Prompt: Can you do a prompt where Garrett's hearing gets bad, and Silas has been learning sign language (in secret). Have a cute Silas moment!
A.N.- I have managed to anger the medical community, everyone who knows sign language, and god himself with my lack of knowledge and insane bullshitting in this prompt, you're all welcome (in my defense, I had a similar thing happen to my ears in my senior year of high school, but it was only for a few days)
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"How are your ears?" dad signed to me as I came downstairs.
"Still bad," I signed back.
I'd gotten a bad infection in both of my ears, and could hardly hear a thing. People had to yell to me for me to understand what they were saying, and I was trying not to talk much since I yelled on accident.
I was on medication for the infections, but it had been nearly a week and it had only just started to get a tiny bit better. I'd suffered ear infections a lot as a kid, and had some bad ones, but this was probably the worst yet.
Mom touched my shoulder to get my attention and asked what I was doing today. I shrugged at her.
"Probably going to Silas's," I signed.
Silas had texted me last night asking if I wanted to come over. I knew he was frustrated with my ear infection, since he didn't know sign language and he didn't like yelling at me. But I'd agree to hang out, because I didn't want to hurt his feelings by avoiding him until I was better. It could be another few days until the infection cleared up enough for me to hear well again.
Mom made me breakfast and I texted Silas when I was done eating. He told me it was fine to come over whenever I wanted, so I grabbed my car keys.
"Garrett!" Mom's voice was faint and muffled despite how loud she was yelling my name. When I turned to face her, she pushed my medication into my hands, giving me a stern look.
I smiled sheepishly and took a pill before tucking the medication into my bag. I waved to my parents before leaving the house, getting in my car and heading to Silas's house.
I rang the doorbell, waiting until Ray answered. He let me inside and pointed to his own ears curiously.
I shook my head, starting to sign before remembering that he didn't know sign language. "Still bad," I said, trying not to shout it.
"Upstairs," Ray said. He wasn't quite loud enough to perfectly make out the word, but I could sort of read his lips, so I nodded and headed up the stairs to Silas's bedroom.
I knocked and let myself in. Silas was sitting on his bed watching TV, but he muted it as I came into the room.
"Still can't hear well," I said.
But I was surprised as he clumsily signed out, "Okay."
"Silas?" I said, furrowing my brow. He didn't know sign language. He'd told me he didn't know any at all.
He blushed, looking away from me. "Bad?" he signed out. His hand movements were clumsy and unsure, but I knew what he was going for.
I walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. When he finally looked at me, I smiled and leaned in, kissing him.
"Not bad," I signed. He watched my hands, focused on the movements. I repeated the gesture again, this time slower and voicing it out.
"I asked Jill to teach me what she knew. Don't like shoutin' at you," he said, loud enough for me to hear. "It ain't permanent, right?"
I shook my head. "The doctor said it's just an infection and it'll clear up."
Silas looked relieved. "Good," he signed.
The smile on my face was so wide it almost hurt. I put my arms around him, hugging him to myself. He put his arms around me, hiding the blush on his face by turning his head against my shoulder.
I pulled away from him and signed, "Thank you."
"That one's...thank you?" he said hesitantly.
I nodded. "I can teach you some, if you want."
He looked relieved. "Yea. Jill didn't know much."
I took his hands in mine, helping him moves his fingers to form silent words. I knew that someday this could be my reality. My father's hearing loss had started when he was a kid, but just because it hadn't hit me young, it didn't mean I couldn't develop it.
It meant the world to me that Silas was trying to learn for me. It meant a lot that he didn't like shouting at me, even if it was just because my ears were too plugged to make out his words at a normal volume. Big, bad, violent Silas Kelley, trying to learn sign language to communicate with his boyfriend without shouting. It baffled me that people were still afraid of him.
Silas was a slow learner, but he was diligent. He copied my hand motions, letting me rearrange his fingers when they were wrong. I taught him some basic words and phrases, knowing he'd probably struggle to remember them in a few days, but praising him every time he got it right.
He looked so proud when he signed out, "How are your ears today?" The grin on his face was shy but pleased.
"Now you can ask me without shouting," I said. "And I can answer without shouting back."
He dropped his gaze. "I know I ain't smart but...I'll learn. If you ever, you know, lose your hearin'. I'll know it."
I tilted his chin so he was looking at me and kissed him. "Thank you," I signed again, and his blush told me he understood it clearly this time.
He said something and I frowned and shook my head, gesturing at him to speak up. He dropped his gaze again, but raised his voice.
"Can you teach me more?" he repeated.
I tapped his shoulder. "Yes," I signed.
So that's how we spent our day together. I patiently taught Silas common words and phrases, and the focus on his face had me torn between laughter and flattery. Silas seemed determined to memorize everything I showed him, signing it over and over again, even when I told him he had it right. He watched me and tried to make out what I was signing to him.
I knew it would take a long time to teach him sign language, but he looked ready to learn. I pulled him close, kissing him to let him know in a way my hands couldn't how grateful I was for this. Silas placed his hands on my back, drawing me closer to himself as we kissed. He was so damn good to me, and I was so glad to have him in my life.
