Thanks for all the great reviews, guys :) I hope to get a lot more as this goes on. And yes, there WILL be lemons (I put several lemons in my stories; If you're really just CRAVING sex, go check out some of my others) but unlike some of my other fics, this did not start out with Zabuza and Haku in an established relationship (In fact, they're supposed to be meeting for the first time) . I'm not a huge fan of promiscuity in real life and I don't like to have it in my fics. And, I want this story to be sort of lengthy. So no, I'm not going to have Zabuza boning Haku the first day he met him. You guys are just going to have to be patient and let it progress at a normal pace. Sorry if that sounded pissy, I didn't mean for it to D;
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Zabuza looked around the room, appreciatively. It was as big as the rest of the house, and really nice for just a guest room. He made a noise in his throat when he saw the connecting bathroom. It was small compared to the rest of the house, but it was large compared to anything he had ever had. And it was his, at least for now. Maybe this job would be a lot more pleasant than he had originally thought. The members of the family seemed friendly at least. He had a fleeting image of Haku's black doe eyes, which were a little solemn, but he could have sworn he saw flashes of pure kindness in them in certain moments.
He growled, pushing other fleeting images of the strange little boy from his mind firmly, insisting to himself that the only reason the boy kept popping up in his brain was because he had never met anyone like that before. . . Which was true.
The man thought back on the conversation he had with Jaken Hoshigaki. A few subjects seemed to make the man a little terse, but he was obviously trusting Zabuza with a huge responsibility. He was sure Gatou had spent a long time convincing the man that his employees were to be trusted. Zabuza wasn't sure about all Gatou's employees, but he was certain that he, himself, had no malintent toward the family or the son.
He sat on the bed, testing it. It was very comfortable. Definitely an improvement from the shithole apartment he currently resided in, with a hard, thin mattress haphazardly thrown on his bedroom floor with a ratty comforter over it.
The plumbing where he lived was so bad, he often had to rush thorugh his shower, taking less than 2 or 3 minutes, before the water turned ice cold. He would have bet anything that the hot water heater in this place provided enough water for however long of a shower he might need.
A nice nightstand with a small lamp was beside his bed, and a matching dresser on the other side of them room, where he could keep his clothes. Not that he needed an entire dresser for that. And he usually kept his clothes in a pile in the corner of his bedroom.
"Come in!" He said. Haku walked in, pausing just a few feet in.
"Sorry to bother you again." He said shyly. "But, uhm. . . Tira is doing laundry very soon, and I was going to tell you that if you have clothes that need washed, you might want to put them in the laundry room."
"Tira?"
"Our maid." He explained. He backed up so that he was behind the door again.
"Where is the laundry room?" He asked after a second. He realized he had cut his tour of the house short after the. . . Incident.
"I'll show you." Haku said, then cleared his throat, his eyes downcast. "Unless you would rather have someone else do it."
So he wasn't an idiot. He had definitely noticed how uncomfortable the man had been, and how abruptly he had closed the door on him, pretty much in his face.
"No. . . You're a great tour guide." Zabuza said slowly. He didn't want to be put in the situation to be staring at those long thighs again, but he also didn't want Haku to think he didn't want to be around him. He had a feeling the crossdressing teenager had a lot of people who preferred not to be around him due to being uncomfortable (but probably not in the way Zabuza had been), and probably were not very subtle about it. "I was just. . . I wanted to look at where I'd be staying, is all." He improvised.
"Oh." Haku said, his face brightening a little. "I thought. . . Mm, never mind." He decided, smiling a very small serene smile. "Oh!" He said suddenly. "You said you have to get your things from your house, right? You'd better hurry, Kisa said she's going to start the washing really soon."
"Oh, I uh. . ." Zabuza didn't know how long it would take him to gather up his pitiful belongings, but he knew it probably wouldn't be in time for the laundry. No big deal, anyway. Not like he couldn't wear the same t-shirt twice. "My apartment is a little ways from here, and it will take a little while to pack stuff up."
"I can help." The boy said sunnily, running a hard through his hair, still smiling a little.
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Despite Zabuza's protests that Haku didn't want to see his ratty apartment, travel to the poor inner city, or help him pack up his crap, the coy teenager had managed to convince the man he could be a big help. And when Zabuza had suggested Haku tell Jaken where he was going, the boy had lost his smile again, telling the swordsman softly that he was fine to go wherever he wanted, as long as his guardian was with him. And had agreed to let the boy come with him to his apartment. After all, it was his job to go everywhere with the kid now, right?
