Well, that was unexpected

Narcissus

     "What are you doing here, Mada?  Shouldn't you be at school?"  Pretending he didn't just squeal like a little girl, Tobirama made his way to the bed and flopped down onto it.  It was much easier to talk to Madara without having to look at his annoyingly smug face.

     "My parents asked me to come home and babysit Izu while they were gone.  I didn't expect you to be here though, Tobi-chan."

     There it was.  The infuriating nickname Madara had called him since childhood.  He had nearly forgotten it in the past two years since Madara left, but hearing it again brought back memories he had wished would never resurface.  Memories of childhood arguments, pre-teen insecurity... and of teenage longing.  Tobirama smashed his face into one of Izuna's pillows (this one smelled like lavender, the same as Madara always did).

     "Couldn't you babysit him from your own bedroom?  I came to Izuna's room to escape the crowd, not to spend my night with an ass."  He curled into himself, hugging the pillow into his chest and peeking over the top at Madara.  He found those dark eyes staring right back from the floor, and prayed that the pillow would hide the blush bubbling to the surface of his cheeks.

     Madara rose from the windowsill he had been perched on and instead settled himself at the edge of the bed.  "Well," he started.  "My room is a bit occupied, you see.  Mito had a few too many drinks, so your brother and she are in there calming down together.  I wasn't going to stay for that.  God knows what Hashi might try to pull, so I came to hide in here.  Wasn't expecting to find you here though."

     Tobirama sat himself straight up in the bed and tucked his knees in (to get more comfortable, obviously not because Madara was getting too close).  He had thought it was suspicious when Hashirama came home from school for the weekend all of a sudden.  Of course he should've put the clues together!  The Uchiha parents were out of town, Izuna was throwing a party, and Hashirama came home without being asked-- of course he was here to see Madara!  Not to mention his girlfriend Mito, who still lived in town.  He sighed, knowing that he couldn't argue and send Madara back to his own bedroom.  Tobirama himself had suffered through enough of Mito's sleepovers when their parents were gone, and he wouldn't force anyone else to endure that, no matter how much he disliked them.  He figured he would have to accept his fate and suffer through the night with Madara.

     He decided the conversation was over (too much time talking with Madara stirred up feelings he wished he could forget) so he searched the room for a distraction.  He found one in the form of a hand-bound mythology book tucked into Izuna's nightstand-- one Tobirama must have left there the last time he spent the night, since he could not remember the last time Izuna willingly touched a book.  He scanned the table of contents for a moment, and settled on Narcissus and Echo.  The familiar story was enough to soothe his unease, and he found himself absorbed in the book very quickly.  He had forgotten all about Madara until he felt the bed shift and a warm arm pressed against his own.

     "What are you doing, Mada?"  He dared not look away from the pages of his book, knowing Madara was probably staring straight at him.

     "I'm reading the story, obviously.  I'm just as bored of this party as you are, and need a good distraction."  Tobirama could feel Madara shift closer, and nudged him back a bit with his elbow.  Much like Izuna, he did not know the meaning of personal space.  To keep him at bay, he moved the book in between them, so that Madara could read it more easily.

     Some time passed like that, with the two of them enjoying a rare moment of silence between them.  Most of their time together growing up had been spent arguing, or with Madara teasing him.  Tobirama could not remember many times when they had simply sat together like this.  Though, now that he thought about it, they had always been fine when it was just the two of them.  Anytime Hashirama or Izuna had been thrown into the mix, the two of them went for each other's throats.  But alone, Madara had always been much like Tobirama himself.  They were both quieter-- introverts using the other's brother as an extrovert shield.  But Madara was also very similar to Hashirama, and that was what built up that distance between them.  He was quick tempered yet passionate, definitely a fighter.  And Tobirama wasn't, which made him an easy target for Madara's taunting.