"You should wake him up."

"But-but, he likes to sleep."

"He will be happy if it's you waking him."

"I disagree, he'll be happier if Otou-san wakes him."

"Should we do it together then?"

"Okay!"

Soft, hushed voices were pulling him from his slumber. Voices that made his chest feel warm.

"Happy birthday!"

Kazunari's eyes fluttered open and the first thing he saw through the blur of sleep was a wide, shining grin and two pairs of beautiful, really beautiful emerald eyes.

"Aaah, if only I could wake up like this every day." He drawled lazily, reaching out to ruffle his daughter's thick black hair.

She giggled. "Happy birthday, Papa!" she exclaimed, launching herself into his arms and hugging his neck. She pressed a wet smooch to his cheek.

He snickered and hugged her tight to his chest. "Thanks sweetie, it's the best wake-up I've had ever." He looked up to meet the other pair of emerald eyes.

"Umi, would you please get the table ready while your father makes himself presentable?" Shintarou asked with a gentle voice.

She nodded and untangled herself from Kazunari's arms, skipping out of the room.

"Happy birthday, Kazunari." Shin-chan said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and caressing his cheek with his open palm.

Kazunari leaned into the touch with a smile on his lips. "Thanks Shin-chan." He yawned. "Mmmm… I might need a True Love's Kiss to wake up though."

Shin-chan almost rolled his eyes at him, Kazunari could tell from the slight crease in his brow, but he finally leaned in and pressed their mouths together for a brief instant. "Get moving, your daughter has a lot of big plans for today."

Kazunari beamed. He stretched his arms over his head, hearing his shoulders make a satisfying pop. "Sounds exciting." He chirped, finally pushing himself to stand up. "Man, thirty years old, I'm officially not a young man anymore." He mused as he rummaged through his closet. He wasn't really sure of what plans his beloved family had prepared for today, but he wanted to look his best for them.

After laying out his chosen outfit on the bed, he pranced into their bathroom to wash his face and made quick work of the stubble growing on his chin. He ran his hands through his hair, meticulously inspecting every little strand.

"You do not have any grey hairs yet." Shin-chan interrupted, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyebrow quirked upward. "And you better not make it a habit to obsess about that."

Kazunari groaned, but dropped his task anyway. "I just want to be ready Shin-chan! What if I don't age as gracefully as you?"

Shin-chan flicked his forehead with one finger. "You need to stop spending time with Kise so much, he is obviously filling your head with useless things."

"It's because Shin-chan's naturally beautiful, so you don't understand the struggles of our kind."

All he got as a reply was a frustrated huff. "Your daughter is waiting." Shin-chan said curtly, turning back to leave the room. "And you are naturally beautiful, don't be ridiculous."

Kazunari felt an arrow pierce through his heart and he grinned, his cheeks flushed pink and warm.

When he finally got down to the dining room, he found Umi sitting at the table, her short legs dangling off the edge of the chair, too short to reach the ground. Her hair was up in a side ponytail, with a loose strand of raven hair falling down the side of her face. She was wearing a white dress with a blue bird print. Shin-chan had always loved dressing up their little girl. Her small hands were resting on the tablecloth and she had an excited look on her face.

"Papa!" she chirped and hopped off the chair. "Come on, you should sit." She continued, tugging on his fingers and pulling him towards his place before dashing off to the kitchen. He smiled pleasantly. Whatever it was that his precious persons had planned for today, he was sure to enjoy it to the max.

He felt something rubbing against his calf and he looked down to find Cotton rubbing her cheek on his leg affectionately. He smiled and pet her head. "Awww, you wanna' wish me a happy birthday too? Thank you." He cooed, scratching her chin and feeling her purr. Kazunari heard hushed whispers coming from the kitchen and then two sets of steps coming back into the dining room. Cotton licked his fingers and walked away, probably to get her own breakfast.

Umi skipped back into the room, followed by Shin-chan, who was carrying a plate with a round cake that looked like chocolate with white powdered sugar on top. It looked beautiful and delicious.

"This is my present for Papa." Umi declared as Shin-chan placed the cake on the table. "But before you ask, don't worry, Otou-san did not participate in the baking. Uncle Taiga helped me."

