"Okay." She nodded her head, looking over at her Postman Pat books. She did have those. She also then, immediately, meowed and got on all fours, rubbing her head against his shoulder. Playing a cat, obviously. To explain it further, she meowed again and then said, "I'm the black-and-white cat. Pat has one."
"Eh?" Gideon was baffled but he did pet the top of her head slowly. Christ. He had no experience with little kids, he had no idea what he was doing. "You're a cute cat then, ain't you?" He smiled awkwardly, bleary eyed and half dead but trying. He looked around at her stuff and then picked up one of the Postman Pat books, opening it up for her to look at.
"Nice pictures, huh?" That was easier than playing cat and ... whatever he was. Cat petter?
"You are Pat," she explained to Gideon as he didn't seem to get it. However, she was happy enough with the book he had opened up, positioning herself on his lap and looking at the pictures to point at the cat. "Look what I'm doing!"
She laughed, very entertained by the cat, aka herself. "What does it say?" She gestured to the text and then there was Holden's voice from the kitchen.
"Rhiannon! Are you being a pest? I told you not to bother Gideon."
"Uh..." Gideon frowned, unsure what it said. He wasn't so good with his reading, he had never properly gone to school until his teen years and by then, he was a bit of a hopeless case. "It says he's delivering post cause people need it." Well, he assumed that was the gist of it all.
He heard Holden yell and looked up, Rhia in his lap so close to him and asking more questions.
It was kind of nice. He didn't get these sort of things. Soft moments. Sweet little girls smiling at him. "It's okay, we're just reading." Sort of.
"If you're sure. You like a nice fry-up, Gideon? Black pudding?" There was Rhia sticking her tongue out to show what she thought of black pudding, but mostly she was simply displeased because her dad was distracting Gideon from what ought to be his focus - entertaining her.
"What's here?" She had turned the book to another page, pointing at the pictures insistently. "Moo." There was a cow, she knew that much.
"Uh, yeah. Sounds good. Cheers." Gideon called out as found himself watching the kitchen with fascination. Usually when cooking needed to be done, dad made him try and do it and he was well shit at it. Holden was cooking and everything. Cooking for him. It was so strange.
"What's... oh. Well, he's going through the countryside to give the farmers their post." Gideon didn't need to read, he could just make up his own story. "And he's got some for the cows as well. They like magazines. Catch up on all the new moo-vies."
That little joke was quite enough to have Rhia completely explode in little giggles, falling over and against Gideon as she repeated 'moovies' again and again. There was some quiet cursing from the kitchen, combined with the sound of plates and other clutter, but Rhia ignored that instead just looking up at Gid and grinning.
"Moo!" It was as if they had there own little joke now. "Pat can watch moovies with the cows!"
"Yeah, yeah. He can." He listened to the cursing and clutter before he put an arm around Rhia and gently moved her side to side, pretending to play but really just checking. No signs of bruising on her neck or shoulders. "Where's Pat going now?" He changed the page and looked at the sheep all along the field as Pat kept driving.
"Oh, looks like he's got letters for the sheep too. Let's hope it's not baaaaaa-d news." Gid bleated as he looked her over carefully. She seemed okay. Maybe Holden didn't hit yet. She was still young, after all.
That joke was even funnier than the last one! Rhia completely dissolved into helpless laughter and then squirmed off of Gideon's lap to run into the kitchen so she could tell her dad about all the fun. Of course, that ended up just being her saying 'moo' and 'baa' and not landing any punchline while still laughing. Holden was trying to balance the plates while dealing with his tiny daughter laughingly clinging to his leg and so he was walking a bit funny as he came into the living room.
He held a plate out to Gideon with the promised fry-up, mostly not burned, then set his own plate down on the table and bent down to pick up Rhia. "You're not hyper at all, princess, are you?" He kissed her head and she laughed still, wrapping her arms around Holden's neck.
"She likes puns." Gid explained as he sat back and took the offered plate. Bacon, eggs, sausage, beans and potato waffles? His eyes went side and to him, this was a luxury meal. He started eating eagerly and watching as Holden held his little girl and hugged her close. She seemed to really love her daddy. That was nice.
"How do you have Rhia if you're... you know. Seeing the council?" Holden was gay, right? So how on Earth did he have a daughter? He definitely didn't have a wife so what was going on.
