Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away

Two green eyes that shone like emeralds stared into warm brown ones. The green eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the girl, no, a woman stand, unwavering a few feet away from the bank of the river. She was trying to hide it, trying extremely hard, but his Chihiro had always been easy to read. She had improved of course, he hadn't noticed how upset she truly was until he noticed the slight sparkle in the corner of her eyes. Tears threatening to spill down her pink dusted cheeks, and it shattered his heart. He had been watching her for all these years, he had seen her cry herself to sleep many a night, but this was different. She was crying because of him.

He couldn't stand the silence, watching Chihiro silently fight with herself, but what was he to say? Nothing he could say would make this any less painful, for both of them. He had regretted wiping her memories so much – but he never had a choice. He never had a choice about anything, there was rules to be followed. He was one of the most powerful spirits in the region, if he broke the rules then what would that say to the others? He would put both the humans and spirits in danger.

It was too late to apologize, too late to make excuses. That's what it was, excuses. They could never be together, but he longed for it. He longed to be with her, to live with her, but it was impossible. She knew it too, but she would die fighting to make it happen. Why was he so scared of her doing so?

His sensitive ears picked up movement and he snapped to attention, his eyes widening slightly at the human in front of him. Her cheeks were now shiny, wet, and she was shivering. An upset rumble echoed through his throat and before he realized what he was doing, he had outstretched towards Chihiro and wrapped around her. He felt her shock, her hate, her love, so many conflicting feelings. So many feelings, echoing his own.

Chihiro didn't want to cry. She told herself she wouldn't cry, no matter what. She didn't, not until Haku averted his eyes and seemed to lose himself in thought. Then the tears started spilling over her cheeks. She went to cover her eyes with her hands, force herself to stop, wipe away all evidence. When her hands touched her face she immediately jolted them back away from her face. They were so cold, like ice. Chihiro then realized her whole body was absolutely freezing, she was shaking like a leaf.

Chihiro cursed herself for being such an idiot, of course it would be freezing cold! It was fall and probably around one in the morning! She caught movement from the corner of her eye and she tried to jolt backwards, but of course she didn't move fast enough, it was Haku after all. He had come out of the river slightly and had wrapped his head around her, lying it right in front of her. She was shocked, for sure, his eyes had been so cold a minute earlier, but now here he was, keeping her warm.

He was so warm, just like she remembered. More tears wet her cheek and she collapsed wrapping her arms around Haku's head and burying her fingers in his dark green hair. She felt him jolt and try to pull away for a second before relaxing again. Her eyes were closed as she cried silently, her face pressed against the white fur on his cheek. She felt his eyes on her for a long while before the feeling went away, and what sounded like a cats purr rumbled through his body for a mere second.

They stayed like that for hours, Haku finally moving his head slightly when slight pink and orange appeared on the horizon. Chihiro remained still, she had been exhausted she had fallen asleep. Haku slowly and carefully raised his head more, waking Chihiro. She let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes, sitting up and leaning against his neck, opposite to his head. A small smile appeared on his long muzzle, his adorable little Chihiro. He felt his heart ache a little when she finally fully opened her beautiful brown eyes and looked up at him, a small smile appearing on her own face.

"I missed you"

Those words alone made Haku's heart melt. A happy rumble echoed through his throat and he bumped her gently, he didn't need to talk. She understood. She hugged his muzzle slightly and he felt a few more tears fall onto his white fur. Another, more upset sounding rumble. Chihiro sniffled and nodded a little, leaning back and wiping her tears away. Looking back up at Haku, she saw something completely different from last night. Haku's emerald eyes were sad and full of regret, causing her to let out a small sob and hug him. She felt his hot breath on her back and a rumble in his throat as he muttered two simple words.

"I'm sorry"

Chihiro let out another small sob and clutched him tighter, to the point where he thought she would rip some of his fur out, before she let go and stood up. He let out a confused noise, lifting his head so it was level with hers. She gave him a small smile and kissed his nose, such a heartfelt gesture. He thought his heart would burst, she would never have any idea how much he had missed her by his side.

"It's alright Haku. We're together now, and I'm going to help you"

He let out a slightly happy noise and nodded, bumping his nose into her chest, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again. Those sad eyes again, Chihiro let out another small smile and hugged his muzzle. They remained like that for another long while before Haku pulled away, making a concerned noise he motioned to the sky with his head. The sky was turning blue, it was well past dawn. Chihiro nodded in understanding and kissed his muzzle again.

"I will be back tonight, I promise"

Haku let out a mix between a sad and happy noise and uncurled himself from around her, moving back towards the river. They both exchanged sad glances before he dived into the river, and Chihiro clutched the emerald necklace tightly, causing her to vanish in an almost clear puff of smoke.