How to control a Secret Rebel.
Chapter One.
It was silent around them. The small building hung on the edge of town and was, aside from the grassy reception field, surrounded by nothing but a thick forest. Haku glanced up at the other once more, feeling more curious than he knew he was allowed to. Zabuza had another smoke hanging from his lips as he sat back against the tree with his arms crossed and head tilted back, he almost seemed asleep until he opened one piecing eye and started back at the young man once more.
"What?" his gruff voice asked impatiently, "Forest not big enough for the both of us?"
Haku shook his head and gathered his courage; "I take it you're from the groom's wedding party? I was just wondering..." He stared down at his toes, wiggling them nervously in the grass. "Could you tell me anything about him?" The only ones he's been able to talk to about his upcoming marriage were his parents, and they never seemed to feel like telling him much.
Zabuza seemed to contemplate this for a moment before looking on his watch and briskly getting up. "I'm afraid I'm not able to share such details with you.", he said while straightening his suit. "But the festivities should start any minute now, allow me to accompany you?" he extended his arm towards the other and Haku scrambled to his feet. He found his tongue caught in his throat and brain suddenly clogged with nerves as he hooked his arm through the other's.
Zabuza led him around the building towards the front door, and at the sight of all the expecting guests the young bride to be became a few shades more white. He almost let go of the man's arm and ran, but forcefully kept reminding himself that this was a day of opportunity; staying positive was absolutely key. "Are you alright?" Zabuza asked, sounding less amused and more concerned than before; Haku faked a smile. "I'm just a little nervous."
As they entered the building music started playing, and before Haku could search out his parents Zabuza had started a purposeful march down the aisle, pulling the other along. Haku wanted to object but felt horribly exposed in front of the rows after rows of seated guests; so he let himself be led on, up to the makeshift altar. For a while he was confused about what was happening, the priest started introducing their vows and no groom had shown up yet.
The priest's voice was dry and cracked as he recited the same lines he'd spoken a million times in his lifetime. "Do you, Zabuza Momochi, take this young man to be your spouse?". Haku had drifted off a little in his mind, as he usually did when confusing things were happening that he couldn't control anyway. But hearing that phrase suddenly made reality dawn on him and he raised his gaze from where they'd been firmly glued to his own feet to the other's face in shock when Zabuza said; "Yes."
Nothing more, nothing less. While the priest continued with the vows Haku frowned at the amused gaze staring down at him, and he mouthed the words 'you could have told me'.
"Haku, do you agree to marry this man?". All eyes were on him, and for a split second Haku contemplated shouting "NO!", pushing over the groom and running away forever. But he quickly dismissed those thoughts as cold feet and reminded himself of all the reasons why he was going through with this. "Yes."
Zabuza took his hand in one of his own roughened ones, and slid a simple gold ring on his finger. With trembling hands Haku did the same in return, and tiptoed to press a chaste kiss to his new husband's lips.
Zabuza was having one of the most difficult days of his life. He sat in the obnoxious leather armchair in his dressing room and took big gulps of his glass of whiskey. He'd actually had to bring his own from home, as the reception served no alcohol. He muttered how they were all savages as he lit his fifth smoke of the day while checking his watch; 10 in the morning. He poured himself another drink.
There was a knock on the door and he held his breath, after a moment of silence the doorknob was wiggled and the knocking intensified. Someone spoke loudly of events starting and Zabuza walked over to the window, grateful he'd remembered to lock the door. He slid the glass pane up, downed the rest of his drink and hopped over the windowsil and onto the soft grass outside. He took a few steps and slouched down against a thick old willow, its long branches hiding him from view. He took a small box from his pocket and ran his fingers over the small golden ring next to his own, which seemed almost twice as big.
Feeling one of those moments come up where his concience would try and reason with him he pulled a small flask from his breast pocket and downed it in preparation of the magical day. He scoffed mockingly at himself, pull yourself together man! After years of preparation, all that stood in the way of his goals was this stupid wedding ceremony... and he shuddered at the thought. Zabuza was a man who excelled at moving in shadows, at pulling strings without ever being exposed in the open. A public wedding was the absolute worst thing he could imagine. But, as he sternly reminded himself, for any of this to work he would need to be a properly married man; and he had been assured by the bride's mother that without a big wedding there would be no marriage.
He let out an exasperated sigh and slouched down even further as he heard more loud guests arrive at the other side of the building and he contemplated just staying right there for the entire day, surely he could come up with a better plan than this? He shoved the rings back into his pocket and fished out the only picture he had of his wife-to-be. Though he couldn't help but feel a bit perverted over their age difference, every time he looked at that picture he was strengthened in his conviction. A fourteen year old Haku stared at him from the piece of paper; it was taken while the boy was still being homeschooled. The way Haku hunched over his desk, his head pulled back between his raised shoulders. The way his knuckles turned white from gripping his pencil like a vice and brooding dark eyes stared up at him from under his eyesbrows; the entire picture seemed to scream pent-up frustration. That boy was ready to explode.
