SkyGirl5
Cadet
:hi:
Title: Listen with Your Heart
Genre: S/v AU minimal angst, lotsa fluffiness
Summary: Michael Vaughn is immediatly taken by Sydney Bristow after meeting her. She is unlike anyone he's ever met before, especially in the respect that she's deaf. While Michael doesn't have a problem with his girlfriend's lack of ability to hear, everyone else seems to, causing problems in their seemingly perfect relationship.
24 Chapters + Epilogue
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Chapter 1(below) Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16
Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 + Epilogue
Chapter 1
Michael Vaughn shifted his weight uncomfortably between his left and right foot before using the back of his hand to wipe a stray bead of sweat from its path traveling down his jaw line. His friend, Eric Weiss, had the brilliant idea for the two of them to attend opening day at the brand new local minor league ballpark. Unfortunately for them, opening day on the last day of April turned out to be the hottest day on record: a sweltering one hundred ten degrees. Needless to say, Michael and the rest of the ballpark’s attendants were suffering.
“Number twenty seven!” a teenager with a large ball cap shouted above the crowd of murmuring people in line at the concession stand. Michael stepped forward to collect his order. “Sorry, we’re out of ice,” the teen told him.
“Of course you are,” Michael mumbled bitterly to himself as he paid for his order. Then, he grabbed his burger and sickeningly warm water and headed across the crowded seating area to the table where the condiments were located. If he had to suffer through warm water, he was going to enjoy his massively over-priced burger with tons of mustard and ketchup, just the way he liked it.
Once he reached the condiment area, the brown haired girl standing there stepped aside to give him room to access his desired burger additions. He held a free area of his plate under the ketchup dispenser and pressed down on the handle. Much to his misfortune, the ketchup did not land on his plate. Instead, it sprayed towards him, covering his arm from wrist to elbow. He cursed quietly to himself as the girl standing beside him stifled a giggle.
“Here,” she said, handing him a handful of napkins.
“Thanks,” he mumbled and took them from her. He wiped his arm off and threw the dirty napkins in the nearby trash can. Screw the ketchup, he thought, deciding it was best not to try his luck with the ketchup dispenser again and risk staining his clothes the next time. He placed his plate under the mustard dispenser, pressed down on the handle and nearly screamed in frustration when all that dribbled out was a few yellow lumps followed by a very watery, mostly clear substance.
He hung his head in defeat and used a napkin to wipe the watery substance from his plate before it destroyed his burger. When, he turned his head to the side, he noticed the brown haired girl beside him watching him out of the corner of her eye and biting her lip to stop from laughing. “You think this is funny, don’t you?” he asked with a slight grumble as his face turned hot--hotter than it already was, of course.
“No,” she said, attempting to keep a straight face. “I did it just a few minutes earlier, so I know how un-funny it is.”
“You did it!? Why didn’t you stop me!” he asked with a slight laugh.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to what you were doing until it was too late,” she said sympathetically. “They mayo works, if you want that.”
Michael scrunched up his nose, “I don’t like mayo on my burger.”
“Oh, alright… Well, there must be another ketchup dispenser thing around here somewhere,” she said, surveying the area in an attempt to locate an additional condiment station in the crowd.
“No thanks. I just have this sinking feeling the next one I try will cover me from head to toe,” he sighed. She giggled and flashed him a dimpled smile that made his heart flutter. “I’m Michael, by the way. Michael Vaughn.”
“Sydney Bristow,” she said in return, extending her hand. He shook it briefly. “So you’re a baseball fan, Michael?”
“Sorta,” he laughed softly. “I mean, yeah I like baseball. I’m a Mets fan, but my friend had this brilliant,” he said with a slight eye roll, “idea to come here on opening day… which, I guess I should go check on him to make sure he hasn’t sweated himself into a puddle.”
Sydney laughed softly, “Yeah. It is rather warm out here, isn’t it?”
“What?! Are you freakin’ kidding me? I think I’m going to die,” he groaned as he bit into his burger.
“Yeah, okay, it’s hot,” she agreed.
“So what brings you here?” Michael asked her.
“My dad got tickets from work and brought – I mean forced – my mom and I to come along,” she told him with a slight eye roll of her own.
“Ah, that’s nice though: a family outing. Parents can be fun. . . in small amounts, that is,” he sighed as he glanced out towards the ball field, where one player just scored a home run.
“I’m sorry,” she said while touching his arm lightly. Michael looked at her quickly. “I didn’t catch that. You have to look at me when you talk; I’m deaf.”
“What?!” Michael laughed and nearly choked on his sandwich. After a big gulp of his warm water he asked in shock, “You’re deaf?!”
