Tohru had always liked fairytales. Her mother had read them to her all the time, filling her head with happy endings.
Tohru wiped her forehead and continued scrubbing the floor. It wasn't that she liked scrubbing floors; it was just that her grandfather had hurt his back and was in the hospital. Her aunt and cousins had been about to leave for vacation, so the woman had ordered Tohru to keep the house clean.
Tohru stood up. She didn't mind, not really. If it would help her grandfather, then she was happy to help. She went to the bathroom to wash her hands, and looked up to see her face covered in soot. She smiled.
"Guess that's what I get for cleaning the fireplace!" She said with a grin. She scrubbed off as much as she could, but there was still a black smudge. Tohru sighed and hoped it would come out in the bath later. She grabbed a rag, and was about to go back to cleaning when the doorbell rang.
Tohru looked down at her dirty self, and did her best to tidy up her appearance. She walked to the door, and opened it to see none other than Hatsuharu Sohma. He was hunched over a little, a bag of something in his hands. He stood up straight when he saw her.
"Hi," he said softly.
"Hello!" Tohru chirped. "Nice to see you!" Haru held out the food.
"I heard..." He hesitated. "I heard you were working a lot, so I brought you something to eat." Tohru looked in the bag to find a plethora of fast food items.
"Thank you! There's so much!" Tohru exclaimed. Haru shrugged shyly.
"I didn't know what you'd want," he said. Tohru slipped on her shoes, and then stepped out with him.
"Let's eat together," she said cheerfully. "There's plenty for both of us." Haru shrugged again, and the pair made their way to a shady area under a tree.
Sitting down on the grass, Tohru sighed happily.
"It's so lovely outside," she said dreamily. Haru unwrapped veggie burger.
"Yeah," he said, taking a bite. He kept glancing at her, and finally pointed to her face.
"I'm sorry," he said slowly. But you have something on your face." Tohru giggled.
"Yeah," she said. "I was cleaning the fireplace and I got some ash on my cheek." Haru stared at her for a minute.
"You're Cinderella." He said.
Tohru blinked.
"Pardon?"
Haru set the sandwich down, and then said, "You know. Cinderella. You're just like her." Tohru blushed.
"Oh, I'm not-" Haru cut her off.
"Don't try to argue," he said, looking into the distance. "My mind is made up." Tohru pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. After a moment, Haru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"You can rest your head on my shoulder, if you want," he said quietly. Tohru smiled shyly, and then did as he said. In reality, she wasn't a princess, and he was no prince. But for that moment at least, as the birds sang and the flowers danced in the wind, they were happy. And in the end, that's all that really matters.