Kindling

But Tobirama wasn’t making it easy for Madara to keep up the stream of praise, recognition, and thanks because he took to avoiding Madara after the confrontation in his office. It seemed that he was so uncertain about what to do with Madara’s attention that he just… avoided it – though that might have had something to do with the way that Madara reduced him to blushing fluster, something he couldn’t imagine Tobirama felt good about even if it was good for him. And it was, everyone needed attention and thanks, it was vital and even if it made Tobirama uncomfortable Madara was certain he still needed it; he would just have to rethink how he did it, ease the Senju into it slower and less publicly. So, what did he know? Tobirama was involved in literally everything and though it may have been Madara and Hashirama’s dream it was Tobirama’s work that had made the village, and all signs indicated that this was something long standing meaning that it had probably been true in running the Senju clan before the peace (and that was all without mentioning the jutsu and innovation that had helped the Senju stay so powerful even though they were a smaller clan; hell, Madara was willing to admit that it was probably Tobirama that had turned Hashirama’s healing skill into something others could use).

So, a history of working too hard for little recognition and probably his clan had taken his genius for granted for a long time; eternal flame but given what Madara knew about Butsuma from Hashirama he could form some nasty theories about Tobirama’s childhood and how his relationships had ended up the way they were (theories that revolved around once hearing Hashirama call Tobirama a ‘tool’, something Madara had promptly snarled at him for even though he had paled as soon as the words left his lips). Flat out praise got the biggest reaction and could completely send Tobirama fleeing, into hiding for hours at the least. Recognition shocked him and made him blush at the least and fumble, acknowledgement and asking his opinion startled him but didn’t get quite as much, thanks made him…brace, if that was the word for it. And then there was touch which Madara needed more information about, just like he also would eventually have to try and praise Tobirama for something that had nothing to do with work or it was possible he would just reinforce the ‘tool’ idea he was betting Tobirama was dealing with.

If he was going to do this right- and apparently he was, he never did things halfway and, well, Tobirama was too vital to the village for them to be this careless about him! It had nothing to do with the way he looked when his face was soft and flushed, nothing at all.- Madara needed more information which meant he needed to observe the albino more, run a few more small tests, probe Hashirama a bit. Luckily Madara was a pro at reconnaissance! Less luckily, Tobirama was wickedly good at stealth and if he didn’t want to see Madara he wouldn’t. Therefor Madara had to find a way to temp Tobirama to him of his own choice, damnit, this was going to take patience. Well, Madara was also good at making friends with the wild and hurt things in the world, though Tobirama struck him more as a feral cat than a wild hawk so he would have to shift things a little for that, at least it was still doable.

First; let the cat come to you, he had already piqued Tobirama’s interest in expressing an interest in him and Tobirama had come to him once, so if Madara let him be- without going back to ignoring him which would just hurt him (human, not cat)- and waited there was a chance that Tobirama would come to him of his own volition. Or at least Madara hoped. In the meantime Madara watched Tobirama when he could- it seemed like that was all he did now-, watched as he tilted towards his brother in private meetings with just the three of them, face set as ever in stern sharp lines but his body language – his body language said something totally different with the way he worried Hashirama’s long sleeve between his fingers where Hashirama couldn’t feel it. So then yes, it wasn’t just praise and recognition that Tobirama was starved for, it was touch as well; besides Hashirama’s suffocating hugs- which didn’t count, far too uncomfortable- no one ever touched him, people literally parted when he walked down the hall and pressed against walls to keep from touching him. It wasn’t as bad as the praise thing, but it was still – still hard with the way he jumped when Madara brushed his fingers over the younger man’s shoulders as he walked behind the Senju when they were alone, still hard when he watched Madara with wary eyes when the Uchiha let their fingers brush as he took something from the albino n the office, still hard when Madara wanted to just reach out and – Wait, no, Madara was letting Tobirama come to him, letting him make the next move so he didn’t feel haunted and pushed.

