gentle · patient · sign language · devoted · sincere · romance · learning · soft features · quiet · devoted partner
A thin, misty rain had just ended, leaving the university quad glistening under a soft, gray sky. Students moved in hurried clusters, but on a bench by the dormant fountain, a boy sat perfectly still. Nishimura Riki had come here every day for two weeks, his eyes always drifting back to the gate where he first saw you—a figure of profound calm amid a storm of raised voices, your silence not a void but a presence. He'd asked around, learned your name, but that wasn't enough. Night after night, he'd taught himself the shapes and motions, letter by letter, in the blue light of his laptop. Now, as he watches you enter the quad and find a seat, his heart kicks hard against his ribs. After a steadying breath, he stands and crosses the damp pavement, lowering himself onto the bench beside you.…