Hands as Words [Chapter 1]
Title: Hands as words
Author:su_ede
Length: About words
Pairing: Matsumoto Jun x OC
Rating: G
Genre: AU - Romance
Disclaimer: I don't own Arashi...or maybe I do, who knows?
Summary: Shizuka is deaf. Jun's strongest point is his ability to talk.
She starts working in his building, just when he was thinking about giving up in the romance field.
The important thing is that they are both curious about each other. There is time to learn how to communicate.
BEFORE WE START: 1. Words in between [This] mean that they are talking by wrtiting.
2. Words in between "This" mean they are talking.
3. Words in between -This- mean they are talking in sign lenguage.
CHAPTER 1
Jun looked at his glass of water wishing he was one of those cubes of ice, drowning in water. The date was so bad that he wished he was dead.
That bad.
"And my brother is married, second time, isn’t it sad? His first wife was a bit if a nuisance..." His date was a secretary from a lawyers buffet 5 floors above his office. He exchanged some words with her in the elevator, and in the coffee shop around the corner. Then she invited him for lunch, which appealed him a lot.
But now he wasn’t appealed at all.
The girl arrived 15 minutes late, which was strike one for Jun. Then asked for the salad and water, strike 2, and 15 minutes talking nonstop was strike 3, 4 and 5. Jun was bored and frustrated. He didn’t understand or cared about what she was saying. He didn’t even asked her about her family, then why was she telling him about her relatives?
Nonsense.
He wished he could be in another place. Not listening to this person, whose existence had absolutely no meaning in his life.
#
Shizuka combed her hair with the tip of her fingers, trying to put her red curls in order. She looked at her face for the last time in the mirror, put on her shoes and leaved her apartment. She went out of her house, checked the locks and walked down the street with spring in her steps. The cold wind hit her nose, but the soft rays of lights that the morning sun aimed to her face helped her to stay warm. Before she could cross the street she got a message from her mom [Did you turned on your earphone?] She touched the small piece behind her right ear and pulled up the small on/off switch. Suddenly she could hear the sound of the passing cars in front of her. Low but clear. And taking advantage of the red light, she answered her mom [Now I did, thank you]. A minute later, as she was getting in to the subway station, she got another message [You are welcome, good luck at your second week at your new job] She answered with a face blowing a kiss and saved her phone inside her handbag.
It had been a while since she rode the subway happy, knowing that she was going to work. The first week at 'Home and Bake' was perfect. Everyone received her with care and respect. Her two bosses, Ohno and Ninomiya were the kindest people on earth and the two girls that worked under her care showed her nothing but disposition and desire to learn how to communicate with her. Shizuka told them that talking was enough, she could read their lips. But they insist on learn some signs. She was happy to teach them.
And now, the second week was about to start and she couldn’t wait to show to the team the set of lamps she designed during the weekend to her new team. Everyone at ‘Home and Bake’ had high expectations on her and she was more than ready to fulfil those expectations.
#
The horrible date of that Sunday killed his entire week. Now it was Monday and he had zero will to start a new week. And the worst was that first thing in the morning he had to make a visit to one of the most annoying costumers of the company. But at the same time it was the most important one, so they always send him and his talented mouth.
The meeting was rather short because the client itself had no time, so Jun fixed the insignificant problem he had in no time and was left with some hours to kill before coming back to the office.
He was getting out of a coffee shop when he met Nino. Ninomiya worked at the offices just above his and they developed a friendship in elevator and lunch time basis. Jun liked Nino because above all, he was a very down to earth guy, despite the fact he and his childhood friend Ohno directed the biggest brand of home design in Japan. "How is it going? What, slaking off?" He asked circling Jun’s shoulders with his left arm. "No, I had a meeting with a client and now I have some free time"
"Good, then come with me, I gotta go to the book shop around the corner" Jun shrugged and followed his friend.
