Work Text:
Life in the village was slow. Without the villagers being shinobi, and none of them knowing anything about shinobi and their lifestyle, they lived peacefully. The family living in the shrine was just that, strange perhaps, but just that.
In order to keep themselves safe, Sekki was the same. Regardless of what the state of the Shinobi world was, Deidara and Obito were still S-Rank criminals. If discovered, they could be sealed away, or killed at worst. That being the case, Deidara and Obito were still adjusting to the change.
Though, every day, it became a little easier. They grew more acclimated to their life here, and Sekki even made friends. Obito had begun to make the trip down from the shrine in the spring and the summer to help the villagers with various projects, since his endless stamina had proved helpful more than once. This day in particular, Obito had departed down toward the village, and Deidara and Sekki followed.
They were mostly isolated here, which was to the benefit of the family, though it also meant that eating was completely dependent on local farmers and traveling merchants. Every once in a while, they’d take the money given to Obito for his help in the village, and take that brief opportunity to shop. Today, the market was bustling with carts, pulling in ingredients that otherwise wouldn’t be available.
Sekki had been strange since this morning, shuffling on his feet as if anticipating something. Deidara had assumed it was because of the merchants arriving, but even when they had gone down to the village, he was still fidgeting.
“Sekki,” Deidara began, and the boy jolted like he’d been caught. “What’s wrong with you? Do you have to pee?”
“Huh?” Sekki tilted his head. “No! Nothing like that…”
A pause was shared between them, and Deidara waited to hear what he had to say.
“I was just thinking… it’s dad’s birthday today, isn’t it?”
“Ah…” Huh. “Yeah.” Deidara supposed it was. He hadn’t thought about it. As Shinobi, their birthdays were probably the last thing on their mind, especially considering that they were criminals on top of that. Deidara couldn’t remember the last time he’d celebrated his own. Was it something he learned from the village kids?
“When he comes back home, we should surprise him.”
Deidara held Sekki’s hand as they walked through a crowded area. The mouths on his palms had remained closed for some time now, it was almost more strange to have them open.
“Sure, but what kind of surprise? That guy doesn’t ever ask for anything.” Deidara, who had discovered his true identity years ago, still wasn’t sure of anything he really liked.
“Well, I was thinking we could make him something to eat! Although he doesn’t eat much, it’s nice to get a treat on your birthday…!” Sekki seemed set on this. He’d clearly thought a lot about it. The way his eyes lit up talking about it, Deidara could’ve been driven to tears.
“That’s tough, kid.” Deidara was as honest as he could be. “It’s fine, but what are you going to make?”
“Huh? Well, I was hoping you could tell me. You know dad best.” Sekki let go of his hand, turning to him fully to walk sideways in a little hop. “Papa, what is dad’s favorite food?” Sekki asked.
Deidara wracked his brain, crossing his arms. Obito said he loved everything Deidara made, but knowing him, he likely just said that to make him feel good about it. He knew just as well as Obito that he couldn’t taste food, but they’d never shared that information with Sekki. Going into explaining that meant explaining a lot of other unpleasant things that their son didn’t need to know about.
“Mitarashi Dango, maybe?” It was the only thing he could remember Obito liking. Well, not Obito, it was Tobi, really, and maybe he was just playing it up.
“Huh? Dango? That’s it?” Sekki made a face. What was he hoping for? A feast?
“Well, he doesn’t really like any particular food. He eats whatever I make him, and says it’s fine.” Deidara frowned. “Now that I think about that, it really pisses me off.”
Sekki ignored Deidara’s growing irritation, focusing on their task at hand. “So, what you’re saying is, he doesn’t have a favorite.”
“I guess.”
“Well, that’s just great!” Sekki kicked a pebble in the road, sighing. “What do you make a guy who doesn’t like anything? That’s really irritating. He won’t be able to taste my amazing cooking!” Big words from someone who’d never cooked before.
“You’re right, he’s a total jerk.” Deidara agreed. “I bet your cooking is amazing, an artistic masterpiece.”
“Thank you, papa.” Sekki chuckled.
“Though, he really did seem to like that Mitarashi Dango.”
“What’s with that..? You keep bringing it up.”
Deidara remembered that time well, especially because Tobi pissed him off almost immediately after. Though, maybe Obito would remember it too?
“It might make him nostalgic.”
“What does that mean?”
Deidara ran a hand through his hair in thought. It was embarrassing, actually, now that he was thinking about it. Obito didn’t eat much, and he knew why now. But that moment where they ate together, even if Deidara didn’t appreciate it then, Tobi and him felt inches closer.
Deidara’s face burned with blush. “Well… it’s the first meal we shared together.”
Sekki gasped, stepping in front of Deidara.
“That’s it!” Sekki exclaimed. “It’s perfect!”
“Are you sure? I’m not sure if he actually likes it.”
“It doesn’t matter. If it has sentimental value, then it’s perfect!”
Maybe it was shinobi instinct, or just common sense, but Deidara already identified a problem.
“Do you know how to make it?”
“Huh?”
“Do you know how to make dango.”
Sekki blinked a few times, then waved his hand. “It’s fine, it’s easy, I’m sure! We’ll figure it out!”
“That’s not a good attitude…” Deidara frowned. “We should figure out how to do it properly. If it’s not aesthetically pleasing, it isn’t worth it.”
“But papa, this isn’t art.”
“I’ve taught you better than that.” Deidara dropped his shoulders and crossed his arms. “Everything is artful if you make it.”
Sekki wasn’t willing to have this argument right now, because he was already tugging Deidara's elbow toward a stall.
