The family he always wanted (Part 2)

30.

Hinata and the kids were finally home.

As usual, Yusuke kicked his shoes off & Hiroko did the same, following after her big brother and Hinata went straight into the kitchen to put away the groceries.

"Mommy. Can I take Leo out the cage?" The dog barked loudly and his tail waggled with excitement when it saw Hiroko.

"Not yet sweetheart."

They didn't even notice Sasuke's things.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hinata questioned her son when he opened the fridge & reached for the cookies inside the container. "Getting a snack?" He replied to her.

"You don't have sweets before dinner. So put it back." He frowned & tried to negotiate something with her. "C'mon, mom. It's just 1 cookie." She didn't feel like getting into a debate with her son.

"Nope." She ran cold water under the big bowl of fruits. "Put it back." Yusuke smacked his lips and put the container back inside of the fridge & mumbled something under his breath.

"You said something?"
She turned around to face him with her hands on her hips and he quickly corrected himself. "Uh... no." He knew that look.

That one look that made him shiver.

Narrowed eyes, lips straight-lined, and eyebrows furrowed, with a deadly expression on her face. Enough to make him quail in his knees.

"Thought so." Not to mention her voice. His mother always had a soft voice but she did this eerie thing when she spoke with a deeper tone, changing her whole tune with no distinction.

When she began putting up more groceries again Yusuke sighed quietly & started to make his way upstairs.

"Well, I guess I'll just play the game until dinner is ready." This made Hinata stop all her movements again. "Not until you do your homework and practice in your school guidebook, young man."

"But mom..." He whined to her. "No buts, go do it." Yusuke pouted & kept his thoughts to himself this time but... she turned around again, with both hands on her hips facing him with that stern look.

"You wanna repeat yourself out loud this time?" Yusuke went wide-eyed & he froze.
'Can she read my mind?'
"Yes." She squinted her eyes. "Yes, I can."

The youngin' gasped and cowered a bit. "I-I'm sorry mom." She cocked her head to the side. "Now go do what I said and I better not hear that game until your work is finished and I check it, understand?"

He quickly nodded & agreed with his terrifying mother. "O-Okay mom-mother-ma'am." Yusuke gasped again when she kept the same look and hurriedly turned around to go to his room. "I'm... going upstairs now..."
*
Hinata couldn't help but snicker when Yusuke exited the kitchen. Who would've thought a serious look with hands to the hips while slightly changing her voice, would get her kids to behave so well?

That's outside of when she's really upset & she lets her anger get the best of her, nothing too crazy of course. Just a burst of chakra & furious grunting.

But she learned a long time ago that being too nice would lead to her being a pushover. They needed to understand who was the adult in the relationship.
***
Sasuke heard some shallow footsteps shuffling coming up the stairs when he finally opened his eyes. Now he realizes that he fell asleep in his son's bed with the cherished photo of them in his right hand. He didn't remember the last time he slept so well and for so long...

Panic struck when the footsteps got a little closer, he quickly hopped up, placed the photo back inside his son's drawer, and looked from left to right wondering where he could hide.