"Tea?"

"Yes, please!" Madara said happily.

I could tell Hashirama was nervous, so I offered to make it while they both sat on the couch in my cottage. But turned out, I wasn't better off myself; my hands were trembling so bad, I spilled most of the tea water.

"Let me do it!" Madara said and jumped up from the couch when he saw me struggle, pushing me away, making tea with what seemed to be only one swift movement.

I sat down next to Hashirama, and as Madara had his back to us, he squeezed my knee, seemingly for his own reassurance.

I took his hand and squeezed back.

"Done!" he said and put a tray in front of us and I released Hashirama's hand as if it had burned me.

"Thank you", I said and took a sip; nobody drank tea as hot as I did, Hashirama always said. I drank it while it boiled.

We sat in silence for a while, drinking. My hands were trembling, and I saw Hashirama's was trembling even more, and no wonder. This would be a life-changing moment for us. For all of us.

Please please please please!

"Tell me", Madara said. "What did you want to discuss?

And then, Hashirama started crying. Soft, silent tears ran down his cheeks. To my horror, it got to me, too, and I snivelled, drying my nose with the back of my hand.

Madara, sitting next to Hashirama, moved so he was in between us, and put one hand on Hashirama's thigh and leaned his head on my shoulder. He knew this was serious.

Hashirama was in no condition to speak, I knew, so it was up to me.

"We don't want you to feel any pressure by this", I said. "And know that whatever you choose, you will always have a place with the band and as our friend."

Madara didn't say anything, didn't egg me on, for which I was grateful. It forced me to take responsibility.

"A while ago, I asked Hashirama to go with me to the national museum to talk. And we agreed on this proposition for you." I took a deep breath. This is it. It begins or ends here. "We both love you. We both desire to be loved by you. And even if both of us would feel comfortable stepping back for the other, neither of us would feel comfortable stepping forwards in front of the other."

Madara took both of our hands, entwined our fingers. 

"What are you suggesting?" Madara whispered.

Hashirama tried to speak, thinking he had collected himself. Turned out, he hadn't. He seemed to have lost his voice. He leaned towards Madara and me, and I moved so I was on the other side of him, figuring he needed me more than I needed Madara in that moment. I leaned my entire body weight on him, and he took my hand so we were all still connected.

I spoke for him, for both of us.

"We don't know if you already have someone, or if you prefer one of us above the other..."

It wasn't a question, but Madara seemed to take it as such, because he started answering it. I realised then that he needed to answer, to get some of his most complicated internal turmoil out.

"But I don't!" he said. "And I never have! I can't choose between you and I don't want to refrain from any of you! But I would rather refrain because I could never choose!" 

Hashirama leaned his head on Madara's shoulder.

"We kind of... Don't want to let you choose?"

"You mean you've chosen for me?"

Hashirama got his voice back.

"No! Yes! I..." he started.

I held on to Madara's hand, looking straight ahead. I wondered if the stars were aligned above us, and if there was any way for us to know.

"Do you want to be with both of us?" I asked.

And then, time stopped.

I don't know for how long Madara was quiet, but an abnormal amount of silence filled the cottage. I heard Hashirama cry softly. I didn't know what I did.

"What do you mean?" Madara whispered.

I stood up and then sat down on one knee in front of Madara. Hashirama looked down on me, fingers entangled with the black-haired beauty still, and it was a glimpse of how our life could be. Both of them were frozen in place as if their movement could change the course of time.

"We want to be your partners, both of us. Do things together all three, or separately one on one with you. We want to share you. We want to share your bed, one of us on either side, with you in the middle."

I dared to look up at him, and he was staring down on me, tears glittering on his lashes.

"W... What?" he whispered, his lips trembling.

"We know it's not conventional", Hashirama murmured, his voice surprisingly steady even if he hid behind his hair. "But please, Madara, see it foe what it is. A suggestion."

"I..."

He asked questions. He answered them to the beat of our abilities. Would me and Hashirama be together? No. Wouldn't we get jealous? Yes, but then we would talk about it, together first, and then involve Madara if needed. Would we have to tell the other when we went on separate dates? Rather not for me, please for Hashirama. What would happen if we wanted to move in together? We would buy a house together.

And so on and so on.

We talked for hours. We ended up sitting on the couch all three, Madara in the middle, me holding his left hand, Hashirama holding his right. Madara was trembling in what I could only believe was pure bliss.

When all the question had been asked, we just sat silently, contemplating all that was happening. If it was happening at all.

"Madara?"

It was Hashirama. He had collected himself, and was as cool and calm as he was on stage.

"Mmm?"

"What's your answer?"

I hid my face in my hands. I was so nervous. So, so nervous. I waited for Madara to say something, but he didn't.

Instead, hepatic his hands on Hashirama's face and kissed him.

I tried to look away but couldn't. Then realised that I shouldn't; that this was our life now and I shouldn't hide from it but take part of it. Force the stars into alignment, if needed.

I embraces the jealousy that burned within me, turned it into something that was tasteful for me.

And then, just as I had calmed down, Madara tore away the skies from above and laid them down before me, and kissed me instead, straddling me as an apology for kissing Hashirama first.

And then, the stars aligned.