Hands as Words [Chapter 4]
Title: Hands as words
Author:su_ede
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.
After they shared that dinner, Jun felt how their relationship changed. They had inside jokes, common interests, and every Saturday he learn more and more signs to communicate with her.
Sign language was hard. He tended to confuse signs that where too similar, he got cramps on his fingers all the time and there were so many of them. Of course, Aiba had borrowed him several books and videos, and Shizuka helped him practice as much as she could.
When she asked him if Nino had borrowed him is book, he had to lie he said yes. Telling her that he was taking classes could be a bit weird. Very weird. After all, he was just her acquaintance, not her boss, not her closest friend not her boyfriend. A mere lunch buddy wouldn’t go as far as taking sign language classes.
But the dinner they shared a couple of weeks ago changed that.
That was for sure, at least for Jun.
Nino could call him a player and yeah, maybe he was. But all that practice taught him a lot about the complex meaning of woman’s body language. Jun knew what natural proximity meant, what blushed cheeks meant, what furtive stares at him meant. Shizuka wasn’t oblivious to him or his presence or to his approaches.
Every day he was more convinced that they were sailing in the same direction.
And that gave him hope, and energy to keep learning sign language, despite how tired his fingers were.
That Saturday after classes, he met with Shizuka. There was an exposition at a gallery in Shibuya. The new promotion of the university where she studied were exposing their last projects, and she always assisted, invited by her teachers. [ I like to see what younger generation are creating ] She had tell him the night before when they were talking trough LINE. Jun couldn’t care less about the new generations, but the idea of spend the saturday with her, was good enough.
Especially when he saw her arrive with her below the knee, black checkered skirt, a simple white t-shirt and black ballerinas. She looked somehow younger with her red hair in a ponytail and her black ray bans covering her brown eyes.
Damn she was so cute. He bit his lower lip, trying to hide the most probably perverted smile that was about to appear. Shizuka waved at him, asking how he was. Jun answered back with gestures, and asked her back. Shizuka said I’m good and plus described what she was doing before, which Jun could understand just by watching the movement of her hands. She went have breakfast with her parents at a bakery close to the gallery. Jun felt his chest fill with proudness when he realized how good he was getting with sign language.
Jun had a very good time at the exposition. It wasn’t very crowded, and has Shizuka had warned him yesterday, she took her time watching the pieces. With some pieces her eyes would light up, she would take notes about the name of the student and would tell what was good about the piece too Jun “The texture of the material” or “He thought about the anatomy of the hand”. Other times, a few times, but still, she would crunch her nose and frown. Jun would always ask her what was wrong “It’s a very selfish design. Fits only a few” or “It lacks personality” one time she only said “This is not good” and walked away from the garden set they were looking at. He wanted to ask her why it was so bad, but she was already busy looking the next piece. A baby stroller.
After an hour and a half, maybe more but Jun didn’t thought about time, they finished checking all the pieces, from backpacks to trailers. Jun was amazed. Maybe Shizuka didn’t like half of the pieces, but Jun found all of them pretty amazing.
Jun was going to invite Shizuka for lunch, but she won. - Let’s go grab lunch somewhere - he didn’t even answer, only walked next to her wherever she was taking him.
They ended up in a small pizzeria sharing a margarita pizza with two beers.
Again, the notepad move from his hands to hers without stopping. Although this time he used more signs. And they were sitting next to each other.
Jun was taking a can of beer from the fridge when everything went black. He cursed the beer and leaved it back where he found it. Just when he had some time to relax, a freaking blackout. Just when he was about to re-read his conversations with Shizuka on his notepad.
His only option was to go to bed and sleep, anyway it was late already.
