For once I don't think I have anything to say. So just read and review :D


"Yeah, your mom told me you were a photographer." Zabuza remarked, a few minutes later, as they sat at the large table in the dining room. Bindi had insisted on giving both of them plates heaping with the breakfast skillet meal she had made, and large frosty glasses of orange juice.

Haku flushed with pleasure before his imminent shyness caused him to lower his face toward the table and peer up at the man through them. "I wouldn't really say I'm a photographer, but I take photos. I love it."

"Well isn't that what a photographer is?"

"I'm not good enough to be a professional or anything." He said honestly, his head perking up at the person who walked in through the dining room entrance. "Good morning, Kisa."

"What's up, Haku?" He said jovially, ruffling the boy's hair before plopping down into the seat next to them. Haku, clearly used to this endearing gesture only rolled his eyes and fixed his hair with his hand.

"I'm going to the park today." The boy answered smugly, taking a bite of his food. Kisame raised a brow before glancing at Zabuza.

"Taking your camera?" He asked, after a moment. Haku nodded happily. "Well, be careful." He replied. The younger brother sighed.

"I know." The words seemed to affect his mood for a moment.

"I know you know. And I know you have Zabuza with you." Kisame eyed the man again. "I just worry sometimes, I can't help it."

"I know." Haku said softer this time. He knew nobody meant anything bad by it, but he was sick of being treated like delicate china.

"If something happened to you, I'd be stuck here with Deidara." Kisame said, mocking a gagging sound. Haku laughed into his glass. Zabuza wondered if the boy's laugh would always make his skin tingle for a second.

"That's not very nice."

"Eh, he can't hear us." The eldest brother winked jokingly. He loved both his brothers dearly, and had no problem with Deidara, but loved to pick on him.

"When do you want to leave, Haku?" Zabuza asked, finishing up his food. Eating quick was a habit he had picked up in prison.

"The sooner the better." The boy answered, smiling. He seemed to be in an incredibly sunny mood, which was definitely a good thing. Although Zabuza wasn't the most cheerful guy around, he would have much rather dealt with a happy teenager rather than a mopey one.

After they had all finished eating, Kisame retreating up to his room, saying something about making a phone call, Haku scampered to the door, camera clutched in hand. "Ready Zabuza?" He said, and the man nodded. "Oh, uh. . ." He paused, turning around. "Do you want to drive me? Or we can take one of the limos or something, we have a chauffeur."

"Whatever you want." The man answered, and watched with interest when Haku's cheeks tinged pink before he could hide it.

"It doesn't matter to me." He said quietly, pressing the camera to his chest, his back turned so Zabuza couldn't see his facial expression.

"Well it doesn't matter to me either." He replied firmly, and watched the boy turn agonizingly slowly.

"You really wouldn't mind driving me?" He said, his voice nearly inaudible.

"Not if that's what you want."

"T-thank you." He said, stumbling on the words. He could feel his face heating up even more, much to his horror and dismay. "I. . . I need to go get a headband. If I d-don't, my bangs will be in my eyes and keep me from getting a good shot!" He said quickly, practically sprinting back up the stairs to his bedroom. Zabuza's eyes widened a bit, before he sighed, leaning back against the staircase. Ok, the kid was blushing. That was either a good sign or a very bad sign. It was definitely a bad sign that he thought it unbearably adorable the way Haku looked with his cheeks all pink and his eyes wide and flustered. Especially since he wasn't sure if the word 'adorable' had ever crossed his mind before.

He came back down, panting, a plain white band across his hair, holding his bangs back, showing brightly against his onyx-colored locks. "Ready?" Zabuza asked him, and he nodded furiously, hurrying out the door.

They were silent pulling out the driveway, the only sounds being Haku's buckle snapping into place. "Thank you, Zabuza." He finally said lowly. "I really appreciate it. . ."

"It's really not a problem." He insisted. His eyes slid over to the side to rest on the dark-haired boy in his passenger seat. Even when he had been wearing the shorts and exposing more skin, Zabuza hadn't really noticed how it looked like fresh cream. It looked unbearably smooth, and feeling a sudden urge to touch it, the man tightened his hand on the steering wheel. Don't be an idiot, Momochi.

"Still. Thank you." He said again, then hesitated before saying, "You don't know what it's like. To be looked after all the time."

