Haru stared at himself in the mirror for quite some time. Attempting to put together a look for the date (Y/n) had promised him, he found himself stumped. Though he thought his style had gotten better from when they had first met, somehow, it never seemed enough. He learned somewhere that females were more attracted to males with a flashy look. Of course, he didn't know that there was a difference between birds and human women, but it was the thought that counted.

Bastien was also in the room with him while he was getting ready, the small thing staring at his brother in awe. He didn't quite understand why his brother was glaring at himself in the mirror nor did he understand why the room was so messy when the maids had just cleaned it. All he knew was that his brother was focused, so he immediately adopted that same mindset, steeling himself for anything.

"Frère," the younger of the two mumbled, extending his hands up to be held, "Uppy!"

"No. Busy."

Haru began brushing his hair from side to side, trying to figure out which way looked better. He narrowed his eyes in the process, making his younger brother believe there was some demon in the mirror. Gasping, he began his attempt to climb the counter. His first try was just a jump that barely took him an inch off the ground. After that, he tried climbing, stabilizing himself on the handles of the drawers. He soon found himself on the ground, bursting into tears at the tiny little bruise he had made for himself.

The boy promptly stopped when the older brunette picked him up, setting him on the counter with a pout. In his surprise at the demon in the mirror, Bastien cried out before falling backward, quickly caught by his brother, who nearly had a heart attack. It was then that the toddler realized there wasn't a demon in the mirror. It was just his reflection. Smiling, he placed his hand on his brother's reflection, only for Haru to push him away so he could see himself.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going on a date," the older brother affirmed, his aura sparkling with pride.

Bastien took a moment to think. He knew what a playdate was. That was when some of his friends came over for fun. They would eat snacks and play games and smile all day long. As such, the brunette began clapping, excited for his brother to play with his friends. Of course, he hadn't actually seen one of his big brother's companions for a while at that point, but he was sure they were still good friends.

"Date!" the younger boy squealed, clapping his hands together.

"With (Y/n)."

Bastien paused, tilting his head so hard he fell over. Thankfully, his elder brother caught him before he banged his head on the counter, but his confusion was still very much present. After all, the (h/c) haired girl wasn't Haru's friend. She was Haru's wife. Well, that's what Bastien thought anyway. So he didn't quite understand how they could have had a playdate when they weren't friends.

"Waw," the brunette sounded out, looking down at his new shoes, "I want to come."

"No. It's a date for me and (Y/n), not for you."

"No!"

"No? No."

"No! No!"

Staring at one another aggressively, the two brothers refused to cede. If Haru was going to have fun with (Y/n), of course the little brunette wanted to go, too. But for the elder brother, it was something he wanted to do with just her. There wasn't any room for babysitting, no matter how much he loved his little brother. After all, a date was a place where Haru could get more kisses than anywhere else, and he didn't like sharing.

Pouting, the toddler smacked a cup off the counter, giving an exaggerated harumph. As if he suspected that might make his brother cave in, he peeked open one eye to see if he was feeling bad. When he didn't, the male just focused on choosing accessories, Bastien began to tear up, waving his arms largely to get attention. He wasn't very good at having a temper tantrum, so Haru frankly ignored him, letting him get all his pent-up anger out before he left.

When Haru had finished choosing his outfit, checking three times to make sure he looked presentable, he grabbed a still teary Bastien and put him back on the ground. The younger brother began to bolt through the corridor, screaming bloody murder. He eventually ran smack into the (h/c) haired girl's door, falling on his butt and beginning to cry louder. That made her pick him up, the brunette clinging to her for dear life.

"Did someone tell you 'no'?" she teased, the brunette pouting and rubbing his cheek on hers with great affection, "How dare they."

"I want to go on a date," the boy huffed, offering up his toy watch in exchange.

"You're a million years too young to be doing that. Why don't you and your nannies invite one of your friends over?"

"But I want to go with you and frère. You're going to go and have fun without me, aren't you?!"

"Sometimes you have fun with Haru without me, you know. And sometimes we have fun without Haru."

The brunette racked his mind for a counter-argument but ended up grumpy. He let his forehead fall on her shoulder and hugged her tighter, squeezing her, almost. Unfortunately, this tactic didn't give him any leverage over the situation, and, in the end, he was handed off to his head nanny with great struggle. He continued to be teary-eyed as Haru and (Y/n) left, like a puppy left in the rain.

The younger girl could only chuckle as they drove away, the brunette smiling discreetly to himself. He was glad she was in a good mood. Then again, she hadn't complimented him on his outfit yet, making him frown slightly. Of course, she was still going out shopping with him, so he grinned again. He went back and forth about the pros and cons of the situation, ending with him being content with just her existence.