“Nevermind that, let’s buy stuff!”
The shopping trip went well, as the merchants had everything they needed. According to one of the more experienced mothers in the village, dango was something relatively simple. Deidara and Sekki took notes as she gave them brief instructions, but now that they were home, and in the kitchen, it seemed a much more daunting task.
The writings she’d given that were supposed to be helpful were only muddied versions of the perfectly fine explanation that village women had given Deidara and his son. Their handwriting didn’t list specific measurements, but even if they had, Deidara wasn’t confident he could do it properly.
Even still, they pressed on. Sekki had a stool when he was smaller, but Deidara was always happy to see he was old enough to reach the counter now. As they pressed the rice down, Deidara reflected that it was something like preparing clay. Sekki must’ve thought the same, because he tried to make a small spider with it.
“Look, papa, it’s your art!” He laughed.
He might’ve killed someone for that kind of comment years ago, but Deidara wasn’t the kid he used to be. It was his own child saying it, and it wasn’t really that serious anymore. Deidara wouldn’t hurt him, but instead, he laughed dryly. Dangerously. “You know I hate that, kid.”
“Hehe.” Sekki giggled, satisfied. “I’m only fooling around.”
Deidara scoffed. “Come on, let’s just get this done.”
Obito arrived back at the shrine some hours later, ascending the staircase and opening the main door to their living quarters only to arrive to the sound of clattering in the kitchen, and muffled arguing.
“That’s too much water!”
“But the recipe said–!”
“No, listen to me! Art is–”
“Papa, it doesn’t matter –!”
Obito knocked on the threshold to the kitchen, causing the both of them to jolt, standing up straight to cover their work, which involved many horrid looking blobs of rice and water mixtures, as well some kind of stick soy glaze all over the counter.
“Hi, guys.” Obito surveyed the mess. God, it was even on the ceiling. “What’s… going on here?”
“Get out!” Deidara snapped.
“Huh?”
“Get out and wait in the living room!”
With both of their combined strength, they began pushing Obito out toward the living room, but even with both of them, he didn’t exactly move much.
“What are you doing?”
Deidara snarled, looking up at him. “You’re such a lug! Move already!” Obito conceded, despite understanding nothing, leaving out toward the living room and waiting patiently.
Well. As patiently as he could. The time he was waiting, he tried a few times to peek, but it was quickly blocked by his two angry family members. Confused as he was, he tried to sit by the shrine and open the doors to let a bit of the breeze in, the first of the season’s sunny days.
Some time later, Deidara and Sekki emerged from the kitchen, the aprons they wore weren’t spared in the massacre of rice and glaze, though neither were the rest of them either. At some point, Deidara gave up having his hair down, and put it in a messy top bun, clearly done in the heat of the moment. In front of them, they proudly carried a plate of perfectly shaped dango.
“Happy Birthday, dad!” Sekki chirped, placing the plate down in front of him.
“Ah… so that’s what this was. You guys made this for my birthday?”
“Of course! I made sure they were perfectly aesthetically pleasing. They’ll reach their sublimation when consumed.” Deidara hummed.
Sekki sighed. “It’s just regular dango…”
Obito chuckled. “I should try it right away then, huh?”
Picking it up, he looked them over, trying the one at the top of the skewer.
“Mm. Not too sweet, not too salty.” Obito offered a smile. While he couldn’t taste it, the texture wasn’t offensive. “It’s perfect. Thank you. You guys did a great job.”
Sekki beamed, moving closer to sit next to him. “You mean it?!”
“Mhm, that’s right.”
“Papa and I made it together, with love! Of course it would be perfect!”
“Love, huh?” Obito couldn’t help but laugh a bit more heartily at that. “That’s the tastiest ingredient of all.”
Sekki embraced him, and Obito opened his arm to rub his back. His expression was soft, staring down at Sekki as he pet his messy brown locks down.
“We tried to make your favorite, but you really don’t have any, do you?” Deidara moved closer, sitting down as he spoke.
“Not really. Why did you end up on dango?”
“Well…” Deidara shifted where he sat. “You don’t remember?”
“No, I don’t. Should I?”
Sekki pulled away, making a face back at Obito. Obito wasn’t sure what it meant. Was he supposed to remember? Deidara huffed, sitting back on the heels of his palms and speaking softly.
“It was our first meal together, asshole.”
“Our…” Obito tried to recall. “First meal?” It was so long ago now that he’d nearly completely forgotten. It was still hard at times to see Tobi as… himself. It was merely a mask he wore to keep himself away from suspicion, but to Deidara, he suspected that it was still a core part of his memories of Obito. It was the man he fell in love with to begin with. Even if they were the same person, Tobi was so far removed from who Obito saw himself to be now, he’d nearly dismissed all of those moments without thinking about what they meant to him.
Looking at them now, even if Sekki didn’t know much about Obito’s body and what it could, and couldn’t feel, he’d learn eventually. For now, it was nice to know that the both of them put in so much effort, and… it was for him. Obito might’ve argued that all he had done in his life meant he didn’t deserve this happiness, and yet, here it was. It felt like the first step toward forgiveness.
“That’s right, I’d forgotten all about that.” He sighed, a weight leaving his shoulders. “You… really remember that?”
“Of course I do.” Deidara looked away, flushed slightly. Obito smiled. Cute. Deidara was acting cute.
“You have a great memory.” Obito said. “But, I think you chose right. I think I’ll remember this moment for a long time.” He looked down at the dango, smiling at it fondly. “I think I just picked a favorite.”