Something Long Forgotten

By: Komo Pineconeseed

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Alternate universe belongs to Makkoska. Chapter titles belong to Utada Hikaru.

Warnings: Part of Makkoska's Small Things' extended universe. Stories not in chronological order. Sporadic chapter lengths, genres, and updating schedule.

Dedicated to: Makkoska and luthielkaeyl

Prisoner of Love

Hashirama came home to a sight that sent his heart fluttering. In the dim living room, Madara sat in a recliner while cradling their one-week-old granddaughter in his arms. Little Tsunade had fallen asleep, but that didn't stop Madara from continuing to gently rock her. He gave Hashirama a heavy-lidded glance when he saw his partner enter the room. Hashirama strode up to his lover and placed a kiss on his left cheek.

"You're late," Madara mumbled. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing important. We just had a greater influx of mission requests than usual. Where're the kids?" Hashirama was equally quiet.

"Noboru's team hasn't arrived back yet. I imagine you'd hear from him sooner than me. Takumi's out training, and Aina's on a date with Kagami, so we're babysitting tonight." With that, Madara turned his attention back on their granddaughter. He pressed a gentle kiss against Tsunade's forehead; his rocking never ceased.

"Have you eaten yet? Would you like me to fix you anything?" He walked towards the kitchen.

"Just some rice balls, and whatever else we have… oh, now look at what you've done." Tsunade had woken up and started crying. Hashirama smiled as he watched Madara sooth their granddaughter, but the baby just wasn't willing to be calmed.

"She could be hungry too. When was the last time she ate?"

"Hmm," Madara blinked once as he was thinking, "Warm up some milk for her first." He reached towards a nearby table that had two bells tied together on a string, and jingled it in front of Tsunade to distract her while Hashirama went into the kitchen. Reaching into the fridge, he grabbed a bottle of breastmilk Aina had pumped earlier that day and heated it. While he was waiting, he portioned out some rice to make the rice balls Madara wanted.

The second the milk warmed up, he poured it into a bottle and fastened on the lid before testing the temperature by squirting some on his skin. Happy with the result, he walked it over to Madara who took it without a word. Checking to make sure there wasn't air trapped between the milk and nipple, Madara pointed the bottle at the newborn. Little Tsunade had no problems finding the nipple and started suckling. The infant didn't mind her grandfathers' attention as she drank.

After a while, Tsunade stopped drinking and unlatched herself. Madara held the bottle up to the light and looked at the volume measurements on the side.

"She only drank 50 milliliters? That can't be right." He tried to get her to drink more, but she kept squirming and wouldn't take the bottle again.

"She's probably full. I'm sure she'll let us know once she's hungry again. Why don't you give her to me, and I'll burp her while you go eat?"

Madara gave him the side eye before hoisting the baby against his shoulder and started patting her back. Hashirama let out a wry smile at his partner's possessiveness before returning to the kitchen to finish making the rice balls. He had just noticed the fridge had some leftover salmon when he heard Madara let out a gasp. Hurrying back into the living room, he saw his lover standing stock still, staring at him with wide horrified eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Did she just vomit on me?"

Slowly, Hashirama walked around to get a better look at Madara's shoulder, and surely enough, their little princess did. Just a dribble, but it stood out against the dark colors of his clothing and hair. His lover let out a soft groan when Hashirama reported the news.

"Go get me a towel," Madara's tone was one of disbelief.

After Hashirama handed it over to him, Madara dabbed at it, but he ended up just smearing the offending stain around.

"Why don't you give her to me and go change."

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you even know how to hold an infant?"

"I had three younger brothers!"

"Given how Tobirama turned out, your track record isn't good."

Hashirama let out an exacerbated sign, unwilling to open that can of worms. "Just go change."

After what felt like an eternity, Madara let Hashirama gently take hold of their granddaughter. The second she was fully cradled, Madara dashed to their bedroom. The Senju let out a low chuckle, but was interrupted by an adorable tiny yawn from Tsunade before she quickly fell asleep.

