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Love is Deafening
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What was the power that chilly winter breeze possessed? Kaname Chidori walked quietly through the nearly empty park around five o'clock in the evening. The sun was just setting in the west as she passed the entrance and was on her way home. Every time the wind would kick up just a bit, Kaname was sent in a kaleidoscope of images and memories. Confused and lost in thought she tired to rethink of the past two weeks that had flashed by her like a shooting star.

Walking home one afternoon from school, Kaname looked up at the cloudy sky. "Looks like the rain is coming very soon." The blue haired class representative murmured to herself gazing up at the clouds. The fluffy masses of grey hung in the sky looking heavy with water and then it seem to get her thinking… how can a cloud full of water hang in the sky and not fall to the earth?

Looking over towards the sidewalk she saw a stray sitting next to a garbage can scratching itself vigorously. There must be a circus of fleas there… She giggled to herself as she wondered if she could get a ticket for that acrobatic show.

Walking past the two large video and bookstores that were next to the café that she and Kyouko always went to, Kaname lightly strolled into the supermarket to pick up some groceries. Walking over towards the produce section she told the bulky man behind the counter her order. Waiting patiently, Kaname looked over towards the signs that were decorated in bold black letters displaying 'Jumbo Shrimp on Sale Now!' Strange… a jumbo… shrimp. And what was even more weird was that next to the large pile of shrimp, an even larger pile of oysters were submerged in semi-clear water. To think that once a beautiful shiny pearl would rest peacefully inside one of those oysters… Contemplating the bizarre state of the local seafood, she didn't hear the man say that her order was up. Breaking out of her daze, Kaname thanked the butcher and then pushed the cart towards the frozen foods section. Kaname looking around saw something in the old foods stacks that was packed all the way in the back of the freezer that caught her attention. The package was opened as it sprawled on the cold cemented floor with its contents inside probably so frozen it probably already burned…

"Huh… that's a funny thought." Kaname thought pensively as she picked up a small carton of mango ice cream and moved over towards the check out stand. Putting her purchases onto the moving conveyer belt, Kaname grabbed a magazine to leaf through as she waited for her turn. Stopping on a page about a contest to win a trip to Italy, she stared absentmindedly at the large picture of the famous tower… and thought… huh… how does it lean like so?

Paying for the groceries, Kaname then made her way out of the store towards the local park where she promised she would be at.

Walking no more than 2 minutes, she spotted him. Wearing a thick black sweater she had bought for him last Christmas and a pair of dark kaki slacks, Sousuke Sagara was a sight to behold. How is it that something this strong could make her so weak in the knees, she probably would never know.

It was her scent that got his attention not her presence. Sousuke looked up and saw glittering eyes stare back at him. "Prompt and right on time as always, Kaname." He stated pushing up to stand up straight. How is it that you could stand when you're falling… falling in love?

"You said that you wanted to tell me something today… so I waited all day. I really wanted to know what this completely "top-secret" ordeal was all about."

Sousuke chuckled a bit and then took her hand into his and slowly said, "It has been five years of dating today. Five beautiful years, I might add, but I wanted something more."

This took Kaname by surprise completely. And she was even more confused when he took her hand into his (how is it that he could touch her heart just by touching her hand?) and said, "Would you, Kaname Chidori, take the next step in this relationship with me? I know that I haven't been someone you easily love because of my past and of how I was brought up… but I have learned a lot during these years being with you. And what I do not understand is how I seemed to have lived my life before you… happened? My conscious is telling me to just leave and get away from you as fast as possible because you probably deserve someone better than me…" He stopped for a second and then continued after a deep breath, "but for once… I want for be deaf towards that voice… because love is deafening…"

Kaname was completely shocked and taken aback at the same time that all she could do was gape at him. Sousuke, though, took the silence as rejection. "But I understand if you aren't ready. I'll be willing to wa-" His sentence was stopped abruptly as Kaname crushed her lips against his.

Sousuke leaned into the kiss and pulled her closer for a deeper kiss. This was heaven… a heaven on Earth. Pulling back to take a breath, Kaname said in a strained voice, "You big olf! Of course I'm ready! What took you so long to ask?" She smiled as his eyes glowed of nothing short of love. How is it someone so perfect could be falling for someone like her?

Pulling out a stunning diamond ring, he placed it on her left ring finger and then brought the very finger to his lips for an unbelievably tender kiss. Pulling back he saw a tear drop on the finger next to the ring and then looked up as Kaname's eyes shone with vigor behind fresh tears.

"Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?" Kaname leaned forward and placed a finger to silence the flow of words and then said quietly, "These are tears of happiness not sadness? I love you so much, Sousuke!"

It was now Sousuke's turn to be confused and he was about to ask what she meant, when she pulled him in for another heart melting kiss.

Being a man of the curious nature, Sousuke pulled back from the kiss to ask his very important question, "Why would you cry if you are in love?"

Kaname began to growl and said through gritted teeth, "Sousuke you better shut up right now and get back to kissing me, or else you're totally NOT getting any mango ice cream tonight!"

He did not have to be told twice.

Sousuke was a man of many redeeming qualities and one of them is never loosing. But it seems that love (which most of the time doesn't make any sense) is both a win and lose situation… it just makes loosing a heck of a lot less painful.

K-I-S-S-U
-FIN-

This story was on hiatus for like… 3 months… I finally finished it so I hope you like it. Some thanks go out to Lee Ann Rimes (another perfect song) and creators of Full Metal Panic (for letting me mess around with their masterpiece of characters). Happy Reading… Please review!

Salute,
Lemony