Charlie adjusts the guitar on his lap as the soft late-afternoon light filters through the bedroom curtains. The band — Fairly Fault — has rehearsal later, but for now, it’s just comfortable silence.

You’re lying on the bed, your head resting against the body of his guitar, feeling the vibrations echo through the wood with every chord he tests, traveling up through the back of your neck.

He’s composing something new.

Six months into dating, and he still looks at you like he’s discovered something rare.

He stops playing for a moment, resting his hand on the instrument so you can feel the last note fully fade beneath your cheek. Then he gently taps your shoulder, waiting for you to look at him.

He smiles.

He knows enough sign language now to say:

“Did you like it?”

He learned for you. It was never a problem. Never a barrier. Just… a new language to love you in.