He quickly shoved the picture back in his pocket as the bushes around the corner started rustling, someone was coming. Zabuza chuckled inwardly at his luck as a thoroughly exasperated young man in a dress fell unceremoniously to the ground and rolled on his back in the grass. For a while neither of them moved, the young man stared up at the sky and Zabuza, who was still hidden for now, studied him. He'd never seen such a look of clear desperation on someone this young and flawless, and couldn't help himself from speaking up. "Are you alright?"
Haku sat up with a start and pulled his legs to his chest protectively. He squeaked out a "Yes, thank you." without looking up, and Zabuza studied him. The short, formfitting dress left the young man's legs exposed to just above the knee and he rubbed his sandaled feet together nervously.
After a few moments of silent watching Haku seemed to have gathered his confidence and asked him what he was doing out here, to which Zabuza replied by offering him a smoke. The boys soft fingers grazed his as he handed him the lighter and Zabuza made no sound as two big eyes seemed to forget where he was as they slid over his features, taking him in and studying him. So the boy was curious, a good trait to have, Zabuza thought to himself as he raised an eyebrow in amusement. Startled, Haku sucked his lungs full of smoke and fell out in a coughing fit, causing Zabuza in turn to break out in chuckles. Only for a moment of course, he wasn't one for mirth. After a little small talk the boy seemed a little less on edge, and Zabuza introduced himself. The boy clearly had no idea who he was, and his sadistic side couldn't just let that slide.
"You're the bride today, right?" Zabuza asked, and immediately Haku, who had been leaning forward eagerly and excited to be spending time with someone he usually wouldn't dare get close to, pulled back with a tight-lipped smile and spit out a forced 'thank you for coming'. Zabuza, however, was not a man so easily spurned and he brought the boy's hand to his lips, kissing the smooth skin softly. He would enjoy this conquest, and if what he'd seen from his bride so far was any indication of the boy's spirit he would definitely enjoy bringing out his rebellious side.
He looked at his watch and stood, it was time to get married.
They were in hell. They had to be. Haku stared down at the wooden table they were sitting at and contemplated smashing his face into it so he wouldn't have to deal with the endless stream of congratulating guests and opening presents any more. Look at that, more fine china, how lovely.
Zabuza had half a mind to have Haku's mother murdered for putting this together. Everything was white with pink balloons, there was light music playing and free snacks to make sure all the guests would stick around for hours... and hours... and hours. He looked to his side and could almost see the light in his bride's eyes die after the young man was forced to unwrap yet another set of ceramic bowls. Something had to be done.
"Haku," he spoke softly, "I'm thinking the best course of action right now is for you to excuse yourself to go to the bathroom and sabotage this event." The young man looked up at him with a smile brighter than the sun, after a lifetime of being obedient and quiet he had no problem starting his new life with some daring delinquency. Haku nodded eagerly, "What do I need to do?".
Haku's mother sat at one of the dinner tables at the far side of the hall, she poked at her salad absentmindedly. She looked over to the front table where the bride and groom were meeting people and suddenly felt strangely hollow. What was she going to do now? She'd dedicated her life to sculpting her boy into the perfect young man, and now she just gave him away. She brought her hand down hard, clattering the fork on the table. She looked around at her tablepartners; they were all buisiness associates of her husband and seemed to look right through her.
She stood and excused herself, made her way through the sea of tables and finally took a deep breath when she got out of the room. "Eightteen years of my life..." She leaned against the wall and mumbled softly. "I've done nothing with myself."
She heard a door open down the hallway and straightened up off the wall. As she turned the corner she saw her boy, slightly flustered and sneaking towards the kitchen. As she walked up to him Haku reached through the door to the kitchen and the lights went off in the building. He turned around and froze. She stepped towards him and grabbed his arm, "What did you do?!", and the emergency sprinklers turned on. "I'm sorry mum, I'm starting a new life now." He smiled at her and pulled his arm loose, Zabuza came out of the reception hall slightly soaked and they quickly left the building.
It was still sunny outside, and Haku pulled his hair loose to dry. The air smelled like freedom and his heart was racing, defiance! "Please tell me we're not going back in?", he asked, smiling brightly. Zabuza chuckled, "Never in my life." He stepped closer and cupped the other's face, Haku felt breathless as the man leaned down and kissed him hard. "You did well." he said after letting go of that soft blushing face. "I think we'll get along."
