Chapter Text
“I’m still mad about this.”
“Yes, you’ve already pointed that out. Five times now. Today.” Madara said, rolling his eyes. If he had to hear Izuna complaining about peace with the Senju one more time, he’d light the brat’s ponytail on fire.
“There’s no way this will end well. I’ll be telling you ‘I told you so’ for the rest of your life.” Hikaku took a nervous step away from the brothers at the angry twitch of Madara’s eye.
The three of them were waiting near the edge of the Naka River, a ways away from the few elders that insisted to participate in the peace talks.
And that was the crux of the matter: peace. After all this time, there was finally a concrete path towards peace regardless of Izuna’s suspicion. The Uchiha and Senju had managed to honor a ceasefire for the past six months, and now they were on their way to meet for formal peace talks. The tear-stained note from Hashirama after the initial scroll requesting peace negotiations was barely legible but managed to convey his excitement. Madara was almost surprised the formal scroll requesting the initial negotiation wasn’t water-logged from Hashirama’s excited blubbering if he hadn’t noticed the sharp, cramped writing wasn’t his friend’s hand.
He’s not sure which Senju elder was responsible for the, frankly, disturbingly well thought out terms, but his own elders could barely find fault with them. Not that they agreed to anything without a fight. The headache from that back and forth that ended with almost the exact terms they started with was enough for Madara to contemplate homicide.
“I don’t trust that walking tree as far as I can throw him.” Ah, Izuna was still going.
“Hashirama would never do anything to jeopardize peace. He’s been dreaming of this since he was a child,” Madara said, carefully not mentioning they both had been dreaming of peace. No need to set Izuna off on a new tangent.
“No shinobi is that nice. He’s either a fake or a fool, and both would cause problems for us,” Izuna huffed, crossing his arms. “And even if he’s not planning something, that attack dog brother of his surely will be.”
“He hasn’t done anything for the past six months,” Hikaku chimed in, quickly raising his hands at Izuna’s exaggerated look of betrayal.
“The Demon’s obviously plotting!” Madara and Hikaku shared a long-suffering glance. They may not fully trust Hashirama’s assertion that his younger brother was in favor of peace, but Izuna’s mistrust of the man was on another level.
“Careful Izuna,” Madara said with a slow grin, “or people will take your obsession with the White Demon the wrong way.” The instant sputtering and red face eased all of Madara’s earlier frustration as he cackled at his brother’s flailing denials.
“Who would be interested in that stone-faced bastard!” Izuna screeched, smacking Hikaku on the chest as their cousin also started to laugh.
“Oh, weren’t you the one that called him an icy vixen?” Hikaku teased while Izuna dragged him into a headlock.
“I said he was a cold, fox-faced asshole!”
They may be teasing Izuna, but Madara couldn’t deny his description of the Senju heir had merit. The sharp red eyes and white hair stood out on the battle field, showing little emotion beyond a steady focus. Even without his reputation, Senju Tobirama cut an intimidating figure.
“I’d rather stab myself than be interested in him,” Izuna said mulishly, then grimaced, “Actually, he’d probably stab me first.”
The image of Tobirama, blank-faced, murdering some poor idiot that dared confess their love to him wasn’t quite as far-fetched as it should be. Madara wanted to laugh but a cool presence brushed across his senses alerting him to the incoming Senju contingent. Izuna and Hikaku must have noticed his distraction, trying to peer past him to the other side of the Naka.
“They’re not here yet,” Madara said, “one of their sensors just flared a warning.”
“Uhhgggg, they can’t even be on time? We’ve been waiting for an hour!” Izuna said, falling so Hikaku was forced to catch him. Dramatic little shit.
“You’re the one who wanted to get here early to make sure the Senju weren’t laying any traps,” Hikaku said with a raised eyebrow. At Izuna’s continued grumbling, he let go of the younger man, allowing Izuna to fall face first on the compacted earth.
“Please act like functional adults,” Madara sighed over his brother’s yelp of pain, “and Izuna, do not antagonize any of the Senju. I am not going to have you cause a diplomatic incident because you can’t handle Tobirama not looking at you.”
“What the fuck, Nii-san!?”
—————
It didn’t take much longer for the small Senju party to make their way out of the forest. Madara could already see Hashirama waving at him from across the river. He couldn’t tell who exactly the Senju brought with him except for his brother; the looming white figure was obvious even from this distance.