Kazunari lifted his eyebrows in wonder. Sometimes his daughter spoke too much like Shin-chan. "Heeeeh? So Umi-chan did this by herself? For me?" he asked with a grin, resisting the temptation to swipe a bit of the topping with one finger. He didn't voice his other concerns and instead looked up at Shin-chan, hoping his questions would be understood without expressing them.

"Please, give me some credit. Of course I supervised her baking session and made sure she did not touch any dangerous knives or got any close to the fire. Kagami came early today to help her. He also dropped you a present from him and Kuroko." Shin-chan replied nonchalantly, although in a hushed voice so Umi wouldn't catch on to his worries.

"I made it spicy chocolate because Papa likes spicy food." Umi was explaining as she placed a smaller plate in front of her father.

"Oooh! That sounds amazing! I'm sure it'll be delicious", he chanted, clapping his hands and watching with excitement as Shin-chan placed a large candle on the cake and lit it up.

Before becoming parents, Shin-chan had always categorically refused to sing him the "happy birthday" song, which Kazunari had found very cute, but ever since Umi-chan was born, that policy had ceased to exist. Kazunari watched with delight how Shin-chan's cheeks turned a light pink and how he avoided his gaze while reluctantly intoning the song.

"Happy birthday dear Papa… Happy birthday to you!" Umi-chan sang happily, bouncing on her tiptoes.

Kazunari blew the candle while Umi clapped excitedly. "So I can eat it now?" he asked, already reaching for the knife. His daughter nodded. He cut three slices and served them on small plates, then passed one to Shin-chan and one to Umi-chan. He was about to dig in to his own slice when he noticed his daughter's piercing stare, her cake untouched.

"Is it poisoned?" he asked teasingly.

"No!" she replied, blushing with indignation. "I just… want to see if Papa likes it first."

His heart melted in his chest. "It's something you baked for me right? And Kagami helped you too? There's no way I won't like it." He ruffled her raven hair playfully.

"Papa, if you're going to use a double negative, then make it a positive instead."

He grinned. His daughter was way too similar to Shin-chan. It was adorable and scary.

"Alright, alright, I'm gonna try it now, okay?" he took a bite from his slice, scooping a bit of icing and a bit of the spongy mass underneath. The texture was soft, moist and light and the taste of sweet chocolate filled his mouth in the best possible way. As he chewed on it, he noticed a peculiar sting on his tongue, not too strong to be bothersome, but enough to leave a pleasant burning feeling afterwards. His eyes widened as he swallowed. "Waha! This is really delicious!" he looked at his daughter and gave her a wide grin and a thumbs up. "It's really super delicious, sweetie! I'm so relieved to know you didn't inherit Shin-chan's non-existent kitchen skills!"

Shin-chan smacked him lightly but didn't say anything as he scooped a bite from his own cake into his mouth. When he swallowed, he too looked at Umi-chan and smiled tenderly at her. "It is indeed delicious, you should be proud of yourself."

Her face brightened with joy and she smiled wide and happy, the kind of smile she had definitely not inherited from the Midorima side of the family.

They continued eating while listening to Umi's detailed retelling of the baking, including all the incidents that had taken place and how they had fixed all of them.

"Because Papa likes spicy food I poured a lot of habanero in the chocolate, so uncle Taiga had to fix it because it was too much." She explained. "I think Papa would've liked it even if it was very spicy, but uncle Taiga said Papa would be happier if he could share the cake with everyone and I thought he was right."

Kazunari laughed and pinched her nose between his thumb and index fingers. "I'm so lucky that my little girl tries so hard to make me happy." He chirped, leaning in to kiss the top of her head.

After finishing their cake and washing their dishes, Shin-chan instructed it was time to go. Kazunari was about to ask where exactly they were going, but before he could do that, Shin-chan thrust a blue object into his hands. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a medium-sized square purse with a long strap and fringes on the side.

"My lucky item?" he asked, playing with the fringes. They were soft and light.

Shin-chan nodded. "Just to clarify, this is not, in fact, your present. Scorpio's luck is at the top of the ranking today, but it is better to be safe than sorry."

