JeriKole: Music for the Ages

Music For the Ages<o></o>

Surprise, surprise

Couldn't find it in your eyes

But I'm sure it's written all over my face

--"Sunrise"
by Norah Jones<o></o>

"Jericho, is there any
good reason why you woke me up at the crack of dawn?" Kole grumbled
sleepily as her silent companion practically dragged her up the staircase.<o></o>

Jericho simply turned his
head and smiled as if to say, "You'll see," looking more awake than
anyone ought to at five minutes to six in the morning.<o></o>

Finally, the two reached
the door that led to the roof. Jericho opened the door and went out to the
middle of the roof, turning to face Kole with another smile. He gestured
towards the sky with his hand.<o></o>

Kole stepped outside, her
mouth opening as though she was about to say something. But whatever she was
going to say died on her lips as she gasped and looked up at the sky.<o></o>

The sky was a pale blue
color, with thick clouds that had an orange glow to them. And within those
clouds was the rising sun.<o></o>

"Wow," Kole
whispered in awe as she walked up to Jericho, all previous sleepiness
forgotten.<o></o>

"Since you live
underground, I'm guessing you don't get to see the sky much," Jericho signed.<o></o>

Kole nodded vaguely, taking
another glance at the sunrise. It had been quite a while since she had gotten a
good look at the sky, and if she was honest with herself, she would say she had
missed it.<o></o>

Kole looked at Jericho,
whose eyes seemed to brighten with the light of the sun, and a smile spread
across her face. She stepped closer to him and pulled him into a hug.<o></o>

"Thanks," she
said quietly, and as Kole released Jericho from her embrace, she saw that he
had flushed a light pink.<o></o>

The smile on your face

Lets me know that you need me

There's a truth in your eyes

Saying you'll never leave me

The touch of your hand

Says you'll catch me whenever I fall

You say it best

When you saying nothing at all

--"When You
Say Nothing at All" by Ronan Keating<o></o>

Jericho may not have been
able to speak, but Kole thought he didn't need to.<o></o>

The mute Titan used
gestures and facial expressions for communication. Of course, most of the
gestures were sign language, but Jericho also used gestures that were
universally known: a shake of the head meant "no," and a nod meant
"yes"; a push meant "go," and a pull meant
"come."<o></o>

And Jericho's expressions
were clear enough without verbalization. His face would light up when he was
happy and darken when he was sad. His eyes would flash whenever he got angry,
and a smirk would cross his face when he was feeling devious. And then there
was that soft, affectionate look that he seemed to reserve only for Kole.<o></o>

Kole had seen Jericho
happy, sad, anxious, embarrassed, mischievous, scared, relieved, loving, and
even angry--all without him having to actually say anything. There was an old
saying that actions spoke louder than words, and Kole thought Jericho was a
prime example of that.<o></o>

I don't care who you are

Where you're from, what you did

As long as you love me

Who you are, where you're from

Don't care what you did

As long as you love me

--"As Long
as You Love Me" by the Backstreet Boys<o></o>

Kole traced the long, thin
scar on Jericho's throat with her finger. "Is that how you...?" Her
voice trailed off uncertainly.<o></o>

Jericho nodded, smiling
bitterly. He let go of his shirt's collar, covering the scar from view. "When
you've been kidnapped and have had your throat slit, you don't forget it in a
hurry," he signed. "Especially if you were only a kid."<o></o>

"What happened?"
Kole asked.<o></o>

Jericho seemed to hesitate
before signing. "When I was eight, I was kidnapped by a group of
terrorists led by someone called the Jackal, and when my parents came to rescue
me, one of the terrorists cut my throat."<o></o>

Kole gasped, and Jericho
continued. "I must have lost consciousness after that, because the next
thing I knew, I was waking up in the hospital and I couldn't talk."<o></o>

There was a momentary pause
before Kole spoke again. "I...I'm sorry, Jericho."<o></o>

"Don't worry about
it," Jericho
signed. "It's something you get used to."<o></o>

He frowned slightly as he
finished signing. Kole looked at Jericho for a few seconds, and in an impulsive
move, she leaned forward, pulled down his collar, and quickly kissed his scar.
Kole pulled away, her cheeks feeling warm.<o></o>

Jericho's frown deepened in
confusion. "Why did you just do that?" he asked.<o></o>

Kole looked down at her
lap, not meeting Jericho's gaze. "I don't know," she admitted,
blushing a little more.<o></o>

So close to reaching that famous happy ending

Almost believing this one's not pretend

And now you're beside me

And look how far we've come

So far, we are, so close

--"So
Close" by Jon McLaughlin<o></o>

It was almost surreal,
Jericho thought as he and Kole danced amongst the other pairs in the room. He
could only dimly hear the music that was playing in the background, and he
wasn't paying any attention to the other dancers. He had eyes only for Kole.<o></o>

Jericho found himself aware
of the fact that he and Kole were probably the closest physically that they had
ever been, and a sudden sense of longing filled him. She was in his arms right
now, and it would be so easy to close those few inches, to close that little
bit of space between them.<o></o>

