The arrangement on the page titled Hanae was delicate and beautiful. It used pale, warm colored flowers, and the shape of the branches looked fragile. They looked like they would bend or snap if even a butterfly landed on them. Whomever arranged this was spot on.

His tears stained the page. His soft muffles, almost silent cries where the only thing he could let out.

He suppressed them the most he could.

I hug him, pulling his head under my chin. By this point I had gotten over my sisters death. She was gone and nothing could bring her back, I accepted that.

Harue was just a child and I didn't expect him to accept anything just as fast. Especially over his mother.

I pat his back trying to ease his trembling shoulders. I didn't have much to say. What would I tell him? 'Everything's gonna be okay?'

That's just a big ass lie, because nothing was going to be okay for him unless Hanae was here.

"You know, she's still here, kind of." I say clumsily. "I mean, she's watching us, and she would want you to be happy today. I mean, of course she's sad that she can't spend this, day with you but..."

"Hanae would want you to be happy...and I'm sure all of us want that too." I came out to be really repetitive but I as long as he understood what I was trying to say....

He nods weakly and resumes his quiet sobs.

For some reason I found myself having difficulty consoling Harue. I usually came up with the right thing to say.

I wonder why not today?

-----------

Harue falls asleep in my arms. I carried him over to my room and looked at the time. It had been several hours since I had woken up and Yamato was supposed to come over at 1:30. It was now 1:00.

I panic a bit but then just walk back to my closet and picked out a dress too put on. I change in the bathroom and look for my contacts. I thought I had soaked them last night as a usually did, but...

"Crap..." I mentally slap myself when I find my contacts sitting outside of their case.

The day I needed them the most too...

I shrug accept that it can't be helped and pull out my glasses from the drawer.I do my hair and makeup and then hear my buzzer go off.

I walk over to the monitor and see Yamato standing at my door.

What the heck, he's here already?

"Come in, Yamato." I press the release button and he walks off screen.

I jog over to the entrance to greet him. "Merry Christmas." I smile.

"Merry Christmas." He returns it.

As soon as the doer closes behind him he takes out two aprons from the bag he carried. One was pink and the other was blue...they were matching.

I try to hold in my laughter as he unfolds them. "Pfft-"

"What's so funny?" His cheeks glow a bit pink. "I had them around the house."

I bet it wasn't too hard to pretend to be a couple with this huh, Fumiko.

"I bet you went out of your way to buy them you liar." I break out in laughter at the image of him checking out at the store with his little aprons. The clerk must have been amused.

While I recover he throws the pink one over my head and begins tying it behind my back.

"Whatever..." He mumbles. I usually never wore an apron around the kitchen. I just get dirty and don't care, but today was a bit different. I was actually quite glad that he brought the apron because I was wearing a dress.

"Did Fumiko already leave for the bakery?"

"Yeah. Where's Harue?"

"Sleeping."

The velvet dress I wore was a bit backless. Every time Yamato's cold fingers grazed my skin I flinched a bit. When he finished with my apron he put his own on.

As I watched him do so, I wondered if he had feelings for Fumiko. If he went out of his way to buy matching aprons, that tells you something. Or maybe I'm just overthinking things.

I decided to not make much of the subject, so I turned my stare away.

"Okay. Let's get started." He waltzes over to my kitchen, taking out ingredients from his bag. We begin chopping up vegetables and preparing for dinner. It was a bit quiet, and only the sound of my knife chopping on a board was heard along with the sound of boiling water.

It wasn't awkward, if anything, it was soothing.

Yamato speaks up, asking me a question. "I've noticed Harue wasn't too excited." He brings up as he works his hands.

"Well.." I hesitate on telling him. "...It's his first year without his parents."

"Oh..." He answers regretfully. Then stops a moment before asking is next question. "Parents?"

"Did Harue's father pass away too?"

Now it was my turn to freeze for a moment. "No... No, he didn't die."

Again I thought twice about telling him, but I trusted him now so...

"He left after Hanae died." I close my eyes setting the knife down beside me. "We don't know where he left for or where he could be. He was there at her funeral but the next day, he was gone."

"All I know is that he left Harue at the orphanage and then disappeared."

"I guess that makes two of us." Yamato says flatly. "I mean, that our fathers left us."

"..." I didn't know what to say. Now that I think about it, he never mentioned his dad. When we talked about Hanae and when he talked about his mother, he, Yamato's father, was always left out. After a long pause he talks again.

"You don't have to be so quiet." He chuckles.

"I don't know what to say." I resume my work. "Sorry to hear that..."

"You don't have to apologize. I guess... I just wanted you to know?"

"Okay..."  I'm a bit amused at his uncertainty. "Thanks for telling me?"

He smiles. "I guess, you're welcome."

We both laugh and continue to cook. Managing to pass through the stiff atmosphere that had come on to us.

I may not know too much about Yamato, but learning something new now made me feel happy.

It's normal to feel happy when your friend trusts you right?

"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" He says kind of out of no where. "Can you tell me about the Ondera incident?"

