If you see errors, please correct them! I still find the tenses pretty difficult so if you see such a mistake (or one of another sort) correct and explain, please :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

''Are you hungry?'' Asami asked quietly as she watched Madara walk down the stairs. He just came back from bringing Kouta to his room. ''You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

''I haven't'' Madara answered, walking past her into the living room. Asami followed him silently, growing more nervous by the minute. She was already relieved that he was talking and acting so calmly, but he could still be very straightforward and blunt, not thinking of the emotions and feelings of others. ''But I'd like to talk first.'' He muttered.

Asami pressed her lips together and nodded even though she knew Madara couldn't see it. But Madara didn't even need to see it, though, since he took her silence as an affirmation. It wasn't like she had a choice anyway. He had a right to know what happened and they both knew that.

Madara pulled the chair away from the table so he could sit down on it and watched Asami closely at she took the seat on the opposite side of the table. She tried to look expressionless, but her body language gave away her true feelings. Raised shoulders and her elbows tight to her sides. She obviously didn't feel at ease.

Madara didn't waste time and put his hand in the pocket of his hands, taking the paper out of it before placing it on the table, pushing it toward Asami, whose eyes went from the letter to Madara. ''She just wanted to talk,'' Asami spoke quietly, her fingers fidgeting in front of her body. ''I didn't tell you because I was afraid you wouldn't let me go if you knew.''

Madara couldn't deny it. It was the truth. He wouldn't have let her go if he'd known about this beforehand. Did Asami even understand how dangerous it was for her to just meet up with Mito like that? Madara didn't spend much time thinking about it, since there were other things still bothering him. He wanted all his questions answered first. ''How did she even know how to contact you?'' He asked, and once again, Asami was surprised by the calmness in his voice

And Asami wasn't the only one. Madara also expected himself to be more vexed. Was it the fatigue that made him a bit listless now? Or was it something else?

While Madara looked at the letter on the table, lost in his own thoughts, Asami took the opportunity to observe him. Something felt off and she was slightly worried about him. His face seemed paler than usual and the tired expression on his face made Asami wonder if he even got some sleep last night. She felt a sudden urge to ask him if he was alright, but then realized the current situation they were in. Madara would surely prefer to hear the answer to his question rather than hearing words of concern.

''Mito grew suspicious once she noticed Keiji sneaking out.'' Asami replied softly, snapping Madara out of his thoughts. ''She confronted him. That's how she found out. She doesn't know about you, though. Neither Keiji or I told her anything about you being alive.''

Madara gritted his teeth as he exhaled a heavy breath. ''Keiji..'' A growl erupted from his chest. While he seemed so calm before, anger was now clearly visible on his face. He made fists of his hands, digging his nails into his skin. The thought that the only person from his clan who stayed loyal to him would run his mouth like that angered him.

Asami swallowed thickly and reached out, taking Madara's hands in her shaking ones in an attempt to calm him down. He only clenched his fists harder and,  but to Asami's relief, he did not retract his hands. ''It's okay, Madara.'' She murmured slowly, rubbing her trembling fingers over his knuckles. She swallowed thickly when her throat began to itch. ''I'm actually glad. I got to see Mito again.''

Madara narrowed his eyes and tried to bring his hands back to his body, but Asami held them firmly, looking straight into his eyes. For a moment, she felt fearless. She wanted to convince him that what happened wasn't a mistake. Undoubtedly, Madara wouldn't be convinced by a woman with trembling legs so she had to be strong and express her opinion, even if it would anger him.

''Do you even realize how risky that was?'' Madara grunted lowly. ''What if she tells Hashirama, huh?''

Asami flinched inwardly at the harsh and unpleasant tone of his voice while Madara continued to rebuke.

''He'd certainly come here to 'save' his sister in law and get her back to Konoha.''

''She promised me she wouldn't tell.'' Asami countered firmly, though she wasn't able to bring herself to speak as loud as she intended to. Her head started to hurt as well, making it hard for her to keep thinking clearly.

Madara clenched his jaw and forcefully pulled his hands back. ''Promises are nothing more than spoken words.'' He spat, crossing his arms over his chest. ''They're empty. Mito will tell and you won't know.''

Asami pressed her lips together, her jaw clenched as her headache grew more painful. He had no idea how much he hurt her by saying those words. Suddenly, she felt a bit weird. An unfamiliar feeling came over her, accompanied by another one she knew very well. Never before had she felt this furious before. She was raging, yet she also felt extremely disappointed and betrayed.

Had he forgotten the promise they made three years ago?

''..Then why are you here?'' Asami asked slowly. Her voice was almost inaudible, but Madara clearly heard her, and he realized it was laced with anger, which surprised him. He shifted his gaze, looking back at Asami, who was looking at the edge of the table. The expression on her face was one Madara had never seen before.

''Was the promise we made also devoid of meaning?''

Asami's sudden question made Madara's eyes move from her face to her hand. She was wearing the ring.

The ring he promised to return.

Not only did Keiji run his mouth, but now he as well. He was annoyed and said too much. Madara realized he screwed up big time. He started something he intended to avoid; a fight.

