What Love Sounds Like | TayNew AU

Part 1

A/N:

italicized dialogues indicate that the character is using sign language to speak

(check tags for content warning/s 🤧)

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TAY's POV

I was standing in front of the stove, stirring the pasta I had prepared into a creamy tomato sauce when two muscular arms wrapped around my middle. I instantly grinned as I turned around in my husband's arms, not at all surprised by the gesture. New returned my smile, his eyes narrowing to slits as he looked over my shoulder.

"Smells good," he said as he took a step back and leaned against the counter next to the stove, allowing me to finish preparing dinner.

"It'll be ready in a few minutes, love," I sign back, furrowing my brows as I got a good look at him. "You look tired."

"Geez, thanks Te," he said with a grin before playfully hitting my chest. "Long day."

I gave him a sympathetic smile before stepping away from the hot stove to retrieve the bottle of white wine I had bought on my way home from work out of the fridge. It's his favorite, and I adored seeing how excited he gets when he sees the familiar bottle. I then took two wine glasses from the cupboard and uncorked the bottle before pouring a glass for each of us, making sure to fill New's glass to the rim.

I watched him chuckle as I handed him the glass. Before taking a long sip of the bitter-sweet liquid, he signs, "You're the best."

It only took a few more minutes before dinner is served, and I wish I could hear New's satisfied moan as he took his first bite.

"Tastes amazing, love. Is this a brand-new recipe?" he asked, mouthing or saying — I'm not sure which — the words as he was signing, something New has done for as long as I've known him.

"It's a popular dish at the restaurant, but I've never had the chance to prepare it for you," I said before going on to tell him about my day. New pays complete attention to me while I use sign language to talk to him, which is something I've always admired about him.

He then gave me a warm smile as he told me about his day. He's a kindergarten teacher at the local school, and he loved to tell me about all the hilarious and cute things his students did during the day. The way his eyes twinkled when he talked about the kids told me how much he enjoyed his job. His smile doesn't even fade when he got up to show me the colorful fingerprints left by paint on the back of his favorite jeans.

After our plates were emptied and both of our tummies were full, New grabbed the dishes and carried them to the sink to be washed later. It's Friday night, neither of us wanted to clean, and the dishes can easily wait until tomorrow morning in the sink.

Both of us made our way to the living room, where I grabbed my book and New flipped through the channels on the television. I only watch a movie or a television show with him on rare occasions. I knew New wouldn't mind turning the subtitles on for me, but it's often tough for me to focus on the plot when I'm reading them the entire time. I'd much rather read a good book under a blanket with New's warm bare feet pressed against my thigh.

I became absorbed in the book I was reading, only noticing the passing of time when I looked down at my watch, which had both hands pointing to twelve. New was fast asleep next to me, one of his arms dangling limply off the sofa, and his mouth wide open.

Before getting up, I smiled fondly as I tucked my bookmark between the pages of my book and set it to the side. I carefully pried the TV remote from New's slack grip, turning off the television, and reaching over to sweep my husband into my arms.

Carrying New to bed was something I'd grown very good at throughout our five-year marriage. This is how most of our evenings ended, and I enjoyed the familiarity of it all.

As I walked up the stairs to our bedroom, I softly smiled when New began squirming.

Without the typical signing, I struggled to grasp what he was saying as I watched him murmur something sleepily.

"Just bringing you to bed, love," I said, voice rough and gravelly from not using it very often.

I knew how to talk since I had learned at an early age thanks to years of speech therapy and my parents' perseverance. But, although all of my loved ones, including New, told me it was quite clear and more than okay, I'd never been too secure in my voice. Nonetheless, I preferred to use it only with people I trusted, New fell into that group a few months after we began dating.

New gently grabbed my face, making sure I was directly looking at him as he mouthed, "I love you."

~*~*~*~

NEW's POV

"I love you, too," Tay said easily, and my heart flipped in my chest at his words. Hearing Tay's voice is still a big deal for me, and I consider myself lucky that he trusted me enough to let me hear his beautiful, mellow voice now and then.

As he carefully placed me down on our bed, I flashed him a dopey smile before he slid in behind me a few seconds later.

~*~*~*~

TAY's POV (flashback)

New and I had met several years ago at a charity event. It was a dinner event that I had volunteered to cook for when I first started my job as a chef. It was also for a good cause: to collect funds for children with cancer.

I was a little nervous before going since it was my first time attending an event of this nature, and I was hoping that the fact that I was deaf wouldn't be a problem for the organizers. When I got to the venue and was met by New, most of my concerns vanished. He was without a doubt the most beautiful man I had ever seen, and his warm and inviting smile as he introduced himself said it all. When I kept staring blankly, his smile started to fade, and it was then I realized I must be looking like a complete moron.

"I'm Tay," I signed slowly, fingerspelling my name. "Sorry, I'm deaf," I added, pointing to my ear to make my point come across.

"Oh, you're the chef, aren't you?" he asked, catching me off guard when he signed back at me. Even if his signing wasn't perfect, it felt like a miracle to me.

I nodded eagerly and trailed a few steps behind him as he walked me through to the kitchen to start preparing for the event.

We didn't get to chat much beyond that because we were both so preoccupied with our assigned tasks, but I made sure to get his phone number before leaving — even if the message was a little hard to get across.

When New finally realized what I was asking for, he blushed beautifully, and I walked away with a big grin on my face and his phone number written on a small piece of paper in my back pocket.

Although it had just been two weeks since the event, New's signing appeared to have substantially improved the following time I met him, which was in a small café. Then, with each date, it became better and better until he was able to have a whole discussion with me in sign language.

That's when I realized New was the one. He didn't mind the language barrier; in fact, he welcomed it. He went out of his way to study and practice a completely new language to communicate with me. With New, I felt comfortable and acknowledged, and I didn't feel compelled to explain myself or alter in any way. New was the same way with everyone, so sweet and caring, and it only took a few weeks for me to fall head over heels for him.

We didn't care what other people thought as long as we both knew how much we loved each other, and I proposed only six months after we started dating. He had even sobbed when he first heard my voice after I had asked him to marry me. Our wedding had been a wonderful moment, a beautiful celebration of our love for one another in front of all of our friends and families.

Even today, five years later, I continue to find new ways to fall even more in love with him every day, and I hoped with all my heart that this would never cease.

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A/N
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