Today was the day he'd do it, and, in Mori's opinion, it was a very good day to do it. It was winter, and for the first time in weeks, the sun was shining. A thick blanket of snow was covering everything, fresh from a midnight snowfall. It was clean, without any footprints in the park; it was quite beautiful, Mori thought.

And, the best part of this very good day had been in the morning, when his father had finally given him his permission to marry Haruhi.

He'd been waiting a while to hear that from his father. Mori had told his father of his intentions of proposing to Haruhi a week ago. It was very important to him that he have his father's blessings; without them, he knew he would not feel right in marrying anyone.

His father had said he'd needed some time to think about it all, considering Haruhi's status. And, at last, Mori had gotten the news he needed to hear: his father would indeed give him his blessing.

And so, Mori was going to propose to her this afternoon. Honey had helped him to pick out a ring weeks ago, and he was sure the one they'd picked was perfect. The diamond was not large, though it was modestly sized. Mori felt confident in that Haruhi would not like a large diamond, though he could easily afford one.

Haruhi was going to graduate in a few months, which Mori felt was perfect. She'd graduate, they'd get married, and they'd live happily ever after. Of course, he'd stay in college, and Haruhi was sure to get into a very good college as well. They'd continue with their usual after high school plans; the only difference would be that they'd be husband and wife.

It would be perfect.

Mori was waiting for Haruhi; they liked to take walks together every Sunday, through this park. Sunday was their day; every other day of the week they'd be consumed in schoolwork. But, come Sunday, they'd be together.

He knew just when he'd propose. There was a small pond in the park, and with the fresh snow, it'd be just beautiful. They always walked past it; he'd stop there, kneel and propose, she'd say yes, and everything would be wonderful.

"Takashi, I'm sorry I'm late."

He jolted out of his daydream. Haruhi was just a few feet away, looking adorable with a knit hat on and matching scarf and mittens. He cheeks were pink from the cold, and she was smiling ever so slightly; she was so cute.

Mori kissed her, and took her hand in his. "It's okay."

Haruhi's smile broadened and Mori knew he'd be the luckiest man in the world, to be able to see that smile everyday.

They walked along, and Mori kept going over in his head exactly what he'd do. Haruhi would talk a little bit, but Mori wasn't listening, though he'd grunt in response whenever he felt he should. He just had to make sure he knew how he was going to propose, so everything went right.

In fact, he was so engrossed in making sure his proposal went perfectly that he failed to notice a patch of ice on the path ahead.

Mori was going over his wording when his feet began to slip; he hadn't been ready for the ice, and so he couldn't stop himself from falling, though he tried. He knew he must've looked very much unlike himself, his feet going every which way, his arms flailing, in hope of regaining his balance.

"Takashi!"

Haruhi reached for his arm to help him, but instead he pulled her down with him as he fell. They landed next to the path, in a mound of snow, Haruhi half on top of Mori's chest.

This, Mori thought, was not how it was supposed to go; how was he supposed to fix this?

But then, Haruhi started giggling, surprising Mori. She didn't laugh all that often, but falling in the snow could make her?

The more Mori thought about it, he realized that this, this was perfect. And, he smiled, watching Haruhi laugh. This, this was it; the perfect moment.

He pulled Haruhi closer and kissed her ever so softly. She was still giggling, just a bit, very lightly.

"Haruhi." She looked up at him, smiling. "Marry me."

Immediately, he knew something was wrong. The smile slowly began to fade from her face, and she looked almost…scared? "W-what, Takashi?"

Maybe she'd misheard him; maybe she though he'd said something else…..

"Would you marry me, Haruhi?"

The look on her face was still there; she still seemed a little scared, a little shocked. This was not good, this was not right. Why wasn't she happy, or excited? They loved each other, he knew they did. What was wrong?

She sat up, seemingly lost for words. Mori propped himself up on his elbows, waiting for her to realize that he'd asked something that would lead to the best years of their lives, that he'd asked her something good.

"Haruhi?

"Why?" Haruhi sputtered.

Mori was so thrown off it took him several seconds to answer. That was definitely not the answer he'd expected. "I…I love you, Haruhi. I want to marry you."

She looked away, looked around, looked everywhere but at him. "I love you too, but I'm not ready, Takashi. I… I'm sorry. I can't."

Mori walked slowly through the front hall of his home. He still couldn't quite believe it; how could Haruhi refuse him? They'd been dating for so long; years now. It wasn't supposed to be like this….

They'd left the park separately shortly after she declined his proposal. Haruhi had explained that she couldn't even consider getting married, not at this point in her life. She was still in high school, and felt too young to become a wife. And then, there was college coming up, and she wanted to make sure she'd be able to concentrate on her studies. She did love him; she kept emphasizing that point. She just couldn't get engaged now; maybe in a few years?

Mori tried to not show his disappointment, his hurt. He couldn't wait a few years for her to come around; yes, they would continue dating. But, he loved her so much; it would be hard for him to know she wasn't fully his.

He entered his room and sighed. This should have gone so differently.

"Takashi! Takashi, you're back!" Honey had been sitting on his bed, waiting for him quite obviously. Mori had let Honey know that he was going to propose to Haruhi today. "How'd it go, Takashi? Did she say yes?"

Mori didn't answer. He couldn't bring himself to say that she had not said yes. Instead, he looked away, and placed a small black box on his dresser; the box that still held the ring.

"Ta…kashi?" Honey slid off the bed.

"No," Mori said quietly. "She said no."

Mori kept looking at the box. The ring was not supposed to still be inside it. He was not supposed to come home alone. Haruhi was not supposed to say no.

Suddenly, Honey was hugging his legs, crying. He hadn't even noticed his cousin moving. "I'm so sorry, Takashi," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry…."

Mori didn't remove Honey from his legs, didn't try to stop his tears like he usually did. Because, he knew that, this time, Honey wasn't crying for himself; he was crying for Mori.

And, Mori was thankful.

I need to write more often. I've gotten away from it. Oh well; hope you enjoyed it.

Please leave constructive criticism.