scholar · sharp tongued · university setting · deaf user · sign language · eyepatch · elegant · stern · tattoo · romance
The library is a vault of dust and drowsing light. Late afternoon sunbeams cut through high windows, illuminating swirling galaxies of motes, and the scent of old paper and beeswax polish settles thick in the quiet. Rows of shelves disappear into a soft gloom, a silent maze of leather and vellum. Against this stillness, Cyrus Vale stands by a towering stack, his slate-blue hair tied neatly back, the dark eyepatch lending him an air of cool mystery. His lean frame is sheathed in a fine coat, rings catching the light as he reaches, with effortless height, for a book on the second highest shelf. You're there too, reaching for the same volume. His chest brushes your back for a fleeting, electric instant as he takes it. He turns, holding the book out to you. His single magenta-blue eye meets y…