From Your Wires to Your Core

Signs

He couldn't stop thinking about it. It had been around five when he'd returned to the DPD and let Fowler know about Connor staying behind a while longer. He'd been sitting there for a solid hour, guilt eating away at his insides. He couldn't get the zero model out of his head. The way he'd looked so sad and desperate as he'd moved his hands, trying to speak to him. What kind of detective am I when I can't even communicate with a victim? His fingers twitched in agitation as he rested his elbows on the desk. This was the first time it had ever happened. What if it had been a deaf human? How scared would they have felt? Stuck with blinded senses and unable to communicate? He opened an internet tab and started browsing YouTube. There were plenty of tutorials, but that seemed a little too impersonal. Too difficult to pick up alone.

"Sign language? You going deaf, Reed?" Hank teased lightly as he walked by with a mug of coffee in his hand. He was clearly taking the long way back to his desk on purpose, spending a few more seconds on his feet after sitting down in meetings all day. It had been rough. He was glad he hadn't had to deal with Perkins directly. He probably would have punched him again if that were the case. Luckily, it was all officially over now. He was fully reinstated. The mark would go on his record, of course, but it wasn't like he didn't have a bunch of other disciplinaries already.

"No, I just...I think it would be a good idea to learn it, you know? Just in case," Reed replied almost questioningly. It was odd for him to seek any form of approval from other people these days. Hank took that as a positive sign as he shrugged his larger shoulders. Most of his largeness came from his weight these days, but he'd slowly turned over a new leaf to change that. Connor had insisted on it, pointing out he'd have to retire sooner if he didn't shape up. There was no way Hank wanted to retire or be bound to a desk for the rest of his career.

"There's certainly no harm in it, and God knows it's a better hobby than going to those damned AAL meetings!" Hank retorted gruffly, watching Reed nod his agreement. He'd long since parted ways with the AAL at this point. He hadn't interacted with any of their members in over five months. Until recently, he'd been busy with Connor's classes in the evenings, but now that he'd passed the course, he had a few hours free for something else. Usually, he'd just take cases home, but maybe learning a new skill would be more fulfilling. More useful. Sure, a lot of deaf people got those fancy implants these days, but there were still a few who shunned technology. Then there were people like that android, who were mute and used sign language to communicate.

Hank returned to his desk, leaving Reed to consider his options as he looked up various online courses. He wasn't sure that they'd work for him, but he did stumble across a few local tutors. He sent out a few emails before getting to work, surprised as he got a reply a few minutes later. It was a young woman. A university student who lived locally. He messaged her back to set up an appointment to meet and discuss his needs. He was lucky to find her free that evening. He felt a new surge of enthusiasm as he returned to work, barely noticing the hours pass. At eight o'clock, he packed up and grabbed his keys.

He met the young woman at a café not too far from the station. A lot of students lived in the area since the university was just up the road. City housing was expensive, but students on campus often got a discount. She had to be a first year. She looked barely eighteen. Very innocent and somewhat sweet. She looked up at him with bright blue eyes full of enthusiasm. It turned out it was quite rare for her to get tutoring requests for sign language. She usually tutored geometry. She was very good at speaking. Only the small lisp and lilt of her voice gave her deafness away.

"Do you have a hearing aid? How can you understand me?" Reed asked curiously, pausing as he realised he was being rude in questioning it. The girl, whose name was Rebecca, simply smiled warmly in return. She didn't seem bothered by it in the least. Perhaps she was used to it. Reed knew people could be insensitive when it came to certain things. The amount of times he'd been asked which one was the man in his relationships was appalling. He couldn't roll his eyes hard enough sometimes.