Nino knew very well what he needed, so he didn’t lose time and asked the shop assistant for a sign language book. "Sign language?" Asked Jun raising a perfect eyebrow "Yeah, we hired a great new designer, and she is deaf, so I’m going to do my best to communicate with her"
"Deaf?, it must be hard"
"Not really, I don’t know, this is her second week with us and so far we have been able to communicate very well, at least she understand us, and when she wants to say something she writes it in a small pad she is carrying with her or she speaks" Jun admired the way Nino spoke, he really wanted to communicate with this new designer of his. It didn’t surprised him, he knew his friend was a considerate man, but Nino’s act of kindness kept making him smile. “We really need her. Our sales drop considerably this past season. Her designs aim to every single of our targets, and she knows a lot about sustainable products, Home and Bake is going green my friend!” The attendant arrived with three books, and Nino picked the one with the teaching video. Jun smiled at how excited his friend was. "I have big hopes on that girl. She has a sensitivity that none of my people has, only Oh-chan, but he needs support"
"So she is that good uh?, is she cute?"
"Super cute, what? Are you looking for someone?"
"No, not anymore. This Sunday I had a date and it was so bad that I’m thinking about retirement"
"That bad uh? I'm sorry" Nino patted Jun’s shoulder but Jun only shook it off, frowning at Nino’s laugh. It was almost time to go back to work for both of them, so Nino paid for his book and walked with Jun back to the building.
Lunch time came in between useless meetings. It was always a relief for Jun go to the 20th floor and sit with Nino to have lunch. And since it was Monday, they will be serving Takenoko rice. Jun’s favorite dish and his only reason to keep up with the day. "I can't believe it cost two times more than the past year" Nino claimed, Jun didn’t understand why Nino was so angry towards the price of someone else’s meal. "They say this spring the harvest of Takenoko had been quite bad, I don’t care how much I have to pay as long as I can eat it"
"See, that’s why you would never be rich"
"And you will?"
"I’m half way there" Answered Nino with a cocky smile. Jun wondered how much money meant half way there, he was about to ask, but Nino was suddenly distracted "Oh! Look there she is, Shizu-chan! Shizu-chan over here!" Nino waved his hands and screamed at her, until he realized it “Idiot what am I doing?, wait here Jun-kun" Nino got up and ran towards the line in front of the cashier. Jun watched him talk to a girl and point at his seat repeatedly. Nino came back to the table, but Jun kept looking at the girl, as far sighted as he was, he couldn’t see her face very well, but he just kept looking at her direction "She will come here to have lunch with us, you mind?"
"Not at all" Nino saw a faint smile on his friend's face, but said nothing.
Shizuka saw Nino coming on her direction, waving and passing by people. He greet her and invited her to sit with him and his friend. She accepted, finding his action very sweet. She waited in line to pay her portion of Takenoko rice and walked towards the table Nino indicated her before. Next to him was the sight of a serious-looking man who looked like out from a males fashion magazine wearing a white shirt with a wool vest on top. He had pale, luminous skin and perfectly combed hair, which gave him a more serious look, accompanied by his perfectly styled eyebrows. It amused her, somehow, how pretty he was. His lips looked full and shiny, and his brown eyes gleamed with something close to curiosity, but very welcoming. There wasn’t anything else to conclude than the fact that he was gorgeous. Shizuka stopped staring and rushed to her sit in front of Ninomiya and his friend “Shizu-chan, this is Matsumoto Jun-kun, he works at the 10th floor at Lucky Seven productions, he is an event organiser, specialised in stage shows and festivals” Shizuka stared at Nino’s mouth, who pronounced carefully each word so she could read his lips. She bowed at Matsumoto, in silence. “Jun-kun, this is our Shizu-chan, Kimoto Shizuka, she’s an industrial designer, and is now working with us, as I told you before” Jun bowed back at her with a polite smile.
