I wanted to tell everyone 'Happy Thanksgiving' here, because I started writing this chapter on Thanksgiving Day, but then I remembered that I won't post it until more around Christmas time D: I'm like. . . Way ahead of my posted chapters~
By the time the pair actually arrived at Naruto and Sasuke's humble abode, they had napped for about a half hour, both feeling somewhat emotionally and physically drained. Haku was still practically floating on the romantic figurative Cloud 9, and Zabuza couldn't help but feel the same way, although he was excellent at hiding it, and remaining his usual stoic self. He felt energized and happy, as if none of the negativity in the world could break through the pretty bubble that surrounded them.
"I think they'll like it." The teenager beamed, smiling warmly, studying his pictures with love and adoration.
"I'm sure." Zabuza agreed, making a sharp turn into a parking lot.
"I want to take some of you." Haku commented, absently toying with a hole in the seat.
"Where will you keep your X-rated photos?" Zabuza retorted, glancing over at him, grinning. Haku blushed, but smiled. He couldn't help but feel tempted at the idea.
"Shut up. You know what I meant." But he thought it would be nice to have a picture or two of Zabuza's toned, rigid body. Heat rose to his cheeks as he imagined an 'X-rated' picture of he and Zabuza together.
"Bash it all you want. I bet Sasuke and Naruto have some dirty pictures or videos of themselves stashed somewhere around their house." He shrugged, but his eyes had a humorous glint.
Haku's cocoa eyes rounded. "Well. . . They've been together a long time. Years." He tacked on. He sighed, laying his head back against the worn seat. "It must be nice. To be able to go to sleep next to your lover at night and wake up with them in the morning."
"You're really into the waking up next to someone idea, huh?"
"Yeah, I suppose. It just. . . It seems like it would just start your day out so. . . Wonderfully. To be able to wake up to a kiss from the person you love." Haku hated going to bed by himself, and leaving it by himself. He had always just wanted a warm body, someone to hold him.
Zabuza agreed, but stayed silent. He knew that he and Haku couldn't share a bed. Not now or anytime soon. Best not to dwell on the things he couldn't have. Haku was already accustomed to knowing when Zabuza was thinking on how to phrase an answer, or when he simply just wasn't going to speak on the subject at all. He tilted his head, studying the man with the rose-tinted glasses of somebody in love, but also with the critical eye of an artist. He had such a lean, rawboned face, with cheekbones and everything. It was . . . Elegant, Haku decided. And his body was so. . . Hard. And strong. He had big hands with long, clever fingers, and wide, broad shoulders. The teenager found himself wondering how much weight his bodyguard could lift.
"Do you like to just sit and stare at me?" Zabuza asked.
"Yes." Haku said without a hint of embarrassment. Why wouldn't he? "You do it to me, too."
Zabuza supposed that was true. The boy was definitely a pleasure to look at. His mind could still barely wrap around the fact that he seemed to have hit the karmic jackpot, snagging up the affections of someone who was young, and sweet, and amazingly gorgeous. He had the face of an angel, all wholesome and classic beauty, with big brown eyes framed by onyx lashes, a small nose just barely upturned at the end, and a full sulky mouth. With everything he had done wrong, he certainly must have done something right, to be awarded this sort of relationship by the fates.
"I like to look at you." The man replied.
"I'm glad." Haku said, leaning forward to kiss his bodyguard's cheek swiftly.
When Sasuke stepped out of the bathroom, steam like a sauna pouring from the doorway, he rubbed his hair vigorously with a fluffy red towel, trying to dry it quickly. "Jeez, finally!" Naruto complained, bouncing up and down on the couch cushions. "You took forever in there!"
"Well I had to wait for you to get the fuck out." Sasuke reminded him in a monotone voice.
"Yeah because you don't love me enough to take a shower with me!" The blonde accused, dramatically falling over the side of the couch, clutching his chest as if he had suffered serious heartbreak. Sasuke rolled his eyes, throwing the now moist towel into a wicker hamper.
"I wasn't risking you getting horny again. What, did you swipe some Viagra from someone today or something?"
Naruto scoffed, sliding off the arm of the furniture and landing on the carpet, cheerfully. "Like I need medicine to help me get an erection." He sat up, raising his eyebrows in what he thought was a charming move. "I was just in a mood."
"A crazy mood."
"A sexy mood. And don't you act like you don't enjoy it, Mr. Sex Police over there!" Naruto fell onto his back, arching wantonly, his thighs spread apart, imitating Sasuke perfectly. "Ohhhh Naruto! Deeper!" He gasped, his hands clutching the carpet. "Ahhh! Oh God don't stop please, it feels sooo amazing!" He moaned in a breathy, high-pitched voice.
Sasuke frowned, at least having the grace to blush. "I don't sound like that." At least, he hoped he didn't. How embarrassing.
