Obito's lungs were on fire as he ran down the sidewalk. The flashing neon lights, the racing cars, and the general sounds of the city flew by him without a second glance.
He glimpsed at his wristwatch and cursed to see he was nearly an hour late.
Because, of course, he would be late for his own fucking birthday party.
He didn't give a second thought to the half-finished picture that was on his left hand- the same hand as his wristwatch. His soulmate mark was the least of his concern right now.
He was just coming to a corner of the block where the place he was meeting everyone was when he hit what felt like a solid wall. The wind was knocked out of him as he fell back hard against the harsh concrete, nearly banging his head. Luckily, he suffered no scraps because of his jacket.
He laid there on the ground for a second before he shook his head and started to move. "Shit," he hissed while he sat up. When he glanced up and saw that there was another person laying on the ground too. "Ah, shit."
He got up as swiftly as he could. He still felt a little sore but the full pain of hitting the ground hadn't hit him, but he certainly was going to feel it later. "Fuck, I'm so sorry!" he muttered quickly as he dusted himself off. He reached to help the stranger up and his mouth went dry when he actually got a good look at the person.
The tan man in front of him was gorgeous. A strong, handsome face with long dark hair that appeared soft as silk. When he opened his dark eyes they were bright and warm, and when he gave a wide, cheerful smile it made Obito's heart beat a little faster.
The man chuckled as he took Obito's outstretched hand. "Ah, I'm sorry too," his deep but friendly voice resounded between the two of them. "I wasn't paying attention."
Obito swallowed and put on his best smile. He nearly swooned when he helped the man up and saw he was just a little taller than him and definitely broader everywhere else. The man really had everything going for him in the looks department.
And it made Obito acutely aware that he did not. The hideous scars marring the right side of his face- and down the rest of the right side of his body- were not something many people were fond of.
He slipped his hand out of the other man's larger one. He chuckled a little too as his cheeks grew warm. "Haha, I was too. So sorry again about running into you." He then sidestepped the man. "So, uh, excuse me. Gotta go."
He trotted off before the man could say another word to him.
He started to pick up the pace again to make his way towards his destination. He took a quick look at his watch to see the time. Then abruptly froze and stopped breathing.
Clear as day in the neon lights, there was a full picture on his left hand.
Normally, the mark on his hand would look like a dead tree in winter. But now there was foliage of colorful leaves that stretched the entire circumference of the back of his hand. It was as if an entire rainbow had exploded with shades of green, red, blue, yellow, purple, and orange.
After he fully processed what he was seeing, he spun around. The man was still there and staring at his own left hand. When he lifted his head, their eyes met and Obito's heart stopped. Because those warm and bright eyes that he had admired before were the eyes of his soulmate.
Suddenly the man threw his head back with a roaring laugh and charged toward Obito. He had no time to respond when he was rapidly swept off his feet and spun around in the air. All he could do was wrap his arms around the man's broad shoulders and hold on for dear life.
When he was finally placed down on the ground, he was held tightly against the other's chest. His tongue felt heavy as he met the man's eyes again and saw the burning excitement. "You're my soulmate," the man whispered in awe.
Obito felt something on the back of his head and before he could even process what was happening he was pulled into a firm kiss. He made a noise of surprise in the back of his throat but reflexively wrapped his arms tight around the man's shoulders and neck.
Obito noted that the man's mouth was warm and soft while he felt his shock of the whole situation give way through their chaste kiss. But before he could even begin to enjoy and respond, the man pulled back with an enormous grin on his face.
Obito swallowed, wetting his throat, as he just stared at his soulmate. As he did, his eyes began to sting and get watery. "Shit," he murmured as he looked up and closed his eyes. He pulled one hand free to cover his eyes as the other bunched into the man's jacket.
Tiny tears escaped the corner of his eyes and he frantically wiped them away. "Shit," he muttered again, "this is so uncool!"
"Are you alright?" Obito opened his eyes and looked to see concern all over the man's face. Warmth bloomed inside of his chest and he smiled a little.
"Y-Yeah," he assured with a thick voice. "I- This is just really sudden and- and I'm crying because I never thought this would happen!"
As he spoke the concern washed away with the soft smile. "Me neither," his soulmate confessed while he tried to pull Obito closer. Which was hilarious because they were already close as they possibly could be.
One of the man's hands reached up and touched the right side of Obito's face. Obito completely froze, smiling falling away, as the man's thumbs brushed against his scars. His soulmate continued to smile and leaned forward to deliver a gentle kiss on his right cheek.