The whole way there, he rested on her lap, giggling to himself. She knew exactly why, too. He had such a thigh fetish. Letting him enjoy himself, she began to stroke his hair like he was her pet cat. At first, he panicked, not wanting her to mess up the hairstyle he had carefully preened that morning. Eventually, though, he came to his senses, realizing she was giving him affection, to which he greatly enjoyed.

In fact, he liked it so much that he almost dreaded arriving at the mall. Then again, he did like shopping, so he soon perked up and led her inside eagerly, Sona following behind at a distance. He didn't enter any of the stores with them, standing at a distance that would allow him to defend them at a moment's notice but that gave them their privacy. It was a compromise that both Haru and (Y/n) had made, the former wanting them to have lovey-dovey time alone and the latter wanting protection.

Another compromise that was made was the location of their shopping date. Haru had wanted to rent out the entire mall so they wouldn't run into other people, but she had rejected the idea, thinking it was a waste of money. As such, she proposed they go to a higher-end mall and not reserve it. And though Haru still didn't want to run into other people, always on edge, thinking they'll steal his future wife away from him, a compromise always had to be made. That was their routine, both on the opposite side of everything.

The first place Haru had dragged her to was a jewelry store. They were ecstatic to see the Akahito family, the brunette one of their best customers. He must have spent tens of thousands every month just on rings alone for the younger girl. It was his attempt to trick her into wearing an engagement ring. Though it never worked, he never really stopped trying, always coming back to find something shinier.

"How about ruby?" the brunette shimmered, gazing at the custom-made pieces on display, "It's fancy."

"You're not going to trick me into getting engaged to you."

"I might...if I give you something shiny enough."

Rolling her eyes, the younger girl let the genius have his fun. He made her try on all manner of jewelry, unable to decide which he liked best on her. She had made him promise he would only buy one thing from each store, after all, so he had to be careful about his choice. After emeralds and diamonds and all other manner of jewels, he was still having a hard time choosing. She rejected any large rings, calling them obnoxious, so he was pouting.

When she began to get interested, however, he began singing a different tune. She had gone ahead and asked for a pair of simple rings. They were made of obsidian, a gorgeous black shimmer to the simplistic design. Haru eyed her as she placed it on herself, wondering if she would choose it. In the end, he was pleasantly surprised as she placed a matching one on him, the brunette's face turning a light pink.

"Well?" she questioned, fiddling with the ring on his finger, "I think it looks good on you."

"Does it make me look flamboyant?"

"You're not a bird, Haru. Dressing fancy and giving me shiny things does not make me want to have babies with you."

The brunette gave a disappointed look before "stealthily" moving to take the pen from his wrist tablet. Writing furiously, he made a note to himself for the future. Though it was a loss for his strategy to fall through the cracks, he would be sure not to make the same mistake. Nodding, the male interlocked his fingers with the younger girl, pleased with the way their rings matched. They weren't quite engagement rings or wedding rings, but they were like promise rings, and that was something he would be happy to receive.

"There're no gems on yours," he pointed out, examining it carefully, "Are you sure you like it?"

"I wanted to match with you. Isn't it cute?"

Although Haru would have preferred to see her thrilled over shiny big rocks, it just wasn't who she was. Rather, he was pleased to see that she wanted to have a matching pair of rings with him, and even more so when she purchased them herself. It was an oddly sweet gesture, he thought. Money wasn't really an object to him, always something he could pull out to get whatever he wanted. So, for some reason, it made his heart beat erratically when she was the one buying him jewelry.

Even as they left the jewelry store, he kept glancing at his ring, smiling slyly to himself despite Sona's snickering. He began to lean on the younger girl as they walked, feeling pampered. Though he didn't say anything, he very much wished she would buy him more things. If he showed his love for her by buying her things, there was no reason she couldn't do the same. And if she did it enough, perhaps the brunette could tell just how much she liked him based on the amount she spent.

They went into a candy shop next, Haru insisting she feed him like a child. Of course, she refused, simply handing him a sample of the chocolate and letting him eat himself. She also refused when he tried to feed her. However, as she began to laugh, amused at his constant affection, he glowed. The brunette couldn't really describe the feeling of making her smile. It was just entirely pleasant.

Very much satisfied with the amount the (h/c) haired had chuckled, Haru had bought up as many different chocolates as he could. He wanted to make sure he could share with Bastien. Otherwise, he would have thrown a fit. As they looked at clothes, the brunette began to list all the ways his little brother would pout when they got home. He would claim they abandoned him and bought all sorts of fun things without him.

