A/N: Bee, you are correct. That is the exact scene I was thinking about! Not sure what it was, but this story just didn't seem finished to me and it turns out some of you felt the same. Here is the epilogue. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

Epilogue

Haruhi and Mori sat in her living room cuddled together with only the moon and the lights from the still standing Christmas tree lighting the room. Ranka had left the party after Mori arrived and ventured over to the bar he worked at to help them with the crowd and to celebrate with his friends, giving his daughter and her boyfriend some much needed alone time. Finally after putting off Christmas for a week, they could enjoy their belated holiday together.

Discarded wrapping paper lay on the table where they opened their gifts. A new shirt, book, and watch for Mori; and a new law book, a coat, cd, and silver stud earrings for Haruhi (she had lost one of hers and wanted a new pair, but was adamant about them being simple and plain). All was finally right with the world and everyone was at peace. The brunette's head had even stopped hurting when her boyfriend kissed it for her; although, she still couldn't wait for the stitches to come out on the 2nd. They would have probably come out sooner, but there was another mishap with her friends and let's just say she had to be sewn up a second time.

As she lay back against the tall man's chest, Haruhi could feel the beat of his heart against her back and it gave her a sense of comfort and belonging. This feeling was different from the hosts. They were her second family and they would probably accept her no matter what she did; and the more commoner and out of the ordinary it seemed, the more ecstatic Tamaki and the twins would be about it all. No, this was knowing that the man behind her loved her so much that he braved weather and did whatever it took to come home to her. He could have gone home first or sought out his friends and family before he came to her, but he chose to find her, hold her, and dance with her before he acknowledged anyone else… and that made her feel special. It gave her comfort to know that he was just as desperate to be with her as she was him, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, they belonged to each other. The metamorphosis of their relationship proved that. They had started out as… well not exactly friends, but they eventually got there, and then they grew from there. Nobody knew Haruhi as well as Mori did.

"What are you thinking about?" Mori whispered in her ear, his arms pulling her ever so slightly closer.

Smiling, she said, "Us through the years."

"Ah."

"You know what?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad the libraries were too noisy."

A grin appeared on his face as he replied, "Me too. If not for that, you may have never come into the music room." It was the day his life changed forever. Almost instantly he felt a protective instinct take over when he looked at the petite figure of what he thought at the time was a boy. Oh how wrong he was. When lifted her into the air and realized for the first time that he was really a she, everything changed. Suddenly he noticed how her eyes were more than just brown, or how they sparkled when she was happy or if the light hit them just right, they almost appeared to be chocolate diamonds shining with the light of the sun. Her sense of justice endeared her to him, and as he continued to get to know more about her, his admiration grew. She was a fighter: strong and independent, with the exception of thunder storms. And even dressed in the male uniform for Ouran, she was beautiful. In college as he helped her to study, he realized the small crush he had had on her in high school and developed into something more, something that ran much deeper than a mere boyish crush. He loved her. He thanked kami every day that the waiter had said what he did because it gave him the opportunity he had been seeking, and once again his life changed for the better since Haruhi had entered it. He loved her more now than the day they shared their first kiss.

"Haruhi," he spoke softly. His voice a whisper against her ear, tickling the skin and blowing on the wisps of her hair that lie there.

"Hmm?" When he didn't say anything else, she sat up and turned around in order to look at him. "What is it Takashi?" Silence greeted her as he studied her face. Was there something on it? She had washed the makeup off as soon as she got home, but she could still have a black smudge or something she had missed. Had she done something wrong? No, that couldn't be it. Mori always told her when something upset him.

Lifting his hand, he brushed her hair behind her ears and smiled, "You look like an angel."

Her cheeks burned pink with his compliment and her heartbeat started to pound in her chest harder and faster.

"I have one more Christmas present to give you."

"You do?"

Mori nodded, "Yes." Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a black velvet box with a red bow and handed it to her. As soon as she flipped the lid opened and sucked in her breath, he asked, "Will you marry me?"

Nestled inside the box was a silver band a cluster of diamonds. Upon closer inspection, the diamonds formed the shape of a flower or rose in full bloom, and the band was the stem. Happy tears burned her eyes as she lifted her hand and nodded, "Yes." It was the only word she seemed to be able to say past the tightness in her throat. Yes, she would marry him, and yes, she would spend the rest of her life with him. They had been made for each other after all.

Pulling the ring out of the box, he slipped it on her finger and then kissed it before raising his head and kissing her lips. This was their promise of tomorrow and the future, and for all the holidays yet to come.

A/N2: I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. HAPPY NEW YEAR!