“Yeah, I’ve been reading your lips,” she told him.
“Oh wow… uh,” he stammered, not quite sure how to react after that shocking news. He would never have guessed that there was anything wrong with her, not that being deaf was anything ‘wrong’ exactly, then again, it wasn’t as though he expected her to have an “I’m Deaf” tank top on or have it tattooed across her forehead. “So, uh, when did you lose your hearing?” Instead of answering, she smiled and laughed softly. “What?” he asked.
“You asked when I lost my hearing… you didn’t assume I’ve always been deaf,” she pointed out.
“Well, uh yeah,” he began, unsure of how to phrase his reasoning. “Well, I don’t mean to sound offensive but, you don’t sound like a deaf person. They talk… differently,” he cringed, knowing he sounded like a freak and hoping he wasn’t offending her.
“I lost my hearing completely when I was ten. Since I could hear until then, I learned how to speak by hearing, which is why I don’t talk differently,” she told him with a smile.
“Gotcha,” he nodded. “So… uh… you’re deaf…,” then he cringed immediately when she looked slightly offended. “Sorry, I don’t mean to… I mean, I don’t know what to say…”
“It’s okay. I can just leave,” she said. She was about to pick up her plate and leave when he touched her arm lightly.
He waited until she looked up at him before saying, “No, I don’t want you to go. I just… well, what I meant was, should I talk a certain way for you to understand?”
She smiled at him, thankful he didn’t want her to go. “No, you just have to look at me. And I’d prefer you speak at a somewhat normal pace instead of really, really quickly.”
“I’ll try not to,” he laughed. “So reading lips, hmm? Is that hard?”
“Nah, I’ve had over fifteen years of practice,” she told him with a casual wave of her hand. “When I was nine, my hearing started to fade, so I learned to read lips by being able to half-listen and half-watch,” she explained.
“I see,” he nodded. “That’s cool though. You can like be across the room from someone and hear what they’re saying… so to speak,” he laughed.
“Right,” she nodded. “I have, too. My parents quickly learned to speak while holding a piece of paper in front of their face if they didn’t want me to know what they were talking about.”
“Nice,” he said. “So you, uh, wanna go for a walk around here? I think it feels less hot if you’re moving around. At least there’s sorta a breeze then.”
“Sure,” she smiled. “Let’s go.”
Title: Listen with Your Heart
Genre: S/v AU minimal angst, lotsa fluffiness
Summary: Michael Vaughn is immediatly taken by Sydney Bristow after meeting her. She is unlike anyone he's ever met before, especially in the respect that she's deaf. While Michael doesn't have a problem with his girlfriend's lack of ability to hear, everyone else seems to, causing problems in their seemingly perfect relationship.
24 Chapters + Epilogue
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1(below) Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16
Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 + Epilogue
Chapter 1
Michael Vaughn shifted his weight uncomfortably between his left and right foot before using the back of his hand to wipe a stray bead of sweat from its path traveling down his jaw line. His friend, Eric Weiss, had the brilliant idea for the two of them to attend opening day at the brand new local minor league ballpark. Unfortunately for them, opening day on the last day of April turned out to be the hottest day on record: a sweltering one hundred ten degrees. Needless to say, Michael and the rest of the ballpark’s attendants were suffering.
“Number twenty seven!” a teenager with a large ball cap shouted above the crowd of murmuring people in line at the concession stand. Michael stepped forward to collect his order. “Sorry, we’re out of ice,” the teen told him.
“Of course you are,” Michael mumbled bitterly to himself as he paid for his order. Then, he grabbed his burger and sickeningly warm water and headed across the crowded seating area to the table where the condiments were located. If he had to suffer through warm water, he was going to enjoy his massively over-priced burger with tons of mustard and ketchup, just the way he liked it.
Once he reached the condiment area, the brown haired girl standing there stepped aside to give him room to access his desired burger additions. He held a free area of his plate under the ketchup dispenser and pressed down on the handle. Much to his misfortune, the ketchup did not land on his plate. Instead, it sprayed towards him, covering his arm from wrist to elbow. He cursed quietly to himself as the girl standing beside him stifled a giggle.
“Here,” she said, handing him a handful of napkins.
“Thanks,” he mumbled and took them from her. He wiped his arm off and threw the dirty napkins in the nearby trash can. Screw the ketchup, he thought, deciding it was best not to try his luck with the ketchup dispenser again and risk staining his clothes the next time. He placed his plate under the mustard dispenser, pressed down on the handle and nearly screamed in frustration when all that dribbled out was a few yellow lumps followed by a very watery, mostly clear substance.
