I'm a quiet person, and I mean quiet. You see, I'm not particularly shy or anything like that. I'm deaf. I'm in my early 20's, but I lost my hearing when I was in grade 5. A friend's headphone exploded in my ears as I was listening to a song. It wasn't serious deafness,  but I was over the average deafness by a little. The doctors said that it may not be permanent, but the healing may take up to years. I still know how to write and read, which is good. If I want to communicate, I would just take out my notebook that I carry with me , and communicate through that. I rarely speak because what's the point? I can't hear my own voice. I don't let my loss of hearing prevent me from slowing down in life, but it does annoy me at times, nothing else though. Even with all of that, I didn't want to get hearing aids, because I was confident that I was going to regain my hearing. I like to go to stores and if there are sections where people can listen to music, I would 'listen" to songs. Although I can't hear anything, I enjoy the feeling. I feel as if I can hear again, and sometimes let my imagination compose out the song and what it could sound like. One sunny day, I decided to take a walk in the busy city. I walked further than I usually do on daily basis. I went into a street lined with stores. I smiled as I looked at all of them, then I saw a music store. I went in and I was amazed. It was a big store, with a few people looking around. Rows of tall racks filled with cds and record lined perfectly in the middle of the room. The walls hunged with records and cd's lined up perfectly on the shelves. I was mesmerized, I went up to the front desk, it was a middle aged man around 30-40 years old. I gave him a sign of "Hello" and took out my notebook. I saw his mouth move but I couldn't hear anything. I wrote down in the pages.

"Excuse me, I was wondering, do you by chance have a section for listening to demo music?"

He smiled and nodded, he then pointed to the back of the room. I smiled and signed a "Thank you." As I began to walk away, the store's door opened, unfortunately I didn't hear it. 5 young men around their mid to late 20's walked in talking and looking around. I didn't go to the demo area first, I went to the rows of cd's and records to take a look around.

"Hey Mr. B, it's been a while." One of the young man said.

"Indeed Hiro, glad to see you boys again. You here to buy some music?" Mr. B asked.

"Probably, but first, we're going to take a look around." Another young man said with grayish white hair with big eyes.

"Do you have any new stocks this week Mr. B?" A purple grayish haired man asked.

"Of course, lots Masa. They're in the back section over there. Go nuts." Mr. B laughed.

"Thanks Mr. B." Masa said and walked towards the back.

"We'll go stroll around now." The remaining two black haired man said.

Soon all 5 of the men were in different areas of the big store. I was looking at a cd from the early 2000's, I was in my own world practically, I couldn't hear anything, and the tall racks prevented me from looking in front of me, unless I take a cd or record off it's rack, then I can see the other side. Occasionally there would be big gaps between the racks, since they were lined up side by side. I looked up from the cd towards the left. I saw two black haired men talking and looking at records on the other side of the room. In the corner was a grayish blonde boy stringing a guitar that was against a wall. Another one with a styled black hair was sitting in a chair listening to a cd demo, and mouthing to what I assume were the lyrics. I smiled. I walked a little further into the the section that I was in, I stopped in front of a record and took it off the shelf. I looked at it and admired the cover image. I smiled and looked up, through the empty space of the rack that the record was, I saw another young man. He was looking at a cd, he had purple grayish- hair, mid to late 20's, defined facial structure, a Japanese face, and beautiful dark brown eyes. He looked up from the cd and saw me through the space. Our eyes met, and I was captivated by his appearance. We looked at each other for about 4 seconds, he broke the gaze first with a smile. My face started turning red, but I gave a small smile in return. I quickly placed the record back onto the rack, and walked into another section. My heart was beating fast, but I calmed myself down soon after.

"It's just a friendly gesture_______, you returned it. That's all." I told myself mentally.

