Kimiko sat on the floor, picking up her various toys and stuffing them in her mouth. I smiled at her and went back to my paperwork. My boss had given me the option to work from home for a few days out of the week and I had jumped at the chance.
"Ahhbabada!" Kimiko exclaimed. I giggled and reached over, tickling under her chin. Apachai walked into the room and sat down next to her, lifting her up. She laughed and drooled, grabbing at his wrists with spit covered hands. He smiled at her, not minding the mess and pulled her close, kissing her chubby cheeks. One thing Kimiko did not lack for, was love. She must have been kissed a millions times a day by her doting family members. Even Shugure made certain to give my daughter as many kisses as she could throughout the day. Sakaki had asked me once if I thought we kissed her too much. I had laughed and replied;
"No such thing as too much. Children should be kissed. They need to know they're loved."
Apachai picked up one of Kimiko's dolls and danced it in front of her, making her giggle. Apachai was so good with kids. It always amazed me. I knew that if he ever met a woman, he would make a great daddy, though I couldn't imagine him being intimate with someone.
Kimiko gurgled in delight and bent forward, taking Apachai's thumb in her mouth and gnawing on it. I turned back to my work, quickly finishing the e-mails and proof reading I needed to do, then closed my laptop. I looked over at Apachai and saw that he had Kimiko perched on his shoulder where she was mercilessly tugging at his hair.
"Kimiko," I scolded the three month old. "Play nice." She looked up at me with large, innocent eyes and shoved her fist in her mouth.
"It okay," Apachai said. "It not hurt much."
"Well, she still shouldn't torture her Uncle Apachai," I said. Apachi smiled and pulled the little black haired girl down from his shoulder, planting a loud smacking kiss on her slobber smeared cheek.