But he didn't. Instead,
Jericho settled for gazing into Kole's dark blue eyes, trying to see what she
was thinking and feeling.<o></o>

Could it be any harder to say goodbye

And without you

Could it be any harder to watch you go

To face what's true

If I only had one more day

--"Could it
Be Any Harder" by the Calling<o></o>

It was supposed to have
been simply an all-out fight between all the Titans around the world and all
the villains that were thirsting for revenge. And for a while, it had been.<o></o>

Jericho really wasn't sure
how it had happened. One minute, Kole was standing next to him, about to
crystallize her body; the next, she had been shot and had fallen to the ground.<o></o>

Jericho knelt beside Kole,
heedless of the many other Titans fighting (and of the fact that it probably
wasn't a good idea to be kneeling while a huge battle was going on). The girl
had blood spilling from her side, her breathing was heavy, and her eyes were
clouded over.<o></o>

In short, Kole was dying.<o></o>

"J-Jericho..."
Kole managed, smiling weakly. Jericho put a hand on her shoulder.<o></o>

"I...I'm sorry."
Kole closed her eyes. His heart pounding, Jericho quickly pecked her on the
forehead, and when he pulled away, Kole drew her last breath.<o></o>

Jericho found himself
shaking his head furiously, tears burning beneath his eyes. She's not dead,
she's not dead, she can't be dead!<o></o>

He took hold of Kole's
wrist, feeling for a pulse. Nothing.<o></o>

The battle raged on, but
Jericho couldn't bring himself to get up.<o></o>

He couldn't bring himself
to say goodbye.<o></o>

Well, my girl's in the next room

Sometimes I wish she was you

I guess we never really moved on

It's really good to hear your voice

Saying my name, it sounds so sweet

Coming from the lips of an angel

Hearing those words, it makes me weak

And I never wanna say goodbye

But girl, you make it hard to be faithful

With the lips of an angel

--"Lips of
an Angel" by Hinder<o></o>

Since Kole's death, Jericho
was unwilling to date someone else. It wasn't like he didn't have
options--there were plenty of girls who would murder to get a date with him,
oddly enough--he simply didn't want to get serious with anyone right now. Not
while he was still in love with a girl whose death was still fresh in his mind.<o></o>

Of course, that never
stopped the really persistent young ladies from pestering the heck out of him
until he gave in to their demands for at least one date (Jericho thought
vaguely that getting a restraining order would probably be beneficial). Like
the girl he was at a diner with right now.<o></o>

Jericho was only paying
half-attention to what his date (he couldn't remember her name--he thought it
was something that started with a "P") was saying. The girl had
short, cropped black hair and steel gray eyes, but Jericho couldn't help
imagining someone else in her place: someone with shoulder-length pink hair,
cobalt blue eyes, and an angelic smile.<o></o>

Kole.

Jericho blinked, and his
mental image of Kole disappeared. Feeling guilt swell
within him, he abruptly stood up, hastily signed something to Patricia or
Priscilla or whatever her name was about having to go, slapped some money onto
the table, and headed out of the diner without a backward glance.<o></o>

You're beautiful, you're beautiful

You're beautiful, it's true

--"You're
Beautiful" by James Blunt<o></o>

It seemed awfully shallow
of her, but Kole liked the way Jericho looked, and it
couldn't be helped if she found herself staring at him from time to time,
admiring his physical appearance.<o></o>

Curly, golden blond hair,
bright green eyes, pale skin--there was only one word that came to Kole's mind as far as Jericho's appearance was concerned:
beautiful. The word "beautiful" wasn't exactly masculine, and Kole wondered if Jericho would find it insulting, but it
was the only word her brain could come up with whenever it went into
"shameless fangirl" mode.<o></o>

And it was yanked back to
reality as Jericho snapped his fingers in Kole's
face.<o></o>

"Huh? What?" Kole blinked a couple of times. "Sorry, Jericho, were
you saying something to me?"<o></o>

Jericho smiled slightly in
amusement. "First of all, 'signing' would be a more appropriate
word." Kole blushed. "Second of all,
what had your head so up in the clouds?"<o></o>

Kole blushed even harder.
"Um...well...uh..." she stammered. After a few seconds, she finally
blurted out, "I like it!"<o></o>

Jericho looked confused. "You
like what?" he signed.<o></o>

"How you look!"<o></o>

Jericho seemed to be even
more confused. "You like...how I look?" he repeated, signing
slowly as though he couldn't believe what Kole had
just said.<o></o>

Kole nodded rather sheepishly, her face
slowly returning to its normal color. "Yeah, you're just really...really
cute." She almost said "beautiful," but had stopped herself in
time. "It's distracting sometimes," she finished.<o></o>

A small smile appeared on
Jericho's face. "Well, thanks," he signed. "I
think."<o></o>

"Are you one of those
people who don't know a compliment when they get one?" Kole
teased.<o></o>

Jericho's smile grew. "You
might want to compliment me more often."<o></o>

<o> </o>