"No." Zabuza shook his head. "I don't."

"Nobody trusts me." The boy said, with the slightest hint of a whine in his voice.

"That's not true." The guardian replied, heaving a breath. "They're just worried about you."

Haku crossed his arms over his chest, propping his knees against the dashboard again like before. When the man looked over at him, he resisted the urge to scoff. For the first time since meeting the boy, Haku had a stubborn pout on his face. "It's true." Zabuza reassured him.

"I know." He said unwillingly. "Kisame and Deidara never had-"

"Kisame and Deidara are different people than you. Different things are best for different people."

"It's just unfair." Haku answered back. Zabuza silently agreed it was unfair, but he also knew that Jaken and Emily were only doing what they thought was best for him. He sighed, sprawling out on the seat, a wing of hair falling over one of his eyes over his band. "Zabuza?" He asked after a moment.

"Yes?"

"What are your parents like?"

Zabuza frowned. Not a subject he'd like to go into at the moment. "Gone." He said, after a moment.

"I'm sorry. . . I didn't mean to mention it, I didn't know you had lost them."

"I didn't lose them. They lost me." Zabuza answered without bitterness in his voice, just stating a simple fact. "I ran away around 15. Haven't seen 'em since."

Haku pondered this for a moment, before looking up with rounded eyes. "You mean. . . You just left?"

"Don't get any ideas, kid." He answered, cocking an eyebrow. Haku rolled his eyes toward the sky, making a gun-like gesture with his hand, pressing his fingers against the side of his skull in a mock-suicide. Zabuza shook his head, unable to resist the urge to chuckle. He hadn't laughed in a long time, but the young boy was proving to be much for his grinch-like sensibilities. "You're a weird kid, you know that?" He said, and Haku grinned a little sheepishly.

"Everyone tells me so."

"Do you mind?"

"Not really." He shrugged. "I used to try to be like Deidara or Kisame. Everyone likes them, they call them 'charismatic'. But I like myself now, even if I'm not 'charismatic'."

That was good to hear, Zabuza thought. He knew from personal experience that not liking yourself posed a lot of problems through life, especially if you envied someone else for their personality and traits. "I think you're charismatic." Zabuza said, before he had really thought about whether he should say it or not.

"Really?" Haku asked, blushing slightly. Zabuza noticed he seemed to be doing that a lot today, although he didn't mention it.

"Well when my boss assigned me this job, I thought I was going to have to take care of some spoiled brat." He confessed, turning the wheel sharply to get a good parking space in the lot before the park.

"Am I?" He asked softly, interlacing his fingers and laying them in his lap.

"Not at all." Zabuza said honestly. He turned the car off tugged the keys out of the ignition, shoving them in the pocket of his loose jeans. "We're here."

"Hope you don't mind a walk." Haku said, smiling as he slammed his door shut. "There's this really neat place kind of deep into those woods over there where I got some really great shots before, but since it's autumn now, they'll look different."

"That's fine." He glanced over as they walked toward the thick forest-like area, and knew this was the same park as in the story Emily had told him about Haku's childhood. He seemed gleeful to be in it, not at all worried or stressed or remembering anything bad. Zabuza guessed he really had just blocked it all out. Which was a good thing, but a little unnerving. "Nature really chills you out." The man remarked, and Haku nodded.

"Yeah." He answered, walking a foot or so ahead of the man, twisting through the trees.

"I thought you said you hadn't been here in awhile."

"I haven't." Haku promised, looking back at him, still walking briskly.

"You're pretty sure of the way to not have been here in awhile."

"I used to come here all the time, almost every day." He explained. Zabuza shrugged, keeping a steady pace with the boy easily. Haku might have known the way to go, but it wasn't difficult for the guard for to keep up. He was much taller than Haku, so his legs were longer.

They didn't say anything for a little while, the only sound being the crunching of fallen leaves under their feet, but finally Haku ducked under a twisty vine, stepping into a kind of clearing. They were less than 50 feet from a swamp of some sort, shallow, with some spots covered in a thin coat of bright green scum, dotted with bright red and orange leaves from the canopy of trees above.

"This it?" Zabuza asked, and Haku nodded.

"Pretty, right?"

