I don't own Naruto…again…

Chapter 12: Goodnight, Naras…

Seated at the kitchen table, Ino strummed her fingers impatiently, her nails making a click-click-click on its wooden surface. She let out a small sigh and blew a piece of her blond hair from her face. Her usually sparkling blue eyes were staring dejectedly at the clock above the stove, which now read 9:37.

"Shika…" the woman groaned, rubbing her face with both hands. She glanced again at the dinner spread out on the table, at the two candles lit almost twenty minutes ago, at the empty chair across from her. After twelve years of being married to the man, Ino was used to Shika coming home late from Chunin and Jonin meetings on Friday nights. It had happened almost every Friday since their wedding; but even though she was used to it, she would never like it.

The mother of three had done everything else she usually did on Fridays: take out the trash, make sure all the kids were bathed, go get the take-out… The routine was that Yuri, Rose, and Asuma would vote on the take-out of the week and then eat it in front of the TV while watching a movie. Tonight, the three had voted for Ichiraku's Ramen, and Ninja Academy Musical (Asuma didn't want either, but Rose and Yuri out-voted him). Now the three were sprawled across the couch and lost in the world of the singing and dancing shinobi and kunoichi. The girls were entranced, but Asuma was glaring at the television with a fierce intensity.

Shika, hurry up and get home. I'm tired of waiting, plus I'm so hungry I'm about to eat my own arm off!

Ino sat there for another minute, and just as she thought, Hell with Shikamaru, I'm eating! The front door opened and in walked the lanky shadow ninja himself.

Stupid ninja council and their stupid seminars. Shika kicked off his shoes, muttering to himself, and slouched into the kitchen, where he was bowled over by something blond and beautiful.

"Shika! Welcome home!" Ino jumped to her feet and gave her husband a kiss, which seemed to lighten his mood just a bit. Ino broke the kiss and glared up at her husband. "You sure took your time coming home," she scolded, frowning up at him. But then she smiled, kissed him again, and sat down, immediately starting on her food.

Shikamaru collapsed in the chair across from her and stared at is plate, looking exhausted. "Believe me," he said, looking up at his wife through his dark eyes, "I would have been here an hour ago if it hadn't been for that stupid seminar. Do you know what the topic was this time?"

Ino raised one fine eyebrow, her mouth filled to bursting with noodles. "Mm?

"Kunai safety. The 'safe and secure way to carry and use a kunai without endangering the well-being of yourself and those around you'. That was the motto." He gave a sigh and served himself a heaping pile of noodles. "The whole thing was so troublesome…"

Ino snorted with laughter, which resulted in two different kinds of choking: one from lack of air, one from laughing with a mouth full of food. Shikamaru stared at his wife with a mixture of annoyance and incredulence, eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Troublesome woman…"

…

…

Asuma gave a huge sigh and turned, burying his face into the couch cushions. This was his least favorite part of the movie, but it wasn't just because of the footage itself. It was more the reaction from his sisters that made him despise it. Here we go, he thought sourly.

On the TV screen, the main boy and girl emerged from the crowd of dancing ninja, they said something fluffy and sappy, then leaned in and, in a shower of confetti, kissed the most cinematically cliché kiss ever filmed.

"Awwww!" Yuri clutched her pillow closer to her chest, eyes squeezed shut and cheeks flushed. Rose squealed with happiness and she and Yuri hugged each other, both girls enraptured with the perfection of it all. "They are so cute together!" Yuri sighed, rubbing her cheek against her sister's soft blond hair.

"I know!" Rose squeaked in response, giggling, her face squished against Yuri's shoulder.

As the credits music came on, Asuma sat up, his hair tousled, the imprint of the couch cushion on his cheek. "Thank god that's over." He reached over his empty ramen bowl and grabbed the remote. "Now I'm picking what we watch."

Yuri, still elated from the perfect kiss scene she had witnessed, lay back casually on the cough, saying, "Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Rose sprawled herself over Yuri's legs, feet resting in her brother's lap.

As he flipped through the channels, Asuma's blue eyes flicked up to glance at the clock.

10:04

If we're really quiet, then mom and dad won't notice the time and we can watch another show.

As Rose watched the many channels flash by on the TV, her stomach gave a rumble. Hmm…I want so popcorn!

"Mom," she yelled into the kitchen, "Can we have some popcorn?!"

"Rose, no! Be quiet, or she'll come in here and make us-."

No sooner had Asuma said this than Ino entered the room, hands on hips, her expression firm. "TV off, kids, time for bed."

"But Mom-."

"Mommy!"

Ino cut off her older children with a curt, "I said time for bed."

"But what about the popcorn?" Came an innocent voice.

"No popcorn now, Rose. You can have some tomorrow."

"B-but," Rose's lower lip began to tremble and her eyes got very big. She looked up at her mother, water already filling her green eyes. Asuma and Yuri crossed their fingers hopefully as they watched their mother's fierce face begin to melt.

"Well," Ino said slowly, staring at her youngest child. "I suppose-."

"Don't fall for it, Ino! Remember the last time!" Shika jumped in front of his wife and grabbed her shoulders, jerking her blue gaze from that of her child. "Remember the pony!"

