Sakura moaned around the thickness filling her mouth to the brim, a thrill of pleasure shooting down her spine at the responding groan from Madara.

The flesh of her knees burned from the rough carpet beneath her but her attention was far from the inconsequential pain. Instead, her attention was focused on sating her pleasure-mad lover sitting on the edge of her bed above her and the ache growing between her own legs.

Her hands clung to his muscled thighs as she drew his straining member deep into her mouth. Her eyes watered as she forced herself to overcome her damnable gag reflex, drawing her lover's cock deep into her throat over and over.

His thick member forced Sakura's mouth wide open, her lips stretching around his length. Her tongue swept along the underside of his length as she sucked him off, giving him that much more pleasure that the deepness of her throat couldn't provide.

Madara's member felt overwhelmingly huge, sinking into her mouth and penetrating her throat. Despite being in complete control of the wild man above her, she felt incredibly submissive with his thickness pressed so far behind her lips.

Sakura rubbed her thighs together, intensely aroused by the feeling of his cock dominating her mouth and desperate to sate the growing need at her core.

Pulling back, she took in a deep breath of air through her nose. Even as she caught her breath, she refused to let up, her lips tight around her lover's member as she bobbed her head up and down his length.

The bitter taste of Madara's pre cum stained the back of her tongue, stoking the fire of her arousal that much further. Keeping a seal around the swollen head of his rock hard member with her lips, she lapped at the tip of his length, greedily gathering up the precursor to her lover's finish.

When one of her hands sunk down between his legs to palm his sac, his grip on her hair tightened.

"Fuck, Sakura…" Madara growled as her tongue gathering the bead of precum at his tip.

Sakura knew he was close. His hand was tightly tangled in her hair, holding her mouth close to his member. His other hand shot out behind him, holding himself upright as he sat up on the edge of her bed. His groans of pleasure had degraded into blissful gasps and growls that had heat pooling between her legs.

Her lover was so incredibly sexy, lost to the throes of pleasure. The feeling of a man such as him, an incredibly powerful man such as himself, submissive to the pleasure she bestowed upon him was an incredible high.

A high that would only get better when Sakura finally tasted Madara's cum again and got to feel his thick cock filling her needy passage.

Unable to resist the inevitable bliss, despite how much she loved to bring her lover pleasure with her talented mouth, she stopped her teasing.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura relaxed her throat and slowly brought his thickness all the way into her mouth. Her eyes watered when the tip of his straining member sunk far passed her lips. She continued until her nose brushed against his coarse curls, him released a groan deep in his chest.

As she pulled back and drew the Uchiha's impossibly large feeling length into her wide open mouth once again, his thickness parting her lips and dominating her throat, his grip in her hair tightened. As Sakura took his length deep into her mouth, her tongue sweeping along the underside of his member and sliding across the swollen vein there, she could feel as his finish approached.

Madara's rock hard length penetrating her throat grew impossibly harder, signaling his imminent finish. His hand combed through his hair to gently cup the back of her head, his silent warning to her. Her fingers gripped his thighs as she continued to fuck him with her mouth, drawing him as deeply into her welcoming opening as she could.

When his fingers tightened in her hair and when he sucked in a ragged breath, she drew his length all the way into her mouth, the head of his straining member slipping deep into her throat. When she felt her lover's cock flex as he dumped his cum down her throat, she could feel more heat pooling between her thighs as her clit throbbed needily.

Sakura swallowed around Madara's unyielding member filling her mouth and throat to the brim, swallowing each burst of hot ejaculate. She wasn't sure if it was the pleasure getting to her, but she swore she could feel the warmth from his seed as it sunk down to her stomach.

He released the grip he had had on the back of her head, allowing her to pull away and catch her breath. As she sucked in desperate breaths through her nose, she continued to gently suck off her lover. The bitter taste of his cum lingered at the back of her throat and teased the tip of her tongue as she lapped up the remainder of his semen from the tip of his member.

Madara hissed from too much pleasure as she sucked on the head of his length. She smiled around his slowly softening member, looking up to catch the gaze of her lover.

