Every day

It was like it was from a post card. Snow covered the grounds and street lights with an even coat for a beautiful white finish. As the general public milled about the streets, the sound of a bell tone plays.

*Chime* *Chime*

"Ne… Nozaki-kun! This way!" The small girl grabbed the large hand and pulled it into the direction that she pointed out.

"C-Chiy- Wait! Chiyo hold up a sec!" The girl stops to let him catch his breath. "Whew… you can run awfully fast, what's got you excited anyway?"

Sakura turns with a wide smile on her face, "You'll see!" Before quickly turning back and continuing to drag him. Knowing that the girl would not relent, Nozaki steeled himself for a few more feet of arm dragging until they suddenly stopped. "Wait here, I'll be right back!" Sakura said excitedly before disappearing.

"C-Chiyo! Ugh… never mind then." Standing there by himself, Nozaki stood in solitude as other shoppers moved around him. Occasionally they would shoot him a weird gaze, probably wondering what a freakishly tall man was doing in the middle of the aisle, but he just shook off the jabs and waited. 'This girl is going to be the death of m- Wait, I shouldn't be thinking like that!' Nozaki thought to himself.

It's been three years that they have been together and things were going well for the both of them. The two recently moved in together and were both attending the same university. Nozaki was still an author and Sakura still maintained the position of assistant but as a direct of their new domestic partnership, issues of Let's Love~ surged in popularity.

Looking at his watch, Nozaki wondered if Sakura was ever coming back. Just as he was about to pull out his phone to text about her whereabouts, he felt a mass collide into him. Jolted by the impact, he swung around and was greeted by two eager purple pools.

"I'm back!" Sakura giggled. "So… what do you think?"

Nozaki scratched his head at what the girl meant until he noticed the red. It was beautifully laced with swirl patterns that complemented her figure perfectly. Sakura did a spin to show off the dress and when she did, the patterns seemed to leap off and fly into the sky. Taken aback at the sure beauty of it, Nozaki reached into his back pocket and pulled out his notepad and began furiously taking down notes. Seeing that he was doing work again, Sakura puffed her cheeks and folded her arms, uttering a loud, "Hmph."

Realizing his error, a bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck as he felt angry eye's lay upon him. "S-S-sorry… force of habit." He croaks. Slowly moving the notepad to his eye's to stop the girl's gaze, he resigns himself to repeating that he won't bring work with him anywhere he goes. "I promise that I will never bring work with me again." He repeats. On his 5th iteration, he felt a hand grab the little notepad and his hand was suddenly forced downwards. The action was then followed by a small kiss on the lips that left Nozkai a tell-tale blush on his cheeks. He looked down to see the same pattern left on Sakura's cheeks as she stood there with her arms behind her back.

"You still didn't answer my question."

"I-I think that you look beautiful in it."

"YOU REALLY THINK SO!?"

"Hhmm, the truest depiction of Mamiko you could ever see."

"I-I don't know if that's a good thing or not…."

"It's a good thing for me." Nozaki said softly before planting a small kiss on her forehead that made her giggle in delight. "But before all of that, how much is this going to cost me?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The dress, how much is it?"

"D-D-Don't w-worry, I got it! Y-You don't have to do anything!" Sakura stuttered. She began rifling through her purse for her wallet when Nozaki began laughing.

"I'm just kidding..." Sakura pouted and gave a light punch to Nozaki's shoulder which he recoiled back with a playful 'ow!' almost causing Sakura to call an ambulance over the thought that she actually hurt him. After heading back to change back into her original clothes, the two paid up at the register and were soon back outside in the cold air.

*Chime* *Chime*

"Thank you for shopping with us!" The elderly clerk cheered.

"Ah! Thank you!" Sakura replied, giving a small wave back and smiling. As the doors slid close, she turned to face forward when she felt something grab her hand. She looked up to find a warm smile and eye's looking in her direction.

"Is that everything?" Nozaki asked, gripping her hand tighter. The girl nodded her head excitedly and wrapped her arm tightly around his.

"Hmm! That's everything, we can go home now!" She pointed into the direction of home and the two took a step in that direction. As the two walked, a gush of cold air blew past. "Brr..."

"You cold?"

"A little bit, but it's nothing that I can't handle."

"Are you sure? The last time you said you were okay, I had to carry you for over a half an hour."

Sakura blushed deeply and let out a nervous chuckle, "*Laugh* Do you have a problem with carrying me?"

