I've seen some frustration that Loid isnt more comforting/loving to Anya which like. In documenting every time he 'comforts' her in the first 18 chapters alone I had a Long document of evidence snipped. He performs a lot of loving actions within his own limitations as a person.
But I think his concern after he takes her to work and lets her play in the sandbox are not unfounded. 'This is a child I adopted and immediately put in a high pressure situation. I am a stranger to her and discounting everything else she's had at least 4 prior families who abandoned her on top of losing her actual parents. She is under immense psychological stress.' (which... She is. Even if she can't tell that yet. I'm sorry but seeing a vision of your adopted father dying is ROUGH)
And those are just the facts. Twilight makes up sad backstories for Bond at the drop of a hat. He's definitely sat up at night and considered everything she might have been through. (Inaccurately)
It's been six months. His own reservations aside. He and Anya are the only ones who know they were strangers before. That she's adopted. That saying "I love You" too early can be extremely stressful for a child who (rightly) has good reason to think you might abandon them like their previous families. (Even discounting her mind reading)
He has to make her call him Papa. A thing he'd probably have wanted to spit if a family had tried adopting him and Insisted on from the beginning. (Might have done anyway if it meant a warm bed and semi regular meals) She's happy to but that's a huge ask of an adopted child.
So of course he's being tender footed where he can. He's getting her gifts. Fulfilling requests. Making favorite meals. Trying to balance his mission and keeping her happy.
"Was it too early to hold hands?" Is one of their first interactions. When she pulls away from him and hides. He can't know it's because he thought about the dangers of being attacked when one handed. (Which he then DOES have to do In chapter one. It's not like that was unfounded. Or that he expressed those concerns to Her. He doesn't know she's a mind reader!)
When he's worried about having hurt her by not showing up for the bus jacking incident she tells him: buy me a treat and we're okay. He grabs that and does so.
We know Anya loves him so much. Is uncertain about how He feels about her. But even if he hugged her every day and said I love you! She'd still feel that way. Because Anya knows. Knows that Papa Does have a complicated relationship with her unlike Mama. Those words would be cheapened for her. So she doesn't ask him for them, because then she'd hear him lie.
Loid doesn't offer them because He knows. He knows she's adopted and he has prevented her from discussing that. He Knows what he's asked of her and that it's wrong. But he has to. There is no choice.
So he lets her lead as much as he can.