He reached into his pocket and frowned, his phone was soaking wet. Haku giggled accidentily, "I'm sorry!" Zabuza looked at those sparkly deviant eyes and grinned, "You better be, because now you are walking to the busstop in a dress." Haku's face fell, "The bus? Really?" The man raised an eyebrow at him while they started down the street in sloshing shoes. "What's wrong with the bus?" Haku tied his hair up in a ponytail and grimached, "My mother told me only perverts and criminals ride the bus." and Zabuza let out a loud HA! "And when she found that out while riding the bus which one was she? The pervert? Or the criminal?" He grinned at the sulking boy. "Well she's never actually ridden the bus..." Haku started off saying. "So she actually has no idea what she's talking about right?" the other finished for him.
"Fine! Lets ride the bus! Lets get stabbed too! And catch venereal disease!" He ranted loudly to the empty street in general, stomping a few feet ahead with his arms crossed. Zabuza was left behind a bit baffled but thoroughly entertained. "Will you change your mind if I promise I won't let anyone molest you?" he jokingly asked, and Haku turned around angrily. "It's not funny!"
They stood staring at eachother for a bit after he spat out the words, suddenly realising what he was doing. Zabuza could literally see the young man shrivel up as the fire in his eyes died down to a smoulder. "I'm sorry, I lost my manners for a bit there." The boy spoke softly, eyes downcast. Zabuza spat out a laugh and lit up a cigarette, "I'll say! Shout at me more often will you?" He patted the boy on the head and walked past him with a grin.
Haku turned on his heels, a devious glitter in his eye, "I'm not going to shout at you just because you want me to!" he all but shouted at the other, who didn't turn around but said; "I'm sorry I can't hear you, you'll have to talk louder." while walking away casually, leaving a wet trail on the sidewalk. Haku ran up to him and grabbed his arm, he pulled the man down towards him and reached up to press his lips against the other's. Zabuza wrapped his arm around the boy's waist and kissed him back carefully, feeding his hunger but not overwhelming him. It was an intricate web he had to weave for this to work out. Haku released him with a sigh and the other finally breathed out the lungful of smoke he'd been keeping in. They walked on contently, Haku felt like there was a ball of light in his stomach and he would dare to do anything when he was with this man.
"You should be proud of yourself." Haku said fake-judgingly. "And why is that?" Zabuza replied fake-defensively. "I've known you for less than two hours and already I've broken more rules than in my entire life!" Haku untied the sash from around his waist and finally threw the pink piece of fabric in the gutter, where it belonged. "So... just the one?" Zabuza asked, amused though curious how this little devil never caused any mischief before. "Yes, but I could break some more? Can I have one?" he gestured to the cigarette hanging from the man's lips and Zabuza shrugged. "Sure, if I'm such a bad influence anyway." He grinned inwardly as the boy took a smoke from his packet and lit it more carefully this time, Haku had definitely been the right choice. "Better this time?" Just as he asked that the other broke out in a coughing fit again, but assured him he had never been better.
When they came to the busstop they had some time to kill and sat down on the cast iron bench. It was warm from the sun and they were finally starting to dry up a bit. Zabuza looked over to where the boy sat next to him, he took careful puffs from his smoke and was looking which way of holding his cigarette looked the coolest. Thumb and index finger worked best but he always saw people on tv holding them between their index and middle finger, this was a true crisis. Zabuza observed silently for a while, marveling at the... creativity shall we call it, of the young.
"Care to break another rule?" he leaned back and reached into his coat pocket at the boy's eager confirmation that he was indeed totally up for breaking rules. He pulled out his small metal flask and screwed the top off, he then handed it to the boy who now held a smoke in one hand and heavy alcohol in the other. Haku took a sip without hesitation and almost managed not to make a face at the horror that he swallowed down. His parents had let him drink wine before but as their company wasn't exactly sparkling he never quite found it worth the hangovers. But now Zabuza was offering him something the man obviously drank in secret himself... how could he ever say no?
Zabuza took back the flask and put it away after taking a drink himself. He sat and watched the young man sit and smoke in the bright morning light at the abandoned busstop and couldn't help thinking how everything had gone so much better than he ever planned it. His morning drinking seemed to help with his intense hatred of smalltalk, which, it would seem, he wouldn't be able to get out of with his bride. And Haku's sheltered, lonely and boring upbringing made the boy ready to jump off a moving train at his command... exactly as it should be.
Haku chose this moment to look up and was startled by the intense darkened eyes that stared back at him, but he managed to find some courage, as he had managed to all the time since he met his husband. "Zabuza... I just want to thank you, I guess. This was really scary when I didn't know who you were or what my life would be like. But now I'm not worried anymore." he spoke softly but couldn't stop smiling when the other pulled him into an embrace and kissed him as the bus pulled up. Zabuza stood and pulled him along, he then turned to the young man with a smile; "Are you ready for your life to start?"
Haku's heart was racing and he had no intention of ever going back. He spoke without a doubt, "Definitely."