So it is done

Parenting

Jonathan sighed as he gazed out at the students leaving the school from his spot in the front of the gates. Luckily, before he had to contemplate whether he looked suspicious or not, he saw Cinder walking quickly in front of the crowd of students. As Jonathan spotted Cinder so did she, causing a smile to appear on her face. A smile that grew wider when Jonathan held his arms outstretched for a hug. It almost looked like teleportation how she practically jumped onto Jonathan's arms, hugging him.

"You can rejoice, this week's lessons are over." Jonathan could only laugh as he heard the indignant huffing of the little girl in his arms.

Relaxing the hug, Jonathan moved back a little, so he could actually hear what Cinder was saying. Of course Cinder chose that same moment to stop talking and just stare with puffed cheeks at Jonathan. At the cute glare of his little foster daughter, Jonathan could do nothing else but surrender. "Want some ice cream?"

At these words, Cinder quickly suppressed a whoop of joy and looked downwards instead. "If possible... Chocolate please."

"Sure, anything for you," Jonathan smiled before grabbing Cinder's hand, heading to the ice cream parlor, feeling a smile spread across his face. For a second, Jonathan wondered if he should have called Cinder something more... intimate.

'Anything for my princess?' No, that sounded... too much. But on the other hand, if the films didn't lie to Jonathan which was possible, albeit unlikely, this kind of nickname to your children was normal. But something normal, did this mean that this was what Jonathan had to do? Or was there nothing wrong with Jonathan just calling Cinder, Cinder, by name? And that she called him Jonathan? There was nothing strange about such a thing for a foster family.

Although, yes, Jonathan was quick to admit that if Cinder had suddenly called him 'daddy', he would most likely have a heart attack from the surprise. And not all from happiness. Ha, he was seventeen, not really the age where he should be expecting a child calling him 'dad'.

Now that he thinks about it, who was Jonathan for Cinder at the moment? Officially of course he was her legal guardian. Moreover, according to the 'official' documents, he was eighteen, the minimum age required for legal guardianship of other people.

But if you look at it from a relationship point of view, was Jonathan... a father to her?

Probably no, not a father. Jonathan himself was not all too sure that he would even want to be a father to her. He was too young for such a treatment for one. A father figure perhaps? It was close, and maybe even more logical. But, this didn't sit well with him either. Maybe as a big brother? That... that sounds right.

An older brother could also definitely be a father figure for the younger children in the family, right? Though, with the decisions he's been making lately...

"Jonathan?" Cinder's worried voice brought Jonathan out of his somewhat nonsensical thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing special, just something silly is all." Jonathan dispelled his unnecessary thoughts, and returned his attention to Cinder. "How's school?"

"Bad." Well, at least she's honest? Cinder immediately looked away from Jonathan as the word stumbled out of her mouth. Although another person might have immediately jumped to very dark conclusions, Jonathan knew that this particular characterization from Cinder's lips did not mean anything terrible. "The kids are all stupid, the school is boring, and you're not around." See?

"Nothing that can be done there I'm afraid." Jonathan shrugged his shoulders jokingly. Then noticing how Cinder was a little depressed after she had listed all the negative qualities of her schooling, decided that maybe making a joke out of it was not the best move on his part. Still, it's not like he could just pull Cinder out of school, so he can only put his hand on her head, patting her a couple of times. The act forced Cinder to unconsciously close her eyes, reaching out after his hand. "Don't worry. At least you have two days off, a reason to celebrate with ice cream."