[Week 7: Au/Crossover, "Her Voice"]

"I don't get it," Takane said, frustrated. Immediately, she repeated the same things in signs, feeling a little embarrassed since even after all the time they spend together, she keeps talking out loud when being with Haruka. The boy smiled, as if he wasn't already, before grabbing his pencil to write down what he has been saying.

"You don't need to wait for me, it's just homework," he was a little surprised she didn't understand him, though. Lately, she's been doing just fine when it was about understanding what he says, as she was getting better herself with signing. Now, at least she doesn't blush everytime she attempted to do it.

"I know that," was what Takane simply answered, not by writing, but by gesturing. She looked annoyed, which made Haruka let out a giggle, as he erased the words he's just written on his notebook.

He easily gets sickly, so that makes him lose school days pretty often. It's usually something that after of one or two days of rest goes away, but his last fever lasted an entire week. So here he was, doing homework he's missed, Takane making him company although Haruka had told her several times he didn't want to bother her. He knows how much she hates being in school, that was why it felt so nice to know that she was only staying because of him.

Fortunately, he was almost done writing the last answer of the quiz, so they both can leave. That's the best part, walking home along with Takane when the sun sets, looking at the orange sky as their hands barely touch as they walk. Stealing a glance at Takane to see what was she doing, he sees that the girl had a bored expression on her face, reading a magazine that he guessed to be about videogames, considering those weird looking characters on its cover.

"What's wrong?" she suddenly asked him, lightly touching his shoulder to get his attention first. Takane learned that she had to be gentle when touching him, as Haruka can't hear, he instantly yelps and jumps when someone or something makes contact with him out of the blue. It was especially hard for her, since she's most likely impulsive.

Aware of that she won't understand his reply in signs, Haruka put down the pen to grab the pencil. "I have to think of a topic to write about it."

Of course, he loved drawing, but he didn't have much interest in that other type of art that is writing, so Haruka looked at the Literature homework with a grimace. Takane could help him in this one, though. She does good in that subject, and he knows from Kenjirou that she actually writes quite well. It's not something she had ever told him, and Haruka thought she wouldn't, but it was nice to know that about her.

"It's not that hard. Just pick something you like," she wrote back, her handwriting made with little care. Haruka giggled at the memory of when she used to take ages to write, only for her handwriting to be better.

"What was yours about?" he signed this time, smiling once she seemed to have no trouble on understanding him. Although, Takane did seem to hesitate in her answer.

"Music," she scrunched up her nose, as Haruka only shifted his gaze to the white headphones hanging from her neck. Takane listens to music with those, a lot of people do. But it was something unknown by him, and he's gotten already tired of asking what it is, because no one seems to have an answer.

Perhaps, it wouldn't hurt to just ask once again.

"What is music, Takane?" he wrote it down, despite knowing she'd understand the signs. When Takane read it, she lifted her head to show him a frown, communicating him with her eyes how unamused she was at that difficult question.

Haruka thought it'd be a good idea to ask her. She always struggles to explain everything she can, as he often asks her to describe a particular sound to him. Even if she ends up looking it up on the internet, Takane still gives him an answer.

"I guess music is whatever people think it is," he peeked at her as she was writing, feeling a little disappointed at the answer that didn't take him off his doubts. "But, if anything, they're sounds with melody."

Now, he wasn't sure why he asked. Thinking about it a little better, that was the only way to describe it, and Haruka already knew that. He realized that, maybe, he was asking to hear it.

But that's just not a possible thing to do, is it?

He was actually about to sign an apologize to her, for making her waste her time into thinking an answer he already knew. When Haruka looked at her though, he jumped in surprise at her sudden rough movements towards him. The boy thought she could be about to hit him, ignoring the fact that all she can actually bring herself to do to him was pinch his cheek. He's seen her punch Shintaro a few times, so Haruka was sure she couldn't hesitate.

But she didn't punch him, she didn't even pinch his cheek. Takane just wasn't really delicate or careful when she placed her own headphones on his ears, and Haruka can only raise his hands in an attempt of signing with them to ask her why on earth was she making a deaf boy wear headphones.

She immediately tells him to wait a second with her hands, her expression making him notice she was a little upset. He tried thinking if he said something wrong, or if she was actually mad because he had asked her such a thing. Then, she shifts her gaze from the phone to him, as if expecting something, and after seeing he hasn't reacted, she frowns.

"Is music playing?" he hesitates, and his hands are slow. The headphones were vibrating on his ears, but it stops just at the same time Takane rests her head on her hand and nods.

It's true that many deaf people can hear at different degrees, but as far as he knows, he just can't hear. It hasn't been a problem, he's never thought of such a thing like 'I whish I was capable of hearing' no, not really. People commonly have something they're passionate about, and for Haruka, that's drawing. He doesn't need to hear anything to grab a pencil and drag it across the paper, and he's happy doing it. No one's really ever been that interested in talking to him and his parents make sure to do all the talking for him, even if at this point is a bit annoying. That's the reason he doesn't mind his own deafness. Because he's never thought he'd need to hear.