He looked dazed from the pleasure she had just given him, his eyes half lidded as he panted to catch his breath. Something about his eyes always sent a thrill of pleasure straight to her clit, the power in his untamed gaze exciting her.

Not breaking the intimate eyes contact, Sakura continued to meticulously clean her lover's slowly softening length with her mouth and tongue. Holding the base of his member in her hand, she dragged her tongue along the underside of his cock, from his sac all the way to the tip of his length.

She affectionately licked and kissed the sides of his thickness, her free hand sliding down between his thighs to roll his sac between her fingers. She continued this attentive treatment, pressing kisses and dragging her tongue across the sensitive skin.

It was only when she felt his length begin to harden in her hand once again that she finally paid attention to the most sensitive part of him.

Sakura pressed a kiss to the tip of Madara's cock, gazing up at him lovingly, before parting her lips and beginning to draw his tip into her mouth. Her eyes slowly slid shut, finally breaking the intimate eye contact, as she sunk her mouth around his member.

The Uchiha groaned deep in his throat as she slowly began to suck him off once again, coaxing his length back into hardness so she could feel it sink into her eager channel.

Pulling back, she dragged her tongue across the underside of his member and flicked it across the head of his length one last time.

Sakura met his gaze once again with a sultry smirk as she stood from her place on her knees and in between his thighs. He met her smirk with a pleasure mad smile, scooting backward onto her bed to give her space to straddle him.

Sakura crawled into her wild haired lover's lap, planting one knee on either side of his hips. Knowing that she was easily wet enough to take his length, she positioned the head of his member against her folds and sunk down.

Sakura gasped as she felt every solid inch of Madara's cock slowly press into her, parting her folds and filling her completely. She moaned when he was fully seated within her, the bliss from feeling his member stretching her walls so perfectly overwhelming her.

Their bodies fit together so flawlessly and his length fit inside of her passage so perfectly that she wondered if they had been made for each other.

The Uchiha dropped his forehead against her neck, taking a ragged breath as his broad hands gripped her thighs.

"Gods, hellcat, sucking me off turns you on that much?" Madara groaned against her throat.

"Mmm, you have no idea," Sakura moaned in return, her arms looping around his neck to give her something to hang on to.

"What did I do to deserve you…" he muttered against her neck before nipping the tender skin of her throat.

She gasped in pleasure before rising in her seat on his cock. She groaned at the blissful sensation of his hardness moving within her tight passage. When she sunk back down, the head of his member reaching deep within her, she ground her clit against his pelvis.

Finally feeling his member penetrating deep within her and beginning to sate the desperate need that had been building between her thighs felt like bliss. Tightening her grip around his neck, Sakura used him as a lever to set a quick pace.

Madara groaned as she began to ride him in earnest, bouncing in his lap and using his pelvis to pleasure her clit. She gasped as her orgasm rapidly built within her, overcome by the feeling of finally being spread open after being so turned on by his thickness filling her throat. His broad hands gripped her hips tightly, his dominating grip sending a zing of ecstasy through her.

The sound of skin on skin, the feeling of his throbbing member filling her so completely, the taste of him still lingering on her tongue, and his woodsy, masculine scent fogging her senses made for a deadly combination.

She dragged her fingernails up her lover's broad back as she rode him that much faster, her orgasm quickly building. When he sunk his teeth into her neck and then sucked at his love bite, it was exactly what she needed to throw her over the edge.

Sakura came was a gasp and a broken moan, her pace stuttering as the pleasure rolled over her in waves. Her walls rhythmically clenched around the unyielding member still deep in her sopping channel, his length feeling as if it filled her that much more with her passage tightening around him.

Sakura continued to bounce on Madara's cock, pressing her throbbing clit against his hips with each downward thrust. Her moans degenerated into blissful gasps of pleasure as the feeling of ecstasy overcame her.

The Uchiha's grip on her hips tightened as he dragged her down against him and pressed himself as far into her soaking passage as he could. He came with a low growl against her throat, his hips rolling against hers and continuing to press against her clit. She groaned, her thighs spreading wide as she sunk down against him, desperate to feel his flexing cock even deeper inside of her.

Madara nipped her neck as he came in bursts, filling Sakura's quivering channel with the product of his passion. Her fingers threaded into his wild mane, holding his mouth close to her throat as he dumped his cum within her welcoming passage, giving her exactly what she needed.