A few of his clansmen tensed as the Senju jumped from their side of the river to the Uchiha side.
“Madara!” Hashirama cheered, “Well met, my friend!” He moved like he was going to wrap Madara in a bear hug before Tobirama grabbed him by the back of his kimono.
“Anija,” he said, pointedly, watching Hashirama wilt like a neglected flower, “don’t assault enemy clan leaders.”
“But they aren’t enemies! We’re making peace!” Behind him Izuna scoffed at Hashirama’s pleading face.
“Exactly. We haven’t signed the formal treaty yet. Contain yourself.” Tobirama began to walk away towards some clansmen that were preparing a space to negotiate, a sad Hashirama trailing behind him.
Madara could tell his own clansmen were unsure how to react to Hashirama’s personal brand of foolishness. The disconnect between The God of Shinobi and the unserious oaf in front of them could give a person whiplash. Madara knew that Hashirama’s eccentric personality was partially an act to appear less threatening, but he also knew the man was just like that.
Rolling his eyes at his friend’s behavior, Madara motioned for his clan mates to follow him to the table the Senju had prepared. He sat across from Hashirama with Izuna on his left across from Tobirama and Hikaku on his right across from a stern kunoichi with blood-red lip paint. The few others took seats on their respective side of the table, although it looks like the Senju only brought one elder along with them. Maybe this was the author of the initial terms of peace?
As the two clans settled into the negotiations, Madara was almost surprised by how quickly it went by. He supposed much of this was a formality since they already argued through most of the peace terms earlier in private. They were nearly finished after finalizing the patrolment of the new trade lines when one of the Uchiha elders broached the topic of an arranged marriage to seal the peace. Arranged marriages were relatively common among the Uchiha, although marrying outside the clan was rare, but the elders had all agreed on its necessity. However, the strength of the entire Senju delegation’s denial was shocking.
“Lady Ineko’s ghost would haunt us,” one of the Senju whispered, white-faced.
“You’ve had political marriages in the past,” Izuna said, confused, “we have records of them. You’re literally engaged to an Uzumaki woman right now!” he exclaimed, pointing at a nervously smiling Hashirama.
“Our marriage wasn’t actually arranged. It was made into a marriage alliance after we were shown to be interested in one another.”
An understatement for what actually happened: A ten-year-old Mito took one look at Hashirama and declared in front of both their families “I’m gonna be your wife! You better believe it!” Hashirama had promptly burst into tears and clung to her like an octopus while Mito smugly watched their families’ complete disbelief.
“Historically, the Senju did have political marriages. Our mother did away with the practice of arranged marriages,” Tobirama clarified. “It was one of the stipulations she required before she married in.”
“Married in? I thought your mother was born a Senju?” Madara asked Hashirama. He could have sworn their records indicated Senju Butsuma married a young branch-family member by the name of Senju Tsumugi.
“Oh, my birth mother was, yes.” Hashirama said, confused by the question. “She died not long after I was born. Our mother married in when I was still an infant.”
Madara wanted to question his friend further (why was their information not updated? Since when were he and Tobirama half brothers?) but one of the Uchiha elders interrupted.
“Isn’t addressing the current conflict more important than a dead woman’s wishes?” Madara would have hit Elder Shoto but the furious looks from both Senju brothers shut the man up first.
“Ignoring the blatant disrespect to our mother,” Hashirama said coldly, “the Senju would never dishonor the Hatake by going back on what we promised her.”
“H-Hatake? What do the Hatake have to do with this?” Elder Shoto sputtered. The nomadic clan were rarely seen in the Land of Fire, but their feral reputation was far-reaching. Madara had heard of more than one account of bandits and bloodline thieves left with their throats torn out after a run-in with the Hatake.
“As part of accepting his proposal, Senju Butsuma promised Hatake Ineko to abolish arranged marriages. She stated they were an offense to their marriage traditions.” The singular Senju elder stated, a severe look on his face. “We promised the Hatake no arranged marriages would be allowed while those of their blood call the Senju family.”
“Your mother was a Hatake!?” Izuna shouted in disbelief, startling many of the Senju.
“Yes? I thought you knew?” Hashirama tilted his head, looking over to Tobirama who shrugged slightly.
“No, it seems like some of our intel was a bit outdated,” Madara sighed, pinching his brow. “Does this change anything else in the peace treaty? Any other culturally insensitive terms that need to be removed?”