Luckily for Madara’s sanity it didn’t take long before Tobirama was lingering in his presence again rather than fleeing which made his observation much easier – and made it easier for Madara to start working on establishing himself as a safe space. Two; keep the cat coming back, make them associate you with good things. This was… a bit more difficult, the things Madara was trying to work on were all things Tobirama seemed to associate with danger and mockery and – well, not good things, so that was no good right now and Madara was going to have to think of something else. Food maybe? Worth a try and it wouldn’t even be hard! He could figure out his favorites fast enough and there were enough days where Madara and Hashirama were eating together after a meeting between the three of them and all Madara had to do was order enough food for Tobirama and tell him to stay after and ease into it that way. Otherwise… hmm, maybe Madara could get Tobirama talking about something he was passionate about? It was always good to do that and would push back against the ‘tool’ idea, Madara thought he was smart enough to keep up with most things that Tobirama might talk about, at least a little.

With that in mind Madara gruffly told Tobirama to stay the next working lunch they had, made easier by the fact they were still working on the paperwork. Tobirama hesitated until Madara pulled out a bento (bit more personal than he had intended but, well, what could he do? it was a holiday and most take out was closed) he had made with the Senju in mind, nothing fancy, but the fish was lightly grilled and fragrant and as soon as Tobirama smelled it Madara knew he had the albino. Even better Tobirama sat next to him instead of the other side near Hashirama- who kept his mouth very shut after Madara sent him a dark look- and his transparent pleasure over the food warmed Madara down to his marrow, far more than he had anticipated or been ready for if he was being honest.

The next thing Madara did happened completely by happenstance. He was eating lunch with Tobirama in the albino’s office a few days later, carefully measuring out how much attention to pay the younger man so as to not put him off his food, when a Nara Madara didn’t know entered the room and... something changed. It was a little startling actually, Madara hadn’t realized how much Tobirama had let him in until the walls snapped up again and the man eyed the Nara with cold, impatient eyes as he said “Yes?” in a crisp tone. The Nara inched closer, a hungry, greedy look on his face and instinctively Madara flared his own chakra, letting it fill the room thick, heavy, and menacing as he cleared his throat and the Nara’s eye snapped to him. The man paled at the sight of Madara and quailed slightly, unimpressed Madara quirked a brow and let his chakra churn slightly until the man stuttered out an apology and hightailed out of the room. There was a pause and Madara took another bite, shoving back the need to ask what that was about, better to let Tobirama tell him if he wanted to without pushing instead.

“Thank you” Tobirama murmured, not looking at Madara and there was only the slightest flush over his cheekbones. It was nice, seeing him pleased and grateful but not on his guard or shocked, he didn’t need the protection but – well, it was often harder to defend yourself than it was to have another do it, especially when it was Madara and many found him terrifying no matter what. Actually, now that Madara thought about it, Tobirama had never been afraid of him; had never flinched from his presence or chakra and he hadn’t met Madara’s eyes for a long time, but Madara could easily understand the caution and well trained instinct in that, not fear. It was…nice, honestly. As was the quiet time they spent together just eating and being in the same room, sometimes talking about work and sometimes not as Madara worked on the third step; desensitizing Tobirama to his presence. Getting him used to not only Madara’s presence and chakra but also his attention and acknowledgement – which seemed much harder for the albino; Tobirama seemed to have no problem with it when Madara was in the room if he wasn’t paying attention to the younger man, it was when Madara focused on him that Tobirama tensed up and it was honestly rather nice to see Tobirama getting better with it. Not with the praise and such but at least with attention or Madara asking his thoughts and opinions.

It was thrilling as coaxing any wild thing was and even better because the more Madara asked for his thoughts the more he wanted to hear them; Tobirama was not only brilliant, he had a imaginative, sideways take on the world that fascinated Madara. He wanted to know what Tobirama thought about everything, wanted to see how Tobirama reacted to everything and what it took to get a smile on that stern face, wanted to sit and watch that clever, clever mind work through problems and if it took a while for Tobirama to be ready to let him in so far, well, Madara didn’t mind too much.