#i strongly dislike trying to capture their little kid-isms

[hold-him-down]

🤝 because I know your taste :)

Notes: somewhere late first year, in response to this ask thing.

Some help performing a basic task:

“Can I help?” Eliza Bennett asks from the doorway. Three weeks ago, it may have startled Leo, but she’s been a near constant presence in Luke’s house for the last week.

Leo sits on the floor, a 5,000 piece puzzle courtesy of Rob (partly, Leo thinks, in thanks for helping to keep Eliza occupied), laid out in front of him. “Sure,” he says, moving to make room for her. 

She picks up a piece and Leo says, “Here,” pointing to a pile of like-colored pieces. 

It’s not long before she catches on, and they work in silence for a full three minutes before she drops her first question, which is, unfortunately, deeply aligned with what Leo has come to expect from her.

“Do you get to do puzzles at the training sites?” she asks. 

Leo’s brow furrows and he continues examining his piece. He has, on at least four separate occasions, asked Rob how he would prefer that he handle these questions. Each time he is met with an apology, and with a promise that Rob will address it, and a blanket statement of approval for Leo to handle it however he’s comfortable. Rob insists that he does not need to feel obligated to answer her questions, but that, the more aware she has become of the system in general, the more questions she has, and her curiosity has become increasingly aimed toward understanding what Leo's specific experience has been.

Rob is also careful to assure Leo that Eliza has become a somewhat adamant opponent to the system at the ripe age of six, and that even though she seems to understand, generally, the absolute shit show that is the current state of our country, she shouldn't be explicitly trusted to not repeat anything that he tells her. It's been a challenging balance, to say the least, but Leo enjoys Eliza's company, in large part due to the fact that she does not tiptoe around him.

She must notice that he’s held onto one piece for a little too long and she says, “Sorry. I shouldn't have asked that.”

Leo smiles and shakes his head, then clears his throat. “It’s okay, it’s just… it’s tough to explain the sites to anyone, there's a lot of... complicated rules and expectations that I don't think most would find very interesting.” 

He places his piece into his pile and says, “I was able to do puzzles and read, or paint, or play the piano, if I wanted to. I just had to follow a schedule, but there were plenty of times for me to do things I enjoyed.” He hopes she’ll leave it at that, but knows that she almost definitely will not.

“Oh,” she says, and goes back to sorting puzzles. 

A mere thirty seconds pass before she asks, “Uncle Luca lets you do whatever you want any time though, right?” 

Leo chokes on nothing, but disguises it the best he can with a laugh. “Yes,” he says. “Any time I want.”