So they had loaded into Zabuza's car, the floorboards littered with wrappers and receipts and other pieces of trash, to Zabuza's slight embarrassment. Haku didn't seem to notice though, and if he did, he wasn't perturbed by it.
Suddenly though, the man froze, his hand on the ignition. "Wait. I thought you said you weren't allowed out."
"Not without my bodyguard." Haku explained.
". . . Am I your first?"
Haku frowned, shaking his head. "Second."
"What happened to the first?" Zabuza asked, turning the key and cranking up the car. He was sure that the old model wasn't what the boy was used to. He had probably been driven around in limousines and expensive luxury cars.
"I don't really wanna talk about it." Haku said quietly.
"Okay." Zabuza said, glancing over at him and noticing with disdain that the sad look was back. He must have had it nearly all the time.
"He was fired, though." Haku said, as though not to leave the man completely in the dark about it.
"Oh." Zabuza said. He was mystified. What could his former had done to get fired? Hopefully, nothing to harm the boy. Why do you care? A voice nagged him in his head. He's just a job. Zabuza mentally scowled. Of course the kid was just a job, but did that mean he wanted him to get hurt? No. In fact, it was his job to completely prevent him from being hurt in any way. "Well, I'll try not to get fired." He said, the sound of Haku's soft laugh brushing across his ears like feathers, making him want to scratch them.
"Okay." He said, then hesitated. "I'll try not to get you fired." He said quietly. Zabuza's eyes widened a little.
"Oh, did he get fired, or did you get him fired?" He asked. What was he doing asking all of these questions? It was like the dark-eyed boy brought out a curiousity in him that had lain dormant for all of his previous life. Maybe he just liked to hear that wonderful voice. It was a long time before Haku answered, but after awhile he let out a whimper.
"I. . ." Haku looked up at him, suddenly looking very young, and very distressed. "I didn't mean to." He said, his voice nearly inaudible. A feeling of absolute dread and horror washed over Zabuza as he watched one fat tear slip out of the boy's eye, spreading a little over his thick bottom lashes, then streak down his smooth cheek, leaving a sheen. "I really didn't." He said again, his breath shuddering out.
"I believe you." Zabuza said quickly, keeping his eyes on the road. Jesus Christ, if there was one thing he couldn't handle, it was someone crying in front of him. He wanted to pull over to the side of the road or something, but he knew that might just make it worse. Best just to try to smooth it over, he supposed. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault." He said, wondering if it really had been.
"Mother and Father told me it wasn't. But he told me it was." He said quietly, rubbing furiously at his eyes, making them red and puffy.
"He, who?" Zabuza said, keeping his eyes firmly in front of him. It would be spectacular to have a car wreck with the boy the first day he was supposed to be keeping him safe.
"M-my last bodyguard. Pain." He said, looking down at his knees, pressing them together and laying his hands on them.
"Pain Rikudo?" Zabuza blurted out before he could stop himself. The man worked for someone else, for a different company, but he had met him before. He had seemed kind of cruel to be bodyguard to a young boy. Like you're much better.
"Yes. You know him?" Haku asked, a twinge of fear in his voice that he tried to hide.
"Not really. I've met him, but we aren't friends or anything." Zabuza said. He wasn't extremely skilled in reading other people's emotions, especially someone as secretive and pensieve as Haku, but he could tell just thinking about the orange-haired man was a little frightening to him. ". . . It was at least a year or so ago." He added.
"That was before it happened." Haku said quietly. "I think. . . I think when my Father fired him, he was fired from where he worked, too. I bet he was angry." For someone who hadn't wanted to talk about it, Haku was certainly talking about it. But he didn't seem to be crying anymore, so that was a plus. Zabuza was much more used to seeing people break down and bawl, rather than shed one small tear and be finished. The boy had probably been embarassed at crying in front of a man. "That's why my parents started requesting services from where you work. So they could see if. . . Well, I don't know. Someone who was more reliable." He finished quickly. What had happened with his previous guard was obviously a tender, and sticky subject.
"I will protect you to the best of my abilities." The brown-haired man said firmly. Haku glanced over at him through lowered lashes.
"Yes. I'm sure you will."
