Title: 44. It is not for nothing he has chosen to shed tears.

Pairing/Character/s: Yuki/Machi, Rin/Haru

Word Count: 505 words

Summary: Yuki asks Haru for advice but Haru wants to give approval.

A/N: I just wanted to write Rin/Haru. And also, I promised to write this way back in Ch. 16, but couldn't glue the words together until now.

"So would you tell her?" Haru asks quietly, eyes gauging Yuki's expression. He's lying down on the couch like a therapy patient but it's easy to tell he's being serious. Yuki, however, is completely confused.

Haru is wise beyond his years, so he's seen what Yuki has missed.

"Tell her what?"

"Tell her that you were possessed by the rat," Rin finished bluntly, looking up from the bowl of lime gelatin and grapes in front of her.

Yuki furrows his brow, looking around the room; anywhere but at Haru. The question unnerves him. He can't answer it. This is Haru and Rin's living room with plain beige walls and comfortable black couches. From her seat by the balcony window, Rin shoots Haru a look. The look.

"You haven't even thought of telling her?" Haru says carefully, removing any accusation from his voice.

"I have! Except... it's not part of my life anymore." Yuki lies down on the huge rug in the middle of the room. "And I don't want to get back into that. I don't want to talk about it or think about it."

"You just said she told you all her secrets and you're in love."

Yuki looks up at a ceiling painted navy blue to mimic the night sky. "I've thought about telling her a lot of times. It's hard to believe, hard to explain, hard to accept-"

"Then what have you told her?" Haru watches Yuki's frown deepen into a scowl. Sighing, he turns to Rin. "Hey, Rin. Want to go meet Kuragi-san? Maybe we'll tell her-"

"Machi hates rats!" The couple turn at lightening speed, startled by Yuki's sudden outburst and intrigued by this new information. He's now sitting up, shaking. "I didn't know it at first, but..." His face twists in pure terror. "She buys new rat traps every week... Haru- This isn't funny!"

Rin had reacted first, choking on a grape. Haru managed to hold in his laughter, rolling off the couch to pat his girlfriend on the back. But somewhere along the way it became too funny and he started laughing uncontrollably at the situation, tears running down his cheeks.

"Haru..." Yuki pauses to allow for enough of his killing aura to fill the room. "I'm going to kill you."

Still amused, Haru stops laughing long enough to throw out a threat. "I'll tell Kuragi-san."

"You wouldn't-"

"Aw, Yuki, don't get so mad. If anything, this means you're really in love with her." Yuki manages to calm down, face red with humiliation. "Rin, our daughter is leaving the nest," Haru sighs, wiping some more tears from his eyes. "We should go meet Kuragi-san!" He stands up, decision made. "OK. Next Thursday I'm free."

"Wait, what do you mean next Thursday? I still haven't solved the rat problem!"

Haru's wisdom comes through for him. "Well... what sane person doesn't try to kill the rats in their house?"

"Haru sure is lucky Yuki loves him too much to kill him," Rin thinks to herself, eating another spoonful of gelatin.

A/N: Next... Machi gets to meet Yuki's family! (Except for Ayame. That's coming some other time.) First she meets Haru and next... Yuki's mother! Think about it for a while before attacking... Please?

Also, who would like to see Machi meet Kisa and Hiro? I'm thinking a Mogeta fan club starts between them...