A few minutes of looking through the shelves, I decided to go to the demo area. I picked up a pair of headphones of the two, I picked out a song with a nice title and I just took in the moment. A few minutes later, I sensed someone come up beside me. I didn't look up, but it was a man by his clothing and stance. The clothing looked quite familiar. I looked up slowly to see who it was, it was him. The young man that I saw in the sections. He looked down at me and gave me another smile, and placed his pair of headphones on. I looked back down and I felt the heat rushing to my face, he was only a few centimeters away from me. We were just doing our own thing, listening to the music. After finishing another song, I took my headphones off. Hung it on the hook, and turned around. I looked up at the young man beside me, he looked back at me, I gave a shy smile and walked away before I saw his response. I took a cd and paid for it, I felt like I needed to because I was there for over half an hour, and leaving without buying anything just wasn't right. Deaf or not, I bought it, I suppose the feeling of being able to receive something you can't have is amazing

"Thank you so much, I will be back soon to buy more." I wrote to Mr. B.

 Mr. B smiled and nodded. He didn't judge me, or asked me what was the point, he just happily smiled. I waved goodbye and went out the door. I stepped out into the sunlight, I closed my eyes and felt the warmth. I gave the store one more look through the glass window, faintly in the back of the store and through the spaces of the racks, I saw the young man take off his headphones and regrouped with the other 4. I gave a small regretful smile and walked away, knowing that I'll never see him again. After about 6 minutes of walking, I stopped at a cross walk. The light was still green so I waited. As I waited, I looked at the cd again, and read all the track listings. Suddenly someone ran past me and across the street. I didn't look at the light and I just thought that I missed the walking signal since I couldn't hear anything. I began to walk towards the other side, what I didn't notice was a parked car blocked my view from an upcoming car. As I just got out onto the middle of the street, I saw the car. I didn't know what to do, but suddenly someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I slammed into the person's chest and we fell backwards, the car zoomed passed. The collision between us two made me drop my cd. The person held onto me tightly, and I looked up to him. His purple grayish hair was all over his face as he breathed. It was him again. He lifted his head and looked at me, he gave a gentle smile and sat up. I got off of him and was slowly going into panic mode, I didn't know what to do. I was in such a shock and panic mode that I didn't know how to communicate anymore, not that I was already having difficulties. He got up, brushed his hair away from his face. I saw him mouth something close to "Are you ok?" I didn't say anything but only quickly nodded. My heart was racing, I just wanted to go home. The young man nodded and looked around, people around us saw that we were ok and not injured, they gave a sigh of relief and went on with their day. I didn't know what he was looking for, I quickly ripped out a piece of my notebook and quickly scribbled a "Thank you so much." And placed it in front of my feet. He was still busy looking for that thing. I turned and ran, leaving him. I felt bad, but I couldn't talk to him, my shock and the difficulty in communication was just overwhelming at that moment. I had to run away. I stayed home the next day , because I just didn't feel like doing anything after what happened yesterday. The next day, I decided to go back to the music store. I wanted to go back and maybe get another music cd, since I realized yesterday that I lost my cd after the close call that day. So I put on my jacket and headed to the store, it was another sunny day thank goodness. The sun was warm and the sky was blue. The white clouds drifted slowly, it was beautiful.

"Thank goodness I get to see such beautiful weather everyday." I thought to myself.

I arrived outside of the music store, I smiled and walked in. I gave Mr. B a wave and he waved back and smiled like how he did the first time I went in. I headed towards the back where the headphones were located, I wanted to lose myself in an imaginative world. I placed the headphones on, and randomly selected a song, and I closed my eyes and imagined a song. What I didn't know was, a young man walked into the store and gave Mr. B an afternoon greeting. I was in the "middle" of the song that I was listening to when I felt someone stand beside me. I didn't look up or anything because I thought it was just a shopper stopping to listen to a song. After the song that I "listened" to was over I opened my eyes. I selected another song, I decided to look beside me and maybe gave the person a greeting. As I looked up, my eyes went wide a little bit. Beside me was the young man with the purple grayish hair, the person that I met that day between the cd racks and the person who saved me. He turned a bit to look at me, smiled, and gave me a small wave. I gave a small smile back and a wave then I turned around. I didn't know what to do. All of a sudden, he slid a piece of paper in front of me. I looked down and saw what was on it. In my handwriting were the words "Thank you so much." I looked at it and then up at him. He smiled and said something, but I couldn't hear him. I slowly nodded my head side to side to tell him I couldn't hear. I then took out my notebook, and wrote down what I meant.

