harleyhua

[harleyhua]

HARLEY: Would it be for the lounge? HARLEY: Hollywood? (two minutes later) HARLEY: Wow I just googled you. I honestly had no idea HARLEY: No offense. I'm sure you're very famous. But...I don't really keep up with musicians for obvious reasons.

AMAYA: I don't know yet

AMAYA: No, they wanted to talk about my career and why I left Hollywood

[harleyhua]

As the man started signing, Harley's face lit up. "You're my new favorite customer." He signed with a grin. After not using his implant for a few days due to the power outages of the storm, it was really difficult to switch to the hearing world. Everything felt loud and tiring and he knew it'd take another day or so for things to start evening out. "Yeah, and what do you bring to the table?" He teased in both languages together. "Yeah. I went to an arts school so our athletics program wasn't great. But I had fun. How well have you kept up with it?"

˙ ˖ ✶ Harley

Kit had a habit of going off on a tangent, and if he wasn't stopped he could keep rambling and even changing subjects. Once it was revealed that Harley was deaf, he couldn't help but laugh at himself, somewhat giggling as he sort of felt a little dumb. "Sorry, so um I can talk and also sign at the same time if that would help." Kit had learned ASL at the hospital, one of his closest friends during his entire stay was deaf so he forced himself to learn and practice, and it helped him communicate with thousands of fans now across the world who loved to read his books. Kit had to do a mental note and began to practice a few words before deciding on what he was going to say. "Oh so you're just a jack of all trades, that's so hot," Kit giggled. "A year ago? Damn, I'm guessing you did cheer in college too. I've gotten used to not doing it but I do keep up with the practice of it all,"

[harleyhua]

(tw brief mention of a miscarriages, but it's just a miscommunication and not an actual thing that happened.)

Armaria was clearly out of practice with sign language, although that was far from surprising. For awhile she couldn't sign with her injuries, and that was something Harley never held against her. When Harley learned to sign, and Mars followed his lead, it was much easier for him. He still mostly listened using his cochlear implants, but having the spoken words supported by a visual that matched the words really took out all of the guess work. And with his brain not working in overdrive to figure out the puzzle of speech, he didn't feel so tired after conversations. He'd be lying if he said losing that ease with Mars had been easy, but he also knew it wasn't her fault. That her injuries were a bigger priority, and this time he could adapt to meet her needs.

Until the day he couldn't. He had placed his cochlear implants on their charger the night before, unaware that his parents' cat had stepped on the power strip and accidentally shut it off. It wasn't until he was almost to Los Angeles and heard the beeping sound that indicated low battery that he realized something was wrong. By the time he made it to her hospital room, there was no charge left. There was no sound. Armaria's injuries made writing painful, so she tried to sign. And then she stopped signing and she was screaming at him. He didn't understand any of it, but she kept signing for him to leave. And then she was gone. She ignored his texts and refused to see him when he came back to LA next. He never understood what he did to make her hate him.

And now she stood in front of him, sobbing. Trying to sign despite her clear loss of fluidity. Harley tried to pick out words where her signing wasn't working. In high school, neither of them signed and they'd go to parties like this together and they always made it work then. He was concerned as she signed something about being pregnant but not having a baby. "I'm sorry." He said as he signed 'pity' at her, a common Deaf expression to show you felt sympathy for someone. She had already been through so much with the accident, it was far from fair that she was dealing with this now.

Harley didn't want to answer how he was. Honestly, he wasn't sure how he felt right now at all. And he wasn't the one crying while the early 2000s hit Yeah played loudly around them. He was relieved she started speaking before he could answer, but then he realized what she was saying. His instinct was to tell her it was fine, to brush the bad under the rug like he always did. But...he couldn't this time. It would be dishonest. "Oh." He mouthed, fully dropping sign language because he worried that's what made her hate him in the first place. Maybe the reason she'd been so upset with him that she cut him out of her life was because he was making her sign that day. He could remember how she got more and more frustrated by the communication barrier. "You don't have to sign. I know it's hard, and your skin's probably sensitive still." Normally, he'd never discourage a hearing person wanting to make communication easier. But he also didn't want to see his former friend putting herself through pain on his account either.

