shimmerandsing | Small surprises.

Alison didn't like it when her husband wasn't home. There were a variety of reasons for it, but the main reason was because he wasn't with her when he was gone. She had spent most of the day in a funk, waiting for Longshot and Asuka to return home from a clan mission. She couldn't complain too much when he was sent away. The jonin knew Alison was pregnant and somewhat clingy where her husband was concerned. So, if he had been called away, it was probably very important.

She still missed him, though.

So, she spent most of the day in her music room. Her single had done remarkably well since its release and now she was looking to find more good material to record. She had almost an album's worth already.

She was taking a break from working, having a sandwich for lunch in the kitchen, when she saw the glowy orange light from John's arrival. She hoped Lisa was with him. The girl had not been in her room this morning and that had worried Alison, too.

"Hi, guys!" She called. "Come have some lunch with me."

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Alison returned from the closet with an arm load of sheets and blankets. She didn't mind the volume of laundry that she would be doing as a result. They would have fun and that was the important part.

She set them on the floor with a small bag of clothespins. "Okay! Good choice."

She smiled and looked around. Mostly empty. A few odd chairs and one small table. And a closet off to one side. It was workable. "Still got the string? Bring it over here so we can tie it to the closet door."

He held up the string and jogged over to Ali with his arm still up. "We gonna tie everything closed?"

They would get stuck in there! Oh, no! Though he would be stuck with Ali, and that was good. So nevermind the worry. He was fine.

"Nope. We're gonna tie everything up!" She grinned and pointed up. "I'll show you."

She made sure the end of the string was tied tightly to the closet door knob. Then she showed him how to stick his tiny little fingers into the open ends of the string spool and roll it out to their next destination. He seemed particularly impressed when -- having forgotten scissors -- she had to cut the string with a little laser.

After a while, they had a small network of strings tied from knobs to hooks, and from tables to chairs. Then they took the sheets and stretched them out between the strings, pinning them in place with the clothespins.

Soon, they had a nice sheet roof and walls. Of course, anyone much taller than Longshot had to duck to get around in them. But, that was okay.

Longshot looked up where Ali pointed but still didn't get what she meant. His forehead wrinkled a little bit, but he helped her as best he could. Well, when he wasn't ooooooooooooooooooh'ing at her cutting the string with her lasers.

Once the fort was made, he walked right into it. He clapped his hands together and held them to his chest. He giggled a little. "Tah dah!"

Alison knelt at the 'front door' of the fort and grinned at him. She clapped, too, and cheered. "Yay! You made a really nice fort. Good job!"

She handed him the remaining blankets. "Here. Spread these out so we have a nice, comfy floor. And, I'll go get your little friend so he can play, too."

Mapanos would be happy to see his Mojoworlder. Even if he was a bit shorter than the last time the simian saw him.

When he ran over to take the blankets, he smiled at Ali. Then he puckered his lips past his nose and gave her a kiss on the lips. "I'll make it super comfy for you!"

Then he turned on his heel and began to lay out the blankets.

Eee! Tiny kisses. She gave him a huge smile before she turned to go back downstairs. Mapanos was happy to see her. She'd fed him that morning, but Longshot had not been around to play with him. Poor little monkey.

She opened the cage and took him out, setting him on her shoulder. And then she headed back upstairs. Before she returned to the fort, she snagged some of the books out of the babies' room.

"We're back!" She announced as she came into the room and pulled the door mostly shut behind her. She set Mapanos down at the fort door and let him scamper inside. She crawled in behind him with the books in hand.

Longshot's eyes lit up when he saw Maponos scurry in. "Fuzzy!" He held his arms out.

The pygmy marmoset hesitated, sniffed, and then raced over to pounce Longshot. He might have shrank somehow, but he still smelled like Maponos' Longshot. The little simian cuddled against the tiny Mojoworlder.

Longshot settled down next to a bigger pile of blankets and carefully hugged his little monkey. He grinned up at Ali. "These blankies comfy enough for you?"

"They look very comfy." Alison smiled and settled down on the pile of blankets he'd made for her. She scooted around until there was room enough for the both of them and patted the blankets beside her. "You guys want to sit with me? We can read some of these fun books. They've got lots of pretty pictures."

She was glad that the little marmoset had recognized Longshot and come to him. If he hadn't it would have hurt the little blond's feelings.

"Okay," He hopped over to settle down and snuggle up to Ali. Maponos snuggled up to him. Longshot skritched the pygmy marmoset behind both ears as he looked up at Ali.

"Whatcha gonna read?"

"Well, let's see. I've got a book about a boy that becomes a king. And a book about a cat in a hat. And another one that has princesses and pirates and all sorts of stuff." She smiled and showed him the covers. "Which one looks good to you?"

"Mm." He looked over the covers with the utmost seriousness. Then he poked the one in the middle with the cat in the hat. "That one!"

"I like that one. Good choice!" Alison smiled and set the other books aside. She held the book where he could see the pictures and began to read.

She liked the rhyming cadence of how the book read. And the bright pictures. She even did her very best voices for the Cat, the children, and the very serious fish.

Longshot snuggled up to Alison and let Maponos scamper all over him. He listened to the story, looked at the pictures, and played with the tiny simian. He giggled at some of Ali's funny voices but liked each and every one.

"You're a good storyteller. Tell me another."

"Alright." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Let's see..."

Next she decided to read the story of King Arthur. She figured her husband would enjoy a story with knights and castles, magic swords and magicians.

Maponos eventually settled down to listen to Ali, too. He curled up into a little ball on Longshot's chest. As Ali read. Longhot squinted a bit. He pulled at his lower lip.

"I think I met some-a these guys."

She chuckled softly and kissed the top of his head. "Yes, you did. We both did. It was a lot of fun. Someday we'll have to go back and visit."

She snuggled him closer and continued reading.

"That's where I got my big black horsie, and you got a really pretty dress. We got to stand in a biiiig fireplace." And there were parts his four year old mind was not even seeing. "Well, after I wasn't a big chicken."

Small surprises.

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