The lovers slowly came down from their high, slowly releasing the desperate hold they had had on one another. He fell back against the bed with a sated sigh, her falling with him and landing against his chest. Reaching over into her nightstand, he blindly fished out a rag as she grabbed her panties from where they had been abandoned on the bed earlier.

She rolled off of her lover, tugging on her underwear and using the rag to catch the products of their affections.

Humming in satisfaction, Sakura returned to Madara. Throwing one leg over his hips, she straddled his waist and settled against his pelvis. His broad hands slid up her powerful thighs to cradle her wide hips.

"Gods, that was amazing…" she hummed, running her palms up Madara's chest and drawing a sigh of contentment from him.

"You're amazing, my love," he replied with a gratified smile, his calloused thumbs absentmindedly stroking the soft skin of her hips.

She smiled warmly, her fingertips brushing across the defined muscles of his abdomen and chest. Her gaze focused on the tattoos and scars decorating Madara's body, her hands beginning an affectionate exploration.

"I seem to remember saying you would tell me the meaning behind your tattoos one day," Sakura stated as she traced the outline of her favorite tattoo, the hawk inked across his pectorals which swooped down from his collar bones towards the midline of his chest.

Her lover purred in satisfaction beneath her, his eyes sliding shut and a smile lingering on his lips as he basked in her affections.

"Ask away," he hummed blissfully, his hands cradling her hips.

"Why did you get this one?" Sakura asked, her voice soft.

"Most of my tattoos are memorials. I got the hawk when I was elected president. It's a tribute to all those I lost before I was elected and a reminder to stay vigilant. To keep my family safe," he answered simply, drawing a smile from Sakura.

"That's incredibly noble of you... You really care so much about your family," she praised, tracing the feathers of her favored tattoo.

He smiled. "They are all very precious to me."

"What about... this one?" she continued, her finger sliding across his chest to settle on the half sleeve of a bull which sprawled across his right arm,

"I got the bull when my father, his name was Tajima, died," he answered simply, his eyes slipping open so he could look up at her.

Sakura's face dropped, shocked to hear the meaning behind his tattoos. She frowned deeply in sympathy as she dropped her elbows onto either side of his head and leaned over him.

"I'm sorry, Dara…" she whispered before pressing a sweet kiss to his lips.

Madara smiled warmly in response, his hands sliding up her thighs to cradle her waist. "It's alright, my sweet hellcat."

She laid on top of him, nuzzling his throat affectionately as her arms slid underneath his neck to hold him. He pressed a peck to her forehead as his hands slid up and down her sides.

"How did it happen?" Sakura asked curiously after a moment.

When the Uchiha tensed in response, his hands coming to a stop against her sides, she realized how offensive her question had been. She popped up, leveling her boyfriend with an apologetic look.

"I-I'm so sorry, that was so rude. I shouldn't have asked," she apologized immediately, frowning.

Madara opened his mouth to speak but closed it and shook his head, a bittersweet smile spreading across his lips.

"It's okay. It's been a very long time. But they all died the same way. My father, my mom, my three youngest brothers Shisa, Kuma, and Oshika… they were all killed by Senju."

Sakura's expression betrayed her sympathetic sorrow. She didn't have any siblings, aside from her chosen brothers Naruto and Sasuke. She couldn't even fathom losing her parents and her boys and could only imagine the heartbreak Madara must have felt with his loss. Even more so, the rage he must have felt at nearly all of his brothers and his parents being murdered by the opposing motorcycle club in their secret war...

"I'm so sorry…" she whimpered as she settled back against him, wrapping her arms around him tightly as if she could take away some of his pain.

Madara's arms looped around her middle, holding her against him. "I miss them still, I always will... but it's okay."

Sakura sat back up, settling against his hips. She refused to meet his eyes, instead toying with a lock of his wild hair which formed a dark halo around him.

"I feel bad asking now…" she muttered, wrapping the lock of his ebony hair around her finger nervously.

The Uchiha hummed in response, his hands sliding down to settle on her hips, as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Keep going, love. Your touch feels nice."

