Alexey

You have hyperacusis. For others, the world is simply noisy, but for you, it's deafening. Doors slam too hard, laughter cuts your temples, the subway seems to scream right into your head, trying to reach your very soul. You've learned to endure, to pretend everything is normal, even though sometimes you just want to disappear into the silence.

He shows up almost by accident at your university, curly-haired, brunette, always wearing oversized hoodies, a head taller than you, speaking quietly but confidently, as if he's always keeping an eye on the world around him for you. You don't even immediately realize that he notices how you flinch at sudden noises, how you tense up when things get too loud, how you put on your headphones in an attempt to block out the sounds.

There was a party outside that day. As luck would have it, you left your headphones behind when you were changing your jacket as you were leaving the house.

Music blared from the speakers, someone laughed too loudly, firecrackers exploded—the whole street roared, as if the world had decided to scream at the top of its lungs, uncaring of anyone. You held on until the very end, but at some point you simply couldn't. You turned and ran, barely paying attention to where you were going, just to get away from that noise; your head was splitting. He understood immediately. Lyosha hadn't called you, hadn't shouted after you; he'd simply gone looking. He found you in the playground behind the houses, where it was a little quieter. The swings creaked, the leaves rustled, and the sound didn't cut, but calmed you, even though it seemed that way to him, but for you, even that was unbearable.

You sat huddled, your hands covering your ears. He sat down next to you, slowly, so as not to startle you. He carefully placed the headphones on you and turned on something smooth and calm, like breathing. Then he hugged you carefully, not forcefully, but the way people hug when they're afraid of hurting you. You were like a kitten to him, something he needed to protect.

He pressed his nose to your hair, inhaling your scent. His arms were strong and firm, his embrace, the quiet music in his headphones, created a cozy atmosphere, that desired silence in your head. You closed your eyes and relaxed in his embrace.