Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

Classes were over and the Vane family returned home. Silas was on the couch with his laptop, Elizabeth was in the garden, Victoria in her room. Katherine however was sitting in the living room, watching a reality TV show on their 80-inch TV. The volume was up to the point where he could not concentrate.

“Kat are you trying to go deaf before 30?” Silas asked, pausing his work and turning to face her.

Katherine rolled her eyes, “Mom can heal any hearing damage. And it’s not that loud.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You seem to be under the false assumption that healing magic solves everything. If you go blind, you can’t be healed. If you cut off a hand, you can’t regrow one.”

His words only seemed to annoy her more.

“Okay, dad. I get it. You know everything, you’re so smart, blah blah.” She turned down the volume a notch.

Her attitude made his eye twitch. He could just teleport that stupid TV to the sun. No. Shaking his head, he tried to calm down. His mood was sour today. Sulena dungeon was this weekend and he didn’t like it at all but he had promised.

As he went back to his work on grading papers, Kathy sighed loudly.

“Can’t you grade papers in your study? Why are you doing it here?”

She was trying really hard to get on his nerves today. Why? Did Vic annoy her or something?

Looking at her, he narrowed his eyes. Her white tank top and shorts left nothing to the imagination. Her hair was loose as she played with it.

“Kat is something wrong?”

She froze, clearly not expecting a real question. She glanced at him before turning her attention back to the TV. “Nothing. Just bored. There’s no one to talk to in this house,” she mumbled.

Right. He got the hint.

Closing his laptop and putting it away, Silas stood up.

“Okay then let’s go for a walk. We can go get ice cream if you want.” He stretched his arms.

Katherine looked at him as if he was crazy. “Seriously? Ice cream? What are we five again?” She crossed her arms but he could see a small crack in her usual scowl.

Smirking, he walked over to her and offered his hand. “You will never grow too old for my treats. So what do you say? Wanna spend some quality time with dear old dad?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

She snorted, “Just because you’re making an effort doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive you for all the times you embarrassed me,” she said as she stood up and grabbed his hand.

Her hand was smaller than his, her fingers thin and delicate. She squeezed him for a second before returning to her stoic expression.

“Where are we going anyway?” she asked, tilting her head.

“To get ice cream.”

Kathy gave him a deadpan stare.

Before she could protest further, a portal appeared next to them and Silas pulled her through it. She gasped as freezing cold air hit her skin. Her tank top and shorts offered no protection. Goosebumps appeared on her skin as she shivered.

“DAD! Why are we in fucking Antarctica?!” she shouted, covering herself with her arms.

He laughed and grabbed a handful of snow, shoving it down her back. She squealed.

“To get ice cream of course,” he said with a grin. “This is how ice cream was invented.”

Kathy glared daggers at him, snow sticking to her hair and falling down her back. She was cold, her nose red and her teeth chattering.

“At least teleport my jacket or something. I’m freezing here.”

He pretended to think for a second before shaking his head. “You can do it yourself. Use your mana to warm yourself up.”

She huffed, her eyes narrowing. “I hate you so much right now.” But she focused and soon a soft aura surrounded her body, shielding her from some of the cold.

They started walking in the snow. Leaving behind footprints. Katherine complained the whole way. Dad was an asshole, dad was a jerk, dad was a devil in disguise.

“Why can’t we just go to a regular ice cream shop like normal people? This is ridiculous,” she grumbled.

Then she slipped and fell face-first into the fluffy white snow. Her butt was sticking out of the pile of snow.

Silas snickered as she wiggled her bottom and tried to get up.

“Are you okay, sweetie? Do you need daddy to pick you up?” he teased.

She shot him a death glare. “No. I don’t need your help,” she said through gritted teeth as she pushed herself up with her arms. Snow covered her entire front.

It made her look like a little snowman and his heart swelled with affection.

“A hug will make you feel warmer. Come here.” He opened his arms, inviting her in for an embrace.