But Takane made it a whole different story. He just wants to hear her say good morning and perhaps his own name as well. She's been awkward about it ever since they met, their teacher was late despite being the first day and she just couldn't get why wouldn't he answer. It was just a mess of a scenary, in which he's moving his hands nervously, even if he was aware of that she wasn't understanding by the way she was just leaning her head to the side. When Kenjirou finally showed up and told her, she was a little embarrassed, but surprisingly, she just shrugged it off.

And the day Takane started saying "good morning" in sign language was when Haruka had started to wish he could hear.

After all, I love Takane. But I guess that's just a secret.

The more he knows about her, the more he loves her. And the more he thinks about it, the more he wanted to tell her. She's always by his side, struggling to learn more of something she never thought she'd be interested in, just to be capable of talking to him.

That's why he can't help the craving of hearing her laughter, her screams and even her sobs. To hear her breathing when she's close, the chair creaking under her weight as she sits down, her heavy sighs when something doesn't amuse her, her textbook when she turns on the next page.

He can't do that. Haruka can only watch her, and feel her warmth against him when she's too close. That's enough for him, but he doesn't want it to be enough for her. So he stays quiet, as always, along the silence of his soundless world.

Because if you're happy, Takane, that's enough of a reason to smile. Even if I can't hear you laugh.

Haruka feels his desk tremble, and he opens his eyes to find Takane looking at him quite annoyed. She raises an eyebrow as she says something, so Haruka only grimaces and stares at her lips in an attempt of reading on them what she may be saying. But she always talks too fast, it was impossible for him to understand her. So she takes his pencil and writes with big handwriting, perhaps to make clear that she was yelling.

"What the heck is wrong with you, spacing out like that!?" he laughs when he reads it, quickly clearing his throat to stop. He didn't have to because he wouldn't talk, but Takane's glare made him feel a little nervous. Raising his hands, he just signs to her that everything's fine and he's maybe just a little sleepy. He looks down to his notebook again, and he doesn't try to stop her when she takes the headphones off him.

Once he looks back at her, his homework long forgotten, Takane has her headphones on and was quickly moving her finger on her phone's screen, presumably looking for a song. She now looked bored and indifferent like before, so he guessed their little chat was over and he should get back to his homework already.

But Takane taps his shoulder to draw his attention again, and he's fast to look at her, finding far more interesting her face than the worksheet. She doesn't stop when he does though, she just keeps continuously tapping her fingers to some kind of steady pace. Then it takes him a few seconds to realize it's rhythm, and she's tapping him tothe music.

She wasn't looking away, and he doesn't miss the tiny smile Takane tries to avoid. He isn't sure if she's still at it, he guesses she is, but all he can bring himself to feel at the moment are his own cheeks getting a warm colour. He swallowed a little, because his mouth was suddenly dry, or because he was nervous and unable to think properly as he leans in until there isn't space in between their lips anymore.

At first she doesn't kiss back, her hands stopping moving immediately. Her phone's playlist is still on, and her headphones keep playing a song that she couldn't really describe as fitting for what was happening. It's only when Haruka starts to pull away that Takane leans in herself, preventing the kiss from ending, actually feeling his small smile against her own lips.

Even so, they break apart it shortly after, not the way neither of them would have liked to. It'd be nicer if they just ended it as slowly as they started it, but it wasn't like that, because Takane pushes him away quickly and Haruka feels light-headed until he sees their teacher just walked in.

"You two are still here?" Kenjirou asks, and by seeing his indifferent expression, Haruka guesses he hadn't seen them. He steals a glance at Takane, trying his best to not smile, because she looked adorable as she clumsily tries to take off her headphones. He looks back at Kenjirou, and now he's grinning, staring at her, since she's never been really good at trying to act normally. "Oh, what's wrong? What were you lovebirds doing, Takane?"

"Nothing! We're... doing nothing, just the stupid homework," she's quick to say, and Haruka doesn't even try to read their lips, patiently waiting for one of them to be kind enough to translate. But Takane just keeps looking embarrassed, speaking and probably making up excuses he's almost glad he doesn't hear, so he purposely makes a sound by knocking on the desk so they'd look at him.

"We were only listening to music."

"I don't mean to be rude. But how does that work?" Haruka'd chuckle at Kenjirou's confused face if he hadn't talked instead of signing. Was it really that hard? He knows he can sign, and all three of them can. Why does he talk?

"It just works," Takane stands up, grabbing her bag and, unlike Kenjirou, signs at the boy. She tells him to hurry up and grab his things because she'd be going now, with or without him. Haruka doesn't hesitate and nods, after all, his Literature homework was all left and he could as well do it at home. There was no way he'd miss a walk home with her, one in which he'd actually get to hold hands with her for real.

He shoves his notebooks in his bag, pausing for a moment to steal a glance at her waiting for him at the door. She just makes an exasperated face, signing again after noticing his quite obvious staring.

"Hurry up!"

It's weird to think he knows how her voice is like, as it's unimaginable to him. Her signs just make a sound in his head.