"I can't hear you... sorry."

He looked at the notebook and then back at me, he gave me a small smile which made my heart flutter a little. He took out a pen from his pocket and wrote down what he wanted to say.

"I see now, so that's why you wrote "thank you so much" on paper instead of speaking to me."

I signed a sorry and thank you with my hands. I saw him gave a small laugh, but I couldn't hear the laugh. How I wish I could hear it though.

"Sorry, I don't understand sign language." He wrote.

"No worries, I wasn't expecting everyone I meet to know it. Luckily I can still communicate by writing." I wrote.

He nodded.

"By the way, I'm Masa. What's your name?" He wrote and looked at me with a kind smile.

I looked at him and gave him a small smile back.

"_______. It's nice to meet you Masa." I wrote.

"Beautiful name______, I want to ask, can you still talk despite being deaf? If it's an offensive question I'm sorry." He wrote.

I gave a small smile and nodded my head.

"I can, but I choose not to. I forgot what my voice sounds like, and I just don't see the point of me speaking when I can't hear the other person." I wrote.

"I see. Really want to hear your voice though______, must be really pleasant." Masa wrote.

"If we become close enough one day, then maybe I will." I wrote.

We looked at each other in the eyes, and we both just... froze for a second. I then saw Masa clear his throat, and wrote something down.

"Oh by the way, I found this that day when I pulled you away from the car. Hope it's not broken." He wrote.

He then placed the cd that I bought that day in front of me. I was shocked but so happy.

"Before I ran away that day, you were looking for this?" I wrote.

Masa nodded.

"When I found it you were gone, all I found was the "thank you." That you left. I held on to it since. I wanted to buy a cd today, this place is a store that my friends and I come to often to buy cd's and listen to. And surprise, I met you again in the same store that we saw each other. Don't worry haha I wasn't stalking you, I just thought that maybe I would see you here again one day." Masa wrote.

I smiled at him, and signed a "Thank you." Masa only scratched his head and smiled.

"Sorry for running away that day, I was just a bit shocked. Thank you seems a bit not up to par for what you've done for me, is there a way I can repay you?" I wrote.

He thought about it for a sec or two.

"How about having lunch with me and a cup of coffee?" He wrote.

I looked at it and felt a slight blush on my cheeks, and gave him a nod. He then wrote one more thing before we left.

"You know, just from this conversation, I could almost imagine your voice without you actually speaking." Masa wrote.

We had lunch at a noodle restaurant, and had coffee a few stores down from the noodle shop. Through our written messages, I learned that he plays the bass guitar. I wanted to hear him play, but I knew it was going to be hard. He wrote that one day I will. It gave me hope, I was slowly beginning to fall in love with Masa. We exchanged numbers so we can get to know each other more. It was nice to finally meet someone new. He walked me home afterwards, it was quiet, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I took out my notebook when we arrived. I noticed that it was down to the last two pages.

"Thank you so much for today Masa, it was nice to officially get to know each other."

"Same here______. Say, if you're not busy tomorrow, do you want to hangout or something?" He wrote.

"I would love that, I need to go shopping for a new notebook anyways , this is the second last page, haha." I wrote.

"Funny, we have each other's number but you're still going to use notebooks xD?" He wrote with a laugh.

"Sure I do, it's how I communicate, I don't use my phone alot even though I have one, because I'm just not use to it." I replied.

Masa nodded.

"I guess it is special, without it, we wouldn't have got to together so well today." He wrote.

I nodded with a smile.

"Get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Masa wrote.

I gave a thumbs up, I signed a goodnight and a wave and opened my front door. He waved and I closed the door. I then took out my phone and opened "messages" I typed in "Masa" and began typing.

