Just kidding about graduating! Last chapter NOW! You guys and your super nice reviews keep me going strong, thank you all so very very much! ;A; To finish this bad boy up, have some corny shit! awwww yiss.

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The tops of trees scrape the sky, encircling you in an oval of dappled shade. A threadbare wind blows strands of grass into your face, but you do not move to brush them away. Haku lies warm against you, encircled in one of your arms, his head rising and falling with each of your cautious breaths. His hair gives off a scent somewhere between apple blossoms, soap, and sex. As for you, never before have you felt such peace- not in life and not in death. And then, perhaps due to your relaxation, you feel your muscles become numb and your body shifting once again of its own accord. Whoever is controlling you has gathered his wits and is preparing to use you. You look down at Haku and kiss his forehead while you are still capable. Clothes are hastily thrown upon your bodies, before your sweat has finished drying.

In minutes every ounce of control has fled, and you are running side by side with Haku toward your destination. You do not say a word to him, a debilitating blanket of intense fucking guilt having already closed up your throat. You have already done the impossible and told him that you- love him-… what more can you do to embarrass yourself? He speaks for you.

"We're going to have to fight, is that right, Zabuza-sama?"

"Right."

"And now I'm going to fail as your weapon- fail to protect you again," his voice is barely audible. "Like I did back then."

You do not reply. You cannot.

As long as you've known Haku, you have never understood why he was willing to sacrifice everything for you. You doubt if you ever will. Yours is a persona that most people fear, and yet Haku always stayed by your side and strove to get closer. Beating down your humanity has been your purpose in life, and yet Haku effortlessly called the emotions you kicked away the most savagely back to the surface.

Loping along past trees and across meadows, watching Haku's face as he glides along next to you, you recall two moments in time. The first comes to you when you see Haku's eyes dart to yours for an instant, then look away before you can shift your expression. You and he were alive, and although Haku was obviously interested in you at that point, you hadn't yet had your first personal encounter. The memory is too isolated and fragmented for you to be able to assign a date or time to it. It was dusk, and Haku was sitting with you as you wiped down your kunai knives. As always, he sat tight against your side and touched you often- the brush of a thigh here, a finger there, a smooth forearm grazing your own as he reached to pluck a clean cloth from the heap between you. The two of you were silent for a long, easy stretch of time, and you remember being caught off-guard by his soft voice.

"Sometimes I wonder why some moments are supposed to be worth more than others," he said simply, "because right now, sitting here with my master, cleaning knives and waiting for the sun to set feels like the most important thing in the world to me."

At the time you dismissed it as sycophanty, but at the time you were also the densest fucking idiot you can currently think of. The second memory is from later down the line, on one of those sleepless nights during which Haku talked instead of slept. That day had been frustrating for you, and you took it out on the boy in bed that evening. Nearly ten minutes had passed since you'd finished and he was still breathing hard. You can still feel the needling sting of the crescents that his fingernails left on your shoulderblades.

"Zabuza-sama," he whispered.

You hummed in reply, readjusting your arm around his waist.

"I want to tell you something."

"Make it quick, Haku, I can't screw another mission up tomorrow."

"It won't take more than a moment. I promise that I will always stay faithful to you, and that I will never fight for anyone else but you."

It was just like Haku to say things like that. Sentimental, poetic things that made your insides shrink and thickened your words to an immovable mush. "Aren't those two the same thing?" you finally replied.

"No, Zabuza-sama," he shook his head and placed a hand upon your chest. "I say one as a man and one as a weapon. Both belong to you."

You can still feel the ghost of his hand, warm and rubbing up and down your bare chest. You look over at him again, and for once in your life you make a conscious effort to think like he does. This moment between you- the wind in your faces, the sensation of each others' bodies still fresh upon your skin, the reflective aura that permeates the air every time you make love, is as precious as any moment you spent kissing him, fucking him, touching him. More so.

"Haku," you mutter, "I wanna tell you something."

He nods at you, and you're floored by the dedication still burning in his eyes. You would've given up on a shithead like yourself years ago, but not the boy. That thought urges you forward.

"We will not let this battle take away our honor. Even if you didn't win, you died to protect me, and I-" you falter here. After all, you died avenging him, but you could never tell him that. "And I... died honorably too. Fuck if we're gonna disgrace ourselves for the coward behind all this."

Haku broke into a smile. "I love you, Zabuza-sama," he said.

You were quiet for a long time before cracking the corner of your mouth murmuring "you know I do, too."

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Wow, I'm really tired. Oh well, hoped you enjoyed that! :D This will always be my favorite pairing to write and I thank y'all again for the support you gave to me for this story and the last one. Stay tuned for more crap from me- coming soon, hopefully~!