The man's back.

His crimson hair is scruffy clearly showing a lack of care. Perhaps he simply doesn't mind his appearance or perhaps he's simply unhygienic I was never bold enough to ask. His hair almost seems like a raging wildfire. It spreads where it wants with very little care for anything around itself.

His hair doesn't do a good job of hiding his ears either which are pointing straight up, constantly alert on his head. Covered in the same crimson fur as his head you would think they are pillars of hells flames dragging the damned into the disorganised mess below.

His face, rugged with the ravages of middle age, is perhaps a little too kind looking for a soldier. Of course even his kindest features look like a hellspawn to me but even I can recognise that his face is kind almost sickeningly so.

He smiles like the big brother next door type of middle aged guy that most kids would love. You'd think he had the face of a teacher really. If it weren't for the massive scar running across his face horizontally and cutting just below the nose. It seems almost as though his face was cut in half and put back together again. Obviously even we don't have that kind of technology and a primitive would never get their hands on it if it existed but his face makes me doubt that claim.

His musculature under his clothes also lends itself to the impression his scar is giving off. Because I can see a coat hung up next to the door I assume the tank top he's currently wearing is meant to be underclothes but even then it's impressive how many muscles the man shows.

It looks as though the tank top is made of elastic on the verge of snapping and honestly it probably is by this point. You can see the six-pack through his clothes and it completely detracts any semblance of guy nextdoor vibes you get from him. Now he just looks like a massive wall of muscle with a gentle face... That has been split in half.

The belt he's wearing doesn't help with that impression. Filled to the brim with tools and protection 'any soldier should have' according to him. A personal shield, his laser pistol even his electromagnetic knife is on his waist. Even though he's inside his own home apparently he wants to be ready for anything at any time.

"Welcome home sweetheart." Both that man and mum chant in chorus. My response is a smile and nothing more. Anything more and I might snap so I just opt to smile as brightly as I can and leave it at that.

The man reciprocates my smile and pats his lap. "Come here sweetheart, give your daddy a hug!" He says in an excited, child-like tone with a hint of baby language as he tries to treat me like a small animal. The screams in my head for this man to just drop dead are ignored as I happily trot up to him like the baby he wants me to be and jump up on to his lap.

I was hoping the impact would at least do some damage maybe make him stagger a bit or cause a bruise though it was definitely a hope and not a realistic expectation. As such it doesn't surprise me much when the guy just sits there and tanks my whole body weight as I barrel into him as though a cool breeze brushed up against him.

Hiding the clearly murderous feelings welling up in my eyes I give him a huge smile and force out the words. "Welcome home daddy!" in a voice I hope mimicked the one he used with me. I repeat the mantra, 'act like a child' over and over again in my head as I try my best to look like I'm totally ok with this.

"Daddy's back sweetheart and he couldn't wait another second to see you!" he once again coos as though he's talking to a baby or a small animal. I want to scream don't treat me like a child! Perhaps that wouldn't do any harm on it's own immediately but I can see him ramping it up if he thinks I'm an adult by now so I keep my mouth shut and just smile. Repeating those last two words in my head.

"Reallly! Did daddy miss me?!" I ask trying my best to sound excited. Oh I bet he missed me. I'm sure he really does mean that part. Well it's not like he's ever really lied to me in any significant way. So I can trust his word at least. He does consider himself an upstanding soldier of honour after all and I know I can trust that much.

"You bet I did. My sweet little angel has grown so much in my time away. Even if I'm happy to do my duty, it doesn't make me happy to know I'll be missing out on watching my sweet little girl grow up. Why I miss you every second I'm away." He drones on and on about this hugging me like a stuffed toy until mother gets out of her chair.

Being a soldier he's obviously very sensitive to these things so he says. "Dear where are you off to." His voice is gentle. There isn't a hint of reprimand just pure curiosity. Even I can tell he just wants to know where mum is going and won't stop her from doing it. He's always been easygoing with her. I guess he'd have to be considering mum's line of work.

"Don't you worry, I'm just going to start on dinner since little Emily's home. You can keep chatting while you wait I won't be long." She says in a gentle almost fawning tone. She would do anything for this man and it's pretty clear even just hearing her speak.

"Then why don't you tell me what you've been up to while I'm gone my little angel. Come on, tell daddy all about your time without me." He says still in that same baby like voice from before. I have to think for a few seconds on how to answer his question though. I can't tell him about my robot and I'm not sure he'd let me go to the junkyard if he learned about it so it's best he doesn't know.

Noticing my hesitation he asks "Oh my, something you can't tell your father. Now I'm truly curious." his tone suggesting such curiosity. That is of course until his imagination gives him an idea of what I would want to hide from my father and suddenly his tone grows quite a few shades colder and becomes incredibly flat.

"Has my little girl perhaps found a boyfriend? Why I must meet the man and make sure he's good enough for you. Won't you introduce him to your daddy? I just must know if there's an important man in my little girl's life. You will tell your father about him won't you." Even the tone doesn't display his displeasure with the idea as well as the fact that he forgot to call himself daddy when speaking to me.

Still it might be a good misunderstanding to foster except I would have to produce said boyfriend if my plan goes awry and I don't even have someone who could play the role convincingly. For that matter I don't have anyone who would be willing to play the role. Most of the people who know me find me unpleasant and quickly distance themselves. Not that I get acquainted with people often in the first place.

I guess I should clear this up. So putting on a flustered expression and a bit of a pout I say while waving my hands around seemingly in a fluster. "Oh no, I don't have anyone like that. Where would I even find a guy in the first place? Plus what if it was a girl daddy? Would you hate me?" I ask the last part putting an emphasis on the word hate and giving him my best impression of puppy dog eyes.

I like to think I've gotten used to performing such gestures and sure enough the man's reaction is immediate. He starts panicking and flailing his arms around in a similar manner to the way I was doing so before.

"I would never discriminate against your tastes like that my little angel! If you want to date a girl that's fine by me. In fact I'd like to be introduced to this girlfriend of yours too of course." he says in a fluster trying to soothe me by patting me on the head. I almost flinch when his hand comes near my head but just manage to keep the instinct at bay and plaster on a smile.

My smile seems to put him at ease as he laughs dryly while I respond. "Oh no, don't worry daddy I don't actually have anyone like that. I don't know whether I like girls or boys more." I say trying to sound soothing in a way most children are. I'm 15 by this point so you could argue I'm not a child any more but a lot of people, especially the long-lived lot, would think I'm barely out of infancy.

His laugh gets even dryer when he hears my response and he just goes back to silently rubbing my head. His calloused hands feel rough on my hair and it's kind of scraping my scalp. I honestly feel a little like my brain is being rattled but I say nothing and just continue to smile as we spend a little while after that in what I imagine for him was a comfortable father-daughter silence.