Two men were engaged in an intense staring contest inside Madara's office. Neither one of them wanted to yield in this battle of wills. It was only when the infant in Madara's arms started to squirm and whimper did her father break eye contact with the Senju.

Disgruntled at being rebuffed (and losing the staring contest), Madara this time refuses to even look at his friend, an involuntary pout playing across his lips as he rocks his daughter in an attempt to calm her from the beginnings of a tantrum.

"Be reasonable, Madara," Tobirama started, sounding simultaneously exasperated and exhausted. "It's not that I am unwilling-"

"But you are," Madara cut in mercilessly, his gaze focused solely on his tearful daughter. "There is no one near my office. And I know for a fact that you can sense that. Nobody will enter this wing unless I permit it - not even my brothers. The only reason left is that you simply prefer not to hold Kazuha. Why? You are her godfather."

Madara would prefer to not admit it even in his own mind, but it irritates him that Tobirama refuses to hold his daughter. Or even accept the position of Kazuha's godfather. What sort of person would reject the position of the Uchiha princess's godfather? Nobody sane, that's who.

(And if it hurt Madara to have his best friend in this life went ahead and turned his offer down, it was nobody's business to know but his own.)

"I am unfit to be her godfather, Madara!" Tobirama finally lost all patience and forcefully turned the stubborn Uchiha's head so that they could look each other in the eye. The Senju didn't let go of Madara's cheeks, steadily asserting his reasonings with a calm he did not feel. "Think, my friend. Our clan, I have no doubt, will become allies soon enough. But currently, the Senju and the Uchiha are still enemies. Disregarding the armistice, we are technically still at war! Please tell me you have kept this foolishness to yourself.

"You cannot, in your right mind, as the clan head, elect me - a Senju who is also an heir - as your heiress's godfather. What would the elders perceive from this verdict? What about your brothers? What about your clan? What about mine? This is madness, Madara. Your decision is farcical at best - rationalize with your mind, not your heart.

"I know that becoming a father is a new experience for you, and while your sentiments are appreciated, this is not the time to allow your emotions to cloud your clinical judgment. Prioritize the alliance."

By the end of Tobirama's tirade, Madara had long chewed his bottom lip raw in an attempt to keep his thoughts from leaving his tongue. He knows that if he were to speak right now, he would be yelling at the top of his voice - and it would no doubt startle his daughter into a crying fit.

It did not, however, stop him from trembling in utter rage.

How dare he?! How dare Tobirama believe that Madara chose him as godfather just because of self-indulgement?! Madara has his reasons! Logical ones!

Perhaps his facial expression had morphed into something ugly, for Tobirama did not hesitate to release the tight grip on his face and take a step back, finally giving Madara some needed space to breathe. With a stuttering exhale, Madara, with as much gentleness as he could muster at this point in time, places his sniffling daughter in a crib next to his desk and moves to stand just by the window with his back to Tobirama.

He couldn't bear to look at Tobirama right not. If he did, he might be tempted to throw his desk at the Senju in a fit of rage. Madara didn't want to be like Tajima - constantly violent in front of his children.

Apart from the infant's barely audible sniffles, the office descended into a pregnant silence, filled with heavy tension so palpable it could be cut with a kunai.

"I understand," Madara finally said after many long minutes, his tone clipped and his entire body taut. "It was my mistake. Forget everything I've said. I apologize for causing you unneeded stress."

"Madara-"

"Uchiha Kazuha's birth is a secret. I'd appreciate it if you kept her existence to yourself."

There was a pause.

"Yes, of course, Madara. You have my word. But why-"

"You must be tired from your travels, Senju-dono. We can talk about the alliance another day."

Madara refuses to turn, not deterred by the feel of Tobirama's (safe) warmth near his back. The Senju had moved until he was standing close enough for them to share heat, but still leaving a gap, wary of breaching the barrier of touch when Madara's whole body was filled with tension.

"Madara I... Please forgive me for the denouncement I had previously made. It was petty and childish of me to take my frustrations out on you. My words had come from a place I am not proud of. I... was being a hypocrite and spoke out of turn. Please believe me when I say that I truly do appreciate your offer, that I truly do feel honored to be chosen as your daughter's godfather. I can't apologize enough for allowing my jealousy to take hold of me."

Madara turns sharply to face Tobirama, a sneer on his lips and arms wrapped around his stomach as if the gesture alone could protect him. "Jealous? What could you possibly be jealous of?" If Tobirama wanted to bullshit, he should've used another excuse. There was nothing in Madara's life that Tobirama should be jealous of. He had been abused, maltreated, and raped, to list a few.

The only singularity he has that anybody should be jealous of was his family, all alive and healthy in this war-torn era. But Tobirama, too, has an intact family. So, really, it wasn't worth mentioning in this instance.

"Her," Tobirama spoke with such sadness Madara was taken aback.

"Kazuha?" Madara blinks confusedly, unsure of how to react if that were the case. "You have... nothing to be jealous of, Tobira. I'm sure that you'll one day have a child to call your own as well." Although from memory, then-Tobirama had remained single all his life, focused solely on his shinobi career, village duties, and students. "However, being a godparent is also considered-"

"Not her, Madara," Tobirama halts him before he could rant about the pros of being Kazuha's godfather again. "Your wife."

