❥ 𝑪𝑨𝑵'𝑻 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹 𝑯𝑬𝑹 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲

{ Part 1 🍨 }

-Fun Fact: There are no hand signs for words like "the" or "and" in sign language.

[""- Speaking]
['' - Signing]

Toga was watching everyone pass by her on the little red couch in the corner of their base. She runs her hand over a sharp, bouncy spring that nearly poked itself out from under the cloth of the couch and she sighs - she wanted more than anything in that moment to know what they were saying, which grew painful to her. She puts her hands over her ears and holds her breath until someone notices her and sits down next to her to "talk". The small effort made by her teammates to start a conversation with her meant a lot more, now. She knew that she had become more of a nuisance than someone anybody would willingly talk to, like they felt inclined and/or thought of talking to her as a chore. Mustard, Compress, and Twice never made her feel that way, though. She genuinely enjoyed their time, too.

Compress asked her how she was feeling, and her response was, 'Awesome!' She wasn't being sarcastic, she just didn't think that feeling sorry for herself was a very cute thing to do. Compress knew that. His gloved fingers gently tap the couch as he thinks for a minute. 'You want to do something?' He asks and she watches him for a second before nodding and hugging her knees. 'Want to come with me to run errands?' He signs again and she stares up at him like she's trying to see through his mask. She looks away for a minute before looking back up at him and nodding again. "Alrighty then," he mumbles to himself as he stands up and takes Toga's hand.

He gently pulls her along behind him as they weave through small crowds on the sidewalk. He knew she was a little nervous about being in public ever since she'd lost her hearing, even if she never said anything about it. He could tell by the way she puffed her chest out when they walked by someone, like she was trying to look confident or brave. He thought it was silly so he chuckled, not minding Toga because she couldn't hear him. When they were at the crosswalk, Toga just stared straight ahead and bounced in place somewhat slowly, all the while keeping her hand safe inside Compress'. He watched her with a sympathetic but amused grin. 'Well, aren't you energetic?' He signs at her playfully and she smiles at him. The sun had only just begun to rise about four hours ago so it was still a little cold. Compress wraps his arm around Toga's shoulders as they walk and she clings to him for warmth. 'Are we there yet?' She looks up at him and he shakes his head, earning a slightly disappointed noise from the small blonde next to him. Toga didn't like talking because of the looks she got from strangers around her, like she was mentally challenged, or something. That wasn't the case at all, though, she just couldn't hear herself.

About fifteen minutes later, Compress surprises her by pulling her inside an ice cream shop on the corner of the street. 'Don't tell Kurogiri I'm giving you ice cream for breakfast... or Twice. He'll get jealous.' Compress reminds her and she nods excitedly to show him that she understands. 'Anything that pleases you... after all, it's not like we need to pay for anything.' He gives her a thumbs-up and she gives him a little smile. She points at a few things on the other side of the lit-up and freezing glass and he nods before deciding the ones he'd ask for. After they were set on the counter, Compress quickly compresses them and picks up Toga before running out the door as fast as he could, which was actually very speedy. Her hands are wrapped tightly around his necktie and she lets out a high-pitched laugh - something nobody had heard from her in a while. Compress was happy to finally be able to hear her happy voice again, he just wondered when he'd hear it next... He'd look forward to it.

//eee dedicated to HttpMrCompress  because ily man 😤👊✨🍨//