The picture of love

Love in every step you take

Madara wakes up but lays motionless in their bed, Hashirama still half on top of his chest, her breath deep and slow and her hair still fanned out on her back; eyes closed, breath even Madara strains his ears in order to catch what has woken him. Soldier training never fails, something is off, again; Madara rolls Hashirama over, tucks the sheets around her in a clumsy mess and wanders through the house towards the kitchen. The cat is sleeping on top of the fridge and she opens a lazy eye when Madara closes the fridge's door with a soft click after having retrieved a bottle of water; Madara opens the sliding doors and stands in the back porch listening.

Less than ten minutes later Kakashi comes in the backyard and leans on the fence; Madara rubs at his eyes and waits. Kakashi taps lightly on the wood, almost soundlessly, and Madara just nods and goes back inside.

"What a mess." He sighs under his breath walking towards their bedroom; halfway there Hashirama's pager goes off and Madara nearly jumps out of his skin. Madara can hear Hashirama shuffling in bed and when he enters their bedroom Hashirama is already half dressed; she turns around and whispers "Why are you up?" Madara just shakes his head, wears a sweater and heads for the front door with Hashirama in tow; they climb in the car and Madara drives her to the hospital stopping only once to buy her some coffee. Madara kisses the back of her hand before letting her go then drives back home; he collapses in bed and the cat curls near his head on the pillow.

When he meets Kakashi at the gym later in the day Kakashi simply states "All dealt with." and Madara enjoys their joined self-defense lesson.

-

Meetings with Hashirama become a weekly occurrence: sometimes they walk the dogs, sometimes they watch Naruto play, sometimes they have coffee; during these meetings Iruka discovers a lot about his neighbors and is always left with a smile on his face and a feeling of fulfillment.

Hashirama talks a lot about everything and initially Iruka is left a bit fuzzy because usually he's the one who actively talks while Kakashi listens but eventually he comes to appreciate the feeling and starts trading place with Hashirama so that they talk and listen once each; on that subject she has said while drinking a fancy natural juice, something Iruka doesn't even know how to spell, "I know what you're talking about, Madara usually hums, grunts and tosses lines once in a while and so I actively do the talking but I like listening too and I like having some actual conversations!" and Iruka has nodded in agreement and stated "Must be a collateral effect of being a soldier; I swear, sometimes I think he's doing a freaking report to his captain!" They have laughed at that and Iruka has felt like they could understand each other on a whole other level.

It's during the fourth meeting, just the two of them wandering through the city googling some shop windows, that the atmosphere around them suddenly become strange; at first Iruka thinks it's due to his question about children and family but Hashirama answers calmly like usual, a little bit more elusive, but otherwise open "We're fine the way we are. We enjoy the process of making baby, though." Iruka laughs flushing slightly at the implications but Hashirama simply smiles and keeps glancing around them and Iruka has to ask "Is everything alright? I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." Hashirama types something on her phone replaying "Don't worry, it's all right. If I don't want to answer a question, believe me, I won't answer."

They keep walking and talking about lighter things after that but Iruka is left with the impression that something is wrong; they duck into a coffee shop to have some cool drinks and when they sit at a small round table Hashirama explains her previous mood "I'm sorry about earlier. It's just that I'm not used to talk about that stuff. Madara and I, we are a bit of a loners; you guys are perhaps the first real friends we have in a long time. At least I like to think we are. Friends, I mean. And well, about having babies... I haven't had to explain that to anyone before because Madara knows the situation, so." Iruka interjects quietly "You don't have to explain, you know? I do know what you mean. We are loners to, due to our situation and Kakashi's work as a soldier and I think we're friends, I like to be your friend." Hashirama's smile seems grateful but then she furrows her brows and asks "You situation? What do you mean?" Iruka is a bit sour and pained when explains "As a gay couple. We had hard times in the past. Not everyone is so... accepting or understanding for that matter." Hashirama smiles sadly saying "I can't understand what you went through but I know the feeling of rejection."