Madara blinked, before bending his neck marginally to look downwards at the two touches of warmth that had crashed and was now latched onto his thighs, bunching the fabric in their small fists. The two small children, only seven this year, grinned at him mischievously, their dimples making them appear twice as adorable. The corner of his eyes crinkled with fondness as he smiled gently at his two baby brothers.
"Why hello there, sweetie, sweetheart," He greeted Takumi and Yakumi respectively, keeping his tone soft and tender, "What are you both doing out here all on your lonesomes?"
"Looking at the pretty birdies!" The twins chirped in unison.
"Hm? Are my two darling angels taking interest in falconry?"
"Un!" Yakumi and Takumi cutely bobbed their head, hands behind their backs and feet shuffling with too much contained energy, "Will Ani-ue teach us how to care for the pretty birdies?"
"Of course," Madara crouched to their height and brought the eyas that was sitting obediently on his gloved fingers in front of two pairs of wide, interested eyes, "This is Toboe. Would the two of you like to pet him? You'll have to be really gentle, though - he's still a baby."
"Younger than us?" Takumi asked.
"Younger than even you, sweetie," Madara nodded.
"He's so pretty," Yakumi cooed, a pudgy finger clumsily but gently stroking the bird of prey's breast.
"And soft!" Takumi chimed not a second later.
"Indeed. He's a very special red-tail hawk. Do you know what albinism is, sweetie, sweetheart?"
Takumi and Yakumi both shook their heads, eyes full of curiosity and the desire to learn.
Madara chuckled, patting his baby brothers' soft, silky strands whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on his beloved hawk. The eyas was still young, and as Madara was still in the midst of training it, it was unused to other humans. Therefore, there still existed a slim chance of them being pecked at. Especially by this particular one.
"An albino is someone who lacks pigment - color - in their skin, hair, and eyes. Toboe lacks coloring in all of his feathers except for this part of his tail here. See?" Madara rotates his wrist to display a small section of the bird's tailfeathers.
"Uwaa! It's red! Like the Sharingan!" Yakumi squeaked in excitement, jumping up and down with his hands clasped on his chest.
"The Sharingan, hm? Perhaps, sweetheart, perhaps," The elder Uchiha hid a secretive smile behind his mantle's high collar, "His eyes do appear to be a similar shade," Was mumbled out almost inaudibly.
"Toboe's eyes don't look red, ani-ue," Takumi pointed out innocently, causing Madara to flush at having his musings be heard.
"Ah, yes. You're right, sweetie. How silly of me. Do you want to try holding him?"
"Ani-ue will let Takumi hold him?!"
"What about Yakumi?!"
"Absolutely. Wait for me here. Onii-san has to get smaller gloves for both of you to wear."
Madara's slip of the tongue was all but forgotten at the prospect of holding a bird of prey. Thank the Sage for children and their short attention span.
When he came back with a pair of kiddie gloves, he helped Yakumi and Takumi both equip them properly before whistling sharply twice. Toboe and his nestmate, Touryou, swooped down and landed with practiced ease on Yakumi and Takumi's fingers respectively, causing the children to let out exclamations of delight and awe.
Madara smirked in pride whilst giving the two eyasses treats for obeying his command.
Touryou chirped, sharp beak playfully nipping at Madara's gloved fingers in a show of affection. Takumi looked shocked and scared at first, but at Madara's serene expression, gave into curiosity and fearlessly (stupidly) placed a digit in front of the hawk's beak, his twin recklessly doing the same.
Whilst Touryou obediently and cheerfully nipped with playfulness, Toboe's eyes were frosty, similar to its namesake, but under Madara's dominative and penetrative gaze, it nipped Yakumi's finger with as much gentleness as a bird of prey could muster. Their actions made Yakumi and Takumi both giggle, their grin stretching from ear to ear.
"I want my own birdie too, ani-ue!" Yakumi childishly demanded, pleading puppy dog eyes aimed at Madara's direction.
"Me too, ani-ue!" Takumi asserted not a second later, his lower lip jutting out into a cutesy pout.
"Anything you want, sweetheart, sweetie," Madara folded to their peremptory request like wet toilet paper. If any of his enemies could see him now, they would undoubtedly be putting their hands together and forming the seal required to dispel illusions, "Which type of hawks are you interested in?"
It was rather obvious that they were both manipulating him to make him agree with their demands by acting cute, but he cared not about the not-so-discreet attempt.
In fact, he even felt pride in their trickster ways. Whenever they turn their cutesy act on him, he would always melt into a puddle of goo. Perhaps there was a pit in his brain somewhere when it came down to his two adorable baby brothers.
"We don't know," The two younger Uchiha shrugged.
"Well, no worries. We can take a look at all my hawks and see which one you would like, okay, my dears?"
"I want a baby birdie!"
"I want a baby birdie too!"
"Alright."
"Ani-ue is the best!" They trilled with wide, innocent eyes.
"If Yakumi and Takumi say so, then I must be."
Madara smiled in a dopey manner and discreetly puffed out his chest at the praise, similar to the birds he usually trains. Touryou seemed confused but followed Madara in puffing its chest out as well. Toboe, on the other hand, would've rolled its eyes if it was able to; its owner was such an amenable brocon.
