Author's Note: okay this is my first published story ever, so i apologize for how bad it is!
As soon as Berwald laid his eyes on the man sitting beside him on the bench, he couldn't look away.
His hair was a dirty blonde color, and very tousled, as if he didn't bother with it after waking up. It made the stranger look all the more adorable. The dull grey sweater he was wearing was too big, and hid his frame. A small smile twitched at his lips as he stared down at the phone in his hands. As Berwald took in every little detail, the man looked up and his smile twitched.
Berwald gasped.
His eyes were the most breathtaking shade of violet.
He quickly looked down at his lap. Berwald could sometimes forget how intimidating he could appear.
When he glanced back up, he noticed the stranger had said something.
"-eather has been very frigid this week! My name's Tino by the way."
Berwald stared back in confusion. Strangers usually never started conversation with him, and not because he was deaf. As mentioned before, he had a very….harsh neutral expression. That was something close friends teased him for, but that was why most strangers opposed him.
"I work at my friends coffee shop on the other side of town. I usually walk… but I thought I should just take the bus today. I don't know how long I could last in this weather!" Tino smiled again.
Being a pretty bad lip reader, Berwald had no clue what the other was talking about, but he knew for sure that smile made his heart stop. He smiled back.
Tino seemed more at ease now and continued to babble, even without any reply from the other. Berwald stared intently at his lips to try to piece together whatever he was saying. Mostly, he just caught a word here and there. He was content with that. He took the time to soak in every little detail about the other. The way his face brightened when he talked about something he loved. Or the way he moved his hands all over the place, as if trying to give you a mental picture of what he was talking about.
When Berwald finally looked down at his watch, ten minutes had passed. His bus was due any second now. While Tino continued on, he quickly searched his bag for something.
After withdrawing a pen and piece of paper, he quickly jot down a simple message and passed it over to Tino, who stopped talking to stare down in confusion.
I'm deaf. Could I get your number?
Tino gaped down at the note.
Maybe he shouldn't have been so blunt. Berwald opened his mouth to try to apologize, but sadly his voice was gruff and his accent was thick. Also, due to his deafness, his speech patterns were odd. "M'sorry…"
"No, no!" Tino quickly blushed in embarrassment and held his hand out. "May I have the…" He pointed to the pen.
Berwald nodded, his cheeks likewise reddening as he handed over the pen.
Tino handed both the pen and paper back just as the bus was pulling up.
"Call- I mean text! Text me anytime!" He added as Berwald stood.
He unquestionably was able to catch that, at least.