Both stayed in silence, so Nino light up the mood “Look Shizu-chan, I bought this!” Nino took the book he bought out of his backpack and handed it to Shizuka. ‘Signing made easy: A Complete Program for Learning Sign Language’ said the cover and Nino had to smile at the way Shizuka’s face light up. “Thank you, no boss ever did that before” Said her with her nasal voice. Nino smile got even wider, and his eyes turned shy. “And how they communicate with you in the past?” Shizuka gave him a signal of stop and grabbed the notepad she always carried inside her handbag. “Writing” she said shaking the notepad “And with this” She said pointing at her lips “By kissing?” Said Nino jokingly. Shizuka giggled shyly and Nino accompanied, glad she liked his joke. Jun kept silence, too busy looking at her giggling. She pulled a pen out of her blazer and wrote on the pad. She always prefer that rather than talk. She never liked talk very much. [ I meant reading lips, I have being doing that since I was a kid ]. Nino and Jun read what she wrote and both nodded at the same time “Why did you quit your last job?” Shizuka grabbed the notepad again and wrote her answer [They never got used to me. They tried but I could tell that they were uncomfortable, so just when I was redacting my resignation letter and thinking about start working as a freelance designer, I got an email from Ninomiya-san offering me a new job] Again Jun and Nino read Shizuka’s neat handwriting, already used to this kind of communication. “Yeah, I was very pleased with your work for the annual exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art, so I was wondering if you were looking for a new job and you were…but how could they not get used to you? I mean, it's so...easy to talk with you, I don’t get it” Jun nodded next to his friend, echoing what he said [Well, differences are difficult for some people] Jun saw some redemption reflected on her face, and it saddened him “But you are using an earphone right?”. Nino pointed at the small object behind her ear. Shizuka touched it unconsciously, forgetting it was there [ I use it only when I go outside. It allows me to hear if a car is about to run over me or if the train is coming, but I can’t hear voices with it] Nino and Jun had more questions, but Shizuka really wanted to eat her Takenoko rice, and she made them know. Both apologized. “You like Takenoko rice?” Asked Jun, addressing her for the first time. It surprised her, Jun surprised himself too. “I do, is my favorite” Answered Miyako with a rather loud voice. The distraction that Matsumoto was, made her forget to control her volume when talking. “Is my favorite too” Said Jun, hiding his shyness behind his cup of tea. Both came back to their plates, meanwhile Nino glared at both, grinning.
As every single Monday since he got in that company Jun leaved work late. Late as in lucky me I grabbed the last train late. Just when the speakers at the subway station were indicating that the last train will arrive in 5 minutes Jun was walking down the stairs, reaching the platform. Jun released a relieved sight as he walked to the platform. Some other people were lucky as him in graving the last train, so Jun looked around checking his surroundings, so he could avoid any drunk guy or suspicious youth, but he only saw salary man’s, office lady’s and a dark red hair girl. Jun recognize her as soon as he saw her, because honestly, he kept thinking about her the rest of the day, so her image was quite vivid in Jun’s mind. "Kimoto san!" some heads turn around to look at him out of curiosity, but Kimoto’s head didn’t. Then it hit him "Idiot" he said to himself. Call her name was useless.
He took 10 decisive steps and reached her side. She was distracted changing the pages of an old catalog. Jun patted her shoulder lightly holding his breath. She turned around looking surprised, but relaxed her expression after she saw him. "Good night" said Jun a bit too loud, and pronouncing the words carefully "Good night Matsumoto-san" She said bowing politely. "We ride the same train?" She nodded heartily "I get off at the Sendagi station" Jun felt something heavy dropping in his stomach. They get off at the same station.
"Me too! Me too...I take Kasuga Street to the south" The way she looked at his lips as he spoke made him a bit nervous, but he knew why she did it. "I walk to the north" Jun’s disappointment was subdued by the arrival of the train and the hope and anxiety that the idea of 45 minutes of traveling with her brought him.
They waited for the few people inside the train to go out so they could get in. Everybody got in, and everybody got to seat. Jun took a bold movement and sat next to her, without being invited. Not that he needed to be.
The ride home was quiet. Kimoto kept looking at her catalog, Jun could see, by the corner of his eye, that it was an old ‘Home and Bake’ catalog. Every now and then she will mark or write something on it. He didn’t want to interrupt her, but at the same time, it was odd. He wanted to talk to her, he showed a clear interest, at least he thought so, but she showed absolutely no intention of holding a conversation with him.
She wasn’t as talkative as with Nino.
And the thing that made him feel even stranger was the fact that Jun considered that his better attribute was his mouth. And by mouth he meant talking. He was persuasive, fast, inquisitive. But now, with someone who couldn’t hear how great his glibness was. He felt sort of vulnerable.
And that was weird.
Very weird.
The next morning Shizuka found herself paying more attention to her surroundings. Especially to the people around her.