It is a struggle to read what he signs. She is so out of practice that the only thing she manages to get out of the sentence is 'I' and 'up'. It's enough to let her know his intentions. For that at least she is grateful. Armaria didn't know what would happen if she had went down as he had decided to come up. Missing each other like ships in the night. Not being there again wasn't an option. It would have ruined whatever chance of reconciliation that existed.

Scarred hands wring together over and over, irritating the still sensitive skin. After almost 17 months its not so bad now, things don't hurt the way that they used to. Grabbing objects is easier and her fingers are less clumsy. Still, the healed skin was still fresh, and too much stimulation to it could cause tingling. The wait for him to come to her felt like an eternity. Each minute second passed in a slow agony that made her insides crawl. Suddenly she felt nauseaus. But then he was there. In front of her. With the familiar movements of his hands. To watch it is a sensation not unlike beginning to re-read a well-loved novel.

"I am fine." Mars' signing was clumsy so she took care to try and make her pronunciations clear when she spoke. Experience told her he would not be able to hear her, but they had always managed to communicate well enough in environments like this before. Even if now there was a certain layer of awkwardness to it. A barrier erected by her absence of over a year. "I'm always emotional now it seems. Kind of like how it is when you're pregnant. Only there's no baby." A wet chuckle is released from her at the her lame attempt at humor. She reaches up to wipe her eyes, the back of her hands doing their best to clear her face of tears.

Armaria wants to step forward, to grab his hand and hold on tight. Yet she recognizes that right now isn't about her. There had been 15 months for her to sort out her feelings. To come part of the way back to herself, as much as she could after such a traumatic incident. To realize that she had made a mistake in withdrawing from all the people she loved but most especially the one who had always held a special place in her heart. If they cut her open Mars swore there would be a miniature Harley sized hole right in the center of it. He, however, had not had such a luxury. Armaria didn't know what his emotions had been when she ghosted them, but she guessed not pleasant. "Don't worry about me. How are you?" The next thing she signed as she spoke was the most important. "I'm sorry. There are no excuses for what I did. You were my friend. I should not have abandoned you."

There were no excuses. No frills to spin her actions into something understandable. What she had done warranted anger and resentment and Mars was prepared to take her lumps. Grovel if needed and do anything she could to make things right.

[harleyhua]

"Hey, if you had a superpower, what would it be? Or..what would you want it to be?" Harley asked curiously. There was a reason for the hypothetical question. Kaede was clearly so stressed out about Layla (understandably so), and Harley hoped to distract him from that for at least a few minutes.

You were really so young. I had no idea, Harley. He shrugged and looked down for a second. He openly talked about being deaf, but he rarely actually explained what had happened. It wasn't like Sydney, who knew exactly why she was losing her hearing. It just...happened and there was no explanation. He supposed it wouldn't change anything, but it might have made the whole process a little easier to cope with. His eyes quickly found their way to Kaede's sign space again, since he wouldn't be able to hear when the man started talking again. He wasn't so sure his parents had tried their hardest. They loved him and they tried, and that was what he chose to focus on. But he certainly didn't feel like they tried their hardest when they couldn't even leave the closed captions on the TV most of the time. "Yeah, I guess." Harley eventually said (without signing it). He couldn't hear himself, but he doubted his tone was very convincing. Adding the signs back in, he continued. "It worked out in the end, though. If someone gave me a magic potion that could restore my natural hearing, I wouldn't take it. Mostly because the idea of never being able to turn my ears off sounds awful. Like....seriously, I feel bad for the rest of you that you'll never know what it feels like to stop hearing at the end of a long day."

Kaede knew Harley was not the type to get a huge ego about anything, but he admitted if anyone ever deserved to be proud of themselves it was Harley. He was proud of him and they had only known one another a short time. He was honored to call the bartender his friend and in many ways like family. Even hearing Harleys words of comfort helped people . They helped Kaede immensely with everything he was going through this last year and he appreciated that. He just felt bad so much of his thought process was about the loss he’d been through. There just wasn’t an end date to mourning though and he wasn’t sure if there ever would be. “ I hope so. I am trying my best with her and I hope she knows. I know she loves coming to the Reef just to spend time with you and the others. You help so much too. “ he smiled at Harley before his expression shifted softly. “ and I think you with psychic powers would be pretty damn cool. “

When the conversation shifted to Harleys hearing, Kaede just listened and took what he could from the information. He hadn’t heard the full story of when it happened to Harley and he couldn’t blame him for how life changing it was. That was too young to learn any of that. “ You really were so young. I had no idea Harley “ he replied nodding his head. “ parents try their hardest even if they can’t do much. I’m sorry you got hit with that reality and that situation and felt the way that you did“

[harleyhua]

HARLEY: What did you have in mind? HARLEY: Oh, that sounds like fun! Is someone doing a piece on the golden hour lounge?

