Chapter 8 - The Gift of Love

At last, Sousuke's first morning as a civilian arrived. He hadn't slept a wink and felt incredibly apprehensive. He'd said his goodbyes to his comrades and left a forwarding address with anyone who asked. Now, it was time to board the plane for home. Home – had he ever really had one? No...Tokyo was his first.

Stepping into the hangar carrying his duffel, he felt odd in his blue jeans, T- shirt and flight jacket with the Arbalest's patch on it. Fatigues and his old school uniform were much more familiar.

As Sousuke entered the quarterdeck of the De Daanan, he looked out and saw most of the crew on the dock. What caught him off guard was that everyone wore their dress uniforms – standing in parade formation, arranged by department and divisions. Then he saw the Officer of the Deck motion him onto the gangplank. Stepping forward, he felt unsure. The bell rang out with two strikes, then two more, and finally two more. Then the familiar call of the boatswain whistle sounded and the words "Sergeant Sagara Sousuke departing".

A lump formed in his throat as he walked toward the plane past each of his crewmen. Kurz and Melissa had conspiratorial smiles plastered on their faces. Kalinin and Tessa were the last in line. Tessa whispered to Kalinin. He said with a twinkle in his eye, "Good luck, my boy," and then barked, "A-bout face!"

The whole crew turned around. Tessa threw her arms around Sousuke, as he stiffened and turned crimson. Speaking quietly in his ear, she wished him well, "Thank you for the confidence you've always had in me. Good luck." He self-consciously hugged her in return. Just as Tessa let go of Sousuke, Kalinin gave the ok to turn around. The crew whooped and hollered as they saw their Captain stepping back from the blushing ex-sergeant boarding the plane.

...

Jittery, Sousuke could not sit still. He'd always been able to remain calm before today. Having no weapon made him even more unsure of what lay ahead of him. Being cooped up in the plane only made him want to get out and give it a push. Crap. Two hours left. He tried to tell himself that it wasn't very long and he'd waited much longer for objectives before. But looking at his watch every few minutes was driving him crazy and he fidgeted in his seat.

...

Kaname tapped her foot on the runway impatiently and scanned the sky. A glint caught her eye and a small speck appeared, growing larger on the horizon. It seemed to take it's sweet time to land.

"Geeze, finally!" she thought.

The plane tormented her, crawling as it taxied, then stopped farther away than she thought it should. Resisting putting her hand on her hip and pouting, she reminded herself that she was here for Sousuke.

Stepping out of the plane, duffel over his shoulder, he'd meant to say thanks to the pilot - but there SHE was waiting for HIM. As soon as he reached the last step his duffel hit the ground, Kaname was sprinting for him. Her arms flew around his neck and she kissed him, practically knocking him over. This was worth all he'd endured. He didn't want to ever let her go.

Absorbed in each other, oblivious to everything else, they missed the pilot pinned against the window snapping pictures.

As they walked back to the car she'd rented, he seemed troubled. She teased, "Hey, you look hot in civilian clothes, Sousuke. You might even become, well ... civilized."

"I still prefer fatigues. Probably always will."

"Do we need to stop by the JSDF surplus store on the way to your apartment?" she pressed with a sly grin.

"Uhh, no. I'm going to wear these clothes for a while, to get used to the feeling of being a civilian."

"How long will you be able to stand it 'till you have to wear cammo again?"

"I feel more naked without my Glock - keep checking for it, thinking it should be there."

She suppressed a grin, trying to present an understanding look.

...

The door shut at his old apartment - spartan with only the couch, table and chairs that the landlord hadn't bothered to move out. Candles ornamented the meticulously set table. Soft music was playing. Kaname stepped over to Sousuke and put her arms around his waist pulling him to her. "There's something you need before I start dinner." Kissing him deeply, lingering, caused his breath to catch. "I've been planning this for quite a while and waiting for the day that you came back. First we need to take this off." She slid his jacket over his shoulders and down off his arms and tossed it aside. Caressing the back of his neck then around and down his chest - oh, she definitely had his attention and reveled in it, smirking devilishly.