The ride home last night was nothing but stressful. People normally didn’t show interest in communicate with her after they found out about her deafness. Then why Matsumoto looked so eager to talk to her? She spend the 45 minutes feeling how he stared at her by the corner of his eye. She felt him take a deep breath as if he was getting ready to talk, but he never did. She saw his hand move up a couple of times, trying to poke her arm, but he stopped midair. And all that made Shizuka feel so stressed. She would have answer him, she would have drop her catalog and pay attention to his beautiful lips. So she could understand what he was saying, of course.
Now she felt guilty. Maybe he felt some unfriendliness coming from her. It always happened like that. People saw her as an antisocial, but in her world without sounds, it was rather hard to involucrate with the people around.
That was why she was using her eagle eye to find Matsumoto in the multitude getting in to the train. So she could be more welcoming with Matsumoto.
But if things were going to be as uncomfortable as last night, she would rather ride to work by herself.
#
[Shizu-chan, what about lunch at the cafeteria?] Said the instant message Shizuka received from one of her bosses. She felt bad declining Ninomiya’s invitation, but just that day, her other boss, Ohno, had invited her to lunch with the rest of the creative team to the new ramen shop in front of their office to talk about their new project [Ok, no problem, I would go too but I ate ramen yesterday, don’t worry, see you at work] Answered Ninomiya to her explanation. Shizuka smiled at her phone and kept drawing the patterns for the new line of fabrics she was designing with her boss.
At lunch Nino arrived at the cafeteria and Jun was already there, acting nonchalant. When Nino clearly noticed the moment he saw him and the disappointment on Jun’s face when he saw that Nino was alone.
Or at least he thought he saw that. He could be imagining it.
“Sorry Jun-kun, is just me” Jun acted a bit flustered, but sighed loudly, deciding not to denied Nino’s implications “I was hoping to see her, she is very nice”
“She is”
“And she is very cute”
“She is”
“And I’m very curious about her…I don’t know”
“I see”
“Last night we rode the subway together and in 45 minutes we didn’t exchange a word and I really wanted to talk to her but I couldn’t gain the confidence” Nino listened to Jun with attention and his last words caught his interest “Confidence? So is like that! I thought you liked her because she didn’t drop her underwear the first time she saw you , so now you see her as a challenge and ..:” Jun interrupted him histrionically “Wait! When I have been that shallow? And challenge? I don’t see girls as a sport Nino!”
“Well, not like a sport, but you do go from girl to girl, and since all of them show interest for you, you just go for it” Jun took Nino’s words quite personally. Not as much as an insult, but Nino was saying things just as they were, and it made him a bit uncomfortable “You are calling me a player”
“Yeah, a polite one, I guess…you are not doing it with bad intentions, you just want to find the right one, which I think is rather admirable, you haven’t given up, a lot of people had already give up, it’s quite brave” Jun didn’t know how to answer to that. After calling him a player, Nino was now pricing him. “After all, I’m just a romantic and I want to get married, have kids, a house, a cat and a dog”
“And you want to see if Shizu-chan is the one?” Jun stared at Nino’s eyes not knowing if he was joking with him or stating the obvious just to make him see “Is she? I mean, Should I?”
“Go out with her? No if you’re not sure, and come on Jun, I don’t care how romantic you are, is way too soon, you just met her yesterday! Give yourself some time, maybe in that way you will stop attending disappointing dates” Jun remained in silence, looking down at his cup of tea. Nino talked to him with honesty. Not even his closest friends, his childhood friends speak to him like that. “Take your time, learn how to communicate with her, have lunch with her, get to know her and then decide if you want to date her…slow, don’t rush, there is no need, you’re going to have that wife that dog that cat and that house, at the right time” Nino patted Jun’s shoulder, and it felt so father like, even the way he spoke to him. So father like.
Although his father never talked to him like that.
Nino’s words kept circling around Jun’s head. The guy was right.
He needed time.
Because Nino’s speech made him realize something. He never took the time to meet a girl before dating her. And he only realized midway how much he dislike her.
And the fall hurt a bit more.
Was it because he was so desperate about finding the right one? Or just pure stupidity and the fact that he was used to be liked by girls?
Either way, what his friend said was true. And if he was completely sincere, Kimoto-san was different. It wasn’t that easy to communicate with her. Not only because of her deafness but also because he felt so nervous with her presence.
Or he felt nervous because of her deafness?
Again, he had to catch the last train.
And Kimoto-san wasn’t there.
_TBC_
A/N: Finally back!!! Hope you guys like the story.
