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Tobirama is the kind of a man who usually prides himself on discipline and diplomacy, no matter the problem at hand. At least, that is what he would like to think.
The Uchiha problem, though? Not his best moment at handling things, unfortunately. Those people - especially Madara - just bring out the worst in him and make him lose his cool. It has happened several times on different occasions and has proven to be an issue worth Hashirama's interventions.
At first, Hashirama did the bare minimum of scolding his brother but as time progressed, he resorted to more strict approaches - even going as far as to flare his chakra at Tobirama, which resulted in the partial demolition of their newly-claimed village grounds. Things really hit the fan for Tobirama when Hashirama decided it would be brilliant to assign both of them on a mission together in order to 'improve the relationship between the two founding clans'.
And what a load of shit is that slowly turning out to be.
Several hours after leaving the village, Madara and Tobirama have resorted to the silent treatment and feigned ignorance, pretending the other is not even present on this joyful trip. The silence, albeit awkward and oddly deafening, is preferred to shouting matches - Tobirama can respect the fact that Madara, if nothing else, at least shares his methods of self-control and restraint on missions. Either that will make things go smoother and easier, or the two of them will soon devolve into a struggle for authority. It is a textbook example of a strict either-or kind of a situation and the more tired Tobirama becomes, the less likely he is to try and argue with Madara over inconsequential petty little things.
Luckily for both of them, their mission is fairly simple. It involves a quick retrieval of jutsu scrolls stolen from the Senju by a rogue clan of ninjas and the subsequent return of them to Konoha. The missions should not take longer than a couple of days but it does involve playing sitting ducks for a good while and being on stake-out whilst waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike (and to potentially gather some information) before making any harsh moves. At least that's what Tobirama is planning.
Or was.
Tobirama's well-loved and blessed silence does not last too long.
It turns out that the journey to the small tourist village just outside the enemy territory was the only silent part of the whole mission. As soon as the two of them step over the threshold, an argument immediately breaks out regarding their future sleeping arrangements.
"Sleeping in the woods would rouse lesser suspicion.."
"How is it less suspicious for two people to camp outside another territory's borders for several days? Especially when we could pass as tourists and simply spend a night in the local inn."
"What a waste of money. Can you really not last a night or two without such luxuries?"
"At least I am not a hardass about it. What crawled up your ass this time?"
"Must you be so vulgar?"
And that is about where the argument ends for the following 30 minutes with both of them wandering around the village in hopes that the oncoming evening will solve their troubles or that one of them will eventually break (or snap) and a decision will be reached.
It all boils down to the very last minute when Madara grows antsy, fidgeting to keep himself from snapping at Tobirama to finally allow them to settle down for the night. Tobirama, of course, notices, sighing in exasperation at the way Madara's chakra shifts into something nearly hostile. They have both been avoiding the situation for too long.
"I still think that blending in is the safer option," Madara begins, turning to look at Tobirama before gesturing towards the little holiday inn in front of them. The place looks cozy but small, not fit to host large quantities of people other than a lost handful. The Uchiha seems fairly adamant on this being the better of the two options - to which Tobirama does not agree one bit.
"It is a waste of finances, I told you that already," he retorts, crossing his arms over his chest. The two of them could hardly pass for tourists - their acting is not that good.
"Not to mention that we would be drawing far too much attention to ourselves," Tobirama continues, gazing at the woods, "it is far too much of a risk to take - we are shinobi, and spending a night in the woods is a given statement of our creed and abilities."
Somewhere to his side, Madara sighs deeply, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. There is no way that Tobirama is going to give in that easily and admit that camping in the woods (and without proper gear, no less) would draw as much attention to them as staying in the village would.
Fortunately, Madara is struck with a sudden moment of genius when he realises that there is, in fact, one thing that would persuade Tobirama to pick the more comfortable option of the two. A lazy grin slowly spreads over the Uchiha's lips, eyes glinting as he looks up at his despised counterpart.
"You are aware of the fact that we are technically spending Hashirama's money, correct? And that if we do not spend it, Hashirama will and will gamble it away?"
The look on Tobirama's face is enough of an answer to the Uchiha for him to start walking towards the quaint little building. Score.
After Tobirama's begrudging agreement, they soon find themselves at the premises of the inn. Things have gone well until now, so of course, there is a little issue when it comes to the sleeping arrangements. It seems like all Gods above hate both Tobirama and Madara all the same.
"We currently have one free room. Unfortunately, it has only one bed," the old woman at the reception smiles at them, looking between Tobirama and Madara as if she were looking for something, "if that is okay with you, of course."
Tobirama opens his mouth to retort something but before he can, Madara elbows him in the ribs. It effectively distracts the Senju - Tobirama turns to glare at Madara - which in turn allows Madara to take over the conversation.
"That's fine, we will take it," he nods at the woman, taking the key she hands him over the wooden counter before turning to Tobirama to nod his head towards the stairwell on his other side. As to not cause a scene, Tobirama follows Madara upstairs with the promise of questioning Madara's decisions later - they could have resorted to camping, after all. That, however, seems to be out of question now.
