There she was. (Y/n) sat on the couch, huddled up in a blanket and reading a book like she had been there for a while. She also had the television on to the news to keep track of things happening. The brunette wondered if she had seen him on there. He hoped so. If so, then he wouldn't have to wait for her to watch it to praise him. After all, he did everything she asked for, so he really wanted to be rewarded for his good work.

"Welcome back," the younger girl smiled, sending shivers down the male's spine, "Good job today."

"Hm? Really?"

"Of course. I'm a little surprised you actually went through it and there were definitely a few rough points here and there, but I think you improved."

"Then - "

"Sure, come here."

The (h/c) haired girl patted the seat next to her. And though Haru moved forward at once to take it, he stopped himself, remembering what she had told him. Again, he had to wait five seconds to see if she was really okay with it. After the set time, when he was sure it was okay, he wasted no time at all, sitting down next to her and moving to rest his head on her shoulder. That being said, she put her hand up, meaning that he was being denied. Pouting, the male tried to control his desire to do it anyway. He always had trouble with that, but, in the end, that time, he was successful.

"Thank you," she smiled, patting his head to his utter delight, "You've gotten better at this, too, haven't you?"

"I've been working really hard."

"I can tell. I'm proud of you."

The brunette gave a satisfied smile - or a look of contentedness, she couldn't quite tell - before settling into the couch. He rested his cheek on a pillow and sighed. It would have been so much easier if she would just let him rest on her shoulder. Everything would have been so much easier if he could just do whatever he wanted. But she made sure to teach him what was alright and what was not. And unfortunately, she didn't seem to feel the same way about him just yet. Still, he never gave up, probably evident in the topics he chose to bring up to her.

"Does that mean we can have babies now?"

The brunette's eyes glimmered and he gave the biggest smile he could muster up. Unfortunately, she didn't seem so pleased with it. Rather, she shut her eyes tightly and smacked the male lightly on the head with a newspaper. He regressed in shock, giving a light "umph" before rubbing his nose where she always hit him. Of course, she never did it harshly, just a light tap, but, still, Haru really hated the newspaper. It always meant she was mad at him.

"I told you to stop asking," the younger girl huffed, settling Bastien on her lap much to both of the boys' delight.

"But...maybe you changed your mind."

"No. If I change my mind, I'll let you know."

"Okay," the male nodded, making eye contact with his little brother for a few seconds before perking up again, "Did you change your mind yet? If you did, can we have a boy first? And can we name him - "

Again, the male was bopped on the nose with the newspaper, giving an extremely offended look. Still, he didn't know her answer if she didn't say it with her own lips, so she had to tell him "no" once again. He sulked, as per usual. The outcome of that scenario was always the same no matter what. It was the same the day their arrangement began, too. But...she was a lot more mad at him back then.

He didn't understand, really, until she explained it to him. When she ran away from the home he'd built, he felt betrayed. He then figured it would be best to get rid of any obstacles standing in between them, namely a particular individual she probably would have said yes to having babies with. But he wasn't home, so Haru got a little frustrated, and he ended up killing people she later explained were pretty much her family.

In the beginning, she yelled and screamed at him about how much they meant to her, but he only really got it when she said that word. Haru was a little obsessed with that word: family. She could maybe see why that was after spending so much time with his little brother, his father, and the rare sightings of his mother, but it didn't justify his actions. Still, maybe it was because of the immediate sadness that washed over him when he realized the people he killed were like her family.

The rare sight of him crying made her think a lot, and, in the end, she realized she didn't have a home any longer. It took her a few months, and to her surprise, Haru let her stay in one of his family's hotels for the entire duration. She was well taken care of, and though she was incredibly lonely, she felt safe. Of course, the brunette called her almost religiously to check up on her, but he didn't do anything if she didn't reply. He probably just got upset and pouted, but he abstained from violence or rash actions after her scoldings.

After a while, the girl's grief faded away. Obviously, she missed the Shiko family dearly, and she loved them more than her own, but, at the very least, the most precious person in that family was alive. She hadn't heard from him and he seemed to disappear off the face of the earth, but he hadn't been killed. That was probably the best Haru could have hoped for. If he had killed the person that had always been by her side, she wouldn't have forgiven him no matter how much she pitied Haru.

And, in fact, it was that pity that made her offer him a proposition. She had moved into his mansion in Echal along with Bastien and the rest of the Akahito family. Out of her concern for Haru's inability to understand other people's feelings, she took it upon herself to take up the role. Unlike some...others...Haru was able to change. He just had to learn what was right and what was wrong, and surprisingly, he picked up very well on it. In just a day, he had learned to give her personal space. It never dawned on him that she may not like his proximity the way he did hers.

Then she had gotten him to understand he couldn't use violence when he got upset. After that, it was getting him to exercise self-restraint by waiting five seconds for approval. Of course, Haru was far from perfect, but he was very eager to learn if it made her want to stay with him. And he did show regret for having harmed her family. It just took him some getting used to was all. That was probably why she felt inclined to stay with him and not give up on him. It only made him fall harder for her.

"You didn't like it?" the brunette questioned, trying to make sure he understood her displeasure lest he make her upset again, "I'm sorry."

"And?"

"Um...c-can I...Can I do anything to make up for it?" he hummed, looking up at the ceiling as he tried to recall the phrase she gave him to memorize, "Ah, please?"

"No. I'm just happy you remembered that. Let's play games?"

Haru's eyes lit up. He was very, very happy to play with her, particularly because she always smiled when they did it together, unlike other things. The more she had stayed at their mansion, the more she had changed, bit by bit. And, in the end, his father extended an offer of employment to her, giving her the spot that Haru was supposed to take. Though, since he had never been interested in running the Akahito empire his ancestors had built - instead turning to his own devices - she had taken it instead. And she was better than he could have ever been.