"I guess." Zabuza shrugged. He wasn't particularly enthralled by leaves and trees and mucky swamp waters, but he guessed it had a sort of charm. He took a seat on a log, watching the boy intently as he snapped picture after picture. He seemed very much in his element, and even made small squeals or tiny noises of delight when he happened to take one with a butterfly in it.

"Do you keep all those?" Zabuza asked, after what seemed like the hundredth camera click.

"No, I throw most of them away after they're developed. Only a few are really good enough to keep."

"Isn't that kinda wasteful?" The man wondered aloud, and Haku turned, giving him a puzzled look.

"I think we can afford it." He said slowly, and Zabuza couldn't help but chuckle again.

"Yeah, sorry. Forgot for a minute how loaded you people are."

"I'd almost prefer none of it." Haku said sincerely, snapping another picture of a wilting flower.

"You only think that," Zabuza murmured, shaking his head. He watched for another minute, his eyes flashing suddenly, his body reacting almost without thought.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, the boy's eye firmly pressed against the tiny glass plate on the back of his camera leading into the lens. He backed up a few steps, apparently wanting to make the shot perfect, and not at all paying attention to what might be behind his feet. He let out a startled gasp as he lost his footing, tripping over a rather large rock. As best as he could in the one-and-a-half second or so time frame he was given to keep the boy from breaking a bone on the jagged boulder, Zabuza clumsily wrapped a muscled arm around the teenager's waist, trying to turn him, scowling as they tumbled toward the ground, his own tougher body toward the bottom. He told himself it was purely instinct, and not any personal desire to be pressed against the boy that had him cushioning the fall. The impact knocked the breath out of them and left them tangled together like lovers, the somewhat heavy camera slamming into his chest, still clutched in the boy's hand.

After several seconds of neither of them knowing exactly what to do, Haku raised his head, his face a bright shade of crimson, staring into Zabuza's ebony eyes. "S-sorry." He choked out, trying to sit up quickly, freezing when Zabuza hissed in pain. "Oh god, what's wrong?" He cried, one hand covering his mouth daintily.

"Nothing." Zabuza gritted out between his teeth. "I just. . . Banged my ankle on that rock. Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

"I'm f-fine." He said, afraid to move to hurt the man's ankle further, but even more afraid to stay pressed against him, lest he humiliate himself. Zabuza shifted, his arms gripped Haku's shoulders, pulling them up to an awkward sitting position, grimacing. "Thank you." He said quietly, his young brain racing with thoughts he had never had before. He had never rested against someone's chest before, but now that he was half-way leaning on Zabuza's, he had to resist the urge to snuggle into him.

"Just doing my job." He said gruffly. Now please get off me before something unfortunate happens.

"Yeah, I know." Haku squeaked, embarassed at the way his voice came out. His cheeks heated up even more as an idea struck him. His heart slammed up into his chest, his stomach turning to ice at the nervousness he suddenly felt. "But I still appreciate it. . . " He trailed off, leaning forward slightly. His lips brushed over Zabuza's firm mouth, barely skimming, light as a feather touch.

Everything seemed to freeze around them, no noises or movements except both their breath thinly being dispelled, mingling together in the cool, crisp air. It hadn't been long enough or defined enough to even be called a kiss, but Zabuza's pulse had stumbled, and Haku's heart was pounding.

And suddenly, before either of them could think, the man's hand rose to the back of Haku's head, pulling him downward again, pressing their lips together firmly. Slowly, Haku's hands trailed up Zabuza's arms, over his shoulders and into his spiky, coarse hair.

Zabuza felt drunk, his head spinning from the taste of the mouth currently moving against his, and the feeling of inexperienced hands, trembling, moving over his rigid muscles. Haku felt teeth nip at his full bottom lip, and parted them immediately with no thought of repercussions or nervousness or anything. He heard someone moan faintly, just barely realizing it was his own voice. With a noiseless growl, the older male began to tease the boy's tongue with the tip of his own, similarly not thinking of repercussions or nervousness. His mind seemed to have gone blank for the time being, at least while he had the small, but firm body in his arms.

Intuitively, Haku shifted slightly so their bodies were lined up, and for the first time in his life, he felt someone's desire pressed against him in a way that didn't make him feel intimidated or scared or repulsed. It didn't particularly shock him, but it did send a thrilling energy racing up his spine, making him light-headed and imagine all the things this obviously experienced man could do to him.

