The loveliness of you (Tobirama x Madara)

10. (Madara)

The first frost lay on the ground, crispy underneath my feet. I especially enjoyed the sound of the frozen leaves crunching beneath my steps.

I went to the riverside in the back of our garden, then walked along it until I came to a tree covered in red berries. There, I sat down on a low branch. I leaned my head against the stem, closing my eyes against the frosty sun.

And I smiled.

Because no matter how devastated I was to love someone I could never have, I was still happy. Happy because of everything that had happened yesterday.

It was a strange mixture of remembering every little detail yet feel like everything was hazed over in a mist of happiness. I remembered the feeling of his muscles beneath my hands. How sticky the skin on his back was as I wrapped my legs around him. How the cosy light of the room was reflected in the droplets of sweat on the bridge of his nose. How his eyes had drilled their way into mine.

And how he had felt inside of me. It made me shiver thinking about it. And even if I longed for it to happen again, I could still make peace with the fact that it was improbable, because it had still happened and that was the most important thing.

I kept my eyes closed, and maybe it was the pleasant warmth on my eyelids from the sun that made me fall asleep. Because next thing I knew, I was woken up by footsteps approaching.

I blinked myself awake in the sunlight. In front of me stood a surprising duo, consisting of my eldest sister, still ashen from the loss of her fiancé...

And Tobirama Senju.

They both looked insecure, but there was something on both of their faces, as if they had decided on something difficult, yet decided on it nonetheless.

My heart started pounding immediately. Something was wrong.

"Madara", Tobirama said, looking straight at me. He was looking dashing as always, in a cream coat and dark brown trousers for riding as well as boots with brass clasps. My sister, although dressed much simpler, looked lovely as well. "Would you come down? Me and your sister would like to talk to you about something."

"I'm fine up here, thank you", I said stiffly.

I knew it was childish of me, but in that moment, it felt as if the stem of the tree was a source of comfort I couldn't leave.

Tobirama nodded.

"That's okay. Your sister..." He turned to her. I felt my stomach churn. Why was he looking at her like that? "She came to my home to see me. To the castle", he added as if he needed to remind anyone he lived in one. "With a request."

My sister took over.

"Since I lost Charles, I know that I will never want to be with anyone else. He was my happy ever after, and I'm done loving. However, I need to be married, and I'm becoming quite of age." She took a deep breath. "So I asked Tobirama to marry me."

It fell like the ground was ripped from beneath my tree and I fell, freely, clutching on to the tree, into an endless nothing where I would fall and fall forever.

No...

"I have come and seen your father", Tobirama said. "And asked him for your sisters hand and the reason behind it. And..." He looked incredibly happy then. It made me want to throw up. "And he accepted."

I just gaped. I looked at the man I thought I loved, and who I thought loved me. I looked at my sister, who I thought I had been my best friend.

"How long has this been going on?" I asked, hating that my voice cracked.