TITLE: Practice Makes Proposal

SUMMARY: It'd taken three years for him actually propose to Sakura. Or, well, three years until he'd tried to propose might be a more accurate statement. But, he'd be sure to succeed eventually. Practice makes perfect, after all… right? [Written for LeoSaku week 2016]

PROMPT: Writer's Choice

SPOILERS: None, this is a modern AU

Author's Note: I rushed to get this one done in time for the final prompt for LeoSaku week! So if it seems rushed, that's because... well, it was.

Initially I had this idea for the magic/nature prompt (especially nature), but when it fell away from that theme I decided on writer's choice.

P.S. Happy holidays, everyone!

Starting at a young age, Leo had drilled the phrase "practice makes perfect" into his head. Always living in Xander's shadow, he'd needed such words of motivation to continue to reach the same heights of success that his older brother had achieved before him. That being the case, it'd only made practical sense that he'd invariably lived by that mantra, working hard to earn everything he'd ever gotten.

Yet, somehow, he had a feeling that the familiar adage wasn't ever meant to apply to… well, marriage proposals. Granted, he wasn't an expert in the delicate tenants of romance, but he was still astute enough to know that a proposal was something you were only supposed to do once.

His proposal to Sakura should have been a "one and done" as well… after all, his initial plan had been flawless. He'd bought the perfect ring for the perfect girl, and took her to the perfect place - the Brynn J. Hilder Arboretum.

The arboretum was a special place to Leo, somewhere he'd always felt connected to nature and the world's earthly beauty. Perhaps his bond with the arboretum had even led to his decision to become a botanist, or at the very least, it had certainly contributed to his chosen path. But after he'd taken Sakura there on their first date, inherently knowing that she'd appreciate it more than any of the fancy restaurants in town, he was more than happy for it to shift from his place to their place.

Their first date was one of his happiest memories. Leo had somehow known from the beginning that there was something special about Sakura, that she was different than any of the girls he'd ever dated. He'd therefore paid a pretty penny to have a tree planted in her name - a cherry blossom seemed most appropriate, of course - and when he'd showed her the young sapling, she'd hugged him so tightly for it.

It was money well spent, if you asked him.

He could still remember the warmth he'd felt that night as she excitedly wrapped her arms around him, and how cold he'd suddenly become once she let go. And after she told him that it was the best gift she'd ever gotten, he instinctively leaned down and kissed her, capturing her tender lips eagerly in his own.

Before they'd finally left the arboretum to go home that night, she'd bent down to her tree and whispered softly to it, but the wind had carried her words so that he could hear them.

"I have a feeling that you're going to grow up to be big and strong," she'd told it. "And even if you don't, you don't have to worry. You'll always be the most amazing tree in the world to me."

Stupidly, he'd found himself getting jealous of a tree.

But when she'd wiped at her eyes and smiled up at him, having rubbed a few specks of dirt onto her lovely face in the process, he couldn't imagine ever wanting to be with anyone other than her. Even just witnessing that one small moment of her gentle affection for the tree he'd gifted to her touched something in him that he didn't even know existed, and perhaps it was in that moment when a part of him realized that he wanted to be with her forever.

Still, it'd taken three years for him actually propose to Sakura. Or, well, three years until he'd tried to propose might be a more accurate statement.

But, he'd be sure to succeed eventually. Practice makes perfect, after all…

… right?

The first attempt at proposing had been horribly embarrassing.

It had been their three-year anniversary, so he'd taken her to a nice restaurant to celebrate the occasion. Afterward, of course, they'd gone to their special place - the arboretum. Once they'd arrived he'd grabbed her hand and made a beeline for her tree, dragging her along the path instead of initiating the romantic stroll that he'd originally intended.

When they'd reached the small cherry blossom, Leo then released her hand and started pacing.

"Leo? Are y-you all right?" Sakura asked worriedly, watching him with concern.

He could feel himself sweating, and he wondered if the cause was the engagement ring he'd purchased for Sakura, which felt like it was burning a hole into his pocket.

"Um, y-yes," he stammered, clearing his throat as he considered what he was going to say to her. Being at a loss for words like this was an odd feeling, and he'd never had this much trouble trying to form a sentence before. In fact, Leo had always been rather articulate and eloquent. And yet, somehow, when he'd needed them the most, words suddenly seemed to fail him.

"You see, Sakura," he began, "this tree is special because it has… roots. And roots are important because they, um, they provide nourishment to the tree so that it can be strong. So you, Sakura, are like the roots to my tree. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Confusion was etched all over her delicate features and her forehead pulled her brow into a fine little arch, but he could see the moment that realization struck her. "Oh, Leo, I know what's g-going on here," she confessed, and he could feel his entire body start to sag in relief. "You always make that same f-face whenever you're constipated. I knew that you shouldn't have had the steak for dinner…"

He started to nod vigorously, until he finally processed her words, and his jaw nearly fell out of his mouth. "Wh-wh-wh… what?"