"Yeah you're a lot louder."
"Fuck you." The raven snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "Like you're so cool during. In case you don't remember, when we first started having sex, you could barely last long enough to do anything to me, let alone make me moan."
Naruto grinned, clearly undaunted by the past. "But I got better, didn't I?"
"Yes." Sasuke said grudgingly. "Sometimes I regret letting you practice so much on me." He sat on the couch daintily, crossing his ankles, brushing his hair gently with a round, wooden hairbrush.
"Aww, why?" Naruto whined, laying his head on his boyfriend's lap like a sick child.
"Because now you think you're some kind of Sex God."
"I am some kinda Sex God!" He announced, nuzzling his face against the crotch of Sasuke's jeans, making the brunette scowl and push his head off.
"You are a legend in your own mind." The raven sighed, but he had to repress a grin when the blonde kissed his neck sweetly.
The knock at the door startled them both, but Naruto recovered faster, bouncing toward the door and yanking it open. "Ohh! Hey Haku! Hey Zabuza!" He said happily, letting the pair of them in.
"Hi!" Haku greeted them back cheerily, waving the stack of pictures in his hand. "Hi, Sasuke." He sat on the couch beside the brunette comfortably.
"Haku, Zabuza." He smiled at them both, but the gears in his mind were turning. What Naruto had told him earlier, about the two of them being a couple. He was watching for signs of intimacy, or affection. The man nodded politely at him, giving him a small smile. Sasuke was surprised that someone as seemingly bright and happy as Haku would be attracted to someone so. . . Gruff, Sasuke decided on the word. Although he seemed nice enough. Just a little guarded, or stoic.
He suddenly frowned, annoyed with himself. He remembered when he had first started dating Naruto, how many people had judged them, and their relationship. Well, regardless of age or personality clashing or anything, he wouldn't be one of those people who judged love. And who was he to talk about personality clashing? He and Naruto were as different as night and day.
"Something wrong, Sasuke?" Haku asked, snapping the raven out of his thoughts.
"No, nothing." He assured the boy, and smiled again. "So let's see these pictures. I think I want to frame one and put it in our bedroom."
Haku beamed with pleasure, and held them out like a hand of cards.
Both the black-haired males had pored over the pictures, Naruto and Zabuza talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. Well, as hushed as Naruto ever got, anyway. But the blonde had gotten excited at the prospect of the painting he loved framed and put in he and Sasuke's bedroom, suggesting they put it right over the headboard. He didn't mention the reason he recommended it's placement there was that when he was banging Sasuke on his knees on the soft mattress, he could look up and see it, and remember how much the raven loved him.
"So, Zabuza." The kyuubi began innocently, but his words were loud, and with an inflection that made Sasuke and Haku look up from what they were doing and stare at the pair of them.
"Yes?" He replied amicably.
"Sasuke and I are under the impression that you and Haku are, uh. . . Lovers, yeah?" He blurted out. Sasuke closed his eyes in aggravation, lifting his hand to his forehead, fighting off a deep blush. He absolutely detested when Naruto did things like this.
Haku blushed as red as Sasuke, his eyes darting to the three of them, not knowing what to say. He stayed silent, wondering if Zabuza would tell the truth, or play their relationship down. It occured to him that it would hurt his feelings irreparably if the man pretended as if there was nothing between them.
Zabuza cocked an eyebrow. "First impressions are often wrong." He began, then paused. "Haku and I aren't lovers per se."
The pretty boy's brown eyes lowered. Sasuke noted this, and bristled with anger. It was obvious that Zabuza was lying, and it had hurt Haku.
"But. . . " Zabuza frowned slightly, unsure of how to word it. "We do. . . Love. Each. Other." He said, each word coming out as if it were it's own sentence.
Naruto nodded, but still looked puzzled. "You mean you're in love with each other, or you love each other like brothers?"
"In." Was all he said. Haku bit his lower lip, pleasure spreading visibly over his face. The man really did love him.
"Oh." Naruto said. "Well I was right, then."
And that was the end of it. But Haku was practically glowing afterwards.
After nearly an hour of chatter, the 4 of them decided they were starving, and should order dinner in, or go out to eat. They ended up at a somewhat popular restaurant not too far from the Uzumaki/Uchiha apartment.
"God, they're taking forever!" Naruto groaned impatiently. Sasuke huffed out a breath. Haku had to supress a giggle, he thought it unbearably funny watching the two lovers interact.
"Do you come here a lot?" Zabuza asked, leaning forward. The raven and kyuubi nodded.
"We used to eat here a lot, when we first started dating. We still do sometimes." The brunette said.
"When I was little, part of my homeschooling was-" Haku broke off, and lowered his eyes to the floor. "Well, it's stupid, you probably don't want to hear."
Naruto tilted his head. "What, why?"