Author:su_ede
Length: About words
Pairing: Matsumoto Jun x OC
Rating: G
Genre: AU - Romance
Disclaimer: I don't own Arashi...or maybe I do, who knows?
Summary: Shizuka is deaf. Jun's strongest point is his ability to talk.
She starts working in his building, just when he was thinking about giving up in the romance field.
The important thing is that they are both curious about each other. There is time to learn how to communicate.
BEFORE WE START: 1. Words in between [This] mean that they are talking by wrtiting.
2. Words in between "This" mean they are talking.
3. Words in between -This- mean they are talking in sign lenguage.
CHAPTER 1
Jun looked at his glass of water wishing he was one of those cubes of ice, drowning in water. The date was so bad that he wished he was dead.
That bad.
"And my brother is married, second time, isn’t it sad? His first wife was a bit if a nuisance..." His date was a secretary from a lawyers buffet 5 floors above his office. He exchanged some words with her in the elevator, and in the coffee shop around the corner. Then she invited him for lunch, which appealed him a lot.
But now he wasn’t appealed at all.
The girl arrived 15 minutes late, which was strike one for Jun. Then asked for the salad and water, strike 2, and 15 minutes talking nonstop was strike 3, 4 and 5. Jun was bored and frustrated. He didn’t understand or cared about what she was saying. He didn’t even asked her about her family, then why was she telling him about her relatives?
Nonsense.
He wished he could be in another place. Not listening to this person, whose existence had absolutely no meaning in his life.
#
Shizuka combed her hair with the tip of her fingers, trying to put her red curls in order. She looked at her face for the last time in the mirror, put on her shoes and leaved her apartment. She went out of her house, checked the locks and walked down the street with spring in her steps. The cold wind hit her nose, but the soft rays of lights that the morning sun aimed to her face helped her to stay warm. Before she could cross the street she got a message from her mom [Did you turned on your earphone?] She touched the small piece behind her right ear and pulled up the small on/off switch. Suddenly she could hear the sound of the passing cars in front of her. Low but clear. And taking advantage of the red light, she answered her mom [Now I did, thank you]. A minute later, as she was getting in to the subway station, she got another message [You are welcome, good luck at your second week at your new job] She answered with a face blowing a kiss and saved her phone inside her handbag.
It had been a while since she rode the subway happy, knowing that she was going to work. The first week at 'Home and Bake' was perfect. Everyone received her with care and respect. Her two bosses, Ohno and Ninomiya were the kindest people on earth and the two girls that worked under her care showed her nothing but disposition and desire to learn how to communicate with her. Shizuka told them that talking was enough, she could read their lips. But they insist on learn some signs. She was happy to teach them.
And now, the second week was about to start and she couldn’t wait to show to the team the set of lamps she designed during the weekend to her new team. Everyone at ‘Home and Bake’ had high expectations on her and she was more than ready to fulfil those expectations.
#
The horrible date of that Sunday killed his entire week. Now it was Monday and he had zero will to start a new week. And the worst was that first thing in the morning he had to make a visit to one of the most annoying costumers of the company. But at the same time it was the most important one, so they always send him and his talented mouth.
The meeting was rather short because the client itself had no time, so Jun fixed the insignificant problem he had in no time and was left with some hours to kill before coming back to the office.
He was getting out of a coffee shop when he met Nino. Ninomiya worked at the offices just above his and they developed a friendship in elevator and lunch time basis. Jun liked Nino because above all, he was a very down to earth guy, despite the fact he and his childhood friend Ohno directed the biggest brand of home design in Japan. "How is it going? What, slaking off?" He asked circling Jun’s shoulders with his left arm. "No, I had a meeting with a client and now I have some free time"
"Good, then come with me, I gotta go to the book shop around the corner" Jun shrugged and followed his friend.