Startled by her answer, he flashed red and began shaking his hand back and forth, "No, no, no, I'm not complaining! That moment actually gave me a good reference that I used later that day."

"You used me for work again!?"

"What? I always used you for wor- I mean I used you to model an important character within a riveting plotline." Nozaki gushed out, his face so warm that it could melt the snow around him.

Sakura rolled her eyes and laughed, "I don't know if to take that well or not but I guess it's a good thing!"

After walking a few more blocks, Nozaki's apartment was within sight, urging to get out of the cold, Sakura gripped Nozaki's arm tighter and began to quicken her pace.

"C-Chiyo! This again!?"

"C'mon, don't you want to get inside?"

"I do, but I still have a job to do after this so I would like it if my arm were still intact."

Sakura giggled and let go but by that time, they've already reached the front door. Turning the key until the lock unlatched, the two rushed inside and quickly closed the door behind them. Taking a moment to catch their breath, the two began shedding their winter gear and hung it up neatly on the rack.

"I'll make dinner." Nozaki said, making his way towards the kitchen.

"Hmm! What are we having?"

"The usual…."

Sakura frowned and folded her arms, "Again? Why can't you make something different?"

"I could, I just lack the resources to do that currently, unless you want to go back out there and get them?"

"You know wha- never mind, the usual's fine, BUT TOMORROW WE'RE HAVING SOMETHING ELSE!"

"Yeah, yeah, I promise you, now go wash up, it'll be ready soon."

Sakura left the kitchen and walked into the bed room. She leaned over the bed and was about to charge her phone when suddenly the phone vibrated and played a catchy jingle. She looked at the screen and it displayed one message.

*1 New Message*

Kashima-Kun

Unlocking her phone, she realized that Kashima sent her a photo. Opening the message and seeing the attached photo, Sakura gasped and almost dropped her phone. Not even uttering a single word, she leapt off the bed, phone in hand and slid into the kitchen, almost knocking the dinner that Nozaki had prepared.

"CHI-CHIYO!"

Not even acknowledging the fact that dinner was almost ruined, she brought up the phone screen to Nozaki's face. "LOOK AT THIS NOZAKI-KUN!"

The picture in question showed their good friends and classmates, Yuu Kashima and Masayuki Hori, together and smiling. The one key feature that caused Sakura to run in was that Kashima held her hand towards the camera. On her ring finger was a silver ring, bejeweled with a bright emerald stone that mirrored Kashima's eyes. The photo also had a small note that came with it. The note said this.

I think I'm going to have change my name from Yuu Kashima to Yuu Hori now!

"Holy sh- they actually did it…." Nozaki looked at the picture and could see the genuine happiness that plastered Kashima's face. Suddenly a familiar voice played in his head.

'One day Chiyo, You'll be able to be with him forever, with a ring on his finger and yours. One day he'll make breakfast for your kids but that will be one day Chiyo, one day, just not today.'

One day… just not today

"NOZAKI-KUN!" Sakura's voice broke him from his wonderment.

"Wha-Wha? Oh… yeah that's fantastic, tell them that I congratulate them." Nozaki said, feigning excitement while handing the phone back to her.

"I'll be sure to do that, oh I can picture the ceremony right now!"

"When we do go, can I take pictures?"

"NO SILLY!"

"I'm just joking."

"mhm… don't scare me like that." Sakura grabbed his arm and wrapped herself in it.

"Hey, you wanna eat or not?" Nozaki asked while patting the girl's head. She looked up and nodded her head excitedly and the two sat down at the table and began to eat.

With dinner finished, Nozaki cleaned up while Sakura washed up. Putting the last of the dishes in the cupboard, he switched the light off in the kitchen and walked into the bedroom to find Sakura looking at the mirror, carefully removing the bows from her head. He throws the sheets off the bed and puts himself on it before putting the sheets back, leaving the other half open for Sakura.

"Hey Chiyo, I'm going to sleep."

Sakura turned with her eyes widened, "Hey! Wait for me!" She furiously worked on getting the last bow out of her hair before finally leaping off the chair and running to the bed. She leapt onto the open space and pulled the covers over her and turning her head to look at Nozaki. "Okay… now you can go to sleep." Her face beaming brightly. Nozaki let out a breathless laugh and brought up his hand to caress her cheek.

"*Laugh* Good night Chiyo." He leaned forward and place a small kiss on her nose.

