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Tobirama had never given much thought to marriage.
During war, it mattered little. Every day could be your last when battles are in such abundance, and whether you spend time training or courting could be the difference between life or death.
Even after the war was over, he took on the brunt of the organization and paperwork required to build the village, and as such was uninterested in trying to start a relationship that would take time away from his projects.
The idea had really only become more important in the past year due to Madara's insistence on courting Tobirama after he came up with a way to revive Izuna. But even then, he had expected little to come from it. He had thought that it was likely just a way to appease Anija's wrath over "defiling" Tobirama, but the amount of attention the Uchiha gave him was intense enough to make Tobirama wonder sometimes...
Still, despite that, he had been sure that Madara would find ways to delay a more permanent status like marriage for as long as possible, perhaps even long enough that he could break off the courtship once his brothers had been returned to him without having to truly follow through with such a binding move, leaving him free to pursue someone he could look at with love and not just lust.
For him to tie himself to Tobirama wasn't something he'd truly thought would happen.
And yet despite his initial assumption, here Tobirama was, thirty-seven weeks pregnant and standing as still as he could manage while several women from both the Senju and Uchiha clans fussed over him, painting his lips with red, dusting around his eyes with powders, and pulling his hair back into as elaborate a style as they could manage, all while others were busy wrapping him up in layers of expensive white fabric, tutting over his prominent stomach and the adjustments to the garments required due to it.
He was going to wring Madara's neck for arranging for Tobirama to be given a shiromuku instead of a montsuki. Or, well, he would if he thought Madara would actually learn anything from it.
Perhaps he'd learn better when he saw how ghastly Tobirama looked like this, drained of all color like a corpse drained of blood.
As sore as his feet felt from standing this long, he still felt some dismay when the women announced themselves done and left, taking their tools and vanishing as quickly as they'd come. Now alone, he sat to wait, knowing that he would be retrieved when it was time.
All that was left was to get to the shrine and actually perform the ceremony.
And then he'd no longer be a Senju.
He'd be an Uchiha.
It was an uncomfortable thought. Not necessarily because of any lingering disdain of the Uchiha, but rather because of the finality of it all, the severance of ties with his birth clan. He knew, of course, that it wasn't a true severance, he'd still be able to speak with them, he'd still be the same person, but he would also be a step apart, no longer a part of the direct chain of command, leaving behind the position he'd been born and raised in.
"Heavy thoughts, Tobes?" He didn't startle at Touka's voice, calmly turning to look at her in the doorway. He'd sensed his cousin coming before she'd even entered the house that had been designated for his use to prepare.
"...Nothing important." Tobirama sighed, grabbing hold of Touka's hand so she could help him to his feet in the heavy robes (not to mention the baby bump that threw off his balance something terrible).
Touka narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. Not that it would help, unlike Hashirama, Tobirama had an excellent poker-face.
Finally she sighed, rolling her eyes at his stubbornness. "Fine, but I'm only leaving this alone because we've got to get going." So saying, she held up the Wataboshi she'd brought with her, waiting for him to bow his head and allow her to place the white hood in place.
He did so, grimacing at the way it limited his vision. He knew civilians had little mind to worry about the limited field of view, but he didn't know how kunoichi who weren't sensors could wear these things without paranoia, he himself already wished to be rid of it and he was the strongest sensor in Fire Country. Touka snorted at his displeased expression, ushering him out of the room with a nod towards the door, following right behind.
As they walked, Tobirama was once again glad that it had been agreed upon that the bridal procession would be short, with him getting prepared merely a few buildings away from his destination. Previously, in the handful of interclan weddings that had taken place since Konoha's founding, the spouse marrying in--typically the bride--had walked from their own clan compound to their future one, accompanied by friends and family there to witness the wedding and support them.
As he stepped out into the road, Hashirama was beaming at him, and Tobirama had a feeling that if it weren't for his wife's restraining arm upon his he'd be eagerly rocking back and forth on his feet like a child who'd had too many sweets. In his hands was the red umbrella that Tobirama and Madara were to carry during the procession to the shrine.
