A/N: I could not not write a fanfic for Shimon's birthday. So here it is! Happy Birthday, Shimon! And a Happy Shimon's Birthday for everyone! This little piece is filled with so much fluff and cliche, it might make you gooey. Just a warning. ;)  

The sound of tripping was the first thing that reached his mind, as his mind drifted into consciousness. The cool air surrounding his face was the second. Sleepy he shifted his body to bury his nose in her hair to shield it from the cold outside of their little covern. A sigh left him before he'd fully turned, expecting to be enveloped in her wonderful scent and cloaked in her soothing warmth.

His heart tumbled uncomfortably in his chest with disappointment, when he found neither of it. Blinking his eyes open, he came face to face with a tidied pillow halfway covered by an equally neat tidied blanket.

Fully awake now he jolted upwards. His eyes searched for her but unlike usually they did not find her immediately. Scanning the room he saw the bright colored drapes in front of the windows opened a slit to let in a bit of light. Behind them he could see rain drops knocking on the glass, announcing the beginning of fall. She must have opened the drapes a bit to have enough light to walk around the room without hindrance.

Shimon sighed and stretched, wondering where she had might gone off to. It wasn't that he was a small boy. One which couldn't wait to receive his presents. He had never been like this. Not even when he was at that age, all boys were excruciatingly excited for their new toys. Yet, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He loved their morning routine. It was always him waking up first and pulling her into a last embrace before the responsibilities of daily life interrupted them. She would huff a breath of contentment or mumble a "Good morning" once she was waking up. And he missed it now. It was making him feel like an idiot. A foolish, love-smitten idiot who should not be disappointed by such a silly thing. Yet, he was. He was but a fool in love with his wife. Not wanting to appear too clingy for both their sakes, he stretched his limbs and got up, planning not to show her anything of his sour mood. Why would she break their tradition today on all days anyway?

He grabbed the pair of trousers from yesterday and put them on above his shirt and boxers from the night. He wanted to know what was going on. Leaving their room he found the hallway empty. There was no sound to be heard in their home except for the rain tripping against the windows, which felt odd and weird to him. He wasn't scared easily but he couldn't help the nagging feeling of foreboding reaching his mind. Straightening up his shoulders he reached for the door on his right. Pushing it open he was granted with a fully lit room and another deserted bed with tidied bedding. What was going on?

With a quicker pace he crossed the hall. The sound of his feet pounding against the ground pierced the uncomfortable silence and accelerated the beat of his heart. He might be overreacting. Surely nothing had happened. Maybe Mayura had chosen to pay their family a early morning visit. Maybe she was running errands so she could spend the rest of her day with him.

But nothing of this mattered in this moment. He just wanted to see them right now to be sure.

Having taken a small set of steps and a longer trail of thoughts, he looked around the living room but found nothing. He was almost reaching for his phone in the pocket of his trousers when he noticed something despite the unwavering background sound of the rain stumbling against his ears or the cool air of fall showering his skin. It was a scent, a warm scent, making him feel homely in an instant. The promise of sugar and chocolate was tickling his nose. And he followed its trail back to the closed kitchen door.

He pressed down the door handle and heard a stifled giggle form inside the room. Shimon couldn't help but smile when he pushed the door open and was welcomed not only with the concentrated smell of a chocolate cake but the sight of the two most important woman in his life, wearing the same beautiful expression. A mix of smug delight and impish anticipation. Forgotten was his discomfort and worry and he chose to fall into their play by clearing his throat. His daughter replied with another giggle, filling the house with so much warmth, he wondered if the rain might evaporate outside. Batter covered her face, some of it near her mouth obviously licked away in a series of attempts. The blonde of her hair was mostly spared but the pinkish ends stuck together. To Shimon she had never looked cuter. With a proud quake in his chest he skimmed his eyes over to her mother, who watched her with eyes so full of adoration and love, he felt immediately intoxicated by them. Her eyes skipped over to him and their gazes met. His breath was caught in his chest, looking into the twinkling of her eyes that reminded him of a starry sky in the wee morning hours. Would he ever stop feeling like this when he looked at her?

