You Are My Sunshine

Haircut

"I wanna cut my hair." This was all Nimona said as she hoisted herself onto the kitchen counter. Ballister looked up from the breakfast he was preparing— well, it was more of a lunch at this point.

"That was sudden." Ballister set down his spatula and turned off the stove— he was always cautious. "What do you mean cut it? Just a trim, or..."

"I want it short." Ballister nodded, trying to envision it in his head. She hadn't cut her hair beyond trimming off dead ends in years , and it had grown nearly to her knees. He didn't blame her for wanting to cut it.

"Okay, okay, we can do that." He turned the stove back on. "Let's just eat first, okay? Don't wanna be cutting any hair when we're too hungry to do a good job." Nimona's leg bounced impatiently.

"Okay," she pushed herself off the counter, sliding herself into a seat. Ballister set down a plate in front of her as well as one next to her. He pushed a sizzling pancake off of the pan and onto her cake. It was weirdly shaped. Nimona squinted at it.

"Is it... a bird?" This game was practically routine for them. Even if Ballister's pancake art had improved slightly over the years, he had yet to make something that her or Ambrosius could guess. He shook his head, smiling.

"Try again." Nimona squinted harder, pretending to analyze the pancake intensely. She bit her lip.

"Um... a shark? No wait- you told me your last one was a shark." She leaned back in her chair. "That's it, I give up... just tell me." Ballister let out a sigh of defeat.

"It was supposed to be a dragon." Nimona looked back at the deformed pancake and burst out laughing. Ballister looked embarrassed.

" THAT'S a dragon? Dude, you suck at this!" Nimona cackled, almost bringing herself to tears. Ballister waited for her to regain her breath.

"You done?" He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I thought you wanted to cut your hair." Nimona's eyes brightened at the reminder, and she attacked the vaguely dragon-shaped pancake with a new vigor. "Chop chop... no pun intended." Ballister looked quite pleased with himself for that one.

Nimona finished her meal within the minute, slamming her hands down on the table a bit too hard. Ballister winced at the noise.

"Sorry! I'm just... really ready." Nimona grabbed her dad's hand and practically dragged him to the bathroom. She had already laid out everything they needed— she was really excited for this apparently. Nimona stood directly in front of the mirror, beaming. Ballister positioned himself behind her, easily able to see himself over her head. He held a lock of her long red hair in his hand, letting the cogs turn in his brain. He turned forward again, making eye contact with his kid in the mirror.

"So, do you want it around... here?" He curled up her hair with his hand, giving it the illusion of shoulder-length hair. Nimona shook her head.

"Wait, I got this." She picked up the clippers (stolen from her dads, no doubt), and before Ballister could stop her, she took it to her scalp. Her dad yanked the clippers from her, switching them off and looking at his kid in horror. She was turned with her back to the mirror, trying to see over her shoulder.

"What the hell was that?!" Ballister shouted. "You just took a huge chunk out of the back of your hair!" Nimona didn't seem concerned.

"How short is it?" She was still struggling to see. Ballister sighed and picked up a small mirror. He held it in front of her so that she could see the back of her head. "Oh. That's like.... really short."

" Yeah!? " Ballister looked upset. He didn't look mad , moreso concerned. "And now what?"

"Uh... I gotta idea!" She flashed her signature toothy grin. Ballister looked even more worried. Very few of Nimona's ideas were good ones. He watched in horror as she continued to shave off her hair, stopping just under the crown. When she went to pick up the scissors, her dad grabbed them from her.

"I do not trust you with this part at all." Nimona rolled her eyes. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

Nimona attempted to explain her vision, using big hand gestures to get her point across. Ballister did his best to follow along with what she was saying, envisioning the haircut in his head. It definitely wasn't something he'd ever even think of doing to his own hair, but if it was what his kid wanted...

Ballister picked up the scissors and took his first snip of her hair. Nimona tried her very best to keep her head straight as her dad worked, bringing her vision to life. As he worked, she would make comments about things she wanted him to change. He kept going until she was a hundred percent satisfied... or eighty-five percent satisfied, but it was an at-home haircut and her dad had done his very best.

"Annnddd... done," Ballister said as he set down the scissors. He stepped back to take a final look. It was definitely a unique haircut, but Nimona wore it well. She was beaming at her reflection, her happiness filling Ballister with so much warmth. She spun around to face him, throwing herself at him with so much force that he nearly fell over. She squeezed him tightly as he patted her back.

"Thank you so much," she said into his chest. He smiled. "I know it's a weird haircut, and it wasn't really my plan, but it's so much more... me." She pulled away from the hug just enough to look at her dad. His big dark eyes stared back at her with so much love. "Are you about to cry? Dork," she teased, ignoring the fact that her eyes were also watering.

"I'm not crying!" he protested, crossing his arms and fake-pouting. "I'm just... really glad you like it. I want the Nimona on the outside to match with the one on the inside. I love every part of you that makes you... you."

"That's so cheesy," she said, the tears finally spilling out. She hugged him again to hide them. He shook his head knowingly, staring at the reflection of himself and his kid.

~

"I'm home!" Ambrosius called as he walked in the door. Ballister peered around the corner, smiling at his husband. As Ballister rounded the corner to greet him, Nimona cut him off, socks sliding on the floor as she dashed to her dad. She basically tackled Ambrosius. He stumbled back. "Woah woah, no need to miss me that mu— what happened to your hair?"

Ballister reached his family, placing a hand on Nimona's shoulder.

" Someone wanted an impromptu haircut and someone has a secret talent for cutting hair," Ballister explained proudly.

"He's way better at it than he is at pancakes," Nimona chimed in, pulling away from the hug to look at her dads with a smirk. Ballister feigned offense as Ambrosius laughed. The blond ruffled his kid's (now much shorter) hair, smiling down at her.

"It looks good on you," he said earnestly. Nimona grinned up at her dads.

"I know," she proclaimed.