Strangely, what surprised him the most was that it took them this long to discover it. They had known each other since that day by the riverside long ago, when Hashirama and Madara 's budding friendship had come to a halt on the order of their fathers. They had crossed each other in battle countless times, although usually they had battled each other 's sibling. For god 's sake they had both helped to build a village and run it for years side by side with Hashirama.

And only now did they actually touch for the first time. Only now did they discover that they were soul mates.

Tobirama inspected the handprint on his bicep that had not been there a moment ago. The mark of where his soulmate first touched him would never fade. It would decorate his skin for the rest of his life, marking him as one who had found their perfect compliment. He was fascinated to see that the fingertips, if one looked closely enough, even included the whorls and lines of Madara 's fingerprints. He was also pleased by the rich red color. It matched the markings on his face. When he looked over, Madara was staring at the freshly blossomed mark as well with shock in his expression.

They had been training together ' another first. Usually Tobirama trained with his brother or his cousin Touka. The sleeveless top he wore for training bared more skin than he had probably ever shown to Uchiha Madara before. When he thought about it, it made sense. They didn 't have much interaction outside of work, where he typically wore formal robes or battle armor, depending on the day 's duties. When Madara had grabbed his arm in an attempt to start their spar by throwing him, it had felt like a lightning bolt went straight through him.

'Is that what I think it is? ' Madara 's voice came out slightly high pitched, making the corners of Tobirama 's mouth twitch up.

'A soul mark, yes, ' he agreed. The older man 's eye twitched.

'That 'seems unlikely. ' When Tobirama did nothing more than smirk harder and raise an eyebrow, Madara scowled. 'We 've been at peace for years! How could we never have touched? '

Tobirama shrugged and pointed out, 'We both wear gloves, usually. And neither of us are inclined towards public nudity, so there weren 't a lot of chances I suppose. ' He took pleasure in Madara 's spluttering and the red spreading across those aristocratic cheekbones. His companion harrumphed moodily.

'Well it still seems unlikely, ' he insisted. 'Did you feel anything?

I

didn 't feel anything. '

With a roll of his eyes, Tobirama reached out and grasped Madara 's shirt. Employing the speed he was famous for, he barely gave Madara time to squeak before he had lifted the shirt and pressed his palm to the other man 's chest, directly over his heart. It was gratifying to watch him twitch as, presumably, the same lightning sensation frazzled along his nerves. When he pulled his palm away an imprint of his hand remained, this one colored in blue.

Madara stared at the mark, his mouth working with no words coming out. His gaze shifted from Tobirama to the soul mark and back again several times before he lifted his own hand to trace it gently, almost reverently. Then he swallowed thickly.

'I see, ' he murmured quietly. Finally his eyes held Tobirama 's own. 'Soul mates, eh? '

'So it would seem. ' Tobirama crossed his arms and waited. Madara was an unpredictable sort of person and he was still a bit wary of a negative reaction. Surprisingly, the man only nodded his head slowly.

'Well, ' he said a bit distantly. 'At least the clan elders won 't be bothering me about heirs anymore. I can 't see you carrying any children for me. '

After a beat of surprise, Tobirama burst out laughing. Madara later told him that it was the first time he had heard him laugh. It was also the moment that he fell in love.