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The Hatake residence stood alone in the cool night air, silhouetted by the moon’s rays. The windows were beacons of light and warmth in the otherwise uninhabited area. Kakashi smiled contentedly under his mask at the sight. He was almost home. It had been a long day, a long week really, and he couldn’t wait to be home. Still, there were traps to disengage as he approached the dwelling. It was harder to work in the dark but his fingers flew through the familiar signs as he disarmed and rearmed each layer of defense.
After going through the traps, tripwires, and host of other things that he’d put around the property over the years, the simple key that Yamato had given him seemed a little pointless. Still, he put it in the wooden lock and opened the door. Warmth of practically every kind greeted him. Three of his four children looked up simultaneously, their faces first confused and then brightening.
“Daddy!” the twins squealed together as they raced for him.
Kakashi heard Roka call over his shoulder, “Mom, Dad’s home,” before joining his sisters at their father’s side. Kasumi came bounding down the stairs and almost threw the whole group off balance when he launched into the mass.
“Did you bring us anything?” Fujita asked, eyes bright.
Kakashi fake-pouted, “am I not enough?”
The little girl’s eyes got wide, legitimately thinking she may have hurt her father’s feelings. She looked up at him, mouth hanging open. However, Kakashi relented and she quickly caught sight of the laughter in his eyes. She giggled, hugging his leg.
“Not this time,” Kakashi answered seriously with a smile, ruffling her hair.
Then Mei was coming out of the kitchen, putting her arms around the entire group. Kakashi breathed in the scent of their home and sighed. He drank in the sounds of their voices and laughter.
“I was just about to put them to bed,” Mei said as she pulled away. She left off a comment about his untimely arrival.
Kakashi tiredly eye-smiled at his pouting children. “You heard your mother,” he said, carefully keeping his voice cheerful. The boys nodded and headed upstairs. The girls hung onto their father’s hands as the rest of the group followed.
Mei and Kakashi put their daughters to bed while the boys changed. The twin beds faced the door to the room. Mei knelt down by Fujita’s bedside while Kakashi was by Hisano. Their bright green eyes shone with excitement.
“Daddy, tell us a story,” Hisano asked shyly.
Fujita perked up. “Oh please Daddy? Could you?”
Mei looked over at her husband. He was still wearing his cloak, his hair was tussled from the trip home, and the bags under his eyes were darker than usual. Mei opened her mouth to excuse him from story time duty tonight. He’d just returned from a long diplomatic mission in which Naruto had requested his company. How hard had he pushed himself to get home early?
Kakashi waved Mei’s protestations off with a tired smile. “I could,” Kakashi replied with a smile in his voice. He turned to Mei. “Say goodnight to the boys for me? Tell them we’ll practice with the summons tomorrow.” Kakashi requested. Mei smiled and nodded, giving first Fujita and then Hisano a kiss each.
The girls hopped out of their beds and beat their father to the big armchair in the corner, where bedtime stories were often told. Mei sighed, it had seemed like just a little while ago she’d been sitting in that chair to nurse them or rock them to sleep. Now she laughed as both daughters barely fit on their father’s lap at the same moment. They managed however and Mei left the room hearing the usual beginning of Kakashi’s tales:
“Not too long ago there was a team of three young genin. A shinobi with yellow hair the color of the sun, a kunoichi with hair that was pink like the sky at sunset, and another shinobi whose hair was dark as night.”
Kakashi hardly ever called his team seven members by name but it didn’t take his children long to put together who the “cute little genin” were.
Mei, not having suspected her husband was in any way poetic, balked at this description the first time Kakashi had used it. When she’d asked him about it later, Kakashi had just smiled and said, “well, if Naruto and Sasuke are opposites, then Sakura is the bridge that joins them. Sunset connects the day with the night.” He’d shrugged. He said it as simple as that, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Besides,” he went on, “it sounds more like a story when I say it that way.” Mei’s mouth had hung open in shock.
Mei left the door to her daughters’ room slightly ajar and moved on to their sons’ rooms.
