A simple fanfiction to celebrate the head of the glorious Nara Clan and its heir.

'Reviews' and constructive criticism are always welcome, so don't be shy and let me know what you think ;)

23rd September

Shikadai crossed his arms on the table and laid his head down. He sighed for the umpteenth time, staring at the clock hung on the wall in front of him. The baby boy had recently asked his mother to teach him how to tell time by looking at the hands of a clock. He still couldn't get it right sometimes, but he was good enough to know it was half-past eleven. Only half an hour till midnight. The kid was already wearing his pajamas, and his pitch-black hair, untied for the night, was tickling his neck.

Temari approached him quietly, smiling at her son.

«Come on», she said stroking his head. «Time to go».

«Just five more minutes», Shikadai answered looking pleadingly at his mother.

«It's already well past your bedtime. You need to sleep». Shikadai didn't reply. Instead, he moved his gaze to the clock. Temari sighed putting her hands on her hips. He sure was stubborn. Another trait he inherited from her, she thought. «He's not going to make it in time», she told him.

«He promised. Dad never breaks his promises», Shikadai answered keeping his gaze on the clock. Temari shook her head and knelt next to her son. She gently grabbed his shoulders and turned him around so that she could look straight into his eyes.

«I told you already, didn't I? Dad and his team had some problems during their mission so...I know he promised you he'd be here for your birthday, but it's almost midnight, and he won't make it in time», Temari took his little hands and squeezed them. «Remember what Lord Sixth said when he told us Dad's mission was a bit more difficult than expected? It will take at least another day for them to come back». Shikadai listened to her in silence. He was so tired his eyes had lost their usual brightness, yet, he was doing his best to stay awake. Temari's heart ached. Seeing her baby so sad hurt her. But besides pain, another feeling was rapidly growing in her chest. It was pure anger. Why did Shikamaru make such a promise? What had gotten into him? Did he forget how unpredictable missions could be? She would have thought of a way to punish her husband later, her priority now was taking care of her son.

«Come on Shikadai. Let's go to sleep now…», she whispered caressing his cheek. The child glanced one more time at the clock. It was twenty-five minutes till midnight. He was starting to feel dizzy. He had never been up for so long and his little body was starting to suffer the consequences. Shikadai looked at his mother with tired eyes and he slowly nodded in agreement. Temari stretched out her arms to pick him up as he threw his arms around her neck, hiding his face against her shoulder. They left the room and went up the stairs. Wrapped tightly in his mother's arms, Shikadai cast one last glance at the clock.

The cold moonlight filtered into the bedroom through a large window. Temari put Shikadai down on his futon. The baby boy turned his back on her and grabbed the stuffed bear his uncle Gaara had given him, squeezing it tightly. Temari leaned forward to look at him. She noticed a sparkle on the corner of his closed eyes. When she realized it was a small tear lingering on the rim of his black eyelashes, Temari felt her own eyes become wet.

«I'm sorry», she whispered to his ear. She got closer and placed a couple of soft kisses on her son's cheek. «Good night».

Shikadai didn't reply.

Temari left the room. She closed the door and took a few steps along the corridor before stopping. Her anger didn't allow her to go any further. She was furious with Shikamaru. How dare he do that to their child? Why did he make him suffer like that? Shikadai had just turned four. He was already smarter than most children, but he was still too young to understand. Shikamaru had ruined Shikadai's birthday. His child had been waiting for him the whole day. She wasn't letting her husband get away with that.

Soon after breakfast, a courier had delivered a package from Suna. It contained sweets, a book full of colorful images and a small puppet resembling a deer. Less than five minutes later, his uncles had called to wish him 'happy birthday'. All of his friends had come to give him gifts and play with him. Mirai was the first one to arrive. She gave him a frame with a photo portraying her and Shikadai playing together. His grandmother had baked the most delicious cake they had ever eaten. They had even organized a party with Ino, her family and their friends, to celebrate both hers and Shikadai's birthday. But none of that mattered. The only thing Shikadai wanted was to have his Dad with him. The child had laughed and smiled the whole day, but Temari knew he was forcing himself to do it. Every time the doorbell rang, he jumped up and rushed to open the door, hoping to meet his father on the other side of the doorway. Temari knew that his eyes weren't as bright as usual, and his happy smile was only a fake. She knew, because those eyes and that smile of his were her own. And she was the only one who could understand what Shikadai was feeling just by looking at him.

She had told him Shikamaru wouldn't be able to come back in time for his birthday, but Shikadai wasn't having any of it. He had an unwavering faith in his father. He insisted to stay awake as long as he could to wait for him. Every time Temari had tried to put him to bed he had pushed her away, until he basically collapsed in her arms.

Temari went into her bedroom. She changed into her night clothes and untied her hair. She almost unconsciously glanced at the clock standing on her dresser. It was a quarter till midnight. She heavily sighed and moved towards her futon, when she heard a loud thud coming from downstairs. Her ninja reflexes made her instantly grab the kunai she kept hidden in her bedside table. She left her room and rushed downstairs. It was dark, but she could easily distinguish a figure moving hastily in the entryway. Without fear she rushed towards the intruder. Right before reaching him, in a swift move she turned the lights on in order to have a clear view of her enemy. As soon as the room was illuminated, a loud gasp left her lips.

The one she had mistaken for an intruder, was none other than her husband. He was standing on one leg. The other was bent towards his chest, as he tried to take off his shoe with one hand, while the other was holding a battered package. His movements were really clumsy.