"Get home safely, thanks again for today."

A few seconds later my phone vibrated.

"Don't worry, no need to thank me______. It was nice meeting you. See you tomorrow. - Masa."

I smiled at his name, and went upstairs. The next day, Masa and I went to stores and the amusement park. The two of us played like best friends, it was a nice feeling. I felt like I can be natural with him, without worrying about anything. It's been a while since I let myself go like that. After the amusement park, we headed home. We walked by a glass window of a store, I saw a notebook, it was binded with a red ribbon, it was a hard cover with an image of an ages paper with small red stars around the edges. I looked at Masa and gave him a smile. I walked into the store and went to the notebook. Masa came in after me and looked around, he saw the notebook in my hand. He smiled and looked beside him. I admired the notebook, it was thick, so it won't run out so quickly. I turned around and saw Masa was looking at a bunch of other notebooks with his back turned. I went to the cash register and paid for the notebook. I looked at Masa and noticed that he was still looking, I drank a lot of pop at the amusement park so I had to go to the restroom. I went to him and pointed at the bathroom sign in the back, he nodded and gave me a "ok" sign. I went to the restroom. I came out about a minute later. Masa was waiting for me, I went up to him, he then said thank you to the cashier and went out. Masa walked me back to my house again afterwards.

"Thank for the fun day today Masa." I wrote in my new notebook.

"No problem, glad you had fun_______." Masa wrote.

"Sorry for dragging you into the store, and made you wait." I wrote.

"Hey it's not a problem. It was nice to take a break and look around a bit after screaming on rollercoasters and getting lost in funhouses. I also got myself something too." He wrote.

He took out a notebook from his coat. It was exactly like mine, except with a dark blue ribbon and ink gold splatters on the cover. He opened it, and wrote something. He then flipped it for me to see.

"This way it will be easier to communicate, and I get to experience it on a more personal level." Masa wrote.

I smiled and nodded. Masa smiled and made a "sleeping" pose. I nodded, we waved goodbye and I went inside. We became really good friends as the months rolled by, I got to know his group of friends; Hiro, Cazqui, Daichi, and Natsu. We got along really fine, I found out that each of them play an instrument as well, well Hiro's instrumental is his voice. They sometimes do performances which was really admiring. Unfortunately, I can't hear him. They didn't judge me. They just communicated with me like how Masa and I did, and I how I do with everyone else who doesn't know sign language. As time passed, my feelings for Masa began to grow more and more. At the same time, the inside of my ear has begun to feel different, which was out of the ordinary. I didn't think much of it though, so I just thought my ears were just itchy. Masa and would hang every 2 days or so, continuing on our notebook messages. I have begun to use mobile messages more often now since Masa and I would talk at night, not mention I have his friends to talk with too. With the time we spent hanging, Masa has learned some sign language, just some basics. One day, when I was hanging out with Masa, My ears began to ring a little and I cringed.

"Are you ok?" He wrote.

"Ya, it's just my ears doesn't feel like it's normal these days, it doesn't hurt but it's a bit weird." I wrote.

"Let's get you an appointment with the doctors then______." Masa wrote.

I gave it a thought and nodded. Masa smiled and gave me a big hug. At that moment I wanted to hear him breathing and voice. 2 days later, Masa took me to the doctors. The doctor said that the inside of my ears are fine now, and that a thin film has begun to form in my ear. He then said that I have a high possibility that I may regain my hearing in the next few years or so. I was relieved and happy. I then asked the doctor on paper if I can get hearing aids. Masa was a bit shocked at the question. The doctor smiled and nodded. I didn't tell Masa why I wanted hearing aids now, I just let that request sink in for him for the time being. Since I know I'll regain my hearing again, I want to make that happen sooner even if I can only hear a little sound. I want that first sound to be Masa's voice, I want to confess my feelings that emerged over the time that we knew each other. I had my measurement for the hearing aid and was told that I'll get it within a week. Masa wanted to pay for half of the price, but he secretly paid over the half price, which I found out when I paid and I was really grateful for him. In that week, Masa and I hung like how we use too, everytime I see him smile, I imagine his voice and laughter that accompanies it. 3 days before I got my hearing aid. Masa asked me to help him write a song.

