A/N: Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed! I wrote an extra-long chapter for the last one. Hopefully, people feel like this wraps the story up nicely.

"I see," Saotome said into the phone, staring through his window. "I agree to your terms. One month." The voice on the other end of the phone chuckled darkly as Saotome hung up. He felt a slight moment's hesitation, wondering if he'd made the right choice, but he believed he had. He knew Raging Otori had his own agenda, but Saotome wanted to do what was best for Haruka, STARISH, and HEAVENS.

He summoned STARISH and Haruka to his office before taking a seat behind his desk and resting his chin on this hands. STARISH and Haruka soon filed into the room, curious at what their president might be planning now.

"You called for us?" Tokiya finally promoted when it seemed Saotome didn't plan to speak.

"Yes," Saotome said. "I've just made a deal with an old acquaintance, one that I believe will be a good experience for all of you." He paused again and some of STARISH began to feel nervous. Where was Saotome's normally boisterous personality? Where were his theatrics? Why was be acting so solemn?

Saotome peered at them all through his sunglasses. "Some of you may not like the deal I've made, but I don't want to hear one word of complaint from you about it, understood?"

He waited until STARISH and Haruka nodded, some more hesitantly than others. "Good. Raging Otori and I have made a deal that the Shining Saotome Agency and the Raging Otori Agency will switch composers for a month. Haruka will work with HEAVENS and STARISH will work with a composer from Raging Otori."

There was stunned silence before the inevitable explosion.

"You can't just hand Nanami over to those wolves!"

"We only want to sing Haruka's songs, no one else's!"

"HEAVENS has tried to steal Nanami twice and now you're just handing her over?"

"Silence!" Saotome roared, fixing them all with a glare. "What did I just say about arguing against me on this?" STARISH quieted, still obviously upset. Haruka stared at Saotome with a dazed expression on her face. "Like I said, I think all of you will benefit from this deal, if you follow through properly. More experience is always a good thing. Miss Nanami can grow as a composer by working with different bands, and spending an extended period of time with another band will help give her more of an idea of what it's like to work with the different dynamics of different bands."

"She's written songs for Quartent Night and HEAVENS before!" Syo interrupted.

Syo gulped and looked at the floor when Saotome glared at him for the outburst. "She has worked with them during small and isolated instances. This will be more long term. And as for STARISH, all of you will benefit from working with another composer." He immediately held up his hand to stave off more arguments.

"I know that Miss Nanami is STARISH's composer and does a fantastic job, and I know that all of you want to only sing her songs, but there may be times when that's not possible. Will you turn down singing a song for a movie because the producer insists you must use their composer? Will you pass up the opportunity to be the face of a clothing line because they want you to sing other songs?"

STARISH was silent as they thought this over. There was sense in what the president was saying, even if they didn't want to admit it.

"You need to learn how to work with other composers. You don't have to produce any of the songs you create with Raging Otori's composer, but you do have to work with him." Saotome was pleased when STARISH didn't interrupt again and he sent them away after telling them that Haruka would be leaving next Monday morning.

He let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. That had been surprisingly exhausting. He'd known that STARISH would be upset, though he couldn't tell how Haruka felt. She was likely to be excited, if nervous, at an opportunity to grow as a composer like this.

However, truth be told, Saotome wasn't doing this just for STARISH's and Haruka's benefit. He could have had STARISH work with another composer from his own agency and have Haruka work with another band from his agency, after all. He was also doing this for HEAVENS' sake. Otori was a cold man. One who only believed in making profit and in beating others in the music industry. He saw no value in creating songs that meant something to people, that moved them. HEAVENS had great potential and he didn't want to see them going down the same path as their company president. And he believed that working with Haruka, who had so much heart and passion for music, would help HEAVENS avoid doing that.

Monday Morning

Haruka felt odd as the taxi dropped her off at the mansion HEAVENS lived in. She wondered why she felt so nervous. It was just composing, which is what she spent all her time doing, and she'd composed for HEAVENS before. She wished she could put her finger on why things felt different this time.

Pushing the thought out of her mind, Haruka rolled her suitcase up to the front door. She'd just raised her hand to knock when the door flew open.

