Work Text:
“Mada.”
Madara hummed absently, putting out a hand. Aoi made a chiding sound, but she pushed her cheek into his palm and slid her body along the heel of his hand all the same. Madara rubbed behind her ears reflexively, shuffling through the papers on his desk with his other hand.
“Mada. . .” Aoi repeated, and Madara blinked, tilting his head to look at her. “I think your mates are getting into trouble.” she said, scaling his arm and sauntering around his shoulders.
Madara reached up to her, and she tucked her nose against his fingers, allowing him to rub her brow and hide her face entirely in his palm.
That was more than likely, he thought wryly; his mates were forever getting into trouble of one sort or another. And he’d thought it was bad enough when it was just-
“It has been very quiet for some time.” Aoi observed, and Madara frowned, shifting slightly. That . . . was true. And both of them were home, though not in the house.
Madara wasn’t quite sure whether he dreaded more the days when it was eerily quiet or the days when there were ear-ringing explosions from the freestanding lab some way behind the house. Both heralded trouble, often in staggering amounts.
“Perhaps we should go and see, mm?” Madara suggested, tossing his notes aside and rising from his desk.
Aoi yawned in his ear, pointedly uncaring, and settled herself in a languid drape across his shoulders. Madara’s lips twitched, but he let her be without comment.
The house itself was calm, everything as it should be and little changed from when Madara had shut himself up in his study not long after breakfast. He stepped out onto the engawa behind the house and was surprised - especially given the quiet - to find his lovers sitting together on the steps down to the garden, leaning towards one another.
None of what he could hear of their murmured conversation - or what he could make out of the papers spread around them - was tremendously reassuring. “What are you two up to?” Madara asked, and was not soothed by the way both tousled, pale heads jerked immediately.
Blood red and storm grey eyes darted to his face, and Madara crossed his arms, his own eyes narrowing.
“Does he realise,” Kakashi drawled, tilting his head towards Tobirama’s, close enough for their hair to mingle in a splay of silver and white, “that as impressive as that stance may be on the battlefield, it is going to gain him absolutely nothing with us?”
“Didn’t you make a comment about wanting to climb him the last time he used it on us?” Tobirama observed absently, rolling his brush between his fingers, and Kakashi grinned, sharp and sly; just broad enough to show his fangs.
Madara cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks warm, and dropped his arms hurriedly. He realised he had indeed shifted his feet apart and braced himself as though making a show at the front of his clan on a battlefield.
Kakashi had told him before that it was attractive - so had other people, though Madara hadn’t cared much one way or the other, but . . . no one had a way with words of that kind like Kakashi, in Madara’s experience. Madara just hadn’t. . .
He didn’t connect it as such, in his mind. He certainly hadn’t used it on purpose to elicit that reaction.
. . .although, if it would be possible to divert his lovers in such a way. . . There were worse plans, Madara thought, a little helplessly.
“If you’re going to pounce, please do it away from the notes.” Tobirama said, scowling and pointing with the back end of the brush.
“Like you need them.” Kakashi said lazily, shifting his attention somewhat back to Tobirama, though he caught Madara’s gaze even as he moved closer to Tobirama again, nudging up against him as though in a nagging bid for attention.
“I do like to keep proper records, you nuisance.” Tobirama said, voice warm with affectionate laughter.
Kakashi sniffed, resting his cheek against Tobirama’s shoulder.
Madara sighed, moving closer. “What are you working on?” he asked, crouching just behind their shoulders and taking a better look at the papers.
“Collaborative jutsu manipulation.” Kakashi said lazily, trailing a fingertip over the looping curve of a diagram on the sheet of paper Tobirama was currently working on. Madara wasn’t sure if he was really paying attention or not. “Best worry more about the insulation for the suiton half of the jutsu. . .” he advised.
Madara frowned. Cooperative jutsu were uncommon, but possible. He wasn’t sure-
“I don’t think it would be such an issue as you’re describing.” Tobirama said, swatting at Kakashi’s fingers with his brush, then flipping it around to leave a stripe of ink over them when he didn’t move.
“One of my students was a suiton affinity, trust me.” Kakashi said, flicking his fingers and speckling ink over the notes, prompting an offended noise from Tobirama that Madara privately thought was quite like Ryuji’s. Aoi perked her head, ears flicking, and looked at him inquisitively. Madara strangled a laugh and wondered if she recognised the similarity as well. “Although maybe you’ve enough Hatake in you to protect you from the raiton - more of a guard than she did, anyway. . .”
“. . .mm, I do wish we could have met your students.” Tobirama said softly, and Madara squeezed Kakashi’s shoulder. He might not follow what they were working on precisely, but the melancholy cast to Kakashi’s voice and demeanour was easy enough to read - and unfortunately familiar, though at least it was less common now than it had been some years ago, when he had first come to them.
“No you don’t.” Kakashi said, with a little rueful playfulness. “Horrid brats, all of them.” He paused. “Although I’d give up a good mission’s pay to see Sasuke tell Madara off over what it means to be a proper Uchiha.”
Madara huffed, eyes narrowing.
“To see that, or Madara’s reaction?” Tobirama asked, glancing up at him, lips tilting towards a smirk.
“Yes.” Kakashi said lightly, flashing a grin, and Madara squeezed his shoulder harder. “It would be. . .” he drew out the syllable. “Delicious.”
“Are you sure that’s the word you mean?” Tobirama questioned absently, making a notation on the paper spread across his thigh.
“Yes.” Kakashi said with a slow smile. “Very sure.”
