Chapter Twenty Seven: The Wish

The night had settled in nicely. Hashi sighed happily as he pulled off the dark tuxedo his beloved older sister had bought for him, and slipped into a long shirt before collapsing on the soft bed in his room. Although he hadn't been the one to beat a king into submission that day, he nonetheless felt absolutely exhausted. He was asleep within seconds.

But, long after the midnight hour had passed, his door slowly creaked open, and a lithe figure slipped through before stealthily making its way to the young human's bed. The steps were light and cautious, as the figure leaned over the young boy, and reached out a hand.

"Hashi," Thomas whispered, shaking his best friend's shoulder insistently. "Wake up, please."

The young brunette groaned, batting the striped cat's hand away angrily. "There's no way that it's morning already," he groaned before Thomas put one hand over the human's mouth.

"It isn't yet," Thomas hissed, his eyes awake and weary. "But we're having a family counsel, and we'd like you to sit in."

Hashi growled again, pulling his friend's hand off his mouth while sitting up. "All right, all right. I'll go get Haru."

"No!" Thomas whispered harshly, his eyes nervously glancing at the door. "It's… well, it's a secret meeting. Just for us and my sisters."

Hashi quirked an eyebrow, but stood up from his bed to crack his neck once before quietly following the tiger-like feline out his door, and into his elder sister's room.

Elly was already sitting on the bed with Lily when the boys slipped through the door, Thomas softly closing the door behind him.

"Okay, I got him," the von Gikkingen boy said in a low tone, pushing his slightly older companion closer to the one candle that the girls had dared to light this late. "Now on to business."

"Just what is this about?" Hashi asked worriedly, seating himself on a stool that had been pulled close to Lily's bed as Thomas sat down on a chair.

"It's about Christmas," Elly whispered excitedly. "Tomorrow's the first of December, and Daddy always asks us what we want for Christmas on the first, so that he doesn't have to rush around at the last minute."

"That's… nice," the dark human said dubiously. "But why did you drag me out of bed to tell me this?"

"We already know what we want for Christmas," Lily said softly, her sparkling blue eyes intense on the human. "But we can't have it without your permission. Father will ask for your permission before he tries to get it for us, and we just want to make sure that you give it."

Hashi opened his mouth to ask what they were talking about, but then his mind clicked awake.

The answer was loud and clear.

He grinned wickedly.

"Oh. That."

"Precisely," Thomas said calmly, his green eyes glowing. "That. Would you mind terribly, sharing that with us?"

"I already am," the human pointed out, still grinning. "But I know what you're trying to say." Hashi shrugged, and smiled roguishly. "I guess it depends on how your father intends to ask for my permission."

ooOoo

Baron jumped out of the high-back chair he had been sitting in, his glowing green eyes huge and slightly wild.

"You want what for Christmas?!" he all but yelled.

Lily looked up at her father again, and repeated the grand total of what she and her siblings wanted. "We want Haru for a step-mother."

Baron's heartbeat began to speed out of control, and his breath became harder and harder to keep. "I don't think you children understand what you're asking," he begged softly as his knees began to turn weak. "I mean, I won't deny that I'm terribly fond of her, but… marriage?!"

"It's really a good idea, Father," Thomas said earnestly. "She does just about everything a real mother does, but the only difference would be that we can call her 'mother' on purpose and we won't have to worry about her leaving us in the future. Please, Father?"

"Children," he said helplessly, feeling like he was being backed up against the wall. "Name something else, anything else!"

"No, Father," Elly insisted. "We want Haru."

Baron braced himself against a wall, still breathing heavily. More than anything, he was grateful that Haru and Hashi were all the way downstairs, preparing a rather large breakfast at his request so that he could have a few moments to speak with his beloved kittens.

"Will… you children give me some time to think this over? And not tell Haru about this?" the tawny feline begged, not wishing for the lovely brunette to find out before he was ready to make his decision.

"Of course, Father," Lily said sweetly. "But don't expect us to change our mind about her. You know she'd make a great mother for us."

Baron couldn't answer that. It was all he could do to leave the room and stumble down the hallway.

The corridor seemed to swim in his vision hazily, and he was forced to balance himself on a wallpapered wall, his breath sharp and unsteady.

"They want Haru?" he whispered harshly to himself as his heart pounded in his ears.

That the fetching brunette and her younger brother had become a part of the von Gikkingen family, he would never deny. Was Haru a joy to be around? Of course. Did he want her to stay forever? Absolutely.

But… marriage?

Even as his mind clung to the memory of his first Baroness, a small rebellious side countered the thought with how wonderful it felt to hold the lovable brunette close, the night of the ball. And how enjoyable her embrace had been when they had sailed under the stars on Toto.

Muta walked out of his bedroom, shutting the door softly so that his wife and kittens could sleep soundly within. "Hey, Baron," the fat white cat said cheerfully before getting a good look at his employer's face. "Hey, you got a headache or something?"

"Or something," Baron groaned, almost limping his way past the enormous feline, and managing the stairs to his chambers at a snail-like pace.

