lucy might get the final say in the whole matter."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She'll turn us both out if we fight too much," Dazu chuckled, scooping Lucy into his arms and nuzzling her cheek fondly. He was incredibly attached to the girl, due in part to how she'd reached out to him after Eli. But it was mostly just because she was sweet as could be and Dazu was naturally a loving caretaker.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla smiled as Dazu lifted Lucy into his arms and nuzzled against her cheek like a loving father. She knew that Lucy was in the best place that she could possibly be and it did her heart some good to see her flourishing.

Glancing down as she felt a tug on her skirt, Kayla smiled down at Lynndon as she leaned in and scooped him up into her own arms. He whimpered and furrowed his brow as he hugged her tightly.

"I know, love. Your uncle is dragging his feet about dinner. You're probably hungry." Kayla said.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Even th'little ones're on my back about it," Leon laughed, finally heading into the kitchen to get things started. Dazu soon followed, letting Lucy help Leon with the smaller tasks here and there.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla laughed at her brother as he moved into the kitchen to cook with Dazu and Lucy. Lynn was content to rest against her chest, sighing as his tiny fingers played with her hair. She pressed a kiss to his forehead, enjoying a quiet moment with her son.

"You look so much like your daddy." Kayla whispered softly against her son's sandy hair. "You have his eyes, his hair, his nose. I smile every single time that I look at you, little one."

 

[KieranSoares]

When dinner was ready, Leon brought out extra chairs and got everyone set at the table before he took his own seat and served Lucy while Kayla served Lynn. Once everyone had their plates, Dazu was the first to dig in wholeheartedly. He never failed to let Leon know how he appreciated it all.

 

[heartofcourage]

Lynndon could messily feed himself by hand and Kayla smiled at the little boy as he brought handfuls of rice to his mouth, eating it with an appreciative hum.

"You eat a little bit like Aleister does, lad." Kayla teased the little boy, rewarded with a grin from the baby as he brought another bit of food to his mouth.

 

[KieranSoares]

"He's no' quite tha' bad," Leon laughed. "Al's just fast. An unfortunate side-effect of bein' in th'military so long."

 

[heartofcourage]

Lucy soon finished with what she had and offered her plate to Dazu, pausing only briefly as she remember that they wanted her to use her words.

"More, please." She said softly to him, glancing towards the minced rabbit that she liked so much.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dazu gladly complied, rewarding her with a kiss on the cheek too for trying her best to speak more often. It was one of Leon and Dazu's points of pride in Lucy, that they'd gotten her to start talking.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You've done wonders for Lucy." Kayla said softly as she looked towards Leon. "I never would have thought that she would be this happy with her life."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She's done more for us than we can ever 'ope t'do for her," Leon murmured. "I don' know if I could've even started t'let Eli go without Lucy t'take care of."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You don't have to let him go if you don't want to, Leon." Kayla said softly as her brother admitted that he had been letting his brother go. "I still talk to him from time to time when I have a quiet moment. It makes me feel better."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Letting go doesn' mean forgetting. I still catch myself talking to 'im. I jus' want t'be able t'go on with my life without bein' sad forever."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You shared a lot with him...since before you were born. It's alright to be sad." She murmured softly as she took his hand and squeezed it softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

""I don' want t'be sad anymore. I want t'think o' the idiot an' laugh fer once. An' I hope Ma an' Da can again one day too." Leon leaned over to kiss her cheek. "And you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I will in time. Don't worry. Same with Gail. Whenever Lynn does something funny, I wish his Da were here to see it. Then Aleister steps in an laughs along with me. I realized how much he means to the both of us." Kayla admitted as Lucy moved to clear her plate before she came to hug Dazu and take his plate as well.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dazu followed Lucy to help her once everyone was finished, and Leon took a moment to hug Kayla close, kissing her cheek. "With Al, you'll be jus' fine, li'l sister. He an' Lynn're all you need."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're sure about that?" Kayla asked softly as her brother held her tightly. "You might need to tell Da that Al isn't as bad as he thinks. He and Uncle Durban had words the other evening."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Da knows 'e's a good man, Durban too. But no man is good enough fer any one o' their little girls." Leon gave her a small smile. "I imagine I'll be th'same with Lucy one day, an' they will too."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll have to think about it some more." Kayla admitted softly. "I'm afraid of losing him. Our age difference scares me because I know he will die before me. I don't know if I can handle losing someone I love again."