"Which part of it?" He had already seen me in my most embarrassing state. I didn't mind telling him about it. I guess he sensed that.

"If you don't mind me asking, your past maybe?"

It wasn't too much like Yamato to ask or pry. I didn't mind it. This just meant he wanted to know more about me. I'm more than welcome to let him in on it.

"Well, I was engaged." I stir one of the pots. "It has been three years, and on our anniversary he proposed." I confess. "It was in front of our friends and he promised me a lifetime pact. It had been about 3 weeks after when I was informed about my sisters death. The following week, I found out about Harue being abandoned in an orphanage. Hanae's husband, Takashi, had left a phone number with Haru and, I was the first to find out.

"I had met Harue once, it was in the spring. About a week after he was born."

"I remember seeing him and thinking about how happy and blessed the child was going to be, to live with two wonderful parents. I remember thing that, he was going to be in safe hands, to be...protected."

I sighed. "But when I got that phone call, it that illusion was shattered into pieces. I felt panicked and at first I had no reaction. I told my family, and no one was able to take him in. No one expected me to be the one too. They didn't even glance at me, because I was just a student who was about to finish her career."

"My parents were proud. So proud of me when I told them I was four months away from graduation. 'My daughter is about to become an attorney! She's set for life!' My dad would boast."

"I..." I resume. "No matter how much I focused or how much I tried to live on...I couldn't get my mind off of Harue. My family felt guilt, but there was no way anyone could have taken him in. No one was economically stable."

"I worked hard to go to law school. I never relied on my parents for anything. I always worked on my own, quitting law school was becoming tempting...so the more I thought of Harue, the more I convinced myself to travel here to take him in."

"Naturally, when I finally made the decision the first one to know about it, was my boyfriend..."

I stare off in remembrance. "At first when I tried explaining it to him. His expression looked a little shocked. From there it went to confused and then regret. I expected him to say something like 'let me go with you!' Or 'I'll wait here.' But instead I got silence."

The day he was to meet my parents had already been set before my decision. I waited for him at my apartment with my parents. When I gave up in calling him and spamming his texts I decided to look for him. As soon as I walk out of my apartment I see a letter at my door addressed to me."

"Before I open it, I already know it's over. So I tell my parents to go home. They don't ask me about anything, I guess they knew too. Once they left I open the letter and true to my guess, it was somewhat what I had thought."

"'Now that you have something that will distract you from me is the perfect chance to tell you. I found someone else about a year ago. I've been with you this whole time because of guilt. You, my everlasting spring, became a short term bliss.'"

"'You're the springtime, pleasant yet fleeting.'"I quote his parting phrase.

I smile to myself. "I was in shock. Of course I felt devastated and furious, but somehow I masked those feeling with determination. I was free to go to Harue now."

"That's pretty much everything regarding that." I turn to Yamato and grin.

"So that's why you finally broke down that day." He nods in understanding. "I get it now..."

"Pretty much." I mused as I turn off the stove and take a seat at the table. I just sat deep in thought remembering everything.

Yamato took a seat across from me and stared at my face. I was feeling awkward after a bit so I speak up. "What is it?" I turn away feeling my fave get a bit warm.

"That expression...Pouty, are you embarrassed?" He teased while smirking.

"Don't look at me like that! It's too much for me..." I cover my face with both hands.

I feel his hands grab both of mine. He uncovered my face and leaned in close. "Don't hide a face that can mask a million emotions."

At this point my face feels on fire. "I d-don't think I'm good at masking my emotions right now..."

Why was he getting so close to me? Doesn't he like Fumiko or something? Ugh that wasn't confirmed... But Fumiko likes him... I should just....

The door bursts open. "I'm back!" Fumiko announces, cake in arms.

I quickly stand up mentally thanking Fumi for her presence.

"Welcome back!" I smile and put an arm over her shoulders. "How crowded is it?"

"Pretty crowded..." She eyes me suspiciously, but then let's go of her glare. "It's snowing."

"What? Really?" I walk over to the window to open the curtains. When I do, a white landscape fills my vision.

"Oh my god! It's really snowing!" I gawk outside. It was the first time I'd seen snow in person.

"The sky let go of it pretty suddenly. It wasn't snowing before I left."

Harue stands beside me rubbing his eye. It looks like he just woke up to my excitment. "Snow?"

"Yeah! Look!"

"Pfft. Haruna you sound more like a kid than Harue." Fumi giggles.

I ignore her and keep staring outside. "It's so pretty..."

"Not as pretty as the spring." I feel a big hand on my head. When I look back, I saw that it belonged to Yamato.

I didn't know how to react so I just turned my head back towards the window

I guess even the snow eventually melts after winter ends. I wonder if even 'forever' can become seasonal....

A/N: HAI HAI! I'm back and I made this a bit longer <3 I hope you enjoyed this longass chappy.

This arc is almost over. nd' holy crap I am soooooooo excited about the next arc. It's gonn be so swaggy xDD. If you guys liked this arc your gonna love the next ;D

Thanks for reading :3 and don't forget to comment and vote!! c: