My last moments with my father were beautiful.

I would never forget the look on his face when I came in through his door. His eyes, sunken and sullen, lit up like a thousand wildfires.

"Izuna, my son!"

I was glad Tobirama was behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder. The sparks had been flying around us since our first time making love, making us suffocate in each other's presence, each breakfast bite a game, each casual stroll a tease. But now, he radiated calm, and his hand on my shoulder instantly grounded me.

"Dad!" I shouted, ran to his bed and hugged him. He laughed; I knew he didn't want me to treat him like a frail old man.

"Izuna. Have you come to stay?"

"Yes", I whispered.

"And your friend from the orient?"

"He stays with he's wife-to-be. He's very happy."

I had told Hanu I was leaving. I had sensed sadness from him, and I had felt it, too, but he still smiled, and his smile was his genuine one.

"I am sad for you to go, but I am happy you will be king", Hanu had said. "One day, we will be kings together. It will not be side by side as I once dreamed, but it will still be together."

"Please, visit", I'd said.

Tobirama found the goodbye surprisingly hard, looking down, scratching his head. He and Hanu had become good friends.

"I don't have that many friends", he'd said. "They're rare to me. It's hard to leave one behind."

"I have a gift for you", Hanu had said, grabbed Tobirama's arm and led him out to the stables. There, the oriental horse he'd bonded with, incredibly tall, incredibly lean, had stood, ears front, waiting to be transported by boat. He neighed softly when he saw Tobirama. Tobirama had been speechless, putting his arms around the cream-coloured horse. Seeing how tender he was towards the animal turned me on no-end. 

"Thank you", he'd said with a thick voice. I had started crying because I had been so touched. "And promise not to tell anyone my secret." He pointed to his scar.

"I was so drunk, I don't remember a thing. Or so we can say", Hanu said, winking.

I came back to the reality of my father's room, put a hand on my father's hand, bone-thin and aged, but still his hand. He put his other hand on mine with great effort.

"And... Will you take the throne after me?"

"I will", I said.

The relief my father displayed was palpable. It was as if his entire soul relaxed. Unfortunately, I believed his worry about who would succeed him was the only thing anchoring him to life. He closed himself up, and I could see he was almost ready.

"One final thing, son." With great effort, he spoke. "I am sorry. I'm sorry you were forced into an unhappy marriage. I'm sorry I couldn't stand up to your mother. I'm sorry I didn't respect the love between you and Tobirama better, that I didn't guide you to eternity but away from it. Please. Please, accept my apology." He looked behind me, where Tobirama stood tall and broad. "Both of you."

I nodded eagerly. Tobirama nodded once as well.

"I never blamed you", I said.

"I did", Tobirama said harshly, but there was also love in his voice.

My father smiled at him.

"As you should." He looked back at me. "Take care of Tobirama."

I frowned.

"Seeing he's a guard and much bigger and stronger, aren't you going to tell him to look after me?"

My father winked.

"I trust you with my entire country. You can handle anything. That boy over there..." He flicked his head a little towards my lover. "He got his finest battle scar by pretending his head was lettuce."

I turned to Tobirama, saw tears were streaming down his face. He smiled at the story; it must've been told many times in the evenings in my father's room after dinner, being modified a bit each time, for hundreds of nights when we lived separate lives, which seemed impossible to grasp now. I could never go without him. Never.

"I'm sorry about your mother", my father said, his voice becoming weaker and weaker. "I want to say she was proud of you even if she didn't show it, but..."

"But she wasn't", I whispered. 

She had died yesterday. I tried to feel any sadness, but couldn't.

"She had a black heart", my father said. "But without her, I wouldn't have gotten you and Madara. So it was all worth it."

"Was it, really?" I asked. "Or you just don't dare say anything else?"

"It's true, all right", my father said, putting a hand on my head. "Now..." He closed his eyes, put his hands on his belly. "I must rest."

I stood at the beach, looking out over the ocean in the darkness, the moon somewhere else, the only source of light the electricity that had been made by my hand so long ago. The saltiness of the tears raining down my face matched the saltiness of the ocean into which they fell.

"I have no family", I whispered.

"Don't you say that." Tobirama, standing behind me, came up and pressed his chest to my back. I hid my face in my hands as my tears of sorrow were exchanged for tears of happiness. "Don't you dare ever say that."

I turned around, put my arms around his waist. He gave me the warmest hug in the world, leaning his cheek to the top of my head. I buried my sorrow in his embrace, that was strong enough to take it. I tilted my head up, asking him for a kiss. He put a finger beneath my chin, gave it to me, as he gave me the world. I knelt into the sand, pulling him with me. He put his comforting weight over me like a blanket, the waves, in turn, blanketing him, pressing my shape into the sand. He panted into my mouth, and I grabbed a handful of sand to steady myself. I wrapped my legs around his waist, wearing a robe and nothing else. I licked at the gold of his piercing, adding extra flavour to him.

He opened himself up to me.

Body.

Soul.

Mind.

Together, we drank the milk of the stars.