"It's okay, Leo," Sakura said sweetly, clasping one of his hands in both of hers. "You don't h-have to be embarrassed. I'm a nurse, after all. Besides, we should be c-comfortable enough with each other by now to be able to share this kind of thing, don't you think?"

His damaged pride was tempting him to pull out the ring just to prove to her that he wasn't constipated, but he couldn't possibly propose to her now, not like this. So, instead, he just nodded again.

"Thank you for t-taking me here," she said, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing him sweetly on the mouth. "It's my favorite place in the world. H-happy anniversary, Leo."

"Happy anniversary," he replied with a disappointed sigh.

He supposed that the tantalizing notion of a forever with the girl that he loved would just have to wait for another day.

"Let's go home, Sakura."

The second time he'd planned to propose had also been embarrassing, but not as much as the first.

They'd gone to the arboretum again, of course, since he was determined to propose to her there in their special place.

This time, though, he played it cool. They walked hand-in-hand along the grounds, enjoying each other's company and the natural beauty surrounding them.

But they hadn't even made it to her tree yet when she'd started to giggle.

"What is it?" he asked her, smiling in reflex to her apparent mirth.

"Leo… did you n-notice that your shirt was inside out again?"

His smile instantly disappeared.

…

…

…

Damn it.

Each subsequent attempt to propose after that only got progressively worse, and Leo was beginning to realize that the phrase "practice makes perfect," which he'd adhered to for his entire life, was complete and utter bullshit.

It was during the third endeavor that they ran into his friend, Odin, at the arboretum. If Leo could have picked the last person he'd have wanted to run into while he was planning to propose to Sakura, it most certainly would have been Odin.

Apparently Leo had made the mistake of telling Odin about the issues he'd been facing, as the first words out of his friend's mouth were an excited, "So, did you ask her yet?"

Why Odin would feel so inclined to ask such a question while Sakura was standing right next to him, and without a ring on her finger, he'd never know.

"Does it look like I've asked her yet, you imbecile?" Leo hissed into his friend's ear.

"Asked me what?" Sakura wondered.

Was it just Leo's imagination, or was there a hopeful look on Sakura's face as she inquired?

"Oh! Well for the longest time, Leo has wanted to ask you something, but he's been too nervous. You see, he really wants-"

Odin must have finally caught onto Leo's death glare, because he immediately stopped talking and gulped hard. Still, Sakura was looking at the man expectantly, so he must have felt compelled to continue. "He really wants, uh… a motorcycle!"

"A… m-motorcycle?" Sakura repeated, looking a bit crestfallen. "Is that… is that true, Leo?"

Leo gave Odin another look meant to melt his bones before shifting his attention to Sakura's sweet face.

What could he do now? He either had to go along with Odin's ridiculous lie, make up a different lie that would probably be equally as stupid, or finally just bite the bullet and propose.

But there was no way he was going to propose to her now, right here in front of his idiot friend.

"Yes," Leo finally said with a resigned sigh. "I want a motorcycle."

When her soft hand reached for his he hadn't been expecting it, but his body always instinctively knew how to react to her touch and his fingers soon interlaced themselves with hers.

"Leo, I don't want you to f-feel like you have to hide these things from me," she told him earnestly. "Of course I'm terrified at the thought of you having a motorcycle - I see people come into the hospital from h-horrible motorcycle injuries all the time. But if it's what really what you want, and you promise me that you'll always be smart and careful with it, then I won't stop you."

"Dude, she is so awesome!" Odin exclaimed. "No wonder you want to-"

This time Leo elbowed Odin right in the ribs, knocking the wind out of his friend for a short moment.

"Oh, excuse me, my arm must have slipped," Leo lied easily, although the smirk on his face was bound to give away his false sincerity.

Sakura hadn't noticed, though, because she'd rushed over to Odin and was too busy fawning over him to ensure that he was okay. Leo's grin quickly faded as the hand that he'd been holding only seconds ago began pressing into Odin's ribs to check him for injury.

Odin, you're a dead man, Leo thought as his friend began hamming up his pain to get even more of Sakura's careful touch and attention.

And just like that, all thoughts of marriage proposals and motorcycles evaporated from his mind, replaced only by thoughts of sweet retribution.

The next time he'd tried to propose had been a complete disaster.