He was about to change his clothes when his phone rang, a text message. [Matsumoto-san there was a black out in the area, and I don’t like blackouts. Can you come here? I need company. I’m really scared] Jun didn’t read the message twice, he grabbed his jacket, put on his shoes and went out. In the way he answered her [ I’ll be there in 10 minutes ]
It took him 5 minutes to arrive. He didn’t had to look for the house for that long. He remembered the address clearly, and outside the two floor house, leaning against the concrete wall was Shizuka looking at her cellphone. Jun reached her in no time and patted her arm calling her attention. She looked up and Jun’s chest hurt at the sight of her scared eyes. - Are you alright? - She moved her head from side to side, the fear in her eyes growing. Jun pulled her to his chest, wrapping her with his arms. He felt her relax, taking deep breaths, grabbing Jun’s shirt. She wasn’t crying, but her body shivered and her skin was cold. It looked like a panic attack, or maybe the end of one. Jun noticed that the door of her house was open, so he pulled her with him. She didn’t resist, but as they got close to the house, shivers ran across her body more often. Jun pulled her away from his body a couple of centimeters so she could read his lips “Calm down, we are going to get inside, light up some candles and serve you a tea, the electricity will be back soon ok?” She nodded, and Jun saw her vulnerable for the first time.
So he pulled her back to his chest.
Jun walked her inside, using the light flash of his cellphone to find the way, because it was pitch dark. He closed the door behind them and walked her to the living room. Jun remembered that next to her records, she had a couple of big ass candles. He made the attempt of moving her away, and sat her in the couch, but she grabbed Jun’s shirt with much force, and shook her head. He didn’t need to learn sign language to know what that meant. So with Shizuka stuck to his chest he went to the kitchen to fetch some matches and then go back to the living room.
He was very worried for Shizuka, but it was also very cute. The stupid smile he was caring right now refused to leave. Thank god Shizuka couldn’t see him.
He light up the first candle, and the entire room was covered by a dim light. He light up the second one and the living room was now perfectly illuminated. Jun pated Shizuka’s back and she finally looked up, first at Jun and then around the room. She took a deep breath and moved away from Jun. He didn’t like that.
Shizuka sat on the couch and rested her head on her hands, Jun stared at her for a while and then remembered that tea he promised. He walked to the kitchen and Shizuka reacted “Matsumoto-san?!” Jun look at her with a smile and posed his right hand on his chest and slid it down -Calm down - Shizuka nodded, but followed him with her eyes wherever he moved. Did she thought that he would leave? Or that the darkness would swallowed him? Either way he didn’t mind feeling stared by her.
He prepared her the tea as fast as he could. And when her lips touched the hot liquid, Jun saw her smile, finally. “It’s very good” Jun sat next to her, unconsciously touching her shoulder. Shizuka grabbed her cellphone and started writing with fast fingers. [I’m very scared of the darkness, I think I have a phobia. That’s why I have a quite modern generator, as soon as the light goes out because of a blackout, it starts functioning, but this week I send it to maintenance, I should have stayed at an hotel, I just never thought that JUST today there was going to be a blackout, sorry if I bothered you]
[It’s alright, I’m glad you texted me]
[Thank you very much] Jun tough it twice before asking, but Shizuka has always been very open to him, so he went for it [Why are you so scared of the dark? Did something happened to you went you were little?]
[Yeah, I was deaf. It’s just that it was already a pain in the ass not been able to hear, so not been able to see it was too much. Each time I’m surrounded by darkness, because of a blackout for example, I feel trapped, I can’t see, I can’t hear, it freaks me out, it makes me feel lost, dizzy, l start shaking, crying, is horrible, I hate it] As she was writing, Jun saw how her eyes were scared again, and a new shiver run down her body. Jun caressed her shoulder again.
