"Madara?" she mouthed in question. The man silently sat beside her and lay his hand on her thigh, giving it a light squeeze. He looked her over, noticing how exhausted she looked and wondered when the last time she slept was. With a light sigh, he carefully snuck an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer to him.

Being here at the cliff, miles and miles from Konohagakure and being near him made her problems seem more distant. She let herself relax into his side while her head rested gently on his broad shoulder. A tired smile was on her lips as she closed her eyes and fought off sleep; however, the longer she struggled to stay awake, the more her body began to betray her. Her legs were sore from the running, while her ribs were aching from the sobs she had released earlier.

In a soft voice, she whispered, "Madara, I'm tired..."

"Then rest, my love. I'll be here when you wake," he replied, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.

She slowly drifted off to sleep and dreamt of the boys and Madara while the clan leader silently held her head in his lap and stroked her hair. She looked so peaceful lying there as her chest rose and fell evenly. Madara traced the outlines of her figure with his fingers, thinking of how much he loved the soft curve of her hips. A smirk pulled on his face as he thought about their first night together and how she had captured his soul as she made love to him.

Being with her in that way had been so natural, so perfect, that he knew it had to be more than coincidence that they met one another. It was his belief that fate had brought them together for the purpose of teaching him love once more. He let out a deep breath and whispered to the sleeping girl, "You have no idea just how precious you are to me..."

Hours passed and Sen's eyes finally began to flutter open. She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before sitting up. Madara had drifted to sleep as well, but upon her movements, the shinobi had also woken up. They smiled at one another gently while Sen laced her fingers with his.

The sun had set while they were sleeping, and now the stars glittered brightly in the sky. The night was peaceful as crickets chirped and a soft breeze passed through the valley. Sen raised her eyes to the dark void and asked, "Do you think the stars are prettier here or in Konoha?"

"It depends where you are."

Sen cocked her head and asked, "What do you mean?"

He gave her hand a squeeze and replied casually, "The stars always look much prettier with you under them."

Butterflies spread across her stomach at his words. Her skin reddened while a bashful smile played on her lips. She whispered, "That's sweet of you to say."

Madara hummed in reply while raising his eyes to the stars. He watched as the little white dots flickered. Before meeting Sen, he had never cared much about the sky, but she had a passion for keeping her eyes raised to the heavens. As time passed with her, Madara found himself paying more and more attention to the clouds and stars. His eyes roamed the dark canvas as he worked up the nerve to speak once more.

"Sen," he breathed steadily, keeping his eyes raised to the sky.

"Yeah?"

Madara dropped his gaze to meet her. Her pretty face in the moonlight brought a lopsided smile to his face. He then said, "We should get married."

Sen's eyes widened a bit at his suggestion. "What about Tobirama?" she whispered.

"Fuck Tobirama."

She swallowed hard and asked in a breathless whisper, "So... Are you asking me to marry you?"

"Mhmm," he hummed, "I guess I am."

A laugh escaped from her mouth and Madara's face fell. His mouth was gaped as his skin began to drain of color. She noticed his embarrassment and shook her head gently before raising her hand to his cheek and asking, "And why do you want to marry me, Madara Uchiha?"

"Well... I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he admitted, his dark eyes warm and soft, looking into her soul and taking her shallow breaths hostage. "And when you come to that conclusion, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as it possibly can."

Her pale eyes gleamed with thrilled tears. Her lips crashed to his, taking him by surprise. She pulled away from him, pressing her nose against his. Their eyes remained locked together while Sen's heart was threatening to burst from her chest. In a content voice, she replied, "I'd hate to keep you waiting any longer then."

The stars seemed to brighten after that. Sen and Madara held one another close while the sky danced its nightly performance. As she felt peace for the first time in what seemed like forever, she remembered the last time she had been on this cliff with Sora.

"I hope the next time I'm here..." Sen spoke before pausing to feel the gentle breeze once again on her skin. She opened her eyes slowly to the stars, watching the diamonds swim in the sea of onyx, before continuing, "...That the stars will look down upon a life filled with love."

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