Y/n walked through the lonely streets, looking for somewhere to go. Guided by the moonlight, they felt themselves trip over something. As y/n was greeted by the pavement, they saw that the something was actually someone. As the unknown figure came into the light, the first thing that y/n saw was a crooked smile.

"Well aren't you cute huh? Stumbling around at this time of night. Were you looking for some company?" Smirked a drunk middle-aged man.

"I'm not cute, and I'm not in the mood for your nonsense right now. So why don't you go on home and find some better company in a bowl of ice cream?" Taunted y/n.

He didn't seem to like that answer, and started to wildly curse at y/n. As if he wasn't trying to hit on they before. He was your typical "nice" guy, aka a trickster. Y/n wouldn't back down after being disrespected in such a way, but the situation started to escalate.

"You filthy wench! How dare you try and defy me. You should be delighted that I decided to give you some sort of interest!" He snarled in a fit of rage.

As y/n was about to fire back a heated retort, someone new stepped in the scene. Just as the drunken man whined back his hand to slap y/n, a man with dead fish eyes grabbed his hand and twisted it the other way. The middle-aged man cried out in agony, but he had got what he deserved.

The mysterious man was as silent as he was deadly, but seemed to have a cool air around him. He was a bit short, but the sword strapped to his back spoke volumes of his skill. Y/n stood in awe of their rescuer, and quickly jumped at the chance to thank him. However y/n missed something important about the rugged swordsman. This man was a certified tag, a deaf tag.

A tag is short for twilight, which means that they are classified as superhuman. Not that he would try and explain anyway. So he tried to leave the scene right after his work was done. But y/n chased after him, desperate to know more about their hero in black clothing.

But because Nicolas only communicates through sign language, he handed her one of his business cards. Y/n learned that his name was Nicolas Brown, a deaf mercenary working as one of the Handyman. A higher ranked tag, but a tag's still a tag.

After being rescued, y/n couldn't care less about the details. All they could see in front of them was a heroic guy, that they had fallen for harder than construction bricks. Once they made it back to the Handyman's office, Nicolas tried to say his goodbyes, thinking his master Worick might be there. But just didn't have the heart to turn y/n away.

So he let y/n inside, and looked for a spare futon. Thankfully Worick wasn't there, which meant he probably was out with his girlfriend Alex. While he was searching for a temporary bed, y/n looked around to see a cozy couch, a fridge full of alcoholic beverages, and a dusty desk with a home phone on top. It was cramped but comfortable enough to call home.

Walking towards the the desk, y/n spotted an tiny bookshelf with some books on sign language. They grabbed the first one they saw, and buried themselves into the pages of sketched hands. When Nicolas came back with the worn out futon and bedsheets, he was surprised to see y/n trying to learn how to sign in order to understand him.

Nicolas smiled to himself at the sweet act, then tried to catch their attention. He signed to y/n,

"Find anything interesting in that book?"

Y/n almost dropped the book, startled by his sudden appearance. Y/n signed back,

"Y-a-s  v-a-r-y" Y/n blushed.

Nicolas laughed and shook his head,

"Your sign language sucks." He signed with a smile.

Y/n raised their eyebrows to say,

"Why thank you good sir." In a sarcastic tone.

Only to cover their mouth in disbelief. Trying to apologize for not using JSL like they were before.
Nicolas smirked at this, then sat down on the red couch. Patting the seat next to him, trying to entice me into sitting down. Thus, he continued to use the proper hand gestures of sign to say,

"Most people don't even try to understand me, let alone how to communicate with me. Just because I don't talk the way others do doesn't mean that I can't communicate. I mean I can talk, but I just choose not to because I can't hear myself speaking. People really try to complain about hearing themselves talk, when I can't hear anything at all."

Y/n gasped at this reveal, touched by Nicolas' vulnerability. But also was feeling angry at those who never even tried to understand him better. Y/n didn't know what to say, so they didn't say a word. Instead they leaned forward, and wrapped their arms around him.

Nicolas froze for a moment, unsure of what to do, but slowly patted y/n's back. It was an awkward response, but it was a genuine one. They stayed like that for a few minutes, then quickly separated themselves to get ready for bed.

As Nicolas went to turn out the lights and go sleep in his room, he felt a slight tug on his shirt. He whipped around to see y/n in a flustered state. Nicolas was confused by this, then was shown a scrap of paper that said,

"Please stay with me a bit longer. I feel safe when I'm with you."

The Handyman's face turned red with embarrassment, after all no one had told him this before. Looking down at their hand, he bashfully held it in his own. Then led y/n to his room, to sleep for the night.

"I promise I won't do anything you don't like, so please sleep here." Nicolas signed with shaky hands.

"I trust you Nicolas, may your sleep be sweet." Y/n whispered.

"Good night y/n, sleep well." He signed one last time.

As they shifted under the covers, they fell asleep to each other's snores. Neither noticing the sun starting to rise in the distance, and the radiant light shined through the blinds.