Kazunari chuckled and hung the purse from his shoulder. "Alright, alright. I like this though, it's cool. Did I ever tell you Mum was really into hippie fashion when she was young? I really like this." He twirled playfully, making the fringes flap. "I'll go get my phone and keys to put them in here." He added, twirling again. He caught the fondness in Shin-chan's eyes and his heart felt warm. "By the way," he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a bottle of cough drops. "Shin-chan always forgets his own lucky item on my birthdays, I wonder why?" He winked and tossed the bottle to Shin-chan's hands. Shin-chan blushed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose while placing the medicine in his pocket.

"Papa, let's go! We have to make a stop at a Pet shop first!" Umi-chan tugged his sleeve and pointed at the door.

"Hm? The Pet shop? Are we getting a friend for Cotton? Is that my present?"

Umi-chan shook her head. "My lucky item for today is baby animals! It's very difficult to acquire." She explained in anguish.

"Don't worry about it, we just have to ask the owner to let you pet some of the puppies; that should keep you from meeting misfortune today." Shin-chan reassured her, and Kazunari almost rolled his eyes because he knew this would not be the first time they inconvenienced their local Pet shop owner (and half of the other merchants in their neighborhood) due to Oha-Asa's sometimes insane demands. But he held any comment back and hurried to pack his stuff in his new purse. He was fifteen years too late to start complaining about the role Oha-Asa had in their family.

"I'm really sorry for the inconvenience." Kazunari apologized to the owner while one of the employees brought them a pair of puppies. Umi-chan squealed delighted and started to pet their heads.

"Oh, don't apologize Takao-san, Umi-chan is a great kid, this is nothing." They were well-acquainted with the owner since they bought all of Cotton's food and toys in his store and had been in talks about getting a puppy (or a kitty. Or both) for Umi once she entered elementary school.

He could hear Umi-chan asking "If I pick it up like this and get some of its hair on my clothes, does it count as carrying my lucky item around?" to the poor, confused employee before Shin-chan reassured her that it definitely counted.

"Okay, we can go now." She declared, handing the puppy back to the employee. "Goodbye puppy!" she said patting its head once more. "And thank you, mister."

"Ah! Look here Umi-chan, wouldn't you like a kitty strap for your schoolbag?" Kazunari asked, showing her the assortment of straps on the counter. "We can buy matching ones for the three of us." He proposed.

"Yes!" she seemed delighted. "But since it's Papa's birthday, Papa should choose which one."

Kazunari had to resist the urge to squeeze her in his arms. He would fight anyone who said his daughter wasn't the cutest person alive (okay, maybe Shin-chan would pose serious competition, but it was a different category of cuteness, so they'd never be pit against each other anyway. Kazunari was convinced this train of thought made a lot of sense).

"Alright! Then let's take this one." He showed her a strap with a plastic black kitten that had a white spot on its head. "It looks just like Cotton when she first arrived home, doesn't it, Shin-chan?"

Shin-chan picked up the charm and inspected it for a few seconds. "It does."

Kazunari turned to look at Umi-chan. "You know, Umi-chan came home the first time ten months after Cotton did. We were very blessed that year."

She beamed. "Okay, I like this." She declared.

They paid for the straps and left the shop. "I'll carry them in my lucky item so they won't get lost, okay? We'll put yours in your schoolbag when we get back home."

"Okay." She nodded. He put the straps away in one of the inner pockets of his purse. Very convenient. He started to consider using this every day.

"Perfect! So now that's taken care of, where are we going next?"

Shin-chan turned to smile and extended one hand towards him. "You will know when we get there."

Kazunari grinned and laced his fingers with Shin-chan's, then turned to clutch Umi's hand in his free one. He squeezed them both, feeling the luckiest man on Earth.

He wasn't quite sure of how long they had been walking. Umi-chan was arguing about the pros and cons of her upcoming entrance to Preschool.

"Of course getting more school is important, but Yuu-chan will be alone and I'll miss Tetsu-sensei." She was saying with a very serious expression. "But if I don't go to Preschool then I won't go to elementary and then I won't be with Shiori-chan."

"Exactly. Yuuma-kun will catch up with you two in a while too, right? Besides, once you're in elementary, you'll be able to get in a proper basketball team, that's really exciting!"