Sakura finally met his gaze once again with an amused smirk before poking him in the stomach. He tensed for a heartbeat before chuckling and settling back against their bed to bask in her affection.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm…" she sung under her breath as she dragged a finger down his chest, her lover's eyes sliding shut.

Her exploration drifted from the bull on his right arm to the elk's inked onto the apex of his rib cage, dominating what parts of his chest weren't touched by the hawk. Her eyes took in the black and gray horned creature, one curious hand soon reaching up to run across the tattooed flesh.

"The elk is for my youngest brother, Oshika. He had a passion for camping, a real outdoors man. He would ride out into the forests and camp out for days, just living on the land... He was also the tannest Uchiha you've ever seen," Madara explained before chuckling and shaking his head, "It was kind of creepy, actually…"

"I can't imagine a tan Uchiha…" she laughed, her fingers tracing the horns of the creature, "Or a blond Uchiha for that matter..."

"Uchiha traits are pretty dominate. Dark hair, dark eyes, light skin..." he confirmed, his eyes closed and his head tilted back against the pillows. A smile was spread across his lips, his hands cradling her hips and his thumbs brushing across her lower belly.

"Our kids would probably be dark haired with dark eyes to. A shame with your beautiful hair and eyes..." Madara commented as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Sakura's exploration ground to a halt, her heart skipping in her chest only to pick up double time. Her wide eyes shot up to her lover's face. She took in his contented expression, a gentle smile spread across his lips and his eyes closed, his expression betraying that he had no idea what he had just said to her. Or, more accurately, how it had affected her.

She noticed how his thumbs were drifting across her lower belly and fantasies of her carrying his child suddenly bombarded her mind. Thoughts of him cradling her swollen belly as she straddled his hips in much the same way she was now. Visions of him pressing his ear to her large belly, whispering to their child within. Images of them curled up in bed together, a newborn baby with ebony hair and obsidian eyes cradled between them.

Her heart racing in her chest, she quickly stomped down her sudden thrill with the sense of shame and ridiculousness that accompanied her excitement.

Madara had just been stating facts, not being serious. They had only been together for a few months. They had only just recently confessed their love for each other.

To think of children, of all the things in the world, was absolutely insane. And not just because of the early stages of their relationship but of the lives they both lead. She was in medical school and had focused her entire life on pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. He was an outlaw in an MC that had been at war since long before either of them were born.

Their relationship never should have started in the first place, never should have worked out in the first place, but they made it work. A baby on the other hand… That was impossible. Not just impossible but stupid. Insane. Asinine. Absolutely ridiculous…

Sakura refused to give her brief fantasies any more thought, shoving them to the back of her mind and continuing her exploration before Madara could notice her pause in her affections.

Her hand slipped across his skin, sliding across the hardened muscles of his abdomen and chest and passing over the tattoo of the hawk on his pectorals, before settling on a half sleeve of a tiger which dominated his entire left arm.

The stunning design of a roaring tigress dominated most of his bicep, spanned all the way to his collarbone, and even reached out over his shoulder. Sakura was impressed at how, despite the tattoo being in black and gray, she could nearly see the colors of the tigress.

Madara's eyes slid open once again to gaze up at Sakura as she explored.

"My mother, Tora…" Madara started before clearing his throat, "She was a vicious woman yet loved fiercely. She had to be tough with six rowdy sons… My father was an incredibly impassive man and only she could find his soft side. She stole his heart in much the same way you stole mine: during a bar brawl."

Sakura laughed aloud at that. "I guess you Uchiha men really have a type, huh?"

"What can I say, we like powerful women," he chuckled, smiling widely up at his old lady.

"Your mom must have been incredible," she hummed, her hand sliding across the detailed portrait of a tiger spanning across his arm.

"She was. She became the vice president of the club when my father was elected president…" he paused for a long moment before he muttered, "You two would have gotten along wonderfully…"

"She sounds like an indomitable woman."

"If by indomitable you mean didn't put up with any of our shit, including my father, then yes," he joked.

Sakura smiled broadly, happy to hear that his mother was such a powerful woman. She wished that she had gotten the opportunity to meet his family members who had passed away. Or rather, since she very likely would have been in her teens when they were still alive, that they were still alive today.