Sakura's face began to turn into a cherry as she giggled, "Good night Nozaki-kun."

Next day

"Alright Nozaki-kun I'm going to class!" Sakura's voice echoed through the apartment. Nozaki stepped out of the room and yelled back.

"I'll see you later! Be careful!"

"Hmm!"

Hearing the door close, Nozaki moved quickly and donned his coat. He looked at the clock, he's got three hours before Sakura gets back, all the time he needs. Standing on the bus his anxiety grew, thoughts were racing through his head and his heart rate was steadily increasing.

'What if they don't have it? What if it's not the right size? What if she doesn't like it?'

These 'What ifs' almost made Nozaki forget his stop. He rushed out of the bus and looked down the long sidewalk. He continued with a brisk pace, staring at the hanging signs and glancing at the storefront windows for the right one. Almost reaching the end where the sidewalk leads to a crosswalk, the gold lettering caught his eye and he stopped in his tracks.

*Chime* *Chime*

"Hello there sir, how can I help you?" The middle-aged man behind the counter asked.

Nozaki opens up with a stutter as he address the clerk, "N-N-Nozaki Umetarou sir, I'm here t-to pick s-something up?"

The clerk closed his eyes and smiled warmly, "Allow me to check our roster, one moment please."

"N-No, take your time." What Nozaki told the man was the complete opposite of how he felt. The clerk pulled out a small book and began to peruse it with his finger until he tapped the book twice.

"Ah, here it is, Mr. Nozaki is it right?"

"U-Uh yes sir."

"One moment please." The man turned away and went through an opening in the wall behind him. Nozaki began to tap his foot and as each minute passed, the tapping became faster and faster. Finally the man returned, still with his warm smile and an ornately decorated bag. "Here you go sir."

"T-Thank you."

"I do have to say sir, you have a rather very unique taste, good luck by the way."

Nozaki grinned slightly and bowed, "Thank you very much sir for everything."

*Chime* *Chime*

Nozaki looked through the window and saw the man wave, still with that same smile. All he could do was smile in return and waved back. He turned from the window and was about to walk back to the bus station when he heard a voice from behind him that made his heart freeze.

"Nozaki-kun? What are you doing here?" Sakura chirped. Nozaki slowly turned to confront the girl, gripping the bag tightly.

"C-Chiyo… surprising to see you here."

"Surprised? What are you doing out here?"

"I-I-I was out doing some errands, how come you're back so early, I thought class ends at 11:00?"

"Some water pipe burst so they had to shut down heat to the classes so they had everyone go home early," Sakura noticed the bag that was in Nozaki's hand. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Nozaki, trying to use awkward humor to throw her off.

"That bag, in your hand, which is very elegantly designed for it to be a convenience store bag... what were you doing in front of a jewelry store?" Sakura interrogated.

"U-U-Uh I was just going around town to get references for the newest issue, it just happens that a jewelry store will be one of the main center pieces." Nozaki blurted out, gripping the bag tighter.

"So you were doing work related things?"

Nozaki pretended to look ashamed as he said, "Yes… I was doing things for work again, you can hit me now."

"NO, NO, NO! I would never lay a finger on you!"

Nozaki smiled and quickly grabbed Sakura and brought her close to him, giving her a warm hug. "That's good to know, say… wanna go around town so you can help me references? I would sure appreciate your input."

"Nozaki Umetarou, are you asking me out on a date?" Sakura said accusingly. The boy nodded and that caused her to smile brightly. "Sure!"

There wasn't any part of town that was visited by them. The front gates of the University, the store fronts of the shopping district, nothing was safe from Nozaki's snapshots. As the sun began to set and the moon began to rise, the sound of a camera shutter stilled echoed into the night.

*Flash!*

"Alright! I can use this for when Mamiko and Suzuki reunite after being away from each other for months. What do you think?"

"Eh… I guess so?" Sakura said hesitantly.

"You don't agree?"

"What? Oh no that's perfectly fine, I'm just a little tired."

"I'm guessing you want to go home?" Nozaki asked as he put away his camera. Sakura nodded her head which caused Nozaki to smile. "Alright, we'll go home but there's one more place I need to stop at, one more place, I promise."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Nozaki led Sakura to the last place that he promised they would visit before they could go home. A single bridge that crossed a reflective pool where small lamps floated across the water, giving an aura of mystic qualities. Stepping onto the bridge, Nozaki looked at the bag that he still was holding onto and glanced back at Sakura who was admiring the floating lights in the water.

