"Daddy! Daddy! Look what I made for you!"
That voice was what drew Max Profitt Haltmann's mind out of his paperwork and back to reality. That familiar, adorable, lovely voice.
His daughter. Susanna.
And there she was. Even though she had no mouth, he could tell that she was smiling. She eagerly hopped up and down, excited to show her beloved father her masterpiece.
"You made something for me? Can I see it?" Max replied, turning his chair so he could properly face his daughter. He briefly glanced at his paperwork. It was important, but he figured he could finish it later. He had plenty of time, and he promised himself he would always save some of it to spend with Susanna. She was his top priority, no matter what happened.
The little girl revealed a paper that was behind her back and held it out for her dad to see. On the paper was a crude drawing of her dad with what appeared to be one of the robots he had been working on. "Do you like it?" she asked.
Max smiled ever so slightly and took the drawing in his hands. It wasn't the most gorgeous work of art; it was made by a six-year-old girl, after all. It was the thought that counted. He looked up from the paper and at his daughter, who had her hands folded in front of her and was fidgeting from excitement. When she looked at her dad and noticed him looking back at her, she was unable to suppress her nervous giggles.
The man smiled again. Stroking his mustache, he tried to make his reply sound as sweet and as gentle as he could: "I love it. I think it's beautiful. You're going to make a fine artist one day, Susie."
This made Susanna giggle even more, the smile on her face growing even wider. "Th-thank you, Daddy," she managed to say between laughs. She quickly calmed herself, and, to her father's amusement, tried acting like a lady: she straightened her posture, folded her hands behind her back, looked endearingly at her father, and said in the most polite voice that a six-year-old could manage, "Watcha doin'?"
Max chuckled and looked back at his paperwork. "Stuff for my job. You could say that it's… homework, " he answered, gazing mischievously at the child as he said the last word. "You've finished your homework, right?"
Her giggling was becoming hysterical now, and he loved it. Her laughter, her joy, was music to his ears. A song that he never wanted to end.
"Y-yes, Da-Daddy!" she squealed, laughter still racking her small body.
"Good, good. 'Cause if you didn't, you would have been in serious trouble, missy," the man pointed out, earning a few more giggles from his little girl.
Still snickering quietly, Susanna slowly made her way to her father's side and tried to see the papers that were on his desk, but it was high, and she was very short. "Is it about robots?" she questioned, pointing to the desk.
"Yup."
"Can I see?"
She never got her answer—well, verbally, she didn't. Instead, she got it when she was suddenly scooped up by her dad and placed in his lap. She was startled, and was unable to hold in a chorus of surprised squeals and giggles. But once she was in her father's lap, she quieted down, for she now had a perfect view of his desk and the many papers and blueprints scattered about on it. She couldn't help but let out a gasp of wonder; nearly all of the papers were designs, each bearing detailed drawings of robots or machines designed for various tasks. Did her daddy do all of that?
"Daddy, did you do all of this? It's so awesome! I could never make drawings like these…" she said, looking back at her father in admiration.
Max chuckled again and shook his head. "Oh, no, sweetie. I had a lot of help from the computers, you see," he explained, pointing to one of the many computers in the room. "And don't say that you'll never make good drawings. The one you just gave me was excellent. And one day, you will be able to design robots, like me."
"How do you know?" The child asked, curiosity visible in her bright blue eyes.
"Because you can get some practice right now." With those words, he handed his daughter a blank blueprint and a white colored pencil.
"Really?!" she asked, her face lighting up in excitement. Her father nodded in response, and with a happy squeal, she set the blueprint down on the desk and started scribbling away.
The man watched with amusement as his little girl quickly but carefully drew on the blueprint, designing her dream machine. Much like the drawing she just gave him, it wasn't quite a masterpiece, but he could tell that she was putting a lot of thought and effort into her design.
Within a few minutes, she finished, and she set down the colored pencil and leaned back, allowing her father to observe her work.
"It looks like a spaceship."
"No, silly daddy! It's a fighting robot! You see those?" She pointed at the lower part of her robot design. "Those are arms, and they spin! That's how you fight the bad guys! You make the arms spin around and around, and then you make the robot run into the bad guys! They'll get knocked away by the spinny arms!" she explained, trying to spin in her father's lap, but she lost her balance and fell into his hands.
"Ah, I see," Max said, studying her design. "I like it. You have a very creative imagination." He ruffled Susanna's pink hair as he said this, making her giggle and smile.