Hashirama was busy smiling at the little bundle of joy in his arms when Madara walked back down the staircase. He raised an eyebrow when he realized that his lover was wearing one of Hashirama's uwagi. He didn't tie it in front, leaving his chest deliciously exposed.

"Not that I'm complaining at all about the view, but is there a reason you're wearing one of my shirts?"

"I'm going to be taking a bath before bed. There's no point in changing into clean clothes just to change again. Now give me Tsunade."

"But I just got a chance to hold her. Don't be so greedy, Madara."

His lover let out a grunt before heading into the kitchen to finish fixing dinner. Shortly afterwards, he returned to the living room, holding a plate of the rice balls. Hashirama let out a content smile as he watched his lover lick his fingers clean.

"Feed me."

Madara gave him an odd look. "What."

"Well, my arms are obviously full," he spared their cute granddaughter a glance, "and I'm hungry, so feed me like you did her."

"You're a grown man. Give her to me, and go feed yourself."

"Please, Madara?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes, but complied with Hashirama's wish. He held a rice ball to Hashirama's mouth, and the taller man took a bite. The rice was tangy from the vinegar, and it was delicious. On his second bite, he realized that Madara had also discovered the salmon in the fridge. Hashirama chewed slowly, savoring the taste of the meal he and his lover prepared together.

When he was done eating, he sucked Madara's fingers clean of any residual pieces of rice. Hashirama made eye contact as he did so; his gaze was smoky and filled with promises. In response, a ghost of a smile danced on Madara's lips before disappearing.

"It's getting late. Why don't get ready for bed?"

"Yes. Tsunade's going to need a bath first, though. Why don't you give her to me, while you go and draw the water?"

"I don't think she needs a bath, Madara. She had one yesterday."

"Babies need to be clean."

"But she's not dirty, and giving her a bath every day might dry out her skin. In fact, back when I was taking care of my little brothers, that's what happened to Itama when Tobirama and I bathed him too often."

A moment of silence passed between the two men. Madara, uncomfortable with the topic of deceased brothers, dropped the subject.

Together, the two men walked upstairs and into Aina's room. There was a crib next to her bed, and Hashirama gently lowered Tsunade into it before tucking her in and pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead. When he turned around, he noticed Madara was actually smiling.

Madara was breathtakingly beautiful when he smiled.

The two of them walked out of the room, crossed the hallway, and into their bedroom. The second Hashirama closed the door behind them, he was practically on top of his lover.

Hashirama continued pressing kisses along Madara's jawline after their lovemaking against the side of the tub. His partner let out a content moan when Hashirama licked the crook of his neck.

Their breathing was still slowing down when they heard a noise at the entrance of the house. From the sounds of muffled speaking and the lightness of the footsteps, Kagami had walked Aina home from their date. Madara snorted, his wet hair tickling Hashirama's nose.

"That girl is coming home unacceptably late."

"She's a young woman, and you know Konoha is perfectly safe."

"She should still come home earlier."

Hashirama didn't answer. Instead, he looped his arms underneath his lover's body, stood up, and carried Madara out of the tub. The shock on Madara's face quickly transformed into anger, but Hashirama knew he wasn't going to shout at him lest he woke up Tsunade. Walking back into their bedroom, he set Madara down, grabbed a towel, and started to dry his lover. Once they were both dry, they crawled into bed with Hashirama curled around Madara.

Madara's eyes snapped open. There was an immense sense of foreboding churning in this chest, and it took him a few seconds to realize what had happened.

"Hashirama! Wake up!"

"Wha?" His sleepy partner let out a confused groan before tilting his head to the other side. "It's three in the morning. Go back to sleep."

"Get out of bed, you lazy bastard." He kicked Hashirama hard, who let out a gasp of air from the assault. "Tsunade's stopped breathing. Go and check on her!"

His lover became more alert upon hearing that. "You sure?"

"Stop arguing and go already!"

Hashirama got out of bed and searched for his pants, which had been flung somewhere in the room. The moment he was halfway presentable, he left their bedroom. Madara was focused on the noises and chakra from their daughter's room the whole entire time. He could hear that Hashirama and Aina were talking, but even straining, he couldn't make out the words.

In less than a minute, Hashirama returned.

