♥ 300+ words.
The doggish man wrapped an arm around her small shoulders, hugging her close to him. Vigilante wanted to ease away her tears and make her smile again. She'd had an unorthodox life thus far, and he hated knowing that he might have had a hand in her lack of a father. He could not be certain that Leroy would have been around, had he not come into the picture, but he worried that he might have been part of the reason that the black and white male did not seem to care about his daughter. In the back of his mind, Vigilante thought that Amaranth might be better off without him, but he would never voice such a thing. All that he could think was that he was missing out on being a part of this young girl's life, and it was his loss. Even though that was true, though, it was hurting Amaranth. That was the worst part of it all.
"No, I'm not mad at you. I couldn't be. You've done nothing wrong," he said softly, hugging her close. He could not imagine why he would be mad at her, but he wanted to reassure her that he most certainly was not. Young Mara was fragile, especially now when she had just experienced something traumatic. It was obvious in her tears and the shaking of her shoulders, the stutter in her voice over the hiccups. "Your mom does love you," he said, though he could not say the same for her father, "and I love you." It was all that he was able to promise her, but he was absolutely certain about both of those things. There was no doubt in his mind about either thing he had just told her.
Her question took him by surprise, though he did not allow his body language to show this. He did not want her to think that there was something wrong with what she had asked him, because there most assuredly was not. "Amaranth, I will always be here for you. I promise you that. I would be honored for you to think of me as your daddy," he admitted. He had always wondered whether or not she considered him family, like he considered her. Now, it seemed that he knew, and it made him happy to know that was how she felt about him.
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