Work Text:
She wasn't as quick on her feet as Haku was. That was to be expected-- she was human, and he wasn't. Still, his patience made up for it. He waited a few feet ahead at a time as she trudged up the jagged rocks that covered the mountain, his form obscured by early morning fog the colour of cobwebs.
The way her shoes didn't slip on the snow had something to do with Haku, she was sure of it. Not that it was bad-- she smiled at him from the distance-- a silent thanks.
No one came here, not at this time of the year, when even the plants preferred to shed for the season and fall asleep draped in thin layers of frost. But it was on her request that they came, and part of her was now regretting it. Not the part that was curious about Haku, but the other part, the part that was all flesh and no soul, that wanted to cool off when it was hot and wanted warmth and fire when it was cold.
She wasn't usually so forward when asking about him, his past-- he was a puzzle with millions of pieces, and she'd always liked puzzles. She'd wait patiently for each piece he gave her when he chose to.
She was patient, but she was also human. And sometimes humans get curious, and ask for more than they're given.
I want to meet your parents, she'd said the day after their wedding. It wasn't a demand, but a hopeful request-- and he was never one to dash her hopes. Haku never mentioned his parents, but he didn't keep them secret, either. The moment she asked-- because she no longer had the patience to wait for him as he brought them up on his own-- he offered to take her, to see where he came from.
That was two weeks ago. Now they were on the way, and she had not the slightest inkling of what to expect-- a spirit in human form, a dragon, or something else altogether. She didn't know how to feel, either-- excited, nervous? Scared?
But the fear came in flashes that didn't last long-- This was Haku's origins they were going to, and he couldn't have come from anything other than good, anything other than kind and sturdy and calm.
After what felt like hours-- but wasn't, because the sun was still yet to rise-- Haku stopped and turned to her. As she got closer, she could see his nose was red-- as was hers, too, probably. It made him even cuter, more than anything else. His breath fogged the air as he held down a hand to help her. "Chihiro. We're here."
She grasped his hand and climbed the remaining couple of steps, and then they were at the very top of the mountain, thousands of feet above ground, and a mere few feet away from falling. There was no sound here, not any birds, not any insects. Nothing moved. Winter touched everything, and the frozen time was no different. Chihiro's heart beat loudly inside her chest. She stared into the distance, and without Haku having to point it out, at once she could tell where it was, this being they'd come to meet. It wasn't the singular, grand mountain that stood not near, and not far either-- it was the glacier that crowned it, pristine and proud as its top edge shone orange under a faint, slowly-awakening sun.
Even as Chihiro stood transfixed, Haku said-- "It used to be larger."
A shiver ran up Chihiro's spine, carrying a strange mix of awe and admiration, joy, and again, briefly-- something akin to fear. "When did you last see it?"
"Vague glimpses. When I was born."
So centuries ago. "That sounds like a long time," she said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper-- the glacier subdued her, or maybe it was the cold. But this didn't feel like a place to take lightly. It was to be revered, she felt it in her bones. And to talk in anything louder than a whisper just felt wrong, in the midst of this motionless foggy silence.
"I never felt the pull to come here, to these origins of mine," he explained. "Spirits don't have familial attachments like humans do."
And yet.
"We don't need bonds. Connections. We exist on our own."
And yet, he chose her, chose to seek her.
Chose to be with her every day.
She inched a bit closer to him, where she could hold his hand. Hers was colder than his, but he didn't pull away. He held it tighter, his fingers fitting perfectly between her own. Chihiro brimmed with questions, but they had to be tackled one at a time. She took another look at the glacier. "So, is that... is that your mother or father?"
Haku let out a breath, something just short of laughter. "Neither."
"O-- oh, I'm sorry,"
He shook his head. "The glacier birthed me, but never took human form."
"I see."
"This is where I come from."
Indeed. The glacier stood higher than anything around them. Yet for all its majestic aura, it was simple, nothing flashy-- an expanse of pure white. It exuded power through its mere existence, it commanded respect without asking for it. Yet it nurtured millions with cool, life-giving water, and asked for nothing in return.
It was like a mirror to Haku. No-- to Kohakunushi.
She turned to him with a smile. "I got one more."
"What?"
She got one more piece to the intricate puzzle that was Haku-- a piece that was merely a drop in the sea of other pieces, but significant all the same. She shook her head. "Nothing." The glacier glinted in the sunlight, which had now spread across the entirety of its cool white surface, as well as the mountain beneath. She took in the sight, swore to treasure it the way she treasured everything that was a piece of Haku. "I'm glad we came."