Next to him was Madara, whose wild hair had clearly failed to be tamed, only pulled back into a low ponytail, a hairstyle that reminded Tobirama of...
It was not the time to reminisce. Tobirama stepped forward, head bowed enough to hide his face behind the Wataboshi.
Madara held out an arm expectantly, waiting for Tobirama to hook his own into it before taking the umbrella from Hashirama, transferring it to the hand that Tobirama was holding onto so the shade covered them both. Flanked by Mito, Touka, Madara's cousin and current heir, Hikaku, and several other high ranking Senju and Uchiha, they began to walk.
The road was lined by Uchiha and Senju, in a chaotic mix of moods. From what his sensing could tell, there seemed to be a divide between what the younger generations felt and what the older generations felt. Those who remembered him and Madara from the battlefield were wary. It would take some time for them to settle, if they ever did. The younger generation was at least excited for the feast that would come after the ceremony if nothing else.
Amaterasu's shrine was at the highest natural hill in the area that had been allocated to become the Uchiha compound, one of only a few hills that remained, the others having been leveled to give room for the streets and homes of the clan. The stairs were no problem for any fit shinobi to walk, but as Tobirama paused at the bottom, he was suddenly all too aware that he was going to have to somehow manage to climb the steps in front of a whole crowd of onlookers. He couldn't even see where he was stepping! The thought of loosing his footing in front of everyone was a terrible prospect, and it would be utterly humiliating for a shinobi of his caliber to fall like that.
Just as he was contemplating turning around and going home, utterly done with today, he heard Madara make an amused noise, clearly seeing Tobirama's predicament, and before Tobirama could say a word he found himself lifted into Madara's arms, the movement smooth and easy despite the excess weight from the clothes and the extra pounds that came with pregnancy. Tobirama grit his teeth to avoid yelling at Madara, because this really wasn't much better than falling would be! But to yell would just cause an even bigger scene... Besides, once Madara set his mind on something there really was no stopping it.
Luckily, this once it seemed that Madara's impatience was a boon, as he wasted no time heading up the stairs. He clearly did not care that he left behind the umbrella, nor for the fact that there was a much slower, dignified pace that he probably should be using. Tobirama lost a bit of tension when Madara placed him down at the top of the steps, taking a step back to allow him to cleanse himself at the fountain outside the shrine. Tobirama waited for only a moment for Madara to do the same before entering the grand shrine.
He stood still for a moment, gazing at the intricately carved idol that stood at the center of attention in the middle of the shrine's central hearth, noting that the stone was clean of soot despite it's position. It was a sign of the Uchiha's dedication to their deity.
Amaterasu's gaze was a heavy one, her eyes framed by delicate engravings that looked to Tobirama like an old style of fuuinjutsu. The statue looked as if it could begin to speak at any moment, detailed with a life-like exactness that told Tobirama that it had to have been carved by a master, and one who no doubt held the sharingan at that.
Behind him, the witnesses permitted to enter the shrine with them shuffled in. Madara's hand had come to rest upon his lower back in his moment of distraction, the warmth of it grounding enough to get him moving.
The two of them stepped forward, stopping before the priest, a nondescript Uchiha whose only sign of his status was the quality and cut of his robes and the symbols that were inked around his eyes in patterns that mimicked the ones seen upon Amaterasu's statue.
Following Tobirama into the shrine were Touka, Anija, Mito, a great aunt and some cousin severeal times removed, both here as members of the Senju's elder council.
Madara's witnesses, Tobirama noted, were far more sparse than his own, consisting of only Hikaku and three different sour-faced elders.
As the priest began speaking, asking for Amaterasu's blessing, Tobirama found his attention continuing to return to Madara, just out of his sight due to the Wataboshk's fabric, but bright in his senses. His chakra felt... Steady. Sure of himself in a manner Tobirama hadn't even realized he'd lost after his defeat and the forced surrender that had led to Konoha's creation.
