Well, I'm not much as slash writers go, but I tried. ;) You didn't ask for it and it's not your birthday, but regardless, this one's for you, Jesse. Thanks for being so nice.

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"Haku," the gruff man growled, annoyed and beginning to loose his patience. "Just leave it. We're going to be late."

The younger boy looked up from his position, squatted by a dilapidated cardboard box. There was a sign attached that read "Please Adopt Us". A single kitten, purring against his hand, looked up as he stopped petting.

"But Zabuza—he'll die!" The boy's chocolate eyes were pleading with the older man, his full lips pulled down in a frown.

"It's none of our business, Haku. It's a sink or swim world. I shouldn't have to tell you that. Now come on."

The slim boy extracted his hand and turned his back on the kitten, following obediently, as was proper. He didn't look back, but the thought of those big eyes and that soft fluff against his fingers stayed with him throughout the day, through the mission they weren't late for, and all the way back home. He sat pensively by the window, Zabuza sharpening his sword behind him. "It's raining," the small boy said.

"Thanks for the update," Zabuza murmured. Time was he wouldn't have responded to such a statement at all, but he and Haku had grown close over the years and he knew that the boy didn't speak without purpose. If Haku commented that it was raining, it meant more than that there was water pouring from the clouds above.

"It was snowing that day. Do you remember?"

It wasn't really clear what he was talking about, but Zabuza understood. "Of course." How could he forget? The day he adopted Haku had been the day he stopped being lonely.

The two of them lapsed back into silence as Haku continued to watch the weather and Zabuza finished working on his sword. The tall man stood to put the large weapon on the wall where it belonged, when he wasn't using it, and Haku moved at the same time.

"I'm going out." The boy moved towards the door, apparently with the intent to grab a coat before wandering out into the dark.

"No."

Haku stopped, hand on his coat. He slowly let his arm fall back to his side as he turned to face his master. "I have to."

"Not tonight."

"You're worried about a little rain?" Though he didn't say the words out loud, his eyes got the message across: I thought you had a higher opinion of me than that.

"Aren't you?"

Haku frowned. Zabuza clearly knew what he was up to and wasn't about to let him go through with it. "Of course. Why would I go, if I wasn't worried?"

"Everything dies sometime, Haku."

"It can be later, rather than sooner, though."

"Haku," Zabuza growled. "I thought I raised you better than all of this bleeding heart nonsense. You can't save every stray you meet on the street."

"I can't even save one?" the sadness in the boy's words was clear. Zabuza glared at him, daring him to say the next sentence. When the boy spoke, it came out a whisper. "You did."

"There are a lot of things you shouldn't follow my example on," the tall man snarled.

Haku cringed, but then his eyes hardened. "We don't have to keep it forever. Just until the rain stops. Please?"

"The rain will always come back. What will you do to persuade me when it's snowing again?"

The small boy frowned and looked down at his feet, but refused to back down. He turned his gaze back to the tall man in front of him. "I can't make you let me go. All I can do is beg. Please. Please, Zabuza." He could feel his eyes begin to shine with water, and knew his master could tell.

The man growled in frustration, but sighed and stepped to the side, relenting. Haku let out a much smaller sigh of his own—one of relief, rather than exasperation. He grabbed his coat quickly and rushed through the door, almost closing it on Zabuza's fingers. "What—?"

"I'm not about to let you wander around in the city in the rain after dark by yourself. Especially not over some dumb cat."

Haku's smile was hidden as he turned quickly to head toward the place where he had found the kitten that morning. The streets were dark, and it was really coming down, so at first when he arrived at the place he wondered if he had gotten lost, or was on the wrong block.

"This is the place, isn't it?" Zabuza asked.

Haku nodded. "It is, but…" there was no dilapidated cardboard box, no adorable little kitten with light fluffy fur and big eyes. A pile of rags in the corner shifted and made an odd moaning sound, and Haku and Zabuza started.

"Just an old man. And no, we can't take him home instead. Listen, somebody with a bigger heart than me probably showed up here after we left and took the damn thing home already. I bet it's safe and dry and well fed, with someone to lavish attention on it properly." The eloquent words sounded odd in the mercenary's gravelly voice.

