(i'm on tumblr as gayrretthawke and on ao3 as Bruh, formerly Danes)

"Hey, Maya," Gaige piped up one night from the bunk above Maya. "Is something, you know... wrong with Axton?"

That was not a question she was expecting. The Siren looked up from her book and frowned in thought. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, like... the guy was military, right? Surrounded by guns firing without ear protection? When I get back from a mission, my ears are ringing like, well, y'know."

"Uh huh. What does that have to do with anything?"

Gaige popped her head from the top, her hair out of it's usual ponytails. "Do you think Axton has hearing problems?"

Maya opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She was starting to get what the young mechanic was hinting at; Axton yelled almost all the time, even outside of battle, and didn't seem to register what they were saying at times unless the repeated themselves.

"Ah, you don't know. I'll ask tomorrow. Night, nerd," Gaige chirped, taking her silence as affirmation. Within moments, the young girl had fallen asleep, leaving the siren with her thoughts.

As soon as she woke up, Gaige was on mission, a dangerous look in her eyes. As soon as she'd gotten dressed, she head into the common area, where Salvador was making an omelette, Zer0 was polishing his gun, and Axton was laying on the couch with his feet up.

"Heyyyy, Axtoooon," Gaige cooed, sliding up next to the commando, who gave her a wary look. "I've got a question for you!"

Axton shot a look at Maya, who stood in the doorway with her arms shrugged, before answering. "Shoot, kid."

"Do you have a bullet in your ear?"

"Jeez-us," Maya muttered, hiding her face in her hands. Salvador bit back a laugh while Zer0's hologram changed to a question mark.

"Excuse me?"

"I saiiid-" Gaige raised her voice, "Do you have a bullet in your ear?!"

"I- what?! No! I heard you the first time!" Axton sat up, looking confused and put off. "What are you even talking about?! Do you have something to do with this?!" He looked accusingly at Maya, who raised her hands defensively.

Salvador crowed at that. "Axton, amigo, you can't hear shit! That's what she's saying!"

The commando's face went bright red as he stuttered. "I- I- I- I can hear! You guys don't know what you're talking about!"

"You're always yelling!" Gaige cackled. "Even now, you're yelling! You couldn't hear me if sounded a horn in your ear!"

Zer0, surprisingly, joined in on the laughter, causing Axton's face to go bright red. It almost seemed like he was about to cry.

Suddenly, the commando shot up and stomped out of the room, shoving past Krieg as he entered, though it didn't seem the others had gotten over their giggling fits.

"The axe man has vessels bursting with blood," the psycho growled under his breath. "The furnace in his belly is melting!"

"Yeah," Maya sighed. "I should go talk to him. He did seem upset..."

Krieg nodded in understanding and let Maya pass by.

Maya found Axton in the back of Moxxi's bar, surrounded by empty beer bottles and glaring at anyone who wasn't carrying his next round that dared to approach. He glared especially hard at Maya when she sat down next to him, only to be met by stale silence.

"My father was deaf."

The answer came as a surprise. "What?"

"My father. He went deaf when I was a teenager. And I hated him for it. I despised the fact he couldn't hear a word I said, and he knew it. I refused to learn sign language with the rest of my family, and talked shit about him to his face. I wasn't a good kid."

Maya could only stare. Why was she telling her this?

"As stupid as it was, I vowed never to go deaf. I guess I just wasn't able to cope with the fact my father could never hear me say 'I love you' again. And it stuck with me. When you guys were laughing at me, it..."

The Adam's apple in Axton's throat bobbed, his eyes watered, and his voice wavered. "It reminded me of my father, and it made me so fucking angry. I mean, they warned me not wearing earplugs would affect my hearing, but I didn't listen." He laughed at his own joke.

"Axton... They weren't trying to make you upset..."

"No, no, it's okay... I overreacted. Thanks for listening." He smiled. "I should head back. I don't want Sal getting into my magazines. Your boyfriend might be tearing up the place, too," he added with a wink.