Kathy eyed him warily. Her pride battled with her desire to be warm. She turned her face away from him.

“No way. Mom told me never to accept hugs from weirdos,” she retorted, taking a step back.

Silas feigned hurt, placing a hand over his chest. “Your own father is a weirdo now? That’s harsh, Kat.”

Rolling her eyes she looked away, her cheeks flushed from both anger and cold. She took another step away from him, but her foot hit a patch of ice under the snow and she slipped again. He caught her before she fell. Holding her close to his chest. His warmth enveloped her, his mana like a blanket against the cold. Her body relaxed against him. He smelled her hair, strawberry shampoo.

He pulled back and looked at her face. Her violet eyes avoided his gaze, but her arms stayed around his waist. Silas smiled.

“See? Hugs are not that bad after all.”

She clicked her tongue. “Don’t let this get to your head. I’m still pissed at you.”

Chuckling, he let her go, giving her a light tap on the head before grabbing her hand and leading forward. The sun was setting. He enjoyed every second of walking beside his daughter.

“Dad...seriously why are we doing this?” Kathy asked, breaking the silence.

He glanced at her.

“Because I miss spending time with you.” It was the simple truth. She blinked. Her usual snarky expression softened into something more vulnerable.

She didn’t answer. They continued walking until they reached a small frozen lake, where a table with two chairs and a bowl of ice cream, chocolate fudge—her favorite—magically appeared. He pulled out a seat for his daughter and she sat.

Not wasting any time, Kathy dug into the cold treat. Her mood visibly improved as she licked her spoon clean after every single scoop like a dog with a bone.

Silas leaned on his elbow and watched her. There was so much he wanted to say, but he knew it would make her storm off. So he stayed quiet, enjoying the moment. The sky grew darker, stars started to twinkle and the Aurora Australis danced above them.

“This...this is pretty cool,” Kathy admitted, looking up at the colorful lights with wonder in her eyes.

His chest swelled. The light made her look like his little girl again, not the rebellious teenager she tried so hard to be.

He smiled. “I know, right?” He reached for the spoon but Kathy slapped his hand away.

“Get your own ice cream.”

The bowl of ice was being guarded by his daughter like a dragon and its hoard. Her violet eyes were glowing. Her face still had some snow on it. He couldn’t resist.

With a swift move, he teleported her to his lap and she gasped. Before she could protest, he had kissed the top of her head and hugged her, holding her by her waist as his warm hands clashed against her cold skin. Her weight pressed against his thighs, her small frame fitting perfectly.

Her hands tried to pry his off, weakly as if she didn’t really want to. Then she sighed and relaxed in his arms. Her head leaning on his chest.

“I love you, Kat,” he whispered.

She stiffened in his arms. “I...I know,” she replied, her voice small and muffled by his shirt.

Her belly was exposed thanks to her tank top and he managed to get a good squeeze in of her little tummy.

"Someone's getting fat—"

"Dad!" She bumped her head into his chin.

"Ow," they both said in unison.

They stayed like that for a while until Katherine pushed him away, blushing furiously. He grinned as she got off his lap and stood at a distance, looking anywhere but at him.

“I’m done. Take us back home,” she demanded.

He stood up and dusted the snow off his pants. They returned to the living room where Victoria and Elizabeth were watching TV. Liz looked at her shivering daughter with a raised eyebrow.

“Why is Kathy wet?” she asked.

Silas laughed, patting Katherine on the head. “She wanted to take a dip in Antarctica.”

Kathy glared at him. “He tricked me mom... Punish him please.” She hugged herself as she walked towards her room, leaving a wet trail of snow.

Elizabeth looked at her husband with a smile and shook her head. “Sometimes I don’t know who’s the parent and who’s the child in this family.”

Silas kissed his wife’s lips, tasting caramel. He hummed, “It’s what keeps it interesting.” He said, going back to his work as Victoria continued to watch the show with her mom. Life was good.