The three Uchiha brothers were relaxing on the grassy ground. Madara was content with watching his many raptors zooming across the sky with Takumi cuddled atop his abdomen, the child's own egg cupped delicately in small hands, and Yakumi snuggled to his right.
"Hurry up and be born, ok?" Yakumi whispered encouragingly as he bunched some of Madara's long, wild hair around his egg. Madara only huffed out a breathy laugh, not minding that his younger brother was using his mane as a makeshift birdnest. It already looked like one, anyway.
"Remember what I told the both of you?"
"Un!" They responded enthusiastically, repeating what he told them not too long ago, "Keep them warm inside their nest and be very gentle whenever touching and/or petting them."
"Good boys," Madara murmured, brushing his lips against Yakumi and Takumi's temples in a gesture of affection.
"You're spoiling our baby brothers rotten, aniki."
The twins flinched at Izuna's sudden arrival, whilst Madara only gave his first little brother a look, having long sensed Izuna's chakra signature approach them.
"Uwaa, the meanie is here! Ani-ue, defend us from the baddie!" Takumi's lips wobbled into a rather convincing teary expression, but Izuna only raised a condescending brow and crossed his arms, unimpressed by the boy's theatrics.
"Don't worry, Taku, remember our secret weapon?!" Out of nowhere and much to Madara's startled amusement, Yakumi pulled out a pouch of salt and began flinging handfuls of the seasoning at the sputtering Izuna, "Evil spirit begone!"
"What the actual fuck?! You actually dare to throw salt at me?! I'll make the both of you become evil spirits, you spoilt beasts!"
Knowing that Izuna's relationship with the twins was akin to a bully and its victims (the twins being the bullies and Izuna the poor victim), Madara swiftly kept the eggs inside his sleeves for safekeeping, unsealed a plate of steamed corns, and settled into a comfortable position to enjoy the show.
"We must retreat, Taku, for the evil spirit is too evil to be purified!" Yakumi threw the whole pouch at Izuna as a form of distraction whilst yelling out to retreat, a 'serious' expression on his cherubic features as he pulled Takumi into a mad dash towards the house.
The 'attack' only manages to make Izuna wheeze out a series of coughs for a second or two before he swipes a sleeve (rather dramatically in Madara's opinion) across the air in a slashing gesture to disperse the cloud of salt. Scowling at the twins' back as they fled, Izuna reaches into his left sleeve and flung out four soft beads at them in one go.
The beads made the twins' faces be acquainted with the ground when they accurately hit the back of their knees. Whilst they simultaneously groaned in despair at their foiled attempt of escaping, Izuna appeared in front of them with crossed arms, smiling smugly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I am so gonna teach you two limp noodles a lesson for the shit you just pulled on me."
The twins squealed when they were lifted by the collars of their mantles and spun in wide circles. It might look rough to bystanders, but Madara's keen eyes picked that Izuna's hold and movements were gentle, more to get their adrenaline pumping than to hurt them.
"Kyaaa~! Save us from Izu-oni, ani-ue!" They giggled, kicking their short legs out to try and get Izuna in the chin. That only resulted in them being flung high up into the air, making them screech in joy when they were caught and juggled by their second oldest brother.
Madara let out a huff of laughter as his three little brothers continued to play. He sat up with crossed legs, not minding that Toboe's and Touryou's talons were digging into his shoulders when they perched on him not a second later. Once in a while, he would feed the two eyasses whenever they eyed the corn in his hands long enough for Madara to feel fond exasperation.
"How energetic."
He turned to Ryouta, who has just settled himself to Madara's right and snuggled into his side almost immediately. He brought a hand to rest on his little brother's head, ruffling the younger's hair and smiling when Ryouta did nothing but beam up at him.
"Why don't you join them, Ryouta?"
"I'd rather not be manhandled by the brute," Ryouta gave a pointed look at Izuna, who was currently bench pressing their baby brothers without any visible effort on his part, "And I prefer anija's company over the little demons any day."
"I don't understand why you and Izuna would always call them such names," Madara lamented. Ryouta gave Madara a look so dry he was tempted to offer his brother eye drops. That was probably learned through observing Madara give them to Izuna one too many times.
"Because they're rightful little demons, anija. Don't be tricked by their cutesy act - they're only nice when you're around."
"They're angels."
"They've pulled wool over your eyes. I'm afraid you're beyond saving, anija. You have my condolences."
Madara made a half-hearted sound of protest whilst deciding to continue his ignorant act. He, of course, knew that the twins were rightful menaces to Izuna and Ryouta whenever Madara faded into the background. What sort of older brother would he be if he did not amuse himself with his little brothers' suffering?
It was only fair after he had changed their smelly diapers and had his hair (and fingers) munched on when they were still babies. The only unfortunate matter was that there were no convenient cameras in this time period and he could not take evidence of their foolish younger selves as blackmail material for the future.
Toboe and Touryou suddenly took off into the skies, some of their feathers landing in Madara's hair.
"Please pardon my intrusion, Madara-sama, Ryouta-sama."