"Tsunade's fine. She was breathing slow deep breaths when I entered the bedroom."

"Are you saying I was lying?"

"Not at all. She probably had a pause in her breathing. Mito-san told Aina that as long as she starts breathing in ten seconds, everything's fine."

"And you believed her?"

"Tsunade was breathing when I went in the room. She wasn't blue either. I know you're a little anxious, but try and sleep. Everything's fine." And with that, the carefree lout stripped off his pants before curling up against Madara and falling asleep.

Madara gritted his teeth in frustration, but closed his eyes anyway.

When Tsunade was 7 weeks old, she started smiling rather consistently at her mother and grandparents. Aina discovered this first, naturally, and quickly called Hashirama and Madara over to look. They rushed to the living room, where Aina was sitting, rocking Tsunade in her cradle.

Sure enough, there was a definite upward quirk of little Tsunade's lips with a crinkling around her eyes. Her blue eyes looked wildly around the adults, making eye contact with her mommy, then Hashirama, and finally Madara. The three adults crowded around the infant, all smiling at her. Tsunade giggled and tried her best to reach out. Aina reached into the cradle, and picked her up before blowing kisses into her tummy. Tsunade let out the most delightful gurgling sounds.

Then, Madara must have moved too closely to Tsunade because all of a sudden, she grabbed his hair. Aina smiled while Hashirama laughed at the ridiculous face Madara made. He hadn't made such a disgruntled expression since the first time they meant and Hashirama showed him up in stone skipping!

Madara tried to stand up in hopes that Tsunade would let go, but their little girl showed an impressive tenacity, and held on even as the upper half of her body was dragged out of Aina's embrace. Eventually, however, the blonde girl's grip failed to keep her up right. Madara's hair slipped from her fingers, and she dropped back down.

Tsunade started crying. No matter how much mother tried to sooth her, she just wailed. She resisted her bottle and pacifier, her diaper wasn't dirty, and she didn't seem to have any gas. Why was Tsunade crying?

Hashirama was the one who noticed that Tsunade kept looked at Madara every once in a while, and convinced Aina to hand the baby over to him. Whatever Hashirama was thinking, he was right. Their little princess stopped fussing, and calmed down in Madara's arms. She moved her hand to her mouth, and started sucking while staring at her Uchiha grandfather.

"Madara-san, she seems to like you a lot."

"She finds him handsome. Or is it his silky hair?" Hashirama's tone was teasing.

It was probably the hair, Madara mused. When he leaned forward so Aina could make eye contact easier, his hair brushed against her tiny hands, and she clenched her fists around his bangs again. He sighed while Tsunade laughed as she trapped her grumpy grandfather in her grip.

Living with a young child was a new experience for Aina, but not for Hashirama nor Madara. Aina had been the only child of her birth parents, and the youngest child she grew up with was Noboru when he was 5-years-old. Her fathers witnessed their younger brothers being born, but that had been a lifetime ago. Still, because Tsunade slept in the same room as her mother, Hashirama and Madara were spared the 2 AM feedings and diaper changes.

Time flew.

Kagami and Aina's relationship got more and more serious. Unfortunately, for Takumi, Kagami decided to move into the house to live with Aina. During the transition, Hashirama added more rooms to the house with his Mokuton.

The first time Hashirama was given babysitting duties by himself was when Tsunade was four years old. Madara was on a mission with Takumi's team. It wasn't an incredibly serious mission, but he went with them "to teach Takumi better techniques". Hashirama smiled and accepted this explanation with little fanfare. It really was a short mission, and the two of them would be back any day.

When Hashirama arrived home that early spring evening, he saw Kagami and Aina sitting in the kitchen waiting for him.

"Dad! You're back!"

"Welcome home, Hokage-sama." Kagami was definitely Tobirama's student: differential even after being told not to be.

"It's good to be back. Now, why are the two of you sitting here? Were you waiting for me?"

He knew Aina wanted something with the way she smiled. "Kagami and I want to go out. We were hoping you'd look after Tsunade."

Hashirama agreed. He rarely got to spend one-on-one time with the family's little princess. Aina and Kagami waved goodbye as they walked out the door, hand-in-hand.