Haku blushed. "Well, I mean. . . Just stupid stuff my parents made me do because they thought it was. . . Sophisticated." He said, shrugging.
"Tell us." Sasuke prompted. "We have to wait anyway."
Haku sighed. Zabuza sipped his drink, listening intently, and subtly glancing around the room. No obvious threats. But part of a bodyguard's job was constant diligence.
"Well it really was just, like. . . They would send Dara and I off, to this sort of restaurant thing once a week, for a lot of months. We know how to properly set a table, with a salad fork and soup spoon and all that. And they would make us taste wine. Not enough to get us drunk, of course!" He said quickly when Naruto's eyes widened. "But so that we can distinguish most of the different types."
"That's kinda cool." The blonde said. "I never tasted wine."
Neither had Zabuza, but he noticed Sasuke didn't add anything to the conversation. It somewhat reinforced his earlier assumptions that the raven was no stranger to money.
"They would also teach us how to throw a proper banquet, like with seven courses, and sorbet served in between and all that." He said. "Deidara really hated it." He remembered, smiling. "I didn't mind so much, but he would complain so much every Friday when we had to go." He sighed, resting his chin on his hands. "I remember once, my mom said 'If only you were more like Haku' to him, but. . . Now, I know that she really wanted me to be more like him."
"Why would you say that?" Sasuke asked sharply. Haku looked a little alarmed at his sudden seriousness.
"Well. . . I was kind of. . . A sick child." He said slowly. "Deidara and Kisame were always really healthy and could do everything. She didn't have to worry about them a lot." He looked down helplessly at his hands. Thinking of this sort of thing made him get a little emotional, but he'd be damned if he would embarass himself in front of his new friends. "I just feel she might have had an easier time if I had been stronger." He finished. He didn't want to talk anymore about it.
"That's ridiculous." Sasuke said quietly. "I'm sure your parents love you very much, Haku."
"I've talked to your mother." Zabuza added. "She dotes on you."
"Okay." Haku replied shortly. They didn't know anything. If they knew the way his mother looked at him, in comparison to the way she looked at Deidara, they would know. But they didn't. They couldn't. He had to fight the urge to scream out loud. Thinking of his mother always made him ache. And not in the hot, shaky way that Zabuza made him ache.
"Really." Sasuke said softly, his eyes suddenly sad. Haku's brows furrowed together.
"Are you alright, Sasuke?" He asked slowly. He glanced at Naruto, who was staring at Sasuke with an extremely concerned look in his eyes.
"Yes, I'm- . . . I'm fine, ok?" The raven said quickly. He stood swiftly, flying out of the wooden restaurant chair as if there had been nails sticking out of it. "I just need some air. Or a c-cigarette, I'll be right back!" He cried, and nearly sprinted from the room, knocking a female waiter back.
Haku's eyes widened like saucers. He turned to Naruto helplessly. "I'm sorry!" He said. "I didn't mean to-"
"It's not your fault, Haku." Naruto interjected. He sighed sadly, staring at the tabletop. "Sasuke's parents. . . They're uh. . . Dead."
Haku gasped, his hands flying to his mouth. "Oh God that's awful."
"Yeah, they died when he was 12. Well. . . They didn't die like normal. They were murdered."
Haku whimpered behind his hands. How could he be so stupid? "Oh Naruto you know I didn't mean to."
"I know! He's not upset with you." The blonde promised, shaking his head quickly. "Um, excuse me for a minute, let me go check on him. I'm sure he's fine, it's just. . . He gets kind of upset sometimes."
"Of course." Zabuza said. Naruto stood, hurrying out, following the same way Sasuke had gone. When the blonde was out of earshot, the bodyguard frowned. "It's ridiculous to feel guilty, Haku. You didn't say anything wrong."
"How can you say that?" The boy hissed. "I reminded him that he's an orphan."
"He's upset, but not at you." The man struggled to explain. "Like. . . If someone mentioned something about-" He stopped abruptly.
"What?" Haku gestured for him to continue. Zabuza shook his head. Shit. He had been so close to mentioning what had happened to the boy all those years ago, with Orochimaru.
"No, it's. . . Just. Well, uh-" He floundered, his mind reeling, searching for something, anything to say in place of what his original intentions had been. "If someone mentioned something about. . . Rape." Oh, like that's much better, Zabuza thought bitterly.
Haku's eyes lowered. "Oh." He wrung his hands together, shifting uncomfortably. "Well. . . That's not really the same thing, you know. And anyway I wasn't. . . Raped." He whispered, glancing around as if everyone else in the restaurant was listening to them.
"From what I heard-"
"I don't want to talk about it!" The boy snapped, making the older male's eyes widen slightly. "Sorry. I just. . . Don't want to talk about it."
". . . Right." Zabuza said icily. He sat up straight, clearing his throat. "My apologies." He said stiffly.
