25. Pitter-patter
He comes home at two o'clock in the morning to find his wife and daughter at the kitchen table, their hair up in a mixture of braids and multiple ponytails, giggling playfully at one another's looks.
A part of him just wants to know what on Earth is going on, because Temari is never really this girly and usually giggles only around him, and it's waaaayyy past Kari's bedtime and--
But then his five-year-old runs up to him, jumps in his arms, kisses his cheek and attacks his hair as vigorously as she has her own. He decides that, even though he's exhausted and stinks and is starving, he really doesn't mind just sitting there while she braids his hair.
Undoubtedly because of the noise, his two year old wakes and decides he needs attention, too, and food might be nice.
So Shikamaru sits there with his son in his lap, taking a bite of the leftover take-out (Temari, he's pretty sure, hasn't cooked a single thing since he's been gone), and feeding his son smaller chunks. His wife smiles, her hair still crazy, and her head comfortably leaning on his shoulder. He smiles at the pitter-patter his daughter makes as she runs down the halls, eager to find more ribbons and glitter and whatever else she needs so To-san(1) and otouto(2) match her and Kaa-san.
He thinks he wouldn't mind coming home after every mission like this, and wonders how long it can last.
END
(1)--I've seen this spelled different ways. Is it otosan or Tou-san or what is Japanese for father? I can't remember for the life of me.
(2)--The site I found said Otouto meant little brother. Which is good, because I probably would have just put nii-san and that's probably wrong.
jak