The Senju walked to his granddaughter's room. After knocking on the half opened door, the girl stopped playing with her stuffed animals and spun around to greet him.

"Hashira-jiijii! You're home! Let's play!"

She then proceeded to throw her stuffed animals at him. Hashirama caught all of them, but with every single one he caught, he pretended they were weighing him down, until he was bending over backwards from the strain of holding onto five plushies.

"Oof!" He fell straight onto his back, while Tsunade laughed and ran to his side, her blonde pigtails swinging with every step.

"You're so silly, Hashira-jiijii!"

"But they're so heavy, Tsuna-chan! I'm impressed you can throw so many!"

The little girl laughed. "Let's play house! I can be the mommy, and you can be the… uh…" Tsunade's eyebrows quirked in the most hilarious fashion as she tried to assign a role to her grandpa. Hashirama smiled as he smoothed her bangs away from her eyes.

"I got a better idea. Why don't we play Koi-Koi? Your mom taught you how, right?"

"Yes!"

"Well, why don't we do that instead? And, we can make it more exciting too…" Hashirama's voice trailed off mysteriously, mischief dancing in his eyes.

"How?"

"Why, by wagering money, of course!"

Madara massaged the kinks in his neck as he walked back home. His son's team had just arrived in the village after completing their mission, and they decided to go to Ichiraku Ramen as a team to celebrate. Madara didn't like eating ramen with other people around, so he decided to head home.

As he walked through the doorway, he heard the distant laughter of his granddaughter. Smiling, he went in.

"I'm back!"

"Welcome back, Madara," Hashirama's voice reverberated as Madara bent over to take his sandals off. To the Uchiha's surprise, Hashirama wasn't walking over to the doorway to greet him with a kiss.

Curious, he stepped onto the wooden floor and walked to the living room. Upon entering his granddaughter's line of sight, she shrieked, "Mada-jiichan! Let's play cards!"

And to his utter shock, Tsunade and Hashirama sat facing each other, holding onto Hanafuda cards, with piles of money sitting next to them.

"Senju Hashirama, are you teaching our four-year-old granddaughter how to gamble!?"

Hashirama's face was one of guilt. "We're just having fun, Madara. Small wagers, of course."

"I won more than 5,000 ryo from Hashira-jiijii, Mada-jiichan! I can buy so many toys now!"

"Small wagers?" Madara glared at Hashirama.

The Senju's expression drooped even more. "Well, she didn't have any money to begin with, so it wasn't like I won anything the first few rounds."

Tsunade laughed as Madara screamed, "That's not the point! Why are you teaching her how to gamble? She's only four!"

"But, Mada-jiichan, I won!"

"Yes, you did, Tsunade. But you're a little young to be gambling. This is something you can do when you're a bit older."

Tsunade started crying. Hashirama shot Madara a now-look-at-what-you've-done look. Madara shot another glare at him.

"Why don't I teach you how to throw shuriken?"

"No! I wanna play cards!" Tsunade continued wailing.

Despite being able to induce fear even in the most seasoned ninja, Madara couldn't say no to Tsunade crying. He gave in and played cards with them.

He also didn't speak to Hashirama for the rest of the night.

When Tsunade was seven years old, there was talk about starting her at the Academy. All the adults seemed really excited, but Tsunade had been quiet from the day her mother told everyone she had enrolled her.

The day before the Academy Entrance Ceremony, Tsunade waited for Madara to come back from his meeting with the rest of the Uchiha Clan. After greeting him when he arrived home, she proceeded to follow him around the house as he did some laundry. While hanging the bedsheets up to dry, Madara contemplated whether or not he should buy new ones. The threads were well worn, and he could have sworn there were a few weak patches that would tear at any moment.

He was contemplating how he and his lover went through bedsheets rather quickly—they had had to be laundered every day because Hashirama couldn't keep his hands to himself—when his little princess interrupted this train of thought.

"Mada-jiichan, I'm scared."

Madara was surprised. While Tsunade liked to follow him around, he knew something was off given how quiet she was.