Jun called the electric company and got no answer. Then he checked on his cellphone, and there was a message saying that there were very serious complications in the system and the service will be back by 6am. When he said it to Shizuka, her face broke in to a scared grimace. She grabbed her cellphone again and taped really fast [Stay!] Jun looked at the message, then at Shizuka, then at the message again “Really?” She nodded, serious as never. Jun had absolutely no objection against it [Sorry If I’m being selfish, but I can’t stay alone, Sorry] Jun took away her cellphone and wrote his answer [I will stay, but stop apologizing, and let’s go get me some blankets] Shizuka nodded and grabbed Jun’s wrist taking him to a room in the second floor Jun turned on the flash light of his phone and light up their way. She took a set of sheets and two blankets and gave them to Jun. She leaved the room, pulling him with her and opened another door, Jun light up the room and saw a bed.
Damn. HER room.
Shizuka pulled a futon from under the bed and pointed it “Your room for today” Jun asked for a clarification “A futon where you can sleep” She answered, like nothing. Jun walked closer to her so she could see his hands - Here? In your room? -
“I know you are not going to attack me, so yeah, here in my room” They stared at each other for a while. She must be very scared, Jun though, to let a stranger sleep in her room. Or maybe he wasn’t a stranger anymore.
By the corner of his eyes he saw a couple of candles. He grabbed the matches form the pocket of his jacket and light up the three candles that were standing next to her bed, bathing the room with an orange light. Shizuka breathe with calm again. Jun called his attention again, sitting her on top of the bed, kneeling in front of her - Shizuka It’s alright, no more darkness see - And he pointed the light of his cellphone to her eyes, getting a shy laugh. And that made him breathe with calm again.
Shizuka didn’t even changed in to her pajamas, scared to get inside the bathroom alone. And Jun finds it adorable, for ones, he felt as if she needed him.
The sky started to get brighter passed 5 am. Shizuka was already asleep. Jun did his best to sleep but he was too distracted. Shizuka lent him one of her pillows, and it smelled like her, maybe better. He wanted to see all the cool furniture she had in her room, all the decoration. He even wanted to get in to her wardrobe and see all those beautiful pieces he had the chance to see during this time.
Time kept passing and his eyes refused to close. Anyway he wasn’t tired, and it was already Sunday, he could sleep the rest of the day.
At 6 am. Shizuka woke up, her face appeared in his line of vision, resting in the edge of the bed, flashing him a smile.
He wanted to kiss her so badly.
Comb the hair that was falling on her face with his fingers. Get under her blankets and hug her, maybe fool around a bit.
He flexed his legs, hiding the growing erection in between his legs. - Breakfast? - She asked, getting up from bed. She opened her curtains, put on a sweater, and walked down stairs.
Jun closed his eyes, and took three calm deep breaths, calming down his crutch.
On the bright side, he was now very sure that he actually liked Shizuka, and he wasn’t playing around.
So take that Nino, I’m going to start dating your beloved designer, he texted him latter.
That Monday, Shizuka got a rush of adrenaline when Jun ran inside the subway car, and stood very close to her. She stared at his beautiful lips because he was saying something and he seemed in a hurry “I have to get down in the next station, but I have to tell you something” Shizuka nodded, giving him all her attention “Let’s go out tonight, after work?” Shizuka felt the excitement in his words. His lips moved fast, and the air between them was sizzling. She wanted to reach his face, tell him that she would go out with him whenever he wanted, every day. But Jun was leaning, getting closer to her, and they were about to reach the next station so he needed an answer “Of course” Jun smiled, his relief showing. Shizuka smiled back at him and Jun got distracted, maybe they were announcing the arrival to the next station. He stared at her, uneasy, and meanwhile, the doors behind him started to open. Shizuka pointed at them, alerting Jun, but he ignored her. Instead, he leaned closer in to her personal space and dropped a chaste kiss on her cheek. She felt her throat tighten, a soft sight caught midway. Jun stared at her, waiting for her reaction, and she smiled.
And he smiled back, and her knees got weak, and her tummy felt funny.
And Jun was almost crushed by the closing doors.
A silly laugh possessed her. The warmth of Jun’s kiss was still lingering on her cheek, and the soft sight threatened to turn in to a girly high pitched scream.
But she kept it cool.
Not that cool. She texted Sho immediately, using way too many exclamation marks.