Madara cleared his throat, feeling a bit warm under Kakashi’s intent gaze. His sharp smile grew a little, and Madara tilted his chin up, returning it, fingers curling beneath Aoi’s chin and rubbing over the thrum of her throat as she purred.
It was still a bit of a relief when Tobirama insistently drew Kakashi’s attention away a moment later, asking for his opinion on the strengthened insulation - and distance - protecting the suiton half of the collaborative jutsu they had been working out.
Madara contemplated the idea of a combined raiton-suiton jutsu called by the pair of them and shivered a little. Tobirama was one of two suiton-natured shinobi alive who could stand alone against Madara’s katon and overwhelm it, and Kakashi. . . Kakashi did things with raiton that made Madara’s blood run cold, that he thought no one else did or possibly could - Madara wasn’t really convinced it was all due to his origins in their future, either, though admittedly he had never known any Hatake well before Kakashi.
The thought of what they could do if they combined those strengths. . .
Madara well knew that when properly calculated, and particularly when utilised by shinobi who trusted one another - whose chakra melded rather than clashed - combinatorial jutsu were far more powerful than their disparate components.
. . .which begged the question what kind of threat could possibly need this sort of response.
“What prompted this that you’re working on?” Madara asked more pointedly, leaning forwards and resting his chin on Tobirama’s shoulder, tucking his legs to the side. Aoi resettled herself lazily around his shoulders, batting at Tobirama’s hair with one paw. He either didn’t notice or chose not to acknowledge it.
“We told you.” Tobirama said, tetchy, his focus still elsewhere.
“Theory.” Kakashi supplied, twisting his body and nudging back against Madara. “Our chakra meshes interestingly; pursuing that threw up some further curiosities.”
“And neither of you have ever resisted such a thing in your lives.” Madara said dryly, though it was actually rather reassuring that they’d come to this via such a route - rather than setting out to create something that could rival the worst damage Madara and Hashirama had pulled off when clashing.
No, they were just likely to do it by accident. Madara laughed a little helplessly. Only his lovers, he thought, fond and amazed as ever.
“No knowledge is ever wasted.” Tobirama said sagely.
“That is not what you said last week when-” Kakashi broke off with a wheeze as Tobirama thumped him in the diaphragm, though he really should have been expecting it.
“That was not knowledge, that was-” Tobirama’s lip curled, and Madara tried to stifle his amusement this time before he drew their attention to himself rather than their squabble, however light-hearted it might be. He edged backwards, reaching up to scratch along Aoi’s fluffy jaw again as she kneaded his shoulder.
Although after a few minutes Madara cleared his throat and drew their attention intentionally; they were getting more worked up. The koi pond had begun rippling contrary to the wind and along with the glint of tiny sparks along Kakashi’s teeth and in his hair there was a low buzz in the now-heavy air that made Madara’s back teeth ache.
“Perhaps,” Madara said carefully, “you have been working for a little too long-”
“Unlike you, shut up in your study all day?” Aoi yowled disapprovingly, and Madara silently promised her fresh tuna for tomorrow’s dinner as the chakra in the air began to calm, his lovers’ focus shifting rapidly from affront - however playful it had been when it began - to concern.
“-and we should all take a break, and maybe a meal.” Madara finished, clearing his throat, and resigned himself to being scolded by his incredibly hypocritical lovers. A break would be nice, though, he thought. And they were less likely to snap at one another over their latest project after a little time to let it - and their minds - rest.
“You’ve had worse ideas.” Tobirama said, lips pursed, and Kakashi rolled his eyes. Madara smothered his own laugh, and Tobirama glared, but his lips twitched. He was well aware of the reflexive shift in his manner when he got wound up in his work, and he took no offense from being gently prodded over it - at least not by his family.
“Sounds good.” Kakashi agreed, and extended a hand, letting Madara pull him to his feet. He brushed a kiss to one corner of Kakashi’s mouth as he stepped in close, and a soft rumble caught in his throat as he returned it with a nuzzle, fingers fluffing through Madara’s fringe where it fell alongside his face.
Tobirama shuffled their papers together, then gathered the brush and ink in one hand as he rose gracefully, stretching. “Let me get this sorted away before dinner.” he said, fanning the top few sheets with his thumb and inspecting them.
“I’ll take care of this.” Madara said, slipping the ink out of Tobirama’s palm. He blinked, then offered up the brush as well with thanks, stepping closer and leaning their heads together for a moment.
Watching them, a small smile curved Kakashi’s lips, and Madara returned it, tilting his head by way of invitation even as he and Tobirama straightened, making a little space between them.
Kakashi willingly tucked himself into the new space, grinning, and Madara snorted, nosing his ear. “I’ll go get something started for dinner,” Kakashi said, shifting his weight, his hip brushing Madara’s, “try not to get lost in your study or the lab, mm?”
Madara huffed, reaching, but Kakashi had already twisted to pass between them, laughing as he slipped into the house. Madara chuckled, turning to Tobirama before he followed their lover inside. “He makes a good point.” he said wryly, and Tobirama huffed, but nodded, accepting a light brush of a kiss before stepping away.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” he promised, and Madara inclined his head, making his way back to his study. He could hear Kakashi muttering to himself in the kitchen already, and smiled fondly.
Aoi mewed softly and leapt from his shoulder to the desk as he entered his study, and Madara stroked her from ears to tail with his free hand. “Thank you, Aoi.” he said quietly, and she purred again, looking quite pleased with herself.