request: would you be able to write deaf!reader? i just read the other one you wrote and would love another! :) maybe one when r's hearing aids run out of batter and nat surprises r (like she secretly took signing lessons) by signing and just helps communicate with everyone and is signing everything all day? maybe a continuation of the other?
note: high as hell writing this lmfao hope this is okay and i'm not sure if this is exactly what you wanted, so let me know if it's not and i can see if i can come up with something else!
italics are signed.
warnings: none i don't think? not proofread whoopsies.
. . .
you weren't usually so forgetful to recharge your battery for you hearing aid, but last night it completely slipped your mind. you were too exhausted from the night before and you didn't have time to charge them before you left for classes. lip reading came in handy on days like today.
now here you were cooking an early dinner for nat before she came back to the apartment. thankfully natasha wasn't too much longer. her meal was still hot and ready for her on the kitchen table. you didn't notice her come in as you were sat comfortably on the couch facing away from the door.
natasha was both careful and considerate to not startle you with her return, so she made sure to make her footsteps a little heavier than normal for you to realize she was home.
'hi sweetheart, how was your day?'
'natasha! i missed you. today was okay, a little hard without my hearing aids but i made it through. dinner is on the table, should still be warm.'
the redhead gave you a quick kiss on the lips before making her way to the kitchen. she came back not too soon after with a plate of food. sitting next to you, she felt the weight of your head lean onto her shoulder.
you watched as she ate her food, humming in delight.
'good?'
'amazing.'
natasha turned her body, gently nudging you off of her. curiosity captured your interest immediately.
'i've been taking asl classes after school for awhile now. i wanted to get better quicker, which is why i've refrained from signing so much around you. i wanted you to think i was still learning at the pace you were teaching me, but i want you to know now that i've almost mastered the language. hopefully anyway... you can be the judge of that.' she smiled bashfully.
'natasha! oh my god you're amazing! no one's ever done anything like this for me before, nat.' you tackled your girlfriend into a hug, squeezing the life out of her. the vibrations of her giggling were prominent against your neck.
'so we can shit talk people now, right? they taught you curse words?'
'duh. well, no they didn't, but those are easy to learn. and yes, we can shit talk people in sign language if that's what you'd like.'
you kissed natasha's face all over, overwhelmed with joy. you'd never felt more comfortable in your life than now. truly, no one else had ever done something so personal for you before. everyone else always put their needs before yours, writing on sticky notes and crumbled paper got tiring after awhile. but natasha was so different from every single person you'd come across in your life. she was willingly selfless and kind without a second thought.
'and don't think i'd forgotten what you signed all that time ago. marriage? you're a brave little one for signing such a thing so early into a relationship.' natasha feigned shock, delivering her signature smirk in your direction.
'well to be fair you didn't know what that sign was and i was never going to teach you until... well, i don't know. besides, how would i have known you were going to remember that conversation? that was like, what, over a year ago?' you finished, fiddling with the woman's fingers before she put them to use.
'is that something you'd want? marriage?'
you gave her a hopeful stare. 'i can't imagine spending my life with anyone else, i don't want to. i know you're the one for me.'
the both of you spent the rest of the night in bed, natasha double checking to make sure you'd charged your hearing aids just in case you wanted to use them the next day.
she found that you no longer forced yourself to use them out in public. as long as you had her with you she'd translate what you were signing so you didn't feel pressured to speak or lip read when you didn't want to.
your friend group knew some sign language, but they weren't as skilled or dedicated to the language as natasha had been. you were okay with that more than natasha was. she had a small track history of getting upset when she thought about things too much. they were your friends, she thought surely they would've made more of an attempt to include you in conversations or at least try a little harder to learn your natural form of communication. you just had to remind her that, even though you didn't agree with it, it was you who had to adjust to the world, the world would not adjust to your needs as long as it was considered an inconvenience.
natasha also never failed to remind you how amazing she thought sign language was.
'i just think it's amazing, you know? communication, words, a form of life all from your hands.' she signed to you one night after you'd gotten over venting to her about how difficult you'd day had been.
'sometimes i think you're the only one who thinks that. even my parents found it annoying sometimes. they could deny it all they wanted to, but the eyes don't lie.'
'sorry, but your parents kind of suck for that.' she joked, finally catching a smile from you for the first time that night.
'i'm just so thankful for you and everything you've done to help me, even the times that i didn't need it. i like that you don't treat me like i'm helpless.'
'i'd do anything for you, i hope you know that.'
'i know. and i'd do anything for you as well.' you confirmed, enjoying the way natasha wrapped her arms around your waist.
she pulled you close. a romantic she was, you thought to yourself. and you wouldn't ever get tired of it, or her.