Nino knew very well what he needed, so he didn’t lose time and asked the shop assistant for a sign language book. "Sign language?" Asked Jun raising a perfect eyebrow "Yeah, we hired a great new designer, and she is deaf, so I’m going to do my best to communicate with her"
"Deaf?, it must be hard"
"Not really, I don’t know, this is her second week with us and so far we have been able to communicate very well, at least she understand us, and when she wants to say something she writes it in a small pad she is carrying with her or she speaks" Jun admired the way Nino spoke, he really wanted to communicate with this new designer of his. It didn’t surprised him, he knew his friend was a considerate man, but Nino’s act of kindness kept making him smile. “We really need her. Our sales drop considerably this past season. Her designs aim to every single of our targets, and she knows a lot about sustainable products, Home and Bake is going green my friend!” The attendant arrived with three books, and Nino picked the one with the teaching video. Jun smiled at how excited his friend was. "I have big hopes on that girl. She has a sensitivity that none of my people has, only Oh-chan, but he needs support"
"So she is that good uh?, is she cute?"
"Super cute, what? Are you looking for someone?"
"No, not anymore. This Sunday I had a date and it was so bad that I’m thinking about retirement"
"That bad uh? I'm sorry" Nino patted Jun’s shoulder but Jun only shook it off, frowning at Nino’s laugh. It was almost time to go back to work for both of them, so Nino paid for his book and walked with Jun back to the building.
Lunch time came in between useless meetings. It was always a relief for Jun go to the 20th floor and sit with Nino to have lunch. And since it was Monday, they will be serving Takenoko rice. Jun’s favorite dish and his only reason to keep up with the day. "I can't believe it cost two times more than the past year" Nino claimed, Jun didn’t understand why Nino was so angry towards the price of someone else’s meal. "They say this spring the harvest of Takenoko had been quite bad, I don’t care how much I have to pay as long as I can eat it"
"See, that’s why you would never be rich"
"And you will?"
"I’m half way there" Answered Nino with a cocky smile. Jun wondered how much money meant half way there, he was about to ask, but Nino was suddenly distracted "Oh! Look there she is, Shizu-chan! Shizu-chan over here!" Nino waved his hands and screamed at her, until he realized it “Idiot what am I doing?, wait here Jun-kun" Nino got up and ran towards the line in front of the cashier. Jun watched him talk to a girl and point at his seat repeatedly. Nino came back to the table, but Jun kept looking at the girl, as far sighted as he was, he couldn’t see her face very well, but he just kept looking at her direction "She will come here to have lunch with us, you mind?"
"Not at all" Nino saw a faint smile on his friend's face, but said nothing.
Shizuka saw Nino coming on her direction, waving and passing by people. He greet her and invited her to sit with him and his friend. She accepted, finding his action very sweet. She waited in line to pay her portion of Takenoko rice and walked towards the table Nino indicated her before. Next to him was the sight of a serious-looking man who looked like out from a males fashion magazine wearing a white shirt with a wool vest on top. He had pale, luminous skin and perfectly combed hair, which gave him a more serious look, accompanied by his perfectly styled eyebrows. It amused her, somehow, how pretty he was. His lips looked full and shiny, and his brown eyes gleamed with something close to curiosity, but very welcoming. There wasn’t anything else to conclude than the fact that he was gorgeous. Shizuka stopped staring and rushed to her sit in front of Ninomiya and his friend “Shizu-chan, this is Matsumoto Jun-kun, he works at the 10th floor at Lucky Seven productions, he is an event organiser, specialised in stage shows and festivals” Shizuka stared at Nino’s mouth, who pronounced carefully each word so she could read his lips. She bowed at Matsumoto, in silence. “Jun-kun, this is our Shizu-chan, Kimoto Shizuka, she’s an industrial designer, and is now working with us, as I told you before” Jun bowed back at her with a polite smile.
