A/N: Written for shipping week at Caesar's Palace. No prompt. Inspired by the song 'Mr. Mom', sung by Lonestar
The sky was a brilliant blue that make the fluffy clouds seem even whiter. The birds were trilling and a light breeze danced through the long grass. All in all, it was a lovely spring day, made all the better when the cozy cottage came into view. Tanda paused for a moment, rolling his shoulders under the weight of his pack. It wasn't heavy, but after a five hour trip the stiff board was digging uncomfortably into his shoulders.
"Home sweet home." He sighed happily, starting up the path that wound around the bogs. There was fencing where the path drew close to the edge of the water, and as he passed Tanda eyed them critically for any spots that had weakened since last year, when they had been put up. Satisfied with the child-guards, the healer kicked his shoes off at the door and was pleasantly surprised to find the smell of roasting meat wafting past his nose.
He did his best to tread quietly, but he only made it three steps before,
"You're back early, Tanda."
The healer shook his head in mock exasperation and quickly crossed the remaining distance to the figure kneeling in front of the fire. He slipped his pack off his shoulder, leaning it on the wall behind him. "I'm never going to be able to sneak up on you, am I?" He said with a smile. Balsa shook her head.
"Nope!" She said cheerfully, turning her attention off the hunk of meat for a moment to flash him a warm smile. It was a game he never won, but it was their game and that's all that mattered. He cast an appreciative look around the spotless room as he sat down next to his wife, pausing briefly to plant an affectionate kiss on the top of her head. "Have you been getting enough rest?" He asked. "I'm sorry I had to run only two days after you got home."
Balsa shrugged in response. "It's not your fault that someone's water buffalo decided to go rouge one day." She said matter-of-factly. Her left hand was slowly rotating the spit to ensure that their lunch cooked evenly, but she placed her right hand over Tanda's in reassurance. "I'm just glad I got home when I did, otherwise you'd have had to take Miyuki with you." She said.
"Speaking of Miyuki – " Tanda began.
"I put her to bed a few hours ago. I think she knew you were coming home because she was fussy all night." Balsa said, punctuating her sentence with a yawn as if to prove the fact. "But what about you, Tanda? You've been on the road all day." The healer shrugged.
"I had a good night's sleep, though." He pointed out, shuffling over behind the Kanbalese woman to rub her shoulders. Their relationship had steadied significantly once they had established that while Balsa needed her adventures, she was always going to come back.
They sat there for a few moments, simply enjoying each other's presence. Then a familiar wail broke the silence, and both parents looked towards the bedroom. Tanda saw the flash of uncertainty in Balsa's face as she considered the meat that was still not quite done. The healer solved her problem by rising to his feet and going to tend to their child. "I've got it, don't worry." He called over his shoulder.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the crying stopped and father and daughter returned. From this angle, Tanda suddenly noticed the bags underneath Balsa's eyes and pushed his own tiredness away. Like he had earlier, he hadn't spent the night taking care of a fussy child, and traveling honestly wasn't too hard on the body.
He knelt carefully beside Balsa again and wrapped his hand around the roasting stick.
"Wha –" In her confusion she let Tanda slide his hand down, pushing hers away. He nudged her away from the fire, insisting that she go rest for a little bit because he could handle lunch. She looked at him for a moment and shook her head slowly, a wry smile on her face. "I don't know how you can do that, Tanda."
His confusion must have been apparent, because she gestured her hand in his general direction. "You're entertaining Miyuki, stopping her from falling in the fire or chewing on anything she's not supposed to, all with one hand while keeping lunch from being burnt with the other."
Tanda blinked, and then realized the truth of her statement. He laughed and grinned at her playfully.
"That's because I'm the housewife, remember?"