Madara:

I had always imagined I would be cool and calm before my first competition. That I would wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, everything as usual, than stand at the top of the hill, throw myself out and win.

I was no such thing as cool.

I woke up with my face in Hashirama's smooth chest. He must shave, I thought.

"Good morning", he said, smiling warmly, his voice a bit raspy in the morning.

"Hi", I said, feeling myself blush, backing away shyly.

"No, no, no... Don't back away... Stay", he said, and pulled me into his embrace again. "How are you feeling?"

Suddenly, I was wide awake. "Shit, it's today!"

"Nervous?"

I was. I threw myself out of the bed and started walking back and forth, going to brush my teeth, then remembering I hadn't had breakfast yet, nor been to the bathroom. I had been a whirlwind of a mess for a good fifteen minutes before I felt a strong hand on my shoulder.

"Madara..." I turned round. His chocolate-brown eyes were kind, and he was smiling. "Go down to the kitchen. I'll cook breakfast."

I sat down, and watched him work in the kitchen with ingredients we'd bought last night at the local grocery shop. In the end, he had a fantastic plate of omelette with salmon and cream cheese, vegan waffles with maple syrup, and grapes.

"Wow", was all I could say.

"Eat up!"

Just like Izuna, I never lost my appetite, not even when I was nervous or sad or sick. I would never forget that time Izuna had a stomach bug and I found him in front of his laptop, eating Doritos.

"Aren't foods supposed to be off-putting to you?" I'd asked.

He looked at me as if he didn't understand a thing. "Why?" he asked, mouth full.

I was the same, really, so I ate up everything without any hesitation.

"Hashi, thank you", I said. He wasn't even halfway through his plate.

"You're welcome", he said and smiled, and I realised how incredibly comfortable I felt around him, how taken care of, how important. It was as if the world revolved around me, and no-one had ever made me feel that way before. I was a horny slut, at best, wanting one night stands or sexual relationships lasting a week, maximum. I just couldn't get attached to anyone. Hashi, though... He made me feel so grounded, so... Whole. Was I sexually attracted to him, though? I thought about the times we'd kissed, when I cut his hair and in the car, and I felt shivers run up and down my thighs, and I had to take deep breaths not to get an erection underneath our breakfast table. The thought of having this unit of a man over me...

"What's up?" he asked, disturbing me in my daydreams.

"What?" I asked.

"You're blushing. What were you thinking of?" He had the sneakiest smile on his face.

"Nothing", I said, looking away.

But he knew. He definitely knew.

The person in front of me in the line stood behind the little stick in front of his ankles, getting ready to throw himself off the steep downhill mountain. Nerves surged through my entire being, and I realised how nervous I was. I tried to force myself to relax, as the nerves made me stiff which could cause me to lose time and, worse, put me in danger as I needed to be loose in my body to ski safely. Being last in the starting field didn't help, either. I wanted to text Hashirama so bad, but I realised we hadn't exchanged numbers. I need to ask him before I leave. Hashi was just dropping me off at home, then driving the car to the rental spot and taking the bus to the airport from there. I was leaving later that same evening to university, so time was limited. Maybe tonight-

"Madara Uchiha."

Shit.

I took place behind the stick. The people around me looked at me questioningly, and no wonder. I was the only one who was a new name, unknown by everyone, and I didn't even have the name of any sponsors on me, like everyone else. Also, I hadn't tied my hair in, so it was flowing loose around my waist. It made me feel displaced, as if I didn't belong. I felt the loneliness clench my heart, but I didn't have time to fight it until the clock started counting me down. Three short signals; three, two, one...

And I threw myself off.

Hashirama:

I watched the whole thing from the bottom of the hill, listening to the commentator.

"Madara Uchiha has just started. A new name, never heard of in the skiing community of Switzerland. You will notice his hair is down. In skiing, it's all about the milliseconds; having an aerodynamicc disadvantage like that is going to cost him."

What the fuck? What did that have to do with anything? Who did he think he was? Instead of welcoming Madara into the community, he deemed it a necessity to comment on his hair?

"Let's see how many seconds behind the last person he falls. Unless he falls", a young man next to me said, and his friends sniggered.

"Hope he doesn't tangle his hair."

I felt anger fluster up in my chest, something I wasn't really used to. I knew enough about skiing that "seconds" was a long, long time, that the difference between the winner and the silver medalist was decimals. I saw his little figure ski with an incredible speed down the hill, coming close to the first time-mark where his time would be compared to the leader.

As he reached it, a whirl went through the audience, and the commentator was silent.

"He... He is five seconds before the leader", he said finally. "But... But many others have been faster than him." Yes, but not five seconds. "The leader gained speed at the end, that caused the others to fall behind him. But five seconds is... It is remarkable."

I felt something then. An immense pride, a joy beyond measure that I could gift Madara this opportunity, that he could finally do what his soul burned to do.

And I realised how much I cared for him. How much I well and truly cared for him.

And it struck me exactly how good this kid was at what he was doing.

Madara:

I passed the finishing line 7.04 seconds faster than the leader.

I couldn't believe it.

I just couldn't believe it.

I sunk down to my knees and ugly-cried.

After a few seconds, I felt strong arms around me.

"Congratulations", Hashi said warmly.

"Hashi..." I croaked and threw myself over him. He laughed heartily.

"How was your new skis?"

I was crying so much, I just wailed incomprehensible nonsense. The skis had been a dream. I'd never felt such lightness underneath my feet. I loved them. I loved them so, so much. I couldn't believe this was happening. I just couldn't believe it.

I wouldn't remember anything of the medal ceremony. I just cried the whole time. I saw videos afterwards, that the silver- and bronze medalist shook my hand, patted my back, and then clambered onto the gold medalist's podium for photos, their arms slung around me. I was just crying the whole time.

Afterwards, one of them came up to me. "Where have you been all your life, bro? The alliance will want to recruit you for international competitions."

This was insane. This was unbelievable. At the same time, I knew, had always known that I had it in me. In the evening, I was getting ready for the afterparty which I was attending with Hashi as my date, and tried to melt it all. I had showered, straightened my hair to perfection, and I took out from my weekend bag the dress I'd lended Izuna on his first date with Tobirama. I had packed it just in case, and I was so glad I had...

Getting dress got my mind off things, as it was the first time I wore a dress. This was another dream come true, being able to dress myself freely. This day was turning out to be the best day of my life, and I realised there was no-one, absolutely no-one I wanted to share it with than Hashi.

As I came out of my room, clad in my dress, some swarovski earrings Sonia had gifted me once I'd confessed how I felt about women's clothes, and close-toed black velvet heels over semi-transparent black tights, I felt nervous. What will Hashi think? Hashirama Senju was standing in front of the full-body mirror on the landing to the stairs, incredibly handsome with his oiled hair in a bun, a dark blue suit with brown trousers and a cream shirt, but when he saw a movement in the mirror, he turned round, and his jaw dropped.

"Madara..."

"I'm sorry", I said, and started to speak a hundred miles an hour. "I feel so trapped! So trapped, Hashi! I have never felt more myself than now, and I thought today, of all days-"

I was soon silenced by a kiss. I hadn't even noticed how Hashi had taken three steady strides and taken me into his arms. He kissed me forcefully, hungrily, pushing me against the wall with his groin, and I could feel his erection. I surrendered to him, surrendered to him completely. He forced himself free from the kiss, grabbed my chin, spoke to my mouth. His breath smelled of peppermint and something caramelly.

"Let's go", he said. "I want to be back early tonight."

The implications of that hung heavy over us for the rest of that night.