Both stayed in silence, so Nino light up the mood “Look Shizu-chan, I bought this!” Nino took the book he bought out of his backpack and handed it to Shizuka. ‘Signing made easy: A Complete Program for Learning Sign Language’ said the cover and Nino had to smile at the way Shizuka’s face light up. “Thank you, no boss ever did that before” Said her with her nasal voice. Nino smile got even wider, and his eyes turned shy. “And how they communicate with you in the past?” Shizuka gave him a signal of stop and grabbed the notepad she always carried inside her handbag. “Writing” she said shaking the notepad “And with this” She said pointing at her lips “By kissing?” Said Nino jokingly. Shizuka giggled shyly and Nino accompanied, glad she liked his joke. Jun kept silence, too busy looking at her giggling. She pulled a pen out of her blazer and wrote on the pad. She always prefer that rather than talk. She never liked talk very much. [ I meant reading lips, I have being doing that since I was a kid ]. Nino and Jun read what she wrote and both nodded at the same time “Why did you quit your last job?” Shizuka grabbed the notepad again and wrote her answer [They never got used to me. They tried but I could tell that they were uncomfortable, so just when I was redacting my resignation letter and thinking about start working as a freelance designer, I got an email from Ninomiya-san offering me a new job] Again Jun and Nino read Shizuka’s neat handwriting, already used to this kind of communication. “Yeah, I was very pleased with your work for the annual exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art, so I was wondering if you were looking for a new job and you were…but how could they not get used to you? I mean, it's so...easy to talk with you, I don’t get it” Jun nodded next to his friend, echoing what he said [Well, differences are difficult for some people] Jun saw some redemption reflected on her face, and it saddened him “But you are using an earphone right?”. Nino pointed at the small object behind her ear. Shizuka touched it unconsciously, forgetting it was there [ I use it only when I go outside. It allows me to hear if a car is about to run over me or if the train is coming, but I can’t hear voices with it] Nino and Jun had more questions, but Shizuka really wanted to eat her Takenoko rice, and she made them know. Both apologized. “You like Takenoko rice?” Asked Jun, addressing her for the first time. It surprised her, Jun surprised himself too. “I do, is my favorite” Answered Miyako with a rather loud voice. The distraction that Matsumoto was, made her forget to control her volume when talking. “Is my favorite too” Said Jun, hiding his shyness behind his cup of tea. Both came back to their plates, meanwhile Nino glared at both, grinning.
As every single Monday since he got in that company Jun leaved work late. Late as in lucky me I grabbed the last train late. Just when the speakers at the subway station were indicating that the last train will arrive in 5 minutes Jun was walking down the stairs, reaching the platform. Jun released a relieved sight as he walked to the platform. Some other people were lucky as him in graving the last train, so Jun looked around checking his surroundings, so he could avoid any drunk guy or suspicious youth, but he only saw salary man’s, office lady’s and a dark red hair girl. Jun recognize her as soon as he saw her, because honestly, he kept thinking about her the rest of the day, so her image was quite vivid in Jun’s mind. "Kimoto san!" some heads turn around to look at him out of curiosity, but Kimoto’s head didn’t. Then it hit him "Idiot" he said to himself. Call her name was useless.
He took 10 decisive steps and reached her side. She was distracted changing the pages of an old catalog. Jun patted her shoulder lightly holding his breath. She turned around looking surprised, but relaxed her expression after she saw him. "Good night" said Jun a bit too loud, and pronouncing the words carefully "Good night Matsumoto-san" She said bowing politely. "We ride the same train?" She nodded heartily "I get off at the Sendagi station" Jun felt something heavy dropping in his stomach. They get off at the same station.
"Me too! Me too...I take Kasuga Street to the south" The way she looked at his lips as he spoke made him a bit nervous, but he knew why she did it. "I walk to the north" Jun’s disappointment was subdued by the arrival of the train and the hope and anxiety that the idea of 45 minutes of traveling with her brought him.
They waited for the few people inside the train to go out so they could get in. Everybody got in, and everybody got to seat. Jun took a bold movement and sat next to her, without being invited. Not that he needed to be.
The ride home was quiet. Kimoto kept looking at her catalog, Jun could see, by the corner of his eye, that it was an old ‘Home and Bake’ catalog. Every now and then she will mark or write something on it. He didn’t want to interrupt her, but at the same time, it was odd. He wanted to talk to her, he showed a clear interest, at least he thought so, but she showed absolutely no intention of holding a conversation with him.
She wasn’t as talkative as with Nino.
And the thing that made him feel even stranger was the fact that Jun considered that his better attribute was his mouth. And by mouth he meant talking. He was persuasive, fast, inquisitive. But now, with someone who couldn’t hear how great his glibness was. He felt sort of vulnerable.
And that was weird.
Very weird.
The next morning Shizuka found herself paying more attention to her surroundings. Especially to the people around her.