She ran her fingertips across the skin of Madara's right arm, sliding across his muscled bicep and exploring the precise lines of his tattoo. She noticed how her lover seemed to tense when her fingertips dipped down from the tiger and to numerous thin bands inked around his bicep and spanning down to his forearm, a design that was mirrored on both of his arms.

What caught her attention more was when the pad of her thumb caught the feeling of depressed skin.

Ignoring Madara's previous reaction to her exploring the thin bands inked around his arms, Sakura moved his limb to gaze at a circular scar on his upper arm. Her fingertips grazed across a similar scar on the opposite side of his bicep.

Very familiar with the kind of wound it took to get these scars, Sakura's mouth popped open. No words came out for a long moment as her heart sunk in her chest.

"How, um…" she started as her thumb gently ran across the depressed scar on his bicep that was nearly hidden by the tattoo of the tigress, "How did you get these scars?"

"I was shot," Madara answered simply, frowning as he gazed up at his concerned lover.

Her gaze flicked back to his as he confirmed her fears. "You were… you got shot?"

"I did," he replied simply before the edge of his lip quirked up, "Long story short: I lived."

Sakura snorted in response, shaking her head. "And here I was thinking you were dead…"

"I didn't know you were into that sort of thing, Dr. Haruno. Kinky…" he purred, playfully thrusting up against her and drawing a giggle from his lover.

"Oh, shush you…" she laughed, smiling down at the wild haired Uchiha.

When her gaze returned to the scar on his arm, and as her thumb ran across the depressed skin, her smile withered away.

"I'm fine, love. It was a very long time ago. Nothing to worry about now," Madara comforted in a soft tone.

Sakura tore her eyes away from the scar to look back at him. She smiled a half hearted smile before leaning down to kiss him sweetly.

"Better not be…" she whispered against his mouth before pressing another lingering kiss to his lips.

She sat back up, her hands sliding down his chest and settling against his stomach as her rear settled against his naked pelvis. Her exploration continued once again, this time drifting to the bear inked across Madara's right ribcage, much in the same style as the elk on the opposite side.

The tattoo depicted an oddly serene image, the front facing portrait of a brown bear framed by tall pine trees. Despite portraying an animal of intense power, his tattoo showed the animal as being peaceful. The black and gray piece of art was as incredibly detailed and vibrant as all the others, making Sakura feel somehow inadequate with her one tattoo of a cherry blossom on her hip.

"My second youngest brother, Kuma. He was six and a half feet tall and a body builder, an absolute bear of a man. Yet, conversely, he was one of the kindest people you'd ever meet," Madara explained, a gentle smile pulling at the corners of his lips as he watched his old lady explore the art on his body, "He was actually the one to found the animal shelter that's still run by the club."

Sakura smiled broadly in response, touched by the story of the kind hearted Uchiha. She was always thrown for a loop by the dichotomy of the club. While they did undoubtedly illegal and violent activities behind closed doors, they did so much good for the community. Helping people, and even animals, live better lives.

Just thinking of a six and a half foot, overly muscled Uchiha in his cut playing with kittens warmed Sakura's heart.

"That's so sweet…" she hummed as she happily traced the outline of the tattoo.

The bear wasn't even snarling, instead taking on an expression of tranquility as it gazed out from the ink. It was as if Madara hadn't have the heart to depict his deceased brother as being aggressive, even for the sake of a tattoo that would be more expected of a biker.

The peace of the tattoo clashed harshly with the scar from a knife wound which cut across her lover's abdomen and into the ink on his right side. One that was bisected by yet another, slightly shallower, knife wound which formed a crosscut on his stomach.

Sakura traced the long scar which started at Madara's side and dipped downwards towards his navel. The marks had long since faded into thin strands of silvery skin but the meaning behind them once again filled her with anxiety and dissonance.

"I'm right here…" the Uchiha comforted, reaching up to cradle Sakura's face in his broad hand, "It's nothing to worry about…"

She tilted her face into his hand, closing her eyes and bringing her emotions under control. Her eyes opened but she refused to meet his gaze, instead drifting across his skin and making note of all the scars, some jarring and some unassuming. Two deep scars cutting into each of his shoulders and a gash slashed into his pectoral stood out to her the most, her fingers reaching up to trace the depressed skin.