In all honesty, (Y/n) loved the relationship Haru had with Bastien. It was an unusual pairing, and, to be frank, the two had polar opposite personalities. Still, they loved one another through and through, and Haru was always looking out for his baby brother. That was a relationship the younger girl could never have, so, in some ways, she was jealous, and, in others, she was proud. At least, if she did ever decide to have children with the brunette, they would be well taken care of and loved to death no matter what.

Completely oblivious to what she was thinking, Haru was quick to find his way to the children's section. Losing himself completely, his eyes shimmered at all the baby clothes, the brunette pondering whether to devote his attention to the girl's or the boy's wear. Deciding to let the younger girl make the call, the male held up a dress and a mini-tuxedo. He was promptly given a huff.

"Babies," he reminded her for the umpteenth time, "Girl or boy?"

"I think," she paused, humoring him in exchange for the very delightful date, "I'd like a girl to start."

"Yeah? I'd like a girl, too. Mère always says girls are easier to shop for."

Excited about her "enthusiasm", the brunette began pilfering the entire girl's section. He would bring up a dress to the younger girl before asking her opinion on it. Mostly, he would look at things that were shiny and elaborate. It was like he was clothes shopping for a princess, and despite the fact that they did not, in fact, have a baby girl to shop for, he kept trying to buy things nonetheless.

"But these shoes are tiny. I want them."

"Yeah, something about them being tiny and useless just makes them ten times more adorable."

Holding the shoes, the girl giggled at the thought of them. They were "designer", too, as if that meant anything. It wasn't like a baby would be walking, so the thought of making such pricey shoes was laughable. Nonetheless, they were still so cute that (Y/n) considered getting them, too. Of course, in the end, she was sane and chose to put them down, keeping them in the back of her mind, just in case.

She had to physically drag the brunette out of the store, not that she could stop laughing. They continued walking from store to store, exploring things from watches to decor for seemingly no reason. All the while, Haru kept getting excited about the smallest things and the younger girl followed him with delight. He was hilarious, whether he was trying to be or not, and the more he kept her laughing, the more she remembered why she adored him.

Even as they ate together, she couldn't stop grinning, the brunette loading her constantly with compliments. Her smile fueled him to talk more about how much he adored her, and, in the end, they returned back all smiles, the trunk loaded with things they'd bought. And, in celebration of the wonderful time the brunette had shown her, the (h/c) haired girl stopped him before they went back inside.

Pushing him against the wall of the mansion, she smirked and cornered him, amused by his reaction. He didn't seem to know what she was doing, but he definitely liked how close she was. The male held onto the hem of her shirt, looking up to see if it was alright. When he deduced it was, he chuckled quietly to himself and waited patiently to see what she was planning on doing.

"Haru," she started, letting his loose tie run through her fingers, "I had lots of fun today."

"Yeah?" he glowed, "Me too!"

"Let's do it again sometime. But, I'd like to give you a reward. Can I do that?"

Tilting his head, the male pondered what it could have been. If it were him, for a reward, he would have given something he made by hand. However, it wasn't as if she could make something. She could cook, but he didn't understand why she would want to when they had their own chefs. In the middle of his thinking, he was pushed further into the wall, the girl moving her hand from his tie to his chest. He stopped breathing, wondering if she was going to try and kill him again.

However, to his surprise, she soon began to press her lips on his, giving a soft hum. And though it took him a while to realize she was kissing him, he was enthusiastic the moment he understood. Immediately hugging her, he pulled her closer, tilting his head to get a little more of her. Of course, he also understood she was the one to have the final say in pretty much everything. That was why she was the only one who could initiate kisses like that, not that he minded that much.

"G-Good," he mumbled into her mouth, grabbing a little tighter onto her as she slipped away.

"You can be very cute when you want to be," she teased, kissing his cheek before going inside.

Haru took a moment for himself, just thinking. He then collapsed, his knees going weak underneath him. Overwhelmed with both joy and affection for the (h/c) haired girl, he placed his hand over his mouth, blush coating his features. He couldn't describe why he felt the way he did, but he sensed a sudden urge to lock her up so no one else could be given one of her kisses. The brunette wanted to be the only one who could feel sheer ecstasy like that.

It wasn't like Haru hadn't ever kissed anyone before. There were plenty of girls he had kissed and there was one he had done a little more with. But no one had ever made him feel the way (Y/n) did. He didn't know why - especially when he should have been furious with her always telling him "no" - but he thought only of her when he pondered over the mother of his future children.

"T-This isn't fair," he stuttered, glancing at his wrist tablet, "Can't we get married already?"