au: deaf!wook

a/n: inspired by this post on tumblr! ^^ It just seemed to fit these two perfectly, idk  ;~;

They first met in the university library. Jongwoon, most grudgingly, found himself wandering through the long aisles, searching for some books to use for a big research paper that he’d been putting off for weeks. He’d just about given up and gone back to his dorm to crash on his bed when he caught sight of a figure putting books back on the shelves and, mistaking him for a student worker, approached him with a question.

“Hey.”

He frowned a little when the shorter man didn’t respond, but tried again, louder this time, thinking that he just hadn’t been heard.

“Hey.”

Still no response. The boy just ran his fingers over the spines of the books, beginning to walk in the opposite direction down the aisle.

“Hey!” This time Jongwoon grabbed his shoulder, whirling him around, but froze immediately when he saw the fear in the other’s eyes; he watched as the boy began to shrink away from him, obviously terrified.

“W-Wait, I’m not going to hurt…” He trailed off when the boy shook his head slowly, very shyly pointing to his ear. Jongwoon’s mind whirled. Was he—

The thought hadn’t even fully formed in his mind when the other suddenly dashed away, clutching the book in his hand tightly. Jongwoon stared after him, something tugging uncomfortably at the corner of his heart.

---

Jongwoon began spending an unusually large amount of time in the library, hoping that he would see the boy again so that he could at least apologize. (As a result, he also began getting a lot more of his homework done, which surprised both his friends and his professors.) It had been nearly two weeks since that day when he finally spotted that small figure making his way toward the back of the library.

He grabbed his bag, clutching a pencil and notepad tightly in his hand as he hurried after him. He gently tapped on the boy’s shoulder, immediately holding up the notepad when he turned around.

Hi. My name’s Jongwoon. I’m really sorry about the other day. I didn’t know you were Honestly, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.

He watched nervously as the boy’s eyes flew across the paper, but felt himself relax when he smiled. The shorter man took the pad from his hand gently and pulled a pen out of his pocket, scribbling something quickly before passing the notepad back to him.

I’m Ryeowook. It’s okay; you didn’t know. I’m sorry I overreacted.

Jongwoon thought for a second before he slowly wrote ‘Do you want to go get some coffee or something?’ but Ryeowook nodded immediately, pointing toward the library doors; he grabbed the taller man’s arm and  began pulling him gently toward them, and Jongwoon felt a grin overtake his face.

---

The two started spending a lot more time together. Sometimes they would sit in the library, Ryeowook hunting down the right books for Jongwoon to use in a paper he was writing or getting his hyung to proofread one of his own essays. Sometimes they would meet in Jongwoon’s off-campus apartment and play games while sipping on hot chocolate (Ryeowook always ended up passed out on his couch before long and Jongwoon, smiling, would tuck a blanket around him as he slept). Sometimes they would just wander around campus and the surrounding city, looking at the buildings and pointing out all the little things they hadn’t noticed before.

Sometimes they used pen and paper to communicate but, the more time they spent around one another, the more they realized that they didn’t need to. Often, a small gesture or a facial expression or a gentle touch said more than words ever could.

---

They were sitting in a small, off-campus coffee shop nearly a year after they’d first met; Ryeowook was diligently working on his homework for the next day and Jongwoon was doing everything in his power to distract him, including writing ‘talk to me I’m bored!’ on a piece of paper several times and plopping it down on top of the younger man’s textbooks.

Finally, just to humor him, Ryeowook glanced up from his notes, putting down his pencil with a frown.

‘Fine. Do you like anyone?’ he signed quickly, forgetting momentarily that Jongwoon wasn’t fluent in sign language and probably had no idea what he’d just said.

To his surprise, Jongwoon suddenly got very still and stared at him sadly for a moment. ‘I do,’ he signed back, secretly delighting in how Ryeowook’s eyes widened in shock. He’d been learning sign language persistently for the past year, wanting to surprise his friend, and this, he realized, was the perfect time to do it. ‘But it makes me sad that he’s never heard my voice.’

The younger man felt tears almost immediately well up in his eyes and his bottom lip quivered slightly. ‘Stupid.’ He sniffled, reaching up to wipe away his tears before he continued. ‘I don’t need to hear your voice to love you.’

Jongwoon’s face broke into a genuine smile and he reached over, gently taking one of Ryeowook’s hands before leaning across the table and, very hesitantly, pressing his lips against the younger’s. He felt Ryeowook smile against his lips and his heart soared.

---

The year Ryeowook graduated from University, he moved in with Jongwoon. They shared the small apartment for slightly over ten months before Jongwoon came home one day, grabbing the younger’s arm and leading him out of the door. They drove toward the edge of town, stopping in front of a small, cute house with a sweeping backyard; a red sign, proudly declaring ‘SOLD’ was staked in the middle of the grass. Ryeowook looked up at Jongwoon, his unspoken question shining in his eyes, and he grinned widely in excitement when his hyung nodded. He threw his arms around the older man, kissing him softly before dragging him toward the front door, desperate to see the inside of their new home.

---

It didn’t take long for the house to feel like a home; Ryeowook went to work immediately, filling it up with pictures of the two of them and all of their favorite things. Jongwoon could tell that his boyfriend really loved their new house by the way he fluttered around from room to room, constantly in amazement that all of this was his, and the way he would sometimes stop whatever he was doing to hug him tightly, nuzzling his face in the older man’s neck.

Sometimes people who’d just moved to town would ask him how he lived with a deaf man. Jongwoon would look at them and smile, catching them off guard.

“Without words.”

They didn’t need them.