Madara's expression had long returned to its passive state when he sensed her approach. Ryouta, on the other hand, couldn't hide how his muscles had tensed when Hikari-san spoke from next to them, probably startled as he was too distracted by their conversation.
He didn't blame his little brother for his inattentiveness, seeing that the younger had felt safe enough with Madara close by to drop his guard - and that civilian's chakra signatures were hard to detect by a shinobi who was not trained in sensing.
But he still took note to double Ryouta's awareness exercises from now on.
"Hikari-san," He greeted politely but monotonously, discreetly pushing Ryouta aside so that he was able to stand next to his wife, blocking his brother from her sight. He disliked having someone unfamiliar so close to his precious people despite her lack of kunoichi training, "What brings you here?"
"I've come to inform Madara-sama and his brothers that lunch has been prepared," Her head was bowed slightly in a show of respect whilst her hands were intertwined in front of her.
"We will be there shortly," Madara answered stiffly, more of a dismissal than a response.
"Understood. I know to not question Madara-sama unnecessarily as he is a busy man, but to prepare myself, may I know if Madara-sama will be returning to our bedroom tonight?"
Madara was instantly uncomfortable with such a question being thrown at him in front of his little brother. After their wedding day, which was a year ago, Madara had not once entered his bedchamber, always making excuses about preparing for a mission even though he would sleep in the twins' or Ryouta's room afterwards.
He knew it was cowardly of him to treat her as such (she was an innocent party), but Madara couldn't help it. Cold sweat would cover him from head to toe whenever he pictures them in a futon together, paranoia causing him to fle- make a tactical retreat.
His brothers might not mind him intruding upon them (in fact, Izuna and Ryouta actually encouraged Madara to retreat to their rooms after dinner each night), but he knows that Tajima has been asking Hikari-san whether she was pregnant yet with his child. And the pressure of their clan head was what made her question him 'subtly' whenever she sees him.
He did not blame her. Tajima was intimidating to many as he was a violent man prone to striking first, talk never.
Under his billowing sleeves and out of sight from prying eyes, Madara balled his gloved fists. It was not that Madara was purposefully being difficult, he was just... uneasy... at the prospect of being intimately touched.
After having been violated by a bloodline thief back when he was truly an eleven-year-old child, he has never once engaged someone in an act of coitus. He has never known the taste of carnal pleasure up till the day he exhaled his last breath next to then-Hashirama. Even after having returned to his second childhood, this current body of his has yet to be touched, and he intended to keep it that way till his fourth and final death.
He wore gloves for a reason, for fuck's sake. It was not a fashion statement as he was not a vain man.
Hence, to be expected to impregnate someone after such a traumatizing event was... He just couldn't do it no matter how much he forces himself to compartmentalize and think this as one of his long-term infiltration-slash-honeypot missions.
"My apologies for stealing Madara-ani again for tonight, Hikari-san. Anija has promised to help me improve in my calligraphy after dinner."
Ryouta, the ever-perceptive teen that he was, inserted himself into the conversation before Madara's silence got too long. When Hikari-san looked as if she wanted to say something else, Izuna arrived in a timely manner with the twins in tow to loudly exclaim that the brats were hungry and that they should go have lunch now.
Hikari-san's lips pursed for a split second in displeasure, but she bowed and retreated back into the house obediently - just like how she was taught to obey the orders of her husband and his immediate family members.
As soon as she was out of sight, Ryouta pulled him into a hug, comforting words being whispered soothingly into his ears. Ryouta's fingers were combing through his long hair; gentle, calming, and purely platonic motions that prevented him from lashing out at their intimate proximity.
He only just realized that he was trembling bodily when he brought his arms up to return the favor, so he exhaled shakily and forced himself to relax into his younger brother's embrace.
"Aniki, do you... Do you want me to sanction a month-long mission for you?" Izuna murmured softly, calloused covered hands rubbing soothing circles on Madara's back.
"Please," He whispered, burrowing his face deeper into Ryouta's shoulder to hide his shame.
"Alright. I'll bring the twins inside and distract Hikari-san. Just... Take as much time as you need, aniki. Don't force yourself, ok? We understand."
Madara didn't know why he felt like such a failure (as a man and as a big brother) when Izuna mentions that they understood why he reacted so negatively to something as simple as sex. The full moon tonight, he assumes, would probably be twice as red than any other lunation.
A/N: Grrrrr...! (╬ಠ益ಠ) I was simply finalizing this totally brotherly fluff chapter... So why did my plot-bunnies have to take control of my fingers and write that last portion?! It was wholly unnecessary, dammit! Why are they always making Madara suffer?! ლಠ益ಠ)ლ
Anyway, Madara calls Takumi and Yakumi sweetie and sweetheart respectively (○ﾟε^○).
The reason why the twins are pretty childish and innocent (similar to civilians) is due to Madara shielding them from the more violent side of being a shinobi (that overprotective brocon). The twins live a more sheltered lifestyle since they have no official roles other than being 'back-ups' of the heir, as insensitive as that sounds (ಥ﹏ಥ).
Touryou = Pillar ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°) *wink wink*