HARLEY: Just working on an art commission. HARLEY: What's tomorrow?

[harleyhua]

As soon as he finished talking, Harley realized he heard some kind of electronic song. It was faint, the pitch high and muffled. He couldn't really place what it was, and he hadn't put two and two together. As she said his phone was ringing, he realized that absolutely could be what the sound was. But he always kept his phone on silent, so he was confused how he toggled the volume on. "Oh," was all he said, digging through his bag to find the electronic. Who was calling him, anyways? Even his mom, who fully believed he was 'hearing 'fixed' if he was wearing his implant, knew he struggled with phone calls. As he looked at the call and recognized the number, he let out small laugh at the irony. "You would think that my doctor would realize calling me isn't the best way to remind me about my appointment. But...seeing Aurora Bay Hospital pop up on my phone does remind me about it so...it still works?"

When the male revealed the reason for his not hearing his phone ringing for the past few minutes. She felt bad for calling him out like that but she wouldn't show it "Your phone is ringing. If you decided to turn your hearing implants off, I'd suggest you put your phone in vibrate." She said rolling her eyes.

[harleyhua]

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Harley did not spend a lot of time in the library, but they were offering an artist series that he really wanted to check out. However, when he got to the library he realized that he wrote the time down wrong and was an hour early. Not the worst thing in the world, he reminded himself, and found a couple comic books that looked interesting. Sitting at a table, he turned his implants off so he could focus on what he was reading.

He was almost finished with the first book he had picked out when he felt someone glaring daggers at him. Looking up confirmed what he had suspected. There was a woman who seemed very upset with him. He reached up and turned on the cochlear implant that was on the same side as the girl. "Sorry, what did you say? My hearing aid was off, so I didn't catch that."

Where: Aurora Bay Library

Who: Open {capping at 4} @aurorabaystarter

Tessa was always into books and exploring. Finding her at the library wasn't something unusual. The brunette worked so hard and long for years and now, she had some time to relax and focus on her hobbies. Sitting next to one of the tables and reading a book she was having fun. Then, someone decided that being quiet was a suggestion "Can you please shut up? Jesus, this is a library you know?" Yeah, she could've asked nicely, but nicely wasn't something Tessa was used to.

[harleyhua]

HARLEY: Just working on an art commission. HARLEY: What's tomorrow?

Text || Amaya and Harley

AMAYA: Hey Harl! Please tell me you are out doing something fun and cool so I can live vicariously through you? AMAYA: I'm stuck inside the hotel preparing for tomorrow...

[harleyhua]

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When Trisha invited Harley over for a party, he didn't think it'd be anything crazy. A few girls from the cheer squad, maybe (usually Harley would protest being lumped in with 'the girls', but he wasn't comfortable with being singled out as the only guy either. So this was the agreed upon terminology for their old friend group). What Trisha failed to mention was that it wasn't just a small girls' night. This was a full blown house party. It felt a little high school to Harley, but he made himself an involved mixed drink and got far away from the alcohol station as he could before anyone who recognized him from Reef Bar could ask him to play bartender on a night he wasn't getting paid to do so.

This party felt so high school, which was very surreal for Harley. He was a completely different person now, inside and out. There were a lot of people he hadn't seen since he graduated that didn't even realize it was him. "One person even said to him that they used to know someone else who looked a lot like him and had cochlear implants, but she was studying art in New York now. You look a lot like this girl I went to high school with, she had cochlear implants too! was the funniest reaction he got from someone so far tonight. It was like he was reliving high school, but in a parallel universe where he'd been able to be himself five years ago.

The last person he expected to see was Mars. They hadn't spoken in over a year, and last he'd heard she was still in Los Angeles. Trisha said nothing about inviting her to the party. She was clueless about the drama that had happened between the two of them following Amaria's accident. So when Harley felt someone's eyes on him and looked up, he was surprised to find Mars staring back down at him. She signed his name, looking dramatically at him. For a moment, he wondered if he could convince his ride home to leave so early. But then he looked up and noticed she was crying. Shit. As much as he wanted to take off, he couldn't leave her like that. After taking a deep breath, he signed to her. "I'm coming up."