"Ha-chan!" Van greeted, pulling Haruka into a hug. Haruka blushed, surprised at the enthusiastic greeting. "Come in, come in," Van said, taking Haruka's suitcase from her. "We've been waiting for you, Ha-chan. We have your room all prepared."

Haruka followed Van wordlessly, a little taken back by his energy. After showing Haruka her room and dropping off her things, Van took her to the living room, where the rest of HEAVENS was.

Nagi smiled brightly at her. "Welcome, Haruka! Are you excited to work with the cutest idol in the world?"

Haruka couldn't help but smile back. "Yes, I am excited to work with you all again," she said, bowing to them.

End of Week 1

"Brilliant work, Nanami," Eichi said, grinning at the song in front of him. "In just one week HEAVENS has a new song and we've already started work on another."

"It doesn't always go so fast," Haruka said modestly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's just because we're spending so much focused time on the songs."

"Of course," Yamato said, smirking and folding his arms. "Did you think we were going to waste our time with you?"

"Right then," Eichi said, clapping his hands together once. "It's getting late and most of us have somewhere to be. Van, will you make sure Haruka gets dinner?"

"What?" Van asked, looking at Eichi in surprise. This was the first he was hearing of the other band members having plans tonight. "Uh, yeah, sure."

Eichi nodded at him once, looking serious, then he turned and left. Van scratched the back of his head, wondering what that was about. Then he watched at the rest of HEAVENS left, leaving just him and Haruka. Van blinked as he watched the last of them leave, wondering how they could have all had plans without Van knowing about any of it.

"Well," he said slowly, turning and looking at Haruka. "What would you like to do for dinner?"

"Um, should we make something?" She suggested, standing up from the piano bench.

"Sure," Van agreed, following Haruka to the kitchen.

Haruka began gathering ingredients and Van followed her lead, handing her things and turning on the oven. He couldn't help glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as they worked. Being in the kitchen with her felt so…domestic. She was clearly comfortable in HEAVENS kitchen, humming as she worked. Van didn't think she even realized she was doing it, which made it even more adorable.

"So, what do you think of staying here for a whole month and working with HEAVENS, Ha-chan?" Van asked. "It was probably sprung on you unexpectedly."

"I was surprised when President Saotome brought it up," Haruka admitted. "But I agree with him that I think this is a good opportunity to help me become a better composer. And I enjoy working with HEAVENS."

"Good," Van said. Haruka had seemed a little nervous to be staying with HEAVENS at first, but had acted her normal devoted and happy self while they'd worked on HEAVENS' new songs. He was relieved to hear she was enjoying her time there.

During dinner they chatted about their childhoods and their favorite things to do when they were kids.

"You never watched that show?" Van asked in disbelief.

Haruka shook her head. "My grandmother didn't have a TV. I'm really not familiar with any of the pop culture that was around when I was growing up."

Van shook his head. "That is such a shame, Ha-chan. I'm going to have to track down the DVDs of it and make you watch it."

"All right," Haruka agreed, smiling. "Kurusu had me watch all of Prince of Fighting, which was his favorite show growing up. I really liked it."

Van kept his smile in place, but winced internally. They'd gone the whole evening without Haruka mentioning any members of STARISH and he'd rather enjoyed it. Not that he had anything against them, of course. He just didn't like Haruka talking about STARISH when the two of them were together. It seemed like almost every time the two of them were alone together, STARISH got brought up one way or another.

A few minutes later as they were washing the dishes, Van noticed that Haruka seemed distracted. "What's up, Ha-chan?" He asked.

Haruka jumped in surprise before blushing. "Oh, I was just thinking that it'd be nice to bake some cookies, that's all."

"Hmm, I wouldn't say no to cookies if you're offering."

Haruka brightened. "And then we could save the rest for everyone else."

"R-right," Van said. Did she have to perpetually be thinking of others? Admittedly, he loved that side of her, but it'd be nice if she'd be distracted enough by Van to think only of him when they were together.

Haruka finished the dishes and went to the cupboard with the flour, standing on tiptoe to reach it. She grasped the edge of the big bag and pulled. "Ha-chan, I'm not so sure you should—" Van broke off when the bag tilted precariously before falling.

