Shadow and the pups continued building for the next couple of hours before the pups grew tired of it, forgetting all about their competition in favor of wrestling on the living room carpet. Iruka chuckled amusedly as Shadow sighed, both grabbing either house to move them to an unused counter so the table could be cleaned. He handed her a washcloth as he grabbed his broom from where it was stowed away.
"Now that that mess has been cleaned up," he commented, dumping the last dustpan full of candy and crumbs into the trash. "Would you like to help me finish up dinner?"
"Of course, what do you want me to do?"
As the adults worked in the kitchen, the pups huddled themselves at one end of the couch, whispering quietly amongst themselves.
"Did you b'ing it?" Sun-Dance mumbled, raising up to glance into the kitchen over Moon-Fang's head.
"Yep. It's in my pocket." Naruto placed a hand on his right front pocket to double check before nodding at his siblings.
"You think she'll like it?" Sun asked nervously. It had taken the three of them all of the day before to search for their gift, after Shadow had told them that humans gave each other gifts on their birthday. She didn't tell them much more about it, so even though they had no why idea humans did so, they decided to get their Ma a gift. Every chance they got away from their Ma was spent looking and once or twice, one of them had to distract her so she wouldn't find out.
"Of course, she'll like it." Moon nudged his shoulder into Sun's, making her nudge Naruto in turn. "It's the prettiest one we could find."
"I hope so." Sun laid her head over Naruto's shoulder.
"What are you three whispering-"
"-about over here?" All three pups jumped, not having heard the twins approach, and tried to look as innocent as they could. Failing at it, of course, and ending up looking very sheepish instead.
"Uh…Well…"
"You see, we…um…"
"We got Ma-Ma a gift!" Sun declared, not being able to handle the curious looks from the two chipmunks, nearly giggling as Kon still had food stuffed into his left cheek. Moon let out a hissed, 'Shush!' while Naruto clamped his hands over her muzzle.
"Oh?" the twins shared a look before climbing down from the back of the couch to sit on Naruto's legs. "What did you get her?" they whispered, leaning forward in a conspiring fashion.
"You gotta promise not to tell." Naruto warned, hand already reaching for his pocket.
"We promise." The twins said together, each lifting a paw.
"Okay." the pups nodded, Naruto pulling the small lump from his pocket, barely lifting it high enough for the twins to see. The chipmunks 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the small gift before Fent nudged Naruto's hand back towards his side.
"That is very nice."
"Your Ma is going to love it."
"You think so?" Moon asked, now looking nervous.
The twins gave reassuring nods, scrambling up Naruto's arm to pat all three on the head. "We know she will."
"Who wants to hear a story-"
"-to pass the time?"
The pups shouted excitedly and settled on the floor in front of the couch as the twins delved into one of their many adventures into the village, using the large cushions as a make-shift stage, their story more of a performance. Shadow smiled at them from her spot half hidden behind the door frame. She turned back to Iruka, stirring the contents of the bowl in her hands as she went.
Dinner was done around 5:30; about the same time the sun set enough to be hidden by the Hokage Monument. Iruka had Shadow turn on the lights in the kitchen as he grabbed a few candles to light up the living room. The small tree in the corner gave off quite a bit of light, and the candles let the room remain cozy and warm. The twins were now finishing up their fourth preformed tale. Iruka waited to speak until they had finished, the pups cheering and howling while and he clapped along with Naruto as the chipmunks bowed, their little chests puffing out in pride.
Iruka cleared his throat to get their attention before motioning towards the kitchen with a shrug of his shoulder. "Dinner's ready if anyone's hungry."
"Yay!" the pups leapt off the floor, Sun pausing to let the twins jump onto her back, and jogged to the kitchen. Naruto stopped suddenly, right before crossing the threshold, and was nearly knocked over as Sun and Moon collided with his back.
"Na'u! Why'd you stop?' Sun whined, trying to nudge past her brother.
"We need to wash our hands." The blonde simply stated, nudging between his siblings and heading down the hall towards the bathroom.
"Oh! Right!" Moon instantly puffed into a human and ran after him. Sun stared a moment before she too changed in a puff of smoke, holding a twin in each hand.
"Hey! Let us down first." Fent said, tapping his fingers.
"Nu-uh. You two should wash too." Sun nodded once.
The adults chuckled as they watched the squirming chipmunks in her, surprisingly strong, grasp. The both of them washed up in the kitchen sink and Shadow started filling the pups' plates as Iruka grabbed the last remaining carton of Eggnog from the fridge. Shadow began to laugh, having to put the plate she was holding down lest she dropped it, as Sun came into the kitchen, a soaked chipmunk on either shoulder.
"It's not my fault you guys didn't stop moving." She huffed, crossing her arms. Iruka joined in Shadow's laughter, but grabbed two dry washcloths to wrap around the twins where they landed after jumping from Sun's shoulders to the table.
Shadow handed the little girl a plate covered in different cooked vegetables and cooked meats and motioned her back out the door towards the coffee table in front of the couch. "Please try not to make a mess on the carpet."
Sun carefully carried her plate to the little table as Moon enter the kitchen, followed closely by Naruto. Shadow handed them both a plate and once again steered them towards the living room. Then she filled two small bowls with berries, nuts, and crackers. She paused at the table to fetch the twins before she took them to the table as well. Naruto had himself sat on the end farthest from the kitchen, Sun the end closest, and Moon in the middle opposite the couch. Shadow placed the bowls and chipmunks down across from Moon, walking back towards the kitchen and pausing at the door to watch the five of them talk, thankfully eating in a much more civilized manner than they had at breakfast.
Iruka nudged her shoulder softly and she peered over it at him. He had a couple of glasses, filled with Eggnog, held in his hands and pointed towards the pups with one. Shadow smiled and took them from him, him grabbing a third glass from the counter before they moved to place them in front of the pups. Appreciative murmurs rang out as the pups stuffed themselves with the good food.
The adults opted to just eat in the kitchen, Shadow keeping an eye on the pups from her spot leaning against a counter, as they idly chatted about the forest and the academy and anything else that really came to mind.
"So, when did you want to do presents?" Iruka eventually asked after taking a sip from his glass.
"Probably soon." Shadow glanced at the clock above the stove. "It's only 6:18. Let's wait a bit for their dinner to settle, then we can have dessert. We can do presents then. If that's okay with you?"
"Works for me." Iruka lowered his plate into his sink before eyeing the food still left on the counters. "If anything, it'll give us some time to clean up."
She nodded as she put her own plate in the sink. They spent the next half hour putting food away in the fridge, washing dishes and wiping down the counters. They were nearly done when the pups came in carrying their plates and glasses, Moon balancing the twins' bowls on his plate. Shadow grabbed their dishes and started washing them.
"Who's ready for dessert?" Iruka asked. His only answer was the excited cheers coming from the pups.
Author's Note
Hey Guys!
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I've been writing on a couple of other stories that just wouldn't leave me be and haven't gotten back to this one until now.
Next chapter is going to finish up their first Christmas, then I think I'm going to do another time-skip to when the pups are like 8 or so.
Now to reviews!
ONDER – It definitely counts. :D
Applejax XD – I'm glad you think so and I hoped you liked this chapter! :)
That's all for now, so until next time!
TTFN
Taric