They said nothing for several minutes, until Zabuza noticed the boy prop his knees up on the dashboad, leaning back on the seat. He was peering out of the window, obviously enthralled by the less-than-beautiful scenery around them. Filthy streets, filthy people. Prostitutes and drug dealers littered the corners, though the man wondered if Haku would recoginize them as such. He was obviously feeling mellow and comfortable, so he assumed it might be a good time to gently explore the situation a little more. After all, he needed to know what to avoid as the boy's constant escort. He didn't want to "fuck it up", as Gatou had said. Zabuza's eyebrows rose a little as the realization dawned on him, the reason why the fat man had warned him to be careful. He obviously knew about what had happened the last time the boy had been given someone to guard him.
"Do you think it was your fault?" He asked, making a turn into a parking lot. They were at his place now.
Haku looked at him straight in the eyes for the first time since they he had been riding. "I'm not sure. I probably could have done a little less to provoke it, but I didn't do anything on purpose."
"Well if it whatever you did was an accident, then it wasn't your fault. Accidents happen."
Haku nodded slowly. "I guess so." He looked up at the brick building, the man's apartment. "Are we here?"
"Yeah. I live on the second floor." Zabuza explained, waiting for Haku to exit the car and close the door. They walked through the entry-way and up the stairs, Haku asking several questions along the way about the city. He seemed to be genuinely interested in all of it, meager as it was. The guardian supposed it was because all he had ever been exposed to in his life had been perfect and clean and pristine.
When they got into his one-bedroom abode, Haku's eyes widened at the messiness. Zabuza could tell, but ignored it. "You live here?" He asked, turning in a slow circle to survey it all.
"Yes." Zabuza deadpanned. "For several years now. Cozy, isn't it?"
Haku turned to face him again, a genuine smile on his face, albeit a small one. "But it's yours."
". . . Yeah?"
"You don't think it's nice to have something all to yourself? Nobody to tell you what to do, or tell you what to wear. People can't say 'You aren't allowed to go out unless someone is with you.", isn't that right?"
"Well, yeah. I'm an adult." And he's a child.
"I almost am." Haku said quietly, noting the puzzled look on the man's face. "I'm 17." Zabuza knew his feelings on the subject were probably evident by the shock on his face.
"You're really 17?? I thought you were. . ." About 14. "Younger." He said quickly.
"Everyone thinks that. Everyone looks at me and thinks I'm a little girl. But I'm almost a grown man." He could detect a slight bitterness in Haku's voice.
"If you don't like everyone thinking you're a girl, why do you dress like that?"
Haku shrugged, blushing. He glanced down at himself and suddenly felt an enormous amount of self-conciousness. He resisted the urge to tug at the bottom of his shorts to cover himself a little bit. "This is what I like to wear." He repeated. "And it doesn't matter anyway." He went on. "People would think I'm a girl even if I cut my hair short and wore boy clothes. Deidara wears male clothing and people mistake him for a woman sometimes. I guess it's just genetics."
"But not Kisame?"
Haku laughed. Again, the sound seemed to affect the older male physically, though he didn't know why. And frankly, it was beginning to bother him. "No way. Kisame is. . . Manly." He decided on the word. "Would you mistake him for a girl?"
"No." Zabuza grinned. "But maybe you or Deidara, on the right day." He said honestly.
"Yeah." Haku agreed. "I think maybe we take after Mother, and he takes after Father, but I'm not really sure. Mother has blonde hair and blue eyes, like Dei-kun." He said, using his pet name for his brother. And Father has darker features, like Kisame and I, but. . . Hm. I don't really know." He said, still smiling.
They packed all of Zabuza's stuff fairly quickly, but it still took longer than anticipated, from all of the talking. When the man hoisted the 2 medium sized suitcases up on his shoulder and began walking out of the building after locking up his door, Haku frowned.
"I can help carry one of those." He said, and Zabuza shook his head.
"I've got them, no problem." He said, which was true. He could carry 10x this amount, if need be. He shoved them in the backseat of his car, and got in the driver's seat, waiting for Haku to meticulously put his seatbelt on and get settled before starting the car again. It was evening now, but the stars weren't plainly visible. Too much light from the street corners and buildings.
But when Zabuza decided to take another route to make up some time by taking another route, passing a huge wall, Haku gasped out loud, turning and pressing his face against the window. "Oh, Zabuza, look!" He had never called the man by his name before. The escort decided he liked the sound of it, coming out in that melodic voice. It was husky and soft, but it had a pitch to it that he knew could make a person just sit and listen for hours, or at least he could. Sit and listen to him for hours? What the fuck are you thinking, Momochi?
