"I'm not sure what to do Mikoto!" Kushina complains as she hugs Naruto in her lap. "I swear he must be taking missions just to avoid us at this point," she says; recalling her run-in at the market over a month ago with Minato's old student.

Mikoto, who is always such a good listener, rubs her chin. "Hm. I understand what you're feeling," she replies as she picks up one of her older son's shirts and folds it. When she finishes, she returns her dark gaze to Kushina. "It must be frustrating, no?"

"So frustrating!" she agrees, bobbing her chin along with her answer. "I don't want a lot. I want him and Naruto to know each other. When I was pregnant, Minato used to say he wanted the two to be like brothers," she explains. Kushina huffs and blows her loose bangs from her eyes. "As his widow, I feel it's my duty to make that happen, you know?"

Mikoto's face softens in sympathy.

"Ka!" cries Sasuke; Kushina has to stop herself from lashing out with a punch at the baby. When she wasn't paying attention, he somehow made it all the way to his mother's knee from the playmat he'd been placed on some feet away.

Mikoto's lips twitch into a smile. "Hello, Sasuke," she coos at her son. Picking him up, she holds him level with her eyes and asks, "Has Mom not been paying enough attention to you?" She leans in and presses a kiss to his round, rosy cheek. "Mwah!"

The baby giggles happily and Mikoto gives him two more kisses before she puts him down on her lap. Sasuke buries his face in her stomach and begins to babble to himself as Mikoto reaches for a pair of pants from her basket of clean laundry.

Kushina, who is a bit in awe of the baby, whispers, "Oh wow, I didn't know he was crawling already!"

She looks at her own son. Naruto's blue eyes find hers and he lets go of the fuzzy blanket he'd been gnawing on with his gums and smiles. She grins back at him. Naruto's only a few months behind her friend's baby. She knows it's only a matter of time before he'll reach the same milestone.

Mikoto chuckles. "It's pretty new. He crawled across the room for the first time last Tuesday," she says. Voice filled with pride, she explains, "He heard Itachi come home while I was preparing dinner. In the blink of an eye he'd left the spot in the kitchen I placed him at and had gone to find Itachi by the door."

"How cute," gushes Kushina as she imagines the surprise and delight that must have filled Mikoto's little family that evening.

"It was," says Mikoto as she gently pries a singlet she is trying to fold from Sasuke's sticky fingers. The other kunoichi looks up and over at Kushina with a steady calmness that makes her lean forward to listen. "Do you know I worried a little before Sasuke was born about how they would get along? Itachi is a good boy but he's so advanced. I wasn't sure how he'd take to Sasuke's, well, being a baby and having to show him constant patience."

"That's a reasonable fear," she says slowly. Kushina chuckles and thinks back to more innocent days. "I told you plenty about Kakashi when he was little." She shakes her head and sighs. "Man! He was such a brat to his teammates…"

"He got better," Mikoto reminds her.

Kushina doesn't disagree. She also knows it took a painful experience for him to learn to appreciate his team. "A little too late for Obito, unfortunately," she murmurs.

Her friend's mouth thins and Kushina grimaces. She can tell Mikoto isn't impressed by her grumbling. "Sometimes, to grow, people must learn hard lessons. Kakashi did and we should all be grateful for that," she rebukes. "It has made him a fine shinobi and asset to the ANBU."

Kushina looks away. "You're right," she says. "Sorry."

Her friend exhales and reaches across the empty space between them to put a grounding hand on her knee. "I know you're hurt," she says. Her eyes shimmer as she whispers, "Grieving." Mikoto then leans back; taking her warm hand with her as she sucks in a breath. "So is Kakashi. As people always say, how one handles their feelings is unique to them. It looks to me like Kakashi is attempting to keep busy. You, Kushina, are trying to connect with others."

Kushina almost wants to ask what right Mikoto has to be so insightful. Instead, she swallows the spiteful thought and mumbles, "Yeah, yeah…" She takes one of Naruto's little hands between her fingers and bends her head down to kiss it. "What he's doing is not healthy, though, you know?" she says when she can find the courage to look at her friend again.

"No, it's not," agrees the other. "Maybe—" she stops herself and bites her lip.

Kushina cocks her head. "What Mikoto?"

"Could it just be you he's avoiding?" she asks, almost wincing as she does. "You both loved Minato so much. Kakashi might just find it hard to be near you because it reminds him of what's missing."

Kushina considers this. Could that be it? He certainly didn't want to look at Naruto the last time she saw him. "I don't know," she answers only to shrug and admit, "I guess it's possible." She turns Naruto around and stares down into the sweet face of her baby. It's so sad to think Kakashi might never get to know her son just because he looks like his dad.

"That makes me feel worse and more hopeful at the same time. I don't want to be someone who causes him pain, you know?" she explains to Mikoto. She sighs. "But if it is just me… That'd be better. It would mean he's coping in a healthier way than I thought." She frowns. "I need to talk to his friends."

"You're frowning," points out her friend when Naruto starts to fuss from Kushina's unhappy expression.

She wipes it away in favor of jogging Naruto and groaning. "Yeah," she agrees. "It's just. I'm not sure who Kakashi's friends are. He's always been so…" she trails off. Kushina passes Naruto to the crook of one arm to start rocking him when the jogging does nothing to quell his fussing. Maybe he's getting hungry? She'll have to check in a minute. "Y'know," she says, hoping she'll get what she means from her inflection.

Mikoto thankfully understands perfectly. "Itachi doesn't have many friends either," she confides in Kushina. Her expression grows thoughtful. "I think it's difficult to make them as a prodigy. He has trouble connecting with children his own age; he's on a different level intellectually from his peers and it can intimidate and confuse them. Older children are frequently jealous of Itachi. Especially if they suspect he might be better at something than they are."

Kushina nods and pushes open her shirt so Naruto can have access to her breast. Readily, he latches on. She shifts to support his head. Soon she hopes to stop breastfeeding altogether. Today it's not so bad, though, since she doesn't have to pause her conversation to get in her bag and find a snack for him.

"You're totally right," she says. "Obito was super envious of Kakashi at times, you know? Rin too but she usually knew to keep herself in check."

Kushina traces the whisker-like markings on Naruto's cheeks as he eats. "I think I need to ask Hiroaki where his little brother likes to hang out," she remarks. "Asuma probably knows Kakashi a bit. They're close-ish in age." She giggles. "Maybe I'll even find out they're friends?"

Mikoto returns her smile. "I hope you will be so lucky," she says.

Thank you all for reading and let me know what you think!