TBC
Author:su_ede
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.
After they shared that dinner, Jun felt how their relationship changed. They had inside jokes, common interests, and every Saturday he learn more and more signs to communicate with her.
Sign language was hard. He tended to confuse signs that where too similar, he got cramps on his fingers all the time and there were so many of them. Of course, Aiba had borrowed him several books and videos, and Shizuka helped him practice as much as she could.
When she asked him if Nino had borrowed him is book, he had to lie he said yes. Telling her that he was taking classes could be a bit weird. Very weird. After all, he was just her acquaintance, not her boss, not her closest friend not her boyfriend. A mere lunch buddy wouldn’t go as far as taking sign language classes.
But the dinner they shared a couple of weeks ago changed that.
That was for sure, at least for Jun.
Nino could call him a player and yeah, maybe he was. But all that practice taught him a lot about the complex meaning of woman’s body language. Jun knew what natural proximity meant, what blushed cheeks meant, what furtive stares at him meant. Shizuka wasn’t oblivious to him or his presence or to his approaches.
Every day he was more convinced that they were sailing in the same direction.
And that gave him hope, and energy to keep learning sign language, despite how tired his fingers were.
That Saturday after classes, he met with Shizuka. There was an exposition at a gallery in Shibuya. The new promotion of the university where she studied were exposing their last projects, and she always assisted, invited by her teachers. [ I like to see what younger generation are creating ] She had tell him the night before when they were talking trough LINE. Jun couldn’t care less about the new generations, but the idea of spend the saturday with her, was good enough.
Especially when he saw her arrive with her below the knee, black checkered skirt, a simple white t-shirt and black ballerinas. She looked somehow younger with her red hair in a ponytail and her black ray bans covering her brown eyes.
Damn she was so cute. He bit his lower lip, trying to hide the most probably perverted smile that was about to appear. Shizuka waved at him, asking how he was. Jun answered back with gestures, and asked her back. Shizuka said I’m good and plus described what she was doing before, which Jun could understand just by watching the movement of her hands. She went have breakfast with her parents at a bakery close to the gallery. Jun felt his chest fill with proudness when he realized how good he was getting with sign language.
Jun had a very good time at the exposition. It wasn’t very crowded, and has Shizuka had warned him yesterday, she took her time watching the pieces. With some pieces her eyes would light up, she would take notes about the name of the student and would tell what was good about the piece too Jun “The texture of the material” or “He thought about the anatomy of the hand”. Other times, a few times, but still, she would crunch her nose and frown. Jun would always ask her what was wrong “It’s a very selfish design. Fits only a few” or “It lacks personality” one time she only said “This is not good” and walked away from the garden set they were looking at. He wanted to ask her why it was so bad, but she was already busy looking the next piece. A baby stroller.
After an hour and a half, maybe more but Jun didn’t thought about time, they finished checking all the pieces, from backpacks to trailers. Jun was amazed. Maybe Shizuka didn’t like half of the pieces, but Jun found all of them pretty amazing.
Jun was going to invite Shizuka for lunch, but she won. - Let’s go grab lunch somewhere - he didn’t even answer, only walked next to her wherever she was taking him.
They ended up in a small pizzeria sharing a margarita pizza with two beers.
Again, the notepad move from his hands to hers without stopping. Although this time he used more signs. And they were sitting next to each other.
Jun was taking a can of beer from the fridge when everything went black. He cursed the beer and leaved it back where he found it. Just when he had some time to relax, a freaking blackout. Just when he was about to re-read his conversations with Shizuka on his notepad.
His only option was to go to bed and sleep, anyway it was late already.
