Chapter Text
Pulling at a few stray pieces of thread, Kankuro sat in the waiting room as Leon went in for his physical. It had been three weeks since he got back from being overseas on a mission and they just now decided that he needed to get checked out. And it didn't take long for it to feel like an eternity when their toddler was more restless than she was just getting used to her dad being back.
But it didn't take her hardly any time to curl up and fall asleep in the chair next to Kank as they waited. It didn't know if Ocha was going to wake up and make a fool out of it and every person that came before it, only because they wanted the parent they haven't seen in god knows how long.
And once Leon came out an hour and some odd minutes later, he didn't look too happy, it looked like he was told to grow another head and a tail to match. "What's with the look?" was all that Kank could ask as it began to wake Ocha up.
"They want to schedule an overnight study," a sleep study was the worst possible thing that Leon could think of, and he told the doctor that. '-they said that with the sleep issues that I've told them about, they'd like to watch over everything in two weeks."
With a sigh, Kank picked up their yawning child, who was starting to whine as she was jostled around, only stopping when she was laid across its shoulder. Passing out as they signed out and walked out the doors. At home and after an early dinner, Leon bathed and Ocha, doing his best with putting her hair into a ponytail, only for it to come out lumpy and coming out of the hair tie within the hour.
Everyhing about him being home felt like a dream. The help felt like there was a weight had been lifted, of course it had Temari and Gaara to help out, but there was only so much that they could in the world of parenting.
"Honey, why don't you go pick up your room a little while me and your daddy-o talk, okay?" The request wasn't unreasonable, but the groan and other irritated sounds that a three year old could make would make you think it was. A 'thank you' following after once she started to walk off.
After waiting a minute for some movement in her room, Kankuro put the half scrubbed glass pan back into the sink before going up to Leon and wrapping its arms around him, tucking its head underneath his chin. There wasn't a word said between them for the next few minutes, just the two of them with their arms around each other, enjoying the closeness for the first time in what felt like forever. Everything that could've been said didn't have to be, it was all said in their sweet embrace.
What they failed to notice was the lack of rummaging around in the distance, and they onlt realized that that their daughter was out of containment when there were tiny arms flung around their legs, the normal, strange toddler breathings that followed suit, making her parents pull apart to look down at her in various levels of love and entertainment.
***
The sleep study came quicker than Leon wanted, but ge knew that it needed to be done to figure out what his brain was doing to keep him from getting his sleep. The month and a half that he's been home has been absolutely miserable and full of restless nights and sluggish days.
In the room, he was more aware of the small movements that he did, the eyes of the doctors were felt, and Leon wanted nothing more than to peel himself out of his skin and run off back home to his partner and kid, but the best he was going to get was a FaceTime with each of them.
"Daddy, daddy, why aren't you sleeping wif me and papa? I wasn't you here…" Ocha's little voice came through the phone speakers as he put the last of his things into place, only peeking into frame when she was finishing up with her sentence, chest twisting up.
"I have to let some doctors look at my noggin while im sleepin', and they cant do that at our house." He could see her tiny face working over what was told to her, a hand coming up to brush a chunk of brown hair out of her face before she rubbed at an eye.
"They could fit in the living room, right?" Her little voice was so sure about the machines and bodies fitting into their home, and that had him and Kankuro laugh. The laughter didn't transfer over to her though, tears filled her eyes and her mouth turned into a deep frown. "I want you home now…"
Seeing her cry over him being gone made his heart hurt even more, making his and Kank's smiles turn into frowns too, giving her words of comfort as Kankuro pulled her close. "Oh, honey, daddy will be home first thing tomorrow morning, okay? You can call him as soon as you wake up, does that sound good?"
A sad little 'okay' was heard before their 'good night's were exchanged, blowing kisses back and forth before finally hanging up. This had to be one of the hardest things that Leon had to do while at home. He was across town with his partner and kid at home, and she was crying over him not being able to be home with them.
But, that couldn't stop him from going through with it. He still had to change into his cartoon night pants that Ocha chose for him and a tank top, and everything that came after he had laid down was something that he was trying to put off for as long as humanly possible.
After getting changed, there was a few seconds where he was unplugging and replugging his phone charger before he drew the blankets back and finally climbed in, looking over at the one way mirror as if to tell them that he was ready for them to put the sensors on him.
"Are you ready, Mr. Kennedy?" There was a reluctant nod before a couple doctors came out with a couple bags and a strange strap thing in their hands.And once he was told to lean forward he knew he was done for. The strap was put around him as he started to mentally check out,baring a hole into the bedspread when the neurologist guided him back, noticing that his eyes had started to glass over. This was the icing on the cake.
Leon was trying his best to stay present and listen to them, but it was sounding like his head was under a body of water. But the more the doctors explained what different sensors did what, the more of a struggle it was to keep engaged.
"—Mr. Kennedy, are you alright?" His brain finally tuned back in and started to treat the environment like it would a mission out instead of desk work. After some hard blinking and nodding, he took the water that one of the few nurses held out, taking the paper cup back once he was done.