Madara picked up the first sakazuki, breaking Tobirama from his thoughts as he realized the priest had fallen quiet. He sipped thrice from the small dish before passing it to the attending miko, who refilled it and passed it to Tobirama. As he drank he noted the sake to be sweeter than he usually preferred, likely due to the reduced alcohol content in it to accommodate his current state.
They repeated this twice more, each dish slightly larger than the previous, before they turned to face Amaterasu's statue once more.
There were no spoken vows in a marriage before Amaterasu, for the Uchiha believed that Amaterasu knew their hearts already. Instead, they approached the hearth containing her statue, each being handed a sprig from an evergreen tree by the miko, which they then dropped into the hearth before simultaneously bringing their hands up to begin molding a fire release. Madara's flames were far stronger, as Tobirama's suiton nature was the natural opposite of katon, but it was important to the ritual that they both at least went through the motions.
With a steady breath, they lit the hearth together, the fire licking up Amaterasu's stone legs for a moment. There was a strange feeling in the air for a second before--
The fire turned black, just for a moment before petering out. This was a sign of Amaterasu's approval, or so he'd been told.
They clapped twice, bowing before the statue before and after, before turning to the priest, who nodded, gesturing back to the entrance of the shrine.
The sunlight that hit Tobirama's cheeks felt gentle, like a soft caress. Upon the first touch of Amaterasu's light, they were officially considered married.
A strange thought to be sure, but… Not wholly unwelcome, Tobirama realized.
Despite himself he had begun to enjoy Madara's presence these past nine months, something he'd never thought possible.
So distracted was he by the thought that he hardly noticed Madara leaning closer to him until he had landed a kiss, making Tobirama blink in surprise. Madara just huffed a laugh at the look, pulling him closer over to the top of the stairs where they could be seen.
The crowd below was a chaotic mix of clans, all come to see the official joining of the two founding clans as one. As they were spotted, a cheer began, slow at first before it grew into a celebratory uproar.
Tobirama barely managed to stifle a yelp when Madara lifted him into his arms again, avoiding the crowd by leaping onto the rooftop of one of the buildings surrounding the hill, the Wataboshi he'd been wearing getting lost to the wind as Madara began making his way across the rooves to the area set up for the celebration banquet. Looking over his shoulder, Tobirama spotted Hashirama flailing indignantly at getting left behind, the sight making him huff a laugh.
"So, Uchiha Tobirama, how does it feel to be married?" Madara teased as he landed deceptively gently by their seats. The area was empty of all but a few workers that were working hard to make sure everything was in place.
"…Much the same, so far." Tobirama lied, ignoring the feeling of warmth that came with the knowledge that Madara was willing to tie them together in such a way, that he wasn't merely a means to an end. The Uchiha did not often divorce, did not even have their own customs that would let them do so. In the eyes of their goddess, they were tied for life. Even if they were to separate under the eyes of another deity, Madara would be unable to be married to another in the shrine of Amaterasu.
"Well, I suppose that'll change soon enough." Madara grunted as he sat, pulling Tobirama down into his lap after him.
"After all, you're not just my wife now, you're the Uchiha Matriarch." Madara said quietly, voice warm against his ear. "And I think you'll find being a wife much differs from being a lover, to the Uchiha Clan."
Tobirama's pale skin did nothing to hide the flush that brought to him, but for once he didn't feel like hiding. There was no shame or need to keep himself safe, only the warmth at his back, the arm wrapped around his waist, and the hand that held his resting lightly against his stomach.
One of the babies kicked, startling him. His lips twitched upwards with a soft smile. Madara rubbed his free hand across Tobirama's stomach with a joyful laugh at the feeling, leaning forward to press a kiss to Tobirama's nape, hand now reaching up to caress the side of Tobirama's face.
Tobirama obligingly turned his head, allowing Madara to give him a quick peck.
Oh, Tobirama realized as Madara pulled back just enough to rest their foreheads together, He is marrying someone that he can look at with more than lust.
Because there was no other word to describe the soft look in Madara's eyes--the spark of life and adoration--other than love.
No, Tobirama hadn't given much thought to marriage before, but he never could've imagined it would be like this.