Her emerald eyes widened. "That's a very important pro! Thanks Papa. I think I've decided to go to preschool after all."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm glad, I think that's the best decision. But you don't have to think so far ahead, okay? Enjoy your time in kindergarten one day at a time. Remember that those who enjoy life…"

"Are winners!" She bounced. "Come on, Papa, we're almost there."

"Oh?" he turned to look at Shin-chan. "So we're actually going somewhere? I thought a pleasant walk out was the big plan for today." He said with a smirk. Shin-chan rolled his yes. Although in all truth, he wouldn't have minded if that had been the case. Just having a peaceful walk, holding hands with the two most precious persons in his life, was more than enough to make him happy.

"Don't be silly, Papa, look!" Umi pointed and Kazunari followed her finger to a restaurant with a "Korean buffet" sign.

Kazunari's eyes lit up and he could already feel his stomach grumble. "Ooooh! Are we having lunch here?"

"Actually, Otou-san wanted us to go to the fancy grown-up restaurant in Ginza, but they didn't allow children. I told him that you two should go, but he didn't listen." Umi explained, and she looked mildly apologetic and upset.

"Is that so?" he let go of Shin-chan's hand to kneel in front of his daughter and kiss her forehead. "Don't make that face, I would never want to spend my birthday without you. Shin-chan and Umi-chan are my two most precious people, a birthday without either would be meaningless. Shin-chan knows that and that's why he made that decision, right?"

Shin-chan nodded. "Besides, it would be impossible for me to sit and watch your father eating for three hours, your presence was indispensable." He added. "And Kazunari has no taste for refined food, a place like this where he can eat his own weight's worth of kimchi is much better suited for him."

Kazunari grinned and got up to kiss his husband's cheek. "Shin-chan knows me too well."

They had reserved a private booth not too far from the food. Kazunari didn't even wait to get their drinks, as soon as he had his buffet ticket in hand he went straight for the kill and rushed to fill his plate with a little bit of everything. When he came back to the table he found both Shin-chan and Umi-chan drinking from cans of shiruko.

"Ah, I get it now! You actually chose this place for the shiruko, I should've known." He accused playfully.

"Preposterous." Shin-chan replied indignantly, then eyed Kazunari's plate and furrowed his brows. "Are you really going to eat all that? You do realize you don't have to compete with Kagami."

Kazunari chuckled. "What's the point of coming to a buffet if you don't eat at least twice your money's worth of food?"

Shin-chan rolled his eyes. "Come, you should not get corrupted by your father's absurd philosophies." He admonished, grabbing Umi's hand and guiding her to the bar. Kazunari followed them with his gaze as he nibbled on his food and sighed contented. Umi would stop at every dish, point it, and ask Shin-chan to explain what it was. They were absolutely adorable and Kazunari sometimes wondered what he'd done to deserve such happiness.

"Did you like the food, honey?"

Umi beamed. "Yes! The kimchi was more delicious than the one from conbini."

"I know right? It's definitely a whole different level!"

They were walking back home now, Kazunari holding Umi's hand on his left and Shin-chan's on his right.

After walking for a little bit, with Umi talking about the dishes she'd liked the most, she suddenly halted and pointed at a bench on the sidewalk.

"Could we sit for a bit, Papa? I think we need to rest."

Kazunari smiled. Umi-chan had definitely taken after Shin-chan's prideful reluctance to admit to any "weakness". He nodded and let go of her hand for a moment so she could climb on the bench. Her legs were too short to reach the ground, so they dangled off the edge of the bench. He sat next to her and kissed the top of her head.

"Papa, are you having fun?" she asked suddenly.

"Of course I am, love. It's the best birthday ever."

She hummed. "That's the same you said last year."

Sometimes Kazunari worried about how painfully Midorima his child was. "Hmmm, well, it's because every birthday that I can be with Shin-chan and Umi-chan is the best."

She cocked her head to the side. "But "the best" can only be one thing." She objected, her emerald eyes wide with confusion.

Luckily, Shin-chan decided to step in and help. "Umi, who do you love the most? Is it me, or is it Kazunari?"

Her fine brows creased and she gasped. "But! But I love both Papa and Otou-san the most!" she protested, distraught.

Shintarou smiled and stroked her cheek. "Exactly. Sometimes there are many things that are 'the best' or 'the most important'. Choosing one over the other would be impossible."

