I invited him to have dinner with us in our court. I could see he hesitated, not wanting to meet Hanu, but I convinced him.

I had met Hanu before inviting Tobirama, and he was eager to meet the Snowmonster, and make amends for their last meeting. He was a people's person.

Tobirama, however, was not.

The dinner was incredibly tense at first, at least from Tobirama's side. Hanu, on the other hand, chatted happily about everything, in the language of our home country which I had taught him during the years we'd had together. He asked Tobirama a million questions about his battles, which he politely answered. Hanu didn't seem to notice Tobirama's unwillingness, and if he did, he ignored it. But it worked. After a while, I could see Tobirama warming up to him. After our dinner, I was going to sketch on something in my room, and Hanu said he would take Tobirama to the stables to see our oriental horses.

"I'll pass", he declined, but followed Hanu anyways.

From my window what night, I could see Tobirama and Hanu riding together, Tobirama needing only minutes to adjust to the horse's sensitive mouth, barely needing a change of weight in the fingers on the reins to respond. Before I knew it, they were chasing each other, Tobirama winning easily on his cream-coloured horse, mane and tail as white as the hair that had given Tobirama his war name. An hour or so later, they came tumbling into the door, crystal glasses of wine in hand. They had clearly drunk a lot already.

"Izuna, do you mind-" Hanu hiccupped. "Do you mind us hanging out here with you?"

I smiled.

"Not at all."

This could be very interesting.

"Tobirama!" Hanu screamed.

"Don't scream!!" Tobirama screamed. "I'm right next to you, motherfucker!!"

"Sorry, fatherfucker!!" Clearly new words Hanu had been taught by Tobirama. "Okay okay..." Hanu started whispering, but loudly enough so you could hear it in my home country. He gestured for Tobirama to come closer so he could whisper in his ear. I couldn't help but turning around and watching them from my desk as they sat on the sofa on the opposite side of the room. "What is your deepest secret?"

"Let me tell you!! You see this?!" He shoved his scar into Hanu's face. Tears were streaming down my face from held-back laughter. "It's not from war. It was my drunk friend pretending my head was lettuce!"

Tobirama slapped his thigh and laughed heartily. I saw so much of my father in him then, it caused me physical pain. Hanu was quiet, frowning in the way he did when he thought about something really complicated. Then, it went up to him, and he started laughing, too.

"Lettuce!!" he screamed.

They laughed for a while, congratulating each other on their outstanding wittiness. I was beside myself; this was the best entertainment I had ever seen.

"Okay, okay, but now..." Hanu leaned in so he could whisper dramatically into Tobirama's ear, then proceeded to scream. "Do you wanna fuck my ex-husband?!"

I choked on all that was holy.

Tobirama grabbed Hanu's shoulders with passion.

"I WANNA FUCK HIM SO HARD HE WILL HAVE TO CRAWL BACK HOME!!"

I hid my face in my hands and felt so much second-hand embarrassment I wanted to throw up, yet I was also crying of laughter. 

Thankfully, they calmed down within the coming hour, and their conversation took on a deeper, more serious tone. I saw Tobirama's eyes flicker towards me several times as I turned to look over my shoulder. They spoke about difficult things. Tobirama told him calmly about how his parents had abandoned him at the doorsteps of the king when he was six, and that he still thought about it, even now. I hadn't known this. Hanu told him how scared he was to not live up to his father's expectations as a king and that the country wouldn't accept his future wife as she came from a poor family. It was past midnight when Hanu bid goodnight and left us.

Several minutes passed when I just looked down on my sketch, finishing it up. It was rare nowadays that I sketched for myself, for pure enjoyment, as people all over the orient hired me to build things for them. I had my back turned to him; it burned with his gaze.

"I know you've been looking at my left ring finger", I finally said, still bent over my paper. "I know you've noticed I'm not wearing a ring. Me and Hanu are not married. We divorced when he accepted I would never love him. We are friends."

I heard Tobirama stand up, walk towards my desk and stop just behind me. He breathed so silently, I could easily pretend he wasn't there.

But I didn't want to.

I turned round, looked at him.

"I have thought of what you said. I'm not as naive as to believe you're a whole different person. But I don't want you to be. You know how I like to group people together. Good or bad. Just or unfair. It's all so black and white to me. But what about..." I looked to the side to be able to think without the distraction of his intense gaze, how he licked at his lip piercing the way I've noticed he did when he was very focussed on something. "What about another type of grouping? Those who learn from past mistakes, and those who do not?" I looked up at him. "Do you learn from past mistakes, Tobirama? Do you wish to grow?"

His face was set in stone.

"The only thing keeping us apart is your decision", he said. "I have given you my apology, my prince. It's the most valuable thing I have to offer your highness. If I believed I had something even more valuable, I would give that to you instead. Without blinking."

"I accept your apology."

He looked taken aback, as if he were unable to comprehend my words. I saw a whole life pass before his eyes, not just the past but also the future. His face went through every emotion there was on the planet to go through before it came back to his favourite emotion, which was me.

Finally, he spoke.

"Then I have everything within me to give."

I stood up.

He closed the space in between us, turning the eternity that would separate us forever into nothing.