"I think I'll save this for later. I might build it one day," the man continued, placing his daughter's design on top of a stack of blueprints. The little girl giggled even more in response, making him smile. "Now… would you like to see one of the robots I've been building?"
"Really?! Yes, please; yes, please!" she squealed, her eyes growing wide in excitement.
Max chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm. It was expected, though. She had never seen one of his robots in the flesh before… until now, that is. "Alright, let's go, then," he said happily, picking up his daughter and heading to one of his labs.
Susanna was nervous. She had never been inside one of her dad's robot labs before. "It's unsafe," he'd always tell her. Were the robots dangerous, she wondered? She anxiously glanced at the door to the lab, then up at her father. He noticed this, and gave her a reassuring smile.
There's nothing to be afraid about, she told herself. I'm going to be with my daddy. He'll keep me safe!
The two reached the robot lab, and Max put his hand on a scanner to unlock the door. The door opened, granting them access. Immediately Susanna was overwhelmed by the sound of beeping computers and whirring machines. There was a metallic smell in the air, making her feel very uncomfortable. There were computers lining the walls, and on their monitors were lots of numbers and letters stringed together to form computer commands. What really caught her attention, however, was a large, black robot in the center of the room. It was round and had small feet; enormous arms were mounted on its side, and it had a small, open cockpit on top. Since it wasn't quite finished, there were numerous wires connected to it, the other ends connecting to various computers around the room.
"Much like the robot you designed, this robot was created to fight," Max explained, pointing at the robot. "It's not quite ready yet, but when I'm done with it, it will actually be able to mimic the driver's abilities. Right now it can only do punches." He looked at his daughter in his hands and saw her staring at the robot in amazement.
"Daddy, why does it take so long to build a robot?" Susanna asked, looking back at her father.
He hummed for a moment before starting his explanation. "Well, you see, Susie, first, I need to make sure that the robot's design is perfect. If there is even one small flaw, it won't work properly. Then the parts of the robot need to be constructed by the 3D printers. There are many parts, and once they are finished, I need to carefully inspect each part and make sure no mistake was made during the construction process. Then after that, I need to assemble the robot, and then I need to code it so it will respond to the contro—" He stopped abruptly when he noticed that the little girl was giggling again. "What's so funny?"
"You! You're funny, silly Daddy!"
"Is that so?"
Susanna shrieked when her dad suddenly started tickling her, his hands rubbing against her belly. Her loud laughter echoed throughout the room, making a smile spread across her father's face.
The little girl eventually squirmed out of his grasp, and she landed on the floor, still giggling, giving at her father an "I win" kind of look.
Her laughter died down once she caught sight of the robot again, and she carefully approached it, her eyes filled with wonder. "It's so big!" she commented, running her hand over the machine's steely-smooth surface.
Max watched his little girl admire the robot. She really was obsessed with the machines. He was sure that she would make a great owner of his company one day.
He was about to go and pick up Susanna again so they could call it a night, but then he got a clever idea. "Sometimes I wish I really had an assistant," he started, smirking as he saw his daughter avert whip her head around and look at him, eyes wide. "It would be really helpful… too bad I don't have one…"
"Ooh, pick me, pick me!" the little girl squealed, waving her hands wildly in front of her dad's face.
The man gently smiled and grabbed his daughter's hands to calm her down. "I'd pick you over the most highly trained professionals any day, sweetheart," he whispered, rubbing the girl's hand and placing one of his hands on her cheek.
She smiled once again, making him smile in return.
Susanna glanced anxiously at her father, feeling very nervous at the moment. Her dad had instructed her to pilot the robot! She was happy that she was able to do so, but she worried that something might go wrong.
Max briefly glanced away from his computer monitor and over at his daughter in the robot's cockpit. She was tense and had a very nervous expression. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, concern audible in his voice.
She nodded tentatively, gripping the levers of the controls as if they were the one thing keeping her alive. "It's okay, sweetheart," the man attempted to assure. "After I turn it on, I'll stay close so I can cut the power if anything happens." He pressed a few buttons on the computer's keyboard, activating various programs. After doing so, he turned to face the robot and its pilot, yelling, "Let 'er rip!"
With a newfound confidence, the little girl pushed the levers forward. She heard the machinery creak, and the robot started to take its first steps. Its right foot slammed down on the floor, making its body clank and rattle. She was startled by the sudden movement and let go of the controls. She looked to her side and found her father standing right next to the machine, eyeing the robot carefully. "Keep going," he said, pointing ahead.
