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One would think Sakura and Arthur too old to be enthralled by a dusting of snow, and they were. But they found great enjoyment in each other, and when the vast expanse of white framed their forms against the horizon, snow received a new magic.

That morning started slowly, their first clue. Rather than being woken violently by the blaring of a digital clock, Sakura's eyes fluttered to life when tickled by faded winter sunlight. She lay suspended between awake and asleep, large brown eyes half-open and cloudy. Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. In this pleasant dreamlike state, her body was motionless and warm with Arthur's quiet heat. The spell lingered for only three minutes or so before he sniffed and smiled blearily. Her lashes caught the light and made her gaze seem fueled by magic.
"Hmm...g'morning," Arthur slurred.
"Good morning. What time is it?" She turned to look into his vibrant green eyes, their bodies mirroring each other.
He glanced back over his shoulder, and the white morning light made his already pale complexion look like ivory.
"Wouldn't know...the clock's not on."
"It isn't on?" she asked, confused. Lo and behold, when Sakura sat up and gazed, the black face was blank. The usual hum of appliances was absent as well.
"Do you think--"
"Power outage," he interrupted. "They did predict a terrific storm yesterday."
"They certainly had it right," she intoned. "Come see."

Sakura was looking out the frosted window to the fields below. They were gone. Buried under a thick coat of plush snow, the countryside more closely resembled an ocean, untouched by even a single set of human footprints. Only rabbit tracks and bird feet disturbed the endless blank, and these were invisible from the upstairs window. Arthur sidled up beside his beloved, chin resting on her slim shoulders. The two admired the view for a moment in respectful silence. They'd seen many snows in their time, of course, but every time deserved admiration, especially one so severe that it disabled all of the electrical devices in the small wood-paneled house. With only the sound of their breathing, the rustling of the bedsheets, and distant birdsong cutting the silence, serenity seemed almost a tangible thing to Sakura and Arthur.

"We're probably late for work."
"I doubt that we'd be going to work at all, Sakura." The mattress groaned as he planted his feet on the carpet. "If the storm knocked out our power, it may have taken theirs as well."
She stretched gingerly and rose as well, abandoning the powerful call of the sheets. "Then the day is ours," she declared, smiling slightly.
"So many possibilities," he purred, drawing near. They both chuckled from a place deep in their throats, knowing full well that what Arthur was insinuating wasn't really what they most wanted to do...although it was something to consider.
"I don't know why, but taking a walk appeals to me today," Sakura thought aloud. Her dark head tilted a bit.
"Then walk we shall."

This was how they came to be bundled up tightly in coats and scarves and gloves and boots as they walked arm-in-arm. Were they single and in the same situation, the morning probably would have been spent the same way. Supposedly no man--or woman--is an island, but even when together, Arthur and Sakura seemed to be one. They had lives, friends, of course. But even among their most trusted peers, being alone became them, and being alone together.
"There's some sort of magic about a heavy snowfall, isn't there?" Arthur piped up, chin up to the clear blue.
"There is," agreed Sakura. Her hand shifted on his arm and pulled it closer; she was chilled. "No matter how many snows there are, it still remains an event."
"Like the seasons changing. Spring is nothing new; it's been happening since the beginning of time. And yet, we still brighten at the sight of blossoms."
Sakura smiled distantly. Her mind's eye flashed through good memories of spring in Japan, when the cherry blossoms began to bloom.
"But here we are, stuck in this winter," she sighed.
"Cheer up, dear, it doesn't last forever."
"I know."
They crunched along in comfortable silence for a minute. A good thing about Sakura, he mused, is that she doesn't want me to talk all the time. I'm not good about keeping up small talk for very long.

She restarted the conversation.
"We're such strange people, Arthur."
"We are?"
"We are. We don't act like other couples."
"I'm fairly certain that we do most things that other couples do." What was she hinting at?
"Well, what I mean is, we don't act like other young couples. We don't touch half as much."
"But isn't that a good thing, in your case?"
"It is," Sakura replied quickly. "But we stand out. And we don't tease each other or give each other cute nicknames."
"...Would you like to?" This was unusual. Arthur never thought her to be too concerned about fitting in with their friends.
"No, no, it was just something that I noticed." A pause. "Do you get bored?"
"Bored? Of you? Certainly not!" Why did she have these doubts of their relationship? Has she been withholding these concerns for some time now, or are they fresh? Sakura had nothing to fear.
"Really? I know I'm not the most romantic, or the most exciting..."
That was enough of that. Arthur stopped and turned to face her, expression probing and sincere.

"Sakura. Don't ever question if I love you or not. I absolutely adore you. I adore you, and you needn't fret about being quiet or clever or anything else that you are. That's the very reason why I adore you in the first place. You're my best friend and the most important person in the world to me."
Her cheeks darkened, and not from the cold. Arthur continued.
"And really, when have we ever been like other people in the first place?" At this, Sakura's eyes crinkled in a smile wider than most.
"True."
In a moment of sudden emotion, she wrapped her arms around his lean torso and a quiet sigh expelled from her thin lips. Arthur blinked, a little surprised, but soon returned the gesture and smiled warmly.
"This is just..." What was the phrase he was looking for?
"Quiet love."
It was perfect. It captured their every interaction with two little words.
"Yes. This is just quiet love."
"Old person love," Sakura giggled.
"Because we're already an elderly couple," Arthur laughed, gazing out over the snowy vales and hills.
"We act like one."

And like an elderly couple, they allowed themselves to be buried in this quiet love. It drew attention from other people, the way they got on. It was very simple and had an ease to it, their talks. Both said exactly what they thought and only spoke when they had something to say. When they were apart from the group together, the world seemed to hush and listen. And the two seemed to have the strange ability to remove themselves from the scene entirely, to blow away.