Haku nodded, but hesitated when Zabuza turned to go. "Wait," he said.

The swordsman turned back. "What?" It was years of practicing patience with his tool that kept his reply short, as opposed to a snarled 'what is it now?' He had been prepared to suffer the rain for a minimal amount of time and a good cause—the cause of happy Haku—but this was getting ridiculous. They were both getting soaked, and it was late, and even though the mission today hadn't been difficult, it had been tedious, and he really just wanted to be at home.

"There." The slim boy didn't point, but Zabuza followed the direction of his gaze and realized what he must have meant. There, leaned sideways up against the wall, was the sign. "Please Adopt Us" was only barely legible, the writing smeared by the rainwater. Haku moved to go to it, but Zabuza grabbed his arm, looking furtively at the pile of rags a few feet away. "It's okay," Haku said quietly. Zabuza released him almost reluctantly, keeping a wary eye.

Haku moved slowly to the sign, reaching out tentatively to flip it down to the ground. There the kitten lay, curled up tight in a small shivering ball of damp fluff. Haku wasted no time, reaching out quickly to grab the precious bundle and cuddle it close to his chest. "Can we go now?" the tall man growled. His small companion replied only with a sweet smile.

"Zah-ah-Zabuza," Haku struggled to pant out the name. His master could make it so difficult to focus, sometimes.

"Mm?" The larger man moved on top of his tool, kissing and sucking along the collarbone. Several marks, ranging from old and nearly faded to newly glistening, were visible. Haku squirmed, letting out breathy little moans for the friction between their bodies.

They had arrived home, drenched through after Haku's impromptu excursion into the city, and the boy had barely time enough to situate his new kitten in a warm and soft environment before his master was pulling him to the bedroom, discarding wet clothing along the way. They had kissed fiercely, roaming each other's bodies first with hands and then, after breaking apart to breathe, with lips and tongues. Their foreplay, as was often the case, did not last long. There was no real desire for romanticism tonight—just a need for instant joining, reassurance of the health, safety, and well-being of their partners.

"Haku," Zabuza half-whispered, slowing his movements momentarily, perching himself on his forearms above his young lover.

"Ah," the boy panted beneath him, whining his annoyance at the still man above him. His skin was flushed and rosy now, and Zabuza thought randomly that he was glad the boy had warmed up: they had both been so cold when they arrived home earlier…

Zabuza moved to kiss him hungrily, biting his lower lip gently as he moved to kiss the edge of his lips, his jaw, and finally latch on to his neck. The boy moaned again, doe eyes closing tightly as he arched into his master's touch. The mist demon ground their hips together and the pale boy nearly screamed his pleasure as he felt the other man's hands resume their exploration of his body. He had learned early that Zabuza preferred him vocal.

"Zabuza," he panted softly. "Zabuza, please."

His entry was swift, not overly gentle with his well-practiced partner, and immensely gratifying. Climax, when it came minutes later, was even more so, and the two men lay together basking in their pleasure after. They breathed together, quietly enjoying each other's company, until an odd sound like a soft whine wormed its way into their consciousness.

"Tell me you aren't making that noise, Haku," Zabuza said when the sound refused to stop repeating itself.

"I'll go find out what it is," the slim boy assured him, rolling out of bed before the mist demon could launch a protest. The sound of his young partner's gasp brought him instantly out of his bed in pursuit, finding the pale boy kneeling in the front doorway, holding something small in his arms.

"Haku," Zabuza growled warningly. He knew that posture.

Haku spun, and Zabuza immediately saw the creature in his arms. "Can't we keep him, Zabuza?" the boy asked, hope shining in his eyes. "Please?"

"Haku…" Zabuza replied, preparing to refuse. Haku looked at him, trust and longing clearly visible in his gaze, and he relented with a sigh. "Fine. But don't expect me to look after him."

Haku's face lit up in a brilliant smile, and the puppy in his arms, as though realizing that it had scored a warm, safe home, sneezed and wagged its tail.

Outside, the rain pounded ever harder against the roof.