Umi nodded, her face brightening with wonder. "Otou-san has all the right answers." She said, turning to Kazunari, looking as if she had made a ground-breaking discovery that she wanted to share with him.

"Oh, of course he does, Shin-chan is the smartest person I know."

Shintarou's lips curled slightly in a sort of smug smirk. "Of that there is no empiric proof, but I do know for certain that it's getting colder, we should head back." And he bent over to pick Umi up.

"Otou-san, stop! I can walk by myself!" She protested.

Kazunari giggled. It was obvious she was still tired –she was after all, not even five years old and they had walked quite a bit- but she still refused to receive help for things she thought she could do by herself. Kazunari thanked the gods for giving him the special power of dealing with Midorima stubbornness.

"Come on, Umi-chan! You're growing so fast, in a really short time we won't be able to carry you like this! You have to understand that parents have very fragile feelings when it comes to seeing our babies growing!" he said dramatically. It wasn't really a lie. Especially since the "tall" gene was apparently another of the many Midorima things his daughter had inherited. She was way taller than most kids her age. Kazunari was pretty sure that, in less than five years, he wouldn't be able to pick her up in his arms anymore. He was genuinely scared that she would eventually grow taller than him.

She seemed to be considering it seriously and even pinched the bridge of her nose (if she ever needs to wear glasses and starts doing that thing Shin-chan does, I swear to God… Kazunari thought to himself.) "Okay. I'll make special considerations for Papa's and Otou-san's feelings. If Papa wants to carry me too, you can say so."

Kazunari grinned. "Excellent, I'll let you know! Besides, it's a unique opportunity to see the world from way up there!"

She glanced around her, as if noticing the height for the first time, and then looked down at him and laughed. She leaned in and whispered something into Shin-chan's ear that made him blush. Kazunari quirked and eyebrow. "Oi, what are you two whispering about? Are you laughing at me?"

Shin-chan shook his head vigorously. His cheeks were now a deep crimson. "No, that isn't it. It is… it's a… a Midorima secret."

"The hell does that mean? Just because I didn't change my last name…"

Umi laughed, obviously delighted about becoming Shintarou's secret accomplice in whatever it was they were talking about, so he decided not to press the issue any further. He'd find another way to figure it out later.

"Alright, time to go to bed. Go put on your pajamas and I'll read you a story when you're ready, okay?"

Umi nodded and trotted to her bedroom. Once she was out of sight, Kazunari turned on his heels and draped his arms around Shintarou's neck. "Aaaand, I can get my R-rated present after the story."

Shintarou's left hand fell to hold his waist, and it felt as natural as breathing, but he scoffed. "Impossible. She'll want to sleep with us, you know that." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Kazunari pouted. It was true, though, and he knew he had to treasure the opportunities to cuddle with his little girl, because once she grew up she wouldn't need her parents to protect her from any nightmares.

"However" Shintarou continued, casually pulling him closer into his embrace. "it is true that I have yet to give you your actual present."

Kazunari cocked his head in curiosity. "I thought the buffet was my present." He admitted. "It seems like Shin-chan gives me many layers of presents. First my lucky item, then the delicious food and I even get something else? How exciting!" he grinned playfully.

Shintarou blushed and used his free hand to pull out a ticket from his pocket. Before Kazunari could ask about it, he explained. "It's a reservation. A whole weekend in Arima onsen. For… two."

Kazunari grabbed the ticket and stared at it with wide eyes. "Eehh, this is the famous place with the golden water and the silver water? And it's like a super fancy ryokan, isn't it? But you said the reservation is for two? It's not like I'm not into having some quality time just you and me, but what are we gonna do about Umi-chan?"

"Do you remember that Kuroko planned a fieldtrip with some of the older children from the daycare? It is the same weekend. And I have asked the neighbours to come and feed Cotton during those days too." He'd wondered if he was doing the right thing leaving their daughter out of the trip, but it was no secret how much they needed some alone time, just the two of them and once he learned Kuroko wanted to take the kids away for a weekend, he decided it was the perfect opportunity. They could go on a different family vacation some other time.

"Ohhh! As expected of Shin-chan, you really think of everything!" he chirped, excited. "So I guess this means I am getting my R-rated present, huh?" he added, with a teasing edge at the end and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. He stood on his tiptoes to peck Shintarou's cheek. "Thanks, Shin-chan, you're the best and I love you a lot."

