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Vidcund inhaled deeply as he stared down at his powerpoint presentation, the few pamphlets, and the packages that he gathered in a not-so-small basket. His daughter was growing up, that was an understatement.
He didn’t think that the years had passed that fast, but they sure did. From the very first time she babbled “baba” at him, her first steps, her first time recording a VHS despite people were already moving on from DVDs and venturing into digital media. She was only two and managed to capture a TV show’s episode without the commercial breaks, that’s how smart she was!
But even so, there were a lot of things that weren’t obvious for her, she valued facts. He didn’t manage to teach her about The Tooth Fairy the old fashioned way, she knew fairies existed, they didn’t live in Strangetown but Innisgreen, they were far away and they usually hid their fairy status when visiting outside their territory, they didn’t leave Certificates or simoleons, she knew that was her dad because of his handwriting and favorite fonts in his PC. Father Winter has been more successful, people already knew about him, even though Nova knew Father Winter was a different person each year, after all, a single person cannot be in the same place at the same time.
But there were other things Nova struggled at first, why people raised the pitch of their voices when talking to her, why every toy for girls was pink, why things didn’t work the first time she tried, why people thought she was her uncle Lazlo’s kid, and so much more. And now, Nova was already 9… Even though the ideal time for a child to experience puberty was between 12 and 15. Vidcund considered premature puberty too, he scared himself the moment he noticed Nova had gone way too fast through yet another growth spurt and she was a bit taller than some of her classmates now. So, it was better now than later. To be prepared and understanding what is going on is important, be it if she had her first period early in the morning before he woke up, in the middle of the night, at school, or literally, in any situation possible.
He prepared himself mentally, ready for any technical questions, the why’s, hygiene, and many things he learned from back when his mother sat him and Pascal down back when Jenny hit puberty and they thought she was going to die. Truth was, Jenny had a tamagotchi that she agreed to lend to both of them while she was at school, but sometimes they rushed over and while she was in the bathroom getting ready, they would sit on her bed, feed the little creature, and when they noticed the blood stain... Well, the rest was history.
He noticed his daughter coming out of her room, with a triumphant smile on her lips, a sign that she had already finished her homework and triple checked it was correct. That usually meant that she was in a good mood.
- There’s my little Genius - He smiled at her - Come sit here for a bit, I want to talk to you about something
Nova hurried to the Sofa, noticing the basket and the open laptop with the powerpoint’s Title
“Puberty, but the important stuff”
- Dad… I already had classes about this in school - She raised her eyebrow at him
Vidcund inhaled deeply once again, he kneeled down between the sofa and the coffee table where all his gear was. Ready to turn on the powerpoint.
- The thing about Puberty… is that in school it is easy to dismiss and treat it like another subject, then forget about it after you’ve passed an exam, but the information actually sinks in the… t-the moment it happens to you…
Nova looked at him as if he was calling her dumb, he already knew where this was going, but he knew Nova wasn’t grasping the whole ordeal, he needed to prepare her, not only for her own sake, but if she ever felt badly, hurt, in need of something she could rely on him, without feeling shy, shameful or worse, scared.
He began to explain in detail, trying mostly to remember what his mother said specifically to him and his siblings and trying to repeat them. As he spoke he noticed the realization in his daughter’s eyes, she would look at him then back at the powerpoint, she would touch her chin and bite her lip, a common habit whenever she was focused. And that’s when he internally began to pray to The Watcher.
Vidcund knew Nova was way more similar to him than he wanted to admit, sure, physically they were like water and oil, nothing alike, but when it came to her interest, they revolved around the things he and his brother, plus Tycho, shared in common, Science, Space, Pizza, games and series. But there was something that Nova had the misfortune of inheriting from him, and that was…
Her hot-headedness.
- Well, i-it is part of h-human biology - He tried to remain calm even if her outburst made him lose balance and sit on the floor, but ever since she was 5, it was that whenever she was having an angry fit, he only made it worse.
Vidcund had his fair share of being too hot-headed himself, back when he returned from his alien abduction, one of the things he did to guarantee, or at least try, to be a good father was learning how to manage his anger. He knew he was capable of going to people’s houses and fighting them whenever he caught them spying on Pascal’s house through their telescopes. Nova was no different, even as a baby, she was a feisty one. She would throw things, scream, kick and bite and even now, whenever she got an answer wrong, didn' t get something right on the first try… She would get mad at him, her teacher, herself and even her environment.
