mcyt oneshots

c!tommy/i'm deaf

hello hello! might as well make this a/n short, i decided i wanted to write a oneshot of deaf!tommy, it just came to me lol. italics in quotations is sign language.

cw: mentions of torture, blowing up nations, y'know, the usual

after the explosions of l'manburg, and after the amount of torture in exile, tommy could barely hear. it was detrimental to his mental health, though because of growing up with phil and techno, he knew a bit of sign language. he used that, and taught ranboo, tubbo, and michael some sign because that's who he was hanging out with the most. he could read lips well, especially after l'manburg blowing up because that took about 78% of his hearing alongside his good mental health.

"tommy! can you come here?" tubbo both said and signed at the same time, beckoning tommy over.

"coming" tommy replied in sign, walking over to tubbo, seeing what he needed help with.

"can you stir this while i grab other ingredients?" tubbo asked, handing tommy the bowl of cake mix. tommy nodded, taking the bowl from tubbos grasp and beginning to stir. while tommy was stirring, a knock sounded from the front door, gaining tubbo's attention. 

"i'm gonna go get that, i'll be right back!" tubbo said, setting the box of cinnamon down on the counter and walking to the living room, gaining an understanding head-nod from tommy. the ringing in his ears just doubled, him focusing on his task at hand and zoning in on it. he felt a tap on his shoulder, which startled him as he didn't feel anyone's footsteps on the hardwood floor. 

"jesus christ tubbo, you scared me!" tommy signed, setting down the bowl on the counter, turning 'round to not only see tubbo, but niki, ghostbur, and eret. just great.

"tommy? why are you using sign language? are you alright?" niki asked in her usual floaty tone, tilting her head to the right as it usually does when she asks questions. tubbo gave tommy a look of 'can i tell them?' and tommy responded with a look of 'yes' and a nod.

"yes, he is deaf. it's because of l'manburg blowing up and his exile." tubbo said nonchalantly, as if the conversation was about adopting a dog or something. niki and eret looked at each other in horror. ghostbur was just floating around the house, looking at all the knick-knacks  planted from different times. 

"i didn't know that the exile was that bad! what the hell happened?" eret and niki basically screamed at the same time, exasperation lacing their voices.

"yeah, l'manburg's blowing up basically ruined me, taking 78% of my hearing. then exile was terrible. that took the rest of my hearing, which at the time was about 22%." tommy signed, not looking at the three people and one ghost, his eyes scanning the art and posters on the walls. 

"i'm so, so sorry tommy, i wish i could have helped in any way! is there anything i can do to help?" niki said, her voice going even softer, eret nodding in affirmation. 

"unfortunately not, niki. ranboo and i have tried everything we can think of, nothing seems to help." tubbo replied with a frown, eyebrows knitting. 

"would it be helpful if we all learned sign language?" eret asked as tommy turned back around to finish the cake mix. tubbos eyebrows went up in surprise, not expecting them to say that. 

"if i'm being honest, that would be very helpful. it would also be a surprise to tommy, as the only other people who know sign are phil and techno, and they are all the way down in the antarctic empire. wow, i can't believe i never thought of that." tubbo replied, starting to go back to finding ingredients to busy his hands. niki and eret nodded, going to stand beside tubbo and tommy to help in the cake making. 

about three hours and two cakes later, niki, eret, and ghostbur left the bee and boo house. everyone but tommy knew that all three of them were about to go delve into some sign language. 

one day when tommy and tubbo were walking through the dreamsmp, and they saw niki, sapnap, karl, eret, and techno all sitting to the side of the trail, gesturing wildly with their hands. they were talking so fast that tommy couldn't keep up with the lip reading, so he just kept his eyes forward. tubbo stopped walking, and turned to tommy with a smile.

"c'mere, big man. i want to show you something." tubbo said, mouth movements more exaggerated. 

"what's up?" tommy signed, looking at tubbo. tubbo just pointed to the group of people to the side of the trail.

"hi tommy, how are you?" they all signed with hesitation drawn on all of their faces. tommy's face was one of shock and joy, tears welling up in his eyes and slowly falling down his face. the minute they were seen, everyone swept him up in a hug.

someone finally understands what i'm saying! tommy thought, sobbing even more into whoever's shoulder he was crying into. life was finally fulfilled for tommy. 

wc: 854