It took a couple of seconds for his brain to register, but when it did, Madara made a face as if he had just taken a bite of something rotten. "Why on earth would you be jealous of that bitch?!" He all but shrieked, his hands twitching as if they wanted to grab Tobirama's collar and shake the Senju back to his senses. "If you're into the shite Ryouta is into, I won't judge, but to want to be in the victim's shoes is freaky as fuck. I had thought only Itama had extreme masochistic tendencies, but I suppose it runs in the family, huh?"

The face Tobirama made when Madara called his wife a bitch was bafflement, which changed into confusion when Madara talked about Ryouta's hobby, and finally settles on dry amusement and denial at the last bit. Tobirama's expressions would've been highly amusing if Madara wasn't currently trying to piece together a puzzle that has too many missing pieces in it.

"No, I assure you that I have no masochistic tendencies to speak of," was Tobirama's dry response. "And I'd rather not know how'd you even become aware of Itama's bedroom kink. For my own sanity, I'll pretend to have not heard that. Anyway, are you and your wife not on good terms?"

Madara all but rolled his eyes, sidestepping past the Senju to check on Kazuha. His voice had been a tad too loud just now, but thankfully, the babe wasn't startled into a crying fit.

When he turned back, ready to go on a tangent about his so-called wife, Tobirama was practically in his face with how close the Senju was standing. He would've taken a step back if there wasn't a crib behind of him. But he made do by throwing an evil eye at the adult albino.

"Not on good terms is putting it lightly," Madara scoffs. "Our relationship hasn't been a consensual one from the start. She has been groomed from a very young age to become the clan head's bride, so she knows no other path than to marry me, the current clan head. However, I hadn't the option to refuse the marriage; Tajima and the elders would never have allowed for it."

"If you have had the option..."

"I would have declined. For now, I'll settle with becoming a widower."

"Judging from your words, I'll assume that there has never been love involved."

'As if I could ever love a person who had taken liberties with me.' Was what was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it down and reconstructed his words.

He was becoming increasingly wary of this topic - what if he slipped? Madara would rather take all of his dirty secrets to his grave than to show his friend how broken he was on the inside. How much self-disgust he feels for himself, how defiled he feels on a day to day basis, the need to bath until his skin was raw always present in his head.

"No, never. If you're done playing twenty questions, I'd rather we go back to discussing how you'll be accepting the offer of becoming Kazuha's godparent."

The feelings of wariness increased when Tobirama places his hands on the crib's bars, successfully trapping Madara in between his arms, and leans forward, which made Madara lean away with little results. The space between them was practically non-existent, their chests brushing against the other and their breaths mingling.

"Tobira?" Madara was sweating, unsure about this situation. His heart was doing somersaults inside his chest and he just knows that the Senju could feel it beating a mile a minute. He was self-conscious enough to contemplate headbutting the albino away from him. "What are you doing? Why are you... hugging...? me?"

Tobirama suddenly laughs, his lips pulled into a wide smile and his ruby red eyes squinting in apparent pleasure.

There was relief in his expression, combined with the weird-angry-contemplating look then-Tobirama used to have whenever they would be paired together for a mission or whenever they got into each other's faces during one of their infamous shouting matches.

"I'm in love with you, Uchiha Madara."

... Tobirama-san say what?

"I fear that if I do not take this opportunity to tell you that I am in love with you, another person would steal your heart away. I'm not adverse to us becoming an item, Madara. In fact, I'd love for us to be romantic partners if you'd allow us the chance."

... Senju-san say what again?

The office, once again, descended into silence.

This time, however, it wasn't a silence that made them both skittish and downright murderous, but it was nevertheless uncomfortable to Madara. His mind was blank, completely empty of thoughts, with only those words repeating in his head like a broken recorder.

"You don't need to come up with a response at this point in time, Madara. Take as long as you need to think through my confession. Additionally, don't feel pressured to respond in any way because I'll accept the offer of becoming Kazuha's godparent regardless - if you're still willing to choose me after this. No matter your answer, I promise that there won't be any awkwardness between us. Although I do hope it'll be a favorable one?"

Tobirama presses a chaste kiss against Madara's cheek, before leaving the office after another one of those weird-angry-contemplating looks directed at his dumbfounded form.

Madara dazedly places a hand on the cheek that had been kissed, the warmth of Tobirama's soft lips still linger in his mind. His face and ears felt burning hot and his heart was jumping up to his throat. The kiss didn't feel disgusting like Hikari's or brotherly like Ryouta's. It was endearing and fond and... and... Madara covers his face with his hands, feeling embarrassed and ruffled yet content at the same time.

Peeking at his daughter from between his fingers, he makes a confused noise that vibrates from his throat.

"Did that just happen?"

She sneezes cutely.

Madara needs a bottle or ten of saké right now.

A/N:

Sorry for the late update!

Friggin should've seen how many drafts I've thrown out the window before I was satisfied with this one (－‸ლ)! The first few drafts had Madara flipping a table, throwing a table through a window, and other violent actions that would not be suitable with a baby in the room. So, yeah, discarded (〃´∀｀). The next few were downright depressing. So, that's a no as well. We don't need any more angst (;′Д`). I want to hurry and get to creating Konoha, killing Zetsu, and getting their happy ending. Hopefully, this didn't seem rush. The confession... I blame it on Tobirama being emotional right now. Love makes people rash and stupid, right? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thoughts? ┐(´∀｀)┌