The second you walked through the door, you knew you were gonna want to smack him. The oven was on, your youngest daughter sitting on his shoulders with a pacifier in her mouth, giggling. Your eldest sat on the counter, blue marker smeared across her cheeks as she doodled all over Shidou’s arm.

A disaster. A big, hazardous, disaster. You’d told him a million times not to let the girls in the kitchen with the stove on. But there he was, playing jungle gym in the most dangerous part of the house. Wearing a bright pink tutu and princess heels two sizes too small. Another long, exhausting day of dress-up with his girls.

You closed the door with a sigh, though your lips twitched in amusement. Your girls grinned, your eldest leaping off the counter to hug you while Shidou stayed put, your youngest still happily settled on his shoulders. He turned, giving you that smug, playful grin.

“Welcome back, boo~” he cooed, and you cringed internally at the pet name. It made your face warm, like always. His childish antics had grown on you.

And somehow, he was such a good dad. The girls adored him. The second he wasn’t busy with soccer, he was home, fully immersed into their chaos, matching their foolishness with unwavering enthusiasm. Acting like a kid right along with them.

He strolled over after turning off the stove, pressing a warm kiss to your cheek, your youngest still sat on his shoulders. Did it make you anxious? Yes. Did you stop trying to fight it? Also yes.

“Daddy burnt the pancakes this morning!” your eldest snitched, her little voice mischievous. Shidou shot her a dirty look before turning back to you, already seeing the exhaustion in your eyes.

“Not true! Not true at all! You know I’m a damn good cook! You gonna believe your husband or that little gremlin?”

All you could do was laugh. All you could do was love.