'One day Chiyo, You'll be able to be with him forever, but that will be one day Chiyo, one day, just not today.'

Nozaki stopped, almost causing Sakura to run into him.

"Nozaki-kun? What's wrong?"

"Hmm? Nothing."

"Why did you stop? You feeling sick or something?"

A small lamp sailed underneath the bridge and illuminated Nozaki's figure. "Sakura…."

"Y-Yes?"

"I have to tell you something."

"W-What is it?"

Nozaki brought up the bag and took his free hand and reached into it, pulling out a black satin box. "I-I don't know how many issue's or references could prepare me for this."

"N-Nozaki-kun, i-is t-this?" Sakura covered her mouth as Nozaki bent down on one knee.

"You told me once that one day, we were going to be together forever, for all of eternity, no matter what happened. You also told me that one day, I was going to make breakfast for our kids. All of this will happen, one day… just not today." Nozaki opened the box to reveal a ring whose gem matched Sakura's eyes. "Every day, I'll wake up to see the person I love, every day, I'll remember that we'll be together forever, a ring on hers and mines."

One tear, then another, then another rolled down Sakura's face as her eyes were still focused on Nozaki and the ring that was before her. "N-N-Nozaki-kun, are you b-being s-serious right now?"

Nozaki nodded his head and out of his mouth, he said the fateful words, "Sakura… w-w-will you m-marry me?"

"Y-Y-YES!" Sakura cried as she leapt forwards to give Nozaki a big bear hug. She cried into his coat until Nozaki grabbed her shoulder and set her back.

With a big smile on his face, Nozaki asked, "Can you put your hand out?" The girl eagerly put her left hand out while wiping her tears with the other. Nozaki gently pulled the ring from the box and slid the ring on her finger. Sakura held up to the light and saw the purple gem shine and thought of her eyes, which made her cry even more. Nozaki stood up and grabbed the girl and gave her a kiss that would solidify their bond for eternity. The feeling that Nozaki got was something that even he couldn't recreate on paper. The feeling of accomplishment, the feeling of happiness, but moreover, the feeling of closure.

After pulling away, Sakura dug her head into Nozaki's coat, repeating that she was the happiest girl on earth. Nozaki grinned as he remembered something.

"Chiyo?"

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Sakura responded, "Hmm?"

"Give me your phone." Without hesitation Sakura handed her phone over to him and Nozaki opened the phones camera and brought up to the both of them. Sakura, knowing what his plan was, put out her hand that had the ring on it and smiled.

*Snap*

"Who are we sending this to?" Sakura asked. Nozaki clicked a few buttons on the phone and showed it to her.

"We need to inform Mr and Mrs. Hori about our new development." And with that, Nozaki hit 'send'.

Kashima's Apartment

*Jingle* *Jingle*

"Hey Yuu, you got a message."

"Can you get it?"

"It's from Sakura, are you sure you don't want to see it?"

"Ugh, you can be quite lazy Hori…."

"Dwah! L-LAZY! That's oddly full, coming from you." Hori pouted as Yuu crossed in front of him to grab her phone.

"Ah don't be such a sour apple!" Kashima placed a small kiss on his cheek which caused him to redden before reading the message on her phone. "Let's see, what does Sakura want- Oh my god."

"What is it?"

"Take a look at this!" Kashima shouted excitedly. Hori grabbed the phone and looked at the image and accompanying caption.

"He finally did it, copycat." Hori scoffed. The image was Nozaki and Sakura's picture from the bridge. The text that accompanied it read this.

Every day, I wake up to see the person I love, every day, we will be together forever, with a ring on his and mines. Every day Chiyo, you don't have to dream about 'one day' because that 'one day' just became today and every other day after today. I love him and he loves me

- Chiyo Nozaki

Authors notes: Yeah, I know I've been gone for awhile but here's some proof of life that I'm actually still alive. Also. NEW COVER ART! I would like to thank Pervertedequality for making such a cool piece!(Found it while browsing tumblr for the lels and randomly came across it. Caught my eye at first, looked like from something I wrote when I saw the links at the bottom. Clicked said link and took me back to this story. MIND BLOWN) SO once again, thanks a bunch! You have no idea how much it means to me for somebody to actually create art for something I made so thanks a million!

-CaptainSentry