"I'm not a good lyricist, I don't even know how to write one." I wrote.

He signed a "that's ok."

"It's just something that I want to try with my best friend. I don't sing but I want to try for fun, I want to play a tune on my bass but I need lyrics to get that feel first." Masa wrote.

I signed a "I see"."

I watched Masa as he gave a small laugh and handed me a pen and opened the blue notebook of his.

"I'll take care of the rest after you leave." He wrote.

I nodded. 2 hours went by, and we got the first verse and chorus down, I watched Masa strung the bass strings as he tried to figure out a tune. The lyrics that we made together read:

"The first Time Our Eyes Met, I knew that our love has set. Closing our eyes, And feeling the sun rise. I would walk and run for miles, just to see your sacred smile. (Chorus) No matter where you are, you are my dazzling star. Within Rain and wind falling together, I'll find that pure white feather. No matter where you go, I will follow you."

We both leaned back into our chairs, and gave and exhaled.

"We did pretty good______, you're not that bad." Masa wrote.

I signed a "Thank you."

"I have to go now, it's late. I'll see you soon." I wrote.

Masa stood up and gave me a big hug.

"Come over after you get your hearing aid, I want to show you something." He wrote.

I looked at it and smiled, I gave a nod. I told him that I'll be fine walking home, and let him finish the song. Little did he know that in that song, was my unspoken feelings for him, and little did I know it was special to him too. 2 days later I finally got my hearing aid, I went to Masa's house soon after. I knocked on his door and a few seconds later he opened it. I held up the pair of hearing aids and saw a big smile from him. He took my hand and guided me into his house. When I went into the living room, I saw his bass guitar leaning against the couch. He took out notebook and it gave me the impression that he finished the song. He sat me down and helped me place the hearing aid in my ear. I was nervous but excited, he helped me turn on the device. In that moment, I could hear the smallest sounds. Quiet, but I could hear them. I looked at Masa and he just smiled, I wanted to hear his voice, but he didn't speak.

"I'll sing loud for you." He wrote.

He got up, went to the couch picked up his bass and looked at me. The moment he strung his bass, I was mesmerized by the sound. I focused all of my hearing into his bass and his voice that will be projected. Finally he began to sing, from what I can hear, his voice was in between the alto and tenor range, his voice vibrated within his chest as he sung. It was the song that we wrote together:

"The first Time Our Eyes Met, I knew that our love has set. Closing our eyes, And feeling the sun rise. I would walk and run for miles, just to see your sacred smile. (Chorus) No matter where you are, you are my dazzling star. Within Rain and wind falling together, I'll find that pure white feather. No matter where you go, I will follow you." That fated day when we collided, my heart has slowly decided. The feelings grew everyday in my chest, rendering me from finding the peaceful rest. Right now I'm in front of you as me, I'm letting myself go and setting my feelings free." Masa sung the ballad.

Tears began to form in my eyes, from the song that he wrote, and finally hearing the voice of the person that I come to love and cherish. Masa set his bass aside, slid down onto the floor in front of me. He gently took my hand.

"Now that you can finally hear my voice and feelings, I want to hear your voice_____ just once" He said looking me in the eyes.

Without a second thought, I closed the gap between us and gently kissed him. In the moment I let all of my caged feelings pour out into this kiss, it felt blissful. I broke the kiss and hugged him, he pulled me into his embrace.

"I love you Masa, more than you know." I quietly said next to his ear.

"You're voice is beautiful________." Masa said a few seconds after.