Since Leo could never manage to actually get the words out to ask Sakura to marry him, whether due to his nerves or other unlucky circumstances, he decided this time to just leave the ring hanging on one of the branches of her little tree. Then, when she attended to her tree as she was always prone to do, she would see it, hug him, hopefully say yes, and then this would all finally be over.

She had to meet him at the arboretum this time so that he'd be able to set everything up. And when she eventually came walking down the path, smiling at him while the wind gently tugged at her hair, his heart started thumping in his chest.

"Uh… hi?" he said awkwardly once she reached him. Why was he so nervous? It's not like he even had to do anything this time.

"Hi, Leo!" she replied, beaming at him.

"You, um, look really nice tonight?" he added while scratching the back of his head with his hand.

Why was he phrasing everything like a question?

"Oh! Are you asking m-me or telling me?" she wondered, biting her lip.

"Telling. Definitely telling," he confirmed.

She beamed again, and he wondered if it was fair for her smile to be this addicting.

"So… how do you think your tree is doing?" he asked, shoving her forward lightly.

She looked at him oddly, but then examined the tree. "It's perfect as always," she told him with a contented sigh.

That's it?

He shoved her slightly closer, just in case she was having trouble finding the ring that he'd ingeniously placed on the-

-wait. Where was the ring?

He looked around frantically until he saw a nearby squirrel running away with something shiny in its mouth.

"Gah!" he shouted, chasing after it.

"L-Leo? What in the world are you doing?" Sakura asked as she followed after him, but he ignored her, focusing only on the ring.

Realizing that he was never going to catch up to the squirrel, he grabbed a pebble from the ground and hurled it at the fleeing animal. The small stone landed in front of the creature, startling it into dropping the ring, which in turn left Leo with the opportunity to swoop in triumphantly and pick it up. Still, he quickly hid it in his pocket, certainly not wanting to propose to Sakura like this.

"Leo! How c-could you!" Sakura chastised, sounding extremely upset. Leo could have sworn that the squirrel then gave him a dirty look before gazing up at Sakura with big, sad, eyes.

"Don't worry, Mr. Squirrel. I w-won't let him try to hurt you again," she soothed, patting the squirrel on the head lightly. "You should b-be ashamed of yourself, Leo!"

Well, this confirmed it. It's not like he could propose to her now that she thought of him as squirrel Hitler.

"Uh, I'm sorry, Sakura, I thought that, um… that the squirrel was trying to attack you," he lied unconvincingly.

At least her look of disdain changed into one of amusement. "Well I don't know where you would ever get that impression. Mr. Squirrel would never hurt me… right, Mr. Squirrel?"

In response the rodent nuzzled its head into her hair and she giggled.

"Oh, Leo! Can we k-keep him, please?" she begged.

"... You must be joking, Sakura," he protested. "It's nothing but a glorified rat! And besides, I don't even know the laws on having a squirrel as a pet."

But as two pairs of large, pleading eyes continued to look at him, he couldn't help but crack.

"Fine, then. If it would make you-"

He didn't even finish his sentence before she launched herself at his body to hug him.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried, and he couldn't help but smile.

And that's how they ended up with a pet squirrel.

The fifth attempt had been the first instance that he'd actually managed to hurt them both.

This time, when he'd taken her to the arboretum, he'd been determined to finally do this properly. Only now, she seemed to be acting strangely, and he couldn't help but worry about her.

"Sakura… are you all right?" he asked anxiously, taking her hand in his.

"Leo…" she merely said, but her eyes wouldn't meet his.

"You're shaking, and your face is all flushed… are you ill?" he inquired with sudden alarm.

"Oh, n-no, it's nothing like that!" she insisted. "It's just… there's something that I've been w-wanting to ask you."

"You can ask me anything," he assured her, squeezing her hand to emphasize his point.

She took a deep breath. "O-okay." Still, she paused for a long while before she continued, so he squeezed her hand again. "Well, L-Leo… I guess I was just w-wondering if you… if you might want to ever g-get married someday? I m-mean… to me?"

All he could manage to do in that moment was blink at her. Repeatedly.

After all of his failed proposals, was she really going to be the one to propose to him?

"Oh my God," he commented, laughing at the irony of it all. "You've got to be kidding me."

He looked at her with amused eyes, but it was only when he saw her starting to tear up that he realized what an idiot he'd been. Naturally, without any context for his reaction, she'd think that he was rejecting her.

Dread pooled in his stomach as she jerked her hand away from his.

"No, Sakura, it's not what you think! Of course I want to marry you!" he insisted, but it was too late. He could read the shame and embarrassment in her tear-filled eyes as she started to back away from him. One of her hands covered her mouth to stifle a sob, but even without sound, the force of it still managed to shake her small shoulders.