"I've adopted her, haven't I, darling?" Rhia was eating a piece of bacon off her dad's plate. Well, she was sucking on a corner of the bacon, anyway, which was close enough. She nodded to her dad's words, than explained what it really meant to Gid.
"Uncle Jon took me to my daddy cause my daddy really, really wanted me the most. Cause I'm precious." No self-confidence issues here. "My family picked me. I've got Uncle Klausi's hair."
"Do you? Ah, okay. Well, you have very pretty hair, darling." He smiled and winked at her before he went back to eating his food. So Holden had a kid but he was gay and into that bloke but he was raising a little girl and he was... normal. He didn't try to fuck him, he wasn't a perv and Rhia liked her daddy way more than he liked his.
"I didn't think that ga-- guys could do that sort of thing." Gideon confessed as he ate more sausage and then looked over at the various toys on the floor. She had more toys than him too.
"I've been wanting kids for a while, so I was on a few waiting lists. I'm single and male, that would make it harder normally, but as Rhia said, my brother found her. She's a traveller, she was with me from when she was a wee one, so they ruled in my favour." And now he'd never ever have to give her up again. He wrapped both arms around her tightly at the thought, hugging her close as she sucked on her bacon. "Things can be pretty good for a guy. If you have good people around you."
"Adoption is cool. I think it's good you can ... help. I was with the social once, when my mom left. Like, she always left but that time she left-left." He hated her for it but he mostly just missed her. She was more of a mate than a mom but he liked having her around, she soften dad a bit. Just a bit. "But dad got his shit together so I got to go home. Good thing to, no one gives a damn about a 10 year old. They want the kiddies."
He looked at Rhia and then realised his mistake. "Sorry... didn't mean to swear. Didn't think about the baby."
"Uncle Alfie says bad words a lot," Rhia explained and Holden nodded in regretful agreement before simply feeding her a bite of potato cakes so she would get some breakfast in.
"I'd have taken a ten year old," he assured Gideon, smiling a little bit. "They've still got my name down. I'd even take a lad your age. What are you, fourteen? Love to have one of you lads around, maybe help out with Rhia a bit."
"Santa will get me a brother," she informed Gideon knowingly.
"All sorts say that to your face. They don't mean it. Like, no offence, but you don't want me." He didn't even know him. Hadn't seen his piss poor school record or tried to match wits with his shitty dad. He wasn't someone people wanted, he knew that, but he knew that people liked to say otherwise. It made them feel better about themselves. "But I'm glad you got her. She's a proper darling."
He always wanted a little brother or sister. He always liked to take care. He even liked caring for his dad, as thankless as that bullshit was.
"And you don't want a brother from Santa. You can get anything! Get a cool toy, way more fun."
"My dad has soooo many brothers. Brothers are the best." She was convinced of it. So there was no persuading her differently. She offered Gideon the piece of bacon she had been chewing at and Holden snorted, pulling it out of her hand instead.
"Gideon has his own bacon, darling. Eat some more potato, come on." He fed more to her and then looked at Gideon again, not wanting to argue too much with him for now. "I reckon Ollie's brother doesn't know about you?"
He highly doubted it, knowing Greg. "You've found the right young lad there, in Ollie. There's a right little prat."
"Nah, he doesn't. Ollie says he'll kick me out." He had heard him, Greg, mostly yelling up the stairs after Ollie. He wasn't shocked, Ollie seemed like a lot honestly. "I like Ollie, he's a funny lad. Bit odd but who isn't? Nowt as queer as folk."
Gideon finished his plate eagerly and watched Rhia eat her small bite of potato. "You like your daddy's cooking?"
"Nuh-uh," Rhia said honestly, "No one likes it. Felix made the good bits. Daddy just heats stuff."
"I've made the eggs, the beans and toasted the bread, I'll have you know." And, yeah, mostly he just heated stuff and the eggs were both too runny and burnt somehow, but Holden was reasonably proud himself. "I'm afraid I ain't much of a cook. I make a decent cuppa tea."
"And ribena," Rhia praised, "Daddy makes it best."
"Felix... the bloke from the council?" He seemed like a nice sort of bloke, maybe a bit posh and odd but he was alright. He wondered how close he and Holden were. How much they were together? Raising a kid and all of that. Weird. He didn't think two guys could raise a kid but then again, his mom and dad couldn't either.
"I'm gonna head off and find Ollie today but thanks for the sofa. Honestly, mate. It was great." No one was ever that nice to him.