Madara narrowed his eyes as Tobirama coughed, hiding his face for a moment. Did he just cover up a laugh?
“The terms are fine,” the white-haired man said, straightening up again. “We already agreed on what was in the treaty. We can address this again if you and Anija get your village and we have to deal with living in close proximity.”
“But what about a marriage?” Elder Shoto was still incensed that his words were so venomously shot down.
Hashirama frowned again, but Tobirama laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder.
“We will not agree to an arranged marriage, but an Uchiha is free to court any Senju,” Tobirama intoned gravely.
The Uchiha elders seemed unhappy, but Madara shot them a look. He would have flashed his sharingan if he thought the Senju wouldn’t take it badly.
“Organic unions would be a better foundation of peace. If we want a joint village to work, we are not going to force the others to go against clan traditions.” Some of the elders looked away guiltily. For years, one of their main arguments against peace was the fear that their traditions would be erased by the intermingling of clans.
The elders were quiet after the admonishment, allowing for the rest of the talks to finish quickly. As the others packed and prepared to leave, Madara rushed over to where Hashirama was standing and speaking quietly to his brother. The two looked up at his approach, Hashirama smiling broadly while Tobirama’s blank expression didn’t change.
“Apologies again for our elders,” Madara sighed. “They didn’t mean to offend, surprisingly enough.”
“No offense taken! Although I’m still surprised you didn’t know. I thought it was common knowledge that we were close to the Hatake?” Hashirama said, tilting his head.
Madara shook his head. “We thought you just had a trade agreement or something. The Hatake aren’t really known for playing nice with other clans,” he said, wincing and hoping his comment couldn’t be taken badly.
“They aren’t,” Tobirama agreed, “the Senju are only tied to the Hatake because our father successfully courted our mother. Even though she married into the Senju, the Hatake still claim kinship.”
“Hatake take family bonds very seriously. They view me as family even though I’m not blood related after our mother took me as her own.” Hashirama smiled and slung his arm over his brother’s shoulders. Surprisingly, Tobirama didn’t shrug it off and even leaned slightly into the embrace.
“Right,” Madara said, almost overwhelmed by everything new he was learning. “Well, even though I doubt an Uchiha will be courting a Senju anytime soon, are there any major differences we should be aware of so someone doesn’t accidentally reignite tensions through a perceived slight?”
Tobirama rolled his eyes briefly, almost too fast for Madara to notice. “Uchiha and Senju courting customs aren’t very different from my understanding. Some of the common gifts are different, but not enough for them to be interpreted as anything but a courting gift.” The younger man stated. Madara nodded, relieved, but Hashirama quickly interrupted.
“Tobi! You’re forgetting that Hatake traditions are much different!” The man pouted, nudging his brother’s cheek. Tobirama scowled and swatted Hashirama’s hand away. His curled lip exposed an elongated canine.
Huh, Madara hadn’t noticed the sharp teeth earlier, but he supposed Tobirama didn’t talk much during the meeting. He certainly never smiled. Madara tried not to stare at the other’s mouth as he spoke.
“They’re irrelevant,” the younger Senju growled, “none of the Uchiha are going to court me.”
“Is that an assumption or your preference?” Madara asked, surprising himself. Tobirama whipped his head around to stare at him.
“I can’t imagine any Uchiha wanting to court the White Demon.”
“Would you want one to?” He wasn’t sure what had gotten in to him, but he wanted to tease out a reaction from the other man.
“My feelings on the matter do not affect anything.” Were his ears growing pink? The man was so pale, a blush must be so noticeable.
“That doesn’t sound like a denial.” Tobirama gaped at him, more emotion on his face than the Uchiha had seen so far, and turned to storm off in a flustered huff. Madara watched him walk away when a cough startled him out of his thoughts. Madara looked over in dread.
Hashirama was staring at him with a shit-eating grin.
“Please, don’t say anything,” Madara groaned, flushing and covering his face with his hands. He had fully forgotten Hashirama was standing there. What possessed him to flirt with the younger Senju when his older brother was right beside them!
Dear Amaterasu, he had been flirting with the White Demon. Izuna was going to murder him.
“So, you don’t want to know about Hatake courting traditions?” Hashirama said, still grinning.
Madara peered at his friend through his fingers.
Well, the Uchiha were notorious for their attraction to pretty, dangerous people, and Tobirama certainly fit the bill.