She was a natural-born leader, surprisingly. Despite her antisocial perspective in high school and downright unapproachable attitude in middle school, she was very liked by the people she dealt with. She also became far more confident and self-fulfilled. Haru liked that her a lot. He really liked her that way. She was very self-assured and carried herself with dignity. Pride finally stuck itself into her heart. Granted, she became a bit of a workaholic, but it made her happy, and when she was happy, she smiled, and when she smiled, Haru smiled, too. So, all was well.

Bastien mumbled to himself, reaching to his brother in anticipation of joining their game. His big brother passed him his special control; the one he got specifically to play with his brother. It didn't work. It wasn't even able to turn on. But since Haru would point at the screen and tell him he was a character on it, Bastien was more than satisfied. From time to time, he would mash buttons and squeal, looking over at either his big brother or (Y/n) for approval. And when they would smile at him and compliment him, he would turn back and put his all into his performance to repeat the process all over again.

"Are you coming with your father to the field trip tomorrow?" the girl suddenly questioned, making the brunette frown, "For the new resort?"

"I don't want to...so I won't."

"It'd make him happy. He said he wanted your opinion on the tech they'll use. It's a collaboration between both your guys' companies, you know. It won't work without you."

Haru pouted. He really didn't like doing anything that wasn't in his interest zone, and that only comprised of "family" and "technology". Though that first term was used, the second was something that the brunette put his heart and soul into. He created so many incredible things that the world changed drastically, with almost everyone having something made by his strangely genius mind. Not only was everything he made useful and effective, built to last, but it was insanely cheap. He didn't run the company for profit but for his own amusement. If he built more, he'd have his own funds, and if he had those, he could build more. That was his usual process of thinking - very circular and sustainable.

Unfortunately, he really disappointed his father in the beginning, the man always looking to see Haru taking over the Akahito legacy. Obviously, the man was thrilled for the brunette's success and his happiness with what he did, but it did tear them apart a little. That was why he was a little downtrodden the past few weeks. And since she worked so closely with his father in her position, it was a little hard to miss, and even harder to not feel sympathy for.

"Well...alright," she sighed, knowing nothing she wanted to offer could change the brunette's mind, "D-Damn it!"

Haru smirked slyly in victory, being given a punch to the arm by the girl he had defeated via the game system. Most of the time, he won, and most of the time, she became enraged, so much so that she occasionally broke her controller. Then she would try harder to beat him before he completely dominated her. In the end, it was all a load of fun for them, but Bastien seemed to always give great concern over their play-fighting.

Sometimes, he would begin to whimper before bursting into tears, reaching out his arms in a grabby manner to be picked up. The little brunette was a very smart boy, just like his brother, but he was much better at reading people and getting them to do what he wanted. That was why he acted in such a saddened manner. Almost always, one of them would pick him up and the other would coo at him to make him feel better. And doing that made them both stop "fighting" and pay him attention. It was a win-win for the little scheming Akahito.

"Your brother is so mean, Bastien," the girl cooed, bouncing the baby boy on her lap, "He won't even go easy on me."

"That's lying," Haru grumbled, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Right, right. But you would let me win all the time, wouldn't you, Bastien? You're such a cutie pie!"

The little brunette squealed with excitement, waving his arms up and down as she hugged him tightly. Strangely enough, Haru was never jealous when she did that. Even though he was very easily agitated by anyone he perceived was trying to steal the (h/c) haired girl away from him, oddly enough, Bastien was an exception. It may have been because he was a baby. Though, if she was being perfectly honest with herself, it was most likely because he was family. That was how Bastien could get away with things no one else could.

For instance, the brunette absolutely couldn't stand it when anyone touched his snacks. He was very territorial over them, so much so that, if he discovered anyone was in his special pantry, he would throw everything out. The male would very much have instead disposed of everything than eat something touched by someone else's hands. Similarly, if a chef ever made a meal for him, he would always be there to supervise the process. He was very, very picky about food, too, so mealtime was a nightmare for the Akahito housekeepers.

And yet, if Bastien ever snuck into the male's pantry and munched on his food, his older brother would just dismiss it. It was like he thought the only bad germs were ones that came from people outside of his bloodline. Sometimes, he could even be a little territorial about his snacks even when (Y/n) tried to grab some. Of course, when he saw her become surprised, he would offer them to her...on the condition she give him a baby. Suffice it to say, she never accepted those snacks.

The entire rest of the day, both of them played game after game, unwinding after their work. And though the younger girl convinced the both of them they would go to sleep at 10 at the latest, they ended up going well past midnight before collapsing of exhaustion. Bastien, being the good baby he was, fell asleep long before they did, being carted to his crib by one of his many nannies. And Haru got to fall asleep on the couch with the girl he very much adored. He had a lot of good dreams.

And when they woke up, the male was delighted to see her still there, a bit of a snore coming from the odd way her head was positioned. He gave a yawn, stretching his arms behind his head before hearing his stomach rumble. Groaning, he sat still. Normally, he would have just gone to grab a snack to hold him over until he was nagged to eat a real meal, but he didn't know when he would get to be with (Y/n) like that again. She liked sleeping by herself, which he didn't really understand.

The male slumped against the couch arm, watching the serene expression of the younger girl carefully. Granted, she had become pretty cool since she'd started working under his father, but he never really tired of it. She learned something new every day. He knew he was right about her. If he could only just marry her and have kids, the next generation of the Akahito family would have been unshakeable. But, more importantly, they would have been happy and whole. Haru frowned. Suddenly he felt...not so happy.