It only took a couple minutes to get to the balcony, but it felt like a lifetime. There were so many people to get through, really bad music playing slightly too loud to have a conversation over it (even for hearing people, but even more so for him), and the feeling that she would be gone when he got up there. And he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Part of him hoped she wouldn't be on the balcony. That she would leave without a trace the way she had done to him fifteen months ago. He'd been upset for over a year now and just trying to push it down because she wasn't here anymore and there was nothing to do with that feeling. He didn't know how to deal with it or how he'd react to her. But then part of him felt guilty for hoping not to deal with his former friend. The biggest part of him, the part that had him going to see her before he could talk himself out of it, was the part that was worried about her.

By the time they were in the same space again, he didn't feel anything at all. And he had no idea what to say. He stared at her for several seconds, trying to piece together something. He wanted to ask how long she had been back, or get mad at her for being the one who got to cry now (even though he rarely got mad at anyone), or ask what he had done wrong to make her hate him in the first place. But she was crying, and he needed to address that first. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He caught himself signing along with the words, but made mental note to drop the signing when he spoke next. It felt uneasy knowing their big fight started because she couldn't sign with her injuries.

Who: @harleyhua Where: Mutual Friend's House Party

Mars should have known better than to think she was ready for this. When an old high-school friend had mentioned a party, she hadn't thought it would be like it was in way back when. Maybe some games and snacks, some light beers. This was chaotic. A two story beach house cramped with bodies enough of them familiar that it almost felt like she was back in her senior year eight years ago. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy being around people anymore, Mars had always been social enough. Affectionate with friends and family and friendly to those she didn't know. What bothered her was that with all the faces old and new milling about she couldn't get a grip on her own space. Everything felt claustrophobic. Armaria tried to smile through the panic, greeting old acquaintances with a small smile. Eventually it became too much. Her grip tightened on the red-solo cup full of room-temperature beer as her eyes desperately scanned for the nearest exit. There. The deck. There were still more people than she felt comfortable with but the openness of the sky helped to ease the burgeoning panic. She squeezed her way to the rail as tears began to leak out of the corner of her eyes. Why couldn't she just be normal again?

That's when she saw him.

Harley Hua. High school sweetheart and best friend; though she supposed the latter should have been former best friend. An ache tugged deep within her heart. He was beautiful. Dark brown hues watched as he mingled with mutual friends on the expanse of private beach below the deck. Harley had always been pretty, even before he had transitioned, but after having been away from him for so long, longer than any other time in their life from when they'd met, tonight he looked ethereal. A figure shrouded in dreams and wants and desires. Armaria had longed to talk to him. Missing him the moment she'd sent him away from her hospital room in a sea of misplaced anger and rage. It wasn't his fault. She had been in so much pain and the way they communicated took more than just words. Mars regretted her decision the moment she made it. But the depression had been too deep, the anger and her wounds too raw to see the real consequence of what she was losing. Then his eyes lifted, as though he could sense her watching him.

A soft sob caught in her throat as their gazes met for the first time in almost a year. Her heart stopped. She signed the one thing she knew by heart, his name. "Harley," A sign unique to him that her fingers would never forget the pattern of. Having not used it in a long while her memory of sign language had faded considerably. But even before she'd learned to sign they had been able to communicate without words. Mars brought her hands up to her heart, pressing them hard against her chest. Tears began to fall in earnest now, creating lines of waves along her make-up free cheeks. I miss you.

[harleyhua]

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Growing up in Aurora Bay, then moving to New York City, Harley wasn't exactly a stranger to random celebrity sightings. He was usually pretty casual about them when they happened. But he had no idea the woman he was talking to was famous! This led to his next comment. "Thanks, I'm Harley." As he said it, he realized he was still signing. So as he sat down, he placed his hands in his lap and continued with only his voice. "Are you waiting on an order too?"

