SUMMARY: On a night where the honor student feels like running away from it all, Haku finds them.
WORDS: 908
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I think this was the very first Haku fic I ever wrote... probably over a year and a half ago now? But I'm still happy with it! Read it on ao3 here!
“There you are.”
The last voice that the honor student had expected to hear after sneaking out of the Cathédrale Terminale that night was Haku’s. Truthfully, they hadn’t expected anyone to find them. It was late, and it wasn’t as if they had any roommates to notice when they stepped out to get fresh air.
“What are you doing out here?” the honor student asked softly, glancing over their shoulder to watch the man coming toward them. It’s late, they thought. The only reason I’m even out here is because I couldn’t sleep.
“Isn’t it obvious? Looking for you,” Haku took a seat next to them in the grass, leaning on his arm as he kept his gaze locked on the inspector. He’d found them in one of the few places on campus that rarely any students ever passed - a grassy hill between dorms where the night sky was particularly visible.
Yes, but how did you know I even needed to be found? The honor student pushed that question down, though, deciding to try and not look too deep as to the ghoul’s reason for seeking them out. “I wanted to see the stars,” they looked back up at the night sky. “It’s a new moon tonight, so you can see more than usual.”
Haku hummed. “You’re right,” he noted as he looked up. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
“They are,” the honor student nodded and laid carefully back on the grass, their gaze locked on the sky above. It was almost a conscious decision not to look over at Haku, because they knew they’d give in and gently pry about what brought him out here.
Haku had always flirted, but it seemed every time they tried to get closer… he pulled away. Not in a rude way. Not to ice them out. Almost as if… he couldn’t trust them, or anyone for that matter, enough to let them come close.
Haku laid out next to them, looking over at them and letting his gaze fall onto their neck, where they now knew the curse mark lied. Is their curse progressing? Is that why they can’t sleep?
When Zenji had first told him that he’d seen the honor student wandering off on their own, Haku was struck with worry. It wasn’t unusual for them to overexert themself, to keep the burdens and anxieties about their curse quiet, and each time Haku’s heart sank at the prospect.
He worried for them more than he could admit. There was always a sinking feeling in him that there was nothing he could do other than be there for them, and even then, he felt as though fell short. All he did was fall short in his eyes, barely able to offer anything to the honor student other than reassuring words and his presence.
If he could promise them that everything would be okay, he would. If he could tell the honor student that Darkwick was doing everything in their power to break the Kyklos’ curse, he would. Lying to them, though, was worse than letting the truth hang between them in silence.
Tonight, when they appeared to be just as sleepless as he found himself, Haku could only hope that he’d be enough for them.
Carefully, Haku reached down to put his hand on top of the student’s as he turned back to face the night sky. “One day, I want to take you to my koi pond,” Haku suddenly whispered. “It’s my family’s, really, but I took care of it by myself for a long time. Supposedly Darkwick is taking care of it now.”
The honor student looked over at him, trying to find meaning in his calm expression, in the hand he placed over theirs. “Why all of a sudden…?” they asked softly. “I mean - it’s not that I don’t want to see your koi, but… what made you bring it up?”
“There’s a gazebo on the pond. At night, when you stand on it, you can see the stars all reflecting off the surface of the water. When you see the koi swimming… it almost looks like they’re swimming in the night sky,” Haku looked over at them and offered a gentle smile. “You’d like it. There’s a lot of water lilies and other plants, too. A lot of them could probably use your gentle touch, though. I was a lousy gardener.”
The inspector almost swore that they could see stars reflecting in Haku’s light eyes. “I don’t know if I’m much of a gardener either, but… I’d like that. Maybe you will be able to take me one day,” they suggested softly.
If I ever break this curse, they thought nervously, fighting the urge to reach back and run their fingers over the mark. If I live long enough to see you graduate so we can both go without having to worry about Darkwick pulling us back.
Haku saw a flash of sadness cross their face and shook his head, bringing one free hand up to toss their hair. “Don’t look so melancholy. I’ll find a way to get us there, okay? I promise you. Until then… the stars are still just as pretty when you’re by my side.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” the honor student whispered before they could second-guess their words.
Haku drew in a deep breath, looking up at the sky. “I intend to keep this one,” he muttered softly, just barely loud enough for them to hear. “Because if I can help it, we will find a way to break your curse. It’s just a matter of time.”
Time, they thought. The one thing I wish I could give more of to you. I don’t have much, though. Do I just have to hope that when you’re ready, the time will come?
“I’ll wait for you, then. And we’ll go to your pond together.”
Ranking all of the One Piece movies I've watched recently based on how much I personally enjoyed them.
7. Film Z: I liked this one thematically. I think it's the first post-timeskip movie and you can really feel the change in both the world and the crew, which is cool. Plot-wise I found it mildly confusing and not as fun as the others, though. Also I wanted to see more of the Straw Hats turned into babies.
6. Stampede: Seeing all the Supernovas team up was fun, though this movie definitely kind of felt like an excuse to just have as many fan-favourite characters in one movie as possible. (It was the 20th anniversary though so I'll give it to them.) I did really like Usopp's little arc in this movie - any time Usopp gets to shine makes me happy, and Usopp carrying Luffy's unconscious body across the battlefield got me emotional... Also Mihawk's like ten second appearance in this movie just to show up Zoro at meteor-slicing skills was funny as hell.
5. Strong World: This one was pretty good! Cool setting, cool outfits, and fun sub-divisions of the crew. (Zoro & Chopper, Sanji & Usopp, and Brook & Franky & Robin are such good mini groups.) Also it's sort of a thematic successor to Nami's backstory which hits right in the heart.
4. Curse of the Sacred Sword: This one actually had a very cool premise, and some fun character pair ups. (Loved Luffy and Usopp's little side quest.) Also Zoro's history with Saga was gay as hell, and Saga and Maya and Toma were all great characters, I liked them a lot.
3. Film Red: The vibes in this movie are cool as hell, especially towards the end. Kinda surreal and trippy with cool music. Also fun to flesh out Shanks and Luffy's backstory, and Uta is a cool character herself. Also Law and Barto and Coby and Helmeppo are all in this one and I <3 them. (Kind of the same vibe as Stampede when it comes to piling on the fan-favourite characters but I liked the plot more than Stampede so. It gets to be higher on the list.)
2. Film Gold: I love a good casino heist. Straw Hats doing a casino heist?? Fun as hell. Love that Zoro is the one who needs rescuing in this one. Love that Nami has a whole thing with her thief rival ex girlfriend. Also maybe it's because of the heist structure, but the plotting of this movie feels tighter than a lot of the others. Would definitely watch this one again.
1. Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island: Still my favourite one!! This one is just so cool and bizarre. This one and Red are the only ones that I've watched multiple times. I love the vibes and the art style. Love that it turns into a freaky horror movie by the end. If you're only going to watch one of them, watch this one.
Anyways, these are all of the ones I've watched so far... Are any of the other ones worth watching? Let me know!
anyways, tim getting voted out of being leader was super funny and they should have kept it. also damian should be part of his own generation of super heroes, i think they should get a new name though