A whimper escaped before he could smother it, his eyes wide with innocence and surprise. This was so sudden - where was the girl that would hit him over the head for even accidentally putting his hands in the wrong place? His voice went up 3 notches in the course of the next phrase. "Uhm... Kaname is this the right thing to do right now?"

"Yes, Sousuke. It's the perfect thing to do right now. You'll have a little more confidence after this."

Under her spell, he closed his eyes and kissed her with all his pent up intensity.

"Ah – ah – ah!" she chided putting her finger to his lips, "Stay still."

Reaching over she pulled the cover off something on the table, then slipped it up over his arm and reaching around him carefully supporting whatever was attached to the strap - tenderly placing her lips on his shoulder in the process. He blinked, utterly confused - she wasn't the type to be into anything weird... was she? He gulped.

Her breath was warm on his ear as she murmured, "Sousuke, now let me put your other arm through." Obedient, he was starting to be a little wary as she kissed where another strap covered. Then realization dawned, feeling a familiar weight by his side.

Whispering again into his ear after kissing his cheek, "I wanted to tell you I love you. Couldn't think of a better way to help you not feel so naked and lost. You have time to play before supper," patting that weight and it gave a metallic clink.

His mouth gaped. He'd been duped and confessed to all at the same time. Giggling, she meandered over to the kitchen. "What were you thinking it was going to be, Sousuke?"

"Uhm...That's classified," he said sheepishly while running his hand through his hair, causing her to burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Meekly, he looked down and pulled out the gun, it felt so familiar in his hands – a Glock 26. Dumbfounded, he questioned, "But... how did you know?"

"I've only been watching you for two years, you know. I should know a few things about you."

Putting the pistol back in the holster, he ran over and swung her around, kissing her. "I love you, too. Th...thank you." It was all he could say as he laughed. He was a fool – but he was a fool in love.

"Now go play. Out of the kitchen while I cook!" she commanded.

Grinning from ear to ear, he sat down in the living room. He'd never had a real childhood. This was the closest thing he'd ever had to experiencing Christmas or a birthday, and he was a boy happily checking out his present. Taking the weapon out of the holster, he aimed it, and repeated this several times. Then he field stripped the gun and put it back together, repeating this too.

Kaname snapped a picture – Kyoko'd have a blast seeing Sousuke practically giddy.

Noting him put it back in the holster and leaving it there for a while, she said, "There's ammo on the table for it. After that runs out you buy your own." His crawling scramble made her stifle another giggle.

...

During dinner Kaname told him the story of how she obtained the pistol.

"After you called me from the de Daanan, I wanted to show you how much I loved you. When I realized they would take away all your weapons, I knew what to do. But I had to figure out what your gun was called first. So Kyouko and I searched through all her pictures to find a good one with your old one. Then I called my father and told him more about how you'd protected me the last few years and emailed him the picture. He and I both wanted to show our appreciation. So, he arranged the connection with Mr. Torokito. He's one of Father's childhood friends, who also happens to be the uncle of Mikihara, the school president's attendant. Remember, you helped her father's mob gang out last year? And I paid for the gun when Mikihara delivered it with lunch in the bottom of the basket. That was the most expensive food I'd ever bought. I think you owe me dinner out, mister."

"Affirmative. I really owe you," he conceded as he looked at her with more than a little awe.

In my writing lately, I've been going by the theory that comedy anime characters exist simply to be tortured. I hope you don't mind if they get tortured in both good and bad ways. (

I also hope this chapter wasn't too racy for PG-13. Once the idea popped in my head – I had to put it in. (Besides – it isn't decent for Sousuke to go around naked! (with out his gun))

Updated to rework Sousuke's reaction to Kaname – before she gives him her gift.
6/19/04 – corrected/reworked Sousuke's departure (thanks to Bel for most of the wording in ) and corrected glock #.