"Ha-chan!" Van yelled, running forward. He wrapped his arms around Haruka, hunching his shoulders to cover her. The bag bounced off his shoulder and hit the floor.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Haruka exclaimed. "I should have let you get the bag."

"It's okay," Van assured her, pulling back to look at her. He then realized that he had Haruka pinned against the counter, his arms wrapped around her. Her eyes widened as she realized the same thing and they stared at each other in silence. Van finally asked quietly, "Are you okay, Ha-chan?"

Haruka nodded, blushing and lowering her eyes. "Thank you." She peeked up at him from under her eyelashes. "Are you okay, Van?"

Hearing her say his name made his heart beat fast. "I'm fine," he said. He brought one of his hands up and brushed his thumb across her cheek. She stared at him, transfixed. "You had some flour," he explained.

Haruka's hand came up to grip the wrist of the hand he held against her face. Van was just about to risk moving in to kiss her when Haruka looked down. "I guess I'd better get started on the cookies," she said.

"Right," Van agreed, stepping back and feeling disappointed. He couldn't say that he was surprised, but for a moment…he'd gotten the impression that Haruka wanted him to kiss her.

End of Week 2

Eiji stood up and stretched, abandoning the half-eaten piece of pizza on his plate. "That was a really productive session." HEAVENS and Haruka had worked all day to complete their fourth song together, ordering pizza so they wouldn't have to interrupt their work.

"Yes," Eichi agreed, looking at his watch. "But we need to get going now, Eiji. We promised Dad we'd be there by 8:30."

"Right," Eiji agreed. He smiled at Haruka. "Thanks again for your help, Nanami. We'll see you tomorrow."

Haruka smiled and waved good-bye as they left.

"Well," Nagi said, jumping to his feet. "Shion and I have an interview to prepare for that's next week. Let's go." Shion obligingly got up and followed the smaller youth out.

"I need to practice my moves for the stunt show I'm starring in soon," Yamato said. "Kira, come help me."

Van watched in surprise as the last members of HEAVENS left…again.

"Well…I think I'm too full after all the pizza to go to bed," he said.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Haruka suggested. "It looks like it's a nice night out."

Van blinked, surprised at the offer, then he grinned. "I'd love to, Ha-chan."

They walked around the mansion and the surrounding area, talking about HEAVENS' new songs and what kind of song the next one would be.

Haruka was looking up at the sky and commenting on what a nice night it was when her heel got caught in a root and she tripped.

Van's arm snapped out to wrap around Haruka's waist and pull her to him. "I should have been expecting that," he said with a shake of his head. "I'd forgotten that you're a walking disaster."

"I-I'm not a walking disaster," Haruka argued, her hands resting against Van's chest. By the dim light of the moon, he could just make out the blush on her cheeks.

"Really?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"It's dark," Haruka argued. "I couldn't see the tree root."

"Hmm, let's see, shall why? This is the third time I've seen you trip, one of those times almost being down a flight of stairs. I've also seen you nearly walk into traffic and nearly have a heavy flour bag dumped on your head. Maybe I should hold your hand while we walk."

"I won't trip again," Haruka promised, still clasped tightly by Van.

"Oh? And what if you do?"

"I-I…I'll compose another song for you after this month is over!"

"Okay," Van agreed in amusement. "If you trip again tonight, you'll compose me another song."

Haruka was oddly silent after that and Van looked over to see a look of intense concentration on Haruka's face. Unable to help himself, he started laughing.

"What?" Haruka asked in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Ha-chan," Van said, shaking with laughter. "You just look so serious."

"I'm trying to concentrate so I don't trip over another root," Haruka defended, her cheeks red.

"If you have to concentrate that much not to trip, then that means that I'm right. You are a walking disaster."

"You don't see me that often," Haruka argued. "I've just had bad luck when we've been—" Haruka's words were cut off when she tripped over another root.

"That's it," Van said with a shake of his head. He reached over and took Haruka's hand in his, pulling her to his side and interlocking their fingers. "For your own safety, you're staying right here for the duration of our walk." Van was pleased when Haruka didn't offer up any more arguments.