The hairband had slipped off somewhere during the fall, and Haku's long, straight hair curtained around their faces. The scent of it sent a heat straight to the man's groin and he wanted to bury his face in it to sleep. It smelled earthy and sweet, unlike anything he had ever known before, but undeniably perfect for the boy.

They both heard a twig snap, probably just a raccoon or squirell scurrying across the ground, but it brought both of them back to reality with a nauseating quickness.

Zabuza jerked away, setting his jaw. He could kill himself. He stood quickly, grabbing Haku's hand and yanking him up off the ground coldly. The boy's cheeks were flushed with desire and embarassment, but he gazed down at the ground as Zabuza brushed himself off, sending specks of dirt and leaves flying. When the man spoke, his voice was stiff. "I'm sorry. That was. . . Unforgivable."

Haku's lashes swept up, his eyes bright with hurt. "Sorry?"

"Yes." Zabuza said firmly.

"You think that was a mistake?" He whispered in disbelief. His trembling hand raised up to tuck his hair back behind his ear, and Zabuza bent over to grab the hairband from the dirt, handing it over. He didn't know what to say. He didn't think it was a mistake.

"No." He said finally. "But it can't happen."

"Why not?" Haku breathed, stepping closer to him.

"What do you mean 'why not'?" Zabuza snarled, holding his shoulders at arms-length, as if physically keeping him away. "You're 17. Do you even know how old I am?"

". . . 25?" Haku guessed, biting his lower lip.

"I'm 28. I'm 11 fucking years older than you." He bit out. "And that's definitely not the only problem. I'm here to protect you, not to make out with you in the dirt."

"Can't you do both?" He asked, pulling his camera strap over his shoulder.

"Do you even know what you're asking?"

"I know that I like you. I've never felt this way before, and I don't want to lose it, Zabuza."

Zabuza heaved a sigh, glaring up into the trees above them. How could this have happened to him? Haku cleared his throat, wriggling out of the man's grip, and wrapping his arms around the strong neck again, before whispering, "I think you like me too. You just don't want to say."

"That's because it's wrong to feel this way." Zabuza managed to say, though he couldn't find the presence of mind to push the boy away.

"How can you say that? You didn't think it was wrong before. You kissed me." He murmured. "I liked it."

Zabuza groaned inwardly. "Do you even know what you do to me?" He asked harshly, his hands raising to rest on the younger's waist.

"I've got sort of an idea." He said shyly, raising up on his toes to press their bodies together again. "Zabuza." He said the name again. He loved the way it sounded coming from his own voice.

This is wrong, Momochi. You don't even know what you're getting yourself into, the voice snapped at him, flashing like a neon light in his mind. As usual, he ignored it, kissing the boy again, gentler this time. "Well, you're wrong. You have no idea what you do to me." He answered, pulling away again.

"If you let me find out?" Haku asked slyly, and felt Zabuza slightly raise him up so that his feet were no longer touching solid ground.

"You'd be afraid." He said simply, then glanced over back in the direction in which they had come from. "When do you have to be home?"

"Whenever." Haku answered. "As long as you're with me."

"Would you like to go back to my apartment with me?" Zabuza asked in his usual low voice. Haku's cheeks turned red at the implication of the sentence.

"I, um. . . " He trailed off, and the man's eyes widened in realization.

"No!" He said quickly. "No I didn't mean. . . That." He clarified, nearly sighing. "I didn't even really mean in my apartment. I just meant near it. You have your camera now. You could take some pictures of the graffiti you liked so much before."

Haku's mouth opened in surprise. "That's such a good idea, thank you!" He cried out, hugging the man tightly before he could stop himself. "I can't believe you even remember. . ."

"It was only yesterday."

"Most people don't listen to what I say at all." Haku answered solemnly, his eyes downcast for a moment before flashing back up again, brightly. He smiled the sweetest, sunniest smile Zabuza had ever seen, and pointed toward where they had entered the clearing at. "Come on, come on, I wanna get these pictures developed sometime soon." He laced his fingers with Zabuza's, tugging him.

"Alright, already. Jeez, don't have a heart attack, kid. Didn't mean to get you all excited." But he was smiling.


Totally worth the wait, right? Such a sweet couple. Next chapter coming soon! ^^; R E V I E W!