"Don't worry about it, lad. Come by again some time in case you get lost. No need to spend the night in my apple tree." Holden knew he should probably do something more but it might be for the best to play things slow here. Not as if Gideon had any way of leaving the village until Saturday. "Nice greetings to Ollie. Tell him he ought to stay in school, the lazy sod."
"You should come back, Giddy." Rhia had already given him a better name. "We need to play Postman Pat more. Cause I'm the cat."
"I'll... maybe I'll stop by again, yeah?" Gideon picked up the Postman Pat cat toy off the couch and came over, gently booping her face with it and letting her take it to hold. He smiled awkwardly at Holden and then took off towards the door. "I think you're cooking is good, for the record. Great toast!"
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That was a good game. "You have to pet me."
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"Nice pictures, huh?" That was easier than playing cat and ... whatever he was. Cat petter?
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She laughed, very entertained by the cat, aka herself. "What does it say?" She gestured to the text and then there was Holden's voice from the kitchen.
"Rhiannon! Are you being a pest? I told you not to bother Gideon."
"I don't! We play!"
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He heard Holden yell and looked up, Rhia in his lap so close to him and asking more questions.
It was kind of nice. He didn't get these sort of things. Soft moments. Sweet little girls smiling at him. "It's okay, we're just reading." Sort of.
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"What's here?" She had turned the book to another page, pointing at the pictures insistently. "Moo." There was a cow, she knew that much.
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"What's... oh. Well, he's going through the countryside to give the farmers their post." Gideon didn't need to read, he could just make up his own story. "And he's got some for the cows as well. They like magazines. Catch up on all the new moo-vies."
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"Moo!" It was as if they had there own little joke now. "Pat can watch moovies with the cows!"
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"Oh, looks like he's got letters for the sheep too. Let's hope it's not baaaaaa-d news." Gid bleated as he looked her over carefully. She seemed okay. Maybe Holden didn't hit yet. She was still young, after all.
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He held a plate out to Gideon with the promised fry-up, mostly not burned, then set his own plate down on the table and bent down to pick up Rhia. "You're not hyper at all, princess, are you?" He kissed her head and she laughed still, wrapping her arms around Holden's neck.
"Giddy is sooooo fun!" She was a fan.
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"How do you have Rhia if you're... you know. Seeing the council?" Holden was gay, right? So how on Earth did he have a daughter? He definitely didn't have a wife so what was going on.
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"Uncle Jon took me to my daddy cause my daddy really, really wanted me the most. Cause I'm precious." No self-confidence issues here. "My family picked me. I've got Uncle Klausi's hair."
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"I didn't think that ga-- guys could do that sort of thing." Gideon confessed as he ate more sausage and then looked over at the various toys on the floor. She had more toys than him too.
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He looked at Rhia and then realised his mistake. "Sorry... didn't mean to swear. Didn't think about the baby."
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"I'd have taken a ten year old," he assured Gideon, smiling a little bit. "They've still got my name down. I'd even take a lad your age. What are you, fourteen? Love to have one of you lads around, maybe help out with Rhia a bit."
"Santa will get me a brother," she informed Gideon knowingly.
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He always wanted a little brother or sister. He always liked to take care. He even liked caring for his dad, as thankless as that bullshit was.
"And you don't want a brother from Santa. You can get anything! Get a cool toy, way more fun."
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"Gideon has his own bacon, darling. Eat some more potato, come on." He fed more to her and then looked at Gideon again, not wanting to argue too much with him for now. "I reckon Ollie's brother doesn't know about you?"
He highly doubted it, knowing Greg. "You've found the right young lad there, in Ollie. There's a right little prat."
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Gideon finished his plate eagerly and watched Rhia eat her small bite of potato. "You like your daddy's cooking?"
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"I've made the eggs, the beans and toasted the bread, I'll have you know." And, yeah, mostly he just heated stuff and the eggs were both too runny and burnt somehow, but Holden was reasonably proud himself. "I'm afraid I ain't much of a cook. I make a decent cuppa tea."
"And ribena," Rhia praised, "Daddy makes it best."
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"I'm gonna head off and find Ollie today but thanks for the sofa. Honestly, mate. It was great." No one was ever that nice to him.
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"You should come back, Giddy." Rhia had already given him a better name. "We need to play Postman Pat more. Cause I'm the cat."
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Of course, he had low standards. "Laters."