He was about to change his clothes when his phone rang, a text message. [Matsumoto-san there was a black out in the area, and I don’t like blackouts. Can you come here? I need company. I’m really scared] Jun didn’t read the message twice, he grabbed his jacket, put on his shoes and went out. In the way he answered her [ I’ll be there in 10 minutes ]
It took him 5 minutes to arrive. He didn’t had to look for the house for that long. He remembered the address clearly, and outside the two floor house, leaning against the concrete wall was Shizuka looking at her cellphone. Jun reached her in no time and patted her arm calling her attention. She looked up and Jun’s chest hurt at the sight of her scared eyes. - Are you alright? - She moved her head from side to side, the fear in her eyes growing. Jun pulled her to his chest, wrapping her with his arms. He felt her relax, taking deep breaths, grabbing Jun’s shirt. She wasn’t crying, but her body shivered and her skin was cold. It looked like a panic attack, or maybe the end of one. Jun noticed that the door of her house was open, so he pulled her with him. She didn’t resist, but as they got close to the house, shivers ran across her body more often. Jun pulled her away from his body a couple of centimeters so she could read his lips “Calm down, we are going to get inside, light up some candles and serve you a tea, the electricity will be back soon ok?” She nodded, and Jun saw her vulnerable for the first time.
So he pulled her back to his chest.
Jun walked her inside, using the light flash of his cellphone to find the way, because it was pitch dark. He closed the door behind them and walked her to the living room. Jun remembered that next to her records, she had a couple of big ass candles. He made the attempt of moving her away, and sat her in the couch, but she grabbed Jun’s shirt with much force, and shook her head. He didn’t need to learn sign language to know what that meant. So with Shizuka stuck to his chest he went to the kitchen to fetch some matches and then go back to the living room.
He was very worried for Shizuka, but it was also very cute. The stupid smile he was caring right now refused to leave. Thank god Shizuka couldn’t see him.
He light up the first candle, and the entire room was covered by a dim light. He light up the second one and the living room was now perfectly illuminated. Jun pated Shizuka’s back and she finally looked up, first at Jun and then around the room. She took a deep breath and moved away from Jun. He didn’t like that.
Shizuka sat on the couch and rested her head on her hands, Jun stared at her for a while and then remembered that tea he promised. He walked to the kitchen and Shizuka reacted “Matsumoto-san?!” Jun look at her with a smile and posed his right hand on his chest and slid it down -Calm down - Shizuka nodded, but followed him with her eyes wherever he moved. Did she thought that he would leave? Or that the darkness would swallowed him? Either way he didn’t mind feeling stared by her.
He prepared her the tea as fast as he could. And when her lips touched the hot liquid, Jun saw her smile, finally. “It’s very good” Jun sat next to her, unconsciously touching her shoulder. Shizuka grabbed her cellphone and started writing with fast fingers. [I’m very scared of the darkness, I think I have a phobia. That’s why I have a quite modern generator, as soon as the light goes out because of a blackout, it starts functioning, but this week I send it to maintenance, I should have stayed at an hotel, I just never thought that JUST today there was going to be a blackout, sorry if I bothered you]
[It’s alright, I’m glad you texted me]
[Thank you very much] Jun tough it twice before asking, but Shizuka has always been very open to him, so he went for it [Why are you so scared of the dark? Did something happened to you went you were little?]
[Yeah, I was deaf. It’s just that it was already a pain in the ass not been able to hear, so not been able to see it was too much. Each time I’m surrounded by darkness, because of a blackout for example, I feel trapped, I can’t see, I can’t hear, it freaks me out, it makes me feel lost, dizzy, l start shaking, crying, is horrible, I hate it] As she was writing, Jun saw how her eyes were scared again, and a new shiver run down her body. Jun caressed her shoulder again.
Jun called the electric company and got no answer. Then he checked on his cellphone, and there was a message saying that there were very serious complications in the system and the service will be back by 6am. When he said it to Shizuka, her face broke in to a scared grimace. She grabbed her cellphone again and taped really fast [Stay!] Jun looked at the message, then at Shizuka, then at the message again “Really?” She nodded, serious as never. Jun had absolutely no objection against it [Sorry If I’m being selfish, but I can’t stay alone, Sorry] Jun took away her cellphone and wrote his answer [I will stay, but stop apologizing, and let’s go get me some blankets] Shizuka nodded and grabbed Jun’s wrist taking him to a room in the second floor Jun turned on the flash light of his phone and light up their way. She took a set of sheets and two blankets and gave them to Jun. She leaved the room, pulling him with her and opened another door, Jun light up the room and saw a bed.
