Light our Shadows

Ch 21: Make it Right

Acceptance for their predicament was a ways away. Neither of the little boys could fathom why they would ever in a million trillion years marry one another. In fact, it seemed as though they didn't want to know. Which was fine with their older selves. The men didn't expect questions from the children right away. They knew themselves well, each other even better, and the questions would only come when curiosity burned their brains.

The kids had settled down somewhat since their initial shock. Little Naruto's stomach made a pretty loud growling noise after a while. He went back to eating his food with minimal coaxing. He was determined not to look at his friend this time lest he get the urge to puke up this yummy food if he remembered what their older selves had done a few moments prior. He tried very hard to not think about the fact that Sasuke's love was in his food.

Despite him copying his friend and returning to his food, Little Sasuke wasn't stuffing his face like little Naruto. The little boy still only pushed the food in his bowl around with his chopsticks.

"Is your food too cold Sasuke?" Mikoto asked her youngest. This time she was observing her son. "I could heat it up for you."

"Mm-mm." Sasuke shook his head, his eyes closed for a moment setting his chopsticks down. "I'm not hungry."

"You've barely touched your food." Mikoto noted, hands wiping on her apron. Her eyebrows crinkled in concern.

"Yeah, well...I lost my appetite." Little Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek. Add a little truth, he reminded himself. "That kiss was gross."

"Oi." Naruto objected, "Don't try to use us an excuse. You weren't eating back inside either."

Little Sasuke's eyes widened minutely. His heartbeat quickened. Grown up Naruto had noticed too? "Yes I was."

"No." Kage Sasuke's voice was firm. He looked himself dead in the eye. "You weren't."

He snatched his younger self's bowl and reheated it with a quick lil puff of fire. His free hand flying through the signs.

Itachi stared at his elder younger brother eyes wide. "Was that a one handed sign?"

"Yeah, they're not that hard." Sasuke shrugged sliding the bowl back in front of his past self.

Itachi's brow furrowed in confusion. Not that hard? Sasuke had to be joking. One handed signs were nearly unheard of. Of course they were hard. There was no way they were easy to perform. Not by any means.

"Eat up kid." Sasuke told his younger self.  He'd yet to even pick his chopsticks back up.

"I can't." Little Sasuke pointed stubbornly to the steam. "Now it's too hot."

"Hm well we can't have you burning your mouth now can we? Allow me." Naruto did a few one handed signs of his own and a light breeze blew over little Sasuke's food. It was cooled just right. "There should be good now."

"I don't care." Little Sasuke shoved the food away. "I don't want it. Someone put their grubby hands in it." Little Sasuke glared at little Naruto's back.

"Hey, my hands were clean!" Little Naruto objected food spraying from his mouth, glaring back over his shoulder at Sasuke.

"You idiot," Little Sasuke wiped away some rice that landed on his cheek. "Swallow before you try to talk!"

"Hmph." Little Naruto stubbornly turned his face away from the Uchiha.

Little Sasuke glowered, the urge to knock the blonde straight off the porch and ground his face into the dirt rising. But that also involved close contact. So, the feeling was fleeting at best. He sighed to himself looking away as well. Why'd their older selves have to make everything all weird?