Ino was jostled out of sleep on a Saturday morning by the pitter- patter of little feet on her bed. She had been dreaming of a secluded hot- springs resort in which she and her husband had been engaging in some rather naughty activities before the sounds of twin three-year-olds penetrated the fantastical atmosphere and catapulted her back into the waking world.
"MOMMY! MOMMY, MOMMY! WAKE UP!"
Ino's eyes cracked open, and the two new occupants of the master bedroom flung themselves at her before she had the chance to orient herself. She managed a winded "Oof," before her air supply was cut off almost entirely by a jumble of tiny arms.
"Mommy!" One of the twins, Erilan, cried as she hugged her mother about the neck.
"Daddy's coming today!" Erilan's brother Elian shouted as he, too, enthusiastically depleted Ino of oxygen.
"TODAY, TODAY, TODAY!"
The twins began chanting in unison, deciding to abandon their previous positions on top of their mother and take up gymnastics on the springy mattress. Unlike their father, the twins had a boundless store of energy that rivaled even 'Uncle Na-to,' as the 6th Hokage became affectionately known, which was the cause of much chaos in the Nara household. Ino was quite used to her children's behavior by now, as she was home with them more often, but Shikamaru, on the other hand, was a different story. Because of his superior skill as a commander, the dark haired Jounin found an increasing number of missions laid at his feet ("If I had known the job would be this damn troublesome, I never would have taken the test to become a Jounin"), which kept him away from his family, and thus the antics of the twins, for varying amounts of time. Homecomings were always eventful things, usually resulting in Ino collapsing with laughter as she watched Shikamaru interact with 'the two little monsters.' He seemed to want to ignore the fact that he had played a role in their creation, and insisted that they took after their mother more than they did him.
"I have no idea where they came from," Shikamaru said one day after returning from a week-long-mission as the twins proceeded to use him as a living playground. He winced as his hair was yanked and retaliated by inventing the now infamous tickle torture that served to effectively immobilize the twins. And while he complained about the lack of peace and quiet that was now an irreversible side effect of the presence of the twins in their lives, Ino knew that Shikamaru truly adored his children and would never wish to be rid of them for the world.
Now fully awake, Ino began to giggle as she recalled a particular incident when Shikamaru had been attempting to feed Eri and Eli when they were a year old. Most of the twins' breakfast had ended up on his face, needless to say. What made it even more humorous was the little show he put on for the twins as he continued to spoon applesauce into their mouths, ignoring the state of his appearance. Ino had been forced to clap a hand over her mouth to conceal her mirth: if he knew she was watching, he would have gotten embarrassed and stopped. She'd caught him in many other similar situations since then, but he did grow less reserved as the years went by.
Eri and Eli were still chanting when Ino threw off the covers and sat up, her own excitement brewing. Shikamaru had been away for almost a month this time, and she missed him terribly. It was a special treat that he would be home today, on their anniversary, no less. Sakura had offered to cut and color Ino's hair for the occasion, since it was in dire need of both, and Ino could hardly wait. She planned on knocking her husband's socks off when he saw her, which, of course, would lead to other things, she thought wickedly. The twins were going to stay with Naruto and Sakura tonight after they had a chance to see their father, leaving Ino and Shikamaru free to do whatever they wanted without fear of waking them. Eri and Eli loved their adoptive Aunt and Uncle, and so raised no objection when Ino proposed the idea. She smiled at the pair of them and got out of bed, slinging a robe over her shoulders.
