Well hello there, everyone.
I could give a lot of reasons as to why I have been gone for so long, but the long and short of it is that life just csme at me like a train and rendered me basically unable to write for a while. But that is in the past, and now I'm back! With more Deaf!Crutchie, since you all seem to be a fan of my little AU. But this time, I've collabed with the amazingly and incredibly talented thpopcornpup to bring you this installment! It has been so awesome to work with such a great author, and we're hoping to make this a two-part story and then write some more pieces together soon! Thepopcornpup has written the first half of this story, and I've written the second. For some reason, we just love Deaf!Crutchie..does that make us bad people? XD
Anyway, it's so good to be back!
Enjoy!
-Marcelle and thepopcornpup
Crutchie made a point of knowing every face in the Lodging House. He felt it was only fair to know all his brothers, even if he couldn't speak to all of them. He wanted to know who he'd smiled at that morning while getting their papers, who had given him an extra donut from the nuns a few weeks before, who told jokes that had the whole Lodging House in stitches, which Jack would sign to Crutchie once he'd caught his breath.
Crutchie remembered the evening that Jack pointed out every boy in the Lodging House. Crutchie, sitting cross- legged and leaning Jack's shoulder, watched intently as Jack finger- spelled each boy's name and, in his choppy sign language, chose a few words to describe each one. He took in every name, stored them in an important place in his memory.
As he stared at the boy in front of him now, he could clearly picture Jack spelling, "R- O- M- E- O" and, after a pause, giving him the words, "young," "flirt", and "excited." The Romeo in front of Crutchie now did look young, but in this moment, Crutchie would have chosen the words, "frustrated" or "sad". Possibly even "scared."
Crutchie had been storing away the money he'd made that morning; it had been very successful, in his opinion. After slipping the coins into his pillow case, he was about to rejoin the rest of the boys and sell the rest, but when he swung open the door, Romeo stood in the doorway, startled by Crutchie's presence.
Romeo took one look at Crutchie, his cheeks bright red (and Crutchie could have sworn he was covering up a bruise with the collar of his shirt), before his lips began moving a million miles a minute.
Crutchie took a step back and watched him. There was no way he could make out a single word he was saying. Maybe if he slowed down and spoke at a normal pace, he could lip- read a little bit (though Crutchie hated lip- reading), but the kid didn't seem like he was going to calm down anytime soon. So, Crutchie watched as he ranted, tears pricking at his eyes.
As Crutchie stepped aside, Romeo stormed in and sat down on the nearest bunk, his demeanor iquickly shifting back and forth from angry to scared to disappointed and back again. After a few minutes, Romeo sighed and Crutchie could read that he said, "Sorry."
Crutchie sighed too. He wanted to help with whatever this was. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a piece of paper on the bedside table and an idea quickly formed. He picked up the paper and sat beside Romeo, quickly scrawling, "Hey, it's Romeo, right? I can't hear you, but you can tell me what happened right here. Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?"
Crutchie passed the paper to Romeo and watched him expectantly. Romeo stared at the paper, his face crumbling. Though, he tried to cover it up quickly, and squinted at the page, his lips moving slowly. He stumbled over the words and shook his head, Crutchie watching all the while.
As he watched, the image of Romeo running up to Race and pointing at the headline, and Race responding, pointing at each word as he did so, popped into Crutchie's mind. That happened every morning, though Crutchie had never paid much attention until now, as he put two and two together.
Race was reading the headline to him. Of course.
Crutchie tapped the younger boy's shoulder and pointed at the paper, then shook his head and pointed at Romeo.
Romeo looked down at his feet, his cheeks glowing. Then, looking up but refusing to look Crutchie directly in the eye, he shook his head ashamedly.
Crutchie hated to see him look so deflated. He put his hand on Romeo's shoulder and made eye contact with him.
Romeo blinked. Crutchie's eye contact was intense, seeming to say so much without a word. But, despite being sharp, his eyes were also warm and welcoming, making Romeo's own eyes lose a bit of the fear Crutchie had first observed in them.
Still maintaining eye contact, Crutchie carefully mouthed, "That's okay."
Romeo's eyebrows shot up in pure shock, telling Crutchie that he'd never been told that before. He smiled, and repeated it. In the silence of the Lodging House, Romeo could just barely hear Crutchie's voice behind the mouthed words, hoarse from its rare use and quieter than the whistle of wind only heard on particularly breezy days. "That's okay."
"Really?" Romeo whispered. Then, he rolled his eyes and looked away, wondering how he'd forgotten so quickly that Crutchie couldn't hear him.
Crutchie, having read his lips, tapped his shoulder and nodded, grinning.
Romeo shyly smiled back. He racked his brain for how to respond. There was so much he wanted to say to Crutchie. He wanted to ask how that was okay, he wanted to tell him everything that had happened, he wanted to ask about Crutchie in general, he wanted to tell him about himself, he wanted to thank him.
Gee, He thought suddenly. This must be how he feels, huh?