With a start, Ino came back to reality. Shaking her head to clear it, she gave her husband a grateful look. "Thank you, honey." Ino turned to Rose, saying, "I'm not falling for that again, young lady. I'm on to your tricks."

Rose's puppy dog face did not change. She looked up at both parents and said sweetly, "Falling for what? You could never fall for a trick, mama, you're the best kunoichi in the whole wide world!"

Shika turned to the six year old and said, "Nice try, Rose, but it's not going to work. Not anymore. So there." To prove his point, Shika stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at his youngest daughter.

Rose's innocent expression vanished as she rasberried right back before slouching back against the couch, her pretty face darkened in a pout.

Yuri and Asuma sighed in unison. Darn.

Both parents turned to the twins and Ino said, blue eyes glinting dangerously, "Would either of you like to add to the conversation?"

"No thanks!"

"Umm…no."

"Then get going!" At Ino's sharp command, the twins jumped to their feet and fled from the room.

As the mother listened to her children clatter up the stairs, Shika turned to the one child still remaining, the one slouched over on the couch, arms folded over her chest as she glared at the floor.

She reminded him of Ino when she was younger, that time he had accidentally broken her favorite hairclip. Six-year-old Ino had exploded at six-year-old Shikamaru, swearing to hate him for all eternity and to make his life a living hell, and then she had gone and sulked for an hour. Shikamaru, being the sweet and innocent lad he was, had given her a wilted buttercup as recompense. After laughing at the pathetic state of the blossom, Ino had forgiven him, but only after he had sworn on the Third Hokage that he would never touch her hair decorations ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, again. Ever.

The lanky shadow ninja figured that it would not require a flower to make Rose happy again. Just a little father magic.

With a sigh, Shika walked over to his daughter and crouched down in front of her. Rose glanced up at her dad, then quickly returned her gaze to the carpet, brows knitting even closer together. They sat there for five minutes, neither one moving, Shika staring at her, Rose staring at the floor. After the first minute, Ino walked away, rolling her eyes at the foolishness of her husband, leaving the two alone.

The living room was silent. The sounds of Yuri and Asuma getting ready for bed and fighting each other for the bathroom drifted down the stairs, as did Ino's shout to shut up and go to bed. A few noises from the streets outside drifted inside, but other than that, nothing.

Finally, Shika spoke. "Bed now, popcorn tomorrow. Okay?" He held out a hand.

Rose squirmed for a moment, biting her lip, then straightened and, looking at her father as though he were a business partner, shook his calloused and toughened hand with her own little one. "Deal. But I get the biggest bowl."

"Fine."

…

…

…

Shika tiptoed out of Rose's bedroom and closed the door behind him with a small click!. Leaning against the smooth wood, Shika let out a long sigh. All the kids were asleep. Finally. At last, a little peace and quiet. Then a voice purred his name from down the hall.

"Shika...Shika!" With a smirk on his face, the jonin walked quickly and quietly down the hallway and into his bedroom.

On the bed sat Ino, wearing a pretty nightgown that went to a little above her knees with spaghetti straps that lay across her tanned shoulders. She smiled up at him, a mischievous glint in her large blue eyes, and said, "Kids asleep, sweetie?" Her voice held the same fakely innocent note that Rose was so fond of.

A shiver went up Shika's spine. He smirked at Ino and shrugged off his chunin vest. But the couple's lips had barely touched when a call echoed through the house.

"Daddy! I'm thirsty! Can you bring me a glass of water?!"

Rose… Both pairs of eyes, closed for impact, snapped open. Shika leaned back and, speaking slowly to keep his voice patient, called back, "Go to sleep, Rose!"

When she didn't respond, Shika sighed with relief. Hands grabbed the front of his ninja shirt and pulled him down on the bed, where his lips were soon engaged passionately with Ino's.

"Mama, will you get me a drink?!"

Ino growled and broke off the kiss, yelling, "No, Rose. If you want a drink so badly, then go get one!"

"Pllleeeaaassse?"

"I said no!"

Silence.

Ino and Shika did not even have time to begin their kiss again before,

"Yuri-."

"DON'T ASK ME ROSE I'M SLEEPING!"

"…As-."

"No."

"…"

After the longest silence yet, Ino and Shika dared to sigh again. As their lips moved back towards each other, though, it happened again.

"Mamma, pl-."

"Rose, if you ask me again, I'm going to come in there and spank you!"

Ino never threatened to spank unless she was very, very, very mad. Or annoyed. Or both. It rarely happened, but all three children had learned to be wary of it.

Certain that the child would not ask again, Ino turned her attention back to her husband. She smiled down at him, and he smiled up at her, and as they moved closer together their eyes fluttered closed.

Finally!

"Mom, when you come in here to spank me, can you bring a cup of water?!"

The house shook as four different voices roared, "ROSE, GO TO SLEEP!"

……………………………………………

I'm so sorry it has taken me a month and a day to update, but at least it wasn't longer! This wasn't the best chapter. I kind of reused some ideas from previous chapters. Also, I got the idea of the spank and the drink of water from a story my priest told us. So that's not mine.

On another note, the oneshot is up! It's called A Father-Daughter Ninja Extravaganza! I invite you all to go read it and tell me what you think.

Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapter, even if it was just to tell me to update, even though I don't really need to be told. I will update whether people ask me to or not, don't worry.