When Madara still hadn't answered her question, Asami looked up from the wooden table and glowered at him. ''It was, wasn't it?'' She mumbled, her voice trembling. ''Is that why you took three years to come back? Did you even want to come back at all?'' She wanted Madara to say that she was wrong, that the promise, the words she had gambled everything on, did have worth and meaning.

But once again, Madara couldn't really deny her words. Though she was wrong about their promise being empty, he had thought about staying out of her life. Being tied town wasn't something he wanted and he didn't want to take any more things from her. It was because of him that she lived in an old house in the middle of nowhere now. What more could happen if she got even more involved with him?

Asami felt her hands starting to shake. This time not because of the nervousness or in fear, but in anger. His silence was like a knife, and it hurt her deeply. Him not saying anything proved that she was right, which only made her angrier than she already was. Enraged, she gave the table a hard push, shoving it toward Madara, before standing up, letting the chair fall over.

Her actions certainly surprised him; he didn't expect it at all. Madara was able to catch the table only millimeters away from his chest. His eyes, now slightly wide, went from the table to Asami, who was now glowering at him.

Multiple emotions were visible on her countenance. As her face contorted in anger, tears were welling up in her eyes. ''You're such a dick!" She yelled furiously, waving her hands in frustration. ''I gave up everything for you! How could you do this after all this time?!''

Asami wanted to say so much more, but her head was spinning and her throat burned from the shouting. Tears stained her face and she let out a few sobs. The anger was all gone, she didn't feel it anymore. All that was left was plain sadness. What did their relationship mean all this time? What about the kisses they shared?

What about Kouta?

''Don't give off all kinds of signals if you don't care about me.'' Asami whimpered as she crouched down, burying her face in her knees.

Madara stayed silent as he pushed the table away from him. After standing up, he walked around the table to reach Asami. ''You think I'd stay here if I didn't care?'' He said as he crouched down next to her. ''Don't just assume things. You're wrong.'' He tried to touch her face in order to make her look at him, but Asami simply slapped his hand away.

''Don't touch me.'' She whispered hoarsely, still not looking up. ''You're terrible.''

''Just listen then.'' Madara sighed. ''It's true that I was hesitant about coming back here, but I already told you the reason for that. We already talked about this. There is no reason for you to be upset.''

Silence. Asami didn't react.

''Is it the promise?'' Madara asked. ''Is that what you're angry about?''

Once again, no verbal reply, but Madara knew that he was right when he saw Asami clenching her shirt.

''I'm here now, aren't I?" Madara spoke, getting a bit annoyed. He didn't want to argue. He was already tired and he didn't want to talk all night trying to convince Asami that she misunderstood. But he had to admit, he could have chosen better words. Then maybe they wouldn't be in this situation now. It's just that he found the promise silly. It was just a confirmation, they both knew that, but apparently, it was still very important to Asami. ''I fulfilled the promise. I'd have come back even if I didn't promise it.''

Madara glanced at Asami, whose shoulders were shaking, but she wasn't crying. He didn't hear any sobs, only soft gasps, and her uneven breathing. He immediately knew something was wrong, but before he could do anything, Asami got down on her knees and started to cough loudly. Her hand found their way to her throat as the other one was roaming around, looking for something to hold on to.

At that moment, the door to the hallway opened and Kouta stepped into the room. He seemed hesitant and nervous at first, but he slowly got closer. ''Mommy, daddy, are you fighting?'' He asked quietly. He probably heard Asami yell.

Asami, who was finally showing her face, turned away from Kouta. Madara noticed this and assumed that Asami didn't want Kouta to see her like this. It wasn't a pretty sight. She looked like she was choking, not being able to breathe. Madara moved in front of Asami, making sure that Kouta couldn't see her. He'd certainly be worried if he saw his mother like this. ''We're not.'' He said, already hearing Asami's coughing starting to cease. ''Go back to sleep. It's already late.''

Kouta didn't go back, but tried to look past Madara instead. He didn't get any closer, though. Maybe Asami's sudden cough attack surprised him and he got unsure about checking up on her from up close.

Madara looked back at Asami, his hand on her back. Her coughing had almost stopped now, but she was still trembling. Abruptly, Asami grabbed Madara's sleeve and held it tightly. ''It hurts.'' She whimpered, referring to her throat, talking just loud enough for him to hear it.

''Kouta.'' Madara said his name, this time more warningly.

This time, Kouta did listen. Madara couldn't help but notice the hurt look on his face before he went back upstairs. He had been too harsh with him again. Why was he always hurting people, he wondered.

Sighing, he turned back to Asami. She was staring at the floor, blinking now and then. She was obviously dizzy. ''Can you stand?'' He asked.

Asami looked up and gripping Madara's shirt tighter, shaking her head. ''Everything's spinning.'' She murmured softly.

Madara pressed his lips together as he put his arm around her waist. Surprisingly, Asami didn't struggle at all. As Madara stood up, he took Asami with him. After getting up, Madara took a chair and helped Asami sitting down on it. ''I'm sorry.'' She slurred. ''I just assumed that-'' Madara interrupted her by placing his hand on her head, making her look down even more than she already was. ''It's fine. We're both at fault.''