I closed my eyes and rest my head onto his shoulder. After that day, we officially became a couple. Hiro, Cazqui, Daichi, and Natsu were all happy for us. We did what every other couples did, but still had communication difficulties to deal with. It wasn't a big deal though, I still didn't speak much, Masa didn't mind because our notebook communication was more interesting, and more personal between us. Days soon turned into months, and months turned into 2 years without us realizing it. Everyday was steady and interesting than the previous. My hearing slowly became stronger little by little over the years and I let Masa know of each improvement. Masa and his friend's band slowly became more well known in the city and other places. I eventully started living with Masa since the previous year, but nothing more than that. Sometimes I wonder, if we're ready fo take it further or not. One day, Masa was out with his friends to a small meeting. It was a rainy day unfortunately, but it was just the weather. I was home alone and bored, so I decided to go shopping or take a walk around. I took my phone with me, my jacket, umbrella,  and went out. I wanted to be in the rain and hear the sound as it hit the ground, it was refreshing. I decided to go to the music store, and listen to the music that I wanted so badly but couldn't before. When I entered, I heard the bell jingle on the door, it was beautiful.

"It's nice to see you again, how have you been?" Mr. B he wrote on a piece of paper.

I tapped on my hearing aid and he gave a big smile.

"I'm doing good, thank you. Hope you've been well." I wrote to him.

"I have been thank you for asking." He replied.

I smiled and nodded. I went to the back where the headphones hung so nostalgically. I placed it over my head and tapped a song. The music began to flow into my ear, at this point I can hear almost perfectly. I stayed in the store for about 20 minutes and left, waving goodbye to Mr. B. Masa then texted as I began to walk into a now empty park.

"Hey, we finished the meeting, I'm heading home. You home?" It said.

"I'm in the park right now, I'll be home soon." I replied.

"It's 6:50pm, It's almost dark out and it's not safe. The guys and I are close by now, I'll pick you up, let's go home together." He wrote.

As I was just about to type back, I heard footsteps behind me, I turned around and I saw 5 men walking behind me and they seem to be conversing with each other as they looked at me. I began to panic, I turned back and texted Masa.

"Hurry..."

I began to speed walk, but as I sped The footsteps behind me did too. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around my arms and locked me in place. Another pair of hands grabbed my phone out of my hand.

"Let me go! Help!" I shouted out.

In years I never thought my first words would be in this kind of situations.

"Shut it! No one will hear you in this park right now!" One of the men said.

I screamed.

"Hey look she has hearing aids, get rid of them, she's deaf." One of them said.

2 of the men each pulled the hearing aids that were on their side right out of my ears. I got pushed to the ground, and they held my arms in place, as they went through my bag. The rain pelted my face and body and all I could do is lay their confined. I closed my eyes and waited for the bad part. In the distance, I heard yelling and multiple footsteps. I looked to the left and I saw Masa, Hiro, Daichi, Cazqui and Natsu running towards me. Hiro ran ahead and punched the man going through my bag in the face. Cazqui was holding a guitar, he held it like a bat and ran towards one of the men holding me down, he let me go and ran. Masa ran towards the man that held my other arm and karate kicked him in the chest, knocking him back.

"Are you ok ______?!" He asked.

I nodded, still in shock. Daichi and Natsu fought against the other 2 men. Eventually, the 5 men were beaten up pretty badly, Hiro, Daichi, Natsu, and Cazqui had a few bloody knuckles and a broken guitar, but nothing serious. Daichi picked up my hearing aids and handed it to Masa, Natsu picked up my bag and gave to me.

"Thanks a lot guys for everything." Masa said to his bandmates.

"You sure she'll be ok?" Daichi asked.

"Ya, I'll take her home and look after her. You guys should head home and treat your injuries." Masa replied.

"Be careful______, and take care of yourself." Hiro said to me.

"Thank you so much for saving me. I don't know how I can repay you... and sorry about your guitar Cazqui." I finally said.

"Don't worry about, I whirl guitars around on stages all the time, it's just that today I got to destroy one but with a good purpose. It's an old worn out guitar anyways. Just glad that you're safe now." Cazqui said with a head bow.

