It had been a fair afternoon, the sun's rays peeking through the thick canopy of the trees you had been tasked to collect sap samples from. The bark was thick, which made taking anything from the druid much more difficult than what the eldest Fusae heir had anticipated. She was nibbling on her lower lip in concentration as she carefully coaxed a few droplets of the sticky substance into the vial she'd been given earlier that morning. Closing the tube, the rather tiny kunoichi stored it away in a satchel she had secured around the cloth keeping her deepish-purple yukata in place.
This specific specimen of tree had recently begun growing in the Fusae territory, and although they'd been around for a few years already the Fusae still didn't quite possess full knowledge about them. That was why she'd volunteered for this grueling task in place of the alternative chore of washing clothes. The daunting activity of having to handwash wasn't nearly as exciting as expanding the intelligence Chiaki Fusae was already gifted.
The natural humidity from living in fire country forced traces of sweat to bead up on the surface of her fair flesh, and she wiped the back of her hand across the nape of her neck where her thick, brown waves grossly collected a majority of her sweat. Having studied and obtained multiple samples from her leafy companion, the usually poised young-adult chose to take a break. A 'interval of freedom', as the eldest Fusae child liked to call it. Chiaki had been so engrossed in her observations that the Uchiha's own heir had been able to monitor her from a nearby branch that hung low enough that the serene brunette could've easily spotted him…if she'd been paying attention.
The forward man had shamelessly ventured into occupied Fusae territory a handful of times throughout the duration of his friendship with the petite woman (the taller male towering over her despite her being roughly five-foot-four!). The truce between their clans becoming official somewhere close to their fourteenth birthday, and allying with them gave him a relief that any possible future where it could be a reality he'd have to take her life was practically obsolete. Madara's obsidian pits moved with Chiaki every time she made movement, and stayed glued to her when she finally chose to perch upon an enormous root that jutted up out of the ground.
Chiaki could most definitely sense the eyes that had been surveying her for some time now, and Chiaki could almost giggle aloud if Madara Uchiha thought he'd been capable of catching her by surprise. The chakra signature that the older between them emitted was similar to the static charge right before rain, or a severe storm. No amount of masking that energy could prevent the Fusae woman from detecting it.
"Hide and seek, Madara- what are you, a child?" Chiaki teased, her voice sweet like honey with a slight rasp to it as she directed her taunts precisely towards the Uchiha's location. The comment was light, but coming from Chiaki it caused the sensitive hot-head's eyes to narrow and his lips to form a pout from being mocked. The audacity the mousy brunette had to stifle a chuckle at his expense had his chest tightening with the foreign sensation of embarrassment as he expertly maneuvered through the trees until, silently coming down to stand dangerously close behind his friend.
The tiny hairs at the base of Chiaki's neck stood at attention as goosebumps began to pepper along her arms from just how close this man was in her space- even if he was a long-term friend of her's. The Fusae heir stood, still facing away from him even though she could feel the slight gap between them more strongly than when she'd been sitting. His presence demanded attention and respect- a stark contrast from when they'd been preteens and she'd scoff at him when he'd overreact to something she said, or did.
"I think you're worrying too much about what I'm doing, and not enough about the compromising position you're in." The inky-haired shinobi's deep and raspy register coming out like smooth butter as he deliberately took his time mocking Chiaki right back. The shudder the modest woman tried to stifle didn't go unnoticed by the sharingan he'd activated the moment he'd approached her from the back. Neither did the gulp the Fusae took, but if he spent all day taking note of all the way's Chiaki's body responded to him- he'd probably have no self-control after some time.
Chiaki felt the heat of the blush that painted her face and stretched well-down and past her collar, and the flustered feeling she was having made her twist around and start playfully swatting at Madara's chest. Her swats were meek in comparison to the straight-up stab wounds he'd receive if he'd been acting foolishly on the war-front, "Stop doing that, stop being weird- Uchiha!" Chiaki prattled, expressing her discomfort in a rather animated way- just about the only time the woman wasn't being proper.
One of his raven brows quirked, an amusing twinkle in his eyes as he permitted Chiaki to continue the ministrations against it'd been literally anyone else their wrist would been shattered, without question, or remorse. Perhaps it was something a bit more with the spunky Fusae that he actively chose to ignore her shenanigans. Besides, a part of him in the recesses of his subconscious liked it when they came into contact…no matter the form it could come in.
In fact, the chuffed Uchiha was elated at the bright blush that even had Chiaki's chest smattered cherry. The young man took the time to make the petite woman feel even smaller as his still-activated sharingan flickered over the figure Chiaki had developed as she matured. This elicited an even more erratic outburst from the brunette, her arms coming up as if to create a barrier between them. Taking a step back to obtain some level of comfort, the frantic Fusae would've fallen back off the root they were standing on had Madara not seen the incident about to occur before Chiaki could make any mistakes.
Madara gripped one of Chiaki's forearms and gave her a tug forward, unintentionally launching the woman forward to smack into him altogether. The momentum of having to propel her in his direction would've had her snug against him, regardless, and Madara contained the excitement he was feeling excellently. He didn't even crack a smirk when he could vividly catch the aroma of Chiaki's- floral with hints of honeysuckle and vanilla, "Are you done? My god, you're such a pain- and you have the nerve to call me weird." The amused Uchiha taunted once again, low-key enjoying the smooth texture of Chiaki's skin while he still had her forearm in his grasp.
The elder Fusae withdrew her arm swiftly, her blush deepening to resemble a tomato shade from being humbled so bluntly. Realizing that Chiaki was, essentially, in a stalemate against him she mustered the biggest pout she could make and huffed, exhaling a sigh of annoyance and irritation through her nostrils. The heat had come to a roaring inferno in her cheeks, the humiliated Fusae heir turning back around and hopping off of the shared platform.
"Whatever, act ignorant you giant ass- this isn't over, Madara" Chiaki hissed as her response to Madara's mockery. The chuckle that Madara gave thundered around the immediate around in-part from the rich tone he naturally had, and this caused the riled Fusae to storm away altogether, "I'll be looking forward to our rematch!" Madara called out to Chiaki, knowing full-well she was still within earshot to catch him talking shit one last time.
Left alone in the glade where the equanimous Fusae had just been, Madara kept watch over Chiaki until she was a speck in his vision. The woman didn't realize the exact extent to which he deeply cared for her, and maybe that was for the best. What she should know is that he'd always be waiting to test her boundaries.