The Home I Crave

Need

In your opinion, what was really tiring about being sick was not the sickness itself – it was the impossibility of moving on with your life duties as you should.

You got dressed right after leaving the bathtub instead of doing it in the room to avoid a temperature shock in case you went there with only your towel. You were quicker to put on your clothes that time, but you still sensed some aching in your muscles whenever you tried to do harder movements. When you left the bathroom and went back to the futon, you saw the sheets were changed. Were the previous ones sweaty or dirty?

You thought of asking about this, but gave up when you noticed Tobirama bringing a heavy blanket on his shoulder and a cup of hot tea in his right hand: he has left the room for a moment to take those things for you with the people on the first floor.

You stared at him with inquiring eyes.

- You don't need to worry – he said, putting the blanket over the mattress and giving you the cup – There are enough stuff for everyone out there. No one is going to stay without assistance because I brought this to you.

You said a whispered "thank you" and accepted the tea from his hands, sitting on the mattress right after. Your husband unfolded the blanket and helped you to wrap it around your shoulders, then went to the window and took some time looking at the outside. There was a moment of calm silence between you, each of you too occupied with your thoughts to start a conversation.

When you decided to talk, your cup was half empty and there was no longer steam coming up from it.

- Should we send a message to Konoha about the situation here?

Tobirama woke up from his deliberations, but didn't startle. When he turned to you, the look in his eyes indicated that he was thinking of this too, and his reply only confirmed it.

- I considered sending a Shadow Clone to my brother, but it's not a good idea to spend chakra after what we've been through last night and when we still have a long road ahead us. I will talk to the team from the Land of Wind and see if they can arrange paper and ink, so we can send a bird to Konoha.

- Good – you sipped more of your cold tea – On the other hand, I don't want to send any message to my own village. Not when my father sent that letter to us.

You were looking directly to your cup's interior, but you sensed his red eyes upon you.

- Y/n-san, let me ask you: what do you intend to do once we reach your village?

You knew the answer. You've been thinking of this since you left your house in Konoha. Your fingers held the cup more firmly.

- First, I'm going to check on my sister, of course. Right after that, I will talk to my father about that letter. I think I already said to you I could guess who gave him the idea for it, right? – you cleaned your sore throat and took a last sip from the tea – I need to find out exactly what happened after I left the compound.

Tobirama didn't reply immediately. At first, you thought he was just thinking of the case, but then you realized that he remembered that you compared him to the person you thought to be the responsible for your father's decision, as clearly as yourself.

You opened your mouth to say something, but a strange feeling – if pride or shame, you weren't sure – stopped your voice from coming out and made you bit your lip; you did it with such strength that it started to hurt. You lowered your eyes to your cup again, now empty, and tried to think of what you were going to say, but had no success: were you going to apologize? To reaffirm what you said before? To try and figure out how he really felt about it?

You sighed... but your opportunity wasn't entirely lost.

You noticed when your husband left the windowsill and approached you, offering his hand; you looked at your cup and took a second to understand he was asking for it. When you gave it back to him, your fingers rubbed on each other in a gesture that would go unnoticed if it happened days ago. However, you saw it as a chance now, and acted accordingly.