Newsies Oneshots 2.0

Growing Pains-Javey, Kat

"Fathers", Kat addressed, catching Davey's eyes as Jack acknowledged her from the kitchen. "I have started my period."

Jack could be very clearly heard choking out of eyesight, as if he'd swallowed his own spit and forgotten he needed oxygen to breathe. Davey glanced at him and confirmed that this was dramatics, then acknowledged his daughter. "Well."

"I thought you should know", Kat nodded, and Davey hummed. "What?"

"I just prepared for this, is all", Davey shrugged, and Kat felt slightly upset that her plan to surprise him was foiled. "I've been putting this in the budget for a while. You can come with me to the store now to go over...specifics."

He wasn't entirely sure how pads were chosen, and he figured Kat would know more than he did at just thirteen years old. He remembered asking his sister once, and she took that as the opportunity to find her own amusement and lecture him on not only how periods worked, but also on the shortcomings of men when it came to women. He supposed, though, that he was doing better than Jack, who walked into the living room with a stone but flushed face, as if his skin was made of pink stones. His chest rose and fell in time, and Davey pat his back unhelpfully. "Th...Thanks."

Kat shifted her weight, swallowing down her embarrassment as Jack found solace in the couch. She suddenly felt a spotlight on her, the back of her neck burning in the heat. Eyes were all on her, watching for her every move even as she couldn't meet her father's eyes. Davey frowned. "Um, can we go later? I have some stuff from friends and Sarah, so..."

"Yeah, absolutely." Davey smiled kindly, faltering slightly when Kat could barely muster the fight to pass her own. "Congratulations on becoming a young woman."

That got her to snort, and she left without another word. Jack, forever in his own world, only figured it out when her bedroom door closed. He stared at the white door, his daughter's name on the piece of paper hanging there, written when she was just seven. She was missing one of her front teeth, but grinning wider than the sun, and brighter than it, too.

He swallowed, leaning on his knees as Davey put his hand on his back, and tapped it once. Jack said nothing.

"I know this is surprising for you because it's unplanned", Davey started, gently and careful as not to step out of place, "but I don't think Kat was expecting that reaction."

He knew, definitely, that she was expecting the both of them to be a little flustered because of the suddenness, perhaps stuttering their way through thoughtless "Good jobs" and "Congratulations" but Davey was a seasoned pro—Jack, however, was still having trouble understanding that his daughter was not a little girl because she once was before.

She was giggling, silly, smart little girl—his partner in crime. Just three years ago, she was reading Harry Potter and pretending to have a boyfriend. Now she was into whatever trend Jack couldn't keep up with, wrapped up in middle school drama, and the threat of dating someone became very real. She was just a kid.

Davey knew he was being dramatic about this. "This is just life, sweetheart. She's not changing, and she's not going anywhere."

"But she is", Jack huffed, covering his face with his hands. "She's- I mean...I've known her all her life. I changed her diapers, fed her bottles, stuck up bad art on the fridge." Davey chuckled and Jack removed his hands. "I didn't- I'm not prepared to deal with this, Davey. And it's not even the period stuff—I don't care about that. I mean, I care, but-"

"You don't want her to grow up." Jack nodded solemnly. He didn't—he wanted her to be little forever. He'd known that when she turned five and started reading, or when she was eleven and got her first phone. He wanted her to be forever ten back then, and now he wanted her to stay thirteen forever. He wanted her to be his little girl forever. Davey smiled softly.