Sakura wondered how many of them came from fights, how many of them came from weapons, how many of them had bodies attached to the memories...

Forcing herself to abandon that train of thought, her eyes drifted over to one of the final tattoos on her lover's body: a tattoo of a wolf on his left rib cage which commanded more his entire left side and sprawled across his skin.

Madara's hand slid down from her cheek to return to her thighs on either side of his hips as her attention was drawn away from his scars.

The half profile of the stoic looking wolf was bordered by a darkened forest, topped with a starry sky and a full moon. The black and gray tattoo was incredibly detailed and the beautiful artwork was able to exude a sense of mystery. Sakura hardly knew where to start, her eyes flicking across the tattoo and finding something new with every pass. Whoever Madara's tattoo artist was was a master of their craft.

She tentatively reached over to run her fingertips across the inked skin, beginning her exploration once again.

"The middle child, Shisa. He was a stoic and incredibly intuitive man. He had the uncanny ability to detect even the smallest amount of discontent between family members and had no qualms about forcibly working it out..." Madara explained as her fingertips ghosted across the wolf on his side.

"I think that stoic is a term that can apply to nearly all of you Uchihas," Sakura weakly teased in response, drawing a grin from her lover.

He chuckled. "Very true. Although I can think of a few of us who couldn't pull off stoic if they tried."

Sakura smiled as her fingertips slid across the ink one final time. Her curious gaze drifted to the final tattoos decorating her lover's body, aside from the colored Uchiha clan crest hidden in between his shoulder blades and beneath his hair.

Her gaze moved from the black and gray portrait of a wolf to the numerous, thin bands inked around the circumference of Madara's bicep. She couldn't even count the number of bands with how numerous they were, easily number in the dozens. Her fingertips drifted down the abundant rings tattooed around his arm, starting near the middle of his bicep and spanning well down his forearm.

She had originally thought that the dozens of thin bands on both of Madara's arms were identical, like some sort of decorative, geometric border to his half sleeves. Upon further investigation, however, she discovered they were uneven. His right arm had a handful more of the thin bands than his left arm.

Not just that, but Sakura noticed how the rings near the top of his arms seemed much older than the ones near his forearm. Realizing this, she figured out that he had gotten each band special over time. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that he was using these thin bands inked around his arms as a tally for something.

"What do these mean?" she asked, refusing to allow her rising anger to show through, especially when she noticed that one ring on his right arm was very new.

Madara was quiet for a long, tense moment, the once calm and intimate atmosphere of their private bubble popping.

"They're decorative," he finally replied, his eyes finally opening to gaze up at Sakura slowly growing more agitated above him.

"All of your other tattoos have a meaning," she reminded sharply.

"Not those ones."

"What, are those all the women you've slept with?" Sakura finally hissed, glaring down at the Uchiha as she voiced the source of her anger.

"No, they're not," the Uchiha answered firmly, inadvertently revealing that the bands did indeed have a meaning.

Sakura glowered down at the man between her thighs, meeting his stare for a dozen heartbeats. He refused to look away, non-verbally expressing to her that he was telling the truth.

The bands inked around his biceps and drifting down his forearms didn't represent the women he had slept with. But they did represent something. A tally that he had kept over a lifetime, something meaningful enough that he would justify keeping count on his body, something that… oh…

Oh…

Sakura's face dropped as a sudden realization had her heart sinking in her chest. Her eyes widened and her mouth popped open but no words came out. She gazed down at her lover and, as if realizing that she finally understood what the rings meant, he looked away.

Her gaze returned to the thin bands inked around Madara's arms with a new, sickening clarity. The meaning behind the tattoos had her stomach rising into her throat, a sudden sickness overcoming her.

There were so many…

Sakura silently laid down on top of Madara, tucking her head beneath his chin. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her middle and nuzzled the top of her head as if to try to comfort her without words.

They sat in silence for some time after that, neither speaking about the realization that Sakura had had. Neither dared to give a voice to the meaning behind the bands inked on Madara's skin.