"Daddy! Daddy!" Before Mayura or Shimon could react, their daughter heaved her little body from the stool, shocking both of them. Mayura gasped and Shimon almost fell to his feet when his mind reacted faster than his body. All the while his little girl stumbled over to him on her little feet, unknowing of the fear she made her parents feel – a thing that Shimon had discovered happened more often than one would expect before having their first child.

He crouched down, so he was almost eye to eye with her.

"Daddy!" She came to stop in front of him, her fingers interwined.

"Hn?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for his daughter to continue,

"Mommy and I baked for you."

He lifted a finger to her cheek and rubbed some of the drying batter of it. "I can see that."

A bubbly giggled left her before she exclaimed enthusiastically, "Happy birthday, daddy!"

She threw herself into his arms and he returned the hug. She was so small, he could not imagine her to be a grown up woman one day. "Thank you." He pulled away and waited for her to look at him again. "But remember, Kari, we don't hop of any stool by ourselves. Correct?"

Her smile fell apart and she shuffled a feet on the ground. "S'rry."

"It's fine. I am glad nothing happened."

She looked at him from beneath her lids with a look that was so like Mayura's, he wanted to hug his little girl again just for being there.

He smiled and asked her, "Do you want to show me what you and your Mom made?"

Immediately the smile was illuminating her face again. "Yup."

Swooping her on his arms he stood up and walked over to the kitchen counter at which Mayura had observed them with a smile.

Looking at the counter he could see a mountain of bowls and spoons framing two trays of muffins. In over-exaggerated manner he hummed, "Mhhhhhmmm..."

"That's your present," Kari pointed out.

Amused he chuckled at her. "Thank you very much for this."

"Mommy made them, too!" Kari waved a pointed finger at Mayura.

"Right," Shimon feinted seriousness. By now he knew these games he would play for the sake of his daughter. At the beginning he hadn't known how to talk to her. He was treating her like an adult, Mayura had often complained. And so he had turned to get advice from the one man, he had looked up to the most, Mayura's father, Seigen-san. Although that was another embarrassing story, he did not want to ponder on too much. So he quickly crossed the counter and stopped right in front of Mayura. "Thank you very much, mommy," he said out loudly, before he leaned over to Mayura murmuring a low, "Good Morning," and sealing her lips with his in a lingering kiss.

"Irk!" He felt their daughter push against his shoulder and turned his head towards her, watching her face contorted in disgust.

"Right," he said another time. Before he looked at Mayura again.

"Happy birthday, Shimon," Mayura said with a smile on her lips and in her eyes.

He nodded at her and together they shared a love-filled smile until their daughter interrupted them again. "Don't you wanna eat them?"

Mayura helped him out this time and brushed hair out of Kari's face, "We'll eat them together. It will be a very special Amawaka birthday breakfast. But first I need to clean up the kitchen and then you."

Kari pouted but restrained herself from making a fuss about it – luckily.

"I'll take her bathing while you clean the kitchen," Shimon offered.

It would be faster and just because he had birthday didn't mean he was an imbecile, who could not bath his daughter, who was excited again all of a sudden, if her yelling "Bathing time!" wasn't a clue.

"Yes," he confirmed, making his daughter jumping lively on his arms.

"Thanks," Mayura said with a grateful smile. Her eyes were lighter now, showing that she wasn't amused or delighted but just happy.

"No problem," Shimon said, wondering if he should lean in for another kiss despite their daughter's dismay about them kissing. Instead he turned around. They would have all evening and night to kiss.

"Oh and Shimon?" Mayura's voice made him pause.

"Hn?" He looked over his shoulder and saw Mayura having approached him.

With a smirk she leaned in and whispered into his ear, "I give you your present – later." Her hot breath tickled his ear sensually.

Shimon's smile dropped and he stared at Mayura agape before turning around heading for the bath. He couldn't help but wish that later would come soon. Heat exploded on his face as he thought about all the possibilities her low murmur of a promise could have meant and all of them lead in a very similar direction.

"Daddy, why is your face as red as your hair?"

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  A/N: Please, don't blame me if it is rushed or too short. I wrote it within the last two hours. XD