Crutchie watched him as the thoughts whizzed through his head, and saw his face change with each new question that flew through his mind. But, watching Romeo didn't prepare him for the hug the younger boy suddenly enveloped him in.
Though, Crutchie quickly hugged him back and smiled as he thought, You're welcome.
The sky had only just been colored a pleasant shade of pink when Crutchie crept through the lodging house the next morning, careful not to drag his crutch as he plodded along through the aisles of bunk beds. He hated to think that he would be waking up another person this early in the morning, but it was the only time he could make sure that Jack wouldn't be around to interpret his signs. Crutchie intended to have a truly private conversation, even more so than his interactions usually were. After all, it was difficult for anyone to ever overhear him if he never spoke.
He cautiously lowered himself onto the ground beside the bunk in which his target slept, crossing his legs in front of him and making sure his bad leg didn't rest in any awkward or potentially harmful positions. Crutchie reached out to tap the shoulder of the sleeping newsboy, repeating the gesture as the figure in front of him stirred. He flashed his brightest grin to combat the deep frown Specs greeted him with as he rolled over, rubbing the drowsiness out of his eyes and letting out what appeared to be a very deep sigh.
"Good morning, Specs!" Crutchie smiled, and the other boy stretched out his features in a yawn before forming his own signs in return.
"What time is it?"
Crutchie shrugged, jerking his head towards the window if only to affirm that the sun had at least risen; he wasn't completely inconsiderate.
"Sorry to wake you, but there's something I need to talk to you about without Jack around."
"Oh, really? Okay... what is it?"
Specs reached under his bed to retrieve his glasses, placing them gently on the bridge of his noses as a look of confusion and intrigue crossed his face. Crutchie understood; there weren't many things he wouldn't confide in Jack, and everyone knew it. The two of them seemed to have their own language, a kind of shared understanding that connected them more than blood ever could. It was rare that either was seen without the other, and Crutchie woke up every morning grateful for the security of his brother right by his side.
Of course, all of the boys in the lodging house brought their various trials and tribulations to Jack, and it was common knowledge that their leader would bend over backwards to help any of his boys as best he could. Romeo would have been in good hands had he confided in Jack. But he hadn't.
He had come to Crutchie, and the crippled boy couldn't help but think that there was a reason behind his decision. Romeo had chosen to bring his troubles to Crutchie, and with this knowledge came a new, profound sense of responsibility. Romeo wanted Crutchie's help, and he was going to get it.
"It's about Romeo. He got in some trouble, and I don't think he wants Jack to know about it." Crutchie admitted, and Specs' eyes widened behind his lenses. No one kept anything from Jack, not if they valued their safety. Trying to hide anything from him wasn't a feat for the faint of heart.
"What happened?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but he was hurt by someone. He's embarrassed by it, I think. I want to find out what happened."
"Why don't you just ask him to write it down?"
"That's the thing, Specs...he can't read."
The other boy's lips formed an "oh" of surprise, and Crutchie nodded in confirmation. He wasn't sure how many people knew of Romeo's plight, but he knew Specs would be one of the most likely of the lodging house inhabitants to take the knowledge in stride. Some of the other boys had a tendency to tease those who lacked the ability to read the headline each morning, but Specs' kind disposition made Crutchie confident that he would not be one to stoop so low. Combined with his advanced knowledge of sign language, he made the ideal partner in Crutchie's quest to help Romeo.
"Why wouldn't he want Jack to know?"
"I'm not sure, but he came to me. He needs help, and I can't talk to him. So...I was wondering if you could maybe be my translator?"
A look of trepidation flashed quickly upon Specs' face, one that Crutchie saw clearly despite the other boy's best efforts to hide it. His quiet demeanor and generally diminutive statue gave Crutchie the impression that Specs wasn't typically asked for much help around the lodging house, and this lack of attention had more than likely left him without as much confidence as the other boys had. He fidgeted now, as though the thought of being given as job as important as this shook his nerves.
The realization seemed almost absurd; this was Specs, the best out of all of them at sign language and the only one Crutchie trusted to handle the matter with the care and patience that it deserved. Wasn't there a way to make him see that? It hadn't occurred to Crutchie that maybe he and Romeo weren't the only ones in need.
"I don't know, Crutchie...this seems pretty important and I don't want to mess it-"
Crutchie cut off the other boy's shaking signs with a hand on his shoulder, offering a gentle smile in reassurance.
"Don't worry, Specs. You're the right guy for the job. I'm sure of it." His grip tightened for a moment, trying to transfer some of his own faith and Specs' features began to relax. He returned the grin, adjusting his glasses in what looked like a gesture of determination.
"Thanks, Crutchie. You're right. I'll help in any way I can."
Crutchie beamed, his sense of determination thoroughly renewed at the prospect of being able to finally communicate with Romeo. Maybe help wasn't so far away after all.
"Never doubted you for a minute."
Hope everyone enjoyed! Please don't forget to review! Prompts are always welcome. Thanks for reading!