Several minutes later when Mei was closing Roka’s door after already having bid Kasumi goodnight, she saw Fujita and Hisano standing in the hallway waiting for her. They fidgeted in their nightgowns. Mei blinked in surprise. Kakashi usually had them entranced until they went to sleep; then they’d carry them to bed. Where was he? A spark of fear traced her spine but she pushed it away. Her daughters didn’t look frightened.
“Mommy could you tuck us in now?” Fujita asked.
Mei’s confusion increased but she responded, “of course my darlings.” The girls turned and led the way back to their room. Mei shepherded them from behind, bewildered. Her bafflement remained until she entered the room and looked to the familiar plush chair. There lay her husband, the Sixth Hokage, in the chair where she’d left him.
Kakashi’s head was tilted back against the headrest and his arms and legs were limp. Breath came and went slowly and evenly from his exhausted frame. Sleep had very thoroughly overtaken him.
Mei’s heart clenched a bit with anxiety. She gave a slight cough but Kakashi didn’t stir at the noise. The mother, knowing her daughters’ eyes were on her, dutifully turned to their expectant faces and smiled. She tucked them into their beds in turn. Said daughters kept glancing over at their father who hadn’t moved.
Hisano whispered, “is Daddy alright?”
Mei smiled and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Yes, Daddy’s fine. But I’m going to have to tuck him in after you.”
Fujita’s face scrunched together. “Do pa- par-, do you and Daddy need tucking in too? Sometimes?” The question was quickly followed up by a yawn.
Mei moved over to Fujita’s bed. “Everyone needs some extra care now and again,” Mei kissed her other daughter. “So yes, parents,” she carefully annunciated the word that Fujita had tried saying before, “need to be tucked in sometimes too.” Fujita wiggled in bed contentedly, eyelids drooping.
Mei turned out the lamp and approached her husband. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the dark room as she stepped up in front of him. Mei reached out a hand and touched his shoulder, increasing the pressure until she got a reaction.
Kakashi’s eyelids fluttered and then his head popped up off of the headrest as if it were spring-loaded. He looked around on reflex but his eyes were blurry. He blinked several times, confused at the environment.
“I’m sorry,” Kakashi spit out immediately, rubbing his eyes. He looked around again and sighed. “I um, I fell asleep during story time didn’t I?” He sheepishly remembered pausing in the story, just for a second, to get his thoughts together.
He stifled a yawn, taking in the dark room and the forms of his sleeping daughters. He lowered his voice, “were they upset?”
“They’re fine,” Mei assured him, standing back so he could rise. “But you’re not. You need sleep more than they do.” After chiding him, she took his hand and led him out of the room. His movements were sluggish and slow. Kakashi glanced back at the girls once more before closing the door behind them.
“Now,” Mei began as they walked down the hall. Kakashi looked in at his sleeping sons when they reached their doors in turn. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow?”
Kakashi scratched the back of his head. “I wasn’t but I figured if I hurried I could make it home tonight.”
Mei frowned, “but what if something had happened on the road? You could have gotten hurt sprinting in the dark.”
Kakashi held up a finger in challenge. “I am not so tired as to be unaware of things.” Mei watched him carefully stifle a yawn so she wouldn’t see it, as if she wouldn’t notice, before continuing. “If something had happened I would have been fine.”
Mei raised an eyebrow, “I’m sure you’re perfectly aware, then, that you’re wearing your sandals in the house.”
Kakashi looked down at his attire, he still had his traveling cloak on as well. The ninja tried to unobtrusively slip off his footwear. “Your point?”
Mei fought very hard to keep her eyes from rolling. She unclipped Kakashi’s cloak and slung it over her shoulder, grasping his arm and steering him toward their room. “Come on, let’s get you to bed too. We’ll talk about this more tomorrow.”
Kakashi tried to shrug her off, but not very hard. The truth was that he was exhausted and a small part of him knew that Mei was right. He had pushed himself too hard.
Mei released his arm and put both of hers around his torso. “I’m still glad you’re home though. We all missed you.”
Kakashi smiled tiredly and kissed Mei’s hair. “I missed you too.”