"What?" Zabuza asked, ignoring the nagging voice in his head again. Apparently he was going to be ignoring that thing a lot in the future. He hoped it wasn't his conscience.
"Look at those paintings!"
". . . Those aren't paintings. It's graffiti. It's illegal." He said, giving the kid an odd look.
"Illegal, why?" He asked, sound distressed. "They won't take it off, will they?"
"Probably not, but yeah, it's illegal. It's vandalism. Haven't you ever seen graffiti before, Haku?"
"No." He said, looking back out of the back window at it for another second before sitting back correctly in his seat. "I like it. It's gorgeous. The people who did it must be very talented."
"Some of them." Zabuza agreed.
"Why would they use their talents on something illegal?" Haku wondered.
Zabuza didn't say anything. What could he say? He had commited dozens of crimes in his life, and most of them hadn't even been for a spectacular reason. He suddenly had an idea. Pulling over onto a different street, he pulled into a different parking lot, the one he had left earlier today.
"This is where I work." He explained. Haku nodded, glancing up through the dirty windshield. "I need to go talk to my boss for a minute, but. . . I can't leave you out here. Wanna come in with me?"
"Sure." Haku said agreeably. They walked in together, taking the elevator up to the third floor. When they reached the door, Zabuza glanced back.
"Just, uh. . . Sit right there." He said, pointing to a chair that was in direct sight of the window on the door of Gatou's office. He knew he needed to keep sight of the boy at all times. "I'll only be like a minute, alright?"
"Alright." Haku said, sitting obediently, crossing his ankles, waiting.
When the door was securely closed so he could see Haku and and Haku could see him, but neither of them could hear each other, he turned to his boss.
"A problem?" Gatou asked with a deadly glint in his voice, eyeing the Hoshigaki heir outside.
"Not at all." Zabuza said assuredly. "The kid is pretty agreeable. I don't think this will be too much of a challenge."
"Then why are you here?" He asked accusingly.
"I got a question to ask. You didn't put it in the dossier shit."
"Well, what?" He asked grumpily, but he was pleased that the two were getting along and the job seemed agreeable with the brown-haired man. He had wanted the bundles of cash this mission was worth, but he didn't have a lot of employees he thought he could trust the kid with. Momochi was rough around the edges, but he was skilled with a gun or a knife or a sword. Or a broken beer bottle, he thought, remembering witnessing the man in a gang-related brawl several years ago. And he had enough focus for his missions that he wouldn't get distracted and allow the kid to get hurt.
"What happened with the kid's last bodyguard?" He asked, struggling to make it sound casual, and not like it was a personal interest.
Gatou looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ah, oh yeah. Well, I don't know every single detail, but I know Rikudo is in prison over it."
"Prison? What the hell did he do?"
"Attempted sexual battery involving a minor." He said, glancing out of the window at the kid, who was thumbing through a magazine.
Zabuza's face visibly blanched, then his brows furrowed together. "You mean. . . ?"
"Yeah, he wanted to fuck the kid." Gatou said, adjusting his glasses. "The way I hear it, the oldest brother caught wind of it and when he went up to investigate, Rikudo had the kid pressed up against a wall or something. Trying to, uh. . . Well you know."
"Yeah." Zabuza said, not knowing what else to say. "Well, I just wondered." His blood was pumping through his veins furiously hot. He couldn't imagine someone as large and strong as Pain physically forcing the small boy into anything, let alone sex. No wonder the boy was so painfully shy. He had been traumatized.
"Yeah well get back to your job, Momochi. I don't pay you to hang around here."
"You barely pay me at all." He growled, but nonetheless, stepped out, signaling Haku to follow. They loaded back into the car, and Zabuza drove all the way back to the Hoshigaki manor, parking in the driveway before Haku spoke.
"I didn't think you would want to know, or I would told you." He whispered, looking out of the window."
"Hm?"
"You asked Gatou what happened with Pain. You could have just asked me, we didn't need to go to the place you worked."
Zabuza looked at him for a few seconds, waiting for him to look over at him too, so he could look into those endless eyes. Finally, Haku turned his head, his face heating up when he saw how intensely the man was staring at him. "I didn't want to pressure you into talking about something that might upset you."
"Oh." Haku said simply, opening the door and stepping out. Zabuza followed.
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And yes, I know most people call him 'Pein'. I don't care, I like spelling it that way.
Review! :D