- THIS IS BULLSHIT, BOYS DON’T BLEED EACH MONTH!
- I-I know, it is totally unfair - He knew it was best not to correct her for her language at times like this. It was only going to make it worse, worse in the sense that she would begin to defy him and say things not even sailors would say
She grabbed a pad package and opened it - THIS THING LOOKS LIKE A DIAPER! HOW DO I EVEN MAKE SURE IT IS WELL PLACED!? IS NOT BIG ENOUGH, IT WILL LEAK! IT’LL STINK! I’LL STINK!
She continued her rampage, walking across the living room, throwing the pad package to the floor and closing the laptop, not wanting to see the powerpoint.
- WHY CAN’T I JUST TURN IT OFF!?!?! I SURE DON’T WANT A BABY, LIKE– NOT UNLESS I’M 30 OR SOMETHING!
Jenny had said the same thing “Why can’t I turn it off until I want it?” but his sister was lighter on her justified frustration. Jenny laughed it off to mask her annoyance back then.
He raised up from the floor, he still was Nova’s father and sometimes… he had to be firm even if that meant being hated and receiving the cold shoulder for the rest of the day.
- Nova—
- NO! DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! - She snapped back
- I was going to say to breathe, deep breaths - He inhaled deeply, demonstrating.
Nova clenched her first, looking at him without blinking. And inhaled as well. She waited until Vidcund exhaled, and she followed after him.
- Good job, go to the bathroom now, splash your face with some water, drink some too… - He kept a neutral tone, no anger, but that meant it was all left to Nova to assign the connotation to his sentence.
She stomped to the bathroom and he felt his shoulders relax. He didn’t blame her for being difficult, in fact he felt sorry she had to go through and learn the very same things he had to learn, he only hoped that his presence and guidance helped her take half the time to learn those things compared to him. He only wanted the best for her, after all… she was the only good thing that ever happened to him, he didn’t have a perfect family like Jenny did, nor a partner; he was no longer a scientist compared to Lazlo and Pascal, didn’t became a renowned author like the latter either, he lacked confidence and strength compared to Lola and Chloe, and because of his appearance, resembling his mother instead of "the man of the house", his father never bothered to teach him anything except how to talk. He always felt stuck in their shadow, and when Nova was born, all those fears both logical and illogical that he tried to keep in a box locked far away, resurfaced stronger, some days even taking most of the space in his brain, one wrong movement and Nova could be paying the price. She wasn’t like his plants, in the past he had allowed himself to fail,to learn how to take care of them through trial and error, but her daughter is not the same, that’s why he never dared to name her Violett, no matter how much he loved the name, to never take his role as cosmic parent lightly.
While his mind drifted, he picked up the things his daughter had thrown around, he let Nova take her time, sometimes an angry poop helped one to calm down. He prepared himself, no more talking until she went to sleep, just him having to figure out what she’d like for dinner, no Good Night hug, no watching the stars together nor “just until 1AM please?”. If his brothers were here, they would be mocking him for sulking and being a clingy father, Pascal had no right to say that to him, he sulked too whenever Tycho tried to prevent him from giving him a big smooch in the cheek.
- …Dad? - He heard the voice of his daughter.
He got closer to the bathroom door.
- Yes, love?
He didn’t hear anything until a few seconds later, tiny sobs as he heard the rustle of clothes and water. He was about to ask if everything was ok before Nova spoke up again
- C-Could you bring me my pajamas and… uhm… underwear and the pads… ?
- Oh…
He blinked, he did not expect the timing to be just right, he ran to her bedroom and then the living room, bringing everything she asked him. He knocked before he could open the door slightly, sliding the clothes so Nova could grab them. Then closed the door again.
He took away the laptop from the coffee table, then walked to the phone to make a call.
When Nova came out of the bathroom she looked flustered and ran towards him, hugging him as she sobbed a tiny “I’m sorry”. Then he lifted her, despite his back would complain later. She hugged his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
- Put me down, you’re getting old!
- I’m not that old, I can still carry you… but I might if I want to accept the pepperoni pizza I ordered
He heard a giggle and somehow he knew, maybe, he was doing something right.