A case of the babysitting blues.

[lieutenant_lineface]

[Well. Babysitting a toddler isn't exactly how Hubert had planned to spend his morning, but it's far from the worst thing to interrupt his daily routine. At the very least, Sophie is supposed to be a well-behaved child (or so Pao-Lin had mentioned once), so he's hoping to salvage some productivity by reading while watching her.

So here he is at House 34, armed with a suitably thick book. Prepare to meet your linefaced match, Sophie Coolidge.]

Comments

[lostlegacy]

[When Sophie reaches the door of the bathroom, she turns around and stares at Hubert. You're not going to follow her into here, are you, bro?]

[lieutenant_lineface]

[........AWKWARD.








Hubert tries his best to pretend it isn't, though. As soon as Sophie turns around and he realizes what she intends to do, he merely sighs and turns to head back into the living room to wait for her.]

[lostlegacy]

[Good. Maybe he's not so annoying after all.

Sophie then proceeds to spend a ridiculous amount of time in the bathroom, because what is being efficient when you're four.]

[lieutenant_lineface]

[Excuse you, Hubert was totally efficient when he was your age. Efficient at being a scaredy-cat, anyway.

Hubert gets so caught up in his reading that he almost doesn't notice Sophie taking her time. Once it occurs to him that she's been gone for a bit, however, he gets up to check on her. He hesitates once he reaches the door of the bathroom, because awkward and again awkward, but soon enough he clears his throat and knocks lightly.]

Is everything all right?

[Please oh please please please for the love of everything Suncreen Rangers let the answer be "yes" because he really does not want to deal with a toddler's potential bathroom messes -- ]

[lostlegacy]

Yeah.

[Because like hell is Sophie going to say anything else. She's a big girl and don't need no man!

Accept this at face value?]

[lieutenant_lineface]

Are you sure? You've spent quite a bit of time in there.

[Again, he refuses to be held liable for neglect. :|]

[lostlegacy]

Yeah.

[Now she sounds a little annoyed. What, don't you trust her?]

[lieutenant_lineface]

[His view of children is mainly colored by his recollections of bitty Asbel. You can't really blame him for being suspicious.

But okay, there's really nothing else he can do short of breaking down the door to check for himself, and noooo way is he doing that unless it's patently clear that there's a problem. Hubert sighs and gets back to the living room to continue his reading.]

[lostlegacy]

[It'll be a good while before Sophie emerges from the bathroom (Hubert doesn't want to know how much toilet paper she used...). When she does, however, she doesn't return to the living room, but instead toddles her way into the kitchen.

Maybe Gee Girl forgot and left some cookies out.]

[lieutenant_lineface]

[Well, that took long enough. But at least he didn't have to come in to do bathroom control.

Hubert notices Sophie wandering into the kitchen out of the corner of his eye, and closes his book so he can get up and check on her. Perhaps she's hungry; in that case she may require help in food preparation. At the very least, she'll need some minor supervision.]

[lostlegacy]

[The minute Sophie notices Hubert, she stops what she's doing and stares at him. What do you want, bro? :|]

[lieutenant_lineface]

Are you hungry?

[lostlegacy]

[She takes a minute to think about her answer.]

Yeah.

[Is she actually capable of saying anything else...?]

[lieutenant_lineface]

Very well, then. I'll get you some fruit for your snack. What would you like?

[lostlegacy]

[...But she wanted cookies. :|

Well, maybe he'll give her some after. She should save room.]

Peaches.

[Just like Ques!]

[lieutenant_lineface]

[You are not allowed something as unhealthy as cookies. Only fruit that looks like Cheria's butt.

Hubert doesn't immediately see the peaches on the counter, so he checks the fridge instead. Ah, there they are -- tucked in one of the plastic drawers. He retrieves one and closes the fridge door, then begins looking around for a knife and cutting board. Not in this drawer...not in this cabinet...hmm...]

[lostlegacy]

[Oh, did you want help? Because WELP. Sophie is just going to take her peepit chick, plunk down on the floor in the middle of the kitchen, and start playing with it. You didn't want to walk without having to worry about stepping on a small child, did you?]

[lieutenant_lineface]

[Not there...and not there either...oh, there's the knives, safely tucked away from where toddler hands might grope for them. Hubert leaves that particular cabinet door open as he goes to find where the cutting boards are -- and nearly trips over Sophie in the process. He frowns down at her.]

Please sit down at the table. I'll have your snack ready soon.

[Come on, he said "please." :T]

[lostlegacy]

[Yeah, but you frowned at her, which is -10 points and earns you....]

Why?

[Have fun with that, Hubert.]

[lieutenant_lineface]

I don't wish to trip over you.

[Crouching down now to peek under the sink now. He finds a wooden cutting board and sets it on the counter, then takes a knife and begins to carve up the peach into kid-friendly slices.]

[lostlegacy]

[This might seem logical to someone older, but to Sophie? Nah.]

But I'm not done yet.

[Had anyone else asked her to move, she almost certainly would have, but Hubert, you've put her back up. Unless she gets another direct order, she's going to be stubborn.]

[lieutenant_lineface]

You can finish whatever you're doing at the table. Please sit down.

[lostlegacy]

[Sophie may be young, but like most kids, she has a good instinct for how far she can push things. She's not happy about it, but--she gets up from the floor, goes over to the table, climbs into a chair, and sits down.

:|]

[lieutenant_lineface]

[Good girl. So-Cool is rewarded with Hubert coming over with a plate of peach slices (more like cubes, really) barely a minute later, along with a fork so she can eat without getting her hands all messy. He sits down at the table across from her and opens his book again to continue reading.]

[lostlegacy]

[And peace is finally achieved as Sophie settles down to eat her snack. She even uses the fork! Good job, Sophie.]