Muta watched him go, more than a little surprised to see his employer act in such an undignified manner.

Baron didn't notice his fat friend's shock. He was too busy trying to reach the large bed in his room so he could collapse on it. For some reason, he felt even more exhausted than he had the night before, despite the fact that it was still morning.

ooOoo

Haru stole yet another glance at the doorway to the kitchen as her soup cooled to the point of tepid. She hadn't seen Baron since early morning, and he was not one to miss out on one of her meals, if he could help it. "Are you sure he said he wasn't hungry?" the slim brunette asked her brother once more, making him growl into his spoon.

"For the last time, yes! Will you stop asking already?!"

"Sorry," Haru said, a little miffed at her brother's tone. "I can't help it; he's never acted like this before."

Lily smirked into her delicately flavored soup, sipping it softly like a lady. "He's just pouting, Haru. He'll get over it soon enough."

"But what is he pouting over?" the human girl pressed, completely missing the evil smirk Tsunami was sending her husband, who looked a little miffed for some reason.

"He told us not to tell you," Elly sang out before taking a big bite out of a still-steaming roll covered with melted butter. The tiny white kitten was smiling a little evilly too, but the nanny noticed this smirk.

"Why?!" Haru demanded. "What doesn't he want me to know about?! Doesn't he trust me?"

"Why don't you go ask him?" Thomas asked calmly while offering a handful of napkins to Muta, who was getting splattered by Haruna's enthusiastic soup splashing.

Haru sighed, rose from her seat at the table, and walked over to the counter.

"Sis?" Hashi asked as Haru poured a cup of steaming tea, and added precisely three drops of milk.

Just the way Baron liked it.

The brunette took the cup by the saucer, and wordlessly headed out of the room. 'Even if he doesn't want to talk to me, he's probably missing his tea by now.'

ooOoo

Baron wasn't quite sure how long he lay there, gazing up into the dark red canopy of his bed.

Even that seemed different now. Of course, Haru had washed the canopy recently, but that wasn't quite it.

For a reason unknown to him, the brunette usually insisted on washing all the laundry in a special mixture of lavender and assorted herbs that gave off a rather comforting smell that seemed to always remind the feline lord of better days.

Not that he minded. If anything, he would have protested if she ever chose to stop.

'Marry Haru… or don't… children… Louise… Oh, Louise.'

A sudden knocking tapped at his door, shattering the Baron's private thoughts. "I'm still not hungry," he called out miserably, hoping that he would be left alone once more. But the door disobediently creaked open.

With a start, despite the fact that his back was toward the door, Baron realized that it was Haru. Anyone else would have begged or ordered him to come downstairs.

But, he couldn't possibly face Haru right now!

"I thought you might be thirsty by now," the lovely brunette said softly, walking closer on those soft, soft feet. Baron could hear the clink of china as the human carefully placed her offering on his bedside table, but he still couldn't turn and face her.

She stood there for a while, looking at him. The tawny feline could feel her gaze pass over his form like a warm blanket against the cold December night. Noticing that he had let his fire go out, Haru calmly walked over to the modest fireplace in the wall and threw a few split logs in before expertly striking a flame with flint and steel. Before a few minutes had passed, the room was once more at a comfortable temperature.

Haru stood up from her labors, and slapped her hands against each other to be rid of any remaining splinters, now at an angle where she could see Baron's face.

Once they locked eyes, Baron couldn't look away from her. There was a bit of injury in those beautiful brown eyes, something that he had thought to have been banished by now.

"Thank you, Baron," Haru said finally, bowing in the fashion of her native kingdom. "Thank you for allowing me to serve you." She smiled a little sadly at him before turning towards the door. But halfway to the new destination, the slim brunette stopped in her tracks.

"Do you remember when you asked me to confide in you whenever I needed to?" Haru asked her employer, turning to look over her shoulder at him. A stiffening of his shoulders told her that he remembered the request all too well.

"I want to let you know how much of a comfort that is to me," the slim girl said softly, choosing her words with great care. "I'm glad that I can trust you with things that no one but my brother knows. I hope that someday, you'll be able to trust me the same way. Good night, Baron."

Although her employer couldn't see it, the girl bowed one more time before softly opening and closing the door after herself.

Baron sat up and stared at her exit point, feeling more than a little ashamed of himself. This wonderful young woman did everything he had ever asked of her, and then some, but he couldn't even bring himself to talk about what his children wanted them to do?

Sighing heavily, he leaned over enough to take the cup of tea she had left behind, and sipped the soothing beverage.

It was perfect, as usual.

For some reason, that made tears flow down his cheeks in a rebellious flood. He silently wept while gazing at the portrait of his beloved Baroness, slowly but surely falling asleep.

That night, his dreams were troubled once more by his adoring Louise, who seemed sadder than he had ever seen her before.

"Marry her," Louise whispered into the tawny feline's ear for the rest of the night. "Marry her, or I'll never forgive you. I won't find another one if you let this one go."