Obito thought his heart was about to leap out of his chest at the tender act. And then his whole face began to burn when his soulmate pressed another soft peak on another scar.
When the man pulled away, Obito thought he was sure he was going to burst into flames. His soulmate just stared at him, completely unapologetic and gleeful.
"So what's your name?" he asked. "My name's Hashirama Senju."
After he registered the words, Obito giggled because they had done things a little backward. His soulmate had already kissed him, he let the man touch his scars- something he rarely allowed anyone to do unless they were close- and neither of them knew each other's names.
He coughed to clear his throat. "I-It's Obito," he grinned. "Obito Uchiha."
Hashirama's face turned surprised and he tilted his head. "Uchiha?" he questioned. "Do you happen to know Madara and Izuna Uchiha?"
Now it was Obito's turn to be confused. "Uh, yeah," he replied. "They're my cousins." And then a lightbulb went off in his brain as he realized he had heard his soulmate's name before.
"Wait, are you that Hashirama?" he grinned. "The one that was Madara's childhood friend before he moved and reunited with in college? The one that is always driving my ass of a cousin crazy?"
Hashirama developed a deep blush on his cheeks as he laughed sheepishly. "That sounds like something Madara would say about me," he agreed. His arms tightened around Obito's waist. "I... hope his tales of me hasn't given you the wrong idea."
Obito barked out a laugh. "Are you kidding me? I live for those stories! Anything that gets the huge stick out of Madara's ass is hilarious."
Hashirama slumped against him with a sigh of relief. Obito just laughed a bit more.
When Hashirama straightened, he inquired, "So where were you heading? You seemed to be in a bit of a hurry."
Just as the last word left Hashirama's mouth, Obito cursed loudly and looked at his wristwatch (heart fluttering at the colorful mark on his hand). He was super late now.
He groaned and knocked his head against Hashirama's shoulder. His soulmate radiated confusion and Obito pulled back. His ears grew warm as he explained, "I am meeting my friends at Shushu-ya. It's...," the heat traveled to his cheeks. "It's my birthday party that I am now super late for."
"It's your birthday?!" Hashirama asked ecstatically and held him tighter
"Ah, no." Obito shook his head. "Just the party. My birthday was a few days ago."
Hashirama pouted a little before he smiled again. "Well it is also Valentine's Day, so today is still super romantic!" He laughed but then paused. "Oh! We are actually celebrating Izuna's and two of my brother's birthday parties at Shushu-ya too!"
"Wait, seriously?" Obito groaned, horrified. "Why the hell are they having it there?"
Hahsirama laughed again. "We were going to go to another place but Madara and my brother, Tobirama, weren't fond of the Valentine motif there."
Obito snorted. "Of course..."
He then sighed and looked up at the sky, thinking. He wasn't sure if he should still go to his birthday party anymore. He finally met his soulmate and he really wanted to get to know the man more. He would never get that with his friend's (let alone Madara and Izuna) around. Yet at the same time, it would be a dick move to just abandon his friends when they had all planned this.
Then he felt Hashirama pulling away and he snapped his attention back to him. His soulmate wore a bright smile as he created space between them but still held onto Obito's hands. "Why don't you walk with me back to my place?" he asked.
Obito was taken aback but before he could say anything, Hashirama's face turned red. "I, uh, was rushing back there because I left some birthday presents there."
Obito bit his lip to stop a smile. "You forgot a present? Whose gift did you forget?"
Hashirama winced and muttered, "All of them."
Before he was able to stop himself, booming laughter escaped Obito's mouth. "Y-you forgot all of them?"
Wet tears pricked at Obito's eyes as he continued his laughter while his soulmate whined. "I got distracted!" Hashirama whined. "And then we moved to a different restaurant!" As if it explained it all.
Obito took a moment to gather his breath before he could even look at Hashirama again. The man's mood was dark, as if a dark cloud hung over him, while he pouted. Obito just giggled, body completely warm from a happiness he never imagined could exist, and moved one set of their hands until their fingers were interlaced.
"Alright," he spoke and Hashirama's mood immediately brightened. Obito gave their hands a squeeze. "Lead the way."
Hashirama giggled and began to immediately pull him along with their interlaced hands.
As they walked side by side down the sidewalk and told various stories about themselves, Obito decided that this was definitely the best birthday present he ever received.