Madara:

Izuna was a ball of energy the entire morning. He was giddy, running all over the place, and could talk about nothing but the date.

"I'm so nervous I can't eat a bite!" he complained and took a stack of six waffles and covered them in butter and fruit and maple syrup before shoving them into his mouth. "Mum and dad will be out tonight so they won't know I'm going on a date! Please don't tell them." He was speaking with his mouth full. "Can you do my makeup? Should I use the hair straightener to wave my hair? Can you do my hair? What should I wear? How will I be able to snowboar today? I'm so nervous! Oh, right, Tobirama is coming snowboarding, too. Shit!"

"Are you giving him tips about snowboarding?" I asked.

He looked at me as if I were dumb. "You're joking", he said, mouth full. "There's nothing I can teach him. He's much, much better than me."

"No way."

"Way! He's the best snowboarder I've seen."

"You're exaggerating because you like him."

"I'm really not, though. I saw him snowboard down the black wall." Holy shit. I'd only seen one snowboarder go down that hill and he was a world champion. I was one of few who could go down on skis. "We're going off piste today. You okay with that?"

I kissed the top of his head. "Yes. I trust you both."

Izuna came home red-faced after three hours, and not only from the cold. He went to get ready for his first date.

"When are you meeting?" I asked.

"Seven pm."

"There's three hours left."

"I know! I just want everything to be perfect."

"You are perfect!" I said.

Izuna smiled. "Thank you. But seriously, though, will you help me?"

"Of course."

Izuna gave me a free hand, which was exceptionally fun. I used my super-expensive smoothening cream in his hair and blow-dried it until it was straight, then used the hair straightener. I used a jade clip to put it up in a messy updo. Izuna was so tense the entire time, plucking his fingers, bouncing his leg, barely speaking.

"How would you like your makeup?" I asked and started to massage his shoulders to release some tension.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

"Yes, and no wonder. You've never been this stiff. Try to relax."

He slumped his shoulders down, and I started working some knots away as he started speaking. "I think... Madara, make a girly makeup. I think I want it. I feel I can be entirely myself around him."

I kept massaging. "You wanna talk about it?" I asked.

"About what?"

"Your identity."

Izuna went quiet for a while, and to my great pleasure I could feel his back starting to relax. "I still identify as male, I think. But sometimes, I don't think I identify as anything. Or rather, I don't really care, or think about it, you know?"

I smiled and nodded, so he could see in the mirror that I was listening and wanted him to continue. I went to stand in front of him and picked up a foundation and a sponge and got to work. Izuna continued speaking.

"And I think Tobirama wouldn't mind. We have talked about it a little and he told me that he identifies as gay, and I asked him out of curiosity how he would react if his partner would tell him they wanted to transition into a female. I don't want to do that, but it was an easier way to find out how he likes feminine me. He said he would be supportive and keep loving them. He also said that he isn't attracted to females per se, but if it was his male partner who wanted to transition, he would already love them, so would keep doing so once they were female. So he can't fall in love with females, but can maintain love for them."

Wow, I thought, that seventeen-year-old has done some serious soul-searching.

"And how do you feel about that?" I asked my little brother, getting my own light glittery powder out.

Izuna couldn't contain his smile. "It feels wonderful. I respect his sexual orientation, but to say you would still love someone for the person they truly were even if that didn't match what you identify as... I think few his age think like that."

You should only know how mature you are yourself...

I kept working with the makeup, and did a smokey black eye makeup with long lashes and lipgloss. I didn't do any contouring, liking Izuna's face as it was. I did brush his eyebrows up and filled them in a little, though. And I added some highlights on his nose and cheekbones.

"What should I wear?" Izuna asked.

I looked at him. I looked at him for a long time.

"Stay there", I said finally, and went to my room. I walked into my little walk-in closet, to the very back of it, and pulled it out. It's time...

I brought it with me to Izuna, and as soon as he saw it, his mouth fell.

"Madara..." he whispered. "Madara, I can't-"

"Yea, you can. And you will."

"It's so beautiful. What if I ruin it?" Izuna was completely breathless.

"It would still be worth it. Come on, Tobirama will be here in half an hour and I want to see his face when he sees you in that."

"When did you..."

"I bought it when I was in London with Sonia last year. From Selfridges. Cost me a fortune. I haven't worn it but I love it."

"Big brother, thank you", Izuna said, looking up at me and I almost died because he'd never called me that before; he always called me by my name. "Thank you."

I went and hugged him. "Thank you", I said.

Tobirama's reaction was exactly as good as I'd hoped for. He knocked on the door at five to seven pm, and I opened.

"Hello", I said. He looked amazing, his short, white hair sprawling all over, with a light powder and some black eyeshadow along with his red stripes. He was wearing a leaisurely suit with skinny suit pants and a white shirt with a black body harness underneath. Izuna would die.

"Hi", he said, smiling a crooked, shy smile, not quite meeting my eye. "Is Izuna here?

"Izuna!" I called. I knew he had heard Tobirama's knock but probably needed a few extra seconds to panic before he came down.

And down he came.

God, had I done the right thing... Izuna hadn't been able to take his eyes off himself in the full-body mirror. His hair was immaculately messy in the updo, his makeup fierce, enhancing the softness of his face while adding a fire to it. His slender frame was enhanced by a pair of tights and his velvety black heels.

But what did it all was the dress I'd landed him.

It was a short black number, made of thick tulle with a fantastic glitter that caught every light. It had short sleeves like a T-shirt, a velvet belt in the waist and flared out below and it looked so good on Izuna that I got tears on my eyes.

And Tobirama's reaction was priceless. His face completely drained of all colour, and he made his hands into fists and put one to his mouth, breathing out. "Izuna..." he murmured, and started to tremble.

"Tobes", Izuna croaked.

He wasn't better off himself, but had stopped dead in the stairs and looked so shy and adorable, it made my heart sing. God, this Tobirama guy really pulled some heartstrings on my little brother... Tobirama put his arms out, and Izuna ran to him and threw himself into them. They just held on to each other, and I found myself crying. They were just so adorable. Then, I caught myself, and slowly went up the stairs to my room, and after five minutes, I heard them leave. I studied a little, but found it was hard to focus. I missed Hashi terribly for some reason. At ten pm, I gave up and went to bed.

And I cried myself to seep, feeling unfathomably lonely.

I woke up, confused, hearing voices downstairs. I checked my phone on autopilot, saw it was two am. Who...

"Thank you for following me home", I heard Izuna whisper. "I'll see you in the morning."

"I can't wait", I heard the darker, muskier voice of Tobirama Senju.

I heard the door close behind Tobirama, and Izuna's heels all up the carpet-covered stairs. There was a soft knock on my door.

"Madara, are you awake?" he whispered.

"Yeah, come in", I croaked.

He came in and I turned the lamp on my bedside table on. Izuna's mascara was smudged, his lipgloss was no more, and half of his hair had fallen out of his updo. He had some suspicious red marks from face paint all over his cheeks... He looked exhausted; exhausted and very, very happy.

"Madara..." Izuna whispered, taking my hand in his little one, entwining our fingers. "Madara, you've been crying."

Shit. I'd had some mascara on when I went to bed, and I had cried myself to sleep. How did I get myself out of this one?

"Izuna..."

"Madara... Is it hard for you to see us together?"

I snivelled. "A little", I said. "I'm sorry, tell me about your evening, this is your night, how-"

Izuna held his hand up. "Madara", he said. "Madara Uchiha, you are in love with Hashirama Senju. You are in love with Hashirama Senju and you should stop fighting it, Goddamn it!"