"Just make Masa your go to person when you need help or anything, he'll be there for you right away. " Natsu said.

Their voices loud and clear now, I nodded. Masa picked me up bridal style, gave them a goodbye gesture and walked towards our house in the rain. When we got home, we were drenched. Masa took me to the bathroom, I just stood there while he prepared a hot bath for me. He helped me take of my drenched clothes and helped me step into the tub. At that moment, I didn't care if I was , I was still out of it, but the most important reason being, I loved Masa and I didn't feel vulnerable,  because he was here. I just sat in the middle of the tub with my knees to my chest. Masa grabbed a towel and dried up his purple grayish hair.

"You feeling better now?" He asked knowing that I can hear now.

I nodded. He gave a sigh of relief and smiled.

"I'll be outside if you need me, let the warm bath calm you down a bit." He said and began to walk out the door.

"Masa wait..." I said.

Masa turned around and looked at me.

"Come in here and stay with me, please." I asked.

Masa looked at at me for a second and smiled. I looked down as he began to take off his clothes, my face was slowly beginning to heat up. A few seconds later, I felt him step into the warm water behind me. He sat down and wrapped his arms around mine, he slowly pulled my back up against his chest. His skin was soft, porcelain like, and glistening from the water. His chest was strong but soft at the same time, his slim but toned body held me with affections. I let the feeling seep in and rested my head against his chest as he held me closely to him. We stayed like that for 10-15 minutes as Masa gently dripped warm water on top of my head. I held onto his other hand and gently caressed is slightly bruised hand. 

"If you haven't let out that scream today, I wouldn't have found you_______, don't be afraid to use your voice now. I want to hear your voice when we talk now that you have your hearing back." Masa said.

"I will Masa." I replied.

Masa held me tighter.

"I love you______ " he said.

I turned around and I looked at him, my hand went up and gently held his face and I kissed him. In my mind at that moment, I decided that I want to take the relationship to the next step, and was ready for the next step in our relationship.  I pulled away and looked at him. His purple gray hair fell in front of his eyes, I lightly brushed it aside.

"I love you Masa, more than you'll ever know. Show me how much you love me in return." I said quietly.

Masa looked into my eyes for a second and smiled, he leaned in and kissed me. He stood up and pulled me up. He dried us up, and lead me into our shared bedroom in nothing but our towels. The light were off, but the moonlight was bright enough for us to see each other. We turned away from each other as I discarded my towel, I climbed into bed first and covered myself with the blanket. Masa turned around and sat down on the other side of the bed, he took off his towel and leaned back into the bed, I covered him with the blanket. Masa leaned in and kissed me, it was filled with longing and love, but with a hint of worry. He flipped me from my side onto my back as he propped himself on top of me.

"Is this what you really want_____?" He asked.

I looked him in the eyes.

"Remember when you said that you wanted to hear my voice?" I asked back.

Masa nodded after thinking for a second or two.

"I then said, "If we become close enough one day, then maybe I will let you." This is that day Masa, I'm letting you hear my voice in this moment... Love me Masa." I said.

"I don't have protection______" he added.

I gently caressed his face in the moonlight and gave a small laugh.

"I want all of you." I answered.

Masa gave a smile and rested his forehead on mine, he then placed his head beside mine.

"You ready______?" he asked one last time.

I nodded. He rest himself between my legs, my face begin to flush. He started to push in, one of his arm wrapped around my waist as I started to resist on instinct. He guided himself into me with his other hand. I felt pressure and a slight pain from him, I let out a quiet whimper, but it was bearable. It slowly went in and when he went as far as he could go, he stopped and propped himself up and looked at me. I held onto his biceps as he gave me time to adjust to him.

"I love you______" Masa said.

I smiled and nodded after the pain subsided.

"Show me then, let me feel your heartbeat." I said to him.