"What are you scared about?"

"I… what if I don't make any friends at the Academy? What if the other kids pick on me? Butsuma-niichan is a few years ahead of me, and our recess times are different. Mommy says the Academy is really fun, but…" Her lower lip started quivering.

At that moment, Madara had an idea.

"Why don't we go to the riverbank? There's something I want to teach you."

"Is it a jutsu?"

Madara smiled. "It isn't."

After packing up, Madara and Tsunade headed towards the Nakano River. Snaking around the outskirts of the domestic districts, the river hadn't changed much since the inception of the village. Or perhaps it had, and Madara didn't notice the slow evolution. He and Hashirama went there sometimes on their anniversaries, after all.

Setting aside the umbrella and basket he had brought, Madara picked up a good pebble for stone skipping, and threw it across the water. It flew through the air, sharp like a shuriken, before bouncing the across the surface of the water multiple times and landing on the other side.

"Wow, Mada-jiichan, I didn't know you knew how to skip stones!" Tsunade ran up to him, grabbing his robe.

"Oh? Hashirama didn't tell you the story of how we met?"

"No. How did you meet?"

The corner of Madara's lip quirked. "I think I'll let Hashirama tell it to you. I don't want to ruin his fun of embellishing the story."

"Okay."

Noticing Tsunade's rather subdued expression, Madara found another good stone for skipping and gave it to his granddaughter. The little girl threw it across the river, but it sank the moment it hit the water, creating a big splash.

"Uh-oh."

Finding yet another stone, Madara held onto it, before kneeling down to see the river at Tsunade's eye level. "You're throwing it with too much force downwards. Aim higher."

She did. This time, the stone skipped twice before sinking into the depths of the river.

"You're not throwing hard enough. You've got to use your arm like a sling, Princess."

Like before, the stone skipped a few times, but again failed to cross over to the other side. Madara looked at Tsunade as she started to sniffle a bit.

He let out a sigh before saying, "I think for you to cross over to the other side, you must become stronger. Not just in stone skipping, but in life as well. If you're weak, no one will listen to you. You must overcome your weaknesses, like your fears about the Academy. You're the granddaughter of the founders of the village. The other students and teachers will treat you with respect and fear, and you'll be given the opportunity to pick your allies and grow stronger."

"So, if I'm strong, I'll make friends and nobody will pick on me?"

"You also must never give up your dreams and wishes. If you don't want people to pick on you, you must be stronger than them. If you want to make friends, then you have to hold that wish close, and remember that sometimes, it might be more important than simply gaining strength. This is something Hashirama believes, that love is the key to peace. I think he's naive and too idealistic, but he is right. Hold your loved ones close, and gain power to protect them. That's what Hashirama's Will of Fire is about."

"That sounds about right," Hashirama added as he walked into the clearing.

"Hashira-jiijii! I can skip stones!" Tsunade ran towards Hashirama, who picked her up and flung her into the air with a laugh. Madara let out a small smile at the sight.

"Well, why don't you show me, my little princess?" He set the girl back onto the ground. She ran towards the riverbank, picked a stone and threw it. It bounced three times across the water, but sank.

Tsunade whined.

"It went really far, Tsuna-chan! Good job!"

"But… Mada-jiichan's stone crossed over to the other side."

"It did, didn't it?" Hashirama's eyes twinkled, and Madara knew he wasn't thinking about the physical stone he threw a short while back, the sentimental fool.

"Hashira-jiijii! Why can't my stones go across!?"

The Senju kneeled down to be at Tsunade's eye level. "Well, Mada-jiichan is a grown up, so he's stronger and can throw farther. But there was a time when he was only a bit younger than your uncle Noboru, and his stones still couldn't make it across."

"Hashirama! What are you telling that child?" Madara was livid. He hated appearing weak, especially in front of his granddaughter.

His partner just let out a laugh that both irritated and delighted him before responding, "But I'm right, aren't I? And look at you now. All your stones cross over."

Madara ignored him and walked over to a section of the bank covered in grass. He watched as Hashirama gave Tsunade some more pointers on stone skipping.

It was a sight that sent his heart fluttering.