❝ what did i expect? to leave a hemorrhage of violets wherever i walked? no. a lost son is called 'prodigal'. a lost daughter is just called 'lost'. ❞
the story of iceman's daughter．
[ TOPGUN: MAVERICK ]
( COPYRIGHT! - aka - DO NOT STEAL! )
...
Together, they were watching the squadron of aircrafts that screamed overhead — one jet in particular. This jet was cruising ahead of all the rest, practicing for an upcoming mission of which its details were highly classified. Suddenly the pilot of this jet pulled a particularly dangerous maneuver, so exciting that Kade's heart skipped a beat and filled her veins with thrill.
Her dad just raised a brow up at the plane soaring by, murmuring, "Cowboy."
Kade giggled at that. Iceman's brow arched even higher.
"You like that, Kadie?"
Guiltily, she giggled louder, "Mmhm."
"Oh no. Do I have another cowboy on my hands?" Iceman cocked his head down at her, tickling his fingers into her ribcage as she shrieked and hurriedly shook her head, still giggling, insisting she did not like that at all — that she was no cowboy. Humming suspiciously, her dad finally had mercy and went back to covering her in sunscreen, "What a relief. Don't scare me like that."
Grinning and trying to catch her breath, Kade's blonde head lolled back against his chest so she could peer up at him. For a moment, she pondered his words. Don't scare me like that. Scare? Absurd. Preposterous. Laughable, even. She was certain that no one and nothing could scare him. Especially not Kade herself — she could never scare him. It was a scientific impossibility. He was the bravest man she ever knew.
Still... Kade had to ask, "Does anything scare you, Daddy?"
"Mm." Ice paused, thinking, "That's a good question, Kadie."
She always beamed at her father's praise, no matter how often she received it.
As he continued thinking, Iceman picked her up and turned her around to begin slathering sunscreen onto her little face, making sure to get her ears because those always crisped the most. Kade waited patiently.
"Not many things scare me." His answer wasn't boastful or proud but deeply genuine as he considered her question, "I'm not exactly scared, but there's one thing I'm concerned about... I'm concerned about making a really happy life for you."
Concerned. It somehow sounded worse than scared.
She took his hand from her face, both still covered in sunscreen, and she held it tight in her lap. Her hand was still so small she could really only hold a few of his fingers at a time, gripping his ring and pinky finger as best she could.
Softly, Kade asked, "What's it feel like?"
Ice thought of how to put it into words, settling on, "You know that feeling when you're on the edge of a really high cliff, and you're worried that someone might fall? It's a bit like that. I don't want you to fall, Kadie. I just want you to be happy."
He just wanted her to be happy.
She just wanted to never scare him.
Years later, seconds away from the impact, falling further than she ever had, she realized neither of their wishes would come true:
Kade Kazansky would never be happy and she would scare her father for the rest of his life.
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