"Baron!" The man the title belonged looked up from studying how the rainwater ran in rivulets over his shoes to see who was calling his name. Of course, as fate would have it, it was the unrequited love of his life in a lavender raincoat and vibrant yellow rain boots. Her hair was plastered to her scalp and her cheekbones, the umbrella at her side providing absolutely zero protection from the downpour. He smiled, though there was no happiness in it, and rose to greet her.

But before he could even say hello, Haru had thrown her arms around his neck, causing him to stumble a little before he regained his footing and she began to speak.

"I was worried sick about you!" she cried into his wet shoulder. "I didn't know where you were and then it started raining and I… I… don't you ever run off like that again Baron!" She buried her nose into his sleeve and sniffed. "I don't think my heart could take it."

Shell shocked at this sudden confession, his hands hovered in the air for several awkward moments before he gently touched them to her back to return the embrace. A traitorous sigh almost slipped out of his lips, and he frowned inwardly. How could he enjoy her closeness when he knew she was spoken for? He should be ashamed of himself.

Too bad he couldn't find it in him to feel even slightly guilty about it.

After a moment of simply clinging to him and inhaling several deep breaths, Haru pulled back and gazed up into his eyes.

"Belinda told me about your wish," she whispered, reaching up to brush strands of sopping hair off his forehead. "She said you wished for my happiness. Why?"

"I saw you with another man," he murmured in reply, letting his eyes slid shut in an effort to mask the pain it caused him to say it. "He proposed, and you accepted."

There was a hesitation, and he opened his eyes just enough to see her lower lip firmly clutched between her teeth, her own eyes having slid to the ground. "You saw that?" He nodded forlornly. "Did you see who it was who proposed to me?"

"Just that he was a fellow with black hair."

"Um… that was Tsuge."

He turned to her abruptly. "I had no idea he was the one you were seeing. You certainly didn't act like—"

"That's because I'm not. And we're not." She sighed, absently smoothing out the wrinkles in his collar. "Tsuge's planning on proposing to Hiromi, his girlfriend, but he wanted to practice on me first. We're not in love, we're not engaged, and we never were."

This proved to be an interesting twist. "I… I-I thought…" he stammered, struggling to string together coherent sentences.

"Baron," she interjected, "the only person I would ever want to get on one knee and propose to me is you. I love you Baron."

He stared at her, the shock striking him speechless. What was he supposed to say to this sudden declaration of love?

Haru shrugged. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess. My crush didn't stay a crush for long once we said goodbye two years ago. I never dreamed you would literally show up on my doorstep, but I'm not complaining."

He was still having difficulty wrapping his head around her confession. "You… you love me?"

She smiled. "With all my heart."

A grin spread across his features as he brought his arms from behind her back and cupped her face in both hands, lightly stroking her cheek with his thumb and watching as her eyelids slid shut, a quiet sigh slipping past her lips. Before she could pull away or a distraction of some sort could appear, he closed his eyes and leaned forward until their lips connected, kissing her with all the passion and love that had been building in his heart since that first moment he saw her through the window. He felt Haru's lips curve into a smile as her arms tightened around his neck, pulling him even closer. Really, could this moment get any better?

A loud noise behind him startled them both, and their mouths were jostled apart to identify the sound. Hugging Haru close, he leaned over her shoulder to gaze at Belinda, who was giggling excitedly. "Something funny Belinda?" he asked genially.

The fairy shook her head, beaming a radiant smile at him. "Baron, do you what this means?"

"Haru and I love each other?"

"Well, yes, but no that's not…"

"She isn't really engaged to Tsuge?"

"No..."

"We—"

"Okay, stop guessing!" She sighed, shaking her head in exasperation and muttering under her breath about never asking him that again if he was going to be so smart-alecky—he and Haru both grinned at that—and she regained her composure. "Baron, do you remember my spell? The one that made you human?"

He arched an eyebrow but nodded. "'Seven days and true love's kiss will make this transformation complete,' right?" he responded, wondering where this was going.

"Well… you've done it!"

"Done what?"

"True love's kiss!" she cried, hardly able to contain her excitement. "You and Haru love each other, so when you kissed her it made you human! Permanently!"

As her words sunk in, his face began to fall. He was human permanently? But… but what about his house back at the Refuge? What about Toto and Muta? Who was going to stop their arguments and clean up their messes? Who was going to feed them and take care of them if he wasn't there? And who was going to be there in case more people needed help, like Haru had? Who was going to run the Cat Bureau if he couldn't even fit into his own house?

Cool fingertips grazing his cheekbone drew his attention down to the young woman in his arms, whose expression was beginning to mimic his own. He forced a smile, hoping she hadn't gotten the idea into her head that he didn't want to be human with her, but when she returned the smile it was genuine, and she tilted her head toward the fairy. "Belinda, I know what I want to wish for," she said, letting her fingers linger on his cheek.

Belinda fluttered over and dug her wand out from a mysterious pocket in her dress. "What?"

Glancing out of the corner of her eye up at his face, she exhaled once and said, "I wish there was a way for Baron to return to his former self any time he wants. And, if there's a way I can switch between cat and human forms too, that'd be a really nice bonus…"

Beaming, she waved her wand nonchalantly. "Done and done. It'll take me a while to work out the kinks in the spell and stuff, but I can do it." She crossed her arms over her chest, painfully smug. "Told you I could do something right Baron."

"That you did Belinda," he responded, grasping Haru's chin in his hand to return her attention to him, and he gazed into her bottomless brown eyes. "That you did." Bending down to her lovely lips again, he felt a purr rumble in his throat, edging into their kiss. After a moment though he had to jerk back and he turned his head away from her, covering his nose and mouth with his hand.

"Achoo!"

Haru playfully shook her head, wet strands of hair slapping her in the face. "Your first cold Baron," she said teasingly. "How cute is this? I should get a picture."

He grinned. "I thought we were done taking my picture," he remarked, leaning in to kiss her again.

She pressed her hands to his chest in an effort to dodge his mouth, her face strained as she tried very hard not to giggle. "Eww, you're going to make me sick!" she squealed, ducking her head.

His smile widened. "As a couple, we're obliged to share everything."

"Even colds?"

"Even colds, especially considering this is my first. All the more reason for you to sympathize with me." Her halfhearted attempts crumbled as he kissed her again, and this time there were no interruptions.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Not one of my longest chapters, but... yay, he finally kissed her! Three times, no less! And he's caught a cold because he's been sitting in the rain, completely drenched, for way too long. But, because it's Baron, he can make it look good :). Can ya'll suffer with me for one more chapter? It'll be extra sappy and cute...