Baron absently swung the umbrella around in circles, ducking his head beneath the archway as he departed from the Refuge, angry caws and hisses going completely over his head.

The night before, he hadn't been able to sleep. He hadn't been able to sleep because he'd been on the verge of telling Haru that he loved her when her cell phone had interrupted him. Again. And after she finished her phone call she wouldn't meet his gaze and whenever he would speak she'd mumble an answer in response, then she ate her dinner in a rush and disappeared into her room. Mrs. Yoshioka had practically pounced on him the minute Haru left the room, but he swore he hadn't tried anything and claimed he didn't know what was wrong.

The weather reflected his mood well: gloomy with a chance of rain. Baron knew several things that contributed to his rather downcast mood: today was his last day, he had yet to actually kiss Haru, and he didn't know if she felt the same way about him as he did her.

Because last night, when he couldn't sleep, he realized that he loved her, he always had, and he always would. There was no getting out of it and frankly, he didn't want to.

He knew that every time she down next to him he felt happier, but he also felt guilty. He was a cat figurine, and tomorrow he would return that state, in between life and inanimate. Although he acknowledged this fact, he didn't know what else to do because sitting alone when he knew he could be with her was agony.

Because he would rather be anywhere than in that house with the two women who looked and acted way too similarly, he had returned to the Refuge when Haru had left for her art class for the afternoon and errands after. And, so he wouldn't cause her too much discomfort, he volunteered to find his own way back to her house.

But now as he walked, swinging the umbrella much the way he did his cane, he decided that he couldn't leave loose ends when he left her for good. Even if Haru's crush had faded over the years and she did consider their relationship purely platonic, he decided he had to finish his confession and tell her the truth. No time like the present, right?

An hour later—he took his time—Baron found himself in familiar territory and he followed the pavement to Haru's residence.

Bending to undo the knots in his laces, his eye caught movement in the living room through the parted curtains. Unsure exactly what he was seeing, he leaned closer.

Haru was standing in the living room, a rather serious expression on her face. However, her eyes gave away her true mood as they sparkled in delight. Standing in front of her with his back to the window, was a slender young man with short black hair. As Baron watched, the man took one of her hands in his own and got to one knee before her.

A sharp pain tore at his heart as he watched the man hold up a little cream box and pry open the lid. His heart fairly cracked when Haru nodded. It broke into a million tiny pieces when she threw her arms around his neck in a warm embrace, a bright smile on her lips. The lips he'd almost kissed several times.

The ones he could never kiss now.

He straightened and stumbled away from the window. He didn't want to believe it, but what else was he supposed to do? He had witnessed the entire proposal, from the question to the acceptance. His chest hurt as his grip loosened and the umbrella fell from his hand to clatter to the pavement. Then he turned around and walked away.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Before you all come at me with torches and pitchforks, let me remind you this is a BaronxHaru story. Just saying.