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Leon Court




Leon jumped a little once again, his hands coming up to touch Nikolai's elbows as he was grabbed. His eyes narrowed, brow furrowing, and he shook his head. "If we give Becka and Ben money, they'll come back for more every twenty minutes. They're completely irresponsible, and the fact that they have like, twenty kids only adds to evidence that they shouldn't care for them. Look, it's one little girl. If you don't want her here, I understand, but she's my responsibility and if she goes, I do too!"
He stopped in his whispers, glancing back to the girl and smiling as kindly as before. "This is Nikolai Byko. This house belongs to him." He carefully pried himself out of Nikolai's grip, walking over to the little girl and kneeling in front of her. "Aysun, are you the only one of your brothers and sisters that got sent away? Or are there more?"

Leon Court




"Woah, wait. All eight of you got sent away?" He pulled out his phone, finally checking his email. It looked like Lenny and Patty had gotten three, all about old enough to work on the ranch with Lenny while Patty dedicated her time to the baby. He moved to sit on the chair closest to the girl, reaching out for her and setting her on his lap. "Aysun, where are your parents?" he asked. "Did they leave to find work, did they sell everything, what all happened before you came here?" His voice was gentle, far more gentle than he'd been with anyone else that Nikolai would've seen. At that moment, in that image, Leon was clearly made to be a parent. He was kind, generous, and willing to give up anything to protect and care for any child put in his care. It was now clear why he'd taken Arthur under his wing so easily: Arthur was a child in need of a role model, which Leon took very seriously.

Leon Court




Such irresponsible parents. Aunt Marilyn would be rolling her grave if she knew who her grandchildren were being treated by her stupid offspring. He shook his head, sighing through his nose. "Looks like you might be staying with me for a while, Aysun," he told the child, reaching a hand up to ruffle her light hair. Standing with her in his arms, he set her back on the chair and kept his hand on her head. "Why don't you finish eating while I put your things into the guest room?" he suggested, violet eyes glancing to Nikolai. "Nikolai, why don't you help me?" His tone didn't seem to be asking questions.

Leon Court




Leon ruffled the girl's hair once more before walking out, grabbing both of the suitcases with relative ease. His muscles flexed as he carried them up the stairs, a small grunt leaving his mouth when they stopped in the guest room. He set them beside the bed, then turned to Nikolai and crossed his arms. "I know you don't like kids, but it looks like she'll be with me for a pretty long time. It sounds like Becka and Ben have no intention of asking for her back. I mean, Lenny and Patty had to take three, and the other four are split between my second-cousin, Leslie, and her brother, Desmond." He pulled his phone out, handing it to Nikolai so he coudl read the emails he'd been sent. "I can take her to live at the cabin if you want, after it gets fixed, but until then, we have nowhere else to keep her. Can you put aside your kid-hatred for a couple days?"

Leon Court




"She's about five, Nikolai. I'm sure she can bathe herself," replied Leon, uncrossing his arms and touching Nikolai's upper arms. "Thank you. This really means a lot to me." He didn't think he'd need Nikolai's help taking care of a kid, but it took a village, so maybe. He looked to the luggage, then nodded to the door. "I'm going to put her stuff up, maybe find something for her to sleep in. Can you make sure that she's finished eating before sending her up here?"

Leon Court




Leon shook his head as he put away the last of the dresses in the closet, almost surprised by the poor quality of the clothes. They were all handmedowns, some of them completely threadbare and plenty of others close to falling apart. He'd have to take her shopping soon for some better clothes, things that were actually in style. Hearing the girl enter the room, Leon turned to face her and smiled. "Hey! What do you think?" The guest room, although decently mature, had her toys on the dressers and on the bed. He'd tried to make it livable for a little girl, but he knew he'd have to work to make the room more childish.

Leon Court




He shook his head, walking over to her and picking her up so she could have a better view of the room. "You don't have to share a single thing," he said, feeling a little like Daddy Warbucks with his little Annie. "It's all yours. And tomorrow, we're going to take you to the mall and pick you up a bunch of new clothes, then go to the toy store and get you whatever you want." He smiled at her, his heart swelling at the look on her face. So this was what it was like to be a father.

Leon Court




"No one's going to pick on you here, Aysun," he promised, kissing her head before setting her down on the bed. "Here, why don't you lay down and take a nap? I'll wake you around dinner time, okay?" He patted her head, then started walking out. He could feel his heart being stolen by the child, knowing that she'd probably have him hooked around her finger for years to come. He only hoped he could really protect her.