"Higher, daddy, higher!"
Logan was laughing along with his daughter as he tossed her into the air per her request. Ever since that fateful day that entailed her being struck by lightening, she had been slowly but surely conquering the fears that plagued her so. The first that she defeated was her acrophobia, and has ever since taken a serious liking to heights, unlike many other residents of the world. Logan had scolded her many times on the offense of her climbing the gargantuan trees without his knowledge or consent. But she managed to weasel her way out of every punishment/grounding by exploiting his soft side with her innocence and seemingly genuine sorrow.
He hoisted and released her with a bit more strength, a subconscious worry of somehow dropping her ever present. He had been impressed by her flourishing bravery, feeling a type of pride that was foreign to him. They had been at this game for about ten minutes, and he wondered how she still garnered enjoyment from the trivial action. Ororo (also referred to as "Auntie Ro") had been present with them, monitoring the weather to ensure that the sun shined for their little sunshine.
"Be careful, little girl. We don't need you falling and getting hurt." Ororo lightly teased.
"I wish I could fly like you! Then I could be as tall as daddy, then in the sky!"
Ororo chuckled. "Your daddy isn't that tall, sweetie."
"Don't start." Logan growled insecurely.
Shortie requested that she be let down, then examined both Ororo and her father. Requesting them to stand next to each other, she was disappointed to find that Howlett was in fact shorter than Munroe. She spent the better part of an hour wandering around the campus with her father, comparing heights with him always turning out to be the shortest. This had only expanded on Logan's insecurity with his height, though he would never admit it, or people like Scott would never let him live it down.
"Don't feel bad, daddy. You're still taller than me." She lowered her head in shame.
"You got a lot of years of growin' ahead of ya, kid. If your lucky enough, ya didn't get my short genes."
"I don't have that many years left! Only around twenty!" She lamented melodramatically.
"Here." He crouched down to her level and placed her upon his shoulders, a new experience for the both of them.
"Wherever you want to go, kiddo. Let's show off how much you just grew."
She uncontrollably giggled as they walked to and fro, summoning those who they compared to earlier to gloat. They had all played along with her antics, many surprised at her behavior, as half were students she was too afraid to approach before. Scott only held back his bitter sarcasm for the sake of his niece, while Jean went the extra mile and feigned crying, citing that she had always been the short one, despite even towering Logan comparatively by three inches.
"Don't feel bad, Auntie Jean. I'll give you a piggy back when I'm stronger and you can be the tallest. Uncle Scotty, you're on your own."
The couple laughed nicely.
"You're too much for me, Shortie. Keep that charm, it will be a great help when you get interested in boys."
Logan tensed at the mention of boys while Shortie made a disgusted face. She proceeded to explain that she was too independent to worry about getting a man, much to his pleasure. He could only hope that she intended to carry on that attitude until she was at least fifty years old. The light banter being exchanged was interrupted by sudden lightening polluting the sound waves. A string of five or so bolts surrounded Ororo as they watched from the windows; she was practicing. She had made sure to wait until they duo were inside. Shortie was completely enamored by the power she saw being displayed.
"Let's go outside, daddy! The lightning's calling me!"
"No. You only need to be struck once per lifetime." Logan slipped out.
"What?!" Jean and Scott shouted with alarm and underlying anger.
"I was playing outside a while ago and got hit by lightning, but it didn't even hurt me!" She triumphantly crossed her arms over her chest as she turned her nose in the air.
"And you didn't inform anybody?" Scott inquired. Logan could only blame himself for this; he explained that even if she were hurt, it would have been very temporary. Shortie didn't like the bickering that his ensued, so she leaned forward, grasped the top of Scott's head, and gave a loud smack of a kiss.
"There. Now you can't be mad anymore."
He sighed, sensing a loss coming his way.
"Guess I can't argue with that logic." He smiled.
Until the skies fell dark, Shortie had been enjoying the shoulder ride directed by her father. She enjoyed the taller perspective much more than her miniscule stature. Even Logan felt as if she were an extension of him, both literally and figuratively. He had asked his daughter what she wanted to do for the rest of her waking hours.
"I heard on the news a meteor shower was tonight. Can we please watch it?"
He looked out the windows to reveal overcast. He didn't want to disappoint her, but it wasn't like he could control the weather. He gently explained that the skies weren't allowing a stargazing session, much to her dismay. She asked to be led into the kitchen for a snack, and he complied, feeling he at least owed her that since she wasn't being a brat about not being allowed outside that night. As soon as he let her off of his shoulders and his nose was in the refrigerator, she bolted like a bat out of hell, racing for her spot in the backyard. He had been right behind her, and caught her in his arms as soon as she halted on the black top. She protested as he carried her back into the mansion.
"I told ya, it's too cloudy to watch the comets. That little stunt's landing you some grounding time."
She didn't take his threat seriously, as she knew how to pry herself from the grasp of punishment. She looked into the sky, seeing a breaking of the clouds, revealing brilliantly burning stars casting a luminescent glow upon the Earth. Within the small hole, she saw a steak of light pass by at a great speed. It was followed by another, then even more as the sky became clearer.
"Daddy! Look!"
He turned around, against his initial instincts, to see what she had, nearly half of the sky cleared at this point. This meteor shower proved to be unlike any other, as they saw hues of indigo, blue, and orange paint the outer space as streaks of meteors graced the horizon.
"You're shitting me..." He muttered in disbelief.
His moment of stupor allowed Shortie to escape from his grasp and run to the center of the yard, the best viewing area on the land. Logan followed her in complete amazement. Soon after, line-like waves of aquamarine crossed over the skies, oscillating delicately within the cosmos. They had enjoyed the beautiful panorama for a few minutes before the skies grew dark.
"That was amazing! Did you see that daddy?!" She jumped around.
"Yeah..." He said absentmindedly as he picked her up.
He knew that with this excitement, she wasn't going down for sleep easily. He could not exactly blame her, though, as he had never seen something so profound. He looked up to the skies again, hoping to see even the smallest traces of the interstellar show. As his vision lowered, his eyes caught none other than Ororo on the building, who waved to the bewildered Logan. Her arms lowered as the skies became once again consumed with clouds, then her eyes lost the electroluminescent glow.
He settled Shortie into her bed, who would not stop rambling about yet another perfect day. He tucked her in, making sure every crevice was filled with the soft blanket. He sat on the side of her bed, stroking her fiery red hair as she continued to talk, gazing into her dark blue eyes.
"Hey, Shortie. Be honest with me here. Are you... happy?"
She writhed out of the cocoon of blankets and lovingly hugged his large frame, mumbling that she had never been happier. He countered that she didn't need to lie, to which she said that she was being one hundred percent truthful. As she thought about it, she truly never felt such happiness that she did in the approximate frame of a year that she had him as a father and lived at the institute.
"Don't worry daddy. I've got that joy, joy, joy, down in my heart."
He laid her down, kissed her head, and bid her goodnight, crawling into his own bed. He had to agree. He also would never admit that he too had never been happier.