Madara quickly locates the room they have been assigned, practically bulldozing his way into the room in order to escape what is still considered the public space of the hallway. Tobirama is still hot on his heels, closing the door after himself once they are both in.
"Explain," the Senju immediately demands, dropping his gear bag on the floor. The singular bed in the room glares at him with its pristine white sheets. It has enough space to fit two people but that does not matter.
In front of him, Madara follows his example and sets his bag down on the opposite side of the room. With a quick sigh and a flip of his hair, Madara launches into a quick and simple explanation.
"We already agreed on getting the room. The fact that there is only one bed should not be an issue. If I am not mistaken, you spoke on the behalf of us being shinobi just a while ago. Sleeping on the floor should not be an issue for you, in that case. After all, it was your initial decision to camp in the woods. So camp on the floor instead, Senju."
Under normal circumstances, Tobirama would comply and do just that - he has no problem with sleeping on the floor - but right now? Right now he is feeling petty. And believe it or not, petty Tobirama speaks before thinking more often than not.
"Just as being a shinobi implies that you and I ought not to have any issues with sleeping in the same bed. And so does your logic, to be fair. Am I correct in my assumptions?" Ahead of him, Madara groans in disbelief, bowing his head just enough for his hair to fall over his face. He knows that Tobirama is right, and simultaneously, he realises that the Senju has backed him into a corner. There is no escape from this situation other than compliance.
And Madara hates it. Admittance does not come easy.
"Touché."
They do not share more words past that but Tobirama's satisfaction radiates off of him throughout the rest of the evening. It is only when the are getting ready to turn in for the night that the reality of the situation seems to dawn on Tobirama. Madara seems to have accepted his fate, claiming the left side of the bed with Uchiha-typical arrogance. It is something that Tobirama refuses to be one-upped on, steeling himself before claiming the other side of the bed. He is way too rigid when he lies down, closing his eyes immediately in hopes of sleep claiming him sooner than later.
For a while, everything is going fairly great, but it does not last too long.
It is already late at night and Tobirama wakes up to the feeling of someone else's hand on his body. His ninja instincts scream at him and he nearly jumps and stabs the person with the safety kunai he keeps under his pillow. Nearly is the keyword as he soon realises that the wandering hand on his hip belongs to none other than Madara.
That revelation does not make things better. Instead, it irks Tobirama to no end. How dare he?
Tobirama physically recoils inside before kicking himself into action. Carefully, he takes Madara's hand off his hip, moving it elsewhere. Anywhere is good as long as it is not touching him.
His joy of freedom does not last long, though. Madara's hand is back soon and before Tobirama can even think about pushing it away again, the rest of Madara is upon him too. The Senju freezes for a whole second, his instincts screaming even louder because that is an enemy at his back, almost almost holding him hostage.
His self-preservation instincts, though, are at an impasse. Whatever his next move would be, it would most definitely result in one cranky and potentially pissed Uchiha Madara attempting to stab him with something sharp. Against his wishes, Tobirama's body and brain will him to stay still and rigid, simply waiting in case Madara decides to move again.
For the better, or for the worse, Madara does not move again. He remains a constant presence - a burning inferno - against Tobirama's ramrod straight back, forehead resting on Tobirama's shoulder.
To Tobirama, the situation is far less than ideal so it is understandable when he realises that much to his horror, his body betrays him and gives in, melting against the heat of Madara's body. As someone who is naturally running a bit on the cold side, the new heat seems to be welcome and Tobirama hates it. He really does. So much.
Just as he hates the fact that the heat brings him comfort and makes him surprisingly drowsy. He tries to fight it but it is stronger than him, forcing him into unwanted slumber until the early morning hours. Then, and then only, does Tobirama not dwell on his previous issues. He does not immediately remember them, too busy enjoying the fact that for once, he slept well.
In hindsight, he should have probably realised that something is out of the ordinary first thing after waking up. The unnatural warmth and heavy presence, the suspicious quality of his sleep. It all should have been a hint.
But no.
Tobirama only realises his mistake when he forces himself to sit up, quickly realising that he cannot as a pair of arms prevents him from doing so. Seeing Madara's face as the owner of those arms results in an onslaught of memories from the night prior, followed by those of his momentary awakening.
Everything clicks into place and Tobirama absolutely refuses to admit feeling anything other than disgust. Anything beyond that gets pushed down and forgotten about in favour of focusing on the task at hand.
When he turns, he does not notice the Uchiha's dark eyes following him across the room, accompanied by the slightest of smirks.
And if in a few days' time Tobirama finds himself tossing and turning in a cold empty bed, who is he to go and seek out the comfort he had once the chance of experiencing? He is........he is Senju Tobirama, and he feels shameful and humiliated when he hiraishins himself across the village to where a very familiar tether of a seal exists. Wrapped around a very familiar weapon and lodged in less than a familiar wall.
He is Senju Tobirama, the First Hokage's younger brother, scientist, genius, inventor, and shinobi extraordinaire...... and Uchiha Madara awaits him with an extra pillow.