Even so, she felt as if the meaning behind his unassuming tattoos was being screamed at her. The realization felt like a slap to the face, telling her that his secret life was very much real, no matter how she had never seen any of it…

The numerous bands inked around his arms, spanning from his biceps for his forearms, represented all of the people he had killed.

Sakura nuzzled his neck harder, burying herself against his body, and he held her even tighter with strong arms that suddenly felt so much more dangerous.

The Uchiha gazed at Sakura, his lover sprawled out on her stomach beside him on her couch and propped up on her elbows. Three different textbooks, books which combined would weigh more than she did, laid open on the cushions in front of her. All three were heavily marked with numerous, colored sticky notes and all three were periodically referred to as she studied, the sound of flipping pages and small noises of understanding and frustration emanating from her space.

She wrote neat notes in a well worn notebook which sat between the three books like some sort of sacrifice. Her concentration was unflappable, even in the face of the overly dramatic action flick on the screen in front of them. A movie which neither of them paid any mind to.

He was far too focused on Sakura, so close yet so far away from him...

Ever since the week previous, when Sakura had finally discovered the meaning behind the tattoos acting as a tally on his arms, she had been acting different around him.

Madara understood that she would be overwhelmed by the realization that his lifestyle was very much real. That the war between the Uchiha and the Senju was a reality and resulted in deaths on both sides. That he was a soldier in that war, that he had been ever since he was born, and that as a soldier, he had taken lives.

He knew Sakura would see him differently when she finally fully understood his involvement in the war between the Uchiha and the Senju. However, her sudden nervousness around him left him feeling at odds with himself.

The Uchiha president had never felt this way for anyone before and, knowing that the woman he was in love with was so conflicted felt like someone was squeezing his heart in a vice.

He wanted to do something to help her overcome this worry. He wanted some way to explain to her that this was the life that nearly all the Uchiha lead. That it was the life he had always known, the one he had been born into. He wanted her to understand that he would never, could never, hurt her.

More than anything, Madara wanted Sakura to know that he wasn't a monster.

While he did monstrous things, he was no monster. Everything he did, he did to protect his family. He knew that the things he did, the acts he committed, were atrocious and vile. But he only committed them for the safety of those he loved.

It he didn't, the Senju MC would come down upon them and murder them all for his weakness. Like they had killed his mother, his father, his brothers, his grandparents, his aunts, his uncles, his cousins… If he was weak for even a moment, if he showed mercy or let his guard down for even a second, then he would lose more people he loved.

Madara continued to wage this pointless war because anything less meant death.

Even so, he was terrified that the life he lead would lead to him losing the woman he had fallen in love with…

Madara couldn't take his eyes off of Sakura, his gaze flicking between her hands studiously taking notes and the expression of absolute concentration on her face.

Sakura was so incredibly beautiful.

No matter what she did, Madara could never shake that thought from his mind. When she smiled, when she scowled, when she fell asleep, when she first woke up in the morning, when she fought, when she orgasmed, when her cheeks were stuffed with food, when she was tipsy, when she was drunk, when she laughed so hard her laughter turned into gasps for air, when she looked up at him with that look in her eyes that made his heart stutter in his chest… she was beautiful.

But in this state of hers, when she was so focused on learning what she needed to fulfill her dreams, the focus and determination she exuded was brilliantly gorgeous in his eyes.

Sakura was going to be such a wonderful doctor. She was going to save lives, she was going to help people, she was going to make a difference… She was going to do everything he could never seem to accomplish. She was going to be the opposite of everything he was.

She was so much more than he could ever bring himself to believe he deserved. And Madara felt like she was beginning to understand that. That this brief ride they had shared, as wild and passionate and blissful and perfect as it was, was going to come to an end soon.

Especially if she found out what the club had planned for late that night. The deal between the Senju and the Fuma would take place that night and it would only be a handful more hours before he would be steeped in blood and death once again.

It would only be a handful more hours before the actions that had distanced her from him, the actions that had planted the seed of fear in her heart, would once again take place. As they had before and as they inevitably would until either all of the Uchiha or all of the Senju were in their graves.