Amaya had wanted to grab a few things to drop off at the shelter, there were still so many people out of homes or in need of food and supplies, and she wanted to cheer them up with a sweet treat since she already donated for clothes and food. She had ordered a few dozen cupcakes and a few dozen cookies last week, but because they were so busy when she arrived, she told them to take their time getting it to her as she had also ordered a few treats for Axel and his office. As she waited, she checked off a few items on her to do list. Sitting down, she was looking at her phone when she heard a voice beside her. "Oh no go ahead, no one is sitting there." She said, smiling. It was weird being at a place where no one was surprised to see you anymore. But in truth she loved it.

[harleyhua]

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"Pay it forward?" Harley repeated, mostly to make sure that he had heard her correctly. He remembered it blowing up in popularity for awhile when he was a teenager. As she asked if he had ever done it, he thought for a second. He had never actively decided 'I'm going to pay for this stranger's coffee' or anything like that, but he had given out free drinks at work, or bought a friend something to eat when they didn't have money with no expectation of them paying him back or returning the favor. "I mean, sure. I just wasn't expecting to be on the receiving end of it today."

Rowan watched curiously as the person behind her used their phone to make their order, wondering what he was doing. She knew better than to ask, her mind working far better when she took a proper look at things and took the time to assess them for herself. Rowan smiled gently as he took a step to the side and ordered for herself -- a coffee and a to-go pastry it would be this morning, just enough to tide her over until she had a lunch meeting with the chief.

The barista took her name for her own order and rang up the total for the both of them. She grabbed some cash from her back pocket and told the person behind the counter to keep the change before joining the stranger at the end of the counter, excited by the smell of the coffee hitting her nostrils, "Something like that," the red head nodded with ease, "You've never partaken in the pay it forward kinda lifestyle?" she asked, tilting her head to the side to watch the young man.

[harleyhua]

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"Me? Ego? Never" Harley smirked. He had grown up never really believing in himself, and his self confidence had really only developed in the last couple years. It was because it was the first time in his life he was comfortable with who he was. He watched Kaede's signs and tried to think from his point of view. He nodded along as Kaede talked about how hard it was to not have Gabrielle there. "I know it's hard, and I'm sorry nobody can change that. I'm not a mind reader - at least, not yet....I'm still waiting to experience a horrible accident that gives me superpowers - but I think Layla definitely knows how much she's loved." Harley insisted. There was no way she didn't feel loved, between Kaede and her family and everyone at Reef Bar. He tried (and failed) to hide his smile as Kaede talked about how happy he was to have Harley in their lives. "Thank you" He replied, but he wasn't sure what else to say in response, so he focused on the first part. "Yeah....I mean...It happened really slowly. I wasn't profoundly deaf until I was around ten or eleven. But I was six when I found out I was losing one of my senses, which I think would be tough news to learn at any age. And it meant that I learned very young that my parents really couldn't protect me from much."

“ Don’t get an ego about it.” Kaede replied with a small smile. He actually liked how confident Harley was and definitely wanted him to take pride in everything he said or did. He fell silent at Harleys words though. It wasn’t easy navigating as a single parent and it was hard for him to find reasons to get out of bed in the morning some days, but he always did it for Layla. She needed him more than he needed to try and sort his own issues. He’d do anything if the blow from losing her mom could be softened and she’d end up okay. “ I know. I had a plan on my life. I had all these plans and not having Gabrielle here to be part of them and to see Layla grow up is incredibly hard. I want to make sure no matter what happens, she will always feel safe and loved even if her mom isn’t here. I’m trying my best “ He noted again before letting out a sigh. He paused a moment thinking on Harleys words again before turning back to him. “ I didn’t know you were that young when it happened. I think you more than anyone understands what Layla is going through at that age. I’m glad you’re my friend and I’m glad you’re in her life.”

[harleyhua]

closed starter for @carterjohnsonsnsons

So far, it had been a slow shift at Reef Bar. But the night was still young, and Harley figured it would pick up in an hour or so. For now, there was just a few regulars including Carter. As soon as he entered the bar, Harley got to work on his typical order and slid it over to his friend. "This one's on the house." He grinned, an unspoken thank you for him dealing with a situation at the bar during his last visit. "How's your day going?"