The ride home last night was nothing but stressful. People normally didn’t show interest in communicate with her after they found out about her deafness. Then why Matsumoto looked so eager to talk to her? She spend the 45 minutes feeling how he stared at her by the corner of his eye. She felt him take a deep breath as if he was getting ready to talk, but he never did. She saw his hand move up a couple of times, trying to poke her arm, but he stopped midair. And all that made Shizuka feel so stressed. She would have answer him, she would have drop her catalog and pay attention to his beautiful lips. So she could understand what he was saying, of course.
Now she felt guilty. Maybe he felt some unfriendliness coming from her. It always happened like that. People saw her as an antisocial, but in her world without sounds, it was rather hard to involucrate with the people around.
That was why she was using her eagle eye to find Matsumoto in the multitude getting in to the train. So she could be more welcoming with Matsumoto.
But if things were going to be as uncomfortable as last night, she would rather ride to work by herself.
#
[Shizu-chan, what about lunch at the cafeteria?] Said the instant message Shizuka received from one of her bosses. She felt bad declining Ninomiya’s invitation, but just that day, her other boss, Ohno, had invited her to lunch with the rest of the creative team to the new ramen shop in front of their office to talk about their new project [Ok, no problem, I would go too but I ate ramen yesterday, don’t worry, see you at work] Answered Ninomiya to her explanation. Shizuka smiled at her phone and kept drawing the patterns for the new line of fabrics she was designing with her boss.
At lunch Nino arrived at the cafeteria and Jun was already there, acting nonchalant. When Nino clearly noticed the moment he saw him and the disappointment on Jun’s face when he saw that Nino was alone.
Or at least he thought he saw that. He could be imagining it.
“Sorry Jun-kun, is just me” Jun acted a bit flustered, but sighed loudly, deciding not to denied Nino’s implications “I was hoping to see her, she is very nice”
“She is”
“And she is very cute”
“She is”
“And I’m very curious about her…I don’t know”
“I see”
“Last night we rode the subway together and in 45 minutes we didn’t exchange a word and I really wanted to talk to her but I couldn’t gain the confidence” Nino listened to Jun with attention and his last words caught his interest “Confidence? So is like that! I thought you liked her because she didn’t drop her underwear the first time she saw you , so now you see her as a challenge and ..:” Jun interrupted him histrionically “Wait! When I have been that shallow? And challenge? I don’t see girls as a sport Nino!”
“Well, not like a sport, but you do go from girl to girl, and since all of them show interest for you, you just go for it” Jun took Nino’s words quite personally. Not as much as an insult, but Nino was saying things just as they were, and it made him a bit uncomfortable “You are calling me a player”
“Yeah, a polite one, I guess…you are not doing it with bad intentions, you just want to find the right one, which I think is rather admirable, you haven’t given up, a lot of people had already give up, it’s quite brave” Jun didn’t know how to answer to that. After calling him a player, Nino was now pricing him. “After all, I’m just a romantic and I want to get married, have kids, a house, a cat and a dog”
“And you want to see if Shizu-chan is the one?” Jun stared at Nino’s eyes not knowing if he was joking with him or stating the obvious just to make him see “Is she? I mean, Should I?”
“Go out with her? No if you’re not sure, and come on Jun, I don’t care how romantic you are, is way too soon, you just met her yesterday! Give yourself some time, maybe in that way you will stop attending disappointing dates” Jun remained in silence, looking down at his cup of tea. Nino talked to him with honesty. Not even his closest friends, his childhood friends speak to him like that. “Take your time, learn how to communicate with her, have lunch with her, get to know her and then decide if you want to date her…slow, don’t rush, there is no need, you’re going to have that wife that dog that cat and that house, at the right time” Nino patted Jun’s shoulder, and it felt so father like, even the way he spoke to him. So father like.
Although his father never talked to him like that.
Nino’s words kept circling around Jun’s head. The guy was right.
He needed time.
Because Nino’s speech made him realize something. He never took the time to meet a girl before dating her. And he only realized midway how much he dislike her.
And the fall hurt a bit more.
Was it because he was so desperate about finding the right one? Or just pure stupidity and the fact that he was used to be liked by girls?
Either way, what his friend said was true. And if he was completely sincere, Kimoto-san was different. It wasn’t that easy to communicate with her. Not only because of her deafness but also because he felt so nervous with her presence.
Or he felt nervous because of her deafness?
Again, he had to catch the last train.
And Kimoto-san wasn’t there.
_TBC_
A/N: Finally back!!! Hope you guys like the story.