End of Week 3

By the third week, Van wasn't surprised when the rest of HEAVENS suddenly disappeared at the end of the week. Van's guess was that Eichi was behind it. Either the unofficial leader of HEAVENS had noticed Van's feelings for Haruka and wanted to give them time together, or Eichi hoped that if Haruka fell for Van she would switch to their agency and compose for HEAVENS.

Van felt conflicted about this. He was grateful for the alone time with Haruka, but wondered what she would think of it if she knew what was going on.

"Van?" Haruka asked uncertainly once they were alone.

"Yes, Ha-chan?"

"Is there somewhere else you need to be? The other members of HEAVENS seem to be busy on weekend nights. I hope you're not staying around just because I'm here." Haruka clasped her hands together and looked up at him with soulful eyes, making Van feel guiltier, even if all this wasn't his doing. How was it that Haruka was so utterly adorable without realizing it or doing it on purpose?

"No, Ha-chan, there isn't anything else I need to be doing, and there certainly isn't anything else I'd rather be doing. The other guys…just have a lot going on right now." Van scratched the back of his head awkwardly. It probably did look suspicious that Van seemed to be the only one without plans or a job to prepare for on Saturday nights when everyone else was gone. "Unless, that is, you find it annoying having me around all the time," he teased.

"No, no, not at all," Haruka rushed to assure him. She blushed as she shook her head no and waved her hands back and forth emphatically. "That wasn't what I meant."

"Good," Van said, holding a hand out to her. "Then can I take you to dinner?"

Haruka hesitated for just a moment before placing her hand in his. Van smiled down at her before leading her out the door.

He desperately wished he could see inside her mind. He felt like the two of them had grown closer during the past few weeks. Even before that they'd been growing closer. He remembered that Haruka had been carrying around the song she'd composed for him at the mall even when she had no reason to expect to see him (unless she'd been planning on dropping by the Raging Otori Agency later that day, but Van liked the first explanation better). She'd also agreed to call him by his first name, something she didn't even do for STARISH. All this had to mean something, didn't it?

End of Week 4

At the end of the fourth week, HEAVENS held a mini-party with them and Haruka to thank her for the great songs she'd composed with them. She insisted that the great songs were as much thanks to HEAVENS as her if not more. Since she crafted songs based on what she knew about people, she said that HEAVENS was amazing to compose songs for since HEAVENS was amazing, which pleased the band and made Nagi comment that she should just compose for them all the time them.

Van felt oddly nervous during the party. Haruka would leave them tomorrow to go back to the Shining Saotome Agency. He was dreading the thought. He didn't want Haruka to leave, and he especially didn't want her to leave without saying anything to her, but he wasn't sure what he should say. As a result, he ended up subtly staring at her throughout the party without actually talking to her.

The party was winding down when Eichi came up to him and gave him a look half disappointed and half annoyed.

"What?" Van asked.

"You're not going to say anything? You're not going to do anything?"

"What do you except me to do?" Van asked, his voice sharp. "You think if I ask her to compose for HEAVENS she'll drop STARISH and come here? No chance."

Eichi put a hand to his forehead and sighed, shaking his head. "You ignorant fool. Have you not noticed how many times Haruka has looked over at you? She's noticed that you haven't talked to her and she doesn't understand why. You two have grown closer. Her eyes light up when she sees you. She's more animated when she talks about music with you then she is with the rest of us. Are you really going to let her leave with her thinking you're upset with her?"

Van opened his mouth to talk, but nothing came out. He flushed as he closed his mouth. How could he have been so stupid? Of course Haruka would think it was weird for him to not talk to her. How could he do something like that to her?

His eyes searched the room for her and he saw her going out on the balcony by herself.

"Excuse me," he said, taking a few steps. Then he looked back to say, "Thanks, Eichi."

Outside he found Haruka leaning against the balcony and staring up the stars. She looked over when she heard him and her eyes widened in surprise. Then she smiled uncertainly at him.

"Hi," he said lamely, scratching the back of his head.

"Hi," she said quietly before looking up at the sky again. She sighed. "It's been a lot of fun working with HEAVENS. It feels a little strange to be going home tomorrow."

"We'll miss you," Van assured her, still staring at Haruka. Now was the time to say something if he was going to, but did he dare ask her out again? Would she think that he wasn't respecting her feelings if he did?