Damn. HER room.
Shizuka pulled a futon from under the bed and pointed it “Your room for today” Jun asked for a clarification “A futon where you can sleep” She answered, like nothing. Jun walked closer to her so she could see his hands - Here? In your room? -
“I know you are not going to attack me, so yeah, here in my room” They stared at each other for a while. She must be very scared, Jun though, to let a stranger sleep in her room. Or maybe he wasn’t a stranger anymore.
By the corner of his eyes he saw a couple of candles. He grabbed the matches form the pocket of his jacket and light up the three candles that were standing next to her bed, bathing the room with an orange light. Shizuka breathe with calm again. Jun called his attention again, sitting her on top of the bed, kneeling in front of her - Shizuka It’s alright, no more darkness see - And he pointed the light of his cellphone to her eyes, getting a shy laugh. And that made him breathe with calm again.
Shizuka didn’t even changed in to her pajamas, scared to get inside the bathroom alone. And Jun finds it adorable, for ones, he felt as if she needed him.
The sky started to get brighter passed 5 am. Shizuka was already asleep. Jun did his best to sleep but he was too distracted. Shizuka lent him one of her pillows, and it smelled like her, maybe better. He wanted to see all the cool furniture she had in her room, all the decoration. He even wanted to get in to her wardrobe and see all those beautiful pieces he had the chance to see during this time.
Time kept passing and his eyes refused to close. Anyway he wasn’t tired, and it was already Sunday, he could sleep the rest of the day.
At 6 am. Shizuka woke up, her face appeared in his line of vision, resting in the edge of the bed, flashing him a smile.
He wanted to kiss her so badly.
Comb the hair that was falling on her face with his fingers. Get under her blankets and hug her, maybe fool around a bit.
He flexed his legs, hiding the growing erection in between his legs. - Breakfast? - She asked, getting up from bed. She opened her curtains, put on a sweater, and walked down stairs.
Jun closed his eyes, and took three calm deep breaths, calming down his crutch.
On the bright side, he was now very sure that he actually liked Shizuka, and he wasn’t playing around.
So take that Nino, I’m going to start dating your beloved designer, he texted him latter.
That Monday, Shizuka got a rush of adrenaline when Jun ran inside the subway car, and stood very close to her. She stared at his beautiful lips because he was saying something and he seemed in a hurry “I have to get down in the next station, but I have to tell you something” Shizuka nodded, giving him all her attention “Let’s go out tonight, after work?” Shizuka felt the excitement in his words. His lips moved fast, and the air between them was sizzling. She wanted to reach his face, tell him that she would go out with him whenever he wanted, every day. But Jun was leaning, getting closer to her, and they were about to reach the next station so he needed an answer “Of course” Jun smiled, his relief showing. Shizuka smiled back at him and Jun got distracted, maybe they were announcing the arrival to the next station. He stared at her, uneasy, and meanwhile, the doors behind him started to open. Shizuka pointed at them, alerting Jun, but he ignored her. Instead, he leaned closer in to her personal space and dropped a chaste kiss on her cheek. She felt her throat tighten, a soft sight caught midway. Jun stared at her, waiting for her reaction, and she smiled.
And he smiled back, and her knees got weak, and her tummy felt funny.
And Jun was almost crushed by the closing doors.
A silly laugh possessed her. The warmth of Jun’s kiss was still lingering on her cheek, and the soft sight threatened to turn in to a girly high pitched scream.
But she kept it cool.
Not that cool. She texted Sho immediately, using way too many exclamation marks.
TBC