"Zabuza." Haku breathed out. "Please don't be like that." He hated the way the man could behave. It made him feel shut out, when all he wanted was for them to be close.
"You think I wanted to talk about that shit today?" He growled. "Do you think I wanted to admit to you all the things I did?"
"No, but-"
"No. Of course not. And you can't even talk to me about something that happened to you. You didn't even do anything wrong, it was just something that happened."
"Do you really want to know about it?" Haku asked slowly.
"Yes."
The boy closed his eyes for a moment. "Fine." He managed weakly. "I'll tell you everything. Like you did to me. I'll tell you later, when we leave." As if it was their cue, Naruto and Sasuke ambled back in, taking their seat. Zabuza leaned back, his eyes slitted, not able to come back with the response he wanted to say.
"Sorry." Sasuke whispered. "I just needed some air."
"It's fine." Haku assured him. "I'm really sorry, Sasuke."
"No." The raven smiled a tiny bit, shaking his head. He looked serene for a moment, before saying, "It was a long time ago. I'm grown now."
"But it's okay if you get a little upset sometimes." Naruto said quickly, covering his boyfriend's shoulder with his hand, rubbing soothingly.
"Yes." Sasuke agreed, waving a hand in dismissal. "But how could I possibly be upset now? I'm here with my lover, and my friends. And I'm pretty sure I see my linguine coming right now."
Haku grinned.
They ate heartily, talking amongst themselves, Haku explaining a little more about his intensive school training in the arts of the rich and sophisticated, Naruto telling them funny stories about when he and Sasuke began dating, much to the brunette's embarrassment. Zabuza told them all the story of when he had been ordered to investigate an abandoned house which had been rumored to have dead bodies in the cellar. He had discovered a nest of raccoons, and a ton of expensive jewelry, which he chalked up to the bandit-like animals tendencies to swipe anything shiny.
When their plates were empty, and they were all ready to go, they split the bill evenly. And made plans to hang out at the park in a few days, much to Haku's delight. He was glad Sasuke and Naruto seemed to like to hang out with him, as much as he liked them. He would have hated feeling like he was disrupting them, or bothering them all the time.
On the ride back to his home with Zabuza, he was silent, his mind racing with thoughts of his new friends. Sasuke, an orphan. Haku had never considered himself close to his parents but he couldn't imagine them being murdered. He wondered who had taken care of the raven after his mother and father had passed away. He wondered if Sasuke ever cried at night, or if he used to, when he was a young boy. He seemed so strong inside, calm and collected as if nothing bothered him. As if he was aloof to the normal, every-day troubles and habits of most people. Haku pondered if this was somewhat of an act, due to the fact that Sasuke might be extremely sensitive inside, and didn't want people to hurt him.
He sometimes thought that was why Zabuza seemed so cold.
"Thank you for today." Haku said sincerely, staring up into Zabuza's dark eyes. He was a full head shorter than the man, but he didn't mind.
"You're welcome." Zabuza answered, knowing what he was referring to. "I'm, uh. . ." He trailed off, awkwardly. "Sorry for arguing."
"No." Haku said. "You were right. You told me all that, and. . . I should tell you everything too." He bit his lower lip. "Tomorrow, I promise I'll tell you everything. I-" They both jerked, like kids with hands caught in the cookie jar when one of the doors in the hallway swung open; Deidara's room.
"Oh, you're finally back, un?" He asked Haku. "I've been waiting for you all day."
"Waiting for me?" Haku asked, curling his fingers around his own doorframe. He just wanted to snuggle into his bed and sleep.
"Well, uh." Zabuza cleared his throat awkwardly. "Goodnight then, Haku. See you tomorrow." He shut the door quickly and tightly. Haku barely resisted the urge to pout. He had wanted a goodnight kiss. Damn Deidara.
"Yes, waiting for you." The blonde said, tugging on his brother's hand. "I need to talk." He said quickly.
"Talk?" Haku asked stupidly, still confused. He and his brother had been somewhat close when they were kids, but not so much anymore.
"I don't know who else to ask, Haku. Please." His brother's huge sky blue eyes pleaded with him. The brunette sighed. He knew even if he refused and went to bed, he would feel unbearably guilty.
"Of course I'll talk to you." He said, and was immediately yanked into the blonde's bedroom, the door slamming behind him.
Well, at any rate, I hope everyone has a happy holiday season, whatever holiday it is that you celebrate :)
And I'm REALLY satisfied with the progress of this story so far, and with my reviews, ESPECIALLY those from xHarumi-Chan, Zack, and Teddy. syn (without the space, apparently fanfiction doesn't let me put your username correctly xP) ! You see, I was going to stop posting at chapter 6, because I was hardly getting ANY reviews at all (If you notice, I got none for chapter 4 or 5), but now I'm really glad I continued, and I will continue. . . continuing xD