Masa kissed my cheek and rest his head beside mine again. He began to slide in and out, one of his arm held onto my waist as his other found my hand and laced it with mine. It wasn't lust, it was pure love. His movements was at a steady pace and controlled. One of my hand held his head close to mine, and my other hand held onto his back as he made love to me. I could hear his breathing, it was getting strained bit by bit with every second that goes by. His body was warm and perspiration were beginning to form on both of our bodies. We were soon both breathing heavily. A feeling of pressure began to form in my lower abdomen.

"I'm close Masa..." I breathed out.

"Me too. Let yourself go when you're ready_____" Masa replied lifting his head to look at me, and breathing heavily.

He started to speed up a bit as he's slowly reaching his release. His hold on my hand and waist slowly begin to tighten. With a few more , The feeling in my abdomen snapped, and I closed my eyes as the euphoria rushed over me. My hand held onto Masa's strong back and the other tighten around his hand as my body shuttered. He helped me ride out my euphoria first, and then focused on his. Masa's hand tightened around mine as he suddenly stopped and moaned out his euphoric pleasure beside my ear. A feeling of warmth rushed into me as he ed, I held onto him tightly and kissed his temple. He gently collapsed onto me, his head resting against mine. We took a few seconds to calm down, I could hear his breathing slowly becoming normal and the thumping of his pulse slowing down as well. Our hands still entwined, I turned my head slightly to look at his eyes that his hair slightly covered in the moonlight.

"I finally got to feel your heartbeat Masa." I said quietly.

"And I got to hear your voice and got to show you just how much I love you." He said with a smile.

I gave a small laugh and rested my forehead against his.

"Your laugh is precious_______ you know that?" He said.

I gave him a gently kiss on the lips. He pulled out slowly and rested beside me, and then held me close to him.

"Goodnight______" Masa whispered next to my ear.

"Goodnight Masa." I replied.

After that day, I forgot about the pain and event, but not that special moment that happened between Masa and I. At this point my hearing seem to be back to normal, which is a miracle. Masa took me to the doctors for a check up, the doctor said that my hearing is back, but I should be careful. One day I went to the music store to pay Mr. B a visit.

"I would like to buy this." I said placing a cd onto the counter.

"Oh? You're talking now, does that mean you got your hearing back?" Mr. B asked surprise.

"Yes I did, and it's amazing to hear all the sounds again." I said with a smile.

"That's amazing, I actually learned some basic sign languages so I'd be able to talk to you, but guess there's no need for that anymore?" He laughed.

"Thank you so much for giving the effort though. My boyfriend Masa actually learned some too." I laughed.

"Oh Masa? I've known him and his friends for a good few years. He's a good man, treasure him well." Mr. B said nodding his head.

He then handed me the cd that I purchased.

"I will, and thank you so much for letting me meet Masa. Have a great day!" I said with a wave.

I laughed as I saw his expression before I went out the door. If it wasn't for this store and his friendship with the boys, I would've never met Masa. It was a sunny day, The boys and I went to a beach for a day of fun. Hiro, Daichi, Natsu, and Cazqui were in the water and playing volleyball. Masa and I sat underneath a tree and watched the others play, I was leaning into Masa's chest with a pair of earphones and listening to some of my new favorite songs. I took off my earphones and listened.

"I love the sound of the ocean." I said.

"And I'll make sure you'll hear more in the future_____." Masa said.

I took out my notebook that I still carried.

"Thank you so much Masa, for everything." I wrote.

Masa looked at it and smiled.

"I'm so happy that I met you that day, you've brighten my years more than you know." He wrote.

I then turned the volume up on my phone till it reached a point that I can't hear anything but the song, but not to the point that it hurt my ears. I took it out and turned around to place it into Masa's, he looked at me confused. I looked into his eyes and naturally said a

"I Love You."

It took him a few seconds to figure out what I said, but when he did, he took out the earphones and hugged me.

"I love you too______" he said beside my ear.

He pulled back and kissed me gently. I leaned back and rest my head under his chin and closed my eyes as he held me. The wind gently blowing the pages of my notebook, till all the pages flipped to the end- closing up the silent past and looking towards the next day. ❤️ Masa