Sugarpie Honeybunch ▪ Mori (Editing)

15 (edited)

Marianna stood immediately, her eyes wide. "No!"
Her voice reached a pitch no one was aware she could hit. It was shrill and commanding. "I'm not going to get married to a person I'm not in love with!"

Her father stood, a hand out, as if he were approaching an animal. "I understand-"
Marianna cut him off, her eyes ablaze. "Do you?" Her voice had gone soft, barely contained anger bleeding through the two words. "Do you understand that I sacrificed my home, My life, My culture? To follow you to Japan. That I dove head first into an entirely different country and social class. I have been the epitome of elegance si-"

"You don't have to get married, Marianna!" Her mother shouted, tears falling over her gaunt face. "We're not forcing you to get married but the family would like confirmation that you've found a suitor before you graduate." Her father continued, his hand finally resting on her shoulder. 

Marianna's watery eyes traced over her parents faces. "Or else what?"

-
-
Marianna wasn't at school the next day. Instead her family had her interviewing suitors. Mori was quiet, as per usual, but this was a different quiet. Mari had called him after the conversation with her parents. He knew what she was doing right then and he didn't like it one bit. Honey knew as well, there wasn't a bit of information Honey didn't know about Mori and Mari's relationship.

It wasn't a hosting day, instead it was one of the few days the club gathered to brainstorm a theme for the next week. There was no heart in it. The twins were joking around and teasing as usual. Haruhi scolding them. Tamaki was back in his emo corner and Kyoya was scribbling in his notebook. It was a normal day, but it wasn't.

A loud thump was heard, Mori's fist going straight through the table.

"Mori-senpai." Tamaki uttered, his face serious.

A tear fell.

Honey's lip wobbled as he attempted to explain why Mori was angry. The tears rolling down his face swiftly. His words meshed together until Haruhi stepped in. Being the level head she was she rested a hand of Honey's shoulder, then Mori. "What happened?"

"Marianna is being forced to find a suitor  before the year ends." Mori said, his eyes dull.

The club froze in shock. The twins faces were saddened, Kyoya's unreadable, and Tamaki's remained set in stone.

"Then what are you doing here?" A cool voice said. Kyoya stood from his seat, his hands in his suit pockets, "If she is being forced to find a suitor why don't you make it easier on her and propose?"

"She hasn't ment-"

"Of course she isn't going to mention it!" Tamaki shouted, the vein in his neck bulging. "She's being forced to marry, not you. She wouldn't want to force her boyfriend into a marriage this young."

"If you really care for her as much as you say-" Hikaru started.

"- Then propose." Kaoru finished with a shrug.

"Your kind of love only comes once in a lifetime, Mori. If you have the chance now, why not take it?"

Haruhi's final words bounced around in his head, his lips turning up into a smile. "I need a ring."

So the host club set out. There wasn't time to make a custom ring the way Mori had always dreamed he would, he instead would have to settle for what they had in the store. There were a lot. "I don't even know her ring size." He muttered as he held a large diamond in his hands.

Hikaru sighed, "She's a 6."

Kaoru mirrored his brothers, gazing casually at a ring on display, "Maybe even a 7."

Kyoya chimed in, his notebook open once more, "She's a 6."

Mori looked at them, his eyes unreadable. He nodded once and then turned, his sharp jaw startling the worker before him. "Can you bring me all the rings you have in a size 6?"

-
The club sighed, having gone through the hundreds of rings the lady had pulled from the back. They sat on the floor of the store with slumped shoulders. "I can't believe you haven't picked a single ring, Takashi." Honey said, his eyes closed in fatigue.

The boy hummed, his mind elsewhere. It was when Haruhi readjusted herself that he saw the box by her ankle. It lay unopened. He reached for it and opened it in curiosity though it soon turned into wonder. In the box lay a delicate gold ring. It's band was decorated the small jewels and the gold appeared to be woven intricately to cup the slightly larger stone on top. It was so purely the essence of Marianna that he knew, he found her ring. He showed it to the hosts, smiling lightly when they all clapped him in the back.

-
Mori stood at the door of Marianna's home. He had rung the doorbell like a madman until Marianna's melodic voice shouted at him.
"I'm coming! Sorry, we're in the mi-"

Marianna was cut off with a kiss, her eyes wide as Takashi's large hands cupped her chubby cheeks. His lips stayed joined with hers until they pulled away for air, Marianna's face flushing. Her parents had watched the scene unfold, as did the man they were interviewing.

"Marianna," Mori called, his eyes serious, "I don't like the idea of any other man touching you. I don't like the idea of you touching anyone else but me. I don't like the idea of you getting married. The idea of losing you to someone who wouldn't even come close to being worthy of your affection. I love you, Marianna, and I want to stay by your side, for better or for worse. In sickness and in health. Marry me, Marianna. Be my wife and I'll promise to love and cherish you the way a woman of your caliber should be treated."

Her parents stood, escorting the boy out and shutting the door behind them. The two remained standing alone in the hall, awaiting the girls answer.

"I.."