[harleyhua]

closed starter for @amayapowers

One thing Harley had in common with his mom was that they both had spring birthdays! It was what brought him to the bakery today. His mom was having a small party tonight and his dad had asked him to pick up the cake, which had already been ordered. It was fairly busy in the bakery today, and once it was Harley's turn at the front counter he discovered the cake wasn't quite ready yet. "Ten minutes" The employee informed him, holding up all of their fingers so he could understand. He nodded, signed "thank you", and went to find somewhere to sit. There weren't a lot of open tables, so he found himself having to pick a table that was next to someone else. "Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked her, before motioning to the chair that was next to her.

[harleyhua]

closed starter for @connorxrose​

It had been a busy night at Reef Bar, but Harley didn’t mind. If anything, the crowds kept him working and didn’t allow for the night to drag on. It felt like he’d only been there a couple hours when he realized it was time to close up. And, because of how loud it had been, he’d been unable to rely on his cochlear implants. This meant he wasn’t even tired from trying to listen all night! He still had so much energy, and was debating whether he should do art or see who else was up in the building. That was, until he approached the apartment complex and noticed Connor’s light was still on. Perfect! He sent his friend a text inviting him over to Harley’s apartment and then went inside.

The first thing he did was take off his shoes and put on slippers. That had always been the rule in his house growing up, and it was something him and his brother had done when they lived together in New York. So he didn’t even think about it before making that the rule for his own apartment. Normally, his cochlear implants were removed right after his footwear. But since he was half expecting company, he left them on for now.

A few minutes later a light on his wall flickered, informing him Connor was there. He opened the door, stepping out of the way so his friend could enter the apartment. "Welcome! If you want anything to drink, let me know now. Because I'm still in bartender mode, but I won't be for much longer."

[harleyhua]

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Seeing the storm damage and the injured patients in the hospital was so surreal. There was the obvious reason - Aurora Bay had never looked like this in Harley's almost 24 years of life. But for Harley, the storm had been this invisible thing he barely experienced. He'd been lucky enough to get to safety when rain was the worst of the storm. For the rest of the night, he'd been away from windows and spent much of it in complete silence. He couldn't see, hear, feel, or smell the storm from the inside of the college. And then he emerged, and everything looked like a scene from a disaster film. It didn't feel real.

Nor did his parents deadnaming him. Both his current name and the one he often found himself dodging looked the same on his parents' mouths. And that was just when he knew they were saying his name. There were likely many other times where his name was mentioned in a sentence that he couldn't understand. Reading lips wasn't as easy or accurate as TV always made it out to be. He'd certainly never been any good at it, and he was impressed by deaf people who used it with any degree of success.

He had such mixed feelings about the name he was born with. In most contexts he didn't think of it as a deadname. He'd spent nineteen years pretending to be this other person. When he saw or heard the name, he imagined a broken teenage girl who didn't even know why she felt that way. She had to be strong for so long, and not just because of the dysphoria. She was the one that navigated every degree between hearing and profoundly deaf, and then learned to hear again with two cochlear implants. She was the one who learned about racism and antisemitism and how the world wasn't always kind to either of his parents' backgrounds. And, most importantly, she was the one that survived all of that so he could become Harley. The main reason he shied away from that name was that it just didn't fit anymore. In many ways, it never had. But he never wanted to hide his origin story. On the other hand, it sucked when his parents used her name, because it meant that they looked at their happy child and preferred the version of him that was miserable.

Honestly, he felt a lot more invalidated by them as a Deaf person than as a trans person. He'd come out to them three years ago, so he was used to them messing up his name. They were stubborn and slow to accept change. He was less used to interacting with them when he didn't have his cochlear implants. His parents saw it as a cure. As long as he had his implants on, he was 'fixed'. And in a rare moment when he couldn't rely on that....they had no idea what to do except to keep talking.

He watched Collins sign, and he was grateful to have people like her and his brother that accepted him. Trans, Deaf....it didn't matter, he was just Harley. He watched her respond to his lion zombie comment, and laughed. But then she asked how he was and he looked down for a second, then nodded and looked up. The hesitancy was because he had to think about it. Since the storm, he hadn't really slowed down to take any time to think of himself. "I'm fine, I think. I'm not the one in the hospital."