He hung his head in defeat and used a napkin to wipe the watery substance from his plate before it destroyed his burger. When, he turned his head to the side, he noticed the brown haired girl beside him watching him out of the corner of her eye and biting her lip to stop from laughing. “You think this is funny, don’t you?” he asked with a slight grumble as his face turned hot--hotter than it already was, of course.
“No,” she said, attempting to keep a straight face. “I did it just a few minutes earlier, so I know how un-funny it is.”
“You did it!? Why didn’t you stop me!” he asked with a slight laugh.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to what you were doing until it was too late,” she said sympathetically. “They mayo works, if you want that.”
Michael scrunched up his nose, “I don’t like mayo on my burger.”
“Oh, alright… Well, there must be another ketchup dispenser thing around here somewhere,” she said, surveying the area in an attempt to locate an additional condiment station in the crowd.
“No thanks. I just have this sinking feeling the next one I try will cover me from head to toe,” he sighed. She giggled and flashed him a dimpled smile that made his heart flutter. “I’m Michael, by the way. Michael Vaughn.”
“Sydney Bristow,” she said in return, extending her hand. He shook it briefly. “So you’re a baseball fan, Michael?”
“Sorta,” he laughed softly. “I mean, yeah I like baseball. I’m a Mets fan, but my friend had this brilliant,” he said with a slight eye roll, “idea to come here on opening day… which, I guess I should go check on him to make sure he hasn’t sweated himself into a puddle.”
Sydney laughed softly, “Yeah. It is rather warm out here, isn’t it?”
“What?! Are you freakin’ kidding me? I think I’m going to die,” he groaned as he bit into his burger.
“Yeah, okay, it’s hot,” she agreed.
“So what brings you here?” Michael asked her.
“My dad got tickets from work and brought – I mean forced – my mom and I to come along,” she told him with a slight eye roll of her own.
“Ah, that’s nice though: a family outing. Parents can be fun. . . in small amounts, that is,” he sighed as he glanced out towards the ball field, where one player just scored a home run.
“I’m sorry,” she said while touching his arm lightly. Michael looked at her quickly. “I didn’t catch that. You have to look at me when you talk; I’m deaf.”
“What?!” Michael laughed and nearly choked on his sandwich. After a big gulp of his warm water he asked in shock, “You’re deaf?!”
“Yeah, I’ve been reading your lips,” she told him.
“Oh wow… uh,” he stammered, not quite sure how to react after that shocking news. He would never have guessed that there was anything wrong with her, not that being deaf was anything ‘wrong’ exactly, then again, it wasn’t as though he expected her to have an “I’m Deaf” tank top on or have it tattooed across her forehead. “So, uh, when did you lose your hearing?” Instead of answering, she smiled and laughed softly. “What?” he asked.
“You asked when I lost my hearing… you didn’t assume I’ve always been deaf,” she pointed out.
“Well, uh yeah,” he began, unsure of how to phrase his reasoning. “Well, I don’t mean to sound offensive but, you don’t sound like a deaf person. They talk… differently,” he cringed, knowing he sounded like a freak and hoping he wasn’t offending her.
“I lost my hearing completely when I was ten. Since I could hear until then, I learned how to speak by hearing, which is why I don’t talk differently,” she told him with a smile.
“Gotcha,” he nodded. “So… uh… you’re deaf…,” then he cringed immediately when she looked slightly offended. “Sorry, I don’t mean to… I mean, I don’t know what to say…”
“It’s okay. I can just leave,” she said. She was about to pick up her plate and leave when he touched her arm lightly.
He waited until she looked up at him before saying, “No, I don’t want you to go. I just… well, what I meant was, should I talk a certain way for you to understand?”
She smiled at him, thankful he didn’t want her to go. “No, you just have to look at me. And I’d prefer you speak at a somewhat normal pace instead of really, really quickly.”
“I’ll try not to,” he laughed. “So reading lips, hmm? Is that hard?”
“Nah, I’ve had over fifteen years of practice,” she told him with a casual wave of her hand. “When I was nine, my hearing started to fade, so I learned to read lips by being able to half-listen and half-watch,” she explained.
“I see,” he nodded. “That’s cool though. You can like be across the room from someone and hear what they’re saying… so to speak,” he laughed.
“Right,” she nodded. “I have, too. My parents quickly learned to speak while holding a piece of paper in front of their face if they didn’t want me to know what they were talking about.”
“Nice,” he said. “So you, uh, wanna go for a walk around here? I think it feels less hot if you’re moving around. At least there’s sorta a breeze then.”
“Sure,” she smiled. “Let’s go.”
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