"Please," he begged, reaching for her with one hand while he fumbled for the ring with his other, intending to show her the proof behind his claims, but she easily evaded his touch. With a quick turn, she then started running down the path and away from him.

"Wait!" he cried out as he followed after her. "Let me explain!"

Even if she refused to stop, he knew that he would catch up to her quickly since his legs were much longer than hers. But she surprised him by veering off of the path into the thick of the trees, and all of a sudden, he'd lost sight of her

"Sakura!" he tried again, but his height had suddenly become a disadvantage as branches started to whip into his face, further inhibiting his vision.

Damn it, he'd lost her…

He hurriedly returned to the car and waited there for an hour, but when she never appeared he started to worry. Assuming that she must have taken a cab or an Uber home, he decided to drive back to the apartment that they shared together.

But she wasn't there either.

He started getting anxious. Had something happened to her?

Pulling out his cellphone, he called her number, but she didn't answer.

Sakura, where are you? Are you okay? he texted, but there was still no response.

Please, I'm going out of my mind with worry. I know that you're mad at me, but can you just let me know that you're all right?

Relief pierced through him as his phone finally buzzed.

I'm fine. I'm staying at Hana's tonight.

This was all just a big misunderstanding. I can explain everything. Can we talk?

Not tonight. I just need some time.

I understand but… I love you. Please don't ever doubt that.

There was no reply, and for a while he was sure that she wasn't going to respond.

But he received one more text that night, and it made him believe that it wasn't too late for him to fix this, that he wouldn't lose her because of his idiocy after all.

I love you, too.

Patience had never been Leo's strong suit, so when Sakura didn't respond to his calls or texts the next day, he drove over to Hana's place.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up," Hana said, never one to beat around the bush herself.

"I need to see her," Leo simply replied.

"Leo… I've always liked you," Hana started, but when Leo raised an eyebrow at her, she smiled in return. "Okay, fine. I've always thought that you were… adequate. But do you have any idea how terrified Sakura was to bring up marriage with you? I can't believe that you would so carelessly shoot her down like that!"

"Trust me, I have a pretty good idea of how nervous she was feeling," he told her. "And I wasn't shooting her down! I just found the whole situation humorous in that moment because I've been trying, and failing to propose to her for months now, and she simply misinterpreted my reaction as a rejection."

Hana stared at him for a long moment. "Leo, you're a smart guy. Do you really expect me to believe that you're that stupid?"

"I realize that I've made a bigger mess out of this entire thing than it was ever meant to be," he sighed. "But can you please just let me see her now so that I can explain everything?"

"I would," Hana said slowly, "... but she's not here."

"Well, where is she then?"

"I don't know," Hana admitted. "She said that she wanted to be alone, so I respected her wishes."

"Fine," Leo said, rubbing at his temple to try and relieve some of his growing stress. "Well, I was prepared for the eventuality that she wouldn't see me, so I brought a letter explaining the situation. Can you see that she gets it?"

"Sure, Leo," Hana agreed. "But, if you ever hurt her again, even by accident… I will end you. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to let you."

She would be here… she had to be here.

Sakura… if you forgive me… if you still want to marry me as much as I want to marry you… then meet me at the arboretum at 7:00pm.

That was his plea at the end of the letter he'd written to her, the one that had detailed everything that had happened over the last four months. The note was a proposal of sorts in its own way, but Leo had long lost the chance to make the moment special for her, and now just longed to have her back.

So presently he walked through the arboretum, the place that had once been his and now was theirs, and he only felt miserable. This used to be somewhere that he could escape all of his problems, but tonight, it just felt empty without her there by his side.

It had never bothered him that she'd permeated his special place in such a way - in fact, he was glad that she had, although, the same could be said about every aspect of his life. Her toothbrush lying next to his near the bathroom sink. Her pillow on their bed, the one that smelled like her. Her mochi ice cream in the freezer. Her coat hanging on the hook by the door. Their stupid pet squirrel.

He couldn't imagine being without it anymore, not any of it.

So when he saw her waiting by her cherry blossom, it was the first time in the last twenty-four hours that he began to feel at peace.

She was there. She still loved him. She still wanted to marry him, to be with him forever.

Everything was going to be okay after all.

"Sakura!" he called out, jogging toward her.

She turned, and even though her tears had long dried, it was obvious that she'd been crying.

He hated himself for that.

But even so, she was here, so he could still fix this.

"Ah, you got my note… I'm so relieved," he told her.

"Note? What n-note?"

That threw him. But if she didn't get the letter, then did that mean she didn't forgive him after all?