Meanwhile the nurse was watching them sign. She could only pick up on a few of the signs. The only real concept she understood was that someone was changing into a lion. "Becoming lion?" She signed and said, then continued with only her voice. "Who's turning into a lion?" While Harley didn't understand what she asked, she still caught his attention with her signing and he was suddenly aware they had an audience. "Thanks for helping me find my friend." He signed slowly to her. "Do you mind giving us some privacy?" She looked confused, clearly not knowing enough sign to understand him. He figured out how to say it with more beginner friendly vocabulary ("go", "leave"), but he was worried he'd come off as rude. The Deaf community in general was a lot more blunt and straight-to-the-point than hearing people were. But since Harley wasn't born deaf he often thought more like a hearing person and he couldn't bring himself to be as candid as many Deaf friends would be in this situation. However, the nurse didn't know he could speak clearly and he didn't really want to take the time to explain why he'd chosen not to up until now. So instead he looked at Collins, silently asking her to talk to the nurse.

It was strange how strongly Collins felt about the storm because she’d only been in town a matter of months, but it had started feeling like home. This kind of thing was never seen in New York, not on this scale anyway, sure they got storms but nothing got…devastated in the same way it had been in Aurora. And if she was being entirely honest (Which the blonde always tried to be!) she was relieved when she heard Harley was coming to the hospital, because he was a little ray of sunshine in her life at all times. No doubt he would help her ignore the throbbing pain in her leg for a little while as they nattered about god knows what. 

Hearing his mom and dad had been dead naming him when he’d been home was concerning to her though, because as much as he liked to say it was no big deal, she knew how keenly those kinds of things could take their toll over time. Rooting into the back of your mind festering there until they reared their ugly heads at the worst possible moments. It was key to her that she made sure Harley feel validated for who he was when he got here, regardless of what kind of state she was in, her friends would always come first. 

Looking down at her phone the blonde was scrolling through various news reports and instagrams as she waited for her friend to arrive, eyes wide at the effect the storm seemed to have had on everyone. She knew first had how vicious it had been obviously thanks to the evidence it had left on her leg, but that didn’t stop the video footage being chilling. Places she’d recognised only twenty four hours before as fun sunny hotspots were instead replaced by dilapidated remnants of what had been. Like the west coasts (slightly less dramatic…and devastating…okay it was a terrible comparison) answer to Pompeii. 

The smile stretched across her face at the sound of Harley’s voice before she even looked up, always finding it adorable how he’d start by speaking to make sure she was looking at him before switching to signing. Something they were both getting better at, him faster than her but she really was trying her best. “No way! Well? Because it sounds like you might have misunderstood some of things she was saying to you, they did have to cut my leg off, but it was because the zombie lion genetics were actually turning me into a lion. Not a zombie one, just a normal one.” She signed back as fluidly as possible, only pausing a second to try and work out how to do the word ‘genetics’ which wasn’t one she used often. “You’re unhurt? Right?” 

[harleyhua]

✿ ☀ ✿ ☀ ✿

Harley leaned on the bar, watching the man's lips as he spoke. And it was a good thing he was, because he was listing off information faster than Harley could process what he was saying. He caught bits and pieces; two puppies, one was blind, something about the show Bridgerton, Princess Bubblegum, hedgehog Ariana Grande, and fosters of some kind? He chuckled nervously, feeling anxious that he had missed way too much of that. "Dude, I'm deaf. You lost me after 'two puppies'....but that sounded like it was a long list." He admitted. He tried not to smile at the man's next comment but he couldn't help it. "Well, I guess your luck's changing because I like girls and boys and everything in between and outside the spectrum too. Gender just...doesn't matter to me." He explained, and found himself hoping it meant he still had a chance with this guy. He'd already mentioned being trans and that wasn't a dealbreaker, so he was hopeful. And then he found out they had cheer in common. "I was! Since I was a kid until about a year ago. It feels so weird to not be doing it anymore."

˙ ˖ ✶ Harley

"Yes," Kit grinned like a maniac always ready to talk more about his fur babies. Most of them had been rescues, except for Mochi that one had been a present from his parents. "Well, we've got two puppies, coconut my chow chow who is sorta blind, and then there's mochi, he's a samoyed. Viscount Anthony Bridgerton is my sugar glider, and then there's the two chinchillas marcelina and princess bubblegum, and my hedgehog areola grande, and I'm going to be fostering a kitten soon, but I might adopt it, like I have all my other fosters," Kit was slightly embarrassed at the fact but he knew he had a lot of trouble saying goodbye. "Damn, you like girls, just my luck." Kit teased playfully, smiling over at Harley. "So you were also in cheer, huh? Small world."