He smiled softly, pleased to know Kazunari liked the idea too. "I love you too." He whispered. "Happy birthday." And he leaned in to kiss Kazunari's lips, short but warm, enough to hitch his breathe and make his heart hiccup.

"Papa, I'm ready" Umi said as she came out of her bedroom wearing her panda onesie with the hood up. "Today is a special day, so I can sleep with you, yes? Cotton too?" she asked, picking up the cat with both of her hands.

Kazunari looked up at Shintarou, frowning. "Your daughter is criminally cute, and I think it's unfair" he declared before reluctantly disentangling himself from Shintarou's arms and kneeling in front of his little girl. "Absolutely! The more the merrier!"

She beamed and rushed to their bedroom, still carrying the cat, who was resigned to her fate of being carried like a ragdoll by a four-year-old.

"I believe merriment is not exactly required to go to sleep." Shin-chan pointed out, heading towards the bedroom too. "And your daughter looks much more like you than like me, I would have you know."

Kazunari chuckled. "Hehe, does that mean Shin-chan thinks I'm cute?"

Shintarou blushed and huffed indignantly. "We have discussed this countless times already." He declared with finality.

"Hmmm… well but if you're not gonna' say I'm cute upfront, you gotta tell me that 'Midorima secret' Umi-chan told you earlier."

Shintarou's face burned at the memory. "I-it is a Midorima secret, it would be d-dishonest to share it." He responded, and rushed into the bedroom so Kazunari couldn't press the issue any further.

"I think I understand why Otou-san chose to marry Papa; he looks very beautiful from up here."

"That's all for tonight." Kazunari stated, closing the book and putting it away. The three of them were lying in bed, with Umi in the middle and Cotton curled and already sleeping on top of Umi's feet.

"But Papa, please! I won't be able to sleep if I don't know what happens next." Umi protested.

"We agreed to just one chapter, didn't we? Respecting the agreements we make is very important." Shintarou admonished, stretching his arm towards the bedside lamp.

She didn't seem very convinced, but still nodded. "Okay. I understand."

Kazunari kissed the top of her head. "That's a good girl." He smiled and hugged her lightly. "We can read two chapters tomorrow, how's that sound?"

She looked up at him with a slightly less displeased expression, almost a smile. "Yes!" she replied simply, her eyelids already fluttering shut. Kazunari himself could feel sleep taking over him. They'd had a long day after all.

"I'm turning the lights off." Shin-chan announced.

Umi hummed and buried her face in the pillow. "Did you enjoy your birthday, Papa?" she asked drowsily.

Kazunari grinned. "Of course I did. I told you before, it was the best." He looked up to smile at Shin-chan before the lights went out and they were shrouded in darkness.

"I'm glad. Happy birthday, Papa. Good night, Otou-san."

"Good night, love. And thank you, you worked very hard and it made me very happy."

She sighed softly and finally fell asleep. Kazunari snuggled closer to her. Shin-chan draped his arm over both of them, protectively. Kazunari loved sleeping like this, holding his two greatest treasures and feeling safe and warm.

"Thanks, Shin-chan. Today was great. I felt very loved."

"Because you are." Was all he got as a response, and he felt his cheeks and his chest heating up. He buried his face in his hands trying to swallow the sudden rush of embarrassment and giddiness. He was grateful for the darkness, being caught blushing over something like that would've been mortifying.

"Stupid Shin-chan" he whined, unable to hold back the ear-to-ear grin growing on his lips "how am I supposed to sleep after you say something like that?"

Instead of replying, Shin-chan entwined their free hands together, and with that familiar touch, falling asleep turned out to be so much easier.

The end

Writing such a pile of plotless fluff was so hard.

As you can imagine, this was supposed to be out for Kazu's birthday, but it was impossible! Nevertheless, I used the Oha-Asa predictions for Kazu's birthday, so the lucky items are from that day too (Yes, the baby animals included).

I really enjoy imagining Shin-chan's small signs of affection, like telling Takao how loved he is.

I'm pretty much falling asleep over my keyboard, but I hope you have fun with this. Please let me know what you think!