He came up next to her and put his hand by hers on the railing so that they were touching. She glanced down, a blush on her cheeks, but didn't move her hand.

"I…love working with you, Haruka," Van said. His voice felt thick and he hoped he sounded normal. He wished his heart would stop pounding. It wasn't like him to be nervous like this. "I love being with you. You're an amazing composer and I love the songs we've done together, but my favorite part of this month has been spending time with you."

"I've…really enjoyed it too," Haruka said. She turned to look at him. "You always have so much energy, and you're always so cheerful and optimistic." She smiled. "It makes me happy to be around you."

"Will you miss me?" He asked without thinking.

Haruka looked surprised, then looked down at their hands next to each other. Wordlessly, she nodded. Van felt relieved and encouraged. That was a good sign.

"Well…there's not much need for that, you know," he said carefully. "We could still see each other…" She looked at him in her innocent way and he felt himself blushing. "I mean…" he trailed off again. Steeling himself, he took Haruka's hands in his and turned her toward him. "What I mean, Ha-chan, is…will you be my girlfriend? I know how much music means to you. It's the center of my life, too. And I know how much STARISH means to you. All of them are amazing and I respect them a lot as musicians, but…I also really want you in my life. And not as someone I see occasionally, but as someone who's there all the time."

"Van," Haruka said, her eyes widening in surprise and her hands tightening around his.

Van felt like he could feel each individual heartbeat as he stared at Haruka, waiting for her answer.

"I-I…" Haruka's face turned the reddest he'd ever seen it and she squeezed her eyes shut. "I want to be with you too!" She exclaimed. "I was thinking about not being with you on weekend nights anymore and not seeing you every day and it made me so sad…I want you in my life too."

Unable to help himself anymore, Van pulled Haruka closer and kissed her. Haruka made a noise of surprise before her arms went up to wrap around his neck. Van put one hand on her lower back to draw her closer, wrapping the other in her hair.

Finally, he pulled back to smile down at her. "I love you, Ha-chan."

"I-I love you too, Van."

Next Weekend

Van almost paused in his walk up to the STARISH mansion to pick up Haruka. Not because the sight of Haruka was so stunning (though she did look beautiful, of course), but because of what else waited for him. All the members of STARISH lined up behind her with very unhappy looks on their faces.

He tried to not pay attention to them as he walked towards Haruka. A small part of him felt sorry for STARISH. He knew how some of them felt about Haruka and it would suck to watch the girl you care for be with someone else, but Van's sympathy only extended so far. There was a verybig difference between him and STARISH. He had told Haruka his feelings for her and they had not. In the end, the best man won as far as he was concerned.

"Ha-chan," he greeted, reaching for her hands.

"Hi, Van," she said, smiling brightly.

Otoya cleared his throat, bringing Van's attention to him. He eyes were harder than Van had ever seen on the normally cheerful red-head. "We expect her back by ten," he declared.

Van's mouth twitched and he fought against a smile. Was STARISH going to take on the role of father since they'd missed out on the role of boyfriend?

"And I trust that you will take very good care of our lady," Ren said, resting his hands on Haruka's shoulders. Van's eyebrow twitched. Ren's possessive way of talking about Haruka irritated him, but Van told himself to be the bigger man.

"Of course," Van agreed, gently pulling Haruka away from Ren and into his arms. "I know how to treat a lady." He lifted Haruka's chin and smiled down at her. "And now that I've got the best one I'm certainly not going to let her go."

Haruka blushed and Syo's eyes narrowed. "Don't forget you have our numbers if you need anything, Haruka," Syo reminded her. "We're always happy to help you. With anything. At any time."

Van sweat dropped and decided it was time to get Haruka out of here before things got any more awkward.

"Right," he said, steering Haruka away from the mansion. "It was nice seeing you all, but we've got to go now. Bye."

"I'll you see you all later," Haruka called over her shoulder, waving merrily at STARISH.

At his car, Van opened Haruka's door before going around to the other side. He paused before starting the car and turned to Haruka. "Haruka, just so that we're perfectly clear, this is a date."

Haruka smiled at him and he started the car and drove away.

A/N: I'm not 100% sure I'll write the other Uta No Prince-Sama fanfic I mentioned, but if I do it'll probably be up some time in the next couple weeks.