«Shikamaru?!», Temari called him in disbelief. He glanced at her, without saying a word. He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she had been on the verge of stabbing him just a few seconds earlier. He didn't look too well. The skin of his face was covered in dust and his flak jacket was scratched and torn. Judging by the dark bags under his eyes, he hadn't been sleeping properly for the past few days.

«Am I still in time?!», he asked her, struggling to take off the flak jacket.

«What?», Temari replied putting down the kunai. She was so surprised she couldn't even understand what he was saying.

«Please tell me I'm still in time», he repeated taking a few steps and peeking into the living room to glance at the clock: ten minutes till midnight. Temari was still looking at him with wide eyes when he ran past her and up the stairs. She finally regained control over herself soon enough to understand his intentions.

«Shikamaru, wait!», she exclaimed trying to keep her voice as low as she could, following him. «He's already sleeping by now!»

Shikamaru deliberately ignored her and slid open the door of his son's room. He entered, trying to be as quiet as possible. He knelt next to his sleeping baby and put down the roughly wrapped package. Temari stopped at the entrance. Shikamaru ran a hand through Shikadai's hair. He bent down to kiss his forehead.

«I'm sorry…», he whispered. Shikadai mumbled something and sniffled. He rolled on his back and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked for a few times, rubbing a hand on his face. As soon as his gaze focused on his father's face, the child opened his eyes wide.

«Dad!», he called him standing up and jumping into his arms. «Dad! You're back!», he exclaimed excitedly, throwing his arms around his neck. «Mom! Mom, Dad's back! I knew he wouldn't break his promise!», he said looking at Temari who was still at the door. A broad smile bent her lips. Seeing her baby finally genuinely happy melted her heart. She reached them and went to sit next to her husband.

«Hey, hey! Calm down boy», Shikamaru chuckled as Shikadai started bouncing up and down in excitement. «I got you something», he said, handing the package to the baby. «Happy birthday». Shikadai took it and sat down on his futon. He opened it with extreme care. When he finally managed to unpack it, his eyes sparkled.

«Kunai!», he exclaimed. Temari instantly shot a glare at her husband.

«A wooden one!», Shikamaru hurriedly explained, intimidated by his wife's demeanour. He gently took it from Shikadai's hands. «Unlike a real one, this has blunted edges. See, it doesn't cut», he showed Temari. She tested it herself, and only then she agreed with him. Shikamaru turned to Shikadai again.

«I asked the artisan who made this to engrave your name here. See?», Shikadai stared at it with wide eyes. They had just taught him how to write his name. Having it engraved on one of his toys would help him remember it.

«Thank you!», Shikadai said, hugging his father again. Then, he stood up and ran to open the lower drawer of his dresser. Shikamaru cast a questioning glance at Temari. She looked at him with equal confusion. Shikadai returned to his parents and handed a sheet of paper to his father.

«Yesterday was your birthday so I made this». It was drawing portraying their family. There were Shikamaru, Temari and Shikadai in the middle, holding both his parents' hands. In the background was an animal, presumably a deer.

«Do you like it?», Shikadai asked expectantly.

«I love it! Thank you», Shikamaru answered drawing his son closer and kissing his cheek. Shikadai smiled. He glanced at the clock hung on the wall. It was midnight, but now that his father was finally home, time didn't matter that much. He couldn't help but yawn.

«Seems it's time for you to go to sleep now», Shikamaru said patting his son head. Shikadai claimed he was not tired and, surprisingly enough, it took both Shikamaru's and Temari's efforts to finally convince him to lay down.

Half an hour later, Shikadai was asleep, lying peacefully between his parents. Curling up together was part of the strategy that persuaded the child to sleep. Temari was gently brushing her son's cheek with her fingers. Shikamaru had one arm wrapped around both her and Shikadai, while he used the other as a pillow. He was looking at them with half-closed eyes.

«Why did you promise him you'd be back in time?», Temari asked him. Shikamaru fully opened his eyes. «He was… heartbroken. You know missions are unpredictable».

«I know», Shikamaru answered. «And I'm sorry. I thought I had everything planned but…». His voice trailed off. He caressed gently Shikadai's head. «Our life is so… peaceful now, compared to what we had to face in the past… sometimes I forget we shouldn't make such promises». Temari stared at him. Somehow, the anger she had felt earlier, vanished.

«It's alright now. Somehow you made it this time. Just… please don't do it again. I can't stand to see him so sad», she told him stroking Shikadai's back.

«I won't», Shikamaru reassured her. Shikadai moved and mumbled something in his sleep.

«We should go now. He needs to rest. And you need a bath», she said sitting up slowly, as to not wake her son up. Shikamaru agreed and stood up as well. They reached the room and after one last, sweet peek at their child, they left the room.

Once in the corridor, Temari grabbed his hand.

«I'll prepare the bath», she said smiling at him. She got closer and kissed his cheek. Shikamaru put his arms around her waist to pull her closer and kissed her lips.

«Thanks».

Temari smiled at him, then left to go to the bathroom, while Shikamaru went downstairs to have a drink. A few minutes later, his bath was ready. His wife had already filled the bathtub, and there was a full change of clean clothes resting on the stool next to the sink. He glanced at it, and noticed there was a small, red box on top of it. He took it and opened it. Inside the box was a necklace with a circular, silver pendant. It was really simple and it reminded him of his Clan's symbol. He liked it. He lowered his gaze and noticed there was a note still resting on the pile of clothes. He recognized Temari's handwriting.

Happy birthday my love

T.

Let me know what you think!