Susanna pushed the levers forward again, feeling the machine moan and clatter underneath her. The robot listened to her command, taking one, two, three steps. A smile slowly spread across her face. This was pretty fun! She giggled as the robot trudged onward, and she made beeping sounds, trying to imitate a robot.
Max smiled proudly, happy that his daughter had quickly overcome her fear. In fact, she actually looked like she was having fun.
But his smile quickly faded. Even though she was having fun, she apparently wasn't paying attention: she was headed straight for the wall, and it didn't look like she was going to stop anytime soon.
"Susie! Stop!" he yelled, but his words fell on deaf ears. Acting quickly, he sprinted towards the robot, still attempting to call his daughter. When she didn't respond, he lunged forward, grabbed the power cord, and pulled it out of the robot, cutting off its source of power. With a loud groan, the robot powered down, stopping millimeters away from the wall.
Susanna's giggling and beeping halted, and her expression changed from one of happiness to one of confusion. She tried pushing the levers forward again, but the robot didn't move an inch. Then she finally looked up and noticed how close she was to the wall.
"That was close," Max said, walking up to the robot, holding a stepladder. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
"Yeah…" the child replied, frowning deeply. She had nearly destroyed the robot, her father's creation, all of his hard work! He must be so disappointed in her right now.
The man set the stepladder down and climbed onto it, allowing him to reach the cockpit and pull his little girl out of it. He noticed her sudden silence, making him concerned. "What's wrong?" he asked her, tenderly rubbing her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," she whimpered, sounding like she was about to cry. "I almost destroyed the robot. I almost destroyed all of your hard work…"
Max shushed his daughter gently, running his hand through her hair. "It's okay, sweetheart; you didn't know. I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're thinking."
He pulled her into a comforting hug, one only a father could give. The distraught little girl returned it as best as she could, clinging to her father like a child lost in the darkness.
The man carried his daughter out of the room. He hated seeing his little girl so sad.
Like a glitch in his robots, he wanted to fix this. Fix her.
Max quietly opened the door to his balcony, still cradling his little girl. He glanced down at her. She hadn't said a word since they left the robot lab. Her silence was unnerving. She also looked like she was on the verge of tears.
Deciding not to say anything just yet, he walked over to a chair and sat on it, situating Susanna in a comfortable position next to him. He placed a hand on her head and rubbed it gently in an attempt to sooth her.
Finally, the little girl spoke. "There's so many stars…"
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the man commented, holding his little girl closer.
She nodded, taking in the beauty of the night sky. The stars dotted it like sprinkles on a cupcake, and each seemed to be different. Some stars were blue, some red, some yellow, some white. Some of them were bigger or brighter than others.
"Daddy, do you believe in wishes?" the child asked, looking up at her father.
"Wishes?"
"Yeah, like when you wish on a shooting star. Look, there's one now!"
She pointed to the sky, and sure enough, a streak of light was there, obviously a shooting star, but it quickly disappeared. She folded her hands and closed her eyes, silently making a wish. After she did so, she smiled and looked back at her dad. "Do you know what I wished for, Daddy?"
Max chuckled, relieved that his little girl was happy again. "What did you wish for, sweetheart?"
"I wished that we will be together forever!" she replied, spreading her hands out to prove her point.
His heart melted, right then and there. She was so happy, so beautiful, and so innocent.
That's exactly why he feared for her future. One day, Susanna was sure to find out that the world wasn't sunshine and rainbows all the time. She'd see how cruel and selfish the world could be.
He'd just have to cherish the sweet times he shared with her before that day came.
Her sweet little voice sounded again, drawing him out of his thoughts. "Daddy? What did you wish for?"
Max pushed his negative thoughts asides. No need to think such horrid things now.
Focus on the present, not the future.
"…I wished for the same exact thing, sweetheart." He answered, placing a hand on her cheek.
The child smiled once again, and surprised her father by pulling him into a hug. "I love you, Daddy."
He returned the embrace. "I love you, too, Susanna."
A/N: Happy Father's Day. Go tell the dads in your life how much you love and appreciate them and all that they do. And if you're a father, reading this right now, go tell your kids how blessed you are to have such beautiful sweethearts, pumpkins, troublemakers, or whatever else you may call them. Tell them how much you love them, too. :)
2/9/18—Fixed some things after a quick glance-over, but I may come back to this if I ever feel like sprucing things up.
6/7/18—Came back to this 'cause I'm gonna post this on AO3 soon, so I fixed a teeny-tiny punctuation error that you probably didn't notice. (I can't believe it's already almost been a year since I posted this...)