Fingerpainting

You entered the house and closed the front door behind him without much fanfare. Glancing around the empty corridor, he called out, “Okaeri.”

“Taidama!” came the emphatic reply from two voices in the direction of the kitchen. Following the sound of a child’s giggles and a man’s laughter, he found Gackt and Kai sitting at the newspaper-covered table. You leaned against the arch of the doorway and smiled at the sight: both father and daughter were smudged head-to-toe with vibrant colors.

“What are you doing?”

“Fingerpainting,” stated Gackt, showing off his blue hands.

“Paper or yourselves?”

Both giggled some more and Kai smeared some more pink paint on her dad’s cheek for emphasis. Before her father could protest however, she pushed herself up higher on her chair so her tiny arms balanced her over their artwork. “Daddy made a house.”

“It was going to be a bird…”

You laughed, “Daddy’s not very good at this.”

“Daddy just needs a little more practice,” Gackt replied, a stubborn edge in his voice, which only made the violinist laugh again. Nudging his daughter, he gestured to the sink with his elbow. “Let’s get washed up, ne? So we can get dinner started.” Kai nodded and hopped off her chair as her dad sheparded her to the sink.

You watched as Gackt quickly rinsed his own hands and forearms before he hefted the little girl up into his arms so she could wash herself off. “Oh dear…” Gackt muttered as Kai scrubbed. “It looks like you got some in your hair too.”

“I had an itch.”

Gackt chuckled and set his daughter down. “You, can you get her changed? I’ll get dinner started.”

“No problem. Come on Chibi,” he motioned for the little girl to head down the hall to her room. Kai skipped off in front of him, laughing.

As Gackt turned to the pantry, he heard her ask You if she could wear her watermelon dress to which he replied that you didn’t get watermelons in the winter, which in turn only spurned more determination from the __-year-old.

And Gackt realized that he quite enjoyed the simple life.