Hashirama Senju gave Madara Uchiha the same gift over and over.

He would go to the hall, the flower held softly in his hand, and give it over to Madara. Once he accepted it, they would take care so their hands didn't touch. But as soon as Madara came back, his eyes full of happiness, a glow on his face from having seen his beloved home, and offered the flower back to his captor, their hands would always brush against each other.

Only a little.

Hashirama was happy Madara seemed to be warming up to him. But he was still bothered that what made him so happy was to get out of Hashirama's world. 

It was Izuna, he knew. Madara connected the two, his precious little brother and the surface world. Even if Madara wasn't allowed to roam and thus couldn't go find his little brother, going to the surface was bound to make him feel closer to the man he lord the most. Once Hashirama had succeeded in killing Izuna, Madara would belong to him and his world entirely.

"Did you find him?" Hashirama asked every time Tobirama came back from the surface.

"Not yet", he would always say.

"Do you want me to place mirrors in places where we think he could be?"

"We would still be looking blindly", Tobirama said. "I have no clue as to where to place them."

Hashirama wondered why Tobirama wouldn't meet his eye. Always the same. This time, Hashirama didn't let go. 

"Tobirama." 

He grabbed his brothers arms softly. Hashirama didn't know this, but right then, Tobirama saw a glimmer of his old brother. The calm, collected intellectual he was before his obsession with Madara began. His best friend, the one he could sit with in one of the mirror halls and just talk to. 

But it was just a glimmer. 

"What?" Tobirama answered irritably. 

"You can tell me things, you know?"

Tobirama looked away and didn't say anything. When Hashirama released him, Tobirama walked away.

Had Hashirama had any trace of his old self preserved within himself, he would have felt doubt at this point. Was it worth gaining Madara if he also lost his brother? But he had none of his old self left. He only saw Madara. Tobirama remained unseen, and maybe that was why he was so drawn to Izuna. 

Because Izuna truly saw him.

One day when Hashirama went to the hall to give Madara his gift, Madara didn't skip up to him enthusiastically as he usually did. Instead, he walked up to him shyly with a small, insecure smile.

"Umm... Hashirama?"

"Yes?"

"Would you..." He took a deep breath and cupped Hashirama's hands that were holding the flower. The effect on Hashirama was immediate; it was as if the entire universe fell into place within him. Madara gasped, letting Hashirama know he was feeling the same. "Would you mind coming up with me?"

Hashirama gaped. No. Absolutely not. No way in the world.

His answer was much softer than the voice in his head.

"I'm sorry", he said. "I don't go to the surface."

So Madara went alone. And the next time Hashirama came, Madara asked again, pleading a little more. Hashirama still said no. The next time, the same exchange. And the next. And the next. For what humans would count as thousands of years.

Then one day, Madara stopped asking. It made Hashirama confounded and sad. He hadn't realised how much Madara's request meant to him. Didn't he desire Hashirama's company anymore? He still avoided his hands accepting the flower, allowing just a hint of a touch when returning it. But never again the same question.

Hashirama was frustrated. He nagged his brother to find Izuna, to kill him; surely then Madara would desire Hashirama's companionship once more? But Tobirama had closed himself up entirely, hardly looking at him. 

Hashirama was starting to panic. And on top of it all, Tobirama disappeared. Just went up and didn't come back. Hashirama spent all his time, except for the time spent giving Madara his gift, looking into the mirrors to try to find his beloved little brother. One part of him felt terrible for having put too much pressure on his little brother. The other part was furious. Didn't he understand that there was no other way killing Izuna? Didn't he know he was the one who had to do it? That he was the key to Hashirama's happiness, that there was no other way? And now, Tobirama had left him down here all alone, with no means to kill the man who stood in the way of his happiness. 

Then one day, thousands of years after Tobirama had disappeared, Hashirama went to Madara crying. He had never let Madara see him cry before. Tears dimmed his vision and he felt he wasted time not seeing every detail of his beautiful face.

"Hashirama", Madara said, sounding worried. "What in the world happened to you?"

He hadn't made decision. He hadn't planned on doing it, not now, not ever. But in that moment, it was crystal clear what he had to do.

"I would like to come with you to the surface", Hashirama said, looking down in shame. "Please, have me."

Madara was quiet for a while, seemingly surprised by the request. Then, he once more cupped Hashirama's hand that held the flower.

"I have waited for this day for such a long time", he said. 

And together, they went up to the surface world.