Madara felt an incredible sense of dissonance knowing this. He felt like a creature of tar and ash, intruding on her sacred space. Like some wild thing spying on this being of light and hope as she worked to better the world.

If Sakura ever learned the depths of his violence or, worse yet, bore witness to his abominations, she would flee and never look back.

He wasn't a monster but, if she saw what he did, she would never think so...

As Madara watched her gentle movements, her deceivingly delicate hands writing and flipping the pages of her texts, he felt the vice that had been surrounding his heart tighten.

The Uchiha knew he only had so much time left before Sakura realized how she deserved so much better than him. So little time before his brief reprieve from the darkness, his one true experience with being in love, would be over. Tomorrow, the next day, a week, a month…

He needed to make the most of what little time he had with the goddess lying beside him.

Slowly sliding across the couch, Madara dropped his hands on either side of Sakura's hips. He nuzzled the back of her neck, pressing a lingering kiss to her skin and taking a moment to breathe in the intoxicating scent of her hair. He settled down against her, resting his cheek against the small of her back as his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Dara?" she questioned in a soft tone, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Keep studying, love. I just want to hold you…" he explained.

There was a long pause before he heard the sounds of her heavy tomes closing. She moved her books into a neat stack on the floor, topped with her worn notebook, before wiggling until he released her enough for her to flip over beneath him.

"Come here," his lover commanded sweetly, spreading her arms to welcome him.

The Uchiha fell into her open embrace, pressing his cheek to her breast as her arms looped around his neck. He settled into the space between her thighs and in her arms, feeling a fraction of the restlessness churning within him abate.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her small hands finger combing his wild mane of hair as he laid on top of her, basking in her warmth.

"It's nothing to worry about," he muttered, trying to ignore how her hands briefly stopped their comforting motion.

Sakura didn't respond, instead resuming her finger combing after a pregnant pause. He pressed his face into her chest farther, her uneasiness with him feeling like a stab in the stomach. An unfamiliar pain in his chest.

A pain that refused to subside even after she fell asleep in his embrace. A sickness that wouldn't abate even as he carried his sleeping lover to her bed. A dread that only magnified when his phone vibrated in his pocket, signaling what he already knew.

The Uchiha checked the text on his phone, Obito's name attached to the notification. The message was short but the meaning behind it was clear: 'It's time.'

Madara spared one last look at his old lady, the woman who had stolen his heart. A woman of hope, a being of light, a creature of benevolence, so comfortably wrapped up in the soft blankets of her warm bed.

He would give anything in that moment to crawl into bed with her, to wrap his arms around the woman he loved and bask in her warmth...

The Uchiha turned away, the darkness from before returning as he returned his phone to his pocket.

Steeling his resolve, Madara left Sakura's warm home and stepped out into the frigid night air.

A/N: A guide to Madara's tattoos:

Hawk on his pectorals/collar bones – memorial for all those he had already lost before becoming president

Bull half sleeve on right arm - his father (Tajima)

Tiger half sleeve on left arm - his mother (Tora)

Wolf on left rib cage - his middle brother (Shisa)

Bear on right rib cage - his second youngest brother (Kuma)

Elk on chest/where rib cage comes together at sternum/pectorals - his youngest brother (Oshika)

Clan crest between shoulder blades

Bands on both arms - kill count

A guide to Madara's parents and brothers:

Tajima (Madara's father) is the Japanese word for a strain of cattle also known as the Japanese Black.

Tora (Madara's mother) is the Japanese word for Tiger.

Madara is the Japanese word for Pacific Cod (a kind of fish that's a winter delicacy in Japan).

Izuna is the Japanese word for the Least Weasel (Itachi translates to "a weasel" while Izuna is the literal name for a species of weasel).

Kuma is the Japanese word for Bear.

Oshika is the Japanese word for Stag (as in a male elk or deer).

Shisa are from Okinawan mythology and are protective creatures that are a cross between a lion and a dog.

I figured that since all of Hashirama's brothers (Tobirama, Itama, and Kawarama) and his father (Butsuma) all have names that end with "rama" or "ma", that I'd make it so all of Madara's brothers and parents had names that ended with "a". Also, since animals seem to be a big theme for Madara's immediate family, I named all of his siblings and his mother after animals.