"My letter?" he asked, but she continued to look at him blankly. "You mean, you didn't get it? Didn't Hana give it to you?"

She shook her head. "I didn't go back to Hana's today, so I didn't s-see her."

"Then… why are you here?"

He could see that she was hurt by his question, and for the millionth time in the past few months he berated himself for being such an idiot.

"I c-came here because I missed you, Leo. And I knew that this was the closest I could feel to you without… w-without actually having to be around you."

God, he truly didn't deserve her, and he knew that he never would.

"Sakura, I know that you're mad-"

"No, Leo, I'm not mad," she interrupted. "How can I be? I can't blame you for how you f-feel. But it just h-hurts because… because I'd always hoped that we wanted the same things."

"How I… feel? Sakura, please, I do want the same things as you," he promised. "In fact, the truth is that I've been trying to propose to you ever since our three-year anniversary."

She looked at him skeptically. "But Leo… how is that even p-possible? That was four m-months ago."

"I know," he said with a groan. "It's just that every time I tried, I managed to mess it up. Except for that time with Odin, that one was completely his fault."

"Odin? H-he… he wanted to know if you'd asked me yet. Was he actually talking about… marriage? You mean, you never really w-wanted a motorcycle?"

"Of course not!" he scowled, rolling his eyes at Odin's preposterous lie.

"You know, I thought that the motorcycle thing was all very strange, c-considering that you'd never brought it up again, either before or after that conversation," she noted. "But then... that means you r-really do want to marry me?"

"More than anything," he told her honestly while he brushed her cheek lightly with his thumb.

She giggled then, leaning her head against his chest. "Oh, Leo… I c-can't b-believe that you've really been t-trying to propose to me for f-four months!" she said through the laughter.

He put a hand on her back, right between her shoulder blades, before sighing deeply. "I'm glad that you think this is so funny," he told her while rubbing her back gently. "But at least now you know the truth. I want… I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, Sakura. Only, I wanted the proposal to be special for you, and instead I completely ruined everything."

She lifted her head and smiled brightly at him. "Well since you h-haven't technically asked me anything yet, Leo, you still can. So, tell me… if you hadn't been so nervous, and if everything hadn't gone wrong during the last few m-months… and if there hadn't been any Odin… what would you have said to me?"

His initial reaction was to tense up at being put on the spot, but as he looked into her shining and loving eyes, he suddenly felt calm. "Well," he started, "I guess I'd have said that… that I never believed happiness like this was something I'd ever find until I met you. But that's not even enough for me anymore, because all that matters to me now is your happiness. And maybe I presume too much to think that I can give you anything close to what you've given me in that regard, but what I can promise you is that I'll work harder to make you happy than anyone on this earth. And if, somehow, that can be enough for someone like you - someone so bright and loving that you make even the sunlight seem dull and desolate in comparison - then… will you marry me, Sakura? Will you stay with me… forever?"

Her playfulness had vanished, replaced by soft tears that were trailing slowly down her face, and for an anxious moment, he wondered if he'd managed to botch yet another proposal.

But when she smiled warmly again, he immediately knew that everything was going to be okay.

"Oh, Leo… y-yes, yes, of course I'll marry you!" she cried out joyfully.

He felt moisture starting to gather in his owns eyes, and he let out a shaky breath that he didn't even know he'd been holding. Taking the ring out of his pocket, he then slipped it onto her finger, but it took an extra minute because his hands were trembling while he did so.

"Sakura…" he said, but he could barely get the word out.

She put her hands on the side of his face and looked at him in such a way that his heart physically hurt, and his small sniffles started to echo her own. "There are s-so many things I love about this world, Leo… there's so much magic in it," she told him. "But you… you're the only thing that I c-couldn't live without. I feel strongest and s-safest when I'm with you, and… and ever since I met you, being with you was everything I could have dreamed of and more. I love you, Leo, s-so much…"

He kissed her then because he couldn't help himself. There'd been countless kisses over the years, and each and every one had been memorable and special, but this one… this one, with the promise of forever in it, filled all of the lonely and empty spaces in his heart that he'd long thought unreachable.

"Leo," she whispered as his lips finally separated from hers.

"Hmm?" he asked, running a hand affectionately through her soft hair.

"That was… such a beautiful proposal," she told him, closing her eyes contentedly while the petals from the nearby cherry blossoms began to fall in the wind's gentle breeze.

He smirked. "Well, after several failed attempts, I suppose that it was just a skill I had to acquire."

And judging by the smile on her face in that moment, practice really did make perfect after all… even when it came to proposals.

Author's Note: Well, that's the first marriage proposal I've ever written. Too cheesy?

Well, it was fun nonetheless :)