Compared to Madara, Asami seemed like a child. While he was staying calm, handling the situation maturely, she was getting angry, making false assumptions. She was embarrassed, and thus she didn't dare to look up. She felt so ashamed of herself for freaking out over nothing.

''I'm sorry.'' She kept apologizing. ''I'm one big mess at the moment.''

Just what was she doing? She didn't even know.

Her mind was troubled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Asami let herself fall onto the couch, burying her face in the cushions. She just finished doing the dishes. There wasn't much do wash, so she was done after a few minutes. 

Madara seemed to take longer. He'd check up on Kouta while Asami did the dishes. H.e'd been upstairs for about 10 minutes already. She wondered if they were having a conversation. She never really saw the two of them talking much.

At this moment, even thinking started to be too exhausting. She couldn't get her thoughts straight. Her limbs were drained of all energy, too.

Slowly, Asami felt herself slipping away into a slumber, but not a peaceful one. She still felt troubled by her own actions. Not only was today very exhausting, just like the day before, but a lot happened and her mind needed time to grasp the current situation.

Her body felt incredibly heavy and so did her eyes, so she decided to close them.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~  

Madara sighed as he walked down the stairs. Kouta had already fallen asleep so talking to him had to wait until tomorrow. Though he couldn't speak to him, Madara stayed at the door to Kouta's room for a few minutes, watching him. It was still hard for Madara to adjust to this lifestyle. It was so different from the ones he was used to; life as a clan leader and the life he was leading the last three years; in solitude.

Out of all the three, he liked the one he was leading now the least. Not because he didn't like being around Asami and Kouta, it was because his freedom was even more restricted than before. 

Once again, Madara heaved a sigh and slowly closed the door. He should go back downstairs to get Asami. She had probably finished doing the dishes by now and was waiting for him to come back. Silently, he went down the stairs.

Once he entered the living room, he saw Asami lying on her side on the couch. She was, just like Kouta, fast asleep. While letting out a grunt, Madara slowly approached her. Asami was already having problems with her throat. It'd be even worse if she started complaining about having cricks in her neck.

He put his hands on her shoulder and shook her. ''Oi, Asami.'' He called, but the only response he got was her furrowing her eyebrows in annoyance. He clenched his jaw slightly, getting annoyed as well. ''If you're going to sleep, do it in a bed.'' He muttered.

''Just leave me here.'' Asami slurred, still speaking softly because her throat hurt. She didn't even open her eyes to look at him while speaking. ''I just want to sleep.''

''I don't want to hear you complain about having a stiff neck or back tomorrow.''

Asami opened her eyes slightly now, glancing at the tall man in front of her. She didn't understand why he pestered her so about this. Even though it's pretty lonely to sleep alone in such a big bed, it's nice to have so much space. So didn't he just go? She was too tired to move anyway.

''If you want me to go, you'll have to carry me.'' Asami muttered, turning away from him by laying on her back, turning her head so she was looking at the cushions. She was sure that Madara wouldn't take the effort to actually do that.

''You're not a child,'' Madara grumbled, growing even more annoyed. He did understand her, though, but he wanted her to stop this stubbornness already. ''Get up.''

''No.''

Realizing that she wouldn't give up, Madara decided to comply, even though he really didn't want to. Heaving another sigh, he placed his hand on the cushions in front of Asami's face and bent over her. Asami's eyes widened when she felt his hand slip around her waist. She sucked in a breath in surprise and glanced at Madara, who didn't even bother to look back at her.

He couldn't care less at the moment. He just wanted to go to sleep.

''You asked for this.'' Madara grunted as he started to lift her off the couch. ''So at least cooperate a little, will you?"

Asami gulped before hesitantly wrapping her arms around his neck, putting her hands together when they met each other on Madara's back. His hands went from her waist to the back of her legs so he could support her more easily and he stood straight. Asami was only joking when she suggested it, but she never thought that he'd actually do it. She felt embarrassed, and to be honest, she felt guilty as well. Guilty for making him do this when he's already so tired. She also started a meaningless fight..

Asami pressed her cheek against his shoulder as he started to walk towards the stairs. ''You're getting soft.'' She mumbled. ''You're changing.''

Madara pressed his lips together, thinking over her words a few times before humming. ''Are you complaining?'' He asked, slowly going up the stairs. ''Do you want me to be crueler?''

Asami tightened her legs around his waist, afraid that she might fall. ''No, no, I'm not complaining at all.'' She quickly said, even though she knew Madara was just messing with her. ''It's just.. surprising. I didn't expect it.''

Madara grunted. ''Don't get used to it. I'm not carrying you again.''

Asami couldn't help but chuckle. She already felt more awake. Awake enough to walk, but she didn't want to move. Being able to embrace him like felt good, comforting, and warm. She had missed this a lot during the time that she was here alone.

 A smile made its way on her face as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. ''That's a shame.''